Many thanks to those who have read, favorited, and reviewed this fan fiction. I know I say this at the beginning of every chapter but I truly mean it.

Here is chapter seven. I hope you all enjoy it as much as previous chapters. Again I apologize if there are any spelling or grammar errors that I missed. As always I welcome any and all constructive criticism. Chapter eight will be posted in one week. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of the characters from it. Skip Beat is the property of Yoshiki Nakamura.

Kuon's Parents

Kuon woke up a couple hours later feeling very comfortable. He opened his eyes and found that instead of sitting on the couch they were laying on it. 'I guess we moved while we were asleep. Kyoko looks so peaceful when she is asleep.' Kuon looked at his cell-phone and saw that it was almost two a.m. 'I guess it really is time to go to bed.'

Kuon sat up slowly trying to no wake Kyoko. But he failed. She stretched a little bit and slowly opened her eyes. She immediately turned pink.

'She is so cute when she blushes. And she seems to be doing it a lot lately. I guess she really does see me as a man.'

While Kuon was lost in his thoughts Kyoko buried her face in his hard chest. Trying to hide her blush. 'He saw my sleeping face again. I fell asleep while sitting on his lap! That is so shameless! He must be disgusted with me. Ugh! I'm so stupid! How could I fall asleep on his lap? I should apologize.'

Before Kyoko could act on this thought she felt a hand under her chin forcing her face up. She found herself looking into Kuon's loving green eyes. Before she would speak her lips were captured by Kuon's in a tender kiss. After a second of not responding Kyoko closed her eyes and started kiss him back.

Kuon broke the kiss and said, "I love you Kyoko."

Kyoko smiled. "I love you too Kuon."

Kuon beamed at Kyoko's statement and kissed her again, trying to put all the love he has for her in the kiss. When he pulled Kyoko's face was as pink as her Love Me uniform, again. Kuon chuckled. "Are you going to blush every time I kiss you?" His tone was teasing as was his smirk.

"Uh...Maybe. I don't know. Does it matter?" Kyoko asked slightly embarrassed.

Kuon just chuckled again. "Not really."

"Hey," Kyoko said after a few seconds. "You never finished your story. You didn't tell me when you moved to Japan. Or when you found out I was the girl you met in Kyoto."

Kuon sighed. "You won't let me out of this will you?"

"No. I want to know everything. Please?"

Kyoko gave Kuon her vision of his puppy eyes. Kuon quickly knew that he would never be able to say no to that look.

Thinking about how he was right before he came to Japan made the light in Kuon's green eyes dim. "Right after..." Kuon's voice cracked. He cleared his throat and started again. Willing himself to continue, to find the strength to tell Kyoko this last bit of his past. "Right after Rick's... death... I was stuck. Lost in darkness. I couldn't sleep and I refused to eat. I locked myself in my bedroom and wouldn't talk to anyone. When I last saw Rick's body I took his watch to remember him and what I took from him"

'He looks like he is really suffering.' Kyoko reached up and kissed Kuon's cheek. Trying to tell him that everything was okay. He could let it go.

Kuon smiled at her and continued. "At that time it was Boss who saved me. He told me he could give me a chance to start again. To bury Hizuri Kuon and become someone else. To become Tsuruga Ren. So I left with him carrying my passport and wallet. Nothing else. Mom wasn't home so I didn't tell her good-bye. I barely said bye to dad. He told us to wait until mom got home, so that I could tell her bye. But I couldn't stay there anymore.

"When I got to Japan I was immersed in my studies and creating Tsuruga Ren. I ask working so hard that before I knew it, it had been two years since I came to Japan. I was seventeen and I hadn't contacted my parents once in that time." Kuon's voice was extremely guilty, his face mirrored his voice.

"I've seen dad once since I made Japan my home. It was when he was here and you were asked to cook for him. I was angry with him. I thought he might be trying to force me to tell the world who I am. He wasn't and now I feel stupid for thinking that. He wanted to check up on me, to see if I really was okay.

"He did want me to become Kuon again. But only for a few minutes. Just long enough to record a video message for him and mom. I agreed. I may not have spoken to my parents since I left but I still loved them and missed them. I still do.

"I want to see them but I promised myself that I wouldn't until I could go back on my own power. Until I surpassed dad. I want to show that I am worthy of being his son."

'No offense to Oto-Hizuri-san but I think Kuon has already surpassed him. Kuon has won so many awards and has been the number one most popular man in Japan for years. What more does he need to do?'

"... Kyoko?"

"Ah! I'm sorry. What were you saying Kuon?"

"I was wondering what you thinking about. You had a very pensive look on your face."

Kyoko blushed slightly. "It was nothing." Her answer was a bit too fast and Kuon could tell she was lying.

He instantly went into Ren mode and gave her his gentlemanly smile. "Really Kyoko?"

Kyoko looked petrified. That smile always scared her. She moved to sit next to him on the couch and looked at her hands. "I was just thinking that... um... you've already surpassed Hizuri-san."

Kuon blinked at her. 'What does she mean? I haven't gotten anywhere near to surpassing dad.' Kyoko was still talking so he listened.

"I mean you've won dozens of awards. You're the most popular and desirable man in the nation. Your Katsuki was voted better than your father's. So what else do you think you need to do? In my opinion you're already better than your father." Kyoko finished in a very quiet voice still looking at her hands.

Kuon was stupefied to the least. 'She really thinks that I'm better than dad. But there is still so much I need to learn. I'm still not good enough. I need to be better.'

"Kuon?" 'Oh no! Did I say something wrong? His face is blank and he isn't saying anything. Is he mad? Oh, please don't let him be mad.' Kyoko was starting to feel scared and it showed on her face.

Kuon noticed and panicked for a second. 'Oh great. I stayed quiet for too long. She must be thinking that I'm angry or that she said something wrong.' He immediately reached out and hugged her tightly. "Please stop looking so scared. I'm not angry or even close to it. I was just shocked by what you said. Do you really mean it? Do you really think that I'm better than dad?"

"Yes. I truly believe that." Kyoko's was firm and confident.

"Thank you. You don't know how happy that makes me." Kuon kissed her temple. 'Wait a second. When she was talking earlier she didn't say otou-san. She said Hizuri-san... Oh no. I will not let her stop calling dad 'otou-san'. He is as much her dad as mine.' "Kyoko why didn't you call dad 'otou-san'?"

"Well... he's your father and it would be disrespectful for me to refer to him as 'otou-san'."

Kuon sighed. 'Her logic is so weird.' "Kyoko it isn't disrespectful for you to call him 'otou-san'. He wants you to call him 'otou-san'. And I want you to call my parents 'otou-san' and 'okaa-san'. They are as much your parents as mine."

"But-"

"Babe please," Kuon interrupted. "Please continue calling dad 'otou-san' and start calling my mom 'okaa-san'."

Kyoko's whole body turned bright pink. "'Babe'?"

Kuon turned slightly pink. "Well you're my girlfriend now. So it slipped out. But if you don't like it I'll keep calling you Kyoko."

Kyoko gave him a shy smile. "I-it isn't that I don't like it. It just startled me. No one has ever called me that before. But I think that you should only call me that when we're alone."

Kuon smirked. 'Yes that will definitely be a pet-name for when it's just the two of us.'

"So, does this mean that you're my boyfriend?" Kyoko's voice was tentative.

Kuon's smirk changed to a warm smile. "Yes. I am your boyfriend. I'm yours now and forever." He leaned over and gave her a kissed filled with his love.

Yet again Kyoko was pink because Kuon kissed her. Seeing that just made him smile even more.

"Hey, um..." Kyoko lost her nerve and fell silent.

"What?" Kuon's voice was gentle. "What's wrong?"

"Well I was just wondering um... I'm sure that you don't want to tell the whole world who you are but uh..."

Kuon watched her with a curious expression waiting for her to continue.

"Haven't you done enough to be able to communicate with H-otou-san and o-o-okaa-san again?" Kyoko asked very quietly. "I'm not saying that you need to do see them in America but can't you call or email them? I'm sure that they would love to hear from you in real time."

Kuon looked at her tenderly. 'She is always thinking of others. That's just one of the many things that I love about her.' "Kyoko how do you do that? How do you know exactly what I need to hear?"

Kyoko just shrugged looking down embarrassed. Kuon smiled again and grabbed his cell-phone. He looked at the time. '2:46 so it will be 10:46 in LA. I guess now is as good a time to call them as any.' He flipped his phone open and went to the contact list.

Kyoko noticed Kuon had his phone out. "Can your phone make international calls?"

"Yes. Boss always made sure that when I got a new cell-phone it could make international calls and had my parent's house and cell-phone numbers." Kuon's thumb was poised over the call button. 'I just need to press this button and I call the house. Man this is as hard as telling everything to Kyoko.'

Kyoko could sense Kuon's hesitation. She snuggled closer to him and hugged him.

Kuon's left arm was still arm Kyoko's shoulders so he gave her a one armed hug back. Then he put his phone on speaker phone and pressed the call button.

There were three rings before someone answered.

"Hello?" Said a deep voice.

Kuon swallowed. "Hi dad."

"Kuon?"