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Rice Shower was bubbling with anticipation as she stood in the stands of the Nakayama Racecourse.
It was the end of December, which meant that it was the time when the most anticipated race for any umamusume came around. The people around her were excitedly chattering about who their favourite was to win today's race, the Arima Kinen.
Rice already knew who she was rooting for. She looked towards the starting gate, where the runners were already lined up and preparing themselves, and she saw a flash of familiar pink hair in the third gate. At that moment, the runner looked up at her, and a bright smile immediately spread across her face as she waved excitedly to Rice.
This was the first race that Urara was running in since she and Rice had started officially dating. After Rice delivered an extremely flustered and awkward confession of her feelings, Urara had squealed, sparkles in her eyes from her excitement. "Does this mean that Rice is my girlfriend now? I can't wait to go on lots of dates!"
And now Rice was getting to watch Urara run, knowing that the girl on the racecourse was her girlfriend. There was no better feeling in the world.
"Welcome to this year's Arima Kinen, the race that so many umamusume dream about winning! It's a chilly day here at the Nakayama Racecourse, and our runners are preparing for 2500 metres on firm turf. Our favourites for this race are..."
Rice was barely able to focus on the commentator's voice, she was too enthralled by watching Urara stretching in her gate, that signature bright smile still on her face. She was certain that she could just watch Urara go about her daily life for hours and never get bored. Even when they were sitting in the cafeteria together, Rice would sometimes just catch herself staring at Urara, admiring her smile as she ate her food and rambled about her day.
"And the gates are open, let the Arima Kinen begin!"
The racers were immediately dashing down the course, and from the beginning, Urara was trailing behind the others. Rice could see that she was struggling, and she supposed that wasn't all that surprising, all things considered. Urara was a sprinter, and she wasn't used to running on turf courses. The other runners were inherently at an advantage over her, but regardless of this race being outside of her comfort zone, Urara had still been intent on wanting to compete, and she had worked endlessly with her trainer to prepare for this moment.
They had made it to the first corner, and Urara was still trailing far behind everyone else. Rice was watching intently, feeling her heart pounding in her chest as she cheered Urara on under her breath. She wanted nothing more than to see Urara pass the finish line with a huge smile on her face, regardless of what place she came in.
As the runners were approaching the final corner, Rice could see Urara gearing up to pick up her pace. That adorable look of determination crossed over her face, and suddenly she was sprinting down the final stretch, having spent the entire race up until that point preserving her energy. Rice's eyes widened as she watched Urara pass the runner in front of her, and then the next runner after that.
She couldn't help herself from cheering. "Urara! You can do it! I believe in you!"
Urara's eyes snapped up towards the stands, seeing Rice watching her intently, and the brightest smile that Rice had ever seen spread across her face before she surged forward again, passing another two runners ahead of her.
It was the most beautiful that Urara had ever looked, Rice was certain.
She looked unstoppable.
"Mejiro McQueen has passed through the finish line! This year's Arima Kinen goes to Mejiro McQueen!"
The announcement that someone else had already taken first place didn't seem to deter Urara in the slightest as she continued to run at top speed, until finally…
Urara bolted past the finish line, and even though the majority of the audience didn't feel the need to cheer overwhelmingly for the runner in seventh place, Rice was clapping and shouting excited congratulations to her favourite runner, feeling immense pride knowing that the girl who had just completed the race was her girlfriend.
She could see the sweat dripping down Urara's forehead as she looked back up to the stands, and upon seeing the smile on Rice's face, offered her an even bigger one in return, reaching both her hands out to wave at her. Rice leaned into the railing, reaching a hand out to wave as well, wishing that she could reach across the distance between them to hold Urara's hand.
Before she had the time to talk herself out of it, Rice found herself pushing through the crowd around her, wanting to get closer to Urara, even if she couldn't reach her yet. Urara seemed to realize what she was doing, and she also started bolting in the same direction as Rice, wanting to meet her as well. They were racing towards each other as if they were in some kind of romance movie, and the sentimentality of the moment made Rice's heart race.
When they finally managed to reach each other at the bottom of the stands, Urara immediately tackled Rice into a hug, and Rice was quick to reciprocate the affection, both of them laughing and squealing in excitement. "Congratulations, Urara! You did amazing!"
"I was able to do it because you were cheering me on, Rice!"
And then, before Rice even had a chance to react, Urara was leaning in, cupping Rice's cheeks in her hands and pressing their lips together in a soft, sweet kiss. It was everything that Rice imagined a kiss from Urara would be. Her eyes were wide for a moment, surprised by the sudden forwardness, but it only took her a moment before she was leaning in, thinking to herself that she was truly fortunate that she was the one who got to kiss a girl as adorable and wonderful as Urara.
When Urara pulled back, it took Rice a moment to collect herself, her eyes fluttering open again, and it made her heart flutter to see that Urara's cheeks were flushed a soft shade of pink, making it obvious that the kiss had affected her just as much as it had Rice.
"Hi," Urara whispered with a smile, her voice softer than usual.
Rice giggled. "Hi."
Urara reached out and grabbed Rice's hand, tangling their fingers together. "Have you ever kissed someone before, Rice?"
The sudden question made Rice blush, and she shook her head. "No, not before now."
Urara's smile brightened even more than usual, and she squeezed Rice's hand a bit tighter, leaning in closer. "Hehe, I'm glad! That means that we gave each other our first kisses!"
Rice decided she really liked the sound of that. She decided that she wanted to give Urara so much more than just her first kiss. She wanted to give Urara every kiss after that as well, she wanted Urara to be the only person that she ever kissed in her life, and she desperately hoped that Urara would never kiss anyone else, either.
And so when Urara leaned in to press her lips against Rice's once more, Rice was happy to reciprocate.
Seventh place had never felt so special.