Uma Musume: To The Top!!

"Oooooooh!!!"

"The strongest! The strongest!"

"Chasing Light number one!"

"White-Eyed McQueen!!!"

At Nakayama Racecourse, the instant White-Eyed McQueen hit the line, the cheers exploded like a tsunami, loud enough to deafen.

It didn't matter whether they'd been supporting McQueen from the start, or whether they'd had doubts, or whether they were fans of someone else entirely.

Right now, every single one of them was boiling with adrenaline for an Arima Kinen worthy of the history books.

As a Classic Year horse girl, facing elites from two different generations, she had crushed everything with an overwhelming, massive-margin victory, smashing through every attempt to surround and contain her.

Even ten years from now, this race footage would still be replayed again and again by countless newcomers, carved into the long river of Uma Musume history.

Past the finish line.

Plop.

Her powerful stride seemed to have all its strength sucked out the moment she crossed. McQueen's legs buckled, and she dropped to her knees on the turf.

The silver-gray, metal-like streams of light around her cracked like shattered armor, dissolving into specks of starlight that vanished into the air.

"Hah… hng… hng…"

Her breathing rose and fell like a broken bellows, ragged and uneven.

Even so, she forced her heavy eyelids up, her vision blurred as she stared toward the purple figure still standing easily on the ground not far away.

In her mind, the scene from just moments ago would not leave.

A sky so clear it looked freshly washed had expanded out of that White-Eyed McQueen as she flew ahead. In a single instant, that pure white swallowed the entire Nakayama Racecourse.

Willpower at its absolute peak, carrying an irresistible force, had crushed Ryan's newly awakened Domain tracer light and forced it back into her body.

Even if that terrifying, unbelievable spectacle had lasted only a few seconds…

That helplessness, like a mortal staring up at a god, had branded itself into Ryan's heart.

"What… was that?"

The question filled her chest. Even though she was too exhausted to stand, she needed the answer.

Soon.

Thud-thud-thud!

A second or two after Ryan crossed, Yaeno and the other powerhouses followed over the line one after another.

Then, just like Ryan, they showed the same aftermath.

Some could barely brace on their knees and gulp for air. Others collapsed flat on the turf, swallowing oxygen in huge, ugly gasps.

In this Arima Kinen, once they passed 1,500 meters, McQueen had dragged the tempo into the sky.

Every horse girl knew she was outmatched, but none of them could stand the thought of watching the runner ahead explode into another level while they did nothing.

So they all forced their bursts early.

And the result was exactly what you'd expect. Every last one of them hit the line empty and then couldn't move.

In the wreckage of the finish area, only one person stood alone.

Boom!

A loud impact suddenly sounded just ahead and to Ryan's side.

Ryan blinked, her gaze traveling slowly up from the shoes.

A pale hand extended toward her.

"Can you stand, Ryan?"

McQueen asked softly, backlit by the light.

…

Ryan froze for a few seconds, then tugged her mouth into a crooked grin.

She drew a hard breath, squeezed out the last scrap of strength in her body, and reached up to seize McQueen's hand with a vicious grip.

"If you're going to say it like that… then even if my legs are broken, I'm standing up!"

With McQueen's pull, Ryan gritted her teeth and forced herself upright.

Her legs wobbled wildly the moment she was up, but she managed to steady herself.

Even with a horse girl's absurd physique, she had been wrung to the limit.

Now that she was up, she felt the air around them, hot enough to boil, and heard the waves of cheering that rose and fell with "McQueen" again and again.

Ryan scratched the back of her head and laughed, then offered her congratulations from the heart.

"Congrats, McQueen! You won it completely!"

"Yeah. I won."

McQueen didn't bother with humility. She simply nodded, calm as ever.

"Hah, what a brutal loss. Thinking back, all the tough talk I threw out before the race… man, that's honestly embarrassing."

Facing her cool, unshaken clan sister, Ryan actually started to feel self-conscious.

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have said something like, 'I want to see your full power.' Your full power is terrifying."

"So you're not going to challenge me anymore?" McQueen raised an eyebrow and gave a small, amused smile.

"Uh…"

Ryan blinked, then tilted her head like it was obvious.

"Different things! Embarrassing is embarrassing, but I'm not stopping my challenges. Next time I'm coming back stronger!"

"Then why say 'if I'd known'?"

Once McQueen was sure Ryan could stand, she released her hand, gracefully smoothed her cuff, and smiled.

"You've been challenging me from the start of the year to the end, Ryan. You're not the type to back down just because of an 'if I'd known.'"

"…Ahaha. Is that so?"

Ryan laughed it off, but as she looked at McQueen, radiant and untouchable, her smile faded. She suddenly asked, quiet and blunt.

"So… can I challenge you for one more year?"

McQueen paused, violet eyes turning to her. "Why are you asking that?"

"Mm… a hunch."

Ryan met McQueen's eyes and spoke seriously.

"It feels like your strength doesn't belong here anymore."

"Maybe… you won't stay in Central forever."

"After all, your Trainer Kuroha already has major wins from overseas expeditions, right?"

Whether it was that suffocating unknown power from just now, or the way Chasing Light's footprint had already started spreading across the world…

It all made Ryan suspect that her clan sister's gaze was no longer limited to Central.

McQueen didn't answer directly.

Instead, she gave Ryan a playful blink and wore an expression that meant far too much.

Then she turned lightly, her skirt sweeping a graceful arc in the wind as she began her victory lap, responding to the fans who were screaming themselves hoarse.

Ryan was left standing there, blankly watching her back.

"…So is that a yes or a no?"

…

The competitors' tunnel.

The lighting here was dim, and it was quiet, like a different world from the roaring chaos outside.

Kuroha leaned against the wall, waiting in silence.

Suddenly.

Whoosh!

A white flash flickered at the far end of the corridor, followed by a sharp shriek as the air tore.

It was the wind pressure of extreme speed.

A figure shot toward him faster than the eye could track, and yet at the last instant, she displayed frightening control, braking hard.

Horseshoes scraped the floor, kicking up a small gust that fluttered Kuroha's bangs.

A cute horse girl appeared in front of him, cheeks flushed red, her chest rising and falling violently from the sprint.

"Tr… Trainer…"

McQueen lifted her head. Her voice was small, but it was packed with excitement she couldn't suppress.

"I won."

"Yeah. You did great, McQueen."

Kuroha straightened, an indulgent smile on his face. He lifted a hand naturally and gently ruffled the smooth purple hair at her forehead.

But just as he started to pull his hand away-

Tap.

McQueen suddenly reached up with both hands, grabbed his hand on top of her head, and hugged it tight, pinning it there so he couldn't leave.

Kuroha blinked, meeting her eyes.

The purple-haired girl raised those star-bright eyes and stared straight at him. Her tone grew heavier, deliberate, each word clear as she repeated herself.

"I won, Trainer."

…

"So tonight, I'm sleeping in the same room as you too!"

…Is being a straight shooter just your family tradition? Ardan was like this, and you're like this too.

Looking at her expression that said, "If you don't respond properly, I'm not letting go," Kuroha froze for a beat, then shook his head with a helpless laugh.

He lifted his other hand and gently pinched McQueen's soft cheek, voice warm.

"Okay. Got it. Have I ever gone back on a promise to you?"

"Really?!"

Her face instantly lit up, the tension melting into a brilliant smile.

Her small horse ears flicked back and forth on their own, and even her tail wagged in cheerful circles.

"Let's go home, sweetheart."

"Yeah. Home!"

(End of Chapter)

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