Author's note: I don't own anything. I can hardly afford to be in college. So there.
Makoto no Hata (The Flag of Truth)
Four: The Way of the Past
(Written to "Watashi no Aozora")
Imperial Theater
Next Morning
"Sakura…Sakura!"
"Shhh..." Sakura put a finger to her lips as she turned from the doors she'd just closed, to face the newly arrived Oogami. "He's sleeping now."
"I just got word from the General. He's impressed by our performance with the test run last night and has cleared us to bring more people in!"
"Excellent." Sakura smiled at the news. "It feels good to have him here first, though…aside from Nagakura-sensei, he's another one who's connected to my family."
"During the escape to Hokkaido in 1868?"
"Yeah…he stayed with us only briefly, but it's almost as thought it were fate that he should meet the granddaughter of the man who housed him in Sendai…"
"True…" Oogami fell in step with Sakura as the latter headed down the stairs and off to breakfast. "So who's next, Sakura-kun?"
"We got the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi...next should probably be someone higher…I'm thinking…" Sakura leaned over and whispered it into his ear. Oogami's eyes went wide in surprise.
"Him? Wouldn't it be better to let him of all people just rest in peace?"
"We need his strategy and calm. And he's the uniting factor for pretty much anyone and everyone else we could bring in."
Oogami quietly nodded.
"Agreed."
(Music: The Pillows' "Another Morning")
"So he's not a ghost?"
Sakura shook her head at the obvious question. "No, he's not a ghost. He's just as flesh and blood as the rest of us. It seems that we were able to get him at the last second before he's said to have vanished in the Battle of Hakodate…and of course, now we know how he vanished."
"Sakura!" Reni and Kohran burst into the dining room in a mess, gasping desperately for air. "We're under attack!"
No alarms! Sakura thought for a moment. But then…
"Miyabe…"
"General Yoneda has alerted the Army to send reinforcements, but the soldiers down in the operations center have been holding off these…things on their own!"
"Then let's get to—" Sakura saw Kohran's eyes go wide in shock. There was an enormous shock that echoed throughout her entire body. For a moment, she could hear the screams of the Hanagumi in the distance…
Kohran, Reni, and everything faded away into nothingness, and all Sakura could see was her father with his hand extended, beckoning to her, but only speaking one word.
Rise…
And then Sakura faded into nothingness.
