"La-la-la~"
Jade hummed a cheerful tune, her mood buoyant.
After hearing Kousei's words, she'd been spending more time with Rohan after training. Thanks to this, Kousei's training schedule had also increased.
"Come to think of it, Rohan did ask me to watch a video."
Caught up in her good fortune, Jade had momentarily forgotten where she'd put the tape.
"Could it be in here?"
Jade rummaged through a pile of boxes. She'd bought so much stuff, and since she disliked being waited on, her room was a chaotic mess.
"Oh! Found it!"
Jade examined the tape, her brow furrowing. "Huh? This doesn't seem right."
She continued rummaging, overturning an entire box of videotapes. Jade froze, suddenly realizing this wasn't her box.
"Oh no! It's Rohan's!"
Flustered, Jade hurriedly started tidying up before Rohan returned. That's when she noticed a clear label on one of the tapes.
"Mejiro McQueen?"
Jade knew about Mejiro McQueen. Rohan had previously mentioned his desire to collaborate with the Mejiro Family, and McQueen, as the family's prized treasure, was naturally someone Rohan admired.
Rohan always spoke highly of McQueen, praising her to the skies as the elite young lady of the Umamusume World.
Over time, Jade developed a vague impression of McQueen and, to some extent, a competitive spirit toward Mejiro McQueen.
That's why, when she saw the Mejiro Family Crest gleaming on Kousei's chest that day, she mistakenly identified Kousei as McQueen.
Jade thought it over. Since she'd never actually seen McQueen, she decided to go all in. She wanted to see for herself just how exceptional this widely praised elite young lady truly was.
The screen flickered with static. Jade slapped the television, and the picture cleared.
The recorded race was McQueen's trial to become the "strongest"—the Spring Tenno Sho, a life-or-death battle against Kousei.
"This is...!"
Jade didn't know which race it was, nor did she know what Mejiro McQueen looked like. Yet the moment the race began, she almost immediately knew who McQueen was.
Like a walking natural disaster, Mejiro McQueen's overwhelming power was on full display in this Spring Tenno Sho. Glimpsing divine majesty within the Azure Thunder, mesmerized by the captivating Rainbow Legs, Jade found herself utterly captivated, unable to tear her gaze away.
"This is Mejiro McQueen... This is the ideal Rohan strives for..."
Jade had always been fiercely independent, convinced that no one could match her innate talent. But witnessing McQueen's performance shook her to her core.
So this is what it means to be a frog in a well, looking up at the sky?
Jade couldn't shake the experience. It was too powerful, too beautiful.
Who is she?
Jade noticed a swirling black mist seemingly locked in a tug-of-war with McQueen, but no matter how hard she strained, she couldn't discern its form.
What's going on? Is this a recording glitch?
As Jade stared transfixed at the Black Mist, a faint sense of familiarity stirred within her. Who are you, really?
After that day, Jade threw herself into training with renewed fervor. When she asked Rohan if she could train independently, he looked at her as if he'd seen a ghost.
Rohan was thrilled by Jade's newfound enthusiasm. Since the training regimen wasn't overly strenuous, he couldn't be happier that she wanted to practice on her own.
After her solo practice, Jade didn't leave. Instead, she sat quietly to the side, waiting for Kousei Training to conclude. Kousei noticed Jade's presence and thought, Oh no, deciding to take a break.
"Young Lady, the competition's starting soon. I don't have time to play with you," Kousei said, a hint of worry in her voice. After all, the Young Lady tended to act on a whim.
But today, the Young Lady seemed unusually distracted, her mind clearly elsewhere.
"What's wrong? Did you quarrel with Rohan?" Kousei asked, noticing her demeanor.
Jade shook her head. "Kousei, since you're wearing the Mejiro Family Crest, you must know Mejiro McQueen, right?"
"Of course. Why the sudden question?"
"Could you tell me a bit about McQueen?"
Kousei hadn't expected Jade to bring up McQueen. She wasn't sure why Jade had suddenly brought her up.
For a moment, Kousei was lost in thought. How long had it been since she'd last talked about McQueen?
"McQueen... where do I even begin?" Kousei sat beside Jade. "Where would you like me to start?"
Kousei's willingness to talk was surprising. Usually, she had to be coaxed, begged, and badgered just to get a few moments of her time. It seemed that when it came to McQueen, she was willing to sacrifice even her precious training time.
"I don't know. Just tell me what kind of person McQueen is."
"What kind of person? I think McQueen is an incredibly gentle person."
"Gentle?"
"Yes. I used to be a very, very withdrawn little person. No one my age wanted to be friends with me—maybe they thought I was weird. Because I lacked social interaction, my personality had some flaws.
But thankfully, Fuji-senpai and Big Sister Hishi Amazon took care of me. Though life was a bit lonely, it wasn't too difficult."
"If it were me, I definitely couldn't handle it. Why doesn't anyone want to be friends with Kousei?"
"Probably because I'm stubborn and extreme. To be honest, I used to run terribly. My teacher and trainer even advised me to quit."
"You're kidding, right? Kousei's been on a winning streak!"
"You're not wrong about that. But as I said, I used to run terribly. Before joining NAU, I raced for a while at URA."
"URA? What's that?"
"It's the racetrack where I used to compete—a stage even grander than NAU, and a place I once called home. There's the once-in-a-lifetime Triple Crown Race, the Summer Festival, and the Tenno Sho, symbolizing endless glory. It's a ship carrying dreams where anyone can achieve their aspirations."
"Amazing! Kousei must have won a lot there! You must have won the Triple Crown Race too, right? It's only once in a lifetime!" Jade's attention was completely captivated by the novel topic.
"The Triple Crown? Unfortunately, I didn't win a single crown."
"Huh?"
"I didn't just fail to win a single crown—I even lost the right to advance alongside my friends. My performance was so poor that many urged me to quit, believing I didn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as them.
There's a saying, isn't there? 'Only those evenly matched are worthy of being called rivals.'"
Jade had no similar experiences and couldn't fully imagine the world Kousei described. She could only try to empathize through fragments of conversation.
"Even so, Kousei, you still want to race? If it were me, I would have given up long ago. I just want my life to be a little more enjoyable."
"Giving up is also a choice, but I refused to give up. At first, it was pure stubbornness. Everyone thought I couldn't do it, so I wanted to race even more to prove them wrong. I had to win—I would sacrifice everything for victory.
The long night seemed endless, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reach the light. There was a moment when I genuinely considered giving up... if it hadn't been for one particular friend."
"Could it be?"
"Exactly. At that moment, McQueen reached out to me. My first friend, my dearest friend. Without McQueen, I might have left the racetrack long ago."
"McQueen is my sun, willing to approach someone like me and give me courage. That's why I desperately want to run one more race with McQueen, no matter what..." Kousei's dazzling hands unconsciously clenched. "...I also want to go home."
Kousei suddenly offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for burdening you with such heavy topics. Could you please pretend you didn't hear any of this? I shouldn't have said so much."
"Ah? Okay," Jade nodded blankly.
"Thanks. I need to get back to training now. See you next time."
As Jade watched Kousei's retreating figure, the image of the Black Mist suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Kousei!"
"Hmm?"
"No... it's nothing."