Chapter 141

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Wednesday.

For better or worse, the day of the candidates" speeches had arrived.

There were no cla.s.ses in the afternoon. The first- and second-year students gathered in the auditorium to listen to the candidates give their speeches.

"At any rate, I"m relieved. I was all on edge thinking you were going to withdraw your candidacy, Yumi-san. It looks like I shouldn"t have been concerned at all."

Shimako-san had finished eating her lunch first, and was refilling Yumi"s cup with j.a.panese tea as she said this.

"Actually, I was thinking about it for a lo~ng time."

Yumi answered as she ate her lunch. Whether it was better to finish eating quickly and get some more practice for the speech, or to eat slowly and aid her digestion, that was the question.

"Oh, you were really considering it?"

Shimako-san asked, surprised. Sachiko-sama was also in the room, but she didn"t have much of a reaction - only raising one eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"May I ask why you decided not to?"

Shimako-san sat down beside her, still holding the teapot, so Yumi nodded and started to tell her story.

"A few days ago I had the chance to talk to the mother of a student at school."

"Go on."

"She told me that her daughter was cheering for us. So you see."

Yumi closed her lunch box lid.

"Even though I"m worried about Touko-chan, I can"t forget about all the other students who are supporting us. Since I"ve already nominated, I shouldn"t drop out midway through. If I did that, I"d be letting everyone down. If Touko-chan was the best person for the student council, then she"d win even without any tricks from me. On top of that, regardless of how I felt, if I withdrew then Touko-chan would probably feel humiliated by having the win handed to her. And arriving at that conclusion, I"ve prepared to face today. End of story."

Clap, clap, clap.

Applause was coming from somewhere. Shimako-san was still holding the teapot, so she couldn"t be the one clapping her hands. That left -

&h.e.l.lip; Clap.

Surprisingly, the sound of applause was coming from Sachiko-sama"s hands.

"You should give your speech just like that. Your expression, your manner of speaking, it was all wonderful."

"Onee-sama."

Sachiko-sama hadn"t offered any advice up until now, even when she"d been shown the draft scripts or listened to Yumi rehea.r.s.e. To hear her suddenly talk like that, it made Yumi feel like she was about to cry.

Shimako-san put her hand on Yumi"s shoulder and gave it a soft shake. Come on, pull yourself together. That sort of thing.

"Is Rei-chan here!?"

Just then, Yoshino-san burst into the room.

"&h.e.l.lip; Not yet."

"I went to the third-year chrysanthemum cla.s.sroom, but they said she hadn"t arrived yet. So I thought she might have come straight here - "

So that was it. Yoshino-san had taken a detour over there which was why she was so late in getting to the Rose Mansion.

"I told her she had to be at school before lunch. It"s such a critical time when her cute little pet.i.t soeur"s about to take on the speech meeting, and she"s off wandering around like some hobo &h.e.l.lip; "

Letting her anger run its course, Yoshino-san"s words got a bit confused.

"Now, now. You"ll feel better if you eat your lunch. You"re probably irritated due to low blood sugar."

"Uh - "

"Come on, have a seat."

Yoshino-san was motioned to sit down and poured a cup of tea. Yumi knew the truth. Yoshino-san"s irritation wasn"t due to "Rei-chan" or low blood sugar, it was due to nerves about the speech a.s.sembly that was just around the corner. But because Yoshino-san didn"t want to admit that, she put the blame on "Rei-chan."

"You might be right. I"m kinda hungry &h.e.l.lip; I think."

Just when Yoshino-san had regained a little of her composure, Noriko-chan finally arrived.

"Sorry I"m late."

"What happened?"

Shimako-san asked.

Noriko-chan typically came straight here at lunch and after school. The question was about whether something had come up that she had to do, or if her fourth-period cla.s.s had been in one of the specialist cla.s.srooms. It wasn"t a cross-examination, more of a conversation opener.

"Lunch in the cla.s.sroom."

"I see. And?"

"Mustard and taramasalata sandwich."

There was silence for a little while. Who did what?

"Ah."

Noriko-chan put her hand to her mouth and Shimako-san smiled.

"It"s okay. You were with Touko-chan, right?"

"Yeah. I was kind of worried about her."

She was a bit worried about Touko-chan, so she didn"t want to leave the cla.s.sroom, so she ate her lunch there. But from the sounds of it, it wasn"t as though they ate their lunch together, she just watched Touko-chan from within the same cla.s.sroom.

"So, tell us, how did she look?"

Yoshino-san asked, waving around the wiener she was holding in her chopsticks. Looking like a superior officer receiving a report from a subordinate they"d sent out scouting.

"She was calm. She didn"t look at all like someone who was about to give a speech in less than an hour."

"Hmm."

Yoshino-san muttered, sounding bored. She probably wouldn"t have been satisfied unless she heard Touko-chan was shaking in her boots.

But a shaking Touko-chan would have felt fake. She was calm. That sounded a lot more realistic.

"How about that."

Yumi absent-mindedly muttered as she adjusted her candidate"s sash.

"A mustard and taramasalata sandwich."

That was a bit unexpected.

Before long, the group of five headed to the auditorium.

There was still fifteen minutes until it started, but even so there were quite a few students heading to the auditorium already.

Come to think of it, it had been like that last year too. Some of the students who were excited by the election had forgone their lunch break and headed to the auditorium as soon as fourth period was over to reserve some seats. The disinterested students probably arrived at the last minute, while those who were only somewhat interested arrived in dribs and drabs after they"d finished eating.

Rei-sama was waiting in the backstage area.

"Rei-chan!"

The moment she saw Rei-sama, Yoshino-san cried out and rushed over to her.

"I didn"t think you were coming!"

Puffing up her cheeks like a blowfish.

"Huh, but I promised you, didn"t I? I got delayed and was running a bit late so I thought I"d change plans and come here directly. Hm? What"s the matter? You were going to pieces because your Rei-chan wasn"t here?"

Rei-sama the hobo poked her cute little pet.i.t soeur"s puffed up cheeks.

"You idiot."

Yoshino-san laughed and the mood completely dissolved. Resting her head on Rei-sama"s shoulder, she said, "You idiot," once more.

The strange thing was, that "You idiot" sounded like "Thank-you."

A short distance away, Noriko-chan was holding Shimako-san"s hands and speaking like she was chanting a spell.

"Do your best, onee-sama. I"m cheering for you. You"re going to be fine. I believe in you."

The words of encouragement that she hadn"t received from her onee-sama last year came raining down on Shimako-san from her pet.i.t soeur a year later.

"Also &h.e.l.lip; um, fight!"

It was like she was trying to make up for last year, although Noriko-chan wouldn"t have known about that.

"Noriko."

Shimako-san looked really happy.

Even if Sei-sama"s words about, "If you"re elected, you have to see it through to the end," had been the ultimate encouragement to Shimako-san, there was no way Noriko-chan would have been able to reproduce that.

Their position as onee-sama and pet.i.t soeur were different, as was Shimako-san"s relationship with each of them, as well as their personalities. But more than that, Shimako-san herself was different to the person she was a year ago.

As a result, Noriko-chan telling her to fight was probably the ultimate encouragement to Shimako-san now. With Noriko-chan cheering her on like that, how could she not?

As Yumi fondly watched the Yellow and White Rose soeurs, Sachiko-sama took her by the hand and said, "Come here."

"You"re shaking. I was like that too."

Her onee-sama squeezed her hand tightly, like Yumi had done last year.

"Alright? It"s only natural that you"re nervous. You shouldn"t worry about whether you can step up or not. You"ve already stepped up magnificently."

"Really?"

Yumi asked, a little bit surprised.

"Yes. There"s absolutely no need for you to show anything other than your self. But don"t you think it would be a shame if you kept hiding what it is you already possess? That"s why I want you go out there and let those students in the auditorium get a good look at the real you. If you can do that, you"ll be a huge hit."

Sachiko-sama looked her straight in the eyes and said, "I believe in you."

"Onee-sama."

"Wha~t?"

"Please."

"Yes?"

"Please hug me."

Then, without any hesitation, Yumi was softly enveloped.

"Like this?"

"Like that."

The onee-sama embraces and protects. That phrase echoed in her mind.

"Sorry. Just a little bit longer."

Even though it should have been enough, she wanted just a little bit more. As though her appet.i.te for her onee-sama"s affection was insatiable.

Looking over Sachiko-sama"s shoulder, Yumi saw that Touko-chan had finally arrived.

The pet.i.t soeur supports.

Regardless of what Touko-chan"s feelings were, there was a stone weight in Yumi"s heart called Touko-chan.

Her onee-sama"s presence was warm.

Touko-chan"s nomination and their compet.i.tion in this election had not changed Yumi"s att.i.tude towards her one bit.

* * *

At one o"clock, the head of the electoral committee started the speech meeting.

After the welcoming address from Hanae-san, the committee chair, the candidates were called onto stage, wearing the sashes with their names on them.

"Matsudaira Touko-san, Toudou Shimako-san, Shimazu Yoshino-san, f.u.kuzawa Yumi-san, please go out in that order."

The four candidates followed the whispered directions from the committee member stationed backstage, and stepped out onto the stage.

Dazzling lights. Thunderous applause. She felt like she was being swallowed up by this atmosphere that was different again to their school festival play.

In the center of the stage, the mic was set up on an imposing podium. As well as that, there was a pitcher of water and a gla.s.s - although Yumi wasn"t sure whether it was for them to actually drink or just for show.

The four candidates sat down on folding chairs that were located behind and to the right of the podium, from the audience"s point-of-view. On the other side, to the left of the podium, a committee member sat at a desk with a stopwatch and a bell, to time their speeches. She"d ring the bell to let them know if they were going over their allotted time.

They were going in the order they registered, so the first one to stride to the center of the stage was Touko-chan.

Touko-chan started by questioning the hereditary manner in which the student council leaders were typically chosen and then emphasized her own freshness and youth.

Maybe it was because she was used to acting on stage, but she spoke fluently, seemingly without effort.

"I have no complaints with the current Yamayurikai. But why don"t we let a fresh breeze blow through there? Let"s open wide the windows of the Rose Mansion!"

Yumi instinctively applauded, forgetting that Touko-chan was labeled as a rival or enemy. Yoshino-san quietly said, "You idiot," and Yumi returned her hands to her lap. There was no other meaning to Yoshino-san"s, "You idiot," it was, purely and simply, "You idiot." Telling Yumi to remember her own position.

The next to take the stage was Shimako-san.

Shimako-san spoke candidly about working as part of the current student council, presenting their current achievements, and describing the benefits of having someone as a Rose for two consecutive years. Additionally, she promised closer co-operation with the various committees, emphasizing the importance of proactive partic.i.p.ation.

"I"ve learnt a lot from the two third-year Roses this year. I believe it"s my duty to put that experience to good use, and to help the Yamayurikai develop even further."

Shimako-san"s face shone with more confidence than usual. Presence. The difference to last year was probably because she had the track record to back it up now.

If Shimako-san was for the committees, Yoshino-san was for the clubs.

"Prior to my surgery during autumn of my first-year in high-school, my body was always weak and I was never able to take part in club activities. But when I started second-year, I joined the kendo club, and for the first time I knew what club activities were like from the inside. From that, I got to see up close what was missing and what was superfluous with the clubs. Even though the Yamayurikai is small, we"re here to help everyone have a happy school life. Let"s start by improving that through club activities. Even if I"m elected, I won"t resign from the kendo club. I"ll keep trying my best along with everyone else."

If she was following her rehea.r.s.ed speech she would have stopped there, but Yoshino-san kept going.

"Earlier, one of the candidates made some remarks about a hereditary lineage, but we"re here holding an election, so that surely doesn"t apply to us. And I certainly don"t think there"s anything wrong with following in the footsteps of your onee-sama. When you"re talking about a ma.s.sive project that takes many years to accomplish, don"t you think the pet.i.t soeur that has been carefully guided might have an advantage?"

She"d obviously been annoyed by Touko-chan"s speech and wanted to briefly rebut it, but now that she"d started it didn"t look like she could stop. The speech she"d written had been refined down so that it was logically organized and easy to understand, but as she kept on saying things that popped in to her mind it was only natural that she"d go off track.

The bell rang out, ring, ring.

"Shimazu-san, please finish your speech."

She"d hit the time limit.

"What"s wrong with tradition?"

Ending with that question, Yoshino-san stepped down from the podium. After returning to her empty folding chair, it looked like there was still more she wanted to say as she muttered, "I wonder if there"s something wrong with that stopwatch."

Unfortunately for Yoshino-san, its timing was correct. Compared to Touko-chan and Shimako-san, who had both finished within the time limit, Yoshino-san"s speech was noticeably longer.

Following her was the final candidate, Yumi.

Yumi was neither a committee member nor a club member. She couldn"t appeal to either of those. Instead, she talked about what she saw as the ideal shape of the Yamayurikai.

"The first-years in the audience probably won"t know her, but my onee-sama, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama, had a wonderful onee-sama called Mizuno Youko-sama. Youko-sama had - "

Yumi wanted to make Youko-sama"s dream, of a Rose Mansion that ordinary students weren"t afraid to enter, a reality. This year they had tried various things, like hosting a tea party and inviting first-years in as a.s.sistants, but it still wasn"t enough. It would take time, as step by step these sorts of achievements piled up, and even if she was elected as one of the next Roses that didn"t mean it would happen all at once.

She concluded her speech with an appeal to keep advancing, like tomorrow follows today, followed by the day after, and to not stagnate or regress.

From Youko-sama to Sachiko-sama, and then to Yumi. It could even be called a lineage. The contents of her speech were in direct conflict with Touko-chan"s fresh breeze, but Yumi was satisfied with it.

Touko-chan should walk the path that she believes in.

Even now Yumi wanted Touko-chan as her pet.i.t soeur, but she had no intention of forcing her own opinion on Touko-chan. And if she turned away from her principles, she would never become Touko-chan"s onee-sama.

Let them see who you really are.

Being elected and becoming soeurs were, in some ways, alike.

Illuminated by the dazzling lights, Yumi thought this as she bowed to the large audience.

Thursday and Friday pa.s.sed by a lot quicker and easier than expected.

And then it was Sat.u.r.day.

Voting for the student council executive took place in each and every first and second-year cla.s.sroom during the afternoon homeroom.

Every student had to write the name of a person they wanted as a Yamayurikai member on the ballot papers distributed by the electoral committee.

The electoral committee members would then gathered the ballots into an envelope, seal it tightly, and take it back to the electoral committee"s office, which was being used as a counting room. There the counting would begin, with the results to be announced later that day.

In the area of the ballot form used to write the name of the person she was voting for, Yumi wrote the words "f.u.kuzawa Yumi" in bold letters.

Since n.o.body could possibly follow a student council leader who didn"t believe they were suitable for the job.

The results were expected to be announced at 2pm.

Even if they waited at the bulletin board in front of the auditorium, it wouldn"t make the results come any quicker, so they decided to eat their lunch in the Rose Mansion and wait, for now.

"I suppose I am a bit worried, after all."

Sachiko-sama sighed, pushing her side dishes around with her chopsticks. She seemed to have lost her appet.i.te, just like last year, even though it wasn"t her election.

"Really? I"m starving. Itadakima~su."

Yumi opened her lunchbox and started eating immediately. Ooh, today"s lunch was victory cutlets. Her mom was superst.i.tious.

Crunch crunch, munch munch.

Everyone else had their lunchboxes open, but for some reason only the sound of Yumi eating echoed around the room.

"What is it?"

Noticing everyone"s gaze she looked to her onee-sama. Although in truth her mouth was stuffed full of food, so it was closer to "Wha hi hi?" than "What is it?"

Sachiko-sama seemed amazed as she asked:

"When did you become so bold?"

"Bold?"

"Yes. It"s incredible."

"&h.e.l.lip; That doesn"t sound like a compliment though."

"It is. And some admiration too."

Sachiko-sama picked up a large piece of her lunch and popped it into her mouth, simply because she didn"t want to lose.

Then the Yellow Rose and White Rose soeurs joined in too, and the Roes Mansion was transformed into a "Hearty Eating Party."

She hadn"t become bold.

She"d simply done what she had to do. And she"d realized that, at this point, whether she sat around worrying or not, it wasn"t going to change the results.

They left the Rose Mansion at 1:40pm and headed to the auditorium.

When they arrived at the bulletin board, they found a group of impatient students already anxiously waiting for the results.

At the head of the group was Touko-chan.

"Yumi-sama, this way."

Upon noticing the candidates, the other students made way so their group could move to the front.

"No, it"s alright."

"No, you"ve got to have your photo taken for the Lillian Kawaraban when the results are revealed."

Yumi spotted Tsutako-san squatting in front of the bulletin board. She looked to be on standby, ready to get a photo of the candidates when the results were put up.

Yumi stood next to Touko-chan, although still maintaining a suitable distance. Shimako-san and Yoshino-san stood next to her too. Sachiko-sama, Rei-sama and Noriko-chan lined up behind them.

"Here they come."

Mami-san came running from the direction of the school building, like a messenger. Behind her, the Electoral Committee members could be seen walking towards them with an air of composure. The leader of the group, Hanae-san, was holding what looked like a rolled up poster. The results were probably written on that.

They couldn"t tell who had won based on the expression of the approaching committee members. Obviously, they weren"t about to say anything until the paper had been unfurled either, and they were all expressionless, like they"d been ordered to put on a poker face.

The electoral committee members arrived in front of the auditorium at 1:50pm.

Without a word being spoken, the crowd split apart to form a path, and the committee members proceeded to the bulletin board.

Hanae-san unrolled the poster. It looked to be two sheets of paper, with a blank white one on top, so that the results wouldn"t leak out while they were putting it up.

"We will now reveal the results of the election for the next student council leaders."

After the results had been put up on the bulletin board, the covering sheet of paper was removed.

Yumi followed the lettering with her eyes.

Over and over, she was lit up by a camera"s flash.

The cheering of the crowd rang in her ears.

"Yumi-san."

Yoshino-san hugged her around the neck.

She had to catch up.

Her five senses, or her brain that had to a.n.a.lyze their input, were overcome by the situation. Or rather, they seemed to be leading her somewhere with incredible speed.

Around and around, she started feeling dizzy.

"Congratulations Yumi."

Hearing Sachiko-sama"s voice, she came to her senses.

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

"What"s the matter? You should be happy, you won."

She followed Sachiko-sama"s pointing finger to where her name was written on the sheet of paper, with a red flower seal attached beside it.

- f.u.kuzawa Yumi.

The red seal was used to denote the election winners. There was one next to Yoshino-san and Shimako-san"s names too.

There was nothing next to Touko-chan"s name.

Yumi looked beside her.

Touko-chan"s gaze had just dropped from the bulletin board, and she looked to be about to quietly leave from the throng of people excited about the formation of the next student council.

Yumi raised her hand and was just about to call out to Touko-chan to stop when she looked around for just an instant.

Touko-chan"s eyes met Yumi"s and she bowed her head. Then she turned and left.

Having taken a single step forward, Yumi stopped and couldn"t move any further.

It was at that moment that Yumi realized. Something was definitely off. She hadn"t understood anything about Touko-chan.

Touko-chan hadn"t run in the election to hara.s.s them, or anything like that.

Nor was it because she simply wanted to be a Rose.

It wasn"t because she couldn"t accept Shimako-san or one of the boutons either, and it wasn"t even close to being because she thought she"d beat Yumi and reverse nominate her as soeur.

"Yumi-sama."

Noriko-chan said, taking the directionless Yumi by the hand.

"I was watching Touko"s face the moment the results were revealed. And then &h.e.l.lip; and then I finally understood."

Noriko-chan"s face was pale. Yumi"s expression was probably the same as hers too.

"Touko wasn"t looking to win."

Yumi thought, "Ah, I knew it."

If Noriko-chan was thinking that too, and it wasn"t just Yumi, then they were probably right.

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