I have arrived. The faint smell of Americans... It's pretty nostalgic (A/N: I have met a ton of Americans and they have this one distinct smell that I always get a whiff off.)
Time to call my dad.
"Mosh Mosh~~ Is my son in the states now?"
"Yeah, I'm here. Where are you, you said that you are at the airport right now right? I don't see your damn car here?"
"Ah shi-... I mean! Sorry Minami, I am actually gonna take shower right now. Jeez silly me. Alright, see you~~! Mwah Mwah!"
Beep Beep
My lips twitched in irritation. This damn...
Just then.
A towering figure, even for me who is 6'1...
"Yo, wanna go for a ride?"
She is a 6'6.5 Uma, with a brownish and hint of Chestnut colored hair, just looking at her long and fine legs, I can safely assume that she is currently the strongest Umamusume I have ever laid my eyes upon.. Meanwhile, she is currently smiling ferally at me.
"Yo, Secretariat." I greeted her
"Laurent, it's been a while since I saw you!" Secretariat suddenly slung her long arms at me.
"Back then, you were a little jit. Now look at you! Haha!" She boomed as she leads me to her vehicle which can make Maruzensky cry on jealousy.
She then proceeds to twirl around and show off her outfit.
"Very stylish right?" She smiled at me
"Yeah Yeah, as expected of the strongest." I said, uninterested.
She then proceeds to pout at me.
"Hey~~! Don't be so cold to me. Also, you used to call me Penny-onii-san, please call me that again!"
People with interesting fetish would have been turned on by the pout, but not me. She is tall alright, but tall girls ain't for me.
"I'll call you Penny, but no WAY IN HELL I'll call you Penny onii-san!" I DECLARED to her to try and stop her which thankfully worked.
"Alright Alright! Jeez..." She muttered.
(A/N: Penny is the name of the wife of the owner of Secretariat.)
"By the way, are you joining this year's 1976 Olympics? URA just allowed retired Umas to join through their very own Twinkle Series-esqued tournament."
With my question, Penny frowned.
"Pweh! Ain't no way I'm racing! I'm already set in life! Plus... Ugh. To be honest I wanna race. But! Those old folleys in United States Umamusume Racing Commission (USURC) restrict my every move. They are scared since the Head of USURC favours me to be the head even though I have no reason to be so. Now I'm tempted to do it since I fucking hate those balding bastards..."
(A/N: Is USURC a cool name? I was supposed to call it (USURA) but it sounds so lame...)
"Ah I see... Americans never change huh." I said thoughtfully.
I was snapped out of it when Penny suddenly slapped me in the back.
*Cough Cough*
"Hey! Be careful alright! Remember I'm fragile infront of you bunch!" I protested while I choked on my own saliva.
"HAHAHA I was just saying to stop being a worrywart and get in the car." She slapped the passenger seat near her.
This girl...
"Alright, let's go to my father's place shall we? I'd like to put all my luggage to his place and prepare for the URA trainer's exam." I said as I sat down next to Penny and taking off my sunglasses.
"Alrighty, prepare yourself. I'm gonna floor it." She said nonchalantly.
"Sure." I mean... What could possibly go wrong?
***
"Ma'am. Sir. Did you know how fast you were going?" The police asks thoughtfully.
"Uh... I didn't even notice." Penny tried to look away, embarrassed. I'm sure she just floored it to aura farm to me.
"Ma'am, you were going at exactly 119 miles per hour." The police officer said, deadpanning.
(A/N: WHAT THE FUCK IS A KILOMETEEEEERRRRRRR 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅)
Penny hesitates for a moment before.
"Umm... Mr Police, can you let us go just this once? I'll promise I won't do it again." Penny said in a 'cutesy' voice.
"I'll also promise to compensate you!" Penny then made a money sign while grinning.
The police officer thought for a moment before... And frowned, he seems to be testing us.
"What exactly are you compensating me?"
Penny seemed to beam after hearing those words. Hey, maybe this is a bad idea after all, please notice Penny!
"Fufufu... I'm glad you asked..." She then proceeds to take off her sunglasses. Too late...
"Because I'm gonna give you the limited edition autograph of ME! SECRETARIAT!" She announced in a grandiose manner.
"Holy shit! Secretariat? I'm glad to meet you ma'am!" The police seemed to straighten his back after hearing her words.
"Fufufu~~ Alright, let me sign your uniform!" She beamed as she took out a permanent marker.
"N-no need for that Secretariat! Instead why don't you sign it in my chess?" The police officer giddily said.
"Just how wild are Americans..?" I muttered under my breath.
"A~~~And there you go Mr. Policeman! Do be careful and tattoo it as soon as possible, or else it'll get erased."
The police officer chuckled.
"I'm just doing the whole America a favor, we still didn't forget your performance at the 1972's Middle in Munich and Long Turf in Tokyo! You make us Americans proud madam!"
"Hehe, thank you officer." Penny cheekily said.
And then we sped off
"By the way Laurent... Why does the police officer have a Minecraft trap door tattoo in his chest." Penny asked innocently which got me coughing.
"For your own good, I ain't telling you..."
(A/N: If you know, you know.)
"Alright, stingy bastard." Penny disdainfully said.
***
And I arrived at my old man's house, even though he said that he is gonna take a shower, almost an hour has pass and he hasn't even took one.
"Oh Minami! It's good to see you." My dad said, hugging me.
"You took the divorce very well, dad." I said, dead panned.
"When did me and your mom ever divorce?" He said, genuinely confused.
"Well, because this... Pigsty, and your lifestyle is very much like that of a divorced father."
"Hey, stop teasing me you bastard. You spend your time with your mom and now your disrespecting your dad. Huhu... I'm honestly saddened by these turn of event."
My dad emotionally said even though there's not a single tear that is coming in his eyes.
"Hey are you done with your theatrics trainer?" A voice interrupted us. Penny.
We turned our heads to her, she is currently carrying all the bags with my things on them.
"By the way, why are you even carrying an electric guitar? Also Violin? Are you trying to be Mozart or something?" My dad questioned me.
Well, I was to be honest... When I found out that this is not the original earth back then and there are no familiar music, I was thrilled and found my purpose on music. Now that I found out that this world is Umamusume, my music practice lessened. Though I still continued it to not let my skills rust and also as Plan B if my plan of being an Trainer fails.
Though I'm still very good, I'm not learning fast enough now. Having a young brain is really helpful. I was learning everything so fast. In gaming words, it's like you just made an account and get this 7 day free rewards to help you start out.
I'm getting off track here.
"Well, when you left. I picked a hobby on music, and even though I have a clear goal now and my practice time lessened, I really can't bring myself to give up music." I sheepishly said while scratching the back of my head.
"Mm, indeed. You truly got my genes." My dad proudly says.
"Alright, done. I have bought every bag you have to your old room, Minami." Penny said scowling and irrate after being treated as a bag boy by me and my father.
My back tingled as I felt an overwhelming dark aura behind me...
Better get out of here as soon as possible.
"A-Alright, i'm gonna fix my room bye dad! Bye Penny! Also don't disturb me, I'll cram in last minute."
"Alright, by Minami." Penny 'sweetly' said.
"Bye Son..." My father sentimentally said.
*Clack*
***
I studied like there was no tomorrow in my 6 months of staying in my father's house. Safe to say it was hell. I didn't even meet Mr. Sun for 4 months straight. I also felt like I aged 100 years. This is truly hell.
Please note that being a trainer is not only one of the most lucrative, but the most hardest job to get into. Not only do you have to have a hand on Medical related stuff, but also Diet, Sports Medicine, Mathematics, and Science. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, you also need to spend a minimum of 2 years under a tutelage of a senior trainer, and note that if you make a single medical or training mistake, you'll be eliminated. Since remember... A Horse Girl can only shine for 3 years. And that single mistake can very well be the cause of a Uma's dream not getting achieved and getting her hurt.
We don't want that here. So you have to have not just good intellect, but also meticulous planning and at least a bit of hands on experience on having to take care of a Horse Girl.
There is a survey conducted that says almost 91% of Trainer's at USURC has a Umamusume Sibling, or at least been exposed to horse girls via his/her parents being trainer.
This has become so absurd that it literally became an unwritten rule where You need to have a Umamusume as a sibling or your parent must be a trainer to even become an apprentice. Because No Trainer will take on an apprentice that has no experience taking care of an Uma.
It's not out of greed either. If you have seen the dispair of an Uma getting her career cut off short by an injury, you'd be shaken. In-fact there is a Mental Disorder for this.
It's called Umamusume Aphantasia Syndrome or UAS for short. It is triggered after a severe traumatic experience of an Umamusume realizing their dreams cannot be achieved. Its symptoms are Little to no energy, weakened immune system, lifeless eyes, and Mind Blindness which prevents you to "Dream" on your sleep and also prevents you to conjure images in your mind. It is common, though an effective plan has been formulated that helps Uma's recover their mind, though there are less fortunate ones that hasn't been cured.
That's why I took the studying very seriously. I don't ever want Rudolf or even any of my future charge have their dreams cut short by my oversight, that's why even if my hairline recedes, if I can remember at least more than one line in the sports medicine books, then it is all worth it.
***
It's one day left before the exam.
"Minami, you have been studying too hard lately. Wanna go watch the Belmont Stakes? I have 2 tickets right now."
...
"Alright, I wanna at least calm my nerves before the exam."
***
[LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO THE 1976 BELMONT STAKES!!]
The crowd roared as the announcer uttered those words.
And I mean ROARED.
The 200,000 seats here are all occupied by a person.
[LET US FIND OUT FOLKS ON WHO WILL WIN THE RUN OF CARNATION AND TAKE HOME THE THIRD JEWEL OF THIS YEAR'S TRIPLE CROWN!]
The crowd roared again and the announcer began to announce the runners of this race.
[The Third Favorite... Will she deliver? PLEASE LET US WELCOME, THE GREAT CONTRACTOR!!!]
[The Second favorite, Beware of the Thunder, for the moment you blink it'll smite you. LADIES AND GENTS, PLEASE GIVE A THUNDEROUS WELCOME TO MCKENZIE BRIDGE!!!]
[And now, the favorite... The one who owns everything races to reclaim what is hers; the Third Jewel, PLEASE WELCOME THE DOMINEERING EMPRESS, THE ONE WHO OWNS EVERYTHING, BOLD FORBES!!!]
[Will Bold Forbes shut the nay-sayers who doubt her compatibility with this race, or will she shut them up? Will the Empress bend to fate or will she carve her own path through her power, let us find out right here folks!]
(A/N: Bold Forbes is a Sprinter and people genuinely doubted the race horse back then in 1976, so I just gotta add something to hype her up.)
"Leave it to the Americans to rile up the crowd" I muttered under my breath.
"All runners are inside the gate, keep your eyes wide open folks."
"...3"
"...2..."
"...1.."
"AND THEY ARE OFF!"
*Third Person POV*
The crowd went wild as the gates opened, Bold Forbes went first, adopting an aggressive Pace controlling Front-Runner.
"Oh, Mckenzie seems to have a very rough start as she falls towards 8th place..."
Mckenzie seeing her position, gritted her teeth and proceeds to accelerate to move up to a more favorable position, preferably 3rd-4th place as this is a 2,414 meter (1 ½Miles for y'all Americans) race, a Medium.
Of course this didn't go unnoticed by those in-front of her.
"Ha-ah, like hell I'd let you do that!" Shouted Play the Red as she proceeds to hip check her causing Mckenzie to stumble.
"Mckenzie!!" Minami heard a audible sound next to his father; it was McKenzie's trainer, who looked in his early 20s.
Mckenzie looked down as she gritted her teeth and proceeds to move forward.
She's now 4th Place and as she reaches it.
*Click*
The time it took Bold Forbes to reach 1000m is over 59.3 seconds. A fairly normal pace.
...
As the Umas are nearing the final bend, the shouts from the stand grew higher and higher.
Even though Bold Forbes is the one leading, she cannot help but feel tense as hot on her heels is Great Contractor, which has been shadowing her for the entire race.
As she looked at the one behind her, a seed of doubt suddenly bloomed inside Bold Forbes' heart. And unpleasant memories suddenly began to play in her mind.
'That was a that you won the the first crown Forbes.'
'See I told you it wasa fluke. She is nothing but a fraud.'
And yet, even if those bad memories surface, the face of her trainer began to destroy any remaining doubt in her heart.
"Right, I promised to him to win this one... That's why... That's why... EVEN IF IT COSTS ME MY LEG, OR EVERYTHING I DONT CARE, AS LONG AS I'LL WIN THIS AND SEE MY TRAINER SMILE AT ME ITS ENOUGH."
Her heart began to pound loudly...
"ROAR MY HEART! LET THE CROWD HEAR OUR HYMNN OF VICTORY!" Bold Forbes declared as she began to emit a faint rainbow glow.
Mckenzie in 3rd Place seeing this, began to move...
"I also made a promise to my trainer, DON'T UNDERESTIMATE MY RESOLVE... BOLD FORBES, FOR I WILL OFFER THIS JEWEL TO HIM!" Mckenzie's resolve reached new heights as she also began to be enveloped by a faint rainbow glow.
Crack
Bzzt
*MC POV*
I suddenly heard a faint TV static sound, I thought I was going crazy but...
[....DING!...]
[...MCKENZIE BRIDGE USED THE SKILL "MY OATH FROM ME TO YOU LV.2..."]
Minami blinked in surprise as he saw those words, he made sure to rub his eyes to see if he was tripping but the blue screen didn't go away in-fact, it became more pronounced!
But he ignored all that, the race is reaching it's climax, ain't no way he'll get distracted by some system notification.
[!!!]
[*Pouts*]
"Ladies as gents! We have entered the final bend and look at Mckenzie as she began to accelerate!!!"
[...BOLD FORBES USED THE SKILL "GLASS HEART'S GOLDEN RADIANCE LV.3..."]
"AND BOLD FORBES RESPONDED IN KIND AS SHE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE HERSELF!!!"
"Hey don't forget about me!!"
[...GREAT CONTRACTOR HAS USED THE SKILL "THE NEGOTIATOR LV.2..."]
"AND GREAT CONTRACTOR ACCELERATES ASWELL!!! FOLKS, HOLD YOUR BREATH AS WE ARE ABOUT TO WITNESS A THREE WAY BATTLE OF GUTS BETWEEN 3 UMAMUSUMES!!!"
"200 METERS REMAIN!"
"GREAT CONTRACTOR IS THE FIRST TO FALTER AS SHE FALLS TOWARDS 2ND PLACE."
"Don't underestimate my resolve, MCKENZIEE!!!!"
"BOLD FORBES ACCELERATES AGAIN AS MCKENZIE STARTS TO CATCH UP TO HER!!!"
"60 METERS REMAIN!"
"30... 20... 10 METERS!!!"
"AHHHHH!!!!/AHHHHH!!!!" Both Mckenzie and Forbes shouted as they began to pour every last bit of stamina and willpower on this final straight...
"AAAAAANNDDDDDD~~ FORBES SNATCHED IT. SHE HAS TAKEN THE 3RD JEWEL AT A NOSE LENGHT!!! SHE HAS PROVEN THEM WRONG! THE DOUBLE CROWN IS HERS! IT BELONGS TO THE BOLD!! BOLD FORBES!!"
The reaction is almost instantaneous. The crowd jumped up and down as they watched a Uma being crowned a double crown winner.
The trainer of Forbes is so happy that she jumped off the fence and fell down 2 meters from the ground. But it seems like that didn't seem to faze him as he began to evade the guards and ran towards Forbes who which hugged him.
Me and my dad is near the finish line and I can see Forbes sobbing in her trainer's chest...
Even from here I can tell their relationship is more than trainer and charge...
"Tsk... A bunch of lovebirds! Now I miss your mom..." My dad said as he goes through 3 different emotions at a span 3 seconds.
"Seattle Slew will stand in this stage next year, heh... I'm excited now that my blood is pumping!" My dad shouted, his hand pumped.
"Dad please calm down, people are looking at us weird."
"Pweh! Let them look weird, at least I'm financially stable and can actually afford health care!"
"... Dad, that's pretty rude."
"Can't i be rude with my own kind? Tsk tsk, kids these days, being all soft."
Please ignore my dad's rambling, I swear he's normal just a moment ago.
***
As the ceremony is over, me and my dad walked towards the concert hall...
Here, Bold Forbes will sing her solo... Yes.
While Japan's winning live is almost akin to that of an idol concert where all participants participate in a winning live, here the winner stage is owned by the winner. A winner Umamusume can sing her song here songs about love, longing, enjoying, and heck even rapping. There are barely any songs here that relates to that of running and Umas like those in Japan. (A/N: My first version of this, I wrote a whole segment of Secretariat rapping, I stopped because I can't think of a anymore bars).
Also, Europe is different. They are more towards jumpy futuristic sounds, and also Opera... Yes Opera. Being the first continent to be introduced to Umamusume, their traditions on horse girl racing is really deep and even though changing times often leave behind old tradition, the Opera seems to stick around. Because Umamusumes are naturally gifted singers, and people would pay in-droves there to listen to a Umamusume sing Opera.
Of course there are Opera concerts in Japan and US, though it's not really as prevalent as Europe where twelve G1 races literally demands you to practice Opera just so you can enter it.
...
Me and my dad listened to Forbes sing her hearts out, it's a song about a girl with self doubt being save by a person who she came to love.
It doesn't take a brain to piece together who this is directed to... Lucky bastard, I hope he chokes on what he eats.
I spat in disgust to the open showing of affection, normies disgust me.
After the concert which lasted over 15 minutes, we walked out of the building... It was refreshing really, watching the race.
[IT SURE IS REFRESHING HOST.]
Wait, you can read my mind?
[YEAH DUH...]
Wait, so your the system I have been waiting for 18 years?
[TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH IDIOT.]
Yeah yeah make fun of me all you want...
[I'M NOT MAKING FUN OF YOU IDIOT HOST!]
Well, then what are you doing.
[I'M JUST TRYING TO REMIND YOU THAT WHAT HAPPENED BACK THEN WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN... WELL KINDA SINCE YOU'LL ONLY SEE THE SKILL ACTIVATION OF YOUR OWN CHARGE IN THE RACE.]
Ah I see... By the way system, do you have any medical assistance kit? Me being a trainer, it's essential for me to alreast know an inkling on what's happening to my Uma.
[AH, REASONABLE QUESTION HOST. YES, WE HAVE A MEDICAL ASSISTANCE KIT, YOU CAN PURCHASE A SKILL TO LEARN ACUPUNCTURE, MASSAGE, OR EVEN BUY PANACEA AT SHOP.]
I see...
[WHY ARE YOU NOT SHOCKED?]
Well, because I have read a ton of brainrotted system fanfic and novels that I already got the gist of it, I'm just asking you that question to make sure your not useless.
[H-HOW HEARTLESS! H-HMPH! I'LL IGNORE YOU FOR EVEN DOUBTING ME!]
Ah...
And I didn't even get to ask her name...
[MY NAME IS RIN IDIOT...]
...
I've never seen a system who acts like a Tsundere but color me surprise.
"Hey what are you standing there for, you want to live on the streets or something?" My dad asked as he emotionlessly looked at me and gestures at me to get in the car.
I smirked.
"Coming dad!"
End...
A/N: Alright, HOLY SHIT... I SPENT OVER 4 HOURS WRITING THIS. And like 2 of those are for research. Yes I researched a lot of shit, fuck me. I also revised this chapter over 3 times. I dont even know why I'm tryna torture myself... It would have been more easy if I wrote this in a laptop but no, I'm using a phone.
I was also planning to use AI to correct any grammatical error but I'm too tired to even think about it rn. Anyways, ciao see you.