Can't Let Them Down

On Monday morning, in the living room of Yasui Makoto's apartment, classical strings and avant-garde electronic music filled the air as two young, ethereal voices intertwined in a gentle refrain.

One voice came from the VCR, the other from Hokubu Genkoma.

The song, naturally, was "Uchiage Hanabi," which Yasui Makoto had written a few days earlier.

Compared with the version in his memories, the accompaniment in the version playing on the VCR was perfectly fine.

Judging by the sound quality and rhythm, it seemed that professionals had handled those parts too, and the tone was very pure.

But the mixing and some other details seemed to bear the obvious marks of a rushed job.

It couldn't be helped. Even though Hokubu Genkoma's elders were all top professionals, asking them to produce a flawless finished track in just over a day really was too much.

The vocals, however, had a distinctive kind of perfection.

That wasn't to say Hokubu Genkoma had reached some great level of singing skill.

On the contrary, the girl had only started formal vocal training after coming to Treisen. Before that, she had simply picked things up by listening to her family.

That gave her a great musical sense, but when it came to technique, she could hardly be called accomplished. At most, her familiarity came from a musical upbringing and natural talent.

Yet that youthful innocence, unique to a teenage girl, was precisely what "Uchiage Hanabi" was meant to express.

Close, yet distant; like a dream, like an illusion. It seemed clear as day before you reached for it, but the moment you touched it or tried to recall it, it vanished like a bubble.

No matter how accomplished the singer, no one could imitate the dreamlike quality of that distinctive voice.

"...Our tangled feelings melt and join together / May tonight never end..."

When the song ended, the black-haired girl bowed gracefully, like a master performer taking her final bow after a show.

But the moment she spoke, she was back to her usual loud, boisterous self.

"Trainer, Trainer! How was it, how was it? Didn't I sing really well?"

Clapping, Yasui Makoto said, half joking and half serious, "You sang beautifully. I owe Xiao Bei a concert ticket."

"Hehehe, it wasn't that amazing, Trainer..."

Grinning foolishly, Xiao Bei scratched her head, carefully took the cassette out of the VCR, put it away just as carefully, and brought it over. Hokubu Genkoma said excitedly:

"If we're being honest, it's really because you wrote such a great song, Trainer!

"When I got home, I sang it for Dad first. I thought it'd be enough to have him help me.

"But after he listened, he didn't say a word. He went straight to get Grandpa!

"Grandpa listened and didn't say anything either. He called everyone in the family over!

"At first, I thought something was wrong. I wondered if there was a problem with the song you wrote, Trainer.

"Then I found out Grandpa and Dad thought I'd written it. They thought the family was about to produce a musical genius.

"Hehehe, as if! I just like singing.

"If anyone's a musical genius, it should be you, Trainer!

"Then Grandpa and the others were really surprised...

"No, they were completely shocked. They kept asking me if it was really true."

At this point, the black-haired girl looked a little displeased.

"They were just doubting that you wrote the song, Trainer.

"They asked so many times that I almost didn't want them to help record it.

"But they didn't keep pressing me forever. I think they asked their friends about it, and when they found out no one had released this song, they finally believed me and recorded it.

"Trainer, if you think this 'demo' is okay, I'll go record the official version next week."

Hearing this, Yasui Makoto thought it over.

There was nothing surprising about Hokubu Genkoma's family being astonished by "Uchiage Hanabi" and even questioning whether he had written it.

After all, there was no need to explain how popular the song had been or how high its musical quality was in his previous life.

Two years later, it had topped the charts, and as soon as it came out, it had won a steady stream of accolades.

The most prestigious of them was the Japan Gold Disc Award, the equivalent of an Oscar for the Japanese music industry. The other was an appearance on Kohaku Uta Gassen.

In other words, thanks to this song, he could go to one of Japan's most prestigious music events, just like Hokubu Genkoma's grandfather.

He was only eighteen, and the youngest Central Trainer in history.

That level of talent was already hard to believe. Add a musical genius to the mix, and it was only natural for people to be suspicious.

But Yasui Makoto wasn't worried about that.

The song hadn't appeared in this timeline yet, so there couldn't be any problems.

More importantly, he had brought out this top-tier song only to help his Uma Musume gain some fans so she could enter a race. He had no intention of pursuing a career in music.

In his view, Hokubu Genkoma might face a shortage of fans in both of her next two races.

It couldn't be helped. The industry placed a great deal of importance on pre-debut results, to the point where it wasn't much different from bias based on pedigree.

In a sense, that view ultimately came down to issues like resource distribution, background, and luck.

Just as some people were born into privilege, Uma Musume with the same talent could receive far better resources if they came from a wealthy, prestigious family or Central Treisen Academy.

Those without senior Uma Musume in their family, those who grew up in the regions, or those from ordinary households could still be overlooked, no matter how talented or capable they were.

Yasui Makoto had no intention of changing that way of thinking, though. He simply felt that he should make sure he had done everything necessary to prepare Hokubu Genkoma.

Thinking ahead, perhaps he could prepare a few more songs after this race, in addition to "Uchiage Hanabi."

So, hearing that Hokubu Genkoma's family seemed to approve of the song, Yasui Makoto nodded.

"Recording it next week would be perfect.

"That'll be a week before the race. The association usually gives you a bit of publicity and pushes some traffic your way.

"If we record it then and post it on the race's official account, you'll definitely meet the fan requirement for a conditional race."

"Mm-hmm! Grandpa and the others said the same thing!"

After nodding repeatedly, Hokubu Genkoma looked regretful.

"It's a shame you can only get a limited number of fans that way. I think they only count thirty thousand, right, Trainer?"

"Right. Anything over thirty thousand doesn't count toward your race's fan requirement. The Shining Series is still mainly about racing."

Yasui Makoto nodded.

"But that should be enough for you. This is just a little help for your races, after all."

"That's true." After thinking it over, Hokubu Genkoma nodded in acceptance.

"Is there anything you need me to help with when we record it?"

Yasui Makoto thought for a moment, then asked, "And I've caused your grandfather and the others so much trouble. I should go pay them a visit and thank them, but I imagine they're busy these days?"

"They should be okay... I'm not really sure what Grandpa and the others do for work."

Hokubu Genkoma shook her head. "They wanted to come meet you, Trainer, but I was worried you'd be too busy, so I told them to come watch my race instead.

"It's a little disappointing that they only got to watch my Debut Race on TV...

"But it's okay. I'm sure they'll be there in person to watch me win the next race!"

"Oh? Your family's coming to watch the race in person?"

After a moment of surprise, Yasui Makoto nodded.

"Then we'll have to work hard from now on. We can't let them down."