Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume23 Chapter4

Full to Bursting at the New Year's Party

Part 1

Yoshino-san had brought a combination of fried chicken and french fries and Rei-sama had brought a large take-away pizza and two 2 litre drink bottles (oolong tea and orange juice). Ah, plus a coralberry branch. It was currently adorning the alcove, in an arrangement with apricot and gold stained willow.

"Yumi-chan, you remembered. I'm touched!"

Sayako-oba-sama danced with joy when she spotted the festival food and, overcome with emotion, embraced Yumi. An innocent maiden, no matter her age (and her actual age was unknown to Yumi). She always came across as cute, although it was a bit impolite to think that.

"Let's heat them up right away. Ah, I wonder if Rei-san's pizza should go first?"

"Ah, I'll do it."

They followed Sayako-oba-sama into the kitchen, Rei-sama carrying her pizza and Yumi with her festival food.

"Oba-sama, you've got two ovens, right? If it's alright to use them both at once, we could split it into two lots."

Rei-sama inquired.

"If it's alright to use them both at once?"

Sayako-oba-sama looked confused.

"I mean, if it's not going to trip a breaker, or something like that."

"A breaker … I've never thought about that. I use them whenever I like, though."

But that didn't rule out the possibility that other people had noticed and refrained from using them both at once. Sayako-oba-sama pondered this, saying, "What should we do?" and was answered by Sachiko-sama who appeared in the kitchen behind her.

"It'll be fine. When you made those massive quantities of mille-feuille, it took over all of the big oven, but we still had a proper dinner that night, right? That would have been made with the small oven."

Indeed, that was quite the compelling piece of evidence.

"I suppose so."

Sayako-oba-sama seemed to temporarily accept this, but another question soon popped out of her mouth.

"Oh, but then why did we only use one oven last year?"

"Well, that's because,"

This time it was Yumi's turn to answer.

"Last year, no-one knew how to work the big oven."

"Ah, that's right."

But since then, she'd used it to bake mille-feuille, which meant –

"You've mastered how to use this oven then, oba-sama? That's good, I think it'd be great for the large pizza."

Rei-sama quickly opened the oven door and placed the pizza inside. Yumi placed the octopus dumplings inside the small oven too. They called it the small oven but that name was just for convenience, as it was a standard family-size oven. Probably about the same size as the one the Fukuzawa's had at home. But the other one was large enough for commercial use. It was big enough that they could probably roast two whole turkeys in there at once.

"You should cover them with foil, it'd be bad if the dumplings burst open."

"Okay."

She followed Rei-sama's instructions then switched the oven on. As she was moving the calamari and corn into the heatproof dish that Sachiko-sama held out to her, Yumi accidentally glanced to her side and saw Sayako-oba-sama frozen in front of the large oven she'd been entrusted to operate.

"Oba-sama … umm, is something the matter?"

"What should I do, Rei-san? I've only ever used it as an oven."

"–"

Although reheating a pizza wasn't totally unrelated to using the oven functionality. But Rei-sama didn't know how powerful the oven was, so she let Sayako-oba-sama take care of that. She watched it through the glass door and when the time was right she opened the door and placed a single piece of aluminum foil over the top of the pizza. Thanks to that, they avoided burning it and ended up with piping hot pizza.

Yumi got caught up watching this and some of the dumplings exploded, but thanks to the foil she managed to avoid a huge disaster. Cleaning exploded foods from a microwave oven was enough to make her want to cry, so this was quite a relief.

"Alright, let's eat these while they're hot. Ah, before that."

First, she filled their glasses with non-alcoholic champagne.

"Does everyone have a glass? Well then, a toast!"

"Let's make this another good year."

They clinked glasses with the person next to them and took a sip. Uwah … the champagne fizz jumped across to the tip of her nose. Mmm, it was good.

From the second glass onwards it was self-serve and they were free to choose their favorite drink. As well as the juice and oolong tea that Rei-sama had brought, there was also herbal tea and roasted green tea.

So with that, the food that they'd brought was laid out along the tables and the New Year's party began.

There was Sayako-oba-sama's homemade potato salad. Bite-sized portions were placed on top of slightly bitter leaves (chicory apparently), which served as plates and made it easy to pick up. Yumi had often had potato salad at home, but this was somehow different and felt more fancy, like adult's food. As an example, she'd describe it as a "delicacy," instead of "tasty."

Sachiko-sama had made ham and cheese sandwiches, and they were exquisite. They were cut into single mouthfuls, so obviously not meant to be eaten with a knife and fork, but skewered with toothpicks instead.

"It's really good, but don't you think it'd make the flavor pop just a bit more if it had pickles or olives?"

Rei-sama's advice was probably correct but since Sachiko-sama didn't like either of those things it seemed unlikely that she would follow it. It looked like Rei-sama knew this and had intentionally said it anyway.

The take-away pizza and fried chicken were the standard fare, but still (no, because of this) quite tasty.

The various sweets were set aside for after-meal enjoyment. At any rate, they were all staying overnight, so there was plenty of time left for chatting and eating.

The intercom sounded and Sayako-oba-sama hurriedly left the room.

"It's so busy without the house staff around."

"Could it be, perhaps, another guest?"

Yoshino-san asked Sachiko-sama. Asking if she'd invited anyone else.

"Yes, well … perhaps."

Sachiko-sama responded vaguely and stood up. Yumi's mind buzzed with thoughts of "what if?"

She thought there was a chance it was Touko-chan. Since she knew that Sachiko-sama had invited her to the New Year's party.

But would she really come? Yumi didn't know.

She didn't even know if she should follow after Sachiko-sama or wait there motionless, despite her impatience.

They'd used the intercom so they were now at the front gate. How long would it take for the gate to open and for them to walk to the front of the house? Five minutes? A bit longer?

Even if she stayed still, there should be some way to determine whether or not it was Touko-chan during that short time. The bell would ring first, which would demand Yumi's attention.

But it ended a lot quicker than she expected. The bell wasn't rung.

Sayako-oba-sama and Sachiko-sama arrived back in the room carrying three and four lacquer coated wooden boxes, respectively.

"It was the sushi store."

To reveal the trick: since the sushi was delivered by car, it was many times quicker for them to drive from the gate to the house than it was to walk, and since they'd announced their arrival over the intercom, Sayako-oba-sama was waiting outside for them to arrive.

Yumi felt conflicted, she was both relieved and disappointed.

Looking at her watch, it was 1:30.

Touko-chan probably should have arrived by now, if she was feeling inclined to do so.

Part 2

With their stomachs already quite full, they all looked in anguish at the containers of sushi placed in front of them.

"I want to eat it, but I don't know if I can."

"It's torture … "

Just like last year, Yumi faltered when she saw the array of high quality nigirizushi delivered to them by the official sushi suppliers to the Ogasawara household.

"Oh my. You can just set it aside and eat it when you're hungry. We've got plenty of time, so feel free to peck at it as you like."

Sayako-oba-sama said.

"But, it's nigirizushi."

Even though they were in a hard-to-warm traditional Japanese room, the party had been going on for an hour and a half and it had already warmed up significantly. Leaving the raw sushi there and pecking at it seemed ill-advised.

"Alright. Then how about we play cards, and whenever you lose you have to eat a piece?"

Sayako-oba-sama said, smiling innocently, since it was already torture. But since that would only result in one piece disappearing every game, it didn't seem like it would be all that efficient.

"No. Why don't we just try and eat the sushi for now? If you can't eat it all, we'll put what's left over in the refrigerator. We can leave the games until after."

Sachiko-sama's proposal was the correct one. No matter how large the Ogasawara family's refrigerator was, they probably couldn't put nine people's untouched sushi boxes in there.

Even so, it was funny how their chopsticks kept moving after saying, "Itadakimasu." It was probably because the sushi was made of such good ingredients. Their color and gloss was enough to stimulate the appetite just by looking at them.

"Onee-sama. Um, would you like to swap your sea urchin roe, salmon roe and abalone for something of mine?"

Naturally, she wasn't about to pull the same stunt as Kashiwagi-san and reach over into Sachiko-sama's sushi box directly, so she tried asking.

"Huh?"

Sachiko-sama seemed confused, but then she smiled and said, "Ah."

"Is that because of what Suguru-san did?"

"Yeah … I suppose."

Yumi admitted truthfully, since there was no point lying about it. But she wasn't thinking about competing with Kashiwagi-san, she simply wanted to remove the foods Sachiko-sama hated from her sight.

"You really shouldn't pay so much attention to Suguru-san. It's not like there's foods I will and won't eat. Moreover, it would be somewhat pathetic of me to be coddled by you."

"But."

Your eyes glazed over when you looked at them, onee-sama.

"I was thinking I should broaden my diet, just a little. Even if I don't like them, I'm not about to say that I can't eat them."

"Hah."

Yumi thought she was offering a lifeboat but instead it looked like she'd backed her onee-sama into a corner. By making this declaration, she'd cut off her avenue of retreat.

Their friends were listening attentively to their conversation, although they weren't joining in. The movement of chopsticks had suddenly slowed and the soft twitter of conversation had disappeared.

With her chopsticks still on her sea urchin roe sushi, Yumi pondered what she should do next.

"Do you like those?"

Sachiko-sama asked her.

"Huh? Yeah."

Since she'd been fine with taking Sachiko-sama's if she hadn't wanted it, obviously she didn't hate it. Although there wasn't really any types of sushi that Yumi hated.

"If you feel like doing something, how about you enjoy it in front of me?"

"Huh?"

That was a rather strange request.

"All you want me to do is eat it?"

"Right. That's all. Give it a go."

"Well then."

She opened her mouth wide, saying, "Ahhh," and took a mouthful of sea urchin roe sushi. She was going to act like a mother trying to get her child to eat by saying, "Tasty," but once she started eating she couldn't talk.

(Ah … )

The taste of juicy sea urchin roe spread out in her mouth. The rice, nori seaweed, and accompanying soy sauce were all undoubtedly made from fine ingredients too. She instinctively closed her eyes and enjoyed the exquisite harmony. Once again she'd been able to experience the taste of the Palace of the Dragon King.

"Yumi-chan."

Hearing Rei-sama whispering to her, Yumi opened her eyes as she chewed.

"Ah."

Sachiko-sama was adding soy sauce to her sea urchin roe. With the air of someone taking up a challenge.

"Watch your mouth, Yumi."

Just after she said this, Sachiko-sama ate her gunkanmaki sushi piece. As for Yumi, even as she was thinking about what brought that warning on she realized that this was a pivotal moment for Sachiko-sama, so she chewed silently without responding.

Sachiko-sama's gaze held firm. Staring straight at Yumi's face as she chewed.

Then, finally, she swallowed it down. Her eyes darted around lightly.

"There's nothing I can't eat."

But she was clearly overdoing it. Because Sachiko-sama's eyes were tearing up.

"It's just a matter of getting accustomed to it."

Sachiko-sama, who hated to lose, said with finality.

"Incredible. Oh Sachiko-san, having Yumi-chan's expression as a side-dish with your hated sea urchin roll!"

The silence was shattered by Sayako-oba-sama's exclamation.

"Yumi-san looked like she was enjoying eating it."

"That reminds me, isn't there a folklore about eating lots of rice accompanied by the smell of grilled eel."

Everyone laughed along and added their own comments.

"That's enough from the peanut gallery. Yumi, next up is abalone."

"Ah, okay!"

So, in this way, Sachiko-sama ate all the food she loathed, even though she was overdoing it a bit.

Then, with her work done, Sachiko-sama quietly placed her egg roll in Yumi's container. It looked as though she'd remembered Yuuki doing this last year.

Even though Sachiko-sama had said she shouldn't pay so much attention to Suguru-san. Yumi smiled to herself.

Part 3

The games began just after 3pm.

First up was the refined, traditional New Year's game of 100 Poems. As she waited, Yumi flexed her wrists.

"Living all alone – "

Sayako-oba-sama read the first part of the poem.

(Living all alone … I think the bottom part is, "Can you realize at all," so – )

Actually, after her ignominious defeat last year, she'd spent a little bit of time studying the 100 poems at home. But this was just a thin veneer.

However.

"Here!"

Shimako-san picked it up from nearby. Since it was on Shimako-san's side, by the time Yumi had found it it was already too late. Sachiko-sama had also been reaching out for it, but she was further away so it looked like she got off to a slow start.

"The Mother of Michitsuna. That's right, Shimako-chan."

Sayako-oba-sama confirmed that it was correct and read the top and bottom sections.

Living all alone,

Through the hours of the night,

Til the daylight comes:

Can you realize at all

The emptiness of that night?

From memory, this poem was about a woman whose husband had gone to see a mistress and, "how long the night seems when you're not there."

Hearing Sayako-oba-sama read that poem aloud made it all the more poignant. Her husband, Tooru-oji-sama, was out today. The annual tradition was that the men would visit their mistresses.

Even though he had a wonderful wife like Sayako-oba-sama. From what she knew of Tooru-oji-sama, he seemed kind and a devoted husband – These were the thoughts that Yumi idly pondered.

"Here."

Yumi was brought back to her senses when a card was plucked from right in front of her.

"Uwah."

The card with, "That rose on Mount Mikasa," that should have been by her right knee was gone.

"It's because you were spacing out."

She'd been found out. Sachiko-sama chuckled to herself, holding the correct card in her hand.

She wouldn't win like this. Yumi decided to roll up her sleeves and play for real.

However.

"Eight-fold cherry flowers – "

"Here."

"An autumn eve – "

"Here."

Sachiko-sama and Shimako-san scooped them up one after the other while she looked on in shock.

Rei-sama had a large reach and moved quickly, so when she found a card she could get it with lightning speed. Noriko-chan kept plugging away steadily. Yoshino-san seemed to have given up already and was only looking at the five cards around her.

Her hasty study was never going to be enough to catch up to them.

Even if she strained to remember that the second half of "Eight-fold cherry flowers," was "In our nine-fold palace court," by the time she'd done this someone was already reaching out for the card. If she didn't want to be hopeless, it looked like she'd have to practice until her body moved without waiting to analyze the words she heard.

In the end, the game devolved into the four others sharing the scraps that Sachiko-sama and Shimako-san didn't pick up.

When it was over, she was a bit disappointed but Sachiko-sama gently patted her on the shoulder.

"But you did better than last year, right?"

Thanks to her efforts, she'd improved slightly over the previous year. It made her happy that Sachiko-sama had recognized this, so she perked up.

Sachiko-sama said, "Let's see," and spread Yumi's cards out. What did she get?

"Just as past time filled with grief comes quietly back in thought … And crushed upon the shore, remembering what has been … but now it is my heart's desire, it may long, long years endure … quite a lot of poems about brooding people. That's troublesome."

That's troublesome, she said.

"A 100 Poems tarot card reading?"

It's not like the cards they picked up showed what was going on in their heart.

"I wonder."

But even if she said that, wouldn't it mean that Sachiko-sama and Shimako-san, who had lots of cards, had all their emotions mixed up inside their head in a massive cacaphony?

"You wonder, onee-sama."

Yumi gazed at the ten or so cards she'd been given back. There really did seem to be a lot of brooding people.

If I should live long

Then perhaps the present days

May be dear to me,

Just as past time filled with grief

Comes quietly back in thought.

(If I live a long life, will I look back and reminisce on the present?

And yearn for these days, even though they seem tough?)

Like a driven wave,

Dashed by fierce winds on a rock,

So am I: alone

And crushed upon the shore,

Remembering what has been.

(Like a wave that smashes itself against a rock,

I spend these days fretting about that person.)

For your precious sake,

Once my eager life itself

Was not dear to me.

But now it is my heart's desire

It may long, long years endure.

(Even though I thought I'd risk my life if it meant meeting you,

now I wish that today would stretch on forever.)

Indeed, there was plenty to think about. Yumi stopped interpreting the rest of her cards.

Part 4

During the card games, Sayako-oba-sama left her seat for a little while. Yumi thought that perhaps she was a bit tired, but she returned before too long and said to everyone:

"Now then, next up is human sugoroku."

"Human sugoroku?"

"Right. Let's have teams of two. Why don't we go with the Rose colors?"

Everyone agreed, even though they didn't understand. Even her daughter, Sachiko-sama, looked confused.

"You'll move yourselves instead of the game pieces."

Sayako-oba-sama spread the imitation vellum she was holding out in front of everyone. Drawn on it was a sugoroku board, like was traditionally found in the New Year's edition of children's magazines. The board contained a path that wound around from "Start" to "End." However, the squares didn't contain instructions like "Miss a turn" or "When you roll 2, move forward 2 squares." Instead, they had cryptic names like "Hippopotamus Space" and "Jellyfish Space."

"These are … "

"They're all room names. When you land on one, go to that room and follow the directions. The names are all written on the door."

"Uhh."

"But don't go into any rooms with a "No Entry" sign."

In other words, she was using the entire house for sugoroku. That seemed to be what she was saying. The rooms they were forbidden to enter were private spaces, like Sachiko-sama's grandfather's room, or the live-in-staff's quarters.

"There's a prize for the winning team~."

There was a general reaction of, "Oooh." It had been like this at the Christmas party, but everyone was even more fired up by the thought of winning the prize.

"This could be good."

Yoshino-san muttered, gripping Rei-sama's hand tightly. The Yellow Rose soeurs hadn't done that well at 100 Poems or the other card games. It looked like they were planning a comeback with sugoroku.

Noriko-chan stayed silent, but her eyes sparkled.

"But the "Hippopotamus Space" … You didn't have to give them names like that."

Sachiko-sama muttered peevishly.

"But if I labeled them as "Second Floor Traditional Japanese Room" or "Basement Storage" you'd have a definite advantage because you live here, Sachiko-san. That's why."

Sayako-oba-sama responded to Sachiko-sama.

" … I understand."

She agreed without enthusiasm. Although in truth, it seemed as though Sachiko-sama had made her objection on the grounds that they could have been named things like "Chinese Bellflower Space" or "Maple Space." But then she'd decided there was no point in continuing that conversation, since her mother didn't seem to doubt her own naming sense in the slightest.

Still, at the very least it meant that all the spaces on the board were rooms. The Ogasawara Residence was incredible, as expected.

"Alright, let's start with the first team's youngest member rolling the die."

The Yellow Rose team started first, since they looked the most eager. They rolled a three and advanced to the "Water Flea Space."

"It goes without saying, but the square number has no relation to its proximity to this room."

Sayako-oba-sama said. Okay, so just because it was square three didn't mean it was three rooms away.

The next team rolled the die, without waiting for the departed team to return. There was no "Miss a Turn," but the teams couldn't rejoin the game until they'd cleared the task in their room. Which meant that even after they found the room, if they took too long then there was the possibility that by the time they returned some other team had made their way to the end.

With that, the second-running White Rose team rolled a five and landed on the "Hippopotamus Space." Yumi rolled a one, and they headed for the "Komodo Dragon Space." It says "headed for," but none of the teams actually knew where to go so all they could do was wander around the house.

"It doesn't seem wise to wander around at random. Let's do a circle starting from here. This way we can memorize the location of the other rooms too."

"Okay~."

Yumi responded cheerfully to her onee-sama. But the "Komodo Dragon Space" wasn't that easy to find. On their way they spotted the "Water Flea Space" but it seemed like the Yellow Rose team hadn't found it yet. Behind them, they could hear Yoshino-san's cry of, "It's not here~."

The White Rose team soon found the "Hippopotamus Space" but when they came out they didn't head back to the room where Sayako-oba-sama was waiting, instead they set out in search of something. Hmm, that must have something to do with the instructions in the "Hippopotamus Space."

During all this hustle and bustle they found the "Komodo Dragon Space." It was a stall in the second-floor restroom. A bathroom stall was indeed a room, but –

"What's this?"

Sachiko-sama screeched. Atop the closed lid of the western-style toilet was a pencil and a number of pages from a paperback book. Printed on the pages were crossword puzzles. Thus, the instructions:

"Solve a puzzle and bring it back."

The crosswords were in a 7x7 grid, so they wouldn't take that long to solve. Sachiko-sama briefly flicked through the pages and picked the one that she judged easiest.

"Since there's only one pencil, it looks like we're supposed to solve it here."

Using the tank as a desk, the pencil moved fluidly. Yumi was wondering if there was some way she could help, but since she was no match for her onee-sama in terms of knowledge she remained silent so as not to interrupt her onee-sama's thoughts.

"Yumi."

Suddenly, the sound of the pencil stopped.

"Y-yes."

"A recently popular four man comedy group, six characters, the first character's 'shi' and the second last character's 'mo' … do you know it?"

Yumi was a bit excited, now that her time to shine had (maybe) arrived.

"Um … Shi-something-something-something-mo-something."

She mumbled, counting along on her fingers.

"Ah, it's "Shi-ma-n-mo-zu.""

It was a strange group, made up of two sort of cool twenty-somethings, another guy that was around the same age but looked scary, and an older guy in his forties. She'd seen them in commercials fairly often of late. Oh, so Sachiko-sama hadn't known that.

"Thanks, we're done."

Sachiko-sama put the pencil down.

"Let's hurry back."

The pair rushed down the stairs and into the traditional Japanese room.

"Oh my, that was quick. We're going in order so you'll have to wait a little while."

Sayako-oba-sama knocked back her daughter, who was out of breath and holding out the completed crossword puzzle, then continued leisurely eating some of the manjuu that Shimako-san's brother had made.

Next to them, the Yellow Rose soeurs were singing and dancing as they performed an old pop song.

(Th-this is … )

"That's right, the "Water Flea Space" was the home cinema."

Sachiko-sama muttered.

"They must have been given a choreography video and been instructed to master it."

"Ahh … "

Even though she felt sorry for them, it was funny to watch. Still, the fact that they were able to memorize the dance steps in such a short time showed an incredible power of concentration. Or maybe those two had done that dance previously.

"Well done. That was perfect."

Their dance finished, Sayako-oba-sama applauded the pair heartily.

"I'm ashamed to admit it, but my dad's also a fan so we have the same video at home."

Speaking of Yoshino-san's father, he was the man whose eyes were all red when he came to the kendo tournament to inform them of the results of Yoshino-san's surgery. Yumi's immediate reaction was, "He likes this group …" - but while he was an older man now, he would have been young when they were popular.

The Yellow Rose team rolled the die and headed to a new room. It looked as though the White Rose team had been back to the room while the Red Rose team were solving the puzzle, as their piece had moved forwards.

"The crossword is correct. Yumi-chan, do the honors."

Yumi rolled the die, praying that it didn't come up as two. Because she now knew what task was awaiting them in the "Water Flea Space."

"Six."

The six landed them on the "Polka-dot Ribbonfish Space."

"The polka-dot ribbonfish is a type of fish, right?"

"Yes. It's a beautiful, sparkling fish that lives in the deep sea."

Sachiko-sama answered promptly, drawing on her vast knowledge.

"My mother, she must have flipped through an encyclopedia and picked the name of whatever animals caught her eye. There's no sense of cohesion whatsoever."

"An encyclopedia … "

That was sort of how it felt.

On that note, they hadn't yet set eyes on a door with "Polka-dot Ribbonfish Room" written on it. And with that, the pair decided to attack the areas they hadn't visited yet.

The Ogasawara house had several staircases (apparently). They went up a different staircase to the one earlier, chasing the "Polka-dot Ribbonfish."

At last they arrived in front of a traditional Japanese style room. The room at the end of the corridor seemed nondescript, like the one on the ground floor, but here the door was a horizontal slider. Stuck to the sliding door was a poster labeling this the "Polka-dot Ribbonfish Space."

"There isn't usually anything in this room."

Sachiko-sama put her hand on the door. At any rate, without a video player, they could assume they wouldn't be instructed to sing and dance.

"There isn't usually anything in there?"

"Well, there's some traditional clothes in the closet, and we use the room for changing, but – "

Sachiko-sama slid the door open as she answered. Whereupon.

" … There's something."

On the left-hand side of the six tatami mat sized room was a line of three folded paper cases. On the right-hand side were three folded kimono sashes. In the middle of the room was a basket containing all sorts of small items for use when putting on a kimono.

"What are we supposed to do with this – "

Yumi found this unbelievable and didn't want to make a move since they hadn't seen any instructions, but Sachiko-sama said:

"Yumi. Take your clothes off."

"Wha!?"

"No matter how you look at it, the task has to be to put on one of these kimonos. See."

Sachiko-sama ignored Yumi's surprise and held up an instruction booklet for putting on a kimono that she'd found in the basket.

"All the other groups would be able to follow along with this."

"B-but."

"There's no time. Hurry up and take them off."

Sachiko-sama's hands were already on the hem of her sweater, but Yumi struggled frantically.

"But why does it have to be me?"

"Don't be silly. It's the role of the petit soeur to take on unpleasant tasks like this, right? Besides, if I did it, it'd only change the color of my kimono, and that wouldn't be all that amusing to see."

"Huh. I don't think it matters if it's amusing or not … "

As she said this, Yumi suddenly realized. That Sayako-oba-sama was expecting nothing less than "amusing." Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been so happy to watch her daughter's friends singing and dancing.

"You understand? Then be quiet and undress."

No sooner had she said this, then Sachiko-sama went back to taking Yumi's sweater off. Maybe she should just give up. However.

"Wait, wait a minute onee-sama. Can you at least close that door?"

Yumi said, pointing.

The door they'd just entered via was wide open, with the hallway visible on the other side of that gaping rectangle.

"There's only women in the house, you know."

Sachiko-sama quickly glanced over there.

"But, well, it's cold, and we don't want to show the other teams what happens in this room."

So, the door that concealed them from the hallway slid closed.

"Ah."

They both exclaimed simultaneously when the door was fully closed.

What about the door? On the hallway side it had a poster labeling it the "Polka-dot Ribbonfish Space," while on the inside it had a poster with the instructions.

"The petit soeur has to put on one of these kimonos."

That was what they saw.

Sachiko-sama's shoulders shook copiously, while Yumi's drooped copiously.

Part 5

"Oh my – Yumi-chan you're so cute."

Sachiko-sama could easily put on her own kimono but this was her first time dressing someone else, so despite her best efforts struggling with the giant dress-up doll it still took about twenty minutes until Yumi was dressed and her sash was tied.

It was a pretty, long-sleeved kimono, with round, white flowers – perhaps from apricot or peach trees – blossoming on a light pink background.

Sachiko-sama had opened the three folding paper-cases and asked Yumi, "Which one would you like?" The other two were also long-sleeved kimonos, one was golden yellow and the other was a vibrant olive color.

"It makes me so happy to see. Those were kimonos that I wore when I was young. But Sachiko, she won't wear any of the three."

"I've told you, it's because they're too small for me."

Sachiko-sama was a bit peevish now that she was the one under the microscope.

"Oh. But when you were that height you wouldn't wear them either, saying they didn't match your face or you hated the pattern."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"It's true. Ah Yumi-chan, you're so cute."

"Not at all, I should be thanking you for letting me borrow such a precious kimono … "

For all the joy she'd brought Sayako-oba-sama, her reward was a proportionately squished stomach.

"But still, using the drum bow with a long-sleeved kimono?"

That was the only thing that Sayako-oba-sama seemed to be disappointed by. The drum bow, like its name suggested, was a way of tying the sash such that it looked like she was carrying a rectangular box on her back. Depending on the length of the sash, it could be split into one or two drums. Incidentally, Yumi's was a two layer drum.

"It would have looked better with a puffed sparrow, or a standing arrow knot."

"I'm unable to tie such complicated knots by myself."

The sash Sachiko-sama was wearing today looked to be tied in something like a paperback knot. On that note, it sounded as though Sachiko-sama could only tie the drum knot or some of the more casual styles with a half-width sash. Which meant that Sayako-oba-sama must have tied her sash today.

"I'm sure the book would have had instructions for tying the sash in it."

"There's no time to waste on such frivolities during the game. Even the drum knot was troublesome."

Given that they'd taken so long, they were surprised when they looked at the sugoroku board and saw that neither of the other teams' pieces had moved. While they were walking back, they'd almost been expecting one of the other teams to have won already.

Just then, the White Rose team appeared.

"We're done. Two cleaning cloths."

Following them, the Yellow Rose team made their entrance too.

"The pancakes are ready."

Cleaning cloths and pancakes.

It looked as though all the teams had been given time-consuming tasks.

Knitting cleaning cloths and making pancakes.

She didn't know where the White Rose team had done their sewing, but the "Woodpecker Space" that the Yellow Rose team's piece occupied was undoubtedly the kitchen.

"Ah, Yumi-san, you look cute."

"What happened? Was this one of the tasks too?"

Everyone crowded around Yumi, despite still being in the middle of the game. After their first look, she was talked into twirling around and posing with her arms out. She felt kind of like a pin-up model.

With her little bit of new-found knowledge, Yumi could see that Shimako-san had her obi sash tied in a one layer drum bow. And when Sayako-oba-sama took off her haori coat, she saw that her sash was tied in a tsuno-dashi bow.

Since it looked as though Yumi was liable to forget about the game completely, Sachiko-sama stepped in front of her and handed her the die.

"Here. Roll. Let's hurry up and win."

Hurry up and win. Sachiko-sama was cocky.

"Okay. I'll roll a big number then."

The last spurt.

Yumi shook the die in her hand violently then flung it out with a, "Come on."

"Stop sitting with your legs apart while you're wearing a kimono."

Sachiko-sama sighed, with her hand on her forehead.

"Ah."

Yumi quickly drew her legs together, but it was too late. She was always going to slip up when she was wearing something unfamiliar.

Outside, the light was already fading.

Part 6

After that, Yumi and Sachiko-sama gradually moved their piece forwards, while folding five origami cranes each and searching for tiddlywink counters amongst Go pieces, until they eventually arrived at two spaces from the end.

In the spot behind them, the Yellow Rose team were waiting their turn. Ahead of them, the White Rose team hadn't rolled the exact number they needed, so they were retracing their steps for the umpteenth time. They were probably folding yet another batch of paper cranes in the "Falcon Space" by now. Although it felt a bit strange to be folding paper cranes in the "Falcon Space."

Now came the Red Rose team's turn to roll the die.

"Two, two, two … "

Whispering her encouragement, Yumi rolled the die. She threw it with such force that it tumbled around before finally coming to rest in the corridor.

Naturally, everyone followed after it. The game might be settled right there.

"Oh, it's a two."

Sayako-oba-sama said calmly.

"Wha-!"

Clinging to the hallway wall, Yoshino-san's shoulders slumped when she confirmed the roll with her own eyes.

"So that means."

Sachiko-sama muttered.

"The Red Rose team are the winners, right?"

It finally felt real to Yumi when Rei-sama patted her on the shoulder and congratulated her.

"Two, two, it's a two, onee-sama."

Yumi jumped around excitedly, and Sachiko-sama looked stunned and said:

"I know I've told you this before, but you really don't have any composure, do you?"

Watching this, Sayako-oba-sama interjected.

"Sachiko-san just isn't good at showing when she's happy."

"M...mother!"

She spoke gently but that was the sort of thing you'd expect from Sachiko-sama's mother. She knew her daughter well.

But Yumi already knew that. That her onee-sama was in a wonderful mood whenever she corrected her petit soeur like that.

"Well then, the Red Rose team are victorious."

"Oba-sama, what was the prize for the winners?"

Yoshino-san couldn't contain her curiosity, even though she knew the prize wasn't hers. Sayako-oba-sama raised her index finger to her lips.

"I'll announce that when the White Rose team returns."

Then Sachiko-sama made her move.

"In that case, I'll go to the "Falcon Space" to get them."

"Ah, me too."

Yumi chased after Sachiko-sama. She caught up to her in the hallway and stuck to her tightly like a magnet. It was just what she felt like doing, for some reason or another.

"Yumi."

Sachiko-sama said quietly.

"I'm glad that everyone could make it."

"Yeah."

Yumi knew that her onee-sama meant more than just what she'd said.

"Even though they may have already had plans for today. They re-arranged their schedules so that we could meet. To cheer me up."

"You've fully grasped the situation. Wonderful."

Yumi thought that she should thank God for blessing her with such incredible friends. And for one more thing.

"But it's burned into my soul that it was you, onee-sama, who made this opportunity happen."

"… Don't be silly."

Sachiko-sama muttered.

"Don't worry about me."

"Okay."

Because her onee-sama was family. It made her simultaneously happy and grateful.

As they were climbing the stairs, she caught sight of the frosted glass windows alongside the main entrance.

Outside, it was already pitch black.

Just then, it felt like something passed in front of the glass. Yumi thought it could have been someone from the sushi store coming to pick up the empty wooden boxes.

Part 7

Neither Shimako-san nor Noriko-chan were in the guest room that was the "Falcon Space." There was just the instruction card with "Fold ten paper cranes and bring them back with you" written on it and the remaining origami paper stacked neatly in the corner of the bedside table.

"They probably went down the other staircase. We must have passed them en-route."

Sachiko-sama shrugged in exasperation. Having multiple staircases had its own problems.

"It seems a waste to just head back like this. I think I'll tidy the room first."

Sachiko-sama picked up the origami paper and instructions.

"Ah, I'll take that."

"It's fine. I can handle this much – "

Then Sachiko-sama quietly said, "Ah."

"What's the matter?"

"No, it's nothing … Let's go."

Although it didn't look like it was nothing. But nor did it look like it was the sort of desperate situation where she had to do something hasty.

Then, as though nothing was wrong, Sachiko-sama left the room and took down the "Falcon Space" sign that was attached to the door. It was held up with double-sided tape in two places but it came down surprisingly easily.

"Onee-sama, if it's alright with you, may I be excused for a little while to change clothes?"

Yumi said, pointing to the "Ribbonfish Space" further down the corridor.

"Oh? You look so cute, you could keep it on for a little while longer."

"But I'd feel really bad if I got your mother's kimono dirty."

On top of that, the unfamiliar kimono was tight across her stomach.

"Really? Will you be able to undo the sash on your own?"

"… Probably."

Although she didn't know what she should do with the kimono once she'd taken it off.

"In that case, I'll tidy up a couple of other rooms around here and then come and see you. Once you've got the sash off, stay like that and wait for me. I'll take care of the rest."

"Okay."

Yumi answered, then walked off down the corridor. Sachiko-sama entered the room opposite the "Falcon Space."

When she arrived in front of the room, Yumi started by removing the "Polka-dot Ribbonfish Space" sign from the door.

"Alright, let's do this."

When she opened the sliding door, the room was dark. Yumi searched for the light switch that she assumed was around there somewhere. Tactile feedback. With a click, the warm light of the incandescent globe filled the room.

She stepped into the room and closed the door.

"Right, right."

Before she forgot, she took down the instructions from the inner-side of the door. Yumi then set the two signs down in the corner of the room.

In the center of the room there were two kimonos and two obi sashes. In the end, neither of the other teams had made it to this room.

It seemed a bit of a waste, since there had been enough laid out for all the teams. Yumi squatted down and gently ran her fingers across the top of the remaining kimono paper cases.

(… Or rather, how fortunate that the Red Rose team landed on the "Polka-dot Ribbonfish Space.")

Just as a faint chuckle escaped from Yumi's lips, she heard the sound of the door opening. She slowly stood up, thinking it was Sachiko-sama, but as she rose a voice that was obviously not her onee-sama's reached her ears.

"Saako."

By the time she'd recognized it as a man's voice, there was no time to turn around before their hand landed on her shoulder.

Why was there a man here?

Who was this person?

Those sorts of questions came later.

For now, Yumi cried out instinctively. But with all her might.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!"

And then.

"Oh no!"

Surprised by Yumi's scream, the man whose hand had been on her shoulder fell on his butt. Now that there was some distance between them, Yumi finally turned around and realized who it was.

"Oh – "

But even so, it was now too late to erase the reality of her scream.

"What's the matter!?"

The first person to appear in the doorway was Sachiko-sama, who had been surprised by her petit soeur's scream. Then, shortly afterwards, the rest of the party arrived. Yumi's scream had obviously carried all the way to the first-floor Japanese-style room.

"What happened … ah."

Upon discovering Yumi standing immobile in the spacious traditional-style room and a man fallen on his backside a short distance away, about half of the people had the same reaction. The other half didn't understand, and looked at this unknown intruder in fright.

"I heard someone scream just now!?"

For some reason, there was one more person. Yumi was thrown into confusion when she saw this latecomer.

It was supposed to be a women-only New Year's party, so why where there two men here? This was probably the same question that all the women had, not just Yumi.

Before any of the women could ask this, the young latecomer addressed the fallen man.

" … What are you doing, uncle?"

"I could ask you the same question."

Despite the age difference, they had remarkably similar faces and bearings.

Translator's Notes

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