"Reclaiming—and then surpassing—one's prime is a hell of an undertaking," Rampage muttered.
"In your case, it isn't nearly as difficult as you make it sound," Minamisaka replied coolly.
The training session had finally concluded. Granted permission to remove the restrictive mask at last, Rampage took deep, greedy gulps of the fresh air. The menu Minamisaka had devised to push her past her previous limits was far more "demonic" than anything she had faced during her active career. It was a sharp, oxygen-deprived reminder of what it meant to call herself this man's horse.
"Physically speaking, you haven't actually regressed," Minamisaka continued, checking his stopwatch. "In several metrics, you're actually outperforming your younger self. That's likely because you've never stopped moving. As a total package, you are objectively superior to the 'Absolute Tyrant' of the past. The only problem is your head."
"Yeah... I figured as much."
Rampage spent nearly every day on the track as the head trainer of Team Pleiades. Between her general duties and her personal dedication to molding her star pupil, Silence Suzuka, she had kept the 'rust' at bay by sheer necessity. The physical machine was fine. The issue was the pilot—specifically, the predatory instinct required to burn through a race.
"How did it feel? I brought in your old rivals specifically for that reason."
"I complain, sure, but running with those two... it works," Rampage admitted. A small, fierce smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "It's strange. It's like I can feel the magma stirring at the bottom of my heart again."
"Reigniting a spirit that has already tasted completion is no easy task," Minamisaka noted. "You have to set fire to a soul that believes it has already burned out. To do that, you need opponents who aren't just strong, but whose strength you respect—and fear—on a fundamental level."
Rampage knew he was right. Rebuilding muscle was a matter of science, diet, and time. But the will to win? That was an invisible, intangible thing that couldn't be measured on a chart.
"You don't have to worry about that. Look at the roster for the Legend Race: The Emperor, Ramonu-senpai, that free-spirited idiot, my brat of a student, and the Prince herself. I know exactly how strong they are. Every single one of 'em."
The challenge remained immense, but it was no longer impossible. The proof was already there, smoldering in her chest. The fire wasn't gone; it was just waiting for the right fuel. She would return to being the Absolute Tyrant. She had to.
"I'm going all in. I'm counting on you, Minami-chan."
"Understood."
Minamisaka watched her walk away toward the showers, her gait regaining that familiar, predatory rhythm. As she disappeared, the two sub-trainers from Pleiades approached him.
"You've got your work cut out for you," Sakahara said. "Having a lead trainer who acts like that..."
"She's always done exactly what she wants," Umazuru added with a shrug. "We're used to it by now."
"A trainer's job is to support an Umamusume's desires," Minamisaka said. "She's done plenty for Maya and me. This is just paying back the debt. Besides, seeing the world's fastest and strongest runner back in action is a massive benefit for Pleiades."
With Rampage focused entirely on her own training, the burden of leading the team fell to these two. It was a selfish move on her part, but in a way, they preferred it.
"If she weren't selfish, she wouldn't be the Tyrant," Sakahara remarked.
"You call her a Tyrant, but she's not actually that difficult to handle," Minamisaka countered. "She listens to reason—mostly. And when she doesn't, you just have to taunt her. She folds the second you bruise her ego."
"Only you can get away with that, Minamisaka."
"Ahhh! It's Rampage-san!"
"Ugh. My luck just ran out..."
Rampage was currently washing away the day's grime in the communal showers. Encountering other Umamusume here was a standard part of academy life—a place for casual banter between seniors and juniors. But this was the one person she had been hoping to avoid.
Agnes Flora had arrived.
"Heh... hehehe... Finally! The moment has come!" Flora practically vibrated with excitement. "I've dreamed of this ever since I heard the rumors from Taki-chan! I can't tell you how many times I woke up in a cold sweat just as I was about to step into the bath, only to be comforted by poor Rice-chan... But today! Today, my struggle is rewarded! The Divine Event: Showering with Rampage-san!"
"Hey, Ikuno, can I borrow your soap?" Rampage asked, her voice flat and dead. "Mine's too small."
"Here you go," Ikuno Dictus replied, passing it over.
"A total ignore?!" Flora shrieked.
Ikuno was showering to Rampage's right, acting as a blessed buffer. If Rampage were alone with Flora, she'd have to consider a restraining order or a tactical strike. Having the "Iron Woman" there was a godsend.
"Well, well... since Ikuno-san is here, I suppose I can't let my baser instincts run wild," Flora sighed, taking the stall to Rampage's left. For all her eccentricities, Flora did respect public boundaries. She just had a habit of being a high-functioning creep. "I shall behave myself."
"It has been a long time since the three of us were gathered like this," Ikuno noted.
"I'm fine with just you, Ikuno," Rampage grunted, scrubbing her hair. "The pervert on my left is surplus to requirements. I heard your sisters are considering disowning you, by the way."
"Dwaaaah?! What?!" Flora nearly slipped on the tiles. "Are Taki-chan and Fla-chan really thinking that?! What did I do wrong? Was it because I tackled Taki-chan into the bed the last time I went home?!"
"I think it's more that they're embarrassed by you broadcasting your... unbridled passion for Rampage-san in public," Ikuno suggested calmly.
"Exactly that," Rampage added.
"Surely 'disowning' is an exaggeration," Ikuno said, trying to be helpful. "Families are blunt with one another, for better or worse."
"I hope so, for her sake," Rampage muttered.
Flora's victory interview at the Arc de Triomphe had been... a choice. Tachyon's fury was understandable. Apparently, their parents were just happy Flora had found a hobby that made her so energetic. They were clearly enablers.
"Uuuugh... maybe it was the Trident Tackle?" Flora moaned. "I put a bit too much speed into the hug and sent Taki-chan flying..."
"You hit her with a tackle? Actually, don't answer that. It's not the point."
Rampage sighed. She hated admitting it, but looking at the eccentric woman next to her, she felt that familiar spark. She knew Flora's strength better than anyone—the sheer, overwhelming talent that had pushed Rampage to the brink of her sanity. To reignite her own fire, she had to acknowledge Flora as a peer. And then, she had to crush her.
"Ikuno. You should enter too—the Legend Race."
"Me?" Ikuno paused, the water running over her shoulders. "But the qualifiers are already over."
"I have recommendation slots," Rampage said, her eyes narrowing. "And I have plenty of room."
She would gather the greatest and the strongest. She would surround herself with the very people who had defined her life, forcing herself into a corner where the only way out was to win. Just thinking about it made her muscles twitch with anticipation.
"I am honored," Ikuno said, a rare, genuine smile appearing on her face. "To be invited to such a stage... I accept. Gladly."
"Good. It's starting to look like a field worthy of the name 'Legend.'"
"Fufufu! With Ikuno-san there as well, this is the perfect chance to settle all my old debts at once!" Flora chirped.
"I'm going to bury you in so much debt you'll never see the light of day," Rampage growled.
"Oh? Is that a promise? Being indebted to you sounds like a wonderful reward!"
"Just die already."
"That is very 'Flora-san' of you," Ikuno remarked.
The three of them stood there in the steam—the Absolute Tyrant, the Iron Woman, and the Brilliant Eccentric. Between them flowed a strange, paradoxical atmosphere: bracingly cold with the promise of competition, yet humming with the undeniable warmth of a shared past.
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