The curtain finally fell on the Autumn Tenno Sho.
The girls of Team Canopus gathered around Nice Nature, offering what comfort they could.
She had secured a respectable second place, but because of the staggering distance between her and the winner, she'd been cut from the Winner's Stage—a bitter pill for any racer to swallow.
Nature didn't let her spirits crumble, at least not where anyone could see.
She wore a brave face, but Barbatos knew better.
She knew Nature was a master of tucking her heartache away, waiting until the others left to seek out that one specific hollow tree on the Tracen Academy grounds—a sanctuary for whispered secrets and stifled sobs. It was her way of shielding her teammates from her own burdens.
Neither Barbatos nor Seiun Sky breathed a word of it.
Sky remained the undefeated prodigy, and Barbatos had survived her own descent into the abyss of defeat.
It had taken Sky's hand during the New Year to finally pull her from the lingering shadows of her crushing loss at the Winter Dream Cup.
As the two walked back toward the dorms, Barbatos struck a mock-pensive pose. "I suppose I should start planning ahead, shouldn't I?"
"Pfft—!" Sky burst into a giggle, finding Barbatos's dramatic acting hilariously transparent. "Well, if you're planning, then so am I."
"I'll have to think of how to comfort 'Japan's Number One' after you lose to me in the Japan Cup~"
The banter was light, a pre-race ritual between two souls who understood each other perfectly.
Unlike Nature, even if they stumbled, they had each other to lean on. They didn't need the hollow tree anymore. But with both of them standing at the peak of their game, a collision was inevitable.
Beyond the looming Japan Cup, the Arima Kinen at year's end would see them share the stage once more.
--+--
Tears traced silver paths down her cheeks.
Nice Nature leaned against the rough bark of the hollow tree, her hands trembling. She didn't speak; she simply let the silence of the woods absorb her grief.
The chasm between a "genius" and an "average" Uma Musume was a vast, terrifying thing.
She had known this from the start.
No matter how much blood and sweat she poured into the turf, it never seemed enough to bridge the gap.
And the cruelest part?
While she was working herself to the bone, the geniuses were working just as hard. That was the true face of despair.
She had held it together so well in front of the team, but here, the dam finally broke.
Clack... clack...
An Uma Musume's hearing is sharp, yet Nature was so lost in her sorrow that the footsteps were nearly upon her before she noticed.
She spun around to find a young man in a suit. His familiar, scholarly face was tight with nerves. His hand reached out, hesitating for a fraction of a second before finding its resolve.
He placed it gently atop her head.
"Nature." Minamizaka's voice was soft, searching for the right words. "You ran a beautiful race... Truly."
He tried his best to console her, though the words felt like echoes of what the rest of Canopus had already said. But he meant every syllable.
This was Nature's first G1, and she had been pitted against a force of nature like Silence Suzuka.
The Autumn Tenno Sho had been Suzuka's solo performance—a reminder that some racers are simply the protagonists of their era, untouchable and divine.
Suzuka might not have been the absolute strongest in the current circuit, but she was leagues beyond where Nature stood now.
That legendary Great Escape was a feat that could only be described as the pinnacle of Japanese racing.
Minamizaka wanted to say more, but the words felt trapped.
If he were staring at a computer screen or drafting a training regimen, he'd be in his element.
Here, in the moonlight, he felt hopelessly out of his depth. He didn't even know why he had followed her. He just knew that, lately, Nature had become a permanent fixture in his thoughts.
Seeing her suffer was more than he could bear.
Bathed in the glow of the distant streetlights, he looked at her—at the tears still falling, at the slight flush of her cheeks. Something shifted in his chest.
Driven by an impulse he couldn't name, he pulled her toward him.
Despite her being an athlete with far more strength than him, she allowed herself to be drawn into his arms, her forehead resting against his chest.
"The Japan Cup is next. We'll work through it together!"
The warmth of his chest, though not particularly broad or muscular, brought her a sudden, overwhelming sense of peace.
She managed a small, muffled "Mm," and then the last of her composure evaporated. She wept freely, her tears soaking into his suit jacket. Minamizaka froze, his heart racing in a sudden, chaotic rhythm.
After seeing Nature back to the dormitory, Minamizaka's head was a whirlwind of confusion.
He retreated to his own room and threw himself into his work, opening his laptop to draft the training strategy for the Japan Cup.
Three members of Canopus would be competing. He needed to tailor every drill to their specific styles. But focus eluded him. He touched his chest, right where Nature had leaned against him.
The dampness was gone, but the ghost of the sensation remained. He sighed and went to take a cold shower.
He was a genius with computers, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew exactly what those feelings were now.
But as a Trainer, he knew the unspoken rule: no romances while a girl was active. It could ruin a career. If anything were to happen, it would have to wait until she retired.
Steeled by the cold water and a pot of black coffee, he locked back into his work.
The Japan Cup wouldn't just be a domestic clash; it featured international titans like Montjeu, Treve, and Dancing Brave from France.
These were the world's elite.
Just because El Condor Pasa had beaten them once didn't mean they could be underestimated.
Time blurred. It was 9:00 AM the next morning when he finally pulled back the curtains to find the sun high in the sky. He felt no fatigue.
It wasn't just his habit of pulling all-nighters; it was the drive to be what Nature needed. This was his passion and his job, but now that it involved someone he loved, the fire burned even hotter.
As for Sky and Barbatos, they didn't need much hand-holding.
Barbatos, in particular, had her own "Abilities" to rely on—she could manipulate the flow of a race like a champion from another realm, her movements echoing the calculated precision of a Legend.
He just needed to provide the roadmap; they knew how to drive.
Ding!
A notification popped up on his phone.
--+--
"Wait, WHAT?! Why?!!"
The members of Canopus were gathered at the training grounds, and Twin Turbo looked like she'd seen a ghost.
They had all come to act as pacers for Nature, Sky, and Barbatos. Then Minamizaka had delivered the news.
Turbo stomped her foot, her voice rising in a frantic squeak. "Why?! Why was Nature's entry for the Japan Cup rejected?!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.