Took me a little while, but here's the next chapter. It's on the shorter end (the shortest one so far actually, by like 200 words or so), since I didn't really have much I wanted to write, and just wanted to get a chapter out since I had the time. I've been pretty busy recently, juggling with prepping for school and the Taurus Cup going on in the global servers.
But I at least got a chapter out now, so yeah. I promise the next chapter will definitely be a lot more interesting than this one.
That's all I wanted to say. Without any further ado, enjoy!
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Okino returned back to the track, clipboard in hand. He noticed Kurofune running through the final corner of the turf track as he went into one last spurt.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Kurofune yelled at the top of his lungs as he put his all into finishing his one lap rep.
Near the finish line was Teio, who had a stopwatch timer in her hand. As soon as Kurofune passed the line, Teio stopped the watch.
"What was the time?" Okino asked as he approached her.
"1:34.87," Teio answered.
Upon hearing that, Okino smiled.
"That's way faster than his time during the tryouts," Okino commented. "He's definitely improving a lot."
Okino writes the time down somewhere on the paper attached to his clipboard before deciding to enter the track, approaching Kurofune.
"Hah…hah…hah…" Kurofune panted heavily, nearly gassed out from running so hard. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Okino approaching him. "Oh hey...Trainer-san. What's up?"
"Just wanted to check up on your progress," Okino replied. "It looks like you're doing much better than before."
"Did you see my time for this lap?" Kurofune asked.
Okino nodded, "1:34.87."
Kurofune's eyes widened in surprise.
"That fast!? I knew that I had improved at least a bit, but I didn't expect to be that much faster so soon!"
"Goes to show how hard you've been working," Okino pointed out. "On a similar note, how are you feeling about your training menu so far? Too easy? Too difficult?"
"I think it's great," Kurofune answered. "I don't have any complaints."
"Could you provide a more detailed answer?" Okino asked. "Be as honest as you can be. It'll benefit you in the long run."
"More honest?" Kurofune was surprised by the request, but decided to put more thought into his answer. "Well…I've been improving a lot thanks to your current menu. But…I also feel like it's missing something. Like a lack of intensity."
"Intensity…" Okino jotted it down. "So, would you prefer more volume in your training or the same volume, but just more intense training?"
"The second option sounds good."
"Okay…" Okino jotted more into the paper on his clipboard. "So, if you want greater intensity, why don't you race against Teio? I'm sure she's been itching for a chance to run against you, so it'll benefit both of you."
"Teio-san?" Kurofune thought about it for a moment. "Sounds good to me. If that's what you think will help me improve, I'll do it."
Okino called Teio over, filling her in briefly about the conversation he and Kurofune just had. Teio's eyes will sparkle at the suggestion of her racing against Kurofune, immediately agreeing to do so. Once that was out of the way (and once Kurofune was fully refreshed), Okino had the two Umas line up at the start line.
"I hope you're ready, Kuro-san. I don't plan on going easy on you, even if this is just for training," Teio declared.
"That's fine with me," Kurofune smiled. "Give it everything you've got."
"The mock race will begin when I say go!" Okino announced. "Three…"
The two racers got into a running stance.
"Two…"
Kurofune takes a deep breath.
"One…"
Their bodies tense up in anticipation.
—Clink!
"Go!" Okino shouted as he started the stopwatch.
The two racers quickly accelerate forwards as their race begins. Kurofune does his usual tactic, pacing right behind his opponent. Teio notices Kurofune's plan and smiles.
"So it's this tactic again. I hope you don't think this'll be enough for you to win," Teio comments.
"..." Kurofune remained silent, staying focused on his running.
The two reach the first corner of the track, navigating it perfectly as they carry that moment through the second corner and into the straight. Kurofune managed to maintain his pacing distance of one length behind Tokai Teio.
'So far so good.' Kurofune thought. 'I still have a lot in the tank, and my pacing is on point. Once we get through the final corner, I'll be in prime position to overtake her.'
Eventually, the two racers reach the uphill portion of the track.
—WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
Kurofune, making use of his training, manages to swiftly scale the uphill with powerful and closed strides, even managing to close the gap between him and Teio by half a length.
'Next is the downhill portion.' Kurofune assessed. 'If I keep up the momentum, it'll carry me into the third and fourth corners.'
Things remained going as just as he had planned, with Kurofune using the speed he had gained from the downhill to carry him into the third corner. Kurofune patiently awaited his moment, the two racing through the fourth and final corner of the track and preparing to enter the straight.
'Now!'
—WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
As they entered the final straight, Kurofune began his plan, quickly accelerating as he attempted to catch up to Teio and overtake her.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Kurofune yelled as he began running with all his might.
But, no matter how hard he tried, the gap didn't close. No, it only began widening.
"What?" Kurofune was shocked. "But I'm running at my top speed. Why can't I catch up?"
One length, two, three. Eventually, he began to lose track, but he guessed it was around a six length gap. Teio crossed the finish line decisively, with Kurofune crossing it over a second after she did.
"Hah…hah…hah…" Kurofune began panting heavily as he looked over to Teio, who barely looked tired at all.
He had just lost badly. He knew that Teio was strong, but he didn't know she was this strong.
'So that's the difference between me and a G1 Racer.' Kurofune thought.
It was a bit disheartening to be honest. He had improved so much, yet he was still that far away from an actual G1 Racer.
But it also served as a good reality check. Sure, he had gotten faster. But it's still not enough. If he wanted to truly win a G1 race, he'd have to far surpass his current self.
"Haha…ahahahahahah," Kurofune began laughing.
"H-Hey, are you okay?" Teio asked with a bit of concern. "Why are you laughing all of a sudden?"
"I'm just happy," Kurofune replied. "That race was a lot of fun."
"..." Teio was a bit confused by what he had meant. She loved racing too, but losing by that wide of a gap was the complete opposite of her definition of fun.
"Trainer-san!" Kurofune then called out to Okino. "What we're the times!?"
Okino stepped on the track, checking the stopwatch in his hand as he approached the two.
"You managed to run a 1:34.62, a new best," Okino answered.
"And Teio?"
"1:33.34."
"So that's the time I have to run if I want a chance to win a G1 Race of this distance," Kurofune smiled. "It actually doesn't sound as difficult when I compare the distance between the two times to how much I've improved in the past month."
"As you get faster, it'll inherently get more difficult to improve your times," Okino pointed out. "But, if you keep working hard, you'll definitely be able to run times like this during actual races."
Okino then turned to Teio.
"Hey Teio, could you do some more mock races with Kurofune in the future?" Okino asked.
"Sure!" Teio agreed. "If it means that he'll become more of a challenge for me, I'll be glad to!"
"Why does that sound both motivating and hurtful at the same time…?" Kurofune muttered.
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A few days later…
Kurofune continued training diligently over the past few days, working on fixing up some weaker areas in his race. Today was the day to see if he had made some improvement.
Fast forwarding to the end of the race. The answer…
Teio crossed the finish line first. Around five lengths away was Kurofune, who crossed the finish line shortly after.
…sort of?
Teio had run 1:33.48 that time, while Kurofune had only managed to improve his time to 1:34.53. It wasn't much, but at the same time, it was only a few days worth of training. The longer he kept at it, the more he would be able to get that number down.
As for how long that would take?
He had no idea. He just hoped that it would in time for the Hopeful Stakes.