Author's Note:
Hey guys! I tried to stop writing anything that came to my mind, so I could focus on my studies. But I assure you that this will be the last until my exams get over. I won't promise, I don't know I would resist for at least two weeks.
Anyway, I always thought the ugly duckling somehow matched Kyoko's life. But I wanted to make it an AU So lo and behold!
I hope you like it, even though I think it was rushed and all.
Otherwise, Enjoy!
The Epic Tale of the Ugly Duckling.
"Congratulations! You got a baby girl!" The doctor came out, beaming.
Kazushi Mogami rushed inside the room, looking at his wife and the child in her hand. He was speechless, then shock covered his features.
"Sh―she sh―" he helplessly stuttered.
Saena stroked the baby's head, smiling sadly. "Yes, she is ugly." She confirmed. The baby was fair alright. But her face was unlike so many cute babies. Her nose was too straight, her eyes too far apart and her eyebrows were not even seen!
He snapped out of his shock and burst out of the room, trying to breathe. Then he decided what he would do.
oo0oo
The soft snore of his wife told him that she was in deep sleep from the labour few hours ago. He felt a twinge of guilt but he had to do this if he wanted to save face.
He slowly held the baby in his arms gingerly and allowed it to nestle and adjust itself in his arms.
She was now called Kyoko, but he doubted they would ever call her that. However, Saena didn't need to know that.
He tiptoed out of the room and rushed to his trusted adviser. The aged man was waiting patiently for him as he watched the young man with stubble run hurriedly towards him.
"Are you sure the Fuwas would take her?" He asked worriedly. Although he didn't want her, it didn't mean he was heartless to leave her to die on the streets.
The old man nodded assuringly. "I'm sure they would not object. I have confirmed with them. Also, they have a son who was born just a few months ago. That shouldn't hinder them to feed her." He said.
Kazushi nodded and handed the baby to him, not even sparing another glance at her as she opened her eyes, a beautiful shade peaking at him―amber much like his beloved wife's. But he was far to arrogant and proud to have a child that was disfigured.
And that means he would not allow his wife to take care of imperfection.
oo0oo
"Kyoko! Come down here this instant!" A stern voice woke her from her sleep and she hurriedly trudged the steps down in order to greet her Okami. Although she hasn't suckled her, she made sure Kyoko was fed by another woman. Even if that meant that Kyoko is not actually are daughter.
But Kyoko doesn't need to know that. "Aren't you going to take Shotaro to school?" She asked in that angry tone.
Kyoko gulped and tagged her friend along. Although he denied she wasn't his friend in anyway, she still considered him as her best friend.
"Oh look! Ugly has come to school!" The popular girl Mimori laughed at her with her minions. Kyoko was used to it, but still it stung.
She knew her eyebrows were too far apart, she knew her face was too angular and also that she was not the ideal figure that everyone wanted at the age of sixteen. She also knew that her lips weren't heart shaped and puffed like many.
And also that no make up would make her beautiful at all. She ignored the hurtful comments and paid attention to the teacher. Her attention antennas buzzed and soon her bright intelligent side started to show up.
However, people didn't acknowledge that. One look at her face, and they would be snickering and mocking her.
She stood up and left for break, only to stumble back because she bumped into someone.
Oh, how her nightmare began. "Eww, she touched me!" Mimori hysterically started to dust herself. The minions glared at her and yelled on her face.
"How dare you!" They screamed at her and she found herself running out of the school, having taken enough.
Her best friend didn't like standing next to her, her teachers didn't help her because the rich kids threatened them and also no one in the shcool wanted her.
No one.
"Are you okay?" She raised her eyes to meet one of the most beautiful creations of the world. His beautiful emerald green eyes stared into hers in concern. She stared at him, waiting for him to take one look at her face and back away. But he didn't. His blonde hair shone like the sun and his face was that of a prince.
"Are you real?" She blurted out then covered her mouth with her hand. The prince chuckled, sitting beside her under the blossom trees.
"Of course, I am real. What made you think I wasn't?" He asked her kindly, amusement dancing in his eyes.
She shyly looked down, gloomy aura taking place once again.
"No one wants me. Nobody likes to be around me. They think I am bad omen. They think I would destroy their lives with one look. If you value your life, please go away." She said sadly, her eyes starting to well up. She knew she would end up alone. Her heart just didn't know when to stop hoping.
"Well I am sure I won't die. My name is Koun. You are?" He assured her with a bright smile. He looked like an adult, completely decked up in a nice suit and his hair combed back he was so handsome.
"Err...my name is Kyoko Mogami." She stuttered, blushing as she felt him looking at her.
"Kyoko, let me tell you one thing. That no one is ugly. You look cute. But people don't know that.". He said, looking directly into her eyes.
She smiled for the first time after being born. First time someone had called her cute. "You think so?" She asked hopefully. He nodded, smiling at her softly.
She hugged him on impulse and relished in the feel of the stranger adult.
"Thank you Koun." She muttered. He smiled, "Now that's even better. You look much better with a happy face."
And he wasn't kidding, she truly did look pretty with a smile. She stood away from him, awkwardly then thanked him again. She shyly said goodbye and left to her school.
He shook his head, "Your Welcome Kyoko..." He muttered, smiling at the figure. She really was a gem under a rock.
oo0oo
"So you mean to say, that if I looked from the right side of the triangle and labelled them ABC, I would be able to find the Cos of C?" She asked, thinking hard.
He nodded, taking a sip from his orange juice. She glanced at his juice and frowned.
"Koun, you are drinking too much of that juice these days. Are you eating properly or not?" She asked him, clearly aware of his eating habits. It had been a year now and he had already grown to like her. She wasn't like those women that wanted to cling to him and admire him whilst trying their best to claw on him.
She truly was better than them. But he still had to figure out the strange thumping of his heart. Or why he would feel restless whenever she wouldn't come to their usual place: the bench below the blossom tree. It was season for the blossoms to fall and he had seen the sparkle in her eyes, making him feel content and smile for the rest of the week like an idiot, making his manager and father worried.
"I am eating properly, just that this juice is really amazing." He lied, but she narrowed her eyes and he immediately knew she caught him.
She snatched the plastic glass from his hand and smelt it. "You were drinking ORS the entire time?!" She asked incredulously. He smiled at her sheepishly and she sighed, rubbing her temples.
With a final glare she thrust the glass in his hand. "Make sure you drink alot of water the entire day!" She grumbled going back to her question. Something warm swashed him as soon as she said that and a bright smile spread across his face.
Her face seemed to have changed drastically since the last time he saw her. Her eyebrows were no longer transparent and her eyes seemed to have grown bigger. He found himself admiring her long lashes as she concentrated hard.
He was broken from his reverie as she closed her zip. "Since I have completed, I want to know how dad is doing."
Yes, she calls Kuu dad―that doesn't mean he adopted her―its just that Julie accepted her as a daughter and fondly insisted that she treat them as her own parents as Kyoko claimed that she had none. Of course, it was heaven for Kyoko to have such beautiful people consider her as their own daughter.
"He called you over for dinner. Said he missed your cooking and started complaing in the morning, saying how the cooks must learn from you." He rolled his eyes as he recalled his dramatic father.
Although they looked so similar, she had to admit Kuu Hizuri needed to learn some maturity from his son.
Kyoko blushed, making Koun smile in amusement and feel delighted at that expression.
"Er...so I should come around―"
"Yes you should."
"And make father some―"
"No doubt about it."
"And make sure you completed your portion too."
"That is―hey!" He protested as he heard the last one. She smirked, "Three people Koun. We all would make sure you eat your portion." Somehow he felt he couldn't run like an invisible force was keeping hin in place.
And suddenly Kyoko clapped, making him stumble backwards. "Then it's settled. I will hurry up ajd come by!" She said excitedly, making him smile.
He watched her skip her way home and he shook his head, going back himself.
oo0oo
"Hello, Shin Aragami!" Kuu greeted the uninvited guest. He was surprised as his client stopped by.
He knew something was wrong as soon as he noticed the papers in his hand. He knew Shin didn't like Kyoko and he wanted his own daughter, Kimiko to marry his Koun.
"Ah, I just wanted to drop these papers here since you seemed busy to come by to the office."
"Well come on in, we are having dinner and I would hate to send a guest while we eat." Kuu urged him.
Shin smiled and entered the dining room, his smile dimmed greatly until his lips turned down and he frowned deeply.
"Such an ugly creature such as yourself doing between nobles? Have you no shame?" He spat on her face. She flinched.
"My daughter Kimiko will soon marry Koun, and you will no longer be considered as their daughter. My daughter is much more beautiful and prettier than you." She helplessly looked around for help but no one was in the kitchen when he came around to check what easwbeing cooked while Kuu called his wife and son in the dining room.
He smirked, leaving her distraught.
oo0oo
"Kyoko, what's wrong?" Julie asked as she observed how quiet Kyoko had been since they sat down. Shin had excused himself as soon as he saw her sit down opposite Koun and she was sulking completely different from a few moments ago.
They tried to make her smile with a joke and complimented her food. But she seemed hollow, like someone had pulled her life force out of her.
She gripped her plate and stood up, taking her uneaten ramen and passing it to one of the cooks.
She came back and silently told them her thanks, making everyone confused; Koun feeling uneasy like something was wrong.
He excused himself and followed her from behind calling her name.
"Kyoko, what's wrong?" He asked her as she stopped walking. She turned and he saw her eyes, she was hurt. He clenched his teeth, he would kill whoever hurt her like this.
"Nothing. It's just me. I just woke up. Goodbye, Koun." Somehow he felt the farewell was final and he tried to follow her but she was long gone, leaving him confused and desperate.
oo0oo
"N―No!" He yelled, almost crumbling the paper in front of him.
"Koun what does it say?" Kuu asked impatiently.
He snatched the paper from his hand and read the note his dear Kyoko had written.
"Goodbye, Koun. I felt like a true family member.
But I can't stay. I would only bring misfortune to you. You must fall in love with Kimiko. She is the only one that can bring happiness to you.I knew you were different from others. I knew no one could replace you from my heart.
Because the day you said I was beautiful, you had already stolen my heart."
"Koun..." Kuu was completely shocked.
Looking at Koun, his suspicions were confirming, what he had been observing since last four months.
"Koun are you..."
"Yes, dad. Yes I am in love with Kyoko Mogami." he mumbled before punching the wall beside him.
Two Years Later...
"Excuse me, please let me through." He raised his eyes and met amber, the shade that haunted him day and night. But the woman's face was hidden. He frowned, "I'm sorry, but this is my standing." he said, in his professional voice.
The woman looked at her number then at the platform number. She bowed low, her eyes looked apologetic.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were Tsuruga Ren and that this standing was supposed to be for celebrities." Her voice sounded so familiar, yet he couldn't place it.
He nodded, flickering and wondering where he'd heard that sweet voice. He glanced at the woman, a peak of black flew out of her scarf that was wrapped tightly around her face exposing just her eyes. And then his heart dropped as soon as he saw that stone in her hand.
"Hey! Wait!" he yelled, running in the crowd of the bustling and desperate people to meet her.
Unfortunately, she was gone. And somehow he lost the only lead he had towards her.
oo0oo
Ren brushed his hands through the books she left behind. He had requested the Fuwas to handover all her belongings that she left. He felt empty, hollow like someone had just pulled the sunlight out of the surface of the earth. Like someone had managed to pull his organs out leaving only skin.
Well, that was exactly how he was feeling. "Ren, you might want to visit Sho Fuwa. He knew when she left at that time."
Although Tsuruga Ren was now a killer racer and a famous actor, he tried his best to find her. But she never turned up. and when she did(in the festival last month according to him), he lost her amongst the crowd.
"I don't think we should ask him the same question again and again." he said, brooding.
Yukihito sighed, knowing how futile their attempts were to find Kyoko.
Ren excused himself and walked towards the blossom tree near his office. It calmed him down, but also made him depressed as he would recall all the times they spent together. At first he thought she would make a cute sister. But that was for only two months until she started acting mature and the way he wanted a woman his romantic interest were directed towards to act like. He knew he had fallen in love the moment she walked out of his life.
He found a petite woman much similar to the one he met that day gazing at the tree with a soft look.
"Excuse me, are you that woman who―"
"Who thought that it was her number? Yes. I'm still sorry for that." her voice was uncertain and panicky. She seemed cautious and her eyes were on alert.
He stared at her for a moment, debating whether to unviel or not. "Who are you?" he demanded, knowing somehow she would not say.
"Why do you want to know?" she asked him, her eyes slit narrowing. He sighed, trying to come up with a sentence to convince her.
He got an idea. "You are nineteen aren't you? And you have black hair, right?" he confronted.
Her eyes windened, he could imagine sheet whites. He smiled slowly, realizing she had been here all along.
"Kyoko?" he asked, the last straw to confirm her identity. She gasped, "How do you know my name?" she asked, suddenly scared.
He approached her and slowly raised his hand, making her flinch and lower her face.
He wrapped his slim long fingers over the pin and pulled it, letting the scarf come undone and fall gracefull on her shoulder then on the floor.
He stunned, his legs felt glued on the spot. She was still looking down, nervous but he knew.
He knew he finally found her. She was his Kyoko. He started to laugh, making her confused.
"You are so beautiful!" he exclaimed as she continued to watch him as he recovered from his fit. He suddenly hugged her, smelling her and her warmth.
Gods, he missed it. "I missed you so much, Kyoko." he said it with so much emotion and love, Kyoko found it hard to breathe.
She knew something was wrong, his voice sounded so familiar, his face being a mirror to...
"Koun..." she whispered, her lips trembling as she remembered his sweet caressing words and how they always swayed her. He pulled away, and she knew.
She just knew this was Koun. The blossoms were falling now, beauty in its own nature. But he stared at her, the most beautiful woman that caught every other man's attention. He felt anger surface within as he felt bitter for her, no one had liked her for her character. But once she got the looks, every body looked at her in awe.
"Kyoko you never allowed me to answer you." he growled, jealousy taking its toll on him as he watched men hungrily stare at her figure.
"What do you―" she was silenced, turning every person to a rock. She felt the blossoms fall over them, like rain. She didn't know how to respond to this feeling, the feeling of being alive by just one touch over that place.
Over―over her.....lips.
He pulled away, looking into her eyes with such fervor and tenderness, she couldn't help but blush.
"I love you, Kyoko." He whispered in her ear, like he was giving her the glad tidings of heaven; Paradise.
Her heart fluttered and she almost squeaked as he pulled her closer to him, his brown eyes―lens glaring at anyone that laid his eyes on her. His slick black hair shining like a black horse filled with power.
"Wh―where are we going?" She nervously asked, swallowing the lump as she watched him glare intensely at every other man.
"To Kazushi Mogami." He stated not bothering to give her any explanation.
She nervously chewed her lower lip, enticing his desire but he knew he had to do this.
oo0oo
"Saena! Why is a cushion lying on the floor?" He asked, frowning. His wife came out wearing an apron with a scowl.
"You definitely didn't remember drinking too much last night. Let it go, Kazushi." She said, her expression turning soft.
She knew he had been behind the disappearance of her beloved daughter. But she forgave him after she saw how he would completely fall in sorrow. He never thought that the joy of his life―whom he thought as imperfection―was actually their last?
He held his head in his hands, guilty for separating a mother from her child. Silent tears fell from his eyes as he went through the same pain everyday since the day he handed her to Fuwa, who does not have any idea where his daughter is right now.
There was a knock on the door, interrupting their moment and Saena wiped her hands on her apron, opening the door only to he surprised to meet two beautiful people.
The man with black hair and dark brown eyes looked intensely at her, making her feel uncomfortable and wonder why they'd come for a visit.
The woman beside him was obviously very young, a true beauty as she blushed and squirmed under the gaze of two people who tried to understand the familiarity of her eye colour.
"I came here with two news." Tsuruga Ren announced, grabbing the attention of three people none having a clue to what he intended.
He took a deep breath and looked at the older couple. "This, is your daughter, Kyoko Mogami."
They took the news well, he thought.
There was a pregnant silence and he suddenly felt like he did the wrong thing. Before he could blink, Kazushi was glaring at him.
"Don't you play a joke on us, young man!" He glowered. Ren shook his head, "I came here with blood reports done just a few minutes ago. And the dna matched yours. I have the evidence." He said.
Kauzhsi watched the young woman beside Ren, guilt eating him as she tried to hide and look away. He felt awful, like tearing himself apart. How could he do this?
"Kyoko?" He asked weakly. She raised her head, her eyes and hair matching her mother while the facial features were of her father. He slowly held his hand put, hesitant that she might push him away.
She gleefully jumped into his embrace and cried tears of joy. Kazushi and Saena both hugged their daughter, forgetting the presence of the young gentleman who united the family in the first place.
He smiled, deciding that now was not the time to announce his second news."
oo0oo
"Since when?" He asked, recovering from his shock. Kuu had died once confirmed then died again. Julie seemed to be taking it well as she heard her son's happy voice throgutthe phone.
Kuu was about to die from another shock, but Julie steadied him. "I'm planning to get her here, dad and mom." He said, he was obviously hiding it from her. Julie almost squealed.
Kuu fainted again, "Dad? Mom?" He asked, worried when he heard the thud sound the third time after he told the three news to his parents.
"Oh don't worry, dear. Kuu is just too shocked to speak to you right now. Take care of her and don't let her go this time. Bye, love you!" She said, in her motherly soft voice.
"Of course, thank you mom. Love you too! Bye!" He disconnected the call and gazed at the night sky.
A few more months till she warmed up to him.
"Kyoko Hizuri..." He whispered into winds that carried his words to the woman sleeping elsewhere, his words reaching her dreams.
Only to become true after four months.
And truly, he was right. No one is ugly, an epic tale of ugly duckling.
The End.
Author's Note:
So how was it? Was it good? Bad? Hated it? Please let me know through your reviews, criticism and comments on this small one shot.
And please do ignore errors and typos, they are truly unintentional. 😬
I hope you like it enough to fav and follow, but that's totally your choice! And make sure to check out my other story, ''Love in Ancient Arabia" it is also one of my best works!
Thank you for reading and I hope you have enjoyed this story.
Goodbye! Till the next time I write something as crazy as this.😅