Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume14 Chapter4

Finding Me

Part 1

"So what happened then?"

Yuuki asked, spinning around on his chair.

"Not much."

Yumi answered, as she leaned back on her brother's bed and tossed a cushion in the air.

"We went to the old greenhouse and they took photos of me with a Rosa Chinensis bud. They're calling it the "Rose Name Series.""

A recent shot of a Rose family member from a Takeshima Tsutako photo-shoot and a mini-interview. Mami-san was jumping for joy as she paid for the pastries.

"Is it okay for you to be doing that on your own?"

Her little brother asked as he tossed the towel he'd dried his hair with over the bed's headboard. Yumi hastily dodged out of the way.

"I got permission from Sachiko-sama. I only co-operated with the newspaper club because she said okay. The Yamayurikai's busy too, so it's a pain if the newspaper club follows us around looking for something to write about. Since they're calling it a series, we'll be able to keep them quiet for a little while with just a photo and a short comment."

Still, Rosa Chinensis was a perennial, so they could find one blooming in the greenhouse at any time, but what about Rosa Foetida and Rosa Gigantea? Well, as long as they had the name of one of the Roses in the title, the newspaper club probably didn't care about the actual flower.

"Hmm. Still, since we're both so busy we don't get to talk that much. Sounds like there's lots going on at your school too, Yumi."

"Well, yeah."

Yumi adjusted her pajama trousers around the knee and sat down cross-legged.

She longed for a quiet and peaceful school life, but she couldn't really spend much time in blissful ignorance. She was Rosa Chinensis en bouton after all.

Yuuki was just as busy, or probably even more so, since he'd been getting home after 7 or 8 at night for a while now. The Hanadera Academy's school festival was next weekend.

The upshot of this was that they'd been having dinner separately and Yuuki was so tired that Yumi would regularly find him lying down in bed when she thought he'd gone for a bath.

Since, unusually, he got home before 7pm today, the entire family had had dinner together for the first time in a while. It really had been a long time since they'd chatted like this before bed.

"By the way, what about Alice? What happened after that?"

Yumi asked the question that had been nagging at her.

"What do you mean?"

"That thing before, where it was like he was being haunted …. what was it, shivers?"

That was it. The victim of "something akin to a haunting but it's probably actually a human" was Arisugawa Kintarou-kun, also known as Alice.

"Ah. Alice has been fine since then."

"Alice has?"

So it sounded like someone other than Alice hadn't been fine. Her curiosity piqued, Yumi questioned him further.

"Kobayashi's been acting kinda strange."

Was the response she got.

"Does Kobayashi-kun have a bad feeling like he's being haunted by something too?"

"No, it's the opposite. He seems to be walking around in an inexplicably good mood."

Yuuki shrugged.

"A good mood?"

"He says someone's got a crush on him, so he's on cloud nine."

What was that all about? Yumi shrugged. Well, Kobayashi-kun was the sort of person who could get a bit carried away.

"Alice is one thing, but I think Kobayashi has the completely wrong impression. He hasn't noticed it himself, but he's picked up Alice's shadow."

Apparently one or two days after Alice had said something about his bad feeling, Kobayashi-kun had happily announced, "Me too."

"But one's a bad feeling and the other a good feeling. They're the complete opposite."

"Not necessarily. They both involve someone harboring a strong emotion towards them, so in that sense it's the same. Depending on how they interpret that, they could have either a bad feeling or a good feeling, don't you think?"

"I see."

That was another way of looking at it.

Someone was watching them.

Whether they took it as a friendly gaze or a hostile gaze would vastly alter their impression of the onlooker.

"Ah, right."

Yuuki suddenly changed the topic, as though he'd just remembered something.

"Are any of the Roses afraid of heights?"

"Why?"

"Everyone sort of got carried away and they've made enormous towers."

"Towers?"

"Yeah. For the Roses to judge from."

"Ah – "

Yumi clasped her hands together.

That's right, Sachiko-sama and the other Roses had been asked to be judges and presenters at Hanadera Academy's school festival. From memory, it was called the "Hanadera War" or something.

"It's tall, huh."

"Well … yeah."

Yuuki answered somewhat reluctantly.

He said that while they were building it, they kept going, "More, more," and things escalated so it was about 1.5 times larger than the original blueprint.

According to Yuuki, "When building this sort of thing, guys tend to be generous." But then he said, "Their eyes were sparkling, like little kids playing with building blocks." Boys were hard to understand.

"If there's someone that can't handle heights, we'll have to change the towers. But in that case, the sooner you let me know the better."

"Alright. I'll ask around."

Having agreed to this, Yumi rose from her younger brother's bed.

As she left the room, Yumi turned around to say goodnight but Yuuki was already nodding off in his chair.

Part 2

"Heights? Ah, Sachiko's no good with them."

Rei-sama said, after school in the Rose Mansion.

"That's what I thought."

It was just as Yumi had expected.

"That's what you thought? So you knew about it, Yumi-chan?"

"Well, a while ago she told me she wouldn't go on the roller coaster. So I thought it might be because of that."

"The roller coaster? Ah, from when you asked her to take you to the amusement park."

As a combination birthday / White Day present for Yumi, they'd agreed to go on a half-day date at an amusement park. For a number of reasons it had been put off and pushed back, and at present it had been shelved for four months.

"Although back then I sort of felt as though it was because she didn't want to go on something fast."

"Ah, but she doesn't like cars either. You should know that, right Yumi-chan?"

"You mean how she gets carsick when traveling long distances?"

She knew that much, even in their first year together. Although the fact that Sachiko-sama had a weak constitution was something she'd been reminded of recently.

"Right, right. But despite this, she still blindly followed her father overseas when he asked. Did you hear about that?"

Rei-sama lowered her voice. Implying that Sachiko-sama had a father-complex proportionate to her man-hatred.

"One of my uncles would get a bit tipsy before getting on a plane, to distract himself from his fear of flying. But Sachiko's underage, so she can't get drunk, right? So what does she do? She relies on the power of medicine. She'll have some just before takeoff, then sleep. Get something to eat, more medicine, and sleep. Like that. On the plane trip for the school excursion, people get up out of their seats to go to the toilet, right? Passing Sachiko's class, all anyone could see was her passed out with drool running down her face."

As Rei-sama laughed heartily there was the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Who did you say was drooling?"

Unluckily, it was Sachiko-sama herself who had opened the biscuit door and stepped inside. She had an incredible presence, because she'd apparently met up with Yoshino-san, Shimako-san and Noriko-chan somewhere on the way here and they were following her like a retinue.

But.

"Oh, I was just speaking figuratively. No, more of an exaggeration, I suppose."

Rei-sama was neither wounded nor scratched by the glare from her good friend Sachiko-sama. She leaned back in her chair, her head held high.

"Yumi, you mustn't believe Rei's horror stories."

On her way past, Sachiko-sama gently poked Yumi on the forehead.

"Ah, right."

Still, Yumi didn't think the entire thing was a horror story. The part about her sleeping for almost the entire time in the air sounded like the truth and she may even have had a little bit of drool. As she was thinking this –

"That'd be nice, going on a school trip."

She'd unconsciously said what she was thinking, which made Sachiko-sama smile.

"It's not long now until your turn, Yumi."

"Yes."

She obediently responded then stood up to go and prepare the tea. However.

That wasn't it.

The words, "That'd be nice," hadn't sprang from her mouth just because she wanted to go on a school trip. Yumi was coveting "going on a school trip with Sachiko-sama."

They'd both attended Lillian's Girls Academy since kindergarten but, since they were one grade apart, they'd never been on a school trip together.

Of course, that wasn't limited to just school excursions – they'd never been in the same class, never worked on the same graduation project, nor shared the same page in a school yearbook.

And it went without saying that the majority of her time at school was spent separated from her beloved onee-sama.

Just think, if she was in the same class as Sachiko-sama and had a seat near hers, she could spend all that time watching her. Yumi was suddenly jealous of Sachiko-sama's classmates.

Although if they were in the same grade, Yumi couldn't have become her petit soeur. In the end, she knew she was asking for too much.

"Yumi-sama, I can do the rest."

Noriko-chan offered to help but Yumi turned her down with, "It's okay, I've got it."

She was making the tea for Sachiko-sama. Yumi considered the precious time they spent together, the accumulation of trivialities, as her treasures.

That was why she politely and carefully prepared the tea.

All the while hoping this would make it just that little bit more delicious.

"By the way, what led you to discussing aeroplanes?"

Sachiko-sama asked as she sipped the tea that may or may not have tasted a bit better than usual.

"Ah, we were talking about the Hanadera Academy school festival."

Sachiko-sama's eyes clouded over after hearing the details, much like Yumi had expected.

"Um, onee-sama? If it's no good, my brother said they can remake them."

"But that would also increase the cost. And all the time and effort they've put in so far will be for nothing, right?"

As expected of Sachiko-sama. Since she was so involved with their own school festival, she was well aware of things like costs and construction schedules.

"It'll be a bother to them too, right?"

Sachiko-sama let out a heavy sigh.

Naturally, it would be a problem for the Hanadera students who'd made the platforms bigger than planned, but that didn't mean they couldn't tell them to remake them. Although they hadn't stated that the platforms had to be less than a certain height.

"Understood. Then I'll humbly take your place atop the tower, onee-sama."

Yumi thumped her chest, "Leave it to me." At which point Sachiko-sama nimbly took hold of her fist and said:

"Please stop, Yumi. I'd rather do it myself than force it on you. No matter the height, I'll fulfill my duties as Rosa Chinensis superbly, so just watch on quietly."

"But he said it was like looking down at the ground from a second-floor window."

"The second floor?"

"Yeah."

Yumi nodded and Sachiko-sama laughed a high-pitched "Hohoho."

"In that case it's completely fine. The second floor is only as high as the first-floor roof, right? Leaning out a window at that height is nothing at all. You couldn't possibly think that I can't go to the third-floor of the school building, right?"

"… No."

She hadn't thought that.

She hadn't thought that, but had Sachiko-sama properly considered how she'd feel out in the open without the walls and ceiling around her? To say nothing of the fact that the towers were built by untrained high-school students.

Shaky and precarious. Even without seeing them, Yumi could picture them easily enough.

"Enough, no more grumbling. Please just tell Yuuki-san that we understand. Don't say anything more than necessary."

"… Alright."

Even though Yumi didn't think she was grumbling, she knew that Sachiko-sama would just dig in further if she said anything more, so she chose to quietly withdraw. But she thought she should be prepared to step in quickly if the real thing turned out to be too much for Sachiko-sama.

"You've become quite adept at handling Sachiko, Yumi-chan."

Rei-sama whispered softly.

"Huh, no. That wasn't what I intended."

It wasn't what she intended but somehow it had worked out like that.

Although it felt like she'd unwittingly pushed Sachiko-sama to the top of a tall tower.

"Shimako-sa~n."

Yoshino-san called out leisurely, since it didn't affect her directly

"Are you okay with heights, Shimako-san?"

"The second-floor? It might be a little scary."

By putting it into words like that, Shimako-san showed she was the type of person who could look at reality and calmly assess the situation.

In contrast.

"Oh, don't look so worried. It'll be a piece of cake. Now, let's get to work, to work."

Sachiko-sama was the type of person that convinced themselves they'd be fine, then tried not to think about it any more, which left Yumi feeling nervous.

Part 3

Tsutako-san was sitting in her classroom seat after school and sighing.

"What's the matter? You're not going home?"

"Ah, Yumi-san. Good timing … or bad, maybe."

Yumi had been in the Rose Mansion working on school festival related tasks but they'd reached a break in their work, so she'd returned to the classroom to pick up something she'd forgotten.

They'd had PE today, so she had to take her PE clothes home. The days were still warm despite it being September and she didn't dare leave her sweat-stained shirt and leggings in her locker for two days.

"What's up?"

There were a number of photos on Tsutako-san's desk. She was probably in the middle of sorting them, since they were spread out face-up like a deck of cards. Because Tsutako-san took a lot of hidden-camera photos around campus, it wasn't that unusual to see her like this.

Sorting them by person, or by those that were okay to publish and those that weren't, or by those that would inevitably be torn up. The way she divided them changed depending on the occasion.

"Oh, are all of these photos of me?"

Yumi picked up a few to have a closer look. About ten photos of Fukuzawa Yumi, all taken without her notice.

"That's right."

Tsutako-san never tried to talk her way out of these situations.

She had indeed taken them. She wouldn't publish them if you didn't want. She would give you a copy if you wanted one. But they were such good shots that you should share them with the world. – That's how these conversations generally went.

"I was thinking about the school festival when I took these photos of you. For the photography club's display."

"But why me?"

"Because it was a huge success last year. That giant panel of you and Sachiko-sama. So I thought I'd rely on the Red Rose soeurs again this year."

"Hey."

So was that why she'd said, "Good timing or bad?" But at this point Yumi couldn't see what was "bad" about it.

"So what's troubling you, Tsutako-san?"

"Do I look troubled?"

"Totally."

Since she was sitting alone in the gloom of an unlit classroom, her arms folded and sighing deeply. Even if she wasn't troubled, she was thinking deeply about something difficult.

"What is it? Is there a problem with your subject?"

"Yumi-san is cute. Wonderful as always."

"… Is that so?"

Tsutako-san would often praise her even though Yumi thought she looked plain and clumsy in the photos. Although, if pressed, she'd admit that recently she'd come to realize that Tsutako-san liked those sorts of photos. Instead of photos of everyone saying "Cheese" and looking at the camera, Tsutako-san preferred ones where the subjects were looking off into the distance, or nonchalantly going about their daily lives.

"But when did you take these?"

As well as the ones at school, there were some that looked like they were taken while she was commuting to or from school. Ones were she was walking side-by-side with Sachiko-sama in front of the train station, or talking excitedly with Shimako-san at the bus stop. Although, as expected, there weren't any of her lying in bed with her stomach growling, nor any bath scenes.

"Yumi-san is fine."

Tsutako-san repeated.

"Then what's wrong?"

"You don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

She tried to remember earlier photos she'd been in but couldn't see how they differed to these. Of course the situations and the times were all different. It didn't seem like there was any significant improvement or decline in the photographer's skill either.

"It's not so obvious in the first few."

Tsutako-san gathered the photos into a bundle then sorted them and placed a couple in front of Yumi.

"But by this point it should be incredibly obvious."

"Huh?"

Tsutako-san pulled out three "incredibly obvious" photos and lined them up on the desk. Then.

"Ah!?"

Even someone as slow as Yumi could see it clearly. She'd completely missed it when casually looking over them, but with them laid out like this the problem became apparent. Then once she'd worked it out, she took another look at the "not so obvious" photos and while the problem didn't stand out it was indeed there too.

"– So you see, I can't display these."

Tsutako-san said.

"It's a shame but I'll have to destroy the negatives. It'd be a disaster if the newspaper club got their hands on these."

"What a waste."

"Yeah. Although, I didn't notice it until I developed them. Since you didn't seem to know about it either, maybe nobody would notice if we played dumb and displayed one of these at the school festival."

But Tsutako-san would know. Yumi would know too. If one of the photos was on display, they'd probably be irrationally irritated by the problem.

"I could trim them down to just you."

"No, there's no need."

Up until now, Yumi had received a copy of most of the photos Tsutako-san had taken of her, but this time she held back.

Holding a photo that was trimmed down to just her, she wouldn't be able to keep herself from thinking about the world left behind. That said, she had neither the talent nor the nerve to take responsibility for the dozen or so photos that Tsutako-san had decided to destroy. To say nothing of the wisdom required to make the right decision.

"It's kinda scary."

"Looking at it from your point of view, it is a bit."

Tsutako-san gathered the photos and put them in an envelope.

"It ends for me when I destroy these, but what will you do, Yumi-san?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe you'd have been better off not knowing."

"No, it's alright. Thanks."

Yumi picked up the bag with her PE clothes and walked unsteadily out of the classroom.

Should she talk to Sachiko-sama about this?

(I know I shouldn't hide things from onee-sama when I'm talking to her.)

But she didn't want this to get blown out of proportion. On top of that, she still hadn't sorted out her own feelings.

Tsutako-san's photos. Was there a chance it was just a coincidence?

(A dozen coincidences?)

Could that sort of thing happen?

In the photos, her hair was tied with a variety of ribbons. That was definitive proof that they were taken on different days. And yet, in each of them, that shadow behind her –

On her way back to the Rose Mansion, Yumi looked over her shoulder a number of times.

Maybe there was someone there.

The dozen photos were causing a disturbance in Yumi's chest.

Part 4

The following day was Friday, so Yumi informed everyone that she had something she had to attend to, then put in an hour of work before leaving the Rose Mansion early.

It was halfway between when school let out and when after-school activities ended, so there were hardly any students walking along the path lined with ginkgo trees.

It had been a while since she'd left school on her own.

It felt a bit strange to not have her friends beside her. She wondered if she'd get used to it before too long.

With no-one in front, behind, or to the left or right of her, Yumi keenly felt the cool breeze passing by. She thought of the young lady that had caused the cool breeze of uneasiness to blow through her heart.

Perhaps that girl would call out to her. A part of her was expecting this as she walked.

If she did call out to her, Yumi thought she would suggest they walk together. Then as they walked, she'd have a chance to ask the question she had to ask.

Yumi walked slowly without looking back. The wind that blew through the ginkgo leaves ruffled both her hair and her heart.

"Yumi-chan."

However, the voice that called out to her belonged to someone else.

"… Sei-sama."

The former Rosa Gigantea and current Lillian's University student, Satou Sei-sama, flew over to Yumi's side like she'd jumped the fence from the university grounds. Her blue-and-white-striped shirt had a white sailor collar, showing the barest traces of Sei-sama as she had been when she was Rosa Gigantea.

"Heading home?"

"Yeah."

Yumi nodded, since she was undoubtedly heading home, then Sei-sama put her arm around her shoulder and whispered into her ear:

"By the way, you know there's a creeper?"

"A creeper? That's a bit rude."

"Ah, so you did know. My apologies."

But she only knew because of Tsutako-san's photos, without those, who knew how long Yumi might have remained ignorant. And yet Sei-sama had figured it out after a quick glance. Just proving she wasn't an average human being.

"So how far you taking that?"

Sei-sama didn't turn around, instead she jerked her fist up, pointing her thumb behind her.

"To the school gate, for now."

"The school gate? Is there something at the school gate?"

"If I lied, you'd find out soon enough … there is something."

This was an unexpected development. So would the addition of essence of Satou Sei-sama to the previously prepared meal bring good luck or bad? It was impossible to predict.

"I won't get in your way so can I watch?"

"You're not going to quietly walk away if I say no anyway."

"Exactly."

What choice did she have? Yumi resigned herself to fate. Sei-sama was the sort of person who could be annoyingly persistent.

Upon recognizing Yumi, the person leaning against the gatepost lazily waved and smiled.

"Yo, Yumi-chan."

As she looked up at his face, Yumi idly thought, "Of course he'd greet me with, "Yo.""

"Either way, sending Kashiwagi-san … "

Why did he stand out so much when he was wearing a plain cotton shirt over a deep blue T-shirt and a completely ordinary pair of jeans? Was it his actions, or his face brimming with self-confidence? At any rate, he was tall and stylish, which would make his presence felt. Yumi was once more relieved that there were hardly any students around. The handful of students at the bus stop were obviously conscious of what was happening as they kept glancing her way.

"You're as cute as ever."

Kashiwagi-san played with her hair bunches like he might with a puppy's tail.

"Don't you think you're going a bit too far?"

Yumi grinned as she batted away his overly-familiar hands.

"Going too far? Don't be like that. This isn't an act, I'm just taking this chance to let my true feelings out."

He placed his right hand over his heart as he brought his face closer to hers. His expression looking like he was about to shout, "Juliet!"

"My apologies. But, I'm female."

Kashiwagi-san was drunk on himself, so she pushed his head back to its normal position. If things had kept going, it looked as though they might have kissed.

"Female. What's wrong with that? I adore women. Because without women there would be no men."

"Well, that's true, but."

It wasn't that she'd said the keyword "female" because she wanted to get into that kind of conversation. It was just that Kashiwagi-san preferred men and Yumi was simply asserting that as a female she wasn't a target for his affection.

"Setting that aside, what's up with your creeper? She seems a bit different to what Yukichi described."

"Creeper? How rude."

Having just been christened a creeper, Sei-sama appeared from the shadow of the gate and scowled at Kashiwagi-san.

"Sei-sama."

"Oh right, I said I was going to watch on quietly, didn't I? But how could I walk away when I saw the ginkgo prince sinking his poisonous fangs into cute little Yumi-chan right before my very eyes?"

"You're wrong."

There was a reason for this. But Kashiwagi-san and Sei-sama were both the type of people that would keep on talking without giving her a chance to explain. She tried to start, but the tempo of the conversation was too fast and she couldn't really break into it.

"So we're in agreement that Yumi-chan is cute. But, ginkgo prince? That's inexcusable. You couldn't possibly be referring to me, could you?"

Couldn't possibly.

"Who else is there but you, you prick?"

As usual, Sei-sama became foul-mouthed when talking to Kashiwagi-san.

"Women shouldn't say things like that."

"Is that why you said what you did before? Stop putting boxes around men and women. Your adoration of women just shows how indelibly stained you are with those old ways of thinking."

"Men and women are fundamentally different. Since you want to be treated as an equal, saying that just makes you come across as childish."

"While I'd very much like to refute you in great detail, I don't think we'd ever come to an agreement, so I'm going to stop this argument for now. By the way, how was I wrong, Yumi-chan?"

Yumi had been opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish, waiting for the right time to jump into their conversation, and at long last that chance had arrived.

"Um, well you see, Sei-sama. Kashiwagi-san was just acting friendly because my brother asked him. Right?"

Yumi sought confirmation from Kashiwagi-san, since it would be bad for both of them for this weird misunderstanding to remain. But that Kashiwagi-san.

"Not at all. I volunteered."

"V-volunteered?"

"Yep. Yukichi and the others were secretly discussing something in the student council room, so I drew it out of them and got them to entrust it to me."

Hearing this, Sei-sama spat out the following words in shock:

"Seriously, showing up at school after you've graduated.. Don't you know that people who do that are the most hated type of graduates?"

Sei-sama had apparently completely forgotten her initial promise to watch without interfering. She kept nipping at Kashiwagi-san like a dog that was looking to pick a fight while being taken for a walk. Yumi considered trying to stop her, but if she got involved it might just excite matters further, so she decided to watch on. From a distance, it probably looked like they were all close friends.

"That's too bad for you, then. I was invited back by my juniors. Six months after graduation. Life's tough when you're an adored senior."

"Asked back? By the student council?"

"No, by the mystery novel club."

"Why would a guest of the mystery novel club be in the student council room? Or, what? Does the mystery novel club meet in the student council room at Hanadera Academy?"

"Well, since I was already there, I decided to pop in and pay them a visit."

"I suppose you mainly wanted to get a look at Yuuki's face."

"You got it. But where's the harm in that?"

"Alright. However, I can't ignore your overly familiar behavior towards Yumi-chan."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, that Kashiwagi-san's just pretending to be close."

"I'm not pretending. I really do want to be close to you."

"I'm sorry, Kashiwagi-san, but can you please stop talking until I tell you to. You're complicating the conversation."

Enough already. She had to go back to the start and correct her explanation.

"Basically, what I was saying was – "

Yumi said as she resumed slowly walking. But while it was good that Kashiwagi-san was staying silent, she was no longer sure just how she should explain this.

"The goal was to let your annoying chaperone see you being close to a guy. Am I wrong, Yumi-chan?"

Sei-sama asked, arriving at the conclusion early.

"No, that's right."

The "annoying chaperone" part was a bit wrong though.

"Was this plan something you came up with on your own?"

" … No. It was my brother and his friends."

"I'll bet. Ah, the bus is here. Shall we get on?"

"Yeah."

Yumi jogged over to the bus stop, arriving just as the bus to M station was leisurely pulling up and opening its doors. The students already waiting there had formed into a line and climbed on board in turn. Students that had just walked out the school gate, and those that had been chatting to their friends who came by car, spotted the bus and quickly ran over.

"You're coming too?"

Sei-sama asked, looking at Kashiwagi-san who was following them in silence. Now it kind of felt like Kashiwagi-san was being the creeper.

"So what happened to your pretentious chili red car?"

"…"

No reply was forthcoming.

"You can talk now, Kashiwagi-san."

Yumi broke the spell and Kashiwagi-san took a deep breath and laughed, saying, "It's hard not to talk."

"Still, my chilli red car? You're one to talk, Satou-kun. What about your mustard yellow car?"

"Lillian's University doesn't allow commuting by car."

"Same with Hanadera University. I was on my way home after class today."

"Ohh."

"Given the choice, I'd much rather have hidden my car somewhere and taken Yumi-chan for a drive, but if we did that then we couldn't be tailed."

"By the creeper?"

"Yeah. So let's move a bit further towards the back."

To be more easily tailed.

A single Lillian's student got on right at the very last moment and then the bus took off. She slid into a seat in the front row and didn't turn around once during the trip to M station.

Seated in the back, Yumi probably wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't already known who it was.

Part 5

The following day.

After cleaning, Kanako-chan paid a visit to Yumi's classroom and asked her, "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure. It's been a while since we last talked."

Yumi immediately agreed and went with her. Kanako-chan had suddenly stopped appearing after the pastry incident.

Kanako-chan walked in silence. At first Yumi thought there was somewhere specific she was heading for but that didn't seem to be the case.

Well, maybe there had been somewhere she was aiming for but she'd had to change plans because there was already someone at that spot, or it didn't seem conducive to a quiet conversation, or something along those lines. They walked together from the courtyard to the back of the school then circled around the gymnasium.

It was after school on Saturday.

The weather was fine.

The students that were staying into the afternoon had already spread out around the courtyard and the rest of the school grounds to enjoy their lunches.

There were plenty of students heading home, as well as some classes still cleaning – perhaps because their homeroom had gone over time. If they waited just a little while they'd be sure to find some place suitable, but given Kanako-chan's concerned expression it didn't seem like they'd be able to idly while away the time.

Consequently, Yumi led her to the old greenhouse. Hardly anyone visited that spot.

Kanako-chan's face finally softened slightly when they reached that secluded location.

The outside looked as dilapidated as ever but the inside was surprisingly tidy, and the roses and other plants were all growing strong and healthy. Just who was it that took care of all of them?

"Was there something you wanted to discuss?"

Yumi asked quietly. Then, without any introduction, Kanako-chan pleaded:

"Please don't go to the Hanadera Academy school festival tomorrow."

"Huh!?"

Yumi had plenty of things she wanted to discuss too, but this topic of Kanako-chan's was completely unexpected. So she was dumbfounded when Kanako-chan broke the ice with, "Don't go to the school festival."

"I don't mean to be rude, Yumi-sama, but you're not yet a Rose, so it should be fine if you don't go."

"Well, that's true, but."

Officially, Hanadera Academy had only requested the assistance of the three Roses. Technically, the boutons did not have to attend.

"From what I heard, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama didn't attend last year."

"Hasekura Rei-sama did."

"But doesn't that just show attendance is voluntary? If you said you didn't want to go, then you wouldn't have to go, right?"

"It's not like that."

It was hard to explain but it wasn't as simple as that. While Yumi was searching for words, Kanako-chan asked her directly:

"Or do you want to go?"

Since she was being so straightforward, Yumi perversely found herself wanting to investigate.

"Why don't you want me to go, Kanako-chan?"

The response she got was unexpected.

"That place is dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"Because it's full of boys."

"Huh?"

Kanako-chan spoke as though it was a safari park or a zoo. Like, "That place is dangerous because it's full of carnivores."

"Boys will be after you, Yumi-sama."

See, like that.

"Huh?"

"Because you're so cute."

"…"

It was a somewhat baffling explanation. Basically, it went something like this:

Boys schools were full of boys, so they were dangerous. Therefore, she shouldn't go to the Hanadera Academy school festival.

"You're unguarded, Yumi-sama. It may be innocence, but you don't show any wariness when a boy calls out to you. Boys are so dangerous that you always, always, have to be on guard."

Kanako-chan emphasized, clenching her fists tightly.

"So you followed all the boys I came into contact with?"

"Huh?"

"Yesterday, you followed Kashiwagi-san after I split from him at M station, didn't you?"

Yumi asked.

"… I don't know what you're talking about."

"My brother followed you from the train station. He said a tall girl with long hair followed Kashiwagi-san back to his house, then turned around and retraced her steps."

"… Why?"

Kanako-chan turned away and fiddled with her hair.

"Why are you believing some boy's words instead of mine, Yumi-sama?"

"He's not some boy, he's my brother."

Hearing this declaration, Kanako-chan hung her head in shame and muttered almost inaudibly.

"Because I was worried."

"You followed them because you were worried? Were you also watching me because you were worried?"

Kanako-chan didn't respond to Yumi's question. Her silence proving that the student with the long hair in the background of Tsutako-san's photos was her after all, it wasn't a coincidence nor was it a case of mistaken identity.

"A while ago, you followed members of the Hanadera Academy student council too, didn't you?"

"How could I allow it? That … that tranny was clinging to you. Ambushing you at the Lillian's school gates."

Turning defiant, Kanako-chan resorted to harsh language.

"Don't call him that."

"But he is a tranny. Weak as he may be, it doesn't change the fact that he's male."

Hearing her spit this out, Yumi finally realized. That Kanako-chan just might –

"Do you not like men?"

"I hate them. They're the worst animals of all."

Given this declaration, it seemed Kanako-chan really did hate men.

Kanako-chan apparently had the same hatred of men as Sachiko-sama.

No, hold on.

In the face of Kanako-chan's outright loathing of men, Sachiko-sama's "man hatred" didn't really stack up.

Perhaps what Sachiko-sama had was closer to a "man phobia." She froze up whenever one approached her unawares, but she definitely didn't see men as the enemy. She just wasn't inoculated against them and panicked sometimes.

"I'm sure there are some horrible men, but they're not all like that."

"Maybe not, but the vast majority are."

Kanako-chan asserted confidently. This seemed to be quite ingrained.

"But still, men and women, we're all human – you should have learned this during health class. Even you must have a father, right?"

"I do not."

"Uh … o-okay."

"That man is no father."

"–"

Every family had its own circumstances, so she didn't want to pry too much.

Hating men in and of itself meant there must be a reason behind it. Whereas it usually didn't require a reason to like them – wait, who was it that said that?

"But Kanako-chan."

Roughly half of all humanity were men, so if she rejected them entirely she was narrowing her own world. Of course, Yumi wasn't about to say she should force herself to like them. But it was a bit sad that Kanako-chan would just cast them aside "because they're men." She was much, much more pitiable than all the men she'd cast aside up until now, and all those she'd cast aside in the future.

"You too, you're going to stand up for men, are you Yumi-sama?"

Kanako-chan laughed coldly.

At that point Yumi thought that perhaps Kanako-chan was transferring her anger against someone else onto her. The way Kanako-chan said, "You too," stuck in her ears for some reason.

"Yumi-sama. Please, enough already. Arguing about boys just doesn't suit you."

"Doesn't suit me?"

"Right. You have to stay your usual angelic self forever, Yumi-sama. Don't look upon those filthy boys, remain a pure maiden eternally. Smiling in Maria-sama's academy."

Kanako-chan closed her eyes in rapture. However.

"That's impossible."

Yumi spoke clearly.

"Why?"

"I like this school, so I'd like to stay here forever. But I'm going to grow older whether I like it or not, and as I grow older all sorts of things will change."

"I'm talking about the present, not the future."

"Even so. I'm my own person, with my own personality. I'm glad that you worry about me, Kanako-chan. But I've said that I'm going to Hanadera, and I can take responsibility for myself, and make judgments appropriate for my age."

"But that's not what I desire."

"Not what you desire … ?"

It was getting harder to understand what Kanako-chan was talking about. What had she meant by that last remark?

"What I'm looking for is the Rosa Chinensis bud that waits patiently in the greenhouse until the day it blossoms. The perfect, radiant flower that's been provided with water and nutrients and kept at a constant temperature, that's untouched by the cold, open air or insects. When I first saw you, I just knew that you were so pure that you were a fitting embodiment of Lillian's Girls Academy. So, please, stay here and bloom into a beautiful flower. There's absolutely no need for you to look outside."

"I'm not the exemplary person you think I am, Kanako-chan."

More like a dandelion - far more mundane, not particularly rare, and the only thing slightly noteworthy was how easily it could take root.

"It's not just me, I'm sure everyone else looks at you the same way, Yumi-sama. The one fit to be Rosa Chinensis' petit soeur. The one everyone adores … !"

"But I'm telling you, you're wrong."

"So you've been fooling everyone then?"

"Huh?"

"Because it was you yourself that gave us that impression in the first place. If you say it's wrong, then so be it. But please, act in a manner befitting your image right to the very end. Don't do any rash actions that aren't like you. Don't say such ill-suited words."

After this spray of nonsense, Kanako-chan's face crumpled and large teardrops stained her cheeks. Looking at that tear-stained face, Yumi wondered why Kanako-chan was crying.

Since Yumi was the one under attack.

She was being unilaterally condemned, even though she didn't understand the charges against her.

"Please don't betray everyone's expectations."

Kanako-chan shrieked then dashed off. However, the exit was blocked by someone that had appeared unbeknownst to them.

"That's quite the cruel thing you said."

Yumi opened her eyes when she heard that haughty voice. Standing there, like in a dream, was her beloved onee-sama.

"You started liking her of your own accord and followed her around. But when you found out she didn't live up to your ideal, you lashed out at her. Did you really think anyone would accept your logic?"

"Onee-sama … "

From behind her, Yumi couldn't see Kanako-chan's expression. But she'd never seen Sachiko-sama looking as stern as this before and her voice was both filled with anger and completely cold.

"Stop acting so conceited. The world doesn't revolve around you."

Sachiko-sama roared, and Kanako-chan couldn't muster a single word of objection.

Sachiko-sama stepped to the side, allowing enough room for one person to fit past her, and Kanako-chan ran out of the greenhouse.

The stress was suddenly gone from Yumi and she crouched on the ground as her legs gave way.

Part 6

"Are you alright?"

Sachiko-sama asked quietly, her hand on Yumi's shoulder.

"Yeah … or rather, it doesn't feel like this is real yet."

Still crouching down, Yumi looked up at her onee-sama. Her face was no longer as terrifying as a demon's, nor was her voice as cold as ice.

"I received a phone call from Sei-sama last night. She said she was a bit worried and I should keep an eye out for you. As usual, she's on the same wavelength as you."

Sachiko-sama answered Yumi's question of, "Why are you here?" before she could ask it.

"But."

Sei-sama was indeed always helping her. But Sachiko-sama was definitely the person she wanted there the most right at that moment.

"What did she mean when she was talking about things "like me?" I've never really thought about how people view me."

Yumi was still confused, so she said what had stuck in her mind. She wanted to understand the situation and sort out her feelings.

"That's for the best, don't you think?"

Sachiko-sama smiled.

"Although it's something I think about from time to time."

"Oh, really?"

"Selfish. Arrogant. Hysterical … I think I've got a pretty good grasp on my own image."

Sachiko-sama took a few steps over to the flowerbed and gently stroked the Rosa Chinensis bud. It looked to be a little larger and a bit redder than when Tsutako-san had taken the photograph just a few days earlier.

"You should just do what you think, and not consider what's "like you." The end result will be "like you." In your case, Yumi, I think that's for the best."

"Onee-sama … "

"That girl admired you based on appearances. That may serve as a thin thread to bring people together. But by itself it's weak. It falls a long way short of what you'd call a connection. That's all it was."

Sachiko-sama was saying that how they met wasn't important. What was important was how they forged their bonds after that.

A weak thread was easy to cut. It would inevitably get broken sooner or later. Even if it was repaired it might just get broken again.

"That reminds me, the first thing that drew me to you was when I saw you playing "Ave Maria" on the organ, onee-sama."

Yumi stood up and brushed the dirt from her skirt.

"Right. Appearances are the easiest thing to notice. But the most important things are hidden deep inside, so it can be quite a struggle to reach them."

"Inside?"

"Precisely."

Sachiko-sama held out her hand towards Yumi, and Yumi walked over to her onee-sama's side.

"I like your face, your hair, your voice, your fingertips and all that. But it's not because of your appearance that I like you. What I love is your soul, which moves them all."

Sachiko-sama's hand stroked Yumi's cheek, touched her hair, and gripped her hand before coming to rest on the knot of the tie of her uniform.

"My soul?"

"Yes. The part that can't be seen. If there's anything that's "Yumi-like," don't you think it would be that?"

"And you could find that, onee-sama?"

Yumi wanted Sachiko-sama to answer, to say that she'd unhesitatingly find that precious thing hidden deep inside, that thing that only Yumi had and which made her who she was.

"Of course? Even if I was in a silent world of pitch black, if you were there I'd know instantly, Yumi."

"Uh … "

"Or … let's see. Suppose you were involved in some sort of terrible accident, and you were taken to a hospital and wrapped in bandages like an Egyptian mummy, lying in a bed alongside a thousand similar people, I'd still be able to identify you on my first attempt."

"Um, onee-sama, that example's a bit dark."

"I suppose. But that's how certain I am that I wouldn't mistake you."

Like that huh? Suddenly, her strength was gone and the tears started welling up and spilling over. Her onee-sama was holding her hand out, waiting for her and Yumi didn't hesitate in running over to her.

"Onee-sama~"

The switch had been flipped and the tears were coming one after the other with no way to stop them.

However, it wasn't a flood of tears brought about by Kanako-chan's words.

Sachiko-sama had warmed Yumi's heart. That was why there was the stream of tears.

If she really was in a silent world of pitch black, or bandaged like an Egyptian mummy, Yumi didn't know if her onee-sama would actually find her. Somewhere in her heart she knew it was probably impossible.

But even so, those words were what Yumi needed right at that moment. Like ointment applied to a graze, they were the medicine she needed to protect herself from the open air.

"It's alright. I'm here for you, Yumi."

Sachiko-sama stroked Yumi's hair like she were a child, and amazingly her heart steadied. Without wiping away her tears, Yumi buried her head in the warmth of her onee-sama's chest.

When people say, "Everyone," how many people are they talking about?

One hundred? Two hundred? Or even more than that?

She didn't know.

However.

Being liked by everyone wasn't everything.

If there was just one person who felt that way, that was more than enough.

Yumi was thinking of her one and only irreplaceable onee-sama.

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