Seeing that Special Week had mostly recovered, Starlight stood up and walked over to Silence Suzuka.
"Is Suzuka-chan here to keep them company too?"
"Ah, yes. I have quite a bit of free time today, I finished all my homework this morning, so I didn't have much to do back at the dorm. I thought I'd come over and take a look."
"I see..."
"Starlight-senpai, could you please come over and be our model for a moment?"
Suddenly, Tokai Teio's voice rang out.
Starlight stopped chatting with Suzuka, turned around, and walked toward them.
Under the watchful eyes of the Team Spican Uma Musume, Divine Starlight was guided by Tokai Teio into an extremely high-difficulty pose.
Her feet were slightly apart, her torso arched backward, and her palms almost reached her heels.
Starlight's physical curves were perfectly showcased in this position.
Her pale, tender midriff was slightly exposed, and the shadows beneath the hem of her shirt looked incredibly enticing.
As Divine Starlight's breathing grew heavy, the rise and fall of her chest became quite pronounced.
"Do you see? This is the power point for the waist..."
Tokai Teio produced a pair of black-rimmed glasses from somewhere and put them on as she stepped beside Starlight.
She placed her hands on Starlight's waist, explaining the mechanics in meticulous detail to Special Week and the other two.
Her face flushing slightly, Spe-chan suddenly raised her hand and spoke up.
"Reporting! I can't see very clearly, can I stand a bit closer?"
"Alright then, Spe-chan, move in closer."
(T/N: Spe-chan you dog...)
Tokai Teio crouched down and pointed toward Starlight's calves.
"Okay, Starlight-senpai, stand up and do a single-leg side extension."
"Mm~"
Rising slowly, Starlight stood on one leg and lifted the other until it was parallel to the ground.
"Now, on your toes..."
Taking a deep breath, Divine Starlight slowly rose onto her tiptoes.
After a few initial wobbles, her figure became perfectly still.
"Ohh!! That's amazing, Starlight-senpai!"
Daiwa Scarlet nodded in surprise, couldn't help but remarking:
"Whenever I try these moves, I always feel a downward pulling force on my chest, making it hard to keep my balance. Is it just that my sense of balance is really poor?"
The moment those words left her mouth, Divine Starlight couldn't hold it in and tumbled to the ground.
The others froze for a moment before their eyes instinctively drifted toward Daiwa Scarlet's chest.
Silence Suzuka thought. 'Why is everyone looking at her? I feel like I'm the one being insulted...'
"Ahaha, well, actually, it's the opposite."
"Because, Daiwa Scarlet, you need to calm your heart to find your center of gravity. That point might be a bit different compared to other Uma Musume..."
Tokai Teio scratched her head, her mouth twitching as she explained.
In truth, among those present— excluding Daiwa Scarlet and Gold Ship— Starlight was the only one with substantial assets.
Next was Special Week, while the others could be described as having "some, but not much."
As for Suzuka-chan, her "assets" were practically non-existent...
Fortunately, the coaching from Teio and Starlight was quite effective.
By the end of the day, the members of Spica had mastered the basic framework of the dance.
The following morning.
During the fourth period of self-study, Starlight and Teio brought the Spica girls to the swimming pool.
Wearing a school swimsuit, Starlight watched Teio on the diving board.
With a simple handspring, Teio performed an elegant flip and dove gracefully into the water.
"Oh~ That was a nice dive, Teio-chan."
Swimming back to the surface, Teio paddled toward the edge and replied, "That's because it's me, Starlight-senpai! I'm quite confident in my body's flexibility."
"By the way, Gold Ship, is it really okay for you not to practice?" Starlight asked.
The two of them turned their gaze toward Gold Ship, who was lying on a lounge chair sipping a drink.
"It's fine, it's fine. I've already got the gist of it. Right now, I'm acting as your supervisor."
Having said that, she turned to the trembling Special Week on the diving board.
"Hurry up, Spe-chan! Take a brave leap!"
"N-No, I can't do it! It's— it's too high up here!!"
Looking down at the pool, Special Week felt as though the water was shrinking into a tiny dot while the hard floor around it was growing infinitely larger.
It felt as though if she jumped, she would definitely crash onto the hard ground and turn into "Flattened Special Week."
"Oh my... oh dear..."
Suddenly, Special Week's foot slipped. She slid right off the diving board and went flying backward.
Boing!
"Aaaaaaaaaah—!"
In the moment she fell, Spe-chan's body contorted into a "卍" shape, spinning wildly as she plummeted toward the water.
SPLASH!!!
In an instant, a massive spray of water at least three or four meters high shot up, drenching Starlight and Tokai Teio on the sidelines until they looked like drowned rats.
Tokai Teio stared at the figure bobbing on the surface of the water and hurriedly grabbed Starlight's hand.
"Starlight-senpai! Spe-chan is floating—!"
"What?! Let's pull her out, quick!"
Soon, Special Week was hauled onto the deck.
She lay there peacefully on the tiles, eyes tightly shut, with water occasionally trickling out of her nostrils.
"What should we do, Starlight-senpai? Something seems wrong with Spe-chan. Should we take her to the infirmary?"
"There might not be time... Let's try rescue breathing first..."
Starlight frowned, her expression urgent.
Throwing caution to the wind, she knelt beside Spe-chan, parted her lips, and pressed her own against them.
This scene left Teio, standing beside her, and Gold Ship, watching from a distance, completely stunned.
'Wait... what's happening to me... why is there something soft on my mouth...'
Slowly opening her eyes from her faint, Special Week's pupils dilated the moment she realized what was happening.
"Wait, wait! Starlight-senpai, Spe-chan is awake!"
Seeing Special Week open her eyes, Teio quickly pulled Divine Starlight back.
"Spe-chan, are you okay?"
After standing up, Starlight hurriedly helped Special Week sit up, asking with deep concern.
"I—I'm okay. It's just, Starlight-senpai, what was that just now...?"
Hearing her dazed question, Divine Starlight looked at the ground, her face flushing crimson.
"Well... in the heat of the moment, I gave you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. I'm so sorry..."
Nodding slowly, Spe-chan reached up to touch her lips, seemingly recalling the sensation from a moment ago.
She quickly stood up and waved her hands frantically.
"No, no, it's fine! It's my own fault for being such a coward."
"Because of that, I made you resort to that kind of method to save me... and besides, I'm perfectly fine now! Haha."
"It's all because I'm so useless—"
"How can you say that, Spe-chan! You are my top disciple!"
Starlight took Special Week's still slightly wet face into both of her hands and spoke with total sincerity.
"Ah... Master—"
"Spe-chan, you are so smart and incredibly resilient. Please, believe in yourself, okay?"
"...Yes. Yes, thank you, Starlight-senpai."
'Starlight-chan is so gentle... and she even did that for me just now...'
Special Week looked at the silver-haired Uma Musume in front of her.
Those golden eyes gazing back were filled with nothing but care and encouragement.
"Alright, we have vocal practice this afternoon. Spe-chan, let's head to the cafeteria for lunch and then get some rest."
"Okay, Starlight-senpai!"
After lunch, Special Week dragged her exhausted body through her dorm room door.
Seeing Suzuka already sitting at her desk doing homework, she spoke weakly.
"Suzuka-chan... I'm back..."
"Welcome back, Spe-chan. What happened? Are you alright?"
Shaking her head, Special Week collapsed onto her bed and hugged her carrot plushie.
"During training this morning, I accidentally fainted in the pool. Starlight-senpai and Teio-chan had to fish me out."
"Ah! Are you hurt, Spe-chan? How do you feel now?"
"Mm, I'm okay. Starlight-senpai gave me mouth-to-mouth, and she was so encouraging and caring the whole time."
Clutching the plushie tight, Special Week recalled the scene from earlier, a smile involuntarily spreading across her lips.
"Starlight-senpai really is so kind and reliable."
Hearing Special Week's words, Silence Suzuka's eyes suddenly narrowed.