Chapter 126: The Journal

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, the Hizuri's would snoop through Kuon's room.

Cedric automatically plastered a smile on his face when he heard his mother's voice. He might as well put on a happy face and play nice; otherwise, he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Hello, mother, you look lovelier than ever," he said pecking his mother on the cheek she held out to him. As usual, she was done up impeccably in a tasteful dark green cocktail dress with her hair and makeup in place. As a former model, his mother was an attractive woman. She was now one of the most popular socialites in the area and came from a famous family. Her father, Cedric's grandfather, Eltra Duris, made a name for himself here in Hollywood as the Father of Winners and now Cedric's father along with an associate handling the East Coast took up his mantle. It took two men to fill his grandfather's shoes.

"That's all you have to say to me after being gone for months and rarely calling home," she said pouting.

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I missed you, Mother. How have you been?" He flashed her a charming smile that he knew would melt her heart. He held out his arm for her to take. She smiled and wrapped her arm around his as they walked toward the front door held open by the butler.

Cedric greeted the man he had known all his life as he crossed the threshold.

"Come on, I have a surprise for you."

Cedric withheld his groan. A surprise from his mother was never good.

"My boy!" His grandfather called out when they stepped into the foyer. His grandfather walked up to him and embraced him warmly.

"Hi Grandpa," Cedric said, wrapping his arms around the smaller man.

"Welcome home, Ceddy." The childish nickname wasn't so annoying when his grandpa said it.

"It's good to be home," he said genuinely for the first time since being back. Thank goodness his grandfather was here, he would be able to endure the grueling meal with his parents. His parents tended to play nice when he was around. Now that he was back, the rumor mill started up again. The tabloids were once again airing his dirty laundry. He was surprised to come home to find that none of his pending contracts were canceled. He had filming and an interview scheduled tomorrow to discuss the issues he avoided before leaving. The incident in Japan had yet to blow up here. He probably had his father to thank for that one.

"How have you been Grandpa?" Cedric asked with concern. Now that his grandfather was retired and wasn't traveling for business anymore Cedric had grown closer to him. As a child, he only ever saw him sporadically since his work took up most of his time. His grandfather's guidance finally reined him in. Maybe his upbringing would have been different if his grandfather was around.

"I'm doing just fine, my boy. Now tell me everything you did in Japan. Did you go to any of the places I mentioned?" His grandfather waggled his eyebrows making Cedric groan.

"A few of them and not there. I mainly let the locals decide. How about on my next break, we go together. You can even introduce me to your friend."

"It made an impression on you, didn't it?"

"It was refreshing," Cedric responded honestly. Since he practically snuck into the country, fans weren't aware of his presence. It was refreshing to take a break and breathe over there. "I'll have to work on my Japanese language skills before then."

"Let me know if you need some help. I'm quite fluent."

Cedric chuckled. He would take his grandfather up on his offer.

"Ceddy," his mother called from the parlor, regaining his attention. "You remember Miranda, right? You two went to high school together. I bumped into her at the opening of….blah blah blah."

Cedric drowned out his mother's babble as the young woman transported him back to the time when his life was ruled with hatred and envy, bred from his father's lack of acceptance and his mother's toxic responsibility to give him the best of everything. He knew Miranda all right. She was in his year at the academy. She was a pretty woman but the most notable thing about Miranda was that she dated him. Cedric managed to get her to break up with that guy using just a few words. Are you so sure he loves you? How about you test him? At the time, he found joy knowing his goody-two-shoes rival had such an uncharacteristic flaw. Miranda came running to Cedric distraught. Of course, old him had to console her, he wasn't that heartless to ladies. Afterward, he had nothing to do with her.

What was she doing here? Did he just trade one crazy woman for another? Was this Karma for everything he did in his youth? All the backstabbing, the manipulating, and the bullying he orchestrated were now coming full circle to bite him in the ass. He deserved every level of crazy that came back to haunt him.

Cedric thought he was going to be sick as his stomach churned with guilt. He excused himself from Miranda and his mother to go to the powder room in the hall. He turned on his heel to leave the room and bumped into someone.

"Hey, Cedric, long time no see old friend," the man greeted.

Cedric recovered and looked at his "old friend." His earlier thoughts of rushing to the restroom forgotten.

"Liam?" This night just keeps getting better and better! He cut ties with this guy, Liam McDermott, years ago as he did with many. Last Cedric heard, he was overseas for college or something. What did he want with him now? "It has been a while."

"Can you believe it? What a small world. I bumped into Liam at Miranda's soft opening for her first boutique. I thought it would be a nice little welcome home dinner for you to see familiar faces," his mother explained.

Cedric smiled serenely and turned to his mother. "That was so thoughtful of you, Mother. You didn't have to go through the trouble."

"You could never trouble me, darling," she said, caressing his cheek.

"Pardon me, Miss Karina," the butler announced. "Dinner is served."

"Thank you. Well... shall we make our way to the dining room?"

"Is Dad joining us tonight?"

"I'm sorry dear, he's out of town but he does send his love."

I bet he does. That would explain why his father hasn't bothered him since his return. Cedric wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or upset by his father's absence. Either way, it wasn't anything new.

During dinner, Karina was in her element and kept up the flow of conversation. A conversation that revolved around Miranda's family's business, her accomplishments during university, and now her new business. Her boutique would cater to the rich and famous. The exclusive opening alone generated a slew of elite clientele. His mother was doing it again. She was always trying to set him up with some woman she deemed worthy of her son. Maybe he should just swear off women and die alone.

His mother changed topics to get Cedric more engaged. Karina was sly enough to keep her questions, work-related, highlighting his good points rather than focusing on the personal issues going on in his life. He saw Liam perk up at the mention of his time in Japan out of the corner of his eye. Cedric concluded that he knew something about the incident over there.

Finally, the dessert plates were cleared signaling the end of the meal. Cedric couldn't wait to get away from Liam before he spilled Cedric's secrets in front of his mother and grandfather. He used to portray a clean image to the adults in his life and skewed the truth so someone else was always to blame. That wasn't him anymore; however, his fame began to grow, and with that came the paparazzi. They were notorious at catching him when he wanted to blow off some steam drinking and womanizing. He settled down after meeting Viola this past year but that all went to hell.

I should make sure she's okay. He didn't have any of the details regarding her. All he knew was that his father took care of it. A part of him said to leave her alone but the other part of him worried about her after learning that Kimiko had a hand in her actions.

Cedric said good night to his mother and the other company. He didn't give Miranda a second glance as he walked his grandfather down the lit path that would take them to his private bungalow on an acre of the family property. His grandfather sold the family mansion after his retirement and built this house for himself to be closer to the family. His grandfather had significantly downsized but the 10,000 square foot home would still be considered large for one man and the live-in employees.

"Would you like to come in for a nightcap?"

"You aren't tired?"

"Of course, I'm tired. Listening to your mother prattle on about that prized mare was exhausting. I don't know where I went wrong raising that girl. Oh I know, I was too busy building a legacy," he said shaking his head.

Cedric chuckled at the old man. He could always count on his grandfather to cheer him up. Cedric walked to the minibar in his grandfather's study and poured them each two fingers worth of whiskey. He handed the tumbler to his grandfather and took a seat on the soft leather chair.

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you? I take it that man wasn't really a friend of yours."

"That's the problem. They never were. I boosted their reputation while they did whatever I demanded." Cedric drained the contents of his drink and stood up.

"I should be getting back. I have an early job tomorrow. I'll give you a call some time this week maybe we can grab a bite."

"You need to make friends your own age," Eltra told him, taking his glass.

"Who needs friends when I have you, Pops!"

Eltra grunted at his grandson's boastful declaration. "I won't be here forever. Maybe I should take a page from your mother's book and find you a partner. My best friend is a miracle worker at matchmaking."

Cedric groaned, "Please don't. I'm done with women."

Eltra raised a curious brow at Cedric. "Come on, Grandpa. You know what I mean. We can live that bachelor's life together…what did your generation use to say? Let's paint the town red!"

"I leave that to you, boy. Your Grandmother would roll over in her grave if she saw me gallivanting about at my age."

Cedric laughed whole-heartedly. "Then I'll call you for some early-bird specials." Eltra glowered at his grandson's joke.

He hugged his grandfather and walked out the door. "Good night, Grandpa. I'll call you soon."

Cedric made the trek back deep in thought. When he neared his parents' house, he stuck to the shadows and snuck into his car. He didn't want to get caught by his mother. As he drove down the street, he was forced to slam on his breaks when someone jumped out on to the road to flag him down. He took a quick look at his door to make sure the locks were engaged. This could be a potential carjacking.

"Yo, Cedric."

Cedric squinted his eyes against the harsh streetlight and realized the man standing in front of his car was Liam. This was not looking good. He rolled down his window a crack.

"Hey man, car trouble?"

"Nope, I was waiting for you. Do you want to grab a drink so we could catch up?"

"I have an early call in the morning. Raincheck?"

Liam laughed. "A few of the guys said you've changed. I couldn't believe it. I'll be leaving in a few days. This place is full of temptation. I only came back to attend my grandparents' fiftieth anniversary." Liam stood up, pulled out a paper from his jacket pocket, and began unfolding it. When it was flat, he held it out to Cedric and gestured to roll down the window.

"Hang on," Cedric said and pulled his car off the road. There was something about what Liam said that made him trust the guy. He stepped out of the car and took the document. It was a recent newspaper clipping from the L.A. Times. His expression turned grim as he read the article.

"You never did care what happened to any of us," Liam said bitterly. He waved to Cedric as he walked to his own car and drove away. A phone number and the words Let's talk, were scribbled on the back of the back. Cedric sighed and stuffed the paper in his pocket.

Kuu looked up from his glass of wine across the kitchen table at his wife. They were eating a light dinner since their original plan was waylaid by jet lag. She caught him looking and smiled. This time her smile for him was unbridled and radiant. Kuu felt the lump in his throat and tried to wash it down with the wine. It was good to see her truly happy again. He reached out and entwined his fingers with hers. Today was an amazing day for them now that their children were here.

"They look so good in person," Julie whispered. She kept her voice down to avoid waking up the children even though Kuu wanted to disturb them. It was better to let them rest.

"Yes, all the video chats and all the pictures do not make up for actually having them with us."

"I didn't want to get my hopes up but I can't believe they managed to fool us."

"They're going to take the industry by storm with that kind of talent."

Julie giggled excitedly. He could tell, like him, she couldn't wait to witness her babies shine.

"How was it talking with him?"

Julie sighed. "He was quiet and apologetic."

Kuu sighed in turn, "He's still apologizing?"

"He apologized for the way he left and for staying away for so long without contact," Julie explained.

"I hope you told him that we aren't upset over that. He needed to get away otherwise we would have lost him."

"You know I did, Kuu," Julie bristled. She kept her tone down and said, "I told him I understood and that I, no we were glad to have him home."

"Did he say anything else? Like what his plans for the future are?"

"We didn't have time for that. He's working though. He'll be walking the catwalk for R'Mandy as Ren."

"I see. So he doesn't plan on being Kuon full time just yet," Kuu felt a little disappointed by that. Did he still find it horrible to be their son?

"This is a giant leap for us as a family. I'll take him any way I can get him. Even if it's as Kyoko's boyfriend."

Julie was right. He couldn't be greedy. They had been patient for so long they couldn't screw it up now for selfish reasons. If Kuu really thought about it, he just wanted to brag to everyone about his son's accomplishments. He couldn't be prouder of his son and yet he knew that he would continue to exceed in whatever he chose to do.

"Should we move them to the guest house since there's a bigger bed?" Julie suggested taking another bite of her salad.

"Why? You worked so hard decorating Kyoko's room. They'll be fine and they're in the main house."

"You're right. Kuon would probably want to go into his room too. He'll be surprised that nothing has chan-"

Kuu looked up from his plate when she stopped her sentence short. Julie was deep in thought. "Kuu, did you put his journal back?"

Kuu looked at her in alarm. It had been years since he stumbled upon his son's journal. He wasn't intentionally snooping, he just missed his son and wanted to feel closer to him. When Kuu sat on the bed in his depressed state, he displaced the mattress and found the book. Kuu never returned it. He jumped out of his seat and tiptoed down the steps to his study. He opened drawers and checked shelves until he found the worn leather-bound book. He then tiptoed toward Kuon's door and twisted the knob. It was locked. Dammit!

He rushed back up the stairs and ran to the back of the house. He took the flight of stairs two at a time to their master bedroom. He rummaged through his top drawer and found the key to Kuon's room. He dashed back down and snuck into Kuon's room. He opted not to turn on a light on the off chance it would alert the kids to his crime. He felt his way around the room to reach the bed and ended up stubbing his toe on the frame. Kuu had to bite down hard on his fist to keep from hollering out. It served him right for skulking about like a guilty man but he managed to return the notebook in its place. Hopefully, Kuon wouldn't notice.

Kuu slumped in his chair and took a large gulp of his wine. Julie cocked her brow at him and poured him another glass. The journal was a cold dose of reality for the Hizuris. Kuon had not written in it since he was twelve years old but what was there in the previous years was enough to make Kuu lose his appetite for a while. In his young son's untidy handwriting, the words mutant and disappointment filled many pages. How could their precious son think their lives would be better off if he was never born?

A tear rolled down Kuu's cheek as he imagined everything his son endured. He failed his son in so many ways. When his career took off, he was so busy he neglected to see how it affected Kuon. While Kuon was working on himself in Japan, Kuu and Julie tried to work on their shortcomings as parents. It was finally time to put their hard work to test. They weeded out the toxic people in their lives and careers. The veteran couple could afford to be as picky as they pleased. It might have bristled people the wrong way but he couldn't forget his son's words. He didn't divulge as much but after reading it repeatedly, Kuu concluded that not only kids but adults in the industry contributed to Kuon's destructive behavior. I wish I was more like Dad, maybe then I can stop upsetting the director.

"I know it's hard darling but you did what you could to help," Julie said, swiping at his tears. "We can only show him that we're here for him and hopefully he'll see how much we've changed."

"Yes, you're right." He exhaled slowly and grew quiet for several moments. Julie let him be to collect himself.

"We need to get him fitted for a tux if he's going to be Kyoko's plus one." Kuu was relieved that his brain did a one-eighty and switched to a lighter topic. There was no point dwelling on the past.

"Kuu!" Julie's eyes lit up with excitement. She stood and snatched her phone off the counter. "I know just who to call. He owes me one."

Julie put the phone down as quickly as she picked it up. "I'll have to wait to get Ren's schedule. I don't want to blow his cover."

"I need to tell Andres not to come. And Dee Dee? Do we need her to come or can we handle it? How about a paid vacation? Is that too suspicious?"

"They're loyal but I don't want Kuon to feel uncomfortable. A vacation sounds like a good idea. I'll call Delores and you can call Andres."

Kuu and Julie separated to make the calls that would ensure their housekeeper and Chef didn't report to work for the duration of their children's stay. They could survive without them for two weeks.

…

Kuon blinked awake and squinted at the bright twinkling lights that shone down on him. Right, he was in Kyoko's new room in his childhood home. He rolled over to find his girlfriend asleep at an odd angle. He caught sight of the script sitting on her lap and deduced that she fell asleep reading it. He moved her gently into a more comfortable position and covered her up. She snuggled into the comforters and was soon back into a deep sleep. He kissed her bare shoulder softly and quietly rolled out of bed.

He walked barefoot toward the glass wall and pulled back the shade to see outside. The sun had yet to rise. He glanced at the sleeping form of his girlfriend. He wasn't sure how long she stayed awake so it was best to let her sleep. He entered the closet to head to the bathroom and nearly had a heart attack. The dress form he placed in there last night had literally almost spooked the shit out of him. Thank goodness he was conditioned enough to scream in silence. His behavior would have been embarrassing to explain to Kyoko.

Kuon made it to the bathroom without another hitch. His parents carried the fairyland theme into the bathroom. The sink itself was a bronzed vessel with a hammered texture to give it a natural finish. The faucet was unlike anything Kuon had seen before. It was of the same bronze hue but curved up and around like a wave and cascaded into the basin like a waterfall. He couldn't begin to describe the natural spring looking shower and bath combo. His parents really outdid themselves. Kuon imagined Kyoko rising from the tub like a goddess wearing a soaked white gown clinging to her every curve.

"Down boy," Kuon hissed at his little head. He turned on the little waterfall and splashed his face with cold water. He brushed his teeth quickly and ran his wet hands through his hair to tame his bedhead. Amidst all this, his stomach roared loudly. He turned off the tap and touched his stomach. He was suddenly starving. They didn't eat anything of substance yesterday except for breakfast on the plane. He was in so much turmoil food was the last thing on his mind. How could he have done that to her? She never once complained.

Kuon put on a shirt and left the room. He headed up to the kitchen to find a snack that would quiet his stomach until Kyoko woke. He was startled but not surprised to see his father sitting bare-chested at the counter and eating. Kuu's hand paused as he brought the spoon to his mouth.

"Good morning, son." Kuu abandoned his meal for the time being and stood up. He wrapped his arms around Kuon. "It feels so good to say that to your face," he said, pulling back but keeping his hand on Kuon's shoulders.

"It's good hearing it," Kuon grinned shyly, making his father smile. They stood awkwardly until Kuon's stomach growled in protest.

Kuu chuckled. "It's like music to my ears. I never thought I would live to hear your stomach rumbling in hunger. Of course, you're hungry you didn't eat dinner. I can whip up something for you."

"No need, I'll have some of that," he said nodding to the box of cereal Kuu was eating.

"This is just a snack until I get back."

It was only then that Kuon looked at his father's attire. "You still go out?"

"Every morning when I'm free, weather permitting, of course. It's become a ritual."

Kuon nodded and took a seat on a stool next to his father. He was worried that things would be awkward in person with his parents but they were taking his presence in stride.

Kuu got him a bowl and spoon. Kuon poured himself some of the sugary cereal he had not eaten since he was a kid.

They ate in silence for several minutes until Kuu asked, "Do you want to come with me? I have an extra suit that could probably fit you."

"Would that be okay? I'm rusty."

"I could teach you again. It's like riding a bike. You'll pick it up again in no time."

"I would like that."

"Good, finish eating and we'll head out." Kuu poured more cereal into Kuon's bowl similar to the way he used to as a child after another one of his mother's kitchen disasters. It made him feel warm.

Meanwhile in Tokyo

"Any regrets," Yashiro asked, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

"Just one," Kanae said. She glanced off to the side at Kijima and Chiori bickering on the proper way to tape up a box.

"I'm sorry about that. It's my fault. I slipped while in conversation with him. He asked me out for drinks and I automatically responded….Are you upset?" Yashiro asked nervously.

"No, if people know, they know. I wasn't planning on keeping our living arrangements a secret except from my family. I don't want them to know where I live. Knowing my family, we would come home to all of them camping in our living room and our refrigerator ransacked." Kanae said pointedly then flushed at her words.

Our living room! Our refrigerator! Kyaa! Stars instantly sprouted into Yashiro's eyes and his inner fangirl jumped in the air holding pom-poms. Kanae avoided his gaze.

Yashiro couldn't help pulling her close and kissing her passionately. She was too cute.

"Let's carry these boxes down, Kijima-san, and leave the love birds alone." Chiori piled three boxes into Kijima's arms.

"Ugh, Chiorrin? This is too much," Kijima managed to wheeze out under the heavyweight. "Plus, I can't see where I'm going."

"I said to stop calling me that," she scolded. She didn't relieve him of any boxes but dragged him out the door. She closed the apartment door behind them after leaving.

Yashiro pulled away once the door closed and smiled at Kanae. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Mission accomplished," he said innocently as the sound of their friends bickering faded.

…

"Sho? Are you seriously watching that again?"

Tch! He glowered at Shoko's sympathetic expression and turned back to the TV. Anyone knew it was better to watch something on a TV rather than a small cellphone. He didn't know why he tortured himself by watching it again. Seeing it on the large screen only amplified their lovey-dovey expressions. She was making those stupid googly eyes at him and he was looking at her the same way. It made him want to gag. He hoped this would piss off all the single people in the world that their popularity would drop.

Sho hated to admit it but the song itself wasn't half bad. He was annoyed that it nearly toppled him from the number one spot on the Oricon charts. How dare she step on his turf.

"Shoko!" Sho yelled.

A frantic Shoko emerged from her bedroom wearing a green facemask. "What?! What happened, Sho?"

"Find me an acting part in a drama! I'll show this girl that I can act too," he declared.

Shoko groaned and returned to her refuge. Just when she thought the brat was growing up he ends up lashing out. She hoped he wouldn't regret this.

AN: Hi hi! Thanks for sticking with me. Now that we're getting into the Kuon arc in canon, I'm hoping the Hizuri's have some idea of what Kuon experienced as a child. His grandfather seemed to be aware during his talk with Lory so it makes me wonder. I really hope they snooped in his room. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.

Thank you for always reading and for the reviews of the last chapter. I appreciate you all.

Until next time, Ja ne! ^_^