"Come on, senpai!" Tokai Teio grinned brightly as she trotted onto the track. "It's bright enough now, right? We can go on a run now!"
I chuckled softly as I followed just behind her, though I frowned slightly as I stepped onto the Turf. The ground beneath felt weird, and though it was covered by a thin layer of snow, I could immediately tell that the Turf beneath me had been modified just like the one I'd run over in the [Arima Kinen].
Teio wasn't wrong; a few hours had gone by since I first met her, and it was now technically morning. But this was winter, and with all the snow falling from the clouds above, only the barest of the morning sunlight was able to pierce through the clouds. The track was still entirely too dark for someone to run safely, much less for a child.
And besides,
"A run's probably impossible like this." I said, lightly kicking some snow away to reveal that discolored blue grass I was familiar with. "There's too much snow. We'll just slip if we try to run like this."
"Eh?" Teio looked around. Just as I described, the entire track was covered in snow. It'd take hours to shovel the entire track clean. "EHH!?" She quickly turned to me. "B-But we promised! You said we were gonna run together…!"
"Well, we can always try the indoor–"
"No! No, no, no!" She pouted. "Running indoors doesn't feel good! And it's so boring!"
I chuckled at her childish reason, and then paused. "Doesn't feel good?" I whispered softly as I turned to her. "Can you explain?"
Teio blinked owlishly, before she hummed. "It, um…" She frowned deeply as she held both sides of her head in that oddly omnipresent stance. "I guess it makes my legs feel all weird and tingly? But it only happens when I'm running inside! When I'm on the track, my legs feel super awesome!"
My eyes narrowed. Running indoors made her legs feel strange—could it be…?
"Have you visited a doctor lately?" I asked, and Teio immediately stiffened before she looked away and began whistling. My lips twitched with amusement as I sighed. "I suppose the answer is clearly no."
"W-Why do I need to go?" Teio asked, sounding hesitant. "A hospital's a place for sick people! And I'm not sick! The invincible Teio never gets sick!"
I huffed as I patted her head. "No one's invincible." I said with an amused smile, before my expression turned serious. "But even if you're not sick, it's good to go here and then. We're athletes, and thus it's of utmost importance that we understand our body as best as we can. In doing so, we can detect even issues we might not have noticed ourselves."
"Urgh…" Teio slumped, her ears drooping flat onto her head. "I don't wanna…"
"But you must." I firmly said. "Lest you wish I broadcast your reluctance to Symboli–"
"I-I'll go!" She immediately said, despite the clear reluctance she had. "I-I'll be good and go to the doctor! Just don't tell Pres, please! I-I don't want her to know that I–!"
"Right, right." I said, gently patting her head to calm her down. "Just-, remember that your health is your priority. Continuous training is the building blocks of strength, but falling ill due to negligence and becoming unable to run would be a complete disappointment, no?"
"Mm…" Teio's tail drooped onto the snow-covered Turf, and for a moment I could almost picture her as those tanuki-uma I always saw on the internet.
Still, it was rather funny that Teio promised to go to the doctor to not disappoint Symboli Rudolf. I wonder what her reaction would be if she learnt that the Emperor herself was similarly terrified by doctors, and Maruzensky had been more than happy to share with me all sorts of anecdotes about the incredible ways Rudolf had escaped her doctor's visits multiple times during her past.
That aside,
"I suppose if training indoors makes you so uncomfortable, then that avenue is impossible as well." I hummed as I stared out at the snow that'd piled across the track. "Hmm…"
For a moment, I was tempted to try and create another miniature sun to try and melt all the snow. But I immediately shook that thought away. One, because that was dumb and I'd probably cause a nuclear explosion instead. And two, because I was pretty sure Oguri would manifest from the void and tie me up if I tried.
I frowned as I tried to think of what to do. We couldn't just go back now that we were out here, but the snow made it impossible for us to run. And while I didn't mind going around and shoveling all the snow away, that'd probably take me a few hours to finish.
And then–
"Senpai?"
I blinked, and realized that I'd unconsciously hopped onto a small pile of snow, separating me away from the Turf I'd just been standing on. "Oh-, I…" I cleared my throat as I slowly walked back to her. "Apologies. Something must've spooked me while I was deep in thought." I said, and an uncomfortable shiver ran up my spine as my feet once more came in contact with the modified Turf.
Even so, I was sure I hadn't imagined it.
This Turf beneath me—I'd felt it. At that moment, when I had unconsciously asked for the Goddesses' help, I had instead felt the Turf beneath me. It wasn't alive per se, but for a moment, it felt like the Turf had become a part of me. As if I'd suddenly gained another limb.
"What is this thing…?" I asked, both curious yet subtly freaked out.
Of course, what I didn't know was that Director Akikawa had apparently sought aid to create a Turf that could 'withstand the Blessings of the Heavens'. She wouldn't explain what that meant until years later, and she would never truly reveal who exactly she'd sought aid from.
When I did learn of it, I didn't take long to realize that it was my status as a Demigod that had given me a deep connection with it.
But that was a story for another time.
"Star-senpai?"
"Ah, forgive me." I shook my head to clear my thoughts. But as my eyes gazed across the snow covered track, I felt my instincts ringing in the back of my head. It was just like the feeling that'd eventually pulled me towards meeting Teio, and though I was still more than freaked out by this strange Turf beneath me, I decided to trust it. "May I make a request?"
"Hmm? What is it, senpai?"
"Could you leave the track for a moment?" I asked. "You do not need to leave completely—just that you step off this Turf."
Teio tilted her head, but she smiled as she gave me a thumbs up. "If you say so, senpai!" And she immediately hopped off the track, standing just out of the modified Turf that covered the entire track.
I nodded as I looked up. The snow was still falling, and though I couldn't feel the cold very well, I closed my eyes as I tried to feel it as best I could.
Then, I felt it again. That otherworldly, creeping feeling up my spine. I wanted nothing more than to leap away and hiss at it like a feral cat, but I restrained that urge.
And suddenly, the cold that I was struggling to feel became abruptly vibrant, and I winced slightly. But the odd thing was the fact that the cold wasn't being felt by my body, but by the…Turf.
…Holy shit, was this thing alive!?
The moment that thought passed to my head, I felt a gentle slap on the back of my head, as if the Three Goddesses themselves were reprimanding me for something so stupid. "Right, not alive." I said, quietly relieved that I wasn't standing on the modified corpse of a god or something.
Instead, as fantastical as it was, I had somehow connected to this Turf, and through it I could feel the cold seeping in from the snow.
And finally, my lips parted.
"Melt." I said, and my eyes turned bright gold as I opened them.
Then the world went white as the metaphorical sun within my chest burst to life.
.
.
.
But just outside the track, a young Tokai Teio's eyes went wide open as she saw the magical sights occurring just in front of her. She'd been confused at first when Star-senpai asked her to leave the Turf for a bit, but now–
The moment Star's eyes opened, a ring of gold had formed around her, before it submerged into the Turf and pulsed outwards. And suddenly the entire track began glowing, and Teio watched in awe as the snow began to melt. All the snow that would've taken hours to shovel away disappeared in mere seconds, revealing a Turf that now glowed a soft gold.
Yet, what truly captured that child's heart was the golden wings that had formed from Star's back.
"Woah…"
She wasn't sure what it was, nor why she found it impossible to look away. But something about those wings, about the ability to soar into the skies—it felt almost like a prophecy. As if she had been destined to do the same from the moment of her birth.
Not that she understood it, of course. The only thing Teio could feel was the odd warmth in her chest as she saw Star's majesty, as if her soul was resonating with something far greater.
Just as quickly as it appeared, it ended. The golden wings behind Star faded into motes of light, and the modified Turf returned to its usual dim blue color. But the track was now clear, and any snow that fell down onto it was immediately melted away.
Teio saw Star take a deep breath, before the gold in her eyes finally faded back to a bright blue. Star blinked a few times as she held her head, looking just as confused as Teio was, before she shook her head. "It-, I believe our issue has been solved for the time being." She said, her smile tinged with confusion as she looked around.
Teio's eyes sparkled as she immediately trotted back onto the track. "That was awesome, senpai!" She said, and her grin only grew brighter as she stepped onto the tracks. The Turf beneath her felt really warm and soft, but still tough enough to allow her to run. It was perfect!
Star smiled shyly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "It is no issue." She said humbly, as if whatever she just did wasn't completely impossible for most people. "Well then, shall we go now?"
"Mm!" Teio grinned as she turned towards the front and immediately took off. "Try to catch me, senpai!"
She heard Star's chuckle as she began following her.