“So… Suzuka-san, you were wearing a swimsuit because you knew you’d sweat a lot during training, and that actually happened.
Plus, today you pushed yourself too hard, passed out in Kenji-san’s arms, got his clothes dirty, so he took them off and let you take them home to wash?”
Over dinner, Special Week summarized Silence Suzuka’s explanation, realizing the scene she’d witnessed earlier was just another misunderstanding.
“Y-yeah… that’s exactly it.”
Suzuka felt a little guilty.
While nothing inappropriate had actually happened, she couldn’t honestly say her mind hadn’t wandered during the process…
Especially during the massage… Those terrifying thoughts and that lingering sensation still haunted her, making Suzuka instinctively press her knees together.
As for Kenji massaging her, or her inviting him to take a bath with her… those details were completely left out.
They were secrets she’d decided never to share with anyone.
Secrets meant only for her and her Trainer.
“Alright, I believe you.”
Special Week nodded, accepting the explanation.
Honestly, there wasn’t much reason to doubt her anyway.
Back then, Kenji-san hadn’t looked like someone caught doing something shady with Suzuka at all.
If anything, he’d seemed relieved.
Plus, Special Week had carefully checked Suzuka’s body afterward.
There was only sweat, no other suspicious fluids, and the training room didn’t smell like… well, you know.
That telltale musky scent was completely absent.
That proved they were completely clean.
Come to think of it, how could Suzuka, who only ever thought about running, be full of lewd fantasies like her?
…Wait!
That’s not true!
She wasn’t pervy at all!
Anyone would’ve misunderstood seeing that scene!
Special Week shook her head like a rattle, shoved a chunk of carrot into her mouth, and mumbled with her cheeks puffed out.
“But seriously, Suzuka, you’re pushing yourself way too hard.
What if you get injured?”
“Spe-chan, swallow first before you talk… Look, training’s supposed to be all-out effort… I don’t want Kenj… uh, Trainer to be disappointed.”
She’d almost blurted out “Kenji-kun,” but caught herself halfway and switched to “Trainer” instead.
Suzuka wanted that name to be something she only used when they were alone together.
The more exclusive secrets she had with her Trainer, the better.
Special Week seemed overwhelmed by Suzuka’s overflowing girlish aura.
She choked, pounded her chest a few times, and barely managed to swallow what was stuck in her throat.
After coughing twice and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she asked:
“Cough… Suzuka, you…”
…Could it be that you’ve fallen for your Trainer?
“Hm?”
“N-nothing!
Ahaha…”
Special Week gave a goofy laugh and scratched her head to brush it off.
She wanted to ask, but was too nervous to actually do it.
Or rather… she didn’t even need to ask.
She could already guess the answer.
Honestly, it wasn’t exactly surprising.
After all, Trainers were the ones who supported and helped Uma Musume the most throughout their careers.
Almost every Uma Musume had fantasized about meeting a Trainer like the White Tiger Prince (since horses didn’t exist in this world, girls’ ideal romantic figure rode a white tiger instead).
(TL: I guess this a prince on a white horse thing)
Special Week had dreamed of that kind of encounter too, hoping she’d meet a handsome and reliable Trainer after arriving at Tracen.
Unfortunately, her Trainer was a woman.
Since all Uma Musume were girls, female Trainers naturally had more in common with them and faced fewer barriers, like an older sister guiding a younger one.
That’s why the profession was mostly women, roughly 80% female to 20% male.
And even if you were lucky enough to be recruited by a male Trainer, most of them were scruffy middle-aged guys or gray-haired old men, like the legendary Mr.
Ginjiro Rokumei.
That made a young male Trainer like Kenji even rarer at Tracen Academy than an endangered species.
Right now, it was only because of the summer camp that most Musume were off-campus, so his arrival hadn’t caused a huge stir.
But once the second semester started and word got out about Kenji’s existence, she bet a lot of Musume would be fighting to get his guidance.
And some of them would definitely try to play dirty… like using their charm, or worse…
Thinking about this, Special Week couldn’t help but worry for Suzuka.
With her gentle personality, would Suzuka be able to keep her Trainer safe from all that…?
She’d better help out more!
A rookie Trainer and his first charge, growing together from debut to retirement… then tying the knot when she hung up her boots… How romantic!
That’d be legendary!
What Special Week didn’t know was that her worries were completely unnecessary.
Suzuka had already reached a point where she kept secrets from her best friend, even got jealous over it, let alone let some scheming Uma Musume near Kenji.
If Kenji had used [Aji no Ashi] to check Suzuka’s status today, he’d definitely notice a new red skill in her list: [Tether].
(TL: I’m going to stop translating the foot tasting skill, you get it)
Activation condition: In the late stages of a middle-distance race, if positioned behind, it slightly slows down the Uma ahead.
It was a skill Front-Runners rarely learned, and even if they did, there were almost no chances to trigger it.
Of course, while useless on the track, in daily life this skill perfectly reflected Suzuka’s current mindset…
After all, [Tether] only needed one more upgrade to become [Dominator].
After dinner, the two Uma Musume went for a stroll to aid digestion, then returned to their dorm in the evening, changed into sportswear, and went jogging by the river.
Calling it “jogging” was generous, it was closer to a human’s full sprint speed.
After breezing through five kilometers, Suzuka stopped and stared blankly at her own hands.
“…”
She could clearly feel it, she had grown stronger.
Not a single drop of sweat, breathing steady, heartbeat calm.
Her legs felt like they’d gone through a perfect metamorphosis.
When she ran, her feet were as light as feathers, like she was stepping on clouds.
The results of special training were already showing.
Special Week, jogging behind her, didn’t interrupt.
She’d noticed Suzuka had changed too.
Uma Musume had a natural intuition; often, just by reading someone’s aura, you could tell if they were “strong” or not.
From Suzuka right now, Special Week felt that deep, seasoned presence she’d only ever sensed from senior veterans.
Yet here was a rookie just starting her career… Already this strong?
Was this the change Kenji-san had brought to her?
Suzuka closed her staring hand into a fist, then turned to Special Week with a confident smile.
“Let’s head back, Spe-chan.”
“Aah… yeah… Um, Suzuka-san, I’ll be cheering for you at your next race too!”
“Mhm.
Thank you.
This time, I will definitely… win.”
The ever-humble Suzuka had just made a victory declaration, enough to shock Special Week.
This wasn’t just about training results… It was the resolve of someone with a crush!
Suzuka wanted to bring victory back to Kenji-san!
Seriously… Was a girl in love truly invincible?
Special Week felt a little envious herself.
Even if lewd thoughts were off-limits… romance was nice, huh.
But later that night, the cool and composed Suzuka revealed a completely different, girlish side.
Holding Kenji’s original shirt in her hands, she’d been standing in front of the washing machine for a full hour.
She just couldn’t bring herself to put it inside yet.
She’d only meant to sniff it before washing… but one whiff and she was instantly hooked.
Sure, her own sweat still clung to it, which was a bit imperfect… but mixing her scent with her Trainer’s gave her excellent material for fantasies.
Slipping the shirt on from the front, sliding her arms into the sleeves… it felt like being held in her Trainer’s embrace.
Then, the hugs and massages from earlier replayed on loop inside Suzuka’s head.
“…”
I-I’ll wash it tomorrow, right?
Yeah… Tomorrow morning she’d use quick-wash plus dryer.
She wasn’t meeting her Trainer until afternoon anyway… Plenty of time.
Tonight, she’d just borrow it a little longer… Just once…
After lights out, Suzuka quietly pulled the shirt from where she’d hidden it under her blanket.
She covered her mouth and nose with one sleeve, tucked the other between her thighs… and began a very inexperienced operation.
Trainer…!
Kenji-kun…!
Mmm…!
Whispering his name in her head, Suzuka curled up, ears twitching, brows furrowed tight.
Her teeth bit down hard on the sleeve as she fought desperately not to make a sound.
“Hah…”
She let out a long, satisfied breath… though she still felt a little unsatisfied.
She’d told herself it was just once… but Suzuka couldn’t resist wanting to go again.
Luckily, Special Week slept like a rock once she was out.
Suzuka could tell from her breathing whether she was truly asleep or not.
So… since Spe-chan in the next bed was already fast asleep… it was safe to try using her hands now.
This was Suzuka’s very first time doing it by hand.
The final result?
Kenji’s shirt ended up with two new kinds of stains.
The left sleeve was soaked in Suzuka’s drool, the right sleeve… well, let’s call it “battle juice.”
The shirt got even dirtier.
Looks like as an Uma Musume grows stronger, she begins to ‘ripen’.
(TL: The word used here was “peaches” as in peaches/libido grow, but it was referring to libido, the translated text comes from xìng yù which turned into ‘apricot jade/peach’.