Tracen Academy's Old School Building was a very suitable place to live, at least for the homeless.
Because it was a long time before Rice Shower's era, although it looked somewhat abandoned, there was only a slight moss covering on the exterior walls of the school building.
The interior of the school building was also in good condition.
And it seemed that because it was an abandoned school building, the only locked part of the building was the main gate connecting to the outside.
The rooms inside the dormitory were perfectly fine.
So… two young Uma Musume sat by a small bonfire.
"Hmm…"
Looking at the bonfire in front of her, Rudolph Symboli just looked at the other party.
This bonfire was lit by Tokai Nature.
Considering fire safety, Tokai Nature chose to light the bonfire in the concrete area near the main gate.
Moreover, lighting a fire for warmth in this spot also offered small steps to sit on.
While they might be too low for adults, they were perfectly suitable for two young Uma Musume who hadn't undergone their full growth.
Sitting on what was originally meant to delineate the indoor and outdoor areas.
Rudolph Symboli looked up.
This was her first time running away from home so far, and for so long.
So, Rudolph Symboli, looking at the seemingly reliable Uma Musume in front of her, finally asked her first question: "Now, can you tell me your name?"
"Eh~ I won't~"
"...Why?"
"My family has very strict rules. If it were just me, it wouldn't be much of a problem, but with others, it's…"
She didn't continue, but Rudolph Symboli, who also had strict family rules, understood her meaning, so she replied, "I know…"
However, seeing the slight spark in Tokai Nature's eyes, Rudolph Symboli thought of something else, so she asked, "In the future, can we?"
"Hmm… if it's in the future…"
Her words carried uncertainty.
Because Tokai Nature felt her future was full of possibilities.
After considering the possibility of running away from home after her debut, or simply living in the Tokai Family, Tokai Nature realized that the chances of her meeting Rudolph again weren't very high, so she responded:
"Alright, if we can meet again in the future, I'll tell you my name."
"Okay, great!"
After making this agreement, Tokai Nature began to prepare dinner for herself and Rudolph.
Although it was mostly food bought from the Shopping Street, Tokai Nature had also made two creative dishes, so Rudolph Symboli enjoyed eating quite a bit.
Once night fell, things weren't so pleasant.
Japan is a high-latitude region, you know.
And it was winter, snowing every day.
So, after nightfall was the truly difficult time.
But… Tokai Nature turned her head to look at Rudolph Symboli, and her gaze made Rudolph Symboli glare back, "No! Absolutely not!"
"We are an Uma Musume and a stallion, right? If we sleep together, we'll… we'll have babies…"
Rudolph Symboli's words, clearly lacking in sex education, made Tokai Nature sigh, "We haven't even had our debut yet! What are you thinking?!"
She pinched Rudolph Symboli's cheek with one hand, "This abandoned dormitory doesn't have heating, you know. If we don't do this, you and I might both turn into icicles by tomorrow morning."
So, under such circumstances… without taking off their tops and pants, Tokai Nature and Rudolph Symboli both crawled into the bed, which was a bit large for two young Uma Musume.
The bed was covered with bedding and mattresses that Tokai Nature had found in the storage room of this abandoned dormitory.
The reason why there were still such items in the storage room seemed to be that this building was only abandoned because it was too far from Tracen Academy, so some things were still stored inside.
It was precisely because of this that Tokai Nature was able to find what she was looking for.
The two little ones, nestled in the bedding, pressed close to each other.
Because the bedding was still cold, they could only feel each other's body heat.
Tokai Nature's body temperature was a bit higher than Rudolph Symboli's.
So, Rudolph Symboli, pressing close to her, looked at Tokai Nature, who was hugging her.
Tokai Nature had an unexpectedly pleasant scent, and it was also exceptionally pleasant, an environment Rudolph usually never encountered.
After all, with such strict family rules, the only female Rudolph Symboli usually came into contact with was her own mother, and Tokai Nature was the first Uma Musume to be this close to her, so… "Um…"
"Hm?"
"Do you plan to become an Uma Musume?"
"I don't know, but I probably will, right? After all, I still have potential."
Historically, Tokai Nature only failed to debut as a racehorse due to bad luck and illness.
So, as an Uma Musume, Tokai Nature, who didn't think she would encounter such problems, gave this response.
"In the future, can I be on the same racecourse as you?"
"…Hmm, perhaps. But I might not have the ability to run GI races."
Conservatively estimating her future, Tokai Nature's expression held a hint of expectation.
After all, as a transmigrator into an Uma Musume, it would feel strange not to run on the racecourse.
"In the future, I want to run races with you."
"Alright, alright~ Go to sleep. Tomorrow we'll go out and take a look."
"…Mm."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
For the next few days, Tokai Nature and Rudolph Symboli maintained this routine.
Until… Tokai Nature fell ill.
Under these circumstances, Rudolph Symboli, carrying Tokai Nature on her back, finally contacted Speed Symbol.
Speed Symbol, looking at Tokai Nature's medical report, turned to Rudolph Symboli, who was sitting beside her, "Don't you want to know her name?"
"She said she'd tell me next time we meet…"
"Is that so? Then it's up to you."
Saying this, Speed Symbol merely turned away.
Speed Symbol knew that Tokai Nature was unlikely to survive.
After all, the problems that had erupted all at once due to this cold were very serious.
So, under these circumstances, Speed Symbol posed one last question to Rudolph, "She's going to be sent back now. Do you want to go with her?"
"…" Rudolph Symboli looked at Speed Symbol, then turned her head to look at Tokai Nature lying on the clean white hospital bed, and then nodded, "Yes, I want to go."
"When she's sent back later, the driver will take you with her."
"…Mm."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
When Tokai Nature, who had been sent back to the Tokai Family, recovered from her illness, about three days had passed since she ran away from home.
She only woke up today.
After waking up, Tokai Nature, who had just made a slight sound, was hugged by Tokai Roman before she could even figure out what was happening.
"Alright, alright, I'm fine…"
Saying this, Tokai Nature patted Tokai Roman's back with her hand.
"Do you know how dangerous you were?"
"W-what happened?"
"You almost died, do you know that?!"
Saying this, Tokai Roman finally let go.
The urgency in Tokai Roman's words greatly puzzled Tokai Nature.
Tokai Nature didn't know what had happened.
She only remembered that she seemed to have gone out alone, and then… strange, what happened next… and before, too…
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Standing at the entrance of the abandoned dormitory building, Rudolph Symboli used a key to unlock the door that was locking the dormitory entrance.
Rudolph Symboli, having unlocked the door, pushed it open and saw some charcoal on the concrete floor…
Looking at the charcoal, Rudolph Symboli's lips curved upwards, revealing a gentle smile rarely seen on her face.
She would soon know the other person's name…
Author's Note upon Release
Don't ask, if you ask, it means there's nothing good to write.
After all, I've written this kind of thing many times.
I'll just keep it simple here.
There will be extra chapters on the day of release, I don't know how many exactly.
But there will definitely be no less than four chapters on the day of release.
After the release day updates are finished, I'll consider whether to open a reward system the next day.
Alright, that's all. I'll be counting on your subscriptions from now on~
.
I almost forgot to mention, the 'weird text' tag wasn't added by me.
The tag I added was 'pure love'. (For real)
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