As Kitasan Black hummed, Daiwa Scarlet nodded thoughtfully.
"So that's it. Trainer Yasui, you want to boost Little Kita's popularity this way?"
Anjing Zhen nodded.
"Her training data probably isn't impressive enough, and I'm too young to be well known. Even though Little Kita won her Debut Race, her fan count hasn't gone up much. She only has a little over ten thousand fans.
"She's already entered in this month's Condition Race, and the requirement is twenty-four thousand fans.
"There are still more than three weeks before the race, but if she doesn't get enough fans by then, changing the schedule would be a hassle, and we'd have to pay a late entry fee.
"I don't want to disrupt the overall plan, so I can only use an additional measure like this."
At that, Daiwa Scarlet silently nodded.
Before her debut, her training results had been excellent, and her Trainer was well known.
Her results in later races had also been outstanding. In twelve races, she had won eight and come in second in four.
With a career like that, there was naturally no need to worry about fans. But things weren't so smooth for everyone else.
Poor training results before debut, an unknown Trainer, losing an important race, focusing too much on a particular type of race, and all sorts of other factors could affect a horse girl's fan count.
Many races had a minimum fan requirement, and the more important the race, the more likely that was.
For the Takarazuka Kinen and the Arima Kinen, entrants were chosen by fan vote. Only the horse girls with the most votes could compete, unlike most G1 races, which had qualifying rounds.
To gain more fans, plenty of horse girls and Trainers arranged other activities in addition to trying their best to place higher in races.
For example, they might take part in festivals, volunteer work, or interview programs.
Or they might hold street concerts, form bands, or partner with magazines and other organizations.
All of these activities were permitted by the URA Association and the Academy.
As things stood, Kitasan Black's training results weren't impressive enough, and her Trainer wasn't well known either, so she was under some pressure when it came to her fan count.
To deal with that, Anjing Zhen had chosen to write a song himself.
Daiwa Scarlet remembered that other Trainers and horse girls had had the same idea before.
But regular training and races took up a lot of time, and writing a song wasn't easy. Hardly anyone could manage both.
And while a good song might help, a bad one could have the opposite effect.
So, in most cases, Trainers and horse girls who wanted to attract fans by singing would try to buy songs from professionals.
But after spending time with him, Daiwa Scarlet felt that Anjing Zhen was levelheaded and had a mind of his own. Even if his song wasn't outstanding, it probably wouldn't be bad. There shouldn't be any need to worry.
Besides, Kitasan Black was already humming the tune and seemed to be enjoying herself. It would be even worse to spoil the mood now.
With that in mind, Daiwa Scarlet remarked as if it were an idle thought:
"Trainer Yasui really is thoughtful. This must be the additional measure you mentioned when we first met, right?"
Anjing Zhen hadn't given it as much thought as Daiwa Scarlet had. He nodded.
"She needs a little over ten thousand more fans. This song should be enough.
"Little Kita's musical talent is great, too. I don't think there'll be any problem with her singing it.
"Of course, like I said, if she thinks there's something wrong with what I wrote, she can change it however she wants. I won't mind."
Kitasan Black, who had been humming softly, froze.
"I don't think I need to... I never studied singing formally with Grandpa and the others, but I can tell that the song you wrote is lovely!"
"Is that so?"
Anjing Zhen smiled.
"Then try singing it at KTV tonight. And afterward, tell me what your friends think of it, too."
"Yeah! They'll definitely be amazed that you wrote such a great song, Trainer!"
Kitasan Black nodded excitedly again and again.
Daiwa Scarlet's curiosity was piqued, and she began to doubt her earlier assessment.
She knew very well that her junior's family was extremely talented in music.
Her grandfather in particular was a regular on the Kohaku Uta Gassen.
The Kohaku Uta Gassen was like the most prestigious G1 in the Shining Series. Anyone invited to perform was among the very best in the industry.
As a regular at such a major event, Kitasan Black's grandfather could be said to represent Japanese music.
With a family background like that, even though Kitasan Black had become a horse girl instead of pursuing music, she surely wouldn't think a song was good unless it really was.
So he's not only astonishingly talented at training, he's gifted at music, too?
Just... what kind of genius is he?
Curious and a little incredulous, Daiwa Scarlet couldn't help moving closer to Kitasan Black to study the writing on the page.
At the same time, she asked:
"If Little Kita praises it that much... what's the song called?"
"Oh, right! I was so focused on the lyrics that I forgot to check. Let's see..."
Realizing she'd missed it, Kitasan Black tapped her forehead and hurriedly looked at the top of the page.
Then she and Daiwa Scarlet softly murmured the words at the same time.
"The title... 'Uchiage Hanabi'?"
That night, in a private room at a KTV in Harajuku, a black-haired girl held a microphone and sang a cappella with heartfelt passion.
"Pa tto hi ka tte sai ta
"Ha na bi wo mi te i ta
"Ki tto ma da o wa ra na i na tsu ga
"A i ma i na ko ko ro
"Wo to ka shi te tsu na i da
"Ko no yo ru ga tsu zu i te ho shi ka tta"
She was singing "Uchiage Hanabi," the song Anjing Zhen had given her, specifically its climactic ending.
When the song ended, she raised the microphone, stepped to the side, bent her knees, and gave the two across from her a rather stylish bow.
Across from her, two horse girls who looked alike stared in amazement.
"That was incredible... Both your singing, Little Kita, and the song your Trainer wrote are amazing."
Satono Diamond applauded as she praised her.
Beside her, Satono Crown applauded, too, then asked in disbelief:
"Your Trainer... is he really only eighteen? And... he really wrote this song?"
"Older Sister..."
Satono Diamond gave her a reproachful look.
"Ah, sorry..."
Bowing to Kitasan Black, Satono Crown pressed her palms together.
"I didn't mean anything by it. I was just... genuinely shocked.
"I don't know as much about music as you do, Little Kita, but I imagine writing a song must be really difficult, right?
"He's eighteen... his training skills are so good, and he can write such an excellent song, too...
"Sorry, I just can't quite believe it...
"Anyway, Little Kita, your Trainer really is amazing."
"Hehehe, it's okay."
After stepping down from the small stage, Kitasan Black quickly returned to her usual goofy self. She scratched her head and said:
"I was pretty surprised, too.
"When I first got the song, I just thought the lyrics were great, the sheet music looked fine, and the rhythm and rhymes seemed good, too.
"But when I actually sang it, it was so good that I could hardly believe the Trainer had written it."
"So you thought the same thing, Little Kita..."
Satono Crown was relieved, but then she looked incredulous again.
"A song this good must have taken a long time to write... and your Trainer only did it to help you pick up some fans?"
Before you continue