And the ghost of the boulevard / Littered with lonely hearts

[racingheart]

Who: Oguri Cap and Yayoi
What: Outraged by Yayoi's disrespect for the beautiful competition of racing, Oguri Cap responds the only way she knows how: challenging her to a race.
When: Late March, late at night
Where: Castle horse track (Turf)

[ Oguri Cap is probably being a bit foolish, really. Challenging this person to a race doesn't mean anything but the words said about how 'half-baked' these races were burned into her brain. How could anyone call her races half-baked? How could anyone never have watched umamusume leaving everything they had on the track and deride the effort that all of them put into their training? Their running.

So here she is. In the dark. At a track. Waiting. She's got energy coursing through her--excitement, mostly--and she bounces a little on the balls of her feet and then drops down into a stretch, carefully preparing herself to run.

If she's going to run, then she's going to win.

No matter what. ]

Comments

[nightwild]

[Yayoi feels at peace in the dark. There's no moon... But even so, it's peaceful. The spring air is invigorating, and the darkness surrounds her like a friend.

The first sign of her presence, most likely, will be her eyes, glowing in the dark. Reflecting the light like a predator in the night, she approaches silently.

As she appears beside Oguri- or simply walks up, depending on how aware Oguri is of the presence of others- she begins to stretch a bit herself. But her outfit... A dress. Not at all suited to running.]

... Huh. You're really here.

[racingheart]

[ Thankfully for Yayoi, Oguri is very used to people racing in strange and impractical clothing. ]

...Did you expect me not to show up?

[nightwild]

Obviously.

[She shrugs.]

... Telling someone to show up and then not showing up yourself is something that happens a lot.

[racingheart]

Why would I do that? That's a weird thing to do.

[ She genuinely seems confused just by the mere idea of doing such a thing. ]

[nightwild]

To laugh at the gullible idiot who really believed you'd show.

[racingheart]

...If people are like that where you come from, no wonder you have the wrong idea about racing.

[ Stare. ]

[nightwild]

[Yayoi has a moment. Do bullies not exist in Umamusume world? ... Probably. It seems like a good world. Surely Oguri Cap here has never been bullied.]

I think I have the right idea. Why do you care about doing that idol crap?

[racingheart]

[ Unfortunately for Yayoi, Oguri is just too dense to realize when she's being bullied. ]

I don't, really. I care about running. The singing and dancing is just part of what you do when you win.

[ She's quiet for a moment. ]

It's tradition, I guess. To show your appreciation for all the people who cheered for you.

[nightwild]

It's a shitty tradition.

[She takes a breath.

Darkness shrouds her waist and wrist, for an instant. When it recedes, she's wearing a strange belt with no buckle, and a mirror attached to her wrist.]

If you want to show your appreciation, just thank them.

[racingheart]

You've never seen a race. Why do you care so much?

[ She turns to look down the track for a moment. ]

What distance do you want to run? 1200? 1600? Longer?

[nightwild]

I don't want to be looked down on. The idea of competing with someone who isn't giving it their all is sickening.

What's your favorite? I'll match you.

[racingheart]

[ Grunts. ]

Sixteen hundred meters then.

[ She moves along the track towards the starting point. A pain that there are no starting gates, but she'll manage. She settles into a starting position after a few more stretches. ]

...Who's going to say go?

1/2

[nightwild]

No one, yet. Give me a second.

[She pulls the mirror off her wrist, revealing a second layer underneath it- a small indent, and a couple of buttons. She then attaches the mirror to her belt.

She pulls out a purple magatama from her pocket, before inserting it in the slot on her bracer.]

Awakening!

[nightwild]

[Yayoi is enshrouded in darkness. From the sky descend two mirrors- One on either side of her. One mirror reflects an owl, flying freely through the night in absolute silence. The other, a ninja, dashing across rooftops, shuriken in hand.

The sounds of wind fill the area. Wind through the trees and grass, the sound of pipes and flutes. The wind of freedom, of speed.

The mirrors shatter, and the darkness is scattered by the beating of wings, as a new figure stands where Yayoi was. Clad in purple armor, her wings fold up behind her, and her eyes glow violet.]

Night Wild. I've come in response to your wish.

[racingheart]

Eh...?

[ Oguri Cap stares for a long moment, trying to comprehend what it is she's seeing. ]

...No. I want to race the red-haired girl.

[nightwild]

[There's a long, long pause.]

What.

[racingheart]

I challenged the red-haired girl. Yayoi. You're Night Wild.

[ Which is a really cool umamusume name now that she thinks about it. ]

[nightwild]

... You just watched me transform.

[racingheart]

It was a transformation...?

[ She frowns. Comprehension, please come to this fool. ]

But you said your name was Night Wild?

[nightwild]

Yes. This form is Night Wild. I don't want to give my name and identity out to people in this state.

[racingheart]

Some kind of masked hero thing.

[ Okay. Whatever. ]

Fine. You're the same person. We'll race.

[ She starts to settle back into her starting position, though she's still looking at Night Wild with a mix of uncertainty and suspicion. ]

[nightwild]

To keep it fair, I won't use my wings, either.

[Night Wild also takes a low starting stance, though hers is more of a crouch, with her hands free.]

A countdown will make it fair, too.

[racingheart]

[ Wings? Whatever. She can worry about wings later. Right now she's going to run. She starts the count down herself. ]

3...

2...

1...

GO!

[ She kicks off, planting a foot in the turf and surging forward to break into a steady run immediately, settling her usual low, loping pace with practiced ease. The spring evening air is cool--rushing past her as blood pounds in her ears.

Yes. She was meant to run. ]

[nightwild]

[Night Wild was not meant to run. Night Wild is a monster who bares her fangs against other monsters. She is a beast of violence, of destruction. But that same kicking power makes her a strong runner, too.

As she runs, she runs at a low angle, with one arm out behind her, and one hand raised in front of her in a hand sign. Despite this, and despite the large talons on her feet, she's still incredibly fast- In fact, she is on par with an umamusume.

She realizes now, as she runs, that she should have taken off her swords before the race began. Too late now. Just keep running.]

[racingheart]

[ Oguri is a little surprised. Even with the transformation, she hadn't expected Yayoi--Night Wild--to keep up with her. But there she is, surging ahead a little as Oguri focuses on her usual pace. Even against only a single opponent, it would be better to run as she always did than to go all out early and falter towards the end. She presses on, focused on her breathing and the steady pounding of feet on turf.

Here. Into the first turn, the clubhouse turn--preparing for the backstretch. ]