"Greetings! This is Akikawa Yayoi, and I shall be today's announcer!" A small pause. "Ah-, this is amazing! So this is what it feels to be an announcer!"
"Please be careful, Director. The microphone is about to fall off."
"Ah, what do you-?" Director Akikawa's scream echoed from the speakers, followed by a subdued meow from the cat sitting on her hat. "Ah-, the microphone-! Hatena, be careful!"
"Nyaa~"
Dicta Striker grinned as she leaned back into her seat. "Our Director, everyone." She said.
Mejiro Ardan giggled. "But such eccentricity is what makes her incredible, no?" She said, hiding her giggle behind her hand. "And besides, I believe you too would show such enthusiasm if you found yourself as an announcer."
"Maybe." Dicta didn't disagree, before she sent a roguish grin at her. "But you'll be there too, right?"
Ardan giggled, neither confirming or denying.
Behind the two, Sakura Chiyono O just watched with a dull expression.
"Ahem, and I am Hayakawa Tazuna. I too shall act as an announcer. This is my first time, so I apologize if I make any mistakes."
"Denial! You will do great, Tazuna!" Another soft meow followed the Director's words.
"Director, please stop waving the microphone around. The cable will snap."
Kitahara Jo smiled wryly. He could easily picture the enthusiastic Director waving the microphone around like she'd usually do with her fan.
"Still, an announcer, huh?" He whispered as he rubbed his chin. "Maybe that's something I can do after I'm done being a trainer."
Next to him, Yusuhara Tarou chuckled politely. "That is quite a common path to take for us trainers." He then frowned slightly. "Though I believe there's still much time before you'll need to retire, Kitahara-senpai."
"I know, I know." Kitahara shrugged. "I was just thinkin' about it."
"Now, I believe the track has been prepared. It is time for today's race."
"Agreement! 2000 meters, firm conditions, clear skies—it's time for the [Naha Trial Stakes] to begin!"
"Hmm, a name already?" A soft cough. "Regardless, let us call forth our runners for today."
"Splendid!"
The crowd of students grew excited, chattering amongst one another as they waited for the five umamusume to take to the track. Although there were only five runners in today's trial race, it didn't dampen the excitement at all.
Because the umamusume who'd be running today were all top athletes—perhaps even world-class! They were all umamusume who were so powerful that they had shaped the course of today's generation!
"Power! Speed! The monster who charges ahead with explosive force, tearing apart everything that stands in her way!"
"No.1, Oguri Cap!"
An explosion of cheers followed as Oguri Cap made her way towards her gate. She took a soft breath as she walked, and once she stood just behind her gate, she did her usual head-shake that sent her hair flying all over. And though her expression remained dull, those that knew her could see the excitement brewing in her eyes.
"An incredible umamusume who arrived from America, she now shows her might and acumen here in the land of the Rising Sun."
"No.2, Obey Your Master!"
Obey smiled fondly as she heard Tazuna's words. Though her smile then turned wry as she made her way to her gate. She had to take Tazuna's praise with a grain of salt. After all, though she was 'world-class' or whatever, Tazuna could still consistently beat her whenever they ran together.
"Shining! Never have I believed that I would witness an umamusume capable of running a Great Escape with every race, yet I am blessed to say that I was proven wrong!"
"No.3, Blossom Star!"
Star rolled her eyes as she walked onto the track. It wasn't as if being an Escape Artist made her special—it was just that she was too dumb to use any other tactic. Great Escapes had become her go-to style because she had the stamina to use. It didn't help that all her Skills were geared towards having the lead.
"And now comes today's intrepid challenger. Hailing from downtown Tokyo, she now makes her stakes to become the strongest umamusume."
"No.4, Inari one!"
Inari chuckled weakly as she made her way to her gate. She'd talked herself big when Tazuna interviewed her earlier—it turned out that it was for this! "M-Maybe I should've toned it down…" She whispered, before she shook her head. "No, no! I have to! I will become the strongest, after all!"
"Conquering! The general of Team Kitahara, shattering preconceptions and Limits with her mind! The super power with dozens of weapons!"
"No.5, Belno Light!"
Belno giggled as she walked into her gate. Director Akikawa was making her out like some sort of superhero, but she really wasn't anything special. And besides, the only reason her Domain had taken so many shapes was because she was compensating for the fact that it was incomplete.
"Now, all our runners have gathered at their respective gates. The time for the race is nigh."
"Agreement! Prepare yourselves!"
The chatter slowly quieted down. Many students leaned forward, their fists clenched with anticipation as they waited for the gates to open. After all, even if this was a trial race, four of them were umamusume who stood so far above everyone else. Many of them had seen the [Takarazuka Kinen] a few months back, and such a dazzling performance was hard to forget.
The seconds ticked by as the tension grew. The world grew quiet, with only the occasional winds whistling as they passed by.
Then–
BANG!
"And they're off! Blossom Star takes the lead, with Belno Light taking 2nd place."
"Excitement! Obey Your Master sits in the middle in 3rd, while Oguri Cap and Inari One are trading for 4th place!"
Inari One grit her teeth as she ran forward with all her might. The Director wasn't wrong in saying that she and Oguri were trading for the 4th place, but it wasn't even intentional!
Even though she usually ran as an End Closer, she knew that wouldn't work here. Blossom Star's pace was just too dominating, and if she tried running at her usual pace, she'd be completely left behind!
So this time, she'd tried running as a Pace Chaser. She wasn't the best at it, but given the circumstances, there was no better time than now.
Alas, her hopes were quickly dashed as everyone else rushed past her. Belno and Obey were both running as Late Surgers, and yet they'd both passed her due to matching the pace Star had set. She was even struggling against Oguri, who'd intentionally slowed down to keep herself in the back.
So this was the strongest…!
The disparity was soul-crushing. She could see why so many had silently complained whenever they spoke about them, and why some even decided to outright retire out of fear and hopelessness. The Generation of Miracles wasn't just some tacky name a reporter had come up with—it was a genuine description of this generation. Somehow, nearly a dozen umamusume had appeared in the same generation, each capable of becoming champions had they debuted on their own.
Yet, despite those feelings weighing on her, Inari One found herself grinning madly. "This is it…!" She whispered in between her breaths, her pupils sharp and her eyes burning with intense excitement.
First, only tiny wisps of flames flickered from the soles of her shoes. Small enough that many could have assumed it was only a trick of the light. Yet as Oguri Cap passed her with seemingly little effort, those tiny wisps soon began growing, turning brighter and larger as the Inari One was soon left behind.
Her heart was beating like crazy. Static was filling her ears. The world seemed to grow darker, and she could almost swear that she could see something strange standing in front of her. But she didn't care about any of that; Inari One was grinning so wide that her cheeks were beginning to hurt.
Because more than anything,
She wanted to be like them! She wanted to run like them! She wanted to run with them!
"Amazement!? Could that be…!"
"I-Incredible! I might be mistaken, but that might be-!"
Blossom Star, having reached the 1200 meter-mark, grinned as she glanced at the other side of the track. Inari One had been completely left behind, but her position didn't matter.
Not far behind her, Belno Light's eyes widened as she felt a familiar pressure descend across the entire track. Sweat pooled on her forehead as a powerful heatwave washed across her, burning hotter than evening the glaring sunlight.
Obey Your Master, who was just about to try and pass Belno, found herself slowing slightly as she felt a powerful haze of heat wash over her. She quickly glanced behind her, and catching sight of Inari One, she smiled sharply. "So this is why Star's been paying so much attention." She whispered, both intrigued and amused.
Oguri Cap just smiled as she continued accelerating, dark smoke coiling around her legs as she pushed forth in a {Triumphant Storm}.
Far behind them, the flames rising from the soles of Inari One's feet seemed to be struggling against some invisible threshold. The air shook around her as she ran, and though she remained far behind the other four, those watching from the stands couldn't help but feel like this unknown umamusume would soon show something incredible.
And just moments later–
Inari's vision suddenly turned bright as the darkness surrounding her shattered. Her eyes glowed bright blue, and a fox-like laughter spilled from her lips as an incredible surge of strength coursed through every cell of her body.
Domain Awakening—
{Foxfire Flare}!
The fires behind her blossomed into a massive storm of flames, burning and circling into a vortex. The carefully pruned Turf below her outright began burning, incapable of handling the intense heat that suddenly surged high into the sky. And in the midst of it all, Inari One laughed and laughed as she accelerated forward with terrifying speed.
"EXCITEMENT! INARI ONE IS ACCELERATING! HER DOMAIN IS BURNING! IT'S-!"
"A-Ah, Director, please be careful!"
It wasn't enough, of course. By the time Inari first activated her Domain, the other four runners had already reached the 1500 meter-mark. No matter how explosive her acceleration was, she could never close the distance between her and them.
But that didn't mean she wouldn't try!
"I'VE BEEN WAITIN' FOR THIS!" She shouted, eyes burning as she charged forward. She'd never felt so strong before, so fast. At this moment, it felt like every part of her was singing in tandem, all in hopes that she could try and close the gap between and the legendary runners that'd inspired her.
And it was genuinely shrinking. At this point, Belno Light was in 4th place, and the distance between them was nearly 90 lengths. And the moment Inari activated her Domain, that distance began shrinking.
Not that Inari One noticed. The only thing she could think about was the fire that now coursed through her veins, and the intense feeling of power that dominated every thought.
This was it! From the first moment she watched last year's [Japan Cup], she knew that she wanted to race against Star and Oguri. She knew that was far behind compared to them, but she didn't care about that. Even if the difference between them was heaven and earth, then that just meant she had to face heaven's tribulations to try and close the distance!
So she laughed. She laughed and laughed, the tears in her eyes turning to steam as she charged ahead.
Then–
"Blossom Star crosses the finish line first!"
"Incredible! She accelerated at the very last second and overtook Oguri Cap!"
Their words went unheard. Inari One kept running. Kept laughing. The world felt ever so bright at that moment, and as she turned the final corner, her grin grew even larger as she saw the other four runners waiting for her at the finish line. "I'm almost there, y'all!" She screamed, feeling nothing but joy as she ran towards them.
Soon enough, she too passed the finish line, having crossed the finish line 37 lengths behind Belno Light. Such disparity might seem daunting, but the fact that she'd managed to shorten that gap in so little time showed just how fast she'd become at the moment her Domain burst forth.
And the moment Inari crossed the finish line, the flames behind her finally petered out, and she collapsed onto the ground with her face covered with sweat. Still, she couldn't help but grin widely as she raised her fist to the sky. "D-Did ya' see that, Star-aneue…!?"
Star smiled softly as she went down to her knee and patted her head. "I did." Her eyes softened. "Congratulations, Inari One."
Inari One just grinned.
…
Sitting at the stands, Fujimasa March watched with dull eyes, before she silently stood from her seat and left.