"Mhm! I'll try my best to remember it!"
Kitasan Black gave a cheerful nod, then quickly pulled out a small notebook and pen. She scribbled a few lines, closed it, and set it aside.
Once she was done taking notes, Trainer Yasui nodded in approval. He gave her clear instructions while helping adjust the equipment for the next training exercise.
The first one on the list was cable chest flys.
Kitasan Black sat on the machine's seat with her feet planted firmly on the floor, knees spread apart for good stability. She gripped the handles with her palms facing each other, arms extended out to her sides and slightly bent, elbows just below shoulder height.
Her hands and arms stayed relaxed as she let her pectoral muscles do the work, smoothly pulling the handles forward and moving the weights on the cables. When her hands came together in front of her chest, she paused for a moment, then slowly let the muscles relax and returned to the starting position.
She had to focus on feeling the contraction and release in her chest the whole time, keeping the movement steady and controlled.
The main muscles targeted were the pectoralis major, with supporting work on the pectoralis minor, serratus anterior, anterior deltoids, and the short head of the biceps.
Just like their previous sessions, the workout was broken into several sets with a fixed number of reps and clear rest periods between them.
After cable chest flys came bench press, deadlifts, and bent-over rows — all focused on building upper-body strength, especially the muscles across the front of the body and the upper arms.
Once they finished that block today, they could move on to the back and lower arms tomorrow, just as Yasui Makoto had planned.
By the end of the session, clear signs of fatigue showed on Kitasan Black's small face. Covered in sweat and breathing hard, she sat cross-legged on the floor while Yasui Makoto gently pressed on her back, guiding her into a deep butterfly stretch. Her heels were pulled in as close as possible, and low groans of discomfort slipped out.
"Ah… ow, ow… Why does it hurt so much, Trainer…?"
"Because today's training really focused everything on a few specific muscle groups," Yasui Makoto explained as he timed the fifteen-second sets. "In your usual running or weighted workouts, you use pretty much every muscle. But today, especially in those last few exercises, only a handful of muscles had to carry the whole load. When the stress is that concentrated, the muscles get tired faster."
"Alright, stand up and face the wall."
After the lower-body stretches, Yasui Makoto had Kitasan Black walk over to the wall. She turned her back to him and placed her hands flat against it.
"That's the right distance. Now press your elbows against the wall at about shoulder height, clasp your hands together, and lean forward… Hey, I'm not asking you to stick your butt out. Don't stick it out so much."
"Relax your lower back, look up, and slowly slide your elbows higher while bringing your chest closer to the wall… Could you please stop making those weird noises…?"
Following his instructions, Kitasan Black leaned forward and tilted her head up. Her small face showed a mix of pain and relief as strange little "uh-ah… uh-ah…" sounds kept escaping her lips.
When Yasui Makoto finally spoke up in a helpless tone, she couldn't help but answer back.
"Uh… ah… But Trainer, it really does feel weird…"
"I know, but… never mind. Just do what feels right."
He had wanted to remind her again, but after a moment he decided to let it go. He had gone through the same kind of training himself and knew that proper stretching after a solid workout often brought all sorts of strange sensations — a mix of pain and satisfaction. It was actually a sign the session had been effective. If it only hurt or felt like nothing at all, then something was probably wrong.
Still, hearing those sounds coming from Kitasan Black right now felt a little odd. He glanced around quickly, hoping no one else had noticed.
That was when his eyes met Air Groove and Duramente, who were walking straight toward them.
Judging by the tired look on Duramente's face, her training had been just as intense. She had probably come over to stretch and cool down.
Since they had already seen each other, Yasui Makoto decided to greet them politely.
"Air Groove, Duramente. Good to see you both."
"Trainer Yasui, Kitasan Black. Good to see you too."
Air Groove returned the greeting with a warm smile, then glanced at her companion.
"Duramente, you…"
Duramente ignored her, gave Trainer Yasui and the still-stretching Kitasan Black a quick look, then nodded slightly. Without another word she walked over to a nearby horizontal bar, lifted one long leg onto it, and began stretching on her own.
"This girl of yours…" Air Groove's face showed a mix of awkwardness and helplessness. She shook her head and bowed slightly to Yasui Makoto. "I'm very sorry, Trainer Yasui. She's not very good at interacting with people. Please don't take it personally. I'll talk to her later."
Yasui Makoto didn't seem bothered. He had only said hello out of politeness, and Duramente's cold reaction didn't surprise him.
Just as he was about to turn his attention back to Kitasan Black, Air Groove spoke up again.
"Duramente and I are heading to the Tracen Academy cafeteria for dinner soon. If you don't mind, would you and Kitasan Black like to join us?"
…
A short while later, at a table in the Tracen Academy cafeteria.
Sitting across from Air Groove, Yasui Makoto stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"…So, Air Groove, you're hoping Duramente and Kita-chan could start training together?"
That was the request she had brought up once they sat down. Even back in the training room he had sensed she wanted to talk about something, which was why she suggested dinner. Still, he hadn't expected this.
From a training and resources standpoint, he couldn't see any real need for it. Air Groove's coaching level was definitely on par with his — maybe even better, since she had actual race experience, G1 victories, and a professional manager guiding her. And while Duramente and Kitasan Black might look similar from the outside, Duramente came from a well-known family in the industry. Even if their resources were roughly equal, her family's professionalism and support were clearly higher.
So why suggest they train together?
Yasui Makoto felt genuinely puzzled.
"Yes, to be honest, Trainer Yasui… this girl, Duramente…" Air Groove sighed and glanced toward a nearby table.
She and Yasui Makoto weren't sitting with the two younger Uma Musume. Kitasan Black and Duramente were at their own table, facing each other.
Air Groove looked back at him and let out another sigh, clearly troubled.
"Duramente has always been impatient by nature. In her debut race she got anxious right after leaving the gate. She calmed down later, but she had already burned through so much stamina that she missed a real shot at first place. The last Kyodo News Service Hai went the same way. She recovered a little faster this time, but she still ended up losing."
"Because of that loss, she barely listens to her trainer anymore. Even taking her out for a change of scenery didn't help. Luckily she still listens to me, and her family asked my mother to have me look after her, so I've been stepping in for her trainer lately."
---
Bonus chapters
200 - Stones
400 - Stones
600 - Stones
And so on, do you best!
Also visit my patreon for advance chapters to all my work!
(patreon.com/LizTL)