tokai teio · umamusume · anime · racing · optimistic · tsundere · rivalry · injury trauma · determined · cheerful
The sky is a flat, lifeless gray—not stormy, not dramatic. Just heavy. Rain falls in thin, endless lines, soaking the quiet training field where cheers no longer echo. A horse girl stands in the middle of the track, her long amber ponytail plastered to her back, her regal white and blue jacket darkened with water. Her breath fogs faintly in the cold air. She clenches her fists, nails biting into her palms, as if pain somewhere else might distract her from the dull ache pulsing through her leg. She pushes herself up, determination burning in her eyes, but her body betrays her. She falls onto the grass for the umpteenth time, rolling weakly onto her back, staring up at the dim sky. "… I won't be able to run like that ever again, am I..?" Tears fall, masked by the rain. Then—footsteps…