In a corner before the stands filled with roaring cheers, Gold Ship eagerly waved to Kitasan Black and Duramente, her grin spreading even wider as she glanced sideways at her companions.
"Hey, c'mon, say something already…"
Wearing a similar grin, Vodka kept waving, though she replied gloomily, "What do you want us to say at a time like this? After that kind of finish, who could've imagined Kita-chan losing…"
As if choking on his words, Gold Ship's face also turned troubled.
"That's exactly what I thought, so I asked how you guys plan to comfort Kita-chan…"
"Well…"
Vodka hesitated, glancing sideways at Daiwa Scarlet. "Scarlet, what do you think…?"
"I mean…if you got chased down by that kind of speed, how would you feel?"
Daiwa Scarlet was also waving toward Kitasan, but hearing this, she pretended to fix her clothes, lowering her head thoughtfully.
"There's nothing to be done…"
"Huh…?"
Vodka was taken aback. "Then…what do we even say to Kita-chan when we see her…?"
"Hey, Kita-chan isn't as fragile as you think, alright?"
Daiwa Scarlet's tone suddenly grew irritated. "If I had to say anything at all, it'd just be…next time, run away faster."
"Faster…? Didn't Kita-chan already run fast enough?" Vodka's gaze shifted involuntarily between Daiwa Scarlet and Silence Suzuka.
Noticing Vodka's look, Silence Suzuka exchanged a glance with Scarlet before falling quiet a moment, shaking her head.
"Kita-chan…isn't a speed-type front-runner."
"If it were me, I would've stretched the lead to ten lengths before the final straight. Only that kind of distance can withstand Duramente's kind of late kick."
"But that style might not work for 2400 meters at Tokyo Racecourse. Opening such a gap so early risks hitting the wall before the finish."
"And…" Suzuka's hand nervously rubbed against her thigh.
"High-speed leading… Kita-chan does have outstanding stamina, but a high-speed front run carries huge risks. She's not suited to that kind of racing."
"Then…that's…"
"Kita-chan has already pushed her speed to the absolute limit."
Just as Vodka was fumbling for words, Tokai Teio—who had remained silent up until now—suddenly cut in:
"She also handled the race perfectly."
"Starting from an outside gate, maintaining such a fast pace in the first half—Vodka, Spe-chan, you know better than anyone how big a disadvantage that is in the Derby."
"Actually, aside from McQueen and Scarlet, all of you have raced the Derby before. You understand exactly what I mean."
At her words, aside from Mejiro McQueen and Daiwa Scarlet, the other Uma Musume glanced at each other before letting out resigned sighs and nodding slowly.
"After dealing with the outside gate and the fast first half, Kita-chan had to reclaim the lead, stretch the distance again, adjust rhythm and stride—each of these consumes massive stamina."
"To be honest…" A complex relief flickered across Tokai Teio's face. "When she reached the uphill final stretch…I really thought she might lose steam right there."
"But just as Scarlet said, I also don't think Kita-chan's the type to collapse and sob hopelessly because of one defeat."
Suddenly changing her tone, she tugged the corner of her lips into a faint smile to lighten the mood.
"Her path ahead is still very long, and there'll be many more races like this one. She won't be knocked down this easily."
"If we must say something to her now, I think…"
Her gaze subtly shifted to the side, lips pressing slightly together.
"It's not our turn yet."
Several Uma Musume followed Tokai Teio's gaze, realizing that Kitasan Black's assigned trainer was standing beside them.
Right now, the one who was probably most concerned, most eager to speak with Kita-chan, and facing the most complicated feelings—had to be Yasui Makoto.
Their whispered discussions, no matter how well-meaning, would only add unnecessary pressure on him.
Yet Yasui Makoto hadn't paid much attention to their chatter at all.
After the results appeared, he'd stared blankly at the scoreboard for a while, then fixed his eyes solely on the girl beyond the finish line.
When she finally stood directly in front of the grandstand, waved to the crowd, met his gaze, waved again, then exited, Yasui turned to those beside him.
"I'm going to see how Kita-chan is doing. You all…"
He paused mid-sentence, suddenly noticing their faces.
Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen appeared relatively calm, but the rest were all clearly worried, their gazes wandering anxiously between him and Kitasan's departing figure.
"You all…what's wrong?" Yasui asked hesitantly.
After a moment's pause, exchanging glances with friends, Daiwa Scarlet forced a small smile and spoke up first:
"Well…it's just…even though Kita-chan didn't win today…we all know she did her best. Yasui-san, you too. So…"
"Right! Plus, breaking the Derby record itself is already amazing!" Gold Ship quickly chimed in. "Far better than me back in the day, am I right?"
"For Golshi to actually say something like that…" Special Week murmured half aloud, until Silence Suzuka subtly nudged her elbow. Quickly realizing her mistake, she hurriedly corrected herself:
"R-right! Kita-chan performed incredibly today. She really was amazing!"
After quietly signaling Special Week, Suzuka, along with Vodka, cast their worried and comforting gazes at Yasui.
Similarly, Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen were watching him closely, eyes filled with similar emotions.
Suddenly understanding that all these Uma Musume were trying to comfort him, Yasui felt an unexpected warmth in his chest, and smiled faintly.
It wasn't as if he'd never faced defeat before.
Compared to the famous Uma Musume standing here, what he'd experienced in his own past might even have been harsher.
Extreme Acrobatics were mostly performance-oriented, but competitive events existed too—and those competitions, almost without exception, truly meant risking one's life.
Take slacklining speed contests on cliffsides or rocky slopes—
Winning or losing aside, a single mistake meant an immediate trip to emergency care—and that was considered lucky.
Not to mention wingsuit flying championships, extreme downhill skiing, whitewater rafting…
To even enter these competitions required going beyond your absolute limit. Unreserved effort was merely the basic requirement.
Having experienced all that, Yasui knew clearly how to face the meaning of talent, of genius—and how to calmly accept the outcome even when all-out effort wasn't enough for victory.
Of course, accepting didn't mean he could easily swallow defeat.
The moment results were confirmed, after the blank shock faded from his mind, he'd immediately started thinking about the next race.
Whatever was lost on the track must be regained on the track.
But he didn't need to say that out loud.
Competition was simple—win or lose, nothing more. He'd long understood this principle, knowing the only real way to accept defeat was to win the next time.
Still, he'd never clearly conveyed this to Kitasan before.
Looks like I still missed something—I still have things to learn…
Thinking briefly, Yasui looked at the Uma Musume gathered before him and shook his head gently.
"Thank you all. Honestly speaking… I'm really alright."
"Rather than worrying about me, I think Kita-chan probably needs comfort more."
"I'm headed to the medical room now—do you all want to come along?"
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T/N: OUGHHHH BEATEN BY RNGGGGGGGGGG IF SHE WASNT IN THE OUTSIDE GATE SHE WOULD HAVE WONNNNNNNNNNN WAHHHHHHHHHHH