Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume30 Chapter5 3 (section)

===<noinclude>What Kind of Groups? </noinclude>Part 3.===

"Why did things sour between you two?"

Sachiko-sama asked as they walked.

"…"

Yoshino-san's silence elicited a small smile.

"I don't mean to interfere in someone else's affairs, but I can't stop worrying about it. Maybe it's because graduation is getting closer and I'm starting to get nervous."

Yoshino thought that it was Rei-chan and herself, not Sachiko-sama, who were acting nervous.

"I won't bother you with what sparked it, since it was completely trivial. But neither of us were willing to back down. In other words, how to put this … it was stupidity."

"From Rei?"

"From both of us."

"I see."

It wasn't in her nature to be docile, but Yoshino understood the situation. After hearing that, Sachiko-sama would say nothing further. If Yoshino had stubbornly replied that it was Rei-chan's fault, then she would have received a lecture from Sachiko-sama about it.

"Still, that's not like Rei."

Sachiko-sama said, after thinking for a while.

"That's for sure."

Yoshino-san agreed, walking beside Sachiko-sama. Rei-chan was, fundamentally, a patient and tolerant person. Knowing this, Yoshino believed she could do whatever she wanted and Rei-chan would still forgive her. So, for Rei-chan, going on ahead after waiting for five minutes and trying to force an apology from Yoshino was not like her at all.

"I don't know what you think sparked all this, Yoshino-chan, but perhaps there's something more to it than you think."

"Something more?"

"The root cause of all this … It may be that Rei's displeased with something, but you haven't noticed it."

"Displeased, huh?"

About how she was acting like a spoiled brat right before Rei-chan's graduation? Or how she needed to be more self reliant? Nonetheless, Yoshino was fairly confident it wasn't something so abstract.

Sachiko-sama probably thought so too, for she offered the following example:

"Perhaps there's something she wants to talk to you about."

"You mean, like an apology?"

"I think it would be something else, don't you?"

Even without Sachiko-sama's response, Yoshino knew that her answer was wrong. After all, the apology came after the act. It's not like Rei-chan's heart had hardened because Yoshino rarely apologized.

(There's nothing Rei-chan wants to say to me, right?)

"Ah."

Suddenly, Rei-chan's words came back to her.

"Did you just remember something?"

"Yeah. But it's a bit, umm … "

It was a bit faint, but she'd caught it. Perhaps Rei-chan hadn't been looking for an apology on the bus. But something else. There was probably something else that Rei-chan had wanted to hear.

"By the way, what happened with Nana-chan?"

Nana. 

Hearing that keyword, the penny dropped.

"… That's it."

Sachiko-sama's eyes widened at Yoshino's utterance.

"Yoshino-chan. Are you saying that you didn't even tell Rei about what happened with Nana-chan?"

The 'didn't even tell Rei' part stung her ears.

"Yeah. I forgot."

It wasn't just Rei-chan – she hadn't said anything to Yumi-san or Shimako-san either. She'd just forgotten.

"And how about the phone call to Nana-chan? You did call her, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

Yoshino had taken care of that last night. That part she hadn't forgotten.

"But Nana had some things she had to do, so she said she wouldn't be able to make it. Of course it's possible she was just being polite … she's a bright kid, after all."

"Indeed."

"Whereas I'm really quite dim. It wasn't like I was intentionally keeping it from Rei-chan, but it still probably made her feel like she was being excluded."

Yoshino had been somewhat relieved that Nana-chan wasn't coming and, after a night's sleep, had forgotten all about it. Much like chickens that forget what they're doing after three steps. And then Yoshino got carried away with thinking about how she would hide under her bed covers and surprise Rei-chan.

"As long as you understand, you can change things."

"I'm going to talk to Rei-chan. Then I'm going to apologize."

"That's how a bright kid would handle it."

Sachiko-sama put her arm around Yoshino's shoulder as they walked along. When Sachiko-sama said, "Shall we return?" and altered their course, they happened across a rather unusual scene.

"Oh … Isn't that Yuuki-kun?"

"… Yeah."

The sight of a teenaged boy running at full pace while carrying three bags – one over each shoulder and one held in his left hand – and holding a jacket in his right hand was drawing considerable attention.

And not just from Yoshino and Sachiko-sama, other people walking along the path were turning to stare at him too.