Gotta say, Japan's shaping up to be way more exciting than she expected!
Like, come on. Who could've expected that she'd be running against an Escape Artist and an End Closer in the [Japan Cup]? That was basically no different than going out to find copper and instead finding gold!
Though today started a little weird.
Not to say she didn't like it. Far from it! Being weird was awesome!
Things seemed alright at first. She'd woken up early, gotten her usual morning training to get used to Japan's softer turf, and then went out to play some basketball to pass the time. Of course, there were a few reporters here and there that tried to get in, but the little group her superior had assembled for her had kept them all out.
At least, until she heard someone unfamiliar step onto the court.
「Sorry for the intrusion, Ms. Michelle.」
Michelle My Baby blinked, and turned around to see an umamusume walk onto the basketball court. She was dressed casually, so Michelle didn't recognize at first, but the golden star hanging from the umamusume's left ear gave her pause. Something about that felt strangely familiar, and it took her quite a bit to realize why.
「Oh! You're that Blossom Star, aren't you?」Star nodded slightly, and Michelle grinned.「Amazing! I didn't know you spoke English too!」
「I know a little.」She said humbly.
Michelle laughed. Was this what Japan called 'knowing a little'? The girl was practically speaking like a native!
Damn, the Japanese sure were scary!
「So! What're you here for, Ms. Blossom?」Michelle grinned.「Don't tell me your trainer sent you out alone to scout me out!」
Star snorted.「No, no. Nothing like that.」Her expression became serious then, and Michelle felt a strange sense of familiarity well up inside her as those eerily bright blue eyes stared into her.「I have a favor I want to ask.」
Michelle rubbed her chin.「A favor, huh…」Her eyes shone.「Well, it depends.」
Star narrowed her eyes slightly, a dangerous pressure slowly extending outwards.「Depends on?」
Michelle whistled. The familiarity was growing even stronger now!
「Play a game with me.」She grinned as she dribbled the basketball she'd been holding.「Show me you got the guts to back it up!」
Star's lips twitched.「I'm not very good at basketball, you know?」She said, smiling wryly.「I'll just get slammed.」
She grinned and shrugged.「But a game won't hurt!」
Star sighed.「A game won't hurt.」She repeated. She took off the jacket she'd been wearing, hanging it on the nearby shoe rack.「Alright, come on then.」Her eyes glowed bright.「Let's do this.」
「Let's!」
And true to her word, Star wasn't all that great at basketball. Her dribbling was pretty sloppy, her form was terrible, and she took a little too long to line up her shots. And even then, she didn't score that many times. But she did score. Sure, Michelle was taking it a little easy since Star was a complete newbie, but even she was shocked to see that Star managed to score here and there.
The reason was simple,
Her techniques were non-existent, but Star made it up with pure power. Her speed was crazy, her reaction time was top notch, and the few times she managed to dunk, the basketball ring shook so badly that Michelle feared the whole thing might just snap in half.
By the end of their 15-minute match, Michelle was grinning so widely that it was hurting her cheeks. It was just as her senior told her; this race would be far from easy. Blossom Star was a monster, and yet she was still considered the second strongest of her generation.
If that was the case, then how strong was this Oguri Cap her senior was warning her about?
Star released a small breath as she shook her hands.「Guess I lost.」She smiled wryly.「As expected.」
Michelle grinned widely as she gave her a powerful pat on the back.「Hey, you managed to score a few times! That's already pretty good!」She hummed.「Gotta say though, your strength's pretty good. Ever thought about trying to get into other sports?」
Star shook her head.「Not now, at least. Still got too many things to do.」
Michelle laughed.「That's true!」She then took a deep breath to calm herself down, before she turned back to Star.「So, what was that favor you were talking about?」
Star was quiet for a moment, before her eyes shined with determination.「This isn't the favor, but do you know where Obey Your Master is staying at?」
Michelle paused.「Obey Your Master?」She tilted her head slightly, trying to remember where she'd heard that name before. It took her a bit, but she eventually remembered that she was the second American representative coming.「Oh, her!」Her expression dimmed slightly.「Sorry, I got nothing there. Haven't even talked with her yet!」
Star nodded, disappointed but entirely unsurprised.「That's fine.」She looked back at her.「In that case, can you get me a call with your Senior?」
Michelle blinked.「My Senior? Which one?」
Star smiled sharply.「I'm talking about Secretariat, of course.」
Michelle felt her whole body turn to ice, followed by a startling revelation. Suddenly, she understood why Star had felt so familiar to her, why her smiles made her both excited and wary at the same time.
Star was reminding her way too much of the Big Red herself.
Michelle's lips parted for a moment, eager to ask how exactly Star knew that and why she wanted to talk with Secretariat. But she quickly closed her mouth. There was a saying back home, a simple rumor that eventually solidified into truth.
You don't fuck with the Big Red.
And sure, Star wasn't actually the Big Red, but she might as well be a younger version of her that just happened to be Japanese. And right now, her instincts were screaming at her to follow Star's favo-, no, demand. That if she didn't, something far worse would happen.
…Haha.
How exciting!
「Well, I have no reason to stop you.」Michelle grinned widely, before she took a deep breath.「OI! CALL UP MS. SECRETARIAT! WE GOT SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO TALK TO HER!」
A chorus of 「Yes, ma'am!」sounded from her little group, and she grinned as she turned back to Star.「Alright, just give it a sec.」
Star nodded before she bowed.「Sorry for troubling you, Ms. Michelle.」
She smiled.「It's fine! No scraps from my back and all.」
They talked as they waited. At first, Michelle was somewhat afraid that Star would be hard to talk to, but thankfully that wasn't the case. Star was more than willing to talk with her, and she even shared some stories of her own when asked.
She had a good laugh when Star told her about how Oguri Cap ran a few buffets dry. She couldn't help but wonder who this Oguri would feel once they saw how big American portions were. Because, not to shame anyone, but Japanese portions were just too small. How could anyone be satisfied!?
Eventually, one of the guards she'd been assigned with came out onto the court. 「Ms. Secretariat is ready to receive your guest, Ms. Michelle.」
「Well, there you go!」Michelle grinned.「Don't get too intimidated with her, yeah? Ms. Secretariat's not super scary once you know her!」
Star nodded.「I'll keep that in mind.」And saying that, she followed the guard back into the house she'd been staying in for the past few days.
Michelle hummed as she watched Star go, undeniably curious as to what Star wanted from Secretariat. But she eventually shrugged and began training her three-pointers. From the way Star was speaking, it seemed to be something pretty important, and she wasn't the kind to pry on others' business.
In the end, Star's call with Secretariat didn't last that long—several minutes at best. But Star eventually returned to the court with the guard in tow. Star looked about the same, though she had a small, satisfied smile on her lips. The same couldn't be said for the guard, whose face was pale and was sweating buckets, all while staring at Star like she was some kind of monster.
「Had a good call?」
Star nodded.「I did, yes. Ms. Secretariat is far more accommodating than I first thought.」She smiled as she bowed.「I won't trouble you anymore then, Ms. Michelle.」
Michelle grinned.「Alright, nice meeting you then!」Star nodded and turned to leave.「Don't be a stranger, okay?」
Star returned a lazy wave as she walked away.
…
Once Star had left her place, Michelle turned an amused glance to the terrified-looking guard.「You good? Need any help?」
The man gulped slightly, looking like he was seconds away from collapsing.「I am…fine, Ms. Michelle. Just-, surprised, that's all.」
She raised an eyebrow.「What's so surprising to surprise folks like you?」
「I…cannot say.」He eventually said, refusing to look at her.
Michelle gave him a playful stare, before she shrugged.「Alright then.」
How truly exciting!