"Kita-chan… G-go, break out!"
Kitajima Saburō's eyes were wide, pupils sharply constricted, as if desperately trying to burn this moment into his memory.
His desperate shout burst from his dry throat, hoarse and trembling:
"N-no, no, no—don't force it! Whatever you do, don't force it, Kita-chan…!"
As the old man's cry sliced through the air, the commentator's voice on the loudspeakers rose even higher.
"The pack passes the third turn for the first time and is now entering the fourth turn! The top favorite, Kitasan Black—"
"—Is completely boxed in at this critical moment!"
"Let's confirm the positions!"
"Spirits Minoru leads from the front, and charging up strongly just behind is Red Solomon."
"Musee Alien is third. Lia Fail, who had led earlier, has now slipped to fourth."
"Fifth is Tagano Espresso, and beside her—deeply trapped—is Kitasan Black!"
"Next comes the Pace Chaser group, led by the second favorite, Real Steel!"
"The third favorite, Satono Rasen, is at the front of the Late Surgers!"
"The gaps between the leading group, the Pace Chasers, and the Late Surgers have rapidly compressed here on the turn, and Kitasan Black—"
"There's no doubt—she's completely surrounded!"
The stands erupted in an instant.
Earlier chatter—wondering why Kitasan Black hadn't attempted a Runaway—hadn't even fully died down. This sudden live update landed like a bomb, detonating shockwaves through the crowd. Gasps and cries overlapped into a roar.
A middle-aged man in a gray jacket gripped the railing, face tight with anxiety, shouting in accusation:
"What the hell is going on?! How did she get trapped so badly?!"
Beside him, a slightly heavyset man in glasses nodded, shaking his head with a sigh.
"Yeah… this is awful. I was hoping she'd pull off another big win, but now… this race might already be over."
A young girl holding a Kitasan Black support sign had red-rimmed eyes, her voice wavering tearfully with confusion and worry.
"How could Kitasan-sama end up like this…? Did the trainer mess up the tactics?"
...
Satono Crown, who'd been concerned about Kitasan Black from the start, felt conflicted right now.
She stared at Kitasan Black, glanced back at Satono Rasen behind her, then looked again at Kitasan Black, scratching her head in frustration.
"Seriously, Kita-chan… how did you even get stuck there?"
Even though she'd followed her family's decision to withdraw from the Kikuka Sho and focus on the Tenno Sho (Autumn), she hadn't forgotten their earlier training.
It was true that Front Runners usually struggled to win the Kikuka Sho—but it depended on the situation.
Sometimes, with fewer Front Runners, a skilled leader could comfortably seize the front, naturally unfolding tactics and greatly boosting their chances.
But too many Front Runners turned the opening into a brutal fight. Even winning that battle burned massive stamina—essentially handing advantages to the Pace Chasers and Late Surgers.
This race clearly fell into the latter scenario.
From the leader down to Kitasan Black, there were fully six Front Runners—one-third of the entire field.
Maybe it was coincidence, or perhaps influenced by a friend's Runaway victory at the St. Lite Kinen.
Either way, in a chaotic Front Runner clash like this, every participant suffered damage.
And Kitasan Black was clearly taking the worst of it.
Perhaps because she hadn't forced her way to the lead, she'd fallen slightly further back—normally a good way to conserve stamina.
But being boxed in was a different matter entirely.
Front, left, and behind—surrounded by opponents. With no big difference in abilities, there was no escape unless the race conditions drastically shifted.
At moments like this, the rhythm wasn't hers. She couldn't choose her line. Even her breathing and arm swings would be constrained from three directions at once.
Maybe the physical stamina and mental strain were still manageable, but the psychological toll on her spirit wouldn't be so easily resolved.
Satono Crown thought that if she were in Kitasan Black's position now, she'd be driven insane by the pressure from all sides.
Yet even as she worried about her friend, she felt embarrassingly relieved.
They'd known each other since childhood, lived together at the academy day after day, and faced off on the track many times.
She knew well not to underestimate Kitasan Black's strength.
Especially since the Kikuka Sho tested endurance—exactly where her friend was strongest.
Honestly, before this race, she'd secretly believed Kitasan Black was the most likely winner.
That's why, deep down, she felt relieved that Kitasan Black was now trapped.
Not that she didn't want her friend to win—she truly did—but she also desperately wanted Satono Rasen, from her own family stable, to succeed.
Maybe outsiders wouldn't understand, but she knew precisely how much her family longed for a G1 victory.
That longing was so clear, when she pictured the figures striving at home, the faces of relentless hard work, the repeated instructions and expectations—she couldn't help feeling deeply fired up, alongside a faint but undeniable sense of suffocation.
With Kitasan Black boxed in, this was Satono Rasen's opportunity.
Satono Rasen was in an excellent position: first among the Late Surgers, conserving stamina to the fullest, ready to respond immediately if conditions changed.
She'd hardly be affected by the Front Runners' struggle.
In the best-case scenario, the Front Runners ahead would exhaust themselves in battle, slow down on the final straight, and disrupt the Pace Chasers' lines.
That would be the perfect moment—Satono Rasen could swing wide and surge to the front all at once.
Indeed, that had been a core strategy back when Satono Rasen had still been preparing for the Kikuka Sho.
So, Kita-chan… Rasen… ugh, this is miserable…
Staring at the pack thundering toward the fourth turn, she bared her teeth, cradling her head in both hands and scratching her hair again.
Maybe she was too tense—because suddenly she overheard quiet voices from beside her.
"…Oguri Cap-senpai, in this situation… it'll be really hard to break out, won't it?"
Startled, she turned and saw Bamboo Memory frowning, head tilted as she spoke to Oguri Cap next to her.
"You hardly ever see this happen in sprints, and not much in middle distance either… What do you think, senpai? Do you just have to wait until the final straight?"
"I… I've hardly ever run long distance at all."
Oguri Cap answered hesitantly, then quickly nodded.
"But I remember Super Creek saying something about this."
"Super Creek-senpai?"
Bamboo Memory's eyes lit up as she hurriedly tried to recall.
"She ran into this too? In the Kikuka Sho? Or another long-distance race?"
"Only Kyoto's long-distance races."
Oguri Cap nodded again, watching the pack approach the exit of the fourth turn. She raised a hand, pointing ahead.
"Getting boxed in isn't rare in long-distance races. On most tracks, there's almost no chance to break free."
"Especially in the Arima Kinen. The Kyoto Racecourse is different. Coming out of Kyoto's fourth turn, there's a brief chance to escape the box."
"But that chance…"
"Only appears for an instant."
---
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