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 12

Maria opened the door, slowly walked in, and shut the door behind her, leaving the lights off, engulfing herself in darkness. It was times like these that Maria just needed to be alone for a couple of hours. When she didn't fully understand what went on, or when she just wanted to reflect on what had happened. Closing her eyes, Maria cleared her mind and let it wander, seeing where it would go. The first thing she saw was the date at Café Noir, then the kiss under the bridge, then looking into Ohgami's eyes…

Kanna was walking past Yoneda's office, when Ayame poked her head out of the doorway. "Oh! Kanna! Can you do me a favor?" she asked. The redhead stopped in her tracks. "Yeah sure. What do ya need?" "Can you go tell Maria that I need to see her right away?" "Yup! Will do!" Kanna said as she left to go to Maria's room. Hmm…wonder what Ayame wants with Maria? Hope there's nothing wrong…

Maria's mind wandered farther into her memory, almost like it wanted to purposely torture the blonde, for the next thing she visualized was Yuri's death. Maria sunk down to her knees silently begging for forgiveness as she remembered how her beloved captain was gunned down.

Kanna was walking upstairs when she heard a faint scream. Quickening her pace, the redhead reached Maria's room and opened the door, only to see Maria, on her knees, in the dark. Kanna flipped on the lights and approached her best friend. "Maria? Maria, are you okay?" The blonde opened her eyes and whirled around. She clutched the part of her nightgown closest to her heart and took a deep breath. "I'm fine Kanna." she said at last. Kanna cocked her head to the side. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Yes." "Okay, well Ayame wants to see you in her office right away, so you might want to change before you go." "Okay. Thank you Kanna." Maria said as her friend left the room.

Several minutes later, Maria found herself in Ayame's office, discussing the trip to Russia. It seemed that someone from an operetta troupe there had been visiting Japan and just happened to see Maria perform Anastasia a day before they left. "It would be an honor if you would let us "borrow" Maria for a month or two so that we may put on similar plays. Sincerely yours, V.A." Ayame put down the letter she had been reading off of and looked at the Russian. "Who is V.A.?" she asked. "I don't know, but he seems like an okay person." Ayame replied. Maria thought long and hard about everything. "When would I leave?" "Sometime within the next couple of weeks." Ayame confirmed. Nodding her head, Maria resumed thinking, and then made her decision. "I'll go." Ayame got up and went to the door, performing a trick she had learned from previous experiences with the Hanagumi. She jerked open the oak door, and every member of the Flower Division, excluding Ohgami, came tumbling down onto the floor. "I take it you heard everything." she said. "Um…yes." Sakura replied. Maria was still in her seat, a bit shocked at the sight. "Too heavy!" Iris exclaimed jerking her head towards Kanna, who grinned sheepishly. "Oops. Sorry about that Iris…I'd get off, but snakey here won't get off me!" "WHAT?! Don't you dare call me that!" "I can call ya anything I want to!" "Why you-" "Self-centered, obnoxious-" "Muscle bound, overgrown-" Maria had had just about enough of this nonsense. "STOP IT NOW! BOTH OF YOU!" she snapped. Kanna and Sumire blinked their eyes for a couple of seconds, and then became and remained silent. Maria nodded her head towards Ayame as she got up to leave. "I'll be back in a little while to discuss the travel issues." Ayame smiled and it was enough for Maria, so she stepped over and around the pile of people, and walked back to her room. As soon as she was gone, Ayame turned to the rest of the Hanagumi. "As for you 7..."

Maria returned to her room, and opened her door only to find that her room had been ransacked. Clothes were all over the floor, drawers were flung open, pillows were upturned…someone was searching for something apparently. What were they looking for? I only have things of sentimental value…On impulse, Maria put her hand up to her neck to finger the necklace that she usually wore, but it was not there. That's right. I left it in here on the… "M-my necklace… my locket! It's gone!"

Ohgami had just stepped out of his room for a moment when he saw Maria, standing in the doorway of her own room. "Maria?" he called out cautiously. The blonde whirled around, clearly angry. "What's wrong?!" Ohgami asked in alarm. Maria didn't speak, but merely pointed to her room. Curious as to what was in the room that had upset Maria so much, Ohgami walked over and looked in. He gasped as he did. The sight of the ransacked room made him wonder just how secure this place really was. Ohgami put his arm around Maria and held her close. "Was there anything stolen?" he asked. Furious with herself, Maria nodded and bitterly replied, "My necklace and locket…the only things I have of sentimental value to me." Not knowing the right words to say, Ohgami remained silent and ran his fingers through Maria's hair. Maria spoke up after a while. "Let's go somewhere." "What?" Ohgami asked in disbelief. "I just need to get out of the Theater for a while so I can clear my mind. Let's go somewhere for breakfast…this time, it'll be on me."


"There you two are!" Sumire exclaimed as Maria and Ohgami walked back inside a couple hours later. "What's the matter Sumire?" Maria asked. "Ensign, your room has been ransacked!" The aristocrat exclaimed, pointedly ignoring the blonde. Needing no more information, Ohgami and Maria ran upstairs and through the crowd of people. "'Scuse me Kanna…sorry Ayame…pardon me General……… oh my gosh. Look at this place. It's a wreck." "Is everything still there?" Maria asked. "Yeah…wait. What's this?" Ohgami picked up an index card that was cleverly set in the middle of the floor so he could see it. "What is that?" Kanna asked. "Dunno…" Ohgami replied. He turned the paper over and read the words out loud. "Forget kindness towards Maria when you see her. Don't intervene with affairs that aren't your own. Keep away from Maria at all costs if you don't want anything to happen to her while she's abroad. There are worse things than a ransacked room and stolen jewelry. P.T.O" "P.T.O? That doesn't make any sense." Orihime commented. "Sure it does." Reni said. Everyone turned to look at the German girl. "What do you mean Reni?" Iris asked, cocking her head to one side. "Phantom of The Opera." Reni replied. "What? There's a ghost? Iris doesn't like ghosts!!" Iris screeched. She then teleported away to her own room. "This is a theater Reni. Not an opera house. What exactly are you trying to say by pointing this out to us?" Yoneda asked, very upset that he hadn't had his usual several cups of sake this morning. "The person who wrote the note is using the same method as the Phantom did. He warned that if his instructions did not happen, horrible things would happen." Reni turned to Maria. "This "Phantom" had ransacked your room first. Isn't that true?" The blonde turned away, embarrassed. "Yes, but I just waved it off as-" "Not true." Reni interrupted. "The only piece of jewelry any of us have ever seen you wear is a necklace and locket. And those are very special to you no doubt. You didn't just ignore it, Maria. What was your real reaction?"