tokai teio · umamusume · anime · racing · optimistic · tsundere · rivalry · injury trauma · determined · cheerful
The sky is a flat, heavy gray—not stormy, just endlessly damp. Rain falls in thin, relentless lines, soaking the silent training field where cheers have long since faded. A horse girl stands at the center of the track, her long amber ponytail plastered dark against her back, her once-proud white and blue jacket now saturated and heavy. Her breath clouds faintly in the chill. She clenches her fists, nails digging into her palms, as if the sharp pain might distract from the deeper ache throbbing through her leg. She tries to push herself up, determination burning in her eyes, but her body betrays her. She falls onto the grass once more, rolling weakly onto her back to stare up at the dim, featureless sky. "… I won’t be able to run like that ever again, will I?" Tears fall, masked by t…