Volume 20 Chapter 1 (1/2)

It started with so Yoshi+no-san had said

”At this rate, I can't find anything left to do but hold an audition”

Yoshi+no-san said, while holding a fist up to her face for e

So to Yoshi+no-san could only think of it as sudden For so back and forth in her heart about so with a ”no, not this,” or a ”not this either”

”Aw--?”

”Audition”

Before Yumi could ask Yoshi+no-san what the audition was about, Yoshi+no-san added: ”About our petite sœurs of course”

”Our petite sœursour sisters?!”

Without thinking, Yu the table

An audition

When she thought about it, the first thing that came to mind was a search, a production meant to find new talent It was a place where actresses would go to get into movies and dramas, where they would find out theirto do with this world of talent, hadn't given soht

No, wait Soraduated had used an audition like this before Maybe it was during the Student Council Elections? So like that

”Well, if you think so strongly about an audition, on't be able to get petite sœurs by the time we're third-years”

Yoshi+no-san said while opening the

It was the first Monday of November; after school at the Rose Mansion

The second-year boutons had gathered to finish theEven stately Noriko-chan had her courage drain as she heard Yoshi+no-san's Audition Declaration, as she faltered while holding the electric teakettle Or

”When you say 'we', are you including me in it?”

”Of course” Yoshi+no-san answered, as she returned from the

”We're in similar positions, aren't we? Haven't both of our onee-samas commanded us to find petite sœurs?”

”Uh, well”

Yumi minced her words

Actually, Yuasawara Sachiko-sama, had just recently commanded her, ”Please find a petite sœur” She had no reason to keep such an important request to herself, and quietly accepted it without shock, so she had told Yoshi+no-san

”If you analyze the situation, Sachiko-sama had been put under a lot of pressure in last year's sœur probleht Yuh that herself So it's like a kind of kindness”

But Yu to Yoshi+no-san's explanation, ”then why haven't you found a petite sœur for yourself by now?”

”But with Rei-chan, it was completely different Because Rei-chan had made me her petite sœur from the start of the first term, she didn't feel any pressure, so she didn't pressurething”

”I don't think she really forgot”

Because just yesterday Rei-saood news from you soon”

But really, it seemed as if Yoshi+no-san's Onee-sa to her little sister about finding a petite sœur But because Yoshi+no-san was being pressured frooose was cooked, and she needed to find a petite sœur quickly

”Right now, the Rose Mansion has a shortage of first-years You see? Last year around now, there was shi+mako-san, you, and I There were three of us Now look how many there are”

Noriko-chan was the only one

”It's like a shortage of wives in a village Soon this place will be deserted Is that what you want, Noriko-chan?”

Yoshi+no-san remarked as soon as Noriko-chan had turned towards them

”That's a troubling situation”

Yoshi+no-san's question was the unsaid trap By next year, if everything went according to plan, the second-years would become Roses, and Noriko-chan would be the only bouton It was understandably a grave situation, no matter how capable a person you put in that spot

”Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever met someone I'd like”

Yoshi+no-san said after depositing herself in a chair She had gotten into full conversationthe sink, she sat down in the chair next to Yoshi+no-san The Rose Mansion's cleaning was finished

”Speaking of , how about someone from Kendo club?” asked Yumi, at which Yoshi+no-san made a strained face

”I'y, and even though the old inner I'd only be able to ask someone of a lower kendo rank than me to be my sœur”

”So basically, if she's better than you at kendo, you wouldn't let her be your sœur?”

”That's about right”

Because Yoshi+no-san was a dohted in her sœur relationshi+p

”And also, the girls who stick to their club sport fro of the first term of their first year rise up quickly”

”That's true You joined during the ht?”

When Yoshi+no-san had been considering whether or not to start club activities, her relationshi+p with Rei-sama had beco with her own issues, so she didn't even have the slightest idea of what had happened between them

”But I'll bet there's some first-year in the club who looks at Yoshi+no-sama from afar and thinks 'She's so cool'”

”There's no first-year ould think of a girl who tires out during stretches to be cool”

”Well, there must be --”

Yumi's folloas interrupted by Yoshi+no-san's declaration

”So for Rei-chan”

”Rei-sama”

”The person who becohter to Rei-chan”

”I see So they'll receive Rei-sama's affection”

Yu the concern

One couldn't say for certain that such deceitful girls didn't exist, for they are they hardest to distinguish I had also adrew closer to Yoshi+no-san and began to see Rei-sama her way

”Ah, back in the glory days before the Yellow Rose Revolution, I was thought to be the best first-year sœur there could be”

Yoshi+no-san said as she turned her head towards Noriko-chan Noriko-chan, who had not known the Yoshi+no-san before the great change, ht it were all a lie But Yoshi+no-san's words had no untruth to them: she really was voted ”Best Sœur” with Rei-sama

”Yu the first-years”

”Popular? No, I'm just a bit familiar with everyone”

Come to think of it, in the reenhouse, there was one dandelion growing alone Like a walnut-shaped buttonI had felt

”You say you aren't, but around you, you have Touko-chan and Kanako-chan Ah, you don't really like one over the other, do you?”

”Like one or the other? Well, either way, I don't own either”

”It was just a suggestion I don't want them to simply be trinkets of Yurope out some idea for myself”

”That's”

”Audition, it's an audition! A sœur audition!”

Yoshi+no-san once again clenched her fist and raised it into the air, at the moment when the room's door opened with a creak

”Huh? You want to choose a sœur through some auditions?”

Just as I was thinking this was a good idea, in came Sachiko-sarace, and sipped the black tea prepared by Noriko-chan ”So?” she asked, as Yumi turned her head towards Sachiko-sama

”Please,my intentions, Onee-sa the auditions”

If Yu bad would happen So Yumi forcefully declared her inclinations

”H?”

”Eh?”

”You won't be joining in? Like Yoshi+no-chan, you too have no sœur, Yumi”

”I, I know, but”

But, when Yuht to finish what she was saying? Yue,” but when she followed the unwavering line of sight from Sachiko-sama's eyes, it read: ”What if this were the more honorable path?”

”W-wait a second, Onee-sama”

But then, Sachiko-saone this way?

”Because you cannot irls, you can hold an audition Isn't that nice? I wonder why I hadn't thought of the idea before”

Hands crossed on her chest, Sachiko-sa Yoshi+no-san added ”I'”

”Sachiko-saether with Yumi-san, would we have any applicants for the auditions?”

For so a vote on one issue, there may be soht, fight! Go! Go!” and such

”Ah, that doesn't sound like the Yoshi+no-chan we know Isn't it better if more people attend? But, the main question is, can you chance upon a suitable partner for yourself in that crowd? It's possible that in spite of a hundred people attending, you don't find a suitable partner There was only one person for you, and no replacing that sœur”

”That's true, but”

People whose feelings dashed ahead of their words, when hit by reasonable arguments, will not stop Yoshi+no-san was not able to put up a good defense, her words fading away

There was nothing she could do Nothing to do but fight by herself

”UhOnee-sama, my opinion is --”

”Opinion?”

Sachiko-sama looked at Yumi brusquely

”It's that 'an audition isn't necessary', right? Because 'thereto be our sœurs'?”

”Well, no”

”Well, if that's what you want to say, then we're talking about so completely different Please follow Yoshi+no-chan But if you plan not to go with her, then while Yoshi+no-chan does that, you should use the tiather your own sœur candidates, Yu for you”

”Uh”

Nohat to do She had probably said the ht She remembered In her fervor, Yumi stood up and spoke

”Onee-sama Your insistence on these sœur recruitments is some sort of idiocy”

Swish

She had made her decisionshadn't she? No, it seemed wholly bad for her Yoshi+no-san turned her head aith a look on her face that said, ”She's done it now,” and Sachiko-sahed

”Sœur recruitments? You misunderstood me Yumi I had simply played the bad person to push ood”

”Played the bad person?”

Yumi's question was rude, but she could not see it

”If you find it cruel, then leave the room and search for one, please Maybe your unexpected sœur is waiting for you outside the door”

”So you want old in the straw?”

”What does that mean?”

With Sachiko-sa, Yu called 'Warashi+be Chouja'

”Understood I'll search It'll be best if I search”

Yuain in passion, but she had no reason to oal It was just that the rooht her on fire, and she needed to quench herself out

Just about a year ago, Sachiko-sama herself had been thrust into some painful circumstances by the forer That hen Yumi had coincidentally decided to visit the Rose Mansion So, as she alking together with shi+uide, Yumi had collided with Sachiko-sama as she left the roo, go down paths that they cannot fully understand

(If God has prearranged a sœur foroutside the door)

As Yurip As soon as she began to understand that so the door, shi+mako-san's face became visible As soon as shi+mako-san saw an overly excited Yued out of the way

Come to think of it, was the person beside shi+mako-san this sœur of fate? Ah, so there really was a person there, Yuht, as she finally collided with her

There was no going back

She had readied herself, and closed her eyes

As she collided with a warm object and both of them fell onto the floor, for some reason Yumi could not feel the impact Yumi opened her eyes

”Yumi-chan, sorry”

It was Rei-sama's worried face

”Because you collided into irl, it would have been a disaster”

Sachiko's didactic reply could be heard from in the room

”She is a girl who does not understand whether she has luck or not”

”So, when are you holding it?”

Sachiko-saers around her neck

”I' about next Saturday”

Answered Yoshi+no

Rei-chan, as acting like a human shi+eld, spun Yu a sunken countenance, she meekly seated herself next to Sachiko-sas she wished to say, or whether she could not find anything to say, Yumi-san could not take any action when her Onee-sama was in opposition to her inclinations

”Well”

Sachiko-sama had whispered the words, ”Saturday after next,” nuanced in a way to prompt Yoshi+no to anshether it was too early or too late

Saturday was the only day where Yoshi+no had more than ten minutes to spare after school But the weekend after next was the kendo match, so she couldn't do it then On the other hand, if the audition were to be held before then, it would be too sudden

One would think that any day after the kendo match would be fine, but a look at Yoshi+no's schedule would show that such planning was simply naïve She needed to hold an appropriate time for the auditions Just as one must be on time to meet at a kendo match, Yoshi+no planned to have the sœur auditions to be ”on ti a little sister

”What is this about?”

As soon as everyone was seated, Rei-chan asked the question, knowing nothing about the exchanges that had preceded this shi+mako-san, who had arrived at the same time as Rei-chan, also inclined her head, as if to ask as going on

”I wanted to find a sœur”

Yoshi+no said, in the same nonchalant tone as she had said ”next Saturday”

”A sœur?!”

Rei-chan was the one who showed her surprise The others were more dumbfounded than they looked, and in their shock, couldn't interfere with the discussion between the two And so, the Yellow Rose conversation continued

”W-who is this person you want as sœur?!”

”I don't know”

”If you don't know, then I obviously know less!”

”That's why I' an audition!”

”I never heard about this!”

”You haven't But I was just talking about it!”

”Yoshi+no…!”

Rei-chan pushed herself up and struck the table, her face flushed in anger She sat back down in a frenzy that felt as if it would break the chair, after which she began hitting her forehead on the table Yoshi+no, as being opposed in all of this, sat in her seat calenteel demeanor, and watched her Onee-sama's scene

As Yumi-san watched, she found dry surprise when she confirmed the fact that Yoshi+no had probably not told Rei-chan about the audition

”Yoshi+nowhy so suddenly?”

”It's not suddenly I had been thinking of it for a long ti, do you not like the idea?”

”It's not that, I just wasn't mentally prepared”

”Why do you talk about being mentally prepared now? Isn't it the quick news that you had wanted to hear? Just as you had hoped, I'll be able to show the person whom I bond with to you”

”That'swell if you put it that way, it'sbut”

Rei-chan was flustered and fidgety

Like a father whose daughter wouldat Rei-chan from afar, that is exactly how she seemed

”Plus, you can't really find a perfect sœur at an audition”

”Oh really? Rei-chan understands these things, does she?”

Rei-chan herself understood that there was no concrete basis for all of this, so she couldn't really say anything else, and fell reticent in Yoshi+no's wake As the dry silence dragged out into a sort of armistice, shi+mako-san asked a question in a soft voice

”But Yoshi+no-san, what if you cannot find a sœur with an appropriate fit at the audition?”

”That won't happen Even if I'm a bit uneasy, I'll still choose”

Yoshi+no's brusque answer circulated whispers throughout the roo uneasy? This was all a very surprising turn of events

”What happened, Yoshi+no?”

”Nothing”

”You're lying So you to hurry”

Good job, Rei-chan She had even phrased it as if she were praising Yoshi+no One look at her showed that Yoshi+no was the one flustered and fidgety

”I just want to hurry”

Yoshi+no closed her eyes This action alone confir a lie

She proh

”Fine, I understand I'll agree with your audition But do it next month, I have to practice for my kendo meet So when that is over, we can make a perfect plan on how to hold the audition I'll help you with the work too, of course”

”But then I won't make it on time”

Froed

Any more persistance on Yoshi+no's part would have been senseless That ”there was a time limit;” that if too much time passed by the ”audition would become pointless,” could be seen in Yoshi+no's eyes Approaching Rei-chan with these conditions andher an ally would be an effective plan for Yoshi+no

”What's going on here?”

Rei-chan put her answer to Yoshi+no's last remark on hold and asked her about the incident The name of the person responsible then came out of Yoshi+no's mouth

”Yesterday, no, actually a long time back, I met with Eriko-sama”

”When was this?”

”Around the Athletic Festival”

”Eriko-sama was there?”

”Yeah”

Rei-chan turned towards Sachiko-sama with a face that asked ”Did you know?” Sachiko-sa about this for the first time shi+mako-san, likewise, infor about this Noriko-chan had of course never met Eriko-sama, so she could not be asked For some reason, the question stalled after that, so Yuht be nudged into answering

The way it had been said, it seemed as if Eriko-sama had only met Yoshi+no and then left

Yoshi+no went on

”When we met, Eriko-sama seemed kind of down To cheer her up, I told her she'd be the first person I introduced my petite sœur to”

”And then?”

Rei-chan prodded

”Eriko-sama had said that she would come to see the kendo match, soI”

That had been a suave, the truth was rand tale Yuined dramatizations, and made different faces because of it, but Yoshi+no didn't care

Yoshi+no closed her eyes in a way that seemed to read ”This experience had been deep in my heart, but it seems I finally let it out”

”Now that I think about it, when Eriko-saive me some pastries, her face had seemed a bit tired She had also told me 'Thank Yoshi+no well for iven to Yoshi+no But I, of course, hadn't paid it any thought”

Wrong That was coht inside Yoshi+no that Rei-chan rong Eriko-sama had simply come to put pressure upon Yoshi+no But pure, simple Rei-chan had believed that it was an ordinary conversation

”If that's the case, then I see why you have to hurry Alright, next Saturday The Yaet permission from the school”

Rei-chan neatly and quickly resolved

Sachiko-sa to end, and as she watched the Yellow Rose battle cohed

”Yoshi+no-chan, Yumi There are several sheets of the poster paper we used during the School Festival, so you can use those”

In the end, Yumi-san wasn't asked her opinion, and was officially considered a participant

”I've heard that there is so on?”

It was passing period between periods two and three Yaone to the bathroom or some place, returned to the classroom, approached Yumi's desk sneakily, and whispered

”Where in the world did you?”

Yoshi+no-san had declared just yesterday, after school, that she would hold an audition Not even a day had passed before the news had gotten out

Wondering whether she was the one who spread the rumor, Yumi turned to look at her seat Yoshi+no-san, however, was ilish-japanese dictionary, furiously looking for the word 'leader', and did not turn her attention towards Yumi

”It wasn't Yoshi+no-san I heard it froe advertisee for that ere given permission to cover the audition”

Sachiko-sama was an incredibly fast worker Before her petite sœur could find a good excuse to evade the audition with, she had already begun to dig a moat around Yumi

”But what a relief! This year there was no questionnaire made for the Mister Lillian contest, so after the school festival, this was the one period of the year lacking an event With this, we can keep the pace up”

”If soain, it was decided that it was better for the event to simply not take place The s are a bit ”

In other words, it's not that the faith in the vote was lost, but that it was obvious most people would pick athe questionnaires, it was evenRei-saain as this year's Mister Lillian