A week later...
As the evening sun bathed the track in golden light, three figures once again gathered by the track after class.
Such was their commitment to training.
King, Yuiji, and, somehow, Urara... who had gradually become a near-permanent member of their training sessions.
Or perhaps... she had been deliberately invited by King herself.
There, Yuiji stood on the sidelines, holding up his board while, across the track, two figures raced.
Or at least... that was what it looked like.
As usual, King remained ahead while Urara struggled to keep up behind her.
Except this time...
King seemed to have slowed her pace slightly, deliberately keeping the gap between herself and Urara small.
Whether it was to conserve her stamina or simply to keep Urara within reach... it was difficult to tell.
Meanwhile, Yuiji repeatedly shifted his gaze between his board and King.
"Her breathing is steady."
"Her pace is consistent."
"Her stamina is..." He checked a box on the board.
"Good."
Then he narrowed his eyes and turned his attention back to the track, watching King carefully.
"It seems that she understands the essentials of the race..."
"Maintaining her pace. Keeping up with the pack."
"Following the basic principles of securing a position near the front..."
"Except..."
"I'm not sure whether she's actually conserving energy..."
"Or simply trying to keep her friend in line."
"But I guess..."
"That's fine..."
He lowered his gaze back to the board.
"Wit: check."
That left speed, power, and guts.
According to Yuiji's board, five basic elements were used to assess an Umamusume's suitability for racing: Speed, Stamina, Power, Guts, and Wit.
But so far, he hadn't seen enough of the remaining three to evaluate them.
So Yuiji returned his gaze to King and watched carefully.
Ahead of him, King maintained her pace on the turf, holding onto her lead with her front-running style.
Meanwhile, a figure struggled behind her.
"King..." Urara gasped between breaths.
"King... You... You're too fast...!"
Urara then stretched her arms forward as her pace began to falter.
"Then try to keep up, Urara!" King replied, maintaining her stride almost perfectly.
"Remember!"
"Steady your breathing and your movement!"
"Keep them balanced!"
"Don't let either one fall apart!"
"It'll ruin your pace if either one gets too far out of balance!"
"Bu-But...! I-I can't!" Urara protested, gasping for breath.
"My legs..."
"They've stopped listening to me...!"
"Just hold on, Urara!"
"We're almost there!"
King then looked ahead again.
"Urara!"
"I'm accelerating!"
"In the meantime, try to hold your pace for as long as you can!"
"Wait... King!"
"I..."
"I want to run with you...!"
"Sorry, Urara!"
King's pace quickened.
"We've already reached the homestretch!"
"Part of my training is learning to accelerate at the right moment!"
"So you should focus on building your stamina before trying to accelerate fully!"
"And... I'm pulling ahead now!"
"See you at the finish line!"
"Wait... King!"
Urara called after her.
But King had already exploded down the lane, leaving nothing but dust and chunks of dirt in her wake.
Urara quickly tried to catch up.
"I need to..."
"...catch up...!"
"You... You can't fall behind now, Urara!"
Despite barely managing to maintain her pace, she forced herself to accelerate.
Her tail began spinning wildly behind her.
Even now, she still believed that her spinning tail could somehow propel her forward.
Except... it never did.
Worse... it only exhausted Urara further.
Meanwhile, Yuiji remained by the sidelines, his eyes fixed on King as she accelerated.
"It seems that she's finally accelerated..."
He then returned his attention to his board.
"Based on King's recent speed training..."
"Her speed, acceleration, and maximum output have increased significantly."
"Especially whenever her mind actually returns to the race..."
He glanced toward King again.
"She's even consistently beaten her previous records."
"So, it's safe to say..."
"Speed and Power are..."
"...sufficient."
He checked the box.
"And lastly..."
He paused.
"Her Guts."
Yuiji raised his head again.
King's performance during the final stretch still bothered him.
"Her performance in the final stretch is..."
"...still delayed."
"I understand that she wanted to accommodate Urara."
"But still..."
He frowned.
"Hesitation is a poisonous thief of opportunity."
"One mistake like that could easily cost her the entire race."
"I guess... she probably made such a trivial mistake because the stakes were low..."
"Or, more specifically, because it was for Urara..."
"Maybe I should've assigned someone else to race against her..."
"Someone she wouldn't hesitate to go all out against..."
Before he could continue thinking, King eventually crossed the finish line.
She came to a halt beyond the finish, taking several deep breaths as she recovered from the race.
Then, still breathing heavily, she approached Yuiji.
"Hey... Trainer!" She caught her breath.
"How did I do?"
"Did you actually record it this time?"
Yuiji snapped out of his thoughts.
"H-Hey!"
"I-I did record it this time!"
"Thanks for asking!"
"And overall..."
"You've done a pretty flawless job."
"Except..."
He hesitated, prompting King to raise an eyebrow.
"Except...?"
"Apparently, your performance during the final stretch is still..."
"...inconclusive."
"What?!"
King immediately jolted.
"What do you mean, inconclusive?"
She pointed toward the track.
"You said I did well back there! And I'm sure I did well back there!"
"I mean..." Yuiji sighed.
"You hesitated, didn't you?"
King froze.
"He-Hesitated...?"
Yuiji nodded as he continued.
"You missed your acceleration during the homestretch."
"You even waited until you were nearly four lengths into it before accelerating."
"I... I only did it for—!"
"King..."
Yuiji shook his head.
"I'm sorry."
"I know you're doing it for her, but..."
"Whether it was for your friend or anyone else..."
"That moment of hesitation can easily cost you a victory."
"But I—!"
"What will you do if you end up racing against Urara?" Yuiji interrupted calmly.
"Will you still do the same for her?"
"Would you let yourself lose the race?"
King's expression immediately fell, and her head lowered.
But before long, Yuiji continued calmly with a soft smile.
"I understand that you wanted to accommodate her throughout the race."
"And I understand that you want her to improve alongside you."
"But..."
"It also slightly diminishes the quality of your evaluation."
"That's why..."
"I can't say your performance was exactly up to your normal standard."
"Hence..."
"Inconclusive is the only conclusion I can give."
King then sighed.
"Fine... So what?"
"You want me to race Urara properly, is that it?"
King added the question as, behind them, Urara finally crossed the finish line before collapsing onto the track.
Yuiji then shook his head.
"No, King."
"I'm not insinuating that you should."
"Besides, you know Urara can't properly push you to your limit."
"I'm not trying to discredit Urara's racing ability."
"But..."
"You know she's not enough to force you to exceed yourself."
"So you're telling me..."
"Yes, I was thinking of having someone else race against you."
"Someone who can properly challenge you before your actual debut."
"Then, maybe..."
"I can evaluate you more accurately."
"See whether you're ready and up to the level required to win on your debut."
"You know how important a debut is for you racers."
"How it can entirely influence your upcoming career if you don't take it seriously."
"And you probably wouldn't want it to end badly now, would you?"
At that, King sighed again.
"Fine..."
"If that's what you want."
She then turned away, already heading toward Urara.
"Just let me know when you've found someone willing to race me."
"O-Okay!" Yuiji nodded.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly called after her.
"Wait!"
King stopped and turned her head slightly.
"What?"
"What about that friend you raced last time?" Yuiji asked.
"That minty-haired girl who's always with you and Urara."
"You mean Sei?"
"Yeah! Her!"
Yuiji nodded, pointing toward her with his pen.
"I'm pretty sure she's qualified enough to help me gather more data."
"Besides..."
"You two still haven't settled your match, right?"
"I'm sure she'll be thrilled to hear about a rematch!"
"Why don't you pass the message along?"
"Maybe she'll be willing to help."
At that, King stopped short.
"I..."
She lowered her gaze.
"...I'll think about it."
With that, she turned back toward Urara and continued walking.
Meanwhile, Urara was still sprawled across the track like a tired gecko.
Whereas Yuiji remained where he was, watching.
He watched as King approached Urara and tried to help her back onto her feet.
Then, faint memories of the two surfaced in his mind.
How King continued training alongside Urara despite their enormous difference in ability.
How she sometimes even sacrificed parts of her own training to accommodate Urara.
It was almost as if...
King had become too focused on Urara.
And slowly, she was beginning to neglect herself.
Yuiji narrowed his eyes.
Perhaps...
She was still struggling with herself.
Before...
And now...
She always seemed to swing toward one extreme or another.
Maybe...
She still wasn't ready after all.
She still needed time to recalibrate.
To prepare.
To find the balance she needed.
The balance she needed seemed to slip from one extreme to the other, whether she was doing it for her friends or for herself...
For the time being, King still seemed to have...
...a lot to learn.
Before she was truly ready for...
...the real race itself...
After observing them for a moment...
Yuiji finally snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head.
"Let's call it a day..."
He began gathering his belongings, preparing to leave.
But before he did, he glanced back toward King, who was somehow still struggling to pull Urara back onto her feet.
"I don't wanna!" Urara stubbornly remained sprawled across the turf.
"I want to lie down a little longer!"
"Come on, Urara!"
"It's getting late!"
"We don't want to miss curfew again, do we?!"
"We already got a warning from Kiseki last time!"
"I don't wanna!"
"I'm tired!"
"Let me rest a little longer!"
For a moment, Yuiji simply stared at them and smiled.
The sight reminded him of the Umamusumes he used to know...
The Umamusumes who had once trained under his father...
The ones who used to argue by the track, too.
Until—
Suddenly—
Before King and Urara's usual argument could continue...
Yuiji hollered after King.
"King!"
King turned toward him, releasing Urara's hand in the process.
Urara instantly dropped back onto the turf, "Ouch!"
"Ye-Yes, Trainer?" King asked.
"What's wrong?"
"I-I just remembered!"
"You said you had something you wanted to tell me yesterday?"
"Y-Yesterday...?"
King paused, blinking.
"Yeah... What is it you wish to tell me?"
King remained still for a moment, thinking.
Then...
Her expression changed instantly as her head lowered slightly.
She remembered.
Something she wished to ask her trainer.
Something she wasn't sure how to ask.
And for a moment, she remained silent, hesitating.
Until Yuiji asked again.
"What is it, King?"
"What is it that you want to tell me?"
At last, King's lips trembled ever so slightly.
And slowly, her voice reached out.
"No... It's nothing important..."
"It's just..."
"...that..."
...
...
...
A week ago...
Back at the same place where King had met Ishida.
The secluded backyard remained quiet, far from prying ears.
It was the day after Urara's disappearance.
And the day after their reunion.
Once again, King stood before Ishida for a moment.
Then she sighed.
"So..."
"Tell me, Mr. Ishida."
"What exactly was your proposal to..."
"...save Urara?"