The evening breeze gently caressed her body, and under the starless night sky, she felt as lonely as if embarking on a journey.
In the quiet night, the only sound echoing in her ears was the wind rushing past her as she sprinted and accelerated.
Even though she was running, her mind was increasingly filled with all sorts of flashbacks.
Damn it!
The moment she powerfully pushed off, her joints tightened for acceleration, making the wind rush past her ears even faster.
The scenery ahead narrowed, gradually leaving only a single track.
Crossing the finish line—
Narita Taishin, panting heavily, stopped the stopwatch she had been holding and slowly stood still.
"Hoo… hah… hoo…"
The time was frozen at 2:31:23.
If this were a local race, a 2000m time like that would be more than enough to qualify.
But—
It wasn't enough.
She absolutely couldn't defeat those two with just this… Her heart pounded, and her blood felt hot as it coursed through her.
She couldn't help but recall the person she had seen earlier that day… "Talking to yourself, even if you don't say it, I'll still win for you to see!"
She wiped away her sweat, then murmured softly.
"There's a limit to being a goodie-two-shoes, right? Always so self-righteous, thinking you understand me so well?"
Every single one of them, they're all annoying, that's right, from the past until now, it's always been like this!
I don't need anyone's help, absolutely not.
.
"Your shoes? Oh~ I think I've seen those! Look, isn't that one on the tree yours!? Hahahaha!"
"Hahaha, you're so short, you'll have to jump higher now, won't you? Haha! She's actually jumping to reach them! So lame!"
The taunts from her peers had started long ago.
Ignore them, ignore them! No matter what you say!
"Eh? Oh no, she's still trying? Hahaha, speaking of which, I think I've only ever seen her mom pick her up!"
"Hey! Don't you know!? She doesn't have a dad! Hahaha!"
"Waaah! No dad! Ugh! No dad!"
—Guh!!!
When she came to her senses.
She was on top of that boy, punching him fiercely, and the other children had scattered in fear.
She didn't even realize her knuckles were scraped until the teacher arrived.
"What's wrong with your child!!! Ah! Hitting my baby like this! Don't you discipline her!? Is a joke worth this!? Ah!"
She hadn't done anything wrong, so why, why did her mother apologize!
Watching her mother bow and repeatedly say she was sorry, a piece of her own heart felt like it had been torn away.
On the way home, her mother held her hand, and even though she was holding back tears, she still smiled and said to her—
She said, she was sorry.
That was the first time she had cried since she could remember, and the only time.
No matter what happened, she would never cry again.
That's right.
From then on, she chose to refuse with her eyes, to refuse with everything, whether it was strange looks or meaningless taunts.
Refuse to listen, refuse to accept—
Then, Narita Taishin closed her eyes.
.
"Hey hey~ Someone go sit next to her~ It's so pathetic for her to be sitting there all alone during the outing, isn't it?"
"Eh! No way, that kid feels so gloomy… How about we play rock-paper-scissors and whoever loses goes?"
"No way, shouldn't whoever suggested it go?"
"Oh no, I don't want to go—!"
Gazing out the window, she saw such mockery and pointless teasing for silly reasons. Childish, pathetic, ridiculous—
Like a clown.
I don't need your cheap pity—
Narita Taishin still chose to keep her eyes closed.
Throughout her life, only one thing made her feel the beauty of the world.
That's right, the burning sensation of her skin after the cool sweat, the hot, surging blood in her muscles.
No longer did others' figures appear in her vision; she only needed to focus on the track ahead, and then feel the lonely yet free sensation of the strong wind blowing against her.
"Hah ah ah ah ah!"
As she gradually could only feel her own heartbeat, her speed became faster and faster!
"No, no way… Is that really that gloomy girl?"
"No way… how can such a lonely little one run so fast?"
"It must be a lie, right?"
…Their voices gradually faded, but unlike before, it was the wind that muffled them.
That's right, only running was good. All I had to do was sprint with all my might, keep winning, and I could shut these annoying, hateful guys up! After crossing the finish line, I would mock them with facts, returning the favor with silent power.
Leaving everyone behind, at the finish line, only there… I could feel my free breathing, and only then.
Yes, only then could I feel the fact of my own existence.
I wanted to be able to reach higher and further.
In a bigger world, at the end of the race track, what could I see beyond that point?
So, for my final career choice in Middle School, I filled in Tracen Academy.
But—
In the team tryouts,
"Yay! I got first place! Lucky~!"
Yet, in the last tryout at my school, I only managed second place—
"Hmph… Haah… Damn it!"
My heart was filled with unwillingness, while the guy who got first place walked over as if looking for trouble.
"Hey, I remember you're called Daijin, right? I heard you're going to Tracen Academy after graduation? Is that true?"
"…Is there a problem?"
I didn't want to listen, lowering my head, not even wanting to look at their faces.
That's right, I could imagine their expressions without even looking—it must be mockery, disbelief, disdain, and surprise.
"No… it's just that only geniuses gather there, the top school… Can you really do it?"
I didn't want to hear the rest of it.
So annoying.
Shut up.
Just you watch me.
What I wanted to say, what I wanted to do, what I wanted to prove to everyone who looked down on me.
But—
Even now, I still couldn't achieve it.
Even.
"Daijin… Honestly, it's better if you give up… Your physique is too weak to challenge Central races. Your performance in today's self-selection race wasn't ideal either… You might achieve something locally, but this is, after all, the Central racing circuit. Besides, even without running, there are other ways for an Uma Musume to live, aren't there? I don't think you can adapt to life at Tracen Academy… So—"
"This is so annoying! Stop joking around for my sake! You're just constantly denying me! I'll prove it to you with these legs! Absolutely, absolutely!"
I left the scene as if fleeing, and from that moment, I already understood.
Even now, I still had to walk alone.
That's right.
And so, Narita Taishin chose to close her eyes again.
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