Disclaimer: We do not own Sakura Wars, but Benji does own his character and the other ones that aren't Sakura Wars characters and I own all of mine who aren't Sakura Wars characters; those you see in my other story.
The sun shone through the blinds, and Maria covered her head with a pillow, muttering something about vampires never having to deal with it. She was just in the middle of a surprisingly pleasant dream, when there came a sharp knock at the door. "Maria! Wake up! Now!" Maria scowled, and lifted up the pillow. "Go away Ravina! It's 6 in the morning!" she shouted, glancing at the alarm clock. "Maria! Get up or I'm coming in! This is important!" Ravina shouted from the other side. Muttering a curse in Russian, Maria got out of her bed groggily and walked to the door, upon opening it, she saw Ravina, about to knock on the door again, a newspaper in her hands. "This had better be important." she said with a glare. "Oh trust me, it is." Ravina replied, holding up the newspaper for her to see. "Look at this. Two mob leaders brutally murdered. Gianini family loses both heirs…Seiryu strikes again." The last part seemed to wake Maria up. "Repeat that please…" she said with curious intensity. "What? Seiryu strikes again?" Ravina asked quizzically. Maria nodded grimly. "It looks like the dragon had a job the same night as me." "The dragon?! What are you talking about?" Ravina asked quizzically. "Seiryu…the blue dragon. He's very well known in the underworld, and is right up there with my name. However…he's different. He uses a sword instead of a gun. I've never seen his work before, but I've heard many tales, and the one thing that's been told over and over again, was that his work was very garish…everyone knew he had been there. It was almost as if he was goading the police to get him…like he wanted everyone to know…" Ravina sighed. "Looks like you've done your homework. I wanted to see if you knew anything about this Seiryu. Seems like I've got nothing to worry about." "Know your competition, no matter what you do in life." Maria replied casually. "Huh…well, I just wanted to let you know." Ravina said, walking away. "Yeah, thanks." Maria replied, going back into her room and closing the door. She leaned against it for a moment, and then walked over to her nightstand and picked up her phone. She punched in a couple of numbers, and then held the phone to her ear. "Mikel…I need you to do me a favor…work related." "I'm all ears baby." Mikel replied on the other end. "Good. Listen closely. I want you to dig up anything you can find on Seiryu." "You saw the papers too huh?" "Yes. Can you do that though?" "It'll cost you." "As long as it's money, you're in good hands." "Not even a kiss?" Maria sighed. "Fine. One kiss, and that's it." "And the money?" "Kiss or money. Which one?" "Kiss. I'll pick up some info today while I'm in town." "Thanks. Oh, and Mikel…" "Yes? Be discreet this time, huh? The old man had to pull you out of a bad spot last time, don't make it a repeat." "Yes ma'am!" Mikel replied enthusiastically before hanging up the phone. Maria hung the phone up and then flopped back down on the bed, after setting the alarm clock for noon.
When noon rolled around, Maria hit the alarm clock as it beeped loudly, and yawned. "Hey Sleeping Beauty! Get up!" Ravina shouted, knocking on the door. Maria mumbled something about dè ja vu before actually getting up. "What is it now?" she asked, opening the door. "Don't tell me you don't remember!" Ravina exclaimed. "I'm afraid I don't. Refresh my memory in another hour." "Maria! We were going into town today, remember?" "I'm afraid I don't. I'm going to sleep in all day. Maybe I'll remember while I'm asleep." "Maria! Come on! Let's go shopping! I'll buy!" Ravina exclaimed, dragging Maria by her arm into the room. "Get dressed quickly, and we'll be able to hit most of the shops before they close." Maria raised an eyebrow. "Ravina, look. Maybe you're talking to the wrong person, or maybe I'm having a wacky dream, but my answer is no."
Approx: 1 Hour later.
"I don't know how you talked me into this." Maria muttered to Ravina as she shifted the bags from one hand to another. "I didn't." Ravina said pleasantly as she examined a pink gown. "What do you think of this one?" she asked curiously to the Russian, who, in turn, sighed. "The same thing I thought about every single one you've asked about: I don't do dresses. As a matter of fact, I've never worn one." "Not even when you were a kid?!!" Ravina asked, shocked. "Never." Maria replied calmly. "Well then…that's certainly going to have to change." Ravina said, smiling wickedly. "What?" "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, Valentinov stopped by around eight this morning, and gave me this note for you." Maria snatched the note from Ravina's hands. "Let me see that…" she muttered.
"My dear Kuassari,
I've got a job for you, two nights from now. You'll have to infiltrate a formal club party, so I hope you have a nice dress for the occasion. You'll want to be seen as a young woman for this job. I'll be at the pier tonight with yesterday's money. Meet me at midnight. Love Valentinov."
"A DRESS?!!" Maria exclaimed, almost dropping the paper. "Here's a nice red one over here." Ravina said, examining a very showy red dress, that was knee length. "Ravina! I can't wear something like that! Not to a club!" "Okay fine." Ravina said, looking through the rack. "Ooh! Here's a long black one!" "NO! I AM NOT WEARING A DRESS!"
Approx: 2 minutes later, outside a fitting room.
"This has to be a very bad nightmare." Maria muttered as she stood on a platform whilst a tailor began making alterations to the dress. "Ravina, you owe me big time for this!" "Think of it as an early birthday present." Ravina replied cheerfully from the gloves section. "How about April Fools?" Maria asked hopefully. "Okay, fine, Easter." Ravina replied with fake exasperation, causing Maria to glare at her. "Oh come on Maria! If at least one time in your life you had to act feminine, at least enjoy it!" "I'm more feminine than I'd like to be at the moment!" Maria shot back, thinking of Mikel's actions last night, and their conversation on the phone. Ravina came back to where Maria was standing, holding a pair of elbow length powder white gloves. "Maria, you should be so lucky that you're so beautiful. Men worship you, you know that? I can't go anywhere in town without at least one guy asking me if I'll give you a love letter from them. That one time you sang at the Tavern, the guys were drooling!" Maria shot Ravina a look. "What?" Ravina asked innocently. "It's true!" Maria sighed and folded her arms across her chest, impatiently waiting for the tailor to be done. "Oh, and by the way. These gloves are yours. They go great with the dress!" Ravina exclaimed enthusiastically. "Thanks." Maria said dryly. "I'll remember you in my will for this." "You're already writing it?" "Go find something else to do, please." Maria said, irritated. "Sure! I'll go look at jewelry! There's sure to be something that'll go with that dress!" "What?! Ravina! Wait!" Maria protested. But Ravina was already off to the jewelry counter. "She's right you know." the tailor said. Maria glared at her. "Oh shut up." she snapped.