Umanon

Warning: The other sketch is a work in progress, which means I drew the body and didn't draw the clothes yet. Idk if to consider this NSFW but if you don't want to see it, don't click on the expand button! I don't have the desktop version of tumblr available for now, so I can't spoiler the image! Please understand...

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Doto had tried to confess to Opera O multiple times.

"A simple gesture of affection, like gift-giving, is the proper way to court someone. They should be able to understand the meaning behind those actions, and act accordingly..." Doto thought about it.

"A gift to show romantic affection... I guess I could do that... But, last time I tried to make sweets for White Day..." She started tearing a bit. "No, I guess cooking is out of the question. But what else could I make?"

She circled her room, thinking, until her eyes landed on one of Opera's posters. She always made a point to give her the first copy of any type of merch she was producing, which meant that Doto's side of the room was always full of objects carrying her image.

This one particular poster portrayed Opera running on the tracks, her lovely racewear highlighted by a single, sparkling ray of sunshine, her cape billowing behind her. She looked like she was chasing a destiny far beyond her comprehension, one mandated by the Gods. All around the borders, prints of roses in full bloom created a beautiful backdrop to the main figure taking the center's spot. Doto's eyes stopped to stare at those rose petals with a bit of a sigh, but then she widened them with surprise.

Of course! Opera O loved roses! Red roses in particular! And hadn't she explained how red roses were a symbol of romantic love? If she were to give those as a gift, Opera would've understood the meaning behind them! And if things went wrong, she could've always said that she had forgotten about their true meaning and such... With that revelation in mind, Doto raced towards the one person she was sure she could count on: Nishino Flower.

Nishino wasn't growing roses for herself, but she could tell her of vendors she could purchase a bouquet from. She didn't question her about the intentions, but she seemed to stare at her with a certain intensity as she explained her request. However, her gentle smile reassured Doto it must have been her imagination.

With impatience, she raced to the flower shop that was recommended to her, and made her purchase of pure, red roses. She picked them up, holding them with anxiety. Only now she thought about how delicate flowers were, and how they could potentially get ruined by her clumsy hands. However, luckily, nothing bad had happened, and she made her journey back to Tracen on foot, avoiding to race not to ruin the flowers. She headed straight to the tracks with a certain nervousness that belied a small amount of excitement. The sun had dawned, and TM Opera O was standing there, sweat catching on her brow, after an intense training session.

Doto's hands were trembling, but she kept walking towards that sunshine smile with a certain sense of determination. "O-Opera O-San..."

The smaller Uma focused her distracted sight on her, her smile getting bigger as she saw Doto approaching. "Doto! I was wondering where you'd gone! I was waiting for you on the tracks, but you weren't coming, so I thought 'might as well start practicing!'" Waiting for you? Was Doto supposed to run with her? Had she agreed to practice with her and then forgot??? Before Doto had even the chance to apologize, Opera's gaze was caught by the roses and her eyes narrowed with delight. "Hoho, and who are those for?"

"A-Actually-!" Doto tried to straighten up, holding the stems of her bouquet tightly, almost wrenching them. "T-They're for you!" She said while pushing the whole thing into Opera's body. Opera picked the flowers sideways with a level of gentleness that Doto couldn't match.

"I see... Doto-chan, that is kind of you." Opera said as she laid the flowers on the bench. "I'll make sure to use them for today's bath!" As she declared this with complete solemnity, Doto couldn't stop herself from making a choking sound.

"Huh? Is there something wrong, Doto?"

"N-No, nothing..." Doto replied in abject horror.

Oh what else to say? It was too embarrassing to clear up the mistake now! How could she not remember why Opera O was so obsessed with roses in the first place? She wanted to cry. "S-Say, Opera O-San... You won't mind if I go back to my room?"

Opera seemed to feel suddenly saddened (more like shocked!) by her request. "Oh, Doto, why? Our next match is fast approaching, shouldn't we prepare together?" Then she spun around and brought a hand to her forehead. "Is something ailing you? 'This the reason you couldn't make it to today's practice? But now you're here! Even if it's late, I'm sure the moon would be glad to take a peek of our performance, so there's no reason to refuse!"

"A-Actually..." And she sounded so ghastly, all her strength leaving her body at the misunderstanding, like her fighting spirit had abandoned her the moment Opera's actions didn't match her expectations.

"No, it must be something else." Opera had made a second spin, putting her hands on her hips. "Indeed, you chose to go all the way to purchase this bouquet before coming to practice, only to please me! You wanted to sooth my soul with this beautiful visage..." Opera halted for a moment, her eyes widening a bit, like she had been thinking and had finally reached a conclusion. Doto stared at her, her heart's palpitations running wild as she fixed her eyes on Opera O, and...

"Doto. Are you... injured, perhaps?"

Doomed.

Oh, so, so doomed.

Worry was etched all over Opera's face now and, before she had the chance to explain herself, clarify this stupid mistake, her crush had thrown herself at her feet and was studying her legs, in that exaggerated way of hers, but still mixed with genuine concern.

"No, my sweet Doto, ten thousand times no! You possibly couldn't! The Takarazuka Kinen is only two weeks away from now! You, my dear rival, you...! You'd be leaving me all alone?!" She said as she run her fingers alongside Doto's legs, searching for an injury that just wasn't there. Her face had just melted into a pout, that one expression that communicated how upset she was.

"Opera O-San!" Doto urged, tears of despair and embarrassment appearing as she desperately tried to get Opera to drop her calves by gently prying her hands off, but her rival seemed too worried to process Doto's attempts at communication.

"It's not that, please!!" Her panic and shame kept increasing as her face kept looking around the racetrack and spotting familiar faces staring at them in confusion. The horror was too much to bear, her poor heart squeezed in all directions, shattered by thousands emotions all at once.

Opera, thankfully, had been blessed with quick reflexes. She ducked out of the way in time as Doto hit overdrive, sprinting away from the scene in complete sobbing mode. "I was just feeling unwelllllllllll!!!" She screamed as she raced past the training field, seeking to reach the dormitory and spare herself from more embarrassment.

"Doto! Doto! Wait-"

Opera looked as if she was trying to get to her, maybe in an attempt to apologize, but her poor Meisho heart had already gotten too much so she just accelerated with increased desperation. Ultimately, she reached her room and barricaded herself in it, quietly sobbing on her bed, letting all of her emotions spill. It seems that Opera thought more opportune to not bother her, because she didn't come knocking on her door.

The following day, Doto declared the mission a failure and it took her a whole week to even attempt a look at the love magazine she had used as reference. She scratched the gift page with her maiden heart in pieces, but build her resolve after telling herself that it had just been a misunderstanding, that she could do better next time. She had no idea what fate had in plans for her...

"The love magazine suggested a confession during a romantic dinner..." Doto closed the magazine and hid it under her cushion. "We're not too close for a restaurant dinner, but a confession during the summer festival should be fine..."

And so she had prepared herself to look nice, took Opera to sat in a secluded area with the food they ordered from the stalls, and they were watching fireworks as the festivities kept going. It looked all so perfect, so Doto opened her mouth to start her confession... "O-Opera, t-there's something important I have to tell you..." deep breaths "I-I-"

But as Doto started to speak, Opera, who had brought the noodles to her mouth already, started to cough up.

"Hhiii??? O-Opera?? W-What's wrong!" Doto immediately said, trying to help the poor girl, who now was completely red on her face. "O-Oh no, don't tell me! M-My order of spicy noodles g-got mixed up with yous- W-Wait! Here's some water!" And as Doto said this, she jumped to pour water in her glass, but as soon as she did, with her hands already clasping the bottle and keeping it above her, she lost her balance, tipped foward and slammed her body onto the table. The bottle remained in her hands, elevated, but all the contents spilled out on the poor TM, who was still coughing. "O-opera!" Doto screamed as she pulled herself up, half crying. "I'm sooooooo sooooorry!!" She started sobbing.

"A-Ah- cough D-Don't fret- cough cough- D-Doto!" Opera tried to reassure her, but she was clearly dying. Or well, something close to that effect.

Doto's panic was quelled by the arrival of Top Road at the scene, who had seen the two move together towards a secluded area and was curious. "Are you two alright??" She exclaimed with terror as she took in the scene. Doto, who now brought the empty bottle to her chest, started crying out of pure embarrassment.

"Doto-chan?" Put on the spot, Doto flicked her ears before they reached a new low. She entrusted the bottle to Top Road, stuttering something about keeping Opera company while she went to purchase water for her friend. Maybe she didn't hear it, but Doto couldn't care at the moment. Avoiding the stalls due to the huge lines of people waiting to order, she decided to run to the nearest vending machine, a single objective in mind. To her dismay, all products displayed were tea and other beverages, no water in sight.

"I-It's fine, as long as it dispells the spiciness..." She said, selecting the number for a golden-colored bottle with 'sugar-free' on the side. As soon as her hand was gripping around the tin, she turned immediately back to where Opera was left.

"O-Opera O! I have tea-" She said, and Opera had to be struggling very hard because her hands immediately reached for the beverage. She opened it with haste, gulping it down to almost immediately spit it back.

"O-Opera O!" Doto cried out.

"D-Doto... I'm... So sorry... It's coffee..." She said before slamming her head on the table and passing out.

"Opera, no!!!" She sobbed as Top Road tried to ventilate TM's face with her fan, in a poor attempt to revive her.

Eventually, Opera's Trainer, called in by Top Road, had brought her back to her sleeping bag and offered actual water. The face of the Overlord was all flushed, yet she attempted a smile before falling into a deep sleep. She needed to recuperate, it seems. Doto was so embarrassed that she couldn't think what to do, but ultimately Opera came to seek her the next day, looking better and excited for a day of playing at the beach.

"So then I tried another recommendation..."

"Hide an engagement ring in a food prepared with love". Doto read the various examples. "B-But this could choke someone!" She said, thinking about the whole fiasco of her first attempt. "However... I-It should be fine if I change it w-with something else..." and so Doto had gotten her hands on a muffin recipe, courtesy of Taiki, and decided to prepare a single one. Taiki had told her that her family's muffins had a reputation at Tracen, because they were so good, they could bewitch people! Trusting her friend's words, Doto set out to conquer Opera's heart.

She would lie to Opera about having made an entire batch of muffins and not being able to finish it on her own, and then give her one so she could try. This way, she wouldn't have had to make multiple that required to be given to other umas, and the message would reach the recipient for sure.

With this thought in mind, Doto started working hard on the muffin, making sure to double check every ingredient and setting multiple alarms to get it out in perfect time, and was so satisfied with herself once she realized how perfect it came out. It was her first time managing to do something so well, so she felt confident about the results of her work.

She caught Opera on her way to her room, a package of rose petals in her hands, and with a quick explanation on wanting to make up for the terrible experience she had given her during the summer festival, she dropped the muffin in Opera's hands and run straight to her room. She spent the whole day awaiting Opera's reaction, and on the next she still hadn't got any sort of answer. Panicking, she decided to ask her directly, even if she didn't have the mental fortitude required for it.

"S-So- a-about y-yesterday's m-muffin..." Doto clutched the edges of the trail in her hands. They were sitting in the cafeteria, only the two of them at the table, a conversation already started by Opera about her grandiose plans for today, which included long training session and an intense dance performance with Fuji.

"Oh, the muffin! I'm glad you asked, dear Doto! Never before something so special grazed my taste buds!" To those words, Doto tilted her head upwards, with her heart filling up with the praise. "Yes, the taste of it was peculiar indeed! The combination of flavors so avant-garde!" At that, Doto's face paled a bit. It was supposed to be a normal-tasting muffin, and Opera had a flavor for the dramatic, but... was Opera hiding one of her mistakes behind gentle praise again?

"H-Hum, O-Opera... I-I'm glad you like it, b-but... D-Did it taste that unique? I tried to follow a recipe, s-so..."

"Indeed! The mix of sweet and savory was an unexpected change of pace!"

S-Savory??? Doto observed in might as well have turned blue as Opera kept moving up and down her seat to better describe the taste.

"And the texture! Crunchy outside, soft inside, yet met in half by a surprisingly dry and a bit rough layer, that brought forth some childhood memories!"

Oh no, did Opera eat the paper??? Well, Doto had decided to change the surprise inside with something that was edible in order to avoid a choking hazard, but... she never considered that someone could eat the entire thing by accident.

Oh, what a crushing defeat. Doto wished to melt away and escape through the cracks of the floorboards. Opera must have been thinking that she had wanted to poison her... Ohhhh, poor her heart, if she kept at this she was going to be rejected for sure! She should've made at least two muffins, to test the recipe beforehand, yet now she went and made the situation worse. She couldn't believe she had given something so terrible to Opera to make up for her previous disaster.

"F-Forgive me!!! I must have dropped something while making it and didn't realize!!" She cried in front of the carrot-haired Uma, who just laughed loudly at her apology.

"Doto, worry not! The addition of salt in a sweet is a well-known tactic to balance the flavor of things that have strong acidity... Yet it's a technique used only by experts of the cooking world! Such bold display of your knowledge and talent... I couldn't possibly see it as a wrong! Just adjusting the ratio will improve the results tenfold! I wonder, what imaginable strength hides behind this recipe, forged only by your skills? The potential shines through even when you catch a single bite of it!"

At that Doto's eyes started to water down. Savory? Salt? Adjusting the ratio? Did it mean... that she had mistakenly put salt in the recipe, thinking it was sugar? And for Opera to have eaten the paper as well, which was hidden in the center of the baked sweet... Oh, poor TM Opera O! She must have forced herself to down it whole in big bites, just to make her happy! The image of the Overlord doing such a disgraceful gesture just to not disappoint her... She wanted to run to the ends of the Earth and never come back again. "OPERA O-SAN, I'M SO SORRY!!!" Doto shouted as she stood up, hands trying to hide her face as she turned around and started running away from the cafeteria.

"Doto, wait! Not that way!" Opera's voice said as she felt the girl chase after her. But Doto couldn't stop herself as she continued running down the hallways, bumping in other Umas on the way.

Kris S looked at her with confusion, as she slammed into her chest, and she babbled a sobbing apology before starting to run again.

After that episode she didn't get out of her room for weeks. Everyone at the cafeteria had been present to that display, confused by what had happened. Top Road and Shakur had tried to get an explanation out of her, but she had just buried her head in her bed's cushion and sobbed even louder. It came to a stop when Taiki, worried about her situation, managed to drag Fuku in Doto's room, thinking that a future reading might have cheered her up on whatever's predicament was ailing her. And cheering up it did, because Fuku's way of comforting her was to read her fate.

"Oh great Shiraoki-sama, lend us your strength! Our trusty ally Doto has been subjugated by fate to eternal humiliation! But I trust in your judgment to break free from this curse, and find the answer she so much seeks!"

Even if Fuku's knowledge of Doto's predicament was vague at best (Doto had just mumbled about her plans going to ruin among huge sobs), she trusted Shiraoki to know much more than her about fate and that it could push Doto in the right direction even if it wasn't a specific divination.

"Oh, Doto, stand! I can feel Shiraoki-sama's blessing working its way!"

Despite the great sadness Doto was experiencing, her droopy ears raised slightly at that. "W-What does it s-say?"

"Ohh? What a difficult sign to interpret!"

"Uwaa?? Am I that unlucky?"

"No, no! This is auspicious, Doto! It's... hydrangeas during the raining season." A sort of silence fell.

"H-Hum?? What does it mean??"

"It's... These flowers, Hum, they're for sure not a bad omen, but, ah, you see..." Fuku raised both of her hands and made a thumbs up sign. "It can go both ways!"

Doto stared at her for a bit, before Fuku, agitated, started moving up and down the bed. "The hydrangeas are associated with the idea of heartfelt emotions!"

"R-Really?"

"Yes!!"

"T-Then... Why didn't you say this sooner...?"

"Ahhh! The fact that those flowers are associated with heartfelt feelings is common knowledge, but..." Fuku drew an exasperated breath. "I'm not well versed enough in ikebana to understand the full meaning."

"But I thought..."

"Doto-chan. When Shiraoki-sama communicates through me, it's not always in such a direct way, but she also resort to symbolism, sometimes! However, a single object can carry multiple meanings! Even if I try to study it all, there's some fields of knowledge I'm bound to not be an expert in!"

Doto nodded along, feeling a bit insecure but finding Fuku's explanation reasonable.

"This is to say... While I might not know all the meanings associated with this flower, there's no way for it to be a bad sign! They're used in temples exactly because of their positive associations, so there's no reason to worry!"

"I-It's just..." Doto took a deep breath. "I-if I tell you this, will you promise me t-to not tell a-anyone?"

Fuku nodded solemnly. "Your secrets are safe with me!"

"...Weeks ago, I tried to confess to Opera O."

From the relaxed yet solemn pose Fuku had held before, the orange-haired uma jumped on her feet at that revelation, taken aback from the type of confession that had just slipped between them. "Y-You did?!?"

"Wait, whaaat???" Shakur, who up until then had kept his headcuffs on while typing in a spreadsheet, turned immediately towards the two with a shocked expression on full display.

"A-AHH, NOT SO LOUD!!" Doto exclaimed in panick, committing the same mistake. "Y-Yes, I tried, I tried so hard! B-But... Every proposal up until now has been a disaster!" Doto cried out a bit.

Shakur was about to comment that she didn't expect her to confess to someone ever, but kept her mouth shut because she'd already entered in her roommate's messy business without permission and she didn't want to make her feel even worse, especially with that last phrase that she had thrown. Fuku, on the other hand, stared at Doto with corrugated eyebrows, before settling her shiny eyes on the crystal ball right in front of her. Her words felt hardened by solemnity all of a sudden. "Doto-chan, whatever do you mean by that?"

"I-It's just..." And Doto took to breath again. "That I've been trying for so long... I-I mean... W-We've retired already, n-no? And I showed her my best side! I-It only makes sense t-to finally proceed with... with... a-a c-confes-sion. N-No...?"

Fuku's silence prompted Doto further. "A-And well, I've tried, I really tried, i-it's just... that everything has failed!"

At that, Shakur shook his head and spoke into existence a thought that everyone else would've probably kept to themselves. "I mean, do you really think Opera is even able to process someone's love confession in a serious way? I'm sure that half of the fault can totally fall on that guy..."

"N-No, Shakur, you don't understand! Whenever I try to confess, I... uwaaa, something bad happens! My clumsiness put Opera through such bad experiences, I'm considering to stop altogether!!"

///

"Well, yeah, that is a series of unfortunate incidents, but you can't give up after just three times!"

"Three...?"

"Because... Because you tried only three times, right...?"

"Oh, no! I- hum- Honestly lost count, but it hasn't been just three times!" Doto stood up straight, with determination settling in. "There was this one time I've tried to confess through a love letter! But, as I was walking from the dormitories to school, it started raining out of nowhere, and all the ink got smudged!"

"That's... unfortunate."

"And, and, and then! I invited her to watch a romantic movie together! And she accepted! B-But then, I couldn't find the tickets so I had to run back home, a-and it was the last projection and I d-didn't make it in t-time..." And now her eyes had gotten watery and her back slouched as she gripped her knees with trembling hands.

"O-Oh my..." Said Fuku with horror.

"So what happened after??" Taiki said with agitation.

"W-Well, she bought me a cup of honey to cheer me up and we went feeding the birds at the park..."

"Then I as-asked for her hand for the ball that was going to be held next week and she... she..." Doto tugged at her hair and flattened her ears even further. "SHE SAID YES!" She was crying rivers now.

"Oh... Isn't that..." Taiki started, looking in Fuku's eyes.

"...*That* ball..." Fuku continued, staring back with dawning realization.

"THE ONE I COULDN'T PARTICIPATE TO BECAUSE I BROKE MY LEG, YES!" Doto concluded with desperation. She flopped on the bed and started sobbing.

"Oh, no, no, Doto! Don't be like that..." Taiki gently pat her head.

"Yeah, Doto, I'm sure things will change! With Shiraoki around-"

Shakur pinched the bridge of the nose. Honestly, Doto's series of disasters sounded so stressful that it almost made her develop a headache herself... "But I mean, isn't all of what you've told us kind of positive?"

Taiki ans Fuku turned around, staring at her in a bit of shock. Doto raised her head a bit, a choked sob escaping her.

"I mean... Hum... Listen..." Shakur huffed, shaking her head to get rid of that feeling of awkwardness. "She's never got mad at you, no...? Never ignored you, never left you... That must account for something."