The encounter between Orfevre and Rice Shower did not cause any immediate ripples in their lives.
For Orfevre, the only thing that came out of it was that during her training, she would always see Rice Shower shadowing her, maintaining a certain distance, much like an End Closer stalking the leading Uma Musume.
However, Orfevre didn't mind this, and in fact, enjoyed teasing Rice Shower.
Whenever it seemed that Rice Shower was starting to catch up, Orfevre would then accelerate ever more slightly, causing the chase to continue anew.
Orfevre especially liked doing so when Rice Shower had a glimmer of hope in her eyes, only for it to dim when the gap widened once more.
Initially, Orfevre thought that after getting played around like this for a few times, Rice Shower would eventually get tired and leave, but to her surprise, Rice Shower persisted for quite some time.
She had to admit, though not as formidable as hers, Rice Shower's stamina was still incredibly strong.
Few Uma Musume could endure Orfevre's intense training, and while Rice Shower could not keep up entirely, she was undoubtedly faring much better compared to her peers.
This made Orfevre unconsciously think of Mejiro McQueen... Her friend from the Mejiro Family who was exceptionally good at long distances and who Orfevre looked towards with admiration.
But even so, Orfevre only paid a little more attention; she still didn't take Rice Shower to heart.
After all, a sixth place finisher posed no real threat to Orfevre.
And just like that, the days passed.
Soon, the first half of March had gone by, quickly entering into the latter half of the month.
On this day, the Uma Musume of both Ikezoe and Wada had races: the Takamatsunomiya Kinen for Curren Chan, and the Osaka Hai for Meisho Doto.
Now, at the Hanshin Racecourse, Meisho Doto, accompanied by Wada and T.M. Opera O, challenged her first GI race of the year.
With how strong Meisho Doto had managed to become, Wada and T.M. Opera O had full confidence in Meisho Doto!
"No need to feel nervous, Doto. There's no particularly strong or troublesome opponents in this race. You just have to perform well... Which, for the current you, shouldn't be a problem."
In the lounge, Wada truly had no more words of advice to tell Meisho Doto. She already had all the tools she needed to win.
Although Meisho Doto was no longer growing as fast as she used to, it only meant that she was approaching her peak.
Without monsters like T.M. Opera O, or strong rivals like Narita Top Road and Admire Vega, as long as Meisho Doto performed well, victory was all but guaranteed.
"Meisho Doto, go win your second GI!! Your Overlord is giving you her blessings!"
T.M. Opera O patted Meisho Doto's back, offering encouragement to her most favored subject.
Facing the two's support, Meisho Doto nodded and smiled.
"Thank you, T.M. Opera O, Trainer... I'm off."
"Mm, be careful."
Wada gave Meisho Doto one last pat on the head before confidently letting her head onto the racecourse.
As Meisho Doto gave T.M. Opera O and Wada one last look, she completely turned her back on them, taking a deep breath as her eyes became serious.
Walking towards the racecourse was Meisho Doto, the Beast of the Racecourse!
But, as Meisho Doto was walking down the corridor, at some unknown point in time, a figure suddenly and quietly appeared behind her.
Without warning, two fingers swiftly poked the sides of Meisho Doto.
"Eep?!"
Instantly, Meisho Doto shivered intensely, all the energy and poise from before drained in an instant.
Flabbergasted, Meisho Doto quickly turned her head, only to find a black haired Uma Musume with a cold, beauty like face, wearing what could only be described as an incredibly generic Winning Outfit with a hood. Her two outstretched fingers clearly indicated she was the culprit.
"Y- you, who are you?"
"Hehe, no one really. Just swung by to say hello to the most popular Uma Musume in the race. Meisho Doto-san shouldn't mind, right?"
The black haired Uma Musume had a very gentle smile on her face, a very pure smile.
However, her void like eyes clashed greatly with her smile, evoking a contradictory and very strange feeling.
"My name is Depth Collision. By the way, you're the one who won last year's Autumn Tenno Sho, right? The one who broke through thirteen Uma Musume?"
"Y- yes..."
Seeing that this Uma Musume named "Depth Collision" was friendly, Meisho Doto relaxed considerably, reflexively saying,
"I just got lucky—"
"Oh, no, no, no. That was not mere luck~"
"Those Uma Musume from Shadai, they must've been there to block you, right? No ordinary Uma Musume could've broke through such layers of encirclement. From that perspective, Meisho-san, you sure are impressive!"
"You know, I also really want to instantly overtake thirteen opponents like you some day. It would be so cool!"
"Hehe... Is it, is it really okay to praise me like that?"
Meisho Doto became a little embarrassed by Depth Collision's praise, awkwardly scratching her head.
But fortunately, her timidity had improved quite a bit, quickly recovering and asking,
"Depth Collision... Are you also a student at Tracen Academy? I don't think I've seen you before..."
"Nope, I'm not an Uma Musume from Tracen Academy, oh— ugh, I guess I wished I was? Unfortunately, I graduated from a private Uma Musume academy."
"Oh... private? Do such schools really exist?"
Though this Depth Collision didn't seem to be lying, Meisho Doto had never heard of a private Uma Musume academy before.
Just as the two were still chatting, an announcement signaled the imminent start of the race, drawing both of their attention.
Seeing this, Depth Collision waved her hand to Meisho Doto.
"Well then, I'll take my leave now, Meisho-san. I look forward to your performance later~"
"Y- yes. Let's all do our best!"
Meisho Doto gave Depth Collision a very polite bow, then quickly trotted towards the racecourse.
However, watching Meisho Doto's retreating figure, 'Depth Collision's' void like eyes became several tones colder, revealing a pair of sapphire blue pupils.
"She's even more innocent than I imagined... that's good, the future generations shouldn't have to deal with the same nonsense we had in the past."
"I'm really looking forward to this race, Meisho Doto. You definitely won't lose this time, but whether you can actually 'win' is an entirely different matter."
Murmuring to herself, "Depth Collision" silently pulled up the hood of her 'Winning Outfit,' concealing her face before striding towards the racecourse.
...
"WEEELCOME EVERYONE TOOOOO THE HANSHIN RACECOURSE!!!!"
"My name is Akasaka Misato, and I will be responsible for commentating on this race, the GI Osaka Hai!"
Again, it seemed the commentator this time was Akasaka Misato. However, unexpectedly, Junko Hosoe was not by her side this time; instead, there was an unfamiliar woman no one had seen before.
"The Uma Musume have now all entered the racecourse! The biggest highlight of this race is, of course, the highly anticipated, and most popular Uma Musume in this race: MEISHO DOTOOO!!"
"She had managed to shine brightly in the Autumn Tenno Sho last year, will Meisho Doto be able to achieve a consecutive GI victory?! We can only wait and see."
"...And they have entered the gates, Meisho Doto looks full of confidence today. It seems she is in excellent condition!"
The live camera quickly focused on Meisho Doto, who had just entered the gate.
This time, full of energy, she seemed ready to win with dominance. The sparkle in her eyes made Meisho Doto's fans cheer even more enthusiastically.
"It's really lively."
Wada remarked as he stood alongside T.M. Opera O and Fumino Nase. Their expressions were all very relaxed, fully expecting a dominant victory from Meisho Doto.
"I wonder how Ikezoe's race went. Considering it's a sprint race, it should already be over right?"
"Curren Chan's dominance in sprint races has not been challenged before, Trainer Ikezoe is most likely already starting to pop champagne at his team's first GI win by now."
Fumino Nase replied casually yet, she seemed rather distracted.
At this moment, Fumino Nase's gaze was drawn towards a particular Uma Musume who was being pushed into the gate by the staff: the least popular Uma Musume, number twelve, introduced as 'Depth Collision.'
Seeing the black hair of this Uma Musume, as well as the way her hood obscured her eyes, Fumino Nase couldn't help but frown slightly.
This caught the attention of Wada, who was nearby, and he asked with concern,
"What's wrong, Trainer Nase?"
"...Nothing, I'm probably overthinking it."
Fumino Nase temporarily put aside her doubts, simply chalking up the similarities of this Uma Musume to an Uma Musume she was very familiar with to be a coincidence.
But on second thought, that Uma Musume had been completely shelved by Shadai for so many years now, there was no way she could appear at the Osaka Hai now.
Unless... she abandoned her past glory, and, at the risk of being exposed and having her reputation ruined even further, came into this race with a false identity.
CLANG!
But there was no way she would do that, right? Her final words clearly indicated she didn't want to be involved with the Uma Musume scene ever again.
"And the Uma Musume are off! Oh! Unfortunate! It seems that number twelve, Depth Collision, had a slightly rough start, now trailing behind the rest of the pack."
"Meisho Doto is currently leading the Pace Chasers, holding a favorable position in third place! She seems supremely confident!"
-----+-----
I love my gap moe characters.
-----+-----
If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.