Hokubu Genkoma hadn't really understood what Yamato Akagi meant by "precious character," but she never doubted what her seniors or Trainer told her.
If Trainer and her seniors said so, they must have had their reasons. She simply hadn't learned enough, trained enough, or run enough yet to understand.
So, even though she hadn't gotten a clear answer from either senior, and hadn't asked Yasui Makoto, she still felt invigorated during the training that followed.
But that exhilaration was soon replaced by a familiar sense of doubt and unease.
It was another 1,800-meter Training Race.
The start, Opening Phase, turn, Cruising, and sprint had all gone smoothly. At least to her, she had run each part just as she'd practiced day after day, so there shouldn't have been any problems.
But the result was unchanged. She still crossed the finish line a step behind Yamato Akagi and Vodka.
This time, though, she didn't ask about it after training.
Instead, as Yasui Makoto explained the race, she began to think it through for herself.
I see... Yamato-senpai said before that your eyes can sometimes deceive you, and that's when you need to rely on your hearing.
So that's why she was so much more precise than me when judging and fighting for position in the Opening Phase.
She kept controlling my pace, so I couldn't run the way I'm most familiar with.
Vodka-senpai was the same.
Her race instincts really weren't any worse than Yamato-senpai's. That's why she always picked such good moments to chase me down. I never saw it coming, and it made running so uncomfortable.
And the competition between them probably didn't bring out their full strength. Otherwise, they might have pulled even farther ahead of me.
But...
*They didn't seem to do anything special as they crossed