It really did feel like… becoming an Umamusume.
Back before Gotham Song crossed worlds, she'd occasionally seen her online friends wailing about it like they'd lost their minds. How to put it?
She'd even teased them back then—
"You've been an Umamusume before? If you haven't been one, how would you know being an Umamusume is fun?"
And then, naturally, it would roll into the usual: Umamusume is a utopia, everyone's happy, and so on.
They were happy. The group chat was always filled with laughter and noise.
But could that "Gotham Song," the one who joked about other people's obsession, ever have imagined that one day she'd actually become an Umamusume—and actually say it out loud?
Maybe it's because I've become an Umamusume.
Gotham Song saw the look Agnes Tachyon was giving her—like she'd just seen Sunday Silence. Clearly, even for a mad scientist, stories about crossing worlds, becoming an Umamusume, not being human anymore… might still be a bit much this early on.
Gotham Song didn't feel like explaining further. She simply stood, brushed off her skirt, said goodbye to Agnes Tachyon, and left.
She'd only come to Tachyon to validate her idea. Now that she had the answer, she could leave whenever she wanted. Lying under the sun earlier had just been a whim.
So… what next?
Gotham Song wandered absentmindedly into another field—and there she saw two familiar figures, locked in combat as they ran.
Why are those two fighting?
Is this a case of a senior failing to behave, or a junior failing to respect her elders?
Gotham Song laughed a little. It was only teasing, though—because what was happening in front of her was a perfectly even clash.
The two running were Tokai Teio and Almond Eye.
A showdown between yesterday's king and today's new god. No wonder it drew a crowd. Foals ringed the field, watching the two Umamusume sprinting in the distance.
So many, in fact, that Gotham Song's arrival barely drew any attention at all.
She found that a little funny.
Almond Eye and Teio—what a pairing. Just seeing them together made you blink twice.
In the old world, there was almost no way to compare them. Simple reason: they weren't from the same era.
When Almond Eye debuted, how many years had Tokai Teio already been off the track?
But here, that problem didn't exist. Thanks to Umamusume aging more like humans—and this world's strange timeline—Tokai Teio and Almond Eye actually had a chance to meet at their peaks.
Well. "Both at their peak" wasn't quite true. Tokai Teio still held the advantage. Almond Eye was, after all, a classic-year Umamusume; her true peak hadn't arrived yet.
So what did things look like right now?
It wasn't hard to imagine.
Facing a Tokai Teio who'd gone all-out, as if she'd returned to the track for real, Almond Eye was getting crushed across the board.
Sure, as Gotham Song understood it, over a certain distance Almond Eye should've had the edge—Almond Eye's top speed was higher than Teio's.
But clearly, this was a longer training run. And now that they were deep into the final phase, Tokai Teio's longer effective range and superior stamina had completely handed her the initiative.
More importantly—
Tokai Teio's speed wasn't that far behind Almond Eye's, either.
So under Gotham Song's watchful eyes, Tokai Teio took the lead with footwork as light as a dance, pinning Almond Eye behind her through sheer suppression. There was no chance to catch up.
It looked like the run was over.
Gotham Song honestly hadn't expected Teio to be maintaining her condition this well.
She had the feeling something was waiting ahead of her… but she couldn't see what it was yet, and could only sink into thought.
The field didn't pause just because she was thinking, though.
Almond Eye tried to ignite. Her speed spiked—but the run length this time was simply too much for her. Two thousand six hundred meters.
Forget her current self—even in her senior year, that kind of distance would still be a major stamina trial.
It wasn't that Almond Eye was so tired she couldn't run anymore.
It was that the cumulative drain had cornered her completely:
She couldn't bring out her highest speed to overtake Tokai Teio.
And Tokai Teio?
Tokai Teio had an advantage most Umamusume didn't.
A body with extraordinary flexibility.
Thanks to that gift, Tokai Teio could shamelessly compress her running center of gravity—so low that "skimming the ground" wasn't even an exaggeration.
And what did that lead to?
It meant Tokai Teio could use her light weight, supple body, and ultra-low center of gravity to maintain a frightening speed at minimal stamina cost.
Yes, that speed might be slightly inferior to Almond Eye's burst.
But the terrifying part was—
Tokai Teio could hold it as her baseline.
Keeping that kind of speed didn't even meaningfully tax her stamina. She had more than enough.
Almond Eye was sure of it: even if Gotham Song tried to replicate Tokai Teio's specialty, she'd find it a bit taxing.
The reason was simple. Even though her Trainer could also compress her center of gravity while running to gain absurd speed…
Gotham Song's body, compared to Tokai Teio's, was slightly less flexible. So achieving that true "ground-hugging flight" would be difficult.
Almond Eye knew it—Gotham Song was also good at this kind of style. But compared to Tokai Teio, she should be a little less proficient.
Of course, even if she wasn't good at it, Gotham Song could still easily beat Tokai Teio. The reasons were obvious: her monster stamina and speed weren't something ordinary Umamusume could challenge.
But that was Gotham Song.
Not Almond Eye.
So how do you break Tokai Teio's ultimate Imperial Waltz—the kind of skimming-the-ground flight she pulled off on the track?
Almond Eye grit her teeth and thought.
No answer came.
All she could do was stare at Tokai Teio's back, watching her charge straight ahead, swallowing the finish and victory whole—
Frustrating. So frustrating. Absolute, ultimate frustration with no solution.
Almond Eye's head was a mess as she followed Tokai Teio to the end of the run. Teio-senpai came over afterward, saying something comforting, but Almond Eye still didn't look happy.
Of course she didn't.
What Umamusume is happy about losing?
Especially Almond Eye—whose losses could practically be counted on one hand.
And now, today, the list of Umamusume who'd beaten her gained another name.
Who had beaten Almond Eye?
Gentildonna. Gotham Song. Vernal Equinox.
And now a fourth: Tokai Teio.
So how did Almond Eye feel?
Frustrated, sure—but it was still Tokai Teio. A senior. And an Umamusume who'd once lost to Almond Eye's Trainer…
She'd heard that after losing to the Trainer last year, Tokai Teio hadn't relaxed for even a moment. She'd worked tirelessly to sharpen her strength, diligent as if she were preparing for revenge against their Trainer.
Fine. Fine.
Losing to a Umamusume like that… it was something she could accept.
Still—
Teio-senpai—Almond Eye would remember this loss. If she ever got the chance, she'd come for vengeance.
She gathered her emotions as best she could and responded to Tokai Teio's consolation.
Then she heard a faint stir from the crowd and turned her gaze.
That was when Gotham Song walked over.
But before she could even speak, Tokai Teio suddenly hugged Gotham Song, pressing close.
"Song, you're back? Teio-sama missed you to death!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm back, Teio. Don't squeeze so hard. It's hot."
Almond Eye watched her Trainer try to push her off—only to wrap an arm around the very opponent who'd just beaten her.
For some reason, an even subtler kind of irritation flared inside her.
Weird, wasn't it?
With nobody noticing, Almond Eye clenched her teeth and stared.
Tokai Teio didn't seem to notice at all. She simply held Gotham Song tighter, savoring the warmth she could finally feel again after so long.
It really had been a while.
Every time Song came back to Tracen, she was always busy—either meeting with the Student Council President to discuss something, or coming back solely to train Almond Eye.
Honestly, this training match today might've even been partly because Tokai Teio wanted to shoulder a little of the burden for Gotham Song, and that's why she'd gone to Almond Eye in the first place.
In any case, Tokai Teio was genuinely thrilled that Gotham Song was back, because—
She was Song's one and only nemesis.
A position that could never be shaken.
Heehee.
And there were still so many things about Song to talk about. But the most important—what Teio-sama had to say right now, no matter what—was…
"By the way, Song—Teio-sama has a surprise for you."
"Hm? What kind of surprise?"
Since Teio clearly had no intention of letting go anytime soon, Gotham Song could only endure the blazing sun—perfect for an Umamusume, but harsh for a human—and indulge her.
In practice, that meant she braced Teio by the waist with both hands and held the small Teio close against her, while Tokai Teio looped her arms tightly behind Gotham Song's neck.
In front of all those foals on the training field, the two of them looked openly, shamelessly intimate.
In broad daylight, with everyone watching—gah!
"Hehe. Teio-sama heard, you know—Song's thinking about entering the Breeders' Cup Turf, right?"
"Then—since this is Teio-sama's official revenge—Teio-sama is going to enter the Breeders' Cup Turf too!"
Tokai Teio didn't keep her voice down. She had no intention of hiding the news, declaring it openly like it was nothing.
Around them, the foals' "watching something fun" expressions instantly upgraded into "a really big show is about to start."
Some of them even whipped out their phones and started furiously typing.
Gotham Song didn't react much.
Almond Eye, on the other hand, could only glare weakly.
But clearly, everyone's attention was on Gotham Song and Tokai Teio.
Who would spare a thought for the other Umamusume off to the side?
Yes.
Gotham Song hadn't noticed Almond Eye either. Teio was physically occupying her entire field of view—and the fact that the Umamusume in her arms planned to enter the Breeders' Cup Turf was, frankly, shocking.
Teio, you really dropped a bomb without warning.
What a "surprise."
Gotham Song's lips curved, subtle and sharp, and she nodded.
"So you want revenge against me at the Breeders' Cup, Teio? Fine. I've been looking forward to it for a long time."
"If that's what Teio-sama wants, then let's fight—on the Breeders' Cup stage."
Fight. Slaughter.
If this were earlier, Gotham Song's answer probably wouldn't have been so blunt.
But now…
Now that she could say, without shame, that she'd become an Umamusume, she saw herself more clearly.
If she'd become an Umamusume, then running was only natural.
And more than that—
She liked racing. She liked running against others on the biggest stages. She liked leaving every overconfident, pitiful Umamusume behind, utterly unable to chase her.
That's the kind of Umamusume she was—so what?
Tokai Teio wanted to challenge her as her nemesis…?
Good.
If that's what you want, then we'll step onto the track.
Simple.
Let's slaughter each other.
"Okay!" Tokai Teio chirped. "Teio-sama is definitely going to beat you this time!"
"Is that so?" Gotham Song said lightly. "Then I'll be waiting for my first loss."
If you can do it, Tokai Teio—if you can make me lose…
Then come.
Just… when you lose, and then you see me head straight into the second race that afternoon—
Don't drop your jaw clean off your face, okay?
I wonder what kind of soft, sweet expression you'll wear then.
That's what I'm looking forward to even more.
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was too focused on something elseeeeeeeeeeeee ive been playing 7daystodieeeeeeeeeee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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