Today, as always, the sky is a dull gray—right in the middle of the rainy season. The downpour beats against the school building, and many of the Uma Musume are gloomy since they can't run under a clear blue sky.
As for me, I've been keeping to my usual routine—studying to become a trainer, taking breaks with my aroma cigar, and doing light training. Lately though, it's been mostly strength training at the gym or stamina training in the pool, so it feels a bit unsatisfying.
After all, I am an Uma Musume too. Wanting to run is practically instinct, so there's no helping it. Suzuka in particular is really suffering from not being able to run; she's been in quite a funk lately. Both I and Air Groove have been doing our best to take care of her mentally, but if the sun doesn't show up soon, Suzuka might literally "run wild."
Ryan, on the other hand, doesn't seem bothered at all. She's perfectly fine as long as she can work out, so her mood hasn't changed a bit. She's always like, "It's coming, it's coming! Nature-san, can you feel it? My muscles are pumping!" —which, combined with the humid air, just makes things feel even hotter.
Also, I really wish Ryan would stop inviting Suzuka to the gym right now. I understand she means well—thinking Suzuka could relieve her stress by running on a treadmill—but Suzuka's condition right now is what the app would call "nearly at rock-bottom motivation." Even going out won't lift her spirits; after all, the reason she runs is because she wants to see the scenery from the lead. Truly a front-runner to the core. No wonder even Air Groove's given up on her.
"Nature, your tea-making skills have really improved. I daresay your brew might be better than mine now."
"Oh no, not at all, Ten Point-san. I still prefer the tea you make."
"I see. You flatter me, but I'm glad to hear that. Then I'll make it next time."
Today, Ryan, Air Groove, and Suzuka have all taken a day off from training, and Okino-san, my trainer, has work to do—so our usual study session is canceled.
Since I suddenly had some free time, I decided to visit the student council room and enjoy some tea with Ten Point-san. It's been a while since we had a relaxed chat; recently, we've talked here and there, but never had time for proper tea. I'd been looking forward to this. It seems Ten Point-san had, too—she even brought out a slightly pricier tea leaf for today.
"How's your training been lately?"
"I can't say it's going well… With all this rain, I can't go running, so my body feels sluggish."
The recent downpours have turned the track into something worse than heavy ground—it's practically a swamp. "You can't even call this a track!" is the general consensus. At first, when the rainy season began, some of the girls were still running to get used to heavy ground, but even they've given up. I've had to completely alter my training plan.
Doing only strength training with Ryan skews my balance, and while I've been increasing pool training for stamina, it doesn't solve the fundamental issue. Maintaining motivation has become difficult—I'm basically in a "low motivation" state, if you put it in game terms.
So yeah, I've been stuck in a bit of a funk. I can't carry out my planned training regimen, and even though I know why logically, my heart just isn't satisfied, and it's hard to stay focused.
"Well, it can't be helped. The Meteorological Agency says the rainy season's almost over. Just a little more patience."
"You're right. Besides, when you look at it another way, it's kind of nice to drink tea with you while listening to the sound of rain."
"So even rain that hinders training isn't all bad if you change your perspective? That's very you, Nature."
We both slowly sipped our tea. The amber-colored liquid warmed my mouth, the gentle flavor spreading through, and the aroma softly wafted out through my nose. It was soothing.
After swallowing, I let out a contented sigh.
"How's your trainer study going?"
"That's going smoothly. Lately, I've been studying differences between Uma Musume and human leg bone density, muscle mass, and how those affect treatment for fractures and other leg injuries. Would you like to see my notes?"
I took out a separate notebook from my bag—different from my training log—and handed it to Ten Point-san. This was already my fifth volume, filled with hand-drawn reproductions of x-rays comparing human and Uma Musume legs, notes on differences, and summaries of various treatment progressions.
If I could've used a copier, I wouldn't have had to draw everything by hand, but the dorm doesn't have one. So I had to make do. It took about three hours to finish both leg diagrams—pretty good effort, if I say so myself.
"Impressive. You're quite the artist, Nature."
"Oh no, not at all, Ten Point-san. I can only copy what I see."
"Still, that's skillful. And you organize things neatly—it's clear how seriously you're studying."
"Hehe… thank you. Oh, and Ohana-san—the trainer from Team Rigil—and Okino-san have been helping me, so I've been studying more efficiently lately."
"The Rigil trainer… you mean Trainer Tojo, right? I see. If she's helping you, that's reassuring."
Ten Point-san smiled warmly as she handed the notebook back to me. She seemed to know Ohana-san too—not surprising, considering trainers of her caliber are few: Okino-san, Minamisaka-san from the anime, and Trainer Kuronuma come to mind.
"Still, about Okino Trainer… you sure you're alright? He hasn't been touching your legs again, has he?"
Apparently, Ten Point-san still hadn't completely gotten over her mistrust of Okino-san. She looked worried as she asked if he'd touched my legs again.
"N-no, it's fine! Lately he's just been teaching me how to identify suitable racing styles—like distance aptitude, running tactics—and how to build training plans to enhance individual strengths."
Even so, she didn't seem fully convinced. But honestly, after that first time, Okino-san hasn't touched my legs without permission.
Really. He hasn't.
For real. I design my own training plans to avoid overwork, but since I'm not officially a trainer yet, I sometimes ask Okino-san to check if my workload is balanced through a physical assessment.
Of course, he doesn't rewrite my plan for me. If something's off, he only points it out, leaving it to me to find and fix the problem.
That way, he doesn't risk disciplinary trouble for unofficially training a student, and I get to learn hands-on as a future trainer. So it's fine. Totally fine.
That's different from what Ten Point-san's implying… I think?
"Alright then… but if he does touch you again, tell me right away, okay? I'll 'talk' to him for you."
Ten Point-san took another sip of her tea, visibly relieved.
Yeah. I'm pretty sure by "talk," she means OHANASHI—the kind of "talk" that involves fists or threats.
…Yeah, maybe I just won't mention any of this to her.
I made that silent decision as I drank my tea, which had gone lukewarm but was still delicious—probably thanks to the quality of the leaves.
Outside, the rain still showed no sign of stopping. It kept tapping against the window, serving as our gentle background music while we continued our casual conversation—nothing important, just idle chatter.
(Ah… this is bliss.)
No talk about training or studying. Just normal conversation—about which cafés had the best tea, or how I'd made some new friends. Ten Point-san seemed oddly delighted when I mentioned the friends part, though… almost like she thought I'd never had any before.
…Okay, fair enough, I hadn't.
Anyway, I promised to bring Ryan and the others to hang out next time. Air Groove wants to join the student council in the future, so it'll be good practice for her. I'm already looking forward to their surprised faces.
In the distance, I heard the 5 PM alarm—the one that sounds like an air-raid siren. That meant it was time to wrap things up. As much as I wanted to stay, I had to return to the dorm for my trainer studies.
"Well then, Ten Point-san, I'll be heading back now."
"Already that late, huh… Time flies when you're having fun. I wish we could talk more, but time is cruel like that."
"Training may be on hold, but studying to be a trainer doesn't take breaks."
I smiled wryly at her disappointed tone, picked up my bag, and stood up. Normally, I'd offer to wash the teacups, but Ten Point-san always insists on doing it herself—says it's a nice break from paperwork.
Still, I brought our cups to the sink out of courtesy. It's the least I could do.
"Well then, Ten Point-san, good luck with your work."
"And you, be careful on your way back, alright? The ground's slippery."
That's a little overprotective, don't you think? Her worried tone made me chuckle, and she laughed as well, caught up in it.
"See you tomorrow, Ten Point-san."
"Yes, Nature. See you tomorrow."
I stepped through the student council room door. It used to intimidate me, but now I see it as a door leading to someone I respect. I even feel happy just seeing it.
I turned back, waved to Ten Point-san, and gently closed the door behind me.
I was already looking forward to what we'd talk about tomorrow.
By the way—
Words really do have power, it seems. On my way back, umbrella in hand, I slipped spectacularly and got a thorough scolding from dorm leader Monte Prince-san.
…Unfair!