Chapter Two – Ice Cream

Was it nostalgia that made Kyoto look so beautiful or was it the fear that this might be the last beautiful morning she would see? Kyoko sighed. Was she afraid? She didn't know if she was afraid of death or whether she was ready to face it, what she was afraid of was that one day she would be here with her family and the next, gone.

She heard the sound of her son laughing outside his bedroom and grinned. "Kou?" she asked before seeing her three year old son dashing in front of her wearing only a jacket. "Kou? Where are you clothes?" she asked as he turned and ran up to her.

"Mama" he giggled. Kou skipped towards her and Kyoko scooped him up, she set him on her lap and felt him hug her tightly. "Daddy tay I can wear" he laughed.

Kyoko looked at the small boy. Kou had very unruly brown hair which – surprisingly – was the same shade as Ren's had been. He was a little round on his face and body but according to the doctors was perfectly healthy. He had green eyes that sparkled just like his father's. He was a very curious child who always tried his best and Kyoko loved him. She loved how easily he could laugh and be happy and how much she knew he loved her.

"Daddy didn't say you could only wear," Kuon said as he came out of the room with a shirt and shorts with a pawprint pattern for the little boy. "Morning, princess" he said as he kissed the top of Kyoko's head and then cupped her cheek and kissed her lips, pulling away and just gazing at her for a moment as if memorizing her. He took a step back and ruffled Kou's hair.

"Morning," Kyoko smiled as she played with the zip of Kou's little leather jacket.

"Daddy tay no wears all cwoez" Kou tried to explain, "pick"

Kyoko looked up to Kuon for an explanation. She knew that when she helped Kou get dressed they would go through the clothes and try to decide together what went best. Sometimes they would go with a story and think about what the character would need. Kou would get really excited and motivated with it. She knew that whereas her approach had more fantasy elements, Kuon's had more efficiency.

"Kou wanted to wear everything in his closet today," Kuon laughed as he took a step back and rested against the wall. "He had so many ideas this morning so I told him to pick one thing he wanted to wear the most and we'd pick some pieces to match it. I didn't say he could only wear that one thing," he explained. He grinned when he saw Kyoko's face light up and heard her light laugh.

He put a hand on his chest as if committing that sound to memory. They hadn't told the kids about Kyoko dying, Kaguya wouldn't understand and Kou probably wouldn't either. It was best to just make the most of the time they had left together.

"Oh, then maybe you can help Daddy pick out some good things," Kyoko kissed Kou's nose. "You need to teach Daddy how to pick out the best clothes for you to wear."

"Yea!" Kou grinned. He looked back at Kuon and gently got off his mother.

Kuon felt Kou hold onto his hand and he gently ran his thumb over the little's boys hand. "Why don't we think of something fun we can all do today, something fun we can all do together?" Kuon asked Kou as he tried to show a lot of excitement and energy instead of fear and heartache.

"Ice cweam!" Kou grinned. There was an ice cream place that they usually went to when they came down to Kyoto, there were a lot of royalty themed sundaes and treats. There were cookies shaped like fairy tale characters and ice creams with princess decorations on them. Kou liked the Westernized knights on his favorite 'kids sundae'.

"Ice cream sounds good," Kyoko nodded eagerly, "Maybe we could go and look in the shops as well."

"Yea!" Kou giggled, "Daddy haf ice cweam?" he asked looking innocently into his father's eyes.

Kuon looked down, "Daddy might have something else? Maybe he'll have some fruit," he said not wanting to commit to eating something too big. He usually only had some ice water and helped Kaguya eat her ice cream but then this seemed like it would be one of – if not the – very last time going there as a family.

Kyoko gave Kuon a flat expression, "You're right, Kou. I think Daddy should eat ice cream too. He needs to eat different foods every now and then."

"Daddy eat all dinner" Kou giggled as Kyoko nodded.

"Yep, he needs to eat all his food up. You need to help him do that, Kou. You need to ask Daddy if he's eaten enough if he looks like he's done," she said as Kou blinked. "Will you do that special thing for mama?"

"Yea!" Kou nodded, "Daddy eat ife cweam."

Kuon sighed and put two fingers on his forehead. "Fine," he said with a smirk, "I guess you two win for today. I'll have a single scoop of ice cream."

Kyoko smiled softly, "Thank you," she teased as he rolled his eyes.

….

….

Kuon loved this house. It was a traditional style house in a very good area of Kyoto. It was a much better area than the one in which Kyoko had grown up, but with a long walk or a short car ride they could arrive back at the spot where the two of them had met. Kyoko had only found out after the two of them had started dating that the area where they met was private property.

When they had gone to the land and seen the private sign – despite it saying visitors welcome but respect nature – she had been worried about whether they could actually go and see the things that had happened during their childhood. She had told Kuon these worries and heard him laugh.

The owner of this preserved area was Tsuruga, Ren.

As for this house though, Kuon loved it. He liked the architecture and the sense of elegance, he liked the different rooms that all would be decorated and fitted to be a library or an office, he loved the way that they had a garden AND a little stream of their own but what he most loved was how much Kyoko loved it.

Kyoko was twirling in the light, a wide smile on her face which seemed to fade slightly as she just caught him watching her. She looked like she could have started dancing at any moment, either that or talking about how a fairy kingdom had existed in that spot. She looked at the blonde and smiled lovingly, she stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"Huh?" he asked with a confused glance.

"You're watching me, Kuon." Kyoko spun around again and giggled, "I can't help it, this house is beautiful. The way the light shines down from there," she pointed to a high window panel, "makes everything so rich and wonderful and magical."

"Anything in particular?" Kuon asked raising an eyebrow with his gentle chuckle. He had crouched down and was now squatting on the floor just watching her and taking her in. "Is there anything in particular that you love, princess?"

"Yes." Kyoko grinned, "You."

…..

…..

Kyoko smiled as she took cute bites of the ice cream sundae in front of her. It was a vanilla and strawberry sundae with hot fudge, raspberry sauce, and berries. Kou had a mini chocolate brownie sundae. Kaguya had a scoop of strawberry with a little bit of strawberry sauce in a cone and Kuon had a single scoop of a dark chocolate where the chocolate cut the sweet tone a little to give it balance.

She watched her son play with the little figure of a knight that Kuon had bought for him and saw Kuon pay more attention to Kaguya than his own ice cream. She would have scolded him in a playful manner if he wasn't such a sweet and adorable father.

"It's yummy, isn't it?" Kuon asked as he helped clean the fifteen month old's cheek, "you know your mommy thinks it's yummy too," he said as he kissed Kaguya's forehead.

Kaguya giggled, "Mama" she laughed as she played with her spoon, getting more ice cream on the table.

"Why don't we do our best to keep it in the bowl?" Kuon asked.

Kyoko smiled as she watched him, she loved how he would always add the words 'do our best' or 'do your best' when he was talking to people. He had often said it to everyone as Ren Tsuruga and it was something that he had always carried with him. As long as everyone was trying to do the best of their ability, it was okay. That was something that she loved so much about her husband, he didn't care about the end result as much as how everyone always took care of themselves and did their best work.

Maybe before it wasn't something that she had always shared, the end result was of course where her teenage-minded goals had been, but hearing Kuon's feelings about self-acknowledgment and self-enrichment proved to her that doing your best was what mattered the most.

Kuon saw Kyoko watching him and took a bite of his own ice cream feeling that's what she was waiting for.

She smiled as Kaguya got more ice cream on her face, she started to sing a little song to herself.

Kuon shook his head with a playful smile and concentrated on his own food. He never had gained a strong appetite, he had his parents to thank for that.

After they had finished and Kuon had gently helped Kaguya get clean, he slipped his phone out of his jacket pocket and stood up. He took a few steps back and managed to get all three of them In a photo, Kyoko looking up at him with surprise.

"I want you to delete that," she commented as Kuon looked at her shocked.

"I refuse. It's going in my saved, why would you want me to get rid of it?" he asked. He was scared to forget any of these memories or have the children not have all the proof they needed to see who their mother was.

"It's incomplete," Kyoko said as she waved over the waitress who had brought their ice cream over, "Could you take a picture of us?" she asked.

The woman nodded, "Can I get you to uh…sign…" she said quickly.

"We'll sign whatever you want," Kyoko assured her, "as long as it's not binding or illegal. Could you just make sure that my husband gets in this shot with the kids and I." Kyoko reached out for Kuon's hand. She would not let her husband stand by himself on the outside of the photo, they were a team and she knew Kuon would need these memories after she could no longer be with him.

Fortunately, the waitress was either a very kind soul or she really wanted an autograph from one of them. She took six different pictures and Kuon stood up. "Is It okay to write you one of these?" he asked as he held up one of the cards that the store offered, he handed her the money for it.

"Y-Yeah," the girl nodded, "My name's Naomi," she said as Kuon started writing and then handed the pen and card to Kyoko to finish.

Naomi. Thank you very much for helping us have these memories of our time together as a family. I apologize if it's any inconvenience to you, but thank you for your kindness and generosity. You were sweet to my kids and didn't invade our privacy. Good luck in pursuing your dreams. I am very thankful to you – Kuon Hizuri

You don't know how much my husband needs to be the one treated and spoiled. Helping us have those photos together shows you are a strong, kind, and lovely young woman. Please remain you and don't let anyone change that kindness in your heart. Fight for yourself and the chance to preserve the spirit that gave a father a chance to be in a family photograph with his wife and kids. – Kyoko Hizuri