Priorities

Chapter 1

How long had it been since she'd seen him last? She looked across the room and sighed. "Almost four years." She shook her head. Biggest and best mistake I ever made. She thought as she began straightening her living room, and preparing to make dinner.

It had been almost four or five years since she'd seen Kuon last, it all just blended together and evaporated. Since he'd jetted off to Los Angeles to start his International career. The last time she'd seen him was the night before he'd left. She was 18 years old and he would be leaving the next day. She loved him. She made love to him, and she didn't regret a single moment of it. Although, she really wished that he'd seen her as she had seen him. She was heartbroken for a little while. Not hearing from him. No communication from him at all. She really thought she was going to die, but finally accepted that she meant nothing, but a quick night of fun for him, in the end. At least she had an experience that would last her a lifetime, and an unforgettable memory. All of those memories came dancing through her mind as she prepared dinner.

She wiped her hands on her apron and plated the final product of her efforts.

"Sweetheart, dinner's ready!" She called out as she swept out of the kitchen and placed the plates on the table.

The beautiful, blond-haired, green-eyed little boy looked up from his toys and smiled widely. "Kay, Mommy!" And quickly ran to the table and took his seat, after washing his hands and face.

Kyoko patted her little treasure on his head and smoothed his hair. She kissed his temple and smiled, then sat next to him. "I made your favorite."

"Thank you, Mommy." He told her and neatly arranged his napkin in his small lap.

She smiled softly before picking up her fork. "You're very welcome, Shin-chan. Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu." He chirped before digging into the heaping plate she'd prepared for him. Oh yes, he definitely had his grandfather's appetite... A prominent Hizuri trait, that was accompanied by the blond hair and green eyes. Inherited from his grandmother, she suspected after seeing a photo of the beautiful woman.

Had it really been over three or four years since he'd seen her in person last? He did feel ashamed of himself for it. He'd been so busy, but the thing that actually kept him away was the guilt. The guilt for what had happened that night, and his guilt for not telling her in person, his true identity. He'd tried to keep abreast of her progress and read everything that he could find on her. No one would tell him anything about her starting at the three month mark after he'd left. Four months after that, she'd dropped out of the public eye for a few months and returned. After that, her rise was meteoric, yet she rarely took jobs that would take her out of Japan, and her personal life had a complete blackout on it. He wondered if she did that because she didn't want to run into him at any point. It would make sense, but it did put a harness on her career and brought it to a slow crawl, he thought.

"Hello, Ruto." He greeted as he slid into the limo Lory had sent for him. It was a little of a shock that Lory himself hadn't come to pick him and Yashiro up from the airport.

Ruto just silently nodded and gave them a look that they just couldn't decipher.

The ride to LME was as silent as a graveyard, at least it would have been without Yashiro's chatter about his upcoming schedule, and little outbursts on how excited he was to be back, and the would they see Kyoko-chan's.

Kuon just silently listened, nodded, and stared out the window to watch the passing scenery. Not much had really changed since he'd left. Maybe a new building here and there. A new park. A building or two that had been upgraded and refaced. All in all, it was the same. The same streets. The same looming office buildings. The same parking garage, and the same elevator that took them to the lobby.

"Mommy, I want to go with you today." He heard a small voice.

He heard a familiar giggle. "Sweetie, I have filming today. I promise I won't be too long, okay? Besides, you haven't seen your friends at the daycare center for a few days."

"Can we see Oji Sho after?" The sweet little male voice asked and Kuon turned to find who was speaking.

"No Sweetie, your Uncle Sho is out of town this month, but Maria, Mōko, and Chiori will be here tonight." The beautiful ravenette told the small blond with a smile, and a shimmer in her golden eyes.

Kuon stared in shock at the pair.

Yashiro tapped him on the shoulder, not aware of the scene that Kuon was taking in. "Kuon... We have our meeting with Takarada-san shortly." He told him, pulling him out of his shock. "Kuon? Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or a murder scene."

"I... I'm just feeling a little out of it, Yukihito. Long flight." He made the lame excuse.

Yashiro nodded. "I'll make sure to leave you a little time to rest before your interviews, and filming." He told him, flipping through his schedule.

"Yeah..." He said absently, a little short of breath. It can't be. Someone would have told me, right? He was lost in thought as Yashiro dragged him into the elevator to his meeting with Lory.

Of course she didn't see him in the lobby, her attention was fully focused on the light of her life. When her little Shin was with her, the world could be going to hell on a rocket around her, and she wouldn't care.

The sole reason that her personal life was not exposed to the media? She had Ten and Lory Takarada on her side, not to mention the entire staff and denizens of LME. They all respected her and didn't care one iota that she was a single mother. She was an inspiration to a good majority of them, and they respected her. It also helped that little Shin was a perfect little angel that everyone who met him fell instantly in love with him, and his sweetness, even at the age of three.

If one were to ask his Aunts Kanae, Maria, Chiori, and Aki, and his Uncle Sho, his Ojii-san's Lory, Ushi, and Takatsuki, and his Obaa-san's Ami, Ten, and Saena, they would tell you that he was undeniably the most intelligent three year old they'd ever had the privilege of meeting. It was truly a pity that his Ojii-san and Obaa-san in America didn't know about him, they would have been so proud, but to tell them would mean to tell his father, and to tell his father would mean that his mother would have to deal with the media fallout, the hit to both Kyoko and Kuon's careers, and the fact that she knew for certain that Kuon really didn't love her like she had loved him or how he claimed to long ago.

She could deal with the media and everything that came with it, but to hear that she was nothing more than a fun night, straight from his lips, and the rejection that went with it... Well, she'd much rather remain in the dark. It was easier that way and far less painful. Not only that, she certainly didn't want little Shin to suffer from the rejection that cut into her every moment she wasn't with her son or doing her job.