ACT 5

OoOoOoO

Early morning.

At the garden.

Maria squeezed the trigger.

BANG

"I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me thus!" she exclaimed. That particular line was Demetrius, the character that she would portray in the play.

The bullet thudded into the tree. The birds flew off and went on separate ways.

She fired off another round, as if the tree were challenging her.

BANG

"I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me thus!" she repeated. "Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair? Or rather do I not in plainest truth tell you I do not nor I cannot love you?"

BANG

"You do impeach your modesty too much to leave the city and commit yourself into the hands of one that loves you not, to trust the opportunity of night and the ill counsel of a desert place with rich worth of your virginity."

BANG

"HEY! Hey! Hey! What are you up to, making that kind of noise so early in the morning?" Kanna yelled from behind.

Maria lowered her pistol and didn't say anything.

Kanna frowned. "What's the matter with you?" She approached Maria, but the other quickly raised her free hand to stop her.

"I'm fine," Maria said curtly, and then left.

"That's sure nice of you," Kanna muttered and quickly chased the Russian. "I don't think shooting that tree is a 'fine' thing, either."

"Stop following me, Kanna," Maria said still not looking at the red-haired woman.

"I'll stop if you'll tell me what's bothering you," Kanna replied.

Maria stopped and holstered her gun. "It's none of your business."

"Don't tell me that. I know there's something going on between Ohgami and you. . . and also with Sakura."

Maria stiffened. "So what about it?"

"No, you tell me." Kanna sounded like Sumire. "I don't know what's going on with you for kissing HER, and then arguing intensely with HIM."

"I don't have to tell you anything about it."

Kanna suddenly grabbed Maria's left arm from behind. "Stop that cold behavior of yours. You're just hurting yourself and the others."

"Aren't you supposed to be delivering those scripts to Kohran?" Maria quickly changed the topic. Kanna had volunteered yesterday to take it to Hana-Yashiki.

"Don't turn to that matter. . . We're still talking about you," Kanna snapped.

"What about me?" Maria almost yelled.

"About your actions! Don't you know that you're confusing other people's feelings?"

Maria was quiet for a while. 'Am I?'

"So tell me what the real score is, Ohgami or Sakura?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because you're baffling everyone here!"

OoOoOoO

Hallway.

Sumire stifled a yawn while covering her mouth with her fan. 'The raven-haired girl looked very happy today,' she noticed as Sakura passed by.

'Ah, so it is true.' Sumire smirked.

"Good morning, Sakura-san," she greeted with a hint of tease.

Sakura was quite taken aback by her greeting. She didn't expect Sumire, of all people, to greet her like that.

"Ah. . . Good morning Sumire-san," she said back with a forced smile. 'What is she up to this time?'

Sumire stepped towards her and tilted her face forward. "So, how does it feel?"

Sakura blushed at her remark. "W-what do you mean?" she said pretending not to know.

"Don't give me that act. I know that you can still remember what happened yesterday," Sumire teased.

Sakura became embarrassed. "Ah. . . eh. . . well. . . it's a. . ."

"You really liked her, don't you?" Sumire said quite amused by the redness on Sakura's face.

"Y-yes...," Sakura admitted in a low, but clear, voice.

"I knew it!" Sumire exclaimed. "Now I get the reason why you're SO gloomy the other day. You're jealous of Ensign!"

"Haaahh?" Sakura didn't know how to react to that. "No, I'm not j-jealous. W-why would I be jealous?"

"Really? So what were you crying about yesterday?" Sumire raised her eyebrows.

'Oh damn! Why are you asking me such questions?' Sakura almost melted with shame.

OoOoOoO

Ohgami passed by the hallway and saw Sakura and Sumire talking. 'It seems like they are getting along now. Good for both of them. As for me, however...'

"Hi! Good morning," he greeted, minus his usual enthusiasm.

"Oh, good morning, Ensign," Sumire said, smirking. She glanced at Sakura meaningfully.

"G-good morning, Ohgami-san," Sakura said unable to look at him. 'You wolf! How could you do such a thing to Maria-san?' A frown covered her face.

Ohgami was alarmed by Sakura's unusual reaction. 'Is she mad at me? Why is she scowling? What have I done to her?'

Sumire hid her amused smile with her fan as she studied them. 'This is very fun to watch,' she giggled.

"I need to go. Excuse me," Sakura said coldly. She felt rather awkward with them there.

Ohgami was still confused and surprised after she left. "What's with her?" he asked Sumire.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask her?" Sumire said. "Oh, it's so hot in here. I have to go outside for fresh air."

After Sumire left Ohgami scratched his head. 'Women are puzzles I can't solve.'

OoOoOoO

Entrance door.

Maria entered first, followed by Kanna.

"You haven't even answered my question!" the redhead declared.

"Kanna. . ." Maria was getting impatient.

"You're so unfair!"

"Derrmo! Should I tell you everything!"

Now the interrogation became an argument. "Look, this is all because you haven't told us ANYTHING at all!" Kanna yelled with her fists clenched. "And don't speak Russian here! We are in Japan."

Maria was stung by her remark. 'That's right. Nobody knows what I really feel.'

"I'm sorry, Kanna. I still don't have any answers for your questions," Maria said in a rather softer tone. "I didn't really mean to confuse everyone. . . as much as I did to myself."

Kanna's tension left after she heard those words from Maria. "It's a wonder how you handle them by yourself. Wouldn't it be much better if you shared it with someone?"

"I don't think I'm good at that sort of thing."

"You know there were times I wanted to punch you because of your snooty behavior." Kanna followed that with a smile. "But sometimes I'm even more tempted to kiss you.. and teach you a lesson you seem to have forgotten from the Revolution."

"Kanna!" Maria was bewildered.

With a wink she left the Russian more puzzled than before.

OoOoOoO

Dining Hall.

"Why the awful face, Sakura-san?" Sumire said from behind.

'Why is that witch following me?' Sakura exclaimed to herself. Aloud, she just responded, "I'm hungry."

"Silly girl, it's quite obvious that you're mad at him," Sumire said.

Sakura frowned and looked at the floor. 'SO what's the point of asking me if you already know the answers?'

"Don't worry. I didn't tell him about you and Maria. I don't think the thought has even occurred to him yet." Sumire began to hum a song in the play 'The Eve of Dame Camellia'.

Sakura's frown faded.

"Oh, a melodic skylark, a love song I'll always sing for you."

Sakura liked that song but she never had the chance to sing it. Sumire smiled at her and continued, "Because you're afraid of the night, a love song to you I'll always send."

She held Sakura's hands and led her into a dance. "Now tonight, you and I shall dance to satisfying love-"

Sakura felt a little vibe and continued the song, "Now tonight, let's embrace these warm memories together."

Sumire was pleased as led her to a waltz, "People made love live, so in this moment, Tonight as I hold you, the song will change to love. . ."

Now Sakura, "People make love live. . ."

"Lalalalaaaa…"

Kanna entered. She saw the two dancing and singing. 'Now what the hell is up with that?' She scratched her head. 'So these are the things that happen when the authorities are not around.'

The redhead sighed before she left the two still dancing.

OoOoOoOo

Author's note: Original Japanese lyrics of the song 'Hibari no Uta' is found in 'Derrmo and Blyad' are Russian curses.