"NISHINO!! PLEASE HELP ME!!! I'M BEGGING YOU!!!"
"Eek!!!"
Tokai Teio could be heard begging someone inside the classroom. With the exam date fast approaching, everyone is getting more serious about their studies, and Teio is no exception.
But sadly, she isn't the brightest at anything other than running. 3 pages into a book and she falls asleep like a baby. In times like this, there is only one umamusume everyone can rely on, and that umamusume is Nishino Flower.
Flower is a small umamusume, even smaller than Tokai Teio. If the young man were here, he would call her a mini figure. She has dark hair that she cut into a simple bob cut with blunt bangs. True to her name, there's a flower ornament just beside the base of her left ear.
"Tokai Teio, are you okay?"
"NO!! I NEED YOUR HELP!!"
"Uuh… Mmhh… And how can I help you?"
"Please let me borrow your notebooks!! Please!!! The only reason I passed on the last exam was that I read your notebooks!!!"
"Ahh… Ahahahaha… I think your effort means more to your success than my notebooks!!"
"No… Even Trainer Igo gave up on me. You're my only hope!! Please!!!!! I will buy you a month's worth of Hachimi!!"
"I'll lend it to you, Tokai Teio. You don't need to pay me anything."
"THANK YOU!!! YOU'RE A LIFESAVER!!!"
Tears run down Teio's cheeks as Flower hands her notebooks to the pathetic Monarch.
"Sigh… You should stop relying on Nishino Flower, Teio. You couldn't rely on her for the rest of your life."
"Just because you could read boring books without falling asleep doesn't mean we all could, McQueen!!"
"Sigh… Nishino, I understand you meant well, but you should be less generous to others. We would get more people like Teio if you keep being nice."
"Hey!! There's nothing wrong with being me!!"
"See?! She becomes more of a brat with each easy path she is taking!!!!"
"Don't say it as if I'm a lot younger than you!!"
"Hahaha… All of you are so full of energy… I'm so jealous…"
Beside the diligent small umamusume, a lazy umamusume can be seen slouching onto her table with zero energy in her movements. She doesn't even try to lift her head when talking to the people around her. Her short, fluffy, muted green hair shields her face from any light.
"You should drink more Hachimi, Seiun Sky. That always gets me up!"
"Not everyone runs on hachimi like you do, Teio."
"More for me!!
Thanks for the notebooks, Nishino!! I'm bringing them to my class, yeah?"
"Okay~~ Take care~~"
The pair of Teio and McQueen left the classroom while the smallest umamusume waved goodbye to them.
"Please learn to be more independent, Teio… You don't want to be so dependent on others, especially Trainer Igo."
"If you think I would respect your one-sided declaration of victory, then you got something else coming, McQueen. I will keep trying to make him mine even if he is betrothed to you."
"You will TRY to take him away from me, Teio. But in the end, I will simply be victorious.
Also, this has nothing to do with him becoming my husband, Teio. I'm just saying it as friendly advice. Nishino is younger than us, after all. There will be a time when you couldn't read her notebooks to pass the exam."
"Then I read yours, McQueen!!"
"Sigh… For the love of the Goddessess…"
The pair continued to banter all the way to their classroom, until they saw a particular umamusume in the hallway.
"Awawawawawa~~"
"You're so amazing in the Kikuka Sho, Rice Shower!! Please tell us your secret!!"
"To win against The Phantom Triple Crown in your first year of running is simply amazing!!!"
"What is your diet?!?! Is it true that you eat nails to help your blood transport oxygen better?!?!"
The destroyer of their dreams, Rice Shower, is currently being swarmed by a lot of umamusumes. Before Kikuka Sho, the little umamusume was barely noticed by anyone. She has almost the same amount of existence as the air in this hallway.
But her win changes everything.
The umamusume, who wasn't anyone's favorite, managed to win the legendary Kikuka Sho where monsters gathered. Mejiro McQueen, Tokai Teio, Agnes Tachyon, Manhattan Cafe, Jungle Pocket, Dantsu Flame, Little Coccon, and Bitter Glasse. If any of those names managed to snatch first place, it would be expected.
But the winner was none of them.
It was an umamusume who no one had put any hope in. It was an umamusume whose first G1 race was the Kikuka Sho. It was an umamusume who had only just debuted this year.
Those factors help propel Rice Shower's victory to the realm of legend. She devoured her seniors and everyone who watched the race. A display of talent that would easily kill an ego if she lets it get to her head.
"Rice Shower is invited, right?"
"By the list the Prez showed us, yes. But the one who makes the decision is her trainer."
"Do you think Trainer Kashimoto would pull off?"
"I don't know… She isn't like our pretty bizarre trainer.
But if Rice Shower is going to run in the Arima Kinen, wouldn't it be a good time to take our revenge, McQueen?"
"Heh!! Damn straight!! Let's give Trainer Igo the best Christmas gift!!"