Early August, Special Week returned from the summer camp to Tracen Academy.
Her sudden withdrawal had two reasons.
First, Special Week was still a middle-schooler, currently placed in Group C (the developmental stage).
Even though she already qualified to race, she hadn’t run her debut race yet.
Unlike those who’d just finished their debuts and were prepping for maiden races or first-win qualifiers, she still had some breathing room.
Second, Special Week was from Hokkaido, she hated heat and couldn’t swim.
Even with top-tier facilities at the camp, summer training was supposed to be the best time for Uma Musume to grow stronger, but she ended up getting heatstroke and nearly drowned during swimming practice until Oguri pulled her out.
She simply couldn’t adapt to the summer schedule, so under her Trainer’s care, they decided it was best to send her back to the academy to rest.
Honestly, that worked out perfectly for Special Week.
She’d been so anxious about Suzuka’s situation that she couldn’t focus on training anyway, her distraction was literally what caused her to almost drown.
Silence Suzuka was her senior, her roommate, and the idol she looked up to.
After moving from rural Hokkaido to Tokyo, the very first race Special Week ever attended in person was Suzuka’s debut.
Seeing Suzuka race with such grace and take first place, then shining on the victory stage at dusk… it only strengthened her dream of becoming Japan’s number one Uma Musume.
She got so caught up in it that she forgot the time and was late for her academy registration on her very first day.
It wasn’t uncommon for Uma Musume like Special Week to be scouted from regional academies and brought to Central Tracen, so transfer students happened all the time.
And even luckier: she’d been assigned to Suzuka’s dorm room.
Becoming roommates with her idol… Was this fate?
Special Week had been looking forward to the upcoming summer camp, hoping she could train alongside Suzuka and grow closer to her.
And privately… she was also really curious about how “Suzuka” would look in a swimsuit…
But not long after enrolling, she heard terrible news: Suzuka had been told to quit racing because she’d disobeyed her Trainer’s orders.
Special Week felt completely unfair on Suzuka’s behalf.
Didn’t she win her debut race?
Just passing it on the first try was impressive enough!
She’d heard that average Uma Musume usually had to attempt their debuts four or five times, and some never even cleared them.
Winning the race but getting kicked out for disobeying orders?
That was way too strict!
Did Uma Musume have to be slaves to their Trainers, obeying every command without question?
Special Week thought Suzuka’s Trainer was being too tyrannical and didn’t really understand how important a Trainer actually was.
After all, she herself was a rising star too.
She’d passed the academy selection shortly after enrolling and joined the newly formed Team Sirius.
Her generation was even called the “Golden Generation,” with several future superstar prospects highly favored by Trainers.
Special Week had originally planned to ask her own Trainer to bring Suzuka into Sirius as well, but she was told Suzuka had already been assigned to a brand-new rookie Trainer.
But… wasn’t Kiryuin-san the only new Trainer this year?
Where did this other rookie come from?
Was he also a transfer from a regional academy, just like her?
Anyway, Suzuka’s situation was already decided by the academy.
As a lowly freshman Uma Musume, Special Week didn’t have the right to interfere.
She just hoped this new Trainer would be kind and let Suzuka run freely in her own preferred style.
Stepping off the long-distance bus, Special Week was already bursting with excitement to return to the dorms and see Suzuka.
She jogged all the way back to Ritto Dorm… then suddenly remembered that this was exactly when Suzuka usually went for her afternoon run.
After a month together, Special Week had figured out Suzuka’s personality: extremely serious and absolutely obsessed with running.
Special Week loved running too, but she’d never met anyone as passionate as Suzuka.
Morning runs, post-lunch jogs, evening cool-down runs after training… She ran nonstop from dawn to dusk!
But that was what made an Uma Musume!
That was exactly how they were supposed to be!
She had to follow Suzuka’s example too!
So she figured Suzuka probably wasn’t in the dorm right now.
She’d have to find her by the riverbank instead.
Special Week decided she’d drop her luggage, change into her gym clothes, and then go look for Suzuka.
She happily rushed back to their room… only to find Suzuka hadn’t gone running at all.
Instead, she was sitting at her desk writing something, occasionally staring blankly at the pen in her hand.
Suzuka!
Wasn’t!
Running!?!
She was so shocked that her luggage bag slipped off her shoulder and thumped onto the floor.
The noise snapped Suzuka out of it.
She turned toward the door and saw Special Week standing there, jaw dropped.
“Huh?
Spe-chan, when did you get back?
Didn’t you go to summer camp?”
Special Week scratched the back of her head and grinned sheepishly.
“Heheh… I got heatstroke, so my Trainer told me to come back early…”
“Heatstroke?!
Are you okay?!” Suzuka stood up and walked over, her expression full of worry as she checked on Special Week.
“It’s fine!
It was just mild dehydration~ I’m completely better now!” To prove she was fine, Special Week raised both arms and flexed her fists with a bright, energetic pose.
“By the way… you’re not going running?”
To Special Week, Suzuka skipping her run was way more concerning than her own heatstroke.
What could possibly make a hardcore running fanatic like Suzuka skip training?
Was it the aftermath of being told to quit racing?
“Mm… my Trainer said I don’t need high-intensity running right now.
He limited how much I can run each day, so I’m only doing light jogs in the morning and evening.” The key was jogging, mainly for warming up and adjusting her running form.
Kenji had stressed this point specifically.
“Ah… that’s the new Trainer, right?
You’ve already met him?”
“Mm… he’s a really nice guy.” At the mention of Kenji, Suzuka smiled warmly.
Even her eyes softened.
Huh?
Huh?!
What’s with this sweet aura?
Special Week could practically feel the girlish energy radiating off Suzuka.
If this were a manga, flowers would be blooming in the background right now.
But it looked like Suzuka had finally bounced back… That was great.
Special Week still remembered how Suzuka used to wake up crying in the middle of the night after being told to quit.
It hurt just watching her, and she’d been wondering if there was anything she could do…
Turns out it wasn’t her, but the new Trainer who brought her back… Special Week felt a tiny bit jealous.
It was good that Suzuka had recovered, of course… But suddenly she really wanted to yell: “AGEMASEN!!!” Her possessiveness seemed to have subtly awakened.