Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 14 Chapter 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So what happened then?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yuuki asked, spinning around on his chair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Not much."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi answered, as she leaned back on her brother's bed and tossed a cushion in the air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We went to the old greenhouse and they took photos of me with a Rosa Chinensis bud. They're calling it the "Rose Name Series.""

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A recent shot of a Rose family member from a Takeshima Tsutako photo-shoot and a mini-interview. Mami-san was jumping for joy as she paid for the pastries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Is it okay for you to be doing that on your own?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her little brother asked as he tossed the towel he'd dried his hair with over the bed's headboard. Yumi hastily dodged out of the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I got permission from Sachiko-sama. I only co-operated with the newspaper club because she said okay. The Yamayurikai's busy too, so it's a pain if the newspaper club follows us around looking for something to write about. Since they're calling it a series, we'll be able to keep them quiet for a little while with just a photo and a short comment."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still, Rosa Chinensis was a perennial so they could find one blooming in the greenhouse at any time, but what about Rosa Foetida and Rosa Gigantea? Well, as long as they had the name of one of the Roses in the t.i.tle, the newspaper club probably didn't care about the actual flower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hmm. Still, since we're both so busy we don't get to talk that much. Sounds like there's lots going on at your school too, Yumi."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi adjusted her pajama trousers around the knee and sat down cross-legged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She longed for a quiet and peaceful school life, but she couldn't really spend much time in blissful ignorance. She was Rosa Chinensis en bouton after all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yuuki was just as busy, or probably even more so, since he'd been getting home after 7 or 8 at night for a while now. The Hanadera Academy's school festival was next weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The upshot of this was that they'd been having dinner separately and Yuuki was so tired that Yumi would regularly find him lying down in bed when she thought he'd gone for a bath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since, unusually, he got home before 7pm today, the entire family had had dinner together for the first time in a while. It really had been a long time since they'd chatted like this before bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"By the way, what about Alice? What happened after that?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi asked the question that had been nagging at her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What do you mean?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That thing before, where it was like he was being haunted &h.e.l.lip;. what was it, shivers?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was it. The victim of "something akin to a haunting but it's probably actually a human" was Arisugawa Kintarou-kun, also known as Alice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah. Alice has been fine since then."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Alice has?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it sounded like someone other than Alice hadn't been fine. Her curiosity piqued, Yumi questioned him further.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Kobayashi's been acting kinda strange."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was the response she got.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Does Kobayashi-kun have a bad feeling like he's being haunted by something too?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"No, it's the opposite. He seems to be walking around in an inexplicably good mood."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yuuki shrugged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A good mood?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"He says someone's got a crush on him, so he's on cloud nine."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was that all about? Yumi shrugged. Well, Kobayashi-kun was the sort of person who could get a bit carried away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Alice is one thing, but I think Kobayashi has the completely wrong impression. He hasn't noticed it himself, but he's picked up Alice's shadow."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently one or two days after Alice had said something about his bad feeling, Kobayashi-kun had happily announced, "Me too."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But one's a bad feeling and the other a good feeling. They're the complete opposite."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Not necessarily. They both involve someone harboring a strong emotion towards them, so in that sense it's the same. Depending on how they interpret that, they could have either a bad feeling or a good feeling, don't you think?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I see."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was another way of looking at it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Someone was watching them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether they took it as a friendly gaze or a hostile gaze would vastly alter their impression of the onlooker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, right."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yuuki suddenly changed the topic, as though he'd just remembered something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Are any of the Roses afraid of heights?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Why?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Everyone sort of got carried away and they've made enormous towers."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Towers?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah. For the Roses to judge from."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah - "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi clasped her hands together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's right, Sachiko-sama and the other Roses had been asked to be judges and presenters at Hanadera Academy's school festival. From memory, it was called the "Hanadera War" or something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It's tall, huh."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well &h.e.l.lip; yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yuuki answered somewhat reluctantly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He said that while they were building it, they kept going, "More, more," and things escalated so it was about 1.5 times larger than the original blueprint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Yuuki, "When building this sort of thing, guys tend to be generous." But then he said, "Their eyes were sparkling, like little kids playing with building blocks." Boys were hard to understand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"If there's someone that can't handle heights, we'll have to change the towers. But in that case, the sooner you let me know the better."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Alright. I'll ask around."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having agreed to this, Yumi rose from her younger brother's bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As she left the room, Yumi turned around to say goodnight but Yuuki was already nodding off in his chair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Heights? Ah, Sachiko's no good with them."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama said, after school in the Rose Mansion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That's what I thought."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was just as Yumi had expected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That's what you thought? So you knew about it, Yumi-chan?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, a while ago she told me she wouldn't go on the roller coaster. So I thought it might be because of that."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The roller coaster? Ah, from when you asked her to take you to the amus.e.m.e.nt park."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a combination birthday / White Day present for Yumi, they'd agreed to go on a half-day date at an amus.e.m.e.nt park. For a number of reasons it had been put off and pushed back, and at present it had been shelved for four months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Although back then I sort of felt as though it was because she didn't want to go on something fast."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, but she doesn't like cars either. You should know that, right Yumi-chan?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You mean how she gets carsick when traveling long distances?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She knew that much, even in their first year together. Although the fact that Sachiko-sama had a weak const.i.tution was something she'd been reminded of recently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Right, right. But despite this, she still blindly followed her father overseas when he asked. Did you hear about that?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama lowered her voice. Implying that Sachiko-sama had a father-complex proportionate to her man-hatred.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"One of my uncles would get a bit tipsy before getting on a plane, to distract himself from his fear of flying. But Sachiko's underage, so she can't get drunk, right? So what does she do? She relies on the power of medicine. She'll have some just before takeoff, then sleep. Get something to eat, more medicine, and sleep. Like that. On the plane trip for the school excursion, people get up out of their seats to go to the toilet, right? Pa.s.sing Sachiko's cla.s.s, all anyone could see was her pa.s.sed out with drool running down her face."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Rei-sama laughed heartily there was the sound of someone clearing their throat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Who did you say was drooling?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unluckily, it was Sachiko-sama herself who had opened the biscuit door and stepped inside. She had an incredible presence, because she'd apparently met up with Yoshino-san, Shimako-san and Noriko-chan somewhere on the way here and they were following her like a retinue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, I was just speaking figuratively. No, more of an exaggeration, I suppose."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama was neither wounded nor scratched by the glare from her good friend Sachiko-sama. She leaned back in her chair, her head held high.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi, you mustn't believe Rei's horror stories."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On her way past, Sachiko-sama gently poked Yumi on the forehead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, right."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still, Yumi didn't think the entire thing was a horror story. The part about her sleeping for almost the entire time in the air sounded like the truth and she may even have had a little bit of drool. As she was thinking this -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That'd be nice, going on a school trip."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She'd unconsciously said what she was thinking, which made Sachiko-sama smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It's not long now until your turn, Yumi."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yes."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She obediently responded then stood up to go and prepare the tea. However.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That wasn't it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The words, "That'd be nice," hadn't sprang from her mouth just because she wanted to go on a school trip. Yumi was coveting "going on a school trip with Sachiko-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They'd both attended Lillian's Girls Academy since kindergarten but since they were one grade apart they'd never been on a school trip together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, that wasn't limited to just school excursions - they'd never been in the same cla.s.s, never worked on the same graduation project, nor shared the same page in a school yearbook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it went without saying that the majority of her time at school was spent separated from her beloved onee-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just think, if she was in the same cla.s.s as Sachiko-sama and had a seat near hers, she could spend all that time watching her. Yumi was suddenly jealous of Sachiko-sama's cla.s.smates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although if they were in the same grade, Yumi couldn't have become her pet.i.t soeur. In the end, she knew she was asking for too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-sama, I can do the rest."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan offered to help but Yumi turned her down with, "It's okay, I've got it."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She was making the tea for Sachiko-sama. Yumi considered the precious time they spent together, the acc.u.mulation of trivialities, as her treasures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was why she politely and carefully prepared the tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the while hoping this would make it just that little bit more delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"By the way, what led you to discussing aeroplanes?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama asked as she sipped the tea that may or may not have tasted a bit better than usual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, we were talking about the Hanadera Academy school festival."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama's eyes clouded over after hearing the details, much like Yumi had expected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Um, onee-sama? If it's no good, my brother said they can remake them."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But that would also increase the cost. And all the time and effort they've put in so far will be for nothing, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As expected of Sachiko-sama. Since she was so involved with their own school festival, she was well aware of things like costs and construction schedules.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It'll be a bother to them too, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama let out a heavy sigh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naturally, it would be a problem for the Hanadera students who'd made the platforms bigger than planned, but that didn't mean they couldn't tell them to remake them. Although they hadn't stated that the platforms had to be less than a certain height.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Understood. Then I'll humbly take your place atop the tower, onee-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi thumped her chest, "Leave it to me." At which point Sachiko-sama nimbly took hold of her fist and said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Please stop, Yumi. I'd rather do it myself than force it on you. No matter the height, I'll fulfill my duties as Rosa Chinensis superbly, so just watch on quietly."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But he said it was like looking down at the ground from a second-floor window."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The second floor?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi nodded and Sachiko-sama laughed a high-pitched "Hohoho."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"In that case it's completely fine. The second floor is only as high as the first-floor roof, right? Leaning out a window at that height is nothing at all. You couldn't possibly think that I can't go to the third-floor of the school building, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"&h.e.l.lip; No."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She hadn't thought that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She hadn't thought that, but had Sachiko-sama properly considered how she'd feel out in the open without the walls and ceiling around her? To say nothing of the fact that the towers were built by untrained high-school students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shaky and precarious. Even without seeing them, Yumi could picture them easily enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Enough, no more grumbling. Please just tell Yuuki-san that we understand. Don't say anything more than necessary."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"&h.e.l.lip; Alright."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even though Yumi didn't think she was grumbling, she knew that Sachiko-sama would just dig in further if she said anything more so she chose to quietly withdraw. But she thought she should be prepared to step in quickly if the real thing turned out to be too much for Sachiko-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You've become quite adept at handling Sachiko, Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama whispered softly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh, no. That wasn't what I intended."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't what she intended but somehow it had worked out like that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although it felt like she'd unwittingly pushed Sachiko-sama to the top of a tall tower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Shimako-sa~n."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san called out leisurely, since it didn't affect her directly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Are you okay with heights, Shimako-san?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The second-floor? It might be a little scary."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By putting it into words like that Shimako-san showed she was the type of person who could look at reality and calmly a.s.sess the situation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In contrast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, don't look so worried. It'll be a piece of cake. Now, let's get to work, to work."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama was the type of person that convinced themselves they'd be fine then tried not to think about it any more, which left Yumi feeling nervous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsutako-san was sitting in her cla.s.sroom seat after school and sighing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What's the matter? You're not going home?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, Yumi-san. Good timing &h.e.l.lip; or bad, maybe."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had been in the Rose Mansion working on school festival related tasks but they'd reached a break in their work so she'd returned to the cla.s.sroom to pick up something she'd forgotten.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They'd had PE today so she had to take her PE clothes home. The days were still warm despite it being September and she didn't dare leave her sweat-stained shirt and leggings in her locker for two days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What's up?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a number of photos on Tsutako-san's desk. She was probably in the middle of sorting them, since they were spread out face-up like a deck of cards. Because Tsutako-san took a lot of hidden-camera photos around campus, it wasn't that unusual to see her like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorting them by person, or by those that were okay to publish and those that weren't, or by those that would inevitably be torn up. How she divided them changed depending on the occasion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, are all of these photos of me?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi picked up a few to have a closer look. About ten photos of f.u.kuzawa Yumi, all taken without her notice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That's right."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsutako-san never tried to talk her way out of these situations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She had indeed taken them. She wouldn't publish them if you didn't want. She would give you a copy if you wanted one. But they were such good shots that you should share them with the world. - That's how these conversations generally went.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I was thinking about the school festival when I took these photos of you. For the photography club's display."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But why me?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Because it was a huge success last year. That giant panel of you and Sachiko-sama. So I thought I'd rely on the Red Rose soeurs again this year."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So was that why she'd said, "Good timing or bad?" But at this point Yumi couldn't see what was "bad" about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So what's troubling you, Tsutako-san?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Do I look troubled?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Totally."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since she was sitting alone in the gloom of an unlit cla.s.sroom, her arms folded and sighing deeply. Even if she wasn't troubled, she was thinking deeply about something difficult.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What is it? Is there a problem with your subject?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-san is cute. Wonderful as always."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"&h.e.l.lip; Is that so?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsutako-san would often praise her even though Yumi thought she looked plain and clumsy in the photos. Although, if pressed, she'd admit that recently she'd come to realize that Tsutako-san liked those sorts of photos. Instead of photos of everyone saying "Cheese" and looking at the camera, Tsutako-san preferred ones where the subjects were looking off into the distance, or nonchalantly going about their daily lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But when did you take these?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As well as the ones at school, there were some that looked like they were taken while she was commuting to or from school. Ones were she was walking side-by-side with Sachiko-sama in front of the train station, or talking excitedly with Shimako-san at the bus stop. Although as expected, there weren't any of her lying in bed with her stomach growling, nor any bath scenes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-san is fine."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsutako-san repeated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Then what's wrong?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You don't know?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Don't know what?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She tried to remember earlier photos she'd been in but couldn't see how they differed to these. Of course the situations and the times were all different. It didn't seem like there was any significant improvement or decline in the photographer's skill either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It's not so obvious in the first few."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsutako-san gathered the photos into a bundle then sorted them and placed a couple in front of Yumi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"But by this point it should be incredibly obvious."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsutako-san pulled out three "incredibly obvious" photos and lined them up on the desk. Then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah!?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even someone as slow as Yumi could see it clearly. She'd completely missed it when casually looking over them, but with them laid out like this the problem became apparent. Then once she'd worked it out, she took another look at the "not so obvious" photos and while the problem didn't stand out it was indeed there too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"- So you see, I can't display these."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsutako-san said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It's a shame, but I'll have to destroy the negatives. It'd be a disaster if the newspaper club got their hands on these."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What a waste."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah. Although, I didn't notice it until I developed them. Since you didn't seem to know about it either, maybe n.o.body would notice if we played dumb and displayed one of these at the school festival."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But Tsutako-san would know. Yumi would know too. If one of the photos was on display they'd probably be irrationally irritated by the problem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I could trim them down to just you."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"No, there's no need."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up until now, Yumi had received a copy of most of the photos Tsutako-san had taken of her, but this time she held back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holding a photo that was trimmed down to just her, she wouldn't be able to keep herself from thinking about the world left behind. That said, she had neither the talent nor the nerve to take responsibility for the dozen or so photos that Tsutako-san had decided to destroy. To say nothing of the wisdom required to make the right decision.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It's kinda scary."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Looking at it from your point of view, it is a bit."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsutako-san gathered the photos and put them in an envelope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It ends for me when I destroy these, but what will you do, Yumi-san?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I don't know."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Maybe you'd have been better off not knowing."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"No, it's alright. Thanks."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi picked up the bag with her PE clothes and walked unsteadily out of the cla.s.sroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Should she talk to Sachiko-sama about this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I know I shouldn't hide things from onee-sama when I'm talking to her.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But she didn't want this to get blown out of proportion. On top of that, she still hadn't sorted out her own feelings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsutako-san's photos. Was there a chance it was just a coincidence?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(A dozen coincidences?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Could that sort of thing happen?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the photos, her hair was tied with a variety of ribbons. That was definitive proof that they were taken on different days. And yet, in each of them, that shadow behind her -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On her way back to the Rose Mansion, Yumi looked over her shoulder a number of times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe there was someone there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dozen photos were causing a disturbance in Yumi's chest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following day was Friday so Yumi informed everyone that she had something she had to attend to, then put in an hour of work before leaving the Rose Mansion early.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was halfway between when school let out and when after-school activities ended, so there were hardly any students walking along the path lined with ginkgo trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It had been a while since she'd left school on her own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It felt a bit strange to not have her friends beside her. She wondered if she'd get used to it before too long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With no-one in front, behind, or to the left or right of her, Yumi keenly felt the cool breeze pa.s.sing by. She thought of the young lady that had caused the cool breeze of uneasiness to blow through her heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps that girl would call out to her. A part of her was expecting this as she walked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If she did call out to her, Yumi thought she would suggest they walk together. Then as they walked, she'd have a chance to ask the question she had to ask.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi walked slowly without looking back. The wind that blew through the ginkgo leaves ruffled both her hair and her heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, the voice that called out to her belonged to someone else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"&h.e.l.lip; Sei-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The former Rosa Gigantea and current Lillian's University student, Satou Sei-sama, flew over to Yumi's side like she'd jumped the fence from the university grounds. Her blue-and-white-striped shirt had a white sailor collar, showing the barest traces of Sei-sama as she had been when she was Rosa Gigantea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Heading home?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi nodded, since she was undoubtedly heading home, then Sei-sama put her arm around her shoulder and whispered into her ear:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"By the way, you know there's a creeper?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A creeper? That's a bit rude."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, so you did know. My apologies."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But she only knew because of Tsutako-san's photos, without those who knew how long Yumi might have remained ignorant. And yet Sei-sama had figured it out after a quick glance. Just proving she wasn't an average human being.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So how far you taking that?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sei-sama didn't turn around, instead she jerked her fist up, pointing her thumb behind her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"To the school gate, for now."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The school gate? Is there something at the school gate?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"If I lied you'd find out soon enough &h.e.l.lip; there is something."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was an unexpected development. So would the addition of essence of Satou Sei-sama to the previously prepared meal bring good luck or bad? It was impossible to predict.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I won't get in your way so can I watch?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You're not going to quietly walk away if I say no anyway."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Exactly."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What choice did she have? Yumi resigned herself to fate. Sei-sama was the sort of person who could be annoyingly persistent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon recognizing Yumi, the person leaning against the gatepost lazily waved and smiled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yo, Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As she looked up at his face, Yumi idly thought, "Of course he'd greet me with, "Yo.""

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Either way, sending Kashiwagi-san &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why did he stand out so much when he was wearing a plain cotton shirt over a deep blue T-shirt and a completely ordinary pair of jeans? Was it his actions, or his face br.i.m.m.i.n.g with self-confidence? At any rate, he was tall and stylish, which would make his presence felt. Yumi was once more relieved that there were hardly any students around. The handful of students at the bus stop were obviously conscious of what was happening as they kept glancing her way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You're as cute as ever."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kashiwagi-san played with her hair bunches like he might with a puppy's tail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Don't you think you're going a bit too far?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi grinned as she batted away his overly-familiar hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Going too far? Don't be like that. This isn't an act, I'm just taking this chance to let my true feelings out."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He placed his right hand over his heart as he brought his face closer to hers. His expression looking like he was about to shout, "Juliet!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"My apologies. But, I'm female."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kashiwagi-san was drunk on himself so she pushed his head back to its normal position. If things had kept going, it looked as though they might have kissed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Female. What's wrong with that? I adore women. Because without women there would be no men."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, that's true, but."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't that she'd said the keyword "female" because she wanted to get into that kind of conversation. It was just that Kashiwagi-san preferred men and Yumi was simply a.s.serting that as a female she wasn't a target for his affection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Setting that aside, what's up with your creeper? She seems a bit different to what Yukichi described."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Creeper? How rude."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having just been christened a creeper, Sei-sama appeared from the shadow of the gate and scowled at Kashiwagi-san.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Sei-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh right, I said I was going to watch on quietly, didn't I? But how could I walk away when I saw the ginkgo prince sinking his poisonous fangs into cute little Yumi-chan right before my very eyes?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You're wrong."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a reason for this. But Kashiwagi-san and Sei-sama were both the type of people that would keep on talking without giving her a chance to explain. She tried to start, but the tempo of the conversation was too fast and she couldn't really break into it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So we're in agreement that Yumi-chan is cute. But, ginkgo prince? That's inexcusable. You couldn't possibly be referring to me, could you?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Couldn't possibly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Who else is there but you, you p.r.i.c.k?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As usual, Sei-sama became foul-mouthed when talking to Kashiwagi-san.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Women shouldn't say things like that."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Is that why you said what you did before? Stop putting boxes around men and women. Your adoration of women just shows how indelibly stained you are with those old ways of thinking."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Men and women are fundamentally different. Since you want to be treated as an equal, saying that just makes you come across as childish."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"While I'd very much like to refute you in great detail, I don't think we'd ever come to an agreement, so I'm going to stop this argument for now. By the way, how was I wrong, Yumi-chan?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had been opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish, waiting for the right time to jump into their conversation, and at long last that chance had arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Um, well you see, Sei-sama. Kashiwagi-san was just acting friendly because my brother asked him. Right?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi sought confirmation from Kashiwagi-san, since it would be bad for both of them for this weird misunderstanding to remain. But that Kashiwagi-san.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Not at all. I volunteered."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"V-volunteered?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yep. Yukichi and the others were secretly discussing something in the student council room so I drew it out of them and got them to entrust it to me."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hearing this, Sei-sama spat out the following words in shock:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Seriously, showing up at school after you've graduated.. Don't you know that people who do that are the most hated type of graduates?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sei-sama had apparently completely forgotten her initial promise to watch without interfering. She kept nipping at Kashiwagi-san like a dog that was looking to pick a fight while being taken for a walk. Yumi considered trying to stop her, but if she got involved it might just excite matters further so she decided to watch on. From a distance, it probably looked like they were all close friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That's too bad for you then. I was invited back by my juniors. Six months after graduation. Life's tough when you're an adored senior."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Asked back? By the student council?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"No, by the mystery novel club."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Why would a guest of the mystery novel club be in the student council room? Or, what? Does the mystery novel club meet in the student council room at Hanadera Academy?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, since I was already there, I decided to pop in and pay them a visit."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I suppose you mainly wanted to get a look at Yuuki's face."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You got it. But where's the harm in that?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Alright. However, I can't ignore your overly familiar behavior towards Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, that Kashiwagi-san's just pretending to be close."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm not pretending. I really do want to be close to you."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm sorry, Kashiwagi-san, but can you please stop talking until I tell you to. You're complicating the conversation."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enough already. She had to go back to the start and correct her explanation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Basically, what I was saying was - "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi said as she resumed slowly walking. But while it was good that Kashiwagi-san was staying silent, she was no longer sure just how she should explain this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The goal was to let your annoying chaperone see you being close to a guy. Am I wrong, Yumi-chan?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sei-sama asked, arriving at the conclusion early.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"No, that's right."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The "annoying chaperone" part was a bit wrong though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Was this plan something you came up with on your own?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

" &h.e.l.lip; No. It was my brother and his friends."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I'll bet. Ah, the bus is here. Shall we get on?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi jogged over to the bus stop, arriving just as the bus to M station was leisurely pulling up and opening its doors. The students already waiting there had formed into a line and climbed on board in turn. Students that had just walked out the school gate, and those that had been chatting to their friends who came by car, spotted the bus and quickly ran over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You're coming too?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sei-sama asked, looking at Kashiwagi-san who was following them in silence. Now it kind of felt like Kashiwagi-san was being the creeper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"So what happened to your pretentious chili red car?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No reply was forthcoming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You can talk now, Kashiwagi-san."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi broke the spell and Kashiwagi-san took a deep breath and laughed, saying, "It's hard not to talk."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Still, my chilli red car? You're one to talk, Satou-kun. What about your mustard yellow car?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Lillian's University doesn't allow commuting by car."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Same with Hanadera University. I was on my way home after cla.s.s today."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ohh."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Given the choice, I'd much rather have hidden my car somewhere and taken Yumi-chan for a drive, but if we did that then we couldn't be tailed."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"By the creeper?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah. So let's move a bit further towards the back."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be more easily tailed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A single Lillian's student got on right at the very last moment and then the bus took off. She slid into a seat in the front row and didn'