Suddenly, Belno Light gasped as her eyes shot wide open. She abruptly sat up from her bed, pupils shrunken as she stared into the darkness of her dorm room. The blanket she'd been sleeping under slid onto the floor, and her body shivered slightly as she felt the night's cold.
She was instinctively about to apologize, but the words stopped in her throat as she looked to the side and saw an empty bed. She then sighed in relief, just then remembering that Oguri and Star had gone to Gunma to train, and they were both staying there overnight.
Belno collapsed back onto her bed, her hair damp with cold sweat as she quietly took a breath.
"That dream again." She whispered into the air, frowning slightly as she softly messaged her forehead.
It started several days ago, right after the [Autumn Tenno Sho].
It was always the same dream; she'd find herself standing upon a grassy plain of some sort, standing at the front of an army that numbered over 60,000 soldiers. An army of both human and umamusume alike, all waiting for her command. By instinct she would raise her hand to the heavens, and her soldiers would raise their weapons to show their willingness to follow her every command.
And just moments after, another army would show themselves from the fog. One that far outnumbered hers, whose soldiers stood from one end of the plain to the other. Their number was so numerous that they were akin to grains of rice.
Yet she felt no fear. No terror. A million plans hung in the back of her mind, and her army would roar as they would charge forth into the seemingly futile battle.
And then the dream would abruptly end, and Belno would wake up with her body ringing in aches, almost as if she'd ran a marathon in her sleep.
Belno pursed her lips.
But she knew it had to be more than that. It couldn't be something as banal as a dream—she didn't have the imagination to dream up such a grand scenario. There had to be something more to this recurring dream. A message perhaps. Or maybe even a revelation of some kind.
Because as strange as it was, she couldn't help but feel like it was tied to the [Autumn Tenno Sho], or at least to something she'd experienced during the race.
Inevitably, her mind turned towards her Domain. Or specifically, the new form she'd unveiled during the race.
The truth was this: she hadn't planned on forming a Phalanx at all. Sure, she'd created a row of shields during her training to better defend against Dicta's Domain, but she'd been surprised when her shields had arrived with a battalion of soldiers. And not only that, the strength of her Domain far surpassed her expectations. In fact, it was the sole reason why she was the first to recover from Super Creek's Domain.
Those ghostly soldiers that'd appeared alongside her shields—could they be the very same soldiers she commanded during that dream?
She didn't know, but as fantastical as it sounded, she couldn't help but feel like that was the case.
…
She sighed.
The [Autumn Tenno Sho]—she had a lot of feelings regarding it. The fact that Star and Oguri decided to withdraw from it stung a little, but the fact that it meant that victory actually became possible made it all the more enticing. And it was that same possibility that made her loss all the more crushing.
She took 2nd place in the end. She was about 4 lengths behind Super Creek by the time she crossed the finish line, which wasn't the worst outcome. She was at least still on the podium.
But she still lost. The one race where she had the genuine possibility of winning—and she still lost.
And for a while, Belno couldn't help but feel angry at how convenient it all was. Creek's Domain was incredibly strong, but its activation was also incredibly strict—only activating during a slope. And it just happened to be the fact that the [Autumn Tenno Sho] had a sharp 2.1 meter incline during the homestretch. Had this been any other race, Creek's Domain wouldn't have been as devastating.
She got over it eventually. She couldn't remain angry for too long, especially after she saw how happy Creek became. Her loss just showed that she hadn't planned enough, that letting even one variable slip past her mind could cascade into far worse scenarios.
In the end, she just wasn't enough.
She glanced at the empty bed at the other end of the room.
For a moment, she wondered what would've happened had Oguri and Star run in the [Autumn Tenno Sho]. Would they have also gotten caught by the gravity of Creek's Domain? Or would Creek not even be able to do so due to how extreme both of their running styles were?
Somehow, she couldn't help but think that it'd just be a repeat of what happened in the [Takarazuka Kinen]. Even with how much everyone had improved, those two were just so beyond everyone else that they seemed outright untouchable.
Yet both had chosen to withdraw, all so that they had more time to prepare for the [Japan Cup]. And considering how Star was, she doubted that the reason they gave was a lie.
Which meant that they believed that the [Japan Cup] would be so difficult that they'd rather abandon the [Autumn Tenno Sho] in service of it instead.
…
"I should go to sleep." Belno whispered to herself as she rested an arm over her eyes, knowing full well that she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. Especially not after having that strange dream again. "I have training tomorrow." She said to try and convince herself.
Her shoulders remained wrung with tension. Her head still buzzed incessantly with thoughts.
She sighed.
After nearly a dozen more minutes, she eventually stopped trying to sleep and stood up instead. She winced slightly as her legs pulsed with phantom aches, as if whatever exhaustion she'd accumulated during that dream had somehow transferred into her real body.
She stretched her legs to dull the feeling somewhat, and once she felt confident that she wouldn't immediately topple over, she made her way out of her room. Since she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon, she might as well use all this time for something productive.
The door closed with a soft click. The room returned to a still silence.
.
.
.
Kitahara was yawning as he made his way to his team's clubroom. "Good morning~" He called out as he opened the door, and then paused when he saw that someone was inside. "Belno?"
Belno groaned as she laid her head on the table, dark bags showing beneath her eyes. "G'mrn'ng…" She mumbled out, her voice raspy.
Kitahara stared for a good second, before he snorted. "Had a good sleep, princess?"
"Mrhmgh." Was Belno's incoherent response, and Kitahara's smirk grew as he walked over and ruffled her hair. "Mghrtm…!"
"Then stop staying up late." He said, smiling wryly. "Get some sleep. We'll just train later this afternoon."
Belno made a weak nod, and Kitahara sighed fondly as he walked over to his own desk, ready to face his daily morning 'homework'.