AN: I've decided to try to update this fic at least once a week on Mondays. It seems to be my most popular fic by far and I'm happy that so many people are enjoying it. This week is my birthday so I'm not sure how many other fics will be updated, but I hope you enjoy the ones which are.

Chapter Four – Kuon's Dream

Kyoko looked up at the sky. It was getting dark and she was starting to fall asleep but she wasn't going to let her exhaustion take more importance than her mission. She had come here to see Kuon and he had just left. She knew he felt exposed and she wanted to apologize to him, but more than that, she wanted to shake him and tell him to explain and to let somebody else in. He wasn't doing well and somehow his parents were too oblivious to notice it.

She looked around at the house. This really was a nice place that already made her feel at home. She wondered if Kuon still felt at home here. She wondered how much therapy he had had after the accident and whether any of it had been to help him heal mentally and emotionally.

She saw him come back with a few bruises on his body and his hand looking like there was some blood, "Kuon!" she said as she jumped down and stood in front of him. Her eyes widened as she saw how he didn't look at her as if he was ashamed over something. "Are you -"

"I'm fine," Kuon shrugged before giving him a false smile, "Did you have a good day today, Kyoko?" he asked as Kyoko pointed a finger at him.

"Father would call that a no good," Kyoko told him as Kuon blinked in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Kuon asked as he tilted his head to the side continuing this false smile which would mirror an older actor's in the future as he attempted to prove that Ren Tsuruga was an overall good guy and perfect gentleman, that was if the future ended up with that similarity.

"Kuon, please, this is me. How long has this been going on?" Kyoko attempted to ask him and Kuon raised an eyebrow before sighing.

"Kyoko, please drop it?" he requested, "It's not really any of your business, it's nobody's."

Kyoko formed fists by her side and she bit her bottom lip as she blinked away the tears. She hadn't expected him to attack her like that. She could see all the defenses around him and she didn't know what had happened since they were in Kyoto but she didn't like it. "You're important to me," she said as Kuon looked at her and laughed bitterly.

"At least I'm important to somebody," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I'm sorry that you can't see the real value of something in front of you. I'm not worth anything, Kyoko-chan."

"Idiot" Kyoko blinked back tears and Kuon watched her. He hated seeing her cry.

"Kyoko, things around here are…complicated. It's alright. Let's think about what would be fun for us to do together, okay?" Kuon asked and Kyoko shook her head. "I don't know what else to suggest," Kuon shrugged, "Things are what they are."

"I want to do things that Kuon thinks are fun," Kyoko said as she looked at him and wanted to run into his arms and hug him, instead she decided to keep her distance until he allowed her to comfort him.

"Kyoko," Kuon sighed as he took her in. "I don't want you to know me."

Kyoko blinked confused but wrapped an arm around her stomach as if she was going to throw up. Had she done something wrong? Why was he pushing her away and being so mean to her? Was he just pretending to like her? As she closed her eyes and felt tears slip down her cheeks, she suddenly felt him pull her into his warm body and he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong," he told her. "Our friendship is important to me too, Kyoko, but I wish you had better friends than me. I know that you have friends at school so why don't you tell me about them. What kind of things do you like to do with your friends? Is there something that you do with them that you and I can do together?"

Kyoko looked at him as tears were going down her cheeks, "Kuon, I don't want to talk about them. I want you to prove to me that you're going to be okay. Did I ruin your life?" she asked as his eyes grew wider than she had ever seen anyone's do before.

"No." Kuon looked at her, "Kyoko, I care about you and I need to protect you from my sadness," he tried to explain. "If I ruined your new life for you, I don't know if I'd be able to forgive myself."

Kyoko moved her foot anxiously, "More than anything I want to be of help to my friend in the ways he's helped me. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have the life that I have now, but even if I had nothing, I'd still want to be friends with you Kuon. I'm strong enough to take on your sadness. You need somebody there for you and your parents…" she looked down. Kuu and Julie weren't hurting Kuon intentionally, they were just too caught up in very busy schedules. They weren't seeing the impact that they had on their son. It wasn't in the same way that her mother had hurt her.

"My parents love me," Kuon said protectively.

Kyoko nodded, "I didn't mean to disrespect them," she said quickly. "I'm sorry, I just see you hurting and I want to help. If there is something that I can help with."

Kuon looked up, "How about we go to the pool?" he asked and Kyoko smiled. "We can sit in the water and I'll tell you all about how I'm not a very good actor," he laughed and Kyoko shook her head.

"I think you are a good actor, but I just know you well enough to see through you," she smiled as she felt him take her hand and lead her to the back of the house.

…..

…..

"So, they don't want me," Kuon said as he sat with his feet in the water as he looked over to Kyoko. "I don't know, it's as if being my father's son is such a huge monumental thing and a sign that I'm the next top actor." Kuon shivered and Kyoko looked at him with her head tilted. "I don't know. I wish that…I wish I could run away from all of this and not be here. Every time I try to act I am a huge disappointment to my father but I love doing it. I've always loved feeling as if I could adopt a new personality and new name. I mean, do you feel that?"

Kyoko looked at Kuon sadly and looked down. She kicked her feet in the water and looked at how the small rings would circle out. "I'm surrounded by actors, but I don't think I can do that," Kyoko smiled weakly. "I'm too shy. There's nothing that's motivating me to do that. Father helps me with my art projects though, he says that I might be able to get a sewing machine soon and then I can try to make accessories as well."

Kuon smiled, "Like makeup bags?" he asked and Kyoko looked at him with a small nod.

"I think that I like reflecting on the beauty in the world like the fairies and the magic. I know that you're not a fairy Kuon but it's like…when you look at a rainbow, you see so much beauty in the world and I want to capture that in my art. I've thought that I want to be an artist but I like bags and hair accessories because you can take the magic with you," Kyoko said passionately before seeing a slight deadness in Kuon's eyes.

"Kuon, can I give you some advice?" she asked nervously and Kuon looked at her before nodding slowly. "Take a break."

Kuon looked at her surprised before shaking his head, "I can't do that. Everyone else would get so far ahead," he tried to argue, "If I'm not acting or trying to get roles then I never will," he tried to argue. "It's not as if I can start a new profession at sixteen and get the top roles in any country," he argued and Kyoko hummed.

"There are lots of people who are child stars in Japan but half of them burn out. Acting is a job Kuon and I believe that you'll be the greatest actor one day but Father says you need to nourish your heart and body and that if you can't take care of yourself by exercising, having an outlet for your emotions, and having a good diet then you're really not being an actor," she smiled as she saw him looking at her and then he laughed too.

"Are you really sure that you're only turning eight?" he asked before looking down. "No, I can't stop. Acting is all that I have in my life. I'm not like you. I'm sure that you have people around you all the time, if I told Dad that I wanted to quit then I'd hurt him. You should have seen his face when I first told him that I wanted to be an actor because he liked doing it. I can't hurt him like that," Kuon commented. "I just have to man up."

Kyoko closed her eyes, "Can you please just think about it?" she asked and Kuon looked away.

"My father would never have enough time to speak to me about it," Kuon argued and Kyoko watched him. "Is it stupid that I think sometimes my dad doesn't love me?" he asked her and Kyoko paused. She stood up and tried to pull him up. "What are you doing?" he asked her as Kyoko had a glimmer of determination in her young eyes.

"Trust me," she said before Kuon followed her and his heart caught in his throat as Kyoko stood in front of his father. Kuon hesitated and looked around, he didn't know how he could say this to him. He didn't want to cause problems for his father in his job. "Mr. Hizuri?" Kyoko asked and Kuu looked at the two of them. "Kuon has something to say to you?"

Kuu tilted his head to the side and nodded, he crouched down so he could be opposite his son. "Is there something wrong?" he asked the little boy. He knew that Kuon had his pride and wouldn't address matters that might seem silly but this was something Kyoko thought was important.

"Da—Dad," Kuon said nervously. "I can't a-act," he struggled to say to him and Kuu looked very confused. "I keep getting it wrong. I'm not good at it, I feel like I'm suffocating and you're not here and -"

Kuu pulled his son into his arms and rubbed his back, looking at Kyoko with a grateful expression on his face. "Kuon, I'm sorry that I didn't see that. I'm sorry that you're having a hard time," he pulled back and looked his son in the eyes. "Kuon, can we work on it together?" he asked the little boy and Kyoko could see that in this man's eyes, his son was the most important person in his world.

She smiled as Kuon nodded and allowed himself a moment of weakness as he flung his arms around his dad's shoulders and pressed his face into his shoulder. Kuu smiled at Kyoko again as he just held Kuon for as long as he would need to be held.

End of Chapter Four

AN2: Whilst I am grateful for everyone who reads and supports this fic. I really wanted to thank the people who leave reviews. My impression is that everyone is getting busy with school, college, etc. right now and that is why I'm still getting a lot of hits but reviews are very scarce. I'm not trying to demand reviews but I wanted to express my gratitude for those who do, it really does mean a lot to me. Thank you to :: brennakai, Cheshire2313, Crazy4Animation, Guest, insidebeast, JeremyVD, Kris XD, paulagato, Reader4life, RichkeyZero