"Nnghh..." Astonishing opened her eyes and was greeted with a white ceiling. Not just the ceiling, the floor too, everything is white.
She has been here before.
Astonishing is back into his old body again.
"Back again," he whispered,
"Indeed," a girl's voice comes from behind him. It was Astonishing, or he'd like to call her, the 'real' Astonishing. "So... finally having your debut. How does it feel? I'd bet it felt amazing isn't it?"
"Yes," he smiled. The memory of it still glued to his mind, it was an incredible experience. "It was really fun"
She giggled. "I'd thought so too"
"But..." the confusion in his face is undeniable. "How did I get here?"
"It seems you fell asleep after your live performance" then she chuckled again, "Well, you did look mesmerizing. Even I was surprised on how good you were, seeing you dance and sing in that body was just so cute"
"Can we please stop talking about that part..."
"Fine, fine," she said, waving a hand dismissively, though the mischievous glint in her eyes didn't fade. "I'll spare you some dignity. For now."
"So then... there should be a reason of why I'm actually here, right?" He finally asked. "It's not like I come to this place everytime I sleep"
"True, I'm the one who brought you here" she didn't deny it. "And the reason is... I want to know what's your next step gonna be?"
"That's... I haven't think about it yet..."
"As I expected" she crossed her arm. "If you don't mind, I have a request"
"What is it?"
"Run in the Classic"
He pondered. The Classic, of course he knows what it is. Entering the Classic races is basically a goal of almost every umamusume, and winning it is their dream. Satsuki Sho, Japanese Derby, and Kikuka Sho, win all of them and you'll become a Triple Crown. It is considered the ultimate achievement in the Twinkle Series.
"You want me to achieve the Triple Crown?"
"No, well... if you're able then it's great, but..." she paused. "It's not the main reason"
"Then, what is it?"
"It's-" just when she's about to give her answer, the white void flickered, like a lamp.
She sighed. "It seems like you're about to wake up"
The white void flickered again.
"The point is, entering the Classis is crucial for your development" she explained. "It is where you will find your true capabilities. A key to unlock your hidden strength--"
"--It is where you will finally become 'true'-- "
'--It is where I finally become true' she whispered.
The flickering intensified. It looks like the void could collapse at any moment.
"Become 'true'?" he repeated, reaching out as his own hands began to dissolve into light. "What does that mean? Wait!"
She didn't answer with words. Instead, she offered a sad, knowing smile, the kind of look someone gives when they've seen the end of a movie but aren't allowed to spoil it. The flickering became a violent strobe, and the last thing he saw was her silhouette pointing toward a distant, phantom finish line under a sun much brighter than this void.
"Run to find out who you really are...--"
'--I put my hope in you"
.
.
.
Astonishing opened her eyes, it seems she has fallen asleep on the table. She's still wearing her stage dress, but what confused her was a jacket wrapped around her.
"This is..." she grabbed the sleeve and brought it closer to her face.
And sniffed it.
"Hmm... Trainer's..."
.....
She slammed her head onto the table.
"What the heck am I doing?!"
She finally fully regained her consciousness.
"Augh, my head..." Astonishing groaned.
The scent of the jacket, a mixture of laundry detergent, faint sweats, and the lingering aroma of the coffee he practically lived on, filled her senses. It was grounding, yet the realization of her own sniffing sent a fresh wave of heat to her face
She hasn't even finished processing everything that just happened when the door suddenly creeked open. Trainer Takeda stepped in, carrying a fresh can of coffee and... some carrots?
"Oh, you're finally awake" he said.
Astonishing bolted upright, the jacket sliding off her shoulders. "Ah, yes! Sorry I fell asleep"
"Today must've been really exhausting for you, but I'm sure you'll get used to it" he offered her the carrots. "Here, eat some"
.....
"What's this?"
Her question only puzzles him. "Uhh... this are... carrots?"
"I know what it is, Trainer. I just want to know why are you giving me carrots?"
She always found it intriguing why did umamusume loves eating carrots. Sure, she likes carrots, somehow these carrots were more delicious than she remembered. It's just... why not embrace who they really are and eat grass?
When she was scrolling through the web, she stumbles upon an article discussing about umamusume history.
According to the article, umamusume's metabolic system do possess the ability to process grass. However, when food gets more delicious as more spices were discovered, they begun to lost appetite on grass.
The only case recorded when an umamusume do eat grass was in time of crisis such as food shortage and war.
So, they still can technically eat grass, they just don't want to.
Maybe she should try eating some?
"Well, I thought you might be hungry so I brought this for snacks, but we could grab some proper meal on our way back if you want" he explained.
"No, it's fine, I'll eat them" she took the carrots and took a bite. The snap was crisp, the sweetness flooded her mouth immediately. It was definitely better than grass, she mused, though a tiny, intrusive part of her brain still wondered if the Tracen turf tasted as good as it looked.
She shook the thought away. 'Stop it. You're becoming a horse in more ways than one.'
A/N: From turf track to dirt track in one night.
.
.
.
A day has passed since Astonishing's debut.
There's no training today nor will there be for a whole week. Right now, recovery is the priority. Racing puts a lot of strain into the body, resting is as much import as racing.
Umamusume may have a strong body but that doesn't keep them from getting injured, especially their legs.
Anyway...
POP!
"Congratulations, Aston!" Takeda cheered, detonating the popper right in front of her face. "Your debut win, and your first live, both a success! You look really tired yesterday so I decided to celebrate it today"
She blinked at him from the couch, a half-empty cup of tea in her hands. "You know it's bad for my hearing, right?"
The table in front of them was loaded with snacks. Nothing fancy, just some convenience store fried chicken, onigiri, a small piece of cake, and a big soda bottle. A "party," he called it.
A/N: Gotta feed the horse.
"Still, I appreciate it" She smiled.
Takeda gave a satisfied nod and finally relaxed against the chair. "So, how'd it feel?"
She chewed, swallowed, and grimaced. "... The running part was fine. The concert? Embarrassing. Who decided we need to sing and dance after the race?"
"Ahahaha! Yeah, I figured you'd say that. Still, you didn't look bad up there"
.....
.....
He shouldn't have brought it up. "Alright, The debut's behind us now. You've made your first step. So, have you set your goal yet?"
Astonishing paused with plastic fork halfway to her mouth. "My goal huh... "
She remembered what 'Astonishing' told her in her dream, but more importabtly, she reminisces the memory of when she watched the Derby. Seeing so many crowds, way way bigger than her debut's was so thrilling. The Japanese Derby is also part of the classic race, which mean...
"Register me into the classic, Trainer!" She exclaimed.
"Alright" He simply said.
"That easy?!" She was surprised how easy for him to accept her request.
"Well, it's pretty normal if you're going for the classic. Of course we can always go for the Mile route, but since you wanted to enter the classic, I'll support you--"
He pulled his tablet.
"--Of course, that means we need to work on your stamina. Yesterday's 1600m race is nothing compared to the classic races that start with 2000m Satsuki Sho and ended with 3000m Kikuka Sho--"
"--So here's the plan. Since your debut was 1600m, next race should be 1800m, and then 2000m. We're going to improve your distance aptitude little by little"
He put his tablet on the table for Astonishing to see.
"Your next race is OP Nojigiku Stakes 1800m, it's 200m longer than your debut. It will be held in Hanshin on September so we have plenty of time to prepare"
"Nojigiku Stakes... If I win, that would put me on the map for the Hopeful Stakes right?"
"Statistically, yes. A win at an Open class race drastically increases your eligibility for the G1 brackets," Takeda said, turning the tablet back toward himself. "However--"
"--I would like you to participate in one more race before Hopeful Stakes." He turned the tablet towards her again. "Kyoto Junior Stakes, it's a 2000m G3 race. This is going to be your first graded race. It also has the same distance as Hopeful Stakes so I think it would be good for trial. If you we place in the top 3 in these two races, I'll register you for the Hopeful Stakes"
"Guess I need to work hard then"
"I'll arrange the new training regimen, don't worry. Oh and, have you seen the news?" he opened the news for her to see.
.
[TOKYO MAKE DEBUT!]
"Astonishing, lived up to her namesake in yesterday's 1600m Newcomer race. Stalking from the rear with a composure rarely seen in debutantes, she unleashed a terrifying spurt that left the other debutantes . Is this the birth of a new Mile King?"
.
"Mile King...?" she repeated, a bit of a frown tugging at her lips. "They're already pigeonholing me based on one race. I literally just told you I want to run the Classic."
"Well, that's journalists for you. There are going to be a lot of annoying ones from now on." He flipped the page to a different article. The headline was even larger, showing the result of debut race in Kyoto.
.
[THE 'END' OF THE COMPETITION: A NEW LEGEND BORN IN KYOTO]
"World's End Opening won phenomenally with 8 lengths gap! Starting the race with a perfect start and took the lead, she was uncatchable! Many believes she's going to define the era for this generation and has already been installed as the early favorite for next year's Classic."
.
"8 lengths... over 2000 meters," her eyes glued to the photo of the chestnut-haired runner crossing the line in Kyoto.
"The great escape" Takeda pondered. "A strong one too. This is going to be a problem"
End and Astonishing's running style are complete opposite, with End leading the race, and Astonishing tailing from the very back. Catching the front runner from that much gap would be a hard task.
He stood up, gathering the empty popper remains. "Well, we shouldn't waste our time reading some journalist fantasy. After you fully recovered, we're going to work on your stamina, so make sure you get enough rest"
"Understood," Astonishing replied
With a final nod, he slipped out of the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
At least there are still plenty of foods left.
.
.
.
Astonishing leaned back into the soft cushions of the couch as she picked up another onigiri, her mind was still half-stuck in that white void.
'Become true,' she whispered to herself.
What did that even mean? Was she just a passenger in this body, or was the "real" Astonishing waiting for her to reach certain threshold where their two halves finally merged? But when they first met...
I am the soul of the name you carry. Or at least, the fragment of me that lives within you.
Does that means there are two souls in this body?
Or...
Was 'Astonishing' from her dream comes from a different timeline?
-End of Volume 1-