The break passed in the blink of an eye, and everyone returned to intense training once again. With the pressure of studying finally gone, they could at last devote all of their energy to racing.
"Gold Ship, five more sets. Doto, put more strength into your steps and pick up the pace. Rice Shower, good, keep it up!"
Standing at the front of the group, Fujiwara Chiya barked out instructions at the top of his voice.
The debut races were just around the corner, so he had to throw all of his energy into training them. As the saying went, only when the trainer was full of spirit would the Uma Musume be full of spirit too. If he looked worn out and lifeless all day, there was no way they would feel motivated to follow his lead.
"Tachyon, go do ten sets of squat jumps now. Fukukitaru, you go with Tachyon."
Perhaps because the tension was finally setting in, training was going especially smoothly. Even Gold Ship was obeying instructions for once, enough to make Fujiwara Chiya entertain the wildly unrealistic thought that she had somehow returned to normal.
Watching their movements, Fujiwara Chiya recorded the times.
His training plan was progressing in a steady, orderly way. At this rate, by the time the debut races arrived, the girls would have improved even more.
"Dober-onee-chan, next is flexibility training."
"Alright."
Off to the side, Fujiwara Shirayuki gave instructions of her own.
Of course, that was not because Shirayuki had somehow slipped onto Chiya's channel. At this stage, Fujiwara Chiya simply could not divide his attention evenly across every Uma Musume, so he needed Shirayuki's help to carry out the training plan.
And naturally, the one she helped most was the person she was closest to, Mejiro Dober.
Of course, Shirayuki was doing this from the standpoint of "helping the trainer," not because she herself wanted to personally train Dober. That distinction mattered, because as Agnes Tachyon had warned her, if she stopped being careful, the habits she had worked so hard to build could start sliding back in the wrong direction.
The two stood back to back, their arms hooked together as they stretched. While doing so, Fujiwara Shirayuki found a moment to ask, "By the way, Dober-onee-chan, did you go see my cousin during the break?"
Rice Shower had told Chiya about it over dinner that day.
It really had been surprising. Mejiro Dober had actually gone by herself to the trainer dorms, and not just any trainer dorms, but the men's trainer dorms. For her, that place should have been more terrifying than a mountain of blades or a sea of fire.
Luckily, it had been during the holiday. The ones who liked going out were already gone, and the ones who did not just stayed indoors. So when Mejiro Dober went there, the whole place had been practically deserted.
"Yeah."
"Was something wrong? If there's anything, maybe I can help," Fujiwara Shirayuki said. "If it's something about training, I can answer too. My cousin has taught me a lot of training methods lately."
"No… it wasn't about training." Mejiro Dober shook her head. "It was just… something personal."
"I see. Well, if you ever need me, just say so. Anything my cousin can do, I can pretty much do too."
"Thank you, Shirayuki." Mejiro Dober smiled.
As always, her little sister had said something that made her happy.
Honestly, asking Shirayuki was not impossible. She could have had Shirayuki talk things through with her own cousin and help create opportunities for them to get closer. But if she wanted Shirayuki to step in for her like that, then Shirayuki would have to be so fond of her that there was no turning back.
Right now, Mejiro Dober did not think she had that kind of charm yet. She was not so irresistible that Shirayuki would be hopelessly devoted to her.
So before she said anything, Mejiro Dober decided she needed to improve herself first and raise her chances of success.
"Shirayuki."
As she lifted Shirayuki's body during the stretch, Mejiro Dober asked, "What kind of Uma Musume do you like?"
"Uma Musume?"
"Yeah. I want to know what kind of type you prefer."
"I like hardworking ones," Fujiwara Shirayuki answered after thinking for a moment.
Hardworking…
Now that she thought about it, Shirayuki had indeed called her hardworking before, so that part at least matched up.
But that was not what Mejiro Dober really wanted to ask.
"I mean personality and looks. What kind of Uma Musume do you find attractive, or what kind of personality do you like?"
That question gave Shirayuki a bit more trouble.
Normally, when it came to Uma Musume, she thought it was more important to start from things like determination and conviction rather than surface-level traits like looks and personality. But since Dober had asked the question that way, she could only choose the answer closest to what she really felt.
"For personality, I like someone a little more mature. As for appearance, I prefer long hair."
"Mature and long hair…"
Mejiro Dober murmured the words quietly to herself.
So Shirayuki liked long hair. That was unexpected. Fortunately, Mejiro Dober's own hair was quite long, and even Bright had once praised it for being as smooth as silk. If Shirayuki liked that sort of thing, maybe she would not mind playing with it.
But mature…
Mejiro Dober was not sure whether her own personality counted as mature or not.
With a comparison, it would be easier to understand.
"In your eyes, who's the most mature person?"
"Hayakawa Tazuna," Fujiwara Shirayuki answered without hesitation.
Whether it was Chiya or Shirayuki, in their eyes Hayakawa Tazuna was the final form of a mature woman. Her gentle and elegant manner, her ability to handle everything with perfect ease, there was still no woman Shirayuki had ever met who felt more mature than Hayakawa Tazuna.
"Hayakawa Tazuna?"
"Exactly." Fujiwara Shirayuki became more animated as she spoke. "Actually, at first I wanted to ask her for advice on how to improve my femininity, but I was afraid of bothering her, so I didn't dare. And she also said she wanted to teach me more advanced running techniques. Since she's been the director's secretary for so long, she must know a huge amount about training. If she gave me some pointers, I'd definitely learn a lot."
Fujiwara Shirayuki praised her without holding back.
As Mejiro Dober listened, it felt as though the world went dark for a second.
She had been on guard against her classmates and upperclassmen this whole time, afraid one of them might sweep Shirayuki away. And yet somehow, the person who had already taken up half of Shirayuki's heart turned out to be Hayakawa Tazuna.
How could this happen!?
There was at least a ten-year age gap between them.
That was not right, was it?
And besides, Hayakawa Tazuna was so popular at Tracen, so high in status, and the people she usually interacted with were trainers. Her orientation had to be completely normal. She was not like Shirayuki and herself. She was not that kind of girl.
If they were talking purely in terms of compatibility, then surely Mejiro Dober herself was the best match for Shirayuki.
If Shirayuki liked that sense of maturity, then she could learn it too. Her own sisters, like Mejiro Ramonu and Mejiro Ardan, all had a very strong mature charm.
That was right. She had so many good examples right beside her. There was no way Mejiro Dober could not learn from them.
Even if the opponent was Hayakawa Tazuna, she would surpass her.
Mejiro Dober made up her mind.
Once training was finished, Fujiwara Chiya gathered everyone in front of him.
"Everyone's condition is looking very good. Keep it up, and your debut races will be here before you know it. Next, I'm going to explain your race schedules."
He pulled out the notice sheet.
There were quite a lot of debuting Uma Musume on his team this year, so in order to avoid awkward clashes, Fujiwara Chiya had deliberately spread their schedules out as much as possible. That way, they would not get assigned to the same race groups. No matter who won or lost, it would only create problems. What mattered most in a team was harmony.
"Gold Ship, debut race, 2000 meters. Meisho Doto, debut race, 1800 meters. Rice Shower, debut race, 2000 meters. Agnes Tachyon, debut race, 1600 meters. Matikanefukukitaru, debut race, 1200 meters. Mejiro Dober, debut race, 1600 meters. Fujiwara Shirayuki, debut race, 2000 meters."
After reading them all out, Fujiwara Chiya looked at the group.
"That's your race schedule. For the next few days, your simulated race training will follow these distances."