AN: Here's the next installation. It takes a little side trip from Alec and Jenza, but it gets the story moving a bit. Thank you all for reviewing. I'm sorry that more isn't coming out quicker, but my muse deserted me and I just can't get into the writing mood. Please R&R and enjoy the story. Oh, and some Japanese translations: kuso is shit, hai is yes, gomennasai is I'm sorry, Star wa genki desuka is Is Star feeling healthy, and Sayonara is goodbye.
Pulling the stray strands of hay out of her black hair, Sam walked down the barn aisle. The reception party for the Olympic jockeys was in an hour and she still needed to take a shower. She just wanted to check on Star before she left for the night. She turned the corner leading to Japan's section of the stable. She passed Samurai's stall and peaked in. The chestnut stallion had welts on his back. "That bastard!" Sam thought aloud. She opened the stall door to check on the wounds, when she heard a moaning from down the aisle. She quickly closed the door and ran to Star's stall.
Star was pacing around her stall. She groaned as she stopped and nipped at her belly. Then, she curled her legs under her body and rolled onto the ground. "Kuso! She's colicking!" Sam threw the door open and held Star's head to prevent her from rolling. She pushed Star to make her stand. Once Star was standing, Sam grabbed the halter and lead shank from outside the stall and threw them on Star's head. She dragged Star out of the stall and forced her to keep walking. She stopped by each office and looked in. Finally, she found one with a person in it.
"Call the vet!" she barked in Japanese. "Star is colicking!"
"Hai!" responded the attendant as she picked up the phone and dialed.
Thinking how could this have happened, Sam walked Star around the driveway until the veterinarian arrived. She told her story to the vet and handed Star over to the assistant. Sam then stalked back to Star's stall. She looked around the stall. Nothing was out of the ordinary. She sighed. Then she caught a whiff of something horrid. Sniffing, she walked around the stall until she got to the hay. She bent down to examine it. The hay was slimy and rotten all the way through. This wasn't right. She had given Star her hay and it was perfectly fresh.
"Gomennasai, Ott-san. Star wa genki desuka? Did yo horse get sick on bad hay?"
She whipped around and saw Yamaguchi leaning in the doorway.
"You sonovabitch! You poisoned my horse!" Sam lounged at him and punched his cheek.
"How dare you accuse me of give moldy hay to horse. It not right." He sneered at her, while rubbing his cheek. "If I were you, I learn matters."
"Don't you play dumb with me! I know you did it and I'll get you for this!"
"Just try and prove it, Ott-san. Sayonara." Yamaguchi bowed, then turned and strode down the aisle way. Sam sank down to the stall floor and started to cry. No horse, no glory.
