Once upon a time, there lived a great Hero. An umamusume of unparalleled strength and skill, tempered in a journey that spanned the entire Earth, and softened by joy and love.
She had begun from simple origins—her cradle no more than a sleepy town in the backwaters of Japan. She had no name to herself, no prodigious blood to call her own. But one day, confronted with the Beast that would soon become her greatest ally, the Hero would begin her journey to chase after the horizon.
In doing so, she changed the World. It was her compassion that gave birth to the Divine General. It was her faith that ensured the great Generals of the Demon King remained whole. And it was her strength who eventually pulled together a Generation of Miracles who brought back hope.
If there must be one single definition of a Hero, then surely she–
"Yoo, Suzuka-chan?"
Silence Suzuka softly eeped as she quickly stuffed her book back into her backpack. It would be terribly embarrassing if someone caught her reading such a childish story book, after all!
She softly cleared her throat as she stood from her bed. She opened the door to her dorm room, and a small smile graced her lips. "Ah-, Kaichou!"
Tokai Teio grinned as she gave her a playful salute. "It's awesome to finally meet you again, Suzuka-chan!" Her grin turned sheepish as she brought her palms together in apology. "Ehe, I'm super sorry I couldn't greet you personally yesterday. I got super busy yesterday, and McQueen wasn't there to help me either."
Suzuka softly hummed. "It's okay, Kaichou. I understand."
If anything, the lack of attention was nice. She knew that if Teio had been there to greet her yesterday, it would've brought everyone's attention to her. And even though she was no longer the skittish child from a decade past, the thought of having so many eyes on her still gave her the shivers.
"Ah, but really-" Teio smiled fondly. "You've really grown a lot, Suzuka-chan."
It wasn't just Suzuka who had grown.
The last time Suzuka had seen Teio in person was during her retirement race, and since then, Teio had grown up. She was taller now; some of the baby fat on her cheeks had faded, giving way to a much sharper look. And combined with her long hair that cascaded down her back and the reading glasses over her eyes, she looked all the part of a veteran umamusume.
Though it truly was fascinating how similar Teio now looked to Symboli Rudolf.
Suzuka nodded. "It's been 4 years since we last met."
"Geh-!? You kept count!?" The esteemed Student Council President trembled before she immediately dropped onto the floor in a dogeza. "Please, I'm sorry Suzuka-chan! I didn't mean to drop out like that!"
"I…see." Suzuka blinked. "Then you're…forgiven?" She eventually said, genuinely confused by the sudden apology. After all, it wasn't Teio's fault that they were unable to communicate for so long. Suzuka had only recently moved back to Tokyo, and Teio was constantly busy with her work.
And more than anything, they were only acquaintances. It was only because of Her that they even knew each other.
"Uwah~, Suzuka-chan's always so kind!" Teio immediately stood back up, and she grinned as if she didn't just break down in panic just seconds earlier. "Anyway! How're things going, Suzuka-chan? How's the dorm room? Got any questions? Have a team you're eyeing? Maybe planning to even try and create one yourself?"
"A-Ah-" Suzuka narrowed her eyes as she quickly repeated Teio's barrage of questions in her head, slowly but surely breaking them apart into understandable chunks. She never was good at dealing with conversations, and it wasn't uncommon for her to squint her eyes in concentration for minutes on end before she returned a response.
Except that practically left her to 'glare' at Teio for nearly a minute, and even the famed Phoenix began feeling the cold sweat trailing down her neck as she endured the cold treatment.
Suzuka softly breathed. "Um, in order; I'm okay. The dorm room is nice, if maybe a little big? I don't think I have any questions right now. I don't have a team in mind, and I don't plan on making one."
She was fairly sure she'd gotten everything right. She hoped she got everything right. Oh, it's be so embarrassing if she accidentally mixed up the order or anything.
But all her answers were genuine, especially regarding the teams. She'd looked through most of the teams currently active in Tracen Central, and as rude as it may sound, she wasn't satisfied.
It wasn't their fault. After all, the standards set by the Demon King weren't ones that could easily be met.
Teio subtly sighed in relief once Suzuka's 'glare' finally went away. "Mm~, I guess my questions were a little early huh?" She grinned wryly. "It's only been a day, after all."
Suzuka nodded. "I'll ask if I need to anything."
"Mm! Don't be shy!" Teio hummed as she rubbed her chin for a moment, before she glanced over Suzuka's shoulder. "But about your dorm room—maybe it's just because you don't have a roommate yet?"
Suzuka paused. "A roommate?"
"Yep, yep." She grinned. "You didn't think that second bed was yours, did you?"
Suzuka shook her head. "Of course not."
That was a lie. She had genuinely believed that the second bed was also hers. Mostly because she'd heard stories about how there weren't always enough students to completely fill the dormitories, so some students had the entire room to themselves.
"So! Whatd'cha think about getting one?"
She blinked. "You're…asking me?"
"Nope! Just informing!" She winked. "I wasn't the one who determined all the stuff about the dorms. It was McQueen who did all the work!" She said, throwing the responsibility to the Vice President without shame.
Suzuka nodded. She didn't mind. Things had changed a lot from the past decade, and the number of students who successfully passed Tracen Central's rigorous tests had only climbed with every year that passed. "A roommate…" She whispered. "What's her name?"
Teio crossed her arms and hummed. "Uhhh-, what's her name again…?" She asked, frowning in concentration. "Oh, that's right–"
"Special Week." Teio said, smiling brightly. "That's her name!"
"Special Week…" Suzuka whispered. "Is she already here?"
Teio pursed her lips as she slightly shook her hand. "She should be here in maybe 2 days? 3 days? She wasn't really clear about it, but she said that she was moving all the way from Hokkaido."
Suzuka nodded. "Then I'll be there to greet her."
Teio grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "And I'll make sure to be there with you this time around!"
Suzuka chuckled faintly. "Um-" She began, before she quietly sighed. She knew she'd attract attention the moment everyone noticed that she seemed to know the Student Council President, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. She might as well treat it as practice for when she eventually made her Debut.
What neither of them knew was this:
In just a few days, when an umamusume named Special Week would arrive in Tracen, she would encounter Silence Suzuka at a nearby river bank. It would be late afternoon, verging on the evening, and so the setting sun would paint them both in soft oranges as their eyes met for the first time.
And at that moment, a new Story would begin.
But that was a Story for another time.