"WHAT WAS THAT?! WHAT WAS THAT SOUND?! DID—DID SOMETHING JUST EXPLODE?!"
The impact shook through her bones, teeth, spine, skull, everything shaking with the force of that launch. Wind hit her face hard enough to make her eyes water. The track disappeared beneath her in chunks, one length, two lengths, three lengths eaten up in heartbeats that felt slow and fast at the same time.
Her muscles screamed, the good kind of scream, the burn that meant they were working exactly how they should. Lactic acid built and flushed and built again in waves, she could feel it spreading from her calves up through her thighs. Sweat broke across her forehead, immediate and cold in the rushing air.
The pack broke apart around her as she'd punched through glass. Bodies moving away left and right, faces blurring past too quickly to remember.
A brown-haired runner directly in her path saw her coming, and her eyes went wide, mouth forming a shocked "O" before she threw herself to the side so hard she nearly stumbled. Narita Brian caught a flash of pure terror on her face as she blew past.
Another uma musume, blue uniform, number fourteen tried to hold her line for half a stride before her nerve broke and she jerked left, giving Narita Brian a clear path. The girl's breathing changed audibly, that sharp gasp of someone who'd just felt death brush past them.
Someone gasped - she heard it even through the wind roar, that sharp intake of breath when an uma musume knows she's been left behind. A red-uniformed runner to her right made a sound halfway between a sob and a curse as Narita Brian surged past, the air displacement violent enough to tug at the girl's ponytail.
When she landed, she was already right beside Seiun Sky.
"NARITA BRIAN!!!!"
The venue absolutely erupted. The entire stadium was shaking with the sound of her name being screamed over and over, a wall of noise so loud it felt physical.
"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! IT'S NARITA BRIAN'S INCREDIBLE FINAL KICK! THE LEGENDARY KICK POWER THAT HASN'T SHOWN UP IN OVER A YEAR! SHE'S BROKEN THROUGH! SHE'S—SHE'S LIKE A MISSILE! NO, SHE'S LIKE A FORCE OF NATURE!"
Hosoe Junko's voice was breaking, raw emotion coming through every word.
"IS SHE PLANNING TO DECIDE THE MATCH WITH MAYANO TOP GUN IN THE CORNER?! THIS IS IT! THIS HAS TO BE IT!"
The final kick. The move that made Narita Brian a legend.
If this got used after the corner, no uma musume in the world could catch up. Even Narita Brian's own shadow would be scared of her, let alone the runners who actually saw her charging form in person.
Several uma musume straight-up lost their will to fight just like that.
"Hehehe, she really is a monster."
Seiun Sky laughed, but tears started flowing down her cheeks anyway, completely against her will - fear and awe mixed together in a way that didn't make sense.
Besides, who can reduce a gap of 7 lengths using just their legs? Only monsters with naturally strong physical abilities can do that, catching up with their last bit of leg power.
But after that, Narita Brian didn't slow down. Not for a second.
She'd just caught up to Seiun Sky's side, and another burst of acceleration kicked in with a sound like a sonic boom. She blew past Seiun Sky, opening a five-length gap in the blink of an eye.
"So fast!"
Seiun Sky's voice was barely a whisper, lost in the wind. She didn't want to stop Narita Brian, and honestly, she couldn't even if she tried.
Did Narita Brian need some special skill to break through? Did she need perfect positioning to secure her path?
She didn't.
No one dared block Narita Brian's charge. When Oguri Cap got targeted by the other Uma Musume, she'd been forced to run wide on the outside. But Narita Brian didn't need any of that.
The pack simply moved out of her way. Not for any particular reason, but because of the terrifying predatory pressure they felt - as if you don't step aside, they will be the ones to become the prey.
"SHE'S PASSED SEIUN SKY! NARITA BRIAN HAS PASSED SEIUN SKY LIKE SHE'S STANDING STILL! SHE'S PREPARING TO CHASE MAYANO TOP GUN! THE WOLF IS HUNTING! THE WOLF IS ON THE PROWL!"
Hosoe Junko's voice was hoarse now, barely holding together, but the excitement was burning brighter than ever.
Mayano Top Gun's silhouette grew larger with every stride, from a distant dot to a recognizable shape to close enough that Narita Brian could see the sweat darkening her uniform between her shoulders. Close enough to hear the rough rhythm of her breathing, the wet sound of air dragging through a throat that had been working too hard for too long.
Ten lengths. Eight. Six.
The gap collapsed like it was nothing, like Mayano Top Gun was standing still instead of running the race of her life.
Narita Brian's legs pounded the turf in a rhythm that felt infinite, unstoppable, each impact sending feedback through her knees and hips that she processed and adjusted for without thinking. Muscle memory from a thousand races, ten thousand training runs, pure instinct built into her body.
The corner loomed ahead, that sweeping left turn that would either make or break this chase.
"THE GAP IS CLOSING! SIX LENGTHS! FIVE! FOUR! NARITA BRIAN IS EATING UP THE DISTANCE LIKE IT'S NOTHING! MAYANO TOP GUN, DO YOU SEE HER?! DO YOU FEEL HER COMING?!"
Back in the pack, Sakura Laurel saw it happen. Saw Narita Brian explode forward like a missile. Saw that legendary final kick in action.
Her chest went tight. Vision swimming for half a second before snapping back into focus, super aware. Every nerve ending is firing at once.
The tremor in her hands was always there, always betraying her, but suddenly felt like it meant something different.
Narita Brian's back was getting smaller, already pulling away from the middle pack, charging toward Mayano Top Gun with that terrifying single-minded focus that made everyone else look like they were jogging.
Sakura Laurel's thighs burned from holding position, from keeping herself buried in the pack when every instinct screamed to move now. Sweat stung her eyes. She blinked it away, tasted salt on her lips.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, not the irregular, panicky rhythm that kept her up at night, but something stronger. Like it had finally remembered what it was supposed to do.
Something broke inside her. Or maybe something finally clicked into place.
She'd been waiting, saving her stamina, playing it smart like she always did, managing her broken body, nursing her trembling hands and racing heart through every careful stride.
But watching Narita Brian charge forward, watching her move like a force of nature, Sakura Laurel realized something.
Playing it safe wasn't going to get her there.
Not today. Not ever.
"Brian."
Her voice was quiet, lost in the thunder of hooves and crowd noise, but she said it anyway.
"I've been able to come this far chasing your shadow. How can I give up here?"
--
*As usual, the illustration is commented on.