AN: A little shorter than I was planning to write but I like how I ended it.
Chapter Four – Never Put Me Down Again
Kuu looked in front of him as he debated about the medication. What Kuon had done would worry and horrify any parent and a lot of people wouldn't know how to deal with Kuon and would lock him away for his own protection. Kuu definitely didn't want to be one of those parents but forcing his son onto medication was something that he had always disagreed with. He needed to protect Kuon.
"Dad…" Kuon said weakly as he saw the way his father looked pained by the decision.
"Do you love Kuon or not?" the therapist asked and Kuu felt himself shiver. Kuon looked between them fearing that maybe there would be a chance of Kuu looking at her and giving her a firm no. Kuu nodded. He didn't want to be the bad guy here and he didn't know the side effects. He only know that he wanted Kuon to be alive.
"I'll take the medication," Kuon said and Kuu looked at him.
"You know I love you more than anything, right?" he asked as he hoped that that went without argument. He only had one son, one little boy and it wasn't as if Kuon had done anything wrong. The situation was wrong and messed up and Kuon wasn't thinking correctly.
"I think that Xanex would be the best dru-" the therapist said and Kuu looked at her with wide eyes. He knew the way that Xanex and Zoloft worked and there had to be another drug that Kuon could take. "No, Zoloft might work better."
"Isn't that kind of strong for a child Kuon's age?" Kuu asked nervously. The side effects of Zoloft were severe and it wasn't as if Kuon were a bad child who he couldn't talk to. Kuu just worried that Kuon would lose what made him Kuon.
"I think that it's best for something strong, your son attempted to kill himself. I'd think that the alternative would be to lock him up and those places are expensive and might not help if there are loving par-" the therapist suggested and Kuu could hear Kuon start to sob.
"Please don't lock me up, Dad" he begged and Kuu stood, going over to Kuon and wrapping his arms around him securely.
"Nobody wants to lock you up," he said and then turned to the therapist, "I'll look after him. I have some jobs to finish but I'll stop work after that to take care of him," he said as Kuon turned to him in horror. He hadn't asked for his dad to do that, make that type of a sacrifice. "I don't think that Zoloft is the answer. I'd like to have information about all of the possible treatment plans if Kuon is to go onto medication."
"There is another drug that I'm prepared to send you to a psychiatrist for them to prescribe after an evaluation," the therapist noted. "It's called Abilify."
"Abilify," Kuu repeated, he hadn't heard anything about that drug. "Will it really help him?" he asked as Kuon managed to wriggle out of his hold.
"I'll do it. I just don't want to be locked up. I'll do it," he pleaded and Kuu looked to him feeling that he had failed Kuon as his father. He nodded slowly.
"Just give me the instructions," he said as he sat back a little from Kuon but still smoothed his son's hair. Even if Kuon wasn't a little kid anymore, Kuu wanted to take care of him, he needed to make sure that he was safe and he would never try to kill himself ever again.
…..
…..
Sho rolled his eyes as he turned to Kyoko who was sitting up politely for dinner. He sat with his legs crossed despite everyone else sitting with their knees bent. He didn't want to be like them and conform to what was expected from him even if it was just sitting in a formal position. He watched as Kyoko politely drank her tea and smiled up at the man who had claimed her as his daughter.
"The food truly is incredible," the taller, older male said and Kyoko nodded.
Kyoko smiled up to the man who looked like he could be her grandfather and not just her so-called father. "Yes, Fuwa-san's cooking is amazing," she turned towards Sho's parents and bowed. "Thank you so much," she said to them quickly and Lory nodded.
"I agree, thank you for having us and especially for eating with us," he said before looking at Sho. "It's also nice to eat with you, Fuwa-kun," he said respectfully and Sho looked at him with wide eyes.
"Well, it's not good to eat with you," he said and Kyoko felt her back straighten at the way that Sho had just insulted Lory. She saw Lory smile patiently but that wasn't enough for her. She would try to make sure that Shotaro apologized to him. Lory had given her so much and she truly did see him as a father.
"I apologize for my son," Sho's mother said with a weak smile, "he always has been independently minded," she said and Kyoko looked between Sho and his mother. Once again he was having someone apologize to him on his behalf. Had he learned nothing?
"It's quite all right, your son is still a child in the world. He is allowed to have his own personality, or at least that's how I feel. Hopefully, he will be able to change in the future but I don't take insult at him at the present." Kyoko smiled as she heard that but Sho stared at them. He felt even more insulted. He stood up without saying anything and walked towards his bedroom despite his mother calling after him.
Kyoko looked down, "May I be excused for a moment?" she asked in a very formal and respectful manner. Sho's mother nodded and Kyoko left the room to follow Sho.
"Kyoko always has been a wonderful child," Fuwa-san complimented. "It was very nice for you to take her in as your daughter. I feel that she deserves a life that, this is very rude of me to say, Saena-san would never have given her."
Lory looked at her with a grin, "Kyoko isn't the lucky one in my opinion," he told her with a sense of pride. "I am lucky enough to be acknowledged as her father."
…..
…..
Kyoko followed Sho into his bedroom where he spun around to face her. He looked at her angrily and Kyoko took a step back. She knew that Sho often got emotional especially when he felt he was wronged in some way. He was admired in school and spoiled by his parents and now he was seen as an outcast in Kyoko's life. He had grown up with her idolizing him and now she just seemed a completely different person.
"Sho-kun?" Kyoko asked as she came to the room. "Do you truly have a problem with my father? He's a very nice person despite the fact that he sometimes wears flashy clothes. He's taken a lot of care of me and he's encouraged me to have fun and develop passions and dreams."
"You're not supposed to be developing dreams," Sho said bitterly. "You're supposed to be here, helping my parents out. That was the life that you were born into. You weren't born to be rich and definitely not to a famous family."
Kyoko opened her mouth to argue. She knew that she had been lucky to meet Corn, she had been lucky that the HIzuris had given her so much love as a family, she was extremely lucky to meet with Lory Takarada and extremely lucky that he had accepted her as his daughter. Kyoko looked at Sho, not sure what to say to him.
"I thought that you could at least be happy for me," Kyoko protested and Sho rolled his eyes. "We've been friends for a long time," Kyoko said and Sho looked to her bitterly.
"I don't remember your friendship for the past number of years," he said and Kyoko looked away. Yes, she hadn't wanted to keep in contact with him after the way that he had treated Kuon when Kuon was unable to act independently. She was still there for him now though, she was still willing to listen to him.
"I'm sorry," she said and Sho laughed bitterly. "I didn't really know if you wanted to be friends with me. I've been doing a lot of different things and I found a best friend who I really love in Tokyo and who I get to spend time with. Are your parents still limiting your freedom as you said?"
"Didn't you see them?" Sho asked as he gestured to where they had been eating. "They obviously are happier that you're here than that I am. Wasn't the issue that your mother wanted some kind of value from you now that you're rich and snobby."
"I don't know," Kyoko said uneasily. She didn't want to admit that her mother had only wanted her when she had believed that she was worth something and that she wanted to stay with her father who had adopted her and who listened to her and what she needed. Her birth mother had never really listened to her in that way. "I'm going to go back and eat. I hope that you join us," she told him and Sho sighed.
"Don't you realize that you're supposed to still be wearing rags?" he asked her and Kyoko turned back to him with a confused expression. "I mean, you think you're Cinderella but you don't deserve to have that kind of a life. You're still supposed to be waiting for your fairy godmother."
Kyoko felt tears appear in her eyes but she shook her head. She didn't want to let his words affect her right now. He was angry that she had changed and maybe that was a legitimate reason to carry that type of anger. Kyoko didn't want to be sucked into that black hole though.
"You should grow up and I really hope you do," she said as she stood up for herself. "As for me, I am going back to eat with your parents and perhaps you could stop being a brat and join us," she said as she walked away and Shotaro's jaw dropped. Kyoko had never spoken to him that way before and he didn't like it. She now had a fancy lifestyle and thought that she was better than he was. She wasn't supposed to be like that, she was still supposed to be working here for his family.
As Kyoko returned to the table, she sat down and took the bowl of rice from in front of her and began eating it. She felt a chill down her back. She hadn't wanted for anything bad to happen and she truly hadn't wanted for that argument but she wanted to live a happy life and not one that felt sad and made her cry.
After all, it had been Kuon who had kept her tears from falling and she wanted him to be happy. She wanted to be happy because of him. Life no longer seemed something that she couldn't understand and she wasn't going to let Shotaro make her feel inadequate ever again.
End of Chapter Four
Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated
Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Three
Brennakai, Dreamerkins, Guest (x2), H-Nala, Kaname671, KrisXD, Tam2013,