"Teio! Faster! Haven't you eaten!?" Zero roared, holding a stopwatch.
"Eek! I can't go any faster!" Teio was on the verge of tears. It wasn't that she didn't want to go faster, but the horseshoe spikes on her running shoes were too heavy.
Those were a full 8kg of horseshoe spikes! Just being able to run was something to be proud of!
"Too heavy? You wait, I'll put them on and run with you. Go faster!"
"Eek!!!"
She had already experienced Zero's foot speed this morning. 8kg would probably feel like nothing to her.
"Z-chan is so irritable today. Did Teio do something?" Special Week, running alongside everyone else, looked at Teio with pity for a moment, then turned to ask McQueen and the others.
Once upon a time, she too was trained like this...
Although Trainer often glossed over it, the training intensity Zero implemented was not low. With good follow-up care and treatment methods, she could maximize the body's potential.
Of course, this 'maximum' was maintained under the premise of not causing fundamental injury.
While broken bones could be healed, the time required was still long, and her healing ability couldn't be directly used on other Uma Musume; she could only rely on exchanging for those potions.
"Well... I guess Teio brought it upon herself..." McQueen, of course, knew what had happened, as she was the only outsider and beneficiary (beautiful scenery) at the time.
But she knew how ridiculous Zero's hearing was, and she wouldn't court disaster like Teio.
Although Zero was very angry now, it was also because Teio's training enthusiasm had recently decreased. It was a good opportunity to make her make up for all the slacking off she had done before.
It was a good thing that Teio's enthusiasm was high at the beginning of the year, but it was ultimately a three-minute wonder. It dropped after a few days, and she even started slacking off, which couldn't be tolerated.
Hmm? Trainer Okino?
He had asked her, saying she could better suppress Teio, so he asked her to help out.
After all, Trainer Okino himself had Daiwa and Vodka, as well as Little Special, to look after.
Special Week's situation was stable, but Daiwa and Vodka were one more troublesome than the other.
These two would fight each other for no reason, and to prove they were not inferior, they would even switch to each other's running styles and race, almost getting injured due to not adapting.
This was true; accidents were very likely to occur when existing habits were broken.
As for Gold Ship, she had just left, saying, "I suddenly received a notification from my hometown that a big hole was blown in it, and I need to go fix it."
So, are you really an alien Uma Musume, A-fune?
Zero also changed into the academy-issued gym uniform, and her exposed thighs were a feast for the eyes of many Uma Musume.
Perhaps for differentiation, the shorts of male Uma Musume's gym uniforms were normal shorts, while the shorts of female Uma Musume were triangular, not much different from panties.
Although it felt a bit gentlemanly, such attire actually made male or female Uma Musume adapt to it from the bottom of their hearts, as if it were meant to be.
After nailing eight-kilogram horseshoe weights to both her shoes, Zero immediately dashed onto the track.
"Tokai Teio! Don't let me catch you!" she shouted before running.
Upon hearing the sound, Teio instinctively looked back.
My turf! Ghost!
Zero seemed to be enveloped in a dark aura, and her purple pupils emitted an eerie glow within the dark aura.
If she got caught, she would definitely die! Thinking this, Teio couldn't help but run with all her might, forcefully adopting a style similar to a pacesetter.
Zero didn't continue to chase, but maintained a subtle distance from Teio, and the several assistant coaches watching this little farce twitched slightly at the corners of their eyes.
They were extremely familiar with this running style; this was Zero at the end of last year's Arima Kinen.
However, it was even more terrifying back then.
"So... so cool..." Rice Shower, on the side, exclaimed, drawing strange looks from everyone.
Speaking of which, Rice Shower seemed to really like black clothing. Could it be...? Shaking her head, everyone continued with their own affairs.
On the outermost long track were Haru Urara and Chaza, but the atmosphere between them was harmonious, and they ran slower, mainly warming up while Chaza taught some knowledge.
"Hmm, it's probably time to start staring at people."
"Eh? Staring at people?"
"Yes, staring intensely at someone will make them nervous and anxious," Chaza nodded.
Staring at people... is that how it works? Haru Urara put on what she thought was her fiercest expression and stared intently at Chaza.
"Hmm..." Chaza thought for a moment, then suddenly stopped and began to caress Haru Urara's small head, and Haru Urara seemed to enjoy it.
This formed a huge contrast with Teio's situation on the other side, who was being chased by a dark beast.
So tired... my legs are so heavy... Running seriously, Teio also noticed that Zero's anger was mainly directed at her recent slacking off in training, and her hanging heart finally settled.
She had indeed been a bit too indulgent recently. To achieve the legend of the invincible Teio, this was far from enough.
But it was really heavy!
The pressure from Z-chan behind her was continuous, and this distance... was too subtle.
It was as if the other party could overtake her with just a slight acceleration, and as if she could pull away from the other party with just a slight acceleration—a distance neither close nor far.
If she encountered such a closely following opponent in a race... what should she do?
Whether she accelerated or decelerated, this distance would be forcefully maintained; her every move seemed to be within the other party's calculations.
But it was precisely because of this that it became even more irritating.
It was fine to stop; she had already done very well. Today's training volume was actually almost done. Zero was following her mainly to see how long she could persevere.
But... whenever this happened, she would recall the scene from when she first arrived here last year.
Zero's situation back then was even worse than her current one. Her fierce and brutal eyes were like a beast chasing its prey, yet her physical condition, even a child could tell, meant she would soon collapse.
But she kept running, with not a trace of confusion in her eyes, like a sharp sword.
What did she see in those eyes?
She was very curious.
And in subsequent training, while Zero helped them train, she also maintained what they considered very high-pressure training, but for her, that level seemed to have become routine, and it hadn't changed even now.
No, it had changed. Her training time had shortened considerably due to becoming a Trainer, not to mention she also had her own team to lead, so the training volume within the same amount of time had increased significantly.
She saw it all, yet why did she, even for a little more training than her daily routine, think about slacking off? Thinking about it, she felt truly ashamed.
So she couldn't stop now; she had to be faster. If she stopped, the sheer unwillingness in her heart would break down her own defenses.
She was the invincible Teio-sama. Perhaps she couldn't compare to anyone now, but that would eventually become a thing of the past!
So, Z-chan... watch closely, the resolve of the invincible Teio-sama.
Huh? My legs are losing strength?
I was so focused on accelerating that I forgot about the weights on my feet. How disgraceful... But there's no need to worry about injury, after all... her body was supported from the front by a warm body.
"Your resolve is not bad, but this mistake was extremely serious. Go write a self-reflection report later." Looking up, she saw Zero with an approving and teasing expression.
"Eh eh eh eh eh!? I don't want to write a self-reflection report!"
"Rebuttal is useless. McQueen, Xiaomi, go over there and get the weighted shoes I prepared for you. I'll train you two later too."
"Understood, Onee-sama," Rice Shower nodded obediently.
"Don't worry, my performance will definitely be better than Teio's," McQueen said confidently, tossing her hair.
Teio had gone to this extent, so she naturally couldn't fall behind.
Damn it, McQueen, just you wait. Once I recover, I'll surpass you! Teio could only be carried indoors by Zero.
By the way, Special Week-senpai was looking at her with envious eyes. What on earth was wrong?
"Wuwuwu, Z-chan hasn't hugged me in so long QAQ" Special Week could only hug Suzuka and rub against her.
"Well, Little Special is too fond of cuddling," Suzuka said, gently stroking her small head as always.
After stripping Teio, she placed her in a pre-prepared hot water bath and took out a recovery solution, dropping one drop into it.
"How does it feel?"
"Hmm... my knees feel a bit itchy," Teio wasn't shy; or rather, Zero doing this wasn't a one-time or two-time occurrence.
Everyone occasionally had private extra training sessions and ended up exhausted, and Zero would always use this method at such times.
At first, it was quite embarrassing, even though they were all girls, but now they were pretty much used to it.
"That's right. You soak for a while; you can come out in about an hour."
"Eh!? I have to soak for that long!?"
"Your knees sustained a bit of damage this time. You're aware of your own knee problems, aren't you?" Zero looked at Teio helplessly.
She was running fine, and although she successfully awakened the other party, she almost got injured because she got carried away and forgot about the weights on her legs. How lame.
Teio's relatively soft bones, compared to others, were her greatest weapon and her greatest weakness. As long as she kept running, she always faced the risk of injury.
Fortunately, Zero had discovered this early and had begun to strengthen her bones.
Whether it was Spica or Sirius, the team members of both teams had more or less hidden dangers in their bodies. To avoid giving Trainer Okino extra worries, she had to be the one to solve them.
Oh, except for Gold Ship. That guy's physique might not have her recovery ability, but her physique simply wouldn't get injured, which was ridiculous.
She had witnessed Gold Ship being hit directly in the face by a ball thrown by McQueen during training. As a result, Gold Ship didn't even pass out, and there wasn't even a ball mark left on her face, as if nothing had happened.
"What about the massage?" Teio looked a bit eager.
Zero's leg massages were truly amazing, making people crave more. The members of both teams were too embarrassed to say it out loud, but their anticipation for the daily post-training massage was second only to the delicious food after training.
"Wait until everyone else finishes training. Your training for today is over for now. You can go play games in my room, and I'll call you when it's time."
"Okay~"
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