"Be careful. They said that there is a chance of rain tonight."
"Shouldn't you be somewhere else, missus?"
The hole inside the young man's heart was still agape when the family returned to their home. His little sister's words still linger in his heart like a knife. No matter what the young man does or thinks, the feelings are still ever-present in his mind.
"Yeah, looking out for my father, who is never honest with his family."
"I'm going to kiss you if you keep understanding me like this."
"That's a weird way of saying, 'Do you want to marry me?' but you do you."
The feeling went rogue and finally took control of the young man. It told him to sneak out of the house in the dead of night to visit his sick parents. Unknowingly, his oldest daughter had somewhat read his intention and prepared everything for him.
"Here's some cash and an umbrella. Go take the fastest taxi, okay?"
"For your sake, stop being so desirable. I would actually marry you even if we have to elope."
"Yeah~~ Yeah~~ Now go before you regret it."
The oldest daughter sent her father away. Looking at his back as he disappeared into the night.
*Grip*
In reality, the oldest daughter wants to accompany her father. She wants to be there when he is at his lowest point in life, not only sending him there. She wants him to rely on her as she relies on him all the time. She wants to be there to tell him that he isn't alone and that he has someone who will spend her entire life with him.
Of all the time something like this happens, why does it have to be in a world where umamusumes don't exist?
How can you be so cruel, Goddesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Their room number is three hundred and twenty-five."
"Thank you very much!!"
"You're welcome."
The young man arrived at the hospital in what seemed like a blink of an eye, even though in reality it took him 2 hours using a taxi. He simply couldn't stop his brain from running in overclock mode. Meeting his old parents has always been on his bucket list ever since reincarnating into the umamusume's world, but he wasn't expecting it to be under these kinds of circumstances.
Why…? Why this way?
He was supposed to be happy to meet his old parents, but the circumstances just soured his mood, if you want to put it lightly. There are absolutely no children on earth who would celebrate their parents being on their deathbed.
"Pant… Pant… Pant…"
Again, the journey seems to end so quickly. The young man felt like it was mere seconds since he was talking with the man behind the counter, and now, he was standing in front of the door to the room.
"..."
The young man freezes. All he needs to do is slide the door open, and that feels so much more impossible than dethroning the 3 Goddesses. He stood in the hallway like a complete lunatic, wondering why his arms wouldn't move at his command.
Why… Please move… If this is the last time you obey me, please open the door…
*Grip*
The young man's arms took pity on him and gently held the door handle. With the gentleness of a mother holding her newborn baby, the young man slid the door open.
"..."
*Beep*
"..."
*Beep*
"..."
The young man's vision wavers when he sees the faces sleeping on the hospital beds. Memories deep inside his brain surfaced after years of only being remembered as a long-lost past. His frail legs step forward with extreme care as if he were walking in a field of landmines.
"..."
The young man froze in place. He tries to rack his brain for anything to break the ice, but nothing comes up. Only the powerful silence in front of the march of time.
In his attempt to find an opening move, more of the young man's old memories resurface–the happy, the sad, the beautiful, the ugly, and everything in between. The memories of his previous life with the old couple on their deathbed are flooding his mind.
"Son…"
"Dad…"
The young man reflexively answers the call from the old man. The former has not been the latter son for more than 20 years, and yet the muscle memory still kicks in. The old memories do not help his case at all, as they enforce the lost connection between a dead son and his parents.
"Ahaha… Cough… Cough… I guess this is a blessing at the end."
"What are you talking about, old man? You should focus on resting."
"Ahahaha… I have slept all day. It's about time I actually woke up. Mom, our son is here."
"Mmmhh… Aah… Welcome home, dear. Do you have any idea how late it is?"
"Yeah… Sniffle… Sorry, Mom. Work has been super busy lately. I'm not a child anymore, you know? I have responsibilities to be a proper functioning member of society."
"Ahahahaha!! I suppose we should be thankful that you didn't become NEET like many of my friends' children."
The young man grabs a nearby chair and sits on the foot of the hospital bed. In the Umamusume world, the young man has to wear a mask to blend in with the locals. In here, the young man can finally be his true self. Not Igo Heita the vengeful, but Igo Heita the common man.
"So how was work, dear? I hope your boss has been nice to you."
"Of course!! I'm not stupid enough to sign into a black company, you know?"
"Ahahaha!! Yes. You have always been a smart boy. Your ability to learn is simply outstanding."
"Hahahahaha… People always say that… It's sad to see what I end up being… Just a common salaryman… If I truly put my mind to it, I could probably be a world-saving scientist by now… Hahahahaha…"
"But will you be happier being a scientist than being a salaryman, dear?"
"What's happiness? I can always find something fun to do between my job and being happy, no? That's what I have been doing this whole time. I was just wasting my talent by being a mere salaryman, when I could have as much fun contributing more to society."
"Son…"
"It must be disappointing to have such a wasteful son."
"Perhaps so…"
"..."
"But in the end, you were not ours to have forever, Igo. You are your own person. You have the right to suffer, to be happy, to succeed, to fail, to cry, to laugh, and to experience the world outside of our little family."
"And besides, to blame you for what you became is to wipe the blood from our hands. You were born pure into this world and shaped to be what you are by us. You are now mainly because of us."
"I'm an adult. I can choose my own path. I can choose what I want to become, and I choose to be another cog in the machine. A mere name whose fate is to be forgotten."
"Most of us are, son. My name, your mother's, my parents… All of our names will be forgotten by time."
"And I can change that!! I can be the first chain in the family to etch our name into history!! Once everyone knows who Igo Heita is, they will know you!! They will know my grandparents!! My siblings!! I could be the one who did it!! I could be… I could be… I could be the one if I hadn't ended up the way that I was…"
"My son, for what reason do you want to be remembered so badly?"
"..."
The young man freezes. The question bugs him in a way no other question has before. Someone who hid his identity as a reincarnator has no right to complain about wanting to be remembered. If he screamed out to everyone that he came from another world and provided evidence, surely he would go down in history, no?
So why is he so insistent on wanting to be remembered now when he never was before?
"Because… Because…"