-Oxford - Thursday: Part 15-
Lory wondered if it had been wise to tell her what he had known as he watched her leave the room. He rosed up from the couch as he moved towards the desk that he had in the hotel room for him. He sat down in the chair crossing his hands in front of his face as he thought. The truth that the Crown always had a target on it's back, Queen Mary was no safer than anyone else, but the real target was anyone who could be a possible match for Charles who was the Crown Prince and after that came his siblings. 'She is a target because she can be a possible match' he sighed as he narrowed his eyes. 'She is a target for Heth, likely whoever Heth works with. She will make herself a target to them' he mentally sighed. 'I don't know if this is a war I want her in Aunt Leiko.' The worse part was there was one more person that had set their eyes upon her 'The White Shinigami's son, the man as Tomi Shiro' Not that Lory had any idea of what his real name was and what that man had done under that name. The world simply knew Vas' son was Tomi Shiro and no one questioned why he did not hold the same last name as the family itself.
No, perhaps that was not the worse part of it, the worse part might very well be that all this would disappear if she was to find love. To reawaken those feelings but what good was he at this? Had he not had Kuon in his care since he was fifteen and had he really improved at all when it came to relationships with other women? He pulled a drawer open flipping through the images, he really did not like the idea that they were here but it was fine the images were already public, there was no hiding any of it. 'They are both hurting deeply' t crossed his mind for a moment that perhaps it was because of him, but he pushed that away as well. He knew that was not the case for one reason only, Kouki had found a deep and true love in Lina. While Kouki might never find that again, he would heal and yes perhaps fall for someone else in time. His Godson and daughter were different, they lived in a far darker world for a period of time and in both cases it started with childhood and that was the real key. The fact that they had been hurt by outside forces.h
Kuon had been hurt by the fame of his parents, people had used him to try and climb the showbiz ladder and his parents didn't realize it until it was too late what was going on with him. Thankfully they had Rick who had been a good light in Kuon's personal darkness and pain. He had been hurt many times by the people he had trusted that Rick had been able to help guide him, but there had been problems. The fact that people cannot accept people who are mixed. It didn't matter that his parents were in love and it didn't matter that he was a living symbol of their love. All he could see was something disgusting in himself because he was not any one thing. No matter where he went he wasn't really welcomed because he wasn't really Japanese, he wasn't really Russian or American. He had duel-citizenship that made him both American and Japanese. Where he had a light that had once been strong and bright but dimming over time, because of the way he looked, because of who his parents were because he could not control the anger and pain that was slowly taking over his heart. Once the last person the only person he truly trusted died. It broke him in a way that even the love of his parents which he was sure that Kuon still felt for them could do nothing to heal.
Kyoko has however been hurt by her own birth, her mother could not accept her for whatever reason. Yet she did well in at least making sure she was given to a couple who in all respect was good towards her daughter. At least treated her fairly, they were not mean nor heartless but they likely did not love her at least that much he did know and he hadn't had the heart to tell her the truth. That they had been more worried about what her mother would do to them, yes they had been worried about Kyoko but only because it meant that Shoutaro didn't have someone there to assure her wellbeing. It was a twisted way of thinking, as though she was more of an afterthought, but again he knew that they cared in their own way. Perhaps more along the lines of someone who worked for the child, they adored her for her abilities, her skills, her behavior but she wasn't their child and so short of assuring her wellbeing was taken care of they didn't need to do much more. It was why he didn't really have the heart to tell her the truth of the matter but it seemed that she had realized the truth on her own. That she truly had not been wanted by anyone in her past.
Yet she didn't seem to mind too much and it amazed him, more so when she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, more so when he had felt the tears that had wet his neck, and when he understood she was not crying because she was sad but because she was happy. Happy that she had people who loved her, people who cared, people who accepted her. How she ended up so strong was beyond his own understanding, just like he couldn't understand how she could keep such a light in her soul after everything she had lived through. That was the biggest difference between Kuon and Kyoko he supposed. Koun light couldn't survive the darkness that he found himself in, Kyoko's light seemed to strive and become even stronger for it.
Lory reached into the desk drawer and pulled out the envelope with the pictures, opening it he pulled out the pictures. "Yet I'm pretty sure Kuon was the one in this shot" he leaned back looking at the photo of his daughter and Godson before flipping them to the other shots with the other two women, 'Then again he is showing up here too, but is it because my little girl brought him out or because his parents causing him to slip from Ren?'
Kyoko walked down the hall, there was far too much going on in her head. It wasn't that she didn't understand what her family had to deal with simply because of who they were, the bloodline more or less. Leiko and Phillip had brought Lory into the mix when he was given a title but then again that had been to add a secondary layer of protection to him in the form of Ruto. At the end of the day, Lory and thus Kouki were the end of the Takarada line, there would be no more children born with the name and it was not one she could pass on to her own children, not that she planned to have any. Her name didn't carry enough power or maybe she should be more correct in saying her position didn't hold enough power. Even if she was by some chance granted like Lory had been a Dukedom it would not pass on to her children. True she supposed she could make it clear that her father's name would carry with her but no many would do that. Yes, Robert had taken Mary's family name of Williams but it one that held more power than his own name is the last name of the royal bloodline and even then she supposed it was uncommon practice to do so. At the end of the night though, Robert had married Mary for who she is, not to gain more power for his family and she had a feeling that was the true reason he had taken her name instead of giving her his own. In this way, his family didn't gain an additional position that would otherwise have been passed on simply because the royal family bloodline having changed names.
Yet this meant that Phillip's own siblings still had a right and claim to the throne not that they were pushed much regardless but it did remove any of Robert's siblings unless their own children perhaps married one of Mary and Robert's children. Not that she could see that happening, it was still frowned upon to go about such things, second cousins were fine, they could marry any of Phillip's siblings' grandchildren and she supposed that would be the case. 'Perhaps I should offer myself to Charles when I come to age' not that she really wanted to be a Queen but the thought of someone using him for power bothered her deeply. She sighed heavily 'I can't marry them all though... so what can I do for them really?'
What she did understand was that compared to other countries that had royalty and a Constitution, the UK and thus the British Empire the Crown had far more say than those, but far less say than those who had an absolute power. It gave the Crown to pull power when required if it was something that they felt was against what they stood for, not that it seemed to happen much. There was also the additional part of the Ankou who had been part of the Royal family is nothing more than myths for thousands of years, so very few knew the truth of them. This might have been the reason for why the order truly had lived for so long because they had been lost to time. Yet she did find there was a slight comfort to knowing that they had thought ahead for the elderly and those who had become likely disabled during their time of service, to become something more, their last life.
Kyoko's eyes trailed back behind her some, looking at Ruto carefully. It went without saying she was thankful for this man, not because he was her Godfather but because he stood beside her father and his true loyalty was to him. No, perhaps that wasn't exactly right, it was more that Lory was the gem he was to guard with his life and as long as it didn't do any harm to the Crown, the Ruler and the Heir all else was fair game, at least for him and those like him. It allowed the game of Royal Politics to be played, those who still held a Banshee were in a way still in the race, able to reconnect their families to the Royal Bloodline but the real question that she couldn't help but wonder was if Nobles had always been able to marry into the line of Royalty what kept them from not informing others about the Ankou, the Banshees that would be promised to their family members at least a generation maybe two if they were truly lucky and were granted someone young.
Stopping she lowered her head slightly, "Ruto?"
Ruto, "Yes Miss Kyoko?" There was kindness in his voice, love even and she knew that she could ask him and he would not take it to heart.
"Why do the other nobilities seem clueless about Ankou or perhaps Banshees would be the better question." She found herself fully turning to look at him, her hands folded in front of her as she waited for his answer. Ruto seemed to be thinking before he looked at her it was clear he wasn't sure if he should be saying anything but for some reason he did.
"A Banshee's last job upon their death is to make sure nothing more than a whisper remains. Another Ankou assures that this remains so because it could harm the Crown." She chewed her lower lip as he looked at her, "That is to say all written records are destroyed... and in some cases, the last task of the Banshee is to kill those who can not hold their tongue. Yet that is on the order of Aevel." Kyoko turned from him, the thought that Ruto might have to harm one of them pained her but she felt his arms around her hugging her to him, "Miss Kyoko, your family is different."
Her eyes turned towards him slightly, "How come?"
Ruto eyes seemed to smile, "The Takarada family has always been a strong one Miss Kyoko, they know how to teach their children to carry secrets, honor is one of the things that are strong within the Takarada family." He released his hold upon her. "You understand how important it is as well do you not? To keep certain things to yourself?"
Wasn't that exactly what she was doing, she could tell her family every little detail, yet she knew that them knowing would not be of much help or use to them. They could do little to nothing really to help her, so she told what she had to when she thought she needed too. "Yes... because it's a job isn't it?" she said looking up at him carefully. "Being a Takarada or Williams is a job, we must always hold he ourselves to a higher standard." She smiled softly, "Even when it goes against everything we personally would want because the family must survive, and we cannot survive if we tell everything we know." She felt like she understood so much more now. Like a small part of who she was to become was starting to blossom or perhaps more correctly take root.