Meanwhile, on the other side of the venue,
Dicta Striker stared at all the empty plates scattered across the table, and she could only smile wryly. "Damn, I don't even have enough space to eat."
"M's'rry." Oguri Cap mumbled as she moved on to her next plate of unagi. "H'ng'y."
Inari One grinned. "As expected of Oguri-aneue!" Her eyes blazed with determination as she returned her focus back onto her own lunch platter. "I gotta go and bulk up too!"
Super Creek giggled. "But don't eat too much, okay?"
"Don't do it." Tamamo Cross smiled wryly. "Oguri's a monster. Don't try and copy her. You'll just get'a stomachach'."
Obey Your Master smiled faintly as she slowly drank from her glass of wine.
It was all very strange. Never could she have imagined that she'd one day be racing as a Japanese umamusume, nor could she have predicted that she would rub shoulders with the umamusume that had defined an entire era.
Had they come forth in different eras, they could've easily become umamusume who outright shaped entire generations. Yet the Three Goddesses saw it fit to group all them into one era, and in doing so, the world had been irreversibly changed.
Here and now, six of the seven Japanese umamusume who would head on to the race in the [Japan Cup] were present. The bastion that would fight to keep the crown of the [Japan Cup] in the hands of the Japanese.
…Or at least that was what her trainer would've said.
"This is mine!" Dicta howled as she physically shielded the plate of chicken katsu she'd managed to smuggle, protecting it from the hungry gaze of the Grey Monster. "Get some yourself, you damn fatass!"
"But there's no more katsu…" Oguri said softly, her ears drooped with sadness.
Dicta scowled. "Oy. I ain't Star. That shit ain't gonna work on me."
Super Creek giggled as she moved a couple of her own katsu slices over to Oguri's plate. "Here you go, Oguri-chan~"
"Creek…!"
"Where da' hell is it all goin'...?" Tamamo whispered as she messaged her brow.
It still felt a little strange to consider herself a Japanese umamusume, even after all the time she'd spent here. This country wasn't quite home just yet; not that she'd ever felt much at home in the first place. Her time in America hadn't been the most pleasant, and even before her began racing, her relationship with her parents was–
…Well, that wasn't important. Regardless, she would race as one of the seven Japanese representatives. A total of 14 participants, running down a track 2400 meters long.
She knew her chances of winning were slim. Inari One and Super Creek, who'd defeated her in the [Autumn Tenno Sho] last month, would also be running. Tamamo Cross and Dicta Striker also couldn't be ignored. And there was little that needed to be said about Star and Oguri's dominance in every race they'd run in.
The competition she would face this year would far eclipse what she'd faced back in last year's [Japan Cup]. She'd been lucky back then to take 2nd place—Tamamo Cross had only awakened her Domain, and neither Blossom Star or Oguri Cap had reached their peaks. And even then, Oguri still defeated her.
Winning was improbable. She knew this. Director Akikawa knew this. Hayakawa Tazuna knew this.
But she would run anyway. "Because all Umamusume are born to run!" Was what her trainer had said.
And after everything she'd undergone, she could confidently say that she was indeed born to run.
"Huh? Whazzat?" Tamamo questioned, pointing at the new plate of snacks Super Creek had brought back.
"This? I think it's called a macaron?" She smiled as she lifted one of them towards her. "Wanna try one, Tama-chan?"
Her eyes twitched. "I can feed myself y'know?" She then scowled. "And don't call me that!"
Obey smiled faintly.
Well-, aside from the philosophical debate on the true purpose of an umamusume, she willingly ran in this year's [Japan Cup] for another, much simpler reason:
Tamamo Cross was retiring soon. Team Kitahara would head overseas. She'd even heard that Dicta Striker and Mejiro Ardan were contemplating heading to China sometime soon.
The Generation of Miracles was splitting apart. Not for any contemptuous reason, but for the simple fact that time waited for no one. All of them were seniors at this point, and it was by a literal miracle that they were all still racing.
But nothing lasts forever. Tamamo's awakening had only delayed the inevitable. Team Kitahara's ambitions meant that they would soon leave the confines of a single country. And perhaps inspired by their drive for conquest, a few others began contemplating the same, having experienced most of what Japan had to offer.
Even Obey herself was no different. She had been racing for 4 years by this point—and though she'd yet to reach the end of her True Blooming, she knew she couldn't outrun the inevitable.
This era would soon end, and she would be there to mourn its passing.
…
"Finally stopped thinkin'?" Tamamo asked.
Obey blinked, and only realized that Tamamo had been staring at her for the past minute. "I-, yes." She smiled awkwardly. "Sorry. I didn't realize."
"Nah, its'fine." She took a bit down on one of the macarons Creek had shared with her. "What'cha thinkin' of? Worried 'bout somethin'?"
"Just reminiscing, that's all." Obey smiled faintly. "I've only officially raced in Japan for under a year, but it feels like much longer has passed." She shook her head with a rueful smile. "I still can't believe it."
Tamamo grinned as she leaned back into her chair. "Yeah, ain't that right." She bit down on another macaron as she gazed at the ceiling. "Kinda crazy to think jus' how much stuff's happened." Her grin softened as she ran a hand through her hair. "Still, ah' don't regret it. Been a whole lot'a fun."
Obey hummed. There was a definite relief in Tamamo's eyes now. It seemed having her decision of retiring finally be known to the public had lifted a weight from her shoulders.
She wasn't unknowing to what Tamamo had felt after the [Autumn Tenno Sho]. After all, she'd often trained with her during the summer camp; she knew full well how frustrated Tamamo had felt when she noticed just how glacial her improvements had been over the past few months.
"What do you plan on doing for new years?" She asked instead.
"New years…" Tamamo sighed as she closed her eyes. "Dunno. Usually I go spend it with ma' family and stuff, but–" She spun her hand around. "Y'know."
Obey slowly nodded. She could empathize. "Do you have any plans?" She asked. "A vacation, perhaps?"
Her expression turned somewhat awkward. "I-, well, never really thought 'bout 'dat." She chuckled softly. "All ma' winning's goin' back to ma' home, so it ain't like I have much to spend." She sighed as she slouched back into her chair. "'Sides, where am'I supposed to go anyway? Ain't nowhere's grabbin' my interest."
Obey opened her mouth for a moment, before she closed them. There was something she had wanted to ask, but this wasn't the time. "I see. Maybe you'll have a better idea once everything is over." She said instead, quickly drinking the rest of her wine to distract herself.
Tamamo hummed. Obey nodded.
They spent the next few minutes in silence.
…
Or at least they tried to.
"Oi, keep y'er hands of my plate, ya' dummy!" Tamamo cried out as she quickly zoomed in and grabbed her plate before Oguri could take them. "Stand up, ya' lazy ass! There's literally more snacks over there!"
Oguri blinked, snapping out of her food-induced trance. "Ah? Tama-chan?"
Tamamo grit her teeth. "Pay attention, ya' idiot!"
Obey Your Master blinked, and then she smiled as she offered her own plate of snacks. "Here. You can have them, Oguri-san. I'm not that hungry."
Oguri's eyes twinkled, and she smiled brightly as she accepted the offering. "Thank you!"
Tamamo sighed as she shook her head. "Y'er too kind, Obey. Ya' gotta let this idiot take her own food, ya' know?"
Obey just chuckled.