Yasui Makoto paid no attention to the expressions on the Uma Musume's faces. His focus stayed locked on Kitasan Black's physical recovery.
He had kept it to himself, but he was truly looking forward to how his Uma Musume would perform in the Satsuki Sho.
Over the past few months, Kitasan Black's steady growth and back-to-back race wins had shown that the direction of their training and effort was spot on. The upcoming G1 would be the real test of all the hard work and sweat they had poured in during this period.
So when the rest period ended, Yasui Makoto did not head to the cafeteria with Kitasan Black and the others. Instead, he went straight to the Student Council office and picked up the Training Race footage.
After the Training Race, the two Student Council Presidents had offered to organize the drone footage themselves and give their thoughts once they reviewed it. The obvious goodwill was clearly not just for Yasui Makoto. More often than not, it was for Kitasan Black.
When he left the Student Council, Yasui Makoto received more than just the organized Training Race footage. The presidents had also included post-race analyses of previous Satsuki Sho events, complete with the trainers' records from back then.
"Tell Kita-chan to prepare well. No matter what, we'll be there cheering her on when the Satsuki Sho rolls around." Tokai Teio said as she handed him the hard drive.
The analytical level of trainers capable of guiding Uma Musume like the two Student Council Presidents was easy to imagine. Especially Tokai Teio—an undefeated two-crown Uma Musume. Her own performance and post-race analysis of the Satsuki Sho carried obvious reference value.
What Yasui Makoto lacked most was practical guidance experience, and these videos were exactly what he needed to fill that gap.
After thanking the two presidents, he returned to his rented house with the USB drive. He did not rest. Instead, he stayed up all night analyzing the race footage and the post-race breakdowns.
The next day, with an optimized Training Race plan in hand, Yasui Makoto arrived at the Tracen Academy track.
Unlike before, he did not stand beside the track this time. He positioned himself outside the fence near the steps. Grass covered both sides of the steps, just like the track surface. The terrain closely resembled a key section of the Satsuki Sho course, making it the perfect spot for a training run.
One of the crucial pre-race Training Races was about to take place right here.
When Kitasan Black arrived, Yasui Makoto was ready to explain the day's training content, but she spoke first, surprised.
"Trainer… did you stay up all night?"
"…Is it that obvious?"
Yasui Makoto was caught off guard. He unconsciously touched the area around his eyes.
"Yes… those dark circles are pretty heavy…"
After speaking with clear concern, Kitasan Black's eyes suddenly brightened. "Oh, right! Trainer, close your eyes for a second."
…Why close his eyes?
He had meant to ask, but he closed them anyway.
"Grandpa always said inspiration tends to strike late at night, so he stayed up a lot too."
Kitasan Black's voice came from right in front of him, accompanied by the soft sound of palms rubbing together quickly.
"Rubbing your palms to warm them up and then placing them over your eyes feels really nice. Like this—"
Soon Yasui Makoto felt a pair of warm palms gently cover his eyelids. He could also feel the girl's neatly trimmed fingernails brush lightly against his eyebrows.
Even before coming to Tracen Academy, Kitasan Black had known that a trainer's job was never easy. Training plans, race scheduling, media negotiations… the trainer handled it all.
She had also heard from Tokai Teio-senpai how her senpai's trainer had worked day and night to research fracture recovery plans just to help her achieve her dream of running in the Kikuka Sho. One of the reasons her senpai had eventually found peace with not being able to compete was that kind of dedication.
That level of commitment had helped her understand trainers better and had genuinely moved her.
Now, seeing the dark circles under her own trainer's eyes, she could guess exactly what had happened.
This had to be for the upcoming Satsuki Sho—the dream her trainer had spoken of, and her dream too.
Since her trainer was working so hard for their shared goal, she would help him in any way she could… and she would push herself even harder in today's Training Race.
With that thought in mind, she kept her palms pressed gently over Yasui Makoto's eyes for a while. Then she pulled them back, rubbed her hands together again, and placed them over his eyes once more. She repeated the process several times before finally stepping back half a pace. She quickly hid her hands behind her back, fingertips fidgeting, and asked expectantly,
"How does it feel? Do your eyes feel a little better?"
When Kitasan Black stepped back, Yasui Makoto opened his eyes.
The black-haired girl stood outlined against the morning light, her silhouette edged in gold. A light breeze stirred the stray hairs at her temples, revealing a faint blush at the tips of her ears.
"…Much better." Yasui Makoto unconsciously touched his eyelids.
Suddenly the long, sleepless night felt completely worth it.
"Mm! That's great!"
Kitasan Black clenched her fists and flashed a bright smile. "Then let's get started with today's Training Race!"
"That's supposed to be my line, you know. You stole it, Kita-chan."
In a lighthearted mood, Yasui Makoto could not help teasing her a little.
After the joke, he quickly gathered his thoughts and turned serious.
"Let's start with the post-race analysis of the Training Race. You remember what I said about its two purposes, right?"
"I know!"
Kitasan Black raised her hand like she was answering a quiz. "One is to check the results of our previous training, and the other is to spot any problems and fix them before the Satsuki Sho!"
"That's right. I gave you a quick rundown yesterday. Your performance exceeded my expectations."
Yasui Makoto nodded. "But now I want to hear it from you. What part of this Training Race stands out most in your memory?"
"The most memorable part…?"
Kitasan Black lowered her head thoughtfully and pursed her lips. "That would be… the first turn and the final turn, I think."
"That's exactly what I was going to say. Take a look at this first."
Yasui Makoto pulled out the tablet he always carried and brought up a clip of the race footage.
It showed the first turn. Daiwa Scarlet was already exiting the bend, her chestnut tail cutting a sharp arc through the air. Right behind her came Kitasan Black, followed by Vodka, then Special Week and Gold Ship in order.
He switched to another clip.
This time it was the final turn. On screen, Special Week, Vodka, and Gold Ship overtook Kitasan Black one after another.
Kitasan Black stared at her own running form from that moment, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.
"This… During special training I could control my center of gravity just fine, but in a real race I always felt like some force was pushing me outward. It made it really hard to run…"
"It makes sense that it felt difficult."
Yasui Makoto nodded. "Throughout the entire race, your seniors used two main tactics: corner blocking and cornering. Those tactics showed up most clearly on the first and final turns, which is why you felt that pressure."
"When I said your performance was unexpected, it was also because you handled one of the best countermeasures early on."
"That countermeasure is gradient acceleration."