Volume 6 Chapter 5 (1/2)
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I let out a sigh for Valentines
Alone, standing by the
I wonder what has become of the crimson card since then It's probably still buried in the dark soil Or else it's resting gently in the hands of its rightful owner
If it's the former, then it would be better to reclaim it soon
Or else let it stay forgotten, and let my past stay buried with it
Since people's feelings are beyond their control
The heart flutters, and the status-quo cannot be maintained
That day
”Mifuyu-san”
The austere voice called out to me
It was lunch ti about her when the person herself appeared before my very eyes and surprised me
But the person in question didn't know this, and tilted her head slightly before quicklyon to the matter at hand As an important person she was always busy ork, and didn't have the free time to pay attention to her classmates' every minor concern
”You and Tomoko-san are on duty today, aren't you?”
”Huh? … Yeah”
”Can you go to the science preparation rooht now? Earlier I was stopped in the hallway by Oomori-sensei and asked to tell the people on duty that there were printouts that needed to be collected for the fifth period class”
”The science preparation room”
”Sorry, but I couldn't see Tomoko-san anywhere - ”
”Ahhh”
Today was Valentines Day, so ive her hand-made chocolates to her onee-sama About now she would probably be at the intersection of the paths lined with ginkgo trees, in front of the statue of Maria-sama
”Well, I'll head off by myself”
If she had tione to the science preparation roo this, I raised ainst when she stopped , ”That's not it”
”So should I help you? - Was hoas going to finish my sentence”
With her request, those feords spoken out of kindness, caination So, to
We had arrived at this point unexpectedly But since we've come this far
Sachiko-san had probably only said that because it was too much for one person to handle by themselves That was all it was
”Mifuyu-san?”
With a single glance, you can tell that she is a perfect lady Someone ill soon take up a position as representative of the high school division of this acade for her - she also had her looks, attitude and popularity
But I think even that only scratches the surface
”No, it's fine If it's only some printouts, I should be able to do it myself”
When I politely declined she said 'Really?' and then walked away, like I thought she would
Really?
Then I'll leave it to you
- Fairly abrupt
By nosaid that, definitely not affectionate
There's no warmth between her and I
That's not only with me She's like that with al hands with soloves, so to speak
”Sachiko-san”
Despite refusing the favor she had offered, leaving things as is was difficult So I turned towards her, with her long, black hair quickly swinging from side to side across her uniform covered back, and called out
”What?”
Slowly, she turned around
”Uood luck with today”
”Yeah”
The corners of her mouth were raised fractionally as she answered Was she s? I hadn't seen her smile often, so I couldn't tell
I, Uzawa Mifuyu, entered Lillian's Girls Acadeh school It's now the third semester of my second year, so I've already spent a little over half of rounds, under the protection of Maria-sama
Entrance exams tend to be the standard way to show that you possess the appropriate level of scholarly ability, and that's the case for people who knock on the door to Lillian's Girls Academy with no prior connection to the school
In my case, the conditions were so, I wasn't a newcomer to this school I had previously taken the entrance exaed to pass soarten o, but I'm still proud of it
Back then, ht that her child had been accepted My randmother, is an aluhter would also attend Although my mother was born and raised in the suburbs of Chiba City, she didn't give up on the idea of entering into Lillian's Girls Academy To this day my mother maintains that there was no question of whether or not she would be able to h I doubt that the school would accept someone who faced a two and a half hour commute each way, even if they did meet the academic standards It may be different for a university student, but my mother wanted to do this as a middle school student
Anyway, back to the story Having entered into kindergarten, I had enjoyed half a year of life at Lillian's when struck by unexpected bad fortune My father was transferred and, reluctantly, we left Tokyo, so I had to step outside of the pristine greenhouse My mother lamented the situation, and I too received a considerable shock But, as a young child, I had nothis, so when arten I simply said my usual farewells to my class any tears I only heard about it afterwards, but back thento re apart But ether, we'll have to get a divorce,” so she tearfully accohter's kindergarten was reason enough for them to live apart, then divorce was the only option But I don't think et my mother to open her eyes Even to this day, both ly close
Time passed, and I'd almost finished my third year of middle school when my father was recalled to his company's main office in Tokyo Simultaneously,Lillian's Girls Acaderow
As a private school, they could be flexible about various matters As someone who had received a position at Lillian's in the past, I was able to take the same test as the Lillian's middle school students rather than the test for students frorade and was accepted into the high school The tie that one of my relatives is an alumna of Lillian's
My hter to be accepted into the school she loved wholeheartedly, but forto return that was unrelated to the prestige of the school
I wanted to meet that person once more
Barring some kind of accident, that person would still be at this academy Because of this belief, I had wanted to return here for ele last, h school
The day of the high school entrance ceremony
I was tre as I read the class list Her name ritten directly beneath my name
Ogasawara Sachiko
The single naarten, that I had not forgotten
Sachiko-san's existence was just as conspicuous in kindergarten as it is now
For starters, even the way she arrived at school was different
In the ate, near the kindergarten A beautiful little girl wearing a kindergarten unifore from the back seat It wasn't her father or an older brother in the driver's seat Nor was there anyone else in the back seat
”I'll take my leave now”
She would see this, and step away froarten in silence, without looking back Eventually, the car would drive off At the faint sound of the tires on the bitulance back over her shoulder She would then sweep her gaze fro It was as though she was surveying a battlefield - That was Sachiko-san
I saw that scene played out tiarten
Perhaps going to kindergarten itself was painful for her There were plenty of children ouldn't go to their classroo to their arten
As for my blessed self, since e of school, so I looked forward to entering into kindergarten and adapted to it quickly
You could say that kindergarten is when you first take part in society You spend long periods of time separated from your parents, and there's probably an equivalent aether various children of the sae that each have their own personality Even if you're not shy or meek, it's an environment that's hard to adapt to initially
I was interested in Sachiko-san
At first h, in her overly conspicuous appearance You could say that it was her innate ability, and it certainly was, but there was so about it that seemed to defy that phrase
Soet close to
We learned about her family situation later, but I doubt more than a handful of kids truly understood Back then I thought being driven to school was simply a ht the bus - Sachiko-san's house actually was a fair distance fro
It would be too far even for flattery to say that Sachiko-san fit in at kindergarten Children can sense when others are different to the there were a lot of classmates who treated her as a curiosity and would watch her from a safe distance Because Sachiko-san was Sachiko-san, she was able to sense this and her face, that looked displeased at the best of tinored them
Sachiko-san was silently fighting
Even if the kindergarten wasn't a happy place for her, she wasn't the type of child to screa such a young child, she probably had her own sense of pride
Whether it was painting or handicrafts, Sachiko-san never lost to anyone Particularly impressive was the ti playtime As we all aardly followed the teacher's directions, she alone was extraordinary
It was like the difference between heaven and hell She was a jewel in the dunghill
As rithed on the ground like a squirraceful butterfly
It was so beautiful, it was as though an angel had descended from heaven
”I heard she takes ballet lessons”
Somebody muttered those words as so excuses Sachiko-san wasn't the only one in our class to take ballet lessons
Then one day, because of a thoughtless re to school by car
It was a petty affront Not so notice of
Instead, she switched to catching the bus to school She wasn't going to lose Perhaps she had been thinking about it beforehand, but there's no doubt that the taunt had been the iet driven, in the same black car, to the school bus stop closest to her house, and from there catch the bus the rest of the way to school Because her house wasn't within walking distance of the bus stop, she had no choice but to get dropped off by car But even then, she would get dropped off around the corner before the bus stop and walk the rest of the way
My eyes were continuously drawn to the minutia of Sachiko-san's everyday life ButMy father's transfer had been decided
My father andand so forth, and I spent that tiarten in somewhat of a daze
Very soon, I would no longer be able to see Sachiko-san
My feelings back then were soe; the nuance wasn't so much that it would be painful to part with Sachiko-san, more that it was a shaht My asn't to play or chat with Sachiko-san
On that day, during recess, I s At that ti The teachers had forbidden us froer children were trying to imitate our older sisters, and when the teacher wasn't looking ould practice ju low
I had been absent-minded all day, and when my friends called me over I joined them in line until, eventually, ood at ju because I practiced often at the park in hborhood
Swish, swish
I thought of the wind
Perhaps I too would soon be gone from this place, just like the wind What would it be like after I had left? I couldn't picture it in my mind, so I couldn't see whether it would be lonely or not
I seized upon the solitary figure of a little girl infield of vision
Ogasawara Sachiko
It was then that I realized Me leaving here would be exactly the same as if everyone other than me left
Sachiko-san noticed aze and suddenly turned to face me Her eyes seized upon my body and her beautiful face quickly frowned in displeasure When I realized that I was the cause of the disgust on her face, the shock I felt was like I had been shot in the heart with a pistol The subsequent shock was thatthe chains, had come loose
It was only for a fraction of a second, but I had becoh space The sky spun around and for a s looked different to norround
”Mifuyu-chan!”
The friends I had been playing on the swings with hurriedly gathered around, and then when they saw the blood that was slowly trickling from my kneecap they all stepped back
Luckily, the ground around the swings was covered with sand, so it was soft It seems that I had flipped over coround on edy It was a spectacular crash, but the only place I was bleeding was from my skinned knee
With time came the pain, and with the blood came the tears
”I'et the teacher”
One of the braver girls ran off towards the school building, while the timid ones said 'Me too,' 'Me too,' and also ran off until no-one remained I only learned the phrase 'to scatter like baby spiders' later on, but it applied here The children who had been playing on the other pieces of playground equipet involved, so they maintained a distance of at least five metres from me
Out of all these people, only one approached me It was Sachiko-san
”Are you okay?”
She chose the most pertinent question to start off with and, when I nodded vigorously while crying, she seemed relieved Her next question was said in a shocked tone of voice
”What on earth were you doing?”
Before ht it was to wipe away my tears Because it was of such a fine quality I hesitated to use the thin handkerchief as a gauze
While I was still wondering what I should do, Sachiko-san squatted down beside me and applied the handkerchief to my knee without a moment's pause
”Ahh”
”Does it hurt? You're being punished because you didn't listen to the teacher's orders”