Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume10 Chapter7

Smile, Smile

Part 1

June arrived.

They switched to summer uniforms.

The design didn't change but the material was thinner, making it lighter overall. Which somehow made her want to twirl around.

"… Why are you spinning?"

Her younger brother Yuuki asked, as he poked his head through the open door with a stunned expression on his face. Without the winter button-up jacket, the white shirt of the Hanadera Academy uniform was dazzling.

"Hehehe."

Because, she was in a good mood. Yumi spun around once more. Lightly. Her skirt flared.

The weather currently was so-so. According to the weather report, there was no chance of rain this weekend. It would be cheerful weather.

"You're really that happy to be going on a date with Sachiko-san?"

Yuuki asked, taking a couple of steps into her room. His objective wasn't his beautiful older sister, but the mirror on the door of his sister's closet.

"You bet I'm happy."

Yumi answered as she tied her hair ribbons. Because it was such a good morning, she'd chosen bright blue ribbons with a lace fringe.

"Even though you see her every day?"

"Of course."

It was a trip with just the two of them. Sachiko-sama's time was reserved solely for Yumi, with no-one to interrupt them. Completely different to school.

"That's a relief."

"What is?"

"Well, recently you haven't been all that happy, right? That sort of thing."

Yuuki stood beside Yumi and checked his hair in the mirror. Until a year ago, they'd been about the same height, but he'd shot up. Guys. But not only that, the way he'd matured as a person was annoying too.

"Thanks for your concern. But I'm totally happy now. You know, Sachiko-sama's been talking with me about all kinds of things related to our amusement park date."

Like saying that she felt reassured Yumi was with her. Or saying she'd treat Yumi to ice-cream. Or suggesting that they should both wear jeans.

Under those circumstances, it looked like they'd have a wonderful date this Sunday.

"Not only that, but Sachiko-sama's been a lot more gentle recently. It was stupid of me to sulk about minor things."

"Hmm."

Yuuki had a conflicted expression on his face as he re-buttoned his cuffs.

"You know, your school life seems to revolve around Sachiko-san."

"Yep. Because we're soeurs. … Why?"

"It sounds like dependence, or something. It's a bit worrying, you know."

"Worrying?"

Perhaps seeing the change in his older sister's expression, Yuuki quickly backpedaled.

"Ah, no, it's probably just me worrying needlessly… How to put it, ah, I'm a worry-wart, you know. Pay no attention to me."

" – Alright."

Yumi nodded. She'd intended to smile broadly, but her cheek cramped and it ended up looking weird.

" … Sorry, I'll be leaving ahead of you."

Seemingly unable to endure being there any longer, Yuuki fled downstairs. Perhaps because he was in such a hurry, he slipped on the last step and landed on his butt.

"Don't worry about it."

Yumi closed her closet door and picked up her school-bag.

There was nothing to worry about.

Indeed, compared to her, Yuuki was quite sensitive.

Part 2

But, see, look how kind Sachiko-sama is. – Yumi gazed raptly at her onee-sama.

"You didn't have to run."

Yumi's fourth period class had been outdoors and when she showed up late to their lunchtime meeting, Sachiko-sama discretely offered her her handkerchief. To wipe away her sweat.

"Ah, it's okay."

Yumi couldn't bring herself to contaminate that pretty handkerchief with her sweat, so she took out her own handkerchief and used it to wipe her forehead.

It wasn't dependence. And even if that had just been an example, it was okay. They worked well together.

Recently, the cause of Yumi's jealousy, Touko-chan, hadn't been coming to the Rose Mansion, so Yumi could spend her time there at ease.

But, what was that? Something felt different to usual.

Sachiko-sama was kind. That should have been a good thing, but something was strange.

It wasn't because she'd become too accustomed to being scolded by Sachiko-sama. She'd been touched by her onee-sama's kindness plenty of times thus far. But this time something felt slightly different, although she couldn't really explain what.

"Wait."

Sachiko-sama gently retied Yumi's hair ribbon.

"That's a lovely ribbon."

"Ah, thank-you."

Yumi raised her head after bowing to Sachiko-sama, and saw that Sachiko-sama's eyes weren't looking at her at all.

She'd retaken her seat and was already talking to Shimako-san.

Part 3

"Yumi-san, Yumi-san."

As Yumi was leaving on Saturday, someone called out to her in the hallway.

When she turned around, there was no-one there. She started to walk again, looking puzzled, and the voice came again.

"Over here, over here."

It was in her blind-spot, so Yumi couldn't see where the caller was, but the voice seemed to be coming from further along the corridor, near the staircase.

"… What are you up to, Minako-sama?"

The way she was lurking down the stairs with only her voice coming through to the corridor was more like a female ninja than the head of the newspaper club. From time to time, she'd do odd things like this.

"Shh!"

"But that's even more conspicuous."

There were still a lot of other students making their way home, in both the corridor and the stairwell.

"Even if we do stand out a little bit, it's fine as long as we're not seen by the people we don't want to be seen by."

"I see."

The person that Tsukiyama Minako-sama was trying to avoid was probably her petit soeur, Yamaguchi Mami-san. Either that, or the subject of her next article for the "Lillian Kawaraban."

"So, what did you want with me?"

Yumi had decided that she probably wasn't the planned sacrificial lamb for the next gossip column, since Minako-sama had clandestinely called out to her.

"Chat with me for a bit."

Like an old neighborhood lady inviting her along for a gossip, Minako-sama took Yumi by the hand and led her down the stairs.

"Huh?"

She'd only said it was going to be a chat.

"It's fine, it's fine."

If they were only going downstairs then that was okay, but still, it didn't feel all that nice to be taken somewhere without knowing where you were going.

"Umm … ?"

The place that she was dragged to was the hallway leading to the third-year classrooms. A place where they had a clear view of that oh-so familiar door to the third-year pine group classroom.

"There, see."

What Minako-sama was pointing at was Touko-chan and Sachiko-sama. It was the same scene that Yumi had seen before, the two of them talking standing by the door. What was troubling was that they seemed to be even closer this time.

"That girl, she's the one from the Maria ceremony, right?"

Minako-sama whispered. As expected, the image of Touko-chan at the first-years' welcome party on the day of the Maria ceremony had been burnt into her mind.

"What's this all about, Yumi-san?"

"Don't ask me."

Yumi's heart murmured that she was the one who wanted to ask that. Why was Touko-chan here? No, even if she wasn't up to no-good, the way she was acting so intimate when Yumi wasn't around was bound to displease the petit soeur.

"Just who is she?"

"Matsudaira Touko-chan. A first-year."

After giving this answer, Yumi thought for a bit then added, "Apparently they're related."

That may have been said more to convince herself than to protect Sachiko-sama's honor.

It was because Touko-chan was a relative. It wasn't strange that they'd be that close.

"Relatives? Even so, don't you think they're a bit close? Every day, she comes here to see Sachiko-san."

"E-every day?"

The sound jumped out before she could think. Touko-chan had stopped showing up at the Rose Mansion, and instead they'd been meeting here.

"I didn't think you knew about it."

"… I knew."

Yumi answered, bluffing with all her might. This couldn't be written up as Sachiko-sama sneaking around with Touko-chan. She most definitely didn't want to be made out to be the pathetic, oblivious petit soeur.

"You shouldn't do this, Minako-sama."

Yumi tried smiling. This time around she thought it went well, perhaps thanks to the earlier rehearsal with her brother.

"Even if you try to get a rise out of me, nothing's going to happen. Did you think that I'd jealously confront Touko-chan, with tears streaming down my face, and then you could write an article about the "Red Rose Revolution?""

"That's not what I was expecting at all."

Although it had been intended as a joke, Minako-sama wasn't smiling at all. Instead, she looked a bit angry.

"Don't you get it? I don't want to see your relationship with Sachiko-san fall apart. That's why I brought you here, so you could strike quickly."

"Strike?"

"Right, strike."

Minako-sama turned her back on the third-year classroom and started walking. Since she didn't want to look at the image of Sachiko-sama and Touko-chan any longer, Yumi followed.

"It brings back memories, when I see you Yumi-san."

Minako-sama murmured as she looked straight ahead.

"What of?"

Yumi asked, following behind her.

"My friend."

"Your friend?"

"Yeah. It reminds me of how she was hurt by her onee-sama."

As she chased after the girl with the pony-tail walking ahead of her, Yumi wondered where Minako-sama was leading her. And not just with her feet, she had no idea where the story Minako-sama was telling was going either.

"That girl, her onee-sama cheated on her. While my friend was officially the petit soeur, having performed the rosary ceremony, her onee-sama went behind her back and saw another girl. They'd go out together, buy each other presents, things like that. Anyway, it was different to the usual relationship between a girl in an higher grade and one in a lower grade. To the point where it seemed like the older girl didn't have a petit soeur."

"…"

"As for my friend, she knew about this, but she pretended that she didn't. I think by doing that, she believed that one day her onee-sama would return to her. Like a wife enduring her husband's extra-marital affair. There was probably a bit of stubbornness too. "I'm the petit soeur," that kind of thing. From that point of view, all she could do was cling on."

Minako-sama came to a halt as she spoke. Apparently she didn't have any particular destination. They were in the middle of the corridor.

"What happened to her?"

Yumi turned and looked over her shoulder. The third-year pine classroom couldn't be seen, they were that far away.

"Nothing much. Things stayed like that."

Minako-sama sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Her onee-sama was kind to her, because she felt indebted, but this was always painful to my friend. If she hadn't wanted to be that girl's petit soeur, then she could have just returned the rosary, and the wounds would have been a lot shallower. She spent about half her time at school depressed. But in the end her anger erupted, and when her onee-sama graduated she threw the rosary at her. The end."

"… The end."

Perhaps noticing Yumi's cloudy expression, Minako-sama suddenly smiled and said, "But that was different."

"I'm not saying that Sachiko-sama's having an affair, or that you should throw your rosary at her. But I don't think you should just try and endure it. My friend would have been better off if she pressed the question earlier. Even if it meant returning the rosary… Something like the 'Yellow Rose Revolution.'"

Hearing the words 'Yellow Rose Revolution,' Yumi instinctively smiled too. That was something that her classmate Yoshino-san had set in motion. The end result was a shock that ran throughout the high-school.

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me, but I have no intention of writing about this for the 'Lillian Kawaraban.' It's about time I retired anyway."

"You're retiring?"

Minako-sama was a third-year like Sachiko-sama, so she had to be looking towards life after school, and preparing for that.

"So, if things go well between you two, let's see, please give a full report to Mami. Unlike me, she'll write a good article."

"My apologies for worrying you."

"It's okay, this is just me meddling. I just don't want to see you walking around with a fake smile, Yumi-san."

Minako-sama waved goodbye, then turned towards the club house and started walking. As she watched her go, Yumi softly muttered to herself.

"A fake smile, huh?"

Since Minako-sama had apparently seen straight through her, it looked like Yumi still had a lot to learn.

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