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.

Jacques, Fifi, Clarice, Sophie, Mikel, Reina, Ravina, and Peter are all my characters. (Even if Fifi is a dog!) NO TOUCHIE!!!

Chapter 17

"Ah! Kanna, Iris, there you are!" Yuri exclaimed as the redhead and her partner in sneakiness approached the lobby. "You two are the only ones who are keeping everyone in suspense! C'mon!" "What are you talking about Yuri?" Iris asked. "We're all meeting in the saloon because I have some amazing news! Now come on!" Kanna shrugged, and followed the gossiping young lady and the teddy-bear-holding French child.

Minutes passed by, and Maria had still not awakened, and although Ohgami's arms were beginning to hurt, he wasn't going to put Maria down. He looked down at the unconscious blonde and moved strands of her platinum blonde hair out of her face, smiling to himself. She's so beautiful…I hope this moment doesn't end soon……As if by magic, Ohgami's radio came on and at a soft volume, began to play a song.

[Bryan Adams, (Everything I do) I Do It For You]

"Look into my eyes-you will see

What you mean to me

Search your heart-search your soul

And when you find me there, you'll search no more

Don't tell me it's not worth trying for

You can't tell me it's not worth dying for

You know it's true-everything I do

I do it for you

"Look into your heart-you will find

There's nothing there to hide

Take me as I am-take my life

I would give it all-I would sacrifice

Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for

I can't help it-there's nothin' I want more

You know it's true-everything I do

I do it for you

"There's no love-like your love

And no other-could give more love

There's no where-unless you're there

All the time-all the way…"

[Musical Interlude]

"Mmm?" Maria murmured groggily as she began to 'wake up' slowly from her unconscious state. Ohgami didn't notice, and kept on singing softly to her. As the music went on, Maria realized what was happening, and she opened her eyes, looking up at Ohgami who was staring off into the distant corner of his room, still singing.

"You can't tell me-it's not worth trying for

I can't help it-there's nothin' I want more

Yah I'd fight for you-I'd lie for you

Walk the wire for you-ya I'd die for you…

Ohgami looked down and stopped what he was doing when he realized that Maria had been awake all this time. But the blonde smiled warmly at him and finished the song.

"You know it's true-everything I do

I do it for you…"

The slow, gentle music continued playing as Maria sat up, then got up from where she was. Ohgami stood as well, and then wrapped his arms around the Russian, pulling her close to him, so that they were enveloped in an embrace. Ohgami rocked back and forth on his heels in time to the music and soon, he and Maria were slow dancing. The song played over again, and the blonde rested her head on Ohgami's shoulder; her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. And when Kayama came back into the room, that's how he found them. That's odd…they're dancing…but I don't hear any music…And they think I'm weird!

"Okay! Everyone's here!" Yuri exclaimed as Kanna and Iris sat down at one of the three half-occupied round tables. "WHAT ON EARTH IS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU JUST HAD TO DRAG US DOWN HERE??!!" Sumire asked, slamming her palms on the table as she stood up. "Relax and sit down Sumire. You're going to enjoy this piece of gossip." Yuri said as Kohran passed her a cup of tea. "Oh. So what is it?" "Yes, what is so important?" Sakura asked. "Get this! Ohgami is going to propose to Maria!" Tsubaki said, unable to control her excitement. "HEY I WAS SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM!!" Yuri argued. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Sumire asked. "NO WAY!" Orihime exclaimed. "Wow." was Reni's only comment. "NOOO! ONIICHAN IS IRIS' BOYFRIEND!!" (We all know who that was.) "Hmm. This is a good time to use the leftover fireworks!" Kohran said. "The chief's quite the man, huh Sakura." Kanna commented. "Yes! We must congragulate them." Sakura replied. "Now hang on a sec-" Kasumi started. "Oh, come on Kasumi! We have to plan a party!" "Will you just hold on a second?!" But Kasumi's request went unanswered as everyone started thinking about a party. Hate to do this… Kasumi thought as she took a deep breath. "WILL YOU PLEASE JUST LISTEN TO ME?!" Silence. "Now. What I've been trying to say, is that Maria and Ohgami are not engaged yet." "Yah! Iris still has a chance!" "Not likely." Sumire replied, staring down at the French child. "Ahem. As I was saying, they are not engaged as of yet, so don't go asking to see the ring or anything. Because we aren't even supposed to know." "Oh………" came the disappointed reply from everyone.

"May I cut in, or is this too important of a dance?" Kayama asked, leaning against the doorframe. Immediately, Maria and Ohgami let go of each other and their faces were red with embarrassment. "Ahh…it's not what it looks like…" "I don't even want to know. And you guys thought I was crazy! There wasn't even any music playing!" "What do you mean?" Maria asked. "There most certainly was…but where it came from, I'm not sure." "My radio. Don't know how it turned on though…" Ohgami replied. "Anyways," Kayama began. "I caught up to the person outside." "And?!" Ohgami asked, hoping that Kayama might've found something important, but the Captain of the Moon Division shook his head. "It's got me puzzled. So far, from what that person told me, he was going to get paid 2,000 yen to do the job…" "Wait. What are you talking about?" Maria asked, thoroughly confused. Kayama turned to the blonde and looked seriously at her. "Maria, someone was paid to deliver the box with your locket. And judging by his accent, he was definitely a foreigner. Which means one of two things." Kayama held up one finger. "One. The mastermind behind all this knows you well. Two. (He put another finger up) This person means business, and it seems that he or she has allies all over." "Then what should-" "I'm appointing Ohgami to be your temporary bodyguard, and I'm working on some things with Commander Yoneda as we speak." "………I can't thank you enough." Maria finally said. "It's Ohgami you should be thanking. If he hadn't asked of my help in the first place, we'd all be back to square one; vulnerable to anything." Kayama replied, heading towards the window. He pulled out his guitar, strummed a chord, then put it away and lifted the window open. "Adios amigos! I'll be back in a couple days!" he exclaimed, hopping out the window and disappearing.

"Sir." A man in his mid fifties turned to look at the messenger. He lit a cigarette and raised it to his lips. "Mikel failed didn't he?" he asked in a heavy accent. "Yes sir. A man in a white tuxedo caught him." "……….We shall have to be more careful next time. Mikel was a valuable ally, but there are others I can call on." The man exhaled a white cloud of smoke and a sinister smile appeared on his lips. "Sophie did an excellent job last time, with her pistol…why don't we call on her?" "As you wish sir… I shall tell her not to fail." The messenger was about to walk away when the man of fifty-six called out to her. "Oh, and Clarice…" The young girl stopped in her tracks and took off her cap, revealing her short, choppy, blonde hair. She turned to face the man. "Yes?" "Good work on the newspaper article. Our Russian friend got a kick out of that one." A mischievous glint appeared in Clarice's green eyes. "Thank you sir…it was my pleasure."