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ScriptAngel – I knew you'd like this fic. I am going to make it extra fluffy just for your sake. :3 And thank you for putting up with me these last few days. There might not have been many words exchanged between us but kind and earnest support of a good person means a lot to those with my disorders. Thank you. :)
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Disclaimer: I do not own City Hunter or its characters.

SINCE I SAW HER STANDING THERE

Chapter: 2

Four times the man had proposed to her and four times she had marvelled at his gut and tenacity. She had refused him thrice, but it was different this time. He had smiled warmly when she had asked him for a day to form her answer. Life was strange, but so was he. It was unfathomable to her why an eligible and desirable bachelor like him would be hung on her for eleven years. Perhaps, one of the many eccentricities of Onoda-san was that he was interested in novelties, obsessed even. His words were sincere and his conduct had always been honest. He had loved her all these years and she had shunned him. Onoda-san deserved her affection as much as anyone else did; there was no doubt in her mind regarding that.
'This is all because of Kenji'
Her former student had not ceased his surprise visits to check on her every month. Moreover, Kenji did not hesitate to tell her that his superiors had admonished him severely on several occasions about his disregard for the Navy's holiday schedule. When she scolded him for taking so many days off for her sake, he would say,
"Come with me then. If you are there with me, I won't have to take any holidays and come down here to make sure you are okay"
"I am not leaving Tokyo or this house"
"It is unhealthy for you to live alone in this house. It has too much significance for your past, and you are just recovering"
If she married Onoda-san, she would live with him. Then Kenji would stop being so reckless with the good Navy's lenient attitude and not risk his job.

There were more advantages to marrying Onoda-san than there were not to. She could be living with Aimi. Sakura and Hikoro would fill the empty space of children in her life. Sitting on her rocking chair, one question was enough for Saki to form a conclusive answer: how would she have felt if after all her years of patience and love, had Hideyuki never returned her affections?
"Awful"
Poor Onoda-san had only ever wanted to look after her. And he was kind enough to not say that to her face since he knew how she abhorred the idea of having to rely on someone other than her own self. What he would expect from her as a wife was reasonable – attention and friendship. She did not care about yielding her body to him as long as he remembered well that her heart belonged to Hideyuki. That would have to be drilled into his impervious skull.
'I should ask for his permission first'
Asking Hideyuki's permission was out of the question. She had stopped hallucinating about him after her treatment. As for going to his grave and asking for permission to the tombstone, it was something she had resolved never to do. His grave was right before her when she was standing in that cemetery with Onoda-san. The shock was enough to hospitalise her for seven days. Shamelessly, she had recovered from that as well. It brought Onoda-san's words to her mind, spoken as she lay in the hospital bed:
"Have you ever thought of seeking revenge on whoever killed Makimura-san?"
"Saeba-san did that already. Besides, you mustn't have noticed but I am not exactly a fighting person"
"Well, I have always thought of you as a fighter. You have just never wanted something bad enough to fight for it"
Yes, she was a fighter. No matter what she had been put through, she had survived.
"There is no shame in survival, Saki", Dr. Kimura had told her during their sessions.
Shame was survival's sidekick, Dr. Kimura. Her mother would not have looked at her so disapprovingly in her dreams if that weren't true.
"Those dreams are your subconscious fears and regrets trying to surface", Dr. Kimura again.
Yes, it is me. It is always me and my fault.

The proper alternative to going to Hideyuki's grave and letting her mind weave pictures of his decomposed corpse was to meet Kaori. It had been only last month when they had met. Regardless of how strong and able-bodied she liked to think of herself as, Kaori was affected by her pregnancy like any other woman.
"Thank you! If I didn't know better, I would have thought that you were trying to fatten me, Saki-neechan"
They might not have been siblings in blood, but Kaori was a splitting image of her brother, only more beautiful and loud. Saki gave her best motherly smile,
"I know they are your favourites"
Ryo called from inside the kitchen,
"She ate two boxes of those yesterday only, Saki-chan!"
Kaori yelled at him from the couch,
"Are the crepes ready yet?!"
"Not yet! I am working on them!"
"Then shut your mouth!"
Saki whispered,
"You bully him too much"
Kaori grinned,
"And I love it"
"One would think you two would grow more serious about each other after marriage"
"We are serious. But I only get to bully Ryo like this", Kaori said, "It is impossible to bully him in bed"
Saki and Kaori shared a laugh, which reached Ryo's ears soon enough. He came into the drawing room carrying two large plates laden with about three crepes each,
"Are you laughing at how fat Kaori looks these days?"
Kaori shoved a whole crepe inside her mouth and hit Ryo on the head with her trustworthy hammer,
"You did this to me"
Ryo put a hand on the red bump on his head and retorted,
"Oh yeah? Like you didn't want this? Whose idea was it to wear transparent underwear that day?"
Kaori coloured and seethed,
"Be careful what you say, Mr. Saeba. You wouldn't want me to orphan your child here, would you?"
Ryo glared with the same mock intensity,
"Oh, I would like to see you try, Mrs. Saeba"
Saki sighed, leaned forward and did what Hideyuki would have done in the situation.
"Ow, ow, ow!", Ryo and Kaori yelped together.
Saki held them both by an ear each and said,
"Calm down before either of you says something they shouldn't"
"Ouch, ouch!"

Once the Saebas had apologised to each other, Saki broached the reason for her visit.
"There is something I have to tell you"
"Sure", Kaori asked.
"Onoda-san has asked me to marry him", she lowered her head.
Kaori was grinning wide,
"That is such..."
"Nonsense!", Ryo finished her sentence, "This is not fair! I wanted to score with Saki-chan!"
Kaori smacked her fist on the back of his head and said,
"You are not going to score with anyone else as long as I am alive!"
Ryo climbed back on the couch, moaning in frustration. Kaori said to her guest,
"That is great news, Saki-neechan. I am truly happy for you both"
"Thank you. But I am yet to give him an answer"
"Why?"
"I need your permission"
Kaori and Ryo looked at each other and shrugged. She pointed to herself,
"My permission? What for?"
"I cannot seek your brother's permission anymore. So I thought it best to ask for yours"
"Don't be ridiculous", Kaori frowned, "You don't need my permission, nor do you need Aniki's. What makes you happy would have made him happy"
Saki asked,
"Are you sure you don't mind my marrying Onoda-san?"
Kaori smiled and grabbed Ryo's wrist before he could raise a hand in objection,
"Not at all. I am truly happy for you, and I am sure Onoda-san will make a delightful husband"
"Thank you", Saki rose, "I must take your leave now. I have to call him"
"You are going to tell him on the phone?"
"Yes"
"No!", Kaori held her hand, "You must say it to his face, so that you can treasure his expression forever"
Saki reminisced about his expression from years ago when she had gone to his office to yell at him. If he were to look at her like that again, she would definitely turn all shades of red right before him.
"Saki-chan", Ryo laid a hand on her shoulder, "If things go awry with that cold billionaire, you can always come to me... yaaaik!"
Kaori had kicked him in the jewels from behind.

They were strolling through the park at 12:30 in the afternoon. His coat was on his arm, and she had a hand on her mouth. Onoda-san saw her struggling to control her laughter and asked,
"Why do you find it so funny?"
She spoke in pauses, tried to sound normal,
"It's... just that you... you look different"
"Different as in?"
She said, still stifling her giggles,
"You look younger than me"
Tsuyoshi Onoda passed the tips of his fingers above his upper lip and said,
"I did it for your sake"
The laughter was building up in her like steam,
"You shaved your moustache for me?"
"I overheard Sakura's mother saying to Tadashi that you didn't like moustaches and that it was the reason for your hostility towards me"
Saki had to sit down on a bench. She bent her head over her lap, covered her face with her hands and laughed for two whole minutes. Another practical joke by Aimi and Tadashi-san. Her cheeks were aching when she raised her head and saw him sitting next to her on the bench.
"Onoda-san", she laughed, "You can be such a child sometimes"
He lovingly wrapped a strand of her hair around his finger,
"Feel free to think of me as another orphan under your care"
The livid rush of being in close proximity with a lover brought Saki to her senses. She inched away from him and looked down at the ground. Onoda-san said,
"If I had known my clean shaven face would make you laugh so, I would have done it sooner"
She looked up at him,
"You look like a college student"
He nodded and bounced his eyebrows once at what had been done. Saki squared her shoulders and said,
"When will you be back?"
"The 21st of next month. We have our appointment at the marriage registrar's on the 23rd. Are you sure that you want the reception to be on the same date?"
"Yes. And... I don't want anything too expensive for the reception dress"
"Here, pay with my credit card when you shop for it"
"No, thank you"
"I will give it to Tadashi's wife then, for most probably, you will shop for the dress with her"
"You don't have to..."
"What will you be buying me?"
Saki shook her head and stopped a smile from creeping past the corners of her mouth,
"What would you like?"
"Something you would want to see me wearing"
A pink blush covered her pale cheeks; Onoda-san said the most unexpected things.
"And nothing too expensive, of course", he insisted.
Saki asked,
"What about the rings?"
"You can leave that to me"
"No diamonds. And nothing gaudy, please. I don't like wearing jewellery"
"Of course"
She sat by his side, enjoying the view of the trees in the park, discussing their wedding plans as coldly as one would discuss the share market. Onoda-san asked,
"I was considering India for a honeymoon"
She glared at him in annoyance.
"We can call it a get-away if the word 'honeymoon' is too strong for you"
"I have told you..."
"Oh, yes", he smirked, showing his perfect teeth, "Yes, you have. Is there nothing I can do to persuade you to go on a private vacation with me?"
She folded her arms over her chest and her mouth puckered in contempt,
"No"
"Nothing?"
"No"
"Nothing at all?"
"No"
He picked his coat and stood up,
"I have always found your stubbornness sexy as hell"
This shameless man! Saki could not bring herself to look at him. She could only hope that he would keep his tongue in check after marriage.
"Goodbye, Miss Saki"
She reluctantly met his eyes again. He didn't look any un-sexy himself, not at all.
"Have a safe flight", she said.
"I will, thank you"
The words were hesitant yet clearly spoken,
"Have your meals on time"
He chuckled, and the sound pleased her,
"That sounded very wife-like"
"It did not"
"It did"
"If you don't like it", she peered at him, "You can back out of this anytime you want"
"No", he smiled, "I have waited for years to hear that tone in your voice. There is no way I am backing out. Are you?"
"Of course not"
"We understand each other then"
He advanced his hand towards her. Saki looked at it, then at him, and shook his hand slowly. It did not escape her for the umpteenth time how long his fingers were and how firm his hold was.
"I will see you later"
He looked back at her once before walking out of the park. How strange, how blunt, and how ridiculously tall he was. She knew very little about his interests and habits, and had decided to marry him judging him by his heart alone. Thank God, she would have Aimi by her side in that gargantuan mansion and that new life.
"I am getting married"
No echo of a man's familiar soft voice came back.