Just as Kitasan Black was stuck between two hard choices…
Thunk.
"Ow!"
Jun Tsubasa grabbed her head, going blank for a beat before she finally saw the culprit: her friend Musee Alien, who'd just chopped her on the crown with the edge of her hand.
"A-ow…? Why'd you hit me?"
Musee Alien pulled back the hand she'd used to whack Jun, her face not showing the slightest hint of apology.
Instead, she swept a near-reassuring glance over Real Steel and Duramente, then smiled at Kitasan Black and abruptly changed the subject.
"Whatcha got there, Kita-chan… that's intel on your opponents for this Arima Kinen, right? I just heard Lovely Day-senpai's name."
"Going up against a senpai like that… you must be under a lot of pressure, huh?"
In an instant, Kitasan Black's expression tightened, her eyes turning grave.
"Lovely Day-senpai…"
She flipped through her little notebook at speed, stopping on a page, lips pressed together.
"This year… first in the Nakayama Kimpai in the first half, first in the Kyoto Kinen, and then…"
"First in the Naruo Kinen, first in the Takarazuka Kinen, first in the Kyoto Daishoten…"
"That makes three straight wins, and next…"
"She's heading into the Tenno Sho (Autumn) as the top favorite."
As she spoke, her gaze shifted. She lifted her head, looking past the Umamusume around the cafeteria—stuffing their faces or laughing over conversations—and stared into the distance.
"Racing a senpai like that… of course the pressure's huge, but…"
"Crown-chan… hers has to be even worse right now… doesn't it?"
At that, everyone at the table followed Kitasan Black's line of sight.
Satono Crown wasn't there, but they all knew exactly where Kitasan Black was looking—toward Tokyo Racecourse.
It was already Saturday, and the reason the cafeteria was still packed with students was simple: the Tenno Sho (Autumn), a G1, was tomorrow.
Since Tokyo Racecourse was closer to the academy, Kitasan Black had decided to stay on campus Saturday so she could go cheer on her good friend the next day.
And with her sunny, outgoing personality, she often invited Musee Alien, Duramente, and the others to hang out. Before long, they'd all gotten familiar with one another.
This time, too, they'd accepted Kitasan Black's invitation to stay the night at the academy, then head to the racecourse together tomorrow.
As for the Satono sisters, who usually joined these meals—one was over at the racecourse preparing, and the other was helping out.
"Kita-chan really is a sweetheart. We were talking about your race, but… yeah, Tenno Sho (Autumn) comes first," Musee Alien said with a sigh, then frowned in thought. "Crown… she'll be okay, right?"
"She's been working really hard lately, and she's had help from Oguri-senpai and the others. And I heard her family even brought in a bunch of incredible trainers. So this Tenno Sho (Autumn)…"
"She'll be fine... right?"
She was clearly trying to comfort Kitasan Black, but even she could hear the uncertainty in her own voice.
And the moment she finished, two voices spoke at once.
"I'm afraid… it'll be tough."
"But the senpais have definitely been working hard too."
After their simultaneous contradiction, Duramente and Jun both froze. They exchanged a look. Jun scratched at her nose and shrugged.
"Just to be clear, I'm not trying to jinx Crown or anything. It's just… beating senpais is genuinely hard."
"And it's not even just the senpais. Before the Kikuka Sho, I thought I had it in the bag, and look how that turned out—I still couldn't outrun Kitasan."
Real Steel and Musee Alien both nodded hard in agreement, while Duramente pinched her chin.
"Crown… she's not weak. But that's compared to us."
"Compared to the senpais…"
"All I can say is, I raced Air Groove one time when I was really little. Obviously I couldn't beat her then, but even now…"
She shook her head.
"Even in partner runs, even in training races—I still can't beat her."
She looked at Kitasan Black. "Kita-chan… you get it too, right?"
Kitasan Black fell silent.
Just like Duramente said—maybe it was luck, maybe it was because the senpais liked someone with her kind of personality—but ever since her debut, she'd received a lot of help from them.
Partner runs, training races, demonstrations, guidance… even the notes she'd gotten recently.
If anything, she understood perfectly. Even though the gap kept shrinking, it was still there.
So every day as she trained, prepared, and watched the senpais' condition, she couldn't stop herself from worrying.
And when she thought of Satono Crown stepping onto the track tomorrow to face those senpais, of course she wanted to support her.
But she also wanted to know—after all that effort, all that time, all that grinding—what would happen when Crown finally went head-to-head with them.
What kind of race it would be.
What kind of ending.
The thought made her clench her fist.
When Kitasan Black didn't answer, Duramente's eyes softened with concern, and she spoke without thinking.
"So, Kita-chan… try not to overthink it. Just watch the race tomorrow, and focus more on the Arima Kinen."
Kitasan Black blinked, honestly grateful.
She could tell Duramente was trying to comfort her, and she was about to thank her—
"Because besides a strong rival like Lovely Day-senpai, you've got an even stronger opponent."
Duramente continued, full of earnest concern:
"Gold Ship-senpai, right?"
"First in the Satsuki Sho, first in the Kikuka Sho, first in the Arima Kinen, first in the Takarazuka Kinen twice, first in the Tenno Sho (Spring)…"
"Not even counting her other wins, that's six G1 victories just on their own."
"There are only a handful of Umamusume who've reached seven G1 wins. I bet she really wants to become one of them."
"So whether it's the Japan Cup or the Arima Kinen next, she'll definitely go all-out."
"And also, her Arima Kinen was kind of like your situation now—she beat a whole lineup of senpais in her Classic year, so experience-wise, umm—mmph—"
Mid-ramble, Duramente suddenly felt her mouth clamp shut, her words turning into muffled noises.
She stared to the side in shock—Real Steel had a hand over her mouth, grinning like she'd been waiting for this.
On the other side, Jun had her arms crossed, nodding again and again. Musee Alien pressed a hand to her forehead, looking like she had a headache.
And across from them, Kitasan Black—who'd already been staring down at the table—had lowered her head so far her chin looked like it was resting against her chest.
"Honestly, I've been wanting to say this for ages…" Real Steel said with a laugh. "Duramente, sometimes, if you're bad at comforting people, you don't have to force it…"
"I know you mean well, but it kind of feels like…"
She let go and pointed at Kitasan Black.
"…Your 'comfort' just landed Kitasan a pretty heavy hit."
"Huh? Wait—" Duramente panicked at once. She shot to her feet, flustered. "N-no, Kita-chan, that's not what I meant! It's just… Gold Ship-senpai really is strong, but—but…"
"…Yeah. I get it. I get that Dura-chan was trying to cheer me up."
Still with her head lowered, Kitasan Black murmured it—and then, to everyone's surprise, she looked up. Her face was tight, but her mouth tugged into a small, rising smile.
"Don't worry. In this Arima Kinen… I'm not backing down."
"And besides…"
"If Gold Ship-senpai can do it… why can't I?"
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was too focused on something elseeeeeeeeeeeee ive been playing 7daystodieeeeeeeeeee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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