AN: I know I have a lot of fanfics and I'm going to be picking them up again but maybe concentrating on six big Skip Beat ones at a time. I just wanted to say that I really am thankful to everybody who supported my work last year and I hope you continue to enjoy it in 2018 as well. I really love the partner story 'Alive' and whereas there are some major differences with this one, it's just the reverse situation. Hope you enjoy 😊

Awake

Chapter One – Ice Cold

Kuon sighed as he stood at the top of the hill at Sequoia National Park. The thirty-two-year-old looked around at the area of America that he had used as a place to meditate and try to balance his thoughts. It was the best that he could do without her there. Kuon had spent years attempting to tell himself that he wasn't responsible for the accident surrounding Kyoko's death. He had tried to remind himself that he had to keep going for their daughter. Still, it didn't feel as if he could ever move on and he never wanted to.

When they were young and when Isabella was less than a year old, Kyoko had been asked if she wanted to perform the lead role in a horror movie. There was a good part and a bad part to this. The good part was that Kyoko was given the role of a rich young lady who looked and acted like a princess, the bad part was that it was, albeit a well-produced and well-directed, horror movie.

Kuon had thought that that would be the hardest thing, moving out of the territory of a Mio appearance once again. Kyoko had done so amazingly that Kuon was sure she could conquer this…until the phone call came.

Hizuri-san, this is Director Date. We need you to come down to the Kyoto District police station as soon as possible. Kuon, I'm not supposed to say this but since we've been friends then, you need to hear the truth, there's been a tragedy involving Kyoko.

Kuon stiffened as he thought about that and about how he figuratively had cut himself off at that point and was only brought back when Isabella started screaming for someone. That was how he knew he needed to be stronger and he needed to put his daughter at the front of his mind. She was relying on him. He would never be able to provide the mother that she needed but he was their child. He needed to make sure she had all that she needed no matter how much it hurt.

His wife was only twenty-two at the time that she had drowned in a wood in Kyoto whilst filming a horror movie and they hadn't even found her body. It sounded like a joke or some bad plot. The last six years definitely weren't a comedy movie.

At first Kuon had decided that he would stay in Japan because that was where he and Kyoko had planned on raising Isabella. Many people had told him to go where he felt he could raise her best, had told him that he needed somewhere he felt at home so that he could pass on those feelings to Isabella. It had been the president who had insisted that he go to America and start working on his acting career there, he had already done a handful of foreign projects but it wasn't the acting that was the president's reason for telling him to go.

It had been hard for Kuon to move back home with his daughter at first, after all he could have definitely afforded a nice house but it had been helpful and brought their family closer together. It had taken the strength of all three Hizuris to give this girl the best life possible, a life without her mother.

"Daddy!" Isabella giggled as she pounced at him and Kuon turned to scoop her up.

"Hi there, my little princess," he smiled as he hugged her and then crouched down in front of her. "I thought you were going to stay with grandma, I didn't think that -"

"Really, Kuon?" Julie asked as she raised an eyebrow and looked at her son, "Do you really think that I'm too old to go on a hike. I bet you don't even remember when we camped together when you were a kid and this was all because your father wanted to do it."

"That was years ago, Mom," Kuon smiled faintly, "I mean maybe I'm the one who is getting too ol-"

"You're definitely getting something," Julie laughed before walking over to him and smoothing down his hair. She smiled softly, "I'm so proud of you, Kuon, and the impact in Japan about you winning the Oscar and the fact that you spoke so highly about -"

"She should be the ones getting awards," Kuon replied back hating that he had managed to take his career to that of an A-list celebrity when Kyoko had passed away without true recognition of her talents and all of her hard work.

"Kuon, you didn't kill her," Julie sighed as she looked to her son's hand where he still wore his ring. Julie hadn't known Kyoko for that long, yes she had met her and she liked her but their lives were separated. She had felt sad about the loss of her magic but seeing how devastated her son was and how much he had been hurt and how he had seemed to have more love than the majority of men for his wife was heartbreaking to her.

"We should be getting out of here," he said as he turned his back to Isabella, "Want to hop on?" he asked her as she threw her arms around her dad's shoulders and Kuon steadied himself to keep her safe. "Okay, hold on tight."

"I will, Daddy," Isabella said before letting her head rest on Kuon's back pack.

Once Isabella had fallen asleep, Julie looked towards her son and saw that he had emotionally retreated again despite promising his therapist that he wouldn't do that. Julie wondered if Kyoko would be out here on these hikes with him, she wondered if Kyoko would be able to stay in a tent with him and enjoy the wilderness. She hoped so, Kyoko seemed to be the type of girl who was magical and whose magic touched everyone around them. She was such an amazing person and it had been hard on her to accept that someone she considered family had died that way. Her goal though was to pull Kuon out of the darkness.

As the two walked along, Julie heard Kuon's cellphone buzz in his pocket and looked at him.

"Do you want me to answer it?" she asked since Kuon's hands were full taking care of the sleeping little girl on his back.

"Sure," he shrugged and Julie took the phone out from his jacket pocket and her eyes widened. She turned pale and her hand started shaking. "Mom?" Kuon asked as he looked at her, "What is it?" he asked worried when she didn't respond, "Dad, please don't tell me that anything happened to Dad."

"They found Kyoko," Julie said as she looked at the picture and text message that were sent to her son. Kuon froze when she said that but then looked down as a darkened shadow flickered over his face. He was about to speak but Julie cut him off knowing what he was thinking. "They are saying that she's alive," she told him and Kuon stared at her without even being able to move.

"Huh?" he asked as he continued to watch her.

Julie put the phone in her pocket before taking Isabella into her arms and then handed the stunned Kuon his phone back. Kuon looked through the texts before his heart seemed to shatter and he put a hand over his mouth. He didn't know what he was looking at but everything about the article and the picture seemed to point to one thing.

This was the frozen body of his wife at the age of her announced death.

…

…

Kuon looked at Lory as the two of them sat together at the cryogenics lab. Apparently, this wasn't the first person who had been frozen and brought back to life. However, that person had been a CEO of a company with multiple high-ranking members and the firm had been told he had been in retirement. This was much more public.

"Thank you," Kuon said to the older president, "for bringing me here with the most discretion possible."

"I should be the one thanking you," Lory said as Kuon looked at him confused, "Do you know how much more entertaining it's going to be for me when you and Kyoko meet each other again compared to how most of my games do it."

"I'm sure that most of your games don't like to talk about the possible health complications that would be involved with bringing somebody back to life. I mean, I don't want her to hurt. I'd rather her be in peace than be in continual pain," Kuon said as he looked down sadly. He didn't know how she had been preserved and he knew that with the description of glowing light around her, his wife would probably jump at the idea that it was the fairies keeping her alive but it wasn't done in the most logical and ideal fashion.

They had no idea with what they were working with here.

"I bet you're trying to stop yourself from being scared about this age difference," Lory said and Kuon laughed.

"Would you care to explain those thoughts to me?" Kuon smiled before looking down at the ground. "Are you trying to say that Kyoko will see me, not want to be with a man who is now ten years older than her and will leave?" Kuon laughed weakly, "If you actually think that the worst thing in my mind is being dumped then you're misjudging my maturity."

"It's still in there though," Lory teased him.

Kuon frowned but took another deep breath in, "Let's just say that as long as she's healthy and happy, I don't need anything else but that. Even if she wanted to pursue someone else, anyone else, as long as she's happy and healthy then that's okay."

Lory rolled his eyes, "Well, that's no fun. You always have to be practical about things and at least now you've stopped blaming Ren Tsuruga for having those traits. "This is the woman who you've been faithful to, the woman that taught you how to love, the woman that you have a kid with and you're acting as if you don't want anything from her."

"I want her to be happy and healthy," Kuon repeated, "whether I'm part of that new life for her isn't up to me."

Lory opened his mouth to say something but heard a knock on the door and looked up to see one of the doctors enter followed by a young woman with a few towels and blankets around her. Kuon stood as he saw that the woman was trying to get herself warm and he did have to admit it was rather chilly in here.

Kuon's heart caught in his throat as he felt like a little boy again. He had to keep pushing those thoughts down. It wasn't her. It couldn't be her.

As the woman lowered the towel and wrapped her arms around herself, Kuon's eyes widened and he felt as if it was only the two of them in the room. He didn't know what to say. He took in her black hair and her amber eyes. He took in how gorgeous she was but also her fear of what was going on. He opened his mouth to speak before seeing her break down crying.

He closed his eyes. It was alright if she wanted to call him old or that the age difference was bothering her. It was okay to note that he looked more exhausted and that the youth was going from him. It was okay.

"Corn?" Kyoko whispered as she put a hand over her mouth, taking in all the changes. "Kuon," she whispered as more tears came into her eyes. "Kuon," she shivered again and Kuon walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's me, princess," he told her and she shivered before grabbing onto his shirt and placing her head on his chest.

It was in that moment that Kuon Hizuri realized just how badly he had needed to hold his wife.

End of Chapter One

Hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading