"I can't believe we found it…"
The family walks down a big graveyard with tombs all around them, each with a name etched on it. Some are neatly taken care of, some are covered in plants, and some are mere ruins. It's a reminder for anyone that nothing is ever truly immortal.
"These ruined tombs… Do they not have anyone to take care of them, Papa? Do their families not take care of them?"
"They must have done so, but there's a limit to everything. After your direct family dies, hardly anyone will truly know who you are, Teio. You will soon turn into just another name in the lineage."
"But I'm Teio!!"
"I suppose if you become something great, it would not only be your direct family that remembers you. Everyone will."
"I guess greatness is the answer to everything!!"
"Do you know which tomb is yours, Papa?"
"Not necessarily… As I said before, I'm a mere salaryman. The tomb could be anywhere."
"I'll find it!! Watch me go!!!"
"Teio!!"
Teio's urge to run overtakes her, and the umamusume run across the graveyard searching for her trainer's tomb.
"Hey… Look at how fast that girl–"
*Thud*
"Katsura!!"
*Thud*
The young man works quickly by taking out people who saw Teio running. Without doubt, if Teio's speed reached the public, a lot of eyes would be pointed at her and, in turn, the entire group.
"McQueen!!! Stop her!!"
"Teio!! Stop!!"
"Hey~~ Look at the speed of those two girls!!
"Holy shit!!"
"Sorry, boys. Nothing personal, just business."
[Nagareru Mangekyo Sharingan: Tsukuyomi no Tenjo Fukusei]
"Rudolf!!"
"Stop it, you two!!"
Rudolf shows why she is called The Emperor. With ease, the veteran caught up with the newcomers and stopped them in their tracks.
"They can't know we are umamusume, remember?!?"
"You girls are a pain in my ass! You almost gave me a heart attack!!"
"Hey, it's Teio's fault!! Don't lump me with her!!"
"No~~ McQueen was whispering in my ear to run~~"
"LIES AND DECEPTIONS!!!! I did not tell you anything!!"
"How could you McQueen?"
"Ah… Ak… Kuh… Akh… Uuuuhhh!!!"
"Congratulations, you two broke her. Come on. Let's search for the tomb together. We can ask the keeper here instead of wandering."
"I know I can depend on you, Mama. Unlike the stupid Monarch."
"Hey!! I'm not stupid!"
"Yes, you are!!"
"Sigh… I'll leave the responsibility of calming them down to you, Rudolf. I'm going to search for directions."
"They are only your children when they listen to you, huh?"
"Yep!! They're yours anytime besides that."
Like a father going to the store to buy milk, the young man left his wife to deal with the unruly children. The father approached an old lady who looked like she should be six feet under and asked for directions.
"Excuse me, you wouldn't know where Igo Heita's grave is, do you?"
Of course she isn't. Just look at how many graves there are here!! Finding a stupid, lazy, ignorant asshole would be impossible!! Let alone remembering his–
"Ah, yes. He's the hollow fella, isn't he? His grave is right over there. Just follow this path, and you'll find his grave."
"I see… Thanks…"
The young man turns around to go to his family with his mind racing in confusion. He knew he was nothing more than a mere office worker, so how could anyone remember him amongst these graves of nobodies? It would make sense if it were his family or friends, but not some random old grandma. Even if the grandma was a gravekeeper, there's no reason for her to know specifically where his grave is.
Wait a second… What does she mean by the hollow fella? I was a lot of things, but hollow was not one of them.
"Hey, grandma. What do you mean…"
The young man was about to turn around and ask the old grandma, but the thing wasn't there anymore.
"Eh… Whatever…"
The young man casually shrugged off the disappearance. For him, disappearing old people is just another Tuesday. The young man jogs to his family and tells them where his tomb is. To prevent any of their daughters from running off like before, the family linked their hands together.
"Ooh!! Your grave is in good shape, Papa."
"It's weird seeing my name etched on this while still standing here."
"Hehehe~~ We felt the same way during our tour through the Hall of Fame."
The young man looked straight at his name on the tomb. He doesn't know what to feel, given the rare cases where a person can look at their own tomb. How many people do you know that has look at their own tomb? Hopefully zero.
"You're right, Teio… It is really taken care of."
The young man placed his hand on the warm rock. He can see scrapes of the rock, an indication that someone had been scrubbing filth off of it. There are cups with ashes of incense in them. Compared to other tombs that had seen deterioration, the young man's tomb is on the upper level of upkept.
"I guess that means you are loved, Papa!!"
"Who…?"
"Oh my~~ Apologies for interrupting you. Are you friends of my late big brother?"
"..."
When a new person speaks up around you, your first instinct is to look at who it is. That's what happened to the 3 umamusumes, except for the young man who instantly turned his face away. He also shrinks his body to make himself less noticeable.
"Aaa… Ah… Yes… We are his friends."
The wife notices her husband's reaction to the newcomers and quickly takes over the situation. She understands that the newcomer might recognize the young man if the newcomer saw his face or heard his voice. She doesn't know how this world's Igo Heita might sound or look, but she isn't taking any chances.
"Sorry for being in the way. Please ignore us and continue with what you are about to do."
"Ahahaha… You are not in the way. I'm glad that my late big brother still has people to care for him."
Rudolf carefully inspected the woman who claimed to be Igo Heita's little sister. Long pink hair and a pair of red eyes. Rudolf saw the resemblance to the young man, with the main difference being their age. The woman looks a decade older than the young man despite claiming to be his younger sister.
*Clap* *Clap*
"Sorry for being late, big brother. I have to visit our parents in the hospital. Their health continues to deteriorate… I think it would truly just be me and Naka left…"
A bottomless hole forms inside the young man's heart once he hears the condition of his parents. By what his sister is saying, they are most likely on their deathbed. Harrowing news for any child to hear.
"Kuh!!"
The young man wishes he wasn't such a logical person. His wish to ask where his parents are wasn't strong enough to overcome his logical thinking of not being found out by his little sister. That doesn't mean he was able to contain all his unbridled rage and dissatisfaction as his oldest daughter realized her father's situation.
"I'm sorry to hear that… May we know where the hospital is, Miss? Mister Heita is a very important person to me, so I would like to help him as much as possible."
"Even after all these years, he still managed to surprise me. Hahahaha… As expected of a big brother like him. You can go to the Otsuka hospital."