CHAPTER 20

Kuon managed to block much of Kuu's litany while he hung Kyoko's picture on the office's wall, facing his desk. She would be the first thing he would see whenever he lifted his head from whatever he was reading.

One might say that he was obsessed with Kyoko if the concept existed at the time, but Kuon would not mind. After all, obsession was a Hizuri trait.

"She brought us no good, son. Look at you, mad at me because of her!"

More focused on discovering why Kuu insisted on covering up what the hell had motivated the foyer fiasco, Kuon ignored his father's wailing tone. As overprotective as Kuu was, his antagonism to Kyoko was strange. No doubt, he was hiding something from him.

After being satisfied with the position of the painting, Kuon stood by the window, from where he had a privileged view of the backyard.

"Oh yes, I'm mad at you. This part is true."

Slightly baffled by his son's admission, Kuu watched his profile, catching every expression he made as he followed Kyoko with his gaze.

"Lady Kyoko has bewitched you."

At that moment, the subject of the conversation between father and son greeted passersby and smelled flowers, a smile so open and spontaneous that it was hard to believe that she had just faced the follies of his family. Too early, in Kuon's opinion. If it were up to him, the two of them would be married and have an heir on the way before the Hizuris began to bother her with their passionate quarrels.

"... It's a way of describing what she does to me, yes."

"Tsk! One more reason for me to worry. My son, your head is not in the right place!"

Kuon sighed resignedly. Again, Kuu was defending the deeds of his wonderful son, too perfect to make such terrible mistakes. So far nothing new. However, ingratitude was not of the character of Lord Hizuri, so Kuon remained attentive, waiting for the slip that would tell him what Kuu was holding against Lady Kyoko.

"That young woman is a bad omen to our family. She almost killed you and now she's disuniting us!"

Such accusations were unexpected from his father and bothered Kuon to no end. As much as he was accustomed to tolerate Kuu's ravings, he could not allow him to turn Kyoko into the villain of that story, as Kana had been foolish enough to hint a few minutes ago.

"Let's not forget that I was the idiot who ignored her for two years. I mistook her for Lady Kimiko. My pride made her leave this castle to be at the mercy of her cousin's madness. Lady Kyoko might have died, and it would have been my fault. I was negligent with her, and as she put it so well a few minutes ago, I'm only alive today because she still cared for me anyway. Therefore, I do not see how she can be a bad omen to us. It seems more the opposite, in fact. As for your second complaint, she is not disuniting us. At most, Lady Kyoko only pointed out the cracks that were always present, but we stubbornly ignored."

Kuu's dropped shoulders were the sign that Kuon needed. Finally, his father resigned himself to stop trying to convince him that none of it was his fault. Now all he had to do was find out why Kuu was so dissatisfied with Kyoko.

They were just a nice pair of fools, that was the truth. Both oblivious to the feelings and real intentions of the other: the older man pitied the younger and feared the outcome of his tendency to blame himself excessively when something went wrong. The younger, far from feeling supported by the reliance placed upon him, wished above all that his father should admit that he was not a perfect son, a perfect man, a perfect subject, for such an admission would also mean that his imperfection was accepted.

The way Kuu proceeded, with his overly positive evaluations of his son, Kuon only felt pressured to reach an unattainable standard of excellence in everything. Not to mention the harrowing loneliness of not being able to rely on his family to help him correct his mistakes when such mistakes were not even considered.

Kuu, for his part, worried about Kuon's tendency to go down a destructive path when his emotions became too intense, hence Kuu's custom to resort to praise to appease him, but Kuon did not know that. Just as Kuu did not know that his constant praises weighed on Kuon as cruel reminders of how he ought to be.

After years of that noise-filled communication, it was not strange that both were surprised by Kuon's attitude.

"...Father, what are you hiding from me? Where does your hostility to Lady Kyoko come from?"

There was a tense, uncomfortable silence between them. A tacit gentleman's agreement had established years before that they would never ask straight questions about what the other obviously hid. After all, that was the way they trained acumen and intuition: in successive mind games of hide and seek.

However, that was before Kyoko emerged into Kuon's life and introduced a fair amount of frankness into his routine.

"... She wrote to the king."

An evil foreboding took Kuon by assault.

"When?"

"Right after the engagement party. As soon as she arrived at the Solar, Lady Kyoko wrote to the king, repudiating you and telling him that she would be available for marriage with whom he thought worthy. Hmpf, as if there was someone more worthy than Kuon Hizuri!"

So that was it. His father was furious because Kyoko had rejected him and because such rejection had probably damaged his image before the king. Well, Kuon could not blame her, no matter how much the news hurt.

It was precisely this pain that further inflamed Kuu's speech against Kyoko.

"What about the king?"

"He's considering, of course. What is not lacking for her are suitors. None as handsome and noble as you, but she made her choice. Or as they say, she will lie down on the bed she has chosen."

Not even over my dead body, Kuon thought. The only matrimonial bed she would know would be his, but how could he guarantee that without her hating him for deceiving her? And in such a short notice?

Kuu watched Kuon run his fingers through his hair in a well-known nervous gesture, his green eyes reflecting the swirl of his mind as he sought a way out of that mess.

As the loving father he was, Kuu had planned to keep his son in Hizuri II throughout the festival. It would not be easy, but he would do anything to keep him away from the Court's buzz and to convince him that Lady Kyoko was a bad option for the family.

The constant, sensual presence of Lady Kana would take care of the rest. Therefore, the next time Kuon needed to face the Court, he would already be married to an alternative almost as good as the Mogami heiress.

However, Kuu did not expect to face Kuon's infatuation with Lady Kyoko. It was not just gratitude as he initially thought; it was something else. Something that promised to ruin his plans to protect his son from painful disillusionment.

Something that had already ruined his plans, in fact, judging by the anguish that Kuon was showing.

"...Lory is in charge of finding a husband for her."

Of course, Kuu could not bear to see his son so dejected, so he revealed information he had planned to keep confidential. As he had predicted, Kuon immediately perked at the news.

"Uncle Lory?"

Kuon had not called Lory 'uncle' for years, so the slip made it clear to Kuu that Kuon was clinging to the connection with Lord Takarada to be favored in the run for Lady Kyoko's hand.

"Yes. From what I heard, the Druid volunteered to resolve the situation. The sovereign obviously accepted the offer. Lord Uesugi hates dealing with matters of love..."

Kuon's once tormented expression immediately brightened, causing a stabbing pain in Kuu's chest. To the patriarch Hizuri, Kyoko was no more than a young woman playing with the pure feelings of his righteous son.

"Kuon, Lady Kana's husband recently passed away."

As much as it was a losing battle, it was a father's duty to try to put some reason on Kuon's hard head.

"I heard about it."

"She's still young, childless."

"And?"

"And? Do not play dumb, boy! It's obvious she wants you!"

"Just as she wanted her rich sixty years older deceased husband?"

"You said it very well: rich deceased husband. Now she's a rich widow. She is young, beautiful, healthy and unimpeded. You can still conceive many children. And most importantly: she would marry you right now! She came so far just to make her intentions clear!"

Kuu was not a fool. He was well aware that Kana was not the best choice for his son. On the other hand, she was the only available option that could divert Kuon from the path of pain in which he seemed to stride. If the young man's attachment to Kyoko was not fought while there was still time, Lord Hizuri feared that his son would finally succumb to the darkness that always stalked him.

Turning his eyes to Kyoko, Kuon captured the moment when the gardener's daughter placed a ring of flowers on her finger, moving her. He immediately remembered not having a ring to offer her, since it would be absurd to want her to accept the same ring that he had given Kimiko by mistake.

She was too sweet and young to have so many wounds, and one of them had his name.

"Has she come this far just to make her intentions clear? Really? I could swear she came just to antagonize my fiancée and make my life difficult."

"Lady Kyoko is no longer your fiancée, remember? She arranged for the engagement to end. In fact, she should return home as soon as possible. It will not do well for her reputation to remain in the residence of a single man with whom she has no commitment."

This argument was part of Kuu's plan to favor Lady Kana; a plan that Kuon had already guessed thanks to the information his father gave him unwillingly.

"Lady Kyoko is still family friend. Or the Hizuris will turn their backs on the only survivor of the Mogamis, with whom we made several vows of friendship, leaving her alone in such a delicate moment?"

The discussion between the two were nothing different from chess in terms of strategy and purpose: one used all the resources available to corner the other.

"Of course not, but-"

Appealing to Kuu's honor was a low blow, but also a good move. However, it was obvious that Kuu would not give up without a fight and Kuon did not want to prolong that conversation. The ups and downs of having family around charged a heavy price, not to mention the concerns the new information brought.

After sighing resignedly, Kuon finally accepted that he would have to be frank with his father, though he knew it would put salt on both of their wounds.

"Father, I will not give up on Lady Kyoko. One day you will have to accept this, just as one day you will have to accept that your precious only child made terrible mistakes, which almost had tragic consequences. If the name Hizuri became the target of slander in the Court, it is my fault, not Kyoko's. I really regret what I did to your good name, just as I am sorry for not being the perfect son that the Hizuri couple deserve. After all, I should somehow compensate you for Mother almost having died when I was born and for stealing from her the possibility to conceive again."

The perplexity and sadness on Kuu's face did not require explanation. It was the first time that Kuon said the greatest taboo of the family: Kuon was the precious son because always would be the only son; the one born with the responsibility of all the other heirs that the golden couple would never have.

"Kuon ... you will always be our beloved son. No matter what, you-"

Kuu turned away and it took him a few moments to compose himself. After so many years of trying to convince himself that he had protected his son from the vicious remarks and disapproving looks of 'friends' and relatives, cruelly accusing him of being the freak that almost killed his own mother during childbirth, it was frustrating and painful to realize that Kuon did not had escaped unscathed after all.

And to think that he and Julie did everything in their power to show the world how much Kuon was loved and accepted, so that he would never be charged with what was not even his fault to begin with...

Lord Hizuri had no idea that his son carried such a heavy burden. Maybe that was why he had become so somber sometimes. Was that also the reason for him to commit so much to everything he did?

In the midst of such thoughts, one more came up in Kuu's mind: why was Kuon revealing so much of himself now?

Only one hypothesis occurred to him.

"Ahhh... it was Lady Kyoko. That maiden really changed you. "

Kuon seemed to have the answer on the tip of his tongue.

"She did not change me, Father. She inspires me. There is a difference."

Perusing his son's countenance, Kuu identified pain and concern in his eyes. However, there was also hope and... joy? Kuon was in love, there was no longer any doubt, and such a feeling was transforming him, giving people (giving him!) an access that Kuon had never allowed.

If Kuu thought he would be in time to prevent Kuon from being at the mercy of the maiden who had repudiated him, he had come too late. All he had to do now was stay close and do his best to keep the darkness from claiming Kuon completely, as well as to pray for his opinion about Lady Kyoko being wrong.

A/N – Hello my lovely readers! How are you?

I am still very happy with the receptivity that the previous chapter had. I hope you like this one too. I played a little with Kuu's excessive zeal, relating it to Kuon's perfectionism.

Particularly speaking, I would rather treat you with a bit more development in the plot, but for that, I needed to develop a little more the characters. So this chapter has born!

A big hug and see you soon (fingers crossed!), if the work allows it! ;)