Norn Ace yawned loudly as she glared at her trainer. "Ne, what's all this about?"
Mini the Lady chimed in. "Yeah, yeah! Don't you know how confused I was when you called!? I didn't even have time to prepare!"
"I called you last night." Their trainer said helplessly.
"Still not enough!" Mini the Lady shouted back, more than aggrieved that her free summer morning had been taken so suddenly from her.
Why the heck were they even at Kasamatsu Tracen right now!? There was practically no one here! Even the few staff that worked around the school was gone for the summer holidays!
Rudy Lemono clicked her tongue as she plugged her ears. "Shut the hell up, ya idiot." She winced as she gave her ears a gentle rub. "Can't you be a little more quiet?"
"No!"
They weren't the only ones. A few dozen students were all gathered on the Tracen's dirt track. Most of them didn't have dedicated trainers, but they'd come anyway despite the sudden notice from the principal. After all, this was the first time their principal had done such an abrupt call; it could truly be something important.
Some distance away from the crowd, Fujimasa March stood beside her trainer, Shibasaki.
"I assume you also don't know anything, Shibasaki-trainer?" March asked as she gazed at the crowd of confused students.
Shibasaki nodded. "I am, yes." He narrowed his eyes as he remembered the message he received on his phone. "The principal asked me to bring you here this morning and nothing else." He hummed as he pondered. "Maybe he has an announcement he wants to make?"
March shook her head. "Inefficient. He could've just sent a message to us all if that was the case."
He frowned. "That's true."
As he pondered further, he couldn't help but glance across all the umamusume who'd gathered today. And for a moment, his professional mask slipped, letting a fond smile rise onto his lips.
Things had certainly changed. Kasamatsu Tracen was now a bustling institution, with umamusume of all sorts training their hardest to race. Many of their students had gone on to win SP-level races in the past year and a half. Compared to other local Tracens, Kasamatsu Tracen was clearly above them all.
And it was all because of a certain lucky idiot.
He chuckled at the thought, causing March to glance at him. "Trainer?"
He shook his head. "It's nothing." He smiled ruefully. "I'm just wondering how Kitahara-san is doing right now."
March smiled as well. "I'm sure he and his team are doing well in Central."
Well, she knew they were. Oguri, the dork she was, never failed to call back at least once a month to talk about everything she'd gone through in Central. And in their most recent call, Oguri had told her that Team Kitahara had attended Tracen Central's summer camp to better train for the upcoming last legs of the Triple Crown and Triple Tiara.
She was admittedly quite jealous. She'd never gone to a beach herself. It'd always seemed like a waste of time to her, but after hearing about the novel training methods Oguri had gone through during her summer camp, she wished she could've gone as well.
Alas, she didn't want to burden Shibasaki even more than she already had. She was still ashamed of her cold attitude to him during the first few weeks after he scouted her, and she knew that he'd be more than willing to bring her to the beach if she just-
Suddenly, the students cried out in shock and awe, and March quickly turned to see what it was they were so shocked about.
And then her own eyes went wide.
"O-Oguri Cap…?"
A group of people emerged from the school building, each far too famous for everyone not to recognize. Three umamusume walked forth, with their trainer walking just behind them, grinning wide as he tipped his cap down.
Oguri Cap. Blossom Star. Belno Light. Kitahara Jo.
It was Team Kitahara!
"What is he doing here?" Her trainer whispered in shock. She nodded dumbly, sharing his sentiment.
Weren't they several prefectures away? Why were they suddenly back in Kasamatsu all of a sudden?
Seeing the crowd of excited umamusume, Blossom Star quickly turned back to her team and smiled. "You go ahead and catch up." She winked playfully. "I'll hold back the tide."
"I'll help too!" Belno Light quickly chimed in. Blossom Star grinned and nodded, and soon they both walked forward to meet the adoring crowd of umamusume head-on. While the crowd was mesmerized by the two legendary figures, Kitahara and Oguri quickly slipped past them, heading straight for Shibasaki and March.
"Long time no see." Kitahara said with an easy grin, as if his sudden appearance wasn't something monumental. "Good to see you, Shibasaki."
Shinbasaki was ready to retort, but he held himself back. Knowing Kitahara, his shocked reaction was probably the thing he wanted most. So he just sighed instead. "Yeah, good to see you too, Kitahara."
The man pouted. "Tch, still as straight-laced as ever, huh?"
His eyes twitched. "And you're as insufferable as ever."
While the two fell back into their usual rhythm, March smiled gently as Oguri approached. "It's good to see you, Oguri." She frowned slightly. "But aren't you busy with summer camp? Why are you back in Kasamatsu?"
Oguri was silent for a moment, before she simply blinked. "Surprise?"
March stifled a snort. "Is that so?"
"Nn." She nodded seriously.
March smiled. It'd been half a year since she last saw Oguri. There were many things she felt at this moment, but more than anything, she was happy to see that her rival had performed so wonderfully in Central. There was scant a day when the newspaper wouldn't mention her or the Generation of Miracles she was now included in.
Though, she supposed she was also somewhat ashamed. Oguri had blazed through Kasamatsu, and now she'd lit a fire beneath Central-, no, all of Japan. Meanwhile she remained here in Kasamatsu. And sure, she'd won a few high-stakes races like the [Tokai Derby], but that wasn't enough. It was far from enough.
More than anything, she wanted to race against Oguri—to be a challenger.
But she couldn't. She never would.
Because there was already someone there. Someone who could match Oguri's strength both on and off the track.
Before her thoughts could spiral any further however,
"Will you come to Central?"
March blinked, questioning if she'd heard her right. "Can you…repeat that?"
Oguri nodded. "Will you come to Central?" She repeated, this time loud enough for Shibasaki to hear. Her trainer had frozen up mid-rant when he heard that, while Kitahara only grinned.
"Are you-" She wet her lips, trying to force the words she was struggling to say. "Are you sure? I'm just-"
"I am." Oguri said, gazing out at the crowd of umamusume Blossom Star had successfully herded. "You're strong. Stronger than anyone here in Kasamatsu." She turned back to March. "Staying here won't be enough."
Had it come from anyone else, those words would've sounded demeaning. Arrogant, even.
But March knew better. Because those words were the exact same words Oguri had heard—the same thing that made all of Team Kitahara head for Central.
Her chest constricted with all sorts of emotions, and she quickly turned to her trainer. But Shibasaki had recovered from his initial surprise, and there was only a helpless smile on his face. "What do you think, March?" He asked gently. "Do you want to go to Central?"
"I-" She did. She wanted nothing more than that. She wanted to see the turf that Oguri always talked about over the phone.
But if she did--
"It won't be forever." Her trainer continued, knowing what it was she was worried about. "If you do, you'll be a transfer under his team for a little while. At least until I manage to get my own liscence."
"And he'll probably get it." Kitahara chimed in, grinning as he slung his arm around Shibasaki's shoulders. "This guy's the cream of the crop here. I've seen trainers in Central that are worse compared to him!"
"Yeah, an example's right here." Shibasaki quickly shot back.
Her lips shook as her trainer's eyes remained on her. How unfair. Why was it always like this? Why did her debts to him only continue to build? From the beginning until now, he'd always believed in her, and yet,
…Fine then. She just had to pay him back.
"I-, want to go." She finally managed to say, wiping away her tears as she turned to Oguri with determination. "Please, take me with you!"
Oguri smiled as she nodded. "Okay."
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AN: Sorry about the late upload for the second chapter. Just noticed that the scheduled upload didn't function as I thought.