AN: So, I've decided that over this month I'm going to attempt to do a new thing with my updates. Not only will I be rotating the fics each day, but I plan on sticking with a fic for three or four days and updating each day before moving onto another and giving it the same treatment. I will be working on seven fics this month so I hope I'll be able to deliver work that you enjoy 😊

Chapter One – I deserve that

Kyoko didn't want to go to work that day. She knew that she couldn't really use the fact that Ren was in the hospital as an excuse not to go into work because she hadn't told anyone that she was in love with him. Did that even matter though? Did the fact that she loved having Ren's arms wrapped around her body and the fact that whenever he called her she got happy, did those things count? Ren had once told her that with a true actor even the death of a loved one shouldn't cause them to pause.

He couldn't possibly have been talking about his own possible death.

As she walked the hallways, she heard a sound behind her and shifted so that she was holding herself closer. She slowly turned and gave a weak smile as she saw Kanae there. "Hi, Moko," she said as she felt the tears in her eyes.

"Are you doing alright?" Kanae asked, this time not commenting on the lack of energy that Kyoko had because it was more than obvious what it was about. "Have they given you any information?"

Kyoko shook her head, "No. Only family gets that information and…" she paused and closed her eyes to stop the tears from falling. "Tsuruga Ren isn't his real name. I know that the president knows his real name, but I don't know if he gave it to them in the hospital. I don't think even Ten-san knows who he really is."

"I'm sure that his family is going to come, this is major news and everyone in Japan is talking about it. What kind of parents wouldn't come? Even if they are farmers from a poorer rural town, a normal parent would do anything to come to the hospital," Kanae commented as Kyoko nodded. "They are probably already there, mo"

Kyoko looked away, "They're not," she told Kanae, "Moko-san, they're not at the hospital with him or maybe they're on their way. What I know is that right now Tsuruga-san or whatever his name really is, he's all alone. What if he wakes up and nobody is there to see him?"

"Mo," Kanae sighed with a tired exhale, "I take it that you've already been to the hospital and that's how you found all that out."

"I was with Yashiro-san," Kyoko said, "I wasn't expecting the hospital to let me in but I thought since everyone knows that Yashiro-san is Tsuruga-san's manager they might make an exception. They told us that only family is allowed to come and see him. Yashiro-san even asked if his mother and father had been notified but there was nobody on the record."

"I wouldn't think there'd be if he was checked in under a stage name. Do we even know if he has parents?" Kanae inquired and Kyoko looked down.

"I don't know. Tsuruga-san has never spoken about either of them. I don't know if he has any siblings who could come either. What if the reason for his stage name is that he is the only one of his family who is still alive? What if they were targeted by the gang before – but then, I don't even know if he's American or Japanese," Kyoko said as she attempted not to cry.

Kanae paused and looked over at where the president, who was dressed normally with a business suit on (which was definitely more worrying) entered the first floor. "You could always talk to him and see if he can go see Tsuruga," Kanae gestured to Lory.

Kyoko's breath caught in her throat. The president did know about her feelings for Ren and he had assigned the roles of the Heel siblings to him. Maybe he would be able to give her clearance so that Ren wouldn't be suffering through this alone. He had allowed her to know a top secret when he had told her about Cain Heel. It was worth a shot wasn't it?

She made her way over to him before seeing something unexpected. A blond man, wearing sunglasses and with a very familiar gait was making his way towards the president. Kyoko took a step back as she heard the whispers of 'It's Kuu, right' or 'What is Kuu doing here?' and 'Am I dreaming? That's the famous Kuu Hizuri.'

"Fa—" Kyoko started to say before her eyes widened as Kuu punched the president in the jaw. She noticed how security guards were rushing over to them but she also saw as the president told them that they should stand down. Kyoko blinked as she looked at Kuu. Why had he suddenly come to Japan without there being news reports on it and then come into LME to punch the president in the face. What was going on here?

"I suppose I deserve that," the president said as he put a hand to his jaw and Kyoko could notice how much Kuu was shaking but it didn't seem to be with fear, no, her grudges were telling her that this was a type of anger that she had only detected from Ren in the past.

"I know that I'm supposed to be acting as a stranger in my son's life," Kuu growled, "but this is so far over the line."

Kyoko looked between them as her mind started to race. She had thought that Kuon Hizuri might have passed away, after all Moko-chan had been playing the role of a guy's deceased daughter when she had come to Daruma-ya. Kyoko had thought maybe the reason why Kuu-sama had made her act out Kuon had been because of his death.

"Kuu, it might be best to go to my office," the president said with a gesture to the elevator.

Kuu stood there with his fists by his side, "So you can hide? So you can tell me why my wife and I aren't allowed to see him?"

"I was attempting to sort out the problem, he only approached me a couple of days about it. I know I should have asked myself why he came to me when he usually attempts to sort out the issues himself bu-"

"Days?" Kuu asked as he whipped off his sunglasses, "You've known about this for days!? When you told me that you were going to take care of him, I believed you. Now I find out that he was tied up, gagged, drugged, and his apartment was set on fire." Kuu interrupted him as Kyoko's eyes widened, "Does our deal end when he's twenty-one because even though he's an adult now, if you know something this important, didn't it cross your mind to tell Julienna and myself?"

"It would lead to exposure of his identity," the president argued as Kuu scoffed at that.

"Then you send him back to LA. You send him on a modelling shoot, give him a vacation to Australia and force him to take it. You do something, you don't just -"

"Is Tsuruga-san your son?" Kyoko asked bravely as she took a step forward to look at Kuu. "Is he really Kuon?" she said as she wrapped an arm around herself. She saw Kuu looking at her, just noticing that she was there along with about forty other people who were listening to the conversation.

He had said that he was keeping the Ren Tsuruga identity as Kuon's identity as a way of protecting him and he had done this for so many years. He hadn't had contact with his child because he wanted him to be safe. Was it okay that he was exposing him because he was injured? It had to be. Knowing the gravity of the situation, Kuon would hopefully forgive him.

"Yes," Kuu nodded, "The guy that you know as Ren is my son. It's nice to see you again Kyoko, I just wish it was under far far better circumstances."

Kyoko nodded before looking up at the president, she wasn't sure if Ren – no, Kuon had been checked in with his real name. Why wasn't Kuu-sama at the hospital? Weren't doctors supposed to keep things confidential, surely in a situation like this they would have reached out to the Hizuri family.

"Make the call, Lory" Kuu growled as he threw his own phone into the president's hands. "Julie is at the hospital right now but they are not letting her in without confirmation. She told them that Ren was our son but without your confirmation, they are unwilling to allow her into the room to see him. So, make the damn call," he growled again, his glare darkening.

…

…

Julie looked at a teddy bear that she had brought with her and now had her arms wrapped around. Kuon had loved this bear when he was a little boy. They had given him the bear for his first birthday and he had excitedly played with him, making him his best friend. When he was old enough to do so, Kuon had called the bear Xander. Even though both she and Kuu had been busy, they had always made sure that one of them was home in time to tuck the little boy into bed and read him a story. In one of his favorite stories, there had been a character named Alexander and so Xander had been chosen.

It had been such a long time since she had tucked that little boy into the bed and kissed his forehead. After the Rick incident, she had come up with a way of opening the door without him noticing to check on him. It wasn't that she wanted to make sure he was in his bed, it was that she was worried about his condition getting worse.

He was her little boy and it pained her that she couldn't even see him.

She knew that even if they had known his identity, it would have been a long shot. He had apparently been moved around constantly from the emergency room to the ICU to the burn ward. She at least wanted information of his condition.

She had heard that he had deep burns all over his body which would prevent him from acting unless surgery could cover them. Some people had even commented that this wasn't something that could be solved with skin grafts. No matter how he looked, no matter the extent of his injuries. Julie needed to see him. She didn't want him to be alone any longer.

Somehow, she had heard, they had managed to save a lot of his personal possessions and aside from the living room where he had been tied up, the other rooms were barely touched and that it was his manager who had realized that something was wrong. Thankfully, Kuon had kept a few fireproof boxes around which held valuable and confidential items, those, along with a number of boxes holding items that had been saved.

A doctor came over to her as Julie sat there, tears washing down her face as she tried to look at Xander's face to find her own comfort in the favorite toy. "Hizuri-san, we've just had word from Takarada-san. I want to apologize for us keeping you waiting for so long. Tsuruga-san has been moved to a private room and I can allow you to sit with him, if you would like. I do have to warn you that he has taken a lot of injury and needs support when he wakes up. Would you like to follow me to his room?"

Julie nodded as the words played in her head. How bad was it that they had to tell her that he needed support? Of course, she and Kuu would support him. He was their child and they didn't want to hand him over to anyone else. Even if there was an ocean between them and even if he wanted to hide his identity, he was still their little boy.

As she reached the room, Julie gasped and put a hand to her mouth as the tears couldn't stop falling. She looked back at the doctor, "Are you sure that's him?" she asked, barely recognizing her son from the position she was standing in. She could only think of that guy from those comic books, the really popular superhero who dressed up as a bat. What had been the character's name? Two-Face?

End Chapter One

AN2: Thank you to everyone who has read this fic so far. A special shout out to: Crazy4Animation and Sargent93 for their reviews of the prologue 😊 Thank you so much!