Volume 26 Chapter 1 (2/2)
But, drawing a clear distinction between those two events, Sachiko-sama was full of enthusiasm for the treasure hunt. However, Yumi couldn't imagine her running around with the crowd, checking every nook and cranny.
As Yumi put her hand on the handrail and was about to climb the stairs, she caught a voice seeping out of the room on the ground floor.
(Is that Yos.h.i.+no-san and the others&h.e.l.lip;?)
She removed her foot from the first step and turned towards the room. A while ago, they had discussed tidying it up prior to the treasure hunt, but had been so busy that it hadn't happened yet.
As a result, Yumi casually opened the door, like, ”I'll help with the cleanup too.”
”Gokige - ”
But, the next instant, she was surprised by the scene in front of her and instinctively slammed the door closed.
”P-pardon me!”
Wah wah wah. What was that just now? That dazzling scene had blinded her.
”Yumi-san?”
s.h.i.+mako-san called out from the other side of the closed door.
”I'm sorry.”
She'd seen something she shouldn't have.
”What are you apologizing for?”
Yumi was leaning with her back against the door as it slowly opened.
”Well, you're exchanging chocolates, right?”
”That's true, but it's not really a problem if someone else sees that. If we didn't want to be seen, we would have gone somewhere were no-one would find us, so it's okay.”
She'd said it was okay, but even so.
”That reaction was like a middle-school boy who'd stumbled upon a group of girls getting changed.”
After the grande sœur came the pet.i.te sœur. Noriko-chan likewise stepped out of the room as though nothing had happened. So, by majority rule, it looked as though it was Yumi's excessive reaction that was out of place.
”Oh, I don't think she'd be that surprised to see us getting changed. We were in the same cla.s.s in first-year, so we used to get changed for PE together.”
It wasn't said as a joke, but that response was kind of absurd, s.h.i.+mako-san.
But, in a sense, that scene was even more ”private” than getting changed; the sœurs facing each other, with the chocolates between them. The atmosphere in the storage room sparkled brightly only in their immediate vicinity and, since it was somewhere unexpected for them to be, the White Rose sœurs looked almost like illusions.
It felt like they'd been in their own private world. And, as the name suggested, it was like no-one should intrude upon them.
At any rate, it was beautiful. Too beautiful. That vision of sœurs exchanging chocolates&h.e.l.lip;!
After Yumi's thoughts had raced to this point, they came to a sudden stop as she thought: ”Hold on.”
From an objective perspective, did she and her onee-sama possibly project the same sort of atmosphere? To test this out, she tried imagining what their exchange of chocolates would have looked like, and her face flushed crimson.
”Yumi-san's - ”
”Yeah, it's quite funny to see.”
Whispering to each other as they studied her face. My, what an impolite pair of sœurs.
Then Yumi thought, ”I wonder if the White Rose sœurs' chocolate is sweet and creamy,” and Noriko-chan said, ”It's just regular milk chocolate.” s.h.i.+mako-san said she made the same marble cake as last year.
Oh, so they also had the onee-sama giving the pet.i.te sœur chocolate too? - Apparently, this thought also showed up on her face.
”Sorry for fl.u.s.tering you like this, Yumi-san. We probably could have done it after school, but given what happened last year....”
s.h.i.+mako-san giggled.
”Last year &h.e.l.lip; ah.”
Yumi nodded, remembering those events. Then Noriko-chan immediately asked:
”What happened last year?”
No matter how close two sœurs are, they won't know everything about each other's past.
”s.h.i.+mako-san hid the chocolates she was going to give to her onee-sama &h.e.l.lip; ah, wait, it was cake wasn't it? Then, when the treasure hunt was over, it was nowhere to be found.”
Yumi pointed to the storage room, indicating that the cake had been hidden in there.
”Wha-!?”
Bravo. She'd elicited the correct reaction from Noriko-chan.
”One of the treasure hunt partic.i.p.ants had eaten it.”
”But, but that's horrible &h.e.l.lip; although it's shocking that a student who could do such a thing would be at Lillian to begin with.”
”Oh but there was such a student. Only one.”
”Right.”
Noriko-chan deduced what had happened from Yumi and s.h.i.+mako-san's expressions and once more said, ”That's horrible.”
”I just can't believe it no matter how I try. That person was my onee-sama's onee-sama.”
”Oh, but Sei-sama was amazing. She was popular with the younger grades too.”
Yumi had a soft spot for Sei-sama, but even ignoring that, she had been held in high regard by the school.
”I get that she was amazing. And popular too. But there's such a disparity. I know I may be turning a blind eye to my own shortcomings, but how did someone like that get involved with s.h.i.+mako-san?”
Noriko-chan hung her head, her expression showing a mixture of regret, disappointment, and incomprehension.
”You can't say anything about this to s.h.i.+mako-san or Sachiko-sama.”
Yumi stealthily whispered to Noriko-chan, as though she were really about to tell her a secret, but Noriko-chan perked up the moment she heard s.h.i.+mako-san's name.
”What is it?”
Apparently that was her reaction upon hearing her beloved s.h.i.+mako-san's name.
”s.h.i.+mako-san rejected Sachiko-sama's rosary and chose Sei-sama.”
”Wha- ... why? They seem way more fitting.”
Straightforward Noriko-chan spoke her honest thoughts.
”Hey now, what about me then?”
Yumi faked a scowl at Noriko-chan.
”Ah.”
Belatedly realizing what she'd said, Noriko-chan covered her mouth.
”I didn't mean to say that you weren't fitting for Rosa Chinensis.”
It was fairly typical for someone who found themselves in deep trouble to try and squirm out of it like this. It was amusing to see the usually cool and collected Noriko-chan frantically try and justify herself, so Yumi thought about stringing her along further, but since they didn't really have the time right now she decided to let her off the hook.
Still climbing the stairs, s.h.i.+mako-san laughed.
”Sei-sama would definitely cough at a time like this.”
Her sweet voice melted those listening.
”You're late.”
When they got to the room on the second floor of the Rose Mansion, they were met with a scowl.
”Honestly.”
Yos.h.i.+no-san continued.
”The White and Red Rose families were all so busy this morning exchanging chocolates. But, sadly, the head of the Yellow Rose household is absent today with an entrance exam.”
Yumi had a vague memory of this being the sort of line a wife would say when her husband was transferred to a distant city, leaving his family behind.
”Rei-sama's not coming?”
”We'll see. She said she wanted to come once her exam was over, but who knows? She's put an entry in the second-chance draw, so even if she comes she can't partic.i.p.ate in the treasure hunt.”
So that was it. Yos.h.i.+no-san was more upset by Rei-sama's absence than she was about chocolates. Last year, the Yellow Rose sœurs - cousins and next-door neighbors - had exchanged chocolates after they got home from school.
”Relax, Yos.h.i.+no-san. Everyone made it in time for the 8 o'clock meeting.”
Mami-san, the president of the newspaper club and editor-in-chief of the Lillian Kawaraban, tried to pacify Yos.h.i.+no-san. The eight members of the newspaper club had already arrived.
”I don't want to hear that from someone standing there with her sœur.”
Mami-san's pet.i.te sœur, Hidemi-san, was a member of the newspaper club, so naturally she was also present.
”Oh? But we're not exchanging chocolates.”
Mami-san responded immediately.
”You're not?”
Yos.h.i.+no-san asked, arbitrarily deciding that all sœurs were required to exchange presents on Valentine's Day.
”The newspaper club's focusing all our energy on today's main event. We don't have any spare time for something frivolous like that. Right?”
Mami-san s.h.i.+fted her gaze to her pet.i.te sœur, looking for confirmation. But, no matter how long she waited, there was no response of ”Yes,” or ”Of course,” forthcoming from Hidemi-san.
”Um &h.e.l.lip; Hidemi-san, did you&h.e.l.lip;?”
Noriko-chan timidly inquired. Then Hidemi-san angrily thrust a cute paper bag at Mami-san. It was undoubtedly a thrust, not just an offer.
”Hidem-”
”So sorry for spending my energy on something as frivolous as this when we don't have any spare time.”
”No, it's not like that.”
Mami-san was reeling from the unexpected attack. That pair had a relations.h.i.+p more like a boss-and-employee's, rather than sœurs. Mami-san probably didn't know how to cope with this situation, since she couldn't usually spoil or indulge her pet.i.te sœur.
(First of all, ”thank you.”)
Yumi moved around behind Mami-san and whispered in her ear.
”First of all, thank you.”
”It's frivolous to say 'first of all'.”
(I'm so happy.)
s.h.i.+mako-san joined in too.
”I-I'm so happy.”
She was just saying what she was told. Mami-san was acting like a ventriloquist's dummy.
”That's enough.”
Hidemi-san turned her back, like she was sulking.
”My Onee-sama's the newspaper's ogre-in-chief; I wasn't really expecting much.”
(An ogre, huh.)
Everyone considered this for a moment, but then:
”Exactly.”
The previously deflated Mami-san straightened up and answered heartily.
”I'm the Lillian Kawaraban's ogre. I'm not about to loosen up and have fun even on Valentine's Day.”
”Don't say that, Mami-san.”
It was like she was verbally trampling all over the gift her pet.i.te sœur had gone to great efforts to give her.
”My mind is completely filled with today's event. Hidemi wouldn't be my pet.i.te sœur if she didn't understand something like that.”
After saying this, Mami-san turned to her pet.i.te sœur.
”So? What's this?”
”Ch-chocolate cookies.”
”I see. Then I'll eat them after the event, since I usually crave sweet things when I'm tired.”
”Okay.”
Hidemi-san responded cheerfully.
Wait, wait. Was that okay? Somehow it had all been resolved peacefully. It wasn't just Yumi - Yos.h.i.+no-san, s.h.i.+mako-san, Noriko-chan, and all the other newspaper club members were equally bewildered.
Sœurs.h.i.+p was an unfathomable thing. Ten pairs would have ten different ways of doing things, same for one hundred, and none of them would have the same sort of relations.h.i.+p as another.
But it was probably those differences that made it so interesting.
”Well then, let's start our final briefing.”
With Mami-san's declaration, everyone took their seats and adopted serious expressions.
”First of all, let's review everyone's movements against this timetable, and then --”
Everyone was united in wanting this event to be a success.
Arriving back at the second-year Pine cla.s.sroom just before the bell, they pa.s.sed the first-year Naitou Shouko-chan at the door.
(So that means &h.e.l.lip; )
”Welcome back, you three.”
As expected, when they went inside they found Tsutako-san at the entry. Which meant that, undoubtedly, Shouko-chan had given Tsutako-san --
Yumi, Yos.h.i.+no-san and Mami-san all shared a look and smiled knowingly. In her hand, Tsutako-san gripped a small light-brown gift bag, without a ribbon.
”Is that from Shouko-chan?”
”Uh &h.e.l.lip; yeah.”
Tsutako-san answered, with an expression that was more bewildered than overjoyed.
”What's the matter? Isn't it chocolates?”
”Mm.”
That answer could be taken as either it was chocolates, or it wasn't. Tsutako-san sighed as she returned to her seat, and curiosity compelled Yumi, Yos.h.i.+no-san and Mami-san to follow her.
”Is it chocolates? Or not?”
”Aren't you happy?”
”Why are you looking like that?”
Crowding around both sides of Tsutako-san's desk, the trio asked this succession of questions. Sitting down in her seat, Tsutako-san set the paper bag in front of her, let out another deep sigh, then raised her head.
”You know....”
”Hm?”
”Even I thought that if she was going to give me something, that it would be chocolates.”
”It's not?”
Well, if it wasn't chocolates, there were plenty of other things it could be - like Hidemi-san's cookies, or s.h.i.+mako-san's marble cake. Of course, it didn't have to be sweets, it could be something like a handmade scarf or a bag. But the bag was a bit small for one of those.
”Is it something troubling?”
It seemed unlikely that Shouko-chan would give Tsutako-san something she didn't want, but Yumi thought she'd at least ask. Everyone had their own hobbies and preferences, after all.
For instance, what if Shouko-chan raised lizards, or giant spiders, and gave Tsutako-san one of those &h.e.l.lip; that would definitely be troubling.
But Tsutako-san rejected this.
”No, it's something I'm really happy to get.”
”Then, what? Why that expression?”
Yos.h.i.+no-san blurted out her question, irritated.
”I'm just worried.”
”About?”
”If I get film as a present for Valentine's Day, what should I give as a return gift on White Day?”
”&h.e.l.lip; Huh?”
Film on Valentine's Day.
That too.
They'd found another Valentine's Day option, unique and interesting.
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