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 27
"WHAT?!" Everyone asked in disbelief. "That's right! Ohgami found Maria!" Yuri proudly announced as she walked into the lobby. There was silence, and then, the sounds of Iris' cheering. "AWRIGHT ONIICHAN!! YOU FOUND MARIA!!" And soon, everyone was cheering and clapping, even though Ohgami was not there.
"What's all the ruckus?" Kayama asked as he stepped out of the office. "Yuri told them the good news." Yoneda stated flatly as he reached for some sake. "Well, it's good to hear all that noise. I mean, for once, it's something-" Kayama stopped when he saw that he was looking like a complete idiot that was talking to himself. You see, Yoneda had gone back into his office and crawled under his desk for some solitude…and sake.
"How did it go?" Maria asked when Ohgami walked back into the room. Ohgami sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "It was okay. My eardrums are still intact after all…" Maria smiled a bit at that. She was used to being yelled at by Yoneda, since, he considered all the girls to be his 'daughters.' "And?" she questioned. "He told me that I was to stay with you until you got better." Ohgami replied. "Are you sure? Or do you just want to?" Maria asked teasingly. Ohgami raised an eyebrow, then, being careful not to touch Maria's injured leg, he lay down next to Maria and took her hand in his, running his fingers over the scars. It was deja vu all over again. But Ohgami knew that this time, they wouldn't argue…he knew that, as he looked in Maria's eyes and saw his reflection, it was like falling in love all over again. "Even if it wasn't an order…I'd stay here with you anyways." he whispered.
"Do you think that leaving Ravina with Sophie and Clarice was a good idea?" Peter asked Jacques. "No. But if that's what the old man wants, then I'm not gonna argue." "Old man?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow. "Oh yeah…you're not caught up on the slang here huh?" Jacques commented. "Old man is referring to Valentinov. Sophie was the one who came up with the name. She was drunk that night." "And you would know because…" "I had the horrible job of being her escort. Imagine driving a black sedan, trying to concentrate on the road and not on the idiot behind you, who's singing 100 Bottles of Beer On the Wall at the top of her lungs." "Ah…" was Peter's only comment. "So…what's Clarice like? She seems kinda nice." "DON'T TELL ME YOU LIKE THAT BRAT!" Jacques exclaimed horrified. "No! That's not what I meant!" Peter protested, waving his hands frantically. Jacques eyed Peter suspiciously for a minute, then spoke. "Clarice is like our little sister… even if she is an annoying little brat. She's full of innocence and doesn't really know right from wrong even though she's 18. So if you do something bad to her, you die!" Peter opened his mouth to say that, he was just interested because Clarice looked an awful lot like someone he used to know, when Valentinov interrupted their conversation.
"Peter, I haven't seen you since you were 18. How are things?" The Russian man asked. "Fine…except for Ravina." Peter replied with a smile. "Good, good…Jacques, do me a favor and find out when the next production is being put on by the Flower Division. Report back to me when you find out." Jacques nodded. He was used to short notice missions. As the Frenchman left, Valentinov turned to Peter. "I noticed that you thought Clarice was someone else." he commented. "And I know that you haven't been up on the times for a while, since you've been in America. But, there's something you need to know first off. And that's why you've been called here." "Sir, can I ask you a question first?" Peter asked. "I know what it is, but go ahead. It'll be easier to break it to you." Valentinov replied. "Where is Maria?" The swiftness of the question surprised Valentinov. "Peter…she's betrayed all of us." "W-what?!"
"Hey! Let's play a board game!" Clarice exclaimed, bringing Monopoly down off the shelf. "Who wants to play?" "Ooh, I will." Ravina said with a grin. "I won't." Sophie said as she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. "Why not?" Clarice asked. "I don't play board games or any games with cheaters." Sophie replied. "Cheater? Are you calling me a cheater?!" Clarice asked in disbelief. "Do you have psychic powers? No, I think not. Ravina does though." Clarice looked at Ravina who was psychically setting up the game. "Suddenly I don't wanna play anymore." Clarice said, sitting next to Sophie on the couch and watching MTV.
"Okay everyone." Ayame said, getting up from where she was sitting. "I think you all have kitchen duty right now." There was a simultaneous groan from the Hanagumi. "Kasumi, Yuri, and Tsubaki will let you in on any new results. Right?" The Kazegumi nodded. "Good." "AYAME! THERE'S SOMEONE ON THE PHONE WHO WANTS TO SPEAK TO YOU!" Came Kayama's voice from Yoneda's office. "Oh! I'm coming!" And with that, the petite, Japanese woman ran off. "Well…who's doing lunch?" Kanna asked after a minute. There was a series of 'not me's' and Kanna sighed. "Okay then, that leaves me…like last time!"
Ayame took the phone and looked at Kayama. "Who is it?" she asked. But Kayama only shrugged. Ayame shook her head and held the phone up to her ear. "Hello?" "Is this Ayame Fujieda?" "Yes. Who is this?" "My name is Peter Gyra. I'm an old friend of Maria Tachibana. We were close friends in New York. I'm in town and I wanted to surprise Maria. What would be the best day for me to come?" Ayame bit her lip. It was obvious that this person had no idea what had happened, but there was still a bit of doubt. This Peter fellow had said that he and Maria were close friends in New York. In what way though? Maria had been in the Mafia at that time period, and Ayame was afraid that Peter might intrude in on Maria and Ohgami's relationship if he was anything more than just a friend. "Hello? Ms. Fujieda? Are you still there?" Ayame sighed and then spoke. "Mr. Gyra, I think the best time would be next Wednesday. Will you still be here?" "Yes I will." "Then I shall have Maria meet you at the front of the Theater. But it will be a surprise to her." "Thank you. Have a pleasant day…" Ayame hung up the phone without a goodbye, and chewed on her fingernails. Did I do the right thing? she wondered, not noticing that Kayama was staring at her with a 'who was it?' look.
"Well?" "Next Wednesday is when I'll see her." "Good. Do what you can to maybe talk some sense into her. If you're successful, I might spare Maria's life. Otherwise, you're going to have to bear the burden of watching Kuassari's gruesome demise." Peter nodded. "I want her back on our side just as much as you do sir…maybe even more." "Then make her forget about Ohgami."
Ohgami looked at Maria's sleeping face from where he was sitting. Reina came into the room with lunch and sat the tray down in front of Ohgami. The Japanese man looked gratefully at Reina and took a bowl of rice off the tray. "Well! It's about time you ate! Hmm…could it be because you know that Tachibana-san is okay?" The doctor asked. Ohgami tried to hide the blush that formed on his face, but it was impossible. "I'll take that as a yes." Reina said with a smile. She sat down opposite Ohgami and took a glass of juice off the tray. "I usually don't believe everything I read in the papers, but this is living proof that yesterday's headline was true." Ohgami frowned at that statement. "No one was supposed to know…" he said, looking at the empty bowl in his hand. "Not even the people at the Imperial Theater, minus Maria and myself of course…" Reina looked at Ohgami with a puzzled expression. "It wasn't supposed to be in the newspaper? No one was supposed to know?" she asked. If I wanted a parrot, I would've bought one. Ohgami thought to himself. "Yes, that's right." he said finally. "But…" Ohgami switched his gaze to Maria. "I think that news article only brought Maria and myself closer."
"So, when do we get to go visit Maria-san?" Sakura asked. "Who said we were going to?" Orihime replied as she set the table. "I-I just assumed-" "You shouldn't assume things Sakura! It makes you sound so un-intellectual, just like Kanna-san." Sumire said, breezing past Orihime and Sakura. "WHAT? I HEARD THAT!" Kanna called from the kitchen. "Kohran, watch the curry for me. I'll be right back." "NO! IRIS DOESN'T LIKE IT WHEN KANNA AND SUMIRE START FIGHTING!!!!" *BOOM* "Kanna-han, are you still going somewhere?" Kohran asked. "No." Kanna replied, her hair now charred black.
