Chapter 15: To Say “I’m Home”
I still don’t like being inside the gate.
It’s cramped. Dark. You can only go forward. You can’t go back.
Those humans look like they want us to calm down, as if that’s possible.
T Here, we’re being pushed into a place where a single next step might change my fate.
December at Nakayama. 1600m turf.
The Turquoise Stakes. Fillies only, Grade III.
A Grade 3 race for fillies and mares.
Where strong horses gather, it usually means troublesome horses gather too.
“Wow, it’s my first time meeting you, Auntie.”
A high-pitched, piercing voice came from my right.
She has eyes that practically scream, “Aren’t I cute?” She’s young.
The brat in the outer gate chimed in too.
“You’re retiring, right? Want me to let you win?”
From the other side came a thin, sneering voice.
“Hey, don’t stumble and bump into me, okay? You’ll just be in the way.”
“Auntie, don’t push yourself too hard. Just take a nice lap around the track and finish gracefully.”
Giggles spread through the gates.
Looking down on me, huh?
How very young.
Well, that’s fine.
That’s the kind of place a racetrack is.
If kindness alone could win races, nobody would struggle.
But—
A hand lightly taps the back of my neck.
“Okay, okay. Save the fighting for later.”
Chloe.
The human riding me today.
But she’s more than just light.
I can tell.
Inside her, she has an unwavering core of steel.
She just doesn’t show it.
Leave it to me.
That’s what she’d said earlier.
And from that touch alone, I knew it wasn’t just bravado.
The question was whether I could keep up.
Half of me thought:
I’ll do it.
The other half thought:
I’m scared.
The fanfare was playing.
Longest tune I’d ever heard.
Honestly, it was annoying.
The atmosphere changed.
The other horses, who were bleating just a moment ago, are now all looking straight ahead.
Whether they’re making fun of me or laughing at me, I have to change my mindset now.
Any horse that couldn’t wasn’t running in a graded stakes race.
To be honest, I don’t know if we can win.
There was no secret trick to winning a graded race.
I shifted my front hoof.
Chloe lightly flexed the reins.
“Ready?”
…
CLANG!!
The world burst open.
Soft turf—not dirt, not sand—spread beneath my hooves.
My body launched forward before my thoughts could catch up.
No. I didn’t launch. Chloe launched me.
A fraction of a heartbeat ahead of me, with the tip of the reins, while on the saddle, with the weight of her entire body, she sent a signal before my front legs could react.
Go.
It wasn’t an order; it was a declaration.
And if that’s what it was—
How could I not go?
“Whoa, Auntie, you’re so fast!?”
The brat on my right yelped.
“Huh!? Isn’t she going way too hard!?”
I don’t have time to deal with that.
Within two strides, I was in front.
Forward.
Forward.
Forward.
Chloe’s center of gravity was completely committed.
No hesitation.
Ah, I get it.
She’s really going to do it.
“Let’s go, Stone!”
Like I needed to be told.
Take the lead before the first turn?
No. Not something that cute.
We widened the gap.
I surged so far ahead it looked like I was running a completely different race all by myself.
The crowd erupted.
“What the heck is that!?”
“Is she insane!?”
Run.
Just run.
And not a normal front-running strategy.
A breakaway.
A runaway lead.
Chloe’s hands never said hold back.
They said:
Go.
So I went.
The wind slammed directly into my face.
“Wait, wait, what is she doing!?”
“Forget her!”
“Let her go!”
“She’ll collapse anyway!”
Good.
That’s exactly what I wanted.
Hesitate between chasing me or leaving me alone
Spend a little extra energy while you decide. Use your legs. Disrupt your breathing a little. Wear down your spirit. Even a little.
Chloe’s voice drifted down.
“Good. Just like that.”
Good, she says.
Ridiculous human.
Does she know how much effort I’m using?
No. She knows. She probably understands better than I do.
I know it too. This gap won’t last forever.
Spend too much early, and it becomes debt.
And debt always comes due. That’s how it is racing.
We headed toward the third turn.
My breathing deepened.
Still in front.
Still alone.
The others were still far behind.
The grandstand roared.
Then, through the noise, I thought I heard a familiar voice.
The kid.
Maybe it was my imagination.
But I knew.
He was probably making a face right now.
Thinking:
”Uh… isn’t this a little too much?”
And yet unable to look away as he shouted.
Watch closely.
This is where it starts.
The real hell begins here.
Third turn.
Fourth turn.
Nakayama’s curves feel awful.
Relax too much and you’ll drift wide all by yourself.
Put your strength inward, forward, and straight.
My legs grew a little heavier.
There it is.
This is where It starts.
The consequences of pushing ourselves too hard up to this point will inevitably catch up to us in the end. There’s no way they won’t. That’s the plan, after all.
For the first time, Chloe sat me up slightly.
The reins and her hips told me:
Give me one more gear.
As if I could, you idiot.
That’s what I thought, but I have no choice but to do it.
The home stretch.
The view opened up.
And instantly, the presence behind me thickened.
They’re here.
Of course they are. They came here to win a graded race too, naturally.
“Catch her!”
“She’s stopping!”
“Now’s our chance!”
“What is with that auntie!?”
How should I know?
Pass me if you can.
Nakayama’s short stretch looked absurdly long today.
My lungs are burning.
My throat felt like fire.
But I was still in front.
Still leading.
Three hundred meters left.
At last, Chloe’s hands ignited a real fire within me.
“Not yet!”
One crack of the whip.
It’s not so much pain as a signal. It’s a final blow to break down the last door, indicating that from here on out, there’s no room for bluffing.
I clenched my teeth and thrust my neck forward.
Still first.
Still in the lead.
But the gap will close. It will close. It will close.
One horse was coming.
I could hear the sharp sound of a powerful final sprint.
Maybe it was one of the ones who was laughing at the gate earlier. I don’t have time to look at his face.
Another huge presence surged up from the outside.
Damn.
You’re still full of energy.
Two hundred meters left.
There’s a hill up ahead.
Nakayama’s hill stood before me like a wall.
Damn it. I knew it. I knew it was there. But I still hated it. Don’t rise up right now. Read the room.
My legs are slowing down. Clearly slowing down. The people behind me are gaining momentum. The cheers are getting louder.
They’re going to catch me.
For an instant, I thought so.
This is it.
After all, a graded stakes race wasn’t the kind of place a horse like me—one that had only just reached Open class—could conquer on momentum alone.
“Stone!”
Chloe’s voice grew sharper.
A signal through my back.
I answered.
…I think I’m answering.
But my legs feel heavy.
No, heavier than heavy.
Lead.
As if nails were pinning me to the ground.
My lungs felt ready to burst.
The edges of my vision flickered white.
Maybe this was really the end.
Then I heard voices behind me.
“Got her!”
“It’s over!”
Over?
For who?
Me?
Here?
Don’t screw with me.
I’m going home.
I’m going to say:
”I’m home.”
With my head held high.
Not looking like a beaten dog.
Looking forward.
“…Who the hell do you think I am…?!”
Something almost like a scream escaped my throat.
At that instant—
The whip came down.
Once.
It was sharp, but not deep. More like a spark than pain.
It’s Chloe.
One strike that forcibly dragged my I can’t anymore back to its feet.
“Go!”
Short.
But enough.
Somewhere inside my body, in a place that should’ve been empty, a little bit of strength appeared.
One hundred fifty meters left.
My legs still are still moving.
At the very last moment, a strength I didn’t know where it had been sprung from the tips of my hooves.
I could feel Chloe’s breath quicken for a moment, as if she was surprised.
Hey.
Don’t be surprised now.
But the next moment, I thought she I heard her laugh.
“Okay, okay! So that’s how you’re going to be!”
Another whip.
Behind me, I could feel the unmistakable presence of someone who had come to win.
One hundred meters left.
Someone surged up on my right.
“I’ve got it!!”
No, you don’t.
I could still see only one thing.
The finish line.
Reach that, and it’s over.
Reach that, and I can go home.
I can treat the old man and the kid to something delicious.
Fifty meters.
Someone came from the left too.
Both sides of my vision filled.
Their momentum was better. Their class was better. Anyone can see that under normal circumstances, this would be the end.
Ah, so this is a graded race.
But—
Everyone has the same pained expression on their face.
Everyone was suffering.
In that case, it all comes down to sheer determination.
“GET OUT OF MY WAYYYYYY!!”
With a voiceless scream, I stretched my neck low.
I had nothing left.
I shoved my shoulders forward through sheer stubbornness.
Extended my nose through sheer stubbornness.
Scraped at the ground through sheer stubbornness.
One of the horses beside me cried out in surprise.
“You’re STILL coming!?”
Of course I am.
Today, of all days.
Today, I have to.
The three of us were almost perfectly lined up.
The crowd’s roar was deafening.
I couldn’t make out a single word.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!”
I don’t know who shouted.
Maybe a human.
Maybe me.
Maybe one of the horses beside me.
But all of it blasted forward together.
And then—
The finish post vanished from view.
I past it.
Through it.
It’s over.
The moment it happened, all the strength drained from the world.
My legs are still moving. I can’t stop. I’ll keep running for a while, maintaining the momentum of the race. But I’ve already crossed the line of victory.
Did I win?
Did I lose?
Honestly, I couldn’t tell.
It had been that close. Even I didn’t know.
All I knew was that Chloe kept patting my neck.
“Wow! Amazing! You’re amazing!!”
Her voice was genuinely excited.
Ah.
So that’s it.
I did it.
My breathing was ragged.
My chest hurt.
My legs hurt.
I don’t want to take another step.
But somehow I felt so good it was almost terrible.
I slowed down my pace and took a huge breath.
The brat from earlier caught up from behind.
“…Seriously, Auntie?”
Oh.
So it was you beside me.
His voice was hoarse. Well, that’s to be expected, you were pushing yourself to the very limit too.
“Weren’t you going to let me win?”
When I said it with a laugh, he lowered his ears in frustration.
“This sucks…”
“Sorry for surprising you with the strategy.”
“Seriously… but…”
I thought I saw him smile a little.
“That was cool.”
I snorted.
“Damn right.”
As we headed back toward the weighing room, I saw the giant results board.
First Place—
My number was there.
By the smallest margin imaginable.
Really.
Ah… I don’t think I’ll ever win another race like that.
But first is first.
Chloe was smiling happily.
“See? That’s why I said we should go with the fun option.”
You never actually said that, I thought.
But whatever.
I can barely make a sound, but I let out a small cry to let her know, “Don’t forget to sign the autograph.”
That kid really wanted it.
“I know. he even brought the autograph board.”
…What?
Can she really understand me?
“Just a feeling, you know.”
She winked.
The truly elite are something else.
“wow, Auntie, you were amazing!”
“Auntie, are your legs okay!?”
“Auntie, run one more race before retiring!”
“Hey, person riding Auntie! Ride me next time!”
The horses from the race shouted whatever they wanted around me.
Maybe it sounded like they were changing their tune.
But the world of horses is a meritocracy.
Nobody cares.
Still—
“Quit calling me Auntie! I’m only one or two years older than you!”
The youngsters scattered, laughing loudly.
Honestly. They’re no different from foals.