With the debut race behind her for the moment, Kagura finally slipped back into the rhythm of summer training camp.
According to Kagura's race schedule, after finishing her debut, her next targets were two G1 races at the end of the year: the Hopeful Stakes and the Asahi Hai. By convention, if you wanted to take on both the Asahi Hai and the Hopeful Stakes, you had to push yourself to the limit with rigorous training before December—only then did you have a shot at joining that battle for the crown among rookie Umamusume.
The day after she returned from her debut, Kagura was considering whether to join the team training when Trainer Tojo stopped her.
"You just finished your debut, and your physical specs are far better than other girls your age. You don't need a packed schedule that forces you to your limit. You need proper rest. Overtraining won't do you any good."
So Kagura still couldn't join the team's training today. And she didn't want to waste time lying around in her room. After thinking it over, she simply changed into her hard-wearing maid outfit and went to the hotel kitchen to see if she could mess around and make something fun. On one hand, there were things she'd wanted to cook for a while, but hadn't made at school because certain ingredients were hard to find. On the other, her friends had basically been eating the same not-very-varied buffet for days. While Kagura practiced, she could also give them more options on the food front.
——So the moment you have free time, you go burrowing into a kitchen… Are you sure you were really a doctor and not a chef?
Seeing Kagura's idea of "finding something to do" was immediately "go cook," Eclipse didn't even know where to start.
It doesn't conflict, okay! Doctors have specialties like nutritionists too!
What Kagura cared about more was this: whether it was a hotel, a cafeteria, or the kitchen of some small inn, this world always seemed to have a space set aside for Umamusume guests to cook for themselves. That was why Kagura could borrow a kitchen pretty much anywhere she went. And the equipment in these Umamusume free-use kitchens was extremely complete. Besides the usual tools, Kagura even saw a whole bunch of heart-shaped and other cute molds, neatly lined up in the sterilizing cabinet. All the pink, cutesy stuff gave off a real Valentine's vibe.
It's weird. Why does everywhere have a kitchen prepared for Umamusume? And this pile of cute molds doesn't look like something a normal kitchen would ever use…
Kagura couldn't figure out the logic, so she stopped trying. Either way, being able to borrow a kitchen wherever she went wasn't exactly a bad thing.
"That smell is…"
After tinkering around in the kitchen for about half an hour, Kagura started the fire and began cooking. Just then, an Umamusume poked her head in from outside.
Busy with the stove, Kagura glanced toward the kitchen door out of the corner of her eye. She thought a hotel chef had wandered over, but when she looked properly, the person at the doorway was Bizen Nishiki.
"Ah! Kagura! So you're here!"
Bizen Nishiki lit up at once. She trotted into the kitchen in a few bouncy steps, slipped over to Kagura's side, and craned forward curiously to see what Kagura was making.
"Bizen Nishiki? Why are you—oh, right. Narumiya Akimitsu said you can't train this week…"
Kagura was briefly puzzled, then remembered Bizen Nishiki wouldn't be training this week. So her showing up in the kitchen at this hour wasn't strange at all.
"Hehe. I came to the kitchen to find something for my Trainer to eat since she slept in, but then I saw you here, Kagura. By the way, are you cooking for someone?"
"I'm just practicing. I'm not specifically cooking for anyone."
Kagura had been thinking she'd just make something, then shove it at whoever she saw first. She really only wanted the practice.
Bizen Nishiki's watery blue eyes blinked. She sniffed lightly, like a little pet catching a scent.
"It smells really good…"
"Hehe. Want a taste, Bizen Nishiki?"
Seeing how tempted she looked, Kagura smiled and asked.
"Mm…"
Bizen Nishiki seemed to waver for a moment, but then she pushed it down.
"I-I'll take breakfast up to my Trainer first! I'll be right back!"
After a while, Bizen Nishiki returned from upstairs after delivering breakfast.
She even grabbed an apron off the kitchen wall and tied it on before hurrying up to Kagura, eyes shining.
"Kagura, I want to ask you to teach me how to cook. Is that okay?"
"Huh? You're interested in learning?"
Kagura had assumed Bizen Nishiki was here to mooch food. She hadn't expected her to come to learn. Kagura raised her eyebrows in surprise—this was probably the first person at Tracen to actually ask her for cooking instruction.
"Yes! I mean, I can cook a little already, and I like making things I enjoy eating. Everyone says your cooking is really good, and I happened to run into you cooking today, so I wanted to ask you."
"Ah… then what kind of technique do you want help with?"
Kagura was genuinely happy someone was asking her about this. Since she was going to teach, she decided to clarify what Bizen Nishiki wanted to learn first.
"Ingredient prep. My knife skills are always terrible… Even cutting a tomato, I end up with one thick slice and one thin slice. I saw how smoothly you were using your knife, so I wanted to ask."
"Mmm… knife work. Honestly, for that, it depends on accumulating experience more than anything I can tell you."
As she spoke, Kagura picked up a tomato she was about to add to the pot and set it on the cutting board. She measured it with her knife for a moment, then motioned for Bizen Nishiki to come a little closer.
"Bizen Nishiki, can you show me how you usually handle ingredients?"
"Ah… okay! But I'm really bad, so don't laugh at me!"
"Learning always starts somewhere. What's there to laugh at?"
Bizen Nishiki hesitated, then picked up the knife and began carefully slicing the tomato.
As someone who'd lived in kitchens for years, Kagura spotted the problems immediately. Part of it was simple lack of experience making her grip unsteady. The other part was how hesitant she was when she brought the blade down. In practice, chopping was something you relied on instinct for. Trying too hard to control the thickness often made you end up with a mess that didn't match what you wanted at all.
"Wow… I cut it so badly…"
Under Kagura's gaze, Bizen Nishiki finished slicing the tomato, tense the whole time. Honestly, even she couldn't bear to look at what she'd done.
Having pinpointed the issue, Kagura smiled. She stepped behind Bizen Nishiki, reached both arms around her slim waist, and gently took hold of Bizen Nishiki's hands. Bizen Nishiki jolted hard.
"Eek!? Kagura?!"
"Okay. I'll teach you how to cut neat, pretty tomato slices—and other shapes too."
With that, Kagura lightly guided Bizen Nishiki's hands around the knife handle. She explained the key points of the motion as she led Bizen Nishiki through it. Bizen Nishiki had only come to ask about cooking, but for some reason, she couldn't focus at all. She barely managed to catch bits of what Kagura was saying, and she could only follow Kagura's guidance on pure instinct, moving through the motions.
Focus! Focus and learn! Then I can make it for myself later!
She told herself that, but she found her attention drifting far more to Kagura behind her—holding her close, pressed up against her.
Her cheeks felt slightly hot. Something fluttered in her chest, but she didn't know what that feeling was. For someone as straightforward and guileless as Bizen Nishiki, she didn't experience this often. It confused her, but she didn't dislike it.
Kagura patiently explained each technique. Even when Bizen Nishiki kept losing focus and needed the same thing explained again, Kagura never got annoyed. She repeated the motion over and over until Bizen Nishiki finally got the hang of it.
Kagura… she's so gentle, and so patient… She'll even teach a total beginner like me, step by step…
Hehe… this doesn't feel bad at all…
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T/N: woah is... kagura a top??!