Have you heard? The campaign has become a landslide!
I'd never have believed this could happen.
They say even some SENIORS have signed!
What'll happen to members, like us?
What could she be thinking... Miya-sama...
Hush. Miya-sama is coming.
It'll be OK.
The Sorority has the full support of the School Board.
Please keep quiet!
What is it that worries you so?
You surprise me.
Properly chosen members have nothing to worry about. Right?
But... Miya-sama!
This movement is spreading completely out of control!
Please try to relax.
Our Sorority is a long-held tradition.
Nothing will become of this.
So, listen, everyone.
Let's discuss the opera we're presenting next week.
31. The Bad Apple
C'mon! Class is starting!
Hayashida-san, Kiryu-san!
Say... Nakaya-san...
Would you let us sign your sheet?
What! How can you say that, Hayashida-san!
You are all Sorority members, aren't you?
If you sign, you'll be kicked out!
We don't care about that.
When you needed us... we weren't any help to you, Junko...
Please let me have your resignation before the week is out.
Please, Kiryu-san, Hayashida-san, help me!
You all can testify that I really did have a fever during exams. Please!
Since then, we've had our doubts about the Sorority...
We're sorry, Junko!
Forgive us, Junko!
I never blamed you! Never!
Junko!
My Dear Brother...
"Substantial"... that's the word I'd choose, I think.
Our school's complexion has undergone a substantial change.
I'm off to do petition work... so see you tomorrow!
Bye! See you later!
Kiryu-san, Hayashida-san...
We'd like to have a word with you.
Come along with us, please.
OK.
What on earth do you mean by this?
You signed! And you are members!
It's unbelievable!
We... we will resign.
Yes, we'll resign.
It would appear you underestimate us.
If we allow such things to happen,
...how can we maintain any order in the Sorority?!
Not another word!
This kind of behavior... is unbecoming.
Miya-sama! But...
Whoever wants to sign, can sign.
Leave them alone.
You two, on the other hand,
...shall, of course, be expelled from the Sorority.
And, we will take all records of your membership,
...and erase them forever.
Understood?
The way things are going, the Sorority is in great danger.
If... if the Sorority is abolished,
...what will become of us?
We'll lose everything.
The lavish parties and tea ceremonies,
...the opulent seasonal celebrations,
...designated reserved seats at the cafeteria and library,
...and the envious eyes of the lower classes...
All of this will be taken away from us!
So... tell me.
Mm?
How is Miya-sama?
Miya-sama is as resolute as always,
...and I have the utmost respect for her as head of the Sorority...
But...
"But"?
...there are times I just cannot figure her out.
Just between you and me... I feel the same way!
You, too?
Yes, sometimes...
Not taking action against those who abandon the Sorority is admirable,
...but this movement is becoming so widespread!
Can she preserve the Sorority by maintaining such an attitude?
It's not going to be easy.
After all, look at how this all started.
It was because she had to have that girl, Misonoo Nanako, in the Sorority!
And there's the way she treats her, too.
There's something strange there.
I wonder what it is...
...the thing between her and Misonoo Nanako.
Could we...
Sure, it's OK.
Shall we sit together?
Um... sure.
11 people in one hour, this morning.
Good progress! Good!
Shall we take a break?
OK.
Look what time it is!
My first class is PE. I have to run!
OK, see you later!
Misonoo-san...
Mona Lisa-no-Kimi...!
No need to look so frightened.
I just wanted to ask you something.
What is it between you and Miya-sama?
Like I said before, I don't know...
I can't make any sense of it.
Why was Miya-sama so insistent on having you as a member?
Surely you MUST know something.
I... I really don't know!
That's a lie.
It's the truth!
I don't know anything.
I don't know what you're talking about!
Excuse me. My class is starting.
My Dear Brother...
...when she asked me that time,
...I had no idea why Mona-Lisa-no-Kimi
...would want to know about Miya-sama and myself.
I knew nothing of the dark suspicion within her.
It was... it was all a mystery to me.
But... no matter what... I couldn't have told her.
This whole matter of my admission into the Sorority...
..even though it was based on misunderstanding,
...about my relationship with you, my brother,
...and the matter of Miya-sama,
I can't ever tell anyone! How could I!
There has to be something!
Something between Miya-sama and Misonoo-san.
Some kind of secret they have to keep hidden.
Yes. And that is Miya-sama's weak point.
We have to find out as quickly as possible.
Yes. Then we can force Miya-sama to reconsider,
...and she will save the Sorority.
Shall we do it? We must.
This is the time to act.
Yes. It is.
What happened?
There is no other way.
This is for the good of the Sorority.
If we should fail... the consequences are terrible.
Perhaps also if we succeed.
What?
If we expose Miya-sama's weakness,
...and her position as head of the Sorority becomes untenable,
...so that she cannot continue... then what?
If that should happen,
...Ogiwara-san or Komabayashi-san could easily take her place.
Oh... Miya-sama!
I'm sorry.
It suits you well, Ogiwara-san.
The chair of the Sorority leader.
I'm so sorry...!
We'll have an emergency meeting this afternoon.
Please see that all the members are informed.
Very well.
Excuse me.
Your attention please.
All Sorority members please meet at the Sorority house.
I repeat,
All Sorority members please meet at the Sorority house.
I regret to have to tell you this...
We have a bad apple within our Sorority.
To prevent the whole tree from being ruined,
...this bad apple must be removed.
I'll not make a big scene.
Please turn in your resignation immediately.
You know who you are.
That is all.
How did this happen?
Who was it? Who?
Who leaked the plan to Miya-sama?
It must be one of us!
It has to be one of us, because no one else knows!
Yamamoto-san...
You've always been so anxious to please Miya-sama, haven't you...
What do you mean by that?
Stop pretending.
There's no call for that!
She would never do such a thing.
Really? Who, then?
I don't know.
Don't you?
What do you mean by that?
What do you THINK I mean?
Stop it!
Accusations won't do any good anymore.
Fools. We were all fools.
To think that we could deceive Miya-sama.
Yes. Compared to Miya-sama, you are...
...well, let's just say there is no comparison.
What was that!
Stop all this fighting!
Are you OK?
Is this... is this what you want?
After all your criticism of Miya-sama? Look at yourself!
Wait! Yamamoto-san!
We'll just pretend we don't know anything about it.
It's up to you, now.
Fools. Such fools.
Do they really imagine the Sorority will let them stay?
As far as the bad apples,
...no doubt Miya-sama already knows who they are.
No, I can't! Leaving the Sorority -- the thought of it is just too terrible!
Get a grip on yourself.
What?
It's Misonoo Nanako...
She's the key -- we must know her secret.
This is our last stand.
We will be defeated,
...or Miya-sama herself will be defeated!
Yes, Misonoo residence.
I'm sorry for calling so unexpectedly.
Mona-Lisa-no-Kimi?
I have a favor to ask of you.
A favor?
Yes.
The seniors are now discussing the future of the Sorority.
I've given the matter a lot of thought,
...and have come to believe that the Sorority's credibility is ruined beyond repair.
That being the case,
...I am prepared to abolish the Sorority.
But not everyone is convinced.
As a former member, could you speak to them?
Me? Surely not me!
Yes, you! No one else will do.
But... but...!
So, I'll wait for you there.
My Dear Brother...
Mona-Lisa-sama's request was like a dream come true to me.
But... but could I really convince the senior members?
Hello?
Kaoru-no-Kimi?
Um... where are the other members?
They're inside.
Please go in.
Mona-Lisa-no-Kimi! What's going on?
Welcome, Misonoo-san.
Borgia-no-Kimi!
You are so naive!
We would never want to abolish the Sorority!
We're sorry, Misonoo-san.
But there's something we have to know.
You have to tell us the secret between you and Miya-sama.
Tell us. Please tell us!
How... how could I?
It has nothing to do with you.
It has EVERYTHING to do with us.
This secret between you and her... we have to know what it is.
If you don't tell us, we are in danger!
All of us...!
Please, let me go!
You needn't be so frightened.
Until just recently, you were one of us.
You were a Sorority member.
I didn't approve of you as a member.
But, I tolerated you, and treated you like the other members.
I taught you party etiquette.
I taught you flower arranging.
I helped you prepare for the exams.
And sometimes... I would even smile at you.
Like this.
Just because Miya-sama favored you.
There is something between Miya-sama and you!
It's too late to claim you know nothing!
Well? Tell us!
Please stop!
I won't let you go.
We can't escape either.
Tell us!
I don't know. I know nothing!
That CAN'T be true!
What can I say to satisfy you?
The truth!
Miya-sama's secret!
Stop, Ogiwara-san. You'll fall! Watch out!
Come on, hurry!
Watch out!
Now... Ogiwara-san...
This is the end... for us.
This is just too awful to bear.
I can't stand it!
No! No, no! No! No...!
No...!
I'm sorry. I'm late.
I got lost and couldn't find my way here.
My Dear Brother...
Borgia-sama and Mona-Lisa-sama, both of them,
...were nice "big sisters", always taking care of junior members.
But they became cornered... desperate...
...they changed... so much...
My Dear Brother...
I'm collecting signatures to abolish the Sorority.
I only want to abolish the Sorority itself.
Please believe me...
I am not doing this to hurt individual members.
It seems what I'm doing is the cause of some distress.
That hurts me deeply.