"Phew…" Symboli Rudolf lets out a sigh of relief, for some reason, she thought that Echo Eclipse would be leaving for somewhere far away from her. And it wasn't just her. Gold Way, Bizen Nishiki, Suzu Parade, Suzu Mach, and Onward Cameroun all felt the same way.
"She beat another record too, and this time the length gap is longer than her second one… Are you sure you'll be able to beat Echo as your rival, Rudolf~~" Nishiki started teasing Symboli Rudolf before Gold Way interrupted her.
"Look at that, she started steaming once again." Everyone turns away from their conversation and toward Echo Eclipse, who is now walking toward the winning stage, steam rising from her.
"I wonder why that always happens after she wins a race…" Gold Way mumbled as she rubbed her chin. She wanted to understand why this exclusively happened after each official race she ran.
Suzu Parade nodded in agreement with Gold Way, "You know how she can run faster than what her body is capable of?"
Gold Way nodded.
"What if after each race, the energy that was built up for her speed had nowhere to go since she isn't running anymore, so it disperses as steam?"
"Intriguing theory, however, there's a flaw." Gold Way countered back. "Echo Eclipse's body also emitted steam during the class celebration, a day after her debut race."
"Is that so?" Suzu Parade naturally didn't know this since she belonged to a different classroom.
"Another mystery of Echo Eclipse- What time is it?" Gold Way immediately asked her friend Symboli Rudolf, who is reliable and unnervingly calm, to state the time.
"Around 15:45, why?"
"Oh, I have to be home right now." Gold Way immediately stood up, ignoring the confusion of everyone as she dashed off. Bizen Nishiki immediately knows why she is doing this: Gold Way doesn't want to keep cheering for Echo and wasting her time!
"Gaah! She's running away!"
"I doubt she's ditching us."
"But look at her!" Nishiki rebutted back at Suzu Parade, shaking her head.
"Her little sister, Stay Gold, is home alone at this time. You know how reckless and curious that girl is, right?"
Nishiki froze before enlightenment appeared on her expression. And she started laughing before sitting back at her seat. "I forgot- but I'm making her buy sweets for Echo later."
"Quiet, Echo's winning concert is about to start." Rudolf interrupted them before focusing on the stage. The 5 Umas glanced at each other and let out a sigh; they would never have believed that the Symboli Rudolf is soft toward someone else. Little did they know, Symboli Rudolf was actually rating Echo Eclipse's dance and noting down everything she did well and everything she got wrong.
She's definitely going to put this in Echo's dancing lesson to ensure she perfects dancing. The singing is really nice, though. Symboli Rudolf's tail started swaying in time with the song's beat.
"Shoowindou ni futari utsureba-"
"Stay with me~"
"Stay with me~"
"Mayonaka no doa wo takai-"
"Kaeran-..."
…
..
.
Shortly after the winning concert and her eventual escape from the vultures named "Reporters," she is now riding in a van with everyone praising her for her win.
'I knew it, winning a race doesn't feel remotely better than being praised by your friends~' Echo started giggling and humming, which is exactly why she is the mascot of their class.
"If you ever retire, you should become a singer!" Nishiki blurted out, and Suzu Mach and Onward Cameroun shared this sentiment; the first nodded slightly shyfully while the latter silently nodded.
There was something about her singing voice that scratches their brain in a good way.
[A/N: Similar to how Gold Ship can sing really amazingly in her winning concert, it was a shock when I first heard her singing when she's usually the manifestation of chaos and fun.]
"Maybe I should be a singer, but I really like running though… Maybe I'll become a trainer after retiring!" Eclipse tilted her head and smiled brightly, and everyone froze at that. Imagining a trainer version of Echo Eclipse was almost impossible to imagine, due to how she typically acts and how bad she is when describing something.
But, she does have an impressive grade record, straight A+, so maybe it is possible for Trainer Echo Eclipse to exist after her retirement…
Luckily, Symboli Rudolf is here to shatter that thought of Echo Eclipse.
"Being a trainer means you can't always run; you would be focused on studying and researching daily."
"Wha-" Her mouth went agape, and something clicked in her brain; she now knew why Kazuo would always have a clipboard of information whenever she asked questions, and he always had the answers.
While Echo Eclipse is refreshing her brain, the Suzu sisters are having a conversation on who to cheer for at the St. Lite Kinen. The oldest said that she will cheer for Mach while the youngest argued back that she isn't the strongest, so Parade should vote for Onward Cameroun, Gold Way or Bizen Nishiki.
"Why the hell should I cheer for the strongest? I'm still cheering you on."
"I'm only going to get like 5th place at best!"
"You should aim higher!"
"Against Symboli Rudolf?! You know that's a pipe dream, it was a miracle that I managed to get 2nd place in Tokyo Yunshun!"
"Umm?" Bizen Nihsiki's voice stopped the arguing sisters; they both turned their heads toward her.
"I'm not going to be running in the St. Lite Kinen, or Kikuka Sho, in that manner, too." This shocking revelation was not only heard by the Suzu sisters but also by everyone else, including Echo Eclipse, who snapped awake from her brain reset and stared at Nishiki in shock as if she were seeing someone getting stabbed to death.
"What?" Echo was the first to respond, which started a chain reaction. Even Symboli Rudolf raised her brows in surprise before calming down, she knew that Bizen Nishiki isn't suited for long tracks like St. Lite Kinen and Kikuka Sho, which is over 2000m long. Nishiki focuses on pure speed over stamina, which is how she dominates every runner in the tracks she runs, except for long tracks.
"I'm not suited for long distance," She chuckles as she rubs the back of her head in embarrassment.
"But I'll be running in the Swans Stake on October 28." She lets out a bright smile, wanting to cheer the atmosphere up, but everyone in the van knew one thing. She has given up trying to beat Symboli Rudolf for the Triple Crown.
Silence continues, making Nishiki uncomfortable as everyone registers her words, but that shortly ended as Echo Eclipse lifted her tired body from her seat, with her fisted hand pumped in the air.
"I will be cheering you on, Nishiki!" Her lips beam up into a smile. She knows that this must have been a difficult decision for Nisihiki, but she will continue supporting her no matter what.
"I-I will also cheer you on, Nishiki." Suzu Mach also joined in, leading the rest to do it too, except for Symboli Rudolf, who just rolled her eyes and looked away.
"As long as you haven't given up." Her words may sound cold, but it's the same as support for Bizen Nishiki, making her excited.
"Watch me! I'll be the fastest short-distance emperor! You might be the longest-distance emperor, but you won't win against me in a sprint." Bizen Nishiki laughed, her heart feeling light as if the weight had disappeared.
[I'm updating the timeline once again, my goodness, at lots of things I needed to research and update to ensure that the story at least flows without being off, including Echo Eclipse's friends. At present, the timeline goes as far as 1987, but that may change to 1990 or more.
Trying to be accurate to the real world history and translating it into the Uma Musume Universe is no easy feat, plus the personality and significant events for each character are also important.]
[If you have enjoyed my story, write a review or donate some stones (Although I don't know what the stone is typically for, but it's nice having them) as it will be seriously appreciated by me.]