After a few minutes of walking, we finally made it to our destination, which turned our to be Team Kitahara's new designated clubroom. And I had to say, I was quite blown away when I first entered.
Not because it was bigger than what we had in Kasamatsu—it was. Not because there were all sorts of gadgets inside that Kasamatsu Tracen wouldn't have been able to afford—they were there too.
Rather, it was because the room was so damn clean. Not a single piece of paper lying on the floor, no books haphazardly stacked like the leaning tower of Pisa. No random knick-knacks scattered around the floor. The entire room was clean and orderly and ready to be used.
I couldn't help but whistle in admiration. "It's super tidy." I said, before frowning slightly. "It's kinda creepy actually."
Probably because I'd become so used to the mess Kitahara always made whenever he studied.
"Well get used to it, girl." Musaka said, giving me a small wave as Kitahara and I entered. "This place ain't going to get trashed while I'm here." He glared at Kitahara. "You heard that as well, you fool? Keep y'erself clean, or I'll throw you in the dumpster."
Kitahara grinned. "Loud and clear, Roppei-san!"
"It's Musaka, you fool!"
While the two men began their usual bickering, I went over to the couch Oguri and Belno were sitting on. "Hey, you two." I smiled as I sat down, sighing slightly as I sank into the pillows. "By the way, sorry about earlier, Belno." I scratched my cheek. "Didn't mean to just forget about you like that."
Belno shook her head. "It's fine, Star-san." She smiled kindly. "But are you okay? You've been dazed lately."
I laughed weakly. It wasn't as if I could just say that I was trying to tap into my [Domain]—they probably wouldn't understand what I was talking about. "Guess being in a new school's putting me off slightly." I said instead, before quickly switching topics. "How about you, Oguri? Feeling ready for your next race?"
Oguri frowned. "Not yet." She whispered, looking somewhat frustrated. "Our seniors are strong. I can't get past them."
I blinked, and then realized what she was talking about. In the lead up to the [Pegasus Stakes], Musaka called in a few seniors to run some practice races with Oguri, and he had them try and block Oguri whenever they entered the final straight. That was probably what Oguri was struggling with right now.
"They're our seniors, after all." I reached over and patted her on the head. "Besides, this is Central. Our competitors will be on a whole other level, and some might even deliberately target you to stop you from accelerating." I smiled encouragingly. "But I'm sure you'll get it eventually."
Oguri nodded. "Mm."
Seeing her lifted spirits, I pulled my hand back as I relaxed, missing the way Oguri watched my hand as it left. "And you, Belno? Got any new strategies you're cooking up in that head of yours?"
"Just a few." She humbly said, though I took her words with a grain of salt. She probably had a good dozen new tactics to try out.
"That's good." I said, before eventually deciding to give her a headpat as well. "Just like Oguri, you can ask our seniors if you need someone to test it against." I smiled wryly. "Though be careful not to expose it to your rivals in the future, yeah?"
"I-I'll do my best!"
I nodded, and having run out of any topics to talk about, finally turned to the two men. "Oi, how long are you two going to fight it out?" I grinned slyly. "Maybe we should get another room, 'cause you two seem to really need one."
"Sod off, girl." He said, though he gave Kitahara one last glare before he cleared his throat. "Right, we need to talk about something."
He sat down on one of the empty chairs. "This is about you, girl."
I blinked, pointing at myself "Me?"
He nodded. "This team's unbalanced." He pointed his cane at Oguri. "My style matches her the best." He then pointed it at Belno. "And while I ain't the crafty type, this idiot can at least help with your tricks."
"Which leaves you." He said, finally pointing his cane at me. "This fool told me about it some time ago, but after watching you, I finally get what he means." He slammed his cane down. "The way you run, the way you train, the way you think—none of them are like an umamusume at all. Something about you ain't quite like the others."
My lips twitched. "I can't disagree." I shrugged casually. "Didn't quite come to this world correctly."
"Shut it." He said harshly, clearly disliking the perceived self-doubt. "Simply put, if it hadn't been for your ears and tail, I wouldn't have been able to guess that you were an umamusume." He gently pulled down his hat. "There ain't anything wrong with that. Just means us two aren't qualified to help you."
"He's not saying we're kicking you out, by the way." Kitahara quickly clarified, knowing his uncle's words could easily be misinterpreted. "Instead we just asked for some help."
I stared. That was surprising. "Help? From who?"
Kitahara glanced at Musaka. The older man gave a nod, and Kitahara turned to the door. "Kongo-san!"
The door opened, and in came a tall elderly dressed in a comfortable gi, his muscles sculpted like steel despite his age. And behind him was an umamusume with chestnut hair like mine, with a pinwheel-shaped ornament hanging from her right ear.
I blinked, surprised to see two familiar faces. "Yaeno Muteki?" The umamusume nodded silently at my call, and I then turned to the older man. "And you are…?"
"Kongo Yaegaki." He said. "And from today onwards, I am to be your master."
My pupils shrunk in surprise, and I quickly turned to Musaka to see the man grinning as he pulled his hat down. "You…" I said, before I quickly lost steam. Instead, I took a breath as I ran a hand through my hair. "Oi, you didn't give out your left kidney or something, right?"
Musaka waved my concern away. "It's fine. Both of us are old. There's no need for things like that."
"Right." I sighed, before I stood up and bowed. "If that's the case, then I'll trouble you starting from now, master."
Oguri startled, before she quickly leaned towards Belno. "Star, did she just-?"
Belno looked just as surprised. "I don't think she's ever been that respectful before…"
I pretended not to notice.
Giving respect was the least I could do. Musaka might not make much of a deal about it, but I knew it couldn't be that simple. The man had outright asked another trainer to help one of his own trainees—and considering this was still a time when tensions were fiercer, the fact Kongo Yaegaki even agreed was incredible.
…maybe I should buy the old man something nice when I had the time.
"Trying to train you as an umamusume will be pointless." Musaka further explained, before jabbing a thumb to Yaeno Muteki. "It's better to have you practice like she does."
I blinked, giving her a glance. "You mean, you too?"
Muteki was quiet for a moment, before she nodded faintly. "It is why I remain beneath my grandfather even after entering Tracen."
"Huh." I glanced at Musaka. "I guess my condition's not that rare, then?"
"It is." He said. "Just that it's happened enough over the years for us veterans to know."
I rubbed my chin in thought. How fascinating. I thought my lacking instincts were just something I carried over from my previous life, but it seemed that wasn't quite the case.
"So, now what?"
"Now?" Musaka grinned. "Why don't we have a little test race?"
.
.
.
"Turf Track, 1800m in length. Sunny day, without prior days of rain!." Kitahara Jo called out as he held onto his stopwatch. "All runners are to enter their gates!"
Yaeno Muteki nodded slightly as she stepped into her gate. She glanced at the stands and could see her grandfather sitting next to Musaka Ginjirou, talking about something she couldn't quite hear. Belno Light and Oguri Cap were standing just behind Kitahara, with the former quietly cheering for her competitor in this test race.
She turned left towards the 1st bracket, and there stood Blossom Star. Her expression was calm as she gently prodded the turf with her foot, before she suddenly shook her hair, causing her chestnut hair to flail all over. Muteki blinked, before she hummed, having seen stranger quirks during her time here in Tracen Central.
She silently clenched her fists.
Blossom Star. The Comet. She herself had never gone to Kasamatsu to watch one of her races, but she understood that she was not to be underestimated just because she'd only raced in local circuits. Here and now, she could feel her skin tingling just standing next to her, as if she was standing right next to the sun.
"The race is about to start!"
She took a deep breath, and bent her knees forward as she prepared to run. She stared forward as she waited for the gates to open. There was no use in wasting her energy pondering—though this was just a test race, it was a good chance to see where she stood in comparison!
"Start!"
The gates shot open with a bang, and Muteki grit her teeth as she-
Woosh!
Her pupils shrunk as a blue contrail shot right past her, burning like the tail of a shooting star.
She'd gotten off to a perfect start, and last she heard, Blossom Star had only finished her own training just several minutes ago. So why…!?
How could she still have the stamina to begin with a Great Escape!?
"Blossom Star shoots to the lead!"
"Yaeno Muteki is 3 lengths-, no, 4 lengths behind her!"
"I see." Kongo muttered, rubbing his beard as he leaned forward. "So this is what you meant, Ginjirou."
"Told ya, that girl's different." Musaka sighed. "Treatin' her like an ordinary umamusume won't work. She might be the same age as them, but she feels older." He frowned thoughtfully as he drank a can of coffee. "For Goddesses' sake, she feels older than even that idiot down there. Nearly ordered beer for her that one time because of it."
"Hmm."
Muteki grit her teeth as she ran. They'd only just entered the second straight, and yet the distance between her and Star had grown tremendously. There was easily still 1000 meters until the finish line, but she couldn't help but feel like she'd only face defeat if she didn't begin accelerating now.
But if she did that, she would-
No, she needed to do it, no matter what!
"There's-, wait! We're still 200m from the third corner, but Yaeno Muteki has begun accelerating! The gap between her and Blossom Star is shrinking!"
And it was shrinking. That initial tremendous leap Blossom Star had taken was now shortening as Muteki sped forward. But,
"It's not enough." Kongo easily concluded, frowning heavily. "She's not going to make it in time."
Musaka grinned as he held his hat. "Doesn't help that the girl hasn't slowed down from the start either."
Kongo nodded. That was the truly frightening part. As Star entered the third corner, it was clear to see that Muteki was faster than her. But while Muteki had only begun accelerating mid-way through the race, Star had been going at her maximum speed from the very beginning.
"What monstrous stamina." Kongo whispered, before he turned to Musaka. "So this is what-" He stopped when he saw the concentration Musaka suddenly had. "Ginjirou?"
Musaka didn't reply, merely tightening his grip on his cane. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but as he watched Star maintain her speed as she entered the fourth corner, something in the back of his mind was screaming.
Something was happening. Something he couldn't see.
A possibility formed, but it couldn't be, could it?
Back on the track, Muteki felt a cold shiver as she too entered the fourth corner. She'd closed the gap between her and Star enough to attempt to take the lead during the final straight, but the closer she got, the more this sense of danger arose. As if something tremendous would occur the moment it did.
But even so…!
"Both Yaeno Muteki and Blossom Star have entered the final straight-!"
"Yaeno Muteki is still accelerating! The gap is shrinking!"
"She's about to take the lead…!"
Yaeno Muteki took a deep breath, and she roared as she accelerated even further. Her legs burnt as her stamina fell to dangerous levels, but she didn't dare to slow down, knowing even a second was enough for her to fall behind enough for victory to become impossible.
So she kept accelerating, running with all her might. And then,
"With 100m remaining, Yaeno Muteki has taken the lead!"
A bright smile came onto her face as she heard Kitahara's commentary, and she couldn't help but glance at her competitor as she raced her by.
Only for her to freeze.
Blossom Star's eyes were empty. Devoid of joy, unshackled by fatigue. It was as if she felt nothing even as Muteki overtook her. Instead her eyes remained forward, locked onto the finish line.
Her dull instincts screamed at her.
Run. Run!
RUN!
Fear trickled down her spine, and she gasped as she ran for the finish line. And her fear grew once she realized that Star suddenly began accelerating just moments after she overtook her, causing her to burn through whatever stamina she had left to ensure Star couldn't catch up. And then,
"Finish!"
"Yaeno Muteki takes 1st! Blossom Star is just behind her by a head, taking 2nd!"
Muteki gasped as she crossed the finish line, and after she managed to slow down, she collapsed onto the turf. Her chest rose and fell as she took big mouthfuls of air, trying to soothe her burning lungs. Shakily, she turned to see how Blossom Star looked after such a grueling pace, and she couldn't help but tremble.
Because Blossom Star looked completely unbothered. She'd only lightly sweated during it all, and her gaze remained locked forward even after she stopped running. It was hard to tell she'd just run 2200m without even a single moment of rest.
She took a shaky breath.
She'd won this test race, but she could hardly feel any joy.
The people of Kasamatsu had called Oguri Cap 'The Beast' due to her terrifying power during her race. But now she realized that such a title could also be easily held by Blossom Star. And starting from tomorrow, Star would become another disciple learning under her grandfather.
She took another breath as she closed her eyes.
It seemed Mejiro Ardan had been right;
Team Kitahara was here, and Central was about to experience a great storm.