AN1: Thank you for choosing to read this fic. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Fourteen – Where Strength Lies

Julie smiled as she looked at her daughter with her grandchildren. She really hoped that Kuon – Takeshi would be able to enjoy these moments with his family. She didn't want the death to get in the way of him being able to fully experience what it was to be a father. She turned to her husband who was looking over his work when they got back to America – well aside from faking it that their son had passed away.

"They are very lively aren't they?" Julie laughed softly and Kyoko nodded.

"Kuon…Takeshi knows the best ways to get them to calm down and rest, he's so gentle with him but he's protective. I know that he is still going to be a great father," she looked down with a smile. "I know that Kuon's greatest joy in life wasn't found in acting anymore when I told him that he was going to be a father. I'm just very lucky that I am still able to have his love."

"I think we all are," Julie said to her before seeing Rikuu walk to her. She reached out and took the little boy into her arms, "Grandma is so happy that you two are here," she said with a grin. "You're starting to look just like your daddy used to look when he was your age. He was a lively thing too."

"I can imagine," Kyoko smiled, "I'm not saying that Kuon – Takeshi isn't perfectly happy if he sits by himself and thinks, but he likes to be active and takes risks. I was really scared for him when he first came out as Kuon, there was nothing holding him back from these risks. He wanted to sky dive and that terrified me. As much as I want him to fly, there's a limit on how much I want him to risk his life."

Kuu smiled before looking down. He saw Kyoko's eyes show the pain.

He had risked his life for her, he had gotten into a dangerous situation for her benefit, that was how he had been shot. She remembered the previous night and how she had sat with Kuon in their bedroom and how she had been able to touch his chest and see the wound from where he was shot. He had been killed because he had wanted to keep her safe.

Hopefully they would be able to keep him this time because she never ever wanted him to be taken away again. Once was enough, she couldn't lose him forever.

…..

…..

Kyoko held Ren's hand as they exited a restaurant only to hear the click of the paparazzi's camera. They hadn't really had the chance to talk about their wedding plans and Kyoko would remove her ring when she went on interviews or when she came to the set. She actually had a little box that she liked to put it in and have it sit right next to Corn.

They hadn't approached the subject and there was still a lot to figure out, however it did feel that a photograph was just taken of his hand holding hers with a picture of the ring on her finger. They hadn't figured out what was going to happen in time and therefore had run out of time. Hopefully the reaction wasn't going to be too big or dramatic. There were more than a few people who would have an interesting reaction over this.

…..

…..

Even though he had paperwork piling up, Takeshi had decided to try to double the work later and go and gather some "evidence" first. However, unknown to his company was the fact that he wasn't gathering evidence but more so presenting it. LME was the only place in which he was able to do this. He stood at the front desk, having heard from Kyoko that Lory knew what had happened. "Excuse me, I'm here to see Takarada-san," he said with a deep bow. He stood up and passed forward his business card.

"My name is Chiba Takeshi, I'm here for work business," he said as he looked from side to side.

One of the girls smiled, "You're the lawyer working on the Kuon Hizuri murder, that was soooo sad. Kuon was always such a good guy. We don't have the most glamorous jobs but he would make time to say hi to us despite him being so busy."

"Sssh," the girl who was dialing Sebastian said as she elbowed her coworker.

"I take it that Hizuri-san was a good person around here. His death must be exhausting for you, I …" Takeshi paused as he saw Yashiro do a double take and then pace back and forth. He looked down and touched his throat as he listened to what was going on whilst keeping a peripheral view on Yashiro.

"Yes, Yashiro-san is down here," the girl on the phone said before waving the manager over. "I'll have him take him up," she said before smiling to Yashiro. "Yashiro-san," she bowed, "the president requests for you to personally show Chiba-san to his office," she said as Takeshi paled and nodded, looking back at Yashiro. They never had finished that conversation, had they?

"Good Morning," Yashiro said as he took him in again. "Are you here to work on the case for that person."

"What individual are you referring to?" Takeshi asked as he looked down at his bag. "I'm only gathering evidence. It's never a good idea to work on a case without evidence and witness testimony. Hasn't the actors you've represented performed on any law –"

"I know, I feel that we may have actually been present at the same time whilst you – I mean he performed," Yashiro challenged him and Takeshi smiled.

"I see, interesting," he nodded, "Of course, I, Takeshi Chiba, don't remember being there but we most likely were."

"Of course, Takeshi Chiba wasn't there," Yashiro nodded, "but are you saying that you were there?" Yashiro leaned towards him and then whispered, "you do know that I am aware of -"

"The fact that Kuon Hizuri is dead is a sorrow that most are telling me the world wasn't ready for," he said before nodding. "By the way, Kyoko is doing fine. We're attempting not to cause a scene with our unique bond."

"I'm sure you remind her very much of Kuon," Yashiro said. "You remind me of him as well. It's a real shame that you're not in acting, you'd be perfect."

"I actually like the law," Takeshi smiled looking very much like Kuon in his expression. "If you want to come to the office later this week and talk then I'd appreciate it, and if you did it as a friend then very much so."

"Alright then," Yashiro nodded as they came up to Lory's office without Takeshi even paying attention to him. The two came to the president's office and Takeshi's eyes widened as he saw Lory dressed as a sheriff in front of him with his eyes taking in every detail.

Takeshi bowed deeply with his hands at his side and Lory laughed. He placed a hand on Takeshi's shoulder and said to him, "I had really hoped you'd be taller."

…

…

Kyoko was walking into a TV station the next day for an interview. She had already seen the news and received a mix of messages. Her favorite was most likely the couple who had given her a place to stay and a roof over her head. She was pretty sure it was Okami-san who had sent the message since it seemed more in Taisho's nature to pick the phone up and place a call if he used it at all. Kuon would have to come and pass the fish test before he was one-hundred percent on board.

They had told her that it was a happy time and should be celebrated and that they were happy that they found someone who could treat her and love her properly. They also had reminded her that they were family and that they were there for her. She shouldn't fear coming to them.

It was this person that she was approaching now that she wasn't fond of.

"So you really are just a boring woman who is content with becoming someone's life. I bet you're thinking, why did I waste all those years trying to be somebody that I'm not when I was just going to marry a man anyway."

"You're jealous because you're not Kuon and no, you are definitely not Kuon," Kyoko said. She paused and looked to him, taking a deep breath in. "Listen, this is pathetic. My fiancé proposed to me because he loves me. He's not searching for anything other than me being there and him being able to make me happy. Why don't you just stop being such a disappointment to everybody, if you cared about me even a little, you'd let me be happy."

"He's not capable of making you happy," Shou argued as Kyoko laughed.

"He is capable of anything. He's my future husband."

…

…

Lory had invited Takeshi into the office and had asked whether Yashiro should join them or not, which Takeshi had agreed to. Once he was seated however, Takeshi looked at the ground and started to pull out paper files as if he really was getting to work.

"You don't need to prove your acting skills," Lory said as he looked at the stiffness of Takeshi's body. "I hope you feel that you are around friends. It was your father who actually was able to help me locate you."

Yashiro looked at the man as he pulled out a pencil. What was going on here? This couldn't be the wrong person, he had already met Kuon in this new Takeshi identity. Kyoko and the Hizuri family had been close with him and they had confirmed that they were the same. Why was he attempting to act as if that hadn't happened.

"I would like to keep this confidential," Kuon sighed. "You don't understand how it feels like to die and come back to life," he sighed as Yashiro smiled in relief and Lory took a deep breath in.

"I would say that that's a fair accurate. I don't think you've done any dying today, have you?" he asked Yashiro who shrugged.

"I don't think so, at least not today. I am however, very thankful that my friend was able to do that recently," he said. "I bet you're still as good an actor as you always have been."

"That is most likely true," Takeshi nodded, "However, I like working on legal cases. I find that my brain is able to tie together the truth and the facts and create theories and ideas from those. It's a very interesting feeling."

"You're working most in entertainment law, correct?" Lory asked as he smiled seeing the man in front of him. From all of the nonverbal communication, this man's aura was screaming "Kuon" at him. He looked back at Yashiro who was smiling whilst just listening to him speak.

"I am, I currently have a case against a director but I'm on the plaintiff's side and within her contract there do seem to be a number of breaches of contract requiring us to negotiate the terms for monetary retribution," Takeshi said as Yashiro rolled his eyes.

"How about working for LME? We could take you in house here, give you an office, make you head of our legal division." Lory said as Takeshi paused.

"I don't know. I would never want to see you as a rival, but in fairness to the cases I am doing then I'd like to continue with those. Can I have some time to think about my options?" he requested.

"Think away, but remember that you'll always be Kuon to us if only on the inside."

Takeshi smiled, "I hope that Kuon can always remain a part of me no matter how many changes are made."

End Chapter Fourteen

AN2: Thank you to everyone who reads and supports this fic. A special thank you to: Ashenvale and paulagato who reviewed the previous chapter.