The one who always ran at the very front once asked:
"Can you keep up?"
Those words became our driving force.
Through Dubai, Longchamp, Ireland, Ascot, and Melbourne, we gave chase.
"Can you keep up?"
"You better believe it!"
If we don't issue the challenge, we can never stand beside her.
Now, the Breeders' Cup is here.
The Breeders' Cup. It is the festival of the American horse girl world, one of the two greatest events in the sport. It is a massive spectacle where champions from every category gather to settle the score at once. In the American Twinkle Series, many girls make it their ultimate life goal to leave their mark on this stage. And it was here that the Dictatorial Tyrant, Mejiro Rampage, had famously conquered the most prestigious race of them all: the Breeders' Cup Classic.
"Hmph… so that's how they're playing it!"
The Breeders' Cup is held over two days. The first day is for the Junior Class, while the second day features the heavy hitters of the Classic Class and beyond. Every year is a bloodbath, but this year, the air felt even more electric.
"Leading the pack is the assassin from Japan! The high-speed girl who openly claims the Dictatorial Tyrant as her mentor—Twin Turbo! She's taken the front with a magnificent rocket start, but the rest of the field is sticking to her like glue! She's surrounded by Rose Sheer, Shangri-La Snow, Stinging View, and West of the Sun! Because of Turbo's small stature, they look like a literal wall rising up around her!"
Turbo had nailed her signature start, but the other front-runners were refusing to let her go. They had formed a tactical encirclement. For a small girl like Turbo, the sheer physical pressure of being boxed in by larger opponents should have been suffocating. Unlike the individualistic races in Japan, American runners often move with a "team" mentality to shut down a specific threat. Turbo wasn't just racing against the clock; she was racing against a coordinated siege.
"Nuuuugh! Hang in there, Turbo! Ahhh, she's totally surrounded!"
Teio, who was scheduled to run soon herself, couldn't sit still in the stands. Next to her, "Su-chan" (Sunday Silence) watched with narrowed eyes.
"They're all wary of Turbo-chan's 'Dokkan Turbo,'" Sunday noted. "By staying within arm's reach, they're trying to prevent her from finding her rhythm. They want to be close enough to react the second she tries to accelerate."
"Does that mean Turbo's in trouble?!"
"This is likely the most pressure she's ever felt. Even if she's done thousands of miles with Ran-chan, those were always one-on-ones or runs with Team Canopus. This kind of systematic suppression is a different beast entirely. They are playing for keeps."
The way the American girls were running made it clear how much this Breeders' Cup meant to them. Ever since their defeat at the hands of Rampage, a new era of American challenge had begun—not just on the dirt, but on the turf as well. They had trained in the shadow of that loss, never knowing when the next Japanese challenger would arrive. Now was the time to show the fruits of that labor.
"Yeah… I can definitely feel it coming…!"
Turbo kept running. She had been marked before, but never with this level of murderous intent. Turbo was, by nature, a timid girl; for her, "leading" was a survival tactic to keep her heart from failing her. In the past, this kind of pressure would have crushed her spirit. But she wasn't that girl anymore.
"We're heading into the third corner! Twin Turbo is still in the lead! She's holding on, but her pursuers haven't budged an inch! This has become a brutal test of endurance! But wait—West of the Sun is dropping back! What happened?! Arlist Inter, who was supposed to be moving up, is falling behind as well! What's going on out there?!"
"They thought they could crush Turbo-san by surrounding her with pressure," a voice noted calmly. "But we anticipated that. Turbo-san has already overcome that weakness."
"They're hitting the final straight! Rose Sheer kicks into her final spurt! Shangri-La Snow and Stinging View are right there with her! They're going for the kill! Can they catch her? They're closing… they're closing… NO! THEY CAN'T! Twin Turbo is still in the lead! She's still pulling!"
"H-how?! How does this girl still have legs left?!"
"At this… insane… pace?!"
Her breath was ragged. Her legs felt like lead. But Turbo's heart was a straight line. She hadn't lost; mentally, she had already won. She had maintained a suicidal pace from the very beginning, a strategy she'd decided on before even stepping onto the track. No matter what trap they set, she was going to run her way. It was a reckless, all-or-nothing gamble—but for Turbo, that was the only way to live. Because—
"Here I goooo! FULL POWER! DOKKAN TURBOOOO!!"
"T-TWIN TURBO IS BREAKING AWAY! Look at that acceleration! She's smashed through the wall! Two lengths, three lengths—she's still widening the gap! Unbelievable! It's as if this breakneck pace is her natural element! The high-speed star of Japan, Twin Turbo, crosses the line! She takes the Breeders' Cup Mile by a staggering six lengths! Japan strikes again! Following the Melbourne Cup, it's another G1 conquest!"
"YESS!! Did you see that, Teio?! That's the power of the Dokkan Turbo!"
"You were amazing, Turbo!!"
Turbo beamed. She believed in the power of the Dokkan Turbo more than anyone. Ever since she'd ridden in Akiyama's AE86, she had been obsessed with mastering the art of pushing past the redline. She could finally stand tall.
Looking up at the spectator stands, she spotted two familiar faces.
"Big Bro Wataru! Big Sis Kazumi! Turbo did it!!"
The Akiyama siblings were there. Turbo had actually used her own prize money to buy them tickets to America and invite them to the Breeders' Cup. She wanted Wataru—the man she considered her second mentor in the art of "racing"—to see her at her best.
And then, she turned her eyes toward the camera, pointing a finger with a cheeky grin.
"Did you see that, Ran?! Next time, I'm coming for you in a Legend Race!!"
High and clear, she issued her declaration of war against her master.
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