Disclaimers: Oh, the usual. Disney own the characters. I don't own squat. This story has been written for fun and all. Etc. Etc. Go figure.
An Honorable Valentine
by JuPMod (aka JPMod at FF.net)
Rated: T (PG-13)
---------------------------------
From low Earth orbit, one could see the wonders of the planet from green forests, dry deserts, and high mountains. Very few man-made structures could be seen from this vantage point that only astronauts and various satellites ever ventured. Yet if one were to zoom in closer and closer toward the ground, more and more man-made structures could be seen, indicating the Earth was vastly inhabited by people.
Coming down to the heavily populated islands of Japan, most high-resolution satellites could easily pick-up the large cities and constructions that make up the culture and civilization of the Japanese people. So if a satellite happened to view upon old temple-like buildings on top of a Japanese mountain, most people in the world would think it was the typical temples and monasteries that was all over Japan. Yet they would not know the real truth that lay in these buildings, for being in plain sight gave the protection needed to continue its existence in an ever growing world of high-tech surveillance.
This was the Yamanouchi School, a secret Japanese educational facility that teaches the ancient arts of ninjitsu and other skilled martial arts. For hundred of years, this school has been the best in Japan in crafting people into ninjas, the most stealthiest, knowledgeable, deadliest, undercover operatives on the planet. The top branches of the Japanese secret service relied on Yamanouchi’s finest to help secure the safety and security of the Japanese homeland and its people.
The school didn’t just teaches how to be sneaky and used deadly weapons, but also the peaceful ways of solving problems without violence, for its teachers and students all are good people who condone war and aggression, yet they wouldn’t hesitate to take up arms if needed to defend themselves and others.
For a long time since the school was first built, many Japanese walked the grounds of Yamanouchi. Yet it would come to a surprise for some to see a blonde-haired, Caucasian man strolling through the school’s flower garden, which was currently unattended due to the winter season. He was wearing a modern-day winter jacket over a black gi.
His name was Ron Stoppable, Yamanouchi’s first Caucasian student in history, and for the historians of the school, it was quite an honor for a foreigner to ever be trained here. Yet for the 23-year-old man, he didn’t care for such trivial things at the moment. His mind was occupied on what this day meant to him and for a significant other.
It was February 14th, Valentine’s Day – a day which to celebrate love and friendship. The students spent the day training as usual, but they were all given an early dismissal by mid-afternoon to freely choose what they want to do – whether to study, meditate, or enjoy oneself in other forms of entertainment, especially in regards to Valentine’s Day.
Ron smiled as he walked along a stone path along a variety of bushes, his hands in the coat’s pockets. When he had been a student at the University of California, besides taking courses in pursuit of a business degree, he also studied the cultures and history of Japan. Ever since the first time he had been to Yamanouchi when he was 16, he was curious about the country and its history. After he had graduated from university, it was his knowledge of Japan that made him ideal suited to help the Japanese Bueno Nacho branch, so thus the company had sent him to Japan, where he met up again with Sensei and the Yamanouchi school.
His smile went wider on the memories. “Yeah,” he softly said to himself, “if it weren’t for my curiosity regarding Japanese history and culture, I perhaps wouldn’t have been sent to Japan. I wouldn’t have met Yori again.” He breathed out a happy, warm sigh on the thoughts of the young Japanese woman, who meant so much to him.
Yori was a student when he first came to Yamanouchi as a teenager, and she had helped him then in his one-week stay. She was smart, talented, and quite pretty. Together, Ron and she have defeated Monkey Fist and retrieved the Lotus Blade. A year after that unforgettable trip, he had met up with Yori again in helping rescuing Sensei from Gorilla Fist.
Ron frowned on the memories that he didn’t knew Yori had really like him as more as a friend during that time rescuing Sensei. He had fell for his long-time best friend a few months after that mission, and it was no wonder Yori had acted cool at first with him when he arrived at Yamanouchi, for a second time in his life, a year and an half ago. She had thought he was still in love with Kim Possible.
Yet after telling his story of his break-up with Kim, Yori had become supportive and sympathetic, and since then, their friendship has slowly came back to the level he remembered well when he was a teenager.
Chuckling, Ron took a path that would lead him out of the garden back toward the living quarters for students and staff. He was glad his friendship with Yori has returned, yet he was blessed that several months ago their friendship has blossomed into something more. He thought he would not ever again feel this kind of love in his heart since his break-up with Kim more than 3 ½ years ago, but Yori had proven to him wrong. He could love with all of his heart again, and Yori now was the center of his heart.
Leaving the garden, Ron strolled across the large, open yards toward the living quarters building. Given the cold weather, most stayed indoors, thus no one was seen in the vast open space, especially that the sun was setting now. The only exceptions were the sentries around the gates and the outer walls of the school.
From his knowledge about Japanese holidays, Ron knew Valentine’s Day was not celebrated the same way as it was in the United States. In the States, both men and women exchanged cards/gifts or do something together to acknowledge love and/or friendship. In Japan, women alone were to give chocolates to the men, whom didn’t have to give anything in return. The men’s day to give chocolates and gifts to the women was to be one month later on March 14th – White Day.
First started out as a marketing tool 50 years ago, the Valentine’s Day tradition was that women were to buy chocolates for all the important men they knew – workers, bosses, male friends, family members, etc. It was no wonder more than half of the chocolates sold in a year in Japan were sold around Valentine’s Day. Chocolate given to men whom women didn’t feel special love were called “giri (obligation)-choco (chocolate)”, while chocolate given to men whom women loved were called “honmei (prospective winner)-choco”.
Entering the living quarters building, Ron couldn’t help but snicker regarding Sensei. Out of all the men in the school, Sensei would get the most giri-choco. He had kept insisting his female students and teachers not to bother giving him chocolates, yet out of deep respect for him, all the women of the school would give him chocolates anyway, year after year. Nooni, the Master Lunchlady, once amusedly confined last year to Ron that Sensei would give the giri-choco to her for her to smelt down to chocolates to be passed out during meals. After all, Sensei couldn’t eat that many chocolates anyway before they all went bad over time.
Ron could somewhat sympathized with Sensei. Last year, during his first Valentine’s Day in Japan, the blonde man received many giri-choco - some from female co-workers at Bueno Nacho and others from some of the female students of Yamanouchi. The only female Yamanouchi facility member to give him chocolate was Yori, who had become a teacher after graduating as a full ninja around the same time Ron broke up with Kim.
This year would be different, Ron knew. Yori loved him deeply as he loved her, and he knew Yori would be giving him honmei-choco. Unlike giri-choco, women would give special gifts with the honmei-choco they give the men they love. Ron wondered what would Yori give him. This was after all going to be their first Valentine’s Day as a full-fledged couple.
Unlike the one-week time he was an exchange student when he was 16, Ron’s present-day personal quarters were furnished and decorated when he was given the quarters a year and an half ago. It was a private, guest quarters, separated from the students’ and facility members’ quarters, thus it contained a roll-up futon for sleeping, tables, several Japanese paintings and small ordainments, and a private bathroom with bathtub, shower, and sink. It also contained a small balcony with an incredible view of the valley below and the mountains. Some thought it was unfair Ron was given the guest quarters, but it was after all the only option to give him if he was to have quarters with high-speed Internet access to do his Bueno Nacho work while at the school. Regular student quarters did not have Internet access or any communication abilities.
As Ron slid aside the door to his room, he suspected what he would find inside, and he wasn’t disappointed to see many boxes of giri-choco on the low table off one side. He grinned upon seeing the nametags, containing the familiar Japanese lettering of the many Yamanouchi women’s names.
A chuckle escaped his lips upon seeing one box from Nooni. The most eldest of the Yamanouchi women, Nooni had been suspicious of Ron when he had offered to make dinner for everyone so she could have some rest one day shortly after he’d arrived at the school. She insisted to supervise him while he cooked, so Ron had agreed. All doubts vanished after dinner when everyone, Nooni included, praised Ron for a delicious meal. Since then, the Master Lunchlady could rely on the young blonde man to take over preparing meals when she could use some rest from kitchen duties.
Yet brown eyes searched the contents of the table until he found what he was looking for. Ron reached down to pick up a note card with Yori’s name on it written in English. Opening the card, he read the message and smiled.
Ron-san,
I invite you to my quarters for dinner at 6 PM.
Wear your kimono.
Love,
Yori
Eyeing the digital clock on his nightstand on the other side of the room, he saw it was 5:20 PM.
So with plenty of time to spare, Ron took off his coat and gi before taking a quick shower. Afterward, he donned his kimono that Sensei had given to him for his birthday a few months after arriving at Yamanouchi. It was black with a gray sash belt, making the formal Japanese traditional attire simple, nothing fancy or anything.
After placing on white socks, Ron slipped his feet into comfortable, black, vinyl Zori sandals with red velvet thongs, which go between his toes. He could have worn the everyday Tatami sandals, but since this was a special occasion with Yori, he figured the formal Zori sandals should do.
Knowing he was ready, he left his quarters to walk to the other side of the huge building to the staffs’ living quarters. Along the way, he has to pass the students’ living quarters as well as many students. Many bowed their heads to him, and some even showed their respect further by stopping and bowing at the waist, especially from the younger students. Some of the teenage girls grinned and giggled upon seeing him in his formal kimono, for they knew whom he was going to see
Finally, he arrived at his destination. Yori’s quarters, given she was a teacher, was bigger than his quarters with pretty much the same features. The only person in the school that has the biggest living space was Sensei, for he was the school’s master teacher.
Ron gentled knocked on the sliding door, and he heard Yori’s voice on the other side. “Come in, Ron-san.” Sliding the door aside, he grinned when he entered, and suddenly he was smacked with a sight that made his eyes went wide and his jaw hit the floor.
Standing besides the prepared low table, Yori stood before him looking absolutely gorgeous in a kimono that fitted her trim body snuggly. It was mostly black with pink trim, waist, and small pink flowers. A leg slit up the middle of the skirt nearly went close to the upper inner thighs, showing some lovely legs. The top portion was wrapped in a way to show some cleavage, while her long, black, waist-length hair, which was always placed in a bun while she was teaching, was flowing free like silk.
Seeing his reaction, Yori slyly grinned at him, and Ron gulped for this was the first time he ever seen the Japanese woman looked so hot and womanly. Not even in the past months when they went out to the nearby towns on dates did she wear anything provocative as this kimono she was wearing now.
Thinking back to the time he dated Kim when she was under the moodulator, Ron remembered that dress Kim wore. It was little, black, and quite eye catching. Since that date, he had called that dress the LBD, short for Little Black Dress.
Now his mind has to put Yori’s black/pink kimono in the same category as Kim’s LBD. It was long, black, and eye catching. He immediately came up with a name – the Long Black Kimono or LBK for short.
Yori softly giggled. “Ron-san…” she said softly, catching his attention. “Close your mouth and shut the door.”
Her words shook him out of his stupor. Grinning sheepishly, he reached behind him to slide the door shut, while keeping his eyes on his girlfriend. “Right, shut the door.”
Again giggling, Yori took a few steps back behind the low table before sitting down onto a cushion on her knees with both legs lying to one side. After slipping off his sandals, Ron, still grinning, went to the cushion on the other side of the low table and sat on it cross-legged.
With chopsticks in hands, the couple ate in enjoyment of each other’s company. Tea was drunk, and rice, fish, and other foods were consumed.
After eating a piece of fish, Ron grinned as he chewed. “Mmmmmmm,” he moaned before swallowing. “Food’s great!” His chocolate eyes met her glowing dark ones. “Did Nooni help you in preparing them?” The blonde man knew his girlfriend was a good cook. Not in his league though, and it would explained why she was absent for most of the day.
Yori nodded and grinned. “Yes, she gave a hand in helping.” She ate some rice from her rice bowl before continuing. “Yet, she didn’t help me prepare the dessert.”
Ron’s eyebrow rose as his lips quirked. “Really? May I ask what is the dessert?”
Her lips went sly to match his. “You just have to wait and see, Ron-san.” With that said, she continued eating with twinkling eyes on his face. Ron merely grinned and continued eating as well.
As they ate and conversed together in good banter, Ron’s eyes still wandered at times to take-in Yori’s kimono, which gracefully displayed her feminine charms. The dress certainly wasn’t her official formal kimono, which he has seen. Her formal kimono was the same red/pink color as her favorite headband, and it has elegant, colorful designs of Japanese dragons holding fans embroiled on it. It also wasn’t formfitting on the body as well as it didn’t have that quite exposing leg slit. This kimono, she currently was wearing, quite clearly was meant for intimate occasions.
Many minutes later, the meal was finished. “That was good, Yori,” Ron sighed in satisfaction.
Turning her torso around, the Japanese woman reached behind her for a small box, which she placed on the table halfway between her and her man. “The meal isn’t over yet, Ron-san. There still is dessert.” With a grin, she opened the box’s lid to reveal heart-shaped, bite-size chocolates.
Picking up a chocolate, Ron popped it into his mouth before his eyes went wide. “Whoa! How sweet and rich!” Her wide smile lit up her face on his praise. “You made these?” he asked before taking another chocolate into his mouth.
“Hai,” Yori replied. “With Noonie’s advice, I smelted chocolates I bought from the store at the nearby town, and when they were melted, I added some fudge and other ingredients to make it richer in flavor. Then I placed the melted chocolate into heart-shaped forms to make the finished product.”
“They’re delicious, Yori,” Ron chimed, taking another bite of the sweet dessert. He picked up another piece and leaned over the table to hold it out to his girlfriend. Deviously grinning, Yori leaned over and, with her mouth, took the offered candy from her boyfriend. She moaned as the sweet richness filled her mouth.
Spell bounded, Ron couldn’t help but feel his heart beating faster after hearing her moaned, which came out almost like a purr. “What are you trying to do me? Give me a heart attack?”
With a wicked grin, Yori stood up, exposing her shapely legs to her paramour. “If it keeps your eyes on me, Ron-san, I gladly will give you dozens of heart attacks.”
“Believe me, Yori,” Ron bobbed his head, “I certainly will always keep my eyes on you. No other woman can compete.”
“Yes, I know,” Yori responded softly with a warm, loving smile.
Walking toward a clothes-changing partition with Japanese designs on it, Yamanouchi’s best female warrior reached down to pick up a large, flat box off the floor before turning around to face her beloved. “This is my present to you, Ron-san. Go behind the partition and change. You know what they are, so you will have no problems knowing how to put them on.”
Getting up from the cushion, Ron strolled over to her, and with a trusting, loving grin, took the box from her before venturing behind the partition out of her sight. A minute later, his laughter was heard, making her smile. “Yori! Are you serious?”
Yori’s smile went even wider. “Yes, Ron-san, I am. Put them on.” She heard the small shuffling sounds of clothes and knew he was placing on the clothes she gave him. It only took three minutes before the blonde man emerged from the partition, wearing a grin. Yori took in his appearance and narrowed her eyes in approval with a warm grin. “Now you are ready for proper formal occasions,” she said, yet her mind couldn’t help but think he looks more handsome than he was before.
Only two new pieces of clothing were added over Ron’s black kimono. A striped tan and gray hakama pants went from his waist down near his ankles, while a red, open haori shirt covered his torso leaving the chest of his kimono exposed.
Ron chuckled as his eyes caught hers. “Yori,” he gestured to his haori with his hands. “You know red is the color of a sensei, a master. I’m not a master.”
“No,” Yori agreed, “but I have no doubt you soon will be in the months ahead, Ron-san.” She took a step to stand in front of him and smoothed out the haori before smiling up at him. “Your skills continue to grow in leaps and bounds, and Sensei told me that it’s possible you will reach master status before the end of your second year here at Yamanouchi.” She placed a hand on his chest. “The haori suits you.”
With a grin, he turned around and thumbed over his shoulder to his back. “And the design was your idea, right?”
Maintaining her smile, Yori gazed at the colorful, enmeshed design at the back of Ron’s haori. It was a Japanese dragon, whose body encircled a snow-peaked mountain, and in the palm of one clawed hand was a glowing blue katana
“Yes,” she admitted and placed a hand on his back over the design. “It suits you as well, Ron-san. The mountain, as you may have guessed, represents Yamanouchi. As with me, you are born in 1988, the Year of the Dragon, so as I have the dragon in my formal kimono, it should be part of your haori’s design. The glowing katana is obviously the Lotus Blade, given you are the true keeper of the sword as you have proven. The dragons in my kimono hold fans in their hands to represent the weapons I am master at, so the dragon on your haori holds the Lotus Blade to represent the weapon you are master at.” Ron turned around to place his hands on her waist as she moved her hands to his shoulders and gazed up into those twin chocolate eyes. “As I said, it suits you…” She grinned lovingly. “My love.”
Feeling his heart constricting from his emotions, Ron couldn’t help but smiled lovingly back at the woman who meant so much to him. “This present is so spankin’ cool, Yori,” he softly spoke. “I love you so much.”
Placing a hand to his cheek, she tenderly stroked the smooth skin as he leaned into her hand, seeking her warmth. “And I cherish you, Ron-san, with all my heart.”
Following what his emotional heart was telling him, Ron quickly leaned down and connected his lips to hers in a long, deep kiss. Both melted into each other as they wrapped their arms around each other and gently moaned into each other’s mouths. For the couple, as many times before, they could feel their love poured into the kiss that connected their spirits and souls, for a moment, into one being.
What felt like eternity for the pair was really just a couple of minutes as they parted their lips and gazed into each other’s eyes. Yori lips slowly curled up, making Ron followed suit before he placed his forehead onto hers and just stared into those deep, dark, loving pools of eyes.
A thought made him chuckled, which made her giggled. “What is it that you’re thinking that you find amusing, Ron-san?”
Parting his forehead from his but still keeping his body close to hers, he explained with a grin. “I was thinking about this great outfit you’ve given me,” he nodded down to indicated his new formal attire, “and I realized it has the same colors of my favorite shirt and pants I used to wear when I was in high school.”
Yori smirked. “Why do you suppose I chosen these specific colors, my love? Not only for they indicate you as a master, they also match your favorite hockey jersey and cargo pants.”
Her confession blew him away as his eyes went wide before his grin went even wider. “Why you sneaky, little ninja, you.” Yori giggled, and as he tightened his arms to hug her, she nuzzled her face onto his chest. In turn, Ron nuzzled onto the top of her head, enjoying the softness of her hair.
Feeling his breath in her hair and his heartbeat under her cheek, Yori sighed in content in just being held in his warmth. It was peaceful, and her heart felt connected and affection with his like she had never felt for anyone in her life.
Smelling the flowery scent of her hair as he felt its silkiness and softness against his skin, Ron felt like staying like this with her forever. There was so many ways to express love, yet this simple way felt right in his heart and soul, for this was love should be about.
Knowing they both did not want to part, Yori knew they couldn’t stand like this forever, so she gently let him go and tug at his hand to follow her to the pile of cushions nearby a window. The Japanese woman gently pushed him down onto the cushions and followed suit. Ron prompted a few pillows against his back as he leaned against the wall, before allowing Yori onto his lap, where she again nuzzled her cheek against his silk-covered chest, inhaling his scent. The blonde American man returned to nuzzling her hair with the added addition of his left fingers combing through the soft, black strands.
As they continued to snuggle as they watched the first quarter moon in the night sky through the window, Ron’s mind wanted to know something. “Yori?” he spoken through her hair
“Mmmmm?” she hummed as her bared right leg rubbed gently on his covered left one.
“Were you planning to take our relationship further tonight?” he asked.
Raising her face from his chest to look into his, Yori nodded in affirmative. “Yes. I was planning to do so, Ron-san. I wanted very much to make love to you.” She returned to her nuzzling of his chest. “Yet, what we’re doing now, as we’ve done at times before, is more fulfilling in my heart.”
Ron smiled before kissing the top of her head, making her smiled as well. “You’re right about that. Just feeling you like this and knowing how much we love each other is all I need.” He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent once more. “We’ll take that next step one day, my love. That I’m sure.”
“As do I,” she whispered before raising her face to look into his chocolate orbs full with tenderness, friendship and love for her. Her right hand went up to pull his head down to hers to kiss him with her soul and all her feelings. They melted again into each other, not recognizing anything else in the world except one another.
Parting after a few minutes, they lovingly smiled at each other before resuming their nuzzling and cuddling. Both were perfectly satisfied in just holding and feeling this way, for it felt right.
So Yamanouchi’s most favorable couple spent a long time in just holding each other into the night. An honorable and fond way to ended Valentine’s Day.
The End
Yay me. 
