Chapter 72: You Must Trust Your Trainer
Standing still and watching her two friends' backs helplessly, Daiwa Scarlet shook her head and glanced apologetically at Kitasan Black.
"Kita-chan, them doing that… your grandfather won't get mad, right?"
"Ah? No, no, he won't."
Kitasan Black waved her hands quickly. "Actually, Grandpa told me a long time ago that I should make more friends and invite them over to the house often."
"Like Crow-chan, Dia-chan, and Copano-chan—they come over to play a lot."
"Back then, this place hadn't been remodeled yet. It was just a huge garden."
"We used to play hide-and-seek, catch butterflies, and even catch bees in the garden. It was so much fun!"
"I see…"
Relieved, Daiwa Scarlet nodded, but then her eyes lit up.
"In that case— I won't hold back either!"
She turned and charged toward Gold Ship and Vodka.
Daiwa Scarlet's shift in attitude was so fast that Kitasan Black froze for a moment before coming back to her senses. She smiled awkwardly, glancing at the person beside her.
"Ahaha~ the senpais sure are energetic. Special Week-senpai, do you want to go run too?"
The one still standing next to her was Special Week.
When Kitasan Black asked, Special Week had been watching her friends with a fond and nostalgic smile.
Hearing the question, she turned, waved her hand with a smile, and said, "I think I'll pass for now."
Then, after a brief thought, she countered, "What about you, Kita-chan? Aren't you going to join them?"
"I'll pass for now too."
Kitasan Black shook her head, looking a little embarrassed.
"You know how I wanted to train more for the Spring Stakes? So over the weekend, I came out here and ran laps by myself."
"I didn't tell my trainer about it. Only on the way here today did I mention it to him."
"I don't think he was angry… but he told me that if I want to do extra training, that's fine, but I have to tell him first."
Special Week nodded.
"That's something you really did overlook. Running isn't just something you can do however you want."
"And don't laugh, but back when I was in the academy, my grades weren't all that great— oh, I mean my academic grades. My race results were fine."
"To pass my tests and finish my homework, I often had to ask Suzuka and Grass-chan for tutoring."
"Even then, I still failed a bunch of subjects, hehe~"
She scratched her head sheepishly, then turned serious.
"Still, even I know that different tracks have different turf quality, soil texture, slopes, and curves."
"This place might look comfortable to run on, but it's not an official track. There could be shallow holes or uneven spots anywhere."
"If you accidentally step in one, you could get injured easily."
"In–injured?!"
Kitasan Black flinched, looking anxiously toward Daiwa Scarlet and the others on the lawn. "Then what about them…"
"Don't worry, don't worry."
Special Week chuckled. "They know this stuff even better than I do—and they have way more race experience."
"Look closely. That speed they're using? They're just running for fun, aren't they?"
Following Special Week's words, Kitasan Black watched the senpais for a while and realized it was true. She let out a sigh of relief.
Then her ears twitched, before drooping as her face reddened even more.
"So that's how it is… then if I train on my own without telling him, Trainer really would be worried… and angry…"
"Well, no need to get so down."
Smiling, Special Week turned around, reached out, and rubbed Kitasan Black's cheek. After thinking for a moment, she comforted her:
"What we need to learn, our trainers will also learn—and they learn more and deeper. That's their profession and their job."
"So the fact that you take the initiative to train… Makoto-san should be able to imagine that, and he'd be mentally prepared for it."
"He… could imagine it?" Kitasan Black repeated blankly.
"Mm, how should I put this…"
Special Week thought back. "Ah, do you remember my Kyoto Daishoten?"
"Kyoto Daishoten?"
Kitasan Black was stunned, then after recalling for a few seconds, her expression instantly turned awkward.
"That… that race…"
"Yeah, I lost badly in that one, it's the first time I'd ever dropped out of the top three in a race."
Knowing why Kitasan Black was mumbling, Special Week just smiled, openly admitting her past embarrassment.
"Before that, I had also lost the Takarazuka Kinen."
"Losing Takarazuka, and then talking on the phone with Oguri after she'd run the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe… well, at the time I was honestly pretty anxious."
"I was probably just like you wanting to train on weekends—outside of my trainer's plan, I added my own extra training."
"The result? I kept training, but neglected my diet. Before Kyoto Daishoten, I gained a lot of weight, and in the final turn, I just couldn't get any power in my legs."
"So, wanting to win, wanting to train more—that's all fine."
At this point, Special Week's tone grew firmer.
"But you must trust your trainer, and tell him right away if you have ideas."
"Because he, just like you, wants you to win—and of everyone in the world, he's the one who can support you, help you, and understand you the most."
…
Meanwhile, in Saburo Kitajima's study.
"Perhaps Yasui-san can't fully understand, but when I saw with my own eyes the moment Kitasan Black won the graded stakes race, I truly felt tears welling up."
With heartfelt gratitude, Saburo said sincerely:
"And all of this is thanks to you, Yasui-san."
"I'm not the type to offer empty words of thanks, so here are some legal documents for you to look over."
At his instruction, an attendant in the study handed over a stack of papers. Saburo explained:
"Even from my perspective, Uchiage Hanabi is a rare and outstanding piece."
"Being able to use such a song to help Kitasan Black build up her fanbase—I'm truly grateful for that."
"In terms of racing, I don't know as much as you, Yasui-san."
"But when it comes to music, I can speak a thing or two."
"So I think, the profits from this song outside of the racing context—both in sentiment and in reason—should have a share for you."
While Saburo was speaking, Makoto had already skimmed through several of the documents.
In short, because Uchiage Hanabi was released through Kitasan Black's racing account, the rights, legally speaking, currently belonged to the Academy.
However, since Kitasan Black family's music company was in charge of production—and with their promotional operations—the rights could be divided among Makoto, Kitasan Black, and the music company.
The purpose of these documents was to allow Makoto to register with the music company as an artist in name, which would make receiving and distributing song profits much easier.
Makoto didn't see any problems, after all, he really had no intention of pursuing music further.
Besides, having the official identity of a musician would make it much easier later if he ever needed to write other songs or handle related matters.
So after finishing his read-through, he looked at Saburo Kitajima and nodded.
"I have no objections. Compared to music, I still want to focus on coaching Kitasan Black."
<+>
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