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Word Count: 4,300
The cafeteria was louder than usual.
Not because of chatter—but because nearly half the room had their eyes glued to the massive screen mounted above the serving counters.
"—Kitasan Black accelerates cleanly on the outside! She has overtaken Satono Rasen!"
The commentator's voice rang out just as the image showed a familiar black-haired umamusume surging past the pack with an almost festive confidence, her stride steady, unbroken, unwavering.
"Woah… Looks like she's not panickin' at all," Lucky Lilac muttered, chopsticks paused mid-air.
"Yes," Almond Eye replied calmly. "She's really fast out there..."
At one of the longer tables near the window sat Diamente, her tray noticeably fuller than the others', flanked by Rey de Oro, Lucky Lilac, Almond Eye, and Daring Tact. Plates clinked softly as the finishing replay rolled.
"And that makes it her second win in the 1-win ALW Open!"
The racing commentary continued as the display switched to the studio commentary.
"With this result, Team Spica's trainer, Okino, in his latest interview has officially confirmed Kitasan Black's next race would be her entry into the G2 Spring Stakes next month—a crucial trial race toward the Classic Triple Crown."
A graphic flashed across the screen.
CLASSIC TRIPLE CROWN
Projected Contenders:
- Kitasan Black (2 out of 2 wins)
- Real Steel (G3 Kyodo Tsushin Hai Winner)
- Duramente (G3 Kyodo Tsushin Hai – 2nd Place)
As the studio commentary on the TV continues…
"…Three names, huh," Daring Tact said lightly, leaning back in her chair. "They're really selling it as a three-way rivalry already."
"They're not wrong though, Tact-chan," Rey de Oro replied, eyes still on the screen. "Those three are quite the powerhouse, after all."
Diamente didn't speak immediately. She watched on the smaller screen that displayed Kitasan slowing down, waving her hand to the cheering stands with her smile wide and unrestrained.
Only after the replay faded did Rey de Oro glance sideways.
"…Hey, Dia-chan."
"Hm?" Diamente looked up.
"I think you've gotten leaner nowadays."
The words were casual—but also observant in Rey de Oro's part.
Diamente blinked once, then smiled sheepishly. "Have I?"
Lucky Lilac leaned in a bit, eyes narrowing.
"Now that you mention it… yeah, looks like it. Yer shoulders, especially."
"Are you losing weight, Dia-chan?" Almond Eye asked, her tone's neutral but also quite sharp as well.
Diamente shook her head and waved her hand off quickly. "No, no. I'm actually trying to bulk up."
That earned her a few raised eyebrows.
"Then why do you look like you're cutting for race season, Dia-chan?" Daring Tact asked.
Diamente gestured down at her tray. "It's because I'm trying to eat more, y'know."
They followed her gaze.
There's a large amount of rice within her bowl, some roasted chicken, a second bowl filled with vegetables, a milk carton, and an untouched dessert she was clearly saving for last.
There were also a few packs of protein bars but they remained separate from the main tray.
"…That's actually a lot," Lucky Lilac admitted.
"My pre-maturation training intensity just went up last week," Diamente explained. "So my intake had to go up with it."
Rey de Oro tilted her head. "Eh? What kind of training are you up to now?"
Diamente hesitated for half a second—then slipped off one shoe beneath the table and nudged it forward with her toe.
"Weighted hooves during my training."
Almond Eye's eyes widened slightly. "How heavy?"
"About three times the weight of standard lightweight shoes," Diamente replied matter-of-factly. "I wear them during daily movement, aside from training, of course."
"…That's insane," Daring Tact said, impressed. "Doesn't that mess with your joints?"
"It would if I jumped straight into speedwork," Diamente said. "But I adjusted my stride length and cadence first."
Lucky Lilac let out an 'impressed woah'. "You really are trying to up your game, huh…?"
Daring Tact smirked. "My~ you're trying to leave all of us to dust here, huh?"
That earned a small laugh around the table.
As the cafeteria noise settled again, the TV switched to post-race analysis—slow-motion clips of Kitasan's positioning, her decision to move outside, the clean overtake.
"So," Daring Tact said, changing gears, "what does Diamente-chan think about the upcoming Spring Stakes?"
Diamente's gaze returned to the screen.
"Kitasan-senpai was beautiful in that open race," she said softly. "But the next one's different."
"How so?" Rey de Oro asked.
"She won comfortably there since she has no real opponent there," Diamente continued. "But for the Spring Stakes, it'll be much more competitive than before."
"Yes," Almond Eye nodded. "It looks like the pace will be harsher then."
"And the 1st favorite to win also won't be her," Lucky Lilac added.
Rey de Oro smiled faintly. "It's Real Steel-senpai, isn't it?"
Diamente nodded. "Yes, it's Real Steel-senpai from Team Regulus."
The name settled between them like punctuation.
"She's a strong racer," Diamente said. "Efficient too. Her Kyodo Tsushin Hai win wasn't flashy, but it was decisive since she's against Duramente of all racers there."
"What about Duramente, Dia-chan?" Daring Tact asked.
Diamente's expression shifted—more serious now.
"…As Kitasan-senpai's teammate, I'm actually more wary of Duramente-senpai than Real Steel-senpai."
That caught their attention.
"Why though?" Rey de Oro prompted.
"Duramente-senpai has the kind of late-surging explosiveness that can possibly win the Classics," Diamente said. "Even in second place during that G3 race, she controlled her acceleration perfectly but was too late to surge ahead at that time."
Lucky Lilac frowned slightly. "That's high praise from you, Dia-chan."
"Of course," Diamente continued. "She's from Team Rigil and they have produced monsters before—like Grass-senpai, and Opera O-senpai…"
"And," she added after a pause, "from what I've heard, she's also from Air Groove-san's family."
"Oooh…" Almond Eye's eyebrows lifted. "That explains a lot."
"Air Groove-senpai is acting as her temporary trainer," Diamente said. "Counting Trainer Toujou, that's years of top-level experience guiding Duramente-senpai."
The table fell quiet for a moment.
Then Rey de Oro smiled.
"Sounds like the Classic Triple Crown's going to be fun."
Lucky Lilac nodded. "It sounds so brutal. But also fun."
Daring Tact grinned. "I can't wait to see it."
Diamente looked back at the screen—now frozen on Kitasan Black's smiling face, triumphant but earnest.
"…Me too," she said quietly.
And as the cafeteria buzzed on, no one noticed how naturally Diamente's fingers tightened around her fork—not in jealousy, not in impatience, but in quiet anticipation.
Now... As lunch wound down and the cafeteria slowly emptied, Diamente found herself lagging behind the others.
"I'll head back first," she said, waving lightly as Rey de Oro and the others peeled off toward their next classes.
Instead of taking the shortest route to Team Spica's club room, Diamente turned the other way.
The long way.
The path curved gently around the edge of Tracen's turf track, where the scent of grass and soil lingered faintly in the air. It was quieter here—only the distant rhythm of hooves and the occasional call of a trainer cutting through the afternoon calm.
Diamente walked at an easy pace, hands tucked behind her back.
Then she stopped.
Someone was on the track.
A lone dark-haired umamusume stood at the edge of the turf, head lowered slightly, posture still. Her long hair fluttered faintly in the breeze, her shadow stretching across the grass.
It was Duramente.
Diamente instinctively slowed her breathing.
She watched as Duramente adjusted her footing which was not rushed, nor tense. It wasn't a warm-up either nor was it idle stretching either.
She's imagining her starting pose when she's at the gates.
For a brief moment, Duramente remained perfectly still.
And then—
She launched herself out.
No countdown nor was any signal from elsewhere needed.
Just sudden acceleration from her part.
Duramente exploded forward as if the ground itself had rejected her presence, her first step already biting deep into the turf. Her acceleration was brutal—clean, ruthless, and frighteningly efficient.
Diamente's eyes widened.
'That fast—right off the mark?'
There was no wasted movement. No visible hesitation. Duramente's stride lengthened instantly, her center of gravity lowered, the power of her legs flowing cleanly through her frame as if she had rehearsed this exact moment countless times.
What surprised Diamente the most wasn't all that since she saw more impressive pace work than Duramente's, but something that emanated out of Duramente's body.
Diamente felt it in her chest—a sharp, instinctive awareness.
'Is she already trying to unlock her domain and already attempting it so successfully?!' Diamente thought to herself.
Duramente tore down the stretch alone, wind screaming past her as if the track had shrunk beneath her feet. Even without a stopwatch, Diamente knew that she'll conquer the upcoming Satsuki Sho.
By the time Duramente eased off and slowed, Diamente was already turning away.
Her steps quickened before she broke into a run.
Team Spica's club room loomed ahead, but Diamente didn't slow. Her heart raced—not from exertion, but from realization.
'The Satsuki Sho…'
The image of Duramente's run burned into her mind.
There's urgency in her facial expression.
==== 🐎Legend Changer🐎 ====
The moment Diamente finished recounting what she had seen on the turf track, silence settled over Team Spica's club room, especially since there's only her and Trainer Okino inside at this moment.
Trainer Okino leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed, and his eyes closed as if he's started to think over what Diamente had just reported.
"…Domains, huh."
Diamente straightened slightly at his tone.
Okino glanced at her and asked, "Before I say anything else, how do you even know about that concept?"
Diamente blinked once, then answered calmly.
"In human athletics, there's a similar thing and they call it getting into the zone," she said. "It's a state where both cognition and physical execution synchronize almost perfectly. Their reaction time sharpens, inefficient thoughts are dropped, and temporarily, their brain loosens the safety limiters that normally suppress maximum output since the brain is the most energy-consuming organ of the body."
Okino raised an eyebrow.
"It's quite similar to an adrenaline rush, yes," Diamente continued, "but this one is more… controlled. I figured that umamusume physiology would allow something analogous, maybe even more pronounced, for this since our bodies are already designed to handle such an extreme output of speed and power."
Okino stared at her for a moment.
Then he sighed and rubbed his temple.
"…Right. I keep forgetting you're not just 'sharp for your age.' You're practically a support-type umamusume that actually has a superb talent for racing."
Diamente let out a small, embarrassed breath.
"S-sorry…"
"No, no," Okino waved it off. "That's a compliment, Diamente-chan."
He stood up and turned toward the whiteboard mounted on the wall.
Sketched across it was the Nakayama Racecourse line which bore resemblance to the race layout for the Satsuki Sho. The tight corners. The elevation changes. The infamous uphill stretch near the finish was all pointed out in the whiteboard.
Okino tapped the uphill segment with the marker.
"So," he said, not looking back at her, "what you really saw there—was she really activating her domain?"
"Actually," Diamente hesitated. "…I'm not 100% certain."
Okino glanced over his shoulder.
She clasped her hands together lightly.
"There's another possibility that comes to my mind," she continued, "which is that Duramente-senpai was tapping into something closer to overblooming."
Okino's marker paused mid-air.
"…You mean like the case of Sakura Chiyono O."
Diamente nodded slowly.
"In her case, she burned through all her latent potential to push her body past its sustainable limits. The output spike was just enough for her to win the Japanese Derby—but the cost was irreversible."
Okino clicked his tongue softly.
"So you're saying Duramente might be—"
"I don't know if it's either those two possibilities," Diamente interrupted gently, "or if she's doing both."
That made Okino finally turn around.
Diamente's expression wasn't alarmist. It was thoughtful. Even almost worried.
"If she's entering a domain while simultaneously overblooming," Diamente said, "then her short-term performance ceiling would be terrifying. But it would also mean that she's accelerating her career to a burnout."
Okino exhaled slowly.
"…That's one hell of a thing to notice just from a start dash."
Diamente looked down. "Her acceleration wasn't normal, Trainer-san. That speed of hers felt… intentional. Like she was racing even though there was no race."
For a moment, Okino said nothing.
Then he walked back over and, unexpectedly, placed a hand on her head.
She stiffened.
"H-Huh?"
"You did good, Diamente-chan," he said simply, giving her head a brief, firm pat.
Diamente froze, then relaxed slightly.
"If I were you, I'd leave the worrying about other teams' ace umamusume to people like me," Okino continued. "But spotting this early and your supporting theories? That's valuable enough for me to take things into account."
He pulled his hand back and smiled faintly.
"There's still almost two months before the Satsuki Sho, and that's more than enough time to think up countermeasures against it."
Diamente looked up.
"…Countermeasures?"
Okino turned the marker in his fingers. "Go on, Diamente-chan. You didn't bring this up just to report it, didn't it?"
She hesitated for just a fraction then nodded.
"For the Spring Stakes," she said, "I think Kitasan-senpai should run a Near-Frontrunner strategy."
"A Near-Frontrunner strategy where you're marking the lead umamusume?" Okino blinked. "…That's very aggressive, y'know?"
"Yes, indeed," Diamente agreed. "But it's also necessary to wind them down and take the lead early on."
She stepped closer to the whiteboard, pointing at the early race flow.
"If she sits too far from the front by the time the last corner ends, she'll be forced to respond to Duramente-senpai's acceleration instead of controlling her own pace. But if she stays just behind the frontrunner until the last corner, close enough to react instantly, then Kitasan-senpai can avoid losing her focus even if Duramente-senpai or Real Steel-senpai were to spurt at the final straight aggressively."
Okino's eyes narrowed—not in doubt, but interest.
"And about Kita-chan's stamina?"
"She has two months to build it up," Diamente said confidently. "Enough time to raise both speed and endurance if her training is optimized for both statistics."
She hesitated, then added carefully—
"…You could also simulate her rivals."
Okino's mouth twitched. "Meaning?"
"Gold Ship-senpai can emulate unpredictable pace changes," Diamente said. "Vodka-senpai excels at explosive finishing speed."
"And if Teio-senpai is available—"
Okino chuckled. "You want them to play as Kita-chan's sparring partners."
"Only if they're willing to do so," Diamente bowed her head slightly. "And it's also a helpful preparation for Gold Ship-senpai for her upcoming races in Hanshin Daishoten and Spring Tenno Sho."
For a long moment, Okino simply stared at her.
Then he laughed genuinely.
"…Your suggestions aren't half-bad, kid."
He nodded once.
"Alright, we'll try those ideas for a week. Whether they work or not, there can be no promises there but I like this line of thinking."
Relief flickered across Diamente's face.
At that moment, the club room door slid open.
"Oh? Seems like Kita-chan's already here."
Kitasan Black stepped inside, bright as ever, stopping short when she noticed the atmosphere.
"Oh! Diamente-chan's already here!"
Diamente turned. "Good afternoon, Kitasan-senpai."
Okino clapped his hands once.
"Good timing. Kita-chan, go get changed to your gym uniform. I've got something important to explain before training once everyone arrives here."
Kitasan straightened instantly.
"Yes, Trainer-san!"
As she headed toward the lockers, Diamente watched her go.
'For two months, the Satsuki Sho. A month from now, the Spring Stakes. Her rivals are already pushing themselves to the edge.'
Diamente quietly clenched her fist and hoped that things could change from thereon out.
And so… After almost a month later, it's time for the Spring Stakes.
==== 🐎Legend Changer🐎 ====
Spring Stakes — Live Paddock
The large screens surrounding the paddock lit up as the live feed switched from crowd shots to the field assembled on the grass.
"…Good afternoon and welcome back to Nakayama Racecourse," the first commentator announced, their voice bright over the murmuring crowd.
"We're mere moments away from the start of the live paddock event for the G2 Fuji TV Shō Spring Stakes—the key trial for the first leg of the Classic Triple Crown race, the Satsuki Sho ahead in two weeks." the first commentator added.
"Now, let's begin with popularity rankings for today's race." the second commentator initiated.
The giant screen in front of the audience across the wide turf track had lit off with the live camera view of the live paddock area, beside it being the displayed name of the racing umamusume, their gate number, and their ranking among the favorites.
Various umamusumes walked forward at the paddock, and then, the time for Kitasan Black had come.
"And here comes Kitasan Black, assigned to Gate 1, but is only the 5th favorite to win in today's race." the first commentator announced.
Kitasan Black then walked onto the paddock platform with a white shirt that has red outlines alongside red shorts and red thigh-high socks while wearing the number 1 in front and back of her torso on top of her name that's written there.
The second commentator then supplemented by adding more information, "Winning her debut race and a win in an open race, her team had certainly chosen a bold move to participate in this race as their first graded race, though that's to be expected from one of Central's finest teams."
"She seemed in a really good mood and really confident about her prospects of this race today." The first commentator remarked as he then added, "Will she be able to clinch her first graded victory remains to be seen since the top 4 favorites all have more racing experience."
Kitasan then went backstage as the other umamusume approached the paddock stage, then the 2nd favorite was now up next.
"And here comes Danon Platina, who's currently assigned to Gate 8, the 2nd favorite who's favored to win." the first commentator announced.
"She currently has won her first G1 race last year at the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, and alongside her two wins at the ALW 1-win Begonia Shō and the 1600m Maiden Race, she has currently racked up 3 wins in 4 starts, which is a very impressive record." The second commentator read through the umamusume's racing record.
"She looks quite confident today, and from our reports today, there's a possibility that she may win today," the first commentator remarked before adding, "Unless, of course, she could win against the 1st Favorite for this race."
Danon Platina then went backstage after this, and out came the umamusume who was quite familiar to Diamente, who's watching from the audience.
A short brown-haired, gray-eyed umamusume who's wearing a red hairband and has a red-white ribbon placed on her right red ear cover, while having a different white ear cover on her left. Wearing the same outfit as Kitasan Black and others but it's a color yellow, reflective of her gate placement.
"This is the 1st Favorite favored to win for the G2 Spring Stakes, assigned at Gate 6. She's Real Steel!" the first commentator announced.
Some of the audience started cheering around as the second commentator started reading Real Steel's race record.
"Like Kitasan Black, she has won 2 wins out of her 2 starts, but what Real Steel above from her competitors today is the fact that she had faced the number 1 favorite by a big margin at the G3 Kyodo Tsushin Hai that had raced with 2 wins out of 3 starts at the time, which was Duramente, and had actually won it in her 2nd race." the second commentator announced.
"A very impressive racer indeed. She looked to be in quite a good mood today as well, but we will see on whether Real Steel or Kitasan Black will continue their win streak today, or an outsider like Danon Platina and others would have the chance to win the priority placement for the first leg of the Classic Triple Crown race." the first commentator added.
"We will see for now, as the live paddock event for this race has now ended. The race will start in 10 minutes." The second commentator announced once more as the giant screen in front of the race shifted towards the list of the 12 runners for today's Spring Stakes.
As the paddock coverage concluded, the runners were escorted back toward their respective break rooms.
Not far from the front-most standing area, six figures moved together through the flow of spectators.
These were Diamente, Daiwa Scarlet, Vodka, Satono Diamond, Belno Light, and Win Variation.
"Thank you for inviting us to watch here-ssu, Scarlet-senpai." Win Variation smiled as Daiwa Scarlet shook her hand off and said, "Don't worry about it, Shion-chan~! I'm just glad that the two of us could talk again once in a while.
"And besides, it's not technically my idea alone to invite you over, but it's that kid's idea since she wanted to invite over Belno-chan." Daiwa Scarlet pointed her thumb towards Diamente, who's currently preoccupied by talking with Satono Diamond.
"Is that so…?" Win Variation tilted her head in wonder as Vodka then felt a vibration on her phone and went to get it out of her pocket to check when her eyes widened.
"Woah…!" Vodka exclaimed as Daiwa Scarlet and others looked at Vodka.
"Is that from Trainer-san? What did he say about the race?" Daiwa Scarlet asked.
The race in question is the Hanshin Daishoten, happening in Hanshin Racecourse in Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan.
Trainer Okino, Gold Ship, Tokai Teio, Mejiro McQueen, Special Week, and Silence Suzuka all departed Tracen for Hanshin the day before in preparation for the said race.
"Un…" Vodka said as she added, "He just said that Gorushin just won the race at Hanshin just now by 1 and ¼ length, and make sure that we've passed our good luck to Kita-chan in their place."
A few moments later, the news of the race in Hanshin had reached the rest of the audience as they started murmuring towards one another in excitement.
'As expected… Golshi-senpai is quite popular with everyone.' Diamente had thought as she then had a good idea that just popped out of her head.
"Scarlet-senpai, I'll go to the toilet for a bit." Diamente had said to them, to which both Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka looked at each other knowingly before nodding.
"Just be quick, Diamente-chan." Daiwa Scarlet smiled.
"Relay our words to Kita-chan as well~!" Vodka replied, which made Diamente roll her eyes.
The others had said the same thing as Diamente then started running her way towards the tunnel to the course's turf track and slipped through the security quite easily as well.
She didn't wait for long as Diamente could see Kitasan Black making her way to the end of the tunnel.
"Kitasan-senpai!" Diamente called as she approached her.
"E-Eh?!" Kitasan exclaimed as she saw the small familiar stature of an umamusume approaching her.
"Kitasan-senpai, I'm here to convey everyone's well-wishes and their wish for your good luck!" Diamente beamed.
"Thank you for that, Diamente-chan." Kitasan patted Diamente's fluffy hair once more.
"And also, I have one more thing to report, Senpai," Diamente said while her smile stayed, "Trainer Okino just texted us back from Hanshin. Gold Shio-senpai had just won the Hanshin Daishoten by over a length, it's amazing!"
Hearing this made Kitasan's face beam with happiness.
"Is that so?" she asked before adding, "I'm glad that she won…"
After patting Diamente's head, she then curled her fists together and made a 'yosh' sound from her mouth.
"Alright, I'll be off to the track now, Diamente-chan." Kitasan said, with her eyes now fired up with confidence.
"Good luck to your race, Kita-senpai! Everyone from Team Spica and even Trainer Belno and Shion-chan says so!" Diamente replied, to which Kitasan nodded with a determined smile before starting jogging on her way to the end of the tunnel.
At the same time, Diamente made her way out of the tunnel, but when she was now at the audience area, the fanfare had just started playing, played by the Nakayama Racecourse Marching Band.
Diamente can't go back to the front area now, but she still found a standing area from a higher vantage point where she can see both the screen and the gates from afar.
As the fanfare came to an end, the final notes lingering for a heartbeat longer, each Umamusume stepped forward and entered their assigned gates. The crowd erupted into cheers once more, the sound crashing down like a wave.
The commentators wasted no time.
"Now confirming the gates for today's Fuji TV Shō Spring Stakes."
"Gate 1: Kitasan Black."
"Gate 2: Meiner Chevalier."
"Gate 3: Beruf."
"Gate 4: Takeden Tiger."
"Gate 6: Real Steel."
"Gate 8: Danon Platina."
After all umamusumes had gone inside the gates, silence fell from the audience as the racing commentator had cut through the tension.
"The Nakayama Race Course today is sunny, with good turf conditions. The distance is 1,800 meters, right-handed. This is the Grade 2 Spring Stakes race—"
The gates flew open and all 12 umamusumes had gone out of the gates.
"And they're off!"
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