Closing the door behind him, Kuu let out a sigh of relief having just finished his last interview for the entirety of his trip. He turned and saw his nearly ever-present companion stretch out the kink in her spine that had been festering ever since they first sat down that evening.
With a satisfied smirk, she turned and brushed a strand of red hair out of her face and tucked it delicately behind her ear, tilting her head and asking,
"You ready to go?" With a forced chipperness in her voice, she beamed at him and he blinked once as he watched her.
"Where are we headed next?" He asked softly, not sure what was the plan for the rest of the evening.
Processing his question, Sai exhaled loudly and hung her head a little bit, before looking at him with a smile that was much more sad than it had been moments ago,
"Well, I'll be picked up in a bit to go with Rio for one of her jobs," she told him, having mentioned her best friend and her most recent escapade with an up and coming film company a few days prior. "I probably won't see you until we head to the airport tomorrow."
Realizing that this was the reason behind her actions, his eyes widened and he was stuck with a sudden sadness as well, this was the last of the time they'd really have to spend together. "You're coming to drop me off at my gate, right?" He asked, a moisture collecting in his eyes.
"I plan to, yes." She told him, biting her lip as she hedged between whether or not to ask her next question. Throwing caution to the wind, she blurted, "Are you sure you can't stay an extra day or two?"
He laughed and patted her head, "I'm sorry, Sai, I can't. I have a job tomorrow evening that I just make it back in the country for." As much as he desperately wanted to stay, he acted professional so he wouldn't make her feel worse.
She nodded her understanding and then fell silent, not wanting to look towards the doors to see if her ride was already waiting for her. Kuu turned to look, though and was disappointed to see the large company car already sitting there. He glanced at the young woman and met her eyes, as they stared forlornly back.
"Alright, I suppose you should go," he told her, watching her nod listlessly and pick up her tote bag. Before he could think better of it, he asked, "Before you leave, though...could I have a hug?"
Sai glanced up at his eyes, the hazel color nearly pure green as he watched and gauged her reaction. A smile appeared on her lips as she watched his pleading and somewhat awkward expression. He was usually so suave and confident, so to see him uncomfortable and asking such a question, he seemed like a teenager again.
It was such an unusual expression for him to make that she couldn't help but burst out laughing as he fussed over why she had reacted that way. Wiping the moisture from her eyes, she nodded and said, "You know, you asked me that same question when I was little."
"And you said no," he shook his head, a smile appearing on his face as his nervousness died down and was replaced by a sort of tense relief. He looked at her with the question still lingering in his eyes, and asked, "Are you going to say no again?"
Letting another gentle laugh go, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing him to gently put his hands at her back, holding her closely as if he was saying goodbye to his own daughter. He remembered the shy but proud little girl who had visited him with her mother in America. And he remembered the closed off, broken teenager who Lory was desperately trying to heal.
"I'm so glad to see that you've grown up so much," he whispered to her, feeling his eyes sting again at the thought, "I remember the adorable, smiling little girl who clung to her mother like she was a life raft. I was so concerned for you when Lory would call asking for help, and to see you grown into such a joyous, wonderful, talented young woman, I couldn't be more proud."
He finally let her go, holding her at arm's length and gazing down at her with tender eyes. Listening to his words and seeing the kind expression he was giving her, the tears that had been slowly accumulating in her eyes spilled out and marked her flawless skin with streaks of tears.
Kuu raised a finger and wiped the tear away, "I'm so glad you overcame everything that plagued you and became such a good person, I couldn't have wished for anything better than the wonderful person you've become."
Letting a shaky laugh go, Sai brushed another tear off of her own cheek and mumbled, "Damn it, I have too many father figures," her voice was softer and shakier than normal, but her lips turned into a gentle, beautiful smile and she beamed at him in gratitude.
The blonde actor ruffled her hair lovingly and said, "All the more men to beat up any suitors who have the gall to hurt you."
She laughed again at this, pleasing Kuu with the genuine, twinkling sound that he already associated with her happiness, and she took his hands in hers,
"Thank you, Kuu, really. Thank you for everything you've done for me, and for being there. Even though I haven't known you for long, I already know that you would be a great father, no matter what anyone says, and to have you as a guardian, even in name only, is a great honor."
Her words earned her a brilliant smile from the aged actor, who couldn't be happier in that moment where she called him a father, and he squeezed her hands lovingly, wishing that he didn't have to let go.
Standing across the room though were two figures that had walked in moments earlier. One was tall with dark hair, and he was speaking rushedly into his phone. The other, shorter with lighter hair, was trying to walk and write in the planner he held when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. She was easy to spot, with her hair back to red again. She stuck out like a sore thumb in the neutral colors of the studio.
Yashiro was about to point out the talent's presence to his charge when something else stopped him. The man she was talking with. He towered over her, his blonde hair catching the light and his hazel eyes an intense green. It took the manager a few moments, but he placed the man's face. Kuu Hizuri. The internationally famous actor stood not even a foot away from Sai, and the two seemed engaged in what seemed like a personal conversation.
Before he could say anything, he looked up and saw that the dark haired actor had stopped walking, the conversation he'd been having on the phone long forgotten as his gaze found the pair standing on the other side of the studio.
Finding his words, Yashiro urgently whispered, "Ren, that's Kuu Hizuri! I never thought we'd actually run into him!"
The actor watched as a moment of fear overtook him seeing his father so near. It was so intense and sudden that he didn't even notice the woman he loved standing just in front of him for a few minutes. When he did register that Sai was there, he watched in slight horror as she reached up and wrapped her arms around Kuu's neck and he held her closely.
Distantly he heard his manager gasp at this, but watching his father embrace the redhead so tenderly and affectionately, he was shocked to the core and couldn't really pay attention to his surroundings. Not moving, or breathing, or even blinking, Ren watched as they parted and Kuu lifted his hand and wiped a tear from her cheek.
Before he knew it, rage was searing through him. Being a bystander to such an exchange made him angrier than he'd been in a long while, and without meaning to, he marched towards the pair. Unchecked, his legs allowed him to fly forward at a staggering pace.
Right as he reached them, Sai took Kuu's hands and held them in her own, looking up at him with a soft expression. Not even thinking, the actor's voice bellowed out of his chest, "What do you think you're doing?!" He demanded, his voice low and dangerous, icy and cruel.
Completely taken aback, Kuu dropped Sai's hands and snapped his neck towards the voice of his son, seeing him standing only several feet away, surrounded in intense, brutal fury for reasons he didn't understand. He glanced between Ren and Sai in confusion and as he tried to speak, his voice produced only unintelligible mumbles.
Equally shocked by his interruption, Sai had to shake herself out of the fragile and open state she'd been in moments before and when she was finally ready to pay attention, she turned and met the eyes of the actor, burning like they do only when he was on the verge of complete hatred.
She hadn't seen him like this in quite a while, as Ren and her had been on good terms lately, and to see it so suddenly and without reason was truly shocking to the redhead. She couldn't, for the life of her, understand where the actor's behavior was coming from.
By now, she knew that this was a part of him, but one that he buried. In public, "Ren Tsuruga" didn't get angry. In that moment, she knew why. She wasn't looking at Ren Tsuruga right then. She was looking at someone else entirely.
Through the anger and viciousness in his expression right then, Sai was able to pull out of a few of his features clearly and they appeared strikingly familiar for some reason. Swallowing hard, she glanced between the man she was falling for and the man she had spent the last few days considering as a strong father figure and realized why Ren's features seemed so familiar. They were similar to Kuu's. Too similar.
That was when all the pieces fell together. In America, she'd met a boy. The boy at the cabin. Rick's cabin. The cabin Ren had a picture of in his living room. The boy had blonde hair and green eyes, very similar to Kuu's. In fact, the boy himself had reminded her of her godfather's good friend, which was why she'd been so unsure of him at first.
While she was with Kuu, he'd often mentioned the name "Kuon" when talking about his son. It had always nagged at her, like she should recognize it, but she never had. Now she remembered. The boy at the cabin's name was Kuon. The boy who looked both like Kuu himself, and Ren. The boy who was Kuu's son. The boy who was Ren. Kuon. Ren was Kuon, he had been all along. He was Kuu's son who had run away from home as a teenager.
In a flash, she remembered the day when she'd met Kuu again, when Ren had told her that he disliked the famous actor and hadn't wanted to associate with him in any way. Standing there dumbfounded by what she'd just pieced together, Sai realized that he hadn't held animosity towards the man because he hated him, but because he was ashamed to face him.
Just as Kuu started trying to talk to Ren, Sai watched the tension and the awkwardness of the gesture and concluded that the two must have cut ties and agreed to be total strangers while Ren was...well, Ren. Kuu had given up the ability to speak to his own son, for his sake. She knew she had to back him up, and in doing so, she would convince the actor she didn't know about his identity. She wanted him to open up himself. She wouldn't force him.
Clearing her throat, she interrupted the stuttering speech of the blonde actor and gestured to Ren, "Kuu, this is Ren Tsuruga, you saw him in that drama I showed you the other night, remember?" She beamed at both actors who looked at her in equal confusion, Kuu's tinged with worry while Ren's was accompanied by his wrath still.
"I...uh…" Kuu tried, his brain still miles behind for making coherent speech.
Saving him again, Sai turned to the still furious actor behind her and said, "And Mr. Tsuruga, this is Kuu Hizuri, the one that Yashiro was talking about the other day."
"What are you doing with him now?" The dark haired man demanded, still looming over her maliciously.
She shrugged casually and said, "I've been accompanying him on his stay. I managed his schedule, helped him to each location, and made his meals."
"So you were his maid his whole trip." It wasn't a question. Ren's anger grew and grew, pitching the temperature down in the room by several degrees.
"His manager." Sai corrected patiently, turning back to the stunned actor behind her. She wasn't sure why she had remained so calm in the face of Ren's anger this time. It usually sparked her competitive spirit.
"And Kuu, again, this is Mr. Tsuruga. He's been my mentor since I started and I'm very grateful for everything he's done for me. He's a little protective, but he forgets that I once took care of him in much the same way." She glanced up at him, daring him to interrupt or contradict her.
Immediately, Ren clenched his jaw before unclenching it as he tried to find the words to retort her accusation. He wanted desperately to tell her that the two situations weren't at all the same, but for the life of him, he couldn't find solid reasons to prove that. As a result, he ended up standing in front of her silently and fuming, his mind racing for a witty comeback to rival hers.
Sai was now watching Kuu rather than Ren, trying desperately to cast to him through her face that she was aware of the situation. She didn't know what good it would do to show him, but she felt like he would appreciate another person knowing his struggles, and maybe, just maybe, she could help.
Kuu cleared his throat and scanned the redhead's face, shocked to see her eyes nearly screaming to him that she knew what she was doing. She knew who the dark haired actor was to him. It took all his self-control not to let his jaw drop as he saw what she was saying. She knew about their relationship currently and was willing to respect their rocky footing.
He also belatedly realized how well she handled Kuon's anger. Even when he'd been a child he'd been a handful, often infuriating the blonde actor who then left his wife, Julie, to deal with him. It had gotten worse when he'd become a teenager and began acting out. Facing that same temper from a grown man was infinitely more intimidating, and to watch that petite redhead take him on without so much as a blink, it was truly impressive.
Thinking fast, he tried to remember a time where both of his children had met. When the shy little British girl had first come, she'd never left her mother's side. Even when she'd come to America later, as a teenager, she'd either been with Lory or at the guest house off his main property when he and Lory had gone off to a location shoot. She couldn't have possibly made it to the main house. They couldn't have met, so how did she know?
Figuring he'd ask her later about how she knew that, he vowed to play along in order to get out of the encounter with his son, knowing that she desperately needed to get to her final job of the night. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he said, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Tsuruga." He smiled the most polite, beaming smile he could, "I'm afraid we have to leave now, but I commend your work on that drama. You're very talented. I hope to meet you again sometime."
Kuu then turned Sai around, his arm still draped over her shoulder protectively and he lead her out of the building. As they approached the waiting car, Sai surprised the blonde actor by taking his hand and squeezing it tightly, "I'm sure, Kuu, that everything will work out. I know that for sure now."
He looked at her doubtfully, unsure of what to make of what was happening, "How do you know that?"
"Because I know your son." She said simply, a fond gleam in her eye.
Kuu nodded numbly, "Yes, I saw you talking to him earlier…"
Watching him, Sai shook her head and smiled gently, "No, Kuu, I know him. He's a dear friend of mine, and he's truly grown into an even greater man than you could have dreamed of. He's a wonderful person and a true gentleman. I've never met a man I valued as much as I do him."
Watching her face as she spoke, the blonde actor's jaw fell a ways, dropping open as he realized why her features seemed softer, her gaze gentler than he'd ever seen it. She was just as much in love with his son as he was with her.
Swallowing roughly, he gestured hesitantly towards her face, "Does he know about this?" He asked, implying she had kept her affections for the actor secret.
Smiling sadly, she told him, "No, and if it's up to me, he never will."
"But why, he-" Cutting himself off, Kuu realized that he should probably keep Ren's feelings private for now, as they weren't his to tell.
Shaking her head at him, she held a finger to her lips and whispered, "It's a secret, okay? You can't tell anyone. Not even Lory."
Kuu watched her sadly, knowing she was purposely holding herself back, but he respected her privacy, "Alright, Sai...I won't tell a soul."
Her lips lifted up into a smile again, somehow an even sadder one. "Thank you, Kuu."
Without another word, he helped the redhead into her car, shutting the door with a nod of his head and a wave. He stepped back and ran a hand through his hair, sighing heavily. Turning on his heel, Kuu walked into the parking garage and was approaching his rental when he was startled out of his thoughts by the ringing of his phone.
Minutes before, the dark haired actor had watched his father turn his back on him, walking Sai out without so much as a blink of acknowledgment. His anger reached new heights and he couldn't think straight for a few moments. Grabbing his phone out of his pocket, he hit a speed dial key and waited impatiently for the man on the other end to pick up.
After three rings, the distinctly low voice of the President rang out, "Oh! Hello Ren! I'm so glad you called, you wouldn't believe what just happened in my game! See-"
"Lory." Ren's voice rumbled, so dangerously low that the man on the other end of the phone froze, immediately sobering and sitting down, all of his excitement gone.
"Are you okay, Ren?" He asked, incredibly serious.
Silence greeted him, and the President became aware that the actor was so furious about something that it was palpable even over the phone. Finally, his incredibly controlled voice sounded again, sending chills down Lory's spine, "The bastard made a move on her."
Instantly, the man was overcome with confusion. Bastard? Who is "the bastard"? Is he talking about Kuu? And "her" could only mean Sai...but that means...what? What?! Pinching the bridge of his nose, Lory calmed his racing thoughts and said, "Wait, Ren. Explain this to me. Who did what to whom?"
"My father. He made a pass at Ms. Akai."
"No, that's not possible, Ren. He would never-"
"Damn it, Lory! I saw him!" He yelled, his voice booming so loudly that the President had to hold the phone away from his ear.
Knowing that it wasn't possible, Lory shook his head and tried desperately to come up with something to tell the fuming actor on the phone. Many of Lory's closest friends had felt parental emotions towards the gaggle of children Sai's parents always toted around with them. Most of all, they loved the little redheaded girl who clung to her mother like glue. She was doted on by the females and protected by the males who viewed her as a daughter immediately, whether they had children or not. Kuu had been one of these people, and Lory was certain that he felt the same now.
"I want to meet him." Came Ren's voice again, surprising Kuu with its cold professionalism.
"You want to have a meeting?" He asked, shocked.
"Immediately. I need to know what happened…" The dark haired actor's voice came out softer this time, weaker almost.
Hesitating only for a moment, Lory realized that he had to give him this. "We'll figure it out." He assured, telling him to come immediately and then hung up.
Turning right around, he dialed Kuu's number and was surprised to find it was picked up after only one ring, "Hello? Kuu Hizuri."
"What did you do?" Lory demanded, foregoing any greeting.
Kuu blinked quickly, "What?" He asked, dumbfounded by the distinct lack of context.
"What were you thinking? I can't believe you!"
Trying desperately to understand what he was talking about, Kuu fell silent as he wracked his brain, making occasional noises of frustration. Finally, Lory took pity on the man and explicitly stated, "Ren told me you made a move on Saiyuka, on my daughter."
Falling completely silent for a moment, he pieced together everything that had happened that evening and before he could help himself, he burst out laughing. Lory listened in shock as the man laughed so hard, he must have been clutching at his sides. Between heavy intakes of breath, the actor managed, "Is that what it looked like? Oh my god, Lory. I swear, it wasn't anything like that!"
"Then how did it end up looking like that?"
"She was basically forgiving me for everything I put her through this week, being my caretaker and all, and proving that she was over the dislike she'd had for me when she was younger." He said as fondly as Lory had ever heard him say.
"So what exactly did she do?" Lory asked, split between further worry and genuine happiness for the man.
"She hugged me, that's all." Kuu admitted, "And I suppose I can see how you'd misinterpret it, but I assure you, it was as if I had a daughter who was forgiving me after many years." He said these last words with tears in his eyes, unable to believe that he'd felt that way at all. "She even told me that she was incredibly glad that she got to spend time with me."
Hearing how Kuu's voice cracked as he told him this, Lory leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't heard the blonde actor so happy about something in a long time, and it warmed his heart through and through.
"Are you happy?" Lory asked, his own lips turning up in a smile.
Kuu sighed in content and nodded, even though no one could see him, "I am. Incredibly so. She finally opened up to me, and I got to feel like a good father again for the first time in years."
Sobering a little, the President remembered that he had something serious to tell the actor, "Speaking of that, Kuu, I believe the time has come. You can either retain that feeling and resume your role as a father, or you can give it up forever. It's your choice."
Startled by the sudden change in conversation, Kuu blinked and spoke softly, "What are you talking about?"
Lory waited for a beat and then said, "Your son has requested a meeting with you right now. He's already on his way."
Swallowing, Kuu realized what this meant and his hands began to shake. "So...I have one chance?"
"And it's right now. Head over here and meet me in my office. It's time."
"Of course. I'll be right there." With that, Kuu hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket. He got into the driver's side of his car and started it, but stared at the wall numbly for a few moments. This meeting would go one of two ways. Either Kuu would find that his family was on track to recovery, and his son would be able to look him in the eye and call him father again. Or, it would go incredibly badly, and he would lose every chance to regain his son.
Airing on the side of hope, Kuu pulled out of the garage and told himself that he would never give up his son, no matter how the meeting went. He was Kuon's father, and that would never change, no matter how much the man distanced himself. And Kuu would never stop fighting for him.