Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume9 Chapter7 2

8 – 3 = Right . Part 2.

Yoshino-san's warning had most definitely not been forgotten.

But while she was being careful, it wasn't something she was constantly thinking about.

Those ringlets. Touko-chan.

Perhaps she'd been following Sachiko-sama's directive of only showing up "occasionally," because she hadn't been back to the Rose Mansion until now. But she kept catching them by surprise, by showing up at unexpected times in unexpected places.

For example, the day before yesterday.

By chance, Yumi and Sachiko-sama happened to be heading home together when they ran into Touko-chan at the main building entrance, as though she'd planned it.

"Shall we head home together? Touko was kept back late with club activities."

Hearing that, it was kind of hard to say, "Walk home alone, you're getting in our way." Sachiko-sama showed no hesitation before allowing her to accompany them.

"You said you were in a club, which one did you join?"

"The drama club. Sachiko onee- … ah, Sachiko-sama."

She'd been in the drama club ever since upper elementary school. Her favorite role so far was when she played Sara from A Little Princess in her second-year of middle-school. Her most boring role was "Sleeping Beauty" in sixth-grade of elementary school. Because she spent most of her time sleeping and had very few lines.

– Touko-chan enthusiastically told Sachiko-sama all this and more.

Yumi was right there as Touko-chan followed "Sachiko onee-sama" around, but nothing Touko-chan said was of interest to her so all Yumi could do was trudge along like an extra, with Touko-chan's report as background music.

(Serenity now, serenity now.)

Yumi mentally recited. Touko-chan was simply happy to see her beloved relative. It would be absurd to get flustered because of that. As the petit soeur who received the rosary, she had to show more presence of mind.

"Touko always thought that in high-school she'd be in a club with Sachiko onee-sama. So it came as quite a shock at lunch when you said you weren't in any clubs. You stopped all your extra-curricular lessons too, so Touko can't join in there either."

"Yamayurikai work keeps me busy."

"Then Touko will help out there."

Touko-chan said like a spoiled child, linking her arm around Sachiko-sama's.

(Se-serenity now, serenity now.)

"If you have that much free time, you should devote it to the drama club."

"Oh, but Rosa Foetida's also in the kendo club, isn't she? Touko thought she could be helpful to Sachiko onee-sama."

"If the time comes, I'll ask you."

"Alright."

Serenity now, serenity now. But when Yumi heard that they'd met at lunchtime, that spell was instantly broken.

Even today.

At the end of the lunch break, as they were making their way from the Rose Mansion through the courtyard, there was a loud voice coming from above for some reason. Turning to look at the source, there was Touko-chan standing on the external fire-escape stairs, waving and shouting.

"Onee-samas, thanks for all your hard work!"

Naturally, those words of appreciation were directed to the three Roses walking in front. Her performance was way too overboard, and she stood out far too much.

* * *

"That Touko-chan, she's totally after it."

Yoshino-san said, looking solemn.

"After what?"

About the same time that Yumi asked this, Yoshino-san provided a clear explanation.

"A petit soeur spot."

"Wh-who's?"

Yumi raised her head from writing in the duty log. The lead in her pencil snapped.

"Well, let's see … "

Yoshino-san grabbed one of her braids by the tip and stroked her cheek like she was applying rouge.

"It's certainly not the Yellow Rose family."

"How do you know that?"

"Our personalities clash. You must have seen it, right? The way she was snarling at me."

"Yeah, I guess."

Yumi tentatively agreed. Touko-chan had just been matching Yoshino-san's snarling, though. But now that she'd escaped to a safe place, Yoshino-san assumed the high moral ground.

Like now. How she was looking down on her friend writing in the duty log.

"…"

There was a melancholy to the classroom after school had let out for the day. It was like the haiku, "Summer grasses, All that remains Of soldiers' dreams" – although they hadn't had traditional Japanese today. There were only a handful of students remaining in the second-year pine classroom, most had already left. Some had gone home, others to club activities.

She fondly remembered this melancholic feeling.

Usually she'd go to the Rose Mansion after school, but today all three of the Roses had other things to do so there was no meeting. Since she was on duty, Yumi hung around writing in the duty log, and Yoshino-san kept her company.

"So when you said she's after a petit soeur spot … did you perhaps mean Shimako-san's?"

Yumi timidly ventured. While Shimako-san was also a second-year, she was already Rosa Gigantea, so in a sense she was most in need of a petit soeur. And since Touko-chan had already said that she wanted to help out at the Rose Mansion, their interests were fully aligned. Fully aligned, but –

Was there really that much contact between the two? Until now, she'd never even considered the possibility of Shimako-san and Touko-chan becoming soeurs.

"Or Yumi-san's."

"Huh!?"

Yumi's instinctive reaction was disbelief, and she nearly fell off her chair. But Yoshino-san didn't seem to be lying or joking, as she coolly watched Yumi's agitation and quietly said:

"In name only. If she becomes your petit soeur, then Sachiko-sama will dote on her, right?"

Indeed, to become a member of the Yamayurikai it was necessary to become one of their petit soeurs. To accomplish that, she'd have to target one of the older students without a petit soeur, and if Yoshino-san and Shimako-san were excluded then that left –

Yumi shivered all over. Using her to become Sachiko-sama's "grand-daughter." That such a person could exist.

"Or a hostile takeover."

"H-hostile takeover!?"

Again, Yoshino-san was scaring her with those terrible words.

"She might kick you out of the way and run for Rosa Chinensis en bouton."

"No way."

"It's not impossible. Sachiko-sama could get you to give the rosary back, and then hand it over to Touko-chan. It's a more direct method than aiming for "grand-daughter.""

"Oooh – "

This was strangely persuasive coming from someone who had once returned their rosary to their "onee-sama."

"But, well, it's fine as long as I don't give the rosary back, right?"

Yumi made a show of laughing it off. It was more for her own self-confidence than anything else.

"Yumi-san, do you really have that self belief?"

"Huh?"

""Touko's always been better suited to Sachiko onee-sama than you.""

Yoshino-san imitated Touko-chan's voice, playing cute.

"Ooh."

""How can Yumi-sama possibly be up to the task?""

"St-st-"

"… Would you still be able to stand up to her if she said that?"

" – Hold on, this rosary carries a heavy responsibility."

But this was a hypothetical conversation.

Assuming Touko-chan wanted to join the Rose Mansion, that didn't mean she'd already decided to target Sachiko-sama. Obviously, she'd never even talked about dislodging Yumi.

"By the way, who will we ask to help?"

"Huh?"

After all this idle chatter, Yoshino-san suddenly changed topic.

Yumi felt exhausted, since it looked like all the talk about Touko-chan launching a hostile takeover had just been a way to waste time. She'd been a fool to take it seriously and worry about this and that.

"Come on, hurry up with the duty log. If we don't think of someone today, we can't negotiate with them tomorrow, right?"

" … Right."

Yumi and Yoshino-san had been given the homework task of scouting one person to assist them. Shimako-san was Rosa Gigantea, but she was also a second-year like Yumi, so didn't yet have a petit soeur. The tradition was that the Roses would place a medallion around the necks of every first-year, and it was vital that they each had someone to assist them.

"We're supposed to choose, since they'll have to work closely with us boutons, right?"

" … Yeah. But will we find someone who wants to do it?"

Naturally, it would be unpaid work. And they'd be standing alongside Shimako-san. Shimako-san said she was entrusting this task to them, but people she approached had probably kept their distance. It wasn't that anyone disliked her, but she was incredibly beautiful.

(Although I'm used to it by now.)

Standing beside a beautiful person.

""Beauty, bouton's private conversation.""

Click.

The pair squinted at the dazzling flash.

"Ah!"

They both must have had the same thought, because they simultaneously stood up and crowded around the newcomer.

"Wait, Tsutako-san."

"Wh-what's this about?"

Seeing their unusual reaction, Tsutako-san panicked and held her camera up high with both hands, in a rather odd pose.

"Are you free on the afternoon of the Maria Ceremony?"

" – How could I be? The photography club's involved in the first-years' welcoming ceremony too, you know."

Hearing that answer, Yoshino-san and Yumi sighed in despair. While it wasn't something Tsutako-san would have been overjoyed to accept, they had expected she would do so because of their history together.

" … I see."

Tsutako-san the photography ace wouldn't be without her camera for the main event of the welcoming ceremony, the handing out of medallions.

"Then how about we ask Katsura-san? She's in Shimako-san's class."

"So what's this about?"

Tsutako-san finally lowered her camera back to waist height as she asked this question.

"We're looking for an assistant. Someone to stand in for Shimako-san's petit soeur … "

Yoshino-san got that far when they heard the sound of laughter coming from someone else.

"Hohoho. I heard that, everyone."

"Ma-Mami-san."

What the heck, was she always just lurking around waiting to appear? It was a mystery. Incidentally, this time she'd appeared from somewhere behind Tsutako-san, but – .

"You're all so distant. I'd pitch in and help if only you'd ask me."

"But, but, the newspaper club is covering the event."

Yumi and Yoshino-san naturally backed away. It was impossible to tell what Mami-san was thinking. For one thing, their relationship wasn't that distant at all.

"Well of course we're covering it. But we're not going to be writing articles during the event. My onee-sama … the club president will surely be running around everywhere like a chicken with her head chopped off."

"…"

Yumi could just imagine it, but she couldn't respond. Tsukiyama Minako-sama was that type of person.

"So I was thinking I should cover it from inside, for when she strikes out. By using the view from inside the welcoming ceremony, I can cover it brilliantly. And because I'm coming at it from a different angle, she won't be hurt as much if I write a better article than her."

"…"

All three were thinking that she was a wonderful petit soeur. But even more frightening. Minako-sama was simple and easy to understand, but Mami-san was ominous because no-one could tell what she was thinking.

"Let me just say straight away, we can't pay you for this."

Yoshino-san cut straight to the point, and clapped her hands together in a "Let's do business" gesture. The task of finding an assistant had been entrusted to the boutons.

It seemed the mood had shifted from one of complete opposition, but even at the start that hadn't been Yumi's position. Mami-san would do the job well. She probably wouldn't lie or exaggerate in her article. So as long as she didn't focus on the troubles of the Yamayurikai, it should be fine to invite her inside.

They'd all be better off it the feud between the Yamayurikai and the newspaper club came to an end soon. As long as they respected each others' position, they should be able to have a good relationship, resulting in a better school newspaper and a better student council.