Disclaimer: La Corda D'Oro is property of KOEI and friends. I only own a few characters, so if you don't recognize them they are probably mine.

Names are going to be very weird in this because we are dealing with a few intimate characters and non-japanese characters, so I'll do my best.

Next thing, and this is very important to read. For those reading this and are familiar with how I write, you know that this is not for young kids. This is not for really some adults either. Think of every popular HBO show, except with even MORE porn. That is how I write, and how I am going to write this.

Oh well, now all that's been settled, on with the show.

Chapter 1

Hino Kahoko stood upon the outdoor theatre, playing her violin with vigor and speed. The pace was quick and lively, in the form of an Irish jig instrumental, very appropriate for the concert held in Ireland. Then a man took the stage and matched her pace and vigor. Soon, they were playing back and forth in the form of a duel. Well, the piece was called 'Duelling Violins' for a reason. The pace was so upbeat and lively she couldn't help but stamp her feet in time. She tried not to laugh in the middle of playing as her partner was making wide-eyed and joyous faces at her. The man, it was obvious, was just having fun.

As much as concert and prestige musicians may revere Chopin and Mozart pieces more than these tunes, Kahoko tried to figure out why she hadn't tried this style of playing beforehand. She was truly having fun here, outdoors with the lush Irish landscape as the backdrop, the audience eyes wide and energetic, cheering them on as if they were truly battling.

As the number ended, Kahoko drew her bow long across her violin and stopped playing. Simultaneously, her performing partner did the same. Once they ended, there was a gigantic roar of applause and it took a moment for Kahoko to regain her breath. She and her partner bowed, looking on at the massive outdoor audience with pride, relief, and excitement.

In the midst of the waves of applause, the two violinists walked off stage. Kahoko let out a breath. The stage director smiled at her, mouthing, "good job." The orchestra continued with a slow English ballad.

The concert was a charity event, sponsored by several companies and headed by known Irish philanthropist, Bono of U2. Several of world-class musicians participated, playing music from different cultures and countries. The concert was still a ways away from ending, but Kahoko was done for the night. Now she could sit and listen to the rest. She particularly enjoyed the Welsh folk singers that ended the concert with a calming, soothing song.

Finally, the three-hour long concert ended, and it was time for everyone to take a bow. She and her violin partner rushed out on stage with other highlighted performers. They bowed when they step forward, receiving a renewed rush of applause. The performers headed off stage as the lights on the stage dimmed.

The stage director approached her with a broad grin on his face, "That was a fantastic performance, Miss Hino."

"Thank you so much," she said with a bow, but she was busy trying to find one person she was familiar with. Before the concert, she had found a list of performers in the orchestra and she recognized one name and was looking forward to seeing him again. How long has it been since she saw him? Like seven years maybe?

"There are a few of our sponsors who are making rounds to meet a few of the performers," the English stage director said, "Don't be surprised if a few would come across to try steal you for some venue concert, miss."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, but thanks for heads up, Mr. Evans."

Kahoko stepped further backstage and found her violin case and began to put her beloved instrument inside. That was then she noticed that several of the orchestra members were filing in.

"Hino….sempai?" a deep, slow voice came from behind her. She turned and her eyes widened.

"Shimizu?"

She was surprised indeed. She barely recognized her underclassman competition mate from her years in school. Shimizu always commented that he wished to be bigger so he could handle his cello better. He got his wish. He was big. Tall, stocky, but still looked adorable like a teddy bear, rather than a delicate sheep. His face squared out, but his blonde fluffy hair was thick and disheveled on his head, like a cloud. He had prickly blond whiskers on his chin, jaw and upper lip. His shoulders were broad, arms thick. Thick enough that he could no doubt beat Tsuchiura in an arm wrestling match.

Yet he still seemed like a gentle, shy giant.

"My god, Shimizu?"

Shimizu didn't smile much, but the subtle blink of his blue eyes indicated a yes. Kahoko laughed and resisted the urge to hug him, "You have…changed."

Shimizu looked oblivious but responded in a slow tone, "Your sound…has changed."

She was worried. Did little Shimizu not like her music anymore? But the man gave a soft lazy smile.
"I like it. It has…an energy…that I don't think…you've ever had…before. I wanted…to dance with your violin, but my cello…was in…my lap."

Giggling, Kahoko tried to imagine the soft spoken and slow Shimizu trying to do a quick jig to her violin.

"How did you end up doing the orchestra for this concert, Shimizu? I thought you were part of a quartet back home."

"A phone call. They said…they'd fly me to…Ireland…for free…if I could play…the cello. It seemed like…an easy decision."

Kahoko couldn't help but smile at her former schoolmate. Typical Shimizu. Making things sound so simple.

Suddenly Mr. Evans interrupted them, "Sorry Miss Hino, but the sponsors are here talking to the musicians. If you two would like to talk to them…"

"We'll be here, Mr. Evans. Thank you."

"Thank you," Shimizu said in the best English he could.

Mr. Evans nodded, "Well, a representative from Tillotson Group and Cysco are making their rounds, but a representative from the Yunoki group seems to very interested in your performance."

Kahoko did a double-take, "I'm sorry, what?"

She certainly didn't hear that right. But Mr. Evans didn't clarify, he just glanced over his shoulder, "Here he comes now. Congrats you two."

Kahoko stared wide-eyed at Mr. Evans in disbelief. Even Shimizu looked on in a questioning look, "Did he just say…?"

"I think he did," Kahoko responded staring back at her friend in disbelief.

"Ah, imagine seeing you two here."

That usual cold, fake smiling voice was deep, rich, with a powerful edge. She could see Shimizu's eyes widen a bit, so she turned.

Oh yes. It was Yunoki Azuma. And that young man, who used to have a delicate, perfect body, now had a solid perfect body. He had grown an inch or two since she saw him last, but was still not quite the height of Shimizu. His shoulders and chest filled out more. He had a more athletic build rather than willowy and thin. His features were no longer delicate or boyish, but had hardened into fine chiseled features. He was clean-shaven, but there was a shadow on his upper lip and chin where facial hair was beginning to grow again. His hair was still long, but not as long as it usually was and was combed back into a very executive ponytail. His dark suit was almost as immaculate as the person.

"Yunoki-sempai," Shimizu bowed.

"You did very well Shimizu. And I enjoyed your duet, Hino," Yunoki remained smiling, but it wasn't that sickening fake smile from school. It was more of a sly smile, as if he enjoyed seeing her shock.

"I didn't realize your family's company was a sponsor for this concert," Kahoko asked. Yunoki nodded.

"Yes. We've done charity events like this several times in fact. We aren't a bank, or a major insurance company so naturally we get overlooked, but we still do them."

"Well, that's nice," she replied, but couldn't say anymore as her duet partner, Caleb Gibbs, finally caught up to her.

"Well, lass, that was a fun time don't ya think?" the Irishman gave her a big smile.

Caleb Gibbs was a musician who specialized in string instruments and woodwind, which all coincidentally enough fit the musical history of his homeland. He was also in a folk band. After Kahoko started taking violin seriously, she wanted further instruction rather than memorizing music already written. So she went to Caleb, who lived in Japan doing musical arrangements for ambient and theme records. Gibbs was in his mid thirties and had a similar build and hairstyle as Shimizu. He had messy, thick brown hair and an unkempt mustache and beard and bright pale blue eyes. Back home he was Kahoko's neighbor in the apartment building she lived in and became one of her good friends while she began to tour.

Caleb turned to Shimizu and lightly cuffed the young man on the shoulder, saying in Japanese, "Hey, I'm glad you've kept it up for three hours, Shimizu."

"Hmm? You two know each other?" Kahoko asked staring at the two.

Caleb nodded, "Aye. He'd be my roommate in a few weeks."

"My current roommate…got…married. So I…had to find…another place…to live."

"Oh wow, small world," Kahoko said, smiling as she realized Shimizu would also be her neighbor.

"I'll say," Yunoki said distantly.

Caleb leaned in squinting at the well-dressed young man. His eyes then widened as he realized something, "Well, I'll be. 'Tis a small world. Yunoki Azuma right?"

"Nice to see you too, Mr. Gibbs," Yunoki bowed.

"Jeez, and how do you know him?" Kahoko asked Caleb.

Caleb shrugged, "Oh I knew him when he was a wee lad learning the flute. His old man hired me to teach him. I still say his fingers were long enough he could play piano or guitar well enough."

Yunoki's jaw muscle quivered, briefly. Kahoko, ignoring Yunoki's slight discomfort smirked, "What happened after that?"

"I quit."

Kahoko resisted the urge to laugh, figuring Yunoki's weird bipolarism or his grandmother may have been too much for Caleb.

"I was traveling on tour then," Caleb finished.

Yunoki shook his head at the young woman, "What were you expecting, Hino?"

Oh, you know what I was expecting, she thought, resisting a glare.

"This is really weird though. All of us knowing each other," Kahoko commented turning to Shimizu and Caleb then back to Yunoki.

"Well, if you think about it," Yunoki stated, shrugging his solid shoulders, "when you live in a town when half the population has some sort of interest in music and produces some of the best musicians in world, its not that odd of an occurrence."

Kahoko cocked her head, "Hmmm, never thought of it that way."

Yunoki arched an eyebrow and Kahoko stared pointedly at him, daring him to say something smart. She knew he wouldn't; it was essential into maintaining his façade.

"Ey, uhh," Caleb jerked his head towards Yunoki and Kahoko, "I was planning on spending the night hanging out with me new roommate, maybe you'd like to join, Hino."

She turned towards Shimizu and Caleb Gibbs, taking a moment to let his offer sink in, "Yes. Of course. I'd love to."

Caleb smiled, his eyes falling on the businessman, "What about you, Yunoki Azuma? A good time to catch up with old friends. Or do you have to constituents to court?"

Yunoki smirked and glanced over his shoulder, "It depends…"

"Well, I have some true home-brewed Irish whiskey. Yeah, got like seven bottles when I went to Wicklow."

Kahoko's face screwed up in a curious look. Yunoki chuckled, "Alright, where am I to meet you?"

Kahoko, Caleb, and Shimizu didn't stay long and headed back to the hotel they were staying at. Most of the performers stayed in this hotel. Kahoko went into her room first, before joining Caleb Gibbs and Shimizu Keiichi. Yet she must have missed a memo, because there was a knock on her door and she found Caleb holding two bottles of whiskey, Shimizu at his side.

"You don't need two bottles, Caleb. I've got some wine—"

Caleb laughed aloud, "You, Kahoko, don't know me too well."

The two men entered and it didn't take long for the Irishman to break out a bottle, pouring a very liberal amount of whiskey for Shimizu.

"Maybe this will liven yourself up, boy."

"You are going to be a bad influence on him," Kahoko chided lightly, feeling a small amount of protectiveness towards the younger cellist.

Caleb scoffed, "A little lightning in a bottle won't hurt anyone."

Surprisingly, the whiskey seemed to loosen Shimizu's tongue quite a bit. He sparked up a very silly conversation with Caleb about bagpipes and lutes. As Kahoko stared at the two, her brow furrowed in disbelief, there was a knock at the door.

"Yunoki, you came," she said as she opened the door.

Yunoki smirked, "I did say I would come. I just had to talk to a few people, but I wouldn't miss a chance to see some of my good friends."

"Uh-hunh," Kahoko rolled her eyes before turning to Caleb, "Caleb, I think Shimizu has had enough."

Caleb froze, a guilty look on his face, before turning the bottle of whiskey to his own glass. Yunoki arched an eyebrow, "It seems I just missed the party."

"You have no idea."

Yunoki sat in a chair across from Kahoko, indulging in Caleb's other bottle of whiskey.

"Are you sure you don't want wine, Yunoki?"

"As much as I enjoy a fine glass of wine as the next person, I cannot deny a smooth glass of whiskey."

"See," Caleb pointed to the handsome wealthy man, "this boy gets it."

Kahoko wasn't paying attention. She was more focused on Shimizu, who quieted down, but was rocking back and forth in his seat. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it, turning her attention to the more lucid pair.

"C'mon Kahoko," Caleb said, holding his glass, "Lighten up, my sweet lass."

Yunoki's brow furrowed when Caleb called her by her given name. Of course in his culture, calling someone by their given name was an indication of intimacy, a fact he used to torture said woman. Kahoko was aware of that fact, but since Caleb had a tough time sorting that out when they were touring, she allowed it, knowing full well that Caleb was just being friendly. In return, she referred to him usually by his given name.

"You," she laughed, even as Caleb childishly stuck his tongue out.

Yunoki sat quietly, as Caleb and Kahoko started a friendly spat. He just swirled the golden whiskey in his glass. He nearly missed it when Kahoko asked him question about his business.

"Oh, it's my turn? Well…"

Yunoki answered short and sweet. He was a manager of the overseas aspect of his family's business. It required him to travel frequently, especially within the UK. Recently, after his grandmother fell ill, his father merged with a publishing company that publishes books with high quality photos of art. It helped the Yunoki ikebana side as they needed to produce high quality photographs of their arrangements for portfolios. His eldest sister gave the company a huge stroke of fortune as a few of their arrangements were featured in the MET Museum of Art in New York. So, in short, his family's business was doing very well, better than it has been in years.

Kahoko was impressed, but not surprised at Yunoki's success. She may have endured his teasing when she was young, but it was quite obvious from his flute playing to his high grades that he would grow to be highly successful. He seemed quite confident with success and with his own self. While he wasn't totally peeling off his mask of charm, he didn't seem as fake or inauthentic as he did in school.

Caleb eventually went into detail on how he got Shimizu to be his roommate. Shimizu worked with Caleb a few times on a couple of his arrangements and kept in touch often. As Shimizu said before, his roommate got married and their apartment only had two bedrooms and one bath. They needed an open bedroom for any potential children and Shimizu offered to find another place to live, rather than have the newly weds wander around, trying to find an affordable house.

The night wore on into very early morning and Caleb finally realized that Shimizu's head was resting on his shoulder, mouth open.

"Ah, cripes," Caleb grumbled, "The lad's totally knackered. I better get the poor boy to bed."

He set his glass down and lifted the large young man to his feet. He draped an arm over his shoulder and turned to the remaining two.
"I'll go take this young lad back to his room. For, gods' sakes, finish up that whiskey. I don't know how much I can pass through customs."

"Do you need any help?" Yunoki asked the bearded man eying Shimizu's obvious lack of coordination.

"Nah, I'm just going to get him to his bed face-down. Thanks, lad."

Caleb left with Shimizu, leaving Kahoko and Yunoki alone.

As soon as the hotel door shut, Yunoki poured himself another glass of whiskey, "He's always been a boisterous man."

"Indeed," Kahoko responded, "I think we should avoid having him and Hihara in the same room, if there was ever an opportunity."

Yunoki smiled and nodded in agreement.

"So," Kahoko started, staring at the man in front of her, "You have changed."

Yunoki stared directly at her, his eyes piercing. His eyes never had been piercing before. At least not to her.

"I have changed before your eyes long before today."

"You mean, back then…?"

Yunoki nodded, "I told you, I never went against my grandmother's wishes until that year. I guess that was the beginning."

He took a swig of his glass, "You have changed too. Your music. Your countenance. I can tell you enjoy yourself a lot more and you have an energy in your music that could rival Tsukimori Len's."

Kahoko flinched when he said that name. Immediately, Yunoki refrained from that subject. He remembered he heard from his sister that Kahoko Hino and Tsukimori Len dated for a bit, but had a falling out.

"You heard about us?"

Yunoki paused, but nodded, "In passing. As much as I love to see you uncomfortable, that is a subject I didn't mean to bring up on purpose."

Surprisingly, Kahoko smiled, "It's alright. I've never thought about it to be honest. I was just focusing on touring the United Kingdom and Ireland. I really love it here."

"Your style fits well here, though I suppose that's due to Mr. Gibbs' influence."

"What can I say? I wouldn't be where I am with my life without him…and no we aren't involved."

"I figured," he said as he lifted the bottle of whiskey towards her. She smiled set her glass down and allowed him to fill it up again.

In the morning, Kahoko stirred as the sun washed over her bed. Her mind was muggy and she wasn't feeling too well, and the sun was causing a vicious headache. She sat up in bed and stretched, her arms falling to her side. Her hand hit something solid on her bed. She turned and found Yunoki Azuma laying face down on her bed, not wearing a shirt, breathing softly.

Ahhh…shit.

A/N: Here's the start. 'Duelling Violins' is a musical piece from "Lord of the Dance". Tillotson group is made up, but Cysco is...Cysco...and Bono is Bono. Now that's done feel free to tell me what you think of it.