Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 588 A Slight Ripple in My Heart
For a split second, the hot spring was quiet.

California Shining, Frostfall, and Reservation suddenly came to life from the water, and the eyes of the three racehorses instantly shone with an alarming brightness.

Almost without thinking, California Shining laughed loudly and whistled exaggeratedly:

"Wow~! It's time for special attention from your personal trainer? It's here so soon?"

Frostfall also laughed.

After a moment's hesitation, he let out a soft "heh" and cast a meaningful glance at the Northern Black Steed.

Even Baofa, who was half asleep, lifted his eyelids and looked over curiously.

Gao Shangjunyi and the others reacted a little slowly, but Gao Shangjunyi still instinctively popped his head out with a string of bubbling bubbles.

Before she could say anything, Northern Black Horse rubbed his face helplessly and said to California Shining:

"What are you saying, Shining-chan...?"

After saying this out of the blue, she quickly climbed out of the bathtub as if grasping at a straw.

Wrapped in her bathrobe, her expression calm, she smiled and said to Almond-eyed:
"Then... let's go find Zhen. Is he outside?"

With a hint of confusion on her face, Almond Eyes nodded and said, "Um... oh no, not outside, but in the sanatorium here. Senior Hayako and Senior Yamato are here too."

"Oh, I see,"

Northern Black Steed nodded quickly, saying in a relaxed tone, "Then we need to hurry, otherwise everyone will get impatient."

She pulled Almond-eyed away, her steps slightly hurried.

After the two footsteps faded into the distance, the bathroom became quieter.

After a while...

“…Wow~”

With a rather flamboyant shout, California Shine lay back in the bathtub and whistled loudly:
"As expected of Japan's number one escapee, he escaped so fast, and even his escape was so stylish~"

After the joke, the other female racehorses paused for a moment, then laughed one after another with different expressions.

Rong Houzai shook his head and chuckled. Shuangjiang patted the water's surface, and even the corners of his mouth, which had been bursting with anger, seemed to turn up a little more.

Amid the laughter, California Shining straightened up again, a gossipy look on his face, and scanned the room:

"Hey, hey, so what do you guys think... Xiao Bei and her trainer, did... anything like that happen?"

"This one……"

Just as Frostfall was about to speak, Thunderous Cry drew closer and asked in confusion:

"That kind of thing... what kind of thing?"

"Uh, this..."

After exchanging a knowing glance with California Shining, who was looking on with amusement, Frostfall gave a helpless smile:
"It's nothing. If you're interested... just listen to whatever you want, yeah, that's all."

Then she tidied her wet hair:

"How should I put it... I can't understand it at all."

"If this were in America, the two of them... probably would have made it official by now, right? They wouldn't be so lovey-dovey."

"Is it the same for Empress Rong?" She looked at Empress Rong and made another decision.

"This one……"

He seemed to ponder for a moment, then shrugged, deciding later.

"I wouldn't be as direct as you guys, but... well, I'm not exactly shy about it either."

"See? I told you so."

With another helpless smile and a shake of the head, Shuangjiang lay back in the water.
"In short, only the two of them really know what they're thinking. As for us... we're like this hot spring, we can only stay warm outside."

Having been brushed off earlier, Ming Sheng Lei Dong had been watching Shuang Jiang and the others with curiosity. Feeling the conversation was becoming increasingly incomprehensible, she couldn't help but shrink closer to Gao Shang Jun Yi, reaching out to poke his bare arm with her finger:
"Sigh, so what exactly are they talking about, Gaoshang...?"

In an instant, Gao Shangjunyi, who had been peeking at the European and American racehorses, turned completely red from head to toe, like a boiled shrimp.

"Ugh—No, no, I don't know!"

After emitting a mournful cry like a ship's horn, she plunged into the water with a splash, curled up into a ball, hugged herself tightly, and released a string of dense bubbles:
"Gurgle gurgle gurgle (Don't ask me, I don't know anything...)"

……

While the racehorse girls in the bath were chattering and gurgling, Northern Black Horse had already changed into his sportswear in the locker room.

She was alone in the room, and although the heating was on, it wasn't as hot as the bathroom.

As if she still felt it wasn't cool enough, she walked to the door, opened it a crack, but didn't go out, letting the cool air from the corridor outside blow in.

The cold wind touched my skin, bringing a touch of clarity, but it did nothing to quell the inner turmoil.

She unconsciously pressed the back of her hand against her still burning cheek. The heat she felt, and the rapid, uncontrollable pounding of her heart, reminded her that her earlier panic was not an illusion.

The thoughts that involuntarily surfaced in my mind when I answered the question about my "ideal type" later uncontrollably resurfaced.

"...reliable...trustworthy...able to guide..."

—Just like his focused profile when analyzing game footage, the most suitable strategies he devises, and his calm voice that always pinpoints key points after the game…

"...serious...focused and persistent...unwavering determination..."

Just like how he could stay up all night to study data, or how he could practice repeatedly with her for a starting posture or breathing rhythm...

"...gentle...attentive to details...caring..."

Just like he would remember what flavor of sports drink she liked, or her favorite tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet) that would naturally be placed on her plate in the cafeteria...

"...visionary...looking higher and farther...leading me forward..."

—Just like when he was preparing for overseas expeditions early on, his eyes shining as he discussed the possible routes for future expeditions with her, his infectious anticipation was palpable…

"...even a bit stubborn and rigid...but very real..."

—Just like how he sternly confiscated Alice's suspiciously colored "energy supplement," only to turn around and frown as he drank the strange test version of the concoction himself…

Each thought is like a puzzle piece, precisely inlaid into Yasui Makoto's image.

The panic and anticipation that had quietly arisen then, which I had never experienced before, became clearer and more turbulent in the quiet solitude of this moment.

This unfamiliar yet intense emotion, like wildly growing vines, tightly entwined my heart, reaching its peak when I heard Almond tell me that Yasui Makoto was waiting.

She didn't know what to do.

Especially now that I've changed into comfortable sportswear and am standing in the cool breeze seeping through the door crack, I don't know how to get out.

It's as if the area outside the door is no longer just a corridor, but a blurry, never-before-trodden racetrack.

As Beifang Xuanju hesitated, there was a gentle knock on the locker room door, and a voice with almond-shaped eyes and a hint of doubt came in:

"Senior Xiao Bei? Have you changed your clothes? The trainers seem to be waiting."

Startled from his tangled thoughts, Beibu Xuanju snapped back to reality.

She quickly took a deep breath and patted her cheeks hard, trying to forcefully suppress those turbulent and unfamiliar emotions back into the depths of her heart.

A little flustered, she raised her voice and replied:
"...Okay, okay! Coming right away!"

She answered as she opened the door.

As soon as she opened the door, she was met with a pair of clear, slightly confused eyes. She instinctively looked away and mumbled:

"Soaking...soaking is so comfortable, I don't really want to get out...Let's go, let's go!" she said, and eagerly started walking.

"Oh, oh, okay..." Not noticing the strangeness of the Northern Black Horse, Almond Eyes paused for a moment, then quickly followed the Northern Black Horse, which was taking big strides.

(End of this chapter)