"Four eyes stare. None of them are yours, Tokai Teio."

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SPICA!UMAPOV

TW: MENTIONS OF , DEPRESSION, DEATH, SELF-HARM, AND POSSIBLY MORE!!

The race that changed everything wasn’t even a big one. Just a mid-season G2 race meant to get Tokai Teio back into form after a period of training. She had smiled that morning, done her usual dramatic poses in the dorm hallway, and given her now-famous wink to the team before heading to the track. It was, as usual, routine.

Instead, halfway through the backstretch, it happened. Those who knew Teio well saw the shift in her stride... her gait stuttered, just for a moment, her run disappearing mid-motion. She finished the race hobbling, pain written across her face though she tried to force a grin. By the time she crossed the line, her leg gave out entirely. Two hours later, whole of Team Spica sat in the infirmary waiting room, uneasy but oddly calm. It wasn’t the first time Teio had gotten hurt, they’d seen her bounce back before. “It’s Teio,” some of them reassured themselves. “She’ll be fine. She always is.”

Then came the doctor’s announcement.

He did not sugar-coat it. The injury was a compound fracture, but the damage to the surrounding ligaments was far worse than previous injuries. The bone had been stressed too many times. He claimed that competitive running was no longer safe. Another break could leave her with life-long mobility issues, possibly unable to walk unaided ever again.

There was a long silence after that. The doctor left them with a quiet, “I’m sorry.”

Later that evening, when everyone had gone back to their dorms, Okino came to see her. She greeted him with the same sunny face she always put on, her leg heavily bandaged and propped on the bed.

“So, Trainer-san! I’ll be back in a few weeks, right?”

she said with a forced brightness, almost daring him to agree.
“No, Teio,”

he said evenly.

“You won’t. I can’t let you hurt yourself anymore. You’ll race when the doctor says it’s safe, and he says you may never be safe to race again.”

Teio froze, the corners of her mouth faltering. Her expression shifted to something completely neutral, unreadable, which was more alarming than any tears.

“Oh,”

she said simply.

Okino stayed with her a few more minutes, reminding her that her health mattered more than any finish line. She nodded quietly but did not speak.

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The next two weeks were suffocating for her.

She could walk with her foot carefully bandaged, but every step reminded her of what she’d lost. The noise and energy of Tracen Academy, normally the heartbeat of her world, became overwhelming. She started skipping breakfast with the others, ate alone whenever possible, and kept her cheerful persona only for short, surface-level interactions. At night, she stayed awake long after lights-out.