Kurofune could be seen in class. He was completely pale as he silently stared at his desk.
"Yeesh, he's exuding a lot of bad vibes today, maybe just as much as Shaky," Agnes Digital commented.
"Shut it," Air Shakur frowned.
"He's been like that all class," Tap Dance City frowned.
"Makes sense, he did lose his debut race after all," Air Shakur commented.
After the late start, Kurofune was completely behind for most of the race, only managing to catch up with the pack on the final straight. Even with his top speed, he was only able to finish the race in third place. For someone who was trying to prove the doubters wrong, it was a huge blow losing his debut race in such an embarrassing way.
"I might just have to pack it up and go home. It's so over…" Kurofune muttered.
Air Shakur, who was getting annoyed at Kurofune's antics, flicked the male Uma on the forehead.
"Just get over it already, dude," she said. "Losing your first debut race isn't even close to the end of the world."
"It sure feels like it," Kurofune commented. "But I'll stop complaining about it."
"Thank you."
The rest of the class went on as normal, with Kurofune doing his best to forget about the travesty. He kept this act up until after the group had lunch, where they all parted ways. He didn't really know what he wanted to do next, since he definitely didn't want to go to Team Spica's base right now.
Luckily for him, the decision came to him as he heard a voice call out to him.
"Kurofune, may we have a quick chat?"
He turned around to see the source of the voice. It was an Umamusume, with light brown hair that reached her waist. The front part of her hair was darker than the rest, with a white streak of hair being found around there as well. She had a more mature and regal feeling to her compared to others, which made Kurofune immediately recognize her.
This was Symboli Rudolf, the student council president and an Undefeated Triple Crown Umamusume titled as the "Emperor".
'Why would the student council president come talk to me of all people?' Kurofune wondered. 'I hope it isn't because of that lackluster attempted debut of mine.'
"Uh…sure," Kurofune answered, not having a good enough reason to turn her down.
"Great, please follow me."
President Rudolf led Kurofune over to her office. She takes a seat at her desk, and ushers for Kurofune to pull up a seat from nearby. Once the two of them were sat down while facing each other, Kurofune spoke up.
"So, President. Why did you want to chat with me?" Kurofune asked.
"I've realized that for the month since you've arrived, the two of us haven't had one conversation," Rudolf explained. "Since you're the very first male Uma to be on school grounds, it would be a good idea if we spoke at least once."
"That makes a lot of sense," Kurofune nodded.
"Also…I heard about that debut race of yours."
"..." He awkwardly tensed up.
'Of course she does.' Kurofune thought as he outwardly sighed.
Rudolf chuckled a bit at his reaction.
"You've been quite the popular conversation topic since even before that, but now it seems like they've reached their peak since that debut race." Rudolf continued. "Although as you can probably tell, most of it is negative."
"So what?" Kurofune frowned. "Did you just want to kick me while I'm already down?"
"That isn't my intention," Rudolf shook her head. "I just felt like you might have needed someone to speak to. Most never had to face such things as early in their careers as you have had."
"I've faced discrimination and doubt for my whole life. I'm used to it at this point," Kurofune replied. "This isn't enough to stop me from achieving my goal."
"That's good to hear," Rudolf smiled. "If you don't mind me asking, what is this goal of yours?"
"To become the first male Uma to win a G1 Race," Kurofune said with conviction. "But I won't stop there. I want to win as many G1 Races as I can, to reinforce that I'm not just a one-hit wonder."
"That's quite the lofty goal," Rudolf commented. "I'm sure you're also aware of the work you'll have to put in to achieve that, right? Most Uma in general never manage to win a G1 race in their whole career after all."
"Yeah," Kurofune nodded. "But I don't plan on letting that stop me."
"It looks like there was no need for me to worry about you then," Rudolf stated. "I'm looking forward to your future success, Kurofune."
"I appreciate the support, especially from someone of your stature," Kurofune thanked her as he stood up and bowed respectfully. "I'll be taking my leave now."
"Oh, one more thing before you go."
"Hm? What's up?"
Rudolf's soft expression turned deathly serious as she glared at Kurofune.
"While I do appreciate your attitude, please be sure to not embarrass the school by performing like you did in your debut race ever again."
Kurofune could be seen visibly sweating from her intense gaze.
"Y-Yes, Ma'am."
He quickly fled the scene, not being able to bear the gaze any longer. Once he leaves, Rudolf's expression softens, a smile forming on her face.
"He definitely has what it takes to go far. I'm looking forward to the future that he'll create through his running."
<><><><><><><><><><>
"Hah…hah…hah…"
Kurofune could be seen jogging down a path. He typically went on long, quiet jogs, as they were a nice way for him to clear his head.
'That first race. It wasn't like I couldn't win.' He thought. 'I was still able to catch up with the pack and get third even with the late start. If I had started earlier, I would've been able to win.'
'But…there's no use in me going over what ifs. I messed up due to my carelessness and lost, that's all there is to it.'
Next time, he'll just have to make sure he doesn't make the same mistake.
He wasn't sure how long he was running, but he noticed that it had started to get dark outside, so he decided to start retracing his steps. Since it was late, he didn't find a point in returning back to the academy and decided it was best to go back home.
Once he returned home, he placed his shoes in their designated spot and went to wash up. After he is done washing up, he tosses himself into bed.
'Wait. I'll have to explain my absence to Trainer-san later.' Kurofune realized. 'I hope they won't bombard me with sympathetic looks. Not showing up at all does paint a picture that I'm sulking about my loss.'
Well, that was all a problem for future him. For now, he was going to catch up on some sleep.
<><><><><><><><><><>
The next day…
The day went on as normal, with Kurofune attending class and eating lunch with his classmates. Once it was time to split, Kurofune decided to make his way straight to Team Spica's base, hoping to clear up the potential misunderstanding as soon as possible.
He goes to open the door…
—BAM!
…and as soon as he does, he receives a dropkick to the face.
Kurofune just drops to the ground, however he doesn't react as much as he did last time, just rubbing his pained face as he turned to the perpetrator.
"I hope this won't be a trend," Kurofune frowned at Gold Ship.
"I think it was justified," Gold Ship replied. "You had us looking around all over for you yesterday."
"I'm…sorry about that," Kurofune apologized as he stood back up. "I just wanted to be alone for a while."
"You better be sorry," Scarlett said as she arrived. "We were all worried."
"..." Kurofune was a bit surprised by this, his ears perking up. "You guys were worried?"
"Of course," Scarlett said. "You're our teammate after all. We all have to have each other's back."
"I unfortunately have to agree with the honor student," Vodka commented as she arrived as well. "We're a team, so we all have to look after each other. That's the kind of team that Trainer-san has worked hard to create."
"...In hindsight, I guess I shouldn't have run away like that," Kurofune scratched the back of his head. "I thought I would've just received sympathetic looks if I showed my face."
"You clearly sound like you wouldn't want that," Vodka pointed out. "The most you would've gotten was a pep talk from Trainer-san before he sets his sights on helping you win your next race."
"Speaking about that, we should probably get to that," Okino said as he appeared from within the base. "Your next debut race will be in two weeks, so we should get you properly prepared for it."
"Fine with me," Kurofune smiled as he pumped his fist into the air. "I'll train hard, and I'll win!"
Everyone present smiles, the positive energy from Kurofune rubbing off on them.
"I like the energy!" Okino matched his enthusiasm. "Let's channel it towards your training!"
It looks like things are about to turn around as the group set their sights on the future.