This took way longer than I originally anticipated to get out and honestly, not too sure if this is as good of a chapter as I'd hoped it would be but hoping to redeem myself next chapter. This one is named after the song 'So Far Away' by Staind.
So Far Away
Kai's P.O.V
Flashback
Fifteen years our daughter had been gone and although we were used to it, the ache hadn't gone away. We didn't even know if she was still alive, but we had hope she was still out there somewhere and was waiting for us to find her. I meant it when I told Ray I would never stop trying to get her back but after so long, I was tired.
Ray and I had started a tradition after the fifth year of Kyra being gone, lighting Chinese lanterns and having cake every year in the garden on her birthday. Ray didn't know why, but he felt she would've liked celebrating her birthday out in the garden by the koi pond. It was a tradition we kept even when everyone else had given up hope that she was out there. Everyone else could give up hope, but this celebration was our way of still keeping the hope alive.
The fifteenth year was by far the hardest for me. So many times we thought we had found a lead, only for it to come up short. So many options and plans I had thought would have worked ended up not helping at all. I just wanted to bring Kyra hope for Ray, for me. I didn't think my heart could hurt more than the day my parents had died or the day I had to battle Ray and hurt him by accident but I could. My daughter being out in this world with god knows what happening to her hurt me to my core and I couldn't pretend to be strong anymore.
May Fifteenth. Kyra's fifteenth birthday was upon us and as usual, that night Ray had lit the Chinese lanterns, carrying out a small chocolate cake he had picked up from the local bakery. He'd even gone the extra mile to put number 15 candles on the cake and light them. He had a somber smile on as he placed it on the little glass table we had beside the bench, taking a seat beside me.
"Fifteen years…you'd think it would be easier to accept after this long." I sighed, lowering my head. I hadn't told Ray, but I honestly was losing hope that she was still out there.
"Kai…you've been acting strange the past month. I mean, not that you're normally extremely talkative with me, but you've been really distant. What's wrong?" He asked softly, taking my hand and brushing his thumb along the back of it.
"I want to find her and bring her home for you. I want to believe she's still out there. But Ray, we've been looking for fifteen years. We haven't found her in any of the places we've searched and we've searched multiple times. I've been trying to keep my hopes up for you but I don't think I can do it anymore. I don't know if she's even still alive." I spoke, choking on my words near the end. It was a very rare occurrence that I shed tears but I had spent so much of my time being strong for Ray that it had taken a toll on me.
Ray took me into his embrace, cradling my head near his chest. "You didn't have to be doing all of this for me, love. This is for us. I know it's been getting harder to bare this, not coming up with anything when you're trying everything you possibly can. But I know she's out there. Don't ask me how, but I have a feeling she's still alive. She's the daughter of Kai Hiwatari, the man who somehow beat Brooklyn and lived to tell the tale. If anyone can stay alive through fifteen years with Voltaire and Boris, it's her."
The two of us stayed like that for a while, eventually blowing out the melting candles and trying to salvage what was left of the wax covered cake. The stars were bright, almost feeling like it was a sign that our daughter was still okay. It was an odd feeling to have Ray comforting me for once, but it was a feeling I gladly accepted. He was the love of my life and to know he would take care of me just as much as I had been taking care of him made me hopeful that someday our daughter would return to us. As long as we had each other, we could wait as long as we had to to have her underneath our roof again.
End of Flashback
"Happy birthday Kyra Mei!" Ray exclaimed, almost bouncing when Kyra made her way into the kitchen.
It was only nine in the morning and Ray had already made pancakes, bacon, sausage and was starting to bake Kyra's birthday cake. While he was bursting with energy, I was just finishing my first cup of coffee and it was obvious from the expression on Kyra's face that she wasn't ready for this level of energy either.
Her crimson eyes still showed signs of sleep, the braid Ray had put in her hair the night before was frizzed from her pillows, a grumpy scowl rested on her lips and she was still in her PJ pants and a baggy t-shirt.
"Coffee. Me. Please." She mumbled, sitting beside me as I slid a mug of black coffee her way.
"Didn't sleep well?" I asked, laughing a bit at how fast she was attempting to down the hot drink.
"Well it would've been better if I didn't wake up to Baba clanging in the kitchen." She grumbled, shooting daggers at Ray.
He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry sweetheart. This is just the first birthday you're actually spending living in this house. It needs to be special."
"Can't it be special two hours from now?" She sighed, trying to reach past me to get more coffee.
I smirked, taking the pot to pour more in her mug.
"Thank you." She murmured, starting to drink again.
"Anything for the birthday girl." I joked, receiving the same glare as Ray had gotten.
"I can't believe you're eighteen. Any plans for the big day?" Ray asked, placing a plate of pancakes in front of each of us.
She shook her head as she put strawberries and whip cream on hers. "Zane and Jason said they'd call at some point but otherwise, not really. I was thinking of maybe going to the mall since I need a nice dress for graduation since they're actually letting me graduate after not really attending for the past few months."
"Why don't you take her Kai?" Ray offered.
"It's not a big deal. It's just a dress. I can just see if Jeremiah would drive me later." She shrugged, digging into her breakfast.
"No it's okay. Dad could drive and go with you. I mean, who wants to go shopping alone on their birthday?" Ray tried to insist.
"Well I've done it countless times before. I doubt Dad really wants to watch me pick out some dumb dress" She sighed.
"Well maybe he would like to go with you. Kai?" Ray asked, raising his eyebrows at me.
I smirked, shaking my head at his insistent nature. "Sure. I need to get some new shirts for work anyways."
Ray smiled at me, looking over at Kyra afterwards with a smug look. "See?"
She rolled her eyes, finishing her breakfast and bringing her plate to the dishwasher. "Whatever. I'm going to go get ready. Let me know when you want to leave."
I knew he was just trying to get her out of the house to set up the surprises the two of us had planned. Since she was eighteen and officially an adult, Ray and I had decided to go big with gifts this year. Especially when we had missed so many birthdays and she'd had such a rough year, we felt it would be good for all of us.
For my part of the gift I had decided to get Kyra a car. She had mentioned previously that she had her driver's licence in America and had been able to drive, it had just been something she didn't get to do a lot since they'd only had one car. I knew getting driven around by Jeremiah was starting to irritate her so a car would help with the 'adult independence' she wanted. I'd picked out a grey Aston Martin Vanquish S, something I felt fit her style. Ray didn't know how he felt about the sports car, but he didn't try to fight me on it.
The one gift we agreed on together was a family trip. We had decided to let Kyra pick the place since we didn't know where she would be interested in going, but Ray had been having a hard time keeping it a surprise since he was so excited. Being honest, so was I. We needed a break as a family after everything we'd gone through, as well as some time to bond without any of life's distractions.
"What do you think of this one?" Kyra asked, holding up a short red dress.
I wrinkled my nose at the length. I didn't know why my daughter felt the need to show so much skin. "Couldn't you find anything that covers a bit more?"
She gave me an unimpressed look and put the dress back on the rack. "You're not very helpful you know."
"What colour is the gown?" I asked, referring to her graduation gown.
"Black with a red and navy hood and tassels. Why?" She raised her brow at me.
I went over to another rack, pulling a navy blue dress with long sleeves and a skirt that went just above her knees. "This?"
She came over, taking it from me and going towards a change room. Minutes later she came out wearing the dress and standing in front of the mirror to look at herself.
"Not bad. Didn't know you knew so much about fashion, Dad." She smirked, turning back to show off.
"I didn't dress how I did in my teens for nothing. Plus you see me in dress clothes all the time." I smirked back.
After buying the dress the two of us walked through the mall, grabbing coffee as we looked around. Ray had asked me to keep her out of the house for a few hours so he could set up and the car could be delivered but it was getting more and more difficult to keep her entertained. It wasn't till I saw a jewelry store that I had an idea.
"How about we stop here?" I suggested.
"Um…sure? But what for?" She asked, following me to look at a display.
I stood in front of a display of engagement rings, looking from them to her.
"Shut up. You're finally going to propose?" She enthused, a grin on her face.
I nodded, looking back to the rings. "Yes. I think after nineteen years of being together and one child it's been a long time coming. But I need help picking a ring."
"You're letting me help pick?" She asked, peering up at me.
I nodded again. "What do you think he'll like?"
"Well, he doesn't seem very flashy. Something simple would be best. Like that!" She pondered, pointing to a simple gold band in excitement.
I bent over, peering at the ring she had pointed out. "It isn't too plain?"
She shook her head. "I mean, you could maybe engrave something on it but I think it's good. Very much Baba."
I ended up taking her advice but not showing her what I chose to get engraved on. That I wanted to keep a secret until we actually got engaged.
As the two of us walked outside back to my car she decided to ask the question I'd been waiting to hear.
"So, when are you popping the question?" She asked.
"If it's okay with you, tonight." I answered, returning the smile.
"Of course. Just makes my eighteenth birthday even better. I mean, Baba has been mentioning how much he wants the two of you to get married. Plus you've taken forever to do this. About time you officially tied the knot." She replied.
I smiled to myself, thinking about all of Ray's 'subtle' hints to get married in the past year. All he had wanted since Kyra had come home was for us to get married. Even though we both knew it didn't change anything between us, it meant something to Ray, therefore it meant something to me.
Ray and I decided to show Kyra our tradition that we had done the years before she had come back into our lives, our cake by the pond with Chinese lanterns hanging around. Ray had made chocolate cake like usual since surprisingly enough it was Kyra's favourite. It was the same as every year, only now we had Kyra to join us.
She looked around at the lanterns, looking back at Ray with a small smile. "This was why you wanted me out of the house?"
He laughed and gave a nod. "This is actually a tradition your father and I had before we got you back. We'd sit out here with the lanterns up, have cake and pray you were safe. It was something we started doing around your fifth birthday I think. Helped us keep the faith we'd find you and we did."
The three of us sat at the lawn table and chairs we had the year before, Ray bringing out the chicken alfredo and chocolate cake he had made as we discussed Kyra's upcoming graduation.
"So, have you decided what you want to do for next year?" I asked. I had brought up college multiple times, Kyra never seeming sure when I suggested it.
"Sorry to disappoint Dad but college is off the table for the next year. Maybe at some point, but not this year. But, it's because we have the next round of the tournament next month and then I also have some news for you both. As of July we will be signed to our new record label and have been told we can start production on a new album. Over the next year I'm going to have to fly out to California a lot to record and be part of that process but I'll still be living with you both." She explained, her eyes darting between the two of us waiting for our reactions.
That wasn't as much a surprise to me as it was to Ray. I knew she would be going after her passions again, making it so she would be here less. But I could see Ray's face fall as he heard her mention California.
"How long would you be gone for?" He asked with a sad tone in his voice.
"A couple of weeks to a month at a time. But you both are more than welcome to come with me if you'd like. It's going to be a bit boring though. Just writing and working out ideas the first few visits before we really start recording stuff. We do have a few things already worked out so it might not take as long but we'll see. Aw Baba, don't look so sad. It's not like I'm leaving yet, plus you'll be with me for tournaments." She smiled, placing her hand on Ray's.
He smiled with a nod. "All this travelling is going to make it a bit hard to use one of your gifts though."
"What? What gifts?" She asked, looking around.
"Follow me." I commanded, standing up and starting to walk around the house towards the garage.
The three of us entered, revealing her brand new sports car.
"You got me a car?!" She exclaimed, running towards it to check it out.
I smirked, walking over to hand her the keys. "All yours. Just be careful, no speeding and no driving into lakes."
"What?" She asked, raising a brow.
"Oh nothing." I shooed off, deciding to let Tala and Bryan tell the Range Rover incident next time they came.
"Thank you Baba, Dad. This is so amazing." She smiled, sitting behind the wheel and looking around her gift.
"That's not the only thing. We haven't planned it yet, but we wanted to do something special as a family so Dad and I thought we could go on a family trip and you could choose the location. Anywhere you want." Ray revealed.
Her eyes went wide, coming over and hugging us both. "You both are actually the best."
"Remember that next time you get irritated with us." I mentioned, getting a laugh out of Ray and a smirk from Kyra.
"Now, let's dig into some cake!" Ray grinned, leading us back to the garden.
I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend an evening. The love of my life on my right hand side while our daughter laid on the grassy patch in front of our bench, arms behind her head with her eyes closed, a pose that reminded me so much of myself at her age. It was calm, the stars were out and the three of us were happy, leading me to assume there was no better moment to pop the question than this.
"Ray, I have something I would like to ask you." I spoke up.
Kyra immediately sat up, turning towards the two of us to see our reactions.
"Umm okay? What is it?" He asked, a look of confusion spreading across his face.
"Over the past nineteen years you have given me so much. You've given me unconditional love, knowledge to allow me to see the errors of my ways, someone I can rely on and have someone rely on me, and most importantly, our daughter." I spoke, turning to look at Kyra when I'd mentioned her to see a few tears going down her cheeks.
I got down on one knee in front of him, holding out the ring box that Kyra and I had picked out earlier in the day. It was then he gasped, realizing what was going on.
"I have grown so much with you throughout our friendship and relationship and I know you're the only one I could ever imagine myself with. It's been a long time coming, but Raymond Kon, will you marry me?" I murmured, focusing on his golden eyes that were now filling with tears.
All he could do was nod, wrapping his arms around my neck to bring me in for a passionate kiss. This was it, I was officially engaged to the love of my life and our family was complete. It had taken a long time to get to this point, but every mistake, failure and effort was meant to get us to this. To get me to this. If anyone would have told me that at almost thirty-five I would be marrying Ray and have a beautiful eighteen year old daughter, I would've thought they were lying. But at this point in time, I felt truly happy.
