Chapter Ten

Kuon shifted nervously as he sat on the bench outside his parents' house. He knew the code to get in past the gate and he knew the code to get into the house and he had his own key to enter but right now he wanted to sit outside. His mind was going crazy on him and he pushed his fingers through his hair again, making it even messier. Kyoko had told him not to worry about the paperwork and that he was probably stressed and maybe he looked at it without realizing and put it back without noticing the order. As much as he wanted to agree with her, she had just described a slip of his memory.

Kuon wrapped his arms around himself wondering what to do. He still hadn't told his mother about his sickness. He didn't want her to feel over protective of him. What was worse was the single digit chance that she would be repulsed by him. To have dementia this early on in his life? He had failed. Didn't that mean he had failed?

Kuon looked up at the door wondering if anyone was home. He froze as he heard the door open and his back straightened. He froze as he saw both his mother and father. Neither of them had gone to work. There had been no cars in the driveway.

"Kuon?" Kuu asked as he saw the distressed state which his son was in.

"Baby," Julie said as she gasped and ran towards him. She put her hand on his cheek and turned it. "Darling, what is it? What happened? Did you have a fight with Kyoko? I'm sure that you two can fix it, you're such a wonderful per-"

"I had a lapse in memory," Kuon said as he looked at his father. Kuu took a slow breath in.

"Okay. It's just once though, right? Maybe you're under too much stress. I wouldn't focus on it." Kuu had a gentle manner as he spoke but Julie kept looking between them knowing that they were talking about something which they had failed to mention to her.

"Are you stressed? Honey, if you forgot an important date or something then…then just explain it. Your father missed a couple during our relationship and I forgave him….after he begged me," she said before sitting down next to Kuon. "Why didn't you come to the house? You could have had breakfast. I'll make you breakfast," Julie said as she started to get up from the bench.

"It's more than that…I've had a very specific order to filing the paperwork with my…problem…" Kuon replied and Kuu nodded.

"It's just once, when it gets more frequent then you can discuss it with a doctor," he suggested and Kuon saw his mother staring between them before pouting and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine. You two share your secret but if you don't tell me what it is then I'm never talking to your father ever again," Julie said and Kuon's eyes widened.

"It's not…Dad's…" he started to argue and Julie still looked determined.

"I choose not to speak to him. You're my baby who returned to me after six agonizing years of waiting. You're my baby boy, I can't not speak to you especially when it's something that you've both done. I will understand that your father is to blame," Julie pouted before smoothing Kuon's unruly hair back. "I haven't seen you so distraught for such a long time. What's going on, darling?"

Kuon looked to his father who was a little stiff. He looked down before feeling his dad's hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. We love you no matter what happens," he said and Kuon turned to see his mother still confused.

"If one of you doesn't tell me then I'm going to die in six seconds of a broken heart," she said dramatically and Kuon looked down before taking in a deep breath.

"Please…tell me honestly if you're disgusted by me," he said and Julie stared at him. She was about to protest what he was saying but Kuon cut her off and stopped her. "I went to the doctor's…I've got an incurable illness….it's going to make it so that I have to stop acting. I'll have to find somewhere where I can be cared for."

"If you don't feel comfortable staying with Kyoko then we will take care of you," Kuu tried to convince Kuon. He hated how his son felt so detached from him. He was trying to think of a way to make his son feel comfortable with them when Julie looked between them in confusion.

"Why would we need to…" Julie said as she looked at him terrified. "Is it a brain tumor? Please don't…please…" she begged.

"I have been diagnosed with early onset dementia," Kuon said honestly and Julie blinked in shock. Kuon watched her. He knew there was only a slim chance that she would look at him with rejection. Instead she very gently placed a hand to his forehead and through his hair.

"My poor baby," she whispered as she tried not to cry. She wrapped her arms around him and threw her head into his shoulder. "You don't have to worry about a thing. Whatever happens, we're here for you. I don't want you anywhere else. I'll take care of you."

"We really will take care of you if the worst happens and you need us," Kuu nodded.

"I might not be…me…any longer," Kuon tried to argue and Julie nodded.

"My uncle…" she told him, "He was diagnosed with that. I just….it was so sad seeing him like that. My father tried to help as much as he could. He…" Julie felt the tears stream down her cheeks. She bowed her head. When she was a little girl sometimes she would laugh at her uncle because she didn't understand him. Thankfully Kuon didn't have any brothers or sisters and neither did Kyoko, he wouldn't have to feel that pain. Was this God's way of punishing her? She looked down. "I understand how scared you are but maybe the paperwork is a one-off. As your father said, if it doesn't turn out to be a pattern then we can just forget it and move on."

Kuon sighed, "It will happen eventually," he tried to tell her and Julie smiled.

"Well eventually isn't today. Your father is off to work now but we can talk. I can sort your hair out too. I wouldn't want someone with your level of success to look like his life is falling apart. Try your best to move on. Would it help if we were to do anything? We could help give you tips to monitor what behavior you do do," she suggested.

"I don't have to go to work," Kuu said as he nervously fidgeted. "If you need me."

"We'll be fine, Kuu," Julie waved him off and Kuu continued to look at his son. Kuon leaned forwards, staring into his father's eyes.

"Please go to work, Dad," he requested and with a sigh and a childish pout Kuu nodded, telling both his wife and his son that he loved them and went to the car to drive to the filming location. Julie threw her arms around Kuon again telling him as much as she could that things would be all right. Things had to be all right.

KHKHKHKH

Kyoko felt her heart pounding in her chest as she moved back and forth along the pathway in front of the production lot. She had just finished her own assignment and had a bit of time before she had an interview. She ran her hands through her hair as she tried to remain calm. She just needed to talk to someone. Seeing Kuon that way had upset her and she had wanted to do what was best for him. She knew that. What she didn't know was why she was doubting herself. Or was it that she didn't really feel that lying had been the best out of the two hurtful choices.

"Father," Kyoko said as she saw him leaving and he took off his sunglasses with a smile to her.

"Hey, I have my own fan come to see me," he smiled in a friendly and joking manner. Kyoko put her hand to his upper arm.

"Of course, Father," she smiled before he looked at her and saw the cloudiness in her eyes. Something was wrong. He sighed and then hummed with a nod of his head. "What's that reaction?" she asked nervously.

"I saw Kuon before I left…he's not doing very well right now," Kuu told her and Kyoko took a slow breath.

"I know…" she said shifting uncomfortably. "I kept trying to tell him that he probably didn't mean to shift the papers in the files, that he was doing so without thinking, that it was a mistake that anyone could have made but Kuon…he feels that he has to be perfect or else it will be a disaster."

"Maybe if he has labels…" Kuu suggested and Kyoko stopped walking. He turned to look back in her direction a little taken aback.

"Kuu-sama," Kyoko said uneasily. "If I were to tell you something then…would you not report it back to Kuon?" she asked and Kuu stared at her. He nodded hesitantly. He was a lot more hesitant about keeping something from Kuon than about keeping things from Kyoko. He hated that but he loved Kuon best. Nothing could change that. As much as he felt it unfair to his daughter in law, there was no way she could ever mean the same to him as Kuon did.

"I lied to him," Kyoko said and Kuu blinked. "The files….he didn't mess them up."

"He didn't mess them up?" Kuu asked before looking down. He looked at Kyoko puzzled by this, "That means that you found the papers before he told you the truth about what happened to him?" he figured out and Kyoko nodded, scared to what Kuu might think of her now. "He was really upset about that. I haven't seen him like that in a long time. He thinks that his condition has already reached the point where he's blocking out parts of his memory."

"Is that so bad?" Kyoko asked and Kuu stared at her in shock. "If on the other hand, he feels that he can't trust me because he didn't tell me himself. I need for him to be able to trust me so that if there are complications with the illness he'll feel comfortable. I need him to keep being honest with me."

Kuu stared at her, he could see the way she was fighting within herself but he also hated the way in which he had seen Kuon that morning. "What do you think of Julie and I taking care of him?" he asked and Kyoko shook her head.

"Please don't take him away from me," she said as she blinked through her tears. "Please, Father, don't take him away."

End of Chapter Ten

Thank you for reading

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Nine

H-Nala, Kaname671