Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume33 Chapter4 2

The Problem of Adding "-San". Part 2.

They were starting to hand out the diplomas.

To use a food analogy, the main dish had arrived. Which would make the national anthem they had just sung the soup. The scripture reading was the hors d'œuvre, and the opening speech was the apéritif. Although since over half of the people in this assembly were under the legal drinking age, this would have to be a non-alcoholic drink.

(… Why am I thinking about this?)

I'm surprisingly blasé about my own graduation ceremony, Sachiko thought as she sat in the area at the front of the gymnasium reserved for graduating students.

One by one the names of students from her grade were called, at which point they would walk on stage to receive their graduation certificate before returning to their chair. It felt a bit like watching television, everything seemed distant.

There were probably some graduating students who were overcome with emotion and broke down in tears, but Sachiko couldn't see anyone like that around her.

If they were to start crying now, they probably wouldn't have the energy or strength to last until the end of the graduation ceremony. It's never explicitly stated, but the traditional time when an announcer could say, 'Okay, you can cry now,' would be towards the end of the Lillian Girl's Academy high school graduation ceremony, when the school song was about to be sung.

– In other words, crying during the farewell address was starting quite early.

(That's fine. I wasn't graduating last year.)

Even as she told herself this, Sachiko realized her mistake. Because now there was absolutely no way that she could cry prior to the farewell address.

(Oh no.)

Sachiko smiled bitterly. The classmate sitting beside her noticed this, and the edge of her lips turned fractionally upwards.

(Don't be silly. There's no way I'm going to cry.)

Yesterday, Sachiko had made a vow to Yumi. There was absolutely no way she was going to cry during the ceremony. Today's graduation ceremony was Sachiko's only chance to make amends for her failure last year. She'd be fine. Yumi was wearing that ribbon for her. And Sachiko could relax, knowing that Yumi was looking after a piece of her heart.

And yet, despite it being her own graduation ceremony, Sachiko couldn't concentrate on the ceremony. Come to think of it, her onee-sama had also said something like that. That in the middle of the graduation ceremony, she found herself remembering things from long ago.

"Third year chrysanthemum group."

Sachiko heard the vice-principal's voice coming through the microphone. She raised her head. This was Rei's class. It also meant that they had already finished handing out the graduation certificates to two classes.

Rei's family name was Hasekura, so it would be a little while before it was her turn. Family names probably don't have the same distribution amongst the alphabet as ordinary words, but starting with 'Ha' put it about two-thirds of the way through the alphabet.

Hasekura Rei. It's a good name, Sachiko thought.

They'd both attended Lillian's since kindergarten, so it was inevitable that they would meet. And before Sachiko was aware of it, she knew Rei's face and name, and could converse with her if necessary. All the while the years kept passing by. They had probably been in the same class numerous times, although she couldn't remember when. Sachiko hadn't paid much attention to who her classmates were, so events from years past hadn't really stuck in her memory.

Sachiko wondered when she first became aware of Rei's existence.

(… Oh.)

Thinking back on it, Sachiko felt as though they hadn't had much contact until they both became a bouton's petit soeur.

(But.)

Sachiko had a good impression of Rei when she saw her. She couldn't find a suitable word to describe it, but something close to 'admiration' was mixed in there.

Perhaps a simile would be good. Right, a sapling that grows upwards, directly towards the sun. Rei was that kind of radiant being.

Rei's presence was gentle and fresh, never cliquey or two-faced. It always felt like she was surrounded by clear air, or pure water.

That was how Rei always was, both in appearance and on the inside.

Years ago, Sachiko had been momentarily captivated by the beauty of one of the girls in her grade as they performed the long jump. Revisiting the memory, there was no doubting that girl was Rei.

Each individual scene was brief but shining, and Sachiko's memories of Rei could be strung together like the beads in a rosary to produce something eternally sparkling.

(I'd never say this to Yumi, but I probably have a weakness for the honest and straightforward type.)

Speaking of Yumi, there was that question she had asked some time ago.

"Onee-sama, when did you and Rei-sama start calling each other by just your given name?"

It was probably still on Yumi's mind, as to this day she was still using the '-san' honorific when addressing Yoshino-chan and Shimako.

"Let's see.... At some point, it just felt like the natural thing to do."

That had been her answer at the time, although truthfully Sachiko remembered it precisely.

* * *

"Ah, Sachiko..."

Rei said, blushing.

It was coming into June or July, the first semester of their first year, and not long after they had both been made the petit soeur of a bouton. The location was the second floor of the Rose Mansion. It was after school, and the two first years were preparing tea or doing something similar. They hadn't really been chatting until Rei suddenly opened her mouth.

"Ye-s?"

Sachiko was surprised that the '-san' honorific had been omitted, although her external appearance remained unchanged.

"Umm, ahh, what was it?"

Rei was flailing. It was obvious that it had taken all of Rei's nerve for her to be able to call out 'Sachiko' and she had completely forgotten what she had planned to talk about.

So the important thing wasn't what followed Rei's initial statement, but the use of 'Sachiko' itself.

The specifics weren't clear, but Sachiko could tell that Rei would crumble if she were to be teased about her use of 'Sachiko.' Removing the honorific '-san' from a name is akin to removing the training wheels from a bicycle, so there's an understandable sense of insecurity that accompanies it.

"I..."

Sachiko said, referencing the start of their conversation.

"Wonder what would go well with black-tea cookies or teacakes."

Sachiko hadn't intended it as a life-preserver. However, she couldn't stand to see Rei so flustered and silent.

"Huh?"

Rei seemed to have every single hole in her face wide open as she looked at Sachiko.

"Having coffee with them might be a bit questionable. Green tea is a definite no."

Sachiko looked away, and silently started to make some tea. Black tea was normally served in the Rose Mansion, unless a special request had been made. Anyway, it was not like they had any sweets prepared for today. So the black-tea cookies were merely a hypothetical. And if they did have black-tea cookies, there was absolutely no way they would be openly discussing it like this. That would likely earn them a scolding from their seniors, who themselves had been responsible for preparing the tea in previous years.

"Well, what do you think would go well with them?"

Even though she asked this of Rei, Sachiko answered her own question after thinking about it for a short while.

"Warm milk."

"Warm milk? Ahh."

Rei nodded, as though brought back to life.

"What do you think, Rei?"

Sachiko thought it was proper that she should refer to Rei without an honorific. If she were to address her as 'Rei-san' now, or to continue using that in the future, Rei would start to doubt herself. She would then probably return to using 'Sachiko-san,' making the initial 'Sachiko' pointless. Even though Sachiko had made up her mind, saying it still made her blush.

It was too perfect.

Even though it was couched in terms of a conversation about black-tea and cookies, it could only be interpreted as a conversation about personal preference.

"Is it okay if I agree with your opinion, Sachiko?"

Rei said. This time around, there wasn't even the slightest shake when she said 'Sachiko.'

"You're okay with warm milk?"

"For now. Although, I don't think I'd be able to find anything better."

"Then it's settled."

Having heard the back-and-forth, their onee-samas chucked, and asked, 'What are you talking about that's so interesting?'

It was strange that she could still remember that Satou Sei-sama, who was usually moody and rarely visited the Rose Mansion, had been there, and the burst of laughter from her when she realized the significance of their conversation.

* * *

(Even so.)

Sachiko pondered, as she idly watched the graduation certificates being awarded. What made Rei think of changing the way she addressed her back then? Up until that point, Rei had always followed the convention at Lillian's by addressing Sachiko, who was in the same year as her, with the honorific '-san.'

And although Sachiko didn't object to being called without an honorific, no-one else had adopted Rei's way of addressing her.

(Oh well, maybe I should ask her about that.)

It's not like Rei was going to return to awkwardly addressing her as 'Sachiko-san' after all this time.

"Hasekura Rei."

Sachiko's dear friend took a step forward onto the stage to receive her graduation certificate.