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Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume11 Chapter6 3

2013-03-31T02:54:35Z

70.79.68.105: /* Visitor. Part 3 */

===<noinclude>Visitor. </noinclude>Part 3===

"I've been awaiting your arrival, Cinderella."

Kashiwagi-san was posed exactly as Katsura-san had described, leaning against a red car.

Although there was some distance to the road, he was right in front of the school gate. Since this coincided with going home time, he and his beloved car stood out like a sore thumb.

"Quit messing around."

Youko-sama said somewhat coldly as Kashiwagi-san reverentially opened the rear door for her. Based on Youko-sama's tone, Yumi could tell that Sachiko-sama was in serious trouble, yet he still acted like it was a game. On top of that, Yumi wasn't Cinderella. She was Cinderella's mean Older Sister B.

"Uh-oh. Don't look so angry. For today I'm just a pitiful coach-driver mouse."

"You don't seem to know your part very well."

Youko-sama cynically raised an eyebrow. Kashiwagi-san raised both hands to shoulder level, in an "I surrender" pose.

"And your role today seems to be less the queen and more the witch. I couldn't possibly defy you."

"Why thank-you. Shall we go, Yumi-chan?"

Youko-sama smoothly rebuffed him and settled into one of the rear seats. Sadly, the coach-driver mouse holding the door open didn't receive a single word of gratitude.

"Umm. Are we going to be driving along mountain roads, by any chance?"

Yumi asked, just in case, before she got in the car.

"No, we're staying in the city. Why do you ask?"

"I've been told your driving makes people ill."

Touko-chan's advice. Yumi thought she'd never get to use it in her entire life, but the opportunity had come surprisingly quickly.

"Ahh, you're talking about that one time with Sacchan? Come to think of it, that was the day you rang, wasn't it?"

Kashiwagi-san had called Sachiko-sama, "Sacchan." Yumi really didn't like him addressing her like that.

"Hey, what are you two talking about? You could do that while we're driving, right?"

At Youko-sama's urging, Yumi hastily got into the car. A small cheer went up from the onlookers.

Kashiwagi-san also hurried into the driver's seat, then said to Youko-sama by way of explanation:

"I drove Sacchan up to the hospital once. That's what you were talking about, right Yumi-chan?"

He turned the key and the engine started.

"Sacchan got terrible car-sickness and swore she'd never ride with me again."

That hadn't really been what Yumi had been talking about, but there was no need to bring Touko-chan into the conversation, so she didn't say anything. More importantly, something he'd said had caught her attention.

"The hospital?"

The car took off smoothly. Indicating right, it entered traffic.

"Ah, the hospital with her grandmother, of course."

Kashiwagi-san said, shifting up a gear. Oh, the car wasn't an automatic.

"That day, I offered to take her because none of the Ogasawara cars were available, but Touko-chan pleaded with me to let her come too."

" … So that's what happened."

Sachiko-sama was visiting her grandmother in hospital that day. But Kashiwagi-san had said they went for a drive, so Yumi had been convinced that Sachiko-sama, Kashiwagi-san and Touko-chan had been out having fun together.

In that case, Sachiko-sama should have just told her from the start. That she couldn't go to the amusement park because her grandmother was in hospital. Yumi wouldn't have objected at all. And she wouldn't have foolishly become jealous of Touko-chan.

"It's Touko's grandfather's hospital."

"Ah – "

At the foot of a mountain, where the air is clear, like an old-fashioned hospital.

"Oh, you didn't know, Yumi-chan? Her grandmother was at that hospital for the last year or so. Sacchan would visit her about once a month. Although it looks like she's been visiting more frequently this last month. While her condition was a bit more precarious… Uh-oh."

Kashiwagi-san slammed on the brakes as he said this. The car in front had stopped for a red light, but he hadn't noticed until quite late.

"Excuse me, driver, please keep your eyes on the road at all times."

Youko-sama leaned forwards and scolded him.

"You know, in general, you talk too much."

"Huh?"

Kashiwagi-san turned to look back at them, but Youko-sama's glare said, "Don't look this way," which pushed his gaze reluctantly forwards. The lights went green and the car took off again. Next to Yumi, Youko-sama sighed.

"Sachiko told me not to say anything about her grandmother."

"Really? But she didn't tell me, so it shouldn't matter if I say something, right?"

"So naïve. Sachiko didn't say anything to you because she couldn't have imagined you coming into contact with Yumi-chan."

They turned a corner. They'd now entered a part of the city that was foreign to Yumi.

"But your grandmother – "

Yumi mumbled.

"Ah, grandmother Ogasawara died a long time ago. This is Sayako-sama's mother. It's not that strange that you wouldn't know her, since they didn't live together."

Kashiwagi-san joined in the conversation even when he was turning the steering wheel. They were still in the city, so he wasn't making any sudden speed changes or any rash overtaking maneuvers. For the time being, he was trying to drive safely. Even so, it was occasionally terrifying.

"So how is her grandmother now … ?"

[[Image:MM_v11_171.jpg|thumb]]

Yumi inquired, and Youko-sama instantly sunk into silence. Even Kashiwagi-san, who had been so talkative up until this point, looked as though he was searching for what to say as he gripped the steering wheel.

From that, Yumi could more or less infer what had happened.

The two silent people were both wearing similar dark outfits. On closer inspection, their clothes weren't made out of characteristic mourning dress textiles, but seeing them together they looked like a young couple on their way home from a funeral. On his own, Kashiwagi-san just looked unmistakeably like a night worker though.

"They had a private funeral today. Her wishes were for it to be family only. So neither I nor Kashiwagi-san attended. I went and offered my condolences to Sachiko and her parents this morning."

Kashiwagi-san was the son of Sachiko-sama's father's sister, so while he was Sachiko-sama's cousin, he wasn't related to Sayako-sama.

"If they hadn't shut out everyone but immediate family, it almost certainly would have turned into a major spectacle due to the Ogasawara group connections."

"Yeah, that's probably true."

Unusually, Youko-sama agreed with Kashiwagi-san's opinion. But when Kashiwagi-san happily smiled at her, he once again earned Youko-sama's scorn.

"I told you before, don't look this way!"

Up until March he had spearheaded Hanadera Academy's student council, but he certainly didn't look that way when matched against Youko-sama.

"You know, you Yamayurikai executive members are all such strong women. Intense, I guess you could say … Never kind to men."

"That's just because they're dealing with you."

" – So Youko-san says, but what on earth could she mean, Yumi-chan?"

"I think it's because even if they're hostile to you, you're not hurt or irritated by it."

Because he called upon her by name, Yumi said what she'd been thinking. But even though she thought she was sticking up for Kashiwagi-san, he seemed sincerely crestfallen, and not acting at all, as he slumped his shoulders.

"Is that because they don't look at me as a man?"

"Yeah."

"Say it clearly."

Yumi thought that way too. Because, honestly, even if they were hostile to him, he wasn't hurt or irritated by it.

"I thought you weren't particularly interested in girls, Kashiwagi-san?"

Despite being engaged to Sachiko-sama, he had sought same-sex romantic interests.

"No, I like girls."

Through the rear-view mirror, Kashiwagi-san smiled brilliantly at her. Maybe he didn't know that it wouldn't work.

"But you like boys better, right?"

"Ha ha ha. I'm no match for you, Yumi-chan."

Youko-sama listened to their conversation with her arms crossed. She seemed completely uninterested in what they were talking about, but it wasn't making her uncomfortable. Maybe she was using it to pass the time, like listening to the car radio.

Yumi wasn't bothered by it either. She had no interest whatsoever in Kashiwagi-san himself. If he started talking about resolving his engagement to Sachiko-sama, then she'd probably listen more intently. As long as Sachiko-sama wasn't involved, then he could get with whichever guys or girls he wanted to.

(Ah.)

No, there was one other thing that bothered her, so she decided to fire a warning shot, just in case.

"Don't you lay a finger on my little brother."

"…"

What was up with that silence?

"Don't tell me you've already done something!?"

Yumi leaned forwards from the back seat and shook Kashiwagi-san's shoulder. And when his shoulder shook, the hand on the wheel shook. Ruining Kashiwagi-san's driving ability.

"I haven't, I haven't. Just some light skinship."

"Light skinship … ?"

Well then, that was a dilemma. She didn't know how far Kashiwagi-san's definition of 'light' extended. But she wasn't inclined to dig any deeper. While they were siblings, there was still the issue of intruding on Yuuki's privacy. Or, more accurately, she just didn't want to imagine it. A love scene between Kashiwagi-san and Yuuki.

"Don't worry, it's alright. He's normal."

Yumi let go of his shoulder and Kashiwagi-san breathed a sigh of relief. Youko-sama, who had been silent up until then, threw in her two cents worth.

"But don't you try to draw the normal into your abnormal world?"

"That sort of thing is amusing. But I just like seeing Yuuki when he's hostile."

Kashiwagi-san played the pervert spectacularly.

"What on earth could you possibly see in Yuuki?"

Yumi asked, and as he indicated right Kashiwagi-san said, "Let's see." Then, as though speaking to himself, he said:

"The Ogasawara bloodline probably has a latent weakness for the Fukuzawa-siblings type."

Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume11 Chapter6 2

2013-03-31T02:53:39Z

70.79.68.105: /* Visitor. Part 2 */

===<noinclude>Visitor. </noinclude>Part 2===

About a dozen people had gathered in front of the staff room.

"Ah."

Yoshino-san spotted Yumi and raised her arm.

Just like the other times, students other than the one called had spontaneously gathered at the designated location.

Taking a rough survey of the people in front of her, there was Rei-sama, Shimako-san and Noriko-chan. They'd probably hurried over when they heard "Fukuzawa Yumi" called. It felt like they'd all dropped everything to come here.

As she looked at each of their faces, Yumi thought, "They're good friends alright."

Touko-chan was nowhere to be seen. Although Yumi hadn't really expected Touko-chan to be worried about her. Still, she was a bit disappointed by her absence. Well, it was after school on Saturday, so perhaps Touko-chan had gone home already. Even if she was still on campus, it was possible that she was somewhere where she couldn't hear the announcement – .

Setting that aside for now.

Yumi had no idea whatsoever why she had been called here, and while she was still trying to figure out what sort of expression she should have, a group of students encamped near the door to the staffroom made their way over to her. The mood wasn't right for a greeting of "Gokigenyou," so they simply bowed to their target.

( … Thanks for everything.)

The newspaper club's Mami-san and the photography club's Tsutako-san could always sniff out when something was happening, and as expected they had both gathered here.

The rest were probably just curious onlookers. They had their backs to her, so they hadn't noticed that Yumi had arrived, clumped together in a circle like a dumpling.

"It's Yumi-san."

One of them noticed her and whispered to the others, and the dumpling fell apart in the twinkling of an eye. Like the blossoming of a flower bud, a single young lady appeared in the center. That person was –

"Rosa Chinensis!?"

"Gokigenyou, Yumi-chan. It's been a while."

She was wearing a dark suit that blended in with the Lillian's school uniforms, so Yumi hadn't noticed someone in street clothes mixed in among the group. It was indeed Rosa Chinensis. Well, more accurately, it was the former Rosa Chinensis, Mizuno Youko-sama, magnificently taking center stage like "The Birth of Venus," as she turned to Yumi and smiled.

"Wh-what on earth brings you here!?"

Yumi rushed over to her. Youko-sama slowly moved forwards to meet Yumi. Youko-sama really felt like an adult, perhaps due to her light makeup. It seemed unbelievable that until just three months ago they had worn the same school uniform.

Her muted matte pink lipstick coated lips informed Yumi:

"I came to see you. I'd like you to come with me."

"Huh? But I was called to – "

Yumi pointed at the staff room right beside her, and Youko-sama smiled wryly.

"Took you a while. I was the one that asked the teacher to do that. It seemed the quickest way to catch you."

"Wh-wh"

"Why? Because I'm in a race against time."

[[Image:MM_v11_159.jpg|thumb]]

Youko-sama spoke quickly.

"Hey, Yumi-chan, if you could help Sachiko-sama, would you?"

"Yes."

Yumi didn't know what was going on, but to the question of whether she would help Sachiko-sama, the answer was always an unconditional yes.

"Then come with me."

Youko-sama took Yumi by the hand, opened the door to the staffroom and informed them:

"Teacher, Fukuzawa-san's here, thanks for all your help."

"Okay."

One of the teachers called back from inside. Apparently she'd made full use of her status as a former pupil and Rosa Chinensis to convince the supervisor and broadcasting club to summon Yumi. That was the ever-practical Youko-sama.

"Here, Yumi-san."

They set off walking down the corridor and Yoshino-san popped out in front of them and held out a schoolbag.

"Youko-sama said she was taking you away, so I rushed back to the classroom and got it."

It was indeed Yumi's schoolbag.

"Thank-you."

As she took the schoolbag, Yoshino-san gave Yumi's hands a quick squeeze.

"Good luck. Tell me all about it later."

"Okay."

It felt like Yoshino-san's power flowed into Yumi's body.

Yumi didn't know where Youko-sama was taking her, but it was to help Sachiko-sama, so she gladly went. If her hard work could help Sachiko-sama, then she'd work as hard as she could.

"Youko-sama, come and visit us again sometime."

"Next time, stay a little while longer."

The students that had previously been surrounding Youko-sama reluctantly waved and said their goodbyes. Yumi felt like she'd seen them somewhere before, so perhaps they were the former Rosa Chinensis' fan club, enthusiastic devotees of Mizuno Youko-sama.

Youko-sama looked back over her shoulder and waved briefly in response. But that was all. There were no lingering farewells, as soon as she took hold of Yumi's hand she moved quickly to leave the staffroom behind.

Youko-sama was silent as they descended the stairs and walked along the first-floor hallway. She kept walking, not saying anything about where they were going or why Sachiko-sama needed Yumi's help.

Even when they split up, Yumi going to her shoe box and Youko-sama going towards the visitor entrance, all she said was, "Well, I'll wait for you outside." She didn't seem angry, but she wasn't the usual brimming-with-confidence Youko-sama that Yumi knew.

When they rejoined in front of the visitor entrance, Youko-sama said nothing and started walking quickly.

Yumi felt like she'd only seen Youko-sama's face from diagonally behind for a while now. Perhaps it was due to the angle, but her expression looked quite stern.

"Umm."

Unable to endure the lengthy silence any further, Yumi started speaking.

"What?"

Youko-sama didn't stop walking, instead turning only her head as she questioned Yumi. Seeing her eyes for the first time in a while, Yumi bowed her head deeper than before.

"I'm sorry."

"What on earth for?"

As expected of Youko-sama, she stopped on a dime, turned and asked the question.

"You told me to take care of Sachiko-sama, and I – "

"Ah."

Should that response from Youko-sama be taken to mean that she knew the current state of affairs between Yumi and Sachiko-sama, or was there a certain amount of conjecture involved? Maybe she hadn't understood everything.

"I'm sure Sachiko's at fault."

Youko-sama said curtly as she resumed walking.

"But."

Yumi followed after her.

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't some grandiose commandment. If two people are only joined together because someone else tells them to, it will never work out. Things fall apart when it's their time to. I say that intentionally too."

Things fall apart when it's their time to. The impact of those words reverberated around Yumi's heart.

"So even if we say that you ran out of patience with Sachiko, I think that was unavoidable. But right now, I want you to come with me. And I want you to help Sachiko."

Youko-sama ran her hand through her short hair and smiled thinly.

"Even after graduation, I'll probably be her big sister for the rest of my life. That's why I've become used to doing such foolish things for her. Entering my alma mater, using the PA system for personal reasons, and now forcing a junior to accompany me."

"Ah."

Yumi had finally hit upon something.

"Don't tell me Kashiwagi-san too … !"

There was no need to hear her response. Youko-sama had dragged Kashiwagi-san into this. Even though he wasn't romantically interested in Sachiko-sama, Kashiwagi-san probably cared for her deeply, so would have happily lent a hand to help Sachiko-sama.

"What happened?"

Sachiko-sama must be in dire straits to force Youko-sama and Kashiwagi-san to take action. But Youko-sama wouldn't tell her anything. The only thing she said was:

"All I'll say is that, right now, you are the one thing that Sachiko needs most in this world."

When they reached the statue of Maria-sama, Youko-sama said to Yumi, "Go ahead and pray," then gave her a gentle nudge forwards.

"And you?"

"I'll pass for today. I prayed earlier today, elsewhere. Don't mind me, I'm just not in the mood."

"… ?"

Yumi didn't really understand, but knew they were in a rush, so she hurried over to the statue and prayed.

For Sachiko-sama to be saved.

She made the request not knowing why Sachiko-sama needed saving.

As always, Maria-sama said nothing and smiled.

But that was fine. Having her watching over them like that was enough to bring comfort to Yumi.

"I look displeased, don't I?"

Youko-sama asked, after Yumi had run back to her.

" … A little."

After she answered honestly, Yumi thought, "Ooops," but she couldn't take back the words she'd said. However, Youko-sama smiled.

"It's okay. I am displeased. It annoys me that I couldn't do anything for Sachiko, despite how much I care for her. Like I was nothing. I adore you Yumi-chan, but I'm also feeling a little bit jealous … it's complicated."

"Jealous?"

"Right. You're a big-shot. And I'm jealous of that."

In contrast to her words, Youko-sama gently embraced Yumi's shoulder as they walked together.

"Yumi-chan, do you love Sachiko?"

"I do."

"Okay. That's good."

Somehow, it felt like she'd had that same conversation with someone else recently.