Maria-sama ga Miteru

Chapter 210

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On Monday morning, after changing into her indoor shoes, Yumi took a slight detour and made her way over to the third-years" shoe boxes. She had arrived at school earlier than usual, but only by a little bit. There were other students all around her, but everyone was moving at a leisurely pace so there was no need to worry about b.u.mping into anyone. It wasn"t empty, but it was quiet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Excuse me.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She opened that familiar lid in the third-year pine area. Inside the shoe box, the left and right indoor shoes were neatly arranged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Okay.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her onee-sama had not yet arrived. Whatever had led to her waiting outside Yumi"s cla.s.sroom on Sat.u.r.day didn"t seem to have happened today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi took a piece of paper from her pocket and left it on top of Sachiko-sama"s indoor shoes. When she closed the lid, it caused a slight puff of wind. Concerned, Yumi opened the lid once more and saw that the letter had shifted slightly from its former position. The paper was light, so it didn"t take much wind to affect it. If the lid were opened or closed enthusiastically, then the paper might just fly away to some unknown location.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reconsidering, Yumi put the piece of paper inside the right shoe. This way, there was no need to worry about it being blown away by a slight breeze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(That"s better.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time around, Yumi shut the lid and headed to her cla.s.sroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Gokigenyou, Yumi-san."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi was pounced upon as soon as she entered the hallway. Tapping her on the shoulder from behind was the president of the arts club.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"m glad I ran into you. It"s about the signboard for the "Third-Years" Sendoff." When I got a quote for the paint, they said they probably didn"t have enough in stock. I asked them to put in an urgent order, but it looks like they won"t get any until tomorrow evening, which means we probably won"t be able to get our hands on it until Thursday."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi listened as they walked. She suddenly recalled a scene from about a year ago, with this girl eating bread crusts as she sketched with charcoal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Will you have it done by Friday?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We will. We"ll finish painting on Thursday, so by Friday it should have dried completely and be safe to move."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Roger that."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi gave the thumbs-up. Their schedule had a little bit of slack in it. They seemed to have a realistic outlook, so it would probably be okay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They parted ways at the arts club"s president"s cla.s.sroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"As an apology for being late, we"ll bring it around to the Rose Mansion ourselves."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The voice called out to Yumi as she was disappearing down the corridor, and she stopped and turned around. She brought her empty right-hand up to the side of her cheek to amplify her voice and called out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Thanks, that"ll be really helpful."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It looked like today was going to be another busy day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunchtime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While waiting behind the Rose Mansion, Yumi saw Sachiko-sama walking through the courtyard and waved at her, saying, "Over here."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Gokigenyou, Yumi. By the way, what is it that"s "over here?""

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What"s over here? In this case, the subject of the sentence was "I" so Yumi had shortened the sentence "I"m over here" to "Over here."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Umm, onee-sama. Didn"t you come here to meet me &h.e.l.lip;?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

( - That response would seem to indicate a "no" then.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If she had come here to see Yumi, then she certainly wouldn"t have asked the question about what was over here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You didn"t read my letter?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had suspected that she would be busy today, so she"d left the letter so there was no chance of them missing each other. It would have been better to visit Sachiko-sama in her third-year cla.s.sroom during one of their breaks between cla.s.ses, but people were always asking her questions about the third-years" send-off while she was in her cla.s.sroom or walking down the corridors, so she didn"t have any time to do her own errands during those breaks. So, as rude as it may have been, she left a note for her onee-sama asking to meet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Letter?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shaking her head. So then it was just a coincidence that Sachiko-sama happened to be walking past here? Then you"d have to say it was lucky. But was that really the case? It just seemed too good to be true.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A letter from you, Yumi? Where did you put it?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"In the shoe racks &h.e.l.lip; in your locker &h.e.l.lip; inside your indoor shoes."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Inside my indoor shoes? Oh, I wonder how I didn"t notice it. Perhaps it"s still inside my shoe."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, I don"t really think that"s likely."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even thought it had been a light piece of paper, Yumi had folded it in four. At that level of thickness it would definitely have been noticeable when wearing the shoes, and would probably have made a rustling sound as well. Despite this, Sachiko-sama placed one hand on the wall, lifted her left foot and slid her index finger into the back of her left shoe, taking it off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A folded piece of paper fell out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, watching this chain of events unfold, Yumi knew something was up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Onee-sama. I put the letter in your right shoe."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi ventured timidly. Even if Sachiko-sama hadn"t noticed when she put her shoes on, why would it have changed placed?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama grinned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What a relief. It looks like you"ve still got some of your wits about you."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey-."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It appeared that Sachiko-sama was just testing her, for some reason. Well, at least it looked as though Yumi got the right answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What do you mean? My brain"s still working fine, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I said you still had some of your wits about you."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama held out the letter, urging Yumi to read it. Opening the paper that still retained the warmth from Sachiko-sama"s heel, Yumi saw the request for a meeting written in her fairly ordinary looking handwriting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Which part do you think is strange?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Have a closer look."

 

Onee-sama, During the lunch break, I"ll be waiting for you behind the Rice Mansion. Yumi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama pointed to a spot on the paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She"d written the "Rice Mansion," instead of the "Rose Mansion." A building made out of rice? In that case, it was only natural that her onee-sama would think she was going senile.[1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Were you feeling tired?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi briskly shook her head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What probably happened was, I started thinking about what was in my lunchbox after I wrote "lunch.""

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn"t an explanation she was particularly proud of, but Yumi didn"t want to let that misunderstanding continue. She"d written the letter first thing this morning, and was still yet to do any homework or Yamayurikai work today. So, if she had been tired, it wasn"t because of either of those things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Then that"s fine. You don"t want to push yourself too hard."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Okay."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her onee-sama turned to her and gave her the kind of look you would use when admonishing a baby, at which point Yumi finally turned an embarra.s.sed red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What are you smiling about, Yumi?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was no way that Yumi could say she was overjoyed that her onee-sama was concerned about her, so she turned away. There was some work she really had to do today, so that it didn"t become a huge problem in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as Yumi was about to leave her and enter the Rose Mansion, Sachiko-sama called out, "Wait."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You"re still not thinking straight. Didn"t you call me out here so that you could give me an answer to my question from Sat.u.r.day?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah. That"s right."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it wasn"t a matter of being tired, or overexerting herself - Yumi was just naturally absentminded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The answer is "okay.""

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi stopped, turned around, and used her arms to form a circle over her head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Thank-you for your efforts."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In return, her onee-sama made a small circle using her thumb and index finger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That small circle was enough to fill a pet.i.t soeur full of energy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a guest waiting for Yumi in the Rose (not Rice) Mansion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Gokigenyou, Yumi-san."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her exams were over and Tsukiyama Minako-sama was coming back to life, like an animal waking from its winter hibernation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Go - gokigenyou."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi studied Touko"s face to try and determine what was going on as she took a seat beside her. Their guest was still standing, but that wasn"t a problem. Noriko-chan, Yoshino-san and Shimako-san were all in the room. It was inconceivable that no-one had offered her a chair already, so Minako-sama was probably standing because she wanted to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What"s the matter?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touko was silently working on something, so Yumi asked Shimako-san who was closest to her on the other side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That"s &h.e.l.lip;"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mindful of Minako-sama"s presence, Shimako-san spoke softly. To summarize, Minako-sama had come to the Rose Mansion because she had a job for Touko and was waiting for Touko to finish because she wanted it as soon as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"And then."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san half-rose from her seat and whispered in Yumi"s ear, being mindful of Touko.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Touko-chan said she shouldn"t just suddenly ask for this, and they had a bit of a quarrel. But in the end &h.e.l.lip;"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently Minako-sama had used her position as a senior to twist Touko"s arm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi peered at Touko"s hands to try and determine what kind of work she was doing. Then, without staying her hand, Touko said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"m proofreading for the Lillian Kawaraban."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week"s edition was the special feature on the dates that the Valentine"s Day event winners had with the next Roses. Touko was checking over the report that she had submitted and making corrections on the test print with a red pen. Yumi had done a similar thing last week, however unlike the extra edition that contained hardly any writing, it looked like this was taking somewhat longer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey, what are you going to do?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san inquired, from the seat opposite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"There"s not a lot I can do."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Yumi had been here while they were having their dispute then perhaps she could have done more, but now that Touko had already started working it was a bit late for her to be b.u.t.ting in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi opened her lunch-box and started to eat. Noriko-chan poured her a cup of tea and brought it over. Minako-sama was also offered tea, but she declined, saying she wasn"t going to be staying long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ordinarily, all visitors to the Rose Mansion were offered tea, however they had decided to suspend that practice for this week as they expected there would be a large number of students coming and going. But they would still make the offer if they themselves were drinking tea, and if requested would of course serve their guests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as Yumi was finishing her lunch, Touko stood up beside her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Here. It"s done."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touko walked over to where Minako-sama was standing and gave her the Lillian Kawaraban test print. Always the actress. Her face didn"t show what was in her heart. Knowing that she was really sulking just made it all the more frightening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi closed her lunch-box and stood up. Ready to support Touko, just in case. Yumi felt that, as Touko"s grande soeur, she couldn"t let this go unacknowledged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"m so sorry to have made you wait."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Not at all, I apologize for rushing you."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touko then said, "Excuse me," and walked away, leaving Yumi standing there. Touko then started heartily biting into her half-eaten rice b.a.l.l.s, although it was unclear whether she was trying to insinuate something or just hungry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Still, for a third-year to come all the way out here, Minako-sama &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It would be reading too much into this statement to interpret it as sarcasm, as in, "Have your juniors turned you into their errand girl?" Unfortunately, Yumi didn"t have that sort of skill on tap, so the only meaning was what the words themselves contained. Yumi had thought that Minako-sama"s involvement in last week"s extra edition was some kind of exception, but perhaps she was still fully partic.i.p.ating in all newspaper club activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"My juniors are all busy, so I volunteered to help. Or, should I say, I talked them in to letting me do this."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it appears that this Tsukiyama Minako-sama isn"t sensitive to such barbs, for she took it as stated and provided a normal answer. Peace and tranquility. Yoshino-san and Noriko-chan had both p.r.i.c.ked their ears up, their hearts racing, but, of course, they went unnoticed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I want to be part of the Lillian Kawaraban, in whatever way I can."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minako-sama spoke those words with pride, and there was something to admire about her unfaltering dedication to the school newspaper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having no reason to stay now that she had received the corrections to the test print, Minako-sama farewelled everyone with a, "Sorry for bothering you," and walked towards the exit. Thinking she should see her off, Yumi followed Minako-sama, but was stopped at the doorway by Minako-sama saying, "Here will be fine."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Anyway, hey, did you hear?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minako-sama said, with her hand still on the doork.n.o.b, as though she had just remembered something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Sachiko-san"s completely stopped her eccentric behavior."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Eccentric..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is that really the kind of word you"d use to describe someone who doesn"t usually cram for exams working through a book of problems?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So, what was it all about?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minako-sama leaned up against her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I told you, I don"t know."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi herself had never actually seen Sachiko-sama while she was apparently cramming for an exam. So, now that she heard that Sachiko-sama had suddenly stopped, it made her doubt the validity of the earlier rumors entirely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"At any rate, it doesn"t concern me."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi bundled Minako-sama out the door, sending her off with, "That"s enough for today." Though she heard Minako-sama say, "Can"t you do something about it?" Yumi kept pulling on the door k.n.o.b so that Minako-sama couldn"t open it, and eventually she heard the sounds of someone descending the stairs. Perhaps she had remembered that she didn"t have any time to waste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touko watched carefully as Yumi returned to her seat, relieved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Rosa Chinensis" eccentricities, do they have anything to do with Suguru onii-sama?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was a curious question to ask.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Why would you mention Kashiwagi-san?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seemed quite a leap. After all, Minako-sama had said "Sachiko-san" but she hadn"t mentioned "Kashiwagi-san" at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It might be unrelated, but I heard that, recently, Suguru onii-sama has been going over to the Ogasawara house every day."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Every day? I wonder what for."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still, that"s what you"d expect from a blood relative. Touko heard conversations that Yumi wasn"t even aware of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I don"t know. But perhaps he has some business with Sachiko-sama"s father or grandfather that requires a daily visit."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, who knows."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still, there was a chance that he was going there to see Sachiko-sama. Well, it felt like that was actually the most likely possibility.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama had said she had things to attend to, and then went home early every day. Yumi hadn"t even imagined that it was because she had an appointment with Kashiwagi-san.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hmmmm."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi didn"t know the answer. If Touko, who just gave this report, didn"t know, then Yumi didn"t know either. And if Yumi didn"t know, then chances are no-one else here knew either. All they could do was look at each other and think about it, although that felt like a waste of time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Excuse me. I"m from the story-telling club - "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"m from the candy-making club - "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had to deal with a steady stream of visitors like these, and didn"t have any spare time to dwell on the matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the exhibition s.p.a.ce, including the auditorium entrance, the lobby and the path leading there, had been divided into areas for each of the groups partic.i.p.ating, and all group representatives had been notified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The program of events had also been decided, taking into account the genres, running time and sets used in the performances, and the representatives of groups taking part had likewise been notified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even so, some groups had come forth because they found a flaw in the arrangements or were otherwise dissatisfied with them, so you couldn"t yet call it a success. These groups had been given a one day extension, until Wednesday, during which their objections would be heard and, potentially, acted upon. It was the sort of job that required a lot of nerve and sensitivity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I was told that the photography club and the flower arranging club wanted to trade places."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san said. It sounded like the two club presidents had come to the Rose Mansion straight after school had finished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"If they both agree to it, it should be fine. Did they give a reason why?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi asked, putting her bag down. She was a bit late because three girls had called out to her on the way here, and she"d had four conversations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Apparently there"s an air-conditioning vent here."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san said, tapping on a specific part of their rough sketch of the auditorium. Yumi and Yoshino-san gathered around to have a look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"They didn"t think it would make that much of a difference to their display, but since they have an arrangement of live flowers, they"d prefer to avoid that location. The photography club was fine with it because it gave them a little bit more s.p.a.ce."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting. They had discussed proximity to fresh water when deciding where to put the flower club, but hadn"t even considered the air-conditioning vents. Quickly, they changed the group names in their draft pamphlet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The judo club asked what they were supposed to do about tatami mats for the stage."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It looked like Yoshino-san had picked up some extra work on her way over here as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I wonder what they did last year. Did they bring them from the martial arts building?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I think they might have used ones from the cellar storehouse due to carrying problems"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san muttered, looking through the notes from last year. After all, if they took the mats from the martial arts building to the auditorium, then the judo club wouldn"t be able to practice. So by not using the tatami mats from the martial arts building, they could get them earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The tatami mats from the cellar warehouse, huh? Then they"ll have to get permission to take them. Umm, I"m sure there"s a form for that somewhere around here."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh, didn"t the Koto music club get permission to use those."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi raised her finger, remembering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I see. In that case, let"s suggest that the two groups work together. There"s only one stage, so there"s no need for both groups to prepare it. And with more people involved, there"s less for each person to carry."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After listening to the three second-years speak, Touko raised her hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"ll go and tell them."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Right now?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Noriko-chan spoke, before Touko had a chance to answer the question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"ll go with her. Then on the way back, we can call the flower shop to confirm the order. Oh, and we can stop by the art club while we"ve got the chance, to see if their paint has arrived."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pair made a break for the door without waiting for a response, so Yumi had to hastily call them to a stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Wait."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their juniors were attentive to all kinds of small details, and completely trustworthy. Still, the way they were trying their hardest at everything reminded Yumi of how she had been last year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I know you"re worried about the signboard, but I think we can trust the arts club with that."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san nodded in agreement, before adding:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"As for the tatami mats, I"m attending a meeting with the sports clubs tomorrow, so I"ll ask the judo club"s president then. And Shimako-san"s in the same cla.s.s as the Koto music club"s president, so she can ask her. Is that okay?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yes, of course."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The goal was to utilize everyone intelligently. If there"s someone appropriate for the task, then it"s better to ask them directly. The key phrase was, "Don"t overdo it."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So you see, all we"d like you two to do is call the florist."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Okay."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They seemed a tad dissatisfied, but they were smart so they quickly accepted what was happening and left. While watching through the window as the two first-years departed, Yumi mumbled:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Last year my onee-sama said things like, "You girls are such a great help." I share her sentiments but I don"t want a repeat of last year."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Indeed."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san agreed, while Yoshino-san had a grim look on her face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"m sorry. Your two pet.i.t soeurs are forced to do the work of my pet.i.t soeur."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arima Nana-chan, Yoshino-san"s favorite amongst the younger girls, was in her third year of middle school. No matter how much Yoshino-san wanted to make Nana-chan her pet.i.t soeur, it wouldn"t happen until April.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh yeah, is Nana-chan coming to the farewell party?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"She won"t be coming. I didn"t ask her."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, why not? You invited her to the Christmas party."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under attack from her two close friends, Yoshino-san scratched her head, annoyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Back then, I figured it would be okay because Tsutako-san was invited to the party. And so was Touko-chan, even though she wasn"t your pet.i.t soeur then, and Kanako-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the Roses farewell party was just for soeurs. And since Nana-chan was not yet her soeur, Yoshino-san had decided that it would be inappropriate for her to partic.i.p.ate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Plus, the farewell party"s all about the third-years."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san seemed to have mixed feelings about that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lillian Kawaraban"s "Valentines Day Date" special edition was published.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were quite busy, as usual, but the time spent reading the articles was like a dose of refreshing tonic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trio all had their dates with the treasure hunt winners on the same day. They had each been intentionally vague about what they did on their dates, so reading through the articles was something of a revelation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The newspaper club"s Mami-san and her pet.i.t soeur made an appearance in Yoshino-san and Tanuma Chisato-san"s report, while Igawa Ami-san and Shimako-san"s report included appearances from Ami-san"s cla.s.smates and the photography club"s Tsutako-san and Shouko-chan. Both reports conveyed a sense of liveliness and fun. In contrast, when they read Touko"s report, Yoshino-san and Shimako-san expressed amazement at how far they were able to go using the allocated funds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had an enjoyable chat about the Lillian Kawaraban and blew away their fatigue. Then they were able to move on to their next task with a new found energy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After school, Yoshino-san went to the sports club meeting and took a few new tasks home with her as souvenirs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They found a typo in the printed programs, and spent their lunch time affixing corrective stickers over the top of it. They had all reviewed the program prior to printing, but the typo still managed to slip in, so perhaps they were getting a little bit worn-out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had expected this task to drag on, but they sang as they worked and it took surprisingly little time to correct.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After school, Yoshino-san and Yumi went to the flower arranging club to borrow a vase for the roses. Noriko-chan volunteered because it was manual labor, but it was easier for Yumi and Yoshino-san to do it, as they had learned the trick to carrying the vase last year. Anyway, the vase was big, like a brazier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touko was absent, having her final dress rehearsal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even so, their work proceeded smoothly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The arts club delivered the signboard during the lunch break, just as they had promised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year"s sign had been written as though advertising a sumo wrestling tournament, while this year"s was written as though it were for a Kabuki play. Looking at it, you expected to see the names of some famous actors like Nakamura, Bandou or Ichikawa written on the sign.[2]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"At first glance, it looks black, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The president of the arts club said, pointing at the lettering. The two club members who had carried the signboard to the Rose Mansion had left it outside, to catch the sun"s rays.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi, who had come outside to receive the signboard, said, "Yep," and nodded her head in agreement, since it certainly looked black to her. Then she was asked once more:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Even when you look closely, it looks black, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It"s not?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touko and Noriko-chan had accompanied Yumi outside and they both shook their head, unable to see anything other than black writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I thought you"d say that. Ta-dah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The arts club president held up a piece of black imitation vellum. It was about the size of a paperback. She then brought the vellum close to where "Graduating students farewell party" was written -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ooooh."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn"t that strange. When viewed alongside something that was genuinely black, it was immediately obvious that the lettering was slightly different. It was a very dark purplish blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It takes someone with a great color sense to come up with such a nice result."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The arts club president responded to this compliment by fishing for compliments by good-naturedly saying, "Praise me more."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Very stylish."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"One more."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Wait, best in all j.a.pan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Okaaay, take it, you thieves."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, there was a smattering of applause from the three girls from the Rose Mansion and the three girls from the arts club, and the handover was completed. The president of the arts club was as funny a person as ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


In the evening, Noriko-chan and Touko went to the main gates to receive the delivery of 200 roses from the florist. But when they returned, they weren"t just carrying flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What"s this?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi asked Noriko-chan, after spotting the plastic bag with a pharmacy"s logo on it that contained a number of small, thin boxes. Touko was currently busy placing the flowers into water-filled buckets. The flowers were red, white, yellow and salmon pink. Fifty flowers each of the four different colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It"s a present from a kind Santa."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan said, as though reciting from a textbook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"- is what I was told to say."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the so-called kind Santa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still, this Santa seemed quite eccentric. Randomly appearing in the middle of March and giving an inappropriate gift to girls carrying flowers. And since Santa normally was kind anyway, he wouldn"t refer to himself as a "kind Santa."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It was Sei-sama, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That gave them these gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Correct. It was pretty easy to figure out."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accepting the plastic bag from Noriko-chan, Yumi took the small, gold boxes out of the plastic bag and lined them up on the table. They were, unmistakeably, energy drinks. Ten of them, in all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now"s not the time to be feeling tired. Yumi could just picture Sei-sama saying that to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What"s this, Sei-sama gave us a supply of energy drinks?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I haven"t seen these ones before."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san and Shimako-san took a break from their work and came over to have a look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In general, high school students didn"t have much contact with energy drinks. A quick survey showed that only Yumi and Noriko-chan had tried them before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It looks like it has alcohol in it, so I wonder if it"s okay for us to drink."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san murmured, reading the list of ingredients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But, see, it says here "suitable for people 15 years and over.""

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"All those over the age of 15 - "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san called out, and everyone responded by saying "Here" and raising their hand. All present were apparently qualified to drink these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still, no-one reached out for a drink. The hesitation arose because taking one would mean admitting that you were tired.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the middle of that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I shall drink one of these."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jumping in at the deep end, Shimako-san opened one of the boxes with a determined look on her face. Even though it seemed like a fairly trivial matter, it probably still required a certain amount of determination to taste some (completely unknown) new drink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, inside the box there was a tray that protected the bottle, and the bottle came with a straw already attached to the mouth, but wrapped in plastic. Since Shimako-san hadn"t encountered anything like this before, she wasn"t going about opening the bottle in a particularly efficient manner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Here, onee-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan handed a completed bottle to Shimako-san, who was still fighting hard. Then she took Shimako-san"s bottle and finished opening it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"This is a gift from onee-sama"s onee-sama, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yes."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san nodded. She must have wanted to receive Sei-sama"s feelings. Through her stomach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh well. I"m not really all that tired &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san opened a box as well. Followed by Yumi and Touko.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san and Noriko-chan waited for them, so they all said, "Cheers," and clinked their bottles together before drinking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was an antic.i.p.atory celebration. Of all they had done. And of what was to come tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling slightly flushed and tingly, the five girls walked abreast along the path lined with ginkgo trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You know, my father drinks this sort of thing and says that it relaxes him. I wonder what the real story is."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san muttered, taking one of the empty cans out of the shopping bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"He keeps drinking them, even though they don"t have any effect?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surely he wouldn"t go out of his way to buy them if he thought they were having no effect whatsoever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But if you kept drinking this kind of thing, your body would get used to it and it wouldn"t have as much effect, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After hearing Touko"s theory, Noriko-chan jumped on board too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"And then you have to find something stronger - that kind of thing?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Yamayurikai members had considered it improper to leave the empties from their energy drink party lying around, so had gathered them up to take home and dispose of. Yoshino-san had been asked to take them home, as she lived the closest to school.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The five untouched boxes had been left in the Rose Mansion with a label that read, "Refreshments from Satou Sei-sama." The use-by-date printed on the boxes was November of the following year, so there was bound to be another time when they all were busy and feeling tired before then. Like, for example, the school festival, or next year"s "third-years" send-off."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It tasted like the cough-syrup I used to have as a child."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san smiled, reminiscing. Yumi remembered the cough-syrup as bitter medicine, so was surprised at how easily Shimako-san seemed to have drunk it.

 

 

 

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