Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume24 Chapter5

First Year Camellia Class is Normal

Part 1

"Like – I – said."

Yoshino-san said, with a bit of bite.

"Even if you were spacing out during the information session, it's all written on the printout. You'd know if you read the series of events for the election. If you read it. Here!"

Lunch time in the Rose Mansion. Tapping on the document she held in her hand.

"Election Announcement, Candidate Registration … "

Feeling a bit like she was being pushed, Yumi read aloud the section indicated. She was better off going with the flow here.

"… Candidate Speeches, Election Day … that's all."

There was a reason that Yoshino-san's attack was focussed on Yumi alone. Shimako-san had answered Yoshino-san's questions properly, plus Yoshino-san already understood exactly what would be happening next. Even Noriko-chan, who wasn't directly involved in the election, seemed to know. Yumi was a potential candidate, so why was she so inattentive?

"Right. And today's the first day of candidate registration. So, let's go."

Yoshino-san had been on her feet the moment she put her lunch box back in the carry bag that Rei-sama had made for her.

"Go? Where?"

"What are you asking? To the Electoral Committee Office. Now you're going to ask me where that is, aren't you?"

" … It's next to the staff room."

"Wonderful. And what are we going to do there?"

"… Register as candidates?"

"Why was there a question mark at the end of that sentence? It's a statement about yourself. Yumi-san, you need to be more self-aware."

The printout was brought down on her head a couple of times. Yumi thought that in the past Yoshino-san would have held back more, but recently she'd been showing no restraint, like when she faced off against Rei-sama. But it was 3 pieces of A4 paper so it didn't hurt.

"But, you know."

Yumi said, fending off the printout.

"We don't have to register on the first day."

"Wha~t."

Yoshino-san opened her eyes wide with feigned surprise.

"Well, like, last year, Shimako-san cut it really really close, leaving it to the last hour."

Their gaze turned to Shimako-san, who smiled and said, "That's also an option." But she didn't seem to be doing that this year. She was getting ready to stand up and go with Yoshino-san to the Electoral Committee's office.

"Back then, Shimako-san hesitated because she had all sorts of doubts. So then, if I have some doubts – "

Shimako-san's doubts were due to her being a first-year, and wondering whether the second-year Rosa Canina would be more fitting, and other such internal conflicts. At the time, she was also keeping secret the fact that her family ran a temple.

"Well then, Yumi-san, can you tell us these doubts of yours that rival Shimako-san's?"

Yoshino-san pressed her for an answer, saying, "Come on, come on."

"Uh."

"Is the current Rosa Chinensis en bouton and second-year Yumi-san less fitting as a Rose than the mere first-year Touko-chan?"

"That's not what I said."

"Are you nervous because you're going to be leaving Lillian's in the near future?"

"No, that's not it either."

Yumi recoiled as she answered, then Yoshino-san grinned like she was pulling out her trump card.

"In the past you told me, Yumi-san, that we should be Roses. Have you forgotten that promise?"

"Huh? Wasn't it that we should be good friends, like the Roses?"

"Same thing."

Yumi thought that there was a little, no, a huge difference between being a Rose, and being a good friend like the Roses.

"Speaking of which, didn't you say that we'd be friends regardless of my title, Yoshino-san?"

"Did I say that?"

She had. It was during the rainy season, when Yumi's relationship with Sachiko-sama was strained and she was keeping her distance from the Rose Mansion.

But Yoshino-san was playing dumb because it was inconvenient to her. In truth, she should remember it.

"So, what? You're saying you're not interested in being a Rose, Yumi-san?"

Before Yumi could respond to this direct question, an answer came from the side.

"That's not true, Yoshino-san."

Shimako-san said decisively, having remained silent until now.

"Some time ago, Yumi-san told me that she wanted to lead the Yamayurikai with me as a third-year, and that she wanted to be a Rose."

The sole statement of a taciturn person held more persuasive power than the words of a chatterbox.

"Right?"

Yumi nodded without thinking, and when she said, "Let's go then," Yumi allowed her hand to be taken and to be led out.

Was "bewildering" the right word to use to describe this situation? Watching them leave from the doorway, Noriko-chan mumbled, "Incredible, Shimako-san."

Part 2

"What's weighing you down like that?"

During cleaning, as she was wiping the blackboard with a cloth, Tsutako-san called out to her from behind.

"You can tell?"

"I can. I've been watching you since first-year, Yumi-san. Do you really think you can fool my eyes?"

They were in the same cleaning group and Tsutako-san had come over to help – apparently finished moving the desks and chairs back to their original position from where they'd been stacked off to the side. That said, Yumi was pretty much finished too.

"I was told off by Yoshino-san."

Yumi rinsed her cleaning cloth in the bucket and wrung it tightly. A quick check of the other cleaning cloths showed they had all been rinsed, so she picked up the bucket of dirty water.

"Oh, why was that?"

Tsutako-san walked with her. It would have been dangerous to have two people carry a bucket full of water, so she'd declined Tsutako-san's offer of help, but Tsutako-san followed her anyway. Perhaps at a loose end, Tsutako-san pulled a miniature camera out of her pocket and held it in one hand, occasionally pointing it at Yumi.

"At lunch time, we went to register as candidates in the election, but we were a bit slow to get going and Touko-chan got in first."

"I see."

"She said it was my fault we got a late start."

And looked incredibly angry when she said it too.

"My goodness. But the order in which you register doesn't determine the order you finish in the election."

Tsutako-san cackled.

"That's what Shimako-san said too."

For the record, Shimako-san was second, Yoshino-san third, and Yumi fourth to register.

"Hmm. I wonder if Yoshino-san is a bit flustered."

"Flustered?"

"Most students fully expect the three second-years to be elected. But you can't say for certain. There could be an upset, with Touko-chan elected. In that case, one of you three would lose, right?"

"And that's Yoshino-san?"

"She might think so, don't you think? It goes without saying that Shimako-san's an incumbent, and you're popular with the first-years, right?"

"That's not going to happen."

Having arrived at the drain, she tipped the bucket over and poured the water out.

"Yeah, it's not going to happen, but she might still be worried about it."

The silver faucet was shining. The students responsible for cleaning this area had done a good job.

"But, well, it's Yoshino-san, so she'll get over it soon enough. Something else will catch her attention and she'll forget something as trivial as this."

Tsutako-san said.

"I suppose."

Yumi picked up the bucket and walked back the way they'd come.

They walked in silence for a while and when they arrived at the classroom entrance Tsutako-san mumbled under her breath.

"So then it isn't about Yoshino-san."

"Huh?"

They'd already concluded that Yoshino-san's anger would sort itself out. But despite that, Yumi was still weighed down.

"Is Touko-chan the cause of it?"

"Uh."

Tsutako-san laughed, before Yumi could even ask, "How did you know?"

"Well, that much seemed obvious."

Tsutako-san had attended last year's Christmas party in the Rose Mansion. She wasn't a member of a Rose family, but she obviously knew the details about what happened between Yumi and Touko-chan.

"I don't understand Touko-chan at all."

Yumi spoke frankly as she put the bucket away with the rest of the cleaning equipment.

She'd been thinking about it constantly. Where had it gone wrong?

If there was something wrong with the proposal, was it the wording, or the timing, or the situation, or was it a problem with Touko-chan? If some of these changed, would she get another chance to ask, or not?

"You say you don't understand Touko-chan. Naturally, since she's her own person."

Tsutako-san said, as though it were obvious.

"But you understand all sort of things, Tsutako-san. Like how Yoshino-san's anger will pass quickly, or that I'm feeling down because of Touko-chan."

For a while now, Yumi had thought that Tsutako-san was an adult. She knew all sorts of information and could understand why things happened. Like some kind of superwoman, who could answer any question she was asked.

"Well, that's because Yoshino-san's behavioral pattern is easy to understand, and all your thoughts show clearly on your face, right?"

Tsutako-san walked around, checking that the windows were locked. It sounded like Tsutako-san wasn't able to figure out what everyone was thinking, it's just that her targets were easy to figure out.

"Then what about Touko-chan?"

"I don't really know about her. Because most of the time it feels like she's wearing a mask, don't you think?"

"A mask … "

"You've never got that impression?"

"I have."

Quite strongly.

Touko-chan was an actress, right to her core. But, sometimes, even when she wasn't standing on a stage it felt like she was playing some other character.

"As for me, I think one of your good points is the way you're always showing your open and honest feelings, Yumi-san. Forcing yourself to smile when you feel like crying, even if you think you're doing a good job, just makes you look even more pitiful to me. I hate to say it, but you're not a good actor."

"…"

Even so, it felt better to hear her say this directly, rather than beating around the bush. Although if she'd said it a bit earlier, say before the school festival, Yumi may not have accepted the lead role in the Yamayurikai play.

"But I like that. So I think you look great when you're not acting. But when an amateur gets on the same stage as a professional actress, do you think she can win?"

"So, you're saying that even if I understand Touko-chan, it's impossible?"

"For how things are now. She's just too far ahead of you."

Tsutako-san finished her check of the windows, and gave the "OK" signal to their classmate at the podium, writing in the cleaning log. To show her understanding, that girl made the "OK" sign back.

"Your opponent's wearing a mask, but you're going at her with your honest feelings. There's no way you can win. Ah, I'm not talking about the election here."

"Yeah."

Yumi nodded. It was about whether she could do something for Touko-chan, and what she should do. Yumi decided to think about it some more.

"Thanks for the advice."

Yumi thought that Tsutako-san was definitely an adult. Even though she said she didn't know anything, she was still able to say something pertinent. A hint. But Yumi had to come up with the answer herself.

"I'll take your smiling face over words of thanks."

Just as Tsutako-san was steadying her camera, Yoshino-san raced into the classroom, back from where her group had been cleaning.

"Yumi-san, Yumi-san."

Yoshino-san grabbed her by the arm. Just as the light from the flash and the sound of the shutter went off, so it must have ended up as a weird photo of the two of them.

"Come with me."

Yumi and Tsutako-san exchanged glances and smiled.

"Come on."

Yoshino-san's mood had changed quickly, like the weather.

Part 3

Yoshino-san dragged Yumi to a rather delicate position – the hallway next to the first-year camellia classroom.

"Got it? We'll walk past slowly, having a friendly chat, so get a good look at what's going on inside that classroom."

"Um."

Slowly, friendly, good. Overly complicated orders would just result in confusion. So if she dropped the adverbs and just focused on the verbs, then, basically, they were going to walk and chat and look in to that classroom. "That classroom" was obviously the first-year camellia classroom.

"Because of what's going on, you haven't had a chance to check it out, have you Yumi-san?"

"No, not really."

Yumi didn't know how she'd react if she saw Touko-chan. So for the last couple of days she'd been avoiding the first-year classrooms as much as she could. The hallway alongside Touko-chan's classroom was right in the danger zone.

"I figured as much. So I thought we should do this."

But even so, Yoshino-san herself had obviously checked things out. Like last year, when she started investigating Rosa Canina as soon as she heard about the new contender.

"At any rate, take a look. We'll talk about it after."

Yoshino-san grabbed Yumi by the arm and started walking off.

Walking slowly and having a friendly chat by itself wasn't that bad, but adding on "getting a good look at what's going on in the classroom" made it a bit more difficult.

Because, wouldn't it look unnatural if she was walking along, apparently engrossed in conversation, but staring into the classroom instead of looking at who she was talking to?

Luckily, the first-year camellia class looked like they were still in the middle of cleaning, with the front and back doors wide open despite it being the middle of winter, allowing for a good view into the room. But on the flip side, it allowed those inside to get a good view of them too, so they may have looked like a rather suspicious duo. To the trained eye, they may have looked like they were scoping out the enemy's positions.

"Well?"

Yoshino-san said, after they'd hidden themselves around a corner – since it would have looked strange if they stopped walking just past the first-year camellia classroom.

"Nothing much. What was strange about it?"

Yumi tilted her head to the side in confusion. Wondering if she'd overlooked something.

Yumi expected Yoshino-san to get angry, saying, "Have a better look," but instead she cracked her knuckles and said, "That's it."

"What's it?"

"It's normal. Nothing's changed in first-year camellia class. Don't you think that's odd?"

Nothing had changed in first-year camellia class.

"It's odd that it hasn't changed?"

"Think back to last year, and second-year wisteria class."

"… Ah."

With that, Yumi suddenly understood too.

"Right?"

Last year, Kanina Shizuka-sama, Rosa Canina, was in second-year wisteria class. In a sense, she had been in the same position that Touko-chan was in now, despite their difference in grades.

"That is indeed strange."

Last year's second-year wisteria class and this year's first-year camellia class were noticeably different.

"We should ask Noriko-chan."

Yumi turned back. She was probably in the classroom. Either that or she'd gone to the Rose Mansion. Either way, she wouldn't be where they were.

Then a voice called out to her from behind.

"Ask me what?"

Yumi turned around and there she was.

"N-Noriko-chan!"

"Gokigenyou … Oh, what's the matter?"

Noriko-chan was on outdoor cleaning duty this week, and had been returning to her classroom when she spotted the two boutons from behind.

Noriko-chan wanted to return to her classroom and get her belongings before heading to the Rose Mansion, so they accompanied her back through the hallway. This time they had a proper conversation, unlike before, so there was no need to worry about appearing unnatural, and there were no orders to get a good look at the classroom either, which made it a lot easier.

"Our class is normal?"

Noriko-chan asked. Apparently not immediately understanding what they were saying. The class was normal. Indeed, there was nothing unusual about that by itself.

"Well, one of your classmates is running in the election, right? And she's taking on the favorites – the current council and their successors. So why is your class acting like it's business as usual? Shouldn't they be getting all fired up?"

Yoshino-san went on and on. Caught on the back foot a bit, Noriko-chan instead posed a question.

"So, you're saying the second-year pine class is – "

"We're about as fired up as normal."

Like many other classes, they had a handmade board showing "X days until the election." They also had a "Certain Victory" prayer doll, although it was made of drawing paper, not a proper one. On the back blackboard there were messages of support – "Good Luck Yumi-san, Good Luck Yoshino-san," and they had light pink and cream (presumably meant to be red and yellow) origami flowers adorning their lockers. There were rules against doing anything in the hallway or other places, but their classmates were still getting into the spirit and showing their support by decorating their classroom.

That's the level of support there was for the favorites (to borrow Yoshino-san's phrase). The show of support for their classmate Touko-chan should have been relatively larger, to make up for her lack of name recognition.

"Even if you say that."

Noriko-chan muttered.

"There's not a lot of support for Touko."

Noriko-chan had only entered into Lillian's at the start of high-school, so, naturally enough, she didn't know anything about Rosa Canina. Consequently, she may have been under the impression that it was like this every year.

"But Touko's at fault here too. In the beginning, our classmates would ask her questions about the election, but she ignored them or ran away. It's hard to support someone that acts like that."

They'd just arrived at the first-year camellia classroom and Noriko-chan looked at the door and let out a sigh.

Was Touko-chan feeling isolated inside her classroom?

"I wonder if she's okay."

Yumi said, also staring at the closed door.

She knew there was nothing she could do to help in that class, no matter what she wanted.

Part 4

– I wonder if she's okay.

Yumi-sama's words rang in her ears.

So when she took another look at her class, a couple of things caught her attention.

Touko ate her lunch alone.

She was alone during breaks too.

After school, when she didn't have club activities, she'd sit in her seat and work on her poster, but not a single classmate approached her. Even if they didn't help, they could at least have taken a look.

Touko was isolated.

Like a single drop of oil in water. She didn't mix with anyone in class.

"Ah, I asked her if she wanted any help once, but she turned me down."

Kanako-san said. Noriko had called out to her during a break and they were talking in the hallway.

As for why she was talking to Kanako-san, that was because she alone possessed an aura that was different to everyone else.

"You called out to her?"

Kanako-san immediately answered, "Pretty much."

"But it was only once. I'm not a fan of high-pressure sales tactics, where you keep going after you've been turned down. Plus I've been busy with my club activities. Of course, I'd still help out if she asked me to."

"Thank-you."

This elicited a smile from Kanako-san.

"I haven't done anything to earn your thanks, Noriko-san."

Still, thank-you. Noriko bowed her head in Touko's stead. In her position, she couldn't help Touko even if she wanted to, which made her all the more grateful.

"And I told you she turned down my offer … besides."

Kanako-san had a somewhat serious expression.

"What?"

"I don't think she'll ask for help."

"Yeah."

Noriko felt she might be right too.

"Hey."

Suddenly, Noriko wanted to hear Kanako-san's opinion.

"Why do you think Touko's acting like that?"

"I'm not sure but … faith? That's not quite right. But I get a vague feeling it's something like that."

Vague though it may be, Noriko thought Kanako-san's reasoning was on the right track.

"She doesn't want to be a bother to anyone, wouldn't you say? That's why I decided to leave her be."

Indeed. Maybe that was all she could do for now.

The strained relationship between Touko and her classmates was brought into the open through a trivial incident one day during recess.

"Does Touko-san really hate Yumi-sama that much?"

Touko had continued to pointedly ignore the election chatter, but this new approach caused her to unthinkingly raise her head.

"Now, I'll admit that Yumi-sama doesn't have the sort of good looks that make Ogasawara Sachiko-sama so hard to approach, nor does she exude intelligence or dignity. We probably shouldn't expect her to gain these any time soon either. But she more than makes up for that with her likeability and warmth. I'd like that kind of Rose. I think the future Roses should look for more people like that too."

This girl was a fan of Yumi-sama's.

"You can't accept Yumi-sama so you're pulling this crazy stunt of running in the election. Do you think you're any better?"

As a passionate fan, with her blood rushing to her head, she could only see what was on the surface.

What did she think she was going to achieve by telling Touko about Yumi-sama's appeal at this point. It had already progressed well past the stage for such an elementary argument. Touko wasn't that simple.

"Say something."

Yumi-sama's fan was getting more and more enraged as Touko sat there staring at her and not saying a thing.

The way Touko hadn't talked to her classmates, or offered any excuses, or done anything except sit alone and silently work on her campaign materials had obviously stuck in this girl's craw, leading to her current explosion.

She couldn't tolerate that Yumi-sama's rival was one of her classmates. Her friends tried to get her to stop but she shook them off and kept going.

"You were the one responsible for the temporary falling out between Rosa Chinensis and Yumi-sama at the start of summer, weren't you, Touko-san? But despite that, you pretended not to know and acted in the Yamayurikai's play for the school festival. You cozied up to Yumi-sama because you wanted to be a Rose, but now you're turning your knife against her?"

Ah, so that was it. Noriko understood now. She was envious. Of the deep connection Touko had to the Red Rose family. This impromptu protest was because she didn't know how to handle the envy she felt for the way Touko flitted about inside the Yamayurikai at will (or appeared to).

Did she understand her classmate's feelings or not? Either way, Touko laughed scornfully and spat out a single sentence.

"So, what?"

This antagonized not only the classmate that had been complaining to Touko, but also the other students around her.

Noriko watched all this unfold from a distance, judging that the situation would only deteriorate further if she tried to intervene, but even she could see that Touko was acting like a fool.

– I wonder if she's okay.

Yumi-sama's words echoed in her ears once more.

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