Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 26 Chapter 1
She knew she could be a bit forgetful.
But the fourteenth of February, the day of the newspaper clubs "Future Roses Treasure Hunt," was also the nationwide celebration, Valentines Day.
So even though she went to school a fair bit earlier than usual, the bus and the school grounds were surprisingly full of students, causing Yumi to groan.
Shed been expecting it, but not this much.
It was particularly busy at the fork in the path by the Maria-sama statue, with groups of sœurs on standby, waiting for breaks in the flow of students saying their morning prayers, then approaching the statue one group at a time to exchange chocolates.
With that many students around the school, there was no way shed be able to hide her card in the morning and let it rest until after school. The swift rejection of this idea at their earlier planning meeting had been correct.
Even so, Yumi thought it was amazing that her onee-sama, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama, had done just that last year. How early did she have to arrive at school?
Opening the door of her locker, Yumi saw a small light-brown bundle with a red ribbon around it, and a cute pink floral paper bag quietly sitting there.
Her initial reaction was that shed mistakenly opened someone elses shoe locker, so she hurriedly closed the door. But for the last ten months, shed been coming to this same spot day after day, so she should have been able to find her own locker without checking the nametag for confirmation. So how had this happened today?
For the time being, Yumi hid her embarra.s.sment by scratching her head. Luckily, there werent that many students around, so hiding her embarra.s.sment wasnt actually necessary.
Setting that aside, she read the nametag on the shoe locker door.
"Huh? It says f.u.kuzawa."
And there was only one f.u.kuzawa-san in the second-year Pine cla.s.s.
"So that means&h.e.l.lip;."
Naturally, she made the very f.u.kuzawa Yumi-esque a.s.sumption that whoever placed the package and paper bag in there had made a mistake, and wondered what she should do with this lost property.
But then.
"Oh my, youre so popular, Yumi-san."
Yumi turned around when she heard this and found Katsura-san from Wisteria cla.s.s standing there, grinning as she peeked into Yumis shoe locker.
"Huh!?"
"Why are you so surprised? Todays Valentines Day, right?"
Katsura-san pulled a box about the size of two stacked CD cases out of her bag and said, "right?" Presumably, they were chocolates she was going to give to her onee-sama in the tennis club.
"So youre saying&h.e.l.lip;?"
That they were both equivalent.
"Theyre chocolates, for you, Yumi-san."
Yumi hesitated, so Katsura-san reached past her and took the parcel and paper bag out of Yumis locker and presented them to her, saying, "See."
Indeed. Whether it was because they understood the personality of that shoe-lockers owner or not, both gifts were clearly labeled with the recipients name: "f.u.kuzawa Yumi-sama."
Shed been beaten. Yumi cooled her feverish brow with the back of her hand.
"... I never imagined this sort of thing could happen."
Even though she gave out chocolates on Valentines Day, she never expected to receive any. And, apologies to the senders, but Yumi couldnt recall who they were, even though shed seen their names.
"Ah, youre still the same natural airhead, Yumi-san."
Katsura-san murmured in astonishment.
"Well, I mean, I dont have a pet.i.te sœur."
"What are you muttering about? Valentines Day isnt just for giving chocolates to your sœur. You saw that last year, right?"
"Ah, yeah."
She had indeed seen it. The oversized paper bag full of chocolates, given to Rei-sama by way of her pet.i.te sœur Yoshino-san, and Sachiko-samas refusal of chocolates from everyone except Yumi. On top of that, there was a certain unnamed graduate who had pestered people other than her pet.i.te sœur for "Chocolates, please."
But, to think that it could happen to her.
"Anyway, well, good luck."
After patting Yumi on the shoulder, Katsura-san disappeared towards the cla.s.sroom at a jog, having already changed into her indoor shoes.
As for Yumi, whod been left behind ... she took off her outdoor shoes, put the (presumably chocolate) gifts into her bag, changed into her indoor shoes, and closed her locker door.
As she walked down the hallway, she thought about what to do with the chocolates.
"Good luck, huh."
If she was going to follow in the footsteps of her beloved onee-sama, then she couldnt accept them. Having said that, she didnt think she had the courage or conviction to send them back.
Naturally, she was happy to receive chocolates as an expression of someones good will towards her. She wanted to gratefully accept those feelings.
Although, by accepting them, she would have to provide a return gift on White Day. And while it was obviously a pointless concern, what would she do in the incredibly unlikely event that she ended up with a haul like Rei-sama last year? Such were her concerns; even as she was soaring with joy, another part of her was applying the brakes.
"I see. So thats something else Ill need good luck for."
Even though there were already so many things she had to do today.
The number of pressing concerns she had just increased by one.
The second-year Pine cla.s.sroom was filled with a sweet smell.
That wasnt a metaphor; it really was the smell of chocolate.
There were chocolates, both still-to-be-given and already-received, in the desks, in the bags, and in the lockers. Of course, thats not to ignore those girls secretly snacking on chocolates theyd made for taste-testing, or just happened to make too much.
Students entering their regular old cla.s.sroom were met by this unusual aroma, reinforcing the fact that, "Ahh, its Valentines Day." But that was only at the beginning. Soon enough, they became accustomed to it and didnt notice the smell.
Yumi left her coat and school bag in the cla.s.sroom and headed out with only her handbag. After a little bit of indecision, she decided to leave the chocolates from her shoe locker in her cla.s.s locker.
After that she headed towards her onee-sama, so she could give her chocolates. It would have been a mistake to take easily confused packages with her. Yumi hadnt forgotten last years debacle.
There were a couple of students standing outside the third-year Pine cla.s.sroom, as though they were waiting for someone.
(What if theyre all here to give chocolates to my onee-sama?)
Knowing what happened last year and the year before, only m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic second and third-years would be so reckless as to think of giving Sachiko-sama chocolates. But the first-years wouldnt know.
It wasnt as though Yumi was jealous, but she didnt want to witness any other students giving Sachiko-sama chocolates. Since not only would they be turned down, they probably wouldnt want her pet.i.te sœur to see that either.
But those worries were unfounded. Watching from a safe distance, Yumi saw the waiting girls give their chocolates to other third-years, one by one, and then leave.
"Oh, its f.u.kuzawa Yumi-chan."
One of the third-years called out to her, after receiving their chocolates.
"Sachiko-sans already here."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Should I get her for you?"
"Please."
"Oka~y."
The girl grinned as she went back into the cla.s.sroom.
Yumi had been loitering outside her onee-samas cla.s.sroom on the morning of February 14. It was pretty obvious why she was there.
"Yumi."
Before long, Sachiko-sama appeared in the hallway.
"Gokigenyou, onee-sama."
She was as beautiful as ever. The dry winter air was having no effect on her at all. Her skin was smooth and her hair was silky.
"Gokigenyou."
"Um."
Yumi was about to pull the chocolates out of her handbag when Sachiko-sama stopped her with a "Wait."
"Lets go some place else."
"Huh?"
"Dont worry."
Sachiko-sama walked off down the hallway, holding Yumis hand. Yumi had thought shed just hand over the chocolates and then quickly leave, but now she was thinking that perhaps she should have chosen a more suitable location.
"You may not have noticed, but some of my cla.s.smates had come out of the cla.s.sroom in order to satisfy their curiosity."
"Ah."
"Plus, there were so many people around, I couldnt relax."
But it went without saying that today was Valentines Day. There would already be people at any of the places Yumi could think of.
"It feels like its overcapacity everywhere we go."
Of course, in comparison to the trains during rush hour, it was quite empty. Even so, it was hard to ensure there was an adequate separation from other people. It would be inexcusable to have their arrival intrude upon other people that were exchanging chocolates too.
The Rose Mansion came in handy at times like these, but Sachiko-sama seemed to be avoiding it, perhaps because it was being used as the treasure hunts headquarters. It wasnt as though outsiders were forbidden from entering the Rose Mansion, but Yumi understood that feeling since shed found it hard to step inside during last years event too.
In the end, Sachiko-sama finally stopped walking when they were around the back of the Rose Mansion.
"Why were your cla.s.smates spying on you, onee-sama?"
Yumi asked the question that shed been pondering for the entire time theyd been walking. Since there shouldnt be anything that unusual about the Red Rose sœurs being together at this point.
"Last year, I rejected everyones chocolates except yours, right? They wanted to see my expression —"
"Your expression when you accepted my chocolates? Please show that only to me."
Yumi removed a red package from her handbag and held it out to her onee-sama.
"&h.e.l.lip; Is that a demand?"
Sachiko-sama smiled shyly.
"Not at all."
Yumi shook her head, and Sachiko-sama accepted the chocolates with a "Thank you." Then she boldly unfastened the silver ribbon and opened the package.
"Oh my."
What she saw were ten home-made chocolate truffles, each about the size of a pickled plum.
"Are these &h.e.l.lip; surprise chocolates?"
Sachiko-sama inquired, their appearance sparking a memory. That was the name Yumi had hastily made up last year, partly out of desperation and partly to cover her embarra.s.sment at the accident. But this year.
"Version two."
"Version two?"
"Youll be surprised how much love is mixed in."
"Hehehe."
Sachiko-sama took one of the chocolates and put it in her mouth.
"Its true."
"Right?"
They looked into each others eyes and laughed. Such bliss.
"Well then, this is from me."
It was only now that Yumi realized Sachiko-sama was still carrying her handbag, as a small package emerged like magic.
"Wait, are you telling me those are chocolates?"
The package was wrapped in green wrapping paper with dark brown lines and tied with a yellow ribbon.
"Wouldnt that be the most likely conclusion, when receiving a gift on a day like today?"
"I suppose &h.e.l.lip; but I wasnt really expecting this either."
"Either?"
"Ah, never mind that."
Back on topic, while she gave her onee-sama chocolates, she never expected to receive any either. Of course, she knew that different sœurs had different approaches - like Rei-sama and Yoshino-sans tradition. She knew that, but she still couldnt imagine her onee-sama, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama, making chocolates.
"Last year, I was so happy when you gave me chocolates. So I thought Id do the same this year."
Then she added, "I wanted to convey my feelings."
"Onee-sama&h.e.l.lip;."
This was probably why she had wanted to escape the gaze of her cla.s.smates. Sachiko-sama was famous for refusing any chocolates given to her, so for her to give chocolates in return would undoubtedly cause an uproar.
"Thank-you very much."
Accepting both the chocolates and Sachiko-samas feelings, Yumi clasped them to her chest.
"Although Im afraid theyre only store-bought chocolates. I wasnt confident I could make chocolates like you did, but theyre still quite good."
Apparently these chocolates had her onee-samas seal of approval.
"Ive got an emotional attachment to those chocolates."
Sachiko-sama said, pointing.
"When I was in kindergarten, I received a box of these chocolates from a cla.s.smate on the day she moved away. Ive since forgotten that girls name and face, but I never forgot the taste of those chocolates. As a result, every so often I find myself searching them out."
It was unusual for Sachiko-sama to be reminiscing about her barely remembered time in kindergarten. This episode with her cla.s.smate must have left a large impression on her.
"I even looked after the wrapping paper it came in, ironing it out."
"Is this it?"
Yumi asked, looking at the green and dark-brown lined paper.
"No."
The current wrapping paper was Valentines Day specific, so wouldnt typically be used for an everyday gift. But even if it were just a normal gift, the wrapping paper designs would have changed somewhat over the decade between then and now.
"But the taste should be the same. Try one of them."
At Sachiko-samas urging, Yumi carefully undid the paper so as not to tear it, opened the box, and ate one of the chocolates.
"Its good."
The taste of Sachiko-samas memories. They offered each other one of the chocolates theyd received, and also put one of the chocolates theyd brought from home into their mouths. Then they both smiled simultaneously. At that moment, the two flavors were mixing, filling their mouths.
As Sachiko-sama took her second chocolate from the box, and third in total, she quietly asked Yumi:
"Did you make these just for me?"
"Huh?"
"Last year, you gave some to Sei-sama too, didnt you?"
"Ah —"
It seemed like she was asking whether Yumi had made chocolates for anyone else.
"Theyre just for you. Thats why theyre so full of love."
"A surprising amount."
"Yeah."
Yumi understood that her onee-sama wasnt jealous, she just wanted confirmation. While Yumi hadnt been consciously aware of it at first, now that shed been asked and had to put it into words, her feelings crystallized.
"I thought Id keep some distance from Touko-chan for the time being."
"I see."
"There seems to have been some sort of misunderstanding. I want to give Touko-chan some time to compose herself, because it will just deteriorate even further if shes not willing to listen to what I have to say."
"That sounds about right."
After agreeing, Sachiko-sama ate another chocolate truffle.
"It really is a shame, theres so much love in these."
She said.
After that they parted company, and Yumi went into the Rose Mansion by herself.
Yumi had explained that it wouldnt matter if she came inside, but Sachiko-sama still refrained. She may have been worried about causing a needless misunderstanding by being too close to the headquarters when she was a partic.i.p.ant in the treasure hunt.
There were already benefits to being the sœur of a host. Even though they wouldnt be leaked all the details, Yumi could understand why some people might mistakenly believe that. In reality, knowing their personality and preferences probably made it easier to reason where they would hide their card.
Yumi considered this as she opened the door.
It was probably for this reason that Sachiko-sama had left so quickly after their exchange of chocolates.
The other partic.i.p.ants wouldnt begrudge sœurs exchanging chocolates on Valentines Day, no matter the circ.u.mstances. This brief interlude did not require them to be in the Rose Mansion; neither Sachiko-sama nor Rei-sama.
But, drawing a clear distinction between those two events, Sachiko-sama was full of enthusiasm for the treasure hunt. However, Yumi couldnt imagine her running around with the crowd, checking every nook and cranny.
As Yumi put her hand on the handrail and was about to climb the stairs, she caught a voice seeping out of the room on the ground floor.
(Is that Yoshino-san and the others&h.e.l.lip;?)
She removed her foot from the first step and turned towards the room. A while ago, they had discussed tidying it up prior to the treasure hunt, but had been so busy that it hadnt happened yet.
As a result, Yumi casually opened the door, like, "Ill help with the cleanup too."
"Gokige - "
But, the next instant, she was surprised by the scene in front of her and instinctively slammed the door closed.
"P-pardon me!"
Wah wah wah. What was that just now? That dazzling scene had blinded her.
"Yumi-san?"
Shimako-san called out from the other side of the closed door.
"Im sorry."
Shed seen something she shouldnt have.
"What are you apologizing for?"
Yumi was leaning with her back against the door as it slowly opened.
"Well, youre exchanging chocolates, right?"
"Thats true, but its not really a problem if someone else sees that. If we didnt want to be seen, we would have gone somewhere were no-one would find us, so its okay."
Shed said it was okay, but even so.
"That reaction was like a middle-school boy whod stumbled upon a group of girls getting changed."
After the grande sœur came the pet.i.te sœur. Noriko-chan likewise stepped out of the room as though nothing had happened. So, by majority rule, it looked as though it was Yumis excessive reaction that was out of place.
"Oh, I dont think shed be that surprised to see us getting changed. We were in the same cla.s.s in first-year, so we used to get changed for PE together."
It wasnt said as a joke, but that response was kind of absurd, Shimako-san.
But, in a sense, that scene was even more "private" than getting changed; the sœurs facing each other, with the chocolates between them. The atmosphere in the storage room sparkled brightly only in their immediate vicinity and, since it was somewhere unexpected for them to be, the White Rose sœurs looked almost like illusions.
It felt like theyd been in their own private world. And, as the name suggested, it was like no-one should intrude upon them.
At any rate, it was beautiful. Too beautiful. That vision of sœurs exchanging chocolates&h.e.l.lip;!
After Yumis thoughts had raced to this point, they came to a sudden stop as she thought: "Hold on."
From an objective perspective, did she and her onee-sama possibly project the same sort of atmosphere? To test this out, she tried imagining what their exchange of chocolates would have looked like, and her face flushed crimson.
"Yumi-sans - "
"Yeah, its quite funny to see."
Whispering to each other as they studied her face. My, what an impolite pair of sœurs.
Then Yumi thought, "I wonder if the White Rose sœurs chocolate is sweet and creamy," and Noriko-chan said, "Its just regular milk chocolate." Shimako-san said she made the same marble cake as last year.
Oh, so they also had the onee-sama giving the pet.i.te sœur chocolate too? - Apparently, this thought also showed up on her face.
"Sorry for fl.u.s.tering you like this, Yumi-san. We probably could have done it after school, but given what happened last year...."
Shimako-san giggled.
"Last year &h.e.l.lip; ah."
Yumi nodded, remembering those events. Then Noriko-chan immediately asked:
"What happened last year?"
No matter how close two sœurs are, they wont know everything about each others past.
"Shimako-san hid the chocolates she was going to give to her onee-sama &h.e.l.lip; ah, wait, it was cake wasnt it? Then, when the treasure hunt was over, it was nowhere to be found."
Yumi pointed to the storage room, indicating that the cake had been hidden in there.
"Wha-!?"
Bravo. Shed elicited the correct reaction from Noriko-chan.
"One of the treasure hunt partic.i.p.ants had eaten it."
"But, but thats horrible &h.e.l.lip; although its shocking that a student who could do such a thing would be at Lillian to begin with."
"Oh but there was such a student. Only one."
"Right."
Noriko-chan deduced what had happened from Yumi and Shimako-sans expressions and once more said, "Thats horrible."
"I just cant believe it no matter how I try. That person was my onee-samas onee-sama."
"Oh, but Sei-sama was amazing. She was popular with the younger grades too."
Yumi had a soft spot for Sei-sama, but even ignoring that, she had been held in high regard by the school.
"I get that she was amazing. And popular too. But theres such a disparity. I know I may be turning a blind eye to my own shortcomings, but how did someone like that get involved with Shimako-san?"
Noriko-chan hung her head, her expression showing a mixture of regret, disappointment, and incomprehension.
"You cant say anything about this to Shimako-san or Sachiko-sama."
Yumi stealthily whispered to Noriko-chan, as though she were really about to tell her a secret, but Noriko-chan perked up the moment she heard Shimako-sans name.
"What is it?"
Apparently that was her reaction upon hearing her beloved Shimako-sans name.
"Shimako-san rejected Sachiko-samas rosary and chose Sei-sama."
"Wha- ... why? They seem way more fitting."
Straightforward Noriko-chan spoke her honest thoughts.
"Hey now, what about me then?"
Yumi faked a scowl at Noriko-chan.
"Ah."
Belatedly realizing what shed said, Noriko-chan covered her mouth.
"I didnt mean to say that you werent fitting for Rosa Chinensis."
It was fairly typical for someone who found themselves in deep trouble to try and squirm out of it like this. It was amusing to see the usually cool and collected Noriko-chan frantically try and justify herself, so Yumi thought about stringing her along further, but since they didnt really have the time right now she decided to let her off the hook.
Still climbing the stairs, Shimako-san laughed.
"Sei-sama would definitely cough at a time like this."
Her sweet voice melted those listening.
"Youre late."
When they got to the room on the second floor of the Rose Mansion, they were met with a scowl.
"Honestly."
Yoshino-san continued.
"The White and Red Rose families were all so busy this morning exchanging chocolates. But, sadly, the head of the Yellow Rose household is absent today with an entrance exam."
Yumi had a vague memory of this being the sort of line a wife would say when her husband was transferred to a distant city, leaving his family behind.
"Rei-samas not coming?"
"Well see. She said she wanted to come once her exam was over, but who knows? Shes put an entry in the second-chance draw, so even if she comes she cant partic.i.p.ate in the treasure hunt."
So that was it. Yoshino-san was more upset by Rei-samas absence than she was about chocolates. Last year, the Yellow Rose sœurs - cousins and next-door neighbors - had exchanged chocolates after they got home from school.
"Relax, Yoshino-san. Everyone made it in time for the 8 oclock meeting."
Mami-san, the president of the newspaper club and editor-in-chief of the Lillian Kawaraban, tried to pacify Yoshino-san. The eight members of the newspaper club had already arrived.
"I dont want to hear that from someone standing there with her sœur."
Mami-sans pet.i.te sœur, Hidemi-san, was a member of the newspaper club, so naturally she was also present.
"Oh? But were not exchanging chocolates."
Mami-san responded immediately.
"Youre not?"
Yoshino-san asked, arbitrarily deciding that all sœurs were required to exchange presents on Valentines Day.
"The newspaper clubs focusing all our energy on todays main event. We dont have any spare time for something frivolous like that. Right?"
Mami-san shifted her gaze to her pet.i.te sœur, looking for confirmation. But, no matter how long she waited, there was no response of "Yes," or "Of course," forthcoming from Hidemi-san.
"Um &h.e.l.lip; Hidemi-san, did you&h.e.l.lip;?"
Noriko-chan timidly inquired. Then Hidemi-san angrily thrust a cute paper bag at Mami-san. It was undoubtedly a thrust, not just an offer.
"Hidem-"
"So sorry for spending my energy on something as frivolous as this when we dont have any spare time."
"No, its not like that."
Mami-san was reeling from the unexpected attack. That pair had a relationship more like a boss-and-employees, rather than sœurs. Mami-san probably didnt know how to cope with this situation, since she couldnt usually spoil or indulge her pet.i.te sœur.
(First of all, "thank you.")
Yumi moved around behind Mami-san and whispered in her ear.
"First of all, thank you."
"Its frivolous to say first of all."
(Im so happy.)
Shimako-san joined in too.
"I-Im so happy."
She was just saying what she was told. Mami-san was acting like a ventriloquists dummy.
"Thats enough."
Hidemi-san turned her back, like she was sulking.
"My Onee-samas the newspapers ogre-in-chief; I wasnt really expecting much."
(An ogre, huh.)
Everyone considered this for a moment, but then:
"Exactly."
The previously deflated Mami-san straightened up and answered heartily.
"Im the Lillian Kawarabans ogre. Im not about to loosen up and have fun even on Valentines Day."
"Dont say that, Mami-san."
It was like she was verbally trampling all over the gift her pet.i.te sœur had gone to great efforts to give her.
"My mind is completely filled with todays event. Hidemi wouldnt be my pet.i.te sœur if she didnt understand something like that."
After saying this, Mami-san turned to her pet.i.te sœur.
"So? Whats this?"
"Ch-chocolate cookies."
"I see. Then Ill eat them after the event, since I usually crave sweet things when Im tired."
"Okay."
Hidemi-san responded cheerfully.
Wait, wait. Was that okay? Somehow it had all been resolved peacefully. It wasnt just Yumi - Yoshino-san, Shimako-san, Noriko-chan, and all the other newspaper club members were equally bewildered.
Sœurship was an unfathomable thing. Ten pairs would have ten different ways of doing things, same for one hundred, and none of them would have the same sort of relationship as another.
But it was probably those differences that made it so interesting.
"Well then, lets start our final briefing."
With Mami-sans declaration, everyone took their seats and adopted serious expressions.
"First of all, lets review everyones movements against this timetable, and then —"
Everyone was united in wanting this event to be a success.
Arriving back at the second-year Pine cla.s.sroom just before the bell, they pa.s.sed the first-year Naitou Shouko-chan at the door.
(So that means &h.e.l.lip; )
"Welcome back, you three."
As expected, when they went inside they found Tsutako-san at the entry. Which meant that, undoubtedly, Shouko-chan had given Tsutako-san —
Yumi, Yoshino-san and Mami-san all shared a look and smiled knowingly. In her hand, Tsutako-san gripped a small light-brown gift bag, without a ribbon.
"Is that from Shouko-chan?"
"Uh &h.e.l.lip; yeah."
Tsutako-san answered, with an expression that was more bewildered than overjoyed.
"Whats the matter? Isnt it chocolates?"
"Mm."
That answer could be taken as either it was chocolates, or it wasnt. Tsutako-san sighed as she returned to her seat, and curiosity compelled Yumi, Yoshino-san and Mami-san to follow her.
"Is it chocolates? Or not?"
"Arent you happy?"
"Why are you looking like that?"
Crowding around both sides of Tsutako-sans desk, the trio asked this succession of questions. Sitting down in her seat, Tsutako-san set the paper bag in front of her, let out another deep sigh, then raised her head.
"You know...."
"Hm?"
"Even I thought that if she was going to give me something, that it would be chocolates."
"Its not?"
Well, if it wasnt chocolates, there were plenty of other things it could be - like Hidemi-sans cookies, or Shimako-sans marble cake. Of course, it didnt have to be sweets, it could be something like a handmade scarf or a bag. But the bag was a bit small for one of those.
"Is it something troubling?"
It seemed unlikely that Shouko-chan would give Tsutako-san something she didnt want, but Yumi thought shed at least ask. Everyone had their own hobbies and preferences, after all.
For instance, what if Shouko-chan raised lizards, or giant spiders, and gave Tsutako-san one of those &h.e.l.lip; that would definitely be troubling.
But Tsutako-san rejected this.
"No, its something Im really happy to get."
"Then, what? Why that expression?"
Yoshino-san blurted out her question, irritated.
"Im just worried."
"About?"
"If I get film as a present for Valentines Day, what should I give as a return gift on White Day?"
"&h.e.l.lip; Huh?"
Film on Valentines Day.
That too.
Theyd found another Valentines Day option, unique and interesting.