Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume9 Chapter3

Maria and Maitreya

Part 1.

"The Maria Ceremony?"

"Right, the Maria Ceremony."

Touko-san nodded, her left and right ringlet curls bouncing like springs.

"Noriko-san, you're not that well acquainted with the events at Lillian's Girls Academy, are you?"

"Not at all acquainted would be close to the truth."

Noriko looked up from the paperback she was reading. Then Touko-san said, "That's for sure," and cheekily sat down at the desk in front of her.

It was recess. The seat's owner had fortunately stepped outside.

"I've made up my mind. I'll help you out until you've become accustomed to this school, Noriko-san."

"Huh."

"So as my first task, I shall explain about the Maria ceremony that will take place two weeks hence."

Before Noriko could turn her down with, "It's alright, you don't have to," Touko-san had snatched away her paperback, put the bookmark in place, then set it down in a corner of the desk. Quite presumptuous of her.

(Oh boy.)

As someone who came into the school via the entrance exam, Noriko's classmates had been offering her their assistance since the start of the school year. She'd taken to reading as a counter to this, but it looked to be completely ineffective.

Suspicious as she was, she thought that the offers were made with the best intentions. On the other hand, if this was what passed for harassment here then she could handle it.

"Alright. Please explain it to me then."

With the shield of her book taken from her, Noriko had no choice but to engage in conversation. She'd let a sigh slip in with her words, and Touko-san's cheeks puffed up.

"Noriko-san, that troubled face is hurtful. Especially since Touko's thinking about you."

"I didn't ask you to think about me, so you can stop … huh!?"

Noriko recoiled. Why was the girl in front of her pouting and getting teary eyed?

"H-hold on a minute."

In truth, she was incredibly flustered.

Noriko had been tossed around in the stormy seas of peer interaction during her time at a co-ed public middle-school, but not once had she encountered a situation like this. It was unthinkable that she would make a girl cry.

"Crying at school, isn't that something that stops in elementary school?"

"Who ever decided that?"

Touko-san mumbled as she quietly sobbed, hiding her face with her hands.

"If I want to cry, and I've done all I can to endure it, why shouldn't I cry?"

"Well, that's true but – "

Crying in a place like this, she'd be publicly humiliated. Noriko stood up, put her arm around Touko-san's shoulder and walked her out to the hallway.

They went out the emergency exit and Noriko spread out a handkerchief on the steel staircase and sat Touko-san down on it.

"That's the only handkerchief I have."

Touko-san nodded at her words, then took a floral handkerchief out of her own pocket and dried her tears with it.

"Why would something like that make you cry … "

Even as she was amazed, Noriko was a little bit jealous. It was proof that Touko-san could show her emotions, whether laughing or crying, without worrying about other people's opinions.

She was probably a darling little girl. That's what Noriko thought. Now that she was thinking about it, Noriko couldn't remember the last time she cried.

"I'm sorry I made you cry."

Noriko gently put her hand on the shoulder of the sniffling girl.

"No, it's Touko's fault."

"You were going to tell me about the Maria Ceremony?"

At which point Touko-san's expression suddenly brightened. This girl was a crow, huh. Not just from the color of her uniform, but the way she'd been crying – that's the sort of person she was.

"So about the Maria Ceremony."

According to Touko-san:

The Maria Ceremony was held in the middle of May and was peculiar to Lillian's, so it didn't seem to be a standard event for devout Catholics. Touko-san, who had been at Lillian's since kindergarten, was of the opinion that the celebration of the Holy Mother was timed to coincide with Mother's Day.

"Even though I called it a celebration, there's no stalls or anything like that."

"Aha."

"But we decorate the school's statues of Maria-sama with flowers. And there's no classes, instead we have mass."

Touko-san happily counted on her fingers as she continued to explain. How everyone tried to catch a glimpse of the kindergarteners as they paraded to the high-school building dressed up as angels. Well, even someone as ignorant of Catholicism as Noriko could easily see how that would be a charming sight.

"Plus there's something for us first-year high-school students to look forward to after the mass. The onee-samas of the student council hold a ceremony to welcome the first-years."

"A welcoming ceremony?"

"The Yamayurikai welcome us as their new younger sisters."

"… The Yamayurikai."

"Come on, you can't have forgotten that, Noriko-san. It's the name of the high-school student council."

It felt like she may have heard that before, at the entrance ceremony or on the second day of school. But since more than half of the first-years had come through Lillian's middle-school, the explanation probably would have been covered quickly. And since Noriko wasn't all that interested in school life even though she came from another school, she shared that view.

Still, just the mass was depressing enough, but then there was another event after it.

"I'd rather have classes … "

The words slipped out of her mouth.

"Again you say something outrageous, Noriko-san. Ah, if the rumors are true – "

Touko-san leaned over the edge of the emergency staircase and looked down. Noriko followed her gaze to where a group of students were walking through the courtyard towards the school building.

"They're the Yamayurikai executive members. From the front, it's Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Foetida and finally Rosa Gigantea."

"Rosa … "

"Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Foetida, Rosa Gigantea."

Those tongue-twisters were apparently the traditional names given to the members of the high-school student council leaders. Red paper roll, blue paper roll, yellow paper roll – there were some unfathomable things at girls' schools.

"They've been doing Yamayurikai work during the lunch break."

The girl with the ringlet curls seemed to be in such rapt adoration that she probably wouldn't have noticed Noriko's surprise.

(That's … !)

Noriko's gaze was fixed on the student walking third in line.

The person that Touko-san had called Rosa Gigantea was the Maria-sama that had been standing beneath the cherry tree.

Part 2.

Just before noon on the following Sunday, Noriko was aboard a train headed to District H.

She closed her eyes, her body nestled in a gently swaying seat. While there were some tourists, the outbound trains were largely deserted, so no-one had to stand.

The sunlight streaming through the window gently warmed the shoulders of her cardigan. As Noriko sunk most of her money into her hobby, she didn't have a large wardrobe to choose from. Consequently, her standard outfit of late was a red checkered dress that had been bought for her last year and a plain cardigan.

Click, clack. Click, clack.

She had brought a book to read, but she didn't feel like keeping her eyes open. Even if she forced herself to turn the pages, there was no way the words would penetrate her head. It wouldn't be all that different to reading a book written in Spanish or Chinese.

Click, clack. Click, clack.

Even with her eyes closed, she could tell she was getting closer to the countryside. There was probably a mountain not that far away. It could have been the smell telling her this, or the air temperature, or maybe it was simply speculation with nothing at all to back it up. From the changes in sunlight, she felt as though she'd passed through a number of woods.

She got up from her seat when the train announcer indicated they were arriving at her destination.

Noriko was definitely close to Shouguu Temple.

"A cheeseburger meal, please. Oolong tea for the drink."

Noriko stuffed her face with a hamburger at a fast food restaurant near the train station. Looking at her watch, it was just past noon.

She could see the bus terminal through the glass front of the store. That was where she'd catch a bus. But since it would be rude to visit at lunch time, Noriko decided to rest here for a little while longer.

Now that she had a chance to relax, she suddenly found herself getting excited.

(I'm going to see a Yuukai Maitreya … !)

She'd found it hard to get to sleep last night, a bit like she was going to meet a pop idol. She'd exchanged a couple of emails with Takuya-kun before the big day arrived. Since his broken leg was nowhere near completely healed, he was unable to indulge in his hobby of visiting temples, but at least by assisting Noriko he seemed to feel some slight connection to Buddhist statues.

Sumireko-san had teased her, saying that he fancied her, but it wasn't that kind of relationship. It was like being in one of those groups that were really into reenacting Edo period society. They had similar tastes.

(But.)

His groundwork was usually good, and it looked as though his preparations were still fine despite the injury.

Takuya-kun hadn't just worked out the route for her, he'd also contacted Shouguu Temple and received permission for her to view the Buddhist statue, all before Noriko had done a thing. She really was completely indebted to him. It was great having someone that shared her hobby.

Since he'd done so much work for her, Yuukai's Maitreya must be absolutely incredible.

(Oh no.)

After a short reprieve, her excitement was building again.

The feeling had risen to the point where it was now like "finally arriving at the venue for the pop idol's concert."

(Calm down, calm down.)

She told herself, placing a hand over her heart. She'd lose everything if she got sick at this point. She would just die if she collapsed on the way to viewing a Buddhist statue. Even someone who could laugh off missing out on the entrance exams wouldn't be able to laugh at that.

"Huh … ?"

Noriko raised her head, suddenly realizing she'd just seen someone she knew walk past, on the other side of the fast food restaurant's glass storefront.

"That was … "

Noriko stood up and leaned forward, but she couldn't confirm what she'd seen.

"No, it couldn't have been."

Noriko sipped her remaining oolong tea. In the distance, they'd been wearing a plain kimono when she saw them from behind.

It must have been someone else. – Noriko sat down once again.

Running into her in a place like this. That sort of coincidence just didn't happen.

Return to Main Page

Back to Falling Cherry Blossoms / Exam Failure

Forward to Rosary or Juzu