Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume9 Chapter4 1

===<noinclude>Rosary or Juzu. </noinclude>Part 1.===

Monday.

Arriving at school slightly earlier than usual, Noriko went straight to that cherry tree. At the spot behind the auditorium.

She had a feeling that if she went there she would see Shimako-san. It felt like that was the only place they would meet.

"Gokigenyou."

They hadn't made any sort of arrangement, but there she was. Standing up from the tree trunk she had been leaning against, she quietly smiled at Noriko.

"I can't believe you're actually here … "

Noriko said without thinking. It was a miracle.

"Then why did you come?"

"Why – "

Pretty much all the cherry blossom petals had already fallen from the tree. It was a bit hard to use the excuse that she came here for cherry blossom viewing.

"I wanted to see you."

Noriko said what was in her heart.

"Me too."

Shimako-san said, looking right into Noriko's eyes. Silence descended upon them and Noriko tried with all her might to find what to say.

"Um … I've been thinking about it, and not saying anything isn't necessarily the same as telling a lie. On top of that, in your heart, you're a Christian, right Shimako-san? You can't do anything about the fact that you happened to be born into a family that runs a Buddhist temple. I don't think you're doing anything to betray God … sorry, I can't put it into words all that well."

Shimako-san had been quietly listening, but at last she spoke, looking straight at Noriko.

" … You put it into words wonderfully."

"Ah, um … "

Feeling embarrassed by being looked at, Noriko instinctively averted her eyes.

In truth, if she had been a statue of Buddha or Maria-sama and the eye contact was one-way traffic, how sublime would it have been to gaze upon her. But she was a real live human, and a peerless beauty at that, so it was a bit nerve-wracking. Even though they were both girls.

Noriko had panicked, thinking she had to say something. It would probably seem strange if she kept looking away and fidgeting.

(That's right.)

Noriko remembered she hadn't achieved her main goal, which was to persuade Shimako-san that she shouldn't quit school.

"I-I'm."

"Huh?"

"I'm a Buddhist statue enthusiast, but I'm still coming here."

What she'd blurted out may not have been all that sensible. But now that she'd started speaking she couldn't stop, and had no choice but to plow on ahead. 

"I went to Kyoto to see a Buddhist statue on the day before my entrance exam, but a huge snowstorm stopped the bullet-train and I couldn't return home, so I lost my chance at my first-choice school. I used the money put aside for entrance exams to my backup schools on the trip, so the only option I had left was to accept entry into Lillian's, when I'd only sat that exam for the sake of my great-aunt's pride."

Fuwaah.

Shimako-san's face suddenly grew very close. Just as Noriko thought this, she felt Shimako-san's arms entwined around her neck.

"Huh … !?"

It took a while for Noriko to realize she was being embraced.

"Thank-you. That's enough."

"Shimako-sa – "

"It's all right. I don't want to leave just yet. I was waiting here this morning because I wanted to tell you that."

"Really?"

Suddenly, all the strength drained from Noriko's body. So there was no need for her stupid speech, her self-important declaration.

"But."

Noriko pried herself away from Shimako-san and asked:

"Just now, you said "yet?""

She was just a little bit hung up on that.

"That's right. Things have returned to before I met you – to the way they were earlier. If it becomes public knowledge and that causes a problem, then I think I will have to leave this school after all."

"But Shimako-san, you like this school don't you?"

"Of course."

Shimako-san smiled fondly as she looked in the direction of the high-school building.

"I've come to like it more and more every day, even despite the troubles. Although that would have been unthinkable around this time last year."

"Then – "

"Even so, there's no point to coming here if it causes trouble for someone else. I can study Christianity anywhere, and follow the teachings of Jesus."

"Shimako-san … "

It was like she was chasing herself away. Shimako-san seemed somehow pitiable, and Noriko felt her chest tighten.

"You can't be more carefree, I suppose."

"Carefree?"

While Shimako-san looked perplexed, the bell for class rang.

"But I never thought I'd be able to have a conversation like this at school."

"I'll be there for you whenever you want someone to talk to."

So you don't have to worry all by yourself – Noriko swallowed this last sentence.

"Shall we go?"

Shimako-san walked half a step ahead.

Somehow, a miraculous relationship was born.