Author's Note: I am not an editor or a professional writer. I will write this and edit it to the best of my ability. I also do not own Uma Musume, which is owned by Cygames. Watch the animes and read the mangas, for they are pretty good. Finally, please enjoy.
Back to Yesterday
Great Wonder POV
Vic passed me as I entered the building where the meeting was being held. She nearly ran into me with how quickly she was rushing. I could see the determination in her eyes, the same determination that made her such a great leader. Her desire to always protect and care for all of us was another reason I respected her so much.
I had heard that most of my teammates had gone inside this building for who knows what.
I felt like I had to stop their shenanigans before they got any more out of hand tonight. Thank goodness KiWi was already with Jo, or this night would have been even more problematic than earlier today.
The rest of the leadership didn't seem to be helping with the situation either. If anything, they were contributing to the madness.
Still, I couldn't just walk up to everyone and tell them not to do something when they hadn't actually done anything yet. I'd look like some crazy Karen bossing people around for no reason.
I also didn't need to cause unnecessary trouble within the team that could eventually lead to its demise through internal turmoil.
No.
I had to be swift.
Invisible.
I had to make my moves from the shadows, then strike without anyone knowing what I had done.
First, I must observe my opponents and gather the information I need.
Second, I must come up with a strategy to neutralize them to my advantage.
Finally, I must take advantage of their current state to advance myself and my group and claim victory.
It was the same strategy I used to win relays and handle business.
I soon found the building's security room. Every building had its own security room with personnel assigned to it. I had snooped around earlier, and because most of the security personnel were short-staffed and busy dealing with other operations, the room was currently empty while the systems remained operational.
Perfect.
I soon got inside using the lock-picking skills I had learned from YouTube back on Earth. Once inside, I looked through the security cameras that were already turned on.
I watched everything happening inside the building.
Everyone.
I saw my teammates waiting for someone in particular to come out of the room where the meeting was being held.
I could also see and hear the meeting itself.
I couldn't help myself.
I listened to everything.
I heard the organization's concerns and learned about the upcoming events, all of which were very interesting.
I watched Hachi and Juna apologize for their stupidity. I witnessed Iguro report on his earth-shattering and incredibly important duties to protect the organization and everyone within it. I even watched the boss herself take charge of planning future events.
Then I saw Ayana give a very accurate report about our attitudes toward the staff.
That was probably the biggest surprise of the night.
After hearing everything, I respected the staff even more. The insecurity I'd had about whether the staff might be incompetent was finally gone.
They weren't incompetent.
They were actually very competent.
Once the meeting ended, I quickly switched back to watching my teammates.
Mama and Takeshi declared their romantic pursuit of one another.
I made a surprised squeal.
Then I saw BlaD and Ana become respectable business partners.
Which, knowing those two, would probably lead to a lot of late nights for both of them.
Then I watched ImP and Juna become best friends right in front of an exasperated Lily.
That was going to lead to something both fun and incredibly stupid.
I just knew it.
I soon tried to hack into the connection between all the security networks to see if I could access footage from the other buildings.
Unfortunately, I had no luck.
Then I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I froze.
The sudden touch startled me so badly that I immediately turned around.
It was Iguro.
And he looked absolutely pissed off.
Awkward silence reigned between us.
He eventually broke it.
"Would you like to come to my office peacefully or forcefully?"
That was enough for me.
I surrendered immediately.
"Peacefully."
I was guided through the building and taken to Security's main headquarters, where Iguro brought me to his office. He didn't take me into an interrogation room because I wasn't an outsider who had snuck into the building.
I was one of their own.
Technically.
Iguro entered his office and told me, "Lady Mina will be coming here soon to ask you some questions. For now, though, you'll be answering mine."
"Iguro, don't worry. I'll cooperate with whatever you need."
I smiled at him.
For some reason, that made him recoil slightly, and all the rage seemed to evaporate from him almost instantly.
He took a deep breath and got started.
"Why did you break into the security camera room?"
"To watch over my troublemaking teammates who snuck into the building all at once."
He acknowledged my answer before asking another question.
"How did you know they would be in the building tonight?"
I replied, "Ayana told Spice about it, from what I could hear, and Spice texted everyone on the team about her hiring. Then Spice gave everyone the information Ayana had given her to get back into everyone's good graces. You can check my phone. I haven't deleted the messages yet."
Iguro leaned back in his chair and whispered angrily, "Fucking Spice. Goddesses damn that douche."
I heard him perfectly thanks to my Uma Musume hearing.
And apparently, my explanation was believable enough for him.
He pressed a button on his desk.
"Vice Captain, have someone check her text messages for authenticity."
He released the button.
I was impressed.
He wasn't foolish enough to simply believe me, even though he already knew I was probably telling the truth.
He then continued.
"Now, a serious question. What did you hear during the meeting?"
I knew immediately that this was what he was really looking for.
Since being honest didn't seem to have any unintended consequences, I decided to answer.
"I started watching when you arrived. You weren't exactly my main target, so that's where I started."
I continued, "Since my targets weren't active at the moment, I checked on the meeting just in case. What I saw was impressive. After tonight, some weight was lifted off my shoulders because I now believe you are all very competent staff that we can rely on."
I giggled a little as I admitted that.
For the first time, I saw Iguro smile.
And I must admit...
He was handsome.
Very handsome.
He looked like a Sirius Symboli lookalike.
"Wow. You have such a handsome smile."
His eyes went wide.
He immediately looked away from me.
"Oh... Thanks for the compliment."
He was trying to hide his smile.
I wasn't fooled.
I smiled openly at him.
Then the door to the office opened.
Both of us immediately stood.
It was Mina.
Iguro and I immediately bowed.
"Lady Mina."
Mina looked at both of us and smiled.
"Did I ruin your alone time?"
She was teasing us.
"W-We would never assume you would disrupt us in anything, ma'am!"
Iguro saluted Mina, desperately trying to hide his emotions behind his sense of duty.
Mina and I weren't fooled.
We eventually calmed down and sat down.
Mina listened to Iguro's report and listened to the recording of the interrogation.
She then looked at me with a positive expression.
"It seems we're all caught up with each other. I also understand the entire situation and why you did what you did. Now, I must ask you, GW. Why do you think you need to be the one to keep your team out of trouble?"
I answered honestly.
"Well, I'm part of the team's leadership. That's why."
I continued.
"Vic leads the team and protects everyone. Mama Blues supports everyone emotionally and sympathetically. Gray is the brains who gathers information and steers the team accordingly. Rose is the charmer who can get us through almost anything and convince people to befriend us."
I paused.
"Finally, I keep the team out of trouble, whether that trouble comes from outside the team or from within it."
I continued.
"I make sure no one screws the team over, whether it's someone from outside the team or someone within it."
Mina nodded as she considered my answer.
"I see. That's a very responsible way to divide your duties as leaders of the team. The leader, the mediator, the brains, the charmer, and the disciplinarian."
She smiled.
"Now that I've received that answer, let's move on to the next question, shall we?"
I nodded.
Mina continued.
"Why do you need to be the disciplinarian of this team?"
I looked at her as if she were oblivious.
Because she was.
"Ma'am, are you serious? How have you not noticed yet?"
She blinked.
"Noticed what? Is it important? Is there something I missed that's really bad?"
I stared at her.
"Have you not noticed that this team is a complete clusterfuck of troublemakers and workaholics?"
Silence.
Mina slowly looked toward Iguro.
"They can't be that bad, can they?"
Iguro looked away awkwardly.
That was all the confirmation I needed.
I groaned and rubbed my temples, trying to massage away the headache that was forming.
Mina, I love you like a sister, but you are dense sometimes.
I finally told her, "Let me be the first to say that I'm somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, right between the troublemakers and the workaholics. I'm not perfect, and sometimes I'll need help, but the rest of the team needs more help than I ever will."
I took a breath.
"Let's start with leadership, shall we?"
Mina nodded.
"Vic is a worrywart who will work until she collapses just to take care of this team. Mama Blues says it comes from her insecurities."
I looked toward Mama Blues.
"Speaking of Mama Blues, she might look wise and caring, but she becomes hella stupid and narrow-minded whenever she really wants something. She doesn't even notice when people use those weaknesses against her."
I continued.
"Gray is insecure about his talents and causes problems before, during, and after races in the most violent ways possible."
"Rose gets caught up in trouble way too easily, especially if it has anything to do with Sweets, along with her other problems, which shall not be spoken about here."
I paused before continuing.
"After leadership, there's Rain, who works so hard physically that I'm afraid if we don't make her rest, she'll either collapse or break herself."
"Lily is so bad at communicating that she picks fights with strangers accidentally and picks fights with rivals on purpose."
"Steel is so obsessed and addicted to victory that she'll challenge anyone while working even harder to get her next win."
I took a drink of water before continuing.
"Then there's ImP, who's a loud punk who will verbally assault anyone while simultaneously being the life of the party."
I paused.
"Spice is an absolute asshole."
Mina's expression twitched.
"Sweets is a violent version of Rain with a stupid streak longer than her life."
"BlaD doesn't rest with his music work and chases better performances like he's suicidal."
"Jo is a workaholic who will probably send you revolutionary research results at six in the morning instead of sleeping."
By this point, Mina was becoming paler and paler as she realized just how much she had overlooked.
I finished.
"Norn is such a free spirit that she only does what she wants and goes wherever she wants."
"Finally, KiWi is a hyperactive ticking time bomb of insanity that can go off at any minute."
I sighed.
"I love them, but my job exists because it needs to. I need to stop them from either causing too much trouble or risking their own health."
Mina became very quiet.
Very, very quiet.
Iguro walked over to her.
"Ma'am, I know this might be a blow, but we can work together to fix all of this."
Mina looked troubled.
"What can we even do to stop this behavior and punish them without making them leave the organization?"
I respectfully interrupted.
"I can answer that question."
Mina looked at me.
There was hope in her eyes.
And now...
I had everything I needed.
Authority.
The ability to control those fools.
She asked me, "Really? What can I do, GW?"
I joyfully answered.
"Easy. You control their supplies and gear, so make sure you limit their access to said gear and supplies. Then put a curfew in place."
Mina listened intently.
"This will stop the workaholics from working in their rooms or accessing places they shouldn't be instead of sleeping."
I continued.
"As for the troublemakers, make sure leadership has direct access to you and Security so we can stop their shenanigans before they get out of hand."
I smiled.
"Punish them like children if they're going to act like children."
Mina was silent for a moment.
Then she started laughing.
She loved the idea.
I continued.
"Yes. Now, if you give me a way to instantly communicate with you, I can also act as your spy within the team."
Iguro and Mina both seemed to love the idea.
And just like that...
It was done.
I was released without punishment, and I even received a new app on my phone as part of the deal.
I had won.
I soon decided to go to bed.
I was going to enjoy watching my preparations blossom.
That's when Iguro stepped in front of me.
"That's some very impressive wheeling and dealing you did in there."
I smirked.
"I know. I really didn't think it would work, but I got more than I expected."
He stepped closer to me.
I backed up.
For some reason.
Why was I doing that?
I was physically much stronger than he was, so why was I suddenly getting shy around him?
Before I knew it, I was cornered against the wall.
Iguro slammed one hand against the wall beside me, blocking my escape route on the left, while his body blocked the route on the right.
Goddesses...
He was bigger than me.
I guess that growing-up-in-America background wasn't just words on a page.
He leaned closer.
Face to face.
And then I realized exactly what situation I was in.
It was a kabedon.
My face immediately started heating up.
He looked directly into my eyes.
"No matter how witty, beautiful, and charming you may be, I'm watching you after that stunt you pulled today."
I was blushing.
He then walked away, leaving me standing there as a complete, blushing mess.
I soon walked back to my room in a daze.
Throughout the entire walk, I could think about nothing except that moment.
Even after getting into bed, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Eventually, I fell asleep.
I awoke the next morning.
And I still remembered it.
I immediately exploded in embarrassment.
Why did he do that?
Does he like me?
Or was this all just a misunderstanding?
How was I supposed to face him now?
I pouted about the situation before eventually deciding to start preparing for the day to keep my mind off it.
Still, every time I thought about it, I couldn't stop pouting.
Even as I left my room and ran into Mama Blues on the way to breakfast, I couldn't stop thinking about last night.
We soon arrived.
And as soon as everyone gathered, Spice asked,
"So, how was last night, everybody?"
The entire team responded with a united middle finger.
After that, everything descended into chaos.
It started with KiWi, of course.
Like always.
Jo and her relationship with KiWi went nuclear when KiWi spilled water on Jo, and Jo did absolutely nothing to calm the situation down.
The fight began.
Then the mess spread everywhere.
I quickly moved out of the way as everyone became so distracted that they didn't notice me texting Mina.
I sent her a report.
Trouble has begun.
Soon enough, Mina arrived without anyone noticing.
Well...
Almost anyone.
To Vic's credit, she managed to stop the chaos and fighting before things got even worse.
After giving everyone a speech and making an announcement, the entire team finally noticed Mina.
Along with Iguro.
And Takeshi.
Everyone became absolutely silent.
Mina proceeded to ground the entire team.
While she was talking, I noticed her glance toward me.
She gave me a small nod.
No one else noticed.
I smiled.
My setup was complete.
I walked away in victory without anyone realizing just how amazing I was.
The team had no idea what had happened.
Mina now had control.
Security was prepared.
And I had a direct line to the boss.
I had successfully turned the organization's own rules into weapons against my teammates.
And they didn't even know it.
Victory.
Sweet, beautiful victory.