𝐀 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 | 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐲𝐨

★━━─ Prologue

"Let's make a deal."

Sanzu's gaze lingered dangerously upon the girl in front of him, examining her every expression, trying to decipher what was running on her mind. How fearless. He thought.

It was interesting to see someone proposing something to him when they knew of how dangerous he was. Well - he was looking for some entertainment anyway, so he motioned for the girl to continue, raising the glass on his hand for a drink.

It was no normal drink of course, there was something mixed in.

"Become my benefactor."

Due to his surprise, the drink on his mouth almost flew out, but he held it in, choking a bit in the process. This girl is unbelievable. He thought.

"What? It's not a good joke, you know?" He glared at her.

Sanzu just couldn't figure out what she wanted. Was it sex? Or his money?

The girl giggled, "Would you rather I call you a sugar daddy?"

That was the last straw. He didn't have the time for her petty jokes and his temper wasn't really the best. His hands traveled dangerously to her neck, catching the attention of a couple of people in the crowd.

She raised both of her hands as if she was surrendering, "Hey, calm down, Sanzu. We have to be civilized you know," she winked at him.

Sighing, he took his hold off of her and looked away, his mood was totally ruined. "Tell me what exactly do you want."

Her hands played with the drink on her hand, swirling the ice before taking a sip, "I need a person you know," she trailed off and looked at him. "And you just happened to meet all the requirements."

"You do know how dangerous I am right?" He smirked at her, mischief was on his eyes as he leaned closer to her ear. "I could kill you right here, right now."

Shivers ran down her spine as his warm breath made contact with her sensitive ears. Composing herself once more, she put both hands on his shoulder pushing him away, "Woah, ever heard of personal space?"

Seeing as he wasn't taking her jokes very well, she just grinned at him, "Then, it's even better that you can kill me whenever."

His face screamed confusion. Who in the right mind would even be happy about the fact that they'll be killed. He just couldn't figure her out and it frustrated him so much. Sanzu couldn't deny the fact that the girl in front of him reeked of mystery -- he was a sucker for that. 

"Do you have no desire for living?" he asked.

"Feeling alive is merely a rush of adrenaline."

He chuckled, and then studied her for a moment, "You're an interesting girl."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

There was something about the girl that he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She wasn't particularly pretty nor did she have any outstanding qualities that stood out. If anything she was quite...plain. Her innocence was something Sanzu wanted to have, no, more specifically, he wanted to corrupt it.

Such a pure smile without thoughts, it irked him, but at the same time, it was pulling him closer. An unearthly attraction that he wasn't prepared to have. It wasn't the same old lust that he felt for countless girls he dated, if he was still naïve, he would've thought that it was that something called...fate.

The thought disgusted him, making him gulp the drink on his hand without stop. He kept convincing himself that he wasn't in the right mind for having such useless thoughts.

"Do you even know who I am?"

She pondered for a second before answering, "Sanzu Haruchiyo, 27 years old, one of Bonten's Top Executive and one of the most wanted criminals in the country."

"Then, why me?" he flashed a lazy grin.

"Well, you were just at the right place and the right time," she trailed off. "I'm looking for a companion, you know. Someone to grant me my wishes."

He scoffed at her, "Then go find a genie or something and quit bothering me."

"I did find a genie and it's the person I'm talking to right now," she scooted closer to him. "Won't you grant me my wishes?"

Her eyes shined, it had light to them. It was very different from Sanzu's empty eyes, which only glimmered when he was high.

"What do I get in return?"

"My life." 

She said it so nonchalantly that Sanzu couldn't help but be surprised. Every time he would think that he got her all figured out, she would do another one of her crazy antics. She was being serious, her eyes were showing that she was indeed sincere with her proposal.

But, why?

What was driving her to get to this point.

It was weird. Everything was weird for Sanzu. The girl in front of him who's name he didn't even know was making such a huge impact on him and he didn't even know why or how it happened. 

The weirdest thing of all was how he didn't realize that he was nodding along to what she was saying, a careless word leaving his mouth, "Deal."

She beamed at him, flashing a toothy grin, "Ah! How rude of me. I haven't even told you my name yet. It's Takahashi Haru! Nice to meet you, Sanzu." She offered her hand for a handshake.

It's soft. He thought, completely immersed in the feeling of her warm hand in his. It was such a minimal touch, a connection so little, yet his heart felt warmth. He almost found himself smiling but the moment was abruptly stopped when her phone rang.

He wanted to throw her phone away but he just shifted his gaze to the drink on his hand, mumbling profanities inside his mind.

"Ah! I have to go now, Sanzu! Let's talk tomorrow okay?"

Before she could even leave, a hand stopped her, it was Sanzu. He was looking away while holding a phone on his hand, offering it to her. "Your number," he grumbled under his breath.

Haru could only giggle at him, she found him quite cute like this. A criminal was feeling shy while asking for her number, who would even believe that? 

Sanzu escorted her outside the bar, staying beside her until she hailed a cab. He even offered to drive her home, but he instantly got rejected. Watching her back as she walked away, he was surprised when the girl turned back at him, giving him a bright smile.

"I'll forgive you for attempting to drug me earlier!" She waved her hands profusely. "And thank you again for agreeing to the deal!"

Before he could even reply, she was already inside the car, writing something in a piece of paper.

★━━─Haru's Bucket List!!

✅ Acquire a travel buddy <3