Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume12 Chapter5 2 (section)

=== <noinclude> Searching in the Mist. </noinclude>Part 2 ===

Kikuyo Ayanokouji-sama came to visit Sachiko-sama shortly after 10am.

Kikuyo-sama was the same age as Touko-chan, and staying in her parents' villa about 500 meters down the road from the Ogasawara estate.

"Can you help me with my homework?"

With a thump, Kikuyo-sama dropped a stack of books, including an English translation of "The Tale of Genji" plus a couple of Japanese-English dictionaries and some B5 notebooks, on the terrace table.

"We have to translate the chapter "Young Murasaki" back into Japanese. It's tough because the English translation has changed some of the nuances slightly and we have to translate it back into modern Japanese."

A Japanese classic translated into English that they had to translate back into Japanese. Sure, different schools had different homework, but even so, this would surely be a shock to its original author, Murasaki Shikibu. 

"… Kikuyo-chan, homework is something you're supposed to do yourself."

Sachiko-sama put a bookmark in the book she had been reading and closed it. She'd already finished Dazai's "Tsugaru" and had moved on to Shakespeare.

"But you've always helped me out in the past. Every year, I look forward to studying with you, Sachiko-onee-sama. It's why I come to the villa. I'm not asking you to do it for me, I just want to do my homework by your side, so I can ask you questions if there's any parts I don't understand. Or, is it that – "

Kikuyo-sama shot a withering glance at Yumi.

"You don't care about me because you've got Yumi-sama this year?"

Yumi was thrown into confusion, since she had considered herself to be completely uninvolved in this matter. After all, the issue of whether or not Sachiko-sama would look over Kikuyo-sama's homework was just between them, and Yumi just happened to be in the same place.

"This has nothing to do with Yumi, though."

Sachiko-sama said, naturally. 

However, Kikuyo-sama lost her temper and said, "So that's what you think? You're too greedy, Yumi-sama."

"Huh!?"

"Day and night, you're monopolizing Sachiko-onee-sama. And yet I can't even get a tiny sliver of her time. It's just unfair."

"Kikuyo-chan."

"But it's true. You've never called me selfish before, or looked at me with such a scary face. You've changed, Sachiko-onee-sama. I just know it's because of Yumi-sama."

Kikuyo-sama flopped down onto the table, sobbing. Confronted by this sort of behavior, even Sachiko-sama had to give in and offer consolation, placing her hand on Kikuyo-sama's back and speaking tenderly, saying, "There there, don't cry." At which point Kikuyo-sama, with tears streaming down her cheeks, turned and pressed her face into Sachiko-sama's chest. Then she kept sobbing, crying, "Onee-sama," "Onee-sama," over and over. She just kept going on and on, like a cicada in a tree.

"I'll go and read upstairs."

Unable to stay there any longer, Yumi closed her book and stood up.

"Yumi … I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Yumi somehow managed to force out a smile in return, then she kept going into the hallway and up the stairs, as though she were running away.

Yumi didn't think she'd done anything wrong.

Even so, she understood that she was probably responsible for Kikuyo-sama's tears – just like Kikuyo-sama had said.

A newcomer had appeared, and become Sachiko-sama's petite soeur.

It was easy to imagine that those who had known Sachiko-sama before wouldn't be particularly pleased by that.

She'd been likened to Cinderella for some time after becoming Sachiko-sama's petite soeur.

However.

Now she was starting to wonder whether the Cinderella in the story had really lived happily ever after.

Wouldn't she feel out of place, leaving her home to go and live in the prince's palace? Wouldn't she long for her old life, that had gone up in a puff of smoke?

Returning to her room, she lay down on the bed. She only had about ten pages left in "Kokoro" but she didn't feel like opening the book.

She liked Sachiko-sama.

But them liking each other, just by itself, wasn't enough for her to be happy.

Just by being next to the person she liked, she was making someone else sad.

They were surrounded by lots of other people – that's what society was made of. Although, that wouldn't be the case if they were shipwrecked on some deserted island together.

Looking up at the ceiling, Yumi gently closed her eyelids.

Still, loving someone was a precious thing.

On the away team, Yumi became her own supporter and cheered herself on with a, "Keep at it."