Chapter Text
Tracen Academy was quiet. Early mornings were usually quiet. Students and staff alike were asleep; only the most focused could bring themselves to wake up this early. Sunlight barely crept into the dorm rooms, filtered by thick tree branches and blinds. Standing in silence, staring at herself in a mirror, was Still In Love.
She was careful in preparing herself for the day, gently pulling two ear covers tight against her ears before they were tied in place by a thin red string, tying neatly to the frilled cloth that always covered her head. A carefully tied red ribbon completed the outfit, running back and holding her hair back behind her head.
Delicate. Elegant. Refined. Invisible.
As she preferred.
Still In Love moved across the room silently, picking up her bag and moving to leave the room. The door creaked too loudly for her liking as she pulled it open. She glanced over her shoulder, looking at the bed still wrapped in blankets. Her roommate was still asleep, unmoving, with long blonde hair made unkempt by a night of sleep. Neo Universe. She wasn't disturbed by the noise.
There will eventually be a day when I crush her. She won't be spared because she understands.
Still In Love blinked. She brought her hand up to her face, slowly running it down with a few shaky exhales leaving her mouth.
It was too early. She needed to focus. Her mind couldn't be clouded like this. She pushed the door open, letting it gently close behind her as she left the dorm room and began her day.
-┈┈┈┈୨୧┈┈┈┈-
The only people active around Tracen Academy this early were groundskeepers. Still In Love's walk across the campus was uninterrupted by anyone. Nobody could see her. Nobody would question her. There wasn't time for any questions now, anyway, she had someone she needed to speak to. Her Trainer. She had been with him for a few months at this point, and they had run in a few races already. In all of them, she had done acceptably. Not great, definitely not great. Just enough to be acceptable. She had been distant from him. She wasn't going to make the mistake of letting him see her at her worst.
It would've been embarrassing, difficult to explain, and would have most likely scared him off.
But their relationship was good enough. Her Trainer was dedicated to helping her as much as possible, and she cooperated with him as he needed. One of the things that she had picked up on, for example, was that he had a habit of late nights. And, as he had asked her to meet him at some point today, this didn't seem like an exception. However, even not knowing anything about him, she couldn't blame him for it, given what was coming up this week.
The Oka Sho.
The first leg of the Triple Tiara races. They had made the plan months ago, when she was first scouted. All she had told him was that she intended to win the Triple Tiara for the prestige of the accomplishment. It was a perfectly generic answer that he didn't seem to pry any further into. A good deflection. Truthfully, she wanted to prove something to herself. She needed to prove that
I am going to win. Everyone there stands no chance. They'll be destroyed. I'll destroy all of them. Every last one can't compare to what I'm capable of.
She needed to prove that she didn't need that part of her. It irked her so much to have thoughts like that. One day, Still In Love hoped, she could bury it entirely and forget it ever existed.
She focused on the sounds of her shoes on the concrete as she walked towards the Trainer's offices to keep herself distracted from those thoughts. She had learned it was a good way to remain collected in her thoughts. The sound beneath her feet changed from the low thuds against concrete to the quiet, echoing clicks of tiled floor in a confined hallway. Just like outside, there weren't many people around. The only people she could see were the occasional member of the janitorial staff or a Trainer who had some errands to take care of early in the day. All of them seemed to skirt around her in the hallways.
Every office in the hallway that she had gone to was pitch black. All of them were deserted and lifeless. All except for one of them, with a faint light glowing behind the door. Her Trainer's office. Exactly as she had expected. She stepped up to the door, gently knocking on the wood and listening beyond it. She could hear someone snap up, moving objects, then approaching the door. Still In Love took a step back as the door opened, her Trainer standing on the other side with visible bags beneath his eyes. His expression was dulled by fatigue, but he smiled when he saw who it was.
"Glad you could come," he spoke, slowly stepping aside and motioning Still In Love to enter, which she did. She did her best to keep herself small and out of the way, her arms locked by her sides and her hands clasped in front of her. Looking around the room, she could see that it had been scarred by the long night that her Trainer had spent in it. There were discarded papers scattered around, opened wrappers overflowing from a trashcan, and emptied cans of many different beverages stacked on his desk. They clattered to the floor as her Trainer pushed them aside, carefully picking up a thick folder with the word "STRATEGY" printed on the front. He presented it to Still In Love, and she accepted it.
"It's a long ride to Takarazuka. Please study this on the way there," he spoke, his voice dragging but audibly full of pride in his work.
Still In Love carefully ran her hand across the front before flipping it open and skimming through the documents inside. Small dossiers and biographies on other runners, some notes and predictions for the Hanshin Racecourse, and some notes on how she should be running. She closed the folder, holding it beneath her arm and bowing in gratitude to her Trainer.
"Thank you. I'll prepare for our trip."
She was going to leave without any other note—and was already turning to do so—but her Trainer stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. She paused in her movement, looking to her Trainer with the same muted expression that she had carefully crafted and maintained wherever she went, but she allowed it to soften slightly.
"Is there something wrong? You've always seemed a bit distant, but now you seem especially closed off."
For a moment, her mind froze entirely. She thought to herself for a brief moment. Could she ever discuss that side of her? Would he even understand? Would he still even want to be her Trainer? She had brushed it off whenever it appeared before during various minor races, and he never pushed. But what if he knew the truth? That side of her that she fought so hard to keep suppressed.
She would abandon him, she reasoned.
"It's nothing. Just anxiety for such a big race."
The answer satisfied the question enough to muzzle any further conversation about it while revealing no information. She turned slowly, gently moving her Trainer's hand from her shoulder. She needed to leave. She was walking at a quicker pace than she would've liked to the door when her Trainer's voice made her pause a second time.
"Don't worry. Just run how best feels natural to you. You've done amazing the past few months, and however you place at the Oka Sho doesn't change that."
She blinked. Her mind froze a second time. Would she be able to run naturally?
Run naturally. Let the thrill of it all consume you.
She would be able to run as herself. And she'd be fine. She gave her Trainer the best smile she could while doing her best not to make it too visible.
"You're right. Thanks, Trainer."
With that, she left and began her walk back to the dorms. She needed to pack, after all. It was a long trip to Takarazuka.
-┈┈┈┈୨୧┈┈┈┈-
When she arrived back at her dorm, she was greeted by a suitcase already packed and lying on her bed, and her roommate was sitting at her own desk, staring into a mirror as she brushed her hair.
"There is a new 'body' within this 'system.' Neo Universe requests an 'encounter'." She didn't look up from her mirror, but she could see Still In Love over her shoulder as she entered, looking between her and the packed suitcase, trying to find something to say.
"Your exit from this 'system' is [Important]. Neo Universe has seen it before. Please, go run."
Still In Love only nodded in thanks as she picked up the suitcase. She left her roommate without another word. She had a long trip ahead of herself, anyway.