"Happy New Year, Trainer" Astonishing said with a smile.
At last, her junior year has finally comes to an end. The new year marks her journey in the classic.
Takeda, upon seeing her enter the room, set down his pen. "Happy New Year, Aston," he replied.
She reached into her bag and pulled out a small, traditional Omamori (luck charm) she had picked up from the shrine.
"I got this for the team room," she said, handing it to him. "I figured since I'm the one doing the running, I should give the luck to the person doing the thinking."
Takeda stared at the charm for a few seconds before taking it. "A charm, eh? I'm not really into that sort of thing, but I suppose it's a good thing to keep. Sure, I'll take all the help I can get to keep up with you."
Astonishing let out a soft laugh. "Well, don't look so burdened by it. It's just a little insurance for the days when things don't go as intendedly"
Takeda let out a relieved sigh, he really thought her defeat in Hopeful Stake would bring her mood down. He's even ready to bring her to recreation, but looks like he's just worried for nothing. She doesn't look too bothered by her defeat.
"Hmm... are you okay, Trainer?" she asked curiously.
He cleared his throat, leaning back in his chair as he tried to regain his usual composure. "I'm fine, just a little bit distracted"
"Really? That's unusual. Why don't take a coffee break? I can brew you one" She bustled over to the small kitchenette in the corner of the team room.
A few moments later, she returned, carefully balancing a steaming mug. As she set it down, the rich, nutty aroma of the beans filled the room. She then pulled up a stool and sat across from him. "So, Trainer. What's the plan for this year?"
Takeda took a long sip of the coffee. It was surprisingly well-brewed, strong enough to jumpstart his brain. "Hmm... it's pretty good"
"Well, my father likes coffee and I used to brew for him" she admitted. "I mean, how hard can it be? Just put the right amount of coffee and pour the water"
He set the mug down on a coaster, "Well, moving on, the plan is get you in for the Satsuki Sho, of course. You have a strong performance in the Hopeful Stakes so that'll be a consideration for your entry--"
"--The Satsuki Sho isn't much different from Hopeful Stakes, same track, same layout. While you didn't win, at least you have an experience on running there. However, just having one race experience might not be enough--"
"--That's why I'm going to register you for the Yayoi Sho. It's one of the trial races for Satsuki Sho. If you can place in the top three, it's a guaranteed entry to the Satsuki Sho"
Astonishing nodded slowly, "Yayoi Sho huh... what about End?"
"End? You mean World's End Opening?" He tried to guess the exact person she's asking about. "Well, I don't have any information on which races she's going to enter next. Not like it's a public information anyway. If you want to know, why don't you ask her yourself?"
She put one hand on her chin, clearly unamused. "I'm not really in the mood to see her right now"
"Fair enough," Takeda conceded, "But that's the only way to know"
"... Hmm"
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MUNCH
Dantsu Flame took a big bite on her carrot burger as she watches the replay of Hopeful Stakes on the cafeteria television.
"Dantsu, what are you watching?" Joining the table is Jungle Pocket, bringing a carrot steak. "Hmm... isn't it last year Hopeful Stakes?"
The the footage then highlighted the runner No. 6, which is Astonishing.
"Hey, isn't that the junior Fuji brought to eat with us?" Pokke pointed. "Man... I still can't forget the way she swallow all those food... Anyway, it's been a long time, I've never met her again since then. I wonder why it's so hard to find her."
Jungle Pocket is not wrong, Astonishing is really hard to find especially when there are a mountain of food blocking her. But not all of them were actually hers. It's some kind of guessing game. When you see a mountain of food, it could be either of these four person: Oguri Cap, Special Week, Hishi Miracle, and finally Astonishing.
That makes it a 25/25/25/25 chance of finding Astonishing behind that pile. But there's a really small chance of finding Rice Shower. So maybe that makes it 20/20/20/20/20 chance?
Back to the story.
"She really fought with everything, but finished second with only a length..." Dantsu said.
"..." Losing, Jungle Pocket knows very well how it felt. Especially losing to the same person multiple times. Dantsu knows it too, even worse for her.
"Astonishing... if even Fuji shows interest on her, the I might as well do" she said.
While the two were busy with their talk, another umamusume sits a few tables apart from them. Black hair, white ahoge, and yellow eyes, casually drinking a cup of coffee while watching the same television as them.
Manhattan Cafe.
"That girl..." she whispered.
Cafe has been observing Astonishing for a long time. She's particularly interested in her, even her friend is also somewhat curious.
"A ghost? No... it doesn't emit negative energy... what is it?" she murmured. "It's like... a flickering candle"
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"Achoo!"
"You okay?" Takeda asked with concern. "We can't have you sick while training"
"I'm fine, just the cold weather" she assured. "I'll be warm once we start training,"
Takeda looked outside the window, "It's snowing pretty bad outside, I think we should switch to the gym for now"
"Eeehh? But it's not like racing during a snowy weather is rare, right?"
"True, but not in this kind of weather"
She huffed. "Fine... whatever you said"
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The gym...
I don't think anyone needs an explanation on what do you do in a gym, right?
It was a massive indoor facility with a lot of umamusumes training inside. You have barbells, treadmill, stationary bike, bench press, leg press, everything you need in a gym.
"Oahh! There you are!" Astonishing's eyes turned towards leg press machine, in which Jungle Pocket were using. She locked the machine, and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Do you remember me?"
"O-oh... of course! How can I not?" How can someone forget the person who lightened the fire inside her?
"Phew... I thought you already forget about me" She relaxed a bit. "Anyway, what's with you? You are so hard to find"
"Ah... hahaha... I've been around" Astonishing is out of world.
Jungle Pocket then turns towards her trainer. "Oh, are you her trainer? Sorry if I interrupted your training time. It's just she really caught my attention, I couldn't attend the race but I've watched the replay. I was really intense, I can't wait for her next race. I'll definitely attend it, I promise!"
"I appreciate the enthusiasm. She's certainly the type to make people stop and watch." he said.
"You bet! Anyway, I'll let you get to it. My legs aren't going to press themselves!" And just like that, Jungle Pocket turned back to her machine.
Takeda then turned towards Astonishing, "Alright, let's start with something basic. The treadmill."
"Treadmill, huh?" Truth be told, she doesn't really like treadmill. While the point is to make you run, the feeling isn't the same.
"Sorry, but we must make use of what we have"
"I know, I know," Astonishing sighed, stepping onto the treadmill, and begun running. As she began to jog, she caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the darkened window, but she also caught another person's reflection. Sitting pretty far from her, someone with dark hair is looking at her, but when she blinks, that person is gone.
'Am I seeing it wrong?!'
Her heart skipped a beat, her rhythm faltering for a split second on the moving belt. She blinked rapidly, staring at the glass. There was nothing there now.
A few rows back, hidden behind the bulk of a squat rack, Manhattan Cafe lowered her head, her long bangs casting a shadow over her yellow eyes.
"She noticed," Cafe whispered
Takeda noticed that his trainee is unease, "If you're tired already, we can scale back."
"No! I'm fine," she snapped back. "Just... a sudden chill, must be the A/C"
'I should just focus on the training' she thought.
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"Alright, that's enough for now" Takeda tapped the stop button, and the treadmill belt gradually slowed to a halt. "Let's take a short break before continuing"
She grabbed her towel, and wiped her face from all the sweats before grabbing her water bottle. Just then, she spotted someone familiar in the corner of her eyes.
It was End, she looks... uneased, and her trainer is trying to get her back to focus.
'What's wrong with her? Wait, this might be a chance to ask her about her next race. There's no other choice...'
Astonishing draped the towel over her head, using the fabric to partially mask her face as she approached her and overheard their conversation.
"Please don't make things even more complicated for me. Get yourself together..." he said.
Meanwhile, End, as if she didn't hear what her trainer said can only pacing back and forth. "Not like this!"
It's clear that she's uneased. As an outdoor type, End suffers a lot when she got trapped indoor especially during a storm.
'So she's that type of person eh', Astonishing thought.
Taking a breath, Astonishing decided to drop the stealth. She pulled the towel from her head and stepped into End's vision.
"Well...well...well... " she said. 'Time for a little revenge'
End stopped mid-pace, her head snapping toward Astonishing. Her usual icy composure was frayed; there was a slight tremor in her hands, and her eyes, though still sharp, had a restless, hunted look to them. Her trainer looked up, clearly relieved to have the pacing interrupted, even if it was by a rival.
"Astonishing?!" She hissed as she tried to get back to her usual self. "W-what is it that brought you here? Don't you have something to keep yourself busy with?"
"Oh, I'm plenty busy. But it's hard to ignore someone I know circling non-stop. I thought the 'World's End' was supposed to be the one bringing the storm, not the one hiding from it." she teased her.
"H-huh? Me? Hiding? Clearly you didn't know me enough, I am--"She got cut mid sentence by her trainer.
"She's just been a bit restless because of the blizzard," he said.
"Hmm~~ is that so..."
End whipped her head toward her trainer, and shoot a glare at him, "I am not restless!"
She turned back to Astonishing, "And you! Shouldn't you be busy with your own training? Or have you decided that bothering me is the only way you'll ever feel like winning?"
Before Astonishing could give a reply, Takeda stepped in. "Hey, hey... what happened here? Hmm?" his attention turned towards End, 'So it's her'.
Takeda also noticed a two meter tall man standing near them, "Ah sorry, are you her trainer? Sorry if my trainee cause you some trouble. My name is Muichi Takeda."
"It's quite alright. To be honest, I think a little external friction is exactly what she needs to get back into focus. My name is Tadashi Kouchi, pleased to meet you"
Takeda looked at the two girls, then towards two empty treadmills besides them. A plan formed.
"Kouchi-san," Takeda said, gesturing toward the equipment. "Since the track is out of the question and your trainee is having trouble focusing on a solo run, why don't we try a joint session?
Kouchi looked at End, then at Astonishing. "Hmm... yes, it could work."
With their bickering finally over, both of them stepped onto the treadmill.
"Let's see if you learn anything after the Hopeful Stakes" End said.
"You'll see"
They started slow, before the speed increased more and more to almost reach 60km/h.
"Is that... all?" End managed to grit out. "How are you even going to defeat me in Satsuki Sho?"
61km/h.
"Are you saying, you're going straight to Satsuki Sho?"
"Of course! I simply did not see any point on racing the lower grades. From now on, I'll race G1 only! You're entering Yayoi Sho? Well, good luck with that"
62km/h.
"Heh, you better watch your back. I'll definitely going to defeat you next time!"
"I won't let you!"
63km/h.
64km/h.
65km/h.
"Arrrrgghhhh!!!"
"This is nothing! Khhk--"
66km/h.
"Uhh... I think maybe it's time to stop?" Takeda glanced at Kouchi, but it seems he wanted to see how this would 'Ended'.
67km/h.
"Too fast!" Astonishing, could no longer maintain her pace, was unable to keep up with the speed and got sent flying backward like a catapult.
"Khh--!" End, seeing her rival go down, allowed herself to smirk, and that was her mistake.
In that split second of distraction, her focus wavered. She too, got launched towards the same direction. She crashed right into Astonishing, the two of them becoming a chaotic tangle and covered by towels on the oversized mat.
"Hey, are you two okay?!" Takeda sprinted over with Kouchi also following from behind.
From the pile of towels, soft, wheezing laughs emerged. End pushed a strand of damp hair out of her face, "You... you looked like a flying squirrel," End managed to choke out between gasps of laughter
"Me?! You followed me right down here two seconds later!" Astonishing shot back, sitting up and wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.
Both trainers looked at them not far away, clearly looking relieved.
"Well," Kouchi said, putting a little smile on his face, hard to see. "Things work better than I expected."
"Y-yeah... I'm just glad they are okay"
Friendship Training: SUCCESS?