Author's Note: I am not an editor or a professional writer. I will write this and edit it the best I can. I also do not own Uma Musume, which is owned by Cygames. Watch the animes and read the mangas, for they are pretty good. Finally, please enjoy.
Endless Journey POV
Have you ever wondered why, even though the mind governs every facet of the body, people who seem not to think deeply can sometimes use their bodies more effectively than those who live in their heads?
The answer is simple: both are using their minds, but with different priorities. One sharpens thought, the other sharpens movement. The "jock" isn't mindless — their mind is simply devoted to physical mastery. The "nerd" isn't weak — their mind is devoted to analysis.
But someone who trains both? That is where versatility is born. That has always been my pursuit.
The more I studied the body and mind, the more fascinated I became. How can a mixed martial artist embody the flexibility of a dancer, the durability of a rugby player, the speed of a sprinter, and the reaction time of a racing driver — yet never fully surpass specialists in any one field?
Because they are synthesis. A convergence.
Flexibility, speed, power, dexterity, stamina, reaction, imagination, instinct, experience — when all collide, you witness something close to art.
Since childhood I studied movement obsessively: anatomy texts, biomechanics, the subtle language of muscle and balance. I explored my body through gymnastics, martial arts, dance, rugby, football, racing, parkour — each discipline another brushstroke in my personal canvas.
Training and study honed me.
Rest days expanded me — films, music, books, conversation.
Competition revealed me — not as spontaneity, but as preparation made visible.
People said I rose to the occasion.
In truth, I simply fell back on the mountain of work beneath me.
Yet despite all possibilities, I always returned to marathons and free running. Why push every limit only to arrive at the same finish line as everyone else? I still don't know. Perhaps the journey itself is the experiment.
Others gave me titles — Scholar of Running, Artist of Motion, Professor of Possibilities. Attempts to categorize what they couldn't quite understand.
But self-study has no finish line. And when I was reborn here — in a new body, a new world, a new form — that truth only deepened.
As an Uma Musume, I felt like a researcher granted entirely new instruments. I studied our physiology, compared memories of games, anime, manga, and real racing history. Every detail was data. Every sensation, a hypothesis.
The concept of "Zone," described in Cinderella Gray, fascinated me — a state where emotion and focus amplify physical output. Could it be triggered intentionally? Does it enhance cognition as well as strength? What are the long-term costs? Is it innate, learned, or both?
Questions piled endlessly. And questions are fuel.
So I meditated — drawing from religious and cultural practices I'd studied long ago — attempting to replicate the mental states of legends like Tamamo Cross and Inari One.
That was when I saw it.
My soul — my former self.
My Uma spirit — proud, powerful.
And... a third presence: a child who looked like my current body.
Three selves. Three perspectives.
Whenever I tried to speak to them, I was pulled back to reality, as if the world itself refused prolonged observation. The experience left me mentally drained yet exhilarated.
I had just finished documenting my findings when KiWi burst into my workspace.
"Hey, Jo! Enough spooky brain stuff. Training time."
She never asks — she declares.
KiWi is... singular. She perceives the world sideways, as if tuned to frequencies no one else hears. And she makes no effort to hide it.
We trained with the team, refining technique, optimizing efficiency. Teaching others has always required translation — clarity without condescension, precision without alienation.
Later, as we returned to our quarters, I sighed.
"KiWi, must you be so... chaotic during drills?"
She grinned. "What, the big brain tired of getting ignored by his inner ghost committee?"
I froze. I had told no one about the meditation.
"How do you know about that?" I asked.
She only smiled wider. "You really should pay attention to the story, Professor."
Before I could press further, the night dissolved into a blur of emotion, confusion, and intensity — two strong personalities colliding like weather systems.
The next morning, I woke to the aftermath: exhaustion, disarray, and the unmistakable sense that whatever had just happened would complicate far more than my research schedule.
⸻
Outside Logs — 3rd Person
A loud crash echoed down the hall, followed by unmistakable chaos from Jo's room.
Spice rubbed his temples. "The guy with more degrees than a thermometer really never learned risk assessment, huh?"
Norn smirked, equal parts amused and envious.
Sweets hid her face, mortified. "Do we... tell Vic?"
Steel shook her head calmly. "No. Let them handle it. Losing Jo's focus would hurt the team more than this situation will."
ImP sighed. "I'm honest, not reckless. My lips are sealed."
After a few more suspicious thuds, the hallway cleared quickly — everyone suddenly finding somewhere else to be.
Some things were better left... undocumented.