"So it ended up like this again..."
Standing on the starting line, Kagura looked at Shinzan warming up beside her, then at Trainer Tojo standing not far away as the referee, and let out a helpless sigh.
Racing people for no reason was absolutely not something Kagura wanted to do. She did not have that kind of hobby. Still, she did not dislike people who came to challenge her.
After Shinzan proposed running a few laps against Kagura, she eagerly dashed into Trainer Tojo's office to find her own trainer. Kagura followed her in to show her face as well. In the end, after the two trainers heard the idea and discussed it, both decided it sounded fine. So they made arrangements on the spot and borrowed out a track for the two Umamusume that afternoon.
The distance both trainers settled on was 2000 meters. For both of them, it could be considered one of their favorable distances. Watching Shinzan stand on the track brimming with fighting spirit, poised and ready to spring forward, Trainer Takeda felt as though he were seeing the Shinzan of years ago, back when she still raced in all her glory. The sight left him momentarily dazed.
"Just so we're clear, little one, I don't know how to spell the words 'go easy.' Every opponent I value deserves my full strength."
Shinzan said that with a grin while warming up beside Kagura, as though giving her advance warning.
"Hah... same here. I won't hold back either, Shinzan-senpai."
"Oh? Hahahaha! You really are interesting! Good... very good!"
"Shinzan-senpai really is just as passionate as ever..."
Rudolf, arriving a bit late, heard Shinzan's warm, bold laughter ringing out from the track, and the corners of her lips could not help curling upward. Hearing that familiar energy, she felt as though she had returned to the days before she herself took office as student council president.
"What on earth happened today? I just took a lunch break, and when I woke up I heard Kagura was about to race Shinzan-senpai?"
Naturally, Rudolf was delighted to see a senpai she had not seen in so long. But the instant she heard Kagura was going to race Shinzan, all that delight was blown away by shock. She had dashed all the way to the track before even fixing her hair.
"It's a bit complicated... In any case, Trainer Takeda and I both agreed to it. Tracen is currently lacking senior Umamusume who can serve as real practical sparring partners. The fact that Shinzan is willing to come back and offer guidance is genuinely very important."
Tojo pushed up her glasses. That afternoon, she had spoken with Takeda about whether Shinzan could be asked to come back and give some pointers. Shinzan had agreed, on the condition that she first get to race Inari Kagura. And that was how Kagura had ended up agreeing to this match.
Poor Kagura... she's really going all out just to help Rudolf pick up some experience. Maybe I should get her some kind of gift later...
Thinking about how much effort Kagura was putting in for the team without asking anything in return, Tojo found herself wondering whether she should ask Rudolf what Kagura liked, then buy her something as compensation. She could not keep having her work for the team for free.
This race was not public, and classes had not let out yet for the theory lectures, so the only people at the track were Tojo and the others. As far as Kagura was concerned, that was a good thing. She had been worried that if too many people came to watch, some weird rumor would start spreading around school again.
"You two, are you done warming up? Do you need me to read out the track conditions and race distance again?"
Seeing both Kagura and Shinzan rise into their ready stances, Tojo stepped forward and raised her whistle.
"No need! We both know the conditions already! Start it, Tojo-san! I can't wait any longer!"
"Wow..."
To be honest, Kagura felt Shinzan was the opponent with the highest fighting spirit she had met so far before a start. Her momentum was so fierce that Kagura could feel the pressure plainly. It was probably the strongest sense of threat she had felt from any opponent yet.
Eclipse did not count. What Eclipse gave her was not threat, but the despair of being able to do absolutely nothing.
"Then... three! Two! One! Go!!"
At Trainer Tojo's signal, Shinzan sprang forward almost perfectly on cue. Kagura, meanwhile, hesitated for a split second and started just a little late, chasing after her from behind.
"Kagura's old problem again..."
Tojo had thought Kagura had already corrected that issue, but now it seemed there was still a certain chance of her breaking late. After all, Kagura had also had a rather serious slow start in the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup.
Ah... damn. I think I understand now how Bizen Nishiki felt in those two races...
Running behind Shinzan, feeling that pressure pressing down on her every moment, Kagura suddenly understood what Bizen Nishiki must have felt during those slow starts in the Yayoi Sho and Satsuki Sho. Quite clearly, Rudolf must have been standing on the line back then with the same kind of suffocating oppressive force Shinzan carried now. All it took was for a runner's focus to waver for even an instant because of that pressure, and whether or not she broke late became a matter of luck.
"Your trainee... she's very interesting. She runs Pace Chaser style, doesn't she?"
Takeda Bungo observed Inari Kagura's footwork from behind, rubbed his chin, and revealed a look of interest.
During the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup, he had spent the whole race hearing the commentators go on and on about Runaway, Runaway, but the longer he watched, the more obvious it became that the runner out front was not some Runaway specialist at all. She was simply a Pace Chaser who was absurdly, excessively fast.
"Yes. At first I thought Kagura was a Runaway runner too. But now it seems she's just plain fast."
Tojo nodded. Like many others, she had once thought Kagura ran Runaway. But Kagura had a final spurt, which was strange. A true Runaway style would not normally leave room for that kind of finish. The fact that Kagura could blast out that fast and still have a final spurt meant she was the same type as Maruzensky.
"She's no ordinary child."
Takeda Bungo could see that Inari Kagura's potential went far beyond this. He could already envision it: the year after Rudolf, this rising star would emerge in full. Perhaps Japan would even witness something utterly unprecedented in its history—Triple Crown champions being born three years in a row. And when that time came, Japan's Umamusume might finally have a real chance to defend the honor of the Japan Cup title.
And yet beyond his concern for such a gifted young talent, Takeda Bungo also had a strange feeling. Inari Kagura looked oddly familiar to him, as though he had seen her somewhere before. After hearing Trainer Tojo describe Kagura's background in broad strokes earlier that day, he was sure he had never seen her before in Japan. If that was the case, then the impression must have come from one of those idle trips he had taken to Europe with the retired Shinzan. But he could not remember when, or where in Europe, he might have seen an Umamusume like her.
"Heh... so you're clinging that closely?"
Shinzan felt the presence behind her never once drift away, and excitement welled up inside her. She knew that presence belonged to Inari Kagura. At first, she had worried there might be trouble after Kagura's slow start, but it seemed Kagura was doing perfectly fine. She could even keep accelerating under the weight of Shinzan's pressure. Shinzan knew now that she had not misjudged her. Inari Kagura truly was a rare genius.
When she herself had still been active, there had been no junior other than Rudolf who could accelerate while staying at her shoulder.
Running behind Shinzan, Kagura was studying her too, trying to analyze her tactics and style. Eclipse had taught her a great deal about racing, but no one ever complained about having more experience. Racing Shinzan was not only about securing a senior's guidance for Rudolf; for Kagura herself, it was also a chance to learn.
My legs feel a lot heavier...
Just like back when she had faced Mejiro Ramonu, Kagura could clearly feel her legs turning sluggish, as if lead had been poured into them. She knew that was the so-called aura.
And Shinzan's aura was on an entirely different level from Mejiro Ramonu's.
Mejiro Ramonu's aura had not covered the whole track, so Kagura had been able to dodge its effects by simply charging out to the far outside. But Shinzan's aura was practically like a field effect. No matter where Kagura moved, she could not avoid it—unless she willingly gave up seven or eight lengths of ground, which was something Kagura would never accept.
If I want to win...
Very few people ever pushed Kagura into this kind of shoulder-to-shoulder state. Usually, either someone blasted her away and left her behind at once, or she was the one who left the other person so far back she could no longer see them. So she rarely had reason to think about how to press ahead and seize the advantage in this kind of situation.
She watched Shinzan's position, estimated the difference in speed between them, and while continuing to accelerate under that pressure, began angling just a little farther outward.
"Trying to take the lead back?"
Shinzan sensed the footsteps behind her shifting slightly toward the outside. She knew Kagura was trying to overtake her, so she raised her speed a little more.
Ordinarily, when an opponent could not pass, the smart play was to tuck in behind the runner ahead, make use of the slipstream, and wait for a turn or some other opportunity to reclaim the lead. As far as Shinzan was concerned, that was one of the better ways to handle the situation. It avoided unnecessary stamina expenditure. If you stayed in that overtaking position, constantly trying to pass but never quite managing it, you would waste a great deal of energy for no good reason.
In the past, once Shinzan raised her pace a bit, the Umamusume behind her would obediently fall back and wait for a better chance.
No... she didn't move back at all...
But after a while longer, Shinzan realized that Kagura's footsteps had not fallen away in the slightest. On the contrary, they were getting closer. That meant Kagura had not backed off—she had chosen to keep accelerating from the overtaking position the entire time.
"Interesting... you're completely ignoring the risk of losing speed. Is this your challenge to me?"
For Shinzan, that kind of behavior was unquestionably a challenge. Her assessment of Kagura rose yet again. She had no idea how it would end, but as a junior, for Kagura to show this kind of courage under that pressure and still challenge her—there was no denying how rare that was.
"In that case... I accept your challenge!"
Answering Kagura's approach, Shinzan accelerated again.
"I feel like this is where she should probably tuck in behind Shinzan-senpai for a while instead."
Rudolf noticed Kagura continuing to accelerate from Shinzan's outer rear flank in the overtaking position, while Shinzan responded by increasing her own speed. Even so, the distance between them was visibly shrinking. Clearly, Kagura's rate of acceleration was greater than Shinzan's, though it was impossible to tell whether Shinzan was still holding anything back.
"That might be true for other Umamusume, but Kagura's tactics aren't something ordinary people can copy. Just watch."
Tojo agreed with Rudolf's judgment. When it came to on-the-spot decisions during a race, she trusted Rudolf a great deal. That was why she rarely laid out very detailed tactics for her—she only gave broad guidance, and Rudolf handled most things through her own judgment during the race.
As for Kagura, her tactics and style were obviously something only she herself could get away with. They were deeply personal to her. If another Umamusume tried to race like this, the end result would be wasting herself until she lost speed and got swallowed by the pack. But Kagura's stamina let her spend herself this freely—she could even wrestle directly with the Shinzan in front of her after a slow start.
"Your trainee doesn't just have speed—her stamina is frightening too. Have you ever assessed what the longest distance is that she can maintain full speed for?"
"According to her, running like this over 3200 meters wouldn't be a problem either. And that's about the longest distance most races ever go right now."
"Maintaining that kind of speed for 3200 meters... what kind of stamina monster is that..."
Takeda Bungo raised an eyebrow. If what Trainer Tojo said was true, then Shinzan was actually making a rather unwise choice right now. He knew Shinzan's stamina limit. If this contest of acceleration continued, Inari Kagura had the ability to simply drag Shinzan down through sheer endurance alone.
The contest between Kagura and Shinzan had never once let up. Shinzan could now feel Kagura's presence almost right on top of her, perhaps only one or two lengths behind, maybe even less. No matter how Shinzan kept inching up her speed, Kagura's relative distance continued to shrink bit by bit. And all the while, Kagura remained slightly to the outside, in a position where she could launch an overtake at any moment.
That little one's stamina is terrifyingly good...
Even in the midst of her excitement, Shinzan found herself genuinely surprised. She had heard Kagura had not even reached honkaku yet. And yet now, Shinzan was already beginning to feel the strain from all this acceleration, while Kagura could still keep pressing her like this?
This is bad... but if I ease off now...
Shinzan immediately realized she had made a wrong judgment by underestimating her opponent. She had confronted Kagura using the common sense of her past experience, without considering that Kagura herself was a being outside common sense. But now she was already riding a tiger and could not get off. After fighting like this for so long, was she really going to hand over the lead of her own accord? And if she did, would she still have any chance of taking it back?
For the first time in a long while, Shinzan hesitated.
And during that moment of hesitation, the two of them burst out of the final turn and onto the final straight. Shinzan suddenly felt the presence behind her rush up close, followed by Inari Kagura's light voice drifting to her ears.
"Shinzan-senpai... I'm coming up!"
"..."
Inari Kagura's full figure finally entered Shinzan's field of vision.
That meant Kagura had completely erased the distance between them.
They were now running side by side.
"Hahahahaha—! Now this is interesting...! Little one! You're the first person ever to push me this far! As a sign of my respect... watch closely!!"
Kagura heard a full-throated, exhilarated laugh from Shinzan beside her. Then she felt the pressure pressing down on her suddenly intensify. Shinzan's speed surged sharply as well, opening the distance between them again by a few lengths. For an instant, Kagura thought she could even see red light flickering around Shinzan's body—but it vanished like a hallucination in the next moment.
"What was that?"
Kagura did not spend much time thinking about it.
All she knew was that she had fallen behind, and now she had to chase with everything she had.
Shinzan had just unleashed the strongest power she possessed. With it, she managed to pull several lengths clear and sprint away. But almost immediately, she felt that presence drawing close behind her yet again. Tilting her head slightly, she saw Kagura somehow back at her side, just a little over a length away—and from there, the distance stopped shrinking any further.
No aura release, no oppressive force... it's not aura, and it's not a field... is this little one really charging forward purely on physical ability alone!?
This time, Shinzan was genuinely shaken.
She had known Inari Kagura's talent was monstrous, but she also knew exactly how much power she herself had just unleashed. That was not something anyone should have been able to withstand by raw physical gifts alone.
If only there had been just a little more distance...
Shinzan had no doubt that if Inari Kagura had been given just a little more room, she would have lost this race without question.
But races did not deal in ifs.
In this match, she still crossed the finish line first—by the narrowest, most dangerous of margins.
"Shinzan—crosses the line first!!"
---
T/N: sfjajfas
T/N2: hehehe sorrgeee well not really but i actually forgot about webnovel LMAOOOO anyway heres ur 4 chapssss
bonus chaps
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