Mejiro McQueen's figure slowly vanished at the far end of the track, leaving behind only that domineering declaration still echoing in the ears of every Uma Musume present.
After a brief silence…
"Nrgh…"
Haku Taisei gritted her teeth and forced herself upright. Sweat slid down her cheeks, dripping onto the track and bursting into tiny droplets.
"She really is… that girl…"
Her voice trembled slightly. It was hard to tell whether it was from sheer exhaustion or from all that pent-up frustration being pushed down.
"She wins that easily… and still says something like that…"
"But…"
Haku lifted her head. The focus returned to her ice-blue eyes as she locked them onto the direction McQueen had left.
"That's just how I like it!"
She slapped a hand hard against the ground and shoved herself to her feet.
"Next time… next time I'm definitely going to catch you, Mejiro McQueen!"
And it wasn't just her.
The eyes of the other Uma Musume near the barns were also burning with a fire that refused to ever admit defeat.
…
Inside the paddock tunnel.
The Mejiro McQueen who had just been looking down on the world like a Demon King descending now walked quickly through the dim passage.
"Tap, tap—"
The sound of the purple-haired girl's footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.
When she turned the last corner—
"Mm?"
McQueen's steps suddenly came to a halt.
At the end of the passage, three familiar silhouettes were walking toward her.
The tall, familiar figure in the middle was her own trainer.
Kuroha was holding little Bourbon's hand as they walked together, while on the other side Tokai Teio chattered away excitedly, talking Kuroha's ear off.
The moment they spotted McQueen, the shock in their eyes shot up another level.
"McQueen, over here, over here!"
Teio waved both arms frantically, yelling at the top of her lungs.
"…"
McQueen froze for a heartbeat.
Then her violet eyes quickly flicked left and right, scanning the area.
No one else was around.
No reporters.
No other Uma Musume.
No spectators.
Just the four of them.
The very next second—
"Trainer! Teio! Bourbon!"
A brilliant smile instantly bloomed across the girl's face.
The overpowering Demon King aura that had been crushing the other Uma Musume just moments ago vanished without a trace.
In its place was a bright, bouncy figure as lively as a little forest critter.
McQueen lifted one hand in a half-raise and waved happily as she broke into a tiny, quick trot toward them.
Her purple tail swished merrily behind her, and the skirt of her victory outfit fluttered lightly with every step.
In that moment, there wasn't a shred of the overwhelming majesty she'd just shown on the track.
"Pfft—"
Teio couldn't hold back a burst of laughter.
"McQueen, you sure care about keeping up appearances in front of everyone else, huh?"
"Wh-what appearance… don't talk nonsense!"
McQueen skidded to a stop in front of them. When she heard Teio's comment, her cheeks flushed pink.
"T-that was just, um… the stance I have to show during a race, that's all…"
"After all, what I'm carrying on my back is different from you lot…"
She coughed twice into a hand curled at her lips and tried to look serious.
"As a Mejiro girl, my every word and deed has to be elegant. I can't disgrace the Mejiro name."
"Hoooh~"
Teio bent halfway over, covering her mouth as she snickered.
"And dieting counts as maintaining elegant speech and conduct too, does it…?"
"That's not the same thing!"
McQueen cut her off in a fluster.
"Dieting is to keep my figure in balance. When I'm outsi— a-anyway… it's different!"
As she rambled, steam practically starting to hiss off the purple-haired girl's head, she hurriedly grabbed the hand of Kuroha, who'd been watching the show from the side.
"L-let's just go home already, Trainer."
"Trainer, since I took the Satsuki Sho, you have to keep your promise and give me that cup of coffee!"
"Hm? Haha, of course."
Kuroha's hand twitched slightly when she tugged on him, but then he chuckled.
"You're the first Uma Musume on our team to win the Satsuki Sho, McQueen. That's a milestone worth celebrating."
Teio straightened up and scooted closer, grumbling in a wounded tone.
"Speaking of which, McQueen, you totally used my future signature pose back there!"
"How is that your signature pose? Shouldn't 'Reckless Charge' be the one that grows up with you?"
"Urgh, I don't care."
"First come, first served, Teio~"
As their voices slowly faded away, the four of them disappeared down the paddock tunnel together.
…
Night.
11 p.m.
Everyone had had a great time at tonight's victory party.
Little Bourbon and little Rice Shower had already gone home.
At their age, it wasn't really appropriate to keep them out this late.
So the only ones left in the villa were the current Chasing Light race girls.
In the living room.
Empty drink cans were scattered around the legs of the low table. Crumpled chip bags lay deflated in the corners. The air still held the lingering scents of fried chicken, pizza, and grilled meat.
"Trainer's cooking is as good as ever~"
Teio lay sprawled bonelessly across the sofa, rubbing her slightly rounded stomach and muttering under her breath.
"Guess I'll have to train extra hard tomorrow again…"
Her words said one thing, but her eyes had squinted into little crescent-moons of satisfaction.
All around, the others were happily drinking and singing karaoke.
Inari One and Obey Your Master were each holding a controller, going head-to-head at Mario Kart on the TV.
Off to one side, Maruzensky was holding a cup of soda and whispering quietly to Fujimasa March.
She had the battle-hardened but still pure-hearted gray filly's cheeks turning bright red.
"Haa…"
McQueen was seated on a sofa by herself, exhaling softly as she rubbed her own slightly swollen stomach.
But her gaze had quietly wandered over to a little slice of strawberry shortcake not far away, her eyes filled with conflict.
Eat it?
Don't eat it?
If she ate it, today's calorie intake would definitely go over the limit, right?
Mm, but the trainer made that cake… so it should be zero-calorie…
Forget it. I won the Satsuki Sho today, I deserve cake!
But…
Just as her thoughts were evolving step by step toward "Mejiro mochi," a warm glass of water appeared in front of her.
"What's wrong, McQueen? Not feeling well?"
Kuroha smiled as he held the glass out to her, then sat down beside her.
McQueen took it, and the warmth seeped into her palms.
She shook her head slightly, sounding a little guilty.
"No, Trainer. I'm just… um… too happy, that's all."
"Mm, you should be happy."
Kuroha spoke softly.
He lifted his gaze and looked around.
In the room, the singing voices and game sound effects blended into a warm, easy background hum.
The girls of Chasing Light were scattered in little flocks, chattering and fooling around to their hearts' content.
Kuroha's eyes lingered on the bustling room for a moment, and the corners of his mouth tugged up into a faintly relieved smile.
Ever since he became a trainer, he'd gone through all kinds of hardships.
He had built this team, the strongest in Central, from nothing, one girl at a time.
He had trained with them, grown with them.
On paper, Chasing Light was nothing but a lightning rod for negative impressions among most of the other Central trainers.
But beneath their resentment and resistance, buried deep in their hearts, there was also a heavy respect.
One man, taking on the entire damn Central and knocking it flat.
Kuroha stared absently ahead.
Next to him, McQueen was also staring blankly at the strawberry shortcake in front of her.
"Urgh… Trainer's right here. Do I eat it or not?"
The girl pondered for a long time, then turned to look at her trainer, as if she were about to say something.
But the instant she turned her head, she froze solid.
Under the white ceiling lights, her trainer's gentle profile was outlined with a soft halo. She could even see the faint tremble of his eyelashes.
Suddenly, a strange sensation flared in her chest, spreading out from her lips before she even realized when she'd closed her mouth.
"Eek!"
McQueen jerked like she'd been pricked by something, whipping back around as she clapped both hands over her cheeks. Her face grew hotter by the second.
W-w-w-what's going on?!
Her lips parted slightly, and she started drawing tiny circles with a fingertip on her own skirt.
Why does Trainer feel… kind of different today?
No, that's not it! I'm just worried Trainer will notice I ate too much. I am absolutely not a gluttonous Uma Musume.
With that, the elegant young lady of the Mejiro family quickly completed her self-justification and patted her fair cheeks lightly.
Beside her, Kuroha watched his girls messing around for a while, feeling perfectly at ease.
When he turned back, he found McQueen sitting there patting her own cheeks, her face full of anguish.
Following her line of sight, he saw… a neat row of strawberry shortcakes.
Kuroha shook his head helplessly and picked one up, placing it in front of her.
"If you want to eat it, then eat. Today's a day for celebrating. No need to restrain yourself that much~"
"…"
The purple-haired girl beside him slowly turned to look his way like a robot. She stared at him for several seconds before finally reaching out, taking the cake, and nibbling at it in tiny bites.
"…?"
Kuroha scratched his head. He had no idea what was going on.
"Kuroha-kun, come play board games with us. We need three people for this one~"
Maruzensky's sweet voice drifted over.
"Oh, I'm coming."
Kuroha answered, then reached out on reflex to ruffle McQueen's wonderfully soft little head. Beneath his palm, her silky mane and warm ears folded gently against his fingers.
"You did great today, McQueen!"
Leaving those words of praise behind, Kuroha turned and headed over toward Maruzensky.
McQueen was left sitting quietly where she was, her long horse ears somehow blushing pink at the tips.
…
Good times never last long.
At 1 a.m., the party finally wound down.
Outside the villa.
Two figures stood in front of the door, spacing out.
"…"
"…"
Tokai Teio and today's star, Mejiro McQueen, were just staring at each other in utter confusion.
After the party ended, their senpai had found some flimsy excuse and shooed the pair of them out of the villa.
"Ugh! Why won't they let us stay over…"
Teio grumbled.
"There are plenty of spare rooms in the villa, but Ardan-senpai and the others still kicked just the two of us out."
"…"
McQueen shot an indifferent glance at the sulking Teio, then turned back to look at the villa behind them.
A hazy idea suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Some things she'd never really understood before seemed to click into place all at once today, without anyone needing to explain.
Could it be that her senpai… are together with Trainer…
"Pfft!"
The young lady of the Mejiro family slapped both hands over her face again. Her whole face went bright red, and steam looked ready to whistle out of the top of her head like a little kettle.
"McQueen, what's wrong with you?"
"N-nothing…"
"Oh."
Teio nodded, then rubbed her slightly bulging belly.
"I'm so full. No way I'm getting to sleep early tonight."
With that, she turned to go.
"Let's head home, McQueen~"
"…Okay."
McQueen took a deep breath, steadying her heart as she answered. But her gaze on Teio had grown more complicated.
For the first time, she felt like the difference between them, even though Teio had awakened her True Blooming a whole year earlier, might not actually be in running alone…
Before leaving, Mejiro McQueen glanced once more at the villa behind her.
"Once I win the Derby, at the very least… I'm moving in too!"
"Mmph… that's for the glory of the Mejiro family as well!"
(End of Chapter)
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