The silence within the viewing room was very telling as Riku glanced around. To his right, he could see the two mothers with their hands over their mouths in astonishment at the race. With a glance downwards, he could see Sirius Symboli staring intently at the results. Had he been able to see her eyes, he'd have noticed a fire had been lit in them by the performance. Oguri and Tamamo looked to be vibrating in their seats, their joy palpable. However, it was the reactions of the "elites" in the room that he paid the most attention to.
Speed Symboli and Mejiro Asama had both stood up from their chairs during the race, with a silent intensity as they watched the race. When it ended, they took the chance to glance at each other in disbelief. A majority of the Mejiro children looked awed by the race, with Mejiro Palmer in particular jumping up and down in excitement from what she saw. Perhaps Maruzensky had gained a new fan? However, the greatest reaction was from the two closest to Maruzensky in age. Symboli Rudolf… and Mejiro Ramonu.
Both future legendary racers had been completely locked into the viewing experience. Ramonu had stood up from her spot and walked down towards the windows, ignoring the screens, to watch it personally. Rudolf, however, had dropped her stoic expression and wore a smile as she watched the race. It wasn't the light smile she gave in greeting earlier, or a polite one she'd worn while looking at the children interacting. No, this was a smile that could be called… crazed, or in frantic excitement. That smile she wore, Riku believed, was likely from seeing someone whom she could rival against… and in her mind, probably surpass. But that was pure speculation on his part. He certainly didn't expect to see such a reaction from the one who'd be called the Emperor.
His thoughts were broken as the rest of the room finally reacted to the end of the race; various voices from others viewing filled the room with sounds of disbelief, some anger, and mostly excitement at what they had just watched.
"It seems you somehow undersold her to us, Chairman," Asama remarked as she and Speed Symboli strode over to him after leaving their seats. Asama's fan was held unopened by her face as her eyes burned into him. Speed stood next to her, arms crossed, with a huff as she also seemed to be trying to burn a hole in him with her eyes. Asama, however, let out a sharp pitch of laughter. "Haha! Thank you. Things are going to get far more interesting from now on, hmm?" She opened her fan and covered her face, leaving only her twinkling eyes exposed.
"Yeah." Speed Symboli nodded her head, turning her head to stare at Rudolf, who hadn't taken her eyes off the course. "Things are going to change quite a bit. It seems Luna will have a lot more competition than expected." Speed gave a grin, exposing her canines as she chuckled along with Asama. If anything, they looked like two scheming old ladies to his eyes. Riku shook his head as he looked at them. Best not to worry about it.
"I told you exactly how I felt this would go." Riku shrugged lightly as his bodyguards stood together to take positions behind him. "Still… I'm glad to see you two enjoyed the show; there'll only be more of that from now on." Riku glanced around as he stepped past the two family heads, meeting the eyes of the gray-haired children and Sirius Symboli. "Now, who wants to go visit the winner? We have a short window before her concert, if you'd like." His grin grew as all the children present, not just Oguri and Tamamo, reacted positively.
"For real?" Tamamo Cross blurted out. "Yeah! Let's go! C'mon, Ogurin!" Tamamo shook Oguri repeatedly, even though she was nodding her head along with Tamamo. She was also apparently holding Oguri's hand; he hadn't noticed. "You're coming too, right, Big Sis?" Tamamo looked up at Sirius, who had frozen briefly, her gaze traveling to Speed Symboli. Upon receiving a nod, she matched Tamamo's grin.
"Damn right! I'm looking forward to meeting her." Sirius winced as she stood, due to Speed once again bashing her head, again. "Oi! What did I do this time!?" She growled out.
"Really? Using language like that around Children, Sirius?" Speed matched Sirius's angry appearance, their foreheads butting against each other. She was beyond exasperated with her charge.
"Mama." A voice cut in, drawing everyone's attention as Oguri tilted her head as she faced her mother, who had stood with Green Chateau. "What does damn mean?" She asked curiously, not noticing the adults' expressions growing dark, their eyes shadowed. As one, the mothers, Speed Symboli, and even Mejiro Asama, all turned to look sharply at Sirius. An uncharacteristic look of worry appeared on Sirius' face as she glanced around the room, visibly sweating. As if to drive the nail in the coffin further, another voice chimed in.
"Damn right!" All eyes turned to Mejiro Ryan, who had cheerfully shouted the words out. Riku could only blink at the absurd situation unfolding, as everyone turned to look back at Sirius; however, they noticed her conspicuously absent. Everyone's eyes widened, before Speed Symboli perked up, her ears twitching, as she glanced at the right doorway, seeing Sirius in the process of opening the door.
"SIRIUS SYMBOLI!" Speed thundered out, meeting the panicked gaze of Sirius, who only took one glance around before grinning and rushing out the door. Well… that escalated quickly. And there goes Speed, taking off like a bullet down the stairs and after Sirius. A dead silence took over the room after that, everyone glancing around a bit uncertainly. Mejiro Asama had walked over and began pinching Ryan's cheek, quietly talking to her.
"Clap!" A loud smack resounded in the room as Riku clapped his hands together. Everyone's startled gaze met him as he attempted to get things back on track. "Alright. While we let that play out, let's head down. Please." Riku smiled as he walked past the still frozen group towards the doors, Buckshot and Opal just behind him. He glanced back and noticed White Narubi and Green Chateau following him with their children, words being quietly exchanged as Oguri looked very confused. Mejiro Asama met his gaze and nodded as she finished talking to Mejiro Ryan, and proceeded to have her little ducklings follow her along.
"Fufu," sounded out to his left, startling Riku as he glanced over. Mejiro Ramonu stood with a hand on her cheek as she followed directly behind him, along with the surprise addition of Symboli Rudolf. He had expected her to follow along with Speed Symboli, but this was a welcome surprise. "Don't mind us, Chairman Riku." The way she emphasized his name got a brief shiver from him as he stared at Ramonu for a moment, looking between her and Rudolf. She'll be dangerous when she's older, as if she isn't already.
After a shake of his head, Riku waved his hand, signalling for them to follow before leading the way. The benefit of his position allowed him to fast-track the group past the bustling crowds and security, heading straight into the tunnels where the runners would be. A glance back showed Mejiro Asama had fallen into step on his right, her children following behind her. Ramonu and Rudolf were directly behind his security on the left, with Oguri, Tamamo, and their mothers directly behind them.
As they rounded a corner, they saw the back of a trainer as he talked to Maruzensky in front of him. Glimpsing the tracksuit in similar colors to Maruzensky's race outfit and the familiar appearance, it could only be Vincent Nijinsky. Maruzensky noticed them first, her eyes going wide for a moment as she glimpsed Riku and the group behind him. Before Vincent, or anyone else, could react, Maruzensky blitzed forward, stopping just in front of Riku. Her blue eyes were shining as she tilted her head, meeting his eyes, due to them being of equal height.
"Hey, Hey! How'd I do, Mr. Chairman~?" Maruzensky batted her eyes several times with her beaming smile, taking great joy in the flustered Chairman. "Was that a performance worthy of your favorite?" She put a finger to her chin as she waited for an answer.
Riku felt genuine exasperation, as every Umamusume he has interacted with lately seems to enjoy being teasing and coquettish. A brief look saw that everyone else was eagerly awaiting his answer. Vincent at least looked slightly apologetic for his daughter's antics, but Ramonu in particular looked like Christmas had come early. He briefly shook his head before deciding to bite the bullet on it.
"You were fantastic, Maruzensky." Riku let out a genuine smile that was matched by Maruzensky. "However, you're not my favorite yet, you gremlin." He lightly flicked her forehead, earning an exaggerated, "Ouchie" from the Uma. He was nowhere near strong enough to even leave a mark on her. She pouted at him, even as her father and the mothers present chuckled. With that done, Maruzensky glanced behind him, taking in all the people. Her eyes only briefly glanced and narrowed at Ramonu and Rudolf, before taking in the children first.
"Hello there!" Maruzensky bent down to meet Oguri and Tamamo's gaze with a warm smile. "You two have such lovely hair! What're your names?" She lightly patted between Oguri and Tamamo's ears, getting a hum of approval from Oguri and a light grumble from Tamamo Cross.
"Oguri Cap. You were so fast." Oguri's eyes glittered as she gazed up at Maruzensky. Her eyes, which had all this time been dull and lacking emotion, blazed as she met Maruzensky's eyes. Maruzensky blinked, not expecting such a challenging look from a child. Despite that, she quite liked the competitive look. This little Uma will go far in her eyes. She proceeded to rub Oguri's head again, making sure to hit just behind her ears to the younger Uma's approval. Her gaze went to Oguri's slightly older companion, who looked away from Maruzensky with a blush and pout from the rubbing.
"Hmm~?" Maruzensky tilted her head, her smile growing wider as Tamamo's blush grew. She decided to take mercy on her by pulling her hand back, but leaned in closer to the young Uma. Tamamo continued to pout but gazed back, taking all of Maruzensky's appearance up close. Her eyes took in all of Maru's winning outfit, liking what she saw, except for one problem.
"It'd be better in Red and Blue." Tamamo huffed, crossing her arms as she looked away again. Maruzensky blinked in shock at the admission, turning to look at her outfit once more. Maruzensky shocked Tamamo by not reacting negatively to this and instead laughed.
"Fufufu." Maruzensky covered her mouth as she giggled, before smiling indulgently at Tamamo. "You might be right~. I think those colors suit you better, though, with that adorable headband of yours and ear covers~," Maruzensky quite enjoyed the bashful smile the young Uma wore. "You still haven't told me your name, you know~."
"Tamamo Cross!" Tamamo frantically wiped her face, as if that would get rid of her blush and embarrassment. She gave a wide grin, stretching the band-aid on her nose. "I'm going to be the strongest Umamusume!" She flexed her small arms, getting a look of mock astonishment from Maruzensky as she looked amazed and clapped her hands. Oguri, taking this seriously, did the same thing as she nodded and clapped for Tamamo Cross.
Riku took a step back from the antics and walked over towards Vincent, who wore a look mixed with exasperation and amusement at Maruzensky. Seeing him walking over, Vincent made to give a short bow before Riku interrupted him by tapping his shoulder.
"None of that now." Riku gave a friendly smile as he glanced from Vincent to Maruzensky, who had begun introducing herself to the Mejiro children present. She got along swimmingly with them, Palmer and Ryan seeming to take a big shine to her. "How're you feeling? You two did amazing in your first of the Classics." Riku leaned against the tunnel wall as he made conversation with the man.
"Honestly? I'm feeling both amazing and exhausted at the same time." Vincent huffed as he took off his cap to rub his head in thought briefly. "Running in the Twinkle Series… it truly is a different beast altogether." He gave a tired grin at the admission, looking fondly at his daughter, who was now trading words with Oguri and Tamamo's mothers, as well as Mejiro Asama.
"Better get used to it. I expect to see you two in a lot more G1s from this point on." Riku gave a quick pat on the man's back as he also glanced over. His eyebrows rose, noticing that Ramonu and Rudolf had just been standing along the side, just watching what was going on. He shook his head briefly before looking back at Vincent. "Speaking of that. I know you'll be running in the Tokyo Yushun, but have you given any thoughts on the NHK Mile as well?" Riku asked curiously.
The NHK Mile was another prestigious G1 race that could be done during an Uma's Classic year. Maruzensky definitely has an affinity for the race, but it is only three weeks out from the Tokyo Yushun. Not typically a race you'd run if you were planning to run in the Classic Triple Crown, since horses and, by extension, Umamusume, are given important time to rest between races.
Vincent wore a pensive expression as he fell into thought. "We had talked and considered it." Vincent frowned as he looked over at Maruzensky, who, when they stopped looking, had Tamamo Cross on her shoulders gesturing around as Oguri, Mejiro Palmer, and Ryan were jumping patiently waiting for their turn. A smile returned to his face as he continued. "I'm against it. I believe she should have ample time to rest. Maru though… She wants to make a statement. She intends to dominate this year, including the NHK Mile."
Riku blinked at the admission, although within his expectations a bit, it was surprising to hear. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised." He chuckled a bit, which was mirrored by Vincent. "Still, we'll monitor it thoroughly. She can race in whatever she'd like, but her health takes top priority. Understood?" Riku clasped his arms behind himself as he received a grateful nod from the older man. As they finished their conversation, Maruzensky had finished up with the children, and Rudolf and Ramonu had taken that as their cue to speak.
"Maruzensky." Rudolf was surprisingly the first to speak; her voice was relatively soft and uncertain, but her eyes were fierce as she looked at Maruzensky. Something that Maruzensky picked up on, as she tilted her head, looking at Rudolf, a challenging smile on her lips. "I want to race against you." Riku's eyebrow rose in slight surprise, not surprising in that Rudolf, being a competitive individual, she'd want to race the best Umamusume she's seen so far.
"How fun! I'd love to… but, uhm… don't you typically introduce yourself when challenging someone?" Her smile widened as Rudolf went uncharacteristically red, her face completely flushed. Ramonu tittered into her hand, watching the interaction, absolutely amused by the proceedings.
"...Symboli Rudolf." Rudolf muttered, her face still a bright red as her hands were clasped into fists. Riku wished he had a camera for the moment, seeing Rudolf at her most serious, being completely embarrassed like this. "I'm going to win the Triple Crown when I debut in two years." She stuck her chin up as she met Maruzensky's eyes, the blush dissipating slowly.
"Symboli Rudolf. I'll remember it." Maruzensky hummed as she looked at her supposed "rival". "Two years though… I might not still be racing then, you know." She put her hands on her hips and smiled wider, as Rudolf's eyes widened in realization at the thought, her posture slumping as she comedically despaired. Riku, of course, didn't miss his opportunity this time, realizing he could snap some pictures of the moment discreetly on his phone while this was going on. His eyes met Ramonu's, who raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't try to stop him.
"Maruzensky? Is Maruzensky here?" A voice called out, breaking the moment as their eyes turned to further down the tunnel, where a URA worker was calling out. It seems their time had run out. "Miss Maruzensky. We're waiting for you to begin the performance, please." The lady walked up, dressed in a polo with the JRA logo and a visor on her head. She gestured with her hand to Maruzensky, who had been lurking down here close to the concert start time.
"Ah! I'm sorry! Thank you for seeing me, everyone! I've got to go to my concert now!" Maruzensky cheerfully remarked, waving to everyone, before running back over to her father and kissing him on the cheek. She looked at Riku for a moment before shaking her head and falling into step behind the URA crew member. "Huh," Riku thought to himself. He had no clue what she was up to there. Everyone seemed to glance around again before looking back towards him. Before he could get a word in, another commotion appeared from the hall where they came from.
"Ah! Did we miss her?" Speed Symboli remarked as she emerged from the tunnel, comically holding Sirius's collar from behind like a misbehaving kitten as she dragged her along. "Had you not been naughty, we wouldn't have missed Maruzensky. Sirius." Speed drolly remarked, as she held up Sirius, getting a grumble from the Uma being… womanhandled. Uma handled? Whatever.
Riku clapped his hands loudly to drag everyone's attention, again. "Everyone. We don't want to miss the concert, yes? We should probably move on." Riku smiled as the children perked up at the thought of the Winning Live from Maruzensky. He glanced over at Speed Symboli, who had finally let go of a grumbling Sirius and had walked over to talk to Rudolf. "Opal, would you mind leading?" Riku asked the more reliable of his two bodyguards, who gave him a demure nod before taking the lead for the group. As the group started to move, Riku flagged over Speed, who had taken a position behind her two charges. She raised an eyebrow at him, but lagged further behind to speak to him.
"Chairman? What is it?" She wondered what he needed to speak to her about. She grew even more curious as he looked like someone with a big secret at that moment. He took several glances to make sure Rudolf couldn't see, as she had fallen in with the rest of the group, seemingly listening to Sirius grumble about something. He held his phone out to her, which she took curiously. After a moment, she stopped, getting Riku to stop with her. Her gaze was on the picture he had taken. "Huhuhuhu," Speed muttered a chuckle under her breath, which she quickly covered with one hand. She looked back up at Riku, her eyes crinkling in mirth. "Chairman. Thank you." She bowed to him deeply, as if he did her the biggest of favors. "Please send me a copy of this."
Riku nodded mock-seriously in reply, "Of course. You can count on me." He gave a thumbs up along with the statement, happy to have helped. While they discussed the embarrassing photo of one Symboli Rudolf, said Uma shivered as if feeling inexplicable dread. Her gaze wandered around before looking at Riku and Speed behind the group, talking as if they were the oldest of friends. "Did I imagine it?" Rudolf thought, scratching her head in irritation.
His civil deed for the day done, Riku watched from behind as the group emerged from a side entrance into an immense crowd of people. They were all holding penlights as they shared in various conversations, waiting for the concert to start. Opal looked at him questioningly as they emerged, before he pointed to the left, where a path lay for them. Once again, taking advantage of Riku's position as a top employee of the URA, they quickly found themselves at the front of the crowd, with a few grumbles as they went past. Those grumbles were abruptly silenced when met with the sharp grin of Buckshot, who looked eager for a chance to do something.
Riku saw flashing lights to his left as they settled in, a smile forming on his lips as he noticed Tamamo trying to instruct Oguri, and apparently Mejiro Ryan, Ardan, and Palmer, who had joined in, how to use the penlights properly. Those four seemed to become fast friends; however, when he glanced over, he saw Mejiro McQueen looking enviously at the group. It would seem that the little lady of the group didn't know how to reach out, or felt conflicted doing so with her background. Riku strolled up, arriving next to Mejiro Asama and Mejiro McQueen, who was holding onto her dress.
Asama looked at him curiously, while McQueen shyly hid her face in her dress as he approached. He gave a brief wave before crouching down to look at McQueen, while she peeked at him with one eye behind the dress. "You can join them, you know." Riku nodded towards the group of kids playing around with penlights, getting a glance from Asama and McQueen. Asama had given him a knowing look before glancing down at McQueen, as she looked on at the group, before looking away when she noticed their stares. She still looked a little uncertain as he looked at Asama for help.
"McQueen," her voice rang out as McQueen glanced up at her. "Go on, it's okay." She held her hand out towards the group as McQueen slowly walked away from Asama and towards the group, looking back and forth constantly. Ardan, who had been paying attention to the byplay, smiled as she headed over and gently took McQueen's hand, leading her into the group. A brief cheer was let out by the other children as they began waving their penlights in random patterns in front of McQueen, only to be scolded by Tamamo, who passionately instructed them on how to do it properly.
"Thank you," Mejiro Asama thanked Riku from the side, getting a glance from him as she wore a soft smile, looking at her children. "While some, like Palmer and Ryan, don't know how to act properly at times, McQueen suffers from the opposite and doesn't know how to interact with her peers yet. Those two children, Oguri and Tamamo, are their names?" She looked at him curiously while saying part of their names.
Riku nodded as he briefly glanced at them, "Yeah. Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross, they're nine and ten years old, respectively." He looked curiously at her, seeing a certain look in her eyes. "Thinking of arranging a playdate to make friends?" He took a shot at her intentions.
"Fufu," she laughed lightly behind her fan, which she suddenly opened in front of her face. He had forgotten she was holding it. "Something of the sort." She looked intently at the two children and their two mothers present. "Maybe I'm even thinking of adopting them." She winked at him, taking amusement in how much that statement absolutely floored him. Mejiro Oguri and Tamamo? Is that possible? He'd assume she was just messing with him, but it's definitely a funny thing to imagine. The family would gain a LOT of fame and fortune from those two future superstars for certain. However, they had forgotten about another family head present.
"Hoh? What's stopping me from doing the same for the Symboli Family? Asama." Speed Symboli had slid herself into the conversation, a stubborn look on her face as she looked at Mejiro Asama. They proceeded to butt heads, looking very similar to how Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet bickered constantly. Riku? He had quietly slid away when he saw the potential storm between the two brewing. He also ended up accidentally bumping into Sirius Symboli, who still looked sour about what happened earlier.
"Ah! Who… oh. It's you." Sirius crossed her arms and huffed as she looked away from him. Riku felt a large touch of amusement here; had Speed noticed Sirius's attitude towards him, she might've been ready to give Sirius another "learning" session. "What do you want, old man?"
With a metaphorical stab in his heart and a twitching brow, Riku looked at Sirius Symboli fully. "Old man…" Riku muttered, his mood tanking. He just turned twenty years old! His birthday is conveniently placed on the same date as the Japan Cup. "There's no killing that spirit of yours, eh, Sirius?" Riku shook his head with a helpless smile.
"Ha! I'm Sirius Symboli! Nobody can take me down, in body or in spirit." She posed with a cocky grin as she looked at him. He gave a brief chuckle before nodding along with her.
"I don't doubt it, Sirius. I'm looking forward to your debut." He made a brief show of glancing at her before holding a thumbs-up. "Maybe you'll even be one of our next Triple Crown Winners." Sirius lost the cocky grin as she blinked at him several times.
"Are you serious?" She asked as she stepped closer, only a foot or two away from him. When Riku nodded just as seriously at her, she looked away. Her right arm scratched the back of her head as she mumbled. "Thanks." Riku smiled and went to speak once more before the sound from the stage took their attention away. Maruzensky had arrived, with Azuma Hunter and Green Grass taking the two and three spots behind her.
Riku took them in, eager for the performance. However, while he was distracted, someone bumped into him from behind, nearly sending him toppling forward, had Opal not had a hand on him. "Who…?" Riku muttered as he turned around, his eyes widening. An Umamusume had bumped into him and was in the midst of bowing apologetically. However, what caused his shock was the features of this Umamusume. Long brown hair that trailed down to her legs, with striking blue eyes. His eyes, though, were on the white hat on the right side of her head, engraved with a green bow and golden letters reading CB.
"Oi CB! I'm not going to save you a spot if you keep slacking off!" A rough voice called out, snapping his gaze away briefly. Another Umamusume, with black hair tied into a ponytail, stood there with her arms crossed, looking annoyed. She had a lighter shade of blue in her eyes, white ear covers, and a red charm by her right ear. Both of them wore Tracen Academy uniforms, likely from Central. While his gaze was turned onto the other Uma, the one whom he suspected to be Mr. CB, ran off towards her friend. CB was clearly being scolded by her friend before they disappeared into the crowd.
Riku honestly felt like he had gotten whiplash. Here he was ready to watch Maruzensky's winning concert, and he ran into Mr. CB, the future Triple Crown Champion. Wait. His thoughts crashed for a moment. That other Umamusume with her. That couldn't possibly be Katsuragi Ace. Right!?
"Everyone! Thank you for coming!" Maruzensky enthusiastically waved as she and her fellow Uma were positioned behind old school stage microphones. His attention had been stolen away again. Riku shook his head several times, getting a look from Sirius standing next to him. There was no point in thinking about it now. He'd have more opportunities to run into that duo. He'd also need to look into Umamusume debuting this year. He hadn't followed the scene as well as he should've, as he suspected that the legendary duo had debuted this year. Meaning… their Classic year was next year.
After Maruzensky spoke, the lights, except those on stage, dimmed. The concert was about to begin.
Source: https://www.animesonglyrics.com/uma-musume-pretty-derby/winning-the-soul
"An urge to run through at the speed of light
Is the determination to show how strongly I want to make it come true at any cost
(no fear) It only comes once
(trust you) for this moment
Bet it, trusting yourself
If someone tells me you need luck as well sometimes
I'll draw fate as well,"
Riku enthusiastically waved his own lights as they began, laughing openly as he saw the children doing the same with great enthusiasm. Everyone in the group was doing it in their own way, with the two family heads still glaring at each other as they also joined in. White Narubi and Green Chateau had leaned down to join the children in their penlight waving, smiling, and laughing along with them. However, neither Ramonu nor Rudolf joined in; the duo instead seemed to be speaking about something, with Ramonu wearing a teasing smile as Rudolf looked slightly irritated. With how stoic she usually was, she was probably quite annoyed. He glanced over and saw Sirius openly enjoying doing the same, only to stop in embarrassment when she saw him looking. Cute.
"Run now, I can't end it yet
There's a place I want to get to
Go beyond
Holding onto even the tears tightly
A story begins from there
It goes on endlessly
Winning the soul
The scenery you are aiming for only exists in front of you; that's all
A true passion is proof of your determination
(shout out) ordinary
(fight on) processes
Break them all, show yourself
Words that I mourned in the faint reality
Gained a feeling and took a step forward
The heartbeats that never stop in the back of my chest
Even if it doesn't reach you, or you're being laughed at
Keep going
An afterimage of your frustration in your fist
It is a story that leads to the goal
Don't stop moving
Winning the soul
Even if the answer you've been chasing after confuses you
Run with an approach, start, and jump out
Now is the time
Grab it now if you want to change
Raise the future you imagined
Don't be afraid and go
Run now, I can't end it yet
There's a place I want to get to
Go beyond
Holding onto even the tears tightly
A story begins from there
It goes on endlessly
Winning the soul!"
Maruzensky, Green Grass, and Azuma Hunter posed as sparks shot out, signaling the end of their performance, and what a performance it was. Deafening cheers echoed out as the crowd waved their lights. As his group made conversation amongst themselves, with the kids in particular gushing about the performance, Riku's phone vibrated in his pocket, catching his attention.
With a glance down, after pulling out his phone, Riku's expression darkened briefly as he read the messages on his phone. For the Chairman, it never ends.
CHAPTER END