Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume3 Chapter5 2 (section)

===<noinclude>Springtime Buds. </noinclude>Part 2.===

I'm more famous than I thought.

Shiori knew about me from the Yamayurikai-sponsored first-year welcoming ceremony.  I do remember being forced by my onee-sama, Rosa Gigantea, to help out, but it wasn't fun, but I wasn't allowed to escape, so I also remember just sitting there.

If I'd paid attention, could I have found Shiori from the crowd?

The answer is yes, of course.  No matter how many people there are, there was only one Shiori, and she would look unique, separate from the rest.

"Kubo Shiori?"

Mizuno Youko looked surprised.

"Wha, what?"

"… No, it's the first time you've ever said someone else's name, so I was surprised, that's all."

After school, I'd stopped by the Rose Mansion for the first time in forever, and this was the response I got.  Youko, an honor student and a very caring person, finished reading some documents and then said, "So?"

"Nothing.  I ran into a first-year named that this morning, that's all.  I found out she's in the same class as your sœur, so I wondered if you'd heard any rumors or something."

"Sachiko's class…?"

She didn't seem to remember.  I thought maybe there'd be information floating around, because of how strong of an impression she left, but that wasn't the case.

"If you don't know, whatever."

I'd begun to leave, when Youko grabbed my arm.

"Since you've come this way, just stay for a bit.  I'd wanted to point out before that you don't seem to understand your position as a bouton."

But Youko's here, fully aware, so it shouldn't be a problem if I'm gone.  Is what I thought, anyways.

"I didn't become a bouton because I wanted to."

"But you accepted it, by becoming Rosa Gigantea's sister, did you not?"

"She wasn't Rosa Gigantea then."

"What a quibble.  My head hurts just thinking about next year."

Youko put a hand to her head and sighed.

Of course.  Because other than herself, none of the bouton were dependable.

Rosa Foetida en bouton Eriko does what she's supposed to, but she always looks bored.  And I happily skip.  When the three of us lose the "en bouton" from our names, the Yamayurikai may seriously collapse.

But that's alright.  Because my head hurts thinking about next year, too.

"Anyways, stay a bit, at least until someone else comes."

Youko wouldn't let go of my arm.

"Even if I get away, it's not your responsibility."

"But I still don't want to have let you get away, when I was by myself."

"Mmm."

I sat down in a chair.  Not necessarily for Youko, but because just standing was getting tiresome.  Either way, Youko said "thank you," and looked through documents again.

After about five minutes, I could hear the creaking sound of someone climbing the stairs.

"Oh wow, what a rarity."

My onee-sama, Rosa Gigantea, arrived with Youko's sister, Ogasawara Sachiko.

That was a rare combination, too.  When she got to the door, onee-sama held out Sachiko like a newfound doll.

"We ran into each other in the hallway, so we came here together.  Sachiko-chan's like a cute Japanese doll, so I can't help wanting to be with her."

As onee-sama said, Sachiko was undoubtedly beautiful.  I knew about her from before high school, because she was a year under me.  Of course, knowing about her simply meant I'd seen her once, as I'd never bothered to meet her.

In her case, she was a famous figure in school because of her appearance and her stature as a young woman of a rich family.  When Youko made Sachiko her sister, I thought, why would she bother with such a pain-in-the-ass person?  But it was obviously because if Youko didn't do it, no one else would have had the courage to do it.

"I'm sorry to show up with a Western face, onee-sama."

"Oh, are you sulking?  Oh you fool, Sei's face is Sei's face, I picked you because of your face, after all."

"Sorry, and thanks."

I felt satisfied.  I loved hearing "I picked you because of your face" from my onee-sama.  People can't see who you are on the inside, so when they praise you on your outside, it's a lot more persuasive.

"Sit down."

As Sachiko sat down next to Youko, I moved myself to the seat next to onee-sama.  I don't like an intimate atmosphere, but I didn't dislike the Rose Mansion.  Maybe she knew it, because onee-sama never told me to show up at meetings or tea parties.  In my case, I'd show up if I wanted, and I'd not show up if I didn't.  So she knew it would be a waste of breath.

Yes.  Onee-sama has always been good at handling me.

When I entered high school, I received a lot of sœur proposals, but I turned them all down.  I just wanted to be left alone, but everyone kept clamoring, why don't you pick an onee-sama.  When I began thinking that was becoming extremely annoying, Rosa Gigantea en bouton showed up.

She said she liked my face.  I want to keep seeing your face, so be by my side.  And with that, I decided to be her sister.

Having been told why I'd been liked, I felt a lot more at ease.

That's why sometimes I showed up at the Rose Mansion and sat down, for her sake.  I didn't like meetings, but I just needed to sit there and pretend I was listening.

Using Youko and Sachiko and onee-sama's voices and giggles as a BGM, I silently sang "Maria-sama's soul."  As for why I decided to sing that, it was because it's the first song that flowed through my head.  As long as it was a song I knew, I wouldn't have minded a modern Japanese ballad, either.

I wasn't fond of conversing with girls my age.  That's why I spent time during recess reading novels.  I knew I was an enigma in my class.

Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida arrived, so the meeting began.  "Maria-sama's soul" ended with nice timing, so I began thinking about the girl I met in the sanctuary that morning, instead.

Kubo Shiori.

As Youko said, I thought it was surprising I became interested in someone else.

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