Although Dr. Grace's experimental adjustment plan had quickly restored Oguri Cap's condition to a level where she could resume pre-race tuning, Shuta An chose to ease her training intensity in the remaining days before the Arima Kinen.
'For Oguri Cap now, the priority isn't increasing her strength—it's regaining her form'
With four G1 titles already under her belt, and considering her Autumn Tenno Sho and Japan Cup performances, Shuta believed that as long as Oguri could handle the 2500-meter distance, she wouldn't need to grow stronger to win. Stability, not risk, was the key.
If we only have a short window, maintaining her peak is safer than pushing for more, he decided.
Because if Oguri Cap won the Arima Kinen, she would become the first Uma Musume in Japan to claim five G1 victories in a single year. With that alone, she would already be guaranteed a place in the Twinkle Series Hall of Fame. Thus, adopting a "no unnecessary gambles" approach, Shuta deliberately dialed down the intensity when drafting her new training plan.
After sending Oguri Cap her schedule, he opened the team's official blog.
The URA Association was already inquiring about her participation. If the poll's top-voted Uma Musume chose not to enter, this year's Arima Kinen would drop to only twelve runners. If she did enter, URA would centre their entire promotion around her. But since her Japan Cup announcement, the blog had gone silent for an entire month.
Shuta glanced at the fans' comments under the previous post, and an idea surfaced—
'Maybe Oguri could write some short entries herself? It might help fans feel even more connected to her.'
But he shelved the thought for now and began writing the official announcement.
"Oguri Cap will run in the Arima Kinen.
Although her condition fluctuated due to two consecutive autumn races, making her participation uncertain, after undergoing the most advanced recovery training based on sports science theory, I—the Trainer—have confirmed her condition is suitable for the Arima Kinen.
The announcement was postponed to today for this reason.
Although 2500 meters will be Oguri Cap's first attempt at this distance, I believe she will handle the Nakayama Slope perfectly.
Please continue to support us. Oguri Cap will deliver a performance worthy of everyone's expectations."
Two paragraphs, neatly written and immediately published. And at the URA Association—
"Phew—finally confirmed for Arima. If he delayed two more days, we wouldn't even have time to start promotion."
The staff grumbled internally at the "habitually last-minute" Shuta An, but quickly sent the report up the chain.
Oguri Cap soon noticed her training intensity was drastically lower than it had been before the Japan Cup. Although curious, she didn't ask.
'Ann must have his reasons. I just need to follow the plan.'
She accepted it without complaint.
The next day during lunch, Shuta suddenly remembered his idea from before and looked at Oguri, who had just sat down.
"By the way, Oguri, can you spare a little time each week?"
"Hmm? Is Ann planning something?" Her ears twitched in confusion. "Isn't preparing for Arima the most important thing right now?"
"Just to write a few personal entries for the team blog—like daily thoughts or interesting trivia about yourself."
He explained gently, "Right now our blog only updates once a month. A lot of fans want to know Oguri better—it feels a bit unfortunate."
"Isn't winning enough?" Oguri muttered. Writing wasn't her strong suit; she would rather run several extra kilometers.
"It's fine if you don't want to." Shuta waved a hand lightly. "It was just a random idea."
"Then I don't want to write," Oguri said honestly. "I'm not good at it."
"Alright, then forget it. Just focus on training."
At that moment, Berno Light chimed in.
"I can write it."
"Berno?" Shuta blinked. After considering it, he nodded. "Will it be too much work for you? You've been busy lately."
"No problem!" Berno declared proudly. "I've already finished gathering opponent data. Even if I don't write weekly reports, I don't have much left to do. Besides, Ann can't expect me to be in the kitchen every day, right?"
"Of course not." Shuta shook his head immediately. "If you want to write, go ahead."
"Any content requirements?" Berno tilted her head. "Or should I keep writing about Oguri?"
"No need to focus only on her. Anything about the team is fine."
After all, the team wasn't just Oguri—even if Berno wanted to talk about her, that was fine too.
"Then I understand!" Berno nodded vigorously.
In the following days, Oguri Cap's fans noticed something surprising—
The Sadalsuud team's blog, normally updated once a month, suddenly began posting daily.
The topics varied widely:
—A photo of Oguri resting on a bench after training
—Her eating habits revealed
—Shuta An's focused expression as he worked
—Berno Light preparing logistical materials
"The Japan Cup announcement had nothing for a month, but now they're updating every day?"
Fans were thrilled with the increased transparency and frequency. However—
An outsider watches the excitement. An insider sees the details.
And among those insiders—Tamamo Cross noticed something in those posts.
Tamamo Cross frowned as she scrolled through the Sadalsuud team's rapidly updated blog.
"Is Oguri Cap's training intensity a bit low?"
She pinched the screen to zoom in. When Shuta An's photo was enlarged, the training notes on his clipboard became readable.
"A bit strange," White Lightning murmured to herself. "This data looks a little worse than it did before the Japan Cup. Did her condition not recover fully after two consecutive autumn races, so he's being cautious?"
Her guess wasn't far off.
"But I'm basically in the same situation. My condition hasn't fully recovered because of the continuous races." Tamamo Cross tapped her finger lightly against her chin. "Maybe I should take a page out of Oguri's book and reduce my training intensity too."
Her gaze turned determined.
"This is my last Twinkle Series race. Instead of trying to force improvements, recovering well might increase my chances in the Arima Kinen."
With that thought, Tamamo Cross contacted her Trainer, Miss Komiyama—
Meanwhile, unaware of Tamamo's actions, Shuta An was examining Oguri Cap's condition through palpation. Berno Light had just finished her work and stepped over to observe, eager to learn from him. Although the training load was reduced, each session was still slightly higher than her previous recovery period. For that reason, Shuta An evaluated Oguri Cap every afternoon.
"The Arima Kinen starts at 3:25 PM Tokyo time. We should have Oguri's condition tuned precisely to match that," he muttered as he gently placed his hand on Oguri Cap's "absolute territory".
To palpate more accurately, he rolled down the edge of her long socks.
"Mm~" The moment he touched her, Oguri Cap instinctively leaned back, her arch tightening, her toes curling.
"You're not that sensitive," Shuta An sighed, half helpless. "You've already gotten used to much more intimate contact than this."
"I haven't gotten used to it—" Oguri Cap mumbled, cheeks tinged red. "Let me do it myself. This is a little embarrassing."
"Alright." He stopped at once and sat back on the sofa. "Oguri, you can handle it."
"Phew—"
Oguri Cap exhaled, then bolted upstairs in a few quick steps. Shuta An expected her to return in a few minutes, so he casually picked up his phone, checking updated information on the Arima Kinen contenders.
Each participating Uma Musume's two-week pre-race data and interviews had already been submitted to URA and released to reporters. Because Shuta An controlled Oguri Cap's training load, her numbers were lower than her Japan Cup lead-up data, causing fans to worry.
By contrast, Tamamo Cross submitted extremely strong numbers—so strong that media analysts were beginning to say White Lightning's winning chances now surpassed Oguri Cap's.
"Still, in this race, Tamamo Cross is the real threat. Dicta Striker's stamina at this distance is questionable. And Super Creek winning the Kikuka Sho at 3000 meters in Kyoto is very different from handling 2500 at Nakayama. Adjustment might be tough for her."
He muttered to himself as he scrolled. More than ten minutes later, Oguri Cap finally returned.
"Eh?"
Shuta An blinked, then rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Oguri Cap had changed out of her casual clothes and was now wearing a thin, loose nightgown. Fortunately, the house had floor heating—otherwise she would be trembling in the winter cold.
"Alright, this is better," Oguri Cap said as she sat back down. She brought her legs together, lifted her skirt just over her knees, and waited.
Shuta An rose, knelt before her again, and cupped her sole with one hand while the fingers of the other pressed along the muscles of her leg. The slight dampness on her foot explained everything.
"No wonder it took a while. She really does take this seriously," he thought.
Berno Light approached, standing beside him, eager to learn. Noticing her interest, Shuta An began explaining each area he checked and how to assess muscle condition. Oguri Cap stayed silent throughout, letting herself be used as an example. When the palpation ended, Shuta An stood up and stretched, rubbing his lower back.
"Hiss—"
"Should I give Ann a massage?" Berno Light offered earnestly.
But considering she had zero massage experience, he immediately refused. "No need. I'll be fine after a little rest. More importantly—Berno, we should go buy ingredients for dinner later."
"Okay!" Berno ran upstairs to change into casual clothes.
Oguri Cap looked up. "Ann, what are the palpation results?"
"Very good," Shuta An replied as he met her gaze. "Even with the training you're doing, there's no damage anywhere. If you maintain this, you'll give your best performance at the Arima Kinen."
"I must give Tama a victory to smile about," Oguri Cap whispered again.
"Then will Oguri be the only one smiling at that time?" The thought drifted through Shuta An's mind without warning. Once Berno Light was ready, he left with her for the supermarket.
"There's less than two weeks until Oguri stands on the Arima Kinen stage," Berno said softly as they walked through the cold Tokyo night.
"Yes. Another year is almost over." Shuta An nodded. "Time really flies."
"This time last year, Oguri decided to focus on Central races. So many people doubted her. But now no one questions whether that was the right decision," Berno Light said, looking up at the empty night sky. "This year has been a dream—for Oguri, for you, and for me."
"Next year will be even better," Shuta An replied, stepping forward to take her hand. "Our goal is to have Oguri surpass that 'Emperor', who's probably still working in the Student Council room at Central right now."
"I believe Oguri can do it." Berno squeezed his hand. "But, Ann—please give me more work next year. Otherwise, I feel like I'm not contributing enough."
"I've never thought that," he said, pulling her gently into his arms. "Berno, you shouldn't undervalue yourself."