The performance ended. Mejiro McQueen vanished quickly, as always. The fans were used to it. A group from the "Knightly Order," wearing their supporter jackets, charged menacingly toward the event-exclusive merchandise area, their fierce expressions making them look like bandits. Soon, all the goods were swept clean.
Mejiro McQueen, having returned to the locker room, changed quickly and left quietly through the venue's back door. She had no intention of paying attention to these matters. The Mejiro family's professionals would handle it all for her anyway.
...
After the Arima Kinen ended.
A new year arrived.
Mejiro McQueen stayed home for the New Year. She didn't go out to parties with friends. In truth, she had very few people she would call friends. If she did go out, it would usually be with the members of Sirius, but she didn't want to see Teio right now. So, she decided to rest at home alone.
In contrast to her, the other Mejiro sisters had not come home.
Right now, in the entire Mejiro castle, there was only Akebono (Hishi Akebono), McQueen, and the younger Mejiro Bright. And Bright, being with these two, felt her life was incredibly difficult. Akebono-neechan drank tea, McQueen-neechan read her book. The two of them could go an entire day without saying a word. When she finally managed to start a topic, usually only one of them would respond, and the conversation would quickly die.
Helpless, Mejiro Bright decided it was better to just go sleep.
"McQueen, congratulations on winning the Arima Kinen."
After a long time, Hishi Akebono, having finished her business, spoke.
Mejiro McQueen put down her book upon hearing the words.
"Thank you."
"Mm. You don't seem very happy about it."
"Because it was a matter of course. I only did what I was supposed to do. Would you be happy about something like this?"
"...That's true."
Hishi Akebono was silent. She thought her personality was arrogant, but she didn't expect her younger sister, McQueen, to be even more so.
"Domestic races can't satisfy you anymore, can they?"
"...What are you trying to say."
"McQueen, don't you feel like you're being restricted?"
"That's enough, Akebono-neechan. I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
Mejiro McQueen icily cut off what Hishi Akebono was about to say. Nearby, Mejiro Bright, who was pretending to be asleep, twitched her ears.
"Is that so? McQueen, I thought our 'love' was the same."
Hishi Akebono thought of the young McQueen. Back then, McQueen's eyes held an intense longing for the racetrack, as if she was born to run. Although Akebono didn't understand why a young, inexperienced McQueen would have that look in her eyes, she had always believed that McQueen was her kin, possessing a 'love' more ardent than any ordinary horse girl!
"I said, that's enough."
Love for racing?
What she pursued, victory, was not "love." She craved victory with the resolve to cast her opponents into the abyss.
To her, racing was competition, and she wanted to be the sole victor. Although she had the same fanaticism for racing,
what she sought and what Akebono-neechan sought were completely different. For example, if Akebono-neechan met a strong opponent, even with no guarantee of winning, she would probably join the race excitedly. But she would not. Because she was unwilling to lose.
Mejiro McQueen, who had just wanted to rest, was now even more irritated by Hishi Akebono. Her thoughts turned to Tokai Teio. Her original idea was to utterly crush her. Even if Teio was crippled as a result, so what? At the end of the day, Teio had stepped onto the track with that resolve, right? But... while she could think that, when she truly considered the consequences, she found she couldn't control her emotions. At times like this, she just wanted to curse that old failure, the Emperor (Rudolf). She was watching Teio, so why did things still turn out this way!
Aside from this unpleasant conversation, Mejiro McQueen's life settled down. She hurried back to Tracen Academy on the first day of school because she really disliked Hishi Akebono. Although Akebono seemed to have always favored her, McQueen felt their personalities were fundamentally incompatible. Unfortunately, the other party didn't feel the same.
Mejiro McQueen had no races scheduled for now.
After she temporarily left the track.
This year's races returned to their original intensity. Mihono Bourbon and Rice Shower both completed their debut races. Unfortunately, for the Mejiro McQueen who had already awakened ZONE, they were no longer worthy of her attention.
Time passed quickly, and the day of the Tenno Sho (Spring) arrived. The stadium was packed, tickets completely sold out. This was Mejiro McQueen's first race in four months, and the fans couldn't wait.
Mejiro McQueen walked out of the tunnel and onto the track. She looked at Tokai Teio, who was right in front of her. Feeling the ZONE that was constantly burning around Teio, her heart sank. Her previous suspicions were likely true.
It really was a special type of ZONE!
That Emperor!
She didn't stop Teio.
It looks like she's even supporting her?
This is too much!
Mejiro McQueen walked toward Tokai Teio, her face frosty.
"Teio, stop this now. You should know this power isn't meant to be used this way. The consequences of what you're doing are completely unpredictable!"
When Tokai Teio saw McQueen approach, her eyes lit up, but after hearing McQueen's warning, she immediately calmed.
"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't know about any consequences. In any case, just you wait. You won't be in the lead forever. I'll catch you sooner or later. If you have nothing else to say, I hope you won't bother me while I'm preparing."
"..."
Mejiro McQueen was angry at Teio's reaction, but her reason told her she had no right to be.
"You're on the wrong path. You can't possibly catch me with power gained through such a heretical method. I'm telling you to give up now. Before you destroy your own body, there's still time to turn back."
Although McQueen's tone was unfriendly and her attitude was cold, Tokai Teio could still hear the worry and care within it.
But...
"McQueen, you just wouldn't understand."
You, who have never lost. You, who have never truly seen anyone as a rival. You, who have always been running alone—
You could never understand how I feel right now!
"I certainly don't understand. Are you trying to say that you must beat me once, even if it means destroying your own body?"
"...Is that so wrong?" Tokai Teio said stubbornly.
Although she regretted it the moment it came out, she wouldn't back down at this critical moment.
Mejiro McQueen fell silent.
She said nothing more, because she felt nothing more could be said. She couldn't understand why Teio was so desperate to catch her, just as she couldn't understand her own inexplicable emotions.
Could it be that the body truly has memories, and can influence her?
She didn't know, and she didn't care.
But she was truly angry.
It was because she had endured that suffering and pain that McQueen knew what an irreversible path Teio was on. She was angry at the Emperor for not managing Teio, angry at Teio for not treasuring her own body, and even angrier that she could do nothing, when she was the one who had pushed Teio into this abyss.
But this was the result of the choice she had made. Mejiro McQueen chose to strangle this emotion. She couldn't be influenced by external factors. Everyone must pay the price for their own choices.
This was Tokai Teio's choice. She had no standing to interfere.
She had already done what she could.
Her only remaining option was to completely shatter Teio's delusion. She didn't know how much Teio's ZONE needed to "charge" before it could be unleashed, but what she had to do was obvious.
Give Teio no chance at all.
Win in the most absolute way possible.
Utterly crush Teio!
Since you want to burn yourself out, the only thing I can do is not give you the chance to unleash it. Mejiro McQueen was certain she could do this.
Or rather, she had to.
Soon, the race be-
gan.
This time, Mejiro McQueen activated "Wave" (浪潮) right at the start. Her terrifying starting speed stunned everyone. She wasn't holding back. She would end this race as quickly as possible.
An astonishing sprint.
After a period of silence, Mejiro McQueen returned to the track and showed an even more terrifying dominance!
It was a crush even more brutal than the Arima Kinen!
If, in the Arima Kinen, rivals had at least tried to compete, this race had no rivals at all. The entire race became McQueen's solo performance, completely shocking everyone.
And after finishing the race, Mejiro McQueen walked up to Tokai Teio.
"Now you understand, right? And this wasn't even my full power. No matter how much you struggle, no matter how much you seek that heretical power, you will never catch up. You are not my rival. If you understand, then give up."
Tokai Teio opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.
Because Mejiro McQueen's performance had just been too terrifying. And she knew McQueen wasn't lying. McQueen hadn't used her full ZONE power. Tokai Teio, who was constantly in her own ZONE state, was certain of this.
Although her ZONE had recorded McQueen's data from this race, even so, could she really hope to achieve her goal in the end?
She didn't know.
But having come this far, she couldn't just give up.
Besides, she had a reason she had to do this!
Just as Mejiro McQueen was turning to leave, Tokai Teio suddenly said to her: "McQueen... when you run now, can you still feel joy?"
"..."
Mejiro McQueen turned back, leaving one sentence: "What a boring question."
Hearing this, Tokai Teio bit her lip.
...
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