Oguri took a careful breath as she entered the athlete's tunnel, her eyes glancing around nervously, as if trying to see if there was anyone ready to leap out of the shadows. When she saw no one in the vicinity, she sighed deeply as she pressed a fist onto her chest in an attempt to calm herself down.
"Well, that was quite the riot, wasn't it?"
Oguri nearly shrieked, but quickly calmed when she saw that it was Blossom Star who spoke, currently leaning on the wall. "I…" She began, unsure how to describe what happened.
And really, what happened? Nothing seemed strange at first. She'd just crossed the finish line and won the [Satsuki Sho]. But before she could even face the crowd, they cheered so loudly that it made her ears hurt. And their eyes were filled with such fervent excitement that it triggered a deep-seeded instinct within her, causing her to find refuge back in the athlete's tunnel as soon as she could.
"Don't worry about it." Star said with a small laugh, gently patted her head. "Everyone's just a bit starved right now, and your power was just too brilliant for them to stay quiet." She grinned. "Congrats by the way! There's pretty much no more doubt that you're the strongest umamusume of our year."
"Ooh!" That was a cool epithet to have!
Except-,
"But you're here, Star."
And for a moment, Star seemed truly surprised. As if the thought that she could also be the strongest seemed so foreign that it never even appeared in her mind. Her surprise faded as soon as it came, but it was a look Oguri wouldn't forget for a while.
"Aiyah, so embarrassing~" She said weakly, before she smiled gently. "But thanks for the vote of confidence, Oguri."
Pat, pat.
Oguri closed her eyes as she enjoyed the comforting warmth. Her feelings about the race she just ran practically vanished as she basked in the feeling. Winning was a pretty nice feeling, but this was far better.
"Anyway, you should probably head backstage now." Star then said, retracting her hand. Oguri watched it go sadly. "We gave the staff quite a scare when you were a bit late last time." She winked. "Let's not do it again, yeah?"
Oguri nodded, and Star grinned as she gave her one last pat on the back. "Alright, off you go."
"Mm!" And with a smile, she began walking.
…
She lost.
She lost again.
It was the inevitable outcome. Oguri Cap was simply too fast; too strong. The Beast of Kasamatsu who tore through her hometown like a starved predator, only now turning her eyes towards Central. When she'd watched her blast past her, it almost felt as if she'd been transported back to her younger days, when she'd spent hours on end watching the old recordings of umamusume who carved their legends into history.
Oguri Cap was an umamusume destined to make history. But her?
Yaeno Muteki would not even be a footnote on-
"Oof, that ain't a good look, Muteki."
She blinked, and looked up to find Blossom Star walking towards her. "Star?" She whispered, confused. After all, this was backstage! Everyone was still busy preparing for the upcoming Winner Concert. No unrelated personnel should be allowed to enter in the first place!
Star gave a playful wave. "Yo. Sorry about this. I'm trying to make entering forbidden areas my schtick, you know?"
…sure. No-, wait. The question was how she'd even entered this far in the first place!
"Don't question it." Star winked. "Trust me, Belno tried for a good while. She got herself a week-long headache because of it."
"...I-, see." Muteki whispered. She knew Star could be quite playful, but even this was a surprise. "Then why are you here?"
Star was quiet for a moment, before she simply leaned on the wall. "How're you feeling?"
…Her feelings, was it? Ha, were there even words sufficient enough to explain this mingling concoction brewing in her chest? Anger, frustration, shame, defeat—none of them was enough to describe this choking sensation at the base of her throat.
Star watched silently as various emotions passed through Muteki's eyes, before she sighed. "Oguri's next race is the [Japanese Derby]." She continued casually. "It's been her-, no, our dream for a while now." Her eyes stared right into her. "Are you willing to take her on then?"
Muteki looked down, eyes shadowed by her bangs. "What would it matter?" She whispered softly, clutching onto the standard stage outfit. She didn't even have the privilege of performing with her G1 outfit. "Oguri is simply too strong. She is the one destined for the crown, while I'm fated to be forgotten."
"...Destined, huh?"
Star sighed before she muttered something she couldn't quite hear. Something about 'Neji'?
"Tch, I hate that word."
Muteki flinched. It was the first time she'd heard Star speak with such venom. "Star-?" She tried to ask, but she froze when she saw the deep anger that burnt in those blindingly blue eyes.
"Oguri Cap is strong." Star agreed. "But not infallible. She's an umamusume like the both of us." She stood from the wall and stared right into her. "Don't try to prop her as something she's not. And don't try and put yourself down when nothing is certain yet."
"But-!"
"Do you know that Oguri couldn't even stand when she was young?"
"...!" That…was news for her. Star didn't seem like one to lie, but the thought that someone like Oguri Cap couldn't even manage to stand when she was younger felt impossible. She was too fast, too strong—surely she'd been born with such amazing gifts.
"But her mother cared for her. Tended to her at every moment she could." Star continued, taking a step closer. "And so when Oguri could finally stand on her own, she never dared to think lightly of it."
Muteki took a step back as Star stepped forward, only for her back to meet the wall.
"Every time she stands, it is a blessing." Star finally stopped once she was inches away from her. "And that's why she runs. She runs because she can. Because running itself is the point."
Muteki shrunk back as Star raised her hand, only to freeze when Star instead gently tapped her forehead with her finger.
"Yaeno Muteki," Blossom Star smiled. "What do you run for?"
"I…"
But before she could even begin to think about an answer, Star stepped back, her expression playful. It was as if everything she'd done just moments prior was nothing more than an illusion. "Anyway~" She grinned. "I probably shouldn't linger for too much longer. Someone might catch me at this rate."
"So, ciao~" And saying that, she turned around and walked away, waving her hand as she left.
Muteki watched Star fade into the darkness in…confusion, mostly. "What was…?" She whispered to the silence, before she shook her head. "The concert is about to start." She said to herself as she headed to the dressing room.
She didn't notice that the choking sensation she felt earlier was now gone.
…
"I-I really don't know how you did that, Star-san."
I just grinned as I settled right next to Belno, appearing just moments before the Winning Concert started. "Just something I've been practising." I humbly said, though that just earned me an exasperated sigh from the usually polite girl.
"But, why did you even head backstage?" She then asked, curious. "Were you talking with Oguri-san?"
I hummed. "You could say that."
Well, to be exact, my original plan had been to just talk to Muteki, but I met Oguri along the way and decided to talk with her as well.
I was concerned, I guess. Muteki was already feeling a little down after her defeat in the [Mainichi Hai], and again she lost to Oguri in the [Satsuki Sho]. And this time she didn't even get 2nd or 3rd, falling straight to 4th place during the final straight to stop herself from stumbling and injuring herself.
And when I heard the words she said, I just knew I had to put a stop to her thoughts there and then.
The stadium then went quiet, and soon, lights blared as the Winning Concert began. The runners who'd participated earlier stepped onto the stage, with Oguri being front and center.
I couldn't help but chuckle softly as Oguri began to sing. I was admittedly still a little torn about these Winning Concerts. On one hand, I could somewhat convince myself as to their existence, but on the other hand, performing up there still made me want to throw myself into a ditch the moment it finished.
Sure, I could perform a Winning Concert—perform well enough to usually earn a Rank-B evaluation or higher even!
But it wasn't because I'd gotten more confident. I just got better at deluding myself.
Eventually, Oguri's Winning Concert came to an end, and the crowd gave one last powerful cheer before everyone began to separate. But while the race itself was over, the excitement it brewed had only continued to grow, and I could see dozens of eager reporters vanish into the crowd, probably trying to get an early scoop from Oguri regarding her future.
Well, too bad for them. A certain Musaka Ginjirou was waiting for Oguri backstage, and he was more than willing to throw a few reporters to the garbage bin if they got too rowdy.
I stretched like a cat as I let the rest of the crowd pass me by. "Oguri's gotten even better at singing." I idly commented with a smile. "Honestly, she can probably become an Umadol and nobody would bat an eye."
The statement caused Belno to freeze. "Oguri as an Umadol…" She whispered, before she giggled. "She probably could!" She put her hand to her chin. "She'd probably be the kuudere member, right?"
I nodded seriously. "Definitely. I know that kind of thing's all the rage lately."
Kitahara couldn't help but smile wryly. "Why are you suddenly sounding like two middle-aged men?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how do you even know what that is, Kitahara?" I gave him a cat-like grin. "Are you maybe saying…?"
His face flushed red. "O-Of course not! I'm still in my twenty's!"
"You know that just makes it sound worse, right?" I easily returned, causing Kitahara to flinch in abject terror. Belno giggled at Kitahara's exaggerated responses, while I just sighed. "Anyway, let's head out of here. We should leave before Musaka gets really angry."
Kitahara flinched again, for a different reason this time. "Y-Yeah. Better get to it."
And so we began making our way out of the stadium. The crowd had thinned out considerably by the time we made our leave, so it didn't take much effort to take a detour and head to our rendezvous point with Musaka and Oguri.
Unfortunately, we were a bit too late, and there was already a sea of reporters gathering around Musaka and Oguri. The older man stood in front of her, his steadily-building anger easy to see for anyone with a single eye. Kitahara was already shaking like a leaf, clasping his hands together in prayer.
Thankfully, this wasn't the first time I had dealt with this ticking time bomb.
With confident strides, I walked right towards the massive group of reporters. "Alright, alright! I think it's time to break away, yeah?" I said as I loudly clapped my hands.
The sound quickly drew everyone's attention towards me, and soon it was me being beset by dozens of camera flashes. I narrowed my eyes slightly due to the brightness, but I maintained my calm smile. "Alright~! Order, people. We need order!"
Alas, their enthusiasm couldn't be curbed that easily.
"Blossom Star! What are you thoughts on today?"
"Do you think-!?"
"What is your-!?"
I sighed silently in my mind, before I quickly glanced at Musaka. "You go first." I mouthed to him. The man nodded, before he quickly gathered the rest of Team Kitahara and silently slipped away. Once I made sure they were gone, I turned back to the sea of reporters.
I took a deep breath, and then I stomped down hard.
The reporters went quiet. I smiled coldly. "Order, people." I repeated slowly. "One by one please."
No one spoke up first, still shocked by the display. But soon, one of them stepped up, clearing her throat before speaking. "Blossom Star-san, what are you thoughts about Oguri Cap's victory?"
I smiled. Good, an easy question. "I mean, as expected of the Beast, right?" I shrugged casually. "She deserves this victory. She trained just as hard as everyone else to make sure she won." I grinned as I gave a playful clap. "Alright, next!"
Another reporter came forward, now more confident. "How confident are you that Oguri Cap will be the next bearer of the Triple Crown?"
"Woah, woah~! Little too early for something like that, isn't it?" I playfully said, though I soon smiled calmly. "But who knows? Maybe she will, maybe she won't." I glanced at the sky for a moment. "No one knows what the future will hold. Oguri is growing stronger day by day, but she isn't the only one." I hummed. "It'll be an all-out race for the crown from here on."
A small silence fell after my words. Clearly none of them had expected me to give such an answer. But eventually another reporter stepped forward, her smile sharp.
"How do you feel about your next upcoming race, the [Oka Sho]?"
Murmurs spread amongst the crowd as they paid close attention to me. Because though Oguri had just taken the first leg of the Triple Crown, in just a day I'd be taking on the [Oka Sho] myself.
I smiled mysteriously.
"Come and watch." I said instead, my eyes seeming to glow as I stared at the sea of flashing cameras. "I guarantee it'll be something you won't want to miss."
And with those parting words, I playfully waved farewell to the reporters as I left the scene.