"They're on their way..." Kaede uttered, shutting the kinematron and slowly turning around. They sat in the dim boathouse, the ticking from her watch echoing in their ears. 'Oogami-kun...'
The wounded soldier barely had his eyes open, his white polo drenched with blood. Kayama knelt at his side, holding his hand. "Hey..." Oogami managed to say, "Kayama... tell everyone I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... hurt... them all... and tell Sakura-kun... I... I..."
"Oogami, don't! Tell her yourself!" Kayama insisted, "Everything will be all right! Everyone understands and will surely forgive you! Just hold on and don't die on me, Pal!!"
Oogami chuckled. "You know... Kayama... I wouldn't mind hearing you sing right now..."
"D-Don't you hate my singing??"
His eyes closed for a moment and a smile appeared on his face. "Not as much as my own singing... don't you remember... those nights on the boat...?" Oogami cleared his throat and softly sung, "... aaah... aaaah~!"
Kayama's face strained and he gripped his hand tighter. "Don't, Oogami! Save your strength!"
But Oogami kept on singing. "Kanpan... fura fura... fura fura..." Kayama tearfully joined him, singing a soft duet. "Aaaa... drunken dream of sweeping the deck ... Aaaa, staggering, staggering, staggering on the deck~!"
* * *
Adia continued to cruise the canal until it poured into the Tokyo Bay. She could see the yacht waiting for her. 'What a perfect getaway! Only, I wish that man changed his mind. Hmp, I guess you can't win it all!'
"That's as far as you go!" exclaimed a voice. Maria and the Hanagumi stood on the bank. "Adia Hepburn, you'll pay for your crimes and what you did to Taichou!"
"Make me, you little girls!" she snapped, taking out her gun. But Maria took hers out and shot the gun out of her hands. Then Sakura leaped out, landing on the boat. She struck the engine with her sword, creating an explosive. Adia and Sakura dove overboard in time, but the bag containing all the info started floating away. "NO!!"
Airisu teleported and got the bag. "Wai wai!" she chimed, holding it over her head. But Adia had gotten her gun back and started shooting at her. "Kyaaaa! You baad Onee-chan! Airisu hate you!" she exclaimed, teleporting out of the way.
"JUST DIE!!" Adia screamed, shooting at her wildly. Every time, Airisu managed to teleport to safety. Soon they left the water and battled on the bank, bullets showered the air until she was out. "Dammit!" she cried, opening the cartridge to refill.
"Yakusoo!!" Kanna yelled, leaping from above and kicking her to the side, "Take that, you wretch!!"
Sumire joined in from her other side. "Haaaa!!" she hollered, whacking at her with her bladed staff. Adia looked beaten for a moment, but then revealed that she had one of Kohran's explosives on her, which she activated. "NO!!" Sumire exclaimed, she and Kanna backing away.
But now, Reni charged without fear, her lance drawn. Passing by her, she sliced the straps to the bomb, which landed on the ground. Kohran's flying robot dove down and brought it to her (in the trees, where she was hiding out). "Leave it to me! I'll disable it! Heck, I built it ya!"
"Leave this annoying woma~n to us~!" Orihime said, pointing her finger to a tree and shooting down a branch, which landed on her. Now that Adia couldn't move, the other girls surrounded her. "This is wha~t you get for wha~t you've done~!" Orihime charted, crossing her arms.
"Hmhmhm..." Adia smiled evilly, "You think you won... well, think again. Already, information about the kinematron has been passed. It's only a matter of time before the rest of your secrets are known. And a matter of time before Oogami Ichirou will be dead. Hahahahahaah!!"
"You... you!!!" Maria hissed, her eyes becoming icy cold. She pointed the gun at Adia's head, readying the trigger, "You shot my Taichou...!! NOW YOU DIE!!!"
"Mariaa!! Yamero!" Kanna exclaimed, grabbing hold of her from behind and struggling to steady the gun in her hand, "Don't shoot!! It's enough!!"
"DATTE!!" Maria exclaimed, still fighting with her, "If Taichou dies, if Taichou...!! I don't want Taichou to die...!"
"I know, but if you kill this hussy, you'll be no better than she." Kanna explained, "Saa, let's get her out of here and check on Taichou. Everything is going to be all right. I promise, Maria."
Maria tearfully nodded, her struggling ceasing. Meanwhile, Sakura was still wading in the water, completely drench. "Minna! Let's hurry! I'm worried about Oogami-san!"
"Oh! Let's move out!" Maria said, as the others tied up Adia. Closing her eyes, she slowly put the gun back into her coat and turned away. 'Taichou...'
* * *
At the hospital, Yoneda and the Teigeki San'nin Musume met up with the Barugumi and Kaede and Kayama, who went with the medics and Oogami. They took him onto the operation table right away. Pacing in the waiting room, the group couldn't talk for a long time. They all lifted their heads to see the doors burst open.
"Oogami-san wa...??" Sakura cried frantically, a blanket over her soaking wet kimono. Kaede could only point towards the operation room. Sakura's face fell; she couldn't do anything for him now.
Sumire clutched her arm. "If only we didn't switch the kinematron... we would've found him in time... and this would not have happened..."
"What are you saying?" Kanna replied, putting her hand on her shoulder. "This Adia lady was planning this the whole time. There really wasn't anything we could do. We weren't prepared."
Kohran sighed, "To think... she already started to send out my beloved inventions... oh, my kinematron... and what she's done to Oogami-han, I won't forgive her!"
"So Oogami didn't know, did he?" Yoneda uttered, "Well, his name is cleared and he's an innocent man... that is, if he survives."
"Manager! Don't say such things!" Tsubaki gasped, wiping her eyes, "When you were shot, we all thought the worst - and yet you came through. We must think positively, no matter how terrible it is!"
Airisu gripped her head and screamed, "NO!! Onii-chan is gonna DIE!! NO! NO! NOOOOO!!!" Everyone fell silent. This exactly wasn't positive thinking. Fortunately, Maria took Airisu to the bathroom and the waiting room became calm once again.
'The clock on the wall keeps ticking...' Kaede thought, as Kayama put his arm around her. 'All we can do is wait...'
* * *
The hours passed. Majority of the Hanagumi had fallen asleep, including the snoozing Yoneda. Kaede barely stayed awake, her head leaning against Kayama's shoulder as they sat on the sofa, next to the snoring Kanna. Through her blurry vision, she saw Sakura standing in front of the door, waiting with diligence for it to open.
Sumire and the Barugumi had disappeared for an hour and returned with trays of tea for everyone. Only they all were tired as well. It was already past midnight. 'No one wants to go home until the operation is over. Not until we see Oogami-chuui's face...'
Sakura slowly lifted her head; the doors were opening. The doctors came out first. Sakura, Sumire, Kaede and the Barugumi approached them, waiting for someone to tell them the results. "The bullet didn't hit a major organ, just a blood vessel, that's why he lost so much blood. He's recuperating for now." the doctor informed.
"Yatta!" Sakura cried happily, her voice waking the others. Just then, the table was wheeled out. Oogami still was out as Sakura ran to his side, too overwhelmed to speak. 'Oogami-san!' But the nurses wheeled him away, down the hall towards the recovery room. Sakura looked like she might follow him, but was stopped.
"Sakura-kun," Kaede said, putting her hand on her shoulder, "Maybe let's go home first. Oogami-kun will be fine according to the doctors, but he wouldn't want to see you in this condition. It's best we all get some rest."
"H-Hai!" she said, noticing for the first time how tired she felt. She saw that her friends were also exhausted. "It's been a long day... let's go home!"
* * *
'Where am I...??' Oogami thought, walking through the darkness. Soon he realized that he was in the central garden in the Teigeki. Ahead he saw Sakura. 'Huh??'
"Oogami-san..." she uttered, "It's over. I have someone else now... I don't care about you anymore."
"NO!!" Oogami exclaimed, now running towards her, "No, Sakura-kun!! I...I...!!" But the ground under him broke apart and he found himself falling into a pit. "UWAAAAH!!!"
All of around him were faces, saying random things. "Of course Oogami had women... ahahaha... hic!" Yoneda said.
"You're not my friend!!" Kayama tearfully yelled, "You never were!!"
"You're such a jerk, Chuui-sa~n!" Orihime charted, pointing at him.
Erica was singing, "Climb every mountain~! Search every stream...!!"
Below, he saw flames. His skin felt burning and he feverishly stared ahead to a smiling Adia. "We're the same because we don't give a damn about anyone else! That's why we'll be together in Hell! Aahahaha!!"
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
* * *
Oogami's eyes flickered open. Lying in bed, he saw that the white room looked partially empty and a bit of sunshine seeping in through the windows. Taking a deep breath, he realized that he didn't die, but had been asleep for a rather long time. 'My second chance...' he thought, 'What day is it? How long have I been here?? Where is everyone?!'
Still very weak, he couldn't find a voice to talk. And no one was there to assist him. Trying to sit up, he found that his wounds really hurt when he tried that so he gave up. Swollen eyes focused on the dresser. So many gifts and cards, he knew his 'family' truly cared for him.
Just then the door opened. Thinking at first it was a nurse or a doctor, he realized that it was Kaede. "Oogami-kun!" she gasped, seeing that he had woke up. "Yokkata! I'm so glad you finally woke up. It's been a whole day you see."
"Sou... ka..." his coarse voice uttered. She went to pour him a glass of water and hit the button to call a nurse. "Kaede... san... where is... everyone...?"
"They came early this morning, but Yoneda sent them back home. Sumire-kun is trying to get everyone to work on the wedding and to not worry about you. But they'll all be glad to see that you're okay." she explained, helping him drink it down. "A lot has happened..."
He nodded, eyes closing for a second as he recalled the hectic events following his arrival. "I need to apologize to everyone..."
"No, there's no need. We've all talked about it and we don't want you to worry about a thing. You're our Oogami-kun and no matter what happens, we'll stay by you. So, please, don't trouble yourself with it."
"Kaede-san..." he uttered, "Does Kayama forgive me?"
"Of course Yuichi forgives you. In fact he wants to you to still be his best man. No other person but you. Soushite..." She pried off her ring and placed it on the dresser. "As the best man, you must hold onto that. Please be careful with it."
"Aa..." he replied, slowly smiling, "I'll do my best."
"Speaking of which," Kaede started, leaning back in her face and giving her hair a toss, "The wedding is just barely two weeks away. Please recover quickly, Oogami-kun."
"You can... count... on me..." he said sleepily.
Kaede backed away as the nurses arrived. Smiling, she turned and walked out into the hallway. 'Hurry back, Oogami-kun... back to where you belong.'
* * *
Indeed everyone was glad Oogami was okay. The Barugumi made it their special duty to take over the nursing staff and become his personal assistants in his recovery. Of course, Oogami wanted to escape them.
"Dame yo, Ichirou-chan!" Yoko chimed, wearing the nurse outfit. He had caught Oogami trying to crawl out of bed and into the hallway. He lifted up the soldier and gave him a big bear hold. "You must stay in bed!!"
"Y-Yokohiko!!" Kiku cried, "You're s-squeezing him too hard!!" Oogami looked in pain so they decided to leave him alone for a bit.
Although with the girls visiting him nonstop, he felt a lot better. "You two! Stop arguing!!" Maria scolded Kanna and Sumire.
"Wai wai! Onii-chan is Airisu's 'koi no hito' once again! No more floating ne?? We'll have lots of fun if you stay faithful to Airisu!" Airisu chimed, hugging his arm. Reni silently stood behind her, holding Jean-Paul and a bouquet of flowers.
"This one is back to normal." Orihime sighed; watching Airisu glomp onto Oogami faster than anyone could get into the room.
"Honto ni!" Sakura chimed, "It's great to have Oogami-san back!"
Oogami smiled; glad to see that even Sakura was happy to see him. Although he wished that Sakura would visit him alone. He wanted to talk to her so badly, but when they did have a moment, they couldn't say anything at all.
"Sing her a song!" Kayama suggested, playing his guitar, "Aaa, sooo beautiful is the Sakuraaa~! Just like the ooooo~ceannn~!" Kaede and Oogami exchanged looks and made faces. "Maa maa maa, nothing wrong with a song!! I'm sure Sakura-kun will like it!!"
But Oogami especially liked it when Yoneda snuck him some sake. "Don't drink it all at once." the old man said, leaving the bottle as he left, then whistling down the hall before he saw a pretty nurse. "Yo! Let's go out for a cup of tea..."
"A~ra!" Sumire cried, "Is that sake you're drinking, Chuui??" She had stopped by to show him the final plans for the wedding. Sumire had done a great job in planning. He was glad that she was chosen as the maid of honor. "I'm not glad!" she sighed, "I've barely any beauty sleep and been working nonstop. It's like a nightmare."
"Hehehe, but Sumire-kun, think of it as great training!"
"Great training for what? I'm never getting married!"
"Waaah, that's too bad!! A lot of guys are dying to marry Tokyo's number one actress!" he chuckled.
"Ma~a, aren't we feeling good enough to be making jokes. I am not amused!" she grumbled, taking out her fan and covering her face, "You can joke all you like, Chuui, but I'm not so simpleminded as some other people are!" He just laughed a bit more until she whacked him on the head with her fan. "Speaking of which, Sakura-san told me to give this to you."
Oogami held out his hand and accepted the bento box full of Sakura's cooking. "Why didn't she bring it herself?" he asked, looking down the gift.
Sumire paused, thinking about something. She suddenly got up and opened the door. Oogami lifted his head and listen to the sounds of struggling. "Waaah, j-jotto, Sumire-saan!" Moments later, Sumire dragged the red-faced Sakura into the room by the arm. "S-Sumimasen." she stammered, bowing her head.
"A~ra, I'm going get a taxi home. Don't stay too long, Sakura-san." Sumire said, grinning to herself for her achievements as she headed for the door, "Ohohohoho! Chuui, take care."
"Arigatou, Sumire-kun." Oogami replied, smiling after her. He then turned to the timid-looking girl at his bedside. "A-ano... Sakura-kun... arigatou for your gift... and for... thinking about me."
"Iya, it's nothing really." she blurted out, shuffling her feet, "I'm just glad you still want to speak to me again. After all I've put you through."
"Nani?" he gasped, "No... it was my fault!"
She shook her head, kneeling down at his side. "No, Oogami-san... I'm the one who misunderstood and made accusations. I wasn't faithful to you at all. I didn't even wait for you; I went running to you in Paris while telling everyone lies. Gomen nasai, Oogami-san. I... I'm really ashamed of my actions."
"Sakura-kun..." he uttered, gazing into her face, which couldn't look at him, "I'm just ashamed as you. I acted like a jerk and turned away from all of you - my friends. I was petty and jealous... I wouldn't listen to any of you. Most importantly, I put you through a lot of suffering. Will you ever forgive me for it?"
Sakura closed her eyes and folded her arms on the edge of the bed. "No... I can't ever forgive you, Oogami-san."
"EH?!" he gasped, in total shock, "S-Sakura-kun...!"
Her eyes flickered open. "Just joking!" she giggled, smiling brightly.
Oogami laughed too. It had been a while since he had laughed or seen Sakura's smile. He knew it helped his recovery and also him come to terms with what happened.
'People learn from experience... even if it's a great mistake, I cannot regret it... because I have learned this... no matter where I go or what happens in the future... Sakura-kun and the Hanagumi will stay by me...'
Outside, rain had started to pour and hit the windowpane. The two chatted endlessly as the night carried on.
* * * * * * * *
Preview!!
Oogami: The wedding has finally come! Get ready for the conclusion and also a great party at the Teigeki! New starts in love and letting go... The whistle goes off for the train departing to Sendai.
"Before You Become A Memory" next time on Sakura Taisen. A storm of romance in Taisho cherry blossoms!
Even if I could say it... you're not staying...
