Extra — The Kikuka Sho Girl, and Her Answer

"…Well then. The day has finally come."

The Kikuka Sho.

A classic race that countless Uma Musume aspire to reach. The final jewel of the Triple Crown would be run today.

I’d be entering as the second favorite.

That day, I looked up at a star that felt impossibly out of reach. Even so, I screamed that I wanted to win—and from there, I began working hand in hand with my trainer. It’s been over a year now.

It feels like it took forever. Or maybe like it all passed in the blink of an eye. A strange sensation.

…Whether I cry or laugh, everything will be decided today.

I’m… absolutely going to win this race.

That’s what I’ve been working toward all this time.

"Alright then—let’s do this…!"

…Or so I thought, getting myself all fired up.

"Waiting around by myself is pretty boring, huh."

I was sitting alone in the waiting room, killing time until the race began.

Runners enter the racecourse in the morning, but depending on the schedule, you can end up waiting in the lounge until well into the afternoon. Of course, it’s important to stretch and keep your body loose during that time, but—

The Kikuka Sho goes off after 3 p.m. Even factoring in preparation, starting around 1 p.m. is more than enough.

My trainer went off to gather intel on the other stables, and runners aren’t allowed to leave the waiting room anyway.

It’d be a real problem if we wandered around and caused a scene, so it’s a reasonable rule.

Still, the wait is long, and without anyone to talk to, it gets dull.

There are plenty of things to do—stretching, reviewing the race plan—but even after all that, there’s still too much time left over.

Or rather, it’s because there was time to spare that my trainer went off to gather information in the first place.

As for me, I probably ought to be meditating or something… but I’ve never been very good at that kind of thing.

"…That girl would probably say something like, ‘I’m off to do some self-training.’"

Thinking of a friend who isn’t here, I let out a quiet chuckle.

Of course, that’s not really my style—and more importantly, I can’t afford to put any more strain on my legs.

I’ve trained right up to the limit to get here. I don’t have even a shred of leeway to overdo it.

So for now, I wait right here.

That’s the optimal solution for us.

…Even so, boring is still boring.

To kill time, I open a news site on my phone that covers Uma Musume-related topics.

I’ve been keeping up with the recent headlines, so I decide to skim some slightly older articles.

I type a few keywords into the search bar, and the first results that come up are—

"Tragedy Strikes the Gray Dragon! The Price of Winning the Takarazuka Kinen"

"An Injury for Hoshino Wilm. Kikuka Sho Entry Now in Serious Doubt"

They’re articles about a dear friend of mine.

Hoshino Wilm.

Her nickname is Will.

A small, chestnut-colored Uma Musume who somehow ended up associated with the color gray.

She’s my contemporary—the sparkling, unbeatable main character of our generation.

Maiden debut.

Open class, the Hagi Botan Sho.

G1, the Hopeful Stakes.

G2, the Yayoi Sho.

G1, the Satsuki Sho.

G1, the Japan Derby.

…And then G1, the Takarazuka Kinen.

She won every single one—seven races, seven victories.

Four of those were G1s, and one was even a senior mixed-grade Grand Prix.

An undefeated two-crown winner—the gray dragon who overturned the impossible at the Takarazuka Kinen.

An invincible front-running Uma Musume who seized the title of strongest active competitor in the Twinkle Series.

…When you really think about it, I debuted in the same year as an absolute monster.

If you only look at win count, I’m tied with her—but mine are seven wins out of nine starts, with only two graded stakes.

The difference in quality between us is painfully obvious.

I’ve watched her up close this entire time, so I know.

To put it bluntly, Hoshino Wilm is built different.

Top-tier stamina. Speed that can contend even with seniors. Calm, ruthless powers of observation. Race management that borders on perfection.

Every part of her is elite. At this point, she doesn’t even really have a clear weakness anymore.

She’s still only halfway through full physical maturation, and even now, she’s the strongest at middle distances in the Twinkle Series.

In the future—without a doubt—she’ll go down in history as one of the strongest Uma Musume ever.

I suddenly find myself thinking back on this past year.

The day I first met her.

And the days we spent training together.

My first impression of her was… sorry to say it, but “a shy, gloomy girl.”

She was always looking down, and I hardly ever saw her talking to anyone.

We were in different classes, but I heard that even during breaks she’d slump over her desk.

I wouldn’t say I had no idea what she was thinking… but she did feel a little unsettling, honestly.

…That impression flipped completely when she blew everyone away with a massive gap in the selection race.

Still, looking back now, back then she was an Uma Musume with exploitable cracks.

The biggest one was how vulnerable she was to pressure from behind—how easily she’d get flustered.

In fact, I once took advantage of that and pushed her to the brink.

One and a half lengths.

I closed the gap to just under four meters.

I was close enough that I truly believed I’d catch her if things kept going that way—I was right on her heels.

…But of course.

She wasn’t going to stay there forever.

Will changed, little by little.

Her demeanor softened, and at the same time, she gradually grew brighter.

She used to have this air of “I only care about running,” but before I knew it, she could chat normally with me—she even started enjoying going out together.

How should I put it… yeah. She became more approachable.

Ah—no, it’s not like she was unfriendly to begin with.

It’s just that with her blank expression, she was hard to read, you know… yeah.

Lately, even underclassmen seem to like her, and her circle of friends has been slowly expanding.

She was always a good girl—just easily misunderstood.

I think this change has been good for Will.

…But at the same time.

As she grew, she completely overcame her weaknesses.

No matter how close someone gets—even if they pass her—she doesn’t panic anymore.

More than that, she’s started using absurd tactics: bolting out in a massive front run, getting overtaken, and then overtaking them right back.

"…Seriously, she’s unbelievable."

She was dangerous enough from the very start…

During the Japan Derby, I honestly had no idea how anyone was supposed to beat her.

Fundamentally, front-running Uma Musume are supposed to slow down in the latter half of a race.

They’re called front-runners because they build a lead early and somehow manage to hold on until the end.

Sure, there’s a concept called restrained front-running, but that should be completely incompatible with Will’s signature all-out escape style.

And yet… she demonstrated it in the Japan Derby.

After a massive front run, she reeled Teio back in at a speed that could only be described as a late charge—an utterly irrational performance.

“All-out escape” and “late charge” aren’t supposed to coexist.

An all-out escape burns enormous stamina early to force the pace and widen the lead.

A late charge conserves stamina in the first half and unleashes it all at once in the second.

Normally, choosing one makes the other impossible.

For both to work… the only explanation is that her base speed—her cruising pace—is so far above the race’s standard that it breaks the model entirely.

A pace that barely costs her stamina is already an unmanageable high speed for everyone else.

That’s why she can push hard early and still accelerate later.

…It’s hard to believe, but that’s probably the truth.

Hoshino Wilm’s raw physical ability is simply on another level.

A little while ago, when I visited Will during her recovery, we ended up talking about our childhood dreams and hobbies…

She lowered her eyes slightly, smiling sadly.

She said she’d always been someone without dreams, without hobbies—that whenever she had free time, she just ran, trying to get faster.

So she told me that being able to talk with friends like this now made her happy, laughing as she said it…

But I was left stunned.

Uma Musume go through dedicated mock races, then enter their full-fledged phase, after which their physical abilities grow explosively over the next three years.

That’s why it’s generally said Uma Musume only need to truly push themselves after advancing to middle school and enrolling at Tracen.

No matter how hard you work before that, a single month of effort after entering Tracen can easily overturn everything.

…That’s common knowledge.

Sure, kids who admire racing often work hard in their own ways.

I did too—people back home had high expectations of me, so I put in my share of effort.

And kids entering informal local races isn’t rare.

But what she did went far beyond that.

She devoted every spare moment to running—sometimes even cutting into sleep and meals…

Living like that, even before full development, a gap was bound to form.

Will earned her current strength at the end of that road.

Of course, talent and innate gifts played a role—but—

There’s no way the desperate, all-out effort she poured in was meaningless.

That’s why she’s on a completely different level. Her foundation is fundamentally different.

What she considers a middle pace is already a high pace for everyone else.

Even her stamina is in a different tier compared to her peers.

That’s why she can pull off something as absurd as breaking away in a massive lead and then launching a late charge.

And that’s why she was able to win the Takarazuka Kinen.

…But.

Despite her overwhelming strength, she fractured the bone in her right leg at the Takarazuka Kinen.

She’d been repeating all-out escapes at roughly a once-a-month pace, and with the race moved earlier than usual, it seems she finally hit her limit.

I tap my phone a few times and open the next article.

"Kikuka Sho Without the Dragon and the Emperor? Hopes Rest on the Third-Class Star of the Star Generation"

The Dragon and the Emperor—half a year ago, they were called the Emperor and the Serpent. The nicknames of the two standout Uma Musume of our generation.

One was Tokai Teio, whose bloodline, talent, and ability stood head and shoulders above the rest.

The other was Hoshino Wilm, the undefeated two-crown Uma Musume.

Their showdown had always drawn attention.

After all, elite lineage versus a star born from humble origins—it was bound to be a hot topic.

In the Satsuki Sho, Will won by a massive eight lengths.

In the Derby, the gap shrank to a nose.

People were saying, “Who knows what’ll happen at the Kikuka Sho?” and getting excited, but—

Teio injured her leg during the Derby.

Then Will strained her muscles, and later fractured her leg at the Takarazuka Kinen.

…Is our generation cursed or something?

More likely, their talent was so absurd that they pushed their bodies past the limit.

Seriously—why are geniuses always like this…?

Still, watching that happen to others is a lesson in itself.

At the very least, I’ll take care of my legs in my own, ordinary way.

If I want a long career—both as a racing Uma Musume and as an Uma Musume in general—I have to.

"Still… ‘the Star Generation,’ huh. They really gave us a grandiose name."

The Star Generation.

That’s the nickname that’s recently taken hold for the generation that includes Hoshino Wilm, Tokai Teio, and me.

Apparently, it started as the Hoshino Generation—the era defined by the unprecedented monster known as Hoshino Wilm.

But she isn’t the only one shining in this generation.

Teio proved that in the Japan Derby.

The strongest isn’t just one person.

So instead of a single star shining alone…

It’s a generation illuminated by countless stars scattered across the night sky.

That, apparently, is where the name “Star Generation” came from.

"Being called a third-class star, though… that’s kind of a mixed bag."

Because of the name Star Generation, it eventually became common to rank the strongest Uma Musume of this era by class.

Based on how strong the public perceives them to be, they’re labeled first-, second-, and third-class stars.

So what does the current ranking look like?

The first-class star is, of course, the Gray Dragon—Hoshino Wilm.

The second-class star is the Emperor chasing at her back, Tokai Teio.

…And the third-class star is me, Nice Nature.

Should I be frustrated that I still can’t reach number one, or happy that I’m considered third among so many stars? It’s hard to say.

Of course, being recognized feels good. It really does—but…

It’s still third place.

In the selection race, I finished third.

In the mock race with Will and Teio, third.

In the mock race with the President and Teio, third.

And even the title they gave me—third-class star.

I really do seem to have a thing with the number three.

No matter how hard I try, it’s always “just a little more.”

I get so close, right to the brink, and still fail to take first.

It’s enough to make you think I’m cursed by the number three.

…But that ends today.

Today, I’m absolutely taking first place.

I’ll become a G1 Uma Musume—and give my trainer the title of G1 Trainer.

"Man, this is bad. I really can’t settle down."

Uncharacteristically, my fighting spirit is burning too hot to stay calm.

I put my phone into sleep mode and stand up.

If I can’t calm down, then there’s no helping it.

Until my trainer gets back, I’ll do some light stretching—just enough to stay loose without putting any strain on my legs.

---

Time passes, and at last it’s just before the start.

We Uma Musume finish our paddock appearances and head out onto the turf.

Waiting to greet us is—

An absolutely overwhelming crowd.

"Whoa…"

I can’t help muttering it under my breath.

Up to now, my record stands at seven wins out of nine starts.

Aside from my early blunder in my maiden debut, and the Wakakoma Stakes where I couldn’t beat Teio, I’ve won every other race I’ve entered.

Especially since July—it’s been five straight wins. In the recent Kyoto Shimbun Hai, I beat Heart Blow Up by three lengths.

Not to brag, but I’ve been riding a serious hot streak. I thought I wouldn’t be rattled by much.

…But the sheer force of the scene before me goes far beyond anything I’d imagined.

"The Kikuka Sho—the final destination of the Classic Road.

In this race to determine the ‘strongest Uma Musume,’ who will emerge victorious?

With hopes that a new star will be born from among the girls known as the Star Generation, a massive crowd of fans has gathered here at Kyoto Racecourse!"

Just like the commentary drifting in from afar says… the crowd is unbelievable.

No matter where I look, it’s nothing but people and Uma Musume.

Every last one of them has packed in here just to catch a glimpse of the race about to begin.

This is what a G1 race is.

The highest stage in the country—a battle to decide the strongest.

Compared to any race I’ve run before, the expectations and hopes hanging over the course are on a completely different level, so thick they feel almost suffocating.

Before I realize it, my body gives a small shiver.

But… yeah. Let’s call this a warrior’s shiver.

"There’s no point getting scared now.

…She’s been fighting on stages like this the whole time."

I murmur the words under my breath and steel myself.

Today is the day of reckoning. I can’t afford to be shaken by something like this.

If I’m not at my best, even a race I could’ve won will slip right through my fingers.

---

The waiting time before the start.

While stretching out on the turf and listening to whatever final words are whispered to the runners, I hear the commentator’s voice carry over from a distance.

"Kyoto Racecourse, right-handed outer course, turf 3000 meters. With the rain from yesterday, the track condition has been announced as yielding.

Without ironclad stamina and the power to conquer Yodo’s Slope, simply finishing this course will be difficult."

Yodo’s Slope at Kyoto Racecourse.

The most distinctive feature of today’s course—and a slope so famous it hardly needs an introduction.

You pass it twice: once early on, and once around the third corner, with a height difference of over four meters.

Just how steep is that?

Well… saying it’s twice as severe as the Nigawa Slope at Hanshin Racecourse should give you a good idea.

For front-running or pace-setting Uma Musume, this slope is an absolute nightmare.

From their perspective—already spending stamina early—the 3000-meter distance is brutally long.

And then, at the very end, when fatigue has piled up from the long haul, they still have to face this uphill climb.

If they’re lucky, they can crest it at a middle pace.

At worst, they slow too much and drop all the way to a low pace.

That’s why there are so few cases of front-runners winning the Kikuka Sho.

Only four in the entire history.

…Three from decades ago, when race theory wasn’t as developed, and one just three years ago.

That number—four—happens to match the total number of Triple Crown Uma Musume in history.

Which pretty much tells you everything you need to know.

The Kikuka Sho is just as unfavorable to front-runners as the Derby—if not more so.

And what makes this slope even trickier is that it affects closers and late-chargers as well.

On this course, the uphill continues into the third corner.

Midway through the turn, the climb finally ends, and from there it becomes a steep downhill—but—

If you carry too much speed, centrifugal force will fling you outward, forcing you off your chosen line.

…With the exception of a very small number of utterly unhinged Uma Musume, racing follows certain established principles.

For example: “the race is decided from the third corner onward.”

Aside from front-runners, pace-setters, mid-pack runners, and closers all need to gradually raise their pace somewhere during the race, push up their position, and be in a place where they can overtake the leader when sprinting down the final straight.

Aggressive strategies or long sprints do exist, but even those usually begin somewhere between the backstretch and the third corner.

Teio—and senior McQueen as well—excel at breaking forward from a strong position at exactly the right moment.

In recent years, that approach has become the standard.

But Yodo’s Slope doesn’t allow it.

Climb the uphill at high speed, and your stamina gets shredded—you won’t have anything left for the final sprint.

Charge down the downhill too fast, and centrifugal force will shove you wide, forcing you to abandon your intended lane.

That’s why accelerating from the third corner at Kyoto Racecourse is dangerous.

The real battle begins after the slope, just before the final corner.

That’s the fundamental nature of the Kikuka Sho.

…By the way, everything up to this point is secondhand—straight from my trainer.

They drilled this course into my head over days of lectures. My prep work is flawless.

Anyway—Yodo’s Slope at the third corner of the Kikuka Sho.

Rushing up it, or rushing down it, is taboo.

The only ones who can break that rule and still win are Uma Musume with truly exceptional talent.

For example, a Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume now running in the Dream Trophy League—Senior Mister C.B.

Or else…

At that moment—

The air ripples, just slightly.

…Or perhaps it’s someone so ridiculously foolish that, after suffering a devastating injury, she still comes back acting like nothing ever happened.

"Now then, a bit behind schedule, today’s star finally steps onto the turf!

A brand-new legend that turns all of the past into the past.

Among these eighteen stars, will the dazzling first-magnitude star once again shatter the impossible today?!"

"There’s no question who the top favorite is!

The undefeated two-crown Uma Musume—Hoshino Wilm!"

The instant she sets foot on the turf, the atmosphere changes.

Without exception, every gaze locks onto her.

The spectators. The commentators. Even us runners.

No one can look away from her presence.

Under the spotlight of countless eyes, walking toward me is—

The most dazzling Uma Musume I know. Like the protagonist of a story.

Chestnut hair reaching her shoulders, with a single lock of dark bay mixed in.

A deep crimson jacket over a black inner layer, and draped across her shoulders, a beautiful gray mantle.

She may be small, but she carries an oppressive presence no one can ignore—the king of our generation.

Hoshino Wilm.

Today, just like always, her face is expressionless.

…At first glance, anyway.

But I’ve known her long enough to tell.

Will—you’re smiling. Just a little.

From the bottom of your heart, happy. Enjoying this.

…And ferocious.

She approaches me at an unhurried pace.

That cadence is exactly the same as it was months ago—

And, finally feeling at ease, I open my mouth.

"Will, I’ve been waiting."

"Yeah. Sorry to keep you, Nature."

A prickling sensation runs over my skin, like being jabbed with needles.

From my closest friend—now standing across from me in an official race for the first time—I feel a fighting spirit I’ve never experienced before.

When we first met, she felt somehow disjointed. Or maybe hollow.

Why do you run? What do you want from running?

She didn’t even seem to think about it—running almost out of obligation.

It might be rude to say, but at the time, I remember thinking she was like a broken machine.

…But now, she’s different.

The fire in her eyes.

The body she’s clearly honed to perfection.

The intense mental focus that seeps through every word and gesture—

More than anyone I’ve ever seen—certainly more than me—

The Will standing here now is the most Uma Musume-like Uma Musume of all.

"Let’s have a good race today, Nature. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll do."

She says that, and holds out her hand to me.

…According to the rumors.

Hoshino Wilm only shakes hands before a race with Uma Musume she acknowledges.

And until now… there had never been a case where she initiated one herself.

The crowd is already going wild, even though the race hasn’t started yet.

Great. I’m definitely getting some weird evaluations again.

After all, I tend to be overrated just by standing near this girl.

Thinking that—oddly calmly—I—

Can’t suppress the icy tension spreading through my entire body.

At last.

I’ve finally made it this far.

To the point where Will—Hoshino Wilm—acknowledges me as a rival.

Where we can clash on the same stage, under the same conditions, both giving it everything we’ve got.

…No, that’s not quite accurate.

Whether Hoshino Wilm can truly give it her all—

That part is still uncertain.

About a month ago—

"We honestly don’t know if Hoshino Wilm can run the way she used to."

That was the first thing my trainer said at the emergency meeting that started barely ten minutes after we learned she’d registered for the Kikuka Sho.

"A fracture is a serious injury. In the worst case, she might not be able to run the way she did before.

And even if she can, being unable to train for over four months is a massive setback. No matter how much rehab she does, there’s no guarantee how much muscle she’s recovered.

On top of that, she’s coming in cold—no prep races, jumping straight into the Kikuka Sho. After such a long absence from G1 competition, there’s a real chance she won’t be at her best.

And the race itself is 3000 meters—a distance she’s never experienced before—with Yodo’s Slope on top of that.

Honestly, it’d be stranger if she ran normally."

It was an entirely reasonable argument.

But knowing my trainer as well as I do, I could tell—

When he talks this long, it always means…

"But we can’t let our guard down."

Right on cue.

Maybe embarrassed at having his thoughts read, my trainer flushed slightly, cleared his throat, and continued.

"Common sense doesn’t apply to Hoshino Wilm.

No matter her condition—no matter what happens—she’s still a threat.

So we’re going to plan for the absolute worst-case scenario.

Assume she comes back even stronger."

…Trainer.

Your concern back then was spot-on.

Will is terrifying right now—more terrifying than she’s ever been.

Her body doesn’t look like it belongs to someone who’s been resting.

Her boldness—barely nervous at all before this G1 stage.

But more than anything else… it’s that smile.

Her lips are definitely curved upward, just a little.

But her eyes aren’t smiling.

No holding back.

I’ll crush you with everything I’ve got.

I’ll trample you, grind you into the dirt, and cross the finish line ahead of you.

Those pale eyes hold a wild, predatory ferocity.

Right now, she’s no different from a beast.

A beast starving for the taste of blood, yet perfectly rational.

Fired up by a long-awaited battlefield, thirsting for victory more than anyone, and delighted by the good fortune of facing a worthy rival.

Honestly, just resisting that aura is all I can manage.

There’s no opening in her now.

She’s complete—so complete that I don’t even know where to begin breaking her down.

…Even so.

I glare straight back into those eyes.

I still don’t have confidence.

I don’t have the kind of hard-earned success that would let me say, from the bottom of my heart, that I can beat her here.

But still… I’m not such a weak Uma Musume that I can’t even run alongside her.

I’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time.

Running step by step with my trainer, all this time.

All so that, in this race, I could surpass her at full strength.

…So that this time, I can finally be number one.

That’s why I—

As one rival Uma Musume standing before Hoshino Wilm, I put on the bravest front I could manage.

"So you’re ‘looking forward to it,’ huh? You’ve got some nerve.

Doesn’t look like someone who’s been in recovery for five months."

"Hehe… well, I have my reasons.

And besides, have you forgotten, Nature? I’m Hoshino Wilm, after all."

I don’t know if she saw through my bravado or not…

But she covered her mouth and laughed, clearly amused.

You didn’t show expressions like that before, did you?

She’s really softened.

And at the same time, she’s become unshakable—no matter what anyone says.

As a friend, that makes me happier than anything.

As a rival, it’s absolutely terrifying.

…Still, “I’m Hoshino Wilm,” huh.

She’s gotten even more dazzling than before—honestly.

She doesn’t have a shred of doubt in herself, or in Horino Trainer, the one who forged her into what she is.

From the bottom of her heart, she believes that no one but them could possibly win.

And yet… frighteningly enough, there’s not a hint of arrogance.

Confidence in oneself and looking down on others are separated by the thinnest of lines.

But even that thin line makes all the difference.

She holds a near-fanatical confidence, yet keeps her eyes firmly on reality.

She fears me. She recognizes me as a threat.

And with that in mind, she intends to crush me with everything she has.

…Good. That’s how it should be, Will.

Otherwise, I couldn’t hold my head high and say I surpassed you.

Now then—let’s begin.

Not just our fight…

But the final, decisive battle of the Star Generation.

---

At the signal to begin loading, I part ways with Will and head to my own gate.

I’m in gate five of bracket three. Will is… gate one of bracket one.

My mind is calm.

And at the same time, fiercely alight.

My rival has come here in peak condition.

…All that’s left is for me to overtake her.

"All runners loaded. Preparations complete."

Alright. Everything is in place.

Think, me.

How do I surpass Hoshino Wilm?

"…And they’re off!"