AN: Hope you enjoy this fic

Chapter Twenty One – The Grief of Kuu Hizuri

Kuu couldn't sleep and he didn't know if he would ever get the tears back that he had already cried. His son was dead and this house felt like a tomb filled with memories of him. He could remember the little boy running around, laughing, kicking his little legs up in the air as he told him all about his day. Kuu could feel Kuon in his arms, the difference between the newborn baby he cradled in his arms, to the four-year-old he would have on his back, to the eight year old who would nervously ask for a hug because he wanted to feel like an adult.

Kuu could physically feel his son in his arms. He could feel where his head had been against his chest when they had discussed acting. He could feel the way his arms wrapped around his neck on Father's Day and how Kuon loved celebrating both Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Kuu's attention turned to a photograph on the wall which was of Kuon, Kyoko, and Isabella. He would never be there to be the father he was meant to be, that Kuu knew that he would be. He would never get the joy of hugging his daughter and of celebrating with him. He had failed his little boy. He should have done more to help him but Kuu wasn't delusional to think that he actually had control over airplanes and it had been a tragic event. Nobody could have seen it happening.

"I'll do my best for them, son," Kuu promised as he put a trembling hand to the photograph. His son had left behind his wife and daughter, Kuu wanted to make sure that his granddaughter and daughter-in-law were never lacking. He wanted to provide for them.

Acting didn't make him feel powerful any longer. He needed to provide for them.

He had an acting scene to do that morning and he wanted to get out of it, he wanted to just make any excuse to get out of it and to hide in his bed, trying to fill the void that his son had left in his heart, that gap would never be healed and he could jam as many memories of Kuon in there but it wouldn't be the same as having a living, breathing, Kuon.

He had to leave. "I promise," he whispered as he gazed into his son's eyes realizing that he'd never grow up, he'd never age and live a full life, he would always be this age, "I promise that I'll do all that I can for them. I promise, son."

….

….

"So," Kuu said on the phone as he sat in his office at LME, "Julie and I will meet with you and Aiko at the end of next month to discuss what projects you're interesting in supporting financially…well, thank you very much, we really do look forward to the meal and of course all of the talent is so tremendously grateful for your sponsorship…have a good rest of your day, contact me if anything comes up."

Kuon looked up at his father as Kuu put the phone down. Kyoko had taken Isabella to look at safer schools where they wouldn't use her as a pawn in their sick and twisted game to get a selfie with Kuon. The two of them wanted something safe and somewhere where Bella would thrive and grow stronger. Kuon had suggested that he stay out of the way so that the cameras and paparazzi wouldn't make the problem worse.

When Kuu had heard that Kuon was going to be spending the day alone, he had immediately asked Kuon to spend the day with him but the few phone calls and tasks seemed to be taking longer than either of them had expected. Kuon had fallen asleep on the sofa in Kuu's office but during the last phone conversation had woken up.

"Dad, if this is important work business and if I'm just in the way -" Kuon began but Kuu cut him off quickly.

"I'm sorry that it's taking so long but please stay. I really want to spend more time with you, I don't think you realize how much pain was involved when I thought that I had lost you. I'll try to speed things up and then we can go and do something together, any idea of what you want to do?" Kuu asked and Kuon looked at him, taking in all of the differences that Kuu had gone through since the time of the accident.

"Maybe just stay here and talk," Kuon shrugged and Kuu looked at him patiently.

"Really, you let me know what you want to do and we can do it," Kuu tried to persuade him and Kuon sighed before running his fingers through his hair.

"That's all I want to do, maybe we could go to get something to eat, somewhere we won't be bothered. Maybe book one of those private rooms, do they still do those priva-"

"I'll make a reservation for a great place right now and we can head out in an hour. Would that be okay? There's a stack of magazines right to the side of you or there are some books or maybe taking a walk. Really, go into any of the rooms, feel as at home here as you want to. I can pull whatever strings you need," Kuu said nervously and Kuon laughed.

He pushed himself into a seated position, "Maybe I'll just walk the halls on the upper management level, at least that way I won't really be running into anybody," he smiled, "I'll be back in about twenty minutes, would that -"

"Yes, whatever you need," Kuu said quickly. He got up from his seat before going over to Kuon and knelt down in front of him, he studied his son wanting to make sure that everything was going to be okay. He had been wishing for so long that somehow, by some means supernatural or not, Kuon would come back to them and he had gotten his wish. His son was here.

Still, Kuu was worried about the other side of the wish and he just wanted Kuon to be as safe and protected as possible. His son hadn't seemed to have aged but that might mean that the young man wasn't equipped for the world around him anymore. He knew he wouldn't be able to make significant improvements for Kuon without open communication between the two of them but he wanted what any good father would want, his son to be happy, healthy, and safe.

"You promise me that you'll let me know if you need anything?" Kuu asked and Kuon nodded.

"Of course I will," he said before showing Kuu that he had his phone with him and stepped out to where the elevator was as Kuu sped up the pace on completing the remaining tasks and in booking them a room where they could eat lunch.

…..

…..

"Hizuri," the director said as he approached Kuu who was looking around as if he didn't understand where he was. This was the acting stage and Kuu had already dressed into the costume of his character but it was as if something was missing. Kuu didn't understand what he was doing here. "Are you okay?"

"Not particularly," Kuu said before shaking his head, "Let's get it going. I can act. That's my job, as an actor, that was what my son wanted to do too, my son wanted to act…" he said as if he were retreating into the darkness of a deep rabbit warren. He felt trapped and it was because of something that wouldn't affect most people.

"What's going on, Hizuri?" the director asked and Kuu looked at him.

"This shirt is yellow," he said as he held to it, "This jacket is tan, these pants are brown," he said and the director nodded.

"Hizuri, you suffering some kind of psychotic breakdown?" the director asked and Kuu looked at his shirt again.

"Isn't yellow a happy color?" he asked and the director paused.

"Yeah, this is a happy scene that's why the wardrobe department chose it for this scene. We need for them to not only get to hear of how happy and excited you are but we need for them to see it. A lot of the audience appreciates visual storytelling and with your long history of acting, I didn't think that I would have to explain that for you."

"There's no black, the buttons aren't black," Kuu said as if he seemed to be sinking into a scene from Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Things just weren't making sense anymore. "There has to be something black, you're denying that he's gone. I have to have something black."

"Who knew that Kuu Hizuri was such a diva," a woman commented with a laugh as she sat watching the scene and Kuu couldn't take it any longer. His hands started shaking in front of him and he struggled to hold on mentally. He was going to break but he couldn't honor his son without black. Things didn't magically get better or happy. Kuon wasn't happy, he was never going to be able to be happy again.

"Hizuri," the director said as Kuu felt his body drop onto the ground, "Are you okay? Somebody get the medic!"

…..

…..

Kuu had tried to get his work done as quickly as possible and it had taken him twenty minutes less than he had estimated but Kuon wasn't back yet, he hadn't returned. Kuu took a deep breath in, Kuon was safe, he was alive, he didn't need to worry about that anymore. It was all going to be good and okay from now on.

Or at least that was what Kuu thought as he got to the floor that Kuon said he was going to be pacing. It was there that he saw two men who definitely didn't have clearance here. Were they here for Kuon? He had to arrange some kind of security to come. The security team would have to come and help them.

He pressed the alarm on his phone before texting out the floor number.

"You don't even deserve to be alive," one man said and Kuon just stood there before his attention focused on the blond.

"Do you even know how we're alive, how it was human kindness who helped us," he said before rolling his eyes. "Fuwa, I never thought that you would be someone who would value kindness so little when directed towards yourself. I have to say that Kyoko talked me into having a higher opinion of you."

"Well let's see what happens when you have a -" the second man said as he pulled out a gun from his pocket and attempted to line it up with Kuon, Sho Fuwa showing a look of shock on his face but seeming to go along with it. Kuu however forced the man onto the floor as the gun could be heard sliding down the hallway.

"Dad?" Kuon asked before holding Sho back from advancing towards the weapon, "Are you okay?" he asked before seeing blood covering his father's shirt and hand and a limp but still alive body on the floor. Kuu stood up looking at the man.

"He'll survive," he said and then turned to Fuwa, "Don't you dare touch my son," he growled the way that an agitated animal would. "Leave and you won't be a part of this. Never come near my son again."

"I refuse to leave," Sho said to him, "After all, your son should have died that day and who's going to stop me from righting that wrong."

"Me," Kuu replied, "Me, with every last breath of mine. You are not going to do anything to hurt my son."

End of Chapter Twenty One

Thank you for reading

Thank you reviewers of Chapter Twenty

Brennakai, KrisXD, PaulaGaTo, RichkeyZero

Response to Reviews

Yeah, Sho is kind of an asshole but it can be really dangerous 😉