There was a horse right in the middle of the grassy plain.
In this dim plain illuminated only by the moonlight, the horse seemed clad with two extremes, a black body that seemed to melt into the darkness, and a flame that illuminated it.
The horse that was just a skeleton during the day had now turned into a proper black horse.
Its hooves, mane, and tail were illuminated by the red flames, and it did nothing but face the direction from which it came from.
“Hey, I was looking for you. Is that your real form?”
“…!”
Suddenly, a laid-back voice echoed through the field.
The horse moved its head a little in its direction, and squinted at the young man moving towards it.
“Hey! Remember me from earlier? You look a lot different now… But the flaming hooves are the same. You’re the skeleton horse that ran around here at noon, right? Don’t try telling me you’re not.”
“…”
The skeleton horse snorted at the young man who seemed to not be afraid of it, and spoke to it with a friendly tone.
But it still kept his eyes on him, as the young man tapped his chest twice and declared boldly.
“I’m Yuugo Clay! I came here to be your friend! You’re free right? Let’s talk!”
“…?”
The skeleton horse looked on with a quizzical expression… Or rather, the black horse.
Yuugo also stopped to think, seemingly having a lot on his mind, before speaking to it again.
“It doesn’t feel right to keep calling you horse, so I’ll give you a name. Let’s see… How about a simple one like Skull, because you’re a skeleton horse?”
“Brrrh…”
“All right, you’re Skull! It’s a cool name isn’t it!? It fits that hardboiled atmosphere!”
The black horse neighed quickly, like it had no interest in a name… But Yuugo continued talking to Skull with an amused tone.
Skull looked at him with cold eyes, as if thinking he was strange, and Yuugo moved on to the main subject.
“Skull, you protected me earlier today, right? That wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”
“…”
Skull stayed silent, not showing much of a reaction to the question.
But Yuugo kept on asking questions.
“Why did you do that? You didn’t need to do it, did you?”
“…”
“Why did you come here and made all that mess? Was there a reason behind it?”
“…”
“…Apparently they found dead horses a little far from here… Did you do that?”
“…!!”
Skull never reacted and stayed silent, but that question made its body tremble a little.
Yuugo saw that reaction, as it looked at him with strong eyes, and Yuugo nodded a little as he whispered.
“…I knew it. You didn’t do it. I somehow felt you didn’t.”
“…”
Yuugo seemed relieved, as if he had found the evidence he needed, and sat down next to Skull.
He looked up at the starry sky, and spoke about himself to his friend of another species.
“I’m like you. People keep calling me scum. But it’s because of my… Well, not really mine, but past bad behavior, that I keep getting this unwarranted hatred. That’s why I sort of get it. People misunderstand you.”
“…”
Skull looked at the back of the human who showed understanding.
Yuugo then turned to it, and looked at its eyes that were not hollow now.
“If you were a violent monster, I wouldn’t be unharmed at this point. The fact that you’re not attacking me is proof that you’re not dangerous. So it wasn’t a coincidence that you protected me. You’re a good guy, Skull.
I just don’t get why you were rampaging here. Is there a reason? Tell me. At this rate, you’re going to be put down as a dangerous monster.”
“…”
Skull watched as Yuugo looked directly at it, but closed its eyes and its face twitched.
Yuugo continued looking, as it seemed Skull was thinking back to something, before it quietly moved its legs to leave.
“…Are you going? But you’re going to stay here, right? Then let’s meet again tomorrow. And then you’ll tell me about you.”
“…”
A human and a monster should not be able to talk.
And at this point, Skull showed no intention of telling Yuugo anything either.
Still… Yuugo was determined to understand its intentions, to feel what it was thinking.
Skull thought he was a weird human, but did not have a bad view of him.
Yuugo wanted to also be thought of as a friend, so… He pledged to himself that he would actually become friends with Skull, as he continued to watch the black horse leave.
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Yuugo watched How to train your dragon and figured it applies to horses too. So, here is the first chapter of how to train your horse with Yuugo!
Reference time!
In Tokusatsu, befriending a monster is a one in while trope that happens. Usually it ends badly where the befriended enemy gets controlled and the heroes were forced to put down the friend. But in rare cases they become a part of the crew liek Yatsudenwani from Abaranger.
Though the very rare part is when the monster actually joined and also fights with the crew.
Oh and the name of the horse comes from this dandiest Rider of all time:
Kamen Rider Skull
Don’t forget the chest tapping and finger pointing gesture is a Fourze reference