"HNNNNNNNNGGGGGHHHHH!!!"
SRRRRRTTT
Four hundrer kilogram of rubber, steel and fiber.
"HRRRRRRRNGH!" Astonishing let out a growl, her chest heaving as she leaned her entire body weight forward just to get this massive tire to move another centimeter.
The thick harness straps bit mercilessly into her shoulders, straining against her uniform as every tendon in her legs trembled under the crushing load.
"DON'T SLOW DOWN! KEEP GOING" Takeda shouted, marching alongside her with his eyes fixed on the stopwatch in his grip. "COME ON! YOU CAN DO IT! JUST A BIT MORE"
"HYAAAAAAGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
SRRRRRRRRRTTT!
The massive tire lurched forward another meter, leaving a deep trench across the sand.
'One more step!'
She gritted her teeth. With a final surge of raw willpower, she dragged the crushing weight across the makeshift finish line.
Astonishing's knees instantly gave out. She plummeted straight onto the sand, her hands planting into the cool shore as her chest violently rose and fell, gasping for air.
Takeda dropped to one knee beside her, clicking the stopwatch. He offered her a bottle of water with a smirk.
"Four minutes... this is a great start. No lie" He said.
Astonishing snatched the bottle with trembling hand taking in some sips before pouring the rest over her heated self. She looked up at her trainer, her breathing slowly steadying as she wiped the water from her chin.
"Huff... huff... Just how did they transport something this big here?"
Takeda couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't know myself. When I asked the staff they just gave me this"
Takeda reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, laminated instruction card, tossing it lightly toward her. Astonishing caught it with her sweat-dusted fingers and flipped it over.
On the front was a brightly colored, overly cute cartoon illustration of two Umamusume pulling a monstrous, oversized tractor tire up a hill, complete with sparkly effect lines and a massive banner across the top reading:
TRACEN SUMMER CAMP SPECIAL EQUIPMENT #04: THE MEDIUMWEIGHT TIRE (400KG)"For when the lightweight equipment just isn't enough to build champion legs! Delivered directly to your training beach via specialized heavy-lift helicopter!"
"A... heavy-lift helicopter? Tracen Academy air-dropped a four-hundred-kilogram piece of industrial rubber onto the beach?" She looks at it again to make sure she didn't misread. "No, the real question is how did the acedemy get their hand on that heavy-lift helicopter?"
Takeda held his chin. "Must be the Director's work"
"The institutional budget of this school never ceases to terrify me," she murmured.
The training day continue normally, today, and days onward.
By the end of the week, her performance had come slighlty closer to her peak strength before the Derby. If this continues, it's possible for her to at least have enough strength to race another G1 and fight in the top places.
But the road is still long. A highway to hell.
.
.
.
Back in the trainer's lounge, Takeda stared at his training logs. Astonishing, who previously somewhat had her performance declined had gradually regained her strength. But there's still something that bother his mind.
It's true that her performance is starting to return, but no matter how hard the training, it's like there's an invisible wall that prevents her to improve herself further.
A cap, if you want you call it that way.
Takeda tapped the end of his pen against the worn leather cover of his notebook. On paper, the recovery was nothing short of incredible. She was rising. But she was rising toward a ceiling.
'What is it? What prevents her from improving? It can't be her physique, so what is it?'
Takeda closed the document, and rubbed his temple.
'I'm hitting a dead end...'
He leaned back, tossing his pen onto the desk where it rattled against the table.
'Could it be psychological? Is she still couldn't accept her defeat at the Japanese Derby? But when we talked back then, she looks determined to continue her training.'
He stared up at the ceiling fan spinning lazily overhead. 'What could possibly chained her?'
.
.
.
Another two weeks had passed since.
Astonishing along with Dora, Top Road, Urara, and Rice Shower are taking a shelter from the sun inside a shop that sells variety of food and beverages, including chaved ice.
"AHHHH! Too cold!" Urara squeaked, clutching both sides of her head as a sudden brain freeze hit her mid-bite. Her spoon clattered against her bowl, and her pink ears twitching wildly.
"I told you not to eat it so fast..." Top Road who sat on her left said concernedly.
Dora, sitting across from them, leaned back in her chair with a light chuckle, swirling the melted syrup at the bottom of her bowl. "I bet you get brain freeze everytime you eat shaved ice. Clearly you didn't learn from your mistakes"
"But shaved ice is just too tasty to eat slowly!" Urara protested, puffing out her cheeks before flashing a bright, unabashed grin.
As the chatter continued around the table, Astonishing quietly watched her ice melt, her spoon absently tracing patterns in the blue syrup.
"Aston-san?" Rice's gentle voice broke through her train of thought. Astonishing blinked, looking up to the person sitting right in front of her.
"You've been... quiet," She said softly. "Is something on your mind?"
"Ah... no, it's fine," Astonishing said, offering a reassuring smile. "Just... lost in thought"
One thing that keeps bothering her, is she still can't decide what race she would run in the autumn campaign. Should she started with G2 or G3? Or should she directly challenge a G1 like the Autumn Tenno Sho?
Maybe she could try challenging the Kikuka Sho?.
'No way..."
"So this is where you have been, Top Road!"
The loud, boisterous voice cut through the relaxed atmosphere. Every head at the table snapped toward the entrance, where TM Opera O stood. Silhouetted against the blinding summer sun, she struck a dramatic pose.
"Seeking refuge from the tyrant sun in a humble oasis, are we?" Opera O declared, stepping inside "And yet, no matter where you hide, the brilliant light of the Overlord shall always find you!"
"O-Opera O-san?!" Top Road blinked in surprise.
Behind her, two other figures popped their head. One is World's End Opening with a camera dangling around her neck, and the other is...
"Doto-san is here too..." Top Road added
"...A-Ah, hello everyone..." Meisho Doto squeaked nervously, ducking her head behind Opera O's cape as if trying to shrink into the shadows. "We were just looking for a cool place to rest, but... um, sorry if we're interrupting...!"
Behind them, World's End Opening grinned, her camera already raised to her eye.
Click-click!
"Whew, it's brutal out there. It feels like a literal furnace today. Mind if we crash your little ice-cream party?" she said.
"Be my guest," Dora said with a light smirk, motioning to the empty stools nearby. "Though you might want to tell your overlord to turn down the dramatic heat. We're already melting in here."
"A monarch's radiance cannot be dimmed by mere temperature!" Opera O proclaimed, though she promptly sauntered over to an open chair, dramatically taking a seat and slumping into it with a sigh. "...However, this heat is just too much"
Doto scrambled nervously to fetch a cup of ice water for Opera, almost tripping over her own boots in the process. "H-Here you go, Opera-san!"
"Thank you, Doto! You are a lifesaver!"
"Ehehe, it's nothing at all..." It looks like Doto likes getting praised.
End sat just beside Opera O and ordered a bowl of shaved ice just like theirs. "One strawberry shaved ice with extra syrup, please!" She called out to the shopkeeper.
World's End Opening slouched into her seat, resting her chin in her hands as she looked around the crowded table. It's not long for her eyes to finally met Astonishing's. It feels like she had something to say but she decided to swallow the words for herself, so instead she just smiled towards Astonishing.
Astonishing immediately turns her gaze away. She just couldn't hold maintaining eye contact with her. Was it fear? Perhaps, anger? Or maybe... inferiority?
She gripped her spoon a little tighter, her knuckles turning faint white against the glass bowl.
The group continues with their chatter, Astonishing involved in the talk only a little. She just not in the mood to chat.
.
.
.
The heat had weakened as the sun begins to lower. The group begins to disperse, Urara and Rice went to the beach, wanting to enjoy the sea before sunset. Top Road, unfortunately got dragged away by Opera O, End and Doto followed her too. Dora... she just disappeared.
Now alone in front of the shop, Astonishing lets out a sigh. The sun had dipped close to the horizon, casting an orange-gold glow. There's still time before dark, so she decided to go for a walk.
The soft crunch of gravel under her sandals accompanied her as she aimlessly followed the path along the shore. The sea breeze blew gently against her face.
Soon enough, the path leads her towards a lone bench sitting under a lightpole, and on the other side is a vending machine.
It was truly a weird place for a vend to be placed, this place is so quiet, is there even someone using it? Maybe because it's summer, and the beach practically rented or owned by the academy that not everyone allowed in?
Astonishing approached the lone machine, stepping closer to inspect its display. For a desserted machine, it sells plenty of things, though it mostly served drinks. She reached into her pockets but found nothing, she spent the last of today's money for that shaved ice. Now she got nothing.
Feeling low, she decided to just sits on the bench watching the sunset.
Astonishing rested her elbows on her knees, lacing her fingers together as she stared out at the ocean. Her mind drifted back to the ice shop when she met End again.
When her eyes met hers.
Why had she looked away so quickly? Looking at End's eyes felt suffocating. She just couldn't bear another second.
It was a heavy, ugly realization, but she couldn't deny it anymore. It was inferiority.
'Am I afraid of her?' Astonishing thought
Feeling frustated, she rubbed her head roughly, and messed her hair. "Sigh... if only I was more prepared. I might be able to win"
CLACK CLANG
"Huah!" Astonishing flinched. She hurriedly turned towards the source of the sudden noice.
"You look so frustated, I felt a little sorry for interrupting, but I can't just stand by" Fuji Kiseki stood in front of a glowing vending machine besides the bench she was sitting on.
She extended a cold can of green tea toward Astonishing, the condensation dripping like dew across her fingers.
"Good evening, Astonishing" she said with a smile, and joined Astonishing on the bench,
"Fuji-senpai..." she took the drink, the chill immediately bit into her palm. "Thank you"
Fuji Kiseki leaned back against the wooden slats of the bench, crossing one leg over the other. "I've noticed that you haven't returned yet, usually you would already be inside at this hour"
"S-sorry, I'll try to come back earlier next time"
"Oh, no, no, that's not what I meant at all," Fuji chuckled warmly, waving her hand dismissively. "There's no curfew violation here. You don't need to apologize. I was just... curious, that's all."
She opened her can and takes a small sip. "As the dorm leader, and more importantly, as a senior, it's my duty to help my juniors when they're in trouble. So, if you have anything in your mind, maybe I could help. Of course, there's no force. But if you think it's too much, then you can ask me for help"
Astonishing stared at her own drink. "I... I just had a lot of things I needed to figure out," she murmured.
"Did you find your answers?"
"Not yet" she admitted.
Fuji Kiseki didn't push. She simply took another slow sip of her green tea, letting the silence settle over the bench like a comfortable blanket.
"Answers do have a habit of hiding when you look too hard for them," Fuji said softly, tilting her head back to look at the first few stars in the late evening sky.
Without Astonishing realize, the sun has begin to dissappear. But for her, it felt like she hasn't spend that much time sitting here.
.....
"Fuji-senpai" Astonishing turned her head slightly towards Fuji, "Have you ever felt like... no matter how hard you want something, the universe has already decided exactly where you're supposed to stop?"
"Of course", Fuji lowered her gaze back from the sky. "When I was forced to retire after an injury, I was having a hard time to sleep for a long time. For umamusume like us, an injury like that is not just a pain to the body, but also to the heart. If it's not because of my trainer and my friends who always supported me, I might have given up a long time ago. They showed me that even if the universe closes one door, the path itself doesn't disappear. You just have to change how you walk it."
"If you... got a chance to rewind everything and start all over again with a healthier legs, would you do it, senpai?"
Fuji's hand froze halfway to her mouth, her aluminum can hovering just inches from her lips.
Astonishing held her breath, she instantly regretted the words.
Fuji slowly lowered her can, resting it back on her knee. She didn't look angry. Instead, her eyes softened. "To rewind it all..." She murmured
She leaned her head back against the wooden slats of the bench, staring up into the vast, ink-blue canopy of the sky where the stars were multiplying by the minute. "If you had asked me that during my treatment, I would have certainly said yes. I would have traded everything, my memories, my trophies, my very name, just to turn back the time"
She let out a soft laugh, though there was no humor in it. It was the sound someone who finally accepted herself. "But now? If a miracle presented itself to me right this second?" Fuji turned her head, looking directly at Astonishing. The glow of the vending machine caught the edges of her short hair, framing her features in light. "No. I wouldn't change a single second of it."
Astonishing blinked, her mouth opening slightly in surprise. "...Why?"
"Because if I rewrite my past, I rewrite the person I became" she said, looking down at her drink. "The past is beautiful the way it is"
"The pain, the tears, the despair of that injury... they were the cost of admission to see the truth. They made me appreciate every single stride I ever took"
She lifted her head to face Astonishing, and smiled at her. "I'm grateful to be able to experience all that even if it was for a short time"
Astonishing stared at her senior, completely spellbound. A smiling Fuji sure is... beautiful. Just by staring makes her hear a little warmer. No wonder why she has so many admirers.
Fuji stood up, and stretched her arms slightly. "Let's go back, it can pretty cold at night."
"A-ah, yes!" Astonishing stood up from the bench and followed her. Side by side, they began their walk back toward the dormitory.