Disclaimer: Don't own them. Don't sue me. I'll get pissed if you do.
Note: Somewhat of a sequel to Goodbye to Romance. If you didn't read that story, here's
the set up: Logan quit the X-Men to live in Japan with Yukio and Amiko.
Beautiful Day
By
TheMack
Logan had finally met his match. Throughout the years he had faced many enemies and
fought many battles. He had always managed to hold his own against impossible odds.
But this time he was beaten. To continue to struggle was pointless. Gift wrapping paper
had just defeated the unstoppable Wolverine. With a loud growl he shoved the mess of
tape and paper away from himself. The noise brought Yukio to the room.
"Honestly, Logan, can't you wrap just one gift? I mean you come with your own built in
paper cutters and everything."
"Funny, darlin', real funny. Seriously, I'm dyin' of laughter over here."
A wicked grin grew on Yukio's face. It was not often that she got to see Logan flustered
and she intended to enjoy every minute of it. Her facial expression drew an angry glare
from Logan.
"Well, ya gonna stand there all day, or are ya gonna help me?"
Yukio laughed, walked over to the table, kissed Logan on the cheek and sat down. On
the table before her lay a Playstation 2, assorted video games, and a very old book. She
picked the book up. It was an original copy of Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto
Musashi, Japan's greatest samurai.
"I assume that the book is for Harada and the games are for Amiko."
"Yep."
"A book that is well over four hundred years old seems a bit too good for the Silver
Samurai, even if he is letting us stay at the Yashida family compound."
"Believe it or not Darlin', that flamin' Playstation doohickey an' games were helluva lot
harder to score than that book. Hell, I got the book for free. But them games an' that
system... goddamn, I swear why can't she just smoke weed like other kids her age? Be a
helluva lot easier to get her a gift, that's fer sure."
"Now, Logan I know you don't mean that."
"The hell I don't. Drugs would be cheaper."
Yukio laughed out loud. She began to wrap the gifts. Logan busied himself preparing
the Christmas cards to go along with the gifts.
"So, Logan, that incident with those Yakuza gangsters in Osaka last month wouldn't have
anything to do with your getting this book for free, would it?"
"Can't say."
Logan grinned and winked at Yukio. His new job as liaison officer for Canadian
Intelligence at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo definitely had its perks. What's more, it
had kept him quite busy and sufficiently entertained. Leaving the X-Men had worked out
even better than he had hoped. For the first time in years he felt content. He felt
complete. Was this what he had been missing all his life? Was this what he couldn't find
in his many wanderings around the world? Was this what the X-Men couldn't give him?
Yukio and Amiko. His family. He studied Yukio as she carefully wrapped his gifts for
him. Lord, she was beautiful. She had a lust for adventure and living every moment of
life to its fullest. Feeling his gaze, Yukio looked up from her work and smiled at Logan.
"Well, Logan I see Harada's gift and Amiko's gift, but where, pray tell, is my gift?"
Logan pretended to ignore her.
"You did get me a gift, didn't you?"
Logan shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Logan?"
"Amiko wrapped it fer me a while back."
"Logan you're hopeless."
"So I'm told."
Yukio laughed and returned to the task at hand. She finished and handed the neatly
wrapped gifts over to Logan.
"You know Logan, of all the customs we Japanese have borrowed from the West, I think
I like Christmas the best."
"Yeah? Well Darlin', to tell the truth, I was always partial to the Japanese version o'
Valentine's Day. I like the way the women are the ones' who have to give guys the
chocolates an' cards."
Yukio got up, kissed Logan and started to head out of the room.
"Logan, if any woman besides me gives you anything for Valentine's Day, they'll regret
it."
Logan laughed and started to clean up. He put away the gifts and headed to the kitchen.
He scrounged himself he a beer and headed to the living room. He plopped down on the
sofa, and started to drink. Moments later, Yukio entered the room with the day's mail in
her hand.
"Christmas cards from the Hudsons, Jubilee, and Kitty Pryde."
She handed the cards over to Logan. Logan set them aside to read later.
"Where's Amiko? Haven't seen her all day."
"She's up in her room."
"All day? That ain't like her. Somethin' wrong?"
"Just the pains of being a young adolescent child growing up in a harsh world."
"Say what?"
"Oh, its nothing Logan. She has a crush on some boy in school, but he's going with
some other girl. We've all been through it. She'll get over it soon enough and move on.
It's just something we all have to experience at some time in our lives."
"You talked to her, 'bout it?"
"I tried. But as far as she's concerned there's no way that anyone can understand what
she's going through or how she's feeling."
"Uh-huh."
Logan set his beer aside, got up and headed towards Amiko's room. Yukio followed
him.
"Logan, what are you going to do?"
"I'm gonna settle this."
"Logan, she's not going to want to talk to you."
"No one ever does, but they do anyway."
Yukio decided not to press the issue. She knew there was no point in arguing with Logan
once his mind was made up about something. Logan proceeded to go to Amiko's room.
He knocked on the door. He heard a muffled "go away" from inside. He opened the
door. Amiko was sitting on her bed with her headphones on and her stereo cranked up.
She scowled at Logan. Logan picked up a jacket that was draped across her chair and
tossed it at her.
"We're goin' out fer a walk."
"I don't want to go."
"I wasn't askin' if you wanna go or not. I'm tellin' ya. We're goin' out fer a walk."
Amiko pretended to ignore Logan and continued to listen to her music. Logan just stood
there. After a while, Amiko tossed off her headphones and shut the stereo off. She put
on her jacket. She knew that no one in the entire world was more stubborn than Logan.
She might as well get the stupid walk over with otherwise Logan was never going to
leave her alone. She followed Logan out of the compound, scowling as she walked. She
wanted to leave no doubt that she was doing this against her will. Logan didn't seem to
notice as he took her out through the streets of Tokyo. They headed towards the
waterfront of Tokyo Bay.
"So I hear ya got some... problems at school. The boy kind."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Good. 'Cause I don't wanna hear 'bout it."
Amiko looked up at Logan with some surprise in her eyes. What was that supposed to
mean? Logan glanced at her sideways. He ran his hand through his hair somewhat
nervously. With a sigh he turned to Amiko.
"Look, I once had the hots for this girl. She was beautiful, smart an' tough. I swear we
were made for each other. I'm tellin' ya, her an' me would've been perfect. We'd have
set the world on fire. Trouble was, she had a boyfriend. A real jackass. His head was so
far up his ass he wore it for a hat. I couldn't figure why she was with him. Drove me
nuts. I used to think that if I kicked his ass, maybe she'd think I was more man than he
was, dump him and be with me. Then I'd think, nah, she wouldn't go fer that violence
stuff. So then I'd think maybe if I could just get a chance to talk to her I could impress
her with my knowledge o' the world, seein' as I'd been everywhere. Or maybe I could
take her to a museum, show her I knew somethin' about art. Hell, I even thought about
learnin' how to play her favorite song on the guitar. I just wanted to do somethin',
anythin' to make her think that I was better than that dork she was with. Ya know, just to
make her even notice me. Make her look at me as bein' somethin' more than just some
psycho with claws. Make her look at me as someone worth bein' with."
Logan's voice trailed off as he lost himself in old memories. Amiko looked up at him.
Her curiosity got the better of her; she wanted to know how the story ended.
"What happened? Did you figure out how to get her to notice you?"
"Nope. She married the bastard. Ya know why I'm tellin' ya this story?"
"To let me know that you know how I feel and what I'm going through."
"Nope. No one but you knows how ya feel. I may've been in a situation like you're in
now, but you an' me, we're two totally different people. We react and feel differently to
the same things. An' we're gonna handle 'em differently, too. Nothin' wrong with that,
that's just the way it is. You're gonna have to figure out for yourself how're you're
gonna deal with the situation you're in now. No one else can do it for ya. See I told ya
that story for a different reason. Ya see, Amiko, in life nothin' ever works out exactly the
way ya want it to. Things don't always go your way no matter how hard ya try, an' ya
can't always get what ya want out o' life. That ain't to say that ya shouldn't try. Ya
should try your best in everythin' ya do, but if don't work out, don't get hung up on it
either. Move on. Don't let the joy o' life be takin' from ya just 'cause somethin' didn't
work out. Took me a long time to figure that one out. I spent most o' my life walkin' the
globe pissed off at everythin'. Now I look back, an' its like, what for? I guess I was
tryin' to get somewhere in life, an' I kept comin' up short. Took me comin' to Japan an'
bein' with you an' Yukio to realize how screwed up I was. I finally figured out that
life's a journey, an' not a destination, an' that the whole point o' livin' is to enjoy the
ride. I know you're feelin' pretty bad right now, an' there ain't much I can do to make ya
feel better. But Darlin', I just want ya to realize that what you're goin' through its just
part o' the ride. Gets pretty crazy don't it? But that's part o' the fun. Ya know I've seen
my share o' bad times, but when I look at you an' Yukio all that don't matter. 'Cause I
know that no matter how bad it gets, life is still beautiful. Don't ever forget that, Darlin'.
Ya know why I brought you out here?"
"No."
"To see that."
Logan pointed. Amiko looked to see what he was pointing at. Logan was pointing at
Tokyo Bay. The sun was setting and had just started to disappear over the horizon. The
sun was a brilliant crimson and its reflection gave the waters of Tokyo Bay the
appearance of being on fire. The sky was colored with various shades of orange and red.
In the distance, out of the corner of her eye, Amiko caught a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. Its
snowcapped peak was glistening in the fading sunlight, as if it were a glowing diamond
in a sea of crimson gold. It was such a brilliant display of nature's awesome beauty that
even a sarcastic adolescent like Amiko couldn't help but be awestruck. Logan knelt
beside Amiko.
"It didn't work out the way ya wanted this time, Darlin'. But sure as that sun sets, its
gonna rise again tomorrow, an' it'll be a whole new day on the ride. Take what ya
learned from this time to help ya when it comes to the next. An' when times get rough,
just remember this moment, or find one just like it. 'Cause what ya see right now, is
what it's all about. It's a beautiful day."
A slow smile spread across Amiko's face. She turned to look at her father, who smiled
back and winked. With the fading sunlight lighting the way, they went home.
*****************************************************************************************
So, I was wondering if maybe I should continue this series. Yukio's always been a bit
possessive of Logan. Maybe a certain somebody should drop in and visit...
Ooh, cat fight...
What do you think?
Note: Somewhat of a sequel to Goodbye to Romance. If you didn't read that story, here's
the set up: Logan quit the X-Men to live in Japan with Yukio and Amiko.
Beautiful Day
By
TheMack
Logan had finally met his match. Throughout the years he had faced many enemies and
fought many battles. He had always managed to hold his own against impossible odds.
But this time he was beaten. To continue to struggle was pointless. Gift wrapping paper
had just defeated the unstoppable Wolverine. With a loud growl he shoved the mess of
tape and paper away from himself. The noise brought Yukio to the room.
"Honestly, Logan, can't you wrap just one gift? I mean you come with your own built in
paper cutters and everything."
"Funny, darlin', real funny. Seriously, I'm dyin' of laughter over here."
A wicked grin grew on Yukio's face. It was not often that she got to see Logan flustered
and she intended to enjoy every minute of it. Her facial expression drew an angry glare
from Logan.
"Well, ya gonna stand there all day, or are ya gonna help me?"
Yukio laughed, walked over to the table, kissed Logan on the cheek and sat down. On
the table before her lay a Playstation 2, assorted video games, and a very old book. She
picked the book up. It was an original copy of Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto
Musashi, Japan's greatest samurai.
"I assume that the book is for Harada and the games are for Amiko."
"Yep."
"A book that is well over four hundred years old seems a bit too good for the Silver
Samurai, even if he is letting us stay at the Yashida family compound."
"Believe it or not Darlin', that flamin' Playstation doohickey an' games were helluva lot
harder to score than that book. Hell, I got the book for free. But them games an' that
system... goddamn, I swear why can't she just smoke weed like other kids her age? Be a
helluva lot easier to get her a gift, that's fer sure."
"Now, Logan I know you don't mean that."
"The hell I don't. Drugs would be cheaper."
Yukio laughed out loud. She began to wrap the gifts. Logan busied himself preparing
the Christmas cards to go along with the gifts.
"So, Logan, that incident with those Yakuza gangsters in Osaka last month wouldn't have
anything to do with your getting this book for free, would it?"
"Can't say."
Logan grinned and winked at Yukio. His new job as liaison officer for Canadian
Intelligence at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo definitely had its perks. What's more, it
had kept him quite busy and sufficiently entertained. Leaving the X-Men had worked out
even better than he had hoped. For the first time in years he felt content. He felt
complete. Was this what he had been missing all his life? Was this what he couldn't find
in his many wanderings around the world? Was this what the X-Men couldn't give him?
Yukio and Amiko. His family. He studied Yukio as she carefully wrapped his gifts for
him. Lord, she was beautiful. She had a lust for adventure and living every moment of
life to its fullest. Feeling his gaze, Yukio looked up from her work and smiled at Logan.
"Well, Logan I see Harada's gift and Amiko's gift, but where, pray tell, is my gift?"
Logan pretended to ignore her.
"You did get me a gift, didn't you?"
Logan shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Logan?"
"Amiko wrapped it fer me a while back."
"Logan you're hopeless."
"So I'm told."
Yukio laughed and returned to the task at hand. She finished and handed the neatly
wrapped gifts over to Logan.
"You know Logan, of all the customs we Japanese have borrowed from the West, I think
I like Christmas the best."
"Yeah? Well Darlin', to tell the truth, I was always partial to the Japanese version o'
Valentine's Day. I like the way the women are the ones' who have to give guys the
chocolates an' cards."
Yukio got up, kissed Logan and started to head out of the room.
"Logan, if any woman besides me gives you anything for Valentine's Day, they'll regret
it."
Logan laughed and started to clean up. He put away the gifts and headed to the kitchen.
He scrounged himself he a beer and headed to the living room. He plopped down on the
sofa, and started to drink. Moments later, Yukio entered the room with the day's mail in
her hand.
"Christmas cards from the Hudsons, Jubilee, and Kitty Pryde."
She handed the cards over to Logan. Logan set them aside to read later.
"Where's Amiko? Haven't seen her all day."
"She's up in her room."
"All day? That ain't like her. Somethin' wrong?"
"Just the pains of being a young adolescent child growing up in a harsh world."
"Say what?"
"Oh, its nothing Logan. She has a crush on some boy in school, but he's going with
some other girl. We've all been through it. She'll get over it soon enough and move on.
It's just something we all have to experience at some time in our lives."
"You talked to her, 'bout it?"
"I tried. But as far as she's concerned there's no way that anyone can understand what
she's going through or how she's feeling."
"Uh-huh."
Logan set his beer aside, got up and headed towards Amiko's room. Yukio followed
him.
"Logan, what are you going to do?"
"I'm gonna settle this."
"Logan, she's not going to want to talk to you."
"No one ever does, but they do anyway."
Yukio decided not to press the issue. She knew there was no point in arguing with Logan
once his mind was made up about something. Logan proceeded to go to Amiko's room.
He knocked on the door. He heard a muffled "go away" from inside. He opened the
door. Amiko was sitting on her bed with her headphones on and her stereo cranked up.
She scowled at Logan. Logan picked up a jacket that was draped across her chair and
tossed it at her.
"We're goin' out fer a walk."
"I don't want to go."
"I wasn't askin' if you wanna go or not. I'm tellin' ya. We're goin' out fer a walk."
Amiko pretended to ignore Logan and continued to listen to her music. Logan just stood
there. After a while, Amiko tossed off her headphones and shut the stereo off. She put
on her jacket. She knew that no one in the entire world was more stubborn than Logan.
She might as well get the stupid walk over with otherwise Logan was never going to
leave her alone. She followed Logan out of the compound, scowling as she walked. She
wanted to leave no doubt that she was doing this against her will. Logan didn't seem to
notice as he took her out through the streets of Tokyo. They headed towards the
waterfront of Tokyo Bay.
"So I hear ya got some... problems at school. The boy kind."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Good. 'Cause I don't wanna hear 'bout it."
Amiko looked up at Logan with some surprise in her eyes. What was that supposed to
mean? Logan glanced at her sideways. He ran his hand through his hair somewhat
nervously. With a sigh he turned to Amiko.
"Look, I once had the hots for this girl. She was beautiful, smart an' tough. I swear we
were made for each other. I'm tellin' ya, her an' me would've been perfect. We'd have
set the world on fire. Trouble was, she had a boyfriend. A real jackass. His head was so
far up his ass he wore it for a hat. I couldn't figure why she was with him. Drove me
nuts. I used to think that if I kicked his ass, maybe she'd think I was more man than he
was, dump him and be with me. Then I'd think, nah, she wouldn't go fer that violence
stuff. So then I'd think maybe if I could just get a chance to talk to her I could impress
her with my knowledge o' the world, seein' as I'd been everywhere. Or maybe I could
take her to a museum, show her I knew somethin' about art. Hell, I even thought about
learnin' how to play her favorite song on the guitar. I just wanted to do somethin',
anythin' to make her think that I was better than that dork she was with. Ya know, just to
make her even notice me. Make her look at me as bein' somethin' more than just some
psycho with claws. Make her look at me as someone worth bein' with."
Logan's voice trailed off as he lost himself in old memories. Amiko looked up at him.
Her curiosity got the better of her; she wanted to know how the story ended.
"What happened? Did you figure out how to get her to notice you?"
"Nope. She married the bastard. Ya know why I'm tellin' ya this story?"
"To let me know that you know how I feel and what I'm going through."
"Nope. No one but you knows how ya feel. I may've been in a situation like you're in
now, but you an' me, we're two totally different people. We react and feel differently to
the same things. An' we're gonna handle 'em differently, too. Nothin' wrong with that,
that's just the way it is. You're gonna have to figure out for yourself how're you're
gonna deal with the situation you're in now. No one else can do it for ya. See I told ya
that story for a different reason. Ya see, Amiko, in life nothin' ever works out exactly the
way ya want it to. Things don't always go your way no matter how hard ya try, an' ya
can't always get what ya want out o' life. That ain't to say that ya shouldn't try. Ya
should try your best in everythin' ya do, but if don't work out, don't get hung up on it
either. Move on. Don't let the joy o' life be takin' from ya just 'cause somethin' didn't
work out. Took me a long time to figure that one out. I spent most o' my life walkin' the
globe pissed off at everythin'. Now I look back, an' its like, what for? I guess I was
tryin' to get somewhere in life, an' I kept comin' up short. Took me comin' to Japan an'
bein' with you an' Yukio to realize how screwed up I was. I finally figured out that
life's a journey, an' not a destination, an' that the whole point o' livin' is to enjoy the
ride. I know you're feelin' pretty bad right now, an' there ain't much I can do to make ya
feel better. But Darlin', I just want ya to realize that what you're goin' through its just
part o' the ride. Gets pretty crazy don't it? But that's part o' the fun. Ya know I've seen
my share o' bad times, but when I look at you an' Yukio all that don't matter. 'Cause I
know that no matter how bad it gets, life is still beautiful. Don't ever forget that, Darlin'.
Ya know why I brought you out here?"
"No."
"To see that."
Logan pointed. Amiko looked to see what he was pointing at. Logan was pointing at
Tokyo Bay. The sun was setting and had just started to disappear over the horizon. The
sun was a brilliant crimson and its reflection gave the waters of Tokyo Bay the
appearance of being on fire. The sky was colored with various shades of orange and red.
In the distance, out of the corner of her eye, Amiko caught a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. Its
snowcapped peak was glistening in the fading sunlight, as if it were a glowing diamond
in a sea of crimson gold. It was such a brilliant display of nature's awesome beauty that
even a sarcastic adolescent like Amiko couldn't help but be awestruck. Logan knelt
beside Amiko.
"It didn't work out the way ya wanted this time, Darlin'. But sure as that sun sets, its
gonna rise again tomorrow, an' it'll be a whole new day on the ride. Take what ya
learned from this time to help ya when it comes to the next. An' when times get rough,
just remember this moment, or find one just like it. 'Cause what ya see right now, is
what it's all about. It's a beautiful day."
A slow smile spread across Amiko's face. She turned to look at her father, who smiled
back and winked. With the fading sunlight lighting the way, they went home.
*****************************************************************************************
So, I was wondering if maybe I should continue this series. Yukio's always been a bit
possessive of Logan. Maybe a certain somebody should drop in and visit...
Ooh, cat fight...
What do you think?