Unsurprisingly, being unable to walk was very inconvenient. Making it anywhere became an unceasing endeavour I had to go through, and I could only do so at a snail's pace. And since I was always holding my crutches to walk, it meant that I wasn't able to hold anything while I walked around.
Not that I couldn't walk at all—I could force myself if I wanted, it'd just be somewhat painful. But the doctors had already advised me not to strain myself in the slightest, and trying to walk would just delay my recovery even more.
…Well, that, and the fact that I had Oguri hovering over me near-constantly.
But aside from how inconvenient this whole thing was, I had it easy overall. Sure, being unable to run sucked, but it wasn't the end of the world by any means. Racing wasn't the sole reason for my existence, despite how I wished it was at times.
I could only be awed by how hopeful Teio was in the anime; experiencing three fractures and watching your dreams be crushed again and again would've broken many others. And yet Teio refused to bow down, and she eventually ended her career on a run that was considered a miracle even decades into the future. The sheer resilience she showed was incredible, and there was a reason why many considered Season 2 to be the best of the mainline umamusume anime.
That aside,
"Time!" I called out just as Fujimasa March ran across the finish line. She quickly slowed to a stop, and she gasped as she leaned onto the railing. Her face was pale from a lack of breath, and her hair was damp with sweat.
I smiled slightly, before I reached down and grabbed the water bottle placed next to the chair I was sitting on. "Here." I said as I threw the bottle at her. Her eyes quickly snapped towards me, and she yelped as she moved to grab the bottle. "Good job out there. Take a drink and rest a little."
"...yes." She drank the entire bottle dry, and then coughed as she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. "Thank you, Blossom-san."
"It's fine, it's fine~" I said, smiling wryly. "I mean, it ain't like I can do much, y'know." I did my best to wiggle my toes. "Might as well make myself useful."
March chuckled warily, glancing at my bandaged legs before she looked away with a small wince. It was clear that she was still deeply uncomfortable at the severity of my injuries.
I held back a sigh. I guess it wasn't quite the time to start making jokes about that.
Though I wasn't joking. Since I couldn't do much else while I was recovering, I decided to play as an assistant trainer to Team Kitahara. It was the least I could do for our team—especially since Kitahara himself wouldn't be available due to the Trainer Exam he'd be taking in a week or so, and Musaka was focusing on training Belno whose next race was only weeks away.
"Right, come here for a sec." I said, gesturing for her to come closer. March blinked at me in confusion, but she didn't refuse. She walked closer to me, and I then asked her to bend down slightly. She did so, even if she looked extremely confused.
I then proceeded to bonk her on the head.
"What're you doing?" I asked, my tone both annoyed and amused. "Stop rushing forward, you idiot. You don't have the stamina to sustain that constant effort. At least slow down during the second straight to try and conserve a little bit of energy."
March winced as she gently held her head. "B-But if I don't, then I'll be left behind…"
"You'll be left behind anyways once you run out of steam." I easily shot back. "And besides, this isn't a race. We're trying to build your stamina. Stop trying to make this into a race."
"I…" March quickly turned to the person sitting next to me, her eyes pleading.
Oguri Cap offered her no reprieve. "You're not Star." She said simply, as if that explained everything.
And I suppose it did, since March immediately wilted on herself. She clenched her fists as she looked down in disappointment, obviously seeing herself as a failure for being unable to match Oguri or I.
I sighed.
To be fair, she wasn't wrong. March was significantly behind compared to the other members of Team Kitahara. She wasn't as fast as Oguri, nor was her stamina as good as mine, nor did she have the tactical acumen to command an entire race like Belno did. She was still stuck in that awkward transition phase between a local umamusume and a highly-specialized Central racer.
At least, when compared to Team Kitahara.
In truth, March is a good runner. She was consistently fast, her stamina was stable, and when it came down to it, she could unleash a final spurt to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. With her abilities, she easily deserved her stay at Tracen Central.
The issue was just the fact that March came in at a time when the Generation of Miracles were still active. Dicta Striker, Mejiro Ardan, Sakura Chiyono O, and recently Super Creek—they were all incredible talents that dictated the current generation of Japanese racing.
And that wasn't even mentioning legends like Tamamo Cross who'd only recently awoken her Domain, or Obey Your Master who just transferred to Japan. To say that this generation of racing was stacked would be a complete understatement.
She was like King Halo, in a sense. On her own, she would've been an amazing umamusume, but she was just unlucky.
Of course, that didn't mean Team Kitahara would just give up on her. We were all umamusume who came from Kasamatsu, and us backwater folks needed to stay together.
And besides, we'd all been ordinary in the beginning, right? It wasn't as if Belno and I were immediately legendary figures that were both feared and awed. It took time and effort for us to get to where we are now. What was to say that March couldn't eventually experience that same growth?
Oguri was different, though. That girl was just a monster from the very start of her career.
"Don't look so down." I said to her, grinning slightly as she looked back at me. "Don't compare yourself to us." I leaned forward and poked her forehead. "Right now, your true enemy is yourself. Think only of ways to defeat yourself, and only then could you actually improve."
"Blossom-san…"
"And remember, no rushing yourself, yeah?" My grin grew slightly. "After all, you've still got Shibasaki-san to wait for, right? I don't want to tell your hubby that you injured yourself or something."
"H-Hubby-!?" Her cheeks immediately went red. "I-It's not like that, Blossom-san!"
"Ehe~"
Sure, sure. Whatever you say, March. That tearful promise you shared with your trainer before we boarded the shinkansen totally didn't happen. And the way you looked at him was totally platonic. Nothing more explicit was happening there. Just a dutiful trainer and his trainee that liked staying in his house from time to time.
Mhm. Yep. Absolutely.
In the midst of my teasing, I didn't notice the way Oguri's ears twitched slightly, nor the way her tail began wagging.
March loudly cleared her throat, her cheeks still bright red. "A-Anyway, how is Belno-san doing?"
I raised an eyebrow at the clear diversion, but I didn't call her out. "She's doing alright, last I heard." I smiled slightly. "I think Musaka's putting her through the wringer to help with her speed."
Well, Musaka's training would be spartan if it wasn't Belno who was going through it. Even if her greatest weapon was her tactics, that didn't mean she was a slouch by any means when it came to her physical stats. She'd trained with Oguri and I for a year and a half by this point—Musaka's harsher training wasn't all that different from what we usually did.
And besides, it was necessary. The G1 [Champions Cup] was only a few weeks away, and since it was only 1800 meters in length, she needed to up her speed as much as she could before the race.
"I…I see." March said, and then her shoulders drooped with relief after having successfully pulled the conversation away.
That relief was short-lived as she saw the foxy smile growing across my lips.
"So~" I leaned forward slightly, my eyes shadowed by my hair. "I heard Shibasaki-san's going to visit for New Years. Got any plans you want to do?" I smirked. "Maybe have a nice little date?"
"W-W-Wha…!?"
I winked. "Don't worry. I'm no expert, but I can give a few tips here and there~"
"It's…I…!" She stuttered, and with a face as red as a tomato, she turned away and quickly sped down the track.
I laughed freely as I saw March race away at incredible speed. I have no doubt that she'd just broken her own personal record during that little sprint, and I could only grin. It's been a while since I last managed to tease someone like that—everyone in Team Kitahara had built a resistance to my teasing, unfortunately.
I then blinked when Oguri suddenly linked her hand with mine, and I turned to see if she wanted something. Oguri just tilted her head, her tail gently wagging.
I smiled as I patted her head, and Oguri smiled as well as she enjoyed the warmth.
My own tail began wagging slightly.