Yuri noted, “Perhaps I’ll tell you after you finish deliver these letters to the girls.”
Oogami agreed to it, because he really wanted to know what the secret was and also it was an excuse to attempt to see the girls. If they wanted their mail, they had to talk to him.
Or so he thought.
* * *
“Taichou, I told you...go away! Can’t you see I’m busy!” Kanna yelled at him in the weight room.
“B-but, Kanna, I have something for you....”
She held up a fist. “I can’t work out if you’re bothering me!”
He exclaimed, “K-Kanna, what about those times when we’d train together?! You did really great when I was around! I don’t get it! You’re not the type to have a grudge!”
“Taichou....” Her eyes watered. “You were the first guy who treated me like....like a girl. You were so gentle, even though I am as I am.”
“Kanna....”
“I may look tough, but I’m no different from those other girls. I, too, can cry, Taichou.”
Oogami couldn’t think of the right words quick enough. She turned her back to him so he couldn’t see her face.
“Leave whatever you have for me on the bench and let me practice alone, please.”
He nodded and left the package.
Next, he decided to go check their rooms. First, he went to Sumire’s room. He wondered how she was. Since last night, he had been very worried about her.
“Ah, Sumire-kun, are you there?” he asked, knocking on her door.
“Shou’i....” the voice on the other side replied.
“Could you open the door? I have some mail for you.”
“No.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t.....I can’t look at you.”
“Sumire-kun....?”
“Shou’i, please leave me alone! I have never been so embarrassed! Could you please let me escape with some dignity!”
Nodding, he slid the letters under the door. He did the same for the other girls. It seemed that there was nothing he could do.
* * *
Downstairs, Oogami ran into Yuri. “Now that I’ve delivered the mail, will you tell me the big secret?” he begged.
“Oh, all right, but it isn’t a big secret to you, huh?” she said.
“What?”
“Come on, I’ll tell you as we do more paper work.”
So, they went into the office again. Kasumi was occupied with a phone call and Tsubaki was back in the gift shop. As they filed, Yuri told him what she knew.
“Eh? What do you mean, Yuri-kun? Kaede-san was doing what?”
She replied, “Last night, after finishing work at ten o’clock, I went heard a strange noise coming from back stage. I went to go investigate and saw her with a guy....in a personal situation.”
“Uh, you sure?”
“From where I was hiding I wasn’t able to make out the faces, but I’m sure that it was Kaede. And the guy had to be.....you! Right????”
Oogami waved his hands frantically. “Whaaaaat?! No way! I wasn’t there!”
“You weren’t?”
“No, I was upstairs, taking care of Sumire-kun. She was really sick and threw up everywhere.”
“Really? How come you didn’t tell me that earlier? That would be great gossip.”
“Um, actually don’t go around saying that, please. For Sumire-kun’s sake.”
“All right! All right!” Yuri said, then rubbed her chin. “If you weren’t with Kaede-san, who was? Hm....maybe....Manager, Yoneda?”
“EEEEWWW!!” Oogami gagged.
“Heh, it’s just a thought. I swear I heard a man’s voice. There aren’t many men in the Teigeki. What about those guys who live in the basement....the Baragumi?”
“Uh, I don’t think so.”
“Hmm....then who?”
* * *
Oogami decided to see Kaede about this scandal before it got out. Yuri was starting to question her own accuracy, so until the facts were straightened out she could not circulate this new rumor.
“Oogami-kun, what is it?” she asked as he entered her room.
“Can I talk to you about something?” he asked.
She nodded and after offering him a seat replied, “Actually, there’s something I want to talk to you about, too.”
“There is?”
“Yes. Oogami-kun, how’s the situation with the girls going?”
“Not good.” he mumbled, “It seems no matter what I try....they won’t forgive me, or even talk to me. What am I suppose to do? What do they want from me?”
Kaede poured him a cup of tea, then said, “I think what they want, Oogami-kun, is for you... to decide.”
Oogami was surprised. He had heard this before somewhere.
“Oogami-kun, they can’t forgive you because you are fickle and went after each of them carelessly.”
“What are you talking about?! They were throwing themselves at me!” he argued.
Kaede cleared her throat. and replied, “Aren’t we a bit conceited?”
“It’s true! You don’t know what’s it like to be the only male in this Teigeki full of crazy girls! It’s worse than being at a single’s bar!” he cried hysterically.
“Calm down, Oogami-kun. Only you can put this to an end. If you can make a serious decision, then maybe you have a chance again to win back their respect and friendship. Until you can disprove their view of you as a womanizer, things aren’t going to change.”
“I...have to....make a decision.” he uttered, “Like Kayama said...”
“K-Kayama-san?” Kaede was startled by the name, “H-how did he get into the conversation?”
“Oh, that weirdo stopped by my room the other day and practically said the same thing, you did, Kaede-san. He even mentioned that he had a girlfriend, or something like that. I feel sorry for the poor woman. She must of hit her head with a stupid stick.”
“R-Right....Anyway, Oogami-kun, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Oh, I wanted to hear how your date in the props room went?”
Kaede freaked out. “W-what?! H-how did you....!?”
He smiled. “Don’t go playing around either. Make a decision, too.”
She turned all red and wouldn’t give him any details. Instead, she got suddenly tired and had to go to sleep immediately. That was a big lie which he saw through. And so, Oogami left. He didn’t find out anything about the secret, but he knew what he had to do now....he had to decide on one girl.
* * *
In the hangar, Kohran was talking to someone. “Really? Can I?”
“Sure, if you do this favor for me.”
“All riiight! This is will be fun!” she chimed, leaping up in the air.
“Go ahead.”
Kohran turned to the Oogami doll, sitting on the table. She then whipped out a bazooka. She aimed and fired. A tiny dart came flying out. It hit bull’s eye center, then exploded, leaving a hole in the head.
“Revenge is sweet, my dear Oogami-han, na!”
* * *
“Pick one, pick one, pick one.....but, which one?”
Oogami was lying down in his room, staring at the ceiling. Just then, he felt the envelope in his pocket. He took it out and stared at it. It was daring him to open it. Being curious as he was, he took out the letter. It was typed and smelled lovely.
“Dear Ticket-boy
We have never directly met. I do not know your name and you do not know mine. But, every time I come to this theater, you are there, welcoming me with gentleness and a warm smile. In one meeting, I instantly forgot my sad past and lost myself in your eyes. Perhaps, this is foolish, but I must confess this. If you wish to respond me, leave a note in the empty knook on the east corner of the theater.
Love, your secret admirer.”
Oogami read the letter twice before putting it down. “This person....is someone who comes to the theater often. I must have met this person several times and never knew it. Who could it be?”
He decided to respond. So, he took out some paper and wrote his letter. On his night watch, he went out and put it in the place that was mentioned in the letter.
He had wrote: Who are you?
* * *
Two days later, Oogami had already forgotten the secret admirer and was more concerned about deciding on one girl. He chose to analyze the facts and estimate who he liked the most.
“Let’s see....” he uttered, sitting in the back of the theater during a rehearsal.
“What about Iris or Reni?” Kayama was with him, trying to be of some help.
“Too young for me. Although they act much older most of the time, I could get in trouble with the law or be labeled a hentai.”
“Right. How about Kohran?”
“She’s a lot of fun, but...she has a unpleasant habit of exploding things and going a bit over board. I don’t know, I think for my health’s sake I shouldn’t choose her.”
“Orihime?”
“Don’t ask.” Oogami muttered.
“Okay. What about Sumire?”
“Uh, she’s got the features, but her immodest character is a bit too much for me.”
“Yes, she is a fiesty girl. I don’t think you could handle her either.” Kayama sighed, then snapped his fingers, “Ah! How about Sakura? Not too young, not too scary?”
“Sakura-kun....she’s great and everything, but....”
“But?”
Oogami rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s a bit too naive and silly sometimes. I mean, she doesn’t ‘do it’ for me.”
“I see, well there’s still Kanna and Maria. Those two are full-grown women.”
“Uh, Kanna and I get along, but the way we carry on isn’t romantic. As for Maria, she’s very mature and serious and can also have a good time, too....”
Kayama lifted an eye brow. “But there’s something, right?”
Oogami sighed, “She doesn’t ‘do it’ for me, either.”
“Well, then you have to find someone who ‘does it’ for you or else....!”
“I know, I know! I’m going to end up like Yoneda!”
“OOGAMI!” yelled an angry voice.
Yoneda was right behind them. He was actually sober, but looked insanely furious. Sweat beads trickled down Oogami’s face as the old man grabbed him by the collar.
“I don’t appreciate you talking about my ‘daughters’ like objects of desire nor do I like being used as your example of what will happen when you grow old and alone!
“H-hai! I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay. You better go do some work in the business office again. Man, I need a drink....”
On the way to the business office, Oogami asked, “Kayama, how did you decide? How did you know?”
“Well, I felt in my heart that this person is the person I wanted to be with...that’s all. I didn’t see it at first, of course. One day, it just happened....I realized my feelings. And she had the same feelings, too. Now, I know this love is for sure.”
“Man...how in the world am I suppose to figure this out? I’m hopeless....”
“Don’t give, Oogami! Hang in there!”
Oogami twitched. “Eh? That’s what Kaede-san always says.”
“R-Really? Well, I gotta go! A-adios, Oogami!”
“Sure....Weirdo...”
* * *
In the business office, Oogami got to work. As he was filing, he told Kasumi and Yuri his plan.
“You’re finally going to pick? It’s about time.” Kasumi noted.
“When you do, tell me first, okay?” Yuri insisted.
“Actually, I plan on telling the girl first.” he said uneasily, “So far, I’m no where near a decision. Hopefully if I could finally get mind made up, they’ll all forgive me.”
Yuri chimed, “Anyway, Oogami, would you like to hear the new gossip of the day?”
“Sure. It might just cheer me up.”
Kasumi said, “It seems that someone was up in the attic last night, playing loud music. A resident called this morning and told us. He said he couldn’t sleep.”
“It was that loud, huh?”
“No, he couldn’t stop dancing.” Kasumi corrected him.
Yuri laughed, “It was some pretty groovey stuff. Anyway, I have yet to find out who it was and why they were doing that.”
“Hm....someone in the attic....playing loud music? That is strange.” Oogami noted.
“Oh, Oogami-saaan!” Tsubaki called, coming inside, “You got another letter!”
“Huh?”
The girls gathered around him as he stared at it. Then, he remembered....
“This is the girl’s response....” he gasped.
“What girl?” Kasumi asked.
“His secret admirer!” Tsubaki cried.
The three exclaimed, “Open it!”
“Uh....actually I’ll read it later....”
“Darn, Oogami-san, you’re no fun.” Tsubaki pouted.
“Yeah, I want to hear all the juicy stuff...” Yuri muttered.
Kasumi replied, “C’mon, let’s get back to work.”
“Right!” Oogami said, turning to the papers, but thinking, ‘What did she write?’
When the girls weren’t looking, he opened the letter and read it to himself:
Dear Ticket-boy,
I cannot tell you my identity just yet. All I can say is that I am watching you from afar and cannot stop thinking about you. You are always on my mind. The laugh I heard from you and the kindness you showed...it’s a reoccurring image shining on all my bad memories. Thank you for being who you are. I will see you again at the next performance.
Love, your secret admirer.
‘Who in the world....?’ Oogami thought.
For some reason I can’t concentrate.
