"A Notice from the Yamayuri Council When watching "Maria Watches Over Us ~Printemps~" please have the room brightly lit and sit well away from the television set." "You don't seem very cheerful." "Spring vacation starts tomorrow, so when I think of how I won't see my dear sister for a while again..." "I'm sorry, Shimako." "Why are you apologizing to me?" "Because Lady Sei has graduated, and..." "That's true." "This is the place where I met her." "I had entered the high school division, and the cherry blossoms were rejoicing on my behalf." "Even though I may not have been a person worthy of this place, the cherry blossoms alone accepted me." "Caught in her clear gaze, I found I was unable to move." "Who are you?" "Pardon me!" "At that time, I knew nothing about her." "Not even that she was in a position to be called a Lady Rose." "Maria Watches Over Us Printemps" "In the morning mist, Asamoya no naka the white path goes on." "tsuzuku shiroi michi" "The birds sing." "Tori no saezuri" "We exchange greetings." "Aisatsu kawashinagara" "At times, the clouds hang low, Toki ni kumo ga tarekomete and the sun may grow dim." "hizashi kagerou tomo" "But I will walk with my chin up, Sesuji nobashite aruku for I know, watashi wa shitteru kara that above those heavy clouds..." "omoi kumo no ue wa ...is the blue sky." "aol sora" "Brought Together by Just One Hand" "In May, the Yamayuri Council held a welcome ceremony for the new students." "There was the person I saw among the cherry blossoms." "Shimako." "May the Mother Maria watch over you." "When Miss Yoshino Shimazu of the Chrysanthemum Class came to see me, it was about a week after that." "Where is it that you're taking me?" "To the Rose Mansion." "The Rose...?" "I became Lady Rei Hasekura's little sister on the day of the entrance ceremony, so I'm helping out my dear sisters." "There is someone who would like to see you." "Is that the Rosa Gigantea?" "No, the Rosa Chinensis and company." "Why does the Rosa Chinensis want to see me?" "I don't know." "Please, just come with me." "Then I will now excuse myself." "I apologize for asking you to come here." "Not at all." "We wanted to talk to you for a bit." "What might this be about?" "Do you have a big sister?" "I-I do not, but..." "I'm relieved to hear that." "Then on to the main issue." "Would you be willing to help us out here at the Yamayuri Council?" "Pardon?" "We serve as the student body council and our little sisters serve as our assistants." "But the Rosa Gigantea alone has no little sister, so..." "She has no little sister..." "Yes." "But the circumstances of that are irrelevant here." "Practically speaking, the Yamayuri Council is currently understaffed." "But, why me?" "Congratulations!" "You were chosen from among all the first-year students through a fair and unbiased lottery." "Is that true?" "Of course not." "What are you doing?" "!" "Wasn't today's meeting canceled?" "!" "And why is she here?" "!" "We thought we would have Miss Shimako Todo help us out here at the Yamayuri Council." "What?" "!" "Would you please stop doing meddlesome things like that?" "!" "This really has nothing to do with you." "Of course it does!" "Considering the first-year student who was summoned here is the person whose name I accidentally let slip the other day..." "Accidentally, huh?" "Get out!" "Leave this room this instant!" "But..." "Get out!" "Please get out!" "Please do as she asks." "Is it all right to let them be?" "Those two?" "It's fine, it's fine." "Shimako, was it?" "That must have been quite a scare for you." "Yes." "Oh, no..." "I heard this from Yoshino, but..." "You're involved in a committee?" "Yes." "What committee?" "The School Environment Maintenance Committee." "That seems so fitting somehow." "Do you also want to live in a paradise where there are no people?" "What?" "There's someone like that among my friends, you see." "Shimako, are you interested in helping with the work of the student council?" "Yes..." "Then, come to the Rose Mansion again." "I want you to take a good look at us and draw your own conclusions." "If I come to the Rose Mansion while my status is still uncertain, won't I be an eyesore for Rosa Gigantea?" "Before you worry about others, you ought to first think about yourself." "About myself?" "Besides, Rosa Gigantea is in the same position." "Pardon?" "That is to say, uncertain." "No matter how coldly she treated me, erasing my existence from Lillian for Rosa Gigantea's sake was not a choice for me." "For my own sake, I made up my mind." "Who is it?" "Good day." "Come to see Rosa Chinensis?" "No, any one of the Lady Roses will do." "She'll probably be here shortly." "Come inside and wait." "Are you coming to help out?" "If you would rather I didn't, I will not insist on coming." "What I think has nothing to do with this." "Rosa Foetida told me the same thing." "So, if I say it's okay, you'll start working at the Rose Mansion?" "Yes." "I'll have you know, that won't mean you'll become my little sister." "I know that." "If this offer was hinged on becoming your little sister," "I would not accept it." "How terribly clear cut of you." "Oh, pardon me." "Then, what?" "Miss Shimako Todo is willing to serve the Yamayuri Council in the capacity of a mere helper?" "Why?" "If there is a place that has need of even someone like me..." "Fine." "Please help with the Yamayuri Council." "To begin with, wash those cups." "Yes, ma'am." "Starting that day, I became an interim resident of the Rose Mansion." "By the time summer rolled around," "I had grown to enjoy the time I spent at the Rose Mansion." "We're doing the major clean-up work before summer break, but..." "Surrounded by the people known as the Rose Families, at times, I would forget my own status and almost feel like I was a part of that circle of people." "It was a very mellow atmosphere." "Shimako and Yoshino, that will be for you to handle." "Yes, ma'am." "Yes, ma'am." "It felt very pleasant to be called just "Shimako."" "Rosa Gigantea began calling me that and following her example, everyone, except for Yoshino, just calls me "Shimako" now." "My impression of Rosa Gigantea differed with every occasion." "By turns mysterious, scary, or kind..." "Even so, it was a relief just to have her presence there." "I wasn't alone." "That was the kind of reassurance her existence offered me." "That's right..." "It's not a big deal." "Rosa Gigantea... huh?" "Listen to me." "You tend to get drawn into things easily, so if you find something that you value, make yourself take a step back from it." "All I ever did was depend on you and I haven't been able to do anything in return..." "If you want to return the favor, pay it forward to someone else..." "Yes, perhaps to your future little sister." "Who are you?" "Pardon me!" "She startled me..." "For a moment, I thought it was Shiori." "A first-year student, huh?" "I soon found out the name of that first-year student." "Shimako Todo." "That was her name." "May the Mother Maria watch over you." "Is that true?" "Of course not." "What are you doing?" "!" "Why is she here?" "!" "I knew she wasn't to blame, but I could not control my rage." "Is that girl such a significant person to you?" "I don't know!" "I had never even given it any thought." "But Yoko had the ability to perceive what was in my heart, even more accurately than I could." "She always could." "Even if I do have special feelings for Shimako Todo, that's no reason for you to drag her into the Yamayuri Council!" "But you see..." "No buts!" "Don't do things like this without consulting me!" "Sei." "Even now, I have some regrets." "About Shiori." "Even if you called me meddlesome," "I should have forced you and Shiori to become soeurs." "That way, you may have been able to make some good memories, at least for the two years that you were in high school." "So you're telling me to play soeurs with that girl, because I didn't get to do it with Shiori?" "I'm not thinking of her as a replacement for Shiori." "It's just that I want you to be more involved with other people." "I'm plenty involved with you and Eriko and Sachiko and the others!" "When you blurted out the name Shimako Todo, you had the same expression on your face as when you first mentioned Shiori Kubo." "And having actually seen her, I realized something." "Shimako is similar." "She is not!" "She's completely different from Shiori!" "She's similar to you." "To me?" "I'll refrain from saying exactly how." "Because if I do, you'll slap me for real this time." "How we're similar has to do with my weakness, doesn't it?" "Yes." "But I love even the weakness in you." "I really hate the strength in you." "I know." "I don't like it, either." "You dummy." "She's similar to you." "That day, it was quiet at the Rose Mansion." "Who is it?" "Good day." "It was only then that I realized Yoko had set me up." "Undaunted by my sardonic attitude towards her, Shimako had this to say." "If there is a place that has need of even someone like me..." "I like your face, Sei." "So come stay by my side." "At that time, I responded," ""lf the face of someone like me will do."" "Fine." "Please help with the Yamayuri Council." "Yes, ma'am." "We aren't just similar." "Shimako is me." "Shimako is doing great work." "Yeah." "There was a time when I thought to have her become your little sister, but I've become loathe to let her go for entirely different reasons now." "What do you mean?" "Don't you think she should become a Lady Rose someday?" "Losing her would be a detriment for the Yamayuri Council." "Who cares about what happens after we graduate?" "That is how you always run away from things." "I have no intention of making her my little sister, all right?" "It can be arranged in many ways." ""Many," huh?" "Shiori..." "To me, you were an angel." "But Shimako is human." "I gaze upon her from a place slightly apart." "That's all I want." "That feels comfortable." "You like cats?" "Yeah, I do." "What do you plan to do with this cat?" "Nothing in particular." "But you are feeding him." "Is that wrong?" "If he is fed on a regular basis, he will not be able to survive in the wild." "That's true." "What will he do during summer break?" "Or the cold winter break?" "Or what about after you've graduated?" "Isn't it actually more cruel to help him out of a fleeting sense of sympathy?" "Your words hurt." "It may be as you say, Shimako, but this little guy is still weak, so..." "His injuries from the crow attack have finally just healed, so..." "Let me at least give him a snack once in a while." "But this cat will surely remember the warmth of the Rosa Gigantea's kindness..." "My dear sister, who's graduated, devoted all the love she had to me when I was hurt." "Thanks to that, even though my dear sister isn't at the Academy anymore," "I've managed to survive somehow." "I guess hellos and good-byes come in pairs." "The good-bye will come someday, but to avoid becoming involved because you fear that..." "That'd be too sad, wouldn't it?" "Perhaps I was not saying that to Shimako, but rather, trying to convince myself of it." "Shimako, when you finish up here, would you wait for me at the Rose Mansion?" "I'd like to speak with you." "Certainly." "Quit slacking off and help out." "What's with the creepy smile?" "Say what you will." "I'm in a good mood today." "The sports fest went well and it looks like the other problem will be solved, too." "The other problem?" "Sachiko, are you serious about making Shimako your little sister?" "Yes, these past couple months," "I have watched Shimako Todo in my own way." "And I have determined the Yamayuri Council has a need for her talent." "You're going to make her your little sister, because the Yamayuri Council needs her?" "Yoko put you up to this, didn't she?" "No." "I believe I do not need anyone's permission to choose a little sister." "That's definitely true, but what do you even know about Shimako?" "The one thing I do know for certain is that it's not good for her to remain in her current situation." "Either release her, or officially bring her into the Rose Mansion as someone's little sister." "We must do one or the other for her." "All right." "So you understand?" "I understand, but I can't let you have Shimako." "What?" "I'll make Shimako my little sister." "You are the latecomer and yet, you intend to snatch her away?" "I'm the one who first found Shimako." "Besides, she hasn't accepted your rosary yet, right?" "Did you hear that from Shimako?" "No, I'm just sure that she wouldn't have." "Why?" "Because I'm better for Shimako, of course." "Later." "Um, Rosa Gigantea, class is about to start!" "Just come with me!" "There's a time limit to this, but become my little sister." "In general, one could hardly say that I'm a desirable big sister, but I think I'll probably be perfect for you." "I won't impose any limits on you." "You can just do as you please." "Um, I..." "Will the Rosa Gigantea accept all that I am?" "Even after she finds out about everything, will she still want to make me her little sister?" "You don't want to?" "I'm not saying that!" "But..." "No buts." "What I want to hear is yes or no." "That's all." "I..." "We ended up saying hello." "Like two people on a long journey, who just happened to choose the shade of the same tree to rest in." "Even if we do not speak to one another about ourselves, we can be together." "While knowing that we will eventually go our separate ways, each allows the other to enjoy a brief moment of respite for her soul." "Neither there to give something, nor there to demand something, the other person need merely exist." "And I had found such a person." "Please make me your little sister." "I look forward to our time together." "Oh, yeah." "We need a rosary to do this, don't we?" "This will be more convenient." "Easy to remove at any time." "Um..." "Why don't we get back class?" "Right now, we're only about fifteen minutes late." "Shimako, you're really too serious." "And you, dear sister, are lacking in seriousness." "Can't be helped." "Then, shall we go?" "Shimako, sprint!" "Oh, how... how comfortable that felt." "There, where we were brought together by just one hand, was the place where I belonged." "In half a year, the day to say good-bye would come inexorably." "But until then, I would never let go of her hand." "Rosa Gigantea." "Rosa Gigantea?" "Where?" "What are you doing, Yumi?" "Rosa Gigantea?" "Where?" "What are you doing, Yumi?" "I was addressing Shimako." "Oh, right!" "You're the Rosa Gigantea now, aren't you?" "Please address me by name, as you always have." "Once April comes, the first-year students will come in." "But it still hasn't sunk in at all that we're going to be second-year students." "Well, that's more like you anyway, Yumi." "The season of the cherry blossoms is coming again." "The hellos and good-byes will be repeated." "Spring comes again this year." "A landowner from southern Russia, Madame Ranevskaya lives in Paris with her lover after becoming a widow, but she is betrayed by her lover, and at her wits' end financially, she returns to her old estate, but that estate is also mortgaged and she finds herself on the verge of bankruptcy." "It is a tale of the fall of the old landowners and the aristocracy, and the contrasting rise of the new bourgeoisie." "You are talking about The Cherry Orchard, are you not, Yoshino?" "Please do not brazenly state the preview for a different work." "No, the cry in my heart echoes that of Chekhov." ""Good-bye, old life!" "Welcome, new life!"" "Next time on "Maria Watches Over Us,"" ""Cherry Blossoms"." "It appears something is going to happen to Shimako."