She still remembered the first time she witnessed that wondrous sight.
"Blossom Star finishes first!"
It was the [Queen Elizabeth II Cup], and her mother had brought her to watch it. They'd been lucky then—any race involving Team Kitahara would often pull a massive crowd, and getting a ticket to witness their performance live was always a gamble. Their family had never been that lucky, but that time, her father had gotten lucky and managed to take 2 tickets, which he then gave to her and her mother.
And it was there that she first saw it.
The way Blossom Star had surged to the lead from the very moment the gates opened—the way the lead between her and those behind her had grown and grown until it became an uncrossable ravine.
At that moment, Star had turned into a blur, soaring across the track like a comet.
And she couldn't help but want. How freeing must that sensation be? To run with no obstacles, to have only the wind as your companion and the skies as your audience; such a feeling must be--
"Suzuka-chan! Don't sit too close to the television!"
"S-Sorry!" She immediately took a few steps back, though her eyes remained fixed to the boxy television. Her mother sighed as she saw her barely move away, but her father only chuckled. Her cheeks warmed slightly, but she remained laser-focused on the screen.
After all, Blossom Star's interview was about to happen any minute now!
Right now, the news showed a platoon of reporters standing just in front of Tracen Central Academy. For the first time in weeks, Director Akikawa had finally allowed them to interview Blossom Star, and many were eager to see if Star was truly okay, especially after the world had witnessed her and Oguri collapse after the [Japan Cup].
By this point, the reporters had been waiting for almost fiftnee minutes, and some of them were antsy. They clearly wanted nothing more than to step past the gates to see Star's condition, but none dared to take even a step forward.
The reason was simple;
One Hayakawa Tazuna stood right at the academy's gates, standing like an impassable wall against the tide of reporters. She looked like an ordinary secretary, yet the reporters couldn't help but feel like they were standing before a predator.
Eventually, one brave reporter managed to speak up, "E-Excuse me, Hayakawa-san, but is Blossom-"
"Apologies, but she is heading here at this very moment." Tazuna said simply, repeating the words she'd said many times before. She maintained that polite smile as she spoke, but the reporter found himself gulping as he quickly stepped back.
The area returned to a stilted silence, with dozens of grown men and women waiting around like highschool children. Suzuka found herself getting a little bored, but she forced herself to wait. After all, the green lady had told them that Star was coming, and she looked quite trustworthy.
And then-
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The doors to the main building of Tracen Central opened, and from it emerged an umamusume. She was clearly a student since she was wearing Tracen Central's uniform, but the pair of crutches she was using to walk caused many to not notice who she was for some time.
Suzuka was the same, at least until she noticed the golden star dangling from one of her ears.
She gasped along with a few reporters who had the same realization she did.
"Hey there~" Blossom Star said, an easy smile on her lips as she slowly made her way towards them. Her crutches clacked loudly against the brick path, which only served to pull attention to the bandages wrapped around her legs. "Sorry for the wait. Couldn't get here too fast with these things, y'know?"
The reporters were stunned into complete silence as Star slowly approached, and it wasn't just them. All across Japan, everyone who tuned into the news were shocked as they saw Star's legs. Suzuka herself had gone silent, her eyes blown wide open. And strangely, she couldn't help but wince slightly, feeling a strange phantom pain in her left leg.
"All is well, Blossom-san. No one here was that desperate to see you-" She turned to the reporters, her smile deepening. "Right?"
No one spoke. None of them could. All of them felt like they would've gotten their legs snapped if they uttered even a single word.
Thankfully, Star came to their rescue. "It's fine, it's fine~. I mean, we were the ones who kept quiet and all." Star soon stopped walking, standing right next to Tazuna as she turned to the reporters. "Anyway, why don't we get this started? Everyone's probably pretty eager to know what's going on."
A small silence stretched on for a minute or so, before one of the reporters finally managed to speak. "I-I-If I may, how-, uh, what are the extents of your…injuries?"
Star chuckled. "Ooh~, straight for the jugular, huh?" The reporter winced and prepared to apologize, but Star then continued. "But you folks don't need to worry too much. It was a bit touch and go apparently, but I'm fine now." She smiled slightly. "If nothing goes wrong, I'll make a full recovery in a couple months."
The reporters, Suzuka, and thousands of viewers simultaneously sighed in relief. When they saw the crutches Star had used to walk around, they had feared for the worst.
"Oh, Oguri's fine too, by the way." She smiled wryly. "She got off easy in comparison. She came out with just a minor sprain, and she should be fully recovered in a month." She smirked as she pointed straight at the many cameras. "So don't worry. We'll be back soon enough."
The atmosphere considerably lightened after that. After a week of near radio silence, the public had finally gotten their answers. And while Star and Oguri's injuries were terrible, it was far from the worst things that could've happened, especially since Star confirmed that they'd be making a full recover in due time.
But if there was one thing that was regrettable however--
"Ah, does that mean you and Oguri won't be pariticipating in this year's [Arima Kinen]?"
Star shrugged. "Of course not." She grinned slightly as she tilted her head down. "I mean, I can barely walk right now, let alone run."
"That's a shame…"
"Isn't Belno Light running in the [Champions Cup]? Doesn't that mean…"
"So Team Kitahara won't be participating at all?"
"What about Tamamo Cross? Is she also…?"
Suzuka felt somewhat disappointed too, but she didn't mind all that much. After all, she was just happy to know that her idol wasn't permanently injured and that she'd soon return to running.
Back in Tracen Central, Tazuna's smile was slowly darkening as she somehow heard the reporter's whispers. But just as she was about to curb their whispering, Star stepped forward and loudly thumped her crutch onto the brick path. The reporters quickly turned their attention back to her, and Star huffed.
"It is a shame. I won't deny that." She said, smiling slightly. "But y'know, I'm still here. I'm still alive. This life of mine ain't over just yet." Her smile grew fond. "And as long as I'm still here, my story isn't over. Our story isn't over." She grinned. "And in the meantime, there are many other umamusume who're just as amazing."
"So stay tuned, Japan."
She extended a hand towards them, a smirk on her lips.
"Our conquest will continue."
…
Suzuka gasped as she stumbled back, finally managing to release the breath she'd been holding.
"She's amazing, isn't she?" Her mother said, smiling softly. "Even after getting injured, she still looks so lively."
Her father chuckled. "Well, she's playing the Hero of the team, after all."
Suzuka's ears twitched as she heard her father's words, and she couldn't help but whisper. "Hero…"
Though it meant little now, little did she know how much that single word would change her future.
But that was a story for another day.