After the tense stretch of training came the day of Rice Shower's debut race. Fujiwara Chiya stood in front of the brown-haired girl.
"Onii-sama…"
Seeing how nervous she looked, Fujiwara Chiya gently patted her head.
"Don't worry, Rice. I promise you, you're strong. You've been strong ever since the day I met you. Don't doubt yourself. Just run with everything you have."
"Yes!" Rice Shower looked up at him. "Onii-sama, there's something Rice wants to ask."
"Go ahead."
"Could Onii-sama kiss Rice on the cheek?"
"…Hm?"
"Rice is really nervous right now. If Onii-sama kissed Rice once, then Rice wouldn't be nervous anymore." Blushing, Rice Shower spoke in a shy, hesitant voice.
What was with a line that sounded almost like something a girlfriend would say? Was this really the kind of conversation a trainer was supposed to have when sending his Uma Musume to the track?
Fujiwara Chiya found himself doubting everything. But looking at Rice Shower's wide, sparkling eyes and her cute, expectant expression, he nodded.
There was nothing to hesitate over. Rice was his little sister. A big brother kissing his little sister should be perfectly natural, right? I'm only doing this to help her stay confident and calm her nerves. This is a healthy, pure emotion. Even the police would be moved to tears by something this wholesome, so I'm innocent.
With that rationalization firmly in place, Fujiwara Chiya looked around, confirmed that no one was watching, and gave Rice Shower a quick kiss on the cheek.
It felt almost like kissing pudding. He caught a sweet, fragrant scent.
"…Onii-sama." Covering her face, Rice Shower smiled with pure happiness. "Rice feels like she can do anything now!"
"Then go do your best, Rice."
"Yes. Rice will bring victory back for Onii-sama."
With that, Rice Shower headed toward the track.
Fujiwara Chiya quietly watched the small figure disappear into the runners' tunnel.
What is this strange feeling…? Instead of feeling like he had just sent a Uma Musume onto the track, Fujiwara Chiya felt almost as if he had just sent off his girlfriend. Even though Rice Shower always called him Onii-sama, she cooked for him, cleaned his room, and did far more than what fit neatly into the category of "little sister."
Especially after he gave her a spare key, she came by the dorm almost whenever she had the chance. Sometimes, when Fujiwara Chiya was working overtime and had no time to eat, Rice Shower would prepare food in his room and wait for him to come back. If it got too late, she would even worry and send him messages.
It was starting to feel as if, aside from actually sleeping there, the two of them were almost living together.
Maybe I should put a little more distance between me and Rice… Fujiwara Chiya felt that the bond between them had already gone beyond brother and sister and crossed into a different, more dangerous kind of closeness.
Back at the racecourse, Fujiwara Chiya stood waiting for the race to begin.
When Rice Shower was introduced and stepped onto the stage, her face still wore that same timid expression as always, but her eyes burned with determination.
Soon the race began.
With a sharp clang, the black figure burst out of the gate and Rice Shower immediately took up a position near the front of the field.
Fujiwara Chiya had already investigated the other runners in advance and told Rice Shower what to do. If she found herself boxed in, she was not to force it. She should fall back from mid-pack to the rear and then begin accelerating early.
Rice Shower's strong heart gave her the ability to handle long-distance races well. At two thousand meters, this distance was perfect for drawing out her advantages. Compared with other Uma Musume of the same generation, she could begin accelerating earlier than anyone else, dragging the rest of them out of rhythm.
Just as Fujiwara Chiya had predicted, the front-running Uma Musume gradually crowded inward through the bend, and before long Rice Shower was boxed in. Fortunately, he had already told her that if this happened, she should not panic. She simply needed to wait among the pack.
Soon the race reached the second turn.
Rice Shower searched for an opening. When she saw the runners in front move away from the inside line on the way out of the turn, she slipped past them and immediately began to accelerate.
"It's runner number four, Rice Shower! She's accelerating! She's started accelerating right after the second turn and is steadily closing in on the leader!"
Fujiwara Chiya clenched his fists and watched the race with mounting tension.
If anyone else lost their nerve and followed Rice Shower's move, then the tactic had worked. Rice Shower would have successfully thrown off their rhythm and pulled them into her own pace. If, on the other hand, the other runners stayed calm and ignored her move, then the result would still be uncertain. In terms of outright top speed, Rice Shower did not hold an overwhelming advantage. If her opponents stuck to their plan and conserved enough stamina, they could very well overtake her on the final straight.
This was where presence mattered. She needed to provoke the others' competitive instincts and make them unwilling to let her get away.
"For Rice! For Onii-sama!"
A violet light flashed in Rice Shower's eyes. A startling fighting spirit burst from that small body. Watching her drive forward, the other Uma Musume's expressions tightened. She looked as if she intended to keep going without stopping.
No, we can't let her keep widening the gap. If she gets too far ahead now, we won't catch her later!
Thinking that, the runners behind her began raising their pace as well.
They took the bait!
Fujiwara Chiya's eyes lit up.
Rice Shower had successfully stirred their competitive instincts and made them anxious.
The tempo of the race quickened. Rice Shower surged into the lead group, and under the pace she set, the runners behind her began burning through stamina much faster. By the time they realized what was happening, it was already too late. Their rhythm had been thrown off.
"One hundred meters remaining! Currently in the lead is runner number four, Rice Shower!"
The other Uma Musume all began accelerating, but with their pace already broken, they no longer had enough stamina left to reach a higher speed. Rice Shower gritted her teeth and kept driving forward at full force. The runner in second place remained half a length behind the whole way, and in the end, with that same half-length advantage, Rice Shower crossed the finish line first.
"Across the line, the winner is runner number four, Rice Shower!"
Amid the cheers of the crowd, Rice Shower ran straight to Fujiwara Chiya and threw herself into his arms.
"Onii-sama… Rice, Rice won!"
"You did an amazing job."
Fujiwara Chiya pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Rice Shower's forehead as reporters began gathering around them one after another for interviews.
It was Rice Shower's first time facing the cameras, and she looked nervous. Fujiwara Chiya stayed at her side and helped her ease into it.
"Rice Shower-san, is your goal the Triple Crown?"
"Y-Yes." Rice Shower nodded. "I want to dedicate victory in the Triple Crown races to myself… and also to my Onii-sama."
"'Onii-sama'?"
Rice Shower looked at Fujiwara Chiya standing beside her.
"Ah… you mean your trainer. Rice Shower-san, are you and your trainer brother and sister?"
"Yes. I'm Onii-sama's most important little sister. Onii-sama and I promised each other that we would win graded races!"
"I see."
The next day, the newspapers ran the story of the trainer and his younger-sister-like Uma Musume. The article framed it as a trainer determined to help his little sister-like racer achieve victory in graded races. The moment Fujiwara Shirayuki's friends saw the article, they all rushed over.
"Yuki-chan, this is bad! You're about to be replaced by Rice Shower!" El Condor Pasa cried out in panic as she shook Fujiwara Shirayuki by the shoulders.