"Your family's Oguri Cap is about to make her move."
Hyuuga Sakikawa's deadpan expression didn't change, but his tone was firm. Kitahara couldn't tear her eyes away from the track for a second.
"See?" he continued, his voice calm amidst the roaring crowd. "Her breathing rhythm has changed. She's switched from a three-step to a two-step pattern. She's actively adjusting her breathing to prepare her leg muscles for the final burst."
On the track, Oguri Cap was a study in concentration. She had been conserving her energy, her body a coiled spring, and now, that suppressed power was about to be unleashed.
"Oguri Cap is accelerating!" the announcer's voice cracked with excitement. "In the final straight, she's choosing to go head-to-head with Fuji Kiseki! What an explosive burst of speed!"
The gray shadow shot forward, its muscles coiling and uncoiling, closing the distance to the leader in an instant. Her ears were pressed flat against her head, her body a blur of motion as she thundered down the track, right on Fuji Kiseki's tail.
The monster was coming.
Fuji Kiseki didn't need to look back; the sound of the approaching hoofbeats was enough. But she wasn't afraid. On the contrary, her fighting spirit ignited. A faint smile touched her lips.
I've been waiting for you!
"Fuji Kiseki has responded! She's not giving up the lead! She's accelerating too!"
"Oh my god! They're both speeding up in the final stretch!"
The announcer's voice was nearly drowned out by the roar of the crowd. The distance between them was nonexistent. They were perfectly matched, stride for stride. The final 400 meters.
Every step, every breath was perfectly synchronized, a beautiful, violent harmony of power and will.
The pain was immense. Every muscle fiber screamed in protest. Fuji Kiseki could feel her own instincts rebelling against the strain, but she pushed it all down. In front of her was Oguri Cap. The fire in her opponent's eyes was a mirror of her own. This was more than a race; it was a battle of wills.
Yorozuya Eiyuu watched from the stands, her chest tight, her own muscles aching in sympathy. She could feel their pain, their exhaustion. She could see the dream they were both chasing, right there on the track.
This was the top. This was the stage she dreamed of reaching.
Sakikawa wasn't speaking anymore. He just watched, his eyes narrowed, the world around him dissolving into a stream of numbers and data. Fuji Kiseki is fast, he thought, but I can hear her fatigue.
Her heart rate had exceeded its limit. Her stamina was almost gone. But Oguri Cap... her mental state was like a steel trap, forcing her exhausted body to keep moving. In a battle of pure willpower, the outcome was already decided.
The final 200 meters.
The final 100 meters!
Fifty meters!
"Go—!"
The announcer let out a final, breathless cry.
"The final fifty meters! They're both at their absolute limit! Who will it be?! Who will cross that finish line first?!"
Oguri Cap and Fuji Kiseki leaned forward as one, a final, desperate lunge.
"It's... a photo finish!"
The entire stadium held its breath. The silence was deafening. All eyes were glued to the giant screen, waiting for the verdict. Eiyuu felt her own breathing stop.
Kitahara's hands were clasped in a desperate prayer, her knuckles white. Even Sakikawa was leaning forward slightly, his usual lazy posture gone. He made a small "tsk" sound.
"You lost by a nose," he muttered. "Your Symboli Rudolf cosplay needs some work."
"What... what did you say?" Kitahara stammered.
Just then, the screen flashed. The results were in, frozen in time.
[1st Place: No. 2, Oguri Cap]
[2nd Place: No. 1, Fuji Kiseki]
[Difference: A nose]
"She... she won...!!" Kitahara screamed, tears of joy streaming down her face. Saki was right beside her, jumping up and down.
"That damn horse of yours, she really did it," Sakikawa grumbled, rubbing his ears. "I only trust my data. That was just a fluke."
"You... just say it! You two!" Kitahara shot back, her face a mess of tears and laughter. Saki just gave Sakikawa a grateful look.
The roar of the crowd was like a tidal wave. "Oguri—!!" "The ash-haired monster—!!"
Eiyuu stood up, her heart pounding. She looked from the celebrating crowd to Oguri Cap and Fuji Kiseki, who were now walking side-by-side on the track, a silent acknowledgment of respect passing between them. She then looked at the man who had predicted it all, the man who had constructed this victory with his cold, hard data.
He wasn't watching the celebration. His gaze was fixed on the young champions, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else entirely.
The youthful queen's crown, the roar of the crowd, the final, quiet curtain call.
Eiyuu stood tall, looking past the cheering crowd, her gaze fixed on the backs of the two figures on the track.
Oguri Cap's words from the day before echoed in her mind: I'm going to the Central Academy.
That promise, that declaration, now burned in her heart.
-------
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