Disclaimer: Pot doesn't belong to me. Too sad, isn't it?

Rating: T

A/N: English is not my first language; feel free to point out the mistakes I made.

Feel free to review…

DAY 2

Sanada woke up earlier than usual. There was some noise in the kitchen. He was sure of having locked the front door and the back door so it could only be the kids or maybe Saruwatari-san their old neighbor. He went downstairs and entered the kitchen. It was the old lady living opposite their house. When she saw Sanada she bowed and apologized.

"I am sorry if I woke you up. Sanada-san asked me to come every morning to get the children ready. I will drive them to school. I know you have morning lessons with some of my friends. It is the least I can do to help you. I really would have looked after the children but I am too old."

"It is really nice of you Saruwatari-san. I am grateful. I know it is difficult for you to drive them to school. So please if you can not do it please tell me. Mother will not know anything about it."

"Thanks for your concern. But I can drive them to school. It doesn't bother me at all. Moreover I must admit that taking care of them makes me happy. I lost my husband two years ago and since that day these children have been my ray of light."

A few minutes later the children entered the kitchen. When they saw the old lady they ran to kiss her.

"YES Kagome-chan will drive us to school. Can we have some candies if we fasten our seatbelts without making a fuss? Pretty please??"

The old lady smiled and nodded. They leapt from joy and then greeted their uncle. Saruwatari-san went upstairs with them and helped them to dress. While she was with the children Sanada looked at the kitchen. She was making breakfast. A typical Japanese breakfast for him and some chocolate for the kids. He knew he had to find a way to thank her.

Half an hour later they were gone. Sanada enjoyed this bit of silence. He took advantage of it to go to the nearest hardware shop to buy a padlock. He didn't want the kids to play with his precious katanas, tantos… Well with all his swords.

He had just closed the shop's door when his cell phone rang. It was Ryuzaki Sakuno

"Hello Sanada-san…"

"Oh hello Ryuzaki-san. What can I do for you?"

"I heard from your mother that you were alone with Kuan Ti and Kagami. So I wanted to know if you needed some help. I don't have to work this week so I can come and help you…"

Sanada was speechless. As much as he liked her it was impossible for him to live with her. Sure she was soft spoken, nice and pretty but she wasn't the type of girl he liked.

"Thanks for the offer Ryuzaki-san. I will do it myself. I do not want to burden you with my problems."

"I know. It doesn't bother me at all…"

"Excuse me. It is really nice of you. But it is my family…"

"I know. Your mother said I had to help you."

"What Mother said is one thing but I already told you I did not need your help."

"As you wish. Unfortunately you won't be able to prevent me from coming to cook you and the children dinner."

She hung up and Sanada sighed. He went home, put the padlock in place and made sure that the house was clean. He had to go to Rikkai to train the kendo team and perhaps chat a little bit with his best friend and former captain. He found him next to the dojo.

"Yukimura, don't you have some lessons?"

"Well I stopped going to college because I was offered a job here. I'm teaching PE. I sent you an email last week."

"My apologies. I could not check my emails as it has been really hectic in my family."

"I know. I thought that you would want to talk to me so I will go home with you after the training."

So two hours later they were home. He knew the kids were with Saruwatari-san because they insisted on eating with her. She couldn't refuse. In a way Sanada was happy about the situation but he knew it wouldn't last as the holidays were getting nearer and nearer.

They sat in the living room with a cup of green tea and some rice crackers his mother baked before leaving.

"So Genichirou what's the matter with you?"

"Ryuzaki-san called me earlier and she said she would come to help me with the brats."

"I thought you liked her. Come to think about it you were in love with her in Junior High."

"I do like her but it has nothing to do with love. I told her not to come but she kept telling me that Mother ordered her to come."

"It's strange. Sanada-san may have asked her to come but ordering is a bit strong. Are you sure about it?"

"Well that is what she…"

Ring Ring…

Sanada stood up and opened the front door. Sakuno was here a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Hello Sanada-san and hello Yukimura-san. I thought you would be here too so I bought more food. Where are the children?"

The men looked at her and Yukimura pointed the house just at the other side of the road. Sakuno seemed a bit disappointed but she shrugged it off.

"Ryuzaki-san, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can."

"Are you sure that Sanada-san asked you to come. It is not something she would do."

Sakuno looked at Yukimura and then at Sanada before looking through the kitchen's windows.

"I promise I wouldn't say anything because you were supposed to know about my coming here to help you. It was your nephew. He phoned me yesterday evening and told me that his grandmother wanted me to come and live with you during their stay in China. I couldn't imagine that a four years old boy would lie to me."

It hit Sanada right on his head. They didn't want to eat at home because they knew what was going to happen. They must have heard his mother talking about Sakuno and how she would like her to be part of the family. He sighed and told her she was allowed to stay here for the night but that she would have to leave as he was able to take care of two children alone.

It was 7.00pm when Kuan Ti and Kagami went home. They were smiling because they saw some woman shoes. They ran in the living room just to see their uncle chatting with his best friend. But little Kuan Ti seemed to be a bit disappointed. Sanada noticed it and smirked.

"How was your day?"

"Fun uncle Genichirou. Kuan Ti put paint in a nasty boy's hair because he kepts bothering me. So Miss Takano made him sit alone. Then we went home with Kagome-chan."

"Do you have anything to add Kuan Ti? You seem to be disappointed."

"Not at all uncle. I just wanted to know if you could cook us chicken and rice tomorrow evening."

"Of course. But are you really sure that you have nothing to tell me?"

"No"

"You did not phone a friend of mine to ask her to come and live her? I know you did it. Don't try to deny it. I know your father would slap you for that lie. As far as I am concerned you won't go to Saruwatari's house after school and you will help me to clean the dojo."

Kuan Ti tried to soften his punishment but it didn't work. He ended up going to bed at 7.30 while Kagami was allowed to watch some cartoons on TV…

A/N:Sanada didn't suffer a lot this time. What will happen next as Sakuno is here? What will the children do? Next time we will deal with a pond, koi carps and little brats…