When did Gotham Song first stumble across that website?
Probably sometime before the Japan Cup. Back then, the site was still primitive—she'd just finished the Kikuka Sho, her reputation hadn't yet flipped, and at the time, the whole thing had only a handful of sections.
The general discussion board, Gotham Song × Tokai Teio CP threads, Gotham Song × Twilight Song CP threads, and one "miscellaneous pairings" board for every other niche combo.
As bizarre as it sounds, Gotham Song really did watch that site grow with her own eyes—from a tiny oddity into a full-blown fandom ecosystem.
Over time, the site evolved. The Gotham Song × Twilight Song pairing board remained the largest by far, of course, but the Teio × Song section had almost completely fallen out of circulation.
In fact, lately the pairing content of her and Vernal Equinox had already far surpassed that of her and Teio-san…!
Truthfully, she hadn't checked the site much since right after the Japan Cup ended. The last time she'd clicked in was on a whim, scrolled a bit, and discovered the new layout by accident.
But this time—this time logging in had really shocked her.
Because right below Gotham Song × Twilight Song, the new No. 2 pairing on the site—nearly tied in popularity—was actually… Gotham Song × Mejiro McQueen?!
The pairing with the most buzz and posts was still the self-ship [narcissus] CP, followed by Gotham Song × Vernal Equinox.
That one was interesting in its own right. Normally, since their partnership had only been made public as Trainer and trainee, you'd expect that pairing not to blow up too much. But actually—
Actually, the Gotham Song × Vernal Equinox ship hadn't started from the official announcement. That announcement had only taken them from "barely registered" to "the site's second most popular ship."
The real spark had been all those little moments—those interactions between Gotham Song and Vernal Equinox on and off the track—captured, archived, and dissected by fans.
(Oh, and at first Gotham Song had, of course, been placed on the left side—but soon there was a flood of content putting her on the right instead.)
You bunch of degenerates…!
Anyway, it was no surprise that the Gotham Song × Vernal Equinox pairing ranked second. Setting everything else aside, they were mutual partners, after all. Gotham Song was even starting to accept a certain realization:
That in this world, maybe the so-called "Trainer–trainee bond"—one meant to last a lifetime—was, in a sense, an engagement of sorts.
Now, setting Vernal Equinox aside—whose popularity wasn't exactly shocking—who, then, held the third place on the pairing charts?
It was Gotham Song × Mejiro McQueen!!!
And unlike the earlier fandom waves led by "mothers", this one had recently developed its own new faction—"fathers".
Oh—right, what are "mothers" and "fathers"?
Simply put:
"Mothers" are those who stubbornly spread rumors that Gotham Song is a soft bottom.
"Fathers" are those who insist she's a dominant top.
The problem is—Gotham Song didn't feel sure she fit either side!
Utterly in line with her understanding of the internet—that everyone here had gone completely mad.
The McQueen faction, in particular, seemed obsessed with weaving an entire literary narrative around their "on-track and off-track" dynamics.
Something like—
"You win out there on the track; I'll win when we're home."
As for why a pairing like Gotham Song × McQueen existed despite no public connection between them?
Simple—because in current internet discourse, Gotham Song's true rival wasn't Tokai Teio at all.
Teio was too weak—hadn't she herself always been the one insisting on that rivalry?
But beyond that, there was another argument circulating:
"Who says a person can only have one rival? Maybe Gotham Song-san is simultaneously rivals with both Teio-san and McQueen-san."
Or the even wilder version:
"Didn't the rivalry with Teio-san end after the Kikuka Sho? So now she's making eyes at McQueen-san, right?!"
...Yeah. That theory was all kinds of weird and ridiculous. But most fans seemed to believe a more "reasonable" version: that rivalries weren't static, and that for someone as powerful as Gotham Song, having two rivalries at once was perfectly natural.
Perfectly natural! The Three Goddesses themselves approve—ship it, all of it!
Thus, by the logic of the "Second Rival" theory, the Gotham Song × Mejiro McQueen Rivalry CP was officially born.
Honestly, by this point Gotham Song wasn't even that surprised. Sure, it was bizarre, but shipping was… well… shipping.
She'd seen weirder—like people shipping the Three Goddesses with each other. Compared to that, her and McQueen? Not so hard to stomach.
What puzzled her more was why this particular discussion, which started with Gotham Song × Dancing Brave, kept redirecting toward McQueen instead.
Curious, she clicked open the McQueen sub-board—and found the line that made her not know whether to laugh or groan:
[McQueen-san, move! Come on, that's your husband!!!]
...Yeah. That probably summed it up.
Ahaha… honestly, how was one even supposed to react to that?
She couldn't quite pinpoint what felt off, but it definitely felt off. With a sigh, she kept scrolling.
It wasn't hard to see the reason. That whole corner of the site was practically overrun by "McQueen fathers"—so from their perspective, Gotham Song flirting with other "men" (…?) while McQueen just stood by amounted to betrayal.
Hmm… ahaha… if they ever found out that we're not even blood-related sisters anymore, how would they react?
Oh yes—not blood-related anymore. In the Twilight Song era, they still technically shared kinship, but in her current body, there was no such thing. Still…
The very thought made Gotham Song shudder.
If those fans ever learned that truth, they'd probably lose their minds entirely.
I can't with this fandom.
Eventually, she closed the McQueen sub-board and checked the general discussion again, curious how the "small-circle gossip" was developing. There was no way these fans could ever imagine that the subject of their obsession actually lurked in their niche little community—heehee.
[UnbrokenBlueGlassflower]:Still, isn't it strange how many people are around Song-san all the time? Don't tell me… all of them could be that kind of relationship?
You— you little— you're trying to frame me, huh?!
[Oh, I know this! That blonde one is Neo Universe—Song-san's roommate! I heard they always cuddle together to sleep. I'm a student at Japan Central Tracen, I have first-hand intel. Trust me!]
That last message made Gotham Song freeze.
A Tracen student…? Then maybe it's… true?!
She panicked and instantly shut off her phone, pretending none of this had ever happened.
Too scary. These fans—even the ones with insider info were popping up?!
As she was still reeling, someone quietly leaned closer.
Mejiro Ardan had, at some point, taken the seat right beside her—no space left between them—and brushed her cheek with an intimate, almost too intimate gesture.
Her soft blue hair smelled faintly floral, and even the tiny blue blossoms on her casual outfit shimmered with light. Still, Gotham Song couldn't help wondering why her "elder sister" would do something like that right now.
"Ardan-nee…?"
"It's nothing. I just read somewhere that young Uma Musume sometimes do this kind of thing as a casual greeting, so I wanted to try it with you, Song."
Mejiro Ardan winked playfully, slipping her hand into Gotham Song's and asking softly:
"Song doesn't like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it—it just surprised me a bit. Ardan-nee, I like you, of course."
Her gentle smile deepened, pleased, while Dancing Brave gave a small, silent sigh beside them—and tactfully edged away.
This kid's portion of soup wouldn't even fill a teacup.
Heh.
The subway incident ended there. Once they reached their stop, everyone disembarked. Gotham Song, maintaining an outward calm, hurried off with the half-dead Flightline in tow. Inside their room, she stared at the girl—two meters of muscle collapsed in a heap on the bed, still in full clothing.
And suddenly, a ridiculous thought struck her.
You're right—but while everyone's out there shipping Gotham Song in a dozen pairings… Flightline's literally just asleep. I forgot what came next.
Point being—Flightline really was asleep!
"Pff—!"
Gotham Song burst into laughter just as Manhattan Cafe came in, having helped her sister dump the heavyweight onto the bed.
"Song?"
"It's nothing, Cafe-nee. Let's step outside—Flightline's still sleeping."
She said it lightly, but before Cafe could answer, the air around them echoed with unrestrained laughter—wild and unfiltered, audible only to the two sisters.
"Hahahaha! Ahahaha! You're a genius, Song—Flightline's still sleeping—ha ha ha!"
Gotham Song almost suspected that if Old Bastard No. 1 weren't already dead, he might've actually laughed herself to death hearing that.
Wait—could ghosts die from laughter? Then what—do they just respawn afterward?
She made a mental note: next time, tease that old bastard about it. Consider it revenge for last time.
They left the room, walking down the hotel corridor together.
Truth be told, the treatment they'd received for the Dubai World Cup wasn't just luxurious—it was the pinnacle. Not only were all travel expenses covered for the entire entourage, but every single person got their own suite—the finest rooms in the hotel.
All Gotham Song could do was marvel. As expected of Dubai—its wealth really was unreal.
In fact, during their check-in—while chatting with the staff—she finally grasped just how rich Dubai was.
The subway they'd just ridden, nearly empty, had only opened this year.
Why so late for such a modern metropolis?
Because Dubai had been too rich—everyone owned cars, so public transit simply hadn't been a priority.
Well… what else could she say? That's Dubai for you.
Even after everything—different world, different life, newfound wealth and prestige—Gotham Song had to admit she was still stunned by the sheer absurdity of that fact.
Still, not everyone seemed happy about the "one person, one luxury suite" arrangement. Gotham Song couldn't quite say why—but what she was curious about right now was something else entirely.
Sunday Silence.
Since she'd just heard Old Bastard No. 1's laugh again, how could she waste such a perfect chance not to ask?
Manhattan Cafe's room was near the end of the hall, while Gotham Song's was a bit further in. So when they reached her door and Cafe was about to say goodbye, Gotham Song suddenly tugged her sister's hand and pulled her inside like a mischievous child.
"Song…?"
"It's nothing, Cafe-nee. I just wanted to ask a friend something. About how you disappeared, reappeared, and somehow became touchable again—how exactly did that work?"
Sunday Silence was silent for a moment, then casually emerged—dangling upside-down from the ceiling like only a ghost could.
"You mean me? Oh, that time? I'd basically burned myself out. Thought I was gonna die for real, but once I latched onto you, I didn't die quite so fast."
"That's probably why you could hit me back then—the energy in my body came from you, right?"
Sunday Silence paused, then said something that made Gotham Song's skin crawl.
"You know, it's been years since anyone hit me. Getting smacked like that again… kind of nostalgic. I might've even liked it."
"Tch—don't look at me with that face, brat."
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T/N: CP hehe
4 chapters since i was gonna update yesterday but didnt, bonus chaps are tomorrow and uhhh no character note for thisweek
heres my patreon (patreon.com/wisetl) theres also a 25% off discount for firsttime members until christmas ends and heres the powerstone rewardsss Every 100 Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter. 100ps = 1 chp 200ps = 2 chp 300ps = 3 chp etc. uhhh for legal matters, my patreon is only there if you wanna support me yep yep with the added bonus of reading ahead OH OH also heres the discord link discord.gg/wisetl