"Urara, prepare to throw that boomerang at Stay Gold if she is in the lead, okay?"
"Mhm!! You can count on Urara!!"
"Kufufu~~ You shouldn't do that, cutie umamusume~~"
"Eeeek!! Trainer!! This umamusume is scary!!"
The Takarazuka Kinen race has come. Team Minaz has sent 3 delegations: Tokai Teio, Silence Suzuka, and Goldship. Beside them, there's also Stay Gold, who enters on her own.
Because of the lineup of the runners, several familiar faces can be seen in the grandstand. Igo Heita, Haru Urara, Mejiro McQueen, Agnes Tachyon, Orfevre, and Dream Journey.
"Her name, who is she?"
"Eh? Who are you talking about, Orfevre?"
"Your ex-girlfriend–the fucking bitch that did this to you. Give me her name."
"May I ask what you are planning with her name, Orfevre?"
"Teach her a lesson for hurting my messenger. Name, now."
"Don't worry about her. We have parted ways, Orfevre. This will heal."
"Name."
"That woman's name is Mizuka Chizuru."
"Thank you, Mejiro."
"Please don't do anything rash, Orfevre. Everything is under the rug now."
"I will be the judge of that."
"LET US WELCOME OUR RUNNERS FOR TODAY!!!!"
"""WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"""
From the underground tunnels, umamusume after umamusume walk out in their glorious racewear. Amongst them, 3 team Minaz members walk out wearing the racewear Gold City has designed for them. The young man can't be happier now that his trainees are in their canon racewear. The Green Riding Hood, the Lieutenant to the Emperor, and the Red Beast that raises your blood pressure by being a massive prick. Behind the members of team Minaz is the infamous silver collector, Stay Gold, in her Kino no Tabi's racewear.
*Thud*
Suddenly, a boomerang flew near Stay Gold and planted itself next to her feet.
"Aaaahh!! Urara miss!!"
"You can try again, Urara!"
"Trainer Igo… Haru Urara…"
"EEEKKK!!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ahahaha… Your trainer just threw me a lucky charm."
"I don't think that was meant to be a lucky charm, old man…"
On the turf, Stay Gold grabbed the thrown boomerang and tucked it into her uniform.
"By the way, Goldshi. I have no intention of going easy just because your trainer just got hurt."
"I don't know if you really want to win this one, old man. Trainer Igo said that he'll actually commit to plan S if you win. Dunno what that means…"
"Ahahaha… He can't give an actual threat, eh? That's actually motivating me to win more."
"What's plan S, Goldship?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Teio."
"RUNNERS!!! PLEASE ENTER YOUR GATES!!!"
"Well then. I'll give you girls the recording of your trainer and me."
"Whatever this plan S is… I don't like the sound of it."
The umamusumes on the turf do their own rituals before they enter their own gates. Goldship runs into her gate guns blazing, Suzuka closes her eyes to recall the memory of her first run, and Teio does her famous Teio steps.
"ALL RUNNERS!! GET READY!!!"
*Beep* *Beep* *Beeeeeep*
.
.
.
*BAAAAM*
"AND THEY'RE OFF!!!! IMMEDIATELY!!! THE OTHERWORLDY FRONT RUNNER MAKE HER PRESENCE KNOWN!!! SHE IS LEADING THE PACK ALREADY!!!"
"AAAHH!!!"
"AAAAHHH!!! GATE NUMBER FIFTEEN!!! GOLDSHIP HAD JUST COME OUT OF HER GATE!! SHE IS BEING LEFT BEHIND BY A MASSIVE DISTANCE!!"
~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh… For the love of the Goddesses…"
The young man buries his face in Haru Urara's hair. He feels like an absolute moron for worrying about Teio when there's a horse with 12 million in debt right there.
"That's what you get for picking the Jester over me, idiot."
"Ohh~~ Are you jealous I chose Goldship over you, Orfevre? How cute?"
"Tch!"
~~~~~~~~~~
"Pant! Pant!"
Seriously, Goldship?!!? What are you doing?!?! Do you forget what McQueen told us?!?!!
Goldship… Sigh…
The 2 remaining Minaz members could only sigh in acceptance at their fellow member's stupidity and the heavier weight on their shoulders. It's now only Teio and Suzuka that could cheer the trainer up by winning this race.
*Ding*
Silence Suzuka activated [Front Runner Straightways] Level 1.
Silence Suzuka digs her heels into the turf and increases her advantage even more. The distance between her and the second race is already at 3 lengths, but it increases to 5 lengths.
*Ding*
Tokai Teio activated [Slipstream] Level 2.
The one who'll erase his tears will be me!!!
Teio allows herself to be in the 6th position because the 3 runners ahead of her serve as her shield from the wind. Her small stature makes it hard for the runners to shake her off, and her speed allows her to keep up no matter how hard they try to get away from her.
Teio might be behind several runners, but her eyes never left Suzuka's back. The former knows that she can't let the latter go much further. Suzuka doesn't possess a powerful last kick, so her strategy revolves purely on her overpowering her enemies via the distance she gains during the race. The larger the gap, the higher her chance of winning.
"SILENCE SUZUKA IS STILL LEADING WITH A FIVE-LENGTH MARGIN AS THEY ENTER THE FIRST CORNER!!!"
*Ding* *Ding*
Silence Suzuka activated [Corner Adapt] Level 1 and [Corner Acceleration] Level 1.
"AND SHE IS GAINING EVEN MORE DISTANCE!!!"
*Ding*
Silence Suzuka activated [The View from The Lead is Mine] Level 1.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Trainer, Suzuka seems to be unstoppable."
"You train her well. Only experienced runners would be capable of catching up to her."
"We have one, don't we?"
~~~~~~~~~~
Aaah… This feels nostalgic for some reasons.
"THE RACERS ARE ENTERING THE LATER HALF OF THE RACE!!"
"KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN, EVERYONE!!"
*Ding*
Stay Gold activated [In Search of Gold] Level 3.
"UMA NUMBER FOUR!! STAY GOLD IS MOVING UP THE RANK!!!"
Stay Gold's speed slightly increases over time. One by one, she passes the runners in front of her and even the Monarch.
"Kuh!! You!!"
"Hello~~ I'll be going now. See you at the wedding later, okay?"
"Huh?!?! What do you mean by that?!?!"
Stay Gold stabs her heels on the ground and uses her superior power stats to push herself to second place.
*Ding*
Stay Gold activated [Late Surgers Straightways] Level 2.
"I'm not letting you go!!"
"NUMBER SEVEN IS ANSWERING THE CHALLENGE!! SHE BURST THROUGH THE PACK AND JOINED THE BATTLE FOR THE FIRST PLACE!!!"
*Ding*
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Prepared To Pass].
Teio also showcases her power stat by leaping from behind the 3 front runners to run behind Stay Gold. She then accelerates herself to position herself as close as she could to the latter.
Interesting… Try to keep up with me, Monarch.
*Ding*
Stay Gold activated [Straightways Acceleration] Level 1.
Damn it!!! She is still capable of accelerating!?!?!
"UMA NUMBER THIRTEEN, SILENCE SUZUKA IS STILL IN THE LEAD, BUT NUMBER FOUR AND SEVEN ARE QUICKLY GAINING ON HER!!!"
"DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES, FOLKS!!! WE ARE ENTERING THE LAST CORNER!!"
Teio couldn't believe her own eyes as she watched the hobo gaining more and more on Suzuka, closing the distance Suzuka had fought tooth and nail for. There's only a gap of half a length just before they enter the last corner.
*Ding*
Stay Gold activated [Outer Swell] Level 3, [Corner Adapt] Level 3, and [Corner Acceleration] Level 2.
*Ding*
Tokai Teio activated [Corner Adapt] Level 2 and [Corner Acceleration] Level 1.
"AND STAY GOLD HAS BROKEN THROUGH!!! SHE IS GAINING MORE AND MORE OF A LEAD!! CAN ANYONE EVEN HOPE TO BEAT HER!?!?!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Trainer… This doesn't look good…"
"Yeah… A second and third doesn't sound bad…"
"But what about Teio's dream?"
"Well… Life goes on, I guess… Whether she changes or not is up to her."
Stay Gold's skills and experiences simply dwarf Suzuka and Teio's, even if the 2 have better physical stats. I guess this is proof that pure physical stats still lose to skills and experience.
While everyone had given up on team Minaz winning the race, only one umamusume still held hope.
"DON'T GIVE UP, TEIO!!! YOU WANT TO BE AN UNDEFEATED TRIPLE CROWN, RIGHT?!?! IS THIS ALL THAT IS TO YOUR DREAM!?!?! JUST TALK!!!"
"Wow!! McQueen!?!"
"Trainer, Urara's ears hurt."
McQueen's screams startled the young man, Haru Urara, and Agnes Tachyon. McQueen was raised in a rich family where manners and politeness were drilled into her everyday life. Rarely does she ever raise the volume of her voice, so hearing her burst out her lungs is quite the surprise, unless it's for baseball.
It's almost impossible for Teio not to hear McQueen, who is sitting right beside the last stretch. And the Monarch certainly answers the Queen's calling.
Oh! The fuck is happening to Teio's stats screen?
*Ding*
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Pace Chasers Straightaways].
*Ding*
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Hesitant Late Surgers].
*Ding*
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Straightways Adapt].
With each hint she gains, the Monarch gains a quarter of a length against Stay Gold. The former wasn't expecting to see the Lieutenant to the Emperor to be gaining on her, and for her running style to be so low to the ground.
Did she train with Oguri Cap?
*Ding*
Tokai Teio activated [Sky High Teio Step] Level 1.
*Ding*
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint for [Homestretch Haste].
"Trainer is mine!!!"
"Kuh!! Seriously?"
Stay Gold couldn't believe her eyes the moment the Monarch lined up beside her. But what she couldn't believe even more was just how nostalgic it was being the second in the Takarazuka Kinen.
Seriously… What's up with my feelings?
"AND TOKAI TEIO CROSSES THE FINISH LINE WITH STAY GOLD JUST RIGHT BEHIND HER!!!!"