The day of Hakuto Sugimoto's death anniversary went smoothly. Family and friends gathered at the mansion to commemorate it. The only commotion that happened was the one caused by the Yamaha brothers, Sano and Aki, as they bragged about who was the better pie maker between them.
Finally, Sanada and Ryo were happy to see that Sano and his father, Sato, were progressing towards reconciliation as the two chatted a bit.
That night, unbeknownst to Ryo, Sachi was pulled over to talk by Sanada. She told her daughter-in-law that she was sure his husband is happy wherever he is right now knowing that their son married a great girl.
Sachi was speechless after this and fought the urge to rebut her.
'I'm not so sure about that, Sanada. For all we know he might be turning on his grave right now as we speak since his son married the daughter of the enemy,' was what she wanted to say to her mother-in-law.
This thought alone made Sachi cry that night.
It was finally Sunday, their last day. Sachi just wanted to spend it away from the Yamahas as much as possible so she excused herself for a walk around the forest right after lunch.
"What, Sachi-chan, no," Aki protested. "I thought we were going to play some poker?"
"Yeah, Sachi-chan, totally," Sano chimed in.
The brothers and their aunt were already preparing the poker table.
Suddenly Sanada came to her rescue.
"Boys, let's leave her alone for now. After all, that hound is itching for a walk. You go ahead, dear," Sanada said with a smile and a wink.
"Boring," the two brothers said in unison.
"If you'll excuse me," Sachi said and was about to leave but Sanada asked her a question.
"Is my son not joining you?" her mother-in-law asked expectantly.
"Uhm, I think he said he'll be resting his head in our room for now," Sachi lied. She actually did not know where Ryo was or where he went.
"Oh, okay then. You take care now, sweetie. And, be quick, one of the staff said that it looks like it is going to rain heavily today," Sanada said with a warm smile.
"I will, thanks," Sachi said. She was not at all scared of wandering around the forest and getting lost, not with Kuma-chi around. Her dog will always find the way home.
Meanwhile, Ryo was already out on a walk right after lunch. He knew the forest around the area well since he used to play here as a child. He was already by the river when it started raining. He looked at his watch and it said 3:27 PM, he completely lost track of the time and his surroundings because he was so lost in his thoughts. He quickly made his way back but the ascent from the river proved to be a bit difficult because the rain made the ground all wet and slippery.
To add to that, Ryo was not wearing shows suited for hiking or climbing as he just meant to take a leisurely walk and had no plans to go down the river until he found his feet bringing him here. He also forgot to bring his phone which could receive a bit of reception down by the river. Still, he was trying his best to climb back up, but he stumbled upon a mishap as the rock that he was stepping on slid down and along with it he fell to the ground.
Sachi and Kuma-chi already reached the mansion by the time the rain has started. Sanada, Aki, and Sano were still engrossed playing poker in the study by the time she got back.
"Sachi-chan, come join us," Aki offered.
"Yeah, Sachi-chan," Sano said. "In the process maybe you can replace my brother in the loser's seat."
"Shut up," Aki glared at his older brother who was laughing at him now.
"I don't know, I'm not really any good with gambling," Sachi said.
"Then, maybe you can ask Ryo to join us instead. I have not seen his shadow around here since lunchtime," Sanada joined in the conversation.
"Of course, I will. I'll just go and wake him up for you," Sachi said.
"I already did, but the staff said that he was not in the room," Sanada said.
"He's not?" Sachi asked. 'You mean, he's not back yet?'
Sanada shook her head in reply.
"I'll try calling him for you then," Sachi said getting her phone out.
"Tried that, but he left this here," Aki said and got Ryo's phone out of his pocket.
Sachi opened her mouth to speak but no words would come out.
'Where the hell are you, idiot? At this rate, the whole house is going to find out about us and our pretend relationship,' Sachi cursed to herself. She went to the window and looked outside as though she was trying to look for him.
"A royal flash," Sano said revealing his cards.
"What the," Aki grumbled. "Auntie, I think someone is cheating on us."
"The classic loser excuse. So long, sucker. These babies are mine," Sano said collecting the chips from Aki and Sanada.
Sanada ignored her nephews and went to Sachi's side by the window.
"Do you think he went out?" Sanada asked Sachi.
"I don't know," Sachi was starting to get worried now. If only she could have been honest to them earlier, if only she had told them that he has not seen Ryo since lunch, they could have gone and look for him by the time she came back from her walk.
"Well, knowing Ryo, he probably did. Didn't he use to play around the area when he was young? Going off by himself and coming back later dirty and bruised?" Sano spoke.
"Still, it is unlike him to do that now, making everyone worry in the process, most especially, his beautiful wife," Aki said and winked at Sachi.
Sachi flashed him a weak smile and looked defeated.
"I think we should organize a search party now," Sachi said.
"That idiot, he's making us all worried," Sanada said.
"In this rain?" Sano asked. "Like I said, Ryo knows these forests better than anyone else. He is probably just taking shade underneath some tree waiting for the rain to clear and then he'll be back, you'll see."
"I hate to say this but my brother is right. After the rain has cleared and he still isn't back, we'll look for him then," Aki said.
"But, what if he got into an accid--," Sachi began but she did not finish her words, she did not want to worry Sanada even more.
It was already quarter past 4 PM when the rain finally subsided. Sanada gathered them and all of their staff around the living room and instructed all of them to look for Ryo. They were to look for him by pair.
Sanada was paired with Sano while Aki was with Sachi and Kuma-chi.
"Will your dog still be able to find him even after the rain has washed his scent off the ground?" Aki asked.
"Beagles don't really use the scent found on the ground to look for their targets, they use the scent left on the air instead," Sachi answered confidently.
"Let's go find him, buddy," Sachi said to Kuma-chi and released him. She and Aki then followed the hound in his search for Ryo.
Aki wanted to tell her that it was still the same, whether scent on the ground or around them, the rain could have probably washed them all off, but he did not want to dampen her spirits. He cursed his cousin under his breath and hoped that he did not venture further away from the mansion grounds.
Twenty minutes have passed and the beagle was bringing them further down. Aki knew where it was leading, down by the river. Memories of him, his older brother and Ryo swimming at the river flashed before him.
"What the hell, Ryo, if you were getting nostalgic, why couldn't you just do it at home?" Aki said out loud.
"What's that?" Sachi asked him.
"Nothing, nothing," Aki said. "But, I know where this path is headed though."
"Really?" Sachi said.
"Yes. It is leading down to the river where we used to swim," Aki said.
"Let's hurry then," Sachi said and quickened her pace.
"Okay but you watch out though. It just rained, the ground is slippery, and so you might lose your footing," Aki cautioned.
"Got it," Sachi said but all she could think of right now was finding Ryo, safe and sound. She thought about how worried Sanada might be.
When they reached the river bank, there was no sign of Ryo. Kuma-chi was busy sniffing around though trying to find Ryo's scent.
"Come on, come on," Sachi said.
"Let's do it this way, Sachi," Aki said. "I'll go this way, you go that way, okay?"
"Okay," Sachi agreed.
"You holler when you see him, 'kay?" Aki said.
Sachi nodded.
"Kuma-chi you have to find To-chan, okay?" Sachi said to her dog when Aki was finally out of earshot. As if understanding her words and just like that the hound found the scent, Kuma-chi barked and ran towards the opposite direction that Aki went.
"Atta boy," Sachi said behind him.
A few meters away, Ryo was sitting on the ground underneath a tree. He was already soaking wet from the rain and dirty from the mud. And then, he heard a bark. And, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Sachi's dog appeared in front of him.
"Kuma-chi?" he asked, confused to find it there. The dog ran to him, barking. "Are you lost, too?" he asked the dog.
"Kuma-chi, where are you baby?" he heard Sachi's voice call out.
"Why is Sachi here, too?" Ryo asked Kuma-chi again.
"Kuma--," Sachi was about to out again when Ryo and her dog finally came into view. She saw him sitting on the wet and muddy ground with Kuma-chi on his side, tail wagging.
Sachi could not control herself, emotions welled up inside her as relief flooded her. Without thinking, she ran towards him and hugged him.
Ryo froze when she hugged him, she surprised him and now she was crying too. At that moment, a memory of the past came to him, a similar incident, of him as a young boy in the very same forest but at that time it was his mom who came and found him.
Sachi was still crying and was still hugging him as Ryo just sat there frozen, not knowing what to do. And then, his cousin Aki came into view.
Aki was about to curse him when he noticed that Sachi broke down in tears hugging his good-for-nothing cousin.
"Idiot," Aki muttered under his breath when he saw his cousin's dumb stricken reaction. "Are you married or what?" He then beckoned Ryo to hug Sachi back and comfort her.
Ryo did not have any time to protest given his situation. And so, 'Just this once,' he told himself.
It was the first time they shared a hug and he was surprised how small or petite she was. Even her dog was looking up at them hugging.
'She's so small and warm in my arms, and her scent,' this was all Ryo could think of. 'Is that the sound of her heart beating?'
"They're here," he heard Aki call.
And then, his mother, Sano, and some of their staff all found them like that, with Sachi crying and clinging to him. He was unsure of what to do and could feel himself blushing from their gazes.
Sanada was looking especially touched at the sight of them together like that. She was so happy to see that her son was loved.
Sachi finally realized the situation they were in when he heard Sano purposely clearing his throat to signal their arrival.
'What have I done?' she asked herself.
Upon realizing this, composing and collecting herself, she managed to come back to her senses, and let go of her Ryo, and wiped her tears.
Sanada then instructed a couple of their male staff to pick Ryo up and help him back to their mansion. No one said a word as they all made their way back just before dusk, Sachi especially, was unusually silent, even at dinner.
Sano and Aki had to go back to the city that night because they need to work early tomorrow. They left right after dinner. On the other hand, because of the injury he sustained, Sanada forbade Ryo to drive back or go back to the city until their family doctor sees him, unfortunately, he won't be able to visit them until tomorrow morning. And so, it was decided that she and Sachi will be spending another night at the mansion.
Sanada will not hear any of Ryo's reasons about going back to the city that night. She even added that the company will not fall down even if he missed one day of work.
It was unusually quiet without the Yamahas around, but, Sachi and Ryo did not mind it at all. After all, they both needed some time off. That night, they both laid on the same bed with their backs right next to each other. They were in for a long and sleepless night.
***