Bittersweet Life

Chapter Six

Sanada watched get into his car and smiled. He knew what a tomboy she was and he found it funny that even in a dress, could still manage to find a way to wear leggings underneath it. Watching her, he couldn’t help think that she would look more beautiful in something elegant and sexy like had worn the other night. He stopped at his thoughts and shook his head, focus on , he thought, looking at her.

"I'm sorry I'm late," said with a smile.

He watched her and nodded. "It’s alright,' he said firmly, turning the car on.

She giggled and watched him. "So where are we going?" she asked curiously. "I didn’t know what to wear, but insisted I put on a dress because she said you had good taste."

"I see," he said absentmindedly. Good taste? He thought wryly. It would've been nice to know on the spot than her wishing she was with Masaharu. Why did it feel good when I heard that liked where I took her?

poked his arm and gave him a smile. "You didn't answer me," she said sheepishly, waiting for him to respond to her previous question. All this time, she was studying his profile and admired how good looking he was. Niou was sexy in her book, but Sanada Genichirou was handsome.

He looked at her. Maybe this could just work out fine, he thought. "Do you mind if we keep it as a surprise?"

"Surprise? You? Surprise? Hmm... Then what Haru told me about you was completely different." She frowned, holding her chin.

"Haru?"

"Oh, Niou," she said, pushing her tongue out at him. "So, where are we going?" she asked again, hugging his upper arm. She hated surprises and was never good with them. Arisa always told her that her impatience will get her in trouble one day.

He chuckled softly. "A restaurant." She is very impatient, he thought with a chuckle. At least never…. Sanada paused. Uh-Oh… I’m comparing them.

“Oh… where you took ?" she asked excitedly. She never got the full story of ’s date with Sanada, but she managed to find out that he had taken her to a very nice restaurant.

No… I don’t think I want to take anyone there for a while, he thought, shaking his head. 'No, I'm taking you somewhere else."

"Yay!" she exclaimed.

He drove for sometime until he came to a halt in front of a cottage. It was a cute little thing just by the seashore. He walked to the other side and held his hand out for her so he could help her out.

"Oh! This is so pretty!" she admitted. "What is this place?" she asked, admiring the scenery.

He helped her inside and explained. "This is actually a new place. It has Japanese cuisine and is quite famous. It's quiet and peaceful. I thought you'd like it here." I made sure they didn’t have any dancing in here, he thought to himself. I’ve never danced in a long time and totally caught me off guard.

admired the setting as they walked towards their reservation desk. The setting was beautiful. It was adorned by warm colors everywhere, candlelight's, and light music. Sanada told the reservation desk that they were here. They were both taken to their tables. Once seated at their table, he folded his hands and looked at her. "Hi."

She looked up and winked. "Hi," she said sheepishly. "I didn’t expect you to bring me to such a nice place," she admitted. "Haru took me to see Die Hard 4." She giggled like a little child.

"He wanted to take his date to see that?" he asked surprised, smacking his head. "Is your friend the type?" What was Masaharu thinking, planning to take an elegant woman like to the movies? He thought annoyed… he rubbed his jaw uncomfortably and shook his head, stop thinking of that night… concentrate on the woman in front of you…he had the distinct impression that was not a movie person, but now he should've known better than to judge a book by it's cover.

"Yes." She nodded, sipping the glass of water the waiter just brought her. "Yeah, she's cool. We are movie freaks and I did enjoy my time with him, but I'm sure dinner with you would have been nice as well."

"Thank you."

The two of them spent quite some time together. discovered a lot of things about him and realized that the so called Sanada Genichirou could actually be quite relaxed and not so stern. She also realized that he was probably easier to talk to alone than in a big group. She recalled that the night they all had dinner at the apartment, he had been very quiet. "It's funny," she remarked.

He looked up, eyeing her. 'Funny?"

"Yes," she answered. "You're so not my type, but I am really enjoying myself. Also, I think it was hilarious how we all got mixed up last time."

He smiled wryly. "Indeed." He looked to the side and felt his heart skip a beat. That was a mistake I never want repeated, he thought frustrated. If that date never got mixed up, I wouldn’t be feeling guilty sitting here while thinking of someone else right now…

placed a finger to her lips and suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I'm sorry if was rude to you the other day. I really do need to apologize for the mix up that night, I was to blame.'

"No need to worry, it happens," he said. He decided to change the subject because he didn’t want to talk about that night anymore. Even until today, he wondered what the hell happened to his sensibility and why he leaned and kissed her on the lips instead of her forehead when they were under the mistletoe. He kept having an inner argument with himself as to why he did that, but the odds were always against him. Why did I kiss her? Why did it feel right to just lean down and kiss her? she was talking too much and I… Damnit! I messed up. "What about you, -san? Tell me about yourself?"

"Hmm…" she said out loud, thinking. "I am… boring,"

He smiled gently and looked at her seriously. "You have a beautiful voice and told me that you sing what you write, so I doubt that adds up to you being boring."

blushed.

He cleared his throat. "I am sorry if my statement made you feel uncomfortable, but I was just speaking the truth." He looked away. "I heard you sing that night and I think you possess a very beautiful voice."

looked down shyly. "Thank you."

Sanada studied her and remembered something. "The song that you sang the night we all met. It was rather sad."

's eyes softened and nodded. "Yes, it was something I wrote a long time ago."

Sanada noticed how her the sparkle in her eyes lessened. "I am sorry to have brought it up."

"No," she said, smiling. 'Actually it was rather sharp of you to notice. Even my friends who have always been with me never said anything about it."

"Who was he?"

She looked at him surprised, but grinned. "I never figured you for the nosey type."

'Not really, but the way you said it… I don’t know," he explained. "You said it was a long time ago, but I see that you are still pained by it."

"You are observant yet again," she murmured, stirring her drink.

He didn’t say anything.

let out a sigh. "What to say really…" she began. "He was someone I was with for five years. Five years is a lot… I guess I had false hopes of him marrying me. At the end, he left me and married a woman chosen by his own parents." She rubbed a single tear from her eye. "The bastard never had the guts to say no to them."

"I am sorry."

"Don't be," she said sincerely. "Arisa picked up the pieces and told me it was better for me to have found out this way than marrying the idiot at a later stage."

Sanada frowned at that statement. "Rather harsh, don't you think?" Harsh? Actually no… I would’ve acted the same way if I was ’s best friend, but… That was cold of her; was a different person during dinner.

"No, she was right in every sense." She looked at him. "Can you imagine the horror if I had ever married him? I would've lived a living hell with his parents controlling his every move!" she exclaimed melodramatically.

He smiled at that. These women are strong… they went through so much together. I doubt anything can break them apart, he thought. I wonder what heartache went through. Sanada coughed when he thought of that and shook his head.

They continued having light conversations until they finished eating. As he walked her out, held his wrist gently. "Can we walk by the beach?" she asked, leading him there. "The beach at night is very calming. I don't get to see it often because the girls are too lazy."

He nodded, for he was never able to say no to a woman's request.

As they reach the beach, took off her shoes and held them in her hand as she stepped onto the sand and walked towards the sea.

"Please be careful," Sanada said, following her. She is just like an excited kid, he thought happily, making sure she wouldn’t hurt herself. He reached her just as she almost tripped on the sand and caught her upper arm tightly. "I said be careful," he repeated, putting his hand gently on her waist and steadying her.

nodded embarrassingly and then did something impulsive, she hugged his waist.

Sanada swallowed a bit and put one arm around her. She was warm and he liked this feeling, but… there was something at the back of his head that was making him feel guilty, so he slowly pulled away and made her sit down. "Let's sit," he said, looking at her. "You're tired.'

frowned, but it did not show on her face because of the dark environment. Did he… did he just push me away? she thought, feeling a bit paranoid. She shook her head and sat next to him. "I like it here," she said softly, looking at the sky.

He looked at her and admired how she looked under the moonlight's glow. For any man, this would be the perfect scenario, he thought, but he knew he couldn’t do anything until he settled someone else in his mind. I feel like I’ve betrayed someone… he thought wryly. I have a rather good looking woman who interests me sitting right next to me and all I can do is compare her to someone who hates me at the moment!

"Sanada?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Are 'we' alright?" she asked seriously, looking at him.

He thought for a second about what she meant. "We?"

"Yes," she answered. "I mean… do you still want to see me?"

Sanada smiled. "Of course, -san," he answered truthfully. That he knew wasn’t a lie because as much as someone else was invading his mind, he still thought seriously of . I have to try and shake off my mind… but… something felt right that night. I’m not sure what it was, but she managed to keep me calm and it felt… nice.

"Then you have to promise to call me from now on, ok?" she said, her eyes glittering.

"Ok."

poked his forehead. "No, promise me."

He chuckled and nodded. "I promise, … I promise, ."

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Finally, after sitting there for a long time, they returned back. held his hand as he walked her to the door and she smiled when she realized that the mistletoe was gone. "No more." She giggled, looking up.

He looked up and understood her meaning, but at the same time, he got a flashback when he kissed someone he was not supposed to. Sighing, he was way too honorable for this, but at the end of the day he had been a man and in front of him was someone he wanted to kiss. He had battled with his mind a million time on what the hell he was thinking, but the answer was never there. I’m glad it was cut down or I would’ve never been able to kiss . I just can’t at this stage.

"I think cut it down so she wouldn’t see Yuushi and his woman again." giggled. "As nice and lovely they are, but its sickening how lovey dovey they get when they forget everyone around them."

Sanada looked at her. I hope that was the real reason, he thought, looking at .

"So, do you want coffee?" asked, turning the lock in so they could enter. "Our lovebirds will probably be late."

"Lovebirds?" he asked curiously, following her inside.

chuckled. "Yuushi, , anyone of the two…" she said, looking at him. "I want to say this seriously, Sanada." She looked at him with a smile. "I am happy found someone like Haru, I think… I think he can make her happy again. She is a difficult woman to please and her heart has been broken many times."

True, but Niou is also known for breaking hearts, he thought worriedly. "Just make sure she's careful, ok?" he said softly. "Niou   one of the best, but he tends to loose precious things quickly." I hope for her sake that he takes care of her. She looks like she needs it. I wonder what happened to her.

"I'll make him keep her," she said determinedly.

He nodded and followed her to the kitchen as she prepared coffee for the both of them. However, he was curious about that… "What happened to her? I noticed that she can be rather bitter and defensive sometimes?"

"Well, it was no better than mine, but she was seeing someone for a long time and they were dead serious about each other, but… it was more painful for her because she caught him cheating."

"I am sorry."

"With a man."

Sanada frowned at that new piece of information. "How horrible," he murmured, trying to think of the horror she must've felt when she witnessed that.

bit her lip and then winked. "Between us, okay?" she said, looking at him seriously.

"I don't gossip."

poked his forehead. "That means not Haru either, he needs to learn these things on his own."

He smiled at that.

For the next couple of hours, they chatted about themselves and learned more about each other.

Sanada studied as she worked her way in the kitchen and started to feel at home. She had insisted for him to stay in the living room, but he said it was alright and he would keep her company as she worked.

'Since I'm making tea, would you like some dessert as well?"

He looked up at her, surprised. "Dessert?"

"Yup," she said with a nod. "Mini pastries," she explained, getting some stuff out of the fridge. "It's ready; I just need to put some whipped cream and strawberry on top."

"Uh… I don't eat sweets," he admitted. Yet somehow, you managed to finish a whole bowl of ice cream with the other night.

"Oh, you're just as bad as ," she teased. "However, I make her eat it, so you have no choice but to eat it too."

"I'm serious."

"So am I," she said firmly.

Sanada let out a sigh.

Once was done with the pastries, she placed two in front of him and smiled sweetly at him.

He smiled a bit and looked at her. "One I will try for you, but two is asking the impossible."

"Oh… come on!!!"

"I'm serious."

She crossed her arms with a pout, but let out a sigh. "Then I'll wrap this up in a box, so please take it back with you to Haru, ok?"

He nodded.

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By the time they finished, it was late. Sanada noticed that was tired, so he stood up. ", thank you for going out with me tonight," he said with a slight bow.

blushed and shook her head, covering one side of her face. "No… No… Thank you for asking me out," she whispered, embarrassed.

Sanada noticed that she was embarrassed and he couldn’t help think that she looked very cute like that. At an instinct, he walked towards her and hugged her closely. "You're very special," he said, kissing her forehead. "Let's do this again," he said, letting go of her. I’m sorry, , but as much as I respect and admire you, I just can’t kiss you yet.

She nodded with a smile and looked at him. hugged him back and cherished his hold. "You will definitely ask me out again," she said, grinning up at him.

He smiled gently and looked down at her. For a second, she really thought he was going to kiss her, but he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. Finally, he turned around and left.

After he left, she let out a sigh. Why don't you still want to kiss me?! She thought annoyed… Haru kisses me like that! You shouldn't be kissing me like that!!! She crossed her arms, frustrated.

threw her jacket and walked to her room, removing the eyeliner she had on. Am I really that irresistible? Or am I being impatient?

She shook her thoughts away, not wanting to know the answers. She simply went to the bathroom and decided to wait for .

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A.C. & DeVeliCious

Edited by Anonymous