[The next day, Mami hugged all the Mini Witches goodbye, and went to meet her relatives, along with her lawyer.]
...Oh, Mami-chan!
[Her Aunt Rinako said, a smile as fake as Kyubey's normal one pasted on her face.]
- It's so good to see you, my dear...
[Mami looked at her Rinako's fur coat, and sighed. She usually wouldn't give a damn what her relatives wore or didn't wear, but that fur coat looked like it was real fur, and also like it was brand new.]
[The main problem with these particualar relatives was, she thought with a sigh, they couldn't manage their budgets if their life depended on it.]
- So I hear you've been having some problems with Mako-chan and Rukia-chan's school fees and whatnot?
[Mami said lightly, and then served everybody some tea and cakes. She waited until her relatives had all taken a bit of the cakes, and then dropped the bombshell.]
...You know, Aunt Rinako, Uncle Seijirou - It would be so much easier if Mako-chan and Rukia-chan could transfer to another school, don't you think? Financially, I mean.
[And then, she turned to her cousins, who were looking at her with utterly horrified looks in her eyes.]
- I know Akitsu Gakuen is supposed to be a very good school, and I must admit I did want to go there when I was younger, since my mother and father did meet at Akitsu University and all, but - To put things frankly, it's a school for really, really rich people, especially nowadays, and considering the financial situation of our branch of the family is in now...
[Makoto and Rukia looked at each other in horror, then.]
...Nooo! Mama, Papa, I don't want to have to quit - Our family's always gone there!
[Rukia, in the meanwhile, had turned on Mami, angrily.]
- How dare you! Just because you decided to hide yourself away in some stupid school for commonors -
[Mami stared at her cousin, then. What?]
...We're all commonors here, now, the last time I checked. And most of our ancesters were merchants. Rich merchants, but still.
[And then, she nodded at her lawyer, and passed along some papers to everybody sitting at the table.]
- As you can see here, if Mako-chan and Rukia-chan could go to any of those schools from high school, and then to any of the universities on the list, it would become much easier to pay for their education. Those are all perfectly respectable and high ranking schools, just in case you were wondering.
[The problem, Mami thought with a even bigger sigh, was that Akitsu Gakuen had changed from a school for the well to do to a school for the mega-rich in just a couple of generations - And their branch of the Tomoe family just wasn't able to keep up with that, to be honest.]
[There was a reason she was going to Mitakihara Middle School, after all.]
[Her aunt and uncle looked at each other, and then at the papers, muttering to themselves about education fees and school loans and classmates of their daughters who kept making them spend money they didn't have. Mami grinned a bit at that, inwardly - Ha ha ha, maybe they'd actually listen to her and her lawyer for once?]
[And that was when Rukia stood up, and threw some of the papers at Mami's face!]
...But I don't want to go to some stupid school for - for ordinary people!
[Mami stared as her cousin staggered to her feet, her face as red as a beet.]
- You, You - This is all your fault, Mami! If you hadn't wanted to go to some stupid Tea Convention, Uncle Mitsuo and Auntie Minako would still be alive!
Re: The continuation of Path 1
...Oh, Mami-chan!
[Her Aunt Rinako said, a smile as fake as Kyubey's normal one pasted on her face.]
- It's so good to see you, my dear...
[Mami looked at her Rinako's fur coat, and sighed. She usually wouldn't give a damn what her relatives wore or didn't wear, but that fur coat looked like it was real fur, and also like it was brand new.]
...Hello, Aunt Rinako, Uncle Seijirou, Makoto, Rukia...
[The main problem with these particualar relatives was, she thought with a sigh, they couldn't manage their budgets if their life depended on it.]
- So I hear you've been having some problems with Mako-chan and Rukia-chan's school fees and whatnot?
[Mami said lightly, and then served everybody some tea and cakes. She waited until her relatives had all taken a bit of the cakes, and then dropped the bombshell.]
...You know, Aunt Rinako, Uncle Seijirou - It would be so much easier if Mako-chan and Rukia-chan could transfer to another school, don't you think? Financially, I mean.
[And then, she turned to her cousins, who were looking at her with utterly horrified looks in her eyes.]
- I know Akitsu Gakuen is supposed to be a very good school, and I must admit I did want to go there when I was younger, since my mother and father did meet at Akitsu University and all, but - To put things frankly, it's a school for really, really rich people, especially nowadays, and considering the financial situation of our branch of the family is in now...
[Makoto and Rukia looked at each other in horror, then.]
...Nooo! Mama, Papa, I don't want to have to quit - Our family's always gone there!
[Rukia, in the meanwhile, had turned on Mami, angrily.]
- How dare you! Just because you decided to hide yourself away in some stupid school for commonors -
[Mami stared at her cousin, then. What?]
...We're all commonors here, now, the last time I checked. And most of our ancesters were merchants. Rich merchants, but still.
[And then, she nodded at her lawyer, and passed along some papers to everybody sitting at the table.]
- As you can see here, if Mako-chan and Rukia-chan could go to any of those schools from high school, and then to any of the universities on the list, it would become much easier to pay for their education. Those are all perfectly respectable and high ranking schools, just in case you were wondering.
[The problem, Mami thought with a even bigger sigh, was that Akitsu Gakuen had changed from a school for the well to do to a school for the mega-rich in just a couple of generations - And their branch of the Tomoe family just wasn't able to keep up with that, to be honest.]
[There was a reason she was going to Mitakihara Middle School, after all.]
[Her aunt and uncle looked at each other, and then at the papers, muttering to themselves about education fees and school loans and classmates of their daughters who kept making them spend money they didn't have. Mami grinned a bit at that, inwardly - Ha ha ha, maybe they'd actually listen to her and her lawyer for once?]
[And that was when Rukia stood up, and threw some of the papers at Mami's face!]
...But I don't want to go to some stupid school for - for ordinary people!
[Mami stared as her cousin staggered to her feet, her face as red as a beet.]
- You, You - This is all your fault, Mami! If you hadn't wanted to go to some stupid Tea Convention, Uncle Mitsuo and Auntie Minako would still be alive!