Shinguji Sakura gazed out the window at the evening sky. The sun had set hours ago, and the day seemed to be at its end. When she woke up that day, she felt filled with determination; she would go and face the one she loved. That she did, no matter how far she had to go. At the ocean, they met... and at last gave in to their feelings. Her heart hasn't stopped pounding from that time.
'Oogami-san...' she thought, smiling at the reflection in the glass. He was gazing at her from behind, his warm eyes focused on only her. "A-ano..." she uttered, as she felt his hand on her shoulder. She slowly turned towards him, "Nani ka?"
Oogami simply took off his coat. "You must be cold." he noted, putting it on her like a blanket. She had been cold; after all she was wearing her summery pink sleeveless dress in the middle of autumn. Not to mention, the ocean had been extremely chilly and now night had fallen. Oogami straightened his pinstriped tie and proceeded to roll up his sleeves, getting comfortable in his seat. "Don't worry about me. I'm kind of warm..."
"Oogami-san, arigatou gozaimasu." Sakura said, resting her head on his shoulder. Instantly, his eyes widened a little and his cheeks blushed. But he slowly relaxed once again, going to slide his arm around her. The train ride seemed to last forever, but they didn't mind. Neither of them wanted to move away from each other.
"Ano..." said an old woman across the aisle, "I've been watching you two for a bit and I have to say you look very cute together."
"S-Sonna...!" Oogami stammered, he and Sakura both extremely embarrassed.
"No, I mean it. You two remind me of old times... when my departed husband and I were still dating. Aa, brings back wonderful memories to see such youngsters in love!"
Sakura replied, "I'm glad to have bring back memories. Demo, I don't want to make you become sad from remembering your husband. It's not a good feeling when someone you love die."
"Honto..." the old lady replied, "Datte, I know he's with me now. He'll always be with me. So, I won't be sad."
After a pause, Sakura nodded her head, her brown eyes lowered. "You're right. That's a great way to think when loved ones have passed away. Even now, I feel my father is still with me... therefore, I shouldn't..."
Her voice trailed off and though her head was bowed, Oogami could see the tears building up in her eyes. 'Sakura-kun...' He tightened his hold around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. 'Look at me... Sakura-kun...'
When she did lift her head, it wasn't the look he expected. It was of fear. Her eyes wide, she was looking past him and the old woman, but out the window across the aisle. "M-Masaka...!" she gasped, "There's no way...!!"
"Sakura-kun! What is it?!"
It came like a flash of light. But once it disappeared, the train shook and abruptly stopped, people flying out of their seats. All of the windows shattered and lights burst, leaving the entire cart in darkness.
"SAKURA-KUN!!" Oogami cried, bracing her from the impact and flying glass shards. 'What the hell is going on?!'
* * *
"...At approximately 18:00 hours, the train headed northbound to Tokyo met with some unusual malfunction and turbulence. No casualties, but several passengers were injured. There has been no explanation of how this occurred thus far."
"I see," Kaede replied on the screen, "We've been worried about you since you didn't arrive at the time you were supposed to. I'm glad you called, Oogami-kun. Are you and Sakura-kun all right?"
It had been three hours following the event and Oogami sat on the floor with his kinematron. "We're fine. I just got a couple scratches, that's all." he said, holding up his hand that was bandaged and pointing to the band-aid on his cheek. "We were able to find an inn to stay for the night. We'll come home on the next train in the morning and I'll give a more in-depth report."
"Yoshi, we'll be waiting for your return. Take care, Oogami-kun." Kaede said, before disconnecting. She slowly turned around; she was in Yoneda's office, "Shihainin... that was Oogami-kun. They'll be coming back in the morning."
"Hm..." Yoneda sat at his desk, gazing at an old photograph. It was of the original Anti-Kouma butai. He was front center, making some goofy face. His eyes moved to the others in the background. 'Ayame-kun... Yamazaki-kun... soshite... Kazuma...'
"Hah?" Kaede stared at him; Yoneda was being unusually serious today. She then gazed at the folder on the desk, "Sou ka. You've looked at the information Yuichi sent us. Is this what I think it is...?"
Yoneda didn't answer, but got up and walked to the window. 'It's starting once again...'
* * *
Oogami loosened his tie and closed the kinematron, lifting his head in time to see Sakura coming out of the bathroom. Her hair down, she nervously stood in front of him, her hands gripping a washcloth. "A-ano... how do I look?"
He gazed at her wearing his pajamas. Though too big for her, they were all she could use. Unlike him, she didn't have anything packed because she didn't intend on staying anywhere. Oogami couldn't help but smile. "Kawaii ne!"
"A-arigatou gozaimasu!" she gasped, going to sit down on the bed. She quickly jumped back up, even more nervous. "Oogami-san... how is this going to work?"
"Daijoubu!" he laughed, "I'm fine sleeping on the floor. After all, I always did so on the ship back in the navy. Don't worry about me, Sakura-kun."
"Really? Oogami-san, you're so amazing! Jaa..." she stammered, going to hand him a pillow and blanket, "Please be comfortable."
He nodded cheerfully and accepted the pile. He then took her hand and said, "Before we shut off the lights, there's something I want to ask you, Sakura-kun. What exactly did you see when we were on the train?"
"Atashi..." she uttered, her other hand overlapping his, "A terrible image... sort of like a mirage... it was a kouma... a very large demon... I don't know why, but at the sight of it, I starting shaking...maybe it was me who..." Closing her eyes, she lost her voice, the horrible vision coming back to her.
"Sakura-kun..." he said softly, going to hug her, "Even if it was just an image, I have a bad feeling about it too. But, no matter what, I'll protect you, Sakura-kun."
"Oogami-san..." Sakura covered her face in his chest, his warmth surrounding her, "With you at my side... I know..."
He abruptly released her and moved away. "Yoshi, its time to go to sleep!" he gasped, his face was as red as hers. "After all, we've got to catch the earliest train tomorrow. Oyasumi, Sakura-kun!" he cried, going to the floor and pulling the blanket over himself.
Sakura smiled down at him, before switching off the lamp. "Oyasumi nasai, Oogami-san..."
* * *
"There!" Maria said, finishing up her packing. She had moved from her room down the hall to the room next to Oogami's, since Kaede had moved into an apartment a block away. Smiling around her new room, she rested against the wall and sighed, 'This once was Ayame-san's room... and it's a bit bigger than my old one... and far from the disarray...'
Since the Paris Kagekidan came to stay, there had been non-stop chaos in the Teigeki. Maria wondered when the next onslaught would start. Glancing at the clock, it was already late and she was too tired from packing to do anything about it.
'At least my room could be used by the guests. Airisu is sharing with Coquelicot, and for some reason, Erica wanted to stay with Sumire. Kanna has moved into the attic, while Lobelia uses her room and Glycine uses mine. Hanabi is staying in Sakura's room... Speaking of which... what happened? I thought she and Taichou were coming back this evening... hmm...'
Suddenly her door flew open and she knew the peace had ended. "Maria! Come quick!" Airisu cried, "Those naughty French Hanagumi are making a ruckus!"
Cursing quietly in Russian, Maria walked out into the hallway to see what was up. "Come back here, dammit!!" Kanna growled, throwing a punch towards Lobelia's head, missing and hitting the wall. "I'll get you, you little thief!!"
"Stop it!" Erica gasped, peering from Sumire's room, "Nothing ever results from arguing! As the Lords says, love thy neighbor and..."
"Oh shut up!!" Sumire snapped, from behind, "You're giving me a headache with your morals!!"
"Besides," Orihime cut in, "Do you support your friend who stole from Kanna-sa~n! It's totally un-reasona~ble!"
Maria still looked very lost as she tried to restrain the enraged fighter from Okinawa. Hanabi tried to explain the ordeal. "It seems that Lobelia-san kind of borrowed Kanna-san's father's watch and well..."
"Borrowed?!" Kanna exclaimed, "Like hell! She sold it to some pawn shop!"
"Serves you right for leaving valuable stuff lying around!" Lobelia replied nonchalantly, ducking another punch, "You Japanese people really have no street-smarts at all! I mean, you don't even lock your doors!"
"That's why criminals like you should be jail ya!" Kouran cried.
"Why don't you shut up?!" Gycline cut in, "You strange one I can't understand a word coming out of your mouth because of your stupid accent!"
"Oh, now you're gonna insult Kouran's kansai accent!" Kanna snapped, breaking away from Maria, "That's it! All of you are gonna get it!!" She, Sumire, and Kouran clashed with Glycine and Lobelia, a brawl breaking out in the hallway.
Airisu wept in the corner, Orihime and Cliquecot rooted for their sides, while Hanabi and Reni gazed in shock. Erica tried to stop them but she just got pulled into the fight. "Waaaah!! I'm telling you... this is so WRONG...! Ow, ow, owww!!"
A gunshot made everyone freeze. "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!" a furious Maria yelled, her eyes icy cold as she had shot straight up into the ceiling. Instantly, they lined up as if in drills. "All of you, go to sleep. I don't want to hear another word before morning." Maria said, putting away her gun and turning into her room. She then closed the door.
Shocked, Kaede and Yoneda came bolting up the stairs to see what was up, but didn't get an answer. "What the hell is going on here?!" Yoneda exclaimed, as everyone slowly started to file into their rooms. Kaede shrugged. "Maa, at least things have calmed down. Let's go drink more sake!"
"Shihainin..." Kaede sighed, as he dragged her back downstairs.
Maria fell into her chair and sighed, 'Taichou, hurry back. I don't know long I can handle these people... Hmm?' She blinked to see Lobelia waiting for her to move. "OH!" Blushing she bowed her head, "Sorry, I forgot..." She then went out to her new room.
* * *
Meanwhile, Sumire went back to getting ready for sleep. After putting on some face cream, she paused to see that Erica had rolled out the futon on the floor. "Mattaku, why did you insist on staying with me of all people??"
"Because I admire you so much, Sumire-san." Erica replied cheerfully, "You're a great actress. I saw your movie and also heard a recording of your singing! You're wonderful!"
"A-Arigatou..." Sumire stammered. She quickly collected her cool and shrugged it off. "Maa maa, are you trying to learn secrets from me??"
"Not at all!" Erica exclaimed, still braiding her long chestnut hair. She put a little tie at the end and smiled. "I just think it must be incredible how you act on stage. You see, in Paris, we only sing and dance, we never really get to perform plays..."
"Sou desu ka! And since you're in Tokyo, you want to see if you can get a chance to act on stage... ohohohoho! It's going to take a lot to get a role - especially since the leading role will always belong to me!" She then reached for the lamp. "Better to dream when you're asleep... time to..."
"Wait!" Erica cried, "I haven't said my prayers yet!" Sumire dropped her head and grumbled as Erica knelt and folded her hands. "Lord, I wanted to thank you for this day... for letting me come to the Tokyo Teigeki and meeting the Tokyo Kagekidan. I pray that all of us will get along and that Sumire-san will become my friend."
Sumire face-faulted into her pillow. 'Yeah right! Here's a hopeful twit!' she yelled inwardly as Erica continued on with her prayers for the next three minutes. 'Mou, someone make her shut up!!'
"... and for Grand Mere's health... and peace in Teito... and for Oogami-san and Sakura-san, who are stranded at a hotel tonight..."
"NANI?!" Sumire sat up and stared at her with big eyes.
"A-MEN~!" Erica chimed, switching off the lamp. "Let's go to sleep, Sumire-san!"
Sumire instantly turned the lamp back on, "CHOTTO MATTE YO!"
* * *
Sakura still couldn't sleep. Oogami had been out for already two hours, mumbling battle calls every once and a while. Gazing out the window, she thought about what she had seen. 'All of the kouma had been destroyed... so why...?' The sound of beeping caught her off guard. 'Oh! The kinematron!'
She quickly went to answer the call. "Hai, mushi mushi? Oogami-san's kinematron - could I take a message?" she said, "OH! Sumire-san!?"
An angry Sumire pointed her finger at her. "Anata... is it true you and Chuui are together in a hotel room??!"
Sakura went red. "S-Sore wa..."
Everyone else then popped up on the screen. "Sakura! Just because he's Taichou, doesn't mean he can take advantage of you!" Kanna cried, "Give him a good punch if you have to!"
Airisu looked so angry she might explode, "BAD BAD ONII-CHAN! He better not do any bad things!"
"Wait a minute, everyone!" Hanabi blurted out, her face extremely red, "You're not talking about...!"
Fortunately Erica cut her off. "I'm so sorry, Sakura-san! I overheard Yoneda-san and Kaede-san's conversation and then Sumire-san overheard my conversation with the Lord. Then, Sumire-san just went into the hall, screaming about it." she explained, "But really, the precious act of love should be reserved for the sacrament of marriage..."
Lobelia interrupted, "Don't listen to this prude! I say go for it!! Go get some lovin'!!"
Sakura's mouth dropped open as she got mixed advice on the screen. "M-Minna, I appreciate your concern, but nothing like that is going on. Oogami-san is already asleep and we really hadn't considered any of those stuff you talked about."
"Honto?" Maria gasped, very embarrassed to be included with this misunderstanding; "Well then... we should just all leave you alone. Everyone, go to sleep now!"
As they all hung up, Sakura smiled. 'Minna, honto ni arigatou gozaimasu! With your worries and support, I know you really care about me. As long as we're together, we can face anything...'
She then stared down at the sleeping Taichou. "Goku... Roku... Meku... mmm..." he muttered, hugging his pillow and rolling about. Sakura got up and knelt beside him, touching his face. He suddenly calmed down and looked so peaceful. She couldn't help but lean down and kiss him softly.
'Oogami-san... this time, I'm truly scared... I-I don't know the reason why I can't stop shaking... but all I know is... I need you close...'
* * * * * * * *
Preview!
Yoneda: It's beginning, Oogami. There was no way to prepare for this... but you are in for the fight of your life! Now, if only you could get your squad to stop arguing and figure out what's going on!
"A Weary Afternoon" next time on Sakura Taisen. Taisho Sakura no Roman Arashi!
????: Ichirou, your peaceful days are over. Welcome to Hell.
