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Cesario's always known she has an extreme on-off switch with her personality. The bright, cheerful, quite affable Cesario off the track feels like a different person compared to the intense, competitive, singleminded Cesario on it. But now, Cesario's starting to realize that there's something guaranteed to make the latter personality even more intense: racing with her juniors.
Perhaps it's the desire to inspire them by showing off a cool side of her. Perhaps it's her pride, and the desire to not lose against her juniors even now that she's graduated to the Dream Trophy Series. Or perhaps it's just this specific girl she's running against.
Cesario keeps her eyes on the girl running in front of her. Almond Eye, one of the stars of the upcoming generation. Even if Pandora wasn't glued to her, Cesario would've known about her--she keeps her eyes on everyone in the next generation after all, and Almond Eye is definitely someone to watch. Her strength is undeniable, proven by the fact that she's able to hold her own against three of her seniors: Rhein Kraft setting the pace from the front, Pandora running side-by-side with her, and finally Cesario, watching all of them from behind. Cesario's role in this training is arguably the most important, making sure Ai doesn't fall too far off the pace the others have set. So far, she's done well enough to keep up, but now is the time to really put her to the test.
With a roar, Cesario begins her spurt, and the other two seniors speed up with her. She can sense Ai's surprise at the sudden shift, but she quickly regains her composure, rapidly accelerating to match them. In the end, she finishes just behind, though Cesario can't help but be impressed by her regardless. She has incredible speed and sharp enough wits to adapt on the fly; if she could run at her favored pace, or if she didn't need to go so far outside to overtake both Kraft and Pandora, she might've finished in front of them.
As it stands, though, this match is her loss, and she doesn't bother hiding the frustration on her face, one that persists no matter how many times Pandora goes to praise her running. Her trainer walks onto the track, stopwatch gripped tightly in their hand. "Well done. That was your best time ever, Ai. Let's call training for today and do a quick review before finishing up, okay?"
"But I haven't beaten them yet..." Ai grumbles under her breath.
Once again, Pandora knows just what to say to defuse the situation. "W-we can race again tomorrow! And it'll be a one-on-one, way more fair that way." That satisfies Ai, who quickly thanks the three of them before walking back with her trainer.
Now alone, Kraft is the first to let her 'senior-like' visage slip, sitting down on the bench with a loud yawn. "That was sooooo exhausting! It felt more like a real race than practice..."
"I know right~?" Pandora chimes in agreement, joining her girlfriend on the bench. "Ai-chan is always super serious! I guess I should've warned you two. Thanks a lot for wanting to help out."
Not wanting to be left out, Cesario sits down on the other side of her girlfriend, sandwiching Kraft between both of her partners. "No need to thank us, Pandora-san. Besides, it's always best to give it your all during practice. You know what King-san always says: practice like it's the real thing, and the real thing like it's practice."
"Easier said than done..." Kraft trails off, her words interrupted by a yawn. "Especially when it's so warm... it makes me want to..."
Cesario glances at the shorter girl, watching as she starts to sway side-to-side with her eyes closed. Her eyes then meet Pandora's, and as if sharing a telepathic thought, the two of them nod at the same time.
At the start, Pandora and Cesario's relationship was a little awkward--both were dating Kraft, but not each other, and scheduling to make sure Kraft had equal time with both and they didn't step on each other's toes was challenging. Now, however, the nature of their relationship has changed quite significantly, turning into a more playful competitiveness: who can fluster Kraft more in public, who can surprise her with the better gift, and other silly things. Cesario has Pandora to thank for bringing out her playful side more often.
Today is another chance for competition: who will Kraft lean on when she falls asleep. The two of them stay quiet, waiting in suspense as Kraft drifts off to sleep, before finally leaning her head on Cesario's shoulder. Cesario has to bite the inside of her cheek to stay quiet, but the small fistpump she performs conveys her giddiness well enough. Pandora, meanwhile, seems ready to blow a fuse, not unlike Ai just a few moments ago. Maybe that's where she got it from...
"Pandora-san..." Both Cesario and Pandora's eyes snap back to the sleeping girl, groggily mumbling her girlfriend's name. "C'mere..."
Whether or not it was a conscious request, Pandora didn't seem to care, launching herself right at the girl and hugging her from the side. Cesario can only laugh as she's nearly bowled over, the weight of two girls pushing against her shoulder.
She wouldn't trade moments like this for the world.