Chapter Text
This is my first fic, to the franchise that has stolen our hearts by storm, and an alternate take from what happened in the movie, involving my OC and whatever may happen next, for the mad genius who wishes to run once again, and the team they will forge and their friends along for the run.
Umamusume Pretty Derby: Rise of Team K!
“Umamusume… They are born to run. They inherit the names of those from another world… and are inspirited by dreams most dramatic and wonderful. Now they run ever forward. That, is their destiny. No one really knows how the races that lie in their future will end. But even so, they continue to run… aiming only toward the goal that is in front of them.”
Hieroglyphs of Umamusume from ancient Egypt. Cave Drawings of Umamusume. Easter Island Heads with horse ears. Some random Crop Circles shaped of Umamusume, and obviously some sort of prank, and the Statue of Liberty, with Horse ears and holding a carrot torch up high.
This is the world, of Umamusume, filled with wonder, mystery and yet… The best, no the strongest Racers around!
…
CHAPTER 01: After the Japan Cup.
The crowds cheer, the Tokyo arena is at a standing ovation, and they all cheer for the Umamusume who has won this year’s Japan Cup!
Her roar is heard throughout the course, the roar of the Strongest of them all, Jungle Pocket! (Pokke for short)
Trainer Tanabe, and Fuji Kiseki are in awe, and have tears of joy at what Pokke had accomplished, and even her three friends, and her classmates Manhattan Café and Dantsu Flame are happy to see how far Jungle Pocket has come. From Freestyle Races, and all the way here!
Jungle Pocket continues to roar at her victory, while those who have raced against her take this time, to catch their breath after one hell of a race.
The so-called Overlord of Century’s End, TM Opera O claps at what Jungle Pocket has done, and she smirks. “Brava! Brava! Truly an astonishing sight for the eyes to behold from you, Jungle Pocket!”
Narita Top Road has tears, and she claps. She might not have won, but she’s happy her room mate was able to win this, and defeat everyone else. Meisho Doto, is instead filled with determination, for the next time she races against Jungle Pocket, she might be able to outrace her.
Jungle Pocket stops her roaring, and she looks to the crowds cheering her name, and she waves to her Trainer and Fuji, and they are all proud and amazed at how strong she truly is…
Though, Jungle Pocket does notice, someone is not there amongst the crowd anymore, the one she took notice earlier when she was running… Her rival, the one she never could beat or ever catch up to…
The one question on her mind…
Where did Agnes Tachyon go?
….
Jungle Pocket shakes that out of her mind, she might not have defeated Agnes Tachyon throughout her Era of this race, but she did manage to defeat TM Opera O, and many other Racers from other countries, and she prepares to celebrate for her spectacular victory, the Beginning of a New Era.
And yet… The question still lingers… Where did Agnes Tachyon go?
(The very next day.)
Another normal day at Tracen Academy here in Tokyo, and as always, the students greet Tazuna Hayakawa at the academy entrance, and she even greets the winner of the Japan Cup, Jungle Pocket.
Jungle Pocket is greeted by everyone she runs into and passes by, and even some who are in their senior year, such as Gold Ship, Tanino Gimlet, Duramente and Biwa Hiyahide.
But one thing is on her mind, the one she has to see, the one she has never ever beaten or eve caught up to.
As Jungle Pocket makes her way into the school, she is greeted by her two classmates/friends/rivals, Dantsu Flame and Manhattan Café.
“Pokke-chan! Good morning!” greeted Dantsu Flame.
“You seem quite eager this morning. Shouldn’t you be resting after the Japan Cup?” asked Café.
This makes Jungle Pocket smirk. “Me? Resting? I’ll rest when I feel like it, right now I am pumped up and ready for more! I gotta be sure I can prove that I am still the strongest, and what better way than to keep on running and winning. Am I right?”
Dantsu chuckles. “Yep, the same Pokke we all know and love. I’m also looking forward to the next races we’ll be competing, and I will win.”
“Same with me, and I will catch up to both of you. Without a doubt” replied Café.
This just makes Jungle Pocket grin, and snicker. “Now that’s what I wanted to hear from you two.” But then she looks to Manhattan Care. “Hey, uh…. Café… How’s your… Club house friend? Tachyon? Is she—”
“Still there.” Café sighs. “she hasn’t left the room since yesterday, I showed up there last night and she was cleaning her side of the room, of all the clutter and mess from every single overseas package she keeps on getting.”
That one surprises Jungle Pocket and Dantsu Flame. Jungle Pocket sighs and walks away from them. “Thanks for telling me… I have to go and see her.”
Jungle Pocket walks into the school, though Dantsu Flame wants to come along and make sure nothing bad will happen, Manhattan Café stops her. “Let her be, Dantsu. This is between Pokke and Tachyon. They’ll be fine, my friend knows it too.”
This confuses Dantsu, but she trusts what Café says, and they both head off to the cafeteria for some breakfast.
….
Jungle Pocket arrives, to the one area of the school that seems ignored and unnoticed, an abandoned part of the school which is where an abandoned classroom has been left behind, an abandoned classroom turned clubhouse for Manhattan Café and Agnes Tachyon.
But to be honest, this clubhouse is mostly eighty-percent Tachyon’s lab side, and twenty-percent Manhattan Café’s couch and coffee making side.
Jungle Pocket stops in front of the door, and she sighs. She feels like this is going to be another classic mad scientist Tachyon encounter like always, but she musters the courage to enter, but she stops when she notices…. Some boxes are outside of the room, and filled with papers.
Jungle Pocket takes a look at these thrown out papers and whatever is written on them, and she sees they’re all data results from races, and notes taken from… The time when Pokke lost to Café. Racing results of when Tachyon beat Pokke twice! Even results from when Pokke won the Japan Derby.
So, without warning she opens the sliding room to the room, and she is shocked to see… The side from Café is still the same, but the side for Tachyon is cleared of messy boxes, papers and other stuff, and also cleared of broken beakers, used IV drips and tubes.
Jungle Pocket is surprised to see this place cleaned, well as clean as it will ever be. The first time she went here, there was some stuff around some boxes, and then the last time she was here, it was messier than before, and now…
Agnes Tachyon is putting some shattered beakers into a box, she uses a broom and dust pan to get the remains, and she has some bandages on her fingers and she continues to clean away, she starts mumbling to herself about… something involving running and data.
Jungle Pocket takes notice of the small bed at the far corner, and the empty tea cup, which shows that Tachyon spent the entire night here and didn’t return to the Dorm Room, which also made Fuji Kiseki question earlier, since she is in charge of the Ritto Dormitory.
“Tachyon?”
But Jungle Pocket is ignored by Tachyon, and she continues to just clean up any other messes she left behind.
“Tachyon?”
Once again, completely ignored. Tachyon switches to her desk, and she removes some of the clutter she left on it and sees the small spill near her keyboard, and she’s glad it didn’t get damaged.
“Odd for me to not notice this. Did I clearly cause this small spill?” Tachyon grabs a rag nearby to remove the stain, and the stain smells of overly sweet tea. “Huh, so this is from mine.”
“Tachyon?!”
But Tachyon doesn’t take notice, or she doesn’t even know Pokke just entered the room, and she continues to remove her broken tea cups, mugs and used tea bags from the nearby table where she keeps all of her tea bags, and kettle.
Getting annoyed, Pokke advances onto Tachyon, grabbing her right shoulder and making her turn around but this triggers Tachyon and she almost punches whoever grabbed her, only for her fist to be caught by Pokke, and it didn’t feel like the punch had any effort.
Tachyon blinks, and she rubs her eyes and looks closely at who it is. “P-Pokke-kun?”
“Tachyon, I’ve been calling out to you since I entered and you didn’t even bother to turn around, or notice me.”
Tachyon is surprised by that. “Oh, silly me. I guess my mind is… Currently occupied, and… Well, as you can see what’s happening.”
“Yeah, I did.” Pokke let’s go of Tachyon. “Saw the mess of boxes outside, the very same mess that I saw here last time we spoke. What’s this all about? What are you doing Tachyon?”
Tachyon looks to the last box she has yet to throw out. “Oh, all of this? Well, it’s not wrong to just declutter and clean up. I didn’t want anyone else to come around and accidentally injure themselves from what was left behind. My mess, so it means I should clean it myself.”
“That mess out there? I will handle myself when I have finished this last box here. So, no need to worry—” But then Tachyon looks to Pokke. “What are you doing here, Pokke-kun? Shouldn’t you be with the others? Celebrating you’re Japan Cup win?”
“I would, but I needed to know. What the hell did you do after you left yesterday?” Pokke crosses her arms. “Did you know I won?”
Tachyon looks down to the floor. “I knew you would win, because you are determined, strong and fast. No shadow of a doubt, Jungle Pocket will succeed and surpass the other runners, especially the Overlord herself. I knew it.”
“Good to know, but then it’s obvious you would figure out I would win. But, you haven’t answered the first question. What the hell did you do after you left yesterday before I even won? I knew you were there Tachyon. I saw you, and… You saw me.”
This leaves Tachyon speechless, which is something Pokke notices, and she also experienced when she confronted Tachyon after she announced her hiatus from racing.
Total silence remains, Agnes Tachyon remains standing there looking to the ground with her hands shaking a little, even if they are underneath her oversized lab coat, and right in front of her… Jungle Pocket, waiting for an answer from her.
“I just… I…” Tachyon sighs. “Pokke-kun… Why do Umamusume run?”
This confuses the Strongest in the room. “Well, we’re Umamusume after all. Running is like, our whole thing and we run because we want to reach the goal—”
“Correct, but sometimes… We don’t know what we’re running for.” Tachyon looks to her computer. “For me, I run because I wish to break the limits and see what lies beyond. But… I couldn’t continue, and I believed one of you would perform such a task… To run…”
Pokke can hear the shakiness from the voice of Tachyon. “In my… My place.”
“Tachyon?”
And then, the eyes of Tachyon meets Jungle Pockets, and she has tears welling up. “Pokke… Sometimes, we run because we’re inspired… because… I was inspired, by you.”
Jungle Pocket is at a loss for words. “Pokke… I want to run… I… I want to run again!”
Those words, hit hard to Jungle Pocket but to see Tachyon in this state… It hurts the most, and Tachyon collapses to her knees, and sheds tears, but only for Jungle Pocket to go down with her and hold her arms steady, and try to calm her down.
“Tachyon, calm down. Breathe, Tachyon!”
Tachyon wipes away her tears, and she realizes what’s happening. “Oh my. This sure is a predicament, and truly unprofessional of me. I don’t usually do this…”
“Hey, calm down. Deep breathes and let’s take a moment to regain ourselves, yeah?” Jungle Pocket tries her best to calm down her rival. “Tachyon, it’s good that you wanna run again. This also means, we can see who is the strongest again.”
That is something that still hasn’t left her thoughts, Pokke is still somewhat haunted by the fact she couldn’t beat Agnes Tachyon.
“But, that’s the problem Pokke….” Tachyon wipes away some newly formed tears. “Pokke… My trainer, she… She left.”
Now that… That hits hard for Jungle Pocket. “W-What?!”
Tachyon nods. “I tried to call her… Last night and… I was blocked by her… So, I tried to email her but… She’s gone, and then… I found a note and… She just… She left Tokyo.” Tachyon looks to the torn-up note, that one from her former trainer.
“Seems that, my hiatus forced her to change her mind. Despite my leg healed, I didn’t bother to… To follow her instructions and… I guess, this is all on me, eh? Don’t ya think, Pokke-kun?”
Now Jungle Pocket understands why this happened. Tachyon injured is fine, but for her to not race unless she says so… Doesn’t fit right for a trainer who has to tolerate whatever the heck Tachyon does, which is technically not going outside much and just performing data research or whatever.
Jungle Pocket looks to Tachyon, who is now sobbing. Her voice broken, and showing… Weakness, something she’s not used to.
“Pokke… I… I want to run again! I just… I want to run again! W-With you and… And our friends!”
Tachyon then feels the arms of Jungle Pocket embracing her, and rubbing her back. Physical contact is something she hasn’t been used to since… Ever.
“Hey, it’s okay. Alright? We’ll… Figure something out, okay? Just… Let it all out, it’ll be alright, Tachyon. I got you.”
Those words, comforting words from an Umamusume who has the audacity to challenge her, is enough for Tachyon to let the dam break and her tears flow, and she returns the embrace wrapping her arms around Jungle Pocket’s neck and crying on her shoulder.
All Jungle Pocket can do, is comfort the crying Uma, and figure something out to help her return to the track. Pokke would want to race with her rival again, but in this state… This feels like the rivalry and rematch will have to hold.
For now, Agnes Tachyon needs a friend, and Jungle Pocket will be her friend to comfort and help her.
While the two Umamusume remain distraught within the room… They are unaware of three other Umamusume who heard everything.
They are, the members of the Student Council. Symboli Rudolf, Air Groove and Narita Brian.
Rudolf signals the others to follow her, and they leave the room and the two Uma’s alone to discuss what had happened.
“Pres, we were supposed to speak to Tachyon about her racing issues. She’s recovered and ready to return, and yet she remained stubborn and would remain on hiatus” replied Air Groove.
“Seems like everything’s changed, and we don’t need to talk to her about this” replied Narita Brian. “She seems inspired top return and run, just as any Umamusume would seek even while injured.”
This clearly makes Rudolf recall, what had happened to the most familiar Umamusume who went through multiple injuries before, her underclassman, Tokai Teio.
“The plan has changed.” This surprises Air Groove and Narita Brian. “Agnes Tachyon wishes to return to the track and turf, then so be it.”
Air Groove thinks about this. “I guess we can make that possible, but her trainer gave up on her months ago. Do you propose we should have her join a trainer who has other trainees under their wing?”
Narita Brian thinks of some teams that could work. “Team Spica is all about… Odd and weird, and same with Team Canopus—”
“A new trainer.” That one causes the two Uma’s to remain silent. “A new trainer, one who can handle and tolerate the antics, and mannerism of Agnes Tachyon.”
Rudolf pulls out her phone, and she goes through her contacts and sees a number that is old, a contact number she hasn’t used since… Since the time Oguri Cap showed up to Tracen Academy long ago.
The number, of someone named, Martin McKenzie.
A/N: This is my first time writing a fic about this franchise, and it’s just getting started.
Date made: 10/31/25.