So it seems that veoh only has ep. 1
and I can only find the episodes with Spanish (or something) subs on youtube. You can download them at lillicious, though.
Anyway, here's part two!
Chapter 1, Part 2“Is this really where Shibata-sama is?” Rika said, uncertainty lacing her voice as she stood with Natsumi outside of a house near Lillian Girls’ School. It was a creamy yellow color with chocolate brown trimming the windows that were so clean the sun made them shine almost abnormally.
“This is the house that The Roses always meet at. It isn’t called “The Rose Mansion” for no reason. Of course she would be here.” Natsumi said matter-of-factly.
“Excuse me,” They quickly turned around, both somewhat startled at the sound of a soft, polite voice coming from behind them, and saw a familiar classmate standing with a look of utter calmness over her features. “Can I help you two?”
“Oh, Konno-san!” They both exclaimed in unison.
“If there’s something you two need with The Roses…” The brunette trailed off, silently asking what it could possibly be. After all, average students weren’t even aloud in the Rose Mansion.
“Could we go in with you, Konno-san?” Natsumi asked with a small smile. “Rika and I need to talk with Rosa Chinensis en bouton.”
“They could be busy right now but…well, I suppose if it will only take a moment.”
“Domo!”
Although Rika wasn’t usually someone who would stand back and simply watch a scene unravel, she couldn’t help but trail behind Natsumi upon walking inside of the house. It almost looked like a country house, with its finely carved wood and old-fashioned paintings and pictures. The only thing indicating it wasn’t a normal home was the fact that it lacked any trinkets and personal items, and the cork board that every person saw first when they walked in, which had papers pinned to it, covering all of it.
The Roses; although they’re called that, in all actuality they’re the student council of Lillian Academy. There are three Rose categories: Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Foetida, and Rosa Gigantea. With the soeur system, there is the first Rosa, and then the Rosa en bouton, the original’s petite soeur, and then the Rosa en bouton’s petite soeur.“This way, please.” Natsumi and Rika followed the Rose up the stairs and down a small hallway, but stopped at the sound of a shouting voice which none of them recognized because of the plain and simple fact that the voice was usually calm and leveled, never shouting in anger.
“This is unreasonable and ridiculous!” The voice shouted.
“I wonder what…” Konno murmured as she began opening the door, but after fully opening it a body stomped through. However, it was the fact that said body collided with Rika’s that made her regret doing so.
Rika toppled over, a body not much heavier than her own lying on her, but she only stayed frozen on the ground, eyes wide at the shock of something so sudden. But soon enough, the body rose, rubbing her head lightly before opening her eyes and looking down at her surprised junior.
“Are you all right?” Rosa Chinensis spoke as calmly as usual as if completely unfazed that she’d just ran into someone and was still lying on top of them.
“Y-yes,” Rika toppled. “I…just…wasn’t expecting…” Her breath caught in her throat when Rosa Chinensis sat up and then pulled Rika to her chest, her eyes closed as she spoke with false kindness drowning her words. Maybe any other person her age would’ve fallen for it, but for Rika it made her mood suddenly drop even more.
“You’re the first year Ishikawa Rika, aren’t you?”
“U-uh…yes…why?”
“Do you have a Grand Soeur?”
“No…”
“Good.” She stood, bringing Rika with her and grabbing her hand before walking into the room, all but ignoring Konno and Natsumi, much to the latter’s aggravation.
“Please sit.” Ayumi gestured to the seat next to her own, her voice back to its usual state as she sat also while Konno and Natsumi sat next to Rika.
“Here you go.” Rika looked up to see a girl her age with short, bluntly cut, died light brown hair and a bit of her black roots showing, but anyone would look passed that at seeing the girls self-assured smile that reflected in her obsidian eyes. “Would you like cream or sugar in your tea?”
“Oh, no thank you...uh…” Rika replied, silently asking the girls’ name. She thought she’d seen her before but then, she saw a lot of people in the large school.
“Ah, I’m Ichii Sayaka-san, Rosa Foetida en bouton petite soeur.” Sayaka replied with a small bow of her head.
“Hajimemashite, Ichii-san.” Rika said, returning the gesture and gratefully taking the cup of tea from her fellow first year, who sat down next to a girl who was probably a year older than her with a somewhat square-shaped face and flowing dark brown (which seemed to be a rather popular hair color in the school) curls that were nearly black and a bit passed her shoulders, just like Rika’s.
“Uhm, excuse me?” Natsumi finally spoke up, raising her hand a bit as she did.
“Yes?” A girl with red-brown hair and a much more masculine appearance than anyone else in the room responded. “Abe Natsumi-san, right?”
“I’m honored that you know my name, Rosa Gigantea, Yoshizawa Hitomi-sama. But, I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“Everyone knows about you.” Hitomi said with an amused smile. “But you’re right. We haven’t given an explanation, have we?”
Ayumi immediately stood, catching everyone’s attention. “There’s no need to give an explanation.” She said firmly. “I have chosen Ishikawa Rika as my petite soeur. Simple.”
“Huh?” Instantly slipped from Rika’s mouth while she stared up at Ayumi in disbelief with an eyebrow cocked and her mouth slightly open, a look that no other girl in their graceful little school would show.
“Don’t be self-centered, Ayumi.” Rosa Chinesis spoke, her usual smile not once leaving her face. “Obviously, Rika-san hasn’t agreed to this, has she?”
Ayumi sat back down at the look her grand soeur gave her, sparing a glance at Rika and although it was difficult to see, the scorning look she saw there was painfully obvious after a while, catching Rika off guard a bit.
“Don’t you think,” Rosa Chinesis said, entwining her fingers in front of her. “That Rika deserves to know why you want her as her petite soeur first?”
“What are you talking about?” Ayumi spoke, dangerously narrowing her eyes.
“You see, Rika, the play “Cinderella” is going to be performed at the school festival, and Ayumi is to play the female lead Cinderella herself.”
“So what’s the problem?” Rika asked with crossed arms, still having a cocked eyebrow.
“Ayumi had no objections at first but that’s because she thought that the Prince would be played by Rosa Foetida en bouton, Yasuda Kei-san over there.” Rika quickly glanced at the brunette she’d seen Sayaka sit next to, and bowed her head for a moment just as her upperclassman did.
“She didn’t know I was just a stand-in,” Kei said with a small smile. “But you know, the Hanadera Academy is also on the same hill as Lillian.”
“Hanadera?” Rika echoed. “The All-Boys Academy?”
“That’s right.” Rosa Chinensis said. “The president of Hanadera’s student council is going to be playing the prince.”
Ayumi’s eyes narrowed yet again but this time it was nothing in particular as she gazed at the table, her mind obviously on other things than tea cups and plates a she said, “But you decided this when I wasn’t here.”
“It’s your own fault, Ayumi.” Her grand soeur responded. “You always run away when we meet with Hanadera Academy. Can you really not get over your hatred of men even for our short meetings?”
“Wait a minute,” Rika interrupted, letting a little of her feisty side get the better of her. “How does Shibata-sama’s part in the play relate to her choosing me as her petite soeur?”
“The Roses say that if another member of the student council doesn’t have a petite soeur then they have no say in the decisions made.” Rosa Gigantea explained as casually as ever as she leaned near a window with her arms crossed, a nonchalant look in her eyes. “And so Ayumi let her temper get the best of her and she rushed out of the room saying something about going to get a petite soeur at this very moment.” She then smiled impishly and looked at Rika. “And who was she to run into but Ishikawa-san here.”
“Someone doesn’t choose just anyone for a soeur.” Rosa Chinesis interrupted. “You must have a strong bond in order to become a soeur, petite or grand. Instead, Ayumi chose the first first-year that she bumped into…literally.”
“So in other words,” Rika said, practically glaring while her tone was filled with anger. “Rosa Chinensis just wanted to get out of playing Cinderella.” The brunette stood furiously, hands angrily pressed on the table as she glared down at a, for once, surprised Ayumi Shibata. “Listen here, I don’t care if you’re a rose or a queen or what, but I’m not your little toy to use as you please, do you understand?”
She shoved her chair out of the way, stomping toward the exit when she heard a familiar voice come from behind her. “Wait, Rika, what about the picture!?”
Rika turned around again and grabbed the picture that Natsumi had pulled out once again, taking it without thinking and ripping it in half, then throwing it to the ground, making her friend gape at her destroyed piece of work.
“What is that, Abe-san?” Hitomi asked, making her way over to the nearly sobbing freshman as she placed the two pieces of the ripped picture beside each other.
“It’s a picture that I took this morning of Shibata-sama and Rika-san. That’s why we came here, to ask Rosa Chinesis en bouton if we could use it at the school festival.”
Hitomi looked down at it in interest, and soon enough every other rose in the room crowded around Natsumi to look down at it.
“Ayumi,” Rosa Chinesis said after looking at the picture, and focused her attention on her petite soeur. “So then you do know this girl?”
“I…”
Before Ayumi could make anything worse, Natsumi spoke up again. This time, it was as revenge for her now destroyed picture against her friend. “Rika came here looking for Shibata-sama, actually.”
All of the girls stared down at her in disbelief. “…Really?” The all said in unison. Hitomi seemed to be the only one to figure out her plan.
“I have an idea,” The senior said, once again crossing her arms and walking away from the group toward the door. “I’m going to speak to Ishikawa-san for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”
As the red-brunette left, Rosa Chinensis then focused on Natsumi again. “But Rika-san acted as if she’d never even met Ayumi before.”
“Rika’s just a big stuffed bear when it comes down to it.” The freshman responded with a grin as she looked up at the ceiling and thought of her fiery friend. “Shibata-sama, no offense, just really upset her. By now she probably feels like a betrayed lover or something.”
“…”
“…Betrayed lover?”
Rika was still stomping long after she exited the Rose Mansion, her arms childishly crossed while she all but pouted and walked on a path behind the school filled with trees that were shedding there colorful flowers and gingko go nuts crowding the ground. However, Rika took no notice of her own smashing the gingko nuts as she walked along the path.
“Ishikawa-san,” Rika stopped, curiously looking behind her at the sight of Rosa Gigantea.
“Can I help you?” She spoke, relatively calmer than she had just been. After all, Rosa Gigantea had done nothing wrong, had she? No, it was Shibata-sama that had upset her so much.
“You didn’t need to rush out of The Rose Mansion so suddenly.” Her upperclassman said with a smile.
“I had no reason to stay there.” Rika said grumpily, her temper beginning to flare again. “If Shibata-sama was just planning on using me then-”
“I knew it.” Hitomi said confidently.
“What?”
“I could tell right away that you were a fan of Ayumi’s.”
“Don’t you know who I am?” Rika said, looking up at the girl, still unable to calm her temper completely. “The Wild Flower of Lillian,” She said with disgust rolling off her tongue. “Although I despise that title, it is partially true you know. I’m not someone who admires someone than I’m not. I’d much rather stick with being myself, thank you.”
“Then it must have been difficult for you to accept your admiration for Ayumi, isn’t that right? Unless…do you hate Ayumi after seeing her true face? The side that average students such as yourself don’t see?””
“No!” Rika snapped, a look that almost resembled one of panic taking over her features.
“In any case,” Hitomi ignored her. “I have a proposition for you.”
Rika lowered her head a bit, suspicion clouding her dark eyes. “What kind of proposition?”
“A bet.” She said, her once small, confidant smile turning into a mischievous grin. “It’s not fair for The Roses to force Ayumi to be in a play, don’t you agree? You can help give Ayumi a chance to get out of it.”
“…You’ve gotten my attention.” Rika responded hesitantly. She couldn’t deny that her curiosity was piqued now.
“If Ayumi wins, then she doesn’t have to play Cinderella, and this time The Roses will agree too.”
“But what is the bet?”
“Whether or not she can make you, Ishikawa Rika-san, her petite soeur of course.”
Rika opened her mouth a bit out of surprise, and her anger immediately subsided, although she wasn’t entirely sure why.
“Of course getting someone who’s angry at her to accept her rosary will be difficult, so it should be interesting, shouldn’t it? Oh, and I should add that if you do accept, then that will mean you and Ayumi will have a strong bond, won’t it? If you accept Ayumi’s rosary then that will mean you will take her place as Cinderella.”
“What makes you think I would agree to that?” Rika asked, still looking at the red-brunette in disbelief.
“Like I said,” Hitomi spoke as she began to walk away. “I know you still admire Ayumi!”
Rika focused forward again, letting out a small sigh as she let the wind play with her hair and her uniform. She had expected the day to turn out as any other boring day did, but this sudden turn of events had taken a toll on her mind.
“Ishikawa-san,” She abruptly turned around again, but was more surprised when the person was surprisingly close to her. And who should it be than Ayumi Shibata herself, too.
“Remembers this very well, Ishikawa-san.” She said, her dark eyes catching Rika’s own and holding the gaze for longer than Rika would’ve normally liked had she still not been so surprised at the older girls’ sudden presence. “I will become your grand soeur.”
She walked away at that, and Rika practically felt the determination that seemed to emit from her body. “Good day.” She said lastly before disappearing, leaving a rather disgruntled Rika Ishikawa behind.
Topic: Charmant de Fleurs (Read 9904 times)