The curtain rose.
The roar that greeted them was massive.
Ten thousand voices screaming at once, a wall of sound so loud it felt physical, vibrating through the stage floor, up through their racing boots, and into their chests. Lights blazed from every direction: spotlights, stage lights, camera flashes from the crowd creating an endless sea of stars.
The winning stage stretched out before them, elaborate and grand, decorated with fresh flowers and banners celebrating the Tennō Shō Spring. A massive LED screen behind them displayed their race photo finish on loop, that incredible moment where three dreams collided at the finish line.
Seiun Sky stepped forward first, and the crowd went absolutely wild.
"SEIUN SKY! SEIUN SKY! SEIUN SKY!"
Her name echoed through the stadium, chanted by thousands of voices in perfect rhythm. Sky's trademark lazy, dismissive smirk slowly melted away, replaced by a smile so genuine and bright it seemed to light up her face. She raised one hand, giving a relaxed wave to the stands, and the crowd somehow got even louder.
Beside her, Sakura Laurel stepped into the center spotlight, and a completely different section of the crowd erupted into hysteria.
"SAKURA LAUREL! Sakura! Sakura!"
A literal ocean of pink glow sticks waved frantically in the stands, creating ripples of color that breathed with life. Signs with her name written in careful kanji were held high, adorned with beautiful drawings of cherry blossom petals.
Sakura Laurel's eyes went wide, taking it all in: the deafening noise, the blinding lights, the sheer, overwhelming love being directed straight at her. Her hand came up to cover her mouth on instinct. Tears were already forming at the corners of her eyes, catching the stage lights.
"Thank you," she whispered, her lips trembling, even though no one could hear her over the noise. "Thank you so much."
Narita Brian walked out last, and the very foundation of the stadium shook.
"NARITA BRIAN! BRIAN! BRIAN!"
Even in third place, even in a rare defeat for the Triple Crown champion, her fans were there: loyal, fiercely dedicated, screaming her name with the exact same devotion they always had. Black and silver banners waved proudly. Narita Brian's stoic composure cracked just a fraction. She drew a deep breath and raised her right hand in a firm acknowledgment, and the crowd responded with a renewed wave of raw energy.
The three of them stood together on the winner's stage. Two champions sharing first place, one living legend in third. For a moment, they just absorbed it all—the vibrations of ten thousand people who had just witnessed history.
Then, the music started.
A grand, sweeping orchestral intro hit the stadium speakers, backed by a heavy, heartbeat-like drum rhythm. The wild cheers of the crowd immediately shifted into an awe-struck, unified roar of anticipation. They knew this song. This wasn't just a celebration; it was an anthem of survival.
The instruments dropped low. Sakura Laurel stepped right up to the microphone, her eyes flashing with absolute resolve. She opened the song with a powerful, crystal-clear belt that sliced straight through the stadium's noise:
"Saa seiippai o daite Get to highest…!" (Embrace your full potential, get to the highest…!)
On the word "highest", her pitch soared with flawless control. Immediately, Seiun Sky and Narita Brian joined in with a rich, soaring harmony that backed her up beautifully:
"koko ni aru nda yo hajimatte nai jidai wa, Wo wow…!" (It's all right here, the era that hasn't begun yet. Wo wow…!)
The stadium shook as the fans threw their glow sticks forward on the beat of the drums.
Sakura Laurel took the first verse. She moved with a natural, flowing grace, placing a hand over her chest as she sang with an intimate, storytelling tone.
"Yosou tsuichau you na dorama taitei okoranai..." (Dramas that you can predict don't usually happen...)
She smiled slightly, glancing out toward the distant turf track, before her voice brightened, chest puffed out with pride.
"OK dakara mune wa odoru nda!" (But that's okay, that's why my heart dances!)
She playfully tapped her chest on the "OK," making her fans scream in response.
Seiun Sky picked up the next line. She stepped forward with her usual loose swagger, but her vocals were surprisingly grounded and intense.
"Kanau ka kanawanai ka de yume erabenai..." (I can't choose a dream based on whether it will come true or not...)
She sang it with a slight drawl but heavy emphasis, putting the stubbornness of her own journey into the lyrics. Then she spun, her blue dress flaring out as her voice jumped up in energy:
"itsumo kizukeba hashiridashite ita!" (...before I knew it, I had already started running!)
The beat deepened, and Narita Brian took center stage. The lighting shifted into a dramatic monochrome of silver and black. Brian took a breath, and her rich, commanding alto voice dominated the arena.
"Keshiki wa meguru, demo kawaranai mono ga aru yo..." (The scenery revolves, but there are things that never change...)
She sang with a heavy, deliberate cadence, her voice carrying a slight rasp of suppressed emotion. She briefly locked eyes with her trainer in the stands, her tone softening but growing incredibly firm.
"Kimi no koe ga, senaka o osu riyuu ni naru." (Your voice becomes the reason that pushes me forward.)
Laurel rejoined, blending her sweet falsetto seamlessly with Brian's deep vocals.
"Tameiki de kumotta gurasu no mukou ni, kakenuketa hibi no tsudzuki o egaku yo." (On the other side of the glass clouded by my sighs, I draw the continuation of the days I've spent running.)
As they hit the pre-chorus, the drumbeat doubled in speed, building a massive wall of tension. The three of them moved into a tight triangle formation at the center of the stage. Pink, blue, and black lights swirled around them dynamically.
They sang together, their voices blending into an overwhelming roar of emotion, pouring every injury, every loss, and every tear into the words:
"Kaze fuite nankai tsubomi tsunde satte...!" (Blown by the wind, buds plucked and faded time and again...!)
They pushed their vocals to the absolute limit on the next line, projecting pure, unshakeable faith:
"demo utagawanai hajimatte nai jidai o...!" (...but I never doubt the era that has yet to begin...!)
The chorus exploded in a blinding array of stage lights.
The choreography was no longer cute or bouncy; it was athletic, fierce, and expansive. They leaped into motion, arms thrown wide.
"Taiatari de tsukame guroorii...!" (Grasp your glory by going all out...!)
The crowd screamed back "GLORY!" with deafening force.
"mugamuchuu na haato no mama de!" (...with a heart lost in the moment!)
Brian's fierce accent cut through on the next line, refusing to back down from the beat:
"Kyou no ruuto ga tozasarete mo, asu no geeto o mata kojiakete kou!" (Even if today's route is blocked, I'll force open the gate to tomorrow once again!)
Then, Laurel took the high note, her voice soaring over the music with goosebump-inducing clarity.
"Donna fuyu demo koete miseru yo...!" (No matter the winter, I'll show you I can overcome it...!)
The stage bathed in pure, brilliant pink light. Laurel took the lead, her voice actually catching in her throat, thick with raw emotion, yet somehow stronger than ever.
"Kaika sunzen chirasarete mo, sou omoi made wa kieyashinai...!" (Even if I were to scatter just before blooming, my desires won't disappear...!)
"Hana wa saku yo itsuka kitto, sore wa zettaiteki na mirai nanda!" (Flowers will bloom someday, surely; that is an absolute future!)
Ten thousand fans sang the words "absolute future" with them, the sound shaking the cameras.
"Dakara iku yo, kibou mitsumeteru Youthful eyes!" (That's why I'll go, with these hopeful Youthful eyes!)
They struck a sharp, synchronized pose, glaring directly into the center camera with eyes that refused to yield to anything.
Then came the bridge.
The music suddenly dropped out. The heavy drums and bass vanished, leaving nothing but a melancholic, solitary piano melody and a thin wisp of strings. The stadium lights went pitch black, except for a single, stark white spotlight shining straight down on Sakura Laurel at center stage.
The entire stadium went dead silent. Ten thousand people held their breath.
Under the spotlight, Sakura Laurel's chest heaved. The tears she had been holding back finally fell, tracing shimmering lines down her flushed cheeks. She brought the microphone to her lips, and when she sang, her voice was entirely stripped of technique. No vibrato. No polishing. Just raw, vulnerable, trembling emotion.
"Dore dake no namida ga... kirei na hana ni naru darou...?" (I wonder... just how many tears will it take to turn into a beautiful flower...?)
It was so profoundly heartbreaking that people in the front rows visibly began wiping their own eyes.
Then, stepping out of the darkness, Seiun Sky and Narita Brian walked into Laurel's spotlight. Without a word, Sky placed a hand on Laurel's left shoulder, and Brian placed one on her right.
Feeling the weight of her rivals, her friends, Laurel's voice found its strength again, transitioning from fragile to fierce.
"Kizutsuita bun dake, tsuyoku nareta ki ga shita..." (I felt that I became stronger for every wound I received...)
Sky and Brian raised their microphones. Together, all three of them yelled the final line of the bridge, their voices roaring with defiant power, instantly shifting the entire stadium's atmosphere from sorrow to an epic, blood-pumping revival:
"Koko kara ga, honban da yo...!!!" (The real performance starts from here...!!!)
BOOM!
The cannons at the edge of the stage fired. But it wasn't standard confetti. Thousands upon thousands of artificial cherry blossom petals, pink, silver, and white, blasted into the air, swirling like a breathtaking blizzard under the blazing stage lights. The full instrumental track kicked back in at maximum volume.
They gave everything they had left to the final chorus. They weren't just singing anymore; they were belting, their voices harmonizing in high, desperate, beautiful arcs.
"Taiatari de tsukame guroorii...!"
"mugamuchuu na haato no mama de!"
They threw themselves into the choreography, moving through the storm of falling cherry blossoms. Petals caught in their hair and stuck to their damp skin, painting the perfect picture of buds finally blooming in the harshest conditions.
"Hana wa saku yo itsuka kitto, sore wa zettaiteki na mirai nanda...!"
"Dakara iku yo, watashi ga watashi de iru tame ni...!"
They stepped forward in unison for the final push, their voices carrying over the sheer noise of the crying, screaming crowd.
"Dakara iku yo... kibou mitsumeteru..."
They held the note on "mitsumeteru" for several long, breathless seconds, the harmony resonating perfectly through the arena, before punching the final lyric with absolute, triumphant pride.
"Youthful eyes...!!!"
They locked into their final pose in the falling petal storm. Brian standing tall with a fist over her heart, Sky grinning wildly with a two-finger salute, and Sakura Laurel in the center—reaching one hand high toward the stadium ceiling, looking up into the falling blossoms with the most radiant, tear-streaked, genuinely beautiful smile of her entire life.
The music cut out.
Silence for one heartbeat. Two... Three...
And the stadium completely closed.
It wasn't just cheered this time. It was an instant, thunderous standing ovation. Ten thousand people screaming, weeping, and roaring their absolute respect. The three uma musume stood at the center of the stage, chests heaving, faces shining, their youthful eyes burning brighter than every stage light in the world.
--
*As usual, the illustration is commented on.
Sakura Laurel Youthful Eyes
https://youtu.be/QeA5zfQhTj0?si=M1xK5AvG9TkWlw_m
[ウマ娘]ユースフルアイズ | サクラローレル[歌詞/lyrics]