The time had finally come.
It was time to see if her training was going to be put to good use. She was…. Nervous, she couldn't help it. Even after all the training she did, improving in gate starts, prolonged sprinting, team running with Canopus, practicing how to shutdown a runaway, going trough many sleepless nights of training and pushing her body to the limit, of being forced to limp away from the training track each night…
Even after all that…
Even after all that!
She wasn't even sure if she could win.
Whenever she wasn't practicing at night, by rather forceful words from both the medical staff and Tachyon-Senpai, she was reviewing race footage of all her competitors.
Learning their tells, mastering their strategies and their styles, absorbing every last scrap of information she could on them!
There was one person, one opponent who she could never understand, never analyze fully, never comprehend, Hope for Tomorrow.
Her biggest rival, the person she wholeheartedly promised to defeat!
And… she couldn't understand her.
Her actions contradicted themselves. She could be calm and understanding one moment, before turning cold and furious at the slightest provocation, at the slightest mention of a part of her past. She could be dense and air headed one moment, and clever and sharp the next!
She didn't make sense.
She couldn't crack her.
Couldn't wrap her head around her!
She didn't know nearly enough of her to be able to beat her… knowledge is power, and she was powerless at this very instant to this… this— this anomaly!
But…
"Now entering, the second favorite, though she may not be satisfied with this position, undefeated since her debut, including a G2! Reve d'Essor!"
She had no time for second thoughts, she had to run, she had to win!
It didn't matter if she didn't know enough of her main rival, it was fine, she was positioned right next to her in the gates, as long as she accelerated before her and took the lead position, she could win, all she could do now, is block her greatest foe.
And so, she walked out, waved to the stands with a slight smile on her face and entered the field, the turf was fine, it was firm and the sun was shining with a few overdraft clouds.
'It was fine,' she told herself as she tried to desperately calm her raging heart, 'she could win!'
But just as she was starting to calm herself, she felt it.
A pressure unlike any other set itself upon her.
"Now entering, the first favorite, undefeated since her debut! An absolute monster who lacks any and all form of respect for her opponents! An unstoppable beam of light that soars towards the finish line leaving all her opponents behind! HOPE FOR TOMORROW!"
She struggled to breathe.
It hurt, it hurt, it hurt.
Everything that she was, that she could be, everything that she would ever be was under scrutiny!
Her heart beat like mad!
Every breath burned as she felt an all encompassing gaze watch her.
She looked around and found that her competitors weren't much better, they had trouble breathing as well, no far from that, they looked as though they might collapse on the spot!
And then she heard it.
The cheers, the applause, it was by no means inferior to her own, in fact it was even bigger than her own cheers and applause.
They all cheered as they saw her walk out of the competitors tunnel with a soft almost graceful smile on her face.
Her silks were… breathtaking, she felt like she lacked the words needed to do it justice, it was almost as if the three goddesses themselves had descended to adorn her in it.
Her shoes were white with black accents, she was wearing a skirt which stopped at her lower thighs, it was coloured in white and gold patterns almost as if stars were sparkling on her, and her torso held the most detail.
It was a shirt that connected perfectly with the dress, adorned with 7 stars, all gold in color but… one, which was cracked? It was an odd stylistic choice especially since it seemed to be the biggest one.
The dress itself was an almost pure white, with red and black accents that almost fused together with the red scarf that she wore.
It sunk to her shoulders in such a fashion that was… breathtaking, for the first time that her rival had appeared she was able to breath normally once more, only for her newfound breath to be taken once more, by the almost angelic beauty that stood before her.
And she couldn't help but think deep down in her heart, that maybe losing and being forced to gaze upon but never reach that everdistant star, was in a way acceptable so long as she could still look upon them from behind.
For such was her rival's, Hope for Tomorrow's beauty.
As great as the setting sun and as untouchable as the North Star.
Before she could reflect upon her almost instant change of heart, in the context of her greatest rival the announcer spoke once more.
"All umamusume to their gates!"
That's right, she had a race to win, there was no other way around it, she was going to win this race and make Hope for Tomorrow look at her properly, not as a random person but as her rival!
She breathed in and waited for the gate to open, she focused intensely for it to start opening before making her move, she could see her rival, in the corner of her eye.
Her eyes were closed and her body was tilted forward.
But that didn't make sense, how was she supposed to know the gate opened if she couldn't see?
Whatever! If her rival wasn't paying attention then that just meant that she could make her look upon her! And not the other way around!
Just then, the gate opened and she rocketed forth, intent on taking the lead and blocking her greatest threat.
Only to feel a forceful gust of wind, she chanced a look to the side and saw that in the instant she had gotten out of the gate, which was well before all her competitors, her rival had already rushed ahead.
"A slow start?!" The announcer called after a second, "Everybody is well behind Hope for Tomorrow, which isn't surprising to see, but it looks like everybody but the favorite have had a late start!"
No.
That wasn't it, they didn't have a late start, she was just too damn fast.
A fact that was reiterated by the co-announcer.
She looked forward at her, at Hope for Tomorrow, her rival, and saw nothing but a blob of white and red fluttering forth at extreme speed.
So much so that by the time they even reached the halfway point of the strait, she was already in the turn.
"Is this? The true power of a runaway?" She couldn't help but ask to no one in particular.
She looked ahead once more, just as they themselves just finished the turn and looked forward and saw her riv— no.
She didn't see her rival not anymore, she saw a star that refused to slow for anyone and anything, and it angered her.
———————-
AN
decided to cut it here, sorry not sorry, I want this chapter to brew, I'm going to cegep soon enough (Québécois version of college) so chapters might be a little more sporadic from now on, I'll still try to make new ones every week, but don't expect them to be as consistent as they once were.
I should be able to finish this race by the time I start however so there is that.
Hell! I'll probably be setting up the triple tiara!
…
oh, yeah, sorry.
Either way, not much to say except for assassins creed odyssey is peak (I'm doing a new game plus run), I really should update a story on ff.net.
And I'll see you all next time,
This is GreekAntrielos,
Signing off.