A/N: I decided to just post the update as soon as possible since my stomach ache is also gone. I also did some proofreading and done! This chapter is also quite short compared to my recent chapters only... 3,400ish? Anyways, since Version 1 is leading by a loooong margin I decided to just end the competition earlier. So yeah... Done~!
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After the Race, the Umamusume is given an hour to relax and to also get ready for the Winning Live.
What's "Winning Live"? Well, it's more or less an idol concert for the winner, more specifically the Top Three of the Race as the others are more or less at the background also dancing.
Why do this you might ask?
Well, this tradition dates back all the way 100 years ago to the European Umamusumes, who after winning their Umamusume race, ran hurriedly after their race for their other job, which is being an Opera Singer on Opera houses because racing at the time doesn't really give that much money, so they do this to make extra and make ends meet. Besides, they have really good and God-given voice, so why not use it?
And as time went on and the Umamusume began to make more money, the need to sing in Opera houses began to diminished, but the tradition persisted and it directly became integrated into the Umamusume racing culture. Finally, in the year 1908, the newly Established URA made a rule that states, "Every Umamusume are required (If there are no accidents or injuries) to have a Winning Performance" (or Winning Live in Japanese Term).
Also, the ticket you bought for the race shouldn't be thrown because that ticket is required to have for your entry to the Winning Live. So the ticket works both ways, one is to watch the race, and two is to watch the concert. They also give you free light sticks for your favorite Uma! Nice.
Anyways, finally the crowd was directed towards the Nakayama Racecourse's Winning Stage.
I went in with the rest of the Student Council gang, and when people saw Maruzensky, Mr. CB, and the TCG trio, they immediately flocked and asked for autographs and pictures.
I was immediately shoved away as increasing number of people flocked towards Maruzensky and her gang.
Even though this, for me who is near the epicenter of the crushing crowd going towards MR. CB and the gang, the crowd must be large. But really, it was a small crowd considering just how much unused space are here in the Nakayama Stage...
The people who didn't go towards the StuCo Uma's right now, those either Ignorant or simply didn't care then began to talk animatedly, excited for the performance of today's star, Symboli Rudolf.
The dark stage suddenly erupted in a flash of light.
Then, the familiar Blair of Trumpets began. The people going to the StuCo here in Nakayama began to stop and focus on the stage. Of course, it is familiar because its the tune for "Make Debut".
(A/N: Would you all believe me if I say I memorized this song bar for bar?)
"Hibike Fanfare~. Todoke gooru made, Kagayaku mirai wo kimito mitai kara~~" Rudolf appeared and she melodiously sang.
Then the second round of trumpets blared.
"Kakedashitara kitto hajimaru STORY itsudemo, chikaku ni aru kara~~.
Te wo nobaseba, motto tsukameru GLORY, ichiban mezashite, NEXT CHALLENGE kasoku shiteyukou~~.
Shouri no megami no muchuu ni saseruyo
SPECIAL na ashita e tsunagaru MAKE DEBUT~~~!"
Everyone in the crowd swung their light sticks and began to sing along. Yes, even the old guys began to sing along as well. I do find it novel to see these old guys invigorated and sing such a high energy song.
"Hibike Fanfare Todoke gooru made Kagayaku mirai wo kimito mitai kara~
Kake nukete yukou
Kimi dake no michi wo~
Motto hayaku I BELIEVE~~~!
Yume no saki made~."
Finally the song ended, but there was something bugging me...
Rudolf didn't smile once during singing the song.
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I directly left Maruzensky and the StuCo and ran towards Luna at the backstage.
Arriving, I immediately shouted worriedly much to the surprise of everyone at the backstage. "L-Luna! Hah hah hah... Are you okay?"
Luna, who is currently removing her makeup with the help of a make up artist stared at me, before smiling wryly.
"I don't feel uncomfortable Minami don't worry..." She spoke. She must have mistaken me for worrying if she is injured...
"It's not about that..." I corrected before looking at everyone, who was staring at me. "Let's just talk outside after your done removing your makeup..."
"Mhm..." A brief reply, but welcomed nonetheless.
Outside, I took out my phone and texted Green Grass on Line, since she always has her phone on speakers when someone is texting.
Minami: Yo, I'm currently with Luna rn. You can go ahead and not wait for us, we have smth to talk about...
2 minutes later.
Green Grass: Alright, I'll tell Maru-chan and everyone about it afterwards.
...
I let out a sigh and rubbed my hands together, and looking at the distance.
After 15 minutes of waiting, Luna is finally out, already in her casualware.
"Luna..." I really don't know how to start this without sounding nosy but...
"I dont want to sound presumptuous, but... You weren't smiling during your Winning Live, and considering how excited you are before the race. I found it odd... Is there anything bothering you?" I asked straight to the point.
...
An uncomfortable silence permeated through the surroundings.
Luna then let out an awkward smile, and scratched her cheeks.
"Well, I was just too tired with the race, and I didn't really feel like smiling... So sorry, Minami." She bowed 75° at me.
"I..." She's hiding it from me. I'm not against someone hiding it, because maybe it's too personal...
But if she is still being bothered by it by tomorrow, I don't care about relationship boundaries. I'll make her spit it out, one way or another.
"... Alright, Luna..." I paused after seeing the Symboli SUV getting close. "I hope you rest plenty after the race." I managed to finish before walking away.
Luna watches as I walk away towards the nearest bus station.
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August 24, 198X - The Morning After the Debut Race.
Its currently 11am and I'm currently walking towards Rudolf's classroom. Why? Of course to check on her. I'm her trainer and we are trained in the states to take the matters of mental health as seriously as a career ending injury.
Though after spending time in the trainer's lounge, to waste some time found out that Luna's win in her Debut Race spread like wildfire.
Not because of Rudolf's prestigious bloodline, that's another matter of course. But because of the method on how she won.
By the time I walked into Tracen Academy this morning, one veteran trainer approached me saying that Rudolf is a genius, and that it was the greatest ever Debut Race he has ever watched.
And it kinda made me proud, hehe~~... Alright. Im actually soaking in all the praise duh. Atleast let me be egotistical for a bit~!
Anyways, they said how it was a really clean victory. Almost as if she is like a puppeteer and the Uma's she is competing with are merely puppets.
It was a weird but fitting analogy.
I was heading toward Rudolf's classroom when I noticed something was off.
There was a really big crowd...
At least ten Umamusumes were clustered outside the door to Class 1-A, all of them craning their necks to catch a glimpse of something inside.
"That's her right?" one whispered.
"She really does look scary, just like in the picture..."
"I heard that her aura alone can suppress an Umamusume through sheer fear. I scoffed at that being fake back then, but now..."
I squeezed through the crowd carefully, trying not to make too much of a scene.
But my attention was drawn to another thing... The one they are holding, which is a newspaper. Every single one of them had the Tracen Academy newspaper in their hands.
I approached a Umamusume with chestnut hair and asked politely if I could borrow hers for a moment. She nodded, and gave it to me without protest, continuing to gossip to her friend while looking at Rudolf.
I unfolded it to see what's with them getting a newspaper. Because typically, no Umamusume are old fashioned enough to actually read a newspaper. Most of them usually just watch the television or use phones. Only Maruzensky does that.
Ehem... Please forget about what I said about Maru-chan.
Opening it, I was greeted by a very big, and bold set of letters appeared on my view. With a very engagement bait-y title in-front.
"A NEW TYRANT OF THE TRACK IS BORN! (12 1/2 LENGTH) WIN BY A SYMBOLI UMA!"
Suddenly, Rin who has been dormant suddenly pointed out. [BAKANAMI, LOOK AT THE PHOTO...] My eyes wandered to where it is.
It was Rudolf, standing tall in the turf. Her expression was was calm but with a mix of something unexplainable.
And directly below her in the photo were the other Umamusume who is filled with despair and the unwillingness of losing.
The newspaper had captured them at their absolute lowest moment and made it the visual centerpiece of the article.
I traced my finger over the byline. "Article Made by the Tracen Academy Newspaper Club." I murmured.
*RING!*
The school bell rang.
The crowd scattered like startled birds, hurrying to get to their classes.
Finally, Rudolf emerged from her classroom.
But she's not walking in her easy, comfortable stride.
She's downcast. Her eyes were fixed on the ground, and there was a tension in her shoulders that, like it is carrying something.
I steeled myself and didn't hesitate.
"It's been yesterday, is this really not that serious of a problem Rudolf?"
She looked up at me, her eyes searching for something. Then her gaze fell on the newspaper I was still holding.
She pointed at it with one finger.
"Those Umamusume," she said quietly, "gave their heart and soul for the sake of wanting to win. They pushed themselves to their limits. They showed courage and strenght."
Her voice was getting quieter, but colder.
"And instead of praising that beautiful courage and strength, what did they do? They showed them as wretched. As despairing. As defeated. And for what? More engagement?!"
Every word she exudes are laced with anger. And every Umamusume who was still lingering nearby felt it.
One let out a short wail and immediately bolted down the hallway.
Then the rest followed, scattering like leaves before a hurricane.
"Agh!"
"Move!"
"Let's go! Let's go!"
Rudolf took a few short breaths, trying to calm herself, but I could still see the fury simmering just beneath the surface.
"This is unacceptable behavior by the newspaper club," she said coldly. "I will directly confront them about their motivations. I want to know exactly why they posted such pictures."
"W-Wait, Luna--!"
I tried to protest, tried to tell her to calm down, but she'd already grabbed my hand and then she started walking. Or rather, dragging...
"Ughhhhhhk!" I tried to pry open her hands but to no avail.
I stumbled along behind her, my feet barely keeping up with her pace.
'Damn it, I really forgot just how strong Umamusume are compared to humans,' I thought desperately, my arm being practically yanked out of its socket. 'She's literally guiding me like a dog...'
[MINAMI, LET ME HELP YOU!]
Rin's voice crackled through the system.
Then--
BZZZZZZZZT!
An electrical current surged through both of us.
It was supposed to stun Rudolf into letting go. Instead, she barely flinched. And since she is holding me, the electricity moved through my body.
"AHHHHHHH—"
The world went white.
Her eyes simply widened slightly as the electricity coursed through her body, and then she looked down at her hand who was holding a corpse like... Thing...
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Tracen Academy Infirmary - August 24, 198X, 3:08PM.
I woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling. And something heavy in my stomach.
'Wait, why was was I here?'
I groaned and tried to sit up, but something is pressing me.
'Rin? What happened? Why does my entire body feel like it got struck by lightning?'
[MINAMI, I... I THE ELECTRICITY SHOULD HAVE ONLY GONE THROUGH RUDOLF, BUT I FORGOT SHE WAS HOLDING YOUR HAND...]
[OH, AND I FORGOT RUDOLF IS SLEEPING ON YOUR STOMACH.]
"That's fantastic." I said sarcastically looking at Rudolf's peaceful sleeping face.
I carefully reached over and gently shook her shoulder.
"Luna. Wake up."
Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she blinked a few times, clearly disoriented from sleep. When she focused on me, she immediately lit up.
"Minami!" She jumped and hug me.
"Hey-- OOF!,"
After 5 seconds of silent agony, Luna finally broke free from the hug.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dragged you like that. I was just angry..." She said in a barrage of words.
The school nurse, who'd been sitting at her desk, suddenly woke up with a start due to the commotion.
"Oh! The trainer! Are you awake? Does your head hurt? Any dizziness? Memory loss?"
"No, I'm fine," I assured her. "Thank you for taking care of me Ms..?"
The nurse waved off her hands, her sunglasses and red lipstick reflecting the afternoon sun.
"No no! It was Rudolf who took care of you. Also, I'm Sasami Anshinzawa, just call me Sasami for short~~"
She then went close to me, she checked my pupils, asked me a few standard questions about my... Love life? And after determining I was okay, she stopped and pulled out something inside her coat.
"By the way," Sasami's voice echoed through the room. "I'm actually a licensed Acupuncturist. I'm a budding legend actually, and my master who has passed, rest be upon him, has bestowed upon me his techniques so!" She took out her business card.
"Just call this number if you want to enhance your Umamusume's performance!"
She then returned to a desk and continued to sleep.
I looked at Rudolf, who was still sitting on the edge of my bed, even she is bewildered by what this person is talking about.
I ignored Sasami's loud snoring voice.
"Come on," I finally said. "Let's go for a walk."
She nodded, and she helped steady me, we walked out of the infirmary together.
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Circuit 4 - 3:37PM.
The track was mostly empty at this time of day. Mostly because the time for going home is mostly at 4:15PM.
Here, there are few trainers doing light cooldown work with their charges. Mostly Umamusume who has their Races close. Of course there are some that is training for the sake of training, but there aren't many of them.
I led Rudolf to a quiet spot near the running path, where we could watch the Umamusume train without being too intrusive.
That's when I saw her.
Agnes Room.
I swear I didn't make this up. It is known that Agnes here trains at Circuit 4, but I actually didn't expect here to be here...
She was jogging steadily with her middle-aged trainer who is riding an electric scooter alongside her, shouting encouragement at her David Goggins style.
"COME ON, ROOM! YOU CAN DO THIS! BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! EVERY STRIDE MAKES YOU STRONGER!"
Agnes was huffing and puffing, clearly exhausted, but she kept going.
She wasn't moving fast. Infact, she is wobbling in her run. But she is moving...
"The first thing my dad taught me when I started training in the States was to completely disregard what the media says about your Umamusume," I began. "Because the media doesn't care about the truth. If it makes them more money, they'll shamelessly slander an Umamusume."
Rudolf listened silently.
"I'm still struggling not to care, honestly. It's not easy. But I'm working on it. And I've learned something important along the way."
I stopped before sitting down to a nearby bench, Rudolf following the same.
"I know winning can feel strange when others are hurting, but your effort and sportsmanship still matter."
Her eyes widened slightly
"I also saw in those short video in Umastagram where they say "A Person who feels bad about their win is the same as a person who looks down at their opponent after the win..."." I looked up at Luna trying to be serious.
"I saw the quote from 'Alpha Quotes' page. I just thought it would be fitting to add that here..." I continued.
A loud silence permeated through the air...
[Pfft--] Rin broke the silence
"I'm really bad at this comforting stuff. Sorry." I scratched my cheek.
"Hahaha." [HAHAHAHA!] Rudolf and Rin laughed.
Although Rudolf herself is laughing softly, covering her mouth...
Sorry alright! I'm seriously lacking in comforting skills!
[You should have stopped at your first encouraging words, it was unnecessary to add the last part.] Rin laughed in between words.
"I think Minami is the only person I heard who tried to cite a source of a quote in a conversation." Rudolf said, laughing while wiping off small tears in her eyes.
[AN EXAMPLE OF RIGHT MESSAGE, WRONG MESSENGER!]. Hey, stop that already! Its like adding insult to injury!
"AHEM!" I cleared my throat loudly.
"Although this quote itself has some flaws, it is, in some truths to it." I put on a straight face. "You should never feel pity in your opponent in a tournament. They signed up for it knowing they'll lose. And pitying them can be misunderstood as you looking down on them."
I pointed at Agnes Room.
"Instead of pitying, the best your can do is respect and acknowledge them their efforts, just like Agnes Room over there. She might lack talent, but she makes it up in the sweat she pour into training."
"Also," I flicked Luna's forehead. "Your training isn't worse than hers you know? I argue yours is definitely way harsher. So believe that the win of yours is 100% deserved by you." I smiled before my eyes wandered at the Chattering Umamusume talking in a classroom.
"...What about those newspapers?"
"We still need to talk to them," I said. "Because not every Umamusume has Agnes's resilience. Not every Umamusume can shrug off media scrutiny like that. Some of them might actually internalize that despair."
"So we punish them?" Luna tilted her head.
"No. Punish is a strong word. Just give them a stern warning."
"And besides," I shrugged. "Your the StuCo President, you can just cutt off their club funds you know, and besides them, nobody would care." I tried joking, though it seems like Luna would take it too literally.
Rudolf then nodded slowly, settling into her expression.
"You're right. I was letting my emotions control me. I'm sorry for dragging you into this trainer..." She lowered her head.
"No, this is naturally part of my duty. But even so. Your apology is duly accepted."
We stood there in comfortable silence, watching Agnes Room finish her training.
After 10 minutes of training, finally Room was done and when she is finally going to her locker room, she saw us...
"Symboli Rudolf!" Whoa, that startled me...
"I swear wholeheartedly that I would never lose to you. So be prepared!" She then stormed off to who knows where. Her trainer had an apologetic expression to us before speeding off in her electric scooter.
I looked at Rudolf. And she returned and looked at me.
"I guess Tazuna wasn't lying, she was indeed a hot-blooded Umamusume..."
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The next day... It was reported that the Tracen Newspaper Club was cut off all their fundings and would only be returned to normal if they agreed to issue an apology to their recent article.
Funnily enough, the Tracen Newspaper Club of Tracen condemned her actions calling her a "Tyrant Emperor" for exploiting her powers as a StuCo President and publishing an article about it to inform people. But unexpectedly, the article exploded and it was even re-printed outside of Tracen, and strangely enough, people liked this Chuuni title and it unexpectedly became a hit nickname.
Tracen Newspaper Club: Mission Failed Successfully!
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End.
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A/N: I decided to incorporate some of my version 2 lines in here and removed the whole debacle of Minami and Rudolf storming the newspaper club. But there will be no changes to the story line just because of that.
Also, fun fact. Rudolf actually had a acupuncture done on him IRL. I actually just found out after researching more about acupuncture done in horses lmfao.
Anyways, Ciaoo~~~!