The days following the [Japan Cup] were tense with confusion and worry. The entire country had watched as two of their greatest idols had fallen unconscious before their own eyes, and the lack of news about their conditions had only spurred further worry about the two.
And it was in this growing tension that a surprising piece of news made it to the daily newspaper.
It seemed Oguri Cap and Blossom Star weren't the only ones who'd suffered under the intense mystical clash that occurred in the [Japan Cup]. Obey Your Master, having gotten 2nd place, had majorly sprained her ankle and wouldn't be able to run for at least a month.
That in itself wasn't all that surprising. After all, they'd seen that impossible sight during the final stretches of the race. For anyone to come out of that without suffering anything would make them an even greater monster.
No, what was surprising was the piece of information that came after.
Apparently, Obey Your Master wanted to transfer to Japan after experiencing Japan's turf for the first time. "I find it far more pleasant to run on." Was what she had said in a recent interview with the Tokyo News.
The news brought some much needed levity to the people. After all, Obey Your Master was an amazing umamusume, and she now wanted to continue running in Japan. It meant that the people could potentially witness that amazing sight once more!
But that brief happiness was quickly doused by the writing that followed it.
The writer expressed worry about Obey's transfer, not because he found her unworthy or whatnot, but because he feared that the URA wouldn't allow her to run at all. They knew that foreign umamusume faced incredible restrictions from the URA, and pointed to Maruzensky as a famous example to the URA's strictness in this regard.
The moment that was mentioned, an unstoppable chain of events began.
Many racing enthusiasts quickly began researching Maruzensky's race records, and they realized that the Tokyo News was right. Maruzensky had never raced in any Classic races, and she never ran in any G1 during her Senior years. The only G1 she'd ever ran in was the [Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes], and her victory had been so dominant that it caused several runners to drop out of races she'd run in her future.
An impressive record of 8 wins out of 8 races. Yet it was a record that only showed how much more she could've been had the URA not stopped her from running.
And for what? Just because she was born in another country?
Quickly, a quiet dissatisfaction began brewing in the populace, though that feeling became rather loud when it came to those racing enthusiasts. To them, seeing these incredible umamusume be held back by mere rules was insulting.
The URA was quick to reprimand the Tokyo News for releasing something so polarizing, but they were surprised to find that to the Tokyo News…didn't. In fact, they'd never heard of Obey Your Master being interviewed at all. They didn't even know where Obey Your Master was!
They later realized that the polarizing news had been written by one person: Fujii Sensuke—a veteran journalist.
Yet, when they went to reprimand Sensuke for his conduct, Tokyo News found they couldn't. Oddly enough, Fujii Sensuke hadn't arrived at the office on the day his piece had been released to the public.
By this point, both the URA and Tokyo News were beginning to realize that something was off. The impossible interview of Obey Your Master, the missing Fujii Sensuke, the strange speed at which this discourse grew throughout the populace--
It almost felt targeted.
But before they could ponder any further, the public's dissatisfaction had suddenly grown even worse.
A group of announcers had stepped forward and agreed to the public's feelings. "The URA's rules have not changed for decades, despite how much time has passed." One of the announcers said in a newspaper that was inexplicably published under Tokyo News' name, despite Tokyo News never agreeing to it.
And, like damning evidence, the writer happened to once again be Fujii Sensuke.
The public, seeing that the very announcers of these races shared their feelings, felt emboldened in their dissatisfaction. Some people even felt that the URA had become outdated and should be reformed, with this sentiment quickly growing in popularity as time went on.
The URA, realizing how much things have deteriorated, collaborated with Tokyo News to explain their side. How their rules were important and had kept the Japanese racing scene orderly for generations. Of course, they conveniently refused to mention Obey Your Master's situation, since they themselves weren't sure what to do in that regard.
But before they could even make their first draft, the situation completely flipped once more.
Because suddenly the family heads of both the Symboli and Mejiro Families came forward and agreed to the reformation of the URA. Mejiro Ramonu and Sirius Symboli appeared in a televised interview that was somehow broadcasted beneath Tokyo News' banner, and they shared their collective disappointment in the URA's lack of progress.
"The URA has become more of a hindrance as time goes by." Was Ramonu's acidic words. "And is it not our duty to ensure that such forms of illness be euthanized?" Such clear dissatisfaction at a government body would've normally incited fury from many, but with the Mejiro Family behind her and Ramonu's own status as a holder of the Undefeated Triple Tiara, even the URA found themselves unsure to retaliate.
"Other countries are way more open about it." Was Sirius' comment. "I mean, come'on. It probably won't be long before more foreign umamusume want to come and race here. Will the URA just keep pushing them out?" The Symboli Family had always been a staunch supporter of the URA, but since Sirius Symboli herself had travelled extensively during her racing career, her words held far more weight.
Not even a day after that televised interview, another one appeared, this time with Tamamo Cross and her trainer. "Obey's real strong, ya'see? I'd be so emb'rrassed if som' damn rules stopped 'er from runnin'."
And just a day after that, an interview with Oguri Cap was aired live across the nation. That should've been completely impossible, considering Oguri was likely still recuperating from her experience in the [Japan Cup]. And yet-!
"I don't know much about the URA." She admitted, before she simply tilted her head. "But if they want to stop someone from running, then why are they even here?" She hummed, before she said those damning words: "If that's the case, I'd rather just go abroad and race somewhere else."
At that point, there was no going back. Seeing that practically everyone agreed with the public's sentiment, many began publicly protesting for the URA to be dismantled, or at least reformed.
By then, it was clear to the URA that this was a targeted attack. All these incredible events had occurred too quickly to be natural. Someone clearly wanted the URA to be brought down! But who? And who would even have the pull to organize something this massive?
Suspicion was immediately thrown at Akikawa Yayoi, the Director of Tracen Central Academy. The young director had never been quiet about her grievances with the URA, and she seemed to be the exact kind of person to be able to do something of this scale.
The URA quickly began planning a meeting with Central. They had to get things under control, no matter what. There was little they could leverage against the young director, but they were still the URA. They had the Japanese government backing them—surely they could do something!
But in all the chaos, the URA had forgotten one thing,
That there was someone even more powerful working together with Director Akikawa.
"I'm disappointed." Secretariat's voice played through the television, her lips curled into an arrogant sneer. "I don't give a shit about whatever bureaucracy's goin' on in the background, but Obey Your Master was someone I picked." Her cruel grin was clearly seen through the television. "If Japan's URA wants to try and hold her back, then you're also going against me."
It was complete arrogance. Such words, spoken directly in an interview shared all across Japan—it was the height of pride. But this was Secretariat, an umamusume whose fame practically eclipsed all of Japan and more. And she had made her stance clear.
If this charade continued, forget just going against Director Akikawa-
The URA would be going against America as a whole.
The whole situation had become so ridiculous that even the head of the URA couldn't help but tearfully laugh as the televised interview came to an end. The executives of the URA who'd also watched the interview were completely silent, incapable of saying a single word of seeing Secretariat practically declare war on the URA.
It couldn't be changed—this was the URA's defeat. With how much opposition they faced from both the public and those involved in umamusume racing, there was no doubt that the Japanese government would soon pull back their support. Whatever the case, the URA was done for.
And all of it happened in the span of a week.
It was all so ridiculous.
…
Just a week after the [Japan Cup], the Japanese Government announced that the URA will officially be decommissioned in light of the recent discourse that'd swept through the public, and that serious considerations will be made regarding the rules pertaining to Japanese umamusume racing.
In the meantime, the government decreed that the official authority on Japanese racing would fall on the group with the closest ties to the umamusume.
And who else could that be but Central, and by proxy Director Akikawa herself? It seemed like the obvious choice; she was the director of Tracen Central, and she was one of the most passionate when it came to umamusume racing. It was only natural.
Of course, the public didn't know that this wasn't a choice at all; that Secretariat had pretty much demanded that Akikawa Yayoi be made the temporary head of Japanese umamusume racing—mostly because Obey Your Master would be attending Tracen Central to continue her racing career in Japan.
And just like that, the jokingly-named 'Siege of URA' came to an end.
.
.
.
In the end, no one even knew that the true perpetrator of this attack was still unconscious.