ACT 6

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Afternoon.

Maria went to the Secretarial Office she just had to drop of some paperwork. The Sannin Musume were still having their day-offs. For now, she just wanted to be alone in order to ponder and reflect.

There were several posters hanging on the walls. These were not to be found on sale in the gift shop. They were beautifully framed and were prettier than usual; most of them were highlights from every play.

Maria looked at them closely. A smile crossed her face. Her mind was filled with memories of some of the plays that were portrayed there.

A scene from 'Romeo and Juliet' Maria was holding Sumire almost bent for a kiss.

'That blond wig suits Sumire well,' she thought.

Another one was from the 'Saiyuuki Play' starring Kanna as Songoku.

'So, I wonder where Sumire got Kanna's nickname Ape Woman?' she chuckled.

'This one is from 'Love is a Diamond',' a romantic picture of Kanna and Sumire was displayed. 'It was a nice play,' Maria remarked to herself, 'and I never thought that those two would look good as a couple.'

When she turned her head, she saw her own picture in the 'Cinderella' poster. Maria had acted as Prince Charming while Sakura played Cinderella. They both looked good in that poster. It had been Sakura's first time playing a lead character. Maria could still remember the tense expression of the younger woman. She recalled how Sumire was ranting about having to play such a minor role. She kept on bugging Sakura over and over, claiming that she did not deserve her lead role.

'I guess I have to thank Sumire for pushing Sakura to the limits.'

Her eyes went to another poster which is an 'Ai Yue Ni' scene. Here, they had both played the lead roles again, she as a French soldier and Sakura as a maiden.

She looked handsome at that scene and could almost believe that Sakura was right about her. If she was a real man, she could attract many girls. But why would she think about such matters? Attracting others was not important to her.

She vowed long ago to despise love and admiration. Since that fateful day, that day when her first lover died. . . the day when her beloved captain died.

But why the hurt inside still deepened. Why won't it heal?

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Ohgami saw the open door of the Secretarial Office. He decided to check it out since he knew that Tsubaki and Kasumi wouldn't be back until the end of the week.

He paused for a while after hearing a familiar voice from inside. . . singing.

"Because of love the heart aches. . . " she started in a low sad voice. "Because of love, there are lies."

Ohgami peeked in and saw Maria standing while staring out the window. The blond lady didn't notice him.

"I really don't want to forget you, so tonight I'll visit secretly to your balcony."

A tear fell from Maria's eyes but the Russian herself didn't notice it. She went on singing, "Because of love, people suffer. Because of love, people shed tears." Her voice cracked when several more tears fell from her eyes. She covered her face with her left hand and sobbed.

Ohgami was just silently watching her back. His heart was aching. He wanted to comfort her.

'But what if she. . . NO, I don't care if she's gonna shoot me on the spot.' Ohgami gathered his courage and walked silently towards Maria.

"M-maria. . .," Ohgami said, almost in a whisper. There was a brief moment of hesitation before he could touch her shoulder. Maria didn't stir. Her head was bowed as she cried, her face still partly hidden by her hand.

Ohgami took this chance to console her by wrapping his arms around her. Maria didn't reject him and she found herself crying on his shoulder. "T-Taichou...," she said with a sob.

"Yes, Maria?" Ohgami said softly while caressing her hair.

"Why did you leave me? Why?" she said repeatedly. "Don't you know how much I love you?"

Ohgami was confused with her words. "Leave? Why would I leave you? I'm right here."

Tears blurred her eyes. Maria felt as though she was in a dream . . .dream that she wanted to experience every night. "Taichou. . ." she raised her head .

Ohgami felt a hint of the sadness she was experiencing. "Maria. . ."

Their noses touched and within seconds they shared the same breath. Ohgami pressed his lips warmly to hers. All he wanted to do was this.

Maria touched his face and gave him a deeper kiss. Their tongues were practically melting with the fires of passion. Neither wanted to withdraw. Ohgami unconsciously led her to a couch nearby.

Their lips tasted every sweetness, every tear.

They never realized that it could feel this good

Maria was still in submissive mode. She fell first on the couch. . . their lips still locked.

Ohgami was on top of her moving his hands on her hair and hips.

Maria first broke the kiss to breathe. She slowly opened her eyes and finally realized that she was not dreaming. There was a look of surprise on her face when she saw Ohgami so close to her-NO! In fact, he was on TOP of her.

"T-Taichou?"

Ohgami was feeling a little uncertain now, seeing this completely different expression on her face. "Yes, Maria."

Maria quickly pushed him away and felt ashamed of their 'position'.

'Blyad! What the heck am I doing?' Maria scolded herself. She sat up right away and held her face. 'Tears?' she suddenly noticed.

Ohgami distanced himself from her. 'Is she alright?'

Maria wiped the tears from her eyes. 'Damnit! He saw me cry. I must have looked pathetic.'

Ohgami discerned a look of sad defeat crossing Maria's face and all he could say was, "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry about?" she said in a low voice.

"For kissing you. . . again."

Maria avoided his gaze. "No."

Ohgami was surprised by her response.

"I was a bit carried away. I should be the one to say sorry not you."

"You mean you're not angry at me?"

"No."

Ohgami slowly moved closer to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you."

"Then who is he?" Ohgami began to ask.

Maria set her eyes on him. "What do you mean?"

"The one you loved. . . the one who left you."

Maria's eyes widened. She balled her hands to a fist and. . .

'Derrmo! No! Why am I crying in front of him again?'

"No. . . ssshhhhh. . . I'm sorry. . . I didn't mean to make you cry," Ohgami whispered to her ear as she unconsciously leaned against his shoulders. Ohgami wrapped an arm around her to comfort her again.

'Why now? Why with him? Of all people, why Ohgami?' Maria said in her deepest thoughts. 'I feel naked in front of him right now! I feel so useless in this situation.'

Ohgami kissed her head while soothing her as if she were a child. 'Why Maria? Why did you choose to be so distant? Why won't you open up? You have me. . . I'm here to listen.'

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Maria stood up to leave. "I'm sorry about this Taichou."

Ohgami was still sitting on the couch. "M-maria, please don't leave yet."

Maria had never heard this kind of nervousness from Ohgami's normally serious way of speaking. "Why is it?"

"I wanted to tell you something."

Maria swallowed. "Say it, Captain."

The silence seemed to stretch on for hours until Ohgami broke it.

"I love you."

Maria stared at his eyes shocked. "W-what?"

"I love you," Ohgami repeated. "I don't care if you'll love me in return or not. But what I wanted you to know is that I love you."

"Taichou. . . since when did you have feelings for me?"

"I can't remember. . . but every time when I'm with you, I feel something strange."

"Captain?"

Ohgami gave her a weak smile. "Maria, do you know how a man overcomes his anxiety?"

Maria shook her head.

"By looking and being close to the person whom he loved the most. . . in my case it's YOU," he said warmly.

"Stop teasing me, Taichou," Maria said that although she knew he wasn't.

"I like it when you're angry."

The honesty portrayed on his face was something Maria could not deny. He was really serious about her. How would she react on that?

OoOoOoO

"Why is this door opened? HEY!" A figure suddenly entered.

Maria and Ohgami turned their attention to the tall woman.

"Maria?" Kanna said first since she was the nearest. When she scanned the area she also saw Ohgami sitting on the couch. "Ah. . . chief?"

They both had the same grave expression on their faces.

'Am I party pooper or what?' Kanna said to herself. "Uh, I'm going to Hana-Yashiki. . . and well. . . Sorry for the disturbance."

When Kanna tried to close the door, Maria quickly stopped her. Kanna paused for a while studying her tear-streaked face. The Russian pushed her aside and went ahead by herself.

"That's weird," Kanna muttered.

"Excuse me, Kanna." Ohgami was now at the door, too.

"Sure, chief," Kanna said, giving way.

Ohgami followed Maria to her room.

Kanna cupped her chin and thought for a while. 'Hmm . . . those two are freaking me out. I wonder what happened.'