Always with You

Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat! or any of its characters.

Chapter 24 – To sleep, perchance to dream

It had taken the influence of Takarada Lory to get the required permission to bring the widescreen television into Kyoko's room. She was out of emergency treatment area now and in a private room. The hospital rules still required a quiet, peaceful environment for head-trauma victims. Doctor Okada was insistent.

Lory had sat the man down and, with the assistance of Ren and Kanae, explained the entire sequence of events that had led to Kyoko's early morning ride. Lory was a master storyteller and a great believer in the power of love to heal all wounds. He argued that Kyoko, having misunderstood, was now sleeping under the delusion of loss. He wanted to give her hope again.

The outside observer, having watched the entire interchange of ideas carefully, might have come to the conclusion that Dr. Okada just relented so that Takarada Lory would shut up. Well… for whatever reason, the widescreen was installed and tuned to The Rumiko Show as Kuon Hizuri walked out into the public eye for the first time in over six years.

Now, ask any person, especially any female, if Tsuruga Ren was handsome and the answer would be an unequivocal "Yes!" But change his hair back to its natural blond, and well…

Rumiko had to clear her throat before she could speak. Kuu was a handsome man. Julie was an undeniably beautiful woman. Their son was enough to make any woman's heart melt. He was gorgeous! "Uh… uhmmm. Tsuruga San, I have to say that you surprised everybody, including me, appearing as a blonde. Can you explain why you chose to do that?"

"Of course, Nishimura-san. This is my natural hair color. My stage name is Tsuruga Ren, but my real name is Hizuri Kuon," the studio audience gasped as they heard his last name. Japan was proud to have one of theirs living as a top-ranked star in Hollywood. Even though all of his films were filmed in English, they were promptly translated and shown in Japan.

"My father is Hizuri Kuu. My mother is Hizuri Julie. You also know her as Julia Swan."

"Tsuruga-sa… or should I call you Hizuri-san?" Roriko kicked herself mentally. She should have thought that through before the show.

"Either one is fine. Just because I have revealed my true name doesn't mean that I plan to stop being Tsuruga Ren."

"I think… with that blond hair it will be easier for me to call you Hizuri-san. Can you please tell us why you decided to change your identity, and why you have decided to reveal it to us now?"

"I believe that everybody here today, or almost everybody, knows who my father, Hizuri Kuu is. The same is true in the United States, where I was born and where I lived for the first fifteen years of my life. As a child I was incredibly proud of my father, and I still am. But when I tried to start an acting career of my own, people either treated me as a carbon copy of him or dismissed me as just another spoiled brat rich kid who was trading off on my father's name.

"As I got older, I became angry about the unfairness of it all. Some kids thought that it would fun to pick on the son of Hizuri Kuu. I became good with my fists, but my rage increased. I started getting into trouble.

At fifteen years old I was offered the incredible chance to leave everything behind, change my name and my look, and start out on my own. I promised my parents that I would return to them, but only after I had made a name for myself entirely on my own power."

Rumiko saw that he was done for the moment, "Hizuri-san, could you please explain how this connects with Mogami Kyoko?"

"When I was still a child, my father took me on a trip to Japan. He loves Kyoto, and so we spent two weeks there. I have always loved nature. When I got tired of the hotel staff fussing over me, I ran down into the woods below the hotel. There, at a creek, I met a younger girl; four years younger, in fact. I can't really explain to you unless you meet Mogami-san personally, but there is something special about her. She captivated me even then. I spent every day down at the creek hoping that she would show up. We would visit and talk about the stupidest things. When my father told me that it was time to leave I could hardly stand it.

"I had almost forgotten about her when she suddenly started working for LME. It took me a while to realize who she was, but then I realized how little she had changed."

"And do you love her, Tsuruga Ren?"

"It would be inappropriate to say anything about that while she is still in her current condition."

His eyes and his expression had answered the question for him.

* * *

Kyoko would never remember listening to Ren's story on the television. It is impossible to say whether she heard it or not.

When the still-blond Ren walked into her room she was still sleeping. But her mind was processing a myriad of information that was stored in her head, and it all concerned Ren.

She saw his "Emperor of the Night" look on every occasion he had ever turned it on her. She remembered him holding her tight and promising that Corn had grown up wings now and was happy. She remembered him kissing the stone.

Her mind focused on Corn now; beautiful, mysterious Corn. Who was he really? He wasn't actually a faerie prince, but the only other person she had met who was so perfect was… Tsuruga Ren. Tsuruga Ren, the man who was so perfect in every acting role that he played.

Of course, there was the problem with his Katsuki. It was surprising to her because he had always been so perfect. And he even looked like the first Katsuki played by Hizuri Kuu… who had a son named Kuon.

And what did she know about Tsuruga Ren's past? His life before he started acting was a mystery.

The words "schoolgirl… four years… schoolgirl… four years" kept bouncing around her head.

And she heard his crying voice as he said, "Kyoko, I love you. I've been deeply in love with you for so very long. Please wake up and come back to me."

It was late afternoon when the Hizuris finally arrived at the hospital. They were walking into Kyoko's room when they saw the couple and quickly ducked out.

Ren had fallen asleep with his head resting on Kyoko's good side. His mind was playing back the day that she had sought him out in his trailer. She had let him use her lap as a pillow and he had fallen asleep as she had gently stroked his hair. Ren woke suddenly and realized that a gentle hand was stroking his blond hair. He looked over to gaze into Kyoko's beautiful golden eyes. She laid the hand softly against his cheek and spoke the four words that told him how much she really loved him:

"You should've eaten, Corn."

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Notes: Don't worry, the story isn't over. Hope you like it so far.

Kyoko's awake, but I need to go to sleep.