Leorai A-Z Challenege

Zephyr

Well....here it is. The final chapter. After a year, it's finally done. I'm both happy and sad that this book has finally reached its end. I can't tell you how grateful and how much I appreciate the attention, admiration, and anticipation (heh heh...) this fanfic has received and if I could, I'd hug you all. Unfortunately, I might lose my confidence and esteem from trying to push myself through my computer screen like it's "The Ring". Anyway, here it is!! The final Leorai A-Z Challenge chapter: Z is for Zephyr

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The sun was high up in the sky, glowing, but the cool and gentle breeze overcame the sun's power. Together, they created beautiful weather. Leonardo sighed, very calm and feeling the bliss. "Pretty day, isn't it?" a familiar, womanly voice said. The turtle turned to face his wife of 30 years.

As time changed, so did she. Long gone was her short, blonde-black hair, her piercings, and her alternative makeup; instead, her hair (which now reached her shoulders) was a solid ink-black with streaks of a lovely gray, the same kind of gray as the morning mist of the mountains. She wore her hair in an updo now to show the great maturity and wisdom she had gained from time passing by. Her fair and clear skin now showed lines from age, but her features remained sharp and delicate. A tiny smile graced her rosy lips as her golden eyes stared at her husband.

Leo smiled back. "Yeah. It is." he replied. He placed his large hand over her slender, sinewy hand, the same hand that still bore the ring he gave to her years and years ago when they were still teens, still young.

Back then, after the war between their clans finally ceased and Karai took control over the Foot Clan to return it to its former glory (before her 'father' poisoned it) and after their beautiful daughter Kotori came into the world, the now-retired ninja seized the opportunity and proposed to the only woman he could truly love. The moment he revealed the pretty ring and uttered those fateful words, she happily replied with the most beautiful and most Karai-like thing Leo had ever heard: "Of course I will, you idiot"

The wedding was traditional and small (the guests being made of their dearest friends and their family) and absolutely memorable for the newlyweds. He still remembered when he muttered to her, "By the way, you look great in white." and how she shook her head at his remark with a smile. And he really meant it. The memory of Karai in her blindingly-white, silken kimono bridal gown stuck with him throughout the years, alongside with many other memories that came before and after the wedding.

Sitting on the park bench, Leo's aged mind rewinded back to the very beginning and played through every memory that lead up to current moment of peace he was enjoying with his wife, his Karai. While he wasn't as agile and strong as he was before when he was ninja, his mind was as powerful as ever.

He thought of everything: the night they first met and how lovestruck he was by her after she almost sliced his neck...when he revealed her true origins to her and how broken she was upon realizing them and how badly he wanted to fix her, to heal her, to give her the love and comfort she needed....how he felt his whole self shatter when that monster called Shredder threw her into the vat of mutagen and transformed her into a giant snake and had her almost kill her true father, his father as well.....how angered and saddened he was when she was brainwashed into something that was far darker than her true self.....when he first saw her, no longer a mind-controlled beast but the beautiful and remarkable creature he fell so deeply in love with....and how he was so overwhelmed with happiness and love that he immediately grabbed her into a passionate embrace and kissed her like there was no tomorrow....when Shredder was finally gone and Karai took over, vowing to right the wrongs her 'father' had made, and how truly proud he was of the strong and independent leader she became....when he first told her that he loved her and when she told him she loved him too....when they married on that beautiful day in Spring under the fully-bloomed cherry blossoms....when they're little Kotori was born and how happy they were with having a little snake-turtle hybrid bundle of joy to call their own....each time they watched their family grow and grow as marriages happened and more little ninjas came tottering through the dojo...how proud they were when she was awarded with her first blade, how determined she was to follow in her parents' footsteps....when they finally realized the time had come for them to step down and pass their weapons and knowledge on to their followers, their flesh and blood, who had grown so much over the years......and the semi-bittersweet feeling of realizing how things had passed and changed, how much they had changed, how their time had come to an end, how their little one wasn't little anymore and was now a strong warrior so much like themselves, and how they realized the unsure yet beautiful future they knew that was ahead of them.....

Leo looked down at the pond before them and noticed his reflection. His blue bandana was gone, revealing his lined and scaled face. The green of his scales were now faded lightly to a pale green and his blue eyes reflected the experience, age, weariness yet bliss, and wisdom he carried with him. His muscles, while still quite strong, were weakened somewhat from age as well.

He felt a hand touch his shell. He turned to his wife. "Ready to go home, honey?" she asked. He nodded as his answer. And so, the couple stood and strolled their way through the park as they made their way home. Leo wrapped his arm around Karai's slim waist and she placed an endearing kiss on his temple.

Yes, things had changed and so have they, but it wasn't bad. In fact, some would think that most of these changes were good. While they were not the same people they were decades ago, to Leo, Karai was still the same kunoichi he fell madly in love with and married and he knew that it was the same with him for Karai.

Now, after so many years of fights, journeys, adventures, challenges, marriage and children, they were rewarded with peace and happiness. And they knew that that very moment as the gentle breeze caressed their skin and into the sky and unknown.

                                                                      

                                                                        ......The End.......