Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 557 "Leisurely" Preparations
This day was a day off.

At 6:30 in the morning, the morning light streamed through the wooden lattice window of the bedroom, casting dappled light spots on the tatami mat.

As the light moved upwards, it shone on the small face of the Northern Black Horse, whose eyes were closed. She wrinkled her nose as if itchy, rubbed her eyes, yawned, and sat up.

In a daze, she heard the sound of her father pruning potted plants outside the window, and in the distance, her grandfather's clear singing as he did his morning exercise.

Did you oversleep? Lately... you've been really relaxing.

She yawned again, stood up, and started washing up, going downstairs to greet her family and have breakfast, still in her pajamas.

The Emperor's autumn viewing has ended for over a week, during which time she has been quite "leisurely".

It's not that she hasn't been training, but compared to regular or special training levels, the recovery training is really nothing for her.

Regular training is the foundation of daily practice.

For example, every morning I would jog a few kilometers around the school's outer track to adjust my breathing and stride frequency, and then I would usually do strength and endurance training.

In the afternoon, when doing core muscle training at the gym, you should look in the mirror when engaging your waist and abdomen, or adjust your posture with reminders from Yasui Makoto and Alice Soko.

The afternoon is dedicated to speed and technique training, while the evening is for reviewing the training sessions.

She's been doing this since before her debut, and now only the amount of training has changed, the specific activities haven't changed much, so she's long been used to it.

Special training is a different story; not only is the intensity significantly higher, but the methods are also more diverse.

Parachute sprints, chase training, weighted endurance running... these are all much more difficult than regular training.

However, these are the training methods she is familiar with and adapted to.

Compared to all that, her current rehabilitation training seems no different from taking a walk. She feels that if she continues like this, her bones will become loose.

More importantly, as she practiced, she always felt a lingering anxiety in her heart.

Like grass clippings stuck to your winning outfit after an autumn rain, you can brush them off, but they'll unknowingly stick back on.

Yesterday, she went to a convenience store to buy a carrot drink, and was recognized by the clerk as soon as she reached the door.

The other person pulled out a poster from somewhere, with a picture of her crossing the finish line in Tianqiu on it, and then excitedly asked her to sign the poster.

On my way to school, in my dorm, and when I get home, I turn on my phone and all the news headlines are still about the Emperor enjoying the autumn scenery.

There has been no lack of coverage about the Japan Cup, which is about to start in about three weeks. The comment sections below those reports are full of messages like "Japan Cup victory is certain" and "Autumn Triple Crown is inevitable." And without exception, the subject of those messages is her.

And in the fan letters that I sorted out with Xingmu during this period, they were all filled with similar words.

There are also many hand-drawn pictures inside, mostly depicting her crossing the finish line. However, the finish line markers do not show any races she has already won, but rather the Japan Cup she is about to participate in.

All of this felt like sunlight shining on the sea, warming her heart, yet also giving her a sense of suffocation and pressure.

Of course she wanted to win.

I want to win the Autumn Triple Crown trophy and medal.

I wanted to make the cheers from the fans even louder, so as not to disappoint anyone.

But... what if we lose?
What if... I can't break through like Tianqiu in the Japan Cup? What if my last shot can't withstand the opponents' attacks?
Having personally experienced Tianqiu, she knew all too well that this was absolutely the most difficult competition she had ever faced.

She excelled in every aspect—strategy, tactics, skill, and even luck—without making any mistakes, which is how she won the championship.

But even if the subsequent matches are slightly easier than this one, they won't be much easier. And what about the Shining Series... where is there any ease to speak of?

So if she loses, what will happen to the fans holding up posters, the kids who wrote letters, and Yasui Makoto and Alice Hayato who stayed up all night analyzing her tactics...?

You'll probably be disappointed, won't you?
Under such anxiety, she has been dreaming about the racetrack for several nights in the past few days, dreaming about the autumn rain, and dreaming about the suffocating sound of chasing footsteps in the rain.

Then, I woke up unconsciously, sat up and stared at the night sky for a long time before slowly falling asleep while looking at the medals and ribbons of the Emperor's autumn appreciation ceremony.

She had considered talking to her friends about her anxiety, but without exception, everyone was just as busy as she was with the upcoming autumn and winter seasons.

For example, one day after school last week, when she went to the training ground with Satomi Crown, she wanted to speak several times, but when she saw him staring at the Sha Tin Circuit map in his hand, she could only remain silent.

My friend has already started acclimatization training for his trip to Hong Kong at the end of the year, and he'll be going abroad soon. I really shouldn't bother him with my own little matter.

The situation is similar for Kozo Satomi. Like her, Kozo Satomi is also trying to challenge for the Chrysanthemum Award as a classic year contestant, and his training schedule is quite full.

Having experienced the same schedule, she knew that the Classic Year had many disadvantages compared to the opponents of the Year of the Horse. Without sufficient intensive training, it would be difficult to even keep up with the competition, let alone win.

Then it's best not to disturb them.

Among the other friends, coincidentally but also predictably, many were also working towards leaving for the Japan Cup.

The newly returned bird roared back to the country; the indomitable steel that had just clashed with the Emperor at the Autumn Viewing Festival; the noble and elegant, golden and charismatic, old rivals and friends; and the myriad sounds clashing...

Everyone is busy, everyone is working hard, and everyone has their own pressures.

It was just a minor emotional issue for me; how could I possibly bother them? It would be terrible if I distracted them. I absolutely couldn't do that.

However, it's not like there's no one to confide in.

After spending so much time together, she had long since gotten used to talking to Yasui Makoto about everything, and her trainer had never let her down, always providing a solution.

This time is no exception.

"Anxiety... I can understand."

After listening to her story, her trainer, with an understanding and familiar comforting smile, said this:

"To be honest, I'm not very experienced. After all, like you, I've never experienced being the center of attention."

"But just like we agreed before the Emperor's autumn appreciation, we can face this together, can't we?"
"As for my side... let me put it this way, look, the data from the past two days shows that your core strength has recovered to over 95%, and your muscle lactate level has dropped below the safe line. You can start regular training next week."

"My experience is that if you are too anxious, you will usually feel much better when you are busy."

"So you might feel much better when training officially starts next week."

"Of course, if you still feel uncomfortable, we can work together to find a solution, okay?"

"As for the next couple of days... perhaps we can go out and have some fun?"
"I'm afraid I won't have time on Saturday. You can go on a date with Xingmu, and we can meet again on Sunday. What do you think?"

In the eyes of Genkobu, Yasui's words, or rather, his own words as a trainer, seemed to possess a magical power.

These seemingly ordinary words immediately calmed her down, and at least she hasn't dreamed about Tianqiu these past two nights.

In that case, maybe things will get better after I go on a date with Aloe today...?
As she was thinking this, she had already eaten breakfast and was changing her shoes in the entryway.

(End of this chapter)