Spring had never been so lovely at the capital. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, filling the air with the sweet smell they produced. Small, giggling children ran down the hard, grey streets playing enthusiastic games of tag. In the Imperial Theater, however, a group of young beautiful ladies stood on a large, elegantly decorated stage in sequined costumes and pale-colored ballet shoes. The colored lights were shining brightly down on the girls, making their costumes shimmer so much that anyone in the audience would have to shield their eyes in fear of being blinded. The heavy air in the theater held a cloud of hostility, as if some large brawl was being held back. When one took a good look at the two of the ladies—a red-haired, muscular one and a brown-haired, snooty one—it was easily seen that some bitter rivalry was shared between the two.
"Couldt you two stop fightingk for at least a little vhile?" A woman with short blonde hair that covered one of her sharp, emerald green eyes stepped between the other two. Judging by her thick accent, she wasn't from the area. Kanzaki Sumire, the brown-haired woman turned her back on both Kirishima Kanna (the red-haired lady) and Maria Tachibana (the blonde), giving a sharp laugh. "If you expect me to get along with that lowlife—" She was cut off by Kanna grabbing her arm and flinging her around to face her. "What did you call me, Cactus Woman!" Kanna yelled and Sumire narrowed her eyes at her. "Oh-ho-ho!" Sumire laughed, putting a hand to her mouth delicately. "I called you a lowlife, you manly-woman!" Kanna raised her fist, ready to hit Sumire, when Maria grabbed her wrist. It seemed that this wasn't the first time Maria had to play referee to the two women. "Enough!" She yelled, then dropped Kanna's hand. "I am tiredt of this! Every day ve heff to put up vith this! Constantly you two fight!" Maria looked away from the two women with an aggravated sigh.
"Jean-Paul says 'zat you two need to stop fighting. "Eet makes Iris and Jean-Paul very sad to see you two fight," Iris Chateaubriand, a little French girl, said to Sumire and Kanna. She had stepped up to Maria, taking hold of her pants leg in one hand and clinging to her teddy bear with the other. "Iris..." Maria whispered, looking down at the little girl with an almost gentle expression. She was the only one that seemed at all phased by Iris's proclaimation, however. Kanna and Sumire were at it again. Kanna had hold of a handful of Sumire's hair, yanking harshly at it. Maria merely sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. "What is going on?" A man's voice came from the far back of the theater. "Manager," Maria said, turning around to look in the direction the voice had come from. "Manager!" Iris exclaimed, running off the stage and up an aisle between the seats in the audience, stopping beside of him and clinging to his leg. General Yoneda sighed, his eyes on Kanna and Sumire, whom were still fighting. "Kanna! Sumire!" He yelled and the women jumped away from one another immediately.
"Spasibo, Manager," Maria said, nodding to General Yoneda. "Alvright, let's get back to vork." She clapped her hands together, trying to get everyone's attention. Iris disappeared from Yoneda's side, reappearing on stage. "Kanna, you are up." Kanna stepped downstage, holding a hand up. "What a piece of work is a man—" Sumire, whom was behind her, began mocking her with a harsh smile on her face. "Alright! I can't do this!" Kanna sighed deeply. "I'm taking a break." With that, Kanna stalked off stage, leaving the other gaping after her. "Hah. Just like an amateur." Sumire flipped back her hair and left as well. Iris's eyes turned to Maria. "Are 'zey going to be okay, onee-chan?" She inquired with a frown. "Da, they vill be fine." Maria knew that the argument would eventually blow over. "Iris is going to find Reni now. Bye bye, onee-chan!" Iris left the room, giggling. Maria sat down on the edge of the stage, staring off in thought "If ve keep fightingk like this...ve vill never get any vork done," She whispered, sighing in an irritated fashion.
"Maria, you should take a break as well." Yoneda's voice came from the back of the theater again and Maria's head whipped up. "Da, I vill." She nodded and left the stage, exiting through a random door. Yoneda watched her leave, shaking his head. He sat down in a chair in the audience, massaging the sides of his head with his fingers. "Girls, girls, girls..." He said softly.