Chapter 22. As Expected
After the Winning Live ended, Shuta An temporarily parted ways with the NHK production crew and brought Mejiro Dober back to the hotel.
"Let's pack first. The flight is tonight." The young man paused for a moment before adding in a calm voice, "I booked first-class seats next to each other."
"Mm~" Mejiro Dober answered softly.
Of course, she understood what he meant by emphasizing "next to each other."
"Trainer, will my next race be the Yasuda Kinen or the Takarazuka Kinen?"
While folding her clothes into the suitcase, Mejiro Dober looked toward the young man helping organize the bedroom and quietly asked the question that had been lingering in her mind.
Shuta An didn't stop moving. He merely turned the question back on her.
"Which one does Dober want to run?"
"The Yasuda Kinen…probably." She hesitated briefly before giving her answer.
Only then did Shuta An pause and glance toward her.
"Can I ask why?"
Mejiro Dober lowered her gaze slightly.
"Because if it's the Takarazuka Kinen, Ryan and McQueen will definitely be there."
Her fingers unconsciously tightened against the clothes in her hands.
"If it were only McQueen, I wouldn't mind. But among the Mejiro Family's generation that carries everyone's expectations, only Palmer and Ryan still haven't won a G1."
"Palmer might really just lack the necessary talent, but Ryan is different. She's always been deeply attached to the Takarazuka Kinen."
Mejiro Dober pressed her lips together softly.
"We have a good relationship, so… I don't want to become the person who crushes her dream."
"So confident you can beat Mejiro Ryan?" Shuta An muttered with a faintly helpless expression.
Still, he didn't reject her reasoning.
"Fine. Since Dober has already decided, then regardless of the reason, we'll use the Yasuda Kinen as the final race of the first half of the year. A showdown of elite milers at Tokyo Racecourse—it's not a bad stage."
Then the young man suddenly smiled.
"Besides, I actually lean slightly toward the Yasuda Kinen too."
"Eh?" Mejiro Dober blinked in surprise.
"Because the Yasuda Kinen takes place earlier." Shuta An calmly explained, "That means we'll gain additional preparation time for the overseas expedition in the second half of the year."
"So there was also that perspective…" Mejiro Dober murmured quietly.
She didn't continue asking about the overseas plans he had already prepared for her.
There was no need.
No matter what kind of expedition route Shuta An arranged, she believed it would definitely be a path worthy of her full effort.
At 8 PM, the hotel's private car delivered the two of them to the airport.
Shuta An walked ahead carrying the luggage, while Mejiro Dober silently followed behind him, her gaze never once leaving his back.
The young man could clearly feel that gaze.
There was anticipation within it.
And uncertainty as well.
"When we arrive in Tokyo," Shuta An suddenly asked while walking through the terminal, "will Dober return directly to the academy, or come with me to Nakayama Racecourse?"
To him, this answer mattered greatly.
"I'll go to Nakayama Racecourse with Trainer."
Mejiro Dober answered without even the slightest hesitation.
"If I returned to the academy first and waited for your reply there…" she muttered inwardly, "wouldn't everything just become vague again?"
What she didn't notice was the subtle relief in the young man's expression after hearing her response.
"That's good."
As he looked through the enormous airport windows toward the brightly lit runway outside, Shuta An quietly muttered to himself:
"Otherwise I'd have to think about asking Tojo to move Taiki Shuttle out of the dormitory building…"
—
At 9:20 PM, the two were already seated in first class, quietly waiting for departure.
Only two first-class seats had been sold on this flight.
Besides them, only the flight attendants remained in the cabin, making the atmosphere feel unusually quiet and empty.
Mejiro Dober sat somewhat stiffly in her seat.
Because she could clearly feel her Trainer's gaze lingering against the side of her face.
Thinking back to the promise he made last week, her throat unconsciously tightened slightly.
"Dober looks nervous?"
The young man's tone carried a teasing warmth she had never heard before. To Mejiro Dober, however, that unfamiliar gentleness felt strangely aggressive. It was the first time he had ever spoken to her with such an atmosphere between them.
"I'm not nervous." She immediately straightened her expression. "Not at all."
Shuta An merely smiled brightly and chose not to expose her bluff. He simply continued watching her quietly from the seat beside her.
If the NHK cameraman had been sitting behind them at this moment, he would probably have secretly kept this footage for himself instead of handing it over to the editing room.
Even the passing flight attendant unconsciously slowed her steps after seeing the two of them together.
Originally, she had briefly entertained the thought of leaving the handsome young man a note.
But after seeing the atmosphere between them, she silently gave up.
When the seatbelt sign finally turned off, Shuta An unfastened his belt and leaned slightly closer toward Mejiro Dober.
"Planning to sleep already?" he asked softly.
Leaning lazily against the seatback, Mejiro Dober tilted her head slightly.
"What about Trainer? If you don't sleep on the plane, are you planning to nap in the Nakayama Racecourse Box tomorrow?" Her lips curved faintly. "Kurofune-chan and the others will also be there, right?"
"Nakayama Racecourse…"
Hearing those words, Shuta An suddenly recalled the conversation from the end of last year.
"The day of the Arima Kinen, while Dober was resting in the waiting room—" The young man looked directly into her eyes. "I went to talk with Mejiro Nagasaki-senpai and the others."
"Talk~"
Mejiro Dober deliberately repeated the word with a smile.
How could she possibly not know what he had actually said back then?
Shuta An helplessly accepted her teasing.
"After that conversation, while walking back to the Box…" His voice gradually slowed. "I kept thinking about something."
He met her gaze directly without avoiding it.
"I'm Dober's Trainer. But the conditions I proposed at the time… were those really things a Trainer should interfere with? Was I truly only speaking from a Trainer's perspective?"
The cabin lights quietly reflected within his eyes.
"Before returning to the Box, I tried very hard to suppress that thought. I forced myself not to examine it further. I buried it deep inside my heart and pretended it didn't exist."
Then the young man slowly reached out and gently grasped Mejiro Dober's pale wrist.
Her skin was cool, like snow touched by moonlight.
"Until last month—"
Shuta An's voice finally lost the composure he had maintained all this time.
"I finally realized something."
His fingers tightened slightly.
"I had already been drawn in by Dober and there was never any path for me to retreat from it."
The cabin remained silent.
Only the faint engine noise echoed softly around them.
Then, while looking directly into Mejiro Dober's trembling eyes, the young man quietly spoke the words he had withheld for so long.
"I'm in love with Mejiro Dober too."
Although Mejiro Dober had already anticipated this confession long ago, the moment Shuta An personally spoke those words aloud, she still turned her face away slightly.
"I can't give you an answer immediately." Her voice softened considerably. "I still need to properly talk with Oguri-senpai and the others."
Yet after saying that, Mejiro Dober suddenly pulled her wrist free from his grasp.
Then, with a faint blush lingering across her cheeks, she extended a finger and lightly pressed against the tiger's mouth of his hand.
"However…" Her gaze flickered slightly. "From now until the very end, I can permit you to hold my hand."
"After tomorrow's Satsuki Sho, Oguri and the others will also be returning." Shuta An's voice unconsciously became gentler. "At that time, I'll bring Dober back. You can take however long you want to talk with them."
Mejiro Dober quietly stared at him.
"I also have things I refuse to compromise on." Her tone carried rare seriousness. "But… I won't reject others either."
—
Late at night, when the flight attendant once again passed through the first-class cabin, she discovered that the only two passengers had already fallen asleep.
Yet even in sleep, their hands remained tightly intertwined.
She merely glanced at them once before silently walking away.
Professional ethics prevented her from prying into the private relationship between passengers.
Even so, she still couldn't help thinking:
"They really look perfect together…"
—
Although it was a JRA race day within the Dream World, the moment Shuta An entered it, he was not standing at any Japanese Racecourse.
To challenge the Queen Elizabeth Stakes together with Tokai Teio, he had come to Randwick Racecourse.
As the first Japanese Racehorse in history to challenge Australia's premier autumn stage, Tokai Teio naturally attracted tremendous attention from both Japanese and Australian media.
Some American outlets even deliberately published provocative articles:
"As Symboli Rudolf's successor, Tokai Teio should have challenged the dreams his father failed to conquer in America. Unfortunately, his team appears intimidated by American racing."
Matsumoto Shoichi had been furious after reading those reports.
He had already privately discussed with Shuta An the possibility of registering Tokai Teio for this year's Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita Park.
But Shuta An himself did not care much about such provocations.
Sitting quietly inside the jockey waiting room, his attention remained completely focused on adjusting his own condition.
Today, Randwick Racecourse would hold a total of eight races.
The Queen Elizabeth Stakes was scheduled as the second-to-last race of the day.
Generally speaking, when a jockey accompanied their ace horse overseas, they rarely accepted mounts in other races. Most preferred conserving energy and fully concentrating on the main event.
However, after confirming Tokai Teio's outstanding condition earlier in the week—and after consulting both Matsumoto Shoichi and the horse owner—Shuta An ultimately decided to ride in seven races today.
Aside from the final G3 Hall Mark Stakes after the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, he had accepted mounts in every race.
"I need to find my rhythm before the main race begins."
While adjusting his gloves, the young man quietly muttered to himself.
"If I can sharpen my senses in the first six races; then by the time I ride Teio, I'll be able to fully bring out my skills."
The first race of the day at Randwick was the Listed Carr Stakes, 1400 meters on turf.
Starting from the innermost gate, Shuta An guided Angel Of Mercy tightly along the rail throughout the race. After entering the final straight, he forcefully drove her through a narrow opening within the pack, breaking out almost recklessly before overtaking all rivals at the final moment.
Victory margin: less than half a length.
Still, a win was a win.
"A tactic like that absolutely cannot be used on Teio…"
Watching from the stands, Uchimura Masanori subconsciously pressed a hand against his chest.
"It's too dangerous. Waiting until the final moment to break through the pack like that is practically gambling with fire."
Matsumoto Shoichi, standing beside him, calmly added:
"It's because Angel Of Mercy himself wasn't especially strong, and his start looked poor. Teio is different." He crossed his arms. "Although he also drew the innermost gate, I've been strengthening his gate practice recently. There shouldn't be any issue."
"That would be best…" Uchimura Masanori exhaled slowly.
The second race, the G3 George Main Stakes over 2000 meters on turf, was held on the same course and distance as the Queen Elizabeth Stakes itself.
For Shuta An, it was an ideal opportunity to further familiarize himself with the track conditions.
The only issue was that Ambidexter had drawn the far outside gate, making it impossible to completely simulate Tokai Teio's future situation.
Following the Trainer's instructions, Shuta An immediately used the whip twice after the gates opened and aggressively urged Ambidexter forward, attempting to seize the lead by force.
Unfortunately, Fat Love from gate 2 had the exact same objective.
Because of the outside draw disadvantage, Ambidexter ultimately failed to secure the front.
However, when Fat Love's momentum visibly weakened during the final straight, Shuta An instantly seized the opportunity and pushed Ambidexter forward in one decisive surge.
At the finish line, the difference between first and second amounted to only a nose.
"Teio definitely won't run like that later, right…" Uchimura Masanori muttered uneasily.
"Teio wouldn't stubbornly fight for the lead that way." Matsumoto Shoichi immediately responded. "Shuta-kun probably only rode that aggressively because it was Ambidexter Trainer's instruction."
—
The third race was the first G1 of the day:
The Champagne Stakes, final leg of Australia's two-year-old Triple Crown, 1600 meters on turf.
Naturally, Shuta An did not receive a favorite-level mount in this race.
Even so, he still forcefully carried his partner into third place, earning four thousand Australian dollars after calculating his riding percentage.
Then came the fourth race:
The G3 Freestyle Stakes over 1600 meters.
This time, riding the overwhelming favorite Skyerush, Shuta An leisurely controlled the race from the innermost gate, maintaining the lead from start to finish before winning by four lengths.
After the race interview ended, the young man quietly muttered to himself:
"I think I'm starting to understand something— The track condition at Randwick today is extremely favorable for front-runners."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Should I let Teio try leading too?"
Later, during the G1 All-Aged Stakes over 1400 meters on turf, Shuta An attempted to replicate that same wire-to-wire tactic aboard Rain After.
However, fifty meters before the finish line, the top favorite Atlantic Jewel overtook him decisively.
The moment he returned after the race, Shuta An immediately abandoned the idea.
"Forget it…" He shook his head lightly. "It's better for Teio to run normally today."
"If I force her into leading and something uncontrollable happens…" His expression gradually became more serious. "That would truly be irreversible."
As the jockey carrying the hopes of an undefeated Triple Crown, Shuta An had unconsciously become increasingly cautious whenever Tokai Teio was involved.
Because more than anyone else—
He feared that a single mistake from himself might become the reason his undefeated title shattered.