As Expected of Special Week Senpai

Over the next few days, Kitasan Black ran alongside Daiwa Scarlet for over an hour every morning and evening.

As Kitasan Black improved with each run, Anjing Zhen was delighted, but he was also quietly amazed by Daiwa Scarlet's talent and ability.

Generally speaking, a racehorse girl's prime lasted about three years. After that, her performance in every area would begin to decline.

But that wasn't true of a few top competitors.

Their abilities declined much more slowly, and although they could no longer match their peak performance during their racing careers, they could still maintain a fairly consistent level.

Daiwa Scarlet was one such racehorse girl.

The data made it obvious. She trained with ease every time, and she surpassed Kitasan Black in every way, from the basics of speed and strength to technique and awareness.

With a senior like her offering guidance, Anjing Zhen felt he was learning a lot, let alone Kitasan Black. He couldn't help wishing she could keep training alongside her like this.

But that clearly wasn't possible.

Daiwa Scarlet had work and research to get back to at the Academy. They couldn't keep imposing on her.

After training that morning, Daiwa Scarlet also made it clear that this would be their last run together for a while. They probably wouldn't run together again for two or three weeks.

"Haah—this is really nice."

Daiwa Scarlet took a long drink of her energy drink and wiped the sweat from her brow as she said with a sigh,

"Coming back was absolutely the right choice. I get to train with Little Kita, and it even brings back memories of when I was a student."

Kitasan Black drank her energy drink and wiped away her sweat too, but she looked a little disappointed.

"It's a shame Senior Yamato will be so busy after this. I wanted to run with you a little longer... Ow!"

Daiwa Scarlet lowered the hand she'd used to flick Kitasan Black on the forehead and chuckled.

"Why are you acting like we'll never see each other again, Little Kita?

"Don't forget, I'm going to be the dorm supervisor at Kurito Dormitory. We'll practically see each other every day.

"Just don't come back late and let me catch you, or I'll mistake you for some strange racehorse girl and leave you locked outside."

At the mention of a "strange racehorse girl," she seemed to think of something amusing and giggled.

Rubbing her forehead where her senior had flicked her, Kitasan Black asked curiously,

"Senior Yamato, what are you laughing about...? I definitely won't come back late."

"I'm not laughing at you."

Daiwa Scarlet swiped her index finger under her nose, looking nostalgic. "I'm thinking of your Special Week Senpai."

"Special Week Senpai?"

Kitasan Black grew even more curious. "What happened to her?"

"When Special Week Senpai first came to Tokyo, she went to Tokyo Racecourse first, you know."

Daiwa Scarlet smiled.

"That time, she saw Suzuka Senpai race, and that's why she wanted to join her team.

"After the race, she watched the Winner's Stage too. It wasn't until it was almost over that she remembered it was the Academy's registration day.

"She panicked and ran all the way from the racecourse back to the Academy.

"Oh, right—she got off at the wrong station when she arrived, and even ran to the racecourse from there."

"All the way..." Kitasan Black exclaimed. "As expected of Special Week Senpai! She's amazing!"

"Well, 'all the way' is just an expression, but Special Week Senpai really was running fast back then. She even passed cars along the way and scared quite a few drivers."

Daiwa Scarlet shrugged with amusement.

"Anyway, Special Week Senpai hurried as much as she could, but she still arrived late. Fuji Senpai almost mistook her for a strange racehorse girl and left her locked outside."

"S-so that's what happened? Hahaha..." Kitasan Black gave an awkward laugh, then quickly assured her, "Don't worry, Senior Yamato. I definitely won't make you come open the door for me at night!"

"Good. Since you say that, don't blame me if I leave you outside when you come back late."

After teasing her, Daiwa Scarlet turned to Anjing Zhen.

Anjing Zhen had been organizing and analyzing the data on his tablet the whole time, but he hadn't missed their conversation.

He found it quite amusing, especially what they'd said about "Special Week Senpai."

She was another top racehorse girl. She'd won the Japanese Derby, one of the Triple Crown races, and was the second racehorse girl in history to win the Tenno Sho Spring and Autumn back-to-back. She also held the title of "Japan's Number One General."

From what he remembered of URA's promotional videos about Special Week, she seemed rather imposing.

He hadn't expected to hear about such a goofy side of her from one of her friends.

When Daiwa Scarlet glanced at him, Anjing Zhen assumed she was reminding him about something and nodded.

"I'll keep an eye on the training schedule too, and make sure Little Kita gets back to the dorm on time."

"I'm sure you will, but..."

Daiwa Scarlet smiled casually, then asked curiously, "Actually, I wanted to ask what Trainer Yasui has planned for this afternoon's training."

She really was curious.

After training together for the past few days, she'd become increasingly convinced that Anjing Zhen was no ordinary trainer.

In all her experience, she'd rarely met anyone with that kind of presence—not even among trainers who were twenty-eight, let alone eighteen.

Most rookie trainers were timid, afraid they might teach something the wrong way.

Older trainers weren't much different. At most, they'd hide their panic in front of the racehorse girls, then hurry off to ask a senior for help as soon as they turned around.

Anjing Zhen was different. Despite his exceptionally young appearance, his training style was remarkably mature and seasoned.

He wasn't flawless; he made the same kinds of mistakes that new trainers often did, especially with the little details.

But he caught his mistakes quickly, wasn't afraid to tell Little Kita when he'd messed up, and found a solution in no time.

Then there was his approach to training.

In Daiwa Scarlet's experience, the trainers she'd met liked to follow the guidance of their seniors, stick to the textbook, or rely on their own experience.

Anjing Zhen was different. He didn't care what method he used.

As long as he was sure it worked for Kitasan Black, he'd use it—and adjust it promptly when needed. He never stuck rigidly to convention.

With such an unconventional training style, what would he have Little Kita do besides running alongside Daiwa Scarlet...?

"This afternoon's plan is the same as yesterday's. I usually don't schedule training on Friday nights, though, so she can get a good rest."

After explaining things to Daiwa Scarlet, Anjing Zhen smiled at Kitasan Black.

"Besides, she told me yesterday that she'd made plans to go sing at KTV with her friends tonight. She wanted to head over a little earlier, and I agreed."

"Yeah! Are you coming too, Trainer?" Kitasan Black perked up at the mention of the evening plans.

"I'll pass."

Anjing Zhen shook his head and took a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket.

"I studied basic music theory while preparing for the exams, and I've written a few songs in my spare time. You can try singing this one at KTV.

"If it seems good, I'll figure out how to record it and post it to your Racing Account."

"Racing Account?" Kitasan Black paused, then took the paper and unfolded it. "Huh? You can write sheet music, Trainer?"

"Music was an elective subject in the exam, so I studied a little."

Anjing Zhen nodded, then smiled.

"You're the expert here, so just tell me if anything's off."

"I wouldn't call myself an expert..."

Kitasan Black smiled sheepishly and nodded. "I'll try humming it first."