Despite the handicap of a grueling race schedule, Kagura was still made the overwhelming first favorite in the Hopeful Stakes.
After changing in the prep room, Kagura did the same thing as last time: she leaned against the spot where the entrance tunnel met the racecourse, looking up at the sky as she waited for the announcer to call her name.
"First onto the track is the second favorite in this race…"
"What, kiddo? You really like leaning here that much?"
As Kagura listened to the announcer, another familiar voice suddenly sounded beside her.
She turned her head and saw Eclipse standing next to her. Unlike usual, Eclipse was dressed today in something like a military uniform, gallant and sharp. She looked less like a princess than a general leading troops into battle.
"It's just convenient. I can head out whenever they call me… Speaking of which, Eclipse-san, why are you showing yourself today when there isn't anything for you to do?"
Kagura was genuinely curious to see Eclipse appear at a moment like this. There was nothing for Eclipse to do right now, and materializing like this consumed power. Eclipse shouldn't have been the type to waste it for no reason.
"Obviously because I do have something to do."
Eclipse leaned in, reached out, and rested a hand on Kagura's shoulder, patting it twice. Seeing Eclipse's smile, Kagura had no idea why, but an ominous feeling suddenly rose in her chest.
"Once the race starts and you break from the gate, remember to keep an eye on the wide outside line."
"Hah!? Eclipse-san, what are you planning!?"
"A surprise, of course~"
After leaving behind that baffling line, Eclipse ran off before Kagura even had time to call out to her. And this time, Eclipse had genuinely run off—not vanished, not turned invisible. Kagura watched her head straight for the gate entrance!
"AND NEXT TO ENTER! THE FIRST FAVORITE OF THIS RACE, NO. 8, KAGURA!!"
"OOOOOOOH——!!"
Before Kagura could process what Eclipse was trying to do, the announcer had already called her name. She had no time to stand there in a daze, so she stepped onto the runway as usual. After the brief pre-race trash-talk segment ended, she soon arrived outside the gates on the track.
"Kagura-kouhai, I never thought… we would actually meet in the same race."
Yamato Queen, in Gate 1, had not entered yet. She was waiting outside the gate just to see Kagura once.
"Yeah… it really is surprising. I guess the world is just that small?"
"It really is… Even though you take care of me so much usually, Kagura-kouhai, in this race, I'll still give it everything I have! Please don't hold back either, Kagura-kouhai!"
When Yamato Queen said those words, she felt they were more for her own comfort than anything else. She did not know whether Kagura would hold back, but she herself would definitely give it everything she had. After all, according to Scrum Dyna, Kagura had used the Runaway tactic in her last race and charged straight ahead without ever looking back. In other words, no matter how desperately Scrum Dyna had chased her from behind, she had not even made Kagura look back and spare her a moment's attention. Then what could Yamato Queen herself possibly manage?
"Of course, Yamato-senpai. I won't go easy on you either."
Kagura smiled and nodded to Yamato Queen. Even if Yamato Queen had not said it, Kagura had no intention of taking it easy in any official race. Since she had already prepared herself to step onto the track, she had naturally also prepared herself to crush other people's dreams.
She entered the gate. Remembering what Eclipse had just said, Kagura subconsciously glanced to her right, but the gate railing blocked her view. She could not see what was on the wide outside line.
"…THE WEATHER IS CLEAR, AND THE GOING IS GOOD. TODAY'S 2,000-METER RACE WILL TAKE PLACE ON THE TURF AT NAKAYAMA RACECOURSE…"
"THE WEATHER HAS BEEN EXCELLENT LATELY, AND TODAY IS ANOTHER PERFECT DAY FOR RACING. WE HOPE ALL THE RUNNERS CAN GIVE US A FINE PERFORMANCE!"
The announcers' voices came from the stage, and the Umamusume inside the gates were all ready.
Inside the gate, Kagura suddenly felt as though she were being watched. It was similar to an aura attack, but for a moment, Kagura could not locate where the attack was coming from.
I never noticed an attack like this in my previous races. Is someone targeting me in this one?
With the gates blocking her, Kagura could not confirm the other Umamusume's condition, so she had no way of knowing whether the attack was aimed at her alone or at every runner in the gates.
Forget it…
The moment that thought surfaced, Kagura realized the gates had already opened in the instant she had spent thinking!
Fortunately, the reaction speed she had trained let her keep up. She had only made a slightly slow start. She did not bother thinking about what plan to use this time either. Since she had already rushed out in such a hurry, she might as well keep up the speed and charge straight through!
"ALL UMAMUSUME HAVE BROKEN FROM THE GATE SMOOTHLY ENOUGH! CURRENTLY IN THE LEAD IS NO. 8, KAGURA—KAGURA IS FAST! AS EXPECTED, IS SHE GOING TO USE THE RUNAWAY TACTIC AGAIN THIS TIME?"
"KAGURA SEEMS QUITE FOND OF THIS STRATEGY. WE'VE SEEN HER USE IT MANY TIMES BEFORE, SO PERHAPS THIS IS ONE OF HER STRENGTHS."
In reality, up to this point, Kagura had only used a true Runaway once. Counting this race, it would be twice. But because she had been ridiculously fast even when running as a Pace Chaser before, the announcers had probably mistaken those times for Runaway as well.
This time, Kagura still took the lead very easily. She noticed something. Whether in the previous Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes or this Hopeful Stakes, she rarely encountered resistance when contesting the lead. That was extremely favorable for her tactics. It meant the rhythm of the entire race would be under her control.
No… but…
This time, however, Kagura sensed something off. It was a feeling that vanished and then suddenly reappeared, like when Seattle had contested against her last time. An aura released in an instant, then gathered back in. But unlike Seattle's, this aura felt very gentle, like it was reminding her, "Hey! Look back!" That alone showed how strong the user's control was.
Is there really someone that skilled in this race?
Kagura thought it over. Everyone in this race was a newcomer who had only just come up, and she already knew Seattle's true identity. Surely there couldn't be a newcomer whose strength was about the same as Seattle's, right?
Remembering Eclipse's warning and adding in that hint, Kagura took a spare moment while passing the second turn to glance toward the wide outside line beside her—
Eclipse-san!?
One look, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. On the wide outside line, Kagura had actually found Eclipse chasing behind her!
No one else could see Eclipse, so it would not affect anything even if she ran out here. Just now, Eclipse had used the gentlest, most discreet method to remind her that she had appeared. Did she want to contest the championship? Obviously, a ghost whom no one could even see would never think that.
In other words, Eclipse-san just wants to give me some kind of experience through this race?
After thinking it over and over, Kagura could only conclude that Eclipse was doing this to train her in some way. She observed her own position again, confirmed that the closest second-place runner behind her was still nearly three lengths away, and only then did she split a portion of her attention away from second place and put it on Eclipse.
...
"That little one is as fast as ever…"
Symboli Speed watched Kagura shoot out at an extremely high speed, just like last time. She guessed Kagura was probably going to use Runaway, then looked at the Pace Chasers and Late Surgers behind her, struggling to chase her down, and could not help letting out a sigh.
The gap is too big… Is that child Kagura really a powerhouse Japan could have produced?
At this point, even Speed could not help doubting it. Kagura's bloodline had always been a mystery. In other words, there was simply no way to know which bloodline her parents came from. It was even possible that her parents were not from any existing Japanese family bloodline at all.
"Old thing, if you let Kagura race under your family's name, that would be guaranteed profit."
"No… Putting aside whether Kagura would even agree, Kagura doesn't really owe the Symboli Family anything. She has already repaid the help the Symboli Family once gave her through Rudolf's outstanding performance. I cannot force her to give up her own name on top of that… You can see it yourself. She is an excellent support. I would not dare guarantee she is the best in the whole world, but she is absolutely the best Support Umamusume in the country."
Speed smiled and shook her head. She was just about to say something else when she noticed Kagura, who had been charging nonstop, suddenly adjust her speed. Her pace had dipped slightly!
"What's wrong? Old thing, why did you… hm!?"
Mejiro Iris had just been about to say something when she saw Speed's expression suddenly change. Curious, she hurriedly looked over as well, then widened her eyes just like Speed had.
In her previous races, Kagura had never shown this kind of deceleration. Even if she had, it had not been on a long straight like this. Yet this time, Kagura had strangely slowed her pace, and at a moment when her lead was excellent.
"What's going on… Don't tell me something happened to that child's leg?"
Speed, who knew these things about racing Umamusume all too well, felt as if her heart were about to stop. On the track, while holding a huge lead and still having plenty of stamina, suddenly slowing down for no reason—she truly could not think of any other possibility. Kagura's tactical thinking was extremely flexible, comparable even to Rudolf's. She would never make such an unreasonable decision. As for letting up so the people behind her could catch up, that was even more impossible.
But Kagura's next move made the two old Umamusume, who had nearly rushed out to call the medical staff, breathe a sigh of relief. She suddenly changed her posture, looking as though she were facing the outside line, and then abruptly raised her speed.
She accelerated again? So her leg is fine… But what is Kagura doing? This makes no logical sense at all.
Speed's experience on the racecourse told her that Kagura's motion looked like she was preparing to overtake. But that was exactly the problem. There was no one beside Kagura at all. What was the point of making that move? It would bring no benefit besides wasting stamina.
...
"Miss Kagura's running style is truly hard to pin down… She's running a Runaway, right? So why does it look like she's fighting someone for an overtake?"
In the spectator stands, Galileo narrowed her eyes as she watched Kagura run. It made no sense for the runner in the lead to suddenly prepare to change course for no reason. Although Kagura immediately abandoned the course-change preparation and continued straight ahead, that tiny motion still could not escape a professional runner like Galileo.
"Why would Miss Kagura suddenly intend to overtake, then give up again in less than a second?"
Galileo analyzed it in her head, then found that she had analyzed absolutely nothing. Aside from concluding that Kagura had just let her mind wander for a moment, she could not come up with any answer at all.
"What is going on… A powerhouse like Miss Kagura should not have that kind of problem. What did that movement mean…"
Holding her chin, Galileo fell into a puzzled silence.
…
"Kagura-kouhai is way too fast!! Is this really a child several years younger than me?!"
Running behind Kagura in second place, Yamato Queen watched the gap stretch little by little and could not help letting out an unwilling cry.
This time, she could be said to have experienced deeply what Scrum Dyna had felt in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. Kagura had not used any especially impressive technique, nor had Yamato Queen felt any aura attack from Kagura. She was simply relying on nothing but raw physical ability to forcibly widen the distance. Yamato Queen wanted to use an aura attack, but she was not even close enough to reach Kagura.
"This is just… just unreasonable!! How can there be an Umamusume this strong?!"
The other classmates running behind could not help crying out as well, and Yamato Queen could hear them clearly. In response, there was nothing she could do besides sigh. The result of this race was already decided. There was absolutely no way they could make up this terrifying gap on the final straight, not to mention Nakayama Racecourse's final straight was absurdly short.
Come to think of it, Kagura-kouhai… her gaze keeps settling somewhere other than on me. What is she looking at?
…
"No good… I can't catch her…"
Inari Kagura had originally wanted to overtake, but after estimating the speed difference between herself and Eclipse, she quickly came to a conclusion—there was no chance.
Eclipse had already moved from the wide outside line to the inside rail, and she had done it with a set of steps so elegant and perfect that she neither fouled nor interfered with anyone else. She naturally took the position in front of Kagura. Even though no one else could see her, she still carried out the motions properly, so perfect it was almost as if she were personally demonstrating the standard form for overtaking.
"There's still quite a gap between me and Eclipse-san…"
Even though honkaku had brought her tremendous growth, Kagura still felt there was distance between her and Eclipse. Not long, not short, but at the very least, it was not something she could cross right now.
"KAGURA HAS CHARGED OUT OF THE FINAL TURN! THE DISTANCE BETWEEN HER AND THE RUNNERS BEHIND HER IS STILL GROWING! MY GOODNESS! IS THIS THE GAP THAT WAS HIDDEN BY THE ECLIPSE LAST TIME?!"
"IT LOOKS TO BE NEARLY TEN LENGTHS NOW… CAN KAGURA MAINTAIN HER SPEED ALL THE WAY TO THE FINISH LINE?"
Both announcers and all the cameras at the venue were now focused on Kagura. In the last race, because an eclipse had occurred, the distance Kagura opened up during the race had not been properly shown. But this time, the gap between her and her opponents before the finish line was displayed in the sunlight with nothing held back.
"Ha! See, what did I tell you! Get ready to go cut that Wi-Fi haircut of yours!"
"No, man, seriously, she can run a Runaway, then immediately chain it into another 2,000-meter Runaway and still be in such good condition!? Is that something a normal Umamusume can do!? What am I supposed to analyze? I can't analyze this anymore!"
As she approached the finish line, Kagura heard familiar voices coming from the spectator stands beside the track. But focused on running, she paid them no mind. In her eyes, Eclipse had already crossed the finish line, roughly three to five lengths ahead of her.
"SO FAST, SO FAST!! NO. 8, KAGURA! LEAVING THE FIELD IN THE DUST!!"
"SHE CROSSES THE LINE!! IN THIS RACE—NO. 8, KAGURA HAS ONCE AGAIN DISPLAYED HER EXTRAORDINARY QUALITY!! SHE TAKES THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF THIS RACE WITH AN OVERWHELMING ADVANTAGE!!"
...
Eclipse-san… you're amazing!
——I told you~ You still need more training before you can surpass me, kiddo!
Yeah… I think I understand how Eclipse-san's opponents felt. No matter what I did, I couldn't close the gap…
——Mm-hmm-hmm~
---
T/N: hmmm inari kagura was just such a weird thing to see always in narration idk why its different from the other umamusume names... ill just do a vote
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