Instinct.
The desire left behind at the very bottom of the soul after all unnecessary things had been stripped away.
Almost every outstanding runner would reveal their instinct during a race.
Wearing the heavy protective gear, Shirayuki followed behind that person. The fatigue from the day had yet to disappear, and now, at night, another high-intensity race had begun. Every muscle in her body felt like it was burning. Her throat was painfully hoarse.
The other party did not wait for her.
She only ran faster and faster.
Shirayuki could barely make out a black shadow in the distance.
Even so, the feeling that person gave her was still overwhelming.
Instinct.
Yes.
Her senses were telling her, on an instinctive level, that there was something there.
It was like an animal that had survived countless brushes with death. When it encountered a predator, its body would send out warnings before its mind could even react.
Shirayuki's body was telling her.
There was something terrifying over there.
And that thing was very hungry.
Hungry?
Shirayuki froze for a moment.
She did not know why she had thought that, but the unclear, indescribable emotion in her heart kept warning her again and again.
If she did not speed up, she would be eaten.
No.
This place was not a racetrack.
It was a hunting ground.
The weak were prey, and the strong ruled.
Shirayuki remembered what that person had once said.
The racetrack was a battlefield.
Here, there were only hunters and prey.
And right now, she had become the other party's prey.
In this world of racing, there was no such thing as peaceful coexistence.
After lapping her once, the girl came after her from behind. At that moment, Shirayuki's sense of tension reached its peak. She felt as though she was about to be swallowed whole.
I have to run.
I have to escape!
Are you going to run away?
Shirayuki seemed to hear someone's voice.
She looked back and saw those golden eyes.
The girl clearly had not spoken, yet Shirayuki could feel her will with perfect clarity.
She was asking:
"Are you going to run away?"
Shirayuki froze.
She was afraid.
She was terrified.
When faced with an unbeatable opponent, Shirayuki had chosen to retreat.
At that moment, she had completely become prey.
No.
No, that wasn't right!
In this world where one either lived or died, there were only two choices.
Either stake everything and charge toward the highest point, or be devoured by one's opponents until nothing remained.
Beneath the dazzling, radiant appearance of uma musume lay the cruelest and most primitive side of this world.
At that moment, Shirayuki understood.
This was not a multiple-choice question.
If she did not want to become prey, then she had to become a hunter.
She had to entrust her body to the instinct to hunt.
Shirayuki bit her tongue hard, and her mind cleared. Looking at the black-haired girl drawing closer and closer, she used every bit of strength in her body to sprint forward.
Her throat felt as if it were about to burst into flames.
The heavy protective gear squeezed her body.
Shirayuki let out a low, muffled cry.
She did not know how long she kept running.
Then her vision went black, and she completely lost consciousness.
By the time Chiya rushed over, Shirayuki was already gone from the training ground. Someone had carried her back to her room, and the protective gear on her body had been removed and placed beside her.
Did someone happen to pass by and help her?
But who would go to the training ground in the middle of the night?
Or was it that ghost who brought her back?
Either way, it was extremely strange…
The next day, when Shirayuki woke up, every cell in her body was screaming.
Every inch of her skin felt as though it was being scraped by blades. The pain made her tremble.
This was the first time Shirayuki had ever trained herself into such a state. In the past, even after high-intensity training, sleeping for one night would restore all of her previous fatigue. After all, Shirayuki ate a lot, grew quickly, and was currently in the rapid growth period of her true development.
But now, Shirayuki's training volume had already exceeded the growth limit of her body.
Her nutrition was starting to fail to keep up.
In that case, she had to eat even more.
Shirayuki swayed as she stood up.
Training and food.
These were topics that no uma musume could avoid.
At that moment, Shirayuki thought of her senior, Oguri Cap. As a famous big eater, she must have done deep research into this matter.
Shirayuki called her. After the phone rang a few times, Oguri Cap's voice came through.
"I see. You want to know how to continue eating even when you are already full?"
Oguri Cap spoke.
"Why worry about whether you are full or not? Do not care about what your stomach thinks. Simply focus on the food in front of you. I used to be the same as you. I also once wondered how I could keep eating after I was full. Later, I achieved enlightenment."
"If I ignore the fact that I am full, then I am not full. If I forget that I have already eaten, then I have not eaten. So, Shirayuki, believe in yourself. Do not let your body deceive you."
"I understand, senpai."
Shirayuki hung up.
As expected, Oguri Cap was completely unreliable.
Rather than hoping she would give some useful advice, Shirayuki would be better off sleeping with Seiun Sky.
Just as that thought appeared in Shirayuki's mind, her phone rang again.
The caller ID showed Seiun Sky.
Speak of the devil.
Shirayuki answered the call, and Seiun Sky's voice came through.
"Yahoo~ It's your Sky-chan."
"Good morning, Sky. You're up early."
"I figured this would be around the time you just woke up, so I wanted to give you the first morning greeting."
"Then you're late. This is the second one."
"Eh? Is that so…"
Seiun Sky hung up.
Then the phone on Chiya's side rang.
"Yahoo~ Trainer-san, your first morning greeting."
Fujiwara Chiya closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You're really having fun with this, aren't you?"
"Am I the first one on your side?"
"I suppose so."
"Then that's fine."
Fujiwara Chiya looked at the clock. It was only a little past seven. He had not expected Seiun Sky to start chatting with him over the phone so early in the morning.
Did the sun rise from the west today?
"Trainer-san, is the environment over there good for sleeping?"
"Why are you always thinking about sleep?"
"Because I'm Sky-chan. Tell me."
"It's very suitable. The place is so huge that you can go half a day without seeing another person."
"That sounds nice. I want to go too."
"If Kiryuin applies, maybe you can come."
"But our trainer has been so busy with her own matters lately that she can barely manage. If she suddenly went to an unfamiliar training ground, she probably wouldn't know what to do."
"Then we'll wait until there's a chance in the future."
The two of them chatted idly, back and forth, until Yaeno Muteki walked into the room. Only then did Fujiwara Chiya put down the phone.
On the other side, Seiun Sky yawned and lay back down on her bed.
"Sky-chan? Are you going back to sleep?"
"I'll lie down a little longer. Waking up this early really makes me sleepy."
Seiun Sky curled up as she answered her roommate.
Lately, she really had not been sleeping soundly at all.
She would wake up after only a short while.
Fortunately, after hearing Chiya's voice, her mood relaxed quite a bit, and drowsiness began to rise again.
Seiun Sky was starting to understand what a long-distance relationship felt like.