Uma Musume Pretty Derby: To The Basement

Chapter 387 387: Uma Musume Pretty Derby: To The Basement [387]

Because her mother's bloodline was exceptionally strong, Maruzensky had carried other people's expectations ever since she was little.

And she never disappointed them. With her natural gift for running, she dominated every running-related competition she entered, taking first place as if the rankings existed for her alone.

Until she entered Tracen Academy and met her current best friend, Symboli Rudolf, along with many other outstanding Umamusume, Maruzensky had never encountered an opponent who could keep up with her speed.

Maruzensky's original running style had actually been the forward-positioned "Pace Chaser." But because she would overtake every opponent after only a few steps, she had been forced to become a leading "Front Runner."

Since she ran like a racing car at full speed, her long reddish-brown hair streaming behind her like fire, she came to be known as the "Supercar."

This beautiful Supercar overtook one opponent after another on the track. In almost every race she entered, she won by crushing the field: eight races, eight victories, with an average margin of eight lengths over second place.

With such impressive strength, plus her gentle, big-sister-next-door personality, she gained plenty of fans even though she had never competed in a G1 race.

But there was one way Maruzensky differed from other Umamusume.

Although Maruzensky was good at running and loved the thrill of competition on the track, she had never thought about what goal she wanted to achieve.

For example, going undefeated through the Triple Crown, or becoming Japan's number one Umamusume—none of those were her dreams.

The only thing Maruzensky wanted was to run freely.

Still, as a mature big sister, she was naturally happy to answer other people's expectations.

If her family or her fans wished it, she was perfectly willing to challenge races of an even higher caliber, then take the championship with a Runaway.

Until... the arrival of the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby)...

Although Maruzensky very much wanted to enter the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and prove her strength, due to Japan's racing system at the time, Maruzensky, who possessed a foreign bloodline, was barred from entering Japan's classic races. Races such as the Satsuki Sho and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) were, for the most part, closed off to her.

Even when she pleaded with the officials, saying she did not need prize money, that she could run in the outermost lane, that she would not affect the other racers and only wanted to run alongside them once, rules were rules at the time. The officials still refused to allow her to compete.

So, unable to participate in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), she could only enter the Nippon Tanpa Sho, known as the "Disappointment Derby."

Although Maruzensky still won the Nippon Tanpa Sho in overwhelming fashion, the fact that she had been unable to enter the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) became a knot in her heart that she could never untie.

She clearly had the strength, yet she did not have the right to win...

After the race, Maruzensky received many letters from her fans. Most congratulated her on winning the Nippon Tanpa Sho, while a small portion expressed regret that she could not participate in the classic races.

Even though the letters were meant to comfort her, to Maruzensky, who had just experienced being denied eligibility, they were like huge stones lodged in her chest, leaving her stifled and breathless.

As she continued winning non-classic races, other people's expectations for her climbed higher and higher, and Maruzensky grew more and more afraid inside.

Afraid that she would not run fast enough. Afraid that she would make a mistake. Even more afraid that she would fail to answer other people's expectations...

Expectations were like a "curse," forcing her to keep moving forward.

Whenever Maruzensky heard other Umamusume talk about the dreams they wanted to fulfill, she would remember the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) she had not been qualified to enter.

It clearly was not her dream, yet she would grieve because she could not achieve it.

Maruzensky had never told anyone about these things. All this time, they had been hidden beneath her gentle, big-sisterly smile. As long as no one used a truth serum or hypnosis on her, perhaps they would never have come to light.

Yet on that day, someone who had suddenly appeared before the statue of the Three Goddesses accidentally drew out the desire buried deep within her heart...

That person radiated warmth from head to toe, as warm as the sun in winter. The scent he gave off was also strangely pleasant, making Umamusume feel incomparably at ease, making them want to draw close to him and open their hearts without realizing it.

But when that person disappeared, the warmth vanished in an instant, leaving only a hollow loneliness behind, along with Maruzensky's exposed true thoughts.

She did not want to be hurt anymore because she had failed to meet other people's expectations!

So from that day on, Maruzensky became afraid to meet people's eyes and afraid to speak with others. Her timid personality became like that of a kouhai named Rice Shower, perhaps even more severe.

And so she shut herself away in a rented apartment, enduring the pain brought by that "curse" day and night, growing more haggard by the day.

When Symboli Rudolf brought a man in black to visit and told her this person was the mysterious man, for one instant, Maruzensky wanted to pounce on him immediately, strip away the clothes that concealed his appearance, and then follow her Umamusume instincts to vent all the feelings she had suppressed for so long on him.

Only, her cowardly nature made her unable to even look at him, let alone do anything improper to him.

So Maruzensky had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and make a request of that person:

Win a street race.

She wanted to see whether someone whose dream had nothing to do with this would work hard to move in that direction in order to answer someone else's expectations.

And the facts proved that he would. At least, when it came to this person, he would—and he went far beyond Maruzensky's expectations.

At the beginning, when he had only just come into contact with racing, even though every drift left him battered and bruised, he would still choose to climb back up and continuously refine his street-racing skills...

Later, when she had fallen into self-doubt, even though Symboli Rudolf had said he was actually very afraid of Umamusume, he still gently stroked her head and comforted her like a big brother from next door...

And now, as he carried her flying over the cliff to reclaim first place, the look in his eyes as he gazed at the finish line was so bright, like a torch burning with hope...

Hazy moonlight spilled over the two of them like a haori woven from velvet.

The sense of safety brought by the rich carrot scent on the young man's body gradually slowed Maruzensky's senses. The noise around her slowly faded away, as if the entire world now held only the two of them.

Maruzensky stared at the young man's handsome face. Her lips moved faintly, and she asked him, and herself, the question that had been buried in her heart all this time:

"What exactly is it... that makes you want to answer other people's expectations?"

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T/N: because he doesnt want to get uma pyoid, oh and he needs to beat misfortune

also BECAUSE HES MF SORA