And the last installment. Enjoy.

Kyoko woke to the sound of a sharp knock on her door, and was more than a little disoriented when she realized she was in her old room back in Kyoto. There was a second knock, but before Kyoko could find her voice, the door opened a crack and Ren poked his head in, wearing the most ridiculous beanie Kyoko had been obligated to see anyone wear. She hoped it was for a disguise because it was too ugly to be fashionable.

"Sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to wake you up. I was just going to go run some errands this morning. I'll be back here around lunch time, and we'll have to leave then. If you're going to head out again today and check, you'll need to leave soon."

"Right," she mumbled, the events of the night before rushing back. "I'll… do that."

"Whatever you like," Ren said earnestly. "I'll just be gone this morning. Fuwa-san has some breakfast left if you're hungry."

Glancing at the clock, Kyoko noted that she had only gotten about two solid hours of sleep. This was going to make the day uncomfortable, but she had no good reason to stay in bed if she wanted to get things done this morning.

"Tell him I'll be right down?"

"Of course. I'll let him know on his way out." Ren paused as he moved to pull the door shut. "Happy birthday."

Kyoko hoped he missed her cheeks flaming as he whispered those words. They brought back the night before in full detail. Suddenly, even if she had wanted to go back to sleep, she could not have. She would try going to Corn's clearing one more time that day. It might calm her down and distract her from the rampant longing she was fighting.

~…~

Lory hung up the phone after a polite thank you to the caller and leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Ren and Kyoko had not returned to their hotel the night before. This could mean any number of things, though Lory was not about to jump up and down suspecting much progress. If his investigation into Kyoko's past was accurate, they could very well have stayed at the Fuwa ryokan, and somehow he just did not see Kyoko surrendering herself to reckless abandon in the place she was raised so strictly.

Lory was torn. He understood people who had scruples concerning relationships and loved how those kinds of relationships developed differently from ones where couples disregarded holding off intimacy. He also had no wish to see Kyoko overrun by Ren's desire. But he wanted something substantial between the two. It was plain to Lory, and to plenty of other people, that Ren and Kyoko already had a very deep relationship. It seemed like it was time for them to take the next step. And since both of them seemed to have trouble expressing their feelings verbally, there were not very many other options. Besides, Lory was certain that physical relationships and marriage were tied irrevocably together in Kyoko's head, so if Ren did become involved with her they would have to get married right away and then Kuu could stop harassing Lory about when his son would get home and could start harassing his children for grandbabies.

It would be best for everyone, obviously.

He pressed a button on his phone. "Satome-san, is the flight on schedule?"

"Ready to land," his secretary answered promptly. "Your assistant is already in Kyoto with the car. And catering has been prepared."

"Thank you."

Today was going to be an interesting day for his starlets.

~…~

Kyoko finished her breakfast and escaped quickly, wishing she had brought a change of clothes the night before. Thankfully, one of her old brushes was still in her room, so she was able to clean up a bit, but she felt a bit scummy. She wished she could get fresh clothes. If Corn was there today she was not sure that she wanted to meet him like this.

The morning was crisp and Kyoko was glad for it. The cold cleared her head and colored her cheeks and nose pink. It was easier to hide what she was feeling if she was already blushing. The walk was fairly short, and before long she had entered the clearing. She glanced around for a few minutes, sat down on a rock and waited for a bit. But she was also impatient. He would not be there. She could not remember why she had wanted to come.

Of course. It was Tsuruga Ren's fault. He had told her to hope for a Christmas miracle. He had dragged her to a love shrine and then kissed her at midnight on her eighteenth birthday. He was the one that had kept her up all night, then woken her up early this morning to come out here and be disappointed.

Sometimes she hated him.

All the time, she loved him.

It was complicated.

She decided to leave, standing up and dusting off her pants as she turned to go. She glanced back for a long moment, shook her head, and started walking forward. Suddenly, there was a soft whump behind her. She whipped around and froze, her jaw dropping.

"Hello, Kyoko-chan."

He had practiced the jump. It took a lot of skill to make 190 centimeters of well-muscled human male land on the ground in even the smallest resemblance of an elegant and ethereal fairy. Actually, it took all of his acting and stunt skill to make that entrance perfect. Acting like he had when he was ten, using his sinfully large fortune to purchase the costume, calling in his contacts to make the make-up changes, and using his stunt experience to land like a freaking magical pixie.

All of his life's work accumulated to this: a six year old girl's fantasy come back to life for her eighteen year old self. Ren had only really drawn the line at sparkles.

Kyoko's mouth worked up and down for a few moments as she tried to take all of this in. Yes, it was Ren. It was Ren in the build, Ren in the voice, Ren in the presence, in the way her heart was starting to throb in her throat.

But it was Corn too. Corn in the talking, in the posture, in the blonde hair, in the outfit. Well, actually, the outfit was new. If Kyoko had known anything about cheap American historical romance novel covers, she would have recognized this stereotypical black trouser and loose shirt look, meant to looking dashing and casual with its open v-front laced loosely in what someone apparently thought was a seductively manly manner. Not that it looked bad on Tsuruga Ren, but not all men could pull off the kind of styles that he flaunted. He made the outfit look princely enough, for all that it was incredibly simple.

Ren and Corn. She couldn't decide which one.

"H-hello?"

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes," she answered uncertainly, knowing that she had seen Ren only a few hours before. The thought crossed her mind that Corn had taken on some of Ren's form to make her easy, but that seemed a bit farfetched even for her mind.

"I'm sorry I didn't write to you. Looking back I probably should have. I think it would have been good if you could have had someone else to rely on all those years."

"Probably," she agreed mindlessly, still trying to get her bearings.

"I missed this place, you know," he said wistfully. "I missed the summer heat and the stream, and you soaking your handkerchief for me. I missed the birdsong. We had different birds back home. It just wasn't the same. And I missed you too. I missed your cheerfulness and your honesty. I… really needed those."

"Tsu- Co- I don't-"

"Happy birthday, Kyoko-chan," he said suddenly. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to celebrate with you all these years. Every Christmas I would think about what you had told me, about being glad to celebrate at all with other people, even if your birthday overlapped with Christmas. I hoped you were having fun. It made things easier the years that I was alone."

"Alone?" she asked in a concerned tone. "What about your parents?" Corn smiled sadly. Kyoko berated herself. Ren never talked about his parents. For all she knew, he was estranged from them. Then she berated herself again. This could not be Tsuruga Ren. He knew things she had never told Ren. And his eyes were too blue. Blue like an open sky, not muddy like the blue of contacts over brown eyes.

But it was Ren. Her entire being knew that. What was he doing? How did he know? He could not really be-

"I wanted to see you again," Corn said lightly. "I know I haven't been very reliable. And… I've done some terrible things since I went away."

That was Ren's face. The face of despair that had pulled her in again and again. That had drawn her into his arms and against him. The face that had changed her whole view on who he was, that had made her want to be near him so badly, to prop him up, that sometimes still made her wake up gasping, barely able to breath as she dreamed that she lost him to some imaginary darkness. Only the darkness was real. And so was this man in front of her, whoever he was.

"Are you afraid?" he asked, sadness in his voice.

"Yes," she answered breathlessly. He pulled back, almost as if he had been struck. "I'm afraid I'm going to wake up. I'm afraid I'm going to blink and you won't be here anymore and it will all have been a dream. I'm afraid that I don't understand what is happening and that you're going to leave without explaining. Again."

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know," he promised promptly. "Anything at all."

"Are you Tsuruga Ren?" He hesitated.

"Yes." Kyoko gulped.

"Are you really, really Corn?"

"Yes."

"Why haven't you told me before now?"

"Because I didn't think you wanted the two people mixed together."

"Then why are you telling me now?"

"Because I wanted to give you a chance to see Corn again. I didn't want you to think he had ever forgotten you. I didn't want you to believe that you had ever been alone for a single second."

"But you weren't there," she gasped, fighting back tears. "All those years."

"I wasn't," he agreed. "But I wanted to be. And I didn't know it was you at first either. But once I did, I couldn't get you out of my head."

"I don't understand."

"When I first met you as a child, I just wanted to be what you needed. I didn't want to complicate things or disappoint you. Later, when I recognized you again and realized who you were, I knew I would disappoint you if I told you. There was never a time after that when it felt right to tell you. But I don't want to hide it anymore."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to trust me," he said fervently. "I want to be able to say anything to you and have you believe it and have no reason to doubt it's the truth. I want you to be able to trust that I will never, ever, try to hurt you. And I want you to trust that if I ever do hurt you, I will do whatever it takes to make things right with you again. I don't ever want you to suffer because of me. And I think I've made you suffer a lot this past year. More than you ever deserved."

"How?" she asked, utterly perplexed. It was true that last night had been stressful, and that she had been having difficulty with the feelings that she harbored for him. But she knew that he had no idea about those, or he would have no doubts that she trusted him.

"Well, playing the role of Setsuka couldn't have been easy for you, especially since I was always pushing you to do things that made you uncomfortable. And then there were those rumors this summer which you hated so much. I can respect that you wouldn't want to be associated with me in any way once you saw me playing a character like BJ, but-"

"Wait, what?" she shrieked. Ren/Corn blinked. "Why on earth would I dislike you because you played BJ? How could I do anything but admire how hard you worked to deal with that role, even though it was hurting you so much? I can't believe I was actually allowed to stay there and help you when I did nothing to make it easier for you!"

"You… weren't scared?"

"I was terrified," Kyoko corrected, shuddering. "I was scared to death that you were going to hurt yourself, or that you would hurt someone else and regret it for ever and ever. I was scared that you would snap and Murasame-san would lose an arm or something. I was scared that one day you'd disappear into BJ and never come back. I was scared because I could never do anything. I couldn't believe you didn't send me away, I was so useless in trying to help you keep things together."

"Kyoko…" he said with an ironic smile, "you were the only thing that kept me together." It was her turn to blink.

"I what?" He laughed.

"You were everything that I needed. Whenever I thought I was about to disappear or lose my mind, I'd grab onto you and… the whole world came back. The days when I wanted to hurt people, the days when I wanted to kill myself-" Kyoko blanched and Ren realized she had no idea how far gone he had almost been those nights when he had clung to her so desperately, carelessly dragging her down into his darkness. "Kyoko, every time that I thought I was going to disappear you saved me."

"How?" she demanded, entirely bewildered. "I didn't do anything."

He walked over to her, taking her into his arms and ignoring her gasp of protest. "Kyoko, I love you." She stiffened, but he did not let go. "I need you about as much as I need to breath. When I'm with you I stop pretending to be someone I'm not. I become a better person than I ever was before. I feel like I've got the whole world in front of me, full of endless possibilities."

"That isn't possible," she objected. "I'm just a plain, boring, silly, inexperienced, immature-" He cut her off with a kiss.

"You aren't plain," he told her in a low voice as she scrambled to turn her brain back on, "and there is nothing about you that is boring. I could watch you forever and never get tired of it. You are amazing. You are silly sometimes, but so am I, and besides, it's darling. As for inexperienced and immature…" The light was back in his eyes and Kyoko was finding it very hard to deny that he seemed to have a very powerful interest in her. "I wouldn't have you any other way," he whispered. "You don't need to be experienced. I'll teach you anything you need to know. No one else needs to lay a hand on you. Ever."

It was impossibly surreal. Part of her brain was crying, screaming for her to run away before he deceived her anymore and broke her heart to bits. It told her that this Corn/Ren creature was a complete paradox. And her own rational mind had not quite melded the two together. It was like she was in the arms of two different men, experiencing two different confessions. There was the gentle Corn and the Emperor Ren, trapping her in place. And so help her, she wanted them both. She wanted all of him.

"Cor- Re- Tsu-" He smiled, understanding her problem.

"Call me whatever you like," he told her, pulling her even tighter into his embrace. "Just do it where I can hear you."

A thought crossed her mind. "What kind of cruel parents would name their child Corn?" she demanded. Ren winced.

"They didn't. You just never said it right and I never bothered to correct you."

"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief. "You never thought I'd like to know I was saying it wrong?"

"It was cute," he laughed. "Besides, no one ever says it right. In the States people couldn't wrap their minds around the Japanese, and out here I kept saying it like they did in America."

"You lived in America?" This time he smiled guiltily.

"My name is Kuon, Kyoko."

It took her a full thirty seconds to register what he meant. Then there was a shriek.

~…~

Takahiro looked at his wife and smiled as she sighed. He knew that she was watching until the last possible moment as Kyoko pulled away in the car of a man both of them barely knew.

"She isn't coming back," he commented, standing behind his wife and looking out at the empty road.

"Shotaro might bring her back with him. He'll come home someday."

"He might," he husband answered. "Or he might not. He was a brilliant musician, Setsuie. He's doing well for himself."

"Do you really accept that?"

"I think he looks like an idiot, dressing like that and pretending to be someone he isn't. But I've never thought he was blessed with your brains, so that might be my fault."

"Kyoko-chan can handle him."

"When she wants to, yes. But he can't handle her very well."

"He doesn't need to."

"She needs him to," her husband admonished.

"Do you think that Tsuruga-san in her life will be good for Shotaro? A bit of friendly competition to push him along."

"I don't think you can call a man like that 'friendly competition,'" Takahiro smiled. "He's more like divine punishment."

"They would be good for this place. It should stay in the family."

"Maybe our son will fall in love with a woman who wants to take your position someday," her husband soothed. "That is still a possibility. Even if he can't admit that he loved Kyoko, I don't doubt that the woman he does chose will have most of her best qualities. There's still hope."

"She was supposed to be our daughter, Takahiro."

"She was supposed to be Saena-san's daughter," her husband pointed out. "But I wouldn't force that on her again either." His wife reluctantly agreed.

~…~

Kuu Hizuri sat on the end of a bed swinging his feet back and forth as he munched on the end of a sandwich. His wife, prepared to hand him more food, sat next to the bed in a chair, her eyes glued to the door.

"I don't see why it has to be so small," Kuu complained between bites. "It's not like Boss can't afford more room, and any son of mine deserves it."

"She's a girl, Kuu," Juliena answered patiently, flipping open her phone to look at the picture that Lory had provided her with per her special request. Since Kyoko was having a conversation with Ren at the time, she looked especially pretty in the shot.

"You know what I meant."

"You mean the thing we promised to never talk about openly for safety reasons? Or the fact that you're too stubborn to admit Kyoko'd make a better daughter than a copy of our son."

"She's not a copy. She's her own person."

"Of course she is. And she's female."

"She's a really good boy," Kuu countered stubbornly.

"She's a really good actress. There is a difference." Kuu harrumphed, but said nothing else, quietly accepting the next sandwich from his wife. Three sandwiches later, the lock clicked and the door swung open to the sound of laughter. Ren and Kyoko entered the room hand in hand, dressed from head to toe in their winter clothes, Kyoko almost gasping for breath.

"I'm serious," Ren was explaining. "I can cook now. The food I make is perfectly edible. I'll cook for you and prove it."

"I'd rather not end up in the hospital," she chuckled. "I don't care if we do have to go shopping. I'm not letting you spend any more money on me today."

"Then you should let me cook."

"Or we could take you out to dinner," Kuu volunteered, cutting into the conversation and making the visitors known. Ren and Kyoko both stopped and stared. "Surprise! Boss said that he was trying to set up a family Christmas for you two, so we were invited to come and see you, Kyoko-chan," he said, making sure to address her especially. "I know it's short notice, but we couldn't resist. Ah, and I should introduce the two of you to my wife. Kyoko-chan, Tsuruga-san, this is Hizuri Juliena."

Juliena stood to reach out to the two with a raised hand when they suddenly looked at each other and burst into laughter again. Ren closed the door and pulled off the beanie, making his mother gasp.

"I really don't need to be introduced, Dad," he said casually, walking across the room and giving his mother a hug. She returned the embrace, a few tears leaking out of her eyes. Kuu was too astonished to speak. "Kyoko, these are obviously my parents. I know you've met my dad, but this is my mother. Okaa-san, I'd like to introduce you to my coworker and my girlfriend, Mogami Kyoko."

Kuu, who had been about to demand to know what was going on froze again as Kuon crossed back to Kyoko, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and proudly showing her off to his parents.

"How long have you been dating?" Juliena asked kindly, smiling at Kyoko. The girl responded with a small smile of her own. Of all the truths that Kuon had stretched in telling her about his family as a child, there was one fact he had not mistaken. His mother was the most beautiful woman in the world, and Kyoko felt herself shirking every second she stood in the same room as the model.

"Since today," she answered in a small voice. She added, with equal discomfort, "It's my eighteenth birthday."

"Happy birthday," Juliena congratulated. "I'm sorry we didn't get you a present. Would you like to go shopping for something before we go out to eat?" Kyoko's eyes grew wide.

"No thank you!" she gasped, looking up at Kuon for support. He chuckled.

"We've been shopping these past three days," he told his mother. "Kyoko isn't used to spending so much cash at one time. I think she needs to recover some more before we send her out with you."

"That's fine," Juliena accepted, taking a seat again and gesturing for the couple to do the same. Kuon helped Kyoko over to the end of the second bed where she sat ramrod straight. Kuu had still not quite recovered. There was an awkward silence. Kyoko could not think of anything intelligent to say, Kuon was content to simply watch his new girlfriend and enjoy his fortune, and Juliena was content to watch her son for the first time in years.

The change was almost uncanny. He was not haunted, shadowed, or pained. He looked refreshed, content, and blissful, still holding Kyoko's hand as she tried to not look anyone in the eye. Juliena was a little jealous that he did not seem very interested in catching up with his mother, but she could forgive that. To see him smiling so easily again was a blessing. To know he was beginning to reveal himself to the people around him was another. She would be seeing him again soon after the holidays, she was sure.

"We're going to have to talk about something to pass the time until dinner," Juliena said at last. "And I do need to get to know you better, Kyoko-chan. I've been looking forward to meeting you, even before I knew that my son loved you."

"Really?" Kyoko asked, surprised. "Otou-san told you about me?"

"All about you," Juliena answered. "I have to admit, I was jealous. I always wanted a daughter, and you seemed like just the girl I would have wanted. You certainly seem to belong in this family," she noted, staring at her son, a question in her eyes. Kuon's answering look spoke volumes, and Juliena let the subject drop. She could wait. She was good at waiting. She might complain sometimes, but she knew better than to let her irritations ruin the hard work of others. And if Lory's subtle hints and her own observations of Kyoko were any indication, Kuon had been working very hard for this relationship.

"I'm glad I finally get to meet you too," Kyoko answered timidly. "Otou-san talked about you a lot. I've been hoping…" She trailed off, nervous and embarrassed.

"So what should we talk about," Juliena asked, hoping to encourage Kyoko to speak some more. Unfortunately, Kuu had found his voice.

"Grandchildren?" he asked hopefully. Kuon groaned and Kyoko whimpered.

~…~

You have one unheard message. First unheard message.

"Hi Moko-san! The trip to Kyoto was great. We did lots of shopping and visited a temple. I used your present every day. I got to visit the Fuwa Ryokan and we stayed there for the Christmas party. I think they've forgiven me for running away. Otou-sa- Hizuri Kuu and his wife came out for a surprise visit. Otou-san seems to think he needs to convince me that I was meant to be a mother, but I'm still not so sure about that. But it was fun to see them. Juliena-sama is amazing. I want to be just like her someday. Ah, almost out of message time. I'll see you at LME on Tuesday. Stay safe. Oh, and Ren and I are dating. Goodby-"

No new messages. Would you like to repeat a message?

Kanae stared at the phone in her hand, torn between fury and confusion.

"What the-"

おわり

And there is the "epic conclusion" of the tale. I hope that you all enjoyed my little Christmas gift to you as readers. Forgive any mistakes, please. Will and I are both suffering from crunched schedules and sketchy internet access. We'll try and weed them out once the rush is over so that you can look back on this story without cringing at stupid errors. Thanks for all reviews. They have been muchly appreciated. Happy holidays to all, no matter what you choose to celebrate. May the new year be full of promise. And may those of you suffering from any difficulties personally or with family be blessed in this upcoming year with joy in at least equal amounts to that of your sadness.