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No matter how much she urged her legs, Haru Urara couldn't make it to the Uma in 15th place. The distance between them grew and grew. Each time her feet hit the turf, she felt a tingle go up her legs. Training had never made that fully go away - never made her anything less than a dirt horse. Once her mind went into panic mode over being unable to catch up, all the tips on how to cope with the difference faded away.
All she could do was run, even though she couldn't run enough to make up for this.
Tens of thousands of people had voted for her to take part in this race, the whole stadium was cheering, yet she was the last one past the finish line by a large margin. She wasn't sure an audience had waited so long for a race to finish before today.
But, hey, that just meant the fun lasted longer than usual, right...?
Even though people don't just come to watch Umamusume run, but to run fast.
Running was what Urara found fun, but the audience found watching the best runners fun, and the Arima Kinen was the pinnacle of that entertainment.
That upset peer was right. She... took a spot away from someone more deserving! She wasted all her fans' time - and the time of everyone else who was here to see a good race!
No matter the encouraging words her trainer gave - her trainer was supposed to encourage her anyway, that's what trainers did, it didn't mean anything deeper than that - Haru Urara didn't believe it and kept crying.
But she did believe one thing:
She couldn't let this failure be repeated.
The moment the door closed, the lights in the room came on. Urara winced - then winced again from the sudden pain triggered - and couldn't bring herself to turn around. In fairness, half of that was not due to the nerves, but of the ache in her right leg. She'd limped all the way from the training course - and she thought she'd done it pretty stealthily, too.
Unfortunately, no amount of tippy-toe quiet limping would ever cover up the fact that she hadn't been in her bed all night. All it would take was King Halo to have to wake up and go to the bathroom once and she would've realized what was happening.
Unbeknownst to Urara, King had already figured things out long before then. For the past few days - ever since Urara ran and lost the Arima Kinen - Urara was training and training hard. She would train without her trainer, she would train during mealtimes, and she would train all the way until curfew. When she started going missing at night, it was a no brainer the reason why.
Tonight was when King would finally confront her about it. She'd let the foolishness go on long enough, hoping someone else would interfere or Urara herself would snap out of it. But watching Urara limp around the track and even collapse a few times from the bedroom window, she realized it had to come to an end now.
Otherwise, Haru Urara might never run again.
"And where might you have been?" she started, giving Urara a chance to redeem herself a little.
Instead, Urara sheepishly rubbed her head and made the careful twirl around to face King. "Ah, King... I'm sorry, did I wake you? I was just going to try scavenging for a late night snack-"
"In your track clothes?" King crossed her arms, the moment of mercy having passed. "Don't bother coming up with lies, I've been watching you the past few nights. I know you're training yourself to death. Assure me I don't have to duck tape you to your bed."
Ah, she caught me. And I dunno how to get out of this one...
Still, Urara forced one of her signature smiles. "No need to talk like that, King, everything's fine! I was starting to feel tired out anyway, so I'll be more careful with training from now on. And I'll make sure to sleep at night, too-"
"I don't believe you."
Urara paused, her smile falling a bit, as she stared into one of the iciest glares she's ever seen from King. It was a pretty rare display, given her goal of appearing as nobly as possible, and could give fellow students like Narita Brian or Narita Taishin a run for their money.
Ah, I messed up somewhere, didn't I?
"After what I have seen, I don't believe you will just back off because I scolded you," King continued. "I watched you during your race, too, and directly afterwards. I even spoke with your trainer. It was a traumatic loss, wasn't it? And now you're desperate to climb back from it, fatigue be damned. And I'm telling you, you are training yourself to death. If you thought your performance during the Arima Kinen was bad, just try racing a pre-op dirt race after this."
Clenching her fists involuntarily, Urara replied a bit forcefully, "I'm okay, King. Really! Just a little tired, but I still feel energy in me. I can keep going. I can keep running. You don't have to worry about me."
"You know everyone loses eventually, right? Even the school president. You're so lucky to have just won enough races to garner enough fans to qualify for Arima Kinen, Urara. Please." King bit her wavering lip. "Please don't throw away your whole career over this. Rest your leg - your whole body, more like - for a bit, then talk with your trainer about the future."
Just before Urara could get another protest out, King lowered her head and added, "I know what it's like to be an embarrassment. To fall short, no matter how much you push yourself. When I tell you to take a break, it's not because I'm saying to quit altogether. I'm trying to tell you that to improve, you have to plan smarter, and accept those weaknesses, not fight them."
Urara blinked. King was acting as if she were a monumental loser, but Urara had only known her as a shining star. She ran so well in her races, even those that she didn't take first place. She even once went out of her comfort zone and tried-
Ah. That was what she meant. Umamusume were built to run, but different Umamusume were built to run differently. That's why there were so many different tracks and race courses. And when an Umamusume tried something out of their comfort zone, it took an exceptional amount of training to pull off. Even then, they were competing against those that were naturally, biologically tailored to the race, so...
Urara promised this was the last she would bite back her pain as she winced and limped her way to where King was standing. Taking King's hands in her own, Urara flashed a smile - genuine this time - that stopped King's budding retort in its tracks.
"You're right," Urara said. "I've been acting silly lately, and lost sight of why I race. Everyone knew my track record when they voted me for the Arima Kinen, but they wanted to see me try it anyway. But there's a G1 dirt race around the same time as Arima Kinen, right? I think I'll tell my trainer that that should be the goal from now on. So I promise to take better care of my body until then, and... Promise to come see me race it?"
After taking in Urara's words and the true warmth behind them, King matched the smile and replied, "Of course. I wouldn't miss any of your races."
With that, Urara finally collapsed, and King did her the favor of dragging her into bed and tucking her in.