Early morning. The sky was only just beginning to lighten.
Sunlight streamed through the window into the Student Council President's office, making the plaque on the wall that read "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere" shine brilliantly. The cramped little room was heavy with the scent of photinia blossoms.
Last night had been a night of madness—so mad that even now, when the three veteran Umamusume thought back on what had happened, they felt they had been far too rash, that what they had done had gone a little too far.
Still unsated, Symboli Rudolf straightened her rumpled clothes and said to Mizuno, who lay sprawled on the sofa as if he had lost the will to live,
"This stays a secret between us. You'd better not tell anyone. Otherwise, you know what'll happen."
"..." Mizuno did not answer. His throat felt as though it were on fire, and the tear tracks left by his crying had long since dried, stinging against his handsome face.
He could no longer remember clearly how he had made it through last night. He only vaguely remembered how dizzy his head had been, and how memories from his past had flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
Of the three powerful hall-of-fame Umamusume, the first Mizuno had met was Symboli Rudolf.
At first, the image Mizuno had of Symboli Rudolf was that of a very reasonable Student Council president. Aside from doting a little too much on Tokai Teio and constantly trying to recommend Tokai Teio to him, there had not seemed to be any major problem.
But after Mizuno secretly helped Symboli Rudolf deal with one of her haters and was accidentally found out by her, the way she treated him changed completely. She stopped tirelessly telling him about Tokai Teio's good points, and instead began actively showing Mizuno her own advantages.
Later, once she figured out that Mizuno was a timid Trainer whose legs went weak whenever Umamusume were involved, Symboli Rudolf dropped the act entirely. The moment she got a chance, she would pin Mizuno into her chest. She was the very picture of a domineering tyrant, and even now her aggression was still maxed out, as though being favored by her were a blessing Mizuno ought to be grateful for as her consort.
The second person Mizuno had met was Air Groove, the Student Council's Vice President.
Though she looked cold and stern on the surface, called people idiots from time to time, and was utterly impartial at work, in private she treated others with the same care one would give a fragile flower. She did everything in orderly fashion, was excellent at housework, and was a rare cool beauty who was pure wife material.
Ever since Mizuno had grown a night-blooming cereus in the Academy Flowerbeds, fulfilling her wish and loosening the knot in her heart, Air Groove had treated the flowerbed tent as a second home. She had invited Mizuno, who had nowhere to live, to stay there as well. While he focused on his work, she would sweep beside him with a broom in hand, quietly watching the profile of the one she loved, while a small but steady happiness slowly welled up inside her.
Sometimes Air Groove would suddenly position herself behind Mizuno and wait for him to turn around without noticing, so the two of them could have one of those "accidental" meetings of lips and teeth.
But Mizuno had always kept his guard all the way up, so Air Groove had never succeeded even once. Only now, after taking the initiative herself, had she finally fulfilled that wish.
And the third was that old Showa auntie, Maruzensky.
The image of Mizuno taking her across the finish line with him last night was still vivid. Before the win, she had been a timid little-sister type, but after taking the championship, she had turned back into the gentle older-sister next door and started looking after Mizuno instead.
Thrill and indulgence were Maruzensky's basic notes, and after becoming Mizuno's sworn little sister, her personality had picked up an extra bit of mischievous, pampered sweetness. She clung to Mizuno and refused to let go.
Each of the three powerful hall-of-fame Umamusume had her own strengths, and they had taken turns all night. Had it been any other Trainer, he probably would have given out long ago.
But to everyone's surprise, even after being put through it the whole night, Mizuno was still lively and kicking.
And this was how Fortune, who had spent the entire night in Mizuno's mental space calmly eating popcorn and watching the drama, explained it:
'Just as I told you before, your body has gradually become tougher and more able to take a beating through being damaged and repaired again and again.'
'Your cells were suppressed by bad luck for nearly a month. Last night they finally broke free of that restraint. Naturally, the flesh that re-formed is much stronger than before.'
'Your body's endurance had already barely been enough to wrestle with Umamusume before. Naturally, this new body's is several times that of a normal person.'
'With the constitution you have now, three days and three nights should be no problem. That's only under ideal circumstances, though. If the Umamusume in question gets too crazy, you'll still black out halfway through.'
'Congratulations. From now on, you never have to be afraid of getting Uma Pyoi'd by Umamusume again.' Fortune clapped happily.
'Like hell I'm not afraid!' Mizuno's body lay on the sofa like a corpse, but in Fortune's room his mind was running around in circles, clutching his head and wailing.
He knew perfectly well that Symboli Rudolf had stopped now not because they were tired, but only because dawn had broken and they had work to deal with.
And besides, last night had been their first experience. Pain had dampened their interest, so naturally it had gone on for much less time—but once they got used to it, things would not be nearly so simple!
An Umamusume who had acquired a taste for it was terrifying. The veteran Trainers at the academy who got dragged off to book a room every night were the best proof of that!
Anyone else deciding it was "time-to-eat" would have been one thing—why did it have to be these three old-guard Umamusume?!
What use was a body that could last three days and three nights? Up against these three hall-of-fame Umamusume, even ten days and ten nights probably still wouldn't be enough!
"Aaaaaaahhhh—" The more Mizuno thought about it, the more despair he felt, until he dropped to his knees on the floor of Fortune's room and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Fuzakeru na?! Fuzakeru na?! Bakayarou!"
(What kind of joke is this?! What kind of joke is this?! Bastard!)
"Aaaaaahhhh—"
'Tsk...' Fortune seemed a little annoyed by the noise, so she clicked her tongue and lectured him, 'Try thinking about your own problems for once. Why didn't they Uma Pyoi someone else? Why did they have to Uma Pyoi you?'
'Crap! Victim-blaming, is that it?!' Mizuno shot back angrily.
'Well, isn't it true? Who told you to be this pure-hearted?'
'What's wrong with being pure-hearted? Being pure-hearted means I deserve to get Uma Pyoi'd?!'
'What else?' Fortune shot back. 'Did you forget what it was that made them get that violent with you last night?'
Fortune's question slowly pulled Mizuno's thoughts back to last night.
At the time, Symboli Rudolf and the others had been kissing and kissing, and eventually decided it still wasn't enough, so they pulled off Mizuno's hood.
That one pull was a disaster. The Uma Mint was exposed, and every Umamusume present was instantly charmed. After that, there was no getting things back under control.
Then, halfway through, Mizuno cried.
But what he cried over was not the loss of his chastity. He cried because he might not be able to give them the happiness they wanted.
Call him childish if you wanted, call him old-fashioned if you liked—either way, Mizuno placed extraordinary importance on chastity. In his values, whether man or woman, a person ought to remain faithful to the one they loved in both body and mind.
So when he thought about how they all liked him, yet he could not respond to all of their feelings at the same time, unwilling, frustrated tears spilled from Mizuno's eyes.
The moment Symboli Rudolf and the others saw him crying, they immediately stopped the assault they had been in the middle of and crowded around him in anxious concern.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Normally, because they liked him, they would want to bully him a little. But if they truly saw him hurting, their hearts still ached for him.
If Mizuno was in pain, they would not keep going.
But who could have guessed that at that moment, Mizuno would actually answer with:
"I'm sorry. I'll take responsibility for all of you..."
Those words were like a pair of scissors, snipping Symboli Rudolf and the others' reason clean in half...
His thoughts returned to the present.
'But they all gave me their first time. I can't just not take responsibility for them, can I?' Mizuno answered, pure romance written all over his face.
'What am I even supposed to say to that?' Fortune shrugged, wearing a helpless expression. 'Serves you right for getting Uma Pyoi'd!'
'Aaaaaaahhhh—' The moment he heard that, Mizuno clutched his head and wailed all over again.
Compared to the maddening noise in the mental space, the Student Council President's office, where Mizuno's actual body lay, was much quieter.
Air Groove and Maruzensky cleaned up the battlefield while quietly discussing what had happened last night.
"We were too rushed last night. We didn't take any precautions. Should we take something afterward?"
"It's fine. I'm safe right now."
"Really? I don't think I am..." Air Groove frowned, troubled. She walked over to the sofa and crouched beside it, pinching Mizuno's right earlobe between slender fingers as she asked softly,
"Hey, idiot. I think I may have gone a little too far last night. What if I get pregnant?"
Mizuno jolted all over, snapping back to himself. He turned to look at Air Groove, his dried lips moving slightly.
"I... will take responsibility for you..."
Bzz—Air Groove's brain tingled and went numb at once. The deodorizer in her hand, the one she had been using to clear the room's lingering smell, slipped from her fingers and hit the floor with a clatter, and heart shapes slowly began to appear in her pupils.
"Maybe... we should do it again..."
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T/N: ....? what... where;s the... seggs? WHERE IS IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!