Bam.
"Apologies for the delay, Chief."
After the solid thud of the car door closing and that crisp confirmation, the final passenger was finally inside. We were ready to go. I looked up at the rearview mirror and saw both the chestnut-haired and gray-haired girls already seated, their safety belts clicked securely over their thick, warm winter clothes.
"No problem," I said, turning on the wipers. They scraped across the windshield, wiping away the light layer of snow and frozen dew that was already starting to accumulate. "Do you have your mask or glasses ready, Ko-kun?"
"Affirmative. I brought a mask," she nodded, the brim of her cap bobbing up and down..
"Great! Let's go then!" I said, pulling down the handbrake, shifting the car into drive, and gently stepping on the gas.
The road ahead was dark and quiet, illuminated only by the periodic glow of streetlights. I had thought there would be more people out, on their way to see the first sunrise of the New Year/Hatsuhinode, but perhaps such a tradition wasn't as common in the metropolis. Or maybe we were just too early.
Thankfully, we had been able to extend the duration of our car loan for a full day. I was truly grateful to Tazuna-san for pulling those strings. Seeing the first sunrise wasn't my idea; it had been Oguri's request during our small New Year's party yesterday and a celebration of her victory in the Winter Dream Trophy League. She had wanted to do hatsuhinode with the whole team. As her trainer, I couldn't exactly say no to the request of our team captain and the two-time, undefeated DTL champion. Ko-kun had also been enthusiastic, saying she always did it back home. So, here we were, on our way to our destination.
Ko-kun had initially suggested we go to the Tama Hills nearby, but that area was restricted to the public. Even though she knew it was a United States Air Force facility, she had kept suggesting it, like a child asking for a toy they know they can't have. She had even insisted she would be the one to ask the patrol guards for a pass.
Well, it was great that she was opening up to us more, in her own unique way, but I didn't particularly want to be interrogated by imposing American soldiers or risk getting arrested on the first day of the year. So, after some gentle persuasion, we had agreed to go to a nearby recommended spot we'd found after some searching on the internet: the Fuchu-Yotsuya Bridge. They said the reflection of the sunrise on the Tama River was gorgeous, so that's where we were headed.
Plus, we could go to the Okunitama Shrine for hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year, afterwards. Oguri had warned us that it would be incredibly crowded, but for me and Ko-kun, the experience of going to the famous Okunitama Shrine for hatsumode was a marvel in itself, a "have to do it at least once" kind of event.
Yeah, it really showed we were from the countryside, but hey, we should at least do it once.
Let's just treat this visit as... research. Ugh. A week of catering to Agnes Tachyon's whims is enough to influence anyone's thinking.
I sighed inwardly, my thoughts interrupted by Oguri's voice from the passenger seat beside me.
"Ko-chan, your cap. Is it new?" Oguri asked, her attention fixed on the girl in the back. She seemed to have just noticed it.
"Technically, yes," Ko-kun's voice came from the back, "but I bought it from a military surplus store, so it might be used?"
"You're not sure?" Oguri asked.
"Sometimes you get either a used or an overstocked item, but this one should be an overstock. It's from the JGSDF, after all," Ko-kun explained, pointing to the cap on her head.
"I don't know why you're so confident about that," I said, a little curious. "But aren't most of your clothes from military surplus stores?" She had mentioned it once during a training session but had never explained why.
"Chief," she began, her tone matter-of-fact, "the JSDF is struggling to recruit people, and their yearly equipment production is almost always a surplus because of that. Though that doesn't sound good for the country, thanks to that, I can get durable and cost-effective clothes." She explained it with such a knowing, practical look that I couldn't argue. I didn't know much about military procurement, so I just nodded. But yeah, just looking at her outfits, I could see how rugged the materials were.
She was a practical kid, through and through.
"But thankfully, yours aren't the ones that have... what are they called? Uh, ah, winter camo, is it?" I laughed at my own joke. "It would be difficult if you got lost in this snow."
"I actually have another parka with that pattern," I heard her say from the back, "but it's already too small for me." A small, almost inaudible sigh followed.
I only smiled wryly at her reply. Then, I heard a distinct sniffing sound from the back seat.
"Please wait, Oguri-san. Let's eat it together later," Ko-kun said, her voice firm but gentle.
Oh, right. She had brought some kind of bag with her, an insulated lunch bag, maybe? Had she actually made breakfast for us before we left? I see. That's why she had asked us to wait for her at the academy's gate rather than meeting in the team room. But didn't she have that regular task to do for her dorm leader? This kid was something else.
"What is it, Ko-chan? It smells so good," Oguri asked, her voice filled with a child-like excitement.
"It's elote."
"What's that?" Oguri asked again, her curiosity piqued.
"Grilled corn on the cob, slathered in a mayo cream sauce and garnished with chili powder, cheese, and lime," Ko-kun explained concisely.
Ah, right. Of course it was corn. I smirked at the thought. For someone who used our team room to stock up on entire sacks of corn, a dish like this wasn't unexpected.
Just as she finished her explanation, a loud, cavernous growl emanated from the front passenger seat. We both laughed at that.
"Be patient, Oguri. We're almost there," I said, turning the steering wheel as we approached the bridge.
"I've already prepared a special portion for you, Oguri-san," Ko-kun added from the back. "As a congratulatory present for your win yesterday."
"Thank you, Ko-chan!" Oguri exclaimed, turning around in her seat and hugging Ko-kun tightly over the center console. I nodded as I glanced at the scene in the rearview mirror. It was great that they were getting even closer.
Cohesion was crucial, both for the team and for their individual development. For Ko-kun, Oguri was there as her senior, a mentor she could learn from. For Oguri, Ko-kun was there as her junior, a source of motivation to keep her own performance sharp, even after her peak period had officially ended. I didn't want Oguri to experience the same kind of mental breakdown she'd had due to her performance decline at the end of her Twinkle Series career. Ko-kun's role here was crucial. With her around, Oguri would at least maintain her dignity as a senior and as the captain of Team Arcturus. She was even putting up with more pool training than before. Yes, Oguri had become more mature lately. I was so proud of her.
Oh, right, speaking of Oguri. Her Winter DTL yesterday had been a masterpiece. She'd won even more decisively this time, with a two-length gap ahead of Maruzensky in second. She had executed our plan perfectly and was able to defend her throne. Her split times were even better in every sector compared to her Summer DTL. Even though her training regimen had been relatively the same, I guessed Ko-kun's run in the Hopeful Stakes had ignited something inside her. A rejuvenated spirit? Or just her plain, old competitive nature? I wasn't sure, but it was a great sign.
For Ko-kun, and by extension, for me as her trainer, the defeat at the Hopeful Stakes had been a bitter experience. We had been so close. So damn close to winning, after she had magnificently closed a ten-length gap from the leader upon entering that short Nakayama homestretch. She had done her best.. tactically, mentally, and physically. But the half-length and a neck gap to King Halo hadn't been closed. It was my fault. I should have prepared her better.
Hah...
But we had moved past the "what ifs." We had accepted the results. And although she had finished third, her evaluation in the racing world had skyrocketed. She was no longer seen as a mere challenger to the "big six." She was already being counted as one of them. Great, right? This generation now had seven wonders. The press was already calling them a new "Golden Generation." As a fan of the sport, I was really looking forward to this year's Classics. Though the situations with Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi and Grass Wonder were unfortunate, the battle at the top was still going to be stacked.
But as Copenhagen's trainer, I knew there were many things that had to be done to ensure she emerged as the finest gold among them all. The Hopeful Stakes hadn't just been a race; but a single, brutal event that had stress-tested every theory we had, every technique we had developed so far.
The data we'd gathered from that single loss was some of the most crucial we would ever obtain. It laid out the trajectory of the competition and illuminated the long, hard road we would have to take moving forward. From our weaknesses and how to counter them, to our strengths and how to further sharpen them, we more or less had the outline for the next twelve months.
We knew the journey ahead would be arduous. That was why we had to, as Ko-kun herself would say, prepare an underground bunker long before the shelling began. I just hoped the bunker we were building would be strong enough to protect us, to let us weather the storm until the shelling passed, so that we could emerge as the victors.
I glanced at the car's digital display. 06:30. We were almost there. I slowed down, my eyes scanning for a place to stop. As we got closer to the bridge, I found a vacant spot along the roadside and pulled over. Before we got off, I turned to the back.
"Just in case, wear your masks or glasses," I said. "It's obvious for Oguri, but you're getting more famous lately too, Ko-kun."
With how passionately the URA had hyped up this year's Hopeful Stakes, and with how remarkably Ko-kun had run, there was no doubt that more people would be paying attention to her. That was a great thing in itself, but I didn't want any distasteful characters making problems for her.
"Un," Oguri said, pulling on a pair of simple glasses and adjusting her black cap. She should be less recognizable now.
"Copy that, Chief," Ko-kun replied, pulling a black mask up over her nose. Still... she was wearing the same parka from the Hopeful Stakes paddock. Let's just hope no one looked too closely.
"Alright, let's go."
We got out of the car, the cold morning air biting at our cheeks, and walked towards the bridge. After a short walk, we found a good spot around the middle of the span. There were a few other people already there, mostly youngsters, their bright and loud chatter echoing in the quiet morning. I suddenly felt younger myself, going to see the hatsuhinode at a spot famous among the youth. Hahaha..
We secured our viewing spot by the railing and waited. As time passed, more people began to arrive, locals and their families, all bundled up against the cold. We talked about anything and everything while we waited, though the conversation mostly consisted of Oguri asking, with increasing frequency, whether we could eat breakfast yet.
At around 06:50, it began. The sun finally started to show itself, rising at its own unhurried pace. The sky was clear, a deep, perfect blue, and the first rays of sunlight struck the calm surface of the Tama River, scattering into a shimmering, breathtaking field of gold. Even here, in the city that was the center of everything, the sunrise was still the same. It carried the same profound feeling of starting anew, a meaningful starting line for every creature on earth, including myself and the two Umamusume who stood in front of me.
And with that, I finally felt it. My first year in Central had ended. My second year had just begun. And as the golden sun finally showed itself in all its glory, a quiet vow formed in my heart.
"I will always do my best," I murmured.
The moment was perfect, but a certain someone's stomach was beginning to rumble again. "Alright, let's eat our breakfast here," I announced. "The shrine will be too crowded; it'll be difficult to eat there. Thank you, Ko-kun, for preparing this for us."
"It's fine," she said, kneeling down to open the insulated bag and the lunchboxes within. She grabbed a paper plate, placed two full, steaming cobs of corn on it, and handed it to me. "Here's yours, Chief."
I took it and watched as Ko-kun took one lunchbox for herself, handing the rest of the entire bag over to Oguri. Oguri quickly opened one of the boxes and devoured a whole cob in what seemed like a single, continuous motion.
"Oh, it's delicious! Thank you, Ko-chan! As expected of the Corn Expert!" Oguri gave Ko-kun an excited thumbs-up, her cheeks full.
"You're welcome, Oguri-san. Please enjoy," Ko-kun said, a small, proud smile on her face.
Curious, I took a bite of my own. My eyes widened. An explosion of flavor.. sweet, spicy, tangy, savory.. burst across my tongue.
"Ko-kun! This is incredible!" I said, immediately taking another, bigger bite.
"Of course," she said, nodding with satisfaction. "The Director's recipe won't let you down."
I laughed at that, showing a deep, genuine sound of contentment. I looked at the two of them, silhouetted against the rising sun, sharing this simple, perfect breakfast. And in that quiet, blissful moment, I felt a sense of certainty. No matter how difficult this year would be, no matter how fierce the battles or how bitter the defeats, it would all be worth it, because I would face it all together with them. This was my team. Team Arcturus. And we were just getting started.
---
[END OF JUNIOR YEAR ARC]