Haru Urara's Case
Haru Urara is a horse girl born and raised in Kochi.
Until she transferred to Tracen Academy, she was a horse girl who grew up and ran in her hometown, often looked down upon for her slow speed.
But Haru Urara didn't care at all about the voices or gazes of those around her. At the time, she was just happy to be able to run, and her reason for wanting to transfer to Tracen Academy was a desire for more excitement.
Those around her thought Haru Urara's desire to transfer to Tracen Academy was a kind of "sentimental" exam attempt.
And it made sense. She was slow whether on turf or dirt, and she was always at the back in mock races. In fact, it was rare for her to even finish a mock race properly from start to finish.
No one, including Haru Urara herself, ever thought she would pass the entrance exam for the Japan Horse Girl Training Center Academy, the pinnacle of horse girl training institutions, where the best horse girls from all over Japan gather.
Haru Urara didn't have any confidence she would pass. She took the exam on a whim, thinking, "There's a place that sounds more exciting? Then let's go!" And she passed.
The local horse girls who also took the exam or wished to transfer to Tracen Academy were all baffled. They couldn't understand how Haru Urara, who wasn't good at studying or running, could have gotten in.
Her practical skills and written exams were disastrous, and no one believed she could have passed on the interview alone. The horse girls in Kochi who knew Haru Urara thought it must have been a mistake. That's how weak she was as a horse girl back then.
Her personality made her well-liked by everyone, and people of all ages adored her. However, this was not because of her talent as a horse girl; it was because she was Haru Urara. No one knew that this very fact was the reason she passed the Tracen Academy entrance exam.
Not even a year after Haru Urara transferred to Tracen Academy, various reports began to reach her hometown.
Those who hadn't seen the race footage laughed when they heard Haru Urara came in 9th out of 9 in her debut race, thinking, "I knew it." They believed she hadn't changed at all from her time in Kochi.
However, when her ranking improved to 5th and then 3rd in the maiden races she competed in, they began to tilt their heads, thinking, "Oh?" Still, it was a maiden race, even if it was in the central circuit. They didn't pay much attention, assuming Haru Urara could place among horse girls who couldn't even win their debut race.
And then, in her fourth race, Haru Urara won. Not only that, but she set a new record.
Haru Urara's hometown didn't erupt in cheers. The people who had adored Haru Urara let out a great cheer, but others didn't understand what had happened.
Even so, a record win was still a race record. The race was for horse girls who had tried and failed to win many maiden races and had started to believe they might never win. Because of this, the horse girls in Kochi didn't pay any mind to Haru Urara's record—or at least they pretended not to.
But from then on, every time Haru Urara ran, she would at least place, even if she lost. When she won, she broke a record. She won the GIII Unicorn Stakes with a record and even went on to win the GI JBC Sprint. The continuous stream of information was unbelievable.
When they heard Haru Urara won a GI, the local shopping district went wild. They held a "Congratulations Haru Urara Sale," and banners supporting her were put up all over the district, showing the level of their excitement.
Unlike the horse racing fans, the reactions of the Kochi horse girls were not favorable. What was stuck in their heads was the old Haru Urara.
They thought if that Haru Urara could win, then the central circuit's level must be all hype and not that impressive. The impression of the old Haru Urara was so strong that the horse girls just scoffed.
—Turning their eyes away from the footage of Haru Urara's running.
That's why when the horse girls heard Haru Urara was coming home, their fighting spirit ignited. And they actually came face-to-face with her.
The result was that they challenged Haru Urara—and lost spectacularly.
"Running with everyone is so much fun!"
They were defeated by a smiling Haru Urara who said that.
When Haru Urara returned home for the first time in a while, she spoiled herself rotten with her parents. She hugged both her mother and father, asked for piggyback rides, sat on their laps, had her ears cleaned, and even slept with them—she was so spoiled.
Seeing Haru Urara like this, her parents gave a wry smile, thinking she hadn't changed at all. The way she spoiled herself, the way she ate her meals, and above all, her smile—everything was just as they remembered. Haru Urara's parents, half-joyful and half-wry, pampered their beloved daughter to her heart's content.
However, on the second day of her return, her parents noticed something different.
After breakfast, Haru Urara changed into her track suit and began to warm up.
"Urara, it's the end of the year, what are you doing?" her father asked, looking puzzled.
"You've finally come home, you can just relax, you know?" her mother asked with a slight worry in her voice.
Haru Urara just smiled at her parents' words.
"Nope! Trainer gave me a practice menu to do!"
Haru Urara's mother and father looked at each other with wide eyes. Her smile looked more mature compared to the one they remembered.
Naturally, Haru Urara's parents had been checking all of her races. They had never gone directly to the race tracks to avoid distracting her, but they had watched and cheered for every race on television, from her debut to the Champions Cup.
However, they felt a power from Haru Urara in person that had not been conveyed through the television screen.
For her parents, Haru Urara getting into Tracen Academy was unexpected. Still, they gladly sent her off because it was what she wanted.
They knew, however, that Haru Urara's abilities were far inferior to other horse girls her age. Even with a parent's biased eye, they understood that she was far behind horse girls her age running in the local circuits, let alone the central one.
They thought she would struggle. Still, because it was a path she had chosen herself, they were prepared to welcome her with open arms if she came back with a broken heart. They were prepared to welcome her with a smile even if she finished her racing career without a single win and her heart wasn't broken.
And then that Haru Urara won a maiden race, then an open race, then the Unicorn Stakes, and even the GI JBC Sprint. Her parents were completely flabbergasted.
For them, Haru Urara's success was as happy as their own, but they still couldn't quite grasp it as a reality.
Even so, seeing the expression on Haru Urara's face as she headed for practice, her parents talked to each other, deeply moved.
"Our Urara... I can't believe it."
"It was a good thing we sent her to Tracen Academy, wasn't it?"
"Yeah... I thought she hadn't changed at all when she came home yesterday, but she's really grown..."
They just laughed, saying it was only a shame they couldn't see that growth up close.
Haru Urara, unaware of her parents' conversation, finished her warm-up and headed to a nearby course.
It was a place she had used since she was a child. The course had only one turf lane. There was no dirt course, uphill course, or wood chip course, and the turf wasn't as well-maintained as Tracen Academy's practice courses. It was the kind of place anyone could use, found all over the country.
Even horse girls who didn't race sometimes felt the urge to run, as their instincts compelled them. It was one of the courses managed by various municipalities for such horse girls, but when Haru Urara arrived, her eyes widened.
"Oh? Was this course always this small?"
She tilted her head, wondering if it had always been this small, even though she had used it since she was little. She also noticed that the turf was bald in some places, and after checking the course condition, she smiled wryly.
(The course is harder than the one I usually run on, so... Hmm, it puts a burden on my knees.)
Her trainer's face popped into Haru Urara's mind. And with a familiar smile and voice, he cautioned her.
"You can run on it, and it's fine for light workouts. But watch out for the bald spots on the turf, you might trip, so be careful not to get injured. Got it?"
That's what her trainer would say. Haru Urara decided and started running at a light pace. However, she stopped immediately after running a course that was only about 200 meters long.
"Hmm... This won't be good for practice..."
The sensation from the ground was hard, and it put a strain on her knees. The course was too short, and the straightaway was too short to build up speed. Haru Urara concluded that it would be better to run on the lanes designated for horse girls on the road.
But then, an idea hit her. If the nearby course wasn't good enough, she should go to a usable one.
There was also a training center in Kochi, and even if it wasn't as well-equipped as Tracen Academy, she could still run there.
Thinking this, Haru Urara changed into her road shoes and immediately started running. She smiled and greeted the local people she saw for the first time in a while, running without even getting out of breath.
Her hometown, which she hadn't seen in a while, hadn't changed much, but it felt new in some way.
Haru Urara arrived at the Kochi Training Center, a place she had attended before transferring to Tracen Academy. She smiled at the sight of her old school, which she was visiting for the first time in a long time.
"Hello! I'm here to visit!"
"Yeah, yeah, hello... huh?! Haru Urara?!"
Since she had attended the school before, Haru Urara knew her way around. She stepped into the training center with a smile.
Even though it was the end of the year, there were still people using the facilities. A middle-aged male staff member, who was clearly unmotivated and had been tasked with maintaining the course, gave a perfunctory reply but was startled when he saw her face.
It was unmistakable. It was that Haru Urara. The horse girl who ran in the central circuit, who had not only won a maiden race and an open race but had also won a GI.
Compared to the central circuit, the local circuits have lower-quality horse girls, and the quality of the training center's facilities and staff is also inferior. The trainers there hold local trainer licenses, but over time, they lose their passion, unlike when they were young. That's the kind of place it was.
For the middle-aged staff member, he was annoyed that he had to work at the end of the year, but he also had nothing to do at home. It felt like he had suddenly run into a famous person from the television.
Without paying much attention to the staff member's gaze, Haru Urara looked around. She was visiting for the first time in a while, but it was just as she remembered it. However, she felt a sense of unease.
(Hmm... I'm not feeling excited...)
This was a place she used to come to every day, full of excitement and fun. As she walked on, relying on her memory, she saw the course managed by the training center.
However, this course also looked narrow, just like the nearby course she had visited earlier. Of course, since it was a course managed by a training center, albeit a local one, it was incomparably wider than the nearby course.
In the local circuit, dirt courses were the mainstream, and the practice course at the Kochi Training Center was 800 meters per lap. Tracen Academy had courses of various lengths, and some were more than double the distance.
Because of that, the course at her old school looked very narrow to Haru Urara.
"Hey, wait a minute! You, you're Haru Urara, aren't you?!"
As Haru Urara was looking at the course, the middle-aged man who had greeted her earlier called out to her in a flustered voice.
"Can I have your autograph!... No, that's not it! U-um, you're not a student of this training center, so we can't let you use the facilities..."
"Huh?! I can't?"
Haru Urara looked troubled at his words. She had finally remembered a good place, but if she couldn't use it, she wouldn't be able to train to her satisfaction.
"It's not that you can't... but you're a member of the central circuit, aren't you? It's a bit... to use local facilities..."
The middle-aged man's momentum waned when he saw Haru Urara's dejected face. In the meantime, other staff members and horse girls who had come to practice noticed Haru Urara and started to get noisy.
"Huh? No way! Haru Urara?!"
"Why is Haru Urara here?!"
"Wait, I have to take a picture! Oh no! My phone!"
The younger horse girls didn't know that Haru Urara used to attend the Kochi Training Center. So they were astonished, and some even dropped their phones because their hands were shaking as they tried to take a picture.
To horse girls who raced in the local circuit, Haru Urara was an elite who ran in the central circuit, a top elite who had even won a GI. Their surprise was overwhelming.
As things started to get noisy, the middle-aged staff member called his superior on his phone. He had decided it was best to report the situation to his boss.
The call then went from his boss to a higher-ranking superior, and eventually to the director of the Kochi Training Center, a man who could be called an old man. The director, who had been at work despite it being the end of the year, rushed over and his face lit up when he saw Haru Urara.
"Oh, it's been a long time. It's just like a graduate using their old school's ground, so it's fine."
"Huh?! Are you sure?!"
The middle-aged staff member was surprised by the director's words. He couldn't believe it was okay.
"Yay! I did it!"
Haru Urara was genuinely happy. The director looked satisfied and nodded at her.
"Since you're here, why don't you show your juniors how you run?"
"Okay! Oh, but my trainer told me not to run too much. Is it okay if I take it easy?"
"It would be a big problem if you got injured, so that's fine. Wow, this is a great treat for the end of the year."
The director laughed heartily, but the middle-aged staff member was still anxious, wondering if it was really a good idea. The director, the highest authority at the Kochi Training Center, had given permission, so there should be no problem, but what would the current students think when they found out that that Haru Urara was here?
Like Tracen Academy, the Kochi Training Center was also a boarding school. Many of the students were from Kochi, and although some had returned home for the holidays, many were still there.
And so—
"Wow... a lot of people are gathering."
The horse girls, who were Haru Urara's juniors, must have contacted their acquaintances. Suddenly, countless people and horse girl fans started gathering. By the time Haru Urara had finished half of the menu her trainer had given her, an uncountable number of people had gathered.
Some of them were from the shopping district and the neighborhood. Haru Urara found some familiar faces and waved to them with a smile. The people who noticed her waved back and cheered. Haru Urara was so happy with their reaction that she smiled even wider and waved her hands enthusiastically.
However, Haru Urara frowned slightly, looking troubled. The menu her trainer had given her was lighter than usual, but it was still putting a good amount of strain on her body. That was good, but she usually trained with Rice Shower and King Halo, so training alone felt a bit boring.
But as she was going through the menu her trainer had made, several horse girls in gym clothes came onto the course. Haru Urara's face lit up immediately.
"Oh! Everyone, it's been a while!"
The horse girls who had come to the course were her former classmates. They were horse girls who were now running in the local series, and Haru Urara had a huge smile on her face at the reunion with her old friends.
"...Let's have a match, Haru Urara."
However, in contrast to Haru Urara's smiling face, her classmates' expressions were stern. There were no pleasantries or words to catch up; they just challenged her to a race.
"A match? With me?"
Haru Urara's eyes blinked in surprise. She thought it was a shame to have a match right after seeing them for the first time in a while, but she was also starting to get bored of training alone.
Haru Urara, realizing she was getting bored, tilted her head slightly.
(Hmm... I never got bored when I was with Trainer, Rice-chan, or King-chan...)
Haru Urara was originally the kind of person who got bored easily. To be precise, she was easily distracted and couldn't focus on one thing for long. She realized that this trait had somehow disappeared.
(Oh, I see... It's because Trainer was with me.)
Her trainer had come up with various training menus to prevent her from getting bored and to help her get stronger. Now she had friends to train with, so she didn't get bored anymore, but she realized she must have been a lot of trouble for him in the beginning.
"What are you smiling about?... Are you saying you're so good that you don't even have to try against us horse girls who run in the local circuit?"
The horse girls around Haru Urara, who was now smiling, took a step back, half-annoyed and half-afraid. But Haru Urara paid no mind to their reactions and just smiled even wider.
"I'd love to run with everyone again. But, wait a minute, okay?"
Haru Urara thought it would be fun to run with her old friends. She took out her smartphone from the backpack she had placed on a nearby bench and called her trainer.
"Urara? What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Haru Urara's horse ears twitched at the sound of her trainer's voice, which she hadn't heard since yesterday. Her tail wagged happily, and Haru Urara's voice was filled with excitement.
"Oh, Trainer? Um..."
She quickly explained the situation and waited for her trainer's decision. Haru Urara wanted to run with her old friends, but she was prepared to refuse if her trainer said no.
"Hmm... If the director of the Kochi Training Center has approved it, there shouldn't be any problem... But Urara, don't run at full speed, okay? I'll be mad if you get injured! In fact, I'll fly over from Hokkaido to get you!"
"Okay! Of course! I told the director I'd run with moderation!"
"I see... Then it's fine. Just, if you're going to race them, do no more than two laps of the 800-meter course, and a maximum of five races. Make sure you take proper breaks in between. If you can follow those rules... Yeah, have fun running."
"—Okay!"
She was sure he was smiling on the other end of the phone. Haru Urara, who could clearly imagine his smile, replied energetically and hung up the phone. She hugged her smartphone tightly once before putting it back in her backpack and turning to her old friends.
"Trainer said it's okay. Oh, wait a minute. Let me just..."
Haru Urara took off her tracksuit, revealing her gym clothes underneath. She had been wearing the tracksuit to keep warm, but she thought it would be a hindrance in a mock race. She had been running in a long-sleeved, long-pants tracksuit, so she was starting to get hot. However, when Haru Urara took off her tracksuit, a buzz of surprise went through the crowd.
"No way..."
"I couldn't tell with the tracksuit on, but... wow..."
"Her body is completely different from before..."
"?"
Haru Urara tilted her head at the voices around her. She wondered what was so surprising about her changing from a tracksuit to a short-sleeved, short-pants gym uniform.
"Trainer said I could run up to five races. Let's start with 1,600 meters, okay?"
Haru Urara stretched her Achilles tendon and smiled brightly. Her old friends' faces contorted in a grimace at Haru Urara's smile.
"Wow... that was so fun!"
An hour later, Haru Urara let out a satisfied voice after running five races, with breaks and the remaining training menu in between.
The mock races were simple: they started from a gate and ran two laps of the 800-meter course.
However, dirt was Haru Urara's specialty, and running 1,600 meters was no problem for her. She didn't go all out since it wasn't a real race, but she had a lot of fun running with her old friends.
She thought she would be able to keep her motivation up for the rest of her training. However, she was a little tired from running five unscheduled races.
So she evaluated her stamina, her physical condition, and the remaining practice menu in her head and decided that today's practice should end there. She would call her trainer later to report. Haru Urara was sure he would praise her for not overworking herself and resting.
"No... way..."
Behind Haru Urara, her old friends were on their knees on the ground, breathing heavily.
Haru Urara hadn't done anything special. They wanted a mock race, so she gave them one. And she won. That's it.
For the first mock race, she ran at a moderate pace, which was her strong point for a 1,600-meter race. For some reason, she ended up in a forward position. She decided to stick with it but ended up passing the lead horse girl in the middle of the race and took the lead all the way to the finish line.
For the second mock race, she decided to run from behind, thinking she had gone too fast the first time. The result was that she made her final burst before the last straightaway and passed all the participants to cross the finish line.
For the third race and beyond, she decided to run however she felt like it. She was careful not to get injured and had fun running with her old friends. But her old friends didn't look like they were having any fun at all.
"This is... a horse girl from the central circuit, a GI winner..."
"How did she get so good?"
"Good? Hmm... I'm not good. The person who's good is my trainer!"
However, Haru Urara, thinking they were praising her, bragged about her trainer. She talked with a big smile about how her trainer had made her so strong.
The director of the Kochi Training Center, who had been watching Haru Urara, narrowed his eyes and said, "This must have been a good motivation for my students. If they give up now, so be it."
After finishing her self-training, Haru Urara ran back to her home.
She was dripping with sweat, so she immediately took a bath when she got home. At dinner, she ate her mother's home-cooked meal while reporting on her day with a big smile.
"And then! I called Trainer, and he said it was okay for me to run! It was so much fun running with everyone again! Oh, I have to call him again later!"
Haru Urara's mother nodded with a similar smile at her daughter's happy chatter, and her father nodded with a slight twitch in his cheek.
"Oh, my... Urara, you really love your trainer, don't you?" her mother said playfully.
Haru Urara looked puzzled at her mother's teasing, and her father loudly spat out his tea. Haru Urara, who was puzzled by her father's strange behavior, smiled again and nodded.
"Yep! I love Trainer so much!"
"Oh, my..."
"..."
Haru Urara's mother's face softened, as if she was seeing something heartwarming. Haru Urara's father, on the other hand, began a silent series of facial expressions.
"Trainer is just like Daddy, I love him!"
"Urara...!"
But Haru Urara's father quickly smiled. What he remembered from that moment, Haru Urara took out her smartphone and opened her photo album.
"That's right! This is a picture from our summer training camp! Look, look! King-chan sent it to me!"
"Oh, my... This is... Hehe."
On the smartphone screen was a single photo.
It showed her trainer sleeping happily in a spread-eagled position, and next to him, Haru Urara was sleeping in the exact same pose.
When Haru Urara's mother saw that, she thought they really looked like a father and daughter.
And Haru Urara's real father didn't know what kind of face to make at that moment and ended up looking dejected.
Haru Urara's return home was a little noisy, but it passed by peacefully and happily.
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