Chapter Forty Nine

I finish putting the final touches on the chocolate cake that I was making to surprise Kuon and the girls. I've found a lot of edible pieces, hearts and cutouts and figures to put on it. Maybe people would say it's a little extreme to make your husband a four-layer dark chocolate ganache covered cake with different frosting between layers and to hide it from him so well but it paid off. This is my biggest and greatest Valentine's to give to someone.

I cover it up as I hear the doorbell ring. If the girls see it, they'll want it and it might ruin the surprise for Kuon. I go to get the door since Kuon is taking a nap and see Father with the girls. "Hey," I smile and Rose looks up at me with a grin, Ana laughs. "Okay, what is it?" I ask and Rose grins.

"You've got chocolate spots," she tells me and touches her cheek and neck. I turn to a mirror and smile. I was definitely having too much fun with this.

I put a finger to my lips, "It's for Daddy. It's a surprise for Daddy," I wink to them. "Of course, you're welcome to stay and have cake with us too, Father. I made enough for you to enjoy," I proudly beam and see Kuu shift nervously. What is going on with the male Hizuris today? Everyone seems a little awkward. "You could take some home for Julie-san."

"I might take you up on that," Father says before lifting a bag from a fancy salon. Is it a gift for Julie? It would make sense, she loves beauty products just as much as I do. "May I talk to you alone?" he whispers and I turn to the girls.

"You want to choose a movie to watch and we can watch it together tonight after dinner?" I tell them, they look between each other and nod. I grin as I see them scamper off before my attention is drawn over to Father. "I'll be right there," I call out to them. I soften my voice. "Okay, what is it?" I ask in a soft tone.

"Kuon asked me to bring him something but I don't know how I feel about it," Father says as he hands me the bag. My heart stops. I start to have horrible visions playing in my mind of him burning his skin, him cutting himself, him choking himself, or worse. I don't know if I want to know what's in this bag. "I don't know where his mind is but I just wanted to give it to you first."

I look at him carefully. No, Kuu wouldn't bring Kuon razors or things that would hurt him. I doubt that Kuu would even bring him bleach or cleaning products or some other product that is poisonous. I nervously look into the bag and sigh. I am looking at a high-end box of hair dye from one of the major salons around here. The color is the same shade as Ren Tsuruga's. I sigh.

"Thanks for not giving it directly to him," I say as I stare at the product. I mean. I know what he's thinking but I'm frustrated that he's even come to this conclusion. He's saying that Ren is better than him and I don't want him to go down that path. "How up to date are you on the Japanese community of Kuon fans?"

"I have it in my alerts, get a notification three times a day about top posts," Father says. Three times? Wow, that is less than I expected. Father pauses before shaking his head. "This isn't to do with that poll is it because the last time I checked it, Kuon was leading by twenty-percent." Father takes out his phone and shows me that Ren has 40% and Kuon has 60%. People must have been smart enough to come to the conclusion that without Kuon, Ren would have never existed. I look at the hair dye.

"He's attempting to convince himself that he's not as good as Ren," I try to explain before shaking my head. "No. I think that he's already convinced himself that he's not as good as Ren. I think part of him wants to be more like Ren but I love his hair. I've always loved his golden hair. I mean, he was attractive as Ren but he's absolutely gorgeous as Kuon." I sigh as I put the box in the closet under the stairs and tuck it behind a couple of my bags. "At least he didn't ask for color contacts, I'd have to flush those down the toilet."

"Don't you think that should be his decision?" Father asks and I sigh. He knows how much I love Kuon and how hard I've been trying to give him his independence when it comes to his medical issues. I just don't want him to dye his hair. Of course I will still love him but I want my perfect Kuon. I'm very spoiled and selfish when it comes to this.

"I don't want him continuing with these ideas. He has to know that Kuon is better than Ren. I don't want him feeding into some opposite belief," I look to Father before I sigh and bow my head. Doesn't he realize how dangerous it is when Kuon's mind grabs onto something false, especially something critical about himself. I mean, he's not too far from snapping and calling himself Ren Tsuruga if he dyes his hair and that's something which the girls don't need.

"I wouldn't worry about him so much," Kuu tells me feeling a little awkward about saying it. I sigh and nod. I don't want to argue with him. I know he might misunderstand but I don't want it to happen. He's made so much progress and I know him better than anyone, I probably know him better than myself. If it starts with hair dye, it definitely will not end there.

KyKuKyKu

I am so excited seeing the Muse work. I haven't seen the magic happen before and although Kuon has said it might take a couple of hours to finish. He turns to me curious to see my reaction and he smiles. "Thanks for sitting here with me, usually it's more quiet."

"That's because you don't talk to me very much," the Muse says as she puts her hands to her hips. Miss Jelly has told me that I'm the only one who can call her Muse because it's cute coming from me.

"I don't want to disturb your work," Kuon tells her and Muse rolls her eyes but does it in a way where Kuon can't see it. I see the dye that she's making up and a square that is that rich golden color. That's what his natural color is. I'm really excited to see him with his hair that color.

"Ren, do you want to take your contacts out before I get to work?" Muse asks and I lean in closer. I always get excited when I see those emerald eyes and I hold my breath. I've seen those green eyes that turn to a burnt sienna so many times now but it's still that magic that makes me understand that fate brought us together and that I should be grateful for that.

He's Corn. I found Corn. I fell in love with Corn. I'm Corn's girlfriend.

Apart from he's not only Corn, he's Kuon, he's my boyfriend and the man that I'm not afraid to love honestly and openly. He slips his contacts into the case and I gaze into those amazing eyes. I understand why he had to become Ren Tsusurga but when he finally reaches his goal and becomes Kuon Hizuri, I don't want him to lose his confidence and go back.

He looks so much better with his natural appearance, that's what good genes do. He definitely should appreciate what Father and Julie-san gave him.

KyKuKyKu

I know that she might be angry at me when it comes to this but she's not the best at hiding things. She gave me a great Valentines Day with amazing gifts but I know that this is the best for both of us. I look at the box and take a deep breath in. I have to wait ten minutes before I wash it out and hopefully it sticks. As I look into the mirror, I see her behind me and see how upset she is.

"Why?" she asks and I see the tears about to fall. She comes over to me and puts a hand on my cheek before sighing. "Okay. What's the next step?" she asks me and I look away.

"K..yo-kko" I struggle. I know she's disappointed in what I did but she's still here in front of me. "You…ddo-'nt have…tto."

"Tell me what the next instruction is. I heard that using hair dye from a box can sometimes hurt your head or it can cause your hair to fall out. I'm not happy but it's too late and I want to help you. So what's the next step."

"I ha-have to…wa-wash…itt…i-nn…tte-n more mm-in-nutes," I ask, my speech failing a little as I see her there with such pain in her eyes. She tries to hide the tears that have already fallen down her cheeks and then she nods.

"We'll do that next then, Kuon," she says as she emphasizes my name and I watch her. Is she really that scared that I'm going to do more. It's not as if I have anything more I can do. She sighs deeply. "Kuon, please don't forget how much we all love you."

End of Chapter Forty Nine

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Kaname671, kyoko minion