"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!"
"Tokyo Racecourse's main race today is the International G1 [Japan Cup]!"
Komiyama Masami felt her blood boiling as she trudged forward, doing her best to ignore the barrage of questions coming from the platoon of reporters following her. She'd tried all she could to politely brush them away, but they kept returning like fruit flies.
"Komiyama trainer! Please tell us the status of Tamamo Cross!"
"Do you have a way to deal with Tony Bianca?"
"How do you feel about Oguri Cap?"
"Do you think Tamamo Cross can continue her winning streak?"
Question after question after question. A literal unending buzz of noise, and all because she'd been spotted while she was out trying to buy a drink for Tamamo. All the noise was driving her insane, and she could feel the veins in her forehead bulging from the sheer frustration.
And inevitably, the fountain eventually erupted.
"SHUT UUUPPP!!"
And before the reporters could say anything else, she rushed forward, ran through the door to Tamamo's designated locker room, and shut the door behind her. She let out a tired breath as all the noise finally went silent, and she smiled weakly. "Sorry, Tama-chan. It's quite noisy, isn't it?"
"Is'at so? Sorry for t'a trouble." Tamamo said to the phone, smiling brightly. She didn't even seem to notice that Masami had entered.
She smiled softly.
"Turf, 2400 meters. The weather is clear and the track is good!"
"This late autumn, 14 umamusume have gathered here from all around the world!"
Musaka silently flipped through today's newspaper. Belno muttered something as she wrote something in her notebook. Kitahara was slouching into the couch, his cap laid over his face.
Oguri Cap did a few quick hops to warm her legs. She was feeling good today—her legs felt light, her chest felt warm, and her tail wagged with excitement. And not only that, but this would be the first time she faced Blossom Star as a rival in an official race. She couldn't wait!
Blossom Star quietly rolled her shoulders to get rid of any last-minute soreness she felt. She'd gotten a pretty good sleep before today, and though the past week had been hectic, she'd always slept quite well. It was probably because of how warm she felt whenever she slept together with Oguri.
No one in Team Kitahara said anything, and they didn't need to. They knew each other like the back of their hands, and they all knew that Oguri and Star was as ready as they could be for the upcoming race.
"And now to the main track!"
The VVIP suite had never been the loudest place in the stadium. After all, it was the seats reserved for the most wealthy and most influential. No one would dare to disturb the peace that lingered in this sacred place.
But today was different. That tranquility had been replaced by a deep-rooted terror that silenced anyone. No one even dared to breathe wrong, lest they anger the godlike monster that'd suddenly showed up without any announcement. Even Symboli Rudolf—the Emperor herself—was stunned into complete silence, her eyes wide with surprise as she kept glancing at the person seated to her left.
The umamusume who sat next to her was massive, towering over her by a few dozen centimeters. Her body was built like a statue; her arms and legs covered with muscles that seemed like it'd been sculpted by an artist. Wild chestnut hair draped down her back. Bright blue eyes burnt like stars, all while her lips were curved into an arrogant smirk.
She whistled as she saw the excitement of the audience below. "Not bad! Thought you folks would be more conservative, but this ain't bad at all!" She grinned widely. "Seems like this race might be kinda fun!"
Hardly anyone was brave enough to respond to the umamusume's brazen words. They could only wait in silence, sweat quietly trailing down the back of their necks.
"One after another, the runners descend onto the turf!"
Only Maruzensky was different, giggling as she gazed fondly at the track. "This is racing, after all. Even the quietest of people would get excited by it." She had a playful smile on her lips as she glanced at the umamusume. "Isn't that right, Secretariat-san?"
She laughed. "Ha! Ain't that the truth!"
"Coming from the US! Using her strong physical strength, she'll grab the glory-!"
"Michelle My Baby!"
Michelle waved at the audience with a bright smile, and her smile became especially bright when she noticed a few familiar fans nestled in the audience. 「I'm here to win, baby!」She shouted, and her adoring fans cheered back.
She grinned. She couldn't wait!
"Her beauty and sprinting ability are top-class! Showing the spirit of New Zealand-!"
"Ellerslie Pride!"
Pride gently closed her eyes, letting the audience's cheers wash over her. She knew not to feel any form of arrogance at this moment. After all, this would likely be the most difficult [Japan Cup] the world has ever faced, and her own team believed the same. Many of her rivals would be monsters, and so she too must match them.
Her sharp eyes shone like rubies beneath the Autumn sun.
"The British moon lights up the Japanese Turf once again! The one looking for revenge after last year-"
"Moonlight Lunacy!"
Lunacy kept her hands primly over her waist, though it was not an action born of regality. Rather, it was the only thing she could do to stop herself from clenching her fists in sheer frustration.
Because she had indeed returned to this race to reclaim her deserved victory, only to find out too late that this [Japan Cup] would be one that would certainly go down in history. A race against other monsters, with two of them being juniors who had the strength to easily contend with umamusume years older than them.
No amount of training could spare her the feelings of burning frustration.
"Her once-in-a-century beauty is a pride of Japan! Will she overwhelm the world with her ability as well!?"
"Gold City!"
"No way…" She whispered, a wry smile on her lips as she held back a sigh.
Haa, this race was completely impossible. There was no way she was winning against all these other powerful umamusume. The fact that Oguri Cap and Blossom Star were both her juniors made her feel like a complete fraud, but she was long used to that feeling by this point.
She could only smile, in the end.
Musaka had really gotten lucky this time.
"An assassin from America! An umamusume shrouded in complete mystery-"
"Hey! 「Ms. Star of Japan!」" Obey Your Master said cheerily as she suddenly slung her arm across Tamamo Cross' shoulder. "How you doing? Me is perfect!" She said in a deliberately awful Japanese accent. A clear provocation.
But the shorter umamusume didn't return the expected response.
Tamamo smiled slightly. "Guess she ain't joking 'bout ya, ha?" She said, before she turned to her. Her lips pulled upwards into a confident smirk, and her eyes cackled with white lightning. "Watch ye'rself, yeah? Better prepar' to get y'ar socks bl'ewn off!"
"Obey Your Master!"
Obey blinked, but before she could ask any further, Tamamo had already left whistling casually as she walked away. "...Weird." She eventually said, before she headed out towards the tracks.
"Now, they're finally here!"
"Rising up from Kasamatsu to challenge the world; the great Beast whose voracity is unmatched-!"
"Oguri Cap!"
Oguri stepped onto the track, and the stadium trembled from the sheer volume of the audience's cheers. She didn't give the audience a single glance as she headed for her gate, and her seeming nonchalance only added to her charm. She was, after all, the Grey Monster of Kasamatsu!
And they weren't wrong. Right now, Oguri didn't care for their cheers. This time, she was up against Star. And this time, she knew Star wouldn't be holding anything back.
Her eyes blazed with the intent to win.
"Also coming from Kasamatsu; the great Comet who soars across the racetrack! A hero who has dazzled so many-!"
"Blossom Star!"
Her blue cape fluttered behind her as she stepped onto the track, and her eerily bright blue eyes scanned across the other umamusume on the track as she made her way to her gate. Her vigilance, combined with the G1 outfit, made her look more like a warrior preparing to head to war.
In a sense, that wasn't wrong. She would be up against Oguri this time, and she knew she'd have to pull out all the stops if she wanted even a chance at winning. Not only that, but she'd also need to watch for Tamamo and Obey, who'd taken 1st and 2nd place in the original manga.
She smiled sharply.
Win or lose, this would no doubt be a race the world wouldn't forget.
"A major international contender! The most precious treasure from Italy! The European Champion has appeared on the Turf-!"
"Tony Bianca!"
The cheers grew even louder as she appeared, and she gave the audience a swift glance before she turned away. There was no need for her to greet them; they knew what they were here for, and all she needed to do was deliver.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she saw all the umamusume she'd be racing against today. Certainly, they were all rivals worthy of her strength.
She narrowed her eyes in determination.
She will win. She will bring glory back to her motherland.
"And lastly, the one we've all been waiting for!"
"The first to win the Spring and Autumn Tenno Sho consecutively!"
"She has slain all her enemies! The White Lightning who now challenges the world-!"
"TAMAMO CROSS!"
Tamamo grinned wildly as she stepped onto the turf. "So dam' loud." She said, a dangerous pressure hanging around her. "Can't say I d'nt like it tho'!" She slammed her fists together, and the air around her almost seemed to tremble, as if an invisible shockwave had just blasted out from her.
Her smirk grew wider.
"Let's do 'dis!"