As the Satsuki Sho was beginning, near the same hour, the long awaited Tenno Sho (Spring) was also about to begin.
Arriving at the Kyoto Racecourse was, of course, Imanami and his Uma Musume.
This time, Imanami looked very serious, even showing a rare expression of anxiety.
Gold Ship, who had been standing next to him, noticed Imanami's grave face and quickly reacted accordingly.
"Are you feeling good, Old Man? You're sweating all over."
"Are you that tense? It's going to be fine, Old Man, trust in McQueen. Even if she's assigned to the outermost gate, she'll surely be able to find a way to win."
"Besides, hasn't she been diligently correcting her bad habits? McQueen will definitely do it this time."
"Yeah, yeah! Trainer, there's no need to be such a worrywart."
Tokai Teio, who had also been standing next to Imanami, spoke up in tandem with Gold Ship.
"McQueen will definitely crush the Tenno Sho! 3200 meters is her forte! Even I can't get close to McQueen at that distance! She'll be absolutely A-OK!"
Teio's words were indeed the truth. Even running 3200 meters was enough to make many Uma Musume feel daunted; yet, McQueen was fully capable of that and more.
"...That's not what I'm worried about."
Imanami, hearing the words of Gold Ship and Teio, suddenly subtly gazed somewhere else.
Tokai Teio and Gold Ship, following Imanami's line of sight, immediately realized that a large group of Uma Musume, all dressed in black bodyguard attire, had at some point arrived, making no attempt to conceal themselves.
And, surrounded by these bodyguards were none other than the Uma Musume of the Mejiro Family, with the Mejiro Family Head walking prominently in the center, holding a rather luxurious looking cane.
From how openly and pompously the Mejiro Family carried themselves into the Kyoto Racecourse, it was now obvious to the two young Uma Musume what Imanami was actually concerned about.
Ever since the founder of the Mejiro Family had uttered her dying wish, "I want to see Titan's children win the Tenno Sho," it immediately became the wish of all other Uma Musume in the Mejiro Family.
Thus, Mejiro McQueen, as one of the brightest rising stars of the Mejiro Family, as well as being a descendant of Titan, was burdened by this heavy destiny.
Yet, after failure after failure in her Classic Year and the recent accident in the Hanshin Daishoten, the Mejiro Family was starting to get impatient with Mejiro McQueen.
"It's the Mejiro Family..."
Gold Ship and Tokai Teio, seeing this, nodded in understanding.
It was clear that the Mejiro Family's arrival here was premeditated, with reporters seemingly having long since been aware of their time of arrival, their preparations evident.
After all, regardless of whether McQueen won big or lost terribly in this race, it would surely be the hottest topic of the month; as reporters, there was no way they would miss out on this opportunity.
"By the way, Old Man, I have a question."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"If, and I really just mean what if, Mejiro McQueen fails to win the Tenno Sho, what would happen to you?"
Gold Ship, who was already in the process of making backup plans, asked Imanami curiously.
"Eh?! Gold Ship, you're right! McQueen's Grandmother wouldn't take revenge on you, right, Trainer? They won't do things like cut off your finger, would they?!"
"...Teio, not all big families are like that; that's more the style of the Northern Family."
Showing a sarcastic tone, Gold Ship quite uncharacteristically mocked Teio's imagination before turning back to Imanami.
"Old Man, looking at your expression... it'll be very troublesome for you then, right?"
"Sigh... if we look at it from a pessimistic perspective, I suppose it does count as very 'troublesome.'"
Imanami, whose mind began to race from Gold Ship's question, slowly spoke,
"The best case scenario would be that I will be forced to give up McQueen and that's it. If they're petty, they would probably make things hard for me as a Trainer, and if they're extra petty, they could possibly hire a third party to harass me in my day to day life."
"...Um, what's the worst case scenario?"
Tokai Teio, who had an ominous premonition, asked a bit scaredly.
"Well... though I'd consider this an incredibly unlikely scenario, you'd probably find me dead from suicide."
Imanami, having finally come to this conclusion, felt a chill run up his spine.
One must know that though the Mejiro Family seems a bit down on its luck now, due to the power vacuum left from the fall of Shadai, both the Mejiro Family and the Gold Family, who played a big role in the fall of Shadai, gained considerable benefits.
In fact, the Mejiro Family could now be said to have recovered much of its prime.
Although their current active forces had not recovered, they certainly now had enough resources to cultivate new, more talented generations.
That is not to say that Imanami was no longer important to the Mejiro Family; it was just that for a Mejiro Family who regained most of their power, he was no longer such a vital asset to obtain.
Plus, with McQueen's performance so far, Imanami was not sure if, after so many failures, the Mejiro Family Head would start doubting him.
After all, anyone could see that Imanami's track record had not been the best.
While Imanami might not end up 'hanging' on his ceiling or 'swimming' at the bottom of Tokyo Bay, he really might end up being given a 'permanent vacation' to some remote continent to grow potatoes...
However, Tokai Teio, who received Imanami's answer, also felt a chill up her spine.
She could never have imagined that McQueen, whom she considered her best friend, could potentially cause such terrible things to happen to whoever wronged her.
That day, unbeknownst to anyone including Teio herself, McQueen's image in the little Uma Musume's mind began to change... was this seemingly gentle young lady really capable of toying with the life and death of people at will...?
"T- Trainer, what should we do?! Should we run? Can you go hide in Hokkaido?"
"Yeah, Old Man! Let's quickly take a spaceship to Mars!"
"...Wasn't it the two of you who were telling me to have faith in McQueen? Furthermore, these are only hypotheticals; have some trust in me and McQueen."
Amused and a little annoyed by Gold Ship and Tokai Teio's antics, Imanami gave their heads a little flick, causing both of them to painfully clutch their heads, looking particularly wronged with their teary eyes.
Seeing the two Uma Musume with such expressions, Imanami also chuckled a little.
If this was in his previous world where they were still horses, there was no way he would have dared to provoke them with such actions.
Although a flick didn't really hurt for them, risking possible injury or even death for a little fun was not a wise move at all.
But now, with human mannerisms and intellect, Imanami treated them as if they were his grandchildren— strict and responsible to instill into them the right values, while also being caring.
Putting aside these thoughts, Imanami withdrew his hand and turned his gaze to the tracks.
As he did so, Mejiro McQueen finally entered her gate, the farthest one out.
"...Despite being disqualified in the Hanshin Daishoten, Mejiro McQueen is still the second favourite of this race! She seems to be in excellent condition!"
"The third favourite this time is Mejiro Ryan!! Also from the Mejiro Family, who has secured a pretty good gate located near the inner area!"
"Finally, the top favourite of this race, is, WHIIITEE STONNEEE!!! She seems to be the only one capable of overthrowing the long distance domination of the Mejiro Family. Can she do it? Or will the Mejiro Family continue their dominance over the Tenno Shos?"
"...Ready? And— START!"
Clang!
In that instant, the gates in front of Mejiro McQueen in the Tenno Sho (Spring) and Orfevre in the Satsuki Sho opened almost simultaneously.
The two Uma Musume, though not even in the same race, took their first determined step at the same time!
'I will win the Spring Tenno Sho (Satsuki Sho)!' X2
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Dante: Man... what a Canto, eh?
Meursault: Manager, it's still 10-4.
(Genuinely what in the world was that part 2??? I swear, part 3 is gonna take 10 hours min)
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.