Chapter Text
Uma Musume.
She wakes up, body sore. A quick inventory, and everything is alright. No more pain than usual.
They were born to run.
She combs her fingers through her hair, separating the red streaks from the rest of her black hair. She doesn’t have much time until training, she has to be quick with grooming. She’s heard that some uma musume have personal groomers who take care of everything. That doesn’t sound right to her, but rich families like the Mejiro’s probably have enough money to waste on things like that. It’s really not that important. She’ll fix her hair later.
They inherit the names of horses from another world, whose histories were sometimes tragic, and sometimes wonderful,
“Bloodsport! It’s time!” “Coming!” She runs outside to the track, where her parents, Rose and Florian are. They are her trainers. It’s a bit unorthodox for Bloodsport to forgo scouting, but it is known to happen. They have proper URA liscences, it’s all above board. Bloodsport has been training with them since she was young. Since before she could remember how old she was. Bloodsport never thought much of Rose not being an uma musume.
and with that, they run.
Tracen provides plenty of time for training during the week. With plenty of high end facilities, official training should be enough for the uma musume of the school. Her parents don’t agree with that. They have her training on the weekend, every week. For four hours in the morning, she runs non-stop. The training grounds are nearly empty this time. There’s a small group of umas led by some older student, but they keep to the outer track. If she had to guess, she’d say they’re working on straightaways. Bloodsport is working on tight turns, so the inner tracks are all she needs.
That is their fate.
Knee up. Kick down. Up. Kick. Up. Kick. Push into the ground and move forward. After the first furlong, the pain is gone. She finishes the lap, beginning to stumble once she slows down. She asks for a break, but is denied. Another lap.
No one knows how these girls’ future races will end.
Unknown to the uma musume and her trainers, a young uma stands at the fence of the turf. The uniform she wears belongs to a nearby primary school, not Tracen Academy. The young filly watches Bloodsport closely, even with the distance between them.
They will continue to run, aiming only toward the goal in front of them.
Before classes start, Bloodsport is called to the student council’s president’s office. Symboli Rudolf is just as intimidating as everyone says. The decorations of the office do well to highlight her power. Gold ornaments, intricate woodwork, and a massive window behind the desk. Bloodsport isn’t one to cower, but she can feel the instinct to run grow. She can’t, of course, she’s not cocky enough to think she’s faster than the Emperor. Symboli Rudolf has something of a sullen face– is that pity in her eyes? It’s not the same look from when Bloodsport got into a fight the week before. That’s a good sign. Rudolf offers a kind greeting, Bloodsport returns it with a nod.
“I have some unfortunate news, Bloodsport. This could end up being a long talk, too… Please, take a seat.” Normally she’d prefer to stand, but Rudolf’s somber tone compels her to sit.
“Director Akikawa has received news from the URA. She’s decided it is best for me to inform you directly.” Director Aikikawa and Tazuna Hayakawa run the school, but the student council has a large role in handling student life. The director and her secretary tend to deal more directly with the URA, the governing body of uma musume racing. Tazuna interacts with students often, but Akikawa doesn’t.
“An anonymous tip was sent to the URA. After an investigation, they came to the conclusion that Rose and Florian do not meet the standards expected of trainers.”
The anxiety creeps back up. “What does that mean…?”
“They have had their licenses revoked.”
Bloodsport shoots up from her seat. “What!?”
“Please, sit down. There is still more to discuss.” The young filly refuses to sit. Seeing this, Rudolf continues. “Without a trainer, you are ineligible to register for races. Because of this, your registration for the upcoming Junior Make Debut has been cancelled.”
She can feel her stomach drop. Rudolf drones on about school resources, deadlines, and classics registration. None of it matters to Bloodsport, she can barely hear it. Her chance to show off all of her work, her first step into the Twinkle Series, is gone. Gone. Gone! She had slammed her hands onto Rudolf’s desk out of frustration and surprise. It’s a good thing she did, and that she leaned her weight onto the desk. When her leg begins to fail on her, she doesn’t collapse or leave her stupor.
By the time she’s fully aware of her surroundings again, she’s in the nurse's office. Most students of Tracen are familiar with this room. Injuries are common, and the philosophy of the school is that all injuries must be seen immediately. Bloodsport for one, hates the room. She sits up in the cot, and the movement sends a spike of pain down her leg. The pain brings attention to her leg, and she notices an uma musume applying sports tape to her leg. She makes a sound of confusion, and the uma responds.
“Your leg is very swollen, I’m not sure what the injury is exactly, but it’s severe. You need some good R&R!” The uma is Super Creek. She retired from the Twinkle Series a few years back, and has been working in the nurse’s office at Tracen since then. Bloodsport can faintly remember Rudolf bringing her here. She must have noticed her leg injury, or maybe it was something she already knew about.
“I’m alright, thank you.” Bloodsport moves to get up, but is pushed back onto the cot by Super Creek.
“Sorry, but you’re stuck here for a little while.” Bloodsport whines. “I know, I know. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you.” She continues to work with little struggle from Bloodsport. Creek describes what she knows about the injury. The inflammation indicates an issue with the soft tissue, she’ll need imaging done by a physician to know the exact issue. Creek’s hands are gentle as she wraps tape in a pattern around her ankle. Creek hands her a tin of a warm smelling ointment and tells her when to apply it.
In the middle of the treatment, a man walks into the room. The suit and tag indicate he’s one of the trainers. All that really sticks out to Bloodsport is how sickly grey his skin is. Bloodsport hasn’t seen him before, but Super Creek clearly has.
“Paion-san! Are you alright? Let me get your medicine out-”
“I’m fine, Super Creek. I just came by to get some cough drops.” He certainly needs them. The man opens a drawer and stuffs a handful of supposedly cough drops into his pocket. He waves to Super Creek, and leaves.
After the tape, Super Creek puts a large, clunky boot on Bloodsport’s foot. She hands bloodsport a pair of crutches. She reluctantly uses them to stand, Creek wouldn’t let her leave without them.
“Rudolf told me you’re exempt from classes for today. You should go back to your dorm, and rest. If you want though, I could give you a massage, or an ear cleaning, or..” Bloodsport leaves the room before Super Creek can finish. She goes straight to the Miho dormitory.