Streams of applause from the grandstand. Thousands of people calling my name. Waves of praise flowing to my ears. Roar so immense it felt like a physical force. And the feeling of elation.. a brilliant, searing light surging from my heart.
Ah... so this is winning... I want it more.
Floods of golden lights. Rhythmical sways of light sticks that formed a sea of synchronized stars in the twilight arena. Hundreds of voices singing in unison and their melody that lifting me higher. And the feeling of gratefulness flowing towards them who screamed from the grandstand, who pushed me further with the sheer force of their will.
Ah... so this is the Winning Live... I want to dance and sing at the center again.
Just let me savor this euphoria for a little longer, before the yearning for something bigger, something higher, settled back into my heart-
Beep beep! Beep beep!
My eyes snapped open. Sunlight, bright and eye-searing, was already flooding the room, chasing the last shadows of the dream away. The insistent chirping of the alarm clock on my nightstand was the only sound in the background.
"Ah, right. It was yesterday," I murmured along a soft puff of air in the quiet room. My mind, still fuzzy from sleep, slowly sobered up.
With a practiced motion, I reached over and silenced the alarm. I sat on the edge of my bed for a long moment, the cool morning air was a stark contrast to the remembered heat of the spotlights. Yesterday was my Make Debut. And I had won. My first official win. The memory of it was still a dizzying cocktail of sensations: the raw, tearing ache in my lungs, the light-headedness from oxygen starvation, the sudden, overwhelming rush of pure elation as I crossed the line. The dopamine must have been pumped to a level my body had never experienced before.
But underneath it all, the true satisfaction was even more intoxicating. It was the feeling of a plan clicking perfectly into place. Most of all, it was the feeling of chasing down opponents who were deemed to be better and showing that, on this day, on this track, I defeated them.
A small, sharp smile escaped me.
Alright, I need to calm down.
"Hah…" I let out a long, slow sigh, trying to ground myself in the present. I closed my eyes and traced the events of yesterday, slotting the hazy, emotional memories into a clear, logical sequence.
After waving to the grandstand for what felt like both an eternity and a single breathtaking moment, I had headed for the waiting room. The schedule was tight; I couldn't be late for my first Winning Live. I met Chief and Oguri-san in the tunnel, their faces showing a perfect picture of satisfaction. Chief was grinning so wide I thought his face might crack, and Oguri-san gave me a quiet, "That's a great race."
They walked with me along the tunnel, but a woman was already waiting for us outside the room.. or rather, for the Chief. She was a reporter, with enthusiastic eyes and notepad at the ready. With Oguri-san's Dream Trophy race coming up, it was a perfect opportunity for an interview. Chief, surprisingly, handled it smoothly. His interview training with us bore fruit. I and Oguri-san just gave the reporter a polite greeting. She congratulated me, and I thanked her before slipping inside, leaving Chief and Oguri-san to fend off—I meant, cater the reporter. Because I, myself, had a very short window to cool down and change into my Winning Live costume.
On the way to the stage, I saw Grass Wonder-san with her trainer, Tojo-san. Her race wasn't until the fifth race, but she was already here. How dedicated.
The Winning Live itself was a success. The dance training videos Oguri-san lent was a godsend; Norn-sensei methods in the video were unconventional but brutally effective for a newbie like me. I felt I danced and sang well enough. Afterwards, in the backstage, I ended up expanding my network of acquaintances. Blue Chouchou-san and Ribbon Humming-san came over with a fire burning in their eyes. They told me they would be back from the Maiden Races to beat me. I just said I'd be waiting and offered them a respectable smile. Acknowledging a worthy rival was proper conduct. They both recoiled slightly and said my face was scary. That was uncalled for.. How Rude.
We went back to the Academy without any detours. The plan was a small party after Oguri-san won her race later in the week. It might be impetuous on us looking at how confident we were to sell a fish before we caught it. But, it was the Oguri-san we were talking about.
When I'd proposed it, they had both agreed. I'd also given Oguri-san a parting gift: the second, shimmering blue bottle Sweep-senpai had provided. It was also a passing of victory baton or some short. I knew it was improper, a Make Debut victory was nothing compared to the prestige of the Dream Trophy League, but the gesture felt right. The Speed Potion worked, after all. Begrudgingly, I had to admit that.
Sweep-senpai had given me two, citing the importance of the race. Though in the end, I'd only used one, out of fear of overdose. When I gave the spare to Oguri-san, explaining what it was and its duration, she'd regarded it with deep skepticism. But when I added, "It's sweet," her expression softened and she took it without another word. Chief had just shaken his head, muttering something about whether "magical doping" was regulated by the URA. It wasn't forbidden, so it was fine. For now.
When I finally got back to my room, Meek-senpai had congratulated me, her expression as placid as ever but her eyes holding a genuine warmth. After a shower and dinner, I got a call from home. I expected the Director, but it was Just-chan. Her voice was a frantic barrage of questions.. was I okay, how were my legs, how was my body.. and I answered them patiently, one by one. That was my last memory. I must have fallen asleep right there, mid-call.
"I see," I nodded to myself, the timeline of my first victory now properly cataloged.
I stood up and stretched my arms high above my head. No pops, no sharp cracks this morning. My body felt clean, already. Excellent. I walked to the window and pulled back the heavy curtain. Just as I did, I saw Meek-senpai across the room begin to stir, a slow, uncurling motion from beneath her blankets. Her eyes fluttered open.
"Good morning, Meek-senpai," I said the usual greeting with the usual smile.
Yeah, as usual. The euphoria was enough. It was a pleasant memory, a valuable data point on the nature of victory. But it was in the past. My eyes drifted to the window, to the vast, sprawling grounds of the academy and the distant Tokyo skyline beyond. The summit I truly aimed for was still impossibly high, wreathed in clouds. One small win was just the first step out of base camp.
"Steady as she goes," I murmured to the morning light. The campaign continued.
---
"My Kouhai! You're early! Well, well, I allow you to sit at my table, come come!"
The voice, a familiar and chirping command, cut through the low morning chatter of the canteen. Sweep-senpai was waving at me from a four-seat table, alone amidst the scattering of early-arriving students.
"Yeah, I'm famished," I said, sliding into the seat opposite her. My eyes scanned the menu board. Oh, today's menu was Salmon teishoku. A good, balanced option.
"The Speed Potion worked wonders yesterday, am I right? Aren't I amazing? You're free to praise me a lot, fufu," she declared, pounding her barren chest with a fist in a gesture of supreme arrogance.
"Yeah, but it's getting sweeter and sweeter lately. Is that an indication of higher mana concentration?" I replied flatly, my attention still fixed on the menu. I had planned on getting something heavy, but the rotational menu today looked quite good. I would just need to increase my rice portion, then.
"Fufu, you're also getting wiser and wiser lately, my dear kouhai!" she said, proudly taking my half-hearted comment as a genuine piece of magical analysis.
"Alright, I've decided," I said, pushing my chair back. "Anything you want me to grab, Senpai?"
"Nah, just go," she replied, making a shooing gesture with her hand.
I just shrugged and walked to the counter. I ordered the rotational menu, but with double the portion and quadruple the rice. With that, my order was complete.
I had just sat back down at the table, the rich aroma of miso soup rising from my tray, when a shadow fell over us.
"Can I sit here?"
I looked up into a very familiar face. My dormitory mother, Hishi-mama. Well, nobody was brave enough to call her that directly. I glanced at Sweep-senpai. We both said, "Please," in perfect, unrehearsed unison.
Hishiama-san set her own heavily-laden tray down with a solid thud and took the seat beside me.
"You are early, Hishiama-san," I said, opening the conversation.
"Who do you think is unlocking the doors at dawn?" she replied, her voice carrying its usual high-spirited energy.
"We are grateful for your hard work, Hishiama-san," I said, giving her a deep, respectful bow from my seated position.
"Heh, you better be," she scoffed, but there was a warmth behind it. She reached into her pocket. "By the way, I found this shogi piece in the bathroom. You know who owns this?" She held up a small wooden tile, the character for 'Lance' elegantly carved into its surface.
"Eh, Lance? I'm not sure," I answered honestly. I glanced at my senior. "Any clue, Sweep-senpai?"
"Don't ask me," she just shrugged, her attention focused on dissecting a piece of tamagoyaki.
"It almost went down the drain in one of the shower cabins," Hishiama-san continued, a dangerous grin spreading across her face. "If it had really flushed in and clogged the entire plumbing system for the dormitory, I would have given the culprit a special suplex."
You should be grateful the worst didn't come to you, someone who owns the piece, I thought while taking a bite of my perfectly grilled salmon.
"You're usually with Happy Meek or Tamamo and her crew, Copenhagen," Hishiama-san observed, her sharp eyes moving between me and Sweep. "Seeing you with this troublemaker this early in the morning isn't a common sight."
"Hey! I'm not a troublemaker!" Sweep-senpai protested immediately, pointing her fork at Hishiama-san.
"Tell that to Fuji and Air Groove," Hishiama-san smirked, taking a large bite of rice.
"Ugh, they don't understand anything!" Sweep-senpai began to explain, her voice rising in pitch. "True magic needs to be discovered through trials and errors! A lot of them! And some errors are of course bound to happen—"
"Yeah, almost uprooting a tree by exploding its base is common for a wizard, isn't it?" Hishiama-san cut her off without missing a beat.
I paused, my chopsticks hovering over my fish. The casual nature of their banter was one thing, but that specific detail caught my attention. I couldn't help but ask, "What are you even doing?"
"That's Gold Ship! I swear! She just asked for some leftover batteries from me, that's all! I didn't know anything about that explosion!" she defended herself aggressively with her cheeks puffed out.
"I know, I know, I'm just messing with you," Hishiama-san laughed.
My mind, however, had snagged on a key word. "Why do you even keep leftover batteries?" I asked, a cold knot of dread forming in my stomach. If she was using those as ingredients for her "potions," wasn't that a serious health risk? Contamination by mercury was not a trivial matter, after all.
"I just forgot to dispose of them! Hmph!" She turned away, sulking. That wasn't a very convincing denial.
"Ah, now that I remember it, Copenhagen," Hishiama-san said suddenly, her tone shifting.
"Um? Anything I can help you with?" I asked, swallowing my food.
"Just a heads-up. Rudolf seems to have taken an interest in you after your Make Debut yesterday," she said it as casually as if she were commenting on the weather.
"Hmm?" The word came out before I could think. "What does the Emperor find in me that could possibly interest her?"
"Don't ask me," she shrugged, perfectly mirroring the little witch opposite me.
A small, weary sigh escaped me. "Well, let's hope she loses interest as time passes."
"What's that? Most freshmen get giddy when an opportunity like that arrives," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"No, nevermind," I replied, turning my attention back to my meal.
It was true. Symboli Rudolf, the seven-time G1 winner, the undefeated Triple Crown champion, the Emperor. She was a legend. Her record of seven G1 victories was a mountain no one had managed to climb since. Her dominance was so absolute that she was one of the few Umamusume remembered more for her rare losses than her victories. I respected her immensely as a person, as the student council president, and as a racer.
But her nickname… "Emperor." That was the part that set my teeth on edge.
It wasn't about her. Rudolf-san was fine; the title had been given to her by the adoring public, not one she had claimed for herself. But the word itself, 'Emperor,' didn't really sit well with me..
---
"Welcome to the student council office, Copenhagen."
Her voice was as dignified and composed as the legends claimed, echoing softly in the grand, wood-paneled office. And there she was, behind a large, mahogany desk, the one and only Symboli Rudolf.
The desk was covered in neat stacks of paper, a testament to her workload. But even from the doorway, my eyes were drawn to two items set slightly apart from the rest. One was a familiar document. The other was a folded newspaper, the sports section facing up. Even from this distance, I could make out the small, bold headline: "5 Lengths Clear! Kitahara's New Monster!?"
Gratitude for the prior notice, Hishi-mama, I thought. But I didn't expect it to be this soon.
I sighed inwardly and stepped forward, the heavy door clicking shut behind me. The Emperor was waiting.
---
[A question regarding the direction of the story!
For "Zone", do you prefer a more down to earth interpretation like in Cinderella Gray or a full blown Ultimate skill animation like in-game?]