AN: Happy New Years everyone. Hope 2025's was good to you all ('cause it certainly wasn't for me at least). Hopefully 2026's even better this time around. Anyway, I decided to push today's second chapter for tomorrow, mostly because I found this to be the perfect chance to put out this IF story that was inspired by a few comments about what'd happen if the characters from this fic got to meet the characters from the manga.
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Belno Light softly breathed out as she ascended the last few steps, and her eyes lit up as she finally saw the shrine she'd been hearing about. It certainly was as desolate as most people spoke of, but it was strangely well-kept despite it being clear that there was no one here to take care of it.
Nevertheless, she didn't think too much of it. Instead, she made her way to the donation box, and taking a small breath, she began her ritual. She dropped a few hundred yen into the box, rang the bell, and then bowed and clapped as she silently repeated her prayer in her heart.
And her prayer was a simple one;
Please help Oguri run again!
It was just several days after New Years. The [Arima Kinen] had only happened a couple weeks before, and to her delight, Oguri-chan had won! It was a little sad that Tamamo-senpai had now fully retired from racing, but Oguri-chan had promised to carry Tamamo-senpai's will forward into the future.
But then they found out that Oguri-chan was injured. Desmitis was what their doctor found out, and while they were glad to have discovered it so early, it still meant that Oguri would be unable to race for most of the Spring months.
And it wasn't just Oguri-chan either.
Super Creek, Dicta Striker—both of them were found to be injured as well. And while she didn't fully agree with the newspaper talking about a 'Spring Season without Heroes', she still felt a deep regret about it. Especially when she saw how down Oguri was because of it all.
Which was why she was here. Just a few days ago, she began hearing about this shrine, and how those who came here to pray found their issues miraculously fixed not long after, almost as if the Three Goddesses themselves had come down to bless them. While Belno wasn't sure if that was really true, she'd exhausted most of her options to try and help Oguri, and there wasn't really anything she'd lose from doing this.
So Belno prayed. Prayed with all her heart so that the Three Goddesses would maybe hear her plea and help speed up Oguri-chan's recovery.
…but no one answered. The shrine remained quiet, and Belno could only smile regretfully as she took a few steps back.
Well, she wasn't sure if her prayers had been heard or not. Everyone did say that it took a few days for their problems to be fixed, so maybe it just took time? Then again, it wasn't like she was some expert of–
Her thoughts were suddenly cut off when a bright light shone in front of her, almost as if a pillar of light had descended from the heavens. Belno shrieked as she felt a powerful blast of wind explode outwards and knocked her to the ground. A divine pressure filled the air, and the world itself seemed to tremble in its wake.
And just as suddenly as it appeared, the light disappeared. But someone now stood in its place, seemingly having arrived from that beam of light.
But when Belno saw who it was, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
Because the one who now stood in front of her was…herself!?
And now just herself, but one that was dressed in an awesome-looking outfit. Her other self was wearing a deconstructed gakuran, but paired with a navy captain's hat. She wasn't quite sure what exactly her other self was dressed as, but it wasn't hard to realize that it was a G1 outfit.
Which meant that this other her was a racing umamusume!
It wasn't just Belno Light who looked surprised; the other her stared back with no small amount of surprise. She stared at Belno in wonder, though she kept an incredible amount of composure despite the oddity of the situation.
A long silence stretched between them. Belno Light cautiously waited for her other self to say something, but she seemed content with just observing. In fact, it felt a little eerie, actually. The way her other self stared at her—analyzing and sharp—made her feel really uncomfortable.
So, after mustering some courage, Belno Light finally spoke. "U-Um, what's your name?"
Belno stared for a moment longer, before she eventually spoke. "Belno Light." She said, her voice a perfect mirror to hers. "I assume your name is the same as mine?"
Belno gulped. Her other self sounded the same as her, but the way she spoke—it was way more commanding. It almost felt like she was standing in front of president Rudolf! "Y-Yeah! That's-, um." She giggled anxiously as she scratched her cheek. "What should I call you? Or-, um, if you want I can call myself something-"
"Just call me Light." She said, smiling faintly. "I believe I'm the trespasser this time around. I'll refer to you as Belno going forward."
She gulped, though she did her best to smile. "O-Okay then." She fidgeted slightly, before she took a breath. "Um, so what now?"
"I don't know how I got here, but if I'm not wrong, then this is Japan, right?" Belno nodded, and Light hummed. "Then, for now, it's probably best that we head back to Tracen Central. I'm not sure if anyone can really help, but surely Director Akikawa must be able to help in some manner."
Belno stared. Light seemed rather familiar with the Director, and Belno could only wonder just how different Light must be for that to happen. "I…can lead you there?" She said, though it came out more as a question. Thankfully, Light just nodded, and Belno quickly calmed herself as she began leading Light back to Tracen Central.
…
Suffice to say, everyone was shocked when they saw two Belno Lights enter Tracen Central.
"Shocking! I never thought I would ever see an umamusume from another dimension!" Director Akikawa said, somehow procuring a fan from somewhere. "And you say you were last in America, Light-san?"
"I was, yes." Light nodded faintly, a small thoughtful frown on her lips. "It's odd, really. I don't remember putting on my G1 outfit, yet I was wearing it when I first opened my eyes."
"From America…" Hayakawa Tazuna whispered, surprised to hear that there existed a version of Belno Light that'd gone overseas.
"Another Belno…" Oguri Cap whispered, more focused on the fact that there was two Belno Lights in the same room.
Meanwhile, Musaka Ginjirou's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. He was just as shocked as everyone else to find out that a Belno from another world had appeared in this one, but the fact that she was wearing her own G1 outfit didn't escape him. He understood the implications of what that meant,
The Belno Light from this other world wasn't a support umamusume, but one that raced. And considering she had a G1 outfit, it meant that she was at least a fairly prolific one.
But he kept quiet. He didn't know how appropriate asking about it would be.
Thankfully, he didn't need to.
"Question! This outfit you wear is your G1 outfit, correct?" Director Akikawa asked. Light blinked, before she nodded. The director's eyes shone with admiration. "Incredible! So you must be an incredible runner!"
At that, Light's eyes sharpened, and a subtle pressure permeated the room. Even Oguri snapped into attention, shocked to realize that the pressure was coming from Light.
"I've won a few races." She said humbly. "But compared to my friends, I am far behind." She chuckled softly as she thought of her teammates. "Oguri and Star—they're both so far ahead of me."
"Eh? You have an Oguri-chan as well?" Belno finally asked. Light nodded, and Belno's eyes shone with excitement.
But Musaka then asked. "Star?"
And at that, Light's eyes narrowed. "Star. Blossom Star. Together with Oguri and I, we all started from Kasamatsu." Seeing the lack of recognition, Light felt a strange feeling of dread. "Do…none of you know her?"
Belno frowned. "I…don't think I've ever heard of anyone with that name?" She then turned to Oguri. "What about you, Oguri-chan?"
But Oguri shook her head as well. "Nn. I've never heard of her."
"...I see." Light's eyes darkened. "Then she's probably…" She whispered to the winds, too soft for anyone to hear.
"Light-san?" Tazuna asked, concerned at the dark expression Light had.
"It's nothing." She said. "I've simply realized the point of divergence between our worlds." Light quickly took a breath and forced a smiled. "So, is there anything you wish to ask while I'm here?"
Everyone was still wary, remembering the way Light's expression had turned dark just moments ago.
But Oguri being Oguri, she immediately asked, "So you race as well?"
At that, Light smiled as she tilted her hat down. "I do yes." And her smile grew as she continued. "In fact, I've won a few G1s myself."
Naturally, a stunned silence followed those words.