On a Pale Horse (Umamusume/Youjo Senki)

[Darkwood]

Oh, ok, that makes sense. My experience with gendered languages comes from Latin and German, where this isn't necessarily the case (why is girl in German neuter?).

I might need your help about more Polish phrases later, especially if Shirogane starts cursing at people in Polish when she gets stressed.

Click to shrink...

In the case of animal terms that still holds up for english, think cow and bull vs dog and bitch.

 

[WrandmWaffles]

Well, got the draft for the next chapter done. It's like 9k words at the moment so will take some time to proofread. Should probably be able to get it out sometime tomorrow.

Also, Shirogane accidentally triggered some of Air Groove's trauma without really doing anything.

Oops.

 

[manatherindrell]

Well, got the draft for the next chapter done.

Click to shrink...

Yay!

It's like 9k words

Click to shrink...

Yay!

Should probably be able to get it out sometime tomorrow.

Click to shrink...

Yay!

Also, Shirogane accidentally triggered some of Air Groove's trauma without really doing anything.

Click to shrink...

Yay!

 

[D'znn-Xy'lll MetaChthonia]

Here's another Fan Art that's relevant to this Story that I saw while making today's Dump for the General Section UmaMusume Thread:

Spoiler: Reddit

[SOURCE]

 

[JamJackEvo]

Here's another Fan Art that's relevant to this Story that I saw while making today's Dump for the General Section UmaMusume Thread:

Spoiler: Reddit

[SOURCE]

Click to shrink...

Is that supposed to be a brake light, high visibility light, or a tail-version of an ankle bracelet?

 

[mauveine]

Is that supposed to be a brake light, high visibility light, or a tail-version of an ankle bracelet?

Click to shrink...

High Vis, probably

 

[Green Syn]

Is that supposed to be a brake light, high visibility light, or a tail-version of an ankle bracelet?

Click to shrink...

I think it's supposed to be like the little light on the back of bikes?

 

[WrandmWaffles]

A New Generation​

---

The first day of class started as any other day might have, and having no other obligations yet, Shirogane had gone to bed slightly earlier than usual and woke up as refreshed as she could be.

Over the past couple of days she had met with Air Groove a few more times, the older student continuing in a mentorship role of sorts, giving her a more detailed tour of the facilities. The academy had, of all things, its own swimming pool, one of considerable size, and thus theoretically quite good for training. Supposedly, the cafeteria was well supplied enough to comfortably feed even the most gluttonous students, and Shirogane had found that the prepared meals were of high quality, far more so than she had expected from cafeteria food.

It was not perfectly adjusted for her diet, but they weren't cooking specifically for her, so that was to be expected. She would have to supplement some things herself, but that was accounted for at the moment with what she and her family had stocked during the move. After that was depleted, she had enough money saved up that it wouldn't be an issue short term.

The campus also gradually became more populated. Not quite crowded, per se, but more and more students moved in, filling the space with more bodies and more noise, not that Shirogane had interacted with many of them, as she had no real reason to visit the dormitory areas as of yet, and none of them really seemed to pay her any notice.

Having previously familiarized herself with the layout in the past few days, she made her way to her designated classroom with plenty of time to spare.

Perhaps too much time to spare, since she was the first student to arrive, which prompted her to double check her schedule in the off chance she had read the room designation incorrectly.

She had not, so she stepped inside. They had not been given out seat assignments, so Shirogane took the front row window seat, putting her relatively close to two points of egress and also far enough from the door that it wouldn't obligate her to greet any person that walked through the doors. While she wasn't strongly opposed to talking with her future classmates and competitors, she'd preferred to observe from a distance to begin with.

Not too long after she had taken her seat, the classroom door opened and another umamusume strutted inside with an air of projected confidence. She had brown hair and light brown eyes that inspected the room with a haughty air, before settling on Shirogane. For whatever reason the newcomer had both her ears covered in a blue wrapping, with an additional green ribbon around the right one.

"Ohoh! It seems I am not the first to arrive!" Her voice was loud and theatrical, like she came from some aristocratic family…which might actually be possible. She strode in Shirogane's direction, ears tilted in greeting. "I am King Halo, a first rate umamusume! Who might you be, my punctual classmate?"

"Shirogane Orzel. Nice to meet you."

"Orlzel…Hmmph." King Halo frowned a bit at the unfamiliar word, before deciding not to focus on it. "It is nice to meet you as well!" Her demeanor was haughty and almost comically theatrical, but oddly enough Shirogane did not sense any disdain. Was it a front?

"So, Shirogane-san, what do you think of Tracen Academy so far?"

"It is clearly well-funded."

"Ahaha! But of course! It is where the best and brightest stars of the track gather in Japan! Which, naturally includes me, and also you!"

Her voice and tone were smug, but it was strangely genuine somehow, and not really condescending. Shirogane was surprised such an attitude was possible.

"We haven't exactly run much on the national circuit, have we? Right now we're sure to be outshone by more established racers."

"Worry not! Our opportunity to shine will come, I know this because I am–"

"Kiiing!" A cheerful voice sounded through the classroom, followed shortly by its origin, a small umumusume with pink hair, of all things, and unexpectedly shorter than Shirogane. "I found you!"

"Haru? But you're supposed to be in a different classroom…"

"Eeeh?!" the small uma rubbed her fists against her temples, her face the picture of confusion. "But we're roommates! I thought that meant we were supposed to be in the same room!"

"In the dormitory, Haru-chan!" King Halo sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The classroom you're supposed to go to is based on your schedule."

"Oooh," the pink uma hummed in realization, her eyes sparkling happily at clearing up the understanding. "So where does the schedule say Haru needs to go?"

King Halo looked flabbergasted for a moment, before shaking her head slightly and walking over to her roommate, pulling the shorter girl's schedule out of her pack and explaining it to her.

Was this Haru-san one of those umas who were very skilled on the track but rather dim elsewhere? She presumably would have some modicum of talent if she managed to attend Tracen. Perhaps she just had to take remedial lessons, which was probably necessary, given what Shirogane could see.

The next student to arrive was a gray-blue haired uma with a green ear sock on her right ear. She took one look at King Halo trying to explain things to Haru and proceeded to move to the back of the classroom and plop down in a chair with her head down. She wasn't actually asleep, but didn't seem inclined to talk with people.

Eventually, King Halo must have managed to properly communicate with her pink roommate, as the small umamusume ran out of the room in search of her proper destination.

The classroom was actually fairly small for an institution of its size, so with the addition of yet another arrival it began to feel a bit crowded. The newcomer was a brown haired umamusume with a stripe of white hair down the center of her forehead (which reminded Shirogane a lot of the president), and she seemed to share enthusiasm more akin to King Halo, introducing herself as Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi and aspiring Triple Crown winner.

Shirogane was not quite sure why so much significance was placed on this set of races. Yes, most racers can only run the set once, so it was quite difficult to win the set, and the prestige of such a win could easily aid in successful merchandizing, but it was still not an official award.

Finally, two other umamusume arrived, one with dark brown hair and a mask for some indiscernible reason, who burst in with somewhat excessive enthusiasm, while the other had long chestnut hair and entered the room at a much more sedate pace. While their Japanese was good, there was a hint of an accent, so they may have been foreigners.

As Shirogane had planned, the others didn't interact with her much, instead talking with the closer and more gregarious people. This gave her space to observe them, and while a few of them behaved in ways that were rather childish, it was evident to her eyes that all of them possessed significant training or talent.

Oddly enough, for all her demeanor suggested being from a well-established family, King Halo seemed to have lesser conditioning than the two foreigners, who had introduced themselves as Grass Wonder and El Condor Pasa, the latter of which sounded rather stupid, in Shirogane's opinion. Aside from that, and the questionable decision to wear a luchador mask, the two foreigners moved and breathed with an easy sort of coordination, like someone who was athletically fit and trained frequently. Their awareness was not particularly keen though, as they were easily engrossed in their conversation, to the point they missed the homeroom teacher entering the classroom shortly before the designated time.

With the air of someone used to handling umamusume, the teacher managed to corral the more rambunctious lot of them into their seats so she could take attendance. The blue-gray haired uma was named Seiun Sky, something that had taken some time for her to acknowledge, having truly fallen asleep while the others had been chatting.

Their teacher introduced herself as Nakashima Izumi, gave a brief spiel about what was expected, then had the class form a line and head to the auditorium for the opening ceremony.

While it was filled with more pomp and enough pageantry to highlight just how well funded the academy was, it was in truth not all too dissimilar to any other school's opening ceremony, with the principal, a short woman with a big hat…that had a cat corpse stitched to it? Oh no, it moved, so still alive. Either way, the principal extolled the various virtues of the academy and encouraged the students to pursue the school motto of 'Eclipse first, the rest nowhere', which, after some research, Shirogane had found to be a reference to an incredibly dominant racer named Eclipse who won races so thoroughly her opponents were disqualified for being just that far behind.

As that quirk of racing rules was not present on the local circuit, it was technically impossible to recreate that feat, and with how much the sport had been refined over the passage of time, Shirogane highly doubted that a similar feat would be feasible. There was the case of a racer named Maruzensky dominating her opponents, but she had not been able to participate in some of the truly competitive races due to the restrictions on foreign racers in those days.

Most of the students looked starstruck, which wasn't all too surprising given the presence of Symboli Rudolf, who, despite having not been an active racer for some time (she seemed to be transitioning into school staff) was still incredibly well known, or perhaps was just one of the childhood celebrities for some of the new students.

The promises of glory sounded rather hollow to Shirogane. In his first life he had believed the lessons of his elders, that working diligently in his career would bring fulfillment in life, and to some degree that was true, but his ignominious end had taught him that following the prescribed path did not always work out that way it was supposed to. In her second life she had tried to grasp her fate with her own hands, and it had worked disastrously well. She had not fully bought into the glory of fighting for the Empire, even as she had extolled it to her soldiers, but even her own limited expectations were not achieved.

It was unlikely her pursuit of glory in this life would end much differently.

Most of the students, even here at Tracen academy, would likely never win one of the major races, given the statistical limitations, and some might never win any race on the national circuit at all. It was likely that the greater part of the runners would fail to win glory, and some may even fail to run much at all due to injuries or other extenuating circumstances.

And yet, their enthusiasm was infectious, hundreds of ears and tails twitching in anticipation with childish enthusiasm. Many of them thought they would be the stars of this year. Most of those dreams would be dashed.

Shirogane smiled grimly. Perhaps she'd be the one to crush those dreams. She did not intend to fail out her first year, after all.

---

"Hey, hey! Shirogane right?!"

Shirogane turned to see her strange masked classmate running up to her excitedly and calling her name.

"Shirogane is my name, yes. Shouldn't you know that after roll call?" There weren't even ten members of her year class, which just went to show how prestigious the academy was.

"I'm El Condor Pasa!" The overly energetic umamusume bounced up and down like a hyperactive puppy that had never been disciplined. "Do you want to eat lunch with us?" She gestured to Grass Wonder and King Halo, who were chatting by their desks.

"Is there a particular reason for this invitation? I don't believe we are that familiar with each other." Shirogane had planned on getting some training in during the first part of the lunch period before having a quick bite to eat towards the end of the lunch rush.

"Weell…um," Pasa mumbled, "I thought it'd be good to get to know each other since we'll be classmates? I talked with King, Tsu and even Sky a bit, but not you."

Shirogane blinked. When did she have time to socialize with the others asides from this morning? After homeroom they had gone to the opening ceremony, followed by their Racing 101 class.

Ah, she had probably been communicating during the ceremony or in class.

"I suppose that makes sense." Getting to know her classmates wouldn't be a bad idea, given that they would likely be her competitors. "Though do you speak for just yourself or does this invitation also come from the others?"

"Uhh…well…" Pasa deflated, clearly not having thought of that. "But um…I'm sure they won't mind?"

"Are you bothering our classmate, El?" the soft and gentle sound of Grass Wonder's voice cut in, the chestnut haired umamusume clearly having heard her seatmate making a fool of herself.

"No! I was just asking if she wanted to have lunch with us!"

"Oh! In that case, I would be delighted if you could join us, Shirogane-san." Grass Wonder exclaimed, answering the question Shirogane had asked without acknowledging that she had heard it. "Or would you prefer Orzel-san?"

Huh, she pronounced it close to correctly, which pretty much confirmed that she was a foreign student. "Shirogane-san will be fine, Grass Wonder-san." It was the part of her actual name, after all.

"You can call me Grass then, Shirogane-san." She clasped her hands together and leaned her head to the side in a practiced manner. "Would you like to have lunch with us?"

It hadn't been her plan, but as it was the first day, with tryouts and debuts yet to be decided on… "I would not mind it."

"Hooray!" Pasa cheered, throwing one of her hands into the air. "Us foreigners have to stick together, you know!"

"El!" Grass Wonder hissed, "Don't be so loud, it's considered rude."

"Where are you two from, if I may ask?" The two of them seemed to have been familiar with each other beforehand, so it was possible they were from the same place.

"We're from America!"

"The United States, more specifically."

"Isn't that the same thing?!"

"Colloquially, yes, but I appreciate the clarification." Shirogane didn't understand why an American uma had a Spanish name, but Americans were known to be a bit strange about things like that.

"Where are you from, Shirogane-san?" Grass Wonder inquired politely, trying to distract from her rambunctious companion.

"I am from Fujisawa."

"Ehh?! Fujisawa? I've never heard of a country called that! Is it in Africa or something?"

Shirogane blinked, sharing a perplexed look with Grass Wonder, who pinched her nose in frustration. "El, Fujisawa is a city not too far from Tokyo."

"About forty to fifty kilometers south of here depending on how you define the boundaries."

"Huh?! You're Japanese?!"

"El!"

"I was born in Japan, yes."

"But…you don't look Japanese!"

"El!"

"I am aware." It hadn't caused too many problems, given most umamusume having some foreign descent, but it was rather tiresome, getting reminded of that.

Grass Wonder, finally having enough of her friend's lack of tact, smacked the masked uma on the back of her head. "That was incredibly rude, El Condor Pasa."

"Ow! Why is it rude?"
"Why do you have a Spanish name if you are American?"

"Hey! A lot of people in America speak Spanish!"

"And not all Japanese people look the same." Umamusume in particular had more varied appearances.

"O-Oh…um…sorry."

Shirogane snorted. "It isn't a big deal. My mother is from Poland, so yes, I do look different from many Japanese umamusume." Even if most Japanese umamusume looked more European than the humans did.

"Oh. Ok. I just thought…cause your name wasn't all in Japanese."

"That's not a particularly useful indicator when half of Japanese umamusume have names made up of random English words." It wasn't something Shirogane understood, but she had never received a truly satisfactory answer from her teachers when she inquired about it.

Grass Wonder and Pasa glanced over at King Halo and Seiun Sky, before sharing a guilty look of realization.

"Are you guys coming?" Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi called, waving at them from quite a bit further down the hall than she had been previously.

Shirogane and the two foreigners quickly hastened their pace and joined the rest of their class as they entered the lunchroom.

A wave of noise crashed into her ears as they entered, sounds from many different umamusume as they noisily ate their food and chatted with each other, often with unnecessarily loud volume.

It had been quite a long time since Shirogane had been in an all umamusume class, and she hadn't quite appreciated just how loud a large group of them could be, or just how much they could eat. She watched with some degree of surprise as her classmates piled up their trays with enough food for Umeki-san, who was at least fifty percent larger than any of them, and if that was not enough, their portions were not even the largest she observed among those eating at the cafeteria.

Her own portion was more reasonably sized, and quite a bit smaller. Given she was the shortest member of her class, it wasn't unexpected, but had her classmates really been eating this much food consistently? Wasn't that a bit excessive? Racing obviously burned significant energy, but she had managed well enough with her usual diet, and her routine involved running what would account to multiple races every shift, even if at slower paces.

As her classmates gradually began eating through what they had picked out, Shirogane realized this must be normal for them, as no one seemed askance, even the more proper King Halo or Grass Wonder, the latter actually having the largest meal among them.

Was she still eating too little? Shirogane had checked with the family doctor, and they had not found an issue with her diet. Did racing really consume so many more calories?

She would have to consult with Toujou-san more about this later, but in the meantime she ate her food swiftly, only partly listening as her classmates chatted with each other.

They were about as loud as many of her other umamusume classmates in the past, but did seem a bit more focused, at least on racing, so it might be tolerable interacting with them. Still, she wasn't exactly sure why they wanted her to join them if they were mostly going to talk around her. Herd mentality? That was more unlikely for the kind of umamusume who would seek victory in this kind of competition.

"Shirogane-san, would you mind if I asked you a question?"

Shirogane blinked, swallowing the last of her food and looking up at King Halo, who had addressed her suddenly. "If it isn't too inappropriate." Technically she had already been asked a question but that didn't really count.

"What kind of shoes do you usually run in?" The brown haired uma asked. "Condor-san and Grass-san have been arguing about which type is better."

"Wait, she didn't hear us?!"

She has not been paying too much attention, but it would be impolite to admit that out loud. "Work boots," she replied instead.

There was a beat of silence as her classmates stared at her.

"Work boots?!" Tsuyoshi-sputtered. "Like the stuff construction workers wear?!"

"Something of the sort, though I naturally could not wear them on the track at school."

"Then what did you need them for?" Pasa wondered. "Aren't they heavy and stiff? That sounds like a pain to run in!"

"There are work shoes designed to be less robust and more ergonomic for motion. They are moderately pricey-" An unfortunate case for many things designed for umamusume "-but comparable to running shoes and are quite a bit more durable, especially when running on the road."

"Whoaa…" Tsuyoshi-san gasped. "Were you a street racer?!"

"Aren't those illegal?" King Halo sputtered, though looking rather curious herself.

"Are those common in Japan?" And that was Grass Wonder, looking like she was missing context and inordinately unhappy about it.

"I was not aware street racing was that prevalent a phenomenon," Shirogane admitted. Another thing to look into. "I was running on the road because I was running food deliveries for my family's restaurant."

"Ooh…that sounds like pretty good power training!"

"El, I doubt food is that heavy."

"You might be surprised," Shirogane grunted. "A stack of bentos can weigh several kilos. But overall it isn't too much weight."

"How far did you have to run for deliveries?" Grass Wonder wondered. "Wouldn't it be easier to use a car or a bike?"

"A car is a bit troublesome in the urban areas I often deliver to, and it's easier to maneuver on foot than on a bicycle." Running was also cheaper. Not that a bicycle was terribly expensive, but it wasn't trivial, and her father's bicycle was too tall for her, so they would have had to get a new one.

"Hmm…I guess I'm still getting used to being in a big city," the chestnut umamusume hummed thoughtfully, her ears drooping slightly as she spoke.

"Tokyo is one of the most densely populated places in the world, so it takes some getting used to. The area around Tracen is fairly moderate in terms of crowding by Tokyo standards though."

"It will be quite crowded when there are races to be seen!" King Halo pointed out. "Ooh, I can't wait to show the world what I can do!"

"Yeah! The Condor flies the highest, so I'm gonna be the fastest!"

"Condors are slow and unwieldy for birds," Shirogane pointed out. "Not that they need to be fast since they feed primarily on corpses, while their ability to soar high keeps them out of range of most threats."

"H-Hey! Are you calling me a slowpoke?!"

"No? I'm pointing out how your metaphor might not be the best."

"Oh yeah?! I bet an Orzel is something dumb and slow!"

"An Eagle is among the fastest animals on the planet, though they are admittedly not particularly intelligent among birds." Shirogane herself was more the inverse of that.

"Ooh! That's a cool name! Better than Grass Wonder."

"Oh, you want to start something, El?" Grass Wonder smiled dangerously, closing her eyes to hide her intense gaze.

"N-Never mind!"

"Well this class will be kinda fun, it looks like," Tsuyoshi-san declared.

Lively might be the better word, but it was still early, and the year had barely started.

---

Conveniently enough, the second year classes were not far from where the first year classes had been, so it would not be too much of a detour.

It was at this point that Shirogane recognized one complication of having advanced classes, and that is having to introduce herself to about twice as many people.

"Are you lost?"

As Shirogane stepped into her second year mathematics classroom, she found another student already present, an uma with long, neatly combed dark hair and a set of blue and white ribbons on her left ear.

"I don't believe so, this is second year trigonometry, is it not?"

The other uma blinked. "Yes, but I don't recognize you…ah," her tail swished side to side in realization. "Are you a first year who was put into advanced classes?"

"As you say."

"In that case, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Mejiro Dober." She bowed slightly in greeting.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well. I am Shirogane Orzel." The bow was returned.

A Mejiro, huh? They were one of the more well known racing families, which would explain why the greeting was a bit stiff and formal, not that this bothered Shirogane any.

Mejiro Dober nodded, expression still closed off, but not unfriendly, given her relaxed tail movements. "Are you settling in well, Shirogane-chan? As your senpai you can ask me for help if you need it."

"That is appreciated, Dober-san. I am still getting used to things. It's quite a lively school."

"Yes."

"Wooo!" As if summoned by Shirogane's observation, another uma pranced into the classroom, this one with dark brown hair and wearing sunglasses indoors, oddly enough. "Time for more mathematics. Just when will we be finished with all this, Dober?"

"We have at least one more year of school, Pearl-san." Dober-san's ears twitched in a mild display of irritation, though she was clearly familiar with this other student. "And then we will have to do more math after we graduate."

"Oh? Who's this?" And now the newcomer turned her attention to Shirogane, completely ignoring the previous topic.

"This is Shirogane Orlzel," Mejiro Dober replied, "she's a first year student who is taking advanced classes."

"Ooh! A smarty pants, huh?" the more bombastic umamusume asked rhetorically, leaning over Shirogane and giving her a once over, one hand pulling her sunglasses up out of the way. "I'm Seeking the Pearl, always nice to meet a new kouhai!"

Shirogane blinked, taking a moment to realize that this uma was not, in fact, looking for a pearl and that was actually her name. Who came up with this kind of thing? "I'll be in your care, Pearl-san." She bowed politely.

"Hmm…" Seeking the Pearl narrowed her eyes. "This is a cute one!"

"I have been described as such." It was an unfortunate inevitability from being so short, even if she never acted in a childish manner.

"Don't bother her too much," Dober-san sighed, giving her yearmate a long-suffering look. "I don't want to give her the impression that her seniors are rude and have no sense of personal space."

It was perhaps too late for that, unfortunately for Dober-san.

"WAAAAAAAAH!"

Thump!

Another student entered the room, falling flat on her face as she tripped over the entryway. This one had short orange hair and a blue and white ear sock over her right ear. (Why did umas wear that? Didn't it interfere with their hearing?)

"Are you alright, Matikanefukukitaru-san?" Dober asked, hurriedly making her way over to the fallen uma.

"Why have you forsaken me, Shiroaki?!" Matikanefukukitaru cried, not bothering to get up from her prone position. "Fortune was supposed to be in my favor today!"

Was her name supposed to be two names? Ah…eighteen characters. Another oddity in this world.

"Don't let Dober fool ya," Seeking the Pearl laughed, winking at Shirogane. "Most of the runners here are pretty silly, if you get to know them. Even Dober! She's mostly just shy."

"Please, leave me some dignity, won't you, Pearl."

"See! What did I tell you?"

"I will take that under advisement." Shirogane kept back a sigh, feeling a headache starting to build. She supposed it had been too much to ask for the class above to be less noisy.

As with her yearmates earlier, once the noisier students arrived, they took up most of the attention, leaving Shirogane to her own devices, which was fine by her. The next couple of students that arrived were also less noisy, and more… airheaded might be the right word. One of them was apparently Mejiro Dober's sister, Mejiro Bright, though oddly enough they did not refer to each other as twins, despite being in the same year, while the second one was an uma with reddish-brown hair and green ear socks named Silence Suzuka. Neither of them seemed to notice the newcomer to the class, the former sitting next to her sister, while the latter sat by the window and stared out wistfully.

It was a nice day out, so Shirogane could understand that sentiment.

Another teacher came into the room, and in her eagerness to get to some more interesting schoolwork, Shirogane later realized she had never registered his name. Perhaps after being introduced to so many strangely named characters his more traditional Japanese name slipped her mind.

In truth, the trigonometry introduction was not particularly difficult, or all that interesting, compared to what she remembered learning and using in the Soldier's life. Shirogane doubted her current brain would be able to manage anything close to her previous life's knack, having not spent her childhood calculating spell formulae, but this was still easy enough that it took hardly any mental exertion, even if it was quite enjoyable.

Having advanced classes seemed like it would make the academic side less tedious–

"Sorry we're late!"

The door to the classroom crashed open as two more umas stumbled in, the first one sandy haired and far too cheerful for someone late to class, while the second had dark hair punctuated by a white dot above her forehead and looked like they had clearly overslept.

"I got lost! And then there was nobody around so I got nervous so kept looking for someone to ask for directions!"

"I overslept."

The teacher paused, looking at the latecomers, before sighing and gesturing for them to come in.

"It's the first day of the semester, so I will look the other one this time, just don't make a habit of it, Taiki Shuttle, Stay Gold."

"Yeees! Of course!"

"Got it."

To Taiki Shuttle's credit, she actually did make a clear effort to understand the lesson, though by the almost comically distressed expression on her face, it was not going all that well, even if she was surprisingly able to get a few of the answers correct despite having no grasp of the mathematics involved.

Stay Gold, on the other hand, seemed to have trouble staying awake, which would normally be her own problem, if not for the fact she had decided to sit next to Shirogane for some inexplicable reason.

The other short umamusume stared blankly at the chalkboard for some time, before twitching about to look at something else, sometimes at Shirogane, sometimes at her notes, and sometimes at the other students. Shirogane did her best to ignore her unwanted neighbor, though she dedicated one ear to monitoring the dark haired girl in case she did anything more than look at her funny.

So far, the comparatively small girl (relative to the rest of the class, not Shirogane herself) had not done anything, but this kind of monitoring made her feel on edge.

It made the class more interesting than it would have been otherwise, but Shirogane would prefer this not become a habit. What even was interesting to look at? In Fujisawa she might have stood out a bit more due to her foreign features, but that was hardly unusual at Tracen.

Eventually, Stay Gold appeared to have gotten bored of her inspection, turning her attention briefly towards the lesson, before it drifted to something else.

Even at Tracen Academy, there were those who struggled to focus on the schoolwork, it seemed. Though it was perhaps more forgivable when that was not the primary focus of the academy itself. If students were producing results on the racetrack, then it was possible the school would be more permissive regarding their academic conduct.

Shirogane had no need to depend on such generosity.

The class went on without any more interruptions, and when it was over, Shirogane moved on to the next one.

In a few of the advanced classes she was joined by some of her yearmates, like Grass Wonder in second year English and King Halo is second year Japanese, and in a few cases one of the second years seemed to have gone to a different class, which was rather different than most schools she'd experienced before, which tended towards keeping the classes together.

Shirogane personally found this arrangement agreeable, as while much of the classwork was still fairly rudimentary, the second year sports science classes were much more sophisticated than anything of the sort she had seen before.

Now if only Stay Gold would stop staring at her.

---

"Shiro!"

"El Condor Pasa." Shirogane did not understand why the dark haired uma looked so distraught, calling out to her with her face in a distressed grimace as they gathered on the practice field.

"I thought you left!"

"Don't be silly, El," Grass Wonder chuffed, looking amused by her friend's behavior. "She's just in many second year classes."

"Ehhh?! Then why was she in our home room?!"

"I was also in the same History class." She wouldn't have been if the focus on uma races wasn't so much greater than in the previous history classes.

"Huh?! How come I didn't see you there?!"

"I was very quiet." Frankly, Shirogane did not know how Pasa failed to notice her. It wasn't as if she had been hiding.

"You do step quite lightly, Shirogane-chan," King Halo joined in. "There's been a few times you surprised me a bit."

"Is it bad if I kinda didn't realize you were in our class until now?" The admission came from Seiun Sky, who scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"It is mildly surprising, since I was already present when you arrived in our home room." Then again, Sky had clearly not been paying much attention.

"She was the first one there, actually."

"That you know of."

"That we know of?" Tuyoshi-san gasped, looking around quickly. "Do we have more classmates?!"

Not that Shirogane was aware of. "That was a joke. Though given it's the first day, it's possible we will have other people joining us later in the year."

"Ahhh! We have ghost classmates!" Where in the world did Pasa get that idea?!

"I am fairly sure deceased students cease to be registered as such–"

"That makes it worse!"

"I think we are getting distracted," Grass Wonder interrupted her friend's spontaneous breakdown with a put upon sigh, though there was a competitive gleam in her eye. "Shouldn't we be running after being stuck inside all day?"

"Oh yeah! Come on! I'm gonna leave you all in the dust!" Without so much as a courtesy 'on your mark' Pasa took off down the track.

"Oh no you don't!" And there went Grass Wonder after her, with Tsuyoshi-san following shortly behind.

"Ahahaha! How rude!" Despite her words, King Halo did not appear all that offended, chasing after the runners at a more leisurely pace.

"Do we really have to run?"

"We are expected to train, Sky-san."

Shirogane started after them, accelerating quickly to near her top speed to close the distance.

After her dead sprint start, Pasa had actually calmed down a bit and settled into a slower pace, which let the other runners catch up to her, though the dark haired uma did her best to try and block Grass Wonder, the two of them fighting for the lead.

Even at a more measured pace, the other three runners did not overtake them, with King Halo looking to be conserving her energy, while Tsuyoshi-san looked to have winded herself in the starting dash.

Shirogane was fast enough to catch up to the pack, sliding into King Halo's wake, since she knew she lacked the speed to challenge her classmates at this stage of a run.

As they rushed down the track, she observed that while her classmates were clearly very fast, they seemed a bit inexperienced, given that she could see them flagging a bit after their initial burst of speed.

They circled the practice track, and Pasa surged ahead, kicking up the turf as she sprinted for where they began, prompting the others to follow suit.

Shirogane watched dispassionately as her classmates sped ahead of her, with King Halo overtaking Tsuyoshi-san despite starting later.

She herself was not able to catch up to any of them, though she managed to close the distance with Tsuyoshi-san, who looked mildly fatigued as they reached where they had been standing shortly before.

"I won!" Pasa whooped.

"Only because you started before everyone else did," Grass Wonder grumbled, looking quite peeved, her ears flattened backwards, even if she didn't raise her voice.

"Not my fault you all started late!"

"I got here first, ya know?" And there was Seiun Sky, who had not moved from her spot.

"Eeeh?! No way!"

"She was indeed there before we came back," Shirogane observed–

"Wah!" Tsurumaru jumped in the air, making Shirogane duck out of the way of a flailing limb. "Where did you come from?!"

"...Behind you." What exactly was she supposed to say to that?

"I didn't hear you at all?!"

"Well…your ears were angled forwards…" She was running full speed, how didn't she hear her?

"Wait a minute, you didn't even run, did you Sky?!" And Pasa finally realized it.

"I mean, we never said we had to run around the track?" Seiun Sky threaded her fingers together behind her head. "So I won cause the rest of you left."

Were it so easy.

"That's not how that works!"

"Well, you didn't exactly establish any rules, El," Grass Wonder pointed out, covering her mouth with one hand, her ears flicking in amusement.

"Definitely not fair!" Tsuyoshi-san interjected, shaking her fist vigorously.

Life wasn't fair. Shirogane was fairly certain karma, if it indeed existed, did not work the way priests would say it did. If it did she doubted she'd be afforded this peaceful life after killing so many in her last.

"Aha, this is supposed to be free running time." King Halo laughed, though she seemed a bit out of breath. "While there is no shame in putting our all in a quick dash, if we want to become first-rate umamusume, we will have to run for longer distances!"

"The Japanese Triple Crown is two medium and a long race right?"

"That's right, El. The Satsuki Sho, the Tokyo Yushun, and the Kikuka Sho."

"Winning all three is the dream of all of us here at Tracen!" Tsuyoshi-san pumped her fist, her tail swishing excitedly. "Like what President Rudolf did!"

Were the two related? They had a similar white stripe in their hair on their forehead.

"Sounds like it would be too much effort," Seiun Sky sighed. "We only get one try at it. There's a reason it's so rare."

"Only the most first-rate racers have done it! The likes of Symboli Rudolf, Mr. CB, and Narita Brian." King Halo listed off three notable racers, her fists clenching in eagerness. "One day I will be counted amongst them too!"

"Oh? You'll have to beat all of us here," Grass Wonder hummed dangerously, looking like she was feeling competitive. "Are you confident in that?"

"Ahaha! Of course!"

Shirogane judged her own odds of achieving the so-called Triple Crown as low, if not minimal. She could tell her classmates were largely faster than her, and with at least a year's worth of conditioning, she doubted they would tire themselves out on just a medium race by the time of their classic year. Perhaps the Kikuka Sho could be within her grasp, with the longer race giving her an edge.

As much prestige it could bring, in the end it did not come with an additional prize pool. It could be leveraged for merchandise or sponsorships, but those would be harder to come by for someone with no industry backing or notable lineage. It might well even get her locked into predatory agreements if she wasn't careful.

"Man, this class is pretty strong," Tsuyoshi-san mumbled under her breath. "What would prez do?"

Probably make some theatrical gesture.

"Aren't we supposed to be training?" Shirogane pointed out. Getting to know her competitors had its uses, but she didn't want to give the teachers the sense that she was slacking off.

"That is what this period is for," came the amused voice of Nakashima-sensei. "Though given it's the first day, and none of you have trainers yet, as a teacher, I would say getting to know each other is an appropriate use of your time."

They were going to be competitors, so scoping out their strengths and weaknesses would be useful. Shirogane wasn't sure she could really disguise her weaknesses, so perhaps it would be more effective if she didn't draw as much attention to her advantages.

"Then perhaps we should run again, and this time with a fair start!" King Halo tilted her head back challengingly at Pasa, who wilted slightly at her displeasure. "Nakashima-sensei, would you please declare the start for us?"

"Of course! And Sky, this time you really should run."

"Fiiine!"

"This time I'll win!"

Shirogane was not as confident as Tsuyoshi-san appeared to be. Her own chances did not look particularly good either, if they were only running one lap. Actually…

"How far are we running?"

"Why don't we just start with single laps?"

Damn.

They ended up running several more times, and true to Shirogane's expectations, her classmates' greater top speeds meant she was not particularly close to the front, at least a first.

Pasa managed to beat out Grass Wonder the first two laps, but the more excitable uma had winded herself by the third, losing to her chestnut haired friend, after which it became more of a toss up, with King Halo managing to win one lap, after which it became split being Seiun Sky and Grass Wonder.

While she had not won any of the laps, Shirogane found herself gradually moving closer to the front as her classmates tired. Grass Wonder and Seiun Sky had more stamina than the others, but they started to slow after more than a handful of laps.

"One more lap!" It seemed their teacher was trying to wear them out. Since it was the end of the day, there was no need for her to ensure that they had enough energy to pay attention in class, and there were no homework assignments due immediately, so encouraging them to burn off their energy likely was to reduce the likelihood they got up to hijinks that bored youth were known for.

"A-Another one?" Seiun Sky grumbled. "It's only the first day!"

"I–haah–won't lose this time!"

"You didn't pace yourself, El."

"How was I supposed to know we would keep running like this?!"

"This…is just what we need to endure to reach for the top! Ah…hahaha…"

"Y-Yeah…one more!"

Shirogane took a deep breath, shaking some of the tension out from her legs. Running on turf still felt odd, even with running shoes that were supposed to work better for such terrain. It made different parts of her legs sore.

"C'mon, c'mon! Go!"

They took off, and even though they were tired, Seiun Sky and Pasa took the lead again, but their strides were much less confident than before, allowing the rest of them to follow much closer, and Shirogane ended up in the middle of the pack, with Grass Wonder not far behind her, while King Halo and Tsuyoshi lagged behind, looking the most winded.

About halfway down the straight, Pasa started to slow, allowing Shirogane to catch up to her, running in her wake to use her larger bulk as a wind break. Behind her, Grass Wonder kicked the turf harder, trying to accelerate, but it seemed the repeated runs had taken their toll and she did not build up enough speed to pass them even with Pasa slowing down.

Aside from Shirogane herself, it seemed that Seiun Sky was the least fatigued, probably because she had run one less lap than the rest of them. Even so, she slowed abruptly at the turn–

The blue gray uma cut close to the rail, blocking off Pasa's path, drawing a surprised squawk from the masked runner, and Shirogane ducked past her on the inside as Pasa flinched.

Sky was in her way, but had not fully sealed off the inner rail, so she pushed forwards, accelerating into the turn.

"Wha–?!"

A moment later Shirogane was past Seiun Sky and in the lead for the first time today, pushing herself back up to her top speed as she made it back onto the returning straight.

She heard the pounding feet behind her as Grass Wonder bulled her way past Pasa, chasing after Sky, who had been feigning exhaustion, and now was closing in on Shirogane's tail.

In contrast to her classmates' clear fatigue, Shirogane was only slightly winded, so she ducked low as she ran, shrinking her profile to force Sky to face more wind resistance, while she kept one ear tracking Grass Wonder's attempt to close.

Even clearly tired, her chestnut classmate's closing speed was still formidable, so Shirogane side-stepped into her path, cutting off her passing lane.

"Gah!"

"Oof!"

To her surprise, this shift caused Seiun Sky to stumble into Grass Wonder, slowing both their velocities, and Shirogane was home free.

King Halo and Tsurumaru were too far back to be relevant.

"Congratulations, Shirogane-chan!" Nakashima-sensei called as she slowed to a stop at the start of the track.

Shirogane nodded to her in thanks, turning back to see her teammates stumble to a stop a few seconds after her, all of them looking much more tired than she had expected them to be. Perhaps they had hit a threshold?

"Waah!" Pasa cried, hands on her knees as she gasped for air. "H-How…you don't…even look tired…Shiro-chan?!"

"I am used to running a lot."

"So am I! Haah…but we've run like twenty laps!"

"It was fifteen, El."

"Fifteen clicks isn't too bad."

"Well, I guess you'll be pretty dangerous as a stayer," their teacher observed, looking over the rest of the class, who looked like they would have trouble running another lap.

Pasa and Grass Wonder looked a bit frustrated, despite the two of them having the most wins, while King Halo and Tsurumaru seemed…rattled. They had not performed as well as some of their classmates, but the gap didn't seem insurmountable, in Shirogane's opinion, with both of them having potentially competitive, if inferior, top speeds.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Go rest up and I'll see you in the morning!" Nakashima-sensei dismissed them, and the class made their way to the locker rooms to shower, after which they went their separate ways.

As she made her way back towards her apartment, Shirogane mulled over the results from today's practice. They weren't particularly promising for herself, but there was no reason to get worked up over a practice run that wasn't even a mock race. Currently, if she ran against her classmates in a real race, there was very little chance she could claim the biggest cut of the prize pool, even on longer races, since it took them tiring out over multiple runs for her to outpace them in the end.

Still, these were supposed to be among the best runners of their age group, so expecting herself to be competitive with them was just not realistic. Perhaps, with more training, she could improve her closing speed at the end, but even then, it was not as if her classmates would slack off, even Seiun Sky, with her lackadaisical air, seemed to care enough about the sport to get into Tracen, after all.

Realistically, though, she would not be racing against her classmates every single race, and if she could at least keep up with the best in the nation, then it stood to reason that she should be able to perform decently against those less talented, who were likely to be the more numerous opponents in the majority of her races.

Quantity had a quality of its own, and if she could win or place in enough races, even ones that had fairly small prize pools, she would be able to pay for tuition here, and potentially even build capital for future investments.

Winning the Japan Cup or Arima Kinen for their large prize pools would be nice, but if she could not reliably beat the best of her year in Japan, there was little chance of her defeating a roster expanded to include international participants. But even participating in those races would be worth the effort, if she could manage it.

"Shirogane-chan?"

She blinked, her head turning to see Air Groove waiting by the academy gates.

"Air Groove-senpai?" What was she doing here?

The older uma's ears twitched in greeting as she put her hand on her hip. "How was your first day?"

"It went a bit better than expected." While she wouldn't call the classwork challenging, it was actually engaging enough that she didn't think she would get too bored. "The teaching staff appears to be dedicated, if nothing else."

"Naturally. Tracen Academy prides itself on recruiting top talent for more than just the race track."

"The other prospective runners are quite talented indeed."

"Hmm…" Air Groove hummed, her tail swishing thoughtfully. "Your year does indeed have a lot of talent. I know Toujou-san has her eye on a few of them."

"Grass Wonder and El Condor Pasa, I imagine?" Those two seemed to be the superior runners among her peers, at least from her admittedly limited observation.

"Oh, what makes you think that?" By the quizzical tilt of Air Groove's head, Shirogane gathered that she was likely correct.

"They have better talent and conditioning than the rest of our class, though Pasa can be counterproductively impulsive. Seiun Sky has perhaps comparable abilities, but seems to have something of a mental block, while King Halo and Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi do not appear to have the physical capacity to compete with them consistently."

"And yourself?" Air Groove did not counter her observations. What was her senior looking for here, anyways?

"I can run longer than all of them. Other than that metric I am largely outclassed." She was fairly certain she was most intellectually capable of her class, but that did not matter as much on the track.

"Hmph, you shouldn't sell yourself short," Air Groove chided, folding her arms and tilting her ears reprovingly.

But she was short, so that wouldn't be an error.

"Your positioning skills are already impressive, and I've never seen someone cut so close to the rail with such confidence."

Oh…she hadn't actually considered that.

"I suppose if I am able to keep up with my yearmates to some degree, my chances of getting a cut of the race purse are decent."

Air Groove sighed, shaking her head slightly. "That's better, I suppose."

Was there something wrong with having an accurate judgement of her chances?

"Is there something you needed from me, Air Groove-senpai?" Surely she wasn't here just to chat?

"Ah, I just wanted to see if you were settling in well." Her older teammate glanced away momentarily, almost bashfully. "Since you aren't living in the dorms, you wouldn't have someone looking out for you like the dorm chiefs."

Shirogane blinked. "Are you concerned about my living conditions? The discounted apartment is quite nice, and I assure you I can take care of myself."

"I do not doubt that, and I meant no offense. As your senior, both as the student council vice president and on our team, I just wanted to look out for you."

"Thank you for your concern." At this point Shirogane really shouldn't be surprised. There certainly were many people who worried themselves a lot about her in this life, but she never really got used to it. Some things, it seems, stuck with you even after death. "I can show you around if you're really worried about it."

"Hmm…I suppose I should check and make sure the affiliated residential buildings remain up to par."

She was not quite sure whether her senior's mothering nature was typical behavior, or if there was something about herself that triggered this, but there was no real reason for Shirogane not to alleviate the concerns. From her experience with her family this life, if someone was truly concerned about you, brushing them off would not make them stop bothering you.

---

"Hmm…"

"Is something the matter?"

Air Groove had taken a glance around Shirogane's apartment and paused in place, a strange look on her face.

"…I'll admit, with how dour you are I'd half expected your living space to look more like a prison and not so…homely"

"Most of the decorations here were added by my mother and grandmother."

Shirogane could easily admit she was not one to personalize her spaces very much, though a few of the trinkets were from her own initiative, like the calendar and the alarm clock.

"Hmm, is that your family?" Air Groove pointed at the family picture on the desk shelf, her head tilted curiously. "Is that…your sister?"

Shirogane blinked. How would she reach that conclusion? Her mother wasn't elderly yet, but also didn't look young enough to be her sibling.

"I do not have any siblings." Now that she thought about it…that has been true in all the lives she remembered. Now she was mildly curious what having a sibling might be like.

Air Groove paused, looking momentarily confused before her ears twitched in surprise. "Your mother is human?!"

"As far as I know." Mother's family obviously had some umamusume ancestry, but that particular gene expression had skipped over Mother's immediate family. "Is that so surprising?"

"…I know it's possible for that to happen, but I've never actually met an umamusume with two human parents before."

"We are not particularly common." And given that most racers were descended from other racers, it was not too surprising that Air Groove's circle of acquaintances did not overlap much with human-born umamusume. "Especially not among racing families, for obvious reasons."

The older uma's tail twitched in discomfort, and Air Groove frowned, Shirogane's off hand observation apparently having struck deeper than she had intended. What was there to think about? Talented and successful racers were more likely to have children who were similarly talented, with a combination of genetic or social factors contributing to this.

"Is that why…?"

"Why what?"

"Never mind," Air Groove sighed, shaking her head, choosing to take a second glance over the apartment. "I was just surprised."

Did she expect her to take offense? It was simply the fact of the matter.

"Putting that aside…" her senpai segued, somewhat inelegantly, "your room seems to be in good order, and I see that the facilities have provided some of the essential furniture, according to specifications."

"Yes, the provided furniture is quite servicable." Not that they were strictly necessary for what most of the coursework she'd seen required. "And it's only been a few days, hardly enough time for things to decay too much." Though without her mother and grandmother to be sticklers about some things, it probably wouldn't stay that way. They were quite a bit more picky about how much dust was acceptable.

"It seems some of my concerns were unfounded," Air Groove declared, nodding to herself with some satisfaction. "I suppose I really should have expected this, but some of the stories I've heard from Fuji Kiseki and Hishi Amazon made me a bit worried."

"Those are the dorm monitors? You know them well, senpai?"

"Yes, they were also trained by Toujou-san, though Fuji isn't running as much anymore."

"...Did Toujou-san train all the people in student authority positions?"

Air Groove blinked. "Now that you mention it…Team Rigil does fill many of those positions."
"This does not feel like coincidence."

"It isn't. You'll understand if you get to know most of the other trainers and their trainees." From the exasperated look on Air Groove's face, it seemed likely that the people she was referencing were likely troublemakers of some sort, or more charitably, simply unsuited for those roles.

"This seems to contradict your assertion that Tracen only hires the best."

"Oh, make no mistake, all of Tracen's trainers are a cut above the average at their job." Air Groove's ears flicked once. "But, those who are very fixated on one thing…"

"Are known for their eccentricities." Or perhaps more accurately, those with significant use to society are afforded more leeway in behavior deviating from the norm.

"Exactly."

"I will keep that in mind." Strictly speaking, Toujou-san's approach to training might be a bit eccentric as well, just more in line with general management practices. "Is there anything else you need from me, Air Groove-senpai?"

"No. You seem quite put together, not that I should be surprised," the older uma laughed, giving Shirogane an approving nod. "Thank you for humoring me."

"I won't say I need your concern, but I don't see a need to thank me for humoring you." Shirogane was already rather used to this sort of treatment from Steady Distance, though at least Air Groove didn't seem about to badger her about socializing more. "If anything, I should be thanking you for giving me a thorough introduction to the academy."

"Hmm. And I would say there is no need to thank me for that. It is part of my duties as both the student council vice president and your senpai." Air Groove nodded firmly, looking quite pleased with herself, resting one hand on her waist in a casually authoritative pose.

Were they scouting her for one of those positions later on? If so few trainers could be trusted for administrative duties…though frankly, that wasn't a bad career option.

"It is appreciated in the spirit it was offered, nonetheless."

"Such a serious kouhai." Air Groove chuckled, looking gratified by the thanks, even if she did not vocalize it. "Though there is something I did forget earlier. We should exchange phone numbers, so if there is anything you need, you can call me."

A direct line to the student council vice president? Seemed like a useful connection.

"I will make sure not to use it for trivial matters," Shirogane returned, taking out her phone from her pocket and inputting the number Air Groove showed her.

"It doesn't have to be that serious," her senpai waved off. "Despite my nickname, I am certainly not really an Empress."

Shirogane pressed the call button, idly wondering who decided that Symboli Rudolf was the 'Emperor' and Air Groove was the 'Empress."

A string of classical music buzzed in the room as Air Groove's phone rang, the notes niggling something in the back of Shirogane's head. Didn't Mother play something like this sometimes?

"Who is that music by?"

"Oh! This is by Chopin," Air Groove replied, ears perked up happily. "I quite like his music. It helps me relax." From the look in her eyes, there was something heavier in that explanation, but Shirogane couldn't put her finger on it, not that she would press. She had her own shadows, even if they were in another life.

"It suits you, I guess." She had never bothered to change the ringtone on her own phone. "And now you should have my contact information as well."

"Right." Air Groove turned to go, but paused halfway. "Don't be too discouraged by being slower than your classmates right now. Anything can happen on the track, and you're only going to get faster from here on."

Shirogane moved to let her senpai out of her apartment, but Air Groove exited without waiting for her, looking uncharacteristically hurried.

That was slightly odd.

She wasn't entirely sure what to make of this encouragement, but it had some merit. It was unlikely that she could ever match her more talented classmates' top speeds, but in the time until their debut races, it was possible she could close the gap enough to make the results a question rather than a foregone conclusion.

Or identify weaknesses she could exploit.

---

AN. This chapter took a fair bit longer than I originally thought it would, but things have been rather busy irl. There were also a lot of personalities to juggle, which is going to be a bit of a reoccurring problem, since Shirogane hasn't really properly interacted with quite a few of her peers. She also managed to trigger a trauma point for Air Groove without intending too. Whoops.

 

[glocknar]

It Begins!

"Kiiing!" A cheerful voice sounded through the classroom, followed shortly by its origin, a small umumusume with pink hair, of all things, and unexpectedly shorter than Shirogane. "I found you!"

Click to shrink...

Our pink daughter!

And all the other weirdos!

Plus Shirogane hitting people in the trauma buttons even before the races start!

Edit:
I can't wait for the discovery of the mental health screaming stump

 

[Cadmus von Eizenbern]

Thanks for the chapter!

 

[SHARKSODA]

Wait someone explain? What did shiro do exactly to set off air groove? I'm not that deep into the uma lore

 

[Lyrista]

Shirogane's meticulous nature shines through here. The various umas felt in character too

 

[Aytesarp]

I was just rereading the story yesterday before going to sleep. Imagine my surprise and elation when I see the ever glorious notification of the story update and it's 10k.
Well, now that we officially started the semester, I can't wait to see our eagle's debut race.

Once again, thanks for the update Waffles.

 

[Ash Craig]

"In the dormitory, Haru-chan!" King Halo sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose.

Click to shrink...

Is this supposed to say "the bridge of her nose" instead?

a short woman with a big hat…that had a cat corpse stitched to it? Oh no, it moved, so still alive.

Click to shrink...

I'm sorry, what.

The older uma's tail twitched in discomfort, and Air Groove frowned, Shirogane's off hand observation apparently having struck deeper than she had intended.

Click to shrink...

As someone unfamiliar with most of the setting, I enjoy these little hints towards details I don't yet see.

Also, I didn't realize your comment about Air Groove's trauma was serious rather than a joke, which is interesting.

What was there to think about? Talented and successful racers were more likely to have children who were similarly talented, with a combination of genetic or social factors contributing to this.

Click to shrink...

Yes, but they're also much more likely to push their children down a path they do not want, or to stigmatize those who don't fit their ideal. I don't know how much of that is relevant or on Air Groove's mind, but there is a lot Shirogane isn't looking at.

I can't wait for the discovery of the mental health screaming stump

Click to shrink...

I've heard of this stump, and I want to see it too.

Wait someone explain? What did shiro do exactly to set off air groove? I'm not that deep into the uma lore

Click to shrink...

I'm not either, but I'd guess it has something to do with how obsessive long and successful lines can be with keeping that success, or how stigmatized deviations from the norm can be.

 

[SiegfriedisPower]

Was this Haru-san one of those umas who were very skilled on the track but rather dim elsewhere?

Click to shrink...

Yes. She is unable to say prestigious but is unbeatable on dirt and is able to win the Arima Kinen.

 

[SiegfriedisPower]

Wait someone explain? What did shiro do exactly to set off air groove? I'm not that deep into the uma lore

Click to shrink...

I think it refers to the fact that Air Groove had complications giving birth to her last child Chopin, though she stood through the pain to nurse them one time.

 

[ENDDRAGON]

How many trauma points has Shirogane unintentionally triggered for other Umas?

 

[kyle53]

I wonder what kind of lights Stay Gold see when watching Shirogane.

 

[Tiypo]

Now if only Stay Gold would stop staring at her.

Click to shrink...

Ah yes, if I remember right, Stay Gold has a thing for ponies and short horses. Considering the individuals at Tracen that meet that criteria are in rather short supply, their classmates might not know Stay Gold even had a type to be interested in. If this is the fics ship, it's going to be quite the interesting side plot.

 

[Doglia]

Life 1: Dan Ya the salaryman was hit by a train

Life 2: Tanya the soldier died in war.

Life 3: Tian Yu the cultivator was struck by tribulation lightning.

4: 10U the clone trooper died from cloning sickness

5: Light Brown Affirmation (tan yeah) the AI died of anger after the translation software messed up the name for the fiftieth time when dealing with space explorers.

I'm fairly certain there are other similar names for other settings, but they are all Tanya somehow. It's The Law.

Click to shrink...

What books are those other names from? I'm interested because Tanya fanfic tends to be either really good or trash and I'm looking for recommendations

 

[zecorezecron]

What books are those other names from? I'm interested because Tanya fanfic tends to be either really good or trash and I'm looking for recommendations

Click to shrink...

I made them up. I was just thinking of random sylables that sounded vaguely like Tanya and then added a genre afterwords. Though I wouldn't complain if some author stole the names for their story. I am excessively proud of the clone one.

 

[Dissimilate]

Thanks for the chapter!! It has started wooooooo Let's Go!!!