Have you ever been to thermal waters? Well, in my past life, I didn't, you never know what you are losing in life until you do something, and then wonder why you didn't do that sooner. The temperature of the water was ideal, the steam was nice, and it worked wonders on the tired body. I could feel myself relaxing easily.
"Aaaahhhh~ This is amazing... so gooooood~" The words escaped my lips on their own.
"Haha! Cowabunga!!"
I slightly opened my eyes to see Flashy jumping into the thermal waters, splashing me, then she resurfaced and gave a peace sign.
"How do you still have energy?" I asked in wonder and a little annoyance about getting my moment cut off by her never-ending energy.
"Teehee~" She exclaimed, giving herself a small hit in the head and pulling her tongue out.
From behind the stones where I was hanging, I was able to hear the voice of Aoi.
"Beheave, girls," She wanted to be alone, to drink a little of sake and relax, so neither Flashy nor I went to plague her.
"But you know Meek, you should learn to have more fun and enjoy the moment," Flashy teased me, stopping near me.
"Ooooh, but I'm having the time of my life," I bluffed, "Maybe you gotta learn to relax now and then?"
Flashy stopped for a moment and crossed her arms under her chest, as she pondered my words. A dark shadow crossed her eyes, and then she smiled, then she sighed, and suddenly, for a brief moment, I could swear I could see her very tired, then she regained her vitality.
"Come oooon, don't be like that and cut me some slack"
A moment of silence followed, and the water was so good I felt I could stay inside forever. But of course, Flashy voice broke the moment of relaxation once again.
"Races are fun as well," She said.
"Nnnn... they are demanding... but I do like to run too," I admit with my eyes closed.
"But you know, sometimes they can be scary as well..."
"What?" I opened one eye and poked her side with one finger. "Little Flashy is scared? Well, I must admit I would be terrified to race against me, so I can understand you putting some excuses before we even run against each other."
"Why you!?" She said Being suddenly called out, she splashed more water on me. "And I already won against you anyway on the first day."
"That doesn't count."
"Yes, it does."
"No, it doesn't."
"Yes, it does."
"Just wait, little Flashy, when we run against each other, I'm gonna come for you and bite your arse for being cocky."
"And now you are being scary too," Flashy said, negating with her head.
Then another moment of silence washed over us, but this time both of us had smiles on our faces, even so curiosity won.
"What do you mean, races are scary? You mean the press? They can be a pain in the neck..." I remember how they already decided I'm not worth their attention compared to Flashy and overshadowed me.
"Hehe, those guys are just getting paid to generate hype so people flood into the hypodrum." She made a gesture with her hands as if she was counting cash and winked, "No, I didn't mean them."
Was Flashy always so deep? She always looked like a good friend and a gremlin, hyperactive, and happy, but her serious expression caught me by surprise.
"Hehe~" She smiled, "It's just... You never know when your current race can be your last..."
"Are you afraid of running, or afraid of stopping running?" I was a little confused, but I could get what she meant.
Racing is a sport. The uma musume races are akin to Formula 1 of athletics; some strong uma musume can reach high speeds, but we ain't using cars to pull it off, its our own bodies, and the bodies have durability and resistence, if fate chose to, it's kind of easy to suffer an accident, like a fracture or a broken bone... also a fall at that speed would be like a car crash. And there are other risks... a stroke, a flying rock on the track, and many other things that come to my mind now that I give a small thought over it, until now I was just running as if nothing could happen, but the example of Teio and McQueen in that season comes to my mind...
"Good question... maybe I'm just thinking over it too much." Flashy seemed reflexive for a moment.
"Don't give me some crap that you have a terminal illness or something like that, please," I said, looking at her with one eyebrow raised.
"Eh!? No! Where do you get those ideas, silly?" She pouted and looked at me, "At least I hope not, it's just... racing has been my everything all my life, since I was very small, the thought of not being able to do it anymore is..."
She was at a loss for words to describe it...
"You are just overthinking things... mmm... well, I'm not the best example, but the idea that comes to my mind is... maybe try to enjoy every race as if it were the last? Or maybe just give a big offering of carrots to the three goddess statue?"
"Ooooh, I like that idea!"
"Yeah, but you have to be careful..."
"Why? About what or who?"
"If senpai Oguri Cap sees you, she may eat the carrots..."
Then both of us started laughing. The idea of Oguri eating an offering sounds like a real chance, but neither of us truly believes she would go as far as to do that.
While both of us talked, we forgot that not far away from us, Aoi was hearing us talk about all kinds of random things while enjoying her drink, but the first part of the conversation clearly gave her some things to think about.
...
...
...
About an hour later, we were ready for dinner, and while we waited for the many things we ordered to arrive. The menu was about all sorts of Asian food. We ordered some sushi, steamed vegetables, spring rolls, and some curry. It was a joyous moment, and Aoi was being very generous, so both of us just decided to partake in it.
As the clerks brought some cola drinks for us, Aoi cleared her throat and raised her glass to propose a toast.
"For my two lovely trainees," She said. Flashy raised her own with a grin, and I followed, "You two fill me with pride. We are just starting on this path, but I have high hopes for both of you. This toast is for your dreams, may they come to fruition, cheers!"
"Cheers!" We followed her.
The food arrived as soon as we finished, probably the staff was waiting for us to finish being polite, and as both umas attacked the food like wild animals, Aoi spoke again.
"That's why we will include frequent visits to the doctor for both from now on," Flashy froze on her spot as she was about to bite a juicy steamed carrot. "Both of you may need several injections, but it's a sacrifice, one I'm willing to accept."
"A," I didn't have more words to say about it.
Needless to say, that night I discovered that Flashy is more terrified of doctors than the possibility of a cruel destiny.