"She's crossed the line! The Japanese Derby! The winner is Special Week! Taking the lead in the final straight! Defeating the two strong rivals, Seiun Sky and King Halo! Winning this G1 race, which a horse girl can only challenge once in her life, the most popular of the Classic Triple Crown!"
"The luckiest horse girl wins the Derby. Now, Special Week has proven with her strength that her victory is by no means just luck! She is a horse girl who can be called the leader of this Golden Generation! Let's congratulate her!"
On the track of the Japanese Derby, the roaring crowd, everyone was cheering and applauding for this horse girl who had stood out from this "Golden Generation" with her true strength. And as the winner, Special Week, at this moment, a rare smile appeared on her stern face. She raised her fist high, confirming her victory in the most eye-catching way.
And this action of hers pushed the excitement of the scene to another level. Even in a fan club composed of Tracen horse girls, a series of extremely high-pitched hormonal screams were emitted!
"Spe-sama! I love you!"
"Spe-sama is so cool!!"
"Just become Japan's strongest like this!!"
"Spe-chan... is really popular." And in the same stands, as the other two of the so-called "Golden Generation," Grass Wonder and El Condor Pasa, were now listening to the deafening cheers of Special Week's fan club behind them. There were even many fanatical horse girl fans, each wearing a purple cheering uniform that matched Special Week's racing silks perfectly, waving fans with the words "Bite Me" printed on them, and wailing. This scene made El Condor Pasa a little speechless.
"But this is too exaggerated, right? Grass-chan and I aren't as popular as Spe-chan now, right?"
"That can't be helped. Spe-chan is the star of Japanese horse racing now." Grass Wonder, a horse girl with American bloodline just like El Condor Pasa, was not at all bothered by Special Week's high popularity. On the contrary, she looked at Special Week on the track with a particularly determined gaze and said, word by word:
"Besides, Spe-chan is really cool. She's strong and cool. Remember when she had just enrolled for a week and was voted the coolest new horse girl? Some people even said that in terms of temperament alone, Spe-chan is not inferior to the President or Fuji-senpai."
"I can't deny that."
And Grass Wonder's words made El Condor Pasa unable to deny it. She had originally thought that Special Week was just a country horse girl from Hokkaido. Although she did not look down on her, as someone who had received extremely formal horse girl education since she was a child, she had initially felt that the half-way debut Special Week was not as good as her.
And in fact, her and Grass Wonder's careers in the past two years seemed to prove this point. Since Silence Suzuka, who had defeated them in the Mainichi Okan, had retired due to her fracture and her trainer's death, Grass Wonder and El Condor Pasa had begun to show their true dominance on the Japanese racetracks, as well as a strength far superior to most of the Japanese horse girls of this era.
However, since Special Week had begun to show her talent on the racetrack, El Condor Pasa's stereotype that the Japanese horse girls of this era were not as good as her had also begun to subtly change...
"It's strange. Spe-chan's foundation is surprisingly solid, but her speed is not very fast, her final kick's explosive power is not among the best, and her stamina seems to be slightly worse than yours, Grass-chan."
"But... she just has a very strong desire to win, a kind of fighting spirit that she must win. This is really scary."
Even though she had not competed with Special Week, even just by watching, El Condor Pasa and Grass Wonder could see her extraordinary dedication to the race—this dedication to victory was something they had seen in another horse girl before... that was Silence Suzuka, who had once defeated them.
"Trainer Kitano has been dead for a year... I never thought that Spe-chan would be the one to pick up his mantle and inherit Suzuka-san's belief."
"Be careful, El. If there is anyone who can compete with us now, perhaps Spe-chan is the biggest variable."
"...Grass-chan, you really think highly of Spe-chan." And hearing this, El Condor Pasa couldn't help but cast a strange look at Grass Wonder beside her. She saw that this Yamato Nadeshiko's gaze had been on Special Week on the track from beginning to end. Seeing the somewhat lonely look in Grass Wonder's eyes, El Condor Pasa couldn't help but sigh:
"It's a pity. Spe-chan has never been very sociable. She's always fierce towards everyone in the academy. I even heard that she bit the neck of some filly who tried to get close to her."
"And rumor has it that she hates chestnut-haired horse girls... honestly, I don't know how she gets along with Suzuka. They usually seem so stiff, but I feel their relationship is actually very good—they both wear that doll pendant that looks like them!"
Speaking of which, a mischievous smile appeared on El Condor Pasa's face. Looking at Special Week slowly leaving the track, and the doll pendant that looked very much like Suzuka hanging from her racing silks, she, who did not know the truth, also teased:
"If there's a chance in the future, let's try to secretly put Spe-chan's doll somewhere else. I really don't know what expression she would make then."
"El"
"Eek—j-just kidding! Just kidding, desu~"
...
After the Japanese Derby, Special Week, after a moment of joy, returned to her usual cold self. She rejected the celebration party proposed by Seiun Sky, who had also competed in the race, and walked alone towards the locker room.
Tap, tap, tap.
However, at this moment, from the other end of the tunnel, a sound similar to footsteps, but also like tapping, came slowly. Although the steps were very slow, Special Week knew very well who was coming and immediately stopped.
A moment later, she saw a familiar figure with long, reddish-brown hair, Silence Suzuka, walking slowly from the other side of the tunnel with a smile. And from her hair condition, and her face, which was still a little pale but much better than when they first met, it seemed that Suzuka, in this period of time, had also slowly come out of his death with Special Week's "encouragement."
However, compared to her smile at this time, the crutches she was now holding, and her left leg, which was always slightly suspended, also proved the hardships she had encountered during this period.
Since Special Week and Air Groove had seen her self-harming, and Special Week had scolded the seemingly endlessly depressed Suzuka awake, she had been sent to the horse girl hospital for comprehensive treatment. However, the final result was extremely desperate.
"It's no use... all the nerves in her left leg have begun to necrotize. If it weren't for the special constitution of a horse girl, an ordinary person would probably have to have the whole leg amputated."
"What we can do now is to try our best to save her leg. With the current medical environment, and the blessing that the Three Goddesses give to every horse girl... perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope that it will get better in the future."
"It's just... how long it will take, ten years, or twenty years, no one knows."
"But the only thing that can be confirmed is that during this recovery period, she absolutely cannot do any running, otherwise, even if the Three Goddesses show their power, this leg will probably be completely unsalvageable."
This result, for any horse girl, could be said to be no different from being sentenced to death. This not only ended a horse girl's career, but even deprived her of her rights as an ordinary horse girl.
From then on, her mobility as a horse girl would be more difficult than that of a healthy ordinary person. This, for a horse girl who had once dominated the racetrack with an "explosive escape" and won two G1 races, was undoubtedly a fall from the sky to the bottom. Any horse girl, upon hearing such news, let alone giving up on herself, would probably lose all hope of living.
However, what surprised both Air Groove and Special Week was that after learning about her physical condition, Suzuka did not show a trace of sadness or pain. On the contrary, when she learned that she might not be able to run in the future, she actually showed a strange smile, as if she had let go of a heavy burden, and said softly:
"...Maybe this is not bad."
"I don't have to hold on to a glimmer of hope and want to return to the racetrack anymore. Although the end is a bit absurd... I have also fulfilled my promise to Trainer-san, running until the day I can no longer run..."
"Then next... let me take over his last wish. I will live on with his portion, until... I find the next person to inherit him."
"Air Groove-san, I want to become an existence like Trainer-san. I also want to be a trainer."
That day, as if having gained something from this painful price, Suzuka did not wallow in self-pity. On the contrary, she burst out with a willpower different from before. And Air Groove, seeing that she really did not want to die, immediately agreed to her request.
And Special Week, from that day on, became the first horse girl under Suzuka's name.
The reason was simple. It was just because Suzuka was the only person in this world who had a connection to him. Even though Special Week had initially come with the intention of beating up this person who had caused her trainer's death, now, seeing her so heartbroken and now rekindling her hope, her long-accumulated anger really could not be directed at this seriously ill patient who was almost like him.
"You have inherited his will. I will stand with you for now."
"But don't you try to make me think you are him. You can never replace him. Your whole life... will be used to atone for your past."
...But after a year of getting along, Special Week, who held an indelible resentment towards her, had to admit that her two-plus years with him had really made her understand him completely.
Now that she had become a trainer, all her actions and trajectories were like another living him. This was not only reflected in her current inconvenience, which was similar to his, but also in all aspects of her life. Even her personality had quietly changed.
Having lost the ability to run, Suzuka gradually lived into his appearance. Now, her every move towards Special Week was as vivid as if he were still alive.
"You won the race. You did a great job, Spe-chan."
Suzuka, on crutches, had a warm smile on her face that was exactly the same as the him in Special Week's memory. She walked with difficulty to her and took the initiative to reach out a hand. Without caring about the dust and sweat on her, she gently stroked her white bang and said softly:
"I knew you could do it. Now, with this momentum, continue to run."
"...Slap!"
However, faced with her touch, Special Week seemed to be briefly immersed in it for a moment. In an instant, even her expression became dazed. The Suzuka who was reaching out to her seemed to really overlap with the familiar figure of that man in her memory.
But then, the reacting Special Week immediately slapped her hand away. And this time, her reaction seemed to be stronger than any time before.
"You, you are not him! You can never replace him! Never!"
Her resistance this time was unprecedented. Perhaps it was because her "imitation" had really made her mistake her for him for a moment, or perhaps it was the defensive wall that her wounded heart had reflexively erected. Her whole body was trembling uncontrollably as she roared at the still-calm Suzuka:
"Even if you live to look like him, you can never become him! You killed him! It was you who killed him!"
"I will never forgive you, never!"
After a fierce roar, Special Week turned and ran towards the other end of the tunnel, her back looking wretched and fleeing. And behind her, Suzuka, who was silently watching all of this, her gentle expression slowly relaxed.
"...As expected, I still can't become you, Trainer-san."
"I once thought that if I could become you, and I, who had inherited your will and become a trainer, could guide Spe-chan like you... let her run for your dream, just like I did back then."
"But... I'm sorry, Trainer-san..."
"I... as expected, can only be your contracted horse girl."
Suzuka silently looked up at the sky, two lines of clear tears silently falling from her eyes. The face of this horse girl, who was so quiet even when crying, at this moment, seemed to have let go of everything. At this time, in her heart, there was only one last thought.
"Trainer-san... please wait for me a little longer. Now is not the time. Spe-chan still needs me. She still needs your belief. Even if I can't replace you, at least I can be your eyes and watch over her here."
"Please wait for me a little longer... I... will run to find you soon, definitely."
-------
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