Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume22 Chapter2.2

Part 2.

"What?!"

It was 8 PM. Rose Mansion. Second Floor.

The school closing ceremony and mass had finished, and everyone was busily preparing for the party. Yumi gave a sudden outburst to one of Yoshino's passing statements.

"Shh. You're too loud."

Yoshino grimaced, as she brought her index finger in front of Yumi-san's mouth. Luckily, they were a bit far from Shimako-san and Noriko-chan, and they were absorbed in their own conversation. So Yumi's surprise was not heard.

The third-years had not come.

The party preparations worked in an order. As soon as mass would finish, everyone would come to the Rose Mansion. They would busily decorate it, then bake the place full of pastries and cakes, and finally prepare tea. So this was the most basic step in the ladder of party preparation.

They had to clean a room that had been left alone for almost a week, they had to bring a whole bunch of food and place it in the fridge, and they had to bring up chairs from the first floor up to the second to make up for the chairs that they did not have. This kept them occupied.

Yumi toned down her volume, and asked Yoshino-san.

"Well, I called Tanaka, no Arima Nana ...."

Yoshino-san said, a bit louder than she should have.

Why? Last week, on the last day of exams, Yoshino-san had said nothing about this.

But even had she suspected something, her mind had been so filled with planning for the amusement park date with Sachiko-sama that she had not noticed a thing.

Yoshino-san continued talking.

"That's why I'm asking you to help me."

"Help me?"

Arima Nana, whose name Yumi had only recently heard off, whose very mention sounded like some slip of paper from a surprise box, was flying knowingly off Yoshino-san's lips.

Yoshino had previously introduced Nana as her "soon to be soeur" to Torii Eriko-sama.

Yoshino wanted to make Nana her soeur if she could not find anyone by her third year.

But this time, Yoshino wanted to invite her to a casual party. It felt like a hop, a step, or maybe even a jump up.

"Well anyway."

Yoshino-san said.

"Yumi-san, you had said that you had wanted to invite Touko-chan and Kanako-chan for the Christmas party, didn't you?"

"I didn't."

Of course, Yumi-san knew that she wouldn't explicitly say that she wanted to invite them. She wouldn't say she didn't want them invited either.

"Hey, listen to everything I'm trying to say. You wanted to call them, so I thought I could call my friends too. So that's why I thought that they should come."

"... What?"

Yoshino-san was just pushing words into Yumi's mouth.

Well, whatever. She didn't understand this thing at all. Arima Nana-san was a middle school student, and had never even seen the Yamayurikai once before. To offer a direct, personal invitation to such a person took real guts. She wanted to invite people who everyone knew very well so that Nana-san wouldn't stick out.

"Plus won't the turnout feel a little lonely this year? Last year we had eight Yamayurikai members? Plus Tsutako-san. But this year there are six members. And then with Tsutako-san, it'll be seven? Sachiko-sama said we should invite more people, when Rei-chan had asked."

So Yoshino-san heard Rei-sama and Onee-san talking about the party, and so she comes to "hey Yumi-san" her?

"So if we add three, maybe even four people, it'll be like the voices of a large crowd echoing in the room. They said we could even invite first or second years."

"Ugh."

Now Yumi had to quickly go to Touko-chan and Kanako-chan, invite them, and try to surreptitiously hint to them that she would like it if they came. Or at least, that's what Yoshino-san was hinting at Yumi to do.

"When the new year stars, the third years will get busy, and we'll have the Student Council Elections, and then everyone will stop coming so regularly to the meetings. So."

So this was a good opportunity to call a lot of people, Yoshino-san was implying. Of course, Nana-san should also be one of these people.

BBut wait. Yumi had to ask something.

"Um, Yoshino-san. I need to ask you something. Did you promise Arima Nana-san that you would make her your soeur or something?"

"Not yet."

"But you're still bringing her here?"

Isn't she being a bit overeager?

"Yeah.... I wanted to introduce her to Rei-chan."

"Wow... that's impulsive."

When Yoshino-san said that she wanted to introduce Nana-san to her Onee-sama, to a normal person, it would sound like she wanted to introduce her boyfriend. Sort of like "I want to meet his parents."

"Not very. I just want to quickly introduce her myself and let her get to know Rei-chan."

Yoshino-san said, slightly distastefully. Kind of like, continuing with the previous analogy, the boyfriend's father not finding her up to snuff.

"Well ... are you sure?"

"For now at least."

Yoshino-san seemed to feel as if she were outnumbered, but she obviously had no intention of losing. As her close friend, what would be the best thing to do now?

"Alright, I see. Then let's get it all organized."

Yumi-chan clapped her hands together, and called out to the White Rose Sisters.

"Shimako-san, Noriko-chan, are you guys done?"

They had some things to talk about.

---

It was about ten minutes from the drop-dead time to go back to class, so for now, the four sat down.

"It's about the Christmas Party. It was feeling a bit lonely, so we decided to invite a few new people. Yoshino-san seems to have one person in mind. We still need another two or three people. Do you guys have anyone you'd like to call?"

"How about Tsutako-san..."

Shimako-san let the name out into the open. The Photography Club's Ace had been invited to the party last year, and at the end of it had said "Next year for sure!" Shimako-san seemed to remember this.

"Ah, she was in the list of names to begin with. Along with the Onee-samas."

We had thanked her tremendously for taking so many pictures last year, and Tsutako-san was much obliged to attend again this year.

"Then I can't think of anyone else. How about you, Noriko?"

"Even I can't really..."

Noriko-chan fell silent. She looked as if she were holding something back. But she also looked as if she wasn't really troubling herself much about it.

"Then how about Touko-chan and Kanako-chan?"

Yumi blurted out, and Yoshino-san exclaimed perhaps a bit too loudly "That would be great!". Then she softened her tone, and asked Noriko-chan "Right?"

"... Yeah."

Noriko-chan seemed sunk deep in her thoughts. Yumi asked her a question.

"Could you please invite them?"

Part of it was that today was a holiday, but more importantly, she had not seen Touko-chan's face since the day when she had unexpectedly appeared at the Fukuzawa residence.

Yumi was still scared by what Kashiwagi-san had told her, and was still a bit afraid of meeting Touko-chan. That's why Yumi thought it best if Noriko-chan, a girl from Touko-chan's own class, were to go and invite her.

But being scared to talk to Touko-chan, and not wanting to meet her were two different things. Actually, she wanted to look upon a Touko-chan laughing along with her classmates in happiness.

But.

"I cannot."

Noriko-chan replied.

"Huh?"

Responses other than "Sure" or "I'll do it" were responses Yumi could not even fathom.

"Now, why..."

"I said that I can't do it."

Noriko-chan cut Yumi off clearly. So then, she hadn't mistook a "sure" with a "I cannot" . She had been clearly turned down.

"Noriko-chan! How dare you talk to your Sempai like that?"

Yoshino-san exclaimed, as she stood straight up.

But Yumi liked the fact that, even though Yumi was her sempai, Noriko had still been able to clearly say what she had wanted to say.

Yoshino, who still seemed as if she had a much longer diatribe to fulfill, let the matter go -- at least, she sat down and let Yumi take over.

She had been deeply shaken by Noriko-chan's reaction. But Yumi wanted to know why Noriko had denied, and so had let herself embrace stillness.

"Why? Have Touko-chan and Kanako-chan fought again?"

"No."

Noriko-chan shook her head.

"Then why don't you want to call her to the party?"

"I'm not saying that I don't want them called to the party. If Touko or Kanako-san come to the party, it doesn't matter much to me."

"... Huh?"

They hadn't fought. She didn't mind if the two would come to the party. Then why?

"I cannot invite them. It was Yumi-sama who suggested inviting them, was it not? Then shouldn't it be Yumi-sama's duty to invite them?"

"Duty..."

Yumi hadn't even thought of that.

"Well."

Yumi had thought that, because Noriko-chan was in the same class as the two, she could easily be able to invite them. But in Noriko-chan's world, it seemed like her concept of "duty" entailed some important obligation that Yumi had irrevocably shrugged.

"Basically, I can't do what you're asking me to."

When Yumi saw the determination on Noriko-chan's face, she knew that no matter what, Noriko-chan would not change her mind. Then.

"Understood."

Someone who seemed to also have understood this, suddenly rose from her seat. It was Shimako-san, who had been quiet until now.

"I'll be the one to do it."

"Huh?"

"The bell will soon ring. So if we want to invite them, we would like to do it as quickly as possible, right?"

"Shimako-sa... Onee-sama!"

Noriko-chan hurriedly chased after Shimako-san, who had already begun walking.

"Onee-sama shouldn't have to go! Yumi-sama and I were just ...!"

"It doesn't matter who invites them."

Shimako-san turned, and smiled.

"But!"

"Noriko. When you refused, it was your whim. That doesn't mean that you can control what *I* do. No matter what, if it's something Yumi-san wishes me to do, then that's reason enough. Isn't that another tenet of the 'duty' that you follow?

"..."

Noriko-chan didn't speak. She then looked at Shimako-san with a sad, painful look on her face, and teared up a little.

She seemed a lot like the crybaby in Yumi. She didn't know about Shimako-san, but Yumi had never seen Noriko-chan like this.

Noriko-chan had always been one to stand up against anything and face it. She was a kid who, even though she may cry, seemed as if the passion of justice would burn in her heart. But now, Noriko seemed completely weak. She had no retort to Shimako-san's remark, and simply stood there.

"I'm sorry Shimako-san. I'll go."

Yumi, who couldn't stand doing nothing for so long, spoke.

"Then, shall we go together?"

Shimako-san smiled as she always did.

She was smiling so even when she had turned to Noriko-chan. Shimako-san's words had warmth. That's why they were words that echoed inside one's heart, rather than words shouted in hysteria.

After giving the two some distance, followed behind, with Yoshino-san holding the rear.

This way, the first year Camellia class Noriko-chan, had no choice but to return back to her classroom, even if she didn't want to.

Or maybe Yoshino-san had come simply to see what the fuss had been all about.

"But, why did you want to be the one to go, Shimako-san?"

Yumi asked, as she walked along the school's corridors.

"Why not?"

"Well, and maybe I'm wrong in this but, it doesn't seem like it's very important to Shimako-san whether Touko-chan or Kanako-chan are called to the party. Even if we were to call someone else, Shimako-san would greet them the same way, and talk to them the same way, right? Even if we only end up bringing along Yoshino-san's friend and Tsutako-san, the party wouldn't be affected, right?

"I see."

Shimako-san nodded, then spoke.

"But, no matter what amount of guests Yoshino-san ends up bringing, it wouldn't be right. Tsutako-san would be fully occupied by taking pictures, rather than actually socializing at the party, right? Truth is, I'd feel a bit awkward if we were having only one guest."

"But then."

Instead of going against Noriko-chan's wishes and calling Touko-chan or Kanako-chan, we could've called any old underclassman. Shimako-san clarified.

"I followed my heart."

"Huh?"

"Somehow, I felt that it would be best to invite Touko-chan."

"Somehow?"

Yumi asked, and Shimako rather than respond back, seemed to whisper something to herself.

It seems like something very important was hidden within that 'somehow'.