When Kitasan Black said it out loud, it wasn't that she felt no worry or pressure.
Maybe her understanding of the other senpais in the Arima Kinen—especially a more concrete, firsthand sense of them—had only really taken shape lately.
But she'd known for a long time what kind of strength Gold Ship-senpai truly had.
Sure, even to her, a lot of that senpai's habits were downright bizarre.
But her blistering speed, her raw power, her outstanding stamina… none of it was in doubt.
And because Kitasan Black herself had similar power and stamina, she'd asked Gold Ship for advice plenty of times. That only made her even more familiar with her opponent's condition.
Facing someone like that, to be honest, she'd asked herself again and again—and every time, the answer was the same: she couldn't say she was sure she could win.
But alongside all of that, she also had something just as strong: the desire to win this Arima Kinen, and to run a brilliant race.
Maybe she still hadn't found her own answer—the kind of pure reason Oguri Cap-senpai had, or the reason Sounds of Earth-senpai had, wanting to run a rhythm that belonged to her alone.
But whether it was the hazy admiration she'd carried back then, or everything she'd piled up through training and races until now, or everything she'd lived through on the road that brought her here, she believed in one thing with all her heart.
She wanted to give everything she had, to answer the people who supported her, encouraged her, helped her—with her own two feet.
And as long as there were people still supporting her, she would keep running with everything she had.
As for winning the Arima Kinen in her Classic year, the way Gold Ship-senpai had—that wasn't just empty talk, either.
Because ever since the Kikuka Sho ended… no, even earlier than that, she'd been preparing for this.
And now, working side by side with Yasui Makoto, she was still preparing.
If she kept working like this, then even against an opponent like Gold Ship-senpai—and all the other powerful senpais…
It's not like I have no chance at all!
That was what Kitasan Black believed.
...
A little over a month later.
After a full day of training, Kitasan Black returned to the dorm after dinner. She pushed the door open, and a voice drifted from inside.
"Mhm. I'll definitely win beautifully—just like my debut."
The voice was gentle, bright with excitement and pride. It was Satono Diamond.
Hearing the door, Diamond caught sight of Kitasan Black from the corner of her eye, glanced over in a hurry, then blinked and lightly pointed at her phone.
Kitasan Black understood at once—her friend was on a video call with her family. Thinking of her own family, she couldn't help the smile that curled at her lips, warm with understanding.
She switched out her shoes by the doorway and slid into her slippers, then crept inside on tiptoe. She lay down on her bed as quietly as she could, doing her best not to make a sound.
Meanwhile, the call on the other side kept going.
"It's the allowance race the day before the Arima Kinen, right? I'm not misremembering, am I? Your mother was just complaining the other day that I never remember anything about you."
A middle-aged man's voice came through next. "Don't get nervous at the track. Just do what you do in training, understood, Diamond?
"And don't let your studies slip—and don't slack off in training, either. Remember that, too."
Before Satono Diamond could answer, a woman's voice—faintly reproachful—cut in.
"It's not even race day yet. Why are you saying things like that so early?"
Then she softened almost immediately.
"Training is important, racing is important, and studying matters too—but you have to rest properly. Don't overdo it, okay? Your body comes first."
The man started to interject. "I was just about to say that—"
The woman ignored him. "And get along well with your classmates. If there's anything you don't understand, anything you can't do, ask your sister Crown for help."
"Please don't worry, sir and ma'am. Diamond is way more capable than I am."
Satono Crown's confident voice came through the phone.
"Her test scores are practically always on the first page, and she trains hard—her workload's almost caught up to mine."
"And as for racing, I don't even need to say it. She won her debut even more beautifully than I did. Her next race will be a breeze."
"Of course I'll do everything I can to help her, so please rest easy."
"Nee-san, that's not as exaggerated as you make it sound…" Satono Diamond's voice returned, a little embarrassed.
Listening to the warm, cozy conversation nearby, Kitasan Black lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. The corners of her mouth kept lifting higher, and somewhere inside, she felt a quiet sense of reassurance settle in.
After more than a month of preparations, the Arima Kinen was drawing closer and closer.
Between all the training and her discussions with Yasui Makoto, she told herself she'd stayed focused—but there were still things she couldn't help letting distract her.
Like Satono Crown's crushing loss in the Tenno Sho (Autumn).
And the winner of that very G1 was—ironically—Lovely Day-senpai, the opponent she herself would face in the upcoming Arima Kinen.
By that count, this senpai had racked up four straight titles in only half a year.
Kitasan Black had watched the entire race with her own eyes. The moment she grasped what kind of condition Lovely Day was in, a complicated shock washed over her.
On the one hand, she knew how much Satono Crown had poured into the Tenno Sho (Autumn), and she felt sad and worried for her friend's loss.
On the other hand, she and Crown were Umamusume of the same year. Setting wins and losses aside, their physical development, their race experience—even the gap in ability between them—wasn't all that large.
If her friend could only manage that kind of result at the Tenno Sho (Autumn), then what would her own result look like in the Arima Kinen, facing the same older senpais?
And yet, burdened with those tangled feelings, she'd only had time to comfort Crown alongside their other friends—because soon after, more races pulled her attention away again.
First came the Japan Cup not long ago.
After the Takarazuka Kinen, the wildly popular Gold Ship suffered another crushing defeat in the Japan Cup, finishing only tenth.
Lovely Day—still in the middle of her four-title streak—also ran in the Japan Cup, but she didn't win either. She finished third.
The Japan Cup champion was another senpai of outstanding ability:Shonan Pandora.
That race—because Gold Ship was there in person to cheer—Kitasan Black watched from start to finish as well, and once again felt the same kind of complicated turmoil she'd felt at the Tenno Sho (Autumn).
No—something even more complicated.
She knew perfectly well that in the coming Arima Kinen, she would be on the same stage as Gold Ship-senpai.
Maybe Gold Ship's loss at the Takarazuka Kinen could still be explained away. You could say she hadn't recovered after the Tenno Sho (Spring), or blame it on temperament—something so hard to control.
So before the Japan Cup, if Kitasan Black had to name the single strongest opponent, it had unquestionably been Gold Ship-senpai.
But nearly half a year had passed between the Takarazuka Kinen and the Japan Cup. "Not recovered" didn't make sense anymore. Her training should've been fine, too.
And temperament should've been fine as well—because her break from the gate this time was, by any measure, incredibly smooth.
That left Kitasan Black worried… confused… and faintly, shamefully, relieved.
Gold Ship-senpai… has her strength dropped? If that's really the case, then I—
Before the thought could go any further, she forced herself to cut it off.
That kind of relief—so indecently hopeful—made a sting of shame rise in her chest.