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Start!
The race begins with each uma starting perfectly, this is setting up to be very interesting!
Who will come out on top?
Two of them are comfortably keeping their position on the front, while the rest are closely following behind!
The umamusume round the first corner, making their way towards the second!
Nice Nature is preparing to make her move! Will she show a grand display of force, or will she end up in 3rd place once again?
The third corner! Nice Nature is making her move! She's steadily moving up!
"I can do this…I can do this…I've trained a lot for this, I just need to get at least second, at least so I won't be third again…"
We're approaching the fourth corner! Nice Nature is moving up, can she outrun the runners in the front? Will her record of getting 3rd keep up?!
Just then, it felt like the world slowed down for Nature.
She could feel the turf shattering beneath her feet as she used up all her strength.
She could see the other runners, some in front of her, some to the side, some fighting with determination to achieve the same that she wishes to achieve, some are beginning to lose their stamina and fall behind, for Nature, the only thing that mattered is to win. To finally get this curse behind her, to prove to herself she can get more than 3rd place.
She could feel her breathing and heartbeat as one, the cheers drowned out by it.
She cannot let this opportunity go to waste.
Nice Nature is about to reach the two runners in the front, can she outrun them, is it time for Nice Nature to win?!
400 meters left!She's head to head with them, will she make it?!
300 meters left!
The runners aren't giving up their positions! Nature is going head to head with them, just who will come out on top this race?!
200 meters left!
"Go…go, go! Outrun them, go faster!"
100 meters left!
Nature could only hear her breathing become more and more chaotic and inconsistent as stress took over.
She must win this. Now. Now or never.
50 meters left!
Will they finish in a tie?!
…
…
…
Before Nature knew it, she had made it past the finish line.
The realization quickly hit her, they were so close to each other, did it end in a tie, did she beat them by a little?!
And so, they waited for the results.
Was it truly a tie?
…
The announcer speaks.
After looking through the recording it appears Nice Nature finished 3rd! The legacy remains!
…
The words of the announcer hit Nature like a truck.
She had done so much, just for nothing, just for her to get 3rd again.
Is it destiny? Sheer dumb luck (Or lack of it)?
Hearing that, she wanted to tear up, run away and-
"Nature!!"
Her thoughts paused to a familiar voice yelling towards her from the stands.
Actually, it was multiple voices, each of them familiar, they belonged to her friends.
Matikanetannhauser, Twin Turbo, Ikuno Dictus and her trainer, all of them still cheering for Nature.
"You did well Nature!!" They yelled out, to which Nature simply put up a smile and waved at them.
The concert wasn't anything special for Nature. She had already gotten plenty of experience on being the third, simply another dancer while the main star gets to shine.
After the concert, in the changing room.
Nature is sitting in the concert uniform, she was gonna untie it, yet a sight distracted her.
The mirror.
The sight of her reflection, one that stared back with just as much anger and disappointment as she feels.
An urge to punch the mirror boiled within her, but she refrained due to the potential consequences.
"Why are you like this?"
"Why can't you just win?"
"Why are you so inferior?"
"Why do you keep trying?"
Questions, ones she asked, ones that neither the mirror nor her could answer.
Taking a deep breath, she changed into her school clothes and made her way back to the academy.
She returns to a pleasant gaze, her team, known as team Canopus has been waiting for her to come back.
"H-huh? Why are you waiting here?" Nature quickly asked.
"We're waiting for you Nature!" Tannhauser responded.
"We want to celebrate how you ran today so we'll go to a shopping place!" Turbo yelled out.
"W-why? I still got 3rd y'know…" Nature sighed.
"Indeed. You were very close to winning, it's a great achievement regardless." Ikuno explained.
Close.
Close.
Great achievement or not, once again, she was just close.She knows they didn't mean it, yet it feels like an insult, like just a sick joke.
Is that all it is? Is life just playing a joke on Nature?
Is there a point to keep going?
is th-
"Nature? You okay?" Tannhauser's question quickly snapped Nature back into reality. Right. She's with her friends.
"Y-yeah of course! It's just 3rd place after all, it's not bad! I'm…sure I'll get at least second next time!" Nature replied, ending off with an awkward, forced giggle.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Ikuno asked.
"Yeah guys, don't worry, let's just go."
The trip was nothing unique, more so the usual, Tannhauser and Turbo (especially Turbo) goofing off while Ikuno and the trainer tried to calm them down, Nature however was more quiet than usual and whenever someone tried to ask her about it she'd simply shrugg it off.
The trip back wasn't special either.
The only thing Nature could think about was how she didn't do well enough.
Or perhaps that is her limit.
Having made their way back to Tracen, late in the day, the team parted ways, everyone left but two of them-Nature and Tannhauser.
"Machitan? Are you not going?"
"I want to tell you something!" Machitan responded with a warm and wide grin.
"W-what is it?" Nature asked, her face flashing a hint of red.
"You did really well today! I believe in you!"
Nature stared, unable to give a response, she's heard this before, be it from Tannhauser, her trainer, or just the rest of the team.
Though she didn't expect to hear it now.
A tear slid down her face, then another.
"N-Nature? Are you crying? D-did I do something?"
"No! It's not you it's…it's just…"
"I tried so hard…to keep going."
"I tried to get more than 3rd, to get 1st, to at least get 2nd."
"I tried doing extra training, more than usual."
"I tried testing out different ways of running."
Another burst of tears slides down, her voice sounding more and more lost.
"I even asked advice from the best."
"Yet I still got 3rd."
"What's the point if I can't win…?
"What's the point if I'll always be in 3rd?"
"If I'll always be inferior, why should I keep running?"
"Why should I try to do anything?"
Tannhauser stared at Nature, the only sound in the silence being her sobbing.
"You know, when I was a kid…" Tannhauser began to speak, making Nature look back up at her.
"I also used to not win anything!"
"We had a spelling bee back in elementary school, I always tried to win."
"I used to study for hours, trying everything I could, but I could never win, heh.." Machitan scratched the back of her head as she spoke.
"I remember asking my parents to make me letter soup just so I can learn!" She let out a giggle.
"Though, one day-"
Her story gets cut off by Nature laughing to herself.
"Nature? What's wrong? Why are you laughing?"
"L-letter soup? Machitan, you're funny!" Nature's mouth grew wider, though Tannhauser was confused what exactly in her story was so funny, she couldn't help but laugh along and smile.
It was great for her to see Nature happy, especially after a day like this.
When their laughs died out, the silence was quickly broken.
"Thank you. Thank you for this.""Of course! If you ever feel bad, I"ll cast the Machi-hauser spell of happiness on you!"
"A what?" Nature giggled once more.
"Hey! It's a real thing! I've tried it out on Turbo before and it worked!"
"Okay, okay…well, it's getting late, let's go back to our dorms, okay?"
"Yeah!" Tannhauser agreed.
They headed back into the academy and made their way to their dorms, talking a little along the way.
They reached Tannhauser's dorm first.
"Well, we're here."
"Yeah! Goodbye Nature!"
"Goodbye!"
Nature began to make her way to her own dorm, yet even from behind the doors she can hear a conversation.
"Machitan! You're back! Please help me, I've got bad fortune, give me your purse, quick!""Oh no! My purse, my purse, where is my purse?!"
"Machitan quick or a ghost will come to our room and haunt us tonight!!"
"A ghost?! Oh no, I left my purse at the club room.."
"Ah! No! Bad fortune awaits us!"
Before she could hear more she's made it to her dorm which was far enough to not hear their dorm room…perhaps that was the blessing, being close to the loudest dorm in the academy must not be fun.
Turning the doorknob and entering her dorm, she quickly notices the lack of her roommate, Marvelous Sunday, most likely out hanging out somewhere, it's late, but not exactly past curfew yet.
She changed into her shorts and shirt, then laid down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
To say her mind was lost is an understatement.
A flurry of thoughts, some about the race, some about the concert, some on if she should keep going or not, some about the people in the shopping district who kept cheering for her, some about the team.Some even just about Tannhauser alone.
Yet there was no clear answer to anything. There's simply too much possibilities.
Just what could she do?
She got up and went towards the window.
Staring outwards, she took a glance at the area.
It was dim outside, not necessarily dark, but not bright either.
The area wasn't something unfamiliar, in fact, she remembers it quite well.
The race track, one that she practiced on so much with the rest of the team.
Sometimes she'd even see some of the umas running here this late.
Sometimes, she was one of them.
Yet it was all for nothing.
All this to prove herself, yet, nothing.
Compared to her team, she's got nothing.
Ikuno and Tannhauser can actually win races, Twin Turbo is…well she's still determined and motivated, Nature doesn't have the charm, the motivation or the power that her team does.
She takes a glance at the window.
She can dimly make out the room…and her face.
Seeing her face again made her quickly slide the curtains and jump back into her bed.
Staring at the ceiling once more.
Slowly, her eyes begin to close and before she knows it, she's fast asleep.
It's unusual for an uma to sleep this early, unusual for anyone, in fact, but she just wanted this day to be over.
Maybe tomorrow will actually be better.