[How about you reconsider?]
Even after Mizuno made his refusal clear, Maruzensky wouldn't give up, continuing to send notes under the door:
[It's dangerous for you to stay home alone! Without surveillance, it's impossible to guarantee your safety!]
[Maybe your drinking water has already been drugged by some dangerous Umamusume without your knowledge. The moment you drink it, you'll lose consciousness—and then, in a daze, you'll be squeezed dry by a group of delinquent gyaru Umamusume taking turns!]
[Or maybe when you bathe at night, a completely naked Umamusume suddenly pops out of the bathtub, pins you to the wet bathroom wall, runs her body-wash-covered hands all over you, and listens to your helpless wails echoing under the shower spray…!]
[Or maybe you're changing clothes, halfway through pulling off your sweater, when a Umamusume grabs your hands from behind, yanks down your pants—and because your vision is blocked, you can't even see who's attacking you. You can only endure silently, unable to protest…!]
[And also, and also…]
Maruzensky seemed to grow increasingly excited as she wrote. Even her previously elegant handwriting gradually became wild and chaotic. The pace of notes being slipped under the door accelerated—from one every few seconds to five per second, like a broken ATM rapidly spitting out cash.
Watching the endless stream of notes pouring under the door, Mizuno stepped back a bit, somewhat afraid.
Was the thing outside really Maruzensky—and not some strange, creepy entity?
And these scenarios she wrote—why did they sound like plots straight out of sleazy island adult films?
Except now, Mizuno himself was cast as the "heroine," and the perverted creeps assaulting her were replaced by Umamusume…
Still, given Mizuno's absurd Uma Mint constitution, if an Umamusume with weak self-control caught his scent, something similar to what Maruzensky described could genuinely occur.
Maruzensky wasn't entirely wrong—Mizuno really did need someone powerful to protect him.
Yet compared to these imaginary delinquent Umamusume, Mizuno thought the one who could invent so many methods of attacking him was clearly Maruzensky herself.
After all, she'd personally seen his Uma Mint. Who knew if these little "Uma Pyoi" stories were actually things she'd long wanted to try on Mizuno herself?
If he looked carefully, he'd even spot traces of drool on some of the notes.
Mizuno could almost picture it: Maruzensky hiding under her cardboard box, imagining Mizuno with Umamusume, drooling shamelessly as she scribbled like a pervert.
[And also, and also—when you're sleeping at night, you suddenly feel unbearably hot and suffocated, and when you open your eyes, you find dozens of Umamusume plastered against you from every angle…!]
Seeing Maruzensky become increasingly carried away—and the scenarios more and more bizarre—Mizuno sharply inhaled, trembling slightly.
"Wah! Stop writing already!" Mizuno hurriedly knocked on the door, trying to stop her, worried she'd keep going until the scenarios turned into "dragging someone into the Monarch's Basement for torture."
Because these stories all starred Mizuno himself. Some even matched his past experiences—like "losing bodily control after drinking something drugged" or "waking up with his limbs being hugged by several Umamusume"… He'd been through both.
Mizuno was terrified that his future could turn as dark as the protagonists in her stories.
Maruzensky, absorbed in her various imagined "Uma Pyoi" scenarios, jolted awake when she heard Mizuno's voice through the door. Immediately, she stopped sliding notes under.
She froze, thought briefly, and finally realized how terribly she'd just behaved.
Blocking someone's door, rudely demanding to install a camera inside their home, then threatening them with countless reasons why refusing would lead to being "ruined" by the opposite sex…
No matter how you looked at it, only a desperate, perverted stalker would do something like this!
"Ng…" Maruzensky hurriedly pulled her hands—now covered with red bite marks—back inside the box. Embarrassed beyond words, she covered her burning face, making muffled "eeehh-ooohh" sounds like someone buried beneath blankets.
This shameful outburst wasn't what she intended. If she had her way, Maruzensky would've preferred a calm conversation.
But the moment she thought of how Mizuno—the one who'd appeared before the Three Goddess statue—was now just one door away, her emotions spiraled out of control, and she couldn't stop picturing all kinds of physical "collisions" with him.
"Mm…" Maruzensky wiped the drool at the corner of her mouth, shook her head vigorously to clear those inappropriate fantasies, then—as usual—bit down hard on the back of her hand to calm herself down.
After a long while, she finally sent another note under the door:
[Sorry.]
She didn't say it aloud but wrote it down instead. As an apology for bombarding someone's door with harassment notes, it felt a bit… too simple.
But Mizuno clearly felt the sincerity in the neat, earnest handwriting. It wasn't that she didn't want to apologize face-to-face—she simply lacked the courage to express her feelings openly.
…It felt so familiar.
Mizuno stared at the note in his hand, his expression complicated.
Maruzensky's current behavior reminded him strongly of how Rice Shower had acted when they first started interacting…
Because when Rice Shower first joined Mizuno's team, she'd been equally timid.
Through text, she could communicate normally.
But face-to-face, once she heard someone else's voice, she'd instantly clam up, too nervous to speak or move freely, terrified she'd say or do something wrong and upset them.
She even blamed herself whenever others seemed unhappy, becoming even more withdrawn…
Fortunately, after joining Mizuno's team and making friends, Rice Shower gradually overcame her anxiety around people.
Now she could talk comfortably—without blushing—and share her opinions openly with her teammates. Even when interacting with strangers, she could communicate somewhat normally. In Mizuno's eyes, she'd grown from "kindergarten Rice" into "elementary-school Rice," genuinely relieving him.
The only problem was… Rice Shower's attitude toward him had also evolved. At first, sitting on the same bench made her blush uncontrollably—but recently, she'd become so comfortable that sitting directly on his lap didn't seem unusual to her…
Sure, for someone playing the older brother role, it was a delightful reward, but Mizuno couldn't help feeling slightly strange. Was this really how siblings behaved?
Like last night—when she'd even made that sort of request…
"Rice Shower's request… what was it again?" Mizuno's gaze went vacant, his face blank.
As soon as he tried recalling it, his memory seemed to short-circuit. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember clearly what had happened last night.
"Whatever." Mizuno shook his head, deciding not to dwell on last night's events anymore.
Probably nothing important anyway. Dealing with Maruzensky's current situation was more pressing.
Snapping back to reality, Mizuno looked at Maruzensky's apologetic note, deep in thought.
He never thought he'd once again experience the tender, pitiable feeling Rice Shower initially gave him—that feeling of "wanting to get close but lacking courage, only daring to gently tug at his sleeve". Yet now, through Maruzensky, that old feeling had resurfaced.
"Rice Shower, huh…" Mizuno blinked, and an unexpected thought arose in his mind.
Maybe… he could treat Maruzensky, who now resembled Rice Shower in temperament, just as he had treated his little sister, and perhaps help her come back to life again?