Inside the Mejiro training grounds.
It was the golden hour for afternoon practice, and the air was rich with the scent of damp soil and fresh-cut grass.
As the most talked-about team in Central right now—Chasing Light—
the active Umamusume on the roster were all out at this hour, following the established plan and training seriously… and hard.
Chasing Light had already been showing signs of becoming Central's number one. It was just that the team had only been founded for two years, so its presence still lacked a certain weight.
But once the autumn season began—and overseas, Oguri Cap went on to take back-to-back international G1 wins, one Mile and one Medium—
that "number one" title now belonged to Chasing Light, completely and without dispute.
…
Along the outside of the track.
Aoi Kiryuin wore a crisp trainer uniform, stopwatch and notebook in hand, her expression focused as she patrolled the lanes.
Even as a trainee trainer, she already carried herself with a professional air.
Of course, most of her attention was still on McQueen and Teio.
After all, Fujimasa March and Ardan were already fully mature Umamusume.
With retirement approaching, their daily training was mostly for personal enjoyment—or just to keep their bodies in shape.
They didn't need her, a trainee trainer, pouring too much attention into them.
And Bourbon, Rice Shower, and Suzuka were still in class.
So for now, the bulk of Aoi's energy was devoted to the two new-generation stars still at their sharpest—still blazing with that debut-level edge.
"THUMP—!"
Powerful footsteps rang across the turf.
A light-bodied girl with a black ponytail and crescent bangs crossed the finish line like a cheerful fawn, wind snapping at her heels.
"Beep."
Aoi hit the stopwatch perfectly.
She glanced down at the numbers—and her face lit up.
"So fast! Teio, you've improved a lot lately!"
"Hehe!"
Teio slowed down, barely even breathing hard, then jogged over with a grin and stopped in front of Aoi.
"Aoi-nee, you say that every day."
With her hands clasped behind her back, she tilted her head and teased, "If Trainer were here, he'd totally be making that serious face again—saying this part was wrong, that part was wrong…"
"Don't ask the impossible, Teio." Aoi flipped open her notebook, recording the data as she sighed. "I'm not as amazing as Sensei. Being able to follow the training plan he left behind and make sure you're executing it properly is already the best I can do."
"Then Aoi-nee has to study harder—so you can be smart like Teio!" the petite girl declared proudly.
She even patted her chest with a smug little thump, eyes curved into crescents as she spoke. "Otherwise, if Aoi-nee leads a team on your own someday, what are you gonna do?"
"Lead a team, huh…"
Aoi tapped the tip of her pen against the notebook. After finishing her notes, she closed it, a flicker of longing passing through her eyes.
As a trainer, how could she not want to lead a team herself—to have her own star Umamusume, her own standing?
But when she remembered the priceless knowledge she'd learned from Sensei over the past few years—knowledge she could rely on for life—she simply smiled and shook her head, her gaze clear.
"I still have a lot to learn."
"And right now I don't even have a local trainer license. How could I talk about leading a team?"
"Just being able to learn at Sensei's side is already enough."
With that, she picked up the stopwatch again and put on a bright smile.
"Alright, Teio. The next training item is—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Aoi stared at Teio—or rather, she stared past Teio, toward something behind her.
It was like she'd been frozen in place.
Her expression went blank, and her eyes widened inch by inch.
"Hm?" Teio still hadn't noticed anything.
She lifted a hand and waved it playfully in front of Aoi's face, puzzled. "What's wrong, Aoi-nee? Did you lag out?"
Just then—
A voice drifted in from behind her, familiar to the point of being unreal—warm, faintly amused.
"If it were me, I'd probably say… your center of gravity was pressed too low in that last corner, Teio."
"Did you pick up something you shouldn't have… from watching Oguri's race the other day?"
"…"
At that voice, Teio's waving hand stiffened in midair.
Her expression locked solid, and she turned around, slowly, like she didn't dare believe it.
Behind her, under the warm afternoon sun—
the figure she'd been thinking about nonstop stood there with one hand in his pocket, smiling at her.
In an instant, the shock in Teio's eyes melted into boundless delight.
"Traiiineeer—!!!"
The shriek of pure excitement tore through the training ground's calm.
And then—
Teio launched herself like a cannonball, flying straight at him.
"Haha, easy—" Kuroha caught her laughing, ruffling the top of her head—soft and perfectly familiar.
"I'm back…"
"Trainer, you're finally back! I missed you so much!!"
Teio shouted as she buried her face into his chest, rubbing her cheek against him over and over. Her legs locked tight around his waist.
Like a little koala.
Trainer… came back…
Breathing in that familiar scent, Teio's face was overflowing with happiness.
Since the first time she'd met Trainer at Oi more than two years ago, this was the first time they'd been apart for so long.
Three months…
It was seriously brutal for an Umamusume…
On the track in the distance, McQueen—who was jogging—and Fujimasa March and Ardan—who had been resting—also stopped when they heard the commotion.
When they recognized the figure, every pair of eyes lit up.
"Trainer?!"
In a heartbeat, the training grounds erupted into noise.
From a bird's-eye view, several Umamusume burst into brilliant streams of light and reached the spot in seconds.
Then, in absurdly perfect sync, all four of his star girls swarmed their trainer at once, venting the joy of reunion without restraint.
"…"
Kuroha could only lift his arms helplessly, letting them do as they pleased.
In front of him, Aoi watched the scene and couldn't help covering her mouth as she laughed.
…
Before long.
Inside the trainer's office at the Mejiro training grounds.
Aoi and the four Umamusume sat properly on the sofa, gathered around the coffee table, all looking at Kuroha.
"Aoi, walk me through what's been happening these past few months."
"Huh? Y-yes, Sensei!"
The trainee trainer who'd seemed so confident and composed just minutes ago now looked a little flustered.
She handed the materials over to Kuroha while explaining everything that had happened in detail.
"…So it's been pretty quiet," Kuroha murmured.
After listening and filling in the gaps of the last three months, he spoke softly.
Central was currently in the second month since the autumn races began.
Other than the shockwave caused by Oguri Cap's successful overseas campaign, there wasn't any other noteworthy intelligence.
With Super Creek retired and Oguri Cap transferred out for her expedition, the older generation had been completely pinned down by Fujimasa March and Ardan.
And the new generation's rising stars were held in place by McQueen alone—one overpowered ace standing over all challengers.
In other words, Chasing Light's authority had reached an unprecedented peak.
(End of Chapter)
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