Volume 20 Chapter 2 (1/2)
”'We will begin accepting applications to participate in the Sœur Tea Party! The rules permit'”
The words came from all around
”'The Sœur Tea Party is an experi Your involvement in the tea party does not constitute a firm decision to obtain a sœur'”
It had all started in theabout the news that the Lillian Kawaraban announced It was not an exaggeration to say that the rumors of this Sœur Tea Party circulated as rapidly as a flower bloomed
”'In addition, Rosa Foetida en bouton and Rosa Chinensis en bouton are scheduled to attend' Wow!”
Noriko wondered how hout the day as she dropped her gaze onto her paperback book If it was this loud, then how could the other book readers meet? Since Noriko had been at the school for over half a year, she had gotten used to the low hush of gossip at an all girls' school -- but today was different Because this tiossip dealt with her, so she couldn't help but react to what she heard She couldn't just disain,” today
”Hey hey, Noriko-san We wanted to ask you about the Sœur Tea Party”
Again, class that she would have top-quality news
”Ah, well”
She didn't want to ignore them, so instead she tried to act friendly
”I don't know anything more than what's written in the paper about it, except that the boutons want anyone who meets the criteria and who is interested to apply as quickly as possible,” Noriko said, and raised her head out of her paperback, giving her best business smile
”Well, ant to, but --”
”The requirements”
The girls turned towards each other with sad faces Of course, those two must be Atsuko-san and Miyuki-san, zealous participants in the Bible Studies Club But each of them had accepted a rosary froo to the Sœur Tea Party
Noriko decided she would spend no , but the two girls didn't leave the side of her desk When Noriko was about to say so back to them, Atsuko-san spoke up
”By the way, Noriko-san”
”Yes?”
”Is Touko-san invited?”
”Touko?”
When discussing the Sœur Tea Party, she had prepared answers to questions regarding certain topics But she had not prepared for any questions dealing with the ”Touko” topic Why were these two sœurs of second-years the first to ask a question dealing with a proper noun, Noriko wondered She inclined her head and pointed to the print-out that Miyuki-san held in her hand
”You've read the Lillian Kawaraban, right? So you know it said that the applicants are picked at randoht?”
”Butwell --”
”First of all, I don't knohether Touko will apply or not If you want to know about someone, why don't you ask her yourself?”
After Noriko finished speaking, she realized, ”Well now, Touko isn't with those two” As soon as the school year had started, they said to each other ”I'm Touko,” ”I' theroup
”Touko-sanshe wouldn't applywould she?”
”Eh?”
Wondering what they were talking about, Noriko furrowed her eyebrows But she dropped the o back to their conversation
”Ah, but, if Yumi-sama comes to the Sœur Tea Party, then she really doesn't have any preferences, does she?”
”Maybe the party is just cae”
”But then, who? Kanako-san?”
”That's exactly who I wonder how it'll go”
So then, Kanako-san was very high on the list of potential sœur candidates But right now, the person closest to beco Yumi-sa about the tea party, they would keep whispering about a ruive someone special treatment -- in other words, show attraction -- as if it were true
”Well then, good luck to Touko-san”
”Didn't she say 'I want to become a Rose some day' in middle school?”
And then they suddenly fell silent Perhaps they wondered ould happen if Noriko becary Noriko wondered would happen if she lost her cool as well She took a deep breath and spoke again
”Well, that's not really true”
”But, but that's soht?”
”Eh?”
”Well, you said you don't know any more about this than what's written about it in the paper, right?”
Yes, that hat she had said
In all innocence, in all straightforwardness, in all frankness, the angels were interfering too ht Noriko
”Well? How an drafting the plans
”Starting at lunch today there were seven first-years and five second-years,” Mami-san answered She didn't care whether she had to stay in the Rose Mansion through lunch or after school For her, it was aat her life's work, the Lillian Kawaraban The Newspaper Club underclass But for some reason, it seemed as if the place had become the ”Newspaper Club – Rose Mansion Branch”
Now that the Newspaper Club personnel would come more, the third-years would come less
”We said that we'd let you guys handle it, so this is what happens It's not as if we're avoiding the Rose Mansion or so needs to be done, we come, and sometimes we amble over to the Rose Mansion and just eat our lunches It's just that all the recent talk has been about the tea party, and we don't want to get into that”
When the Roses put all of their reasons together, it was as if they were treating their boutons as adults
”I understand It's just that you're coht you would”
First, Mami-san had put out the application in the Lillian Kawaraban, but now even she began collecting the applications
”But there's twelve people here”
Even Yu the layout of the invitation and looked up Of course, there weren't any more people involved past those ere expected to co
The day when they had decided to change it from an audition to a tea party, and when they decided to announce it in an extra in the Lillian Kawaraban had been Wednesday Froun to receive applications, and up 'til today, the first day of the month, a little more than four days had passed If you exclude the Sundays that they had off from school, then it would be only three days
”I don't think any of theh” Mah the application printed in the Lillian Kawaraban
”I think it would be best if we put big letters in the paper that simply say, 'Submit Your Applications at the First Floor of the Rose Mansion' That way, overenthusiastic people, and people who simply misunderstood the rules, would have no problems,” Noriko-chan said There were no mistakes in the Lillian Kawaraban, after all
For thatthe applicants who did not have petite -- or grande -- sœurs, nobody kne st the to cooperate in the tea party was not really that large
”Girls who double over in fright when they enter the Rose Mansion shall not become our sœurs!”
”Yoshi+no-san”
Yumi's face wasn't the only one that said that she rong Malances added to the accusation
”What?”
”This is about picking our sœurs, but, for now, come on”
”I see So it's just going to be a gathering of regular people, huh? But I'll bet there will be so candidates in the mix”
Yoshi+no-san understood, and took a seat Right now the car was in park, but at any time it could drop back into drive with full throttle
”This way, the applicants will take care of themselves”
If one were to suddenly go up the stairs, they would see the chaos From the Rose Mansion's first floor desk, the path would lead to the filled-out application forms and a ballpoint pen Also, there was a 30 x 4 c lunch and after school, letters would be placed in the box, and beside the box there was a gathering of other ht noas the Newspaper Club first-years ere in charge
”About twelve applicants, huh? It see as it is”
”That's because the nu”
Noriko-chan had said that neither the amount of applications they had prepared from the start, nor the amount of applications they will have received by lunch today, would equal the number of actual applicants But that wasn't necessarily ould happen, and it was a bit wrong
”There are some who filled out the form incorrectly, and had to have their forms voided There must be some people who came once, but returned because they were unsure of whether to apply or not, right?”
”I don't think there are any more than forty people who either made mistakes on their forms or an unsure of whether to enter or not”
Said Mami-san tiredly, in her retort to Noriko-chan's crisp question Then, as if re and fished out a tea bag
”There must be some returned applications too But since those aren't related to the regular applications, we don't really count them”
”Huh?”
Both of them rose at the same time
”You know, requests and encouragement? Those sorts of letters”
Mami-san said, as she raised one piece of paper in the air and read from it
”'Yumi-sama – Good luck, and pick a fantastic sœur!'”
”Oh my”
”'Yoshi+no-sa sœurs are, shouldn't they?'”
”What?!”
”'We just wanted to ask Could two regular second-years help out? We could invite a lot of first years'”
Everyone's general requests were beingapplications If these sorts of co a tea party any more
”There are , so I'll save you fro to hear them There are about twenty in total Butover them, so you can skim them later”
But the problees from people ere not applicants than fro the submissions box to the second floor of the Rose Mansion It wasn't as if she were feeling cold towards them, it's just that she wished that people ere not applicants would not spend the tie
”But, you know, there's no real har would apply anyway, so whether the others go into the trash or are subht?”
”This isn't a trash for everyone to put things into This is for participants”
But they couldn't change things around because there were too few applicants There were only two istration date How could they change the date so close to the end?
”So to excite them So we need to reflect on the applications, and the tea party itself There are also so outside of the Rose Mansion”
Mami-san said
”Interesting things?”
”So far this year, the nu”
”Really?”
This is the sort of rumor that distant Yumi would likely have heard for the first time, but it seemed even Yoshi+no-san and shi+mako-san haven't heard it Noriko-chan was a Lillian first-year, so she obviously did not knoas usual for a year Maybe Tsutako-san was the one who noticed it She received requests for pictures, so she would probably know about the situation well
”During first terinners, a large mass enters and they become sœurs The spit really flies”
Mami-san continued with her lecture
”The next period is the School Festival After that there's Christmas, Valentine's Day, and those sorts of events, so it's easy to get together The next big one is the school closing cereo on vacation on the next day, so they make different decisions”
Of course, of course, the heads nodded
”So right now, as far as sœur pairings go, there's a relative lull Last year, because of someone, there were several breakups and reconciles, but that's rare in most other years”
When she said ”soazes turned towards a person: the very person responsible The one responsible for the Yellow Rose Revolution, Yoshi+no-san, looked back with a face that said ”There's so all of a sudden?”
”How did Mami-san come to this conclusion?”
”Maybe if you call it a last-minute buyout, it works 'Do you have some first-year you like? Well, she obviously doesn't have an onee-sa definitive, so you just stay friends' But then, this year there's the tea party”
”Hm?”
”Maybe someone wanted to participate in the tea party She probably thinks 'Should I apply or not?' And then, she suddenly thinks 'But if soets the Rosary, that would be very unfair'”
”Oh, of course”
”If a second-year says, 'Don't go to the tea party, but become my sœur instead,' then a first-year will think about it -- and that's how the sœur relationshi+p is made, and with someone who she knows This doesn't happen to everyone, but this must happen to some”
Rather than creating participants, the tea party can act as cupid, and oal was that two girls anted to become sœurs, but could not find their partner, could instead find aplace, then that made Yumi happy
”At this rate, we'll have to invite all of the applicants to the tea party itself Well, the number of applicants will probably increase by the final day But there's been a stampede of sœurs”
Mahed coldly as she finished her analysis
”Well, it's four 'o clock, so we are finished accepting applications for today,” said the Newspaper Club first-years, as they poked their faces into the shadows of the biscuit-shaped door
”Ah, thank you for the effort It's been cold Come in”
Yumi pulled out chairs, and handed out tea The two had met in the Newspaper Club clubroom They were two ”Hopeful Rookies”
”How many came?”
”About ten people There were about seven people who subister, but”
Opening the ball-shaped lock on the back, they dumped the newly submitted letters onto the table
”Ah, you're right There's no name, there's no class, there's not even an appeal co on the back is writtenwha--?! It's like an opposing vote: 'Matsudaira Touko-san is eyeing Ogasawara Sachiko-sama' What is this? It's kinda scary”
Then Noriko-chan joined in with a black expression on her face, ”It really has a bad feeling about it”
”Yeah”
It wasn't just Noriko-chan; these weren't complaints that were tolerable to listen to Everyone in the room said, ”Yeah, it does,” and nodded But the reason Noriko-chan had said ”a bad feeling” had not been just because of the statement
”Even in class, it feels this bad The girls who don't like Touko-san seem to have a sort of weird filter over their eyes when they look out There are ru this time Ask the person directly, I'd say”
Stopping when she felt it appropriate, Noriko-chan essentially had dropped a scary bomb upon the conversation, after which the conversation became dark
”So then, what about Touko-chan?!”
Yumi asked, and then Noriko-chan shook her head and replied ”Everything”
”Maybe she hasn't noticed it, orit, but she shouldn't be pressured about whether she's entering or not”
”Of course Touko-chan is a very delicate person after all”
The , for some reason, the room fell quiet
Huh? Did people not think that Touko-chan was delicate? Or is it that, words like those weren't wholly in character for her?
”Yes,” shi+ht ”But why is Touko-chan so angry?”
”Ahh”
Noriko-chan did not answer Was it because Noriko-chan thought her ansas vague? Or maybe it was because she was confident in her answer, but was not co so freely about it? Or maybe she just couldn't find the correct words to frame her answer in? Well, the reason she didn't say must be one of those
”Well, there is Matsudaira Touko-san, but,” Mami-san opened an application that she took from the box and read it ”Hosokawa Kanako-san still has not applied”
Then one of the Newspaper Club hopeful rookies, looking as if they would add soht hand into the air and said, ”Yes”
”Kanako-san has declared that she will not becoh”
”I have heard it But, you knoo to the Rose Mansion to help out, perhaps her opinion changed”
As Yuht to herself ”Maybe that's true” Even Touko-chan had said this recently, but Kanako-chan had definitely changed from before She had taken out her sword and readied herself She had also beco, but did she feel like she was getting closer to her or drifting away? If you roughly handle and hurt Kanako-chan, then you should move your hand back as soon as you can
”Huuuh That girl”
Mae application in front of her and laughed
”She wrote her appeal coht”
Mami-san stood up, and trained the pitch in her voice, as if she were perfor, ”What, what?!”
”'From the moment I entered the Student Council, I felt as if I had becost the cast of Roses Whether it is Yumi-sama or it is Yoshi+no-sama, either one of you, won't you please make me your sœur?' and that's it”
Either one of you Well
”That's a frank admission, but if you look at the iives, it s are masked in silk”
”Maybe a person with too le? Or ht between two sœurs”
Yoshi+no-san rolled her sleeves up lessly
”First Year, Chrysanthemum Class, Naitou Shoukodo you know her?”
Noriko-chan answered ”No” to Mami-san's question
”Isn't thatmaybe it's Naitou Katsumi-sama's little sister?”
Yoshi+no-san said
”The one who, in order to spend her third year in the same class as Torii Eriko-sama, pushed herself to reach Rank Two on her exa her real sister to get revenge upon the Rose Family, huh?”
”Isn't that reason a bit weak?”
shi+ Yoshi+no-san
”Why is Shouko-san becoe?”
”Because, as soon as she becomes sœurs with me, she would have all the leeway to be as violent as she could want As her onee-sama, she would hassle me”
All the leeway to be violent Hassling the older sister Just as the person as saying all these things? But Yuhts, this person would start acting violently
”Well, if that's what she's planning, then why didn't she write 'Yoshi+no-sama, I want to become your sœur'? She said either Yoshi+no-san or Yue, isn't it?”
”Oh, really? Then what is her real motive?”
She understood the point of what shi+ to say, but Private Eye Yoshi+no, when she talked about this 'Naitou Shouko' whom she hadn't seen, her eyes took up a certain cast that knew she would not easily let go of her conviction
It was one-sided, because Yumi was included too
(Naitou Katsumi-sama, and her little sister, Shouko-sanhuh)
When she heard the two names in her head, for aBut because her head was filled with thoughts of the tea party and Touko-chan and Kanako-chan and onee-saet, her head had no way to store any extraneous inforet about it
She would remember it when, days later, she would meet with the real Naitou Shouko-san
”Does Yumi-san have any connection with Touko-chan's situation?”
As everyone was leaving, shi+roup as they walked down the row of trees Then shi+ to Noriko When she looked surprised at the question, shi+mako-san smiled back at her
”And that's why you couldn't say anything”
”Wowyou get it all, shi+mako-san”
”Funny, isn't it?”
Yumi-sama and Yoshi+no-sairls turned onto a lightly-curving path and disappeared froht
”If you don't want to talk about it, then I won't force an answer out of you But I thought thatabout your thoughts with someone”
shi+an walking again She kept her hand within reach, so Noriko grabbed it
”No, I don't want to talk about it with shi+ it tothrough”
When shi+ When it came to herself, she would become confused about what to do, but she would alatch over others That hy Noriko could speak plainly with shi+mako-san Why is such an incredible person ht to herself
”The things Touko has saidwell, I think she said them because of everyone else's jealousy”
Noriko spoke aloud what she was thinking
”I see”
shi+mako-san nodded quietly as she s slowly down the road in front of the rows of trees, as the group that had passed theain
”It's because Yumi-sama is popular”
Inside the splendid façade of the Rose Faarious ”Onee-sama of the People” and the idol of the first-years Noriko too did not want to lose to the people, but she lacked an easy sense of familiarity She had a presence, but she just wasn't Yumi-sama
”I don't knoho started it, but everyone thinks that Touko has become Yumi-sama's number one sœur candidate”
”Number one sœur candidate?”
”I think it's because Yumi-sama had asked her earlier to help out at the Rose Mansion, but”
The idol of everyone could becouely prepared themselves for the day it would eventually happen, but they didn't really want to see it They just had an idea of what it would be like
Then again, for the people that already have an Onee-sas If she tried to see hoould feel to involve someone else into her own affairs, Noriko could understand
”But that's it?”
shi+ht
”Last year, when I had come to help out the Ya the play, there was a bit of commotion, but no one really hated it It was the saht Noriko?”
”Yeah, well”
Noriko nodded
”But Touko has said and done sos in her past that make it hard for people to like her”
”What did she do?”
”During monsoon seasonre or soot dark between them? Well, everyone says that Touko was the one who caused it”
In early summer, when Rosa Chinensis had taken off froument in the milk hall Then Yumi-sama tactfully asked Touko to help out at the Rose Mansion, and immersed her into it, after which the rumor sort of died down, but
”That's true”
shi+ about the first few ht after that monsoon season
”I know I' nosy, but when Touko, who had bullied Yumi-sa? Because that happened, she inadvertently got closer to Yu Rosa Chinensis”
”So then, Noriko, you don't think that Touko-chan is picking Yuet closer to Sachiko-sama?”
Noriko nodded easily Touko ad like that
”So then, what's happening with Touko-chan?”
Noriko shook her head in response to shi+mako-san's question
”I don't want to talk about it I' not to hurt Touko after all”
”Well well”
”Well, not forever, but it's like 'We have to clean that, sothe ba”
”Are you trying to sew a yukata with regular cloth?” [1]
”Yeah”
”You're really saying as little as possible, aren't you?”
”Ah, oh yeah There's soht the latest edition of the Lillian Kawaraban with ht about whether Noriko-san had talked about this with thehed”
Her classry
In the shadows, many rumors flew around; none of them with any real hate
To help out Touko, Noriko had tried to be the one friend who had kept a straight face about this
But for so in circles
Keeping everything inside of her felt bad, but first-year Caoing smoothly
(Maybe only e)
Everything really seeenessfeel as if it tottered That must be it
”I thought Yumi-sama didn't want Touko”
And Noriko stopped abruptly shi+
”But, Touko is --”
shi+s fell from the tops of Noriko's cheeks
”H?”
shi+ down, took her handkerchief out, and wiped the bottom of Noriko's eyelashes with it She stared directly at Noriko's face and smiled
”Noriko, you like Touko-chan, don't you?”
”I do, a bit”
As she pointed this out, Noriko realized she liked her ht
As twilight descended, the obscuring of her surroundings was a blessing It was a blessing that she ay froht
Yus for Touko
Noriko-chan tightly grasped shi+mako-san's hand
And to keep the traces of her tears hidden froo by
When she thought about it, if she introduced Naitou Shouko to Eriko-sama as her soeur, then Eriko-sama would be very surprised
Yoshi+no daydreamed as she lifted her chin from the top of the paper on her desk
She had no expectations for the Naitou sisters, but if she were just going for impact, then at this et But you couldn't find a soeur by just filling out some documents, so she needed to meet her in person But if she did make Naitou Shouko her soeur, she didn't think it would be as bad as it was supposed to be
Maybe it wouldn't be that bad, but she knew she was playing with a danger that you could only shake your head at
The paper was actually a problem set handed out in math class to take home and finish, but because it had becoht process, she had not finished a single problem
Perhaps because she was bad at math and wanted to not deal with it, or because she had been thinking about tooher solve the equations correctly Either hen she stared at the paper, her thoughts seemed to evaporate into thin air
”Let's do it”
Now to start, she thought, and rose with deterhtly past eight It was about time
Yoshi+no trailed down the stairs, and she saw her
”I should start preparing now You're right on time”
”Huh, what's that bag?”
”Did you coht today at the store I wanted to share, so I gave your aunt a piece”
”Why didn't you give me any?”
”Because today you and Rei-chan came back at different times I knew I had to meet your aunt I had a reason, but for soht I'd let Yoshi+no do what she wanted, and if Rei-chan caive her a little souvenir”
”If I or Rei-chan doesn't get back, how does it matter?”
”It's not a fresh sweet, so it's fine The expiration date is the last day of the month”
”Last day of the month?”
She had re bad
”But I had to go ?”
”No, you're not”
Yoshi+no took the paper back and went out of the door When she looked inside, she was a little annoyed, but it was her mother, so she let the matter drop
”Good Evening!”
It was next door, but they were right next to each other Their front doors were a cheerful stroll apart
”Welco an apple Did you bring that bag fro, so just wait there”
”Ah, sure Thank you very much”
No matter how you looked at it, her aunt and her hts Hera pastry, so the apple made her smile widely
But