I came up with the idea for this story when I watched episode 14 of the series for the second time. (This was where Yunoki had Hino play the part of his girlfriend to scare the other girl off). This chapter is sort of a rewrite of the conversation they have at the end of the episode. I still don't really understand the relationship between the two of them, so here's my take on it!

Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda D'oro or its characters.

"Bye Yunoki kun! See you tomorrow!" Hihara called.

"Yeah, sorry for intruding!" Tsuchiura said.

"Good night everyone," Yunoki said softly as the four classmates left his house. "Shouldn't you be getting home too?" He asked Hino in his naturally softened tone. She could never tell which side of him she was speaking to. Was it the kind, compassionate Yunoki that she had met the day she had been inducted into the competition, or was it the cold, nasty Yunoki that seemed to surface only when the two of them were alone. She was still unsure which was the real Yunoki, but she was tired of pondering it and was determined to find an answer.

"I want to talk to you first," Hino said, a hint of business detectable in her voice.

Yunoki smiled his usual false smile and lead her out the back door and into his magnificent, well lit backyard. The small walkway porch wound its way around a pond filled with lily pads and lights in and out of the water. The walkway eventually trailed off behind the pond and into the growth of trees that were hardly visible in the darkening hours of the evening. She remained in the doorway staring in awe at the sight before her.

He held out his hand to her as she began to climb down the steps onto the wooden planked walkway. She was still wearing the outfit he had picked out for her before they had arrived at his house consisting of a modest skirt and blouse, as well as a pair of fancy two and a half inch heels. Although she did have some practice in heels, she was clumsy, and stairs in and of themselves were never a good thing. Even though part of her felt that he might just pull her down the stairs into a full blown face plant, she took his hand and offered a thankful smile. She never knew when the darker side of him would reappear. It was like she always had to keep her guard up.

"Your backyard is beautiful," she commented, walking beside him and staring out into the nearly darkened yard beyond the pond. The sun had just fallen behind the trees, but the silhouettes and shapes could still easily be made out in the lights scattered throughout the yard.

"Yes, my grandmother maintains it well," he commented, still smiling at her. Part of her wanted to slap him across the face, to rid his face of that fake smile, but then, how could she truly know that it wasn't genuine at times.

"Your grandmother, yes," she said, her voice trailing off into a stream of obvious thoughts. "How long have you lived with her? Where are your parents?" She had no idea how someone who was so kind to the world lived with someone… like that. She had only been in her presence for a few minutes, but she came across as strict and very old fashioned. Perhaps that had something to do with her grandson's double personality.

"Since I was eight. My parents work full time outside of the city." He said simply, not diving into any of the details, and clearly trying to avoid them.

"I see. Does that not bother you at all?" She asked strategically. She wanted him to open up. Perhaps if he did, she could come to a better understanding of him. She knew there was no chance of him really opening up around anyone else, but in talking to him in private, she ran the risk of his "meaner" side appearing and smacking her in the face. She fully expected either a pitiful answer that meant nothing, or a simple insult. To her surprise however, he was silent for a second, staring out into the yard.

"It's all I've ever really known. She's not much different than my mother. After all, she raised my mother as well. I was taught to keep a good social status and appearance and do well in school. I'm never to outshine my older brothers, and once I finish high school I'll go to college and work towards becoming an asset to my family's business. But why am I telling you this. Why would I share information such as this with someone like you?" He had that look on his face now. The fake compassion was undoubtedly gone.

Just as quickly as his sincerity had surfaced, it was gone again. But this flash of emotion displayed so much to her. That was it. He had lived his life being forced to show a positive image to the world. No one is that perfect. He had been forced to cover up his flaws and anything his grandmother might have considered to be negative. It was no wonder that he had a whole other side to him that was… well… what it was. Rather than respond to his hurtful remark, she remained silent for a few seconds. She felt sorry for him. Although that was no reason for him to be nasty to her, she couldn't blame him.

Rather than pursue the subject, she decided to change it.

"I'm sorry, Yunoki senpai. After all the trouble you went through to make me seem like your girlfriend, I still spilled to her that I wasn't. But I don't understand, she seems like a nice girl. Why don't you like her?"

His expression turned slightly sour; well, as sour as his face could go. "I find her rather irritating," he says simply.

"That's not very nice," the girl commented. "But you did well, you didn't completely crush her hopes for the future. Maybe one day you will end up with her and you'll be happy after all," she said optimistically, forcing herself to smile encouragingly.

"I just bought myself time to come up with a better excuse. It will never happen between us," he said, immediately shooting down her comment.

She sighed a little, but decided to stay positive. "What are you looking for in a girl then?" She asked, quickly realized that she could easily be implying something that she had not meant to.

"Why? Are you interested?" He asked, laughing. She was now certain that his "darker" side was rearing its ugly head.

Her face grew red. She couldn't hold it in any longer. "N-no! Why would I be interested in someone that hides his true personality from the world and puts up a fake front? On top of that, you're just plain… nasty to me," she said, suddenly regretting her harsh words. Then again, he had never hesitated when saying things much more rash to her.

"I was only joking," he said, smiling again, "no need to get upset."

How could she ever tell if he was hurt by her words? He had clearly spent the last eighteen years learning to hide his true feelings no matter what they may have been. She was almost afraid now to hurt him. Now that she felt she was starting to understand him, she wanted to run out of there as fast as she could and put as much distance between them as possible. Nothing good could come from being with him right now. But now that she was here, she had to keep talking.

"Yunoki senpai, why is it only me that you treat like this?" She asks sincerely.

"Because it doesn't matter how I treat you, Kahoko," He said arrogantly. To take it even further, he had made it personal by using her real name.

"I'm serious! You don't open up to anyone else, yet you choose me to show yourself to. There has to be a reason!" She was getting upset. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be simply because he didn't like her to the point where he felt he could be nasty to her and it wouldn't matter.

"Nope, that's all there is to it. Like I said before, I can play with you the way I wish and as long as you're around me there's nothing you can do about it. No one would believe you if you told them." He wasn't even making eye contact with her now.

She was at her wits end. Could someone really be that heartless? Then again after being raised by that heartless old woman, what else could she have expected? But still, his words hurt. He had been so nice to her in the beginning, and she knew now that it was all a lie. It really hurt. But then, did she really have the right to judge him? After all, she too was lying. She knew had it not been for the magic violin, there would be no way she could participate in this competition. It was all a lie, just like Yunoki's secret.

She could feel tears in her eyes, and she turned away so he couldn't see her. Now she really wanted to run, and she was seriously considering it. She didn't want him to know she was upset, because knowing him, he would just twist the knife deeper into the wound. But before she realized it, she had let out an audible sob, and her emotions were clearly evident.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a surprised look on Yunoki's face as he impulsively turned to her. He quickly looked away.

She couldn't take it anymore. There was no way she could benefit from staying here any longer. She suddenly turned around and ran back inside, through the hall and out the front door. He didn't chase after her, he didn't even speak.

Once she was finally outside his property, she leaned forward, panting and sobbing. That was it; she couldn't spend time alone with him ever again. She couldn't allow his other personality to surface again… she just couldn't take it. In a few months, he would graduate and move to America as promised and she would never have to see him again.

Suddenly, the silence was broken, and she heard a soft, melodic sound coming from behind her. It was Yunoki. It had to be. She turned around and stared back at his house, but he was clearly still in his backyard. She had never heard the song he was playing; she had never heard him play anything like that for that matter. Unlike his usual upbeat and confident music, this song was slow and meaningful; it almost sounded sad. It was twice tonight that he had, possibly unknowingly, expressed his emotions. What was he feeling right now? It couldn't possibly be regret from what he had said to her… could it?

For a while there, she thought he actually might talk to her. When she had brought up the topic of his grandmother, he seemed almost desperate to speak about it; like he wanted to share it. Then it was like he realized he shouldn't. But for a moment there, it felt like the real him. Even if she had never seen it before, something about that version of him told her it was real.

The conclusion she came to was that neither side of Yunoki that she had seen so far was the real him. The real Yunoki was buried somewhere below what she had seen. He had been taught not to expose himself, and this was the sad result.

So I did plan on writing another chapter for this story, but I guess I'll see what you guys think. Thanks for reading!