That weekend, Fujiwara Chiya headed to Yaeno Muteki's family dojo.
After asking around, he only then learned that the dojo was actually halfway up a mountain, and that the road going up was extremely rugged.
There was a super steep slope close to seventy degrees. Several times, Fujiwara Chiya nearly slipped and fell. Fortunately, Shirayuki's tail reached out in time and hooked him. For the rest of the journey, her tail simply became a safety rope, wrapping around tree trunks as they climbed up.
When he finally saw that tightly shut little door, Fujiwara Chiya let out a sigh of relief.
Now he understood what people meant when they said the road to Shu was difficult.
He knocked on the door.
Only after quite a while did someone respond.
When Yaeno Muteki opened the door, she saw Shirayuki and Chiya covered in dust and dirt.
"Yo, Muteki. Didn't expect your place to be this remote."
Fujiwara Chiya scratched his hair and pulled a few leaves out of it.
"No… Why did you two come through the back door?"
"The back door?"
"This is the place used for disciples' training. Only those with a certain foundation are allowed to enter and exit through the back door. It's also somewhat dangerous, so it hasn't been open for nearly half a year."
Yaeno Muteki pointed toward the front courtyard.
"That is the main entrance."
Then Fujiwara Chiya saw a black car drive in through the front gate.
I struggled up from the foot of the mountain step by step, almost slipped down several times, and thought I had finally found the home of some hidden master. After all that, it turns out I just took the wrong road!
Fujiwara Chiya bared his teeth.
"Come in first."
Yaeno Muteki invited the two into the dojo.
In the front courtyard, there were several disciples wearing training uniforms. Some were human, and some were uma musume. Fujiwara Chiya counted them. There were seven in total.
"They are all the disciples of the Kongou Yaegaki Style."
"All of them?"
"Mm… It's very few, isn't it?"
Fujiwara Chiya was not very familiar with dojos, but seven people did indeed seem rather few.
"In the past, the Kongou Yaegaki Style was a very prosperous branch of martial arts. But now, fewer and fewer people are willing to learn martial arts."
"Is that so? I feel like martial arts can help quite a lot with running. It should be popular among uma musume."
Yaeno Muteki shook her head.
"There are very few uma musume with that kind of awareness. Most of them feel that martial arts and running have nothing to do with each other. And it's not just uma musume. Even if you asked trainers whether running required learning martial arts, they would probably be completely confused too."
Martial arts could help uma musume control their bodies, making it easier for them to understand the Zone.
But how many uma musume could enter the Zone?
Even among those who could, how many would connect racing with martial arts?
Uma musume like Shirayuki, who were willing to polish themselves and search for a path, could be counted on one hand. Trainer Chiya was the same. There were very few trainers who could comprehend running to this degree.
The vast majority of people were unwilling to take even one step into a field they were unfamiliar with.
"That is why I have always been searching for a method to make the Kongou Yaegaki Style flourish again."
Yaeno Muteki looked toward Shirayuki.
"And then I thought of this. I could teach this skill to others. Through this skill, an uma musume could achieve extraordinary results. Then other uma musume would understand the importance of the Kongou Yaegaki Style, and martial arts would regain their prosperity."
"So that's why you chose to help Shirayuki?"
"Yes."
Yaeno Muteki did not simply want to help Shirayuki win.
She had her own selfish desire in this too.
After all, the reason she had come to Tracen was to spread her family's martial arts.
However, that selfishness seemed insignificant compared with everything Yaeno Muteki had given.
"What do you think, Shirayuki? Are you willing to accept it?"
"I don't have any reason to refuse, do I?"
Hearing those words, Yaeno Muteki smiled in relief.
After serving tea and scallops to the two of them, Yaeno Muteki began discussing the main matter.
She had watched Shirayuki's race very carefully, and she knew where the problem lay.
"At present, there are two ways to deal with impact. The first is deflection."
Yaeno Muteki stood up and demonstrated for Shirayuki. She had Fujiwara Chiya come in front of her.
"Hit me."
"Hit you?"
Yaeno Muteki nodded.
"Right now, you are that uma musume running in the race. You are going to collide with me. Choose the point where you want to strike."
Fujiwara Chiya recalled what he had experienced on the racecourse and clenched his fist.
"Are you sure? I'm pretty strong."
"It's fine. I'm asking you precisely because you're strong."
Seeing that she had made up her mind, Fujiwara Chiya no longer hesitated.
He swung his fist, wind whistling around it, and struck toward Yaeno Muteki's shoulder.
The instant Fujiwara Chiya's fist touched Yaeno Muteki's arm, it felt as if he had struck a sponge. There was a soft sensation. Immediately after that, her shoulder trembled, and Fujiwara Chiya's fist changed direction, brushing past her shoulder and swinging behind her.
Fujiwara Chiya's body instantly lost balance, and he fell to the ground.
Shirayuki's eyes widened.
With her current reaction speed, she could see Yaeno Muteki's movements clearly.
But she could not understand them.
What exactly were that soft sensation and that vibration?
Yaeno Muteki patted her shoulder. Her skin had reddened slightly.
Trainer Chiya had not been lying.
His strength was indeed astonishingly great.
Even Yaeno Muteki had been startled by the force behind his strike. Even her fully mastered technique had almost had its defence broken.
This trainer… is he a monster?
Yaeno Muteki muttered inwardly.
"This is deflection. If an uma musume collides with you, then her force will be redirected elsewhere. Of course, this technique has one weakness. It can only deflect the force of one person. If there are many people, it won't work. In that case, you need to use the second method."
Yaeno Muteki looked toward Fujiwara Chiya, who had stood up again.
"Do I hit you again?"
"Of course."
Fujiwara Chiya cracked his knuckles.
Seeing that, Shirayuki frowned beside him. Chiya looked as if he were about to use violence against a girl.
Chiya had shaped Shirayuki according to the image of the perfect beautiful girl in his heart. In the same way, Shirayuki also had to restrain Chiya according to the image of a gentleman. Seeing herself act like this, Shirayuki immediately made a change.
Fujiwara Chiya clasped his hands behind his back and said seriously, "Are you ready?"
"Come."
Taking a deep breath, Fujiwara Chiya reduced his strength and threw a straight punch toward her body.
Thud!
It was completely different from the soft sensation of the first time.
Fujiwara Chiya felt as if he had hit an iron plate. The hard force shocked him into taking half a step back.
"My… hand…"
It felt like it was about to break!
Even Shirayuki clutched her own hand in phantom pain, her whole body trembling.
"The second method is hard force. Use your body to forcibly break through your opponent's attack. Unlike simply relying on brute strength, hard force tests your reaction speed and your control over your muscles. The stronger the opponent's impact, the stronger your counterforce becomes."
Good thing I held back just now.
Also, aren't both of these techniques pretty difficult?
"Prepare yourselves, Shirayuki and Trainer Chiya. The training from here on may be somewhat painful."