AN: Hope that you enjoy this chapter 😊
Chapter Five - Damages
Kuon woke up early the next morning and snuck out of his bedroom with his shoulder hurting still. He had to try to summon up all of his acting skills now because he didn't want for anyone to see him break. He definitely didn't want his father to know about all of this. If his dad knew there was no telling what he would do but Kuon was even more worried about that being the final straw.
However, what he hadn't told anyone was that he had been looking at Kyoko's artwork before going to bed. Kyoko had been finishing with painting something and she was talking about these ball joint figures that she had seen and how it would be fun to use them but then she had to hang the picture up. Boss had asked to see her and so she had gone and he had packed up her items and tried to hang up her picture using a little step stool.
That's when the accident had happened and he really didn't want Kyoko to know about it so hopefully he could go in and fix everything up.
Fortunately, he had been able to save her precious artwork.
As he took a step into the room, Kuon's eyes caught on to the shelf that had crashed down the previous day and had hit him in the back. He put his hand on the wood and sighed trying to figure out how to get it adjusted back onto the wall. Kyoko had been displaying a lot of clay figures that she had made and painted on this shelf and thankfully he had been able to save those.
He had been able to save the things on the shelf but it was still on the ground and just seeing it made his back hurt.
Kuon paused and looked up at the wall. Maybe he could get it back on without anyone else's help. Kyoko always did her best to help him when he needed it, he needed to do something for her and especially if he could keep her treasured items safe then he would want to do it. Remembering the way his father had always taught him to lift heavy objects, he crouched down and tried to get hold of the shelf.
His hands shook as he tried to lift it and he felt himself pull his neck a little. Maybe if he just found some way of getting it up, a support system or something. It was just like when he went camping with his dad, you had to be resourceful and trust in your skill to survive. You had to observe the area and take note of anything that you could…
"What are you doing, Kuon?" Kyoko asked with a yawn as she stood behind him and Kuon turned quickly.
"Hi…Good morning," he told her as Kyoko looked at him confused and then stared down at the shelf. Tears came to her eyes but she sighed and looked around.
"Where did the animals fall?" she asked as Kuon smiled.
"Oh, those, I managed to save them," he said as he picked up a crate that had all of her clay figures inside. He saw her smile glow on her face and she went over to inspect all of the fairytale animals that she had created. Kuon knew that taking that hit to his back was for the best by seeing her relief and happiness.
"You're my hero," Kyoko grinned before looking at the shelf and then back at the box, "They're all here," she said as she counted them before turning back to Kuon. "Thank you so much for saving them, you're their rescuer."
"It's all in the line of duty for a knight, right?" he asked and Kyoko giggled. She turned to him and threw her arms around him which caused Kuon to take a couple of steps back. He tried to support her weight but as she threw herself at him, he stumbled and found himself fall back and onto the ground where - he landed on a box. Usually this wouldn't be enough to hurt anyone but Kuon had to struggle hard to keep the pain off of his face.
"Sorry about that," Kyoko said as she stood up and offered her hand to him. Kuon forced himself to laugh but as he moved his arm to take her hand there was a very strange and painful pull. This was the side that had been slower to heal as well. "Kuon?" Kyoko asked as she tilted her head to the side.
"Uh, yeah, sorry," Kuon apologized as he felt the pain shooting up and down one side of his body. He had to withstand the pain and not let even a glimmer of it on his face. He stood up slowly, for a second he could only see black and cold and then he saw color again. "Can you…tell me about them?" he gestured to the animals as Kyoko gave him a curious look.
"Are you okay?" she asked before he nodded and she looked back at the box before telling him about her figures that she had made as well as the inspiration for them. Kuon nodded slowly before placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll be right back," he told her before she nodded and he left the room. Kyoko froze as she watched Kuon walk away with a limp and holding to his arm. She silently followed him and found for him to go into the bathroom nearby and throw up.
That was strange. Was it the paint fumes that was getting to him?
Should she tell her father about this?
…
…..
Kyoko came over to Kuon as he read one of the books that he had for the private study that his parents and Lory had set up for him. For some reason he was finding it harder to concentrate on the material in front of him. He kept looking at the science explanations and it was as if he felt sick. Reading made him feel sick.
He took a deep breath in before noticing Kyoko as she put a hand on his good arm.
"Are you feeling any better?" she asked as she looked at him concerned and Kuon smiled and nodded. "You don't need to study every day, right?" she asked again and Kuon looked up at the ceiling. He didn't know what to tell her but somehow focusing on the books felt better than focusing on the external world. He hummed.
"It's interesting," he tried to smile though he felt nauseous. He saw Lory enter the room and put a finger to his lips and shook his head. Kyoko frowned before nodding and looked up at her father.
"Kuon was telling me about what he was learning about," Kyoko tried to cover for why she was there which only caused Kuon to put a bookmark in to save his place.
"How's your back doing?" Lory asked before hugging Kyoko and grinning to her. He really had made the right choice in adopting this little girl who hadn't had a real home or family before.
Kyoko's eyes widened, "How did you know about his back?"
"Oh, I told Boss about it," Kuon told her as he looked at Lory and saw Kyoko sigh in relief.
"I'm happy that you were able to tell father," Kyoko said before Lory frowned as he looked at Kuon wanting to study his expression and find out the extent of the injury.
"Well, I hope it healed from last night," he said and Kyoko tilted her head to the side confused about what he meant by that. Hadn't he just hit his back when she had jumped on him and tackled him onto the floor of her art room. Had he gone around just hurting his back numerous times. That wasn't good for anyone and especially someone who used to be quadriplegic.
"Yeah, that's what I was talking about," Kyoko nodded before she thought about how if nobody had caught them, the animals would have just been smashed and she would have been devastated but Kuon would be safe. Was he trying to protect her from getting hurt even if he actually did get hurt? That was both sweet and stupid at the same time.
"Well, it should be time for your call with your father soon," Lory said and Kuon picked up the book again.
"Can you tell him I'm focusing on my studies?" Kuon asked and Kyoko froze. She knew how much these phone calls meant to Kuon. She didn't understand why he would just suddenly skip one. Was he hurting so much that he had to lie to his father? She saw her own father's shock as he thought over the question.
"Well…I could tell him that but I'll have to go into the agency tonight and you know your father he'll -" Lory said awkwardly.
"He'll have to deal with being denied certain things one day," Kuon said harshly as he looked at the books and she didn't think she was imagining the tears in his eyes.
…..
…..
Kyoko had been hiding by the phone in her father's office for about twenty minutes whilst waiting for the call. She wanted to get to it before anyone else did because she felt that she needed to talk to his dad. The fairy king as she had once pretended he was, had been blind to his son's pain in the past but that didn't change how much he loved him or how special that bond was. Kyoko loved her own father but he wasn't her biological father. When it came to biological links sometimes those could get pushed into the background and Kuon needed to be strong and admit his problems.
As the phone rang, she picked it up, "Hello, Takarada residence. Kyoko speaking."
She heard the soft laugh of the fairy king, "Good afternoon, Kyoko-chan. How are you doing today?" Kuu asked in Japanese and Kyoko smiled.
"I'm well. School's going well and I like the art projects that I've been doing but there are problems with Kuon," she said bluntly and heard a moment of silence on the other side.
"I see. Kyoko, if he's bullying you then there's only so much that I can do an-"
"Is that how you see Kuon, sir?" Kyoko asked as she looked down trying her hard to be brave. "Kuon's not a bully but he…he's so worried about disappointing you. He's so worried that one day you'll stop loving him and you won't want him as your son. I know it's not my place to say this so I'm sorry but please make him see that being quiet about pain isn't -" Kyoko froze and put a hand over her mouth.
"Kuon's in pain? Did he get hurt again? Kyoko, sweetie, can you tell me if he's -" Kuu said quickly whilst still being gentle in his tone.
"I shouldn't have said anything I just don't like seeing Kuon in pain. I'm sorry," she apologized with tears in her own eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Kyoko," Kuu said as he took steady breaths, "Can you tell me what happened?"
"We were…he fell down and then he started throwing up and he's been moving weirdly and I think he needs to go to the hospital but I can't do anything because I don't want him to hate me. I don't want him to stop being my friend but I want him to get better," Kyoko said as she started to cry.
"Kyoko…" Kuu said with a worried voice, "Thank you for telling me this. Is there a chance that I could speak to your father?"
"No," Kyoko whispered, "Please don't. I just want him to be okay. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry," she apologized before putting down the phone without saying a goodbye. She brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them and started crying.
She just wanted what was best for her friend.
End of Chapter Five
Thank you for reading
Thank you reviewers of Chapter Four
A Musing Brunette, brennakai, Erza, Kris, ktoll9, misherukuro, paulagato, Someone2303, Twilightserius, Undertheskys,