"I got a girlfriend."
"What?"
"Hmm? Did you not hear me? I got a girlfriend."
"Ah! There's supposed to be a space there, trainer. Girl friend. Not girlfriend."
"I know what I said, Teio. It's the romantic girlfriend that I mean."
The entire Minaz team froze the moment their trainer dropped an atomic bomb in the middle of their training session as if it were nothing. The bright sky suddenly turns cloudy, and thunder rages across it.
"Hmm? It was just bright a couple of seconds ago. Goddesses damn climate change."
"Trainer, joking around like that isn't nice, you know? I tolerate your usual jokes, but I think this crosses the line."
"Huh? Why? Why am I getting a girlfriend crosses the line?! Shouldn't you girls be happy for me?!!"
*STOMP*
"HOLY—!!"
The young man almost dropped his tablet when Urara stomped her feet on the ground. As a late surger, Urara's power stat is above the rest of the team, so when she let out her final kick, it created a little shockwave that sounds like an explosion.
"Ah! Sorry!! Urara was training her final kick."
"Ah… Don't worry about it, cutie. I was just startled. You can continue your training."
"Trainer, I know you're lonely, but this kind of prank isn't nice, you know?"
"Suzuka, I'm going to cry."
"Bring her here then. If she is real, then bring her here."
"Fine! I'll bring her tomorrow. You girls had better prepare yourself for her!! I don't want any stupid incidents!"
"Oh, don't worry. We all will be prepared to greet her."
XxX-XxX
"Ikuno, do you know how to cause the most amount of pain to a woman?"
"...what?"
Back inside the dorm room, McQueen is spending her night scrolling through the internet and studying about woman's anatomy. Ikuno herself was busy maintaining her gears when her roommate asked such a weird and alarming question.
"If I may ask, why are you asking that question?"
"Just wondering~~~"
No. You don't ask your friend something like that. I'm afraid she might try to actually do something harmful to someone. I need to be careful with my answer.
"Well, from all the books I've read, emotional damage seems to be the most painful."
"How about a physical one?"
I know it!! What are you planning to do, McQueen?!
"Uuh… A kick from an umamusume is pretty powerful, no?"
"What about using a knife?"
Aaaahhhh!! How am I going to answer this?!?! Why a knife!?! Who are you planning to stab!?!?
"A knife…? I can't say I know that much about that…"
"I see… I'll search through the internet then."
This is bad! This is bad!! If I don't do something, then I'll be roommates with a serial killer.
"Did something happen to grow your interest in something… like that?"
"Ah… No, it's just a curiosity. Just a shower thought, you know? You must've gotten them, right, Ikuno?"
No! I never had any curiosity about how I could cause the most amount of pain to a woman!! That's not something a normal high school girl should be having thought of!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mayano, you told me that your father flew a fighter jet, right?"
"Hmm? Papa? Yeah! He used to fly an F-fourteen, but now he flies an F-eighteen. Why did you bring it up?"
"Can the missile target one specific individual?"
"Eh? Papa never told me if there are missiles that can strike a certain individual, but there are extremely precision-guided weapons for it."
"How much does one cost?"
"In the millions? I guess…?"
"EH!?!?! Millions!?!? Uuuuuuhhhh…"
"What's wrong, Teio? Why are you asking something like that?"
"Well… I was just wondering about it. Then, how about guns? Did your dad ever tell you about guns and things?"
"Eh? Not really… Why are you asking these kinds of questions, Teio? Did your trainer do something?"
"Well… sort of… I'm just curious, you know? They seem to be really effective at getting rid of people you don't like."
"I guess they… are…?"
Mayano's head tilted so far to the side that her body created an arch. The orange-haired little umamusume was hella confused. She can't pull a line between Teio's questions and running.
Is she planning to use these weapons in a race?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yo, Goldship. What's with the long face?"
"Ah… Stay Gold… It's nothing."
"Oya?"
Stay Gold quickly notices that something is wrong with her roommate. Goldship usually calls her 'old man', but she just calls her by her name.
"Wants some tea? I got this one from Hong Kong. It's perfect with the cloudy weather outside."
"Ah… thanks."
Stay Gold pour the contents of the teapot onto a small ceramic cup. The darkish-red liquid slowly fills the ceramic, while exuding a faint white steam. She then proceeded to hand the cup to her roommate.
"Did something happen to Igo Heita?"
"..."
"Sigh… What's that dumbass got up to this time?"
"...say Stay Gold, how do you stop loving someone?"
"I see… That guy is really a handful, huh?"
*Sssllluuuurrrppp*
"Let your fire burn brighter, Goldship."
"Huh? I don't understand…"
"The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long, as the saying goes. If I have to imagine what love is, it's like a campfire."
"A campfire…?"
"Indeed. You're the fire, and your partner is the one who is affected by the warmth. If your partner enjoys the warmth, then surely they would fuel the fire even more, no? This is them answering your feelings. Acting nice, replying to your messages, and flirting with you. All of this fueled the fire of love that is you."
"I'm the fire, yes."
"But, if the other person doesn't like it. They will leave you alone, let you die out. Nothing is eternal in this world. Your fire will die out soon enough."
"My love will die out…"
"The way you're doing it right now is like trying to put out a forest fire. Do you know what the most dangerous thing about a forest fire is, Goldship? The ember deep underground. Thousands of liters of water can be poured onto a forest and yet those embers will remain burning, just like your love for him."
"The embers…"
"And those embers will hurt the forest again and again and again and again and again and again. You will never know true peace for as long as those embers remain burning. So, sometimes, the only way to put out a fire is to let everything burn out into a pile of charcoal and ash."
"I should burn out in a blazing glory, yes?"
"Indeed. Burn your love for Igo Heita to its zenith, and let the fuel run out. Only then can you truly stop loving someone."
"I understand. Also, it's not me who loves him. It's McQueen."
"Indeed. All of us love him."