The second Kuon heard that man's name, he felt himself freeze. It was only from years of training that he managed to keep a pleasant expression on his face while he excused himself from the current group of guests he was entertaining. He walked a few feet away, then turned to his councilor who had trailed after him.
"Why." Said Kuon, keeping that smile on his face, fake sparkles covering up the anger he felt. "Is that idiot playing here?"
Yukihito visibly cowered from Ren's very shiny aura.
"W-who, what are you talking about?" said Yukihito.
Kuon gestured to the stage where Sho had started his number. Most of the partiers attention had been captured by the man who was, unfortunately, gaining popularity in the whole city for being a great minstrel.
"Sho Fuwa?" said Yukihito squinting at the stage. "Wait… that's the person who stole Kyoko's discovery wasn't it?"
In answer, Kuon's smile intensified.
Yukihito shrunk back even more. "I-I didn't know he was scheduled." Said Yukihito. "The entertainers for this event were chosen by the festival committee. The one we made after you were poisoned."
"I see." Said Kuon. "Make a note of this Yukihito." And Kuon's mask slipped a little revealing just a hint of his anger. "Never again do I want to see that man in this palace. Do you understand me?"
Looking like a deer in headlights, Yukihito nodded.
The mask slipped easily back into place. "Excellent."
He turned away from Yukihito, feeling a little guilty. It wasn't Yukihito's fault, but Kuon had taken some of his anger out on the man. Kuon had never met Sho face to face, but he had no desire to ever do so. But now here he was, and to make things worse, Kyoko was here as well. Speaking of the girl, where was she?
He scanned the room, seeing no sign of her. Where had she gone? He'd just talked to her not five minutes ago. Still nowhere to be seen, he spotted her friend.
Kuon made his way towards her, slipping through the people that called out to him with practiced ease. Now was not the time to get caught.
"Kanae." Said Kuon, hailing the warrior. "Have you seen Kyoko?"
Kanae turned to look at him, that scowl still present.
"She was here a second ago, but as soon as that jerk entered the stage she said something about the bathroom and left. I doubt she'll be back anytime soon."
"I see."
Kanae's sharp eyes were studying him and he could tell she was choosing her next words with caution.
"How much do you know about her past with him?" asked Kanae slowly.
"More than you, I think."
Kanea's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, and how do you figure that?"
"Your reaction. You're not nearly angry enough."
"You don't seem terribly upset your highness."
"I assumed you had better observational skills then that Miss Kanae."
Sharp eyes narrowed.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to find Kyoko."
Kuon turned, heading for one of the doors leading out into the hall. He wasn't sure where Kyoko had gone, but he could probably find her by asking some of the guards or wandering the halls. Hopefully she hadn't been reckless enough to slip away into the gardens without an escort.
Several memories slowly bubbled to the surface of his mind, each scene making him more and more angry. Each one included Kyoko as a child talking to him with sparkles in her eyes about her darling beloved prince Sho.
"Ren! One day, I'm going to grow up and marry my prince, Sho"
"Sho was sad today. I want to make him something to make him feel better."
"If it's Sho, then I don't need anyone else. He makes me happier than anything else in the world!"
Once Kyoko got started, it was all she would talk about. At the tender age of seven years old, she had been completely and utterly besotted with the stupid brat. Based on her reason for entering the palace, her infatuation with the man had ended only recently with a very rude awakening.
As a child, the younger Kyoko had radiated her love and caring nature. The girl had been a breath of fresh air to Kuon's soul – still was as a matter of fact, but he could tell she had a lot of pain left in her heart. She'd experience it from her father's death, her mother's apathy and now, her only form of comfort, this egotistical idiot had rudely take away even that light in her life.
If Kuon could prevent them from meeting again, he would do it. Kyoko was making a new life here at the palace. She didn't need some deadbeat showing up and dragging her back down into her past.
Kyoko leaned against the pillar, taking long calming breaths. She'd excused herself from the party as fast as she could, managing to keep her anger in check until she'd gotten out into the corridor. She grimaced at a couple dents in the wall, her inner darkness and anger causing her pulse magic to go a bit haywire. The guards that had seen her had been smart enough to leave her be. She'd have to find a way to pay for the damages later.
Kyoko closer her eyes, slowly and deliberately pressing her forehead against the pillar. Her body was shaking, on the verge of breaking from the fake calm she'd forced on herself. Every part of her body pulsed with the silent anger, her magic swirling within her essence.
She knew. She KNEW he was popular. She knew he was being hailed as the next big thing. She knew he was being requested in every noble family within the area, his schedule so booked he had to turn down requests. She knew this, yet seeing how far he had come had not sunk in until now.
When Kyoko had seen him on that stage, she knew what had put him there. It had been a mixture of his own talent, and a lot of help from her discovery. If he hadn't had that boost into the limelight, he'd probably never had that chance to begin with. He'd easily traded all her trust and affection for this, and it'd paid off.
The worst part was the knowledge that even if they had presented it together, he still would have gotten all the credit, and she wouldn't have cared at all. She'd have been so happy for him. She'd have continued to support him, loving and rejoicing in his good future, so happy he was getting the attention he deserved. It was only because he had admitted to not caring about her that she felt betrayed. That she felt angry for the attention he received because of her discovery.
Strength and anger slowly dissolved, replaced with a dull ache. She sank down into a bench, head hitting the wall with a soft thump, blinking quickly at the ceiling to prevent her emotions from spilling from her.
"Am I really so easy of a person to let others walk all over me?" whispered Kyoko. "All in the name of love. What a useless emotion. All it does is make you an idiot."
Several minutes passed with Kyoko sitting there, just able to make out the sounds from the party. It was a mixture of voices and music, the delight and happiness so different from her muted, empty self.
Eventually the music stopped, and the soft sound of clapping could be heard. So he must have finished. He was sure to stroll through the crowd, enjoying the pats on the backs and praises of the rest of the party.
Stupid egotistical jerk.
Kyoko stood, determined to find her guard and go back to her room. She'd send someone to go tell Kanae where she went. Hopefully the spear wielder would forgive her for ditching and consider sleeping over in a guest room.
High pitched giggling reached Kyoko's ears, much closer than the sounds from the rest of the party. It looked like someone was approaching the corridor she occupied. Sure enough, from a side door, three people stumbled out.
Kyoko froze in shock, instantly recognizing the man in the middle of two women, an arm around each of their shoulders. He was talking animatedly to them, a smirk on his face.
"The poor fool still hadn't figure out who I was." Sho was saying, "He was too angry and drunk to see straight. His friends-"
Sho stopped, his gaze meeting Kyoko's, who froze. The expression on his face was peculiar, searching as if trying to solve something. The other two women stopped as well, giggling for Sho to continue.
"Who's that?" said Sho, pointing at Kyoko.
Kyoko bristled. The heck? Did he really not recognize her? Makeup was a powerful tool but it wasn't so amazing that he shouldn't be able to recognize someone he had practically known his whole life. That, and she was only ten feet away from him.
"I know her." Said one of the women, her eyes lighting up in recognition. "She's-"
Kyoko squealed, flying through the space between them and grabbing one of Sho's hands. Her body rejected the touch, but she ignored it, pretend excitement on her face. The other two girls were forced back in wake of Kyoko's faked enthusiasm.
"I can't believe it." said Kyoko, pitching her voice in a high imitation of an excited fangirl. "It's the real Sho Fuwa. I can't believe I'm meeting him in person."
"Yup, that's me." said Sho. He had gotten over her sudden excitement and was now glowing in Kyoko's attention. "Are you a fan?"
"Oh, most definitely" Not.
Kyoko forced herself to keep that smile on her face. It appeared that Sho didn't recognize her. If she could keep those girls from mentioning her name she might be able to get out of this without him realizing it was her. Unfortunately, life was not always kind.
One of them shouldered her way between Kyoko and Sho, shoving Kyoko back with a snarled: "Back off."
Kyoko nearly tripped, grateful for the excuse to get away from Sho. The girl who had shoved her wound an arm around Sho's own and spat. "So it's not enough to have Prince Kuon, but now you throw yourself at Sho too? How shameful."
"I would never be interested in receiving Sho's affections." said Kyoko, the words and sharpness coming out before she could help it. "I mean… I just admire his work. I'm not interested in him like that."
"You're one of the prince's concubines?" said Sho, his eyes on her necklace. Then he smirked. He did that smirk. The smirk he did when he saw a girl he wanted to conquer.
It wasn't enough that he had two ladies already draped over his arm, and who knew how many other love-sick fans in the room behind. Now he wanted to flirt with her because she was a concubine to the prince? What a shallow no good dirty bas-
"Don't let her fool you Sho." said one of the woman. "She's just a filthy commoner that got here by sleeping with the prince. She's not actually like us."
"Right you are." said Kyoko, taking a step back. "I'm nothing like you. Forgive me for taking up your time. I will leave you three to enjoy each other's company."
She turned and did her best not run away too eagerly.
Several corridors later and after a lot of muttered swearing, Kyoko sat down on a bench, taking a deep breath. She wasn't sure where in the palace she was. She'd practically ran through the corridors without paying attention to where she was going.
Well that could have been a lot worse. At lease she didn't have to talk to Sho as Kyoko, because that would obviously have been a disaster. Though it did sort of tick her off that he couldn't recognize her. Seriously! How stupid was that man? No wonder he couldn't tell the difference between gulf stream nandina and sandy skullcap.
She heard footsteps coming towards her.
Kyoko looked up and her heart sank.
Sho was marching towards her, anger written all over his face. Kyoko quickly prepared to start acting again, but froze when his eyes made contact with hers. There was recognition in that gaze.
He knew who she was.
Shi-
"Kyoko!" said Sho still walking towards her. "What the actual hell do you think you're doing?"
"Sitting." said Kyoko, her temper and grudges already starting to spill from her. "It's a thing people do when they don't want to stand."
She stood up, moving to walk away from him. But before she could, his whole body was in her personal space, his face leaning in towards hers.
"Cut the crap." said Sho. "I mean what are you doing being his concubine?"
"What I do is none of your business." She tried to side step him, but he got in the way.
"Of course it's by business" said Sho. "It's completely shameful that you would whore yourself out to him in order to bring yourself up. It's disgusting."
"You talk to me about what's right or wrong?' said Kyoko, her eyelid twitching. "YOU STOLE MY WORK FROM ME!"
"We both know that if you had been involved no one would have listened." Said Sho. "I saved you from the shame your presentation would have brought both of us."
"Oh what a noble deed!" said Kyoko, sarcasm dripping from her words. "You're so full of yourself, I wonder how you can make it through the door with such a big head."
"This is not a joke." said Sho, slamming hands against the wall on either side of Kyoko, pinning her between him and the stone. "What are you even doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." said Kyoko with a sneer. "Really? A minstrel? Was the fact you actually suck as a physician hard to explain after your discovery?"
Sho smirked, momentarily distracted. "After my instructor found my wonderful talent for music I've been alternating between being a minstrel and a music therapist."
Kyoko opened her eyes wide, sparkles issuing from them. "Oh wow." she said "You truly have so many talents Sho."
"It's true." said Sho, pushing away from Kyoko and placing a thumb and forefinger to his chin posing, looking off in the distance. "Shoko was so surprised that I could channel magic through music so easily. Soon I had several people clamoring to have me come and- hey!"
Kyoko, who had already snuck halfway down the corridor, broke into a sprint. She heard Sho right behind her and a second later felt his hand grab her wrist.
"We're not done talking." Growled Sho, swinging her around. Kyoko let out a strangled yell, attempting to yank her arms out of his grasp.
"Let go!"
But Sho didn't. He pulled her closer, sneering at her. "It's low, even for you Kyoko, to become a whore in order to beat me."
"I'm not a whore!" yelled Kyoko "I've been working at the palace clinic. I'm about to get my physician's license. I'm going to become a cleric you filthy slime bag and become something greater then you could ever be!"
Sho let out a laugh. "You? A cleric? Your mind really has deteriorated. You can't use light magic."
"It's true." Said Kyoko, momentarily forgetting about getting away, instead pulling herself up to her full height. "I'll be the first one without light magic."
"It looks like you haven't learned your lesson Kyoko." Said Sho, shaking his head. "It's no wonder you keep being deceived. Is that what Kuon promised you in exchange for your body?"
"Prince Kuon hasn't touched me!" yelled Kyoko, her face turning completely red. "And he never would."
"Oh poor naive Kyoko." Said Sho, tightening the grip on her hand and pulling it towards his chest. Kyoko squirmed, but still couldn't escape. He was getting way to close to her face. She could feel his breath on her cheeks. "All men think about those things. Even an ugly girl like you should be careful. This is why you should just stay at home. He'll probably want some compensation in the end before he lets you take those lessons."
"Not all men think like that. Just scumbags like you!"
Sho narrowed his eyes at Kyoko, then he turned around, yanking her along with him.
"Come on Kyoko." Said Sho. "We're going back home."
"No!" cried Kyoko. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Let go!"
Kyoko dug in her heels, but Sho had a good grip on her wrist, the friction from her struggling causing the skin to burn. He was too strong, already starting to pull her down the hall. She was about to blast the idiot with some pulse magic when she felt a very angry aura, sending shivers through her.
A figure moved between her and Sho, firmly yet gently grabbing Kyoko's arm. Sho's hand was removed, and she found herself being held by a different man who placed her protectively behind his back.
"What." Said a voice, the sickly sweetness causing Kyoko's blood to turn cold. "Do you think you're doing?"
Kuon had asked every guard he passed which direction Kyoko went. When he finally found her, he saw red.
He swept in, firmly yet gently wrenching Kyoko's wrist from Sho's grip, placing himself between her and the scumbag.
"What do you think you're doing?" said Kuon, a brilliant smile on his face to hide his desire the rip the man's arms off.
Sho gestured at him in irritation. "I think that's what I should ask you. Since when was it alright for our kingdom's prince to go bedding children? You've got a lot of nerve Kuon."
"Funny, I could say the same thing." Said Kuon. "And you will address me with my title. I have not given you permission to use my name so familiarly."
Sho's eyebrows rose. "Wow Kyoko, you certainly went for quite the prick."
"Shut up!" said Kyoko, coming out from behind Kuon. To his surprise, she quickly stepped up to Sho and started stabbing him repeatedly with her finger as she shouted: "You're the prick that stole my work. You're the jerk that lied to me and you're the stuck up narcissistic bastard who thinks he can waltz back into my life and decide what's best for me!"
"And so that gives you the excuse to become a whore?" said Sho.
"Stop calling me that!" yelled Kyoko. She opened her mouth to probably continue her verbal abuse, but Kuon didn't let her.
"Sho Fuwa." Said Kuon, his voice low and dangerous, eyes flickering with suppressed anger "It seems you do not quite understand who you are talking to, nor what you are talking about. I suggest you think very clearly about what your next words will be. Depending on what they are, I will not let you go freely."
Sho took a step back, fear evident on his features. Kuon had accidentally let some of his darkness show. The anger and hate that was usually locked tight inside his true self along with his curse.
Sho soon recovered, the anger and irritation even more evident in his expression, but luckily he was smart enough to know when he was done.
"The hell Kyoko. You've linked yourself to a lunatic."
Or maybe he wasn't.
"SHUT UP!"
Kuon almost jumped at the malice in Kyoko's voice. A second latter, it was Kyoko backing Sho into a wall, her own anger and darkness swirling around her.
"You will not talk to prince Kuon like that." She yelled, face inches away from Sho's. "He's a thousand times more of a man then you'll ever be and he's helped me when he had no obligation to do so. He's treated me with more kindness and respect then you've ever shown me your whole life and it's thanks to him that I've been able to learn so much. I'd rather die than go anywhere with you and leave behind everything I've built here with this man."
"'Built here with this man?'" repeated Sho, glancing between Kyoko and Kuon. "Oh no, don't tell me you've fallen in love with him?"
"No way in hell!" she yelled, un-knowingly cutting Kuon through the heart. "You're the one that taught me what a useless emotion that was."
Kuon saw Sho smirk in his direction at the outburst and Kuon's anger bubbled again.
"Like that's likely. You're a love obsessed idiot who's just going to fall in love again."
"I will not!" yelled Kyoko, her face red. "I couldn't care less about romance. I'm going to defeat you Sho, I don't have time for something as stupid as love."
Sho smirked wider at Kuon, and he felt his heart sink. The man was manipulating Kyoko into saying what he wanted to hear.
"I see." Said Sho. He pushed off away from the wall, forcing Kyoko to back up or else risk bumping their heads together. He folded his arms across his chest, sneering at her. "Just remember that Kyoko. You will never fall in love."
"Let's leave Kyoko." Said Kuon quickly, putting a hand on her shoulder before she could respond. He was afraid that if they kept going, Sho would coax some unreasonable promise by provoking her. "We shouldn't waste anymore of our time with him then was have."
"Agreed." Said Kyoko, nodding at Kuon, then addressed Sho. "I hope I never see you again, jerk."
"I'm sure we'll see each other again." Said Sho, that self-satisfied expression on his face. "After all, you still have to surpass me and get your revenge like you promised."
With one last glare from Kyoko and a dangerous look from Kuon, the two of them left the blonde musician behind, quickly heading for the party.
"Kyoko."
Kyoko immediately snapped her attention back to her surroundings. She was back at the party, standing off to the side with Kuon. He was looking at her, an eyebrow raised along with a subtle undertone of irritation in his smile.
"Back in the land of the living now?" he said.
"Ah. Sorry." Said Kyoko. She didn't like it when she made him upset, which he obviously was despite that deceiving smile. Her thoughts had been wandering back to her encounter with Sho. Seeing him had brought back way too many bad memories. "My thoughts just went away with me."
"Of course."
Kyoko winced as the intensity of his glittering aura went up another notch.
"I'm really sorry about that idiot's behavior." Said Kyoko, giving a small bow. "He really has no manors. I can't believe he would be so rude to your face. Honestly he's always been such a stuck up brat who thinks the sun shines out of his own a-"
"You have no reason to apologize." interrupted Kuon, his smile reaching a new state of syrupy. "You do not have ownership over his actions, and you should never imply otherwise."
Kyoko swallowed.
"Er. Right."
Kyoko quickly grabbed a goblet from a passing servant, eager to keep herself occupied in some way. She pressed it to her lips, almost spilling the juice inside in her haste. Why was prince Kuon so angry? He must really hate that moron if there were this many sparkles visible.
They stood there for a few moments, neither of them looking at each other, instead surveying the crowd of people in the room. The tension between them was making Kyoko twitch. She could feel his irritation rolling off him behind that shiny mask. She was contemplating making up some excuse to run away when he finally spoke.
"Your goal." grunted Kuon "The one you came into the palace with. That is why you've been helping me and everyone else."
"My goal?" Kyoko wasn't sure what he was talking about.
"Revenge." Said Kuon, some of the sparkles receding. "You have been doing your best all for the sake of Sho Fuwa. You've been doing everything you can to surpassing him. He's your reason for trying so hard."
"NO! of course not!"
Kyoko jumped up in front of Kuon's, oblivious to the socked expression on his face. She was too busy vehemently denying what he said with wild gestures.
"Sure he was a large reason why I ended up here," said huffed. "but he's not the only reason why I've been learning. He's not the only reason why I stay. I love being a physician and leaning in the palace. I've made some great friends, and discovered some new sides of myself. My whole world has expanded so much since moving here."
Kyoko finally backed out from Kuon's personal space, rubbing the back of her neck, a blush dusting her cheeks. "I've become happy here, and I didn't think that would happen again for a long time." And she had Kuon to thank for a lot of that.
Of course, there was no way she was going to give up surpassing Sho. That man deserved to be publicly shamed and humiliated. She would find a way to beat him, to surpass him, and one day take credit for her discovery. But for now she would enjoy the time she got to spend with everyone she had met, learning all she could along the way.
"I see."
Kyoko glance up at Kuon, He was surveying the crowd again, his face impassive. She couldn't detect any hint of how he felt towards her declaration. She tilted her head back and forth, trying to see if viewing him at a different angle would give her some more insight.
It was no use. The man was in mask mode. Even if she squinted she couldn't make out his emotions.
He finally looked towards her, their eyes locking.
"What?" he said, again with that calm face.
Kyoko tapped the tips of her forefingers together, nervous.
"You're not angry at me are you?" said Kyoko. "You were angry before, but now I can't tell. Did I do something wrong?"
He blinked at her. "When was I angry?"
"You were definitely angry! Earlier when we were talking about me being here because of Sho and right after we talked to that idiot- and see, now you're angry again!"
"I'm not angry." Said Kuon.
"Bull."
"Well, now I'm definitely starting to get a little irritated." Said Kuon, turning to face her fully. "Do you know how frustrating it is for someone to try and tell you how your feeling? It's not polite."
It's not polite to lie either. Thought Kyoko, but she let it go. She knew Kuon well enough to know that he would stubbornly deny being angry just for the sake of being stubborn.
"Your powers of deceit are astounding." Said Kyoko.
"Now that's just hurtful."
"One of the first steps in recovery is acknowledging you have a problem."
"If, by a problem, you mean Sho Fuwa, I think we can both acknowledge that."
"Most definitely."
Kuon's aura calmed, and Kyoko was happy to see some amusement in his eyes. It left a second later though.
"He won't ever be invited into the palace again." He said firmly. "I can promise you that Kyoko."
Kyoko smiled, but shook her head.
"No, It's fine." She said. "I hate that idiot, but his music does have the ability to heal others. If someone needs his services, I don't want to deny them just because of my anger." She was touched by Kuon's anger on her account, but it was selfish to deny others of Sho's talent. She'd never forgive herself if someone suffered because of her grudge.
Kuon hesitated, a mixture of emotions flickering across his eyes. Eventually he let out a tired sigh.
"Fine, but I'll make sure your paths don't ever have to cross if I can help it."
"Now that, I can agree with."
This is going beautifully.
Yukihito couldn't help the optimistic thought as he held back a snigger, watching from a distance as Kyoko talked with the prince. They had been talking to each other after coming back from the hallways. They probably hadn't run into Sho since they looked pretty content.
It had been ten minutes since then, and he was glad to see the two still talking by themselves. It had taken several piercing glares and a few muttered threats just to steal those few precious minutes, but it was well worth the effort. The prince looked happy as he talked with his crush. Even thought Kuon had never told Yukihito outright that he favored Kyoko, the counselor had been around long enough to recognize love when he saw it in a person, and Kuon definitely had it. Bad.
Movement alerted Yukihito to the presence of another threat on their conversation. He quickly moved to interfere.
"Ah."
The person turned, and Yukihito swallowed the lump in his throat. It was Kanae. He hadn't recognized her in her outfit. Her eyes appeared even more piecing in that dark makeup. Like she needed any more help looking intimidating.
"Can I help you?" she said
"Ah, yes. Kanae. I didn't realize that was you. You look so different." He said, then flinched. Yeah that didn't sound good even to his ears. The woman lifted an eyebrow.
"I see."
She moved as if to make her way towards Kyoko, but Yukihito quickly stepped between them.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" he said, keeping a smile on his face. "They really outdid themselves with this year's party. I've heard that the several of these fabrics and chandeliers were imported just for the occasion."
Kanae's eyes narrowed at Yukihito, the corner of his mouth twitched from the effort to hold his smile. She glanced between Yukihito and the prince, putting two and two together. He scrambled to think of something but-
"Kyoko." called out Kanae, and Yukihito let out an internal scream of despair. It had been going so well too.
Kyoko glanced back at her friend, smiling as she paused her conversation with the prince.
"Yes Kanae?"
The raven haired woman pointed a thumb at Yukihito. "Didn't you have something that you wanted to give him?"
"Oh! Yeah that's right."
Kyoko rummaged in the small purse she had on her side, then pulled out a small object. She walked to Yukihito, dropping it into his hands. It was a prayer stone
"Here." said Kyoko, all smiles. "I wanted to thank you and everyone else that's been helping me since I entered the palace."
"Thank you Kyoko." Said Yukihito smiling at the gift. Kyoko truly was such a kind person. She would really make a great queen somed-
A chill made Yukihito shiver. He knew what that was. He glanced up to see Kuon's bright smile plastered on his face. What the heck had he done this time? It wasn't possible... had Kyoko not given prince Kuon something?
Trying hard not to panic, Yukihito pulled Kyoko a few steps away from the other two, talking in a low voice. "Don't you think you're forgetting someone?" said Yukihito, hoping she'd get the hint. "There's an order by which you should do these things and isn't there someone else that deserves more of your thanks?"
Kyoko's eyes went wide. "You're right. How foolish of me."
Yukihito's grin appeared and then sank a moment later as Kyoko began to hurry off saying "I totally forgot to give Duke Takarada his prayer stone."
"Wha-."
Before Yukihito could grab her, Kyoko was sprinting off towards the Duke.
Noo Kyoko! What are you doing! There's someone here that deserves your appreciation more than anyone! Yukihito spared a glance at Kuon, whose aura had thankfully calmed down. The prince was now watching Kyoko as she talked to the duke and his granddaughter.
Maria whispered something in Kyoko's ear, looking shy. A second later, the girl walked off towards her dad, holding up a stone. Kouki paused for a moment before kneeling down and embracing his daughter.
Kanae stepped up to Kuon, gesturing with her head in the direction of the scene.
"So Kyoko." Said Kanae. "I got a prayer stone from her. Have you gotten one?"
Yukihito wanted to do nothing more than to burry himself in sand. What was Kanae doing! Was she purposefully trying to get Kuon to explode? The prince, thankfully, was calm as he replied.
"No, I have not."
"Even though you've done so much for her?"
"If a gift is given out of a sense of obligation then I think that defeats the purpose of that gift."
"But you are disappointed, are you not?"
Kuon paused. Yukihito held his breath.
"May I ask what the purpose of these questions are miss Kanae?" said Kuon.
Kanae shook her head, "Nothing. I finally figured out what Shin was hinting at, that idiot."
Kanae stepped up to Kuon, her voice low, but Yukihito could just make it out.
"I would threaten you to take care of her, but that would be hypocritical of me." Said Kanae "Just… promise to treat her the way she deserves."
"Of course." He heard Kuon's reply. "I never intended to do anything less."
Kanae nodded, before walking off towards Kyoko, who was now surrounded by the Takarada family. Yukihito stepped up beside Kuon, watching as Kanae followed Kyoko around with her usual frown, one he realized was held in place to keep herself from smiling.
"Kyoko really has a talent for healing the hearts of those around her doesn't she?" said Yukihito as he watched Maria cry in her dad's arms, a scene Yukihito hadn't seen since her mother had died.
A true smile graced Kuon's features.
"She does indeed Yukihito."
Thanks everyone for reading! And of course a special thanks to those who review. You guys are so sweet with your complements! :)
3200Runner: I accidentally deleted my whole profile a couple weeks ago and I forgot to put the link to the pictures back up. Woops. I have remedied my mistake. :)
Fariha: I lol'ed when I read your review. Oh, how I wish I could do that my friend… but now is not the time for Kuon to lose his cool. Later.
Hope you enjoyed the meeting between those three. This is not the last we've seen of Sho, unfortunately. Things are going to start getting more intense soon. XD
-Blushweaver
This was a lot of fun to edit. I hope you enjoyed the meeting of Kyoko and Sho as much as I did.
-Imouto