Volume 28 Chapter 12 (1/2)

The first ti ceremony

Although not at the welco by herself in a hallway on the first-floor of the school building, I gazed at her figure from some distance behind, and that was all

She was looking out through an open

Her appearance was beautiful, like so out of a poem

I had a premonition

Meeting her would have a profound impact on my life

I soon learned her name

fukuzawa Yumi Rosa Chinensis en bouton The petit soeur of Rosa Chinensis

She stood beside Rosa Chinensis during the welco her onee-sama

Even someone like h-school, knew about the three Roses at the top of the Yah-school student council, and their petit soeurs, ere called boutons

This knowledge was acquired naturally, froments of conversations I'd heardI'd actively pursued

- Classmates In particular, Matsudaira Touko and her band ofa fuss

They'd treated their self-introductions to the class as a joke, called out shrilly whenever one of the Roses walked past our classroo positions and handled the physical examinations like some kind of circus event

But it's not like they were cutting themselves off fro Lillian's entrance exaether?” but they'd also offer other assistance, such as, ”I can help you if you're having troublethe prayers,” or, ”Feel free to ask if there's anything you don't understand”

As so from pushy sales their offers and ard e, and so left me alone

Through until the end of middle-school, I'd always attended co-ed public schools

My father's infidelity, and hts and I'd chosen an all-girls school thinking that I didn't care where I went as long as there were no hts on Lillian's because of its extreh barrier to entry, so that my classoing to a private school because she failed the public school entrance exairls who fawned over boys almost as much as I hated the boys themselves

They'd refer to the ”I,” and they'd talk in a sweet voice The way Matsudaira Touko spoke was close to this, and it always made me uncomfortable when she acted cute because it reminded me so much of my former classmates, half of ere obsessed with boys That's why I was unable to get along with her, although I was only vaguely aware of it

Before long, the rainy season had arrived

One , quite by chance, I found myself seated next to fukuzawa Yu forwards as I lined up for the bus I hadn't noticed her, but apparently she o or three people behindabout it, I settled down on a two-seater towards the back of the bus Not long after, Yumi-sama said, ”Pardon me,” and sat down beside me

”Gokigenyou, Rosa Chinensis en bouton”

”Gokigenyou The weather's not letting up, is it?”

She was probably used to strangers approaching her Yu ah, perhaps depressed by the cloudy skies

”You dislike the rain?”

”I wouldn't go that far”

Yumi said, then smiled and continued with:

”But the way the ”

Even though she was Rosa Chinensis en bouton I suppose her unassu manner was probably the secret behind her popularity

When we stood up to get off the bus, Yumi-sama took one look at me and hurriedly asked, ”Are you, by chance, a senior?” She obviously thought I was older than her based on ht, which she probably hadn't noticed e'd been sitting down

”No, I'm a first-year”

I sled out because of ht, but I didn't mind at all that time