Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume21

Prologue

"Good day."

"Good day."

The crisp morning greeting echoes clearly through the blue sky. Today too, the maidens who gather in Maria-sama's garden with angelic and pure smiles will pass under the tall gate. They possess both innocent minds and bodies, wrapped in a deep-colored uniform. In order that the pleats in their skirts have not been tossed into disarray, and their white sailor-collars have not been blown back, walking slowly with grace is the way here. Of course, there are no students who would shame themselves by running so as to make it in the nick of time.

This is Lillian Private Academy for Girls.

Originally established in the thirty-fourth year of the Meiji era, it is said this school was for daughters of noblemen and still exists for young women in the traditional Catholic system.

In downtown Tokyo, amid Musashino, a district where a lot of greenery can still be found, watched by God from infancy through college, this integrated elevator school is able to nurture a garden of maidens.

The name of the era has changed three times, but even on this day in the Heisei era, after eighteen years of a pure culture that a sheltered upbringing allows these women, they who seem to have been kept in a box are ready to be shipped out. Such a structure yet remains in this precious academy.

Mille-Feuille (A French layered pastry)

Without going into too much detail, the mille-feuille is a well-known pie composed of thin layers of cream or jam or fruit.

If you stab it squarely with a fork, it's crispy and collapses like a building. It is meant to be shocking, but after you softly knock it down, it's still all right to eat.

By the way, in its original language the name of the pie is spelled m i l l e f e u i l l e. When you pronounce it, it's all right in Japanese to say "mirufuuyu." But the closest pronunciation to the French for mille-feuille by far is "mirufeeyu". When written, the meaning conveyed is "a thousand women".

However, in this instance... far from a thousand people, these are just the stories of the young ladies of three classes.

The Result of 100 Battles?

Part 1.

Yes, of course.

"This coming Sunday I should be free." Having reached the midway point through the week, she had heard this come out of Rei-chan's mouth. She certainly had heard it. She wasn't making this up; she'd heard it. Why was she blaming her? She had already bowed and said, "It was my fault." Yoshino guessed she just couldn't let it go there. It was staring her in the face; it wasn't good enough to just turn a blind eye to it.

At that time (in other words, the time Rei-chan had been talking about going out on Sunday) Yoshino, unluckily interpreted this as "the way I WANT to spend my Sunday". In this way, she suitably ignored her and missed an essential part of Rei-chan's story.

She had been listening properly at first. Yanaka-san (previously Yoshino had only seen his face in passing) hadn't visited her Uncle's (that is, Rei-chan's father's) dojo for a long time. Rei-chan and her father had received an invitation to lunch together with him. She thought that was the story anyhow.

Yanaka-san is a gentle person who is never disagreeable, but an old man is a old man. Even if she'd heard that Rei-chan was eating dinner with Yanaka-ojiisan, Yoshino didn't particularly envy her at all. She may have also mentioned that the lunch was going to be a Japanese style meal at a hotel restaurant. But that was largely her imagination. In saying that all three people would be present, in the end it probably amounted to nothing more than an enforced kendo lecture.

And then, "Making friends is important. It would be good if you could come." It seemed like that was what she was saying. The rest of the story from this point on, Yoshino had ignored. It seemed like Rei-chan had continued on with a more detailed account, but she'd given up on listening and the information hadn't stayed in her head at all.

Yoshino's plans? What should she say if she's asked? Having absentmindedly listened to only half the conversation was the cause of her nervousness.

This coming Sunday, Yoshino had made plans in secret from Rei-chan. Yeah… a secret. If discovered, somehow this secret would give her a bad reputation. She supposed it was enough to just not tell Rei-chan about it. But even if she did that, what sort of verbal deflection could she use? Something that wouldn't necessarily be untrue…

The truth is… Yoshino had promised to spend the day out and about with Arima Nana next Sunday.

Part 2

Yoshino had been the first to wage war.

Given that Yumi-san wasn't simply a classmate, but also her best friend, she was able to tell her, "If I become a third-year and haven't been able to get a little sister at that point, I'll make Nana my sister." With that proclamation, Arima Nana, who was in middle school, who hadn't even been a blip on the radar, leapt up to be Yoshino's tentative top little sister candidate. Emphasis on "tentative". None of the candidates from immediately following the tea party remained. The fact that at present there was no second place winner was a sad state of affairs. Apart from that… since the Interhigh school kendo match, she had been more and more interested in Nana, but there was no helping it.

She'd checked in to her background and family situations, etc., thoroughly without Nana having noticed. Though she seemed to have rammed into her in the corridor under the civic gymnasium, with agility Nana had been able to immediately dodge. And when she'd made the request of her accomplice to uphold the lie that she hadn't just then met her, the girl had been able to carry the burden. Even though the ribbon of her uniform under her sweater had come loose, she'd been oblivious. It had only been peeking out a smidgen. There's no way she would have noticed.

But, this wasn't enough to go on. Yoshino thought that she would need to know more about Nana. It was something someone of the past used to say: "Know your enemy and know yourself, only then can you be victorious in battle." In this case, Nana probably wasn't her enemy. Operation code name: Get a Little Sister, for Yoshino, had already completely broken out into war. Her favorite phrase was, "victory goes to the one who makes the first move." For Yoshino it was always, green light means GO! In work, waiting was her number one weakness. Although it is also said, "be immovable like a mountain," this was probably the slogan of someone who has great endurance.

And, now, halfway through the week, Yoshino decided to go observe Nana for the moment. However, a high school student grandly visiting a middle school classroom would be overly conspicuous. Thus, the strategy was to wait in ambush at the entranceway amongst the many comings and goings in the morning.

She gave a suitable excuse to Rei-chan and went to school a little earlier than usual. She held the stakeout nearby the student entrance to the middle school, and waited for about fifteen minutes. Gradually, the game of playing detective was growing tiresome when finally Nana came into sight.

Of course, she wasn't wearing the pink sweatshirt of the other day. She wore a school coat over her uniform. She had been crowded into a mass of middle school students, but beyond all expectations, she had been easy to find.

Yoshino moved toward Nana, walking slowly head on. First she would say, "Good day." Then she would give a beaming smile. "Thanks for the other day." She had already decided on this course of action.

Nana's face became honest and straightforward. Yes, now. "Go..." But Nana… about 1.5 meters short of Yoshino, pivoted and changed direction. Just like that she was sucked in to the school entrance. "W-wait." In confusion, Yoshino chased after her. Yet, this was the peak time for girls to enter the school—chatting and greeting each other, they flitted about. All the voices ran into each and comingled like mixed juice. In this state, it wouldn't be easy to identify anyone by the sound of their voice. (In that case...)

Yoshino put her fingers in her ears and shouted forcefully, "Tanaka-san!" A moment later a middle school student moving on the periphery stopped. (Was it magic?) It didn't seem to be. She removed her fingers from her ears. The area was engulfed in silence. Simultaneously, many students turned their attention toward her. Somehow Yoshino had managed to emit a cry on par with an emergency alert.

"I-I'm sorry. I made a disturbance." Is this what Yumi-san had meant when she said, "To burn with embarrassment"? At any rate it had resulted in a terrible effect. She should come back here and start over later in the day. Since she had only momentarily called out, "Tanaka-san", blessedly, Nana might not have noticed. Yet, when she tried to turn away…

"...Actually, it's Arima." The person in question had quite definitely noticed. It was no longer a matter of gracefully bowing out. Where is the reset button for this situation?

As they'd be a bother standing around talking while students were trying to change their shoes, the two of them stepped outside for a moment. "Umm… Hasekura Rei-sama's…" Nana paused. They continued moving away until they were out of the flow of students. "…honored little sister, Shimazu Yoshino. It seems you've already forgotten my name."

Yoshino was able to keep her composure for the time being. Yet after having been seen in that blunder, she was not able to manufacture anything beyond that of a considerably ill-fitting upperclassman. "But I remembered yours. The incident of nearly colliding in the gymnasium, and the beautiful rosary that you dropped."

"..." What is with that way of remembering it, Yoshino thought. Nana remembered her, because she'd continued in the habit of screwing things up with this latest episode. And then even though she couldn't see it, she recalled the rosary before she recalled the owner.

"I was worried about it for a while. Afterwards, were you been able to tell Torii Eriko-sama anything?"

"You know Torii Eriko-sama's name."

"Of course."

"Of course."

She tried her best to put on a smile. Nana hadn't known her name, but she had known Eriko-sama's. As for being called "Hasekura Rei-sama's honored little sister", she was not amused. Despite the fact that this person might become her little sister someday, in truth, she wasn't showing a great deal of interest in Yoshino.

She must try and suppress this feeling. She… must… suppress it. Acting violently would leave a bad impression. That episode earlier really didn't leave a good impression. (Because she was Yoshino, Nana was only seeing her at her most ungraceful.) If she displayed any odd behavior this time, even if for only a moment, the negative image portrayed would be as upright and straight as the rolls in a hilly road.

"More importantly, was I of any help?" Nana asked. Even if she had been worried, she hadn't thought to come and ask Yoshino about it.

"I haven't thanked you enough for last week. I'm thinking I should tell you the story behind that."

"You don't need to thank me; it's fine." Nana had only to make sure their stories agreed after all.

"But it's been bugging me. So, if you can make it, this coming Sunday, won't you meet me somewhere? I'll treat to you a cake set or something." For a girl, a cake set is like the Mito Koumon's seal. With this she could settle the debt, Yoshino thought. But as to coming out to meet Nana at 8:45, she could only make a half-hearted laugh. Just as with prostrating oneself on the bare earth before an irate magistrate, it was hardly an easy thing to do.

She bowed her head for a moment as a gesture of thinking it over. "Yeah." (No way. Did she object to the cake set?) If she insisted on a high-class dinner in a restaurant… it would be totally impossible for her purse. But if she didn't make this effort, how could she realistically meet up with a middle school girl? Who in the world is this? If this was the Edo Period, she would have been a much sought-after courtesan. She shook off such a strange idea.

Yoshino asked, "Or, is Sunday inconvenient?" If there was a genuine reason for her hesitation, it probably wasn't that she had a problem with the size of the gift.

"No, not really."

"Then, how about we say at the ticket gate on the first floor of K station at half-past ten?" Nana still hadn't come out and said either, "I'll go," or "I won't go," but Yoshino forcibly hastened the conversation. If she seemed indecisive, it was all the more possible to push and push and keep pushing to the end. Nana raised her head.

"Umm... Shimada-sama,"

"...Actually, it's Shimazu." It looked as if she'd broken down in the middle of a bout, but desperately recovered.

"I'm sorry, Shimazu-sama."

"If it's all right, please call me by first name, Yoshino."

"Yoshino-sama? Is it spelled the same as the Yoshino cherry tree?" It's okay if this girl says she really truly doesn't know her. Yet, Yoshino was emotionally a bit moved. You could call it intense self-consciousness. Inside the high school, there was no mistake that Yoshino fell under the heading "wonderful famous person". Yet, this girl didn't know her. Her head felt numb.

"'Yoshi' is the same as the second kanji in freedom, 'no' is the same as the 'no' in Wakanohana."

When they had met in the gym, she had been called "Hasekura Rei-sama's honored little sister," so it seemed like she had only vaguely known who she was. But then, could it be that she doesn't yet know that the two of them are cousins by blood? What a pleasant surprise then. But then, she didn't know all that much about Nana, or her relations.

"If you have any contact information you could exchange, please go ahead. Maybe something like your class… or home number…" On her memoranda pad in her student notebook, Yoshino wrote down her name, class and home telephone number. She carefully tore it off and handed it to Nana.

"Ahh. The "no" is like the "no" in General Nogi. . . ." The Wakanohara reference didn't ring any bells for Nana. It appears she's not very knowledgeable about Sumo Wrestling. Though, how did she come up with General Nogi? For a middle school student, she had an aura of refinement.

"Well then," their business was finished. Just looking at each other silently for a time felt somewhat strange. Yoshino decided to turn back toward the high school entrance.

The public's gaze was also tense. While it may be true that she had been talking with Yoshino, no way was a middle school student being considered for Rosa Foetida en bouton. In reality, there probably wasn't anyone with that good of an intuition. Even though she was able to take one step forward with effort, it wouldn't do to have such a strange rumor come to nothing. Besides, in only having overstayed her visit a little, she had given Nana the opportunity to change her mind. If Sunday's appointment (which she took great pains to create) is refused, it will all have been for nothing.

"I look forward to it." While saying this, Nana did not have the face of one so expectant. Yet, just before Yoshino turned on her heel, a small right hand waved to her. It was unexpectedly cute. (Ahh. With this, the secrets kept from Rei-chan are multiplying).

While walking back, Yoshino reflected. She hadn't spoken to Rei-chan about Nana at all. For that matter, she didn't even know the character "na" in Nana's name.

Although I understand this is bad, I don't know how best to confess. On this matter she'd been silent for a long time. No, she couldn't have spoken up. She wasn't sure if Rei-chan had learned of it. If so, had it come from Eriko-sama or Yumi-san? (That's...)

Before it was allowed to come to such a state, she definitely decided that report would come from her own mouth. When you consider the shock that Rei-chan will surely receive… The sooner she's able to confess about Nana, the better. But, how on Earth was she going to describe her? This third-year in middle school was able to make their stories agree and deceived Eriko-sama. However in order to explain that, she must first explain all the particulars about what had transpired with Eriko-sama.

She was the little sister of Tanaka (the eldest daughter) and Tanaka (the second daughter) whom Rei-chan had competed against in the inter-high school match last year and again this year. Though, for some unspecified reason her last name was Arima. Since for some reason it's a nerve-wrecking situation, next year Yoshino might make this girl her little sister. Nevertheless, this girl seemed wholly indifferent about Yoshino. Even if it was something that was easy to explain, what could she really say? Her information in regards to Nana was sloppy at best. Even for herself, Yoshino couldn't put these things in order. If for no other reason than this, she wanted another meeting between the two of them. And then, when she herself had a reasonably enough grasp on it, she'd be able to convey her feelings to Rei-chan.

No matter if she could continue to make progress as is, or was forced to start over anew, it would still be better than the current foggy situation.

It had been the night before that Rei-chan had asked if she wanted to join them for lunch with Yanaka-san on Sunday. Yet, because of all that, Yoshino had completely ignored the finer points of Rei-chan's story.

Panic Attack!

Part 1.

Sunday morning: a bit before 10 o'clock. Yoshino, who had almost completed her preparations for going, heard the sound of a car pulling up in front of her home. (Is that a package delivery service?) But given that it wasn't a truck she'd heard… When she casually looked outside through the second story window, a black limousine was stopped there. (Ugh. What is this?)

In the blink of an eye, the driver had gotten out of the car and pushed the intercom button. DING-DONG. Although it rang a ways off, she could still hear it; that intercom didn't go to the Shimazu residence. The driver had business elsewhere. Simply put, this was a duplex house. In addition to the Shimazu family, at this time, the Hasekura household shared this building.

"Father, Mother. That was Rei-chan's house just now..." Yoshino said while noisily descending the stairs. Her parents were relaxing in the living room. As she observed this, she tried to convey to them what she had just seen.

"Ah, that's right. As expected, Yanaka-san is definitely being considerate," her mother said while sipping tea. She nodded understanding.

"What? Sending a limousine is being considerate?" At which point, her father looked up from the Sunday edition of the newspaper and said something totally irrelevant.

"Maybe Yoshino doesn't know but, Yanaka-ojiisan is considered to be wealthy. He was probably able to call in a favor for the hired car." So it seems. Indeed, since she hadn't met Yanaka-san before, she didn't realize he was rich. In appearance he was a non-descript ordinary old man. Ignoring this for the time being…

"Mother, did you say he was being considerate to her just now?" Letting the matter of Father's judgment go unsettled, Yoshino decided to instead focus on Mother's question.

"Yes, I did."

"Why is Yanaka-ojiisan is attending to Rei-chan and Uncle like that?"

"He's going to ask Rei-chan for a big favor… probably."

"A big favor... huh? Like what?" Why was she avoiding the real issue? Yoshino shook her mother's shoulders.

"Hey! Settle down. You haven't heard? Why did you wait until this late hour?" Her mother asked while being severely shaken.

"I haven't heard, what?" Yoshino let go of her mother's shoulders and asked. What's going on?

"Rei-chan told you about her plans for today. That was probably on Wednesday or Thursday night." Her poor daughter's shaking her in order to make her remember, had caused her mother to lose her memory. With all her might, she tried to explain.

"You sat next to Rei-chan in this sofa. I was walking back and forth, in and out of the room, so I missed some parts. But even still, I understood her perfectly."

"It's a relief that you were able to remember." Yoshino showed the palms of her hands to her mother, making an "it's all right" gesture. She had been sitting next to Rei-chan on this sofa. And then, Rei-chan had spoken... This Sunday, Yanaka-san was going to be treating her to lunch. That was as much as she'd heard.

From there, how had a black limo come to be involved? That had definitely not been covered. And this point about "asking Rei-chan for a big favor"…? When asked if she wanted to join them in eating lunch together, had she said it would be impossible? When Yanaka-ojiisan-san got into a deep conversation, it would drag on indefinitely. And anyway, at the time it had seemed like that person would be eating lunch at Rei-chan's house. Still, if he was a close relation, then dining out was harmless, right?

Would this favor keep Rei-chan absent home from school? She remembered that it meant Rei-chan had been forced to cancel a previous appointment. Though she hadn't heard about any specific arrangements.

Given that he had been the one to make the invitation, likely Yanaka-san would be footing the bill. Why in the world hadn't Rei-chan's refused?

"…Yoshino." Her mother and father exchanged glances. Then they looked at Yoshino dubiously.

"Is it true that you really don't know, or..."

"I really don't know." Rather, she had failed to hear it. It seemed that only the essential keywords had been completely missed. While staring at their only daughter with an expression of pity, the Shimazu parents spoke.

"Today Rei-chan is having an Omiai*..." was stated.

Part 2.

"O-Omiai?!" With the cry of a single word, she chose that moment to dash out of the house. Too late, Rei-chan and Uncle had already boarded the limousine. The driver had already started the engine and the car was pulling away.

"Rei-chan." She tried to make the signal for them to wait. Although she ran up to the car window, waving both hands, somehow misunderstanding, Rei-chan smiled and waved her hand in return. Without any hesitation, she mouthed "I'm off" and left.

"No way..." The driver put on the blinker and the car made a left turn at the street corner. A dumbfounded Yoshino saw them off. A person softly touched her shoulder from behind.

"Yoshino-chan, were you seeing them off? Thank you." When she turned back, Rei-chan's mother was standing there.

"Aunt, is it true?"

"What?"

"Rei-chan, having an Omiai…" Catching up with Rei-chan and Uncle and being able to ask them about it had failed. At this point she had no choice but to ask this person. To say that these were two people who lived together and who set out together as a family, even though they were intimately close, she was really only one of Yoshino's relatives.

"Nah, calling it an "Omiai" would be an exaggeration."

Her aunt burst into laughter. "It's only, Yanaka-san's son likes Rei so they're going to talk. Tanaka-san wants to introduce Rei's father so they can become acquainted as well. That's what it seems like he said. And then, it turned into a meal and a talk. That son, he will be busy for a while next week, so it was suddenly decided that they would do it today."

There was no question: this wasn't being called an Omiai. Yoshino clenched her fist and strained. "I wonder what he liked specifically about Rei?" Even though, outwardly she looks like a boy. While she was speaking, Aunt had the expression of not being as dissatisfied as she would have Yoshino believe.

"But that means… Where has he seen her before? And what was it he liked about her?" while gnashing her molars, Yoshino was able to ask. For the moment, meltdown was averted. For the time being, she must try and calmly collect information.

"It seems he came and saw the inter-high school tournament the other day. That was when he noticed."

"But you know, Yanaka's son: wouldn't he and Rei-chan be separated in age? It's okay, isn't it, Aunt? He and Rei-chan wouldn't be marrying, right?"

"Calm down, Yoshino-chan. They're just meeting; we're not talking about marriage this soon, really. Though, due to circumstances, they had said they wanted to meet soon." Circumstances? I don't know what those circumstances are but… Still, for Rei-chan who is a high school student, they were having a talk like an Omiai. Yanaka-ojiisan is still a old guy. This son… must be entreating his relatives to mediate for him because he's a spoiled child. Surely he's a selfish young man from a well-to-do family who knows nothing of the world.

"...How many?" Grind-Grind-Grind. Her molars resounded like a musical instrument.

"Huh?"

"The person she's going to meet. How many years old is he?" Yoshino pressed on her aunt, but...

"I'm sorry. I haven't heard." Why hasn't she heard? Yoshino hung her head. She would probably have heard the age of the person her daughter was going to meet in an Omiai. That is, if she had been a normal mother. Even though she was exhausted, there was no helping it. She changed the direction her questioning.

"Then, have you seen a picture? Oh, never mind. I don't want to hear about it." But that person she's going to meet, if he had left a favorable impression on her, it felt somehow regrettable. Though she tried to block her ears momentarily, it came in just under the wire.

"It was just a snapshot, but I've seen one. He had refined features. His breeding is clear in his facial expression." *

Just as she suspected. The foremost thing that comes to mind when you see his face is that he's a young man from a well-to-do family who knows nothing of the world. Somehow she was getting a bad feeling about this. Naturally, the image that came to mind was Kashiwagi-san, Sachiko-sama's cousin.

"Rather than Yanaka-san, he takes after Yanaka-san's wife." Recalling the photograph, Aunt muttered heartily.

"Aunt, do you know what Yanaka-ojiisan's wife's face looks like?"

"Yes, because they appear together in the photograph. She was with her son."

"She appears with him in the photograph?" This furthered the image of a selfish young man from a well-to-do family who knows nothing of the world. Did he have a complex for his mother? His negative qualities were stacking up; she couldn't permit this. Rei-chan was too good for this guy. I don't want to be asked, 'what kind of man would be good?' In that case, I would be hard-pressed to come up with an answer.

"Is he Single?"

"Of course he's single. There's no mistake. It seems that he loves playing sports and reading books at home, but Rei-chan is the first girl he has shown any interest in, Yanaka-ojiisan was saying."

"Ah, is that so?" Nevertheless some middle-aged person for who this was his first love, and who might have an Oedipus complex, can he be a good partner for Rei-chan? He might be handsome, might be clever, might be gentle, might even be sexy. She was adamantly opposed to this story.

"Aunt, where's the hotel they're going to?" In Yoshino's chest, a bluish-white fire began to spark and burn.

"From way back when Rei and Yoshino-chan called it the 'The Hotel in the Forest'. But wait, Yoshino-chan? Why? Are you planning on going?"

"No way." There is no way that could happen. She laughed.

"I only thought about it for a moment. Today I have a promise to keep with a friend." Though her aunt only panicked momentarily, listening to Yoshino's words, she took a breath and relaxed, feeling relieved.

"Is that right. You could say this is dressing up for you. That color, is it called a peacock green, I wonder? It's a lovely ensemble. It really suits Yoshino-chan."

"It's not really dressing up." When she said it like that, shouldn't it be Rei-chan's who was dressing up, she thought to herself. Though she wasn't wearing, as one might suspect, a kimono. She had been wearing a light brown suit with a little bit of rouge. Certainly underneath she wasn't wearing pants but a tight long skirt with a slit in the back. These were considerably womanly clothes for Rei-chan.

"I can't delay any longer." All the things that had needed to be heard, had been heard. Yoshino finished up her conversation.

"What time were you planning to meet? Since they're fewer buses on Sunday, to be on the safe side, you better check and see."

"K Station at 10:30... Ah!" Crap, it'd already turned ten o'clock.

"I'm off." For a moment, Yoshino returned to the entryway for her bag. She changed her shoes and once more rushed outside. After putting on her sandals, she realized being empty-handed was out of the question. And speaking of being out of the question, if she, the person who made such a coercive promise, ended up being late, such a thing would be shameful.

Running to the bus stop, she caught the bus she was scheduled to get on by merely a hair's breadth. Inside, the bus was rattling. Yoshino sat alone in a two-person seat. Almost immediately afterward, she began stamping her feet, discreetly, in impatience.

"Ugh." Taking a breath, she remembered about Rei-chan, and became disgustingly angry again.

"What is with that?" She had told her aunt she was meeting with a friend. Although she had no intention of breaking her promise with Nana, if granted permission, she wanted to run after Rei-chan at once.

When Rei-chan had told her about today, why hadn't she been listening properly? Although it was too late to change anything, she regretted it nevertheless.

Part 3.

At this time on a Sunday, there was a gap between buses on the route so they moved briskly. Yoshino arrived at K Station seven minutes before the appointed time. Though this shuttle bus is constantly in use, today's run was a new record for time. At the aforementioned ticket gate, the figure of Nana could already been seen waiting. She wore jeans with a cream-colored sweater and a light-brown duffle coat. Somehow, this was a very Yumi-esque appearance.

"I'm sorry for making you wait."

"Good day." During the less than twenty-minute jolting bus ride, her breath, which had fallen into disarray while running, had settled down. She showed little sign of her earlier surge of anger and concern about the story of Rei-chan's Omiai. Although, there is a tendency for concerns to grow as time passes.

However, that sort of thing has nothing to do with Nana. Losing her temper over Rei-chan would be seen plainly. As she had to yet to decide if Yoshino was a wonderful upper classman, Yoshino squashed it as much as possible, acting brightly and cheerfully.

Nevertheless, Nana said, "Is something wrong?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing. It must have been my imagination."

"So it was written all over my face, huh?" Yoshino smiled wryly. Does Nana have a sharp intuition? Was she acting like a daikon radish? *

"That's why, I..."

"It's not your imagination. I'm sorry. I'm useless today. Probably, even though I'm here with you my head's in the clouds. I think it's probably just something trivial."

Since their initial exchanging of greeting, they hadn't moved as much as one step from the appointed place. Only their conversation itself had proceeded.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Well… yeah."

"Is it something that ended badly? Or is it a progressive problem?"

"Progressive. That's why I'm being distracted." No matter what she looked like, she'd decided to think about Rei-chan after all. In such a state, even if she talked about it, she couldn't be in the here and now. Even her cake wouldn't taste good. It would be impolite to enjoy Nana's company like this.

"So, what does Yoshino-sama want to do?" After she thought a bit, Nana asked.

"What?"

"Even though you had something bothering you, you still came here because you had a previous appointment with me?"

"Well… yeah." That was it, exactly. Though, when it's pointed out by the company she'd made the arrangement with, wasn't that more or less like an admission of guilt? It was complicated.

"Therefore, if you broke off the engagement, and Yoshino-sama hadn't come here, where on earth would you be right now?" Yoshino inwardly repeated Nana's question. (If I broke the engagement, where on earth would I be right now…")

"I think I probably would have gone to that place, but…" When she was true to her feelings, sure enough, she wanted to chase after Rei-chan. In Yoshino's having gone, probably nothing would have changed. Yet, if she had been hesitant, she would have wanted to go to that other place quickly and learn what had happened.

"That place... what's there? The place where your worries fester, it's not at home, is it?"

"It's a certain hotel in the metro area." To this, Nana nodded.

"I understand. Let's go."

"Wha-?" In this hasty decision, Yoshino was bewildered.

"But that's where Yoshino-sama wants to go, right?"

"That's true, I want to go, but, Nana... you'll come?" Please come. Or rather, let's go. Even still, when she put it like that… I can't ask that.

"Of course, I'm offering. Or, would it be an intrusion?"

"No… It's not that." But, is necessary that she accompany her? She needed to confirm this.

"Umm… even if I cancel the engagement with you and you come along to the hotel, it does seem like I need to accept your hospitality in coming." That Yoshino would feel a great deal of concern about Rei-chan's Omiai, there was no helping it. Though, putting off worrying about until she got to the hotel is sound logic. In this case, wouldn't Nana be a complete outsider? Or wouldn't she also be opposed to Rei-chan's Omiai? No, Yoshino hadn't given a detailed enough account yet.

"Perhaps Yoshino-sama is teasing to me?" Nana's eyes became cloudy.

"Why do you think that?"

"Or… is this a kind of hazing?"

"That's… Hello, Earth to Arima Nana-san. I have no idea what you're going on about."

She hadn't explained in a way Yoshino could understand. Is it popular for students in middle school to talk like they're speaking in riddles?

"To be stirred up like this, I feel left out of the loop. But you're speaking like you're rejecting me, it's awful."

"What? Stirred up?"

"Can't you see?"

"See what?" Though she might say, "Can you see?" Or "Can't you see it?" if she could only answer by selection an option, "I can't see." would get her vote.

"Anyway, I'm not going home. I've decided to spend the day with Yoshino-sama. No matter where we go, we're sticking together."

No matter where we go, we're sticking together. If with this she could be resolved in choosing a cute little sister to be in her life, how happy she would be. But, in reality… Nana was still an underclassman she was just getting acquainted with.

"Even though you don't know what's going on, you'll still go?"

"I'll ask you about it on the way. Anyway, let's buy our tickets." Nana took Yoshino's arm and turned to face the ticket vending machines. It seemed like she was gradually powering-up.

"Umm… tickets…" Although she opened the mouth of her purse for the moment, how much would she need to deposit, and which button did she need to press? She didn't immediately have a way to discern that. But, there's no helping that, is there? Until just now she had thought her feelings about wanting to go impertinent. Previously she hadn't even been able consider it. However, she was rapidly putting those thoughts aside—here was a person who had made her wish of going there concrete.

"Come on, hold it together. To go to that hotel, which tickets do we need to buy to get to which station?" This was quite an unexpected development.

Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume21 Chapter3

Reverie of the White Rose

Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume21 Chapter4

Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume21 Chapter5

Rosa Chinensis's Sigh

Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume21 Chapter6

Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume21 Chapter7

Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume21 Chapter8

Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume21 Postscript

Translator's Notes

Return to Main Page