Author's Note: I am not an editor or a professional writer. I will write this and edit it to the best of my ability. I also do not own Uma Musume, which is owned by Cygames. Watch the animes and read the mangas, for they are pretty good. Finally, please enjoy.
King Lancealot POV
It was time for me to step onto the track, and given today's conditions, the only strategy is to run as fast as possible. No need for pacing, no need for blocking. Get there first, get there fast. I looked around as we waited for the gates to open. There I saw familiar faces and brand new ones.
I've been racing for a few years now, and I'm hitting my peak period. I started in the United Kingdom in a small team and had to prove myself. Brought that team to the Premier, and soon, once my contract was up, I was snatched by the High Stars. Last year, I had the fastest times in the league and came close to breaking some records, but no luck. Now I look around and see who the Bloody Broncos sent out.
It was Vice Captain Cobalt, the lady who helped break a few world records in Wellington. People thought it was 2, but other than the leg 2 record and the relay record, she also broke a bunch of lesser-known records. She broke the mile relay lap record on both fields, the speed record on a team race, and so much more. She was terrifying, but now that no one can capture the lead for her, can she race like that again? There have been so many racers who failed the transition to singles.
They all tried to intimidate her and talk trash, but she patiently shut them down and, like a mom, turned their words back on them. I now see why she's vice captain, Primrose was a great leader, with a patient and caring second like Cobalt. Almost makes me think she has kids, but she looks way too young, was she a teen mom? I didn't bother, cause I am the one called the king of sprint races, and kings do not bother with the arguments of peasants. Now one tried to attack her, but Cobalt just dodged her attacks and told her," Miss, please don't tire yourself out before the race has even begun."
She then walked away as the gates soon opened. She walked in hers, but got into a weird stance in her gate. I could see cause the inside of the gates had holes and her area was visible to mine. Soon, the buzzer rang, and the gates opened. Everyone took off, and I looked ahead I saw only two runners ahead of me.
One of them was a familiar foe, the league chose king of sprinters herself, Razor Cutter, and the other, which terrified me. She was so ahead, I could see space between her and Razor. Razor was visually shocked at how fast the one in front was going. I ran faster to see who it was, but she was so fast I could only catch a glimpse. I was shocked at what I saw: that outfit, that mask, it could only be one person, it was Cobalt.
I know learned, without cover, pacing, or distance, no one is stopping her from making us eat her dust. She's fast, record-breaking fast. I ran harder than I've ever done before, cause I refuse to be left in the dust. Razor did as well, but it was to no avail. With nothing slowing down Cobalt and the track too short, the race ended before we could effectively do anything.
I fell to my knees in exhaustion, and saw Razor did as well. I looked around everyone was exhausted, either on a knee or face-planting on the ground. Except for her, she stood with her arms on her hips, breathing hard and looking at the screen. That's when an announcement happened, "Congratulations, everyone, every member of the race has broken the sprint/short track world record. Also, the new title holder belongs to our winner, Vice Captain Cobalt."
You have to be kidding me, everyone ran so fast we all broke the world record for sprint tracks. The crowd was cheering, and the commentators were freaking out. Still, staff bringing in water, towels, and first aid kits was a welcome thing. Once I was good to go, I walked back to our team dugout. I had to report what happened; it's my job to make sure we have a way to stop her in the future.
Once I got there, my team wasn't angry; they welcomed me back, knowing the insane race that just happened. Coach Brande asked me," Are you okay, KiLa? That was one hell of a performance out there." I then told him," Coach, in the future, if we don't have anyone blocking or delaying Cobalt, we're never going to stop her. We also need to take advantage of corners and distance to pace to catch up if we want a chance of beating her."
Coach Brande nodded, understanding my point of view as he also watched the race and knew what happened. Now plans had to be made, and I had to rest up. I then looked at the screen and saw all the records Cobalt broke. I could only say," Damn, she's gonna be a handful to deal with." I then saw one of my teammates come near me and hand me a phone, saying," Cruel Break wants to talk to you." I nodded, knowing she was trying to gather information and data, and grabbed the phone.
I then answered and heard her voice on the other side. I then spoke, saying," Hey CB, do I have some data for you?" She then spoke joyfully, saying," Oh, turn this call to FaceTime, I wanna hear about this." I did just that, and soon we got to discussing my experience with Cobalt. I knew she was already making plans.
Razor Cutter POV
I arrived on the best track ever, as it focused more on speed and nothing else. I am the league's chosen king of sprinters, and I love running. I also like being in the front and having a clear view of the finish line. To the point, I also wear sports goggles with how fast I'm running. I see everyone did as well, with even Vice Captain Cobalt having eye protection in her mask. Speaking of Cobalt, I saw her run in Wellington, and I was impressed.
She broke so many racing records that it was staggering. I didn't underestimate her or think she might not make the transition to singles. My instincts told me she already had. I watched her as she dismissed all those trying to mess with her. She was mature, patient, and calm as she waited for the gates to open. Then once it did, I caught her smiling like a maniac, before quickly going back to her gentle smile.
Soon, all of us entered the gates, and I saw she was standing in a weird stance in her gate. Soon, the gates opened, and her stance made her burst through ahead of everyone. I ran as well and chased her as fast as I could, but no matter what, I couldn't catch up. Why, I did everything I could to be the best. I reformed my running style to match the knowledge I gained.
I took control of my entire self to become even greater; I abandoned who I was to become who I wanted to be. Why can't I catch up to this newbie who came out of nowhere? I chased her with every technique I knew, every trick and form, but I couldn't even step on her shadow. I ran faster than I ever had before, yet it was not enough. The race ended, and I fell to my knees.
That's when I felt it, like everything I ever abandoned looking down on me, and everyone who relied on me looking ashamed for trusting me. I heard the announcement, we all broke the world record, but it doesn't matter, Cobalt is now the true king of sprinters. Once I was rehydrated and caught my breath, I walked out of the field and was heading to the locker room to cry. That's when I passed a member of the Bloody Broncos recording the event. I've never seen her before; she must be a benchwarmer or something.
Before I could leave, she spoke up, saying to me," You know you'll never beat any of us by holding yourself back like that." I wanted to ignore it, but that comment went directly under my skin. It hit home too directly as I defied what she said by saying," Nonsense, all knowledge and data created says this is how you must do things to succeed." She then replied," Wrong, one should not reform oneself to match their knowledge. One should use all the knowledge they can discover to reform themselves to even higher greatness, knowing that there is always a better version of themselves.
I was speechless as that was a method that had never crossed my mind. I've always done whatever logic and knowledge said was right. She then continued speaking, saying," The information is correct, but it should be used to create the best version of yourself and then used to bring oneself to greater heights. Next time I see you, I hope I won't see such a pathetic performance." I then asked her," Why are you helping me out, we're not even on the same team?"
She then smiled at me, saying," Because I see you as an interesting subject matter. I see someone who can run like no one else, but is bounding herself to whatever logic dictates. Next time, please run properly with an originality akin only to you." She then walked away as I headed to the locker room. I was inspired, and now my mind has been opened to new possibilities.
Thomas Brande POV
The day of the Super Major had arrived. This past week, we had a chance to train here in Argentina, as for once, eyes were not on us. Still, we kept our eyes on our competition from every team. We write down every expected threat for each race. First race, the biggest threat is Razor Cutter, the King of Sprinters. She is the perfect racer, created using knowledge and discipline, and the fastest in the league.
We don't know the Bloody Broncos enough to see who they're sending in sprints, but we'll be watching. Next up is the second race, a regular short race, and since they're sending their fastest in the first race, they'll all send their strategic short racers in the second. No big threats as they're all probably sending no-name players to prove themselves. Third race, the Obstacle Mile, the biggest threats are Bread Bath, Sky Buster, and any member of Higher Skies and the Bloody Broncos sent in. Cause many team members on those two teams are surprisingly good at Obstacle races.
After, is the marathon, eyes will be on Ivory, Walls, and Corps. A brutal war of three kings, trying to claim the first crown of the big 3. Now the next one is the flat relay on dirt, so the threats are still the Broncos, the Valued Gods, and Higher Skies, who will most likely play rough. Next is the Long race on dirt, the biggest threats are Empty Box and Moon Cover. Next after is the Dirt Obstacle, the biggest threats are Ash and Red Melmo, the two I've seen able to give me nightmares.
Last race is the Dirt Medium Flat, and the biggest threats are Off Devices, the unbeatable king of Medium races. She's adaptable, and knows mediums in any distance and any field like it's the back of her hand. She has also never lost in a singles Medium race in the last 3 years. Now, looking at this data and looking at possible threats as well, I believe we can achieve enough placements to gather points. We've been doing this to make up for our 3-star players being hurt and one-star player being traded.
Now it was race day, and we drove to the stadium, and once the opening was over, KiLa went on the field. There, we saw Razor enter the field, and it seems the Broncos sent in Cobalt. The other players tried to mess with her, but she dealt with them maturely and patiently. I really hope we can get a player with her maturity in the future. Soon, the gates opened, and the runners took off.
Immediately, I realized how fast this race was going. The monitor showed each runner already ahead of the world record line. They were all trying to catch up with the lead runner. It was Cobalt who was running so fast that it made everyone else run faster than they ever had before. They were hard, but it was for naught; the race was so fast that it ended just as soon as it began.
We lost, KiLa came in third, but we got placement points, and that's what mattered. I saw everyone break the world record, and the whole stadium was cheering at what they just witnessed. Everyone in the dugout, especially myself, was speechlessly amazed. The match was insane, with every Uma Musume running at world-class speeds, pushing limits thought to be impossible. Now that a new benchmark has been created, this race will go down in history.
After the staff rehydrated and helped the Uma Musume, I went out to greet KiLa, who was coming back to dutifully report. Once that was over, I watched the interview with Cobalt on screen. There, the interviewer asked Cobalt," Vice Captain, how does it feel to break the world record?" She then answered," The same way it feels every time, dearie, addictively amazing. The feeling of conquering greatness every time I step on this field makes me feel like I raced with everyone who's ever run on this field, as well as everyone chasing my record will never not feel amazing."
She then took a deep breath and continued saying," I am proud of you girls for conquering greatness alongside me. Now and forever, we will race against those who have ever tried to achieve greatness, and to those who will try in the future, chasing down what we achieved here today. Now let us celebrate today, for this is not the last record I will chase, not even close." Everyone cheered, understanding what she said as many devices translated it. She soon went back to her group, but who could've guessed this tournament would start with such an opening?
Mama Blues POV
Finally, it's time, I enjoyed the last race, breaking a few records, but now I want one in the singles category. After learning about today's race a week ago, I had Jo help me become faster. I also got every record book that exists and started cramming through them. I read the books until it was time to go onto the field, and soon the event began. I stepped into the racing turf, and immediately, I was being watched.
They came over and tried to intimidate me and mess with me. The problem was that I was used to children acting tough and loudly screaming. Also, all of them were so young compared to my old self that I couldn't help but treat them like children. I soon dealt with them as such and walked away. That's when I heard the race horn signaling us to go into our gate.
I grinned in excitement before calming myself down. Once the gates opened, I noticed that within the stall, there was a lot of room. That's why I decided to do a rocket start. I used the heeled shoes Uma Musume ran in and the back gates of the stall. Once I was ready, the gates immediately opened, and boom, I took off.
I decided that next time I'm going to bring a starting block. My form allowed me to have a great start, and soon I was in the lead. I ran, timing my pace and speed, knowing what I needed to do to run at a certain time to break the record. I knew they were chasing me, but I was chasing the record. While running, I remembered a quote someone said to me," People say that when you stand on the very top, you stand peerless and alone."
I never believed that, that's because I'm a record chaser, therefore I will never be alone. Every time I train, every time I rest, and especially every time I race, as long as I am chasing records, I will never truly be alone. They are with me always, every person who's ever raced to break the same record, all the ones that achieved it, and all the ones that will be chasing my record. We will all be racing, aiming for one another, even if they don't know it, so when I train I know they're training alongside me, when I rest they're lying by my side, and when I run I feel their gazes. That's why to be a record chaser is to never run alone.
I smiled as even in my worst moments, this belief got me through it, and even in this new world, my belief gets me through it all. I cross the finish line and claim first place. I stood resting as I looked at the screen to see if I broke the record or not. What I saw surprised me; it seems not only did I break the record by a lot, but so did everyone else in the race. I truly am not alone if these girls are this competitive, I'm so proud of them.
The medical staff even came out to see if we were all okay and rehydrated everyone. Soon, I was called to do the interview as they prepared the next race behind the scenes. Once I got to the interview location, the interviewer asked me," Vice Captain, how does it feel to break the world record?" I answered," The same way it feels every time, dearie, addictively amazing. The feeling of conquering greatness every time I step on this field makes me feel like I raced with everyone who's ever run on this field, as well as everyone chasing my record will never not feel amazing."
I then took a deep breath to continue saying," I am proud of you girls for conquering greatness alongside me. Now and forever, we will race against those who have ever tried to achieve greatness, and to those who will try in the future, chasing down what we achieved here today. Now let us celebrate today, for this is not the last record I will chase, not even close." Everyone cheered me on as they liked what they heard. I soon went back to where the team was.
There, they met me halfway and gave high fives. They praised me, and soon I got to the canopy, and on the TV were all the records I broke today. It was still being talked about by the commentators. It was somehow weird that I could fully understand when they spoke Portuguese for some reason. I was loving what I was seeing, but that's when I heard a snap of someone's fingers.
It made me pause, but soon memories flooded my mind. Memories that didn't belong to me. People I recognized and remembered, but never met. I was soon standing in an empty room, and there I saw a little girl who looked like a child version of the body I was possessing, and a large horse. That's when I heard another snap, and I awoke where I was sitting earlier.
I was breathing hard, what the fuck was that!? Around me was Jo, who just got back into the canopy, saying," Hey, welcome back, don't worry, no one noticed, KiWi was distracting them as she left for her race." I was relieved, I didn't want to worry everyone with what just happened to me. Jo then continued talking, saying," We can talk about it later at the hotel, cause it seems the author just gave you back your body's memories." I nodded in agreement, we did need to talk later, cause I needed to know what Jo knew.