Chapter Text
The sun sank toward the horizon beyond a broad hill in the Japanese countryside. Wind rolled through the land, setting the trees swaying as birds and loosened leaves drifted together in the fading light. A cold breeze crept in, stealing the last traces of warmth left behind by the star that had given life to Earth millions of years ago. Slowly, it withdrew from the sky, slipping behind mountains that looked close enough to touch yet were impossibly distant. Hidden from the beauty of it all was an old woman, ascending a long train of stairs carved into the hill. On either side, fields of flowers spilled outward, framing the steps that led up towards a vast mansion at a first glance, but actually is the centerpiece of a grand, hotel-esque resort built atop the hill decades ago. Her feet clanked softly against the polished silver steps, with careful steps being taken especially on her right leg which was raised slightly above the ground than the other leg and placed down with more care. A large red cloak enveloped her form, concealing most of the features that marked her as something other than an ordinary human.
Upon reaching her destination’s doorstep, she finally stopped. The cloak slipped from her shoulders as she paused to catch her breath. It was a long walk, taking about 10 minutes due to how slow she was moving and the distance she had to travel from the gate at the bottom of the hill, the road that led to other parts of what she thinks is a resort. She didn’t exactly know persay, she only learnt about this place a few days ago and fortune told her that making the journey here would be of great importance despite it just opening a while ago and its purpose seemingly not being the best in the eyes of her friends which she had to leave behind for the time being to fulfil her destiny.
The Woman looked at the door, her body tense and quite nervous, despite making it this far she didn’t know if this was the right call.
the “right call to what?” you may ask. Well. To fully Accept retirement.
“Retirement from what?” well, from her past life. The life of Matikanefukitaru.
Matikanefukitaru then turned around and looked at the horizon, her mind pausing in thought. Was this all worth it, was running away really the right choice?
As her mind was making itself up, wondering if she should knock on the door. It then swung over making her jump back in surprise the cloak she was wearing falling off fully on the floor now all of her features now fully revealed, standing at the doorway was a 3.5 meter tall and 510 kg Woman with short, dull orange to brown flipped hair and brown to amber eyes with constant watery starry pupils. She wore a daruma hair ornament on her left temple and a clover hair ornament on her right. She also wore a single ear cover on her right ear. Her outfit consisted primarily of a relatively simple but worn out white, blue and red serafuku. It had a bagu motif on the back of the sailor collar, open shoulders that were decorated with small bows on the sleeves. She also had black bike shorts under her skirt. She had a belt with a broken ema dangling from it, one saying "Great Luck" and another saying "Assured Victory". On her back was a torn backpack shaped like a maneki-neko with a crystal ball inside of it, itself wearing several amulets on it's collar. She wore ribbon-trimmed thigh-high stockings with alternating red and blue trim. For footwear, her shoes were simple penny loafers that were all completed with her out there strange features, a dull orange long horse tail and very big horse ears that constantly dropped down, she was a horse girl or what they are called in this world, umamusume which are Classified as humanoid girls who possess horse traits and features. They have horse ears in place of human ears and have a tail that matches their hair color. They possess incredible speed and stamina, far beyond that of a human and comparable with that of a real-life horse.
Matikanefukukitaru: AHH!!!
Standing there now taken aback by matikanefukukitaru’s reaction was a 5’6 thirty plus year old man, with a light skin tone a messy yellow hair the color of dry hay contrasting his bright dark blue eyes, sticking up in uneven tufts, His posture currently was stiff and uncertain, shoulders slightly hunched forward and he was currently wearing a neat but unremarkable boss-like outfit: a pressed dark suit, white shirt, and a tie that sat just a little crooked. He sweated a bit before making hand gestures to calm Matikanefuki down not wanting her to be frightened or more importantly for him to receive harm from something like a kick or a strike, if not even the strongest athletes could survive such a force from that then he definitely could not as that would shatter all of his bones instantly given the size difference between them.
???: O-okay okay, i came out of nowhere, I know i know, Matika! Uh… calm down! Please, calm down! I… I’m not uh, I’m not here to hurt you! Calm.
Matikanefukitaru’s expression then became still, Her widened eyes narrowing slightly, as she tilted her head towards the right, her body becoming calm, her hands now resting on her waist with her ears and tail slanting down, Breathing a sigh of relief, she didn’t expect to be caught off guard like that and now was slightly embarrassed about the way she acted seeing the person that was infr- well below her. As he looked completely harmless.
Matikanefukitaru: Arghhhhhh, you shouldn’t frighten my squeamish little heart like that, you almost made me leap off the hill, w-what if i died and then my soul got kidnapped by angels and dragged into heavens way earlier than was prophesied by myself!
???: Oh well that wouldn’t exactly be a bad thi- i mean well, it would you would be dead on my doorstep but you’d end up in heaven so it wouldn’t be the worst thing e-ever…
Matikanefukitaru: ???
???: I Apologise, it wont happen again Matikanefukitaru.
Matikanefukitaru: I hope so..for my hearts sake…
Matikanefukitaru rubbed her shoulders embarrassingly looking away a bit with her eyes closed and a sweatdrop falling from her forehead, the man noticing this fixed himself up and straightened his posture becoming more professional looking up and down Matikane he noticed her limping leg and remembered that it was getting quite late, so it as best that he brought his hopefully permanent guest inside.
???: *Clears throat* Anyways, Matikanfukitaru ,I’d like you to come inside and rest. I noticed you’re putting strain on your right leg, and considering your… unfortunate circumstances, it’s best not to overexert yourself. Actually, I believe I asked my father to assign helpers at the front who can assist you with these sorts of things but they aren’t here right…now…where are-...did they reject helping you or?
The Truth is, She was in fact offered help earlier to be aided in her walking or straight up carried inside with a wheelchair but she declined, she wanted to push herself and make the journey up alone as to see if her remaining luck would allow her to travel the distance safely with relatively no issues or hiccups along the way, which it has, that lightened her mood up…only a little
Matikanefukitaru: I made the journey up here myself, with the help of my remaining luck.
???: Oh really now, your luck?
The Horse girl nodded with a smile and the man gave a look of being surprised but not exactly unexpecting something like this to happen.
???: Ah, wait, now I remember.
Matikanefukitaru’s smile then turned flat.
???: your past trainer told me that bit about yourself on the phone earlier,
And then it turned into a frown, a very downwards and strong frown. As a shadow came over her eyes as a glare was sent in the man's direction.
Matikanefukitaru: Eh Eh Eh, Let’s not mention that man right now, please!
She stamped her foot lightly on the floor, tail flicking in irritation, ears pinning back just enough to show her annoyance. This made the man keep his mouth shut and to change topic immediately.
???: well, well well let’s get inside then Matikanefukitaru.
Matikanefukitaru hesitated for just a moment longer, then nodded softly, as if accepting an unseen verdict. Gathering her cloak around her shoulders, she stepped forward and crossed the threshold. The moment she entered, warmth enveloped her. Soft golden lights lined the high ceiling, their glow reflecting off polished floors and elegant wooden pillars of the lobby area, on each wall were dozens to possibly hundreds of pictures of different horse-girls all across multiple decades with their achievements. And through the doors to the outside Matikane could faintly make out multiple other things in the distance like uma statues, uma swimming pools, a few racecourses and so on. This place was on a whole other level and it was just the front entrance.
Matikanefukitaru: Wooooooaaaaahhhhh….
The man cleared his throat, stepping inside after her and closing the door gently behind them and then went infront of her.
???: Well Matikane, Welcome… to the Tracen Stable Station!, or more accurately an umamusume retirement home Since the name we have right now is subject to change but hey we are still learning as time goes by especially since you are the first of your kind to join us.
Matikanefukitaru: Waaaaa the first a-and retirement home-t-that’s what this place is???
???: …. Y-You didn’t hear that this is exactly what this place was?
Matikanefukitaru: Not in my visions no…
???: Right, prophecy and fortune girl, wait if that’s the case then why did your trainer call for us to-
He then stopped himself realizing what he had done, but the shift in the air was a telltale sign that it was a bit too late, Matikanefukitaru’s ears twitched once and her tail went still, her voice dropping into something quiet and dangerous as a dark aura came over her making the glare being worse than before, which made the man sweat bullets and she then said.
Matikanefukitaru: GAh!, Don’t mention him, Don’t mention him,Don’t mention him,Don’t mention him, Oughhhh your making me mad from you mentioning him!
She stomped her foot hard against the polished floor, and the entire building trembled from the force, frames rattling on the walls and dust shaking loose from the ceiling as another stomp followed, stronger than the last. Hoshikusa gulped audibly, convinced that one more strike might bring the entrance hall down around them, and he frantically waved both hands in front of her in surrender.
???: Okay Okay d-don’t hurt me for that, pls uh-uh why don’t i help you settle you into your room hm, you look very tried and exhausted afterall.
Matikanefukitaru, seemingly on que then began to yawn. She was infact tired from having to walk here for the entire day
Matikanefukitaru: I Accept that…But do tell me before i enter my quarters, what sort of place does this aim to be…what will i gain here from my perilous journey..
The Man Paused.
He began to think of what to say..
Then he straightened his tie, exhaled quietly and answered Matikane.
???: Ofcourse, at our facility we aim to help umamusume like you live out the rest of their days after a stressful life or running, working, singing, the lot. Since you guys are much more developed than us normal human beings, sicknesses and injury affects your kind much more which results in them being more fatal overall and unfortunately that usually makes most of your kind feel lost and..scared.. This place offers a sanctuary, a safe haven of sorts for your final days unless of course you find other things to do and leave to start another journey of your own.
Everything became silent.
Matikanefukitaru did not immediately respond.
Her ears, which had stood upright moments ago, lowered slightly. Her tail swayed once… then stilled. The light from the tall windows caught her profile, illuminating the faint lines of age that racing had etched into her over the years.
And then, she smiled, in a relieving sort of way.
Matikanefukitaru: That…Does sound like the type of place that I would like to be at right now…
The man smiled back and patted himself on the back, he was proud of how he explained everything, meanwhile Matikanefukitaru wagged her bushy tail a bit happily.
???: Well, let’s get to your room. Since there are not many employees here today I will personally guide you to your destination.
He gestured down one of the softly lit corridors.
???: Common, let’s g-
Matikanefukitaru: Wait a minute sir
He paused mid-step and turned back to her.
???: hm, yes?
Matikanefukitaru: What is your name, exactly?
For a second, he seemed slightly caught off guard. Then he straightened a little.
???: oh…well, Hoshikusa. You can call me Hoshikusa. Or, if that’s a bit long, Hoshi.
Matikanefukitaru then repeated his name quietly to herself as a faint smile tugged at her lips.
Matikanefukitaru: Well i hope that you will take care of me well, Hoshi.
Hoshikusa smiled and gave her a small Nod
Hoshikusa: I will try my best to do so, no matter what it takes.
And so both began heading straight towards Matikane’s room with the sun setting in the background marking the end of both of their day.