5. Stronger Chains
A week had passed, and Ohgami Ichiro was still confined in the hospital. His injury, though now healed, had left an ugly scar on his stomach. He had gotten over that, as well as the mental and emotional problems as well. He still couldn't shake off what had happened on that night, but at least he could handle the situation better now.
The Hanagumi too, helped the Taichou by sending him a horde of "get well" cards and things like flowers and balloons. Sakura and Iris visited the most among the six girls, usually leaving the hospital at noon. They still had a play to practice, which was the reason why Ohgami asked them to concentrate on the play more, now that he was on his way to a steady recovery. After constant debates, Sakura and Iris then gave up, and restricted their visits to the weekends.
Ohgami did not have his nightmare again after the first time, though it did not need a second time to have it burned in his memory forever. Whatever it meant was still a complete mystery to Ohgami. He did not understand the people appearing and disappearing while walking away, or the black tendrils that wrapped his reflection, nor his face under the hood. He was still disturbed about the part where it seemed like his mind was disembodied, because he couldn't feel his mind, nor speak a word.
But Ohgami did not reveal his nightmare to his teammates, especially to Sakura, who was looking forward to his recovery. They did not need a weird nightmare to worsen things, and since it only happened once, it might have been just an odd dream.
One day later, at noon…
"Thank you very much," Ohgami said, bowing deeply.
"No, no, don't mention it," Yoneda replied, waving his hand.
"But, sir, if you hadn't…" Ohgami was interrupted by Yoneda saying, "Don't mention it."
Ohgami just nodded and said, "Yes, sir."
He left the commander's office and once again roamed the halls and corridors of the Teigeki. Nothing much change in his week of absence, except that the music and singing coming from the stage lazily drifted up here in the dormitories.
"Ah, it feels good to be back home!" Ohgami exclaimed, stretching his arms. He had just returned from the hospital and had gone straight to Yoneda's office to say his thanks for the blood transfusion. Now, he went back to patrolling the halls.
Not that it was necessary, of course. Patrols were usually done at night, after lights-out, but Ohgami thought this to be the best way to readjust to his surroundings. Though he was only gone for a week, it seemed like a longer time for the Taichou.
Ohgami then decided to go visit the girls, to check up on how they were doing. Since it was noontime, they were probably at the dining room, having their one-hour lunch break.
They still didn't know that he had already come home, since he returned during practice. How they were going to react, Ohgami wasn't sure yet, but he was already making predictions, like Kanna hollering and giving him a noogie or something, or Maria saying something short and quick like, "Welcome back, Taichou."
"Oh, what the heck, let's just do it. They'll probably just wave at me and say, `Welcome home` or something," Ohgami said to himself, and when he got there, he opened the door to the dining area.
But took a peek first.
As usual, they were eating together on the same table. Maria and Iris were eating quietly as usual, and Sakura and Kohran looked like they were deep in conversation, probably about Kobu. He could also hear Kanna and Sumire's heated arguments again, Kanna calling Sumire a stuck-up, good-for-nothing snake witch, while Sumire insulted Kanna by saying that she was an ill mannered, barbaric ape woman.
"Ah, it does feel good to be back home! Nothing has changed," Ohgami muttered to himself, a wide smile crossing his face.
Then, he took a deep breath, and then walked in.
"Hello, everyone!" he exclaimed, as he approached them. They were completely oblivious of his presence until now.
The room was hushed instantly, then a chorus of gasps, then all together, "Ohgami!"
As expected, they welcomed him back warmly, like a long lost friend. Ohgami's heart swelled with happiness as he was surrounded with the girls he had sworn to protect, all smiling as they sat him down to eat with them. As they ate, questions shot like bullets, but the topic always avoided what happened on the incident. They were tactful and caring enough to not bring up the subject.
Their performance in the practice surprisingly improved when Ohgami watched them. All sung with their hearts, and brought out their lines as if they were the characters themselves. They danced gracefully with the music, missing no step and careful in each. Somehow, Ohgami boosted their morale by just watching them and smiling at times.
Indeed, Ohgami was glad to be back home.
Later, as Ohgami patrolled around the Teigeki as usual, he happened to pass by the kitchen, which had its light on. It was rather unusual, as he expected that he was the only one awake in the playhouse. So, carefully, he took a peek.
To his surprise, it was Sakura, drinking a glass of water and eating a cup of instant noodles.
"Sakura-kun?" Ohgami called as he entered.
She was obviously surprised, throwing up her fork. "Oh-Ohgami-san!"
"What're you doing up so late in the night?" Ohgami asked, first picking up her fork then pulling a chair to sit beside her.
"Oh…well, I was just hungry…thought I can make myself some noodles," Sakura replied, before taking another fork and slurping up some more noodles.
"Is that it? Couldn't it wait till the morning?"
She shook her head. "Well, aside from being hungry…I couldn't sleep well, too."
"Is anything wrong? Anything I can help you out with? You need your rest, Sakura-kun," Ohgami replied, a hint of concern in his voice.
She smiled. It was nice that Ohgami was concerned about her. "No…it's nothing."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded, swallowing the last of the noodles and washed it down with the remaining water. "Well, I'm done!"
Ohgami smiled. "Then, let me accompany you back to your room."
"I-Iie, daijobu. I can make my way back," Sakura replied, blushing with a strong sense of shyness in her voice.
But he shook his head. "I don't mind, really! I'm done patrolling, anyway. Your room is on the way to mine, so let's just go together."
Of course, Sakura had no choice but to agree. But, she didn't mind, really. In actuality, she was hoping that he would pass by and find her eating, because she wanted to talk to him about something in private.
"Ohgami-san?" Sakura asked, as they made their way in the corridors of the first floor, heading for the exit to the second floor.
"Hai?"
"I-It's about what happened on that night…"
Ohgami looked grim all of a sudden, but tried to keep his tone light. "What about it?"
"Well…gomen ne…"
"Sakura-kun, I told you that it's not your fault. That person, or whatever he was, was hunting me. It was only a matter of time," Ohgami explained.
"I know…but I can't help it! I can't help feel responsible for what happened…if I hadn't asked you to go to Ueno…maybe things would've been different…maybe you wouldn't have gotten hurt," Sakura replied, her voice growing weak. Tears were beginning to appear under her eyes.
Ohgami picked up his pace, stepped in front of Sakura, held both her shoulders, and looked deep into her eyes. Sakura couldn't help but look too, though she preferred to keep her eyes on the ground.
"Sakura-kun, look at me," he said, "When I was promoted to be the Captain of the Hanagumi, I knew there would be risks. I'd entered into a life where danger was at every turn, and the future was far from certain. I'd be making good friends, but at the same time, I'd be making bad enemies as well."
Sakura seemed to have her whole attention on Ohgami, though a nagging feeling in her heart wanted to tear her gaze away.
"But I knew that. I knew that I'd be facing danger. I knew that I'd have an uncertain future. What happened on the night was a risk I had to take, no matter how gruesome the outcome. So what if I received a big ugly scar on my stomach? I'd probably have more if more fights come, but at least I knew that it would eventually come, and that I was prepared."
"But…" Sakura murmured, her tears falling.
He gently squeezed her shoulders. "Sakura-kun… I appreciate your concern, but you don't have to feel that everything that happened is your fault. It never had been…but…well…"
All of a sudden, he was at a loss of words. His continuous flow of words was cut abrupt. He was becoming red.
"Ohgami-san?"
"Anou…arigato…for being so worried about me…I appreciate it, I really do. No one's shown me so much concern before, well, not before now, at least. Really, arigato gozaimas, Sakura-kun."
His lips curled into an uneasy smile. His eyes seemed to express his thanks.
"Ohgami-san…" Sakura whispered, and smiled too, her tears stopping.
"There, that's better," Ohgami replied, using his thumb to wipe away her tears, "You look much better when you're smiling."
Sakura nodded, but didn't bring her head up. Her bangs made it hard for Ohgami to see how she was feeling.
"Sakura-kun? Are you okay…eh?"
Ohgami was quite unprepared when Sakura went closer to him and buried her face on his chest, her hands gently clutching his brown vest.
Unknown to Ohgami, she was still smiling, though tears were falling again. She secretly wished that they would just remain like this, his constant warmth radiating into her, soothing her, calming her nerves. If she had her way with things, she wouldn't have let go.
If Sakura was feeling warm, Ohgami was frozen solid. His back felt rigid and he found it hard to move. Though instincts told him to zoom out, his legs seemed to be rooted to the ground.
"Erg…" he muttered, no longer feeling his legs.
Then, Sakura murmured, barely a whisper, but still audible, "Arigato gozaimas…Ohgami-san."
With those words, warmth returned to Ohgami's body almost suddenly. His heart beat fast, his hands slightly trembling. Then, he was able to smile again, and in return, he just placed his trembling arms around her back, and hugged back.
"Y-You're welcome, Sakura-kun," he replied quietly.
