Oguri Cap's birthday fell on March 27th. This year, it landed on a Tuesday, so the Central Twinkle Series chose the preceding Sunday—the 25th—to hold the birthday memorial race.
Seated in the hotel lobby lounge, the Gray Uma Musume watched the live broadcast of the Twinkle Series. When the title card appeared—
Hanshin 10R — "Oguri Cap Birthday Memorial · Kyobashi Stakes"—
she instinctively covered her mouth and turned to look at her Trainer.
Clearly, Oguri Cap believed this was Shuta An's doing.
"I didn't do it," Shuta An shook his head calmly. "The URA Association proposed it themselves. Also, shops around Hanshin Racecourse will be selling Oguri merchandise this week. Thirty percent of the revenue will be distributed to you."
"So that's how it is—" Oguri Cap nodded slowly.
During her recovery period, she hadn't been paying attention to Twinkle Series news at all. With less than a year remaining in her competitive career, it felt far better to quiet her heart than to keep following developments that likely no longer involved her.
"All of that money will go to Oguri," Shuta An added.
"My money and Ann's money don't need to be separated," Oguri Cap pouted, then reminded him, "But the day after tomorrow is my birthday."
"I know," Shuta An flicked her forehead lightly. "Your birthday present is already prepared."
"Really?" Oguri Cap blinked. "Then I'll look forward to it."
"It's definitely worth looking forward to," Shuta An gave a thumbs-up. "It cost me a lot."
He wasn't exaggerating.
Although Kasamatsu didn't need financial assistance for now, Shuta An had still transferred 150,000 US dollars to the Secretariat. The sting lingered a little—but he trusted that the Secretariat wouldn't skim much, and more importantly, that the money was well spent.
The only thing he didn't know yet was which race at Santa Anita Park Racecourse would bear the name "Oguri Cap Birthday Memorial."
"By the time the Santa Anita race starts, it'll already be evening here," Shuta An thought. "Either the party will be ending, or we'll already be soaking in the hot springs."
These past two evenings, Berno Light had been pestering him relentlessly—early compensation, she claimed, for the night of the 27th.
The young man had already decided that the hotel would prepare oysters from nearby Lake Saroma that evening.
—
On the morning of the 27th, an unexpected email appeared in Shuta An's inbox.
The sender: French URA Association.
The email contained an attachment. After downloading it, Shuta An found a video file, accompanied by a single line of French text. The translation read—
"Happy Birthday, Miss Oguri Cap!"
"This should be shown to Oguri, right?" After a brief hesitation, Shuta An decided to review it himself first—just in case.
But once the video ended, the cautious look on his face disappeared entirely, replaced instead by a trace of guilt.
"I didn't trust them enough," he muttered. "We'll show this at the party tonight."
—
While Shuta An was reviewing the video, Silence Suzuka—having finished breakfast—found Berno Light. The two chestnut-haired Uma Musume had been interacting frequently lately and had grown quite familiar.
"Miss Berno," Silence Suzuka said directly, "could you do me a favor?"
"What kind?" It was Oguri Cap's birthday, and Berno Light had plenty on her plate. If the request was troublesome, she had no intention of agreeing.
"I want to know what color Senior Oguri Cap likes."
That question gave Berno Light pause.
As a support Uma Musume, she hadn't really thought about such things. In her daily interactions, Oguri Cap usually left impressions related to appetite—and other matters entirely unrelated to aesthetics.
"But if I had to say…" Recalling Oguri Cap's two winning outfit designs, Berno Light arrived at an answer. "Silver."
"I understand!" Silence Suzuka nodded seriously. "Thank you, Miss Berno. I'm heading out now!"
With that, the carrot-haired Uma Musume turned and hurried out of the restaurant.
Berno Light tilted her head. "Is Suzuka-san only starting to prepare a gift today?"
The thought felt odd. But she didn't have time to dwell on it. She still had to coordinate with the hotel staff and wrap the birthday gift she had prepared. Without exaggeration, Berno Light was the busiest person today.
"I've troubled everyone at Kasamatsu too," she thought as she left the restaurant. "I should go thank them in person when I have time."
—
Meanwhile, the protagonist of the day had already left early.
Oguri Cap went alone to Sapporo, took a train ride lasting more than two hours, and planned to wander the city until sunset before returning to the hotel for the birthday party.
Before she left, Shuta An had handed her all the cash in his wallet—telling her not to hold back, not to worry about waste, and to enjoy the day freely.
But when Oguri Cap arrived in Sapporo, she didn't go shopping as he had imagined.
Instead, she took a taxi to the harbor area, randomly chose a park, entered it, found a bench, and sat down facing the sea—lost in thought.
With plain glasses, a mask, and a deliberately altered hairstyle, no one recognized her as the active "Strongest in Japan" of the Twinkle Series. That anonymity allowed her to enjoy a rare moment of quiet solitude.
After more than an hour, the Gray Uma Musume stood up and left. She took another taxi back toward the city center. This time, she still didn't enter a shopping mall.
Instead, she walked into a church.
The church dedicated to the Three Goddesses was a favored place among Uma Musume in Sapporo—but this was Oguri Cap's first visit.
Standing before the statues, she clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and silently offered her prayer.
In the evening, Oguri Cap took a car from Sapporo back to Lake Toya. Knowing there was a birthday party waiting for her that night, she hadn't played too wildly during the day, and even took a short nap in the car along the way.
As a result, when Oguri Cap returned to the hotel, she felt no trace of fatigue.
Humming softly, the Gray Uma Musume headed toward the restaurant. That was where the party would be held—and Shuta An had prepared a number of small gifts, intended for both the hotel staff who helped with the preparations and the guests who would be affected by their temporary "monopolization" of the venue.
The former needed no explanation. As for the latter, it was simply a gesture of gratitude.
Although she had known about the birthday party for some time, Oguri Cap currently only knew about the birthday gift Shuta An had prepared for her.
Earlier that afternoon, after leaving the church, the large screen in front of Sapporo Station had suddenly stopped its advertisements and switched to broadcasting the Twinkle Series—specifically, live races from Kasamatsu Racecourse. The repeated prefixes of "Oguri Cap Birthday Memorial Race" had left her momentarily dizzy.
"I didn't expect Ann to sponsor an entire day of races at Kasamatsu…" That thought had crossed Oguri Cap's mind again and again on the way back.
In truth, local URA Associations all accepted sponsorships—it was only the price that varied. Kasamatsu's fee was relatively affordable, but in Oguri Cap's heart, Kasamatsu's importance was incomparable to any other place, even her native Hokkaido.
Compared to Hokkaido, Kasamatsu was her true "hometown."
"Both Central and local areas have named races to celebrate my birthday—even Miss Rudolf hasn't had that," Oguri Cap thought quietly.
For someone who had come from a local academy, this birthday gift was more than enough.
—
When Oguri Cap stepped into the restaurant, she instinctively scanned the room.
"It's decorated so beautifully, but where is everyone?" The Gray Uma Musume muttered in confusion. Before the words had fully left her lips—
Bang!
Bang!
Party poppers exploded behind her.
"Happy Birthday!"
Silence Suzuka and Berno Light jumped out together, voices overlapping as they offered their wishes.
Oguri Cap spun around, startled. "Where's Ann!?"
"I'm right here."
From the opposite side of the restaurant, Shuta An appeared, pushing a cart topped with an enormous birthday cake.
"Whoa." Oguri Cap stared at it, momentarily overwhelmed.
After being seated, Berno Light placed a ribbon reading "Protagonist of the Day" around Oguri Cap's shoulders and carefully set a small crown atop her head. Sitting at the head of the table, Oguri Cap picked up a knife and fork.
The reason she didn't blow out the candles was simple—the cake was far too large, and the candles embedded across it would have been impossible to extinguish properly.
"Oguri, stand up," Shuta An said, noticing her hesitation.
Silence Suzuka and Berno Light, who had been smiling and waiting for her to cut the cake, both turned toward him, confusion appearing simultaneously in their eyes.
"Okay."
Though she had no idea what her lover was planning, Oguri Cap obediently stood. Shuta An rose with her, took a few steps forward, bent down—and with a bit of effort, lifted her up.
This way, the Gray Uma Musume could reach the candles.
"O-Okay~"
Oguri Cap clasped her hands together.
In her heart, she silently repeated the birthday wish she had already made earlier that day before the statues of the Three Goddesses—
I want to be with Ann forever.
Behind them, Silence Suzuka watched Shuta An's back, her eyes shining faintly.
At that moment, she understood.
—
After the cake was cut and distributed, it was time for the birthday presents.
Shuta An gestured for Silence Suzuka to go first.
The carrot-haired Uma Musume nodded gently and stepped forward, presenting a silver gift box with both hands. It was fairly large, and she had clearly been hiding it behind her back.
Oguri Cap took it and opened it easily.
Inside was a figure—approximately 1:7 scale—depicting Oguri Cap mid-sprint, her posture dynamic and powerful.
"This is a figure of Senior Oguri Cap," Silence Suzuka finally spoke. "I sculpted it under the guidance of an artisan in Sapporo. I hope Senior likes it."
"Wow—it's incredibly detailed," Berno Light said honestly.
"It really looks just like me!" Oguri Cap nodded repeatedly. "Such a refined model—Suzuka-san must have put so much thought into this. Thank you."
As she finished speaking, the Gray Uma Musume looked up and sincerely thanked Silence Suzuka.
"It took some effort," Silence Suzuka thought quietly, "but I'm glad Senior likes it."
I made the right choice.
She felt deeply relieved.
—
Next came Berno Light.
Compared to Suzuka's exquisite figure, the logistics Uma Musume couldn't help but feel nervous. Her gift suddenly seemed modest by comparison.
When Oguri Cap opened the box, she found a neatly rolled scarf inside—silver-white, with a few visible loose threads.
"It's…a scarf I've been knitting overtime recently," Berno Light said, a little embarrassed.
"Wow!" Oguri Cap's eyes lit up. "Ann doesn't even have one of these yet?!"
"That's right," Berno Light stuck out her tongue "This is my first time knitting a scarf. But I plan to knit one for Ann tomorrow."
Shuta An pouted slightly.
Spring was nearly here. For him, the season of scarves was already ending—even if Berno Light knitted one, it would probably stay in the wardrobe for half a year.
Oguri Cap carefully rolled the scarf back up and placed it into the box.
Then, all three Uma Musume turned their gaze toward Shuta An.
"Let's watch the race first," Shuta An grinned.
He turned on the large screen in the restaurant. It had already been set up, and his computer easily projected the image.
"According to Senior Secretariat," he muttered, "connecting to the online broadcast at this time should work. At this hour, it should just be a class race with a sponsored name, right?"
Oguri Cap's eyes fixed on the screen.
The broadcast displayed the live races at Santa Anita Park Racecourse. The schedule appeared in English, listing the day's events.
At the very bottom—today's main race—a G1 Twinkle Series stakes race that Symboli Rudolf had once challenged— The St. Louis Rey Stakes—
Carried a special name, unlike any other race that day.
"Oguri Cap Birthday Commemorative."
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