Maria-sama ga Miteru

Chapter 52

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[]

"Ah."

With that.

Sachiko-sama (Rosa Chinensis en bouton), Rei-sama (Rosa Foetida en bouton) and Shimako-san (Rosa Gigantea en bouton), all stood up simultaneously.

After a morning spent rehearsing for the graduation ceremony, the two afternoon cla.s.ses had been effortlessly dispatched and lessons were concluded for the day. As always, the regular group of five scholars had gathered in the Rose Mansion. Before beginning their daily tasks, there was a brief period of peace and tranquility spent enjoying fragrant tea &h.e.l.lip; as you can see, I, f.u.kuzawa Yumi, am still feeling the effects of my sixth-period cla.s.sical literature cla.s.s.

Setting that aside for now.

"Yumi, what did you just say?"

Naturally, the one asking the question was my onee-sama, Sachiko-sama.

"Umm &h.e.l.lip; "

Oh dear. I quickly tried to determine how I"d failed my onee-sama this time. I"ve become accustomed to being the soeur of my beloved Sachiko-sama, but the word "unworthy" has been hovering over my head for six months now. Just hearing my onee-sama say, "Yumi," in a slightly harsh tone was enough to remind me of the many times I"ve failed her in the past.

"Was it, "The way things are, it doesn"t really feel like a graduation ceremony?""

Strange. Even repeating the words I"d spoken immediately before they all stood up, I couldn"t see what was wrong with them.

"A bit before that."

"Then, "The third-years are lucky, they don"t have end of semester exams?""

"Not that far back. Come on, get it together. Before we forget what it was."

Even if Sachiko-sama said that, when I was speaking earlier it had been more like I was talking to myself than anything else. It"d be even more strange if I remembered each and every word I"d said. But even if I couldn"t remember it by myself, it was wrong of her to get mad at her pet.i.t soeur for that too.

Still, hearing my onee-sama selfishly lash out had felt good, so it looks like I"ve been reduced to the status of deviant.

I guess that"s the result of being molded by Rosa Gigantea.

Still, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama was growing more and more irritated as she waited intently for an answer, and that would lead to even harsher words.

"Yumi, why are you daydreaming!?"

"I, I"m sorry."

I yelped and dropped my head, like a dog covering its ears. No matter how much I loved her, Sachiko-sama"s thunder was terrifying.

"Hey, Yumi-chan, weren"t you saying something about the Roses?"

This year"s Rosa Foetida en bouton, as well as Mister Lillian - although rumor had it that t.i.tle was going to be retired and awarded to her in perpetuity - that is to say, Hasekura Rei-sama, interjected with a question. She"d probably thought it was a silly soeur fight and didn"t want to watch.

"Ah, the going away party for the Roses?"

I said, remembering. And then:

"Right, that."

"Exactly."

"Ah, what should we do?"

The red, yellow and white boutons said in turn. Why? I had no idea.

"What should we do about what?"

Yoshino-san asked, looking at Shimako-san standing bolt upright.

"We forgot all about it."

"Again, forgot what?"

"The going away party for the Roses?"

I asked without thinking. Based on the way the conversation had been going, that was the only possible answer.

"Exactly. Just like Shimako-san said. What should we do?"

The usually resplendent Sachiko-sama had turned oddly pale. The only other time I"ve seen her this shaken was in the jeans shop.

"Ah - I thought we"d forgotten something. So that"s what it was."

Rei-sama took things in at her own pace. Her composure was probably due to the discipline instilled in her by her martial arts training. Then again, if Yoshino-san"s stories about the "occasional gigantic fool Rei-chan" were to be believed, perhaps it was simply a matter of situational familiarity.

"The going away party for the Roses?"

I said. Sachiko-sama looked flabbergasted, responding with, "You know, that"s all you"ve been saying for a while now, Yumi."

"Haa."

"Well, it"s fine. Thanks to your solo prattling, we were saved from making a careless blunder."

"Umm, okay. But I don"t really understand what you"re talking about."

My mind was sloshing around in confusion. I heard those feelgood phrase like, "Thanks to you," and "we were saved," but it was honestly a bit sad that I didn"t know the actual feat I"d accomplished.

Indeed, I had said, "The going away party for the Roses." The rehearsal for the graduation ceremony had gone smoothly, and there was the third-years" farewell party coming up, which was bound to be a lot more exciting, so I"d been thinking about how the actual graduation ceremony would be when I opened my mouth.

"Don"t make me say it again. We completely forgot our onee-samas" farewell party."

The three boutons all had the same distraught expressions as Sachiko-sama flatly muttered this.

"Ah, but. So then."

I looked to Yoshino-san for support. I thought she was in the same boat as me, but at some point she"d made it to the opposite sh.o.r.e. In other words, she"d crossed over to the "People who understand the situation" faction.

"&h.e.l.lip; I see, a farewell party for the Roses &h.e.l.lip; so when you were talking about "third-years" you meant graduating students."

Yoshino-san nodded to herself. Hey, share some of that info with me, will you.

"The Roses are going to graduate, aren"t they?"

Reluctantly, I fished for a clue. Then Yoshino-san raised her index finger and said, "There"s a subtle difference."

"The Roses are indeed going to graduate, but you can"t say that "graduating students" equals "the Roses.""

So, what? Was this some kind of math party? - this question flew around my head as I thought.

"Ah, oh!"

I"d finally figured out what to say.

"The bouton organized "Third-years" Farewell Party" is for all the graduating students!? I thought - "

I thought it was just going to be a relatively small and intimate farewell party held in the Rose Mansion. Based on her earlier response, Yoshino-san had definitely had the same misunderstanding.

"We"ve been saying that all along."

Sachiko-sama sighed.

"Hold on, we may not have actually said that. Since we all knew what it meant, we may not have explained it fully. But Yoshino and Yumi-san are first-years, so they won"t know what happened last year."

Rei-sama rested her chin on her fist, in the cla.s.sic "Thinker" pose. The way she looked, she was without peer. While I may not be Takeshima Tsutako-san, photography club ace, if I"d had a camera with me I definitely would have clicked the shutter.

"At the very least, I didn"t mention anything to Yumi-san or Yoshino-san &h.e.l.lip; so I suppose it is true."

Shimako-san and Rei-sama were in agreement. Hearing that, Sachiko-sama had no choice but to say, "Perhaps so," and back down.

"The three of us have been under such pressure to ensure the grand task was a success that we lost sight of something dear to us. It"s a mistake unbecoming of a bouton."

Just like that, Sachiko-sama became dispirited, so Rei-sama patted her on the shoulder.

"We should have taken precautions to prevent this."

So, for the time being, the three boutons resumed their seats.

Basically, it went like this:

For the last week, the boutons had been frantically preparing for the "Third-years" Farewell Party." This occupied so much of their thoughts that they"d completely forgotten the private farewell party. And their pet.i.t soeurs, who were supposed to cover for them in these situations, had stupidly been under the impression that the farewell party their onee-samas were preparing was actually for the Roses. Even though it was actually a ma.s.sive event for the entire school.

"Cla.s.ses wouldn"t be canceled just for a private farewell party."

Sachiko-sama tapped the small blackboard hanging beside the sink as she spoke. Indeed, it had, "Farewell Party, Sat.u.r.day, Starts at 9," written on it, but the loop of the 9 was very faint so it looked like 1. The boutons knew it was happening during cla.s.s time, so they saw it was 9, but Yoshino-san and I read it as 1, since we thought it was taking place in the afternoon. So it hadn"t looked suspicious to anyone, despite both groups thinking different things.

Thinking about it now, if it was just a private farewell party, the bouton"s wouldn"t have treated it so sensitively. Plus when I was talking about the "Third-years" Farewell Party" with some of my cla.s.smates, it had sort of felt like we were talking across each other.

Mistake was piled on top of mistake like a mille-feuille, with the end result being that it wasn"t until today that the truth came to light.

"Wait, when should we have it?"

"Schedules, schedules."

The boutons hastily confirmed their schedules. Since it was a private party, it would be pointless if anyone was missing. But leaving it until after graduation just to get everyone there would be bad too.

"Sat.u.r.day afternoon."

Rei-sama circled her calendar.

"That"s the only possible time."

Sachiko-sama agreed. By holding it after the third-years" farewell party, they could be reasonably certain that the Roses would be at school.

"We"ll have to confirm that with the Roses quickly."

"I"ll do it."

I stood up and took off towards the door. It was a soeur"s duty to provide support to her onee-sama. While I may not have brains or looks, I could make up for it with legwork.

"Ah, Yumi, wait."

At roughly the same time that Sachiko-sama"s voice reached me, something light crashed into my back.

"Oww."

Well, it didn"t really hurt. I looked down at my feet and something was skipping around on the floor.

"An eraser &h.e.l.lip; ?"

When I picked it up, I knew I"d seen that soccer-ball patterned eraser somewhere before.

"Nice shot, even if I do say so myself."

The owner of the eraser, Yoshino-san, laughed as she asked for it back. Throwing something at someone to get them to stop, who did she think she was, Zenigata Heiji?[1]

"Please wait until we"ve finished talking before rushing off."

Sachiko-sama let out a deep sigh.

"Even if I asked you to go out and look for them now, they wouldn"t still be here."

"Ah, I see."

d.a.m.n. I"d failed again.

"You really are restless, aren"t you."

My onee-sama"s offhand remarked stabbed me like a knife. No matter how you looked at it, being described as "restless" was not a compliment.

I could take those sort of comments in my stride when everything was going swimmingly, but if I was feeling a bit off then they would get me down. Thinking she"d be better off with a less restless pet.i.t soeur.

"Isn"t it great that she"s so energetic? I think we should let Yumi-chan contact our onee-samas."

Rei-sama said, grinning. Yoshino-san"s "Rei-chan" was as kind as ever.

"We"ll need an answer by this time tomorrow. Just ask them whether or not they"re free Sat.u.r.day afternoon. And, let"s see, if it"s not convenient for anyone, I suppose we"ll have to think some more about when we could schedule it this week."

Sachiko-sama watched Rei-sama quickly list off the instructions before resignedly turning to face me.

"Don"t push yourself too hard."

"Okay."

At the time, I replied energetically.

Later, I would miserably recall those words. But for now it was inconceivable.

"Ahh, the farewell party?"

On the other end of the phone, Rosa Chinensis chuckled.

"It"s actually happening then?""

"Yes, of course."

On this end, I clenched my hand into a fist and responded forcefully.

It would be a disaster if I left it until tomorrow but then couldn"t get a hold of them, so I decided to call the three Roses and ask them over the telephone. I came home, freshened myself up, changed clothes, then took the telephone receiver and holed up in my room.

The decision was easier to make than I"d initially thought, perhaps due to my experience calling Rosa Foetida"s house the other day. At the very least, I thought it showed a remarkable level of maturity when compared to how nervous I"d been about calling Sachiko-sama"s household. Although I had written the Roses" real names on a piece of notepaper and done a quick rehearsal.

"I didn"t get an invitation, so I thought maybe it wasn"t on this year."

"Pr-preposterous."

Rosa Chinensis was as sharp as ever.

"You didn"t just forget?""

"Absolutely not."

Not just sharp, but a bit cutting. p.r.i.c.kly.

"I see. Teeheehee."

"Yeah, we"d never forget such a thing. Teeheheehee."

I didn"t say anything unnecessary, instead deceiving her with a giggle. If I got rushed and said the wrong thing, I"d only end up digging my own grave.

"Okay. Sat.u.r.day afternoon. I"ll keep it free. But other than Sat.u.r.day, I"ll be at school most days. So if the plan changes, let me know."

For the next few seconds until I hung up the phone, I could still hear Rosa Chinensis giggling.

* * *

"Ahh, the farewell party?"

Taking the receiver, Rosa Foetida wheezed as she responded.

"Um, it sounds like you"re out of breath, are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, then after a short pause, "I"m fine. I just got home, had to run all the way.""

Her breathing was ragged. It really sounded like she"d just come through the door.

"My curfew"s at 7."

"I see."

Looking at the clock, it was 7:01pm. Papa Torii may have been indulgent in the past, but now it seemed he wouldn"t tolerate even a single minute of tardiness. Well, his feelings were somewhat understandable.

"I"m still not getting my way on the dates either."

"That"s a shame."

Rosa Foetida, Torii Eriko-sama, had just recently been charmed by a subst.i.tute teacher at Hanadera Academy and declared her intent towards him. Her father and brothers cherished her above all else, so were surely not amused by this.

"Sat.u.r.day, you said? The soeurs are holding it, so of course I"ll be there."

"You don"t have a date?"

"I did have a date, but it"s okay. We didn"t have anything planned, I was just going to follow him around like usual, so this takes precedence."

"Thanks for that."

I bowed deeply, hitting my head on the edge of her bed.

"Yumi-chan, you"ve become quite reliable. You"re almost a bouton."

In spite of that, Rosa Foetida praised me. But it was all washed away by the clouding tears and forehead pain.

* * *

"Ahh, the farewell party?"

Rosa Gigantea said, after a yawn.

"Hmm, is that a thing?"

"It is, it is."

The reaction from the Roses had all been different. Well, that showed their individuality.

"Maybe you"re right. Yeah, you"re right. I remember we did it last year."

She probably had an ulterior motive for forgetting, or not wanting to recall it. After losing her dear friend Shiori-san, Rosa Gigantea had to bid farewell to the onee-sama she depended upon. This time one year ago.

"Sat.u.r.day? That"s soon. By the way, Yumi-chan, what are you doing?"

She seemed serious, but I could hear a humming on the other end of the phone.

"What do you mean?"

"For the entertainment."

"E-entertainment?"

Unintentionally, the volume of my voice rose. Because no-one had said anything about that.

"You"re kidding."

I laughed, thinking it a joke. Rosa Gigantea had a habit of teasing her juniors, so this was probably just her having fun.

"No, it"s true."

Rosa Gigantea didn"t laugh along with me.

"It"s a tradition. Didn"t you hear? Well, Sachiko and Rei have probably been busy. Plus, put those girls on the spot and they can do anything."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, the party"s for the graduating onee-samas to enjoy themselves. So it"s only natural that the first-years should do a performance, to liven things up."

"Huh, no way."

I"d sing if I had to, but the thought left me feeling blue. I"m no songstress like Kanina Shizuka-sama, so my singing would probably pollute their ears.

"It"s up to you whether you believe me or not. Usually it"s the sort of thing you"d prepare yourself, and the whole point of that sort of party performance is that you can do it anywhere, anytime. You wouldn"t necessarily be told ahead of time. But I thought it might be tough for you if you were put on the spot, so I thought I"d warn my cute little Yumi-chan ahead of time."

"That"s the second time you"ve said, "put on the spot." What on earth do you mean?"

"Last year, the first-years were put on the spot by the third-years, who asked them to get up and have a go. But those girls were able to pull it off successfully."

"What did they do?"

When I thought of party performances, what came to mind was plate spinning, magic tricks and the "Helping Hands" comedy routine[2] - that sort of thing. But I couldn"t imagine the boutons doing any of those things.

"Rei crushed an apple in her hand, and Sachiko sang as she danced a ballet routine. A solo "Dance of the Little Swans," from memory."

Hyaah.

"I"ve never heard anything about that."

It was a lie. Definitely a lie.

"Silly little Yumi-chan. They made fools of themselves to get a laugh. Of course they"re not going to tell their pet.i.t soeurs about that. They probably don"t even want to think about it."

"They made fools of themselves?"

"Of course."

An ominous laugh slipped out of Rosa Gigantea.

"Rather than admiring some serious performance, I want to laugh from the bottom of my heart."

I involuntarily let go of the handset, dropping it.

- It looked like I wouldn"t be able to get away with just singing something.

A fictional policeman who catches criminals by throwing coins. One person wears a coat over their head and acts as the hands for another person:

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