Sinfully Devine
Arc 1: Commandments
Chapter Seven
One should never commit adultery. Staying true to one's convictions are imperative.
Being unfaithful to the ones you care about, is the self-same as not caring about them at all. To cast them aside, is to negate their importance...but, what about tradition? Is that something equally important, or, is entirely negligible?
It was early in the morning, sunlight kissed the sky. The light trickled through the clouds, catching the eyes of the woman who sat quietly. She took in the mornings with the same gaze. Slightly amazed, and always mindful of what could possibly be above that which she could not see…the one place she believed without question was there. Her eyes stayed fixated on the heavens, even as she listened to the trouble that plagued the girl beside her.
"It's very hard to keep the peace without you there, Shimako-san. I sometimes think it to be a lost cause. Other times, I wonder if we can make due with things as they are." Noriko reported with a long lasting sigh. "I understand that we have to keep in mind the wishes and needs of the student body, but I can't agree with Touko-chan. It's too soon, I think, to be looking to the soeur system as our answer to the problems with the council."
"Does the work load itself cause strife among the three of you?" Shimako asked carefully.
"That entirely depends on the issue at the time." Noriko said with hint of reluctance. "It's true, we're lacking manpower and trying to do everything ourselves. I can't deny that, but the first years are still new. I don't think anyone wants to just pick a younger sister at random."
"Some would beg to differ." Shimako said with a tiny smile. "It would not be the first time such a thing has happened. Some are very lighthearted about the matter, their reasons can be quite the oddity."
"None of us would be so inclined." Noriko corrected darkly. "Though, Touko-chan seems intent that we each choose one soon. I beg to differ…rather I did differ, and to say she was unhappy was an understatement." As she took a breath at the gravity of what had occurred next, she sent Shimako a sideways glance. "Nana-chan agreed with me, as to be expected, but Touko-chan took that as a personal attack."
"There was a disagreement, I'm sure. The student council wouldn't be complete without them." Shimako agreed with a nod. She expected as much from the young, hot tempered red rose. "Still, I'm sure you came to an amiable conclusion?"
"That was not the case, I'm afraid." Noriko said as she nipped her lip. "Touko-chan got angry at Nana-chan…you know how it goes when Touko-chan gets provoked." Noriko's youth showed through at the nervous action. "It took a long time for her to calm down. I think, if someone from the red roses had been there, she would have recovered more quickly." The report seemed to be one that sought comfort, and Noriko was the type to rarely seek such a thing. "Touko-chan can be so blunt all the time, it's kind of frightening."
"That may be so, I would not doubt it." Shimako said with a nod, she had expected it. "It's difficult to stand as the head of a family. It is also quite hard to be the center of attention." Shimako said quietly. "Even if we are not one bound by blood, there is something significant within us. I believe that."
"Then wouldn't it be that much more important to wait?" Noriko rebuked, feeling as though she had been put in the crosshairs of a delicate fight.
Shimako made a noncommittal murmur. "Perhaps, and yet, even that might just be an excuse." One of the reasons she wanted to be a nun was so that she could offer insight to others. This matter left her falling short of her whim, and she could only offer a waning smile. "When you have to take charge of matters, that significance takes on a whole new meaning. Nana-san didn't have the same benefit that Touko-chan did."
"Even when you say it that way, it doesn't make things justified. Nana-chan doesn't want to take soeur." Noriko muttered, still upset about the bickering. "Touko-chan's really pushing it."
"You don't want one either, do you?" Shimako asked pointedly with a careful gentleness laced within.
"Shimako-san, it's not the same as that." Noriko shook her head. "My beliefs are that I probably shouldn't, given my unconventional ways."
"The rose families are thus, and have always been so difficult." Shimako began slowly. "The red roses are, more often than not, very headstrong creatures of will. The yellow rose family, like it or not, are as varied as their oddities allow them to be."
"Yumi-san isn't headstrong." Noriko muttered darkly. "That invalidates the thought entirely."
"Quite frankly, she is." Shimako said with a shake of her head. "Yumi-chan has to be headstrong. In her own ways she must be just as insistent as the others. After all, how else could she possibly stand strong against Touko-chan? Sachiko-san is also very bullheaded, and the eldest of them, Yōko-san is no doubt the leader of that pack. I believe it's simply the way the red roses are." Shimako explained. "Headstrong, and pushy, but, I'd say that it's with good reason."
"Then, what does that make us white roses?" Noriko murmured. "The weirdoes?"
"The outcasts. The deviants, call us what you want. It won't change a thing." Shimako murmured after a moment. "You must understand. We're not standard to Lillian's rules. We're in a different world, all of us. Accepted, but so unlike everyone else. What makes the white rose family what it is, is our lack of convention…if you do take a soeur, she will be the selfsame. Struggling to find her place."
"I don't want a soeur." Noriko said with a shake of her head. "You are enough comfort for me."
"Then simply don't take one." Shimako said with a smile. "I'm certainly in no position to force you."
"Touko-chan said it was my responsibility." Noriko shot back, a worried frown on her lip. "That as part of the student council, I had to think about the next year ahead."
Shimako forced herself to stifle a laugh at the ludicrous notion. "You hold no such authority. Whether or not you take a soeur doesn't matter. School life will end for you as quickly as it began."
"I don't think anyone will take comfort in that response." Noriko herself found it lackluster at best.
Shimako gave the younger girl a shrug. "It's not about the status one has while in school…rather, the soeur system is about giving students a strong wealth of people to draw from upon graduation. It's a list of connections, a stepladder for adulthood." She turned to the girl whom she chose as a little sister. "It's about moments like this, Noriko-chan, so that you have someone to trust."
"What about Nana-chan?" Noriko asked quietly.
"Yoshino-chan will continue to watch over her, of that I'm sure. She isn't without guidance. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to her wellbeing." At that small but of comfortable knowledge, she closed the door to her bedroom, shutting out the now bright morning light. "Now then, you said you had some homework you needed help with. We should see to that, shouldn't we?"
