A/N: I apologize in advance, but I will be going on hiatus for about a month since my life is starting to be really hectic and I don't have as much time to write. I don't want to leave you all for so long on a cliffhanger, so the next arc will begin in the next chapter. Thank you for always supporting this story, and I will see you all in about a month!


Even though both would have been perfectly content to stay together for the rest of the day, Kyoko and Kuon got out of bed as morning rays of sunshine shone into Kyoko's room. Kuon used his magic to put his clothes back on and was about to waltz right out of Kyoko's room before realizing that it would generate lots of gossip if he did since no one had known that he snuck into her room last night.

"I'm going to head to the Fairy Kingdom to catch up on kingdom affairs with Yashiro-san, but I'll meet you again back here tonight," Kuon smirked at her, causing Kyoko to blush.

"Actually, could you come back a bit earlier? I have a feeling that Hana will want to see you once she finds out that we've returned. Could you meet me in Hana's room when you return?"

"Of course, Kyoko. I'll see you soon, then," Kuon replied, pressing a sweet kiss to her cheek before teleporting away. Kyoko pressed her hand to the spot where he had kissed and smiled, falling back onto her bed with a smile of true bliss.

Kyoko took a deep breath as she approached the throne room of the Sky Palace. As much as she was trying to avoid her mother, Kyoko knew that the matter of the Ghost Kingdom was still very important. As the Crown Princess, she had a duty to inform the Heavenly Empress of what she had learned during her dangerous mission.

However, Kyoko was still extremely hurt from what her mother had done. All her life, she had acted obedient and tried to please her mother, but all her mother had done in return was take away the man who brought her the most happiness in her life. And that wasn't to mention the lack of love that Kyoko had growing up. As a child, she had come to know that her mother disliked her, maybe even hated her. But why? All her life, Kyoko had never known why her mother had acted this way towards her. She could take the physical punishments, hell she could take the verbal abuse. But why did her mother hate her? Why would she try to take away the one person who ever made Kyoko happy?

Kyoko opened the door to the throne room to see her mother sitting on her throne, looking over various scrolls. They locked eyes, and Kyoko willed herself to not back down. Kyoko quickly crossed the room and bowed in front of her mother.

"I have returned from the Ghost Kingdom."

"As I can see," Saena responded coldly. Kyoko ducked her head at her mother's cold tone, and she bowed even more deeply.

"I learned of Vie Ghoul's plans to free King Reino and have enacted all necessary countermeasures. However, I failed to keep my identity hidden in the end, so please punish me for my incompetence," Kyoko looked at the floor. She stiffened as she heard her mother stand up and slowly approach her. Kyoko instinctively braced herself for any physical punishment that her mother would inflict.

"There's no need for any punishment."

Kyoko raised her head to see her mother standing right in front of her, and Kyoko straightened herself up to look her mother head-on.

"I'm only disappointed that I heard of you and King Hizuri setting off on this mission after you had already went undercover. I would have liked to hear of this plan beforehand."

"I understand."

"Since when did you have that sort of relationship with him?" Saena wondered.

"Who?"

"Hizuri Kuon. I heard that you've been spending your time in the Fairy Kingdom recently. After that mortal's departure, I didn't think you would try to spark up your arranged marriage so soon. I certainly refused to do so after a similar occurrence happened to me," Saena said, although where Kyoko was expecting to see a furrowed brow of disappointment, she saw that Saena's features were surprisingly soft.

"A similar occurrence?" Kyoko tilted her head in confusion.

"Before you were born, I was duped by an immortal from the Ghost Kingdom named Misonoi Kazushi."

Kyoko listened as Saena told her the story of how Misonoi had masqueraded as one of the many generals of the Water Kingdom. She had barely been crowned Empress, and already the great war between the Ghost Kingdom and Sky Kingdom was about to begin as King Reino began to rally his troops. Saena's advisors had already been breathing down her neck about marriage to a number of princes and kings in order to secure an heir, but she had rejected all their offers for the sake of remaining focused on her work. It wasn't until Misonoi visited the palace that her attention was momentarily drawn away from the upcoming war. She fell in love with the handsome general, and she was so blinded by her love that she didn't think to question Misonoi's true loyalties.

However, Saena believed that he had also fallen in love with her over the course of his mission. His target had been her map of battle formations and troop movements, but he had left her various clues of his spying. One day, she had left the map in her room with a magical seal and left to take a shower, but she had found the seal to be broken after she returned. The only person who had access to the room in that time had been Misonoi, but she hadn't wanted to believe that Misonoi was behind it. It wasn't until the eve of the great war that he abandoned her, drugging her tea and whisking the map back to the Ghost Kingdom, never to be seen again.

"My stupidity caused the Sky Kingdom to lose many lives that should not have been lost. I had let my feelings cloud my judgement. I let my kingdom down by playing right into the enemy's hands. I was relieved when we won the war since my mistake hadn't cost us absolutely everything. However, my advisors were still pestering me to find a spouse and produce an heir. I didn't want to open my heart again after Misonoi's betrayal, so I put off marriage as long as I could. Yet, when I visited Goraku Mountain to thank the disciples there for coming to the Sky Kingdom's aid during the great war, I touched a golden lotus that impregnated me with you. At the time with the sped up pregnancy, I had thought that it was Misonoi's child. I didn't want a physical reminder of my failure, so I wanted to…" Saena trailed off, looking down in guilt.

Kyoko's breath hitched, and her mother closed her mouth, looking up to her with no coldness in her gaze. There was a hint of concern in her look, and Kyoko put up her hands in reassurance. "Go ahead. Don't hold back. Please tell me. I'm completely fine with it," Kyoko said.

"I asked the palace medic for an abortion, but the medic refused to abort the baby since my pregnancy had already progressed so far, and the stress from the war would have made an abortion dangerous to my body. I was so distraught those days that I considered ending my own life, but Todoh-san stopped me, reminding me that I still had a duty to my people. So I gave birth to you. The palace medic later revealed to me that you were not Misonoi's child, but a spirit that had been trapped inside that golden lotus, waiting for a vessel to bring you back into the world. Even though I had learned that you weren't his child, you were still a symbol of my shame and disgrace in my eyes. So I took out my wrath on you, especially during your early childhood. It was impossible for me to properly raise the life I gave birth to as my own child."

"Why tell me this now?" Kyoko wondered.

"I wanted to explain the reasons behind my actions towards that mortal."

"You're trying to justify his death to yourself, not me," Kyoko scoffed, the first time she had done so in front of her mother.

"Ren never abandoned me. You and Shotaro forced him to leave me," Kyoko accused her.

"Kyoko-"

"I spent my whole life trying to get you to love me, but it turns out it was never possible. I only came to my senses when you took away the one man I ever loved and forced me to marry the man who manipulated me over and over again," Kyoko ducked her head, trying to hide the tears threatening to leak out.

"I know, but I made a promise to Fuwa Sho that he could marry you if he brought me the Soul-gathering Sheep Pillow to revive you after you jumped off Korosu Terrace after that mortal. Like I said before, the marriage is in name only. You don't have to acknowledge him."

"That's not the point! All my life, I've lacked love. I never had a father. My mother never cared to actually be a mother to me. The mother figure who actually took care of me was only trying to hitch me to her son. The boy who I loved manipulated me over and over again until I realized the truth. Every immortal around me never truly wanted to know who I was and be my friend; they only cared about my title. You tried to stop me from seeing the only two true friends I had. And the final blow was when you murdered the one man who ever saw past my title, the one man who made me feel as if he truly saw me for who I was."

Kyoko breathed heavily, trying to calm herself after she let everything spill out.

"You're right."

Kyoko's head snapped up to her mother, shocked that she had agreed.

"I never acted with your best interests in mind. I only did what I thought was right for the kingdom's future Heavenly Empress. I will never truly be a mother to you, and I can't take back what happened in the past, but I want to start to try to amend what I have done. You don't have to marry Hizuri Kuon. I will break the engagement for you if you would like-"

"No! The marriage arrangement is fine!" Kyoko interrupted her immediately. Saena knitted her brows in confusion.

"I won't force you to adhere to the engagement. You have my blessing to break the engagement," Saena repeated.

"I don't want to break the engagement! I want to marry Kuon! I love-!" Kyoko started to say before clapping her hands over her mouth. She knew her mother's stance on love, and she was worried that her mother would tear them apart due to that emotion.

"You love him?" Saena finished her sentence.

Kyoko released her hands and nodded fearfully.

"Very well. As long as you don't wind up pregnant out of wedlock, I give you my full blessing," Saena announced. Kyoko blushed and looked down at her feet, reminding herself that she would need to ask one of the servants for a contraception tonic after this meeting. Saena furrowed her brow as she realized the meaning behind Kyoko's blush, and she glared openly at her.

"Have you slept with Hizuri Kuon already?!" Saena asked. Kyoko nodded shyly, and Saena's glare intensified.

"You will ask the palace medic for a contraception tonic directly after this meeting," Saena ordered, and Kyoko nodded quickly.

"Since we share mutual affections, I wanted to ask you if September 2nd would be a good day for our wedding."

"That would be fine," Saena replied, still a bit coldly after what Kyoko had revealed.

"Then I will take my leave now," Kyoko bowed, heading to see the palace medic with a blush.

As Kuon teleported into his study in the Fairy Kingdom, he found Yashiro busily looking over reports on the agricultural yield of the past year. When Yashiro looked up from his papers, he immediately stood up and smiled.

"You're back!" Yashiro exclaimed.

"I am," Kuon smiled in amusement, watching as Yashiro gathered up the pile of scrolls on the table. Yashiro approached Kuon, and Kuon widened his eyes in shock as Yashiro dropped the heap of scrolls in his arms.

"I'm so glad I was born a Yashiro instead of a Hizuri. I would never want to be king. Running a Kingdom by yourself is a lot of work. At the very least, I was a bit more experienced this time around compared to when you had your heavenly trial and were gone for years on end," Yashiro said.

"I returned from my heavenly trial more than 300 years ago, but why can't I seem to remember what the trial entailed?" Kuon wondered.

"I'm not quite sure. All I know is that you randomly wound up in LME one day all beaten up, and you chose to drink a memory potion from Takarada-san to forget about whatever happened during the trial."

"Why would I do that?" Kuon wondered. Even in his darkest times when Rick had been killed, Kuon had refused to take a memory potion and forget his trauma. What could have possessed him to take it for a mere heavenly trial? It just didn't make any sense to him.

"Ah, it's not good to dig up the past like this. If you chose to take the memory potion, you probably never want to remember whatever happened. What about you tell me how your dangerous mission went instead?" Yashiro asked. Albeit reluctant to change the topic, Kuon answered, "I think it went well."

"Come on! You have to tell me more than that! You were acting as Kyoko-chan's big brother! You two shared a room all this time! I bet it was hard for you to control yourself in those circumstances," Yashiro smiled teasingly. Ren sighed at his friend's teasing, but he found himself smiling slightly at having the company of his friend again.

...

Kyoko opened the doors of Hana's palace to surprise her daughter. Hana had been playing with some of the dolls her mother had made from her, and when her head snapped up to see who had entered, her mouth immediately widened into a huge grin.

"Mother!"

Kyoko laughed as Hana ran up to her to give Kyoko a hug.

"I missed you, Hana," Kyoko kissed her forehead.

"I missed you too, Mother! Since you've been gone, so much has happened!" Hana exclaimed.

"Oh? What have you been up to?" Kyoko smiled.

"Ruto let me visit Grandpa and Grandma every day! While I was there, they told me many of father's stories!" Hana smiled.

"And what kind of stories does your father have?"

"Father used to train under High God Rick, and he was the best disciple in Goraku Mountain! Grandpa and Grandma said that they would constantly hear of how Father had bested his opponents! Grandpa went on and on about how great his son was. He's such a doting otou-sama," Hana giggled, causing Kyoko to laugh as well.

"Were you two talking about me behind my back?"

Kyoko and Hana turned to see that Kuon had teleported into Hana's room. Hana immediately ran to give Kuon a hug.

"Father!" Hana smiled, and Kuon picked her up.

"How are you, Hana?" Kuon smiled.

"I missed you and Mother so much!" Hana exclaimed. Kuon placed a soft kiss to her temple as Hana turned to Kyoko.

"Mother, I want a hug from you as well!" Hana exclaimed. Kuon shifted Hana in his arms to hand her to Kyoko, but as Kyoko tried to take hold of her daughter, she found that her arms seemed very weak. She had to set Hana down in fear that she would drop her.

"Mother? Why did you put me down?" Hana wondered.

"I'm sorry, I must be a bit tired still," Kyoko replied, wondering where all her strength had gone.

"Your mother doesn't have enough stamina these days," Kuon smirked, causing Kyoko to blush bright red at his innuendo.

"Enough stamina? What does that mean?" Hana wondered.

"Your father doesn't have enough stamina either," Kyoko fought back, causing Kuon to laugh.

"Father doesn't have enough stamina either? Does that mean that although father can hold me, he can't hold mother?" Hana wondered. Kyoko noticed that Kuon had gotten a certain teasing glint in his eyes, and she yelped as he grabbed her legs and hauled her over his shoulder.

"Kuon!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"Hana, I'm going to take your mother to rest since she's tired," Kuon said.

"Okay, Father!" Hana grinned widely, blowing him a kiss. Kuon smirked and turned towards the door. He carried her over his shoulder all the way through the Sky Palace to her room as Kyoko beat at his back, ordering him to put her down. Her cute temper only spurred him on even more.

...

Shoko had heard of the Crown Princess's return and had gone to check on her for Sho, but she was stunned to see Kuon carrying Kyoko over his shoulder through the palace. She bowed her head as Kuon walked past, but she turned around and started to follow the pair secretly once they had passed.

Deciding that Kyoko's palace was too far away and seeing that the Hall of Radiance was on the way, Kuon changed his route and entered the Hall of Radiance, setting Kyoko down on the bed there. Shoko walked up the steps and hid behind a pillar to listen in.

Kuon pressed a hand to Kyoko's forehead. "Are you all right?" Kuon asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just a bit sluggish today," Kyoko responded.

"Do you want to call the palace medic?" Kuon asked.

"No, I think I'll be okay."

Kuon pulled Kyoko close to him and started to massage her back. Kyoko smiled at him and moaned in satisfaction.

"You don't have to do that for me, Kuon."

"What if I want to?" Kuon hummed, still working out the kinks in her back.

"How am I supposed to pay you back for doing this?"

"I can think of many ways..." Kuon grinned, letting a bit of the Emperor of the Night into his smile. Kyoko craned her head to kiss him sensually, and Kuon pushed her shoulders onto the bed before attacking her mouth with his own in a passionate kiss. However, suddenly remembering where they were, Kuon pulled away.

"Maybe we shouldn't do it here in the Hall of Radiance. He's Hana's father after all. It's disrespectful to the dead."

"Then are you saying you want to sneak into my bedroom again, Kuon?" Kyoko smirked, causing Kuon to smirk back as he took her hand and teleported them back to her bedroom.

Shoko blushed bright red at having witnessed such a scene like a peeping tom. She hurriedly teleported back to Sho's quarters and realized that Sho stood no chance anymore if Kyoko and Kuon were already that close in their relationship.

"Shoko? Where have you been?"

Shoko froze and turned to see Sho lounging on a chair. "N-Nowhere!" Shoko replied.

"Then why is your face all red?" Sho narrowed his eyes. Before Shoko could come up with another lie, Mimori came into the room. "Sho-chan, the Crown Princess is back!" Mimori exclaimed. Sho immediately perked up, but Shoko could see the gears turning in his head as he turned back to her and narrowed his eyes.

"You've seen her already," Sho accused her. Shoko sighed. There was no hiding it any longer.

"I accidentally witnessed a private moment between Hizuri Kuon and the Crown Princess before they teleported to her bedroom," Shoko admitted. She watched as Sho's face became as red as a tomato in rage.

"She leaves for a while without a word, and suddenly when she comes back, she's shacked up with that Hizuri?!" Sho growled, storming out of his quarters to smack some common sense into Kyoko's head. Shoko and Mimori followed after him until he stopped in front of Kyoko's palace, watching the various servants putting up decorations. They bowed as he approached them.

"Hey, what are you decorating for? If it's for Kyoko's birthday, she doesn't like gold or green. Change them," Sho ordered.

"The Crown Princess picked these colors herself since the King of the Fairy Kingdom will soon marry her," A servant replied. Sho's face turned red with fury, and he trudged towards the guards in front of the palace. They immediately stepped in front of him, blocking his entry.

"The Crown Princess said that no one is to enter her palace," A guard said.

"Then why is that Hizuri in her palace?!" Sho argued.

"He's the only one she allowed clearance," The guard replied. Sho growled in rage and trudged back to his own room, leaving Shoko and Mimori to follow behind trying to console him.

...

The next morning, Kuon kissed the top of Kyoko's head and slid out of bed. She grumbled at the absence of warmth and fluttered her eyes open, watching as Kuon changed.

"Where are you going?" Kyoko wondered groggily.

"I still have a few more matters in the Fairy Kingdom to resolve with Yashiro-san," Kuon replied.

"Would you be willing to take Hana with you? I think she wants to spend time with you."

"Sure. I'll stop by her room and pick her up before departing," Kuon agreed.

"I love you, Kuon."

"I love you too, Kyoko," Kuon brushed a kiss to her forehead.

...

"You're making me babysitter again?!" Yashiro's mouth gaped open.

"Uncle Yashiro, was I such a burden to watch over last time?" Hana pouted.

"No, you're a wonderful girl, Hana. I'm just getting a bit older, so I'm not as energetic as I used to be, so I don't know if I can keep up with you," Yashiro replied.

"First Mother and Father have too little stamina to pick me up, and now Uncle Yashiro is too tired as well?!"

Yashiro widened his eyes in shock at Hana's innocent words and looked to see Kuon... No way! Was he blushing?!

"I hope Father and Mother are married soon so that Father doesn't have to keep sneaking into her bedroom to see her. Last night, Father snuck into Mother's room very late at night. If he does that every time, it'll be hard for me to find him," Hana sighed. Yashiro's jaw dropped to the ground, and he turned to see Kuon looking up, a hand over his mouth to try to cover the rising blush.

"Y-You h-how w-when-" Yashiro stuttered before a high pitched squeal came from the bespectacled immortal. Kuon and Hana looked to him in shock, not thinking he was capable of making such a noise.

"What are you trying to say Yashiro-san?" Kuon frowned, hoping that his friend wouldn't start to ruthlessly tease him about this. Kuon was surprised when Yashiro straightened up and readjusted his glasses.

"Although I'm ecstatic for both of you, have you thought about the consequences of these late night visits, Kuon?" Yashiro asked seriously.

"What consequences? I'm already going to be marrying her anyways," Kuon replied.

"What if she gets pregnant out of wedlock?" Yashiro blurted out.

"Mother's going to get pregnant?! Am I going to have a little sister or brother?" Hana's eyes sparkled.

"I promise, we're being safe. She won't get pregnant until after the wedding," Kuon reassured Yashiro with a smirk, causing Yashiro to almost squeal once again like the fanboy he was.

"Aw, I was hoping to be a big sister," Hana said deflatedly.

"One day you will be, Hana," Kuon smiled at her.

"Really?"

"I have to go to a council meeting, but I'll come back soon, Hana," Kuon pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking out of the room, leaving only Yashiro and Hana behind. Once Kuon was gone, Hana turned to Yashiro.

"Uncle Yashiro, I understand that you are excited about my parents' relationship, but the number one fan spot is already taken by me," Hana pouted, causing Yashiro to widen his eyes in surprise before laughing.


Thank you to all who reviewed last chapter!

H-Nala- Kyoko consumed a lot of the potion since she ate almost her entire meal, but Kuon only ate one spoonful, so he will not suffer the effects of the potion like Kyoko will. She's already feeling a bit of the effects of the weakening potion this chapter, but the full effects won't be seen until next chapter where Kuon will hopefully be able to save the day in the end.

Guest 1- Aw, thank you! Life can be a bit hectic sometimes, which gets in the way of chapter updates, but thank you for your understanding and support!

Guest 2- Thank you! It's very heartwarming to hear that my stories have such an effect on you :). See you soon for the next chapter!

brennakai- The poison will not affect Kuon since he only had a spoonful, but the same can't be said about Kyoko since she finished a whole plate laden with the poison... I have thought about redeeming Sho like I had in one of my previous stories and have him feel guilt for all of his actions, but we'll have to see since this version of Sho has done some really horrible things and still hasn't learned.

Paulagato- At least they had a lil' family reunion before the threat of the poison comes to surface and allows Reino to have an opportunity to escape. Hana won't be getting a younger sibling quite yet, but I can't make any promises about the future!

Guest 3- I'm glad you liked last chapter! Thanks for your review!