Chapter 95: Kitasan Black's Guidance
Bringing the newly acquainted Almond Eye to the training field, Kitasan Black pressed a hand against her chest, took a deep breath, and turned with a smile.
"Ai-chan, do you know how to warm up?"
'Ai-chan…?'
Having quietly observed the senpai beside her this whole time, Almond Eye couldn't help but blink when she heard the nickname.
"…Yes. The senpai at home taught me."
'So she really is from a distinguished family…' Kitasan Black nodded knowingly.
Back in the corridor, she had only asked Almond Eye some questions about running, not about her family background.
But she had faintly sensed that this kouhai carried an aura similar to the Satono sisters, suggesting a rather privileged upbringing.
Now that her hunch was confirmed, she recalled her Trainer usual teachings, as well as the training style of Satono Crown and Duramente, before gesturing toward the track.
"Then let's start with some warm-ups. I'll get a few things organized on my end."
"Okay."
Without hesitation, Almond Eye nodded, all the while keeping Kitasan Black in the corner of her eye as she began stretching in place.
Once she felt ready, she adjusted her breathing and jogged toward the track.
Even as she entered the lane, her gaze continued to flick toward Kitasan Black.
Since childhood, she had always been told to uphold the family's honor in short-to-middle distance races, and thus her training was centered around the 1000–1800 meter range.
At first, she hadn't understood what the Twinkle Series was really about, so she simply followed her family's arrangements.
But as she grew older and witnessed the longer races and their sheer brilliance, an irrepressible yearning blossomed within her.
She longed to break free from her family's honor and limits, and to prove herself on grander, longer stages.
She had tried telling her parents and relatives about this desire, but was sternly rejected.
After several attempts, she stopped bringing it up.
Just as a race one cannot win holds no meaning, conversations that cannot change anything are meaningless.
She resolved to find the path beyond 1800 meters by herself.
That was when, by chance, she saw Kitasan Black's races—and out of curiosity, discreetly asked her family about her.
The result was a delightful surprise.
Before debut, most evaluations of this senpai had been unanimous: people thought she would only ever succeed in sprints.
But after debuting, her spectacular trio of consecutive middle-distance victories blew those judgments away without a trace.
After learning that, Almond Eye had always been thinking about how she might approach this senpai, to ask how she overcame both public opinion and distance limits.
She hadn't expected to meet her so coincidentally at this very event.
The so-called "Little Satsuki Sho" was, of course, set at 2000 meters—a distance Almond Eye had long yearned for.
So then, just how will this senpai guide me?
Carrying that question and anticipation, she returned to Kitasan Black once her warm-up was done, a little impatient despite herself.
"Kitasan Black-senpai, I've finished warming up."
Her tone was calm when she spoke, with not the slightest hint of her eagerness, though the corner of her eye couldn't help but flick toward Kitasan Black's feet and hands.
During her warm-up, she had already noticed that Kitasan Black-senpai had taken quite a few notebooks out of her bag—some palm-sized, some as large as a textbook or workbook.
Most of them were visibly worn, no doubt from frequent use, while the rest looked brand new.
Aside from the notebooks, there was also a tablet, a stopwatch, and other tools.
Almond Eye figured all of these must be the preparations her senpai had made for the race.
"Mhm, mhm! That was a very solid warm-up. Looks like you've been training diligently, Ai-chan."
Cradling a tablet in one hand and a small notebook in the other, Kitasan Black praised her with a smile, then glanced down at the notebook.
"Then next… run 1000 meters, just in the way you're used to running. Is that okay?"
Hearing the number 1000, Almond Eye couldn't help but frown slightly.
Short-distance races were from 1000 to 1400 meters, while mile races were 1401 to 1800.
She had heard those numbers over and over since she was little—so often that her ears felt calloused from it.
But she quickly relaxed her brow, nodded calmly, and turned toward the track.
"Should I start now, Kitasan Black-senpai?"
"Mhm! Right now. Let me set the stopwatch."
Taking the stopwatch that hung from her neck, Kitasan Black adjusted it for a moment, then raised her hand with a lively expression.
"Okay, I'll count you down from three. Three, two… one!"
A sharp gust hit her face as the young Umamusume before her shot off like an arrow loosed from the bow. Kitasan Black couldn't help but be astonished.
'What an incredible start—and that speed and power… she's so fast!'
She stared for a moment in surprise before quickly snapping back, eyes locked on Almond Eye's figure as she pressed the stopwatch each time the girl crossed a distance marker.
From the warm-up until now, Kitasan Black had been imitating her Trainer's usual training style, even including some of the insights they exchanged before and after practice.
Every single one of those points, she had carefully written down in her notebooks. Back at the dorm she would rewrite them neatly, and flip through them whenever she had free time.
For this event, she had even bought new notebooks, specifically to review her old notes and compile a "How to Teach Kids to Run" guide.
The key excerpts of that guide were right there in the small notebook she held.
And right now, she was on the very first step of those notes: confirming Almond Eye's basic ability.
Just as Trainer had done for her at the very beginning.
When Almond Eye finished the 1000 meters, Kitasan Black compared the stopwatch with her notes and did a quick calculation—only to be stunned again.
Almond Eye clearly hadn't even entered her full growth stage yet; her arms and legs were still small, her height only reaching her chest.
And yet, she had just run 1000 meters at nearly 15 meters per second.
That was already close to the level of someone just beginning to break into true form.
As far as Kitasan Black remembered, even after reaching her own true form, her starting training times had only been a little over 15 meters per second.
Which meant this kouhai before her might even surpass her talent—in speed, at the very least.
On top of that, perhaps thanks to her natural stamina, Kitasan Black also noticed how Ai-chan seemed fatigued.
Turning these thoughts over, she continued with the tests, her mind running quickly.
'If that's the case, Ai-chan's closing kick should be quite strong. Maybe she could stay further back, then surge forward in one last breath…'
'No, wait—Trainer always said the best timing for a closing kick comes only with experience. But Ai-chan hasn't even run a real race yet… so she can't stay too far back.'
'Then what about running as a front runner? But that position demands high stamina… could Ai-chan really endure that?'
'She can't trail too far behind, she can't rely on chasing, and front running tests her endurance…'
'Then… should I let her try pace chasing, like me…?'
'Ugh… this is so hard! Is this what being a trainer feels like? It's so difficult!'
'No, no, I can't think that way!'
'Come on, Kitasan Black. Ai-chan is trusting you so much right now. You even said in front of Trainer that you'd do your best. You can't lose heart here!'
'Hmm… maybe I need to see more of her ability first…'
'Ah! I've got it!'
After wavering between doubt and determination, Kitasan Black's eyes suddenly lit up. She waved toward Almond Eye, who had just finished her first test on the track.
"Hey—Ai-chan! I've got an idea! Come run with me now!"
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind paying $5 each month to read till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1].
Latest Post In Patreon: Chapter 135: False Start[2]
Link to the chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/uma-musume-it-i-141501318[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1615744?view=condensed[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1615744?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/uma-musume-it-i-141501318
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/uma-musume-it-i-141501318
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1615744?view=condensed