The gates slowly opened, for a moment, a brief moment, little more than a small breath, I was able to see something really beautiful, the turf, the track, the stormy clouds ahead, and beyond that...
"The race has begun!" I heard Kokoro once again as the announcer.
'Aaah... I started late again' I thought with a faint smile as the other racers already were running, just a mere second ahead of me. I was so distracted for just a second that I forgot it was a race.
"And the wild card of this race, Happy Meek, has a slightly late start!" Satoshi announced, complementing the narration.
I could feel Flashy and Aoi face-palming, but hey...
'This is just the start!' I told myself as my debut began.
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Yesterday
I had received some advice from Aoi, but in the end, she told me to run however I felt more comfortable and to enjoy the experience. I grasped my shirt around where my heart would be. Honestly, I still feel nervous. Thanks to Gold Ship, now I'm locked into the end closer strategy, it seems.
(To change to a late or pace chaser, you have to invest a moderate amount of stat points)
That's what the system keeps telling me. Additionally, it seems that resetting this predisposition also deletes all the skills I have learned so far. Even if I only have the one I won yesterday for now, it's better than nothing, but...
"End closer is not for the faint of heart," I said to myself as I smiled.
I stood up and began to give some small jumps in my room, I feel so light, like a feather, but also I feel so much power brewing inside of me... since I removed those heavy horseshoes from my shoes I feel very light, honestly I forgot I had those on, it seems I was supposed to remove them after training but my scatterbrain self had forgotten about it, so, I had been living with those heavy things tying me down.
'I can do it...' I raised a fist to the sky, "I can do it!"
When I was doing such a pathetic pose, the door of my room opened, and I screamed, scared. I had forgotten about Haru, who had just come back, and of course, she screamed too, being startled by me. After a moment, we both laughed about how silly the situation was.
"Haru, you are back," I said, welcoming her as she hugged me.
"I'm home," She said, smiling from ear to ear. "I brought you some presents!"
She brought me some decorations from the countryside. It seems her trainer brought her to the dirt tracks in the countryside, a little uncommon, but she seemed really happy about her adventure; it seems she had a busy agenda.
"And... how was it?" I said while I looked at some kind of uma yokai made of wood, and I placed it on my shelf.
"Tehehe," Haru laughed proudly, doing a peace sign with her hand, "I was fifth on my debut!"
"Eeeh," I said, not knowing if that was a good thing or not, but she kept going.
"Then I placed sixth and fourth on the next races!" For some reason, she looked really proud of herself.
"That's... that's amazing, congratulations, Haru," I said, trying my best to smile.
"Yay!" She was really happy about being complimented. "The people were very kind to me! So many people wanted to keep cheering for me in future races!" She blushed slightly. "And the other girls were very kind too, you know, when I came here I just wanted to have fun"
"Isn't just having fun something good?" I asked.
"That's what I thought too... but my trainer told me I should think about a goal," She repeated the words of her trainer, trying to imitate him.
'For some reason, I don't like where this is going.' I got chills.
"I didn't understand much about that, but the girls that ran with me all had such big dreams... then I thought... I would like to run at Arima Kinen someday..."
'No God, no God, please no, no, NOOO!!!!!!!!' I cried on my inside.
I just hugged her and sighed. She was surprised but happy at the same time. She is so cute, so damn cute. For some reason, she seems like the hero of this story, and I am the nasty demon lord destined to ruin her dreams.
"I'm sure, one day, you will be able to," I said tenderly.
"Hehehe... Owaaa, I heard your debut is tomorrow! I will be cheering for you!"
"If you cheer for me, there is no way I will lose Haru!"
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Two hours ago
I was drinking a hot chocolate while looking at the field of grass in front of me. It was a nice park near the academy. I found this place while training for the system by happenstance.
"Here comes the invincible Happy Meek!" The voice of Flashy arrived in my ears, and I saw her being silly near me. "She goes so fast!! None can catch up to her! Goaaaaal, she is the first!"
"Are we talking about me or you?" I asked, and both shared a laugh.
"Hurray!" She cheered, she was so hyped, "Now it's your turn! I can't wait to see you on the track!"
"Come on, Flashy, don't put Meek nervous," Said Aoi, who was carrying our umbrellas.
The rain hadn't started yet, but I could feel it already; it was going to be heavy rain. I don't consider myself an expert under these conditions, but at least I have an idea of what to expect.
"So you come up with a plan?" Aoi asked me with a smile.
"Yeah," I responded, giving a long zip to my chocolate, "But... It's a surprise."
"Do you feel nervous?" Asked Flashy with a wide smile.
"Of course, but... after talking to my roommate, I came to the conclusion that the most important part of this is to enjoy the race."
"Umu! Interesting!" Flashy said, being full of fighting spirit, "I want to crash with her now!"
"Haaa... Don't worry... I have a feeling we will eventually." I sighted and felt my stomach churn.
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Few moments ago
"Welcome, racing fans, to an electrifying yet soggy afternoon at Tracen Academy's turf track!" Kokoro's voice rang through the audio system, bright despite the downpour. "We're here for the Maiden Race over 1800 meters, a medium-distance challenge on this heavy rain-soaked turf. Eight Umas are set to compete, and the stakes are high for these debutants carving their names into history!"
"Indeed, Kokoro," Satoshi joined, his tone steady. "The weather's a wildcard today.... firm turf turned muddy. The favorite is Blue Rose, she has done an impeccable training work, even so, the media also has their eyes on Happy Meek, she is the second favourite for this race, being the teammate of Flashy Step."
As both Kokoro and Satoshi talked and the fanfare began to play, I felt the eyes of the other seven umas on me, it seem they are being cautious of me, as if I were some kind of threat, I can somehow feel that they don't want to lose to me, they want to prove their own worth, and they want to do everything to force me to lose.
'Probably they don't want to give too much spotlight to my team, I can understand them, being in the shadow of Flashy, it's annoying!'
As I moved into gate 5, and as it opened, I was stunned by the sight.