Bam!
The sandbag slammed into the ceiling. The ceiling lights flickered for a moment, and the sandbag remained stuck to the ceiling for a few seconds before it finally fell back down. It swung to the side, attached to the stand by a rattling chain.
Tamamo Cross breathed out as she caught the sandbag, frowning slightly as she let the sandbag return to its original position.
"Tama-chan…" Komiyama Masami whispered, gripping her clipboard with such force that her knuckles had turned white.
"Hmm?" Tamamo turned around and smiled slightly. "Ah, Komiyama-trainer." She chuckled as she scratched her cheek. "S'rry. Didn't 'ere ya' com' in."
Masami frowned with worry. "You're not still angry, are you?"
Tamamo sighed. "I ain't angry in ta' first place, Komiyama-trainer." She said, though she knew that her trainer wouldn't believe her.
It'd been a few days since the [Autumn Tenno Sho], and everyone was still buzzin' about how everything turned out. No one could've expected the way Super Creek came in and took the victory during the homestretch, but it was a surprise no one was truly upset about. The 5th favorite had burst in and showed that she wasn't one to be underestimated.
Meanwhile, Tamamo had been selected as the 1st favorite for the race. Her fans were looking forward to the descent of the White Lightning.
She took 6th place in the end.
In hindsight, it wasn't the worst outcome. Dicta Striker might've beaten her out at the end, but Tamamo was at least still in the pack, being only 7 lengths behind Creek. The same couldn't be said for Ardan, Chiyono O, and Muteki—all of them who'd fallen behind so far that the scoreboard could only show Distance.
And Tamamo really wasn't all that fussed about it. Her loss was warranted, considering she hadn't considered Creek in the slightest. The gentle umamusume had completely bamboozled everyone, showing that the silence surrounding her was no sign of defeat.
Instead, there was really only one thing she could think about.
"Yo, Komiyama-trainer?"
"Hmm? What is it, Tama-chan?"
Tamamo went quiet for a moment, before she turned to her trainer and grinned as she untied her long red and blue hairband. "I think it's 'bout time ta' hand up 'dis band o' mine." She said as she offered the untied hairband to Masami. "Ma' time's over. This body ain't keepin' up no more."
And she knew that to be true. Her period of True Blooming, previously extended by the awakening of her Domain, was finally over. She could feel her strength declining little by little, and while she wouldn't regress into a toddler or something, she knew her days in the limelight were pretty much over.
During that homestretch, right after Super Creek caught everyone in her Domain, everyone had at least managed to pull themselves back as they resumed their charge towards the finish line. Even Dicta, who'd been right behind her then, had managed to claw back her strength as she shot forward after she cleared the slope.
Only Tamamo hadn't been able to do so. Her energy had been depleted. Her strength had been emptied. Her legs refused to speed up, no matter how much she pushed herself.
Her body just couldn't keep up anymore. She'd hit the upper limit of what she could achieve.
Masami's eyes were wide as she turned to the hairband she held. "Tama-chan…"
Tamamo smiled. "Why're ya' surprised? I'was already plannin' to retire back then, right?" She shrugged. "I should'a gone off a while back, but I was bein' stubborn. Wanted to see jus' how much long'r I could'a gone on f'r."
Was she sad about it?
A little bit. She'd be a hypocrite if she claimed she didn't feel anything. What umamusume wouldn't feel sad when they realized that their careers were about to end?
But more than anything, she was just…relieved. She hadn't realized how heavy her shoulders had felt until she realized that it was time for her to go. The expectations of her fans, her relationship with her mother, carrying her father's dream, trying to keep up with everyone else—she hadn't realized just how much she'd been holding onto.
Masami stared at her trainee for the longest time, trying to see if Tamamo was being genuine. But there was no falsehood in those eyes. Tamamo declared her intent as if it was a fact.
She took a small breath as she received Tamamo's hairband with shaky hands. "You're sure?"
"Mm. Real sure." Her smile became a little shy as she scratched her cheek. "Besides, da' others will keep ev'ryone busy." She closed her eyes. "Even wit' me gone, this era'll continue on."
Masami teared up slightly as she held the hairband. She'd been with Tamamo for over 3 years by this point, and for so long, Tamamo had seemed like an unbreakable figure. The White Lightning who was blessed by the divine grace of Susanoo himself—with such power, Masami had believed that this journey could've gone on forever.
But now she remembered; that had never been the case. Tamamo had awakened her Domain at the edge of her True Blooming. The new vigor her trainee experienced wasn't one that would last forever. The doctors had told them that Tamamo had seemed like she'd de-aged by almost a year after last year's [Japan Cup].
A year had sounded so long back then, but now–
She sniffled as she wiped her eyes, and Masami forced a grin as she tied the distinctive hairband around her forehead. "Then let's go out with a bang, Tama-chan!" She clenched her fist as she raised her clipboard to the air. "Let's make sure no one will be able to forget it!"
Tamamo smirked. "Now tha's what I'm talkin' about."
"So what race will it be?"
Tamamo raised an eyebrow. "Well, choice's pretty obvious, ain't it?"
Masami blinked, and then smiled fondly. "Yeah, there's only one race left, isn't there?"
It was already Autumn, and soon, Winter would come. G3s and G2s weren't fitting stages for the White Lightning's last descent. The [Mile Championship] was too short for her. The slots for the [Japan Cup] were already filled. Tamamo's aptitude for Dirt wasn't great, so both the [Champions Cup] and the [Tokyo Daishoten] were out.
Which left only the [Arima Kinen].
Masami smiled fondly as she jotted the race down onto the papers on her clipboard. Previously, they'd planned to make last year's [Arima Kinen] Tamamo's retirement race. Her Domain awakening had pushed that back, but once again, the [Arima Kinen] returned once more as their only choice.
Fate truly worked in strange, wondrous ways.
Meanwhile, Tamamo silently took a few steps back, mostly to let her trainer think through her thoughts in solitude. She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, and for a moment, she felt this sense of weightlessness surrounding her, as if her body was being lifted by some unseen force.
And when she next opened her eyes, she was back in this now-familiar black void, with the monolithic wall standing before her. Once, it'd represented the Limits of her previous self. But now it was merely a door that separated her from that mystical Domain that connected her to the divine.
Even now, the door was slightly ajar, and she could see her own Susanoo standing on the other side, cackling with latent electricity as it waited for her to reclaim it.
She smiled fondly. "Just a lil' more." She whispered as she gently placed a hand on the opened doors. "Just one more race, partner. Ya' can do that, cant'cha?"
And though her Domain could not speak nor emote, a flash of lightning shone from it, as if the divine itself agreed with her choice.
Tamamo's eyes glowed with lightning. "Yeah." She grinned with teeth.
"Let's do this, partner."