[14 Days Before Race]
Kurofune and the rest of his teammates could be seen jogging together around the track. They had been doing it for nearly an hour, as a way to develop some endurance. Teio happily jogged in the front, looking almost as fresh as she was when they had started. Special Week and Kurofune were close behind, managing to keep up.
As for the other three…
"No…no more," Scarlett said as she gasped for air.
"Are you...already...running low on steam? Looks like you aren't cut out to be number one," Vodka mocked, though she didn't look to be in much better condition.
"As if!" Scarlet replied. "I can easily...go on for another hour."
"Your form says...otherwise," Vodka comments.
"I can say...the same...thing about you," Scarlet interjected.
Gold Ship on the other hand wasn't even running anymore, going off to do her own thing. She could just be seen sitting off on the side, messing around with a Rubix's Cube in her hand.
The group completed around two more laps before Okino decided to call it there.
"I think this is a good place to call it for today," Okino said.
"Finally," Scarlett said as she collapsed to the ground.
Vodka fell to the ground as well, though she purposely did it after Scarlett had already fallen.
"Ah, nothing beats a nice long run," Kurofune commented with a satisfied smile.
"I agree," Special Week nodded. "It's nice to get one of those once in a while."
"Mhm!" Teio agreed. "I feel like I can go for another set of that!"
"I'm definitely not that refreshed," Kurofune commented with a bead of sweat dripping down his face.
"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but please rest up," Okino requested. "We'll be doing speed work tomorrow, so you guys will need all the energy you can get."
[Hai!] The group responded in unison.
<><><><><><><><><>
[13 Days Before Race]
"Hah…hah…hah…"
Kurofune panted as he darted down the track. Okino was stationed nearby, stopwatch in hand as he watched Kurofune approach. Once Kurofune passed him, he paused the timer.
"1:36.8," Okino said aloud. "A bit off from your personal record on this track."
"Damn…really?" Kurofune sighed as he wiped some sweat off his face. "Let me try again."
"I think it would be better if we worked on some technique for now," Okino suggested. "From what I can tell, you have a lot of power in your legs. But, the frequency of your strides could use some work."
"The frequency of my strides?" Kurofune looked confused.
"You have powerful strides, sure. But you aren't using them to your full potential since you're taking wider steps," Okino explained. "If we managed to close them up a bit, you should be running much faster on average."
"I'll trust you on that, let's try it out," Kurofune immediately agreed.
Shortly after, Okino set up a long line of mini hurdles down along the side of the track. Once he was done, he addressed Kurofune.
"This drill will focus on your footwork and your form in general," Okino stated. "Make sure when you do it that you not only focus on your legs, but also your arms as well. Maintaining good form with the shorter strides is imperative."
"Got it," Kurofune nodded.
He started doing his first rep of the drill, where he realized something almost immediately.
'This is a lot harder than I thought it would be.'
It wasn't like he was horrible at it. He's managed to keep his body controlled while going over the hurdles.
It's just…
'I'm going so slow.'
It took him a minute and a half to finish the first set of the drill. A pretty bad time if you consider that he runs a 1600 Meter race in that amount of time.
"That was a solid first attempt," Okino commented as he wrote it down into a clipboard. "Try again after around three minutes of rest. Let's see if we can shorten that time a bit today. The closer we get it down to a minute, the better."
"Got it."
After resting for the suggested time, Kurofune went again. He could already immediately notice that he was doing better than he was doing last time.
Albeit barely.
Kurofune finishes the set, panting a bit before turning to Okino.
"Time?" He asked.
"1:23.2," Okino answered.
"Still that long?" Kurofune sighed.
"Don't worry too much about it. You still have time to get it down before your race," Okino reassured. "Let's do it three more times today before we call it."
"Fine with me," Kurofune replied.
<><><><><><><><><>
[10 Days Before Race]
Kurofune could be seen doing the hurdle drill again. This time, his progress was much more noticeable than last time. His form was improving, along with his speed.
Okino stops the time as Kurofune finishes the drill.
"Oh?" Okino smiled. "You've improved your time again."
"Really? Let me see!" Kurofune quickly ran over to him.
Okino shows him the stopwatch, which was paused at a time of 1:12.7.
"That's two seconds faster than my previous try," Kurofune was surprised.
"It looks like you're getting the hang of things," Okino commented. "At this rate, you'll easily be able to finish the drill in a minute flat soon."
<><><><><><><><><>
[7 Days Before Race]
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Kurofune yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran up a long staircase with all of his might.
"He's still going so fast even after this being his fifth go?" Scarlett watched him quickly ascend the stairs, amazed.
"No time to be amazed, honor student! We can't let him get too far ahead of us!" Vodka shouted as she sped up.
"H-Hey! Wait!" Scarlett shouted as she chased after her.
The three eventually reach the top of the long staircase, with Kurofune arriving around seven seconds before the other two. Okino checked the times on his stopwatch, pleasantly surprised.
"You've all managed to surpass your previous bests this time, nice job," Okino congratulated them.
Scarlett collapsed to the ground, "I can barely feel my legs."
Vodka wasn't far behind, also dropping to the ground around the same time, "I don't think I'll be able to do another set."
"I think this is a good time to call it," Okino suggested.
"Wait, Trainer-san. Can I do another rep?" Kurofune asked.
"You sure?" Okino was surprised. "You shouldn't overdo it. You might hurt yourself."
"I'm feeling fine," Kurofune reassured him.
"In that case, I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to do one more."
"Ooh! Let me join in this time!" Teio perked up.
"Sure," Kurofune smiled. "We can race to see who reaches the top first."
"You're on!" Teio immediately agreed before rushing down the stairs.
"Hey! Wait up!" Kurofune ran after her.
<><><><><><><><><>
[6 Days Before Race]
Gold Ship found herself tied to a tree by a rope. Attached to her head by even more rope was a bright red apple.
Kurofune aimed a crossbow at her.
"H-Hey Kurofune, my friend," Gold Ship nervously said. "Aren't you supposed to be training right now? I don't think this is a part of it."
"As if I'd just let you get away with making me play your games," Kurofune replied coldly. "Now quiet down. I need to concentrate."
He aimed carefully before pulling the trigger. However, unlike Gold Ship, he actually managed to hit the apple with an arrow.
"Tch. I missed," Kurofune clicked his tongue.
"You're hoping to hit me!?"
"Guess I'll have to try again," Kurofune sighed as he aimed his crossbow at Gold Ship again.
"W-Wait! I'm sorry!" Gold Ship apologized. "I promise I won't mess around with you again!"
"That's a lie," Kurofune pointed out before shrugging. "But whatever, I should get back to training now so I'll let you off the hook."
Gold Ship just breathed a sigh of relief.
<><><><><><><><><>
[2 Days Before Race]
Kurofune got into a running stance, preparing to do his final rep of the hurdle drill.
"Remember Kurofune! Concentrate on your form and run as fast as you can!" Okino shouted.
"Got it!" Kurofune shouted back.
"Begin in three…"
"Two…"
"One…"
"Go!"
Okino started the timer as Kurofune began the drill. He began quickly running over each of the mini hurdles in an efficient rhythm.
'Not fast enough. I need to put more power into my strides.'
—WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
"Oh?" Okino looked impressed.
Kurofune began accelerating over the hurdles as his strides became more frequent and powerful. He made sure to maintain his form as well as he could, driving his knees up and keeping his arms at a 90 degree angle.
"Final stretch! Keep pushing!" Okino encouraged him.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Kurofune yelled as he put his all into it.
"And…time!" Okino declared as Kurofune passed him.
"Hah…hah…hah…" Kurofune panted heavily as he turned to Okino. "Did…I do it?"
"..." Okino stared at the time silently.
Kurofune's already accelerated heart rate increased from the anticipation.
"0:59.8," Okino revealed with a smile. "You did it."
"Yes!" Kurofune cheered, pumping his fist into the air.
"I'm impressed, you managed to shave off thirty seconds in just two weeks time" Okino commented. "I'm worried for anybody who'll have to end up racing you this Saturday."
"Haha, thanks," Kurofune smiled. "This time, I'm going for first place! I won't be accepting anything less!"
"Someone's excited," Scarlett commented as she approached the two of them.
"Scarlett? What brings you here?" Kurofune asked.
"I just heard you cheer about something," Scarlett answered. "I assume that you've managed to achieve that training goal of yours?"
"Yeah," Kurofune nodded.
"Perfect. That means I'm not intruding on anything then," Scarlett smiled. "You remember that favor I said that you owed me. I want to cash in on that favor this Sunday."
"Favor?" Okino looked confused. "What is she talking about?"
"..." Kurofune was silent, breaking into a cold sweat.
'I was hoping that she'd forget about that!' Kurofune internally panicked.
"What kind of favor is it anyway?" Kurofune asked.
"Why would I tell you that?" Scarlett frowned. "That'd ruin the suspense."
"That doesn't reassure me in the slightest, but fine," Kurofune reluctantly agreed. "I guess it's only fair."
"Nice!" Scarlett smiled. "Thanks ahead of time! I'll be going now!"
Scarlett cheerfully walked away, leaving the two of them in utter confusion.
"Seeing her act like that is unnerving," Okino commented before turning to Kurofune. "You sure you'll be okay?"
"I hope so," Kurofune answered. "The fact that she still remembers even though it had happened over a month ago isn't a good sign."
<><><><><><><><><>
[1 Day Before Race]
Kurofune could be seen eating lunch with his classmates. Their conversations proceeded as normal until Tap Dance City decided to bring up something.
"Oh, right. Kurofune," Tap Dance City addressed him. "Don't you have your second debut race tomorrow?"
"You knew about that?" Kurofune was surprised.
"I heard some people talking about it earlier," Tap Dance City replied.
"I did too. But I'm pretty sure they were making fun of him," Air Shakur commented. "In fact, most conversations that pertain to him have been negative."
That worried Tap Dance City.
"Hey, Kurofune. You doin' okay?" She asked.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I've just been tuning out the weird stares."
"But doesn't it become too much sometimes? I mean, I've seen the way many look at you. Even some trainers say some hurtful things about you."
"..." Kurofune thought about it for a moment as he crossed his arms. "I mean, of course it stings. A lot actually. One could only deal with such stares and comments for so long before they break."
He then pointed his right palm into the sky, spreading his fingers out as he did so.
"But, that's the world I signed up for. I knew that many people wouldn't accept me, an Umamusuko," Kurofune continued. "And they'll continue to think of me in that way unless I prove to them that I can fight. If I manage to win a G1 Race, I'll truly be able to silence those who doubted me."
Kurofune then smiled, surprising the three of them.
"And when I win like four G1 Races, they'll have no choice but to call me great."
[...]
"Ahahahahahaha," Tap Dance City burst out laughing. "That's so like you."
"It…is?"
"Hey, Kurofune," Tap Dance City leaned in a bit. "Go and give them hell tomorrow. We'll all be in the stands to watch your triumphant moment."
"We? Since when did I agree to—"
"Yeah, go and show them what you're made of, rival!" Agnes Digital cut Air Shakur off. "We'll be cheering as loud as we can for you."
"..." Air Shakur just sighed at the two of them before turning to Kurofune. "Go and win, I guess?"
A bright smile formed on Kurofune's face from their words.
"Thanks, you guys."
Shortly after that, lunchtime ended. The group split off as usual as they all went on to do their own things. Unlike usual, Kurofune was making his way straight to his apartment. Okino had told him after training yesterday that he shouldn't be doing any physical activity today, to allow himself to be fully refreshed for his race.
Kurofune arrived at his apartment. He checks his mailbox, finding an envelope inside that was addressed to him. When he checked to see who the sender was, he smiled.
'It's from...Mom and Dad!'
He quickly closed his mailbox, taking the letter with him. He enters his apartment, putting his stuff away and quickly washing up. Once he was finished washing up and was now in his home clothes, he took a seat at his desk, holding the envelope in his hand.
He gently opened it, as he began reading the note.
<><><><><><><><><>
Dear Kurofune,
We're so glad that you're doing well over there. The two of us were initially worried at first, but it seems like you've managed to adjust to life over there.
There's not much to say that we haven't told you already. Please remember that no matter what, we'll always be here for you. Just know that no matter what you decide to do with yourself, we'll always love and support you.
Take care and make sure you have a lot of fun!
Love,
Mom & Dad
<><><><><><><><><>
Kurofune felt warm and fuzzy inside from reading the letter. His mom and dad were the two people in this world who had supported his dream ever since he was young, no matter what other people said. He was forever grateful to them, as he wouldn't be where he was without them.
He flipped the letter to the back, noticing that there was something written there.
"There's more?" Kurofune was surprised.
<><><><><><><><><>
(P.S. We heard that you have a debut race on the 28th, we'll definitely be there to watch you.)
<><><><><><><><><>
…
"THEY'RE WHAT!?"