Yumi suddenly had a phone call from Yoshino-san, who"d been absent from school for almost a week. Well, phone calls are almost always quite sudden, but as Yoshino-san had never called her before she was a bit, no, she was quite surprised.

It was a bit after eight in the evening.

"Yumi-. Phone call."

Her brother yelled - a rare occurrence - from downstairs.

"Hurry up. I think it"s a public telephone."

"Public telephone?"

She tilted her head to the side in confusion, and when she picked up the telephone, she heard Yoshino-san"s voice.

"Your brother?"

"Oh, yes, he"s being cheeky again."

"He seemed like a reliable person."

"If you say so."

As her brother mentioned, it did seem like she was calling from an outside telephone. She could faintly hear the bustling of people underneath Yoshino-san"s voice, an indication that she probably wasn"t at home.

"You"re so blessed. I"m an only-child, so I admire siblings so much."

But Rei-sama was around, like a sibling, so she probably couldn"t have been that lonely. Is what Yumi thought, but Yoshino-san didn"t mention Rei-sama, at all.

Incidentally, Yoshino-san seemed bright and energetic. She"d been resting since the "Yellow Rose Revolution," so Yumi was worried about her, but she didn"t seem to be that ill, at least at the moment. Rosa Foetida and Rei-sama seemed more like the ill people in question.

On that note, did Yoshino-san know how disastrous things have become at school? And how people perceive what she did?

"What have you been doing, while you"ve been away?"

Of course she was probably resting at home, but she seemed so healthy Yumi bluntly asked. Plus, it seemed difficult to ask directly about Rei-sama.

"Mm. I"ve been having exams taken at the hospital, and such."

"Exams?"

"Yes. Like blood sampling and electro-cardiograms."

"You"re sick&h.e.l.lip;?"

"No, I"m not. They"re not performing exams because I"m sick-"

Yoshino-san froze.

"It"s a bit hard, to talk about it by telephone. Actually, I called because I wanted to see Yumi-san."

"Me?"

Which meant Yoshino-san had no intention of returning to school just yet. "I"m sorry to call you over like this," Yoshino-san said, and then she designated the time and place for Yumi.

"Eh?"

Yumi asked again, while writing everything down on a memo book. She"d said she wanted Yumi to see her, so Yumi a.s.sumed she was going to Yoshino-san"s house, but&h.e.l.lip;

"Yoshino-san you weren"t receiving treatment at your home&h.e.l.lip;?"

And right as she asked, she heard the unique announcement from the receiver.

-- Doctor OO, please come to the nurse station immediately.

Yoshino-san was actually in a hospital.

"Excuse me."

When she double-checked the name-plate on the door, then opened the door, she found Yoshino-san reading a paperback on her bed.

"Ah, Yumi-san."

Yoshino-san immediately raised her head and smiled, like a blossoming flower.

It was an independent room, and there was no one in the room attending to her. Probably to kill time, there was a stack of paperbacks on the small table by her bed.

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

Yumi showed Yoshino-san the flowers she had brought as an expression of concern. At first she thought about bringing cake or fruits, but her mother had told her she should refrain from that if she hadn"t asked Yoshino-san if she could eat, so she decided on flowers instead.

"Thank you! They"re pretty."

They were a variety of types, but the three species of yellow roses were all cute. For some reason, Yumi felt they suited Yoshino-san.

"I"d never paid someone a bed-side visit before, so I had the florist pick the flowers for me. I didn"t know there were so many things to keep in mind, like avoiding Lillies because their scent is too strong."

The florist had also recommended taking an arranged bouquet so there wouldn"t be a need for a flower vase. So the flowers were placed in a basket, like a flipped straw-hat, and it was conveniently designed so you could simply pour water into it, so all you needed to do was set it down on a table.

"I didn"t know you weren"t supposed to bring potted plants."

"Oh, yes, because it implies "netsuku," I don"t mind, though."

Apparently that"s because of "根つく" (to become rooted) and "寝つく" (to enter a deep slumber). According to Yoshino-san, hospitals paid deep care to omens. Accordingly, many hospitals refused to use 4 (shi) and 9 (ku) (死, shi, death, 苦, ku, agony). Of course it"s mostly because patients might be bothered, rather than the hospital itself.

"I"m sorry for taking up your Sunday."

Yoshino-san placed the book she was reading on her stack of books and turned herself around to face Yumi.

"Oh no, don"t worry about it."

Yumi shook her head as she sat herself down on the chair Yoshino-san offered. Her happiness at being told by Yoshino-san, "I want to see you," trumped any feelings she might have had about losing her Sunday.

"It feels a bit off-kilter, doesn"t it."

Because they"d never met each other outside of school. Yoshino-san had a gown draped over her cardigan, and Yumi was wearing a jumper skirt and a mohair cardigan, so they both giggled.

"How do things look?"

Yoshino-san didn"t specify who, or what, she was asking about in her question, but even with her average language skills, Yumi knew who Yoshino-san was asking about.

"She was dazed for a while. But I think she"s recovering."

"I see."

The question was about Rei-sama.

"Then, she"s not dazed anymore?"

"Mm, well&h.e.l.lip; I guess. I think she has a bit more to go, though."

As she spoke, Yumi wondered. Was Yoshino-san happy that Rei-sama was dazed, or the opposite?

"Next Sat.u.r.day, Rei-chan, she has an inter-school match. For kendo."

"Yes."

"I really want her to win."

So I wanted to make sure she"d gotten a grip on herself again, Yoshino-san said while smiling, relieved. Then why did she do such a gut-wrenching action in the first place? But Yumi could ask that after Yoshino-san finished speaking, so Yumi concentrated on listening. -Because Yoshino-san didn"t seem to dislike Rei-sama, or anything.

"Yumi-san, did you read the special edition "Lillian Kawaraban" about Rei-chan and I?"

The subject abruptly changed.

"Y, &h.e.l.lip; yes, I read it, why?"

Actually, Yumi brought that, and the following edition, with her in her handbag. She wasn"t trying to be proactive, but if Yoshino-san wanted to read it, she wanted to make sure she had it on hand.

"Did you feel anything was odd, while reading it?"

"What?"

"Would it be a mistake? Or would it be better called a misprint? Anyways, that article has a huge mistake."

"Eh!?"

Yumi quickly opened her bag and pulled out the "Lillian Kawaraban." She was in a hurry, so the second and third leaflets were pulled out of the bag at the same time and floated onto the bed, where Yoshino-san quickly snapped them up.

"- Oh. Things have become quite dreadful, it seems."

Yoshino-san laughed while skimming over the article.

(I don"t think it"s something to laugh about-)

One sheet was the break-up announcement. And the new issue this week was a special about the others that had jumped on Rosa Foetida en bouton"s bandwagon and began breaking up their own relationships. On the front page alone was a list of ten pairs, for a total of twenty names. Aside from Oyamada Miyuki-san, Katsura-san was also one of Yumi"s cla.s.smates on the list, so Yumi was in complete shock when the issue was printed. Just how far was the newspaper club going to take this?

But this was just a list of pairs the newspaper club had actually found out about, so there was a possibility that the true list was at least double the size. What was going to happen?

"- Oh. In any case, where"s the misprint?"

Yumi held out the "Lillian Kawaraban" and approached Yoshino-san. She"d glanced over it again, but she didn"t find anything wrong.

"Of course. Anyone else would find that article more believable."

"So, it"s not a kanji conversion mistake, or something like that?"

"It"s the content."

Yumi looked through the article again with that pointer, but she still didn"t know what was wrong. "I give up," she said, and handed the "Lillian Kawaraban" to Yoshino-san, and she then said, "All of this," and pointed to almost half the page.

"All?"

"The questionnaire for Rei-chan and I. There were two sheets, but the second sheet got swapped."

"Eh&h.e.l.lip;? Ehh-!?"

It wasn"t the data you could pull from a physical examination record, like birth date and blood type. Rather, it was the part introducing their personal tastes.

"You"re kidding."

Rei-sama read shoujo novels, and Yoshino-san read novels about samurai killing people. That totally didn"t fit their image.

Then Yoshino-san picked up one of her books and showed the cover to Yumi, as proof.

"&h.e.l.lip; Ikenami Shoutarou."

She felt herself being sapped of power.

"These are all by him."

Like a finishing blow, Yoshino-san pointed to her tower of books. She probably would be better off reading textbooks to keep up with the cla.s.ses she missed, but then she"d end up longing for school, so she was re-reading her favorite fencer books, instead.

"Then, then, Yoshino-san"s hobby-"

"Maybe it"s because I can"t do it. I love watching sports shows."

Sumo, baseball, soccer, Olympics, she loved them all to death, she said. Ahh, Yumi"s image of Yoshino-san was being shattered.

But, that meant Rei-sama was the one who loved knitting.

"Do you remember the lap blanket I used in the cla.s.sroom? Rei-chan made that."

Being stunned speechless, would best describe Yumi.

The cool Rei-sama, who swung a shinai around at school, gripped a knitting needle and b.a.l.l.s of wool at home - who would believe such a thing?

It didn"t suit her. She was willing to bet that without actually pointing it out, no one would notice the misprint. She didn"t want to defend the newspaper club, but she could understand why the misprint happened.

"I think Rei-chan"s overdoing things."

"Overdoing?"

"She"s always tried to be my knight. Plus her looks? Everyone ends up thinking of her as a boy."

But she was such a girl, inside. A girl"s girl, as Yumi had spoken to Yoshino-san about some time ago.

"Yoshino-san, umm, I understand you want to say she"s actually quite girlish, and that she"s pushing herself, but&h.e.l.lip;"

Yumi was beginning to lose sight of where the conversation was going.

"Rei-chan falls apart when I"m around."

Yoshino-san said seriously.

"So you returned the rosary?"

But that would be just like the newspaper club imagined. To pull herself away for Rei-sama"s future was like a story out of modern j.a.panese drama.

But Yoshino-san glanced at the article and said it was completely different.

"I"m not that sort of gallant person. Plus I can"t just turn my back on her."

"Eh?"

"I just thought this relationship couldn"t continue the way it was. So I wanted to return things to a blank sheet."

"What do you mean?"

"Becoming strong for Yoshino. Then what happens when I"m gone? In truth, Rei-chan"s a strong, dependable person, but she"s just using my existence as a shield, acting strong rather than being strong. And she has to realize that."

Rather than Rei-sama supporting Yoshino-san, Rei-sama was using Yoshino-san as a crutch.

Yoshino-san had realized that earlier, and had thought deeply about what to do about it. And she decided that they needed to be apart for a while. But they go to the same school, and they were neighbors. Then the only way to do this was to break their sisterly bonds. And just as she was wondering about when to put things into motion, that day came.

Yoshino-san, incensed by Rei-sama"s excessive care, returned the rosary out of momentum.

"I want Rei-chan to become stronger."

With a firm expression befitting of the phrase "First strike, certain victory," Yoshino-san laughed.

"In turn, I"m not going to just make Rei-chan suffer. I"m going to become stronger, too."

"Become stronger-?"

Yumi could tell Yoshino-san was plenty strong, just from the conversation. Why would she want to become even stronger?

But Yoshino-san wasn"t talking about that aspect of strength. Yumi hadn"t completely understood Yoshino-san"s thought-processes yet.

"I"ve decided to undergo surgery."

She was a girl with more than enough strength.

"- And so Yoshino-san"s message is, "I can"t come to cheer for you, but I"ll pray for your success at your match." That"s all."

Rei-sama was completely floored when she finished hearing the message.

"Yoshino is hospitalized? And she"s having surgery-"

"This Sat.u.r.day. The day of Rei-sama"s match."

It was lunch-break on Friday.

Rei-sama was probably going to be busy after school, so Yumi called her to the courtyard and relayed the message.

"Aunt and uncle did seem a bit fretful lately&h.e.l.lip;"

Rei-sama put her fist to the hemp palm in the courtyard and agonized. It must have hurt, because she was leaning against a hemp palm&h.e.l.lip;

(If this were Rosa Gigantea, she"d probably cling to someone without any hesitation.)

Then. Rei-sama raised her head and suddenly leaned in to Yumi.

"Which hospital? The usual place?"

Rei-sama"s close-up. She"d been Yumi"s dance partner at the school festival, so she was a bit used to it, but it was still intimidating. Maybe it was because of her hairstyle. Even when she wore the school uniform, she seemed like a young man.

"Yumi-chan!"

"&h.e.l.lip; Apparently it was the same hospital she"d been going to."

She spun around as soon as she heard the answer, so Yumi hurriedly grabbed Rei-sama"s arm. Hey, what time do you think it is? It"s still noon, Yumi thought in her mind. And this was why Yoshino-san ended up having to take drastic measures.

"What do you hope to accomplish by going?"

"What, uhh-"

"Rei-sama, you don"t understand at all why Yoshino-san deliberately chose to have surgery during your match."

The arm Yumi grabbed suddenly became powerless.

"I don"t know. There"s no way I"d know."

They"d walked together all the time. Then, their relationship was torn apart without any explanation, so Rei-sama had no way of knowing Yoshino-san"s feelings, and why she decided to have surgery during the match.

Yumi became a bit envious while watching Rei-sama struggle.

Yoshino-san occupied this much of Rei-sama"s heart. She knew it wasn"t right to compare, because they"d been together for so long, because they shared blood. But if Yumi had decided to break their relationship, would Sachiko-sama agonize as much as Rei-sama? Would she contort her face in distress like it was the end of the world?

"And even if it"s surgery, she said it wasn"t anything big. The success rate was close to 100 percent&h.e.l.lip;"

"Close!? It"s her heart! Can you be absolute about it!?"

Rei-sama grabbed Yumi by her shoulders and shook her wildly.

"Re, Rei-sama."

She wasn"t a doctor, so she couldn"t answer that. Yumi was just a messenger, so she was completely clueless about that sort of medical stuff. And maybe Rei-sama realized that fundamental point, because a bit after she shook Yumi, she let go and apologized.

"Yoshino always refused surgery."

"Yes."

Yoshino-san"s heart was always a bit off from normal people. She didn"t know the specifics, but she had a hole in a wall inside her heart. So sometimes blood that was supposed to go elsewhere would go to the wrong place, making her have palpitations or run out of breath.

Yoshino-san"s illness was a bit subtle, in that if you were careful, you could live normally. Ideally, you"d just have surgery when you"re an infant, but the illness was diagnosed after elementary school, so she"d come to this point, having steadfastly refused it. Yoshino-san had told Yumi all of this yesterday.

Even if it were alright now, it was the type of illness that could have repercussions later in life, so it was better to have surgery. Medical practices were always improving, so the surgery could be completed without leaving much of a mark, and so she decided now was the time, said Yoshino-san.

But she must have been a bit scared. Yoshino-san never said it, but because of her incident with Rei-sama, she"d finally decided to give surgery serious thought for the first time.

Basically, a return. She would become stronger for Rei-sama.

When you think about it, the accepted principle for living is to live for your own sake, but Yumi thought that, beyond that, people were greatly influenced by the need to live for someone else, or to not depart before another, or other such like powers.

"Please, do well during your match. That"s Yoshino-san"s wish."

Yumi held Rei-sama"s palm and gently reminded her. This was something they"d have to deal with on their own, so Yumi couldn"t do much more to help them.

But, she honestly hoped, from the bottom of her heart, that things would work out well for both of them.

Rei-sama"s match.

Yoshino-san"s surgery.

"-Yoshino"s wish."

Rei-sama mumbled, still agonized.

Rei-sama"s hand was big, strong, and a bit firm. It was meant as a compliment, but she was so manly it was hard to imagine her knitting.

"What"s wrong, Hasekura-san?"

Yamamura-sensei, the club supervisor, asked as she took off her mask.

"Mind out of body. Waving around a shinai like that is asking for an injury. That"s not good."

"Yes."

"Captain, could you watch the undercla.s.smen practice for a bit? &h.e.l.lip; Hasekura-san, come with me."

Rei left the martial arts building with the teacher, at her urging. She wasn"t surprised she got warned. During a scrimmage, a first-year who was clearly inferior managed to take a point from her. She"d never even lost to a cla.s.smate before.

"Asking what"s the matter would be a waste."

Yamamura-sensei laughed, leaning against the martial arts building. The fuss. The faculty had to have caught wind of it by now. After all, the teachers had found out about Sachiko and Yumi-chan extremely quickly.

The sound of enthusiastic arranged scrimmages pa.s.sed through the walls, and for some reason, it felt extremely distant.

The first two days after Yoshino returned the rosary, she was so absent-minded that she couldn"t remember what she was doing, but she was becoming accustomed to the hole in her heart. A dry wind was blowing inside of her. The pain of losing Yoshino would never heal under that wind, and all she could do was adjust her life, that was how resigned she felt.

She didn"t know what she did wrong.

She just knew she messed something up. And because she didn"t know what was wrong, she could only imagine her inability to understand simply made her even more wrong. So it was inevitable Yoshino would leave her. Because she was a person with a giant defect in her character.

But hearing Yumi-chan talk about Yoshino made her waver. The resolve she"d made with her dried heart was actually thirsting desperately for the water that was Yoshino.

She wanted to hug Yoshino again. And melt under Yoshino"s soft smile.

"Hasekura-san, are you that crippled without Shimazu-san?"

Yamamura-sensei"s words struck home like a clean shot to the mask. As expected of a Lillian alum. She never misses the mark.

"Without Yoshino&h.e.l.lip;?"

She"d never thought about that. Because Yoshino was always by her side, so she"d never given any thought to a world without her.

"There"s nothing wrong with Shimazu-san"s existence making you a stronger, kinder person, but isn"t it wrong if you fall apart when she"s gone?"

"If I, fall apart?"

"At the very least, you"re not the Hasekura Rei I"ve always known."

Then, what kind of person was she? She was good at kendo, and she was kind enough to cover for Yoshino, and-.

"I"m not the kind of person sensei thinks I am."

But she was actually timid, hated being left alone, and was a crybaby. She was such a weak person. So, this was her true self. Without Yoshino, she couldn"t do anything. Simply put, with Yoshino, she felt she could do anything.

She began crying. Even though she"d never cried, since Yoshino had left her. Rei was so shocked by Yoshino"s departure that she"d forgotten how to cry. Yamamura-sensei was surprised Rei suddenly cried, but she wrapped her arms around Rei like a big sister and held her.

"Sensei."

How long had she been crying? When the tears finally dried, Rei felt the need to ask someone.

"Was I a burden for Yoshino? Because I was subconsciously always hovering over her?"

"I don"t know."

Yamamura-sensei said.

"But if you know you were hovering over her, and you think that was a mistake, then you can work hard to rectify it, can"t you? It"s not like Shimazu-san died when she returned the rosary. She"s alive, and living next door, isn"t she?"

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

"Then it"s all okay."

Sensei patted her shoulders and beckoned for her to go back into the martial arts building. But at the entrance, she turned around. "Oh, yeah."

"So I can keep discipline, do 50 swings there and then come back."

"Yes."

"Let"s win the match, general."

Sensei gave her a thumbs-up.

Rei nodded, then set her shinai in front of her. For some reason, she felt oddly invigorated. She"ll do her best.

She could still keep going, Rei thought.

"So, what was it? You"re being the carrier pigeon for Rei and Yoshino-chan?"

Sighing, resigned, Sachiko-sama fixed the ribbons that tied Yumi"s hair.

"A carrier pigeon&h.e.l.lip; but I"m not doing it every day. And it"s more like Yoshino-san sending Rei-sama messages. Oh, but, would you like to visit Yoshino-san with me?"

It was Thursday.

Tomorrow is the Friday before the surgery, so the nurse urged me to refrain from visiting, so they could do their final check-ups and other such preparations in peace. So today was to be the last day Yumi could see Yoshino-san before surgery.

"How foolish. Yoshino-chan would end up having to pay attention to our needs, instead. And she only called Yumi because she wanted to keep everything low-key, did she not?"

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

Then did that mean Yoshino-san didn"t have to mind anything if it were just Yumi? She couldn"t figure out whether to feel happy or not.

"Also."

Sachiko-sama looked serious.

"Rei"s tolerating this, so I can"t go, it wouldn"t be fair. You go ahead yourself."

Grabbing her bag back from Yumi, who was holding it for her, Sachiko-sama began walking down the gingko pathway again. Yumi scurried after her and walked by her side.

It had been a while since they"d gone home together. Because so many things were happening.

Even though they became sisters, it didn"t feel like they"d actually become any closer. Maybe they were paralyzed because of all the fuss around Yoshino-san. Yumi hadn"t paid attention to other sisters before, so she didn"t know how other sisters behaved.

"I wonder what Rosa Foetida is doing."

See. Even when they were together, they"d always talk about other people. But actually, Yumi was wondering the same thing.

"She"s been home, sick with a fever, but it"s almost been a week, has it not?"

"It is worrisome."

But as she said that, Yumi wondered, "Does she really have a fever?" Not that she was skipping out on school, but perhaps she was staying home for other reasons.

She did have the swollen cheek, so Yumi couldn"t help but think there was more to it. But she made a promise with Rosa Foetida, so she couldn"t discuss it even with her onee-sama.

But, should she speak about it? Without realizing it, she"d begun straggling behind in thought, so Sachiko-sama had come back, grabbed her arm, and begun dragging her.

"What are you doing? Hurry up."

And then they walked to the main entrance like they were linking arms. Even if it was through clothing, Yumi felt comforted by being physically connected with Sachiko-sama. Even though so many things were happening, she could feel, "Oh well, it"ll all work out." Because Sachiko-sama was here with her. Being in touching distance with her was like a miraculously good fortune.

There were many students milling about at the bus stop, whom probably had their club activities end, so she quickly pulled her hand away from Sachiko-sama. But that ended up looking even more like they were secret lovers, so she became embarra.s.sed. What did Sachiko-sama think? She glanced up, but Sachiko-sama looked calm and collected, as always, so on one hand she was a bit disappointed, but she also wouldn"t like a Sachiko-sama who"d blush at such a paltry thing as much, either, so she felt torn.

"As Rosa Gigantea says, your face goes all over the place."

In the bus, they stood, holding onto the straps, when Sachiko-sama spoke, sighing.

"My face&h.e.l.lip; goes all over the place."

Wham! It felt like the bus" ceiling came crashing down.

Going through life"s many phases. Rosa Gigantea"s unrivaled naming sense. But how was she supposed to comment on that? Sachiko-sama doesn"t seem to understand that every one of her little actions could give Yumi extreme highs and extreme lows.

With a blameless face, she could make Yumi feel ecstatic, and then depressed. Yumi wouldn"t be able to find any other person who could make her feel this way. -Is what Yumi thought, as she was rocked about in the bus heading to the train station.

After stepping out of the bus at the north gate for M Station at JR, she split up with Sachiko-sama at the wicket.

"Take care of yourself."

Sachiko-sama fixed Yumi"s tie, as normal, smiled like Maria-sama, glided through the wickets and vanished on the other side. Her straight, black hair waved behind her, and she gave off an aura of beauty, even when looking at her from behind.

Yoshino-san"s hospital was about fifteen minutes by bus at the south gate bus terminal. When she walked down the steps at the train station, she saw the bus she normally takes for going to school, and she almost went on it out of habit.

(No, no.)

She"d end up going straight home if she stepped on that bus.

After confirming the bus stop and the destination projected at the forehead of the bus, she stepped on the bus for Yoshino-san"s hospital. It was packed by the time it departed. The hospital was in the middle of a quiet residential area, but it seemed like it was becoming rush hour.

By the time the bus stopped in front of the hospital, though, it had become largely empty, so she stepped off easily.

There is no night-time treatment on Thursday, read a sign, as she walked through the front entry hall.

Outpatient clinics were done for the day, so the treasury and the pharmacy were both closed, and the waiting room was empty. Maybe that was why the smell of antiseptic seemed stronger. She felt a chill run up her spine, realizing that night-time hospitals had a cold atmosphere like this.

Two days ago she"d arrived at an earlier time, and on Sunday she"d come at noon, so it was nothing like this. Interview times were until seven, and when she checked her watch, it was six fifty. It was a perfectly fine.

(But&h.e.l.lip;)

After one unusual thought, things begin s...o...b..lling. Just to be clear, the hospital was very modern, clean, and even the waiting room had a more than abundant amount of lighting. It wasn"t the type of old, wooden, spider webbed building that ghost stories come from. Really, it was just Yumi feeling uncomfortable with her surroundings.

(I should go up, quickly.)

There should be plenty of nurses at the in-patient ward, and Yoshino-san was in her hospital room. Other visitors like Yumi would be in the conversational rooms, too. -It seemed like she just felt uncomfortable because there was no one around.

Yumi ran to the elevator - had Sachiko-sama been there, she would have been warned - and hit the b.u.t.ton to go up.

The elevator seemed to have been in wait, as the door immediately opened. She didn"t want to have been stuck waiting, but having the door immediately open felt a bit intimidating, too.

But, there was no one in it, so she walked in, relieved. She"d been taught at school to never be alone with a man she didn"t know.

She stepped out to the fifth floor and went to the nurse station. It was like a checking station. Without going through it, she couldn"t see a patient.

She felt even more relieved when she saw the gla.s.s window for the nurse station. Just then, she felt a chill at the back of her neck, and she quickly spun around.

There.

Yumi silently screamed. Down the corridor to hospital rooms stood one person, staring absent-mindedly.

That person, after one glance at Yumi, turned around and walked away.

(&h.e.l.lip; Stop.)

It was nothing, just an in-patient. It was just a white gown.

"Don"t scare me like that, please."

She felt her strength being sapped.

She was scared with no people around, and then she was scared when there was someone, so it was endless. There wasn"t supposed to be any otherworldly phenomenon in this world. Either way, she was protected by Maria-sama, so it would be alright.

(&h.e.l.lip; Even so.)

Hadn"t she seen that person somewhere? Yumi thought.

Of course, she was surprised at first, so she didn"t even have the chance to think about that. But when that figure had walked away, and she"d settled down, she couldn"t help but think that face was familiar. But it wasn"t Yoshino-san.

(But, who else other than Yoshino-san would be an in-patient at this hospital?)

Then, her shoulder was tapped, so she almost jumped.

"Wh, what"s wrong?"

The person who"d tapped Yumi"s shoulder was even more surprised, because of Yumi"s look upon turning around.

"Yoshino-san&h.e.l.lip;"

"Yes, pull yourself together."

She"d probably just finished calling home, as Yoshino-san waved her telephone card in front of Yumi"s face.

"Did something happen, Yumi-san?"

"&h.e.l.lip; I, just now, I think I just saw Rosa Foetida."

"Eh?"

"Yes. It was Rosa Foetida, that ghost!"

Yumi spoke, excited. Of course, Yoshino-san wouldn"t understand her with that.

"Calm down, Yumi-san. Rosa Foetida? Rosa Foetida"s alive, so she wouldn"t be a ghost."

"Then&h.e.l.lip; a living ghost?"

"Please, stop. You"re scaring someone who"s about to have surgery."

"&h.e.l.lip; I"m sorry."

Yoshino-san didn"t care about omens, but she seemed to be surprisingly weak to ghost stories, too. As they walked to Yoshino-san"s room, Yumi explained what she"d seen. Then, Yoshino-san abruptly spoke, remembering.

"That reminds me, I saw her, too."

"Eh!?"

"Saw, or rather, I think I saw, more like. I didn"t expect Rosa Foetida to be at a hospital in my wildest dreams, so I just forgot about it-"

Then it must have been Rosa Foetida. Without her uniform, she wasn"t outstanding enough to immediately recognize her. So it wouldn"t be too surprising if they"d both been in the same ward.

"But, it must be someone else? Because Rosa Foetida"s at school-"

"Actually, she"d been absent since last week."

"Eh?"

Yoshino-san blinked, hearing this for the first time.

"When did Yoshino-san see her?"

"Last week&h.e.l.lip;, no, maybe it was the beginning of this week. I"m sorry, I don"t really remember."

"At school Rosa Foetida"s said to be absent because of a fever."

"To the point of being hospitalized?"

The two of them sat down on the hospital bed and groaned, thinking. Because you wouldn"t be hospitalized with a normal fever.

"&h.e.l.lip; Shall we ask a nurse?"

"I"ll pa.s.s."

"Same."

To be honest, Yumi didn"t really feel like investigating any further, so she was relieved when Yoshino-san said "I"ll pa.s.s." She seemed to be having her own set of problems, so she didn"t feel comfortable intruding, because she had no idea what would come out.

Ahh, but, still.

Both of them had quickly decided that it was Rosa Foetida. It was a dangerous leap of faith, she thought, especially as they"d seen her, once, and not simultaneously, so they were simply trusting each other"s judgment. But if she were to sell this story to the newspaper club they"d be so happy.

(Rosa Foetida"s mysterious hospitalization.)

-Of course, she wouldn"t even come close to doing such a thing.

"So, Yumi-san."

Yoshino-san spoke, quietly.

"What?"

"I appreciate you doing so many things for me."

Such a formal statement felt a bit like a farewell, so Yumi couldn"t help but feel a bit down.

But, the surgery wasn"t supposed to be difficult. Of course, it was nothing like removing a wart from your b.u.t.tocks, but it was supposed to be a relatively easy surgery, for a heart operation.

"Oh, no, don"t look that way. Don"t worry, I don"t plan on dying. This will absolutely not be my parting message."

Even in a situation like this, her thoughts were written on her face. Yumi resolved to, when becoming an adult, never play poker or mahjong.

"I just wanted to say thanks. And along with it, I have a request."

"A request?"

Yoshino-san"s been doing astounding things lately, so Yumi couldn"t help but feel a bit afraid of "a request." But the request was simple.

"The day after tomorrow, if you"re free, could you watch Rei-chan"s match?"

"-Eh?"

"I want you to see Rei-chan fight."

"Rei-sama"s match."

"Right."

She simply nodded, but Yumi thought Yoshino-san wanted to add, "for me."

"Okay, no problem."

In truth, she wanted to run here immediately after cla.s.s, but she"d be leaving the surgery up to the doctors, anyways, and since she was just a high school girl with the wrong blood type, she wouldn"t be of any help, so she decided against that.

"I"ll watch Rei-sama win."

Yoshino-san said thank you, and smiled like an angel.

Her dinner was brought up, so Yumi gave Yoshino-san a last cheer, then left the hospital. Maybe it was because she felt like she"d accepted an important mission, because her mind was more focused, and so the quiet hospital didn"t seem as ominous as it did when she"d arrived. Humans are such simple creatures, she thought.

Close to the main entrance of the hospital, she could see the red light of an ambulance switching on and off. In the waiting room were people that she a.s.sumed were the family of the patient, and they were receiving an explanation from a nurse, and they didn"t seem to look positive.

She didn"t know if it was an illness or an accident, but she felt sorry either way. She walked out the entrance door as quietly as possible, to not disturb them, and thought about Rei-sama.

How hard was this on Rei-sama?

Even if she couldn"t do anything, she must be wishing she could just be by Yoshino-san"s side. But because of Yoshino-san"s wish, she"s gritting her teeth and toughing it out. She was concentrating on winning her match, like it was to be proof of her love.

Rei-sama was strong, being the onee-sama of Yoshino-san. She was honest, direct, and charming.

The bus to M Station had just arrived, so Yumi ran to the bus stop and stepped on. She collected her breath, sitting down at the seat closest to the door of the empty bus.

Because she"d run, and because she was thinking about everything that was to happen in two days, her heart was beating fast.