It's No Wonder Special Week Senpai

For the next few days, Hokubu Genkoma ran alongside Yamato Akagi for over an hour every morning and evening.

Through these joint runs, Yasui Makoto was not only delighted by Hokubu Genkoma's progress but also secretly marveled at Yamato Akagi's talent and strength.

Generally speaking, the prime of an Uma Musume's career lasts for about three years, after which their performance begins to decline.

However, this is not the case for a select few top athletes.

Not only does their performance decline much more slowly, but even if they can't reach their peak, they can maintain a relatively stable level afterward.

Yamato Akagi was precisely such an Uma Musume.

The data was very clear; she seemed to handle every training session with ease, and in terms of basic speed, strength, technique, and awareness, she surpassed Hokubu Genkoma in all aspects.

With such a senior guiding her, Yasui Makoto felt he had gained a lot, let alone Hokubu Genkoma's progress. This made him wish she could continue sparring with them like this forever.

But this was obviously impossible.

Yamato Akagi had work and research to return to at the Academy and couldn't possibly bother them indefinitely.

After the training session one morning, Yamato Akagi mentioned that this was their last joint run for the time being and that the next one would likely be in two to three weeks.

"Haaah—this is great."

Taking a big gulp of energy drink and wiping the sweat from her brow, Yamato Akagi sighed with emotion:

"Coming back was definitely the right choice. I can train with Xiao Bei and also feel like I'm back in school."

Drinking an energy drink and wiping away her sweat, Hokubu Genkoma felt a sense of regret.

"It's a shame Yamato-senpai will be so busy from now on. Otherwise, I'd like to run with you more... Ouch."

Yamato Akagi chuckled as she retracted her finger after flicking Hokubu Genkoma's forehead.

"Why do you look like you'll never see me again, Xiao Bei?

"Don't forget, I'm going to be the Ritto Dormitory administrator next. We'll see each other almost every day.

"Just don't get caught returning late, or I'll lock you out as a strange Uma Musume."

Mentioning "strange Uma Musume," she seemed to recall something amusing and giggled.

Hokubu Genkoma, holding her forehead where her senior had flicked her, asked curiously:

"Yamato-senpai, what are you laughing at... I definitely won't be late."

"I'm not laughing at you."

Yamato Akagi rubbed her nose with her index finger, a nostalgic look on her face. "It's about your Special Week Senpai."

"Special Week Senpai?"

Hokubu Genkoma became even more curious. "What happened with Special Week Senpai?"

"When Special Week Senpai first came to Tokyo, didn't she go to the Tokyo Racecourse first?"

Yamato Akagi said with a smile:

"It was that time she saw Suzuka Senpai's race, and that's why she wanted to be on the same team as Suzuka Senpai.

"After watching the race, she watched the Winner's Stage. Just as she was about to finish, Special Week Senpai remembered it was the Academy's registration day.

"So she rushed back to the Academy from the racecourse in a panic.

"Oh, right, she also got off at the wrong station when she first arrived and ran to the racecourse."

"In a panic..." Hokubu Genkoma exclaimed in surprise, "As expected of Special Week Senpai, she's amazing!"

"Well, 'in a panic' is an expression, but Special Week Senpai was indeed running very fast at the time. She even overtook many cars, startling quite a few drivers."

Yamato Akagi shrugged with amusement.

"In short, Special Week Senpai rushed as much as she could but was still late and almost got locked out by Fuji Senpai as a strange Uma Musume."

"Oh, is that how it was? Hahaha..." Hokubu Genkoma gave an embarrassed laugh and repeatedly assured her, "Don't worry, Yamato-senpai, I definitely won't trouble you to open the door for me at night!"

"Alright, since you say so, don't blame me if I lock you out when you're late."

After saying this jokingly, Yamato Akagi looked at Yasui Makoto beside her.

Yasui Makoto had been analyzing data on his tablet but hadn't ignored their conversation.

He found it quite interesting, especially the mention of "Special Week Senpai."

She was also a top-tier Uma Musume, having won the Japanese Derby, one of the Triple Crown races. She was also the second Uma Musume in history to achieve back-to-back wins in the Spring and Autumn Emperor's Prizes, and she held the title of "Number One General of Japan."

He recalled from the URA's promotional video about Special Week that this Uma Musume appeared quite imposing.

He never expected to hear about such a slightly goofy side from her close friend.

Noticing Yamato Akagi's gaze, Yasui Makoto nodded, thinking she was reminding him.

"I'll also pay attention to the training time and remind Xiao Bei to return to the dormitory on time."

"I believe that, but..."

Yamato Akagi smiled casually and asked curiously, "Actually, I wanted to ask, how do you plan to arrange the training this afternoon, Trainer Yasui?"

She was genuinely curious.

Over these past few days of training together, she'd increasingly come to realize how extraordinary Yasui Makoto was.

In the past, let alone at 18, she rarely saw a similar demeanor even in trainers who were 28.

The vast majority of new trainers were hesitant and timid, afraid of teaching something wrong.

Older ones were much the same; at most, they wouldn't show panic in front of the Uma Musume, but would immediately rush off to seek help from their seniors once they turned away.

Yasui Makoto, however, was different. Compared to his excessively young appearance, his training style was quite mature and seasoned.

It wasn't that he was without oversight; he still made the common mistakes of a rookie in many details.

But he would quickly identify his errors, didn't mind admitting them to Xiao Bei, and found solutions in an extremely short amount of time.

Then there was his specific training method.

As far as Yamato Akagi recalled, the trainers she'd encountered all liked to follow the guidance of their seniors, adhere to textbook content, or rely on experience.

Yasui Makoto was different; he didn't care about any particular method.

As long as he confirmed it was effective for Hokubu Genkoma, he would use it and adjust it promptly, never sticking to convention.

So, with such an unconventional training style, what else would he arrange for Xiao Bei besides running...?

"The afternoon schedule is the same as yesterday's, but I generally don't schedule training for Friday evenings, letting her rest well."

After explaining to Yamato Akagi, Yasui Makoto smiled and looked at Hokubu Genkoma.

"Besides, she also told me yesterday that she made plans with friends to go sing karaoke tonight and wanted to go a bit earlier, which I agreed to."

"Mhm! Is the Trainer going too?" Hearing about the evening's plans, Hokubu Genkoma got excited.

"I won't be going."

Shaking his head, Yasui Makoto took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

"I studied basic music theory when I was preparing for exams, and I've written some songs in my spare time. You can try singing them at the karaoke place.

"If you feel they're good, I'll figure out a way to record them later and upload them to your race account."

"Race account?" Hokubu Genkoma blinked, then took the paper, unfolded it, and looked. "Huh? The Trainer can write simplified notation?"

"Music was an elective course, I studied it a little bit."

Yasui Makoto nodded, then smiled:

"You're the expert in this area, so if anything is wrong, please point it out directly."

"What expert..."

Smiling shyly, Hokubu Genkoma nodded. "Then I'll try humming them first."