A short while later, Yasui Makoto and Kitasan Black arrived at the Tracen Academy cafeteria, following Special Week's message. Before they even began to look around, Special Week waved energetically from afar.
"Heeey—Kita-chan, Yasui-san, over here, over here!"
Looking toward the voice and waving back with Kitasan Black, Yasui Makoto quickly noticed the Uma Musume standing next to Special Week.
Chestnut-brown hair cascaded smoothly down to her waist, a distinctive white, diamond-shaped star at her bangs.
A blue ribbon with red patterns was clipped onto her right ear.
Her eyes were also blue, gentle as the shallow sea beneath the sunlight.
As they approached, the Uma Musume gracefully inclined her head in greeting, her voice soft and polite.
"Good evening, Yasui Makoto-san, Kitasan Black-san. I'm Grass Wonder, a friend of Spe-chan's. This is our first time meeting—please take good care of me."
Before Yasui Makoto could reply, Kitasan Black eagerly stepped forward, extending her hand with cheerful familiarity.
"Mm-hm! I've heard Spe-senpai talk about you many times! And I've watched a lot of your past races—you were amazing, Senpai!"
"Really? Spe-chan often mentions you too, Kitasan Black-san."
Inclining her head again, Grass Wonder shook Kitasan Black's hand with a gentle smile, then turned towards Yasui Makoto.
"She's spoken about you many times as well, Yasui-san. She mentioned you're a very excellent trainer—I quite agree with her."
"You flatter me; I still have much to learn…"
Politely exchanging words, Yasui naturally reached out to shake hands with Grass Wonder—but the moment his palm touched hers, he hesitated briefly, subconsciously delaying before withdrawing his hand.
"…Is something the matter, Yasui-san?"
Grass Wonder didn't seem offended by his somewhat rude reaction, only showing a hint of curiosity.
"Ah, nothing…I must just be a bit hungry; my mind wandered for a second."
Shaking his head, Yasui quickly made up an excuse.
"Shall we go order?"
Special Week quickly interjected: "Grass-chan and I just arrived too. Since Yasui-san is hungry, Kita-chan must be starving after training as well. Let's go. Grass-chan, you haven't tasted the cafeteria food here for a long time, right? Missed it much?"
"Hmm, me…? Well, not particularly," Grass Wonder smiled gently. "But I recall Spe-chan really likes it here. Didn't you seem especially happy when you heard the ingredients were served without limits?"
"You still remember that, Grass-chan? Hehe, of course I'd be happy—unlimited food is always great." Scratching her head, Special Week chuckled sheepishly.
Chatting and laughing, the group quickly ordered their meals at the cafeteria counter, returning shortly after to continue their conversation at the table.
Throughout, Yasui Makoto mostly nodded along absent-mindedly, occasionally rubbing his palm—the place where he'd just shaken Grass Wonder's hand.
There was something special about this Uma Musume's palm.
Clear calluses covered specific spots: at the base of her thumb, along the edge below her pinky, at the bases of her index and middle fingers, and deep in the hollow of her palm between thumb and forefinger.
Some Extreme Acrobatics routines incorporated martial arts moves, and Yasui had colleagues who specialized in such arts before switching careers.
He knew very clearly these particular calluses only formed through long-term practice of kendo.
Judging from their thickness and texture, it likely wasn't exhibition-style kendo, but rather practical combat-focused kendo.
To think someone who looked this gentle and refined was actually skilled in martial arts…I thought the files and URA's promotional materials only listed that as her hobby.
Quietly amazed, Yasui soon returned his thoughts to adjusting the training race.
Grass Wonder's ability was unquestionable. Of her nine career victories, six were graded stakes, including four G1 titles.
Among those G1 wins, her victory in the Takarazuka Kinen and two Arima Kinen races made her the second Uma Musume ever to win the Grand Prix triple crown.
Beyond racing achievements, she was also recognized as having one of the strongest late kicks of her generation.
According to data, Uma Musume had continually improved across generations due to better training, nutrition, and track conditions.
Back in the era of Special Week and Grass Wonder, the top-level late kick averaged around 35 seconds—now, it had shortened to around 34.
Uma Musume like Duramente and Cheval Grand, who had achieved immense popularity even before their debuts, consistently achieved late kicks in the 33-second range—an essential benchmark today.
Yet, during the Keio Hai Spring Cup years ago, Grass Wonder had already managed a 33.3-second burst over the final three furlongs.
And in her subsequent wins, the Mainichi Okan and Arima Kinen, she consistently ran around 34.6 seconds.
One of Kitasan Black's crucial points of improvement right now was precisely in handling that kind of late-race burst.
As Yasui quietly made mental adjustments and analyses, he suddenly heard someone calling him.
"…Trainer? Trainer?"
"…Eh?"
He raised his head to see Kitasan Black looking at him worriedly, Special Week and Grass Wonder also seemed slightly puzzled. Yasui unconsciously asked:
"What's wrong…?"
"It just feels like you've been zoning out this whole time…"
Leaning over, Kitasan reached out, touching Yasui Makoto's forehead, then her own.
"You're not feverish or anything…"
"…Of course I'm not feverish."
Momentarily stunned before reacting, Yasui instinctively leaned back.
"Anyway, what is it…?"
"If nothing's wrong, then that's good." Kitasan nodded naturally. "We were just asking how you planned to arrange things with Grass Wonder-senpai."
Quickly realizing they were discussing the upcoming training race, Yasui glanced around to see the other two nodding, then briefly considered before speaking:
"I was actually just thinking about that."
"The overall arrangements are set for Saturday morning; that way, it won't interfere with anyone's schedules."
"We'll use the woodchip course—it's easier than grass, with a higher running pace and more suitable slope angles, better simulating the Japanese Derby conditions."
"Special Week-san probably mentioned these details to you?"
He glanced toward Grass Wonder, who nodded gently with a smile. He continued:
"As for positioning, I remember Grass Wonder-san usually chose a mid-pack, stalker-type (senkou/sashi) style."
"Exactly where within that range we can decide later, but generally speaking, it will indeed be around that position."
"Also, from the footage, Grass Wonder-san's chasing ability seems exceptional."
"Would it be possible for you to help Kita-chan practice this kind of late-race challenge? She really needs practice handling it right now."
Grass Wonder, who had been nodding earlier, looked momentarily startled. She turned awkwardly toward Special Week.
"Chasing…? About that…"
"Ah, Yasui-san, it seems you might have misunderstood something…"
Special Week raised her hand, apologetically embarrassed as if answering a question in class:
"I remember URA's promotional materials did indeed mention Grass-chan's impressive chasing ability, and we ourselves mentioned it in casual chats."
"But that probably isn't exactly a general chasing skill; rather, it's more like…" She hesitated awkwardly.
"It's…specifically limited to Spe-chan, I suppose you could say."
Recovering her gentle smile, Grass Wonder inclined her head slightly, apologetic:
"I don't quite understand it myself, but whenever I race against Spe-chan, I always feel I can run faster than usual."
"That's probably the 'chasing ability' you mentioned, Yasui-san."