"Chiya, wake up!"
Woken by a distinctive voice, Fujiwara Chiya opened his eyes. The moment he saw who had come in, his whole body trembled. He hurriedly threw off the blanket and sat properly on his knees on the bed.
"Director Akikawa! Why are you in my room...?"
"Of course I came to wake you up. Look at the time!" Akikawa Yayoi raised her fan and pointed at the clock on the wall. It was already half an hour past the start of work, yet Chiya was still asleep.
Rubbing his eyes, Fujiwara Chiya finally remembered that he had already returned to Tracen. During summer training camp, they woke up an hour later than at Tracen, and Fujiwara Chiya had gotten used to that schedule. Now that it suddenly changed back, he was still not fully adjusted.
Fujiwara Chiya hurriedly apologized to her. Still, this was rare. Why was the one waking him up Akikawa Yayoi instead of Hayakawa Tazuna? Did Tazuna not come today?
Noticing the confusion in Chiya's eyes, Akikawa Yayoi tapped her fan.
"It seems you are quite confused, Chiya. That's right. I have already chased Tazuna away!"
"Eh? Why?"
"Because she came to the trainers' dorm far too often! Once or twice, I could treat it as a special situation, but coming every day is unacceptable. Even while you were away at training camp, she still came here. She completely ignored the rule that female staff are not allowed to enter the male staff dorm without permission. So I gave her a one-month ban. She is not allowed to step into this place again."
"What!?"
"Hm? What's wrong? Does Tazuna being unable to come here affect you that much? Or have you already been cared for so thoroughly that you've become someone who can't even live independently?"
"No, no, no. It's not that. I'm just a little surprised." Fujiwara Chiya quickly hid the disappointment in his heart and began putting on his clothes.
"I already prepared breakfast for you." Akikawa Yayoi lifted her chin toward the fried egg and bacon on the table. "I used your kitchen a little. You don't mind, do you?"
"I don't mind." Fujiwara Chiya quickly shook his head.
Wait... breakfast?
Director Akikawa had actually made breakfast for him in his room. What kind of science fiction scene was this? No, even science fiction would not go this far. This was clearly fantasy.
Looking at the beautifully plated breakfast with steam rising from it, Fujiwara Chiya, with a feeling of disbelief, clumsily stuffed the fried egg into his mouth.
"Eat slowly. No one is going to steal it from you."
"It's too delicious. It's so good I can't stop."
"Hmph. Don't underestimate me. My cooking skills are still quite decent." Akikawa Yayoi proudly puffed out her chest, not noticing that at least eighty percent of Fujiwara Chiya's words were exaggerated.
"By the way, Director..."
Remembering something, Fujiwara Chiya took out a painting from the cabinet. It depicted a colourful whale. "There was a newly opened exhibition hall near the training camp, and they were holding a commemorative art collection event. I thought this one was nice, so I brought it back for you."
"You bought me a gift?"
"Mm. Thank you for always taking care of me."
Fujiwara Chiya lowered his head.
If you went on a work-funded trip and did not bring back a souvenir for your leader, you would not survive long in the workplace. Fujiwara Chiya understood that principle very well.
This child... is unexpectedly thoughtful.
Akikawa Yayoi narrowed her eyes.
Not bad, Chiya. Being smooth in the workplace could increase a superior's favourability quite a bit and make promotions easier. Unfortunately, increasing my favourability will not be very useful. It is not as if I can transfer you into management. The treatment there is certainly good, but compared with office staff who spend all day typing at desks, you would definitely prefer being a trainer. And in that area, you can only rely on yourself. Even if Akikawa Yayoi wanted to help, there was not much she could do.
The only thing she could do was help Chiya find more opportunities. Whether he could seize them would depend on his own ability.
Akikawa Yayoi carefully put away the gift. When she returned, she would hang it on the wall and show it off to Tazuna.
"I accept your kindness, Chiya."
"Yes. Then I'll go to work, Director."
As he spoke, Fujiwara Chiya prepared to leave.
"Um..."
"Director? Is there something else?"
"No, nothing."
Fujiwara Chiya left the room.
After the door closed, Akikawa Yayoi looked at her own hand.
She had actually missed him quite a lot after not seeing him for more than a month. He usually did not even call. But her position meant she could not show too much affection toward Chiya.
She really wanted to pat that child's head. She also wondered whether he had been doing well over the past month.
Sometimes, she also wanted to be as unrestrained with Chiya as Tazuna was. But she could not. She was Tracen's highest administrator. If she showed that side of herself to Chiya, the management, the trainers at Tracen, and even Central would all turn their eyes toward him.
That excessive attention would very likely affect Chiya's life. Akikawa Yayoi did not want to do that. Chiya was her precious younger brother figure. Precisely because of that, Akikawa Yayoi had to do everything she could to treat him like an ordinary trainer.
Today's actions had already gone a little beyond the line, but Akikawa Yayoi could not endure the loneliness and wanted to see him earlier. Seeing his sleeping face, she had lightly touched his head, then made breakfast for him.
From the look of it, Chiya had eaten quite happily.
Should she make something else for him next time?
On the other side, Fujiwara Chiya returned to his office.
After summer training camp ended, the L'Arc selection races would come next. Each team would send out five runners, then teams would race against each other. The team of the winning Uma Musume would advance.
It sounded simple, but there were more things to consider in this kind of race than in the Twinkle Series. On a field of ten runners, five belonged to the same team. Those five could fight individually, or they could cooperate and work together.
From those five runners, many tactics could be developed. Different Uma Musume could be used to pull and restrain opponents. When necessary, they could even surround the opposing team's main runner and block her in the pack. That would greatly increase the team's winning chance.
Overall, the selection race had a great deal of room for strategy. It tested not only the Uma Musume's ability, but also the trainer's ability.
Fujiwara Chiya considered the lineup.
First was Fujiwara Shirayuki. For no other reason than that Shirayuki was strong enough and unlikely to make mistakes. She was almost certainly someone who had to be chosen.
During summer training camp, Shirayuki had done plenty of running on the beach. Her feet had completely conquered that soft terrain, and she had improved greatly. She could now easily lift dumbbells that used to feel heavy with her feet, showing just how quickly Shirayuki had grown.
When he had time, he needed to test Shirayuki's speed and see what kind of time she could run on turf.
Just as Fujiwara Chiya made that decision, he suddenly realized something.
Where was Shirayuki?
Because of the shock from Akikawa Yayoi, Fujiwara Chiya had not noticed that one piece of his vision was missing. Shirayuki had not even woken up yet!
How are you waking up even later than me? Hurry up and go to class!
In the dorm, Fujiwara Shirayuki suddenly jolted and jumped out of bed. She hurriedly began putting on her clothes.
"Shirayuki, what are you doing...?"
"Going to class! I'm already late!"
"Isn't today a day off?"
"...Eh?"
Fujiwara Shirayuki's movements stopped.
Right. Trainers had work today, but the students were on break.
No wonder the alarm had not gone off.
Unlike the miserable trainers, after returning to school, the Uma Musume still had two days off to adjust their schedules.
Her mood suddenly relaxed quite a bit. Fujiwara Shirayuki took off the clothes she had just grabbed and lay back down on the bed. Then she looked at Mejiro Dober sleeping beside her.
By the way, Dober-Onee-chan, when did you move inside?
During summer training camp, Dober had often crawled into her futon. Every day, they slept together. Since the futons were already close, sleeping together was not a big deal to Shirayuki.
However, Mejiro Dober's hands were never very obedient. They always wandered around Shirayuki's body, making Fujiwara Shirayuki restless.
She had thought things would improve after they returned, but Mejiro Dober was still sleeping beside her. And she was doing so in such a defenseless posture, lying on her side, her arms pressing lightly against her chest.
The thought of sleeping again vanished as Shirayuki's heartbeat gradually quickened.
Mejiro Dober half-opened her eyes. She saw Shirayuki, who had just lain back down, staring at her chest.
Looking at me like that first thing in the morning...
Shirayuki, you really are a bad child.
But it was fine. They were already partners. Even this kind of closeness was allowed.
Mejiro Dober showed a smile. She reached out and gently adjusted the collar of her sleepwear.
"Do you want to rest here?"