Chapter 57: Can't I At Least Beat My Senpai Once?
On the other hand, not having enough explosive speed was just as much of a problem.
Races were complex, unpredictable environments. The opportunities to accelerate properly were few and far between.
If she misjudged the timing, accelerating would cost extra time and effort—yet another drain on stamina.
If her initial burst wasn't enough, she'd have to make up for it later. And just like overdoing it, that could easily lead to missing out on victory.
Still, Makoto wasn't too worried about it.
This wasn't a flaw that could be fixed overnight. It required long-term, targeted training.
And just like her sense of rhythm, Kitasan Black had never once slacked off in that area.
She just didn't realize it yet—those daily drills, those repetitive movements in the morning, noon, and evening—those were all meant to strengthen her weaknesses. And without even knowing it, she was already seeing progress.
After all, it was the trainer's job to analyze an Umamusume's traits and give them strategies that played to their strengths and covered for their flaws.
Makoto was confident in that responsibility, and had already incorporated his strategies into her daily training.
As for those plans—well, the black-haired girl now running alongside her seniors on the track hadn't noticed them yet.
"Finish line! All right, that's the end of this set. Everyone take a short break—five minutes until the next one!"
As she passed the temporary finish line Makoto had marked out, Kitasan Black slowed her pace, catching her breath. Then she turned and gave a sharp nod.
"Okay! Got it, Trainer!"
Right after, she bowed deeply to Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka up ahead.
"Thank you both for your help, senpai!"
"Ahaha~ how many times do I have to say this? Kita-chan, you're way too formal." Scarlet laughed, waving her hand dismissively as she walked over to the fence, grabbed a towel she'd left earlier, and began wiping the sweat from her face.
She tossed towels to Vodka and Kitasan Black as well.
"Here! Catch!"
"Thanks, Scarlet."
"Thank you, Scarlet-senpai!"
Gratefully catching the towel and dabbing the sweat from her cheeks, Kitasan Black glanced at her seniors, who had already started chatting casually.
Then she bit her lip and stepped forward.
"Um… senpai, can I ask something?"
Scarlet and Vodka both turned toward her with curious expressions.
"I mean…"
Kitasan's eyes flicked toward Makoto, who was off to the side organizing data.
"…What exactly am I still missing?"
"Missing?" Vodka tilted her head, clearly surprised. "What do you mean, 'missing'?"
Scarlet, on the other hand, seemed to be piecing it together.
"Kita-chan… Are you asking why you haven't beaten me or Vodka in any of the practice races?"
"Ah, w-well…"
Kitasan rubbed her cheek sheepishly, flustered at being seen through so easily.
"I've just been thinking… we've been doing so many of these practice races lately, and I—shouldn't I at least be able to win once?"
As the words left her mouth, her tone lost energy.
A week ago, when Scarlet had just taken over dorm management duties, she'd been too busy to join training sessions. So for a while, Kitasan Black had only been training alongside Vodka.
The training back then was divided into phases—starting dash, cornering, cruising through the middle, the final sprint, as well as things like lane positioning and overtaking. Each practice run had a different focus.
Once Scarlet settled into her new responsibilities, she gradually returned to join their sessions, and the training evolved. The segments were brought together into full-length mock races.
Each one was 1,800 meters—exactly the same distance as the Spring Stakes this weekend.
In those earlier segmented drills, Kitasan Black had felt confident in her efforts and focus. There were even a few times where her performance outshone her senpai.
Whenever that happened, she got so excited. Makoto and Vodka would praise her, offering words of encouragement that lit up her heart.
But now that they were doing full-length practice races, she hadn't been able to cross the finish line before either of her seniors. Not even once.
Even though Kitasan still believed she had trained seriously—had worked hard enough to earn the praise and encouragement she received after every session—she couldn't help but wonder.
Was her performance during these mock races truly good enough?
Or were Trainer and her senpai just trying to spare her feelings with kind words?
To her, the only real way to confirm her progress… was to win. Even just once.
Even if it was only like before—beating her senpai once in any kind of drill. That would be proof.
What she hadn't expected was for Scarlet-senpai to see right through her.
And not just Scarlet—Vodka, who had stood quietly at her side until now, blinked for a moment, then let out a soft snort of laughter.
She had clearly realized what Kitasan was thinking too.
Ugh… this is bad…
Did that question just now offend them?
Did she accidentally make them angry?
Just as her worry peaked—two thumbs suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Eh…? Senpai…?" she blinked, confused.
Both Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka had raised their thumbs with a grin, then lowered them in unison before exchanging a knowing look and casually flicking their noses upward.
"Not bad, Kita-chan," Scarlet smirked. "You've only run in two races and you're already thinking about overtaking us? You're quite the bold one, right Vodka?"
"You said it," Vodka grinned. "We've run alongside a bunch of kouhai before, but you're the first one who's ever said something like that."
"You really are the Umamusume we helped raise."
Their teasing words were lighthearted, but underneath the tone was real approval.
Scarlet walked over and ruffled Kitasan's hair again.
Then, with a playful wink, she wagged her index finger in front of the younger girl's face.
"But hey, as admirable as that spirit is… aren't you underestimating me and Vodka just a little bit?"
Kitasan froze. Then panic washed over her face.
"Ah! N-No! That's not what I meant at all—!"
But even as she frantically tried to explain, she suddenly realized—
Her senpai wasn't wrong.
Sure, she had two wins under her belt—but she had only enrolled a few months ago, and had been training under Makoto for barely three months.
Not to mention, those races were technically part of the Central circuit, but they hadn't even reached the level of open-class events, much less graded stakes.
Meanwhile, both of these seniors in front of her had clawed their way through multiple major events—through trial after trial—and were both G1 champions who had conquered the highest tiers.
Looking at it that way… yes. She was being a little bold. Maybe even reckless.
Yet before she could find the words to explain herself, Scarlet crossed her arms and spoke up again, this time in a calm, serious tone.
"Don't worry, Kita-chan. We get it."
"And what we said just now—we weren't mocking you. It's because you really are different from the other kouhai we've met."
She held her gaze firmly.
"A lot of girls at your stage… they don't even think about trying to surpass us. They don't even consider it."
"But you? You're already trying to figure out how to beat us."
"That mindset? It's incredibly rare—and incredibly precious."
Kitasan Black stood frozen, stunned.
She never imagined Scarlet-senpai would understand her so deeply.
But… thinking back on it…
She really hadn't questioned whether or not she could beat her senpai.
She was seriously thinking about when she could win—and how to win.
"This kind of mindset," Scarlet continued, her voice warm and steady, "will shape your entire career in ways you might not understand just yet."
"But trust me—so long as you keep that kind of heart, your future won't disappoint anyone."
Then, with a small chuckle and a twitch of her nose, Scarlet turned to glance at the edge of the track.
"As for the answer to your earlier question—how to beat us…"
She nodded toward the one standing at the far end, clipboard in hand—Makoto.
"That's something he will have to figure out.
"But if you really want to ask that question—"
A confident smirk spread across her face.
"—save it until you've finished all your training runs with the two of us first."
<+>
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