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Despite what many would claim, Matikanefukukitaru wasn't superstitious.
No, what she was doing wasn't superstition. It was all a carefully thought-out ritual that would surely bring her to victory. From the second she stepped into Hanshin Racecourse, every action was part of a carefully designed plan to maximize her fortune. For example, she had to do a lot of backtracking on her walk from the front gate to her room through the many hallways of the racecourse. It was long and meticulous, but she ensured that she stepped foot into her room with exactly 7,777 steps.
Why 7,777? Because that was the number of steps that would ensure the best fortune. 7,776 would have been in poor taste, an insult to the Spirits who guided her every step and gave haste to her sprints. But 7,778 would have been in equally poor taste, an insult of begging for the attention of the great Spirits. And if the great Shiraoki-Sama caught wind of the disgrace?
"AAAAAAHHH!"
The thought of it alone was enough to bring Fukukitaru to a high-pitched scream of pure terror. Her hands shook as she shot off quick incantations to expel the thought from her mind. To cloud her mind with such thoughts before a race like today would cause her to lose. Her calm returned eventually, with enough purification of her thoughts.
The Kobe Shimbun Hai. The path to the Kikuka Sho, which was outlined to her so clearly by the ever-benevolent Shiraoki-Sama. If she wished to maintain her great fortune and her zealous following of whatever was willed for her path, then Fukukitaru needed to run—and win—the Kobe Shimbun Hai.
Except there was just one minor problem, surely a slight oversight by the great Shiraoki-Sama: Silence Suzuka was set to run in today's race.
Which is why she needed to maximize her fortune today. No slip-ups! One slip-up, one minorly agitated spirit, and she would lose. If she lost, it was unlikely she would be able to enter the Kikuka Sho, and her path…
She nearly broke into another scream of terror if the sound of her door opening didn't catch her attention. It was her trainer, decorated with every good-luck charm that she was willing to donate for today. The various accessories jingled all over his body as he stepped into the room, water bottle in hand.
"Wait!" Fukukitaru shouted, diving forwards and snatching the bottle from her trainer's hand before he could carelessly set it down on the desk. He flinched, but was unresistant to her sudden seizure. The bottle wasn't pure; it had to be quickly purified before it could grace any surface in the room, and it had to be in the right spot.
"Glory…Glory of the Tree…of the flowing River…of the stalk of Grass…" Fukukitaru muttered, waving her hand around the bottle while holding it up high with the other. As her hand calmed, her bright, orange eyes glared at the bottle. Staring at it with a sharpened gaze that'd terrify any misfortune still lurking within into silence.
"It's safe." She solemnly declared, before carefully taking a sip from it and setting it down on the table in her room. Her trainer watched on awkwardly, having chosen to give her enough space to complete all of her rituals (he was standing somewhere odd, it'd be a small impurity in her plan for maximum good fortune, but it was so minuscule it probably wouldn't make a difference).
"Have you been doing your warm-ups, Fuku?" her trainer asked while the orange-haired Uma was in the middle of a low incantation, kneeling on the ground. Her ears perked up, and she glanced up at the trainer.
"Of course!" she beamed back. "I woke up extra early today to get it all done!"
Her trainer seemed pleased, smiling to himself. "So you're all stretched out and-"
"No!" In the same chipper tone that Fukukitaru had started in, she cut her trainer off and continued. "Stretching isn't going to help me! I'm not even running in the race today. No, today I've become a vessel of great fortune that'll carry me to victory! I even drank the milk I got from a surprise raffle today, I could feel the luck radiating from it!"
…he shouldn't have expected much more from her. He had become well accustomed to her eccentricities throughout her junior year, but now it just felt like it was getting ridiculous. But she was performing at her peak, and she was on track to have a good showing this year, so…
Whatever made her run better, he reasoned. Fukukitaru hopped up, seemingly content with all of her rituals. Glancing at the clock in the room, she was making good time. She'd be expected in the paddock in about five minutes.
"I'm off, trainer!" She was already marching out the door, and he swore he could hear the counting of footsteps beneath her breath as she made her way out.
· ─ ·✶· ─ ·
…773, 774, 775, 776, 777. Perfect!
Matikanefukukitaru planted her feet square in the middle of the stage, staring out at the crowd that had gathered today, which greeted her with a wave of cheers. Even though she should've been focused on the crowd at the moment (their energy was dripping with luck that she needed to soak in, after all), she couldn't help but spare a glance at the other runners standing around the turf in the middle of various stretches and warmup routines. She didn't need anything like that. She had nothing but Fortune to rely on today.
Pacing around the area she had been given to warm up in today, she couldn't help but shake the feeling that someone was watching her. The entire crowd had their eyes on all the racers, but there was something specifically looking at her. Some gaze that pierced through all of it.
Her eyes trailed along the crowd to see someone. Someone who shouldn't have been there.
"Bis sis…?" Fukukitaru unwillingly muttered out, staring for a moment. Her eyes blinked, and she was gone.
So she was watching today. Of course, she would be watching today. Of course, this was what had been ordained. Of course, of course, of course. Fukukitaru drew in a breath, her head bowing down solemnly as she broadcast a lone thought out to be heard by whatever spirits and deities were in attendance.
"Shiraoki-Sama. Protect me, guide my steps."
Then she marched onwards to the starting gate.
· ─ ·✶· ─ ·
But why did the staring gate feel even smaller?
No, there wasn't much else Matikanefukukitaru could do. Even if she had absorbed as much good fortune as she could, there was no way she'd be able to stand up to Silence Sukuza of all people! Why did it have to be her luck that she would be at the one race that she absolutely one-hundred percent must win?! What kind of cruel trick of the Gods was-
The buzzer sounded. The gates flew open.
She wasn't paying attention, able to see in a flash that all the other runners broke and were already tearing down the track. She could especially see that Suzuka had already broken from the pack and had taken a comfortable position in first. Fukukitaru yelped in shock, quickly shoving off the ground with a kick of her cleats and began her sprint. It was a rough time trying to fight her way through those running near the back of the pack. She was barely able to get off her incantations of space clearing and maneuvering, only barely slipping through to settle herself near the back. She couldn't tell what her spot was, but she doubted it was good.
They shot past the grandstand for the first time, the wave of cheers and shouts from the watching crowd surging past Fukukitaru. It did not help her focus at all, quietly trying to pick out if there were any calls that'd impede her fortune in the amalgamation of sound that reached her ears. One of the girls running behind her made an attempt to claim the spot she was in, with Fukukitaru having to expend another chant of maneuverability to deny her the spot.
The first corner. The fighting for spots had mostly settled down, with everyone holding in the position they were in to keep themselves calm. Fukukitaru, at least, could see the front of the pack. Suzuka was still first, having cleared the pack by a good distance. Fukukitaru settled into her spot near the rail, trying to keep her pace steady. Even if she had gotten a bad start, and was already feeling the effects of the misfortune that had brought her, and had already burned through more spells that she needed for later to carry her to victory…
Even if the list of things that had gone wrong was growing, she needed to keep herself steady. The first two turns weren't the place to fight for control. They weren't even halfway finished.
The first two corners passed by quickly and with little excitement, except for Suzuka taking an even bigger lead with everyone at the front doing their best to match pace. The pack had thinned out enough from how far ahead she was that Fukukitaru could see much more clearly where she was; if she wasn't fully concentrated on keeping her breathing steady, she would've let out another shriek of terror. She was only a few spots from last. Last! She had been abandoned; her fortune was gone! Completely dried up, just trying to keep herself in the race! Her position only worsened along the stretch, falling from 8th to 10th, all the way to dead last as everyone reached the third corner and quickly barreled into the fourth. The race was already over at this point for her. There wasn't a point in trying. Her pace was slipping already, with just enough effort to keep herself. All that Fukukitaru could think to do is think of was how she was going to present herself to the great Shiraoki-Sama when she needed to ask for forgiveness for her loss.
"Shiraoki-Sama…forgive me…" she muttered to herself, her eyes slowly drifting to look at the turf as it kicked up from the footfalls of everyone in front of her.
"Do not give up, Matikanefukukitaru," a voice answered. It wasn't from within her; it didn't sound like that. It was…all around her? Her ears shot up, despite nobody else in the pack noticing it. It took her a moment of thought to recognize it.
The Shiraoki-Sama was speaking!
Shiraoki-Sama is speaking…
Fukukitaru braced for the disappointment. The wrath that was no doubt coming to her for her failure. She should've expected this when she chose to attend Tracen in the first place. It was inevitable. She could've never lived up to the expectations that her big sister had. She had failed. She was a failure. A failure!
"Fortune's path has worked as intended. Follow it, and victory will come."
…there was no anger? She could not feel the Heavenly wrath that was meant to be descending upon her right now. Slowly opening her eyes, Matikanefukukitaru felt her gaze drawn ahead as the final corner began to pass.
There were two things she took note of. Firstly—and the more grim of the two things she noted—Silence Suzuka had moved far ahead of the pack, while she was still in last. She could clearly see a wide gap between her and the uma running in second. But she could also see someone waiting at the finish line. A faint beacon of light that beckoned to her. She could see it clearly, carving a small path for her ahead.
Matikanefukukitaru closed her eyes, steeled herself, and ran.
Her heels dug into the turf for a split second before exploding forward. The wind picked up, rushing against her. Everyone ahead of her was tired, with Matikanefukukitaru catching brief glimpses of their ragged expressions as she began to barrel past. The positions she had been so desperately fighting for were clawed back easily. She was moving ahead with ease, passing by the entire pack and finally seeing Silence Suzuka in full.
Four Hundred Meters. It was all that stood between her and the last post. Fukukitaru could feel someone's gaze on her. It wasn't anyone in the crowd, although they were definitely watching. It wasn't even that of the great Shiraoki-Sama, although She too was definitely watching. No, it was none of them.
Matikanefukukitaru swore that she could feel her big sister watching.
· ─ ·✶· ─ ·
Silence Suzuka was busy soaking in the scenery. The blistering white of the landscape as it passed by her.
Until it didn't. Until she felt the wind of someone passing her. For that moment, she was back on the racecourse. Watching the back of an orange-haired uma bolt past her and across the finish. Her formerly breakneck pace slowed. She continued forward at a light jog as she looked at the board as it illuminated with placings and times.
She had come second.
· ─ ·✶· ─ ·
Matikanefukukitaru's sprint quickly broke down once she passed the post. The light she had been chasing vanished in the blink of an eye. The watchful eye upon her had slipped away without a trace. All of it had disappeared. Her eyes panned around the racecourse as she slowed. The aggressive cheerings of the crowd washed over her and faded into background noise. She looked at the board.
She had come first. She beat Silence Suzuka.
A part of her was about to break into an involuntary shout. But at the last moment, she muffled herself. It would've been disrespectful, she thought. To the great Shiraoki-Sama, who had shown the way forward. She turned, facing the crowd and giving a wave to another roar of applause. In it, she could see someone watching.
"Big Sis!"
There was no doubt in her mind about that. She was watching. Even if her appearance was only for a blink, Matikanefukukitaru knew she was watching.
And she was proud.