By the time Duramente and Cheval Grand finished their training and headed toward the cafeteria, the final race at Nakayama had ended, and preparations for the winner's stage performance had begun.
As she made final checks alongside the other Uma Musume, Kitasan Black's heart overflowed with joy.
Part of it was certainly the exhilaration from winning, but more of it came from finally resolving the misunderstanding with Musee Alien and Amakaze Hayate.
Trainer-san was right—there's nothing we Uma Musume can't convey through racing.
Scarlet-senpai had said something similar, too.
She said that everyone went to school, trained, and raced together every day, so bumps and bruises between friends were inevitable—but nothing was ever too difficult to clear up if you just talked honestly.
Her Trainer and senpai also mentioned that there's a limit to what anyone can achieve alone, so she shouldn't be too hard on herself. As long as she did her best, things would turn out alright.
And it really was like that.
Under the lights of the rehearsal room, as Kitasan Black gracefully stretched her arms, right across from her were Musee Alien and Amakaze Hayate.
The two of them had taken second and third place respectively in today's St. Lite Kinen, and now, they stood beside her, preparing for the finale performance.
As their dance steps intertwined, their eyes occasionally met, each exchange carrying a mutual, knowing smile.
Gone was any trace of the previous misunderstanding—replaced entirely by a newfound rapport.
As the accompanying music gradually rose to a crescendo, their dance steps became intricate, yet their newfound understanding allowed them to fluidly move their slender legs, jumping, spinning, arms playfully weaving through the air.
When the song concluded, they pretended to bow to an imaginary audience, and once again those knowing smiles emerged.
Soon afterward, not just Kitasan Black, Musee Alien, and Amakaze Hayate, but all the Uma Musume present let out cheers and enthusiastically applauded their own performance.
Amid the applause, Kitasan Black couldn't resist looking toward Musee Alien.
"Musee-chan! Your dancing was amazing just now! We matched each other so well!"
Then she turned to Amakaze Hayate. "Hayate-chan too! Your moves were so powerful!"
"Kitasan-san... No, Kita-chan..."
Musee Alien blushed shyly, biting her lip gently. "Is it...alright to call you that?"
"Of course it's alright!" Kitasan Black nodded brightly without hesitation.
"Well…Kita-chan's dancing was incredible, and not just the dancing—the way you raced today was…"
Musee Alien's cheeks flushed brighter. "You were just too dazzling. I—"
"Haha! Then let's settle it at the Kikuka Sho!" Amakaze Hayate interrupted with hearty laughter, confidently clapping Musee Alien on the shoulder and then extending a bold hand toward Kitasan Black.
"Don't forget, Kitasan! Musee and I will both be racing against you at the Kikuka Sho. We definitely won't let you win so easily next time!"
"I know! I'll also—"
Kitasan Black was just about to respond with "give it my all," when she suddenly felt playful, eyes sparkling mischievously.
"You know what? Looks like it's my turn to write a 'Peach Challenge' this time!"
"Peach wha—?"
Amakaze Hayate only got halfway through before abruptly realizing the teasing glint in Kitasan's eyes, as well as Musee Alien's suppressed giggles, causing her face to flush crimson instantly.
"Hey! Can't you stop mentioning that embarrassing incident?! Enough already! This time, I'll be the one challenging you, Kitasan!"
Tracen Academy wasn't exactly small, and there certainly weren't few Uma Musume. Every day, everyone trained, studied, raced, and repeated. In some ways, it was monotonous, so any little amusing incident would quickly become common knowledge.
At such times, the vast academy seemed to shrink down, and the countless Uma Musume felt fewer; an incident from yesterday would often spread campus-wide by the next morning.
The earlier misunderstanding involving Kitasan and the others had been exactly like that—many Uma Musume had heard a little something about it.
Now, seeing the three at the center of that earlier tension behaving as if nothing had ever happened, some expressed surprise, but more just smiled knowingly.
After laughing and chatting a bit longer, the stage manager hurried in from outside.
Clapping his hands, he urged, "Alright everyone, it's almost time! Move quickly!"
After a chorus of agreement echoed around the room, Kitasan Black led the way toward the stage.
As she exited the rehearsal hall, her eyes lit up, quickly turning into delighted surprise.
"Crown-chan, Dia-chan! What are you two doing here?"
Waiting right outside the door were Satono Crown and Satono Diamond. The sisters saw Kitasan as well, exchanged quick glances, and walked forward smiling.
Kitasan rushed over with open arms, hugging them tightly. Satono Crown subtly glanced toward the other Uma Musume and waited until the rest had moved a bit further toward the stage before smiling gently and whispering:
"Congratulations, Kita-chan—St. Lite Kinen's winner."
"That's right! Both my sister and I saw it," Satono Diamond chimed in quietly with a bright smile.
"I never expected a great escape. The middle part with that big gap, and the final chase at the end…it was so exciting!"
"It's just a bit of a shame, though. If you'd kept up that huge lead, it would've been even more amazing."
Looking at Diamond's slightly disappointed expression, Kitasan and Crown both momentarily froze, then glanced at each other, smiling quietly in mutual understanding.
Unlike them, Diamond-chan had entered her honkaku-ka phase and was diligently training, but she still hadn't experienced a real race yet.
Kitasan herself clearly understood the nature of her own race today—strictly speaking, she hadn't executed a true great escape.
The reason she'd opened up such a huge gap was largely due to the explosive power of her start and her outstanding endurance, rather than relying purely on special skills or talent like Suzuka-senpai.
Only in the corners had she genuinely used techniques taught by her senpai.
Moreover, there had been strategic elements at play.
Before today's St. Lite Kinen, she had never run great escape in a race, and such a running style itself was extremely rare.
Her opponents had needed time to interpret her intentions and devise a response—during which she'd seized the opportunity to extend her lead further.
Satono Crown's perspective wasn't as clear as Kitasan's, but it was similar. Having raced against Kitasan multiple times already, she knew clearly that her friend and rival wasn't really a great escape type.
Crown even thought privately that if it had been her racing today, she might have pursued immediately upon seeing Kitasan burst forward, not giving her the slightest opportunity to open such a gap.
But neither Crown nor Kitasan chose to explain any of this to Diamond. After chatting a bit more, Crown glanced past Kitasan's shoulder.
"The stage is about to start. Kita-chan, you should hurry up and go."
"We…actually want to talk to Rasen for a bit."
Hearing this, Kitasan paused, then subconsciously turned to look behind her.
Only then did she realize Satono Rasen hadn't moved forward with the others, instead remaining by the rehearsal room door, arms crossed, head lowered in thought.
Kitasan froze again, suddenly recalling the situation from earlier in the year when Rasen had faced difficulties with her trainer, and couldn't help but feel concerned.
Could it be…she wants to switch trainers again? That couldn't be, right...?
Lost in thought, Kitasan suddenly heard Crown's gentle laughter.
"Seeing your face right now... I can pretty much guess what you're thinking. But it's not anything like that. It's…just some family matters."
"Anyway, could you give us a bit of space, Kita-chan?"
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