A/N: Okay, guys. Here is the final chapter of Koharu. I am very very happy that it has turned out well, and I'm just as happy to find it finished. I think I am going to write Koharu II, however it will take some time to get my thoughts together for it, and I need a good plot, otherwise, the story will go no where. So, if you guys have any ideas on what you would like to see happen, please let me know in a review, or you can message me too. I'd appreciate that. So, here we go. Enjoy the final chapter, and thanks again for reading!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Kodocha. But, I DO own Baby Koharu. Thanks!
Epilogue: Happy Birthday
"Talking."
"Thoughts."
"Happy Birthday, dear Koharu! Happy Birthday to you!" The song ended, and Akito and Sana both helped Koharu blow out her one birthday candle. Koharu was pretty determined to do it herself, when she told them firmly, "No." But, her little lungs couldn't blow it all out. Sana waved the smoke away, so it wouldn't get in Koharu's face. Right when little Koharu was about to dig her way into the big cake, Akito took it away from her. That cake was for all of the guests. She was about to cry in protest, but Akito came right back with a much smaller cake. It was circular, topped with white icing. "Here, Koharu. This one's yours." He said. As if she thought they were playing a joke on her, she just stared at the cake. She didn't want to touch it now, if they were just going to take it away from her. Sana pushed the small cake closer to her. "It's okay, Koharu. You can eat it!" All of their guests, which consisted of their family and close friends, were watching them, and laughing at Koharu's silliness. Fuyuki had a video camera taking in every moment of this party. Koharu continued to stare at her parents, and the cake. She wasn't convinced. Then, Sana stuck one finger into the cake. "Haha, see?" She licked it off her finger. Koharu hesitantly stuck out one hand towards the cake. Akito quickly, but carefully pushed Koharu's hand further, and into the cake. "There you go." He said. Koharu smiled. Now, she could play in it. She pulled her hand out of the cake, and looked at all of the frosting and bits of vanilla cake on her hand. She brought it to her face, and sucked on her hand. Then, everyone started clapping and cheering. While Akito monitored Koharu as she played, or ate her cake, Sana and Misako cut the bigger cake for the guests. Once the cake was cut and passed out to everyone, they were all seated in chairs. Akito and Sana decided to remain standing to watch over Koharu, who was in her highchair. The party was being held outside due to the beautiful day.
After a few minutes passed, Koharu hadn't stopped eating the cake. Sana hated to do this, but she had no choice. She leaned in closer to Akito, and whispered in his ear. "She's had enough. We have to take it away from her now." Sana was trying to think of a way to take the cake away without making Koharu upset. Akito whispered back, "I'll grab Koharu. You grab the cake." Sana just nodded. Koharu was about to dig her way into the cake again, when Akito snatched her out of her highchair. She was about to cry in protest, but she quickly stopped when Akito lifted her higher into the air. She loved it when he or Sana did that. "Hey." Akito said to her. As he talked to her, Sana quickly took the small cake back into the house. When she returned, all evidence of the cake long gone, Akito sat Koharu onto the ground. Once she was seated, she stood back up again. Akito held onto her hands in case she fell. Her walking was better, but she was still a little wobbly. Sana bent down to Koharu's level. "Koharu, do you want to open your presents now?" Koharu just stared at her, but Sana pointed to the table that was topped with wrapped packages and gift bags. "That's all for you, baby." Sana said. Koharu still didn't do anything. Sana giggled. "Fine, I'll take that as a yes." Akito sat down onto the grass, bringing Koharu to sit in front of him. All of the guests brought their chairs closer, so they could watch. Once all of the presents were on the ground, Sana sat down beside Akito. She picked a random gift bag, and placed it in front of Koharu. "Here, Koharu. Open this one." She read the tag. "It's from Aya and Tsuyoshi." Aya clapped. "Ooh, goody!" She exclaimed. Sana tipped the bag down, so the wrapping inside of it would be within Koharu's grasp. Koharu stared at it for a second, but then she reached her hand out toward the wrapping. Akito reached out, and gently tugged on the wrapping, persuading Koharu to do it too. Koharu followed his lead, and pulled on it more. Once all of it was out of the bag, Sana pulled out the actual presents. They were two new summer outfits. "Aw, look at these, Koharu!" Sana placed the two outfits in Koharu's lap, so she could look at them. Typical Koharu, she just stared at them. Sana just giggled. "Thanks, you guys. These are so cute." Unknowing to Sana, Akito shot a glance at Tsuyoshi. Sana didn't pay attention to the fact that one of the outfits was a dress. Koharu hates dresses. Tsuyoshi just mouthed back, "I know." And then, he pointed at Aya. That was an indication that the dress was her idea.
Sana pulled the bag and all of the wrapping away from Koharu, and placed the two new outfits in a chair beside her. This time, Sana chose a package for Koharu to open. She would have fun with this one, since she got to rip all of the paper off of the package. When Sana and Akito placed their hands on the package to help her out, Koharu just said, "No." She was going to do this herself. As Koharu opened the package, Sana had unconsciously slipped her left hand into Akito's. Akito kept it in his gladly, and he ran his thumb across her hand. His thumb stopped on the ring that was placed on her left ring finger. His thumb didn't leave the ring with Koharu's birthstone, that beautiful pearl engraved in white gold. Apparently, there was always a method to his madness. He ended up getting her a necklace with the pearl engraved, the ear rings with the pearl engraved, and now she has the ring, with the same result. All of these were pretty expensive, but all of his working at the Dojo paid off. And, he always took notice that Sana was always wearing them. Koharu was very well trained not to yank on Sana's ears, so she could safely wear the ear rings, she took her jewelry off at night obviously, but otherwise, she always wore them. However, the ring was never taken off. The ring was probably more precious to her than the others.
Koharu had finally pulled all of the wrapping, and she stared at her present. While Sana cheered, made Koharu acknowledge the present, and thanked the guest, Akito decided to think back on the past months events.
When it comes to the baby boy that Sana and Akito regretably lost, he was not forgotten. Sana and Akito still silently mourn, but they believe in some sick way, it was for the best. Even better, Sana believes that wherever he is, he is extremely happy, and being taken care of. Akito completely agreed with her thinking, because he believes that their son is being taken care of by his mother, the late Koharu Hayama.
A few days after Sana had returned from the hospital, Akito went back to the hospital. He did something, no one ever expected him to do. He tracked down Sana's favorite nurse, and asked her something that was rather difficult. Number one, he asked if they were still holding onto their dead son. When he found out that they still had him, he asked her something even more difficult. He asked if there was anyway they could have the baby cremated. Like said before, there is a method to his madness. The nurse told him that it could be done. Akito was oddly happy about that. He wanted his son cremated, so he could be close with him and his family. During that day, the baby was indeed, cremated. He then, requested that the ashes be put into a box of some sort. Before he knew it, the box was in his hands. It was almost too hard for him to believe that he had his son in the palm of his hands. He thanked the nurse that selflessly helped him, and he left the hospital with his son in his hands. He didn't go home with it, no way would he do that. He walked all the way to the cemetery, where his mother resided. His sole purpose in this, was so his son would be close to his mother.
Once he got to his mother's grave, he pulled a sharpie out of his pocket. He legibly wrote "Baby Hayama" on one side of the box. Out of another pocket, he pulled out a roll of duct tape. He placed pieces of tape all the way around the box. He hoped this would keep the box in place. It would be more than horrible if one day a large gust of wind blew the box of ashes away. Once he was sure the box wouldn't move, he stepped away from the grave, and got down on his knees. He spoke in his head, "He's in your hands now. Take care of him for us, Mom." He stood back up, dusted the dirt off of his pants, and turned to walk away. He stopped, and looked back one last time, then he walked out of the cemetery.
That next day, he came back to the cemetery with Sana and Koharu. He thought against bringing Koharu, but this was kind of a surprise for Sana anyway, and she wanted to bring Koharu with them. Sana had no idea what the "surprise" was, but she followed Akito anyway, with Koharu in her stroller. When they arrived at the cemetery, Sana was confused. They only came here once a year in October. Why were they here now? They stopped at the grave, and Sana looked at Akito with a confused look. "Why are we here?" She asked. She stole a glance at the grave, but then her eyes caught the little box taped down right beside of it. "Akito, what is that?" She pointed at the box. Akito just motioned her towards it. "Why don't you go and see for yourself." He suggested. Sana walked up to it, and knelt down in front of it, so she could see the black words. Baby Hayama. She gasped. She turned around, and looked at Akito. "Is this?" She asked, and Akito nodded his head. She turned her head away, and stared at the box. Then, she whispered. "Akito, take Koharu away from here for a minute." He stepped forward to her. "What?" He asked. He got close enough to where he could see her face, her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "Just do it!" She said. He nodded, and walked back to Koharu. He understood. She didn't want Koharu to see her upset. As he pushed Koharu's stroller along, he looked back to see Sana's shoulders shaking. When he looked away and got to the entrance of the cemetery, he didn't expect to see his father here. "Uh, Dad. What are you doing here?" Fuyuki picked up Koharu out of the stroller when she reached out for him. With Koharu in his arms, he answered. "I'd like to call it a father's intuition." Fuyuki lightly smiled at his son. "So, you've been following me the whole time?" Fuyuki just nodded. Akito looked back to where Sana was. "Go." Fuyuki said. Akito looked back. "What?" He asked. "I'll take Koharu off your hands for a little bit. Go be with Sana." With that being said, he walked away with one arm around Koharu, and his other hand pushing the stroller along. Akito turned back around, and walked back to the grave. This time, Sana was closer to the box. She had her arm stretched out like she wanted to touch it, but she kept pulling her hand back. Akito knelt down beside her, and put one arm around her. "It's okay." He whispered. Even though she felt assured, she still didn't touch the box. She leaned into Akito's partial embrace, and closed her eyes. She spoke, "Akito, your mother is taking care of him, right?" She asked. Akito's eyes widened in surprise. He was sometimes shocked when they both thought of the same thing. Akito pulled her into a more reassuring embrace, and whispered. "I'm sure of it. He's fine." Sana nodded, but then she started crying again. Akito let her, and he continued to hold her. That was the last time she cried over the loss of her son.
They arrived back home to see that Koharu and Fuyuki were already home. Koharu was sitting on the floor, when she saw her parents enter the door. She grabbed ahold of the couch, and pulled herself up, then walked slowly up to them. "Hey, you!" With all sadness wiped away, Sana picked her up, and kissed her forehead. "Are you hungry?" She walked away into the kitchen, leaving Akito behind. Akito took that opportunity to escape upstairs to get Sana's real surprise. When he returned he had a tiny gift bag in his hand. It was Sana's birthday present... Well, it was her be-lated birthday present. Her birthday was in March, and when Akito returned, it was May. He didn't want to give Sana her present until he finally came back. And, he definitely wasn't going to send this to her in the mail. He sent her a Birthday card at the time, but that was it.
He entered the kitchen, where Sana was helping Koharu feed herself with a baby spoon. Sana looked up. "What do you have there?" She asked, taking notice of Akito's hands behind his back. He smirked. "So, do you want... another surprise?" Sana's eyes widened. "Another surprise? What is it?" She stood up. Akito pulled the present from around his back, and handed it to her. "Your birthday present." Sana smiled. "Akito, it's like two months off now. You didn't have to do this. If anything, you should've bought Koharu her present, since her birthday is right around the corner, you know." She said. Akito sighed to himself. "Just open it. I've had this since March. I wasn't going to send it in the mail." Sana started to open it, but stopped. "Why?" She asked. He sighed again. "Sana, just open it." Akito stole a quick glance at Koharu to make sure she wasn't poking herself in the eye with her spoon, or anything like that. He looked back at Sana to see that she had the small jewelry box in her hand. Her lips were slightly parted, like she wanted to speak, but couldn't find the words. "Well, are you going to open it, or what?" Akito asked. Sana looked up. "I can't." She said. Sana knew that it was a ring of some sort, but she was afraid to open it. This had to be outrageously expensive. Akito walked up to her. "Here, it's easy." He said, as he flipped the box open, revealing the beautiful ring inside. Sana gasped. "Wow." That was all she could muster. She pulled the white gold ring out of it's cushion, and just stared at it. Sure enough, it had Koharu's birthstone, a beautiful pearl engraved in the ring. Every piece of jewelry that Akito had bought for her all surrounded one thing, or more like one person, Koharu. Each piece of jewelry had a pearl in it, since it was Koharu's birthstone. "Well..." Akito started, bringing Sana out of her trance. "Are you going to put it on, or what?" He asked. She was about to put it on her ring finger, but her hand was shaking. It was too beautiful. She couldn't wear this. Akito stopped her, before she slipped it on. Sana looked at him. "What?" She asked. He took the ring out of her hand, and then he whispered, so quietly that Sana barely heard it. "That's the wrong hand." Sana's eyes widened. Now, she definitely couldn't say anything. Akito smirked to himself, as he thought one word. "Dense." He took Sana's left hand in his, then quickly slipped the ring onto her finger. Sana continued to stare at the ring that was now on her finger, her left ring finger to be exact. Akito let go of her hand. He reverted his attention back to Koharu, who was in the process of making a mess. As he cleaned her face off, Sana couldn't help but notice the slight blush that rested on his cheeks. Sana held back a laugh. The blush definitely gives things away. She looked back at her left hand, and she smiled. This was typical. Akito didn't need to get on one knee, and say a long speech to prove how much he loved her. Putting the ring on her finger himself, was proof enough. The unspoken promise would become reality in the following years to come. Sana believed in that. She watched the love of her life tend to their daughter, and she couldn't help but interrupt. "Akito." She walked towards him and Koharu. "What?" He asked, any hint of blushing removed. She smiled brightly, and took his hand in hers. Before he knew it, she had got onto her tippy toes, and pressed her lips to his. Before he could actually enjoy it, he used one of his hands to cover Koharu's eyes. After that, he could enjoy it. Once their lips separated, Sana whispered, "I love you." Akito's response was attacking her lips once again. According to Sana, that's a great response.
"Akito?" Sana said, lightly nudging him. Akito's eyes blinked, as he was brought back to reality. "Are you okay?" Sana asked. Akito just nodded. Sana laughed in relief. "Would you look at what your father got for her? She's more than spoiled!" Sana exclaimed. Akito nodded, and then actually took notice of what Koharu had already opened. Wow, he had been out of it for a long time. The pile of presents was much smaller now. Koharu had three presents left to open. Then he remembered something. He let go of Sana's hand, and stood up. "Akito, where are you going?" She asked. "I have another present for Koharu. It's.. in my room though." He said, then he walked back into the house to get it. Koharu's other present from Akito happened to be the bracelet that he bought for her before she was even born. He had given it to Sana as a baby shower present, but obviously when Koharu was born, the bracelet was too big for her to wear. Now, at one years old, her wrist was finally big enough for the bracelet.
Koharu had opened all of her presents, and Sana thanked everyone for them. Akito had not returned yet. Sana kept wondering what it was, because she didn't even know that he had bought something else. She did know about the bracelet. It was her idea anyway. Suddenly, Koharu started looking around. It didn't take Sana a second to realize she was searching for Akito. "He'll be back, Koharu. You have one more present to open. Daddy went to go get it." Sana explained. Everyone there were wondering what Akito got for her, except Natsumi. She had a smirk on her face. "Natsumi?" Sana questioned. "Do you know what he got her, because I sure don't." Natsumi's smirk only got bigger. "Yes. Because, I went with him to buy it." She said, with a giggle. The door finally opened, and everyone looked back to see Akito with a big box in both of his arms. He walked towards everyone, being careful not to drop the wrapped up box. "Ooh, I wonder what that is, Koharu." Sana said. Koharu just sat there, and waited for the box to be placed in front of her. Akito was about to set it down. Sana didn't mistake the sudden "noise" that came from inside the box. She quietly gasped. When he sat the box down and took his place beside Sana, she whispered. "You didn't." She said. Akito only smirked. "Well, go on. Open it up." This time everyone could hear noise coming from the box, then a tiny whimper. Koharu's eyes grew in curiosity. What was in that box? Everyone started whispering to eachother. She started ripping the paper off of the box. This time, Akito helped her with it. The wrapper was gone, and everyone scurried around to see a dog kennel. Akito opened up the kennel, and out came a tiny black and white Siberian Husky. All of the girls in the group "Awed." Akito picked up the puppy. Koharu's eyes were widening with excitement. She crawled up to Akito, who was petting the puppy. She reached her hands out to touch it. Akito sat the puppy down in his lap, but still held onto it, so it wouldn't try to get away. He wouldn't be surprised, because it was more than likely scared. Koharu let out on of her rarest sounds, laughter. She was so happy. She finally reached the puppy's fur, and started to touch it. "Gently." Akito quickly said. The last thing they wanted was a typical toddler pulling on the poor thing's fur. Koharu, as told, gently pet the puppy's back. The puppy was looking at everyone that was watching it, slightly shaking. Sana got closer, and stroked the puppy's ear. "Akito, I can't believe you did this. And Natsumi?" She looked back at Natsumi, who was walking to get closer to them. "Yes, I went with Akito to help him pick it out." Misako jumped in. "Akito had already asked about it, and I approved." Sana looked back at Akito. "Wow. I would've never thought about it." Akito was silent, and he watched Koharu continue to pet the puppy. "This is Shiro, Koharu. And, she's all yours." Akito said. "You already named it?" Sana asked. Natsumi was close enough to pet it now. "Actually, I did. Akito couldn't think of one. I thought Shiro was perfect for her." Sana nodded. The puppy was starting to settle down, and Akito set her on the ground. Koharu still had a smile on her face. That was all Akito wanted, to see her smile. The idea came to him when he, Sana, and Koharu were taking a walk in the park a couple weeks ago. While they were walking, they happened to pass a girl who was walking her dog. Koharu had seen animals here and there, but never that up close. She reached her hand out to touch it, but Akito, who was paying close attention, pulled her hand back. However, Sana stopped, and asked the girl if Koharu could pet it. When the girl complied, Akito released Koharu's hands, and she reached out towards the dog again. As she was petting it, Akito couldn't believe what he saw. Koharu smiling. It was very rare that she smiled. She was a happy baby, yes, but she didn't smile very much. That's when he got the idea to get her a puppy of her own.
The puppy started to walk around, and Koharu followed it, the smile still on her face. She giggled, as she crawled. Sana couldn't help but laugh. "Wow, she's laughing. You've outdone yourself, Akito." She said, as a playful smirk came across her lips. Akito just couldn't help but smile a little bit too. This is what pure happiness is all about. Suddenly the puppy started playing, and Koharu's laughter rose in volume. Akito confirmed it. Yes, this is what life is supposed to be. That doesn't mean that all of the bad times go away. That's not what life is about. However, it's all of the good times that make the bad times seem worth it.
As Sana and Akito could see, Koharu was shooting up like a rocket, getting bigger everyday. Before they know it, it'll all be over. It's kind of funny that two seventeen year olds would think such a thing, but it's true. They're not adults quite yet, but they sure are thinking like one. Raising a child is not an easy task, they both understood that. And, it's only going to get harder as little Koharu grows.
For now, as Sana and Akito watch their daughter play, they can hardly wait to see what the future holds for them. Sana whispered, as if speaking hers and Akito's alike thoughts. "Can't wait." She muttered. Akito looked at her for a brief moment, but then looked back at Koharu and Shiro. He agreed to himself. Sana's hand found Akito's, and she grabbed onto it tightly. Akito looked at her again, as she smiled. He looked up at the sky, a beautiful sunset coming across it, and he voiced his response from when Sana said, "Can't wait." Almost, as if looking destiny straight in the eye, he whispered, "Yeah. Come and get us." Let the eighteen year adventure begin.
Okay, I have a few explanations to give out. So, here they are. To explain the type of gem that Sana had in her jewelry. Obviously, it was Koharu's birthstone, but in the previous chapters where Sana had the necklace and the ear rings, I did not know what the birthstone for June was. Before I wrote this chapter, I actually looked it up, and the birthstone for June is a pearl. So, that's why I mentioned it being a pearl in just this chapter. And, yes, the ring Akito gave her was indeed, an engagement ring. :)
Now, for my other explanation. At the very end of this chapter when Akito says, "Yeah. Come and get us." That was him pretty much telling destiny to throw whatever it wants at him and Sana. They'll be there waiting for it, accepting it. That is my explanation for that.
And, if you guys hated the whole cremated baby thing, I appologize for that. Burying the baby would've been pointless. Let's not forget, Sana was five months pregnant when the baby died, so it wasn't even fully developed. So, that's when the whole cremated thing came along, and putting the ashes by Akito's mother's grave. If you guys still hate it after that explantion, once again I'm sorry, but I'm not changing it. With that being said....
I am finished. This story is finished, and I am very happy with the outcome. Of course, I'd love to go back and make changes to the story. What writer doesn't? But, overall, I am very happy with it. This is my personal take in the world of Sana and Akito's life. Of course, we all know, it's unrealistic, and blah blah blah. Let's not forget, this is a fanfiction. I made this up myself, it was my idea, my imagination. And, yes, I did make this story a little bit more about Akito than Sana. I don't mind giving my reasons.
First of all, Akito was my favorite character. I loved writing this, almost surrounding his mindset. And when he did think to himself, that was how I viewed him to be thinking when certain things happened to him. In the actual show or manga, the story surrounds Sana, so sometimes we don't get to see what Akito is thinking, because he's typically a quiet person. Now, in the beginning of this story, Akito has returned from America. He has changed, just a little bit at first. He's more open with Sana than he used to be. When Sana became pregnant, his way of thinking changed. And, when Koharu was born, once again, Akito was changed. So, his attitude towards things, and his ability to suddenly smile, that was all Koharu. Not to mention, Akito is sixteen/seventeen for majority of the story, so he has matured. He is not the same eleven/twelve year old kid we all first met. And with him becoming a parent, as well as Sana, they both had to grow up, so that's why Sana wasn't as comedic or crazy as she used to be. She took this whole thing very seriously. That was the reality of this story. She didn't joke around about anything. It was a serious situation. So, that's why the singing, goofy Sana was pretty much gone. But, it opened up a new way of seeing Sana.
Okay, I could go on about this story all day and night for you guys, but I think you might be tired of it. If you have questions, or want to discuss the story on why I did "this" or "that", you are more than welcome to message me. I would be happy to explain everything in my story. I did work hard on it. I really appreciate the support that I got. I can't wait to get started on Koharu II, I hope it will be just as good as this story was. However, I can't give an exact answer when I'll post the first chapter. I need ideas, so if anyone has any, type away, and let me know. I am open minded to anything, and ideas will be considered.
I am done babbling now. Thanks again to EVERYONE! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. See you in my next story.
-Stephanie
