"T- Trainer Imanami, will this training method really be effective?"
Rice Shower, who had been pulled to the training grounds, looked at Mejiro McQueen, who was in front of her, as well as at Gold Ship, who was behind her, feeling rather fearful.
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. You will be the first to test this training method, after all."
"However, if my current data is accurate, you should at least be able to gain some results."
At the side, Imanami stood with Tokai Teio, the one he originally planned to be the main test subject since she, alongside Sweep Tosho, were the only ones in the team to not have Aura.
The only reason why he picked Rice Shower over Teio was because she had vividly expressed her refusal to participate, saying that she had enough of 'getting crushed.'
What was the training method Imanami developed, you might ask? Well, it can be aptly described as 'forced adaptation.'
The only condition he currently knew for awakening Aura was the 'right moment.'
So, by boxing in an Uma Musume with two other Uma Musume that had Aura, Imanami hoped that, under the pressure, the trapped Uma Musume would have their Aura stimulated as some sort of a subconscious defense mechanism.
After his conversation with Deep Impact that day, Imanami began to consciously invest his time into researching the mysterious abilities of 'Aura' and 'Zone' which were unique to Uma Musume.
As one of the seemingly only three humans in this world that were able to perceive the idiosyncrasies belonging to Uma Musume, Imanami began to make some progress.
Of course, contrary to his words, Imanami wasn't using Rice Shower as a guinea pig; he just told Rice Shower that to make her feel more pressured.
Long before Rice Shower came here, Imanami had already tested it on Mejiro McQueen, Gold Ship, and Tokai Teio, with all three of them showing completely different reactions.
With T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto acting as the 'box,' Mejiro McQueen quickly reacted, activating her Aura to resist; and though she was quickly suppressed, she still showed extreme resilience.
Gold Ship, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed in the same environment, not even activating the Aura she showed in her Debut, as if nothing was happening.
And finally, for Tokai Teio... she straight up cried from fright, not even lasting a second initially.
Fortunately, after she cried in Imanami's arms for a while, Teio managed to pull herself together and lasted a bit longer; however, she still showed no signs of awakening her Aura.
While all these tests had wildly different results, Imanami felt that it was worth a shot to let Rice Shower try. Who knows? Maybe Rice Shower, like McQueen, would subconsciously activate her dormant Aura.
"Rice Shower, remember, this is just a test. If you feel that the pressure is too great or if you feel something is wrong, immediately stop. Don't force yourself, understand?"
"O- okay!"
Taking a deep breath, Rice Shower readied herself, her expression becoming serious as she adopted a ready-to-run posture.
"Rice Shower, you can do it!"
Orfevre, who was standing nearby, optimistically cheered for Rice Shower, encouraging her on without any reservations.
Of course, this wasn't a truly altruistic act. Orfevre's full support for Rice Shower was based on the belief that she couldn't threaten her.
Still, Rice Shower, not knowing this, looked at Orfevre with an expression of determination and a heart filled with joy.
Orfevre supported her this much! She absolutely could not let her down.
She wanted to become stronger; to live up to Orfevre's expectations; to become an Uma Musume that can run beside her!
That way, maybe she could also get some fans and perhaps even get a little luckier!
Dreaming all of this, Rice Shower finished preparing herself, nodding to Imanami to signal that she was ready to go.
"Alright, McQueen, Gold Ship, I'll leave it to you."
"Ready? Set— run!"
With the blow of a whistle by Imanami, Rice Shower took her first step.
However, the moment she did so, the entire atmosphere around her dramatically shifted, making Rice Shower gasp for breath as her already pale face became even paler.
In front of Rice Shower, the originally kind and gentle Mejiro McQueen turned terrifying, as if she were a particularly murderous royal; her mere presence making Rice Shower anxious.
And behind Rice Shower, though she couldn't see Gold Ship, she felt a strong sense of crisis, akin to being chased by a predator.
At this moment, Rice Shower truly understood what it felt like to be between the hammer and the nail.
'Heavyfearheavyfearheavyfearheavyfearheavyfearheavyfearheavyfearheavyfearheavyfearheavyfearheavyfear— I want to run away.'
'Sure enough, the gap between me and those that are truly strong is too vast— shouldn't I just give up?'
Yet, even with thoughts like this constantly running through her head, Rice Shower forced her legs to move, her movement starting to look more mechanical than human.
As expected, under such conditions, the distance between Rice Shower and Mejiro McQueen instantly widened.
"Hmm... looks like the pressure was too much."
With Teio's test as a reference, Imanami directly understood the situation between the three.
Considering Rice Shower's level, it was to be expected for her to be crushed by the Aura of the two like this; after all, compared to a GI level Uma Musume like Mejiro McQueen, a freshly minted Classic Year Uma Musume like her was simply too weak.
However, taking into consideration Rice Shower's 'past' connection with McQueen, Imanami had secretly hoped for something unexpected to happen.
But seeing how Rice Shower was struggling to even run, it seemed that Imanami's expectations had been a bit too wild.
After all, no matter how shockingly strong Rice Shower managed to become during the Tenno Sho (Spring) in his previous world, with how the current Rice Shower was showing no signs of a sudden awakening, it seemed that it was a bit too hasty to try and unleash her potential right now.
'...This won't do, let's stop for now—'
Yet, the moment Imanami thought this, Tokai Teio, who had also been watching, tugged his sleeve, pointing at the track ahead as a slightly dazed expression appeared on her face.
"T- Trainer... look... Rice Shower..."
"Huh?"
As Imanami subconsciously looked towards the tracks, his pupils immediately widened when he saw what was happening.
Because at that moment, a swirling black fog, similar to the Zone Deep Impact unleashed, began materializing around Rice Shower's body.
"...Really?"
Even if he had theorized that something like this would happen if he let Rice Shower chase McQueen, seeing his wild conjecture being proven true just like that caused Imanami's mouth to hang open.
With the research and definitions of Aura Imanami had found, the word 'origin' that Uma Musume had used to describe the source of their Aura immediately piqued his attention.
After all, accounting for all the similarities and the fact that these events had already 'happened,' couldn't their original world be considered as the 'origin' of these Uma Musume? Plus, it would make sense for Trainers and researchers alike to fail in uncovering the secrets of Aura if it required literal otherworldly knowledge.
Thus, with this in mind, what Imanami guessed happened was that, once Rice Shower came into contact with Mejiro McQueen's Aura, it caused some of the latent memories from her other world self to awaken and subtly guide her to unleash her potential.
Of course, his originally more conservative theory of her body simply unconsciously protecting herself by unleashing Aura— well, Zone in this case, could also be true.
But regardless, what Rice Shower was showing now was undoubtedly 'Zone.'
At the same time, the two-faced Orfevre, who had been cheering from the side, immediately had her smile freeze, seemingly realizing that, through her own hubris, she had managed to mold herself... a true opponent.
"Ugh—?!"
Mejiro McQueen, who had been cruising since the start of the run, also felt Rice Shower's change, subconsciously turning her head, only to find a strange and terrifying black blob of smoke rapidly closing in on her.
Under the pressure of Gold Ship and McQueen's Aura, the 'hopes and dreams' Orfevre had passed onto her, and all the grievances throughout her unlucky life, Rice Shower seemed to have finally awakened, her eyes carrying a hint of deadly gloom, appearing incredibly eerie.
Like muscle memory, the Dark Assassin immediately adopted the posture she was intimately familiar with to achieve victory.
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Bloody hell, Rice Shower became bri'ish! Blimey, the horrors!
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.