Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume8 Chapter2 3

Farewell Gift. Part 3

Watching Katsura-san made her want to see Rosa Gigantea.

She peeked into the third-year wisteria classroom, thinking no-one would be there, but was surprised. Because there she was.

Apparently the third-years had had a short homeroom that simply covered the important points of their graduation ceremony tomorrow. As evidence of that, it was one in the afternoon and there was only one student left in the classroom.

Rosa Gigantea didn't really look like she was staying around because she had something to do. She wasn't sitting down, she was just standing there, idly running her finger over her desk.

"Have you lost something?"

Those were the words Yumi called out, even though it didn't look anything like that.

The paper bag filled with actual lost items that had been found in the Rose Mansion the day before stood alone on her desk. Looking kind of sad, like an opened mystery gift bag.

"Ah, Yumi-chan."

Noticing her, Rosa Gigantea waved Yumi over.

Usually, she'd be quite reluctant to step foot inside another class's room. Especially a third-year classroom. But since she'd been invited, Yumi stepped inside.

"Sorry, can you close that."

Rosa Gigantea pointed at the door. Was it because of the cold, or because she wanted to hide what she was doing from people outside her class? They were both girls, so it wasn't as though they had to leave the door open. Yumi did as she was asked, and closed the door.

"I guess, in a way, I have lost something."

Rosa Gigantea sat at her desk, looking up at the ceiling, then scratched her head, looking embarrassed.

"I wanted to say goodbye to the classroom, you know. I've been killing time at the library, waiting until everyone left, so that I could come back here."

Rosa Gigantea laughed, indicating it was okay to do so. But Yumi couldn't laugh. Sure, it didn't seem very Rosa-Gigantea-like, but it wasn't for those around her to arbitrarily decide what Rosa Gigantea should be like. Rosa Gigantea usually appeared to be happy-go-lucky, but from time to time she could be deadly serious, as well as an occasional romantic.

"I was fine all through March, it was only when I thought that tomorrow would be the last time that I'd ever come here, that I started to feel a bit sentimental."

It seemed she'd treated her previous graduation ceremonies as mere formalities, participating in them perfunctorily. But for Rosa Gigantea, this one was special.

"Because you're leaving Lillian's?"

Yumi asked. Rosa Gigantea didn't say anything, but she had a curious expression on her face. Just as Yumi was getting nervous, thinking she'd put her foot in her mouth again, Rosa Gigantea relaxed and smiled.

"For all sorts of reasons."

"Like what?"

"There's been fun times, and hard times. There's some things I've regretted, and some good memories. I think these three years of high-school have been the most fulfilling time of my life so far."

She'd probably been reminiscing, alone in the classroom, about Shiori-san, Yamayurikai events, and other such things. It was kind of heartrending. Rosa Gigantea's feelings were contagious.

"Rosa Gigantea, I!"

Yumi planted her hands into empty space on the desk that Rosa Gigantea was sitting at. Startled by the surprise attack, Rosa Gigantea literally jumped up.

"Wh-what is it, Yumi-chan?"

While Yumi reflected on her actions, thinking it was wrong to surprise Rosa Gigantea, she also enjoyed the novelty of seeing Rosa Gigantea startled. No, now wasn't the time to be thinking about her face –

"I want to know if there's something I can do for you."

If she was going to hear Rosa Gigantea's final request, now was the time.

"You? Do something?"

"Something you want to ask me, or something you want to do. A promise, or something you want to entrust to me."

Et cetera, et cetera.

"Say wha-at."

Rosa Gigantea cackled. Such rudeness, despite how serious she'd been.

"Anything at all. It could be about Shimako-san, or about Lunch … ah, I mean Goronta. Is there anything, anything at all?"

Naturally, Yumi expected to hear, "There is something," but Rosa Gigantea's answer confounded her expectations.

"Nope."

"Huh!?"

"I said nope. There's nothing I want to ask you, Yumi-chan. Goronta's already an adult, so she doesn't need someone to feed her. If she couldn't look after herself, she wouldn't be much of a stray."

The way Rosa Gigantea spoke, it was as though she was trying to thrust her away. But it could also be interpreted as saying she had to live by herself.

"And regardless of what I say, you won't ignore Shimako-san if she's in trouble. You'll spin into action to help her, even if you make a fool of yourself. So as long as she has a true friend, there's no need for me to impose."

As she spoke, Rosa Gigantea patted Yumi on the head.

"If you were the sort of person who only helped Shimako-san because I asked you to, Yumi-chan, then I wouldn't ask you to help in the first place."

It was somewhat reminiscent of a Zen koan. But, strangely, Yumi understood. That Rosa Gigantea valued her for it.

"But I want to do something for you, Rosa Gigantea."

"A farewell gift, you mean?"

Rosa Gigantea stood up from her desk, stretching.

"Let's see. Mmm, I'll take a kiss on the lips then."

"!?"

Rosa Gigantea solemnly brought her face closer to Yumi's, causing Yumi to panic and lean back. Rosa Gigantea was terrifying because it was impossible to tell how serious she was being.

"Oh, running away, are you? Even though you said, "Anything at all.""

"Oooh."

Quit it, you. Now Rosa Gigantea was embracing Yumi, holding her chin in her hand. It was like a scene from a foreign movie.

"See, now close your eyes like a good little girl."

The camera zoomed in on her exquisite, exotic features for a close-up.

(She really is pretty … )

Yumi watched on in rapt fascination, before suddenly realizing that the partner in this kiss scene was none other than herself.

Lip crisis!

"Cut!"

Yumi cried out, instinctively. "Stop" or "Timeout" would have worked just as well, but she called out the first thing that came to mind.

Rosa Gigantea immediately stopped, like the spell had been broken, when her fellow actress called cut. It really was like a scene from a movie – Be that as it may, Yumi took the opportunity to break away.

"G-good-bye."

Having escaped from Rosa Gigantea's grasp, Yumi's sense of direction failed her and she staggered over to the window.

If she turned around, she'd slip back into Rosa Gigantea's arms, so she made a 90 degree turn and walked to the back of the classroom, then at the back wall she made another 90 degree turn taking her to the back door, not the one she had entered by.

"I won't be able to graduate without Yumi-chan's kiss."

Despite Yumi's panicked escape, Rosa Gigantea hadn't chased after her. She was still in the same spot as before, facing the window, only turning her head to say bye to Yumi.

So it was probably a joke. One last chance to tease Yumi – very in keeping with Rosa Gigantea's character.

The solitary student remaining in the classroom with the western sun streaming in on them seemed somehow lonely. Yumi knew that she herself was the lonely one. But this may be her first and last chance to see her playful senior like this.

It wasn't the same as the chest-tightening longing she had to be embraced by Sachiko-sama, but if there were some machine to measure compatibility or affinity, then it would undoubtedly show that they were well matched.

"What's the matter?"

Rosa Gigantea asked, as Yumi stood in the doorway, not leaving.

What's the matter? – In her heart, Yumi asked herself the same question.

Indeed. What on earth was the matter?

It was just, for some reason, she didn't want to leave Rosa Gigantea in the classroom like that.

What should she do?

"If you don't leave quickly, I'll attack you again."

Rosa Gigantea said jokingly, and seeing this Yumi felt troubled in her heart.

It was too late now, but she was already regretting running away. Even though, if Rosa Gigantea had actually been serious, it meant she would have snatched a kiss on the lips. The scary part was that imagining that wasn't so bad.

What was it, this feeling?

No good. No good at all.

A sinking feeling that perhaps Rosa Gigantea had meant it like a greeting, a quick peck that she could have readily accepted.

It was dangerous. Very dangerous. That line of thinking.

"What are you thinking about, Yumi-chan?"

What? About the kiss – but there was no way she could say that.

Needless to say, it would be her first kiss. So the lips were the problem, after all.

Yumi slowly took her right hand off the door handle.

They were only lips, but they were still lips.

Take care of the lips, and the lips will take care of themselves.

Alright.

She balled both her hands into fists.

(This is infidelity. Yumi-san!)

With the ghost of Yoshino-san nagging at her from behind, Yumi weaved her way back to the desk.

"Uh … !"

Yumi kissed Rosa Gigantea on the cheek, a short distance from her startled lips. Stretching up just a little bit.

That sort of performance seemed just right to Yumi.

" … Yumi-chan!"

Embarrassed, Yumi was about to make a quick exit, but Rosa Gigantea grabbed her by the arm and softly embraced her.

"I kept quiet because I didn't think I had anything more to say, but I'm glad to have met you, Yumi-chan."

"Ah."

Perhaps Rosa Gigantea was also embarrassed, because they remained in that position, not looking at the others' face.

"I've never really fit in with normal girls of my age. But, when I saw you, for the first time in my life I was jealous of a normal girl."

Jealous, huh.

Yumi couldn't believe her ears. It seemed unbelievable that this attractive, smart, well-spoken, immensely popular superstar would yearn for a normal high-school life. Well, taking the Shiori-san incident into account, a life full of highs and lows would be tough too.

"In my third-year of high-school, I've been able to change for the better. I don't know if it's just being less picky, but I'm able to live much more easily. There's a lot of things that have gone into making me the way I am now, but your existence has played a big part in that, Yumi-chan. So what you've given me isn't just a kiss."

"What did I do?"

She had no idea. Yumi peeled herself away from Rosa Gigantea's body and looked up at her face. Which earned her a, "Clear your ears out," and a flick on the forehead.

"You made me a university student."

"No way."

"It's true. Seeing you, I thought I should have another go at studying."

"Ha."

"No, really. Towards the end of last year. I'd just missed the deadline for applying for priority placement, so I had no choice but to join the exam group. Surely you heard about that."

She knew that Rosa Gigantea had only started studying for exams this year. But this was the first time Yumi had heard that she was the cause of Rosa Gigantea wanting to go to university.

"What should I do?"

That was a huge responsibility, wasn't it? Influencing someone's life at such a crossroads was such a huge responsibility that she wanted to forget all that she'd just heard.

But Rosa Gigantea said, "You don't have to do anything." That even if she'd been an influence, the decision had still been Rosa Gigantea's.

"So you see, Yumi-chan, you should have more self-belief. Because you're admired by someone as totally awesome as me."

Rosa Gigantea patted her on the back, like she was patting a cushion. Rather than cheering up the graduating senior, Yumi had been the one to receive encouragement.

"That's all, the end."

Rosa Gigantea quickly bowed, then spun Yumi's body around, aiming her towards the front door.

"I love you, Yumi-chan. I'm truly blessed to have shared this time with you. Countless times I've thought that I wanted to be like you."

Without even a countdown, Rosa Gigantea shoved her forwards like a rocket. Maintaining control of her body took all of Yumi's concentration. Her body tottered onwards and came to a stop by the door.

"I'll bet you tell everyone that you love them."

Yumi turned around to check. Whereupon.

"Yep."

Spot on, that. Said without a hint of shame. But it wasn't malicious. Whether Rosa Gigantea said that to everyone or not, it didn't change Yumi's feelings for her one bit.

"Thanks for the kiss."

Rosa Gigantea said to Yumi's back, as she was walking out the door.

"Not at all, it was simply a going-away gift."

After Rosa Gigantea had graduated, they'd hardly ever see each other. This was her graduation present. And she might as well really, really, really, really splurge.

"Simply, huh."

Rosa Gigantea nodded slightly.

"By the way, Yumi-chan, do you know which university I'm going to?"

"Huh?"

Yumi asked, poking her head back into the half-open door from the hallway.

"No, never mind. I just thought you might have been too busy running from place to place that you hadn't heard. Too preoccupied with the thought of your beloved Rosa Gigantea going away to university."

"Get over yourself."

Yumi snorted in response, and closed the door.

That Rosa Gigantea sure was sharp.

She'd definitely hit the bulls-eye.