Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume1 Chapter4 3

Spicy and Bitter Weekend. Part 3.

Had Sachiko-sama simply gone home, there would be no way to catch up, but she couldn't allow herself to simply stand pat.

After entering the school facilities from the courtyard, she shuffled along quickly. When she passed by a Sister, she put on an "I was walking the entire time" face. Being so deceptive was not something she was proud of, but finding Sachiko-sama was her first priority, and so she had no time to be receiving an unnecessary lecture.

Yumi first went to the visitors' entrance. She was sure she had seen someone like Sachiko-sama as she walked out from there. She walked out and ran down the path to the library. She took a right on Maria-sama's intersection and went to the main gate, and even ran outside the auditorium on her way back, but she saw no sign of Sachiko-sama.

Did she really just run away-. As Yumi thought that, she walked back to the school facilities.

That proud Sachiko-sama running away with her tail between her legs was not suitable. She seemed more the type to raise hysteria and fight back.

Yumi looked down at her feet. She had dashed out in her indoor shoes.

Had she found Sachiko-sama in that state, she had no idea what she would have done.

If she forcibly brought her back, lectured her, and forced her to hold hands with a guy, would she have been satisfied?

That would be even more unsuitable. Definitely not good.

Instead of returning to the visitor's entrance, Yumi went straight to the primary gymnasium. Scheduled for today was primarily a dance lesson for Kashiwagi-san, preferably using stage they would be using for the actual performance, for rehearsal.

There was one indoor shoe in the shoe box for the gymnasium.

"A preceding visitor…?"

When she peeked inside in her socks, she noticed a figure.

"Sachiko-sama!?"

Yumi began running. The person sitting on the stage looked up with a miserable face.

"Ahh, Yumi."

"So you didn't go home!?"

Why, why, why, why, was she here?

"I told everyone 'I will go ahead to the gymnasium.'"

- so she did. Yumi also heard that.

"I'm, an idiot."

She hated herself for coming to conclusions on her own. No one said Sachiko-sama had gone home. Yumi had simply let her imagination run berserk.

"But you were on the road to the library, weren't you?"

"… No."

That was a lie.

She was dubious until then, but that was clearly Sachiko-sama. She had looked away for a split second before answering, and that confirmed her suspicions.

"Okay."

Yumi didn't ask any further. She placed her hand on the stage and jumped up, sitting down next to Sachiko-sama.

"Your skirt will become dirty."

Sachiko-sama laughed with a side glance.

"How about Sachiko-sama?"

"I just noticed."

No need to be in a hurry now, Sachiko-sama seemed to say, as she calmly remained seated, so Yumi stayed, too.

They were alone in the big gymnasium. On the day of the school festival, there would be many pipe chairs, turning this into an assembly hall.

She struggled to believe that, on the very stage she sat on, she would eventually stand and act in front of many people. Come to think of it, the entire week was fresh and intense and dizzying, and she still felt like she was just in a big dream. Thus, even though the performance was in a mere week, she struggled to realize it was a reality.

She wondered what Sachiko-sama was thinking in this empty gymnasium before Yumi arrived. And now, with Yumi by her side, what could she be thinking?

"I was there."

It was so sudden that she didn't immediately recognize where "there" was. So she glanced at the entry to see who had come.

"I was actually there, by the library road."

"Ehh!?"

"Yumi went to pick up the Hanadera student council leader, correct? So, I went to take a look at him, first."

She secretly waited, to take a look at his face. Although she had answered "no" earlier, for whatever reason, she became willing to open herself up.

"Why did you run off to the library?"

"Because Yumi seemed to notice. I didn't mind if it was just Yumi, but if Hanadera's student council leader noticed, too, it would be a bit awkward."

"… well, it would be a bit impolite."

Yumi sighed. It was a bit stingy to steal a look prior to their supposed "first meeting," but at the same time, Sachiko-sama might have needed that mental preparation, as it was clearly going to be an intense thing for her to handle-.

"What did you think, then?"

"Think. Well, nothing in particular. I just wanted to see the opponent before I was seen, that is all."

Sachiko-sama hopped down from the stage.

"Okay? I am unwilling to dance with the Hanadera student council leader, but I will not run from myself. If I run, I lose. And I hate losing more than anything else."

Awesome.

Sachiko-sama definitely needed to keep looking strong.

But, Sachiko-sama winning would mean Yumi being Cinderella, so as much as she wanted to, she couldn't cheer on Sachiko-sama in that regard.

"Yumi."

Sachiko-sama was stretching, perhaps the burden lifted by speaking.

"I shall be your dance partner until everyone else arrives."

"Eh?"

As she processed this, Sachiko-sama pulled her off the stage, took Yumi's right hand with her left hand, and drew in Yumi's hip with her right hand.

"Eh, it's alright, it's alright."

Sachiko-sama being a practice partner was absurd. Yumi lightly refused. However.

"Even if you're alright, I'm not. You seem to have remembered the steps, but Yumi's dancing was not smooth and it was bothering me."

When told that, she had no choice.

One, two, three, two, two, three.

With the count started, she gave up and stepped back with her left foot.

"Don't be nervous. You have to be able to dance with anyone."

Their clasped hands, the hand around her waist, all of this was too much for her, and she couldn't concentrate. Robotically, mechanically, she felt like she was going through the steps like an assembly-line worker. Her palm was sweaty. She wondered if Sachiko-sama noticed.

"There's no need to think. Just trust your body's memory and leave everything to it."

Unlike Rei-sama, their heights were not that different, so it felt like their faces were close.

One, two, three, two, two, three.

"Don't rush, smile."

Even though her partner was this bad, Sachiko-sama seemed to be having fun. It might have been forced, at first, but as she smiled along, she felt like she became less tense.

"Right. You're doing superb."

Sachiko-sama was the one who was superb. She was performing the male steps, despite not knowing them all too well, perfectly, and her leading was incredibly skillful.

"I had no idea dancing was this fun."

When she mumbled that, Sachiko-sama narrowed her eyes and nodded.

"Indeed. I had no idea, either."

She wished they could remain dancing like this forever. At least for now, Sachiko-sama felt the same way as her, and so she allowed herself a moment of conceit.

Cinderella and the Prince's meeting went without any further delay and chaos.

(Well, not that I expected there to be any biting upon their first meeting.)

However, even Yumi was honestly surprised when Sachiko-sama stepped forward and began greeting.

"Good day, I am Ogasawara. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"… Good day."

Perhaps he had heard about Sachiko-sama beforehand, but Kashiwagi-san seemed to be a bit perplexed by her proactive greeting.

Ahh, but Sachiko-sama. A smile was a smile, but she was clearly forcing it. She had no need to force herself that much.

"But, boy, I wish Sachiko and Yumi-chan could have seen it. Kashiwagi-sama as the prince. We stopped by the clothing room to test the costume on him, and wow, he was hands-down the prince on a white horse!"

She felt bad for Rosa Foetida, whose eyes were sparkling and dreamy, but she was not particularly interested.

The character whose name was the title was the protagonist for these fairy tales, so as long as the Cinderella was beautiful, is how she felt. The prince was simply a supplement, vegetables pickled in soy sauce, to use a curry analogy, or minced Japanese leek. As long as he didn't upstage the heroine, it was enough.

Plus, the prince in Cinderella doesn't appear on a white horse. Rather, he simply sits in his castle, and most things popped up for him, an extraordinarily fortunate person.

After the dance club arrived a bit late, they decided to put together the ballroom dance scene. So they would get used to the starting positions and spaciousness of the floor, they decided to perform the full dance on the stage.

"Kashiwagi-sama, if we may request a natural spin turn."

"Ok."

Kashiwagi-san fluidly lifted his hand from the middle of the stage.

However, a high school student who could reply "Ok" to the name of a step. Is this person truly 18-years old?

Perhaps Sachiko-sama had already relented, but she stood next to Kashiwagi-san. Called over by Rei-sama, Yumi stood on stand-by at the front edge of the stage. When the other pairs found their positions, the music began.

"Don't look elsewhere."

When she glanced worriedly at Sachiko-sama, Rei-sama cautioned. From that quick glance, they were in the fundamental holding position. At that point, Sachiko-sama was not having any rashes or anything.

The stage seemed extremely spacious when they were standing on it, but once the dancing began, it felt extremely confined. So they wouldn't collide with another pair, or so they wouldn't vanish into the sleeves of the stage, she was busy maintaining her pace, so she had no opportunity to look at another pair.

When the song finished once, orders were given from below the stage. The main pair needed to make sure they didn't stray from the center, or the size of each step needed to be more standardized, et cetera. When they danced again after adjustments, everything fit together more cleanly. Even the people dancing could tell that much.

"Okay, one last round."

On the third dance, even Yumi began to have the chance to look at Sachiko-sama while dancing.

The confidence of being able to say "Ok" showed, as Kashiwagi-san smartly led Sachiko-sama. If their dancing was on par with one another, then Sachiko-sama could not complain-. Just as she thought that, Yumi felt something was amiss.

Sachiko-sama was not her usual self. She was dancing smoothly to the lead, but she was missing her usual brilliance. It was a bit hazy.

The song ended.

Sachiko-sama quickly separated herself from Kashiwagi-san and ran toward Yumi, as if escaping.

"Sachiko."

Rei-sama, by Yumi's side, grabbed Sachiko-sama's arm as she passed.

"I know you don't like it, but how about smiling a bit? You'll have a negative effect on the audience like that."

"I am not a hostess. I will smile during the actual performance."

Yumi chased after Sachiko-sama, who had run outside after that declaration. Rei-sama tapped Yumi's back, as if saying, "best regards."

Sachiko-sama was leaning against the gymnasium's outer wall and looking up at the sky.

"They said they would begin rehearsal in fifteen minutes."

When Yumi spoke, Sachiko-sama looked at her. She seemed healthier than Yumi expected. She seemed to be in a distressed state, so Yumi thought Sachiko-sama may have run outside to vomit.

"What a hard schedule."

"Because Kashiwagi-san can't make it very often, they want to run through the entire play, said Rosa Chinensis."

"I see."

As she didn't seem to be implying that Yumi was a bother, she, too, leaned against the wall. When she looked up, she noticed one cloud had torn off from the rest and was leisurely floating.

"Don't worry. It was getting claustrophobic, so I stepped out for fresh air."

"Yes."

On the grounds, the track team was having a marathon on the running track. Maybe it was from the tennis court, but the sound of balls being smacked echoed around.

"Maria-sama's soul."

Sachiko-sama said, as she stared at the blue sky.

"Yes it is."

Yumi answered, also looking at the sky.

"Oh, no. Not the sky. Here."

Even though she said it wasn't the sky, Sachiko-sama was pointing up. Then, she cocked her head and asked, "Can't you hear?", so Yumi silently focused on hearing. Then-.

"Ah!"

"Understand?"

It was barely audible, but she could hear music from somewhere from the school. There were no lyrics, but an accordion or piano was nostalgically playing "Maria-sama's Soul"

"I did not think I would run into this piece again from a high school site."

Sachiko-sama softly laughed, and lifted herself from the gymnasium's outside wall.

Come to think of it, Sachiko-sama had also attended Lillian since infant school, so she would have been made to sing the song, too.

Sachiko-sama checked the time and reluctantly walked to the entrance. It was almost fifteen minutes. Sachiko-sama scraped her shoes on the gymnasium foyer's matt, before mumbling.

"Even so, I wonder why it's a sapphire."

"Eh?"

"Do you not feel it incompatible?"

Sachiko-sama giggled, and left Yumi, who stood stunned.

"… Sachiko-sama."

If only she had waited just a bit, she thought. At least, so that Yumi could reply.

But Sachiko-sama never looked back, joining the others who awaited in the gymnasium.

In the end, Sachiko-sama's discontented attitude was not resolved through the whole rehearsal. Even after switching roles with Yumi, it remained the case, and despite the perfect speaking of lines, her displeasure was extremely obvious.

In the case of Yumi, she was nearly perfect as Sister B, but she messed up her lines at least ten times as Cinderella, and she stepped on the prince's foot twice.

"It's better to have a hurting foot than be shot a sour look all the time."

Kashiwagi-san kindly consoled her, but in truth, he probably would have preferred neither to have been the case.

He was forced to eat curry, then made to wear the costume, then concentrated on the dance practice, then ran through a rehearsal two times over, and even he was unable to hide his exhaustion. Even so, he smiled and walked through the gate, saying "until next week," an incredible person.

The three first-years sent Kashiwagi-san off and returned to the Rose Mansion, where Sachiko-sama's tense aura had vanished.

"Thank you for your hard work. The tea has just finished."

Sachiko-sama's tea was very dense and bitter. Everyone reached for the sugar and powdered milk after one sip, but not one person complained about the taste.

Yumi drank it without adding anything. Because it was how Sachiko-sama drank it.

What was Sachiko-sama thinking, as she drank this bitter tea.

She felt bad for the Roses, but she thought the plan for Sachiko-sama to conquer her dislike of men would fizzle.

The bad atmosphere during the rehearsal and this bitter tea made Yumi think that way.

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