Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume24 Chapter6 2

Beneath the Mask. Part 2

Before long, the group of five headed to the auditorium.

There was still fifteen minutes until it started, but even so there were quite a few students heading to the auditorium already.

Come to think of it, it had been like that last year too. Some of the students who were excited by the election had forgone their lunch break and headed to the auditorium as soon as fourth period was over to reserve some seats. The disinterested students probably arrived at the last minute, while those who were only somewhat interested arrived in dribs and drabs after they'd finished eating.

Rei-sama was waiting in the backstage area.

"Rei-chan!"

The moment she saw Rei-sama, Yoshino-san cried out and rushed over to her.

"I didn't think you were coming!"

Puffing up her cheeks like a blowfish.

"Huh, but I promised you, didn't I? I got delayed and was running a bit late so I thought I'd change plans and come here directly. Hm? What's the matter? You were going to pieces because your Rei-chan wasn't here?"

Rei-sama the hobo poked her cute little petit soeur's puffed up cheeks.

"You idiot."

Yoshino-san laughed and the mood completely dissolved. Resting her head on Rei-sama's shoulder, she said, "You idiot," once more.

The strange thing was, that "You idiot" sounded like "Thank-you."

A short distance away, Noriko-chan was holding Shimako-san's hands and speaking like she was chanting a spell.

"Do your best, onee-sama. I'm cheering for you. You're going to be fine. I believe in you."

The words of encouragement that she hadn't received from her onee-sama last year came raining down on Shimako-san from her petit soeur a year later.

"Also … um, fight!"

It was like she was trying to make up for last year, although Noriko-chan wouldn't have known about that.

"Noriko."

Shimako-san looked really happy.

Even if Sei-sama's words about, "If you're elected, you have to see it through to the end," had been the ultimate encouragement to Shimako-san, there was no way Noriko-chan would have been able to reproduce that.

Their position as onee-sama and petit soeur were different, as was Shimako-san's relationship with each of them, as well as their personalities. But more than that, Shimako-san herself was different to the person she was a year ago.

As a result, Noriko-chan telling her to fight was probably the ultimate encouragement to Shimako-san now. With Noriko-chan cheering her on like that, how could she not?

As Yumi fondly watched the Yellow and White Rose soeurs, Sachiko-sama took her by the hand and said, "Come here."

"You're shaking. I was like that too."

Her onee-sama squeezed her hand tightly, like Yumi had done last year.

"Alright? It's only natural that you're nervous. You shouldn't worry about whether you can step up or not. You've already stepped up magnificently."

"Really?"

Yumi asked, a little bit surprised.

"Yes. There's absolutely no need for you to show anything other than your self. But don't you think it would be a shame if you kept hiding what it is you already possess? That's why I want you go out there and let those students in the auditorium get a good look at the real you. If you can do that, you'll be a huge hit."

Sachiko-sama looked her straight in the eyes and said, "I believe in you."

"Onee-sama."

"Wha~t?"

"Please."

"Yes?"

"Please hug me."

Then, without any hesitation, Yumi was softly enveloped.

"Like this?"

"Like that."

The onee-sama embraces and protects. That phrase echoed in her mind.

"Sorry. Just a little bit longer."

Even though it should have been enough, she wanted just a little bit more. As though her appetite for her onee-sama's affection was insatiable.

Looking over Sachiko-sama's shoulder, Yumi saw that Touko-chan had finally arrived.

The petit soeur supports.

Regardless of what Touko-chan's feelings were, there was a stone weight in Yumi's heart called Touko-chan.

Her onee-sama's presence was warm.

Touko-chan's nomination and their competition in this election had not changed Yumi's attitude towards her one bit.

* * *

At one o'clock, the head of the electoral committee started the speech meeting.

After the welcoming address from Hanae-san, the committee chair, the candidates were called onto stage, wearing the sashes with their names on them.

"Matsudaira Touko-san, Toudou Shimako-san, Shimazu Yoshino-san, Fukuzawa Yumi-san, please go out in that order."

The four candidates followed the whispered directions from the committee member stationed backstage, and stepped out onto the stage.

Dazzling lights. Thunderous applause. She felt like she was being swallowed up by this atmosphere that was different again to their school festival play.

In the center of the stage, the mic was set up on an imposing podium. As well as that, there was a pitcher of water and a glass – although Yumi wasn't sure whether it was for them to actually drink or just for show.

The four candidates sat down on folding chairs that were located behind and to the right of the podium, from the audience's point-of-view. On the other side, to the left of the podium, a committee member sat at a desk with a stopwatch and a bell, to time their speeches. She'd ring the bell to let them know if they were going over their allotted time.

They were going in the order they registered, so the first one to stride to the center of the stage was Touko-chan.

Touko-chan started by questioning the hereditary manner in which the student council leaders were typically chosen and then emphasized her own freshness and youth.

Maybe it was because she was used to acting on stage, but she spoke fluently, seemingly without effort.

"I have no complaints with the current Yamayurikai. But why don't we let a fresh breeze blow through there? Let's open wide the windows of the Rose Mansion!"

Yumi instinctively applauded, forgetting that Touko-chan was labeled as a rival or enemy. Yoshino-san quietly said, "You idiot," and Yumi returned her hands to her lap. There was no other meaning to Yoshino-san's, "You idiot," it was, purely and simply, "You idiot." Telling Yumi to remember her own position.

The next to take the stage was Shimako-san.

Shimako-san spoke candidly about working as part of the current student council, presenting their current achievements, and describing the benefits of having someone as a Rose for two consecutive years. Additionally, she promised closer co-operation with the various committees, emphasizing the importance of proactive participation.

"I've learnt a lot from the two third-year Roses this year. I believe it's my duty to put that experience to good use, and to help the Yamayurikai develop even further."

Shimako-san's face shone with more confidence than usual. Presence. The difference to last year was probably because she had the track record to back it up now.

If Shimako-san was for the committees, Yoshino-san was for the clubs.

"Prior to my surgery during autumn of my first-year in high-school, my body was always weak and I was never able to take part in club activities. But when I started second-year, I joined the kendo club, and for the first time I knew what club activities were like from the inside. From that, I got to see up close what was missing and what was superfluous with the clubs. Even though the Yamayurikai is small, we're here to help everyone have a happy school life. Let's start by improving that through club activities. Even if I'm elected, I won't resign from the kendo club. I'll keep trying my best along with everyone else."

If she was following her rehearsed speech she would have stopped there, but Yoshino-san kept going.

"Earlier, one of the candidates made some remarks about a hereditary lineage, but we're here holding an election, so that surely doesn't apply to us. And I certainly don't think there's anything wrong with following in the footsteps of your onee-sama. When you're talking about a massive project that takes many years to accomplish, don't you think the petit soeur that has been carefully guided might have an advantage?"

She'd obviously been annoyed by Touko-chan's speech and wanted to briefly rebut it, but now that she'd started it didn't look like she could stop. The speech she'd written had been refined down so that it was logically organized and easy to understand, but as she kept on saying things that popped in to her mind it was only natural that she'd go off track.

The bell rang out, ring, ring.

"Shimazu-san, please finish your speech."

She'd hit the time limit.

"What's wrong with tradition?"

Ending with that question, Yoshino-san stepped down from the podium. After returning to her empty folding chair, it looked like there was still more she wanted to say as she muttered, "I wonder if there's something wrong with that stopwatch."

Unfortunately for Yoshino-san, its timing was correct. Compared to Touko-chan and Shimako-san, who had both finished within the time limit, Yoshino-san's speech was noticeably longer.

Following her was the final candidate, Yumi.

Yumi was neither a committee member nor a club member. She couldn't appeal to either of those. Instead, she talked about what she saw as the ideal shape of the Yamayurikai.

"The first-years in the audience probably won't know her, but my onee-sama, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama, had a wonderful onee-sama called Mizuno Youko-sama. Youko-sama had – "

Yumi wanted to make Youko-sama's dream, of a Rose Mansion that ordinary students weren't afraid to enter, a reality. This year they had tried various things, like hosting a tea party and inviting first-years in as assistants, but it still wasn't enough. It would take time, as step by step these sorts of achievements piled up, and even if she was elected as one of the next Roses that didn't mean it would happen all at once.

She concluded her speech with an appeal to keep advancing, like tomorrow follows today, followed by the day after, and to not stagnate or regress.

From Youko-sama to Sachiko-sama, and then to Yumi. It could even be called a lineage. The contents of her speech were in direct conflict with Touko-chan's fresh breeze, but Yumi was satisfied with it.

Touko-chan should walk the path that she believes in.

Even now Yumi wanted Touko-chan as her petit soeur, but she had no intention of forcing her own opinion on Touko-chan. And if she turned away from her principles, she would never become Touko-chan's onee-sama.

Let them see who you really are.

Being elected and becoming soeurs were, in some ways, alike.

Illuminated by the dazzling lights, Yumi thought this as she bowed to the large audience.