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Chapter 28 - Be a Guiding Star! - 28

How many years had it been since then?

Musaka Ginjirou couldn't help but ponder as Team Kitahara began preparing for another test race. Oguri Cap and Blossom Star were down at the track, while Belno stood just outside with Kitahara, discussing several new plans she'd drafted the moment she returned from her most recent race.

He knew what people thought of him. A veteran of his field, having trained over a dozen trainees. They even plastered him with that god-awful title. The "Fairy Godfather"? Bah! What a gaudy name!

He knew. 

He knew full well it wasn't deserved.

"Star…" Oguri whispered, her brows furrowed in concentration. "You feel…different?"

"Hmm?" Star smiled casually. "It's nothing." She gazed forward, her blue eyes burning like stars. "I just had a pretty good run yesterday." 

"Ooh."

This team he'd inherited—it had never been his. It would never be. It was too bright for this decrepit old man he'd become. Oguri barely needed any guidance to improve herself, and he had to rely on Yaegaki to help Star improve. There was little he'd actually done for the two.

Kitahara hissed as Belno finished explaining her newest idea. "Yikes, that's just cruel, Belno." He then grinned as he gave her a thumbs up. "I like it!"

Belno giggled. "R-Really? It feels a little mean…"

Kitahara shook his head. "Nah, it's fine." He smiled gently as he patted her shoulder. "Your peers will be scrambling to analyze everything about your previous race. You never know what countermeasures they'll cook up." His smile turned to a cruel grin. "We'll just have to hit 'em back twice as hard."

"How evil~" Star called out just as she finished stretching. "As expected of the Demon King himself!"

"O-Oi!"

Too bright. Too young. Too untouched by what it meant to be the heroes of this era. They still had the strength to dream.

He had been like them, once. Young and brash and believing. Trained young umamusume with the belief that hope could bring them onto the path of legends.

…Hmph. And look where it got him--

The ground thundered as Oguri and Star raced forward. Star quickly took the lead as she usually did, but Oguri was just behind her. Neither spared the time nor stamina, considering their impromptu finish line was merely 800 meters away.

As they approached the 200m mark, Oguri sped forward and overtook the lead with her usual display of monstrous strength. 

But then, to everyone's surprise, Star began to accelerate. And she accelerated fast. She burst forward with such power that Musaka almost thought Oguri had surged forward again, and he could only watch with wide eyes as Star took back the lead just moments before the two crossed the finish line.

"W-W-Wha…!?" Kitahara stared with slacked jaws, before he quickly turned to the stopwatch he'd stopped on instinct. His eyes turned blank, and he had to rub his eyes a few times. "Uh-, am I hallucinating…!?"

"...I-I see it too…" Belno whispered, similarly shocked at what she'd just seen.

Kitahara gulped, before a wide smile came onto his lips. "Blossom Star crosses the finish line first!" He laughed cheerfully. "And it's another new record!"

Further down the track, Oguri stared at Star with wide eyes. "That was…!"

"As I said, I had a pretty good run yesterday." Was Star's cheeky reply. "Finally figured out something I've been working on for a while."

Oguri blinked, before her eyes began burning with bestial pressure. "Let's run again." 

Star grinned back. "Let's."

Ha.

He didn't know what Kitahara Jo had done to obtain such heavenly luck. Maybe that foolish niece of his had been a saint in his previous life. 

Whatever it was, his luck was truly extraordinary. Oguri Cap, Blossom Star, Belno Light—all three of them were generational talents. He had no doubts that they were umamusume who would be remembered even decades into the future. 

…Alright, that was enough.

Gripping his cane, he stood up and descended down towards the track. Kitahara turned to him as he approached, and he grinned. "Oh? Finally rested enough, Roppei-san?"

His cheek twitched. The nerve of this boy…!

"It's Musaka, you fool!"

Time quickly passed, our days filled with training. The moment our mandatory morning classes ended, every member of Team Kitahara would immediately head out to train. Whether it was me training under Kongo, or Musaka lecturing Oguri on how to better use her monstrous physique, or Belno trading ideas with Kitahara while she practised—there was scarcely a day when we didn't train at all.

It wasn't just us, of course. No matter the time, Tracen Central bustled with activity, every building filled with dozens of enthusiastic umamusume. Every student, busy with their own training. 

The reason was simple,

The first legs of the Triple Crown and Triple Tiara were approaching!

Of course, not everyone could take on either the [Satsuki Sho] or the [Oka Sho]. There were a few requirements one would need to even register, much less fulfil the requirements needed to be picked as a participant. Ability, records, fame—the selection was strict and unforgiving. Unsurprising, considering both races were some of the most prestigious G1 races Japan had to offer.

Thankfully, neither Oguri or I faced any issues in our application. The winning streak we went on back in Kasamatsu was more than enough to guarantee our participation.

But as the day of my race slowly approached, that familiar dilemma appeared once more.

Distance Affinity: [Sprint: G] | [Mile: C] | [Medium: B] | [Long: A]

I pursed my lips as I restrained my urge to scream, mostly so that I wouldn't wake anyone. 

It was beginning to feel like I would never be able to raise my affinities through effort alone. My Mile-affinity remained stubbornly locked at Rank-C even after all my practice. 

Though, by this point, I'd pretty much convinced myself that purchasing the {Mile Affinity Up} would be the wrong choice. There was only one Mile race in the list of races I'd planned to run in, while the rest were either Medium or Long races. Since SP was a resource I had to carefully maintain, it'd be more efficient to upgrade my Medium-affinity instead.

"Star?"

My ears flickered, and I blinked in surprise when I saw who'd called out to me. "Oguri?" I quickly dismissed the invisible floating panel and smiled at her. "What a surprise. You're usually asleep by this point."

She nodded slowly. "Not tired." She glanced at the empty track before turning back to me. "And your room was empty."

I hummed. "I'm the same."

"Aah."

We fell into a tranquil silence for a while, neither of us really knowing what to say. Not that we needed to—this silence was neither unpleasant or unwanted. Our days of training were always loud and hectic, so it was quite nice for us to finally find a moment to just slow down.

Eventually, I decided to sit down on the empty stands, and Oguri sat next to me soon after. 

"So, how're you feeling?"

Oguri turned to me, before she hummed. "Good." She smiled slightly as she clenched her fist. "I can't wait."

I smiled fondly. What a fitting answer for someone like Oguri. For someone like her who'd struggled throughout her childhood to even stand, being able to run in Central at all likely still felt like a dream to her. "I run because I can." That was Oguri's reason to run, and it was what made her so different from the others.

It was also what made it all the more tragic to watch her slowly lose that luster as time went on.

…My mind's wandering again.

"How about you, Star?" Oguri asked after a small silence. "How do you feel?"

I gently shook my hand. "So-so." I smiled wryly. "You know, the [Oka Sho]'s a G1, and a Mile race at that." I huffed. "And you know I'm not that great at Mile races."

"Mm." Oguri looked down for a moment, before she spoke. "You'll win." She smiled. "I know you will."

And maybe she was right. We'd trained for this for months now, and we'd both improved incredibly since we first began in Kasamatsu. Maybe I was just thinking a little too much about it. It was a bad habit I had, admittedly. 

But her confidence in me definitely makes me want to meet her expectations.

"Let's win, Oguri." I extended a hand to the starry skies above. "Let's become the best and take over the world!"

"Mm!"

.

.

.

"After a year of waiting, we now stand at another beginning!"

"It's time to begin the [Satsuki Sho]!"

The crowd went wild, the excitement electric. The [Satsuki Sho], the first leg of the Triple Crown! Its status as a G1 already pulled a massive crowd, but following Symboli Rudolf's incredible achievement of the Undefeated Triple Crown, Japan now watched with unbridled excitement, waiting to see if anyone could claim that same incredible dream that once shined so brightly.

Last year was…disappointing. It was not to say that there were no incredible umamusume, but rather that the shadow Symboli Rudfolf had cast was simply too large—her cleats too heavy to don.

But this time, there was no shortage of incredible potential! Dicta Striker, Sakura Chiyono O, Yaeno Muteki,

And lastly--

"And here comes our top favorite! The Beast of Kasamatsu who tore her way into the gates of Central!"

A gray-haired umamusume stepped out onto the parade, her eyes sharp with beastly intensity. And this time, she was dressed in a special racing uniform, one only worn during G1 races. An outfit mimicking a sailor outfit, with boots reinforced with iron plating, her head adorned with her now-famous diamond headband.

"No.3, OGURI CAP!"

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