Chapter Text

Mirage Haze
Chapter 1

Tally's mind often wandered when she ran. It was both a blessing and a curse; on the one hand, it meant that when she ran, she had all of the time in the world to think and organize her thoughts as best she could. On the other, it meant that she was hardly ever actually focused on the running itself. She paid just enough attention to know where she was, where she was going, and who was around her, but not so much that she'd ever be particularly good at something like racing.

Tonight, she was reflecting upon the year. And what a year 2010 had been, not just for her, but the entire Kagerō family. Grandmother had passed back in March, and that had been the start of a chain of events that ultimately led to their branch of the family moving back to Japan from America over the summer. As the eldest child, she'd been anxious about the move, but dutifully went along with her parents' decision and helped her two little sisters with the transition. Plus, with the internet, she didn't even necessarily lose out on all of her American friends! That was what Umatter and Umacord were for!

The move also meant that she got to reconnect with friends and family who lived in Japan. Her aunt Himeko and her cousin Stelle were a lot of fun to be around, but even more fun was her once-again best friend Jayda. Though they'd met back in America, Jayda had moved to Japan a year and a half ago to prepare for a potential uma racing career at Tracen Academy. A career that would start in less than a week.

Tally loved running alongside Jayda. Tonight, though, life and the weather had different ideas. A heavy storm was due to blow in soon and blanket central Japan with freezing rain. A proper run with Jayda would take too long, and leave them both stranded out in the cold and the wet. Instead, Tally was out with her youngest sister, Sasha.

Footsteps thundered down the streets as Tally chased Sasha. They weren't too far from the park, now. One more corner, and then nothing but straightaway until the point that both girls had agreed was the finish line. Sasha beat her to the corner by a significant margin, and disappeared past it.

She'd been pacing herself. Even without thinking about it, Tally knew the exact length of this run, and how fast she could go to not burn much stamina while still being fast enough that Sasha couldn't completely pull away. If Sasha had started her final spurt around the corner, that meant Tally had to start her own, right about… Now!

The rhythm of Tally's footsteps reached a frenetic pace as she leaned into the turn. Each step propelled her towards the young uma ahead of her, but Sasha continued to pull away. When she reached the finish line, Tally knew that if this had been a proper race with a score board, Sasha would have won by Distance.

Unfortunately, that was just the way things were between the two of them. Tally loved running, and ever since the Kikuka Shō and Arima Kinen of '03, she'd dreamed of running on the track alongside those amazing racers. When the family moved to America a few months later, Tally ran her heart out at every opportunity she got. Sasha had only started to run a few years ago as the natural uma urge to run hit her. Ever since the move back to Japan, Tally's age, size, and running experience stopped being enough to give her a leg up over her sister. Not when Sasha was an uma and she wasn't. Now she could barely keep up.

Even so, Sasha's cheerful laughter was infectious as Tally slowed to a halt next to her. "Did you see that, Sis? Did you see how fast I was?"

"I did!" Tally reached over and ruffled her little sister's brown hair, careful to not jostle her ears or their bright red covers too much. "You're doing great! Heck, give it a few more years, and I bet you'll be able to make it into Tracen Academy with no trouble!"

Sasha's face lit up like a spotlight. "Really!? Do you mean I could get to run in those really big races? The Derby, the Kikuka Shō? The Arima?"

"Of course! Anything you set your mind to, you can accomplish with enough hard work!" Tally let Sasha's hair go, and stepped forward to pull the young uma into a firm but gentle hug. "If that's what you want."

Sasha returned the hug and nestled her head into Tally's shoulder with a happy hum. "It is! Will you be my trainer when I get there?"

It took all of Tally's self control to not let her reaction show through the hug. At least with Sasha's face comfortably nestled into her shoulder like that, she couldn't see the frown that crossed Tally's face. A small blessing. If she'd had ears like her sister, they would have been drooping as low as they could go.

Tally loved her little sister. Both of them, but Marie was too sickly to be a runner like Tally and Sasha. And that was the crux of the issue: Tally was a runner first and foremost. Even if her dream of racing alongside some of the greatest uma racers was naught but a dream, she would pursue it in her own way. Her feet would be what drove her forward, not sitting on the sidelines and guiding someone else to live her dreams for her. If she had to do that, it would drive her crazy.

"I…" Tally hesitated. Uma were fragile, much more so than humans, and… she was about to break her little sister's heart. "I don't think so. I want to keep running, not… I'm not ready to slow down and guide someone else to their dreams."

"But you're such a good trainer!" Sasha protested. Her voice wavered. "You've been so helpful!"

"And I'll continue to do so as long as we're here together," Tally promised. She carefully pulled back from the hug and grabbed her sister's shoulders while she looked Sasha in the eye. "Wherever you go, I'll be there to support you. Every single race you run in, I'll be there, cheering for you. I'll be your biggest fan. But I want to keep running. I don't want to give that up to train uma racers."

There were tears in Sasha's eyes. All the reassurances in the world that Tally would stay by her side as she chased her dream didn't matter in the face of that rejection. Not when her hopes of doing it with Tally had been dashed. Words wouldn't help, and even if they could, Tally couldn't find any more. Instead, she pulled Sasha into another, tighter hug.

"Hey, how about you go run a couple of laps on the track," Tally suggested quietly. "I'll time you."

Silence hung in the air around them. Sasha squeezed the hug as tight as she could without accidentally hurting Tally. Each second that dragged on made the elder sister feel more and more nervous about this. Sasha was terrified of losing her, she had to be. What other explanation could there be for how poorly she was taking this?

Finally, Sasha's grip loosened. "O-okay…" She pulled away from the hug, but lingered for a long moment, just staring at Tally with tears in her eyes before she took a few hesitant steps towards the track in the corner of the park. Tally pulled an old analogue stopwatch from her pocket and followed Sasha over.

Tally found a bench with a good view of the track, and sat down to time her sister's laps. But while her promise suggested she'd be focused on her sister's running and the timer, her mind almost immediately began to wander. She was doing the exact thing she'd just told Sasha that she didn't want to do. She longed to be out on that track, running beside Sasha, and yet she found herself on the sidelines, helping train the uma girl anyway.

She knew why. It almost always circled back to one thing, when it came to running: Her pride. Amongst her peers at school, Tally was one of the most athletic students around. For a human, her running pace and endurance were on the level of professional runners. But compared to an uma? A nine year old girl could outrun her. When it was just friends and family, there was no judgment. With strangers in the park and on the track? Tally's pride wouldn't be able to stand the frustration and embarrassment that came with being so decisively outrun.

So, instead of risking that embarrassment and damage to her pride, Tally sat on the sidelines with a stopwatch and let each lap her sister ran chip away a little more at an unattainable dream.

She knew how much Sasha looked up to her. The bright red ear covers had been chosen specifically to match Tally's hair color as closely as possible. She knew that she'd hurt Sasha with that rejection, no matter how much less it would hurt now, compared to going along with the idea only to give it up at the last moment. What Tally didn't know was how much she'd hurt Sasha.

Sasha's lap times were significantly worse than they usually were. Even in the cold weather and with the extra layers slowing her down, she shouldn't have been this bad. Perhaps a broken heart was almost as bad as a broken leg when it came to uma running… And was there something off about Sasha's stride?

That realization fully snapped Tally out of her funk. She jerked to her feet and started towards the track before her mind could catch up with what she was doing. There was definitely something irregular about Sasha's stride! She didn't need to be a fully licensed trainer with knowledge of uma physiology to know that an irregular stride was a bad sign!

Tally made it to the edge of the track and waved as Sasha rounded the corner and came into view. The young girl's eyes went wide. She stumbled. And then she fell.

All thoughts fled Tally's mind as she dashed onto the track and towards her sister. Pride, embarrassment, broken hearts, none of that mattered in the face of the young girl crying on the ground. Her left shoe had disintegrated, and the right shoe looked only a few bad steps away from joining it. For a brief moment, Tally felt the ghost of a sensation at her back, as if a tail were flicking nervously side to side. She ignored it. She didn't have a tail. Instead, Tally focused on dragging her sister off of the track and out of potential traffic.

Please, Goddesses, let the ankle simply be twisted instead of a full on sprain or worse. Please.

"Hey, hey, I'm right here. You're gonna be okay," Tally said to her crying sister. Internally, her thoughts were a little more panicked. She really regretted not taking that first aid course last spring, even if it likely wouldn't have covered uma injuries as well as human ones.

She moved around her sister and investigated the hurt ankle. The remains of Sasha's shoe were still secured around the ankle, but it was still notably swelling beneath both the shoe and her sock. It had been a cheap human shoe, not at all designed for the stresses that a running uma naturally put on her feet. No wonder it had fallen apart…

Tally was forced to admit it, at least to herself. She didn't know how to actually help her little sister here. If Sasha couldn't stand on her own, she'd have to carry the younger girl… for the more than two kilometers it took to get home from this park. At the same time… Jayda's house was only about half a kilometer away.

And, as a bonus, Jayda would know a lot more about how to treat this injury.

With a plan in mind, Tally breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She looked over at Sasha's face. "Do you think you can stand?"

"Nuh uh," Sasha reported with a shake of her head, tears still very present in her eyes.

"Okay. You're gonna be okay. I'm gonna call Mom and let her know what happened, and then I'm gonna take you to Jayda's. You want to see her before she goes off to Tracen next week, right?"

"Y-yeah," Sasha stammered through the tears.

Tally nodded at her sister, then stood up and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her mom's number came up on speed dial, and within seconds, Monika had picked up the phone. "Hello? Is there something wrong?"

"Hey Mom. Sasha fell down at the park and hurt her ankle. I'm gonna take her to the Hunters' place. I'm worried that storm will blow in before she's ready to walk again, so can you have Auntie Himeko come pick us up once she's free?"

Her father had taken the car to bring Marie to the hospital after her chronic illnesses had flared up once again. Himeko, who lived in the next neighborhood over, was the closest family member with an available vehicle.

"I'll ask her. Take care of your sister. I expect a full explanation of what happened when you get home."

"…will do," Tally said after a moment of pause. There was a layer of danger hidden in Monika's voice, one that immediately warned her that Helicopter Mom was coming back, and that as the elder child, she was about to get flak for not keeping Sasha more safe. "See you soon."

She hung up on her mom, and immediately dialed Jayda's phone number. Jayda didn't initially answer; Tally had to call her again before she finally picked up. "Hey, what's up?"

"Sasha fell down at the park and hurt her ankle. With that storm coming in, I'm taking her to your place. How do I deal with a swelling ankle?"

"Oh, for the Goddesses sake!" Jayda grumbled. "And everyone calls me the Evil Twin… Fine. I'll let Ashley know we're having two more people over for dinner. For the ankle, compression and ice. I'll have some ready when you get here."

"Thanks. I'm sorry to intrude on you like this, but… if I have to carry my sister, you're a lot closer than home."

"I get it, I get it. Now get your butt movin'. Ice won't do squat to that ankle if you freeze to death in that storm!"

Tally glanced up at the horizon as she hung up on Jayda. Those dark clouds rolling in were a lot closer than they'd been at the start of the run. They certainly looked ominous enough for her to metaphorically pick up the pace. With all the care of someone handling some particularly fragile glass, Tally picked Sasha up into a princess carry and started off towards her best friend's home.

The storm was prefaced by cold winds that chilled every bit of exposed skin on Tally's body. Not cold enough to sustain snow, but enough to slowly sap away Tally's strength. Sasha held tightly to her, and the knowledge that this was the only way that Sasha was getting help before the storm hit was enough to keep going.

The Hunter family home wasn't particularly special. It was a cramped two-story building with just enough space to park the family's relatively small car out front. A wooden wreath decorated the wall next to the front door, and Tally didn't even need to knock before Jayda opened the door and let her in.

"Set her on the couch," Jayda ordered, with a gesture towards the sitting room. Tally did as instructed, and carefully set Sasha down. With that burden off of her shoulders, she all but collapsed into the armchair next to the couch.

Even after knowing Jayda for the last five-odd years, it was still strange for Tally to see someone who looked so like herself. If it weren't for Jayda's uma features, the two could very easily be confused for identical twins: they had the same bright red hair, the same 165cm frame, and even the same general build. The only differences beyond the uma features were their eyes and how they did their hair up. Tally eyes were blue and she wore her hair in a long braid over her left shoulder, while Jayda's eyes were two-toned, red over blue, and she often pulled her hair into a simple but messy ponytail.

It was also comforting to see the young woman who was essentially her twin taking care of her little sister.

Tally was so engrossed in watching Jayda tend to Sasha's injury that she almost didn't notice Jayda's cousin James crouch down next to her. He was tall, dark-haired, and had a face that made him seem far less trustworthy than he actually was. "How are you doing?" he asked quietly.

"I'm doing alright, now that we're here. I've got to admit, I was a little freaked out when Sasha fell and hurt herself," Tally answered quietly.

James nodded and adjusted his glasses. "Well, it's good to hear that you're okay. Jayda looked pretty worked up when she came in and told Cathy and Mom that you two were coming over for dinner as well."

"That sounds like Jayda. She may be my Evil Twin, but it doesn't stop her from caring exactly as much as I would expect a twin to care."

"I heard that!" Jayda interjected. She turned and looked at Tally. "What is it with you and exploding shoes? And why did you think that running around with Sasha wearing sneakers instead of reinforced uma running shoes or cleats was a good idea?"

Tally's hand drifted down to the scar that ran along the entire left flank of her torso, from just below the armpit to her hip. After all this time, it didn't hurt much, but it was still a painful reminder of certain crippling mistakes that could happen. She didn't deign to give further answer to the first part of her Evil Twin's question, and instead focused on the second bit. "Good running shoes are expensive, she's still growing, and we did just sort of move to Japan over the summer. Funds aren't exactly… flowing freely right now."

"You've got that job as a maid, don't you? Because, uh, you and your family being cheap just got your sister hurt. Next time you take her out for a run, make sure she has good shoes," Jayda ordered. There was a fire in her eyes that told Tally to not argue with that point. She held up two fingers. "This is twice now that someone in your family has been hurt by cheap and faulty running equipment!"

"Yes ma'am." Tally nodded at Jayda, and only relaxed when the other redhead turned her attention back towards the injured girl on the couch. She looked back at James. "So, how's your research going?"

"Slowly," James answered with a tired sigh. "Turns out, it's difficult to investigate a curse that originated in America while living in Japan. Jayda's been helpful where she can, but I just don't have any supernatural sorts of senses. If I want to dig deeper, chances are, I'll have to go to the Beaumont Plantation in Alabama and we Hunters are… persona non grata there."

"That sounds frustrating, especially if Jayda's off to Tracen soon."

"It is. Right now, the hope is that our sheer distance from the origin of the curse plus the differences between old American bayou mysticism and Japanese mysticism will dilute the effects."

"That sounds like a long shot," Tally murmured.

"It is," he admitted, "but it's also our current best idea on how to keep Jayda from flying into a rage and seriously hurting someone."

"It didn't help much last time!" Jayda interjected again. "I broke that bully's arm in three different places, and it nearly cost me my admittance to Tracen!"

James let out a sigh. "Well, our other long shot is hoping that Tracen will have someone more knowledgeable about the supernatural than I am, and whoever they are will be able to help Jayda. If that works out, maybe they can come help the rest of us, too. I doubt I'll be able to stop digging into this unless and until that happens."

It was how the Beaumont Bloodline Curse affected him. Jayda turned into a berserker, Cathy had her Prude Rage, Ashley was an avowed misotheist, and James obsessed over problems presented to him at the cost of almost everything else. From some of the stories Tally had heard, and the tragic fate of James Senior, the four of them had gotten off relatively lightly.

"I could use a new research partner, once Jayda leaves," James continued.

Tally shook her head. "I'm neither cursed, nor an uma. I don't even have an inkling of mystical senses. I wouldn't be of any help."

Jayda hummed thoughtfully. "What if you're cursed to not be an uma?"

Hand, meet face. Tally pinched the bridge of her nose and refused to even look at her Evil Twin. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not! You run a lot more and a lot harder than some other uma I know who are our age, including me! The way you talk about running some days, it's like you have that same natural urge to run, without any of the capabilities that make uma superior runners to humans."

"Everything I've heard about the Three Goddesses," Tally hesitated and looked towards the kitchen. When no Ashley Hunter appeared to scold her about referencing any divinities in her household, she continued. "From what I've heard, they're very good about making sure that any who receive their gifts get the full package."

Jayda rolled her eyes. "Right, because nobody tends to talk about all the ones that they've missed. I've heard some stories, and they can be unpleasant."

"I'll take your word for it." Tally sighed. "And I'm not some wannabe uma. I'm perfectly happy with my ability to run."

"And that impossible dream of yours?" Jayda asked flatly.

"Is a dream, nothing more."

As soon as those words left Tally's mouth, she cringed. Being able to run alongside those famous uma was an impossible dream, and even if the opportunity somehow came to her, she was a human trying to run alongside beings who could easily go three or four times faster than she could. It would obliterate her pride as a runner to be so utterly outclassed on a track. So why did admitting that her dream was impossible hurt so much?

Sasha, Jayda, and James were all staring at her with clear concern. Jayda in particular looked like she was moments away from surging forward and pulling her into a tight hug. Tally's mouth opened to try and say something, but no words came out. No sudden explanation for why her words had hurt so much. That silence was all the prompt that Jayda needed to pull her into a tight hug.

"It's alright, Tally. If you ever want to talk about it, you know how to contact me."

Tally still couldn't find the words she wanted to say, so she simply leaned into the hug and nodded.

A knock on the wall near the kitchen drew everyone's attention. Ashley Hunter had stepped out and addressed the four of them. "Please come to the table, it's dinner time."

"We'll be there in a sec," James answered. He patted Tally's back, then stood to march off. Jayda carefully released the hug and stood up as well, scooped Sasha up, and led the way off to dinner. The smell of food was enough to snap Tally out of her funk, at least temporarily. Whatever Ashley and Cathy had made, it smelled delicious.

Tracen Academy: the single largest gathering of uma musume in Japan. While it wasn't just a place for racers to learn their trade, the vast majority of famous Japanese racers had attended the school and many stayed involved in the school's affairs well after their racing careers had finished. Even those who may not have been the most famous of racers made their names through other means. People from all walks of life had been successful there and now Jayda D. Henley was going to be joining them. Even if her racing career ended up being a complete waste of time, this school was now her home for the next few years.

Hopefully, it would also be where she escaped the effects of that damned curse. She didn't have to be a Henley, an adoptive Hunter, and especially not another Beaumont. Chances were, nobody even knew who the Beaumonts were. She didn't have to be anyone except for Jade Danger, an artist, and an aspiring racer.

The campus here was genuinely beautiful. It was cold in early January, sure, but the sun was shining overhead. The architecture of the buildings was quite pleasing to Jayda's eye, as was the landscaping away from the practice tracks and racetrack. All of that paled in comparison to the statue of the Three Goddesses. The water sparkled between the metallic statue and the sunshine.

Jayda probably should have been over at the practice tracks right now. The group practices and tryouts held in the first few months of her time here would be her best shot at getting a trainer who might give her a shot at actually making it through the Twinkle Series in one piece. She found that she didn't particularly care, today. The courtyard around the statue of the Three Goddesses was quiet at this hour; the only sounds were the bubbling of the fountain and the distant roar of people running. It was a perfect time and place to draw for a bit.

The sketch started simply enough. Outline the human form, adjust as needed to get the shape correct, detail the face and hair, and… Oh. Jayda hadn't even realized that the person she'd been drawing was Tally until she'd put the braid down on the page. They hadn't even talked to each other since that surprise visit after Christmas.

A frown crossed Jayda's face as she thought about that encounter: both how Tally had accidentally gotten her sister hurt, and how Tally had denied her dream. Neither of the sisters had been willing to give her the full story, but something had definitely happened to hurt the both of them in their own way.

Tally didn't want to become a trainer, she wanted to run. Jayda knew that much from running with her Good Twin. That desire to run, that need to run, was something Jayda was quite familiar with, both in her own life as an uma and from the various uma she'd run alongside. Hell, Tally had the instinct stronger than she did. Maybe…

Jayda hummed and adjusted the sketch's hair so that Tally's human ears would be hidden, and she added a pair of uma ears on top of her head. A tail peeked out from behind Tally's body soon after. That seemed about right. Now all she needed to do was give the sketch an outfit to wear instead of just being vague shapes.

She paused to think about it, and nearly stuck the butt of her pencil in her mouth to chew on as she did so. Thankfully, she managed to catch herself, and instead pulled a pack of chewing gum out of her bag. That would serve the same purpose. The standard purple Tracen Academy uniform was definitely an option, but it didn't feel right when Jayda tried to imagine it. Tally was too much of a tomboy to wear a skirt like that. The Tracen tracksuit wouldn't work either. Maybe that maid uniform that she wore at her part-time job? No, that also wasn't it.

Tally Kagerō needed something uniquely hers to wear. If she was an uma, she'd be a G1 runner for sure, and that meant she needed her own unique G1 outfit. Something that declared to the world that somehow, she had broken through her own beliefs and the constraints of biology to become an uma. A champion uma.

Something rustled in the bushes. It was quiet, but Jayda's ears twitched and turned towards the source of the sound. She closed her sketchbook and looked around. There was nobody here. Again, the only noise was the burbling of the fountain. She let out a sign and opened her sketchbook to a different project she had been working on. That Tally sketch wasn't something she was ever going to share unless the miracle managed to happen. If there was someone here, watching her, they didn't need to know about that.

It was difficult to focus on her drawing while also paying attention to all the noises around her. Instead of adding to the ongoing sketch, she flipped to another new page and started to doodle a boat of some sort. Next to the boat—or was it a ship, now?—Jayda drew a very rough sketch of a girl with angel wings and a halo.

More rustling. Closer this time, too. Jayda let out an annoyed sigh and rolled her eyes. "Can I help you?"

"ASDOIUTALSKND!" someone exclaimed in a completely incomprehensible manner. Whoever she was, she was nearly right behind Jayda. "So perceptive!"

A pink-haired uma with a red bow emerged from behind the bush, holding onto her twintails like her life depended upon them. She wore a more professional-looking version of the Tracen uniform, clearly indicating that she was part of the academy's staff. But why would a member of Tracen's staff be hiding in a bush and spying on her?

"Hi…" Jayda said, very hesitantly. "I'm Jade Danger. It's… nice to meet you?"

"Ohmygosh! You're so mysterious and secretive! You're going to be one of my favorite oshis this year!" the pink-haired uma declared. "And you're an artist, too! Who were you drawing earlier?"

"Oh, uh, she's a character from a series that my cousin introduced me to. It's called The Witch Princess."

"No, not her! The uma I saw you sketching!"

"That was a private sketch for a friend."

"I see! Anyways, hi! I'm Agnes Digital, but everyone calls me Digitan. I'm the official Tracen artist, among… other roles." The now-named Digitan hummed and held a finger to her lips. "You only arrived a few days ago. Shouldn't you be at practice instead of hiding away to draw?"

"I probably should, yes," Jayda agreed half-heartedly. She tapped the butt of her pencil against the top of her sketchbook, then added another few details to the sketch of the angel girl she was working on. "But this has been my first opportunity to get away from everything and just spend some time drawing. Plus, everyone mentions that the goddess statue here is a great source of inspiration. Sitting here, I've felt pretty inspired."

A conflicted look crossed Digital's face. "As much as I loathe to interfere with one of my oshis pursuing her hobby, especially one that I also really enjoy, you should really go to the group practice. It's your best chance to get a trainer and into the Twinkle Series!"

Jayda considered the other uma for a moment. On the one hand, she was having fun with her art today, and she really wanted to continue working on that sketch of Tally as an uma. On the other, this was a member of Tracen staff directly telling her to stop skipping out on practice. As a bonus, she might even get to learn a little bit about her peers and who she might be racing against.

She snapped her sketchbook closed and carefully shoved it into her bag. "Fine. I'll go run a few circles around the track and see what I'm good at. Let me go get changed into my tracksuit."

Agnes Digital followed Jayda all the way to the locker room near the main practice tracks. Thankfully, she didn't follow Jayda inside, so the redhead had at least a little bit of privacy. The locker room itself was quiet, with a few signs of the other girls who were currently at practice.

Those other girls were almost certainly better runners than she was. She didn't know a single one of them yet, not beyond the briefest introductions during today's classes, but if they were here, they were almost certainly here to run. Like all uma, Jayda had found that desire to run once she hit a certain age, but so many of her pre-Tracen peers had been more enthusiastic about the sport than she was. Even Tally was. She ran because she needed to scratch that itch. They ran because they loved running.

Jayda considered the thought of those peers as she changed into her tracksuit. What sort of interesting characters would she run into out there? The few stories she'd heard out of Tracen indicated that it was a place that attracted the weirdest of people, and allowed them to grow into fully embracing that weirdness.

It had certainly attracted her, and she was plenty weird. Jayda pulled the last pieces of her running kit out of her bag and began to slowly but surely wrap her hands and wrists. If she hadn't been living it herself, she probably would have laughed if someone told her of her own circumstances. An uma cursed to be violent, and it made her a danger to her peers and herself? One whose name was quite literally "Danger," to boot? It sounded like something an edgy teenager would come up with. That was something a lot of people assumed her to be.

Maybe she was. Maybe her insistence of wearing those hand wraps if there was the slightest chance that her curse acted up and got her into a fight made her edgy. Something like running wasn't likely to trigger those fighting instincts, but it never hurt to be safe.

She pulled the end of her last wrap tight and clenched her hand to make sure it wasn't too tight before she secured the end of the wrap and started off towards the track. Digital was still waiting for her, but she was respectfully quiet on the walk. Jayda glanced over at the pink-haired uma and quickly amended that mental statement. Digital was lost in her own world. Wonderful.

There was quite the gathering near the track. At least a dozen different trainers were gathered near the rails, watching the girls down on the track run. Curiously, there were a few uma mixed in with the trainers. Maybe Japan allowed more uma trainers than the States, or maybe that was a Tracen specific quirk.

One of the uma trainers' ears perked up and twisted towards Jayda and Digital as they approached. She was a brunette with a white streak that cut through her bangs at an angle, with bright amber eyes. Three black hair clips adorned the right side of her head, near the start of that streak, and something had taken a slice out of her left ear at some point. Her attire was exactly as professional as Jayda expected from a trainer, though with a few odd accessories here and there. Whoever she was, she used to be a racer, maybe even a strong one.

"Ah, Digital! There you are!" the brunette said with a smile. "Who's this?"

"A new student. I found her drawing near the Three Goddesses statue," Digital answered.

That only piqued the brunette's curiosity, judging by the raised eyebrow. She turned to look at Jayda. "What's your name?"

"Jade Danger." She held up her hand to shake the trainer's.

"Jungle Pocket," the brunette replied. She shook the offered hand. "It's nice to meet you, Jade."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." The courtesy was just slightly forced. "I should probably head down to the track and join in on the practice."

"Good luck down there! They're currently doing aptitude testing." Jayda nodded her thanks at the trainer, then started down towards the track. As she walked, she heard Jungle Pocket continue. "So, what do you think of her, Digi?"

"She'll be one of my oshis this year for certain!" Digital replied enthusiastically. "You should keep an eye on her, too!"

Jayda did her best to conceal the scowl that crossed her face. It was the first day of classes, the first day of practice, and she was already marked as a potential troublemaker who needed to be watched. Not without reason, but it was still annoying to hear.

A group of three uma was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, chatting over water bottles and generally preparing for their go at the track under the supervision of whoever was in charge of this practice. All three looked to be taller than Jayda, though she couldn't tell by how much. She couldn't even tell who was the tallest, as the girl with black spiky hair had a police officer's hat on, while the one with silvery-gray wore a weirdly cylindrical brown hat. Strange accessories, but not the strangest Jayda had ever seen. Compared to the two of them, the brunette looked downright normal, with elegant-looking black ear covers and a big heart-shaped accessory on her left ear. All of them were wearing the same red and white tracksuit that Jayda had on.

The silver-haired girl paused whatever story she had been telling to the cop and looked up at Jayda as she approached. "Hey look, Feno, we got ourselves a new face!"

"You're late," the cop said simply.

"I got held up," Jayda replied flatly. Her right hand clenched tightly.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again."

Jayda took a deep breath before she said something she'd probably regret. Thankfully, Silver spoke up in her defense. "Jeez Feno, lighten up, will you? Have you seen how massive this place is? She probably just got lost or something!" She raised a hand and gave Jayda a wave. "I'm Golshi, though you can call me Gold Ship, and these are my new friends Feno and Jenny!"

"Fenomeno," the cop said with a nod.

Meanwhile, the brunette glared at Gold Ship. "My name is Gentildonna, not 'Jenny.' You would be wise to remember it, Gold Ship."

"Jade Danger. It's nice to meet you all."

"Danger, huh?" Gold Ship asked as Jayda finally reached the bottom of the stairs and landed on their level. She immediately pulled Jayda into a tight side hug. "You don't look dangerous to me!"

"And how would you know that, Gold Ship?" Gentildonna asked. "Look at her hands, how she wraps them like a brute preparing for a fight."

"I'm a battleship, sailing the high seas!" Gold Ship declared proudly, still holding Jayda tight. "I know a thing or two about danger, and Sparkles here isn't dangerous in the slightest!"

"Sparkles?" Jayda asked, incredulous. "What?"

"Well, I just said you're not dangerous, so I can't call you Danger, and you're named after a gem! Gems sparkle, so now you're Sparkles!"

"I'll show you Danger…" Jayda growled as she forced her way out of Gold Ship's hug. Her fists clenched, but before she could wind up for a punch, a shout interrupted them. It was their group's turn to run some laps around the track and figure out their running aptitudes.

As they marched towards the starting line, Gold Ship nudged Jayda. "You definitely sparkle, Sparkles. Stick with ol' Golshi, and we'll get far! I swear it, together we shall rule the world as the greatest yakisoba restaurant!"

All thoughts of violence fled Jayda's mind. She pinched the bridge of her nose. This girl was utterly insane. Harmless, but insane. At least running some laps around the track would help her clear her head and focus.

A few minutes later, Jayda stumbled to a stop. It took everything she had left to stay upright. A mile and a half was pushing the limits of her endurance as is, and that was before the trainer had instructed her to try and front run the entire time. It had been utter hell. Fenomeno and Gentildonna had both been utter monsters nipping at her heels as she struggled to keep up, and then Gold Ship came out of nowhere to pass all three of them right at the end with apparently zero effort.

Well, at least it told her a lot about her capabilities as a runner. She wasn't fast enough for a sprint, and she lacked the endurance for long distance running. By that same dint, she didn't have a strong enough spurt to be an end closer, and front running was utter hell that she never wanted to do ever again. Late surging seemed like the best option, at least at the moment. Maybe a trainer would help, but after that performance, which trainer would want her? None. Not when she'd just been utterly smoked by three superior runners.

"Not bad, Sparkles!" Gold Ship encouraged as Jayda stumbled over to the cooler full of water bottles. The silver-haired uma pulled a bottle out of the cooler and tossed it to Jayda. She nearly fumbled the catch.

"You have room to improve, but so do the rest of us," Fenomeno said gently. Her intense gaze told a different story. "Jade Danger—actually, may I simply call you Jade?"

"Go for it. Is what most people call me. That or Jayda…" Jayda stumbled over to the nearest rail and leaned against it while drinking her water.

"Jayda, then." Fenomeno's gaze softened just slightly, and she nodded at Jayda. "You arrived late, and your running was not on the level of the rest of our group. And despite your lackadaisical approach, you have come to practice anyway. You have tried your best. Why do you run?"

"Same reason as any other uma," came Jayda's answer. "Running is in my blood. Even if I'm not good, and I don't expect to be, I have to try."

Fenomeno frowned. Before she could say anything, Gentildonna spoke up. "There is strength to be found in trying your best. Strength of character, if nothing else. But that must not be your only reason for coming to Tracen. Those wraps on your hands are well worn, and the sweat reveals deep stains. Some blood stains."

"I get into a lot of fights," Jayda said bluntly. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Only if you make it be one," Fenomeno said. "I may not be an official police officer, but I do my best to embody one anyway. Should your fighting become habit and worse, a problem, I will have to detain you and report you to the proper authorities."

"Sparkles gets into fights?" Gold Ship let out a deep belly laugh. "You're harmless!"

"Five days ago, I broke someone's arm and cracked three different ribs because they were picking on my cousin." Jayda's flat admission left all three other uma speechless. "I'm not harmless, I'm a problem. One that Officer Fenomeno here is likely to have to deal with. I don't want to be a problem, but I am. I want to be friends with y'all."

Fenomeno perked up at the title of officer. She stood a little straighter. "Fighting to protect those who are vulnerable is honorable, but was such brutality necessary for such a situation?"

"No. I lost control of my temper and didn't stop until Jimmy pulled me off of the asshole."

"Then we will have to find a healthier outlet for your fighting instincts. The first step to fixing a problem is acknowledging that there is one, and you have done so. I'm sure Tracen either has options available to assist in giving you that outlet, or can easily find and provide one."

"I'll help!" Gold Ship volunteered quickly. "A battleship such as myself is more than capable of taking a beating, especially from someone harmless like Sparkles!"

Jayda raised an eyebrow. "A Japanese battleship volunteering to get into a fight? Do you know of any real battleships?"

"Of course! There were the valiant battleships Tomato and Sushi!"

In order to not let out a very pained scream, Jayda facepalmed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yamato and Musashi. Do you know what their fates were?"

Gold Ship reached up and scratched the back of her neck. "Uh, no?"

"They sank. Both of them by carrier aircraft. But Yamato had a much more embarrassing fate, you know. You see, at a certain battle, six months before she was sunk, Yamato's battle group found itself a group of American carriers, little Jeep carriers armed with only a pop gun and what their planes could carry, within gun range, and protected only by a few destroyers. The world's mightiest battleship versus a handful of tin can destroyers and some of the most vulnerable ships afloat. You want to know what happened?" Gold Ship nodded dumbly. Jayda smirked. "Those tin cans drove the Japanese battle group off. The biggest battleship ever built ran away with her tail between her legs because a group of destroyers scared her. And I sympathize a lot with those little destroyers. A couple of destroyers, though not at that battle, were named for my ancestor, and I in turn was named in honor of one of those ships: the J.D. Henley. Are you sure you want to be a mighty battleship in the presence of a potentially very angry destroyer?"

"Of course!" Gold Ship grinned. "I can see through you, Sparkles! You want everyone to be scared of you, to leave you alone! You call yourself Danger, you've got a lot of red to warn people off, and you talk a big game! Even those wraps of yours are more for intimidation than any actual effect! But you won't scare me off that easy! So, from one uma named after a precious material to another, you're being befriended. Resistance is futile!"

"Oh no…" Fenomeno groaned.

"And if you want to prove me wrong, hit me!" Gold Ship declared boldly.

Jayda looked around. Nobody was paying direct attention to their little group; all eyes were on the track and those actually running at the moment. But she knew full well how a fight drew everyone's attention. It got loud, people shouted, and the intense movement naturally drew eyes. There were plentiful trainers watching, and even more uma standing around or working on some sorts of drills.

"No," Jayda said simply. She clenched her fists, and her jaw went tight. This crazy uma was taunting her, but didn't know what she would unleash if Jayda lost control.

Gold Ship's grin got bigger. "See? Feno, Jenny? Sparkles here is harmle—!"

Jayda cut her off with a swift punch to the gut that forced all of the air out of her lungs. Gold Ship doubled over, coughing. Gentildonna and Fenomeno immediately surged into action to restrain the monster that welled up inside her. "Let me go!" she growled.

The two other uma were stronger than her. The running had sapped all of her energy, but it hadn't done the same to them. They secured her arms to either side, and forced them behind her. Her wrists were brought together, and something metallic slipped around them to secure her before she could do anything. One of the two held her shoulders tight, while the other released her hold and marched in front of her.

There was a stern look on the Officer's face. "Jayda, calm down!"

She struggled against the restraints. The metal refused to give way, as did the Noblewoman's firm grip on her shoulders. The blood pumping through her veins slowly cooled with each heavy breath she took, and the glare she held on the Officer's eyes slowly faded.

Jayda squeezed her eyes shut. Her posture relaxed, and Gentildonna guided her back to leaning against the railing. Gold Ship's coughing had been replaced by a joyous laugh. When Jayda reopened her eyes, her gaze once more met Fenomeno's. The officer was disappointed.

"Are you done?" Fenomeno asked.

"Yeah…" Jayda admitted.

"Good." Fenomeno stepped forward, around Jayda, and released the handcuffs.

"Do you just keep handcuffs on you at all times?" Jayda asked curiously.

"Do you wear those hand wraps all the time?" Fenomeno asked in return.

"As much as I can, yes."

"I do the same."

Jayda looked around at the three others. "Thanks for stopping me. When I get going it can be… difficult to stop."

"Your body is strong, but your self-control is weak if you lash out that easily, and cannot stop yourself," Gentildonna said. "If you sincerely wish to not be a danger like you professed, strengthen your mind."

"It wasn't even that bad!" Gold Ship declared. "You caught me off guard, and I still hardly felt it, Sparkles!"

"My name is Jayda…"

"Nope! You're Sparkles now! As I said, you are being befriended. Resistance is futile!"

"What is going on over here?" someone outside the group asked. All four uma immediately perked up and looked over at the trainer who had approached. It was the same brunette uma that Jayda had met on the way in, Jungle Bucket or something like that.

"It was nothing," Fenomeno immediately answered. "Jade Danger was more tired than she thought after our aptitude tests, and stumbled into Gold Ship when she tried to stand up straight. Gentildonna and I were helping her back to the rail while she continues to recover."

The brunette trainer looked around at the rest of the three. "Is that your story?"

"Yup!" Gold Ship said. "Sparkles here had one heck of a stumble!"

Jayda nodded, and after a moment of consideration, Gentildonna did the same.

Trainer Bucket didn't seem to buy it one bit, but she nodded anyways. She must have seen what happened. "Gold Ship, come here. Let me check you for bruising. We can't have any of our uma injured on their very first day of training."

She'd definitely seen. Crap. Jayda looked away from her and down at the ground. Agnes Digital had warned the trainer to keep an eye on her, and now the idea of her being a problem had been confirmed, even if the others were already covering for her.

"No signs of bruising," the trainer reported after she finished her inspection of Gold Ship. She looked over at Jayda. "Jade, make sure that you don't have any more stumbles like that. Perhaps arriving at practice at the correct time and going through warmups with the group would help with stamina issues."

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now, I believe your break should be wrapping up soon. You girls should get ready to get back out there."

In that moment, Jayda wanted nothing more than to shrivel up and die. The trainer knew what had happened, and now she had to do more running while still worn out. This was gonna suuuuuuuck!