Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume3 Chapter2

The White Rose

Part 1.

What is this feeling? I asked myself.

No one answered. It wasn't a relatively cool relationship that you could just call "friends," but because they were the same gender, it probably couldn't be called "love," either.

This nameless feeling swelled day by day, and it asserted itself to the point where my little body couldn't suppress it anymore.

Please, get me out of here.

I need to tell Kahori how I feel.

In the spring of her second year of high school, Sei found herself in the same class as Kahori.

In the beginning, she could remember feeling a bit of repulsion over how opposite to herself Kahori was, but gradually it transformed into a feeling of Kahori supplementing the areas she lacked, and so she became a bigger and bigger part of her life.

I want to be with her forever, Sei wished. But after graduating high school, Kahori was to enter a convent.

The adults worried about the growing intimacy of the two girls and pushed ahead the convent discussions in secret. Despaired by their future, and losing faith in adults, they took each other's hand on Christmas and left on an aimless journey.

Stepping out of the terminal station, Sei and Kahori walked into the forest and decided they couldn't be separated in heaven, and so they took sleeping pills.

But they weren't able to die together.

By the time Sei woke up, Kahori's hand, which she was supposed to have gripped firmly, was no longer there. As she stared up at the white hospital ceiling, Sei lamented losing something far more important than herself.

- that would be a concise summary of "Forest of Thorns."

"What- what a depressing story!"

Yumi, rolled up on her bed, reached out to her box of tissues placed by her pillow. First, she wiped away the tears that had flooded down her face, then blew her nose.

The image of a forest, with white mist rising from the snow, remained in her soul.

Forbidden love. You could summarize it like that and that would be the end of it, but on top of that, it cleverly used psychological descriptions of the characters, so it invited the reader to place themselves right into the story. Yumi found a little bit of the story overlapped with her relationship with Sachiko-sama, so while she cheered for Sei, she also couldn't shake the feeling that a "bad" ending was in store while reading.

About two hours, it was the first time she'd ever read a novel this quickly. She'd begun as soon as she came home, and it was already somewhat dark outside.

"Yuuumi, can I come in?"

Right after knocking, her brother, Yuuki, walked in.

"Woah, why don't you have any lights on?"

And with that, he turned on the lights without waiting for a response. When he saw his older sister's face, still plainly showing signs of fresh tears, he became speechless.

"You're supposed to wait for a 'yes, you may,' before you walk in."

Yumi said, as she sniffled into her tissue. She didn't know how her brother saw her, but she still tried to act like a lady.

"What… what happened, if I may ask?"

Yuuki asked, probably after mustering every ounce of courage he could. Well, he was a boy, after all. If it came down to it, he was willing to try to help her out.

"A novel, I was reading. Sad story."

"Ohh, whatever, then."

She felt a bit conflicted watching him look visibly relieved, then take a deep breath. Maybe she should have scared him a little more.

"What is it?"

"Could you lend me your archaic dictionary? You have a different one from mine."

Mine doesn't seem that good, he said, waving around his own dictionary. Do these things differ that much with different publishers?

"Fine with me."

Yumi took her dictionary from her shelf and handed it to Yuuki. "Here." After taking it out of its case and then flipping through some pages, Yuuki nodded, satisfied.

"Can you let me borrow it until tomorrow?"

"No."

She wasn't actually teasing her brother or anything. But Yuuki pouted, anyways.

"Why?"

"I have my archaic test tomorrow."

After hearing Yumi's response, Yuuki said "are you stupid?" without changing his expression.

"You have an exam tomorrow, but you're reading a book and crying?"

Well, it was the truth, so she couldn't give a retort. Yes, brother, you're right. But big sis isn't strong enough to not read a novel that's lying around her room.

"Well, I don't say anything other than, let's study. We haven't been granted special genes that let us naturally score 100s."

Pat pat. Yuuki patted Yumi's shoulder, like he was talking to a child ten years his junior. Hey, it might not be that big of a difference, but I was born earlier than you, Yumi wanted to point out, but she didn't dislike the feeling of being protected, so she let herself feel like a little sister.

Ahh, if only this were Sachiko-sama instead of Yuuki, she thought.

"Sounds like you're having fun at school, too."

"Why?"

"It sounds like you have someone close to you that easily gets 100s."

"You too, big sis."

"…"

Indeed there is. And plus, hers is an exquisite beauty and even has an incredible house, take that! -but she knew if she said that out loud, she'd be the one who'd be "taking" it, so she kept quiet.

"Well, everyone has their own traits."

Yuuki mumbled, trying to cheer up his sister before she felt down.

"So what's ours?"

"… Being born with faces that remind you of a baby raccoon, and natural-born ditzes."

"What's that?"

"My senior told me that."

"What part of Yuuki is a natural-born ditz?"

"Yumi's even more of a ditz than I, so you just don't notice."

"But the baby raccoon part suits you more."

"…"

"…"

"Let's stop. The childish argument is even sadder."

"Time spent on sibling fights is time better spent on studying."

"Yup."

"You can take the dictionary, I'll use Yuuki's."

And so she acted out the "good big sister" part. Siblings licking each other's wounds. It feels a bit awkward. Like an old drama you can only see through re-runs.

"Sorry."

Yuuki left the room. But, within five seconds of the door being shut, the warm, homely feeling was dried faster than an air conditioner at work.

"It's dinner, you two."

At their mothers' shout from downstairs, the two hungry children joyfully answered, "Okay-," leapt out their doors and bounced down the stairs in a me-first way.

Raccoon face and natural-born ditz. Maybe we should add "gluttonous" to the list of traits, Yumi thought.

It was about half-past-nine in the evening when Yoshino-san called.

"I'm sorry for calling at night, I just wanted to hear someone's opinion."

"What happened?"

Though, as she asked, she imagined it would be about Rosa Gigantea. If that was the case, it meant Yoshino-san read "Forest of Thorns" instead of studying for exams, too.

"It's about Rei-chan."

"What?"

For a moment she thought she heard Rei and Sei wrong. But Yoshino-san wouldn't call Rosa Gigantea "Sei-chan," plus it would be weird calling a novel character by –chan, so it couldn't have been Sei from "Forest of Thorns."

"What about Rei-sama."

"… She said she's not going to involve herself with the matter anymore."

I wonder why, seemed to say Yoshino-san, whose voice was trembling a bit.

"Why… I don't know. That would be my question to you, Yoshino-san."

"Alright… then it's not just me. I'm just so confused right now, I was worried I was being insensitive or something."

"Calm down, Yoshino-san. What do you mean by Rei-sama is not going to involve herself? Do you mean she's going to put off reading 'Forest of Thorns' until after the exams?"

"She already read the novel."

"She read it?"

Rei-sama apparently also lacked self-restraint with these things.

"But, she said she'll act like she never read it. And she won't have anything to do with the rumors anymore."

"I don't get it. –Oh."

While scratching her head, Yumi suddenly remembered.

"What, Yumi-san?"

"Sachiko-sama was also hesitant. Even though she bought the book, she was wondering whether to actually read it or not."

"Sachiko-sama, too?"

"… Yes."

I wonder why? The two of them became silent, still gripping the receivers.

Even if Sachiko-sama and Rei-sama both became passive for the same reason, there was no hint as to why they'd suddenly changed their attitudes.

"By the way."

Yoshino-san gathered herself again and asked.

"Yumi-san, did you already read it?"

"It" would definitely mean "Forest of Thorns."

"I read it. Yoshino-san?"

"Same. What did you think?"

What did you think was posed by Yoshino-san more as whether Rosa Gigantea might have written it rather than what Yumi thought about the novel itself. Like a sort of tacit understanding, where you have a feel for someone even if you don't actually have them in front of you.

No clues could be found in the author's column for "Forest of Thorns." Actually it was basically a blank page. Of course, it's not a misprint, but a deliberate hiding of her identity.

"I don't know. I think the protagonist Sei is a bit different from Rosa Gigantea."

But rather than an "autobiography" it was an "autobiographical novel," so even if the frameworks were to be the same, the meat might be dramatized.

"Personally, when I was reading it, I remembered that Rosa Gigantea was a bit more like that, rather than her current, loose self."

Yoshino-san is Rei-sama's cousin, so they talked about school a lot. Especially last year, when they were split up between high school and middle school, Rei-sama had a bucket-full of stories about the Yamayurikai and the Roses, so she told Yoshino-san even more stories. So, obviously, Yoshino-san would find out a lot about the Roses-.

These things tend to burn an image more on the listener than the speaker because the person who doesn't know reality might leap ahead with their imagination.

"Yes?"

"Rosa Gigantea- well, she was Rosa Gigantea en bouton back then, but I thought she was a scary person. So this April, when I actually saw her in person, I thought it was a totally different person."

"…"

That squiggly, cackling person being scary? From what Yoshino-san said, Yumi couldn't help but agree that it sounded like a different person.

"But their names were identical. Satou Sei."

Maybe Yoshino-san thinks Suga Sei is Rosa Gigantea because Rosa Gigantea from a year ago seemed similar to the main character of "Forest of Thorns."

But that would mean Rosa Gigantea attempted a lovers' suicide, then somehow ended up being the sole survivor of that. It was hard to believe that would have happened to Rosa Gigantea just last year.

"At the very least, Rei-chan and Sachiko-sama might have thought Rosa Gigantea was the main character, and so they decided to stay back."

"… Maybe."

Even if they didn't know everything, as high school freshmen, they might have known a bit about what happened last year. And because they had made the decision to do so, with a greater understanding of what happened, as their little sisters, it felt right that they, too, should drop it.

She felt like she was withering away.

"What are we going to do?"

The determination they had during the day had vanished.

"Let's do our best for the last exam."

"… Yeah."

Yoshino-san's voice also sounded a bit let down.

After putting the receiver down, Yumi stared ahead blankly and realized she was beginning to understand.

No matter what, she didn't know anything about Rosa Gigantea. Rosa Gigantea's past, her feelings now, nothing.

So she thought she began to understand, after reading the novel.

There was no way you could comprehend the past by ignoring the Rosa Gigantea of now.

Part 2.

The homeroom teacher was supposed to talk about rather important things like how to get in touch during vacation-time.

But most of the students were, while acting like they were listening, completely spaced out, so the teacher simply jotted down the important things on the blackboard and ended class.

Because she'd slacked off a bit for exam studies, Yumi was afraid of receiving her second semester report card. But leaving aside things that would happen a week later, she decided to revel in the week-long exam break, where she'd not have to worry about anything like homework.

After all, exams were over.

(But, before that.)

"Shimako-san, would you like to visit Rosa Gigantea before we head to the Rose Mansion?"

A French doll neatly packing her textbooks into her bag, -Yumi called out to Toudou Shimako-san.

"Why?"

Her soft, coiled hair bounced along with her deliberate, slow-tempo movements.

"You've heard the rumors, right? I was thinking of directly asking Rosa Gigantea about them."

At first, she thought about adopting Rei-sama's stance of acting like she never knew about it. But had she not known about it, it would be okay, but knowing as much as she did now, she knew it wasn't going to be possible for her to act like she knew nothing.

So she thought. How would she feel if she were Rosa Gigantea? Rather than people avoiding it like a bruised wound, she would feel much better if people simply asked her, outright. Of course, this was just Yumi's opinion, so she didn't know if Rosa Gigantea would feel the same. And if Rosa Gigantea felt displeasure in her asking, then she would apologize.

"I would ask at the Rose Mansion, but then it would drag the people who would prefer to stay out, like Rei-sama, into it."

"… so why are you inviting me?"

"Because Rosa Gigantea is Shimako-san's onee-sama, right?"

"Yes, of course."

After smiling, Shimako-san added, "But…"

"I think it is wrong that I would accompany Yumi-san for that reason alone."

"Wh- why?"

"Because I lean toward Rei-sama's side on this matter. Plus, if you're acting in regard to Rosa Gigantea, there is no need to bother with me, as I am simply her sister."

Yumi thought she'd heard similar words from Rosa Gigantea before. Something like Rosa Gigantea not minding if Shimako-san depended on someone else.

"But don't you want to know?"

"No."

An immediate answer.

Because that's the sort of siblings we are, Shimako-san's words seemed to say.

(That sort of sibling, that sort of sibling, that sort of sibling-)

Is weird, she thought.

Well, it is a human relationship, so they come in all sorts of shapes. But at least in Yumi's case, she'd not like it if a first-year were to be friendly with Sachiko-sama, and Yoshino-san was bothered by the student that offered cupcakes to Rei-sama.

Rosa Gigantea and Shimako-san were very cooled down. This was clearly not simply because they were two years apart. If that were the case, the problem would have to be their personalities. Rosa Gigantea said before that she and Shimako-san were similar, so they felt at ease with each other.

"Anyways, Yumi-san, shouldn't you go?"

"Eh?"

"She doesn't know Yumi-san is looking for her, so unless you hurry, Rosa Gigantea will already be at the Rose Mansion."

"That's right…!" Yumi grabbed her bag and hurried down the hallway.

"Later, Shimako-san."

What a blunder. It's her bad habit of being easily distracted.

They'd decided earlier to have a tea party after exams were over, so Rosa Gigantea might already have left her classroom.

The third-year classroom or the Rose Mansion. After pondering which to choose, Yumi chose the former, and after taking a step, the school broadcast streamed some pleasant music, and then…

"Third-year wisteria-class, Satou Sei-san. Please come to the Guidance Office immediately. I repeat-" (Eh?)

Faster than her thoughts could keep up, Yumi's body deftly changed directions. Satou Sei-san was Rosa Gigantea.

"Third-year wisteria-class, Satou Sei-san."

Her goal wasn't the classroom nor the Rose Mansion.

"Please come to the Guidance Office immediately." It was next door to the faculty room.

(But why…?)

After confirming the words on the plate hung out in front of the room, Yumi felt terrified.

For Rosa Gigantea, who's a role model for students, to be called out to the room where teachers "guide" students on how they "conduct" themselves. It was incomprehensible. Even Yumi felt mortified by this, and she wasn't even the one being called! She couldn't imagine how humiliated Rosa Gigantea must be feeling.

Even so.

"Oh? Yumi-chan got called on, too?"

That Rosa Gigantea showed up bright and sunny. She slowly lumbered over opposite the hallway Yumi had dashed. It seemed Yumi had arrived faster than the person who was called.

"Then, that would mean the reason I was called was for homosexual adultery!"

"What…!"

She didn't think it was the time to be joking around. That said, the sight of girls stalking a cackling Rosa Gigantea from a distance was rather disturbing. Most of them were freshmen, but the newspaper club captain was also among them. It was a group of students that had heard the broadcast and couldn't restrain themselves from finding out what was going on.

"Yumi-chan, would you happen to know why I've been possessed by these stalker-ghosts?"

"Happen to know… Well, roughly, I guess."

There's Rosa Gigantea for you, picking out some brilliant word choice. "Stalker-ghosts." -Not that she should be admiring that right now.

"W- would that mean… Rosa Gigantea, you didn't know about the uproar…"

"What happened?"

This time she had a serious look on her face. That's a big-shot for you, I guess. Even though she had no idea why she was called out to the guidance office, she was still as cheerful as ever.

"That's right. I was actually wanting to ask, too. Rosa Gigantea, did you write 'Forest of Thorns'?"

"Forest…?"

As Rosa Gigantea tilted her head to the side, the door behind her opened.

"Ahh, Satou-san. You've arrived. Come in."

The guidance sister poked her head out the door and urged Rosa Gigantea to enter.

"Yes. … Well, Yumi-chan, talk to you later."

In contrast to Rosa Gigantea, who was so full of composure she even winked before going through the door, Yumi felt her heart sink. As for why, she only caught a glimpse, but inside the guidance office was the academy principle, the middle-school and high-school principle, the third-year official, and the homeroom teacher for the third-year wisteria class. If that sort of line-up were to stare at her, Yumi thought she'd blurt out "I'm sorry!" even if she hadn't done anything.

"Yumi-san."

Yoshino-san split through the stalker-ghosts and rushed over to Yumi, hair swaying. With that as a trigger, the tense atmosphere loosened, and the mass of nervous girls broke up a bit. But no one felt like leaving, so they milled about in front of the faculty office and the guidance office. They all seem to intend to wait until Rosa Gigantea came out.

"What did Rosa Gigantea say?"

Yoshino-san, too, heard the broadcast and had rushed over.

"… She was as cheerful as always. Also, she didn't seem to know why she was called."

"She didn't know?"

But it was this big, so Yoshino-san was surprised. Even if it wasn't up to the first-years' scope, it must have reached the third-years by now.

Just then, a shadow crept forth, stooped low, like a scrambling mouse. That uniform-wearing mouse stopped in front of the guidance office, then leaned against the door. Like a ninja trying to blend into the wall.

"… You know, the guidance office uses sound-proof walls and doors."

Yoshino-san, watching, pointed out.

"Oh, dear, I'd become so engrossed. It's not like I was trying to listen in, or anything, ohohohohoho…"

Mouse, ninja, also known as the newspaper club captain, Tsukiyama Minako-sama cackled, hiding her embarrassment.

"Ohohohohohohoho."

Her hand held up to her mouth made the shape of a fox.

"I can't help but notice that here is the sœur of Rosa Foetida en bouton, Miss Shimazu Yoshino. And the sœur of Rosa Chinensis en bouton, Miss Fukuzawa Yumi. Gokigenyou."

"Go- Gokigenyou."

They couldn't just ignore a greeting from a senior, so Yumi and Yoshino-san answered back, then quickly turned to their right.

Yoshino-san probably accidentally spoke, because this Minako-sama was the type of person you really didn't want anything to do with. When you deal with the newspaper club, anything ends up becoming exaggerated a hundred or a thousand times over.

"My, you don't have to run, do you?"

Minako-sama placed a hand on each of their shoulders, then spun them around.

What happens when you turn around, then get turned around again? Yes, correct, you return to your former position. And that former position happened to be right in the face of Minako-sama.

"Running away means you have something to hide from me, because it would be a bother if I found out, right?"

Minako-san's eyes glittered.

"N- no."

"How absurd."

The two of them shook their heads. She wasn't quite as stubborn as Sachiko-sama, but talking to her was probably about the same. They open their mouth, and before you know it, you've been swallowed whole.

"Leaving that aside. You've showed up at a good time. Can you tell onee-san what you two feel about this 'White Rose Incident'?"

She suddenly switched her energetic voice to a purr, and sidled up to them. In a way, this was even scarier. And she already titled this the 'White Rose Incident'… It was a lot more easy-going than the 'Yellow Rose Revolution,' but that must mean she's having trouble finding out what's behind things this time.

"Don't say anything, Yumi-san."

Yoshino-san prodded Yumi with her elbow.

"I know."

She didn't need to be told, because she already intended to say nothing. She could imagine how much trouble she'd cause Rosa Gigantea if she said anything.

If the "Lillian Kawaraban" was to have "A conversation with insider source Fukuzawa Yumi-san," she'd have to pack her bags and go off on a journey, alone.

"How distrustful. I'll have you know, I've reconsidered since the last time, and so I'm restraining myself a bit."

"Last time…"

Would that be publishing Yoshino-san and Rei-san's surveys the wrong way. Or would that be when she wrote a tearful shoujo love story based on Yoshino-san's returning of her rosary to Rei-sama.

"Actually, I'm in a bind. With so much time taken up by exam studies, this Tsukiyama Minako had no idea about this uproar until this afternoon. See, if the newspaper club's behind the times, that's no good, right? And break starts tomorrow, so I'd like to have a big, concise wrap-up next week, you know? So could you lend me a hand?"

(… Wow.)

She hasn't reconsidered, at all.

"If you could lend me a hand, I could help out Rosa Gigantea on 'Lillian Kawaraban.'"

If you can't push, pull. Minako-sama dangled a beautiful meal, this time. But as much of a glutton as Yumi may be, she wasn't foolish enough to- enough to-

"Is it okay to watch your lovely Rosa Gigantea get expelled like this?"

"Ex- expelled!?"

Yumi leapt at the suspicious bait, the needles behind it in clear view.

"Yumi-san, calm down."

Yoshino-san grabbed Yumi's shoulders and pulled her back.

"But if Rosa Gigantea becomes expelled!"

"Calm down and think about it. The school wouldn't expel someone just for writing a novel."

"… Ah."

Yumi spat the bait out from her mouth.

Calm down, calm down. She was about to become food for the newspaper club.

"Are you sure? I wonder."

Minako-sama laughed.

"Our school forbids working, you know? If she wrote a novel and received stipends for it, that would clearly be against school rules."

"Working is just prohibited on a basic level, if you get permission, you can work."

Surprisingly, Yoshino-san re-thought or something, and began verbally firing back at Minako-sama. They were a rare, but there were students at Lillian who received permission to work, based on their reasons for needing the jobs. Aiding their household with money, or wanting to cultivate specific skills, for instance. Specific skills such as serving tea or flower arrangement or having an apprenticeship for dancing, some even act in troupes to improve their acting skills. Of course, no matter the case, the students are receiving money from outside, so the school requests a meeting with the student and a guardian and finally gives permission after discussions.

"Do you think Rosa Gigantea received permission? That's why she got called here, didn't she?"

"… Well."

But Yoshino-san, despite fighting bravely, couldn't continue. Well, it's futile, trying to fight with words against the newspaper club captain.

"Of course, you don't usually get expelled for a single breach of the school rules, but that's not to say it never happens."

She danced around the point so much that Yumi found herself struggling to keep up. In other words, she wanted to say that you could get expelled for breaking the rules a single time.

"According to my data, one student was working in a sex-service-related store a few years ago, and after being called to the guidance office, she was expelled that day."

Data. What data was she talking about?

"But sex service and novel writing are on different levels altogether."

Yoshino-san responded after gathering courage. But a cold smile came back. "Oh?"

"That just depends on the person. Selling your body or selling your mind, what's the difference?"

"… Umm."

They're clearly different, but it was hard to explain. If Tsutako-san were here, she'd probably be able to win this sort of argument.

The first-years who were in the distance ended up hearing the uncommon phrase "sex service" and had begun whispering among themselves.

Gosh. At this rate, rumors of Rosa Gigantea working a sex service job and getting called to the guidance office because of it could spread.

"I can use the 'Lillian Kawaraban' to call the attention of the faculty, if you'd like. Please don't expel Rosa Gigantea."

"But we really don't know anything."

"Oh, Yumi-san, but you were to speaking to Rosa Gigantea just now. So what is it? 'Forest of Thorns.' Did Rosa Gigantea write it? Or did she not?"

Yet, she'd already decided Rosa Gigantea had written it just moments earlier. Tsukiyama Minako-sama was investigating again.

(This is a different sort of scary from Sachiko-sama's close-up.)

Slow, deliberately approaching. She found herself being backed into the wall.

As expected of Minako-sama. Rather than attack the visually less imposing and more brittle-looking Yoshino-san, she chose to attack Yumi. She knew how to read people. Yoshino-san might look weak, but she was actually quite strong and level-headed.

"I really, really don't know anything."

When Yumi closed her eyes and shouted, the wall behind her fell.

"Yumi-san, behind, door, opening!"

Yoshino-san's advice was as fruitless as that of a foreigner just learning Japanese, and Yumi was sucked into the black hole that suddenly opened behind her.

"Hieeeh-"

Why did she go to the door, or, why didn't the door open outwards, or, why did the door have to open with such great timing. As she fell backwards, she lamented the string of bad luck that caused this situation.

(And I'll end up hitting the back of my head, and become even dumber!)

"Woah!"

Foomf.

(… foomf?)

Yumi was saved in the nick of time by something soft. Her head didn't hurt, and her body seemed to be leaning backward, but her indoor shoes were still on the floor.

"Yumi-chan, you're pretty heavy…"

"Eh."

She heard a familiar voice from behind her. What saved her by countering her weight was none other than Rosa Gigantea. Maybe it's the scent of her shampoo, when Yumi turned around, she was face-to-face with a smile that fit perfectly with the scent of mint drifting in the air.

"Rosa Gigantea, Rosa Gigantea, … I,"

"Sorry. I don't think I can hold you up any longer."

Rosa Gigantea heaved, and made Yumi stand on her own. She had to hold Yumi without any forewarning, so apparently she'd been using an awkward posture, so even Rosa Gigantea was a bit winded.

"Plus, if we crumbled to the ground hugging each other in the guidance office, it'd be a bit awkward."

Yumi's heart leapt when Rosa Gigantea whispered in her ear. On the other side of the opened door, the principles and the sisters were watching, mouths open.

"Sorry for the disturbance. Excuse us."

Rosa Gigantea politely bowed to the teachers inside, forced Yumi to bow with her, and then left the room.

"I've gotten the gist of the 'Forest of Thorns' Yumi-chan was talking about."

After smiling a bit bitterly, Rosa Gigantea raised her voice for the stalker-ghosts (although now they're just wandering ghosts).

"I'm sure you all are wondering about it, so I'll tell you now, sorry to disappoint, but I'm not the one that wrote 'Forest of Thorns.'"

Now that the scene was over, the girls began mumbling to each other, clearly disappointed. Gosh, what did they follow Rosa Gigantea for?

"Oh, Yoshino-chan, you worried for me and came, too?"

Rosa Gigantea smiled happily and called to Yoshino-san.

"Uh huh. And is that true?"

"True. True. I just found out about it, after all. … And so, we can't offer any stories to the 'Lillian Kawaraban.' Sorry, Tsukiyama Minako-san."

And she doesn't forget to throw the newspaper club gentle sarcasm along with a check. You won't hear the end of it if you try to turn this into an article. Even Minako-sama probably didn't have the courage to go against a senior, and a Rose on top of that. Especially because this wasn't even newsworthy.

"Now now, let's be off now."

Yumi in her right hand, Yoshino-san in her left hand, and drawing both shoulders to her, Rosa Gigantea happily began walking.

"To where?"

"The Rose Mansion? Didn't you two come to pick me up?"

"Oh yeah, the tea party!"

She'd completely forgotten, because of the broadcast.

What was everyone thinking as they waited at the Rose Mansion?

Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Foetida, Sachiko-sama, Rei-sama.

And Shimako-san-.

"It's hot."

Icy wind was blowing outside, but Rosa Gigantea said a very unseasonal thing, and smiled.

Part 3.

"Well, wasn't that a flashy summons."

Rosa Chinensis, who was waiting in the Rose Mansion salon, spoke first.

"Personally, I've never been called like that, so I'm a bit envious."

Said Rosa Foetida.

"Thanks."

Waving her hand, Rosa Gigantea nimbly proceeded to the center of the room and lowered herself into an open seat.

A somewhat nostalgic three-shot of the Roses. Yumi simply stared in adulation – oh, how splendid.

However, should they simply be elegantly smiling to each other, like that? Even though she was told Rosa Gigantea was not Suga Sei, Yumi was still overflowing with questions, yet unable to digest the news. But the ones that were waiting at the Rose Mansion casually mentioned the summons, then showed no signs of caring.

"Here."

Shimako-san entered the stage and passed around steaming teacups. Even Yoshino-san, who entered the room with her, was placing sugar and sticks of powdered milk on the table.

All of which meant there was nothing left to prepare, so Yumi added water to the electric kettle and sat down.

"You were at the guidance office?"

Sachiko-sama, sitting next to her, whispered to Yumi.

"… Yes."

At first, she thought she would be scolded, but Sachiko-sama simply whispered, "I see."

Sachiko-sama did not come to the guidance office. She was also hesitant about reading the novel. Perhaps she was not comfortable with her little sister sticking herself into Rosa Gigantea's past. But Rei-sama said nothing to Yoshino-san, too.

In any case, they had a toast with black tea over finishing exams. She didn't know who brought it, but someone laid out marketplace cookies on tissues.

It had been a while since they last held a tea party, and it could even be the last time this year everyone got together like this.

"Let me say something."

After some time, Rosa Gigantea stood up and declared.

"I already told Yoshino-chan and Yumi-chan, but the rumors of me writing a novel, well it wasn't me. –That's all."

That's all. And after that concise declaration, Rosa Gigantea quickly sat down and sipped tea, like nothing happened. She even commented, "It's wonderful," about the tea Shimako-san poured.

"Was that why you were called?"

Rosa Chinensis asked.

"That's why."

"So?"

Rosa Foetida said.

"Nothing. I said it wasn't me, and they let me go. That's all. I haven't read it myself, and I didn't even know that sort of rumor was circulating until just now. So even if they were to ask me questions, I wouldn't have had anything to say."

The teachers had also not read the novel, but the rumor was circulating, so they called her to the office to ask her about it before they left for vacation.

"And you really didn't write it?"

Rosa Chinensis confirmed, and Rosa Gigantea raised her right hand and said, "I swear to Maria-sama."

"Understood. Then this case is closed. What do you think, Rosa Foetida?"

"No objection. Rosa Chinensis."

The two Roses nodded, and quickly concluded things.

(Eh-!? That's all?)

Deep down, Yumi shouted, unsatisfied.

Of course, in reality, Rosa Gigantea was probably saying the truth, so there was no problem with concluding things by taking her word. But she thought the Roses would try to find out who began the rumors, and come up with a way to suppress them in the future.

Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida probably paid the rumors little-to-no heed, so they weren't very attached to the topic of Rosa Gigantea. But Yumi ended up wailing after reading "Forest of Thorns," and ended up thinking the main character was Rosa Gigantea, so she didn't feel satisfied with things being cleaned up this abruptly.

(Ahh… but the topic's already completely about Christmas.)

Completely, but also incompletely, combusted. At this rate, she'd end up consuming her exam break by pondering about Rosa Gigantea. –And when she thought about that, she realized this was no different than a peeping tom.

(In the end, I was just another of Rosa Gigantea's stalker-ghosts.)

Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Foetida, Sachiko-sama, Rei-sama, and Shimako-san. The reason why they weren't being proactive was because they weren't acting out of curiosity.

She felt a little, well, no, considerably depressed. Being such a shallow, easily excitable person seemed extremely out of place here, she ended up thinking.

She was feeling so ecstatic after being chosen by Sachiko-sama to be her sister, but aside from appearance and intelligence, maybe she was missing something fundamental. Something that came with you when you were born, so it was something she'd never be able to attain.

(… Depressing yourself more and more to the point where you can't even stand back up on your own. I'm so stupid.)

Just as she felt herself hanging her head in shame, something fell from overhead and hit her square in the forehead.

"?"

After one bounce, it landed next to Yumi's teacup. The rolling object was a silvery sphere, and remarkably small. When she lifted it, she realized it was chocolate, wrapped in silver paper.

When Yumi looked around, the suspect gave herself up by waving slightly with her hands on the table. Everyone else simply continued their discussion.

(What is it, Rosa Gigantea?)

When she lipped the question, this time Rosa Gigantea opened both of her hands.

(10?)

Then she made a cross with her index fingers.

(X?)

Then she opened her palms again, and then pointed to her face.

(Ten, X, ten, face?)

She didn't understand. When she twisted her face in thought, Rosa Gigantea repeated her movements again, but this time she lipped her words.

(Ten times ten.)

10x10… was, of course, 100. 100, and face…? "Life's many phases!?"

Yumi stood up. Of course, the maidens' discussion came to an abrupt halt, and everyone looked at Yumi.

"What? Yumi-chan, do you have something to say?"

Rosa Foetida asked, like she was asking a child a question.

"Ah… umm. No, -I'm sorry."

Blushing red, she sat down.

"Don't be half-asleep."

Sachiko-sama cautioned with a whisper.

(I wasn't half-asleep, though…)

As for the ringleader, her shoulders were visibly trembling in the seat diagonally across from Yumi, and she even had tears in her eyes.

(And I was worried over this person…)

It began to seem foolish, so she decided to stop being negative.

Part 4.

"Sachiko-, let me borrow Yumi-chan."

As the tea party came to an end, Rosa Gigantea wrapped an arm around Yumi's neck and shouted.

"Well, I don't mind, but-"

"Don't worry, don't worry, I won't strip her down and play with her."

"… If you keep making such jokes, I may refuse."

Sachiko-sama seemed to be getting used to it, as she side-stepped Rosa Gigantea's teasing.

"Umm, could you also prohibit kissing?"

The captive Yumi interjected into the conversation. Rosa Gigantea was the type to spontaneously hug and kiss someone else's sister, so she couldn't drop her guard.

"Ok. That's disappointing, but I'll promise. So, I'm borrowing her."

Turning about, Rosa Gigantea dragged Yumi with her and this time went to Rei-sama, this time requesting to borrow Yoshino-san.

"As long as Yoshino is fine with it."

Rather than give an order like Sachiko-sama, Rei-sama cheerfully consented.

"Why Rei doesn't say anything? That's simple. Because she knows I won't do anything to Yoshino-chan."

Rosa Gigantea cackled.

"Eh!? … wait, why just me?"

Why was she bait for an evil senior?

"I guess it's because your reaction is awesome. Also, Sachiko's reaction is great, too. Two delicious sœur with one grain of rice. –Thank you, with respect."

"…"

She could find no words of retort. Because it was a reply with such clarity. But "with respect"? Lillian's a Catholic school, not a Buddhist one…

"- anyways. The three of us will finish cleaning, so everyone may go ahead."

While she spoke in polite terms, Rosa Gigantea was clearly meaning to simply shoo people out of the room. What was she trying to start, kicking everyone out? Well, Yoshino-san was with her, so she assumed she wouldn't be attacked or anything.

Then, farewell. –said they, as "everyone" filed out of the second-floor room. Sachiko-sama still had a dubious look, but she had business to deal with in the afternoon, so she reluctantly followed Rei-sama down the stairs.

"Shall I lend a hand?"

Shimako-san asked, last. Well, Yumi and Yoshino-san were remaining, so as a fellow first-year student, it wasn't surprising she would wonder if she should stay to help, too. And it was also strange that she would be left out, being the little sister of Rosa Gigantea.

"Nope, not especially."

Rosa Gigantea's words had no hidden meaning behind them. It's hard to explain, but between sisters, words often have meanings like, "Actually I want you to stay," or "I have something to do with Yoshino-chan and Yumi-chan, sorry," but it was a bit unbelievable that Rosa Gigantea meant nothing. She didn't even look sorry about leaving Shimako-san out.

"Is that so. Well, farewell, then."

Hey, wait, you're just going to back down? But when she looked at Shimako-san, she simply smiled, and even said, "I'm sorry you have to put up with onee-sama."

"Gokigenyou."

As always, Shimako-san left an angelic smile and left. The afterimage of the soft, curled hair stayed in Yumi's mind.

"Is it bad if Shimako-san stays?"

Yoshino-san probably felt the same as Yumi, and so she asked Rosa Gigantea.

"Why? If Shimako wanted to stay, I wouldn't have minded."

"But the way you said it, I don't think she'd be able to stay even if she wanted, right, Yumi-san?"

Yoshino-san, excited by the response, looked for agreement from Yumi.

"Really? Yumi-chan."

Rosa Gigantea looked like she wanted to say "I really don't understand," as she looked at Yumi.

"If I were Shimako-san, I think I would have felt like I needed to be gone."

"Hmm."

What did she mean, hmm. If she understood, she should go chase down Shimako-san. Rosa Gigantea stayed put in her seat, without any hint of wanting to move.

"If you want, I could go-"

When Yumi started toward the biscuit-shaped door, she was stopped.

"Ah, don't worry about it."

"Why?"

"Even if Shimako were told not to stay, if she wanted to stay, she would stay on her own accord."

"What?"

"That's how it is. So don't worry about it."

She felt like she'd just been thrown a smoke screen, but Rosa Gigantea sounded confident, so she left it at that.

"Is that how it is."

Yumi and Yoshino-san tilted their head to the side and were forced to simply accept it as fact. In that case, what was Shimako-san to Rosa Gigantea?

"Yumi-chan, Yoshino-chan, I don't care who. Do one of you have 'Forest of Thorns' with you?"

"Ah, yes."

Both of them simultaneously reached into their bags. Yumi found hers first, and Rosa Gigantea pointed to it.

"May I borrow it?"

"Sure. What are you going to do?"

"If someone says they want to borrow a book, it means they're going to read it. Did you think I was going to make stew with it?"

"No, autograph, or something."

"Suga Sei? … that's not even funny, Yumi-chan."

But she was laughing, anyways. But if she was going to read "Forest of Thorns" now, it definitely meant she wasn't the author.

"Well, shall we start cleaning?"

"… Yeah."

The person who brought them together had pushed a chair to the window sill and begun reading, so Yumi and Yoshino-san began carrying the teacups from the table and gathering the leftovers of the cookies.

"Secret skill, instantaneous teakettle technique!"

Yoshino-san poured the hot water from the kettle into the washing tub, filled it with water, and then dunked the cups, spoons and sponge into it.

"We can just wash it in here, and then use the faucet to rinse. Right?"

"That's a good idea, but… Yoshino-san, you've been reading ninja stories instead of just fencer stories as of late, haven't you?"

"I've been had."

The sink water had become colder, and it reminded Yumi that by the time they went deeper into winter, it would freeze.

(… cold water.)

Cold air.

A misty, deep, green forest. Sealed away by thorny tendrils, the forest where Sei's feelings were asleep.

The sense of cold re-awakened the scene in "Forest of Thorns" in Yumi's mind. Sei and Kahori held each other's hands, and wandered through the forest, finding a place to rest, that sort of scene.

She could feel herself tearing up just by remembering it.

Worn out from walking, the two of them took turns drinking sleeping pills along with the cooled tea. When they ran out of pills, they intertwined their fingers so they wouldn't be separated, and kissed, for the first and last time.

"Wow, thanks for your hard work."

Like she was parading into that world of illusions wearing shoes, Rosa Gigantea crept up behind them with her usual old-man-like methods.

"You already finished?"

Yoshino-san, who was wiping the table with a rag, glanced at her wristwatch.

"Of course not. You can't read a novel in ten, fifteen minutes."

True. Plus she'd never heard about Rosa Gigantea having incredible fast-reading skills.

"Both of you worked hard, so I paused to give you two a reward. Of course, I'll go back to reading in a bit."

"What do you think of it so far?"

Is what Yoshino-san asked, but Yumi's question of, "Reward?" overlapped. Rosa Gigantea glanced at Yumi, then, in an effort to stop herself from bursting into laughter, turned back to Yoshino-san. She had to have, no, she must be laughing. But that aside, why was Yumi so straight-forward like this?

"Well I'm not that far into it, so I can't say much, but it's interesting. … I can see why some people would think I wrote it."

As she spoke, Rosa Gigantea reached into her pocket, took our two slips of paper and waved them in front of Yumi's face.

"Here, the reward you were so eagerly awaiting."

"What is this?"

They were slips of colored paper that had been marked with a rubber stamp. When she looked closely, she noticed it read, "Pasta." They were meal tickets for pasta, used by university students.

"I forget when, but I stayed late to help my homeroom teacher, and she gave me those two tickets as thanks. Eat some ramen with a friend and go home. But I didn't have any friends that stay that late into the evening, and the food courts close at four, anyways."

I see. On the back of the tickets was the third-year wisteria-class homeroom teacher's name. Generally speaking, middle-school and high-school students weren't able to use the university food court, but if they received teacher permission, it was okay, but they'd have to receive their teacher's signature on the back of the tickets.

"And I just kept them. Because two is not an easy number to find."

They were lacking one, if the Roses wanted to go together. And it would be awkward for her to go alone to the university food court, with her outstanding uniform, twice.

"Then, you could have gone with Shimako-san."

Yoshino-san said, exasperated. For Yoshino-san, two seemed to shout out sisters. Like, if Rei-sama received two meal tickets, Yoshino-san was supposed to be invited.

"With Shimako? And while eating ramen sitting across from each other, what do we talk about?"

Rosa Gigantea asked. She'd never even given it any thought, before.

"Anything. What you two talk about normally."

"We don't really talk much."

"But you're sisters!?"

"Shimako is precious. An irreplaceable little sister. But we prefer not to interfere with one another. That's more comfortable for both of us."

"That's…"

Yoshino-san gave it serious thought. It was probably incomprehensible for her, because she and Rei-sama was always together, and her relationship was so intimate. But Yumi could understand, a bit. Rosa Gigantea simply preferred "that kind" of relationship.

If Rosa Gigantea and Yoshino-san were at the opposite ends of the spectrum, Yumi and Sachiko-sama were slightly more toward Rosa Gigantea's side than the middle. Actually, it was far more than just slightly.

"But if we both have one ticket, there's nothing left for Rosa Gigantea."

"Oh, I don't need any. You two go ahead."

"But. We could split two ramen with three people."

Yumi was already preparing to have a meal. Just cookies weren't enough to satisfy her, so she'd completely forgotten about discretion.

"More important, I want to read. So, I'd actually prefer it if you two took your time."

"So we're an intrusion?"

"Frankly."

"… I could let you borrow the book without any interest for a week."

Yumi didn't think Rosa Gigantea needed to read the book now, to the point of treating her juniors to a meal (though in reality she received the meal tickets herself).

"If I go home, I'll lose interest. Sorry, could you just let me read it here?"

I guess that's how it is. –Yumi helplessly accepted the meal tickets and dragged Yoshino-san off to the pasta cafeteria.

"Hey- you forgot something."

Just as they stepped out of the Rose Mansion, they heard Rosa Gigantea's voice from above.

"What?"

When they stepped out toward the middle of the courtyard, they saw Rosa Gigantea leaning out of the window.

"Sorry, could you get canned coffee from the vending machine by the cafeteria on the way back? The small, hot, black one."

And she was unprepared for the small purse flying at her. "Gyah."

The reason she was able to catch it anyways was not because of the catcher's skill, but because the pitcher's control was incredibly good.

"Instead of a tip, you two can buy a can for yourself, too. Well, have fun."

Without waiting for a response, the second-floor window was shut. The two on the ground looked at the tasteful purse in Yumi's hand, then at the window that was shut, then sighed.

"Rosa Gigantea…"

"… is unfathomable."

"Let's go."

"… yeah."

It wasn't because they were hungry, but they suddenly felt exhausted. And they walked wordlessly to the pasta cafeteria.

Rosa Gigantea was alright as an "acquaintance senior," but she was probably extremely difficult if they were close. Well, not because she gave them meal tickets or threw purses at them.

Sachiko-sama was unreadable sometimes, too. But she was straight-forward, so once you figured out her pattern, she wasn't that difficult. Rosa Gigantea was a lot more twisted, so her real self seemed to be hidden behind layers and layers.

So Shimako-san, being the little sister to this Rosa Gigantea, was incredible, Yumi concluded, as she huddled and walked through the windy, university grounds.

Part 5.

The pasta cafeteria was by the university school store.

Including the kitchen, it was about the size of a single classroom. A café was above the pasta cafeteria, and you could get sandwiches, coffee and cake (or so I hear). The school store, cafeteria and café all made up one building.

As for the reason why it was standing in between the school dining hall and the university buildings was that, as you probably imagine, the students desired such a building, so they built it afterwards.

It was some time after noon, and as it was just before break, the university was fairly vacated, too, so the pasta cafeteria was rather empty.

As they had no real choice, the two quickly ordered ramen and handed the lady behind the counter their meal tickets.

"I just put out the fire, so it might take a bit."

The lady said, as she checked the stamps behind the tickets. Because there were few people remaining at the university, she'd turned off the heating to save expenses. Business seemed to be extremely slow, as she was the only one working the kitchen, where you might expect two or three.

"We're not in any hurry."

Yoshino-san innocently smiled, "So would you be willing?" That she could smile so without deliberately needing to try might be one type of natural talent. And there couldn't be that many people that would see that and feel ill will.

"Alright, I'll start up the fire again."

The lady tossed the tickets into a specific box, heaved herself off the seat and moved to the big pot.

"Go ahead and take a seat, I'll call you two when it's done."

They nodded and took a seat at the edge. Even though there were no other people, they didn't feel comfortable taking full advantage of the university building.

"It's my first time eating at the pasta cafeteria."

"Same."

Yumi and Yoshino-san looked around and lowered their shoulders. They'd attended Lillian since kindergarten, but this was outside of their own territory, so it felt like they were on an adventure. They weren't doing anything bad, but their heart beat rapidly. It was probably similar to the feeling of eating a chocolate ball for the first time.

"It might take a bit, she said."

"I wonder how long."

Well, Rosa Gigantea had told them not to come back for a while, anyways, so it was a good way to spend time. –Just as they were whispering, in only about five minutes, they heard, "It's done." Gosh, how many seconds does it take normally, then?

When they went up together to receive their bowls, the lady advised them to wear a handkerchief down from their neck. Apparently ramen soup splashes no matter how hard you try.

"I see… I guess it would be a pain if it ended up on this ivory collar."

It was a bit baby-ish and embarrassing, but there was no helping it, so the two of them hung a handkerchief from their collar and split their chopsticks. The ramen had one roasted pork filet each, along with shredded spring onions, dried seaweed and soaked bamboo shoots.

"Itadakima-su."

First, a sip of the soup.

"… It's good."

"Yes."

The warm soup had a thick taste of soy sauce, and it felt like it spread throughout her body from the stomach. She wished Rosa Gigantea, left behind at the Rose Mansion, could have had a sip.

"Rosa Gigantea,"

Yoshino-san mumbled after a mouthful of noodle.

"I wonder why she made us stay."

"Eh…?"

Chewing off a bit of pork filet, Yumi lifted her head. Yoshino-san was looking puzzled.

"Because if she just wanted to borrow 'Forest of Thorns,' as Yumi-san mentioned, she'd just have to take it home, right? If she didn't want to read it at home, she could read it on the train-ride home. And if she didn't want to borrow it for a whole week, she could just buy it at a book store, right?"

"But it's free if she borrows it, so that might be why?"

Not that she was too stingy to pay four-hundred some yen, but she didn't see any other reason in sight, so Yumi said it, anyways.

"If you think about three peoples' worth of canned coffee, you could buy 'Forest of Thorns.'"

Well, that's true. But she couldn't think of any other reason, so she gave up.

What started this all, anyways, she thought, but even though things really began two or three days ago, it felt extremely distant, like everything had vanished beyond the ramen steam. As her stomach was becoming filled, her thinking power, already not particularly gifted, seemed to deteriorate further.

"How about, we're so cute, she wanted to treat us to ramen."

"Yumi-san, your brain's melting."

Yoshino-san sighed, exasperated, and returned to her ramen. Carefully, so as to not splash the soup, several yellow noodles were sucked into her pink lips.

Yumi looked at the clock. It'd been roughly 30 minutes since they left the Rose Mansion. An hour minus 30 minutes was another 30 minutes.

(It would be close.)

If they kept eating ramen at this pace, they might be able to have spent an entire hour without needing to kill time elsewhere.

(But the ramen would go bad.)

But she didn't want the soup to splash onto her uniform, either. In the end, there seemed to be nothing to do other than to learn from Yoshino-san and carefully eat little portions of the noodle at a time.

Even if the ban on entering the pasta cafeteria were lifted, you could say with utmost confidence that there was no risk of a mass of middle-school or high-school students flooding into the building. Because eating ramen without dirtying your clothes was a difficult and time-consuming task.

In the kitchen, one of the ladies that was resting outside had apparently returned, and they began closing the store in earnest.

Part 6.

"Was there coffee?"

Rosa Gigantea's greeting to Yumi and Yoshino-san, who'd arrived back at the Rose Mansion, was not "welcome back" but "was there coffee?" Somewhat disappointing, because it sounded like she was more interested in the coffee than her cute juniors.

"… Yes."

Rosa Gigantea jumped out of her seat like a little child chanting "coffee, coffee," so Yumi handed her the requested coffee and the purse.

"If you wanted to drink coffee that much, you could have made instant coffee."

"I wasn't feeling like instant coffee. Actually if I had things my way I'd be ordering blue mountain coffee at a coffee shop."

She pulled back the can's pull-top, gulped down the coffee, and sighed. It was a small can, so she probably drank half of it in one gulp.

"Instant coffee < canned coffee < fresh-made coffee?"

"Yup. How about you, Yoshino-chan?"

"In my opinion, it's more about the amount of milk, rather than type. Oh, and temperature."

"The mild faction. You're the same as Yumi-chan."

"I'm not as much of sweet-tooth as Yumi-san, though."

Yoshino-san waved her can of café au lait, with scaled-back sweetness next to her face, said "gochisousama" and laughed.

"What did Yumi-chan get-?"

After being called a sweet-tooth, it became awkward to show it. And amused by Yumi's reaction, Rosa Gigantea chased her around, "Come on, show it."

"I wonder who bought you that drink?"

Gosh, sponsors are powerful. Rosa Gigantea pinned Yumi from behind and grabbed the can.

Three, two, one.

"Bwahahahah."

As expected, after three seconds, Rosa Gigantea's hearty laugh echoed through the second floor of the Rose Mansion.

"What is this? Canned sweet red-bean soup!? These things exist!? And they're sold at a university vending machine, so there's even a demand for them!?"

"… Probably. Even the reserve forces, a high school girl, just bought one."

She'd become used to this massive laughter, so Yumi turned defiant and answered. Yes, she's a sweet-tooth. What's wrong with being a sweet-tooth… that sort of attitude.

"I see. Hmm…"

Rosa Gigantea admired the can, mumbling, "I guess that's how things are." It seemed like she seriously didn't know canned sweet red-bean soup existed before, so when Yumi told her there were even canned sweet half sake, she became delighted, again.

The two of them pulled up chairs alongside the chair Rosa Gigantea was sitting in by the window, and they sat down facing each other. The sunlight shining through the glass window, while just a bit, felt warm.

The canned drinks, which were hot and thus difficult to carry back, had finally cooled and become drinkable.

"Well, I read the novel."

Rosa Gigantea jumped straight into the topic, without any preface.

"A novel in an hour."

When they praised her for her concentration, she calmly replied, "Because it was in Japanese." Yumi wondered if Rosa Gigantea was the type to read straight through original documents, but she didn't ask. If the person next to her was superhuman, she'd feel a bit down.

"When I realized Suga was Sugar, I totally laughed by myself. I mean, Satou and Sugar, that's quite a stretch isn't it? But I wonder who thought of Suga Sei being Satou Sei, first."

Tossing her graded hair, Rosa Gigantea laughed listlessly, and she seemed a bit different from usual. It was hard to explain, but the difference must have been as subtle as removing a single, thin cardigan. Of course, maybe this was closer to the real Rosa Gigantea, that sort of thought was Yumi's own convenient thought. Rosa Gigantea was always Rosa Gigantea, and there could only be one of her, of course.

After drinking the rest of the canned coffee, Rosa Gigantea properly washed the can out at the sink, then tossed in the can recycling bin. There's your student government president, never letting up even for disposing waste.

"But they had good instincts."

"Huh…?"

"Who" Yoshino-san asked. Like Yumi, she was filled with question marks, not knowing how this related to Rosa Gigantea.

"The person who thought I might have written it." Rosa Gigantea laughed, came close, grabbed Yumi's canned sweet red-bean soup, and gulped.

"Ahh!"

"Oh it's just one sip, tightwad."

The can came back considerably lighter. Well, she couldn't complain, because she was the one being treated, but Rosa Gigantea's "sip" seemed to be quite large.

"But, you didn't, right?"

After waiting for this sibling argument-like skirmish to end, Yoshino-san returned the conversation to the topic. Yoshino-san was calm, she thought.

"Of course I didn't write it. As I said earlier. I'm not mentally strong enough to write about something that happened last year and show it to people."

"But you said they had good instincts?"

Rosa Gigantea nodded at Yoshino-san's words.

"Because she's similar. To me."

A fastball.

It wasn't a particularly super meaningful phrase, but it felt like she threw a fastball with impeccable timing and speed.

Nothing more, nothing less, people often say. And that answer fit perfectly, so that sort of thing does happen, after all.

Because she's similar. To me. –Rosa Gigantea's words simply meant what they said. Similar was such a vague thing to say, but the phrase simply told one truth. Is what Yumi absent-mindedly thought.

At the same time, Rosa Gigantea's words were so powerful they couldn't find anything to say.

Then they heard her say, "You can ask." Rosa Gigantea said that to the speechless Yoshino-san and Yumi.

"Both of you were worried about it, right? Because both of you knew it wasn't just the name that made people think I wrote it."

"…"

Because it was the truth, they couldn't make a retort.

They definitely wanted to know about Rosa Gigantea's past. But at the same time, that was intruding on Rosa Gigantea's privacy, so the fact that their desire had been so blatantly obvious to Rosa Gigantea made them feel guilty. Even though they didn't intend to look so greedy.

"I didn't say that to make you two look like that…"

Rosa Gigantea sat back into her chair and raised both of their chins with her fingertips. She usually never felt anything from Rosa Gigantea's close-up, but this time she felt her heart race.

"I won't talk about what I don't want to talk about, but if that's alright, I'm willing to tell you what happened."

"Why-"

"Because, if you two are the only ones that don't know, it's a bit unfair, don't you think?"

"…"

Leaving aside whether that reasoning was flawed or not, that Rosa Gigantea could say such a thing was incredible.

"Then was borrowing 'Forest of Thorns' just a way of keeping us here?"

"Of course not. After all, I did need to read 'Forest of Thorns' as soon as possible. Even if it's not true, rumors about me are spreading, so I needed to know why that was the case."

That said, the reason why she sent everyone else home was so remove any intrusions. If Sachiko-sama were here, she would have definitely stopped Yumi from asking about Rosa Gigantea's past. Given her actions the past few days, that much was clear.

"The reason why the second and third-year students won't explain anything is because they're worried about me. Last year, I was really severe about people touching on that subject, and they know about that."

I'm probably still not completely over it, said Rosa Gigantea. She understood how people were worried about her.

"I had a really good friend. More important than parents or siblings, and I liked her enough that I didn't need anything else."

Yumi remembered Sei and Kahori from "Forest of Thorns." The image fit perfectly with Rosa Gigantea, who mentioned they were similar.

"She was pure-hearted girl who intended to become a sister in the future. But she vanished last Christmas."

"Eh!?"

Yumi and Yoshino-san shouted at once.

"But that's the exact same!"

Having the same name was already astonishing, but the fact that the other person was also a sister, and vanished during Christmas. Was it possible to have this much overlap? Because not everyone experienced the same thing as Sei did.

But Rosa Gigantea did have a similar experience as "Forest of Thorns," after all. That was dreadful. Yumi understood why Sachiko-sama and others didn't want to touch on the subject.

"Not exactly. That's why it'd be troublesome if you took everything from that book and called it my truth. I never went on a journey with that friend, and there was no romantic experience like taking sleeping pills together."

And "Forest of Thorns" implied that Kahori didn't pass away, either, but Rosa Gigantea's friend ended up transferring.

"Then she's alive? Kahori-san."

"What, are you disappointed she's alive?"

Rosa Gigantea flicked Yumi's forehead with her index finger. Well, it was a good thing to find out she was still alive, but for a person who ended up crying over "Forest of Thorns," it was a bit of a let-down. –And that was because she hadn't fully gotten over the knowledge that Rosa Gigantea wasn't the writer or main character of "Forest of Thorns."

"And Yumi-chan, she's not Kahori. Her name was Kubo Shiori."

That sort of revision was another nail-in-the-coffin for the Rosa Gigantea being Sei theory.

But Yoshino-san was sharp.

"Rosa Gigantea, do you think someone used you as a model and wrote the novel?"

Yumi was so surprised she wasn't even thinking of that sort of possibility, but in retrospect, that sort of thing did seem possible.

"I don't know."

Rosa Gigantea laughed.

"Some places are drastically different, but some places frighteningly overlap."

But because it was an autobiographical novel, rather than an autobiography, it was possible the author employed some fictional aspects.

"Autobiographical novel."

That's a complex thing. "Autobiography" meant it was the writer's own life story, and "ical" made it "based on." And "novel" implied more of a "fictional" story. Autobiography, plus fictional, but that wasn't any more clear.

"But wait a second. This is supposed to be an autobiographical novel, so that would be wrong."

Yoshino-san realized something, and drew closer to Rosa Gigantea.

"Wha- what?"

Yumi interjected, trying to keep up.

"If someone used Rosa Gigantea as a model, it wouldn't be an autobiography anymore."

"Oh, yeah." If "Forest of Thorns" were written with Sei as Rosa Gigantea, then Suga Sei had to be Rosa Gigantea. But Rosa Gigantea completely refuted that. Then… then… then what?

"Well, a similar thing could have happened by chance."

Rosa Gigantea mumbled. But Yoshino-san pressed on.

"It could have been a lie, though."

"A lie." And they began talking back and forth, like a ping pong rally. Yumi couldn't slide herself into the conversation, so she just looked left and right and followed Yoshino-san and Rosa Gigantea.

"For a chance occurrence, the school was far too similar to Lillian Girls' Academy. One of our students had to have written it."

"But Yoshino-chan, publishers don't lie."

"But if the author said they wrote about themselves, the publisher would have to believe it, wouldn't they? This is Suga Sei's debut work, and she has no profiling, so she might simply be thinking there's no way she'd be caught."

"I see."

"'I see.' Aren't you frustrated? That someone wrote about you, then you got mistaken for the author, and then got called to the guidance office?"

"Not really. It wasn't the first time I went there."

"That's not what I'm saying."

Yoshino-san was getting angry in Rosa Gigantea's stead. Well, Yumi could sympathize. Rosa Gigantea was acting very apathetic.

"Even if someone were to, as Yoshino-chan said, have used me as a model and wrote a novel, it doesn't mean anything."

"What?"

"Do you want to sell the story to the newspaper club after catching Suga Sei? Or are you going to ask for royalties on the book as a reference fee?"

That's true, Yumi thought. It was already published, so there was no way to erase it from everyone's memory. Plus, if Rosa Gigantea acted, it'd just become an even bigger deal.

"I just can't stand the thought of Rosa Gigantea being hurt by this."

"But I'm not hurt at all? I mean, I was called to the guidance office, but they just asked me about it, and that was that. No problems."

"But-"

Yoshino-san stopped, at a loss for words.

Yumi could understand the speechless Yoshino-san's feelings. Yoshino-san was about to say Rosa Gigantea was clearly being hurt. Even if it were proven that there was no basis for the rumors, the past she'd buried had been dug up. To say she'd taken no damage would be a lie.

But she couldn't say that, Yoshino-san thought, so she stopped.

Rosa Gigantea's pride was the stance of "I don't care if you found out about my past."

"You know. I don't need everyone in the world to understand me. As long as people precious to me understand, that's enough. Understand?"

Rosa Gigantea slacked in her chair and spoke. Her legs, poking out from the pleats, were straight and white and cool.

"That's why I wanted Yumi-chan and Yoshino-chan to hear me. Because I didn't want you two to have the wrong idea."

"Rosa Gigantea…"

Her heart skipped. Because Rosa Gigantea just called them precious to her.

Rosa Gigantea said she didn't care about the outfield, but Yumi wondered if she simply wanted to drop the topic.

Of course.

A tragic past wasn't something you wanted to dwell on. Bereavement or transfer, Rosa Gigantea was hurt by the person vanishing to a place where they would never see each other again, so there was no difference there.

Other people have no way of understanding the weight in other peoples' hearts. After all, Rosa Gigantea probably needed that person more than anyone else.

She asked if anyone had questions, so Yumi raised her hand. If the question was taboo, she was confident Rosa Gigantea would simply say so.

"Your friend, what's she doing now?"

"I don't know… I wonder what she's doing."

Rosa Gigantea looked out the window. They hadn't met after splitting up, she mumbled.

"Do you want to see her?"

This time Yoshino-san asked. But the answer wasn't "I want to see her" or "I don't want to see her."

"I don't think we ought to meet."

Peoples' relationships weren't quite that simple, after all.

She didn't know what happened between Rosa Gigantea and that person, but it was clear Rosa Gigantea still liked her. She liked her, but she mustn't be with her. Yumi found out for the first time that such a relationship existed.

Rosa Gigantea's true character might be as violent as flames. Is what Yumi thought, all of a sudden. So she distanced herself from the person she loved, to spare her from being burnt.

Being able to see the person you like as much as you want was actually incredibly good fortune.

Yumi suddenly wanted to see Sachiko-sama.

Part 7.

"Yumi."

After she'd gotten off the last stop for her bus and had climbed the stairs to M Station, she heard a familiar, resounding voice from behind.

(Sachiko-sama…?)

Taking a step back, she looked around. But no matter how hard she tried to look, forget Sachiko-sama, she couldn't even see a single other girl wearing a Lillian uniform.

(Was I hearing things?)

Maybe she heard Sachiko-sama's voice in her head because she wanted to see her so much. What a simpleton I am, Yumi thought, as she returned her attention to the stairs.

"What are you doing, Yumi, I'm over here."

This time she heard it clearly. So she turned completely around and walked back a bit. Then, on the road beside the bus terminals, she noticed a black automobile was parked, and Sachiko-sama was waving her hand from a rear-seat window.

"What-what are you doing here, onee-sama?"

When Yumi fearfully crept toward the shining, obsidian car, the window Sachiko-sama was waving out of slid shut, and this time the door popped open.

"Uwah, uwah, uwah."

Yumi was excited because the door opened in fashion. –Not really, it was because Sachiko-sama was wearing a very unexpected type of clothing.

"I was waiting. Please, get in."

Sachiko-sama naturally ordered Yumi as she slid to the other end of the car. Her hair was meticulously braided, she wore a kimono, and she even had cosmetics done. She looked like an authentic princess.

"Please, hurry, it does feel cold."

She didn't have time to fret. Onee-sama's orders were absolute. Though she worried about dirtying the carpet with her shoes, Yumi boarded the car.

"Go."

When Sachiko-sama spoke that word to the man in the driver's seat, the car began gliding.

"Uh-umm…?"

"I'll take you home. When we get close, give us directions."

The driver presumably had been told the rough directions already, as he quickly began taking the shortest routes from the station. Using the underground passageways under the tracks, they left M Station. She had no idea. Different cars gave the passengers different levels of comfort.

"Why are you wearing a long-sleeved kimono? Ahh, onee-sama, you look so wonderful in a uniform, but you look astounding in a kimono, too!"

She became excited and bounced around a bit, but Sachiko-sama didn't scold her. With her back still straightened, she giggled.

"Actually, this isn't a long-sleeved kimono, but rather a visiting dress. A Japanese-style painter who's an acquaintance of my father had an exhibition today, and I was required to attend, so I had to leave Yumi behind."

But she was worried about Rosa Gigantea, so she returned after simply greeting the painter. If she was lucky, she'd be able to snag Yumi at M Station as she went home, so she was waiting. Good read.

That said, Sachiko-sama definitely was a lady in an upper-class household, she realized, yet again.

Her refined, indigo kimono with white and pink plum flower patterns was fastened with a silver obi with blue bird patterns. Even though she was 17, she exuded an aura of "I'm used to wearing kimono," so she was definitely different from normal people, who only really wore a kimono during shichi-go-san[[1] or New Years. Sachiko-sama probably wore a kimono often, and practiced serving tea and arranging flowers.

But a personal exhibition for Japanese paintings that required wearing a kimono? What kind of place would require that? Plus, it was a jet-black car you tended to see more on TV for the Imperial household, rather than something you often saw in town. A driver wearing a hat and white gloves. And at their feet, carpeting that she still couldn't figure out if it was dark-red or not.

"What did Rosa Gigantea want with you two?"

Sachiko-sama asked, bluntly. So Yumi didn't skirt the edges either, reporting to Sachiko-sama everything that had happened. After all, there was nothing to hide, and Rosa Gigantea had told them they were free to tell everything to their onee-sama. Of course, if she hadn't, Yoshino-san might have had trouble restraining herself, what with how intimate she was with Rei-sama.

"I see… so Rosa Gigantea told you two."

Sachiko-sama sighed heavily, like she was the one who let out the secret, and said, "She's strong."

"I was just a first-year then, and Rosa Gigantea was an en bouton who never really came to the Rose Mansion, so I wasn't very close to her. But I knew Rosa Gigantea was very close with Shiori-san, and I could infer what happened last year, around this time."

Yes. Rosa Gigantea's Kahori was named "Shiori."

"But I was so surprised at how much Rosa Gigantea changed her looks after Shiori-san transferred before the third semester."

"Changed her looks?"

"Yes. She'd cut most of her hair, she'd lost a great deal of weight, she was worn out, and she looked like a hollow puppet, so it was difficult to watch. Rosa Chinensis and the Rosa Gigantea then lent their hands, so she managed to stand back up on her own. And… yes. Shimako-san's had a big influence on her, too."

"But Rosa Gigantea doesn't say anything to Shimako-san, she said. They don't interfere with each other, or something-"

"Indeed."

That's why she couldn't beat Rosa Gigantea, Sachiko-sama laughed. Come to think of it, Sachiko-sama and Rosa Gigantea had fought over Shimako-san in the past.

"It doesn't matter to them what the other is doing or thinking. They're connected on a more essential level, so they don't bother with what's on the surface, in a way. So from that perspective, they're very unique sisters. Out of place from the normal expectation of an older sister training the little sister, it's like they exist on a different dimension altogether."

"An essential level…"

Because they were so deeply intertwined with their souls, they would never waver about how much the other means to them?

"Give nothing, seek nothing. If anything, I think it means as long as they exist, they're at peace. Of course, I've only recently begun to understand them."

After being rejected by Shimako-san, Sachiko-sama probably calmly observed the sisters. Not because she had any lingering affections, but because she genuinely wanted to understand them.

As Yumi listened to Sachiko-sama, she couldn't help but think of faith. "As long as they exist", it was like peoples' love for God.

The car that had been going straight ahead smoothly turned right at the intersection.

"I'm not envious, by any means. I'll acknowledge such a relationship exists, but I can't imagine being in one, myself."

Answering Yumi's worries, Sachiko-sama turned to Yumi, said "so it's alright to be imperfect," and touched Yumi's ribbons. Yumi, too, preferred the skinship that came with having herself straightened out.

And Sachiko-sama's blunt "I'm not envious" matched precisely with Yumi's own thoughts.

Maybe that sort of overlapping emotions was vital. Because they felt the same, they could be sisters, she and Sachiko-sama.

Affinity wasn't so much about whether they were alike, but rather whether they could create an atmosphere where both could feel comfortable, she thought.

They passed the bus she usually took, which was waiting at the bus stop, and took a left at the T junction. The expensive car drove past convenience stores and little fields spotting the residential area without paying any heed.

They'd come close to her home, so she gave directions such as take a right at that light, or take a left at that intersection, and they finally ended up at her home. She liked her home, which had been designed by her father's firm, as it was homely and looked nice, but she did lose a bit confidence, showing it to a super-rich lady.

"What a wonderful home."

Sachiko-sama's home was probably not visible from outside, being surrounded by an enormous garden. It probably had a big fence, and it was a Japanese-style garden with gardeners-. Ah, no good. She was making herself feel down, again.

"Well, I'll see you again at the closing ceremony."

Sachiko-sama didn't hesitate at all to say her farewells and depart. Well, they weren't in a heterosexual romance, so leaving with a kiss would have been strange, but a handshake didn't fit, either. Plus, that sort of Sachiko-sama wasn't right.

When Yumi told her she would call her mother to give thanks for being sent home, Sachiko-sama stopped Yumi, saying, "That's alright."

"Dressed this way, your family would be surprised. And there's a car waiting behind. Next time I'll properly greet them."

"Okay."

It was almost evening. Cars would use this road to avoid the traffic at the main street at this time.

"Thank you very much for taking me home."

"You're welcome. Gokigenyou."

"… Gokigenyou."

Yumi absent-mindedly thought, as watched the car drive away.

(Is Sachiko-sama busy every day?)

She felt a bit lonely. I'll see you again at the closing ceremony, meant she had no intention of meeting during the break.

Almost a week, and Yumi had nothing to do, so if she were given a phone-call, she would jump at any opportunity to meet. And if that wasn't possible, simply being able to talk would be splendid.

But she couldn't imagine Sachiko-sama calling her. But her calling Sachiko-sama was also a dreadful thing to imagine.

And that's how a week will pass, she sighed, depressed.

Yoshino-san would probably laugh and ask, "Why don't you just call her?" if she found out.

That's the sort of siblings we are, right now.

That made her feel better.

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