It was six in the morning.
Her head felt heavy, and the slight heat in her body made Rudolf—just barely awake—realize she probably wasn't in great shape.
It made sense. It was New Year's, and she'd spent the whole night sleeping outside someone's door.
She shook her head and forced herself up. The fog in her brain still hadn't cleared, but for Rudolf, it was enough to function.
"I have to wake Yayoi up… then send her back to Tokyo."
Muttering that, Symboli Rudolf glanced at her door.
Her apartment was still shut tight.
No sign anyone had gone in or out.
Staring at it, Rudolf rubbed her temples—and only then remembered another problem: she should probably get breakfast first.
Once she had a plan, Rudolf headed to a convenience store.
After buying some ready-to-eat food, she came back to the building.
Standing in front of her door, Rudolf raised her hand… then let it fall. She didn't know if going in right now was a good idea. Yayoi Natural had gone through all of that last night because of her.
But after a brief pause, Symboli Rudolf still slid the spare key into the lock and opened the door.
Inside, the apartment was silent, as if nothing had happened at all.
Rudolf lifted her gaze toward the loft where the bed was.
Because of the angle, she couldn't see Yayoi Natural.
Even so, she could tell—without climbing up—that she was still asleep.
So she only set the packaged food on the low table, turned around, and stepped back out.
Outside, Rudolf leaned near the door again, looking out at the distant view as fragments of the past surfaced on their own.
In that slow drift of memory, seven o'clock arrived.
Only then did Yayoi Natural finally wake up.
Staring at a ceiling uncomfortably close to her face, she lay still for several seconds—until she realized where she was.
Her lips parted slightly.
She remembered what had happened last night, but now…
Thinking of how Mejiro Ramonu had cut her off, Yayoi Natural rolled over. Don't think about it.
With that, she got out of bed.
And there, on the low table, was breakfast—just enough to keep someone going.
Noticing it, Yayoi Natural turned toward the front door.
She knew Rudolf must have come in while she was asleep.
She stared at the closed door for a few seconds.
Part of her thought she should eat first before seeing Rudolf—but her gut told her to go now.
After a moment, Yayoi Natural followed her instincts.
She opened the door, and there was Rudolf: both hands on the railing, staring out into the distance.
Seeing her like that, Yayoi Natural called her name.
"Rudolf?"
"Oh. You're awake?" Rudolf turned. Her expression flickered a few times before settling. "Do you need to rest a little longer? If you want time to clear your head… I'll take care of everything. Food, clothes, a place to stay."
Yayoi Natural lifted her chin slightly. "Um… I wanted to ask you something. I need to get something straight."
As she spoke, she walked to Rudolf's side and looked out at the same view.
"In the old school building… there's a room with carvings on the wall. I want to know what happened there."
Symboli Rudolf froze.
She'd thought Yayoi Natural wouldn't notice.
But…
Remembering what happened back then, Rudolf's brows knit. If it was Yayoi Natural thinking it through, she might trace everything back to that promise—next time we meet, we'll tell each other our names—and that promise had been Natural's idea.
And Irabu Island had no major hospitals. Okinawa's main island, because there were so few Umamusume there—probably fewer than fifty—didn't have specialized doctors who could treat them properly.
If Natural started believing the mistake was hers, what might happen to her body and mind was impossible to predict. If she fainted, it could turn into a situation where the patient needed a cardiologist and there simply wasn't one—ending with Yayoi Natural's death.
So…
Rudolf made a decision.
She couldn't tell Yayoi Natural the truth. At the very least, she couldn't let her realize that Rudolf herself was the one who had created the mistake.
After settling on that, Rudolf said, "If you want to hear it… I can explain."
Rudolf didn't refuse outright, and Yayoi Natural fell quiet. She wasn't sure if she should keep pushing.
But in the end, she did. "Can you tell me? I feel like it matters."
That request left Rudolf silent.
After several minutes, she finally spoke.
"That happened a long, long time ago. Back then, I wasn't even five."
"That day, I ran away from home. You met me in a park. You were a runaway too, but you couldn't find anywhere to go."
"I knew about the old school building, so I brought you there—kind of forcing you."
"And after that…"
Rudolf glanced at Yayoi Natural. "Since you've been there, you saw the charcoal at the entrance, right?"
"That was from firewood you burned while you were taking care of me."
Rudolf's face didn't show much. Yayoi Natural just listened.
Those things were too far away for Yayoi Natural—she could only choose to believe.
But no matter how she looked at it, it didn't feel right.
And Rudolf kept going.
"Then I made you take care of me."
"Even the bedding in there—you scavenged it from nearby."
"And as for what happened after…"
"It was probably the third day we stayed there. Or the fifth."
"While I was sleeping, I kicked you off the bed, and you ended up with a high fever."
"I remember how hot you were… and I ran away."
"If someone hadn't noticed us going in and out of the old school building and come to check, you might've died."
After finishing that story—an almost completely FALSE one, told only so Yayoi Natural wouldn't die on Irabu Island—
Rudolf looked at her.
"That's basically it. As for the carvings… you made those. Marks to count how many days were left until you could leave."
"And that newer one—I drew it on purpose."
Yayoi Natural's expression didn't change.
Rudolf spoke again. "Well? That's the truth. How does it sound?"
"…"
Yayoi Natural stayed silent.
She couldn't tell whether the story was real.
But after what Rudolf had done last night, Rudolf shouldn't have been able to say something like this at all.
And yet—
That sour nausea in her chest, the sick feeling of being lied to, still forced the words out of her mouth.
"Rudolf… you're disgusting."
"Yeah," Rudolf said quietly. "I think so too."
She looked at Yayoi Natural. "Do you still want to stay and clear your head?"
"Rudolf, I…"
Not knowing how to answer, Yayoi Natural stared at Rudolf for several seconds—then swung her hand.
The slap cracked sharp in the morning air.
Yayoi Natural turned and walked away.
Watching her receding figure, Rudolf sank into a squat, burying her head between her knees, her chest flooded with pain and bitterness.
She couldn't tell Yayoi Natural any of the truth.
And the reason was as simple as it was cruel: Okinawa couldn't treat Umamusume-specific illnesses at all.
---
T/N: WHAAAAAAAAT THIS IS SO UNSATISFYINGGGGGGGGGGGGG
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