Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 13 Chapter 1
"What? My archaic dictionary?"
She turned around, feeling his gaze.
"Ah, yeah &h.e.l.lip; no."
His inarticulate response matched the tedious expression on his face.
"Which is it?"
"Yeah" and "No" were complete opposites, like plus and minus. Well, it could make sense if the "no" was a correction of the earlier "yeah." Realizing this, Yumi reached for the archaic dictionary that hed removed from between the bookends on her desk, but contrary to her expectations, Yuuki said, "Thank-you," and turned around. So then where was he going with that "no" at the end of his sentence?
"Yuuki."
Yumi called out to the figure in the white athletic singlet that was walking away. Having just returned from summer camp, her younger brothers skin was bronzed like hed been to the beach. Supposedly, the camp was to prepare for their school festival, but it looked as though hed had plenty of time to run around.
"Was there anything else you wanted to borrow?"
"No."
Well geez. Heres another "no." But why was he acting so indecisive? So Yumi waited for what he was about to say next, and, after his eyes seemed to swim for a while he said:
"Um, can I turn down the temperature on the air-con?"
"No way."
Naturally, Yumi rejected this instantly.
"The rooms too hot."
"Its perfect. Its not good for you to have the temperature too low."
Men are typically said to be more sensitive to heat, and this statistic applied exactly to the f.u.kuzawa household. Her father and Yuuki were both sensitive to the heat and suffered in summer. Her mother and Yumi were both sensitive to the cold, so winter was harsh for them.
"So being too hots good for the body then?"
Not giving up, Yuuki grabbed the front of his athletic singlet and fanned himself with it.
"I didnt say that. But if you lowered the temperature, then Id be cold."
"Couldnt you put something on?"
"This is my room. Why dont you take something off?"
"What else could I take off?"
Indeed.
Short running pants. He was already bordering on being an intrusion in a young ladys room. Well, since he was already wearing so little, taking something off probably wouldnt cool him down all that much.
"You could go back to your own room."
Yumi said, a bit cruelly.
"Im not leaving. My rooms unbelievably bad."
"A burning h.e.l.l?"
"Yeah. Id get heatstroke in 15 minutes."
So he meekly lowered his head, imploring her to let him stay. Yumi agreed, saying, "There there." Then, for her cute little brothers sake, she lowered the temperature on the air-con by one degree. A warriors compa.s.sion.
Beep.
The truth was that the air-con in her brothers room was currently broken.
No-one knew how long it had been playing up. But apparently it had been making strange noises for a while now. Then, last night when he got back from camp and switched it on, it made a single loud noise and wouldnt start, no matter what he tried.
According to Yuuki, "That was probably the air-cons death rattle." But it wasnt necessarily dead yet. There was a chance it could be repaired.
Theyd called an electrician to repair it, but he seemed quite busy and couldnt come until the day after tomorrow. So Yuuki had been borrowing a corner of Yumis room since this morning, doing his summer homework. He could go to the library if he wanted somewhere more comfortable, but so far it hadnt come to that.
He apparently preferred the shame of intruding in his older sisters room to going out on his bicycle in this heat.
(Huh? But.)
After Yumi swung her chair back to her desk, she suddenly realized that it shouldnt have been that hard for him to ask her to lower the air-con temperature.
What just happened &h.e.l.lip; right, it was like there was something he had to say, but he thought the time wasnt right, which was what the "no" was referring to.
Spin, spin, spin.
She thought as her chair swung.
She left it alone for a while, but it nagged at her, so she turned to her younger brother who was leafing through the dictionary at her low, gla.s.s-topped table and called to him.
" &h.e.l.lip; Yuuki?"
Then Yuuki raised his head and said loudly:
"Say, Yumi!"
"Wh-what?"
They werent bloodshot, but there was strength in his eyes. Seeing his resolve, Yumi immediately put herself on guard.
"Well."
"Y-yes?"
She didnt know what he was going to say, but she would listen with dignity and maturity. Their age difference may be less than a year, but that didnt change the fact that she was the older sister.
"Will the Lillians student council help out at the Hanadera school festival again this year?"
" &h.e.l.lip; Thats all you wanted to ask?"
So apparently the school festival was the topic for the conversation. But she still couldnt see the root of the problem.
"The second semesters almost here and we havent had a planning meeting yet."
"Oh, really?"
Yumi didnt really know the details, but Rei-sama was supposed to be their primary contact.
"And so, while were just talking, would it be possible to have an introductory meeting beforehand &h.e.l.lip; that sort of thing."
"Wha - !?"
Yumis voice instinctively rose when she heard this unexpected request. Yuuki responded by hastily waving both his hands and saying:
"No, its not like that. Its just that there are some things we have to prepare, and if we had the meeting a bit earlier than that would be a huge help to us &h.e.l.lip; thats all I meant."
Mumbling unintelligibly.
"Frankly, to finalize our planning, we need to know how far the Lillians a.s.sistants are prepared to go, you know &h.e.l.lip; something like that."
Shed been listening silently, and Yuuki looked at her with upturned eyes and said, "So its no good after all." So then, hmm, that was it then, hed said it expecting to be turned down.
"Is that all?"
Yumi asked, arms folded.
"What do you mean, "Is that all?""
"Youre not having any impure thoughts about it?"
"I-impure !? Whats impure?"
This time his eyes looked down. Yumi stuck her index finger up and said:
"For example, say you wanted to kneel at the feet of the true princess Sachiko-sama. Or you wanted to get closer to the charming Shimako-san. Or perhaps you wanted to cross swords with the Takazura top-talent Rei-sama."
Yumi enthusiastically described the three beautiful Roses of Lillians Girls Academy. But Yuuki suppressed a laugh, poking fun at his older sisters speech.
"Setting aside the first two, I wonder about that third one."
"Those are just examples. I told you that."
"Well, if its an example."
With that confirmed, Yuukis serious expression returned.
"Im not going to say those sort of feelings dont exist. The Lillians girls are an unknown world to the boys, so of course theyre going to be interested &h.e.l.lip; but Ill tell you right now no-ones going to confess their love or anything."
An unknown world. The boys. Interested. Just hearing it was enough to make her dizzy. These were the sort of phrases that must never be spoken in front of the man-hating Sachiko-sama.
"Youre asking an awful lot, you know."
"Yeah. Youre right. Sorry."
Yuuki looked a bit despondent. Poor boy. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, between his school friends and his older sister.
"So youre the gofer for your seniors? Just what kind of person is this years Hanadera student council president?"
"Youll find out soon enough."
"I guess."
No matter who it was, Yumi thought he had to be better than the Yuuki-ogling Kashiwagi-san. But if they were rude and worked him relentlessly, then that would also be a problem.
"You know, Yumi, this isnt an official request, so you can say no."
Yuuki was still acting so indecisive.
"Yeah."
Even as she was nodding, Yumi wondered whether it would be okay to deny the request based on her own judgment.
Certainly, it wasnt an official offer.
Shed only heard it because she and her brother lived under the same roof and both happened to have been thrust into their respective schools student councils.
But, what was that? For some reason, she put the brakes on before turning him down completely, as though something were telling her to hold on a minute.
Telling her to wait a minute and think about it.
"Hmm."
"Thinking about it, the only way to have it during summer vacation is as a voluntary meeting. It was asking too much, right from the start."
"Be quiet for a while, Yuuki."
Scolding her grumbling younger brother. Older sister needs to run her generally under-utilized gray matter at full speed for a while, so she can do without the interruption.
(If we do that, itll turn out like so. But if we use this well, then maybe - )
Yuuki was watching her expression, but she ignored that and clapped her hands.
"Okay, Ive got it!"
"Um &h.e.l.lip; Yumi?"
"Lets put this on hold for now."
"Huh?"
"Cant you hear? Put it on hold. Ill have to consult with the other members."
"Huh!?"
For something that really wasnt all that shocking, Yuuki was completely taken aback, and came over as though to hug her.
"Yu-yu-yu-yumi. When did you become such a power player?"
"Dont be silly. I told you, I have to consult with them. At any rate, I cant say anything until Ive talked to Rosa Foetida, Rei-sama."
Strike while the iron is hot. Yumi retrieved her student notebook from the drawer and checked the phone number.
"Rei-sama? Oh, not Sachiko-san?"
Yuuki looked confused as he fetched the phone handset for her, and Yumi nodded.
"Yeah. Well."
There was no way she could discuss what to do about Sachiko-sama with Sachiko-sama herself, was there?
" - Well, I suppose."
Yumi sipped her lemonade through the straw and sighed.
"I should have known that Yoshino-san would also come if I called Rei-sama."
"Whats this? You make it sound like Im a hanger-on, like goldfish droppings."
Yoshino-san pouted as she poked her straw at the vanilla ice-cream in her tea-flavored ice-cream float. Sitting next to her, Rei-sama stirred her strawberry shake, smiled wryly and declared:
"Huh? It doesnt just "sound like" it, its exactly what you are, Yoshino. When you saw me getting ready to go out, you badgered me with questions like "Where are you going?" and "Who are you meeting?" When you found out I was seeing Yumi-chan, you stuck to me as though it were completely natural."
"Hmph. Its not like I wanted to go somewhere with you, Rei-chan. I just wanted to see Yumi-san."
Her sulking figure looked more like a puffer-fish than a goldfish. Yoshino-san didnt find it funny that her "beloved Rei-chan" had hit the nail on the head.
"Alright, alright. If thats what you say it is."
"Such an insufferable tone of voice."
Yoshino-san thumped against Rei-samas st.u.r.dy upper arm. Um, please dont take this sort of lovers quarrel outside of your house. Especially not now, when all of j.a.pan is sweltering.
"If Yoshino-sama is goldfish droppings, just what kind of droppings does that make me?"
Noriko-chan mumbled, having silently watched their back-and-forth argument.
In a bad mood, Yoshino-sans response was somewhat p.r.i.c.kly.
"At best, maybe rice fish droppings?"
"Ah, so then Im the rice fish?"
Shimako-san asked, with an expression that was part annoyed but still part pleased. If Noriko-chan was rice fish droppings, then Shimako-san was automatically rice fish.
"Hey, hey, do the droppings cling to rice fish when they swim too?"
"Ah."
Everyones face froze when Yumi asked this. She didnt think shed misspoken, but wasnt completely sure, and it was Rei-sama that came to her senses first.
" &h.e.l.lip; How about we get to the main topic?"
She suggested, choking on her shake a little bit.
Yumi had thought it would be a simple matter to get Rei-samas opinion, but it had turned into a major production. Five of the six Yamayurikai members, basically everyone except Sachiko-sama, had a.s.sembled.
Shed phoned Rei-sama this morning, saying there was something she wanted to discuss. Then Rei-sama had done the helpful thing and invited Shimako-san. And it just so happened that Noriko-chan had been at Shimako-sans house, or rather at their temple, and those two had come together.
Despite being a weekday, it was summer vacation, so the cafe a short distance from K station was bustling. Or perhaps it was because it was 3 oclock, the perfect time for afternoon tea. Rei-sama and Yoshino-san had arrived early and waited in line, so they got a table right at the appointed time and the entire group of five didnt have to wait in the blazing sun.
" - Basically, Yumi-chan wants to accept her brothers offer. For Sachikos sake."
Rei-sama briefly summarized the contents of their earlier phone conversation.
"Its not that I actively want to accept their offer, its more that Im wondering what everyone else thinks about accepting."
Yumi answered, a bit indecisively. She was an official Yamayurikai representative, but just a bouton after all. It was a position where she could suggest things, but not force anyone to do anything.
"Yeah, youre right. I was just thinking that I should start coming up with some counter-strategies too."
Shimako-san and Yoshino-san nodded in agreement with Rei-samas words. - But there was one person looking confused.
"Um, pardon me. Im new here, so I dont really understand what youre talking about."
Noriko asked, having raised her hand to speak. Since shed only joined Lillians Girls Academy this year, it was only natural that she didnt grasp the situation.
"Frankly, Sachiko-sama hates men."
Yoshino-san said coldly.
"Rosa Chinensis &h.e.l.lip; ah, so thats it."
"You dont seem that surprised."
Rei-sama prodded. Noriko-chan gave a small shake of her head.
"No, Im surprised. I was just thinking that there probably were students at an all-girls school that couldnt get along with men, but not about Rosa Chinensis specifically. Ah, I see. Hanadera Academys a boys school, so itll be difficult for a man-hater to help out at their school festival."
Thats exactly what it was.
"Its good that youre so smart, Noriko-chan."
"Really?"
It was indeed so. She had a composure that belied her young age. Enviably so.
Noriko-chan was cool. Which meant that coolness wasnt necessarily something that came with age. Thinking this, Yumi suffered a bit of a shock. Because it meant there was a possibility that shed be just the same as she was now when she was a third-year.
"Oh, so then what happened last year? Rosa Chinensis would have been Rosa Chinensis en bouton at the time, right?"
Noriko-chan seemed confused.
"Last year, and the year before, she gave everyone the run-around and avoided going to the Hanadera school festival completely. Well, it was allowed because she was just a bouton."
"But this year."
"Exactly. Shes Rosa Chinensis, so she has to be there. Thats what Yumi-chan was thinking."
Rei-sama turned to her and said, "Go ahead." Yumi stood up and adopted an inspiring pose, her left hand on her hip and her right hand pointing up at the ceiling.
"I call it, "The epic campaign to subjugate man-hatred through gradual acclimatization because the shock of suddenly being thrown into a boys school would be too much.""
"Dont you think that campaign names a bit too long?"
" &h.e.l.lip; Ah, right. Theres probably scope to change it."
Oh, she really was cool. That Noriko-chan.
"So you were planning on getting her accustomed to the Hanadera student council during the summer vacation?"
Shimako-san inquired.
"Right."
Yumi agreed, after sitting down.
"Sachiko-samas fine with my younger brother for some reason. So I think her problems a prejudice she can overcome with time. The previous Roses said that her man-hating wasnt something she was born with."
"So we take it slowly then?"
"I think Sachiko-sama will be fine if my brothers there, giving off "these people are safe" vibes."
"I see. That makes sense. Like how you dont jump into a hot bath, instead starting with a lukewarm one and steadily adding hot water until it heats up."
Yoshino-san murmured. Although her a.n.a.logy was easy to understand, pairing Sachiko-samas man-hatred with taking a bath seemed somehow wrong.
"I get what youre saying. So, what next? Where, and how, best to meet them? Yumi-chan, do you have any ideas on this?"
"Well, on that."
Yumi placed her index finger lightly on her cheek.
"I couldnt really think of a good place to meet."
The Yamayurikai would be meeting frequently throughout the second-half of the holidays to start preparing for the school festival. But, having said that, theyd have to get permission from the school to invite the boys of Hanadera onto their campus. Yuuki had said that they had a cla.s.sroom they could use at Hanadera, but theyd have to use some kind of black magic to get the man-hating Sachiko-sama to go there.
"Before we get to that, what are the odds of Sachiko-sama attending such a get together?"
"Ooh."
That Yoshino-san had hit on a sore spot. Indeed, if Sachiko-sama was willing to partic.i.p.ate, then theyd have no need for the event they were planning.
"I wonder what we can do to ensure shes there."
"Ensure &h.e.l.lip; "
Rei-sama and the three second-years immediately thought of the one person who held Sachiko-sama in the palm of her hand, and could "ensure" that she would do something.
"Basically, what youre saying is, what would Youko-sama do?"
Then, the conclusion that everyone arrived at was:
"Shed order her."
"- Right."
She wouldnt use any underhanded tricks. Just a single sentence. "Sachiko. Be there." - Like that.
"But could anyone here order Rosa Chinensis to attend?"
Noriko-chan said, and everyone exchanged glances.
"I couldnt order her. Sachiko wouldnt listen to a word I said if she found it disagreeable. What do you think, Rosa Gigantea?"
Rei-sama said to Shimako-san.
"Of course I wouldnt be able to. While we are both Roses, Im a grade below her. I couldnt order her."
Shimako-san shook her head too. Then everyones gaze seemed to spontaneously turn to Yumi.
"Hold on a minute. Im her pet.i.t soeur, theres no way I could order my onee-sama around."
What had they been expecting? That should have been obvious from a moments thought.
" &h.e.l.lip; I guess youre right. Even though Sachiko is completely smitten with Yumi-chan, their relationship is completely different to her one with Youko-sama."
Having concluded that not a single person there could imitate Youko-sama, they decided to explore alternate paths.
"Then what would Sei-sama or Eriko-sama do?"
"&h.e.l.lip; Trick her?"
"That sounds about right."
Of course, Youko-sama could do that as well. Since they were the ones that had kept it a secret from Sachiko-sama that Kashiwagi-san was cast to play the prince in last years school festival production of "Cinderella."
"Wait, lets not be hasty."
Shimako-san frowned when she heard, "Trick her." But Yoshino-san didnt back down.
"Well hear no more from the White Rose pair. Your current happiness is proof that such drastic measures work."
Now shed said it. There was no way that Shimako-san or Noriko-chan could respond. Because they were living proof, realizing a good outcome after being tricked by the other members of the Yamayurikai.
"If we pretend its an accident, and run into them, then she wont be able to run away."
Rei-sama explained, moving water gla.s.ses around to represent Sachiko-sama and the Hanadera students. But then the waitress misinterpreted this as a request for refills, and poured ice water into the five gla.s.ses.
"But where? If its in the street, shell be able to run away. Besides, would we be able to manufacture a convenient accident? Sachiko-sama will find out if its too unnatural, and that will just aggravate her further."
Yoshino-san rested her chin on her fingers and said, "Right."
"What about a cafe like this?"
Yumi suggested, not considering it too deeply. However.
"Wouldnt it be weird to call her out somewhere when well be constantly meeting each other at school anyway? And then the Hanadera boys just happen to be here? You dont have to be Sachiko-sama to see through that."
Immediately rejected.
"Youre right. No matter how you look at it, it cant be somewhere unnatural. But does such a place exist?"
Noriko-chan, who had been abiding by the order for "silence," chose this moment to interject.
"What about Yumi-samas house?"
"My house?"
"Well, it wouldnt be unnatural for your brothers friends to visit the f.u.kuzawa house, and it wouldnt seem odd if we met there either."
Indeed. It wouldnt seem strange that that the sons and daughters friends just happened to be visiting on the same day. It wouldnt be strange, but -
" &h.e.l.lip; My house? I dont mind, but its a bit small."
Yumi quickly did the math.
Six people from the Yamayurikai, probably about the same from the Hanadera school council. Obviously, the ten or so people wouldnt be staying the night, but it was cramped when she pictured it.
"Then what about our dojo? Its fine as long as we pick a day when its not being used."
"But Rei-chan, why would the Hanadera boys just happen to be there too?"
"Ah, youre right."
Rei-sama dropped the idea after Yoshino-san pointed this out. The seemingly simple task of choosing a location was turning out to be quite difficult.
"Wouldnt it be better if we all went to Sachikos place?"
"Why would the Hanadera boys go there?"
"We could use Kashiwagi-san."
"Ah, I see."
At this point, Noriko-chan raised her hand to ask another question.
"Um, whos this Kashiwagi-san?"
"Ah, hes Sachikos cousin and fiance. Hes the former president of the Hanadera school council, and theres unconfirmed rumors that hes gay."
Rei-sama explained briefly, but thinking about it, it seems like a pretty difficult position for Sachiko-sama, doesnt it?
"So we make it seem like Kashiwagi-sans providing his juniors with a s.p.a.cious meeting spot. Kashiwagi-sans mothers a member of the Ogasawara family, and his grandfather lives there too. Ive heard he visits from time to time."
"Right."
Yumi agreed.
"Thats the impression I got."
During their New Years visit, it had seemed like Kashiwagi-san was infuriatingly familiar with the Ogasawara household.
"But will this Kashiwagi-san be willing to help us?"
Yoshino-san hadnt seen him since the school festival, so apparently she still thought of Kashiwagi-san as the wretched prince who reeked of ginkgo nuts. However.
"If I had to say, I think hed help us &h.e.l.lip; but."
Yumi muttered.
"Why?"
Yoshino-san asked.
"Ah, well, no reason. To help out his juniors as a graduate of Hanadera. And because were doing it for Sachiko-sama."
This wasnt good.
Shed almost let slip the words she remembered Kashiwagi-san saying - "Anytime you need help, Yumi-chan."
It wasnt like she was trying to hide it, but it was better to stay silent and avoid any strange misunderstandings. To begin with, Kashiwagi-san saw "Yumi-chan" as "Yukichis older sister," so someone was bound to get the wrong idea.
Although Yumi was starting to get fl.u.s.tered, Yoshino-san didnt pursue that line of questioning any further. n.o.body really seemed that interested in Kashiwagi-san.
"Oh, thats right. Sachiko knows your younger brother because Kashiwagi-san brought him along to New Years at Sachikos house, didnt he?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Well, that wont seem too out of the ordinary then."
There was unanimous agreement that they should follow that thread.
However.
Just before the meeting adjourned, Yumi was given some difficult homework by Rei-sama.
"Yumi-chan, well leave it to you to talk to Kashiwagi-san."
- How cruel.