Maria-sama ga Miteru

Chapter 123

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The closing ceremony that greeted the end of exams was being held this year on the last day of school. It was to be Christmas Eve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had forgotten that last year, so she had not had a present ready for her Onee-sama. This year was different. As soon as the School Festival had finished, she had started thinking about what to do. She had splurged on the materials before final exams, and during exam week had hurriedly prepared it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ta-da! This year"s present was the world"s one and only hand-knitting! She had spent last night perfectly wrapping the gift, and had even added a card. She"d overlooked nothing. As soon as she had finished, she wanted nothing more than to show Onee-sama her feelings (though it was just a weird fancy). Visiting Onee-sama"s room this early in the morning, knocking on her door, and handing over the present. It would be far from a sobering experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visiting her during the school day when there would be a large group of people around wouldn"t work. That"s why, this year, she would disguise the present as a package for her Onee-sama and deliver it. If Onee-sama then felt that she had something else to do, she would go to her and say, "Wait a second, let me get you something," and leave her smartly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What?!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was 8am. Rose Mansion. Second Floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone was busy preparing for the party that was to be held after the school closing ceremony and ma.s.s had finished. Yumi gave a sudden outburst to one of Yoshino"s pa.s.sing statements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Shh. You"re too loud."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino grimaced, as she brought her index finger in front of Yumi-san"s mouth. Luckily, they were a bit far from Shimako-san and Noriko-chan, and they were absorbed in their own conversation. So Yumi"s surprise was not heard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third-years had not come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The party preparations worked in an order. As soon as ma.s.s would finish, everyone would come to the Rose Mansion. They would busily decorate it, then bake the place full of pastries and cakes, and finally prepare tea. So this was the most basic step in the ladder of party preparation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had to clean a room that had been left alone for almost a week, they had to bring a whole bunch of food and place it in the fridge, and they had to bring up chairs from the first floor up to the second to make up for the chairs that they did not have. This kept them occupied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi toned down her volume, and asked Yoshino-san.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, I called Tanaka, no Arima Nana ...."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san said, a bit louder than she should have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why? Last week, on the last day of exams, Yoshino-san had said nothing about this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But even had she suspected something, her mind had been so filled with planning for the amus.e.m.e.nt park date with Sachiko-sama that she had not noticed a thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san continued talking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That"s why I"m asking you to help me."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Help me?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arima Nana, whose name Yumi had only recently heard off, whose very mention sounded like some slip of paper from a surprise box, was flying knowingly off Yoshino-san"s lips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino had previously introduced Nana as her "soon to be soeur" to Torii Eriko-sama. [1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino wanted to make Nana her soeur if she could not find anyone by her third year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But this time, Yoshino wanted to invite her to a casual party. It felt like a hop, a step, or maybe even a jump up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well anyway."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-san, you had said that you had wanted to invite Touko-chan and Kanako-chan for the Christmas party, didn"t you?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I didn"t."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, Yumi-san knew that she wouldn"t explicitly say that she wanted to invite them. She wouldn"t say she didn"t want them invited either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey, listen to everything I"m trying to say. You wanted to call them, so I thought I could call my friends too. So that"s why I thought that they should come."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"... What?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san was just pushing words into Yumi"s mouth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, whatever. She didn"t understand this thing at all. Arima Nana-san was a middle school student, and had never even seen the Yamayurikai once before. To offer a direct, personal invitation to such a person took real guts. She wanted to invite people who everyone knew very well so that Nana-san wouldn"t stick out. [2]

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Plus won"t the turnout feel a little lonely this year? Last year we had eight Yamayurikai members? Plus Tsutako-san. But this year there are six members. And then with Tsutako-san, it"ll be seven? Sachiko-sama said we should invite more people, when Rei-chan had asked."

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Yoshino-san heard Rei-sama and Onee-san talking about the party, and so she comes to "hey Yumi-san" her?

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So if we add three, maybe even four people, it"ll be like the voices of a large crowd echoing in the room. They said we could even invite first or second years."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ugh."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now Yumi had to quickly go to Touko-chan and Kanako-chan, invite them, and try to surrept.i.tiously hint to them that she would like it if they came. Or at least, that"s what Yoshino-san was hinting at Yumi to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"When the new year stars, the third years will get busy, and we"ll have the Student Council Elections, and then everyone will stop coming so regularly to the meetings. So."

 

 

 

 

 

 

So this was a good opportunity to call a lot of people, Yoshino-san was implying. Of course, Nana-san should also be one of these people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BBut wait. Yumi had to ask something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Um, Yoshino-san. I need to ask you something. Did you promise Arima Nana-san that you would make her your soeur or something?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Not yet."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But you"re still bringing her here?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn"t she being a bit overeager?

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah.... I wanted to introduce her to Rei-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Wow... that"s impulsive."

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Yoshino-san said that she wanted to introduce Nana-san to her Onee-sama, to a normal person, it would sound like she wanted to introduce her boyfriend. Sort of like "I want to meet his parents."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Not very. I just want to quickly introduce her myself and let her get to know Rei-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san said, slightly distastefully. Kind of like, continuing with the previous a.n.a.logy, the boyfriend"s father not finding her up to snuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well ... are you sure?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"For now at least."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san seemed to feel as if she were outnumbered, but she obviously had no intention of losing. As her close friend, what would be the best thing to do now?

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Alright, I see. Then let"s get it all organized."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi-chan clapped her hands together, and called out to the White Rose Sisters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Shimako-san, Noriko-chan, are you guys done?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had some things to talk about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was about ten minutes from the drop-dead time to go back to cla.s.s, so for now, the four sat down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It"s about the Christmas Party. It was feeling a bit lonely, so we decided to invite a few new people. Yoshino-san seems to have one person in mind. We still need another two or three people. Do you guys have anyone you"d like to call?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"How about Tsutako-san..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san let the name out into the open. The Photography Club"s Ace had been invited to the party last year, and at the end of it had said "Next year for sure!" Shimako-san seemed to remember this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, she was in the list of names to begin with. Along with the Onee-samas."

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had thanked her tremendously for taking so many pictures last year, and Tsutako-san was much obliged to attend again this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Then I can"t think of anyone else. How about you, Noriko?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Even I can"t really..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan fell silent. She looked as if she were holding something back. But she also looked as if she wasn"t really troubling herself much about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Then how about Touko-chan and Kanako-chan?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi blurted out, and Yoshino-san exclaimed perhaps a bit too loudly "That would be great!". Then she softened her tone, and asked Noriko-chan "Right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"... Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan seemed sunk deep in her thoughts. Yumi asked her a question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Could you please invite them?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part of it was that today was a holiday, but more importantly, she had not seen Touko-chan"s face since the day when she had unexpectedly appeared at the f.u.kuzawa residence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi was still scared by what Kashiwagi-san had told her, and was still a bit afraid of meeting Touko-chan. That"s why Yumi thought it best if Noriko-chan, a girl from Touko-chan"s own cla.s.s, were to go and invite her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But being scared to talk to Touko-chan, and not wanting to meet her were two different things. Actually, she wanted to look upon a Touko-chan laughing along with her cla.s.smates in happiness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I cannot."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan replied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Responses other than "Sure" or "I"ll do it" were responses Yumi could not even fathom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Now, why..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I said that I can"t do it."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan cut Yumi off clearly. So then, she hadn"t mistook a "sure" [3] with a "I cannot" [4]. She had been clearly turned down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Noriko-chan! How dare you talk to your Sempai like that?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san exclaimed, as she stood straight up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But Yumi liked the fact that, even though Yumi was her sempai, Noriko had still been able to clearly say what she had wanted to say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino, who still seemed as if she had a much longer diatribe to fulfill, let the matter go -- at least, she sat down and let Yumi take over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She had been deeply shaken by Noriko-chan"s reaction. But Yumi wanted to know why Noriko had denied, and so had let herself embrace stillness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Why? Have Touko-chan and Kanako-chan fought again?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"No."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan shook her head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Then why don"t you want to call her to the party?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"m not saying that I don"t want them called to the party. If Touko or Kanako-san come to the party, it doesn"t matter much to me."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"... Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

They hadn"t fought. She didn"t mind if the two would come to the party. Then why?

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I cannot invite them. It was Yumi-sama who suggested inviting them, was it not? Then shouldn"t it be Yumi-sama"s duty to invite them?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Duty..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi hadn"t even thought of that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had thought that, because Noriko-chan was in the same cla.s.s as the two, she could easily be able to invite them. But in Noriko-chan"s world, it seemed like her concept of "duty" entailed some important obligation that Yumi had irrevocably shrugged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Basically, I can"t do what you"re asking me to."

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Yumi saw the determination on Noriko-chan"s face, she knew that no matter what, Noriko-chan would not change her mind. Then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Understood."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Someone who seemed to also have understood this, suddenly rose from her seat. It was Shimako-san, who had been quiet until now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"ll be the one to do it."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The bell will soon ring. So if we want to invite them, we would like to do it as quickly as possible, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Shimako-sa... Onee-sama!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan hurriedly chased after Shimako-san, who had already begun walking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Onee-sama shouldn"t have to go! Yumi-sama and I were just ...!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It doesn"t matter who invites them."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san turned, and smiled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Noriko. When you refused, it was your whim. That doesn"t mean that you can control what *I* do. No matter what, if it"s something Yumi-san wishes me to do, then that"s reason enough. Isn"t that another tenet of the "duty" that you follow?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan didn"t speak. She then looked at Shimako-san with a sad, painful look on her face, and teared up a little.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She seemed a lot like the crybaby in Yumi. She didn"t know about Shimako-san, but Yumi had never seen Noriko-chan like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan had always been one to stand up against anything and face it. She was a kid who, even though she may cry, seemed as if the pa.s.sion of justice would burn in her heart. But now, Noriko seemed completely weak. She had no retort to Shimako-san"s remark, and simply stood there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"m sorry Shimako-san. I"ll go."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi, who couldn"t stand doing nothing for so long, spoke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Then, shall we go together?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san smiled as she always did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She was smiling so even when she had turned to Noriko-chan. Shimako-san"s words had warmth. That"s why they were words that echoed inside one"s heart, rather than words shouted in hysteria. [5]

 

 

 

 

 

 

After giving the two some distance, followed behind, with Yoshino-san holding the rear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This way, the first year Camellia cla.s.s Noriko-chan, had no choice but to return back to her cla.s.sroom, even if she didn"t want to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or maybe Yoshino-san had come simply to see what the fuss had been all about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But, why did you want to be the one to go, Shimako-san?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi asked, as she walked along the school"s corridors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Why not?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, and maybe I"m wrong in this but, it doesn"t seem like it"s very important to Shimako-san whether Touko-chan or Kanako-chan are called to the party. Even if we were to call someone else, Shimako-san would greet them the same way, and talk to them the same way, right? Even if we only end up bringing along Yoshino-san"s friend and Tsutako-san, the party wouldn"t be affected, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I see."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san nodded, then spoke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But, no matter what amount of guests Yoshino-san ends up bringing, it wouldn"t be right. Tsutako-san would be fully occupied by taking pictures, rather than actually socializing at the party, right? Truth is, I"d feel a bit awkward if we were having only one guest."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But then."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of going against Noriko-chan"s wishes and calling Touko-chan or Kanako-chan, we could"ve called any old undercla.s.sman. Shimako-san clarified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I followed my heart."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Somehow, I felt that it would be best to invite Touko-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Somehow?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi asked, and Shimako rather than respond back, seemed to whisper something to herself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seems like something very important was hidden within that "somehow".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why had this even happened?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko thought to herself, as she plodded along the hallways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko herself had been the cause, she realized.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But she just couldn"t get herself to accept that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archetypically bad things were simply bad. Even letting Shimako-san scold her would be better than saying empty words to Touko.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So she should have accepted the outcome as it was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She understood this, but still could not so simply dispel the doubt from her heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In spite of turning Yumi down, she ended up being whisked into a more fundamental conflict. Noriko"s show of emotion had sprung Shimako-san into action.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san and Yumi-sama were walking about one cla.s.sroom in front of Noriko. The two were talking, not even turning their heads once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did Noriko really want Shimako-san to turn around and look at her, or was she better off if Shimako-san didn"t, Noriko pondered, as she walked along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

b.u.m-b.u.m-b.u.m-b.u.m. [6]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko had tried to present her just argument to Shimako, but had teared up. (Noriko felt depressed.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those tears weren"t the tears of being talked into defeat, or tears of disappointment while being scolded. Rather, rather... they were tears that came out from self-pity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had Shimako-san understood, maybe she wouldn"t have been so harsh in her rejection of Noriko"s reasoning. n.o.body had really understood, and so she had lost against Yumi-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san had reacted the way she did to punish Noriko. It made Noriko hang her head down in defeat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plodding sound her footsteps made down the corridor seemed to perfect words to describe herself now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

b.u.m-b.u.m-b.u.m-b.u.m

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"m sorry."

 

 

 

 

 

 

The words being whispered within her heart seemed to be echoed in the air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko did not react, plodded one step forward, then stopped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Sorry?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

She realized that she had forgotten what was going on around her. Next to her, Shimazu Yoshino-sama stood with a serious expression on her face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That this ... um ... happened between Noriko-chan and Shimako-san ... well I was thinking maybe it was my fault. I thought I should at least, um, apologize or something."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-sama had a soft, meek expression on her face, and bent her head down. It was unbelievable that this was the same Shimazu Yoshino who only minutes ago had zealously exclaimed "How dare you talk to your Sempai like that?". Still, the highs and lows of the pa.s.sion did indeed fit Yoshino-sama"s personality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"m afraid I don"t really know what you are apologizing for, Yoshino-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan admittedly candidly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what had started it all, Noriko had kept pondering from the beginning, and so she had rationalized that it had all come from within her. So where Yoshino-sama"s apology came from, she couldn"t begin to guess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, I"m the one who wanted to invite Touko-chan and Kanako-chan in the first place..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-sama said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-san was just trying to do what I had asked her to."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I ... don"t really understand where you"re going with this, Yoshino-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Because I had asked her to bring some undercla.s.smen to the party."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Right."

 

 

 

 

 

 

She had heard the whole thing. She didn"t really feel like this was helping in any way, but she felt that she should listen to what Yoshino-sama was saying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So, you know..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan suddenly understood. Yoshino-sama had found a person whom she wanted to claim as soeur, but bar that, she had thought that she would introduce the girl to everyone. For her, Yoshino-sama had wanted to call other guests, so the girl"s presence would not stick out so markedly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well ... congratulations ... is that what you"re looking for here?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether this allusion to the soeur oath was in fact a curse for Yoshino-sama or not, she did not know. When Noriko had accepted Shimako-san"s rosary, many people had congratulated her, so Noriko felt that was an accurate response.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Not yet, not yet. We"re not going up those stairs yet."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-sama laughed slightly and shook her head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obviously. Yoshino-sama"s face was only filled with thirty percent happiness. The remaining seventy percent showed a face that hinted at a world of trouble yet to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Anyway.... that"s why when you had said that it was Yumi-sama"s duty to invite Touko-chan and Kanako-chan, really it should have been my duty. But Shimako-san had stood up before I could say so, so I felt that the misunderstanding was my fault."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"No, it wasn"t your fault..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

But with that, Noriko began rea.s.sessing her thoughts and actions. It would have been impolite to have said this to Yoshino-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then, Yoshino-sama began matter-of-factly discussing words that seemed to be answers to a deep secret.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But when I heard Yumi-san speak up at you, she didn"t seem very surprised."

 

 

 

 

 

 

These unexpected words stunned Noriko.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko was so surprised, that she hadn"t even realized that she had stopped walking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-sama turned her head around to look at Noriko.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I think I sort of understand. If I had asked Noriko-chan to invite Touko-chan, then you would have done it, wouldn"t you?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But because Yumi-chan had asked, you didn"t want to, did you?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko thoughtfully nodded. Yoshino-sama wasn"t simply toying with Noriko"s heart by guessing at her motives. For some reason, in spite of everything, Yoshino-sama actually understood how Noriko had felt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I see. Well then, Noriko-chan, you would be feeling fed up with everything then, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-sama was spot on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That"s why you"re acting like that."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hahaha, I see."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko laughed heartily, and Yoshino-sama stretched languidly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So then why don"t we just drop the matter?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Things just turn out the way they"ll turn out. That"s the way human relationships work. Or maybe, things turn out the way they should is a better way to paraphrase it."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I know what you mean, but..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, there"s nothing else we can do. They"re our friends. Even if they"re not asking anything of us, we still need to give them the benefit of the doubt."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-sama spoke, as if she were talking about her own matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Actually, Yoshino-sama was probably explaining half of it to herself. In other words, as Yumi-sama"s close friend, Yoshino-sama herself had been in a similar position. That"s why Noriko-chan was just sharing sentiments with Yoshino-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the two continued walking and talking, they came up to none other than the First Year Camellia cla.s.s. Yoshino-sama stopped in front of the back door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"When I think about it, I guess we just aren"t there yet."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-san and I. Up against Shimako-san."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi-sama and Shimako-san were in front of the door, just walking out the door having called Touko and Kanako-san to step outside with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I felt it, you know. Right then, Shimako-san had acted like a true Onee-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yes. She really is an Onee-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-sama patted Noriko and whispered "Just for you". An affectionate without any second meaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But Yoshino-sama will soon get there."

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Yoshino-sama actually found herself a pet.i.te soeur, then she"d have no choice but to become a grande soeur herself. Truth be told, Shimako-san at first had been a bit billowy. It"s not as if Noriko had given Shimako-san some special power. Their time as soeurs together had simple made them so. So if the girl that Yoshino-san was going to bring to the party was actually going to become her soeur, then all her complaints of "not yet, not yet" would have little choice but to stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko"s remark had meant to cheer Yoshino-sama on, but Yoshino-sama"s expression had clouded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That"s true but ... I"m sorry."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Even if she may become my soeur, I feel like I put too much of a burden on Noriko-chan. That"s why I had apologized earlier."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Again, I"m very sorry Yoshino-sama ... I don"t really know why you are apologizing...."

 

 

 

 

 

 

That the mystery would solve itself by this evening, Noriko could not know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tall girl, with flawless straight hair, and the not-so-tall girl with her hair done up into coils were standing together, with bewildered expressions on their faces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It"s ... today?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was the most predictable reaction possible. The Christmas Party she was inviting them to was but a few hours away. There could not be two people in existence who could say yes to such a quickly posed invitation (with last year"s inclusion of Tsutako-san being an exception).

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Can you come just for a bit?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I have a few things to do this evening, so..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kanako-chan said. What could she do? It was the start of the semester holiday, and it was Christmas Eve. It was a time when most people had plans. Yumi knew this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"How about Touko-chan?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san asked. And her answer was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, I...."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps she felt awkward after meeting Yumi during the exam holidays, but her eyes would not meet Yumi"s. She was facing Shimako-san.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And when Shimako-san and Yumi began exchanging looks that neither of them would be coming to the party, Kanako-chan quickly spoke up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, but, if you pardon me the rudeness of leaving halfway through the party ... then I"d definitely want to come. Right, Touko-san?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Um."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touko-chan, who had just rejected the invitation, did not know how best to react to Kanako-chan"s announcement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It"ll be held at the Rose Mansion after the ma.s.s, right? I see. Wow, it"s coming up very soon."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, um..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

It sounded much like a bike carrying a heavy load would when the rider would sit carelessly upon it, or if someone sped off with a bike then chose an awkward time to stop. The relentless acceleration of Kanako-chan, and Touko-chan"s careless drag down. As if she had given up resisting, and simply sighing and nodding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kanako-chan refused to decrease her speech.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Should I bring something to the party?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Nope. Just yourself is enough. We already brought most of what was necessary during the morning. Though we may ask you to help us out with the party shortly before it begins."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Of course. If there"s anything we can do for you, then just ask."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kanako-chan grasped Touko-chan"s hand in a move of affirmation as she said "we". Just when had the two become such good friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, we"ll see you later then."

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bell rang, and Yumi and Shimako-san walked back together down the corridor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They saw Noriko-chan enter the first-year Camellia cla.s.sroom through the back door. Perhaps even Kanako-chan and Touko-chan had seen her go in. Next to the door, obviously, was Yoshino-san, and she greeted them with a "Good Job".

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the three were walking back toward the second-years" cla.s.srooms, Yoshino-san and Shimako-san said at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Touko-chan...."

 

 

 

 

 

 

To make matters worse, they were trying to say the same thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"She"s made good friends, hasn"t she?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan and Kanako-chan she meant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi didn"t know whether Touko-chan herself knew they were her friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, she probably did. But there was no way she could actually realize what she was feeling. Yumi hadn"t thought about that earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Yumi and the others began walking back to their cla.s.srooms, Touko-chan dipped her head down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If one looked at her for a while, that"s all one would see. For one unfamiliar with what was going on, only a strangely vague gesture would be seen. But Yumi obviously understood all of this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Thanks for the other day."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touko-chan felt that she expressed all the words that she couldn"t before in that one phrase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About some things Touko-chan was incredibly stubborn, but about other things oddly delicate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which is why Touko-chan always padded her heart with extra layers. So despite her overt actions, the inside of herself would be able to take certain blows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi thought this much through, and suddenly paused.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Why am I....)

 

 

 

 

 

 

She had spent so much time thinking about Touko-chan that she finally understood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Such things were nothing but an annoyance to Touko-chan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But then, what should she do?

 

 

 

 

 

 

If she kept approaching Touko-chan the way she was, they would only grow farther apart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

( Resolve? )

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kashiwagi-san"s words echoed pointedly in her mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had given Sachiko a semester-vacation present for good grades before the vacation herself, and had told Sachiko-sama that she didn"t have to return it. That Yumi had been able to give such a present made her happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, if Sachiko-sama"s grades had not been good, she wouldn"t have told Sachiko-sama to give her back the amus.e.m.e.nt park date (not that any such thing was possible in the first place). Even though it had been more than a semester ago, she still couldn"t leave behind the p.r.i.c.kling of her conscience. It made her sleep shallow, or at least she didn"t feel refreshed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi"

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the last few days, Sachiko-sama had been looking very happy. She hadn"t just been happy, but even more beautiful than she usually was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At noon, on the end of the semester-end holiday preceding the second semester, an intimate Christmas ma.s.s was taking place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Gokigenyou, Onee-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi walked behind Sachiko-sama as she walked into the church, and took her place in the seat next to her Onee-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ma.s.s was voluntary, so there were no lines according to grade levels, or cla.s.ses. Sachiko-sama had brought a chair over for Yumi, but even if she had not, the chair next to Sachiko-sama would have been considered Yumi"s, and it would have been left empty for her. Next to Rei-sama too, Yoshino-san"s chair awaited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"m sorry about the amus.e.m.e.nt park."

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the incident, they had talked with each other on the phone and everything was fine, but Sachiko-sama had to offer an honorable apology to Yumi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"No, I"m the one who should be. Sayako Obaa-sama"s Mille-feuille was delicious."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as Yumi had during the phone call, she talked about how delicious the cake was, after Sachiko-sama had apologized for what had happened at the amus.e.m.e.nt park. In fact, the sort of conversation Yumi and Onee-sama were having made Yumi remember Sayako Obaa-sama"s idle gossiping, but maybe that kind of gossip was better left to adults.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I think your mom also called to thank us for the cake, Yumi. I believe she sounded very thankful for it."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It looked beautiful, so at first my mom had thought that it was a cake from the bakery."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Please stop talking so well about my mother"s cooking. If she hears all these compliments, she"ll again make a huge batch of cake. This time it"ll be Yumi"s job to eat all the cake!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I"d love to eat it all!" [7]

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- How wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even in the few moments leading up to the ma.s.s, the two giggled in light conversation. It was the majesty of simply being around one another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi was very happy that Sachiko-sama was her Onee-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She was very happy that she was Sachiko-sama"s pet.i.te soeur.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the two giggled some more, Sachiko-sama asked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What did you do during break?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Umm..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

If someone other than Sachiko-sama had asked that question, then she would have immediately replied "I went to the amus.e.m.e.nt park with my Onee-sama!" But that would have been redundant when said to the Onee-sama in question, now wouldn"t it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, I"ll wrote some New Year"s cards, and worked on my knitting..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi wondered what she"d say if Sachiko-sama asked what she was knitting. If she did ask, Yumi would probably just give it to her right now. She had obviously brought Sachiko-sama"s present in her bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But Sachiko-sama thankfully diverted the conversation into another direction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, New Year"s Cards?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, I thought it better if I didn"t send Onee-sama any."

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past summer, Sachiko-sama"s maternal grandmother had pa.s.sed away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama clapped her hands and said "Of course, of course". She fell silent after clapping her hands, but because the church was filled with the low whispers of all the attendees, the clap didn"t make a very perceptible sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I forgot to tell you Yumi. Even if we didn"t exchange any cards, I wanted a card from you, Yumi."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama said as she lowered her voice. But if they didn"t do an actual exchange, wouldn"t it be Sachiko-sama who was supposed to send Yumi the New Year"s card?

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Are you sure I should send you one?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It"s fine. We"re still in mourning, but I"m still a kid, and I never actually lived with my grandmother. It"s okay if I don"t partic.i.p.ate in mourning with the adults, or so my parents said."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It"ll be my last New Year"s card from high school after all. I thought it would be great, no matter how I managed to get the card. Plus, I should think of my grandmother"s memory, shouldn"t I? Would not exchanging cards make my grandmother happy? And so forth."

 

 

 

 

 

 

The explanation was forthcoming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"In her final years, my grandmother only thought of her years as a student. It"s as if she met me, and was transported back into her life as a schoolgirl. She hadn"t even met you Yumi, but still thought of you as a friend..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Sachiko-sama wanted to take her New Year"s Card and place it behind the picture of her grandmother. In other words, it was of the utmost importance that Yumi send the card, it had become a great responsibility. [8]

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh no...."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi squeaked in shame, and Sachiko-sama began laughing in response. Then she suddenly change the subject "So?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Have you been asking Kanako-chan and Touko-chan to come?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You invited them to the party, didn"t you?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

At first, Yumi wondered why Sachiko would know something like that. Then, when she thought about it, she remembered that Yoshino-san had starting telling Rei-sama about something with "Yumi-san", so obviously Sachiko-sama would know. In fact, if Sachiko-sama hadn"t have known, she would have been concerned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"They may have to leave early but, they"ll come."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I see."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama"s whisper, and the entire conversation, cut off suddenly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi wondered if Sachiko-sama knew that Touko-chan had visited her house during the semester holiday. Maybe it would be best if Touko-chan herself told Sachiko-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were distant relatives after all, so perhaps Sachiko-sama had learned about it from somewhere. So if Sachiko-sama didn"t mention anything about it, wouldn"t it be better if Yumi acted as if she didn"t know anything was going on?

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the other hand, if Sachiko-sama hadn"t heard anything yet, perhaps it was better if Yumi told Sachiko-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even Kashiwagi-san had kept quiet about all of this, so she didn"t know what the best thing to do was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If she told Onee-sama everything with sincerity, Yumi knew that she would hide nothing. But this wasn"t something she was worried about with her own relationships, and Yumi was worried about the answer she"d get.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Yumi was worrying about such things, the priest entered, and her worries had to come to an end for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not just Yumi, but all the other students in the room quite suddenly stopped their chattering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eriko was the previous Rosa Foetida, prior to Rei. Recently, Eriko had called up Yoshino and reminded her that the Rosa Foetida needed a new soeur to keep the line going. Yoshino, not wanting to feel bested, told Rei that she had a girl in mind whom she would make soeur, a blatant lie on Yoshino"s part. When Eriko attempted to confront Yoshino about the girl, Yoshino fled, and found a girl coming out of the bathroom. This girl was Nana, and Yoshino set up the girl, and told Eriko that Nana would be her soeur, only to find out shortly after Eriko left that Nana was a Lillian Middle School student. Yoshino later talked to Nana in out-of-school settings, and began considering making Nana her soeur. I think the statement about guts, and the exclusivity of the Yamayurikai is another place where Yumi has grown up from her first year self. j.a.panese: "Ii desu" j.a.panese: "Kirai Desu", it"s meant to awkwardly rhyme Reference to Sachiko"s "hysteric-mode" Sukoshi: The sound of plodding down the corridors. For the Western reader without any background about Eastern society, a lot of the above conversation deals with complicated social obligations. Sayako Obaa-sama, Sachiko-sama"s mother, is not a very good cook, but bakes decently. On a whim, in the last novel, she cooked up an enormous batch of Mille-feuille. She gave this to Yumi, after Yumi brought Sachiko back from the amus.e.m.e.nt park where Sachiko"s health had faltered. Here Sachiko is apologizing for ruining the amus.e.m.e.nt park date, and Yumi is courteously offering a display of grat.i.tude toward the cake as a response. Sachiko tries to lightheartedly cut through Yumi"s attempt at being polite by reminding her that such compliments would only cause Sayako Obaa-sama to make yet another torre
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