AN: Thank you for your patience when it came to the update. I have a lot going on right now but have been trying to update my fics 😊 I really hope you enjoy.

Chapter Six – The Patriarch

Kuon was getting a coffee from the Starbucks that was near the hotel. He had asked Kyoko if he could have some alone time that morning and she had hesitantly agreed. She was still worried for him. She hated to admit it, but one time, after she and Kuon had been dating for a little bit, Lory asked to see her. She had gone to see him and sat down as he told her something that he probably had no right to. However, what he had said to her, Kyoko had also had suspicion of.

Kuon had only learned later that that day the president had told her that he suspected him, Kuon, of having some depression issues and he was worried it might lead to self injury. Despite not showing any sign of self-harm, it was always a nagging feeling at the back of Kyoko's head after that meeting. Kuon had seen it now but then, in this situation, who could really tell what would happen.

Was he that hurt by his parents lying to him that he would harm himself? Honestly, he had no idea.

He had never thought of doing so before, but this time maybe it took more than a fast ride in a car or music to calm him down. He hated to admit it, but this pain was one hundred times worse than the fear he had over being replaced in Dark Moon. He just didn't want his fiancée to see him so down and depressed. He didn't want to do anything to jeopardize their future together. He had thought before that he would be understood but as someone discarded by his own parents he had had his entire thoughts about the world shift dramatically.

As he stood lost in thought, he heard the barista call out the name Hizuri and smiled as he approached to grab the coffee. As his hand slipped onto it, he paused feeling another person take it. "I think that's Hizu—" Kuon said before looking up to see Kuu standing there with sunglasses on. He pulled back but so did Kuu. The older actor slipped his sunglasses off and smiled at his son.

"Hey," he said, "It's good to see you…"

"This is a…I think this is the drink that Kyoko asked me to get for her," Kuon said as he looked at it to see that it was a vanilla latte. Kuu nodded as he saw Kuon put a plug in it to keep the heat in. "I have another coffee and then I have to…"

"I never wanted to lie to you," Kuu said as Kuon took a closer look to see if they were making his black coffee.

"It's fine, I just need to get my coffee and go," Kuon said as he tried to avoid the conversation with his father. He could see the way that Kuu was watching him and not even paying attention to what drink came next.

"Can we please just talk? Did you drive down here?" he asked and Kuon sighed. He shook his head knowing where the conversation was leading.

"It's fine, I walked here and I'll walk back, the hotel isn't far away. We did rent a car but I needed the exer-" Kuon said as Kuu tried to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Kuon, I would really appreciate it if I could give you a ride back. I don't know how to apologize to you, but I know that I want you to remain a part of our family. You're my son and I didn't want to ever cause you to feel that you're not included, you are a very important member of our family," Kuu struggled to stress to him but as soon as Kuon had his hand on the second coffee, he turned away.

"I'm fine, enjoy your coffee," Kuon told him without making eye contact. He couldn't breathe and he just hoped that his father wasn't going to follow him. Seeing the sad and heartbroken expression on his dad's face and the regret in his eyes Kuon took another deep breath in. "Where's the location for the shoot?" he asked his dad knowing him too well.

"It's on Laguna Beach, it's a summer blockbuster set to come out next year," Kuu said and Kuon nodded.

"Is there still that really good seafood restaurant where you convinced me to try crab salad for the first time?" Kuon asked and Kuu nodded. "Call Kyoko when you're done with the shoot and we'll come eat with you. I don't want to talk without her present."

Kuu nodded, "Of course. I'll call her," he said and Kuon looked down.

"Alright, that should be fine," he told him as he saw Kuu smile in relief, maybe they could patch things together after all.

….

….

Kyoko stretched her arms out wide as she stood with her bare feet in the sand on the beach, she stared out onto the sea and then heard a couple of clicks behind her. She paused and turned back to Kuon who was taking pictures of her with a digital camera he had bought. He had been asked by a couple of interviewers over the years why he simply didn't take pictures with his phone like other celebrities.

Then when they had focused on it, they had found that most of the time that was how Kuon or Ren had taken photos apart from when he was with Kyoko. She was the subject of his photography and he had even developed pictures of her in a professional way so that he could have them on his desk or other important places.

He had noticed that Kyoko was more fond of pictures of the two of them however and she would – as she was doing now – make sure that he had plenty of pictures of the two of them as a couple.

This time, as Kyoko handed back the camera she had 'borrowed' from him, she held onto Kuon's hand. "Are you sure you're ready? I mean, if you feel that you can't face him maybe it's better if you didn't," Kyoko sighed. She didn't quite know what to say but she really wanted the Hizuris to learn to come together again.

She wasn't in charge of that though. It was Kuon and Kuu who had to learn how to handle one another.

As they stood there, Kyoko heard the sound of someone approaching them and turned to see Kuu there dressed up as a police officer. Kyoko grinned as she dropped instinctively into a bow before looking up. "Fa-Kuu-sama," she said after looking back at Kuon and deciding that she wanted to respect his feelings. "You look really good as an officer, Kuon's played police characters before but not in America so he hasn't worn the US uniform."

"It's not too different," Kuon said before looking at the shoot, he stared at his feet so he wouldn't make eye contact with his dad. "We managed to see a little bit of what you were working on, it was good."

"That's because you're a wonderful actor, Kuu-sama," Kyoko grinned before seeing the guilty way in which Kuu was standing in front of his own child. She knew that there would be tension between the two of them, but she was proud that Kuon was at least making an attempt to open the channels of communication between the two of them.

"Yes, it's a trait that Kuon has too," Kuu said as Kuon shifted awkwardly.

"Thank you," he said as he still attempted to avoid eye contact. Kyoko walked over to him and held his hand, she squeezed it slightly in sign of her being with him for support.

"I have to go get changed since the shoot's over, I'll be back as soon as possible," he said and Kuon nodded stiffly. Kyoko smiled and nodded trying to ease the atmosphere. "Kuon," Kuu said as he looked at his son, "Thank you for giving me a chance," he said to which Kuon nodded silently again.

Once Kuu had left Kyoko stood in front of her fiancé. "I'm proud of you," she told him as she reached up to put a hand on his cheek. "I know how hard this is on you. I'm so happy that you're trying to open your heart up to your dad. I really don't think he meant to hurt you, it's just…"

"Kyoko," Kuon said softly, "I love you, but please don't try to justify my father's actions. I want to hear it from him, not from you." He paused wondering if those words had been too harsh, "I do love how much you care about us though."

"Kuon, I don't want to be angry at your dad, but I am on your side. If you want to leave right now, we can do so. I'm on your side," she told him but saw him shake his head and let out a long sigh.

"I'd like to see what he has to say about all of this," he said honestly as Kyoko nodded.

….

….

Kyoko smiled as the salads were served to the table, Kuon and Kuu still hadn't said much to each other. Kyoko could see how hard Kuu was trying to spark up a conversation with his son, but each time Kuon would give a short answer and deflect it. This wasn't good. For the two of them not to be speaking much to each other made Kyoko feel that they might never address the main subject.

"So," Kuon said as he took a sip of water, "Who's in charge of the Christmas cards?"

Kyoko looked up and then between her fiancé and the man she already felt was her father. She took a bite of her salad in case she needed to jump into the middle of the conversation soon. She wanted to eat when she could but she also knew she needed to play the role of the mediator.

"That would be your mother," Kuu said and Kyoko looked down. She had always thought highly of Julie-san from the way that both Kuon and Kuu had spoken about her. She had always felt that Julie represented what a mother should be but with the complications and everything that had been going on these past few days, she wasn't sure what type of Christmas card that Julie would send out. She probably hadn't signed Kuon's name if she had written them and then how would that feel.

"And she still does the what's new in the Hizuri family?" Kuon asked as he moved a tomato from one side of his plate to the other. Kyoko looked at Kuu and saw the guilt on his face. This was leading to dangerous territory and somehow it felt that Kuon had picked up on that even before he had asked the question.

"She does, the three parts," Kuu said and Kuon rolled his eyes.

"Let me guess, for the past half-decade I haven't been included?" he asked as Kuu shifted and looked at Kyoko as if she knew the right way of giving an explanation. Kuu wasn't sure how to handle this.

"I always tell all of my colleagues about the work that you're doing, I tell our relatives to and I show them the pages of the Japanese magazines that I can get my hands on. There's a Japanese bookstore and they know me because I have a subscription to all the newspapers and magazines for Japanese celebrities. If there's been access to it in America, I have it," Kuu said and Kuon looked down.

"And yet, you decide that I'm better off as a stranger in the home that I grew up in. I'm no longer part of your family so why are you trying so hard to shove me into a place that has so obviously rejected me?" Kuon took a deep breath before standing up, "This was a mistake," he said as he pulled out his wallet and dropped a fifty dollar bill on the table. "That should cover the food we ordered," he told them as Kyoko got to her feet too. She didn't want to leave, she felt there was so much more that they could talk about but she promised Kuon she would follow his lead.

Kuu however looked up at him, "Kuon please just sit. I can show you the emails I've written to family members, to work connections. I talk about my son as much as I can, I collect everything that has been written about you. Kuon, I understand that right now you feel betrayed by both your mother and I, but please trust me that you have always been and always will be my son and I'm not ashamed to say that."

Kuon looked back at his father nervously. He didn't know whether to sit down again or storm out. Maybe his father was telling the truth and there was more going on than he thought. He only knew that he could only find out if he sat down again. He wasn't sure he was ready to do so.

AN 2:

Again thank you to everyone who supports this fic, it means a lot to me. Special shout outs to brennakai, Crazy4Animation, DreamIdol, and Michiyo all of who reviewed the previous chapter, thank you 😊