AN: So, I'm not sure if people have noticed but I actually got a little upset recently. I have a very busy life and other things that I need to prioritize but I thought that writing fanfics would be good and I'd left some of my readers a long time without new chapters so I put my energy to that. I'm not blaming anyone but finding out some of my fics had hundreds of views and less than four reviews hurt my heart. So, until I am ready to acknowledge that one of my fics got 160+ views on a chapter and only one review I'm writing when I want to, what I want to. I'm not trying to blame anyone but I'm not going to be taking time writing for people when they won't give me a review so these next few months, I'm writing what I want and when I want. Thank you for understanding and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter Twenty Nine – Truly Unconditional Love

Kyoko looked at the paper again, she had to check it because the words that she had read the first time couldn't be right. Kuon loved acting. He had done everything within his power to get to where he was as an actor and now he was about to throw it all away? Hadn't he even thought of other options. She closed her eyes in an attempt to hold back her frustration.

"You can't really think that this is going to solve all of your problems?" she asked and Kuon looked at her sadly before bowing his head.

"My parents never meant to hurt me," he commented. Taking a deep breath in, Kuon sighed and looked at the floor. He pushed a hand through his hair, "They were just busy. Their jobs were hard. They cared about their career, perhaps sometimes it felt that they cared more about that than me, but at least they still cared about me."

Kyoko nodded. She could only imagine how crushed Kuu felt through all of this. However, she knew that if Kuu didn't prioritize his family first then his answers to the questions they asked would be different. Kuu was trying to protect his son and his wife from the harshness of the media. Perhaps Kuu wasn't strong enough to do that alone without being the scapegoat.

"Have you discussed this with him because I'm sure that he'd be hurt if you just stepped away from the industry," Kyoko said honestly and Kuon sighed, shaking his head.

"I shouldn't burden them any further," he replied as he stared ahead appearing hollow as a grey aura seemed to form around him. He was actually serious in ending his dream for his father but Kyoko knew that would be the wrong choice, the worst choice.

"Imagine how crushed Father would feel if you signed away your dreams," Kyoko told him and Kuon looked away from her, feeling the guilt and shame running through his body. "I mean, unless you really want to withdraw from acting for your personal reasons but not for them. Father would be…he loves you, not all parents love their children."

Kuon opened his mouth to protest before nodding, "It's the fact that they are such loving parents that makes this hard. My dad only sent me to Japan because he wanted what was best for me. I still remember that pained look on his face when I left without saying a word to him. He just stood there feeling powerless, if it was my own child who was facing that type of…danger."

Kyoko hugged him from the side and pressed kisses to his upper arm. "All your dad wants is for you to be happy," she assured him. "I'm sure that Father isn't mad at you. I don't think that he hates you, he's not capable of such a thing. Even if you did something….wrong then he'd still be beside you."

"Paying for my legal fees?" Kuon attempted to joke and Kyoko smiled softly.

"Absolutely. He'd also get the best lawyers that he could afford just to give you the best chance. Trust me, you and your mother mean the world to your dad. He can get through this but I don't think he'd ever forgive himself if he became the reason for you not acting anymore."

"You're not acting anymore?" Kuu asked as he approached them. He looked shocked by the news and looked between the two of them. "Sorry, I was on my way to see Boss and I heard familiar voices," he laughed but Kuon looked forwards.

"I need some time alone," he told them as he stood up and Kuu turned to him heartbroken.

"Kuon," he said desperately as he turned to his kid, "Don't act rashly. I know that what is happening is harsh but try to think through your decisions a little. Please don't act in haste, be patient and things will be okay in the end." Kuu stood with a very serious expression on his face.

"If I agree to that," Kuon said slowly, "will you keep your distance from me?"

Kuu paused, he opened his mouth to protest but the truth was that he didn't really understand the meaning behind those words. He ran the words through his head again, the confusion deepening. "You want me to stay away from you?" he asked, "or are you just ner-"

"I want you to stay away from me," Kuon told him and Kuu paled, his eyes widening. He had only just gotten his son back in his life and now Kuon was asking for the walls to be put up.

"Can I refuse?" Kuu asked and Kyoko looked between the two of them. "I know these reports are saying that I didn't love you but I have always loved you. I have always wanted you. If I haven't shown it yet then please tell me how I can fix our relationship. If I can do that then -"

"Why would you want somebody like me?" Kuon asked him and Kuu stepped towards him.

"Because you're my son," Kuu told him without a second thought. "No matter what, you're my kid, my little boy. My love for you is unconditional even if you hate me, even if you never want to see me or talk to me ever again, I will continue loving you and rooting for you. I really want to stay in your life, Kuon, but if I can't then….I will respect your decision."

Kyoko wanted to step in and intervene, this was completely crushing her Father but she knew that it wasn't her place. If Kuon truly wanted Kuu to disappear forever then he would give his son what he needed.

"I want to be your son," Kuon admitted and Kuu smiled in relief. "Haven't I shamed you though?"

"There is absolutely no shame and I will never feel ashamed of having you as a son," Kuu assured him. "Now, I have to go, I have a meeting with boss. Will you be okay?" he asked nervously and once Kuon had assured him that he would be, Kuu left.

…..

…..

Kuu stared at the envelope in his hands. He didn't know what to do with it but he knew that he wanted to keep it. Whether he opened it or not was the question that he was struggling to ask himself. It was one week before Kuon would turn sixteen and this was a card that Julie's sister had sent him. Kuu didn't know how to explain to everyone that his son was no longer there and they hadn't spoken to him for months.

The day was going to be so hard for Julie and part of Kuu wished that they could, for one day, even just one hour, tell their little boy that they loved him so much. Kuu wondered whether he was doing anything for himself or whether he was just going to ignore that day, act like it wasn't important to him.

Kuu heard the door unlock and quickly hid the letter as he looked at Julie. Julie looked him over once and then avoided eye contact with him. "Jules," he said and Julie paused, she didn't want to look at him. She hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye to Kuon and tell him how much she loved him and how important it was for him to be safe. Kuu had robbed her of that.

"I need to talk to you about this," Kuu said as he turned his full body towards her and Julie raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything to him. Her body sagged as she looked to a picture of the three of them when Kuon was still full of hope. Tears came to her eyes but she pushed them aside.

Without saying anything, Kuu handed her the envelope and Julie took it. She felt a few tears run down her face and hit the envelope. "Do you think -" Kuu began but Julie was already opening it and taking out the card. As she saw the number sixteen and the 'Happy Birthday' on the card, it broke her.

This was the first birthday where she wouldn't be able to give him a card, or a gift, or even a hug. The card dropped to the ground, a check falling out of it and she wrapped her arms around herself feeling overwhelmed by the sobbing.

"I want him," she whispered with the pain in her voice, "I want him here. I want my baby boy," she whispered before falling onto her knees and crying even more. She wished she could have made everything better for him but she had lost him, at least she felt as if she had lost him. "I hate you, Kuu" she whispered, "if it wasn't for you, he would be with us."

Kuu looked at her. He didn't want to say that he didn't think Kuon would still be here. It wasn't right to bring it up, it's not as if Julie would actually believe that he saved their son's life.

…..

…

"Shuuhei, pay attention will you?" Lory said as he clicked his fingers in front of his old friend's face. Kuu blinked back at him before sighing and nodding. "This is important, if you could help me figure out how best to tackle this then…"

"He was talking about retiring from acting," Kuu told Lory who paled and stared at him in shock. "I think that Kyoko talked him out of it but he doesn't want to resign, he was trying to do it for me but acting, acting should be about things he can do for himself."

"Thanks for the heads up," Lory nodded before seeing Kuu's pain. "How are you coping with this? I see people have the wrong idea about your parenting which must be hard. I don't believe it though. I know how much you love your son, as troublesome as he can be."

"Kuon means so much to me," Kuu nodded, "being in his life means so much to me."

"You need to tell him that," Lory replied and Kuu stared at him before sighing.

"I've told him that but he's stubborn. I think he's still worried about bringing shame to our family but I don't care about that. I don't want him to go through his life alone and since I missed out on so many years on getting to know him, I just want him to be happy," Kuu replied before running his fingers through his hair, messing it up a little. "I thought that I was doing okay as his father but what if I'm wrong, what if I'm the reason he got hurt emotionally."

"Kuon is always going to carry around his pain but that's because he takes responsibility for his acting and draws from his past, you know that about him," Lory commented and Kuu nodded. "Let me ask you this, would you care for him if he was terminally ill?"

Kuu's eyes widened and he stood up, "Do you know something? Did he tell you something, is he sick, ill, injured?" he panicked despite only seeing him a moment ago.

"Hypothetically," Lory tried to calm him down and Kuu remained standing.

"He's my son. Yes, no matter what I want to make sure he's okay. I don't think he understands how important he is to me. He doesn't realize that everything I do concerning him, I take time to think about and I only want him to benefit from that. I…"

"Shuuhei," Lory said slowly, "If you could calm down. To my knowledge, he's fine."

"As long as he's okay," Kuu said as he looked to his old friend, "Boss, you need to know that if I can do anything to help him, if I could have done anything in the past to help him then…"

"I would have let you know," Lory nodded, "and of course, if he was terminally ill in the past, I would have told you that as well," he assured him and Kuu smiled softly.

"Thank you," Kuu exhaled hoping things would be okay for his kid.

End of Chapter Twenty Nine

Thank you, reviewers of Chapter Twenty Eight

EmmaLasagna and Kris XD