She knew who was calling, so—Rudolf started running first, and only then answered.
"Luna~ So what do you think Yayoi-san is—"
"I'm already at your door."
Before the conversation could even finish, Rudolf had reached one of only two rooms on the fourth floor.
"I see," Mejiro Ramonu said. "Then it looks like I should—"
She stopped mid-sentence and pressed the phone close to Yayoi Natural's mouth.
Feeling the hard edge of it against her cheek, Yayoi Natural obviously knew what it was.
So she said the words Mejiro Ramonu wanted her to say.
"…Help me…"
The instant her trembling voice went through, a violent crash of noise slammed into Yayoi Natural's ears—even through the earplugs.
Mejiro Ramonu stared at Symboli Rudolf in the doorway. Her mouth opened, empty for a second—then she forced herself to speak.
"Rudolf… you got here fast…"
Rudolf ignored the greeting that carried a faint, desperate edge. She took in the situation in a single glance, then spoke to Mejiro Ramonu.
"Put the knife down. Then take off her blindfold."
Not once did Rudolf mention herself.
Mejiro Ramonu lowered her head slightly, tossed her phone aside, and used the kitchen knife to slice the blindfold's elastic strap.
Light returned absurdly fast.
At least, it did for Yayoi Natural.
Yayoi Natural wasn't good with time. That was a result of what the Tokai Family had done to her—locking her up while she was pregnant—so she couldn't tell how "fast" Mejiro Ramonu really meant.
But in the very next second, a bigger danger took its place: the knife shifted from her shoulder to the side of her neck.
Mejiro Ramonu did it without taking her eyes off Rudolf. She still had one last thing to settle.
So—
"At this distance," she asked quietly, "can you save her?"
She said it like that, but the blade in Mejiro Ramonu's hand angled inward—toward herself.
Seeing it, Rudolf's face tightened.
"What are you doing?!"
"…"
Mejiro Ramonu didn't answer. She only smiled at Rudolf.
"I won't ask you who you'd choose," she said. "But if you can save me… I'd be really happy."
Rudolf froze.
She understood exactly why Mejiro Ramonu was doing this. And now the only one who needed saving was Mejiro Ramonu herself, but—
There was no time to think. The knife was already moving.
So Rudolf moved too.
There was no hesitation.
With an Umamusume's explosive speed, she crossed the less-than-five-meter gap before the blade could travel far.
Her left hand clamped down on Mejiro Ramonu's grip. If Mejiro Ramonu yanked hard, Rudolf's fingers could be cut—but she didn't need to hold it long.
Just an instant.
But Rudolf had no intention of letting go.
Her right hand came down over it as well.
Under the brutal contest of strength between two Umamusume, the kitchen knife snapped clean through.
Jagged fragments flicked past Yayoi Natural's face, and she reflexively turned her head.
Both Symboli Rudolf and Mejiro Ramonu were still standing.
Mejiro Ramonu's expression caved in. "Why…? Why, even after all this, you still—"
"I'm stopping an accident," Rudolf said. "Whether it's you or Natural."
With that, Rudolf stepped behind Yayoi Natural.
Using the snapped edge, she cut through the restraints one by one. Then she said, "Sorry."
"This time… it's my fault."
As she continued freeing Yayoi Natural, Rudolf added, "I'll handle what comes next. You can go rest at my apartment. It's not big, but no one will come near it. You can relax there."
Hearing her, Yayoi Natural turned her head slightly and watched Rudolf work on the last rope—the one bound above the elbows, the one that had pinned her down completely.
Watching Rudolf like that, Yayoi Natural started, "Mejiro Ramonu, she actually—"
"I was going to use Natural to threaten you, but…" Mejiro Ramonu cut in, like she couldn't stand to hear it phrased any other way.
Rudolf didn't respond. She only set the broken blade and her apartment key down on the table beside Yayoi Natural.
"This is my key," Rudolf said. "Use it."
Only after she watched Rudolf place a knife she'd snapped with her bare hands—and a key—on the table did Yayoi Natural look over at Mejiro Ramonu, slumped off to the side.
Then she turned back to Rudolf. "There's one thing I still need to ask you."
"I know," Rudolf said. "Otherwise you wouldn't have come to see me."
Yayoi Natural picked up the key and hurried out of Mejiro Ramonu's couple's room—because they needed time to talk.
After Yayoi Natural left, Rudolf walked up to Mejiro Ramonu.
She studied her for a moment. "Ramonu. You're not okay."
"I know." Mejiro Ramonu's voice was hoarse. "I didn't plan to do any of this, but…"
Finally, she turned her head fully, meeting Rudolf's eyes. "The moment I thought you'd choose Yayoi Natural without hesitation—not me—I moved before I could stop myself."
"That's why I was on the third floor," Symboli Rudolf said. "I've seen this before. More than once."
Rudolf fell silent for several seconds.
Then she repeated the line she'd told Mejiro Ramonu again and again over the years.
"About 'choosing'… I'm sorry. I've only ever thought of you as a friend."
Mejiro Ramonu went still for a heartbeat, then let out something that was almost a laugh.
"A friend… What a nice line."
Her voice started to shake, like she was right on the edge. "That's what you said when you broke off my engagement too, wasn't it?"
"Rudolf…" Her eyes glistened. "Do you really like Natural that much?!"
"Yes."
No hesitation. Rudolf answered, then added,
"So I kept my distance from her. Because I didn't want to end up doing what you did. I've seen too many tragedies brewed from possessiveness."
She thought of the cases she'd handled—trainers who refused an Umamusume's confession, only to be beaten, crippled, locked away until their minds broke, or simply kept from ever leaving again.
Far too many.
Rudolf walked to the door, pain weighing down her voice.
"If I stayed close enough to Yayoi Natural that we could still see each other, knowing she's given her heart to someone else… any Umamusume might do something they can't take back, just like you did."
With that conclusion, Rudolf turned back.
"Go find Agnes Tachyon," she said. "She should be the one managing people who are getting swallowed up by possessiveness right now."
After giving her childhood friend one last piece of advice, she left the room.
Tonight, she wouldn't return to the apartment. She'd leave it to Yayoi Natural for now.
And Mejiro Ramonu, staring at the suddenly empty room, sank back into the chair Yayoi Natural had been sitting in.
---
T/N: oof... i mean it was very stupid of ramonu to do that... prob broke any kind of goodwill natural had... so ima make it so that she's gonna call her by mejiro again and not ramonu
ALSO LETS FUCKING GO RUDOLFFFFF THATS WHY SHES THE GOAT
T/N2: I HAVE NO EXCUSE! EXCEPT THAT UHHH SPYTL! AND ASPENTL! HAS KEPT ME DISTRACTED! THOSE FIENDS! I will try to post more now...
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