Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume32 Chapter6

Support and Skinship

Part 1.

Seemingly an annual tradition, the 'Search of the Rose Mansion for the Third Years' Forgotten Items' took place on the day before the graduation ceremony.

That 'seemingly' was deliberately added in there because she hadn't participated in this last year. Noriko was only a first year. Although she'd heard about this from her onee-samas.

"Well then."

"Shall we make a start?"

"I guess so."

Having arrived a little late due to going to the staff room and other such places, and having just finished their lunch, the three second years stood up.

The second floor of the Rose Mansion. 2pm.

Seeing the three seniors starting to move off, the first years Noriko and Touko quickly attended to the washing up then followed after them.

The stage was the seldom used room on the first floor. Since it had been mainly turned into a warehouse there was the possibility that treasures could be discovered between the strata. So they held this annual excavation, to try and find the personal belongings of the graduating seniors and return them to their owners.

There were five people in this search party. Naturally, the third years did not participate.

"Well, this shouldn't take too long."

Were the words of Rosa Chinensis en bouton, Fukuzawa Yumi-sama.

"Even so, we have to do this for appearance's sake."

Rosa Foetida en bouton, Shimazu Yoshino-sama muttered, chuckling like an elegant lady.

"Oh, do you think we won't find anything?"

This was Noriko's onee-sama, Toudou Shimako-san. Despite only being a second year, she was Rosa Gigantea. Even if you took away the rose-colored glasses Noriko saw her through, she was still a beautiful, kind and smart – an impeccable lady.

"I wonder if we will find anything."

As the descended the creaking stairs, the attitude of the members seemed to be anything but brimming with enthusiasm.

There was a reason that everyone was so ambivalent about this search. Because they knew they weren't going to find anything.

Some time last week, either during lunch or after school, when both Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida happened to be present the conversation had turned to the search for lost items. At which point, Rosa Chinensis proclaimed:

"Well, in my case, there's no way I would have forgotten any of my personal belongings."

And then gave a small laugh, like ancient nobility in a comic. Since she was so filled with confidence, they all thought they wouldn't find anything of hers. Support from that didn't just come from the person herself. A few days ago, when the three second years went into the first floor room for an unrelated matter, they reported that they hadn't seen any personal belongings of Rosa Chinensis or Rosa Foetida.

(On top of that.)

Noriko let out a sigh.

She hadn't said anything because she didn't want to trouble Yumi-sama, but yesterday morning she had witnessed Rosa Chinensis coming out of the room on the first floor of the Rose Mansion.

Having declared that nothing would be found, it would have been embarrassing for her if something was, so she had probably done a check prior to the search. Noriko hadn't actually seen this, but she assumed Rosa Foetida had probably done the same thing too.

So even though they were going to search, they weren't going to find anything. And because they had to search for things they wouldn't find, there was no sense of tension.

So while the search last year took place two days prior to the graduation ceremony, this year because it was a search 'for appearance's sake' that 'wouldn't take long' they were holding it the day before the graduation ceremony. It may have been a grave mistake, but because they didn't expect to find anything, they didn't see a need to leave a whole day free to return any items.

The second years were all somewhat busy seeing off their seniors.

Part 2.

The room on the first floor of the Rose Mansion was quite large, but it didn't get much sunlight. That probably explained why it was used so infrequently, and over time it had changed from a temporary storage area to something more resembling a closet.

According to Shimako-san, this was where they had previously rehearsed for their plays – although Noriko wondered if that was true. Because that story could have happened at most a year and a half ago, right?

At any rate, Noriko had only ever known it as a storeroom, one that was now packed full of all kinds of things. It could probably do with a good clean out sooner or later.

"Well then, let's decide on our areas and get started."

The room was divided into five blocks, and the search commenced. Because the number of items differed between each area, when they were finished they would help someone else out.

"You don't have to look between each sheet in the piles of cardboard."

"If something is sealed, there's no need to open it. But for those things that have the lid open, just take a quick peek inside."

"Understood."

"If you see someone's private property, you should still pick it out even if it's not Sachiko-sama or Rei-sama's."

"It'll either be ours or someone else's."

"Hahaha."

Having begun, it was surprisingly fun. It wasn't a personal item, but Noriko found some stationery from the Rose Mansion underneath a desk. Unfortunately, the tip of the felt-tip pens had dried out, so they wouldn't be able to use them.

After about twenty minutes, when everyone was getting ready to call it a day, Noriko called out in surprise. Caught between two cardboard boxes, she could see something fluttering.

"What? What?"

Everyone gathered around. It was probably a decoration, or a scrap paper used to make a note, but she wasn't really sure exactly what it was.

However.

"Ahh, that's – "

Having slid the boxes apart and pulled out the item, Shimako-san turned and looked at the Red Rose sisters, Yumi-sama and Touko.

It was a black ribbon.

It was a bit short to use for wrapping and it looked quite sturdy, so it was probably a hair ribbon.

Neither Rosa Chinensis nor Rosa Foetida used ribbons in their hair. Yoshino-sama wore her hair in braids, but this had neither the length nor the volume to deal with that. And neither Shimako-san nor, obviously, Noriko used ribbons. So the only people in the Rose Mansion that it could possibly belong to were the Red Rose sisters. The pair of them both used similar ribbons to tie their hair, one on each side of their head – although they wore different colors.

"Is it yours, onee-sama?"

Touko asked Yumi-sama. Which probably meant Touko had no recollection of it.

Yumi-sama stared fixedly at the ribbon she retrieved from Shimako-san then. And then.

"… It's mine."

She mumbled, unconvincingly.

"What took you so long?"

Yoshino-sama butted in.

"Oh, I didn't expect to find it again, so I was a bit surprised."

Well, that's true. Because they were searching for Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida's belongings, it would be a bit disorienting to find something that you had thought lost.

(Huh?)

Something was nagging away at Noriko's mind. She could understand the surprise. The person herself had even said so. But why did Yumi-sama seem so absentminded?

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen you wearing those ribbons lately. I suppose it's because you lost one of them. But I don't understand how you managed to drop one of them."

Noriko watched as Yumi-sama laughed nervously in response to Yoshino-sama's words. Just as she thought, Yumi-sama still seemed somewhat absentminded.

After Yoshino-sama's question she evidently went into deep thought for about 30 seconds, before finally calling the conversation to a close with:

"Well, I think we're finished with the search, don't you?"

"Yeah"

Shimako-san agreed.

"Then, I suppose we're done for today."

It looked as though Yumi-sama had just remembered something she had to do.

"Looks that way. Don't worry about tomorrow."

"Right, right. We've already done enough preparation and practice."

Yumi-sama's behavior was incredibly easy to understand, so Shimako-san and Yoshino-sama hit her with a 'Hurry up and go do what you have to do' beam.

"Thank-you. Touko, you can go home ahead of me."

Leaving them with those words, Yumi-sama sped out of the Rose Mansion.

"I wonder what that was all about?"

Shimako-san and Yoshino-sama both shook their head. Apparently they had been supporting their friend even though they didn't know what her urgent business was. Meanwhile Touko remained silent, staring intently at the door Yumi-sama had gone through.

Because Noriko was standing diagonally behind Touko, she couldn't see what expression was on her face. If she would just turn this way, Noriko would be able to determine whether she was looking lonely or not.

Noriko thought she should talk to her, but didn't know what to say. As she was hesitating, Shimako-san called out.

"Touko-chan."

Touko seemed normal as she turned around.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to follow Yumi-san?"

Shimako-san asked her so directly that Noriko started to feel nervous. Touko too seemed a little bit surprised.

"No."

But she was smiling as she shook her head.

"I think that what my onee-sama is doing is in some way related to Rosa Chinensis."

So I would be an inconvenience if I were to follow her, seemed to be what Touko was thinking.

Noriko finally thought she understood the situation. Yumi-sama had gone off to see Rosa Chinensis. And Touko had understood this immediately.

So when they left the room Touko didn't turn towards the entry, instead following Yoshino-sama and Shimako-san up the creaky staircase. Noriko followed after her, as though charmed by her hair. That's not to say that Touko-chan didn't want to follow after Yumi-sama, it just seemed that she was containing her feelings inside herself.

"If you really want to, you shouldn't hold back, you know."

Once more, Shimako-san made a bold statement.

"You say don't hold back, … but I'm not sure I want to chase her."

As she answered, Touko seemed to be collecting her thoughts.

"It's just, I don't think I'd be able to do anything if I followed her."

"You can't do anything?"

Stopping temporarily, Shimako-san turned around. And then awaited Touko's next response.

"When your onee-sama graduates, I think that's a huge thing. If I think about it happening to me in a year's time … no, it's probably a much bigger deal for her."

Touko was probably openly explaining her feelings because Shimako-san was older than her. Or because Shimako-san was someone whose onee-sama had already graduated. Either way, Noriko felt superfluous.

She had no idea that Touko thought about such things. Not only that, but she wasn't thinking about her onee-sama's graduation, but her onee-sama's onee-sama's graduation.

"Because my onee-sama's bonds with Rosa Chinensis are so strong, it must be heart-breaking for her now that Rosa Chinensis is graduating. But she never shows those feelings, instead appearing as cheerful as ever. I know she's the only one who can bear this burden, but all I can do is watch. I want to do something to help her, but I don't know what I should do."

Shimako-san, who had been silently listening until then, resumed climbing the staircase. Noriko followed Touko up the stairs, wondering what kind of advice Shimako-san was going to offer.

Tap tap tap. When they had reached the top of the stairs, Shimako-san murmured:

"I suppose it's fine, like that."

"Huh?"

"It's fine if you can't do anything for Yumi-san, is what I meant."

Graduation was the ultimate trial and gift given by an onee-sama. She hadn't said as much, but Touko understood this. That's why she'd said that Yumi-sama was the only one who could bear the burden. But even so, that's fine. So does that mean that there are some things that a petit soeur can't do? And thinking that probably hurt her self-belief, which was why she wanted to get some advice from someone else.

"But, you know, I'm not saying that it makes no difference whether you're there or not, Touko-chan. Just being by her side probably gives Yumi-san all the strength she needs."

"Are you sure?"

Touko seemed uncertain as she looked at Shimako-san.

"Of course. Since it's Yumi-san, I think she would know that. Because she always treasured the words of the previous Rosa Chinensis."

The previous Rosa Chinensis, that would have been Rosa Chinensis' onee-sama. Which would make her Yumi-sama's 'grandmother' and Touko's 'great-grandmother.'

"The words of the previous Rosa Chinensis – "

Touko asked. Shimako-san smiled as she stood in front of the door nicknamed 'The Biscuit Door.'

"'The petit soeur supports,' is what she said."

"Supports…"

Somebody muttered. It could have been Touko, or Noriko, or maybe even Yoshino-sama. Perhaps all three of them at once.

Supports.

All of the people there were petit soeurs.

Part 3.

"Sorry, but I have to leave too."

Yoshino-sama, who had gone into the room ahead of them, held her bag and her coat in her hands. Noriko, standing by the door, took a step backwards to clear the way.

"Thanks for your efforts today."

"Gokigenyou."

Waving as she left, Yoshino-sama's figure served as a vivid reminder of Yumi-sama's earlier exit, although the situation and her appearance were different. Yoshino-sama was probably going to meet Rei-sama. Either that, or she had something else to do. Either way, she definitely left the impression that she was on a mission.

"Well, I'll be heading home too."

On the other hand, Touko's situation was different. She had the option of waiting here until her onee-sama returned, but she probably didn't want to do that because she thought she would be a bother. Or maybe she was just faithfully following her onee-sama's earlier 'You can go home ahead of me.' Having finished the cleaning of the second floor together with Noriko, Touko started making preparations to leave.

Yumi-sama's belongings still remained in a corner of the room.

"Gokigenyou, Rosa Gigantea. Later, Noriko."

Touko smiled as she stood in front of the door and buttoned up her school coat.

"Gokigenyou."

Shimako-san returned the smile. Noriko gave a small nod as she said, 'Later.'

After Touko had disappeared through the door, when they could hear the sounds of her footsteps on the staircase, Shimako-san called out 'Noriko.'

"Uhhh."

When Noriko turned around, Shimako-san was standing there holding her belongings. 'When did she do that?' Noriko initially wondered, but then moved on to questioning how long she had been spacing out, thinking about Touko.

"Umm, but that's – "

Noriko didn't understand why Shimako-san was holding her coat and bag.

What was the meaning of this?

When Noriko looked at her, blinking, Shimako-san handed over Noriko's items.

"Shimako-san?"

"Here."

After Shimako-san put a hand to her shoulder and twirled Noriko around, she urged her onwards with a tap to her back.

"Even for friends, it's enough just to be by their side."

So please be there for her, was what she was saying.

"Touko-chan seems to be far more delicate than anyone had thought."

You could say that. She'd been damaged by her onee-sama's onee-sama's graduation.

"Is that why you said what you did to her?"

Noriko asked.

"I wonder if it came out sounding like a lecture."

"Not at all. I think Touko was glad. That you were concerned about her. I'm happy to have that kind of an onee-sama too."

"Oh."

Shimako giggled at that.

"Then I think I'm going to disappoint you."

"Huh?"

"I'm not the kind of person who keeps an eye out for others. I only became concerned about Touko-chan because you were, Noriko."

"Ehhh."

But that disappointment made Noriko feel happy. She preferred a realistic, if slightly nepotistic, person to a saint.

"Hey. Touko-chan's already left the Rose Mansion."

So get a move on, Shimako-san was urging her. But Noriko stayed where she was.

"I wanted to be able to support you last year."

"Huh?"

"When I heard Touko's words, even someone with no imagination like me could picture it. Last year, even though you were only a first year, you had to endure that alone."

Ostensibly, Noriko was saying that she knew it must have been difficult for Shimako-san. But no matter how painful it was, it was a side of Shimako-san she wanted to see but would now never have the opportunity.

"I know that's impossible. But still."

Noriko couldn't put it into words. The Shimako-san of a year ago was so pitiable. She wanted to go back in time and take hold of her hands.

"Thank-you. But although I didn't have a petit soeur, I was embraced from both sides by my friends. So I was okay."

In the way that she should be there for Touko, may be what she was saying.

Noriko hadn't been able to make it there in time, but Yumi-sama and Yoshino-sama were there for Shimako-san. Which was why she was alright.

"By the way, what is the onee-sama supposed to be doing while the petit soeur is supporting her?"

The words of the previous Rosa Chinensis. It seemed obvious that there should be a matching version for the older sister.

"Hmm, I wonder what it was… that's right, embraces and protects."

Embraces and protects.

"That's exactly how I feel right now."

Like a huge blanket, Shimako-san wrapped around her completely. So she was able to live peacefully.

"We follow the intent, but there's not the same skinship, you know."

Rather than staying here together, Shimako-san's kindness was such that she would probably prefer Noriko to chase after Touko and go home with her. Even as she thought it was the truth, Noriko felt strange about it.

"However."

Noriko dropped her belongings on the closest chair, then tightly embraced Shimako-san.

If she didn't run all the way to the statue of Maria-sama, she probably wouldn't be able to catch Touko now, but that was okay.

"We even have skinship, once in a while."

"Oh Noriko."

Leaving the smiling Shimako-san standing there, Noriko hurried after her friend.

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