Nakayama Racecourse was enveloped in an almost boiling heat.
It came not only from the blazing midday sun, but from the fervor of the tens of thousands of spectators gathered there and the hundreds of millions of eyes fixed on screens elsewhere. A strange scent filled the air—a mixture of crushed grass, churned earth, and something more abstract that nevertheless sent adrenaline surging: the hormones of "dreams" and "ambition."
The Satsuki Sho.
As the first race of the Classic Triple Crown, its place in history was lofty and unshakable.
It was a proving ground for prodigies, a threshold on the road to legend, and a unique challenge and opportunity that came only once in an umamusume's career in Japan. Whether she could stand upon this turf and charge across that finish line would directly determine the course of her future.
Would she become a star in the eyes of the masses, showered with flowers and applause?
Or would she be reduced to a nameless figure in the background, gradually fading over the long years ahead?
Everything would be decided today.
For Tracen Academy's students, this was not merely a race, but a grand festival. Many uniformed students in the stands waved glow sticks, giving the most passionate expression to their youth.
...
At the racecourse entrance, the media's cameras had long since been arrayed like hunters waiting for prey. The moment a girl with long green hair and horse ears appeared, camera flashes swallowed her whole. She was an elite member of Rigil—Grass Wonder. Today she wore a blue-and-white race outfit that blended an academy uniform with naval elements, giving her an air both dignified and energetic. Beneath that exquisite attire, however, lurked a sharpness no one could underestimate.
"Grass Wonder! Over here!"
"Grass Wonder, are you confident you can win today?"
"We heard you returned to peak condition in the Yayoi Sho. Do you have a strategy prepared for a powerful opponent like Special Week?"
Grass Wonder stopped amid the reporters' barrage of questions. Before the cameras, her jade-smooth face carried an impeccable smile. It was the classic smile of a *Yamato nadeshiko*: dignified and elegant, yet carrying a distance that kept others at arm's length.
"The course is in excellent condition today. That makes it fair for every runner." Grass Wonder's voice traveled through the microphones, gentle yet firm. "As for strategy... an umamusume race is never a one-woman show. I will focus on my own running. The result will come naturally once I have given everything I have."
The reporters were plainly dissatisfied with such an official answer. They wanted a declaration of war filled with sparks.
"But Special Week's performance in the Hopeful Stakes—"
"Special Week is strong."
Grass Wonder cut the reporter off. Her eyes flickered slightly, as though she could see through the layers of camera lenses to the red-haired girl warming up alone on the course.
"It is precisely because she is strong that I must give this everything. Today's Satsuki Sho is not about defeating any one person. It is about surpassing my former self."
She inclined her head, then decisively turned and left.
Yet the moment she entered a shadow the cameras could not reach, Grass Wonder's dignified expression disappeared. In its place came focus as keen as a blade—and even a trace of fervor too faint for anyone else to notice.
"Surpass myself..."
She murmured, lightly stroking the ribbon on her race outfit. The force of her grip left her fingertips pale.
"No. Today, I have to defeat Spe-chan too!"
Only then, perhaps, would the girl who had captivated her at first sight finally let her gaze rest upon Grass Wonder.
...
Half an hour remained before the race.
The atmosphere in the competitors' area was suffocatingly tense.
A faint smell of perspiration hung in the air—the sweat of nerves, exertion, and warm-up exercises.
When Special Week emerged from the competitors' tunnel and stepped onto the lush green turf, the other umamusume, who had been looking around and exchanging greetings, instantly fell silent. It was as if someone had pressed mute on a noisy marketplace.
"Special Week..."
Someone whispered the name, her voice mingling fear, awe, and a trace of defiance.
She was the greatest known opponent they faced today, a towering mountain blocking everyone's path.
Before entering the race, many of them had repeatedly studied recordings of Special Week's previous performances in private. Suppressing the unease and fear of watching a horror film, they analyzed her stride frequency frame by frame, along with her movements and the moment she accelerated upon entering the final straight.
Their teams had devised all kinds of tactics against her. Some planned to seize the lead immediately and disrupt her rhythm. Others intended to cling tightly to her and deny her room to accelerate. Still others would conserve their stamina and wait for a mistake in the instant before the final turn.
But now that they truly stood here and felt the pure, bestial pressure radiating from Special Week, every tactical plan seemed feeble and powerless. Special Week paid no attention to the eyes upon her.
Whether jealous, fearful, or hostile, those gazes mattered no more to her than stones beside the road.
She walked lightly toward her starting gate.
Her draw today was decent: gate five.
It was an excellent inside position—and the center of the storm.
She stopped before the gate, bent at the waist, and checked her racing shoes one final time. Then she began stretching to warm up.
At that moment, light footsteps approached.
Grass Wonder had entered the course.
She was as graceful as a deer strolling through a forest.
Unlike Special Week's crushing pressure, Grass Wonder's aura was not intense, yet it exuded the same confidence of the strong. Many runners turned their eyes toward her as well.
If Special Week was the greatest enemy in today's race—the boss, the Demon King—
then Grass Wonder occupied the role of the "hero."
But cooperation had no place in an umamusume race, and only one victor could claim the glory. That made Grass Wonder, the "hero," another obstacle every other runner had to confront.
The instant she saw Special Week, Grass Wonder's eyes brightened slightly.
She restrained her smile and slowly approached.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze.
The other umamusume—including Seiun Sky, King Halo, and the rest of the field—stopped without realizing it and focused on the pair.
They were the twin pillars of this Satsuki Sho.
Standing beside Special Week, Grass Wonder spoke softly enough that only the two of them could hear. "Spe-chan, let's both give it everything today and run a race we won't regret."
It was a standard pre-race greeting.
Polite, proper, and filled with sportsmanship.
Special Week raised her head. Her eyes were as still as a pool of dead water.
She looked at Grass Wonder without the slightest ripple in her gaze, as though she were looking at a stranger—or, more accurately, an irrelevant passerby.
"You're confident?"
Special Week's voice was soft, yet it carried a biting chill.
There was an aloof superiority to it, as though Grass Wonder's promise to "give it everything" were nothing but a meaningless joke.
Grass Wonder faltered, stunned.
A crack appeared in her dignified mask, surprise flashing through her eyes.
She had not expected Special Week to answer her that way.
"I..."
"Then show me what you can do."
Special Week faced her and spoke in a low voice.
"With your feet, not your mouth."
With that, Special Week entered her gate, leaving Grass Wonder alone with an uncertain expression.
"Good... Very good."
Grass Wonder drew a deep breath. The surprise in her eyes gradually gave way to anger and fighting spirit—a twisted excitement born of being slighted.
"Spe-chan, if that's how you want it, then just watch me!"
Grass Wonder wanted to build a good relationship with Special Week, but she could also see that, in Special Week's mind, she was merely an ordinary classmate—practically a stranger.
Unless she did something, Special Week would never truly pay attention to her.
So if Special Week was going to look down on her from the outset, Grass Wonder would use this race to make sure that, willing or not, Special Week remembered her existence!
Not far away, Seiun Sky leaned against the railing with an air of boredom as she watched the scene.
"My, my. What a frightening atmosphere." She yawned. "To think gentle class representative Grass Wonder could make a face like that."
Beside her, King Halo snorted and straightened the ornate hem of her skirt.
She lifted her chin with pride. "Once the race begins, I'll teach them what happens when they underestimate their opponents!"
Seiun Sky merely smiled.
She quietly glanced at King Halo's faintly trembling legs.
Her mouth refused to yield,
but cold sweat already coated her palms.
King Halo looked at Special Week and Grass Wonder, profound helplessness welling inside her.
No matter how hard she worked, that work always seemed pale and powerless before monsters blessed with such terrifying talent. Her reason understood with painful clarity how hopelessly vast the gulf between them was.
"Still..." King Halo clenched her teeth, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes. "Even if I can't win, I absolutely refuse to lose disgracefully."
The other runners were hardly doing any better.
"Damn it!"
Crimson Blaze clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.
"Special Week and Grass Wonder aren't taking any of us seriously!"
Sea of Blue Skies adjusted her glasses, her face somewhat pale. "Simply standing there, their presence is enough to suffocate everyone around them. Is this what people call genius?"
"What is there to fear?" Royal Glory tossed her golden hair. Her voice trembled, but her gaze was exceptionally resolute. "If we're standing here, it's because we came to win!"
"Exactly!" Gale Wings flexed an ankle excitedly. "My speed may not match theirs, but during the first 1,000 meters at the front, I absolutely won't let them pass me easily!"
"The same goes for me," Iron Will said solemnly. "I'll cling to the lead pack and refuse to fall behind."
Faced with those overwhelming favorites, the others instead found their fighting spirit ignited.
They knew they might not even come close to the podium today.
But they would run.
Even if only to prove that they had once stood on this legendary course and raced alongside those monsters.
...
"Ladies and gentlemen! Ten minutes remain before the start of the Satsuki Sho!"
The announcer's passionate voice rang from the speakers.
"The weather is clear today, and the course condition is listed as good. These are excellent conditions for an umamusume speed contest."
"Now, let us introduce today's runners!"
Special Week, Grass Wonder, Seiun Sky, King Halo...
Thunderous cheers erupted from the stands. When Special Week's photograph appeared, the entire racecourse seemed to shake.
"Special Week! Special Week! Special Week!"
The deafening chant surged like wave after wave upon the sea.
"Third in popularity today is Seiun Sky, a runner who has performed well recently and specializes in setting the pace."
"Her strength must not be underestimated. In her previous races, she consistently controlled the tempo. We look forward to seeing whether she can display that same ability today."
As the host and commentator discussed her,
many of Seiun Sky's fans, friends, and relatives cheered loudly from the stands.
Seiun Sky smiled and waved back.
Her relaxed bearing showed that she was in excellent condition.
"Second in popularity is a member of the star-studded Team Rigil. Since returning to the course after rehabilitation, she has demonstrated remarkable strength, and many believe she has a real chance of claiming this year's Satsuki Sho crown."
"Her true ability is indeed unfathomable. I am greatly looking forward to her performance today."
In the face of such high praise,
Grass Wonder merely nodded politely.
Unlike Seiun Sky, she did not respond to the spectators' cries, displaying only calm composure.
"And, as expected, today's most popular runner is Special Week! Although she has not competed since the Hopeful Stakes—or even appeared before the public—everyone's expectations and passion for her have not diminished in the slightest!"
"She is today's overwhelming favorite. Nothing more needs to be said. We cannot wait to see her run!"
Inside the gate, Special Week closed her eyes and shut out the uproar beyond it.
She paid no attention to the cheers around her.
She could feel her heart pounding violently and the blood rushing through her veins.
This was not fear, but excitement.
It was her hunger to run and her fixation on victory.
Every time she stood on the course for an official race, that pulse beat just as fiercely.
Counting the seconds in silence, she opened her eyes.
The official before the gates issued the command.
"Take your positions—"
She lowered her body, the muscles in her hind legs tensing like a bow drawn to its limit.
"Ready—"
The entire racecourse fell silent.
The spectators held their breath, countless eyes fixed upon the figures within the gates.
Grass Wonder occupied gate three. She turned her head and glanced toward gate five.
"Spe-chan..."
She whispered inside her heart.
"I will win."
Seiun Sky was in gate eight.
"What a pain..." She sighed, though her gaze turned exceptionally serious. "I've already made my choice, so I can only go through with it! I'm not fond of this style and don't have much confidence in it, but it's still the strategy I can use!"
King Halo occupied gate twelve. She took a deep breath.
"I have to prove myself!"
She clenched her teeth and forced every stray thought from her mind.
The remaining runners completed their final preparations in their own gates.
Crimson Blaze, Seiun Sky, Royal Glory...
Bang!
The starting pistol fired.
The instant the gates opened,
fourteen figures swept onto the vast turf like a whirlwind.
The battle of the Satsuki Sho had officially begun.
...
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