AN: I've been attempting to update every 10th day of the month but got excited and updated early, hope you enjoy
Chapter Eight – Ren The Dog
Kuu stood at Kuon's side as the two of them sat outside the animal shelter. Kuon had told Rikuu to go in and select a puppy that didn't have any health issues and might be a good health care dog. He didn't enjoy the fact that this was going to be registered as a health care dog but it was the best for his son. "So," Kuu said as he directed his attention to his own child. "He seems to be coping with it well, considering what it is."
"The sickness," Kuon asked and looked down, "I don't think that he's coping well but he's coping better than I expected. I know that he's scared and this isn't that feeling of being on edge as if I had a split personality, this is worse for him. I mean, he's seeing this whole world that doesn't exist. How am I supposed to keep him safe in it?"
Kuu looked at Kuon and shook his head, knowing that they were getting looks from people who might want their autograph or a photo of the two of them together. If it wasn't for Kuon wanting for Rikuu to feel independent, they would be in the shelter with him.
"I'm sure that you'll do better than I did," Kuu sighed and Kuon looked at him feeling guilty that Kuu had believed the best thing to do was to send him away. That wasn't the best way of handling it but it had the best results. The past was in the past though, it didn't affect this situation.
"Dad, if it wasn't for you doing that, I would have never have matured on my own and Kyoko and I wouldn't be happily married. You shouldn't regret it. We're a family again now, there's not much more that you can change." Kuon looked at the shelter and then sighed. "Maybe you could help me with a legal problem. Rikuu was mistreated after he was hospitalized. He wanted to go to a psychiatric hospital and Kyoko took him. I would have never sent him there."
"Kyoko sent him to a -" Kuu asked and Kuon ran a hand through his hair.
"Rikuu wanted to go. Kyoko wanted to help him and he was hurting himself, she was scared that he might kill himself if he didn't get any help so we went to get him psychiatric help and they somehow used him to get to me. I need to make sure to file a malpractice lawsuit but I'm scared that doing that improperly will scar Rikuu."
Kuu put a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed it, hoping that his son would gain some confidence in this way. He was about to speak again but the two of them were interrupted by Rikuu who came out to see his father and grandfather. He had a weak smile on his face as he looked at the generations before him. He bowed his head nervously.
"Did something happen?" Kuon asked concerned and Rikuu shook his head.
"I just," Rikuu grinned as he turned back to the shelter, "I think I've found him. They are sorting to the paperwork right now but they want you to sign so that they can get all the health care stuff taken care of. I said that I wanted to get him chipped so that we can locate him."
Kuu grinned happily and Kuon took out his wallet, moving towards the shelter and following his son. Rikuu led them to where a young woman was holding a Shiba puppy that looked both cute and mischievous, very much like the owner. Kuon studied the puppy before smiling at Rikuu.
"Cute one," he nodded and Rikuu smiled again. He had always wanted a puppy but because of his parents's busy schedules, they had always reasoned that they had far too much work and time away from home to take care of an animal. At least this would be better for his son whilst they looked around for therapy and drug treatments that wouldn't require him to go back to a hospital.
"Have you thought of a name?" Kuon asked and Rikuu looked down nervously, he shifted awkwardly in where he was standing.
"I'd like to name him Ren, if that's okay," he said and Kuon laughed as he looked at the puppy Ren. He saw his dad grin and nodded to the name. He felt honored that his son would use that name for a dog that was supposed to be protective and helpful for him.
"Ren it is," Kuon grinned as he watched Rikuu take hold of the dog. He just hoped that this would be a good place to start. He wanted the best for his son, for all of his children, this situation just seemed to be testing his skills as a father more than he was comfortable with.
…
…..
Kyoko looked over at where Kuon was asleep without having realized it. She had been home for about an hour and a half and the kids were playing with the new Ren who was only two months old. They had explained that this was Rikuu's dog because he was a teenager and when they were older that they could have pets but Isabella had been able to figure out that it was for health reasons. She let Kazuuki believe what her parents were telling them.
Kyoko put her fingers to Kuon's forehead and moved them to the side, playing with a strand of his hair. He was so exhausted but he was working his hardest to protect his family. This was the Kuon that she continually fell in love with. "Kuon," she whispered and he seemed to stir a little. "Darling, if you're tired then you should take a nap. Go, take a bath or something, make some of those creepy Russian dolls."
"You really want to play the Heel siblings?" Kuon chuckled as he still kept his eyes closed. He sighed, "I feel asleep, didn't I? Must be getting incredibly old."
"What are you talking about?" Kyoko asked as she teasingly poked him in the forehead, "You're not old," she saw him open his gorgeous emerald eyes and slipped down to kiss him passionately on the lips. He laughed softly and she looked at the doorway where Kuu was stood. "Father," she said respectfully. "Could you take care of the children?" she asked and Kuu smiled.
"Don't be too hard on him, Kyoko, he does seem very sleepy," Kuu chuckled and Kuon sat up straighter, feeling a little insecure with the way he had gone to sleep without meaning to. Kyoko stood up and wrapped her arms around him before pulling him up.
"Let's go to the bedroom and talk," she told him and Kuon yawned which caused Kyoko to giggle and they went to the bedroom to talk about what was going on. Once they were in the room, Kyoko guided him over to the bed where they could sit down.
Kyoko's face turned serious and Kuon watched her. "Kuon, what happened at the hospital that worries you so much?" she asked and Kuon looked away. He hadn't wanted to go into details for what happened because it had been Kyoko's choice to take him there. She did deserve to know though. She was Rikuu's mother and they were supposed to be a team no matter how much the truth might hurt her.
"They sent him to a part of the hospital that was meant for violent people and they put him in a room with someone else, somebody who was actually violent towards others. It was messed up. He got hurt and he got bullied and I hate that they did that to him because they wanted to take it out on me," he explained and Kyoko turned back to him in horror.
"They hurt him because he's our son?" she said with her heart beating in her chest. She looked away, tears filling her eyes. She could remember when she and Kuon had greeted Rikuu in the hospital after she had given birth to him and how happy they were that their child was with them. All of their children were precious and treasured and she was angry because they had hurt her son who had needed help and kindness.
As she thought more on what Kuon had told her, her shock and surprise turned to anger and she felt some of her old grudges resurface. "I'm going to -"
"Don't do anything rash," Kuon told her and Kyoko shook her head though Kuon did notice that her hand had turned into a fist.
"I'm not going to do anything rash, Kuon," Kyoko said as she tried to calm herself down, "I'm going to go and speak to my mother."
"You mean, your mother who hates me and our kids?" Kuon asked and Kyoko looked at him with determination in her eyes.
"I mean, my mother who does not want any bad press directed towards her and who has a legal degree," she said and Kuon nodded slowly. He had to admit that Saena was a good person to turn to. He just wished that somehow she would change her mind on him and their family, she seemed to be on better terms with Kyoko. Why did she still feel that she needed to hate him to make herself feel powerful?
…
…
Rikuu was able to sleep a little longer this night. With Ren sleeping in a bed in the corner of the room. The puppy snored but it was good to know that there was a living and breathing animal beside him. Ren would be able to sniff out any real trouble and reassure him of what was normal and what was false. However, in the early morning hours, Rikuu felt a presence in his room and he looked up to see the person who had attacked him on a previous night.
"You gonna cry and get your father involved again?" he asked as he reached out for Rikuu who saw Ren still sleeping peacefully. He looked at the man again and tried to calm himself down with deep breaths. "You think that you know the real Kuon Hizuri? That man is going to mur-"
"Ren" Rikuu called out and Ren lifted his head, dashing towards Rikuu with a happy smile. Rikuu stood up and took the dog in his arms, holding him in front of the other man but it was as if Ren didn't see him. Rikuu took another deep breath in before ignoring the hallucination and brought Ren back to the bed. He sat down and ran a hand over Ren's back as the dog barked happily.
"You're not real," Rikuu told the man in front of him and the man smiled.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean that you can't stop seeing me," he said, "not everything in life is real," he said and Rikuu cuddled Ren closer trying to take deep breaths and bowing his head with a smile. He managed to calm himself and when he opened his eyes, the man was gone. He'd have to try and take some medication to avoid this and he had the feeling it could get much worse but Ren had definitely helped.
"Let's play fetch downstairs, okay?" he asked as he picked up one of the balls and as Rikuu exited his room he saw Kuon looking at him.
"Are you okay?" Kuon asked concerned, "Did you see somebody,"
"I did," Rikuu said and Kuon looked like he was desperately scrambling to come up with what to say. "Ren didn't though so I knew that I was safe. I can't go back to sleep right away so we're going to play, we won't wake you up again," he said and Kuon sighed in relief.
"I'm so glad," he admitted as he pushed his hand through his hair once again.
End of Chapter Eight
Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated
Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Seven
H-Nala, Kaname671, PaulaGaTo
Author Response
Thank you Kaname671 for encouraging me to focus on the hospital issue. Rikuu is just really scared about being seen as a freak by his family
