-Beginnings: Part 1-

Kyoko stood outside in the Takarada estate garden. There wasn't really anything to look at this time of the year, well nothing like the flowers she was quite positive covered the grounds making it most likely magical during the warmer months. She had been here for a week and wasn't exactly in the mood to meet with Lory's newly arrived guests, people who had apparently come from England. So she had run away. Now she was sitting on the edge of a fountain that she was pretty sure was a copy of the Fountain of Love found in Rome. As lovely as it was she starting to notice a theme. Lory Takarada seemed to live and breath the idea of Love.

Leaning back on the fountain's edge Kyoko stared at the three figures, "I guess once upon a time I did too."

"Did what?" Kyoko jumped slightly but quickly got herself under control as she looked towards her left at a man about her own age. He was dressed in a white winter coat, open so she could see the white dress shirt and plaid vest. That carried down to his pants. The red bowtie made him look rather charming. His voice was clear and almost musical. Ginger hair that seemed too fluffy with piercing green eyes. One could almost see the freckles that would spray across his face if it was summer.

"I was thinking I was much like… the head of this household once." her voice cracked slightly as she fully began to turn to face the man who was leaning towards her more to put distance between them than anything else.

"To be honest I don't think anyone could be like Lory… well other than maybe Grandmother but she's calmed down a great deal."

"Oh… I don't mean… like…" her eyes widened "forgive me." She shot straight up from where she sat and bowed her head "I'm sorry! I didn't introduce myself." She had been told not to use her last name because it could draw attention and trouble. "My name is Kyoko"

"Hello Kyoko-san," he said placing a hand by his stomach and bowing to her. "I'm Williams, Cody," he said straightening up to look at her a smile across his face. "I've actually here visiting Lory-san with Keiji."

Kyoko smiled her polite smile. She was used to well-known people coming to the Ryokan and allowed her years as a hostess, to run a successful Ryokan to take hold. A business smile fell across her features, as she stood straighter her hands folded neatly in front of her. The words of Yayoi Fuwa echoed in her mind 'Remember Kyoko-chan, someone who comes here must be treated as if they are Princes and Princesses. You must always show respect, always smile, and they must never know how you are truly feeling. Even when if you are sick or hurt.' If he had come to see Lory Takarada then Cody Williams was a guest and must be treated as such.

"Forgive me Williams-sama for my rudeness earlier." she once again fully bowed from the waist but this time everything read like a program or perhaps a well-oiled machine. Still, Cody felt a bit disheartened at the sudden change that came over her.

"Not at all. Please raise your head" the boy watched as she did and while she looked straight at him, it was clear to him that she wasn't looking at him. "Ah you don't have to be so formal…" he said scratching his cheek some. "I was the one to intrude on you after all." His eye widened as the girl smiled softly at him but it didn't reach her eyes. 'It's like my smile...' was the only thought he had when he saw it.

"You are an honored guest of Takarada-sama," she said with such a set smile that he was positive that she had been raised and taught to hide whatever she really felt behind that mask of a smile.

"Are you not also?" the hint of concern that lay in his voice did not go unnoticed by Kyoko but her smile never fell.

Kyoko felt awful inside that he was showing any sort of concern for her. She wasn't supposed to allow guests to worry about her, that meant they weren't enjoying themselves. This could be bad for business, though she wasn't sure exactly what Lory's job was, she didn't want to be the reason they wouldn't wish to do business with him again. "I am no one of importance." Kyoko bowed her head once more. "If you will excuse me Williams-sama, I must get back inside." The truth was she really didn't need to but she wanted to. If he was concerned about her, then it meant she needed a moment to gather herself so she could perform as she should. Kyoko waited for him to nod his head before taking her to leave, walking ever so formally until she was out of sight.

"Rather formal in the end wasn't she?" Cody turned his head English speaking teen who had finally joined his side. Unlike Cody, he wore blue jeans, a black sweater, and a brown leather jacket; a red scarf wrapped around him. Everything about him screamed Japanese but the way he carried himself said, foreigner.

"Yes, Keiji," Cody looked towards the fountain "apparently she was really into love once...I wonder what happened."

"Doesn't matter now, all that matters is what is being asked of us. Do you think you can do it?" Keiji prodded. Cody noted that he didn't seem to care at all about the manner that the girl responded to him, that he had stayed in the background was a hint that he would not allow himself to falter and care about someone else. Keiji wasn't after all known for being a people person, he socialized only because he had too or he saw some value in it. Cody was an exception to the rule much like several of Cody's siblings were.

Cody sighed as he turned to look up at him. "I don't know… you?"

Keiji looked off into the distance where the girl had gone before looking back at Cody. "I can. It's you I worry about," he said turning and walking in the same direction she had gone. "Come on it's time we meet up with Lory… seeing as he's dragged both our families into this."

Lory sat on his couch. He wasn't smoking due to the age of the two men, well at least not at the moment; truth be told he would if it wouldn't have gotten him into some serious trouble from their parents. He did, however, pour himself a glass of whiskey, which he was now holding in his hand as he looked between the two young men in his home office, "So you met her?" Lory asked in English. It was best that they kept the conversation in English. They nodded and he looked up at the ceiling for a moment, "She's not a bad kid. At least not that I can see, Maria likes her enough." He felt a strange need to defend her though he didn't fully understand why yet.

Keiji sighed, "I'd rather know why you contacted our families." All they knew was that Lory had needed their help on something dealing with the girl. Not that either of them knew exactly what he was planning with her. Keiji honestly didn't want to be here. He was only because his parents had basically forced his hand on the matter, that he had come.

Lory looked at him slyly. "I've told the heads of your families and I will tell you both, after you been here for a couple of weeks, more details of my plans. But, that depends on a few things at the moment." He leaned forward "What I require from the both of you right now is more information about Kyoko." He lifted his glass to his lips before lowering it again, "I have a good idea about what she's been through and she honestly answers any questions I have. No, it's more correct to say her experiences have resulted in her responding as if she was had no choice in the matter." He frowned slightly, "I am hoping she'll be open and speak all on her own without having to ask her those questions. You are both around her age so that's why you were sent for."

Cody smiled softly though he looked a bit downcast as he did so, "That's because she has been programmed to respond in that way. Depending on how you ask the question will result in how it's answered."

Lory raised an eyebrow, "oh?"

"Yes. It's her, shall we say… her Royal face. As you know, in the United Kingdom, our image is very important because we are born royal. So at a young age, we hide our true selves because we are told that the public is always watching us. Only in private, can we allowed our masks to fall." He sighed heavily.

Lory knew this well. Having been raised in the same environment, the difference was it didn't fully apply to him. He had more freedom. When he went to the United Kingdom he had to act a certain way. He rubbed his ear in irritation just thinking about it. He also knew that Keiji didn't get to get away with acting inappropriately even though in theory he likely could to a point. Lory stared at Keiji for a moment trying to picture him acting wild and failing awfully at it.

"Once she realized I was one of your guests, her whole body language changed, the tone in her voice, her smile… she was not really seeing me as me anymore." Cody leaned back into the couch, "It's odd really, even when people are acting a certain way they're eyes give them away" he said softly.

Keiji mused, "It was a rather quick change I must admit. He knew many people could not so easily go from flustered to calm and collected so easily. It took years to get it right. His eyes narrowed slightly, "But you couldn't read her when she did it. That tells me she was used to that sort of lifestyle far more than her being her true self."

Lory nodded his head some, "I thought that might be the case, she has opened up around Maria, Ruto and myself… but even that seems different than perhaps her true self." He was sure that she had some sort of fear he couldn't understand that kept her from truly opening up to any of them. Lory stood, upsetting his drink on the table as he did so. Clapping his hands he then rubbed them together grinning "But that's another reason why you two are here right now. I want you to help me open her up. See who she is really..." he paused; no he didn't need them to feel that much pressure. "In terms of looks of course. She has stopped wearing her contacts so that is an improvement. Her amber eyes are much prettier. I worry it's more because I made a comment about it than anything…"

Cody looked towards Keiji before looking back at Lory "You want us to help give her a makeover?" Cody asked.

Lory looked at Cody a grin planted on his face again, "Yes, for now, that's all I want really."

Keiji sighed heavily, "You do realize we are guys right?"

Lory grin turned into a smirk, "Who better to help than a Prince and an Ambassador's son?"

Keiji narrowed his eyes, "You want information about her and a makeover?" He shook his head as the man nodded. He had a feeling that wasn't exactly what Lory wanted from them but whatever; Keiji would pretend to believe the man standing in front of him because he also knew that in a small way it was also true he wanted those things.

Fuwa Shoutaro sat on the floor in the living room. A room that had tons of empty soda cans, a sink full of dirty dishes, and dirty clothes were piled up in the corners. The place was a mess and he was tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair staring at the TV. It was a mess and it wasn't his job to do it. It was that cleaning lady's he hired but she only showed up Monday and Thursdays. How was he supposed to live like this?

He missed when Kyoko had made things easier. He didn't have to cook for himself, he didn't have to wait for the cleaning lady to show up. There was nothing coming out of his own pockets either. 'I need to get my property back' he muttered to himself. It had been over two months since he dropped off Kyoko and the money helped him a great deal in the end. He paid for studio time to get his songs out and had sent them to every place he could think of. It was only a matter of time before he was signed and most importantly of all, he was starting to get a few gigs nothing he was super proud of but it was a start.

He dug out his wallet, pulling out the business card. Completely white, with only a phone number on the back side. He should call, but right now he couldn't afford to buy her back. 20M Yen was not going to last him and knowing them they would want at least that much back. If he called his parents he knew he could get the money but the thought of explaining why he needed that much to get back his property didn't sit well with him.

"Not like anyone would want a plain and boring unattractive woman. No worries" he nodded self-assured in his thoughts of his own opinion. He put the card back in the wallet and tossed it on the table. "I need to focus on my career then I can get her back and she'll be so happy she will be on her knees thanking me" he nodded again and again. "She'll be begging to serve me and then I won't have to pay a maid to clean my place" he groaned. "I mean couldn't they have found someone prettier? Urg!"

It had been two weeks since Cody and Keiji had been invited to stay within the Takarada Estate and neither of them seemed any closer to remaking Kyoko mainly because no one really understood she already had changed. No one but one little girl.

"Kyoko-san…" Maria said staring at the plate of food in front of her. She was picking at it mainly because for the last few days it was all the same food all because Kenji had complained about the vegetables and fish. That was all that was being allowed to be served.

Keiji had been glaring at the plate in front of him while Cody couldn't hide the small grin on his face. Kyoko turned towards them with a plate of freshly cooked bacon, not something she would normally have made but she was learning additional dishes that weren't part of her lessons growing up. It was wonderful to be able to truly cook whatever she wanted and be encouraged to learn whatever she wanted.

Placing a couple of pieces on Maria's plate "Here you go Maria-chan," she smiled warmly at the girl before moving towards Ruto and Lory giving them each some. She looked once at Cody she graciously nodding, before placing two on the side for him. "I'm trusting you to behave" her voice was sweet but Cody was pretty sure there was something dark wrapping around him more so when Maria's eyes seemed to see something that he himself couldn't.

"Of course thank you Kyoko-san," Cody said with a small nod of his head. With that, Kyoko moved to her own seat and sat down.

"Hey, where's mine?" Keiji eyes shined with annoyance as he pouted.

Kyoko with a far to sweet smile on her face looked at him "Oh forgive me Keiji-sama, it seems I didn't make enough." His eyes shot towards the plate, before making a move to reach for it, he froze in his spot. Turning towards Kyoko who was glaring at him and if looks could kill or even maim a person, he was pretty sure that he would have been in pieces. Sighing heavily in defeat he began to pick at his food.

"When will this nightmare end?" Keiji mutter under his breath.

Cody couldn't help but grinned at him slightly, "Well I think when you stop complaining about the food" with that he turned to watch Kyoko carefully. It seemed to him that only time she seemed to really come to life was during meal times. "You really like to cook don't you Kyoko-san?"

Kyoko lifted her head some from her food before giving a small nod. "It's important to eat healthy food. It also how I escaped…" she trailed off before bowing more "Please forgive me Cody-sama"

Lory sat eating his food. He actually liked these meals; she was an amazing cook. Even the things she didn't know how to make well she didn't give up on until she got it right. Lory was realizing quickly that this was a personality trait. One that might have been what kept her from being truly being emotionally and physically destroyed by those men. Still, she rarely gave information freely like this, one had to ask. The fact she had informed him without even asking about cooking being her escape from her troubles. He recalled that it was in the file that he had gotten from Kuon, it seemed even when with those men she had been cooking. "Then you want to be a cook perhaps?"

Kyoko twitched slightly. It didn't go unnoticed by anyone "No" she said simply.

Maria looked at her "Why not? You like cooking after all."

Kyoko smiled softly at the little girl though no one at the table missed the sadness in her eyes. Her meal not fully finished but she began to clean up. "Maria-chan, some things that we enjoy are treasures meant for only a few people. Sometimes only one person and sometimes no one but yourself. That's cooking for me. It's only meant to be shared with a few people. Now, finish your meal, you have a piano lesson soon."

Lory smiled as he patted Maria's head, "Tell me Kyoko is there any musical instrument you would like to learn?"

Kyoko looked up at him for a moment "I was interested in the guitar when I was younger but I no longer care for it." It actually made her sick to her stomach to think that perhaps the money that Shoutaro had gotten for her had gone into an electric guitar or something else along those lines.

Lory nodded his head some, "How about now though?"

Kyoko bit her lower lip before sighing softly "I guess if I had to pick, some of the more traditional ones… perhaps a flute or maybe the koto…" the words were barely out of her lips before Lory clapped his hands.

"Then we will start you on lessons for both. If you find you like one more than the other you can always drop it but a young lady should know how to play if not sing." He finished his coffee, stood up with his now empty plate and moved towards the sink to drop them off. "So best to get ready."

"I couldn't possibly," she said staring at the man, trying not to show how worried she was about the cost. "Besides... it wouldn't be right and I can't afford it anyway."

Lory shook his head "Don't worry about that."

Kyoko had to make him understand that he shouldn't be paying for something like this. He already was doing far to much for her and she didn't know how to ever pay him back. "I'm already staying here for free. Besides you, yourself told me I must stay hidden until you figure out something."

"We will tell them you are my daughter. No one will question it. You came with Cody and Keiji from England." Her eyes stared back at him, surprise, shock it was all clearly written on her face. Lory couldn't help but grin, inside he was just possibly giddy. "We will sign you up for dance lessons too. Keiji is actually amazing at ballet and he could give you private lessons too." Her mouth hung open as she backed away from him.

Kyoko shook her head "I… I can't."

Lory grinned "Sure you can. Keiji won't mind. It will be his way to make up for being such a troublesome guest." His eyes turned toward Keiji who sighed heavily and nodded his head. "There now. Be ready in an hour" he said turning while he and Ruto left. Kyoko's knees felt weak but she kept herself standing upright trying to calm her inner being.

"What… what just happened?" Kyoko said looking at the people still at the table.

"Lory," said Keiji and Cody together with a slight shrug of their shoulders.

Maria sighed. "Grandfather always gets what he wants in the end," she said finishing her meal with the other two boys.

Ren couldn't believe his eyes, schooling his face as the man wearing black came up to him. It would have been an odd sight if it hadn't been Tomi. "Ah Tsuruga Ren, I'm a big fan of your work." He patted his jacket, "I would love to get your autograph."

"Yes of course" the smile plastered on Ren's face seem to sparkle. Yet no one seemed to notice the fakeness, including his manager who stood off to the side. There was the possibility that his Manager did know but he chose to pretend to not notice. Not that Ren personally cared if Yashiro had figured it out, Tomi knew and he was indeed pretending not to notice. That man was never bothered by anyone's anger.

"Ah here we go," Tomi said pulling out a little notepad. He flipped a page and held it out. The smile plastered on his own face didn't reach his eyes. "Doesn't smiling all the time hurt?" he asked. Ren took the pen and notepad.

"No not at all," Ren said looking down at what was written. To the rest of the world, it would look like he was signing his autograph before closing it and handing it back to him. "If you excuse me, I must head to my next appointment."

Tomi nodded his head giving a slight bow as he did. "Yes of course. I look forward to seeing you on the screen then" he held the notepad lightly "and thank you." Ren kept the smile on his face and gave a slight bow as he walked off followed by his manager.

Yashiro looked at his young charge for a moment "Is something bothering you Ren?"

Ren smiled his professional smile. No one knew his real thoughts but sometimes his manager could guess, perhaps he leaked out somehow. "Why do you ask?"

Yashiro eyes trailed back towards the man behind them, "Well, you just seemed a little surprised by that man."

Ren gave a small nod of his head, "Well I never seen a man with red eyes before. Have you?"

"Hm, No I suppose not," Yashiro said following after his charge.

Tomi flipped open the notebook:

Is the package safe?

Yes, the safest place possible

He took a deep breath tore out the sheet and shoved it into the mouth where he began to chew it. "Guess it's time to head home…" he said putting his hands into his pockets.

A/N: In this reality, the Royalty of England is much different than the one in real life. So please do not hold that against me -.- Please keep in mind that this whole world I've dropped them in is different than ours.