Just when Daiwa Scarlet thought victory was in the bag, Vodka came charging from behind, closing the gap with explosive speed.
"Ugh... damn it! Hah..." Daiwa Scarlet tried to pull away again, but couldn't manage it. Vodka's speed was just a fraction faster than hers, enough to keep closing in.
"Hyaaaaah!" Vodka pushed harder, eating up the distance.
"Just a little more, just a little more, just a bit more." Even though this was only a simulation race, Daiwa Scarlet refused to lose. Especially not to Vodka, who lived in the same dorm and argued with her constantly.
Why does it have to be her?
Only now did Daiwa Scarlet realize she'd completely underestimated the strength of central uma musume.
"So fast! Is this really the speed an un-debuted Uma Musume should have?" Several trainers watching couldn't hide their shock at Vodka's performance.
Even Okino lowered his timer, lollipop shifting in his mouth. No need to keep watching, he'd already found his target.
In the final fifty meters, the two uma musume competed without giving an inch, both throwing everything they had left into the finish.
They crossed the line almost simultaneously, so close it was impossible to tell with the naked eye. The photo finish showed Vodka had won by less than a centimeter.
Having crossed the finish, Daiwa Scarlet sat down hard on the ground, chest heaving as she gasped for air.
Vodka walked over and extended her hand, smiling. "I told you first place was mine."
She'd admit Daiwa Scarlet was strong. The win hadn't been easy. But a win was a win, and that meant she was just a bit stronger.
"Hmph!" Daiwa Scarlet ignored the offered hand completely and scrambled to her feet, taking off without a word.
"Hey, hey!!" Vodka planted her hand on her hip, annoyance flashing across her face. "What's with that attitude? I thought an interesting person had shown up, but I didn't expect you couldn't handle losing."
Can't handle losing?
Just as she was about to chase after Daiwa to sort this out, several trainers appeared in front of her, blocking her path completely.
"Vodka, interested in debuting in the Twinkle Series? I can definitely make you a GI uma musume."
"Over here, over here! I can make you a GI uma musume too."
"Vodka, I have extensive training plans. I can definitely lead you to become the strongest uma musume..."
"Not interested! How annoying! Are trainers nowadays all like pushy salespeople?" Vodka swung her arm out, physically pushing the trainers aside with visible irritation. By the time she had space to breathe, Daiwa Scarlet had already vanished completely.
Seeing Vodka's explosive temper on full display, the remaining trainers wisely kept their distance.
Compared to watching Vodka, Hayato wanted to see Urara's upcoming race way more.
Several races passed quickly after that.
Beep beep beep!
Just as it was almost time for Urara's race, his phone went off.
Seeing King Halo's name on the screen, his stomach dropped. Because Urara's race had dragged on, problems were definitely about to hit.
"I'm done for!" Hayato shoved the phone into Seiun Sky's hands without thinking. "Seiun, save me! You've got the most tricks. Quick, think of something!"
At this rate, there was no way he'd make it back before King Halo's race ended. The bathroom excuse was useless now, and traffic jam excuses wouldn't work either.
Seiun Sky calmly took the phone and pressed the answer button.
"Trainer, where are you? I don't see you anywhere. The race is about to start."
Uma musume participating in races arrived at the venue a day early to adjust and prepare, so King Halo had no idea Hayato hadn't gone at all.
"Hah, hah..." Seiun Sky started breathing heavily into the phone, her voice becoming more and more urgent. When she spoke, her tone carried pure fear. "That scared me! Halo, keep your voice down. You almost got me killed."
"Hm? Where's Trainer? Why are you the one answering?"
Seiun Sky's voice turned deadly serious. "We ran into the Juvenile Uma Musume Bandit Gang. Trainer is tracking them right now. Trainer left his phone behind, so I could tell you, he probably won't be able to watch your race."
"What? What bandit gang?"
"The Juvenile Uma Musume Bandit Gang. Someone was planning to kidnap a young Uma Musume right there on the street. The other side has a lot of people..."
"Wait, wait! If it's that dangerous, how could you let him go alone?" King Halo's voice rose with genuine alarm on the other end.
"That's exactly why I followed him, right? Trainer didn't want me to come, but I snuck after him anyway. Can't talk anymore, I'll lose them if I keep talking."
"Then, then you absolutely have to protect Trainer's safety!"
"Don't worry, Halo. Can't you trust me when I do things? That's it, bye-bye!" Seiun Sky hung up and returned the phone to Hayato with a satisfied grin plastered across her face. "Done."
"Won't your nonsense affect her race condition?" Hayato took his phone back and immediately saw another text from King Halo pop up.
At least it wasn't "already called the police." It read: "If you can't win, grab Trainer and run quickly."
Hayato could only reply with a resigned "ok."
"Don't worry, Trainer. I already laid the groundwork before this. Do you think I'd go in with zero preparation?" Seiun sounded completely confident, not believing for a second this would mess with King Halo's race performance.
Before King Halo had left for the race, Seiun Sky had already fired her up completely.
Nakayama Racecourse. Fuji TV Sho Spring Stakes venue.
King Halo walked out from the underground passage with a queen's presence radiating from every step. Each stride was steady and powerful, her eyes carrying the gaze of someone looking down from the top.
"Trainer, you better be okay. And Seiun Sky too, don't think winning one Osaka Hai is such a big deal. I can win a Grade race too. I can win by a huge margin, too. I'm the strongest! I'm the ace of this team!"
Seiun Sky had whispered plenty in her ear beforehand. After hearing that Hayato supposedly valued Seiun Sky the most, there was absolutely no way she could accept that. Not even a little.
Alright, the Uma Musume are all in position and ready to go.
The last day of March, and also the final GII race of the month. Fuji TV Sho Spring Stakes, turf, 1800-meter race. Now—
CLANG—
—begin!
----
The end of the simulation race was about to start.
Urara entered the venue with a spring in her step, bouncing her way to the starting gate with visible excitement.
The red light flashed. The gate crashed open.
CLANG—
All the Uma Musume exploded forward in an instant.
Urara stood there for a beat, blinking.
Then she realized she should be running and scrambled out after everyone else, already several lengths behind before she'd even started moving.
"Wait, what running style was I supposed to use again?"
Her head tilted as she tried to remember, hooves carrying her forward on autopilot.
"Great escape! Right, the great escape means running all the way to the very front. Sei-chan said it's a running style where you go super fast early and then run out of energy late, the complete opposite of the usual save energy early and push hard late thing. But it lets you control the race rhythm better and totally dominate!"
Her face lit up with understanding, completely confident in her recall.
"Haha, Urara's going to do the great escape!"
She smiled bright and certain, pink eyes sparkling with pure joy.
"I can definitely win this time.