Symboli Rudolf won the championship in the name of the Emperor. Yoshida and Koji stood above, watching everything, and couldn't help but show expressions of admiration.
"Truly amazing… To be able to challenge Representative Chiaki from last year, it seems that there will be two consecutive generational champions, doesn't it?"
"...Symboli Rudolf… I hope she can go even further…"
Perhaps it was the topic from yesterday, but Koji today truly lacked his usual playful demeanor. He looked at Symboli Rudolf and couldn't help but fall into deep thought, but then he was searching for another person's figure.
Then, he saw Toujou Hana walking alone into the hall.
"...Old man, I'm just going to the restroom for a bit."
"Be quick," Yoshida kept watching everything on the field, not paying any attention to his actions. It was only when he turned and left, out of earshot, that he softly muttered, "Actually, it's fine if you come back a little later."
.
Standing alone in the quiet contestant's passageway, Bizen Nishiki bit her lip so hard she could even taste the metallic tang of rust in her mouth.
This nerve-stinging sensation, with her fists clenched, she seemed unable to bear it all, and she fiercely kicked the wall of the passageway.
"Damn it! Damn it!!!"
The horseshoe on her shoe scraped against the wall, even making her calf numb, but she still kicked the wall with all her might like a madwoman.
Again and again.
The outside world was still full of cheers, but there was no place quieter than the contestant's passageway. Yet, this "quiet" place was now filled with the singular sound of kicking.
The selection race a year ago should have been hers.
That's right—
.
When Toujou Hana came before her, she sincerely extended her hand.
"Can I be your Trainer? I will provide a corresponding training plan to guide you…"
At that time, there was only surprise and happiness. Although Toujou Hana was only a moderately experienced coach at the time, as two newcomers with great potential, this sense of mutual appreciation. It made Bizen Nishiki feel as if it was a kind of destiny.
She worked incredibly hard, wanting to earn her approval more than anyone else. A scholar dies for his confidant, a woman adorns herself for her admirer.
And in fact, everything went as she had imagined: crossing the finish line, winning, and then going to Miss Tojo's side to receive praise.
But—
Everything would be thrown off balance by the appearance of another person.
Symboli Rudolf… When she appeared before Toujou Hana, everything changed.
Miss Tojo no longer looked at her; her gaze was completely stolen by another, and she could only make futile efforts, constantly chasing after Symboli Rudolf.
Then, failure—
Loneliness, anger, jealousy.
It made her lose her mind. She began to resent why Symboli Rudolf appeared, why she chose Miss Tojo, why she had to be at odds with her.
She was equally saddened by Toujou Hana's change. Why did she stop looking at her? Why did she gradually stop caring about her? What did everything she said before even mean?
After an agonizing month, in her last race at the Main School, her first head-to-head race against Symboli Rudolf, she was determined to prove herself, to prove that she was the one suited for Toujou Hana.
But—
With just one look, that look from Symboli Rudolf, she became afraid.
She couldn't even achieve her original time, only finishing in sixth place... After the race, Tojo found her and personally said:
"I might not be suitable to guide you. You need someone better to be your Trainer."
At that moment, her entire world collapsed.
...
What happened after that, even she herself didn't want to recall.
She fled the team, fled the academy, submitted a transfer application to leave the Main School directly, and escaped to the Branch School to start anew.
But in front of her, there was always someone else blocking her path.
And this past became her eternal pain.
"If Zhou Yu was born, why was Zhuge Liang?" This was the lament of other competitors whenever a generational king was born.
If it weren't for Symboli Rudolf, perhaps nothing would be like this now.
And once again, she lost to Symboli Rudolf, losing completely... "Damn it, damn it!!"
She even kicked until she was exhausted, tears streaming down her face.
"Have you made enough of a scene!?"
A stern voice rang out. She numbly looked up, meeting again in such a way after a year.
If she could, Bizen Nishiki wished they would never see each other again.
Because—
Toujou Hana slowly walked over, her expression very serious.
This seemed to overlap with everything from back then.
"...Why!? Why are you appearing before me!!!? To see me as a joke!? To prove your judgment back then was right!?"
Bizen Nishiki had no retreat. She could only shout like a cornered beast, but she could do nothing else.
Toujou Hana directly grabbed her wildly flailing hand and sternly shouted: "Bizen Nishiki, calm down!!!"
"How can I calm down!? I'm looked down upon by Symboli Rudolf, abandoned by you! I'm nothing!! Why did I have to meet you all!!!"
The tearing feeling of reunion made her completely lose her composure. At this moment, she couldn't hear anything.
Sadness, shame, resentment, jealousy—all emotions intertwined and erupted completely in her heart.
The person behind the wall, seeing that the situation was about to become uncontrollable, was about to step out when...
"Slap!!"
A crisp slap echoed, as if pouring a basin of cold water on everything.
Bizen Nishiki froze, and that person also froze.
That forceful slap directly made Toujou Hana's right cheek swell red.
It was even so forceful that it knocked her own glasses off.
"You... what are you doing..."
Bizen Nishiki was completely scared. She didn't understand why Toujou Hana in front of her was doing this.
Why she was slapping herself.
And this moment of calm finally allowed her to properly look at the person in front of her.
"I'm sorry..."
Toujou Hana slowly said, "It was my decision back then that led to the current situation..."
"The decision to terminate the contract was one I made after careful consideration."
"Symboli Rudolf chose me, and I knew that my work focus would definitely shift towards her... So, in order not to let each other down, this was the best choice I could make..."
"She is capable of becoming a generational king, and you are also an absolute rising star... At that time, I could only choose one of you."
"So... you gave up on me?"
"I'm sorry..."
Such an apology could not comfort the pain in her heart. She stared at Toujou Hana unwillingly.
"Did you consider my feelings!? I was the one who made the contract with you first, why...? Why...?"
"You and she are the same type of competitor, almost identical..."
Toujou Hana seemed to be reminiscing, recalling the time when she was incredibly conflicted.
The two of them had many similarities in their running style and techniques.
As long as they were together, they would always be compared. Symboli Rudolf never cared about these things, because her goal was always only CB.
But Bizen Nishiki was different. When they were on the same team, she constantly compared herself to Symboli Rudolf.
The result was that she herself became increasingly extreme and stubborn... If Bizen Nishiki was a talented competitor, then Symboli Rudolf was an absolute king.
Toujou Hana's guidance for Symboli Rudolf only consisted of simple suggestions and the organization of training plans for techniques. And these things, Symboli Rudolf herself could even extrapolate from.
It could be said that Symboli Rudolf was the kind of existence who basically didn't need a Trainer and could do everything herself.
She could say in front of a group of experienced Trainers: "To become my Trainer is to embark on the royal path together."
Becoming her Trainer was equivalent to the Trainer being questioned if there was any fluctuation in performance.
And when Symboli Rudolf invited her to be her Trainer, she hesitated and wavered.
Just like the relationship between Kazuo and Xiao Hai Wan, she was the one with higher expectations.
But similarly, as a Trainer, one would not refuse an invitation to reach the pinnacle.
Therefore, Toujou Hana became Symboli Rudolf's Trainer, and the result was obvious: all focus shifted towards Symboli Rudolf.
Under the pressure of public opinion, she did indeed neglect Bizen Nishiki's situation.
And by the time she realized this, it was too late.
All she could do was inform her of her decision.
"You two cannot coexist in one team, and the cause of all this is my dereliction of duty as a Trainer."
"So, you abandoned me?"
She laughed decisively, a tragic laugh. Even after a year, she still couldn't forget any of it.
"My starting point was to make things good for you both, but I was also immature at the time, and perhaps I could have handled it better then—"
"Excuses, they're all just excuses!"
"Bizen Nishiki, actually, Toujou is right, you know?"
Representative Chiaki appeared at the end of the athlete's tunnel at some point. She looked at the two and slowly walked in.
"As far as I know, Toujou has discussed your situation with the Branch School coaching staff quite a bit this past year, hasn't she?"
"...What did you say?"
"Not just her, in fact, after you came to the Branch School, the Trainer who cared about you the most, Trainer Shirosawa, is also her good friend."
"Why do you know all this..."
Hearing her speak so lightly, Tojo also looked a bit flustered.
"I thought changing places would help me forget these things, but it seems you've been bothered by them all this time, haven't you?"
Representative Chiaki said, coming up to the two. "But, Bizen Nishiki, you probably wouldn't have thought that Luna has also been following your situation this past year, would you?"
"How is that possible?"
"Then how would she know your intentions and actively accommodate them? I know Luna too well; she must have her reasons for doing this, but it's actually very simple. It's nothing more than wanting to give you one last push... I suppose Toujou was also given a push by her, wasn't she?"
"..."
She nodded silently. After seeing Symboli Rudolf's race today, as her Trainer, Toujou Hana undoubtedly understood one thing.
To go to such lengths, even planning such a scene in such an important race, could only be Symboli Rudolf, no one else.
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