Team Pleiades made it a rule never to refuse an invitation for a joint practice. This policy was born from Rampage's own experiences in Team Canopus; she knew firsthand that nothing sharpened a racer's instincts like running against varied, high-level opposition. Her own senses had been honed through brutal bouts with legends like Tamamo Cross, Oguri Cap, and Super Creek, and frequent mock races with Ikuno Dictus and the others. While mock races with Team Nemesis were her current "bread and butter," lately, the requests were targeting Rampage herself.
"You think you can pass me at that speed? Don't make me laugh!" Rampage's voice cut through the wind.
"Then I'll just have to shut that mouth of yours with my results!" Brian roared back.
Pleiades had yet to debut its first official trainee, so Rampage—still the team's most prominent and powerful asset—often took the track herself. On this particular day, she was holding a joint session with the heavy hitters of Team Rigil.
The setting: 1600 meters on turf. The objective: A simulation of the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes.
Neither Narita Brian nor Fuji Kiseki had stepped onto the grass expecting to actually beat Rampage. While she was known primarily as a ruler of middle distances, her strength didn't diminish a fraction in a mile. In fact, the thought that she could likely set a world record in the mile if she put her mind to it was enough to give anyone the shivers. Right now, Brian and Fuji were doing everything in their power just to stay in her slipstream.
"She's holding back," Biwa Hayahide observed from the sidelines.
"She has to," Air Groove replied beside her. "If she didn't, the gap would be so wide the race would be over before the turn."
Hayahide was next in line, waiting for a 2500-meter bout once the milers finished. Originally, it was meant to be a one-on-one between Rampage and Brian, but when Fuji Kiseki had asked to join, they turned it into a three-way heat.
"Here I come!"
"I won't... let you away!"
As they hit the straight, Brian and Fuji transitioned into their final acceleration. It was meant to be the climax of the duel, but suddenly, their legs felt wooden. Despite being in their "kick" phase, their speed refused to climb. A heavy, suffocating fatigue settled over them, turning their limbs to lead.
"Dammit... I didn't see it coming...!" Fuji gasped, her face twisted in self-reproach.
"What the hell?! Why?!" Brian snarled, her anger masking her confusion.
They had been played. They were victims of Rampage's "Illusion Fleeing." By the time they realized they had burned through their stamina just trying to keep her in sight, it was too late. Without a drop left for a final spurt, they watched helplessly as Rampage crossed the line with a massive lead.
"Good grief. Being young is a treat, isn't it? So full of effort, so cute," Rampage teased, looking barely winded as she sipped a sports drink.
"You should acknowledge your own youth occasionally," Hayahide countered, walking up to meet her.
"I'm the elder here, I'm allowed to act the part."
"Logic of a tyrant..." Hayahide sighed.
Fuji and Brian finally reached the finish, gasping for air. Rampage handed them drinks.
"Good work. Here."
"Th-thank you..." Fuji wheezed.
"Don't try to talk yet. Just drink and breathe," Rampage said.
Brian grabbed her drink and downed it in one go, coughing as it hit her parched throat, but her eyes remained fixed on Rampage with a mix of frustration and awe.
"How was it, girls? That's the fastest pair of legs in the world," Hayahide said.
"I thought I understood it..." Fuji admitted, regaining her composure. "I've analyzed her races so many times, I thought I knew the mechanics of the 'Illusion Fleeing.' But when you're actually out there... the fear of being left behind is so intense. You realize if you lose her back, you might actually be timed out. That panic pushes you into an over-pace before you even realize you've broken rhythm."
"There's no point in trying to match my pace," Rampage explained. "The Illusion Fleeing targets exactly those cracks in your mental armor. And I'm being nice—there are Uma Musume who use this style to actively screw with your head, piling on anxiety and irritation until your spirit just snaps."
"So... I fell for it hook, line, and sinker," Brian muttered.
"Don't beat yourself up. Look at it this way: if you can learn to maintain your own pace against me, you can handle almost any other tactic the world throws at you."
Brian grumbled and flopped onto the grass, only to look up and see her sister standing over her.
"I'm up next," Hayahide said. "I'll settle the score for you."
"If you could actually settle scores with her, we wouldn't be having this conversation, Sister," Brian retorted.
"That's cold. Even so, I've decided to run this one for my little sister's sake."
"...Good luck."
"With those words, I feel as though I have ten thousand allies at my back," Hayahide smiled, stepping onto the track.
The next heat: 2500 meters, simulating the Arima Kinen. While Rampage claimed long distances weren't her forte, 2500 was a distance she could still dominate—she was the world record holder, after all. Unlike her training for the Kikuka Sho, this was a distance where she could run "for real," and Hayahide looked visibly fired up.
Brian watched them go. She watched the sister she looked up to and the legend she admired.
Her sister had changed. Purely in terms of raw power, many said Brian was superior, but Hayahide was evolving at a terrifying rate. By competing with her rivals and constantly refining her calculations and tactics, Hayahide had become a formidable force. Brian realized her sister was exactly where she needed to be: a North Star.
Sister... you're the one I really have to surpass.
She wanted to reach Rampage's level, yes, but more than that, she wanted to beat her sister. Next year, she would enter the Classics, and then she would finally be on the same stage as the Seniors. She wanted the Tenno Sho (Autumn), but she'd have to consult her trainer—perhaps winning the Kikuka Sho to match her sister's crown was the better path first.
"Brian, it looks like Hayahide-san is being left behind quite a bit..." Fuji noted, having joined her on the sidelines.
Brian shrugged. "Sister is calm. She never stops thinking, even at top speed. It's a strength I don't have. It's her unique weapon."
"Thinking while running that fast... I can only imagine the kind of high-speed calculations going on in her head," Fuji mused.
Brian nodded. She couldn't do what her sister did. She didn't have the patience for calculated cornering or the mental bandwidth to track every runner's position perfectly. But she had weapons of her own.
"We're coming into the final straight! Sakura Laurel is making her move! Is Team Canopus going to take another G1 just like last week's Juvenile Fillies?!"
The Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. The gateway for those eyeing the Classic path.
As Brian ran, she felt a strange, cold clarity. She couldn't calculate like her sister, but she had two ultimate weapons.
(There. That's the gap.)
The girl in front of her wavered—just a fraction of an inch. Brian didn't "think"; she felt it. Her first weapon: Instinct. A beast-like intuition that allowed her to sense the flow of the race and seize the optimal path instantly. Hayahide created her own opportunities; Brian simply sensed where they already were.
And her second weapon...
"Brian, a gift for you."
"A gift? What's this?"
"It's a Shadow Roll. It helps with concentration. It's your first G1—give it everything you've got."
"...Thanks, Sister."
She didn't know the science behind why the white fleece roll on her nose helped, but the moment she put it on, a profound calm washed over her. It felt like she was carrying a piece of her sister with her. When she wore it, she wasn't alone.
"With this... I am the strongest."
The words were a quiet vow. As she hit the straight, she leaned forward into a "lady-like" deep crouch. The acceleration that followed was nothing short of violent. To the other racers, it wasn't just speed—it was a predatory force.
"Sakura Laurel is still in the lead—no! Here she comes! Narita! Narita! Narita Brian is storming up the outside!! Unbelievable! What a closing kick! She's caught Laurel! Two lengths! One length! They're level! Narita Brian is flying! She blows past Sakura Laurel and she's still pulling away! What sheer power! Narita Brian hits the wire! A dominant victory for Narita Brian! Team Rigil has halted the Canopus momentum!!"
"This is just the beginning," Brian whispered to herself.
"Brian-chan..." Sakura Laurel panted beside her. "Next time... I won't lose."
"I know. But next time, I'll be the one who wins again."
Brian looked into Laurel's piercing eyes with a gaze that struck back just as hard, then reached up to gently pat the white shadow roll on her nose.
[Postscript: Mejiro Rampage After Retirement]
Rampage developed a peculiar daily habit during her years as a broodmare: watching horse racing on TV. It started during the final leg of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi's Triple Crown bids, when a thoughtful groom turned on the TV so she could see her "children" compete. From then on, she made sure to watch every race featuring her offspring. Whenever they won, she would neigh happily and give the grooms a look of supreme smugness, as if to say, "Of course they won. Look who their mother is."
On days when there were no races, she would occasionally pester the staff for the "broadcast," leading them to watch variety shows or news together. She became famous not as a horse who "read the papers," but as the horse who enjoyed prime-time television.
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