It was near mid of June when Aoi finally returned alongside Flashy. They had been traveling to other cities to kickstart Flashy's career. Originally, I was included in that plan, but since the incident, I had to stay at Tracen and rest...
To say the least, they were surprised to learn I was still grounded by Tracen alongside the other troublemakers. Flashy smiled all cocky while calling me a 'deviate' for breaking the rules while laughing, and Aoi seemed worried. She went in the direction, but nothing could be done; after all, my punishment was fair.
That's how I ended up with my punishment helping in the kitchen and without TV on the nights to learn my lesson...
"Let's go!"
But it seems it didn't affect all to Gold Ship, she was all hyped up for the summer vacations. I was hyped too, but for different reasons. In the game, you could get a serious boost in training in the summer, so I was wondering how far I could reach. And on the other side, Goldshi was on a different team, and teams have different agendas for the summer, and different places they are going to.
"I wonder where we are going?" Asked Flashy.
"I wonder what kind of training we're doing this summer," I said, closing my hand into a confident fist.
"Ehh? Who said anything about training?" Said Aoi.
"Wha? We are not going to train??" Both Flashy and I said with a lost expression on our faces.
Aoi erupted in laughter, looking at us.
"You both look like lost pupies!" Then she laughed some more. Flashy looked like she wanted to pounce on her, but then she answered "No, we are going on a relaxing trip to the sea, Flashy come from a very exigent routine while running, and you are still recuperating from your injuries, I know both of you want to become stronger, to be more, to be better, but if I push carelessly, then you both will break"
"I don't want to rest! I want to race!" There she goes, the gremlin Flashy to the attack.
After thirty minutes of a tantrum, we ended up in a car on our way to the beach.
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...
...
There is not much to say about this trip.
Mmmhmmp~
That's a lie.
The resort we headed to was beautiful. For a moment, I realized this was the life of rich people: endless relaxing, delicious food to eat, endless fun. I could easily get used to this lifestyle... the days at that resort were filled with magic.
Early in the morning, I woke up and then took a stroll on the beach alongside Flashy. She usually would call me a slowpoke and then suddenly take off to show off how amazing she is or to try to show her dominance over me, but I couldn't help but to think of her as a small sister trying to get more and more attention to herself, she is adorable on her own way, when she is not being sassy or a pest of course.
Then, during breakfast, we would eat a copious amount of food; I could swear to see the despair on the buffet chef's faces. There were all sorts of delicious things to eat, and many fruits I had never tasted in my previous life.
In the afternoons, most days, we would just hang out on the beach, fooling around and swimming. We even tried to act as Cupid to try to get a date for Aoi, but we got scolded for that.
It was in our last week that I began to notice strange things.
...
...
...
'Huuuh... It's summer and not even a hint for a summer romance even now that I'm in good shape... lame~'
It was almost sunset, and I was sitting on a rock with crossed legs as I watched Flashy race herself. I was a little tired and didn't want to run, and she also didn't pester me to go with her. She had been acting strangely since yesterday... It's like her gremlin energy had vanished overnight and fallen into a profound state of meditation.
"Waaah... Goldshi post... hehehe... her trainer is almost bankrupt after all the meals." I looked at Flashy, who had stopped and was getting into position, but was taking a while to just start running again. "Hey, gremlin, come here and look at these memes I found!"
It was weird... and rude! She was ignoring me!
'This punk!' I thought when I noticed... 'Hell no... what is that!'
Something strange was surrounding Flashy; it was like... some gas or liquid? My mouth hung open. What the hell is going on? I hadn't seen that in any other uma until now! Why is this happening? What is it? Is it harmful?
"Woaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!" Suddenly, Flashy took off, and I could feel it, like a sonic wave of energy slapping me.
"What the!?"
It was raw, unrefined, and pure, made of some sort of energy... but when that thing touched me, I could feel it... the endless desire of Flashy for victory, to prove herself and to crush stronger rivals, it was enough to make me feel a portion of her feelings, of her desire to win... maybe the best way to put it into words, that thing, that aura was Flashy Step's will materialized...
'But how? Why couldn't I see it before?'
After that frenetic rush, Flashy collapsed into the sand, and I had to run to pick her up. She had fallen asleep on the sand with a silly and complacent expression on her face, as if she had broken through a major barrier that had been holding her down. When I finally reached our room, Aoi was worried, but after my explanation, she looked relieved, and then she laughed.
"I see you don't pay attention to your classes at Tracen at all," Aoi teased. "That's why you girls are divided into junior, classic, and senior categories."
She raised her finger and proceeded to explain.
"Uma musume have a fast maturation process on their bodies. During the junior year, they mature their bodies, but the star uma musume doesn't just become strong physically, but also mentally... when they reach the correct form of mind, their fighting spirit translates into a phenomenon known as aura."
"Those uma musume that you see on TV competing at G1 races usually most of them have Aura, they hone their body and mind to their limits while they reach their peak" She crossed her arms "Humans can't see it, but it's been documented and described many times... for example Tamamo Cross, one of Oguri Cap rivals, other umas when they are mature enough could see her aura, it manifested as some sort of lightning comming from her"
"Then Aoi-san... why can I see it just now?" I asked, confused.
"Because you are growing up, Meek, Flashy was able to see it in her recent races, that's why I think she managed to get her own now."
It was really mysterious, but now I felt even more intrigued, it started to look more like the anime world it's supposed to be.
"Better go to sleep, Meek, tomorrow we have a carnival."
"But... what's the difference then between the classic and senior year?" I asked, worried.
"That's... a topic for another time, now worry about things you can reach."