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We begin our story here: McQueen, curled up under her covers, with her door shut tight and locked, adamantly refusing to interact with the rest of society. Her face was burning redder than her tracksuit, and she wasn't speaking a word. Utterly mortified didn't begin to describe it.
In hindsight, Scarlet was really at fault here. McQueen was going to boil her.
Oh shoot, we skipped a few steps.
Come on, let's go see how it all began. It'll be a blast, I promise.
"Wait, so what exactly is this?"
Agnes Tachyon sat in her seat, arms outstretched, looking completely ridiculous in her oversized lab coat to any sane observer (Daiwa Scarlet so often found herself forsaking said sanity in Tachyon's company. It made it easier to bear).
Scarlet held up the container to the dim light of the laboratory, a 75 millilitre plastic bottle with a cartoon mascot of a strawberry winking at her from the side. Her experience with Agnes Tachyon had led her to (fairly) believe it would therefore contain absolutely ANYTHING but strawberry milk.
It was dark outside, as Tachyon had called her to come in at a time that could only be referred to as outrageous.
"That marketable bottle is the next step for us Umamusume! It is my belief that to be truthful to others is to be truthful to oneself. And recently, I've been quite fascinated with running a correlation analysis on the social and psychological implications of… chemically promoted honesty."
"I… what? Tachyon, what am I holding? Should I be wearing a hazmat suit?"
"No, no! Nothing like that."
Rustling through her drawers, Tachyon pulled out a journal, chronicling a study that had evidently been going for several days now, with occasional doodles of Lewis structures and Punnett squares in the margins.
Formula I, Subject: Manhattan Cafe.
Results: 68% Accuracy.
Formula II, Subject: Jungle Pocket.
Results: 95.5% Accuracy.
Documented side effects: Slight heart palpitations and an uncontrollable twitch in the ears. Future effects should be documented.
Formula III, Subject: ?
? Accuracy
"I've recorded the potency of my newest formulae based on the proportion of truthful answers post consumption, and I must say I am quite pleased with the progression! I have decided it is in my best interest as a researcher to cross-reference with different subjects, and that is where you come in, dear Scarlet!"
Scarlet had received a whole lot of information and not a lot of explanation or elaboration.
"Wait, so what does this do? It's… a truth serum?"
Tachyon shoved the notebook towards her, which was now closed.
"In layman's terms, I suppose one could refer to it as a 'truth serum'. An entirely inaccurate use of nomenclature. 'Serum' implies the active ingredients are absorbed through the skin, while this particular formula is consumed orally. In any case—"
Oh hell no.
"You've invented a working, field-tested truth serum, and you're giving it to ME?"
Agnes Tachyon was getting rather impatient. She advanced towards the retreating Umamusume.
"Yes, yes, from a biochemical engineering perspective it was child's play. A combination of several easily accessible chemical compounds. If you must know, the ingredients and methodology are listed on the back page."
Scarlet flipped to the back. In front of her eyes were around 13 pages detailing, in painstaking precision, a long process of titrations, distillations, and every other chemical process under the sun, along with a list of compounds that Scarlet would have a heart attack encountering in a chemistry exam.
"I – what do half of these even do? Are they even safe to consume? Like what the heck does ethyl methylphenylglycidate do?"
"Oh, it makes it taste like strawberries."
Oh. Innocuous enough, actually.
Scarlet shook her head.
"Alright. Let's say, for the sake of the argument, this is all completely normal and not just some fever dream of mine. Why give this to me in the first place?"
"Do you not wish to follow in my footsteps after your racing career concludes? Consider this your first taste of a formal clinical investigation!"
The implications of Tachyon's words were not lost on Scarlet.
"You want me to feed this to one of my friends? Are you completely insane?"
"Well, that's why it is vital you receive their consent first, lest we fall victim to scientific malpractice! I merely wish to collect data on my latest invention! And then document said findings into my report that I shall send in for peer review within the month."
Scarlet placed the bottle on the table beside her, wiping her hands with hand sanitiser, before moving to the sink and repeating the process again with soap.
When she thought about it, if she notified them beforehand, what was the problem anyway? It DID sound pretty damn cool.
"…So what else should I know about it?"
Tachyon's unblinking eyes curled up in satisfaction, a grin painting her face that could be called every single adjective in the dictionary but sane.
"The current formula should last around a day. The effects can occasionally be negated by moments of strong willpower; however, it has become less susceptible to resistance in the later iterations. As for research, merely ask them easily verifiable questions and record the frequency of truthful answers within the notebook. Keep in mind, it also tastes like strawberries! A stroke of genius, if I do say so myself."
Is she happier with the truth serum, or just the fact that it tastes like strawberry?
"Just remember, it truly is vital that you conduct this study in a controlled environment. Who knows what kind of adverse effects the solution could have, should it be consumed in the presence of confounding variables? That's not mentioning what may happen should you ask them questions they themselves don't know the answers to!"
In another part of Tracen, somebody else was experiencing a different struggle entirely.
"Mayano, shut up! The whole dorm is gonna hear you!"
"Teio likes McQueen! Teio likes McQueeeen!"
Mayano was parading around their room, arms outstretched like a child imitating an aviator.
"Yeah, yeah, fine! I just – damn it, I need your help!"
Teio, despite being (objectively) incredibly cool, incomparably fast, and insurmountably adorable, possessed a certain character flaw very well known to anybody who had known her for longer than a week.
She really, really sucked at, like, person stuff.
That's why Mayano Top Gun, romance-obsessed weirdo extraordinaire, was paradoxically a better choice to ask in these regards than Teio. She loved Spica, but there were far too many pipelines by which McQueen could find out if she asked any of them.
"Oh-? What does the invincible monarch have to ask of little old Mayano?"
"I-I just… What do I do? I feel like I've known for a while now, but… she's just being so coy! Does she like me or not? And sometimes she'll say really weird stuff that makes me think she does, and other times she just treats me like her rival; it's just so confusing!"
"Of course, Teio. Your super adult romance guru Mayano is here to save the day! I know exactly what to do for hopeless cases like yourself."
Teio rolled her eyes.
"Maybe Suzuka or Scarlet are still awake…"
Mayano froze.
"NO, WAIT! I CAN BE GOOD!"
As Mayano continued to yammer on about star-crossed lovers and true romance and 'just confessing', out of the corner of Teio's eye, she saw it.
Glowing violet and blue, the radiance of its phosphorescent rays painted the stars above with a multicoloured brilliance.
A shooting star.
Tuning out the idiot beside her, she closed her eyes and made a wish.
'I wish… that McQueen would be more honest with her feelings.'
Mejiro McQueen woke up to another bright, shiny Tracen day. A perfect morning where everything was turning up McQueen!
No exams.
No homework.
Prime physical condition.
Spica training today, and a personal meeting with Teio later today? It couldn't get better than this!
Well… just one small problem.
Mejiro McQueen has a not-so-small, actually massive and all-consuming, stupid puppy crush on Tokai Teio.
Look, it's not her fault! You try to spend your racing years locked in a fated rivalry with the most adorable, bubbly Umamusume in the world!
The same Umamusume who, against any and all odds, had pulled her out of abject despair just months before. Anybody else could have figured out that marked the tipping point between 'crush' and 'yearning so bad it could put a pine forest to shame', but McQueen was a denial expert.
It was impressive enough a feat to contend with the utter impossibility of Mejiro McQueen spinning around in her blankets with a photo of an Umamusume clutched to her chest, giggling like a fool.
Wait, who told you that? Shut up! Who are you to judge what she does every night before sleeping?
Anyway, McQueen walked to the bathroom, caring not to wake up Ikuno Dictus from her slumber. She really hated to be woken up off schedule, needing to reshuffle all the major events she planned out throughout the day to regain her lost tempo. Ikuno was a very strange character.
Stepping onto the scale, she averted her eyes before peeking through the gaps of her fingers.
Oh! Good progress!
McQueen had been fasting from any and all sweet foods for the last few days in an effort to circumvent an unfortunate recent increase in weight, courtesy of eating with Special Week at the cafeteria. As much as she was craving some sweets, she was proud to say her ironclad will was keeping her strong!
And anyway, it wasn't her fault Spe just kept getting up to get more food. It would've been rude to leave her to eat alone!
(In fact, it was perfectly reasonable not to get food with her, but the Tracen cafeteria was giving out their limited triple chocolate cake that day, and her voracious appetite overpowered her common sense. Don't let her see you saying that, though.)
This stomach of mine will be my downfall someday. I'm sure of it.
"-yeah, I couldn't believe it either! But according to her, it's the real deal!"
Vodka stared in awe at the pink bottle currently in Scarlet's possession.
"Woah… And who do you need to test it?"
"Well, I was kind of hoping it'd be you. If you don't mind."
Vodka did have to admit it sounded super cool. Like what you'd expect from the season finale of some spy drama.
"What do you have there, Scarlet?"
Suzuka and Special Week walked into the room carrying bottles of water and electrolytes.
"Score! Nice one, you two!"
It had been an incredibly hot few days, and Spica's mini fridge had run out of drinks shortly after their most recent restock run. In other words, it was the kind of day where anybody at all would kill to sit back with a cold drink.
It was Suzuka's turn to restock, much to the delight of the other members. They handed out drinks, placing the rest into the aforementioned fridge. Special Week reached over to Scarlet, grabbing the bottle from her hands and reading the label.
"Oo, I love this flavour! Mind if I have some?"
Scarlet began the long process of explaining the true contents of the bottle and her intentions with it for the second time. Special Week was regrettably rather slow in these regards and required a simplified explanation from Suzuka to properly grasp the ethical conduction of the scientific method.
"Yeah, so in other words, don't drink it. We need it for important research."
"Don't drink what?" Gold Ship enquired, as if she had been right beside them the whole time.
"ARGH! Don't do that, you idiot! How did you even get in here?"
"Ran."
"That's not what I—whatever. You're impossible."
Gold Ship once again gestured to the bottle now in Special Week's possession. Scarlet sighed, launching another long-winded explanation surrounding her obtainment of said bottle, further elaborating on certain aspects for Special Week.
"Alright, you got it? So again, don't drink from the bottle. I and Vodka need it."
The door swung open.
"Don't drink from what?"
Teio walked into the room right as Scarlet finished her third explanation. She was about to pop a vein.
"I-Whatever! Just don't drink from the damn pink bottle! GOT IT?"
"Woah. Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed."
"Yeah, take a chill pill, princess!"
Vodka snickered, high-fiving Teio. Just as Scarlet was about to reduce them to ash, Trainer Okino entered the room. They fell in line, listening to his routine explanations, and soon the bottle had been somewhat forgotten.
That blasted cleat! Someone of my stature should never be this late, never!
McQueen was kept up in the dorm supply closet; an unfortunate equipment mishap had left her rather cranky. Despite organising her time in such a way that she'd arrive half an hour early as she usually liked to do, her delayed departure meant that everybody else had already begun their training.
She could already hear the rest of Spica hassling her, Teio worst of all. Why did she have to love to tease her for every little thing she did wrong anyway? McQueen is human(?) too!
Not that she ALWAYS minded it, of course. She valued her banter with Teio, as she did every other moment they spent together.
Anyway, the heat buildup within her training jumpsuit from the surrounding weather and her running had worked up a sweat. She was parched. The two factors combined, clashing to form an otherwise innocent thought process.
I can't handle this alone. I need something to drink.
Wiping her brow with her towel, she looked through the mini fridge. She was halfway in reaching towards a bottle of water when a slight twitch of her eye caught a glimpse of pink. Little did she know, this minor correction had just altered the course of her destiny.
Immediately she grabbed the tiny bottle, no more than a single shot's worth of liquid, verifying that the bottle had been (strangely) previously opened yet was still full of liquid. McQueen had to assume someone had opened it without taking so much as a sip.
…well, I bought far more than was demanded of me on my last restock. Surely nobody could blame me if… especially if you consider my discipline up until now…
She unscrewed the cap before going bottoms up, preparing her taste buds for the first addictive hit of sugar in ages. In an instant, her face screwed up as something very strange registered to her. For whatever reason, the liquid in the bottle tasted more like strawberry-flavoured medicine than strawberry milk.
Almost as if you described the flavour of strawberry to somebody who'd never tasted it before and asked them to recreate it.
All in all, thoroughly unsatisfying. What a waste of calories.
Sigh.
The rest of Spica burst into the room, bar Teio. McQueen's ears immediately perked up as they split up to different sections of the room to gather equipment.
"Hello everybody! Could somebody update me on the regimen for today?"
"Oh, yo, McQueen! We just finished our warm-up stretches. We were planning on interval sprints after this. You in?"
"Stretches, you say? Were they satisfactory?"
Vodka barked out a short laugh.
"Why? You wanted another long morning of staring at Teio's back while she does her splits?"
"Yes."
The effect was immediate. Spica stopped in their tracks, while McQueen expelled a short fusion between a gasp and a choke from her mouth.
"W-wait, yes, I do! I mean, yes! I—what on Earth is happening to me?"
A knowing look crossed Scarlet's face.
"Hey, McQueen? How much weight have you gained since last week?"
"A net 0.3 kilogram increase. A regrettable statistic, but, hold on, how exactly are you doing that?"
"McQueen. Show us your hands."
She put her hands out in front of her like a guilty toddler, the entire room groaning upon seeing the empty bottle in her hands. Scarlet screwed up her fists by her sides.
Of course something stupid like this just HAD to happen. Nothing goes smoothly when sweets and McQueen are both involved. To think it was her instead of Spe.
"Oh for the love of- great job, you moron! Tachyon entrusted me with that! She was counting on me for those results!"
McQueen's already pale face went exponentially paler.
"TACHYON MADE THIS? At least tell me I'll be living to see tomorrow?"
"Tachyon isn't near that dumb. No, you aren't going to die."
In a physical sense at least.
Scarlet was getting really sick of explaining things to people.
Teio had low-rolled on their straw pull and, as such, had been left to the solitary fate of picking up everyone's towels and bottles before entering the Spica building.
The woe! The misery! How far the Monarch had fallen from her former glory. Reduced to mere menial labour, to such base degradation from the very peers that she once thought she could call her—
Oh, McQueen's here!
Dropping everything she was holding, she hopped towards the building, skipping several paces with long, motivated strides.
Peeking through the window, she registered McQueen, looking very guilty with her hands behind her back and ears twitching erratically. Clearly Scarlet had quite a bit to say to her, though the notebook in her hand was more than a little bit confusing.
"Hey, guys, what's up?"
McQueen's eyes nearly popped out of her head from how wide they were staring at her. Her mouth moved.
"The roof. The sky. The ceiling lights."
Teio was immediately reminded of Rudolf. Only problem, it was McQueen. She hated jokes like that.
"Are you feeling alright, McQueen?"
"I'm feeling absolutely terrible as a matter of fact. And I'm beyond terrified of everything I could potentially tell you."
"Okay… Are you still up to go to our thing today? If you feel 'absolutely terrible'."
"I've been counting down the days and hours; I wouldn't skip it for the world. It is astonishingly rare for me to look forward to anything as much as spending time with you."
McQueen stood up far too quickly.
"I'm going to leave the room now. It's impossible to think straight when you look at me with those baby-doll eyes of yours."
And with that, she walked right past Teio, leaving her rather confused.
The door slammed shut, leaving Spica dead silent.
For one second.
For ten seconds.
What the heck is up with her today? Why is she so— MENTAL GASP!!
"Guys! I have an—"
They kicked out Trainer.
"—Idea!"
Teio stood next to the whiteboard, donning a pair of thin wireframe glasses and a detective's outfit complete with a bow tie. The costume came with a monocle, which she placed on top of the prop glasses. She was doing an exceptionally poor job of looking analytical.
"Listen up, Spica. There's always an explanation to everything, and this case is no exception! Detective Teio is on the case!"
On the whiteboard was a hastily drawn timeline of events from the past day, along with an accompanying doodle of Symboli Rudolf, followed by a much larger doodle of McQueen. She had no idea what she was doing.
"Yesterday, around 11 PM. Mayano and I were talking about McQueen. Just a few minutes later, outside my window, and BAM! There it is! The shooting star!"
Thankfully, she made up for it in theatrics. She slammed her pointer stick onto the small illustration of a star surrounded by a bright aura on the whiteboard.
"That night, I made a wish upon the star. I wished that McQueen would be more honest with me about how she feels. Stay with me now!"
Gold Ship was intrigued, nodding along to each of Teio's statements with a fist to her chin. One would think she was guessing alongside Teio, rather than knowing precisely what had happened and why it happened, as she usually did.
"Here's my hypothesis. My wish was heard by the Three Goddesses, and that's why she's acting so weird. I really didn't think much of it, but look at the signs! Man, if I knew it was so easy for wishes to get granted, I'd have done this long ago!"
Teio stood proudly, propping up her face with a finger gun. Scarlet opened her mouth before Vodka, who was nearly fighting back tears, whispered into her ear.
"Don't. Just… don't explain yet. Please."
Suzuka spoke up.
"…Ok then. Teio, could you tell us why were you talking about McQueen at such a late hour?"
Teio shortened the extendable pointer in her hand, the rest of Spica sitting up a little straighter. Her eyes smoothed, a dopey little smile curling up on the edges of her cheeks.
"So, um. I think you guys were right. I do like her, and I… I have for a while. And I was kind of planning on telling her… sometime."
Scarlet and Special Week both squealed, clasping their hands together. Vodka nearly gagged and walked off to the mini fridge with Gold Ship by her side.
"When were you going to do it? Today? Later this week? After a race?"
"Oh, and you even wished upon a star for her to tell you herself? That-that's so romantic! I didn't know you were a hopeless lover like that, Teio!"
Scarlet wiped away a tear, her attention now fully redirected.
"This is your chance! The active ingredi- I mean, the wish should last a day or so. I know from… wishology! You've got to ask her yourself!"
"Hee hee~ she's right, Teio!"
Teio's dopey expression disappeared for a second, a realisation crossing her mind.
"Wait, I've watched a movie about this exact thing with McQueen! Some dude makes a wish with a branch for the sake of love, and it makes his girlfriend go all psycho! What if I've cursed her too? I don't want to eat a cat!"
Man, that movie had given her SO many nightmares.
She left out the part where she'd leapt directly into McQueen's arms at every jumpscare and had eventually stayed there for the rest of the movie.
She's just comfy… Like a really haughty cushion.
"I, um, don't think you have to worry about that. Just… trust my gut."
Teio readjusted her monocle. Inexplicably, Scarlet felt trustworthy in this moment, so she chose to lay her doubts in Scarlet's hands and believe her.
"Anyway, here's the plan. McQueen and I have plans to go to the mall together. There, I'll ask her some super subtle questions about us to see whether she feels the same! Then at the end of the day…"
Her knuckles whitened around the pointer.
"…I'll tell her myself."
McQueen was a sorry sight, ears twitching and utterly mortified.
She had no plan of attack, and her defences were in no better a spot. She was completely vulnerable to any manner of social defamation at the moment, and she had no plans to allow such transgressions to fly against her name. According to Scarlet, whatever she had ingested was bound to be almost 100% effective for its remaining duration.
But that didn't mean McQueen was just going to give up. She had multiple ideas, ranging from speaking mere half-truths every time she was prompted to speak to jamming the Tracen ribbon directly into her mouth.
She felt… somewhat adequately equipped to face Spica now. After a lot of psyching herself up, she lightly opened the door to the Spica building, and, oh God, nevermind, she was completely done for.
Standing in front of a whiteboard was quite possibly the most adorable iteration of Teio she had seen in weeks. Standing up with perfect posture and a pair of ridiculous glasses that she had almost certainly put on to look smart, McQueen couldn't control the organic coo that left her lips.
She closed the door, an authentic, uncontrollable truth threatening to spill. After ensuring she was out of earshot…
"I say, she is far too cute! I simply must place her miniscule form into my pocket to cherish, effective immediately! And here I had thought she was endearing when she was scared! How is it that she can defy my expectations every single day I decide to spend with her—"
"Who are we talking to?"
Gold Ship's voice behind her elicited a very loud and fearful shriek from McQueen's lips.
She recovered nearly immediately, albeit now with a pink tint to her face.
"I—to myself, obviously! Teio just looked far too precious in that outfit and glasses of hers! I merely had to let out some of my many, many thoughts, and seriously, Gold Ship, I promise I will throw you off the roof if you tell them any of this."
Gold Ship ate a spoonful of ice cream from within her tracksuit pocket. It was very obviously soaking through the cloth, yet Gold Ship didn't seem to care.
"How cold of you, McQueen. To think you'd actually throw me off the roof."
She spoke through a mouthful of ice cream, which McQueen found quite disgusting.
"You engage in more dangerous activities weekly! Of course I would never think of doing anything to actually hurt you, who do you think I—"
"McQueen, do you like Teio?"
"Yes."
She REALLY needed to get used to that sooner rather than later. The utter indignation of it all.
"Great. Here's my sales pitch. You tell her before she tells you. I've had bets running on this for longer than you can imagine, and I'll hook you up with free ice cream for a year if you do."
"While the offer of ice cream is humiliatingly tempting, I will… refuse to disclose my thoughts on the matter."
Half-truths seem to work. Duly noted.
"Alright. Mejiro McQueen, tell me honestly, do you see yourself confessing to Tokai Teio any time soon?"
"For the foreseeable future, no. I lack the necessary information, as well as any basis of confidence, to take such a risk."
She swallowed her ice cream.
"Hmm. Then, vice versa?"
"Well, of course, then the chances become even more miniscule. I see no reason for someone of her calibre to—"
"See, that's where you're wrong."
Gold Ship placed the spoon inside her hat, instead pulling out her phone from her ice cream pocket. She showed McQueen a photo that she had never seen before of her and Teio curled up on the Spica building couch, sharing a blanket. They were both asleep, with Gold Ship posing above them, whiteboard marker in hand.
You could probably guess what she'd done with it.
"Teio's as much of a weird freak as you are. Open your damn eyes, McQueen. Do you seriously think that you two are just friends?"
"I…"
Of course I don't. Anybody could see we crossed that point long ago.
But how could she say that for sure? Teio and McQueen: what they had going was pure and functional.
How could she throw it away for a mere gamble? For the mere idea that Teio could be happy to be with her?
"…It astounds me just how much confidence you have in regards to things that don't concern you."
That wasn't an answer by any means, but it worked. Most importantly, it proved McQueen could still interact with people without spilling her entire catalogue of personal information.
"Now, Gold Ship. Here is what I have to ask of you. Teio and I will be going out soon. I will be normal. And I will not tolerate any antics for the duration of our outing."
Gold Ship shrugged.
"Whatever floats that boat."
Teio had one goal in mind.
Well, several. Obviously to go out with McQueen meant she was prioritising their enjoyment above all, but hey, that didn't mean she couldn't conduct a cheeky little investigation along the way!
'Signal of Something True' was what she'd decided to call her project. The cataclysmically bad wordplay almost made Scarlet pass out, but her desire to see how the situation played out kept her head in the game.
She had passed Teio a piece of paper, asking her to document some results for her by the end of the day. Scarlet was such a romantic!
It was heartwarming, really; she was so curious about how Teio's day went that she wanted a full-length statistical summary and correlation analysis by the end of the day! What an idealist.
In the meantime, she merely needed to bring around a sticky note, tallying the quantity of truths and lies spoken by McQueen for the rest of the day.
Easy enough! Magic is magic, idiot! No way she'll be doing ANYTHING but spilling the beans for the rest of the day, hehe.
"You look rather deep in thought, Teio. Your hair smells ni- I mean, I imagine you received an explanation of sorts from the rest of Spica?"
"What do you mean?"
If anything, I was explaining to them.
Seeing the genuine expression of confusion on Teio's face, McQueen's shoulders dropped, like a doll with its strings cut. She almost looked relieved, for some weird reason.
"Oh, nothing. I was just… pondering some of the events of today. It has been a strange morning."
"Yeah, it has. Weird stuff keeps happening to us, hey, McQueen?"
She smirked.
"The kind of thing that… only the will of a shooting star could conjure."
McQueen did not miss how Teio chuckled to herself, shaking her head with her eyes closed. She could only imagine what inane thoughts were running through her head in that moment. Unlike Teio, however, she didn't have the privilege of concealing said thoughts.
Luckily, it seemed Teio didn't know of the circumstances. In the interest of her pride, she couldn't drop her focus for even a second, lest the wrong sentence come out at the wrong time.
"McQueen, how do I look?"
Typically clothes shopping for the two was an ordeal that could only be described as parasitic. Teio would put on some new outfit she'd thrown together on the fly, and she'd pose and flutter in front of McQueen until she received some manner of praise.
Not that McQueen minded. In fact, she appreciated the opportunity to throw out compliments, eliciting all manner of adorable reactions from her companion.
Perhaps it was closer to mutualistic.
In any case, Teio lived for praise, and McQueen was more than willing to give it out.
That being said:
"There's a clear lack of coordination in the colours. The multicoloured top combined with the lighter pants throws off the visual harmony quite significantly. That style also doesn't suit you at all, so I'd recommend a different outfit."
This whole time, it seemed Teio had been living unbeknownst to the brutal standards of a Mejiro.
She puffed out her cheeks slightly before re-entering the changing room. She came out again with a different, more refined outfit, featuring dress pants and a collared shirt.
"Well, what about this?"
"Hmph. Better, but it seems you are inexperienced with this aesthetic. A darker sweater could help pop the whites and give you a boxier frame."
Teio groaned in frustration. They'd been going round and round like this for some time now.
"Y-you haven't liked a single thing I've shown you!"
She put her arms close to her chest, her lip intentionally quivering.
"What was all that about me being so cute before? Were you just lying to me all this time? Sob, sob."
A critical hit!
If there was anything Teio knew how to do and do well, it was that. That disarming gaze of hers was lethal.
"O-of course not! In fact…"
It was precisely that incompetence that made me adore watching you dress up in the first place. All that confidence, how could I possibly not call you cute?
"...I naturally have more experience than you in these regards. How about I choose something for you to wear?"
Teio sat down on a stool with her arms crossed. She was pouting. Over McQueen not telling her she was cute.
Unbelievable.
McQueen reckoned for Teio, leaning into either a soft or a more masculine aesthetic was the way to go. Even with her unnaturally wide eyes and tiny frame, her overflowing bravado and natural charisma made it believable for her to suit either style. She came back with a formal ensemble, reminiscent of the one Teio had chosen for herself, now with McQueen's own personal twist.
"I've been curious about this particular aesthetic on you for some time. Try it on."
As Teio disappeared behind the curtain once more, McQueen couldn't help but praise herself for the restraint she'd shown thus far.
I, Mejiro McQueen, defeated the great Agnes Tachyon by sheer force of will. Checkmate, Tracen laboratory.
"Here! What do you think, McQueen?"
Oh goodness gracious, would you look at her? So… edible! So picturesque! Her frame truly does work wonders in the right style!
"I think my opinions are far too explicit to voice in a public space such as thi— I mean, you look fantastic! As expected…"
An utter fool, she was.
McQueen's stupid twitching ears kept breaking Teio's focus as they walked. They didn't end up buying anything, but it was useful information nonetheless.
From the looks of it, McQueen left quite a bit unsaid around Teio. Whether that was a positive or a negative, Teio counted any new info as a win. And if things went well, there was a whole lot more new info to be gained from that day.
Hehe… the plan is going swimmingly. If only you knew, McQueen.
Teio's phone dinged with a new notification, nearly causing her to jump a solid ten metres into the air.
Red_Ace: Any updates? How is it going between you two?
Her eyes flickered over the second half of the message, eliciting a sharp intake of air.
Red_Ace: Tell me you've at least popped the question?
Hachimi_Monarch: its going fine leave me alone
Hachimi_Monarch: no i havent asked her yet ill keep you posted
Man, who did they think I am? These things take time! It's like they don't even know m- ACK!
Completely lost in thought, Teio stumbled, heading face-first off a flight of stairs. Pupils dilated in fear, she immediately shut her eyes, bracing for the inevitable impact.
An impact that never came. Her heart was pounding.
But it wasn't the only one.
Opening her eyes and turning her head, she was met halfway by lavender eyes glazed over in bashful concern. A thoroughly red McQueen, arms crossed tightly around Teio's abdomen. From this angle, Teio was slumped against her taller frame.
They stayed there for several endless seconds, gazing into each other's eyes. Just standing in silence. In full view, committing each and every last facial feature to memory, in a process they had long perfected by this point.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
McQueen broke the peace, pulling her up onto the steps. Both of them were very red now, refusing to look each other in the eyes.
"Teio, you…"
McQueen struggled to regain her composure, trying desperately to remember how to string sentences together.
"...You vacuous nincompoop! Why would you not monitor the location of your legs more closely? I- it could have been disastrous if you fell!"
"Yeah, and I almost did. Thank the goddesses you caught me at the last second! Boy, my heart is pounding."
"I—of course I did! I will…"
McQueen softened.
"I will always be there to catch you, Teio."
And with that, the two fell into silence once more, a far more comfortable lull than before. They stood side by side, merely existing in one another's vicinity.
As they sat in silence, both knew that at times like these, words were unnecessary.
"Soooo… you want to get something to eat?"
Not everything that Teio does is always strictly necessary.
"McQueen. McQueen. Hey, McQueeen. Makweeeen!"
"What!?"
McQueen fanned herself down, undergoing a complete mental reset. She needed to pay attention.
Teio gestured to the menu.
"What are you going to eat?"
They had come to a small family-owned ramen shop that had caught Teio's eye for its cool logo, and now, the two sat alone in a booth.
"The shoyu, likely. In my experience, it is a consistently high-quality menu item."
"Then that's what I'll get too!"
"You wish to imitate me? How cute."
McQueen blurted out that last part unintentionally, the twitching of her ears serving as a reminder that she was still under the effects of an experimental medication. Interestingly, Teio seemed unaffected.
"Soo, McQueen. If you don't mind me asking, when was the last time I made you feel jealous?"
If anything, she seems more… predatory.
"…When you broke my record on the 2800 metres and lorded it over my head for a month."
"No? Let me rephrase. When was the last time you felt personally jealous because of something involving me?"
McQueen looked around the booth, searching for a loophole that evaded her mind, until the formula forced the true answer out of her mouth.
"I saw that Umamusume requesting your company for the Tracen ball. It was… greatly displeasing. It was no coincidence that I showed up and just happened to ask you the same question in her proximity."
"Oho! I knew something was up when you appeared right as I was about to reject her!"
"Yes. It brought me immense discomfort to imagine you hand in hand with another. Disregarding the objective consideration that I looked far better by your side."
Teio giggled to herself, writing something down on a piece of paper. Clearly Teio had noticed some sort of pattern, and McQueen wasn't certain she'd survive what came next.
But it mattered not. To live in fear of death is to cling on to life. McQueen wouldn't go down without a fight.
"Alright! Hehe, what else, what else…"
Her eyes lit up as she scribbled down more text onto the paper.
"McQueen, uhh, who's the cutest Umamusume you've ever seen?"
For shame! Trying to get me with such sloppy wording. Who exactly do you think you're dealing with?
McQueen sipped her tea, staring Teio dead in the eyes.
"Satono Diamond. The cutest Umamusume I've ever seen is Satono Diamond."
Now, if she'd asked for 'most attractive Umamusume'…
"…touche."
Teio's smile dropped slightly, but she scrawled down more notes regardless. Her gaze had similarly sharpened, and the two were outright staring at one another now.
Whether or not either of them acknowledged the catalyst behind their sudden showdown, it was undeniable regardless that the atmosphere had changed. A race for mental domination.
"Booth 14, your food has arri—"
McQueen slammed some yen notes from her pocket onto the table, neither Umamusume taking the time to cease their unrelenting gaze. The waiter in question, presumably either afraid of the palpable competitive tone or amused with the ridiculousness of it all (with a comparable probability), scurried away with the money.
McQueen raised the cup to her lips once more, Teio poised with her pen to the paper.
Neither so much as blinked, both daring the other to be the one to look away first. The kind of contest that had less to do with beating the other and more to do with not wanting to be the one to relent.
Game on, Teio.
"What other side effects did you say this could have?"
Scarlet and Tachyon were discussing the possible outcomes for their investigation. She hadn't had the heart to tell her that the wrong subject had consumed the medicine, and as such, she was disguising her questions as mere curiosity.
"They are mentioned in the research brief. Slight heart palpitations, an uncontrollable twitch in the ears, and of course, excessive overconfidence if taken in conjunction with carbohydrates."
"Wait, wait, wait! You didn't tell me about that last one!"
Tachyon spun around in her office chair.
"Oh, did I not? Perhaps I documented it mentally, rather than writing it down as I was meant to. Yes, if our subject were to consume a large source of carbohydrates, say, noodles, it results in a rather significant uptick in self-confidence for a period of time."
Scarlet frantically pulled out her phone, attempting to call Teio.
The idiot turned off her phone!
"A-and if the overconfident one in question is a clueless, emotionally repressed rich girl going out with the girl of her dreams that she won't admit she's mutually obsessed with?"
"Well, I imagine the outcome would be rather disastrous. Thankfully, you and Vodka shouldn't have that problem! Correct?"
"Y-yeah! Haha…"
I'm sorry, Teio.
Their food was the least notable portion of their stay at the restaurant. It was alright.
As expected, McQueen was a vicious competitor. Teio was hardly able to get a single other compromising answer to spill from her lips.
'What's your favourite part about me? (Your racing form. (One of many.))'
'Who would you trust with your deepest secret? (My grandmother. (She already knows about you. What bigger secret could I possibly have?))'
What finally brought them outside was not any form of common sense or public decency, but the closing time of their location of residence. It spoke of their time management, that most of the other stores were now similarly closed. McQueen did regret spending so much time bickering, but she had enjoyed her little showdown, as she knew Teio had too.
Though, for some strange reason, McQueen felt off. Something about her psyche had shifted, and it was a deviation she felt unprepared for. She felt good.
"Man, that was a fun day, huh, McQueen?"
"That it was. To see you, so desperately trying to force praise out of my lips, it was an adorable show, Teio."
Teio spluttered and faltered, utterly unprepared for what McQueen had said. And admittedly, McQueen also had to take a moment to wonder: where exactly did that come from?
Both their thoughts were simultaneously interrupted by an external source of dialogue.
"Oh! Teio-san! McQueen-san! Are you two on a date?"
"Yes."
"No!"
In front of her stood Satono Diamond and Kitasan Black, the latter holding far more packed shopping bags than you would ever expect a child of her size to be able to carry.
"Oh… okay! Me and Kita came out because I wanted to pick some stuff up for her house!"
"Yeah! She's gonna help me assemble some of it at home!"
"That's splendid of you, Dia! To use your given wealth for the good of someone you care about, how very mature of you!"
Dia blinked innocently.
"Have you ever wanted to buy Teio a gift, McQueen?"
Out of the corner of McQueen's eye, she saw Teio pulling out a pen and her slip of paper once more. An utterly undignified smirk covered her lips, causing McQueen's head to race with ideas.
"Nearly every single day."
Teio's pen clattered out of her hands.
"Ehhhh?"
Teio hadn't even needed to elaborate on that one. It came out of McQueen's mouth, entirely unprompted. In fact, she'd upgraded it.
"EVERY SINGLE DAY? WHAT DO YOU MEAN EVERY SINGLE DAY?"
"I am merely answering Dia's question with the truthfulness the circumstances demand of me. There is no need to make a scene."
Dia smiled, her eyes glimmering with the uncanny awareness of somebody well beyond her years.
"Well, that's natural! McQueen and Teio, who could possibly hope to separate such a close duo of good friends!"
Kitasan adjusted the bags in her hands, evidently in the dark as to the implications of her best friend's words.
"Yeah! Me and Dia talk about it sometimes! You guys do stuff that regular friends would never do!"
"L-like what?"
Kitasan stood in place, she and Dia deep in thought as to the next best way to inadvertently(?) obliterate their idol's pride.
"Well, you guys feed each other food!"
"All the time! You also go out clothes shopping…"
"For each other! And half the time you're just complimenting each other!"
"Yeah! Kita always looks for my opinions on what she wears, but you guys just go to stare at each other!"
McQueen smiled, seeing the two excitedly chatter amongst each other. It reminded her of herself and…
…well, the remains of the Umamusume beside her. It was more accurate to call her a ball of blush at this point.
"You must be mistaken. Teio is the one who constantly seeks my praise. It's not dissimilar to watching a kicked puppy when it's denied to her."
"That's it. New plan. Okay! New plan, effective immediately!"
Teio grabbed McQueen's wrist, pulling her away from the two children, who waved goodbye. She didn't look back.
Teio had realised long before that McQueen was far too sharp to allow herself to slip any compromising information about herself, even under the influence of… external circumstances.
So why had she, in front of the two children who looked up to them as heroes, become so suddenly brazen?
"Hey, McQueen, are you feeling alright?"
"Why are you acting so clueless, Teio?"
She froze. Teio's eyes were stuck firmly on the twitching ears of McQueen in front of her.
"What do you mean?"
"You're well aware I'm under the influence of experimental medication and can't speak untruthfully. Why have you refused to ask me anything more personal?"
It was like being stuck under a spotlight. Teio couldn't move a muscle, much less her mouth.
What do you mean 'experimental medication'? Does she know something I don't?
"I…"
"Do you understand, Teio, the amount I hold back on a consistent basis around you?"
McQueen advanced, grabbing Teio by the chin.
"That constant bravado of yours, your insistence on outperforming me, and yet, paradoxically enough, simultaneously acquiring my approval?"
"…"
"It's an endlessly entertaining display. One I can't help but wish would be for me, and me alone."
She grabbed Teio by the sleeve herself, dragging her along.
"And, don't worry. I plan to show you exactly what I mean."
Did Teio fall into an alternate reality or something? In any case, she was along for the ride, whether she liked it or not.
"Out."
Seeing the two side by side, Ikuno Dictus closed her book and wordlessly got up. She placed a single hand on Teio's shoulder before she left the room.
McQueen sat down on top of her bed, patting the spot next to her. Similarly to Ikuno, Teio followed her request without a word.
Once more, McQueen grasped Teio's chin in her hand.
"What do you think when you look at me, Teio?"
"Uhh… you're a really great rival, and a good friend, and…"
"Is that really all you think about?"
"I-I don't know! You put me on the spot!"
McQueen huffed.
"Here's my answer, Teio. The truth. You are the Umamusume who I find unbearably attractive, regardless of a complete lack of tact and fashion sense."
McQueen's perfect posture next to Teio's slouched back magnified their height difference to such a degree that Teio wasn't sure she was there at all.
"The truth is that I have dreamed of the day you and I fall asleep, side by side, as I hold you close to my chest. The truth is that in a perfect world, you, Tokai Teio, belong to me, Mejiro McQueen, now and forever."
Teio's face was shifting into shades of red that didn't have existing names yet, and McQueen showed no signs of stopping.
"And my greatest secret? Do you truly want to know what it is? Are you sure that you could handle…
She traced her finger down Teio's shoulder down to the tip of her finger.
"…all of it?"
Teio squealed slightly, McQueen immediately covering her mouth with her hand.
"Close your eyes, Teio."
Once more, she complied.
Several seconds passed. The anticipation. The intensity. She was completely at McQueen's mercy, with no possible way out.
Wait, yes, there was!
"I-I HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM!"
Teio pushed McQueen's arms off of her, escaping from her captor's gaze.
McQueen huffed once more, impatiently awaiting her companion to finish gathering herself. She could hear Teio giving herself an audible pep talk in the mirror. What an utter fool she was.
The rampant beat of her pulse wasn't slowing anytime soon. She grabbed onto her ears in a smooth, grounding motion. The ears in question were no longer twitching. McQueen's eyes widened as she physically felt her sudden influx of bravado leave her body.
No, no, no! Wh-what have I done? Come back! I'm not prepared to do this alone!
Clutching her abdomen, her pulse showed no signs of stopping. There was only one way out of this.
"Hey, McQueen, I-I think I'm ready no—"
And there McQueen was. Curled up under her covers, her door shut tight and locked, adamantly refusing to interact with the rest of society. She refused to show her face, seared with mortification and uttering not a word.
…um.
"…McQueen, do you need help in there?"
"…"
Teio sat on her bedside once again, pondering her next best course of action. Though she really wasn't in any state to be making educated decisions. Her brains felt like scrambled eggs at the moment.
McQueen popped her head out of the covers slowly, staring down at her knees.
"Y-yes. Just… wait."
What could one say in a moment like this? Alone, in a room with the one person you would rather die than have told half of what you just had.
Free of any outside influence, McQueen spoke.
"I wasn't lying. About any of it."
Her voice slowly grew in confidence as the conviction in her eyes strengthened, focusing her gaze back onto her companion.
"I truly do feel all of that and more. Though it seems you noticed rather quickly something was wrong."
Teio nervously chuckled, both Umamusume blissfully unaware of the fact that their scope of the other's knowledge was wildly incorrect.
"And as for what I wanted to say…"
The anticipation grew to a fever pitch once more. The curiosity was burning.
McQueen immediately vanished into the covers once more, her painstaking progress disappearing instantly.
"I-I'm sorry! If I look at your face right now, I feel as if my heart will burst!"
Teio snaked her hand over to McQueen's, holding onto it tightly. McQueen's tense fingers slowly loosened, interlacing with Teio's.
"You know, I really did have fun today. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."
Teio smiled, trying her best to look supportive, despite her disappointment.
"I'll wait for you, no matter how long it takes."
Teio got up from the bed. She was preparing to get them some water before McQueen burst out once more, both hands pulling Teio back down to her level.
"Absolutely not! You will stay right here, Tokai Teio!"
She huffed, her cheeks puffed out in a prominent pout, before finally resting her hands on both of Teio's cheeks. Staring her right in the eyes, with their faces at a noticeably higher temperature than the surrounding environment.
"The truth is that I like you, Teio! P-Probably much more than you think!"
For the last time that day, the two sat in silence, looking like two tomatoes ripe for plucking. The anticipation cut straight through McQueen's soul.
"…You beat me to it. Dang."
McQueen's eyes widened at her response.
"So, you mean to say that…"
"Yeah, I-I like you too, McQueen! N-No need to make me say it twice!"
Basking in their newfound honesty, they smiled before McQueen pulled Teio into the sheets with her.
"So, the whole time it was because of a stupid piece of medicine?"
"Yes. It appears Scarlet didn't give you the memo."
"Dammit! But what about that shooting star yesterday?"
McQueen's head cocked in confusion, the two stuck in the darkness of their makeshift blanket fort.
"But there were no shooting stars visible from Japan yesterday. Are you sure?"
"Yeah, it was super bright! And it even came out right as I was talking about how I was going to confe—"
Teio caught herself suddenly, almost joining McQueen in the oversharing personal experiences club. McQueen showed her the astronomy records on her phone, confirming that to the rest of the country, there was indeed no shooting star the night before.
Weird. Maybe the wish came true in its own way.
"Man. I'm for sure going to boil Scarlet alive."
"Yes. I must say, I would like to suggest she stay away from human trials in the future."
She placed her arms around Teio's neck, who, despite her squirming, had nowhere to look into but McQueen's lulled gaze.
"That being said…"
McQueen licked her lips before placing them on top of Teio's, pushing her back against the wall in a kiss the two had long earned by now. Their breath mixed, noses placed neatly beside each other. It was only after several seconds that McQueen finally granted Teio a respite, looking proudly upon her handiwork.
"…I'm quite satisfied with the results."
And McQueen laughed, in that stupid giggly way of hers, that she only revealed when she dropped her haughty persona entirely. Her true laugh. The one that Teio loved to hear. But no matter how disarmingly cute McQueen was being, she refused to give up the last laugh.
Teio tackled McQueen around the waist, the two tumbling around and giggling in the privacy of McQueen's bed.
And there the two would stay until the eventfulness of the day caught up to them, and they fell asleep in a tangle of blankets.