Chapter 22: Wait a Second—Who the Heck is Makoto Yasui?

Chapter 22: Wait a Second—Who the Heck is Makoto Yasui?

Night had fallen on Tracen Academy.

In the student council president’s office, a computer sat open on the desk, the screen glowing softly in the dim room.

On the screen was a grand concert scene.

Singing at the center of the dazzling stage was a black-haired Umamusume, her voice soaring powerfully over the crowd.

Sitting quietly in front of the screen was another Umamusume—a petite girl with chestnut-brown hair, a playful look in her eyes, and a crescent-shaped white streak in her bangs. She wore plain glasses and watched the screen in complete silence.

As the song ended and the black-haired girl bowed deeply to the crowd, the girl in glasses smiled faintly and gave her frames a small push up the bridge of her nose.

“She’s grown up so much… huh, Kita-chan.”

Just then, the door opened with a soft click.

Stepping inside was an elegant figure with flowing lavender hair and matching long ears.

“Teio, about the patrol schedule—”

Halfway through her sentence, she stopped and gave a small chuckle.

“…You’re imitating President Rudolph again, aren’t you, Teio?”

In a flash, the girl behind the desk—none other than the current student council president of Tracen Academy, Tokai Teio—turned bright red.

With an exaggerated motion, she whipped off her glasses.

“H-Hey! McQueen! I thought we agreed you wouldn’t tease me about that!”

“I’m not teasing,” the lavender-haired girl said with a smile… and then promptly let out a giggle she couldn’t hold back.

McQueen—more formally, Mejiro McQueen—waved her hand in an apologetic gesture as Teio’s face grew even redder.

“Okay, okay, no need to get all stiff. There’s no one else here, you don’t have to keep up the whole ‘dignified president’ thing.”

Mejiro McQueen was the current vice president of the student council.

And in Tracen, the most elite academy in the industry, anyone in a leadership position was guaranteed to be top-tier.

Just like her predecessor, Symboli Rudolf—one of the greatest Umamusume ever—Tokai Teio had proven her own abilities on the track many times over.

And vice presidents were no exception.

Former vice presidents like the “Supercar” Maruzensky and “Director of Turf” Mr. C.B. had also made names for themselves. McQueen, the “Great Actor,” was no different.

She had only just returned to campus after taking care of some external affairs and was now helping Teio manage the upcoming stadium inspections.

“Okay, okay, I get it…”

Teio scratched her cheek awkwardly.

She really did care a lot about how the students saw her.

Just like how Kita-chan looked up to her, she had always idolized her own senpai, Symboli Rudolf.

So without realizing it, she would start mimicking her idol’s mannerisms during work, thinking it made her seem more composed and authoritative.

But she wasn’t stupid—she could tell what her friend was trying to say.

Putting on a pair of glasses doesn’t magically give you authority.

With a childish pout, she stuffed her glasses away, straightened up, and put on a serious face. Then she turned the laptop screen toward McQueen.

“Let’s talk about the patrol schedule later. Take a look at this first.”

McQueen raised a curious eyebrow and walked over to the desk.

“Is this… today’s winner’s performance from the Tokyo Racecourse?”

“Yup. Now check this out too.”

Teio clicked a few times and brought up a race recording.

At first, McQueen only watched out of polite curiosity.

But before long, her expression began to change.

After about two minutes, she reached for the mouse in Teio’s hand and started clicking through the footage with sharp focus.

“…That’s a gutsy race plan. Haven’t seen a debut race run like that in ages.”

“Who’s the trainer for this one?

“Nase?

“Kitahara?

“Maybe Ms. Toujou, or could it be Kuronuma—Wait a sec. Who the heck is Makoto Yasui?”

“Ohhh, right. He’s that record-breaking youngest trainer ever, isn’t he? Now I remember.”

But McQueen’s brows furrowed slightly.

“…Still, how does someone only eighteen have that much experience?

“Treating a debut race like it’s just another training run? Even veteran trainers don’t have the guts to try something like that.

“And the way he timed her acceleration… that was incredibly precise.”

She leaned closer to the screen, eyes narrowing.

“Who’s the Umamusume he’s training? She can’t be a rookie—no way she’d agree to something that risky if she were.”

Tokai Teio couldn’t hold back a quick giggle. She covered her mouth, then straightened up with a mock-serious look.

“Why don’t you take a look for yourself? It’s right there on the screen.”

A moment later, she got exactly the reaction she’d been hoping for—an audible gasp from her friend, followed by delighted surprise.

“Kita-chan?! She’s already debuted?! That fast?! And she won her debut?!”

“Fast? It’s not that fast, McQueen,” Teio said with a small shake of her head, though her voice was full of fondness.

“…Actually, now that I think about it, yeah. It was pretty fast.”

She leaned back in her chair with a nostalgic smile.

“Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday you and I ran that Spring Tenno Sho together.”

“And now, look at them… all those kids who used to sit in the stands and cheer for us—they’re out on the track, racing under the big lights.”

McQueen nodded slowly, just as swept up in the moment.

“The last time I saw Kita-chan was… last year, I think.”

“And after that, the only times I heard about her were when you mentioned trying to find her a trainer.”

“I never imagined she’d already be out there racing—and using a strategy that bold in her debut.”

She exhaled, her voice soft.

“…Time really does fly.”

Teio sat in that feeling for a moment before shaking herself out of it. She turned back to the computer and opened a few more videos.

“Anyway—let’s get back to Kita-chan. Take a look at these, McQueen.”

“Got it.”

McQueen pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. Teio did the same, and the two Umamusume watched the screen with rapt attention.

The clips were training footage—clear, high-resolution recordings that were unmistakably from Tracen’s own campus surveillance system.

They showed none other than Makoto and Kita-chan, or more formally, Kitasan Black, during their training sessions.

A few minutes passed in silence.

“…McQueen,” Teio murmured, stroking her chin, “did you notice anything about this trainer…?”

She trailed off, but the question hung in the air.

McQueen mirrored her posture, arms crossed and hand on her chin, nodding slightly.

“His training style… it’s completely different from anything we see here. If I didn’t know better, I’d say—”

They turned to look at each other. Then, in perfect unison, they said:

“—it’s almost identical to the style used overseas.”

Teio’s eyes lit up, visibly excited.

“I knew you’d notice too, McQueen!”

“Of course. If you picked up on it, how could I miss it?”

McQueen gave a small, wry smile and leaned back, thoughtful again.

“You’ve got your eye on this trainer because of how different his methods are, right?”

“Yup. You and I have both raced against overseas opponents. I even managed to win the Japan Cup, but still…”

Teio smiled, though this one carried a hint of self-mockery.

“…If I had to run that race again today? I honestly don’t know if I could win.”

McQueen fell silent for a few seconds, then let out a long sigh.

“Yeah… The gap between Japan and the rest of the world—it’s still there.”

“And then there’s what happened after last year’s Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe…”

She hesitated.

“Gold Ship, Narita, Vega—they all came back full of fire, ready to challenge the world again.”

“But the association… decided to play it safe.”

“—Yeah, typical of them,” Teio cut in suddenly, shrugging. “That’s just how they are—starting from the top.”

She glanced back at the screen, at Makoto and Kitasan Black frozen mid-training.

“But whatever.”

“Let them do what they want.”

“Me? Right now, all I want is for Kita-chan… and Trainer Yasui……to shake things up. To show us something completely new.”

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