Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume22 Chapter1

An Unexpected Visitor

Part 1.

Mi, miru fiiyu

Yu, Yumi.

Mi, miru fiiyu.

Yu, Yumi.

Aah, I should stop, she whispered to herself.

Returning from the Ogasawara family's house in Kashiwagi-san's car, she began her personal, endless shiritori. If the shiritori itself were to continue in such a meaningless manner, there would be no problems for it. The problem was really Yumi's state of mind as the shiritori game was progressing.

When she stopped to consider it, there were several unpleasant things that Yumi was thinking about. In order to drive them out of her head, she had engaged in this mindless endless shiritori. This way, she would become swayed by the rhythm, and her sewing needle would start moving around wildly, and even if the thread slid out, she would not notice and keep stitching onward, almost as if she were falling into a trap. How many repetitions had she made by now?

No, stop. She did it again.

At least she was in her own room, where no one would disturb her. She would add in a sigh at the most important times, and then let it go and continue sewing. If someone saw what she was doing, it would seem like some sort of a performance.

"Ahhh."

Yumi let the sewing needle out of her sewing hole, and set down the first stage of her sewing. The thread, which curled like the instant ramen that she had made, fell from her knees onto the floor. She wouldn't move an inch from her current position, though she could easily pick it up if she wanted to.

"... I'm thinking too much about it." It had been several days since then, and yet…

Even though she had relinquished the mille-feuille that Sayako Obaa-sama had given her as a gift to her family long ago, maybe it wasn't really about time. No it wasn't. Even though time had passed, she had the feeling that she had become swept up into it.

Those meaningful words Kashiwagi-san had spoken. His words the fleeting Yumi could not simply cry "How idiotic" and let go.

The feeling of defeat she felt from comparing how well Kashiwagi-san understood Sachiko-sama or how effectively Sachiko-sama could rely on him was a bit different from what she felt now--not only was the matter a bit different at its core, but it weighed on her heart more.

Kashiwagi-san understood. That was probably the essence of it. Yumi worked hard to seek out a relationship with Sachiko-sama, but there were things that she still didn't know about her. That's what was painful. When Kashiwagi-san had hinted that this was a thing in which he could not be defeated, she'd felt she'd lost to a point where she could not hope to win. When Yumi had been given a handicap from the person she had thought was her rival, she was beyond receiving compassion.

Yumi sighed several times, rolled her ramen-like wool into a ball, and then looked up.

Her sense of time was distorted, but it was probably around evening. The inside of her room had become dark.

"Well."

Yumi put down her sewing work and stood up to turn on the lights. Her eye catching on nothing specific, Yumi glanced outside her window.

What could have happened? She didn't know. It had felt as if someone had called Yumi. From outside ... ?

She tried to concentrate on the outside from her second floor window, but the surrounding houses' roofs, the trees, and the dim light made her unable to distinguish any figures outside.

"Mom." Yumi dashed down the stairs, and poked her face into the kitchen. "Mom, you..."

"Huh?" Her mother pressed the mute button on the cordless phone, and looked up. "... didn't call me. I see. Sorry for bothering you." "It's fine."

Yumi finished the exchange of formalities. Yumi's mother once again turned back toward the phone and began talking. In the last few days, her mother had been trying to collect recipes she had been seeing on TV. She was becoming just like the person she was on the phone with, Taeko Oba-chan.

'If Mom hadn't called me, then… She twisted her head around and went out of the kitchen. Yuuki? Yumi bounded up the stairs and knocked on Yuuki's room.

"Yuu..." As soon as she had begun speaking, she remembered. Yuuki would be out today with Kobayashi-kun.

It really was her imagination then, wasn't it? She went back to the stairs and sat down.

"It really felt like someone was calling me though." She stuck her face between her knees, and finally let out a groan. Mishearing something wasn't really supposed to hurt this much. But.

Maybe Dad had come home. Rather than giving up, Yumi went down the stairs again, and went up to the front door. His shoes weren't there, which meant that he was still in the office.

Just to make sure, Yumi went outside and up to the front gate. She had come out just as the newspaper boy was giving out the evening paper, so she went up to him and said "Thanks for your hard work," and took it directly from him.

The land had become completely dark. The sky was dark and clear. She looked up into the night sky, and could see a small star intermittently blinking. She searched for the moon but could not find it. Whether she just couldn't see the moon at this time of the month or whether it was covered in clouds, Yumi did not know.

Riiing.

She walked into the house to the sound of the phone hurriedly screeching. Belatedly, Yumi realized that not enough time had passed for her mother to have finished the previous call and have left. So even though someone was calling, her mom's last call must have finished.

"Hello." Yumi's mom returned to the living room, and as usual stood one step in front of the phone and spoke into it.

"Yes ... yes. Aah, thank you for taking care of us. No no, of course not. You really helped me out."

As she was talking, Mom's gaze immediately flung to her daughter. Yumi thought that perhaps the conversation was about Yumi, so she came closer to the phone and heard, "So what? You've been a big help taking care of my son". Not "my daughter" but "my son". Whoever it was, he seemed to be a friend of Yuuki's.

"Yuuki hasn't come home yet," Yumi whispered, while making large mouth movements to let her mother know. Then her mother said, "Sure, just hold on" and gave the phone to Yumi.

"... But, I'm Yumi." Hey, hey, Mom. Had she reached the age where she was confusing her son for her daughter? Although, in her seventeen-year-long life, she had often been mistaken for her brother.

Without taking the phone back, her mother quickly said, "Of course I know that. It's for Yumi-chan."

"Huh?" Her mother spoke as Yumi clutched the phone in her hand.

"It's Kashiwagi-san!"

"…!" She was so surprised that her heart pounded, and she felt as if she would drop the receiver. What timing! It was he who had been sending her into random fits of melancholy for so long.

Anyway, Yumi's mother could not even fathom why a call from Kashiwagi-san unnerved Yumi so. Whatever the reason was, he really didn't have any self-control.

"Hello."

"Ah, Yumi-chan, sorry." Kashiwagi-san's always cheery voice started with an apology. "I don't really call you, so you might be surprised but--"

"Uh." Well she was surprised. But because Kashiwagi-san annoyed her, she would not reveal that. She cultivated a "I'm always cool and collected" attitude. Right. This was one of those situations where she had to act as distant as possible.

"Did something happen?"

"Ah, well..."

Some time passed, and it felt like Kashiwagi-san was searching for the right words. Like someone who can't find a good way of conveying bad news.

"Nothing's happened at Sachiko-sama's house, has it?!" Yumi turned into the phone and shouted. Kashiwagi-san was Sachiko-sama's cousin. If something were to happen to Sachiko-sama or her family, it would be expected for Kashiwagi-san to call and tell her the news.

No. It's not that. The Ogasawara household is fine."

"Oh really? Great!" She felt some initial relief then wondered, Then what is it...? Kashiwagi-san did not seem like the type of person who would tie up the phone with small talk.

"It's actually about Touko."

"Touko-chan?" She wasn't expecting that but, when she thought about it, Kashiwagi-san was Touko-chan's cousin too. That's why, if one was to put Kashiwagi-san between them, then Sachiko-sama and Touko-chan were in the same place.

"If that's your reaction then, she hasn't shown up?"

"Shown up? To my house? No, she hasn't but... Why would she?"

"No. It's better that she stays away. Things just flew out of control. She's late coming home, so her parents are worried."

"But it's just six." She could be preparing for the school festival and having to stay late. It was pretty common for a girl like her to not come home by this time.

"Yeah, well when Touko-chan had come home she had gotten into a fight with her parents. It seems she had an outburst of anger, and she left the house. That's why we want to know."

"She got into a fight then left?" Just what had happened?

"Touko seems like that kind of person ... well she kind of looks like a girl who gets into reckless trouble. She hasn't left the house before. Her parents are also worried about her, and came to me crying about what to do. Of course, she could just turn up back at home but, whatever she does, she set out to do what she felt she had to do."

"I see." And Fukuzawa Yumi seemed tied quite strongly to this “whatever she does” business. "What about Sachiko-sama's house?" Yumi asked.

"Well, I'm calling from the Ogasawara house."

"Oh."

If Kashiwagi-san wanted to think of the person that Touko-chan would rely on, he would first think of Sachiko-sama. If she wasn't where Kashiwagi-san was, then…

"I didn't want the Matsudaira family to make it a big thing, so I decided to come here directly. And Touko wasn't here."

"Did you tell Sachiko-sama?"

"I thought Sacchan was the only person who I could tell what happened to, but at the last minute, her friends came over and I couldn't see her. And if I go and say that I want to talk to Sachiko-sama, then Sayako Oba-sama would wonder what had happened."

"Well, do you think Touko was one of those friends ...?" Touko-chan was a Lillian Girls Academy student, and if you stretched it, she really was Sachiko-sama's friend.

"No. One of those friends was Hasekura-san."

"Hasekura ... Ah." It was Rei-sama. Rei-sama and Sachiko-sama were friends, so coming over to each other's houses was not odd at all. Ahhh. Those two were meeting over Exam Holiday.

"I'm sorry if I'm being too much trouble but, could you give me Nijou Noriko-san's house number? I've heard the name before, and I haven't had a chance to tell Sacchan about this so..."

"Then I'll call her. If I find anything, I'll let you know Kashiwagi-san."

"Ah, that would be a big help. If she were to suddenly get a call from a young man, then Noriko-san's parents would get worried."

"Yeah." Noriko-chan was staying at her great aunt's house, so you couldn't really say parents, but Yumi replied to Kashiwagi-san quickly without making any corrections.

"What about Yoshino-san or Shimako-san?"

"That's right." She started thinking next to the phone and let out a soft groan. "Do you think Touko-chan would go there? I don't really know who Touko's friends are, so I don't know."

"I don't really know either."

"Then it's best we don't."

If this became too big of a thing, then when Touko-chan returned, things wouldn't go well, is what Kashiwagi-san was trying to say. That's right. She wasn't classified into the "ran away from home" stage yet. She was still at "hasn't returned yet". Whatever that meant.

"Ah." Suddenly the image of a girl appeared in Yumi's mind.

"Huh?"

"What about Kanako-chan?"

"Kanako-chan?"

"A classmate of Touko-chan's, like Noriko-chan." She was a person who seemed to talk with Touko-chan a lot more than Shimako-san or Yoshino-san would.

"I haven't heard of her. What does she look like?"

"She has long hair, and she's tall."

"Oh I see. The girl who appeared at the school play? She played the ... Chief Councilor I think?"

"Yep."

"Really... She's a good friend of Touko's?"

"Well I've heard that they're natural enemies, but..."

"But?"

"But recently I've been seeing them together."

"I see. If two people oppose each other, and something happens, they can quickly come together. I get it. So can you ask this Kanako-chan also?"

"I'll try as hard as I can, but I won't make into a big thing."

"Thanks a lot Yumi. Ah, let me give you my cell phone number."

"Sure, sure." Yumi jotted down the numbers Kashiwagi gave onto a memo pad next to the phone, and then cut the call.

"What happened? A friend ran away from home?" the moment Yumi put the phone down, her mother asked. It seemed that she had been listening to Yumi during the entire duration of the call.

"Yup, well I don't know. She's just late in coming home, and her parents seem worried."

"Hm. I see. She's their wonderful daughter after all."

While she commiserated with Touko-chan's parents, the reason Yumi-chan's mother still didn't have a worried look on her face was because it was still not seven o'clock. If it were ten or eleven o'clock at night, she would have reacted quite differently.

"Kashiwagi-san was the one who dropped Yumi-chan and Yuuki off with his car, right? Maybe he'll become our son-in-law?"

"Stop!" Yumi immediately whispered.

"Come on Yumi-chan. Isn't your reaction supposed to be different? A normal girl your age is supposed to say, 'Aiiee! Mom, what are you saying?! Please stop this!' and blush and run straight into her room."

"…" Only if you've watched too many dramas.

"Then she'll be tossing and turning in bed, imagining her wedding." That depends on the person.

Whether Kashiwagi-san was still with Sachiko-sama, or whether they were ex-es was not known, and to contemplate marriage? He's gay. If she told her mother the truth, then she wouldn't be acting so interested in him.

No, even though he was gay, lately he'd been becoming more suspicious.

"Well anyway, feel free to call him to your heart's content."

Yumi took the note on which Kashiwagi-san's phone number was written, and the phone receiver and went up the stairs. Noriko-chan's house number and Kanako-chan's house number were written in her student notebook, which was in her room.

"It's almost dinner time, so when you're done calling, please come down."

"Suuure."

When she had put her hand on the doorknob of her room, she could hear the sound of the front door opening downstairs.

Maybe it's Dad? Or Yuuki?

She was a bit interested in who had come home, but she wanted to take care of the matter of Touko-chan first, so she entered her room. Before Yumi could even open the student notebook, her mother called.

"Yumi-chaaan."

"... What now, Mom?" She didn't care when Yumi had finished her phone call, but she kept endlessly calling "Yumi-chaan," and would not let her concentrate.

"Excuse me, Yumi-chan."

She peeked her face outside of the door, and her mother was calling from underneath the stairs. She would come down after she finished the phone call, so she decided to go back.

"Could you please come down?"

"Huh?" Could you please come down??

Well one thing she was sure of was that this wasn't "Come down for dinner." Maybe she should at least see her mom downstairs.

Dad or Yuuki had probably brought home some large thing, and her mother wanted her to see it quickly, or something like that. She had no idea what that could be, but it was one of those things that happened in the Fukuzawa family.

"Look, Yumi-chan, it's a really huge watermelon!" was the kind of thing she was thinking. It was winter, so of course no one would bring back a really huge watermelon, but…

"Yumi-chan, hurry, hurry."

Her mother was waiting in the corridor. She greeted Yumi with her always-happy tone of voice, and lead her to the entrance.

"Wow." Just as she thought, Yuuki had come home, and was standing there.

And next to him was…

"Good day, Yumi-sama." The shrilly-laughing, roll coiled hair girl.

"T...Tou ...!" Yuuki had brought back something even bigger than a huge watermelon in the midst of winter.

Part 2.

"I found her at the corner near Kakino-san's house. So I came home, and she tagged along."

First Yuuki had to explain how he could get into such a situation, so he talked quickly then stood up as he finished. Yumi and her mother had received a phone call from Kashiwagi-san earlier, so there was no misunderstanding, but if one looked at this without knowing the situation, it seemed as if Yuuki had brought home a girlfriend.

"W, Well just give her to me," Yumi told him.

Touko said, "Please excuse my intrusion at night." Touko turned toward Yumi's mother, bowed her head politely and said, "I'm sorry for being a burden." She raised her head, and then walked toward the window frame.

"It's fine, it's fine. In my house, guests are always welcome. Yuuki's friends always come over. I'm happy when Yumi's friends come. Dinner is almost done, so please join us. It's just simple home cooking though, so please don't mind."

"No. I'll be leaving soon."

"Kids can have as much as they want. Why don't you stay with Yumi in her room as long as you can?"

She didn't know if Touko-chan had already introduced herself while Yumi had been coming down the stairs, but her mother seemed to have realized that this girl was the "Run-away-from-home girl" that Kashiwagi-san had been talking about. Anyway, the best thing that Yumi could do would be to encourage Touko and try to keep her there for as long as she could. Though of course, her parents' statement of "We love guests" was no lie.

After Touko-chan took off her shoes and went inside, Yuuki made a face that made it look as if he had just finished lifting a heavy suitcase. Yumi used her lips to mouth a "Thank you" to her brother.

"Ah, my room is on the second floor."

Yumi turned around and called, as she climbed the stairs. Touko-chan obediently followed.

"Yoshino-sama and Shimako-san too--"

"Huh?

"They've been up here?"

"No..." Yumi shook her head. "The Yamayurikai members haven't come to my house." Yumi had never given much thought to it, but now that she looked back, she found it was true. She had gone to Yoshino-san's house before, but never the other way around. Shimako had never come to Yumi's house, and she had not been to her's. She met Shimako-san every day at school, so they'd never ended up trying to arrange plans to meet at someone's house after school.

"Touko-chan is the first person to visit since she I started going to high school."

Touko-chan stopped walking up the stairs. "Huh? But Sachiko Onee-sama?"

"She's come in front of my house before, but..." But she never came inside. Touko-chan had a conflicted look on her face.

"Not even Sachiko Onee-sama? Then I can't go in." Touko-chan made an angry face. She about-faced and started going back down the stairs.

"W-Wait! Why?" Yumi grasped Touko-chan's hand, and stopped her. At first she thought it was some kind of joke, but it seemed like Touko-chan was really leaving.

"How could I go up there if I went before you've even let your Onee-sama or your close friends go? What else can I do but refuse?" she asked.

"It's not a line you know."

"But..."

"But what?"

Touko-chan fell silent. These were things that Yumi would not have even realized Touko-chan would be watching out for, let alone tirelessly, and she even understood that there was no point in doing so. Touko-chan was strict at the oddest times.

"It's not like I didn't let Sachiko-sama or Yoshino-sama inside, you know. It's just never happened. Really."

"Well...," Touko-chan whispered.

"Plus you already took your shoes off right?" Even if she turned back now, she had come up the stairs.

"That was a mistake." Normally, one would confirm such things and then not take off one's shoes.

"Or is it just that you're worried that no one's come to my room before you?"

"... No."

"Then, it's fine, right? Come, come." Touko-chan might not have accepted the idea, but at least she took Yumi's hand without a fuss and went up the stairs.

"Here you are." Yumi opened the door to her room, and ushered Touko-chan in. She hadn't been planning to call over any guests, so parts of her room were messy, but she couldn't do anything about it. Well, it was being her plain-old self at least.

"Please find a seat anywhere you like." Yumi took the sewing materials and the thing she was sewing off the bed, put them in order, and placed them in a box which she put in a corner of the room.

"Okay," Touko-chan answered and then did not sit. She walked around the room, looking around. It was her form of manners. "What a great room," she said. After that, Touko-chan's eyes fell on Yumi's desk. There she had carelessly placed the phone, and the student notebook open to a page of phone numbers. "Did you already call Noriko-san?"

"Nope," Yumi answered truthfully. There was no need to hide things. "I haven't told anyone yet."

Touko-chan was very perceptive. When she found the student notebook and the phone together, she knew it was like a sickle closing in on her. Touko-chan had only to look at Yumi, who wore her thoughts on her face, to understand most of the situation.

"I was going to, but then Yuuki came back."

"I see. Great." She'd meant it in a that-way-Noriko-chan-will-not-get-worried sort of way. Touko-chan seemed to let out a sigh and laughed.

"Was it Suguru Onii-sama who told you? Or Sachiko-sama?"

"Kashiwagi-san. Sachiko-sama had guests over, so she hadn't been told yet." Touko-chan nodded to Yumi's explanation, and sat on top of a cushion on Yumi's floor.

Touko-chan wasn't wearing her coat. On top of a traditional red one piece, she was only wearing a white mohair cardigan. It was just as Kashiwagi-san had said, she had just suddenly decided to leave the house.

"Wasn't it cold?"

"Yeah. Because I was walking."

"Really?" Yumi sat slightly diagonally in front of Touko-chan.

"Really. At first I ran but, I got tired. After that... yeah, really."

"You walked here?"

"Yep."

"I see." Of course. She didn't even have the time to put on her coat. When she'd left, she obviously had had no time to think of her travel expenses. She had said that she hadn't felt cold but, when Yumi held onto Touko-chan's arm on the stairs, her cardigan had felt cool. When she held Touko-chan's hand it felt very cold. It must have been hard.

She didn't know if something had happened at home or if something had made her leave her house. But even though Touko-chan had gone through so much, she walked all the way through the cold to get here. It really must have been hard.

"Were you coming to my house?" Touko-chan shook her head several times.

"I was thinking about something, and just walking randomly. Eventually I turned up here. I looked at the district number on a power line pole and saw that I was close to Yumi-sama's house. I wondered where it was and ended up walking into this area. But it'd grown dark, so dark that I couldn't see the name plates. I went around here and there calling your name, but then I gave up. Just as I was going back, I met Yuuki-san."

"I see." In the end, she wound up coming here. Now she just wanted to stay here silently and warm her cold self. She wanted to rest her tired heart. "Tou...."

As soon as she heard her mother's "Dinner!" she hastily retracted the hand she had placed out for Touko-chan. "It's done. Let's go." Yumi stood up and spoke clearly. Touko-chan nodded and stood up. She opened the door and could smell something from up on the stairs.

Yumi ploddingly descended the stairs, and thought. What should I have done? If Yumi's mother not called out just then... she would have pulled Touko-chan close to her and hugged her, probably.

Part 3.

The menu was exactly what it smelled like: curry and salad. The meal had been cooking from before Kashiwagi-san had called Yumi, so it was a surprisingly tasty spread.

The Fukuzawa home's curry was made in huge quantities, so if one or two extra people would join them it would be fine. Yumi's mother also enjoyed cooking such huge quantities. Yumi's mother had been expecting Yuuki's friends to come over, so there was a very strong possibility that curry and stew would be common this winter. Steak and fish need to be prepared one-at-a-time, and if there aren't enough it's problematic to cook them in large quantities, as they would often run out.

Shortly before Touko-chan and Yumi came downstairs, Yumi's father had returned. Now the full Fukuzawa family and Touko-chan added up to five people and would surround the dinner table.

Touko-chan sat in the seat next to Yumi, where Yuuki would normally sit. Yuuki sat in their mother's seat. Their mother would sit at the narrow part of the table, and so on. It wasn't the normal seating arrangement, so it took a bit of shuffling to get seated.

"Could you pass me the Meat and Curry Dumplings?"

Yumi was tense because her father really loved Meat and Curry Dumplings. But in front of his daughter's friend, he seemed not to act like he normally did.

"The salad dressing recipe was one I saw being made on TV. What do you guys think of it?"

Both Yumi's mother and father were being excellent hosts.

"Everything is great, Mrs. Fukuzawa. You must be good at cooking."

Touko-chan seemed to really find the food tasty. She asked about the type of cheese used in the meat dumplings, and asked for the amount of the secret ingredient, balsamic vinegar, in the dressing.

She asked it all without flattery. Yumi did not know whether Touko-chan planned on really going back home and trying out some of these recipes. Nevertheless, her mother was very happy when Touko-chan did not simply say the food was tasty, but also asked how the food was made and what ingredients went into it.

"Is this rice ... white rice?"

"It's a medley of brown rice, barley, and white rice. I prepare it with the curry."

Yumi's mother would change the ratio of one rice to the other in each batch, so she told Touko-chan that she couldn't give a definite number. Yumi didn't know anyone who'd ask a question about the ratio. Obviously her mother would know that brown rice and barley went into the mix, but how much of each she doubted that her mother kept track.

Yumi's mother was very happy to talk to Touko-chan about such things. She was talking much more than she normally would.

"Oh, speaking of white rice. When Yumi and her friends went to her Onee-sama's summer house, the rice I had sent gave Yumi the nickname Princess Koshihikari. Did you know that, Touko-chan?" Well she hadn't been expecting that subject to come up, but it was too late.

It wasn't as if Touko-chan had been the instigator that came up with the name, so Yumi thought it probably would not bother her excessively. If Touko-chan wasn't the "person who made the name" but rather the "person who eventually laughed at the name" she was not to blame.

As expected, Touko-chan became obviously dejected, and whispered, "...There are some bad people out there in this world."

"Touko-chan, you're being too hard on yourself." Yumi's mother laughed warmly.

Yumi explained to Touko-chan, "Mom really liked the name."

"Princess Koshihikari?" Unable to fathom this, Touko-chan knit her eyebrows together.

"Yeah. Don't you think it has a much better ring to it than Princess Sasanishiki or Princess Hitomebore? I'm glad I sent Koshihikari. But you know, Princess Unwashed-Rice sounds more story-like, much more story-like." Wasn't Princess Koshihikari more than enough? Yet, as Yumi's mother was glowingly smiling, she let the irritation go, and even Touko-chan let out a small laugh.

"Yumi-sama's family talks about almost everything."

At which point, Yumi's father laughed to himself. "Nope. There are a lot of things we don't talk about at home. Because there are a lot of things we don't understand." Like a bride's father, Yumi's father talked solemnly, and Yumi's mother suddenly caught on.

"Honey, why did you suddenly get so serious? That's what friends are for. Touko-chan, please engage Yumi in some good conversation."

"I, well..."

"Don't hold back. I think Touko-chan is a great conversationalist." When Yumi heard her mother's words, conversely she wondered if she could become a good conversation partner for Touko-chan.

Had Touko-chan not been picked up by Yuuki, she wouldn't have come to this house. Just why had she left home? That was one topic that they could not discuss. But why? What had happened? Maybe if she just asked once. Even though she hadn't come here looking for Yumi's help, if she asked the question after she let Touko-chan in the house, Touko-chan would hesitate. Then she would grow fearful. This is none of Yumi-sama's business. She'd be denied. When she thought of the denial, she felt too scared to ask.

Part 4.

The Fukuzawa family dinner ended in an aura of calm.

Touko-chan laughed abundantly, talked profusely, and happily ate all the food on her place. As a guest, one could not get more hospitable or perfect.

Even though they told her not to, after she finished eating, Touko-chan picked up the tableware and placed it in the sink. Then she said, "Could I please use your phone?"

"Eh?" She said it so quickly, Yumi had to ask for clarification. "Why?"

"I don't want to impose. I bothered all of you so suddenly, and I'm very sorry."

"You'll go back? But to where?"

"Home. My mind feels a lot cooler. If I don't go back, then my parents would start shortening their lives in worry." Touko-chan was serious. Yumi understood that Touko-chan thought highly of her parents, and that Touko-chan's parents were raising her with a lot of care.

"Do you want to call home?" Since he was the closest to the phone receiver, Yuuki brought it over and asked.

"No. I left the house after a small argument, so I'd rather not talk to them on the phone and instead meet them in person, I think."

"Then who will you call?" Was Yuuki not going to give her the receiver until he found out who? Yuuki held on to the receiver, and was not letting it go.

"I thought I'd call a taxi. Even if my parents left to look for me, I'm pretty sure somebody would be at home." That was when Yumi remembered: Touko-chan had walked here. Rather than going to the bus station and taking a train, it would be faster to get into a car and go directly to the Matsudaira home. But she didn't have the money to return by train, so this was probably the real reason why she wanted to call a taxi.

"Why don't we take you. Where do you live?" Yumi's father put on his jacked, and took the keys for the car. "Yumi should come too. Her parents might be worried, so if you go together and say hello it would ease them."

"Ah, sure," Yumi answered and wondered, What does this situation remind me of? Now she remembered: When she was a child, Yumi had forgotten why but, her friend had been scolded by her parents. Yumi had let her friend come home with her, and later they had both gone to her parents and apologized. Her friend's parents held back from scolding her badly in front of a friend. Even after Yumi left though, her friend had gotten scared at least a second or a third time, but neither time was as bad as the scare she had gotten from the first time (that had prompted her to come home with Yumi).

Yet, it seemed that wasn't why Yumi's father wanted Yumi to come along. If they confirm that Touko-chan had been staying at her "school sempai's" house until such a late hour, then it would put Touko-chan's parents at ease.

"I won't let her come." Touko-chan held back. She didn't want to put the Fukuzawa family through any more trouble. Touko-chan also didn't want to ask for travel expenses.

"Don't worry about us Touko-chan. But if you get into a taxi alone to go home at this hour, then we'd be bound to worry."

There was no reason to doubt the Fukuzawa family, but Touko-chan, who had run away from home, had to decide whether or not she would go home by herself. Young maidens can, after all, suddenly change their mind halfway through a decision. Someone must keep an eye on these maidens, because they seem sensitive to smoke.

"I think I'll go home by myself," Touko-chan declined politely. Howevever, Yumi's father would not give up. And then...

"Um ... can I say something?"

"What, Yuuki?"

"You have to compromise. And I'm the one who'll decide this," Yuuki said, as he picked up the receiver and pressed one button. It seemed like he had forgotten to press the other numbers. Soon, sounds could be heard coming from the receiver. Someone was on the other line. "Ah, hello? Please take care of it," was all Yuuki said before he cut the line.

"Who did you call?" He hadn't called a taxi company, that was certain. He hadn't dropped any hints from names, but by saying "Please take care of it", it was obvious that a car was on its way.

"You'll find out soon."

"You'll find out soon." Right after Yuuki finished talking, within ten seconds, the Fukuzawa home's intercom rang. Yuuki opened the door without bothering to find out who it was. Wondering what was going on, Touko-chan tagged along with Yuuki and Yumi, and they met an unexpected person.

"I'm sorry for calling so late at night." The visitor came up from behind the kids, walked up to the parents, and bowed his head slightly. "I'm sorry that Touko took so much of your time."

Hearing his apology and his deference, Touko-chan suddenly made a deflated face. "Suguru Onii-sama." That was how she called him, the man known as Kashiwagi Suguru-san. He finished talking with the Fukuzawa parents, and then came over gently to Touko-chan. "I came to pick you up. Let's go."

Touko-chan nodded slightly.

Part 5.

Yumi had first learned about Touko-chan running away from home from Kashiwagi-san's phone call. So when Kashiwagi-san came to pick up Touko-chan out of worry, he really wasn't so "unexpected". Before they had eaten, while Yumi and Touko-chan were in Yumi's room, either out of worry or because he thought it would be a nice thing to do, Yuuki had called Kashiwagi-san.

So as to not surprise or aggravate Touko-chan, Kashiwagi-san decided to wait in front of the house until Touko-chan came out. However…

"I've been a burden. I'd like to apologize once again."

While watching Kashiwagi-san stick his face out the car window and laugh, Yumi thought: to come so quickly, and to meet in such a place, he really was an unexpected person.

"Thanks for the food!" Touko-chan said as she entered the passenger's seat. She had wanted to go along with Touko-chan to her home, but she didn't want to hear a "Thanks but no" from Kashiwagi-san. She understood that it had to be done, but she didn't like it. Although Kashiwagi-san would have waited and given Sachiko-sama the benefit of staying as late as she wanted, he jut takes Touko-chan when it works for him, without offering her a choice.

"Come over some time!" It seemed that Yumi's parents both found Touko-chan and Kashiwagi-san interesting. When Kashiwagi-san's red car turned the corner past Kakinoki-san's house, they continued to wave their hands. Closing the house gate, Yumi's mother sighed as if a large event had just finished, and whispered, "Touko-chan is a nice kid."

So? Yumi wondered why her voice sounded slightly high pitched. She couldn't answer it. Her mother's voice was bothering her own train of thought.

"She seems a bit difficult, but if you lay a firm hand on her, she does okay. That girl would be a good fit to become Yumi-chan's petite soeur."

"Mom, what are you saying? Just stop teasing me."

Yumi realized that her cheeks had become hot, and walked passed her mother. She took of her shoes, and hurriedly put on her slippers. She wondered what her mother would think if she could see Yumi's bright red face.

But, what should she do? If she were to go into the living room like this, then she would be spotted by her father and Yuuki, who had already gone inside. She walked inside while keeping her eyes on the walls, and tried to make herself invisible. That way, her sadness ---

"What's wrong, Yumi?" Yumi's mother asked, after coldly observing her daughter. "Your reaction was completely different from when I mentioned Kashiwagi-san."

"Eh?!" She unexpectedly turned her head at this serious inquiry.

Then her mother said, "Yumi-chan. You have a bad poker face." And her mother laughed, with a look of pity.

Part 6.

During the afternoon of the next day, Kashiwagi-san came to the Fukuzawa residence to quickly offer his thanks again.

Yumi's father was working, and her mother was out shopping. Yuuki was at home, but he had locked himself in his second floor bedroom. So inadvertently, it was Yumi who answered the intercom and came to the door.

"Hello." Kashiwagi-san was alone. "I've come as a representative for the Matsudaira family."

She watched Kashiwagi-san take out a huge box in a purple cover, much like a Japanese pastry chef of an old shop, and realized that Kashiwagi-san was more worried than usual. He didn't greet her with the usual "Hey", and he had come wearing a dark gray suit and a tie. She couldn't make out if the tie was navy, or just a very dark green. Last night, after all, he'd just been wearing a sweater. She understood that being someone's representative was hard work.

"Touko's parents wanted to come here to offer their thanks, but it seems like Aunt... Touko's mother is still a bit shocked. When she saw Touko come in, she sighed and fell asleep right where she was. So I was asked to come and represent them."

"Oh."

"They're very relieved. They would have wanted to come and offer their thanks in person but, after all that's happened my aunt's not feeling very well. After the incident with Touko, it seems like the house won't quiet down."

"Um, don't worry about it."

"Sure, but I did undertake this job, didn't I? I've become an actor in a situation where I shouldn't be acting."

Kashiwagi-san checked inside the high-quality Japanese sweets box, and confirming that he had actually given her the box, turned to Yumi and said, "Thank you."

"..." That was that.

He was a person to be used. He had no purpose if he did not fulfill the responsibility given to him. If Kashiwagi-san had been worried about what to do, then he had had the choice of not accepting the job in the first place, but that wouldn't have been very mature. He would not forgive her if she, in the absence of her parents, were to decline this gift. She had played around with the idea for a mere moment, and then rejected it.

Was it right to accept it when her parents were not there? If this was a delivery, then she would sign and accept the package immediately. But what if just a regular person were dropping the package off? She had received Lantern Festival Gifts and Seibo Gifts, but it had always been by businessmen.

"What should I do?" Kashiwagi-san spoke when it seemed as if Yumi would not accept.

"Right now, my parents aren't here."

"So? You told me this before."

"I'm wondering whether I should accept it."

Voicing her concern to the person who had come to deliver the gift seemed like some sort of joke. But Kashiwagi-san gave a serious reply.

"It's fine. It's not some sort of trap. It's not something that you accept, and have no choice but to give some equivalent gift back. This is simply a gift showing the thanks of the Matsudaira family for the time that Touko stayed here. If Yumi-chan's mother were here, what would she do?"

"I think she'd take it." She would be afraid though.

"Then?" Kashiwagi-san smiled. "Well, why don't you take it for now. When is your mom coming back?"

"By evening," Yumi answered. Her mother had gone out to buy groceries for dinner. She probably was not coming back until she was ready to start preparing dinner.

Kashiwagi-san took the box back lightly, and quickly looked at his watch.

"Then, five o'clock."

"Five o'clock ?"

"I won't tell the Matsudaira family anything until five o'clock. If your mom comes and really denies the gift, then I'll call them on the cell phone. I hope she comes quickly. I've been told that my job ends by five o'clock if I do not contact them."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I am. Do you want to accept it?" She nodded. Kashiwagi-san placed the box of pastries onto Yumi's hands. It was extremely heavy. It felt more like a wooden box than just a box.

Only a man could lift something so heavy so easily, and talk peacefully while doing it.

Kashiwagi-san had said that she could not win if she defeated him, and as Yumi tried to find ways in which she was sharper than Kashiwagi-san, her jealousy came back. Maybe this time she would buy some dumbbells and try to lift some weights.

"Oh yeah. Even if Mom doesn't come back by five, she will call."

Kashiwagi-san did not know that Yumi had been thinking about dumbbells, and Yumi thought of herself in a towel after coming out of the shower and bowed her head down.

"Won't you come inside, Kashiwagi-san?"

Yumi asked, mimicking her mother's pushiness. She wondered if having Kashiwagi-san wait inside would be the honorable thing to do.

"Ha-ha-ha. There's no way I can come inside while your parents are out."

"But Yuuki is here."

"Oh, I see."

"Should I call him?"

"She turned away from the front door, but then Kashiwagi-san called out, "There's no need for that" and stopped her.

"I have come here only as a Matsudaira family representative."

Kashiwagi-san began walking to the street where his red car was parked, and Yumi accompanied him. She didn't want him to go home like this. Her sentiment, however, was wholly different from the feeling a young girl would feel when her lover is leaving and her feelings are a-flutter. Yumi simply had something to ask Kashiwagi-san.

"Kashiwagi-san."

"Yeah?"

"Why did Touko-chan run away from home? Do you know?" Yumi asked pointedly, as Kashiwagi-san removed the key from his car door. And his normally bubbling smile faded a slight bit.

"... And what if I know?" Kashiwagi-san asked as if he was searching for something. Which meant that he probably did know. He wouldn't have done anything had he not known.

"You just can't tell me?" He knew, and so he was presented with the choice of either telling her or not telling her. Whichever one he chose she knew her life would be at least a bit changed afterward. To say "I know but I will not tell you" is different from saying "I do not know, so I cannot tell you."

"Touko-chan ..."

"I've heard nothing about her," Yumi confessed honestly. It was something she might have heard, but it wasn't something that people often talked about.

"But in spite of all I've said, you still want to know?" For a second, it almost felt as if he was saying "This is a boring thing, you know" or "I'm telling you this, but I'm gonna get made fun of", or "It's just a romantic fancy", or something like that. But it wasn't. She wanted to label it one of those, and even though his choice of words and his previous mood made it feel like one of those, she knew instinctively that this was an incorrect assumption.

She had come to be interested in Touko-chan. If she wanted to know what was going on, and if she could accept being offered such dark words, then she should know.

"That's because you're putting your interests ahead of others," Kashiwagi-san whispered.

"Mine?"

"This isn't a simple matter. This isn't just some random gossip about some person. But if it's Yumi-chan I'm telling, I can tell you, can't I? I can just tell whomever I want."

"...Huh?" Kashiwagi-san had grown deadly serious.

"Are you sure it's okay? If I tell you, then you'll know Touko's secret. And you'll know it without Touko knowing that you do. You should think about what that means."

"What that... means?"

"Can you just listen and hold on to the secret?"

"Ah." It suddenly felt as if she had been tossed against something, and her face flattened.

"I ..." She hadn't given the matter enough thought. She hadn't been planning to simply ask in such a manner. It seemed like a topic that needed a great deal of courage to discuss, and she hadn't thought it did.

"For your sake, and Touko-chan's sake, think it over some more. You can ask me about the situation. If you do, I will answer." Kashiwagi-san left the words hanging in the air, and left.

---

Yumi's mother returned home shortly. She brought over the pastries, but she couldn't pass on all the information to her parents. That she still talked with him even though she hadn't taken the pastries, and that she had been rude by not letting him in, and that it had been bad of her to let Kashiwagi-san wait until five o'clock, all those things she couldn't say.

Eventually, she got a call from Yuuki. "Kashiwagi-sempai came over, and I didn't know. Why didn't you call me?" Even though it had felt like he was in his room and did not want to be disturbed, Yuuki was making a fuss as soon as Kashiwagi-san had left.

"I was going to but Kashiwagi-san said that he had been sent over by the Matsudaira family, and said it was fine."

"...He had only come to deliver the pastries?"

"Yep. I can give you the phone Yuuki, but can you make the call?" Yumi tested Yuuki by handing him the phone receiver. He took the receiver and quickly punched in Kashiwagi-san's number.

"Ah, Sempai? Whassup?" Yumi heard Yuuki's voice and sighed. She still hadn't found the courage she needed to. She hadn't decided whether she could find the courage or not. And until she decided, she did not want to hear Kashiwagi-san's voice.

Translator's Notes

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