Chapter Text
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who got lost in the forest. Alone and afraid, she stumbled through the trees desperately calling for her parents. She ran and she ran, until she came across a beautiful pond. With water clear as crystal, and rays of sun peeking through the thick forest of tree branches.
The girl sat down by the edge of the pond, desolate that she would never find her way again when a beautiful voice rose from the pond’s water.
“Do not weep, my child,” she said. “You are not meant to fall here. For you are the chosen Overlord, one whose light will pierce even the darkest nights.” The girl could barely believe her ears. Her? An Overlord? She who was from a village of less than twenty and with no name to her?
“Go forth,” the voice commanded, “and walk the path of the Overlord. Shine so brightly, that you would disperse the darkness that covers this land.”
And so the girl rose, hair the color of the sun’s golden rays, and set off on a great adventure.
-
“HAAA ha ha ha!” TM Opera O’s iconic laughter rang clear through the track fields. Doto had tried to copy it a few times, in hopes it would inspire her with the same confidence Opera had. Only it left her feeling more like melting into a puddle from embarrassment. As expected of the one who proclaimed herself to be the Overlord of the Century, nothing fazed her.
Not even losing. “Stand proud, my dear Doto!” Opera exclaimed loudly. “For you have achieved a great feat, beating the Overlord herself today! But fear not, for tomorrow I will reclaim my place at the top!”
“O-of course,” Doto sighed dreamily. Really, it was only a practice race against Doto. But Opera took it just as seriously as she had the G1’s. Doto had long since stopped questioning what Opera saw in her. As long as Opera was around, Doto almost felt like she could believe in herself too. Because if Opera O believed in her, then Doto had to too, because she would never doubt Opera!
“My, the sun reaches its zenith!” Opera said, looking towards the sky. A bead of sweat dripped from her forehead. “At this hour, one must take caution while out in the sun.”
Perhaps she was… saying they should take a break? “It-it is rather hot out,” Doto mused. How did Opera do it? Even while drenched in sweat, Doto thought she looked as regal and beautiful as ever. Meanwhile Doto must look like a drowned rat…
“A reprieve is in order then!” Opera said. “One must clear themselves of this heinous sweat.”
“Opera looks as wonderful as ever though,” Doto mumbled. “Eugh, my hair is sticking to my neck…” Doto pat her face with a towel.
“HA ha ha ha! I am glad you think so, dear Doto, but sweat is a formidable foe even for the Overlord! Well then, let us reunite to dine posthaste.”
Ah, Opera still wanted to have lunch with her. Doto still feared that one day Opera would get tired of eating with her, but it has yet to happen. The thought that someone as beautiful and wonderful as her, was still by Doto’s side…
“Doto?” Opera called, once she noticed Doto still hadn’t moved.
“Y-yes!” Doto squeaked. She almost dropped the towel she was still holding. “That sounds good.”
-
At first, the path of the Overlord was lonely. Not many believed her, when she told them the tale of the voice of the water. But the voice had said spoken it into reality, and so the girl believed. No matter how dark the days got, or how far she treaded from home she held firm to her path.
And then she met a loyal squire. One who proclaimed her fears through stammered words and yet stayed steadfast to her side even through the toughest of storms.
And then a pair of knights, as different as night and day. One as steely and cold as her blue shield. The other, wielding smiles as deftly as her sword.
Slowly but steadily, the path of the Overlord became less daunting to tread on her own.
-
“Top Road! Ayabe! I see you too have come to partake in this glorious feast,” Opera said. Unfortunately, she was holding a tray of food, so she couldn’t pose like she usually would have. Although by the look on Ayabe’s face, it was actually fortunate…
“H-hello,” Doto said, sliding to sit next to Opera and across from Ayabe. It looked as though Top Road and Ayabe were almost done eating, yet that didn’t deter Opera from sitting down.
“Hi Opera, hi Doto,” Top Road greeted warmly. Ayabe simply nodded, acknowledging their presence. Then sighed just before Opera began speaking again.
“What fortune has been bestowed upon us! That the four of us would have the chance to dine at once!” Opera said.
“O-oh! I suppose so…” … Now that Doto thinks about it, they don’t get the chance to see Top Road and Ayabe during lunch that often.
“Indeed!” Opera said. “Let us not waste this opportunity! Rejoice, for you may ask the Overlord any question your heart desires!”
… Any question? Doto flushed as she imagined what she might like to ask. What kind of person would you be interested in? Romantically that is… Although knowing Opera, she might just list qualities based off herself. Doto sighed quietly. She was nothing like that…
“Ayabe, what seems to be on your mind? Speak, before this chance slips away!”
Oh. Opera O seemed to be implying that she didn’t want Ayabe to leave. Doto glanced at Top Road, who was sending an Ayabe a stern look. Ayabe, who had been backing up ever so slightly, stopped.
“What do you want,” Ayabe said flatly.
“Ayabe!” Top Road scolded in a light tone. From an outsider’s perspective, it might seem like Ayabe disliked Opera. Doto herself thought this for a long time until she learned that Ayabe’s prickly exterior was simply that. An exterior. Ayabe was actually quite fond of them all, but she showed it very differently from Opera, who would loudly proclaim her love for her friends at any place.
Doto giggled. She really was so lucky to have such nice people by her side! If it weren’t for Opera O, Doto thought, she might still be holed up inside her room, too afraid to go out and interact with anyone. Thanks to Opera O inviting her everywhere, she’s met so many wonderful umamusume.
-
Soon the light of the Overlord reached all corners of the land. Many came from far away to glimpse her golden light. But the shine of the Overlord was not beautiful to all. There were those that sought to dampen her light, to throw the land into an eternal darkness.
To put a halt to these nefarious plans, the girl resolved shine so brightly so that the light would never fade.
“A grand performance I will put on!” she declared. “To pierce this veil of darkness that threatens to shroud this land!”
And so did the Overlord and her friend sing and dance until their voices grew hoarse and their feet ached. So long did the performance last, that night passed into day.
So bright, did the Overlord burn, that once the suns first rays kissed the land there was naught left but ashes.
-
Doto was so, so lucky to be able to stare at Opera whenever she wanted. To hear her wonderful singing as often as she could. Doto wouldn’t dare ask for more. If she was greedy, then she could lose it all.
Opera O continued her boisterous singing, oblivious to Doto’s internal thoughts. Stares weren’t unusual for Opera. Whether it be Doto, a fellow umamusume, or fans, Opera naturally attracted the gazes of those around her. Maybe partly because she was prone to being spontaneously bursting into song. Like now.
A small crowd had gathered around her, attracted to the short aria she was performing solo (without any music playing). Doto herself was fixed in place, mesmerized by the way the light caught her hair.
Doto looked at her hands. Opera was so radiant. Doto was just… Doto. Plain brown hair. Soft voice. What could Opera want from her, that Opera couldn’t get from herself?
Applause interrupted that train of thought. Doto clumsily started clapping too. “B-bravo!” she said, although her cheer was drowned out by the others.
Doto hung by the edge of the crowd, waiting for Opera to finish receiving the many compliments she had garnered. Doto clutched her bag strap. Surely it wouldn’t be much longer…
…
… Doto shouldn’t have underestimated the length at which Opera O was willing to speak about operas with other fans. The sun had just begun to set. If they wanted to make it back in time for curfew, then they should get going now.
But Opera was smiling so brightly at the man whom she was talking to. Did she ever smile at Doto like that? Doto’s tail swished. Oh… How could she interrupt them when Opera looked so happy? Did Doto ever make Opera that happy just by talking to her?
“Um…” Doto said, approaching them.
“HA ha ha ha! Indeed, my friend. His rendition of E lucevan le stelle in the latest production of Tosca was admirable. Perhaps one day I will too, lay my own claim to this most famed role!”
“E-eh?” Doto didn’t know what Opera was talking about really, but the man seemed surprised by her statement. Doto used that moment as an opportunity to speak up.
“Um!” Doto said as loudly as she dared. Which… compared to Opera O wasn’t very loud. But it was loud enough to catch both of their attention.
“Oh? What is it, my dearest Doto?” Opera said.
Now that both of them were looking at her, Doto hesitated. Especially because Opera was looking at her. Opera always had this singular focus to her gaze, which made you feel like the most important thing in the world when she looked at you. Doto couldn’t stand it! It made her feel like melting.
“Oh… Um…” Doto stammered.
Luckily, Opera noticed the sunset on her own. “Ah, what wonderful colors the sun paints on the sky for us tonight. I believe it is time for us to depart.” Doto sighed in relief. Good. They would make it back to Tracen on time if they hurried.
Opera said a brief farewell to her last complimenter, and then it was just her and Doto.
Doto liked to think that she got to see sides of Opera that weren’t shown to many other people. Of course, Doto had no way of knowing whether this was the truth or not. And she certainly wasn’t going to ask Opera. But times like this, where she gets to enjoy the silence between them, feel special to Doto.
It’s like Opera feels closer when she’s quiet. Doto doesn’t claim to know what’s going on inside of Opera’s mind, but… It’s feels like she could get a glimpse in moments like these.
“Look, Doto,” Opera said. “The stars have arrived.”
Looking up, Doto finds that Opera was correct. The first night stars have just begun to peak through the fading sunlight. “So pretty,” Doto said, awestruck.
The air was humid.
Opera O laughed, but it wasn’t her usual grand one. It was quieter, almost more like a private chuckle. She turned to face Doto with a soft smile on her face.
It happened so quickly, that Doto didn’t even register it at first. She blinked. And then Opera was lying a few feet away on the ground, arms and legs bent in ways that they shouldn’t be. Red. Red blood on the ground, streaked beneath her body.
A car. Racing away from them. Doto could maybe have caught up with it, if she was in the right mind to do so. As it was, she couldn’t do anything else but scream.
Doto screamed. Sharp and shrill. She screamed for so long it might’ve been an eternity.
“O-O-Opera O!” she shrieked. Doto screamed again. What should she do?!! Call someone. Doto had to call someone. Call for help.
Her hands were shaking so badly as she reached for her phone that she dropped it. The clattering of her phone against the ground made her jump. What if the car came back!? Doto… Should Doto try and move Opera out of the road?
There was so much blood. Her legs shook. If she moved Opera, would she make it worse?
Call someone. She had to call.
Doto picked up her phone.
“Hello, emergency services. What can we do for you?”
“…. H-help,” Doto whispered. Her voice rasped after her screams. “P-p-please. My friend…”
She had to say it. If Doto couldn’t call for help, Opera might die. Oh god. Opera might already be dead. Doto couldn’t look. She couldn’t look at her any more. The sight was so horrible, and yet it was burned into her mind’s eye. A tangled mess of blood and limbs and—
“My friend! She got—she got hit! A car. A car c-came and it—” Doto sobbed.
“Please hold. We are sending help.” They might’ve said something more, but Doto didn’t hear it. There was a great rushing sound in her ears, like a waterfall, and then she was falling—
-
Doto woke up in the hospital. Top Road was sitting by her bedside.
“Doto!” Top Road said when she noticed her sitting up.
“O-Opera…” Doto whimpered. “Where… Where is Opera? Where is Opera O?” Doto looked wildly around the room. Her chest felt tight. Doto couldn’t get enough air in. Where was Opera?
“Doto!” Top Road said. “It’s okay. Opera’s here. She’s in surgery right now.”
Doto deflated. “S-surgery?” she said. Then… Opera was alive. “She’s alive.”
“Yeah,” Top Road exhaled. “She is… We… We actually got there just as you passed out.”
Ah. Right. They were just outside of Tracen. Most Umamusume have great hearing. It would’ve been likely that someone heard Doto screaming for her life and come to help.
“Top Road…” Doto warbled. How many people saw her then? How many people saw that horrible, horrible, sight that Doto wished she had never seen?
Doto couldn’t regret being there though. If she weren’t, then who knows how long it would’ve been before Opera was found? Would it have been—
No. Doto can’t think that.
“You can thank Ayabe,” Top Road said, her tone purposefully light. “She was the one who caught you. Otherwise, you would’ve had a nasty head injury.”
Doto clenched the bedsheet in her hand. Right. A bump on her head. That’s nothing compared to Opera …
“The car,” Doto whispered. “Why…”
“We called Rudolf and Director Akikawa. They’re investigating,” Top Road reassured her. Doto opened her mouth, ready to fire more questions at Top Road but the door clicked open and a nurse stepped in.
They performed a basic checkup on her, and after asserting that she was fine except for shock they sent her on her way.
Back.. to the dorms. Top Road walked her back. Doto doesn’t really remember the trip back. It was all in a strange fuzz. Was this even real? Maybe it was just a bad dream.
Before Doto knew it, she was stepping out of her shoes and collapsing onto her own bed.
-
News spread of Opera’s accident quickly. Articles circled speculating on the severity of her injuries, and what it might mean for her future racing career. Rudolf and URA had been extremely tightlipped about it. Even Doto didn’t know.
Tracen Academy campus was quieter than usual. Partly in Doto’s mind to due to the lack of Opera’s presence beside her. She was so used to Opera’s ongoing dialogues that the silence from her absence felt oppressive. Doto felt like she had lost an arm.
Everywhere she went there were whispers. People looking at her with pity. Concerned stares and condolences. Shouldn’t those be reserved for Opera? Doto was fine. Opera was the one still in the hospital. So why was everyone looking at Doto like that?
A few articles speculated that Opera might never return to racing at all. Doto couldn’t fathom a future without her. And yet the headlines were seared into her mind. Air Shakur had caught her mindlessly scrolling through news websites at 2AM last night and forcibly took her phone from her. Now Doto couldn’t even look at pictures of Opera…
Who knows if Opera O’s sunny smile would even still cheer her up though. Doto sighed. She needed to clear her head.
Excusing herself from class (surely they wouldn’t mind if she missed just one, right? Doto’s been a good student), Doto climbed to the roof of Tracen. From there, you could practically see the whole campus. A small group of press were still gathered around the entrance to the school grounds. No doubt on the lookout for anyone close to Opera for a statement.
… Doto kind of wanted to throw a rock at them. How dare they? How dare they try to take advantage of Opera’s situation for mere seconds of fame?
Doto forced herself to take a few deep breaths. Calm. She was supposed to be up here to calm down.
Doto turn to the other side, so that she was facing the racing tracks and fields rather than the school entrance. This way she wouldn’t be able to see the reporters.
Doto could make out the small figures of many of her friends training. Urara was hard at work on the dirt, as always. Rice Shower seemed to be cheering her on. On turf, there was currently McQueen and Goldship doing some partner work. All these Umamusume, still running.
Why then, was Doto’s heart so torn?
It felt like a piece of her had been ripped out. The loss of Opera’s reassuring presence was more than just fear. It was like she was no longer whole anymore.
Was Doto truly worth so little without Opera?
Before this train of thought could spiral out of control, the door to the roof slammed open.
“Doto!” Top Road yelled, slightly out of breath. “We’ve been looking all over for you! You haven’t been answering your phone.”
“O-oh! Um. Air Shakur has it,” Doto said. “I was… Um…”
Ayabe shook her head. “I don’t need to know. What’s important is—"
“—Opera O is out of surgery. You can go see her now!” Top Road exclaimed.
-
Doto stood outside of Opera O’s room for a moment. Foolishly, Doto wished Opera were standing here with her. Opera wouldn’t have hesitated to throw open the door if it were Doto on the other side. Yet Doto was here, and Opera was there. She should open the door and see Opera for herself.
Doto counted down from three and steeled herself.
With Opera O’s larger than life personality, it was easy to forget that she was rather short. Lying there in the hospital bed, barren of her usual decorations and crown, she looked so small and thin.
The room was clean, and smelled slightly of cleaning fluid. The bedsheets were white, as were the walls and floors and the hospital gown Opera was wearing. Nowhere to be seen was the horrendous red that still haunts Doto.
She exhaled in relief. Opera was clean. She looked… whole. Doto couldn’t tell the state of her legs from underneath the blankets, and she certainly wasn’t going to pull back the covers to check. Opera could tell Doto herself when she woke up.
“Opera O…” Doto whimpered.
One of the machines by her bedside beeped every few seconds. Opera O was breathing, but it was stiff in a way she never was when she was awake. Opera was always graceful fluidity, shifting from pose to pose as quickly as her legs glided over turf.
To see her so still like this, was wrong. Doto had seen her asleep a handful of times, and even that never looked this unnatural.
A handful of get-well cards and flowers were placed on the bedside table. A bright pink, sparkly one caught Doto’s eye. Carefully, Doto picked it up and read it.
Dear Ope,
I heard you weren’t feeling well. Everyone looks so sad, so you better get better soon, okay?
Haru Urara
Doto sniffled. She shouldn’t cry. Opera was alive. She shouldn’t be crying. Doto quickly put Urara’s card back before she could stain it with her tears.
“O-Opera… Can you hear me?” Doto said quietly.
Opera’s breathing remained even and unchanged.
“I…” Doto began, not even really knowing what she wanted to say. Doto had so many things she wanted to tell her. How much she enjoyed racing with her. How happy Opera had made her, back when they had first met and she proclaimed Doto to be her worthy rival.
How much she loved her.
But the words wouldn’t come out. In the end, Doto bit her lip and said, “Wake up soon, okay? We’re all waiting for you.”
-
The wind quickly swept away the ashes left by the Overlord. The squire tried to pick them up, but they slipped from her grasp. Soon, there was nothing left behind anymore.
The girl’s friends searched high and low for her. They called her name. Looked to the sky for glimpses of her golden light.
As time passed, their hopes faded until they slowly gave up, one by one.
-
Time passed in a daze for Doto. She didn’t understand how everyone else was doing it. How were they just attending classes and races, like nothing had changed?
Perhaps for them nothing had. But to Doto, it was like her world tilted. Sometimes she’d think of a strategy to try and turn to ask Opera only to painfully remember she isn’t there. Doto would wander the halls absentmindedly, mind still replaying that one night over and over again.
In the evenings, she would visit Opera. Top Road and Ayabe occasionally joined her, although with the fall races coming up, they’ve been busy training. Doto should really be training for them too. Her trainer has been very kind, never pushing her too hard and allowing her to take breaks when she could tell Doto was distracted (which was quite often, these days).
Doto’s mind kept wandering to Opera while she was training. Running, it seems, to her was interconnected with Opera O. After all, it was Opera who inspired her to become the racer she is today. Opera O who was first to congratulate her after a race. Opera O, Opera O, Opera O.
Doto often thought of her, even before the accident. She thought of Opera O’s endless confidence. She thought of the shine of Opera’s hair in the sunlight. She thought of the curve of her legs as she ran.
Doto thought Opera was beautiful. This shouldn’t be shocking. Opera, as she often stated herself, was beautiful. Factually speaking, Opera O was very pleasing to look at. And yet even after all this time spent with her, it still makes her heart pound when she looks at Opera.
But Doto cannot find that beauty in her anymore. Not because Opera herself has innately changed. But because Doto fears she has. She almost can’t bear to look at Opera in the hospital, lying there so motionless, so devoid of life. It hurts.
Doto might be a coward. She almost considers to stop visiting. But she couldn’t let herself do that. Opera O would never abandon Doto like that. And Doto… Doto didn’t want to either. She was just afraid.
… One evening, Doto encountered Opera O’s parents while there. An older couple, faces lined with wrinkles and friendly smiles.
“Oh my,” the woman said, “you must be Doto.”
“H-hi?” Doto said. Fans, maybe?
“Excuse me,” she said. “We’re Opera O’s parents. We were just visiting her.”
“Oh!” Doto stammered. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Opera spoke of you often,” she said. “You seemed to be very good friends.”
Doto felt her chest warm. She didn’t know that. Opera… had spoken to her parents about her. Opera liked her enough that her parents thought them close. Of course, Opera always reassured her of her fondness of Doto. But hearing it from someone else than Opera made it feel more real.
Doto smiled. “T-thank you,” she said. “That makes me… very happy to hear.”
Opera’s mother nodded. “I’ve heard you’ve been diligently visiting Opera every day.” Doto blushed. “I’m sure that would’ve made Opera very happy.”
… Would’ve?
“When she was younger, she got lost in the forest. Afterwards, she came back a completely different person,” Opera’s mother said. “We tried our best to support her, but…” She glanced at her husband. “I wonder if we did enough.”
… Why … were they talking like that? Opera O was still alive. She was still here. “I’m—I’m sure Opera O would be happy to talk once she wakes up!” Doto said. The couple just looked at her, the kind that Doto could tell meant they saw her as the squirming, pathetic creature she was.
“Um…” Doto said. “I-is something the matter?”
Opera’s mother and father exchanged a glance. “My dear,” Opera’s mother said. “Opera’s injuries are quite severe.”
Ice in Doto’s veins. When did it get so cold in here?
“She was supposed to wake up by now. The doctors said…”
The next few words struck Doto like physical hits.
“The doctors said she may not wake up at all.” Opera O’s mother kept speaking after that, but the words washed over Doto. Opera O. Opera O. Doto’s couldn’t stop thinking of her. Of those last few moments Doto had spent with her. Why did she never tell her? Doto shouldn’t have been such a coward.
“But… But she’s alive,” Doto said.
“… Yes, she is.”
“Then—” Doto cut herself off as tears began to spill. “Then—Why—” Doto shook her head. “I should—I should get going!” Doto doesn’t bother trying to come up with a better excuse before running away. Opera O would be so disappointed in her.
Except Opera O wasn’t here right now. Opera was lying unconscious in bed, and the doctors were saying they don’t know when she’ll wake up, if ever.
Opera who was always the first to praise her for the smallest thing. Opera who was always by her side, no matter how many times Doto messed up. Doto squeezed her eyes shut, beginning to feel tears bead. Doto couldn’t imagine her life without Opera. How was she supposed to go on? To return to Tracen Academy without Opera by her side?
“I ran away from her parents… D-do you hear that? Opera O?” Doto said, settling beside her bed. “You s-should really wake up now, so you can scold me.”
Although, Opera O never really “scolded” her. She was always so gentle. Why would someone do this to her?
A knock on the door.
“Y-yes!” Doto squealed. She desperately rubbed at her eyes to try and pretend she wasn’t just about to sob her heart out.
Top Road poked her head in. “Hey…” she said softly. Top Road stepped inside before closing the door behind her. “I heard you talked with Opera O’s parents.”
“Um, yeah… I did,” Doto sniffled. “They were nice.”
Top Road pulled a chair from the wall to sit beside Doto. “How are you feeling?” she asked.
The appropriate thing would be to look at Top Road, but Doto couldn’t look away from Opera. She had to burn this sight into her memory.
“T-Top Road…” Doto warbled. “They’re saying… They’re saying…”
“..I know,” Top Road said. “But I’m sure, Opera will wake up. After all, she’s TM Opera O.”
… That’s right. TM Opera O was the Overlord. She was undefeatable. No matter how many times she lost she would get up again. She had always seemed so untouchable, both on the racetrack and off.
Doto pinched herself, just to make sure this really wasn’t a nightmare. “I don’t know what to do without her.” Doto didn’t even know what she was without Opera. Who was Meisho Doto, outside of what Opera had built? It was Opera who had given her to confidence to run the way she has now. It was Opera who picked her up off the ground time after time. And now…
Doto really couldn’t stop it this time. Tears began to flow down her face. “I don’t know what to do if she doesn’t wake up!” she wailed. “I can’t—I don’t know how to do it without her!”
Top Road grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Doto…” she said sadly.
“O-Opera…” Doto sobbed.
-
It was easy for Doto to imagine that Opera’s success was all due to her natural talent. After all, Opera O herself proclaimed it so. But Doto had seen how hard she worked. Opera was constantly looking for ways to improve herself. She would train until her legs gave out from underneath her.
It was easy for Doto to imagine Opera O as an unreachable goal. A peak so out of reach that Doto couldn’t even dream of touching. It’s harder to admit that what made Opera so special, was in fact something Doto could do.
Opera trained harder than most. And she had the guts to pick herself back up after every loss. That took a kind of resilience Doto just wasn’t sure she had in her. If Doto gave it her all… and still failed, then what?
Doto inhaled shakily. Opera was always telling her that there was nothing Doto couldn’t do. She believed in Doto so much.
Everyone else wanted Doto to keep running. Her fans, Opera’s fans… They were waiting for her.
-
“Meisho Doto enters the track!” the announcer said. “After a long break from running, she has finally returned. What kind of performance can we expect from her today?”
Eighth.
Opera O… Would be so disappointed in her.
Doto rubbed at her face, desperate not to be shown crying. Maybe she could never do it. Maybe it was just her proximity to Opera which had allowed her to glean some success. And now that Opera was gone, Doto was nothing.
-
Doto runs. Again. And again. She throws herself into a string of races, perhaps in part to distract herself from the growing amount of time Opera has been gone. Some of the races go better than others (fourth place, one time) but she never wins.
And then she just… stops. Her trainer is pleased that she’s “taking a break,” as she was evidently about to intervene the self-destructive racing streak she’s gone on.
Doto thinks she could see it, once. The sight that all Umamusume endlessly chase. The beautiful sky looming above her, the wind in her hair and tail.
It didn’t feel the same without her though.
“Trainer,” Doto said. “Please, enter me in the Japan Cup.”
“Doto?” her trainer looks up from some paperwork she was working on. She puts down her pen. “Are you sure…?”
Doto knows her performance has been lacking lately. Maybe her fans had all decided to abandon her. Maybe her trainer was thinking of leaving her too. But this feeling… Doto thinks she could use it. Just once. For Opera. She has to leave something behind, so that when Opera finally wakes up Doto can proudly tell her of what she achieved.
“Please,” Doto said.
“Alright.”
-
“… I… Did it,” Doto panted. She stared up at the scoreboard. First. Despite the roaring cheers of the crowd, it felt silent on the turf. Doto could still sense a hole left behind. A vacant space where Opera O would have stood.
Doto could do it. The admittance should have made her feel better. And yet she just felt hollow. It felt wrong, to simply enter races and pretend like Opera had never existed. Doto wanted Opera by her side when she won.
“My last,” Doto whispered to herself. “Opera O, I’m waiting… Okay?” Doto glanced up to the sky, where white puffy clouds lay.
-
She told Top Road first.
“I think… I think I’m going to quit racing for a bit,” Doto said.
“Quit?” Top Road said, alarmed. “You’re not injured, are you?”
Doto shook her head. “No! No, I’m just…” She gripped her bag strap for strength. “I want to take a break for a bit.”
Top Road frowned, looking worried. “If it’s what you really want…” she said.
Then Ayabe.
“Opera O wouldn’t want you to give up,” Ayabe said.
“I know,” Doto said shakily. “A-and I know now I can win. I can do it… Even without her. But… I don’t want to.”
Doto inhaled deeply before continuing, “I want to wait for her. I want her there, when I race.”
“… It might be a long time until then,” Ayabe said.
“I know.”
“It might never happen.” Ayabe’s words were harsh, but Doto knew she said them out of concern for her.
“… I know.” Doto’s voice wavered. Of course she knew that. She couldn’t count the number of sleepless nights she’s spent crying over the knowledge that Opera might never wake up.
Ayabe smiled. “You’re really set on this then,” she said.
“Yes.” Determination burned fierce in Doto’s eyes.
“Then I’m sure…” Ayabe’s eyes flicked to the night sky, and then back to Doto. “That your feelings will reach her.”
-
Doto tells her trainer. And then they call a press conference. Cameras were already flashing, even though she hadn’t said anything yet. Could everyone tell how nervous she was? Although Doto was usually nervous for one reason or another, this was different. Her heart hammered in her chest.
By her side, her trainer gave her a nod.
“I will b-be taking a break from racing,” Doto said into the microphone. “I am not currently sure when I-I will return, but I promise that I will so p-please wait for it! T-thank you all for your support.”
The room exploded with noise.
Doto’s ears flattened against her head. So many people were shouting at her. She could hear Opera’s name being said amongst them.
“Is it related to TM Opera O’s accident?” one shouted.
“No questions!” Her trainer shouted, one hand on Doto’s arm gently guiding her off stage.
“Uehhh,” Doto whimpered “I’m s-so sorry trainer…”
“Please don’t be,” her trainer said. “You wanted to do it right?”
“B-but I’ve made so much trouble for you…”
Her trainer put her hand on her heart. “It’s my job to support your racing career, no matter where it goes.”
-
The loyal squire, ever persistent in her belief, still continued to search by herself. The loyal squire trudged night after night in search of any trace of the girl. No matter how weary she was herself.
Finally, after many nights of searching she at last found a piece of her. The Overlord’s crown, tarnished and sitting in the mud. Underneath it, sat a small, pale stone. Jagged at the edges, the squire cut her finger upon picking it up.
But she held it to the sky and said: “From these ashes, I will rebuild you!” the squire proclaimed. “No matter how many days pass, I promise you will be whole once again!” And so the squire set upon the arduous task of piecing the Overlord back together again.
-
When flowers by Opera O’s bedside wilted, Doto replaced them with fresh ones. The influx of “get well soon” cards had long since stopped, and the only ones who dropped by occasionally were Top Road and Ayabe.
Doto thinks the doctors must think her strange, for how diligently she cares for Opera’s room. After all, to the public, they’re just friends. Rivals. But Doto is there every morning to pull back the curtains and dust the chairs. After all, it wouldn’t be good to Opera O to wake into a sneezing fit.
Doto would then selfishly take Opera O’s hand into hers, and rub them lightly. Doto had looked up massage techniques to promote circulation. Opera O would be so sad to see how her body atrophied while she was asleep. Doto tried her best to pretend it was for Opera’s benefit, but really it was Doto’s selfish wish. Doto who wanted to hold onto Opera as long as she could.
At least her hand was warm. It meant she was alive.
“Top Road and Ayabe have really been intense this season,” Doto said. She tried to keep Opera updated on major races.
She imagined Opera’s reply. And what about you, my dearest Doto?
“Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll always wait for you,” Doto whispered.
-
Honestly, it wasn’t too bad withdrawing from racing. In the first weeks, Doto was hounded by press whenever she left campus. Then when they realized they really weren’t going to get an answer, the number slowly dwindled. Interest faded in her when Doto only met them with firm stares and silence.
Doto tried a number of things she probably wouldn’t have before. Doto goes to see movies. She goes to restaurants. She goes to the beach. And she did it alone! At first, Doto was exceptionally nervous. She felt so large and awkward (especially compared to humans). Doto tried to flatten her ears and wrap her tail around her leg so that she would stand out less.
But eventually… it got better. Doto actually found that she enjoyed being alone. Of course, she missed Opera so much it ached. Doto could easily imagine what Opera might say in a given situation (What a feast they have prepared for us, Doto!). Doto saw things Opera would have liked (an old operetta score, yellowed with age). Some things just as beautiful as her (a red sunset, like a bleeding wound, tearing the sky open).
Loving Opera O, Doto realized, was a valid part of her. It was a large part of her. Doto loved Opera so much it might consume her. And maybe Doto would have let it, were Opera here. Because if Opera were here, she would pull Doto back. But Opera O is gone, so Doto must remain strong. She can’t let her sense of self vanish into Opera O’s being. Not now.
Doto loved racing. Doto also loved Opera. These twin loves couldn’t exist without each other. To race meant to face Opera O. To be by her side eternally.
Doto thought of Ayabe as she looked upon a twinkling night sky. Ayabe always loved star gazing. The New Year was going to arrive soon. Doto wouldn’t have imagined that she wouldn’t have Opera by her side. Opera O almost never went home for the holidays, and so they spent them together.
Doto almost couldn’t imagine another full year without her.
But it was going to be okay. Doto had faith that Opera would wake up, no matter what the doctors said. If there is anything unchangeable about the world, it’s that Doto would believe in Opera no matter what. For her, Doto would believe. For her, Doto would do anything.
-
One by one, the loyal squire collected fragments of the broken Overlord. Scattered throughout the lands, the squire came across many friends, old and new. Feeling the weight of their hopes, the squire continued her journey until one day she found she had gathered enough.
The Overlord was whole again, yet the pieces didn’t quite fit back together. Puzzled, the squire spent attempt after attempt trying to connect them.
It won’t be the same, the squire realized. What is broken may not mend the same. But the squire did not give in. It was not in the loyal squire’s nature to give up, after all. Fierce determination lit the squire’s heart, and with the warmth of her hands, only then did the pieces begin to melt together.
-
“H-hello?”
“Hello. This is Doctor Sato calling from the hospital. We just wanted to inform you that Opera O woke up this morning. She wasn’t fully conscious, but she began moving and reacted to light which is a great first step. I think we can begin expecting her to regain full consciousness within the next few days.”