"I'll do it." I said.
"It's just a speech, right?" I said.
Right now, I wanted to go back to yesterday and knock myself out cold.
"My head…!" I held my head in my hands as I screamed. "Damn it, how did I used to do it!?" I whispered, doing all I could to dig through my memories of my years in university. Back then, I could practically conjure speeches and essays from nowhere, but now I couldn't even jot down a line!
I grit my teeth as I stared at the completely empty paper. I'd spent an entire day doing jackshit, and now there was only a week and a day left before the [Japan Cup]. I'd wanted to do it before the banquet tomorrow, but from the looks of it, I doubted I'd be able to meet that goal.
But before I could descend into further madness, I felt a gentle pair of hands wrap around me. "Is it that important?" Oguri Cap asked, and I felt my ears tingle from how close she was to my ears.
"It is. The whole world will be watching." I explained, carefully moving away the bangs of hair that'd fallen over my eyes. "And I don't want to embarrass the Director, especially after all the work she's done for us."
Well, it wasn't just that. It wasn't just this world that would be watching, but another one would be as well. This story of mine was being recorded and shown to millions of other people, and just that thought alone was making me cringe.
"Nn." Oguri dropped her chin onto my head, calmly staring at the empty paper. "A speech…"
I smiled. "Would you like to try writing something?"
"I don't know what to write." She said plainly.
My smile turned a little wry. "Yeah, I expected that."
I relaxed into my chair and sighed, my ears occasionally twitching whenever Oguri accidentally rubbed her cheeks into them.
It still was incredible to think that the [Japan Cup] was just over a week away, and that I was practically the only one who knew that there was an entire War Arc that was playing in the background. I mean, it wasn't really going to change much in the end, but all this backstory was-, well, I don't know. I still didn't know how to feel about it all.
Destiny, Fate, the Three Goddesses, previous Heroes—I knew that Cinderella Gray was a bit more shounen compared to the rest of the Umamusume franchise, but I feel like this was getting a little too shounen, wasn't it? Where was all the cutesy stuff? Where was my girl that kept singing 'Hachimi, Hachimi~' over and over? All this stuff about Destiny wasn't in the contract when I first signed up!
…hah.
Well, it didn't matter. I was just complaining. Even if I could go back to the past, I would probably still accept Oguri's invitation and head to Kasamatsu Tracen. All this background information wasn't going to stop me.
On that note–
"Stop flicking my ears." I told her, blushing slightly as I felt oguri playing with my left ear. "It tickles."
"Nn." She hummed, and then proceeded to continue.
I sighed, though I made sure not to move. I wasn't sure why Oguri liked playing with my ears and tail so much—it wasn't as if umamusume were rare or anything. Still, she seemed happy whenever she did so, so I wasn't going to stop her or anything.
I stared at the empty paper in silence, contemplating what would be appropriate to say. After all, I'd need a speech that'd resonate both with the umamusume I'd be competing with and all the people that'd be watching the race, and also make it a speech that declared my intent on opposing Destiny. How would you combine both and not make something tacky–?
"You're thinking too hard." Oguri suddenly said, gently brushing a finger through my hair. "Make it simple. Everyone will understand."
Make it simple, was it…?
I frowned slightly as I crossed my arms. I suppose she wasn't wrong—I'd subconsciously been trying to make the speech more grand, partly to play into the Hero persona I'd set up, and partly because I wanted to appear more sophisticated. But speaking was never my forte—I was never particularly verbose because of all the time I spent in the hospital in my previous life.
I closed my eyes.
Something simple. Something everyone will understand. Something that can resonate with everyone, regardless of culture or age or time or circumstance. Something that could be a fitting opening to a race that would dictate the future of this entire world.
How the hell was that simple, again?
That was my first thought at least, but the longer I considered it, the less impossible it began to sound.
"I think I have an idea." I eventually said, and as I opened my eyes, I couldn't help but smile slightly as I saw all the grey hair that'd fallen over my eyes again. "Not sure how good it'll sound, but I think I can get a first draft out."
Oguri hummed. "Really?"
I nodded as I straightened up. "Yeah." I grabbed a pen and narrowed my eyes. "I think I'll still need help though." I smiled as I reached up and patted Oguri's head. "Can you help me?" My smile softened. "You've been with me from the very start, after all."
And though I couldn't see her, I knew that Oguri was smiling too. "Nn. I'll be here."
I took a deep breath, and began writing.
.
.
.
A day later, and the day of the much awaited [Japan Cup Ballroom Party] was finally here. Hundreds of people entered the Top Floor venue of the Tokyo Imperial Hotel, having entered either through connections or by spending an egregious amount of money. Veteran trainers, politicians, millionares—there was no shortage of diversity in the crowd that'd gathered.
The venue in the Top Floor of the hotel was naturally decorated with opulence and beauty. This event had been sponsored by the Director Akikawa after all, and the Director had never been shy with her money. Just from a cursory look, it was clear that the Director had gone all out.
The event had started nearly an hour ago, but despite that none of the 14 participants of the [Japan Cup] had arrived yet.
No one complained, however. Not just because it'd be rude, but also because the first two hours of the event would be dedicated to an entirely different group of people who were just as important.
"That's a lot of people…" Kitahara Jo said, smiling wryly. He was sitting at the table at the front end of the room, and so he had a full view of the massive crowd that'd gathered today. "And it's not just the Japanese and Americans either…"
Nase Fumino hummed. "It's not a surprise. This is an international event, after all."
"I think this goes beyond 'international' by this point." He said, smiling wryly as he leaned head onto his hand. "The whole world's watching us."
Komiyama Masami chuckled weakly. "Y-Yeah. Tha's true." She took a shaky breath as she tried to calm herself down. It didn't seem to be working. "Oh my Goddesses, why am I here…?"
Kitahara raised an eyebrow. "You could've just not joined, y'know?"
"I know, but-" Masami sighed softly. "Gotta make use of what little time I have left, right?"
Kitahara's eyes softened slightly. "Yeah. That's true." He said, sighing slightly as he thought about the recent announcement about Tamamo Cross' upcoming retirement. "How're you feeling?"
Masami smiled weakly. "It's about time. We should've already retired a year ago, but we got lucky."
Kitahara hummed.
He didn't quite know the full picture, but he knew enough. From what she told him, Tamamo wasn't actually planning to run in the [Japan Cup], probably because she wanted to use all the time to prepare for the [Arima Kinen] instead.
But when the Director heard about this, she came to Tamamo and personally begged her to join. And while he didn't really know if that was true, the fact that Tamamo Cross' name was included in the list of participants probably meant that the Director had successfully convinced her.
Well, that aside–
Kitahara cleared his throat as he straightened his tie. "Time to face the music." He said, narrowing his eyes as he heard the room beginning to quiet down.
Fumino and Masami nodded as well, and they both composed themselves. And just moments later, dozens of heavy-duty cameras were pointed their way as every news channel turned their focus towards them. The whole world was literally watching them.
Kitahara grinned.