After school at the Rose Mansion on Monday, Sachiko-sama asked, "So? How did it go?" Although she omitted the subject, Yumi didn"t need her to specify. Onee-sama was seeking her report on the tea party.

"There were two sets of girls that became soeur right then and there. Afterwards, I wondered if it was a good idea to let them go through with it. But after knowing each other a little more, they will probably decide for themselves what they really want. There were quite a number of partic.i.p.ants; because of the meet and greet, there is the potential for a great many soeur to form."

The newspaper club was in the process of publishing the particulars. By way of an announcement, the article "The Tea Party Sisters" and the situation of those soeur was being chronicled in the Lillian Kawaraban. While drinking black tea, Sachiko-sama acknowledged with "hmm... hmm..." and listened to the report. Before long, Yumi said, "That is all," and brought her report to a close. Sachiko-sama put down her cup and frowned.

"The thing I want to hear the most about is my little sister and Rei"s. The two sets of soeur who formed that day, were either of you involved in forming one?" She used sufficient intensity. Yumi and Yoshino-san couldn"t think; they just looked at each other.

"...We weren"t."

"Impossible. Neither of you did?" Her eyes caught a momentary flash of sunlight and shined. It was scary. But, there was no way they could lie about this. They just honestly confessed.

"It"s... not possible."

"I see..." She was stunned. Sachiko-sama sighed with a disgusted face. Rei-sama had heard the gist of it from Yoshino-san. "Forgive me, I already knew as much," was the kind of vibe she had gotten and patted her shoulder. Sachiko-sama didn"t give up quite that easily.

"Well then, how would you say your situation has changed from before the tea party began?"

"Well, if that"s how it"s going to be..." she clapped her hands with a pop. "To the first-years who said they wanted to become our little sisters, we will call on them to come and help out after school. Because there was too many for any one meeting, we divvied up days to have them come, and that"s what we"ll do starting from today." For Yumi there were three helpers and Yoshino-san had two. Because there were only five, for Monday and Tuesday there would be one person each. Since this was a Monday, Aiko-chan who stuck to her like a puppy had said she was coming to help Yumi.

"I see. Well, where are those girls now?" Twisting around like a snake, Sachiko-sama rather unnaturally glanced about her. But even if she were to check, she must know there was no one else in the room other than the usual Yamayurikai members. Anyone could see her ill-humor reflected in her actions. Neither Shimako-san nor Noriko-chan would be rushing to Yumi"s rescue. The G.o.d you don"t touch can"t curse you. If they reacted individually, it was understood the situation would escalate.

"That"s strange. I wonder if they got lost on the way." Yumi answered with an insincere smile. In response, the angle of Sachiko"s eyebrows increased.

"If it"s true, they"re not winning any points toward becoming your little sister. But how might one get lost after coming to this school for a half a year I wonder. Given that they came to the Rose Mansion just the day before yesterday, for them to require someone to guide them here is problematic... No, rather it"s unthinkable." Darn it! Yumi thought, but the damage had been done.

"Onee-sama, you must be joking."

"Why would I joke, it"s not a laughing matter? At least you can laugh, compared to a little while ago."

"I"m sorry." But, she couldn"t understand why they hadn"t come. Aiko-chan who had tentatively been one of Yumi"s little sister candidates, would feel more able to come and go freely. It was troublesome for Yumi. In spite of that, she needed guidance. Sachiko-sama couldn"t say flat out, "I don"t understand why they haven"t come," so she had inadvertently let her feelings escape in jest.

When they had been deciding who would be coming to help today, Aiko-chan had been the first to raise her hand. Because she was so enthusiastic, she would have been thrilled to be the first to show up. Surely she could not have forgotten.

At that moment...

"Good day. I"ve come to help." Aiko-chan had her utmost spirit switched on as she entered the second-floor room.

"To help...." It would soon be four o"clock. All the Yamayurikai members checked their watches at the same time, which meant they also immediately saw the time on their neighbor"s wrist.w.a.tch. The question of whether or not her watch was wrong, she was likely to have confirmed it. It looked entirely like a scripted scene from a play. And yet, that didn"t change the fact that it was four o"clock.

"Oh, everyone"s gathered, huh. From the first-year Plum Group, I"m..."

Without waiting to introduce herself, Sachiko-sama asked, "What"s this?"

"Huh?"

"Because you suddenly show up at the last minute to help, did you really plan to come? If so, don"t hold back and trade places with someone. If this was a situation you could not get out of, it"s not necessary to try and come and overwork yourself. Since we"re shorthanded, it"s not a bother. However, in such a case, properly inform us in advance of your absence." Even thought this was her little sister"s little sister candidate, for the moment Aiko-chan was at the fulcrum of being half a Rose Mansion guest, and half a Yamayurikai apprentice. Although Sachiko-sama was restraining her temper as much as possible, what had to be said was stated firmly.

However...

"No. I hadn"t planned on being absent. Only, in order to meet the Roses and everyone, I ended up spending time preparing my appearance. Actually, today was Phys. Ed., you know. Having my hair in a headband is a habit I don"t take lightly." Her reply dumbfounded everyone present.

"I... I see." Sachiko-sama had already forgotten that she was angry. Her face was drawn back. This was bad. This was considerably bad. Yumi took Aiko-chan"s hand and pulled her to the corner of the room.

"Look, it doesn"t matter what your hair looks like."

"Huh? But, I couldn"t come before Yumi-sama with a shameful appearance&h.e.l.lip;"

"I just splash water on my hair. It"s not something I would come to hate you for. But you can really save me by cleaning the room or preparing the tea. Even if you say you want to help, isn"t it impossible to immediately entrust the work of the student council to you? While first doing the odd jobs, the people here will come to depend on you. That"s what"s called for." At that point she was finally able to speak. Aiko-chan seemed to have noticed her mistake.

"Yumi-sama, I... What should I do?" Tears followed. At this late hour, a task like cleaning the room would be impossible. Everyone had already served themselves tea.

"I understand so calm down. First why don"t you pour yourself some tea. While you"re at it, offer everyone refills. It"s okay. Then we still need to tidy up. When you arrive it"s good to take the initiative and wash and hang the cups." Keeping attentive to both this side of the room and the other, Yumi spoke quickly in a whisper. Onee-sama was serious.

"Yes." Aiko-chan nodded. Sachiko-sama appeared to be putting on a performance.

"I wonder could someone refill my tea?"

"Yes, right away." Aiko-chan hurried to see to the teakettle. As a way of saying "thank you" Yumi bowed her head to Sachiko-sama. Onee-sama"s older sister had also been serious.

"Ah, Rosa Foetida. Excuse me, could I have your signature?" It was Tuesday after school. Yoshino"s little sister candidate had come to help out.

"Signature?" Actually she should have gone to her club activities. Rei-chan should go but, it seemed like this little sister candidate seemed worried. She had ending up coming to the Rose Mansion while still wearing a dougi . When she saw that girl"s face, it had seemed like she was ready to visit the Budoukan .

But being asked for her signature just after meeting her, it was the same as yesterday with Sachiko-sama"s face cramping up. "This is what I feared," Yoshino thought.

This first-year student was a Rei-chan fan. Though she didn"t know whether or not the person in question was aware of it, the girl had become considerably bubbly. Even still, this first-year had said she wanted to become my soeur. Even though I thought she had been deeply moved, in the end her aim had been to get close to Rei-chan. My pride was ripped to shreds. Why would I want that girl? (Although it"s a waste, should I eliminate her from the running?)

Two candidates vs. three candidates. Even when I"m at my best, Yumi-san beats me in the number of followers. If I were to eliminate this person as a possible candidate, that only leaves one. What should I do, Yoshino? (But unlike Yumi-san"s fan from yesterday, this girl wasn"t late; she"s light on her feet. And she"s not overly cheerful.)

She was earnestly searching for a good candidate, so she restrained from rounding her choices down to one. In the end, she would ride roughshod over the objections. In my report to Rei-chan, there would be my name and a blank next to my chosen soeur.

As it is, Rei woozily left the room. It was like her life energy had been sucked away. In such a state, would her kendo practice be all right?

"Ah, Rosa Chinensis. Rosa Chinensis would you also give me your autograph?" (I withdraw my previous remarks) Rather than being one of Rei-chan"s fans, she might just be a simple follower of each new fad. When those fad-seeking hands reached toward Yumi-san, Yoshino"s cord of patience was finally cut.

"You"re fired." That girl didn"t understand why Yoshino lost her patience. For a while afterward, her eyes would be made red and swollen.

On Wednesday, Nozomi-chan came. She brought four of her cla.s.smates with her. Drinking tea and chatting, they came and went as quickly as a storm. Then came Thursday. Misae-chan introduced herself as Yoshino"s little sister. Yoshino-san paid her heed for only a moment. Crying, she returned the way she had come. They had planned to have Chigusa-chan arrive on Friday. In the end, she didn"t come.

And then the fated Sat.u.r.day arrived.