"Shaa."
Warm-up complete, Obey Your Master took a deep breath and walked to the starting line Kuroha had marked.
"No need to go full power—just run a lap at your usual training pace."
Kuroha flipped open his notebook.
"Got it, Trainer-san!"
Obey Your Master struck a playful gal pose, placing her right hand beside her ear and flashing an "OK" gesture.
Then, as soon as Kuroha blew his whistle, she launched forward!
Her running form was clearly the product of professional training—straight out of a textbook.
For a Uma Musume, finishing 400 meters was as easy as breathing.
In no time, Obey Your Master completed the lap.
"How was it, Kuroha-san? How'd I do?"
Even with her string of poor performances in the past, she was still a former international G1-level Uma Musume.
Her strength alone would put her on par with anyone at Central Tracen Academy today—perhaps only the newly awakened Tamamo Cross could outshine her.
Not that Central Tracen wasn't going through a bit of a talent gap lately…
"Your fundamentals are solid. It's clear you've been through strict training before."
Kuroha spoke the truth, never stingy with praise.
"Really..." Obey Your Master offered a faint smile.
But after so many losses, that sort of compliment felt hollow.
Kuroha then stepped onto the track and gently poked her toned, long thigh with the tip of his pen, leaving a small indentation.
"When you run, don't use your old form—try this instead…"
He guided her into the proper stance and even jogged a few steps to demonstrate.
"Give it a try."
After explaining, Kuroha backed away and gestured for her to start.
"Huh?"
Obey Your Master stretched her legs, skepticism flickering in her eyes, but still moved into a starting position.
Boom!
Her powerful legs pounded the ground, propelling her forward.
Though doubtful at first, she instinctively adopted the form Kuroha had taught her.
Buzz—
It was like a jolt of electricity surged up from her feet, through her spine, all the way to her brain—an exhilarating rush spread through her entire body.
It wasn't an illusion!
Unlike Fujimasa March, a novice filly, Obey Your Master was a battle-hardened mature horse with years of racing experience.
She understood immediately—this form fit her perfectly.
Maintaining it made her running smoother, cut stamina consumption, and let her body enter explosive states more easily!
One lap later—
Obey Your Master slowly walked back to Kuroha in silence.
"What's wrong? You already hit your limit?" Kuroha joked.
"Y-You... Don't say that..." she stammered, face nearly flushing from the sudden teasing.
Then, she drew in a deep breath and bowed deeply to Kuroha. "Please train me more, Kuroha-san!"
"Don't say it like that... 'train' sounds weird..." Kuroha sighed, a bit exasperated.
Still, seeing this Uma Musume return to her usual self filled him with genuine relief.
"There's an hour and a half left before my girl finishes class."
Kuroha checked his phone and turned to her. "Let's see how much you can absorb in the time we've got!"
"Thank you…"
Obey Your Master's expression turned razor-sharp—her eyes no longer hiding anything, blazing with sword-like determination.
The hour and a half flew by.
Though the park's track was designed for casual joggers and far inferior to professional facilities, Obey Your Master didn't mind at all.
It had been far too long since she felt herself improving like this.
"Hah... Huff..."
Finishing another lap, she wiped her sweat and involuntarily glanced toward Kuroha, waiting for his next instruction.
But the boy outside the track simply waved his hand with a smile.
"That's it for today. We're out of time."
Obey Your Master blinked, then suddenly remembered—he wasn't her actual trainer.
She wiped her sweat with a towel and walked over to him, her expression complex. "Umm… so..."
"Will you be here tomorrow?"
Kuroha considered his schedule before replying, "If it's just mornings, I should be free the next two days. After that, no—I have to accompany my girl to a race."
Hearing that, even just the mention of "two more days" made Obey Your Master light up with joy.
She leaned into him again, clinging to his arm—her ample chest pressing in with a dangerously seductive curve.
Truly a foreign thoroughbred.
Kuroha stiffened slightly, awkwardly shifting his body to the side.
He'd spent plenty of time around Fujimasa March, but this was the first time a Uma Musume had gotten this forward.
Although this outgoing gal persona was part of Obey Your Master's new act this month…
Kuroha wasn't exactly a pure-hearted innocent nice guy. He recovered quickly.
"You dummy, you're all sweaty from training and now you're sticking to me."
"Oh come on~ I wiped it off! Besides, a beautiful girl's sweat smells sweet, you know~!"
...
PS: A quick heads-up — the protagonist will definitely be a loving trainer, but not every Uma Musume will join the team while still active. Some will only join post-retirement. I plan to write about big races that are exclusively for retired Uma Musume, kind of like the Dream Trophies in the game.
Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to include Luna CB or Driver, since they're both retired.
As for Gold Ship, she's from the same generation as Tamamo Cross, and her schedule overlaps too much with Oguri Cap's. So for now, she'll just get some guidance to help her improve, but she'll probably only join post-retirement.
I mean, I could write Gold Ship defeating both Tamamo and Oguri... but if I did that, I might as well just write about Tamamo instead.
Currently, the expected core team will include: Fujimasa March, Inari One, Obey Your Master, Tokai Teio, and Mihono Bourbon.
Further down the line, I personally like Opera O and Daiwa Scarlet.
Roughly one Uma Musume per generation—maybe two if their schedules don't overlap.
Others might join post-retirement or get placed in other trainers' teams (female ones, mostly).
Just like Obey Your Master, I'm also a huge fan of Zoff, so I might bring in some other foreign Uma Musume like Haïdou Star.
She's not truly an Japanese Uma—she's from France. But in this fanfic, I've placed her as Japanese. That's just my own headcanon.
(End of Chapter)
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