Kitasan Black had already thought this Umamusume who'd appeared out of nowhere was… strange. But this was on a whole different level.
For a split second, she even thought that—compared to the girl in front of her—even the famously over-the-top Gold Ship-senpai might come up short.
She was getting kabedon'd for no reason, and that face just kept closing in.
Panicking, Kitasan Black flailed both hands, trying to push Sounds of Earth away as words tumbled out in a mess.
"W-wait! Y-you're way too close—huh? Hold on…!"
She froze mid-sentence. A spark of realization flashed through her mind.
"Nakayama… Nakayama Racecourse? The Arima Kinen?!"
Memory and thought clicked into place, and she gasped.
"So you're Sounds of Earth-senpai—the one entering the Arima Kinen?!"
"Hahaha! I'm honored to be remembered by this year's Kikuka Sho Umamusume. Looks like I'm not without fame."
Sounds of Earth's face brimmed with smug delight as she spoke, lifting the violin that had been pouring out that lingering, beautiful music the whole time.
With practiced ease, she turned it sideways and pressed a button.
In an instant, the melody hanging in the air cut off dead.
Kitasan Black blanked for a moment.
Then her eyes went perfectly round, and she yelped in disbelief.
"Ehh—?! That was a music player?! Senpai… you can't actually play the violin?!"
"Meh. Don't sweat the details. I do practice every day, you know."
Sounds of Earth waved a hand dismissively, as if it were too trivial to mention.
Then, with a dramatic toss of her long brown hair, she turned and strode forward—grand and exaggerated, like a superstar leaving the stage.
Even the cadence of her muttering sounded like a solemn proclamation before a performance began.
"The harmony has already begun. I'm looking forward to it, Kitasan Black."
"Looking forward to the symphony of the Arima Kinen."
Kitasan Black watched her take a few steps, still dazed, and blurted out without thinking,
"B-but—wait—!"
Sounds of Earth didn't turn around. She simply halted in place, tilted her head slightly, and asked with a faintly provocative edge,
"What, then? Have you lost your resolve to make beautiful music?"
"N-no, that's not it!"
Kitasan Black's fighting spirit ignited instantly. She straightened, suddenly brimming with energy.
Clenching her fists, she declared with firm conviction,
"The Arima Kinen… even against my senpais, I'll go all out. I'm not handing the championship to anyone!"
Then an awkward look flickered across her face, and she added hesitantly,
"Only…"
"Only what?" Sounds of Earth pressed.
Kitasan Black gave an embarrassed little smile, scratching her cheek as she spoke softly.
"The song you played just now… the harmony hadn't come in yet."
The moment the words left her mouth, Sounds of Earth's body visibly stiffened.
But only for an instant. She recovered at once.
A breezy, dashing smile returned to her face. She waved again as if nothing had happened and continued striding ahead.
"As expected of an outstanding musician. Then the races to come… I'm even more eager for them now."
Kitasan Black answered on reflex, "O-okay…"
And the moment she said it, she realized something: this odd, inexplicable senpai might be weird as hell, but she was surprisingly easy to talk to.
Especially with how fiercely she seemed to love music—Kitasan Black found herself feeling oddly close to her, wanting to say a little more.
Thinking back to what she'd been mulling over on the walk over, she gathered her courage, stepped forward a couple paces, and asked with a hint of nervousness,
"Um, senpai… can I ask you something?"
At that, Sounds of Earth not only stopped—she turned around slowly.
Curiosity glinted in her eyes as she regarded Kitasan Black with evident interest, her tone light.
"Of course. I'm happy to answer any question from one who pursues music. Ask."
"I want to ask…"
Kitasan Black hesitated, as if pumping herself up, then pushed the words out.
"Do you have a reason to run that belongs only to you?"
"Oh? A good question. Truly, an excellent question."
Sounds of Earth blinked, and interest flared instantly in her gaze.
She tipped her chin up slightly, sinking into thought.
A moment later, as if struck by inspiration, she lifted her violin again and pressed the button on the side.
At once, that lingering melody drifted back into the air.
With the music as her accompaniment, Sounds of Earth bowed slowly. Her expression was solemn and devout, as though she were carrying out a sacred rite.
"Whether it counts as a reason that belongs only to me… I don't know."
"But… no matter how many setbacks I endure, no matter what kind of predicament I face—"
"For those dazzling stars, I will offer my own one-and-only melody."
...
Kitasan Black kept turning that answer over in her head all the way until training began.
Maybe it was completely different from Oguri Cap's idea—but this senpai undeniably had her own unwavering reason to run.
To her, racing was a holy stage for performance. No matter what happened, she would step onto it and play the piece that only she could play.
That, more or less, was the creed the senpai she'd met by chance today seemed to carry.
And looking back at herself, Kitasan Black couldn't help sinking into thought again: what, exactly, was she running for?
Even when she reached the training grounds and began her session out of habit, following Yasui Makoto's instructions, she still didn't have an answer.
But as training went on, she didn't let herself drown in that knot of uncertainty.
Ever since training camp had ended—no, ever since everything she'd lived through since debut—she'd come to understand more and more clearly that the road through the Twinkle Series was nothing like the simple thing she'd imagined as a kid.
Training and races were unquestionably the core, yes—but beyond that lay a whole tangle of complexities.
The injuries that plagued Duramente. The complicated calculations behind the Satono family. The conflict and friction she'd once had with Musee Alien. And now, the question currently gnawing at her…
Some of it she could sort through. Some of it left her completely at sea.
But there was no denying it: all of it was part of the Twinkle Series.
Little by little, she understood that what she could do—just like she'd done before—was this: whether she fully understood it or not, whether she'd unraveled the "why" behind it or not… she had to keep running first.
Besides, she didn't have to face all of it alone.
That evening at dinner after training, just like before, Kitasan Black told Yasui Makoto everything—her chance encounter with Sounds of Earth, and her earlier talk with Oguri Cap—start to finish.
When she finished, she scratched her head with a sheepish grin.
"Hehe. It feels like I'm kind of slacking off. Like… whenever I can't figure something out, I can just hand it over to you, Trainer."
"So… I'm really glad you're here."