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At the end of the year, at Nakayama Racecourse, the dream Grand Prix was held again.
‘They round the final corner and enter the last straight! Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio are battling for the lead! Mejiro McQueen may have the slightest advantage! Nice Nature is closing in from behind!’
‘All three have crossed the finish line together, almost tangled with one another! Was Mejiro McQueen’s posture very slightly ahead!? The result is currently under review, so please wait a moment…’
‘The winner of this year’s dream Grand Prix is Mejiro McQueen! She defeats Tokai Teio by a nose and takes revenge for the Tenno Sho Autumn! Second place is Tokai Teio! Third place is Nice Nature!’
“I did it… I did it!”
“Gahhh… I lost over a long distance again!”
“You defeat me so often at middle distances. I cannot allow myself to lose at long distances.”
“I’m so fru-stra-ted! Next time I’m definitely gonna win!”
“I welcome the challenge!”
“W-well… looks like good old third place again for me… You two are fast…”
“But there was almost no difference between us… I cannot afford to be complacent. I must train again…”
“I’ve gotta work hard too… To be honest, Nature-san is pretty frustrated.”
“I can’t fall behind either… Ah, the live is about to start, so we have to go.”
“Indeed. Today, please serve as my backup dancer, Teio.”
“Gnununu… I was going to dance at center again today…”
“Please taste the feelings I had as I danced while gazing at your back last time. Now, shall we go?”
“You two are still just as fierce in races even after you started dating… Well, I guess that’s like you. Come on, stop sulking forever and let’s go, Teio.”
“Okaaay…”
This year’s dream Grand Prix was won by Mejiro McQueen, and with that, the year’s graded races came to an end.
The Umamusume entered winter vacation, each spending the time in her own way, whether returning home or remaining in the dorms.
In a dorm room quieter than usual, two Umamusume were discussing their plans for the end of the year.
“What are you doing for New Year’s, McQueen? Are you going back to the Mejiro family after all?”
“No, I was thinking I would spend this year in the dorm. I will go greet my family after the New Year has passed, but until then I will remain here.”
“Oh, really… I’ll probably be in the dorm too, so we’ll be together!”
“Yes… And, um… if you would not mind… would you like to go for Hatsumode, just the two of us? If possible, we could go from the night of New Year’s Eve and hear the temple bell…”
When I worked up my courage and asked Teio on a date, her cheeks flushed as well.
“Y-yeah… If that’s okay with you, McQueen… then, okay? Ah, but I might not be able to go on New Year’s Eve…”
“Do you have plans?”
“Ahaha… A little something, yeah.”
Teio laughed as though trying to dodge the question. It felt as though she was hiding something, which was rare for her, and it bothered me a little. Something Teio would hide from me… could it be…
“Are you all right? Could you have injured your leg again…?”
“Wah!? No, no, my leg is totally fine!? It’s just, how do I put this… Ah, sorry a second.”
Her phone rang, and after one word of apology, Teio began speaking with someone.
“Hello… Ah, Digi-tan? Yeah, yeah, I’m already good over he—wah!? It might not make it!? Wh-wh-wh-what are we gonna do!? The print shop deadline is today… Don’t tell me… Right now!? You’re kidding…”
After continuing to talk for a while, she hung up the phone with her shoulders slumped.
I was relieved to hear nothing was wrong with her leg, but her back looked just as dispirited as it had back then, for some reason. I timidly called out to her.
“Um… Teio? Did something happen…?”
“N-no… I kind of have to go help out right now…”
“I-I see… Is there anything I can do?”
“Thanks… But I don’t think I can take you with me, McQueen… It’s probably gonna turn into a battlefield.”
“What are you about to do?”
“A final push for the year-end battlefield… I guess… Haaah… Then I’ll go for a bit… I’ll probably be back in the morning, so you can sleep, McQueen…”
“Y-yes… Take care?”
“Yeah…”
Teio shouldered a tote bag and left the room with heavy, dejected steps.
At the same moment, my own phone began to ring.
“Hello… Oh my, Dober. What is it at this hour? Hm? Yes, I intend to remain here for New Year’s… Pardon? There is something you want me to help with? I do not mind…”
~🕰~
Then came New Year’s Eve. Teio left early in the morning, saying she had plans. Truthfully, I had intended to wait in the dorm for Teio’s return, but I was not in the dorm either. What was I doing, then…?
“Thank you very much. …With this… that is the last one…”
I was acting as a sales assistant for Dober’s self-published girls’ manga.
“Good work, McQueen.”
Dober spoke to me as she placed a “Sold Out” sign beside me while I lay limp over the desk.
“Not at all, this much… was nothing… at all…”
“Ryan suddenly had something come up, so we were short on people. You really helped… And with you here, it kind of became advertising, so lots of people came.”
“I-I am… glad to hear… that…”
I should have confidence in my stamina, yet my breathing was coming in pieces. Dober, meanwhile, showed no sign of fatigue. She wore a radiant expression, as though she had accomplished something. It was a smile I could hardly imagine from her usual somewhat prickly attitude…
“In any case… whew, a great many people participate in this, do they not…?”
“It’s a huge year-end event. Of course it ends up like this.”
Umamusume Market… or Umarket for short. According to Dober, it is a large event held every summer and winter where doujinshi? about Umamusume are distributed.
Everywhere I looked, people, people, people. The hall should have been very spacious, yet with so many people there, it felt almost cramped. This winter’s event was being held after several cancellations for various reasons, so apparently there were more people than usual.
Still, I never imagined there were so many people creating works about us. At the same time, I found myself a little curious about what sorts of things our fans were creating.
“Does it look that unusual to you, McQueen?”
“Hm?”
“You just seemed like you were looking around with interest. If you want, go take a look. Here’s the event catalog too.”
Dober handed me a somewhat thick booklet. When I flipped through it, I saw many beautiful illustrations.
“This is… amazing. So many… and they are divided into so many genres… Oh my? There are works about me as well.”
“When you’re a famous racing girl, sometimes there are a huge number of books about that one person alone. You recognize a lot of names, right?”
“You are right… The student council members, everyone in Spica… Oh my, the works about Teio have been gathered next to mine… Fufu, that feels somehow ticklish.”
“McQueen, you immediately get like that when it comes to Teio… I don’t know whether to call it a good change or what…”
“Then I shall set out at once.”
“Have fun. I’ll be cleaning up here. Call me if I’m not around.”
After parting from Dober, I headed to the area in the venue where works based on me were located. That area too was bustling with many people.
“Still, there really are so many… Does this mean that this many people are supporting me? It makes me feel I must carry myself with even greater resolve…”
Even glancing around briefly, there were covers with beautiful illustrations and promotional posters decorated with care, and it became enjoyable to look at them. It felt a little strange to think that every one of them had me as its motif.
“I would like to try reading a little of one… I am curious what they are like…”
Looking at the list of participating circles—apparently they are called circles—I honestly could not tell which were popular, or whether such superiority existed at all. For now, I decided to read something from a place that caught my eye and seemed not to be too crowded.
“Somewhere convenient… That spot looks good.”
A circle positioned in front of a shutter seemed relatively empty, so I headed there. Sitting in front of a slightly wide table was an Umamusume with brown hair, wearing glasses and a hat. Judging by the way she was sitting, she seemed perhaps around the same age as Teio.
“Excuse me, you there. If you do not mind, may I look at one of your books?”
“Ah, yes! Please… do…”
When I spoke to the Umamusume, she picked up one of the sample copies on the table and handed it to me with a smile. As I accepted it and looked up to thank her, I froze.
The girl who had raised her face had clear sky-blue eyes, and a distinctive white star ran through her bangs. She too had gone still with her eyes wide open. That was the face of an Umamusume I knew very well…
“T-Teio!? Why are you here!?”
“McQueen, why are you here!?”
It was Tokai Teio herself.
Once Teio realized that the person she was trying to hand the book to was me, she hurriedly hid it away.
“Wait, Teio! Why are you hiding it!? Please show me!”
“N-no, no, no, no, no! You’re the one person who can’t see it, McQueen!”
“What is that supposed to mean!? Come now! Show me obediently what sort of thing you made! I am curious how you view me!”
“No means no!”
Yelling back and forth, Teio and I began a battle over the book she had made.
I wanted to see it no matter what, while Teio wanted to keep me from seeing it no matter what. Our wishes remained parallel lines, never crossing. At this rate, we would get nowhere… In that case…
“…Ah! Is that the President over there!?”
“Wah!? The President came too!?”
“An opening!”
“Ah! Wait!”
Teio hurriedly turned toward the direction I pointed, but of course the President was not there. In the single instant Teio let her guard down, I succeeded in seizing the sample copy she had been carefully hiding.
“Give it back! McQueen, please give it back!”
“What are you so embarrassed about when it is between you and me? I was a little surprised that you do this sort of thing, Teio… Now, I wonder what kind of contents it has…”
“W-wait—”
Somehow evading Teio as she clung to my waist with tears in her eyes and tried to take the book, I looked over the cover of the book Teio had drawn.
It showed an illustration of me and Teio in our racing outfits, smiling as we embraced each other. The title read, Everyday Life at Tracen with Me and McQueen.
…Judging from the cover, it did not seem like something that warranted such resistance… Perhaps she was simply a little embarrassed? It was very well drawn… W-well, we do not hug very often, after all… From the title, I assumed it depicted our training or small episodes from our daily life.
“You are good at drawing as well, Teio. Now then, let me see the inside…”
“A-ahh… don’t…”
I flipped one page.
‘McQueen!’
‘Eek! Really… hugging me in public so suddenly… Others are watching, you know?’
‘Huh? Who cares about that? We’re dating, after all. Let’s show off just how lovey-dovey we are!’
‘Honestly… You leave me no choice…’
‘Ehehe, I love you, McQueen. I’m the only one who’s allowed to be by your side, okay? Let’s do a side-by-side run today too.’
‘Ufufu. I love you too, Teio.’
Then, the two faces, already so close to each other, grew even closer, and their lips…
“Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh… ///”
What was drawn there was a version of us behaving like what the world calls a stupidly affectionate couple.
My hands trembling, I flipped through page after page, but the development I had expected never appeared. Instead, it was simply sweet… a story so cloyingly sweet it was as though sugar had been boiled down and soaked in syrup.
A syrupy feeling seemed to rise from my mouth, or perhaps from the back of my throat, creating a sensation I could not quite describe, but my hand did not stop reading. The more I read, the more I could feel, keenly and directly, that this was how Teio thought of me and what she wanted to do with me. My heart pounded so hard it seemed ready to explode.
The person who had drawn it was covering her face with both hands, bowing her head and trembling in little shudders while occasionally making small squeaking sounds. The face visible through the gaps between her fingers was dyed bright red with embarrassment, but my own face felt so hot that I was surely just as red.
“Pieh… pieeeh…”
“…U-um… well… It is… very skillfully done…?”
I had no idea what to say to Teio in that state, and what slipped out was the simple impression I had, which made for a rather nonsensical response.
Now I understood why Teio had resisted so hard. This was a book written exactly as Teio felt… a book where she had written out, just as they were, the feelings for me that she had kept hidden in her heart. It contained the passion for me that she must have kept secret because it was embarrassing. Having that seen by the person herself would naturally be mortifying… If I were in her position… I would flee from the spot.
“Ugh… I told you not to look… McQueen, you meanie…”
“I-I am sorry! I became curious…”
“…Why are you even somewhere like this? You weren’t supposed to know this kind of place existed, McQueen…”
“Er… Dober asked me to help her…”
“Mrrr… Anyway, if you read it, give it back…”
“Ah, yes… Here you are…”
When I handed the book back, Teio turned away with tears still in her eyes. It was a very cute way of sulking, but as I was the one who had caused it, I began to feel sorry.
“I am sorry, Teio… And, um… about the contents of this book… Is it because you want to do things like that with me after all…?”
I knew I was pressing her even further, but I could not help being curious. I wanted to hear the answer directly from your own mouth… and so I asked.
“…Do I have to say that out loud…?”
“…Yes.”
“Ugh… Yeah… It’s just like you said, McQueen…”
“I-I see… In that case, you could simply tell me directly…”
“B-because… it’s embarrassing… And I thought maybe you didn’t really like that kind of thing, McQueen…”
She brought her fingertips together and fidgeted, murmuring the reason bashfully. …Well, I could certainly understand why someone might see me that way. I am a woman who is always speaking of the dignity of a distinguished family, after all… However.
“…If I were to say that I want to do these things with you as well… would you tell me directly?”
“Huh?”
Teio looked puzzled, as if she had been told something completely unexpected.
I met you, and the existence known as you slipped into my heart.
As we spent our days competing and improving each other, we became rivals, and gradually the part of my heart occupied by you grew larger and larger.
I no longer simply wanted to win races. I began to think that I wanted to win against you—against Tokai Teio.
Before I knew it, you had become irreplaceable to me, and little by little, I was drawn to you.
Though I had once lived only for racing, before I knew it, the days I spent with you became dear to me as well.
“I am the same as you, Teio… I am a maiden of a certain age too. With the person I love… with the person who loves me… there are many things I wish to do.”
“McQueen…”
“…So I will not tell you to stop creating, but from now on, please tell me directly. …Besides, even if it is me, knowing you are doing things like that with an imaginary version of me makes me feel a little lonely.”
“Awawawawa… N-no, that’s not what I meant…”
I deliberately puffed out my cheeks and turned away. Teio began to panic quite obviously. I watched her in that state, keeping a cool expression on the outside while smiling inside.
In truth, I was not especially angry, but the last part really was how I felt, so please reflect on it a little.
“Well, that is fine. Now then, it appears you have other books as well. I will read the rest aloud in our room while recreating them for you… so how much are they all?”
“Wah!? You’re reading the others too!?”
“Of course. You seem to have drawn so many because you love me far too much… I shall prove that the real me is superior to the one in your imagination.”
“Why are you competitive even about that!? Please forgive me already!”
~⏰~
“‘You are so warm, Teio…’ …Teio, are you surprisingly starved for touch? These sorts of scenes have been appearing one after another.”
“Auu…”
McQueen was hugging me from behind while peering into the book I was holding.
The soft feeling of you pressed close to me, your voice whispering by my ear, your sweet and pleasant scent, and everything else came to me through my back, making my heart pound as though it would burst at any moment. My head went pure white, and I fell into a floating daze.
After Umarket ended and I returned to the dorm, McQueen did exactly as she had declared. She recreated the situations from the books I had written. In a sense, I was experiencing hell; in another sense, heaven.
“Honestly, Teio, you are spacing out… I am going to the trouble of doing what you wanted… You could look a little happier.”
“Wah!? Y-yeah… It’s, um, more embarrassing than I thought…”
“…Indeed… I can hear your heart pounding very clearly.”
“D-don’t listen, it’s embarrassing… But, McQueen, you look way calmer than I expected.”
“…Do I? …Teio, please try putting your ear to my chest for a moment.”
As I was told, I placed my ear against McQueen’s chest.
Thump, thump. I could hear the sound of her heart. It was beating as powerfully and as intensely as mine.
“…You’re nervous too, McQueen?”
“…Yes. The same as you. We are not accustomed to this, after all… But when I think that my heart is pounding so painfully because I am thinking of you… it becomes somehow precious. Do you not feel the same?”
“Yeah… I do. But if we get like this every time we hug… it might be kind of tiring.”
“True. But we can become accustomed to it little by little. Surely, as we repeat this… the intense pounding will gradually settle down and become the reassurance that being this way with each other is natural… until that time comes.”
“…Yeah. You’re right… Ehehe.”
When I realized McQueen was the same as me, I became somehow happy and slowly let myself lean against her.
“Goodness, you are such a spoiled child.”
“Huh? Isn’t it fine? I don’t have to hold back anymore, right?”
“Fufu. That is true. After all, you love me very much, Teio.”
“Yeah, of course. You love me too, right, McQueen?”
“Yes, naturally.”
“Ehehe, thanks… Ah, I can hear the New Year’s Eve bells.”
From far away came the sound of a bell: goong, goong. It seemed this year too was almost over.
“…Hey, McQueen.”
“What is it, Teio?”
“Thank you for everything this year. For being with me, and for competing with me.”
“What has gotten into you? Becoming so formal all of a sudden.”
“Geez, don’t tease me! I’m trying to be serious here!”
When I puffed up angrily, McQueen began laughing in obvious amusement. Maybe she was playing around by teasing me?
“Fufu. My apologies, Teio. I could not help teasing you.”
“Geez… What’s so fun about it…?”
“When I see your reactions, I cannot resist… Now then, let me say it properly. Ahem.”
“Thank you as well, Teio, for this year. For being by my side, and for running beside me.”
“Yeah! Next year too, I’m counting on you, McQueen!”
“Yes. I look forward to another year with you as well, Teio.”
Fin