notes: Hello! New series! I hope you enjoy. Please leave some feedback ne! This one is for Ayame fans. Lots of spin from the first 2 games, and also the Columns2 game. Please visit my site at its new url: https://www.angelfire.com/wa3/falling_sakurataisen "shikari shinasai" - like "hang in there" or "keep trying hard"

sore ja, matta oh! This fanfiction is by JillM; Summer2002

Sakura Taisen

* If We Didn't Meet *
Episode 1: "One Night"

And yet ---

"...after that, you need to fix the roof - ah, Kanna will help you with that...Hmm, and the pool needs to be cleaned - Kohran has a new invention for that, but it could be a little dangerous..."

Kaede paced around her room, with her notebook - giving orders for Oogami to do while she went for a conference out of town the next day. Oogami sat silently on the edge of the bed, grimacing into his tea. Kaede finally noticed his weary face and moved into his view.

"Oogami-kun, are you all right? You seem a little... well, not like yourself."

"It's really nothing, Kaede-san."

"The look in your face definitely does not mean 'nothing'. Tell me what's going on."

"Truth is... lately, I feel like I have to do so many things at once. Everyone is counting on me to, so... But, I don't know if I can handle it all. It just seems like so much."

"It is. In fact, it would be impossible to do if you were by yourself, but you're not. Everyone is with you."

"Right..." Oogami had heard this reasoning before, but this time it didn't ease his mind as usual.

"Ara?" Kaede leaned over, her concern deepening as she examined him over. "You really aren't yourself - are catching a cold?"

"No, that's not it. I'm just a little tired."

"Everyone is a little tired. But at least we're all together, ne? We're all working hard for the same goals. We're all having fun at the same time."

"Demo... is it really fun anymore? Are our goals still the same?" Oogami uttered. Kaede stared at him as he put his tea aside and sighed. "I always thought that eventually, somehow, I would have ended up at the Teigeki... Like it was my fate."

"Fate? I don't really think about it that way." Kaede replied, "You're here because of lots of reasons - not because of some divine power. Why all of a sudden, Oogami-kun...?"

She and Oogami fell silent. It was a strange topic to begin with, and Oogami didn't even know why he brought it up. Listening to the ticking of the clock, Kaede noticed that it was already 10 o'clock and she had the clear that cloud of doubt from his mind so that he could still do his other duties by the end of the day.

'Quick fix - right, Neesan?' Kaede thought, sitting up and lifting her arm, 'Yoshi!' She pointed her finger directly at his forehead. "Oh-ga-mi-kun!"

"H-Hai, Kaede-san!" Oogami stammered, blinking his eyes.

"Aren't are you a man?"

"Hai!" Oogami blurted out as though he was back in military academy.

"Good answer." Kaede chuckled, crossing her arms. "There were other men too, you know. But it is you who is the Taichou of the Hanagumi. You wouldn't be here if you couldn't handle all of this. I for one am certain that you can handle it."

"Kaede-san..."

"Shikari shinasai, Taichou-san!"

"H-Hai!!!" Oogami gasped, his face blushing. He quickly got up and backed away towards the door. "I'll go do my night watch now. Please don't worry about me, Kaede-san!"

Before Kaede could say anymore, Oogami rushed out into the hallway. 'What's with me lately? Saying such strange things in front of Kaede-san... I am the Taichou of the Hanagumi! Of course I can...!'

But then his shoulders caved. 'What is it? Why do I feel like I'm tired of this? Is it really my fate to be here?' After a long pause, Oogami tried to move onto something else. 'Forget and it, Oogami! Kaede-san is right! Don't ask questions! Get on with your duties! You'll just worry everyone!'

Attempting to be his cheery self once again, Oogami took out his flashlight and held a fist in the air. "Yoshi! Time to do the night watch!" But, before he could advance for the stairs, he heard a noise from behind. "Are? Someone ran from here... Was someone eavesdropping on my conversation with Kaede-san...?"

* * * * * * * * * * *

Downstairs, Oogami went into the dark lobby. He checked the doors and peered out through the glass. The streets seemed so empty, but with the shining lights he knew that Teito was still an active place after the sun had set.

'Before Teito was all I could think about... Coming to Teito... Protecting Teito... I've seen a world besides Teito... the Americas, Africa, all over Europe and Asia... Even so, this is my home. No matter where I go, it will always be my home. Where I belong... But... is it really...?'

Oogami lifted a hand to his head. "Why do I keep asking so many questions? Is this what they call a mid-life crisis? What am I saying? I'm still in my twenties... Nothing is making much sense."

Walking through the hallway, he saw that all of the lights were out, with the exception of the kitchen. He looked in and saw Kanna, Kohran, Iris, and Reni sitting at the counter.

"Minna... what are still you doing up?"

"Oniichan!" Iris chimed, "Iris can stay up because Iris is an adult!"

"S-Sou..."

"Taicho," Reni said, "We were just having a light snack before we went to bed. Do you want some?"

"Oh, sure." he replied. He then saw what they were eating. "Aaaaah??! That's the batch of pastries we were going to give to the people that Kaede-san was going to visit tomorrow! Those are not supposed to be eaten!!"

Kanna was in the middle of eating one, but after hearing this coughed up half of it. "S-Sorry, Taicho..."

Kohran sighed, "Oogami-han, we really didn't know. Maybe if you left a sign..."

"It's all right. We'll find something else to give." Oogami noted, "Just go to sleep now and we'll think of something in the morning."

"Hai!" the group said, solemnly leaving the kitchen.

Oogami turned for the hall again, when he saw a light in the dressing room. 'Are? Someone is still in there?' Going for the door, he paused to hear the voices inside.

"De~mo ne~! Maria~sa~n really looks nice in this dress~!"

"I-I don't think so... Orihime, I'm going to change out of it right away before someone sees me..."

Oogami couldn't help but take a peek. "Uwah, Maria..." he uttered, "She looks really good..."

"I just heard something outside!" Maria gasped, "Was someone peeking?"

Orihime's brow darkened as she stormed at the door. "If it's Chuui-sa~n, I'm going to za~p him~!"

'Shimatta!' Oogami took off running, turning around the corner just as Orihime stuck her head out in the hall - throwing out random magenta shots from her finger. 'That was close!' When the coast was clear, he noticed the light coming from the backstage area. 'Someone is practicing on the stage so late at night.'

Peering from the curtain, he saw Sakura and Sumire facing each other with their scripts. "Ano, that's not right, Sumire-san. I'm supposed to be over here."

"Takku! Sakura-san, if you stand here, the audience won't see me when I say the best lines in the play! Is that what you want?"

"Heeeh? Are you acting or directing?"

"I AM thinking of the success of the play! Can you not compromise?"

"I-ie! I won't move until the director says so! Unless you want to try to move me, yourself!"

Sumire fretfully sighed, "Sakura-san, aren't you a little too old to be playing such games." She turned to leave, but at the last moment came back and try to push Sakura from her spot. "Move already!!"

"NO!"

"MOVE!!"

Oogami dropped his head. 'At this rate, they will end up fighting all night. I better step in...' Just then, Sakura lost her footing and the two of the fell onto the stage. Oogami turned very red. 'Uwaaaah!'

Sumire was lying on top of Sakura, the two of them unable to move.

"S-Sumire-san! Please get off me!"

"Itai desu wa! I cannot move!"

Oogami gripped at his hair. 'W-W-Why do I keep staring! I should not be looking at this! No, I should help them! Wait, what should I do?? And why am I getting so dizzy??'

He backed away from the curtain and moved into the props room. Picking up a fan, he started fan himself. 'It got hot all of a sudden... Now, what should I do? Should I go back and check on them...?'

As he was thinking this, he leaned against the wall. It suddenly opened up and he fell in, the wall closing again. "UWAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" In the dark, he fell from a great height and landed on a hard ground. Lying there, he couldn't find the strength to get up.

'What the?' he thought, staring at the black surroundings. He couldn't even see the top from where he had fell in. 'I never knew about this passage in the props room. I wonder where I am.'

Finally finding the strength the sit, he saw that his flashlight was still in his pocket. He had turned it off when he was spying on the girls' practice on the stage. Turning it on, he finally got a chance to look around.

"Eh?"

He saw that he was in a burnt looking room with debris at his feet. He also saw a wooden mirror on a stand. Moving in front of it, he examined himself. His clothes were all dusty and his head was bleeding. Lifting a finger to touch the wound he turned around as he felt someone was watching him.

"W-Who's there?" he stammered. But all he saw was a dark, empty room. "This is really strange..." He knelt down to see the debris on the floor. He noticed it were burnt pieces of paper - pages from a book.

"Eh?" He looked at piece that still had some legible words on it and read it out loud. " << Even now, I wonder: Why was it I? Would Teito really be protected if I were here? Would everyone really be happy if I was here? The answer, I found, was always >> Damn, I can't read the rest."

Getting up, he flashed the light on the wall again. His heart raced as he heard someone there on the other side, banging on the wall. 'W-W-What the?!?!'

Suddenly, a door fell down and someone shined a light in his eyes. "Who's there?!"

"WAAH!!" Oogami stepped back as the glare left his vision and he could see the person holding a gun at him. 'Maria!?'

"Who are you! What are you doing here??!" Maria demanded, looking very angry as she held the barrel of the gun to his face.

For a moment, Oogami could only stare. It had been a long time since he had seen Maria this angry with him. 'Let's see, that would be when I first arrived at the Teigeki... But she never attempted to shoot me!!'

"I'm warning you!! Leave this place immediately or I will kill you!!"

"W-Why?!" Oogami gasped, waving his hands frantically, "Maria, what's happened! Why are you so angry?! I only saw you in a dress... that's nothing to be embarrassed about!"

Maria looked at him with surprise, her hand shaking a little. "How do you know my name! Who the hell are you?!"

"Eh?"

"Get out now, whoever you are!! I-I want you to leave!!" she yelled, putting her gun away into her long black coat. She proceeded to grab Oogami by the arm and forcibly pull him from the room.

Oogami realized then that he was coming out of what was the props room. 'How can that be... I fell from there? How is this on the first floor?!' But it was really too dark for him to recognize the first floor. He did see debris all over the place and the broken walls. 'What's happened to the Teigeki?!'

Maria finally made it to the exit and when she opened it sunlight poured inside. 'It's already daytime?! How long had I be in there?!' Oogami thought as she pushed him down the steps and he landed on his knees. "Chotto, Maria...!" he yelled out, but she slammed the door in his face.

Oogami pulled himself up and looked at his surroundings. Something was definitely different. 'No steam energy... street car out of use... No people in the streets...? Is this really Ginza??' He turned around and stared back at the Teigeki. It looked worn and poorly kept - parts of the building deteriorating.

'What's going on?'

Episode 2 Preview

Oogami: T-This can't be Teito - My Teito! What's going?! Minna... why don't you recognize me?! Am I dreaming?

Ayame: Next time on Sakura Taisen: "The other side of the mirror"! Taisho Sakura ni Rouman Arashi!

Oogami: W-What are you doing here, Ayame-san?!?

Ayame: Shikari shinasai, Oogami-kun!

Oogami: Eeeh?!?!