As soon as I crossed the finishing lane...
(Congratulations.)
(The System has evolved to level 1.)
(New features: Store)
But I paid little to no attention, since I found myself in a very unexpected situation, and we both crossed the line at the same time. Blue Rose and I looked at each other, dumbfounded. Then the only reporter that was covering this niche debut jumped into action and took the perfect photo, I don't know if Blue or I looked more dumb...
Luckily for both of us, Blue took my hand and raised both hers and mine to the sky, receiving the thunderous cheering from the public. It was a chilling experience. With my fantastic new set of ears, it sounded even louder than what I could ever hear before.
"Congratulations!"
"Both did an amazing job!"
"Blue Rose, I'm your number one fan!"
"Happy Meek!!"
I hadn't paid much attention to the crowd before, but it was intimidating, and at the same time enervating; it was a mixed feeling of power and cowardice... I felt the radiating power from the small crowd that had come to see us race... and then I knew it.
'So this is what it means to be an uma,' I thought as they cried out our names. 'I couldn't fully grasp it when I trained, but now I think I get it, why people love this so much'
As I scouted the people, I saw familiar faces. Flashy gave me a thumbs up as she smiled, Aoi still looked as she was processing the fact of my risky running strategy... then I saw Goldship and McQueen, and Haru, I swear I saw more familar faces but then as the locutors ended their narrations the rest of the runners began to leave the track, and Rose pulled me toward the exit too.
Then I noticed...
'I'm tired, I want to go to sleep!' My body ached, I put a lot of effort into this race, and still couldn't win... how did we even draw?
"Happy Meek," Blue Rose said as we went inside the tunnel, catching my attention again.
"Yes?" I asked, looking at her.
"I will win for sure next time," She declared, looking at me with a very serious expression. I was about to answer lightly, but I could see it in her eyes, a burning flame; she was seeking victory, that was her aim...
'Isn't that my goal too?' I smiled faintly and nodded, "Unn... Me too, I will win for sure."
It was a faint moment of tension, but then she smiled and laughed.
"You are crazy, you know that? What was that way of running... still, you are amazing," She complimented me with a smile on her face.
"Well... my trainer told me to run as I pleased," I said in my defense, earning more laughs.
As we moved ahead, there was a signal for us to move to another room. Then I remembered the victory concert...
'Oh no,' I thought.
Of course, we changed clothes; we were soaking wet after the storm that was happening outside. We changed to our normal Tracen uniforms, at least, they were very comfortable. Aoi told me a few days ago, to get a unique racing outfit, we first have to compete more, and she would take care of our outfits. When I finished changing, I left the room. I still had a couple of minutes before we had to go to the stage.
"Oooooiii!!!" Flashy Step voice came to my ears as she appeared alongside Aoi, I walked towards them.
"I couldn't win," I said, my ears flattening against my head.
"Come on, Meek! Both of you ended up in first place!" She said, cheering me on."
"You did a great job, Meek," Said Aoi. "Still, we gotta work on your starts... but still, I really believe you would take another role, it was a big surprise seeing such a unique way of running your races... Oh dear, I hope my poor heart can handle your style, I almost fell down jumping from the chair!"
"Soooo... Make Debut, huh?" Asked Flashy with a goblin smile on her face.
"Don't you dare..." I said, catching her attention.
"Hehe," She pulled out her smartphone, "I will film everything, hehe."
Before I could complain or say anything against her, we were called to the stage.
...
...
...
Have you ever thought of scenery panic? I may be a little lame, but I never had it. But I had never been in the spotlight like this before; more people than the crowd that had come to see us run had arrived, probably people curious to see the ones who won the race, and some who wanted to chill watching our small concert, it wasn't a big stage, but was big enough to allow the crowd to get comfy and watch over us.
Blue Rose smiled at me, both nodded.
The music started to play...
Hibike fanfaare
Todoke gooru made
Kagayaku mirai o kimi to mitai kara
'Eat me earth,' I thought, and then my mind went off I did what I had to do to the best of my capabilities, it's just... 'Flashy, you are going to pay!' I thought when I saw her smiling from ear to ear while filming my every movement.
...
...
...
After the concert, I was drained of all my life energy, I was tired, and for some reason, it was like a baptism; I didn't care anymore if the people watched me, but in the end, I hoped they had enjoyed my suffering on the stage. The people clapped and seemed content; some even cheered for our names.
"Blue Rose, Happy Meek, over here!" The reporter who was covering this put a microphone near us. "Blue Rose, please tell us your goal!"
"I will win the Japan Cup and prove my worth!" She declared boldly, raising her fist to the air, earning cheers from the crowd.
Then the reporter put the microphone near me as he looked at the camera.
"What about you, Happy Meek! Your teammate it's in the spotlight of every media right now, but tell us about you!"
"I..." I looked at the camera, then took a deep breath. "I will win the triple tiara for sure."
I felt a little ashamed for being so direct, but my declaration earned some praise from the crowd, too.
"We will be cheering for both of you!"
I moved next to Flashy and Aoi.
"Did you really record everything?" I asked.
"Every single second on stage," She declared proudly.
"I can't talk with you about deleting it, right?"
"Are you joking? I already uploaded it to Umagram."
"Nnn..." And that was it, she will pay for this.
"Excuse me!" Suddenly, someone spoke, and I froze for a moment.
I knew that voice. I slowly turned around, and there she was...
"I... I'm a big admirer of Miss Meek!" She said in a very hurried way, blushing red, "Your race was very inspiring, next year I hope to enter Tracen Academy... so please... allow me to run alongside you!"
She bowed. I already knew her, but it would be creepy if I just called her name.
"What's your name?" I said, my eyebrow twitching a little, thank god she was bowing, and the other two couldn't see my face since I turned to talk with the newcomer.
"Yes!" She said, raising her head and accidentally hitting the camera of a guy who was trying to take a photo behind her, "Ouch! Huuuh!?" She rubbed the back of her head while smiling, "Matikanetannhauser!"
"Matikanetanwausher," Said Flashy, confused, biting her tongue.
"I will remember your name, Matikanetannhauser. Please come to Tracen, and we will talk in the near future," I said with a smile on my face 'What is this situation?' I wondered with curiosity.
"Yes!" She beamed happily with a radiance that was too much for me, as if she were recognized by some idol.