ACT 19

OoOoOoO

Morning. At the Garden.

A familiar young figure sat silently beside a cherry blossom tree. 'Today is the day,' Sakura told herself as she opened her eyes slowly.

Extreme silence.

She drew her sword quickly as the first leaf fell from the tree.

All was quiet once more.

Quicker than the eye could see, the leaf had been split into two.

Sakura slid her katana back into its scabbard.

A sigh.

She straightened herself and looked at Maria's window. 'I hope you can see me.'

OoOoOoO

Maria's bedroom.

'It's been a while since I've actually been able to wake up in my own room,' Maria told herself. 'Damn... my last fall seems to have injured my leg some more. 'The green-eyed woman touched her sore leg as she winced in pain.

The Russian tried to reach for her drawer which was just beside her bed. She managed to pull the handle and struggled to locate something using her fingertips. 'Now, where is my revolver?'

Maria's eyes widened as she realized that her drawer was empty. 'What! And my locket!'

Maria became furiously angry at the thought of her treasured belongings disappearing. Then she suddenly remembered that she had taken them with her when she went to battle. 'Then where could they be?' She growled at the thought of someone keeping them away from her.

As several moments passed by, her anger slowly diminished. 'But does it really matter now?' she asked herself. The blond woman diverted her eyes to the opened window. Yesterday, she told Tsubaki to close it before she left, but here it was again, wide open.

It seemed that Sakura never failed to brighten up her day with sunshine.

Maria weakly smiled as the birds chirped outside.

OoOoOoO

Ohgami's Room

The young captain looked in the mirror as he fixed his necktie. He tried to smile at his reflection but something deep inside him was troubling him. His gaze lowered a bit as he turned around, avoiding the mirror.

He pulled his drawer and stared at the pistol and the locket he took from Maria when she was injured. 'I wonder how and when will I able return these to her,' Ohgami murmured to himself as he pushed the drawer back. 'But do I really have to?'

Ohgami shocked himself with that thought.

'Maria, I know it is wrong for me to be jealous of Sakura. Somehow, having your belongings near me is like having a part of you. I don't want to be away from you.' Ohgami's hands clenched into fists. 'I know I have my duty as your captain but I also have the feelings as. . . a man.'

Ohgami looked at the mirror again. His thoughts were swirling. 'Am I so much less of a person that you'd never want me?'

OoOoOoO

Several hours later. Dining room.

Iris and Sakura were eating together at the table. The other girls had already left.

Iris looked silently at Sakura. The raven-haired girl kept on staring at her plate. She looked nauseated. "Sakura, is something wrong?" the French girl asked.

Sakura didn't answer.

"You look a little sick." Iris leaned closer to get a better look.

"No, no I'm okay," Sakura finally answered and turned to her. "I'm just a bit nervous. That's all."

"Hmm?" Iris gave her a questioning expression. The blond girl didn't seem to believe her.

OoOoOoO

Opening night, one hour before the premiere.

People were starting to form a long line outside the theater. Ohgami stood there to clip their tickets. Kasumi appeared beside him suddenly, a concerned expression on her face.

Ohgami was troubled by that look. It could only mean trouble. "What is it Kasumi?" he asked.

"It's Sakura. . . she. . . ," Kasumi panted.

"Sakura?"

"She-she.. we….can't find.. "

Ohgami motioned her to calm down. "Hold on, Kasumi. I can't understand you."

"We can't find her!" Kasumi said when she finally caught her breath.

"What?" Ohgami grimaced. 'Not again.'

"Okay, take this." Ohgami handed the clipper over to Kasumi. "I'll go and find her."

"Good luck, Ohgami-san!"

Ohgami rushed to the costume room and saw Kanna and Sumire there, already in costume. The two were utterly quiet. They were blushing from something that had evidently occurred earlier, something that Ohgami was sure he didn't need to know.

'No, she's not here,' he told himself.

The two didn't seem to notice the young captain as he closed the door. Next, he went to the dressing room. . . which was quite a mistake. He forgot to knock and when he entered, he saw Kohran in her tights as she was putting on the Wall costume. Yuri was standing just beside her for assistance.

"Ohgami-han! How could you peek at a time like this!" Kohran yelled, her face was completely red. Yuri was a bit surprised too at Ohgami's unexpected appearance.

"No, it wasn't intentional. Sorry!" Ohgami quickly closed the door. 'Phew. That was close… Now, where could Sakura be?'

The young captain thought hard, but only one place seemed the likeliest place to find the missing actress... Maria's room.

He ran off to the second floor and met Tsubaki in the middle of the hall. He didn't seem to acknowledge her presence as he went straight to Maria's room.

The salesgirl could clearly see where he was headed for. "Wait, Ohgami-san!" she called out, but she was too late. The door was already opened. Tsubaki could only expect the worst.

Ohgami was shocked by the sight that greeted him. He couldn't speak for several moments.

"What is the meaning of this? Opening the door without even bothering to knock first!" the Russian growled as she glared at him.

Ohgami flushed when he saw Maria in the middle of changing clothes while sitting on the bed. 'Oh, boy, why do I always come at the wrong time?'

"S-sorry for barging in…. I… I am so-sorry…. I-I didn't mean to…" Ohgami sighed as he avoided looking at Maria in her indecent state.

"You need a better excuse," Maria said in an icy tone. She was looking at him as she buttoned her shirt.

"I-I was looking for Sakura-kun," Ohgami said trying to steal a glance at her.

"Sakura?" she repeated. The sound of Sakura's name softened her expression.

"Yes, she is sort of missing." Ohgami finally looked straight at her eyes after discerning that she was done with her clothes.

Maria leaned heavily on her back. "Missing?" the Russian said in a low voice, forgetting her anger towards the young captain.

"She…" Ohgami stared on the floor. "I was wondering if she came here. Did she?"

Maria gazed at him in a critical manner. "No, she didn't," she replied in a straight voice.

"Ohgami-san!" a voice called from behind. It was Tsubaki.

Ohgami turned around and saw the salesgirl's worried face. "Tsubaki-kun?"

"Maria-san is-"the salesgirl stopped when she saw that Maria was already dressed. She let out a big sigh. "I guess I have nothing to worry about."

Ohgami couldn't speak for a moment as he blushed at what happened earlier.

'You don't have to worry because I don't have my gun,' Maria said to herself as she looked straight ahead, ignoring their presence.

The young captain understood the silence and nodded to himself. "I guess I should be leaving now to find Sakura-kun."

"Ah, Ohgami-san!" Tsubaki almost yelled. "I saw Sakura-san just a moment ago."

"Huh? But I thought she was…"

"I saw her coming out of the latrine," Tsubaki explained.

"The latrine?" Ohgami winced.

Maria turned to their direction with an interested look on her face. The thought of Sakura hiding away in the latrine made Maria chuckle. 'She's nervous,' the Russian said to herself. Sakura still fell victim to stagefright which resulted in nausea, vomiting and dizziness, especially when she was called on to play the lead roles. Maria had found that out when they first starred opposite each other in 'Cinderella'.

"Oh, the play is about to start," the salesgirl reminded.

"I see," Ohgami just said.

"Ah, excuse me, Ohgami-san, Maria-san. I must be going." Tsubaki bowed down and went away.

When Tsubaki was gone, he turned around and observed the small smile forming on the blond woman's lips. 'She must be thinking about Sakura-kun.'

There was a long silence before Ohgami could start a conversation. "Um, Maria?"

The green-eyed woman moved her head to his direction. "Can I help you, Taichou?"

"You are…dressed."

"Of course!" the Russian woman shot back. "Were you thinking of seeing me naked?" If Maria's stare was as deadly as her gun, Ohgami would likely have died.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that." Ohgami assumed his usual placating look. "Um, tonight is the Flower Division's showing of 'Pyramus and Thisbe'."

"So?"

Ohgami looked solemnly at Maria's face. The Russian felt the warmth behind those dark eyes. She sensed a blush coming on then, so she refused to look anymore. She avoided his gaze and turned her eyes in the other direction. 'Oh, damn. What is he doing to me?' Maria asked herself in confusion.

"I was just wondering if you… want to watch it."

Maria didn't speak. But her answer is quite obvious although she kept it to herself.

"I… can help you."

Maria looked at him then. In fact, she had planned to go by herself. That was why she had taken the trouble to dressed up for this day. But no matter how much she planned, the question was: Could she do it by herself?

OoOoOoO

10 minutes before the play.

Ayame just came from the hangar and checked the last data input in Maria's Kohbu. As she walked upstairs to her office, she saw two familiar figures walking slowly towards the backstage. "Hmm… this looks interesting," Ayame cupped her chin. She made sure she wasn't noticed as she went to the lobby.

Kasumi was in the middle of closing the doors when Ayame arrived. "So, is everything set now?"

"Yes, Ayame-san. Thank goodness. I'm glad Sakura-san came on time."

"Good."

"I was just wondering where Ohgami-san was. He hasn't come by, even after Sakura-san came."

"Don't worry about him. He knows what he is doing."

Kasumi was confused when Ayame gave her a mysterious smile before she left.

'What a weird woman,' Kasumi said to herself.