Disclaimers : I don't own Sakura Taisen...
The seventh chapter...Please enjoy and R&r...Thanks for reading the previous chapters, and special thanks to Stelok and shiny moon for their reviews...
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"Who else should we invite?" asked Sakura to Maria.
"I think there're more than enough guests to make the party lively," answered Maria as she read the long-scrolled paper in her hands.
"Have we put the French Chattes Noires in the list?"
Maria checked the long list. "Erica, Glycine, Coquellicot, Lobelia, Hanabi, Mel, Ci, and Grandmere are all here," she answered.
"Good. How about Ratchet Altair, our American teammate?"
"Her name is here too," answered Maria.
"I hope this party will be unforgetable," said Sakura hopefully.
"I'm sure nobody will forget it," replied Maria surely.
1928
Maria sneezed again and again as she walked down the empty street. She crossed her free arms to warm herself.
"I must reach that inn," she said to herself, "before dawn breaks."
It was still completely dark when Maria, after struggling hardly with the cold and the wind, finally reached the yard of the small inn. She walked quietly but rather quickly to the terrace, laid down there, and acted like she was sleeping.
She's been spying the inn for almost two weeks, and, she was sure, it was the best place to end her journey. She knew, she would soon back to Tokyo and reunited with her troupe. Not her whole troupe, off course. Two of her teammates wouldn't be there.
She shivered when she felt the cold floor under her body. However, her thin sackdress couldn't wrapped herself perfectly.
She laid there for about almost two hours, until, finally, somebody opened the door in front of her.
Then, she heard a soft scream, followed by these words : Miss Maria Tachibana from Teigeki.
Her heart smiled. She knew, she was successfull.
"Yoneda-shihainin!"
"What's up, Kaede?" asked Yoneda as he opened his eyes and realized that he had fallen asleep while drinking.
"De...demo...I'm not Kaede-san," answered Kouran.
"Kouran! So, what's up?"
"They've found Maria!"
"Where?!!!"
"She was found lying on an inn's terrace, at Wakkanai, Hokkaido!"
"Well, I must go there then! Wake Kaede up and tell her to prepare!"
"Sorry, Yoneda-shihainin...but, Kaede-san is on her way there."
"Why didn't she woke me up?!!!"
"She knocked your door but you didn't answer, so, she went there by herself!"
Kaede returned from Wakkanai two days later. She brought Maria with her.
Maria's injuries wasn't as bad as Reni's and Kanna's, so, they went directly to the Imperial Great Theatre, without any stops at one of the hospitals. However, Wakkanai was so far from Tokyo and they had to spent a lot of their time on the road.
"What do you mean by wearing that sexy thing, Maria? Where are your clothes?" asked Yoneda when Maria entered his office.
Tears began to appear on Maria's marvelous green eyes. "They urged me to change my clothes with this," answered her.
"But, why?"
"They said that they were getting tired with our torn clothes," answered Maria, as she cried more tears.
"So...they did it to Sakura and Oogami too?"asked Yoneda again.
"Only to Sakura. They didn't change Taichou's clothes."
"Do you know where Sakura and Oogami are now?"
Maria cleaned the teardrops from her cheek. "They're maybe somewhere outside Japan," she answered.
"Outside Japan? How come?"
"The robbers brought them out of Japan," answered the blonde Russian.
"What for?"
Maria started to cry again. "They're going to sell Taichou and Sakura," answered her.
"I'm getting confused, Maria. Please sit down and tell me the whole story."
Two teardrops soaked Maria's cheeks as she sat down and closed her eyes. "They took Taichou, Sakura, and me to Hokkaido," said her with a heavy voice, " and told us that they'll sell us somewhere outside Japan."
"Continue," requested Yoneda.
"But, one of them recognized me as a foreigner," continued Maria in order to fullfill Yoneda's request, "and they decided to leave me there. They urged me to smell something, and I felt so sleepy...I fell asleep and, when I woke up, I realized that I was inside Kaede's car."
Yoneda shook his head hopelessly. "You can rest now, Maria," he said, "thank you for your information."
"You killed her, Wakana. You did kill Sakura."
She shivered as she remembered this words. Her tears started to fall down, as she embraced that photograph tightly.
"Where are you, Sakura?" asked her.
They broke apart suddenly.
"What's wrong, Sakura?" asked the worried Oogami.
"No...nothing, Ichirou," answered Sakura quickly.
"Then...why?"
"Don't get me wrong!" cried Sakura, "I didn't mean to refuse your kiss! I'm just feeling guilty!"
"Ssh...Sakura, that's OK. I understand that you feel guilty to your family."
"I...I'm sorry, Ichirou," said Sakura slowly. Teardrops started falling down from her eyes.
"You don't have to apologize, Sakura. I'll always support you, I promise..."
Sakura didn't say anything. She buried her face against Ichirou's chest. "What's wrong with me?!!!" she questioned herself, "I've said to myself that I'm no longer a member of that family!!!"
"Kouran! Kouran!"
"What's up, Iris?" moaned the disturbed Kouran.
"Hey, wake up! Don't sleep! Iris has an important news to tell!" cried the dissapointed Iris.
"Then tell me," Kouran muttered.
"Oniichan's relative has finally come! She'll stay here until we can find Oniichan! She is talking with Yoneda-shihainin!"
Kouran sat up and put her glasses on. "More troubles!" shouted her, as she jumped out of her bed, " find the others!"
Meanwhile, Oogami's sister was sitting face to face with Yoneda inside Yoneda's office.
"Are there...any possibilities to find them?"
Yoneda nodded to say 'yes'. "But, it will be difficult," he reminded.
Oogami's sister's tears started to fall down.
To Be Continued...
Author's notes :
Well, we're getting closer to the climax...Read and see!