Author's Note: I am not an editor or a professional writer. I will write this and edit it to the best of my ability. 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.
Week Before Leaving
Great Wonder POV:
This is reckless of me, putting my team in so much danger.
After breaking down during camp in Steel's kind embrace, I finally thought this was where our journey would end. The team had almost died, for the three goddesses' sake! Then the truth came out, and it was Spice and Steel who brought everything to the forefront.
I understand why Steel wouldn't tell the leadership about it, what with the lockdown and everyone not wanting us to end the journey. But come on! Plus, even though I had the power to stop this journey by virtue of being part of the leadership, I didn't.
Somehow, the tears stopped, and I agreed that we should continue.
Vic later approached me alongside Steel and Mama Blues to ask why. I simply walked away, saying that I didn't know.
It was an honest answer because I really didn't know why I'd agreed to keep going. It happened so suddenly when I heard the name Gold Mafia Family. The moment I heard that name mentioned as one of our enemies, my mind felt a strange sense of familiarity with it, and my heart filled with hatred.
It made me want to continue this journey just to destroy that name.
But why? Why did I hate that name so much?
I had Gray look up and find out about each threat, and I asked the heads of the organization what they knew. We discovered a lot about them.
They were the most dangerous mafia family in the world. They owned the entire United States underworld and had direct connections with the criminal underworlds of every country.
Japan was especially concerning, as its criminal underworld was basically a branch operating under their absolute control.
They controlled gambling within the URA and other amateur sports. They also had a hold over the gambling scene in the Noble Racing League.
Still, for some reason, they had no influence over the FSRL and had consistently failed to gain any. That was why they had tried to sabotage it and prevent it from expanding out of Japan and the United States, as well as into as many other places as possible.
They used assassinations, bribes, and even blackmail to get their way.
Despite all that, the FSRL remained immovable and continued trying to expand.
According to Mina, that was what had drawn her to the league the most.
Honestly, it made me respect the FSRL a little more. They were tough, smart, and tenacious. Maybe we could work with them after all.
Soon enough, I began preparing for the performance test to determine whether we were qualified to perform internationally or needed to undergo even more insane practice.
I passed, but Vic and Lily were the only ones who didn't.
Still, Sweets and Spice wanted to sharpen their skills further and joined them in continuing their practice. Respectfully enough, I thought that was great.
I also helped with the team's preparations by creating dresses and choreographies. Soon, everything was approved, and I decided to focus on honing my combat abilities.
Tsukasa assigned Iguro to help train me, along with some other experts.
I had been trained in self-defense and weaponry while growing up. I'd also practiced those skills during training camp. However, it was there that I realized not only had my skills dulled, but they also weren't matching my body's abilities.
I tried to synchronize my body and mind, but I was having a hard time.
It was like my mind wanted to neutralize my opponents, while my body wanted to kill them.
When my body wasn't under control, it wasn't just deadly. It was downright lethal.
I tried sparring, and it took Iguro, a veteran in combat, to stop me from almost accidentally killing my opponent.
How did I even know how to do any of this?
My supposedly safe takedowns now included lethal finishing strikes. My disarmament techniques tore through bones, and my repertoire included discombobulations and killing strikes.
Iguro reported this to the team leaders and the heads of the organization.
As a result, Mina assigned Iguro to be my combat instructor, with the goal of helping me bring my skills back under control.
Still, the added fact that I was now an Uma Musume meant my physical abilities had increased tenfold.
That certainly didn't make things any easier for Iguro.
Tsukasa eventually thought it would be a good idea to have me spar against the rest of my team.
That led to me beating their asses painfully.
Vic got knocked out, though her adaptability allowed her to hold out for a little while before that happened.
Mama Blues was fast and countered my attacks with ease.
Gray decided to surrender after I punched her in the solar plexus.
Rose proved to be a tougher match, and I only won by using fakes and misdirection.
Rain was tough, too. She could take some heavy hits, but she was slow, so I took advantage of that by dodging her strikes and neutralizing her.
Lily was an easy win. She lasted only one punch.
Steel, however, was a different story.
Our fight was brutal and ended with a stoppage when I almost killed her.
Spice fought brutally and dirty, and beating her ass was hella fun.
ImP was a skilled all-rounder, and taking her down required some effort.
Next was Sweets. She was strong, but I managed to reverse her position and force her to surrender.
BlaD was knocked out with a single punch to the jaw.
Then came Jo, who was precise and fast but predictable. I used her patterns against her, countering her moves and taking her down.
Norn was next. She was a flexible grappler and a creative striker. Catching her and choking her out was the only way I could beat her.
Finally, there was KiWi, who was absolutely crazy and unpredictable.
She was actually winning, but I threw a light punch that she should have been able to take.
Then, all of a sudden, lights out.
I knew I hadn't hurt her, and her jaw was tough as fuck, but she went to sleep for some reason.
It still bugs me whenever I think about it.
Next, we tried weapons training.
BlaD, Rain, Spice, and Gray were great with weapons, while Rose, ImP, Sweets, and I excelled at both hand-to-hand combat and weapons.
Soon, everyone began preparing for the upcoming meeting and suggesting names for the team to Mina. We also started deciding on our base team uniforms and special uniforms for major tournaments.
We even considered creating separate outfits for our performances.
Hana also decided to help us create social media accounts and promotional videos. We all had to participate in filming and photo shoots.
After Vic and Lily finally passed their performance exams, we were all able to get back to business.
We discussed many things, but the biggest topic was deciding how we wanted to be portrayed as a team and as individuals.
Norn suggested that we simply shouldn't care about what other people thought, with Spice supporting her idea.
In the end, we all agreed to be ourselves while always having each other's backs.
That was how we wanted our team to be seen by others.
Everything seemed to fit together perfectly, but then a wrench was thrown into our plans.
We were suddenly called to a meeting.
Everyone gathered together after we had just finished deciding all of this. The meeting invitation had literally arrived only a few minutes later, which was hilariously convenient.
We made our way to the meeting room, where Tsukasa, Yuto, Mina, and Iguro were waiting for us.
Once we were all seated, Tsukasa began the meeting.