Volume 2 Chapter 3 (1/2)
It seeest reasons why the rumors spread so fast was the speed of the newspaper club By noon the next day, every high school student knew about the catastrophe that had befallen the tere voted Best Sœur It was an awe-inspiring display of speed
”Tsukiyaot us, this time”
”I didn't think she'd publish it the next day”
Lunch break
When Yumi arrived at the Rose Mansion with her lunch box in hand, she found Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Gigantea groaning to one another while sitting across from each other
”Sorry, could you pour us some tea?”
Rosa Gigantea mimicked the speech mannerisms of section chiefs, like in dramas Her back was a bit stooped, and she didn't lift her eyes from the table in front of her She was like an ”old man”
”Rosa Chinensis, would you like japanese tea, as well?”
”Yes… no, actually, I'd prefer orange pekoe, if you don't mind”
Usually she'd accept the sa, or she would pour herself her preferred tea, but it sees on her mind today
”Orange pekoe”
I wonder if Darjeeling isn't sufficient? Yuht, as she peeked inside the cupboard, and then she found orange pekoe teabags in a glass bottle It seemed like she knew exactly how much remained
She poured thick blend of japanese tea for Rosa Gigantea in a chawan, and orange pekoe in a teacup for Rosa Chinensis, then placed the tea in front of the respective requesters After pondering over which to choose, she then filled a chawan a third of the ith the saantea and then distilled it with boiling water
The groaning of the tas based on the newspaper extra spread out in front of them It was a simple, one-sided monochrome print on a B5 sheet, but it was extremely attractive nonetheless
The headline in big letters read, ”Yellow Rose Revolution” And to its side, ”What is going on with the yellow roses?” was neatly printed, further engrossing the reader
”It's like a sports paper”
Rosa Gigantea gru a mustard-tarama-salad sandwich to her cheek, the sort that only the most die-hard of fans actually order
”It's rather vulgar for an authenticated high school newspaper”
Rosa Chinensis sighed, rolling her round rice ball around her lunch box As for Yu between theht,
(Is that so,)
Being satisfied by the implications
The Lillian Kawaraban used to be a h school newspaper She had only started reading the newspaper in depth the past two or three issues, so she had assuossipy tabloid
She wondered what sort of person Tsukiya down rumors about other people
Character aside, she took the two-shot photo of Rei-sama and Yoshi+no-san that was used for the Lillian Kawaraban that was published ten days ago, and this time had the artistic sense to lay out the new article on a torn version of the photo Even Yumi had to admit that was brilliant
Speaking of senses, the two Roses in front of her Sandwich and japanese tea, orange pekoe and rice balls, those wereabout that, Rosa Gigantea started laughing, staring at Yuh life's phases again
”I heard Yoshi+no-chan's absent again?”
Rosa Gigantea returned to the topic, deciding to ignore Yumi's face, this time
”Ah, yes I went to the Chrysanthe the class break, but Yoshi+no-san was absent”
”But Rei was here”
Rosa Gigantea mumbled, ”she's so honest,” then wiped taraer and licked it off
Apparently Rei-sah without Yoshi+no-san, and had been properly attending classes since first period Perhaps she had settled down after a night's rest, although she hadn't recovered to the point where she could outwardly look fine, which itself was quite painful to watch, opined Rosa Chinensis Rei-sa in stride to alleviate everyone's concerns But a newspaper with her photo plastered on its cover was unexpected, so she had been stunned, and had read the article in detail, anyways
”Rei-sama was the one as dumped, so her classmates'll be sensible and not inquire, but-”
Rosa Gigantea stopped there, but even Yu to be bothered all day as substitutes for the questions”
Because they wouldn't say it, but Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Gigantea both looked extre classes so far Even if they had been at physical education, they looked like they had run an hour-longBut it was out of season for pools, and you could tell just by entering the room that their exhaustion was not sports-related
Right Their exhaustion was ht be stressed out, too
Perhaps they'd heard the rumors, or they'd read the extra and wondered about the future of the yellow rose sisters, or perhaps the students were simply curious, but they had attempted to hear the story from the people closest to the sisters And when it came to people close to the sisters, the first people that sprung to mind were the Yamayurikai staff: the Roses, and enboutons and their sisters ent in and out of the Rose Mansion were targets as well Even Yumi, who you nor that happens in the Yamayurikai, was bombarded with questions to the point where she had escaped to the Rose Mansion, so she couldn't iine how troublesome it must be for the Roses
”Was it like this in my case, too…?”
Yumi remembered what had happened teeks before the school festival The students were in an uproar over whether Yumi would become Sachiko-sama's sœur or not, and this situation felt just like that
”It's not really an annoyance”
Rosa Gigantea tied up one of the vinyl wrappings for her sandwiches and tossed it in the waste bin -Which, of course, ht, they had all dealt with all of this
”It's a bother, of course, but it's not Rei or Yoshi+no-chan's fault, right? I mean, this is all simply compounded by the fact that they're popular, anyways So don't worry about it”
The Roses were ht They were only two years older, but they were able to coolly analyze their actions and their eht, ”I hope it works out”
”By the way, how about shi+ht? She didn't escape with you?”
”Everyone backs off when she smiles and answers, 'I have no clue'”
Actually, she was probably joyfully picking up gingko nuts at the secret grove She was al
”I see Beauty is a weapon In the case of Sachiko, she's so scary no one probably wants to bother her about this”
For Yuht Rosa Gigantea was more of an exotic beauty, but her looks were on par with the stone statues in the fine arts room Rosa Foetida-
”Huh?”
Speaking of which, where was Rosa Foetida? Rosa Foetida was the most likely to be irritated by all of this bother, too She was the person Yumi expected would run here first, faster than even Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Gigantea And Rei-sa would be even more severe
”Is Rosa Foetida absent, too?” When Yumi asked, the two Roses looked at each other and answered bitingly, ”Well she's here”
”But?”
”She's in an even more otherworldly state than yesterday's Rei She looks so disturbed I don't think anyone is willing to talk to her”
”It looks like things will keep deteriorating at this rate I wonder what happened to her?”
Rosa Chinensis rested her head on her pal, ”I wonder what happened” Yumi wondered why Rosa Chinensis didn't worry more about Rosa Foetida Anyways, it seemed like it was at least okay that they knehy Rei-sa, but at least knowing the cause meant there was a way to deal with it
”Well, if they need to borrow our strength, Rosa Foetida would come and ask”
Rosa Gigantea also spoke in a relaxed tone
”You don't have to look at us like that, Yumi-chan If push comes to shove, we'll step in, so don't you worry But more importantly…”
It was antea declared, and Rosa Chinensis nodded
”But you said you wouldn't interfere with household strife…”
”We said that yesterday, but the situation has changed, ith this thing being published”
Rosa Chinensis flicked the extra spread on the table with her index finger
”This article…?”
Yumi looked down at the article Actually, Yuko trees and had read through it
”It's a big problem It's not an article, it's a novel”
The extra was slaers, this time
”A novel”
”'Perhaps-' 'Possibly-' They're all presumptions But it's so ritten that when you read it all, you end up assu it's all true”
Rosa Gigantea's statement that Tsukiyama Minako should be a novelist rather than a reporter was, of course, not praise but sarcasm
Come to think of it, the piece was indeed more like a novel than a newspaper article On top of the blurring of truth and fiction, the writer had assus of Yoshi+no-san and Rei-sama, ere both not even interviewed But it was so skillfully written that you would miss that fact unless someone pointed it out Plus, people assu it for granted
”You want to protect Rei-sama because a false article ritten?”
”Ah…”
Yumi absent-mindedly nodded
(I can't)
She'd been trying to follow the conversation, by it was speeding too far ahead
(Uantea and Rosa Chinensis both said they were just going to watch, but because of this novel-like article, they've started wanting Rei-sama's problem solved -I think)
”The problem is that this has been beautified”
Rosa Chinensis stood up and, this tie pekoe
”There'll be repercussions”
Rosa Gigantea leaned back in her chair and signed, ”Sheesh”
As for Yumi
Even when she ashi+ng the three chawan at the sink, she couldn't decipher the Roses' words, and even when she alking down the hallway after exiting the Rose Mansion, her tilted neck didn't straighten
”Beautify…? Repercussions…?”
But that was solved sooner than she expected
The early bell rang, so Yumi hurried back to class
shi+monoseki-sensei, her fifth period math teacher, was a very punctual old man ould always enter the classroo, so he expected his students to have their textbooks, notebooks and pencils on their desk and sit quietly when he entered
But for whatever reason they had forgotten this, as a nu to each other
”What's the matter?”
When she went closer, she noticed Oyaonally behind Yuroup of students ere friends with her si,” as if to protect her
(Infectious crying…?)
When she looked more carefully, she noticed everyone in that clu, the others were crying infectiously, they had all ,” it was very unpersuasive
”Ah, I'et out of the way”
They realized that standing where they were prevented Yu able to take a seat, so one person ht, and took a seat at her desk, but the girls behind her still stayed in her mind
Then, shi+mako-san came back
”Good harvest?”
When she asked as shi+hed happily, fufufu She looked so ecstatic that asking that question was unnecessary
Yu and chopsticks shi+, but apparently she had hidden her harvest soarden Even if you were to tie the end of the bag over and over again, the s it into the classroom out of etiquette And of course, none of the class that the reason for this beauty's wonderful sko Other than Yumi and Tsutako-san, anyways
”But, that aside”
shi+mako-san lowered her voice and spoke in Yumi's ear
”Rei-sama's problem has caused quite an uproar”
”Uproar?”
”There're students dissolving their sisterly bonds And not just one or two pairs”
(Ehh-!?)
She was about to say that out loud, so she covered her own , and also covered Yumi'sout
”W, why?”
Iht, ”So that's it,” about Miyuki-san's reason for crying But Yumi was not so unrefined as to turn around and confir desire to find out about that, she urged shi+mako-san on for more details
”I wonder if it's a repercussion of Rei-sama and Yoshi+no-san's matter…”
Just then, the true bell rang, and shi+monoseki-sensei walked in, so she was unable to hear the rest of shi+onally behind her, Miyuki-san cried in stifled tones all through lish or reading froht have been a blessing that this was ht Plus, shi+e, wasn't the type of teacher who really observed his students that much
Only the sound of the teacher's chalk constantly echoed through the silent classroom
Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Gigantea were probably worried about this sort of repercussion
How cynical
Had Rei-sama and Yoshi+no-san not been the sisterly ideal for the entire school Had the newspaper club not beautified their feud with floords- Then it ht not have been a spark for other people
Yumi pulled the B5 leaflet that was tucked into her textbook, folded it into the size of her notebook, and re-read it The extra, headlined ”Yellow Rose Revolution,” siiven back her rosary to Rei-sama in front of the Maria-sama statue
While there had been exa sisterly bonds for various reasons in the past, it read that this was different It had always been dissolved by the elder sister Just as it was customary for the upperclassmen to propose to the underclass up the topic of a break-up
(That's true, it's unthinkable for a devoted little sister to reject her elder sister)
On top of that, the partner was the Rosa Foetida en bouton There were easily more than twenty students ould have loved to be Rei-sama's little sister
(… which means Yoshi+no-san broke almost every mold possible)
Yu the article
”Okay, attendance number five, please solve the problem”
She wasn't paying careful attention, so she froze in terror, wondering if she, number 35, had been called upon But after a pause, a desk behind her clattered, and she heard a soft, ”Yes”
Miyuki-san stood up After wiping her nose with a handkerchief, she teetered and wobbled toward the platform at the front of the class eak strides Like Yumi, she was the type that didn't stand out no matter what she did, but this ti state of mind
”Poor Miyuki-san…”
The classmates that knehat had happenedears, had no way of picking out the stifled crying, so when he saw Miyuki-san's puffy eyes and red nose, he siuessed, ”Hay fever?”
”I'm sorry, I don't know the answer”
Miyuki-san lifelessly lowered her ar the chalk was an i to class, it probably was a siht now Because she was crying the whole time
”You may return to your seat Attendance number 15”
Tsutako-san walked past Miyuki-san and went up on the platfor attention to class, as she quickly wrote the answer in white letters
As she returned to her seat, Tsutako-san pointed at Yumi and mouthed, ”Be careful” At that, Yuoing through fives Which meant next was 25, then Yumi's 35 She put away the leaflet and focused on the textbook
The twenty , after that It actually ht have been easier to take if she had been called upon earlier on
By the time the fifth-period class ended, Miyuki-san's tears had dried up But her , like soonally behind her
During the break, Miyuki-san's friends all gathered around her desk again, and although she wasn't actively trying to listen, Yumi found out that Miyuki-san had broken up with her older sister
”Poor girl”
The girls surrounding Miyuki-san mur lines from a drama series, and so the situation felt extremely surreal
”It was the only way”
Miyuki-san cried again, after being co, and everyone dispersed to their seats again
Yuht to herself, ”To be continued”
”They're pretending to be Yoshi+no-san”
Tsutako-san said with distaste, as they walked down the hallway after school
”Pretending to be Yoshi+no-san-”
It was such a blunt but fitting explanation that Yu the afternoon was very much like Yoshi+no-san, or at least like the Yoshi+no-san i her Weak, loveable, cute… Right, just like the ie Yumi herself carried until recently
”Just you watch There'll be more”
”No way”
”I' to bet on it”
Yumi didn't knohat Tsutako-san intended to bet, but it couldn't have beenthe discussion along
”So how do you pretend to be Yoshi+no-san?”
”They call out their onee-saic face, then return the rosaries”
Yumi screamed inside when she heard that
”Th, then, Miyuki-san wasn't the rejected, she's the one that started everything? And even though she's the one that rejected, she was crying like that?”
”Right”
Tsutako-san replied si the shutter every so often, so she was clearly disinterested The topic was so disinteresting to her that even she took a ”how stupid” stance
”Yureat deal, sometiine Yoshi+no-san returning the rosary with a smile?”
”I don't…”
”If anything, you'd iht?”
That was true She could easily i her tears But she couldn't i it But Tsutako-san said Yoshi+no-san had brought up the topic of the split in a fit of anger
”The repercussion of printing is strong Because when you read the article, you feel like you were there”
That's right That extra
It ritten to iic heroine Unable to stand her own dependence on Rei-saht Rei-saer, er was a cover for her own insecurity
”A tragic borne out of her elder sister being Rosa Foetida en bouton An artistic piece”
Boutons basically are converted to being a Rose as soon as the upperclassraduate That's why Roses and Bouton are often directed to choose little sisters both for their affinity as well as their character
She suddenly felt ill She'd never given it ht yet, but Yumi realized that meant next year she would be Rosa Chinensis en bouton She worried if she was capable of living up to that title, having seen Sachiko-sama and Rei-sama
”Yus shi+antea en bouton this year, so she'll be Rosa Gigantea next year”
Even though it was someone else's problem, Yumi couldn't help but feel horrified by the prospect of being in that position It could be quite stressful for shi+mako-san
”Well, even if you're the sister of an en bouton, it doesn't mean there's no way for you to not be a Rose in the future”
Tsutako-san patted Yumi's shoulder, but she didn't know if those words were praise or extra pressure
But Even though the prospect of becoh to shi+ver her, the idea of not living up to Sachiko-sa said, there would be pressure following her all the way until graduation for being Sachiko-sama's sœur, so she suddenly felt worried about her heart
”Tsutako-san, you said they were pretending to be Yoshi+no-san, so would they have been acting?”
She asked her sudden curiosity out loud Then, Tsutako-san looked at the tallat the stair's landing and groaned, ”Hmmm” It ell into autumn, so the afternoon sky was heavy and cold Even so, the leaves that stubbornly stuck to the trees looked like warmth to the eyes, with their dark-colored, round forms
”Hard to say They're probably doing it out of seriousness, but…”
”What do you mean?”
”They're obviously just being influenced, but they probably feel like they co on their own I mean, the matter of Rei-sama and Yoshi+no-san must be clearly etched into their minds But they probably look at it is just an ih they probably only really bothered to think about it in the past two days, they i a fit for their onee-saht time to distance themselves”
Maybe because the people in question weren't in hearing range, Tsutako-san relentlessly plowed on, criticizing the following break-up girls
But, what if the girls had actually been anxious about it all along? Right Just like Yumi, they alondered, ”Am I worthy of her?” and then with lack of confidence, while they mulled around in melancholy, Yoshi+no-san popped up, and they felt she had beaten them to the punch?
When she said that, Tsutako-san cackled and said, ”If it's just chance like that, would there be three pairs in just lunch-break alone?” In that case, it did seehtfulness was admirable
”You sound like you actually watched it”
”Truth be told, I did Miyuki-san, who could line up alongside Yumi-san in a co her rosary atery eyes”
Tsutako-san lifted her ca that she, of course, captured that ry, Tsutako-san justified herself, saying she had si that she'd happened upon the scene while taking a walk during lunch break But along the way, she'd also snapped photos of the other two pairs -What a troublesome friend