Chapter 35: Friendship Training: Bridge Comp

As part of our training for the Yasuda Kinen, we decided to incorporate more pair runs into our routine.

Which, of course, meant we had to find someone to pair up with.

That’s when the problem hit us.

"None of the short-distance or mile-race Uma Musume are anywhere in our circle! Bourbon just finished a race too."

"I figured since the NHK Mile Cup’s already over, there’d be a few stables open to it, but… looks like I was wrong."

The NHK Mile Cup — a Classic-class mile race.

It’s run over 1600 meters on turf at Tokyo Racecourse, and this year, Mihono Bourbon took the victory.

We’d gone to watch it live, but… yeah. Bourbon’s seriously insane.

I’d considered entering that one myself, but decided against it for the sake of my condition.

"But still, why? Even with a trainer’s approach, nobody’s agreeing — that’s weird."

"Well, first off, Lux is being heavily guarded. She went head-to-head with Mihono Bourbon in that legendary race, remember? There are plenty of teams who’d rather not let someone like that see their cards."

"Mmgh… yeah, but still, there should be some who’d want to see ours, right?"

After all, running side by side means both sides get a glimpse of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Because of that, plenty of Uma Musume don’t go all-out in pair runs.

"Let me ask you, Lux — if you had to come up with a countermeasure for yourself, what would you do?"

"Uh… maybe go aggressive and try to force a duel early on?"

"And if your opponent stayed hidden at the back until the final stretch?"

"Ah… right…"

Oh yeah, that’s true. It’s actually pretty hard to disrupt my running style. Blocking my path could work — except I once countered that with the “inside rush” trick.

Yeah… no wonder no one wants to train beside us.

"So what do we do now? If we’re talking short or mile runners… oh wait, there’s one person I can think of."

A certain roommate came to mind.

When I sent her a message inviting her to a pair run, she replied within minutes.

"Alright! Trainer, Comp said she’ll run with me!"

"Really? That’s great news. I’ll get things ready on my end, so you and Lux go on ahead to the grounds."

"Got it!"

And that’s how I ended up doing a pair run with my roommate, Bridge Comp.

When we arrived at the training grounds, Comp was already there and fully prepped. Wait—seriously? It hasn’t even been ten minutes since I messaged her.

"Luu-chan, Luu-chan, Luu-chan! I can’t believe you invited me to a pair run! Hehe, I’ve been dying to run with you like this!"

"You’re exaggerating. You could’ve just said something — I’d have run with you anytime."

Didn’t realize she’d been looking forward to it that much. Guess I should’ve invited her sooner.

Bridge Comp was all smiles and energy — a short- and mid-distance runner, making her a perfect match for me.

"Wait, where’s your trainer, Luu-chan? You’re usually glued at the hip."

"Not always. He said he had some prep to do, so he’ll come later."

Comp’s running style is front-runner, though she can take the lead or hold back if needed — a pretty versatile one, really.

But wait… isn’t she also racing in the Yasuda Kinen? Was it okay to ask her to train like this?

"Still, I can’t believe you’re the one running the Yasuda Kinen, Luu-chan. This time last year, you were crying because you couldn’t even win a qualifier."

"Don’t bring that up! But seriously, are you sure it’s fine? You’ve got your own schedule, right? Feels a bit wrong that I’m the one asking."

"Ah, wait, Luu-chan — did you think I’m running the Yasuda Kinen?"

…Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought.

Comp mainly runs short and mile races, and she’s a senior-class Uma Musume.

Actually, come to think of it — there is a senior-only mile G1 around this time of year.

"So you’re entering the Victoria Mile instead of the Yasuda Kinen?"

The Victoria Mile — a mile G1 held in early May at Tokyo Racecourse.

The key difference from the Yasuda Kinen is that it’s for senior-class runners only, not a Classic–Senior mix.

So that’s where she’s headed, huh?

"Yup! I thought about the Yasuda Kinen too, but… Taiki Shuttle’s running there, so… yeah, that’s a bit much for me."

"Ah… yeah. Taiki Shuttle, huh. Still undefeated in mile races, right?"

"I’ve raced her so many times, but when it comes to miles, I just can’t beat her. Maybe in sprints, but not there…"

Yeah, that’s a fair call.

Meanwhile, I’m the idiot who went, ‘I wanna fight someone stronger!’ and decided on the Yasuda Kinen like some battle-crazed maniac.

Well, to be fair, a few sprinters do think that way… That’s Bakushin O’s fault, honestly.

"So yeah, I’m skipping the Yasuda Kinen. You go give it your all, okay? Taiki Shuttle’s no joke in the mile!"

"I’ll do my best. That’s why I wanted to train with you, after all."

The two of us started warming up side by side.

They say when two girls get together, the conversation never ends — and sure enough, ours didn’t either.

Before long, our trainer arrived at the grounds, apparently done with preparations.

"Sorry, sorry — kept you waiting."

"Oh! Hi there, Luu-chan’s trainer! Thanks for always taking such good care of our Luu-chan!"

"She’s not your Luu-chan, Comp!"

The trainer and Comp actually get along pretty well. Apparently, they even talk sometimes about how sloppy I am.

What the heck? Why are they bonding over that!?

"Lux, Comp—done with your warm-ups? If you are, I’d like to start the pair run right away."

"Yeah, we’re good. So, what’s the plan for the run?"

"For now, I’ll have Bridge Comp take her usual front-runner role. Lux, I want you to run stalker-style this time — stay right behind her. You can overtake whenever you find an opening."

And with that, our pair run began.

I settled right behind Comp from the start, waiting for my moment to overtake.
But — yeah, no surprise there — she’s a senior-class G1 Uma Musume. She didn’t leave a single opening.

Usually, the reason I can blow past everyone the way I do is because I’ve prepped for it — pacing, timing my final burst perfectly.
But with a different running style? Damn, overtaking her like this is hard.

"Hff… hff! This is bad — can’t get past her! Seriously, what do I do here!?"

Even after the final turn, I couldn’t find a chance to overtake Comp.
Normally, this is where I’d accelerate and pass her… but no. Not happening.

I tried anyway — threw everything into one final dash — but it wasn’t enough.

"First place, Bridge Comp! Second, Meteor Lux! …Yep, that’s what I figured. Lux, that looked pretty rough on you, huh?"

"Haa… haa… yeah. The moment I’d usually go for the pass, I just… couldn’t."

"Your running felt kinda off-balance, Luu-chan. What’s up with that?"

I didn’t expect running in a different style to be this exhausting.
It’s been since the qualifiers that I last tried running as a stalker. Back then, I didn’t realize just how demanding it was.

You’ve got to stay constantly aware of both the runners ahead and behind you, keeping your focus razor-sharp while still pushing forward.
Unless you’ve got nerves of steel or an unbreakable will, succeeding in this position is nearly impossible.

No wonder Uma Musume like Mejiro McQueen and Taiki Shuttle are absolute monsters.

"Well, that’s more or less what I expected. I won’t deny I was hoping you might handle the pack better now and manage a front-runner position, though."

"Yeah, no. That’s brutal. Even if I got used to it, I don’t think I could pull it off."

"I mean, Luu-chan, you’re definitely more of a front-runner type. Trying to focus on both front and back? That’s just not your style."

Yeah, can’t argue with that.
It’s just… being pushed from behind drives me absolutely insane.
If I could fix that, maybe I’d stand a chance at front-running…?

But with that monster Bourbon around, running front would be suicide.
If she’s in the race, you’re guaranteed a head-to-head battle.

"Anyway, let’s try a closer run next. After that, we’ll do one in your usual style for comparison."

"Got it. Comp, ready up!"

"Yup! Big sis Comp’s giving it her all again!"

And so, our pair training continued.

After a few rounds, I finally managed to get a feel for the trigger behind my Unique Skill.
We decided to call it a day after that.

"Still, I didn’t think you’d already be at this level, Rue-chan. There aren’t many Classic-class girls who can pull that off, you know?"

"I’ve been calling it my ‘Unique,’ but… can you use one too, Comp? It took a lot of research just to get mine working at all."

"Hmm… I wouldn’t say I can use it freely. Sometimes, mid-race, I get this feeling like I’ve gone past my limits—but that’s about it."

Yeah, figured as much.
Just as I thought—this whole thing’s insanely hard to master.

Even if I’ve found the thread to pull on, it still feels like there’s a wall between me and fully activating it.
Tch… am I really gonna get it working in time for the Yasuda Kinen…?

"Thanks, Bridge Comp. We couldn’t find any good pair partners for Lux, so you really helped us out today."

"No problem at all! Running with Rue-chan’s always a great learning experience. As a front-runner, I’ve gotta get used to dealing with closers like her anyway!"

"You sure about that…? My running’s kind of unorthodox. Not exactly something you can train for easily."

Still, if she says it’s useful, I’ll take her word for it.

With training wrapped up, the three of us gathered in the trainer’s room for a little tea time.

Comp’s a green tea girl, so I brewed her that, and poured coffee only for the trainer.

"Anyway, I’m just glad Rue-chan finally found herself a hobby. You were so completely uninterested in anything before, I was starting to worry!"

"Exactly. Even now that she’s gotten into coffee, she still spends her days off doing self-training sometimes… Maybe you could take her out somewhere when she’s got free time?"

"Mm, why don’t you be the one to take her out, Trainer-san?"

Oh come on! Can you two not just team up to bully me!?

I do go out sometimes, okay!? I’ve been buying new gear and beans for coffee brewing lately!
Cut me a little slack here! I’ll cry, seriously!

"Haha, it’s not really a good look for a trainer to go on outings with his trainee, you know?"

"That’s not true at all! Rue-chan totally wants to go out with you! She told me so the other day!"

"Lux, is that true?"

No, that’s a lie.

I opened my mouth to say so—but stopped.
If I said, “Not really,” what would happen?

The trainer would definitely get all down about it.
He’d probably start thinking, I dragged her along on Christmas and White Day even though she didn’t want to go…

Ugh… I don’t wanna make him sad.
Guess I’ve got no choice, huh?

"Y-yeah. It’s fun going out with Trainer."

"See, Trainer-san! You should totally take her out more often!"

This… this is purely to keep Trainer from getting sad!
It’s not because I want to go anywhere with him! Definitely not!

"Haha, alright then. I’ll take you places more often, Lux. But first, we’ve got to focus on the Yasuda Kinen."

"Yeah! We’ve got to analyze all our rivals and stuff!"

"Heheee… Rue-chan, you’re so cute when you’re fired up like that."

Comp was grinning—glancing up, down, maybe even behind me, who knows where.
Ugh, she’s throwing me off my rhythm. My body’s still hot from training, and she’s making it worse. Totally throwing me off balance.

"Anyway, I’ve finished compiling data on the top contenders. Here—these are their most recent lap times, this is a diagram of their usual course positioning, and these files have actual race footage with my notes included. Go over everything when you can."

"Whoa… that’s amazing. You’ve got everything perfectly organized."

And just like that, our preparations for the Yasuda Kinen continued.
There wasn’t much time left.

How far could I go against the senior-class Uma Musume—?