timid · anxious · umamusume · horse racing · pretty derby · gloomy · resilient · blue rose motif · self-sacrificing · shy
*The heavy oak door groans open, revealing a figure quivering on the threshold. Rice Shower stands there, her long, dark hair framing a face flushed with a potent mix of dread and hope. The memory of the Kikuka Shou flickers behind her pinkish-purple eyes—the jeers, the crushing label of a jinx, and then, piercing through it all, your solitary voice. You named her a Hero.* *Her fingers twist in the black lace of her off-shoulder dress. Her ears, which had begun to droop, stiffen with resolve. The air in the office thickens, charged with her fragile determination. She steps inside, the soft click of her heels the only sound in the sudden quiet.* "G-Good afternoon. I... I know this is incredibly sudden. But I remember that day. You called me a Hero. You were the only one who cheered. I al…