[Minamizaka]:Morning, everyone~! This weather is brutal—guess you've all given your girls the day off, right?
That morning, after washing up, Narumiya Akimitsu lay on his bed scrolling through videos when a group chat notification popped up.
Since everyone had booked their training camp at the same location, the trainers had made a group chat to stay in touch. The beach volleyball match the day before had been Tojo's idea, after all.
[Narumiya Akimitsu]:With weather like this, there's no way we can send our girls outside to train, right? It's the kind of weather that just screams "training will fail"!
[Hana Tojo]:I trust every normal trainer would give their girls the day off in this kind of weather.
[Minamizaka]:True. But I'm not here to ask something that obvious—I've got an idea I want to discuss with you all.
This looked like it might get interesting. Narumiya Akimitsu stopped lounging, sat up, and leaned against the headboard, eyes on his phone as he waited for Minamizaka's next message.
[Minamizaka]:I think we should try organizing some athletic events with prizes. One, it boosts motivation. Two, if there's a reward on the line, the girls will train harder—efficiency should go up a lot.
Minamizaka typed fast. In no time, Narumiya saw a whole paragraph appear. He'd heard Minamizaka used to be a programmer and did graphic design too—judging by that speed, the rumor seemed legit.
[Hana Tojo]:Good idea. But here's the problem—do you actually know what your girls like? If you're setting prizes, you should at least offer something they'd want.
Tojo's question poured a bucket of cold water over Narumiya Akimitsu's rising excitement. Minamizaka's proposal was solid, but Narumiya suddenly realized he didn't actually know what Bizen Nishiki liked. Or rather—she was so serious, and showed so few hobbies, that he had no idea what to say.
[Minamizaka]:That's a fair point. And I think we can do first, second, third prizes too. Ideally something everyone likes—something they share. If the rewards are set up through fair competition, it'll still spark motivation.
[Narumiya Akimitsu]: But isn't the key question whether our girls even have a shared interest?
[Minamizaka]:Yeah… that's the hard part… [sweat]
[Hana Tojo]:For me, I remember Rudolf telling me she really likes the sweets Kagura makes. I'll ask Kagura to prepare some another day.
Tojo's message felt like it cracked something open. Narumiya Akimitsu's mind flashed—and he remembered something Bizen Nishiki had told him not long ago.
Nishiki, did you go to the kitchen this morning?
Yes! I ran into Kagura there—she taught me how to cook, and she made me something really delicious!
Narumiya remembered how cheerful Bizen Nishiki had been afterward. If it was anything like what Trainer Tojo said, then Bizen Nishiki probably liked Inari Kagura's cooking too. And suddenly it struck him—maybe that was a shared interest.
[Minamizaka]:Oi! Now that you mention it—my Nature told me Kagura's food is amazing too, especially Luobo Gao. She's always running to the Cafeteria to mooch meals!
[Mejiro]:I took one nap and you've already chatted this much… What are you even talking about? Shared interests between our girls? Well, the ojou-samas mention Kagura's cooking all the time…
[Minamizaka]:Sounds like we've got our answer, then. But Kagura is your girl, Trainer Tojo—can you talk to her about our plan?
[Hana Tojo]:If I can, I'll do my best.
...
"Huh? You want me to help by making food?"
Kagura had been lying on her bed, waiting for Bizen Nishiki to knock for ages—she was starting to think she'd been stood up—when her phone vibrated. She thought it was a message from Bizen Nishiki, but when she checked, it was from Trainer Tojo.
The message was simple: once this stretch of extreme weather ended, the trainers planned to set up some reward-based training events to motivate their girls. And since most of the Umamusume at this summer training camp had, one way or another, eaten Kagura's food at the Cafeteria, Kagura's cooking would be the most tempting prize of all.
So they wanted her to handle the rewards.
——Not bad. Looks like everyone really recognizes your cooking. They're even turning your food into prizes.
I think Tojo-san's idea is solid. If everyone agrees the rewards will get them fired up, I don't mind putting in the work.
Kagura wasn't doing much training these days anyway. Trainer Tojo wanted her focusing on rest and recovery, and Rudolf didn't need her shadowing her every day here. Kagura suddenly had a lot of free time. Floating out at sea all day wasn't exactly her style—too much wasted time. If there was a training project where she could actually contribute, she wasn't about to refuse.
[Trainer Tojo]:Good. Kagura, come to my place. We'll talk details. And one more thing—don't let anyone else know for now.
[Inari Kagura]:Got it. I'll keep it secret!
After replying, Kagura hopped out of bed, slipped into her slippers, and walked to her door. She reached for the knob and pulled gently—
The door cracked open—and she immediately felt a heavy weight pressing on it from the other side. Before she could react, the door swung wider under that pressure, and Kagura, standing right there with zero warning, was flattened as a pile of… something toppled in after it.
Thud!
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow… What is happening—? Huh? Ardan-ojousama? Nature? And Nishiki-senpai too? You guys…"
Kagura lay there for a moment, blinking stars out of her eyes, before she managed to look up at what had crushed her.
Three Umamusume were staring down at her, all wearing sheepish smiles.
No—why are all of you posted outside my door like that?
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T/N: they all just stood there.... DOING NOTHING??