'It has been 12 hours since Oogami-chuui has disappeared. He left with a colorless look on his face, as he announced that he had enough.' Kaede leaned against the window and gazed outside. The morning had been cloudy, but a few sun breaks were coming through. "Oogami-kun..."
"Who cares him." Kayama grumbled, crossing his arms as he paced in her room. "Oogami didn't care about us... why should we care where he went. He's made his decision to be with that lady... just let him go."
"Yuichi..." she uttered, looking at his miserable reflection on the glass. This did not sound like the man she loved, but a man who had his heart broken. "The real Oogami-kun does care about us... he just has to..." Her voice trailed off. She too was starting to believe it herself.
All of a sudden, Yoneda threw the door open. "Kaede-kun!! Downstairs on the double! Emergency!!" he exclaimed frantically. The two just stared at him, and he stared back "OI OI!! What is Kayama doing in here!?!?" he screamed.
"Maa maa maa! Calm down, old man!" Kayama cried, hiding behind Kaede, "I-I just got here... nothing of the indecent sort happened!" But the old guy looked really scary and continued his approach. "Waah! Kaede, save me!!"
* * *
Oogami's eyes flickered open. He had fallen asleep in this armchair. Though he went with Adia to her hotel room, he didn't agree to any of the things she suggested. He wondered what he was going to do now, now that everyone surely hated him.
'But how could they mistreat Adia-san... she didn't do anything wrong. Why do they always get like that. But still... something this time didn't seem right...' he thought, gazing at the woman, sleeping peacefully in the king sized bed.
He thought back in Paris - how by coincidence he happened to move in next door to an old high school classmate from his hometown. She had been a friendly face to see after the difficult battles and the escaping from the lovesick girls of the Paris Hanagumi. He told her his problems and she listened. Not once did she demand anything from him.
'Adia is the most selfless person I've met. How could the girls be so cruel to her. Then again...' He concentrated on the dresser at her kinematron. 'Where did she get a kinematron. Only staff of the Hanagumi has them. And what exactly was her business here in Tokyo anyways...'
He sat up in his chair; putting on the striped tie she had bought him, since he had dropped his cheesy bowtie on the run. His mind drifted back to the strange incident in Paris, a stormy night...
(flashback)
"Come with me, Ichirou!" she said, "When you get off duty, come traveling with me! We'll have the greatest time in the world!"
They were standing outside a fountain. Someone was playing the accordion faraway. Oogami rubbed his head and was surprised to hear actually want something from him. But he regretted his answer. "I'm sorry, Adia-san. I doubt I'd ever be off duty... and even if I were... I have someplace to go back to. I can't go traveling the world with you."
"Ichirou..." she uttered, her face suddenly turning cold, her eyes slanted. "Is it because you love those people? Those people in Japan?"
"Eto..." he stammered, a little startled by her sudden change. "A-Adia... san...??"
All of a sudden, there was a strike of lightning and a downpour. People hurried for cover, but they just stood in the rain, facing each other. After a pause, she burst out laughing. "Ehehe! Just joking! Come on, let's go home!"
Fortunately he found a cab and she turned back to her cheerful self. In the cab, Adia talked about her many suitors and how she couldn't settle down with any of them because she was unstable. "Always moving around, so busy with work, I doubt I'd be able to raise a family somewhere."
Oogami sighed, leaning his head back, "Me neither. Perhaps I'll be in the Teigeki forever... fighting demons until the day I die..."
"I-I thought you were a ticket boy." Adia gasped, looking very innocent.
"Waah, of course I'm just a ticket boy! Aahahahah!!" he laughed, trying to cover up his mistake. Just then they were at their apartment. He paid the driver and took out his umbrella. "Saa, let's hurry, Adia-san, before we get wet."
Even with the umbrella they still got wet. Laughing they raced for cover, but at the entrance, Adia took hold of his arm. He saw that serious look in her face return. Then, without warning, she leaned over and kissed him. Oogami had nose bleed.
"Ichirou," she whispered in his ear, "We are the same..."
(end of flashback)
After that, they parted their ways into their own apartments. Strangely she was back to normal after that. Then, one week later, she moved again. Oogami thought he wouldn't see her again. But he had been wrong. 'Minna...' he thought, walking to the window and gazing in the direction of Ginza, 'Gomen na...'
* * *
The members of the Hanagumi were sitting in the Salon, looking very miserable. They knew they couldn't do anything, because it was Oogami's decision to leave. Plus, it was their own fault by playing tricks on his guest.
"She deserved it ya!" Kohran grumbled, angrily working on some explosive device, "She's the one who caused Oogami-han to cheat, and she has the nerve to come here and insult us!?"
Orihime leaned against the wall. "Ma~a, wouldn't it been natural for Chuui-san to cheat anyways? If it wasn't Adia-s~an, then some other girl in France."
Maria sighed, "Let's not talk about it anymore. It just makes everyone more upset."
"But Airisu wants Onii-chan back." Airusu cried, "Even after all the bad things he's done, Onii-chan is still Onii-chan!" Everyone's feelings were divided. They wanted him back, but they couldn't accept what he had done. The Oogami they cared about seemed to have disappeared.
Suddenly, a kinematron started ringing. Sumire answered it, thinking it was hers. "Oh! I forgot! I switched with Chuui!" she stammered, "Hai! Mushi mushi??"
A handful of faces appeared. "Ano... is this the Tokyo Hanagumi?? Hanabi desu. We're the Paris Hanagumi."
Kanna nodded. "I recognize y'all. What's going on??"
Hanabi replied, "Well, we heard Sakakibara-san's rumor on the Teigeki Star radio show about Oogami-chuui's alleged misconduct and we want to vouch for his behavior. Please just give us a moment of your time."
"Jaa... So you know something we don't know?" Sakura asked, everyone crowding around the kinematron.
Lobelia dragged the struggling Erica to the screen. "But this girl knows something! C'mon, spit it out all ready or I'll have to hurt you!!"
"Waah, I'm against violence!!" Erica cried, still straining, "Besides, I'm a nun - the contents of our conversation are absolutely secret!! I mustn't utter a word...!"
"Besides," Glycine replied, "It wasn't a real confession anyways. You weren't supposed to be hiding in the confession boxes in the first place! You're not qualified to do the reconciliation sacrament."
"Oh yeah..." Erica stammered, rubbing her head. "But Oogami-san seemed very embarassed! I don't want to embarrass him further!"
"But he could escape such embarrassment if you tell it already!!" Lobelia cried, getting impatient.
Just then, Sakura interrupted. "It will help us a great deal. Please tell us this information, Erica-san. Onegaishimasu!"
"Sakura-san..." Erica uttered, their eyes meeting. Slowly Erica smiled and nodded her head, then went into her story:
(flashback)
It began when Erica found a letter in the Teigeki. "A-aa!! It's from Shinguji Sakura-san!!" she cried, picking it up, "Then it must be for Oogami-san... aa, where did he go??"
Lobelia suddenly showed up and took it from her. "Give me that." She said, starting to open the envelope.
"Waa! Lobelia, I know you like to steal things, but stealing people's mail - that's terribly wrong! You mustn't!!" Erica cried.
"Dammit! I can't read a thing. It's all in these characters. Too bad they only had use learn to speak Japanese, but not read it. Let's bring it to Hanabi. Maybe she can make sense out of this..."
"Waaait!!" Erica cried. Fortunately, Erica was able to get the letter back. But they had already opened it. 'Oogami-san will be upset if we read his mail!' she thought, not knowing what to do. So she went to see the Grande Meré for guidance.
"What's this in your hands??" the middle-aged woman as, getting out of her desk.
"A love letter to Oogami-san." Erica replied. Grande Meré face-faulted, but Erica continued. "I-I don't know what to do... I'm just a nun..."
"Erica... it's you should think about your future. Do you really think you can continue this way as a nun? You mustn't fight your true feelings!"
"Whaaat?!?" Erica cried, totally confused.
Suddenly music started to play from nowhere and Grande Meré burst into song, "Climb every mountain! Search every stream! Follow every ra~inbow! Till you find your dream~!"
"Huh?? How is this supposed to help me? Oh nevermind, I'll figure it some other way." Erica stammered, running out of the room.
Erica went to the place that she found most inspiration, Notre Dame. But when she saw Oogami, she quickly hid in one of the confession boxes. 'Oh no!! I have his letter and he's probably looking for it! ...waaah!! He's coming this way!!'
"Father, I know I'm not a Catholic, but I want to talk to you about something..." Oogami uttered, his face troubled. "Father?" he asked, when there wasn't an answer.
"Er, yes!" Erica replied, trying to disguise her voice.
"Erica-kun?!" Oogami gasped.
"Waah, Oogami-san, you can recognize me??!"
"Yeah, but what are you doing in there..."
"Well, I have a confession to make." She replied, "we all opened one of your letters and it's my fault for not stopping it. Please forgive me, Oogami-san."
Oogami smiled. "Don't worry. I don't mind. Is it another one from Sakura-kun?"
"Yes it is. She writes you a lot, Oogami-san. I-is she... your..."
"I... I don't know anymore." he replied, lowering his head, "I feel like I betrayed her. You see, another woman... she forcibly kissed me. I feel terrible. If Sakura-kun found out, she might not forgive me."
"Really?? Oogami-san, just because another lady kissed you, doesn't mean you betrayed anyone. As long as your feelings are true, that's what matters. You've made your decision, haven't you?"
Oogami slowly lifted his head. "H-Hai! I have!" he exclaimed, "Only... what if she... she... Sakura-kun doesn't feel the same way when I get back?"
"Oogami-san don't worry! It's like what the Grande Meré said: 'Climb every mountain! Search every stream! Follow every ra~inbow! Till you find your dream~!'"
"HAAH?" he gasped, a bit confused. Finally, he just started laughing. Erica too laughed, as it really did sound weird. People lifted their heads from their prayers as laughter filled the cathedral. (end of flashback)
"So... Oogami-han didn't cheat at all in Paris!" Kohran gasped after hearing the story, "Yokkata na, Sakura-han!"
Sakura gazed off in shock. "I... I misunderstood... oh, Oogami-san...!" she cried, hands in her hair, "What have I done?!"
Orihime patted her on the back. "Daijubou de~su! You didn't know! Anyone could have made that mistake! Don't be so hard on yourself!"
Maria crossed her arms, "Still, why did Oogami-taichou go with that woman? And where are they? We've got to find them quickly and straighten out this mistake!"
"OH!!" all members of the Hanagumi chimed.
There was a long pause. "Oops, we're all the way over here." Hanabi stammered, "I guess we can't help. Good luck!" With that they disconnected.
* * *
"Masaka..." Kaede gasped as Yoneda had told them what was going on. They were in the meeting room in the basement and a picture of Adia was on the large screen. "This woman is...?!"
"Aa, the Barugumi have been investigating her for a long time. She's an American spy under many aliases. Her objective was to leak our top-secret technology to other countries that aren't part of the International Defense Corps."
"This could start a war... we can't let her leave the country!" Kayama uttered, "Daga... does Oogami know her real identity?"
"This I do not know." Yoneda said, clenching his fists, "I can only hope that he doesn't..."
Kaede gazed at the screen. "Oogami-kun..." she uttered, worry in her mind, "What is the status on the search?"
"There is a tracker on Oogami's kinematron when it is operating. Shikashi, the Barugumi note that his location keeps showing up at the Teigeki. This doesn't make any sense at all." Yoneda explained.
"That's because we switched Sumire-kun's kinematron with his!" Kaede replied, "Put a trace on Sumire-kun's kinematron!"
"Roger that!" Yoneda said, typing Sumire's access code. After a couple of moments, a light started blinking on the table map of Tokyo. "Yattaze!! We've got them!!"
"Ooh?? Is that where Ichirou-chan is??" Yoko chimed, he and the other Barugumi appearing on the screen. "We'll get there right away and give him a biiig kiss!!"
"Yokohiko, careful now!" Kotone scolded, "This wretch is said to be armed and dangerous. She also has some important blueprints with her. We can't let her get past our grips scared!"
"Hai, Taichou!!" they said, their faces flashing off the screen.
Kayama got up and sternly looked towards Yoneda. "I'll go as well! I want to catch this lady and also make sure Oogami is all right!"
"I'll go with you!" Kaede insisted, "We'll get there on the double, Sir. Please try to contact Sumire-kun's kinematron."
"Good luck! For now we'll keep this a secret to cease panic in the Teigeki. Please hurry and find Oogami!" Yoneda said. The two nodded and bolted out the door. Yoneda dropped his head, closing his eyes. 'Oogami...'
Outside the Teigeki San'nin Musume had been eavesdropping. 'No way!!'
* * *
Oogami and Adia had packed their things and were taking a small boat to towards the pier. She wanted him to 'see her off'. But Oogami could sense she had another agenda. "What is it you really want??"
"You are very bright." She replied, "The truth, as we speak... people are after me. You see, I have these..." She opened up her bag and showed him the blueprints to the Mikasa, Shougeimaru, and the Goraigo. Also there were other documents about the secret butai, the koubu, and Ri Kohran's other inventions."
"W-Why? Why do you have those??"
"Dakara... my employer wishes to use these inventions for something more interesting. Thanks to your help I've been able to infiltrate into your headquarters and get my hands on this useful information."
"Sou na..." Oogami gasped, "You used me? I thought you were my friend! I confided in you! I trusted you!"
"Hmp, is there really a word called 'friendship'??" she chuckled, "But you've had some interesting stories to tell, especially the ones I found in here..." She held out a book.
"Waah! You read my journal??!"
"Yes, and the secrets in here were just as useful as the inventions. From here, I told your 'honest feelings'... well, I told the partial truth, which was enough to make your so-called friends turn against you."
Oogami glared at her. "You... how dare you! You didn't tell them what I truly felt at all! We might have our troubles, but regardless I care about everyone very much!!"
All of a sudden, another boat not far was gaining on them. It was a large swan boat, being powered by Yokohiko's legs. Kotone leaned out while Kikunojou steered. "HALT! In the name of Teito!!" Kotone hollered, "This, the butai of Love and Beauty - Barugumi commands thee!!"
"Oh hell!" Adia grumbled, taking out a gun, "Who invited the drag-show??" Shooting a couple bullets, she managed to destroy the part of the boat, causing them to sink. "Eheh, now to finish you off!!"
"Waait!!" Oogami exclaimed, tackling her. After a struggle, Oogami managed to knock the gun out of her hands. "Why are you doing this?! Tell me why!!"
"Because." she simply replied, "There isn't anything you can change about me, Oogami Ichirou. However, our times together were really fun. And I don't really want them to end. If you look at it now - you can be an accessory to my crimes, and your friends will blame you for the loss of such important information. So you might not have anything to return to. That's why... I'm giving you this last chance."
"Last chance...?" Oogami uttered. Behind her serious face, he could see the Barugumi still splashing in the water. He felt his heart pound, while unbeknowest to him Adia reached for the gun.
"Ichirou... you know I love you. I've loved you for the longest time, perhaps stronger than anyone you know. Run away with me." she said, looking him in the eye, "It's the only way. We'll be free as birds and do as we like! You don't have to deal with any of this nonsense ever again!"
Oogami shook his head. "I cannot do that. You see, more than anything I love the Hanagumi. I love every single one of those people who are looking for me and worried sick for me. I do have something to return to..."
"Hmp! Fine!! All ties end here!!" Adia snapped, drawing the gun and shooting him. Oogami fell over in the boat, clutching his wound. "I'll see you in Hell." she chuckled, as his eyes fell shut.
* * *
Suddenly the tea cup that Sumire held broke. She fell backwards in shock. Everyone else gathered around her. "That's a bad omen ya!" Kohran noted.
"Iresai!! I don't have time for bad luck! I'm Tokyo's number one star!!" she exclaimed. Kanna calmed her down while Maria proceeded to clean up the mess.
All of a sudden the doors burst open. "Minna!! Taihen taihen!! Terrible news!!" Yuri cried, "It's Oogami-san...!!"
The Teigeki San'nin Musume explained all that they overheard. The girls, without another thought, bolted for the stairs. But when they got to the meeting room, they heard further terrible news. "Oogami's been shot??!" Yoneda yelled.
A drenched Kotone appeared on the screen. "It was terrible. We saw it happen and we couldn't do anything about it."
"Where is Taichou now?!" Reni asked.
"The trace has stopped here... in this boathouse not too far." Yoneda explained, "I sent Kaede-kun and Kayama to follow the trace..."
Suddenly, Kaede appeared on the screen. "We've found Oogami-kun!! Hurry we need the medics right away! There's blood everywhere!"
"Kyaaaa! Onii-chan?!" Airisu sobbed, grabbing onto Reni, "Don't die! Airisu doesn't want him to die!!"
They could hear Kayama in the background also screaming for Oogami to answer him. In the screen, Kaede's face looked sick with worry as she clenched her fists and cried, "Hepburn isn't here! You've got to stop her before she gets away!!"
Sumire calmly went up to Yoneda and handed him Oogami's kinematron. "Her number is on here. Could you do a trace?"
"Aa!! Take this kinematron with you and I'll keep you online. The Barugumi are getting the medics so it's up to you girls."
Meanwhile, Sakura made a run for the door, but Maria stopped her. "Let me go! I have to go to Oogami-san now!! I have to!!" she cried, her eyes filled with tears.
"No, we've got to stop this woman who did this to him." Maria replied, "It's our duty. We must do this... for Taichou."
"But..." she exclaimed, "I... I don't want to lose him!"
"He'll be all right." Kanna replied, "This is Taichou we're talking about. He just has to be all right! Have faith, Sakura!"
"Sou de~su!" Orihime added, finger in the air, "We've got to stop this woman once and for all~!"
Maria nodded, then turned to her troops, who looked ready for action. "TEIKOKU KAGEKIDAN - SANJOU!!"
************
Preview!!
Yoneda: The decision has been made... and a life hangs on a thread. Oogami, please hang on!
Kayama: "Once More" next time on Sakura Taisen.
Kayama&Yoneda: A storm of romance in Taishou Sakura!
Kayama: Oogami, your words... you have to tell her yourself.
