"First place!" Dora exclaimed.
"...First place," Astonishing repeated quietly.
She had underestimated her. A strange, hollow sensation spread through Astonishing's chest, and for a moment, she felt her legs lose their strength, her body turning to jelly against the realization.
"Woahh, hey! What's wrong with you? Get a hold of yourself!"
'Ahh, Dora... please let me go,' Astonishing thought. 'Let me stay in this pit for a bit longer...'
"Heyyyyy!"
It took her a while to reclaim her composure. While Dora drifted off to chat with their classmates, Astonishing retreated, seeking shelter under the cool, quiet shade of a tree.
"Good run out there."
Astonishing flinched slightly and turned around. Takeda was standing a few steps behind her.
"...Just a little bit more and I could've..." she trailed off, her voice barely audible.
He nodded once. "I know."
The simple acknowledgement stung her more than it should have.
"But I..."
"She ran a good race," Takeda said, cutting through her self-doubt. "But that doesn't make yours bad."
Astonishing looked up at him, searching his face for a sign of platitudes, but found only sincerity.
"If you want," he continued, "I can start you on a turf-adaptation program."
Astonishing hesitated, her gaze dropping to the grass beneath her shoes. Across the field, she could see Dora and End (World's End Opening nickname for now) already being approached by other trainers.
"...If I accept," she asked quietly, "will you really push me?"
She forced herself up, squaring her shoulders to face him fully. Takeda met her eyes without wavering.
"I won't promise fast results," he said firmly. "But I will push you. I'll make you uncomfortable. I'll make you question your limits. And I won't let you hide in 'good enough.'"
For a moment, the ambient noise of the track faded into a hum. The laughter and the shouting became distant echoes. All Astonishing could hear was the thrum of her own heartbeat and the soft rustle of wind through the leaves above.
"Then please... be my trainer."
A faint smile tugged at Takeda's lips. Finally, he nodded.
"Alright," he said. "From today on, I'm your trainer." He paused, his gaze shifting toward the track. "You won't see results right away. But one day, you'll step onto that track again... and prove your strength for real."
Astonishing couldn't help the small smile that finally broke through her gloom. "...Thank you," she whispered.
"No," he replied. "Thank you for trusting me."
Behind them, Dora's voice erupted again, calling out Astonishing's name. "Hey! They're calling us! Are you done there?!"
Astonishing huffed, the familiar irritation grounding her. "Ugh... that girl... I'M COMING!"
She took a step away from Koichi Takeda, pausing to look back at him. "So... Tomorrow?"
He nodded. "Tomorrow."
With a final look, Astonishing turned and jogged back toward the track and Dora.
-The Next Day-
Here she is.
Astonishing stood in the center of the hallway, her gaze drifting down an impossibly long row of identical doors. Then, she realized something very important.
Takeda had never told her where his clubroom was.
"...Agghh!"
She dragged both hands down her face, letting out a soft, muffled groan of frustration.
'Why didn't I ask? I should've asked! '
Just as she was beginning to contemplate opening doors at random, a voice drifted through the corridor, cutting through her internal berating.
"Oh, you're here."
Astonishing spun around. Trainer Takeda was walking toward her from the far end of the hall while holding a cup of coffee.
"Oh-! Good morning!" She blurted out.
Takeda slowed to a stop in front of her, lifting his paper cup slightly as a gesture of greeting. "Good morning," he said, a small smile playing on his lips. "You look lost."
"I am," she admitted without a second of hesitation. "You never told me where your clubroom was."
He froze for half a second.
Then his shoulders sagged.
"...Ah."
He let out a small, guilty laugh. "Right. That's my fault. I kind of assumed I would just... run into you."
"That's not a plan," She muttered.
He took a step back and tilted his head down the hallway.
"Come on," he said, motioning with the hand holding his cup. "Follow me. It's this way."
They walked past door after door of other teams until the hallway grew quieter and emptier.
Finally, he stopped in front of a door that looked... plain. No flashy sign. Just a small plate with the a name written on it.
"Welcome to my team! Team Schedar!"
"... Cheddar?"
He choked on his coffee.
"Schedar," he corrected quickly, coughing into his fist. "Not cheddar"
"...Oh."
She stared at the small metal plate again.
Team Schedar.
"Sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me"
"sigh, It's okay"
He unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Inside was... small.
Two desks. A narrow shelf stacked with binders. A whiteboard on the wall with a few handwritten notes. A single potted plant sat on the windowsill, leaning toward the light.
"Ooh... wow" She seriously don't have anything else to say.
"I know... I know... But this is all I got. It's not much, but... it's mine, and it's ours now. If we win races and raise our reputation we might be given a bigger room"
He set his coffee down carefully on the desk, then picked up a clipboard that had been lying there.
"Then," He held the clipboard out to her.
"From today on... you're officially the first member."
"...So it's really just you and me,"
"For now," Takeda said with a small smile. "We'll get more people to join the team, that's for sure!"
"So..... what do we do now?"
"Well, for now..."
He reached for something behind the desk and...
POP!
A party popper.
"Welcome to the team, yayy!" Shimmering bits of paper exploded in the air, raining down the umamusume Takeda just recruit.
"...What are you doing?"
"Celebrating you for joining" Takeda declared, pointing straight at her.
She tilted her head, plucking a strand of shiny blue paper from her bangs. "...Was that necessary?"
"Not really, I just thought you might like it... I guess not?"
Her ears flicked.
She brushed the last bit of confetti from her shoulder with a small sigh. "Do you think I'm a child?"
She is.
"Now now... let's not waste any more time and start training. We have a lot to do"
"Finally. What kind of training will it be?"
"Change into your training gear. We're heading to the dirt track."
'Hmm... just what is he planning?'
.
.
.
"HRRRRRAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!"
Astonishing's feet dug into the dirt track, her toes clawing for grip as the rope behind her snapped taut.
THUD. SCRRRRKKK.
Her lungs burned instantly. Behind her, the heavy tire dragged stubbornly across the soil. It lurched, just a little, but it moved. Takeda stood at the edge of the track with a stopwatch in his hand
"Good! Just a few more meters!" he called out.
Her ears twitched, catching his voice over the horrible grinding of rubber on earth.
'This is stupidly heavy,' she thought, gritting her teeth.
Take a step. Drag. Take another step. Drag again.
That's all she did for the rest of evening. The morning session is focused on training the upper body.
SCRRRAAAGGH!
The tire slid forward another meter, but her entire body felt as though it were on the verge of collapse.
"STOP!"
She stumbled forward another half-step before her knees gave out. Her hands slammed into the dirt, bracing her fall. Takeda jogged over and knelt beside her.
"...You did it," he said quietly.
Astonishing couldn't even find the strength to lift her head. "...How heavy... was that thing?"
"This one is 200 kilos."
"Two hundred, you said?" her arms finally gave out, and she face-planted into the dirt with a muffled, pathetic plf. After a moment of silence, her muffled voice rose from the ground. "What's this supposed to do with the turf-adaptation program?"
"Nothing," Takeda admitted. "This is just normal power training. In the end, it will still help you in the future."
She groaned and rolled onto her side, staring blankly up at the vast sky. "My legs feel like pudding."
He offered her his hand. She took it, barely managing to pull herself upright. He handed her a bottle of water, which she gripped with trembling fingers.
"Let's take another break" Takeda suggested, watching her. "You don't look like you can continue."
She took a long, desperate drink, water spilling down her chin before she even realized her hands were shaking. "...Break," she croaked. "Yes. Please."
She dropped onto the grass beside the dirt track, letting the cool blades soothe her aching muscles, and close her eyes.
"I feel more like a tractor than an umamusume."
"My, my. It seems the construction crew is taking a union break."
World's End Opening stood on the turf side, Astonishing can see that she's also covered in sweat and dirt, just, less dirt than her.
"Ah, it's just you..."
"Indeed! World's End Opening! Although I acknowledged that my name can be too difficult for some to spell, therefore, you may call me just End. As an exchange, I shall call you Aston. Seems fair?"
Astonishing, not in the condition to argue, only shrugged. "Whatever you said..."
"Aston," she repeated, testing the name. "Like the premium sports car brand. I'd love to see you stand on the same level as that"
"Right now, I feel more like a rusty van with a flat tire."
"Now now, everybody must start from somewhere. You may see me as a strong opponent but I'm far far away from my full potential. That's why... " She paused for a moment.
The calmness dissapear, replaced with a sharp gaze from End.
"... you need to train harder if you want to keep up with me. Otherwise, a shadow is all you will ever be"
Astonishing gulped. Her heartbeat quickened from the pressure.
'What is this... why is my body feels so tense!'
End's presence seemed to warp the air around her.
"A shadow is cold, Aston," End continued, her voice dropping to a low, "It has no substance. It simply mimics the movements of the one standing in the light. If you didn't want that, you need to find your own sun."
"... what are you trying to say?"
"Oh, I just thought you may need some motivation. After all, I prefer my rivals to be at their absolute peak when I inevitably leave them in the dust." Her voice is back to normal.
"Well then, I shall continue my training. Besides, it's rude for me to interrupt other's training" With that, End walked back towards her training waiting near the guard rail.
A moment later, Takeda approached her.
"Alright," he said, clearing his throat. "Let's cool down. Light jog, then stretching. You already train hard today. We'll try turf tomorrow."
"Aye aye!"
'It's finally over' Is all she has in mind.
.
.
.
Astonishing slung her towel over her shoulders and waved lazily at Takeda before heading down the path toward the dorms.
'I really did go all out today...'
The walk is quiet, until...
"Yo."
A familiar voice.
She turned around.
"Oh, Dora."
"Yes, it's me! So, how was your training? My trainer forced me to run up and down hundreds of stairs in nearby shrine. Can you imagine that?!" Dora threw her hands up dramatically.
Astonishing laughed weakly and rubbed the back of my neck. "That's tough... my trainer make me drag a 200 kilograms tire"
"Damn, really? They just don't hold back do they?"
"Well, we shouldn't either"
Dora chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so"
"Oh" she paused. "What if we have fun on weekend? Go somewhere around here?"
"Where would we even go?"
"There's a little shopping street not far from here" Dora said. "Cafés, game centers, bookstores... of course, street food"
"I'm interested"
"Good!" Dora pumped her fist.
The two parted away since they aren't in the same dorm. Astonishing in Ritto, and Dorazora in the Miho dorm.
.
.
.
Back in the dorm, Astonishing put her bag down and throw herself on the bed.
"Today was so exhausting... and I will end up like this everyday."
RIIIIIIIIIING RIIIIIIIIIING RIIIIIIIIIING
Her phone suddenly ringed. She checked who was calling and it's... her house's phone number.
"Mom? Why is she calling?"
Without further adue, she picked it up.
"Hello--!"
"YOU BRAT, YOU SAID WOULD CALL! WHERE IS IT? WHERE IS THE CALL? ARE YOU FORGETTING US ALREADY?!"
Astonishing winced, reflexively pulling the phone a few inches away from her ear as her mother's voice vibrated through the small dorm room.
"Mom! Ow, my ear... I'm sorry! I just... I've been busy," She stammered
"Busy? BUSY?! I know you're at that fancy academy, but that doesn't mean your fingers are too tired to press a few buttons!"
"I really was training, Mom," Astonishing groaned, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling.
There was silence for a moment before her mother starts speaking again.
"Hmmph! I'll let you go this time."
'Thank God' she felt relieved.
"By the way, where is Dad?"
"Your father? Hmm... he should be home in a moment. I should prepare dinner, he must've been tired"
"I see, tell him not to overwork himself. And tell him I'm okay"
"I'll tell him. Now go rest, don't be late to bed, you hear me?"
"Yes, Mom. I love you, Mom"
"I love you too" She hung up.
Astonishing let the phone slip from her fingers, landing softly on the sheet.
SIGH
That's two sides of a mother for you.
Her ears gave one final, tired flick before falling still against the pillow. Within minutes, the first member of Team Schedar was fast asleep.