Ten minutes earlier, Haru Urara cheerfully hummed a tune, strolling back to her dorm from the teaching buildings.
Suddenly, a strange voice, neither distinctly male nor female, called out from nearby:
"Urara? Wow! A golden legend!"
Startled, Urara glanced around in confusion, but couldn't see anyone.
"Eh?" Urara tilted her head.
Did someone just call my name?
Just as she began to wonder if she'd imagined it, the peculiar voice spoke again:
The voice ghostly echoed around Urara's ears, initially frightening her—but her fear quickly shifted into excitement.
In the innocent eyes of Urara, everything in the world was friendly and fun—even invisible ghosts. She assumed they were just shy friends who loved playing hide-and-seek with her.
Urara adored making friends, so ghosts didn't scare her at all.
Maybe it was calling her to join a game of hide-and-seek!
"Ghost friend~ I'm coming to find you~!"
She eagerly searched around, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find the ghost friend.
Until a hand rose from the ground.
"I'm over here," Mizuno Sora said weakly, waving a hand from his position sprawled on the ground.
Only then did Urara finally realize there had been someone lying there all along.
Mizuno's black clothing completely covered him, blending seamlessly with the dark ground. He emitted almost no scent at all—only the faintest aroma of honey, barely noticeable unless one was very close. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝓷𝓮𝓽
"Ghost friend, are you really a ghost?" Urara curiously poked Mizuno, discovering he was very much solid.
"Of course not," Mizuno said helplessly.
The Doctor's Outfit was both extremely useful and annoyingly troublesome. It was excellent at hiding his presence to prevent dangerous Uma Musume from noticing him, but when he tried approaching someone, he'd inevitably get mistaken for a ghost…
"Eh?" Urara was even more puzzled. If Mizuno wasn't a ghost, why hadn't she noticed him earlier?
Seeing Urara's baffled expression, Mizuno sighed and resorted to his usual nonsense:
"Let me tell you a secret." Mizuno lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Actually, I'm a ninja. Just now, I was using my secret technique—Ninpo: Invisibility. That's why you couldn't see me."
"A ninja?!" Upon hearing that, Urara's eyes instantly sparkled, her confusion replaced entirely by awe.
When watching ninja cartoons, Urara always fantasized about meeting a cool ninja, learning ninjutsu, and using her powers to defeat evil villains and save the world.
She'd once asked Seiun Sky to teach her "Ninpo: Transparency," but it only seemed to work on friends—other Uma Musume just gave her awkward smiles.
But Mizuno was different. He'd genuinely turned invisible just now! If he hadn't spoken, Urara would never have noticed him.
Although Mizuno looked nothing like ninjas from TV, the innocent Urara completely believed him. After all, he used real invisibility—he was definitely a ninja!
"Mr. Ninja, are you lying here because you're on a secret mission? Are you waiting for a villain to show up so you can deliver justice?!"
"Uh…" Mizuno grimaced internally.
He couldn't exactly tell her he'd been paralyzed after being hit by a random Uma Musume. Knowing Urara's angelic personality, she'd immediately drag him to the infirmary, where doctors would remove his Doctor's Outfit and…
"No, no special mission. Actually, I'm… I'm just moonbathing." Mizuno quickly invented a plausible excuse.
"Yes, it's part of my ninja training. I call it 'Breath of the Moon.'"
"Breath of the Moon? That sounds amazing!" Though Urara didn't understand it, she thought Mizuno's explanation was extremely cool.
"Mr. Ninja, can you teach me ninjutsu too? I want to learn!"
"Of course," Mizuno agreed readily.
"Yay!" Urara jumped happily.
"But first, I have a favor to ask you." Mizuno smoothly changed the subject.
"What is it? Urara promises to do her best!" Hearing someone needed her help, Urara proudly patted her chest.
"Do you know Rice Shower?"
Naturally, Mizuno knew Urara and Rice Shower were close friends, but he pretended ignorance to protect his identity.
"Oh, you mean Mimi? Of course! We're best friends!" Urara replied proudly.
"Could you help me deliver this to Rice Shower? She just headed toward the cafeteria." Mizuno pulled the Lucky Charm from his pocket.
"It's a gift for Rice Shower," Mizuno explained.
"No…it's just a charm."
"Eh?" Urara seemed confused. Shouldn't ninja gifts be something ninja-like?
But the next moment, joy filled her heart simply because someone had sent Mimi a gift.
Rice Shower was a very capable Uma Musume, but she was deeply insecure, believing her mere existence brought misfortune to others. She hadn't debuted, had no trainer, and apart from a few friends, no one paid attention to or encouraged her. Even though Urara spent time with her daily, she couldn't fully lift Rice Shower's spirits—a constant source of frustration for Urara.
But now, this amazing ninja asked her to deliver a gift to Mimi! Someone else was finally showing interest!
If Mimi knew there were other people who cared about her, perhaps her frozen heart could melt, just a little.
"Thank you, Mr. Ninja!" Urara thanked Mizuno sincerely, feeling as happy as if the gift were for herself.
Yet, amidst her excitement, she suddenly realized something odd.
"But Mr. Ninja, why don't you give this to Mimi yourself? She'd be even happier that way."
"Well…because…" Mizuno fumbled for an excuse. "Because right now…I'm moonbathing, remember? It's not convenient for me, so please help me deliver it."
"Oh! Right, I forgot!" Urara suddenly understood.
She'd been so excited she'd forgotten Mr. Ninja was still training.
"Leave it to me! Mission accepted!" Urara saluted adorably.
"Oh right—I still don't know your name, Mr. Ninja," Urara eagerly asked.
"Me?" Mizuno pointed to himself.
He'd already used the fake names "Hokuto Seiji" and "Nakiri Erina," and he'd planned to fool Urara with another fake name like "Ace." But then, he reconsidered. He planned to recruit Urara eventually—how would he explain using a fake name now?
So, for the first time, Mizuno broke his own rules and revealed his true identity:
"My name is Mizuno Sora, and I'm a new trainer."