Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume9 Chapter5 1

The Maria Ceremony Inquisition. Part 1.

The angels sang as they walked.

They went in order of height, the archangels with wings, the flower-bearers with baskets of flowers hanging around their neck, the little angels, all of them costumed kindergarteners.

The angels had paraded the considerable distance from the kindergarten to the middle- and high-school buildings. – To pay a visit to all the Maria-samas within the campus.

They'd been blessed with good weather for this year's Maria Ceremony, and the clear blue sky spread out forever without a single cloud in it, like their heavenly mother's soul.

All the statues of Maria-sama had been adorned with flowers for today. The one that lived in the small grove near where the ginkgo-tree path split was no exception.

The usually white Maria-sama statue was, for today only, covered in flowers of many different colors. Noriko hadn't been expecting this, so was startled when she saw it on her way to school.

As she was heading to her classroom, Noriko looked out the hallway window and saw Shimako-san walking outside. She was carrying a medium sized cardboard box, walking quickly in the direction of the chapel.

"Shima … "

Noriko started to call out to her, but stopped. Her mind was likely occupied with thoughts about the Yamayurikai organized first-year welcoming event.

(I wonder if we'll have a chance to see each other after it's over.)

Noriko still had the juzu that she'd borrowed in her school bag. She'd been bringing it to school every day in case there was a chance to return it, but the opportunity had never arisen.

Borrowing Sumireko-san's magnifying glass and looking at the juzu while thinking of Shimako-san had become Noriko's daily routine.

Her soul felt cleansed just looking at those crystal beads. There was a tiny Buddha inlaid in the conspicuously larger bead just above the purple tassel. The Buddha was carved out of ivory or something similar, and though it was about the size of an adzuki bean, the detail was so fine that each of his fingers were clearly visible. The profoundly benevolent expression stirred the human heart. Wicked thoughts were forbidden when looking at Buddhist images, but it was such a splendid juzu that Noriko would unintentionally think, "This must be worth a fortune," when she held it.

"Noriko-san, have you heard from Rosa Gigantea what today's entertainment is?"

When Noriko arrived at her desk, a couple of her classmates came over and asked her this. Since they didn't have classes today, there weren't that many people in the first-year camellia classroom just yet.

"Entertainment?"

"For the welcoming ceremony the Yamayurikai are hosting after the mass, of course."

They all laughed innocently.

"It's a tradition that the executive members put on some kind of performance. Last year, when she was a bouton, Rosa Chinensis played Ave Maria on the piano. Shimako-sama can play the piano too, right? I'm sure it'll be good."

(Huh … even the Roses are going to a lot of trouble.)

Noriko liked watching amateur talent shows, but then Shimako-san was added into that mix, so of course her interest was piqued.

(I see. So Shimako-san's good at the piano … )

Her classmate's offhanded comment had been surprisingly informative. She also filed away the fact that the Roses' petit soeurs were called boutons.

At that moment, one of the students near the door came over to Noriko and said:

"The Roses are here to see you."

"Ah, okay."

Noriko walked out into the hallway thinking it would be Shimako-san, but there were two unexpected people waiting there.

(– Red Rose and Yellow Rose.)

Roses were Roses, but the color was different. It was the two third-years that Noriko had seen some time ago walking in the courtyard with Shimako-san. From memory, their titles were Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida.

"Gokigenyou. Are you Nijou Noriko-san?"

The tall girl with short hair, Rosa Foetida, asked her amicably.

"Yes … ?"

Noriko stood up straight and answered, not knowing why she'd been called out here. Sadly, while she had no interest in the Red or Yellow Roses, they were two grades above her. It would be a lie to say she was unafraid of them.

"Hmm."

In contrast to her partner, Rosa Chinensis looked Noriko up and down, appraising her.

"So this is Shimako's … "

Her casually arranged, long, glossy hair swayed gently.

"She's still a bit raw … although."

"Ah!"

Rosa Foetida suddenly grabbed Noriko's jaw, pointing her face in various directions.

"What are you doing!"

Noriko brushed off Rosa Foetida's hand.

"Oh, she's got some fight in her. Wonderfully fierce."

(What's up with these two… ! Treating me like some sort of animal!)

"She'll do, you think?"

"I suppose."

The pair looked at each other and conferred quietly. Then, after arriving at some conclusion, they said, "That's all thanks," turned and left.

"Wait a minute."

Enraged, Noriko called to the two seniors.

"Mm?"

"You called me out here, you've come to some sort of agreement, and now you're leaving without an explanation?"

Rosa Foetida turned around and looked into the eyes of Noriko who was shaking with anger. Then she said, "She's got a point," and walked the couple of steps back to her.

"So you want to know why we came to see you? It's because we wanted to see your face – is that good enough?"

"You came to see my face?"

"Yep. We simply wanted to see your face."

"Why … ?"

"Because we wanted to see it, of course. It's not hard to answer why we wanted to see it. We wanted to see what we wanted to see, right? … Do you have any other questions?"

"No … I don't."

If they were going to answer like that, she had no idea what to ask. For some reason, she got the feeling they were trying to confuse her.

"Then in that case, I have one. Nijou Noriko-san, do you like Shimako?"

"I do, why?"

"Then it's fine. Good luck to you."

Rosa Foetida left her with that and returned to the waiting Rosa Chinensis and this time they left.

"Good luck she said … ? With what … ?"

Pondering those ambiguous words of encouragement, Noriko was returning to the classroom when she bumped into Touko-san, who was just leaving.

"First it was Rosa Gigantea, now you're sucking up to Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida as well, huh."

Touko-san said, with a look of hatred that seemed so out of place on her face.

"That's not it."

Noriko said as Touko-san walked away, but Touko-san didn't turn around.

"… Huh."

Noriko sighed in resignation. Her spirit felt exhausted. What would she have to do to get a peaceful school life?

Returning to her seat, Noriko saw that her school bag was sitting open on her desk.

(…?)

That sight made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. Noriko thought her bag had been hanging from the hook on the side of her desk when she'd left.

With a bad feeling, she hastily inspected its contents.

(Commuter pass, purse, pencil case … )

As she checked, the blood slowly drained from her face.

( … What do I do!)

The only thing missing was Shimako-san's juzu.