Early morning at Central Tracen Academy.
"Tachyon... it is just a selection race. You only need to show up," Manhattan Cafe said, her voice trailing off as she walked beside her friend.
Agnes Tachyon had a habit of refusing selection races. It was a constant headache for the faculty. The school frequently dispatched teachers and Student Council members to give her "ideological education," but it rarely stuck.
"Ha... I have no desire to be surrounded by those white mice again. They swarm like butterflies around a cabbage," Tachyon replied, her voice dripping with boredom.
She didn't even look at her friend. Her mind was clearly elsewhere.
"Participating in such a race is a colossal waste of my precious research time. Those people... they provide such dull, meaningless training plans. Aside from serving as guinea pigs for my experiments, they have no value to me at all."
Tachyon's eyes gleamed with a manic light.
"The secrets hidden within the bodies of Uma Musume... our possibilities... just how fast can our speed truly go? I have so many subjects to study, and so little time. Why would I waste a single second on those trifles?"
As a student of Central Tracen Academy, Agnes Tachyon possessed terrifying talent for racing. But that talent was rivaled only by her genius for scientific research. It was the only reason the academy had granted her a private laboratory.
Still, even for a prodigy, refusing to find a Trainer or debut in a race was pushing it. This was the highest-level training institution in Japan, after all.
The academy had tried everything. They pleaded, they pressured, but they couldn't force her into a selection race.
To Tachyon, classes and Trainers were nothing but obstacles. Skipping class and showing up late were part of her daily routine. She spent her free time hunting for other Uma Musume or Trainers to act as test subjects, usually causing a massive scene in the process.
The only thing she took seriously was her daily physical training. In her mind, a fit body was a necessary tool for her experiments.
"Actually... I ran into Oguri Cap this morning," Manhattan Cafe said, watching her stubborn friend.
The night before, Oguri Cap had heard that Kitahara called. She had been so excited that she'd grabbed her unfinished carrot-hamburger steak and sprinted straight for Ginjiro Rokuhei's office.
As soon as she heard Kitahara mention that Yuzuki needed something for Fujimasa March's training, she had taken the mission upon herself without hesitation.
"Oguri Cap? That Gray Coat from the Regional circuit?" Tachyon's interest spiked instantly.
"Perfect. I've been curious about her. There is an immense, hidden power lurking in that body. If I could drag her into the lab as a test subject, my research would leap forward by years..."
"You cannot... actually, she told me she wanted something from you, Tachyon," Cafe interrupted, recounting the conversation she'd had with the gluttonous star.
"A portable device to monitor [𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲]? Isn't that a function of the electrocardiogram and blood pressure device I developed a while back?"
When it came to research, Tachyon's memory was flawless.
She had built the device to probe the mysteries of the Uma Musume physique. It was far more precise than any hospital equipment, capable of monitoring blood pressure, respiratory depth, breathing frequency, [𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲], and blood oxygen saturation in real-time.
She believed the key to the "possibility" of their kind lay in those numbers. To push the limits of speed, one had to optimize every biological metric.
"Interesting. Someone wants to use that device for actual training? How mad," Tachyon mused.
Her interest shifted from Oguri Cap to the man behind the request. This Trainer named Yuzuki.
In Tachyon's experience, Trainers at the academy were useless. They spent their days telling girls to run and jump, turning training into a playground. She could do that herself. Why would she need a human accessory hanging around?
It was boring. Meaningless. A waste of her life.
But now, she had found someone who used scientific data to study and improve an Uma Musume.
It was as rare as seeing Oguri Cap lose her appetite.
'Perhaps with his help... my research... the possibilities... I might see it soon.'
"I'm certain this Trainer Yuzuki is the same type of researcher as I am. I really want to meet him!" Tachyon's eyes burned with a feverish intensity. She flicked her tongue out, licking her lips.
"Tachyon... you're doing it again," Cafe said, looking at her twitching, neurotic friend with a sigh.
Whenever experiments were involved, Tachyon became a different person. Cafe wondered if telling her had been a mistake.
"Cafe, tell that Trainer... no, tell Oguri Cap. I'll give her the device. But give Yuzuki a message for me. Tell him I'm looking forward to the day he arrives at Central! Hehe..."
Tachyon narrowed her eyes, a sharp smile spreading across her face.
"I have a feeling he's going to bring some very interesting changes to this world."
"Oh, by the way! This is my latest 'Muscle Sparkling Potion.' It's ten times more potent than the last batch! Cafe, want a taste?" Tachyon's mood was soaring.
"I am not drinking that..." Cafe replied instantly, turning on her heel to leave.
***
"Feel your abdomen expanding as you inhale through your nose. Exhale as slowly as possible."
Yuzuki leaned against the training track fence, holding a megaphone. He didn't take his eyes off Fujimasa March for a second.
"Squeeze from the abdominal cavity up to the chest as you exhale. Feel every bit of air being pushed out."
"Keep your nasal breathing in sync with your running rhythm!"
"Ha... ha..."
Fujimasa March panted heavily, her chest heaving as she returned to the starting line.
Today's lesson was [𝗔𝗯𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴]. Yuzuki was teaching her how to control her breath and coordinate it with her stride.
It was her first time encountering the technique. During the last sprint, she'd tried to switch her breathing style and immediately lost her rhythm, nearly choking on the air.
"Don't let your breaths get shallow. Deepen them. Remember, your breath and your movement must become one."
March's silver hair was soaked with sweat, clinging to her neck like wet silk. Her head felt heavy, dizzy from the shift in oxygen. The dull ache in her legs was a screaming protest against the new strain.
But she couldn't stop. Not while her Trainer was watching.
March focused. She drew a deep, sharp breath through her nose. Her lungs filled to capacity. Her red blood cells screamed as they hungrily grabbed the influx of oxygen, pumping life back into her straining muscles.
The Rhythm of the Deep
It felt like a cool mountain stream rushing through her veins.
Fujimasa March felt the fog in her mind vanish instantly. Her legs, once heavy as lead, suddenly thrummed with a fresh, electric energy.
'It's working!'
Her chest expanded, rhythmically and deep.
'My body... it feels so light. I can keep going. I can still run!'
Yuzuki watched her. He saw the tension bleed out of her face, replaced by a focused, sharp calm. He gave a single, firm nod.
She had it. She had finally grasped the secret of the breath.
Muscles are hungry things. During a sprint, they demand a relentless, unending supply of oxygen to keep firing. If the intake falters, the energy dies. The body slows down, forced into a desperate, agonizing crawl.
That was where Abdominal Breathing changed the game.
By engaging the diaphragm, the lungs didn't just flutter. They expanded. It forced the waste... the carbon dioxide... out of the system entirely. In its place, it pulled in a massive volume of air, driving oxygen deep into the alveoli.
It was a high-efficiency exchange of life for speed.
'The deeper the breath, the more the lungs wake up,' Yuzuki thought, his eyes never leaving her. 'More lobes engaged. Better exchange. The muscles get the fuel they crave, and the engine keeps roaring.'
Fujimasa March wasn't just running anymore.
She was breathing.
~✦~ End of Chapter ~✦~
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