Some time after the [Santa Anita Handicap], I found myself sitting in the limousine, headed back to the runway where Secretariat's personal jet had been parked. That was still an hour away at best, especially since we were occasionally slowed down by the traffic. I was still in the heart of California, after all.
I sat on one of the few chairs placed right next to the window, and I found myself staring emptily out to the roads. Outside, I could see many pedestrians stopping to look at us, no doubt wondering why there was a limousine strolling through the roads in the middle of the day.
Subtlety wasn't really a thing here. Unlike in Japan, most umamusume here were taught to expect the fame that came with the sport. I was…not entirely partial to it, but since I'd be racing here for my fourth year, I was doing my best to get used to it.
Not that I was really thinking about that; I had something else dominating my thoughts.
Normally, I'd be sitting next to Oguri by this point. We'd usually be snacking together, with Oguri tearing through whatever was inside the snack bar and the mini-fridge found in the limousine.
But this time was different. I felt like I needed space to think, and Oguri—bless her heart, quietly understood and didn't attempt to pull me into everyone else's conversation. All she did was give me a bundle of snacks she'd raided from the in-car snack bar before she headed off to her own seat.
And so here I was, staring dully out the window as the rest of the world slowly moved before my eyes.
Because I couldn't stop thinking about the race I'd just won. Overall, the race itself wasn't too special. It just felt like I was back in Kasamatsu, racing on the Dirt tracks I hadn't touched in so long. The favorite to win—Nasr el Arab—was quite strong, though she was nothing too noteworthy compared to the other runners I'd already raced against.
No, that wasn't what occupied my thoughts.
It was that phantom I saw during the final spurt of the race. It appeared only during that final straight, when I was nearly overwhelmed by the urge to use every Skill I had to reach my theoretical maximum speed. This time, the phantom had taken the shape of Silence Suzuka—rather fitting, considering she was a monster to the Japanese racing scene during her peak.
At first, I thought maybe it had something to do with my unique origins. I knew that ghosts and the supernatural weren't something strange to this world; one look at Marvelous Sunday was enough to make one question whether umamusume were secretly SCPs or something. Perhaps my reincarnation into this world had given me a unique lens to view this fantastical world?
I still somewhat agreed to that idea, but now I was beginning to have a different idea.
Almost from the very first few days I arrived in Tracen Central Academy, I began training to one day unlock my Domain. Of course, I didn't actually know how to do something like that, and even now I still didn't know. But the method I'd settled on was to try and reach a form of utmost concentration and hope that it'd somehow give me insights into the Domain.
And now that I was thinking about that, I realized that this phantom had only appeared during those moments—when I had no runners to race against, with only the winds as my audience and myself as the enemy. Then, and only then, would I finally catch a glimpse of that phantom.
I frowned in thought, unconsciously rubbing my hands together due to a strange chill I felt.
Could that phantom be the elusive Domain I'd been chasing all this time? After all, Domains were something only achieved once you broke past your Limits, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch.
Over time, maybe influenced by what happened during the [Japan Cup], I began associating the Domain with the need for pressure. I began thinking that it wasn't something I could reach on my own—much like how Belno needed to constantly race against me and Oguri before she began creating her own novel method of unlocking her partial Domain.
But if my conjecture was true, then didn't that mean that I'd been going at this wrong the entire time? In the end, did that mean that the problem laid in me the entire time?
I wouldn't be surprised, really. I mean, my existence as an umamusume was already broken from the very start; it wouldn't surprise me that my Domain was something that could only be awakened by going against the conventional wisdom.
But--
That phantom had always remained beyond me, and I instinctively understood that I'd need to employ every Skill I had to reach it. But if reaching my Domain meant catching up to that phantom, wouldn't that mean I had to run past my own bodily limits, potentially injuring myself like I did back in the [Japan Cup]?
…It's funny;
The only time something similar to this happened was with Tachyon during the movie. The connection was fitting, I guess.
An empty smile crept up my lips.
Was I angry? A little bit; I couldn't deny that I felt a little peeved if my conjecture turned out to be true. Yet, at the same time, reaching the Domain required me to break through my Limits after all. Considering how people talked about the Domain, it wasn't surprising that it would have its drawbacks.
I just wondered what I'd have to give up once I finally approached those elusive gates.
…
Deep in my thoughts, I didn't notice the way Oguri had been staring at me for the past few minutes, nor the way she seemed to occasionally nod, as if understanding some great mystery only she was privy to.
She looked away a few minutes later as she returned to snacking on her twelfth chocolate bar, and with it, the slight chill permeating the limousine eventually vanished.
.
.
.
A few days later, I found myself standing on the runway paved just next to Secretariat's mansion. One of her private jets was already prepared to take off, its engines whirring loudly in the early morning.
As planned, the rest of Team Kitahara would soon return to Japan, giving both Oguri and Belno at least a week to adapt back to Japan's turf in preparation for the [Osaka Hai].
Which was why--
"Oguri~" I whispered, my voice strained as I tried to not physically combust. "Please let go. You need to fly back."
"Don't wanna." She said, and she only hugged me even tighter, pressing her face closer to my chest. "Don't wanna be away from Star." The amount of strength she was putting into her hug would've easily crushed a normal person's spine, but thankfully my body was more than strong enough to handle it.
"I-It's only for a month…" I said back, hissing softly as my cheeks burnt red. "I'll be back soon, y'know? Not like I can just ignore the [Spring Tenno Sho]."
"No."
I could only sigh as I felt Oguri hold me closer. I could faintly see the rest of the team watching us with amused expressions, and I wanted nothing more to burrow myself into a hole. I mean-, my relationship with Oguri wasn't some secret, but I still couldn't help but feel embarrassed over being showered with affection like this.
Thankfully, Secretariat eventually came to the rescue.
"Alright, alright. Stop nuzzlin' her, ya' clingy mutt." She said, her Japanese sounding somewhat strange due to her accent. Oguri aggressively shook her head, and Secretariat chuckled. "Well, I warned ya'." She said, before she proceeded to peel Oguri away from me in a single swipe, hanging her up like a cat would with its kitten. Oguri flailed for a moment, before her tail and ears drooped in defeat when Secretariat refused to lower her to the ground.
Secretariat then proceeded to essentially carry Oguri into the jet, dropping her straight onto one of the chairs before she quickly stepped back out. Belno giggled softly as she then entered, while Kitahara chuckled wryly. "Sorry about that, Secretariat-san." He said as he stepped into the jet as well. Secretariat just shrugged as she watched him enter.
Then, with all the occupants now inside, the stairs leading into the jet finally closed back up, and the engines' whirring grew louder as the jet back to slowly move.
Meanwhile, Secretariat hummed lightly before she turned to the person standing next to her. "Ya ain't joinin' them, old man?"
Musaka grumbled as she jabbed his cane towards me. "Someone's gotta stay with this idiot over 'ere."
I shrugged with a small smile, not bothering to say otherwise.
I mean, I knew that this was unnecessary. I wasn't going to run in any more races—I only had a month left in America after all. The most I'd do was visit Kentucky Tracen Central to see if I could find Sunday Silence, and even then, I'd be heading there with Secretariat by my side.
No, there was another reason why Musaka had opted to stay with me for the last month I was staying here. Something he couldn't share with the rest of the team.
…that aside,
I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and I smiled slightly as I watched the jet eventually take off from the runway. This would be the first time I'd been away from Oguri and Belno for so long, but going forward, things like this would become more common. It was for the best that I started getting used to it now.
And before long, the jet had vanished from my sight, having flown into the skies.