ACT 10
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A man with a bandaged head quickly stood up from his seat when the ICU room door opened.
"What's her condition?" Ohgami asked Ayame after she closed the door behind her.
The young major gave him a weak smile. "She is fine now."
Ohgami felt relieved to hear those words. He hadn't had much sleep for the two days after the incident took place.
"Everything is going to be alright now . . . except the play that is. It will be postponed for a month," Ayame said.
"Do you mean Maria will be fit enough to perform after a month?" Ohgami asked eagerly, excited to see Maria out of the ICU and yelling her wits out. Ohgami missed her so much. 'I hope she'll get well soon.'
Ayame looked down on the floor. "I don't know about that."
"C-can I see her? Can I talk to her?" he sounded like as if Maria is going to have their first child.
Ayame slowly shook her head. "Not this time, Ohgami." Her glum face gave Ohgami much to worry about.
"Can you tell me when?" he asked in a low voice.
Ayame stared on the ground first before she spoke. "You can see her but not this time. I don't know when she's going to wake up either."
"But you said a while ago that she is going to be fine."
"Yes, but I didn't say that she can perform after a month. She still needs rest and medication. What I wanted to tell you earlier is that her life is now out of peril."
Ohgami felt his lips tremble. 'What do you mean out of peril? Do you mean that she nearly died in that incident?'
The assistant manager couldn't deny the look of his scared face. 'He's very afraid he might lose her,' she thought with concern.
"I have to go now . . . and Ohgami please have your rest. I think you're too tired yourself," Ayame just said before she tapped his shoulder and left.
Ohgami bowed his head down and whispered her name faintly. "Maria."
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At the Imperial Garden.
"YAAAAAAAHHH!" Sakura screamed as she wave her sword again. The young maiden swung her sword into the air, slashing at an imaginary enemy.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYAAAAHHH!" She yelled again out of anger.
. . .out of pain. . .
. . .out of guilt. . .
She yelled for Maria. . .
. . . she cried for her. . .
. . . to live. . .
Tears would not cease falling from her swollen eyes. Pain. . . had not left her broken heart.
She donned her sword everyday until she got tired of practicing... until all of her energy had worn out... until it seemed she would die doing it.
Two of the Flower Division members were inside the theater watching her through the window from above.
"What is she trying to do? Is she going to slice leaves and petals there for her entire life?" Sumire asked quite tired of watching the raven-haired girl. "And what does she think she's going to achieve by doing that?"
"She hasn't eaten since yesterday, too. I think she's punishing herself for committing that grave mistake," Kanna replied in a worried tone. 'That girl must have suffered a lot,' she thought.
"IIIYAAAAAAAHHHH!" Sakura exclaimed again.
"Can anyone stop her from yelling? She's breaking my eardrums!" Sumire complained while covering her ears.
Sakura's sword got stuck on the tree after that comment. "DAMMIT!" the girl in pink kimono cursed as she tried to pull it out of the tree.
"Oi, the tree heard you," Kanna turned to Sumire.
"Very funny, Kanna-san," Sumire said back.
The red-haired woman turned around to leave. 'I wonder how Maria is doing.'
"Hey, where are you going?" Sumire asked.
"Ay, just checking some things."
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Sakura managed to pull out her sword and landed on her butt. It hurt her but nevertheless she didn't mind it. . . because the hurt inside her heart was much more severe.
The raven-haired girl stared at the wound she made on the tree. The long scar that was etched there looked as deep as the one in her heart. She stood beside the tree and leaned on it. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean to. Please forgive me. . . please forgive me," she said while her voice cracked.
"Sakura. . ." Sakura could hear Maria speaking. ". . .Our life is a play. . . it's already scripted. It is something unchangeable."
Sakura sobbed and placed her hands on her face, neglecting her sword. "Maria-san . . . if our life is a play, I want you to be by my side. . .we can be the writers . . . we'll make a story. . . a good one. . . and . . . and . . . we'll be the actors in our own play. . . and in this play. . ."
There was so much pain within her that she felt as though she were about to explode. "... I wanted to share my feelings with you. How I wanted to tell you that I loved you. How I longed to be in your company... How I needed you every moment. How incomplete I am without you.
"I didn't mean you any harm. I just wanted to be with you. Why can't the heaven grant that? Am I wrong? Am I cursed? Why can't we be together FOR REAL!
"If you die because of me, then may the gods take me now with you." She turned to the sky, "Do you hear me? Take me with her!"
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Along the hallway.
"Is her condition serious?" the red-haired woman asked.
Ohgami took a while before he answered. "I don't know. Even though Ayame-san said that she was going to be fine, we're still not allowed to see Maria, for some reason."
"I see." Kanna studied the expression on his face. She felt that something was weighing heavily on his mind. He was not even looking at her in the eye. "Um, chief?" She began to ask.
He was just silent.
"Are you angry at Sakura?"
Ohgami finally stirred to attention by that. "What makes you say that?"
Kanna looked away to one side. "Well, ever since that incident you haven't even talked to her."
"She hasn't spoken to me, either," he added quickly.
Kanna faced him again, "Chief, I guess it's about time you talked to her. Because she's killing herself every moment and I think we don't need any more casualties than what we have now."
"I don't think that's a wise idea, Kanna." He finally turned to her direction. "Sakura is angry with me. She's avoiding me, and I don't know why."
Kanna thought for a while. 'Oh, stupid Kanna! How could you forget about that? Sakura loves Maria and Ohgami also loves Maria! Isn't that an obvious reason?'
"Oh, I see," was all she said.
Ohgami somehow managed to give her a weak smile. "Don't worry. If I have a chance . . . I'll talk to her."
He excused himself and went to his room.
Kanna held her head. 'Oh, man. That's just what we need to make it worse!' the redhead sighed to herself and went to the dining room. 'The only one who could talk to Sakura right now is Maria. And she's just not available. . . and your sending Ohgami to talk to her. Geez, what a great idea.'
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Back at the garden.
"I love you. . . AM I wrong to love you?" Sakura said as she touched the surface of the tree and felt the rough edges of the branch. She cried on it mournfully, as if it was going to die. When her hands traveled on the other side she felt something cold stuck beneath a small hole. She pulled it out and held it with her fingers.
She stared at it for a while, studying it.
It was a bullet.
Sakura knew only one person who used a gun with this kind of bullet.
Maria Tachibana.
She turned her attention back to the tree and found more bullets stuck in it. She pulled them out one by one while questioning herself. 'Are you angry, Maria? Do you hate me for what I did? Do you love Ohgami? Am I nothing to you?' She leaned against tree and held the bullets against her bosom. 'Then shoot me now, Maria. Shoot me now. I am more than willing to die in your arms than to see you suffer because of me.'
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'Look at that country girl.' Sumire muttered to herself. 'A moment ago she was shouting like a mad dog but now she's fully adoring the beauty of that tree. I wonder if she's still sane. Maybe she really needs to eat. She's getting weirder and weirder by the moment.'
Sumire looked at her in a concerned manner. She had been observing her since the Wakaji incident. There were times when she could not stand Sakura's naïveté and clumsiness, but not this time. The brown-haired girl couldn't understand her own actions, though. Why did she feel the urge to comfort her?
'Hm? Why am I worried about her all of a sudden?'
The brown-haired girl yawned as she headed for the dining room. 'Oh, my, maybe I need more beauty sleep.' She stifled again a yawn after she thought of it.
'I wonder if she can get through this.'
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Dining Room.
Kanna was circling the edges of her empty bowl with her fingers. She was looking at the ceiling while her other hand was supporting her cheek on the table.
Sumire just finished eating and looked at the red-haired woman.
This might have been one of the rare cases that they were quiet for a long time together.
Kanna sighed and when she noticed Sumire staring at her she was a bit surprised. "What? Is there something wrong with my face?"
Sumire didn't seem to hear the tall woman's remark. "Have you ever felt deeply depressed?" she began to ask.
"Uh." Kanna was a bit confused by the way Sumire was acting around her. "I think so...," she said, unsure.
"When?" Sumire asked.
"When?" Kanna repeated.
Sumire was waiting for her answer. Kanna felt sweat falling down her tanned face. 'Why the hell is she asking about such matters?'
"I'm asking you. I demand an answer," Sumire said her eyes still fixed on her.
"When. . ." Kanna looked on the table. "When my father was killed. You can still remember that do you?"
Sumire now felt uneasy. She should not have even asked that question in the first place. "Umm, I'm sorry," she said in a weak voice.
She could still remember it clearly. That was when she heard Kanna arguing with Yoneda in his office. It was the day Kanna had left the Flower Division for a while to avenge her father.
Kanna gave her a smile. "You don't need to apologize. By the way why do you ask all of the sudden?"
"I was just thinking about Sa-" She stopped before she blurted out the country girl's name. "Never mind." She picked up her tray and went away.
Kanna watched her as she move out of the Dining Hall. 'There were times I couldn't stand your bitchy behavior but there were also times you surprise me . . . and for that reason I admire you. . .' Kanna's eyes narrowed. 'HEY, why am I thinking like that?'