It was in July, when the heat was starting to get serious.
Even though Haru Urara finished in 9th place in her debut race, she was still her usual cheerful and energetic self as she attended Tracen Academy.
"Ah, it's Spe-chan! And El-chan, too! Good morning!"
On her way to class, Haru Urara spotted two of her friends and ran over to them.
They were Special Week, known as Spe-chan, and El Condor Pasa, known as El-chan.
Although they were in different classes, Haru Urara, who often went to other classrooms, had friends all over the grade. Noticing Haru Urara running towards them, Special Week and El Condor Pasa smiled and greeted her.
"Good morning, Urara-chan."
"Good morning, desu!"
Special Week, just like Haru Urara, was an Uma Musume from the countryside. El Condor Pasa was an American-born returnee, and her greeting to Haru Urara was broken and high-spirited.
"By the way, Urara-chan, yesterday was your debut, right? How was it?"
"I'm curious, desu! How was it?"
Haru Urara answered Special Week and El Condor Pasa's questions with a smile.
"I got 9th place!"
"N-ninth place...?"
"Oh..."
The two of them smiled wryly, not knowing what to say to her gleeful answer. But Haru Urara didn't mind their reactions and jumped up and down.
"Yeah! But it was so much fun! How about you two?"
Haru Urara asked innocently. Special Week and El Condor Pasa looked at each other, but quickly answered with wry smiles.
"I managed to get 1st place."
"I got 1st place, too, desu!"
"Wow! That's so amazing! You two are amazing!"
Hearing their answers, Haru Urara praised them with genuine joy. The ability to honestly praise her friends when they got 1st place was one of Haru Urara's good qualities. Because they understood that, Special Week and El Condor Pasa didn't feel any unnecessary awkwardness and started walking with Haru Urara.
"What kind of race was it for you, Urara-chan?"
"Me? Well, it was going well for a while, but then some sand flew into my eye. It was a big surprise!"
"That's just how it is with dirt races, desu. But Urara will definitely get 1st place next time, desu!"
"Yeah! Thanks to my trainer, I'm getting faster and faster! I'm already looking forward to my next race!"
Seeing Haru Urara wagging her tail back and forth excitedly, Special Week and El Condor Pasa smiled warmly as if they were watching something heartwarming.
—At that time, for Haru Urara, racing was something fun and exciting.
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And then came the maiden race in early July. It was Haru Urara's second race, and there were no accidents like in her debut—
"How about it!? How about Mini Daisy!? A neck-and-neck race for 2nd place! Can they catch Mini Daisy!? Will Mini Daisy get away!? Wakuwaku Ribbon is right next to her and—goal! The battle for 3rd place is a close one with Shabalanque, Compromise, and Haru Urara!"
The result was 5th place, but for Haru Urara, it was the first race where her number was on the results board.
The race was still fun and exciting. However, in this race, she was being marked by other Uma Musume, and for some reason, Haru Urara felt a strange emotion: it was just a little bit, just a tiny bit, not fun.
Still, 5th place was 5th place. The new feeling in her heart was swept away by the feelings of fun and joy.
"...I'm sorry, Urara."
But even so, Haru Urara's trainer apologized. She was so puzzled by it that she asked him.
"Huh? Why are you apologizing, Trainer?"
To Haru Urara, her trainer was still an amazing person. He made her carrot hamburger steaks, made her faster and faster, and knew when to stop her when she was getting tired.
That's why Haru Urara couldn't understand why her trainer was apologizing to her.
"In that last race, if I had planned better, I could have gotten you to win... That's why I have to apologize."
"Hmm... Is that so? I don't really get it, but it's totally fine! Because it was so much fun!"
Haru Urara said with a smile because she didn't want her trainer to apologize. Then, the trainer smiled a little sadly and started talking about various things.
"You see, Urara. I want to see you get stronger, get 1st place, and be the center of the winning live performance and get all excited. I don't want you to be satisfied with just getting a rank; I want you to get 1st place... That's what I want."
"Winning live performance... Yeah! I want to be in one, too! It looks so much fun!"
Haru Urara had heard about winning live performances. She thought she had learned about it in class and heard about it from her friends. But she knew that it was a special stage that only Uma Musume who finished in the top three of a race could perform on.
That's why Haru Urara wanted to be in a winning live performance. And she appealed to her trainer as if she were begging for a toy.
—The tiny feeling of not having fun had already disappeared.
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After that, since there was a long period until the next race, Haru Urara worked hard on her intense summer training under her trainer's guidance.
There were also some breaks where she would lose in a race against her trainer, fail at image training, or run away from an Uma Musume who was showing off her perfect brick-breaking skills. But the summer training surely made Haru Urara a stronger Uma Musume.
"Aren't you embarrassed to lose against a human?"
Haru Urara was asked that in a slightly thorny tone the day after she lost a race to her trainer.
The other Uma Musume was a dirt racer like Haru Urara and had raced with her in the previous race. But Haru Urara's face lit up at her words.
"Is that so? But you see, my trainer is super fast! He goes 'whoosh'! I lost to him all ten times we raced, but it was so much fun!"
But I won't lose in a sprint, Haru Urara said proudly. And from there, she started to brag about her trainer.
He taught her how to run properly, how to turn corners, where to start her final spurt, how to build up her stamina, and how running had become even more fun than before.
As Haru Urara talked with a smile, the Uma Musume who had spoken to her looked away as if she had noticed something and left. Haru Urara was puzzled by that, but her face lit up when she heard a familiar sound of footsteps.
"Ah! It's Trainer!"
"Sorry I'm cutting it so close, but—whoa!?"
When Haru Urara ran at him with a smile, the trainer caught her in a panic. And when he smiled at her in a troubled yet gentle way, Haru Urara felt a warm feeling in her chest.
Summer was hot, and training was hard. But Haru Urara was able to overcome it because she could feel herself getting faster little by little. At the same time, it was because she could feel that her trainer was doing his best to make her a little bit stronger.
He found places outside Tracen Academy where she could train so she wouldn't get bored of practicing on the same course.
He took her to a public swimming pool at his own expense so it wouldn't be too tough for her in the heat.
He trained with her on the course even when it was raining so she could run well even on bad tracks.
For Haru Urara, training with her trainer was fun. There were many times when she thought it was tough, but she was able to overcome it because she thought it was fun.
And then came the third race. Her trainer, who usually didn't talk to her right before a race, gave her instructions with a serious look on his face.
"Be careful of Number 9, Castanet Rhythm, Number 5, Feudal Tenure, and Number 4, Duotalicar. The atmosphere is a little off, so they might try to play rough. Be careful if they run alongside you or get right behind you. Also, be careful of the sand flying up, as usual."
Haru Urara nodded, feeling a little ticklish from the whispered instructions next to her ear. To Haru Urara, the Uma Musume he warned her about just seemed "not to be having fun," but she thought it would be better to do as her trainer said.
—And she found out later that his instructions were right.
It was an irregular race with no runners in the lead or front-runners. Haru Urara, who was in the lead, was having fun running on the dirt course toward the finish line.
It was her first time being in the lead with no one in front of her in a real race. Her body was in perfect condition, and she had no worries about her running. Haru Urara continued to run in the lead just as her trainer had taught her.
She thought she might be able to get 1st place and finish the race. But as if to correct that thought, the atmosphere of the course changed.
At first, Haru Urara didn't know what it was. But from the sound of footsteps and the pressure from behind, she realized that the other runners were catching up.
"Now, led by Haru Urara, the three Uma Musume are also in the final straightaway—?"
Just as she was about to get out of the corner and into the final straightaway, Haru Urara felt the pressure from behind decrease. And at the same time, her keen Uma Musume hearing caught the sound of something heavy rolling with a loud noise.
At that moment, Haru Urara reacted to that sound. Even though she was in the middle of a race and could have gotten 1st place, she couldn't help but look back.
"---! ---! ---!"
Haru Urara thought she heard her trainer's voice. She couldn't hear the details because the crowd was so loud, but Haru Urara would never miss her trainer's voice. However, the voice was too far away to reach her in time.
What she saw when she looked back was Castanet Rhythm, whom she had raced with before, rolling on the ground. She had not just fallen; she had fallen while running at full speed. Haru Urara clearly saw her bouncing off the ground as if she had been hit by a car.
"Feudal Tenure is moving ahead! Is it too tough for Duotalicar and Haru Urara!? No, Duotalicar is coming back! Haru Urara is also desperately trying to move ahead! How about it!? Who will move ahead!? Who will grab the honor of 1st place!?"
Even so, the race continued. Haru Urara's body, which had been trained by her trainer, was still moving forward even though her mind was somewhere else.
But because her mind had been distracted, her speed had dropped slightly.
She was passed by Feudal Tenure and Duotalicar, who had come up next to her, and even when she tried to catch up, she couldn't. Haru Urara still put all her strength into her feet and ran, but she was just a little, a tiny bit, too late.
—And after they crossed the finish line, Feudal Tenure and Duotalicar fell down tangled up.
Haru Urara was able to avoid them half on instinct. Since her trainer had told her to be careful, her body had reacted on its own.
"...Why?"
But that question was one that came from the bottom of Haru Urara's heart.
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The day after the third race.
Haru Urara had been thinking about a question in her head since the morning—to be precise, since right after the race yesterday.
During meals, during classes, and even when she was on her way to training, one question occupied her mind.
As a result, she met up with her trainer in her school uniform, even though she was supposed to be training. But her trainer didn't get mad and just smiled wryly. Instead, he led her to a bench and listened to her.
"How was yesterday's race?"
"Well... it was fun, but it wasn't fun?"
That was the only answer she could give to her trainer's question.
The race, which was usually fun no matter what place she got, had stopped being fun halfway through.
"But then, Rhythm-chan fell, and it was so bad... And after that, Tenue-chan and Duo-chan fell, too..."
The reason was that the Uma Musume who were running with her had gotten hurt during the race. And it wasn't a sudden accident; they had clearly run that way knowing that it would happen.
To Haru Urara, she didn't understand why they would do that. Haru Urara also wanted to get 1st place, but racing was something that was fun and exciting just by being able to run.
"Hey, Trainer... What is 1st place that everyone tries so hard to get, to the point of becoming that? I want to get 1st place too, but I'm all confused now..."
That's why Haru Urara asked her trainer. She judged that her trainer would surely tell her and have some kind of answer.
"I'm not an Uma Musume, so I don't know what it feels like to want to get 1st place even if it kills you... But I do have the feeling that I want to get 1st place for you, Urara."
But it seemed there were some things her trainer didn't know either. As Haru Urara tilted her head, the trainer started talking in a halting way.
To be honest, Haru Urara didn't understand even half of her trainer's story. It wasn't that she didn't understand the words; she just didn't understand what her trainer was trying to convey.
"When you get 1st place someday, let me know how you feel."
But even so. Those words, spoken with a smile, touched something that Haru Urara hadn't been aware of.
"Hmm... I guess I still don't really get it."
Haru Urara said. That she didn't get it, that she couldn't understand. But still, there was something that was definitely conveyed.
"...But, you know. I understood very well that Trainer cares about me."
Her trainer had always cared about Haru Urara and had given her a well-thought-out training plan. To make her faster, as much as possible, and to help her run for a little longer, all without getting injured.
But at that moment, what Haru Urara felt was different from that. The words seemed to be the same as before, but to Haru Urara, it felt as if her trainer had just recognized Haru Urara as an Uma Musume for the first time.
Haru Urara found that strange. He was someone she had talked to countless times before, but now, it felt as if there had been a strange distance between them, separated by a thin layer of skin.
Haru Urara felt that that had disappeared—and it felt as if the distance between her and the trainer sitting next to her had suddenly become much closer.
It wasn't a physical distance. It was a strange feeling, as if their minds, their hearts, had connected.
Maybe, just maybe, it was at that moment that the Uma Musume named Haru Urara and her rookie trainer had truly met.
"So I—I really, really! Really want to do my best!"
Her determination for the race probably hadn't changed. A race was something fun and exciting. But still, a new emotion was welling up in Haru Urara's heart.
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And then came the fourth race, her third maiden race.
On that day, Haru Urara felt a strange sensation she had never felt before.
Just like the three races she had experienced before, Haru Urara was excited. But at the same time, her heart was pounding. Her ears twitched on their own, and her tail wagged restlessly.
The feeling that she was looking forward to the upcoming race was not a lie. But it was also true that a strange sense of exhilaration was filling her entire body.
She wanted to start running right now. She wanted to be in the race. She wanted to run on the dirt course—she wanted to see what was beyond it.
Haru Urara waited for the race to start impatiently, suppressing her body's trembling with the method her trainer had taught her.
She had never been so impatient for a race to begin, for the gates to open and for her to start running. Haru Urara found it strange, but it wasn't a feeling she disliked.
She changed into her racing gym clothes, showed off in the paddock, entered the gate, and waited for the race to start. The trembling that had subsided came back, and Haru Urara took deep breaths over and over again. She tensed and relaxed her whole body, trying to suppress the trembling even a little.
The sound of the fanfare, the voices of the commentator and the analyst, the cheers of the spectators. All of them sounded far away, and Haru Urara got into her starting position.
—Strangely, the trembling had stopped.
The gates opened, and Haru Urara burst out at the same time.
—It was the start her trainer had taught her.
She ran down the straightaway and entered the corner.
—That, too, was the way her trainer had taught her to run.
Haru Urara checked her position while running. She had intended to run as a chaser as usual, but before she knew it, she was firmly in the front group.
It's a little fast, she thought. And she decided to keep going.
She was in good shape. In better shape than she had ever been. Her body was hot, her limbs were as light as feathers, and every time she kicked the ground, she moved forward more and more.
Normally, she would slow down at the corners so she wouldn't widen her turn, but Haru Urara hardly slowed down at all. It was because her instincts were telling her that she could do it, that her trainer had trained her to be able to do it.
She got out of the corner and into the final straightaway. When she saw the slope in front of her, there were no other Uma Musume running ahead of her.
Haru Urara was a little confused. She had intended to be a chaser, but there was no one in front of her. She thought there were Uma Musume who had chosen to be a leader or a front-runner in this race, but there was no one.
Haru Urara instinctively thought that she had made another mistake. In the third race, she was passed after being in the lead.
That's why Haru Urara ran. She desperately, with all her might, kicked the ground and ran up the slope.
She didn't have the luxury of looking back. Someone might have fallen, or someone might be right behind her.
She couldn't hear the sound of the other Uma Musume running. The cheers from the spectators were too loud for Haru Urara to hear.
"Go, go, goooo! Uraraaaa!"
But even so, she could clearly hear her trainer's voice. Even though it should have been drowned out by the distance and the cheers of the spectators, she could strangely hear only her trainer's voice clearly.
"—Thank you."
Seeing her trainer cheering for her with a desperate look on his face, Haru Urara muttered a word.
"Go, go! Go, go, go!"
The cheers from her trainer that followed were the catalyst for Haru Urara as an Uma Musume.
Her legs, which had been running at a faster pace than ever before, were tired, and her lungs were aching. But still, her body was filled with strength, and a great power resided in her legs as she kicked the ground.
She ran up the slope and ran down the final straightaway. She didn't know when or who would pass her. That's why she ran with all her might until the very end—and before she knew it, she had passed the finish line.
Haru Urara looked around, but she couldn't see any other Uma Musume. When she looked toward her trainer, he wasn't looking at her as he had in her debut race.
But Haru Urara, who noticed that her trainer was covering his eyes with his hands and wiping away tears, finally understood.
—She had gotten 1st place.
It was an excitement and a tremor that welled up from the bottom of her stomach, different from before the race. A joy that was so great that tears were about to overflow, different from fun and excitement.
"---! I did it!"
Haru Urara raised her fists, which were trembling, and jumped up and down.
"Haah... haah... I did it, Trainer! I won! I won!"
And she ran to her trainer first. She naturally thought, "I wonder if he'll be happy," and "I wonder if he'll praise me."
"Ahh! I saw it, Urara! But are you hurt!? Are you okay!?"
What her trainer did was not praise her but worry about her injuries. That's why Haru Urara responded with a peace sign.
"Of course! You'd get mad at me if I got hurt!"
He was happier that Haru Urara was safe than that she got 1st place. Seeing her trainer like that, Haru Urara started to worry about the other Uma Musume.
She was not hurt at all, but the other Uma Musume might not be. When she went to the other Uma Musume who had already finished, Haru Urara was met with tears and wry smiles from several of them.
"Ah, geez... I can't complain when you win with a record."
"You're right... Yeah, I think I can let go now."
The words of the Uma Musume who got 2nd and 3rd place. Haru Urara didn't understand what the word "record" meant, but she understood the feelings behind the Uma Musume's words.
"You keep doing your best, I'm rooting for you."
"A winning live performance with a record holder... What a great last memory."
They seemed happy, yet a definite regret remained. But all Haru Urara could do for the Uma Musume who were patting her on the back in praise was to make her first-ever winning live performance a huge success.
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Haru Urara's first winning live performance ended in a great success.
It was fun, exciting, and so happy that tears were about to overflow. Her trainer was actually shedding tears, but even that made Haru Urara happy.
But this was not the end. Haru Urara had gotten a ticket to the next stage.
Even so, Haru Urara thought that she would be okay as long as she was with her trainer. She thought that many races, even more fun and exciting than today's, were waiting for her.
She didn't know if she could get 1st place again, but she had learned how happy an Uma Musume could be by standing in the center of a winning live performance and singing and dancing.
Yes—Haru Urara had learned what happiness was for an Uma Musume.
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