Seeing Mint Drops persistently chasing her, King Halo increased her speed once more, activating her skill.
Faced with King Halo activating her skill, Mint Drops had no chance of winning. Even running with everything she had, she could only close the gap slightly.
The final 200 meters. King Halo was still in the lead, having opened up a fifteen-length gap with the pack behind her and five lengths over second place.
By this point, Mint Drops was running with her eyes almost closed. She'd given it absolutely everything she had.
Still in the lead is King Halo!
Crossing the line! King Halo is the first to cross!
The victor is King Halo!
The spectator seats erupted with earth-shaking cheers. People could clearly hear them all shouting King Halo's name, and quite a few people who knew King Halo's backstory had tears streaming down their faces.
The tension had already broken. There was no final twist waiting to happen, only confirmation.
Mint Drops secured second place with a seven-length deficit.
At the finish line, Mint Drops collapsed forward, lifted her head with tears covering her face, crying openly.
"I lost!" And she'd lost at the very starting line of her debut race, no less.
After accepting the audience's cheers, King Halo walked over and extended a hand to her. "Compared to my roommate, you're way off. If you lose, you can start over from the beginning!"
"Yeah... that's so embarrassing." She realized crying now wasn't the right time for it.
"Don't worry about what other people think. Be the bravest version of yourself. What does losing one race matter? Not being able to get back up, that's the real failure."
"That's... that's amazing. So strong. That's the bearing of a true champion." Mint Drops looked up with complete admiration in her eyes.
Did I just encounter a champion? Did I witness the birth of one?
For some reason, Mint Drops now felt that being able to meet such a strong competitor was actually an honor.
"Oh ho ho ho ho... of course! Because I'm a first-class Uma Musume!"
The light in Mint Drops' eyes immediately faded, her expression changing to bewilderment. Give me back all those compliments I just said.
Twenty minutes later, King Halo found herself backstage, fiddling with her outfit for the third time in as many minutes.
Her heart wouldn't stop pounding. Not from the race, but for the winning stage.
"Okay, okay. I practiced this. I know the moves." Deep breath. "It's just dancing. I literally just won my debut. I can handle some stupid choreography."
Her hands were still shaking.
"You're on in two minutes, King Halo!" A staff member's head popped through the doorway.
"R-right! Two minutes! Got it!"
The door closed. Her tail twitched nervously behind her.
King Halo closed her eyes, remembering the karaoke session with the New Heisei Three. Winning Ticket's wildly enthusiastic and completely chaotic demonstrations. Biwa Hayahide's patient corrections every time she messed up the timing. Even Taishin had thrown in some advice between songs.
And Hayato's parting words.
"Just don't freeze up like Seiun Sky did. Literally anything is better than standing there like a statue."
"Yeah. No pressure at all." She let out a shaky laugh.
The opening notes of the music drifted through the wall.
King Halo straightened up, rolled her shoulders back, and walked toward the stage entrance.
Here goes nothing.
The moment she stepped into the lights, the crowd cheered.
Spotlights from every angle. The victory stage was simpler than the big races, fake cherry blossom petals drifting down from above, the Tracen Academy logo projected on the backdrop. Decent crowd for a debut race, not packed but enthusiastic enough.
The familiar melody of "Uma Pyoi Densetsu" kicked in, that ridiculously catchy tune that every uma musume in Japan knew by heart.
Muscle memory from all those practice sessions took over. Her steps hit the beat perfectly.
King Halo turned gracefully, her hair catching the stadium lights as the crowd clapped in time.
Some were already singing.
"Uma pyoi! Uma pyoi!"
The signature jump was coming up.
'Don't think. Just do it.'
King Halo launched into the air, landed with both arms spread wide, and flashed that brilliant, confident smile she'd practiced in the mirror approximately two hundred times.
"OH HO HO HO HO!"
She worked her signature laugh right into the routine, and impossibly, it worked. The crowd went wild, their energy feeding into her performance.
From the sidelines, Hayato couldn't suppress his grin. "She actually pulled it off."
"She's so over the top." Seiun Sky was grinning too. "But I guess that's Halo for you."
Suzuka clapped softly, her expression genuinely delighted. "She looks like she's having fun."
King Halo finished with a flourish, a deep theatrical bow that somehow managed to be both elegant and completely over-the-top at the same time.
The crowd erupted in applause.
King Halo straightened up, breathing hard but beaming, and looked directly at the camera.
Wink.
'That's how it's done, Seiun Sky.'
The applause continued as she waved to the crowd one last time before heading off stage. The adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, making everything feel bright and surreal.
Staff members congratulated her as she passed through the corridor. She nodded and smiled, but honestly, it all felt like a blur.
By the time King Halo reached the backstage area, the reality of what she'd just done was starting to sink in.
King Halo collapsed onto a bench like someone had cut her strings.
"That was..." She stared at the ceiling, chest heaving. "Actually kind of fun?"
King Halo sounded surprised, even to herself.
At this time, her phone buzzed. King Halo pulled it out, still catching her breath.
Text from her mother: "Don't let it go to your head."
King Halo smiled despite herself.
Another buzz.
It's Winning Ticket this time, and she could practically hear the screaming through the text: "YOU WERE AMAZING!!! THAT LAUGH WAS PERFECT!!! Halo-Chan!"
Then Biwa Hayahide's message came through, calm and measured as always: "Good dance. Well done."
Her phone buzzed one more time. Taishin: "Not bad. See you at Satsuki Sho."
King Halo leaned back against the wall, scrolling through the messages again, a grin still plastered on her face.
'Yeah. I could definitely get used to this.'
----
Let's join as a membership on the otherside~
If someone has enough money, they could help me by becoming a member~ XD
I'm really bad at flirting with people.... Whatever, I hope you enjoy the story as Uma Musume Fans too!