My name is Rushing Sky. I'm nine years old.
I live an ordinary life, with ordinary days, as an ordinary Umamusume. I was never special. Never unique. People glance at me, then forget. I'm not a prodigy like Mary. Not someone with promise like Murashi. Not optimistic or stubborn like Haru Urara. I'm just… ordinary. Forgettable ordinary.
As the next school day arrived, it always did.
Rush adjusted her school uniform in front of the mirror, tugging her clothes straight with a simple motion. Nothing fancy. Nothing wrong. Just right enough.
She stepped out of her room and into the dining area, where her parents and little brother were already seated.
"I've prepared your favorite, Rush!" her mother said cheerfully, turning toward her.
Pancakes.
She liked pancakes. Or maybe she used to.
They tasted fine—but the flavor felt dull now. Not because of how they were made, but because she'd eaten them almost every morning for weeks.
Maybe this was fitting. A bland meal for a bland life.
Rush ate quietly, as she always did.
"Pancakes again?" her brother complained. "We've been eating them forever."
"Why are you always so picky?" their mother scolded, her hands on her hip.
"You can't eat the same thing every day!"
Her mother gestured toward Rush. "Look at your sister. She never complains. She always eats what I make."
Her brother snorted. "That's because she's bland. She could probably live on pancakes forever."
Rush froze.
She glanced at him briefly, then lowered her head.
Bland.
Was that how others saw her, too?
"Yoshio!" her mother snapped. "How dare you say that! Everyone is unique in their own way!"
"But she's not especially special," he continued. "She is not athletic enough to be international or anything. She's just gonna stick around and become something else."
"Despite being an Umamusume… she's pretty average, isn't she?" he continued.
"Don't you dare talk about your sister that way! Everyone is special in their own way!" her mother retorted.
But the words already dropped deep. Stuck inside Rush's head like a parasite.
Maybe he's right. Maybe she really was average. Maybe she shouldn't have been the Umamusume in this family. Maybe if it were him, her brother instead…
Her fork stopped midair. The world went quiet.
And in that silence, Rushing Sky wondered—if being ordinary was all she was ever meant to be. All she was ever destined to be.
But maybe this time... this time she could... SHE COULD—
*Snap*
Rush's eyes flickered back into focus.
Standing right in front of her was none other than that pink creature, Urara, leaning forward slightly, bouncing on her heels, tail swishing back and forth.
"Rush-chan? What were you thinking about?" Her gleaming eyes never wavered once.
"Oh—Urara!" Rush blinked. "Didn't see you there. You must've snuck up on me."
Urara tilted her head. "But we've been talking for a while now. You just suddenly went all quiet and floaty."
"Qui—? Oh… really?"
"Really!" Urara gasped dramatically. "Maybe Rush's soul got taken by the legendary Soul-taker!"
"Soul… taker?" Rush confused.
Urara nodded furiously. "Yeah, yeah! I learned it from a TV show yesterday! It said to steal your soul and leave you as an empty shell! Super scary!"
"…Is that so?" Rush asked, trying not to laugh.
"That's why Urara used her ultimate Soul Snappy Tappy! To bring Rush-chan back to life!" Urara declared, puffing out her chest. "And I even practiced it on my dad yesterday, and it worked perfectly!"
"It sounds… impressive," Rush said, letting out a small chuckle.
"Of course it worked! Urara made it herself!"
Rush felt a little bit better after those detrimental thoughts, if only a little.
Suddenly—
"My, my. If it isn't Rushing Sky."
The voice cut through the moment.
Rush turned her head.
Standing nearby was Murashi, arms crossed, a thin smile on her face.
"I heard you grouped up with a bunch of clowns," she continued with a smirk.
Rush stiffened.
Urara blinked. "Huh?"
Murashi's gaze slid past Urara and locked onto Rush."So tell me—are you really planning to run with them?"
"A group of literal nobodies. No dreams. No feats. No ambition."
She then tilted her head slightly. "Well… who am I to judge?" she added lazily. "Especially when they're your partners. One you singlehandedly picked, an honor I would say."
"Murashi…" Rush muttered, her voice shaky as she felt the pressure of her presence closing in.
Ryu Murashi. The one and only Umamusume.
The one who once shattered Rush's dreams of greatness—who ended her hopes before she even understood what it meant to chase them.
No matter how fast Rush ran. No matter how close she came. No matter how near victory felt—
Murashi was always there.
Catching up. Passing her. Seizing the score as if it had always belonged to her.
Now she stood here again, looking down at Rush with that same calm contempt—mocking not just her choices, but her very existence.
Ryu Murashi. The Dragon that seized the sky.
"Are you going to answer me," Murashi added, leaning in slightly, "or are you just going to ignore me the whole day? Hello?" She waved her hand in front of Rush's face.
Rush flinched, then forced herself to straighten. Her reply came with a faint—just enough to pass as fair.
"Oh… hey. Didn't see you there, Murashi."
Murashi raised a brow. "You certainly did. I mean, who wouldn't? I'm barely a foot away from you." She shrugged casually.
"It's just that… I've got a lot on my mind right now," Rush replied.
"What?" Murashi scoffed. "Like how petty you are?"
"Petty…?" Rush was stunned.
"Yes," Murashi said plainly. "Petty."
Before Rush could respond, a flash of pink darted forward.
Urara planted herself in front of Rush, arms spread wide as if shielding her.
"Rush-chan is not a petty person!" Urara declared. "She's actually a very considerate person!"
Murashi blinked, startled by that pink intrusion.
"When no one picked Urara," Urara continued, "Rush-chan was the only one who did! She gave Urara a chance to run... When no one did! Rush-chan is not petty, and she never will be!"
For a heartbeat, the silence came.
Then laughter broke out amongst Murashi and the girls behind her.
"You can't be serious," Murashi said, wiping at her eyes. "That's hilarious!"
She then tilted her head, "You think someone as selfish and petty as her is considerate?" She paused, squinting slightly. "What was your name again…?"
"Haru Urara!" Urara answered proudly.
"Right. Haru," Murashi said dismissively. "You really should think twice before validating nonsense like that. For someone like Rushing Sky is actually pretty smart. Motives, ambitions, all set in before she will proceed with things that may validate her."
Her gaze slid back to Rush.
"Ain't I right… Rush-chan?" she mocked.
But Rush said nothing.
She sat there, silent, her eyes lowered.
"I totally don't understand what you're saying," Urara shot back, "but I know you're wrong!"
Murashi let out a short, disgruntled sigh. "Then how about I spell it out for you?"
She lifted her chin, looking down at Urara as if the height difference alone proved her point.
"You and your little buddies," she said, flicking her finger toward Urara's teammates in the distance, "are nothing but tools. Tools meant to make her look good on the track."
Urara confused.
"You really think she'd pick you if she actually wanted to win? She actually picked you out of sheer generosity?" Murashi scoffed. "Do you think she'd even start a conversation—no, let me rephrase it—do you think she'd even look at you if it didn't benefit her?"
Her finger shifted, pointing across the yard—straight at Mary, surrounded by classmates.
"She could've joined her," then to herself, "Or me," Murashi said.
"That's where winners go. Not a bunch of buffoons stuck around doing who knows what."
She leaned closer, her voice deepened. "We know who you are, Haru. We know how incompetent you are. And if you weren't useful for that one tiny purpose…"
She straightened.
"You. Would. Never. Be. Picked. By. Her."
With that, Murashi lightly patted Urara's shoulder before turning away with her group.
"I've said enough," she added over her shoulder. "What you do with that information is your choice, Haru. It is your life after all... And I planned not to intervene for someone as insignificant as you. Farewell."
As they walked off, Urara snapped out of it and stuck out her tongue.
"Like hell I'll listen to you! You stink! Stinky poo poo!"
Murashi was startled by those sudden insults and turned, "You better take those words back! You—" before she could finish her sentence, those girls surrounding her quickly intervened, urging her to let it go, it's not worth it.
With that, Murashi, still quivering in anger, kept her tongue tucked and stormed away.
"Keep walking, you stink!" Urara added.
But before Urara could add more, Rush finally spoke, interjecting.
"Urara… please," she said. "I got something... something I want to tell you."
Urara turned instantly, all brightness returning at once.
"Yes! Yes! What is it, Rush-chan?"