A/N: A little late on this chapter, sorry. But I've been working on the other fanfic at the moment. Well, I don't want to neglect this one, so…here you go.
Acting Out
30 CHAPTERS! :O THIS WASN'T INTENTIONAL!
Ren leaned back against the chair on the floor, eyes closed. 'Corn, you don't have any obligation to tell me all your secrets.' Her voice when she said that, filled with hurt and sadness, bounced around in his head, giving him a headache. He hadn't spoken to her all day and wondered how she was. 'She won't want to talk to me…not for a little while. Maybe I can call her later tonight…I would pick her up but I don't know her schedule.' Yashiro had kept his distance, not wanting to take his chances teasing his moody charge. Now, he sat silently on the other side of the room, a solemn expression on his face as he scribbled in his notebook. Briefly wondering what his manager wrote in that notebook, he closed his eyes again to focus on the real issue. 'Why didn't I just say something? She knows my name…she knows almost everything now. It's just…Rick…' He sighed, a sound that didn't go unnoticed by his silent manager. 'What was I thinking? I have to tell her everything. If she hates me…then I'll just…' He shook his head trying to ward off the pain. 'I won't be able to bear it. But at least I'll have tried.'
"Good job, son." Kuu grinned up at the 'boy' across from him. To be honest, he was enjoying this little exercise more than he thought he would. 'She is a fantastic actress! Almost as if she's seen the real Kuon. How did she know he couldn't cook?' He held back a laugh, then glanced up again, shocked to find tears falling from the young woman's face. 'What did I do?' He leaned forward a little, moving his plate out of the way, his eyes softening with concern.
"I…I'm sorry…I…" She sniffed. "No one has ever been kind to me when I messed up…and…I don't know how to respond…" She whispered, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry. When I'm supposed to be acting…" She sniffed, trying to slip back into character, and Kuu felt his heart clench.
'What kind of life has this girl had?' "Your family?" He mumbled softly, as though keeping his voice low would excuse the fact that he was talking to her out of character. She seemed to understand the cryptic question.
"It was just my mother an I at home, and she ab…" She closed her eyes and gave a fake smile. "We didn't have a very good relationship."
'I'd say that's an understatement…' He let it drop with a nod and they slowly eased back into the play.
Kuu rested his head on the back of the seat, smiling at the chatter coming from the 'boy' beside him. Occasionally, he would correct Kuon's reading of some sign or display with a patient laugh and a shake of his head. When she started going on about how she hated the Japanese, he couldn't hold back his laugh. Turning away from her, he tried to hold it in.
"Father?"
'Crap…' "I'm sorry son." He turned with an exaggerated frown. "I just hate it that my son doesn't have any desire to get to know the place his father grew up." He peeked up from his hand, wondering how the girl would handle his teasing, but stopped when he met her wide, tear filled eyes. Hand in midair, she shrunk away from him as if he would hit her. Dropping the act, his eyes softened. 'How did her mother treat her? Was she abusive? From the look on this girl's face, she was at least cruel.' Taking a deep breath, he flicked her on the forehead. Her wide eyed gaze was amusing and he crossed his arms, smirking. "I was teasing you, silly. Aren't you going to do something about it?"
"Uh…" She blinked a few times then made a move for his forehead, but he caught her wrist easily. After a few more failed attempts, she leaned back and crossed her arms, pouting. "You weren't going to let me do anything."
He nearly laughed. 'At least I got her mind off of it.' "Of course not. A man can't just let someone attack him if he knows it's coming."
"Then why did you say…"
"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to get me back, Kuon. Sneak attacks, weapons…of course you have special permission, because you're my son." He felt her freeze beside him and glanced over for a second. 'I wonder if anyone has ever said that she was special. I don't think so, by the look on her face.' He stared ahead for a moment. 'I'm going to ask Lory about this girl. She's quite talented….' He glanced over again and smirked at her challenging grin. "Heh. You're starting to look pretty good, you little rascal."
Kuu thanked the woman sitting across from him who had interviewed him, careful to keep his distance from the handshake. 'Julie might kill me if I get too friendly.' He thought with a small, fond smile. His day had been full of interviews and sneak attacks from his 'son,' putting him in a light, happy mood. 'Now where did she run off to?' Hands casually resting in his pockets, he wandered the halls for a few minutes. For a second, he felt a little panic. 'Nothing could have happened to her…right?' He swallowed and quickened his pace until he heard the familiar voices that made him relax, the fear leaving his body.
"Kyoto? You mean the ancient capitol?" He smirked a little, but wondered who she was talking to. Glancing around the corner, he was surprised to find his actual son with an unreadable expression on his face. Kyoko was speaking to him under the guise of her character, but years of observation told him that there was something awkward between them. Pushing the thought away, he stepped out into the open.
"Kuon!" He caught the way his son glanced over in surprise, but Kyoko turned to him with a happy smile. "Come on. It's time to go." The fair haired man beside the real Kuon looked back and forth between them, obviously confused, but Kyoko ran towards him as he walked down the stair.
"Dad! Look! It's Tsuruga Ren!" She pointed her finger and he held back a laugh at the situation in which he was finding himself. Gently he flicked her forehead.
"Don't point at people. It's rude." He reprimanded her, arms crossed, fighting to keep the stern look on his face.
Her shoulders drooped. "Sorry." She mumbled, her hands falling to her side. He rubbed her head with a fond smile.
"It's fine, as long as you understand." Looking up, he caught the gaze of his son who was watching them silently. He caught an undertone of longing in his son's now dark brown eyes, and wondered if his son missed him…or if it was something to do with the young woman dressed in boy's clothing beside him. Shaking the thought away, he approached his tall son, a brief look of affection in his eyes that cooled to friendly curiosity. "Hizuri Kuu." He held out his hand with a slight smile. Ren's features thawed and he smiled with a nod, holding out his hand.
"Tsuruga Ren."
"It's nice to meet you. I've seen your Katsuki. As an actor, I'm honestly jealous." He put as much meaning into those words as he dared, smiling softly to show his pride in his son. Ren smiled as well.
"Thank you. It's an honor."
Ren watched sadly as Kyoko, apparently dressed as himself at about ten or eleven, followed his father up the stairs. Ignoring the confused ramblings of his manager, he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and made a call.
Kuu and Ren stared at each other in the President's office. Ren's arms were crossed as he stared at his father. Finally, he lowered his arms. "Hello Dad." He said quietly in English. Lory pretended to be engrossed in a dating simulation, but watched Kuu's reaction out of the corner of his eyes. The older man's eyes softened and, taking two steps forward, he grabbed his son and held him. Ren wrapped his arms around his father and rested his head on the older man's shoulder, feeling like a ten year old again.
"I've missed you so much." Kuu mumbled, squeezing once and pulling away. "How have you been? Well, apart from becoming the number one actor in Japan?" His pride showed through the smirk and Ren chuckled.
"I'm fine. I've been busy." Kuu nodded slowly, a different light coming into his eyes.
"Very busy indeed it seems. May I ask, what is your relationship with the young woman assigned to work for me?" Much to Kuu's surprise, the smile dropped from his son's face and his eyes turned sad.
"She's my girlfriend." Kuu's heart thudded to a stop. He certainly never would have guessed that.
"G…girlfriend!" Ren nodded, hands in his pockets. "But…she….I…" Ren managed a half hearted chuckle.
"Yea. I met her when we were kids, when we visited Kyoto?" Kuu nodded to show that he remembered, taking a seat on a sofa away from Lory, who was now legitimately submerged in the world of simulated dating. Ren joined him. "I went back a few months ago, and she was my server at an inn where I stayed. She ran away when I was about to leave, and came here to work. After Lory hired her, I told her who I was."
"So…she knew you were my son?"
"Huh? No. She thought I was a…ehm. She thought my name was Corn." Kuu's eyes widened and Ren grinned ruefully. "I corrected her, but she still didn't know my last name, or anything about my life in America."
"Oh." The weight of that single word made Ren smile a little.
"Don't worry about it. I'm going to tell her everything as soon as she'll talk to me again."
"Is she angry?" Ren thought about it for a minute.
"She's hurt." He said simply. "She swore off all love when a boy she grew up with broke her heart, and after the family life she had, she wasn't willing to give her heart to anyone. I lied to her about knowing you…and I think I really hurt her." He sighed, shoulders slumped as he stared at the floor, and Kuu's eyes softened.
"What can you tell me about her mother?" Ren's eyes widened as he looked up at his father.
"Not too much…she was abandoned by her mother as a small child. While her mother was around, she usually left Kyoko with friends. When I first met her, Kyoko was crying because her mother was angry with her for not doing well enough in school. I think she got an eighty something, and her mother yelled at her. She may have been abusive. Then she left her with a family called the Fuwas, who planned for her to marry their son, but he ran away and she didn't go with him. They stopped paying for her school and blamed her for their son's disappearance. She was miserable." Kuu sighed, leaning back against the sofa with a not.
"That would explain it." Ren looked over questioningly. "She was crying this morning when I told her that she did well cooking breakfast. She was cooking as you." He clarified, and Ren nodded his understanding. "And earlier, she acted like…like she thought I was going to hit her…or yell at her." Ren closed his eyes, and Kuu could see the pain there. "Hey, I'll see what I can do." His son's eyes opened wide.
"Dad, I'm 20 years old. I do not need my father meddling in my love life."
Kuu grinned. "From the looks of you, you do. Mark my words boy. If that girl doesn't become your wife, she's going to become your sister."
Kyoko looked up from her cooking when Kuu joined her. "Oh! Hizuri-san! You don't have to help. I can finish dinner."
"I don't mind. I enjoy cooking sometimes. My wife and I often cook together."
"Really? Does she like cooking?"
"Um…yes. She likes it." Kyoko smiled a little at the face he was making. "She cooks a bit like Kuon." Kyoko giggled. "Of course, now I know why you were able to imitate Kuon's cooking skills so well." The girl froze, looking up at him fearfully. He was smiling at her softly. "I'm not angry." He assured her. "I was just surprised."
"How…"
"He told me. We had a chat earlier. It was thanks to you, you know? He left home when he was young, and I've missed him so much. It's because of you that he was willing to speak to me again." He smiled, touching her shoulder. "Thank you." She blushed a little, but couldn't hold back the obvious question.
"Why did he leave?"
Kuu took a deep breath. "He wants to tell you that himself. But…it was something horrible that happened, and he blamed himself." Kuu sighed. "But anyway, he wants to talk to you about it, but he's afraid you won't speak to him." She didn't respond, instead staring at her hands that were limp on the cutting board. "Hey." He touched her shoulder again, squeezing gently. "I'm not going to meddle in your relationship, but…he's scared. He's been scare for so long now…and I think you can help him." She glanced up at her father hesitantly.
"Hizuri-san…I…"
"That's another thing. I thought I told you to call me father."
"I…I still can!" She cried, her eyes filling with hope. He grinned, ruffling his new daughter's hair.
"Of course. I never severed our ties as father and child. I'm your father and you're my daughter." The next thing he knew, the girl had wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. He felt her back shake with sobs and held her.
"No one." She whispered. "No one has ever wanted me to be their child." He kissed the top of her head gently.
"Their loss." He murmured into her hair.
A/N: I keep saying that I can't update for a while, then I think, I'll just type up a little bit of the next chapter, next thing I know it's late and I've done none of my homework…but I've finished a chapter. Oh well. Hope you like it
