How could an Uma Musume who failed to take the lead, then clawed her way back into position, still have that kind of stamina…?
How could she still have the stamina to shake off every pursuer and then dig in against a second wave of challenges after multiple bursts of speed…?
How could she possibly still have that kind of stamina on the uphill of the Japanese Derby's final straight…?
Kita-chan…
Do you not know how to write the word "tired"…?!
And…
Duramente…
She had confirmed that Duramente was completely boxed in when they entered the final turn. Yet somehow…
How did she break free? How did she catch up? How did she close the gap all the way to Kita-chan…?
That speed… and that domain…
What in the world was going on…?!
Her brain, which had only just recovered, plunged into chaos again as if it had been starved of oxygen. In a daze, Satono Crown could only hear her own murmured words.
"Yes… it's not just Kita-chan… it's Duramente too…"
"It's not just Kitasan Black… it's Duramente as well…"
"The ones I want to win against…"
She suddenly stopped.
Up ahead, the two figures she had been staring at were already walking toward them. She had no idea when they had gotten so close.
Still foggy-headed, she tried to open her mouth. She thought she heard herself say something. Beside her, Satono Rasen and the other Uma Musume also spoke.
She seemed to catch phrases like "Let's keep going together next time," and she must have answered somehow.
It had to be Kita-chan who would say something like that. Duramente probably never would…
The thought drifted through her mind without her noticing. She managed a faint twitch of her lips as she watched the two figures continue toward the stands.
===
Walking toward the stands, Duramente glanced at Kitasan Black beside her several times. Several times she almost opened her mouth, yet she never managed to say the words she most wanted to say.
She did not want to say "Next race, let's continue," or "Next race, we keep going."
What she wanted to say was "Next race… continue with you."
She did not know why the thought had formed, or even when it had first appeared.
Fastest. Strongest. Supreme. She had always charged straight toward that single goal with complete single-mindedness.
Victory. Continuous victory. Only then could she reach it.
So what, then, was a loss supposed to mean?
After her two previous defeats, she had quietly turned the question over in her mind without telling a single soul… not even Air Groove-nee.
For a long time, no answer came.
She never felt inferior to anyone. Or rather, she had never once measured herself against others.
If she was going to become the fastest, the strongest, the supreme one, then the only person she needed to surpass was herself… running faster every single time than the race before.
That was the conclusion she had finally reached.
Yet while holding that belief on the final straight of the Satsuki Sho, one figure had suddenly forced its way into her thoughts.
No… that figure had already slipped into them long before.
"Hello! My name is Kitasan Black! Nice to meet you, please take care of me! You're Duramente, right? Um… Dura-chan, can I call you that?"
The words from their very first meeting rose clearly in her mind. Along with them came the images of those two close races… and the small face that had been giving everything it had.
Those words, those figures, and the low growl she had heard as they crossed the finish line all mixed together and refused to leave her head. A quiet laugh escaped her.
"Actually… it's to continue with you… Kitasan Black…"
"There are so many people here. It feels completely different looking at it now… Huh? Dura-chan, did you just say something?"
Duramente looked beside her. Kitasan Black was staring at her with a completely bewildered expression. She gently shook her head.
"No. Nothing…"