"SAKURA-SAAAN!" Erica exclaimed, staring into the blaze in front of her. She then hit a switch to open the hatch, leaping out of her koubu, frantically running into the flames. 'Sakura-san, no! You can't be...!!'
"BAKA!! Get back into your koubu!" Glycine hollered through the intercom.
Instantly Erica saw the horde of demons coming at her. Screaming, she didn't know what to do. "KYAAAA!!" Luckily for her, a koubu arrived on the scene, scooping her up in time. "O...Oogami-san?!"
"Sorry I'm late!" he said, slicing through a few kouma. "Is everything all right?!"
"No! Sakura-san is...!!" Erica started to say, but the assault became more powerful, "O-Oogami-san!! Why are there so many?! Where are they coming from?!?"
Kaede's face showed up on the screen, "Oogami-kun, there is a pod just around the corner! Lobelia is there, demo she can't destroy it on her. Hayaku - everytime kouma is made it adds one more...!"
"Ryokai!!" Oogami replied, leading the way. Killing the kouma was no problem, but there was so many. After doing a combination attack with Hanabi, the area was cleared for a moment. "This is our one chance, Minna!!"
After each giving the pod an attack, the pod exploded. Lobelia then looked towards everyone. "Why didn't you all come this way?! I could've used some help early on!"
"G-Gomen nasai!" Hanabi said, "For some reason, our battle plan read that we go to this street... I think it was a trap all along!"
The Hanagumi fell silent as they gazed towards the flames, wondering who should be the one to tell Oogami the news...
* * *
"Ma... masaka..." Airisu uttered, back in the battle room. She and the other Hanagumi stood around the table in total shock over what had happened before their very eyes. "Sakura-oneechan... is... is...!" Airisu couldn't finished and burst into tears, Reni coming to give her a hug.
"Dead..." Maria uttered, her forlorn look hidden by her long bangs, "She died protecting Teito... it was what was expected... demo..."
Oogami hadn't said anything since he found out. He just gazed off into space. 'I couldn't do anything... I was too late... where was I when Sakura-kun...' Tears began to build up in his eyes and his troops sensed his rising emotions. 'Sakura-kun... are you really...?'
Oogami couldn't take it anymore and broke into a run, escaping the battle room before anyone could stop him. Yoneda sighed and dropped his head. "I know what Oogami is going through... losing someone you love... just let him be for now."
Oogami burst into Sakura's room, stumbling to the floor. In the dark room, he clutched at the robe that was lying on a chair. Tears falling uncontrollably, he cried for the first time in his life.
"Sa... ku... ra ..."
* * *
Outside rain had started to fall. Yoneda sent everyone to their rooms for the night. Hanabi decided to stay clear from Sakura's room and went to stay with Maria. In the battle room, Yoneda stared at the fiery images on the screen captured from one of the monitors of a koubu during the battle.
"Sonna baka na... How in the world did they create those pods... with such accuracy... and why did we fall into their trap and give up Sakura..." Yoneda grumbled at the screen, "Kazuma, please forgive me... I didn't take good care of your daughter after what I promise...!"
"Shihainin! Calm down!" Kaede pleaded with him as he tearfully chugged down another bottle of sake, "Look, all is not lost. Please listen to what Jiru-kun has to say."
All eyes moved to the young cadet as she replayed the video. "As you can see, the blast happened like this... and the multitude wasn't even that strong... just as the burning koubu was still there, there should've been remains left... but we checked and there isn't any."
"Sou ka..." Yoneda uttered, "What this means...!"
Kurisu nodded his head, all eyes turning towards the rotating visual map of Tokyo on the screen. "So somewhere... Sakura-san is..."
Kaede looked determined as she gazed at the screen and clenched a fist, despite her own aching symptoms. 'Hang on Sakura-kun! Wherever you are!'
* * *
'.....................unn...'
Sakura's brown eyes flickered open. She was surrounded by white and felt too sore to move at first. Reaching out her hand, she grabbed hold of her sword and pulled herself up.
'Where am I... where is everyone?' she thought, trying to remember what happened, 'It's so cold in here... and my head hurts...'
After shivering for a moment, she finally lifted her voice in the empty room. "HELLO?! MINNA-SAAN!! ANYONE!!! IS ANYONE THERE!?"
Her voice just echoed. Lowering her head, she now worried over what happened to her comrades. 'Minna-san... Yoneda-shihainin and Kaede-san... Oogami-san... are you all right?'
Suddenly a loud voice caught her off guard, coming from all directions. "Shinguji Sakura! We meet again!"
"That voice is...!" Sakura looked up at the ceiling. "Where are you?! Show yourself! ADIA-SAN!"
Laughter surrounded her. "Hmhmhmhm! Nice show of bravery coming from a little girl! Demo, be as brave as you like... even if you scream, no one will come!"
"Hah?" she stammered, as she felt an evil presence seep in the area. "M-Masaka!!"
Now to her knowledge, pods painted white became visible, as well as active. Kouma began to pour out of them by the tens and twenties. "KIIIIII!!!"
"S-Sonna!" Sakura gasped, getting in defense stance, "How in the world...?!?!"
Adia's voice replied, "It doesn't matter how. It matters 'what happens now'. Let's say if you defeat all of the kouma in this room, I'll release you. But if you fail to do so, I'll release them on Teito and your dear friends at the Teigeki."
"H-How dare you! I won't let you harm them!!"
"Put your words into action, Ojousan! Hmhmhmhm!!"
Sakura just glared at the faceless voice, then closed her eyes thinking of her loved ones. 'I absolutely cannot fail!' Drawing her sword, she sliced through five demons at a time. "HAAAAAAAA!!!" The green blood flying everywhere and the kouma falling at her feet, Sakura turned to the rest of the crowds, multiplying by the minute. "COME AT ME!!!"
Unbeknownst to Sakura, Adia and a group of scientists were watching from a secret room. "Amazing!!" exclaimed one of the scientists, "Check out this reading we have on her power level! It keeps moving up!"
"Not only that, but look at how our majinki is reacting to her!" said another, "No doubt we'll find out if they really work or not with this subject!"
Adia cut in, "Not yet. I need more proof. Release the 8 footers." They just stopped and stared at her. "DO IT!" she snapped, making them scramble to the controls. 'We'll see how strong you are...'
Sakura shook the blood off her sword and leapt up in the air, aiming for a pod. Four strikes made it explode, the blast throwing her back against the wall. During this diversion, the kouma managed to corner her, one of them gashing her shoulder. After a scream of pain, she finally regrouped.
"I... I absolutely cannot fail... I... I am... Shinguji... Sakura..." she uttered, tearfully standing as her wound continued to splatter onto the white floor, "I am the successor... of the Haja blood...!!!!"
With another thought, she killed everything in sight, making trails of red blood everywhere that she went. And when the wall opened up to reveal an eight-foot kouma, Sakura didn't flinch at all. A giant blast emitted from her, killing all the kouma around her, including one of the eight footers.
"Usou!!" gasped one of the scientists, "D-Did you just see that??!" Suddenly Sakura was looking in their direction, slant red eyes focusing at her unseen tormentors. "A-Adia-sama... we better do something!! She knows we're here!!"
"Who cares!!" Adia snapped, "Release more on her!! Make her drip all over the place until she's drained of this 'Ha-ja blood'! I want to see good results!!"
"D-Demo!! The majinki...! It's... it's reacting... like I've never seen before!" Just then the majinki lifted up, breaking through the window, "Aaaah!! W-What's happening??!"
The majinki floated around Sakura, its light exploding kouma left and right. Sakura then began chanting words that even she herself didn't know. "This is it!" Adia exclaimed, "The famous Majinki method!!"
But a gunshot caught her off guard. Having just missed her head by a mere smidge, Adia turned around to notice that she was a gunpoint. "That's as far as you go." said the man with the gun, "It ends here, Adia..."
"That's what you think." she said, hitting a switch. "That's the room-destruct button. If you care for that girl's life down there, I suggest you save her in the next minute."
"Dammit!" the man exclaimed as he moved around Adia leaped out the glass window. "SAKURA-KUN!" he exclaimed, running to her. He quickly tackled her down before she could complete the technique, the majinki falling onto the floor as they rolled towards the way, "Sakura-kun, daijoubu kai?!"
She didn't answer, as she was exhausted from the intense use of power. Suddenly he realized that the room was going to explode.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Adia laughed, the place shook from the blast. "N-NANI!?!" A force field erupted form Sakura, protecting her and her rescuer from injury. "Damn!! That's it, release that sector and go under!!"
"HAI!" said her crew, taking the controls.
"Daijoubu, Taichou?!" some men in white asked as they broke into the white room from another entrance, "We got the things you asked us to look for... and we see that you've found Shinguji... but what now?"
"Hmm... something tells me we're about to find out." he replied as the room started to circulate. He lifted Sakura up in his arms, since she was too weak to move and ran for the exit, his men following him. "This isn't over yet, Adia!" he yelled over his shoulder as she smiled down at him from the broken window. 'Just you wait... someday...!'
* * *
"...chou... Taichou... Taichou..." a voice echoed in his ear. Oogami slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on Sakura's bed, hugging a pillow. Sitting up, he gazed over to see Maria and the others. "Taichou, we've been looking all over for you."
"Gomen..." he uttered, clutching at the sheets, the smell of Sakura all around him, "I must've fallen asleep..." He turned to the window; it was already morning. "What did you want to see me about?"
"Taichou," Kanna said, crossing her arms, "Yoneda-ojisan wants to see you in the battle room. Seems there's something they found out... hayaku yo!"
"H-Hai!" he said, getting up and being dragged off by Coquelicot. "Uwaah, slow down! I just woke up you know!" he stammered, rubbing his eyes.
Some of the girls lingered behind. "Poor Oogami-han." Kouran sighed, "He's really broken up over losing Sakura-han. This is really all Hanabi-han's fault!"
"N-Nani?" Hanabi stammered, "How is this my fault??"
"Dakara!" Sumire jumped in, pointing at her in the face, "You were the one flirting with Oogami-Chuu'i and got Sakura-san all worked up. If she wasn't in such an emotional state yesterday, she wouldn't have done something as stupid as running into a trap like that!"
"Where do you get off blaming Hanabi?!" Lobelia argued, "She didn't do anything! You should be thinking about blaming Taichou because of being such a play-boy!"
"E-Everyone, please don't argue!" Erica cried, "We were all getting along just fine before this happened...!"
Glcyine crossed her arms. "And what about you, Erica-san?? You were right there when it happened - why didn't you do anything at all?! Your fellow soldier is dead no thanks to you!" Erica became quiet and looked to the floor.
"All of you, that's enough!" Maria snapped, getting their attention, "This isn't the time to blame anyone, not when someone's life has been lost. We are all Hanagumi; don't forget that!"
"H-Hai..." they uttered, going to follow her out the door. Erica sadly trailed behind, being the last to close Sakura's door shut.
* * *
In the basement, Oogami heard about their theories and the strange signal they picked up just minutes ago. "Where is Kaede-san?" he asked, looking on as Kurisu and Jiru worked the controls.
"I sent her home. She was coming down with a cold." Yoneda explained, "She hasn't been taking good care of herself lately since the incident. Perhaps she's been working too hard."
"Sou ka... Kaede-san..." he uttered, frowning a little. He then got his mind back on work. "So this signal... what is it?"
"I don't know. It's very faint in the middle of Tokyo Bay. Oogami, I don't want to raise any false hope or anything..."
All of a sudden the sounds of guitar came through on the radio. "Yoooo Oogami!"
"K-Kayama?!" Oogami gasped, leaping at the controls, "Is that really you, Kayama?!? Sonna baka na!!"
"Ii kara ii kara~! To hear your voice so early in the morning, I'm so happy, Oogami! I have a present for you - a lovely cherry blossom. Come get her before she float adrift to sea... Aa! The ocean is very nice today~!"
"S-Sakura-kun!" Oogami closed his eyes, tearfully smiling with relief. 'Yokkata!'
"Oh, I see you've found us all ready!" Kayama chimed, he and his men on the emergency rafts. They gazed up to the blue sky to see the Shougeimaru arriving on the scene. "I'll explain everything when I get back, Wonderful Teikoku Kagekidan!"
"You better!" Yoneda snapped over the radio, "I wanna know what the hell is going on, and I mean it!!"
As the men boarded the Shougeimaru, which was being driven by the Kazegumi, Kayama knelt down to the resting Sakura, a blanket over her frail body. "Shall we head home, Sakura-kun?"
Sakura's eyelids flickered open. The color of blood in her saddened eyes, she silently nodded. 'Home...'
*************************
Preview!
Maria: Fate... was it that which brought me here to the Hanagumi... to where I belong... I often ask myself...
Kanna: What's the use of wondering? You're here now, aren't you? Isn't that what matters?
Both: "Quiet Reflection" next time on Sakura Taisen. A storm of romance in Taishou cherry blossoms!
Maria: My life as it is now...
Kanna: I wouldn't have it any other way...
