AN: Even though this is my third year in a row doing it, working retail on Memorial Day weekend is so exhausting 😊 But I wanted to write something so I really hope you enjoy. I do have reasons for why certain things are happening.

Chapter Four - In My Heart

Kyoko didn't know how she was able to convince Kuu to allow her and Kuon to take care of Katarina the next day despite Julie obviously not wanting it. She had to think that it was most likely due to Kuu trusting the person that Kuon had become. She was also glad that the activity that they were doing was shopping and going out to lunch. This allowed the two of them to talk. If they had gone to a theme park then they might not be able to focus on the siblings getting to know each other because of all the distractions and going to see a movie would detract from the talking as well.

What they needed most was to talk.

Katarina grabbed onto Kyoko's hand, letting go of Kuon's and looked up at the actress. "What's the dirt?" she asked as Kyoko blinked. She looked up at Kuon who appeared confused as well.

"I can't tell you the dirt on the man I'm going to marry," Kyoko laughed weakly. "I've taken an oath of loyalty to Kuon. That's something you have to do with the media following you."

"Oh, like Daddy" Katarina nodded. "He sometimes is followed everywhere," she stretched her arms out after that last part to show Kuu's popularity which made Kuon smile weakly.

"Yep, in Japan, Kuon has exactly that but his name is Ren," she grinned as Kuon nodded.

"Why?" Katarina asked as she looked between the two adults.

"It's a stage name," Kuon tried to explain, "It's so I can keep my personal life and my acting life separate."

"Like a spy?" the six-year-old asked as Kuon nodded slowly.

"Sort of," he tried to answer honestly. "It's like…I really like pretending to be people so that's why I'm an actor. It's like dressing up in costume but I like being someone else when I'm doing it. So, that person like dressing up as other people."

"Soon though, Kuon is going to be brave and tell all of Japan who he is," Kyoko smiled as Katarina stared at them.

"Then why didn't he before?" she asked as Kyoko tensed and looked to Kuon for a reply.

"Well, I was scared. I went to Japan all by myself when I was a teenager. You know how that girl in the accessory store was talking about her sweet sixteen," Kuon tried to explain. He was trying to think of whether Maria would understand these things at six since the little girl who loved putting curses on people was a frame of reference for him.

"Yeah" Katarina nodded. "I want a sweet sixteen. There'll be cake and dresses and makeup and everyone will tell me I'm a princess," she said as she span in a circle and giggled.

Kuon had to smile watching her and he gestured to Kyoko to go and sit down on the nearby bench. "Well, I left Japan before I was sixteen so I was a bit older than you but still young. It was scary being in a foreign country by myself," he said as he and Kyoko sat with Katarina in the middle of them.

"Why did you go then?" Katarina asked innocently.

Kyoko reached out and held Kuon's hand to try to support him. She knew the story but she also knew that Kuon wouldn't explain it to a child.

"It was scarier being here," Kuon said, "I felt really guilty about a mistake I made so I ran away."

"Oh like when I wanted to run away because I ate some of Mommy's and Daddy's special anniversary cake?" Katarina said. "I was scared but Daddy just gave me a big hug and made it better."

Kuon nodded, "Yes, something like that. Daddy tried to make me feel better too but it didn't work so I ran away to Japan and pretended to be someone else. I spent some sad years there but after about four years, I was able to meet Kyoko and she helped me feel better."

"So, she fell in love at first sight?" Katarina asked before both adults laughed softly.

"She hated me," Kuon said, "but then she gave me a second chance and after some time she agreed to be my princess."

"I only hated you because you hated me first," Kyoko stuck her tongue out at her fiancé. "Plus you were in your pretend mode so if I had known you were actually Corn, I would have been overjoyed."

Katarina smiled, having heard 'Kuon' instead of 'Corn'. "Why?"

"Well, we met first when we were kids," Kuon tried to explain, "Actually Kyoko was your age when we met and we had a lot of fun together but since that only happened when I was on vacation, I had to go home. I still really treasured my friendship with her."

"Yes, some of my favorite memories from my childhood were with your brother despite how short a time it was. I'm sure that you enjoy your times with your friends," Kyoko said as Katarina nodded, "and you'd really miss them if they left but you'd remember them in your heart, right?"

"Yes," Katarina nodded, "because I love my friends," she grinned.

"Exactly," Kyoko nodded. "You want to hear something about your brother over here?" she said as Katarina nodded, "Well, don't tell him I said this, but he's kind and understanding and caring. He's very intelligent too so when I have a question I come to him. He's my favorite person in the whoooole world. When I get scared, he gives me warm hugs. When I feel sad, he tells me I'm beautiful and that he loves me. He keeps me safe and happy and feeling beautiful every day. That's why I want to marry him, but that'll be our secret," Kyoko winked.

"Can't Kuon hear you?" Katarina asked as Kuon acted as if he had been distracted by something.

"Huh? Were you talking about me? I didn't hear a word you said," he smiled before mouthing a 'thank you' to Kyoko who nodded.

Katarina smiled and then nodded as she looked at Kyoko, "I think so too," she said as Kuon smiled happily and Kyoko caught that dazzling smile. As hard as it was for Kuon to acknowledge the fact that he did have a younger sister, at least she felt positive feelings towards him and had a positive opinion.

"So, how about we get some lunch at that burger place?" Kuon asked as Katarina nodded excitedly.

"I love hamburger!" she said as Kyoko nodded.

"Me too," she stood and saw Kuon holding Katarina's hand so walked to the other side of him. She slipped her hand into his and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Hopefully this day would end as well as it was going at this moment.

….

….

Kyoko smiled as she drove Katarina back to the Hizuri house. Due to how he felt unwanted, Kuon had decided to make his own way back to their hotel room. Kyoko had tried to argue against this, saying she could drop him off first, but he had told her not to worry. So, here she was with four shopping bags in the car, taking the girl back to the house.

Kuu had given her clearance to enter the property.

As she stood on the doorstep, she heard someone open the door and smiled seeing it was Kuu. She grinned as she put a hand on Katarina's shoulder. "Hey, thanks for letting us hang out with her, Father," she said happily as she saw Kuu look around her in case Kuon was there.

"Has Kuon gone back to your hotel room?" Kuu asked as Kyoko raised an eyebrow.

"Can you blame him?" she challenged the man before seeing the excitement that was on Katarina's face.

"Daddy! Kuon is really cool! We talked for a long time and I told him everything" she grinned happily. "He's really really nice like you said."

Kuu nodded, "Does that mean you had a good time with Kuon and Kyoko today?"

Katarina nodded eagerly, "He listened to all my stories and he told me about him and Kyoko. He's sooo cool and sweet and caring. Can we invite him over tonight?" she asked as Kyoko hesitated. She didn't want to even discuss how depressed Kuon was about the fact that his parents had lied to him for seven years.

"Maybe another night…" she said awkwardly as Kuu nodded. It was true that Kuon really did not want to see them. Katarina nodded and looked a little disappointed as she did so so Kyoko knelt down so they could be more level with each other. "Hey, even though we can't come over tonight, I know that Kuon is really glad that he got to meet you and spend the day with you today. I'm glad to have made a new friend too, but I think Kuon is really happy to know he has such an amazing little sister."

Katarina's eyes lit up, "Really? I'm really happy to meet him too," she said before looking down. "How do you know all of that?"

"Well, you know how different people know different things, like I'm sure that some of your teachers are experts on different things like math and spelling and science," Katarina nodded as she listened to Kyoko. Kyoko placed a hand on her heart, "I am the expert on Kuon. I know him inside and out and I know that he loved meeting you. You can tell it in his eyes."

Katarina smiled wide, "Is it because you looove him so much?" she teased a little and Kyoko nodded without hesitation.

"Yes. I know all about Kuon, every inch of his body and soul because of how much I love him. I'm not someone who loves just anyone. They have to be really special and Kuon is just the right type of special." Kyoko grinned. She saw Kuu looking at her.

"You know every inch of his body?" he asked and Kyoko nodded.

"Kuon is really a very gentle person and he makes me feel loved and safe," Kyoko said although her eyes were telling Kuu she knew exactly what she was saying. She sometimes hated to admit that she was impure, but the safety and security that Kuon made her feel every time was something that only increased her love for him."

"Can you tell him I had fun today?" Katarina asked not getting what Kyoko was really saying.

"I will do just that," Kyoko smiled, "We hope to see you soon, Katarina, but if we don't please know that you are going to have a sister in law who adores you and you have a brother right now who loves you too."

Katarina smiled before looking up at her dad.

"Kyoko, did you want to come in and have something to eat or drink?" he offered but the auburn haired woman shook her head and then allowed herself to smile.

"Father, I really appreciate today. It was good for everyone, but I need to get back to my fiancé. I love him and I want to spend all the time I can with him right now, however…Kuon told me that he was only able to get his passport and not much else when the president came to take him to Japan. Is there anything that is of great sentimental value to him that I can give to him?" Kyoko asked. She didn't want to leave Kuon on his own for too long, but if there was something from his past that would make him smile, she wanted to be able to give it to him.

Kuu nodded, "there are a few things that I can think of," he said, "Did you want to come in or…"

"Could you just give me them?" Kyoko asked and Kuu nodded as he left and Kyoko started talking to Katarina more. Kuu arrived with a bag of items.

Kyoko looked through it, she wasn't sure of the importance of them but there was an external hard drive, an old teddy bear, two very old journals, a knitted blanket, and a small black bag. She looked at them and nodded. Hopefully Kuon would tell her their importance when she returned to the hotel.

AN: Thank you to the reviewers of the previous chapter, again it really makes me smile and feel excited when I receive reviews, so thank you

Ashenvale, ladygraywolf, Michiyo, sara, and ValkyrieDefender