May 13th, XXXX (Tracen Academy)
The hallways were filled with the sounds of whispering and muttering, their words following behind Maruzensky as she walked through the halls towards her next class. A cheerful aura emanated from the Uma, her mood as high as could be. Normally, this would make her more approachable to her fellow Umamusume; however, her recent racing record and dominance have created an aura of untouchability among her peers. Well, most of them, that is.
"Oi! Maruzensky!" A loud voice cut through, drawing attention from the crowd as Maruzensky turned. An Umamusume, in the purple Tracen Academy uniform, strolled up and stood before her, arms crossed.
"Ah! Ace was it?" Maruzensky poked her cheek as she looked at the Uma, her tongue poking out as she fell into thought. "Kasumatsu Ace… right?"
A brief tick mark appeared over the Uma's brows. She closed her blue eyes briefly before glaring at Maruzensky. "Katsuragi Ace. I've told you that three times now." The now-named Ace huffed before grinning at her one centimeter shorter counterpart. She made a show of looking around before looking back at Maruzensky. "Is the fan club still following you around?"
"Hmm," Maruzensky hummed as she and Ace began walking together, the whispers increasing in intensity as multiple Umamusume looked at them with heart eyes. "I don't mind them. You'll have yours soon too, Ace~." Her eyes sparkled as she looked at her grumbling classmate, who wasn't happy with the mental imagery.
"I'll leave that for you and CB, I just want to run." Ace shook her head, and she looked away with a huff. "Still… seven wins so far, and you got the Tokyo Yushun coming up. Are you going to be ready?" It was surreal to the Uma, who had just debuted this year, seeing someone dominate in the manner Maruzensky did, as a frontrunner at that.
"Fufu, you'll be more popular than you think, Ace~. I'm already a fan." Maruzensky teased, a small giggle leaking out at the range of expressions Ace was showing. Her eyes glazed over lightly as she registered the end of Ace's sentence. She stopped abruptly, turning to look at Ace as she did so. "I'm ready for it. So watch me win, okay?" Maruzensky held up a peace sign as she closed her eyes and smiled.
Ace only stared for a few moments before laughing loudly, getting looks from everyone else. "Hah! I look forward to it." Ace held out a fist, which Maruzensky promptly bumped. "I'll see you later, Maru." With a brief wave, Ace walked the other way, the crowd parting for her as she strolled past.
Maruzensky stared back in her direction for a time before shaking her head with a smile. "She's way too cool." Her junior was definitely too cool, but she definitely felt like she was forgetting something. What could it… oh. Maruzensky's eyes widened in a brief moment of panic as a bell went off, signaling the start of class. Which she was now late to.
A purple blur passed by the students, some yelling in surprise and panic as it tore past, air whipping as it went. The blur quickly stopped in front of a room, voices muffled from behind the door as roll call was going out. "It'll be fine, you've only been late three times so far," Maruzensky reassured herself, forgetting that those three times happened in just the past two weeks.
As she quietly opened the door, hoping to slip in, a piece of chalk hit her forehead at high speed with a dull, "THUNK".
"Ouch!" Maruzensky reflexively yelled out, holding her forehead. Her eyes watering briefly, she saw her teacher, Mr. Seroguchi, and the rest of the class were staring. This, of course, included her rivals from previous races, Azuma Hunter, Green Grass, and Bamboo Atlas. "Ehehe… sorry?" She realized it'd be better to ask for forgiveness, rather than making an excuse.
"Take your seat, please, Maruzensky." Her teacher huffed with a shake of his head, his hand grasping emptily at the air as he realized he had thrown his ONLY piece of chalk at Maruzensky. He looked at his hand, then at her, before walking over and quickly grabbing the chalk, resuming his writing afterward. He pointedly ignored the snickers from the rest of the room at the byplay.
Maruzensky took her seat, a thankful look sent towards her rival and friend, Azuma, who had held her book open to show where they were in the lesson. Said friend looked away with a huff and light blush, her focus on the teacher.
For the tardy Uma, focus would not come easily to the lesson. Ace's words had stirred her up, and she could only think about the race coming in the next few weeks. The Tokyo Yushun. It was as if a spiritual part of her, one she did not understand, felt that race calling. It was important to her, perhaps the most important thing there is to her. Her eyes seemed to glow blue, startling Azuma, who had been peeking at her from the desk over. The days could not go by fast enough.
SCENE BREAK
"Symboli Rudolf!" The teacher called out as she reached the end of her roll call.
"Present." Rudolf sat upright, her posture perfect, as she answered the call. Her classmates' whispers reached her ears that twitched on top of her head, but were summarily ignored. Rudolf glanced outside the window, her heart burning with the urge to run, to race against her peers. Knowing that she still had two years till her debut, and getting to see Maruzensky, her senior racing, had fired up the young Uma. Her cheeks briefly glowed a faint red as she remembered how she had embarrassed herself in front of Maruzensky the previous time.
Her fingers repeatedly tapped her desk in mild irritation as the memories flowed. She had embarrassed herself in front of a potential rival, AND Speed Symboli had gotten a hold of the photo and had teased her relentlessly about it. Her eyes narrowed as she thought about what she would do to whoever had taken that photo, one of her fists clenched, utterly destroying the pencil in her hand.
"Rudolf?" A voice called out from the front, getting her attention. As she glanced up, the whole class stared her way, as if seeing something unbelievable. She fought to keep her expression neutral, even with a small blush popping up yet again. The question had come from the instructor, looking at her uncertainly.
"Yes?" Rudolf twitched at the faint squeak heard in her voice.
"I was hoping you could solve the question I put on the board… please." Instructor Agawa looked sheepishly at her student, partially in surprise at seeing the unflappable Rudolf out of sorts, but also in worry at what could've caused such a thing in her. Still, personal feelings aside, she couldn't have a student slacking off, even one with a pedigree like Symboli Rudolf.
Rudolf stood from her desk, taking a piece of chalk as she did so to work on the board. As she did so, her eyes narrowed into a glare. Another strike in her mind against the one who caused her to feel this flustered. She intended to pay the favor back, with interest.
SCENE BREAK 2
"Mmmm!" A pleased hum escaped the Uma as she ate in the cafeteria, a modest-sized meal in front of her. As she took another bite from the dessert in front of her, a plate of assorted dango, she swayed from side to side. A polite cough to her right interrupted those thoughts, as the Uma looked to the side with a raised eyebrow, one piece of dango still in her mouth.
"Hello~. Is this spot taken, CB?" An elegant Umamusume stood while asking, holding a tray with both hands as she looked at the now-named Mr. CB. CB merely waved her hand, an easy smile showing with her cheeks still bulging from the dango she continued to eat.
"Feel free! You usually keep to yourself, Ramonu. What's up?" CB looked curiously at the Umamusume. One of her juniors is from the Middle School division. Furthermore, she was aware of who Mejiro Ramonu was, a potential bright star that the Mejiro Family advertised practically everywhere. Ramonu had almost as many fans as Symboli Rudolf, and far more than Sirius Symboli.
Ramonu seated herself and ate slowly and delicately, giving the food a brief nod of approval as she turned to look at CB. "Can't a lady sit with good company?" Ramonu asked, deflecting as she daintily ate her food, an assorted plate filled with greens, rice, and some fish. Her eyes were fixated on her food before they turned back towards Mr. CB, who had clumsily spilled her dango onto the floor, her eyes wide in shock. "Fufu, quite clumsy, aren't you? Not quite what I expected from you."
"My dango…" CB said mournfully as she wiped away crocodile tears, looking regretfully at her wasted dessert. She gathered herself quickly after and looked towards Ramonu with a raised brow. "And what were you expecting?" She repeatedly glanced back towards her dango as she spoke.
"Mm. I was surprised you weren't another Rudolf. Both of you are hyped up to be future Triple Crown Champions, you know." Ramonu's smile grew at the irked look on CB's face. "Don't like the comparison?"
"I haven't won a Classic race yet." CB huffed, her eyes momentarily downcast as she spoke. "Neither of us has gotten the chance yet; nothing is certain." The way the other students, and even some instructors and trainers, propped them up irked CB something fierce.
A softness appeared in Ramonu's eyes briefly, further cataloging CB as different from Rudolf in her mind. "Very true, I'm pleasantly surprised." Ramonu dug into her fish and let out a pleased hum at the taste, another surprise. "They're doing the same for me with the Triple Tiara, you know. While I would love to win it, it really does discredit our fellow racers, doesn't it?"
Her words were met with a nod from CB as she smiled, a light of camaraderie being understood between the two. Before CB could continue, a loud, "BANG" startled the two, their ears sticking up in alarm as they looked at the now occupied seat next to them.
"What's this heavy atmosphere around here, huh?" Katsuragi Ace grunted as she slammed her tray down, meeting the gazes of her two startled classmates. Ace held out in her free hand, in it was a plate full of dango, which she placed in front of CB.
When the duo proceeded to give each other soft smiles and then looked her way, Ace was, in turn, extra confused. "Huh? What?" Ace narrowed her eyes at the duo as she munched on her chicken katsu.
"Hahahaha!" CB burst out into laughter, Ramonu following with light giggles, as Ace looked increasingly bewildered at the duo. "Thank you, Ace, for being you." CB gave a beaming, carefree smile towards Ace, her eyes twinkling in delight. She was truly blessed to find such people, including her boastful rival. She happily began munching on her second serving of dango goodness.
Ace just continued to stare with her eyes narrowed, before shaking her head. "You're welcome?" Ace glanced at CB once before turning her eyes towards Ramonu. "Ramonu, right? Didn't expect to see a Mejiro here." Ace stabbed her fork into her larger piece of Katsu, shoving it in her mouth with one bite.
Ramonu blinked at the lack of table manners before giggling once more. "I'm surprised as well. I had hoped to run into CB, and ran into her self-proclaimed rival as well." Ramonu teased, noticing the peeved look on Katsuragi Ace's face. She stood after, the duo still sitting, noticing that she had finished her meal while speaking. "Until next time, CB, Ace." Ramonu strode away, a crowd of followers falling into step behind her as she did, to the complete confusion of Ace, who hadn't seen them before that.
"Where did… ah, I don't really care." Ace grumbled as she looked down and noticed her food was already gone. "I'm going for seconds, need anything, CB?" Ace patted her uniform down as she looked at her rival. CB merely shook her head, her smile still in place as Ace wandered back for another serving.
CB glanced around the cafeteria while Ace was gone, taking in all the stares from her classmates who dared not to approach. It truly was a burden to not have the ability to interact with your peers, possible friends, enemies, or even rivals. But it seemed the Three Goddesses had smiled upon her. She had a rival/friend in Katsuragi Ace, perhaps another in Mejiro Ramonu, and who knew, maybe she could befriend Rudolf as well.
"The future doesn't look too bad." CB laughed to herself again, getting a weird look from Ace, who had returned.
SCENE BREAK
"The Tokyo Derby approaches! Will Maruzensky's dominance continue!? Or will we see the toppling of a titan?" Riku read aloud as he glanced down at the magazine that Hiromi had delivered to him. Maruzensky's popularity had skyrocketed after the NHK Mile and Satsuki Sho, respectively, with more and more articles coming, such as the one in front of him. The general people ran away with it, buying fully into Maruzensky's hype and had already started making copious amounts of merchandise and art, regarding the Uma.
Maruzensky's perfect 7-0 record, with three G1s including the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, Satsuki Sho, and NHK Mile, had already catapulted her among the greats. Riku could only imagine how different her record would be now; she had already surpassed the G1 record she would have in the established future. Could she break Rudolf's record? Almond Eyes? As he continued to contemplate, he leaned back and steepled his fingers together, while glancing at his laptop.
Maruzensky's medical record continued to come up clean, but he was worried. Maruzensky retired after her eighth win originally, and he had no memory of what injury led to her retirement. Probably some form of ligamentitis or other knee injury. Either way, Yasuyuki's department had worked wonders with medical advancement. Several cases had already reached his ears of Umamusume being treated for injuries that would take weeks to recover. If Yasuyuki was to be believed, they weren't far off from dealing with injuries that cause months of layover, and maybe even the career-ending ones.
Riku gave a small prayer for his Medical team, "Do your best, everyone." They had truly been the enabler for his dreams for this generation of Umamusume and future generations. Regardless of anything, he'd ensure they were rewarded accordingly for the amazing work they'd done.
He spun his chair around, facing towards the window as he did so. The big day was rapidly approaching. The Tokyo Yushun, in his mind, was perhaps the biggest obstacle to be overcome for Maruzensky. As his thoughts spiraled about the Uma, her words popped up in his head. "Was this a performance worthy of your favorite?"
He smiled widely as he laughed. Truly, Maruzensky was one of a kind. He might honestly have to consider moving her up in his mental list of favorites. As his mind went down that track, he remembered something, specifically about his current favorite. He quickly pulled out his phone and, after frustratedly realizing he lacked the number he needed, called Director Akikawa.
"Beep…beep.. Hello?" A young-sounding voice echoed out of the phone.
"Director Akikawa, it's Riku." Riku sighed as he leaned back into his plush chair, preparing for what came next.
"Ah! Chairman Riku! My friend! How are you? What can I help you with?" Yayoi's exuberance almost physically hit him through the phone, drawing a wince from Riku as he pulled back and discreetly lowered the call volume.
"Just a quick favor if you're able, Director." Riku sighed as Yayoi continued to mumble/talk to herself. "Could you either give me Tazuna's contact info, or contact her directly for me?" Yayoi abruptly ceased speaking, and an uncomfortable silence followed. When the silence continued to linger for almost a minute, Riku tried speaking again. "Dire–"
"You!? And Tazuna!? Ohohoho!" Yayoi laughed uproariously. He could even picture her pulling out her fan and laughing from it; no, he was positive that was what she was doing. "I didn't know you had it in you, Chairman Riku! Of course, she is just outside, let me call her in!" Blinking owlishly, Riku glanced down at his phone. Yayoi had jumped to some conclusions there he wasn't sure about, and now some images/thoughts were circulating in his head that he'd rather forget.
"Hello?" The voice of his favorite Umamusume called out uncertainly, with Yayoi's whispers of encouragement being vaguely picked up in the background.
"Tazuna? It's Riku, from the URA." A startled sound escaped the secretary before he continued. "I was wondering if you were busy on June 1st." Now that he thought about it, the phrasing of that..
"F-free? June 1st. Ah, I'm-" A frantic shushing happened shortly after, and he could hear Yayoi's muffled speech towards Tazuna. Shortly after, she spoke again. "I've been freed up for my duties on that day.. Why do you ask, Riku?" Great. Now he was blushing a bit too, as the atmosphere had sucked him in. Well, no backing out now.
"I'd like to invite you to watch the Tokyo Yushun with me, if that's okay." Riku exhaled as he spoke and asked his question.
"Alright, there it is. The worst she can say is no. Wait. It's not a date, though. Is it? Why am I second-guessing now? Crap." The pessimistic thoughts quickly came, taking away some of his prized rationality of the situation.
"I'd love to. Thank you." Tazuna's voice broke through his thoughts, and now that he was paying more attention, she sounded quite flustered. Wait, she said yes!?
"Great! Uh, amazing. Terrific even!" Riku quickly muffled the phone as he pinched his brow in irritation at himself. "I'll see you then." He gave a small fist pump before focusing back on the phone.
"See you then." Tazuna's voice quietly answered, before she hung up on her end. Riku took a moment to gaze at his phone before leaning back and sighing in relief. He had successfully invited his favorite Umamusume to the Tokyo Yushun. Totally not on a date. He thought so at least. His eyes, however, widened in alarm when he heard a muffled giggle in the room. His gaze turned robotically to his left, where a certain white Umamusume had been standing, her eyes not making eye contact with him, with her cheeks glowing a faint red.
"Opal." Riku stared in horror at his trusty bodyguard, whom he had definitely not forgotten was in the room with him. She refused to meet his gaze, blushing radiantly. Well, at least only she heard? He could trust her not to gossip about this, at least. However, Riku had forgotten a key factor. One, the terrific hearing capabilities of Umamusume. Second, he had TWO bodyguards, and one of them happened to be guarding the doors outside.
"HAHAHAHAHA! The boss has got a date!" Buckshot roared outside the door, as Riku could only recline in his chair in sheer horror. Just put him out of his misery. The day of the Tokyo Yushun could not come fast enough.
CHAPTER END