"Okay, so if I slot this into the Pleiades schedule here, and then move this over there... and... done! Rampage-san, is there anything you need help wi—"
"Oh, you finished? Perfect timing. Ready for lunch?"
"...Uh, yes. Lead the way."
"Alright, Taiki, this is your menu for the next set. Sunny, you're on this one. You both might be pushing the pace a bit too hard, so keep an eye on your splits, okay?"
"OK-desu! You got it!" Taiki chirped.
"Understood," Sunny added with a focused nod.
"Hey, hey! Your pace is flagging!" Rampage's voice boomed across the track. "Why don't we just call it here and go grab a nice, long nap, huh?"
"We're... not... stopping!"
"This is nothing! I'm fine!"
"Me too...!"
Rampage grinned, effortlessly keeping stride beside them. "Well, I've got plenty of gas left in the tank, personally."
"Ugggh..."
Back in a corner of the staff room, Kamizuru slumped over his desk, letting out a heavy, soul-weary sigh.
Having finally returned to Tracen Academy after his accident, he'd found the atmosphere surprisingly welcoming. Senior trainers had offered him words of encouragement, telling him to give it his all. He'd been fired up when he took the job as a sub-trainer, but... he couldn't help but wonder if his "boss" was even human.
"Yo, Kamizuru. Losing steam already?"
"Don't push yourself too hard. You only just got out of the hospital, remember?"
Okino and Tojo, two veteran trainers, called out to him. Part of a senior's job was looking after the rookies, and since Kamizuru had been pulled into the orbit of Rampage's "Team Pleiades," they felt a particular need to check on him.
"It's just... Rampage-san's workload is insane," Kamizuru groaned. "Is she really a rookie like me?"
"Ha! We ask ourselves that every day," Okino laughed. "She's the Chief Supervisor for Nemesis on top of her own training duties. She's doing three times the work of a normal trainer."
"Even I couldn't handle that volume," Tojo admitted.
Rampage's output was monstrous. Yet, because her processing speed was so absurd, she still managed to leave the office exactly on time every day. She'd even show up to drinking parties, outlast everyone, and then appear at work the next morning without a hint of a hangover—never late, never absent.
"With her being that capable... I keep wondering if she even needs a sub-trainer at all," Kamizuru muttered.
He'd been with Team Pleiades for a little over a week, and the doubt was starting to gnaw at him. She could act as her own pacer during practice. She handled her own paperwork in record time. Every day, he asked himself: What am I even doing here?
"She needs you, you know. More than you think."
Kamizuru jumped. "M-Minamisaka-san!?"
"Just 'Minamisaka' is fine," the veteran said with a calm smile. "Trust me, Rampage-san is truly grateful to have you there."
"I... I find that hard to believe..."
Currently, Kamizuru was mainly assigned to Taiki and Sunny—the most social and mellow members of the team—while Rampage handled everything else. He tried to take initiative wherever he could, but it felt like picking up crumbs behind a hurricane.
"Don't overthink it," Minamisaka advised. "She lives her life at full throttle. If you can just find the right rhythm to ride that current and support her, you'll be a top-tier sub-trainer before you know it."
"She seems a lot more 'calculating genius' than 'full throttle' to me..."
"Well, kid," Okino interjected, "nobody passes the trainer exam on their first try through 'momentum' alone."
"People misjudge her because of her personality and her pace," Tojo added, "but make no mistake—she's a brilliant strategist."
The Living Myth, Mejiro Rampage. Even after moving from the turf to the trainer's desk, her genius was already blooming. In a few years, it would be undeniable to the whole world. Will I still be standing beside her then? Kamizuru wondered. Or will I be left in the dust?
Minamisaka gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"It'll be okay. Rampage-san didn't make you her sub-trainer just because you're fellow rookies."
"Then... why did she?"
"You'd have to ask her that yourself."
"Ask her herself, he says... easier said than done."
Kamizuru headed to the clubroom ahead of the students. I just have to focus on catching up, he told himself. One step at a time.
When he opened the door, he found Rampage already there—decked out in her signature racing silks.
"Yo. You're early," she said.
"So are you."
"Well, I am a woman who gets things done."
She certainly was. Taking a deep breath, Kamizuru decided to follow Minamisaka's advice.
"Rampage-san... why did you actually pick me to be your sub-trainer?"
"Because you're a funny guy."
"That's it!?"
"Nah, I'm kidding."
She stopped typing and took a slow sip of her coffee before looking him in the eye.
"Being fellow rookies was part of it, sure. But honestly? It was the way you looked at my running. You were genuinely moved. That meant a lot to me. Plus... I'm not exactly the most popular person among the senior faculty."
"What? But you're friends with Okino-san and Tojo-san."
"That's the thing. There are plenty of people who look at me and think, 'Who does this rookie think she is?'"
There was a definite "Anti-Rampage" sentiment in some corners of the academy. Being a legendary racer didn't automatically make you a good teacher, and some saw her as nothing more than a celebrity scout using her name to hoard talent. Because of that, no established sub-trainer wanted to touch her team.
"I say let 'em talk," she said, her eyes flashing with a familiar competitive fire. "I'm going to turn that spite into an advantage."
"An advantage?"
"If they don't like me, fine. But I won't let them look down on the girls of Pleiades. That's why we need to build our strength now. I want to see the looks on those seniors' faces the day my girls debut and blow everyone away."
Kamizuru was stunned. This is the strength of someone who took on the world.
"Kami-chan, you came from a vocational training school, right?"
"Uh, yeah. I went to a trainer academy right after high school to get my certifications."
"Then you've got the book smarts," Rampage said, pointing a finger at him. "If we combine my field experience with your textbook knowledge, we'll be unstoppable. I want to learn from you, too. Having a 'neutral' rookie trainer is actually a huge help for me—and my methods will be great 'nutrients' for your growth. It's a win-win."
As the logic began to click for Kamizuru, Rampage added one last thing.
"Besides... I'm a bit of a romantic. I believe in things like destiny. And when I saw you... I felt it. A 'fated' kind of vibe."
"...I don't know if I can live up to 'destiny,'" Kamizuru said, finally cracking a smile. "But I'll work for it. I'll work until I'm worthy of standing next to you."
"Attaboy! Work hard, work hard!"
The "fated vibe" Rampage felt was something akin to what Symboli Rudolf felt when she first saw Tokai Teio. It was vague, perhaps even irrational, but she chose to trust it.
And in that moment, she knew she had made the right choice.
Team Pleiades has officially gained its second pillar.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"