In the time Urara spent starting late and thinking about tactics, she'd already fallen three lengths behind.
Urara gathered everything she had and sprinted forward with desperate energy. Incredibly, impossibly, she actually took the lead.
Even though she'd only opened up a one-length gap, it was still the lead.
"Urara's in the lead... the, the first time..." Her voice caught with disbelief, barely able to process what was happening.
"Okay, just escape to the finish like this! Today, Urara's going to win!"
The sight of her leading the race stirred more than a few hearts. Trainers and other Uma Musume, ones she didn't even know had gathered at the venue, drawn by something they couldn't quite put into words.
"Go, Urara!"
"Go, Urara-chan!"
Several people Hayato didn't recognize had appeared, all of them cheering for her with genuine passion.
There was one person Hayato did recognize, the cafeteria lady in charge of Tracen's meals. She'd run over without even taking off her apron, flour still dusting her hands.
Urara's hometown was in Kochi Prefecture. She'd always run dirt short-distance races there. If she tried to run on turf, her aptitude was so poor she'd burn out right after the start. She simply couldn't handle turf racing.
She hadn't won back home either. It wasn't just a stats problem. She trained harder than anyone, but racing wasn't as simple as looking at overall numbers.
Being able to come to Tracen Academy at all was only possible because so many people believed in her and supported her dream.
"Go, Haru-chan!" Seiun Sky's voice rang out clear and strong.
She could already tell Urara wasn't going to win this race. But that didn't matter right now.
"Go, Urara!" Even Hayato raised his voice, joining the chorus of support.
"Trainer Hayato, so you're here too!" Super Creek found him by following the sound, appearing at his side.
"Super Creek? You came to watch Urara's race?"
"Yeah, same as you." She turned her attention to the track and added her voice to the rest. "Go, Urara!"
"Huh? A corner?" Urara had charged forward too hard and completely forgotten about the turn ahead. By the time she realized, it was already too late to adjust her speed properly.
Her pace dropped sharply as she struggled through the corner, and worse, exhaustion was already setting in. Even before the turn, she'd started losing speed.
One uma musume after another passed Urara, and the gap just kept widening with each one.
Even with decent stats, if you didn't understand the rhythm of your running style, none of it mattered.
With her current abilities, she could have easily dominated elementary school races in Kochi Prefecture. The potential was there.
What a shame, Hayato thought, watching her struggle. If she'd been properly coached beforehand...
But even as Urara fell further behind, the voices cheering for her never stopped. Not once.
One uma musume running alongside her became even more exhausted than Urara—badly enough that she gave up completely. Urara managed to pass her as the other girl slowed to a walk.
The race still had six hundred meters remaining. Having burned through her stamina, Urara struggled with each step forward. Her strength was disappearing bit by bit, forcing her to run at the absolute lowest average speed just to keep moving.
"I can't... I can't do it..." Her breathing came in ragged gasps. "How did this happen?"
"I learned from Sei-chan... I practiced so hard... I ate all those carrots this morning... Why isn't my strength enough?" Her legs felt like lead, each stride requiring conscious effort. "Maybe... maybe next time I need to eat even more..."
---
Nakayama Racecourse.
King Halo was still in the lead, completely dominating as she entered the final slope.
The last fifty meters. She led by three lengths from the other uma musume.
"What?!" King Halo glanced back at the uma musume behind her in disbelief, then dug even deeper and pushed harder toward the finish.
"Crossing the line! Let's congratulate King Halo on winning this race! She's proven herself with an overwhelming performance!"
King Halo crossed the finish and immediately tumbled to the ground from the momentum. After scrambling back to her feet, she let out a cry of genuine anguish. "I still lost!"
She'd only won by opening up a three-length gap. Compared to Seiun Sky's dominating performances, it fell far short.
The problem was clear, hers had been the classic line while Seiun Sky ran in the open class. You could already see the difference just from that.
Even winning the race with this kind of result left her feeling completely unsatisfied.
"What are you talking about, King Halo? You clearly won the race." Another uma musume reminded her while still trying to catch her breath.
"No, I lost. I didn't win at all. How can winning by only three lengths even count as winning? It should be by a huge margin at the very least."
----
"Huh?"
After each uma musume had crossed the finish line, Urara headed toward it with heavy, dragging steps.
Along the way, she spotted another uma musume who looked absolutely spent. Drawing on the last scraps of willpower she had left, Urara managed to speed up just enough to pass her before continuing forward.
In the end, she reached the finish line in sixth place.
She stood there for a moment, chest heaving as she pulled in several deep breaths.
Then she tried to smile. It was automatic, muscle memory from a hundred races before this one. The corners of her mouth lifted, her cheeks tensed, but the smile wouldn't come. Something inside her chest felt too tight, too heavy. Her lips trembled instead, the expression falling apart before it could form.
She felt it then. Wetness gathering in the corner of her eye, warm and unwelcome.
The tear clung to her eyelashes for a heartbeat, suspended there like it was giving her one last chance to stop this. Then it broke free and traced a slow, burning path down her cheek. She could feel every single inch of its descent, hot against her skin.
Her hand came up slowly, fingers trembling as they touched her wet face. When she pulled them away, they glistened in the light. She stared at them, confused, like she didn't understand what was happening or why her face was wet.
Then another tear fell. And another.
Her vision started watery, everything blurring as her eyes filled and spilled over. The tears flowed freely now, cutting paths down her cheeks, dripping from her chin. Each one caught the light as it fell.
---
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