At the beginning of the new term, at Central Tracen Academy.
"Good morning~"
"Happy New Year!"
In the early morning, the campus was as usual, full of youthful, lively Uma Musume everywhere.
They walked in twos and threes, chattering like birds, excitedly sharing what they'd done over the holidays and what they were looking forward to in the new semester.
The air was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
Suddenly.
In a certain instant, it was as if someone had hit the pause button on this wave of liveliness.
Starting from the school gate, one Uma Musume after another subconsciously stopped in her tracks and withdrew her smile.
The noisy chatter faded into silence, and countless gazes seemed to be drawn by some invisible magnet, all snapping toward the Uma Musume who had just stepped through the school gate.
"..."
At the gate, a girl was pushing a small suitcase, the wheels making a crisp "clack" as they rolled over the concrete.
She wore the Central Tracen uniform. Her trademark silver-white hair fell like a waterfall, and against the slanting morning light it reflected an icy, dazzling sheen.
She wasn't doing anything extra, not even lifting her head.
And yet, a nearly suffocating sense of presence swept across the entire scene in an instant.
Without realizing it, everyone's attention had been drawn to her alone.
"T-That's…" One of the Uma Musume turned slightly, lowered her voice, and frowned.
"It is, right… Chasing Light's… Fujimasa March." Her companion replied, a complicated heaviness in her tone that was hard to put into words.
"I just heard from a trainer that Chasing Light's Obey Your Master is about to retire…"
"Really?"
"If you add in Inari One and Sakura Chiyono O, who already left at the start of the year… then among Chasing Light's active girls, only her and Mejiro Ardan are left, right?"
"Then doesn't that mean this year is the one where we have the best chance?" Another Uma Musume's eyes lit up with expectation.
"…Are you kidding me?"
Her companion looked at her a bit speechlessly and leaned in to whisper:
"She beat Oguri Cap in the Mile Championship, and the only time she lost last year in the Arima Kinen… was to that monster Inari One."
"Now that Inari One has retired, she's basically the 'strongest currently active,' isn't she? And you want to beat her…?"
The other girl was stunned. "Then if she, like Inari One, keeps running into her fourth year… no way… what are we supposed to do?"
"..."
The mosquito-like whispers, laced with awe, fear, and a sense of defeat, kept drifting into Fujimasa March's ears.
The silver-haired girl's willow brows knit slightly as she let out a tiny, inaudible sigh in her heart.
She ignored those gazes, kept her eyes straight ahead, and pushed her suitcase toward that familiar villa district.
She had chosen to come back a bit early on her own.
Oguri Cap still wanted to spend one more day with her mother and everyone in Kasamatsu, so she hadn't returned together with her.
She just hadn't expected to receive such a "grand" welcome the moment she got back.
"Scrk—"
The sound of the suitcase wheels finally stopped in front of that long-missed door.
Fujimasa March deftly took out her key and, with a soft "click," opened it.
Warm light, familiar furniture, and several familiar figures came into view.
On the sofa, the person she had been thinking about for dozens of days seemed to have heard the noise at the door and slowly turned her head.
When she saw who was standing there, a smile that was both joyful and complicated surfaced on her face.
"March."
Kuroha smiled softly. "Welcome home."
At those words, the gloom on the girl's pretty face, which had followed her all the way back, finally broke apart into a bright smile.
"Trainer, I'm back!"
…
Fujimasa March's return was only the beginning.
Over the next two days, the villa's front door swung open again and again.
Before long, including Obey Your Master, who had been vacationing far away in White Eagle, all of the Chasing Light girls had wrapped up their holidays on time and gathered back together.
The warm living room finally regained its long-lost liveliness.
"McQueen—! Don't poke me anymore!"
"Pfft."
"You're not allowed to laugh! And you're not allowed to poke!"
On the sofa, Tokai Teio and McQueen were playing around happily.
"Haha, sorry, sorry."
McQueen raised a cushion to block Teio's tiny, powerless punches, laughing as she did so. "It's just… seeing you suddenly all grown up, it's a bit hard to get used to."
"But who told you to not even tell me when you awakened your True Blooming?"
"I just wanted to give you a surprise!" Teio huffed, turning the tables and complaining in return.
At that, McQueen lowered the cushion. Her beautiful amethyst eyes turned thoughtfully as she looked Teio up and down.
In just a few dozen days apart over the holidays, the girl with the crescent-moon bangs in front of her had not only completed her True Blooming, but her figure had become more shapely and womanly as well.
The clothes that had once been a bit loose on her now curved up in front to form a small, cute arc.
McQueen couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle. "It really is quite the surprise."
"?"
Teio tilted her head. She couldn't shake the feeling that her friend's so-called "surprise" wasn't just about her having achieved True Blooming.
But she quickly shook her head, tossing away those complicated thoughts.
She proudly puffed out her now noticeably present chest and announced crisply:
"McQueen! I'm also an active racehorse now! When we're on the track, I absolutely won't go easy on you!"
"…Eh? Really?"
Hearing those battle-filled words, McQueen's eyes flickered with a faint trace of confusion.
Just as the two girls were about to square off verbally, a voice suddenly cut in from the side.
"Ah, that probably won't happen, Teio."
"Eh?"
Teio blinked and turned, confused, toward the handsome young man sitting on the sofa reading documents. "Why, Trainer?"
"…Honestly."
Kuroha shook his head helplessly, put down the papers, and reached out to pinch Teio's puffed-out cheeks with perfect accuracy.
"Did you forget the goal I set for you a few days ago?"
Kuroha smiled. "After an undefeated Triple Crown, your Senior Year schedule will be overseas campaigns."
He paused, then glanced at McQueen. "McQueen, on the other hand, will be staying in Japan to challenge consecutive wins in the championship graded stakes."
"Your race schedules don't overlap at all."
"..."
Teio stared blankly up at Kuroha, her pretty blue eyes blinking as if trying very hard to process this information.
Several seconds later, her gaze slowly cleared. She suddenly clapped her hands.
"Oh, right! That did happen!"
"..."
Watching her friend, who was usually a bit airheaded and occasionally a little sly, McQueen finally couldn't help it. She raised a hand and covered her forehead helplessly.
…
In the living room.
Inari One was currently lying sprawled across Kuroha's lap with zero concern for her image, her small mouth half open, eyes unfocused as she stared at the ceiling, who knew what she was thinking.
Only the pair of cute horse ears on her head twitched up and down from time to time, showing that she was in quite a good mood.
On the sofa by the window, Obey Your Master, who had just rushed back from White Eagle, was propping her cheek up on one hand, flipping idly through a thick, foreign-language hardcover she had casually taken from Kuroha's bookshelf.
On the other side, Fujimasa March, Ardan, and Sakura Chiyono O sat properly around the coffee table.
Kuroha's gaze swept over these girls of his who he hadn't seen in a while, and he couldn't help showing a satisfied smile.
"Good. Everyone's here. Looks like you all had a pretty decent New Year."
"Then now, let's begin Chasing Light's first internal meeting of the new year."
(End of Chapter)
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