Disclaimer:I don't own skip beat or any of its characters. It's an AU story.

Unconditional Love

Chapter-1

"Mother, please, I beg you. I don't want to marry. I don't even know him. Please don't do this to me" Kyoko pleaded.

"Shut up! You'll do as I say. You have no right to go against me, you useless child! Your marriage's been fixed with him since your childhood so stop being so tacky and quietly obey!" Saena ordered harshly as she gave her daughter a pen to sign the marriage certificate.

Tears escaped Kyoko's eyes as she clenched her fists to swallow her misery.

She knew it was useless. Her mother would never listen to her. She was an unwanted child after all. Her mother never loved her. She was a disappointment and source of embarrassment for her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't succeed in winning her heart. The more she tried, the more her mother's hatred grew up for her. She didn't know the reason and she couldn't dare to ask her. She was completely helpless when it came to her mother.

"Mother… please" she begged again with bloody red eyes but instead of listening, Saena shot a deadly glare at her.

"Do it or else you'll lose the right to call me mother. Make a decision. If you refuse, then you will no longer be welcomed in my house. Don't forget that I gave you birth. Be a worthy child for me at least for once. Don't make me regret your birth decision. You owe me a lot so it's the right time for you to pay me back" Saena declared coldly without any care of the effect of her words on her daughter.

Kyoko gritted her teeth and bit her lower lip to prevent herself from crying in front of her mother. Her tears held no meaning for her mother. She was just a pet or a puppet for her whom she could manipulate whenever and however she wanted. She was an excruciating burden that Saena wanted to take off her shoulders as quickly as she could.

Taking in a shaky breath, Kyoko took the pen and signed the papers with trembling hand without even looking at the name of the person whom she was getting married to.

Her heart broke into infinitesimal pieces when her mother grasped the papers roughly and spoke to her ever so brusquely.

"Glad that I got rid of you at last. Now, I won't have to see your face anymore" her voice was full of hatred that caused Kyoko to cry, despite of her mighty self control.

"Mother….I don't even know him"

Saena raised an eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter. I have business connections with them. Being a part of Hizuri family will be beneficial for us. You should be happy that at least someone is willing to marry a futile woman like you" she smirked coldly.

"Don't tell me you wanted to marry for love because you aren't worth loving. I'm sure your husband will get tired of you soon and kick you out of the house but what happens to you from now on is none of my business. Did you forget how your childhood sweet heart rejected you?" Saena shot the fragile heart of Kyoko with daggers of abhorrence that she had harbored in her heart for no particular reason.

Kyoko covered her face with her hands and wished to hide herself somewhere her mother could never find out. She started to hiccup but wasn't consoled by her mother at all. Instead, Saena's voice turned even harsher.

"Quit being pitiful! It's no use anymore. Go fresh up and get ready. Your father in law will be here soon to get you" Saena ordered with a stern face.

Kyoko sighed heavily, sitting in an unfamiliar room of an unfamiliar house. Kuu dropped her off to now her new home and left after having a small casual chat with her but the man in question who was her husband was still absent.

"I'm married to a man who didn't even bother to come and have a proper marriage. Sending the marriage documents to sign and a ring to wear….? Can it really be called a marriage? He didn't even bother to come and get me. I guess he's really being forced into this marriage like me."

Kyoko impulsively sighed again as she stared down at her wedding ring.

Her father in law, Kuu Hizuri was a famous business Tycoon and her mother Saena was pretty impressed by the financial power that he possessed. That's why she decided to put Kyoko in an arranged marriage with Kuon Hizuri, the only son of Kuu and Julie Hizuri when she was just a child. It was true that she was engaged to Kuon Hizuri but she had never met him in her entire life. It was completely arranged by her mother, which was more like a marriage gambling based on gaining financial power in return. Kyoko's heart and emotions were crushed in process.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, Kyoko looked at the wall clock which told her that it was about midnight.

Getting nervous and scared about the fact that her husband might not come at all, she tried to distract herself by looking around to get rid of the uneasy feelings.

Kyoko jumped up when she heard the bedroom door being opened and closed with a soft click.

Her eyes followed the man who entered the room. Her amber eyes met with a tall, green eyed, blonde handsome who didn't look like a normal Japanese.

"I'm sorry you had to wait for so long. I was busy in work" he said in an emotionless tone.

Getting uncomfortable by the gaze of an unfamiliar man, Kyoko turned her eyes away as she mumbled to him softly, just enough for him to hear clearly.

"It's alright"

"He had to work on his wedding day? He could just refuse if he didn't want to marry but I guess he had no choice just like I had none"

Kuon shrugged rolling his eyes as he glanced at her from head to tow

An annoyed expression appeared on his face for a second before he sighed and worked with his tie to get it off in a rough movement and let it fall down on the floor.

"I'm married to a girl 4 years younger than me. What was my father thinking pulling me into this arranged marriage game thing? Give me a break, I'm 25 years old adult. I never wanted to get married to a stranger. He could have asked me before agreeing to this crap! How am I going to explain everything to this girl? This is bullshit!"

Taking large steps to cover the distance between them, Kuon sat down next to her keeping himself at arm's length while she flinched and inched away from him and stared at him with a blank expression.

He gestured at her with a bored expression and then looked down at the floor.

"I don't want to keep you in dark. I am sorry but this marriage has no meaning for me. You'll just share my family name but nothing else. I can't give myself to you. I wasn't interested in this marriage at all but I had to obey my father's desire" Kuon didn't meet her eyes as he told her the truth, feeling slight guilty for rejecting her so bluntly on first day of their marriage.

Kyoko already knew it was a loveless marriage but hearing it directly from him hurt her a little bit.

She didn't dare to answer. She didn't know what to say so she closed her eyes searching in her mind for the words to say.

"I've been rejected twice but it doesn't hurt anymore because I know I don't deserve to be loved by anyone. I'm a worthless fool who lives in world of fantasies"

Both of them sat there in a pin drop silence.

Kyoko was getting more nervous with each passing second. She was stiff as a board. Although the man next to her was her husband but being in the same room with a complete stranger was too much embarrassing for her. Her heart wanted to jump out of the ribcage.

Sensing her discomfort, Kuon looked up at her and found her looking down at the floor.

He sighed again feeling so awkward around her.

"M-Mogami-san, I… I'm sorry. It's just the way it is. At least it's better to be truthful from the beginning than giving you false hopes. I can't love you because…. I…. I…." he suddenly felt tongue tied and swallowed the heavy lump down his throat.

"Should I tell her? She is my wife now even if I am unwilling to accept her so wouldn't it be inappropriate to tell her that? Well why not? She's married me for money so why not make it all clear to her that I am not hers and can never be" Kuon fought with his inner turmoil.

"I…." he muttered as he intertwined his fingers with his own hand.

His raspy voice caught her attention and she gazed at him who was staring openly at her.

"It's alright. Love can't be bought at any cost. It comes naturally. I am sorry you had to go through all this" Kyoko replied in a toneless voice but couldn't hide the sadness that was given away by her eyes.

Kuon looked at her shocked. She looked calm and composed as if it didn't bother her at all but her eyes were behaving the other way. He felt guilty a little bit.

Kuon was now feeling nervous too. Scratching the back of his head, he tried to assemble himself and spoke softly as he revealed the secret to her, holding his breath in anticipation.

"M-Mogami-san, I am sorry but I can't accept you because…." He paused to take deep breath before continuing again.

Kyoko's face expression didn't change. She didn't even budge. She just kept staring at her waiting for the words to come out of his mouth.

"I… like someone else…. I' m sorry but I can't be yours. I have one heart and it belongs to her only. There's no place for any other woman in my life" He said clenching his hands tightly as he waited for her to shout at him just like other girls.

"It doesn't hurt anymore why? Am I emotionally dead?" Kyoko asked herself.

She laughed softly to herself while Kuon looked at her frightened preparing himself for the blow that was awaiting him.

"If you loved someone else then you shouldn't have married me Hizuri-san, you had the option to reject" she said masking the pain that she felt but it didn't matter. She couldn't do anything about it. Love was something that wasn't for her and she couldn't beg for it so it was better for her to just accept the cruel reality of rejection.

"I had no option but to marry you. I couldn't oppose my father no matter how much I wanted to so It's just a contract for me but you should be happy that at least, I married you with no complains." he said bluntly despite of the guilt that was rising up in his chest.

Kyoko felt at loss.

"Mother's right. I'm worthless. At least he has someone to love and he should be with her. I have no right to snatch away his happiness and force him to live in pain"

Brushing away the pain, Kyoko gathered her strength to make an eye contact with him again.

"Loving someone isn't a crime Hizuri-san, everyone deserves to be with his loved one. I'm glad you told me. I'll help you in any way I can to get together with her then you and I will go on our separate ways through divorce but until then, you have to bear with me."

Kuon was speechless. He looked at her with mouth slightly opening and closing but words didn't come out. He didn't expect her to react that way. It made him frozen in place and stare at her.

Moments passed but Kuon couldn't find his voice to speak. She gestured at him for any response but he was like a glued stone.

She wanted to bury herself in the ground. Was she really useless, having no purpose to live at all? Was it really her destiny to be rejected by everyone that came in her life? How pitiful her life was. She was forced to live with no one to rely on.

Kyoko stood up and went towards the closet to take a pillow and a blanket out for her.

Kuon followed her movements mechanically. He gasped when Kyoko prepared her futon on the floor, getting ready to sleep.

"What are you doing?" Koun finally found his voice to ask but her reply again slapped him into silence.

"Don't worry. I'm not fond of taking away other people's right. Let's just pretend to be a couple until you get back the woman you love" she stated silently as she lay down and pulled the blanket over her leaving Kuon completely stunned whose mind couldn't process what just happened. He just kept staring at her direction in disbelief.

Please read/review/follow/favorite. Remember it's an AU story so it doesn't follow the original plot of Skip beat. Don't forget to let me know how you feel about the story.