June 15th, XXXX
A quiet applause rang out in the private viewing area at the performance they had just witnessed. Riku was a part of this group, clapping after standing, as he looked on at Tosho Boy's win. It was a nailbiter of one, but one all the same. He doesn't remember who originally won this race, but it very likely was Tosho Boy based on her continued dominance. He wonders if Ten Point could even the score. With Maruzensky now in the mix, who knows what will happen? Speaking of Maruzensky, he glanced down to see how she was feeling. A rare pensive expression on her face.
He looked at her for a moment before prodding. "Well? What did you think?" He raised an eyebrow at how unusually serious Maruzensky looked before she turned to him with a smile. "Do you think you'd lose?"
"Nah, I'd win." She grinned cheekily, not seeing the ashen expression on Riku's face.
"She did not just JJK curse herself, did she?" He was torn between laughing at the coincidence and being horrified that she possibly cursed herself to lose. "Hmm, we'll see." He instead muttered that teasingly, trying to hide his mortification.
"Hahaha!" Buckshot laughed loudly, drawing gazes from the rest of the room. "I told you it'd be Tosho Boy, eh, Opal?" Her mocking grin was directed at her stone-faced companion, who was dutifully looking away from Buckshot. Riku's exasperation increased, from Maruzensky's unintentional meme to Buckshot trying her best to get under Opal's skin. He just can't win. However, a ping from his phone dragged his attention, and he grinned when reading the message. He sent a couple of messages to the person messaging him, which was his secretary, Hiromi, to direct the visitor he had been waiting on to the opposite entrance.
He turned his gaze back on the commotion, trying his best to contain his grin as he watched Buckshot dodging Opal's strikes with her fan. Oi, that actually looked pretty dangerous. Opal's strikes were clearly displacing the air, showing how much force she was putting in them while trying to hit Buckshot. A glance around showed that a majority of the private viewers were leaving, with just his group lurking near the top. Maruzensky and her family just watched the proceedings with wide eyes, their eyes going back and forth like a ping-pong match.
Riku covered his mouth with his hand as he watched, his eyes glancing to the opposite door from what he used as it opened. His mystery guest arrived, a beaming smile on her face as she was led in by Hiromi. He gave a half-wave in their direction, waving them over while everyone was still distracted. He smiled warmly at the tw, before waving his surprise guest over so he could whisper in her ears. He spoke quietly, while gesturing towards Opal. His whispering wasn't quiet enough for everyone, as Maruzensky turned curiously and widened her eyes at who was next to him. He discreetly shushed her as his guest made her way directly behind Opal during her tirade.
Luckily for his amusement, Opal and Buckshot were far too into their "fight" to notice. "Come on, Opal, it was just a joke!" Buckshot still had her grin as she dodged Opal's increasingly fast swings. There was a sheen of sweat on her forehead, knowing that just one of Opal's strikes would hurt and, at minimum, bruise her.
"Take your punishment like a… like the lazy bludger you are!" Opal's teeth were gritting visibly, her countenance unable to hide how annoyed she was. However, both of them abruptly stopped once another voice spoke up, from directly behind Opal.
"Ooh, I've never heard someone use that word before. What does it mean?" A cheerful voice spoke, causing Opal's eyes and tail to perk up as she was startled. She spun, a frown in place as she was prepared to tell them just exactly what it meant, but she froze instead. Because the person standing before her was someone she had dreamt of meeting for years. Someone who just saw her going on a rant and violent episode because of provocation. She could die of shame alone, as standing just before Opal was Haiseiko.
Haiseiko's pink/gold eyes gleamed as she smiled at Opal, her neck-length auburn hair moving as she tilted her head, a finger on her chin. Rather than her more familiar race-wear, Haiseiko was wearing a dress similar to Maruzensky, decorated with white polkadots, matching her trademark white ear covers that twitched along with her movements. She looked merely curious at Opal, despite the latter's frazzled and outright horrified appearance.
"I, uhgh, you. Haiseiko!?" Opal squeaked, I repeat, squeaked in shock at seeing her idol in front of her. Her gaze was as wide as an owl's as she looked on, before snapping onto Riku. Her eyes seemed to hold a mixture of murderous rage, mortification, and joy. Riku would just pretend it was the latter, and that Opal wasn't already planning where to hide his body. He merely smiled her way, giving a thumbs-up of encouragement. She huffed before trying to get her image back together as she turned to Haiseiko, before bowing deeply. "This one's name is Opal… pleased to meet you, Lady Haiseiko."
"Lady? No need for that~. Just Haiseiko is fine!" She gave a jaunty wave as Opal looked absolutely starstruck. That look increased when Haiseiko stepped forward and lightly helped Opal fix her hair. "You have such lovely hair! What do you use on it?" Opal had a full face blush by this point; perhaps a full body blush would be accurate. However, she adapted well and began conversing with her idol. Buckshot, showing her rare moments of tact, stepped back towards him as she watched with crossed arms.
Both of them stood watching, with Maruzensky's family also watching on. Shill, another apparent fan of Haiseiko, was snapping pictures of the two as they talked, with Maruzensky leaning over and looking with shining eyes. Oh, wait, Vincent was snapping pictures too. Haiseiko is still pretty popular, huh. Riku glanced over towards Buckshot, only to blink as she held a fist out his way with a grin. He stared at her, then her fist for a brief moment before bumping it.
"Good work, Boss." Her grin was distinctly warmer as she watched Opal and Haiseiko interact, Opal visibly being happier, with a smile and small blush on her cheeks. "So this is what you had planned earlier, huh?" She raised an eyebrow his way as he also looked on.
"If it's within my power to do so, why not, right?" Riku grinned, a warm feeling in his chest at having a part in this moment. Buckshot gave a nod of respect at that, her eyes shining.
"So, who do you have for me?" She asked cheekily, asking half-seriously. Riku could only blink at her in question.
"Yes, what about me, too?" Another cheeky voice chimed in, Maruzensky on his left, who had snuck up on the two of them. Both Umamusume looked at him expectantly, while he only looked at them dryly.
"Right. And what Umamusume did you two want to meet, huh?" His question actually caused both to fall into deep thought again. Maruzensky looked absolutely clueless, but Buckshot had a rare pensive expression on her face. She made to speak, before seeming to second-guess herself.
"If possible, I'd like to meet Vega and her twins again." Her request came out softly, as she looked away from him. He frowned as he looked at her, feeling like she wasn't saying enough.
"I can do that at any time, Buckshot. But is that it, really?" He narrowed his eyes as she refused to meet his eyes. He remained patient, waiting to see if she'd remain closed off or would open up to him about her request.
She tapped her arms a few times more before facing him. "To be honest, like Opal, I was inspired by an Umamusume." She stepped away from him to look outward, towards the track. "The one who inspired me was from back home, in the States. Secretariat." Buckshot's eyes shone as she looked outside, her eyes misty. Riku was taken aback, both by her choice and the sheer emotion she was showing. It shouldn't come as a big surprise, Secretariat is the biggest name in America. As far as Riku knew, Secretariat's achievements still hadn't been beaten, even after 50+ years.
"Oooh. Secretariat? I've heard of her! She's superrr strong, right!?" Maruzensky jumped in, barely preventing herself from jumping up and down as she spoke. Both Riku and Buckshot turned to her in surprise, almost forgetting she was there in the moment. Buckshot burst into laughter, her surprise and melancholy bleeding out into sheer joy.
"Haha! Strong? She's the strongest!" Buckshot flexed as she spoke, gushing about her favorite Umamusume to Maruzensky. Riku, however, stood to the side with a pensive expression. He truly wondered if he could make a meeting with Secretariat happen. He had tremendous power at his disposal, but that was limited to Japan. The rest of the world had its own things going on, and Japan as a whole was still considered far behind the rest of the world in racing. Secretariat was America's golden child, having been retired immediately after her historically dominant classic year. She's since been used for marketing and basically a poster child for American dominance. He did hear whispers of possible eugenics, but that was out of his sphere of influence. Japan didn't participate in those practices, but considering how horse breeding was done back in his previous life, it wouldn't surprise him if it made its way here in some capacity.
A tap on his shoulder got his attention, as Hiromi stood to the side. "Chairman." She greeted him with a warm smile. "The award ceremony and winning concert will begin soon. Do you want to participate?" Ah, he had forgotten one of his official duties for G1 races, in particular for grand prix races like the Takarazuka Kinen. He glanced back towards his group, taking in the chaos of the different conversations. He turned back to Hiromi and gave a nod.
"Let them have their fun. We'll head down and help with the ceremony." He smiled before discreetly leaving with Hiromi towards the track. His exit went largely unnoticed, with only Buckshot's keen eyes glancing his way before resuming her conversation with Maruzensky.
After a gesture from Hiromi, a pair of bodyguard, Umamusume fell into line behind them, their stances professional and focused. Riku could only chuckle at how different they appeared to his two bodyguards, with the exception of Opal, regularly. He wouldn't trade those two for anything yet; they've definitely made his days interesting. As they walked on, Riku pondered. "Can I arrange a meeting with the Secretariat? It wouldn't hurt to try, at least." With that plan in mind, he continued on. It was going to be a busy day for him.
Later that day, Riku's home
"Thank you for holding. An operative will be with you shortly." Riku sighed as he leaned back, being put on hold for what felt like the 20th time. It was midnight, technically the day after the Takarazuka Kinen, and he was attempting to contact the Claiborne family to arrange a possible meeting with Secretariat. It should be about 10 A.M. on the East Coast of the US, so he was hopeful to get a hold of them at this time. However, after another 10 minutes of waiting, he was let down again. "Thank you for holding an op–" click, his phone was hung up on the other end. After over thirty minutes of waiting on the phone, they hung up on him.
He could only hang his head in disbelief. He really shouldn't have expected less of systems like this. His phone rang again, catching his attention as he looked down. His eyes widened, the caller ID clearly marking it as his mother finally calling him back. He quickly pressed the answer button and spoke.
"Mom, wh–" he was abruptly cut off by his mother speaking fast, a bad sign. She only did that when she was completely flustered.
"Ah, Riku! I'm sorry for not calling, we've been at the hospital until recently! Dad hasn't been doing well, so we've been visiting him, but we didn't want to worry you! How are you? Are things okay there? I saw the races recently, you're doing a great job!" His mother's words flashed in his mind as he tried to process each thing she said.
"Thanks, mom, I'm doing fine… wait. Back up." Riku froze, the earlier words she said finally registering. "What do you mean, grandpa is in the hospital!?"
Shortly After
The lights in the window quickly passed by Riku's eyes; his mind clouded as Buckshot quickly drove them to the hospital. His mind was constantly churning with self-doubt, a little ridicule, and complete confusion. He could not understand what had happened. His grandfather, while not in perfect health, as he was quite old and had some bad habits that didn't help his health overall, was still active and had no outward medical problems when he took over for him.
All too soon, they had arrived. Riku gripped his armrest uneasily. He felt a deep-seated anxiety. What would he see when he went up? Evidently, he had spent far too long contemplating, as Buckshot and Opal had already exited the vehicle, with Buckshot taking exception to his hesitation. The door quickly opened, with Buckshot grabbing him and placing him on her shoulders like a sack of potatoes.
"!!!" Riku made a sound of alarm before looking at Buckshot, absolutely aghast. "What are you doing!?"
"No time for moping, boss-man!" Buckshot grinned as she marched along, him in tow, while Opal followed, a small smile on her face, eyes twinkling in amusement. "Off we go! One scaredy cat in tow!" Buckshot merrily marched, as Riku ceased his attempts to escape, with Buckshot's grip not relenting on him.
Unfortunately for Riku, several civilians and employees of the hospital went bug-eyed upon seeing who they recognized as the URA Chairman, being carried around like a misbehaving child. Which he supposed he was in this case. They quickly wandered up to reception, with multiple people moving aside to make room for them.
"Hi! We're heading to see… uh…" Buckshot stalled, tilting her to look at Riku, who was positioned just over her right shoulder, his head just above Buckshot's 'valley'. He just blankly stared at her, a brief staring contest ensuing between the two before he finally relented. He made eye contact with the receptionist from his position to speak.
"We're here to see Masayoshi Yoshida, please." He deadpanned, especially when Buckshot echoed it right after.
"Yup! One visit to Gramps Yoshida!" Buckshot gave the woman a thumbs-up and wink with her off hand, the receptionist looking like she was doing her best not to burst into laughter as she nodded. Riku turned to look at Buckshot with a raised eyebrow at her statement.
"Gramps? He's not your gramps, woman." He frowned as he looked at her, while Buckshot looked at him like he was being particularly stupid.
"A gramps is a gramps, even if he's not mine." Buckshot patted his cheek mockingly as Riku held back the urge to growl at her.
A nurse quickly entered the lobby and led them towards his grandfather's assigned room. However, Riku's expression began to gradually worsen for two reasons. One, he'd be confronting whatever state his grandfather was in, as well as his mother and father. Second, Buckshot was still carrying him! She was taking too much joy in this moment.
Before Riku could make another attempt to have Buckshot release him, they had arrived. His mother stood outside the hospital room, constantly moving her hands in worry. Their arrival was noticed by her after a moment, her eyes snapping and taking them in. Her eyes, which were still red, widened upon seeing him being held up by his bodyguard, the woman staring owlishly at what she was seeing. His mother was rather short, like Riku himself, only standing at about 157 cm (5ft2inches), and was dressed rather conservatively, having every inch of her body covered but her face and hands. She also wore glasses that highlighted her brown eyes, but were circular-framed, in comparison to Riku's square-framed.
His mother strolled up to the two and just continued to stare before she burst into laughter. "Hahahahaha!" A full belly aching laugh escaped his mother, with her gripping her knees from how hard she was laughing. Riku's mood, of course, worsened as he frowned and stared down angrily. (He's pouting). After a moment, she collected herself before looking up at Buckshot. "Thank you for that. I needed a laugh, after everything. Could you please let my son down?" She smiled warmly at Buckshot, who flushed briefly before quickly dropping Riku to the floor with a whoomph.
"Ow!" Riku muttered, his stomach having hit the floor first. He grumbled as she stood, glaring lightly at Buckshot. He was thankful she had improved his mother's mood, but couldn't she treat him a little bit better!? He turned to look at his mom before she quickly surged forward and hugged him tightly. He responded and wrapped his arms tight around her as well. He didn't say anything and waited for her to speak.
"I'm sorry." She led with, getting a look of confusion from him. "We knew you had been busy and didn't want to worry you… But things haven't improved." She pulled back, patting his arms as she looked at him. Her eyes looked tired, very tired, on top of being reddened from crying. Riku frowned at her words; that wasn't a good sign. Before he could speak again, she pulled away and gestured to the door before leading the way. He turned to look back at Buckshot and Opal quickly.
"Please, watch the door, will you?" He asked softly, getting a nod from both. They looked surprisingly serious, for once. He quickly followed after his mother and took the room in. It was a pretty spartan room, very little added aesthetically. There were no well-wishing gifts or anything like that, as it seems his grandfather's condition was kept low-key. Riku turned his gaze forward, with his mother tending to his grandpa on the left and his father on the right.
His father was taller than both his mom and Riku by a good margin, standing at 177 cm (5ft7). He was dressed casually, in a sweater and pants, as he seemed to be mid-conversation with his father-in-law(Masayoshi). He turned to look when the door opened, and his eyes widened briefly upon seeing Riku before smiling and making his way over. Once again, Riku was subject to a sudden but tight bear-hug from his father, this time, one that he didn't try to fight. After a moment, he pulled back, ruffling Riku's hair as he did so.
"Good to see you, Riku. You've done pretty well for someone who didn't want to be promoted." He teased, grinning wider at Riku's aggrieved look. His visage turned serious afterwards. He glanced back towards Grandpa Yoshida, who was conversing with Riku's mother, before looking at Riku. "Your grandpa has prostate cancer, Riku. Stage 4." He shook his head when Riku widened his eyes before continuing. "We don't know how far it's gotten yet. Your mother and I only learned recently what exactly it is your grandpa had, as he was cagey about telling anyone." His father sounded about as exasperated as he was with Riku when he was younger.
Riku turned to look at his grandfather, an eyebrow raised. The man looked like he had seen better days, his skin looking paler and more sunken in. Riku strode forward to the man, who had gone quiet after he finished talking with Riku's mother, his gaze looking at Riku before shifting away. Riku glanced at both of his parents before taking his father's seat next to his grandpa, leaning back and looking at the man intently.
A somewhat tense silence ensued before Riku broke it by speaking. "You look like shit." He said flatly. His mother looked aghast, while his father looked resigned upon hearing him speak. It was his grandfather who took the cake, the man looking visibly affronted.
"I look like shit? You deal with having stage 4 cancer! You little shit!" Masayoshi fired back, although he was grinning as he did so.
"How long have you known?" Riku's question caused Masayoshi to frown as he looked away briefly. Riku didn't speak again but simply remained patient.
"I got the news a little before I retired. I didn't know how bad it was then, but they confirmed I had prostate cancer." He stared at the ceiling as he spoke before closing his eyes. "I didn't want anyone to know. It's my own fault, anyways." He grumbled, huffing as he spoke, before widening his eyes as Riku quickly stood and grabbed his shoulders.
"Your life isn't just your own, you old coot!" Riku barely held himself back from growling as he firmly looked at his grandfather. "You have kids and grandkids, who deserve to know about your health. You're a part of all of our lives." Riku huffed as he stepped back, fixing his glasses as he did so. "I don't know what nonsense you're talking about, it being your fault, but it doesn't matter. Family does this together." He said resolutely, his sentiments being echoed by his mother and father, who nodded as well, standing behind Riku in solidarity. His grandfather stared at them, his eyes watering even as he angrily huffed and rubbed at them.
"What did I do to be cursed with such an overly caring family, huh?" He smiled despite his words, looking at them fondly with reddened eyes. "Alright, I'll try and rely on you a bit… okay?"
Riku's mother seemed to take exception to that, surging forward to take his hands. "Just a bit, huh!?" She was pretty fired up as she began to lay into her father again, a smile on all their faces as they looked on. Just maybe, they were going to be alright. Aside from them, Riku plotted. He didn't know how long his grandfather had, but damned if he didn't try to do something about it. That was all he could do. Try.
CHAPTER END