A cloudy sky, an exceedingly crowded racecourse, and a damp, yielding track. A common enough scene for a big race in the Central after a summer rain had passed through. But on this common scene, an uncommon battle was being waged. A race where legends fought to etch their names one line deeper into history.
[It hasn't even reached the middle point of the race, but here comes Mejiro Ramonu! She's making an early move and quickly catching up with the frontrunners!]
Even from the sidelines, the pressure was a physical thing. It radiated from the track in waves, a palpable force that settled over me, leaving me in a state of stiffness. The experience, the confidence, the sheer refinement of their running.. it was on a plane of existence entirely separate from my own debut. This was a true battlefield, where the most perfected runners in their own right tried to outshine each other. A decisive battle where even choosing the second-best option would lose you the war.
[Maruzensky! It's Maruzensky who explodes exiting the final corner! The gap is expanding! Can anyone behind her possibly catch her!?]
A singular moment where your entire journey, your career, your struggle, was wagered in front of your long time fans. A contest to prove you were the best, to assure them their support was still the right choice. A war fought for the hearts of those who believed in you.
[Here comes Oguri Cap! 200 meters left and Oguri Cap unleashes her second spurt! The final battle is between these three! They're head-to-head to the finish line!]
And from that quagmire of legends, only three emerged. Maruzensky, her gait so rapid it was like the final gear of a sports car. Mejiro Ramonu, her steps so swift and elegant she looked like a piece of moving art. And Oguri Cap, her body leaned forward to an impossible degree, her feet digging into the yielding turf, tearing and pushing with monstrous power.
But there was something else in play, something beyond their physical perfection. Something ethereal. Something I could only perceive in the barest glimpse, in the split second between my eyelids.
In that split second glimpse, Tokyo Racecourse had been transformed into something where science and logic my entire life stood on couldn't comprehend. The sky had turned red and pulsing. The yielding homestretch lost its grass and changed into a continuous smooth black highway. And in the final furlong, a blizzard was raging and deep snow covered the final 200m asphalt.
The air around them seemed to shimmer, to thicken. Trails of colorful flowers, sharp neon red lines, and golden sonic booms left in their wakes. The roar of the crowd distorted, the sound bending around them as if they were generating their own gravity. I felt a crushing weight in my chest, a pressure that made it hard to draw a full breath.
[Oguri Cap and Maruzensky are shoulder to shoulder as they pass the finish line! And we have a photo finish here!]
What was that...?
[IT'S OGURI CAP! THE NEWEST ENTRANT HAS WON THE DREAM TROPHY LEAGUE! THE MONSTER KEEPS WREAKING HAVOC IN THE REALM OF LEGENDS! OGURI CAP HAS WON!]
---
A hot hand suddenly clamped around my right leg. The sudden, firm touch jolted me back to reality. I blinked, and saw the Chief smiling wryly at me. Oh, right. I was watching Oguri-san's race. And... could you stop kneading my calf? Wait, someone was behind me, holding my leg up!?
I twisted around and saw Tamamo-san, she kneaded my right calf as if it were a half-finished piece of mochi.
"Ah, Tamamo-san! You can put down my leg now," I said, a wave of heat rising in my cheeks. Ugh, I must have been completely lost in my own mind.
"It really works!" Tamamo-san exclaimed, seemingly to herself.
"Ko-kun? You good?" Chief Kitahara asked from beside me, his smile fading into a look of concern.
"Affirmative. Um.. Chief. You were beside me the entire time during the race, right?" I asked.
"I was. What's wrong?"
"Did you see it?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. I didn't want him to think I was deranged, but I had to ask.
"See what?"
"No... nevermind," I said, pulling back. He hadn't seen it. Or if he had, he wasn't letting on.
I tried to rationalize what I'd experienced. It must have been my imagination. But the sensations, the raw sensory input, the tugging feeling from my very soul.. it had all felt real. The pulsing sky. The highway. The blizzard. The feeling of a thick blanket settling over my body. The way the runners seemed to accelerate beyond the limits of physics. The crushing pressure of their spirits suppressing my own. I couldn't comprehend it. And more importantly, if opponents like that were out there, how could I possibly defeat them?
"I saw it too, Ko-chan! It was a squirrel on that Zelkova tree, right?" Inari-san's cheerful voice broke through my thoughts as she suddenly appeared, her hands on my shoulders.
"No, it's not that," I said, propping my chin on my hand, my mind still digesting it, of at least trying to.
"Meh, I thought you were thinkin' the same thing as me.. if not it, then?" Inari-san pouted, but soon glanced at Creek-san and Tamamo-san, only for those three to nod in parallel.
"Now that Oguri has won, let's go to the Winner's Circle!" Chief said, his face now split by a huge, proud grin. I looked past him. Oguri-san was still on the track, waving to the grandstand.
Oguri-san, what was that? Or was I just seeing things?
"Ah, let me and Ko-chan buy something for Oguri. You know how she is after a race," Creek-san's soft voice interjected.
"Creek-san?" I looked at her questioningly.
"Help me, will you?" she smiled, but there was a knowing, serious light in her eyes.
"Un... Copy that," I conceded.
"Oh, right! Does that mean what we brought isn't enough? I see. Thank you, Super Creek, Ko-kun," the Chief said, immediately understanding.
"Let's gooo! Let this Tamamo escorts you lead the way! Sorry! Please give way!" Tamamo-san was already in motion, parting the dense sea of people with sheer force of will.
"Go! Gooo! Shoo!" Inari-san shouted, right on her heels, with the Chief following behind, a wry smile on his face.
I watched them as they got swallowed by the crowd. The grandstand at Tokyo Racecourse today held around 150,000 people. An absolute number for a race but for a DTL, hitting this number was a common occurrence. Just looking at the endless ocean of faces was dizzying.
"Let's go, Ko-chan," Creek-san said softly. Her left hand suddenly took my right, her grip gentle but firm.
"Um? Creek-san?" I was flustered by the sudden contact.
"So we don't get separated," she explained, her eyes on the churning crowd. "Look at all these people." She squeezed my hand a little tighter.
"Roger that," I murmured. Against her quiet, overwhelming sense of care, I just couldn't win.
---
"Ko-chan, I see a vacant Yakisoba stall. Let's go there."
Creek-san's voice was a calm island in the roaring sea of the racecourse crowd. She pointed towards a small food stall tucked away between a bustling takoyaki stand and a long line for crepes. It was, as she said, vacant. Completely empty, in fact, while every other vendor was swamped by spectators looking for snacks during the transition between races.
"Creek-san?" I asked, a healthy dose of suspicion in my voice as my eyes scanned the stall. "It looks suspiciously deserted. Are you sure we should go there?"
My skepticism was well-founded. The stall's nameplate, "Unlimited Yakisoba," was flanked by hand-drawn, bright yellow signs bearing the universal symbol for radioactive material. Below the name, a tagline was scrawled in bold, aggressive lettering: 'Refuel once for your next 2 years!'
"But the tagline matches what we need, right?" Creek-san said, a sweet, unwavering smile on her face. "It would be great if it's true. Though," she touched her right cheek, her smile turning a bit wry, "maybe for Oguri, it's only for the next five minutes."
We started walking towards the stall, her gentle but firm grip still on my hand. I had to give it one more try. "Creek-san, those are clearly radioactive signs. Sure, uranium has a high caloric density, but that doesn't mean Oguri-san can eat it, right?"
"She can," Creek-san replied, her expression completely, utterly serious.
Ogurizilla!? I couldn't help but thought so. Her deadpan delivery was so perfect it was terrifying. Even though I knew she had to be joking, a small, irrational part of my brain began to wonder.
"Oya, finally! Customers! Welcome to Unlimited Yakisoba! You won't need to eat anything for the next 2 years after eating our special yakisoba!" A loud, boisterous, and rather familiar voice boomed from behind the counter. An Umamusume with long, straight, silver-gray hair and straight-cut bangs popped up, a wide, chaotic grin plastered across her face.
"Golshi, it's good to see you here," Creek-san greeted her amicably, as if this were the most normal encounter in the world. "A new recipe again? I was rather fond of your previous one."
"If it ain't Creek!" Gold Ship cackled, leaning her elbows on the counter. "Too bad. The price for Blue Marlin cuts is on the hike right now. I wasn't getting any profit margin using the previous recipe." She actually treated this as a genuine business? I had assumed this was just another one of her whimsical, inexplicable projects.
"Oh well. That's truly unfortunate," Creek-san said with a soft sigh.
"Indeed!" Gold Ship agreed. "So, what can I get for ya? And this filly right here," she said, her wild eyes fixing on me, "any questions? You look so confused, it's hilarious."
"Is it... really safe?" I finally asked, gesturing vaguely at the radioactive symbols. "I mean, with the signs and what not."
"It's just a gimmick, don't worry," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Though you can hold to my word about the whole 2 years."
"2 years..?" I pressed on. "That sounds suspiciously like the refueling cycle for a nuclear reactor's uranium fuel rods."
"Oh, aren't you a sharp one?" Gold Ship's grin widened. "Very well! I'll let this smart filly in on our little secret. Tadaa!" She dramatically produced a small, unlabeled eyedropper bottle from under the counter. The liquid inside was a viscous, faintly glowing green.
"We're cooperating with Tachyon Lab to produce this new taste enhancer! With just a single drop of this secret ingredient, you can keep feeling full for a long, long time. I used it myself! I haven't eaten anything in three days!"
I turned to Creek-san and immediately said, "Creek-san, let's find another stall. I don't feel comfortable with this yakisoba."
"Ko-chan," Creek-san said, her eyes shining with a strange, unwavering conviction. "This might be the exact food that Oguri needs!"
"Are you serious?" How much confidence did she have in Oguri-san's digestive system?
"Yes," she said, her voice firm. She turned back to the chaotic vendor. "Golshi-san, give us four of them, please." She placed the order even after all of that.
Alright. My own judgment was screaming at me to run. But Creek-san's serene confidence was a force of nature in its own right.
I believe in you, Creek-san.
"Ou, coming right up!" Gold Ship declared with a whoop, turning to fire up the grill. "Please, have a seat!"
We sat down on a pair of wobbly stools in front of the counter, the only customers in a fifty-foot radius. This was, without a doubt, the most questionable tactical decision I had made all day.
"So, Ko-chan, do you have any questions?" Creek-san asked, her voice was a soft counterpoint to the distant roar of the crowd and the sizzle of the grill.
"No, I believed in your decision, Creek-san," I answered instantly, referring to our questionable food choice.
"That's not what I meant," she said, her smile gentle but her eyes holding a deeper meaning. "It's about the race."
"The race..." My mind flashed back to the track, to the crushing pressure, to the anomalous scenes that straight ripped out of a Shounen battle manga. "...mm? Did you mean...?"
"Yeah," she smiled.
Surrounded by the deafening noise of the crowd and Gold Ship's skillful, clattering maneuvers with her cooking utensils, I looked directly into Creek-san's eyes. They were the eyes of someone who knew something. The eyes of someone who had seen what I had seen.
"Did you see it too, Creek-san?"
"I did," she replied, her voice dropping a little lower. "That question is actually more appropriate for me to ask you, Ko-chan..." She let out a soft sigh.
"What was that, Creek-san?" The questions that had been plaguing my mind, the ones I had tried to bury, now burst forth in an unrelenting flood. "Why did they suddenly speed up with that unbelievable momentum after those... phenomena started? Why only the three of them? Why did I feel breathless, like my spirit was being crushed, just from watching it? Why—"
"Oh, is that what you meant? The Taboo?" Gold Ship's voice suddenly cut through my frantic questioning like a knife. "My condolences, little filly. It's been nice knowing you, though we only just met."
My blood ran cold. What did she mean by that? Taboo? Had I seen something I shouldn't have? Was I cursed? Was I going to die soon? What the hell!?
"Alright, calm down, Ko-chan. It's not that bad," Creek-san said, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"Really? It's the Taboo, you know?" Gold Ship chimed in again, not missing a beat. "I heard you have to run around Yodo Hill 100 times to pay for violating it. If not, you'll be curs—"
"Can you shut up for a moment, Golshi?" Creek-san's voice was still soft, but the smile she directed at Gold Ship was lined with a terrifying chill.
"Yes, Mom—I mean, Ma'am! I'll finish your order A.S.A.P!" Gold Ship squeaked, her hands suddenly moving at twice their previous speed over the grill.
"Haaaah," Creek-san sighed, turning her full attention back to me. "Listen, Ko-chan. I don't know how or why you can perceive it today, but what Golshi said about it being a taboo is, in a way, correct. Only an Umamusume with a certain mental threshold, and the Umamusume on the track themselves, can see the full manifestation. Junior years usually shouldn't be able to see it."
"So... I will really be cursed?" The fear was a cold, hard knot in my stomach.
"No, no, you won't," she said, her voice gentle again. "That's just a rumor that spread around it. It's a taboo for an Umamusume who hasn't awakened and saw it themselves to know about it, and especially to pursue it. But it seems the cat is out of the bag for you. So as your senior and as a retired racer, please listen this carefully. I suggest you don't put your mind to this at the moment. Just trust your trainer and focus on your training, on your fundamentals. And never, ever think that because you're able to perceive it now, you're special and deserve to chase after it. You'll be ready when you are. You'll know then."
Her words were serious. But why? What was with all the secrecy? A conspiracy? That seemed impossible.
"Creek-san, how do I say this...?" I struggled to put the feeling into words. "I only saw it for a moment, a glimpse, and then it was gone. I don't know... maybe the right word to describe it is... despair? Let alone winning, even breathing felt impossible. Why does such a thing exist? And why is it a taboo for me? If they can do it, why can't I?" I asked, my voice slightly demanding.
"I don't know why it exists either," she admitted softly. "Ko-chan... think of it like this. An Umamusume's soul is like a muscle. You have to train it, make it stronger, before you can lift the heaviest weights. What you felt and saw today... that was the heaviest weight there is. For a new runner, whose spirit is still developing, trying to comprehend it, let alone pursue it... it's too much. It's not a secret we keep from you to be mean. It's a protection. We hide it because pursuing it too early can break a spirit before it has even had a chance to grow strong. You have to arrive at the answer yourself, when your soul is ready for the weight of it. On the other hand, if you really chase after it now, this 'taboo' is also regarded as fake by many trainers. The few who believe in it don't really know anything about it, as it's not a trainable skill."
"Oh, that's news even to me," Gold Ship interjected while expertly flipping a mountain of noodles. "Though I also heard not every Umamusume can awaken it. Is that true, Creek?"
"That's... sadly, true," Creek-san confirmed, her expression was that of somber.
"So, it's a metaphysical phenomenon that only some Umamusume can access?" I summarized, my mind trying to process the variables. "Not only that, but it boosts the user to an unprecedented level? Ugh, that's troublesome." For something so finicky, so unscientific... how could I possibly devise a countermeasure? And as for fighting fire with fire, the fact that not everyone could awaken it meant there was no guarantee I could either.
"Yeah. That's why I said to trust your trainer and focus on your fundamentals," Creek-san pressed gently. "That's more reliable than this magical thingy."
"But have you awakened it, Creek?" Gold Ship asked bluntly.
"I... didn't need and didn't want that," she whispered, the words so quiet they were almost lost in the noise of the racecourse. But for Umamusume ears, they were perfectly clear. What did she mean, she didn't need it?
Ugh, the data was too small to form a solid conclusion. For now, I decided to follow her suggestion. If it was a taboo, then there must have been a precedent. If the veterans decided to hide it, it was better to listen than to risk something terrible happening.
Discretion is the better part of valor.
"Five Unlimited Yakisoba are ready! Please enjoy!" Gold Ship suddenly announced, breaking the heavy silence as she slid five steaming containers across the counter.
"We only ordered four?" I pointed out.
"It's on the house. I heard something interesting from you guys. Just take it. I also want to wrap this up soon," she shrugged.
"The second race just finished, and you're already closing up?" Creek-san asked.
"Yeah, I don't feel like doing it anymore. I'd better go find McQueen!" As she said that, she slammed down the stall's front window shutter, a "CLOSED" sign swinging into view.
"Fufu, Golshi being Golshi," Creek-san smiled sweetly.
But as we walked away, with the steaming containers of highly questionable yakisoba in our hands, my mind was questioning this... "Taboo." This immense, crushing power they possessed. By the Three Goddesses, there was so much more to this world than just running fast. Was this thing also another filter? Another way the world separated the best from the rest? Just how brutal was the screening process to truly become the greatest?
And.. just how would it feel to defeat them? To stand on the track against that overwhelming strength and win anyway?
I was utterly, extremely curious.
---
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Cling.
The sound of our glasses tapping together, a small, bright note, officially opened our small party. It was, as planned, a celebration of a perfect week. After the entire rundown of the Summer Dream Trophy League concluded, we'd headed back towards the Academy, stopping at the bustling shopping district on the way to gather ingredients and supplies.
With the first big bonus from Oguri-san's win burning a hole in his pocket, the Chief had happily splurged with a wide, magnanimous grin plastered on his face. And "splurged" was a profound understatement. It seemed five portions of Gold Ship's "Unlimited Yakisoba" could only hold the line against Oguri-san's appetite for about an hour. After that, she had returned to being herself, and the shopping list had grown exponentially.
We'd bought meat, bulk packs of standard quality beef and pork, and a few precious, styrofoam trays of top-quality A5 wagyu that marbled like fine art. We'd bought drinks, vegetables, sauces, and snacks of every conceivable variety. The party was held in our team room, yes, Team Arcturus now had its own official base of operations, a cozy space we'd moved into a week after our formation. We had borrowed a tabletop grill and a hot pot set from the Home Economics classroom, and now, a plethora of dishes, snacks, and drinks covered the long meeting table, ready to be devoured.
"Haaaah... what a week," the Chief sighed, leaning back in his chair after taking a long swig of his oolong tea, of course, no booze for him. We were still on academy grounds, after all. "Ko-kun winning her Make Debut on Monday, and Oguri winning her Summer DTL on Saturday... Last year, I couldn't have even dreamed of this. Thank you, Oguri. Thank you, Ko-kun." His smile was one of pure, unadulterated satisfaction.
"Good work, Kitahara," Oguri-san said, her words slightly muffled as she munched on a cracker with one hand while using the other to dump a veritable mountain of sliced meat onto the sizzling grill.
"The same from me, Chief," I added. "Thank you for showing us the way to get better."
He just beamed at us, his eyes shining. "Alright! Enough sentimentality! It's time to enjoy our little rewards before we continue the grind tomorrow!"
"Un!" Oguri-san confirmed, her full attention now on the perfectly searing meat.
"Yes, Sir!" I agreed, my own appetite stirring at the savory, delicious smell filling the room.
To say the least, our "small" party was a blast. No, that wasn't quite right. Judging by the sheer quantity of food alone, our gathering was immediately disqualified from being called "small."
The party wound down around nine o'clock. Cleaning up with only three people was surprisingly efficient, and soon, the team room was spotless once more, with the lingering scent of grilled meat as the only evidence of our feast. The room felt spacious now, almost quiet.
It was a rewarding time, no doubt about it. I just hoped the Chief wouldn't regret his decision to cover the entire cost of this feast when he saw the credit card bill.
Good luck, Chief.
---
Random character hints drop!
Tail:
Mostly still and disciplined, but will give a single, sharp, involuntary flick when she makes a definitive tactical decision in her mind.