Chapter Text
A kid she was no longer, as—when at the station closest to Dober’s house where she lived—Gold Ship set sail for Fuchu.[1] Her foster mom came along with her for the first part of admission, as she was the one who signed the papers to get her there. They left in the early morning, far earlier than the time set for her arrival at Tracen. The duo’s train stopped at the shrine, and they left since they still had time to prepare for the entrance exams at noon.
It was barely six a.m. when they started the trek to the shrine. The stretches of cherry, elm and bamboo couldn’t distract Gold Ship from the horde of Umamusume the same age or older than her, all planning their wishes to maximize their chances of appeasing the cruel hands of fate. At least that’s what her companion (or foster mom) said. She never had a good career like the other kids her age. Too bad for her. After a long walk, they reached the gates of the shrine. Everyone that worked for the shrine welcomed the influx of trainers and trainees and choosers and choices, including Gold Ship and her companion.
Flocks of Umamusume were following a small ginger-haired girl, almost her age out of the corner of Golshi’s eye. She was impossible to miss with her striking glare, with the rest of her face hidden by a white mask. Everyone around the ginger Uma hounded her for guidance, their trainers lamenting that they hadn’t scouted this so-called ‘rising star’ before Toujou got to her first. Despite the crowd, the orange haired girl trotted along the cobbled paths her own way. The fortune slips were hard to miss as the sign was written in giant calligraphy. Gold Ship snapped out of her mother’s hands and darted to the stall. However, there was a smaller sign she completely missed, reading:
“All readings cost ¥250. Additional charges may be applied depending on the user’s specifications.”
She froze, dumbstruck; and when Golshi turned to leave the line, she was greeted by her mother’s cold gaze. She looked down to find a five-hundred yen coin in her hand. She turned around, and the line thinned slowly, reaching the two of them by what she assumed was half an hour. They both paid for their readings, but they came out with warnings:
You have a bright future ahead, but it’s hard to spot if your head is muddled with emotions. But the consequences of your short-sightedness will be clear, even to those drowning with optimism. Keep your wits about you and glory will be free for the taking.
—To Gold Ship
Be warned. In the future, you may choose between redemption from your blunders or rebirth to forge your path anew. You may only pick one option to choose from and only your right option will bring fortune to you. Keep your wits about you and everyone around will praise you for your own merits.
—To [][][][][][][][][][]
“This sounds like that one fortune lady from Umastagram.” Gold Ship whispered to herself.
“Is there anything that can thwart the negative consequences of these readings?” Gold Ship’s aging companion said, in a way like she was interrogating the fortune teller.
“There’s nothing you imply that can fully thwart the warnings given, like a lucky item of sorts,” The fortune teller chirped.
“But there are certain things you can do to make them less disastrous. For example, keeping track of the pace when racing, young lady.”
Oh. The fortune teller was definitely referring to Golshi saying that. “At least she’s not like that one.” She mumbled.
She never believed in stuff like fortune slips anyway. It was more a fun thing she did with Mayu-chin in middle school. Her mother argued with the fortune teller for long enough that she found an opportunity to slip away, and she did.
She cantered over to a secluded area of the shrine, a small place for prayers with a braided rope in front of them. Or at least, a more secluded area. Because that chestnut colt beat her to the punch. Despite having climbed so many stairs, she could hear shrill cheers coming up from the staircase that didn’t belong to an insect or an animal. They belonged to other Umamusume. Droves of them were carelessly dashing up the stairs, straight to the star herself. The leaves rustled in the calm breeze, quite unlike the horrifying stampede coming below them.
She had only one thing to do.
Gold Ship bolted down the stairs straight to the chattering crowd, not caring if she tripped or twisted her ankle or broke a leg, she ran and ran and ran to the students, hoping to scare them away from the young colt. The others were running away from her, as she expected; but she kept running at full speed. The shrines were one of the only places that an Uma can run at top speed, and everyone there took full advantage of this fact. And Gold Ship simply didn’t heed the fact there were steep steps to that little prayer area. So she fell.
She jerked her head to the side just in time to land face-first on the stone tiles. The rough cobbles scratch and scrape off parts of her cheek. Gold Ship lifted herself up, blood trickling down her face and knees. She stood up, dusting her dress and froze, hearing a chilling voice.
“Well done making a damn fool of yourself. I’m heading back.”
And the girl left. Gold Ship was dumbstruck looking at her walk away from her. She limped up the stairs to the prayer area to try and atone for her stupidity, instinctively walking faster than usual to try and lose herself from [][][][][][][][][][]. Gold Ship went faster, and faster, trying to get to the prayer place, away from everyone else. When she got there, the wind had gotten slightly stronger than it was just a few minutes ago. With her grayish hair swirling in the breeze, she closed her eyes and made a quiet prayer.
To make an outstanding impression on everyone she met.
Every.
Single.
One.
1 On a train, but I like stuffing thematic metaphors in randomly appropriate places lol