How did things come to this?
"I hate her." Mr C.B. said with such nonchalance that it sounded almost comical. "So brilliant, so strong—the perfect Emperor that Japan wanted. The exact puppet they wanted to shove to the forefront of their agenda." She smiled, cold and unkind. "No better than a leashed dog."
I remained silent, partly to let her finally say everything she'd been bottling up for who knows how long, and partially because the situation felt too awkward for me to attempt to interject in any manner.
I couldn't help but wonder how things had even gotten to this point.
Everything seemed normal at first. Mr. C.B. had asked me to join her, and we'd gone on a seemingly routeless jog around the outskirts of Okinawa. She spoke to me about all sorts of random things, while also asking about my experience during the two years I've been active as a professional racer.
I didn't know what happened. I think I might've accidentally stepped on a landmine or something, and suddenly the atmosphere had become cold, and C.B. asked me if I wanted to listen to a 'story'.
I was fairly sure this was no longer just a 'story'.
"And sure, maybe I'm a little jealous that she stole all the spotlight I had for, like, a year at best. But I'm not that kind of gal—I'd rather taste dirt than pander to some faceless crowd." She leaned back, letting her hair drape past the railing, fluttering as the winds danced by. "But it was the way she rubbed her in superiority that really got my gears grinding, y'know? She spoke like everything that came from those lips of hers was the truth." She snorted, her eyes blank. "Makes me gag whenever I think back on it."
From a glance, I could almost believe that C.B. truly felt nothing more for Rudolf. The way she spoke, the way she stood—there was not a single worry to be given. C.B. spoke of Rudolf like she was no longer of this world, and her words dripped with saccharine cruelty, as if she took pleasure from slandering Rudolf every chance she got.
Except I knew better. C.B. very much felt for Rudolf. Felt so much that she'd kept away from Tracen Central despite officially being a member of the student council. The two were rivals, having raced against one another back during an era where the sport had been even more cutthroat than it was now.
It was just that C.B.'s mask was so amazingly crafted that it nearly tricked even me. And had I not had experience with this kind of thing before, I was sure all the subtext would've flown over my head.
"It was all her fault." She said, and for a moment, her fake smile melted into a chilling blank expression. "Ace, Sirius, Ramonu—our little posse became like this all because of her." She clicked her tongue as she messaged her eyes. "Tch, that stupid bitch. If only she'd just laid low for a little. If only she didn't…" She didn't finish her words.
I let the silence linger for a moment, mostly to see if she had anything else to say, before I tentatively asked, "Do you need a hug?"
C.B. smiled. Or at least tried to. "That'd be nice."
Thankfully, my growth spurt over the past year had made me taller than C.B., so giving my senior a hug was neither difficult nor awkward. She sighed in relief as she relaxed into my hug, before her smile became a little more genuine. "Waow, you're really good at hugging, aren'cha?"
My cheeks turned slightly red, and my tail began swaying. "I…thanks." I said, not quite able to admit that I'd had a lot of practice with Oguri.
She pulled away after some time, looking a lot more refreshed. "Woo, that felt good." She smirked. "Geez, can't believe I'd said all that."
I smiled wryly. "It seems like you've been holding onto those thoughts for quite some time, senpai."
"Sometimes, when you're out in the mountains, the only thing you can do is think." She said with a shrug.
I blinked, and then remembered that Mr. C.B.'s hobby was going out to explore. She was quite the free-spirit after all, and disappearing into the wilderness was a good way of stopping even the Emperor from finding someone.
I shook my head. That wasn't important right now.
"Have things changed since then?"
C.B. looked up at the sky as she sighed. "...yeah." She eventually admitted. "She's changed a lot. Can't believe it's only been a few years since we last raced together, and now she's like…" She pursed her lips, and for the first time, she looked unsure. "She's like a completely different person."
I hummed. "Time changes people." I said as I came to her side and leaned my hands onto the railing lining the sideroad. "I can't speak for the Rudolf you know, but the president I know is quiet." I closed my eyes. "Sure, she has her moments here and there, but she's always been subdued."
"So she's a coward, basically." C.B. said, her smile ugly. "Ugh, that makes me sound like Ramonu."
I smiled wryly. "Perhaps." I said, remembering the way Maruzensky had to drag me into all this business to finally get Rudolf to open up about her feelings. "After all, she finally reached out to you, didn't she?"
C.B. blinked, before she grinned. "So you're the one that got this ball rolling." She said, and I shrugged. She huffed. "No wonder Maru-nee kept telling me about you. Turns out the wondergirl that broke the Emperor's back was the White Comet, after all."
I smiled, and then paused. Wait, even Mr. C.B. called Maruzensky her older sister? That implied that Maruzensky was even older than C.B., who was practically a young adult by this point.
How old was Maruzensky then? And why was she still dressed in the Tracen Central uniform?
…Let's not think about that.
C.B. sighed. "But yeah. After all these years of silence, she finally called. Apologized for everything." She clicked her tongue. "Too little too late, isn't it? What's the point of being sorry for all that when it's all over anyway?" She smiled sharply. "Ain't like it'll bring things back to how they were."
"It won't." I agreed, and then continued before she could speak. "But she's making an attempt, isn't she? She's sorry for all she's done, and even if it is too late, she wants to try and make things right." I glanced at her, my blue eyes a bright contrast against the orange skies. "The past cannot be brought back, but maybe something new can be born into the future."
C.B. was quiet for a while, her gaze lost as she stared into the oceans.
I let her thoughts stew, all while I turned away and subtly sighed. I didn't know how Rudolf had acted like back when she was active, and the more I heard, the less I wanted to know. All that mattered was that Rudolf was different now.
And speaking of Rudolf,
My ears perked up slightly as I heard a strange rustling. I frowned slightly, wondering if I'd misheard, but when I saw a pair of brown umamusume ears poking out from a bush in a nearby patch of greenery, I couldn't help but smile incredulously.
"So, now what?" C.B. asked, looking truly lost. "I can't just-, she's…"
I sighed. "I'll repeat what I said to Rudolf," I pushed myself away from the railing. "You're still alive. Your story hasn't ended yet. It doesn't have to." I smiled. "While you still have the chance, take grasp of what you truly hold dear and never let go. And perhaps then something more may blossom from the ashes of yesterday."
My smile deepened.
"Don't you agree, Symboli Rudolf?"
C.B.'s eyes widened, and she turned around just in time to see Symboli Rudolf pop out of the bush she'd been hiding in like some sort of whack-a-mole. The two stared at one another for a while, lost in each other's gazes, as if to drink in a sight neither of them had seen for years.
"...Rudo?" C.B. slowly whispered, as if she wasn't sure whether she was real.
Rufolf managed a shaky smile as she waved awkwardly. "U-Um, I-" She gulped, before she forced a grin. "I hedged a bet that I'd find you here."
…Uuuff. Come on, Ms. Emperor. That was terrible even for me.
C.B.'s reaction was even more visceral. "Waow, that was so ass." She said unrepentantly, her expression curling with utter disgust. And hearing C.B.'s words, Japan's mighty Emperor proceeded to droop like she'd just been rejected by her long-time crush.
Another giggle sounded, and suddenly Maruzensky popped out of the bush Rudolf had been hiding in. "Hi there~"
I smiled. "Hello there, Maru-nee."
C.B. stared for another second, before she sighed. "So this was your plan huh, Maru-nee?" Maruzensky just smiled, and C.B. smiled ruefully. "Aiya, how convoluted."
Maruzensky giggled. "But it worked didn't it?" She glanced between her and Rudolf, her smile growing. "After all, you've finally met again!" Her smile then deepened, and a dangerous pressure rose from her. "Surely you won't run again, won't you, C.B-chan?"
C.B. sighed. "...I know."
Rudolf's ears perked up. "You…won't?"
C.B. stared at her for a moment, before she smiled wryly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm already here, aren't I?"
I nodded at her words, though I still subtly took a few steps back, bracing myself in the event that C.B. did try to escape.
But regardless, the two rivals from the previous generation were finally standing before one another. There was no getting out of this for the both of them; whether they wanted to or not, it was time for this wall of regret between them to be torn apart.
…
I held back a sigh, forcing back a headache over the fact that this marriage counselling was still not over.