Gently, the scent of Spring faded, melding into the sweltering heat of Summer. Clouds became sparse, and the cries of cicadas became an ever-present companion to the rolling winds.
It was no different in Tracen Central Academy. Many Juniors opted to either train indoors or not at all, having found the heat too overwhelming to seriously train in. But whereas the track became less used, the indoor swimming pools became a sought-after commodity, and getting there in time before the pools were completely full became a right of passage for many Junior students.
Naturally, those in their Classic and Senior years didn't follow them. Even if their bodies protested against the heat, the races waited for no one. They had to train their bodies and mind in their road towards victory, even if it meant melting into a puddle by the time day turned to night.
And in the midst of it all, I found myself in our team's clubroom, idly waving a fan to cool myself as I read the small pamphlet I'd received from Hayakawa Tazuna.
I couldn't help but smile slightly as I read the pamphlet's contents. It was an invitation for me and many others to spend the first half of our Summer on the beaches of Okinawa. It was unusual for this year's summer camp to happen outside of Japan's main islands, but it seemed the Director had more money to burn than usual this year around.
"So, what do you all think?" I asked, smiling slightly as I waved the pamphlet into the air. "Wanna take a trip down to Okinawa?"
However, silence was my answer. Not because I was alone in this room, but because everyone else was slumped over, their minds dim as they tried to deal with the sweltering heat of this year's summer.
Eventually, Kitahara groaned. "How…are you…?" He didn't finish his words. He couldn't. He slumped over onto his work desk, eyes dull as sweat poured down his face.
I shrugged. "I've dealt with worse." I said.
Which was true. Sure, this was the first time I'd ever felt this hot in this life. But I was a frequent traveller in my other life, and awful heatwaves like these weren't too uncommon.
"...you're not human." Belno chimed in, her voice raspy despite having gone to the water dispenser several times in the past few minutes.
I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not." I grinned. "I'm an umamusume."
Belno groaned, and I snickered.
Of course, I couldn't help but feel a little bad for them. The sudden shift in temperature caused our clubroom's AC to malfunction, leaving our room no different than an active oven. And we weren't the only ones either; I heard even the Director's own room was facing this same issue, which was why the invitation for this year's summer camp was sent out with such haste—no one wanted to deal with this heat for much longer.
Which was also why Musaka was conspicuously missing. He didn't tell us what he was doing, but I wouldn't be surprised if he already took an early vacation to try and shelter himself from the heat.
"Star…"
"Yeah?" I hummed, and then blinked when Oguri suddenly dropped herself onto my lap, conveniently between me and my fan. I huffed, though I didn't refuse and began fanning her instead. Oguri sighed as she relaxed, finally having felt some relief from the heat.
I gave her head a pat before I turned back to Kitahara. "So, summer camp or no?"
"Will it be colder…?" He weakly muttered.
I frowned slightly. "Should be." I said uncertainly. "I mean, it's still going to be hot and all, but we'll at least be close to the beach. So that should help with–"
Kitahara suddenly stood up. "We're going." He said, his eyes burning with determination.
I snorted as I turned to Belno. "So?" Belno groaned, though she did raise a thumbs up. I smiled, before finally turning to the girl who'd laid her head on my lap. "And you?"
Oguri hummed. "Wherever you go, I go."
I hummed. Well, it seemed everyone here was in agreement. The only one she needed to ask was Musaka, though I had a feeling he'd accept it. This was a trip to Okinawa, after all—considering the man's love for Hawaii, he'd probably like Okinawa's vibes just as much.
"Well," I smiled, carefully placing Oguri back onto the couch before I stood up. "I'll go and inform Hayakawa-san, then."
"Star…" Oguri whined as she watched me head towards the door, but I just smiled as I tried not to laugh. I couldn't help but be reminded of a certain game of Yakiniku every time she made that noise.
"Alright, I'm off." Saying that, I then went to the Director's office to tell her about our team's decision.
Things moved quickly after that.
Fueled by the determination to escape this sweltering heat, Tracen Central went into overdrive as preparations for the summer camp were completed in the span of mere days. Once things were ready, everyone who'd be joining this year's summer camp were told to pack whatever they might need for the next two months they'd be spending in Okinawa.
Just like last year, I ended up helping Oguri repack her luggage after finding out that she was barely carrying anything. Though I had quite the surprise when I found out that half of the things she packed were my clothes that she'd accidentally stolen from my wardrobe whenever she dropped by my room.
But we didn't ride the Shinkansen this time around. Going there by bullet train would take nearly 60 hours, and placing hundreds of umamusume in a confined space for that long was just asking for trouble.
Which was why we were all flying there by plane.
An already horrific experience for most umamusume, made even worse by the fact that the suffering was being shared between hundreds of other students. Thankfully, the flight itself was only around 3 hours long, so most umamusume either tried to sleep the trip off, or just took some medicine to help with the symptoms.
I pretended not to notice when Tazuna went to the bathroom with a few pills discreetly held in her hands.
Of course, I wasn't spared either. I was familiar with the effects due to all the flying we did back in America, but it didn't make it any better. By the time the plane landed, my ears felt like they were full of cotton, and I had to spend a good minute in the bathroom, hovering over the sink as I battled the urge to vomit.
Regardless, after that ordeal was done–
"It's the sea…!" Fujimasa March whispered, eyes wide with awe as she saw the ocean. The waters glittered beneath the sunlight, and waves gently crashed onto the sandy shores. It was the first time she'd ever seen the ocean with her own eyes, and she was completely blown away.
I whistled. "Damn, that's some clear water." I whispered, impressed by how clear the water was. I mean, the beach we went to last year also had some clear water, but even that paled to what we were seeing now.
A small grin came to my lips as I glanced at Oguri. "Wanna take a swim?"
"No." She immediately said.
Belno giggled. "It's not that bad, Oguri-chan."
Oguri's eyes narrowed. "Never."
"Alright, alright~" I quickly patted Oguri's head. "You don't need to swim if you don't want to. How about…" I paused for a moment, glancing at March who was still staring at the ocean with wide eyes. I smiled. "Belno, how about you go and take March on a quick tour around? Scout a good place for us to train and stuff."
"I can do that." She said, before she gave me an unimpressed stare. "And I'm guessing you'll go on a date with Oguri while I'm working?"
I sighed. "I-It's not a date–" I then paused when Oguri suddenly held my hand, all while her tail sneakily wrapped around my leg.
She watched the two of us with a dull stare. "Uhuh. Not a date." She pouted as she patted March's shoulder. "Why don't we go explore, March-san?" March blinked at the offer, and then she quickly nodded. She then smiled as she winked at me. "Well, enjoy your date, Star-chan!"
"It's not…" But Belno was already walking away, and I could only sigh.
Oguri tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"
I shook my head. "It's nothing." I smiled. "So, wanna go have some shaved ice? Like last year?"
Her eyes shone at the mention of food, and she quickly nodded.
.
.
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AN: Apologies for yesterday. Things got a little busier than expected, so I only uploaded a single chapter. Second chapter for today will be coming out like normal though.