I do not own Sakura Wars or any of it's characters…'cause if I did, I wouldn't be calling this a fanfic and I would be sailing on the Caribbean in my private yacht, literally swimming in pools of money.

So, now that that's over, you can read the fanfic. Enjoy!

Oh, and this is set in sort of a past/future sorta way and it's based on if Orihime and Reni hadn't come in ST2.

Chapter 5

"They've been upstairs for quite some time now…" Kanna observed. "So?" Ayame asked. "I'm sure that Ohgami walked Maria to her room and then went to his." There was a moment of silence and then Kanna and Ayame looked at each other with wide grins. "Yeah right!" they both exclaimed. "What's so funny?" Sumire demanded as she came down the stairs. "Nothing…honestly." Kanna said. "Yeah right. I know that look Miss Kanna…now what's so funny?" Sumire asked, a bit agitated that she didn't know the latest gossip. "Sumire…is that a stain on your dress?" Ayame asked. The sixteen-year-old recoiled in horror. "A-a stain on m-my dress?" she stuttered. "Yeah, I think it's a ketchup stain…you might want to go bleach that." Ayame suggested. "Th-thanks." Sumire said as she ran towards the basement stairs. As soon as she was gone, Ayame and Kanna burst out in laughter. "A stain?! Oh man Ayame! That was a good one!!" Kanna exclaimed as she doubled over with laughter.

Ohgami knew that he should go back to his room so he could get ready for tonight, and yet he lay by Maria's side, caressing her sweet face. He felt Maria put her hand on top of his and Ohgami grasped it, accidentally running his fingers over several scars. Alarmed, he sat up and looked in Maria's eyes. "When did this happen?" he asked. Maria knew he was talking about the scars on her right hand, but she said nothing. "Why do you do this to yourself?" Ohgami asked. "Making yourself suffer?" Finally, after a moment of silence, Maria spoke. "Because…because I have to. Because I deserve to suffer for my failures." Ohgami shook his head, his heart panged with grief. "No Maria. No! You don't have to. Why didn't you tell anyone? Why are you running away?" As Ohgami finished his sentence, Maria's eyes widened and she knew that he had finally done something no one else had…he had broken down the outer wall and now Maria was defenseless, and cracked. Her eyes filled with tears and soon they were streaking down her face. Maria snatched her hand free from Ohgami's grasp and lay face down on the bed. "Well Taisho…you've finally done it." she said, her voice muffled by the pillow. "Your words have just dug up my past and the memories that I've tried to relinquish. Thank you so much." Ohgami was taken aback by her harsh tone. "I-I'm sorry Maria." he said. "I'll see you at seven." Maria snapped. It was a clear indicator that she wanted him out of her sight. "And don't come back into my room!" she yelled as Ohgami left and closed the door behind him. "Ohgami…you've just screwed up big time." he muttered. Hanging his head, he walked slowly downstairs.

Kanna saw the dejected expression on Ohgami's face and immediately knew that something was wrong. "What happened?" she asked as Ohgami passed by her. He was silent and remained that way as he walked down the basement stairs. Ayame and Kanna looked at each other in confusion. "I don't get it." Ayame said. "He was so happy a minute ago…what went wrong?" Both women looked up in the direction of Maria's room. "I'll ask Maria…you might want to ask Ohgami." Kanna suggested to Ayame. They both split up; Ayame about faced and headed to the basement stairs and Kanna climbed the stairs to the second floor.

Maria cried into her pillow. I thought he was the one. I thought it would work out between us. That thought made a small smile form on Maria's face. Hah…that's a good one Maria. We have absolutely nothing in common. How would anything work out between the two of us? He is my exact opposite. A knock on the door interrupted Maria's thoughts. The blonde pulled out her revolver from beneath her pillow, shot the door, and then placed it back. "I thought I told you not to come back!" she shouted.

BANG! The bullet nearly missed Kanna's head. The redhead jumped back in surprise, her eyes wide. That must've been one humongous fight those two had. Maria just decided to shoot at the door…not even knowing who it might be. The seventeen-year-old cleared her throat. "Um…Maria, it's me…Kanna." The door opened quickly. Maria stood in the doorway with her hand cupped over he mouth. "Oh my gosh Kanna. I am so sorry…" she said. "Ah…no problem." Kanna replied. She quickly surveyed the young Russian woman. There were tear streaks on her face and here eyes were red from crying. "Can I come in?" she asked. Maria stepped back and gestured for Kanna to make herself at home.

Ayame quickly walked down the basement stairs and caught up with Ohgami. "Hang on a minute." she said, grabbing Ohgami's arm. The twenty one-year-old turned around. "Something wrong Ayame?" he asked. " No. What happened upstairs?" Ayame asked. "Nothing." Ohgami said flatly. "You're a bad liar Ohgami Ichiro…now what went on upstairs?" Ayame demanded.

"And then he asked me why I was running away from the truth." Maria left it at that. She didn't want to go into details about their argument. Kanna nodded solemnly. "But you know as well as I do that Ohgami is only trying to help you-" "Oh! So he thinks that he can hurt me in the process as he digs up my past?!" Maria interrupted. Kanna could see that Maria was on the verge of tears. "If you see Ohgami before I do, tell him that I forgive him…but only because I don't want him to be mad at me." Kanna took that as a sign to leave. "I'll do that Maria." she said softly as she left the room, closing the door behind her. Even though I know that you can't stand to be apart from him for more than a couple minutes.

"She has scars on her right hand?" Ayame asked. "You're sure?" "Would I lie to you?" Ohgami snapped. "I know what I saw and felt-" Ohgami stopped in mid-sentence as he came to a realization. Of course! That's why she wears those gloves! As Ohgami looked over at Ayame, he saw that she had come to the same realization. Before either of them had a chance to say anything, Kanna came thumping down the stairs. "Hey Ayame! Come here a sec." she said. Ayame cast an apologetic glance at Ohgami and then ran over to Kanna.

Maria retrieved her revolver, carefully took it apart, and began polishing with a fur rag, letting the familiar task soothe her. You're running from him. He likes you. Maria scoffed at that thought. He's already broken my outer wall…what more does my heart require me to do in order to love? Not even wanting her mind to answer that question, Maria abruptly put her revolver back together and hastily shoved it under her pillow as there came a knock at the door…

"Are you sure that this is the best thing to do?" Ohgami asked uncertainly to Ayame and Kanna. Both women gave him a thumbs up and winked as the door opened. He could see Maria's jade eyes peaking out from behind the door. "I thought I told you not to come back." she snapped. "Please Maria…just listen to me for a minute." Ohgami said. "Fine. You have one minute…and I'm counting." Maria replied with an irritated tone. Ohgami sighed and shook his head. Why does she always have to be this difficult? "Look…I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to upset you in any way whatsoever. I came up here to apologize to you Maria…if you don't accept my apology it's all right with me. I just wanted to let you know that I truly am sorry." There was a moment of silence and Ohgami wondered if Maria was just ignoring him or if she had been taken aback by his apology. "So I guess Kanna gave you my message." Maria said finally. "Um… actually Maria…I have a pretty bad memory and well…um, I kinda forgot to tell him." Kanna said. At the same time, Ohgami said, "What message?" Maria opened the door all the way and looked sharply at Ayame and Kanna. "Do you two think that Ohgami and myself could have some privacy?" Maria asked. "Oh! Sure! Come on Kanna." Ayame said quickly. "We'll see you guys later." Kanna said as she clomped down the stairs after Ayame.

After making sure that Ayame and Kanna had gone completely down the stairs, Maria turned to Ohgami and sighed. "I too, am sorry." she said. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that…it's not your fault that you just happened to use words that upset me-" "No. It's truly my fault." Ohgami interrupted. "I shouldn't have even asked. It's not my business…asking about your past. I know that it hurts you very much to even think about it." "You seem to know much about me Ohgami Ichiro." Maria commented. "And why wouldn't I?" Ohgami asked teasingly. The blonde just smiled and then stepped back into her room, appearing a couple seconds later in the light with her hands behind her back. "And what may I ask, is being held in your hands at this precise moment?" Ohgami asked. "Do you want me to give it to you?" Maria asked. "Yes…" Ohgami said slowly. "Are you sure?" Maria asked teasingly. "Positive-" Ohgami was cut off by a feather pillow which gently stroked his face. "Got you." Maria said with a grin. She playfully batted him with the pillow several times, forcing him into her room. "Here." she said, finally tossing Ohgami a pillow. "It's not fair for me to have the advantage." "All right…but it's your funeral." Ohgami said grinning. "I think not." Maria commented as she hit him with the pillow again. "But I do." Ohgami replied as he hit her from behind which caused her to fall on the bed. Maria threw her pillow on the floor in mock defeat as Ohgami started to walk towards her. It caused him to trip and fall right next to Maria. The Russian woman grinned and put her hands squarely on Ohgami's shoulders, holding him down. "Pinned you." she said. Ohgami put his hands around Maria's waist and drew her closer to him. "You certainly did." he said as they kissed. Kanna and Ayame were peeking around the doorframe and when they saw Maria and Ohgami kissing, they gave each other a thumbs up. "Mission accomplished." Kanna said. "We would make good secret service people you know." Ayame commented. "Nah…" Kanna replied. "I think playing cupid is even better. The redhead stood up and pretended to shoot Maria and Ohgami with an invisible arrow. "Kanna, you wouldn't even have to shoot them." Ayame said. "The arrows would fly at them like heat seeking missiles."