Chapter Text
“Rob Roy! Hiiiiiii! Welcome back from your trip!” Haru Urara waves as she spots Zenno Rob Roy carrying a suitcase and large duffel bag through the front doors of the dorm building. While the two girls are the same height, Rob Roy’s luggage appears to dwarf her, though she carries it with ease. Rob Roy adjusts her glasses and waves back, smiling. “Urara! It’s good to see you again. You just got back to Tracen too, is that right?” Urara nods enthusiastically, practically falling over with excitement. “Yeah! I had so much fun in Kyoto! All the girls I raced with were so cool and fast and strong and all the fans were so loud and got so excited! I had a blast racing there!”
Rob Roy knows from experience that Urara could keep talking for much, much longer, and politely says, “I’m glad you had fun. Have you spoken with Rice recently? She hasn’t texted me since last week.”
Urara tilts her head quizzically. “No, I was actually about to ask if you had. She hasn’t responded to me in a few days. I thought she was just really busy with her new trainer!”
Rob Roy does not share her friend’s optimism, though she does her best to not let it show. “Let’s go up and see her. I think she should have just woken up a bit ago.” Urara nods in agreement, and the two girls climb the dorm stairs up to the third floor.
“When we see Rice, you have to tell us about your trip to Hokkaido! I bet it was super fun!” Urara says as they walk down the hallway. She knocks on the door of Rob Roy and Rice’s shared room. “Riiiiiiice! It’s Urara and Rob Roy! We’re both back from our trips! Are you home?” After waiting a few silent moments, Rob Roy puts down one of her suitcases and knocks herself. “Rice, it’s Rob Roy. If you’re home, I’m coming in.” Still no response. Rob Roy gives Urara a slightly worried look before pulling out her room key.
After unlocking the door, Rob Roy slowly pokes her head in, then carefully opens the door to let herself and Urara in. The room is dark, the curtains are drawn, and the air is stale. Everything is otherwise normal and clean, except for the blanket covered lump on Rice’s bed. As the two girls walk inside, a pair of long, dark ears prick up from beneath the covers, and Rice Shower pokes out her head.
“Oh… Rob Roy… Urara, I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. How were your trips?” Rice’s voice is dry and groggy, and her eyes have sunken into a gaunt face. Urara hops onto the bed, sitting beside her.
“Oh my gosh, Rice, are you ok? You’re not sick, are you?” She puts the back of her hand to Rice’s forehead, but senses no fever. Urara’s face has dropped from enthusiasm to a deep concern very quickly, and Rob Roy is right there with her. Unlike Urara, however, Rice’s roommate already knows she isn’t sick, at least physically.
“Rice, did something happen with your new trainer? You can tell us, we care about you.”
At the mention of the word “trainer,” Rice sinks deeper into her blanket cocoon.
“N…no… I actually haven’t met her yet. I was supposed to this week, but…” she trails off before fully enveloping her head in her sheets once more. Urara steps off the bed, exchanging worried looks with Rob Roy once again. They step back to a far corner of the dorm, and Urara whispers, “it’s been a long time since I saw Rice like this. I think we need to do the you-know-what again.”
Rob Roy steps back and blushes, instantly understanding what the you-know-what means. “Are you sure, Urara? Maybe there’s something else we can do for her…”
Urara shakes her head, new determination shining in her eyes. “No! We have to help Rice and we have to do it fast!”
With the unshakable Urara insistent in front of her, Rob Roy has little choice but to agree. They jump up onto Rice’s bed, one on either side of her, prompting Rice to give a startled yelp.
“W-wait, what are you…”
Urara and Rob Roy grab onto the pile of blankets, causing another yelp. The two smaller girls squeeze with all their might like Rice is the last bit of toothpaste in the tube. They inhale deep before yelling in unison, “WE LOVE RICE! WE LOVE RICE!”
At the sudden and unexpected display of affection, Rice flushes hot inside her blanket cocoon. She tries to shake the other girls off, but it only causes them to grab harder.
“AAA! S-stop! P-please!” The chanting continues, despite Rice’s protestations.
“WE LOVE RICE! WE LOVE RICE! WE LOVE RICE!” Rice shakes harder, but is helpless against the sheer wall of determined support and love.
“AAA-Alright! I’m getting up! I’m getting up!” Rice shouts, equally embarrassed and exasperated. Rob Roy is just as tired from the affair, but Urara has a look of pride. Rice climbs out from her bed and shakily stands at her bedside, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“Good morning, Rice!” says Urara, her usual smile returned.
“G-good morning, Urara. I’m sorry for making you two go so far,” Rice apologizes.
“Don’t worry about it, Rice. We were just concerned about you,” Rob Roy says as she gently places her hand on Rice’s shoulder.
“Do you want to tell us what’s been bothering you? We might be able to help,” she says.
Rice is still clearly out of sorts, but she takes a deep breath, attempting to steady herself despite her apparent exhaustion.
“Alright. I think you’re right, Rob Roy. Do you remember the Derby?”
It was hard for them to forget. A scant few weeks ago, Rice had entered the prestigious race, coming within arm’s reach of her first G1 victory before being beat out by Mihono Bourbon. Still, a close second in only her second G1 race should have been cause for celebration. What happened after crossing the finish line, however, was the beginning of Rice’s current misery.
In the excitement, Rice’s trainer, Sugiyama, fell from the bleachers, fracturing his right leg. An older man, his experience had taken many umamusume to victory throughout the years, but the fall was a major cause for concern as a result. Rice had been mortified, and even initially declined to stand on the podium to go with him to the hospital, but the gruff old man insisted she stay behind. She acquiesced, but as Sugiyama had no assistant or other supporting staff, she accepted her silver medal alone.
This much, Urara and Rob Roy already knew. Rice had been very distraught after the whole affair, and the two girls had comforted their friend through her initial distress. As Sugiyama’s injury was expected to put him out of commission for at least two months, she was assigned an interim trainer. This is who she was supposed to meet in the time that her friends were on their trip.
“Yeah, of course we remember the Derby! You were so cool running out there, Rice!” Urara’s trademark positivity only seems to hurt Rice more in the recollection. She had indeed been proud of herself for giving it her all and placing so high, even if Mihono Bourbon continued to surpass her. Her momentary pride made the subsequent fall hurt that much more. Rob Roy notices her start to retreat again, and interjects.
“What happened afterwards, Rice?” Straight and to the point. “It’s alright, we’re here for you.”
“It was about a week ago. I went to the hospital to visit Mr. Sugiyama, but when I walked up to his room, there was already somebody in there with him.”
She pauses, stutters a bit, but continues.
“I-it was his son. I hadn’t met him, but Mr. Sugiyama kept a picture of him in his office. He asked his dad when he was expecting to go back to Tracen. H-he said, ‘I’m not goin’ back. I was gonna retire after this year anyways, but this just sealed the deal for me. I’m sorry for Rice Shower, but that girl is just bad luck.’”
Rob Roy and Urara gasp. Rice has struggled with this exact anxiety before, believing that she brings misfortune to those around her, and they’ve done their best to support her. Hearing her fear vocalized so directly, it’s little wonder that she became so despondent.
“After I heard that, I left without seeing him. I guess he really did retire, because when Ms. Tazuna came by with the information on the interim trainer, she told me they were actually going to be my new permanent trainer. I promised to go meet them, but I…haven’t really left the dorm much.”
Rice exhales a deep sigh after her long confession. The mere act of talking about it seems to have taken all of her energy. Urara takes Rice’s hands in hers.
“That’s so mean! How could he say something like that? There’s no way it was your fault he fell like that! You know that, don’t you, Rice?”
The direct line of questioning makes Rice shrink into herself. She does not answer, trying to avoid the question.
“Urara is right, Rice. We’re all sorry that Mr. Sugiyama was hurt, but it was an accident. He had no reason to blame you, and more importantly, you have no reason to blame yourself,” says Rob Roy.
“Yeah, forget that meanie! I’m sure your new trainer will be way better! We should go see them right now, they must really want to meet you!” Urara seems more determined than ever, and even Rice can’t hide from her radiance.
“R-right now? I-I’m not ready yet-aah!” Urara spares no mind to Rice’s objections. With single-minded momentum, she starts walking Rice to the door, but Rob Roy stops her.
“Wait, Urara. We should probably let Rice get changed out of her pajamas first.”
Urara and Rice both stop and blush out of embarrassment, then Rice’s friends step outside to let her get ready.
As they make their way out of the dorm building, Rice hands Rob Roy the folder containing information on her new trainer.
“I couldn't really bring myself to read it,” Rice says. Rob Roy opens it up, pulling out a couple sheets of paper. The first page has a small headshot of a pale, dark-haired umamusume in the corner. Her smile is crooked and a bit unsettling, and she has deep bags under her eyes, the size of which highlight the comparative leanness of her face. Her cheekbones are high and defined, and her nose is wide and strong. Her ears look weathered, and her right ear looks like a jagged hole has been punched in it, through which hang two bronze coins on a chain.
“Wow, your new head trainer is an umamusume! Ooh, and look, it says she’s from Germany! That’s so cool! Her name is… Andreas Ferry? I haven’t heard of her before. Have you, Rob Roy?” Urara asks.
“No, I haven’t…” Rob Roy trails off, sounding concerned.
“What’s wrong, Rob Roy?” Rice asks, catching on to Rob Roy’s hesitation. While having another umamusume as a trainer is certainly rare, it isn’t unheard of, and many runners say they like having someone who can relate to them on that level. As they talk, they pass through the main courtyard to the trainer offices.
“It’s strange, a lot of parts in this document aren’t filled in. Normally, there would be information on the trainer’s experience, education history, things like that, but they’re all blank here. Since she’s also an umamusume, you’d also expect something like race history or years she was active, but there’s nothing there either. There’s just her demographic info, height is 179 cm, birthday is November 10th, age is 49, and just two notes at the bottom. One: Invited to Tracen Academy by Director Akikawa and Two: Has one male assistant.”
Rice tilts her head quizzically.
“That is strange. Maybe there was a mistake? Or maybe she’s a special case who was invited directly by the director?” She tries to puzzle through it, hoping to figure out the mystery of her new trainer.
“What’s on the next page?”
Rob Roy flips to the next sheet, but the second yields even less information than the first. It has no picture, just a name and one note at the bottom.
“It looks like it’s supposed to be the information for the assistant. His name is…Charon? Strange name…” Rob Roy flips through her memory, remembering it from one of her stories, though she doesn’t remember exactly where. She reads the note at the bottom, and her eyes go wide.
“Wait you two, it says here we need to speak with Tazuna before we meet-”
“HEY WE’RE HERE!” Urara interrupts before she can finish her warning. The door in front of them sports two nameplates. They read, ‘Trainer Andreas Ferry, Team Flegetonte.’ Urara wastes no time bursting in.
“Excuse me!! We’re here with Rice Shower to meet Ms. Andreas Ferry!” Urara’s declaration is met by a dark, silent room.
“M-maybe they’re not here?” Rice asks timidly, taking small steps inside to peek around.
“I guess they forgot to lock the door,” responds Rob Roy.
“Come on you two, there was a note saying we shouldn’t meet them alone, we should come ba-”
“Aahh…” A voice from the corner of the room catches them off guard. It is simultaneously a whisper and a crackle, like embers and ash in a dying fire. All three girls freeze in place at the sudden exclamation, and slowly turn towards the source.
Barely visible, a figure that looks something like a man slowly rises from the darkness. He is tall, nearly a foot and a half taller than rice, draped in a heavy, worn blue coat and layers of fabric, though they appear ill fitting, like the figure is almost impossibly thin. As he moves, the chainmail hanging from his head and shoulders clink in rhythm with a collection of metal dogtags around his arms, which end in white gloves stained black at the fingertips. In one hand, he holds a shovel, still caked in dirt from its recent labor. His coat is closed, buttoned to the top of his neck, and a thick, gray shroud covers his face, draping in tatters all the way down to the ground. The most uncanny thing is what pokes out from the shroud. Nothing resembling a human face can be seen, but jagged steel, barbed wire, and what look like rusted gun barrels protrude at odd angles. Heavy, dark brown boots carry the pile of wreckage in the shape of a man towards the young girls, shaken with terror at the sight of him as he extends his stained hand.
“Willkommen…we have been waiting to meet you…”
The piercing shriek of three girls can be heard all the way in the courtyard outside the building, followed by the thump of three bodies hitting the floor in succession.
—----------------------------
Rice slowly opens her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. She squints into the bright lights, groaning as she sits up to take stock of her surroundings. As she does so, a thin blanket falls off her to the ground.
She finds herself laid back on a reclining chair. Across from her in a similar position are Zenno Rob Roy and Haru Urara, still sleeping on a couch, sharing a similar blanket. Their serene appearance calms Rice as she stands and looks around the room.
It seems to be about as standard a trainer’s office as you could get. A few chairs and small classroom desks, a whiteboard with training schedules both written and taped to it. A large wall calendar with some dates circled. The abundance of potted plants is the second most unique feature of the room, the first being the bizarre, revenant-like man in a blue coat and pierced shroud seated on a stool at the far corner. Though his face is still covered, he appears to be reading a thick book from a pile at his side.
Rice freezes again when she sees him. Part of her hoped she had just imagined him, that he was some bizarre dream she’d had. She discreetly pinches herself, but as far as she can tell, she is very awake. After a second, the figure on the stool lifts his head from the book.
”Ah, good, you are awake,” he says, his ashy voice somewhat softer now. He closes the book and places it back on the pile, standing. From a quick glance, Rice sees they are mostly history books. Titles like ‘The World After The Great Wars’ and ‘An Unabridged History of the 20th Century’ are interspersed with guides on Japanese flowers and garden maintenance. She does not respond to him.
”I must apologize for frightening you and your friends. I understand that my appearance can be…offputting at the best of times. At the very least, I should have turned the lights on when I returned from my gardening. I am sorry, I will try and make sure it does not happen again.” He stands from his stool and bows stiffly. Rice seems at a loss for words, but bows in return.
”A-ah, it’s ok, d-don’t worry about it,” she answers, struggling for anything else to say in this strange situation where a man with barbed wire in his face is apologizing for scaring her. Her response seems sufficient, and the man stands straight once more, putting his hand to his chest.
“Rest assured, you and your friends are safe. After you fainted, Ms. Tazuna quickly arrived to make sure everything was alright, and she had a nurse evaluate you for injuries. The same thing happened when your young director first laid her eyes on me, as well. Frankly, I was surprised that I was allowed to be here, but the director was most insistent on hiring Andreas, and Andreas was most insistent that I join her, so here I am. I believe Ms. Tazuna mentioned leaving a note in your information packet to meet with her first in the hopes of avoiding an incident such as this.”
Rice remembers Rob Roy’s attempts at a last minute warning, and looks down at the ground in embarrassment.
“Y-yes, I think that might have been in there. I-I’m sorry, I didn’t read it,” she confesses, trying to avoid her reasoning for doing so.
“Well, it is of no consequence now. What is done is done. I am called Charon. Currently, I am the assistant to Andreas in her training duties. I also help tend to the grounds. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Rice Shower.”
“I-it’s nice to m-meet you, Mr. Charon.”
Rice remembers her manners and bows. Charon gestures to the girls sleeping on the couch.
“Your friends are Ms. Zenno Rob Roy and Ms. Haru Urara, correct? Ms. Tazuna gave me their names. Their respective trainers have already been informed of their safety and their whereabouts, and have given them the rest of the day off to recover.”
The way Charon speaks is very polite, but also seems somewhat tired, as though he isn’t used to speaking so much at one time. Despite this, he continues.
“I apologize that Andreas is not here to introduce herself, she is currently out with our other trainees. You will make the third team member, and I am certain she will be delighted to finally have you on the team.”
The lump that has been building in Rice’s throat has finally found its time to come out. Words she’s been trying to find best her nerves and fears to push themselves into speech.
“Actually, Mr. Charon, I wanted to talk about that.”
She breathes deeply, preparing herself for what she believes is the right thing to do.
“I…I’m going to quit racing!”
Expecting a response, she does not say anything else. Instead, though, she is met with silence. Perhaps the ghostly man is in shock, she thinks, and so she continues to the justification she had expected to need.
“Did you hear about what happened to my last trainer?”
Charon’s shroud moves down and up, approximating a nod.
“Yes, we were told that Mr. Sugiyama was injured and chose to retire prematurely. The director apparently believed that you and Andreas would be a good match, and so you were assigned to our team.”
“W-well, the truth is…I think I was the reason he got hurt. Whenever I’m around, bad things always happen to other people. I-I don’t know why, but sometimes I make rain fall so no one can train, or all their favorite foods are suddenly sold out in the cafeteria, and I think it’s getting worse. Mr. Sugiyama’s injury was the worst misfortune yet, a-and I don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone else.” She is on the verge of tears. Running through this conversation in her mind is one thing, but actually saying it aloud is a different beast altogether. Still, she pushes through to the end.
“So, I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to join your team.”
Another moment of silence, then Charon shifts his body, moving to stand by the larger desk at the back of the room.
“I understand. I will inform Andreas and Ms. Tazuna of your decision. I have here some paperwork for you to sign, but you can fill that out at your discretion.”
Rice is stunned. She had expected pushback, an argument, a negotiation, but she hadn’t expected his calm acceptance. The man says nothing else, just rifles through one of the desk drawers before pulling out some papers. The suffocating silence lays in the room again as he returns to his seat. Luckily for Rice, she is saved from the awkward situation by a groan from the couch.
“Oof, my head hurts…what happened?” Urara’s voice is groggy as she and Rob Roy sit up. As they rub the sleep out of their eyes, they turn to see Rice and the frightening man from before, jolting them awake. They both spring from the couch to Rice’s side, Rob Roy putting her arms out to protect her while Urara puts up her small fists.
“Hey, you! Get away from Rice! We’re your friends and we’re not gonna let you hurt her!” Urara boldly declares her intent while throwing out some quick jabs. Rice is flustered by the sudden shift in the mood of the room, and puts her hands on both of their arms.
“Wait, you two! You don’t have to do all this! Mr. Charon wasn’t going to do anything! He’s been very nice and polite,” she says in his defense.
“Mr. Charon? Wait, you mean this is the trainer’s assistant?” Rob Roy is shocked by Rice’s statement before remembering the warning from the info sheet.
“Rice, is this why Tazuna wanted us to speak with her before we went to meet your trainers?”
The man himself speaks up, unperturbed by the sudden antagonism of the small girls before him.
“Yes, I am the assistant to Andreas Ferry, Ms. Rice’s new assigned trainer. I apologize for frightening you before, she can assure you I meant no harm.”
Rob Roy and Urara look unconvinced, but Rice confirms his words, and they drop their arms, still standing between Rice and Charon. At that tense moment, a powerful gurgling sound fills the room, originating from Rice’s stomach. Her cheeks turn a deep crimson.
“Ah-I’m sorry, I just realized I haven’t eaten today, oh gosh.”
“Yes, you seemed to have somewhat of a troubled sleep, and you are pale,” Charon says, with no regard for how his words embarrass the girl further. Out of one of his pockets, he pulls out three neatly folded meal tickets, and holds them out to the girls in front of him without leaving his seat.
“May I ask a favor of you two? Can you please bring back some food for Ms. Rice Shower from the cafeteria? I believe these should be sufficient for all of you to get something. Ms. Tazuna left them with me after she came to check on you all. I would ask that she remain here, though, so as not to strain herself too much on the walk. If I remember the schedule correctly, the cafeteria should have a carrot pottage today. Soups are particularly good for those who have not eaten for a while, as they are easy to digest.”
Rice’s friends look to her for guidance on this strange situation, but she nods assuringly. Urara gives her a hug while Rob Roy takes her hand.
“If he does anything weird or scary, don’t be afraid to run away or yell for help,” Rob Roy whispers.
“Yeah, we’ll drop it all and come back for you!” Urara seconds her assurances.
“Thank you, you two. I’ll be ok,” Rice says, and the two girls slowly leave the room, keeping their eyes on Charon for as long as they can. After they close the door, Charon stands from his seat and walks to a corner of the room, where an electric kettle sits on a table.
“Would you care for a cup of tea while you wait?”
Rice nods, and once again in silence, Charon prepares a small cup of green tea, presenting it to her with a small bowl of sugar and cup of cream from a minifridge.
“Andreas and I are unfamiliar with your country’s teas, but this one was recommended by one of the trainees. I hope it is to your liking.”
Rice takes the cup, curious as to why he only prepared one. This time, he does not allow silence to settle in the room again.
“May I ask you something? Your former trainer, do you know if he is expected to recover?”
She's more than a little thrown by his sudden question, and thinking of her former trainer in the hospital shakes her a bit, but she does her best to answer.
“Y-yes, I think so. I heard a doctor say his fracture was nothing too serious.”
Charon sighs, and seems to relax his shoulders.
“That is good to hear.”
His response confuses Rice. Sure, she was really concerned for him too, but from Charon’s tone, it sounds like he was worried Sugiyama wouldn't survive. A broken leg is bad, but it isn't a death sentence.
“Were you that worried about him? Did you think something else might have happened?”
He shakes his head.
“I was concerned. Where I am from, even a small injury could be quite devastating, especially to the elderly. It is good that medicine has come so far. To be able to grow old, become sick, but then recover, was a dream many were denied.”
Rice could have thought for a hundred years and she wouldn’t have found what she thought would be an appropriate response. At the very least, he seems relieved, though she only has more questions. She realizes that the information sheet only listed Andreas as being German, while Charon’s did not list a place of origin at all. She thinks that either Tazuna and the director intentionally withheld the information, or that they’re just as much in the dark about this cryptic man. Either way, she decides to find her way through that darkness herself.
“Where are you from, Mr. Charon? I thought you and Ms. Andreas Ferry were both from Germany.”
Charon seems to ponder the question before answering.
“It is true that Andreas hails from Germany. However, the place I was born belonged to no nation. It was a land of war, where young boys who had marched away from home would never return as men. There they would remain, in the land of my birth, a land where life constantly fought and lost against the crush of death.The war without reason would eventually end, as all things do, and nothing was gained except for the mountains of bodies. In any case, it is of no consequence where I am from. It no longer exists, and the world is better for it.”
His response only serves to plunge Rice deeper into a confusing darkness. She had not expected such a grim answer, if it could even be called an answer. He could be old, old enough to have lived through a great war that ravaged the world, or he could be from a small nation that history forgot. Either way, it truly seemed like it didn’t matter to him. He spoke with the exact same tone as when he asked her if she wanted tea, like there was no difference in the weight of the words. Rice can’t comprehend such indifference, and despite her better judgment, she asks one more question.
“W-what happened to your friends and family?”
“They have all passed. Andreas is the only one remaining.”
That’s when the dam breaks. Rice starts crying, a slow, choking cry that builds until she can’t hold it back anymore. She tries to rub the tears out of her eyes, only for more to take their place. When thinking about quitting to her new trainer, she had prepared for the worst, but she hadn’t been prepared for this. When confronted with Charon’s bleak history, all she can do is think of her own family and friends, and how torn apart she’d be if anything happened to them. Yet this man speaks of such things in such a way, you would think he has never known anything other than despair. Perhaps he hasn’t.
For the first time, Charon appears to actually react. He seems surprised, perhaps as much as flustered at the sight of the crying young girl. He halfway extends a hand before pulling it back.
“Young lady, I am sorry, I did not mean to-”
“N-n-no…I-I’m sor-sorry… You’ve been through so m-much, and h-here I a-am, making everything ab-bout m-me…” she says between gasps, breathing deep before crying it all out again.
“Ms. Rice Shower, you have done nothing wrong,” he says, but the words do not reach her. She is shielded by a waterfall of tears and anxieties that had been building up inside her like a dammed river since she had gone to see Sugiyama in the hospital. Even with the shroud hiding his face, it is clear Charon is lost. Without a direction to steer the conversation, he keeps it right in the terrible place it is, and says nothing once more. He merely waits, sitting in his seat for several minutes while she continues to cry. When her sobs begin to slow and it seems like she’s running out of tears, Charon speaks up again.
“Ms. Rice Shower, will you come with me somewhere? It will be only for a short time, I promise you.”
At this point, Rice doesn’t have anything left in her. She nods, and Charon goes to the desk, pulling out a sheet of paper and quickly writing “Will return soon.”
He opens the door, signaling to Rice to follow him out before taping the paper to the door and closing it behind them. He walks with more purpose now, and the full length of his stride makes it so Rice nearly has to jog to keep up with him. They climb the stairs of the trainer’s building until they reach the door leading to the roof. Charon opens it, and Rice squints as her eyes adjust to the sudden light.
They step into a bright, breezy mid June day. The roof affords them a splendid view of Tracen, from the training course to the outdoor stage and all the way down to the sports fields. A few light clouds dot the sky, and the commotion of a busy school day rises to meet them. Trainers yell notes and instructions to their trainees on the track, and music plays and restarts as girls practice dancing on the stage. Charon walks to the fence on the edge of the roof, waving Rice over to join him.
“Ms. Rice Shower, take a look around, and tell me what it is you see.”
Rice takes a moment to absorb the sights before responding.
“I see lots of girls training, dancing, walking around to and from class. Some of them are hanging out with friends, some look like they just got back from shopping. They all look like they’re working very hard, but they all…look like they’re having fun.”
He places a hand on the chain link fence as he looks out over the school.
“When I walked the fields and trenches of war, I was surrounded by dying men. Every day, there were men who yearned for someone to hear their last words, and I would oblige. Many cursed the war, their fates, and their fellow men, who were actors in it. Many would cry, unable to face the darkness before them. They begged for a miracle that would never come. Every so often, a man would be content, for he knew his suffering would soon end. But the thing I heard most was prayer. They would pray for their souls, and the souls of their comrades. Some would even pray for their supposed enemies, other young men like them who had killed and died for reasons they did not understand. Most of all, they would pray for their families. They prayed that the war would end, and that the ones they loved could live full lives without worry. That their brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters could go to school, have friends, fall in love, and raise families of their own, families that would never know the despair that they had known. That their mothers and fathers would be able to live without fearing the day their child returned in a box, if they returned at all. That their wives and lovers would keep them in their hearts, and perhaps one day, that they would be reunited. They prayed for the return of hope to a world that had forgotten it. I do not begrudge you for sharing your worries with me, Ms. Rice Shower, because for all the suffering those men endured before their end, I believe if they could see this world, where people can chase after their dreams with reckless abandon, that those men would be happy.”
The wind blows. The sun shines down on the two of them, alone at the top of this peaceful world.
“Do you have a dream, Ms. Rice Shower?”
Rice turns to him. She’s started tearing up again, but she wipes her eyes and faces Charon with her feet planted and hand on her heart.
“I…I want to be a blue rose. A blue rose of good fortune that will make people smile, even when they’re at their lowest. I want to inspire people the way I was inspired when I was young!”
She no longer cries or quivers. She stands firm, and despite her tiny frame, she looks as unshakable as a mountain. Charon tilts his head down to her.
“And do you believe that quitting racing will be the best way to accomplish this dream?”
She shakes her head. No trace of her crying remains, save for a slight flush, easily attributed to the summer sun. Her eyes gleam with conviction.
“No, no I don’t. I’m still scared, and I’m still thinking about running away. Maybe I really am a jinx, a terrible girl who brings misfortune to others. But even still, I want to chase my dream! I want to be that blue rose of hope more than anything else!”
The tall man in the shroud kneels down on one knee, though he is still above Rice’s eye level.
“May I give you something?”
She nods, and he begins undoing the dull brass buttons of his coat. As he does, Rice sees hints of bright red and green that soon burst into tightly packed poppies. The stems and their flowers climb over and around each other so densely that she can not see a hint of his body beneath them. Rice scarcely has time to wonder how they are growing in the man’s chest before he picks one and holds it out to her.
“I had a friend, she would have been scarcely older than you when the war came. She had a remarkable eye for fashion. I remember her saying that bright colors can often be good companions to dark ones, despite their contrast.”
Rice takes the poppy from his black stained gloves. Somehow, it feels warm.
“Thank you, it’s beautiful,” she says, pinning it next to the blue rose in her hat. Charon stands and looks through the fence again.
“Ah, it seems your friends are returning with food. Thank you for accompanying me here, but I believe you should go to meet them. We have talked much today, what say you return to the trainer’s office tomorrow morning? You should be able to meet Andreas then.”
Rice nods and runs off towards the stairs. When she reaches the door, she turns around.
“Oh, you don’t have to call me Ms. Rice Shower! You can just call me Rice! I’ll see you tomorrow, big brother!”
She opens the door and runs off down the stairwell, not noticing the tall umamusume standing to the side of the door on the landing. Nearly as tall as Charon, she wears a similar heavy blue coat, fully unbuttoned to reveal a long skirt with a long, wide tear up the right leg to the thigh, as though it had been burned away. It may have been white at some point, but it is stained with so many splashes of dark red and brown that it is now nearly black. Her white buttoned down shirt is quite loose on her frame, though it doesn’t seem like she is quite as thin as Charon would be. She wears a smirk on her lean and wrinkled face as she steps out onto the roof.
“Just can’t help yourself with the poetry, can ya?” Her voice is deep and gravelly, like the clatter of cobblestones.
“I merely hoped to give her some perspective on her future. She should be able to make an informed choice.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” she says, clapping a hand on his shoulder. The force shakes him a little, though he makes no indication of it.
“Hey, how come you never gave me any flowers?”
“I apologize, I did not think you would like them. Would you like one?”
“Hell no, save that shtick for the fräuleins. Your little tortured poet routine ain’t gonna work on an old woman like me.”
“You know, I was older than you last year.”
“Yeah, but that was a century ago,” Andreas says, flashing her crooked smile to show how satisfied she is at her own joke.
“D’you think she’s gonna get along with Festa and Fukukitaru?” she asks.
“I am not certain, but as long as they all pursue their dreams with fervor, I believe they will be a good match.”
Down below, Urara and Rob Roy run up to Rice as she leaves the building, careful not to drop their containers of food. They all seem to have smiles on their faces as they chat.
“She’s got a lotta potential as a runner, that’s for sure. Long as she keeps her head on straight and her feet on the ground, I think she’ll be alright.”
Andreas looks down on the young girls, and the smile fades from her face.
“That kid called you ‘big brother.’ You have any sisters?”
Memories, so rare and fleeting, flash in Charon’s mind. Friends. A proposal. An order. Lies. A betrayal. Two gunshots. More graves. More empty homes.
“Perhaps once,” is his answer, and the two say no more.
On the ground, as the three girls prepare to find somewhere to eat together, they’re approached by two others holding bento of their own, though theirs appear homemade. Urara is the first to notice, and she calls out to them.
“It’s Yukino and Cafe! Hiiiiii! We’re just about to eat lunch, you should join us!”
Yukino Bijin is a little surprised at the sudden invitation, but she smiles.
“Golly, if y’all wouldn’t mind havin’ us, I’d certainly be happy to join ya! What about you, Cafe?”
Manhattan Cafe does not respond. Her attention is locked squarely on the roof of the school building where Rice just came from. Her eyes are wide, unblinking, and she stands stock still. Rob Roy is the one to pull her out of it.
“Ms. Cafe? Is everything alright?”
Cafe seems to break out of her trance, and returns her attention to the group in front of her.
“Yes, I’m sorry. Lunch together sounds great.”
The group walk off towards the courtyard. As Rice turns to look back at the roof where she just was, she sees no one there.
—----------------------------
As Rice is walking to her trainer’s office after class, she encounters a pair of umamusume standing outside the door of Team Flegetonte. The first is a girl she does not know, sporting a black, shoulder length bob. The second, with long chestnut hair, she knows all too well.
“Mihono Bourbon? W-what are you doing here?”
Bourbon turns to Rice with her signature blank expression.
“Ah, Rice Shower. I had heard you recently came under the instruction of a new training team. Naturally, I came to evaluate them for myself. On my way here, I discovered Eishin Flash was also heading here for her own reasons,” she responds, in a flat tone befitting ‘The Cyborg.’ The other girl bows politely to Rice.
“A pleasure to meet you, I’m Eishin Flash. I had heard that your new training team was from Germany. As a German myself, I believed it would be prudent to introduce myself to my fellow countrymen.” While not as flat as Bourbon, Flash is extremely polite. Rice bows in return.
“N-nice to meet you, I’m Rice Shower. It looks like you both came at the right time, we were just about to start our team meeting. I’m sure both big sis Andreas and big bro Charon would be happy to meet you!”
As she opens the door, a tall, lanky figure in a white shroud and full length blue coat is hunched over a table. Strange, jagged bits of metal hang from his body and protrude from his head, and in his hands is a pair of shears whose sharp edge gleams in the light. He turns to face the girls as they enter, and a voice like ash and dust greets them.
“Ah, willkommen, young ladies.”
Bourbon and Flash abandon their typical politeness in favor of an ear piercing shriek that rattles throughout the building before collapsing to the floor. Rice yelps herself, not at Charon, but at the sudden noise from the other girls. On the couch behind Charon sits Andreas, laughing herself hoarse at the sudden turn of events. Next to her are Nakayama Festa and Matikanefukukitaru, the latter of which goes into a bit of a tizzy herself.
“See, Charon? I told you not to bring those flowers in here,” says Festa dryly, motioning towards the yellow flowers on the table that Charon was just trimming. Fukukitaru puts her hand on her shaking head, as if trying to steady it.
“Aaaahhh, I knew something like this would happen today! My horoscope was exactly on the money! Ooohhh, this is a bad sign!”