My apologies for the delay. Things have been really hectic for me IRL so I have to sort it out this week. Hopefully, I'll be back to normal chapter scheduling next week.
As for the usual pleasantries, I will up the required power stone for the week to 100 power stones per user for an advance chapter, and for every 300 power stones accumulated for the week, I will also post an advance chapter corresponding to the complete amount in the week's end.
So gift more Power Stones to advance the chapter schedule. Thank you very much for your support and enjoy the chapter!
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Word Count: 4,432
The hospital hallway was drowned in sterile white.
Bright lights hummed softly overhead, their glow reflecting off polished floors and pale walls that seemed to stretch endlessly in both directions. At the end of the corridor, a single red indicator lamp above the operating room door burned steadily.
Trainer Hana stood with her arms folded, leaning against the wall while Trainer Okino sat a few seats away, elbows resting on his knees, fingers interlocked, gaze fixed on the floor.
Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen sat side by side but they're also quiet as well.
Diamente, meanwhile, sat slightly apart from them.
Air Groove, the direct connection to someone on the other side of that door, paced back and forth.
Back and forth repeatedly.
The sharp click of her heels echoed each time she turned.
"Air Groove," Trainer Hana finally said gently, "you'll wear a hole in the floor at this rate."
But Air Groove didn't slow down as if she didn't hear Trainer Hana.
Trainer Hana then turned to Trainer Okino, clearly about to say more—but Okino lifted one hand and a small shake of his head can be seen.
'Let her be.'
It's as if he's telling that to Trainer Hana, which made her close her mouth.
Air Groove's pacing continued while Diamente's hands were clenched in her lap.
Her eyes were open too wide for Teio to notice it.
"Diamente-chan…?"
Diamente didn't respond, so Teio leaned slightly closer.
"You've been staring at that wall intensely for a while now, Diamente-chan."
Diamente's eyes then shifted slowly but offered no words.
"I'm thinking..." Teio continued.
McQueen frowned from Diamente's reaction.
"Thinking about what, senpai?" Diamente asked as she exhaled through her nose.
Teio hesitated for a moment before saying, "…You know, you don't have to stay here all night."
Diamente turned her head, but her eyes now carried a certain glint of resentment. "Please don't say that, Kaichou."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was sharp which made Teio flinched.
Diamente continued.
"I should've expected this."
McQueen stiffened, asking, "What do you mean, Diamente-chan?"
Diamente's fingers curled tighter.
"The Satsuki Sho's pace was already abnormal." She looked down, and added, "And today's Derby pace just exacerbated it into an injury of this proportion."
McQueen shook her head.
"No one could've predicted an injury like that, Diamente-chan."
"No, senpai," Diamente coldly retorted back before adding, "We could have expected this from the get-go."
The words she uttered fell heavy.
Trainer Okino lifted his gaze while Air Groove stopped pacing around.
Everyone turned to Diamente.
She stood up from her seat slowly.
"I talked with Trainer Okino about this before the Satsuki Sho."
Okino's eyes narrowed slightly before nodding, "She brought it up," he said quietly.
"Indeed," Diamente nodded. "I told him that Duramente either awakened something similar to a domain…"
She swallowed.
"…or that, she was pushing herself so far beyond her physical limit that she entered the state of overblooming."
Teio's breath caught while McQueen narrowed her eyes upon knowing this too well.
"Explain yourself, Diamente." Air Groove's voice was low.
Diamente met her eyes and explained, "I saw her training alone at the school track."
Air Groove's jaw tightened upon hearing this.
"She was running at full speed and I thought that her running wasn't normally that fast for an umamusume of her classic-year."
Her gaze lowered to the floor.
"At the time, I thought I saw the first stage of a domain."
She paused for a few moments.
"But now, I think it was both activating her domain while also experiencing overblooming."
"Both?" Trainer Hana frowned.
Diamente nodded.
"She brushed past her own domain… but her body wasn't ready." She let out a weak, hollow chuckle before adding, "...so it traded her body's durability and potential for a boost in speed and acceleration."
Silence swallowed the hallway as Diamente looked at her hands.
"It was only a theory of mine, and it shouldn't have happened."
Her shoulders trembled faintly.
"And yet…"
She closed her eyes.
"It happened anyway."
Air Groove's fists shook.
"…You're saying this was inevitable?"
Diamente opened her eyes.
"I'm saying I couldn't stop it."
Her voice was flat.
Suddenly, the operating room light went out and the door slid open.
Everyone stood at once as a doctor stepped out, his surgical gown still on, and mask lowered to his neck.
"Who is the guardian of the patient?"
Air Groove stepped forward immediately.
"I am. She's my younger cousin."
The doctor nodded.
"Currently, she's out of danger."
A collective breath escaped the group.
Teio clasped her hands together.
"Thank goodness…"
But the doctor continued.
"But I'm afraid that she had suffered a compound distal fracture in both of her legs."
Their relief froze halfway.
"But as we speak right now, we have successfully stabilized and repaired her fractures."
Air Groove's voice trembled.
"Doctor… What about her racing career…?"
The doctor hesitated, exhaled before replying, "The patient will require extensive rehabilitation."
A pause.
"At minimum, six to nine months including physical therapy before considering returning to competition."
Air Groove swallowed as she asked, "…So she won't make it to the Kikuka Sho?"
The doctor slowly shook his head.
"Even six months to reach full recovery would already be exceptional for a case like this, but she cannot run to her full potential after this."
Air Groove's shoulders sagged upon hearing this harsh reality.
The hallway felt colder.
"I'm sorry," the doctor said with a small bow. "Please excuse me."
He left as silence remained.
Teio bowed lightly in the doctor's direction.
"Thank you for saving her, Doc."
No one spoke after that as Diamente then inhaled deeply.
Too deeply.
Then she exhaled it all out before turning her back from everyone.
"I'll be back." she excused herself without looking at everyone.
Teio looked up.
"Where are you going, Diamente-chan?"
"To buy some fruits at the convenience store, senpai."
Everyone blinked as Diamente picked up her bag.
"Kita-senpai should eat something sweet first." Her voice was steady, betraying her next words.
"Before she hears the worst part."
She then turned toward the hallway exit.
Behind her—worried eyes followed, but she paid no mind to it.
==== 🐎Legend Changer🐎 ====
The plastic bag in Diamente's hand crinkled softly as she walked down the hospital corridor.
Inside were neatly packed fresh fruits, and also fruit cups that are easy to eat and also have forks on top of the lids for easy digestion.
She stopped in front of a room.
Through the glass panel on the door, she could already see familiar silhouettes so Diamente slid the door open.
The first face she noticed was Kitasan Black, who's sitting upright on the bed.
A blanket draped over her legs, though she could already guess that the staff bandaged her legs so she wouldn't overexert her legs after just finishing the race.
Her usual boundless energy wasn't there but her eyes were open, alive, and also quite aware.
Around her stood three figures.
They were Satono Diamond, Satono Crown, and Real Steel.
All of them turned when they heard the door.
"Mente-chan."
Satono Diamond smiled faintly.
Diamente returned it.
"I brought some fruit, Kita-chan, everyone."
Kitasan's lips curved upward.
"Thank you, Mente-chan."
Satono Diamond gently took the bag.
"I'll cut them for her, Mente-chan. You can sit with her."
Diamente nodded and moved closer to the bed.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Satono Crown broke the silence.
"…Did you hear anything about Duramente?"
Hearing this, Diamente's fingers tightened against her skirt.
Real Steel watched her carefully.
Diamente inhaled slowly and deeply, before she audibly exhaled.
"I was outside the operating room with Air Groove-san and the others."
Satono Diamond paused mid-slice.
"When the operation was finished, the doctor said that she suffered compound distal fractures… in both of her legs."
Satono Diamond's cutting stopped while Satono Crown's eyes widened, and Real Steel's breath hitched.
Kitasan, though, remained quiet.
"The best news so far," Diamente continued. "is that the operation is a success and she's out of danger."
A tiny release of tension rippled through the room.
"But…"
Diamente lowered her gaze.
"The doctor explained that she won't be able to race for at least six to nine months."
Silence befell everyone in the room.
Kitasan's hands rested on the blanket.
Her face didn't change much.
"…So Kikuka Sho is impossible, huh," Kitasan asked as if she's not all surprised by this development.
Diamente nodded as Kitasan then gave her a small, tired smile.
"Thank you for telling me this, Mente-chan."
That calmness felt heavier than anything Diamente had ever felt from Kitasan.
But then, a knock came at the door before the nurse peeked in.
"I'm sorry, everyone," the nurse apologized, "the visiting hours are over."
Hearing this, everyone nodded as this is the hospital's rules they're talking about. Satono Diamond placed the bowl full of fruit cuts into Kitasan's hands.
"Eat a little before you sleep, okay?"
Kitasan nodded.
"I will. Thank you, Dia-chan."
One by one, they stepped out.
Diamente lingered the longest.
Kitasan met her eyes.
"Good night, Mente-chan."
"Good night, Kita-senpai."
The door was then slid shut.
They had only taken a few steps down the hallway when—
"…hnng…"
A muffled sound leaked through the door. A choked breath.
Then another, before a full cry can be heard from the outside.
Satono Diamond frantically spun around.
"I—I should go back—!"
Diamente gently caught her wrist.
"Dia-chan, don't."
Satono Diamond froze.
"She needs time to process everything by herself," Diamente said quietly.
Real Steel looked conflicted.
"…Was it really necessary to tell her right now?"
Diamente didn't hesitate.
"Steel-chan, I saw Duramente's legs when I caught Kita-senpai at that time."
Their eyes turned to her.
"There was blood coming out of her shoes, and I highly bet that she saw it too before she went unconscious."
Satono Crown swallowed.
"It's the last thing she thought before she went out cold, so if Kita-senpai keeps everything bottled up, I'm sure that it will break her later." Diamente continued.
"It's better she hears it while she's with the people she trusts deeply."
Her gaze softened.
"Kita-senpai's really strong. She has to be."
Real Steel slowly nodded.
"…Yeah."
The crying behind the door gradually faded. When they finally reached the hospital entrance, cool night air greeted them.
A black car sat parked near the curb with a familiar umamusume leaned casually against it.
Recognizable brown hair with a white streak in front, wearing casual green long sleeves, brown leggings and also has spectacles on her face.
The gentle smile is quite captivating like the moon that's above them right now.
It's Symboli Rudolf.
All four of them stopped.
"R-Rudolf-neesan?" Diamente blinked. "What are you doing here?"
Rudolf chuckled.
"A certain Student Council President called me, worried about you and your friends."
She sighed dramatically.
"I can't believe the current JRA President is being ordered around like a chauffeur."
Then she smiled again.
"But I don't mind if it's for my dear child."
Diamente sighed as she retorted back with a smirk, "Adopted daughter, Rudolf-neesan."
"It's the same thing." Rudolf smiled.
She opened the car door.
"The last train left hours ago."
"I'll take those three back to Tracen while you come home with me afterwards."
Diamente exchanged glances with the others before Satono Diamond thanked Rudolf in behalf of them three.
"…Thank you, Rudolf-kaichou."
"There's no need to call me that, just call me Aunt Rudolf."
Rudolf tilted her head.
"Hop in."
The doors closed with Diamente at the passenger seat up front while Satono Diamond, Satono Crown, and Real Steel were at the back.
The engine started as the car started moving forward.
Rudolf kept one hand on the steering wheel. The other rose thoughtfully.
"You know…"
Everyone tensed slightly.
Diamente squinted.
"…Why do I feel like something dangerous is coming?"
"After being called by Teio for a chauffeur job like this," Rudolf smiled, "I was thinking about becoming a taxi driver after retiring from being the JRA President."
Satono Crown, unknowingly falling into a trap, blinked.
"…Why?"
"So I can finally say—"
She cleared her throat.
"'I drive people forward in life.'"
Silence permeated the room for a moment before Satono Crown started to laugh really hard from this dad joke.
Real Steel stared ahead with a stone face, while Satono Diamond slowly turned toward Diamente.
"…Is it too late to walk home now, Mente-chan?"
Diamente rubbed her temples.
"…We're thirty minutes away, Dia-chan."
Rudolf nodded solemnly.
"See? Even my jokes have long distances."
Satono Crown continued laughing like crazy, while Real Steel and others rubbed their foreheads in pure disappointment.
The culprit of all of this, Rudolf, drove very gently and had successfully dropped off the three back at Tracen.
==== 🐎Legend Changer🐎 ====
The engine hummed steadily beneath them as Rudolf rested one hand on the steering wheel, the other loosely draped near the window. Her expression remained calm, but her eyes occasionally drifted toward Diamente's reflection in the glass.
It was as if Diamente had frozen into a statue, too focused on the storm of thoughts swirling within her mind.
After several minutes, Rudolf spoke casually.
"I saw what happened," Rudolf remarked. "I also noticed your actions from the start, so I know how you felt—being powerless when things like that happen."
Diamente continued to stare forward, unmoving.
Yet she was listening.
Of course she was.
From someone like Symboli Rudolf, who had stood at the summit of Central racing and who had watched generations rise and disappear, Diamente knew that those words carried weight.
Rudolf had lived through an era when racing was stagnant.
An era filled with broken dreams due to insufficient support from other Tracen Academies outside of Central.
An era where countless umamusume were forced to retire before their stories ever truly began.
Careers cut short due to injuries from accidents, or otherwise.
Tragedy was not an exception in this sport, but a part of its shadow.
Rudolf exhaled slowly.
"Tell me, Diamente." Her voice remained calm, "If accidents could be completely prevented… do you think this sport would still be what it is?"
Diamente's fingers twitched.
Rudolf continued.
"Racing exists because us umamusume choose to push ourselves to their limits for whatever dream we have."
"I challenged the Triple Crown undefeated because I knew I could do it. Others do so due to their own dreams, and that's why they challenge fate itself."
A brief pause.
"And whenever something challenges fate…"
Her eyes softened.
"Fate pushes back."
The city lights passed quietly outside.
Diamente finally spoke.
"…So you're saying… we just accept it, Rudolf-neesan?"
"No." Rudolf shook her head.
"That's more of a reason why I decided to cooperate with the Director on so many things, just like the University Wing and also the advancement of umamusume medicine spearheaded by Dr. Tachyon.
"It's all for the benefit of us."
She glanced toward Diamente.
"But, of course, we never gain the right to pretend accidents will disappear."
Silence.
Rudolf's voice grew firmer.
"What happened today could have been avoided."
Diamente's breath caught.
"But it also already happened."
Her words landed heavily.
"You can't stand at the starting gate the next day and wish that yesterday's race never happened."
"You can't freeze time and bargain with it. And you can only decide what you do after the gate opens again."
Diamente's hands slowly clenched in her lap.
Rudolf continued.
"Every umamusume is born with the same truth, Diamente." She smiled faintly.
"They run because they love to run. They race because that's where their hearts feel most alive."
A short pause.
"And loving something means accepting that it can also hurt you someday."
Diamente swallowed.
"If you keep trying to stop yourself from feeling that pain…" Rudolf said quietly, "…then you'll also stop yourself from feeling the joy that comes with it."
The car grew heavier with silence.
Diamente's reflection trembled faintly in the window.
"…Duramente-san ran because she said that it's given for her to run and win," Diamente murmured.
Rudolf nodded as her voice softened.
"No one forces umamusume onto the turf. They choose it, knowing its risks, knowing its loss,
"And they also choose it, knowing the possibility of glory of reaching their dream."
Another pause.
"What happened today does not invalidate her choice to pass over Kitasan." Rudolf added.
Diamente's shoulders subtly loosened.
Rudolf then continued, "If you start believing that every accident means racing itself is wrong…"
Her gaze sharpened.
"…then you're denying the very reason your friends also step onto the track."
Diamente's breath wavered.
She had been standing still trapped between what could have been and what already was.
Rudolf spoke gently.
"You don't honor runners who got in an accident by refusing to run."
"You honor them by letting others, like you, to run better and a lot more safely."
The words struck deep.
"You honor them by preparing harder and by protecting those beside you when you can."
"And when you can't…" Rudolf stopped for a moment as they had arrived near the gates of the Symboli residence before adding, "…by continuing to move forward anyway."
Diamente's eyes burned.
"…So this is my wake-up call, huh," she said quietly.
Rudolf chuckled softly.
"If you want to call it that."
Diamente closed her eyes.
The image of blood-stained shoes from Duramente.
The echo of her cry from pain.
The helplessness.
It's all still there for Diamente.
But now—
They were no longer chains for Diamente.
"…I can't stay stuck here," Diamente whispered.
Rudolf nodded.
"No."
"You're not allowed to."
Diamente opened her eyes.
The trembling in them had lessened.
"Because an umamusume who stops moving…"
She smirked slightly.
"…don't mature."
Diamente let out a weak, breathy laugh.
"…That sounds like a threat."
Rudolf shrugged.
"It's our second nature."
The gates of the Symboli residence opened up as the car then went inside.
But inside the car, though, something inside Diamente had shifted.
She was no longer standing in front of the past.
She had turned—and is now facing forward for a different reason entirely.
==== 🐎Legend Changer🐎 ====
A/N: I don't have much to add in the main story so here's a short story for everyone to enjoy.
Got this idea from both sataboillust and Kaguya-sama lol.
…
Before the Japanese Derby, every umamusume is currently focused on one thing, and one thing only.
Final Exams.
As one might wonder, 'why do the Final Exams for Tracen Academy happen near the end of May and not at the end of June?', and the answer to that is…
…I don't know. I'm just writing this as an exercise to prevent my burnout.
Anyway…
Diamente's currently skimming through her notes alongside Rey de Oro, Lucky Lilac, and Almond Eye. As for why…
"Please teach me how to study properly!!!"
Rey de Oro's hands formed a pleading gesture in front of her face.
Apparently, she explained how she got swamped with playing Honkai Gakuen 2 - Guns Girl Z (not sponsored), Bloodborne (not sponsored), and GTA V (definitely not sponsored) these days, and didn't realize that she needed to study for the exam until a few days before.
"Studying for the exams?" Almond Eye looked at Rey de Oro with confusion, "You could've just studied regularly, and you'd still pass, you know?"
"B-But," Rey de Oro said, pulling out her past review sheets from their recent mock exam, showing that she got below 30 in 6 out of 8 exam subjects.
"I-I can just cram a few days for these, right…? Right?!" Rey de Oro cried dramatically.
Diamente then puts down her pen, gets a page of newspaper out of her bag, and folded it into a paper fan before slapping Rey de Oro with it once.
"OW!!!"
Diamente then folded the paper fan neatly and tucked it back to her bag before replying, "That's for not paying attention to my warning back then, Rei-chan…"
"UEEEEEHHHH!!!" Rey de Oro cried again in a Ticket-like manner as Almond Eye sighed in exasperation.
"Cramming it all in a few days is bad for your health, you know?" Almond Eye remarked, "I don't recommend last-minute cramming everything at all cost."
That was a lie. This girl has been cramming for ten straight nights, so much that she even missed out her own disciplined pre-maturation training!
"Just like what Ai-chan had said, pushing yourself to the limit just to get good grades in the exam doesn't reflect what you truly had learned." Lucky Lilac replied,
"After all, these final exams are meant to show how much we've learned since the start of April, so study normally and take the exam with your true self, yes?" she added.
That's also a lie. Just to beat Almond Eye, Lucky Lilac has been surviving on espresso shots just to stay awake and go all out during her study periods from 9 pm to two in the morning.
'Which mouth is saying that so calmly, huh?! Your eyes looked like you're about to shoot lasers out of your eyes to burn through those papers!! Ai-chan, seriously, that's so scary!! I can already see the eyebags you have under all those concealers!! Aren't you too young to put on make-up like that anyways?!'
Lucky Lilac screamed internally.
"Studying doesn't always reflect in your score anyway. Who knows if the true exams weren't hard at all from the mock ones?" Lucky Lilac remarked.
Lies. She definitely won't lose to Almond Eye in this one, so much that her eyes widened to the point of nearly fainting.
"Indeed," Almond Eye smiled, "It would even be better to not study at all if you learned the material beforehand, yes!"
Also lies. She definitely studied a lot more than Lucky Lilac. In her own room, a mini-fridge full of Red Bull cans and also a trash can full of MONSTER energy drink cans were also seen during her cramming session.
'Seriously, how in the world can you take these exams seriously in that condition, and still maintain her top 1 rank in our class?! Reality is seriously broken here?!' Lucky Lilac internally screamed again.
"I usually just focus my mind with meditation and calming my mind these days at home." Almond Eye remarked.
'What in the world are you talking about, Lala-chan? I can see in your eyes that you're really studying like crazy here. What are you even blabbering about?' Almond Eye retorted back internally.
Diamente, upon seeing the hidden war that those two are currently waging, made her eyebrows and her right ear twitch in disbelief before sighing deeply.
"I'll help you study, Rei-chan. I'll get some materials ready for you to review." Diamente sighed.
Hearing this made Rey de Oro look at Diamente with a teary-eyed happiness on her face.
"Really?!?! You're a life-saver, Dia-chan!!"
As you see, Rey de Oro actually has a talent for learning, but her focus and motivations were not pointed in that direction. Except for Diamente, she still hasn't realized that this was all a part of their pre-battle dirty trick.
Luckily, Symboli Diamente, who is a former transmigrator whose job is being the youngest senior doctor from the prestigious T**** University Hospital with impressive credentials such being a Board-certified Emergency Medicine Specialist and has groundbreaking publications in The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, teaching high-school level education to Rey de Oro can be done, with so much great proficiency that it is already as natural to her as breathing.
After a few days…
===============
Leaderboard:
1st - Almond Eye (Perfect Score)
2nd - Lucky Lilac (Perfect Score Minus 1)
.
.
.
Barely Passing:
- Rey de Oro (You did your best…)
===============
"Impressive as always, Ai-chan," Lucky Lilac congratulated, "it's another perfect score for you."
"You did great too, Lala-chan," Almond Eye replied, "If I'd let my guard down, I might've been the one to lose."
"No need to be humble, Ai-chan," Lucky Lilac smiled, "I was totally defeated with grace. You must be really happy, this makes it 5 in a row for us, yes?"
That was a lie. This girl was so frustrated that she might start crying tears of blood from her eyes.
'Perfect scores in every subject?!?! What kind of bug is that??? She just fainted yesterday and I literally have to carry her to the infirmary, and yet she's already this fine now?! That was so scary, how's that even fair?!' Lucky Lilac cursed inwardly.
"Honestly," Almond Eye sighed, "I'm just relieved that it's finally over. I don't have the energy to be happy anymore. For now, I'll head to the bathroom anyway."
That was also a lie. After going to the bathroom, she was so overjoyed that she started shadow-boxing while screaming "Yes!! I'm the best, wooooo!!!" from the top of her lungs.
Meanwhile, at the Director's office…
"Excellent! I'm very glad that you found the true answer to this trick question that I've personally included!" Director Akikawa congratulated, then asked, "Curious! How did you manage to solve that question?"
Director Akikawa then showed the page of the test paper in question.
"Which single factor most directly determines an umamusume's maximum sustainable racing speed?"
The typical answer would be 'Oxygen delivery capacity to the skeletal muscle', but in reality, there's no single factor present that dictates an umamusume's maximum sustainable running speed.
Diamente's answer in that filling the blank-question was:
'A speed of an umamusume emerges from the accumulation of multiple systems working together such as an umamusume's musculoskeletal physiology, their neural firing efficiency (reaction time), cardiopulmonary efficiency, metabolic changes, the leg tendon's elasticity, and also the Mind-Body racing focus. Thus the answer to that is;
'None.'
"Well…" Diamente chuckled awkwardly, since she can't really say that she's a doctor in her former world, is it?
Final Winner: Diamente (by technicality)
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