Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 23 Chapter 3

Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 23 Chapter 3

The second of January arrived.












Yumi left home with her shoulder bag stuffed with sleeping clothes, her toothbrush, and other such things on her right shoulder, and a paper bag containing a Maple Parlor tin of a.s.sorted cookies in her left hand.












In her usual clothes, jeans and a sweater with a duffel coat over the top. Her mother said she should take the opportunity to wear a kimono, but she was staying overnight. She wasnt qualified to wear anything that she couldnt put on by herself the following morning. Casual clothing was the highest priority.












9:30am.












She was heading out a bit early but there was a reason for that. She thought shed stop in at a couple of places on the way to Sachiko-samas house.












She took the bus to M Station where she transferred buses. Getting on the loop bus leaving from the south entrance that she usually took to school.












But she wasnt going to Lillians Girls Academy today. She got off before there, at the bus stop in front of a Shinto shrine. It was the same route shed taken with Satou Sei-sama on the second of January last year.












It wasnt like shed become all sentimental about the graduated Sei-sama. And since Yumi didnt have her drivers license, obviously she hadnt parked her beloved car at the back of the shrine.












The reason for this?












A hatsumoude visit? Or to get a fortune?












No, no. Shed completed her hatsumoude visit at the shrine to Inari in her neighborhood, and shed get discouraged if she drew "bad luck" as her fortune, so she pa.s.sed on both.












"Lets do this."












After firing herself up, Yumi threw herself into the crowd of people in front of the food stalls. Calamari, okonomiyaki pancakes, octopus dumplings, grilled corn. She bought two servings of each and put them in a supermarket shopping bag shed brought from home. In her mind, Yumi mocked herself for being an eco-friendly housewife.












She wanted to buy even more but unlike last year she didnt have a car to carry her straight to her destination. Shed reached the limit of what she could carry by herself. Additionally, it had been a bit more expensive than shed expected, so it was a good place to stop. Shed spend all her New Years money if she kept buying thoughtlessly.












Right. Her goal had been festival food. She could have bought some at her neighborhood shrine, but she thought it was better to get the same as Sei-sama had bought last year, so shed made the trip out here. Basically, Yumi just wanted to see Sayako-oba-sama looking delighted.












She returned once more to M Station and this time she switched to a train. The carriage was surprisingly empty, so Yumi plopped down on a seat near the door, put half of her luggage on her lap and the other half in front of her shoes and let out a large sigh of relief.












The she finally looked forwards and spotted someone she knew sitting opposite her.












"Noriko-chan?"












"Ah, Yumi-sama."












Noriko-chan must have boarded the train ahead of her, and she picked up her belongings and moved to the seat next to Yumi. A jumper skirt showed beneath her short beige down coat, with a cute pair of charcoal gray tights peeking out beneath that.












"Gokigenyou. Oh, and happy new year."












"Yeah. Happy new year."












It would be foolish to ask something like, "Where are you going?" or "How come youre on this train?" There were both attending the Ogasawaras New Years Party. Theyd actually arranged to meet at the train station closest to Sachiko-samas house but theyd run into each other a bit early.












"Thats a lot of luggage youve got, Yumi-sama."












"Hahaha. The invitation said to bring your own, and I got a bit carried away."












Noriko-chan was traveling surprisingly lightly, perhaps because she was accustomed to taking small trips to view Buddhist statues. She had a bag one size smaller than Yumis and a department store paper bag that looked like it contained pastries.












"I brought chocolates. They have something like marron glace inside. My gourmand great-aunt recommended them."












"Sounds good."












"They are!"












Noriko-chan agreed, full of confidence.












They didnt just sound tasty, they also sounded expensive. Whether consciously or not, theyd definitely raised the bar on the sort of gifts they were bringing to the Ogasawara family.












"I thought you and Shimako-san might have met up earlier, Noriko-chan."












"Ah, right. I went home for New Years."












Yumi nodded, understanding. Noriko-chans family lived a bit too far away for her to commute to Lillians every day, so she stayed with her great-aunt.












The train moved onward accompanied by a gentle click-clack vibration. But she couldnt relax completely because she felt like she had to keep a tight grip on the handle of the plastic bag by her feet so that the calamari and grilled corn inside didnt come spilling out.












Click-clack. Whenever the train shook, the smell of scorched soy sauce came wafting out of the bag. Some distance away, an older lady in her Sunday best turned their way, saying, "I wonder what that smell is."












"Yumi-sama, um."












Click.












"Mm?"












Yumi was surprised by Noriko-chans tone, which was completely different to her earlier, "They are!" so she looked to her side and saw Noriko-chan looking serious.












"Wh-whats the matter!?"












"I feel like I owe you a ma.s.sive apology, Yumi-sama."












What? What?












Despite being a first-year, Noriko-chan was level headed. She rarely made a careless mistake. And yet Noriko-chan felt like she owed her an apology. A ma.s.sive one at that.












"Did you do something to me?"












Since Yumi couldnt remember anything, all she could do was ask. They still had a bit of time left on the train. So this would be a detour on the way.












"Although Im also sorry to be bringing this up again."












With that, Yumi immediately understood.












"Is this about Touko-chan?"












Noriko-chan nodded in agreement. There was only one thing that came to mind that she would be "sorry" for "bringing up again". The thing that Sachiko-sama had told her to "leave alone."












"But you didnt really have anything to do with what happened with Touko-chan - "












Noriko-chan shouldnt have felt responsible for Touko-chans words and actions just because they were close friends. But Noriko-chan shook her head, indicating that she wasnt apologizing in Touko-chans stead.












"Ive always thought it would be good if Touko was your pet.i.t soeur - no, thats not right, I thought it would be good if you were Toukos onee-sama. But you never seemed to think much of her. Or rather, you were never conscious of her as a pet.i.t soeur. So I hated it when you innocently meddled in her affairs. &h.e.l.lip; Im sorry."












"I see."












That would have been why Noriko-chan flared up unexpectedly when they asked her to invite Touko-chan and Kanako-chan to the Christmas party.












"But you were giving serious consideration to her. And yet, that Touko."












"Having the offer of soeurship turned down is neither a good thing nor a bad thing."












Although it had been quite a shock when she was rejected. But that was unavoidable. There was no blame, like a school that didnt admit students who failed their entrance exam, or a company that canceled a contract when their terms werent met, or a lover who turned down a proposal. It was like that.












"But."












Noriko-chan mumbled.












"I dont think its good to hide your own feelings."












There was an unshakeable self-belief there. As a result, Yumi felt a little bit braver.












"So youre saying that you dont think Touko-chan hates me?"












"Yes."












Of course. It was kind of rea.s.suring.












"Then I must have made some kind of mistake."












Yumi said, as though to herself.












"A mistake?"












"Like with the timing, or the location, or her feelings, or how I asked her &h.e.l.lip; that sort of thing."












She looked out the window to see where they were, but the gla.s.s had clouded over so she could only faintly make out the scenery outside.





















They stood around chatting by the ticket gate of the train station that theyd arranged to meet at, and after about five minutes Shimako-san arrived.












"Im sorry. Did I make you wait?"












"No, we got here a bit too early."












There was still more than ten minutes until their arranged meeting time of 11:30. But Shimako-san seemed to get a bit fl.u.s.tered when she saw them already standing together. She walked out of the ticket gate accompanied by the pitter-patter sound of zouri sandals.












Thats right. Shimako-san was wearing a kimono. It wasnt an extravagant long-sleeved affair, but neither was it just a wool ensemble. It could be said to sit right in the middle of those two extremes. Although she was wearing some sort of coat over the top so they could only see the collar and from the waist down.












"Is that a komon kimono?"












"Yes. Youre quite knowledgeable about kimonos."












"No, no, it was just a lucky guess."












In truth, Yumi had stopped adding to her knowledge of kimonos one year ago, but shed opened that rarely used drawer and it seemed like the same sort of kimono that Sachiko-sama had worn during New Years last year, so she thought shed ask. The kimono had a small floral pattern across it. As for the color, she could see gray and pink and green. But just by wearing the kimono, Shimako-san was saying that shed be able to put it on by herself. Impressive.












"So, then, do you have a yukata to sleep in, by any chance?"












Yumi asked, pointing at her tote bag, but Shimako-san laughed.












"Sadly, no, just pajamas."












At that point, Yumi caught a glimpse of Noriko-chan smiling warmly and watching over their conversation out of the corner of her eye.












"Ah, sorry. I jumped straight into conversation without the greeting."












"Not at all, I didnt mean to rush you."












So with that, the three offered their greetings together.












"Happy New Year."












Lets look after each other this year too. After bowing their heads and exchanging greetings, Yumi noticed an unsteady atmosphere between the White Rose soeurs.












"Is this, perhaps, the first time youve met this year &h.e.l.lip; ?"












"Yes. What about it?"












Thats right. Noriko-chan said shed been spending New Years with her family and had come straight here.












"Sorry, I didnt realize. Ill leave you alone for a bit, so take your time - "












She quickly picked up her bags and turned around but then Shimako-san grabbed her upper arm and said, "Oh Yumi-san, theres no need for that."












"What, even after all this time, are you looking out for us?"












"But, well."












It was the first time the soeurs had met this year, wasnt she just a third-wheel?












"If youre going to do that, wouldnt we also have to hide somewhere when we arrived at Sachiko-samas house?"












In theory, that would be right. But those two hadnt been soeurs all that long &h.e.l.lip; not all that long &h.e.l.lip; then Yumi counted it out on her fingers and corrected herself. It had been six months already. They couldnt be called veterans, but their relationship was probably in its prime. Because of that, she decided to stop fussing over them too much.












"What were Rei-sama and Yoshino-san doing?"












Shimako-san asked, looking around restlessly.












"I asked them just in case, but they said theyd go straight there."












Coming from their house, theyd have to take a detour to get to this train station.












"Its just the three of us then?"












"Thats right."












Since theyd all arrived, they decided to leave the train station even though it was a bit earlier than planned.












It was about a fifteen to twenty minute walk from the train station to Sachiko-samas house. About three bus stops. They could take a bus from outside the train station, but the bus stop was a fair way from Sachiko-samas house, so theyd still have to walk some distance.












"What should we do?"












"Youve visited her a couple of times before, right Yumi-san? Which way did you go then?"












"Every time Ive been to her house, someones driven me there."












"Huh, so its like your first time going to her house too?"












A palpable sense of "Are we going to be okay?" was radiating from Noriko-chan. But Yumi had been instructed by her onee-sama to safely escort the first-timers, so there was no way she could say something like, "Im not sure."












"Hey. Well, she did fax me a map. Huh, which way is which?"












Yumi unfolded the map and was rotating it around when Noriko-chan said, "Pardon me," and relieved her of it.












"The stations here and north is up, so it should go this way around. So with that, this streets that one over there, so I guess we should go straight ahead for now. As long as were heading in the right direction, we can revise our route at any cross streets on the way."












There was a reason behind Noriko-chans unsure words. The map shed been sent was rather vague &h.e.l.lip; and after walking for a while they were still in a residential area, with no sight of the shopping district or large building landmarks that were on the map.












Well, even so, Sachiko-samas house wasnt just a building, but a plot of land large enough to be a public park, so theyd know when they were alongside it. The other people living in their neighborhood probably used the Ogasawara estate as a landmark.












"Ah. Theres a hill over there. We must be on the right track after all."












Hanging from the hand of their advance guard Noriko-chan was the bag of festival food Yumi bought. Noriko-chan was in unusually high spirits and took the lead, either because she was the only first-year, or because the two second-years werent being all that energetic.












"Quite a reliable pet.i.t soeur youve got."












"Yes, she is, isnt she?"












Like pensioners watching over some young people, they chatted as they slowly walked. Ahead of them, Noriko-chan would sometimes go down a wrong path before doubling back, so their slow pace worked out quite nicely.












The street they were walking along was like an esplanade, with trees growing along the side. All the gardens were overflowing with evergreen trees too, so it was quite pretty.












"Will your family be alright today?"












Yumi asked Shimako-san. She seemed to remember hearing from Shimako-sans onee-sama, Satou Sei-sama, that Shimako-san helped out her family at New Years and other such times. Although now she knew that this was because Shimako-sans family ran a temple.












"Yes. People are coming to help from outside, so my dad urged me to go, saying theyd be fine without me."












"Your fathers really down-to-earth."












In truth, Yumi had only seen Shimako-sans father twice. The first time he was running on the schools track wearing a monks stole. The second time he looked like hed stepped out of a yakuza film and was buying oden soup and frankfurters. He was a cheerful and mischievous Buddhist monk and Yumi probably wouldnt have realized he was Shimako-sans father if she hadnt been told.












"My dad seemed to be relieved that I was spending time with my friends, like a normal young girl. On top of that, my older brothers back home now, which is quite unusual. Whenever Im around they try their hardest not to argue, so I guess this is good timing?"












"Your brothers home?"












Yumi had only found out that Shimako-san had an older brother about a week ago. Since shed thought Shimako-san was an only child, she didnt really get what she meant by "back home." And the "quite unusual" remark made him seem like some kind of wanderer, like Tora-san from the Otoko wa Tsurai yo film series.












"So Ive brought some manjuu buns my brother made."












Shimako-san held up the parcel wrapped in furoshiki cloth that she was holding in one hand, her other holding her tote bag. Indeed, Yumi had been wondering what was in there for some time now.












"Manjuu buns? Your brother made them?"












"Yes. I thought he specialized in western sweets, but he seems to be trying his hand at traditional j.a.panese sweets too."












Since this was the first Yumi had heard of him specializing in western sweets, her shock hadnt been at him making j.a.panese confectionery. Shed thought he must have been a Buddhist priest, since shed heard there was some disagreement about whether or not he would inherit the temple. But he was actually a patissier. No, perhaps a former patissier now turned j.a.panese confectionery maker. Shimako-sans home life had always been something of an enigma, but it just kept getting more and more mysterious.












"Ah, Ive found Itou-san. Suzuki-san should be next."












Noriko-chan happily reported from her position ahead of them, having checked out the house nameplates.












Sachiko-sama had been looking out for them, and wrote the surnames of the people that owned the houses on the street corners on her map. Still, neither of those names were all that unusual, so they couldnt rule out the possibility of there being several houses with those names in the area.












They arrived at Suzuki-sans house before long and turned onto a street that Yumi vaguely remembered.












"Its probably just along here."












Yumi called out, pointing up ahead.












Soon enough, the tall and long wall appeared. There was no mistaking it.












The gate to the Ogasawara house was along that straight line.












She broke into a jog, overtaking Noriko-chan.












Behind her, Noriko-chan remarked to Shimako-san that she was like a lost dog that wandered around and then suddenly sped up and started running when it was near home.





















"Whoa &h.e.l.lip; "












Noriko-chan said as she looked up at the tall, st.u.r.dy gates.












"Youre sure this isnt a park?"












Everyone probably had the same reaction when they first visited the Ogasawara family, because their estate was conspicuous even for the exclusive residential area it was in.












"Its not to scale on this map."












She tapped the piece of paper. Indeed, their destination was marked by a small rectangle, labeled as "Ogasawara" with an arrow pointing to it. It probably would have looked messy if shed outlined their entire estate, so shed only marked out the position of the entrance. Yumi had quickly cottoned on to this, since shed been there before, but Noriko-chan didnt seem to realize until she got there. Shed been saying things like, "Its strange that she didnt put her neighbors on the map," and, "It looks like shes surrounded on both sides by a parking lot, or a munic.i.p.al garden."












In contrast to that.












"This is your first time here too, right, Shimako-san? You seem to be taking it in quite calmly."












"Not at all. Im too surprised to speak."












"But your house is pretty big, isnt it onee-sama?"












From what Noriko-chan was saying, it seemed as though Shimako-sans house was just one part of the rather large temple grounds.












"But thats the temple. Our familys private s.p.a.ce is rather modest."












So rather than being their private property, it was the parishioners, a place for locals to gather, that sort of thing. It wasnt a tourist attraction, but the building was quite old so a lot of work went into preserving it, and there were always people coming and going, so from time to time it felt like living in a borrowed place. It seemed like it was quite tough.












Looking at her watch, it was three minutes to twelve. Since they took their time because they were a bit lost, Yumi calculated that the 20 minute one-way trip had taken closer to 30 minutes.












Shed heard that when visiting someones house you should arrive five minutes late, but she wasnt sure if that referred to when you arrived on their property or when you took off your shoes and entered into their house. It wouldnt make much difference for a normal house, but the gap was a couple of minutes at the Ogasawara house.












They were a bit early, but itd be strange to hang around on the sidewalk too, so Yumi pressed the intercom buzzer.












"Yes?"












Was it Sachiko-sama or Sayako-oba-sama? A refined ladys voice answered.












"This is f.u.kuzawa Yumi. I have Shimako-san and Noriko-chan with me."












"Welcome. Ill open the gates so come inside. Rei and Yoshino-chan are already here."












The correct answer was Sachiko-sama. Sayako-oba-sama probably wouldnt refer to Rei-sama as "Rei," without an honorific.












The door opened automatically and the trio stepped onto the Ogasawara estate, still feeling a bit overwhelmed.












Inside was a forest.












No, that was obviously a metaphor. A single road traced a gentle curve through the tall trees. Like it was hiding what was at the end of it from outside. Exiting the forest, they saw the front of a large house.












"Im not even surprised any more."












Noriko-chan said. Indeed. Sachiko-samas house was so far removed from a normal house that it would be exhausting to react to each and every thing. After a certain amount of surprise, it was better to just accept it as "thats how it is."












In the car-park on the right, two bicycles were parked in an empty spot.












"I wonder if those are Yoshino-san and Rei-samas."












They both looked to be shiny and new.












Maybe theyd both bought replacements for the new year. How extravagant.












They set that idle speculation aside and made their way to the buildings front entrance.












According to protocol, the next step was to ring the doorbell. Since shed visited a couple of times before, Yumi thought she should take the initiative and perform that role.












"Umm."












Thats right. She pulled on the chain in front of her.












(&h.e.l.lip; Its heavy.)












After feeling a bit of resistance, she heard the sound of a small bell ringing, announcing the presence of Yumi and friends to those inside.












"Welcome."












It was Sachiko-sama that came to greet them.












"Happy New Year."












The trio offered their greeting. It wasnt like theyd rehea.r.s.ed it, but their voices were in perfect unison.












"Happy New Year."












Sachiko-sama was wearing a light-blue komon kimono with a stepping stone pattern. Her maroon haori jacket was the same as last year. Her long hair was loosely braided and held up with an ornate hairpin.












"Now, come inside."












Sachiko-sama gestured at the row of slippers and Yumis group took off their jackets and said, "Pardon our intrusion," then removed their shoes.












Yumi had a quick glance and saw that Yoshino-sans and Rei-samas shoes were lined up next to theirs. From her position, she couldnt see any mens shoes. It looked like it really was women-only. Even though they were related, it seemed as though Kashiwagi-san had been excluded after all.












"Here, Yumi-sama."












Before they started walking down the hallway, Noriko-chan offered her the shopping bag filled with souvenirs from the shrine food stalls.












"Ah, thanks."












Such a scrupulous junior, in every possible way. The future looked bright &h.e.l.lip; although, she was already reliable.












Walking ahead of them, Sachiko-sama spoke softly, so that only Yumi could hear, saying, "Your New Years card arrived on New Years day."












It was such a minor thing but Yumi was overjoyed to hear that it had arrived on time.












Why was it so? She felt comfortably pleased, like shed been secretly pa.s.sed some sweet cotton candy.












They were led to a traditional j.a.panese style room, the location of their New Years party.












There were gla.s.ses, drinks and food spread out across the two low tables, so it was already quite party-like.












"Ah, Happy New Year."












Rei-sama said, noticing the three newcomers.












"Happy New Year."












Her outfit was a blue sweater over a white shirt with plain jeans, which was closest to Yumis casual look.












"Happy New Year. Oh, Shimako-sans wearing a kimono."












Yoshino-san said, having rushed over when she heard the exchange of greetings. She was wearing a gray and cream checked pantsuit, which was an unusually boyish style.












"Sayako-oba-sama~. Yumi-sans group has arrived."












Yoshino-san called to outside the room, in a hurry to get the greetings done.












"Sayako-oba-sama asked me to tell her when you arrived."












Yoshino-san was comfortable enough to call her "Sayako-oba-sama," even though it was their first meeting. Well, Sachiko-samas mother was very easy to get along with.












"Did you ride here, Yoshino-san?"












"Yeah."












"Both your bikes are shiny and new."












Yoshino-san puffed her chest out with pride, saying, "Its great isnt it?" Across from her, Sachiko-sama asked Rei-sama:












"Oh, you got a new one too, Rei? What happened to the bike you had last time?"












"It broke."












Rei-sama answered ruefully.












"My uncle bought me a new one at the end of year sales."












"It broke? Havent you had many years of riding and fixing bicycles?"












"The damage was bad enough to write it off, so it was decommissioned &h.e.l.lip; that sort of thing."












Rei-sama glanced at Yoshino-san. But Yoshino-san was looking firmly into the future. It looked as though she was heavily involved in whatever events led to Rei-samas beloved bicycle being decommissioned. Especially since the uncle that Rei-sama mentioned was Yoshino-sans father.












As for Sayako-oba-sama, who had been called earlier.












"Welcome."












She appeared carrying a tree branch of some sort, with lots of red berries in the green leaves. She was wearing a black kimono, so the scattering of red made it look like a pattern drawn onto the sleeves.












"Happy New Year."












"Happy New Year, Yumi-chan. And, you two are - "












Sayako-oba-sama turned her gaze to the White Rose soeurs.












"Im Toudou Shimako."












"Im her pet.i.t soeur, Nijou Noriko."












"Pleased to meet you, Shimako-chan and Noriko-chan. You can call me Sayako. The household staff are having a break today so we cant offer you much hospitality but lets have fun together."












"Okay."












It went without saying that the White Rose soeurs were immediately struck by Sayako-oba-samas charm.












"Mother, youre dripping water."












Sachiko-sama pointed at the branch Sayako-oba-sama was carrying, where water was trickling to the stem and then dripping down.












"Ah, oh no. I was right in the middle of a flower arrangement. I asked Rei-san to pick some coralberry from her garden and bring it along."












The beautiful lady said, "This is a disaster, such a disaster," as she unhurriedly returned to the hallway, while the younger visitors watched on enraptured.












Except for one, her daughter Sachiko-sama.












"Shes the same as ever, isnt she?"












She sighed, then took a tissue from her kimono and wiped away the drops of water on the tatami mat.












Then, like a detective, or police dog, inspecting the scene of the crime, she followed after Sayako-oba-sama, carefully wiping up each of the drops that had fallen to the floor.