Chapter 98: Even If It's Only This One Time, 2000 Meters
With Almond Eye pulling far ahead on the track, the audience broke into cheers and applause, their voices quickly turning into excited chatter.
"Ohh! That kid's amazing! Her name's Almond Eye, right? Looks like she'll become an outstanding racer in the future!"
"I've heard of her. She's from Lord Kanaloa family, right? Supposedly a kouhai to Lord Kanaloa."
"My kid told me the same thing. I heard her family specializes in short-distance races, but I didn't expect her to handle this distance so well too!"
Amidst the noisy commotion, up in the front row of the stands, Kitasan Black shouted gleefully.
"That's it! Just like that! Go, Ai-chan!"
Similar to an official race, this event had a special spectator section set up for the "little trainers," positioned at the very front so they could see the action clearly.
Alongside Kitasan Black were the Satono sisters and Duramente.
In addition, the soon-to-compete REAL STEEL and Danon Platina were also present.
While Kitasan Black was bursting with excitement, the rest of the Umamusumes were left dumbstruck.
Even Duramente, usually so cool and expressionless, was staring with her mouth slightly agape.
"…H-hey, Kita-chan, you… she…"
Stammering, Satono Crown grabbed Kitasan Black's arm, both exasperated and amused.
"Just how exactly are you teaching this kid…? Running like that… isn't that just reckless?"
"Go, Ai-chan, go! —Huh?"
After shouting a few times while hopping in place, Kitasan Black finally noticed her arm being seized.
"Crow-chan, did you just say something?"
"I said…"
Pointing helplessly toward the track, Satono Crown looked back at her. "Isn't that child running completely recklessly— huh? Wait, her speed—"
On the track, Almond Eye, who had exploded out of the gate at an incredible pace, was clearly slowing down.
Although she still held the lead, the gap between her and the other little Umamusumes was visibly shrinking.
The announcer reported the development as well. Perhaps having recovered from the initial shock and confusion, her voice now sounded much calmer than before.
"Now then, Almond Eye's pace has slowed down. It seems her initial burst was meant to secure a better position."
"The other runners have caught on and are now working hard to close in on her."
"Still, Almond Eye's explosive start has left its mark. A few runners were late out of the gate, and now there's a considerable gap."
"At times like this, don't panic—the race has only just begun. Hopefully the runners can keep their composure."
At that moment, Kitasan Black finally understood what Satono Crown was questioning her about.
"How could you call that reckless? Ai-chan is running exactly the way we agreed, okay?"
Pouting slightly, she quickly broke into a smile again. "We decided this morning: don't think too much about this race. Just run however you want, that's all."
Satono Crown, who had been focused on the track until now, turned back at her words, unable to hide her exasperation.
"Run however you want… and you still say this isn't reckless? Who makes that kind of race plan…?"
"Don't get so worked up, Crow-chan."
Somewhat uncharacteristically serious, Kitasan Black rebutted her friend.
"Telling her to run however she wants—that was something I said only for Almond Eye's sake."
"Only for her…?" Satono Crown blinked in surprise.
"That's right. Because the Almond Eye right now is just like me back when I first met my trainer."
Nodding as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Kitasan Black's knuckles whitened against the railing as she gripped it tightly, her eyes fixed on the small figure running down the track. Without realizing it, a smile spread across her face.
"Back then, there were so many things I didn't understand. But my trainer never rushed to explain everything. Instead, he often told me to find my own rhythm, to look for the kind of race I wanted to run."
"Later on, I learned that every bit of training, every race, wasn't nearly as simple as he made it sound."
"He had prepared so much, done so many things behind the scenes. It only sounded simple to me at the time."
"I think Ai-chan is the same way."
"That's why I haven't told her too much."
"Of course, the way she's running now—that's something I've thought through carefully."
"She'll be fine running like this!"
At those words, Satono Crown found herself studying her friend as though meeting her for the first time.
Not just her—Satono Diamond, Duramente, even REAL STEEL and the others nearby who had overheard, all turned their heads toward Kitasan Black.
In their impression, Kitasan Black had always been the cheerful type—warm-hearted, yes, but also careless, overly casual at times.
Yet now, the black-haired girl before them seemed surprisingly thoughtful, carrying a kind of mature composure they had never seen in her before.
"And there's another way Ai-chan is different from me."
Her eyes softened, tinged with sentiment as she continued.
"No matter what anyone said about me—whether it was my grandpa, my dad, my family, or my trainer—they all supported me in running the races I wanted."
"But Almond Eye doesn't have that kind of support."
"She wants so badly to run 2000 meters, but her family won't allow it."
"So if that's the case, then even if it's only this once, I want to be the one to support her."
"To support her in running the way she wants to run."
As Kitasan Black murmured softly, out on the track Almond Eye was charging forward with all her might, her body filled with a sense of freedom she had never felt before.
She didn't know how her senpai had managed it, but she was certain this race was exactly what she had always dreamed of.
Bursting forward again and again, pushing herself to accelerate—this was what her family's training had drilled into her, the very essence of short- to middle-sprint distances.
But she knew mid- and long-distance races weren't only about that.
Secretly, behind her family's back, she had been studying them—how mid-distance required balanced overall ability, how long-distance demanded extreme stamina, how different the Front Runner, Pace Chaser, Late Surger, and End Closer strategies were compared to sprints.
It wasn't that she liked those differences.
It was that through those differences, she wanted to become Almond Eye—her own person—not just "the Almond Eye of her family."
'So… thank you so much, Kitasan Black-senpai…'
Gratitude welled up inside her without her realizing it, but the sharp rhythm of footsteps behind her quickly pulled her back to reality.
Along with them came a frustrated shout:
"Al—mond—Eye—! Don't think you can just run off that easily!"
She didn't even need to look back. From the voice alone, Almond Eye recognized her classmate, Shining Star.
From what she remembered, this girl always talked about "becoming the strongest Umamusume." Whether in studies or training, she carried herself with a constant drive to win.
'"The strongest," huh… what a childish idea.'
'And running off? Do you think I'm doing this just to spite you?'
'Still… you're keeping up pretty well. In that case, right about here…'
Her lips curved into a faint grin. Glancing at the course ahead out of the corner of her eye, the thought of whether to speed up or not flickered through her mind—but she quickly made her choice.
She kept her pace steady, letting the footsteps behind overtake her.
At the very moment they passed shoulder to shoulder, Shining Star smiled and whispered:
"With a pace that fast… are you treating this like a sprint? Better be careful, or you'll run out of stamina and crash at the end…"