AN: Thank you so much for reading. Hope I don't hurt your heart in this chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty Six - Disappointment

Kyoko took a seat at the side of the bed so that she could still be there for Kuon. She was done with the secrets and the wall between them. She didn't want to admit that the reason she wanted to tell him what had happened to her was because she didn't want him to hide what was happening to him. She didn't want for him to feel empty and alone and try to deal with this illness and this disappointment alone.

"I've told you about my biological father, correct?" she asked him as Kuon nodded, "the story that my mother told me?"

Kuon nodded but he didn't feel able to connect with her at this point. "About the case files?" he asked her and Kyoko nodded. "About how you never knew who he really was?" Kyoko nodded again. "Yes, you've told me about them. Look, Kyoko…" he attempted but the girl continued anyway.

"So, nobody knew who he was and we all felt that he was just giving the secret files to the other side as a mole. The name didn't exist. His job didn't exist. My mother thought that once he had taken what he wanted from her and had left her with an unwanted child that his job was done and he was out of her life forever." Kyoko said as Kuon looked down with heavy sighs.

"Yes, I remember you telling me all of this," he said to her.

"Well, I met him, for a brief moment but I met him and the times had really changed him and made him cold to the world, at least when he was with my mother he seemed warm and comforting, she says that he gave her a chance to stop her. Somehow, my father wasn't giving anyone the same chance and it was because of him that they found out that there was a child." Kyoko sat with her hands in her lap as she looked forwards, she didn't know how much of this she could tell Kuon without him asking her questions. She was glad that he wasn't speaking to her at this point.

"So, when they had known that my mother, who had connections with one of the gang members, a family member that I didn't know about, had this daughter they wanted to get me into this society to be a mole and a fake for them," Kyoko said. "They asked me to do a few jo-"

"Stop," Kuon said as he looked at her and Kyoko paused with her mouth hanging open. She turned to her husband and saw the pain that was on his face. "Whatever happened there, my mind can't focus right now. It's alright that you want to tell me, but I can't focus on this. I'm sorry," he apologized quickly.

Kyoko turned to him and Kuon had his eyes cast down and his fist tightening on the sheet.

"Kuon?" she asked nervously as she looked at him, trying to take it all in. He didn't look right. It wasn't that he was sick, she could understand him feeling ill or nauseous but this seemed like an empty shell that she was speaking to. He was most likely right. This was most likely the wrong situation to tell him her story. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. Sweetheart," she said as she reached out to him and put her hand on his cheek lovingly, "Are you okay?"

He didn't react to her touch almost as if she wasn't there.

"Kuon?" she asked as for once she failed to see Ren Tsuruga sitting there. This wasn't right, she couldn't tell him this. "Kuon, whatever it is, we'll get through it together."

"I'm sorry," Kuon said as he slipped his wedding ring off of his finger and handed it to her, "No we won't."

Kyoko paused nervously, her heart beating so fast it felt as if her chest was going to explode. She looked at the ring he gave her and tears filled her eyes. He didn't want her anymore? "Kuon," she said painfully as she knelt in front of him, straddling him. "Kuon," she said as she looked at him and felt that he was broken without repair. "My sweet Corn," she said as she tried to turn his face to look at her. She felt as if she was crawling into a deep dark hole. She couldn't breathe but she had to try to get through to him.

"I love you," she said trying to hold back the tears. "I love you no matter what. There's nobody in this universe that I love as much as I love you. I don't want to let you go so I'm going to hold onto this for you," she said as she held up the ring. "I'm not going to force you to wear it, but I'll hold onto it for you so that when you want it back, I'll happily put it onto your finger again."

Kuon looked at her but it was as if he was looking through her.

"You should be with someone else," he told her and Kyoko felt as if he was repeatedly stabbing her through the heart.

"I c-can't," she shook her head and placed both hands on the bed. "I'm sorry but I can't. I love you, Kuon. I don't want anyone apart from you. Please don't do this?" she tried to beg of him. "I understand the pain you must be feeling, but please don't -"

"Are you confident in your skills taking care of Aurora?" he asked her seriously and Kyoko paused. Did that mean that he was planning on going off somewhere without the two of them? What was he doing? She was usually so sure of what was going through his head, she could read him better than any acting critic, but right now she couldn't see him.

"Aurora needs her dad," Kyoko said as she looked at him nervously. She tried to kiss him but it felt hollow and empty. He was holding back on her. "She needs her daddy, Kuon," she tried to tell him but Kuon didn't respond. Kyoko didn't know where his mind was but drawing out Ren right now wasn't going to help anyone.

"Can you please leave?" Kuon said bluntly and Kyoko felt a strike to her stomach.

"Okay, but I'm going to tell the nurse to keep an eye on you," she said wanting what was best for him. "I love you, Kuon, but if you need some time to yourself then I'll give you that. Please know that when you come home though, I'll be waiting there to give you back your ring with my arms open wide and my mind open to listen to anything you want to say. I love you," she said and felt herself fall deeper into the abyss as he nodded silently.

Kyoko closed her eyes and tried to stop herself from sobbing in front of him as she walked out of the room.

…

…

Kyoko couldn't sleep that night. She couldn't sleep with that large empty space next to her where Kuon should be. She had tried to grab a large body pillow that she had used when pregnant with Aurora, but it didn't help. She couldn't feel his warmth and his breaths, she couldn't notice how his body inhaled and exhaled. It wasn't him.

So, she had spent the majority of the night tossing and turning and screaming out his name as if he would magically appear and save her from her pain.

Kyoko was woken up at three in the morning and at first she thought it was by Aurora. However, the baby monitor didn't have any sound coming through. After waking up a little more, Kyoko realized that the sound was the vibrations of her cellphone. She quickly picked it up before it stopped buzzing.

"Hello, you've reached Kyoko Hizuri," she said before feeling as if her world had been broken.

"Hizuri-san, I'm calling to inform you of your husband's suicide attempt. Is there a way for you to come down to the hospital?" Kyoko's eyes widened as she heard that and it was as if everything inside of her was rotting. She felt as if she was about to throw up. She shouldn't have left him. She should have tried every single method in her arsenal to try to get him to open up to her.

"Ye-Yes, I'll come as soon as possible," she nodded through tears, "H-How is he?"

"Currently he's in critical condition in the ER," the doctor said, "I can discuss the rest of the details with you in person."

Kyoko nodded, the tears threatening to overwhelm her. She felt as if she couldn't speak anymore and as if every word would turn to bile in her throat. She wanted to cry and to disappear and go back to the woods in Kyoto and tell Corn how important he was to her. She wanted to have her friend back. She wanted Ren Tsuruga to play around with her whilst also teaching her about acting. Was this what the apocalypse felt like because this was certainly as if her world was ending.

She got off the phone and went to Aurora's room trying to remember all the things that Kuon had with him when he took her out. Finally, she got to the baby and lifted her into her arms trying not to wake her. She wasn't sure of her abilities at being a mother, she hadn't had to take of Aurora by herself and that was why she needed her father. She needed to be with her daddy. Even if Kuon hated her and never wanted to see her again, Aurora needed him far more than she needed her.

She went to the car and placed Aurora in the car seat before sitting down in the driver's seat. She remembered all of the times when she had been in the passenger seat since Kuon tended to be the one who drove them. She remembered all of those conversations starting from when she hit her head trying to explain her reasons for acting to him.

He was always there to help her out. Even when they disliked each other, he had carried her when she had hurt her ankle, he had been there to make sure that the reporter didn't hurt her, he had told her Sho's commercial lines so that she would take care of her skin.

He was always such a thoughtful guy who always seemed so mature to her and she had fallen in love with him. Now it seemed like she wasn't giving him enough thought. Maybe it was better if she stayed away from him but she was selfish, she couldn't do that to him.

As they got to the hospital, Kyoko took Aurora out of the car and slung the baby bag over her shoulder. She just hoped that he was okay. He was smart, he would have picked something that would have worked. He knew about pain and suffering and he even knew about this, he knew how someone could kill themselves.

She just wanted to see him.

She needed him to be okay. They were always stronger together when they worked as a team.

This couldn't be the end, right?

Right?

End of Chapter Thirty Six

Thank you for reading

Special thank you cookies to the reviewers of Chapter Thirty-Five

Brennakai, Crazy4Animation, Erza