800m.
Eight hundred meters left to the line.
Stardust kept her most comfortable corner form—breaking the bend into two straights and a single pivot.
It cost her about ten extra meters of distance, but avoided the forced deceleration of a curved path.
Oguri seemed to notice and didn't block; she even eased to give Stardust the line to swing wide.
And then… there it is—I feel it. The spot is right here!
Skill—777, activate!
With a warm flow into her limbs, the gray-white phantom flashed through her mind again—the Holy Night runner's elegant figure on the tree of lights—and tuned Stardust's actions to the most correct posture—
In an instant, Stardust's entire aura changed. Each step stomped raw force into the turf, even pressing dimples into the grass.
Her whole set—speed, stamina, acceleration—rose across the board. With that pivot on the outer line, she blasted toward the home straight like a gale.
Here it comes!
Ginjirou snapped to high alert. That sudden shift in form was precisely what he and Oguri had come to learn: every step hammered down to wring out power, an explosive second-stage acceleration.
It was very similar to Oguri's unique last-200m finisher, but reworked into an earlier, sustained amplification. This was the last puzzle piece for Oguri's victory!
He held his breath and watched.
Seeing it, Oguri immediately eased for a beat to slot behind Stardust—she needed that vantage to observe each step.
"Hah… hah…"
In that state, Stardust couldn't mind anything else. She felt the recovery from the form and tried to tune her body.
It was as if she were back at Chukyo.
That scorching phoenix-like presence pressed from behind—Tokai Teio—and she herself was the one whose lead could be snatched any moment.
If she kept running like this, next she'd be passed by Tokai Teio?
I'm not… going to accept that!
"Is that a second closing kick?!"
With Ginjirou's exclamation, Stardust's competitive fire, stirred by illusion, flared up.
Feeling the wind lash her face, she bit down, leaned even lower, and surged ahead a second time!
Is parallel-running training supposed to be this hot-blooded?
Oguri, who had been studying Stardust's footfalls from behind, was completely at a loss. Why had she suddenly accelerated again?
They had already hit the home stretch; three hundred meters remained. To avoid being dropped, Oguri also had to start ramping up.
Skill—Final Spurt, activate!
Boom!
For a runner like Oguri, there was only one way to accelerate: pour more force into her legs—and drive it into the ground!
——————————
The pressure behind didn't recede; it drew closer.
A vaguely felt weight settled over Stardust; that indescribable atmosphere spread along the stretch.
Her pupils shrank.
She can't be shaken?!
Even a second acceleration couldn't drop her—was she… going to burst a third time?!
I'm not… going to give up like last time!
Clenching her teeth to push again, Stardust found—
No way… I can't raise it any further?
No—what's happening is the chaser behind me just started accelerating!
The last 200 meters of straight!
Oguri's already-low posture dropped even further. She was like a fighter jet skimming the ground; her predator's eyes bulged. For this last 200, she wasn't giving an inch!
Pfft.
Still grinding on, Stardust felt a chill across her back. In her mind's eye, she saw a gigantic, terrifying beast drawing up from behind—something that shouldn't exist on a racecourse, a city-leveling kaiju—Godzilla… No, an illusion!
She corrected herself instantly, but her stride still hitched.
In that instant, a gray-white phantom on her flank seized the opening and streaked past!
Through the line!!!
Oguri Cap ultimately took first by two lengths.
"Hah—hah—hah…"
Spent, Stardust sagged against a wall, panting. Only now did she remember—it was just a parallel-run training.
Did I flash back to getting passed by Tokai Teio—so my competitive urge exploded?
"I'm very sorry—I got carried away," she turned to apologize to Oguri. They'd agreed it was a parallel run for Oguri to learn Holy Night's Runner, but she'd suddenly triggered multiple accelerations and scrambled the plan.
"What?" Oguri wiped sweat, baffled by Stardust's apology.
"It's… I wanted to win too much and didn't keep the form."
"Wanting to win is normal. What's the problem?" Oguri said with puffed cheeks,
She seemed to be recovering with her own method, whole face like a bun, ears twitching adorably.
"Oguri's right," Ginjirou walked up and seconded her.
"If you suppress the will to win, what's the point of racing? No need to apologize. Oguri's will to win is even stronger; otherwise she wouldn't have brought out her true skill in the last 200. Hahahaha."
He laughed, and Stardust relaxed.
After all, he had stressed their time was tight; she'd have felt awful if she'd wasted Oguri's precious training.
"All right—now you're warmed up," Ginjirou clapped to draw their focus. "Let's start real training!"
"That was just the warm-up?!"
Already near exhaustion, Stardust's eyes flew wide.
Her legs felt like lead again—just lifting them was hard—and now this trainer said… the training hadn't even started?!
You've got to be kidding!
"Haha, I noticed earlier your stamina is your weak point," Ginjirou grinned wider. "But that just means you need to conquer it."
"Otherwise, if 1800m and 1600m both leave you exhausted, how will you dream of the Classics? You know the Japanese Derby is 2400m, and the Kikuka-sho is a full 3000m."
"Well? If you want victory, refusal isn't allowed."
"Tch… then bring it! What, you think you can train me till I puke?!"
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