Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume2 Chapter4 2

Just what is going on? Part 2.

"Excuse me."

When she double-checked the name-plate on the door, then opened the door, she found Yoshino-san reading a paperback on her bed.

"Ah, Yumi-san."

Yoshino-san immediately raised her head and smiled, like a blossoming flower.

It was an independent room, and there was no one in the room attending to her. Probably to kill time, there was a stack of paperbacks on the small table by her bed.

"Here…"

Yumi showed Yoshino-san the flowers she had brought as an expression of concern. At first she thought about bringing cake or fruits, but her mother had told her she should refrain from that if she hadn't asked Yoshino-san if she could eat, so she decided on flowers instead.

"Thank you! They're pretty."

They were a variety of types, but the three species of yellow roses were all cute. For some reason, Yumi felt they suited Yoshino-san.

"I'd never paid someone a bed-side visit before, so I had the florist pick the flowers for me. I didn't know there were so many things to keep in mind, like avoiding Lillies because their scent is too strong."

The florist had also recommended taking an arranged bouquet so there wouldn't be a need for a flower vase. So the flowers were placed in a basket, like a flipped straw-hat, and it was conveniently designed so you could simply pour water into it, so all you needed to do was set it down on a table.

"I didn't know you weren't supposed to bring potted plants."

"Oh, yes, because it implies 'netsuku,' I don't mind, though."

Apparently that's because of "根つく" (to become rooted) and "寝つく" (to enter a deep slumber). According to Yoshino-san, hospitals paid deep care to omens. Accordingly, many hospitals refused to use 4 (shi) and 9 (ku) (死, shi, death, 苦, ku, agony). Of course it's mostly because patients might be bothered, rather than the hospital itself.

"I'm sorry for taking up your Sunday."

Yoshino-san placed the book she was reading on her stack of books and turned herself around to face Yumi.

"Oh no, don't worry about it."

Yumi shook her head as she sat herself down on the chair Yoshino-san offered. Her happiness at being told by Yoshino-san, "I want to see you," trumped any feelings she might have had about losing her Sunday.

"It feels a bit off-kilter, doesn't it."

Because they'd never met each other outside of school. Yoshino-san had a gown draped over her cardigan, and Yumi was wearing a jumper skirt and a mohair cardigan, so they both giggled.

"How do things look?"

Yoshino-san didn't specify who, or what, she was asking about in her question, but even with her average language skills, Yumi knew who Yoshino-san was asking about.

"She was dazed for a while. But I think she's recovering."

"I see."

The question was about Rei-sama.

"Then, she's not dazed anymore?"

"Mm, well… I guess. I think she has a bit more to go, though."

As she spoke, Yumi wondered. Was Yoshino-san happy that Rei-sama was dazed, or the opposite?

"Next Saturday, Rei-chan, she has an inter-school match. For kendo."

"Yes."

"I really want her to win."

So I wanted to make sure she'd gotten a grip on herself again, Yoshino-san said while smiling, relieved. Then why did she do such a gut-wrenching action in the first place? But Yumi could ask that after Yoshino-san finished speaking, so Yumi concentrated on listening. –Because Yoshino-san didn't seem to dislike Rei-sama, or anything.

"Yumi-san, did you read the special edition 'Lillian Kawaraban' about Rei-chan and I?"

The subject abruptly changed.

"Y, … yes, I read it, why?"

Actually, Yumi brought that, and the following edition, with her in her handbag. She wasn't trying to be proactive, but if Yoshino-san wanted to read it, she wanted to make sure she had it on hand.

"Did you feel anything was odd, while reading it?"

"What?"

"Would it be a mistake? Or would it be better called a misprint? Anyways, that article has a huge mistake."

"Eh!?"

Yumi quickly opened her bag and pulled out the "Lillian Kawaraban." She was in a hurry, so the second and third leaflets were pulled out of the bag at the same time and floated onto the bed, where Yoshino-san quickly snapped them up.

"- Oh. Things have become quite dreadful, it seems."

Yoshino-san laughed while skimming over the article.

(I don't think it's something to laugh about-)

One sheet was the break-up announcement. And the new issue this week was a special about the others that had jumped on Rosa Foetida en bouton's bandwagon and began breaking up their own relationships. On the front page alone was a list of ten pairs, for a total of twenty names. Aside from Oyamada Miyuki-san, Katsura-san was also one of Yumi's classmates on the list, so Yumi was in complete shock when the issue was printed. Just how far was the newspaper club going to take this?

But this was just a list of pairs the newspaper club had actually found out about, so there was a possibility that the true list was at least double the size. What was going to happen?

"- Oh. In any case, where's the misprint?"

Yumi held out the "Lillian Kawaraban" and approached Yoshino-san. She'd glanced over it again, but she didn't find anything wrong.

"Of course. Anyone else would find that article more believable."

"So, it's not a kanji conversion mistake, or something like that?"

"It's the content."

Yumi looked through the article again with that pointer, but she still didn't know what was wrong. "I give up," she said, and handed the "Lillian Kawaraban" to Yoshino-san, and she then said, "All of this," and pointed to almost half the page.

"All?"

"The questionnaire for Rei-chan and I. There were two sheets, but the second sheet got swapped."

"Eh…? Ehh-!?"

It wasn't the data you could pull from a physical examination record, like birth date and blood type. Rather, it was the part introducing their personal tastes.

"You're kidding."

Rei-sama read shoujo novels, and Yoshino-san read novels about samurai killing people. That totally didn't fit their image.

Then Yoshino-san picked up one of her books and showed the cover to Yumi, as proof.

"… Ikenami Shoutarou.'

She felt herself being sapped of power.

"These are all by him."

Like a finishing blow, Yoshino-san pointed to her tower of books. She probably would be better off reading textbooks to keep up with the classes she missed, but then she'd end up longing for school, so she was re-reading her favorite fencer books, instead.

"Then, then, Yoshino-san's hobby-"

"Maybe it's because I can't do it. I love watching sports shows."

Sumo, baseball, soccer, Olympics, she loved them all to death, she said. Ahh, Yumi's image of Yoshino-san was being shattered.

But, that meant Rei-sama was the one who loved knitting.

"Do you remember the lap blanket I used in the classroom? Rei-chan made that."

"—"

Being stunned speechless, would best describe Yumi.

The cool Rei-sama, who swung a shinai around at school, gripped a knitting needle and balls of wool at home – who would believe such a thing?

It didn't suit her. She was willing to bet that without actually pointing it out, no one would notice the misprint. She didn't want to defend the newspaper club, but she could understand why the misprint happened.

"I think Rei-chan's overdoing things."

"Overdoing?"

"She's always tried to be my knight. Plus her looks? Everyone ends up thinking of her as a boy."

But she was such a girl, inside. A girl's girl, as Yumi had spoken to Yoshino-san about some time ago.

"Yoshino-san, umm, I understand you want to say she's actually quite girlish, and that she's pushing herself, but…"

Yumi was beginning to lose sight of where the conversation was going.

"Rei-chan falls apart when I'm around."

Yoshino-san said seriously.

"So you returned the rosary?"

But that would be just like the newspaper club imagined. To pull herself away for Rei-sama's future was like a story out of modern Japanese drama.

But Yoshino-san glanced at the article and said it was completely different.

"I'm not that sort of gallant person. Plus I can't just turn my back on her."

"Eh?"

"I just thought this relationship couldn't continue the way it was. So I wanted to return things to a blank sheet."

"What do you mean?"

"Becoming strong for Yoshino. Then what happens when I'm gone? In truth, Rei-chan's a strong, dependable person, but she's just using my existence as a shield, acting strong rather than being strong. And she has to realize that."

Rather than Rei-sama supporting Yoshino-san, Rei-sama was using Yoshino-san as a crutch.

Yoshino-san had realized that earlier, and had thought deeply about what to do about it. And she decided that they needed to be apart for a while. But they go to the same school, and they were neighbors. Then the only way to do this was to break their sisterly bonds. And just as she was wondering about when to put things into motion, that day came.

Yoshino-san, incensed by Rei-sama's excessive care, returned the rosary out of momentum.

"I want Rei-chan to become stronger."

With a firm expression befitting of the phrase "First strike, certain victory," Yoshino-san laughed.

"In turn, I'm not going to just make Rei-chan suffer. I'm going to become stronger, too."

"Become stronger-?"

Yumi could tell Yoshino-san was plenty strong, just from the conversation. Why would she want to become even stronger?

But Yoshino-san wasn't talking about that aspect of strength. Yumi hadn't completely understood Yoshino-san's thought-processes yet.

"I've decided to undergo surgery."

She was a girl with more than enough strength.

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