Men of the Sea

Chapter 16

Kana knew who Sasuke Uchiha was. Everyone did. Afterall, his surname was on the outside of the skysckraper they were working in. She had also heard the rumors about him. A few of her coworkers warned her to stay clear of the younger Uchiha son when she first started as Sakura Haruno's assistant. "He is trouble. Especially when it concerns pretty women," a few of the girls on staff whispered to her. Kana didn't need the warning. She knew how to take care of herself. And, of course, she was no stranger to pompous rich kids. Back when she was in college she managed a luxury handbag store. A pretty face wouldn't be enough for her to fall victim to the womanizer known as Sasuke Uchiha. Or so she thought.

It was a dreadfully long day. Haruno had meetings till late that evening. Which meant that Kana was going to have a bit of a stay at the office. She knew that Haruno tried to avoid meetings that went late. But it was unavoidable. Multiple company representatives were traveling from their respective countries to negotiate terms and deals for raw resources. It was out of Haruno's hands'.

When the last meeting ended, sometime near ten in the evening, Kana drowsily left her desk with her boss' blessing and meant to take the train home. Her heels clacking against black marble echoed in the eerily empty lobby as she made way to leave the office. She glanced at her wristwatch and configured when the next train would come. Sighing, she looked upwards realizing that she narrowly missed the most recent train. Just her luck. Upon this mental exasperation she noticed a lone figure outside. Through the lobby's windows she saw him. Tall, elegant, and obnoxiously cool. He was standing not to far from the entrance door, his back was straight and he was impeccably dressed in a well tailored black suit. As Kana neared the glass door, she saw he was smoking a cigarette. His dark eyes were distant and his brow was furrowed. He seemed troubled.

This wasn't her first time encountering the younger Uchiha son.

Afterall, his office wasn't that far from Haruno's. And yet, he seemed different compared to her brief encounters she had with him. Hesitantly, she stepped outside. The air was cool and damp. It was going to rain. In the back of Kana's head she thought of how she didn't bring an umbrella. Frustration coursed through her.

Next to her, Sasuke Uchiha cleared his throat.

She slowly glanced in his direction. When he said nothing she shrugged and was about to leave when he said, "I hope you brought an umbrella". She arched a brow and turned to him.

"I didn't. But it hasn't started raining yet." Sasuke exhaled smoke from the side of his parted lips. "Yet," he agreed. She stood there, waiting for him to say something more. But after a minute or two passed, he didn't. She moved a foot forward and he finally inquired, "Do you live far?" She planted her foot back to where it originally was. "No. Not too far."

"I can give you a ride to where you need to go."

Her instincts immediately warned her of the danger Sasuke Uchiha was. And logically, she knew he was no good. But her "no" never drifted from her mouth. Within this time lapse of her lack of responding, the skies parted and a sheet of hard rain fell. In unison the two both looked towards the angry dark clouds that hovered above. Kana frowned. He glanced at her, his furrowed brow smoothed and he discarded his cigarette to the ground. He turned to her and said, "You don't have to. I'm just trying to be nice."

Was Sasuke Uchiha capable of being nice? She hadn't heard of such rumors. But it was raining. And she didn't have an umbrella. Kana bit her lower lip and wondered if she should call a taxi.

"You can say no."

Thunder rippled above.

"I'll take the ride."

As if on cue his driver pulled up to the curb in a stylish foreign black car. The door opened and suddenly she was inside. Sasuke asked for directions to her house. She told him. His driver began the route to her home.

At first, everyone was quiet. Then the millionaire asked her, "How's Haruno?" Kana was caught off guard. "Fine?" she responded hesitantly. "She's working late again." "There were meetings that went on later than expected." "Aa," he said with a nod of understanding. He glanced at her and shifted his body so that he was also facing her. Their knees touched. "What do you think of Haruno?"

"She's nice. Hardworking too. Overall, I think she's admirable." Sasuke nodded again. "Yea…" He looked at her then suddenly shook his head. "Hey, do you want to get a drink quick? I can still take you home right after." Kana's face must have showed uncertainty because he put up his hands and twisted his lips in a playful smile. "One harmless drink?"

Kana wasn't sure if it was her fatigue or the sweet expression Sasuke had. But one moment they were in the car and the next they were at a club. She ended up having two drinks. But two was more than enough for her. She didn't often indulge herself the habit of alcohol. She sipped her second martini slowly. She knew she had to keep a straight head around Sasuke. Afterall, he was a womanizer.

"Feeling alright?"

She nodded, her head feeling as if it were slightly spinning.

"Good."

At last the dark-haired female placed her empty martini glass on the bar. She turned to Sasuke with a thoughtful expression and asked,"Why did you offer me a ride home?"

He stared at his drink. It too was almost gone. "I wanted to be helpful." "Or you wanted something." He chuckled under his breath. He looked a bit caught off guard, but also charmed by her. For a moment she felt clever and interesting. "To be honest? I wanted to talk to someone that worked with Haruno." She twisted her lips in thought. "Why? Do you like her or something?" Sasuke was at first silent. Then he shook his head. "No, nothing like that. We used to be childhood friends. I just wanted to know why she was working late." "You sound worried." He backed his head and finished his drink. "I'm not." "Why not talk to her?"

"I can't."

"Your office is literally down the hall from hers." Sasuke abruptly slammed his lowball glass on the bar. A small crack had formed on the glass from the action. Kana jumped. "Let's change the subject." His tone of voice had a finality to it. There would not be anymore discussing Sakura Haruno. "Fine. Sorry to bring it up," she slurred. She used her index finger to trace the rim of her empty glass. She couldn't understand why Sasuke was suddenly so sensitive. She wasn't asking anything unreasonable.

"Uchiha-Sama."

Kana cringed. It was Sasuke Uchiha's Receptionist, Karin Uzumaki. Personally, she had no quarrel with the redhead. But Karin was a thorn in many people's side. Reason being she was nauseatingly obsessed with her boss. "I didn't expect to see you here," Karin cooed to Sasuke. Kana doubted that. She wouldn't at all be surprised if the nut-job implanted a GPS tracking device on his person at some point to keep up with his whereabouts. "Was just grabbing a drink," he muttered. Clearly, he wasn't happy with Karin's arrival either.

Kana turned to look at Sasuke and Karin. Karin's glare was filled with hate as she regarded her. It was just as well to Kana. Glancing at her wristwatch she mentioned to Sasuke that it was getting late. Her "one quick drink" turned into two drinks and an hour. It was past eleven in the evening. "Right, I'll drop you home." He flagged down the bartender and paid their tab. "Where are you guys going?" Karin asked, her lips pouted and her body pressed against Sasuke's.

"I promised Kana I'd drop her home. The weather isn't so great tonight." "I could drive her," Karin offered through her teeth. Sasuke and Kana both arched a brow. "No thanks." Despite Karin's protests, Sasuke's car was waiting for them at the entrance of the club. Ten minutes of driving later and the sites became more familiar.

"We're close now. Sorry to keep you out so late." Kana shrugged. "It's okay. I'm just happy you didn't make a move on me."

"I thought about it. But you don't seem like the type of girl that would go along with that sort of thing."

He was right. Still, it caught her off guard that Sasuke acknowledged as much aloud. The car slowed in front of her apartment building. She existed and was about to leave, but Sasuke asked her to wait. The rain was now a practical drizzle. She paused at the open car door. "Hey, do you mind not telling Haruno that we talked about her?"

She nodded. And then the car door was closed, he was off in the distant, and she was home. It was a bizarre experience. One that she admittedly wished lasted a bit longer.

Though she'd never say as much to anyone aloud.

After that night she saw him around the office a few times. But they never spoke besides in polite passing.

Kana knew that Sasuke Uchiha was no good. He was a womanizer. But she couldn't help herself in wanting to see him outside of the workplace again. For months, he didn't ask her out. For months, he only treated her like an acquaintance.

Kana was leaving the office late. It was another long work day of meetings. She sighed knowing that outside it was raining and she knew she wasn't in the mood for the commute back home. As she was wondering if she should hail a taxi or not, she saw him standing at the entrance of Uchiha Enterprise with a cigarette in his hand. She stepped outside and stood next to him. "Hey," she greeted informally. He glanced at her. "Hey."

His voice sounded dejected. Frustration was clearly written on his face. "You okay?" "Yea…" "Uchiha..." He dropped his half-finished cigarette at his feet. "What does love mean?" He asked her suddenly.

Kana was caught off guard. "I-I don't know." He nodded. "Sometimes I think I know, but it scares me." "To love someone?" "To be vulnerable," he nearly whispered. "And to potentially not be enough for them. "I understand," she breathed, her heart beating faster with each passing second. She knew that Sasuke wasn't talking about loving her. Still, it was a different side of him that she had ever seen.

"Did something happen?" He stared up at the sky. Unlike the first night when they were standing outside, the rain was more forgiving. Gentle, even. "For a long time I have been very cruel to someone I care about. I regret it. But I can't change. Not now. I don't think I could ever repair the damage I've done."

"Uchiha-San…"

Kana had to remind himself he was a womanizer. He shouldn't be trusted. Even so, she stepped forward and hesitantly grabbed his hand.

"It's alright."

"Is it?"

"I'm here for you." Kana exhaled deeply. Leaning forward on her tiptoes she kissed his cheek.

"Let's go to my place," she whispered in his ear.

He was distant and selfish in bed. Only focusing on his own needs. Even so, Kana didn't care. Maybe everything he had told her was a ruse and an act. He wasn't a troubled man, he didn't have a soul. But did it matter? Did anything matter? Nothing would come out of their relationship, she knew that. Even so, she just wanted him to be close to her.

Yea, she could take care of herself. But who would take care of Sasuke Uchiha?

She knew he was rich. He was powerful. He was a grown ass man. But emotionally, he was hurt. He was suffering. Could she be of use to him? She wanted to be helpful.

After the first night, they slept together often. Sometimes it was a few nights in a row.

Kana wasn't sure when the lines were blurred. When sex and drinks turned to drugs and threesomes. She never heard him speak of love again. But she saw the sadness in his eyes and the occasional frustration. She wasn't pleased with the dynamic of their relationship, but she couldn't find it in herself to pull herself away…

"Because you were in love with him?"

Kana blinked.

Suddenly the room came back in focus. Bright lights hung above and her hands were clasped upon her lap. The two detectives before her were staring at her intently.

"I don't know."

"Then what caused you to stay with him and deal with his selfish antics? Or even deal with Karin?" Kana shrugged. "I felt bad for him. And he wasn't the worst person in the world to spend time with. I usually had a lot of fun when we hung out."

"That's it? All you wanted was to have fun?"

Kana frowned. She couldn't answer him. She wondered, was that all she wanted? Was a good time all that she was looking for?

She knew it wasn't. But she couldn't admit to the detectives before her that she had this strange notion that she could save Sasuke. That she could heal his emotional wounds. Or that someday he would properly open up to her.

"What about Karin?"

She was grateful the questions turned away from Sasuke.

"Karin had her faults. But after we spent time around each other she wasn't awful to me." The detective suddenly looked intrigued. "And why would you say that?" "I know she could be a bit cruel to the other girls that spent time with Sasuke. But…" Kana's eyes lowered to her hands. "Go on," the younger detective encouraged.

"But I wasn't a threat. I've never asked for more than Sasuke would give."