Northerly knew he was woefully unprepared for the attention he would receive if he revealed himself. All that time he spent watching grainy press interviews, which were very invasive, had proved that. He watched Umas with much more confidence than himself, struggling to keep up with it all.
He also doubted, however, if they would see a difference at all. So many Umas had eccentric personalities and lofty goals; who was he to assume that they would even care if he was different?
Was he a man or an Uma? Honestly, he was unsure.
So, his plan then was simple. Play it safe and stay unremarkable.
Northerly began by writing out his racing goals. He wanted to take on the three Triple Crown races. These races can only be entered during a Umas classic year and are some of the biggest and toughest in Japan.
To enter any of them, he would need to meet a number of prerequisites. Starting with a race record. Which is easier said than done. The Twinkle Series is overseen by the Japanese Racing Association, or JRA, and the race record is only valid if the races were JRA-approved and graded races.
JRA graded races are graded between G3 and G1, G1 being the highest grade of race and the most prestigious. He made a note to avoid any G1 races until his classic year because in G1 races, Umas must wear their signature racewear.
Northerly already had his signature racewear's design in mind. Unfortunately, because he didn't want it to impede his running like the bulky tracksuits and scarf he was wearing, he couldn't use it. He would be exposed immediately.
On top of that, to even enter a JRA race, he would need a trainer. To get a trainer an Uma must be scouted via Scrimmage races or tryouts; both events would be open to having press and hopeful trainers on Tracen's schoolgrounds.
So many things to think about, and that was just for his racing goals!
Northerly also wanted to make a couple of trustworthy friends and become amicable with most of his classmates. If they already know him, once he reveals his true self, maybe they won't change the way they see him because they knew him before.
His plan for the media was similar. He wanted to race in some lesser races and lose on purpose. As much as it hurts to lose, the press would have a precedent on reporting on him as rather unremarkable, and once he is revealed to them, it may be hard to change that.
Sitting in his dorm writing this all out made it seem overwhelming but manageable. It was a lot to deal with, but now there was some semblance of order to this chaos of his first year. All that was left was to have fun and train hard, regardless of how things turn out. Northerly is determined to become a legendary Umamusume no matter what.
He put on his scarf and donned his gym uniform, a red and white tracksuit and long-sleeved sweatshirt. It was nice to wear something he could move freely in.
During the next few days before classes start, Northerly wanted to learn how the gym works, he also wanted to train on the track.
It was very early in the morning; he hadn't quite adjusted to the lack of early morning work. As he left the dorms, he didn't see anyone else awake yet. The sun was barely over the horizon. He felt the chill of the winter air on his skin as he stepped outside.
It was so cold that his ears stood straight up and his tail ticked itself around his leg, his body had stiffened up. Australia was much warmer than this even in its harshest winters.
He began to run; the exercise should heat him up. He hopped into the Uma Lane and headed toward Tracen. If no one was awake, he could use the track freely.
He spent the better part of that morning running laps on the various tracks, it was the best he had felt since he learned of his acceptance to Tracen.
Running was bliss for Northerly; he could just leave his anxieties and move forward, even if it was just for a little while.
He followed his morning run with breakfast in the mostly empty cafeteria; he could face the wall and eat, and no one could see his face.
After all was said and done, he was feeling much less stressed, so he headed to the gym.
The gym was once again almost empty, besides one lone Umamusume lifting some weights.
Northerly recognised her, Mejiro Ryan. Kiseki had said she won't be that talkative at the moment, and he wanted to know why. She also seemed to know how to use the gym properly so trying to make friends with her couldn't hurt.
Ryan inhaled sharply, and her tail straightened as she lifted a bar with several weight plates from the ground: a perfect deadlift. It hit the ground with an almighty thud as she dropped it.
Only then did she notice him.
"Good morning, you're the new girl, right? From Australia?" Apparently, she had heard of him.
"Yes, that's me. My name's Northerly. I was hoping you could teach me how to use the gym. If it's not too much trouble." He spoke with rigid formality; it was best not to be too forward.
Her demeanour shifted substantially; she wiped the sweat from her head and tail with a vigour her body showed no signs of possessing mere moments ago.
"You want to learn how to lift?" She seemed to be attempting to conceal her excitement.
"I have never used a gym before, and Kiseki said you knew a lot about them." He was starting to get concerned about what exactly this was going to entail.
Ryan's tail swung back and forth as she approached him with a wide grin.
What followed was a rather enthusiastic and informative explanation of the basics of using gym equipment, followed by using said equipment. It was late afternoon by the time they were finished, and Northerly was practically shaking from exhaustion.
"I'm surprised you could keep up with me! My workouts are tough, and for your first time, it's impressive you can still stand." She sounded proud of her brutal training regime. Her words were the only positive thing he could feel right now, but that was enough.
"I will catch up to you soon enough." He offered a friendly challenge, maybe then they can train together again.
"Hishiama was telling the truth; she would have loved you in Miho." Her response referencing his challenge of Hishiama from yesterday. Maybe they knew each other?
"We'll see about that. I have to train much harder than you at the moment, but you can try to keep up!" Her words were filled with determination.
"What are you training for?" He asked
"The Satsuki Sho." She replied, flexing her biceps in some sort of confident pose.
The Satsuki Sho is the first of the Triple Crown races. Northerly had watched it year after year on TV, a 2000-meter medium-distance race in Nakayama held in early April. He could remember it was always one of the most popular G1 races in Japan.
Northerly's tail began to wag; he tried his best to contain himself.
"That's an amazing race! I used to watch it every year on TV" That was enough out of him, he couldn't let her know he more or less knew everything there was to know about all the Triple Crown.
"It will be when I win! Say, have you ever watched a race in person before?"
"No"
He couldn't help but feel a little out of his league when it came to races. The crowds would be a lot, and aside from Tracen and his short time getting to Tracen, he hadn't really dealt with that many people before.
"Would you like to watch the race? I can give you a ticket because I'm competing." She made the offer as though it was nothing, as if she could just hand out these tickets to anyone.
"I only have a few tickets to give, but if you want to join me for some partner training sometimes, I can make sure you see the results on the turf."
Obviously, she wasn't going to just hand the ticket out like that for free. But because Northerly was planning to train in the gym anyway, this was a win-win.
"I would love to come!" he accepted her invitation with more gratitude than he had ever given anyone before.
They stayed talking in the gym for a short while before he headed out, once again being assaulted by Japan's harsh winter.
He hastened his return to the dorms in desperation for a warm blanket and a hot shower.
Dashing up the dorm's stairs and to his room, the heating system defrosted him. He began to feel the full aftereffects of his day with Ryan once more.
Despite his condition, he spent his evening processing what exactly he had accomplished today, whilst he prepared for a hard-earned sleep.
Not only did he learn how a gym works, but he also now had what must be the start of a friendship with Ryan. She was also going to be his gym training partner, who just so happens to be training for the very race he intended to enter next year.
And on top of that, he got a ticket to see the race in person!
He was excited about what tomorrow may bring as he planned to go try out the racetracks properly. Maybe he would make more friends there.
Aside from an offhanded comment from Ryan about his scarf making, it harder to breathe, no one had truly questioned his disguise.
Overall, his anxiety had reduced by a significant amount, and as he dragged his aching body into bed, he couldn't help but think that tomorrow could not seem to come soon enough.