Disclaimer:  I do not own Sakura Taisen characters.  I’d write something witty here, but my mind isn’t quite the same at 1 in the morning, savvy?

~~~~~~~~~

The two oldest members stood inside the damaged bathroom.

“I dunno, Maria, there’s something that’s not right here.”  Kanna winced at the sight of the broken mirrors.  “Iris said she felt nothing and nothing gets by that girl.  I just can’t see Sakura doing something drastic like this.  She’s just too…”

“Gentle.”  Maria finished.  “She’d never lash out at anyone, least of all herself.”  She added softly.

“Exactly.”  Kanna said, smiling sadly at her friend’s downcast stare.  “Hey, I’m sure she’s okay, wherever she is.”  She placed a tan hand on Maria’s shoulder.

“Thank you.”  The Russian quietly said.  

“WAH!  Iris doesn’t want to!!”

They ran out of the bathroom to find Iris standing firmly in the hallway before the main entrance, holding Jean Paul close to her.  Tears clouded her bright blue eyes.

“Hey, what happened?” Kanna knelt down beside the frightened girl.

“Tsubaki…Kaede!”  Iris wept before whimpering and teleporting herself back to her room.  Reni came over from the stretchers being moved away by the members of the Tsukigumi to the medi-pods.

“They are both alive.  Just barely, but alive.  The nature of their wounds would be best described as a demon attack.”  A disturbed look passed over her face, “They each suffered from a bite to the neck.”

“What do you know about Sakura?”  Maria asked

“Her whereabouts are unknown.” Reni answered.  “She may have been taken by the demon.”

“And the demon made her change her outfit?” Orihime pointed out as she walked up. “No, I think not.”

Maria sighed.  Nothing made any sense; the mess in the bathroom, Sakura’s change of clothing was gone, two other members of the Kagekidan were attacked.  

“And to make matters worse, there’s blood all over the floor.” Kanna sighed, walking over to the trail and following it to the counter. “It’s getting weirder by the minute.”

Orihime watched as Kanna dipped two fingers into the blood, a disgusted look flashing across her face before she turned back to the blond Russian.  “Maria-san, what exactly is she doing?”

“Trying to determine how long ago it happened.  If the blood’s still fresh enough, it means that the demon or Sakura or both haven’t gone that far.”  Maria watched unperturbed as the Okinawan walked back towards them.

“It’s barely started to coagulate,” Kanna started, “Tsubaki and Kaede were found at least ten minutes ago.  Based on that timeframe, it should be way thicker than this.” She rubbed her forefingers against her thumb, the red liquid running easily across her skin.  

“So there’s an anti-coagulant in the blood?” Reni asked, receiving a nod.

“It looks that way.” Kanna took the handkerchief Maria offered her, wiping her fingers off gingerly.  “Crap, this means they could be anywhere by now…”

“…and we’re all standing here debating this…why?” the Italian waved her hand impatiently.  “There’s a blood-sucking demon loose in Tokyo, Sakura’s missing along with it and we’re standing here debating what time they left?!”

Maria ran a hand through her platinum blonde locks.  There must besomething we’re forgetting! She sighed, the voices of the others slowly fading as she concentrated.  Her thoughts wandered to Iris standing in the hall clutching her teddy bear to her chest.  Something had spooked the child.  Wait…

“We forgot to ask her…” she murmured to herself, cutting the conversation short as everyone looked at her.

“Ask who?” Kanna asked.

“Iris.”  Maria started towards the dorm area. “She must’ve seen something.”

“Oi, Maria!”  The red-head called towards the retreating Russian.  “Be gentle with her!  She must be traumatized by the whole thing!”  She sighed as Maria continued running.  “This is starting to turn into a real mess…”

“Nooo~” Orihime replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

~~~~~~~~

Maria arrived outside Iris’ room shortly afterward.  She heard soft sobbing through the door and paused before knocking softly.

“Iris?  It’s Maria, can I come in?”

There was a pause before the door opened by itself.  Maria walked in slowly, closing the door behind her.  The little French girl had barricaded herself in the farthest corner of her bed, setting her stuffed animals in a phalanx around her.  Jean Paul was, as always, closely hugged to her chest.

“Is it okay if I sit here?”  Maria motioned to a spot on the corner of the girl’s bed.  Iris nodded slowly, her blue eyes searching the Russian’s emerald gaze.

“You’re all looking for Sakura?” she said softly as Maria sat down.

“Yes.  We’re also looking for the demon who attacked Kaede and Tsubaki.”

The smaller blond broke eye contact, looking off to her side.  She hugged Jean Paul a little tighter.  Maria noticed Iris’ strange behavior.

“If you know something that would help us find them, you need to tell me.”

“Iris doesn’t want to…”

“Why?”  Maria moved a little closer, trying to regain eye contact.  “Iris, look at me.”

When the French girl finally met the Russian’s gaze again, her eyes were brimming with tears.  Maria was taken aback.  What did the girl know that upset her so much?  Damn, she was starting to feel guilty for asking…

“Iris…?  Oof!”  Maria exhaled sharply as Iris suddenly launched herself at the Russian, clamping firmly to her waist.  She groaned internally, she wasn’t used to dealing with children.  She placed a comforting hand on the younger girl’s back.

“It was Sakura…” Iris whispered softly.  Maria had to strain her ears to hear the smaller girl’s next words.  “Sakura’s been possessed…”  

Her eyes widened considerably.  Possessed?  Well…it certainly helped to explain a lot of things, like the destroyed bathroom and the change of clothing.  As for the attack on Kaede and Tsubaki, hadn’t Iris said there was no malicious intent?  A demonic possession was usually nothing short of malicious and…erg…it made everything that much more complicated.  She mentally winced, now that she had the information she needed, finding Sakura was somewhat easier but she needed to somehow gently peel the French girl from her waist.  If only…

-BREET!- -BREET!-

How ironic…saved by the alarm that usually meant destruction.

~~~~~~

“There have been a large amount of Wakiji reported in the Asakusa district.  We believe they are trying to reconstruct the Crimson Miroku’s tower.”  Commander Yoneda addressed the uniformed girls around the table.  “As Oogami has not returned from his errands, I’m naming Maria as your acting captain in the field.  Your mission is to prevent the tower from being rebuilt.”

“Imperial Floral Assault Troupe, move out!”  Maria ordered.

“Roger!”

Minutes later, they arrived to find a half-destroyed tower along with massive hordes of broken down Wakiji.

“Iris doesn’t like this…” the small girl murmured as her Koubu’s optical lens swiveled around to survey the destruction.  One of the Wakiji’s upper halves sparked into movement, grabbing for the golden Koubu’s leg, the latter moving swiftly behind the red mecha as it slammed its clawed hand through the offender’s head.

“Commander Yoneda, do you read me?”  Maria asked.

“Yeah, we can hear you.” his voice crackled across the speakers.

“The Wakiji--“ Maria started.  

“Were somehow destroyed before you got there, right?”  Yoneda finished.  “We’re working on that right now.”  He looked over Kasumi’s shoulder at the readout.  “Meanwhile, finish off the tower, and be careful…there’s a powerful demonic presence lingering in the area.”

“Copy that.”  Maria tensed, “we have movement.”

A lone figure moved slowly along the ground.  It started, stopped, then started again, moving as though controlled by a bad puppeteer.  It peeled itself off the ground, standing weakly, its shoulders hunched and head hung low.  There were several gasps of horror as each Hanagumi member recognized the man in his ticket-taking uniform and untamed hair.  

“Oogami-taichou!  Chief!  Onii-chan!” came their mixed cries as the controlled man stumbled towards them.  There was no response on his part, however, a low chuckling filled the air.

“Now, now,” a silky tenor voice said as the black koubu trained its cannon on its owner.  “I came to return him peacefully and you greet me with weaponry?”

A dark figure materialized from the darkness behind Oogami.  His dark hair fell gracefully around his shoulders.  His outfit consisted of a dark kimono, similar to Aoi Satan’s, but intricate crimson symbols were woven near the hem of his sleeves.  A slender hand rested on the hilt of his own sword, almost inviting an attack despite his words.

“Oi, I don’t think ‘controlled’ equals a peaceful return!” Kanna growled, raising her koubu’s fist and shaking it at the stranger.

“Well, I would consider it better than dead, wouldn’t you agree?” he purred, stepping forward again.  His garnet eyes glinted in the dark, “Besides…it wasn’t me who put him in this state.”

“Maria-han, this whole thing reeks of demons.”  Kohran warned.

Yes, tell me something I don’t know, Kohran Maria silently answered the Chinese engineer.  She kept her cannon trained on the demon in front of her.

“If you didn’t, as you so claim, put Oogami in this position, then who did?”  she asked.

“Is that supposed to be a rhetoric question?” He answered, smiling knowingly at the Russian’s following silence.  “Then I’ll answer for the sake of those who don’t already know.  Your friend in the pink kimono attacked him.”

“Sakura-san?” Orihime asked incredulously from her koubu.  “You must be sadly mistaken.  Sakura-san would never--“

“Sakura isn’t currently in her normal state of mind.”  Maria carefully said, “At this point, we need to expect anything from her.  Even attacks.”

“What?” the Italian demanded, “Maria-san, are you implying that Sakura-san has gone crazy?!”

“…Not at all.”

“Ok, now you’re not making any sense!”  the red koubu turned to face the black one, its arms waving about.  

“Would it be enough to say I’ll explain what I mean later?” Maria sighed in exasperation.  Kanna fell silent along with Orihime.

“…fine.” They both agreed.

“That’s a fine answer,” the demon chuckled, “you ladies should be more concerned about this person here.  He’s the one in immediate danger, not your friend.”

“And you…” Maria narrowed her eyes in suspicion, “Why are you here?  You are a demon, aren’t you?”

“Mmm, yes, I am a demon,” he said slowly, a disarming smile on his face. “and as for why I’m here, I already told you.  I came to return him.”  He placed his hand on Oogami’s shoulder, causing the ticket-taker to sink to the ground with a sigh.  An unsure look passed over the demon’s face.  “Um…aahh…” he glanced around sheepishly, “That wasn’t supposed to happen…”

There was silence.    

“Iris,” Maria cautiously said, “Take the captain and teleport him back to headquarters.  We will meet you there shortly.”

“Yes, sir!”


The golden koubu moved forward as the demon moved back, eventually making it to the fallen man.  There was a flash of gold light and they were both gone.  

“Well, there’s my bit of charity for today…” The demon crossed his arms, a satisfied smile adorning his pale face.  He turned to leave, whistling softly as he left a stunned group of women behind him.  

“Oi….Oi!”  Kanna yelled after him, “You don’t really expect us to believe that you, a demon of all things, came from wherever just to return a person?”

He paused in both his walking and whistling to turn back to face them.  A thoughtful look passed across his face.

“Based on your tone, no,” he held his hands in a ‘what-do-you-want-me-to-do’ gesture, “did you expect me to tear down your city block by bloody block as my hordes of ravenous demons swoop down upon the helpless citizens to savor their flesh?”

“Well….kinda.” Kanna answered softly.

“You mean to say that you don’t want to destroy the city?” Maria asked incredulously, her koubu’s cannon wavering slightly.

He waved a hand nonchalantly, “Not really, no.  It’s a nice city.” He shrugged his shoulders.  “What would I want with it?”

“The proper question is…what would your superior want with it?” Reni spoke up for the first time.

“Aahh…smart girl.  Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question.” His smile was friendly, but his eyes had become as hard as the jewels they were colored.  “That comes in due time.  Now…” he checked the sun overhead, “I have lingered here too long.  I’m afraid I have to bow out of this conversation.”  He inclined his head slightly, his black hair falling silkily forward to frame his face.  “One last piece of advice for you though.  Your kimono-clad friend harbors a bit of a taste for members of your group.  It seems she feels guilty feeding on other people.  I would keep a weather eye on those who’ve retired in particular.”  He chuckled as he stepped back into the shadow of the tower.  “They tend to put up less of a fight once mesmerized by a crimson gaze…”

And then he was gone.

The five koubu left gathered in a circle.  There were some muttered concerns between them before they headed back to headquarters, Kanna bringing up the rear and muttering fiercely about not being able to fight anything.  Once they disappeared from view, the demon stepped back out, glancing around carefully.

“Why do I have the feeling I forgot something?” He asked the broken Wakiji on the ground next to him.  It, of course, made no response.  “No, no, I definitely forgot something.” He answered regardless.  He stared at the severed head of one of the mechs, eyeing it thoughtfully.  “Ah…it’ll come to me later…Now to get back…”  his garnet eyes glanced around for something.  Once he found it (surprisingly enough on one of the Wakijis) he muttered softly before stepping sideways and disappearing into thin air.

The air over the battleground was still and nothing moved except for a small black bird alighting on one of the Wakiji.  It crumpled underneath the bird’s miniscule weight and the demon’s voice echoed softly as the bird took flight again.

“Oh crap…I forgot to tell them my name…”