"Pant… Pant… Pant…"
"Pant! Pant! Pant! Pant! Pant!"
"Good work, you two…"
The atmosphere is heavy inside the changing room. No one knows what to say to the panting umamusumes. They fought hard, which makes it even harder to say anything to them.
XxX-XxX
"WE HAVE A WINNER!!!"
"COMING FROM OUT OF NOWHERE!!! NOT EVEN THE TOP TEN FAVORITE TO WIN THE RACE!!!"
"THE BLACK JET UMAMUSUME WHO PIERCED THROUGH THE SHINING END BATTLE AND SNATCHED THE WIN FOR HERSELF!!!"
"TODAY'S WINNER IS RRRRRIIIIICCCEEEEE SSSHHOOOWWWEEERR!!!!"
"WWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Cheers erupt amongst the spectators. Everyone had expected either McQueen or Tachyon to win the race, but having an unprecedented winner is a reward in itself. The spectators get to see the Super Rookie battle it out against the Phantom, only for another umamusume to shine brighter than them.
Rice Shower has devoured both of them.
"Pant… Pant… Pant… Pant…"
"Pant… Pant… What just happened?"
McQueen couldn't believe her eyes. She saw Rice Shower accelerate faster than McQueen ever did before. She had heard how destructive it is to see someone who debuted after you overtake you, but now she gets to feel that feeling.
The same despair she cast upon others is now cast upon herself–The doubt in her speed, the doubt in her skill, the doubt in her conditions. McQueen racks her brain to figure out what it is that she is missing to win, yet finds none.
Am I… an idiot? I can't figure out what I'm missing… I was in my best condition… I was running side-by-side with Tachyon… Am I just too slow? Is it really just because I'm not talented enough to run?
The Scientist herself goes through the same doubtful mind, but her experiences allow her to make the most logical decision: to wait until she can review the race from a third-person point of view. Only then will she start using her brain to figure out what she is missing.
Where did she come from? I have not sensed her this entire race. She is like an assassin who waits until the very end to kill her targets. But those are usually Late Surgers and End Closers. The fact that she is a Pace Chaser means that she is a brand-new breed of assassin runner.
"RUNNERS!! YOU MAY RETURN TO YOUR CHANGING ROOM!!! THE CONCERT WILL BE HEARD IN TWENTY MINUTES!!"
"PLEASE COOL YOURSELF DOWN FIRST BEFORE THE CONCERT!!"
XxX-XxX
"Here are your towels. Wipe yourself first. Stop thinking and trying to figure things out yourself. That is my job."
"Pant… Pant… Pant… Pant…"
"Pant! Pant! Pant! Pant!"
"We lost… trainer…"
"I know… As I said, that will be my responsibility to correct. Don't let that weigh on your minds. We need official recordings first to get the race from different angles."
"I did everything correctly… Pant… Pant… Why did I lose? Pant… Pant… I was so close to the goal…"
"Pant! Pant! Pant! Pant!!"
"Trainer, they're not listening." The orange-haired umamusume voiced her concerns about her teammates.
"Sigh… It got too deep into their minds." The young man let out a tired breath when none of his trainees were listening to him.
He approached them and put the towels over their heads. He gently rubbed the towels over their drenched hair while patting their heads.
"You girls did great. I'm proud to have you as my trainees."
"Pant… Pant… But I still lost… Rice Shower won the race… Pant… Pant… Isn't that what you wanted?"
"That's a sidequest reward. But the Triple Crown isn't my lifelong goal. Creating strong umamusumes is. My goal still has its path, so there's no need to worry about me." His hands gently cup their cheeks to wipe their faces free of sweat. "But if this is your life goal, then I'm sorry that I couldn't bring it to you."
"Pant! Pant! It's not your fault…"
"Teio…"
"You've warned me… Pant! Pant! Pant! I want to surprise you… Pant! Pant! I want to be the one umamusume to surpass your expectations, but I guess… Sniffle… Sniffle… I'm just like the others! There's nothing special about me! Sniffle!!"
While McQueen ended the race with a respectable number 3, Teio was left behind in number 10. Out of 16 runners, Teio was not in the upper half of the echelon. She entered as a superstar and finished as a nobody.
Worse than that, her dream of becoming the Undefeated Triple Crown to follow in Symboli Rudolf's footsteps is now dust in the wind. It's a title that can only be obtained if you have never lost a race before gaining your Triple Crown, and this loss has cost her her entire dream.
"Sniffle!! Sniffle!! I wanted to–Sniffle!! I wanted to surprise you!! I want to go back to you with a win!! Sniffle!! Sniffle!! Now I can't even say that I did well!! Sniffle!! Uuuhhh!!"
"This is not your fault, Teio!!"
"YES, IT IS!!! I'm the idiot who stupidly believes herself to be invincible!!! I was the bitch who confidently proclaimed I can win when you have shown me that I can't!!! I'm just a brat who can only whine!!!"
"Yes, you are a brat, and I'm an adult. Which is why your loss is my fault, Teio." The young man wipes the tears rolling down Teio's cheeks with a gentleness not seen before. The red-haired young man who would slam Goldship without a second thought is now moving with extreme care, as if he is touching a priceless artifact. "It is my duty to society as an adult to guide you down the correct path. It is my duty as your trainer to help you accomplish your dream as a runner.
I'm a selfish adult who put my dream above yours, and that cost you your dream.
The loss of your dream is entirely my fault."
"I know what you are, trainer!! I know what I will face when I enter this team!! You give me the freedom to choose my own path, but you still give me warnings about whether I would be capable of dealing with the hurdle!!
It's my fault that I ignored the warnings!!!"
"Teio…"
"DON'T TREAT ME LIKE AN IDIOT WHO COULD NOT THINK!!!! YOU DID YOUR JOB!!! I'M JUST SO FUCKING STUPID THAT I IGNORE YOUR ADVICE!!! IT'S MY OWN HUBRIS THAT BROUGHT ME HERE!!! NOT YOU!!!"
"Trainer…" Suzuka silently slid beside the young man. "I understand that you want to carry the burden on your own as the only adult in the room, but we're not children. You can put the fault on us if we truly deserve it. Trying to protect us from the blame when it's clearly our fault is much more insulting than if you just outright tell us, trainer."
"To some extent, it is your fault, Teio. But to blame only you for this loss is stupid. Unlike the rest of you, Teio's body seems not to have developed properly. I can give you inspiration and ideas on what to do in a race, but my shortcomings come out in your stats, Teio. I can not create a training menu to help you improve, when most veterans most likely can."
"Trainer…"
"Is what I thought, but McQueen also lost to Rice Shower. I guess I'm just an ass of a trainer..."
"Do not let that anomaly change your perspective that quickly, chief."
"Air Shakur…"
"Your trainees are without a doubt amazing, and you are as hot as you thought you were. I had gathered all the information on Rice Shower." The temporary assistant showed her tablet's screen to the team. "That last spurt was simply a miracle. There's no logical answer to it.
Out of the fourteen million six hundred and five simulations, only in one simulation could Rice Shower win the race. McQueen lost to a miracle."
"No… Even if Rice Shower didn't win the race, Tachyon would still beat McQueen. She comes second after all.
In the end, this loss not only shows the limits of Teio and McQueen, but also mine."