A/N: Since ScriptAngel is pretty much the only one reviewing my City Hunter stories lately, I am proud to say this chapter's for her. If anyone else reads the stuff I write, don't be a stingy bastard. Review! :P
Disclaimer: I do not own City Hunter or its characters.
SINCE I SAW HER STANDING THERE
Chapter: 4
The mattress had to be wickedly expensive like everything else in the house. It was too relaxing and bouncy for her comfort. Surely, it was custom made like the bed – six feet in width and seven feet in length. Even if she reached her hand across it, she could not touch Onoda-san. And Saki was tempted to try. She passed her hands over her face and turned to look at her bedfellow.
'So soon?'
He was not there. So she sat up in her bed, pulled the flimsy coat of her nightdress across her chest and looked into the clock high up on the wall. He couldn't be up at 4:00 am as she was every day.
'7 o'clock?!'
She hadn't overslept in years. Well, the bed really was comfortable, she supposed.
Saki got out of bed, put on her slippers, and stretched her arms while facing the sun from the window. Her limbs had fairly recovered from the fatigue of two days of excursion. She wondered where Onoda-san had gone off to that early morning.
'It's not like he is in his pajamas'
She had seen him produce a plain shirt and loose trousers from his huge wardrobe the night before. It took him but a minute to change into those, which he did in his study room while Saki closed her eyes at the hint of his movements.
"Good night, Miss Saki"
He had slipped under the same cover on the right side of the bed and closed his eyes. Saki had feebly returned the 'good night' and drifted to sleep an hour after. Not once throughout the night had she been made aware of his presence in the bed, except when she looked at him. She was a tad bit disappointed to note that he looked the same in his sleep, no surprise baby or angel face.
'He is so queer'
Saki recoiled from the bathroom door on seeing a bare-backed man standing before the sink and the mirror. It was him. He put the electric razor down and turned to her,
"Good morning"
She turned and tried to sneak away, but he said,
"I am almost done. If you want to use the toilet or the tub, it's in here"
'A bathroom inside a bathroom. Good God'
She peeked inside the room and saw a closed door some feet away from the wash basin. Onoda-san said,
"There"
Saki hurried to the glass door and bolted it from within.
"Watch out for his abs. He's been hitting the gym since you agreed to marry him", her brother-in-law had said.
"That is impressive for a month's work"
Her eyes widened on realizing she had spoken aloud to herself. Both of her hands immediately clasped around the naughty pink mouth.
Saki had finished bathing and Onoda-san had finished shaving and brushing his teeth. He went for his bath while Saki stood before the basin and brushed her teeth.
'He did not look embarrassed at all when I saw him shirtless'
Then again, shame and Onoda-san were two words in complete contradiction to each other. Saki was looking around the room, trying to find something to do. One of the maids had made the bed while she was bathing and everything seemed in proper order. Her stomach gave a pitiful growl and Saki flumped down on the bed. The day had begun to seem boring.
'Not anymore, I guess'
She studiously kept her eyes ahead on the window-curtains as Onoda-san walked out of the bathroom in a towel and made straight for the wardrobe. Through the corners of her eyes, she saw him laying a coat and a pre-knotted tie on the bed. He opened a drawer, pulled out something else from it, and made for his study with the shirt, the trousers, and what were probably his boxers or briefs.
'I am going to have to get used to seeing him like this'
She had barely finished that thought when Onoda-san walked into the room. He was still buttoning his shirt,
"Breakfast?"
Saki stood up and hesitated,
"Yeah"
Onoda-san was before the wardrobe mirror and spoke to her as he tucked his shirt into his trousers,
"Usually, when my stepmother is away, we all have our meals together in the dining room. But I assume that Tadashi and his wife will have a late breakfast. They tend to do that when they have stayed up late the night before. Anyway, we will meet Sakura for the morning meal. She doesn't skip a day of baseball practice. I will give her a ride to the field at 8:30 and drop you at your place by 9:15 if the traffic is in our favor. At what time are the movers coming in?"
"11:00"
"Then you will have enough time for a last-minute packing"
"My clothes and books are packed already"
"You will have to pack away many of the things in the house", he turned to her while he combed his hair, "Kenji told me that he won't get another holiday this year until Christmas. The house will be closed till mid-December, won't it?"
"Yes"
Her ancestral house, covered in dust from within, while she stayed in this grandiose mansion – she felt sorry for the poor old house. Onoda-san brought her back to the present,
"Let's go"
Aimi's daughter, Sakura, didn't stop talking at the breakfast table for a minute. She sat on the chair between her beloved Oji-chan and Aunt Saki. Contrary to what Saki had thought, Onoda-san did not sit at the head of the table. He ate patiently and talked only when spoken to. Sakura said, her mouth half full of food,
"And you looked so pretty yesterday, Auntie..."
Saki smiled at her typically Japanese and childish pronunciation of the word 'auntie'.
"...Mrs. Saotome said that Oji-chan had bagged the teddy bear"
Saki and Sakura laughed at the little joke while Onoda-san warned his niece,
"Careful. You might choke yourself if you laugh with food in your mouth"
Sakura ignored him,
"You know, Auntie, I am really happy you married Oji-chan. Now I won't be the only one talking at the breakfast table"
"Unless you haven't noticed", Onoda-san said, "you are still the only one talking at the breakfast table"
Sakura stuck her tongue out at him and snatched a dumpling from his plate. Onoda-san smiled at her, chewing food at the same time, and took the last dumpling from her plate.
"Mm!", Sakura frowned and made another attack on his plate.
Onoda-san shoved two dumplings in his mouth at once and gave her a mocking, victorious smile. Saki smiled at the friendly quarrel between the Uncle and the niece, and served Sakura two dumplings from the steaming basket Hina had placed on the table.
"On second thought", Sakura glared at her uncle, "I don't understand why you would marry a baka like Oji-chan"
Saki had never heard someone refer to the great Tsuyoshi Onoda as baka. She looked at Sakura and then at Onoda-san, who seemed eager to hear her reply.
"Well", she began, "He is a very nice person"
Sakura playfully shook her head,
"That's not a good enough reason to marry him"
Saki smiled. Sakura was Aimi's daughter after all; it would be surprising if she did not have her mother's knack for putting someone on the spot.
"Your Uncle treats me very well"
"Yeah, but aren't you going to say you love him?"
Onoda-san interrupted the conversation before Saki could formulate a reply,
"Look at the time. We should get going"
"Almost done", Sakura glanced at her sports watch.
Onoda-san dabbed at his mouth with the napkin and said,
"Hurry up. I have to drop your Aunt at her old place too"
"I'll walk"
Sakura and her Uncle stared at her together. He asked,
"What do you mean?"
His gaze was intimidating and slightly warning. Saki tried to explain,
"I just have to take the bus from four blocks and then a little..."
"Why do that?", Sakura asked, "Oji-chan will drop you directly at home"
Saki laughed weakly,
"Walking is the only form of exercise I get. Now that I..."
She found Onoda-san frowning at her with his piercing eyes.
"...don't do yoga", she murmured.
He pushed his chair back and drew to his full height. Without looking at her again, he said,
"Very well. Come on, ferret, get your gear"
"Don't call me that, you giraffe!"
Saki was standing by the doors when Sakura waved at her as she got into the Bentley,
"Bye, Auntie! I will see you at lunch!"
The said Auntie pleasantly waved back and saw the driver close the car door. She heard a voice behind yet above her,
"I will be home early for dinner. Have fun with the moving"
He swept past her, now wearing the coat and his tie, and sat next to Sakura in the car. Saki vaguely heard two words coming from the nine-year old – "...goodbye kiss?"
Onoda-san's voice came,
"Shut up"
Then the Bentley roared away out of the big black gates of the Onoda Estate. Saki Nogawa retreated into the house and prepared to leave for her old abode.
Though the servants were shocked at her behaviour, Saki still insisted that she did not need their help. Aimi was the only one helping her out with the settling; she almost threw her back out arranging Saki's thick and voluminous hardcovers in her new study. When Aimi opened the wardrobe in her brother-in-law's room, she exclaimed,
"Aw!"
"What?", Saki asked.
Aimi showed her,
"Look, Onoda-san upgraded his wardrobe to make space for your clothes"
"I know", Saki absently piled her dresses in her hands, "He is quite thoughtful"
Those seven dresses, all white, were what she wore on seven days of the week. She hung her reception dress on a hanger and heard Aimi saying,
"I remember this one!"
Aimi was holding the green dress Saki had worn at her wedding. She grinned,
"Well, she was just seventeen..."
Saki laughed and tried in vain to snatch the dress from her hands. Aimi continued to sing and keep the dress out of Saki's reach,
"...so how could I dance with another, when I saw her standing there! Stop, stop!"
Saki tickled her friend into submission and put the dress away with a wide smile on her face. Aimi was saying,
"We have been trying to hook you up with Onoda-san since then! And now, look where we are"
"Technically", Saki sat on the bed across Aimi, "We haven't hooked up"
Aimi narrowed her eyes,
"You would have to be a real cold tuna to sleep in the same bed with Onoda-san and not pounce on him"
"I am not a cold tuna"
"Oh yeah? When was the last time you had sex?"
"I am not ashamed to admit that it was years ago"
"And when was the last time you masturbated?"
"Shut up"
"I am serious", Aimi pulled an exhausted Saki up, "When was the last time your lady parts were tickled?"
"Last year", Saki admitted.
Aimi gave her an all-knowing grin,
"I knew you weren't a lost cause"
"Everything is just sex with you"
"I just think it'd be nice if you stayed sexually active. You know, maybe let Onoda-san tickle your lady parts"
"You are impossible"
"Come on", Aimi said, "Don't you feel like making him happy once in a while?"
"I do"
"So?"
Saki smiled and tilted her head to a side in a peculiar manner,
"You just gave me an idea"
The kitchen staff was busy with murmurs and chatting that evening. No Onoda woman had ever stepped into the kitchen, let alone prepared a whole evening meal for the family and the servants by herself. To add to their heightened surprise, the new Mrs. had finished cooking before Onoda-sama and younger Onoda-san were home.
Hisame suggested,
"She must have had Cordon-bleu training"
Maneko shook her head,
"Nah. She must have worked at a restaurant under a professional chef. You don't get such speed and such a taste at the hands of a novice"
None guessed that she had been taught to cook by an ex-cop who used to be her lover.
In the dining room, Tadashi Onoda was on the verge of crying. He finally exclaimed when Hina came in with another pot of rice,
"Hina, tell Hisame to wash his hands properly. This is... this is so good. I am going to kiss his hairy hands. I might even kiss him"
Aimi and Sakura laughed while Saki and Hina exchanged a brief smile of conspiracy. Onoda-san opened his mouth after swallowing the first morsel,
"Hisame didn't make this. Miss Saki did"
Saki smiled amiably at him; like Tadashi, he too hadn't been told that she had cooked the dinner. Devoted to her and smart as he was, Onoda-san recognized the taste immediately as coming from her cooking. Tadashi gaped at her,
"Holy sushi, Saki-chan, this is amazing!"
He added after eating another mouthful of the fish cutlets,
"Now I am glad I don't have to kiss Hisame's hands. Saki-chan, please allow me to smother your beautiful hands with kisses"
Onoda-san leaned forward and had his stepbrother's neck in the crook of his arm before he could reach across the table for Saki's hands. Tadashi croaked,
"I have a wife and kids"
It was only when Hikoro and Sakura stopped laughing did Onoda-san release his choke-hold on their father. Saki complained like a proper sister-in-law,
"Why are you so harsh on him?"
Tadashi drank a glass full of water in one go and said,
"Yeah. Why are you so harsh on me?"
Onoda-san said, as stern as ever,
"Because you are a leech. If a woman lets you hold her thumb, you suck on it"
"That's true", Aimi mumbled.
Tadashi looked at his wife with a suggestive smirk at one corner of his mouth. He soon straightened his glasses with one hand and said,
"You are just cuckoo about Saki-chan. That's why you won't even let her little bro-in-law hug her"
"Cuckoo-cuckoo!", Hikoro exclaimed.
Onoda-san ignored him and looked around the busy table once. When he seemed to have made certain that no one was looking at them, Onoda-san touched the back of Saki's hand with the tips of his long fingers. The latter looked up at her husband in visible surprise. He darted a quick glance around the occupants of the table and said in a voice too low for common hearing,
"The food is delicious"
Saki blushed and revealed her pearly whites in a bright smile,
"Thank you"
"You just touched her! I saw you touching her hand! Now I get to touch her too!"
"Get lost!"
After the much celebrated dinner, Saki Nogawa sat in her new study and pondered over a form on her desk. She had made up her mind about it. And she well knew it would be trying on her nerves to make Onoda-san acknowledge her decision.
'It won't be that bad. He doesn't hate Hideyuki'
Saki looked at the four feet tall picture of Hideyuki and Kaori on the wall. It was there because of Onoda-san. Surely, he would understand. That gentle knock on the door was his.
"May I come in?"
"Of course", Saki stood up and beckoned to him.
Onoda-san stepped into the room and looked around as if he were admiring his handiwork. He walked to the bookshelf Saki had filled with the books from her old place and browsed through the contents. Saki watched him patiently and when he showed no signs of being communicative, she said to him,
"Ashitaka-san brought this form for me today"
At the mention of his trusted assistant, Onoda-san gave her a slight nod, never looking away from the books. He said,
"Yes. I told him it would be best if you finished the formalities for a name change by today. You are going back to work tomorrow and you are bound to be busy then onwards. I must say I have come to respect you even more for wanting to keep your maiden name"
'Here goes nothing'
Saki told him,
"I am going to change my last name"
Onoda-san smiled at Saki's copy of Gone With the Wind and asked,
"Why do you wish to take my name? You don't like me enough to do that"
"I am changing my name to Saki Makimura"
Saki noted the disappearance of Onoda-san's smile with a slow, torturous dread. She saw him put the book back in its place and before he could turn his glare upon her, Saki mumbled out the explanation.
"It is just that Kenji has taken the Nogawa surname, and you have Sakura and Hikoro to keep the Onoda surname. But Kaori-san is now Mrs. Saeba and there is not one Mr. or Ms. Makimura of that lineage anymore. So I thought I could keep the name, in respect of Hideyuki-san's memories"
When she summoned the courage to meet the anguish in his eyes, Saki found those eyes filled with contempt and disappointment. His face was as emotionless as ever, but the way he looked at her made Saki want to explain herself further.
"I..."
Before she could get a coherent word out, Onoda-san stormed out of her study. Saki heard a door being shut loudly and closed her eyes.
'He will never understand'
With a heavy step, Saki took the form off the desk and read it again. The name which hung over her life like a shadow was now attached to her own.