Fujiwara Chiya had always felt that he was not particularly popular with women.
Back in high school, he could count the number of female classmates he was close to on one hand. In university, it was even more so. Other than the occasional gathering, he rarely got to see them, and most of his interaction with them only happened when working on school assignments.
In Fujiwara Chiya's memory, he had only ever been confessed to twice by girls. Once in high school, and once in university.
The first had felt rather random. The second, he had turned down because he was busy preparing for the Central trainer exam, had no time for dates or movies, and simply could not take on the responsibility of being someone's boyfriend.
When it came to relationships, Fujiwara Chiya had always been lukewarm. If things worked out, then great. If they did not, he did not force it. He was not some irresistible heartthrob, and he did not have the ability to manage overly complicated human relationships. On that point, Fujiwara Chiya knew himself well, so he never became so overconfident as to chase after someone he had no real chance of obtaining.
If Rice Shower's confession could still be understood as something that had grown naturally out of her dependence on him, then Hayakawa Tazuna was a completely different matter. She was far beyond anything Fujiwara Chiya had expected.
He certainly had entertained thoughts of showing her affection, but only to a certain extent. He had never crossed any line or made excessive demands. Whenever he interacted with Hayakawa Tazuna, he had always been respectful and kept an appropriate distance.
There had once been a trainer who confessed to Hayakawa Tazuna. After she politely rejected him, he misunderstood and assumed she had only turned him down out of shyness. After that, he kept approaching her on purpose and even tried to take advantage of her.
In the end, that trainer received the punishment he deserved. He was expelled from Tracen, and Central revoked his trainer qualifications, banning him from sitting the trainer exam for the next three years.
That was the consequence of an overinflated sense of self. Not only had he lost his job, he had also earned himself a terrible reputation.
Someone being kind to you did not mean they liked you. And it certainly did not mean they wanted a relationship with you.
Fujiwara Chiya understood that principle very well, which was why he had always been extremely cautious.
He would show gratitude for help, and then look for a chance to repay the favor. That was how he handled people.
Hayakawa Tazuna was no exception.
Fujiwara Chiya had always thought that, because of her duties, she simply worked tirelessly to help him. He believed none of Hayakawa Tazuna's kindness contained any special meaning.
That was what he had thought, right up until that confession not long ago, and right up until that heated kiss yesterday.
He had felt her passion, hot as fire.
Honestly, it was the first time in his life Fujiwara Chiya had ever been kissed like that. Even now, long after it had happened, he could still feel the sensation of her tongue twining with his.
That night, Fujiwara Chiya could not sleep no matter which way he turned. His mind was full of Hayakawa Tazuna's flushed face.
That had been the closest he had ever come to stepping onto the path of adulthood.
The next day, wearing an exhausted expression, Fujiwara Chiya arrived at the training grounds.
And with him came Fujiwara Shirayuki, who looked just as worn out.
For some reason, Mejiro Dober had been extremely restless the night before. She had not only snuck into Shirayuki's bed in the middle of the night, she had even started touching her thigh, leaving Fujiwara Shirayuki unable to sleep the whole night.
On Chiya's side there was Hayakawa Tazuna, and on her side there was Mejiro Dober. One way or another, one of them always ended up stirring their mind into complete disorder.
It really felt like, lately, their body had been getting worse day by day.
They yawned at the same time, and both Chiya and Shirayuki thought the exact same thing.
Looking at the team already lined up in front of him, Fujiwara Chiya forced himself to focus.
"Ahem. Let me introduce you. This is Trainer Nase Fumino, a senior trainer. She'll be helping point out mistakes in your training and assisting you in correcting them, so I want all of you to listen carefully to what she says. Trainer Nase's experience is extremely rich."
Everyone looked at the cool, beautiful woman in front of them and answered in unison.
"Now then, the ones whose names I call, step forward. Shirayuki, Gold Ship, Doto."
The three of them stepped out from the group.
"Good. The rest of you go warm up. You three come with me."
Fujiwara Chiya led them over to a separate training area, with Nase Fumino following behind.
"Chiya, what were you doing last night?"
"I... wasn't doing anything."
"Really? You look like you didn't sleep at all." Nase Fumino looked at the exhausted Fujiwara Chiya. He seemed as though all of his vitality had been drained out of him, weak and listless.
"I slept. Slept great."
Nase Fumino raised a brow.
That lie was painfully obvious.
"In my opinion, Trainer has definitely been involved with another woman," Gold Ship declared, dropping the bombshell as usual.
"Ahem... Ship, stop saying weird things!"
"Really?" Nase Fumino's tone rose noticeably.
"Listen, Trainer Nase, don't be fooled by our trainer's ordinary looks. Every Valentine's Day he gets a mountain of chocolates. He's the kind of guy who looks herbivore on the outside but secretly wants to be an eight-winged angel."
"Gold Ship, quit talking nonsense! Those were obligation chocolates, from coworkers. I gave you one that day too."
"So what you're saying is, Trainer wasn't even going to spare me. Could it be that you plan to spend the rest of your life together with little Golshi?"
Gold Ship twisted her body and batted her eyes.
Fujiwara Chiya broke out in goosebumps.
He was not about to fall for this alien freak horse's tricks again. Gold Ship's personality was the total opposite of her appearance.
Noticing Nase Fumino's expression growing colder and colder, Fujiwara Chiya hurriedly explained, "Fumino, don't listen to her nonsense. I'm completely innocent!"
Those blue-green eyes sent a chill straight down his spine.
"...You're not lying to me?"
"Definitely not."
Nase Fumino looked away, apparently deciding to believe him.
The man let out a sigh of relief.
Wait, why am I even explaining this to Fumino?
"Trainer Chiya, I look down on you," Gold Ship said, narrowing her eyes.
"Shut up!"
While bickering, the group arrived at the area normally used for frog-jump training. Fujiwara Chiya pointed at the horseshoes he had prepared on the ground.
"These are specially made reinforced horseshoes I had custom ordered from a farrier. They're heavier than anything currently available on the market. From here on out, the three of you will live and train while wearing these."
"Oh... hm? Live?" Gold Ship echoed.
"That's right. Other than sleeping, whenever your feet touch the ground, you'll be wearing these horseshoes. And now, Trainer Nase, please explain the important points to them."
"Put them on first."
Nase Fumino spoke, and the girls sat down, changing shoes and fastening the horseshoes in place.
The moment they stood up, they all felt as if their feet had been glued to the ground.
So this is how strong Earth's gravity really is!
Gold Ship was astonished.
"This feels so awkward..." Meisho Doto looked down at her feet. Under the pull of the extra-heavy horseshoes, she could only walk straight up and down.
Fujiwara Shirayuki tightened her laces. If she let up even slightly, the weight felt strong enough to drag the shoes right off.
Although she had been the one to carry these horseshoes onto the field and already knew how frighteningly heavy they were, she had not expected that even an Uma Musume's leg strength would still find them difficult to move in.
"From now on, you'll be starting a new kind of training. Its name is... foot forging!"
"'Foot forging?'" Gold Ship and Meisho Doto echoed together.
"It's a training method specifically meant to improve leg strength. It will help those of you who run as betweens or closers improve your acceleration. From now on, you'll wear these horseshoes in your daily life until you can walk normally in them before taking them off."
"Um... by 'walk normally,' you mean...?" Meisho Doto asked weakly.
"Exactly what it sounds like. Walk normally."
Because of the weight of the horseshoes, every time they lifted their feet, the front of the foot got dragged down. To walk naturally again, they would have to lift their feet higher and overcome that downward pull.
"That's way too hard!" Gold Ship clutched her head.
"If you want to get stronger, you'll have to go through this kind of training. I'm going to make sure every one of you ends up with an incredible pair of legs!" Fujiwara Chiya clenched his fist passionately, completely unaware that Nase Fumino had already silently labeled him in her mind as having a foot fetish.