[A/N: Very sleepy and tired, apart from the projects. I only managed to write one chapter. More chapters coming later, maybe on Thursday or Friday.]
Uma Musume. They are a wonderful species that carries both history and destiny from another world. They can run, they can laugh, they can cry, they can rage, they can win, and they can fade into the darkness.
They are truly a wonderful and miraculous species, yet they are already destined for their outcomes.
They can't do anything to change it, no matter how much they hate it.
It is simply destined.
…
..
.
October 13 1984.
It has been a few days since the accident, and Bizen Nishiki was finally discharged from the hospital to return to the Central Tracen Academy. She used her crutches to move out of the hospital; she stubbornly refused to use the wheel, because she believed that the moment she started using them. She would truly stop racing.
'At least only one of my legs is still functional…' Nishiki thought while giving a mocking smile to herself, before spotting her trainer.
"Trainer-san!" She grinned while leaning on one crutch and waving her other crutch at her sensei.
Her sensei gave her a soft, gentle smile. Nishiki had never once seen her trainer act like this with their trainees; the uncomfortable feeling she once had bubbled up once again deep in her heart.
"Nishiki… Your friends are waiting for you at the academy." Her trainer originally wanted to say something else, but decided not to. She deeply understood Bizen Nishiki's personality more than anyone, except for Nishiki's parents.
Nishiki nodded uncharacteristically quietly, but her trainer didn't respond to that. Giving Nishiki some space.
She had already read the report on Nishiki's body, but she still held some hope. After all, the hospital doesn't have the same highly qualified doctors and the most advanced medical technology in the world as the Central Tracen Academy.
Nishiki can still race! But Nishiki already knows that her time is over, the flame is long gone. And yet.
Yet!
She refused.
But no matter how defiant she is against destiny, the world will keep spinning, her friends will reach further than she ever has, and she will be left behind.
Forgotten.
"Trainer-san."
"Yes?"
"Thank you for everything."
Her trainer's hands clenched onto the steering wheel tighter before taking a deep breath and shaking her head.
"What do you mean? You can't decide to tap out right now. Where's the Nishiki everyone knows to love?"
Bizen Nishiki lets out a shy chuckle before leaning her head against the window, watching the moving scenery.
"What do you mean by tapping out? I'm not tapping out just yet; I'm just giving my appreciation beforehand."
Yet.
That word meant that Bizen Nishiki is indeed thinking about tapping out of the racing world, just not now. But definitely in the future.
The trainer looked at the rear window and saw Nishiki's smile; however, it wasn't the same smile she was accustomed to.
"I see. Glad to know…"
Both the runner and trainer stayed silent on their drive back to the academy.
***
"Huff Huff Huff…" Echo Eclipse panted after an intense training; her blood was still boiling, and she still needed to run. She wants to run away from the world, from the horrible realisation, from reality.
Sweat trickles down her ears, dampening her gym clothes. Causing it to stick to her body.
Anyone can clearly tell that she is overworking her body, but Echo doesn't care. She won't collapse from mere overworking, but somebody else clearly cares.
Just as Echo Eclipse was about to go for another run, she felt herself being lifted in the air.
"Waaah! Rudolf!" She immediately shouted out the culprit's name, who is currently hoisting her up like a cat.
"You're forcing yourself again. Take a break."
"But…"
"Hm?"
"Eeek! Nothing!"
"Good." Symboli Rudolf nodded before walking toward the resting area, still carrying the guilty Echo.
"..."
"..."
In silence, Symboli Rudolf gently set Echo down on the bench, handing her a towel without a word. Echo took the fabric without question, her fingers tightening around the fabric without a reason or thought. As if she needed something to ground herself.
Rudolf glanced at the cloudy sky, looking like it's about to rain soon.
"You're thinking about her again, aren't you?" She asked, her tone was calm, but precise too. She knows how to strike one's weak point.
Echo flinched; she didn't want another lecture from her roommate!
"I am not-"
"You are."
"..."
"..."
There was no accusation in Rudolf's voice, and yet. It made it so much worse for Echo Eclipse. Maybe she would prefer if there were an accusation, but Symboli Rudolf was always like this. Gentle behind her personality.
Echo bit her lip, ears drooping slightly as she stared at the ground.
"I'm scared…"
"Of what?"
"She won't come back the same…"
Rudolf didn't respond immediately. Instead, she simply crossed her arms, gazing toward the track where other Umas continued their routines; running, laughing, chasing times that would never wait for anyone.
She parted her lips while gazing at the track.
"Do you think she wants your pity?"
"I'm not pitying her!"
"No," Rudolf replied evenly. "You're running away."
"...!" Echo's chest tightened as she glanced at Rudolf with a terrified expression. She was wondering how Rudolf managed to find that out.
She did it again. Rudolf struck Echo Eclipse's weak point once again. Nothing can escape Rudolf's sharpened, not harsh, but unyielding eyes.
Echo looked down and didn't respond, seeing this. Rudolf chose to continue talking.
"You're afraid of being next."
Echo didn't respond again, leaving silence between both of them.
Only the sounds of footsteps on dirt, distant laughter, the wind brushing against the track, the whistle of the wind; All of it felt unbearably loud.
"We're different…" As Echo said this, she looked away.
"Are we?" Symboli Rudolf closed her eyes; she knew that all Umas are equal, and no one can continue running forever. One may die from 'Skeletal Bucking', or one may retire early, or one may run into an accident, and it may leave them paralysed. Perhaps, except for the eternal goddesses.
Echo didn't answer because she didn't have the answer. So, she feels lost.
Soon, a car came to a slow stop in front of Central Tracen Academy. Nishiki, who was looking out the window, felt so unbelievably distant.
The same place she once ran through without a second thought, the same place she laughed and had fun without worries.
The same place, now felt distant and new for her.
"We're here," her trainer said softly while opening the door for Nishiki.
"Mh." Nishiki nodded before slowly stepping up, making sure that she didn't strain her plastered left leg while holding onto her clutches.
She bit into the inside of her mouth as she felt a sharp, dull pain in her leg. Reminding her of the damages, as she continues walking.
"Pathetic…" How many times had she sprinted across this very ground without thinking? Look at her now!
Even standing felt like a task; she felt angry at herself. For becoming like this.
At the academy entrance, a small group had already gathered, waiting for Nishiki. It's Nishiki's friends and classmates, all waiting for her.
Nishiki froze for a moment; she wanted to turn around. She wanted to run. She wanted to hide. She wanted to avoid those eyes.
'Shut up, that isn't me. Shut up.' She internally shouted at her impulsive thoughts before letting out a bright, careful smile. The same smile everyone knew and loved.
As she interacts and chats with her friends and classmates. In the distance, Gold Way is watching, standing still with a dull gaze.
Her breathing had long since steadied, but her chest still felt tight. She knows that this Bizen Nishiki isn't the same person she once knew before that race.
"Nishiki…" She whispered the name, yet her feet didn't move toward Nishiki. Because for the first time, she doesn't know how to face someone whom she fell in love with. She doesn't know how to interact with a person who is losing who they really are, the main component that makes them what they are.
And with that, four more days went by.
3 days left until Echo Eclipse runs in her first G2 race, the Daily Hai Sansai Stakes.