Chapter Text
There were a large number of media rooms within Tracen. Big ones, small ones, ones with large projectors, ones with small heavily outdated CRT TVs, and everything in between. All to enable each and every uma, and their trainers, to go back over recorded footage of races. Both their own and those of other racers. In fact, Tracen took great pains to obtain videos for every race it could, with a one-hundred percent rate of success when it came to national level races in Japan. A fact which surprised most people when they learned of it, due to several unfortunate incidents that occurred at various times.
Most famously a specific race Maruzensky ran which had been struck from most video records theoretically at her request. A situation which Maruzensky herself had publicly denied. She won that race fair and square, and the fact that her top had fallen off just showed how much she wanted to win. Also how little shame she had, but that wasn’t an uncommon situation when it came to uma.
“So Still in Love-” Still shook herself out of her thoughts about The Forbidden Tape and focused back on what she was watching, which had progressed past the ending of the race she’d been watching while she was distracted- “you got second place today. How do you feel about it?”
She’d wanted to go over this particular race for exactly that reason. Her Instinct had flared up near the end, right when she was getting ready to spurt, and the delay to press it back down had ended up costing her. She’d still raced with grace and elegance, exactly as she wanted, but… there was a tiny piece of her that regretted fighting down her Instinct. It wasn’t doing anything she hadn’t intended to do right at that moment regardless and then she would have won.
“No!” Still shook her head and pressed her palms against her forehead at the thought. That wasn’t how she wanted to win! What worth was there in a victory like that?
“Pure White Ash-” Her eyes slid up past her hand to watch herself on screen, the interviewer smiling in an empty way as he asked the question, “-has been dominating the news cycle with her activism. She’s come under a lot of criticism for that, and I want to know how you feel about it?”
The Still on the screen blinked and smiled. The answer she’d drilled on, back before the race with her trainer, fell from her lips. “I think it’s a wonderful thing to help people.”
A perfectly safe answer. Not neutral or disagreeing, something which the interviewer didn’t seem to like, but still not one that was going to cause any problems or rock any boats. It was theoretically in her best interest to be neutral, regardless of her intentions. Except… Still had long felt there was something wrong with her. It wasn’t anything she’d say was actually connected to the community, but… it was certainly a feeling she shared with others.
Besides- helping people be their best selves, without anyone telling them they couldn’t, was a worthy cause.
She let her hands rest on the desk. Perhaps… it would be a good idea to come up with another answer. Pure White Ash was herself, and more than willing to clash with others that challenged her. A position that was simply… alien. Meeting people with grace and understand was a far better method to reach a good conclusion in Still’s opinion. Though considering some of the people going after her… perhaps it was a good thing Ash was so willing to fight.
Let her take on all comers. She was after the crowns, and that was seen as significantly more rough and tumble. Still was going after the tiaras, and in that she would emulate the features that it was known for. It was the ladies of the world that often went and pushed for social reforms after all. It was the right thing to do, and her Instinct couldn’t mess this up for her.
Her ear flicked as she turned off the TV. Yes, that was how she’d handle it. With grace, elegance, and understanding. She wasn’t in the position to donate all of her winnings like Ash was, both from them being lesser (which would perhaps be something to talk about on its own) and not being rich, but she could at least do some. There was an opportunity here to do more than walk the walk so to speak.
It was one of those things that Still had thought long and deeply about. Especially after being introduced to Pure White Ash and her idea of things. Not that they’d talked much about things, but being challenged like that was… interesting. When it’d happened before, a rare occurrence in general thanks to her own nature, it wasn’t so off the cuff, so to say. It was a little difficult to pin down the difference, but it came down to the idea that Ash was opposed because it had quite literally never occurred to her rather than finding any fault in the idea itself.
Which came to here- just running elegantly wasn’t enough. If she was to embody this, then it should be wholly and completely. Both in running and outside of it. Perhaps it wasn’t as important, she’d never had issues with Instinct outside of running, but grace and elegance shouldn’t be found exclusively in fighting with her Instinct. They’re things which can be embodied on and off the turf.
Perhaps practicing them away from the raceway would help in maintaining them on it. Perhaps not. What mattered was embodying them, even when her Instinct attempted to interfere.
Especially then.
For her trainer, if nothing else.
~[#]~
“It’s gotta be for the attention, right? I mean, I’m not saying it’s to line her own pockets or whatever, but she’s definitely gonna swing it into something to make money.” Zenno Rob Roy heard a lot of things. It came with being in a library so often. A lot of people seemed to think a library was a place to talk about gossip or secrets without being noticed. Something about the high stacks of books and the nameless hush that settled over the area made them believe that it was here that nobody could hear them. “Make a whole big deal of giving away all that money and then set up some merch deal or something. Maybe even working with Tracen to bypass the URA somehow.”
Her ear flicked as she rounded the corner to give a glare at the other student speaking. A new one, not someone she recognized, and hopefully one she’d never recognize. Recognizing her would mean one of two things- either she was a friend or she was a problem. Someone who was willing to put forth… well, it wasn’t quite a conspiracy theory, but it was still not the sort of thought that Rob Roy wanted to be associated with.
Reading a lot of books came with being exposed to a lot of ideas. The idea of a world that cynical… it was something she understood. It was even true in a lot of ways, but it wasn’t how she wanted to think of the world and it wasn’t how she wanted to approach the world. Plus she did actually personally know Pure White Ash. She hadn’t quite been a mainstay in the library, but she did check out books pretty regularly. Even more now that she was an uma.
The uma at the desk finally realized Rob Roy was glaring at her, paled, and went quiet. Another moment passed before Rob Roy nodded and moved away.
That hadn’t… actually, that had been something Rob Roy had expected. Not quite in the same way, but she’d gotten to know Ash over the few years she’d been using the library. Not well, but enough to be friendly. Ash had never come outright and said it, but it wasn’t exactly hard to figure out. Which had lead to a whole different rabbit hole of figuring out why she hadn’t transitioned by herself. Something she was very much capable of achieving on her own, given enough time to actually dedicate to it.
Considering the cost of some of the methods Rob Roy had theorized… it was probably better that Tachyon was the one to figure it out. Magic wasn’t something she had all that much experience in, but any librarian that stuck with the job for long enough eventually picked at least something up. Dealing with old books brought with it some unique dangers.
More librarians died every year from something like that than people generally expected. Which wasn’t saying much when most people would say ‘none’, but the point stood.
Regardless- Pure White Ash had set herself up to be the uma everyone was talking about. Rob Roy had actually been asked about her after her win at the Yamabuki Sho, which was extremely unusual. Or so her trainer said at least. Though he would know- the man had been at Tracen for quite a few years at this point, and a trainer for most of them. Also a wonderful tabletop player, which was the only reason Rob Roy had known him before he was her trainer.
Though… thinking about that.
“Hmm…” Rob Roy blinked the thought away as the thunk of a book fitting exactly into its space on the shelf distracted her. Ah, she’d started shelving without thinking again, didn’t she? Good thing she could, and had in at least one case, done that in her sleep. “I need to meet up with Ash again.”
Perhaps soon? There was still some time until the Satsuki Sho, and she couldn’t train all the time. Even though it seemed like she was trying from the gossip Rob Roy had overheard. It was times like this that made her a little grateful that every national runner at Tracen also attended college courses as well. Ash’s own dedication to training was absolutely shared by plenty of uma on campus, and nearly all of them were much less prepared to ensure it didn’t end poorly.
It was an unfortunate fact that Rob Roy saw a lot more of the injured, or… worse as rare as it was, than anyone else did. Being a hero wasn’t just slaying the great evil after all, sometimes it was delivering a good book to someone who could use one.
~[#]~
The thing about knowing things was that sometimes what you didn’t know surprised you. Neo Universe knew a lot about how things were supposed to go. About the [GATE], about her fellow runners, about what could and could not happen. The way her fate was written, as she was not the one [Chosen].
Except, as it turned out, that was a lie.
Not that it was truly a lie just yet. She had not yet reached the [GATE], the Satsuki Sho hadn’t even happened, but there were too many things that were too different to state that the world was the same. The appearance of Outsider, and the Blasphemer’s blasphemy, had changed things. The situation now was not what it had been then.
Perhaps that would grant a ‘different path’, perhaps not. Regardless of that, her BNSR was here. Marie was here, despite the fact that ‘she wasn’t supposed to be in this story’. It was… wonderful to see her be herself. Spared the pain of ‘what happened elsewhere’ and simply left to be the best her she could be. The questions posed by the media after her wins were easy to ignore in light of that.
Outsider was going to face many problems, but Neo Universe wasn’t going to be one. She wouldn’t be as much help as she’d wish to be, but at the very least her own aid wasn’t nothing. Not as much as it could potentially be, not now, but Neo Universe knew exactly how nice it was to have someone willing to back you up. Especially when it seemed like nobody else quite got what you were doing.
~[#]~
“I see! A wonderful conclusion to this round of data gathering.” The mysteries of the Zone were absolutely fascinating. A state that wasn’t quite limited to uma, but which imparted significantly more when an uma used it. Perhaps it was something inherent to their nature? Her sister had mentioned that she had personally reached a state which could be considered ‘the zone’, but only as a human. Hence the lack of capital letter.
Another grand mystery when it came to examining her beloved uma! One that was perhaps not more important than other things, the rarity of it rendered any advancements in the matter rather limited, but the sheer lack of examination made it a worthwhile endeavor regardless. Besides- her other projects were still there and moving along. All that was left for many of them was the long term studies and busy crunch work that any scientific endeavor required.
Boring as it may be, no science was ever truly done without enough paperwork to make even an uma balk. The Mega Cancer Potion was proceeding well, with several changes made to the recipe without compromising the effect while simultaneously ensuring consumption was less dangerous. Secretariat had been quite helpful in obtaining the services of a number of labs who could examine things more closely. Much as Tachyon would like to do things entirely herself, science needed peer review. Plus, a number of the more in depth equipment wouldn’t fit into her school lab.
Creating a larger, more well equipped lab at the back of Tracen grounds off a forest path was proving slow. Mostly on account of moving large pieces of sensitive equipment out to a building at the edge of a piece of private property in the woods. It was well worth the effort, but it wasn’t a priority. The clinic would require quite a bit more research to conclude before it was ready to open for business as it were.
Including sneaking in some alterations to the URA guidelines. Though that was something for others to handle.
Tachyon only needed to handle the actual science of it. Which was slow going on account of having to confer with labs in the United States. It would be done in time for Marie to debut in 2005 or 2006, should she wish to, but that was still two years. Ideally the process would be lowered to take nothing more than a month, if not the same week. Same day would be ideal, but the genetic sequencing was a time consuming process and there were only so many server banks that could be added to speed things up.
Anyway. Where was she going with this?
“Uh, Tachyon.” OH YES! Observing and recording the effects of a Zone being utilized ‘at rest’ as it were. It was surprisingly difficult to utilize such outside of the track, but it was possible so long as sufficient stimulus was granted. The Zone was, in Tachyon’s estimation, a thing of motion, fundamentally. Not necessarily physical motion, though that did play a part, but something that required some form of moving forward. Whether that be physically, such as in a race, or more technically, such as completing a level in a video game. “Can I come out from under the desk now? My legs are cramping.”
“Well why didn’t you say so!” Tachyon reached a hand down and cupped it under Flame’s chin. Slowly she ‘lifted’ her girlfriend upward out of the small area beneath her preferred desk. Moved her higher and higher before slipping a hand-
“Mmgh!”
-around her backside to push her up the rest of the way. The hand on her butt braced her while the other gently gripped her thighs and on down her leg. “The legs are the most fragile and important part of an umamusume! Any sort of unusual strain is something worth being looked at. Even normal strain should be carefully managed, lest unfortunate physical tendencies expose themselves at the most inopportune time.”
It was like that for herself after all. Nobody in her family had known of her weakened bone structure until an unfortunate slip after running too fast down a slick wood hallway. She hadn’t required a cast, but the X-rays had resulted in more X-rays and eventually… the diagnosis. As much as that determination could be called a ‘diagnosis’.
Her hand clenched at the memory. The doctors didn’t have a true word for what was happening, nor did they have a solution. Or even a guess at what might have been causing such a problem. That childish knowledge that a doctor could always be trusted help died that day. Painfully.
It was something that Agnes Tachyon was absolutely certain she wanted no other uma to experience. Ever.
“Tacchyy… nngh…” Tachyon snapped back to her lab inside of Tracen as Flame’s squirming got more pronounced.
“Ah, my apologies. I got stuck in some memories.” One final grope-
“Mmmhaa!”
-and Tachyon let Flame settle against herself. “Your legs seem perfectly fine on a simple look, but once you’re ready I’d prefer to get a deeper check. Utilizing the Zone while mostly sedentary shouldn’t cause issues, but it’s important to test even things you’re certain of. Just in case.”
“Mmhh…” Flame snuggled further against Tachyon, her bare skin rubbing against Tachyon’s own. What bare skin was showing beneath the labcoat at least. It was a little awkward to have the slightly taller uma rest in her lap like this, but still acceptable. Especially after how well she’d performed in the test.
“Good girl.” Tachyon stroked Flame’s hair and shifted in her chair. Slid down just a bit to give Flame a better seat. Then slid her hand around Flame’s thigh. “My precious guinea pig.”
“Mm.. TachyoooOOONN!” Dantsu curled forward, twisting and grinding against Tachyon’s own bare chest.
“Ah, don’t worry! I’d never ask you for anything I wasn’t prepared to do myself.” Tachyon’s fingers kept moving even as Flame squirmed. “Now just lay back and allow me to return the favor. I have been studying umamusume for quite some time. There are a few little interesting bits of biology I can share with you.”
“Mpf!” Tachyon smiled and settled in. Her programs needed just a bit more time to work, and what better to fill that with than helping out one of her girlfriends? And putting on a show for another one.
In her half of the room. Manhattan Cafe sipped her coffee and settled back on the couch as she watched. Her fingers idly plucked at her own skirt.
Yes, this was the life. Though it’d be even better if Pokke were here. Where was she, anyway?
~[#]~
“So our guest here today is the 2001 Japan Cup winner- Jungle Pocket!” The uma in question settled back into the plush seat she’d been given. Normally she wouldn’t bother with something like this, but out of all of them she was the best combination of ‘in demand’ and ‘not crazy’. So media appearances to back Pure White Ash up fell to her.
Not that Pocket had done all that many, but things were starting to really heat up with the crown races on the horizon. Tachyon didn’t like to admit she kept track of something as ‘unscientific’ as the public opinion or the media, but she totally did. Frankly speaking, she was just a slightly sideways version of Agnes Digital, complete with wanting to know everything even if she didn’t use it all that much. It wasn’t like she could make a potion that made dealing with either of them easier.
Probably.
Pocket wasn’t about to mention it regardless. Tachyon might take it as a challenge and do something funky with smells or whatever. Wouldn’t be the first time she had a breakthrough doing something completely off the wall. Science wasn’t exactly her best class, but some of the stuff Tachy pulled definitely didn’t seem like it was grounded in any science Pocket had heard of.
“So, Jungle Pocket,” whoops, pay attention to… the guy… shit, what was his name, “things this year have started off at fever pitch. The declaration made by Pure White Ash at her interview after winning her debut race has been the talk of the town, particularly given her continued success. What do you say about it all?”
“I think she’s doing what she wants to.” Pocket shrugged. “I haven’t ever known anyone more dedicated to doing what they want and helping others do what they want than Ash. Dunno why it’s suddenly a super big deal. I know I attended pride every year I was running, and still attend now. Even set up a couple donations to some places.”
Granted, those donations were only after Ash had come out with her own. Mostly because Pocket still wasn’t really… used to having enough money to donate like that. Going from a not the best off family straight to G1 winner levels of money was a big step, and, sure, Tracen helped, but there was only so much to it. Basically just a small team of people that’d set everything up to ensure you were set for life, bar doing something stupid. Far as Ash had said, most G1 winners just accept Tracen’s help, get paid out from investments, and just use that for the rest of their lives.
Not a big surprise- Pocket would’ve done the same thing if she didn’t have Tachy or Ash around to help work out all the financial shit. Just setting up the donation involved a lot of moving money and forms and taxes and stuff. She’d never have gotten through it without them. Also gave her an appreciation for Ash trying to use becoming an uma to dodge taxes.
Apparently the US still taxed her, despite her not living there? It was super weird.
“So you’re in agreement with what Pure White Ash is doing?” The host leaned forward a bit. “There’s been a lot of pushback against her for her activism. People saying an active racer like her shouldn’t be giving out opinions like that?”
“Why?” Pocket scratched her head and her tail shifted on the chair. “‘S not like we suddenly start having them after retirement. Tachyon was always doing her stuff, and I know there were a couple other big names that always did their thing. I watch Hishi Akebono’s stuff and she's been streaming since before she entered the Twinkle Series. Not really as loud as Ash about stuff, but I know she was always big on inclusivity.”
It was part of the reason Pocket watched her. There wasn’t really a lot of stuff out there for a punk kid uma to enjoy and feel welcome. For all that people liked manga characters that were some sort of tough, they really didn’t like it in real life. Especially from an uma. The number of times an uma had been a punk in a manga and not been the villain was… like one?
Which, sure, Kisara was awesome, but there definitely should be more than one Pocket could point to.
“An excellent point! The history of umamusume has long been entangled with LGBT rights. There are even reports that uma were part of the first ever pride march held here in Japan.” The host turned the audience slash camera. “Who could forget the reports of a red haired umamusume beating back malcontents with exceptional martial arts skill. It was a large driver of the ‘no cops at pride’ sentiment, especially as some of those she pushed away were police officers themselves.”
“Yeah, I heard about her. Woman after my own heart.” Nobody really agreed on who she was, some people said something about Anything Goes and others talked about Chinese Amazons, but she was a badass that Pocket definitely respected.
“Oho! After your own heart, is it?” The host swung back around with a slimy look that made Pocket want to punch him, despite the fact that this was… kinda scripted. Not like in the sense that Pocket had memorized anything, but she’d come on to make this announcement and everyone involved had agreed to put it into the show. “Would that happen to mean something in specific?”
“Yeah, I’m currently in a relationship with three other women. I’d say they’re watching, but they probably aren’t.” Pocket huffed. “If I know them, Tachyon is doing something with Flame and Cafe is watching.”
“Congratulations!” The host leaned back with him arms out before leaning forward and placing a hand on his chin. “Would you happen to mean you are in a relationship with Agnes Tachyon, Dantsu Flame, and Manhattan Cafe?”
“Yep. Best girlfriends I could ask for.” Best… a lot of things, really. Pocket would never return to the Twinkle Series but Tachyon was insistent on getting her back to form to run at least one Dream Series race. Which… wouldn’t be the worst thing. Though the only Dream race Pocket was interested in had all of them together. It’d been far too long since they were able to Run against each other like that. Just the thought had her bouncing her leg. “So I guess I gotta say that what Pure White Ash is doing has something to do with me. Beyond just knowing her for a while.”
“A while? That’s interesting to hear- before her debut, nobody had heard anything at all about Pure White Ash.” The host rubbed his chin and held a hand out. “Would you like to shed some light on the mystery?”
“Nah.” Pocket chuckled at the look on the host’s face. “Her past is up to her to give up. Doesn’t really matter anyway.”
“Oh? Why wouldn’t that matter?” The host leaned back, still rubbing his chin. “There are already talks she’s being named the least favorite in the upcoming Satsuki Sho entirely because of that.”
“‘Cause I know she’s gonna give it her all, and it’s everyone else that’s gonna have to match that.” Pocket shrugged. “Just how she’s always been.”