Volume 5 Chapter 4 (2/2)
”Ah…”
Sachiko-sama had turned around, and she looked so lonely that Yu, and that hen Rei-sama and Minako-sama arrived at the Rose Mansion
”W-What happened, Yumi-chan?” Rei-sama shouted
”Nothing Let's just finish the final ”
Sachiko-sa Yumi behind
”Nothing…? Umm”
”Yes”
Minako-sama and Rei-sa at Yu” But Yumi just wanted to be left alone It would be worse if someone acted kind to her
”Are you two going to label me a villain, too!?”
A hysteric-sounding voice came from above
”… eally, it's nothing”
Finallyher voice out, she ran in the complete opposite direction from Sachiko-sama, out the Mansion She felt like she heard Rei-sama and Minako-sama's voices, but she didn't turn around
Or rather, she couldn't
”'All of your worrying and perplexing will simply pave the way to a better future, both next year and the year after'”
As she ran down the hallway, shi+zuka-sa in her mind
(It was no good, shi+zuka-sama)
How could she expect good memories now?
Her self-hatred and her despair, along with her tear-drenched, sloppy face, no matter how many years and month passed, she would never be able to look back upon this and smile
”'Then why are we sisters?'”
Sachiko-sama must have lost patience with Yumi this time, once and for all
Yu a place to be alone Frouess she looked to be in a bad shape There would probably be soo back just yet They'd try to get to the bottos worse
Anyways, she didn't want to see anyone
Eventually she found herself at the corner of the building, where the ereen lamp Yumi opened the door and stepped out
The cold air felt a bit painful, but that was just a surface thing Avoiding the students leaving through the rear gate, she hurried to that place Because she knew o near it
The old greenhouse, it'd been a while since she'd coed much The flowers had all wilted, so the leaves were by their lonesome, so it looked a lothere, so no one had bothered to fix any of the cracked glasses So even though it was a greenhouse, she wasn't here to be cheered up
It was a cruood windbreaker, so she was able to settle down
The day before the school festival, Sachiko-sai-san and everything he symbolized Come to think of it, Rei-sama had come here, too, after Yoshi+no-san had returned her rosary
She wondered why Did this greenhouse have the power to heal wounded hearts?
”-Rosa Chinensis”
They were there, between the dead branches and the skinny trees sleeping winter away They weren't in a pot, but rather were growing froround, where soreenhouse was darkening, but it see down upon them, so Yumi could see them clearly
It wasn't like there was a naht her Yu trunk That's when she realized she'd come here to see that rose bush
”So, you bloom every season”
But unfortunately, the red flowers from back then weren't there She realized she was bitterly s It almost looked like there was some kind of apocalypse
”I wonder if onee-sama hates me, now”
Her feelings for Sachiko-saht about this plant No, er, the more she'd cos come to this?
Thu sound fro used to the darkness, lass
”I knew you'd be here”
She walked around and poked her head in through the entrance What an uncoantea asked, ”May I come in?” before she took a step in
”I wondered if you'd prefer to be alone, but Yumi-chan is scared of the dark”
”… I'm sorry I'm such a bother”
How strange She'd been so adaantea appeared, she felt relieved and comforted
”Not at all, not at all”
Rosa Gigantea chuckled, walked to Yumi, and also squatted down by the Rosa Chinensis bush
”It's not like I', so I had to walk out anyways Plus, that happened in the middle of our conversation, you know? It left a bitter aftertaste”
The conversation before shi+mako-san had come to the Rose Mansion She still remembered
”But , that felt like a complete flashback”
Fidgeting around with a dead branch she'd picked up, Rosa Gigantea sounded nostalgic Yu to, so she stayed silent
”Yuht think you're totally unlike Sachiko, but froly alike”
”… That we're always one step too slow?”
”Ahh, I did say so, yeah, but I think the nuance is a bit different”
For exaantea said
”So with someone else When that happens, Yoshi+no-chan iressive discussion, to make sure the other person knows her stance, and sometimes even to make them a turncoat But Yumi-chan closes her mouth and leaves Sachiko, too You two are similar like that”
”Sachiko-sama always says what she thinks”
Yuantea, aren't you thinking of someone else?
”Because Rosa Chinensis really disciplined her, she's improved”
But she used to be dead silent, and tough to get along with Hard to believe
”But she's probably still fundamentally the same The type that doesn't like to explain how she feels, for fear of it being rejected Like, Kashi+wagi, she'd kept that bottled up for a really long time So when she realizes she can speak out, she kinda flaunts it Like, I can speak out in front of this person, that sort of thing I guess in the end it just means she's not really self-confident”
Rosa Gigantea freely went ahead and broke down Sachiko-sama's personality
”And, what I meant before was that Yumi-chan and Sachiko was alo- you know, the current Rosa Chinensis”
”What?”
”I think it was right after they'd become sisters? Or maybe it was before I didn't really care about other students back then, so I don't really reht around the beginning of the first se 'if you want to say so, say it clearly!' in really harsh tones”
”To Sachiko-sama?”
”Yup Because you know, Sachiko, I guess her upbringing plays a part in it, but she's really bad at expressing her opinions So she'd just silently brood over it So one day Youko strongly told her, that's too hard to understand And itto express herself after that So her hysteria is more like a re And that's why no one really gets bothered by it”
”Ah”
”So she's probably getting irritated”
”Irritated… Sachiko-sama?”
”Yup”
”Why?”
”Well, because sheat herself”
That's when Yuo That Sachiko-sama probably didn't want a sister just like herself
People seek things they don't have- That was one of the reasons why she was attracted to Sachiko-sama, so Yumi knew full hat that meant
Then, what if What if she'd found someone close to her that had the exact characteristics she hated of herself? It would feel like she was looking at a
”So, forgive Sachiko's harsh behavior”
”I wasn't even thinking about that…” She shook her head vigorously
”Then, you don't hate her for it?”
”O-Of course not”
This tiorously Even if Sachiko-sa back Ever
”Good girl”
Rosa Gigantea ruffled Yuhed
”Alright, let's go back then I don't like this greenhouse too much”
Hoisting herself up, Rosa Gigantea patted down her own skirt It'd already become quite dark, so she could hardly tell what sort of face Rosa Gigantea had Luckily, one of the lareenhouse, so she ht switch soet out before they could find it
”Yumi-chan, there's a step here, so be careful”
Rosa Gigantea reached out with her left hand Yued to
”What a to do?”
”Hmm?”
”Rosa Gigantea is going to graduate soon What a to do then?”
There would be no one left to help her through tough times like these No one who could scoot in between her and Sachiko-sama like this
”That makes me feel so happy, Yumi-chan”
Rosa Gigantea didn't show any signs of displeasure at finding her ar a bit bad toward shi+ this kind arm
”It'll be alright”
The right hand lightly pinched Yumi's cheek
”I orried when raduated, too But you know, you'd be surprised at how everything ends up working out”
”Ends up working out-”
Will things really end up working out? She was this anxious over toine beyond that
”In Yumi-chan's case, you just need to tell Sachiko how you feel, even just a littleas you can do that, no ”
”But…” ”You can do it, Yued to express hoe feel to each other, right?”
Rosa Gigantea seemed to point to herself as a practice du to Rosa Gigantea was the real deal, too
”Alright then, ho up with Sachiko with your own strength, okay?”
”… Yes”
She wasn't confident, but she replied anyways Because Sachiko-sama and Yumi were sisters They shouldn't need someone else to come in for them to make up
It was just the two of them when she accepted the rosary When it ca sisters, they had to work it out with just the two of them
After stopping by the classrooantea She could see the Rose Mansion lights fro the way
As Sachiko-sama said, they probably shouldn't speak today She just had a gut feeling
She rinsed her face ater using the hallway lavatory, then looked at the mirror Her eyes were still bloodshot, but her face wasin the greenhouse for an hour It would probably really becoht breeze blow at it on the way ho her family
As they walked along the gingko pathway, Rosa Gigantea explained that the sisters with both si best And that most sisters were like that, anyways
”Then Rosa Gigantea, do you see bits of yourself in shi+mako-san, too?”
”Mm? Me in shi+mako? Yeah, sometimes I think, hat a pain in the butt But I also think she's much better than how I used to be If I could, I'd love to free shi+mako from some of her shackles, but I can't”
”Why?”
”Because I know shi+s up”
So she was envious of sisters ould get in fights because they didn't understand each other cos because of that
I kinda understood her, and kinda didn't
As she put her hands together in front of the Maria-sama statue, Yumi tilted her head to the side Why was it that whenever she spoke to Rosa Gigantea, the conversation would always steas? At least in the greenhouse she could keep up…
”By the way I i really sweet”
As she stepped on the bus, Rosa Gigantea cackled, as if re Sheesh, the conversation really had a knack for skipping around
”You're going to ht?”
”Well, yes”
Actually, she'd just been reo hos happened that those plans went awry When would she be able to take a bath, she wondered
”I hope it turns out good”
Even as they sat down, Rosa Gigantea continued on the topic of chocolate Like chocolate from one store should fit really ith blue mountain tea from a certain café, but it was a shaht temperature to store chocolate It sounded like she was just hungry
”So, like, I prefer ones that are a bit scaled-back on sweetness And if Western liquor is dripped in just a teensy weensy, like a hidden taste, that'd be best”
Now she got it, now she understood what Rosa Gigantea was getting at
”U you chocolate”
”Wait, seriously!? I thought it was a given!?”
A given, just where did she co chocolate from shi+mako-san, too…
”People who go pester shi+zuka-saht chocolate”
”Woah, why do you know about that?”
And she said that without even a hint of re around pestering everyone for chocolate, at this rate, that Rosa Gigantea
”A”
She puckered her lip and pouted like a child Reverted back to the usual Rosa Gigantea, froh school senior
”If you want to eat chocolate, they sell it at stores”
Especially at this time of year, they were lined up everywhere
”I want to eat ones that're filled with love”
”Then call shi+mako-san's house And tell her you want chocolate”
”Don't wanna”
”Then all you can do is give up”
”Don't wanna don't wanna I'll eat Yuive me chocolate!”
”Yes, yes”
There was no use talking sensibly to her anymore
”If I say I'll eat you, I'll definitely eat you!”
Because the bus was sparse, her perverted-old-man mode was on full blast She'd dropped her voice to a level that other people would barely not , and her head was turned, so itaway That a soirl with such a beautiful face would be spewing this sort of vulgar language… the driver, the ed ine that
Until they arrived at the train station, Rosa Gigantea continued to chant ”chocolate” at Yuan to feel a bit sorry for her, so she decided if she felt like it, she would antea, too
Of course, it would probably be left-overs fro for Sachiko-sama