Chapter 98. Nice Nature's Thought
"It's fine if we can't interview Tokai Teio now. The URA Association requires every participating Uma Musume and her trainer to attend the Kyoto Shimbun Hai press conference on Thursday. We'll have our chance then."
"Exactly. We only need to wait another two days."
The reporters quickly reached a consensus.
—
Wednesday morning.
Tokai Teio's final gallop before the Kikuka Sho took place at the First Training Ground.
Shuta arrived before dawn and quietly watched as Tokai Teio finished her warm-up.
"Today's workload will be lighter," he said. "Six furlongs in eighty-two seconds. The final three in thirty-eight. Last furlong in twelve. Keep every split on rhythm."
"I understand."
With Mejiro Dober still overseas, Rice Shower following a different training schedule, and Kurofune occupied with her own preparation, there was no suitable pace partner available.
Tokai Teio would complete her final gallop alone.
Around the course, most contenders worked alongside stablemates. Against that backdrop, Tokai Teio's solitary figure almost looked lonely.
Yet no one watching felt sympathy.
What they saw instead was confidence.
"No pace horse—" Leo Durban murmured as she watched Tokai Teio trot onto the course. "She's running alone."
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
"Is this what the confidence of an undefeated Double Crown winner looks like?"
She lowered her gaze.
"It's fine. I still have one chance left. As long as I win the Kikuka Sho—"
Her fingers tightened unconsciously before she bit her lower lip, refusing to finish the sentence aloud.
Not far away, Minamisaka was also watching the training session.
Standing beside him was Nice Nature.
"Nature." His voice was calm. "That's the rival you've wanted to face all this time."
He looked toward Tokai Teio.
"An undefeated Double Crown winner. Trained by the best trainer at Central Tracen since before her debut. Someone who even traveled overseas with her seniors and earned the recognition of Hall of Fame Uma Musumes in America."
He paused.
"Do you truly have the determination—the courage—to stand against someone like that?"
"No." Nice Nature answered without hesitation. "Compared to Teio—I'm just an ordinary Uma Musume."
Then she smiled.
"But once we step onto the Kikuka Sho stage—we're all the same. We're all racers fighting with everything we have for victory."
She brushed the hair beside her ear, looking almost embarrassed by her own admission.
"I know I'm not as gifted as Teio."
"I know I'm only an ordinary Uma Musume."
"But I still want to stand on the same stage as her."
"So that she'll know—that someone like me also existed among our generation."
Tokai Teio and Nice Nature had never crossed paths in the Twinkle Series before.
The two knew each other only because Trainer Shuta and Minamisaka were close friends. To Tokai Teio, Nice Nature was little more than a familiar face.
For Nice Nature, however, things were different.
As one of the strongest racers of her generation, there was someone she desperately wanted to be acknowledged by.
Tokai Teio.
That conviction carried her through two consecutive allowance victories before she captured both the G3 Kokura Kinen and the G2 Kyoto Shimbun Hai, earning her place in the Kikuka Sho.
She entered the race as the third favorite, behind Tokai Teio and Ibuki Kagura, and had complete faith in her aptitude over long distances.
"I'll make her remember me."
She slowly clenched both fists.
"I absolutely—absolutely will."
Her eyes never left Tokai Teio as the latter continued her warm-up alone.
Tokai Teio completed her final chase data exactly as instructed. Every sectional matched Trainer Shuta's prescribed rhythm with remarkable precision.
Looking over the computerized timing data afterward, the young man raised an eyebrow.
"Her pace control has improved again."
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"The training at the Mejiro villa really paid off. The physical therapists there deserve plenty of credit as well."
The thought only strengthened a long-held idea.
"If the Mejiro family ever opened a rehabilitation and counseling center specifically for Uma Musumes—it would probably become one of the best facilities in the country."
After all, a sustainable business would always be more reliable than living solely on the prize money earned by the family's racers.
As he stepped out of the data center beside the training track, his phone vibrated.
Shuta glanced at the screen.
A LINE message from Symboli Rudolf.
The URA Association requests that both you and Teio attend tomorrow morning's press conference.
He typed his reply almost immediately.
I'll attend alone.Teio should be resting.
If refusing results in a fine, tell me the amount. I'll pay it immediately.
The response came back just as quickly.
You don't want Teio interacting with reporters before the race?
Symboli Rudolf already knew that Tokai Teio had been placed under strict media restrictions. Even so, she couldn't help asking.
Shuta's fingers paused over the screen for only a moment before he replied.
It's not that I don't trust Teio.I simply don't trust the reporters.