"How could this happen?" Kousei slumped back, bitterness welling up in her eyes. "Why would something like this happen even after she left? Rice Shower clearly..."
Just a Way stood frozen in shock, while Reiko watched the screen impassively, saying nothing.
"What the hell is going on?"
The jeers from the Kyoto Racecourse crowd didn't cease even after Rice Shower's withdrawal. Even with Bourbon retiring due to injury, they seemed intent only on venting their emotions.
"Ha ha ha—" Black Bullet laughed, covering her face, her laughter dripping with mockery. Leo silently gazed at the VIP box, where Tokai Teio stood beside Rudolf, overlooking the scene.
"Etch this into your heart, Teio," Rudolf said, turning to leave, leaving only his cold silhouette behind. "If you truly aspire to become the King."
Less than a year later, the same tragedy had unfolded once more. Generations of Umamusume, who had given their all, utterly blameless.
Rice Shower, Kyoei Bowgun, and Bourbon—all had met the same fate.
On the day of the Kikuka Sho, Bourbon announced her long-term hiatus. Kyoei Bowgun, overwhelmed by relentless public scrutiny, declared her own retirement, making the Kikuka Sho her final escape.
To fall before even completing her rookie year—how cruelly unfair.
After the Kikuka Sho, Rice Shower vanished without a trace. The once-celebrated generation disappeared overnight, leaving no trace of their existence.
Whether Cyborg or the Blue Rose Assassin, they ultimately became mere fodder for idle chatter over tea and meals.
The wounds of Kyoto still stung, but circumstances allowed no time for wallowing in grief. With the Japan Cup approaching, people suddenly realized there was no one reliable left from the New Generation. Rudolf's victory and Kousei's dazzling Second Protection had briefly made the world forget the terror of the Golden Lion's domination. Now, the Foreign Legion marched triumphantly, trampling the turf like marauders.
They ravaged the field, plundering gold and silver, while the hastily assembled domestic competitors stood no chance against their formidable foreign rivals.
"How utterly boring," one voice sneered. "They said Central was strong? Turns out it was all just hype."
The words struck like horseshoes, disgrace taking root where they landed.
After tossing off this dismissive remark, he patted his rear and turned to leave. The harsh reality crushed Central, stifling their hopes of a comeback. Bourbon's official retirement announcement shattered their dreams into fragments.
"Stop right there!!!"
Breaking the oppressive silence was not any legendary figure, but a young filly glaring fiercely, her heart ablaze with courage and conviction.
"Next year! Come back if you dare!"
"...Why?"
"I'll definitely beat you then!"
A piercing cry echoed, as if a great roc were soaring into the heavens.
"Do you think you're worthy?"
"Triple Crown Winner! Is that enough?"
The Golden Lion threw back his head and roared with laughter, mocking her youthful arrogance, her brash confidence like a newborn calf. Or perhaps he admired her unwavering ambition, undeterred by her youth. After all, what did youthful arrogance matter when one's dreams soared as high as the heavens?
He turned and strode away, leaving only his back.
"If you win the Triple Crown, I'll be there!"
-
In the hospital room, Bourbon meticulously carried out her rehabilitation exercises. Though racing was no longer an option, her recovery was progressing well enough for her to resume a normal life.
Bourbon showed no outward reaction to the news that she could no longer race, at least on the surface. Toyama remained as taciturn as ever, except for the night he sat vigil by her bedside. Perhaps he realized, faced with reality, that he had been too harsh on her. That might explain why he apologized after she woke up.
Cyborg's response was her usual terse reply: "It's fine."
They sat in silence, exchanging no words.
"You're here," Toyama murmured from his hospital bed, gazing out the window.
Kashimoto Riko sat wordlessly by the bedside. A notebook lay open on the nearby table, its pages densely covered with writing. The indentations left by Toyama's fingers lingered on the paper.
"How's your body?" Riko asked without looking up as she peeled an apple.
"Almost there."
Riko avoided Toyama's gaze, and he did the same. Their eyes only met when Riko handed him the peeled apple.
"I heard there's an incredible child at the Japan Cup," Toyama remarked.
"Yes, she enrolled just before the New Year and plans to debut next year."
Riko answered whatever Toyama asked.
As they chatted casually, Toyama seemed unusually talkative with Riko.
"So, how does it feel? Clinging to a dream only to end up like this?" Riko's words were sharp, tinged with a hint of suppressed anger.
"I only feel sorry for Bourbon. I don't regret anything else."
"Sorry? No regrets? After such a crushing defeat, with no chance of recovery? That child will never compete in the Twinkle Series again, and she never even made it to the Classic Year! I truly can't understand why you refused to follow the Teacher's advice. Why did you betray him?" Kashimoto Riko rarely let her emotions show, having forced herself to maintain a rational facade for so long under her rigid management philosophy that it had become second nature.
"Teacher..." Toyama seemed to recall distant memories. "You've done well, Riko. If Teacher were alive, he would be proud."
"I've done well? If I had, why would such tragedies keep happening? I even had to personally..."
"It's not your fault that Kousei shone so brightly, nor is it your fault about Tachyon. There's nothing wrong with establishing rules and protecting the students. There's nothing wrong with caring for them deeply. The fault lies with..."
...those blinded by greed.
"You've always been like this, haven't you? That's why you foresaw Bourbon's accident, right?"
"Yes, I foresaw it. I hoped Bourbon would win, but I knew that even if she defeated Kyoei Bowgun, she couldn't win the race. Simply because Rice Shower was stronger. That's all. Bourbon's injury wasn't Rice Shower's fault; it was mine. Yet the world blamed everything on Rice Shower. When did we become so shortsighted? Riko, don't you find all of this strange?"
Riko knew, of course. She had gradually realized it ever since Kousei's incident. But she still believed she could change things through her own efforts.
"After the Derby, I gradually realized that Bourbon had reached the end of her path in becoming 'Bourbon.' Rice Shower's repeated approaches only confirmed my suspicions. At the Kikuka Sho, Rice Shower would inevitably be stronger. I knew it, and Bourbon knew it too."
"Then why...?"
"One can become strong through training alone, without relying on bloodline. While there may be no limit to training, Umamusume ultimately have their limits. No matter how resilient Bourbon is, she will inevitably reach her limit one day. Personally, I don't think Bourbon should have entered the Kikuka Sho."
"Yet you still entered."
"Yes, Riko. We bear an inescapable responsibility. Some barriers must be broken."
"Challenging the Triple Crown Races with sprint aptitude is so reckless, I can't even laugh."
"Many would say the same. How could anyone possibly overcome such a towering wall?Someday, someone will help us over it.Surely, one day... It's human nature to harbor such hopes, but I don't believe they're correct.
Are we supposed to keep waiting for the next Symboli Rudolf to appear and rescue us from our predicament?"
Riko knew Toyama was referring to the recent Japan Cup incident.
"If no one else will act, then we'll do it ourselves. We'll crash against the wall with our own feet, even if we end up bloodied and battered."
It had to be admitted that after Toyama and Bourbon's partnership had crashed and burned, the invisible wall had finally solidified, and people realized exactly where its boundaries lay.
"We should forge our own path, not pray for miracles."
"But you failed, didn't you? You lost!" Riko's voice unconsciously sharpened.
"We may have lost, but we didn't fail."
Toyama handed Riko a set of data—Bourbon's Kikuka Sho records.
"What's this?!"
Riko was astonished. Bourbon had broken the Kikuka Sho record, meaning she was faster than Mejiro McQueen had been at that stage. And that was Mejiro McQueen—the reigning queen of long-distance racing.
"Impossible."
Perhaps McQueen hadn't been at her peak then, but records were records. It was undeniable: Bourbon at the Kikuka Sho was stronger than McQueen at the Kikuka Sho.
"You probably never thought Bourbon could achieve this, did you? After all, your teacher never taught you such things."
Rice Shower had only been slightly faster than Bourbon. But data doesn't lie. This was the truth Toyama and Bourbon wanted to show the world.
"The barrier of inherent talent can be shattered. Anyone can stand on the racetrack. Bourbon and I must make everyone understand this."
Ignored because of common sense, an Inferior Trainer with no successor to take over. A chestnut-haired Umamusume with only short-distance potential, her insignificant lineage destined for mediocrity.
Common sense is the enemy, Bourbon and Toyama often declared.
To those clinging to stereotypes, this duo ruthlessly shattered the facade of "common sense" before their very eyes, exposing its utter fragility for all to see.
She was Kashimoto Riko, yet she was so much more.
"Even Bourbon couldn't achieve it... Your dream will ultimately..."
Before Riko could finish, Toyama suddenly coughed violently, his hand stained crimson with blood. Riko frantically called for a doctor, but Toyama pressed his hand over hers, shaking his head with a wry smile.
He gathered the notes from the table and handed them to Riko.
"It's a pity Bourbon and I don't have much time left. I'm afraid I won't be able to fulfill the promise I made to someone, nor will I ever see the world of Umamusume I envisioned. So, I'll have to entrust it to you."
Misinterpreting Toyama's gesture as a plea to realize his theories, Riko quickly replied, "That's enough. The dream is over."
Riko knew how deeply Toyama cared for Bourbon, having heard him repeatedly declare that Bourbon was the raw material for his dreams.
"Do you think it's impossible?"
"Impossible," Riko replied without hesitation.
"Then please deliver this to a woman named Chiin Reiko and tell her it contains all my insights on slope training. Distance aptitude isn't insurmountable; the secret to dominating long distances lies within."
Toyama didn't argue. Remembering this was his final request, Riko agreed.
"Don't worry, I'll personally hand it to her."
"Personally? The Acting Director can't easily leave Tracen, especially since the person I need you to deliver it to is overseas."
"Overseas?"
Kashimoto Riko suddenly realized who he meant and looked at Toyama in astonishment. There was indeed such a person—perhaps the only Umamusume in the world who perfectly embodied Toyama's ideals and possessed extraordinary resilience.