Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume2 Chapter4 3

Just what is going on? Part 3.

"- And so Yoshino-san's message is, 'I can't come to cheer for you, but I'll pray for your success at your match.' That's all."

Rei-sama was completely floored when she finished hearing the message.

"Yoshino is hospitalized? And she's having surgery-"

"This Saturday. The day of Rei-sama's match."

It was lunch-break on Friday.

Rei-sama was probably going to be busy after school, so Yumi called her to the courtyard and relayed the message.

"Aunt and uncle did seem a bit fretful lately…"

Rei-sama put her fist to the hemp palm in the courtyard and agonized. It must have hurt, because she was leaning against a hemp palm…

(If this were Rosa Gigantea, she'd probably cling to someone without any hesitation.)

Then. Rei-sama raised her head and suddenly leaned in to Yumi.

"Which hospital? The usual place?"

Rei-sama's close-up. She'd been Yumi's dance partner at the school festival, so she was a bit used to it, but it was still intimidating. Maybe it was because of her hairstyle. Even when she wore the school uniform, she seemed like a young man.

"Yumi-chan!"

"… Apparently it was the same hospital she'd been going to."

She spun around as soon as she heard the answer, so Yumi hurriedly grabbed Rei-sama's arm. Hey, what time do you think it is? It's still noon, Yumi thought in her mind. And this was why Yoshino-san ended up having to take drastic measures.

"What do you hope to accomplish by going?"

"What, uhh-"

"Rei-sama, you don't understand at all why Yoshino-san deliberately chose to have surgery during your match."

The arm Yumi grabbed suddenly became powerless.

"I don't know. There's no way I'd know."

They'd walked together all the time. Then, their relationship was torn apart without any explanation, so Rei-sama had no way of knowing Yoshino-san's feelings, and why she decided to have surgery during the match.

Yumi became a bit envious while watching Rei-sama struggle.

Yoshino-san occupied this much of Rei-sama's heart. She knew it wasn't right to compare, because they'd been together for so long, because they shared blood. But if Yumi had decided to break their relationship, would Sachiko-sama agonize as much as Rei-sama? Would she contort her face in distress like it was the end of the world?

"And even if it's surgery, she said it wasn't anything big. The success rate was close to 100 percent…"

"Close!? It's her heart! Can you be absolute about it!?"

Rei-sama grabbed Yumi by her shoulders and shook her wildly.

"Re, Rei-sama."

She wasn't a doctor, so she couldn't answer that. Yumi was just a messenger, so she was completely clueless about that sort of medical stuff. And maybe Rei-sama realized that fundamental point, because a bit after she shook Yumi, she let go and apologized.

"Yoshino always refused surgery."

"Yes."

Yoshino-san's heart was always a bit off from normal people. She didn't know the specifics, but she had a hole in a wall inside her heart. So sometimes blood that was supposed to go elsewhere would go to the wrong place, making her have palpitations or run out of breath.

Yoshino-san's illness was a bit subtle, in that if you were careful, you could live normally. Ideally, you'd just have surgery when you're an infant, but the illness was diagnosed after elementary school, so she'd come to this point, having steadfastly refused it. Yoshino-san had told Yumi all of this yesterday.

Even if it were alright now, it was the type of illness that could have repercussions later in life, so it was better to have surgery. Medical practices were always improving, so the surgery could be completed without leaving much of a mark, and so she decided now was the time, said Yoshino-san.

But she must have been a bit scared. Yoshino-san never said it, but because of her incident with Rei-sama, she'd finally decided to give surgery serious thought for the first time.

Basically, a return. She would become stronger for Rei-sama.

When you think about it, the accepted principle for living is to live for your own sake, but Yumi thought that, beyond that, people were greatly influenced by the need to live for someone else, or to not depart before another, or other such like powers.

"Please, do well during your match. That's Yoshino-san's wish."

Yumi held Rei-sama's palm and gently reminded her. This was something they'd have to deal with on their own, so Yumi couldn't do much more to help them.

But, she honestly hoped, from the bottom of her heart, that things would work out well for both of them.

Rei-sama's match.

Yoshino-san's surgery.

"-Yoshino's wish."

Rei-sama mumbled, still agonized.

Rei-sama's hand was big, strong, and a bit firm. It was meant as a compliment, but she was so manly it was hard to imagine her knitting.

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