Oguri Cap had always believed that, when it came to training, she'd been the steady, down-to-earth type.
And the Umamusume who could clash with her head-on on the track—who could even beat her—were the same kind of runners: earnest, grounded, always pushing forward.
That was why, during this stretch of teaching cooking, she gave it everything she had, holding nothing back as she passed on every bit of technique she knew to Kitasan Black.
After the carrots, she demonstrated how to handle the other ingredients, too—stir-frying, pan-searing, simmering. Oguri Cap always went first.
Her hands were sure and practiced, her movements flowing cleanly from one to the next, her focus so intense it felt like she'd stepped back onto the track.
She explained every step with care—how to judge the heat, how much seasoning to add—leaving nothing out.
When she finished a demonstration, she watched Kitasan Black patiently and urged her to try.
Kitasan Black learned with the same seriousness. Her eyes tracked Oguri Cap's every move, and she copied each step with impressive form.
Before long, an irresistible aroma spread through the kitchen.
It teased at the senses like an invisible hand. Kitasan Black couldn't help taking a deep breath, then looked at Oguri Cap with pure admiration.
"O-Oguri-senpai… your cooking is seriously incredible. It's, it's…"
She racked her brain, searching for the perfect description.
After wrestling with it for a while, she finally blurted, loud and proud, "It's just like you on the track—amazing!"
Oguri Cap smiled softly and shook her head.
"It's not just me. We made it together."
"So you too, Kita-chan—whether it's cooking or racing, you're impressive."
"And there's still dessert. Shall we keep going?"
"Mm-hm! I'll do my best!"
Kitasan Black nodded excitedly and followed along as they moved on to dessert. Then, as she worked, she suddenly remembered something and glanced at Oguri Cap with curiosity.
"Right—Oguri-senpai, and Tamamo-senpai and the others… how are you planning to help Crown-chan?"
"About that…"
Oguri Cap paused, thinking for a moment.
"Inari probably knows more, since she's still involved with races."
"So Tama, Super Creek, and I can probably only help Crown-san with a few practice runs… maybe a partner run."
"For everything else, we'll have to listen to what Inari says."
"Of course, it also depends on how her trainer wants to arrange things—I mean Crown-san's trainer."
"I see…"
Kitasan Black nodded, thoughtful. Then, thinking of how her friend had missed the Kikuka Sho, she let out a quiet sigh.
"Hm? Is something wrong?" Oguri Cap looked a little surprised. After a moment, she ventured, "Are you… worried about your own race?"
"Your next one is… the Arima Kinen, right?"
"Ah? Ah… no—well, not exactly—no, I am worried."
Kitasan Black hesitated. She figured her friend's situation was better left to Crown-chan herself. But at the same time, even though she'd been resting these past few days, she really had been thinking about the Arima Kinen, too, so she changed course.
"As for the Arima Kinen… I don't even know if Crown-chan can enter it. I really want to run it with her, but…"
Her eyes suddenly lit up—uncertainty tangled with anticipation.
"But no matter what, at the Arima Kinen, I'm going to face you senpais head-on!"
"You want to challenge the senpais?" Oguri Cap asked with a smile.
"Yes!"
Kitasan Black nodded hard, her voice rising with excitement.
"I've always wanted to run the Arima Kinen—I just never imagined I'd get the chance in my Classic year!"
"My dream is to run a race that makes everyone happy… a race that really moves them, the way Teio-senpai did!"
"Just like her Arima Kinen back then!"
Oguri Cap nodded lightly, admiration in her eyes as she spoke with feeling.
"Tokai Teio… Yeah. If anyone watched that Arima Kinen, I think they'd feel happy—moved—no matter who they were."
"Mm-hm! Exactly!"
Kitasan Black nodded again, then suddenly looked at Oguri Cap with a new kind of curiosity.
"Oguri-senpai, I… can I ask what it felt like, when you ran the Arima Kinen back then?"
She paused, pressed her lips together, and a flash of resolve passed through her gaze.
"Actually—actually, what I really want to ask is…"
"Oguri-senpai, how do you think I should run… to win this year's Arima Kinen?"
For Kitasan Black, the Arima Kinen had always been something she looked forward to—almost unbearably so.
Maybe at first, she hadn't even noticed it. It had been only a tiny spark, lit by the figure she admired.
But after the Kikuka Sho, after these few days of letting her body and mind relax and cool down, that spark hadn't gone out.
It had flared brighter.
Again and again, she found herself thinking back on the endless, day-by-day training, the races she'd run one after another. Without realizing it, she'd begun to crave victory more and more.
Oguri Cap stopped what she was doing. She stood still, lifted her chin, and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. Then she turned back—slowly—and fixed Kitasan Black in a steady gaze.
As her eyes settled on those crimson irises, for a split second she saw something achingly familiar—something she'd known before.
"…So you've started to hunger for the win?" she murmured without thinking, her voice low and oddly layered.
"…Senpai? What did you say…?" Still wrapped up in her own excitement, Kitasan Black hadn't caught the quiet words.
"It's nothing… no, wait. What I mean is…"
Oguri Cap turned fully to face her. Her expression grew serious, her eyes sharpening with a different kind of focus.
"Why do you want to win the Arima Kinen?"
"Ah? Th-that…"
The question hit out of nowhere. Kitasan Black opened her mouth on instinct—and suddenly, from the senpai in front of her, she felt something strange. A presence. A pressure that didn't need to be loud to be heavy.
She froze for a beat, her momentum faltering, and she murmured without thinking:
"I… I already said it, didn't I? I… I want to run a race like Teio-senpai…"
"Mm. And what else?"
Oguri Cap didn't react to the answer. She simply pressed on, calm and intent.
Her eyes stayed locked on her kouhai's face, as if she were trying to dig out what lay at the very bottom of her heart.
"Something else…"
Not understanding what Oguri Cap was getting at, Kitasan Black kept speaking, half-murmuring.
"Grandpa… Grandpa always says I'm outstanding, so I have to keep winning. I can't let him down…"
"Oh—and Crown-chan and the others, and Dura-chan, and Musee-chan and them too…"
"I feel like… only if I win the Arima Kinen—or more big races—can we keep running side by side on the track…"
"And of course, my trainer…"
"He's put so much into me. If I don't give everything I have and win, how could I ever repay all the effort he's spent on me?"
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