I looked over the horse and saw Caroline, Aiko and Hoshi coming towards me. Why are they here? Do they have nothing else to do? They made themselves big and laughed as they approached me. She still thinks that she's superior to me.
"Well, just as the rider has white hair, so does her horse!" said Hoshi.
"But the horse is far too beautiful for someone like you to ride it!" said Caroline.
The three started laughing and continued to elevate each other. And that only to annoy me. I shook my head and continued to take care of my artwork. The three of them got angry because I didn't respond to their provocations, so they came closer and closer to me. Arriving next to me, Caroline took me by the collar of my kimono.
"Didn't you hear what I'm saying? Don't you want to defend yourself?" she asked with an angry look in her eyes.
"Why should I? You are not worth getting my attention." I answered, grabbing her hand to remove it from my collar.
"Didn't you learn anything from last time?" asked Aiko, standing next to Caroline. I sighed, I couldn't do anything with this kindergarten. It was too exhausting for me.
Hoshi looked at me more closely and frowned, "Besides, what's that ugly makeup?"
I looked at her contemptuously and asked, "You don't even know your own culture?"
"We don't have to and don't want to learn anything!" replied Aiko angrily.
I replied, "Then don't ask anything."
Caroline threw me to the ground and kicked me in the stomach: "You don't stand a chance against us. You will never be like us and you will never be able to compete."
What is her problem? I just want to paint my horse.
I smiled tensely at her, "Do you really think I want to be like you?"
"You little...!" Caroline bent down to me and wanted to slap me, but someone held her hand.
"Huh?" Caroline turned around and asked angrily "Who dares to hold me..."She fell silent; she spoke before she saw the person.
I lifted my head and saw Yuma.
"Are you so conceited that you have the right to beat someone for no reason?" he asked contemptuously, looking at her with his bright blue eyes. His expression was cold and emotionless. I've never seen him so angry...
"Y-Yuma? W-what are you doing here? I-I didn't want to beat her for no reason! A-But she provoked it a-and..." she replied stuttering and tried to pretend that I was the bad guy.
I grinned. She lost. Yuma is not one who can easily get angry. But if he is angry, then no one can change his mood. I'm glad I'm not in Caroline's place.
"Oh really?" He looked at her from above and squeezed her hand tighter and tighter. She whined in pain and Yuma let go. "You are such a mendacious filthy hag, go now!"
The three girl's wince. They nodded and quickly left.
Yuma turned to me and pulled me up by my arm.
"Everything alright Kuro?" he asked worriedly.
I nodded and knocked the dirt off my clothes. Luckily Yuma came, otherwise I would have had to deal with them further. I smiled and thanked him.
We finished painting his horse together. It was time for our part of the performance.
Just before we were done, Yuma turned to me and asked me, "What does Caroline have against you?"
I thought for a moment. Then I grinned at him meanly, "Maybe she's jealous?"
"Of what?" He asked me in surprise.
I turned around, shrugged my shoulders and smiled "I'm smarter than her, I can do a lot more than her and..." I quickly turned back to him and leaned forward as I pointed at him, "I'm friends with you! Hehehe."
"W-What? Is that your only logical conclusion?" he asked, shaking his head. "I thought you were smart." He said disappointed.
"Of course I'm smart, but Caroline is in love with you!"
"What?" he paused.
"Her voice is much higher when you're there! That is the first point. The second is that she gets a little nervous, like when talking earlier. Otherwise you can see it in her eyes. And apart from that, she's trying to ingratiate herself with you."
"..."Yuma looked at me in amazement.
"Didn't you notice that?"
"N-no." He replied, looking at the floor, "That you notice something like that in someone."
We were silent for a moment, suddenly Yuma asked loudly "Wait! Then what do you notice about me?"
"Well, you would like to know that."
After we finished, we still had a quarter of an hour. We watched the little ones for a moment. Yuki was not allowed to be part of the performance this year. She's good, but she only started this year. With a little practice, she will be there next year.
Yuma leaned over the fence. He happily praised the children "The little ones have worked very hard this year."
I nodded with a smile.
"Yuki will probably ride as well as you do in the future." Yuma said and stood up.
"Of course," I replied quickly.
We both started laughing.
"I wish her all the best for the future, she will certainly be the best in many areas."
A big grin covered my face. I am happy when I think about her future. Yuki is a versatile talent and with her ambition she can do it all!
The next announcement came and we got ready.
Yuma and I had the entrance. We stood with torches on the backs of the horses. We trotted parallel in a circle until we stood opposite each other. We sat down and walked a traversal parallel. After four steps, the horses turned in a circle and took the four steps back to the center. There they turned again and bowed. That was the moment when the others rode in.
We ended our performance with a classical English choreography.
It was so fun. Everything that happened today was as if it had never happened. Cat, Yuki and Akaya watched us and then came after the performance to the riding arena.
We spent a long time on the riding arena and I noticed that Akito was not there yet. Maybe something important had happened. Akaya and Yuki went to the stalls, they wanted to try a few things and eat many sweets.
Yuma and I brought our horses to the stable, while Cat got us something to drink.