Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume3 Chapter2 4

The White Rose. Part 4.

"Sachiko-, let me borrow Yumi-chan."

As the tea party came to an end, Rosa Gigantea wrapped an arm around Yumi's neck and shouted.

"Well, I don't mind, but-"

"Don't worry, don't worry, I won't strip her down and play with her."

"… If you keep making such jokes, I may refuse."

Sachiko-sama seemed to be getting used to it, as she side-stepped Rosa Gigantea's teasing.

"Umm, could you also prohibit kissing?"

The captive Yumi interjected into the conversation. Rosa Gigantea was the type to spontaneously hug and kiss someone else's sister, so she couldn't drop her guard.

"Ok. That's disappointing, but I'll promise. So, I'm borrowing her."

Turning about, Rosa Gigantea dragged Yumi with her and this time went to Rei-sama, this time requesting to borrow Yoshino-san.

"As long as Yoshino is fine with it."

Rather than give an order like Sachiko-sama, Rei-sama cheerfully consented.

"Why Rei doesn't say anything? That's simple. Because she knows I won't do anything to Yoshino-chan."

Rosa Gigantea cackled.

"Eh!? … wait, why just me?"

Why was she bait for an evil senior?

"I guess it's because your reaction is awesome. Also, Sachiko's reaction is great, too. Two delicious sœur with one grain of rice. –Thank you, with respect."

"…"

She could find no words of retort. Because it was a reply with such clarity. But "with respect"? Lillian's a Catholic school, not a Buddhist one…

"- anyways. The three of us will finish cleaning, so everyone may go ahead."

While she spoke in polite terms, Rosa Gigantea was clearly meaning to simply shoo people out of the room. What was she trying to start, kicking everyone out? Well, Yoshino-san was with her, so she assumed she wouldn't be attacked or anything.

Then, farewell. –said they, as "everyone" filed out of the second-floor room. Sachiko-sama still had a dubious look, but she had business to deal with in the afternoon, so she reluctantly followed Rei-sama down the stairs.

"Shall I lend a hand?"

Shimako-san asked, last. Well, Yumi and Yoshino-san were remaining, so as a fellow first-year student, it wasn't surprising she would wonder if she should stay to help, too. And it was also strange that she would be left out, being the little sister of Rosa Gigantea.

"Nope, not especially."

Rosa Gigantea's words had no hidden meaning behind them. It's hard to explain, but between sisters, words often have meanings like, "Actually I want you to stay," or "I have something to do with Yoshino-chan and Yumi-chan, sorry," but it was a bit unbelievable that Rosa Gigantea meant nothing. She didn't even look sorry about leaving Shimako-san out.

"Is that so. Well, farewell, then."

Hey, wait, you're just going to back down? But when she looked at Shimako-san, she simply smiled, and even said, "I'm sorry you have to put up with onee-sama."

"Gokigenyou."

As always, Shimako-san left an angelic smile and left. The afterimage of the soft, curled hair stayed in Yumi's mind.

"Is it bad if Shimako-san stays?"

Yoshino-san probably felt the same as Yumi, and so she asked Rosa Gigantea.

"Why? If Shimako wanted to stay, I wouldn't have minded."

"But the way you said it, I don't think she'd be able to stay even if she wanted, right, Yumi-san?"

Yoshino-san, excited by the response, looked for agreement from Yumi.

"Really? Yumi-chan."

Rosa Gigantea looked like she wanted to say "I really don't understand," as she looked at Yumi.

"If I were Shimako-san, I think I would have felt like I needed to be gone."

"Hmm."

What did she mean, hmm. If she understood, she should go chase down Shimako-san. Rosa Gigantea stayed put in her seat, without any hint of wanting to move.

"If you want, I could go-"

When Yumi started toward the biscuit-shaped door, she was stopped.

"Ah, don't worry about it."

"Why?"

"Even if Shimako were told not to stay, if she wanted to stay, she would stay on her own accord."

"What?"

"That's how it is. So don't worry about it."

She felt like she'd just been thrown a smoke screen, but Rosa Gigantea sounded confident, so she left it at that.

"Is that how it is."

Yumi and Yoshino-san tilted their head to the side and were forced to simply accept it as fact. In that case, what was Shimako-san to Rosa Gigantea?

"Yumi-chan, Yoshino-chan, I don't care who. Do one of you have 'Forest of Thorns' with you?"

"Ah, yes."

Both of them simultaneously reached into their bags. Yumi found hers first, and Rosa Gigantea pointed to it.

"May I borrow it?"

"Sure. What are you going to do?"

"If someone says they want to borrow a book, it means they're going to read it. Did you think I was going to make stew with it?"

"No, autograph, or something."

"Suga Sei? … that's not even funny, Yumi-chan."

But she was laughing, anyways. But if she was going to read "Forest of Thorns" now, it definitely meant she wasn't the author.

"Well, shall we start cleaning?"

"… Yeah."

The person who brought them together had pushed a chair to the window sill and begun reading, so Yumi and Yoshino-san began carrying the teacups from the table and gathering the leftovers of the cookies.

"Secret skill, instantaneous teakettle technique!"

Yoshino-san poured the hot water from the kettle into the washing tub, filled it with water, and then dunked the cups, spoons and sponge into it.

"We can just wash it in here, and then use the faucet to rinse. Right?"

"That's a good idea, but… Yoshino-san, you've been reading ninja stories instead of just fencer stories as of late, haven't you?"

"I've been had."

The sink water had become colder, and it reminded Yumi that by the time they went deeper into winter, it would freeze.

(… cold water.)

Cold air.

A misty, deep, green forest. Sealed away by thorny tendrils, the forest where Sei's feelings were asleep.

The sense of cold re-awakened the scene in "Forest of Thorns" in Yumi's mind. Sei and Kahori held each other's hands, and wandered through the forest, finding a place to rest, that sort of scene.

She could feel herself tearing up just by remembering it.

Worn out from walking, the two of them took turns drinking sleeping pills along with the cooled tea. When they ran out of pills, they intertwined their fingers so they wouldn't be separated, and kissed, for the first and last time.

"Wow, thanks for your hard work."

Like she was parading into that world of illusions wearing shoes, Rosa Gigantea crept up behind them with her usual old-man-like methods.

"You already finished?"

Yoshino-san, who was wiping the table with a rag, glanced at her wristwatch.

"Of course not. You can't read a novel in ten, fifteen minutes."

True. Plus she'd never heard about Rosa Gigantea having incredible fast-reading skills.

"Both of you worked hard, so I paused to give you two a reward. Of course, I'll go back to reading in a bit."

"What do you think of it so far?"

Is what Yoshino-san asked, but Yumi's question of, "Reward?" overlapped. Rosa Gigantea glanced at Yumi, then, in an effort to stop herself from bursting into laughter, turned back to Yoshino-san. She had to have, no, she must be laughing. But that aside, why was Yumi so straight-forward like this?

"Well I'm not that far into it, so I can't say much, but it's interesting. … I can see why some people would think I wrote it."

As she spoke, Rosa Gigantea reached into her pocket, took our two slips of paper and waved them in front of Yumi's face.

"Here, the reward you were so eagerly awaiting."

"What is this?"

They were slips of colored paper that had been marked with a rubber stamp. When she looked closely, she noticed it read, "Pasta." They were meal tickets for pasta, used by university students.

"I forget when, but I stayed late to help my homeroom teacher, and she gave me those two tickets as thanks. Eat some ramen with a friend and go home. But I didn't have any friends that stay that late into the evening, and the food courts close at four, anyways."

I see. On the back of the tickets was the third-year wisteria-class homeroom teacher's name. Generally speaking, middle-school and high-school students weren't able to use the university food court, but if they received teacher permission, it was okay, but they'd have to receive their teacher's signature on the back of the tickets.

"And I just kept them. Because two is not an easy number to find."

They were lacking one, if the Roses wanted to go together. And it would be awkward for her to go alone to the university food court, with her outstanding uniform, twice.

"Then, you could have gone with Shimako-san."

Yoshino-san said, exasperated. For Yoshino-san, two seemed to shout out sisters. Like, if Rei-sama received two meal tickets, Yoshino-san was supposed to be invited.

"With Shimako? And while eating ramen sitting across from each other, what do we talk about?"

Rosa Gigantea asked. She'd never even given it any thought, before.

"Anything. What you two talk about normally."

"We don't really talk much."

"But you're sisters!?"

"Shimako is precious. An irreplaceable little sister. But we prefer not to interfere with one another. That's more comfortable for both of us."

"That's…"

Yoshino-san gave it serious thought. It was probably incomprehensible for her, because she and Rei-sama was always together, and her relationship was so intimate. But Yumi could understand, a bit. Rosa Gigantea simply preferred "that kind" of relationship.

If Rosa Gigantea and Yoshino-san were at the opposite ends of the spectrum, Yumi and Sachiko-sama were slightly more toward Rosa Gigantea's side than the middle. Actually, it was far more than just slightly.

"But if we both have one ticket, there's nothing left for Rosa Gigantea."

"Oh, I don't need any. You two go ahead."

"But. We could split two ramen with three people."

Yumi was already preparing to have a meal. Just cookies weren't enough to satisfy her, so she'd completely forgotten about discretion.

"More important, I want to read. So, I'd actually prefer it if you two took your time."

"So we're an intrusion?"

"Frankly."

"… I could let you borrow the book without any interest for a week."

Yumi didn't think Rosa Gigantea needed to read the book now, to the point of treating her juniors to a meal (though in reality she received the meal tickets herself).

"If I go home, I'll lose interest. Sorry, could you just let me read it here?"

I guess that's how it is. –Yumi helplessly accepted the meal tickets and dragged Yoshino-san off to the pasta cafeteria.

"Hey- you forgot something."

Just as they stepped out of the Rose Mansion, they heard Rosa Gigantea's voice from above.

"What?"

When they stepped out toward the middle of the courtyard, they saw Rosa Gigantea leaning out of the window.

"Sorry, could you get canned coffee from the vending machine by the cafeteria on the way back? The small, hot, black one."

And she was unprepared for the small purse flying at her. "Gyah."

The reason she was able to catch it anyways was not because of the catcher's skill, but because the pitcher's control was incredibly good.

"Instead of a tip, you two can buy a can for yourself, too. Well, have fun."

Without waiting for a response, the second-floor window was shut. The two on the ground looked at the tasteful purse in Yumi's hand, then at the window that was shut, then sighed.

"Rosa Gigantea…"

"… is unfathomable."

"Let's go."

"… yeah."

It wasn't because they were hungry, but they suddenly felt exhausted. And they walked wordlessly to the pasta cafeteria.

Rosa Gigantea was alright as an "acquaintance senior," but she was probably extremely difficult if they were close. Well, not because she gave them meal tickets or threw purses at them.

Sachiko-sama was unreadable sometimes, too. But she was straight-forward, so once you figured out her pattern, she wasn't that difficult. Rosa Gigantea was a lot more twisted, so her real self seemed to be hidden behind layers and layers.

So Shimako-san, being the little sister to this Rosa Gigantea, was incredible, Yumi concluded, as she huddled and walked through the windy, university grounds.

Return to Main Page

Back to Part 3

Forward to Part 5