"Welcome back!! How was the ball?"
"Honestly!! It's a lot more lackluster than I anticipated."
Back at Tracen Academy, Team Minaz is gathering in their team room with all of its members. Well, minus one person, that being their trainer.
"I was expecting people to break up their engagement, princesses laughing like King Halo, and a mysterious person who would bestow upon me an enlightening revelation."
"My family's ball isn't somewhere where weirdos gather, Teio…"
"But you invited Goldship."
"Kuh!! I couldn't deny that!!"
"Hey!! You're rude!!!"
*HHHHIIIIIISSSSSS*
"Which makes me question why you didn't invite Tachyon?"
"And what are you implying, Cafe?"
"You're a big weirdo."
Cafe was here to receive the special letter the young man had specifically written for her. She had been quite surprised that she was chosen of all people, but she knew the reason why. It's because she is the only one who could keep Tachyon in check.
"Shakka is also a weirdo!! Insult her too!!"
"Being called a weirdo by you makes me feel extremely dirty, Tachyon.
Take responsibility."
"Oh!! Screw you both backstabbers!! Only Trainer Igo understands me."
"Is that something you should be proud of?"
"He is your trainer, McQueen."
Previously, McQueen might have thought that her trainer understood her, but after that disappointing night, she is rethinking her opinion of him. If he truly understood her, he would not hold himself down.
"Here is the letter from Trainer Igo, Manhattan Cafe. It was supposed to be Big Sis Ramonu who gave you this letter, but she has business with Sirius Symboli."
"No, this is better."
Cafe's feeling for Ramonu can't exactly be called fear. It's more like she is intimidated by the Supermodel. The way she carries herself would make it almost impossible to speak up to her. Most people would only nod their heads silently.
*Snip* *Shak*
Cafe opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. The first word she read already gave her enough of a hint of what the entire letter would sound like.
"To my beloved legal wife, Manhattan Cafe."
Oh girl… This is going to be a journey.
Cafe prepared herself before continuing to read the letter. Just like the first sentence, most of the letter is filled with nonsense flattery and cheesy pick-up lines. Cafe has to use her brain like a detective to decipher the small, important bit in the 20-page letter.
"Sigh… It took everything in me just to read that…"
"I have a few guesses about what it contains just by looking at your expressions."
"How do you live with him?"
"Barely." McQueen was questioning herself as well. McQueen from the start of the year would've had a heart attack if she knew she would fall in love with her trainer. "So you accept his term?"
"He promised he would buy exotic coffee beans from America and Europe.
And besides, I have to… I'm the only one who could put Tachyon on a leash, and he said I could ask Fine Motion to order Shakur anything I want."
"What?! What kind of nonsense is that?!"
"Should I call Fine Motion?"
"No."
"Guess he wasn't lying then." Cafe folded the letter, put it back in the envelope, and slipped it into her bag. "He said that I'm in charge, but that mostly means that I'm keeping an eye on Tachyon and Shakur. The entire team can go back to their habits."
"Alright!! I'm going to fish using dynamite!!"
"Perhaps not that, Goldship…"
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
As Cafe starts to rethink her decision to take this job, knocking comes from the door.
"Igo Heita, are you there?"
"PREZ!!!"
From the other side of the door, the iconic voice of the President of Tracen StuCo vibrates through the thin door. Her number one fan immediately bolted toward the door and forced it open.
"Ah! Teio, is your trainer around?"
"No… He said he was going abroad to train."
"Well, isn't he a model trainer?" From behind the President, the Shadow Monster comments. Her choice of words could be better, but it's clear that she is complimenting the young man. "Since he isn't here, I'm fucking off."
"Brian!!" The Shadow Monster's counterpart, the Empress, yells out to her. The Empress understands the Monster's fascination with the young man, but that doesn't mean she'll tolerate her being disrespectful to other umamusumes. "Good grief… That girl is such a handful."
"Hahahahaha… We're just here to deliver something, Groove. It's not like we need all of us here."
"Sigh… I suppose you're correct."
"Eh? You want to deliver something… What is it?"
"The thing is… Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio are invited to race in this year's Arima Kinen, and we want to talk with Trainer Igo about that.
But since he is not here, has he assigned someone to take control while he is gone?"
Everyone immediately turned their heads toward Manhattan Cafe, who was stuck frozen in time. Just a couple of minutes ago, she thought that the job would be easy. She thought that all she needed to do was keep Tachyon in check and drink coffee. She wasn't expecting the difficulty to spike to an unreasonable level.
"Ah… Manhattan Cafe… What do you say? Should the two of them race in the Arima Kinen?"
"..."
AAAAAHHHHHH!!!! What should I do?!?!?! SOMEONE HELP ME!!!! FRIEND!!!!
*Thumbs up*
That doesn't help!!!
The reason why Manhattan Cafe was panicking was mostly due to the nature of how the runners in the Arima Kinen were chosen. Unlike all of the races, runners in the Arima Kinen are chosen by vote. It means that both McQueen and Teio were chosen because people want to see them race.
But the young man instructed them to train in preparation for next year. Manhattan Cafe is confused about what she is supposed to do.
"Uuuh… Silence Suzuka, since you're the most normal in team Minaz, what do you think I should do?"
"HUH!?! I'm also normal!!"
No, you're not, McQueen. You may not realize it, but you have been tainted by Trainer Igo Heita's color.
"Eeeeh… Uuuhhmmm… I think we should do it. Trainer Igo believed that we also get stronger with every race we run."
"Yeah!! If he were here, he would say!! Ahem!!
Fuck it, we ball!!!"
"Teio, please never try to imitate Trainer Igo ever again."
"What?!"
The last thing Rudolf wanted was another Igo Heita, especially if he came in the body of Tokai Teio. The young man's brashness and vulgarity in a cute and adorable body. That gap would be destructive.
"Since Suzuka has said so, Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio will run in the Arima Kinen."
"YYYAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!"
"But you both still need to pass your exam first. Trainer Igo really emphasizes that you all need to pass."
"Aaaawwwww…"
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
While Team Minaz was busy talking among themselves, another knock came from the door. Standing there was Riko Kashimoto, the trainer of Team Zenith.
"Trainer Kashimoto?"
"Is Trainer Igo Heita around?"
"Huh? No… He is abroad as of right now…"
"I see… Apologies for interrupting your time."
XxX-XxX
"Damn… How the fuck did you bring that here?"
"I have my way. The job comes with some powerful privileges. Dya, you're piloting it."
"What?! Let me pilot it too!!"
"Do you even know what this is, Igo?"
"The Lockheed SR seventy one Blackbird.
An advanced long range strategic reconnaissance aircraft capable of mach three and an altitude of eighty five thousand feet!!"
"You… sure seem to know a lot about it…"
"HAVE YOU NEVER READ MY CHRISTMAS LIST?!?!!?"