Happy Valentines Day! Well, here's a fact for you: the guy, St. Valentine, was apparently a douche bag. He went to parties and had sex slaves. Some saint he was, right? Oh well, enjoy!

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Hidden Love

A little seven year old girl sat in a dusty old storage room amongst dusty old boxes that held dusty old things. As she shifted through the tenth giant box, she sneezed for the umpteenth time. This caused her to close her grey eyes and the dust particles in the air to swirl around. She groaned in frustration as she shook out her black hair.

"Ugh, I'll just have to carry 'em back to the shrine."

The little girl then effortlessly picked up the rather heavy looking box and began to make her way to the entrance of the store house. There once was a time where it scared her. Especially when she had heard that the Demon Emperor had lived there for a summer before Britannia had attacked. It was only when her father, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, had taken her there and told her stories about it when her fear was replaced by fondness.

In the end, she loved the store house so much that she practically began to live there. The only thing that stopped her from moving in completely was the fact that she was only seven years old and the dust that seemed to multiply no matter how much she cleaned the place.

The black haired girl had to wince when she nearly tripped over a rather large rock while passing the training dojo. As she neared her home, her hold on the box got weaker and weaker. Just as the shrine came into view, the box slipped from her hold and crashed to the floor. Or at least, it was supposed to have crashed to the floor.

When she opened her eyes, the little girl saw her two older brothers holding the fragile looking box in their ten year old hands.

"Takeo! Genbu!" Takeo and Genbu carefully raised themselves up and followed their younger sister into the shrine. The two brothers were identical twins with stiff brown hair and their father's dark brown eyes.

"Where'd you get this box, Meiden? And why do you need it?" Genbu asked as he tried to move his annoyingly long hair out of his line of sight. Meiden opened the sliding door and led her brothers to what could be considered the living room.

"I have a project due tomorrow and it's about my family tree! I have everything else done; I just need to get the pictures!" Genbu and Takeo gave each other annoyed looks before setting the box down on the floor.

"Well, I guess we should help you look, then" Takeo said as he opened the top of the box and looked inside. It was filled to the brim with old documents, letters, and a few pictures.

Meiden felt her shoulders fall before grabbing what was on top of the pile. "We might as well get to work.

~30 Minutes Later~

"Argh! What is up with all these letters!?" Genbu yelled before letting himself fall back against the floor.

Even Takeo looked wiped out as he sat against the wall with pieces of paper lying around him. "All these letters seemed to be written in code. No matter what I do, I can't figure out what they're saying." The then swiped his hair to the side before picking up one of the unreadable documents. "The only thing I could get from them is that they were years before the Invasion of Britannia."

Meiden stared down at the remaining pile of papers inside the box as her dread crept up. As she slid her hand across some of the papers, a small pile of photos appeared almost magically. "Hey! I think I found something!" Takeo and Genbu immediately moved towards their sister and watched with wide eyes as the dark haired girl pulled out the newly found images.

They stared in surprise as they realized that it was an image of their home with the Japanese Prime Minister, Genbu Kururugi, along with a seven year old Chairwoman of the UFN, Kaguya Sumeragi, and a ten year old White rim Reaper, Suzaku Kururugi.

"Are they who I think they are?" Genbu said in a whispered voice. Takeo could only nod as Meiden switched to the next picture. This one was of their father, Tohdoh, who sat in a door way and stared out to what looked like a snowy day. The children were surprised at their father's calm, and relaxed expression. They were even more surprised when they saw that the next picture was that of their father who looked to be training with Suzaku Kururugi in the dojo.

Both master and student held a shinai in their hands; both looking to be really into the sparring lesson. For the next ten or so pictures, Suzaku Kururugi was in each and every one of them. There were a few when he was in the dojo with the three children's father or was outside with Kaguya Sumeragi and their father. For some reason, the three Tohdohs felt jealousy rear its hideous head.

Finally, in the last picture, they were a bit confused at seeing three teenagers in front of the Kururugi Shrine, their home. One of them was a tall boy with slicked back hair and an easy smile on his face. It was clear to the three children that he was extremely handsome. The other boy was shorter but no less handsome. He looked a little less fit and wore a small frown on his face. In between the two boys was a girl. Her hair was a chocolate colored brown and was stylishly messy. Her eyes were green and wide with happiness. Her skin was a light tan color that seemed flawless. The three teenagers all had what looked like a katana at their sides. The tall boy held it in his right hand and the shorter had it in his left. The girl had it strapped to her back.

"Who is she?" Meiden wondered aloud.

"Meiden! Takeo! Genbu! What are you all doing here?"

The siblings quickly turned to the open door and found their father staring down at them with a disapproving frown firmly fixed on his face. "W-w-we w-were j-just looking at p-pictures, sir." Takeo said as he and his siblings gave a small bow of respect.

Tohdoh slowly made his way over to the children and stopped in front of the fidgeting Meiden. "Meiden, what are you holding behind your back?"

Meiden immediately stopped her fidgeting before lowering her head and holding out the picture. "I…I needed to get some pictures for my project, sir. I'm sorry, sir." Tohdoh took the picture from his daughter's hands with care and looked at the picture with a hard stare. That hard stare melted away when he realized the people that the picture portrayed.

The old war horse let himself slowly fall to the floor and the children were immediately confused at their father's reaction to the old photo.

"Sir, if I may ask, who are those people in the photo, Genbu asked as he inched closer to the man he considered a rock.

Tohdoh turned the picture slightly so that his children could have a clearer view of it. He then pointed to the taller man. "This was me and this was Genbu Kururugi. We were only eighteen at the time." Tohdoh said while he pointed towards the shorter boy.

"And who's the pretty girl?" Meiden said as she stared at the brunette; almost as if the answer was written in the photo.

Tohdoh didn't answer. He merely continued to look at the picture and remember the memories that he had suppressed for so long.

~Nearly 31 Years Ago~

As an eighteen year old Tohdoh walked up the steps of the dojo, he was greeted by a familiar sight.

"You're late Kyoshiro!" Genbu said with a disapproving frown gracing his face. He was given a nudge from the brown haired beauty beside him.

"Lay off, Genbu! You know how hard Kyoshiro's parents are on him! I'm surprised he was even able to make it to today's class!" Rin said before turning back to him. "So how was your day?" Tohdoh let one of his signature easy smiles fall into place.

"It was fine, thank you for asking Rin. And yours?"

Rin flashed a smile of her own before leading the way up the stairs. "It was okay, now hurry up, class is about to begin."

Both boys were secretly about to have nosebleeds when they caught sight of Rin Shikrine's white panties. They were teenagers with a crush on her after all.

…

Tohdoh stared in surprise as Rin delivered the terrible. "What do you mean your parents have arranged a marriage for you? With who!?" the two had been secretly dating for nearly six months now.

Rin hung her head and let her messy bangs overshadow her eyes. "They…are making me wed Genbu Kururugi. They want Genbu to become the next Prime Minister so that our families could come back to power. They want us to produce a heir as soon as possible." Tohdoh could only stare in wide eyed surprise as the situation began to sink in. he was going to lose the woman he loved to his best friend because of an arranged marriage.

"I-I'm so sorry Kyoshiro. I-I just wish-!" Before anything else could be said, Rin took off running in a random direction.

"Rin! Wait!" Tohdoh called out to her as he began to give chase even though he was at a distinct disadvantage. Rin was well known for her speed, agility, and stamina. Tohdoh…not so much. When he noticed that she stopped, the young boy poured on the speed and decided to tackle the girl; knowing that she could take whatever he dished out and then some. Unfortunately, it was only too late that he realized exactly why she had stopped. They rolled down the small hill and into the sunflower field below.

When they came to a stop, the two teenagers stayed how they were and tried to catch their breaths. They stayed in ach other's arms even after they had caught their breaths. The only time they pulled apart was the sound of the cicadas as they started up again. They stared into each other's eyes and searched for the answers that they were looking for.

There was a pause before they began to do what almost any other teenage couple would do. Make out. And soon I was not the only thing they did. That night, the entire world decided to give them a break and look the other way as they found a way to mark each other as theirs. Though they did not realize it at the moment, what they did that night will be very important to what would happen in the future.

…

Tohdoh felt his hear stop. He sat in between Genbu and some old politician and he could only gape in shock as his "best friend" announced that he and Rin Kururugi were expecting a child. Though he was sure no one else could see it, Tohdoh was able to see past Rin's beautiful mask and see the scared girl beneath.

After a few minutes, Tohdoh was able to leave the small party and head outside with the excuse of needing fresh air. Thousands of thoughts ran through the man's head; all of which were impossible to answer with the level of information he had been given. At the sound of footsteps, Tohdoh turned around and fell into a defensive position.

Rin's laughter floated to him as she stood there, slightly unimpressed. "Reign in the paranoia, Kyoshiro. It will only give you wrinkles and grey hair." Tohdoh could only stare at the green eyed woman with concealed emotions which caused Rin to let a frown replace her "joyful" smile.

"I know you have questions that I may or may not have the answers to. Either way, just ask."

"Isthechildmine?" Tohdoh said in a rush.

Rin raised a delicate eyebrow. "What?"

Tohdoh took in a deep breath before he repeated his question, this time much more slowly. "Is the child mine?" Rin looked off to the side before turning to look the stiff man before her. "Yes, the child is yours. But, the moment I found out, I…"

Tohdoh was able to piece together what had happened. After she had found out, she probably drew Genbu to their bed and…Tohdoh visibly gulped. Even he himself was unsure if it was because he was extremely pissed off that Genbu had done and seen things he shouldn't have or if it was because of the fact that he was the father of the bastard child.

"Are you…going to tell Genbu..?"

Rin actually looked offended before letting pure anger fill her features. "Do you truly think that I am evil enough to have my unborn child's father get killed!? Do you really think that lowly of me, Kyoshiro!?"

They both stayed silent, both lost in their own world. It was broken with Tohdoh's own heart wrenching news. "I'm going to join the army."

"What?" Rin said rather stupidly.

"I'm going to join the army this December," Tohdoh said while adding the date he was leaving. "The only reason I came to this foolish party of Genbu's was to tell you about my decision. I have told you so I will be on my way." Tohdoh remained silent as he began to walk towards Rin who blocked the entrance and exit. She remained frozen so Tohdoh did the only thing he could think of.

He kissed her.

He wasn't even surprised when she did nothing in return. When he ended it, Tohdoh let his forehead rest against hers before whispering to her. "I love you."

…

"Tohdoh! You have a letter here!"

Tohdoh made his way to Nagisa Chiba who waved his letter around in the air. "Do you know who it's from?"

For some "unknown" reason, Chiba only blushed and shook her head before handing him his letter and running off to join a group of other female soldiers. Tohdoh merely shook his head before flipping the letter over. He was surprised to see Genbu's usually crisp and clear writing look shaky and hurried.

To: Kyoshiro Tohdoh

From: Genbu Kururugi

Not knowing any better, Tohdoh excitedly opened the letter, remembering that this had been Rin's final month of pregnancy. It was the kind of excitement that only a father having their first child would feel. Sadly his excitement did not last very long.

My oldest and dearest friend,

It pains me to be the one to tell you this but someone must do it and I'd rather you hear it from me than in the news. On July 10th, 2000 a.t.b. at 10:45 in the evening, my wife and dear friend, Rin Kururugi, died during child birth. Rin named my son and heir Suzaku Kururugi before passing away peacefully. Her funeral will be held on July 18, 2000. The service will start at 8:25.

I hope to see you there, my friend.

-Genbu

P.S. I have enclosed some photos of Suzaku. Notice anything?

Tohdoh numbly turned the envelope upside down and caught hold of the photos. There were three in total and each was like a punch to the gut or a blow to the head. In the first, Suzaku's eyes were closed and he looked to be asleep. Brown fuzz covered his head and his cheeks looked soft and chubby.

In the second one, his eyes were wide open and Tohdoh felt all the oxygen leave his chest. His son's green eyes held just as much warmth as Rin's did, if not more. His face was frozen into a joyous smile as whoever took this picture made his son laugh.

The last photo really hit home. It was one of Suzaku being carried away by a nurse while crying his heart and soul out. Even though it was just a picture, Tohdoh could tell that his son had a strong set of lungs. But that wasn't what caught his eye. No, it wasn't. Not completely.

There, in far off corner, was a bed. Even though there was a white blanket over the person's face, Tohdoh knew exactly who that was. And with that, Tohdoh fell to the floor with a heart wrenching sob while holding the short letter and three pictures close to his chest.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

He felt anger and sorrow rip through him. Anger at Genbu for writing such a short and emotionless letter while pouring salt on the wound by adding those photographs. Sorrow at having realized that the woman he loved above everyone else died three days ago and that he'd be going to the battlefield in two so he wouldn't even be able to go to the funeral or see his son.

…

Tohdoh stared at the eager little brown haired boy who simply stared right back. Suzaku wore an excited grin as he sat with his legs crossed in the Kururugi Shrine's dojo.

"Sooooo," Suzaku said casually. "Are you my new sensei?" Tohdoh said nothing and only continued to stare at Suzaku. In fact, he wasn't even staring at Suzaku. The only thing he saw was Her. And it hurt so much. It hurt Tohdoh that he couldn't hug nor tell the child of his mother or the fact that he was his true father and the now twisted man named Genbu Kururugi was only a liar and thief who acted as kind prime minister. There were times when Tohdoh wished that Genbu could return to being his hard yet shy younger self.

"Sensei? Sensei! Hello!?"

Oh yes, teaching Suzaku martial arts.

~Present~

"Sir?" Tohdoh stared at Meiden before carefully picking her up and bringing her to his chest. Takeo and Genbu watched in surprise as tears fell from their father's eyes and onto the floor.

"Th-that girl…her name was Rin Kururugi. She was Genbu's wife and the mother of Suzaku Kururugi…and my…best…friend…"

Meiden stayed still before wriggling somewhat from her father's hold and grabbed hold of the picture. She brought it up to her face and looked at the picture carefully.

"She's really pretty…!"

Tohdoh nodded. "Yes…she was absolutely beautiful…"

…

Tohdoh stared at the sunflower field below him as the moonlight lit up the beautiful scenery. As he stared past the giant flowers and to the water, Kyoshiro Tohdoh swore that he could hear a tinkling laughter being carried by the wind.

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Comments:

This idea has been running around my head for a while now. I might incorporate the idea of TohdohxSuzaku'smom in some of my other stories. I think this idea all stemmed from a picture that had Tohdoh and Suzaku; both of which were standing back to back on Japan's flag. I thought "Father and Son". Anyways, Happy Valentines Day!