"I never thought I'd see the day Suzuka-san would be back on the track! And to get first popularity right away!"
At this time, in the stands, Special Week, beside Kitano, was arguably the most excited person in the entire audience. She was wearing a cheering jacket for Suzuka, a headband with "Suzuka is the Fastest" printed on it, and had even put down her popcorn and hot dogs, instead holding two green cheering sticks, her excitement unconcealed as she smiled at him:
"Trainer Kitano! Thank you so much! Without you, Suzuka-san would never have gotten out of her psychological shadow so quickly!"
"I just did what I could, Spe-chan." And Kitano, sitting in his wheelchair, should have been the happiest person in the entire venue at this moment. Seeing the Suzuka of this playthrough, with his help, step onto the racetrack once again, it was as if he was seeing the Suzuka of the last playthrough, who had still managed to stand up and continue running after the tragedy of the Tennō Shō (Autumn). His heart had never felt so comforted, so satisfied.
In fact, he no longer cared what place she would get in this Mile Championship. For him, the fact that she could pull herself together and overcome her inner shadow and fear was enough. She would have other chances to win in the future. What was important was that she regained her confidence.
Moreover, according to his understanding of her, this race was actually not in her advantage zone. For her to challenge a G1 right after returning to the track was already a big risk and uncertainty. And what was important was that this race had no advantages for her.
Some said she was good at mile and middle-distance races, but this was not an accurate summary. If you looked at her past race records, you would find that her results were often one of two extremes—either she would lead from start to finish and win the championship, or she would fall far behind and not even make it to the gate. This was related to her own limitations.
According to his tests, her best distance was between 1800m and 2200m, which was a relatively narrow range of adaptation for a horse girl. This meant she couldn't participate in most G1 races, like the 2400m Japanese Derby, the 2500m Arima Kinen... these extremely influential races, she would have difficulty winning due to her running style, tactics, and physical limitations.
And she was good at left-handed races, that is, counter-clockwise races. And this Mile Championship was a 1600m clockwise race. Under various unfavorable factors such as distance, turning, and strong opponents, he really couldn't say he was optimistic about her chances.
—But even so, he chose to support her, to believe in her. Otherwise, he would not have agreed to her using this race as her comeback, especially since she was now one of his charges.
As long as in this race, she could stand up to her nightmare and show her true strength, then it was all worth it for him to do.
"Don't worry, Trainer-san. Suzuka-san will definitely do her best not to disappoint your expectations."
And at this moment, he suddenly felt a warm weight and voice from behind. The next moment, he saw C.B. skillfully place a shawl on his shoulders, and then, before the nearby Nakayama Festa could react, she immediately pulled away to a safe distance.
Clearly, these two months of getting along had made her completely familiar with the situation in his team. And in these two months, Festa and Gold Ship also clearly knew that C.B. and Silence Suzuka were now a part of their team.
Although when she first learned that this senior had inexplicably joined the team, Festa had had a falling out with him. But in the end, she had to get used to the existence of the two girls, especially since her own nature told her that him helping Suzuka get out of her shadow was actually a very commendable good deed.
It's just that... Suzuka's appearance made her, who was already very unconfident in herself, feel a crisis again. And this crisis was not just in terms of strength, but more of a threat to her team status...
Festa always felt that Suzuka really had the potential to shake her position as the "first charge," but she couldn't say why this feeling came, and with a belly full of emotions she didn't know who to vent on, she could only say to him with a somewhat unconvinced tone:
"I don't think so. It's been a long time since Suzuka-senpai has competed. To go straight for a G1 race... Taiki Shuttle and Seeking the Pearl are both very strong in the mile. Especially Taiki Shuttle, she's famous for her explosive escape, just like Suzuka-senpai."
"Oh? It seems our little Festa is a little unconvinced with Suzuka."
However, the complaint and a hint of jealousy in her tone were naturally heard clearly by C.B. But she just rolled her eyes slightly and said to the jealous Festa with a smile:
"But Trainer Kitano and I are still full of confidence in Suzuka—how about it, little Festa, want to make a bet with me?"
"Oh? What's the bet?" And the moment she heard the word "bet," she immediately reacted. Her original jealousy was immediately thrown to the back of her mind, and she looked at C.B. with interest.
"Let's bet on whether Suzuka-san can win this race." And seeing that she had taken the bait, C.B. smiled and proposed the bet. "If she loses, for the next month, I'll do whatever you say. As long as it doesn't violate any principles, I'll do whatever you ask."
"And on the contrary, if she wins..." At this point, C.B.'s gaze lingered on his face for a moment, and then she proposed a request that would be extremely embarrassing for Festa:
"Then please, Nakayama-san, you and your trainer, and Suzuka-san, all give each other a hug to show that you've reconciled. How about it?"
"Cough!" As expected, when it came to hugging him, Festa's cheeks flushed slightly, but as a natural gambler, she did not back down and said with a forced composure:
"Alright, it's a deal! You just get ready to serve me tea for the next month."
With that, she forced herself not to think about what would happen next and shifted all her attention to the racetrack. And behind her, C.B. and he exchanged a smile and gave each other a thumbs-up, everything unspoken.
"You're really something, C.B. You figured out how to get along with Festa so quickly."
"You're too modest, Trainer-san. The method I just used is one you can't use. So let me do it. You can coax her without using this method."
However, he didn't forget to interact with C.B., and his gaze unconsciously fell on the unusually quiet Gold Ship, who was looking at the racetrack, a hint of worry in his eyes.
In these two months, the situation in his team, although a bit subtle due to the addition of Suzuka and C.B., was generally harmonious. And the only thing that worried him was Gold Ship, who had always been cheerful and mischievous but had been unusually well-behaved in these two months.
He knew very well that her abnormality was her normal performance. But now she was acting like a knowledgeable young lady, as if she had awakened her hidden Mejiro bloodline. She was completely different from the Gold Ship who had once pressed him down on the bed and buried him in her chest.
At first, he also suspected this was another one of her pranks, but two months was clearly too long for her pranks to last... What was wrong with her?
And all of this, he also planned to find out from her after this race. Even if she was unwilling to tell him in the end, it didn't matter. He just hoped she could still be like before, and not suppress too many thoughts in her heart.
"Number fifteen, Silence Suzuka, has been assigned to the outermost gate, which is not a good position for an escape horse. Then this time, the showdown with Taiki Shuttle, who is also an explosive escape type, can be said to be the most eye-catching highlight of this race!"
"Explosive escape vs. explosive escape. Then is it Silence Suzuka who returns as a winner, or is it Taiki Shuttle who defeats her senior and takes the title of the strongest mile escape horse of the new era?"
Undoubtedly, everything the announcer said was what all the spectators wanted to know most at this moment. Suzuka's return this time was a surprise, but how much of her past strength did she still have? Could she still run a beautiful big lead like before?
And at this moment, Suzuka, in the gate, had no reaction to the outside world. Her spirit was unprecedentedly focused, her gaze only on the racetrack before her. She would no longer be afraid, no longer hesitate. She would win just like before!
Because she could feel it... he was standing with her, he was watching her!
Her racing silks today were slightly different from usual. Between her skirt and top, a very harmonious blue-green belt was tied around her waist. And the only object hanging from that belt was the "Special Week" plush toy he had given her.
He had said that this would give her courage. Although in the two months of adjusting her condition, she hadn't felt any actual help from this plush toy, but just thinking that it was a gift from him, she had carried it with her ever since.
This would not become her burden, but rather her courage to move forward. This time, she would not be afraid anymore!
CLANG!
"They're out of the gate! All the horse girls have made a beautiful start, a very good sign!"
"Now we can clearly see—as expected! Number 15, Silence Suzuka, with her familiar explosive escape, was not affected by the unfavorable position at all, rushing from the outermost circle to the front of the pack! She's slowly approaching the inside lane!"
"And now, number 2, Taiki Shuttle, has also rushed up! Is the long-awaited showdown starting now?! The showdown between explosive escape and explosive escape!"
On the racetrack, Suzuka's green racing silks and Taiki Shuttle's blue ones, the two explosive escape figures clashed head-on right at the start of the race. And Suzuka, who was meeting a horse girl with the same explosive escape style for the first time in a race, while trying her best to get to the inside lane, couldn't help but lock her gaze on Taiki Shuttle.
For the first time, she could still see a horse girl in her field of vision. And after less than 200 meters, she quietly discovered that her speed, after not competing for a long time, was... on par with Taiki Shuttle's?
-------
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