AN: It's the last chapter!!! *sob* More notes after the chapter about that.
You guys, I only got 2 reviews on the last chapter! BOO! Oh well, you can make it up to me this chapter. =D
One more thing—the song used is by Clay Aiken (yay!!!), and it's called "The Way." It's a very romantic song; you should hear it for yourself.
This is the last chapter – I shouldn't have to tell you that they aren't mine.
Okay, now read, review, and enjoy!
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One Light, One Hope
Interlude Four / Epilogue Two: Happily Ever After
"So what happened after that?" Raymond Ishida asked.
"You know!" Hope Takaishi rolled her eyes. "Boys."
"Aaron, you were such a cute baby," Kendall Motomiya gushed, and her boyfriend, Aaron Kamiya-Takaishi, turned bright red. "I can't believe my dad put that in there," he muttered.
Hikari Kamiya had just finished reading her Christmas present, five months later. It wasn't that it was too long, or too challenging (she knew the whole story by heart, anyway), but she had been so busy, and parts of it, especially towards the end, brought back painful memories, that it just took her a long time to finish it. Now her two children and their friends were poring over the book, trying to dish out some stuff on the two kids for blackmail.
"Hope, I didn't know your middle name was Akira," Aaron said, thoughtfully. His sister swatted at him. "Yes you do! I said so at camp, remember?"
"Uh… no. And besides, that was a long time ago."
Hope shook her head. "Yes, my middle name is Akira."
"What does that mean?" Kevin Nonaka, Hope's boyfriend, asked, placing his chin on Hope's shoulder. She turned and kissed him lightly, while the rest of the group groaned, and then answered his question. "It means anchor. When I was born, our family was going through a few hard times, and they thought I would be the glue that held the family together—the anchor. That's why it's my middle name."
"Ah, I am now enlightened," Steve Kido, another friend of theirs, proclaimed, nodding his head in understanding.
"I love the thing with you plinking at the ukulele and Aaron making up words to your tunes. I can so see that," Justin commented, smiling amusedly. Now it was Hope's turn to blush as the rest of the group laughed good-naturedly. Smiles were abundant nowadays—love was in the air, and there was a wedding to be planned.
In another room of the house, Kari and her fiancé, Takeru Takaishi, sat quietly, meditating on the candle that was in front of them. "Why did I even think that a career was more important than family?" Kari wondered aloud, softly, as she continued to stare at the candle. They were doing this as part of a kind of therapy, a finding yourself exercise, and they were trying to analyze what went wrong in their previous marriage so that they wouldn't make the same mistakes. "You were right when you said that I was putting my job first before my family. I didn't want to give in and say you were right." She sighed. "And then when I did, and you left… I threw myself into it even more, just to drown out the pain."
T.K. wrapped his arms around Kari and kissed her forehead. "I know, love. But you know something? After all this time being separated, we're still here. We found our way back to each other. And now, your job is flexible enough that you can do whatever you want."
Kari smiled. "Did you know that Michael wants me to be the director of the Santa Monica branch?"
"Really? Kari, that's awesome," T.K. congratulated her.
"But I told him no."
T.K. furrowed his eyebrows. "Why not?"
Kari leaned back in T.K.'s embrace and said, "All my life, I've always loved kids. The only reason I took the job in the music industry was to make a living. But it's not what makes me truly happy, although it did bring me back to you." She smiled. "I've always wanted to be a teacher, and you have shown me that I should be truly happy in everything I do. So, I'm gonna work for Stratus only in the summer, and work to get my teaching credential so I can teach kindergarten."
T.K. hugged his fiancée even tighter. "Oh, Kari, that's wonderful. Go for it. We'll be okay."
"I know that. And I know it's not about the money anymore, even though we do have one kid in college and another on her way. I'm not worried about that anymore. I'm just committed to making this marriage work."
Before she knew it, Kari was drawn into a loving kiss.
The wedding was to be small. They had planned it to be in their backyard, overlooking the beach, at sunset—for that was about the same time and place that T.K. had proposed the second time. They were inviting all of the people from their original wedding, some of whom hadn't seen them since before the divorce, and it was to be a joyous occasion—Mimi, Joe, Cody, Matt, and Davis would be reunited with their respective children, while Hope would get to see Mari and Karina again. Kendall was also excited because she would see her twin—they hadn't seen each other in such a long time—and Kevin would be seeing his sister again. Those were about the only guests invited, and most of them wouldn't even be watching the ceremony.
The week of the wedding came, and everyone was scurrying around, trying to get things ready. The reception was to be at Stratus Records' new building, and it would also serve as a breaking-in/housewarming ceremony for the building. Interestingly enough, since the wedding was so low-key, there wasn't much that T.K. and Kari themselves had to worry about. All they had to worry about was keeping the house clean and making sure they had the attire for their party—which was really only Aaron and Hope. The kids were taking care of the rest—from decorating the reception room to the music (their area of expertise) to the flowers. Hope, being who she was, had a lot of contacts and hook-ups so that she could make her parents' wedding reception the best without them having to worry about it.
Finally, the day of the wedding was upon them. Breaking tradition, T.K. and Kari spent the day together on the beach, just having fun. He took her to the pier—Kari had never had the chance to experience it before, even though she'd been there for a couple of weeks before, because it had been so cold when she was there—and they had a fun time. Before they knew it, it was time for them to get going. She kissed him sweetly as she retreated to Hope's room to change. "See you in a few hours."
T.K. sighed. "I'll be waiting."
"You did what?"
"Wrote a song, Hope. Shouldn't be a hard concept, considering I write normally." Aaron smirked.
"But… a song?"
"Yeah, not so different from poetry, when you think about it. What?" Aaron protested when his sister shot him a "I don't really believe you did that" look. "I only wrote the words, Hope. Someone else wrote the music."
She nodded. "Oh, okay. Then I'm not so skeptical anymore." She glanced at the kitchen clock. "Oh, wow. I have to go help Mom get ready, and then get ready myself. See you later!" She rushed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room, where her mother was.
"So… how do I look?" Kari asked her daughter's opinion, as Hope came into the room.
Hope gasped at the beautiful sight that was her mother. In her sparkling dress, her mother looked truly angelic. (AN: For a description of the dress, see Interlude Two.) Kari had added her own touches—instead of the tiara and veil that she had tried on in New York, Kari had just a tiara with pink rhinestones on it, and the top of her ensemble was now a light pink color. "Mom… I didn't know you changed your dress."
Kari smiled. "When your father and I decided we wanted a low-key wedding, I thought the all white was going a little too far. So I returned the veil and the white top, and luckily, they had one exactly the same, except in pink, and I got that and the pink tiara instead. What do you think?" She gave a small twirl, and Hope smiled. "I think you look positively radiant." She smiled warmly. "It suits you well."
Mother returned the smile daughter gave. "Thank you, Hope." She swept up her daughter in a hug. "And not just for helping me with the wedding. Without you, I don't think your father and I would be here again."
"Well, I didn't do it all," Hope said. "Aaron helped me a lot."
"Yeah, I know." Kari smiled wistfully. "We'll have more times and memories together, okay?"
Hope nodded. "We will. Now come on, let's get you married."
Kari grinned widely and linked her arm through Hope's to show her agreement.
"So… you ready for this?" Aaron asked. Even though he'd been living with his whole family for months now, he still wasn't used to having his dad around. True, he was happy about it, but it was just… weird. A few months wasn't the same as twelve years, and he was so young when T.K. left… he wanted to get to know his dad better, but didn't know how.
T.K. nodded. "Do you remember the night before your mother and I divorced?"
Aaron looked at the skyline in thought. "Very vaguely. You… you tucked me in."
"That I did. And I told you a story. You see, I was six when my parents divorced, just like you were six when Kari and I did. I spent half my life as a lost little boy, missing his big brother, living with a mother who loved him but who didn't see him too much, having a different name as my brother… I didn't want to make you live that life. I didn't want to become my father. But I figured it was better for you to not grow up in a family of fighting rather than have both your parents. I did not want to leave you. I just couldn't live with Kari anymore."
"I know, I read the book. But I didn't know about… my grandfather?"
T.K. nodded. "He's in Japan. Maybe one day we can go visit."
"That'd be nice." They were interrupted by Hope clearing her throat. "The minister is here."
Embracing his daughter, who was wearing a simple, flowy pink dress, T.K. kissed her forehead. "You look beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as Mom. But you'll see when it's time."
"I better go get her then, huh?" Aaron decided. He was giving her away, while doing double duty as T.K.'s best man. Hope nodded and Aaron left to go find Kari, while Hope stood opposite her father, waiting for her mother.
Finally, a soft melody was heard playing in the background, as Aaron and Kari appeared, arm in arm, in T.K.'s line of sight. Hope was right—Kari was beautiful, even in all her simplicity. He smiled widely and Kari returned his smile, and as they made it to where T.K. and Hope were standing, Kari and Aaron took their respective places.
The ceremony was very simple—they just took their vows, exchanged rings, and were declared husband and wife, again. As they consummated their union with a chaste kiss, Aaron hugged his little sister—they were finally a family again.
When T.K. and Kari entered the room at Stratus where their reception was to be held, there came a great cheer from all who were present. Kari laughed. "We're glad we can be sharing this time with all of you. Thank you for being here."
After the traditional things like the cutting of the cake, and the toasts and all that fun stuff, the band announced that it was time for the first dance. "Ladies and gentlemen, you are lucky to be present tonight," Steve announced. "Not only are you catching a world premiere of ours, but you are listening to the vocals and words of our great friend and the son of the newlyweds, Aaron Kamiya-Takaishi!"
Hope raised an impressed eyebrow and exchanged glances with Kendall, who was surprised at this also. Aaron took the mic and said, "That's Aaron Takaishi to you, Steve. Anyway, I just wanted to say that my parents are two very lucky people, and I couldn't think of two other people who deserve this kind of happiness. This song was inspired by someone else, actually, but I think it suits my parents well, and at the insistings of the band, and only because they are my parents, I am singing this song for them."
"Get your cameras out, people, because this ain't happening again!" Ray yelled, half drunk on champagne already, into the crowd. His mother, Christi Ishida, who was sitting in the vicinity of Hope and Kendall, sighed disapprovingly, and Matt laughed.
The band took their places—with Aaron as their singer, Kevin took a seat at the piano, but not before shooting Hope a look that clearly said, "I'll be thinking about you."
With that, the gentle piano notes filled the air as T.K. took his bride by the hand and lead her to the dance floor, enveloping her into his loving embrace. "Let's see how talented these guys are, huh?" T.K. whispered in Kari's ear as they began to dance.
Kari had a mischievous glint in her eye. "Let's see if Aaron inherited the musical talent."
Just then, Aaron's voice filled the air, directed solely at a certain redhead sitting in the audience.
There's something about the way you look tonight
There's something about the way I can't take my eyes off you
There's something about the way your lips invite
Maybe it's the way that I get nervous when you're around
And I want you to be mine
And if you need a reason why
It's in the way that you move me
And the way that you tease me
The way that I want you tonight
It's in the way that you hold me
And the way that you know me
And when I can't find the right words to say,
You feel it in the way
Kendall was tearing up. "I didn't know… he could do that."
"What, write or sing?" Hope smiled. "I think he should stick to his day job."
The curly-haired girl swatted at her best friend. "Shush, I'm trying to savor the moment. Besides, you have your own sentiments to feel." She motioned over to the pianist, who was staring at his girlfriend intently. Hope smiled genuinely and sighed. How was it that anyone could be this happy? She had a wonderful life—singing for a living, getting paid for it, being reunited with her parents, having a wonderful, loving boyfriend, and seeing her parents together again—Hope didn't know if she even deserved to be this happy. The only people who should be allowed to be happier than I am today are my parents, she thought, wistfully, as she watched them dance, seeing not only glimpses of their love, but of their friendship that brought them together.
One moment, T.K. was whispering something in Kari's ear and Kari was smiling widely, clearly entertained by his comment, almost as if they were in seventh grade again, goofing off. The next moment, they were gazing intently into each other's eyes, looking at each other like they were the only two people in the room. Hope smiled. She would be so lucky if she could find someone like that. As she locked gazes with Kevin again, she sincerely hoped that she was on her way.
Aaron was nervous. He had no idea how the guys convinced him into doing this, but he did feel like he owed it to his parents to sing for them the song that he wrote with his girl in mind, for the band. And at the moment, singing the words that came from his heart, he felt the nervousness slowly ebb away, showcasing his hidden talent.
There's something about how you stay on my mind
There's something about the way that I whisper your name when I'm asleep, oh girl
Maybe it's the look you get in your eyes
Oh, baby, it's the way that it makes me feel to see you smile
And the reasons, they may change
But what I'm feeling stays the same
This was not only Aaron's first shot at songwriting, but Kevin's as well. For years, he'd had a small piano riff stuck in his head and he'd play it over and over again, feeling the romance in its simple notes. He wished one day for it to be put to words that could truly express how he felt about someone he loved, and wished even more that he could find that kind of love. Now, at seventeen, he had discovered the angel that was Hope Takaishi. He knew that they were young, and life was ahead of them, but he couldn't explain the feeling he felt in his heart when he just thought of her, everything that she was… it just overwhelmed him with emotion when he thought of why she meant what she did to him. As he soulfully played the piano, he wondered if this was the love he was looking for his whole life.
I can't put my fingers on
Just what it is that makes me love you
So don't ask me to describe
I get all choked up inside
Just thinking bout the way
"Kari," T.K. asked, as they were dancing. At the moment, they weren't in goofing off mode, but they weren't in googly eyes mode either.
"Yes, my dear husband?" she asked playfully.
"God, you don't know how good it feels to hear you say that again." T.K. grinned. "But I just wanted to say thank you."
She cocked her head to the side and looked at him questioningly. "For what?"
"Everything. For making my life better. For loving me. But most of all, for giving me—giving us—a second chance."
She held him closer as her response, resting her head on his shoulder, listening to T.K.'s soothing heartbeat and, knowing she was the reason for that heart beating, smiled.
There's something about the way you look tonight
There's nothing more to say than I feel it in the way
The applause mixed in with the loud cheering and whistles brought them out of their reverie. Kari went up to the stage and hugged her son. "Aaron, you don't know how proud I am of you. I always have been. I know that took a lot for you to do, and it was truly beautiful. Thank you."
Hearing those words from his mother made everything worth it. "Thanks, Mom," he said, his voice suddenly choked, not from overuse, but from emotion. After he stepped down from the stage, he was bombarded with a hug from Kendall. "Aaron, you know something?" she asked him, holding him tight.
"What?" he asked, holding her in his embrace.
"I fall in love with you more every day." She rewarded him with a kiss. "You are so talented. I thought I knew everything that there was to you… but I guess I was wrong." She smiled warmly at him and Aaron's heart melted. Kissing her on the forehead, he whispered in her ear, "I wrote that for you."
Hours of dancing finally took their toll on Kari's poor feet, and she sat down as the party was still going to massage her tired feet. As she pulled her feet out of her simple white shoes, a voice said, "Let me."
She looked up to see T.K., and smiled. "If you want."
"Of course." He took one of Kari's delicate feet and started firmly, but gently, applying pressure to relieve the stress.
Kari sighed in happiness. "You are too good to me, T.K."
"Can I help it? I love you."
"I love you, too, T.K." She sat there, just reveling in her free foot massage, when she suddenly blurted out, "Thank you."
Now it was T.K.'s turn to be confused. "For what?"
"For my Christmas present. The one that came with the ring."
"Oh, that." T.K. waved a hand lazily, but Kari could see that he was blushing. "I thought you might like it."
"Of course I did. It's our story, through your eyes. I got a lot of insight from that book. It brought back good memories, though. Thank you for those memories."
"Hey," he reminded his wife, as he switched feet, "we have lots more to come."
"That we do. And we'll keep making those memories until the end."
T.K. nodded in agreement. "Kari, I love you. I know I say it all the time, but I want you to know just how much and how long you've had my heart."
She leaned forward and kissed her husband's golden locks. "I know. I can feel it. And you have made me the luckiest girl in the world, after all I put you through."
"Hey." He looked up at her. "That's in the past. Now this is the present." He slipped her shoe back on, ever so gently. "Hmm, well, you fit the shoe of my one true love, so you get to marry me and become my princess!" he said, only half-joking.
"Do we get to live happily ever after?" Kari asked, playing along.
T.K. kissed her. "Of course." And with that, they walked hand in hand into the midst of their wedding celebration.
The End!!!!
Wow, it's over… *sigh* It took me one long year to write all of that. I just want to say thank you to everyone who's reviewed and given me wonderful feedback. A HUGE shout out to Azn Angel Hikari, who has stayed with me throughout this whole story, and the last one!!! Cookies go to her! =D I could go over the list of reviewers, but that would take forever and three days, so I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you. You guys have brought me to above 100 reviews, which has made me super happy. And now… I have a little interactive thing for you.
I have an idea for you guys. I'm writing a sequel to this, BUT it is only a one-shot. All I can tell you is it's about Hope singing a lullaby to her newborn child. With that being said, I have a contest.
You can take any of the characters/couples used in this story (Tai/Sora, Mimi/Joe, Matt/Christi, Ray, Steve, Aaron/Kendall, Hope/Kevin, Mari, Karina, Davis/Natalie, Kristen, Justin, even Michael, the people from "Together Again": Dawn Izumi and Rachel Ichjijouji (did I spell that right? Ken and Yolei's daughter), and of course, T.K./Kari) and write about them. You could write about Mari and Karina's childhood living with Tai and Sora. You could write about how Matt and Christi met (see the chapter where T.K. proposes to Kari—the first time—for a little info about that) and their relationship… you could write about what happens to Aaron and Kendall after this story, you can write about the band (Ray, Steve, Justin, Kevin), whatever you want. However, I have a few guidelines.
-Anything that you write must have the context of this story. For example, Steve has diabetes, Dawn is adopted, Raymond's middle name is Thomas, Rachel lives in Canada, T.K. and Kari now live in a condo in Santa Monica… you can't change anything that's happened to the characters in this story. Oh, and if you are going to write about Hope and Kevin, wait for the sequel first, because I'm not sure how that's gonna work.
-You must have a story published on FF.net. I say this because I want my chars/plotlines to be in good stories and if you've already published one, then you have some experience in writing and that's good. =D If you really feel that you can write a good story without being published, though, run it by me and I'll decide.
-Run it by me first before you publish it. If I see an inconsistency, I'll let you know, and if I seriously don't like the plot, I'll let you know too. Most of the time I'm really receptive, though, so don't be too worried about that. =D And if I don't like your writing style (grammatical), I'll tell you to go back and fix it, 'cause I cannot stand that. Sorry if I sound all bossy… but yeah.
-Use your disclaimer to say that the chars belong to me! =D (Sorry but they do)
And that's about it. You can put in your summary that it's a spinoff of this series, I guess, or whatever. But yeah. Be creative! You could probably say that I'm just lazy and don't want to write anymore and these characters have so much potential. But yeah… college sucks the time out of your life. Boo.
Again, thank you to all my reviewers!!! I have only one more request to ask of you – can you get me up to 150? Please? It's only 20 reviews more… thanks!!!
--this is light*hope, signing off