3. Bad Night

            A naked Ohgami dipped himself in the bathtub, feeling the hot, soapy water sooth his tired body.  He couldn't resist releasing an "Aaaah" as he dipped deeper into the tub. 

            But this was no time to relax!  Ohgami had to finish his bath fast!  He had to scrub each and every part of his body to achieve total hygiene!  He had to look, feel, and smell good! 

            Most of all, he was late!

            He had just arrived from the harbor to find Sakura already prepared, dressed, and ready to go.  She looked spectacular in the pink summer gown that she was wearing, and Ohgami oddly had an inappropriate nose bleed. 

            "Ohgami-san?" She asked.

            "Er…" Ohgami was holding his nose, sticking a thumb up a nostril, "Er…woo yoo wait fer fifeen minutes?"

            "Of course!  I'll be at the parlor," Sakura said.

            And that brings him back to the present, scrubbing his body with fragrant soap.  He dipped his head into the water and washed the shampoo off his spiky hair.  After that, he washed the soap off his body with a quick splash of water from a pail.

            He had no time to waste.  The sun is setting and the reservation he made can only wait for so long!

            "Aaargh… I still have to dress up!  Sakura-kun, wait for meeee!"  Ohgami muttered, and bolted for his room.

            Sakura waited patiently in the parlor.  She made no sound as she just sat on the couch waiting for Ohgami to come, though her heart was madly beating like a stampede.  She was excited, no, anxious about what was going to happen later on.  This was their actual first date, and she had heard from Yuri and her friends that first dates often leave the lasting impressions.  So, she wanted it to be a smashing success.

            And stomping around madly while waiting for her date would not be a contribution.  So, she just sat down, waiting ever patiently.

            "Hmm…you seem to be dressed well for the evening, eh, Sakura-san?"

            Sakura almost jumped from the seat as she heard Sumire's voice float from the doorway.  She was wearing her usual violet kimono, pulled down to her shoulders.

            "Good evening, Sumire-san," Sakura politely greeted.

            "Where are you going, Sakura-san?"

            Sakura blushed.  She stammered, "I-I have a-a date."

            Sumire looked momentarily shocked, but then said, "With whom?"

            "Ohgami-san."

            "With Chuui?  Sakura-san!  I didn't know you LOVED men in uniform!"  Sumire looked highly amused.

            "No, no, that's not it!  Um…Ohgami-san and I are going out for dinner, that's all!"  Of course, she had been making that up.  She still had no idea of what Ohgami had in mind for their date.

            "Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!  But, Sakura-kun, did Chuui ask you out?  Or did you force him?  Hmmm?"

            "O-Ohgami-san…asked me out," she replied meekly.

            "Ah, but of course!  If I were around, he would've asked me!  I'm obviously the better choice!  Hohohohohohohohoho!"  Sumire laughed, fanning herself.

            "H-hai," Sakura quietly replied.

            "But since I was absent, a man has to take his chances, eh, Sakura-kun?  Of course, he'd go with you."

            "H-hai."  She bowed her head.

            Sumire looked infuriated.  "Is that you all have to say?"

            Sakura was silent.  She had gotten used to Sumire's behavior, but she thought, What if she was right?  Sumire-san is obviously more beautiful…more talented than I'll ever be…

            "Sakura-kun?  Let's go."

            Sakura's head lifted up, and gasped.

            It was Ohgami Ichiro, dressed in a formal black suit with a dark blue tie and white shirt underneath.  He wore dark colored pants and shiny, brand-new leather shoes.  His hair, though, was still as spiky as ever. 

            If Sakura were a man, she would've had a nosebleed.  But instead, she just gasped in awe.  Never, EVER had she seen Ohgami look so…so…handsome!

            Neither did Sumire, who was gawking at him too.

            "Ah, Sumire-kun.  Thanks for keeping Sakura-kun busy.  Let's go, Sakura-kun!  I've asked Kasumi to lend us her car.  I'm driving today!"  Ohgami said, smiling.

            Sakura slowly stood up, looking down, to hide her extremely red face.  She stood beside Ohgami, who opened one of his arms.  He was expecting her to lock arms with him.

            "Night's still young, Sakura-kun!"

            Much to Ohgami's delight, Sakura did lock arms with him, though reluctantly.  She was extremely shy.

            "Sayonara, Sumire-kun!  See you later!"  Ohgami said, bowed briskly, and walked off with Sakura.

            Sumire just stood there, holding her fan.  Then, her face twisted in anger, then threw down the fan and crushed it beneath her heel.

            "Oh-Oh-Ohgami-san?"

            Sakura was particularly quiet during the whole trip.  Ohgami was all for talk, telling her about the reservation he made in this fancy restaurant, and how their food was good and all.  Sakura was interested too, but not to curiosity's extent.  Most of the time, she just kept nodding.  This was the only time she actually spoke.

            "Yes?"  Ohgami replied as he took a right turn.

            "S-sumire-san told me that if she were here a few days ago…you would have asked her out instead of m-me.  Is it true?"

            There, she asked it.  Now, all she was hoping for was an honest answer.  She felt awful about asking the question, but she felt like she needed to know.

            "Sumire-kun told you that?"

            "H-hai."

            Ohgami smiled.  "Then you can tell her that she's wrong.  Remember how nervous I was when I asked you?  I rehearsed over and over again, waiting for the perfect opportunity to ask you.  But when I did have the opportunity, I was tongue-tied.  I mean, I was desperate how YOU would react, not anybody else.  I was planning to ask you all this time.  Not Sumire-kun, or anybody else."

            Sakura felt a little hopeful.  "Really?"

            "Of course!"

            Sakura blushed a bit, and then she smiled.  "Then I'm really glad I agreed."

            "Yeah, me too."

            Sakura looked at him at the corner of her eye, and he had a look of content on his face.  It looked like a great burden was heaved off his shoulders.

            "But that's our little secret, ok, Sakura-kun?"

            She nodded, saying, "Hai!"

            The empty cloak, lifted by the winds, hovered along the moonlit sky.  It looked like a dismembered bat wing, fluttering itself to keep aloft.  It had been flying around for a long time, and would swoop down when anybody had noticed it.  Yet, the Imperial capital was sleeping, the sky was its.

            The ragged voice inside muttered, "Where…where…hm?"

            It found himself gliding over a car, the only one in the street.  It was driving at a fairly constant speed.  Steam and smoke drifted out of the small smoke stacks at the backside of the car.

            There were voices from within the car, a man's and a woman's.

            "Hmm…Ohgami Ichiro…Sakura Shinguji…there's a strong source of spiritual energy coming from both of them…"

            If the cloak had a face, it would have smiled.  It flew up higher, but still hovered over the car.  Then, it cackled a low, husky laugh, heard only by him.

            "That will do."

            In that evening, Sakura Shinguji could have sworn that she was the happiest girl on the face of the planet.

            It started off with a candlelit dinner at a very expensive restaurant.  They served sumptuous, excellent dishes, which Sakura only dreamed of eating.  It was topped off with a glass of exquisite champagne.  All the while, they talked and talked about all sorts of things, and even laughed as well.  Sakura and Ohgami stayed in the restaurant stayed well until closing time.

            Which leads to the present.  Arm in arm with Ohgami, they were taking a slow, moonlit stroll in Ueno park, where cherry blossoms always seemed to bloom there.

            "It's so beautiful here," Sakura murmured, resting her head on Ohgami's shoulder, "I'm glad I asked you to take us here."

            They stopped near the fence where it had a beautiful view of the Imperial Capital.  Only a few lights were lit now, and were scattered.  Yet, the white moon shone its quiet light on the capital.  Stars illuminated the sky in their tiny, yet infinitely numerous splendor.

            Then, a shooting star happened to streak against the sky, falling into the horizon.

            "Wow!  A shooting star!  They say that if you saw one, you could make a wish!"  Sakura happily said, pointing at it until it disappeared.

            "Hai…I've never seen one before.  Not even when I was just lying down on the deck, listening to the ocean waves," Ohgami replied, smiling.

            "Well, let's make a wish then."

            Both closed their eyes, and Sakura clasped her hands together in a prayerful gesture.  In a few moments, they opened again, and Ohgami said, "They say that if you tell your wish, it won't come true."

            Apparently, Sakura was going to ask him about his wish.  She just pouted, saying, "Never mind."

            Ohgami smiled, replying, "But I don't mind saying it now, because it already came true."

            Sakura was startled when she heard that, and in a reflex, she looked at him.

            And they found themselves looking deep into each other's eyes, jet black into azure blue.  But neither looked away.  Neither wanted to.

            "My wish," Ohgami said, gently drawing her close, until she was only a breath away, "was to have a night like this…alone with you, Sakura-kun."

            "O-Ohgami-s-san," she stammered, but never tore away her gaze.

            "Sakura-kun…I've something to tell you…"

            "Hai?"  She felt her cheeks burn up again.

            "Sakura-kun…I…I…"

            "Oh, shut up."

            The moment ruined, they moved away from each other almost instantly.  Their cheeks were flaming red.

            "This…is…all too sickening."

            Only then did they notice a hooded figure in front of them.  Its face and body was covered with the cloak, save a pale, white hand with red nails.

            "Who are you?" Ohgami demanded.

            "Names are unimportant.  What matters is the destruction of the Imperial Capital."

            "What!?" Sakura blurted out, instantly wishing she had brought along Arataka.

            "You…and your so-called love…humans are so foolish…so selfish…so…so stupid.  Such pathetic beings should be crushed like insects."

            "Who are you?"  Ohgami repeated, infuriated, "What do you want from us?"

            "Impudence… pay your respects…pay with your life…Ichiro!!"

            Then, in a blink of an eye, it disappeared into thin air.

            Ohgami looked around, but found no signs of whatever it was.  But it gave off a strange, cold aura…similar to Yamazaki's…but colder, stronger, more evil…

            Then, what happened next happened too fast.  In a mere five seconds, Ohgami's eyes widened, as he felt something sharp, something wide, like a broad sword, dive itself into his stomach.  Pain surged through his body in a quick flash, and blood spurted out of the wound.  Ohgami had no chance to scream, for he had already stumbled to the ground.

            Ohgami's mind, his thoughts, was fading fast.  He saw the ground rushing up to meet him. He heard his own grunt of pain.  He heard Sakura shriek his name.  He smelled his blood.  He felt those red nails go deeper, reaching through his spine, out the back.    He felt his vital organs being severed.  He felt his back being torn.  He felt his blood spurt out like a sick fountain.  Then, everything disappeared.

            Everything was quiet, for the world was swallowed in darkness.  He heard one thing, though, before he lapsed into this dark world.

            "But…you shall be of use to me…"