Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume20 Chapter5 (section)

===Part 2.===

While being a standby player in back for the match, Yoshino-san quietly sighed,
"Fuu." Basically a standby player amounted to doing little to nothing. If she wanted to participate and represent her school, she had to be a rank-holding member. And as such, she would have had bout-experience. She would be accustomed to this sort of thing. At which point, she could easily put on her own hakama and protector. So she understood that with these girls, if she tried to lend a hand, rather than helping out, she'd be told she was, "in the way." The way a mood builds before a match: it reflects the pace of the participants. Until they ask for your help, there's nothing you can do, seems to be the right approach.

In other words, watching the match and guarding their luggage was Yoshino's primary task for today. However, Rei-chan had said, "Yoshino should come to the assembly hall. There's great significance in seeing the match up-close." Was it that only when Yoshino was nearby, could Rei-chan put her strength in context? If that was what was meant by significance, she was honestly delighted. But how is "observing the match" practice? Earnestly watching another person's match: she had definitely called this practice. Especially watching the high school intramural match is practice, given that normally you can't observe another school's style. Therefore this is an ideal opportunity. By all means, she should burn this into her memory. She should absorb anything she could.

She hadn't said any of this, but it was understood. Yoshino's hobby was spectator sports. No matter what game it is, watching it raw from up close is the greatest happiness, to say nothing of giving her whole attention to Kendo.

(And yet... it's no good.)

Right before her eyes there was Lillian's second guard, even brandishing a shinai [[Talk:Maria-sama_ga_Miteru:Volume20_Chapter4|*]] ...Yoshino was not able to concentrate at all. Next to her, sitting in the stands was Tanuma Chisato. She was bent forward in curiosity, almost to the point of falling over cheering them on.

After this was over, she would have to meet Eriko-sama. Was it possible that Eriko-sama might have completely forgotten their arrangement? By chance, had she memorized the day of the high school exchange match for their meeting by mistake? Yet, such fragile wishful thinking was shattered the moment she spotted that lovely figure seated in the assembly hall guest seating.

That's right. That person doesn't give up her little amusements quite so easily. There is no way she had remembered incorrectly. When Eriko-sama finished watching Rei-chan's match, she stood up and slowly and left the hall. She too was performing a kind of standby. The group of girls from the Lillian Kendo Club were leaving the assembly hall, so she followed. But just then, Rei-chan called out. So the moment she started passing through the entryway, she stopped.

"That reminds me," Rei said as she recalled something. "Why hasn't Yoshino-chan chosen a little sister?" (Ah.) That detail had stayed with her throughout. When she thought that in the not so distant future, that reality would actually occur, ...it would be really impossible to concentrate on a match. (Oh brother.)

When she comes to realize that Yoshino doesn't have a little sister yet, Eriko-sama would have a triumphant face. Even just imaging it made her angry. She understood it was unwise to choose a little sister recklessly. However, since Eriko-sama was a former rival, it was not in her nature to lose face by begging forgiveness and saying, "I'm sorry."

(Speaking of which, who won the Vanguard [[Talk:Maria-sama_ga_Miteru:Volume20_Chapter4|*]] I can't even remember that. "Chisato-san. This is still just the prelims, right?" She asked since she was suddenly worried.

"Right..."

Her face must have seemed very odd. As expected. She was relieved that her memory was not totally bombed out. Settle down. The opponent's school name was written on their loin guards: the character's written there were "Takarazawa." Certainly, last year that school had not participated.

Last year.

It hadn't been possible for her to come to the high school exchange tournament last year... because that day she had had surgery on her heart. Before the surgery, she couldn't have imagined that she would be able to watch Rei-chan's match as a member of the Kendo Club only one year later.

She had no idea Eriko-sama would be so persistently malicious after graduation. (But, well. She had been able to oppose her. It was evidence that her health had become robust.) Opposition? At this point, Yoshino thought such opposition had become hopeless. After today, how could she continue to fight? If it came to this, should she thrust out a captured Lillian student and call her "my little sister?" Or, could the excuse be that her little sister couldn't come today because it would complicate her cold? But what if she thought it was a feigned illness?

"It's over."

"Huh?"

"The Vanguard won the match, but the Second-Vanguard lost. The Center won, the Second-in-Command won and the Captain won [[Talk:Maria-sama_ga_Miteru:Volume20_Chapter4|*]]. So, we passed the prelims," Tanuma Chisato told me and she seemed amazed. "Hey, wake up. Apart from the winning move, it's not possible to call each of these a victory or defeat. I'm discouraged by Rei-sama."

"Thank you, I'm indebted to you." A victory, a defeat, a victory, a victory and a victory. All right, I can remember that.

The place where Rei-chan decided to put her mask, she thought she'd seen it. Since after the match she really couldn't remember, it was painful. When she didn't take the time to read the final scores for Lillian, it was starting to feel really awkward. The results were, for the most part, what she expected: Lillian Girl's School and Ohnaka Girl's High won and were able to advance. (You bet your ass they did!)

The second and third daughters of the three Tanaka sisters of Ohnaka. Since the second daughter appeared to be the captain, she was arranged to strike at Rei-chan (baring the fangs of their fighting spirit).

Last year it was decided that Rei-chan had defeated her real older sister in the last seconds. So, doesn't this seem like it would be revenge? Even the three Centers were burning up in revenge. Yoshino also felt burned up and wanted to return the favor. The Tanaka sisters also weren't players in this: it seemed the bottom ranks didn't count. It hadn't been quite possible notice-somehow she'd been seriously stricken. When the match was over, she would tidy things up and run away from this place, Yoshino decided.

After running away, she had only to think things through. Could she play hide-and-seek from Eriko-sama until she gave up and went home? On the way out, could she persuade a first year Lillian student to pretend to be her little sister? She decided to cross that bridge when she came to it. Having tentatively decided this, from then on it seemed she was somehow able to watch the rest of the match.

The final match to determine the winner between Ohnaka Girl's High School and Lillian Girl's Academy was finally starting. Rei-chan's triumphant win, she must properly burn it into her memory.