Even before her debut, Narita Brian had already declared herself invincible. The outstanding Narita Brian was someone Sakura Laurel deeply admired, still did, actually.
"Do you remember? There was a time when you couldn't find an opponent and said those depressing words about not wanting to race anymore."
Sakura Laurel started talking to herself, cupping her cheeks as those distant memories played through her mind like an old film. She knew way too many of Narita Brian's secrets.
She knew Brian was afraid of her own shadow, that sometimes she talked to herself like there was a monster living inside her heart.
When Narita Brian said, "Racing is boring," how badly Sakura Laurel wished she could become her opponent. Yet that wish only came true today.
"Oh, you're that girl?" Narita Brian seemed to remember something, her expression shifting. Yeah, there really was a girl who'd said she'd become her opponent.
Even being invincible, there were still uma musume who challenged her, so she remembered pretty clearly. When she had nothing to do, she'd think about it sometimes.
Three years. Damn, she'd almost forgotten about it completely.
That girl who said she'd become her opponent had finally appeared.
"That's right, it's me. Though I'm a bit late, I still have the determination to go against you on the race."
"Uh... sorry, who are you?" Narita Brian felt embarrassed, her eyes darting away as her mind went completely blank. She didn't even know who this girl was.
Last year's single crown winner? Double crown winner?
Did she dominate some classic race? Win by a huge margin and break records?
Was she even stronger than Mayano Top Gun? She wondered if she was just ignorant, but she'd genuinely never heard of Sakura Laurel before. Even with Seiun Sky, she at least learned about her from her sister.
It's like zero impression for Narita Brian.
Third in popularity though, so she should be stronger than Seiun Sky, right?
From the popularity rankings, she knew Sakura Laurel wasn't simple. From those cherry blossom eyes, she did remember that year when the entire Sakura Corps became nothing but her pacemakers, that year, the entire Sakura Corps was completely annihilated.
"Hello, Brian. Let me introduce myself again. I'm Sakura Laurel. For tomorrow's Tenno Sho, please take care of me." Sakura Laurel didn't blame her for forgetting at all. She was already really happy that Narita Brian even had some memory of her.
The long-delayed oath would finally be fulfilled in this Tenno Sho.
"I'm Narita Brian." Narita Brian glanced at Sakura Laurel, yellow eyes wavering as she struggled to figure out how to interact with this girl. Her fist clenched at her side. "If you can show me satisfying strength tomorrow, I'll remember you."
"Mm, then let's both do our best." Sakura Laurel smiled, her long pink cherry blossom eyes narrowing into gentle crescents. "I also hope to stand on that winner's stage together with you."
Neither of them said anything after that.
Words were no longer needed.
By the time morning arrived, the quiet night had already faded into memory.
Kyoto woke beneath pale spring skies, the scent of cherry blossoms drifting through the air as the racetrack slowly filled with people.
Voices blended together, footsteps ringing across the venue as anticipation slowly thickened in the air.
BANG!
A gunshot tore through the air.
The announcer's voice echoed across the entire venue.
"The day had finally arrived!"
"Here in Kyoto, beneath skies painted with spring and cherry blossoms in full bloom, the G1 Tenno Sho Spring is officially underway!"
"Who stands at the peak of long-distance racing in this era? Who will seize the crown of Tenno Sho Spring?"
"Let us witness history, right here, right now!"
Akasaka Misato wrapped up the opening remarks in one breath before turning toward Hosoe Junko, excitement still lingering in her voice.
"Another Tenno Sho Spring, and Narita Brian is once again on the starting line!"
Hosoe Junko's gaze stayed fixed on the track.
"An undefeated presence on the racing field. If she runs like she usually does, today won't be an easy day for anyone."
The Kyoto racetrack was packed to bursting. Hayato and the others barely managed to grab a decent spot, only to end up right next to members of the Rigil team.
Even before the race started, they could hear Hishi Amazon shouting at the top of her lungs, "Go Narita Brian! You'd better not lose!"
Members of the Sakura Corps and tons of Uma Musume, like Marvelous Sunda,y were cheering just as loudly for Sakura Laurel and Mayano Top Gun.
"We can't lose either." King Halo, Urara, and Daiwa Scarlet kept encouraging Seiun Sky, their voices rising above the noise.
"Go Seiun Sky!"
"Seiun will definitely win!"
...
"We meet again, Trainer Hayato." Tojo Hana walked over and greeted him with a slight nod.
"Yeah, didn't expect it to be this soon."
The promised Oaks hadn't come yet, but the Tenno Sho arrived first.
"Seiun Sky hasn't run a long-distance race yet, right? Are you sure she can handle the Tenno Sho?" Tojo Hana glanced at the restless Seiun Sky in the rest area, her tone shifting into professional analysis mode.
"Huh?" Hayato caught sight of the restless Seiun Sky and frowned slightly, but still said with a smile, "To be honest, long distance is actually her forte."
"Really?" Tojo Hana raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Even so, compared to Narita Brian, there are still far too many uncertainties, don't you think?"
"Narita Brian is overwhelmingly strong in her era, no doubt 'bout it. But no throne lasts forever. Every era crowns its own champion, and this year, that crown belongs to our team.
Is there even such a saying?
Tojo Hana actually wondered if there was really such a saying. It sounded smooth enough, like she'd heard it somewhere before.
Unable to figure out where this saying came from, Tojo Hana simply said, "Never heard of it. Whether she has what it takes, we'll see soon enough."
With that, she walked back to her original position.
The moment she left, Maruzensky walked over with a knowing smile. "Is Trainer Hayato planning to play at the top level now?"
Hayato really didn't know why this old Maruzensky kept pestering him like this. He forced out an explanation, "Please don't misunderstand. I'm just using my leisure time to train uma musume and get some exercise, that's all."
Maruzensky didn't press any further and didn't plan to leave either, just casually staying put with their group.
"Yawn!" Seiun Sky was still yawning away, looking completely out of it.
It wasn't that she was in bad condition right now. This was just her normal state, as always.
"Seiun-chan!" Mayano Top Gun, decked out in her pilot jacket racing costume, ran up to her, striking a takeoff pose. "Maya's about to take off!"
"How is it? How is it? My racing costume, they even have a pilot emblem on it! Doesn't it make your heart race?"
"Yo, Maya-chan. Your costume looks really pretty." Seiun Sky complimented her in the same flat tone as always.
"Hehehe! Really? Yours are pretty nice too." Mayano Top Gun's laugh rang out like bells, clearly thrilled.
"It's almost race time. Just thinking about it gets me so excited." Just imagining using an all-out escape to make everyone in the venue go wild made her genuinely excited.
"Are you planning to use an all-out escape strategy, Mayano-chan?" Seiun Sky asked, still completely flat.
"Yeah, I've been practicing so hard for so long. Isn't it all for this day?"
"Huh?" Seiun Sky's lips curved up just slightly. "Mayano-chan, I taught you the all-out escape, but not so you'd definitely have to use it. This is a long-distance race. It's not exactly suitable for an all-out escape strategy."
"Eh? Then what strategy are you planning to use?"
"Of course, it's an all-out escape!"
--
*As usual, the illustration is commented on.