On a Pale Horse (Umamusume/Youjo Senki)

[TheSmallSauce]

Her parents had escaped the war because Sugihara-san had helped them, so when they heard of his death they had been determined to pay their respects. As had many others.

Click to shrink...

So assuming the war mentioned here is WW2, Sugihara-san must be Chiune Sugihara right? His good deeds went unreported in Japan until after his death, so it makes sense that Shigeru didn't know about it.

It turned out that Sugihara-san had traveled quite a lot, and sometimes told him stories about the places he had been to, like the Soviet Union, which sounded like a dangerous but interesting country.

Click to shrink...

This is his time as a trade representative in the Soviet Union.

Leading up to the funeral, the Suzukis and their neighbors found, to their confusion, groups of foreigners suddenly appearing in greater and greater numbers, filling up the local inns and hotels. Apparently one of them was quite important too, since there were also a few national news crews hanging around.

Click to shrink...

And this is the visitation of the many Sugihara visa refugees and the Israeli Ambassador.

Plus he did in fact live in Fujisawa and died in 1986, so both the location and time fit. I gotta wonder though, did the decision to pick Fujisawa as Shirogane's hometown come about because of fitting Sugihara into the family's backstory as a plausible way for Polish blood to end up in Japan in the 1980s?

Man, either way, you really did a lot of research for this story. It makes rereads feel really rewarding, that small details just line up. I completely glossed over this fact in the beginning and assumed Sugihara was just some old guy, kinda like Shigeru did.

 

[WrandmWaffles]

Plus he did in fact live in Fujisawa and died in 1986, so both the location and time fit. I gotta wonder though, did the decision to pick Fujisawa as Shirogane's hometown come about because of fitting Sugihara into the family's backstory as a plausible way for Polish blood to end up in Japan in the 1980s?

Click to shrink...

Yes this is literally why I picked Fujisawa, because I spent a somewhat funny amount of time coming up with a reason for a Polish woman to end up in Japan that wasn't just 'it happens'.

 

[ndh]

Shiro would be like Nick Cage, quiet badass who takes out the entire killer group in between making and eating pierogi.

Click to shrink...

Isn't that just an Uma version of Willy Wonderland? Just switch out mandatory breaks with making pierogi. Here's where I know it from. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Q0sEeYNU4

 

[macdjord]

I'm imagining just a yawn, she looks around, notices Shiro, nodding at her, then shifts to get back into a more comfortable position… then does a double-take at Shiro being right there.

Cue scream as she leaps out of her seat.

Then an insistent "Stop sneaking up on me like that!"

"Sneak up on you? I'm just sitting down."

Click to shrink...

"Arg! I just wanted to nap for fifteen minutes without being disturbed! Is that so wrong?"

"Well, you were asleep for twenty two minutes, so I'd say you got your wish."

"... how could you possibly know that?"

"I was here when you fell asleep."

 

[ndh]

"Olivier O'Dran has crashed into the gate!"

Click to shrink...

Just looked into horse biology, and a bloody nose can be lethal to a horse as they can't breathe throught their mouth, so a horse crashing into the starting gate can kill them. Sorry for this very late comment about chapter 12.

 

[ShimizuA]

So I tried to make tvtropes page for this fic. Had to add umamusume in the title because it linked with the old literature if not. Please give it some love

 

[Tonyloco]

Looks good, but I feel like it's missing some things.

How unnerving she is to most racers because on how she runs and acts in the races.

The fact that she seems to gain rivals without even noticing it.

The fact that she's actually good at training other Umas.

Her robot/terminator like performance where no weather, nor type of racetrack, nor mood, or opponents seems to affect her, having a very standard (for her) performance each race.

The fact that she's bad at dancing while probably has a very good singing voice.

Her Soldier from older times uniform.

And not sure if her real horse omakes are included but her missing princess lineage.

And she probably has one or more famous ancestors in her Uma lineage.

 

[WrandmWaffles]

he fact that she's bad at dancing while probably has a very good singing voice.

Click to shrink...

For clarification, Shirogane is fairly good at dancing and singing, but she is quite mechanical and not very expressive, so it looks a bit uncanny to some people.

 

[zecorezecron]

For clarification, Shirogane is fairly good at dancing and singing, but she is quite mechanical and not very expressive, so it looks a bit uncanny to some people.

Click to shrink...

How popular is Styx in Japan? Cause I can think of one song where that would be a positive.

 

[MARch Of Time]

snip

Click to shrink...

I love this so much for it being how she looks to her entire cohort of racers. Race after race, every single time

They see her, and she's posed like that and just completely at ease while looking a little thirsty for blood, meanwhile they KNOW this is like her 18th back-to-back weekly race, and a G1 no less, and she's here and hungry.

"Oh my goddess it's her, she's back AGAIN"

[vaguely threatening, casual Shirogane side-eye] : "My, some racers just can't seem to keep themselves together. There's always more races, after all." *(has never even sprained a muscle)*

[thousands of uma cries of ragebaited frustration as Shirogane runs her 40th back-to-back placing in 1999, zero health issues]

 

[Tonyloco]

I love this so much for it being how she looks to her entire cohort of racers. Race after race, every single time

They see her, and she's posed like that and just completely at ease while looking a little thirsty for blood, meanwhile they KNOW this is like her 18th back-to-back weekly race, and a G1 no less, and she's here and hungry.

"Oh my goddess it's her, she's back AGAIN"

[vaguely threatening, casual Shirogane side-eye] : "My, some racers just can't seem to keep themselves together. There's always more races, after all." *(has never even sprained a muscle)*

[thousands of uma cries of ragebaited frustration as Shirogane runs her 40th back-to-back placing in 1999, zero health issues]

Click to shrink...

The general theory after so many races without apparent problems to her general health or stamina is that she's a Robo-Uma from the future back in time to train the next Uma savior...

The Shiroganetor... I'll Race Back!!

 

[rastelmascir]

The general theory after so many races without apparent problems to her general health or stamina is that she's a Robo-Uma from the future back in time to train the next Uma savior...

The Shiroganetor... I'll Race Back!!

Click to shrink...

I think that makes Haru Urara the Uma Savior of this story, which is oddly fitting.

 

[Jomasten]

The fact that she's bad at dancing while probably has a very good singing voice.

Click to shrink...

Well if Shiro-chan is still voiced by Aoi Yuuki, then no wonder her singing voice is so good

 

[heralding_bubble]

Well if Shiro-chan is still voiced by Aoi Yuuki, then no wonder her singing voice is so good

Click to shrink...

Oh right Tanya's seiyuu is Y.Aoi, she does have good vocals.

 

[Tiypo]

On the old topic of Shiro tucking her ears back, the buff is real!


View: https://x.com/Maiger_1/status/2085063641120829453/video/1

Also, in an amusingly related topic to drag, there's been some drama in the Tour de France over whether or not some women are padding their chests to get a more aerodynamically favorable profile. That might be a serious issue in Uma racing.

 

[xbox432]

Also, in an amusingly related topic to drag, there's been some drama in the Tour de France over whether or not some women are padding their chests to get a more aerodynamically favorable profile. That might be a serious issue in Uma racing.

Click to shrink...

Wasn't there something like this last year with male... skiers?... padding their crotch to get more aerodynamic ski suits?

 

[Tiypo]

Wasn't there something like this last year with male... skiers?... padding their crotch to get more aerodynamic ski suits?

Click to shrink...

Yes, there was also that at the Winter Olympics, but it was specifically them trying to go farther on their ski jumps.

Edit:
To note on why for the Tour de France. The best riders are anything but busty, so the padding is pretty much going a step up from completely flat, but that slight optimization could save as much as 20 seconds with how far they're riding.

 

[Crispy Taco Shell]

If the umas really were concerned with aerodynamics they'd lose the extra ruffles, loose capes, and poofy skirts on those ballroom gowns and wear basic leotards instead.

Their umamusume magic creates a bubble of still air around them when they run and they need the poofy racing dresses and jewelry as totems to unlock their full power, maybe? That's anime magical fighting girl logic.

 

[FluffyVoid]

If the umas really were concerned with aerodynamics they'd lose the extra ruffles, loose capes, and poofy skirts on those ballroom gowns and wear basic leotards instead.

Their umamusume magic creates a bubble of still air around them when they run and they need the poofy racing dresses and jewelry as totems to unlock their full power, maybe? That's anime magical fighting girl logic.

Click to shrink...

If Umas were concerned with aerodynamics there would be a lot of stupid sexy Flanders moments.

View: https://youtu.be/b72HL5uL2Bw?is=TMuzKN31jMawvWi1

 

[Crispy Taco Shell]

If Umas were concerned with aerodynamics there would be a lot of stupid sexy Flanders moments.

Click to shrink...

Yep. Skintight minimalist outfits with just enough support to prevent inefficient jiggling, goggles, and helmets for safety would be the way to go for IRL umamusume racing.

Spoiler: The realistic and therefore boring umamusume outfit?

 

[WrandmWaffles]

Got a fair bit more down for the next chapter, and I gotta say, I hadn't expected Steady Distance to play as large of a part as she's ended up playing. Most of the characters in the early chapters from Shirogane's school or work life were mostly put in to make the world feel more populated, and as people I could pull in to use as reoccurring spectators or commentators down the line, kinda like how the Ice Cream Sisters are, but Steady has kind of turned into Shirogane's Fujisawa March or something to that effect.

 

[WrandmWaffles]

Turning the Corner​

---

"Shiro-chan! Grass! Is the meat ready?!"

"Just about," Shirogane replied, one ear swiveling to track Taiki Shuttle as the sandy haired uma poked her head into the kitchen. "Just finished up the seasoning."

"Nice!"

Her rambunctious teammate examined her work with unusual focus (the Americans took barbecuing very seriously) before nodding excitedly and bounding off with the piles of prepared meats towards the outside pavilion which she had set up for the grill.

"You never mentioned you knew how to barbecue," Grass Wonder observed as the two of them washed their hands and cleaned the kitchenware, her statement more of a question.

"I don't, exactly," Shirogane explained, ear turning to track her fellow barbecue assistant. "But I do know how to cook meat, so it isn't too much of a stretch to prepare it." She had also made some pierogis per their excitable teammate's request, since it had apparently made the rounds on campus that the Polish gyoza was tasty.

"Your family has a restaurant, right?" Her chestnut teammate's ears wiggled with curiosity. "So you must have learned it from them."

"Naturally." It had been a simple way to make herself useful as a child. It felt a bit strange that she was now much more useful running, and would be, as long as she performed well enough to win prize money. "How about yourself? I was not expecting an American to be as familiar with Japanese cuisine as you appear to be."

"Well…I've always liked Japanese food," Grass' tail swished back and forth, slightly bashfully, "and there are some Japanese people in America, and I learned some of it from a few friends…" Shirogane turned to look at her, as something in that tone was off. "...Most of it was from cookbooks…" Her classmate's expression dipped a bit at the admission, not that Shirogane judged her for it.

"Not bad, I don't believe many are translated, is that part of how you learned Japanese?"

Grass' ears dropped in embarrassment. "Don't tell anyone that."

"I don't see the problem? Seems a good enough starting point." Shirogane shrugged as she towelled off her hands. "Should be less embarrassing than whatever El Condor Pasa started with. What was it? An anime?"

A snort of laughter escaped Grass Wonder before she could stop it, the chestnut colored uma shaking her head in longsuffering amusement. "It was Dragonball Z."

"Why am I not surprised?" Shirogane drawled flatly, making her ears tilt down in exasperation.

Her chestnut haired teammate giggled slightly, covering her mouth with her hand as the two of them left the kitchen to join the rest of the get together outside, following the excited noises of the other students to a pavilion, under which a table hosted the better part of their yearmates, along with a few older students, though notably most of the umas from more prominent families were not present, likely due to some family event.

"Is it ready?!" They could hear Special Week's eagerness even from a distance.

"Not yet!" And Taiki Shuttle was not much quieter, punctuating her words with a clack of her tongs before flipping over some of the meat she was grilling.

"Here, Spe, you can have some of mine." Suzuka-san dropped a piece of meat onto Special Week's empty plate, the always hungry Hokkaidoan having unsurprisingly eaten all of her portion from a previous set in short order.

"Thanks!"

"Hmm, that smells quite good," Grass murmured, nose twitching in interest, evidently a bit hungry since they had been busy preparing things, and thus not eating.

"I would hope so," Shirogane remarked drily. "Otherwise I would have failed in my task of seasoning."

"Shiro-chan! Grass-chan!" The pink haired form of Haru Urara waved cheerfully at them from where she was perched precariously on a lawn chair next to her roommate.

"Urara get down from there!" King Halo hissed, steadying the pink haired uma as she almost fell from her enthusiastic waving.

"Uwaah! Thanks King!"

"Almost ready!" Taiki Shuttle cried, waving for Shirogane and Grass to hurry up. "You should have some! You helped and haven't had any yet!"

"The tradeoff of being a cook," Shirogane drawled as she made her way next to her teammate, eying the nearly completed meat. "Looks just about ready."

"Yes!" Her sandy haired compatriot scooped up one hunk of sizzling, savory barbeque with her tongs and placed it on the cutting board with a meaty smack, the sauce and oil giving off a pleasant aroma.

Shirogane stepped up to the plate and pulled on a pair of disposable cooking gloves, before drawing the steak knife from its place, spinning in her hand to get a feel for its balance–

"Whoaa!"

–and sliding the edge into the soft, tender meat, the keen blade parting the well cooked flesh easily as she chopped it into more easily edible slices, sliding them off into a pan which Grass Wonder promptly took control of to distribute to their ever hungry classmates, though not before the two of them claimed their tax, simply taste tasting of course.

Shirogane hummed in satisfaction at the savory, buttery flavor blooming across her tongue as she chewed, quite pleased with how her preparations and Taiki's grilling had turned out.

"Wow, this is good," Grass mumbled next to her, clearly at least mildly disappointed she had missed out on some of the earlier batches.

Another hunk of meat was deposited on the cutting board, and Shirogane carved it up with equal efficiency, trying not to grin at how readily the knife could cut. For all her silliness, Taiki Shuttle clearly knew her way around a grill.

"Wow! Where did Shiro-chan learn to use a knife like that?" Haru Urara cried, hopping up in front of Shirogane, tail wagging curiously. A few others looked similarly curious, but hadn't voiced it aloud.

"How kind of you to ask," Shirogane chuffed, tossing her knife in a quick spin, catching it by the tip between her fingers. "My family runs a small restaurant in Fujisawa, and I help out in making the food sometimes–"

"Oh thank God."

She flipped the knife around and resumed cutting as Taiki Shuttle added another finished hunk of meat.

"Oooh! What do you sell?" Haru leaned in curiously, a bit too far, so Shirogane gently poked the pink haired uma in the forehead with the butt of her knife, which got her excitable schoolmate to back out of the hazard zone.

"A lot of bento boxes." While they weren't in Fujisawa, and it seemed unlikely that her classmates would ever go there, there wasn't any harm in some advertising. "What we're really known for are pierogis, which are basically Polish gyoza. I made some earlier, for your reference. Its name is Suzukiya and it's in the middle of Fujisawa if you ever find yourself there." Not the most creative name but it seemed to work.

"Suzuki…ya?" Urara-san wondered aloud, tilting her head curious.

"That's my family name."

"Eh?! I thought it was Orez…O…rez…eru?!"

"That's my stage name. Suzuki was apparently a bit too common a surname."

"So…does that mean King's name isn't King?!"

"No, that is my name," her exasperated looking roommate sighed. "Many umas who have racers in their family get names like ours so we don't get confused with other people as easily, and…" she glanced at Shirogane for a moment, only continuing when there was no reaction, "Shirogane-chan's family hadn't expected her to be a racer, so named her more typically."

"Basically what happened."

"Racing names are important!" And there was El Condor Pasa, who never took her mask off.

"But it's Urara's normal name…"

"Don't worry about it too much, Urara-san."

"Ok Sky-san!"

"Hmm…" Taiki Shuttle hummed, pausing in her cooking, one hand reaching up to put a finger against her chin as she redirected the subject. "Fujisawa…is by the coast right?"

"Indeed."

"Ah…it's pretty close to where we had summer camp this year, right?" Suzuka chimed in, ears wiggling excitedly.

"Oh yes! It's near the nice island Enoshima!" Taiki somehow managed to both throw her hands up excitedly and neatly drop the next hunk of meat onto the cutting board.

Wait…was that why there often were a lot of umas running around the beach during midsummer? Shirogane had thought that was just vacationers, with umas largely being from wealthier families who could afford such a thing since they could afford an uma child.

"Enoshima is part of Fujisawa, yes."

"Wow! Does that mean Shiro-chan was having a vacation every day?"

"Close to the beach all the time? That sounds nice."

"No, Urara-san." Shirogane carved through another cut of meat. "While I have been to Enoshima many times, much of it was for work." Now that she thought of it, she had run deliveries there shortly before Toujou-san recruited her. "The view is quite beautiful on good days though, so yes, that part is quite nice, Sky-san."

"Ooh! Does that mean we get to see Shiro-chan's hometown during summer camp?"

"Ooh! That sounds fun!"

"It's just a city, Pasa-san." A rather nice city, all things considered, but not really all that fascinating.

"We will have to be training most of the time," King Halo added, trying in vain to temper the expectations. "But we probably could patronize Suzukiya at some point during that time."

"Just let me know so I can give them a heads up," Shirogane chuffed. "With how much you all eat they'll need to stock up in preparation."

"I-I'm not that bad, am I?"

"You are a little bit, Spe-chan…"

"Wah!"

There were times Suzuka-san really did not hold back.

"Anyways!" Taiki Shuttle threw her hands up in the air, having finished with the last of the meat she was cooking. "The year's almost over, and next year is going to be even more exciting! Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Cries of enthusiastic affirmation sounded out from the assembled umas, specifically from the likes of El Condor Pasa, Haru Urara and Special Week, though all those present displayed some measure of excitement.

Shirogane busied herself with slicing apart the final chunk of meat instead, but even she had to admit a degree of anticipation. If she performed well enough in the wider range of graded races, particularly the G1 races, her family should be able to comfortably retire, and if she could manage things well enough, she would probably be able to hire other people to continue the restaurant operations.

…Was it insider trading if you remembered which companies' stocks exploded in value from another life? Not that SESC could ever prove such a case.

"Ne, ne, what about you, Shiro-chan?!"

"Pardon me, I was distracted." Shirogane nodded at the pink haired uma who had asked her the question, sliding the last few cuts of meat onto her own plate to buy time. "What are you asking about?'

"Which races are you the most excited for next year?" Urara-san bobbed side to side expectantly, bright eyes shining with apparent gormlessness. "Urara-san wants to win one race!"

"I'm gonna debut, and just you wait!" Tsuyoshi-san cried, thrusting a fist into the air, "I'll beat you all on the Classic Circuit–ack!" before descending into a fit of coughing, choking on some of the food she had neglected to chew properly.

"Maaah, don't think anyone's gonna get the Triple Crown this year," Sky sighed, leaning back, hands behind her head as she looked up into the darkening evening sky. "Gonna be hard for any of us to win two of the Classic races, let alone all three."

"The Japan Cup and Tokyo Yushun are the ones I'm the most interested in participating in," Shirogane offered, seeing no real harm in answering her pink-haired fellow's question despite the interruptions. "Though it is rather unlikely I would win, and even qualifying is no guarantee."

"Why the Japan Cup specifically?" came the expected follow up question from Grass Wonder, tilting her head curiously. As the Tokyo Derby was part of the Triple Crown, they evidently saw no reason to ask after that.

"It's got one of the biggest prize pools," Shirogane pointed out, before eating a slice of meat–it must be reiterated that Taiki Shuttle was good at barbecuing- "And I guess the Stayers Stakes, since that is probably my best chance at winning a graded race."

"Yeah…I don't think any of us can really challenge you at three and a half kilometers," Sky mused, rolling her head around to give her a curious look. "But really? Just the Derby? You know you can get a big bonus if you win more than one of the Classics?"

Shirogane just raised an eyebrow back. "I do not take you lightly enough to presume such an achievement will be trivial, not to mention that one of the races is only sixteen-hundred meters, a distance I usually have to struggle to even get second at."

"Huh? I thought they were all at least two kilometers…?"

There was a beat of silence, leaving Shirogane standing there awkwardly as she watched her schoolmates' eyes widen in shock, first King Halo, then Grass Wonder, and Seiun Sky.

"S-Shirogane-san–?"

"Waaiiiit a minute–"

"You plan on running both the Triple Crown and the Triple Tiara Circuit?!" Grass exclaimed, uncharacteristically loud, ears peeled back in surprise. She didn't seem angry at Shirogane, perhaps she was annoyed she had not thought to make the attempt herself?

"A-Aren't they like right after each other?"

"No, Spe-san," Shirogane denied, "the Triple Crown races are run a week after the Triple Tiara races."

"That's the minimum rest time, Shiro!"

"Well…yes? That is why they spaced them out this way, no? And also so spectators can be drawn to watch in consecutive weekends as well."

"Wow! Shiro-kun is going to go crazy!"

"Thank you for your confidence, Taiki Shuttle-senpai…"

"You're welcome!" As expected, she missed the sarcastic undertone.

"Waah…that's so cool!" El Condor Pasa cried, waving her arms frantically like a bird in her excitement. "Can I try that?!"

Next to her, Tsuyoshi-san sat still, a frown on her face as she looked down at her plate.

"It's not like my participation is certain," Shirogane sighed, trying to reign in the often tiring enthusiasm of her classmates. "Most of the qualifiers for the Oka Sho are quite short, and the ones for the Satsuki Sho are not particularly long either." There were not many races open to first year runners longer than two kilometers, a measure intended to reduce the likelihood of injury among the younger competitors, but that worked rather unfortunately against her advantages.

"A sextuple crown…" King Halo breathed, her ears flicking in concentration, "that would be a feat of strength no one can deny."

"It would be soo cool!"

But while her roommate thought of the idea with starry eyes, King Halo clenched her fist, a frown twisting her face. "I don't know if it's possible…at the very least Trainer won't sign off on me trying that."

"I don't expect to win," Shirogane shrugged, trying to explain her much more reasonable ambitions. "They are all G1 races with significant prize pools, so as long as I perform passably, it would be worth something. And as they are restricted to runners in our year, that means the competition will be somewhat less strong, if likely highly motivated."

"Haah…leave it to Shiro to talk like running two G1s in a row is nothing," Sky sighed, shaking her head as she looked up at the sky again. "Really, this class is filled with crazy people."

"B-But you're in the class too?"

"Yeaah, I've gotta be a little crazy to put up with this, Urara-san."

"Mmmm…" El Condor Pasa tried to hold in an exclamation, practically vibrating in place– "Waaah!" –before she could reign it in no longer, and she let out a challenging cry, pointing a finger at Shirogane, who had to stomp hard on the instinct to go for her knife.

"You may be a Demon of Distance, Shiro-chan!" the masked uma declared, "but El Condor Pasa will not be intimidated!"

"Nor will I!" declared King Halo, eyes brimming with determination as she shot Shirogane a look of firm resolve, despite Shirogane not having intended to intimidate anyone in this manner. "You may defeat us all in stamina, but in a singular race, I will not concede so easily!"

"Yeah!" The sentiment was echoed by the others in a passable chorus.

"As you well shouldn't." Shirogane smiled. Her schoolmates wavered for a moment, before their resolve hardened. "We ought to uphold the honor of this institution, after all."

---

"And they're off! Starting out of the gate number three Mori Survival pulls forward to the front of the pack!"

The runners' feet pounded the turf of Hanshin race course as they jockeyed for position, and Hana Toujou was again watching Shirogane run. While many of her trainees were winding down their careers, her snap decision recruit was paradoxically both requiring little work and yet taking up quite a bit of her time. The taciturn uma required relatively little direct instruction, and had the discipline and foresight to manage most of her own training regimen once Hana explained it to her, but the number of races she wanted to participate in meant that Hana spent a surprisingly large amount of time watching Shirogane racing, for what kind of trainer would she be if she didn't show up to her trainee's race?

"Number ten Shirogane Orujeru is settling into second place and number two Bold Emperor is right on her tail!"

The Radio Tampa Hai Sansai Stakes was a decent test of a junior year runner's long distance abilities, being a two kilometer G3 race, though in Shirogane's case, it was still more a test to see how well she could manage at distances she considered short.

Even now, the pale haired uma was not the one setting the pace, instead she was chasing the fourth favorite, Mori Survival, a bay haired opponent from Kyoto, who almost looked like she was running for her life.

"Now they've reached the first corner and it's a scrappy fight for position at the front!"

Turning into the first bend, her trainee was doggedly defending her position from four other runners, two of which, Sunrise Toryu and Shine Point, already looked like they were struggling, especially as their paths kept being obstructed by each other as the overly fixated on jockeying around Shirogane. Center Fresh, another bay, looked less strained than the other two, but she was also not ready for this fast of a pace.

The last challenger was a familiar face in Bold Emperor, someone Shirogane had both beaten and been beaten by before, and it seemed the dark haired uma, who had declared herself a rival of sorts to Shirogane, was making good on the word and was keeping pace well, while being canny enough not to follow close enough to be easily disrupted.

Further back, King Halo, the favorite for this race, was keeping pace as well, looking like she was managing her strength to have enough energy in the tank for the final spurt.

Hana frowned. As much as Shirogane had improved, until she could run in longer races, it was only her cunning positioning and sheer grit that allowed her to fight her way to the podium positions. The competition wasn't going to get any weaker from here out, and with experience, the errors her pale trainee was good at creating in others would become unreliable.

The start of the Classic season was going to be a difficult climb for Shirogane, but if she could make it to the Kikuka Sho, the pale menace would show the world just how strong she was.

---

This year was truly full of strong challengers!

This was something that both excited and frustrated Bold Emperor as she was forced outwards on the track, deciding it best to avoid the gaggle trying to close on her pale haired rival. They kept getting in each other's way, and with the required maneuvering, it meant that even in the early stages of the race her breath was already becoming strained.

After her disappointing performance in the Asahi Hai, Trainer-san had suggested running with a different strategy. Since Shirogane Orzel always pushed the pace faster, making it more difficult to close in at the end, they had thought it might be better to try and keep closer towards the front so she would not have to make up as much ground..

It…may not be working out as well as they had hoped.

As much as her rival's awareness had made closing on her towards the end quite the challenge, it seemed that same skill meant that keeping pace with her was no trivial thing either, especially not when there was a small herd all trying to pass her!

Really, these girls needed to learn how to be patient, they were still far from the final spurt!

Also the front runner was going much too fast to be reasonable.

Truly, her competition was strong!

---

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

"Number three Mori Survival is showing no signs of slowing down!"

Mori Survival wanted to scream, but she had no breath for it, all of her energy spent on running as fast as she could.

Her lungs burned, and her legs added to the screaming in her head, but she didn't dare look back, not when the pounding of boots followed so closely.

Closer.

Closer.

It took all she had not to run straight off the track, but she still ran, because she could not stop!

---

The front runner for this race had better stamina than most other first year runners, Shirogane thought, cutting the third corner closely to maintain her speed and stave off the mob of runners close behind her.

"But number ten Shirogane Orejeru is still keeping pace!"

Usually at this point, after running out in front for this long, she would see some signs of fatigue, but not this time. It wasn't quite as humbling as running with Suzuka sometimes could be, but at this rate, there did not appear to be any chance of catching up to the one in the lead.

Second place wouldn't be bad, but she still had to keep her position, and with Bold Emperor behind her and King Halo not too far back, there were still plenty of ways she could lose outright.

---

Now!

"Coming up on the final corner, and number nine King Halo is making her move!"

King Halo surged forwards as they reached the final corner, pushing past the pack of flagging runners, her feet digging into the firm turf as she threw what was left of her energy into the final spurt.

Her breath did not come easy, fatigue from the fast pace set by Shirogane and the other front runner having forced her to burn more energy to keep up.

But she had expected this, and she had trained for this, so the others who had clearly not proved no competition as she overtook them.

"Number three Mori Survival is still ahead! But behind her it's an all out scramble for the finish!"

She felt the strain in her legs as she closed in on the dark bay runner who was trying to pass Shirogane, which made her run more towards the outside.

Her lungs burned.

They reached the home stretch, and icy disappointment crept up her spine as she felt she could not catch the front runner–

Now was not the time to give up!

King Halo grit her teeth and pushed forwards, spurred on as she felt an end closer pushing up on her tail, but with how she was spaced from Shirogane and Bold Emperor, the pursuer lost time swinging wide trying to pass them.

The front runner hit the incline on the final section of the straight, finally slowing down–

Bold Emperor pushed forwards, trying to pass, but Shirogane was in the way.

A chance!

The climb wasn't long, but it felt like an eternity that passed by in an instant as she dug her feet into the turf, hurling herself forwards, past Bold Emperor–

But not past Shirogane.

"Number three Mori Survival has done it! She's held the lead for the whole–oh no! Mori Survival has collapsed right past the finish line!"

There was a frantic flurry of activity as the exhausted winner was stretchered off the track, leaving King Halo to stew in her first loss in her official career.

"Hmm, it seems her stamina was less impressive than I thought."

King Halo turned to her classmate in bewilderment, trying not to feel envy at how Shirogane looked barely winded while her own breath came with difficulty. "What…are you…talking about?"

Shirogane inclined her head towards the winner of the race as she was stretchered away. "It appears she could not keep up that pace safely. There must be a lot of pressure on her for her to run like that."

A bitter feeling crept up in her chest. Was her own motivation not enough? She wanted to prove to her mother that she could really stand on her own, and she'd even won a graded race! But here was her classmate, who could keep up with her without trying, and another who ran so hard her body failed her right after the finish.

She would have to train harder.

---

New Year's Eve found the Suzukis and their friends crowding onto Enoshima, alongside a whole host of visitors both local and from out of town, among a sea of lantern lights and numerous bonfires lit to keep the people standing in line for the shrines warm.

Shirogane was not one to put much stock in such things, not after what she experienced in another life, but her family had brought her to the island when she was a child, and she had grown to like the tradition of watching the year's first sunrise over Sagami Bay. Most of the time it wasn't particularly different from any other sunrise, but if the weather was good, the view was quite impressive.

As far as she remembered, the Salaryman had never bothered with this tradition, though she vaguely recalled him visiting Enoshima at least once in his life, and the Soldier had never visited the Japan equivalent in her world, so it had been a bit of a novelty, which was a rather strange feeling for the young uma who remembered living in Japan once before.

"Snuck off by yourself again, Shiro-chan?"

Steady Distance plopped herself down onto the bench next to her, looking out into the darkness of the bay, the water partly reflecting the glow from the lanterns, but the greater part of it swallowed up by inky blackness.

"I would not say I did any sneaking."

The downside of being a good viewing point for the sunrise was the number of people who wanted to partake.

"Still not interested in seeing what your fortune might be for the year?" Steady mimed shaking a box. "Could be important given it's your Classic Year, no?"

"How predictive was your fortune last year?"

"I got good fortune, and well…last year was pretty good for me."

"How very vague and unspecific."

"Come on, Shiro!" Steady laughed, her ears flicking playfully, "even if you don't put a lot of stock into it it could be fun!"

Shirogane shrugged. "I fail to see how it could do anything but poison expectations."

"Aw…don't be such a spoilsport! If you're feeling chicken just say so!"

"In your dreams."

"Pff! No need to get so defensive, Chibi."

"Have you asked your trainer out yet?"

"Wah–?!" The older uma jolted up, almost falling off the bench. "Where did that come from?!"

"Evidently not. So who's the actual coward here?"

"You can't just say that crap, Shiro!" Steady whined, flopping back down on the bench. "You know there's rules about that kind of thing between trainers and trainees."

"And everyone knows there's a not insignificant number of relationships between trainers and former trainees."

It wasn't terribly surprising, given that trainers were screened carefully for a variety of skills and personality traits to ensure they would be appropriate managers for enthusiastic young runners, and some of those traits also made them rather desirable as mates.

"Are you saying I'm getting too old to be a runner?" Steady huffed, the pout on her face still evident despite the dim light from the lanterns.

"I do remember hearing you say that you didn't plan on being a runner for more than a couple years," Shirogane pointed out. "And yet you've at least doubled that tenure so far."

The older uma paused, leaning back and draping an arm over the back of the bench as she looked up at the Enoshima lighthouse. She was silent for a moment, enough for Shirogane to realize she may have touched on a bit of a sore spot.

"That was meant as a joke."

"Yeah, I knew you weren't being that serious, Shiro," her friend sighed, "but like usual, you kinda have a point."

Shirogane turned to look at Steady. It was dark, so she couldn't really see the other's expression, but it appeared that the circumstances had put the usually happy go lucky uma into a rare contemplative mood.

"That you aren't intending to make running a full time career?"

"I don't really win enough for that to be that great of an idea," Steady huffed, shaking her head, "though honestly? I never really thought I'd do as good as I ended up doing. Figured I'd be about as good as Mom, but I did win the Kanto Oaks."

"A not insignificant achievement."

"Pff! Says the one who's shooting for both a Triple Crown and Triple Tiara."

"You know that is not going to happen."

"Geez, you really need to stop downplaying how crazy some of the shit you can do is, Shiro."

"I thought we were talking about you?" There was no point to keep retreading the same ground.

"Haaah…you're gonna have to–no, never mind." Steady shook her head again. "You're right, I was gonna talk about me for a bit…" she trailed off, looking lost in thought again. Shirogane let the silence hang, giving her friend time to collect her often fleeting thoughts.

Finally, Steady spoke again. "You know why most runners retire?"

"Burnout of some kind. Or Injury."

"No–wait no, you're right, but I meant for umas that actually manage to run for some time, not the admittedly pretty big chunk that basically washes out real quick."

"Typically it's once performance begins to dip." It was a bit concerning how early it seemed most umas physiques began to decline. Perhaps it was only natural, given their lifespans tended to be somewhat shorter than humans, and they reached physical maturity faster. "Or after graduation."

Unless you were well established, it was more difficult to make a career running without as much institutional support.

"Yeah…and you know what that usually goes with?"

"Increased risk of injury?"

"Dammit Shiro, you really have no clue sometimes, you know that?"

"I am certainly correct about this." Shirogane tilted her head curiously. There was no doubt in her mind that many accomplished runners retired after their bodies accumulated too many injuries. "What exactly are you getting at here?"

"You know…at a certain point most umas start wanting to start a family?"

"That…interferes with running races?" This made Shirogane turn to face her friend fully. "Wouldn't that incentivize the runner to push harder and aim for at least one substantial payout?"

"Uugh! Of course you'd think that…" Steady dropped her head into her hands in exasperation. "Sometimes I really think having two human parents makes you a bit of an alien."

"My mother was naturalized." It had been a lengthy process.

"Pff! Not what I meant, Shiro."

"Sorry, it's a bit of a reflex. I think it's only gotten worse after dealing with some of the…colorful characters at Tracen."

"They seem like a fun bunch…but I'm getting distracted."

Steady leaned back again, slumping against the bench. "My mom said that once you get to my age, you have to start thinking about what your life is gonna be like after racing–No, don't start!" She glared at Shirogane, cutting off the almost automatic response. "And well…"

"You want kids?" Shirogane could not keep the skepticism from creeping into her voice. "Isn't that a bit early?"

"Not really? It's about when mom had me, and I managed to make a decent amount of money running, and with you and Dad's help most of it got stuck in places where it's doing alright, so I won't have to worry too much cash all that much."

Ah, right. It slipped her mind fairly frequently due to Steady's lackadaisical manner and relatively minor fascination with luxury goods, but her family was quite wealthy.

"Sounds like you have sufficient ammunition to make a proposal to your trainer, then."

"Shiro!" Steady squawked, almost falling over onto the bench as she flinched upwards. "That's not how this works!"

"I see…" then what had been the point of the previous discussion?

"Look…it's just that I can feel I'm not gonna be able to run for that much longer," Steady continued, again unusually serious. "Not just 'cause I'm getting older, but the whole fun of it is starting to fade a bit after doing it year in year out…and I was thinking about how to go out on a high note."

"Winning the February Stakes?"

"...I was gonna go with the Kawasaki Kinen…but you know what?" Filled with a sudden surge of energy, Steady leapt to her feet, her motion coinciding with one of the nearby bonfires flaring up, casting her face in a dramatic glow as she thrust her hand into the air. "Fuck it, I started running because it was fun and there was a lot of cute guys around it, but you showed me that you can't really do shit without putting in the work."

Was she drunk? She was old enough for that, right?

"Guess I never really thanked you for it," Steady continued, voice softening for a second, "but seeing you busting your ass for everything always made me feel a bit like a bum, and I couldn't–can't let that stand."

"So…you want to race against me officially?"

"Yeah, you up for the challenge, Chibi?" Even in the dim light, Shirogane could see her grin. "You ain't got nothing on me at short distance and on dirt!"

"There's no need to try and rile me up, if you want to go head to head I'll see what my trainer can throw together. But if it's your last year, I won't be able to run in the Kawasaki Kinen or February Stakes yet."

"Doesn't have to be that."
"That should make it simple enough to arrange."

"Then call it a duel!" Steady grinned, looking out to the horizon, still fathomlessly black. "I may not have really hit it big as a racer, and I'm probably gonna get smoked at G1s, but if my cute kohai is gonna run at both Crowns, what kinda senpai would I be if I didn't go out swinging as hard as I can?"

Sunrise broke not too long after, heralding the start of Shirogane's classic year, but she ended up being too preoccupied with carrying a sound asleep Steady Distance to really appreciate the view.

---

AN. Apologies for the long wait, but a variety of things conspired to make the past couple of months...interesting shall we say. In the interim, RIP Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi, the sickly horse who outlived his rivals. Her uma counterpart will probably have a decent role later in this fic.

On a less serious note, I again amused at a side character I made up gaining a lot more plot relevance than I originally intended. Steady Distance was intended to be a sort of pseudo mentor character who introduced Shirogane to the idea of professional racing, but since she's one of her closest friends, and with Shirogane still be rather standoffish with many of the Tracen students, this resulted in Steady being the one Shirogane is more naturally candid with. Some of the Tracen students, like Air Groove, Dober and Grass are getting closer to where Shirogane would be more comfortable opening up to them, but there is a bit of hiccup due to the attitude disconnect.

 

[SiegfriedisPower]

If you look at a painting of the four uma of the apocalypse, you'll see an uma that looks alot like Shirogane.

 

[HoxShorelight]

"Oh thank God."

Click to shrink...

Hey who said that , what was that suppose to mean
yes you could be right

Butreally?

Click to shrink...

Missing space between two words here

You may be a Demon of Distance, Shiro-chan!

Click to shrink...

Oh is this nickname official or what

Mori Survival is a true survivor alright she lives after being chase by the Demon of Distance
Now i have an image of Bold Emperor and Shiro like young Thanos and Wanda in Endgame
You took everything from me
I don't even know who you are
Shiro action have some very positive on Steady Distance and her childhood friend
Love the BBQ scene, training camp in the future in other words Shiro bring home friends from school and among those include Air Groove and Symboli Rudolf

 

[Dissimilate]

Thanks for the chapter!!!!

 

[Sky3Fall]

We're gonna get a last dance? Hell yeah.

 

[WrandmWaffles]

Missing space between two words here

Click to shrink...

Thanks, should be fixed now.

 

[LuridThrone]

Hey who said that , what was that suppose to mean

Click to shrink...

Some of them were concerned about the little psycho who runs like shes trying to hunt lead racer being unusually handy with a knife.

So hearing that she picked it up from helping her parents cook is alot more reassuring than something like 'oh i dunno, ive just always found knives fascinating'

 

[Killdread]

Steady making all these grand proclamations about dueling and a last hurrah, while Shiro is sitting there casually thinking 'I know this means a lot to her, but fitting another race in on my weekly schedule is gonna be a pain.' Also what's her record at now? 15 races 2 wins 13 silvers?

I'm half expecting her to give a genetic freak Scott Steiner style pre race interview at this rate.

"Normally you've got a 3 in 16 chance at the podium. But I'm a genetic freak and I'm not normal! So you got a 18.75%, AT BEST, to place around me. Then you add King Halo to the mix, your chances at the prize pool drastically go down…"

 

[Chrisleech]

King Halo missing the point that Shirogane is saying there was TOO much pressure on the girl in front of her, because she wore herself out, which is a BAD THING. Meanwhile, Steady Distance is like, the only way that I can go out with a bang, is to try and beat my friend who is several years junior, in conditions that unilaterally favor me, and disadvantage her.