"It's nice to see you again, Ichirou..." the woman said, her blue eyes sparkling. Behind her, he could see water... she was on a boat and soft music was being played in the background. "It's been a while, hasn't it."
"Adia..." Oogami uttered, gaping at the screen, "It's you, Adia... how in the world...??"
She smiled brightly. "... did I get your number? I remember it perfectly from all those times I watched you call your friends. I remember everything about you, Ichirou."
"No... that's not it. How are you calling me?? You don't have a kinematron... so how...??"
Adia winked at him and chimed "HI - MI - TSU~!" She then giggled and crossed her arms together, a breeze blowing her long bangs into her eyes. "I thought for sure you'd be glad to see me, Ichirou. But, right now you look a little pale... is it that much of a shock??"
"E-to... I thought you were going back to the States. But it looks like you're traveling again." he replied, "So, where are you headed now?"
"Japan."
"HAH?!" Oogami exclaimed, nearly falling over, "You're coming here??"
She cheerfully nodded. "I have some business... soushite, I wanted to see you. Is it all right? Is there a problem??"
"No... there's no problem... it's just... well, we're planning a wedding... and..."
"OH! I love weddings! Tell me, Ichirou - who's the lucky girl you're marrying??"
Oogami blushed bright red. "Uwah! I'm not getting married..." he stammered, rubbing his head, "It's an old classmate of mine to a friend... somehow I ended up as the Best Man..."
Adia leaned towards the screen and smiled again with dancing eyes. "You're not getting married?? Then I still have a chance, ne??"
"A-Adia... eeheheheh!" Oogami laughed bashfully. He still didn't know how to talk with women, especially women who liked him. What was he to do? They didn't give the appropriate training in Military Academy.
At his window, Kayama was peering in, looking a bit curious. 'Maa maa maa! Who is this lady??'
* * *
"Hmm??" Kaede put aside the blouse she was looking at and turned around. "Honto na no? Oogami-kun was talking to a woman on his kinematron??"
"Aa, she was by the ocean! I recognize the ocean's sound anywhere!" Kayama chimed, sitting in her windowsill.
It was the next morning and he was helping Kaede pick out what to wear for the day, since she didn't have to wear uniform and just work on the wedding plans.
"Hmm... could it be the one that he had a love affair with in Paris?" Kaede asked, holding up another blouse. Kayama first shook his head, and then nodded. "Make up your mind!" she laughed.
"Oh, I think the girl is... but that blouse doesn't go with that skirt we already chose." he explained, "I heard she's coming in a week... what should we do??"
Kaede rubbed her chin. She really didn't know either. And she felt worried about Sakura. She barely saw much of the girl the other day. What would happen if Sakura was in the same room as the woman who stole away the one she loved. Kaede didn't want her to go through anymore suffering, but what could be done?
Kayama got up and put his hands on her shoulder. "Kaede, I'm sure everything will be okay. I'll try talking to Oogami and see what's going on. Maybe we're worried over nothing."
"Sou ka... still... if I was in Sakura-kun's place, I wonder how I would feel if I lost the one person I loved most. It'll be too much to take..."
"Kaede..." he uttered, holding her close, "You know I only love you... well, you and the ocean... but the ocean is another story. I can't hold the ocean like I can hold you."
"Yuichi..." Kaede closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder. 'I'm lucky to have someone who truly loves me... but the others...'
* * *
Sakura was still in bed. She couldn't sleep, but she couldn't get up. She felt so tired. Suddenly, her door went flying open. "Ara~! Time to get up, Sakura-san~!" Sumire said, walking inside and pulling the curtains open.
Beams of sunlight came rushing in. Sakura rubbed her eyes and sighed at the ceiling, "Gomen nasai..." she uttered, finally finding the will to sit up, "Everyone is probably working hard already and I'm still in bed... I'll be sure to hurry up and get to work, Sumire-san."
"Hmm... Actually..." Sumire said, lifting a picture of Oogami and staring at it for a bit. She dropped it in the trash as she turned towards the other girl then clasped her hands together. "I have a special job for you today, Sakura-san!"
"Eh? Atashi??"
"Sou desu yo! As soon as you're ready, please meet me in the costume room."
Sumire was about to head to the door when Sakura quickly took hold of her sleeve. "A-ano... could I talk to you for a bit, Sumire-san. Please?"
"Hai hai..." she replied, turning around, "Is it about Oogami-chuui?"
Sakura nodded her head. "Last night... the woman called him on the kinematron."
"The woman he was seeing in France??"
"Un... the one I saw him with..."
"Sakura-san! If she's the one, then you better go after her and make her pay for what's she's done! I wouldn't stand for it!" Sumire exclaimed, "Let's get Kanna-san and Maria involved... we can all gang up on her...!"
Sakura quickly interrupted, "Actually, after thinking about it for a long time, I've decided that I shouldn't do anything about it. This woman... whoever she is... she appears to be kind. I'm sure Oogami-san would be happy with her..."
Sumire grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a good shaking. "Have you lost your mind completely, Sakura-san?! This woman is your rival now; you've got to fight back at full force! Don't let her win, Sakura-san!"
"S-Sumire-san, this isn't a contest. Oogami-san has made his decision... and he's chosen another. I'm not going to act childish and jealous... but to live with his choice. It's something I cannot regret, because I absolutely did my best. And I have to move on from it; otherwise I will make other people also sad in the process."
"Demo..."
"Sumire-san, don't worry about me. Daijoubu desu. Someday, I'll find my own love... until that time comes, I can't deny others, ne?" Sakura said, now walking over to the trashcan and taking out Oogami's picture. Smiling at the black and white photograph of him in his green suit and her in the pink summer dress, she put it onto the dresser. "Oogami-san... please become happy."
Sumire crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. 'Mattaku! If she's not going to do anything, I'm certainly going to! For starters, I want to know who this tramp is and then make her pay! OH HO HO HO HO~!' she thought, laughing in her head.
"Aa, it's a lovely day! Let's get started on the work!" Sakura said, heading for her closet, "Nee, Sumire-san, what's this special job for me...?"
"Oh... you'll find out soon..."
* * *
After finishing the paperweights, everyone gathered in the dressing room. On the table there were ten different cakes for them to sample. "Yoshi!! Let's get started!!" Kanna chimed as they all took a seat on the tatami mat.
"Wai wai wai!! Caki caki!!" Airisu chimed, so happy she dunked Jean-Paul into some frosting. "Mou, Jyan-Paru has no manners at all."
"Eheh, it's all right." Reni said, wiping the poor bear's ear, "Airisu, let's get some cake. It looks very delicious."
"Itadakimasu~!" they all chimed, diving in.
"What a great idea, Sumire." Kohran said in between bites, "After doing all that work, this is really what we needed."
Sumire flipped out her fan. "I just used my Kanzaki charm and convinced the bakery that I couldn't decide which one unless I get an affirmation from all of you... that we had to actually try it. Looks like we might be able to skip dinner! Ohohohohoh~!"
"In your dreams." Kanna replied, as Maria wiped her frosting covered chin. "Dinner is one of the four main meals of the day! We've just gotta have dinner!"
Before Kanna and Sumire could get into another argument, Yuri came running into the room, panting, "Aa... minna... I-I... I can't take it anymore... I must tell you all... that... that..."
Kasumi and Tsubaki had caught up with her and tackled her from behind, trying to cover her mouth. The three of them struggled on the ground, everyone else watching in surprise. "Yuri-saaan!! Damee! Dame yo!!!"
But Yuri prevailed, breaking out of their holds and exclaiming in a loud voice, "It's great scandal!! Oogami-san... he had another woman in France...!!"
But she didn't get the results she was hoping for. "We know that already." Kanna replied, "Sakura told Kaede and the others, who told us."
Yoneda nodded his head. "Of course Oogami would have women no matter where he goes... it's only natural! (hic)!" They turned towards him and saw that he was already drunk, and so early in the day too.
"Onii-chan keeps floating around!" Airisu sighed, "Nee, Reni, you don't float around, do you?" Reni just stared blankly at her, as if not understanding what she meant.
Yuri dropped her head and sighed. "It's no fun when everyone finds out before you tell them... Aaan... I waited too long... its you guys' fault!!" Kasumi and Tsubaki just laughed at her.
Just then Oogami and Kayama walked in. They had been working on construction to the stage. Kaede waved them over and sliced them some cake. "Ano," Oogami uttered, looking around, "Where's Sakura-kun?"
Sumire got up and walked in front of everyone. "Minna, now that you're all here, I wanted to show you what I had in mind for the bridesmaids' dresses. Kaede-san liked the designs thus far, but I wanted to see what it looked like on a real person. So, I borrowed the manakin display, and since it was Sakura-san's size, I decided to have her model it." She paused to knock on the door, leading into the costume room. "Hora, Sakura-san, you can come in now!"
The door slowly opened. Red-faced, Sakura stepped out in an elegant and flowing lavender dress, sleeveless with a ribbon tie at her waist. It also had matching long gloves and heels. Balancing herself, she allowed them all to take a look before trying to go for some cover. "Uwaaah!!" she cried, tripping on her own food and almost falling.
Kayama quickly snagged her by the arm and helped her up. "Ahaha! Just need some practice that's all!! I admire women who wear heels - it must be a great challenge~!"
Sumire had been making notes on a pad of paper. "Hmm... maybe we can lower the front hem just a couple more inches to show more cleavage... ohohohoho~!"
"N-Nani?!" Sakura cried, bracing her chest, "You're going to WHAT?!"
"Sumire, you can't do that." Maria retorted, "There's going to be lots of respectable people, like politicians and military officials, at the wedding."
"Yaaah!! Lower it!!" Yoneda happily cheered, waving his sake bottle, "And higher the bottom hem a bit more too! Show some leg!!"
"MOU!!" Airisu cried tearfully, "It's no fair!! Airisu doesn't have any cleavage like Sakura and everyone else!! Airisu is an adult, but Airisu is stuck in this child-like body!!"
"No problem, Airisu!" Kouran replied, "All you have to do is stuff your dress and soon you'll have the same cleavage as Sakura-han!"
Sakura bashfully pleaded, "P-Please stop talking about my cleavage!!"
Kanna leaned over to Sumire and grumbled, "Like heck I'm gonna wear that kind of getup."
"And what are you going wear?? No bridesmaid is going to wear pants or jogging shorts. I have great plans for you, Kanna-san." Sumire slyly uttered, scribbling into her notepad. She held up the draw of Kanna in a frilly gown with lots of ribbon. Kanna quickly looked away in disgust.
Maria laughed at the drawing. "Kanna, why don't you?? I think it'll look nice on you." Fortunately, after a couple words from Maria, Kanna decided to wear the dress.
* * *
After all of the cake had been finished, Yoneda went to his office to sleep. Oogami and Kayama went back to fixing up the stage for a special performance that was coming up next week. The Teigeki Sannin Musume went to look for new scandal. And no one really knew where the Baragumi went.
"Sakura-san, since you woke up late and barely did anything today, could you go to the market and pick up these things? They say there's a storm coming soon." Sumire said, handing her a list, "We'll just be taking the other girls' measurements."
"Hai, I'll be back soon." Sakura said, accepting the list and leaving the room.
Airisu then chimed, "Orihime went out to the market the other day, but didn't buy anything because she was too busy being lovey-dovey with that niisan from Sendai. Ehihi!"
Orihime glared and pointed her finger towards her. "Don't be such a ta~ttle~tell! I can blast you from here, y'know~!" Reni quickly moved to shield Airisu, but there was no need as Orihime moved onto other business. "Now that Sakura-sa~n is gone, what's this important news you wanted to tell us?"
Sumire replied, "Not here. We'll talk about it tonight... in the attic."
"Hoh?? Attic ya??" Kouran uttered, wiping her glasses. She had welded them together instead of getting a new pair. They were good as new. "Must be serious if Sumire-han wants to discuss it in the attic. We haven't had such a meeting up there, not since Maria-han's brilliant revenge plan."
"Masaka..." Maria stammered, turning to Sumire, "Are you playing something, Sumire??"
"Not just me." Sumire explained, "Kaede-san has agreed to help us again."
Kaede nodded. "Sou yo. This is something that we must do..."
* * *
On the stage, Kayama handed Oogami the hammer and then watched him bang at nail. Suddenly, Oogami hit himself in the finger. "Uwaaah!!" he cried out in pain.
"Daijoubu??" Kayama asked, taking his hand. He was about to do the thing that came most common to him when someone had an owie on their finger, but Oogami fearfully knocked him away. "Are??! Oogami??! Waaaah!!" he cried, falling off the stage into the orchestra pit.
"Kayama!! Daijoubu kai!?!" Oogami gasped, realizing his actions. He peered down at his friend and saw him sorely getting up, "Jaa... it's all your fault!! You were going to put my finger in your mouth!! That's sick!!"
"Oogami, I wasn't to do that! I was going to put some pressure on it until I got you something cold, like the wrench that was at my foot! Maa maa, what are you thinking about?!?"
Oogami went red. "I-I wasn't thinking about anything!!"
Kaede stepped out from behind the curtain. "Am I interrupting something??" Oogami frantically shook his head, then went to help Kayama, who wasn't injured at all. Kaede then said, "Oogami-kun, do you still have the notebook you borrowed from me? I kind of need it now."
"Oh... it's in my room. I could go get it right now if you want..."
"I wouldn't want to take you away from your work. I can get it, but I need the keys to your room." she explained. He gladly handed her the keys. "Arigatou. I'll bring these back to you right away." She paused to turn towards her sore-looking fiancé. "Are you all right??"
"Hai! Oogami and I are just being playful!" he chimed, putting his arm around the grumbling Oogami. "We'll be done with this work soon!"
She cheerfully nodded and then left the stage. Walking in the hallway, she passed Sumire and dropped the key in her hand. Sumire then headed for the staircase. 'So begins phase one...'
* * *
That night, as agreed, all the girls minus Sakura met in the attic. This time, Kaede had decided to leave out the Sannin Musume, because of their lack of ability to hold secrets. Fortunately it was summer and wasn't too drafty in the attic.
"Heh, the heating system I built up here... and the record player are still here after all this time." Kohran sighed, blowing some dust away, "Brings back memories naa??"
Orihime smiled, putting on the record that Takeshi had gave her. A soft waltz played in the background as they all waited for Sumire and Kaede to explain what was going on. Just then, Sumire placed a kinematron in front of them.
"This belongs to Oogami-chuui. I switched his and mine so that we can use his to track down this woman he saw in Paris." Sumire explained, "Not only can we re-dial her number, but we can ask some of his friends in Paris about her."
"Oooh! That's sneaky, Snake Woman!!" Kanna cried, though she grinned back enthusiastically, "Heh! Count me in!! Let's do it!!"
Maria frantically waved her hands in protest. "Chotto!! Minna, have you all gone crazy! I thought our revenge days over Taichou are over?! Isn't it enough to have him back after losing him for so long?? And Sakura doesn't seem to be holding a grudge anymore and is doing fine now... there really is no need!"
Airisu crossed her arms, shaking her head. "Sakura-oneechan suffered a lot. Airisu doesn't want another lady hurt by Onii-chan!"
Reni nodded her head. "Maria-Taichou, weren't you the one who said you couldn't forgive someone who purposely hurt other people?? If Oogami-Taichou really did cheat on Sakura, then he really didn't learn his lesson from last time and needs to be aware of his wrong. But first, we need to prove whether or not the wrong is true... dakara, I'm still not totally convinced and I want to see for myself."
Everyone stopped and stared at her. It was the most that Reni had ever said, with the most emotion no less. After that, no one argued. Kaede decided they first call a friend of Oogami's before calling this mystery woman. They dialed the first recorded French number. After the first three rings there was an answer.
"Bonjou, Oogami-sa~n!!" chimed a cheerful voice. The girl looked slightly bewildered to see so many faces at once, "A..aaa!?? Who are you all?!?"
"Who are you??" Kohran nervously asked, hoping they didn't dial the mystery woman yet, "You looks strangely familiar... Haaah?!? Are you part of the Paris Hanagumi?"
"Yes, I am!! I'm Erica! Oh! Now I remember who you all are!! You're the Tokyo Kagekidan! Kyaaaa!! I'm so excited!! All of you are talking to me at once!! But, I don't see Sakura-sama. Is she there?? I wanted her to teach me the Haja Kensei..."
"I-I think the Haja Kensei has to be inherited..." Maria stammered, she and everyone sweat-beading.
"Then, could you tell me how to wear a kimono! Aa, like Sumire-sama!! Waaaaaw! I didn't know you can wear it that low! Is it the new style??!"
Sumire moved in the center and posed seductively. "A~ra! If I had my way, it will be soon! Oh ho ho ho!!"
"Anyways," Kanna said, shoving Sumire out of the way, "We were hoping if you can help us, Erica."
"I'LL DO ANYTHING FOR THE TOKYO KAGEKIDAN!!!"
Kanna had to pause to rub her ears from that excessively loud yelling. Maria took over the speaking, "We were wondering if you can help us find out about a woman that Oogami-Taichou was supposively seeing."
Kaede continued, "From the description of Yuichi's, she's in her early 20s, with long black hair and blue eyes."
"Aa! That's Adia-san! I met her once or twice. Since these is a great investigation by the Tokyo Kagekidan, I can get you a picture of her and some other things about her!"
"Y-You can do that??!"
"Of course!! Oogami-san gave me his keys to his apartment to look after his plants! I'll bring us there in just moment!" Erica replied happily picking up the kinematron.
Everyone got a bit dizzy, as she forgot to disconnect and sent them running through the streets of Paris with a bad angle. In another instant, she tripped, the kinematron going flying and caught by her. Laughing, she apologized and continued on with the rampage.
"Ano nee..." Airisu uttered, "Is it all right to trust this crazy onee-chan? She's giving Airisu a headache..."
Finally, Erica reached the apartment and set them down on the desk. "Oh, you're still there. I'm so glad!! Well, here we are! Hmm... here's something that might be helpful." She held up a picture. "Is this the lady you're talking about??"
"Hmm..." Kayama was suddenly behind them. "Aa! Sou da yo! That's her!! That's the one!!" he exclaimed.
"Waah! When did he get here??" Orihime stammered, she and the others a little surprised that he had magically appeared.
"Her name is Adia Hepburn. She was Oogami-san's neighbor. She lived across the hall from him." Erica explained, "But she travels a lot so she left a few months back. According to Oogami-san, she was born in the United States, but she grew up in Japan."
"Can you tell us what her relationship to Oogami-Taichou was?" Maria said.
Erica blushed. "Can't! I'm sorry!! Oogami-san told me in confession! It's a sworn secret and since I'm a nun... well, it's not allowed!"
Kanna slanted her eyes. "(They let nuns wear outfits like that??!) she whispered over to Maria who hushed her.
"Was Onii-chan floating in Paris??!" Airisu demanded, taking center screen.
Erica looked confused. "Floating??"
"Hai~! Floating!!"
Erica had to think about it. "At one point he was... well, I kind of pushed him out a window... but it was an accident!! Anyways, he mysteriously made it safely to the ground. I think he actually floated! It must be a miracle from the Lord!!"
Everyone coughed and cleared their throats. They obviously had a crackpot on their hands. But Airisu looked intrigued. "Jaa... so Onii-chan really did float in Paris... MOU!! That traitor!!!!"
"Waaah, she looks scary with that yellow glowing around her!" Erica cried, "Anyways, I better get going before I'm missed at headquarters and the city is suddenly attacked."
After she had hung up, Sumire searched through the directory. "Aa, here it is! 'Adia-san'... let's give her a call!"
"Matte! Do you know what you're going to say to her??" Maria stammered, "Maybe we should call someone else. This Erica didn't seem too concrete about details..."
But it was too late; Sumire had already dialed the number. They were now waiting for an answer. "Are? Ichirou??" said a sleepy voice. The woman rubbed her eyes. "Ano, who are all of you??"
"We're the famous musical group, Teikoku Kagekidan - Hanagumi!" Sumire explained, "We have some questions about you, Adia-san, about Oogami-chuui."
"Hmmm???" Adia smiled cheerfully at them. "By any chance one of you Shinguji Sakura-san? I've been wanting to speak with her for a long time."
They exclaimed looks, wondering what she meant by this. "No, Sakura-kun isn't here." Kaede explained, "Why would you...?"
The smile brightened. "Himitsu~!"
"Jaa... we wanna know what your relationship is to Oogami-Taichou!" Kanna snapped, getting a little impatient. "Were you and him... you know... an item in Paris??"
"What do you think?" Adia replied, eying them over, "We only spent lots of time together in the evenings... dancing and going out. Sometimes I stayed over at his apartment. But I've only knew him for last ten years."
Everyone appeared a bit shocked. "Masaka... this can't be true..."
"It's too bad we had to part when he went to military academy. We've been lovers since. So, you can say that this Sakura or whatever stole what was rightly mine to begin with."
Kayama looked at her, shaking his head. "Iyada! Oogami would have told me about you! I'm his best friend - he would've said something!"
"You're Kayama, right?? He told me that he thought you were some singing idiot who annoyed the heck out of him. I wonder what kind of best friend would say that."
"S-Sonna... Oogami wouldn't..." Kayama stammered, his face becoming sad, "My singing isn't that bad..."
Kaede moved in the way, forcefully demanding that she apologize, "Stop making up lies! Our Oogami-kun wouldn't say such things..." But she could feel her own doubts lifting, 'Would he?? Oogami-kun... it can't be so...'
"We'll just have to find out who's right, don't we??" Adia said cheerfully, "It's nice to meet you all prior to my arrival. I shall see you all again in a couple days or so. Please give my regards to Sakura-san. I will have great pleasure meeting her." With that, she disconnected.
A long pause of silence followed. Everyone was just plain shocked. This was the woman??! Although she spoke very softly and politely, the content of her words carried great insult and harm. Sumire's brow darkened as she drew her blade out of nowhere and sliced a table in half. They all stared at her in shock.
"It's time to take some action! This lady gets on my nerves and I don't want her and Oogami-chuui to be domineering over the place when she gets here! Who's with me!!"
"OH!!" they all chimed, holding their fists in the air.
"It's onto phase two then..."
* * * * * * * *
Preview!
Reni: In every battle, there are casualties. It's something inevitable. But in this war of words and schemes, who will end up hurt in the end?
"A Fighting Heart" next time on Sakura Taisen. A storm of romance in Taisho sakura.
This woman came and says the most terrible things. Oogami-taicho, is it all true?
