A/N: a little info about the play before proceeding.

The cast:

Pyramus – Sumire

Thisbe – Sakura

Lion – Kanna

Mulberry Tree – Kohran

Moon Shine - Iris

Pyramus and Thisbe agreed to meet under the white mulberry tree after talking through the crack of wall. They planned to leave Babylonia and reside to another place where their love is not forbidden. But something else happened that they didn't expect.

It was night and Thisbe came first. Little did she know that there was a Lion roaming around the forest. It was huge and had a blood stain on his mouth (seemingly quite contented because of the previous dinner it had.) The young maiden saw it in terror as she hid from the bushes for fear that it would hurt her. Unfortunately, as she flew away she dropped her veil.

While taking a rest the lion took interest of Thisbe's veil, leaving a mark of blood on it. When Pyramus came, he only found the veil but no sign of her beloved. He had also mistaken that the blood stain on the veil belonged to Thisbe.

In despair, the young man decided to commit suicide (taking the blame of his lover's death.) Moments later the young maiden got out of her hiding place believing that the Lion was gone. Sadly, what awaits her was Pyramus dying (in front of the mulberry tree) because of her.

Okay on with the story.

X X X X X

ACT 22

X X X X X

Stage.

The play was nearing its end as Pyramus, not knowing that Thisbe still lived, committed suicide.

The spotlight was now on centerstage as Thisbe approached her dying partner.

"O Pyramus," she cried. "What has done this? Answer me, Pyramus. It is your own Thisbe that speaks. Hear me, dearest, and lift that drooping head."

Pyramus opened his eyes. Then, with a final gasp of Thisbe's name, he closed them again.

Thisbe leaned forward and hugged Pyramus, who was, of course, Sumire pretending to be dead. "Thine own hand has slain thee, and for my sake," she sobbed.

Thisbe continued, "I, too, can be brave for once, and my love is as strong as thine. I will follow you in death, for I have been the cause; and death which alone could part us both, deny us not our united request. As love and death have joined us, let one tomb contain us."

'Oh, wow,' Kohran thought as she sniffed. 'It seems so real.'

The audience was all eyes as a new gloomy lighting took effect.

Thisbe continued "And thou, tree, retain the marks of slaughter. Let thy berries still serve for memorials of our blood." So saying, the brown-eyed actress plunged the fake sword into her breast. Red liquid stained her Greek outfit.

The background changed color as a melancholic tune began to play.

From the stage, they could hear the sounds of sniffing and sobbing from the audience.

Kohran and Iris both sang a sad song as Thisbe, too, fell lifeless to the ground.

When the song ended, the curtain was lowered slowly.

"Will you look at that?" Kanna said from backstage, quite pleased with the show. When she turned around, the redhead noticed that Maria and Ohgami were now out of sight.

Kanna frowned. "Now, that's not surprising."

Loud applause followed. It was a standing ovation.

Among the audience was a man, sitting on the aisle seat of the third row from the stage. He had dark hair and was wearing a black tuxedo. He was obviously a foreigner, as evidenced by his height and his blue eyes. He had a striking appearance, and all throughout the play, he only had eyes for her. The tall figure quietly stood.

Then there was the curtain call.

X X X X X

Dressing Room.

"Nice job, Sakura. You're fantastic!" Kanna praised. "Especially with that last line."

"Thank you, Kanna-san," Sakura said while changing her clothes.

"Unlike someone else I know who almost forgot her lines."

Panic could be seen in Sakura's and Kohran's eyes. They knew this was just going to lead to a BIG fight.

Sumire groaned angrily. "Are you referring to me?"

"Yeah. So what's the real deal about it Sumire-chan?" Kanna asked frankly. "Why did you forget your lines?"

'Sumire-chan!' Sumire's eyes widened. "What are you saying, you oversized feline. I did not forget any of my lines! And who granted you the permission to call me Sumire-chan?"

Kanna's eyebrows began to twitch after hearing the 'oversized feline' comment.

'Well, no wonder. She's still wearing that costume,' Kohran thought.

"But you looked like you did," Kanna almost yelled. "Judging from that blank face you had on stage. I saw it. Isn't that right, Kohran?" The redhead turned to the bespectacled girl who hesitated, then nodded.

"Ah, that's. . ." Sumire's face started to change color.

"Admit it." Kanna said while crossing her arms. "If not for me. . ."

Sumire frowned at her. "If not for you, I could have been more focused!" she exclaimed.

"ME? Now it's my fault?"

"YES! It was your fault!"

"Come on! That was a pathetic excuse," Kanna went on, a mocking tone in her every word. "Besides, why would you blame me? I thought you were a professional. You sure love calling yourself one."

The brown-haired woman gritted her teeth and Kanna found it a very cute sight, especially since Sumire was still wearing her white Greek outfit. And with that wig she had on looked so nice. Kanna couldn't help enjoying Sumire's obvious annoyance.

"You all did a good job. It's not just me," Sakura said, trying to stop them. It was to no avail because the two were already in their fighting stances, ready to strangle each other." I really wish Maria-san was here," she thought.

The raven-haired girl just shrugged and sweatdropped. And, with one glance at them, she walked towards the door and excused herself.

Kanna was about to say something to her about Maria, but Sumire was now pouncing on her as the fighting dust engulfed the two of them.

"WAAAAIIII!" Iris yelled.

"IRIS! NO!" Kohran pleaded.

BOOM

X X X X X

Sakura was walking along the corridor, thinking of the Russian. She let out a breath. She had a feeling that Maria might have been watching her, but now she wondered if it might have just been wishful thinking. "And how can that be?" she said to herself.

"How could I be so stupid, thinking that she was watching somewhere backstage?" Sakura smiled weakly. "But still I feel that aura of hers so close to me."

'I can feel her. Yes.'

She gently closed her eyes, thinking that Maria might appear in front of her. She just hoped that somehow one of her wishes might come true.

"SAKURA-SAN!" Yuri yelled. Shocked, Sakura immediately opened her eyes.

She also noticed that Tsubaki was with her.

"Wha-?" Sakura sweatdropped.

"Hi, Sakura-san," Tsubaki greeted shyly.

The raven-haired girl noticed that Yuri was a bit skeptical about something. "Give it to her, come on," Sakura heard her murmur to Tsubaki.

The salesgirl shakily handed an envelope to Sakura. "Ah, Sakura-san, there's a letter for you."

"Ah, from Sendai?" Sakura asked as she received the letter.

"N-no, it's from. . . " Tsubaki hesitated.

Sakura turned the envelope over to see the return address. It was blank. "Who is it from, then?"

"From a fan," Yuri answered for Tsubaki.

"But fan letters are supposed to be. . ."

"The sender asked me to give it to you directly," Tsubaki replied with a blush.

"The sender?" Sakura asked. "Ne, Tsubaki-san why are you flushing?"

"Ah, Sakura-san, please excuse us. We have to go now," was Tsubaki's only reply as she grabbed Yuri and left hurriedly with her.

Sakura was just dumbfounded.

"Hey, what's all the commotion about?" a familiar voice asked from behind. It was Kohran. She was now in her usual red Chinese attire. She was wiping the dirt on her face after the aftermath with Iris.

With nothing but an envelope in her hand, Sakura had no hope of hiding what it was about. "Ah, this- A fan letter."

"Let me see." The bespectacled girl took the envelope and slowly opened it. "Can I?" she asked, obviously wanting to read its contents.

"S-sure."

Nothing to be scared of.

Right?

x x x

Imperial Floral Opera Troupe

Miss Sakura Shinguuji,

I'm not very good at introductions, so please forgive my rudeness regarding this letter. Having come from a faraway place, I am a foreigner in this city of lights. Many things have pleased my heart when I came here. Truly, it is a very different place from where I came from. Still, there are some things that I feel are missing deep inside me and I'm trying very hard to search for them.

When I first saw your face on the billboard, my heart raced. I could see something within you that I lacked. Maybe it is for this reason that I admire you. What that something is, I cannot understand. Those feelings confused me. Though some may say that you might not be as great as Sumire Kanzaki, I say that you're one of the promising actresses of the Grand Theatre.

I've been wandering around in Japan looking for beautiful things, but never have I seen someone like you. Your beauty is incomparable, even to the great Fuji, or to the lights of the city at night.

Frankly speaking, I really like you. I hesitated at first to send this letter, but I realize that I cannot hide my feelings anymore. I don't want to be a coward like I was before. If I have a chance I would like to see you someday. You've been an inspiration to me.

Yours truly,

K

x x x

Sakura was all red. It wasn't a fan letter. It was a love letter!

"Wow," Kohran said in awe, eyes wide open. "I've never read something like this before in my life. It seems that this person, whoever he is, has an eye for you. Did you know this admirer?"

Sakura folded the papers. "No, I have no idea," she replied, still blushing.

"Well, he sounds so romantic."

"Ah. Hi, Sakura-kun. . . and you too, Kohran," someone interrupted. It was Ohgami.

Kohran just crossed her arms, still thinking about how she had been ignored by the captain several times before.

"What is it, Ohgami-san?" Sakura asked.

"I just wanted to say that you did great."

"Thank you. I'm glad you had the time to watch it."

'If you only knew that Maria was there, too,' Ohgami said to himself as the thought also pierced his heart.

"Is there anything else, Ohgami-san?"

Ohgami noticed that Sakura was holding a letter. "Oh, what's that?" he asked.

"Oh. This..." Sakura didn't know how to explain it. Luckily, Ayame chose that moment to intervene.

"Ohgami-kun?" the vice commander called.

Ohgami turned to face the vice commander. "Yes, Ayame-san?"

"I want to discuss something with you in my office."

"Yes, ma'am."

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x