#{drabble}

Within the confines of a warm, cozy cabin, lied an old soul, who now sat upon a simple rocking chair, as she stared at the falling snowflakes, outside her window…

Her time…she knew, was coming to an end… 80 long years of life, though…was much longer than she expected to have been given. And as for who she owed that to…that very soul who gifted her that precious life hopped through the window she stared through, with a mouthful of medical herbs…

Oh, Soren… You’re all covered in snow, and you’re shivering. And yet, even now, you refuse to let her suffer…

“ I’m back. This should help to dull your symptoms. I’m gonna go heat up some cocoa, too. So be sure to sit tight, and- “

[Soren…I appreciate your kindness. I always have, from the moment we met… But…I know that you know just as well as I do…these precious days of ours…are coming to an end… Even now, I struggle to stay awake.]

The used to be magical girl would comment, as her now cloudy, pink eyes stared at the black blur, looking back up at her…

“ …I-It doesn’t have to be goodbye! I can…I can use my magic to help you keep you alive! I can find the fountain of youth! It’s a myth, sure, but…in the magical realm, I’m can sure find- “

[Soren…]

As the now elderly woman looked down upon her frantic companion, her hand would slowly reach down to ruffle his head…

[You once told me that life is precious because it ends… And that a life neverending…is not a life worth living… The reason I can look so fondly upon the memories we shared, after all these years…are because I knew they’d eventually end… So please, do not go back on your word. Even if it hurts…]

As her hand continued to stroke through the fur of the contractor before her…she’d look up at the ceiling, as she thought back to days of her youth…

[You’ve brought me so much happiness…so many precious memories… Despite being a mere orphan wandering the cold streets in search of food…instead of working with someone who was better off, someone who was stronger than I was, someone better…you still chose me. And it’s because you did that I got to live to this very moment, instead of having my tale end, nearly 70 years ago… Even if that lead to a series of battles against so many awful forces…we emerged victorious, and protected the peace of the weak and the innocent… And then…I was able to become an adult. Get married. Have a family, have a career, and do so many, many, many things that I couldn’t even dream of, back before I met you… And now…I’m ready to move onto the next life. To see my parents, and all else who I lost along the way.]

Her hand would soon leave the head of her best friend, whose head hung low, with grief and remorse.

[…You also told me, many times, that I should be a little more selfish, sometimes… So, If it’s alright with you…could I make a wish?]

“ A wish? “

The elder magical girl would then dig through the drawer behind her, before pulling out a familiar, red Bandana. The very same one she wore, back when she was a freezing child… And with that, she’d bend over to tie it around the neck of her old friend.

[To give others the same chance you gave me. A lifetime of happiness and comfort… I understand that I may be asking too much. If you follow that path, this grief you feel now…will come again, and again, and again… But…that very grief…is a sign that these memories, we shared, were more precious than anything the world could give us… I want to be able to share this precious feeling with all those who’ll come after me. Those who may be suffering even worse than I once did… I want you to give them the same chance to live a full and fulfilled life, like I have. So…my precious friend…will you grant my wish?]

“ … “

As the contractor stared up at his pleading partner…a small flow of tears would drip down his cheeks, as he hopped into her lap, before curling into himself.

“ Your wish will be granted…my precious friend. “ He’d remark, as he closed his eyes to rest, as if to give her one last gift of comfort.

The elder magical girl would then let out a tired, yet happy chuckle, as her eyes slowly shut…

[Thank you…]

And those were the last words the contractor would hear from his first ever contractee, as he laid in the lap of his friend, as they took their last breath, with a smile on their face.

The next morning, he would stand before a gravestone, with a picture of him and his previous friend, resting against it.

And so…after muttering one last thanks, he would turn his back as he left to go travel the worlds beyond, to fulfill his late friend’s final wish.

" Everyone looks so strong, today... The Finals really are something else, aren't they? "

Even now, even after having participated in so many races...she still feels a bit nervous. From what she can tell, everyone around her was in top form, with a strong desire to win... It's expected, of course. It's the Group A Finals. Those who qualify for these are considered the best of the best. So it's only natural their sheer presence would be a bit intimidating...

However...there IS one fact that's keeping her from truly being intimidated...

And it's that SHE wants to win, even more. It's the DERBY, after all.

----

And with the ever familiar sight of the gates opening before her, off she'd go... Pace Chasing, while usually her most comfortable style...was abandoned in favor or specializing as a Late Surger... As far as Pace Chasers go, she already knew she couldn't compete with someone as talented as Oguri, in that field. Especially since Last Christmas... So, rather than try to compete in a field where she's outclassed, she'd gamble on sitting in the midpack to conserve her stamina for a stronger final burst of speed.

'Keep your cool, and don't panic... If you do, it'll make rushing to the end a lot harder...' She think to herself, as she alternates between the 5th and 6th position in the race...

'Bourbon-San, Kitasan and Oguri-San are leading the pack, as usual... As far as the others go, Grass-Chan, Nature-San, and Gorushi-San are all trying to look for their opening, too... I can't afford to let them push me any further down from this point, though. Gotta stay in position...'

Stamina's never really been an issue for her, luckily. Even with the Derby's length requiring the most stamina out of the other Medium Races, it's no Tenno Sho Spring. And she's already won that one... Atrition wasn't what she was worried about, here. It was raw speed, and being able to find the right time to surge.

1100M...1000...900... Soon enough, the final corner was upon them...

As for where she was, at this point...

" THERE! "

[MOVING PAST AND BEYOND]

[RED SHIFT/LP1211-M]

[SHOOTING STAR]

Digging her heels into the turf below, she'd take off with a mad dish, as she sped past her competition... From fith, she'd speed pass the also speeding Nice-Nature...Kitasan, Bourbon...and finally, Oguri, herself.

" Tch... "

Speed up, speed up, speed up, speed up, speed up... Don't let anyone catch up, don't let anyone get near... Everyone else may want to win, but...

SHE WANTS TO WIN, TOO!!

[IN BODY AND MIND]

[RADIANT STAR

" YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! "

Calling upon the last of her strength, she'd make a final dash to the goal, upon the straight... Even with Grass and Nice Nature slowly catching up from behind...she would not surrender this victory to anyone... 200M...100M...and-

[SHE'S DONE IT! SHE'S ACTUALLY DONE IT! THE CHAMPION OF THE TAURUS CUP GROUP A FINALS IS NONE OTHER THAN TEAM SUPERSTAR'S ACE, SPECIAL WEEK! WHAT A SPLENDID DISPLAY OF DETERMINATION AND SPEED! IT'S NO WONDER SHE'S REGARDED AS ONE OF JAPAN'S FINEST UMAMUSUME!]

As soon as she crossed the finish line, and had slowly come to a halt...she'd collapse to her knees, as she took a moment to catch breath... As sweat dripped from her brow, and soaked her raceware...she'd look to the crowd of roaring fans...

She won... She actually won...

" Huff...I...I did it... "

A moment of silence would soon pass, as her shocked expression would quickly morph into one of pure happiness, as she pulled herself back up, before literally jumping with joy, while waving back to her fans...

" Oto, oto! Jeez, for something that looks straight out of-a children's cartoon, ya got a REAL bad temper... Whatever happened to 'friendship is magic' and what not? Last I checked 'the saying 'violence is magic' ain't exactly how it goes! "

Another day, another fight with another wandering witch, within the confines of it's barrier... As expected, the place looks like pure fever dream/nightmare fuel, and the big bad, itself, ain't exactly much prettier... Even worse, with it constantly dashing at her like a bat outta hell, and shooting weirdly colored fire balls(?) at her. Gross.

" Look, I'm all for joining in on conga lines, but you little guys are doing the dance all wrong! Take a day off to go to dance class, cause attempted murder isn't a legal dance move, last I checked. "

the familiars, as well, aren't exactly helping with them following her around and trying to slow her down. Jeez, talk about annoying... Boss fights where you gotta deal with constant minion spawns are the WORST.

" Alright, I'm sick-a this. "

As another familiar jumped at her...instead of attempting to dodge, she'd intercept the familiar by grabbing at it...

Before proceeding to use it like a baseball to swing at, and destroy all the other waves of familiars heading her way.

" BATTA BING, BATTA BOOM, AND SHE'S OUTTA THERE!! STRIKE 3, AND YOU'RE OUT! "

And with a heavy swing, there goes the last of the previously never-ending wave of familiars, outside of the one she's been using as a makeshift weapon... As for that one...she tossed it at one of the fireball attacks the witch has been sending her way, all this time, before dodging with a well timed flip.

" All right, cannon fodder's taken care of... Now, to deal with you. "

As for the witch, itself...it seemed to be preparing a rather vicious looking attack... A giant purple sphere forming at the front of it's mouth, that it most definitely planned to throw at her...

" Ahhhhh, so you're going with the 'All or Nothing' Death Ball approach. Faaaaancy. " She'd exclaim, before cheerfully giving an applause, in response... Is now a really good time for this?

*PEW!!!*

And thus, after the attack had been fully charged, a massive, purple sphere of destructive energy would be sent towards the magical girl's way... However-

" Have you heard the saying 'what goes around comes around'? "

And thus, with a swipe of her arms, a wave of magical energy would form in front of her...which would cause the gigantic blast of energy to bounce off of it, and RIGHT back towards the Witch...

*KAPOWWWWWW!!!*

The Witch would end up suffering the full brunt of it's own attack's wrath... As the smoke faded, it could be seen barely clinging onto it's existence, as it struggles to stay afloat...

" And one more, for good measure. "

Having quickly dashed behind and above the witch in what felt like an instant, Haru would nail the witch with one last spinning axe kick to send it plummeting towards the ground with a mighty crash.

----

Soon enough, the last remnants of the witch's form would fade away, along with it's barrier... And all that remained, now, was Haru, herself...along with the body of the magical girl whose soul had lost itself to it's own despair.

" Sorry, I couldn't make it in time... Wish I could-a done more for ya, even if I'm just a stranger to you. "

With a deep sigh, she'd look to her side, as she watched her ever familiar contractor make his way over.

" I'll handle this... Even if the situation is tragic, I'll at least make sure her family gets to have a proper funeral for her. You head on home, Haru. "

...

" ...Do you think things'll ever get better, Mr. Soren? "

" So long as we keep trying, I know they will. The moment you lose hope, THAT's when when things are set in stone. "

" Heh. Wise words, man. "

" ... "

'I must look so cool staring down at the city from this high up. So cooooooo-'

" Don't stand so close to the ledge, like that. You'll look real stupid if you end up tripping and falling off, you know? "

" Relax, Mr. Soren, I goooooot this... Besides, you're the one that DID say that being this high up would give us the best chance at spotting any nearby Witches... "

" Reminder to call me out for being stupid when I make dumb suggestions like this, in the future. "

" No can do. It's more fun, like this. "

After all, she's stupid, too.

Perched upon the ledge of the tallest building in Kamihana, Haru would stare down at the city below, holding her hands over her eyes, as if they were binoculars...

Mmmmmm...nothing there. Nothing there... Ooh, hey! The Ice Cream Truck is nearby! Maybe she'll-

" Focus. "

" I know, I know... Jeez, quit readin' my mind, Mr. Soren. That's bad mann- "

...Oh. That's...that's a witch's barrier... And the really nice Ice Cream Truck Guy's about to drive into it.

" Oh, no, no, no, no, nooooooooo, no you don't! "

Instantly hopping onto her feet...she'd leap forward off of the ledge of the building, as a bright light encompassed her being, signalling her transformation...

[TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE!]

Now adorned in her familiar magical attire, as her cape billowed in the wind...a confident grin would form upon her face, as she sped towards the barrier, to enter with a signature superhero landing...

Crashing upon the ground, as her fist plowed through a group of familiars, and creating a massive shockwave to blow away any that were nearby.

'Nailed it...' She'd think to herself, before pulling herself onto her feet, and staring at the giant witch, in the near distance.

Taking a moment to stretch her legs, she'd hop in place to psych herself, before taking a combat stance.

She was vaguely aware that someone was carrying her on their back. Their voice sound exhausted and also sad. Rose could also something cold and wet plopping onto her finger. Rain? Tears? Both?

"I'll do the best I can, Alder."

Slowly, her brain was remembering what happened nine hours ago: waking up to yelling outside her house, seeing the plaza being full of smoke and a masked man in a black suit and cape holding out a gloved hand.

Her grandfather.

He finally found her.

But where are they now?

Fighting against the will to just go back to sleep, Rose opened her eyes and lifted her head. She could confirm that she was on her grandfather's back wearing his jacket as hood to shelter from the pouring rain. In front of her was a small, worried old woman wearing an old-fashioned blouse and skirt, an apron and a pair of tiny, round glasses.

"Ah, Rose, you're awake." her grandpa said to her, sounding much happier than he did a moment ago, "This is Mrs. Otterman. She will be looking after you for the time being."

The old woman- Mrs. Otterman- gave a slight bow and Rose nodded in return, feeling more awake.

You'll be running in the Satsuki Sho again, tomorrow, right, Spe? After class is done, why don't we go on a run? Perhaps it'll help you warm up for it. "

" ... "

" Spe? ...Did something happen? You look angry about something. "

" Oh, no, no! I'm fine, I'm fine! Just uh...um... "

" I...overheard one of the racers talking about the race, tomorrow. She'd...she'd been talking bad about her competition, that they were just stepping stones on her path to glory, or whatever. "

...

" It was annoying. I hated it! To put your fellow racer down, and treat them like garbage...how can someone be so heartless!? "

" And you'll be racing against her tomorrow, right? "

" Mmhmm... I wanna just walk right up to her and tell her off, so bad, but- "

" Spe...to deal with someone like that, words aren't the solution. You should know what to do, right? If you're racing her... "

" ...Yeah. I think I get what you mean. "

And so, digging into her closet, instead of grabbing her usual pink and white race-wear, that she'd had for so long...

[THE NEXT DAY]

Standing tall at the Starting Gate, with an unusually stern frown on her face, Spe would stare down the track ahead, as even the cheers of the cheers of the crowd echoed across the stadium...

Her gaze, would briefly fall upon the Uma who she mentioned Suzuka, from yesterday, who was staring back at her with a gaze of bewilderment and.

And then the gates opened.

...

[COMPLETE DOMINATION]

There was no other way to describe. Despite the confidence, and undefeated record of the rising star with a rough attitude...they were left behind by a SIGNIFICANT Margain. It wasn't a close race, in the slightest... She came in 2nd, yes...

But she came in 2nd...nearly TWENTY LENGTHS behind Japan's Pride... On her knees and trying to catch her breath, her attention would be grabbed by the red-garbed Uma, standing tall, before her.

" A true racer never looks down upon their rivals, or undermines the dreams of others... So either learn to respect your opponents, or you'll never have a future on the track. " Spe would exclaim, in an uncharacteristically cold tone, before turning her back on the Uma, and walking away.

...

" Uuuuuuuu...A-ACHOO!!! "

She was going to run today, and she wasn’t going to let anything get in her way.

Or…at least not for the tiny sprint she was going to do. Just a small hundred meter dash. Surely she can handle something like that! She parks her wheelchair next to the rail and stands up, stretching her legs before she pats her pockets. She had her inhaler in one pocket, and a small straw like device in the other in case her heart acted up. She nods, steeling herself.

“I can do this.” She says, clasping her hands in front of her with an empowering huff before beginning to walk down the track with a hand on the rail.

The monitor beeps. Breath catches, growing uneven as fingers twitch beside the otherwise still body.

Willow reaches the hundred meter mark and turns around, her hand leaving the rail. She crouches slightly, eyes focused on her wheelchair as she gets into the position she’s seen Irene take a thousand times before.

Ready. Set. On your marks! Go!

At the imaginary starting shot, she’d take off, legs flying over the track. The dirt crunched under her shoes as her feet pounded into it, eyes wide. She was doing it! She was running! Laughter bubbled up from inside her, tears stinging in her eyes as her arms pistoned at her sides. Ten meters, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty! Her heart was racing, her breath coming fast and hard—

“Someone call for the doctor!” The nurse’s voice rings out, causing his brows to furrow. His heart rate had suddenly increased as did his breathing as his legs begin to shift slightly under the blankets. His head lolls to the side, lips pressing into a grimace.

Her foot came down on the seventy meter mark at the same time pain shot through her chest. Her breath catches in her throat, feeling like someone just dropped an elephant on her chest. It wasn’t that her heart had stopped however, she could feel each rapid beat pound through her neck and rush past her ears to throb inside her head. She felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. She knew what was coming and it was approaching fast if the haziness growing in the edges of her vision was anything to go by.

No! No! Please! She wanted to finish! She was so close! If she just pushed a little more! Her eyes snap wide as her foot slips on a patch of loose gravel, time coming to a standstill for a breath. Then, time resumed as the world upended over itself, the ground rushing at her—!

Wilhelm’s eyes flutter open, slowly at first. The room was bright. Too bright. It hurt his eyes. He squints, the sounds of the room filtering in as well. Nurses, talking loudly as they took vitals and adjusted lines. A doctor he thought, checking his newly opened eyes and asking him questions. He ignored him, instead using the side rails to pull himself up into a sitting position. His eyes open, close, open, close, then open again as he now took in the room he was in.

A hospital…heh. Lial must have done a number on him. He must be so disappointed he didn’t die. He’d be certain to gloat about it while he rots in his prison cell later. But for now…

“Where…are…my…daughters…? My…Willow?”

Willow crashes into the ground, rolling a bit as dust and gravel are kicked up around her. She settles on her back, the world spinning as her heart continues to ruthlessly pound in her chest. She wheezes for a moment, clutching her shirt as her face contorts with pain. It hurt. Why did it always hurt!?

Her tail lashes against the ground as her heels dig into the dirt. She was barely keeping herself from writhing. She couldn’t. She needed…ah…what was it….the maneuver! She forces herself up, the motion almost making her vomit as she steadies herself before she pulls her knees in. Pinching her nose, she squeezes her eyes shut as she blows like she was popping her ears. She holds it for a moment, then purses her lips to blow the air slowly out. One more time. Next time. This time. She repeats the process, really blowing hard against her closed lips as her head began to swim. She could feel unconsciousness begin to claw at the edges of her head as she continues to hold before finally, it began to work.

The pain in her chest slowly began to ease, her heart’s frantic beating becoming smooth and rhythmic as it returned to its normal rate. She lets her breath out in a loud “PAh” as she flops onto her back, chest heaving as she takes a moment to just breath. That had been so close…she almost tripped herself into an episode..

She tilts her head to the side, gazing at her wheelchair. It seemed so far away, though she knew it couldn’t be any more then ten-twenty meters. Tears stung in her eyes for a moment before she turns her gaze back back up at the sky.

She couldn’t run a hundred meters.

But she had RAN.

Tears spill over her cheeks as her lips stretch into a wide smile before parting to release a triumphant laugh.