Life, Love and Laughter
Note: Kodocha-related fan fiction. Akira and Ryoko are growing up and both are talking about what they want to do when they mature. Akira wants to be a comedian like his father, so he learns from the best: his own father and Hiroshi. Ryoko wants to learn how to become a surgeon, or become a councilor like her mother. A bit of a scare happens when Ryoko, Akira and Sana are kidnapped and go missing for a few days. The kidnappers' intentions will be revealed and justice will be served.
"If you look at me close enough, all you can see are my teeth !"—Zenjiro
"It'd be weird if you laughed your butt off. You couldn't sit, pass gas, or even go to the bathroom ! Wouldn't that be bizarre ?"—Tsuyoshi
Chapter 1—Work, School and Play
It was a typical Monday morning, and Zenjiro and his family had gathered for breakfast before going in their separate directions. They all meditated as a group, calming themselves before the day began and felt energized before the day began.
"Goodbye, papa ! I'll tell you all about school when I come home. Come on, Akira.
The bus is here !", Ryoko said, taking her little brother's hand and leading him to the door after kissing their parents goodbye.
On the way to the studio, Zenjiro and Motoko were talking very animatedly about the events of the day, and especially Ryoko and Akira.
"Ryoko told me the other day she wants to be a counselor like me or a surgeon. I am surprised she already knows what she wants to do with her life at this stage. I mean, she's only eight.", Motoko said, awe-struck by her own daughter's maturity.
"I know exactly what you mean, honey. Akira's the same way. He's thinking about becoming a comedian. 'It's not all fun and games', I told him. But he insists that he will make a livelihood out of making people laugh. After all, if he can make his papa and mama laugh, I'm sure he'll be funny to a lot of others.", Zenjiro said. He was excited to know the children would be coming to shoot some commercials after school and that way they could be together again.
Motoko was coming along with him to visit sick children, help the homeless and do what she could to continue making the world a better place. Zenjiro admired her for doing such a service to humanity every day, but it came to her naturally. Her heart was overflowing with unconditional love for the entire human race.
After a long day of running here and there, Zenjiro was in the café with his beloved wife enjoying some tea. It was there that she had given him his first kiss of many. She smiled as she reminisced.
"And you know your kisses are divine. Finer than the finest wine.", Motoko said, poetically as she fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously at her husband. Still she had the uncanny ability to make him blush without him even realizing it.
"Dear, you flatter me.", he said, casting his gaze to the tea-leaf that was standing straight up in his cup of red tea. Just then, as the two were finishing up their snack, their children had come into the studio.
"Mama, papa !", the said, almost in unison and hugged and kissed their parents. Sana, who had been taking a break as well, saw them come in.
"Why if it isn't my favorite two kids in the whole wide world !", she said, and this time she wasn't hyperbolizing.
"Sis !", the two of them said in tandem as they hugged her. They truly did love Sana like she was their sibling. They wanted her to stay at her house so they could have a sleepover. Of course, she would have to have it approved by her mother, Misako. Zenjiro was already fine with the idea. He didn't mind kids coming into his house. The only time he had minded it was a long while ago when Sana's half sister had been tagging around with him and he had let her rest on his couch when she was sleeping. He had been a good father figure and watched over her, but still Keiko's husband gave him an upper cut that even Mike Tyson would have been jealous of. Remembering that incident made him flinch and Motoko patted his arm.
"Don't worry. Nothing like that will happen this time.", she reassured him.
"Oh thank heaven.", he said, with a breathy sigh.
After the commercial shoots, Akira and Ryoko rambled on and on about how incredibly exciting their days had been at school, and indeed, they had been exceptionally interesting.
"That's fantastic, but do you know what's even better ?", Zenjiro queried.
"What's that ?", Akira said, curiously.
"Firstly, I'm taking us all out for ice cream ! Secondly I talked to Sana's mother and it's ok for her to come over for a sleepover this weekend.", Zenjiro said, with a brilliant smile. Motoko was delighted, as were the children.
"Zen, why are you so nice to me ?", Sana said.
"Sana, sweetie…You know that without you…None of this would be possible. I'd rather not think of a life without so many blessings in it. You were the catalyst that turned my unfortunate existence into one that has been nothing but serendipitous.", Zenjiro said. It was so peculiar to see Zenjiro acting so seriously. But, even he could be serious at times. Sana put her hand behind her head and acted bashful for a moment.
"Oh come now. Surely you jest.", she said.
"Only on stage.", he said, poking her playfully with an elbow.
After treating his family and Sana to ice cream, the family sat outside of the ice cream parlor under a table that had an umbrella. The weather was so lovely that it had caused people to become more friendly and outgoing. As usual, Zenjiro had been sporting one of his aloha shirts and looked bright and sunny as always, but he was more so now considering the weather had been perfect. He savored his ice cream like a culinary chef savors the presentation of his latest edible masterpiece. He let out a long, satisfied sigh.
"Why can't ice-cream last longer ?", he wondered to himself. The answer really didn't matter, but he could see it was getting late and he had to return home. He took Sana home along the way back and he and his family waved goodbye as they left.
While enjoying a family bath, Ryoko was usually the playful one in the tub. She splashed Zenjiro with water and giggled jocularly.
"Why you !", Zenjiro said, mocking menace and caught her from behind, tickling her a little. Akira laughed, loving to see his big sister get her just deserts. She would usually do the same thing to him and then say,
"He who laughs last, laughs loudest." After rinsing and drying off the family put on their pajamas and got ready to go to bed. Zenjiro usually read them a story. Tonight it was one of their favorites, though it was a story from their infancy. The book was called Goodnight Moon.
"Goodnight kittens. Goodnight mittens. Goodnight brush. Goodnight mush. Goodnight to the lady whispering hush. Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight, sleep tight.", Zenjiro said, tenderly. The way he read rhyme was a marvel, because it always put the little ones straight to sleep. They never grew tired of Goodnight Moon even though they were growing older. Their precociousness could be challenging, but he as well as Motoko handled it quite well with the changes that occurred daily.
Soon after the children were asleep, Motoko curled up in Zenjiro's arms and sighed peacefully. He kissed her and she had fallen into a deep sleep so quickly. But before he knew it, sleep had come to him just as easily and they were dreaming peacefully.
Chapter 2—Pajama Game
The weekend came quickly and Sana was brought to Zenjiro's place with only the necessities. She immediately hugged the siblings as soon as she came in and they had plenty of activities planned to take part in with her. They played well together and laughed hysterically at one of their favorite classical movies. Soon as the movie finished, Ryoko felt like singing some karaoke. Zenjiro brightened. Karaoke was one of his favorite hobbies and he rushed to sing a duet with his daughter. Sana and Akira cheered as they racked up points on their karaoke machine, possibly the most points ever made on just one song. Their voices blended quite well for a father and daughter pair.
Motoko had been making snacks for everyone and listened to the sounds of her family singing. It gave her a sense of bliss as well as elation to hear them having so much fun. They cheered as soon as she came in with something for them to eat. As the children and Sana enjoyed the freshly-made desserts, Zenjiro pulled Motoko close and begged for her to sing.
"Sing. SING, my Angel !", he said, rather dramatically. She selected a song, a rather fast-paced, bouncy tune that got them all dancing. Soon as she finished, she took a polite bow. Zenjiro then noticed what time it was.
"Good gosh, it's late.", he said, pointing to his watch.
"Aw, dad ! Come on, let's sing one more song !", Akira whined, pouting with puppy eyes.
"Normally I would say 'yes', but it's really late. We need our rest. Tomorrow, we're going to the temple.", Zenjiro said. Akira snapped his finger and knew his father had a point.
Sana wanted to tell them all a story before she went to bed. It was about her mother's newest manuscript and how it featured some ancient fairy-tales that had been passed from Kurata to Kurata and now to her. She would be sharing these whimsical stories with everyone now. The book was for children and those who had held onto their inner child. Soon as she ended the story, everyone was asleep. Motoko's head was resting upon Zenjiro's chest. He was snoring lightly, his expression was ecstatic. The siblings were curled up together, cuddling as they snoozed. Sana giggled gently and turned off the lights.
"Goodnight, everyone.", she said, sweetly and snuggled into her futon to sleep.
Chapter 3—Family Means Everything
The next day after church, everyone was feeling rejuvenated after paying prayers to the gods and being among all of the glorious nature that was in full bloom. The cherry trees were particularly stunning this year and they had all stood to marvel at them for a time. Zenjiro remembered he had to take Sana home soon, but she had impulsively led Akira and Ryoko to a Shinto temple to look at all the ancient statues.
Motoko reassured Zenjiro there was nothing to worry about that is until Akira, Ryoko and Sana had gone missing. They had been gone now for over an hour and not a trace of them had been found. He knew this wasn't like Sana. She would've come back after looking at the statues and gotten bored quite easily. He began to panic and wondered where they could be. His usual laid-back demeanor transformed into one of someone who looked like they were nearly claimed by madness. Motoko, the voice of reason, had also found herself worrying about her babies, as well as Sana. Sana was like a surrogate daughter to them, and she was just as important as their own flesh-and-blood children. They had to be found, or terrible things could happen to them. She shook the notion of all the horrendous circumstances they could find themselves in and shook her head to clear those abysmal images from her mind. She caught her breath and held Zenjiro's hand.
"Don't worry, the police are coming. They'll help us. We have all the information they need. Now it's up to them, but we won't give up looking either.", she said.
"I really don't know what I would do without you…Honey, I am scared for them. I don't know what else to do. I feel so helpless.", Zenjiro said, suddenly breaking down and crying. It wasn't like him to become so emotional. But he adored his children and Sana as well. Without them in his life, everything had lost its meaning. She stroked his hair and cheek, wiping his tears. Every so often she would kiss a tear away, and cried softly with him.
"We're in this together, my love. Nothing can defeat us.", she said, confidently.
Meanwhile in the kidnappers' lair…
"No, I want them to wear these cute clothes!", one henchman said.
"No ! No, no, no, NO ! Make them do something funny !", another henchman said, clapping his hands much like a seal. The head henchwoman stepped forward and slapped a paper fan on a desk loudly to catch their attention.
"I'm Boss. What I say, GOES. Got that ?", she questioned, raising an eyebrow. All that could be seen in the kidnappers' get up were eyebrows. Everything else, except for their fingers had been visible. Some were slender, others were round, but the leader was stocky and broad-shouldered. If she had been a man, she could easily be a quarterback for a football team. She wanted money from both families, and promised that she wouldn't harm the kids. Her intentions weren't cruel. She wanted to make herself look good with the help of the kids' charm and make them sport some of her inventions as well as a crafty jewelry line she had developed. The other guys were just people she pooled together and had been supporting her. Her business hadn't done so well in past years, so she had resorted to kidnapping famous children to vehicle possible prosperity. Thus far, her plans hadn't worked, but with Sana Kurata and Zenjiro's kids, heck, anything was possible.
Back at the Police Station…
Misako was just as concerned as Zenjiro and Motoko were. She was glad she had them as well as Rei and her publisher, Morisato there to keep her company. However, she was the most composed of all of them, when in reality; she was doing everything within her power from screaming in fury for her baby's safe return.
"We're doing all we can, Sir. Really. I told you what we know. We only have a few leads. But we're not giving up.", one of the younger detectives told Zenjiro. He sat down, having run out of tears to cry. Motoko's eyes were dry as well, but she had been sniveling as much as her husband was. Both had been shaking so hard from all of their crying. Neither one of them had felt so helpless. Yet, with the help of the police force, they felt relieved that they were on the search and wouldn't rest until Sana, Ryoko and Akira were found and brought home safely.
After Many Sleepless Nights…
The Banzai Bandits hadn't been so brilliant after all. They had forgotten they left a paper trail after their ransom note had been found. They weren't going to get paid for their efforts and before they could tickle-torture the children to death, the lead inspector of the police had found their hideout and rescued the children.
"See, I told you that eventually they would come. You don't have to cry anymore, Akira.", Sana said, wiping Akira's eyes. He had never been so frightened in all of his life, despite the fact that the Bandits hadn't harmed them and the boss lady had been kind to them. It was a very peculiar situation, but they were bad people nonetheless. Akira's big sister, Ryoko, kept him calm on the way back home and he fell asleep in her lap during the ride in the police cruiser. Sana, let out a relieved sigh.
"Thank heaven this is all over. Those Bandits have finally been apprehended. Justice has won again.", she said, peacefully. She would've sung a song about that very happening, but she was too worn out to do so. Kidnapping tends to do that sometimes.
Once the police officers returned with Sana, Akira and Ryoko, they were all welcomed home with tears of joy and kisses and hugs.
"Thank heavens you're all safe.", Motoko said. The parents thanked the police for returning their children to them and returned home, thankful that the children hadn't been harmed and the crooks had finally been put behind bars. It didn't mean that the parents wouldn't keep a closer eye on their children, but they would be trying to spend more time with them in the future and realize that their union was the most blessed one in existence.
Epilogue
That night in their respective homes, Sana had been visited by her erstwhile 'nemesis' Akito Hayama. He had been concerned when she was missing but had hugged her rather unexpected when she came back. The two hung out for a time before he returned home and he reminded her of just one thing before he said goodbye.
"The more people you have around you, the better off you'll be. And don't forget, if you're really in trouble, you can always buzz me with the Parrucha.", he said, after leaving. He seemed to have a trace of a smile on his usual stoic face. It was a milestone to see him smiling like that but as usual, Sana had been unable to capture that elusive grin with Rei's Polaroid camera. That night, Sana and her mother fell asleep on the couch, and she didn't care if she was a big girl and supposed to be independent at this time. She felt safe being in her mother's arms and knew her mother would love her dearly and care about her come what may, no matter what happened in the future.
In Zenjiro's home, the siblings were nestled between mom and dad in their futons having no more reasons to cry. Zenjiro had sung them all to sleep with an old lullaby his mother, Aimee used to sing to him when he was fussy, couldn't sleep or had been upset and crying. He remembered Aimee hated to hear or see him cry. She wanted him to always be filled with joy, tranquility and most importantly love. When he sang this particular melody, all those feelings and warmth filled him to the brim. He noticed they were already asleep and looked up through the windows in the ceiling. There was a full moon and it had been obscured by a passing cloud. There was probably going to be a shower soon, but it wouldn't stop him from going to sleep after not sleeping for 3 nights straight. Silently, he muttered an earnest prayer to the gods and thanked them for keeping his precious children safe and for returning Sana back to her family. Life would return to normal in the coming days, but for the time being, he savored this moment of closeness with Akira, Ryoko and his beloved Motoko. There was no better feeling on earth, and the emotions resounding within him had no earthly name.
The End