Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 2 Chapter 5

The weather that day was so beautiful it felt a shame to simply pa.s.s it off as "clear Autumnal weather."

Indoor kendo match, as well as a surgical operation, it wasn't like either of them were affected by weather, but Yumi felt it was much better than if it were gloomy. It felt like Maria-sama was definitely watching over them, so even as a bystander, she couldn't help but rejoice in the weather.

After fourth period ended, she finished cleaning as quickly as possible (and as a result worked harder at cleaning than ever before), and sped off to the main entrance, where everyone had agreed to meet.

Rosa Gigantea and Rosa Chinensis, as well as Sachiko-sama had already arrived. Rosa Foetida was still absent, so unfortunately she wasn't able to watch her little sister's gala occasion. After waiting for s.h.i.+mako-san, who arrived five minutes after Yumi, they all headed to the town gymnasium.

The park that surrounded the gymnasium was occupied primarily by girls wearing three different uniforms. Because the weather was great, it seemed like many decided to just kill time outside until the matches began.

A very orthodox dark-red tie above a navy blazer. And a more modern design, with a blue pleated skirt and a thick, beige-colored blazer with a coat-of-arms at the breast. And then casual clothing.

Amidst this, the ivory sailor collar and black, low-waist one-piece Lillian uniform couldn't help but stand out. Although some people backbit that our uniform found itself in the wrong era, Yumi thought the comparatively older design actually felt fresh.

Today's matches were an organized tournament between schools in the area, and the four girls' kendo clubs considered the best in the region were partic.i.p.ating. It wasn't an official tournament, but it did have tradition, so students from many schools had come to cheer.

The hall was quite filled by the time of the two o'clock start. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't possible to find a whole five seats open together, so they split themselves up into three and two.

"Sachiko and Yumi-chan, there're two seats over there."

Was she accommodating them? Rosa Chinensis directed the two of them to sit together.

"Here, Yumi-chan."

Rosa Gigantea presented one paper box of mixed sandwiches and two paper boxes of milk coffee. Yumi didn't know when she'd gone out to buy them.

"You can't fight on an empty stomach, they say."

Except the only one actually fighting was Rei-sama, they were just cheering-. But, she was hungry, and she didn't want to turn into a frog again.

"How much was it?"

When Yumi went to take out her purse, Rosa Gigantea said, "Don't worry about it." Even though she was an uppercla.s.sman, they were both high school students receiving an allowance, so Yumi tried to insist on paying, except Sachiko-sama went ahead and placed bills on Rosa Gigantea's hand.

"Because there's no reason for Rosa Gigantea to treat me, or my little sister."

"You're so strict. But, well, you're trying to be a big sis, so I'll retreat."

Rosa Gigantea complied with Sachiko-sama, returned the exact amount of change, and left to return to sit with Rosa Chinensis.

"Um-."

Now, Yumi had to face Sachiko-sama. How much was it for one person?

"Oh, put away your purse, it's embarra.s.sing."

Sachiko-sama said, and hurried to sit down. Yumi followed in a hurry.

"All you have to do, is say, gochisousama."

"But-"

When Yumi still dawdled, Sachiko-sama looked a bit cross, saying, "Don't you get it?"

"Let me be a big sister sometimes."

"&h.e.l.lip; Ah."

So, Yumi pulled out a sandwich without hesitation and said "gochisousama." It was made of lettuce and tomato and eggs, and actually tasted pretty good.

Yumi had never even watched a kendo match on TV.

So she had no idea how Rei-sama was supposed to win, but Sachiko-sama filled her in while they were watching.

First, that it was a team match, rather than an individual one.

While there were matches to decide individual winners, in this case, the four schools chose five people to represent them. In order of strength, the five were t.i.tled Taishou, f.u.kushou, Chuuken, Jihou and Senpou, and the Senpou fought the Senpou, the Taishou fought the Taishou. And Rei-sama was Lillian's Taishou.

Even though these schools were considered the top four, their students changed year to year, so there was rarely an occasion where you could definitively say one school was the absolute best. Takurazawa school, which won last year, had their Taishou, f.u.kushou and Chuuken all graduate, so most people didn't expect them to be repeat champions.

The favorites this year were Oonaka girls' high, and Lillian girls' academy. Unfortunately, we'd lost last year at the semi-finals, but this year Hasekura Rei returned as a Taishou, after being the f.u.kushou as a first-year student.

Because there were only four schools, each match was a semi-final and a final. They drew for matchups and, luckily, Oonaka and Lillian weren't paired.

The fencers from the four schools entered the floor and sat, encircling the fighting area.

Yumi glanced at her wrist.w.a.tch.

Two in the afternoon. The surgery was hopefully going well.

Yos.h.i.+no-san's surgery was supposed to have begun at nine. Yos.h.i.+no-san had apparently painstakingly insisted that the surgery be held today. At first, Yumi thought she didn't absolutely need to have it be today, but Yos.h.i.+no-san probably had her own reasons for fixating on this date. It might be something you'd never know until you end up in that situation yourself.

She expected an athletes' pledge, or that someone important would make an announcement, but the match actually simply started. The first two combatants stood up, and the referee blew a whistle.

"It's exciting."

After emptying the pack of milk coffee, she put the box under her seat to keep it out of the way. The sandwiches had already been settled into their stomachs at a ratio of Yumi: 4, Sachiko-sama: 2.

But, Sachiko-sama, like, for one of her sandwiches, the olive oil was soaked into the bread, or she had another sandwich with white and brown bread, but she didn't like the brown bread because it had caraway in it. She was full of complaints, so Yumi ended up having to finish everything. Maybe she was picky because she was a rich princess, but Yumi thought Sachiko-sama's mother must have a hard time packing lunch like that. Ah, because it was Sachiko-sama, it was probably a maid or something.

"Don't wander about, watch the match."

Sachiko-sama suddenly grabbed Yumi's jaw and turned her back to the matches, like a shower lever.

(Gosh- when Sachiko-sama does something like that, it just makes it even harder to concentrate!)

That said, she found herself sucked into the matches anyways. The matches continued, and the Oonaka and Takurasawa Taishou stood, facing each other.

As expected of the Taishou, even for a newbie like Yumi, their superior skills to the previous four was evident. And for whatever it was worth, they seemed to have more vigor, too.

Along with a clean PANG! sound, the Oonaka Taishou stepped back. Simultaneously, the three referees lifted a white flag.

"That meant it was a clean blow, right?"

After watching four matches, Yumi was getting the hang of things. Even if it looked like a good hit, unless a flag went up, it didn't matter.

"It was a brilliant strike to the mask."

Sachiko-sama gasped in admiration, and praised the Oonaka Taishou.

"You're pretty knowledgeable about kendo?"

"Suguru-san used to do kendo."

Suguru-san, meant full-name Kas.h.i.+wagi Suguru. He was Sachiko-sama's cousin, a third-year student at Lillian's neighboring Hanadera Inst.i.tute, student council president, and a handsome, intelligent young man. Plus, he was Sachiko-sama's fiancé, as decided by their parents and preferred males&h.e.l.lip; Anyways, he's a rather awe-inspiring person.

Speaking of which, what happened to Kas.h.i.+wagi-san? Did they extinguish their engagement?

The first semi was a 4-1 rout by the Oonaka girls. Next, the Lillian students stood up.

Rei-sama.

Was radiating willpower, even though it was just the Senpou match. I'll definitely win! You could feel her determination.

Maybe it was because she was preparing herself for the kendo matches, but Rei-sama looked different than normal, sporting a scarier face than usual.

The Tsukimigaoka high school we were against was a private coeducation school, so you could hear throaty voices whether they won or lost. It was in stark contrast to the pure-yellow cheers of Lillian.

The Senpou and Jihou were both defeated by Tsukimigaoka, but the Chuuken and f.u.kushou both won. Next was the Taishou, Rei-sama.

If they lose, they fall to the consolation round. If they win, they go to the finals against Oonaka. It was all down to the Taishou.

"What pressure&h.e.l.lip;"

"Don't worry, she'll win. If she loses here, she wouldn't be able to face Yos.h.i.+no-chan."

Yumi thought Sachiko-sama's words were on the mark.

Rei-sama stepped into the fighting circle with her mask, bowed to the Tsukimigaoka Taishou, and the match began.

Rei-sama was beautiful, standing tall with her s.h.i.+nai in front of her. She wanted to show Yos.h.i.+no-san this scene.

(Oh shoot, I should have brought a camera.)

How clumsy, to realize it now. Just as she was humbled by her guilt, she noticed a flash from the audience.

"Tsutako-san&h.e.l.lip;!"

"Oh, Yumi-san. Gokigenyou."

She turned around for an instant, hearing her name, but then immediately returned to concentrate on the match. As expected of the photography ace. She'd never let a chance for a good photo go by. On second look, the newspaper club captain was by her side. She, too, looked immersed in reporting.

(I'll ask for a copy of the photo later.)

She was glad she was friends with Tsutako-san. Actually, when she asked about it later, she found out the Roses didn't even bother thinking about cameras, simply relying on Tsutako-san. Rather than a newbie using a disposable camera, a semi-pro using an advanced camera was certain to produce better photos. Plus, if they left it to Tsutako-san, they'd be better able to focus on the matches.

The Taishou match was, as Sachiko-sama predicted, dominated by Rei-sama. She pounded away with mask and torso shots, to the point where Yumi would have readily raised a flag. The Tsukimigaoka Taishou was forced into a more defensive game, but because she was the Taishou, she might have been driven by pride to swing back every so often.

"Brilliant."

Sachiko-sama yelled at her side. Simultaneously, three red flags went up. It was too fast for Yumi to have noticed, but Rei-sama's forearm blow had been clean.

"Sachiko-sama is really athletic."

Sachiko-sama smiled bitterly at that.

Anyways, Lillian got past the semis, and Rei-sama had a win under her belt.

"Huh&h.e.l.lip;?"

It was rather late, but a question suddenly formulated in her head.

"At what point would Rei-sama count as having won?"

Did that mean Lillian winning? Or Rei-sama winning all of her matches? Or-.

"Yos.h.i.+no-san didn't mean that sort of victory, I think."

Then, what did she mean? As Yumi tilted her head to the side, the finals match began. There's almost no time for rest.

During the finals, the Senpou went to Oonaka, the Jihou went to Lillian. Chuuken draw, f.u.kushou Lillian, and so Lillian was ahead.

"If Rei-sama wins, we win!"

Excitedly, Yumi grabbed Sachiko-sama's arm, but Sachiko-sama didn't look very pleased, so Yumi quickly pulled her arm away.

"That's not it. I don't mind the arm."

"Eh?"

"That's not good."

She had no idea what was wrong. Lillian was ahead with two wins, one loss and one tie, and Rei-sama was next, so it was like presenting a club to an ogre.

"Oonaka's Taishou is really strong."

"Strong?"

"They had to have three wins by f.u.kushou."

"They had&h.e.l.lip;!?"

She was talking as if Rei-sama was going to lose. But, they were two and two against Tsukimigaoka, so Tsukimigaoka was a stronger team than Oonaka. So Rei-sama, who beat the Tsukimigaoka Taishou, was certainly going to beat the Oonaka Taishou&h.e.l.lip;

"That's not how it works."

If it were Tsukimigaoka versus Lillian, everything was primed for Lillian to win. But it was simply that the Lillian first-years were nervous at beginning the match, so they didn't show their full potential.

"The Oonaka Taishou is a rank holder."

"Rank holder?"

"Yes, around san-dan."

"Rei-sama?"

"Ni-dan."

"What does that mean?"

"&h.e.l.lip; You really don't know anything, do you."

Sachiko-sama sighed, exasperated. Apparently it starts from shodan, and goes ni-dan, san-dan, etc. But in the case of Sumo, the lower numbers are stronger. -Well, she didn't say that outloud though.

"What happens if Rei-sama loses?"

Because then they would both have two wins and two losses and a draw.

"The team with the most points wins."

Currently, Lillian was winning by one point. So, if Rei-sama were to lose by one point, they'd be tied. And if that happens.

"They both send out a representative for a one-point match."

"But. If that happens, they'd both send their Taishou."

"Of course."

"Then, we'll lose&h.e.l.lip;!!"

If she lost once, Rei-sama wouldn't be able to win the second one.

"That doesn't mean Rei-sama is going to lose."

"Well, true."

But, Sachiko-sama said it first. That it was bad. That the Oonaka Taishou was a san-dan and strong. Ahh, but what happens then?

Yos.h.i.+no-san, eagerly awaiting Rei-sama's victory?

Their relations.h.i.+p?

Actually Yumi had gone off on her own and believed that if Rei-sama showed good results here, Yos.h.i.+no-san would accept the rosary again.

Rei-sama with a match victory, and Yos.h.i.+no-san with successful surgery, they'd both be able to walk down a fresh, new road as sisters. And everything would end happily. Is what she thought.

"It's beginning."

Sachiko-sama quietly announced.

That's right. Yumi had to watch Rei-sama for Yos.h.i.+no-san.

(If that were to happen, maybe she'd be okay with just that win before&h.e.l.lip;)

When she glanced at the watch, it was four. How was Yos.h.i.+no-san's surgery?

Rei-sama did her best.

Newbies couldn't tell the difference between skill. But Rei-sama seemed more intimidating. You could feel her determination to win. Her voice was louder, too.

But.

Maybe it was the difference in skill. "What happens then" happened.

When they were locked, with their s.h.i.+nai against each other, and Rei-sama tried to pull off, her opponent was a split-second faster and landed a torso hit.

The gathering of black one-piece girls all lowered their shoulders, "Darn." Of course, Yumi was among them.

The match continued to a decisive Taishou fight. Both Taishou took off their masks, wiped away sweat, and set up to fight again.

Right before she put her mask back on, even though she lost, Rei-sama looked mysteriously serene. Yumi had no idea why that was the case.

Her eyes were calm, like a pool of water with not a single wave. It was completely different from eyes that have simply given up and wandered elsewhere. No, she was just not quiet, it was like she had found her wick. Like a polished, cleaned katana was gripped by her soul. Anyways, she looked completely focused.

(I wonder what happened?)

They were leading the match, but her loss put them all back at the start, so there must have been a tremendous amount of pressure. The word victory was draped over her shoulders, and she had to win in order to vindicate the efforts of the other four, and she had to beat an opponent she'd just lost to. Yumi thought that must be taking a heavy toll on her psyche.

This was it.

Even so, Rei-sama looked like she'd already won.

The surgery had apparently been complete by the time the matches ended.

When Yos.h.i.+no-san's father showed up at the gymnasium with red eyes, everyone was terrified. But after saying the surgery was a success and Yos.h.i.+no-san was resting, her father flagged down a taxi and rushed off again.

Unable to sit still, Yumi visited the hospital the next day, and was called by Yos.h.i.+no-san's mother by the nurse station.

"I'm sorry. She's sleeping right now. f.u.kuzawa-san, would you like to see her anyways?"

"Eh, but it's after surgery, shouldn't she been in an ICU&h.e.l.lip;"

"She's already back in her room. It's a bit hard to look at, because she has a few tubes still stuck to her&h.e.l.lip;"

Well, without a doubt, Yos.h.i.+no-san's surgery was simple, even if it was heart-related. She thought everyone was just saying it was easy, for the patient's sake.

Maybe she was affected by " see her anyways?" or maybe she thought of Rei-sama, but she decided against it. If she could see her this easily, it wasn't right to be ahead of Rei-sama.

Right after surgery, Yos.h.i.+no-san had awakened from anesthesia and asked, "How was the match?" but had gone right back to sleep.

"So, how was the match?"

Yos.h.i.+no-san's mother asked, but after a quick thought, she smiled, "No, I shouldn't ask."

"If I found out the results before Yos.h.i.+no, it wouldn't be right."

What a knowing mother, Yumi thought.

Rei saw Yos.h.i.+no on an evening, three days after the match.

She actually wanted to run over as soon as possible, but she restrained herself until Yos.h.i.+no said she wanted to meet. And that morning, her aunt told her Yos.h.i.+no wanted to see her, so she stopped by the hospital after her club finished. Apparently, Yos.h.i.+no didn't want to see people with tubes still stuck in her.

"Long time no see."

Are people allowed to be this energetic just three days after heart surgery? she wanted to ask, because Yos.h.i.+no was propped up on her bed and smiling as always.

"You look fine."

"But I'm not. The incision hurt so much when the anesthesia wore off, I'm better now because they just gave me some painkillers."

"&h.e.l.lip; So it hurts?"

"Well I mean they cut the skin, messed around with the heart, and then closed it again."

Yos.h.i.+no said, like she was reciting a simple cooking recipe. With her acting like that, she couldn't help but wonder, again, if it actually hurt, if she actually had surgery.

"Yos.h.i.+no-"

When they split up, she had a lot of things she wanted to say. But now, with Yos.h.i.+no in front of her, she couldn't find any words to say.

Yos.h.i.+no was alive, and right there. That was enough to satisfy her.

"How many days?"

"About two weeks."

"It's the first time. That we've spent so long apart."

"Yeah."

Even during the cla.s.s trips during middle school, they hadn't been apart this long. Plus, when they were on trips, they still phoned each other, so they never felt lonely. The days where they could count down how many days were left on their fingers felt nostalgic.

"Rei-chan."

Yos.h.i.+no said, with a meek face.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to hold hands and walk with Rei-chan."

"Eh?"

"Not lending a shoulder, or carrying, or anything like that. I wanted to walk with my own legs. I wanted a relations.h.i.+p like that. Like Yumi-san and Sachiko-sama. That's why I wanted surgery. I wanted a st.u.r.dy body, so I could walk with Rei-chan. And I wanted Rei-chan to be used to that."

Yos.h.i.+no blurted everything out at once, like her words were going to vanish if she didn't.

"Will you believe me? I didn't return the rosary because I began hating Rei-chan."

"Yeah, I know."

When the Oonaka Girls' High Taishou took a point from her, she didn't find distress or pressure in her heart, but rather a pure, white, empty world. That's when she understood what it meant to "win." What she needed to strike down wasn't the opponent in front of her, but none other than herself.

Opponents, club members, audience, and the Yos.h.i.+no she loved so much-. When all of those weren't there with her, Rei found herself alone in that white world. That's when she realized what Yos.h.i.+no had thrown at her, she thought. What Yos.h.i.+no meant by "winning," what she really meant.

"I love Rei-chan the most, in the whole world."

Yos.h.i.+no murmured.

"Me, too."

Rei felt Yos.h.i.+no's hair. More than father, more than mother. She loved Yos.h.i.+no most, in the whole world.

That's why she could believe Yos.h.i.+no's words, and she could tell Yos.h.i.+no her feelings.

When they were stuck together, they were so close that she'd never been able to look straight at Yos.h.i.+no's face like this. But now, even though they were a bit further apart, their souls felt closer. She felt closer to Yos.h.i.+no than ever before.

"Oh. The match. How'd it go?"

Yos.h.i.+no asked, suddenly remembering.

"We won."

Her eyes widened in disbelief at Rei's reply.

"Really? But the Oonaka Taishou is that Tanaka-san, right?"

"We got pulled into a closing match, and I ended up with a decision win. Plus she got a point off me in the actual match, too."

"But your opponent was a third year san-dan! Wow!"

Which meant, of course, that Yos.h.i.+no wasn't really ever expecting her to beat Oonaka's Taishou.

Yos.h.i.+no was excited, suddenly rambling, that she'd definitely go to cheer next year, that she would spend the next year practicing so she'd be able to make a handmade lunch.

"But, wow, you're energetic. Did you really have surgery?"

"I did. Do you want to see the scar?"

"&h.e.l.lip; Really?"

"I want Rei-chan to see."

Yos.h.i.+no unb.u.t.toned her pajama and opened the front. She wasn't wearing an unders.h.i.+rt, but a big gauze was wrapped over her breast in its stead. She didn't have any bandages.

"When a bunch of things were stuck in my body I wouldn't have wanted to show you, though."

As she said that, she peeled off the paper tapes. When she lifted the heavily piled gauze a bit, there was a roughly 10 centimeter scar under her right breast.

One horizontal slice. It was st.i.tched together with a wiry thing, rather than thread. The single line that ran through Yos.h.i.+no's white body was beautiful, looking like a decoration.

"When it heals, it'll hardly be noticeable."

"Ah."

Because it's a girl's body, it's a good thing the scar wouldn't remain, but Rei felt a bit disappointed the decoration were to vanish. Yos.h.i.+no laughed, too, "I'd look like a girl pirate if it stayed."

After carefully returning the gauze to its place and b.u.t.toning her s.h.i.+rt, Yos.h.i.+no spoke.

"I think I want to start kendo."

"Eh!?"

"I'm Rei-chan's cousin, so I might have some talent. I said I'd cheer for you, but it seems more fun if I were to do it, myself, too. Then, next year I'll take a point from Oonaka's Tanaka-san as vengeance for Rei-chan."

Yos.h.i.+no's ego had bloated after surgery. Rei smiled bitterly.

"Then I guess I should make sure I don't lose my Taishou throne."

She seemed so ecstatic Rei didn't want to correct her.

Third-years graduate, so next year Oonaka wouldn't have Tanaka-san.

Maybe it's because they'd been together a lot lately. Yos.h.i.+no seemed a bit like Yumi-chan.

Speaking of which.

The professional nurse immediately noticed that the patient had opened the gauze.

Do I even need to mention that Yos.h.i.+no-san and Rei-sama were scolded afterward?