I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*
Chapter Seventeen: No Kau a Kau ~ For Eternity
Kono wished her contact would come back to the Islands already. It was four o'clock in the morning and she was laying on her back in bed without a single sheet or blanket within reach. All the windows were open and the curtains pulled harshly to the sides so she could clearly see outside. From where she lay, the light from her kitchen leaked down the short hallway and pooled at the foot of her bed to illuminate the tall dresser. If she sat up, she'd be able to see herself in the mirror. She would also be within a fingers-breadth of her police-issued revolver and cell phone ... just in case.
It was a ludicrous thought - thinking something bad might happen inside her own house - which she fully understood, but having these two items within reach settled her mind and allowed her to sleep at least the few hours that she did.
"Great," she muttered after glancing at her bedside clock. "Go to sleep." It was almost four thirty now and some of the earliest birds were beginning to chirp loudly in the yard despite the darkness outside. Kono's sigh was dismal as she flung her arm over her eyes. She felt like having a tantrum right there where say lay on her back. A screaming, shouting, all out bawling tantrum because everything had gone wrong in her world since she had spoken to Steve on the beach. So much was so very wrong, Danny had even stopped asking about the surfboard. He'd evidently given up on her help and she couldn't blame him for thinking that way.
In a big way, she was making everything worse. However, if he did assume that she had either forgotten or was choosing not to do anything, Danny couldn't have been more wrong. Fixing that damnable thing had become her very personal mission.
An obsession even, and she cringed at the thought which might throw her into the same realm as Topher Reid. Only her quiet confession to Doctor Santiago had reassured her that this one need was actually normal. A harmless desire that would eventually result in a great deal of good.
Since that time at Steve's, Kono only wanted one person involved and that person had been woefully unavailable. Makoa Hayashi, the best surfboard craftsman on the island. Makoa was decidedly from Kono's old world; in fact, any Hawaiian who could surf knew of the man's reputation. However, he wasn't a person even close to being in Danny's circle of awareness despite his introduction to surfing in general. Once Kono had honed in on and then refined her idea of engaging Makoa to help in fixing Danny's board, this man was the only one she wanted to work with.
She knew when he came back from his personal surfing expedition to Indonesia, that things would get back on track. She'd be able to help Danny, and therefore herself, to get on with things. Until that happened, she was sunk and stuck in place because no one on the circuit knew when Makoa might return from his trip. He'd been around since before she could remember and he had a reputation as a fine artisan, but he was also something of a vagabond. Makoa Hyashi was ageless, timeless and a bit of an eccentric. He had friends, but then again, he had none. Everyone knew of him, but no one really knew him. Still, Kono had her heart set on Makoa's help.
Her idea to engage the man was a good one; even Chin had agreed once he'd gotten over his initial shock of her preferred choice. Steve only knew the man's name and rumored reputation, which gave him equal pause. But other than Doctor Santiago knowing about her full plans, both men was confused by her demand that Makoa be kept a secret until she could personally set things up. Her odd silence on the subject was confusing not only everyone but of course, Danny, who was completely in the dark.
Her silence was coming across as ambivalence but she didn't know what else to do because she was secretly possessed to make it right.
"You are obsessed, lolo! Now stop thinking about it and go to sleep!" Kono chastised herself out loud. Groaning under her breath, she rolled over and stuffed a pillow between her legs. While not precisely having nightmares, she did have an inordinate amount of trouble closing her eyes and staying soundly asleep. Cleared for work, she was engaged though and on time every day.
Work wasn't the issue though. Doctor Santiago was pleased with her visits and Kono was now only on the docket for a three month check in. Danny was her issue, along with her lack of desire to do anything except focus on getting his board repaired.
Chin thought she should get back out on the beach and carve up a few waves to blow off steam until Makoa returned. He insisted that Danny would probably like to go and watch regardless of what was not being said about surfing.
He also though she should try someone else on the island to help with fixing Danny's board as each day went by and Makoa stayed away. She had no coherent response about his push to get her onto the water. To his point about the latter though, there were plenty of eligible, talented surfboard craftsman and most with better availability than who she remained so steadfast on contacting.
Just the day before, Kono had driven out to the North Shore and taken the sandy track to Makoa's humble shack of a home. She had picked her way down his path to the rear of the house where his workshop sat looking neglected and unloved. Kono knew better than to judge this particular book by its ramshackle cover. Makoa was a perfectionist and the inside of his shed was a beautiful treasure trove of fine art dedicated solely to his trade. She had often thought the look a ploy to keep unwanted souls away, though the man was so very respected that would hardly be necessary.
No one would dare bother the legend in such a way, for an entire community's combined wrath.
The handwritten sign was still in the window dated nearly eight days earlier with only three solitary words. Pa'a was Hawaiian for closed and as such, the intended message was delivered twice for the ignorant. Any surfer worth their salt would know that Uluwatu was the place to be for Balinese surfing.
Pa'a - Closed. Uluwatu.
The place felt deserted and almost creepy in its silence with only the sound of distant waves hitting the shore behind the property. There was a small beach there where one could try out a board and Kono almost felt the pull to continue down the trail. But in the end, she only did what she had come to do. No one visited Makoa unannounced; another one of his infamous traits was his dislike of unannounced visitors.
If you wanted Makoa Hayashi, one requested an audience or on the odd day, was invited into his home.
But Kono had been determined as she touted each jagged piece of Danny's broken board under her arm. She had brazenly left the pieces there, rocked up against the door of the shed with a note appealing his help upon his return.
Now though, as she lay in bed watching the seconds tick by on her bedside clock, Kono regretted her decision entirely. She closed her eyes tiredly for a time, wiling herself to forget the stupidity of her actions until her cell phone vibrated. It was just a quick vibratory trill and she frowned for the text message the movement indicated until she reached out and held the screen up high.
'Tomorrow. 11 am. MH'
"He's back," Kono gasped as she bolted upright, sending pillows flying to the floor. Her fingers flew seconds later to reply with the only thing she could think of.
'I'll be there!'
H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*
After four excruciating weeks of being virtually housebound, Danny had wrongly assumed that part-time desk duty would suffice. However, it was nothing more than another version of arrest. A situation made worse when he was left behind to sit idle to punch a few keys on the Smart table or offer a disembodied voice to his team out in the field. By the third day, he was bored and testy once again as he argued his enforced limitations.
As any one of them had predicted, Danny had grown steadily moodier as he felt better but the freedoms granted him scarcely kept pace. At that very moment, he was forcing himself to not be so very resentful as he watched Chin and Steve gather gear through the window of his office. Kono was standing in her own office, nervously checking her watch and seemingly upset by their team's need to rally for a potential confrontation down by the docks as backup for the local FBI contingent. Danny watched her and wanted to say something to coax her back into a more normal way of being. Evidently though, there was nothing he could say and he'd abandoned their once common ground of surfing and his broken board. According to Chin, Kono was fine and doing well. She only needed a bit more time to wrap her head around what had happened. Chin's comments were something which Danny needed to believe in, and so, he stayed quiet and waited for Kono to approach him even though he desperately wanted to do more.
"What?" Danny sighed the word out heavily, frowning when Steve suddenly strode towards where he sat. His partner took up the entire frame to block his view of Kono and what appeared to be a myriad of agitated expressions.
"Hey," Steve said, hiding an internal wince for the explosive mine he would likely be opening. "We'll be back by lunch, so hang tight."
"Try not to fling yourself from a window or off a pier," Danny muttered in reply, his chin fisted in the palm of his hand. "The grenades you stowed in the trunk are not toys, Steven."
"Okay, so you're not good with this," Steve remarked as he rubbed his face wearily. He visibly winced when Danny shrugged in response from where he sat behind his desk.
"Oh, and I'm sure you would be," Danny finally snarked back after waiting nearly too long to say anything at all. According to Doctor Fratelli, they were doing everything right because his patient hadn't suffered from blinding migraines, nausea or any multitude of unhappy side affects from rushing his recovery. But as Danny was proving, you can't miss what you never had, so he wasn't quite confident with the doctor's pleased reports. Fratelli's contented phrase of 'stay the course' for yet another month had nearly unraveled the good already done.
"Come on, Danno, you'll be cleared before you know it," Steve moaned, failing completely to make his partner feel better. He completely understood Danny's feelings and agreed that he'd do no better if the roles were reversed. Because of that, he barely knew what to say since he also knew nothing would make Danny feel better.
"It's just a few more weeks," he said carefully, grimacing when Danny only stared blandly back.
Without answering, Danny's gaze flickered dolefully from Steve's face to Kono as she squeezed through the doorway. With eyes only for Danny at first, she smiled before holding her finger up to forestall their conversation. Then, she turned towards Steve with an eager expression.
"Something else has come up," Kono stressed meaningfully. "I can't go on this rendezvous, Steve. I need to handle something else this morning. Please." She was practically bouncing on her toes as her excitement argued with keeping her secret and doing her job. But she found herself rolling her eyes towards the heavens when Steve missed the clues she was clearly communicating.
"Now's not a good time," Steve's refusal of her request was instantaneous. "I know we're not primaries and this is going to be dull, but we need to offer the support. What's with you this morning? You should be geared up by now." He gestured widely to prove their scramble and yet Kono suddenly wouldn't budge.
"No, it is a good time," Kono insisted. "It's perfect because Five-0 isn't the primary." Her happy mood had dissolved an hour after arriving at the office when Steve had called them in to prepare for the FBI's last minute request. But as the time clocked closer to when Makua wanted to meet with her, the more she began to fret about her preferred commitment.
"You don't need me on this one, boss. Seriously." Glaring at Steve around a smile she tried to hide, she leaned forward to practically force him to remember what she had once told him. "North Shore ... that guy I told you about a few weeks ago? He's back on the Island," she whispered discreetly an inch froths nose. "I need the time. Please."
"What? Oh!" Steve said after a long pause. "The North Shore." His face smoothed out from its heavy consternation as he realized what Kono was talking about. Or rather, who she was referring to. "That guy Makoa something?"
"Exactly. He wants me there at 11 sharp," Kono replied casually. "I need to do this; I need to see him." She glanced to where Danny was sitting, registering the fact that he was barely listening to their chatter. An idle but repetitive clack meant he was morosely upending a pen end-over-end idly on his desk. Her wry grin broke free at that point as she turned her back completely to him to round on Steve. "You know that he's been impossible to nail down. But, Makoa's got time to see me this morning. And since it's just to talk, I was wondering if Danny could come along?"
Through the amused change in Steve's expression, she knew that Danny had perked up upon mention of his name. When Steve gave a sketchy nod for her to continue, she had trouble not turning round to look at Danny, herself. Instead, she folded her arms sternly across her chest as if purposefully arguing for Danny's participation.
"I'm just going to talk to the man, Steve," Kono intentionally elaborated on her point. "There's no reason why Danny can't join me instead of hanging here alone in the office while you and Chin assist the FBI. What do you say?"
"Yes!" Danny burst out, instantly standing from his desk and blatantly daring anyone to deny him. "I say yes; Steve has no say. Zero. None whatsoever." He didn't care what, why, how or who this person might be to Kono, but he was taking the opportunity to leave the doldrums of his current existence.
"Now wait a minute! I haven't agreed to anything yet!" Steve dead-panned his argument. But he was soon stumbling backwards as Danny rudely pushed past him with Kono on his heels. "Danny!"
"I'll take care of him, boss," Kono chuckled softly when Steve grabbed her arm to stop her in the hallway. "Normal, calm activity. No lifting or exertion. Got it ... and you know that he does, too. He's been more than careful."
"Just remind him," Steve pleaded. Of course he now remembered Kono's original plans to introduce Danny to the well-known craftsman. Makoa Hayashi was one one of the very best when it came to fine custom boards. If anything, being asked to fix a mediocre busted piece of commercial fiberglass for a blonde haole, would be well beneath the man. That fact also concerned Steve and since Kono would know that already, he wondered what was really up her sleeve when it came to introducing his volatile partner to a potentially equally acerbic legend.
"Kono?" He whispered. "Are you sure about this?" Unable to hide a certain worry about the man's reputation and Danny's positive recovery thus far, Steve couldn't help questioning all of that before they parted ways.
"Steve! It's going to be fine; I swear we're just going to talk." She laughed then, her relief at getting in to see the famous man was now broadcasted across her face. She hadn't been this happily animated for weeks and Steve knew that the short trip would do both of his friends some modicum of good regardless of the outcome. "I won't let Makoa eat him alive. I promise!"
"Thanks for that," Steve muttered as he pointed his finger remonstratively in Danny's direction as a warning to heel to doctor's orders while his friend loitered impatiently in the outer hallway. He shook his head in mock disgust when Danny's middle finger questionably rose in kind to scratch what was a likely a purely non-existent itch along the bridge of his nose.
However, not quite hidden behind Danny's splayed fingers was a genuine smile.
~ to be continued ~