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. But I do own Clarice, Jacques, Fifi, Mikel, Peter, Ravina, Sophie, and Reina. NO TOUCHIE!

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 29

Ohgami balled his hands into fists and clenched his teeth. Someone's doing this…purposely…who in the world would do such a thing?! Not wanting his mind to answer something like: Setsuna. He's probably back!, Ohgami closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe I can do something…

Ohgami found himself in an icy world and he shivered a bit. "This wasn't what I was expecting." he muttered to himself as he began to walk. Looking around, he finally noticed the bloodstained ground that he was walking upon. What in the world…what kind of dream is this? Why does Maria dream such gruesome things? Maybe this isn't her doing though…I've got to find her. Ohgami broke into a run and ran blindly through the snowstorm, calling Maria's name as he did so.

Maria awoke to the sounds of shouting. Wearily, she opened her eyes. But the voice she heard wasn't what she expected. O-ohgami? she wondered in disbelief. Quickly, she looked to her right. But the body that once laid beside her was now gone. He is alive! I knew it! she thought happily. Maria opened her mouth to respond that she could hear Ohgami's voice, but no words came out. It was as if she had been deprived of her ability to speak. Why can't I talk?! A mysterious voice suddenly cut into the chilly air, causing Maria to remember not to think in her dreams again. Your little lover boy has messed all this up, and I'm not going to let him near you. Just you wait. And if I were you, I'd stay where I was, because if you attract his attention, much worse things will happen…for real.

Ohgami sighed as he looked around. "I don't get it! I've been walking around in circles for hours, but I can't find her! What's the deal with this? If it's her dream, shouldn't I actually be able to see her?!" he asked out loud. "Well that's a stupid question. Of course I should!" He sighed, and started walking again.

Clarice looked over her shoulder casually to see who was winning at Monopoly. I won't be surprised if her psychic powers beat her by a landslide. But what Clarice saw was an expression of frustration on Ravina's face. It wasn't because Clarice's prediction was absolutely right (Ravina had only ten dollars left, and the game had only started less than five minutes ago), it was something else. "Okay. I give. What's the matter with you." she asked finally. "You know that thing Valentinov asked me to do?" Ravina asked, turning to face Clarice. The American hopped off the couch and sat down on the floor, opposite Ravina, nodding. "Well…it's like this…" The Monopoly game board's color change to white, and there was only a zigzagged path that consisted of dead ends, and several black spaces, which, as Ravina explained later on, represented pits. On the board, were two, small, people-shaped playing pieces. One was black, and was labeled, with a white marker, Ohgami. The other one was pale yellow, and was labeled, with a black marker, Maria. Clarice noticed that the Ohgami labeled one was considerably close to the Maria one. Then, as if the piece had a mind of its own, it moved in the other direction by itself. "Wha-" "This game board represents what's going on in Maria's dream right now." Ravina said, looking Clarice in the eyes. "Somehow, unintentionally, Ohgami came upon this little dream realm in his thoughts, and he's trying, unsuccessfully I might add, to rescue Maria." "And that's bad because…?" Clarice asked, waiting for Ravina to fill in her sentence. Ravina sighed, and shook her head. "He wasn't supposed to be in this dream realm in the first place!" she exclaimed. "Oh…" The yellow game piece began to move several spaces towards the black one, and Ravina frowned. "I warned her…" she murmured.

Well…I don't care what someone else thinks I should do. I'm going to find Ohgami, even if my life depends on it. Maria thought, as she determinedly walked into the snowstorm. But after several minutes of stumbling blindly around in circles, her determination wore off, and Maria sat down in the snow; her knees pulled up to meet her face, and her arms wrapped around her legs. Okay…time for plan B…but what would that- "MARIA!!" Ohgami's voice sounded so close. But even if he were to be right next to me, he could not see, because of the snow- Suddenly, the snowstorm subsided, and within seconds, Maria was able to see that Ohgami was standing right in front of her. With a sly smile, Maria snuck up and put her hands of Ohgami's eyes. "Guess who…" she murmured, then was surprised to hear herself speak. "If I guess right, do we get to go back?" Ohgami asked. Maria sighed, then removed her hands from Ohgami's face, and the Japanese man turned to face her. "I'm afraid that is one question that I cannot answer." Maria said quietly. But Ohgami wasn't listening. He was too busy staring at Maria's clothing. "Um…I don't recall you wearing this when you were asleep…" he said in a 'please explain' voice. Maria shook her head. "It is a very long story Ohgami, and right now, we don't have time for long stories." she said, obviously trying to avoid Ohgami's eyes, and his "question." The Japanese man knew it, but he also knew that Maria's answer was true as well. "So what are we supposed to do?" he asked. "I have no idea…if you want the truth." Maria replied. "Of course…I expect nothing less from you" Ohgami said with a smile. Suddenly, a shower of snow was released from Ohgami's hand, onto Maria, and the blonde stared at him in disbelief. "This means war, you know." she said after a moment. "Mmmhmm." Ohgami replied, scooping snow into his hands, and packing it into a snowball. As he threw it, Maria easily caught it, and a wicked smile appeared on her face. "I am sooo dead." Ohgami said, and Maria nodded. Suddenly, Ohgami received a snowball right in his face, and when he wiped the snow off, he saw Maria's smug smile…and another snowball. "Aah! Don't-" "Too late." the Russian said, throwing it at Ohgami. But this time, Ohgami caught it, and he began to smile. "Wanna rethink that decision? I might spare you." he said. "No." Maria replied, knowing for a fact that Ohgami was a lousy shot. Unfortunately for her, she was wrong this time, and the snowball came directly at her, and hit her right on her chest. The cold snow seeped through the open part of her coat, and into her shirt. Maria yelped as the cold snow hit her skin, a sensation she had not felt since she had left Russia, since it rarely snowed in Teito. Ohgami gave the blonde an apologetic look, but Maria waved it off. "It's not a big deal." she said with a sad smile. "I haven't felt snow for so many years…" She shivered a bit. "But I don't remember it being this cold." That made Ohgami smile, as he walked over to the Russian and put his arms around her. "I'll keep you warm." he offered. Maria blushed a bit, but nodded anyways. "As long as you try anything-" "You have my word as Captain…but does kissing you count?" Ohgami asked hopefully. Maria chuckled. "No." she said. And just as they were about to kiss, a voice interrupted.

"OHGAMI! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TRYING TO MAKE ADVANCES ON THE PATIENT?!" Reina shouted, coming into the room. Both Ohgami and Maria blinked, and noticed that they were both laying on their sides, facing each other. "Umm…Reina, I can explain-" "NO EXPLANATIONS NEEDED BUSTER! OUT, OUT, OUT!" Ohgami got up, and ran out as fast as he could, and sighed when he heard Maria chuckle. "Women. They're out to get me, I know it." he muttered, leaning against the kitchen counter. Then, he stood up, and his expression was serious. Well, we got out of there… wherever there was. I only have two questions. Will it happen again? And who was responsible for this entire thing? Ohgami looked over at the red phone hanging on the wall, and he walked towards it. As he took it in his hands, he began to call the number to the Imperial Theater. I think it's time to let everyone know about this…we're dealing with the supernatural now…at least I think. (sigh) I don't think that this conversation with the Commander is going to go very well… "Hello? Sir? It's Ohgami. I need to tell you something…"