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Disclaimer Under no circumstances would you be allowed to take this work for commercial activities or for personal gain. Baka-Tsuki does not and will not condone any activities of such, including but not limited to rent, sell, print, auction. Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria 6 Artist Tetsuo Author Eiji Mikage Translator EusthEnoptEron Editor grrarr Project page http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/ index.php?title=Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria PDF creation date 2014/10/06 Intermission ◆◆◆ Daiya Oomine - 09/11 FRI 22:00 ◆◆◆ Maria Otonashi’s elder sister, Aya Otonashi, is dead. That’s what the records say, at any rate. I discovered this before the events of the ‘Game of Idleness’. I had been doing some digging into Maria Otonashi’s background, hoping to improve my control over my ‘box’. Maria Otonashi. She is the second daughter of a high-ranking executive who worked for a large finance firm. The house she lived in with her family—her father Michishige, her mother Yukari, and her sister Aya—was part of a wealthy neighborhood in the Hyougo prefecture. The age difference between her parents was rather great; when Maria was fourteen years old, her father was already in his sixties, while her mother was just thirty-five. On top of that, Maria’s mother was Michishige’s third wife. Clearly, Maria’s family situation was rather…complicated. This held equally true for Maria’s relationship with her sister Aya. Aya’s birth mother was Michishige’s previous wife. In addition, Aya was only three months older than Maria, and thus they were both in the same grade. 9 Intermission In order to avoid drawing attention to this state of affairs, Michishige sent them to different elementary and junior high schools. According to my sources, the two girls were polar opposites. Aya, the elder sister, really stood out. She was extremely bright, athletic, and popular to boot. No one was surprised when she took on prominent positions like president of the student council; every student knew her name. Her little sister Maria, on the other hand, was quiet and reserved. Apparently, her failure to stand up for herself led to a lot of teasing while she was in elementary school. That might have been why she frequently complained of headaches or stomachaches, which allowed her to stay at home or seclude herself in the infirmary and avoid her classes. Needless to say, her grades left much to be desired. However, the true problem student was not Maria, who wouldn’t open up to anyone and was frequently absent, but Aya, the seemingly superb student. Sometimes, an overly gifted student can be a source of trouble, especially if she’s fully aware of her gifts, and displays them unabashedly. Aya was more academically talented than her teachers, and didn’t hesitate to correct their errors. When bullying took place in her class, she dealt with it far more effectively than any teacher could. When there 10 Intermission was a disagreement with a teacher in class, she singlehandedly refuted him even though that teacher was supposed to handle the matter. Aya rapidly proved that she was sharper-witted than her teachers, and the difference in ability was so glaring that even her classmates were aware of this. There was no way that they would respect such incompetent teachers. Aya had deeply undermined the authority of the entire staff, eventually resulting in disobedient behavior on the part of all her classmates. Their condition deteriorated—not blatantly, but in an uncanny manner that would not become noticeable until some serious incidents occurred. For example, some of her classmates engaged in selfmutilation and attempted suicide. Three teachers lost their jobs because they came in contact with Aya. One became a burnout, one attacked a student, a