Volume 11 Chapter 1 (1/2)
The cars sparkled as they ski the road hazy with rain
It wasn't yet 4phts and car lights all reflected off the thin ht view of the city
To that extent, it was quite beautiful
The glittering of the tears that spilled fro touches to the whimsical scene - Quite ironic
If she stayed like that, forever struck by the rain, perhaps she could disappear
Along with her despairing thoughts, she could disappear
For the last half-year, Yu at her onee-sa her onee-sa for her onee-saht as she offered up words of dedication to her onee-sahtenable sailor tie looked forward to the touch of her onee-saertips
Ogasawara Sachiko-sama colored Yumi's everyday life Flowers, jewels, hand knitted lace and perfume were all treasures whose color would fade No-one made her heart throb with anticipation so Surely a second such person would never appear
So to be cast aside by such a wonderful onee-saer had any value whatsoever?
She wasn't thinking in such realistic terms as life or death, she just wanted to disappear
If Sachiko-saer needed her, then she wanted to remove herself from Sachiko-sama's presence And if she were to still feel this way for Sachiko-sa cast aside, then she wanted her heart removed from this world too
The rain chilled her body Yu her shoulders
The glittering road was like the twinkling stars Although the actual sky was blanketed with thick clouds, so there was nothing to see at that moment
”Yumi-chan”
An uentle voice brought Yumi back to reality
She was noet that holding an u up at Sei-sae, hts were drawn out
Like, here was a person who cared deeply for her And if she were to disappear from this world, then so too would the kindness that this person showed her
”One of o to her place”
Sei-saate And there she saw a large brown u it dipped, probably intended as a bow
”But”
”If you stay like that, you'll catch a cold Besides, don't you think it'll be a bit rough to catch two buses ho like that?”
When she heard this, Yumi took another look at herself It looked like she'd had a bucket of water dumped on her Water dripped from her two hair bunches like from a faulty faucet, and her triple-folded socks were so covered in mud that they looked like dalmatians
From the tip of her head to the soles of her feet There was no doubt that she had an eye-catching appearance
”She made the offer herself, so you don't have to worry”
Being told not to worry by a third-party To begin with, Yuirl with the brown umbrella
”I'rateful for your concern for me But, I - ”
She turned her back, intending to finish with, ”would prefer to be left alone” She grabbed the handle of her folding uth to force it open Sei-saarded Yumi coolly as she said:
”If you're absolutely against it, then I'll have to take you back to your place myself”
”Huh!?”
She put too much force into it, and the umbrella turned inside out, so Yumi hastily closed it and turned around
”Isn't it obvious? Of course I'et home properly And I'll have to explain about what happened to your family”
Since she had an umbrella, her mother would surely be surprised if she arrived home in her current condition The fukuzawa family weren't the kind of hands-off people that would be satisfied with an explanation of, ”It's nothing,” and sooner or later would drag the truth out of her
And that would be a probles with Sachiko-sama
She didn't want to uy, and it would be too wretched to talk about how she'd been cast aside
Speaking of wretched
The sight of her continuing to struggle to get her umbrella to open was fairly wretched too
”Satou-san, can I say so?”
The girl with the brown u hair reached to her shoulders She had allasses, and her thin lips were exquisite
”Ahh, Yumi-san … was it? You don't have to be so reserved I live alone, although the place is fairly small”
”Umm - ”
Even after getting a good look at her, Yuirl at all Since she'd called Sei-saraduate of a different high-school
”You're well enough to walk about two bus stops distance froht?”
”Ah, yes”
”Alright, let's go then”
”Huh!?”
But the girl with the brown u the footpath She had apparently interpreted Yumi's answer of ”Yes” to the question of whether she could walk two bus stops distance to mean an acceptance of the offer to enter her house
”Coo”
Sei-sama took Yumi's umbrella by the handle, and with a practiced action quickly opened it for her
”Here, take a look behind You don't want to become a spectacle, do you?”
When she heard this, Yu the students around the school gates and bus stop, there were so dubiously in her direction
Indeed, it would be odd for those gathered near the school gates to see a student getting soaked holding an unopened u on?” And since she was Rosa Chinensis en bouton, it was only natural that she would garner even more attention
”Right, Yumi-chan?”
”… Yeah”
In this situation, getting out of there as soon as possible was imperative Yumi took hold of her red umbrella and followed after Sei-sama
Although they were quarreling, in everyone else's eyes Yuasawara Sachiko-sa shaht at the very end The fewer bad memories, the better
She continued walking down the road she usually took home by bus, her footsteps heavy and her unifor the rain it had absorbed
Her umbrella was still crunchy from the dirt, or silt, and streaked withher with shelter fro away fro it
They walked single-file along the narrow footpath beside the road
The rain wasn't falling as heavily as before, but it hadn't reached the level where an uh the weather had resigned itself to a protracted can
In front of her was Sei-sama's black umbrella And in front of her was the kindhearted university student, name unknoith the brown umbrella
Yuized to its owner, but the brown u behind Sei-sama reminded her of a shi+take mushroom With that in mind, Sei-sama's black umbrella resembled a cloud ear mushroom, in shape at least It looked exactly like the ater flowed off a cloud ear
(Oh … ?)
Yumi smiled instinctively, then was a bit surprised when she realized that she was coping well enough to smile
Perhaps people are in possession of many hundreds of impudent nerves that fired on their own If she really was being backed into a corner, surely she wouldn't pay attention to so like someone else's umbrella
Mentally she s with Sachiko-sa one foot in front of the other And, without any orders to do so, herstimulus from the outside world, her eyes and ears had been put to use
Her body was in good condition
The wound was solely in her heart, although there was no direct dae to the flesh
Then, what of this heart?
Perhaps it didn't reside in her chest
Yuhtly and touched her chest with the back of her hand When she thought of her heart, why did it feel like it existed within her chest?
( - There, see)
In the end, she kept thinking about it this way It see too
(Mm)
As she watched the shi+take ht
When she'd seen theroup that surrounded Sei-sama?
Pink floral pattern, navy blue checks, yellow stripes or polka dots - she could remember those umbrellas, but there was no memory of a brown umbrella In the first place, Sei-sama's umbrella had stood out because it was the only men's umbrella mixed in with the women's umbrellas And when she looked at it closer, the dimensions of the brown u it a men's umbrella
”Sei-sama”
Yumi called out to the cloud ear mushroom umbrella
”Mmm”
”That lady … your friend, what should I call her?”
”Huh?”
”You knohat's her name?”
It was hard to speak in a way that she would be heard by Sei-sama, but not by the person in front of Sei-san of the ears was such that they were better at catching information from in front
The end result
”Hmm? Sorry, I can't really hear you, ask me later okay?”
And, just like that, Sei-sa about this kind university student Yu supported by someone whose name she still didn't know
After walking slightly less than two stops distance, they turned a corner They left thedistrict, then walked another couple of hundred
”Well, come inside”
The sight of the brown uh the gates made Yumi blink No matter how she looked at it, this was a detached house And it looked like a splendid one at that The wooden e it could be ate had a door within it that was used to enter
”Mmm”
Sei-sama seemed to find this a bit unexpected too
After taking in the ancient looking wooden gates, she murmured
”This place, … umm”
When she'd heard the word 'boarding,' Yuh, it was certainly possible that the girl was renting a single room in a detached house In that case,hoh-school student
”Sei-sama, umm - ”
Yurabbed on to Sei-sama's arm when it was offered to her
”Pardon our intrusion”
Sei-sa the brown umbrella
”Ahh, hold on”
No ti
Now that they'd finally h it was close to Lillian's Girls Acadeot off the bus at school If she were left alone here, even if the weather had been fine and it was mid-afternoon, she'd have been a bit helpless
Once inside the pre a paved path
”You don't have to be so hesitant My roo See, it's over there”
Yu, and at the end of the path was a s towered overhead, i
”Wait here a moment I'll just inform the landlady then be back”
She didn't go to the front door of thea stone path through the garden and gently tapping on the wooden fra's s Soarden was quite large, Yueneral aot the impression that it was an elderly lady
”Okay Coh”
The girl said, upon her return Apparently they'd been given the go-ahead
”Boys are forbidden Girls are allowed, but I have to get the landlady's permission”
”That seems strict”
”If it wasn't like that, it'd just becoht?”
”Ah, I get it”
They continued along the paved path
The garden, whether by design or just by nature, looked like a piece of pristine woodlands at the base of a sround by the stone path was clear, but further in there was a solid covering of either grass or weeds, Yuh to say which, and the tall trees were all entwined with creeping vines
The thin curtain across the front of theof the htly, and Yu them
”Pardon our intrusion”
Yumi instinctively stopped and bowed deeply, and that lady hastily closed the curtain
”Huh? What is it?”
Sei-sa a few steps ahead of Yumi, turned around and asked
”Nothing … just now, someone - ”
”Someone? The landlady?”
Sei-sareet her But now, it was too late when she looked The curtain had already been drawn back across the , and it was made of such thin material that they could tell there was no-one behind it
”What's the matter? Come on in”
The girl with the brown umbrella had unlocked her door and beckoned them over
”Okay”
Sei-sa the stone path
On the way there, Yumi stopped to have another look back, but the curtain across thatremained closed
The warm shower seeped into her entire body
Apparently she'd been colder than she thought She seemed to remember that when she stepped on to the dry mat in the bathroom, and even when she entered the shower before she'd started the water running, she thought of herself as being lukewarm rather than cold
Which meant that the person who lived here, the ”Girl with the Brown U she went straight to the shower, and not giving Yuue
When Yumi had hesitated, Sei-sama had said, ”Hurry up or I'll have to take your clothes off you ht wasn't meant as a joke, but out of concern for her cold body At any rate, that sexually harassing comment had undoubtedly spurred her into the shower
”Yue of underwear here for you”
The girl with the brown u room Yumi really did have to ask for her name, but since she hadn't taken the opportunity when they first ain
”… Thanks”
After expressing her gratitude, Yu emotions
Since she was in the bathroom and co, not wearing any clothes In her birthday suit, completely bare, stark naked There were many ways to say it, but basically, she was nude It had been relatively daring of her to take off her wet and heavy school unifor room, but her underwear had been a bit of a problem
She hadn't brought a change of underwear
Her bra and slip weren't as wet as the unifors she wanted to wear tithout washi+ng them either
What to do, Yumi?
Yuht a new pair at a convenience store, but that's not the sort of thing that anyone thinks of until they're in just such a predicament She could wash the? Plus the lace on the hem of her slip et from the rain
She'd been pondering this while she had her shower, so she was grateful when she heard the phrase 'change of underwear' But as she going to do if they were like Sachiko-saether with ) It would be fine if they were so she could use her pocket money to buy a replacement for, but -
So, when she opened the frosted glass door to the dressing roo for her in a clothes basket
There was a pair of 100 cotton boyshorts and an undershi+rt, both still with the creases froray sweatsuit that, while not new, had the faint aro powder
Alone in the changing rooed The dry clothes, and the war people's kindness, and once again she was moved to tears
As for the unpleasant state of her body, perhaps that had been because her heart had been leading it in a negative direction Yumi liked to think that she usually kept herself neat and tidy
But the way she acted when driven to desperation couldn't have been all that desirable Yu her tie
”Are you nice and warh it takes longer”
Yu by aThe girl with the brown u the pleats of her skirt, to remove the mud stains
”Ah, yeah I'm plenty warm Thank-you”
”Okay, that's good Pick somewhere to sit and rest”
While the girl was still talking, Yumi sat down on one of the zabuton cushi+ons by the low table A modern table wouldn't have cushi+ons But this was a traditional table, and so had the traditional cushi+ons to accompany it
Sei-sa If it was the same as this room, then it would be a traditional kitchen too
”Umm - ”
”You don't have to worry about the change of underwear, if that's what you were going to say They're a gift, so you can take them home It would be more of a problem if you left them”
Indeed
”I bought a stack of theht But this kind of situation's an even better use for theht?”
”…Yeah”
So 200 yen total, plus tax Of course, this didn't represent the full amount of her kindness, but it was still an important consideration that she not be out of pocket for these ite like today happened, the better
Inside her purse, Yuet theirl in front of her would surely take offense So for the tirateful
The girl with the brown u the dirt off the outside of Yu it with a hair-dryer
”It's lovely to look at, but therea dress as a school uniform”
Sheit off, repairing it, and so on
”Ah, I'll do that Sorry, I should have noticed earlier”
When Yuh, out of her reach
”It's okay I can do it … rather, I want to do it”
It wasn't said with a grin, but that was the iave Come to think of it, she didn't seem to smile all that often
”Yeah, let her do it She seems much more handy than you, Yumi-chan”
Sei-sama had returned fro
”Hot cocoa With extra sugar for Yumi-chan”
Yu out for the hair dryer and settled back into her previous position
” … Thank-you”
It eet and delicious Sei-sae of Yumi's tastes So there was no way she'd make a mistake
Yu her like this But, right then, she couldn't
She wanted to stay immersed in that warht they'd understand