Chapter Text
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“Ugh, I have got to change that alarm tone.”
Nice Nature groaned as she reached for her phone on the nightstand. On a typical morning, one where her roommate wasn’t off visiting family, she didn’t need an alarm, instead being awoken by the sound of the word “Marvelous!” being shouted, seemingly, directly into her ear canal.
As she soon discovered, that was somehow preferable to this.
Regardless, Nature sat up in bed, stretched, and looked down at the time and date on her phone with a frown.
January 23rd. The day of the Wakagoma Stakes.
Nice Nature had been looking forward to this day. Had been. Past tense.
—
“Listen,” Nice Nature’s trainer pleaded. “If it concerns you that much… just pretend she’s not there. Pretend she doesn’t exist. Run your race, not hers.”
Nice Nature shook her head. Her trainer always made this kind of thing sound so easy, like it’s so simple to just ignore Tokai Teio, like it’s possible to just pretend that one of the top up-and-coming umamusume at Tracen Academy- if not all of Japan, if not all of the world- simply didn’t exist. So much easier said than done.
“It’s fine,” Nature stated with a dismissive wave. “I know, I know, you set up this race as a confidence builder for me. Low stakes, no strong competition, get me a win to head into spring. I get it, and I appreciate it, for what it’s worth, but… well, that’s just my lot in life, you know? You think you’re about to get something nice, and some main character comes along and swipes it right out from under your nose without them even realizing you’re there.”
Nature sighed, demonstrating contentedness that her trainer was, by now, well aware that she was feigning. “It can’t be helped.”
“Why do you call her that?” her trainer asked.
“Call her what?”
“A main character. You always say that when you’re talking about Teio.”
Nice Nature scoffed. “Because it’s what she is. Isn’t it obvious? Everyone and their mother’s already been hyping her up as the second coming of Symboli Rudolf, and every time she runs, she backs up the claims. She’s headed for greatness and everyone knows it. So… when they tell our tale years and years from now, she’s gonna be the main character in it. And hey, maybe somewhere along the way, there’ll be a paragraph that mentions me, probably talking about how she kicked my ass in the Wakagoma Stakes.”
“Don’t act like you’ve already lost before you even step on the track.”
“I’d love to have your confidence, Trainer, but… come on. I’m cynical, not delusional. I couldn’t beat Teio if you gave me a hundred chances.”
Nature’s trainer sighs, defeated. “Still. Run your race. Worry about time, not placement. Now come on, we’ve got a train to catch.”
—
As the train to Kyoto rumbled onward, Nice Nature couldn’t help but shoot a silent glare at Tokai Teio sitting a few rows ahead of her, discussing something or other with her trainer.
Why are you here? Nice Nature thought to herself. Why did you have to enter this race of all races, right at the last minute? Why did you have to destroy my “confidence booster?” Why did you have to take this win away from me?
You’re gonna end your time at Tracen with so many trophies that you’re gonna need a second dorm room just to hold them all, and I can’t have one?
Nice Nature knew it wasn’t personal. But part of her wished that it was. If it was intentional, at least that would imply that Teio was giving her notice, acknowledging her as a legitimate threat. Alas, Teio simply picked this race to pick it- if it was even her idea in her first place. Maybe her trainer just threw darts at a race schedule and landed on this one. It makes about as much sense.
That’s main character privilege for you. You never stop to think about why the ants are building the anthill. We’re lucky if you even notice you’re kicking it over.
—
“You did great out there,” Nature’s trainer remarked.
“Yeah, I guess so…”
“No. No ‘I guess sos.’ You finished with a time of one minute, fifty-seven flat. That would’ve won the Stakes last year. That’s fantastic.”
“Yeah, but Teio wasn’t running the Stakes last year, was she?” Nature mused. “Instead, she smoked us all with a 1:55.4. No way I was coming close to that.”
“I told you, Nature. Worry about time, not placement. Yes, you got second place, but your time was phenomenal. Focus on that, and the wins will come.”
Nature’s trainer opened the door out of the dressing room. “Now let’s get home and get you rested. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow, alright?”
—
*BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT*
“Ugh, I swore I changed that alarm tone last night. Stupid technology…”
Nice Nature shut off the alarm on her phone, lying awake in bed for a few minutes. As much as she always played it off with cynical jabs… she was bummed. When she entered the starting gate yesterday afternoon, some small part of her really did think that maybe she could do this. Maybe she could challenge Tokai Teio. For just one day, one hour, one minute, one second… maybe she, too, could be a main character.
And then the gates opened, and Teio dropkicked her back into reality. Typical.
Without anything pressing on the agenda this morning, Nature took her time getting up, getting dressed, and heading to the cafeteria for breakfast. At least Teio didn’t seem to be here this morning, so maybe Nature really could pretend she doesn’t exist for once. Probably off planning her next conquest before heading to the Classics in the spring.
Nature continued to eat in silence before noticing her phone light up. Strange; her trainer doesn’t usually call her this early. Or call (rather than text) in general unless it’s important.
Nature picked up the call. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Hey, where are you?”
“I’m just getting breakfast. What’s going on?”
“Well hurry up! We’re gonna miss the train if we don’t leave soon.”
“Train?” Nature asked, puzzled. “What train?”
“The train to Kyoto? Don’t tell me you forgot that it’s race day.”
“Race day? What are you talking about, the race was-”
And then Nice Nature spotted it, right there in the upper left corner of her phone’s screen. The time and, more importantly, the date.
January 23rd. The day of the Wakagoma Stakes.
Wait, what?
“Uh… right, right. Race day. Of course it’s race day. Why wouldn’t it be race day? … Yeah, I’ll be right over.”
“Are you okay? It’s not like you to forget something like this.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just… thinking about something else. Alright, see you soon. Bye.”
Nice Nature hangs up, staring at the date on her phone.
But I ran the race yesterday… didn’t I?
—
As the train to Kyoto rumbled onward, Nice Nature did her best to try to process what was happening. She’s had dreams that were vivid before, dreams that felt real, dreams that seemingly went on and on for hours… could that be it?
Is it even possible to dream an entire day?
Figures, Nature thinks to herself. I can’t even beat Teio in my dreams. Nice job subconscious; you’re doing so much to help my self-confidence right now.
Nature peered over at Teio, seated a few rows ahead of her, talking with her trainer about something or other.
The exact same place Teio was sitting in her dream.
Bizarre.
—
By the time she stepped out onto the racetrack, Nice Nature was positively shaken.
She stepped in a puddle on the way out of the train station, just like in her dream.
The cab ride to the racecourse got cut off in traffic, just like in her dream.
She was randomly assigned gate number five, just like in her dream.
This was too much; too many coincidences to simply be deja vu. But what else could it be? What possible explanation could there be for all of this?
Nature stared at her reflection in the dressing room mirror. Strange as all this is, she knows thinking about it is the last thing that’s going to help her race time.
“Get ahold of yourself, Natie,” she said to the reflection. “Yes, something weird’s going on right now: maybe there’s been a bunch of wild coincidences, maybe I’ve somehow become a prophet and my dreams can predict the future… but you know what? There’s one way we can prove that I’m not a prophet and that my dreams don’t predict the future and that’s if I go out there and beat Tokai Teio.”
“Just this once, Natie, you can be a main character. Just this once. You got this. You got this.”
—
“You did great out there,” Nature’s trainer remarked.
Nature didn’t respond. All she could think about was Tokai Teio’s race time, plastered onto the raceground scoreboard.
1:55.4. Just like in her dream.
“Nature? … Nice Nature? Earth to Nature, are you there?”
Nature shook her head alert, making eye contact with her trainer. “What? Oh, right, sure. Good time, second place, whatever… can we go home now?”
“Are you sure you’re okay? Between what’s up with you now, and this morning, you seem really out of it.”
“Yeah, sorry, I’ve just… I got a lot on my mind right now, okay?”
Nature’s trainer frowned. “Wanna talk about it?”
Nature sighed. She barely liked talking to her trainer about her feelings, much less… whatever this was. “Not really.”
“Alright… I’m not gonna force you, but… I get it, you know?”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I mean, Tokai Teio’s a generational talent. You’re not wrong; she’s going to be a superstar. And when you’re around someone who is shining that bright, it can be hard for you to see that you have any shine at all. But you do. I didn’t recruit you for no reason, you know. And I’m confident that deep down inside you is the ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with Teio. All we’ve got to do is figure out how to draw it out.”
Nice Nature can’t help but give a bemused smile. Her trainer’s always saying stuff like this, and while she admittedly appreciates the compliments… come on. Be serious.
“Now let’s head down to the station and get home. Rest well tonight, okay? You deserve it.”
—
*BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT*
Nice Nature groaned as she shut off her phone’s alarm. Hopefully today would be less weird than yesterday, what with all the bizarre dream-prophecies. Or maybe she’s just overthinking things. Maybe things didn’t go exactly the same as in her dream and her brain was just connecting dots that were never meant to be connected. Maybe she can (and probably should) put all of this behind her, and simply get up, get out of bed and face the day.
Nice Nature sighed, stood up, and stretched before reaching for her phone in its charger. Just as she was about to check if she got any new texts overnight…
She spotted it. Right there, in the upper left corner of her phone’s screen. The time and, more importantly, the date.
January 23rd. The day of the Wakagoma Stakes.
Nice Nature stared at her phone for a full ten seconds before responding.
“...What.”