Chapter 29
While Kitasan Black was humming the song, Daiwa Scarlet nodded thoughtfully.
"I see. So Trainer Yasui wants to use this method to boost Kitasan's popularity?"
Yasui Makoto nodded.
"Probably because her training data isn't outstanding enough, and I'm too young. Even after winning her debut race, her fan count didn't increase by much. She only has a little over 10,000 fans right now.
"The conditions race this month has already been entered, and it requires 24,000 fans.
"Although there are still more than three weeks until the race, if we don't reach the required number, changing the schedule would be quite troublesome and we'd have to pay a late-entry fee.
"I don't want to mess up the overall plan, so I can only use this kind of supplementary method."
Daiwa Scarlet nodded silently.
Her own pre-debut training results had been excellent, and her assigned trainer had been very well-known.
Her subsequent race results were also outstanding 8 wins and 4 runner-up finishes out of 12 races in her career.
With a career like that, she naturally never had to worry about fans. But it wasn't so easy for others.
Poor pre-debut training results, an unknown trainer, losing key races, focusing too much on one type of race, and many other miscellaneous factors could all affect fan numbers.
Many races had strict fan count requirements, and the more important the race, the stricter it was.
Events like the Takarazuka Kinen and Arima Kinen even required direct fan voting. Only the horse girls with the highest vote counts could participate, unlike most G1 races that had preliminary qualifiers.
To gain more fans, besides performing well in races, many horse girls and trainers would arrange other activities.
These included participating in festivals, volunteer work, interview programs, and so on.
Some would hold street concerts, form bands, or take on magazine collaborations and other projects.
All of these were allowed by the URA Association and the academy.
In Kitasan Black's case, her training results weren't particularly outstanding, her trainer wasn't well-known, and she was under some pressure regarding fan numbers.
To address this, Yasui Makoto chose to write a song himself.
In Daiwa Scarlet's memory, there had been trainers and horse girls who had thought of this idea before.
However, regular training and races already took up a lot of time, and writing a song wasn't easy. Very few people could handle both well.
Even if the song was good, if it turned out poorly, it could have the opposite effect.
Therefore, in most cases, trainers and horse girls who wanted to gain fans through singing would simply pay to buy songs from the industry.
But after spending these past few days with him, Daiwa Scarlet felt that Yasui Makoto was steady and had strong opinions. Even if the song wasn't outstanding, it probably wouldn't be bad, so there was no need to worry.
Moreover, Kitasan Black was currently humming the song and seemed to be enjoying it, so it would be rude to dampen the mood.
Thinking this, Daiwa Scarlet asked casually:
"It seems Trainer Yasui is really thoughtful. This must be the 'supplementary method' you mentioned on the first day we met, right?"
Yasui Makoto nodded without overthinking it.
"We're still short more than 10,000 fans. This song should be enough.
"Kitasan has excellent musical talent. I think there won't be any problem if she sings it.
"Of course, as I said earlier, if she feels anything about the song I wrote needs changing, she can modify it freely. I have no objections."
Kitasan Black, who had been quietly humming, suddenly froze.
"I don't think that's necessary… Although I didn't study singing seriously with Grandpa and the others, I can tell that the song Trainer wrote sounds really good!"
"Is that so?"
Yasui Makoto smiled.
"Then when you go to karaoke tonight, try singing it and tell me what your friends think."
"Yeah! They're definitely going to be shocked that Trainer can write such a good song!"
Kitasan Black nodded excitedly.
Daiwa Scarlet suddenly became curious, and at the same time began to doubt her earlier judgment.
She knew very well that this junior's family was extremely talented in music.
Especially her grandfather he was a regular guest on the "Kohaku Uta Gassen" (Red and White Song Festival).
The Kohaku was like the highest G1 of the Shining Series. Only the absolute top singers in the industry were invited to perform.
Being a regular on such a prestigious show meant that Kitasan Black's grandfather essentially represented Japanese music.
With such a family background, even if Kitasan Black didn't pursue music and became a horse girl instead, the songs she found "good" would definitely not be bad.
…So not only did he have astonishing ability in training, but he was also outstanding in music?
Just what kind of genius was this?
Driven by curiosity and amazement, Daiwa Scarlet leaned closer to Kitasan Black and carefully examined the contents of the paper.
At the same time, she asked:
"Since Kitasan is praising it so much… what's the title of this song?"
"Oh right! I was so focused on the lyrics I forgot to check the title…"
Kitasan Black slapped her forehead belatedly and quickly looked at the top of the page.
Then, she and Daiwa Scarlet murmured the title at the same time in a low voice.
"The song title… Uchiage Hanabi (Fireworks)?"
...
That night, in a karaoke room in Harajuku, a black-haired girl held the microphone and sang with deep emotion.
"Pa tto hi ka tte sai ta
ha na bi wo mi te i ta
ki tto ma da o wa ra na i na tsu ga
a i ma i na ko ko ro
wo to ka shi te tsu na i da
ko no yo ru ga tsu zu i te ho shi ka tta"
She was singing the exact song Yasui Makoto had given her Uchiage Hanabi and had reached the emotional climax near the end.
When the song finished, she raised the microphone, took a stylish step back, and bowed gracefully to the two girls sitting across from her.
The two horse girls who looked very similar were both staring in amazement.
"Amazing… Both your singing, Kitasan, and the song your trainer wrote are incredible."
Satono Diamond clapped enthusiastically.
Her sister, Satono Crown, also clapped while looking utterly incredulous.
"Your trainer… is really only 18 years old? And… he really wrote this song himself?"
"Sister…"
Satono Diamond gave her a slightly reproachful look.
"Ah, sorry…"
Satono Crown bowed slightly to Kitasan Black with her hands together.
"I didn't mean anything bad by it, I was just… really shocked.
"I don't understand music as well as you do, Kitasan, but writing a song must be very difficult, right?
"At 18 years old… he's already such a good trainer, and he can even write such an excellent song…
"Sorry, I just couldn't believe it for a moment…
"Anyway, Kitasan, your trainer is truly outstanding."
"Hehe, it's fine."
Kitasan Black stepped down from the singing platform and immediately returned to her usual silly demeanor. She scratched her head and said:
"Actually, I was shocked too.
"When I first got the song, I just thought the lyrics were nice, the sheet music looked fine, and the rhythm and rhymes all worked.
"But when I actually sang it, it sounded so good that I could hardly believe Trainer wrote it."
"So you felt the same way…"
Satono Crown finally relaxed, but then looked incredulous again.
"A song this good must have taken a long time to write… and your trainer did it just to help you gain some fans?"
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