"So, I heard you looked after Grass over the weekend. She came to me this morning and officially asked to join the team."
"Well, that was fast," Rampage remarked, leaning back in her chair. "I guess she's the 'strike while the iron is hot' type."
It was Monday morning, the start of another busy week. Rampage was clearing through her paperwork when Hana Tojo walked in, coffee in hand. The news wasn't entirely unexpected—Grass Wonder had sent an email on Saturday night expressing her formal desire to join Team Rigil.
"I wanted her to develop a broader perspective first," Tojo sighed, "but she gave me a very clever excuse about needing a firm foundation to avoid losing her way. I couldn't exactly say no to that. Regardless, I'm thrilled to have such a promising talent on board."
"I bet. She's going to turn into a real monster on the track," Rampage said.
"High praise, coming from the Dictatorial Tyrant herself. I'll hold you to that expectation."
Rampage took a sip of her coffee. While Tojo's brew was a solid black with a heavy bitterness she enjoyed, in her heart, she still preferred Minamisaka's specific blend.
"The girl is remarkably motivated," Tojo continued, glancing at Rampage. "She keeps saying she can't afford to lose to her classmates. What exactly did you do to her over the weekend?"
"Nothing special. Spe and the others just came over to hang out. We had lunch and watched some old race footage. That's it."
"Really? Because I've noticed something else... Grass used to practically worship Flora as her mentor, but lately, she's been keeping a strange amount of distance. It's almost like she's... avoiding her."
Rampage paused, her cup halfway to her lips. She knew exactly why. During the documentary they watched, there had been an interview segment with Agnes Flora. Since it was a documentary about Rampage's career, the producers had interviewed her old rivals. And Flora's segment... well...
[Flashback: The Documentary Interview]
"To say Mejiro Rampage is my everything would hardly be an exaggeration," Flora had said, her eyes gleaming with a terrifying intensity. "Our bond—or perhaps our 'fateful entanglement'—began the moment she utterly crushed my undefeated streak. It was a beautiful, traumatic, wonderful moment. She is the star I will always chase, the shimmering light that slips through my fingers just when I think I've finally caught her... and that's what makes it so irresistible, isn't it? Her charm isn't just in that overwhelming 'Super Lead' style; it's the way she uses her 'Phantom Lead' to delude and entrance her opponents... and I was so beautifully entranced that—"
Narrator: "Agnes Flora's testimony was passionate and long. Extremely long."
Because the interview had devolved into a manic, breathless rant, the editors had eventually given up, overlaying a narrator's voice to summarize that she had talked for five times longer than any other interviewee. They had been forced to chop her segment into tiny, sanitized pieces just to keep the film under three hours.
"I'd say it's for the best," Rampage said dryly. "Her 'mask' finally slipped, that's all."
"I don't know," Tojo countered. "If I were a junior who looked up to a senior as a stoic, noble warrior, and then I found out she was actually a total creep, I'd be worried about my future too."
It was Flora's own fault. Grass Wonder had admired Flora's "undying spirit"—the way she never bowed her head even after a loss. But the documentary had revealed that Flora wasn't "unbowed"; she was just deeply, obsessively enjoying the chase.
Rampage recalled Grass's face during the movie.
『Flora-san's competitive spirit... I must learn from it!』 Grass had said early on.
『I... I really don't think you should,』 Rampage had warned.
『I agree,』 King had whispered.
『Me too, desu... Grass, are you okay?』 El had asked.
『No...』 Grass had replied, her voice trembling. 『My ideal... she just died a little inside.』
『Sorry about that, kid...』
Rampage felt a pang of guilt for destroying a young girl's dream, but she quickly decided to blame it all on Flora. If Flora were confronted with it, she'd probably just accept the "creep" label as a badge of honor anyway.
"Setting that aside," Tojo said, her tone shifting to professional concern. "Are you going to be okay?"
"With what?"
"The numbers. You're taking those three into your team, right? Even if Team Nemesis is technically managed by someone else, you're overseeing over ten girls now. Isn't that a bit much, even for you? Most trainers cap their teams at five to keep the quality up."
"It's fine," Rampage shrugged. "None of them are 'problem children,' and I've got Jo-chan helping me out."
Tojo raised an eyebrow. "None of them? Rampage, you have Stay Gold. In the trainer circles, she's famous for being a nightmare—completely unmanageable, ignores every order, and has a temper like a live wire. The fact that you're handling her without an incident is what everyone finds weird."
"If she doesn't want to do something, I don't make her do it," Rampage explained simply. "If I need her to do it, I find a way to light a fire under her. And I make the hierarchy very clear. She listens because she knows where we stand. Most trainers just get looked down on by her."
Tojo sighed. "You certainly have a way of putting it... though I suppose that 'hierarchy' is exactly why she follows you."
Whether Stay Gold followed Rampage out of respect for her skill as a trainer or her raw power as a Horse Girl was a debate that divided the faculty, but the results were undeniable.
"Maya makes her debut this year, so things are going to get busy," Rampage said, standing up. "But I've been through the ringer with the Finals and the Legends. I'll manage. Oh, and Hana-san?"
"Yes?"
"If you're planning on throwing Genuine against Maya... tell her to be ready. I don't know what her current level is, but Maya isn't soft enough to be taken down easily."
Tojo watched Rampage walk out of the room. She didn't need the warning—she never underestimated a team with Rampage at the helm. In fact, Rampage knew Genuine's data better than almost anyone; the scouting report Rampage had provided when Tojo first recruited the girl had been so detailed it was almost frightening.
In terms of tactical advantage... we're actually at a deficit, Tojo thought.
Rampage understood Genuine's soul. Tojo, however, still hadn't quite grasped the full depth of Mayano Topgun.
Later, in the hallway...
"Rampage-saaaan! Grass-chan is avoiding me! Did you do something?!" Agnes Flora wailed, cornering Rampage. "It's not quite contempt, but I feel like she's... repulsed by me?! Why?!"
"To me, it seems like a perfectly natural reaction," Rampage said, not even slowing down. "It's because you're creepy."
"I am not that bad!"
"Tachyon said the same thing. And Flight-neesan said there are times she wishes she wasn't related to you because it's so embarrassing."
"GACK—!!?" Flora collapsed against the wall as if she'd been physically struck.
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