Chapter Text
Tamamo Cross hated hospitals. Despised them, even. First, her father. Now, her best friend - Oguri Cap. Oguri lay unconscious on a bed in the sterile grey room, hooked up to all sorts of equipment for tracking her vitals. The sound of beeps played as a screen showed Oguri's heart rate. It was stable. She was stable.
All Tama could do was watch the ashen beast lie there, unresponsive. Neither moved a muscle until Tama pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed. She gently gripped Oguri's hand. It was warm but limp. Another sign that Oguri was thankfully alive.
Tama's bright blue eyes were now dim, her demeanour now depressed. A stark contrast to her usual expressive self. Tama's lips quivered, tears jerked at her eyes. The grip on Oguri's hand tightened little by little. 'Why? Why did this have to happen again?' she thought to herself. 'Does the universe hate me?'
Oguri Cap had ended up in hospital after she suffered a heart attack from overexertion during her last race. An unfortunate side effect of being an Umamusume who pushed herself to her utmost limits. To prove to the world she still had what it takes, even after retiring. Her health had already started to somewhat deteriorate, but she didn't want to believe she couldn't race anymore.
To Oguri Cap, running was a miracle. Walking, even standing on her own two feet, was a miracle. But now? All she could do was lie unconscious as time passed. Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, hours became days.
—
It had been almost two weeks since Oguri was hospitalised. Almost two weeks since her world came crashing down. Oguri had no idea how long it had been, but Tama knew all too well. Looking over at the side of Oguri's bed, she noticed cards and a few flowers. Sent from friends and fans alike. Tama's lips curved up a little, knowing that Oguri was cared about. That she wasn't alone or forgotten. It gave Tama a brief sense of relief.
Tama spent her days in the hospital, watching over Oguri. She hated it, but she had to do it. Oguri Cap was her best friend, and she knew that Oguri would do the same for her. Super Creek and Inari One, their friends, were concerned about Tama spending so much time away from Tracen Academy. They knew she was doing the right thing, but also knew the toll it took on her. To watch her best friend just lie there. No response, nothing. Tama just sat in silence. She tried to talk to Oguri’s unconscious self to keep entertained, but nothing worked. She needed someone to talk back to. She needed Oguri Cap.
Eventually, Creek and Inari would sometimes accompany Tama to Oguri so she didn't get lonely. Many other friends, like Yaeno Muteki, Sakura Chiyono O, Mejiro Ardan, and Bamboo Memory, would offer to visit too. Even Oguri's friends from back in Kasamatsu had managed to visit once. Tama recalled overhearing how loud the crying from her room was. She chuckled that day, knowing Oguri Cap had great friends.
But the person who saw Oguri as much as Tama was Belno Light. Tama and Belno were close. Not as close as Oguri and her, but they were still close. Belno had become a trainer after her racing career didn't work out. Whilst she tried her hardest to see Oguri, Belno was busy. She had trainees to attend to, but she knew that Tamamo Cross would always be by their friend's side.
As Belno got up to leave the hospital room, she hovered in the doorframe and turned her head to Tama. "I'm glad Oguri has someone to watch over her. Thank you, Tama." Her smile shone brightly.
Tama didn't see it. She didn't dare turn her head away from Oguri, afraid that if she did, Oguri would disappear before her eyes. She simply nodded. "Me too, Bel."
Belno didn't know what else to say. Perhaps there was nothing to say. And just like that, she was gone. Only Tamamo Cross was left to watch over Oguri Cap.
—
Now, one month had passed. One agonising month that Tama had spent every day in the hospital, desperately waiting for her friend to come back to the world. To her, it felt like an entire lifetime had passed.
Sat in the chair, Tama started to drift off to sleep. She had been up all night thinking about Oguri. Will she ever wake up? Will she ever talk to her again?
Tama was now in a plain of green, lush grass, as far as the eye could see. The sun shone brightly and lit the sky a blue that matched her own eyes. A gentle breeze caressed Tama as her fingers brushed past tall blades of grass. She didn't know where she was or how she even got here, but she didn't care. It was serene.
Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her. The laughing of a child? No, children. Turning her head to the direction of the laughter, two figures ran through the tall grass. Tama couldn't make out who they were, but they were much shorter than she was. One wore ribbons like her own, or atleast she thought so.
"Hello?" Tama called out gently. The figures stopped, and as Tama approached, they disappeared instantly. Tama was left alone, only clutching the grass in front of her.
Her head tilted back up, and there, standing in the distance, was another figure. It was her. Oguri Cap. She faced away from Tama, staring into the horizon. Her hair blew softly in the wind.
"Oguri?" Tama muttered as she started to walk towards her friend. The closer she got, the faster she ran. But as she ran, the world around her turned grey and dull. The blue sky was enveloped in dark clouds, blotting out the sun. The gentle breeze, now a howling assault on her. Oguri turned around to look at Tama and gave her a warm smile. Tama shouted her name out and ran as fast as she could, reaching her right arm out. As soon as she got close, Oguri was gone. Only dandelion seeds were left in her place and were ripped away by the wind as quickly as they appeared.
—
Tama was jolted awake, a cold sweat ran down her body upon her rude awakening. She felt tears rush to her eyes and looked over at the bed. Sure enough, Oguri Cap was still there. Unconscious. Unmoving. Unaware of what had just happened to her friend. Tama gripped Oguri's hand tightly and tried her best not to cry but to no avail. She sobbed quietly next to her friend, a mixture of joy and fear took over as tears fell to the floor.
As Tama calmed herself, she looked back at Oguri. She softly caressed Oguri's hand with her thumb and wiped away the last of her tears with the sleeve of her free arm.
"I won't leave ya, Ogurin." she murmured. "I promise."