As the new weekend came, the morning sun stretched across the neighborhood.
By the field near Urara's house, once again.
Urara and her team had gathered. It was one of the best spots for their weekend training sessions, close enough that they could imagine the track and finish line.
Then, there they sat in a loose circle on the grass. Gazing at each other awkwardly.
Rush took the role of the organized one, stood in the center, ready to start roll call. Besides, it was she who assembled this team. A 'peculiar' team.
"Alright!" Rush announced, standing straight with her hands by her hips. "Let's do this quickly before we lose all day!"
Her eyes glided over the field as she started.
"Glitter!"
"Here," an uninterested response.
"Meshi!"
"Here…" a shier response.
"House!"
"Present," a formality response.
Then—
"Urara!"
There was silence.
Rush blinked, waiting. "…Urara?"
Still no answer. She turned, only to find Urara sitting cross-legged a few feet away, completely absorbed in something else on the ground.
"Urara," Rush called again, stepping closer. "Did you hear me?"
Urara didn't move. Instead, she leaned forward, eyes wide with wonder. "Rush-chan! Look at them! Look at the ants!"
Rush stopped mid-step. "The… ants?"
"Yeah!" Urara pointed down at the tiny blacks marching in lines beneath her shoes.
"They're working so hard — look! They're carrying food back home! Aren't they hardworking?"
Rush blinked, caught off guard by the sudden enthusiasm. "Oh—uh… yes?"
Before she knew it, the rest of the team had scooted closer, curiosity overtaking their earlier focus.
"Oh, really..." Glitter added, crouching down beside Urara.
"Look at them go…" Meshi murmured, her eyes following the trail.
"Whoa! That one's trying to lift a whole grain by itself!" House added with awe.
Here, Rush, supposed to be the responsible one, too, found herself in the exact trance, "I'm… curious where their nest is," she joined, crouching down with them.
"Let's find... their nest, then...!" Meshi suggested, already leaning closer to the grass.
"Let's do this! Let's find where their house is!" Urara cheered, raising her fist into the air, her eyes gleaming like a child discovering treasure.
Immediately, the others followed her lead instantly.
"Let's go!" they all shouted in unison, springing to their feet and following the ants' trail, completely disregarding the purpose of this meeting.
And in that fleeting moment, Urara and her team had wasted most of the morning...
...
...
Sometimes later…
"Okay! Enough wasting time!" Rush barked, planting her hands on her hips again, acting like a sergeant addressing a squad of unruly cadets.
"We must stop getting distracted by any unimportant matters! Now let's finally begin our discussion about the relay race!"
The others straightened, half-attentive, half-dazed.
"So now, let us begin our—"
Before she could finish, a jingle came across the neighborhood.
One that was so familiar that any kids across the block should recognize instantly.
It was...
The very song of an ice cream truck.
Instantly, all five heads turned at once.
Their ears perked up. Their tails twitched. Their instincts heightened.
Within seconds, the group bolted.
"Wait for us!" Urara shouted, sprinting ahead.
Meanwhile, the ice cream truck's driver was still clueless in his drive.
Until... he glanced into his rearview mirror and choked. "Oh damn! What the hell! They're fast!"
The poor man barely had time to stop before the herd of horse girls surrounded his truck like hungry ghouls.
Meanwhile, Urara dashed home mid-chaos, kicking open the door and yelling, "Mom! Mom! We need money for ice cream!"
Her mother, mid-chopping vegetables, blinked in confusion. "Wh— Wha— What—?!"
Moments later, she found herself being tugged outside, still holding her apron and a handful of change. "Urara, slow down—!"
When they finally returned to the field, ice creams secured, but... the sun was nearly gone.
The group sat cross-legged again, licking their cones contentedly. Cream smudged their cheeks while dripping down their hands.
Meanwhile, Rush, determined not to lose focus again, stood tall and cleared her throat, trying to control the crowd again. Despite her having eaten the ice cream too.
"Enough messing around!" she declared.
"Now listen!" she continued, striking a dramatic pose. "I know I may have gathered you all here on a weekend—"
She paused, raising her finger.
"But!" she said, "today, we will train together and plan our strategy! We'll prove to everyone that we're not just a bunch of wet noodles! We're a team—the team of winners!"
"Yeah!" Urara cheered, jumping up with her usual enthusiasm, her cone nearly flying out of her hand.
"It doesn't matter if Mary is our rival! Or even that underdog group from Maruchi's team!" Rush went on, declaring.
"Yeah!" Urara shouted again, her tail flicking wildly.
"We'll show them! We'll be the true underdogs! We'll win this relay race and show the world the glory of our triumph!"
"YEAH!!" Urara yelled, pumping her fist into the air.
After that...came silence beside Urara's.
Rush's confident grin froze as she looked around.
Urara's hand was still high, trembling with passion—— but the rest of the team was quietly eating their ice cream, disregarding her.
"...Guys?" Rush waned.
As Glitter sighed dramatically and uttered. "Can we… skip this spoof already?"
Meshi nodded, "Well… you sa–say," Meshi stammered, fiddling with the melting remains of her ice cream,
"That if I joined you guys, you wouldn't care how I performed… I didn't know you guys… cared so much about it."
Rush blinked, her confidence dropping.
"Well, I'm here for the same reason," Glitter chimed in casually, twirling her hair. "You see… I already told you I'm not really into races anyway. I mean—what's fun about it? Getting all sweaty and gross? Just thinking about it makes me want to faint."
"Besides, I'm only here because I don't want to embarrass myself in front of those show-offs. That's it."
"They're right... It's pointless. I just want to go home," House muttered bluntly, "I thought we were only gonna discuss who runs which leg. That's all, and no other unnecessary gimmicks."
Upon hearing those harsh comments, Rush stood frozen for a moment. Her whole "motivational speech" crumbled.
"I see…" she exhaled quietly, her shoulders slumping. "Well, if that's the case…"
She forced a smile and continued. "Let's get the position done, then! Meshi, you'll take the first leg. Glitter, you're second leg. Then House, Urara, and I'll run the last leg."
She then clapped her hands once, trying to sound upbeat. "And with that, I believe we're done, and fair to be dismissed! See you guys on Monday!"
"Bye…" came the unenthusiastic exchange from the rest as the group began packing up their things and departing.
Within moments, everyone left...
Except Urara.
As Rush thought everyone had left, she sat down on the grass. Gazing at the horizon alone.
Until Urara joined her, sitting next to her.
Startled, "Shouldn't you be going home too, Urara?" Rush asked.
Urara shook her head. "Not really. I don't mind training. Besides, I want to run after all! I'm not going home without a run!"
Rush turned her head, blinking. "Wait… you want to train?"
"Of course!" Urara said with a grin. "It's why I'm here in the first place!"
Rush's eyes widened. "That's—!" Her tone cracked into excitement, but she caught herself halfway, trying to act composed again, clearing her throat.
"That's… great to hear," she muttered.
"Come on! No time to waste!" Urara beamed, hopping onto her feet and stretching her arms. "We should start soon! If not, I'll reach curfew—and my mom will get mad again!"
Rush couldn't help but smile. "Alright then," she said, standing up and brushing off her leggings.
"Let's go."
As the two paced side by side, Rush went for her backpack, pulling out a pack of chalk. Then, she shared a few with Urara and started their preparation.
They began to draw, write, and even decorate their own self-made tracks.
After tens of minutes...
They finally finished.
The track was completed with chalk, as some was by Rush, partially by Urara. Except part of Urara wasn't so much decent-looking.
Standing proud with her squiggly and barely visible line, Urara puffed her chest, feeling contented.
But paying no heed, Rush declared, "Let our training module begin!" thrusting her fist high into the air.
"Let's go!" Urara followed, matching her energy with a bright, toothy grin.
And so their training was about to begin.