Garden Gale stepped down from the corridor—heading straight towards Tokai Teio.
Tiny sparks flickered brightly in her eyes.
I want to become an Umamusume as strong and confident as Tokai Teio.
That tiny wish, carrying with it a sense of yearning, propelled Garden Gale forward, urging her to make a change. She no longer noticed anything else—not the weather today, nor the distant cheers. Her eyes, her entire focus, were locked solely on Tokai Teio as she walked closer and closer...
…and even closer.
She wanted to get clingy with Tokai Teio.
When she reached her, she'd invite Tokai Teio to have dinner together or something… surely she wouldn't be rejected.
Rejected.
That word suddenly flashed into her mind—
CRACK.
Garden Gale felt as if lightning flashed through her brain, dragging nightmarish memories to the surface. Like waking up in the dead of night, forced to confront old wounds buried deep inside. She couldn't forget—could never forget—those looks filled with disgust, exclusion, and mockery that left her traumatized.
She will never forget it.
She stopped moving forward.
She just stood frozen… and when she finally snapped out of it, all that remained was a profound, overflowing cowardice.
Just watching from afar.
…As expected…I still can't do it.
…Ah…
What was there to say now? She had no strength left, nor anything she wanted to voice. Even if there were words, it'd only be harsh self-criticism anyway. But nothing mattered anymore. In an instant, Garden Gale's figure shrank down, hunching over. All her previous enthusiasm drained away as she quietly began walking toward the exit of the training grounds.
She chose to leave.
...
The race had ended.
"I lost." Air Shakur approached Tokai Teio, waving a hand and lowering her head slightly.
She'd become humble now.
It was cruel.
Yet...
You still have to admit that there was a gap between ordinary Umamusume and prodigies—a gap that often proved impossible to bridge.
Tokai Teio simply smiled. "Don't worry about it! We're classmates, there's no grudge between us. No need to be so serious, right? …But, um, does that mean we can use your training grounds now?"
"Also, Air Shakur-san, you're super amazing! Your final sprint was super intense, just like a beast! I mean it—at one point, I really thought you'd catch up and eat me!"
Her childlike personality instantly cleared away the heavy mood… Well, it made sense. There was no real hatred between them anyway.
Fine Motion walked over as well, her face similarly bright and cheerful. "Teio-san, you really were amazing! You definitely deserve the title 'Prodigy of the Junior Division.' Honestly, I never understood why they called you that… but now I totally get it."
Those numbers from earlier… were good enough to compete in the Derby itself.
An absolute prodigy.
She was simply too strong.
Tokai Teio scratched the back of her head, eyes crinkling in happiness at the praise. She laughed lightly:
"Thanks for the compliment! I'll keep working hard!"
It was exactly as they say: friendships are born through battle.
The three quickly forgot their earlier tension and stood chatting casually. During this time, Tokai Teio even pointed out areas where Air Shakur could further optimize and improve. It wasn't anything complicated—just the astonishing sensitivity of a prodigy, and the insights born from relentless training. Even Air Shakur, who was obsessed with data-driven analysis, couldn't help but marvel.
If she fixed these points… she really would become stronger.
As expected, the best way to get stronger was to face strong opponents.
As they talked...
Tokai Teio suddenly seemed to remember something, scratching her cheek. "Um, did I forget something?"
"Hm?" Fine Motion tilted her head curiously.
She didn't say anything else, leaving Tokai Teio space to think.
Then...
"Ah! I remember now!" Tokai Teio suddenly held up a finger excitedly. "Garden Gale-san! Where'd she go? That's what I was trying to say earlier—you all think I'm super strong, but honestly, Garden Gale-san should be even stronger than me! It's my intuition, and I trust my intuition!"
She quickly glanced around—
Then locked onto the exit, spotting a hooded figure slowly leaving the training grounds. Tokai Teio panicked immediately, blurting out: "Let's chat later, okay? It's rare that I get to see Garden Gale-san—I haven't even gotten to talk with her properly yet! I can't let her leave like this!"
With that she hurriedly chased after Garden Gale.
Left behind—Air Shakur and Fine Motion exchanged helpless glances, recognizing the resignation in each other's eyes.
Prodigies were always misunderstood by ordinary people.
Air Shakur even felt a bit relieved… relieved she'd raced against Tokai Teio and not Garden Gale.
Tokai Teio said Garden-san was even stronger than her—considering Air Shakur had already lost by a decent margin, wouldn't facing Garden Gale mean losing by an even larger gap? If that happened, could she even show her face again, losing so badly to someone from the Junior Division?
Prodigies...
Quietly sighing in her heart—Air Shakur felt genuine admiration towards Tokai Teio, along with a growing curiosity towards Garden Gale… Exactly how powerful was this mysterious Umamusume?
She was dying to find out!
And she'd see soon enough. She'd heard that Garden Gale's debut race was just a few days away, and she'd finally witness the emergence of the dark beast, devouring everything in her path.
...
The scene shifted back to Garden Gale.
She had no courage left.
Running was super cool… and Tokai Teio-san was a very cool person.
But...
She was the one who lacked courage… or was it simply fear? What exactly was she afraid of? …Forget it. No point dwelling on that.
Garden Gale decided she'd just go back and sleep.
Then she'd wake up at three in the morning to train. There wouldn't be anyone else at the training grounds then, right!?
Leaving now would actually be a little rude.
"Garden-san!" Tokai Teio's voice suddenly rang out from behind. "Wait up! Garden-san!"
Startled, Garden Gale froze in place like a frightened rabbit, shivering slightly. She remained silent, not knowing what to say. She neither turned around nor pretended not to hear—doing either would only make things worse…
Until Tokai Teio finally caught up.
The two walked side by side.
"How was my race just now? Pretty cool, right? Hehe, how was my Sky-High Teio Step? Super awesome, huh?" Tokai Teio flashed a radiant smile, her infectious energy instantly brightening the mood like a tiny sun.
Garden Gale stayed silent for a long time before finally speaking up, softly: "It was amazing."
Tokai Teio clapped happily. "Great! I was a little worried you left first because you thought I was too weak or something."
After another long silence, Garden Gale added awkwardly, stammering a bit, barely articulating her thoughts clearly:
"No... Tokai Teio, you're amazing!"
It seemed like her language skills were degenerating badly.
This was the consequence of prolonged isolation from communication—clearly revealing just how terrible Garden Gale's communication had become. Or perhaps her self-loathing had finally overwhelmed everything positive within her.
Tokai Teio seemed to realize something, falling quiet as well.
She hummed softly, walking gently alongside Garden Gale without saying another word.
They kept walking quietly, side by side, as twilight set in, the sun gently gilding the world with a soft golden glow, smoothing out its rough edges.
Until Garden Gale finally stopped walking.
She wanted…
She wanted… to change.
Tokai Teio assumed Garden Gale had stopped because they would soon part ways… and was already prepared for it.
She, too, stopped in place, standing quietly without a word.
She simply offered a gentle, reassuring smile, and this comfort granted Garden Gale tremendous courage. Garden Gale clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug painfully into her flesh, but she ignored the pain. She let it numb her fear, forcing courage to rise, crystallizing into words:
"Do…you want to…grab some ramen together or something?"
It took an enormous effort to squeeze out those words.
Garden Gale bit her lower lip nervously, face hidden in her hood.
This was probably the last time she'd ever have the courage to do something like this—because rejection terrified her. She was desperately afraid…of experiencing those nightmare-like feelings again.
Yet—
Tokai Teio instantly lit up joyfully, exclaiming brightly:
"Yes! Let's go together!"
---
T/N: LKETS GO TEIOOOOOOOOO