My foot slammed into the ground as I made one last lunge. The ground trembled beneath me, the Dirt caved in by the weighted cleats bolted to the soles of my shoes. Clumps of dirt were launched behind me as I accelerated, my eyes leaving behind glowing blue contrails as I surged past the finish line.
The moment I did, I quickly slowed down. And once I came to a full stop, I sighed harshly as I ran a hand through my hair. "So close." I bit out, swallowing back another frustrated scream that threatened to slip past my lips.
I turned my gaze down the track, and there I found the phantom I'd been chasing. Their form was indistinct this time—nothing more than a swirling mass of black, vaguely taking the shape of an umamusume. They turned to me, and though the phantom's face had no features, I could almost imagine the subtle smirk on their lips.
When I next blinked, the phantom was gone.
"Star?"
I blinked, and suddenly I found Oguri standing next to me, offering a bottle of water. I smiled. "Oh, thanks-" I paused as my finger grazed the bottle. The thing was cold. So cold that it couldn't have come from some mundane vending machine. I stared at the bottle for a good second, before I shrugged. This wasn't the weirdest thing I've seen this week.
So I gave her a smile as I took the bottle, and I proceeded to down the entire thing in one go. I breathed out in relief as I felt that refreshing coolness wash down my throat. "Thanks, Oguri."
"Nn." She gazed down the track for a moment, as if seeing something only she could see. Her expression turned somewhat odd for a moment, before she shook her head. "Another fail?"
I sighed. "Yep. Failed at the last second." I smiled with grit teeth as I accidentally crumpled the plastic bottle I was holding. "Couldn't quite catch them in time."
Oguri nodded with understanding. And she actually did understand. After a while, I finally decided to come clean about my assumptions on my Domain to Oguri—I told her about the phantom that appeared whenever I entered that state of flow, and how I felt like something monumental would occur the moment my figure finally overlapped with theirs.
Oguri, bless her heart, believed me without question and began sharing some ideas of her own on how I could potentially bridge that gap. None of them had quite worked just yet, but I was closing the gap with each attempt. With her help, my running had improved tremendously, and the substantial increase to my Wit reflected that.
I might not have the brain cells to try and find better ways of running, but I had my girlfriend to help me out. And with our powers combined, there was nothing I couldn't defeat!
"A final spurt?" Oguri asked.
I hummed, my eyes narrowing. "I…maybe?" I scratched the back of my neck as I thought back to the last 200 meters before the finish line. "It reminds me of how I usually speed up just as I enter the homestretch."
She nodded, before she tilted her head. "You can do it too, right?"
I nodded with a wry smile. "Well, if I'm willing to break my legs."
Oguri's eyes immediately sharpened. "Then no." She said sternly, her pupils sharpening into slits. "Don't push yourself."
"I won't, I won't~" I winked as I patted her head. "As I said, I'm just trying to catch them. I'm dumb, but I ain't that dumb. I'm not gonna break my legs just to try and catch a phantom that probably isn't real."
Oguri nodded with a faint smile. Though I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as I saw Oguri suddenly kick her leg back with enough force that a small blast of wind followed. She brought her leg back down as if nothing happened, returning a slightly confused stare at my raised eyebrows.
I just huffed. I guess it was just Oguri being Oguri.
"Wanna take a jog around?" I offered instead, and Oguri immediately nodded as she immediately came up to my left. I smiled as I saw the way her tail was wagging, and my own tail began swaying slightly as I bent my knees. And then, without needing to look at her, both of us ran forward at the same moment.
As usual, our 'jogs' were closer to running than an actual jog. Our weighted cleats slammed into the Dirt below, sending tremors into the earth with every step we took. The winds whistled past us as we ran, and I couldn't help but smile.
And inevitably, my thoughts began to wander.
A couple weeks had gone by since the [Autumn Tenno Sho], and there wasn't a month left before the day of the [Japan Cup]. The people were already exploding with excitement after what happened during the [Autumn Tenno Sho], and the commotion had only grown louder ever since.
It was no surprise; last year's [Japan Cup] was the catalyst that'd set the world ablaze. For the first time, the Domains usually privy only to umamusume became visible to everyone. Studies into umamusume biology and mythology suddenly gained a new windfall, and the fervor had only grown more and more with every moment the veil of normalcy was torn down.
Now the [Japan Cup] was here once more, and the lineup was no less impressive than last year's.
Thiefcrow and Satias—from the USA.
Return to the Top—from France.
Callie's Room and Eve Binti—from the UK.
And of course, Folkqueen—from New Zealand.
That part of the lineup was at least familiar, though it brought me no comfort. The Three Goddesses had been clear that this would be a battle against Destiny itself, and since Folkqueen was the victor of this year's [Japan Cup] in the original story, I wouldn't be surprised if she was far stronger compared to how she was in the manga.
But it was the last foreign umamusume that had me surprised.
Sunday Silence—from the USA. I mean, I knew my System told me that I'd changed her fate by having her be assigned to a different trainer, but I hadn't expected her fate to change this much.
Though I guess it wasn't a surprise that she'd been included as a representative of the USA. After all, she was this year's Triple Crown winner; she'd shown her overwhelming power by winning the [Kentucky Derby], [Preakness Stakes], and the [Belmont Stakes]. It was only natural to have her represent the US for this year's–
My thoughts halted as I caught sight of the phantom once more, and my eyes sharpened. An overwhelming instinct to lunge ahead arose in me, but I stopped myself. After all, this was only a 'jog', and I didn't want to suddenly leave Oguri behind.
But as if she'd heard my thoughts, Oguri gently patted my back. "Go." She said, smiling faintly. "You can see them again, right?" I nodded, and she hummed. "Then go."
I finally let myself grin. "I'll wait for you at the finish line!"
Power flooded my legs, the air around me seemed to warp, as if some great heat had suddenly descended. The Dirt below me sank as my foot slammed down onto the ground, and the white tips of my hair seemed to glow like snow as my eyes burnt bright blue.
{Starlit Crown} activated, and I exploded forward to try and catch the fleeting phantom.
The phantom wasn't idle either. Perfectly matching my sudden movement, the phantom accelerated as well, and suddenly both of us were running ahead. I grit my teeth as I began activating my Skills one by one, careful not to use too many at once to conserve my legs.
But it wasn't enough. Every time I sped up, the phantom did too. Even as I eventually activated {Starlit Crown} for the third time—the most I could do before I harm myself—the phantom was still ahead. And as I crossed the finish line, I could only scream in frustration as I lost to them by a length.
"So close…!" I groaned as I resisted the urge to tear my hair out. The phantom turned around towards me, and I could've sworn they were laughing at me before they dissolved into thin air.
I scowled as I glared at the spot where the phantom had last stood. "I'll catch you eventually." I hissed out.
And that was a damn promise!
.
.
.
Not too far away, Oguri was leisurely jogging towards the finish line. She smiled faintly as she saw me scream into the air, before she turned to her left and raised an eyebrow. "Do you really need to frustrate her so much?"
The phantom suddenly appeared beside her in a swirl of darkness, and their shoulders rose in a casual shrug.
Oguri raised an eyebrow at the surprisingly human movement her ghostly friend was showing. But she didn't think too much about it as she abruptly surged forward the moment she entered the final straight.