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Daiwa Scarlet was number one. That was her dream, anyways. To be the top Umamusume, the one that everyone knew, the one that everyone looked up to, the perfect girl that everyone aspired to be.
And then there was *her*.
Vodka. The antithesis of everything Daiwa Scarlet stood for. She was loud, reckless, a slacker, never took her studies seriously. She hung up those tacky motorcycle posters everywhere, and they were an eyesore. Daiwa Scarlet hated her.
Or at least she should.
Ever since she declared Vodka her rival, she worked every day and every night towards one more goal-to beat Vodka. Every race she went to, they were always so close, and Vodka always somehow managed to scrape the win every time. It wasn’t fair! Daiwa Scarlet spent all her time training, working to beat Vodka in their next race, meanwhile she didn’t put in nearly as much work, yet still managed to beat her, every, single, time.
And as Scarlet pushed herself further and further, she began to lose hope. What if Vodka left her behind? What if she stopped taking her seriously as a rival? All this talk about going overseas to race, what if it’s her way of telling Scarlet that she was too good for her, that she would find real competition among the other stars in Europe?
She wanted to hate Vodka, she really did. But every time she thought of her, those thoughts weren’t the only ones that crossed her mind. There were thoughts about how she was her main driving force, and that without her constantly pushing herself further, she wouldn’t be where she was today. A small bit of… Something she couldn’t put her finger on. When she sees Vodka after a race, smiling and trying to put on a cool show for the audience, when she feels something in her chest, her heart begins to speed up, she gets this tingly feeling in her stomach.
She always ignores it though, or tries to. It’s Vodka! The lazy, immature, selfish delinquent! There’s no way she could feel anything for her!
Scarlet was preparing for training, seeing Vodka’s side of the room finally empty, as she packed up her bags for the trip. All those posters and decorations that she thought looked cool were all gone. Good riddance. It’s been far too long anyways. But still, something felt empty in her. Seeing Vodka’s presence gone from the room made it feel like something crucial was missing.
It was nothing. She was sure of it.
But as she returned from her morning run, she overheard a conversation between Symboli Rudolf and Vodka’s trainer. Wait, Vodka’s trainer? Wasn’t he supposed to be on the plane to Europe right now?
She knows it’s rude but she decides to linger for a bit, just to hear what’s going on.
“…So Vodka won’t be able to go on tour?” Rudolf asked.
“No, unfortunately, she suffered an injury during the trip, it forced us to cancel the trip until she’s ready…”
Cancel?! What kind of injury could get something like that cancelled?! Vodka was the most stubborn girl Scarlet knew, she wouldn’t cancel the trip unless it was…
Without even really noticing, Scarlet began to run to the infirmary, not even bothering to ask Vodka’s trainer even what kind of injury it was. All she knew was that Vodka was hurt, and that was enough. She began panicking. What if it’s a fracture? A fracture could end a career if it’s serious. Then she’d never be able to race against Vodka again, never be able to see her rushing past all the other racers in the final stretch, never be able to see that goofy smile right when she wins, never be able to become a rival strong enough to stand beside her. Never be able to prove to Vodka that she was worthy.
She reached the infirmary, rushing past the receptionist, looking for one person only. Vodka. She kept running through the halls, and then she finally spots her lying in one of the beds. Running up to her, she began yelling.
“You IDIOT! What were you thinking, getting injured like that?! Not even training, on the way there?! What the hell happened?!”
Vodka seemed startled that Scarlet even showed up at all, much less how she was yelling now.
“Okay okay, shut up! The injury isn’t that bad, it’s just a twisted ankle, we had to postpone the-Wait, why the hell do you care anyways?! Aren’t you always yelling about being more careful, isn’t this proving your point or something? Or do you just like seeing me be lame like this?”
That gave Scarlet pause. Why did she care so much? Vodka, for all intents and purposes, was her rival. They were supposed to compete, and that was it. She didn’t have to come all the way here, nor get so angry about this. Why did she, then?
She reflected on it. All the times she’s seen Vodka happy. When she’s running on the track, when she’s revving her pretend motorcycle trying to be cool, when she’s drinks out of that flask she knows is filled with tea just to look cooler, all of it. It all gave her that same feeling. That feeling when her heart races, her stomach gets all tingly, when the entire world gets tuned out, and all that matters is her.
And that wave of relief she felt when she learned that Vodka’s injury was just a twisted ankle. The feeling always came back, always persisted. She always dismissed it. Always said it was nothing. That she couldn’t possibly feel anything for *her*. But now, she didn’t know what to think anymore.
“…Tch! Of course I wasn’t worried, idiot. I was just checking in for my rival, that’s it. Now you better recover quickly, you hear?! I want you to be in top shape when I beat you in the next race!” Scarlet says, quickly pushing those thoughts aside for now.
“Alright, alright, I get it, geez. You really should consider letting off some pressure all the time, Yknow? Maybe it’d make you less annoying.”
“Of course you say that! Maybe if you took your studies more seriously then you wouldn’t be so far behind! Whatever, I’m leaving!”
As Daiwa Scarlet stormed out of the infirmary with a very confused Vodka left behind, the thoughts from before came back. The thoughts about how she felt for Vodka. As she sat down on a bench beside the infirmary pondering, she suddenly came to a realization. One she hated, but a realization nonetheless.
Her heart racing, her butterflies in her stomach, her pure happiness whenever she saw Vodka, all of it. She may have known before now, but only now was she truly accepting it.
She was in love.
With Vodka.