After the Arlington Million, Shuta An decided to grant Oguri Cap and Silence Suzuka a full month of rest—naturally, this also meant a month-long vacation for himself and Berno Light.
Since the hotel they had booked stood right along the coastline, the three Uma Musume unanimously chose the beach as their daily destination. Shuta An, who had originally planned to sleep through the day in his room, was dragged along as well. In his mind, the difference was negligible—sleeping on a bed or under a beach umbrella made little difference as long as his eyes were closed—so he offered only token resistance.
That plan, however, collapsed almost immediately.
After he had finished applying sunscreen for Oguri Cap and Berno Light, Silence Suzuka quietly called him over. The moment Shuta An saw the small bottle in her hand, he understood her request without a single word needing to be spoken.
"No problem, Suzuka. Turn around," he said calmly, reaching out to take the bottle from her.
Most of the application passed without incident. Yet when his fingers lifted the delicate strap—just slightly, only enough to apply the lotion properly—his heart gave an involuntary jolt. One more step would have crossed a line.
Of course, he stopped there. This was a public beach, after all.
Compared to Oguri Cap and Berno Light, Silence Suzuka's figure could only be described as modest. Still, when the lace-edged strap slipped from his fingertip and lightly snapped back against her already moisturized skin, the faint sound it made—paired with Suzuka's barely audible, reflexive breath—sent heat rushing to Shuta An's face.
Once he was finished, he immediately returned the sunscreen to her, turned away, and lay down beneath the umbrella. Sunglasses on. Earplugs in. His expression carefully composed, as though nothing at all had happened.
Silence Suzuka adjusted her swimsuit. Instead of following Berno Light into the sea, she sat down quietly beside Shuta An, scrolling through her phone.
Oguri Cap, who had finally mustered the courage to head into the water with her friend, cast a brief glance back. Seeing Suzuka seated there, she raised an eyebrow, then turned away again to continue chatting with Berno Light.
Though shaded by sunglasses and dulled by earplugs, Shuta An could clearly sense someone sitting beside him. He made no move to confirm who it was—and, naturally, didn't reach out.
It would be bad if it were Suzuka, he thought. Even if her intimacy value is high—this isn't the right situation.
With the sea breeze brushing against his face, Shuta An soon drifted into sleep. It was daytime, so there was no descent into the Dream World—this was simple, untroubled rest.
Beside him, Silence Suzuka lowered her phone and turned her head slightly, studying the peaceful expression on her new Trainer's face.
"He must have been exhausted for a long time—" she whispered. "To fall asleep so easily in a place like this—I should have let him rest back at the hotel."
After a moment's hesitation, she raised her phone and quietly snapped a photo of his sleeping face. A small smile curved her lips. Turning the screen off, she pressed the phone lightly against her chest.
"Huu…"
Only after letting out a soft breath did she glance toward the shoreline, where Oguri Cap and Berno Light were still absorbed in conversation. Seeing that neither was paying attention, her shoulders relaxed.
"I wasn't seen—" she murmured, barely daring to make a sound, afraid her voice might reach his ears.
Silence Suzuka then lay down as well, turning her head just enough to look at Shuta An's back.
—
"Suzuka-senpai, why aren't you replying anymore?" Tokai Teio pouted from her bed. "I'm so jealous—Florida vacation. I want one too."
"It's only been a few days since school started," Mayano Top Gun replied with a puffed cheek. "Why are you already thinking about vacations? Teio really is a child."
"I am not!" Tokai Teio shot back immediately. "It's just unfair. Everyone else is on vacation except me."
"It's not unfair—you just feel left out," Mayano Top Gun said bluntly, poking right at the truth. "Especially since Suzuka-senpai joined later, but now she feels—closer somehow."
"..." Tokai Teio opened her mouth to argue, then fell silent, unable to refute it.
"It's fine," Mayano Top Gun continued with a grin, wagging her finger. "They'll be back in November. No one's running off ahead of you."
Tokai Teio rolled her eyes, already plotting what excuse she might use to sneak off to Florida. Of course, no matter what excuse she came up with, "her father" Symboli Rudolf would never approve her leaving Central Tracen Academy at this stage.
—
By the time Shuta An woke up, the sun was already high.
"How long was I out?" he asked, still half-asleep, aware of someone beside him.
"Three and a half hours," Silence Suzuka answered softly.
Shuta An's first reaction was to shift his body slightly away.
"I see—Guess I can skip my afternoon nap, then." He propped himself up, stretched, and added casually, "Didn't you go play with Oguri and the others?"
"At first I didn't want to go into the sea right after applying sunscreen," Suzuka replied. "And by the time it felt okay, it was awkward to join them…so I just chatted with Teio-chan."
"Tokai Teio?" Shuta An removed his sunglasses, turning to look at her. "You two are that close?"
"We weren't before," Silence Suzuka said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "But now we're teammates, so…naturally."
"That makes sense." Shuta An looked back toward the sea. "Teio must be having a hard time, though. Watching everyone vacation while she's stuck in training."
"But she hasn't debuted yet," Silence Suzuka said gently. "And Trainer…you have high expectations for her, don't you?"
"I do," Shuta An answered without hesitation. "I'm really looking forward to Teio becoming an undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume."
As for surpassing Symboli Rudolf—that was no longer something the young Trainer fixated on.
After all, he had already done that once.
In the Dream World, Shuta An had already returned to Japan. He didn't grant himself a long vacation—after two days of rest to adjust to the time difference, he went straight back to work.
"It'll be my turn to head to America next summer," Yutaka Take greeted him early that morning, sounding unusually spirited.
"What?" Shuta An raised an eyebrow. "Planning to challenge the American Triple Crown too? Found yourself a partner already?"
"How could anyone invite me to ride in something like the American Triple Crown—" Yutaka Take puffed out his cheeks. "It's just for further training."
"That's not impossible," Shuta An's eyes lit up. "I can help you get in touch with Sunday Silence's Trainer. If you head over early and ride his horses, qualifying won't be an issue. Once the Classic season starts, it'll just be a matter of flying back and forth."
"Oh?" Yutaka Take hadn't expected Shuta An to offer such resources so casually. "Are you sure? Won't that affect your own plans?"
"I probably won't be going overseas next year," Shuta An shrugged. "I'm planning to stay in Japan and seriously aim for the Rider's Grand Prize."
"Then I'll just stay abroad a bit longer," Yutaka Take laughed. "That way, if I lose, it won't look quite so bad."
—
After finishing his riding training and receiving his daily pay from Trainer Setoguchi Tsutomu—the man who was, in name at least, his mentor at Central—the older Trainer spoke with an unusually grave expression.
"Shuta-kun, you'll need to be careful in the upcoming Tenno Sho."
"Huh?" Shuta An blinked. "Careful? About what? Is someone important coming, or—"
"No," Setoguchi Tsutomu shook his head. "I heard Jockey Okabe say that he doesn't want Oguri Cap to surpass Symboli Rudolf."
"So that's it," Shuta An murmured, immediately understanding. "He doesn't want to see Oguri Cap take his eighth G1."
"Exactly," Setoguchi Tsutomu said. "From the Autumn Tenno Sho onward, he'll likely mark you deliberately during the race."
"It doesn't matter," Shuta An replied with a faint smile. "I've been marked before—America taught me that much."
—
Waking from the Dream World, Shuta An stretched and let out a long breath.
"Even here, there's no such thing as complete peace—"
From his experience, something like 'I don't want Oguri Cap to surpass Symboli Rudolf, so I'll target her' would never happen in the real world. It wasn't that Uma Musume wouldn't employ targeted tactics—but they wouldn't do so under such a pretext.
"No one doesn't want to win."
Even if someone claimed otherwise, Shuta An believed that victory was always the true motive beneath the surface.
—
It was a holiday. With no training scheduled, the three Uma Musume left the hotel after breakfast, planning to explore the nearby shopping district. Shuta An didn't stay behind either—just that while they went shopping, he headed toward Gulfstream Park Racecourse.
Located in Hallandale Beach, Florida, Gulfstream Park Racecourse was founded in 1939 and officially opened five years later. Only one G1 race was regularly held there—the Florida Derby, a preparatory race for the Kentucky Derby—but its popularity never waned. The reason was simple: its location alone made it a prime tourist attraction.
For visitors, catching a day of Twinkle Series racing during a trip was an excellent bonus.
When Shuta An arrived alone at the entrance, he was met with a long queue at the ticket booth.
"Today's main race is just a listed event, isn't it?" he muttered inwardly. "How is the line this long?"
Complaining didn't change anything. He obediently took his place at the very back.
Unlike most spectators, Shuta An wasn't there just for the atmosphere. He had come with a clear purpose: to observe the track layout of Gulfstream Park.
Though he had declared a month-long vacation for himself, it was only the second day—and he had already slipped back into work mode.
"What a workaholic," he muttered, then focused intently on the Uma Musume racing on the turf.
In America's Twinkle Series, dirt racing held far higher status than turf. Even so, Gulfstream Park had three turf races scheduled that day, the shortest of which was still 2000 meters.
That suited him perfectly.
After watching just one race, Shuta An reached a firm conclusion.
"Registering for the Breeders' Cup was the right call."
The turf here was even drier than Arlington's, closely resembling Hanshin and Kyoto.
"So for turf specialists, America is actually a better expedition choice than Europe—unless they're truly suited for European courses," he reasoned quietly. "Otherwise, winning chances drop sharply. Even local Uma Musume might struggle here—Rudolph included."
He quickly shook the irreverent thought from his mind.
As the race concluded, Shuta An went to buy snacks—returning with a bucket of popcorn and two large bottles of orange juice. When he came back to his seat, he noticed someone occupying the seat that had been empty just moments before.
He glanced over once, then looked away. Sat down.
"What?"
"WTF? Shuta?!"
The sudden shout nearly sent the popcorn flying.
Shuta An turned, eyes wide. "Eh? Miss Miesque?!"
Sitting beside him was none other than Miss Miesque—the retired Mile Queen of the Twinkle Series.
"What a coincidence," she said, studying him with interest. "What are you doing here?"
Then she smiled. "And congratulations. Arlington Million, Secretariat Stakes—Secretariat was very pleased."
"Well~" Shuta An scratched his cheek. "The Uma Musume I train are preparing to enter this year's Breeders' Cup."
"Oh?" Miss Miesque blinked. "So this will be Japan's first Breeders' Cup expedition."
She leaned back slightly. "In that case, I can help arrange some publicity resources with the organizing committee."
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