She reached up and pressed the switch.
The room plunged into darkness.
Mochizuki quickly adjusted to the dark, finding her own bed, and then Tokai Natural's.
At this moment, Tokai Natural had already lain down to sleep.
Mochizuki stared at her own bed for a few seconds before turning back toward her mother's bed.
There lay Tokai Natural, snugly wrapped in her bedding.
Watching her, Mochizuki stopped hesitating, walked over, and lifted a corner of the covers.
"Huh?"
"I'll sleep with you tonight."
Saying that, Mochizuki crawled directly into bed, pressing close to Tokai Natural. "Mom, about what you said during the day—"
Natural froze for an instant, then reached out and gently held her daughter. "You remembered…"
"Of course."
Mochizuki slightly turned her head, clearly revealing her profile to Tokai Natural.
Seeing her daughter—still young, yet practically matching her height—Tokai Natural opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, uncertain how to begin explaining.
"Mom."
"…Mm."
"Your hand."
Only at Mochizuki's words did Tokai Natural realize she was gripping her daughter too tightly.
She froze briefly, then slightly loosened her embrace.
Only after feeling her mother relax again did Mochizuki speak once more: "Mom, can you clearly explain what happened today?"
"…Alright."
After a brief pause, Tokai Natural made her decision.
Yet she didn't immediately begin to speak, needing time to sort out what she could and couldn't say.
She remained silent for nearly ten minutes.
Finally, she spoke again.
"It… It was before you were born."
Saying this, Tokai Natural briefly fell silent, then slowly continued, "At the time, my name was still Tokai Natural, the second Uma Musume of the Tokai Family."
"Or rather, someone who should've become their second Uma Musume—but due to my sickly constitution, I…"
Tokai Natural fell quiet again for about ten seconds.
Eventually, she continued. "Afterwards… was probably about marriage arrangements. Due to certain… special reasons, the other party called off the engagement. But since the intended marriage partner was a prestigious Uma Musume…"
"And besides, I was already pregnant at the time."
She didn't speak Symboli Rudolf's name aloud. Tokai Natural quietly considered how to continue.
"Then, afterward, I was transferred here. That room was also…"
Her voice trailed off. Everything came to a halt.
The room filled with nothing but the sound of their breathing.
Another prolonged silence.
Mochizuki roughly guessed the rest of the story.
Her mother had given birth to them here, in this very place.
And that had been the Tokai Family's decision after confirming Tokai Teio was an Uma Musume.
"For ten months afterward, I never left that room. Everything was arranged by others. And once I gave birth to you two, I was thrown out."
It was an extremely simple narrative.
But having entered that room herself, Mochizuki understood much more.
There was nothing inside that room but a single bed.
Which meant…
Tokai Natural had spent ten months completely alone in that barren room.
"Then—"
Mochizuki, about to say something, suddenly stopped.
She didn't know what to say because she abruptly felt her mother's previously relaxed hand tighten around her again.
And also…
The person behind her seemed to…
The slight trembling at her back told Mochizuki how deeply her mother still feared what she had endured.
The Tokai Family was finished.
Anyone could see that clearly from Teio's and Roman's current situations.
Yet Tokai Natural was still afraid of old nightmares catching up to her.
Even though no one pursued her now, the fear etched in her heart wouldn't simply vanish.
Everything would remain.
Feeling Tokai Natural's trembling, Mochizuki didn't know what to do.
She had no experience handling situations like this, so she didn't know how to respond.
Yet…
"I… I…"
Her mother's breathing gradually became heavier. Mochizuki was unsure how to react to the halted speech.
She could only quietly wait for her mother's next words.
"I originally planned to tell you and Teio about this together, but…" Tokai Natural's expression worsened as she spoke. She tightly embraced Mochizuki again. "I don't dare anymore. I'm afraid that Teio might…"
Hearing this, Mochizuki finally clearly understood what worried her mother.
She also fully grasped what she feared.
But the important thing wasn't just understanding—it was what came afterward.
So…
"Mom, I'll explain it."
Saying this, Mochizuki awkwardly struggled to turn around in her mother's embrace, directly facing Tokai Natural.
Perhaps because of her mother's honkaku-ka, Tokai Natural practically looked like a child herself.
But appearances were always deceptive—after all, an Uma Musume's age could never be judged by looks alone.
In these circumstances, Mochizuki looked straight at her mother and continued softly, "I'll explain it clearly to Teio. She…"
Her speech faltered.
This hesitation meant Mochizuki herself wasn't sure of Teio's true thoughts.
Yet, after a brief pause, Mochizuki still continued, "I'll explain it clearly."
Mochizuki's words made Tokai Natural slightly lower her head.
Because this was something Tokai Natural should've done herself.
Seeing her mother's expression, Mochizuki spoke again, carefully: "I'll try my best to persuade Teio—"
"No."
A faint voice emerged from Tokai Natural's lips.
As she said this, Tokai Natural raised her head.
She stared at Mochizuki. "No."
She repeated herself, firmly.
In her eyes were tears, faintly shimmering yet invisible in the darkness.
She gazed directly at her daughter, saying what needed to be said: "I'll tell Teio myself."
"But—"
"This isn't something you should worry about." Saying this, Tokai Natural shifted her gaze slightly aside, continuing softly, "Although I'm very afraid Teio might not accept this truth… still…"
"I won't let a child handle something like this."
Listening to her mother's words, Mochizuki opened her mouth again, wanting to say something more.
But ultimately, all she could manage to choke out was one simple phrase:
"Mm… You should tell her, Mom."
---
T/N: if ur gonna comment about the dialogue just keep in mind, natural is not in the right headspace and is rambling so thats why it seems off
T/N2: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, last week it was 7dtd this week it was tomodachi life........ teehee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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