Editing Maria-sama Ga Miteru:Volume17 Chapter 3 1 (section)

===<noinclude>A Leisurely Dialog </noinclude>Part 1===

She awoke before the wake-up call. The sound of rain filled her ears.

It was dark, due to either the weather or the curtains being closed. Or maybe it was still night, not yet morning. If she got up and walked over to the window, she would know right away. But both her eyelids and her body were heavy, and she was cozy, wrapped up in a blanket. Her nose was cold.

"Oh yeah, Yoshino-san!"

Finally remembering last night's events, Yumi instantly woke up. But looking over to the neighboring bed, there was nobody there. Just the vacant shape of a sleeping body left behind in the blankets.

"Ba . . . bathroom?"

The sheets were not warm. While feeling the empty space with her hand, Yumi was certain it had been a long time since the bed was vacated. At least five minutes or more.

"W-what. . . ?"

She began rapidly feeling worse; so much so that she might even throw up. It appears while this happened, Yumi slept like a log. She had stopped paying attention after falling asleep.

Her feet got tangled as she went to open the bathroom door. Then &mdash;

"!"

It was locked from inside.

"Yoshino-san!?"

Don't lock the bathroom door if you're in ill health.  They probably had such a rule in the Shimazu household.

"Yoshino-san! Are you okay!?"

She knocked on the door, hard. ''Bam Bam Bam''. No response. If she was in there, choking, with something blocking her throat, she wouldn't be able to get up and open the door. Last night, no matter how hard she begged, it would have been better to leave Yoshino-san in the hands of the teacher.

"What should I do?"

Just as she made up her mind to call for help and turned away from the door, Yumi noticed something. Through a gap in the curtains, she could barely see daylight.

(Huh?)

And yet, she could still hear the sound of rain. She could hear it coming from the bathroom.

"Yo-Yoshino-san?"

If she listened carefully, she could even make out something like humming mixed in with the rain sound.

No way.

Yumi stood in front of the door. Soon the rain sound stopped, and the door opened from the other side.

"Sorry, Yumi-san. Do you need to use the bathroom?"

". . ."

Yoshino-san appeared, wearing a bathrobe and her hair dripping wet. Yumi, her mouth gaping wide open, shook her head.

"No? Okay. Sorry, just let me dry my hair," said Yoshino-san, then returned behind the door.

Yumi just watched all this then crouched, head looking through her knees. Unbelievable. A few hours ago Yoshino-san seemed to be so ill, but now she had recovered and was taking a shower. If Yumi had looked at her watch, she would see that it was half-past six. For now, she returned to her bed, feeling hazy and unable to calm down.

(I was worried and burdened.)

But friendship isn't a burden, is it? That's what I said last night.

(She was awake 30 minutes earlier than planned.)

Yoshino-san's physical condition improved as though she had a blessing bestowed upon her at 17 years of age. But Yumi was just Fukuzawa Yumi, not a saint. If she were, it was probably unnecessary to attend Lillian to study Jesus' teachings.

"Ah, I feel refreshed. Thank you for waiting, Yumi-san."

Yoshino-san came out of the bathroom in good spirits. Yumi felt the need to say something.

"Just a minute."

Yoshino-san guessed what Yumi was going to say, and answered, "I told you that I'd get better if I slept with a cooled forehead, didn't I?"

"I heard that, but . . ."

But usually one would still worry after all that.

"Before my shower, I took your uniform from the bathroom and hung it in the closet, so that it didn't get all damp."

While saying this, Yoshino-san opened the curtains and turned on the TV. Naturally, the broadcaster was reading the news in fluent Italian.

While looking at the screen, Yoshino-san confided in Yumi, "You were worried. You are the only classmate I can show my weakness to."

If she's going to say such a killer line like that. . . . The only response is, "That's all right."

That's all right.

She got a taste of what it must feel like to be Rei-sama, manipulated by Yoshino-san.

Yumi turned from Yoshino-san to face the TV, and replied, "I really was worried."

Two minutes after the TV news said 7:00, the room phone rang.