The roar of the crowd crashed over the track like a breaking wave as Almond Eye surged forward, leaving the rest of the field swallowed in her dust. Cheers and applause erupted from every corner of the stands, the spectators unable to hold back their excited chatter.
"Wow! That girl is incredible! Her name's Almond Eye, right? She's going to be an outstanding Uma Musume one day, no question about it!"
"I've heard of her. She's from the Dragon King lineage, basically a junior to the Dragon King himself."
"My kid told me her family specializes in short-distance races, but I never expected her to handle this distance so well!"
Right at the front of the stands, in the special viewing area reserved for the little trainers, Kitasan Black cheered with all her heart.
"That's it! Just like that! Go for it, Almond Eye!"
The event had been arranged with the same care as a real race, giving the young trainers the best possible view of the action unfolding on the track.
The Satono Sisters and Duramente stood beside her, along with Manhattan Cafe and Danon Platina, who were both preparing to run in the upcoming Satsuki Sho.
While Kitasan Black bubbled over with pure excitement, the other Uma Musume could only stare in stunned silence.
Even Duramente, who usually wore a cool, unchanging expression, had her mouth slightly open in surprise.
"…Hey, Kita-chan… you… she…"
After a moment of hesitation, Satono Crown gently grabbed Kitasan Black's arm, her voice a perfect mix of exasperation and fond amusement.
"How exactly did you coach this girl? Her running style looks pretty reckless, doesn't it?"
"Go, Almond Eye, go… huh?"
Kitasan Black, who had been jumping and shouting with unrestrained joy, finally noticed her arm being held.
"Crown-chan, did you say something?"
"I mean…"
Satono Crown pointed helplessly at the track. "Isn't she running a little too recklessly? Wait… her speed…"
On the track, Almond Eye, who had exploded out of the gate with astonishing speed, was now visibly easing her pace.
She still held the lead, but the distance between her and the chasing junior Uma Musume was shrinking with every stride.
The commentator, having recovered from the initial shock, delivered his report in a much calmer tone.
"Almond Eye's speed has dropped off a little. It looks like that early burst was meant to secure a strong position right from the start.
"The other competitors have begun to react, and they're all pushing hard to close the gap.
"Still, Almond Eye's powerful start out of the gate has left a few runners quite far behind.
"There's no need to panic. The race has only just begun. I hope everyone stays calm and focused."
At that moment, Kitasan Black finally understood what Satono Crown was asking.
"How could it be reckless? Almond Eye is running exactly the way we planned this morning."
She spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction, but her bright smile quickly returned. "We talked about it together. For this race, she shouldn't overthink anything. She just needs to run however she wants, and that's enough."
Satono Crown, who had been watching the track intently, turned back to her friend with a helpless look.
"Run however she wants… Kita-chan, you really call that proper race strategy?"
"Don't worry, Crown-chan."
Kitasan Black's expression grew unusually serious as she gently refuted her friend.
"'Run however she wants'… I only said that because it's Almond Eye."
"Only for her…?" Satono Crown blinked in surprise.
"Yes. Right now, Almond Eye is exactly like I was when I first met the Trainer."
Kitasan Black nodded as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Her knuckles whitened slightly as she gripped the railing, her eyes fixed on the small figure flying along the track. A soft, knowing smile touched her lips.
"Back then, there were so many things I didn't understand. The Trainer never rushed to explain everything. Instead, he would often tell me to find my own rhythm… to discover the kind of race I truly wanted to run.
"Only later did I realize that every training session and every race wasn't nearly as simple as he made it sound.
"He had done so much behind the scenes, prepared everything so carefully… which is why it all felt so effortless to me at the time.
"I believe Almond Eye is going through the same thing right now.
"That's why I didn't overwhelm her with too many instructions.
"Of course, the way she's running today is something I thought about very carefully.
"She'll be perfectly fine like this!"
Hearing those words, Satono Crown looked at her friend as if seeing her in a completely new light, studying her from head to toe.
Not only her, but Satono Diamond, Duramente, and even Manhattan Cafe, who had been quietly listening, couldn't help but glance sideways at Kitasan Black with wide eyes.
In their memory, Kitasan Black had always been the energetic optimist, sometimes a little too carefree and unrestrained.
Yet the black-haired girl standing before them now carried a surprising depth, a maturity and composure they had never seen from her before.
"And there's one more way Almond Eye is different from me."
Kitasan Black continued, her eyes shining with quiet emotion.
"No matter what anyone said about me, my grandpa, my dad, my whole family, and the Trainer… they all supported me in running the races I truly wanted.
"But Almond Eye doesn't have that kind of support.
"She desperately wants to run this 2000-meter race, yet her family is against it.
"So I thought… even if it's just this once, I want to stand by her side.
"I want to support her while she runs however she wants."
As Kitasan Black murmured those words, out on the track Almond Eye pushed forward with everything she had. An unprecedented wave of exhilaration surged through her entire body.
She didn't know exactly how her senpai had made it possible, but she was absolutely certain this was the race she had always dreamed of.
Bursting ahead, constantly accelerating, that was the style drilled into her at home, the approach her family emphasized for short and mile races.
She knew middle and long distances demanded something completely different.
In secret, behind her family's back, she had studied every key point of those longer races: the balanced qualities needed for middle distance, the extreme stamina required for the long ones, and the completely different strategies for leading, pacing, and chasing.
She didn't dislike the differences themselves.
She simply wanted to become her own Almond Eye, not the one her family expected.
So… thank you so much, Kitasan Black-senpai…
Gratitude welled up warmly in her chest.
Then the sound of urgent hoofbeats closing in from behind yanked her back to the present.
A slightly frustrated shout followed right after.
"Almond Eye—! Don't think you can get away that easily!"
She didn't need to look back. Just from the voice, Almond Eye knew it was Shining Star from the next class.
In her memory, this classmate always talked about becoming the strongest Uma Musume, whether in studies or training. She was always fiercely competitive.
Strongest…? What a childish goal.
And "get away"…? Did she think this was some kind of petty game?
Still, she was closing the gap pretty fast. This position…
A small smile curved Almond Eye's lips. Her peripheral vision swept across the track behind her. For a split second she considered whether to accelerate again, but the decision came quickly.
She kept her current pace steady, letting the footsteps behind her draw closer.
The moment Shining Star pulled alongside, Almond Eye caught the startled look from the corner of her eye and smiled once more.
"Such a fast pace… Do you think this is still a short-distance sprint? Be careful not to run out of stamina before the finish…"
She whispered the words with a gentle smile, eyes fixed straight ahead on the long stretch of track still waiting for her.