"Quit dawdling! Get those knees up! Kick off the sand with your toes and drive!"
The true summer camp of Team Pleiades began the following morning. Katsuragi Ace, who had arrived just as they were finishing breakfast, had wasted no time taking command of the training field.
"You tell us to… get our knees up… but this is brutal…!"
"Stop whining and lift! I'm carrying more than you, and I'm still moving!"
Running on a beach is one of the most effective ways to forge lower-body strength and core stability. But they weren't just running; each girl had "Power Ankles" (weighted anklets) strapped to their legs. For the freshmen, it was 250g per leg—a seemingly light 500g total that felt like lead weights once the sand started swallowing their feet. Air Groove, the sole sophomore, was pushing through with 750g per leg.
"This really… packs a punch!" Suzuka gasped.
"I want to go fast… but the ground won't let me… if I don't lift my legs… I'll collapse…!" Sunny gritted her teeth.
"It's a hardcore start, but I'm giving it 100%!" Taiki cheered, though her breathing was ragged.
"Hmph. If you're already making those faces, you're in for a long summer," Stay Gold smirked.
The use of weights was a direct legacy of Team Canopus. Rampage knew that Minamisaka likely had his team doing the same, probably utilizing the legendary "Shinzan Iron Shoes." Rampage planned to introduce those eventually, but she wasn't foolish enough to start a group of middle schoolers on them. She would start light, build the foundation, and then gradually turn up the heat.
"I have to say, this data is impressive," Ace remarked, looking over a clipboard. "You managed to extract all this detail just by letting them 'play' yesterday?"
"Watching them run on sand, seeing their stamina in the water, their core balance during the watermelon game—it tells you everything you need to know if you're looking for it," Rampage replied. "Besides, when they think they're just playing, they move without overthinking. You get to see the raw essence of their movement, stripped of any forced form."
"Man, you really have started to sound like Minamisaka."
"I'll take that as the highest possible compliment."
Ace wasn't one for flattery; she said exactly what she thought. Rampage's decision to let them play had been a calculated move. In a formal practice, a student might try to hide their flaws or over-correct their form to impress the trainer. By making it a game, Rampage had laid their physical truths bare.
"So, what's your take?" Rampage asked.
"They're green. Most of their issues are just a lack of experience and age, things that'll fix themselves as they grow," Ace noted. "There isn't a single 'broken' part that needs emergency surgery. But that's the scary part. For a brand-new team, they're incredibly well-guided. You've steered them perfectly so far."
"The materials are top-grade. They're all geniuses."
"Yeah… it's good to see the next generation sprouting so well."
When Rampage asked who stood out the most, Ace pointed to Suzuka and Stay Gold.
"Suzuka's leg work is exceptional, though she has a habit of trying to redline it too early. But you've already got her on a foundation-building menu, don't you? By the time she debuts, she'll be able to use those legs at 100% without breaking. And then there's… Stay Gold, was it? That girl has a natural sturdiness I've rarely seen. Her physical durability is off the charts, and her potential is even higher. You could probably give her a specialized, high-intensity menu right now and she'd eat it up."
"You saw it too, huh?"
"Hard not to. The others are great—S or A rank for sure—but Suzuka and Stay? They're bordering on SS. If I were you, I'd be tempted to pull them aside for a special curriculum."
Rampage nodded. "If I do that now, Stay will let it go straight to her head. It would mess with the team dynamic, especially with Air-Air. My plan is to subtly nudge Stay toward what she wants to do, while sneaking in the drills she actually needs."
"I see… Man, back in my day, it was just me and the Trainer one-on-one. Managing a whole team seems like a massive pain in the neck."
"It is. I'm only now realizing how much trouble I put Minami-chan through."
While they talked, Rampage began preparing the equipment for the next rotation—but she was also setting up her own gear.
"Wait," Ace blinked. "You're officially retired, right?"
"Retired from official races, yeah. But I still do the same workouts I did when I was active. I'm still wearing my Shinzan Irons, too. If I'm going to run in the Legend Races, I can't afford to let myself get soft."
"Oh, that's right. You're entering the Legend Race this year?"
"I want to. But with the team just starting, I'd rather put their growth ahead of my own ego for a bit. Anyway, I'm going for a walk."
Rampage tied a rope to a heavy tire, hooked the other end to her waist, and began walking straight into the ocean. She waded out until the tire was bobbing in the surf behind her, then continued to march through the resisting water.
Ace watched her go, feeling a familiar itch in her own legs. The first Japanese girl to win the Japan Cup, the one who took down Rudolph and C.B. at the same time… Ace found herself grinning. The competitive fire of a world-record holder was infectious.
"You're really making me look forward to those Legends," Ace muttered.
By the time the team finished their beach loops, most of them were on the verge of collapse. Only Air Groove and Stay Gold looked relatively intact—a clear sign of the endurance Air Groove had built during her year with Canopus.
"Beach… round trip… complete…" Suzuka panted.
"Ten-minute break!" Ace barked. "Then we split into three groups. Suzuka and Sunny, you're in the water for squats. Dober and Taiki, you're joining Rampage in the surf—wade out to your thighs and keep walking. Air Groove and Stay Gold, you're with me for toe-strengthening drills."
"W-With her?!" Air Groove gasped.
"Hmph. And I thought I was gonna get to run with the champ," Stay Gold grumbled.
"Watch your mouth! Have some respect for a legend like Katsuragi Ace!" Air Groove snapped.
"I don't mind," Ace chuckled. She liked the brat's attitude; it made her more fun to break.
"Once we finish this rotation," Rampage called out from the water, the tire still dragging behind her, "everyone gets a session running alongside me."
"...Okay, now this camp is finally getting fun," Stay Gold smirked. "Let's get this over with, Guru-senpai."
"I told you to stop calling me that!"
The Pleiades camp was only just beginning. With a legend like Katsuragi Ace on the field and international rivals waiting in the wings, the intensity was set to soar. The question was: would the young stars of Pleiades be forged by the heat, or consumed by it?
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