Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Ten Meters Chapter 72: Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Ten Meters [72]

Standing in place, Daiwa Scarlet shook her head helplessly, watching her two friends dash away. She turned to Kitasan Black apologetically.

"Kita-chan, those two... Your grandfather and family won't get angry, will they?"

"Eh? Oh, no, no!"

Kitasan Black hurriedly waved her hands. "Actually, my grandfather always told to make lots of friends and invite them over to play."

"Like Crown-chan, Dia-chan, and Kobayashi-chan—they used to co over all the ti."

"Back then, this place hadn't been renovated yet, so it was just a huge garden."

"We'd play hide-and-seek, chase butterflies and bees—it was super fun!"

"I see..."

Daiwa Scarlet visibly relaxed, then a sparkle lit her eyes.

"Well then... I guess I'll join in, too!"

She spun around and sprinted after Gold Ship and Vodka.

"Seriously, one's a chaser and the other's a mid-pack runner—what kind of sloppy pace is that?!"

Daiwa Scarlet's swift change of mood left Kitasan Black stunned for a mont. When she snapped out of it, she glanced sheepishly at the person next to her.

"...Ahaha, senpai are all so lively, huh? Spe-chan-senpai, do you want to join them too?"

Special Week still stood beside her, watching her friends fondly with an affectionate smile.

Hearing the question, she turned around and shook her head gently.

"I'll pass for now."

After thinking briefly, she asked back, "Aren't you going to run with them, Kita-chan?"

"Ah, I'll skip too."

Kitasan Black shook her head, embarrassed.

"Actually, before the Spring Stakes, I wanted to practice a bit more, so I ran here alone on the weekend."

"I didn't tell Trainer Yasui beforehand—I only confessed on our way here today."

"I don't think Trainer Yasui was angry, exactly, but he did say it's fine if I want extra practice, as long as I inform him first."

Special Week nodded knowingly.

"You did overlook sothing important there, Kita-chan. Running isn't sothing you should just casually decide on your own."

"Don't laugh, but my grades at school weren't exactly great… Oh, I an academically. My racing results were still pretty good."

"To pass exams and assignnts, I often asked Suzuka and Grass-chan for help."

"But even then, I still ended up failing plenty of tis. Hehehe…"

Scratching her head sheepishly, her tone suddenly turned serious.

"Still, even I know that grass quality, soil texture, inclines, and curves differ greatly between places."

"This field looks nice to run on, sure, but it's not an official course. There could easily be hidden holes or uneven ground."

"If you accidentally step in sothing like that, you could get seriously injured."

"Injured?!" Kitasan Black stiffened, anxiously glancing at Daiwa Scarlet and the others racing around on the lawn. "Then, senpai are—"

"Relax, relax."

Special Week smiled reassuringly. "Everything I just said—they know even better than , and they have tons of racing experience."

"If you look closely, they're running so casually, it's clearly just for fun, right?"

Following Special Week's words, Kitasan Black carefully watched the girls running around and soon relaxed, realizing it was indeed just playful running.

But then her ears drooped, and embarrassnt flooded her again.

"So, that ans when I trained alone without telling Trainer Yasui, he was probably really worried—and maybe even angry…"

"Hey, don't feel so down about it." Special Week turned back, smiling warmly as she gently patted Kitasan's cheek.

"Our trainers study everything we do, except they do it even more thoroughly—it's their profession, after all."

"That ans Trainer Yasui likely guessed you'd try training by yourself and prepared ntally for it."

"He… guessed?" Kitasan Black repeated, surprised.

"Yes, exactly…"

Special Week paused thoughtfully. "Ah! Do you rember my Kyoto Daishoten?"

"Kyoto Daishoten…?"

Kitasan Black froze, and after recalling it, embarrassnt overtook her.

"That race was…"

"Yep, I lost horribly," Special Week laughed openly, fully aware why Kitasan hesitated. "It was the first ti in my career I fell out of the top three."

"And right before that, I'd also lost the Takarazuka Kinen."

"Losing the Takarazuka, plus later talking on the phone with El-chan after her Arc de Triomphe run… well, I was very anxious at the ti."

"It's probably similar to your feeling when you decided to practice on your own."

"I trained extra beyond my trainer's plan. The result? My diet slipped out of control—I gained too much weight before the Kyoto Daishoten, and my legs felt heavy around the final turn."

"So, you see, wanting to win or do extra training isn't wrong."

Her voice grew firr.

"But you must always trust your trainer. Whenever you have ideas, share them imdiately."

"Because your trainer, just like you, wants you to win—and he's the one who can support, help, and understand you better than anyone else."

---

anwhile, in Kitajima Saburou's study…

"Trainer Yasui might find this hard to understand, but when Kita-chan crossed the line in a graded stakes yesterday, I was so moved I almost shed tears."

Kitajima spoke sincerely, gratitude evident in his eyes.

"And all of that is thanks to Trainer Yasui."

"I dislike empty words of thanks, so here are so legal docunts you might want to review."

He gestured for an attendant to hand Yasui a stack of papers, then explained carefully:

"Even by my standards, Uchiage Hanabi is an exceptionally rare song."

"You used such an outstanding song to help Kita-chan grow her fanbase—I'm deeply grateful for that."

"In terms of racing, I'm not as knowledgeable as you, Trainer Yasui."

"But when it cos to music, I'm confident I know a thing or two."

"Therefore, I feel it's only proper that Trainer Yasui receives a fair share of the song's revenue outside racing."

As Kitajima explained, Yasui skimd through the docunts quickly.

In short, since Uchiage Hanabi had initially been published through Kitasan Black's official racing account, the copyright technically belonged to Tracen Academy.

However, with Kitajima's music company managing production and promotion, ownership rights could be split among Yasui Makoto, Kitasan Black, and the music company itself.

The docunts essentially suggested that Yasui register as an affiliated artist under their music label, simplifying future revenue distribution.

Yasui didn't see any issues. He genuinely had no further ambition in music, but having an official status could prove useful if he needed to compose more songs later.

After reviewing everything, Yasui looked up at Kitajima Saburou and nodded.

"I see no problems. But compared to music, I'd still prefer to focus entirely on coaching Kita-chan."