Warning: Fluff, fluff, sugar agogo!
Disclaimer: Not the happy owner of La Corda d'Oro, or else we'd have a lot more half naked scenes with Len in them. Ryotarou too if I liked him better.
Chapter Two: Not a baby, but…
Len took stock of the little girl sitting next to him, arms folded and face subdued. He had a feeling that she was the type that normally bounced around, but he couldn't blame her. He felt a bit numb himself. And not all of it had to do with his parents' death.
He sat back, well used to the transport, and watched the streetlights fly by. His right hand rested against the leather seat of the car, the left wrapped around Kaho's. He could feel her fingers twitch occasionally, and wondered, almost casually, if he'd lost his mind.
After all, he'd become a parent on the same night that he'd lost his.
Len felt his mouth move of its own accord.
"I'll take her."
There was a pause, broken by Marty.
"What?"
"I said" Len enunciated "I'll take her".
This time, it was Leanne who spoke. "You'll take her? You'll take her? This little girl isn't a stray, boy!"
She shouted so loudly that again, half the hall had paused to stare. Len glared at her.
"I'm quite aware of that, thank you."
"Are you really?" Leanne looked as if she'll start tearing out hair. "Look, I understand that you feel sorry for that little girl. I feel sorry for her too. But do you know how much responsibility there is in raising a kid her age? The expense, and the time needed! Besides" she continued "how old ARE you?"
"I'm 19" he said coldly. "In America, I'm past age to adopt if I wanted to."
"19". Leanne repeated in disbelief. "You're 19, and you're willing to take care of a 4 year old. It's not like you can just leave her when you want. If you take her, you're stuck with her! Think about it!"
"No, you think about it" he said angrily. "I'm not leaving her to be shredded up by people like him" he pointed at Marty " just because she doesn't know English." He drew in a breath, felt Kaho shaking. "I have more than enough money to take care of one kid, and more than enough time. I finished my education last year" he added calmly, sensing an interruption.
"The only reason why I'm explaining this to you is because you've been courteous to us so far, Officer. But either way, she's coming with me."
"But…but…" Leanne sputtered, then finally exploded. "You can't be serious! Child Services will never let you do this! You're way too young, you have no idea what you're talking about."
He gave them a humorless smile. "You can leave Child Services to me. If you're worried about your badge, don't. I'll assure your higher ups that you have been most helpful." He glanced at Marty, and his smile sharpened. "Of course, I cannot guarantee the same for your partner."
And with that, he walked away.
Unbeknownst to Officers Leanne and Marty, Tsukimori Len was already a recognized genius with the violin, and was already known as a world class player by the time he was 15. His face was one that was widely renowned inside the music circuit, both in Japan and in America. He had traveled to England to play for the Queen, dined with presidents and prime ministers, and was well acquainted with the mayor of the city, to whom Len was a personal favorite. And it was this connection with the mayor Len had planned to use. But before he left the hospital, Len had forced out Hino's address from Officers Tired and Incompetent.
He had called up a car, and they drove to the slums of Manhattan.
Len had explained to his newfound ward that she was to come live with him now, but first, they were to go pick up anything she wanted to keep from her old household. Kaho took this all in with wide eyes.
"Kaho is going to live with Onii-chan?"
"Yes." He said. Their hands squeezed together. "You'll be a Tsukimori from now on."
"A Tsukimori? Tsu-ki-mor-ee? Hmmm…" For the first time that night, Kaho smiled. "Tsukimori Kaho-chan."
"Tsukimori Kahoko." Len corrected. "That is, unless…you don't want to. You can keep your last name if you want."
Kaho shook her head. "No. Kaho wants to be with Onii-chan. Kaho doesn't want to be alone."
At those words, Len's heart ached. It reminded him that, with his parents gone, he was alone. Just like the little girl sitting next to him.
He looked down, and smiled at her. "Then, we'll both be Tsukimoris together."
She smiled back, unaware that she was the first to ever see Tsukimori Len smile like that.
But they weren't smiling when they reached Hino Kahoko's house. The door to the building she lived in was wrapped between the slimy walls of an alleyway, where the buzzing of flies signaled a feast of garbage decomposing underneath a column of small windows filmed with dirt. Kaho twisted the knob open.
Inside was, if anything, worst than the outside. Len couldn't see much besides for the fact that this wasn't a building to have had a regular cleaning service within the last century. He was too tall for Kaho to grip his hand comfortably and still walk without limping, so she fisted a hand on his coat and tugged him up a set of narrow stairways. With each step, Len's shoes stuck onto the floor and came up again with a little pop. The smell wasn't that much better.
They climbed five flights (he was amazed at the kid's stamina) until she stopped him with a tug. "We're here, Onii-chan". She fished around the front of her dress, and came up with a grubby key dangling from a short length of limp string around her neck "Otou-san gave this to Kaho. Just in case." Len took it, and inserted it into an equally dirty lock.
The door clicked open.
The first thing Len noticed about the apartment, besides for the dirt, was the solitary broken window that led in the harsh New York winter. There was only one room. A blanket spread out in a corner, while several crates substituting as furniture was pushed against the wall. The walls were white, smeared with something that Len didn't want to think about.
While he left Kaho to dig in a crate, Len walked to the adjoining bathroom. It barely had enough space for him to turn. He took in the cracked sink, the hunk of hard yellow soap in a small chipped holder by the tub, and two small, threadbare towels hanging by a twisted metal railing above the lidless toilet. The only light came from the streetlights outside, shining through a small window which was also cracked and missing a few panes.
He bent down to wash his hands.
The knob turned with a harsh squeal before rusty water poured through. He winced as the cold water touched his skin, and tried the other knob. The water grew no warmer.
He turned it off, and turned to the small tub next to him. The same cold, rusty water spewed. And he finally understood, with growing pity, why the kid seemed so dirty. She would have died of pneumonia if she tried to wash herself with cold water in the winter. He slammed the bathroom door closed, and found Kaho hugging a rectangle of glass to her small chest. "Kaho's done, Onii-chan!"
She stood in the middle of her squalid apartment, the only thing in the world she owned held in her small arms.
The car stopped, and the driver got out to open the door. Len exited first, before swooping up Kahoko and walking into a pristine white tower spearing out of one of the most influential areas in Manhattan that money could buy.
Kaho shivered. Len remembered that she didn't have a coat at the hospital, and held her tighter, hoping that she wouldn't catch frostbite from exposure. A gust of warm air blew over them as they stepped into the foyer.
"Good night, Mr. Tsukimori." Peter, the night receptionist, had his head in a stiff bend. He didn't expect a reply. Nor did he expect the young master to be holding a rag urchin, but in this world, you didn't last long if you're too indiscreet to mind your own business.
He kept his head bowed as Len stepped into an elevator.
After he inserted his elevator key for his apartment, Len sagged against the wall of the elevator, eyes closed. Kaho looked at him with some alarm.
"Onii-chan? Daijoubu?"
She rubbed a dirty hand on the top of his head. "Daijoubu, Daijoubu?"
"Haaa…"
The elevator door opened.
He stepped into the apartment and bending down, stripped Kaho of her too small sneakers before shedding his own. They entered the living room, where the lights, sensing people in the room, turned on. Kaho stared around her.
Instead of small, dirty windows, the two level corner apartment offered a night view of New York at its best. The Empire State Building glowed in reds and greens for the day, while a multitude of lights blinked on and off in smaller skyscrapers surrounding them. There were the far off lights of the Williamsburg Bridge if one squinted hard enough, and boats sailed up and down the East River despite the winter night. A ribbon of highway glued itself alongside the contour of the river, and it gleamed with red and white lights of stuck traffic.
Inside, the decor was decorated with a mixture wood tones and creams, reflected in the wide ocean of fluffy carpeting and warm toned furniture. There were mahogany coffee tables, leather sofas, and a small section of stairs that curved around the living area, ceiling to floor windows curving with them. A door to their right led to a terrace that curved around the north, overseeing Central Park.
Kaho wanted to pet the furry carpet; she had the healthy curiosity of an average four year old. But before she could demand to be let down, Len had taken the rectangular piece of glass from her.
It was a picture of her family.
Hmm. So the little tyke was a redhead.
Toddler in one hand, photo in the other, Len kicked open the door to the master bedroom, and laid the family portrait on the stand beside his bed. "I'm putting this here for a while, chibi."
Before she had time to respond, Len had set her down. He then opened a cherry wardrobe, and pulled open a drawer. Kaho took this time to sink a chubby hand into the soft material of the carpet.
Len pulled out a white button-up and a pair of soft brown shorts, hoping that they would be good enough substitutes until he could find the time to shop for a set of clothing for his new ward. She didn't own any other pieces of clothing suitable to winter. Not that it mattered; they were so dirty he would have undoubtedly burned them anyways.
He hesitated before pulling out another set of clothes for himself. Behind him, Kaho cooed at his carpet.
"Soft."
"Hnn." Stripping off his coat and making a mental note to get it dry cleaned, Len reached out for Kaho. "Bath time, chibi."
Kaho dodged him. "No."
"What do you mean, no?" Len lunged for her again. "You don't like being clean?"
"No! Kaho doesn't like bath time!" she squeaked, and ran out, Len chasing after her.
"Kahoko!"
Panting slightly, Kaho leap over one of the low sofas and banged her shin on the coffee table. She didn't dare to leap over that too, but ran around it instead.
Len saw that she was heading towards the kitchen, and caught up using his longer legs as an advantage. Dropping clothes all over the place, he used both hands to corner her underneath the marble counter that ringed his kitchen, banging his head on a stool.
"Son of a-!"
He scooped her up ("No baths, no baths, no baths!") and then proceeded to pick up the clothing he dropped, when the intercom buzzed. Peter the night guard's voice drifted out.
"Mr. Tsukimori? Mr. Tsuchiura called. He said that he had a scheduled visit with you, and that he'd be there in half an hour."
"What? ('No baths, no baths, NO BATHS!') He never scheduled an appointment."
"Regardless, sir, he said that he'd be there in half an hour." Peter paused. "Is everything alright up there sir?"
"Everything is fine." He put heavy emphasis on 'everything'. " Please tell Mr. Tsuchiura that I'm otherwise indisposed. Good night." Len disconnected before he could say anything else, slung Kahoko over his shoulder like a potato sack, and picked up the rest of the clothing before heading for the master bathroom. "A good bath isn't fatal, chibi."
Inside the bath, Len made sure that the lock was too high up for Kahoko to reach before setting her down next to the shower stall. She immediately ran for the door.
He stripped off his shirt, and walked up another short flight of steps to the wide Jacuzzi . It was big enough for four people with room to spare, which, now that he thought about it, was probably what it was for. It sat flush against a ledge by the window looking north. He turned on the water, making sure it was warm first, and then squirted in a wad of liquid soap to make bubbles.
Behind him, Kahoko jumped for the lock and fell down with a plop.
While the huge tub filled from jets alongside the high walls, Len reached for Kaho and settled her on the marble counter that ran alongside a wall, ignoring blows from little fists. "Stop that."
"Nooooo! No bath for Kaho!"
He undid the buttons on her dirty dress and peeled off her socks and underwear, struggling not to blush. She's just a gaki. There's nothing indecent in bathing with a kid. It's not like I'm a child molester.
Naked as the day she was born, Kaho felt herself tucked under Len's arm, and wriggled harder. "Nooooo-!"
Splash.
Len dropped her unceremoniously into the now steaming tub, and watched as Kaho tried to blink soap out of her eyes. "See chibi? It's not that bad is it?"
Kaho looked around, bemused. "Nii-chan, it's warm!"
"The wonders of indoor plumbing."
She giggled, and scooping up bubbles, blew foam across the tub. Len just had to smile. Dirty or not, the chibi was damned cute.
Shucking off his pants, he slid into the Jacuzzi and sunk into bliss. The day had been trying, and it wasn't over by far. Beside him, Kaho sculpted mounds of bubbles into imaginary towers and battlements.
He couldn't deny how weird it was for a 19 year old man to be sharing an opulent Jacuzzi with a four year old kid –not a girl, a kid-, but parents bathed with their kids all the time in Japan. And like it or not, that's what Len is going to be now. A parent.
Len turned on his side and, ignoring a cry of indignation, smashed a handful of bubbles over grimy hair. "Ok chibi, time to return to civilization."
She barely had time to register the fact that her castle had been felled before she felt something cool and silky flow over her head.
It wasn't anything like the hard bar of soap she shared with otou-san when the weather was warm enough for a cold and rusty shower. She reached up and smeared some of the gel onto her hand. It smelled like mint… and something else her 4 year old mind couldn't yet define. But it wasn't altogether unpleasant. "Oooo…"
Water and bubbles lapped against the rim of the tub as he crossed his legs and shifted the tiny body in front of him. Gentle hands began to scrap and lather.
Nope, this wasn't anything like a shower at home at all.
Len concentrated on each strand of hair on the tiny head, rinsing and washing repeatedly. "You have a lot of hair." he murmured. Probably never saw a barber in the last decade. Kaho, too happy to have a warm bath at last, did not bother to wriggle but sat, complacent as a baby.
He amused himself by piling up her waist length hair and swishing on a covering of more foam, ending it with a flourish at a high peak. It dipped over with the weight, and landed with a plop onto the steamy surface of the water. Kaho dipped a hand in it, and dabbed foam around her mouth. "Look nii-chan, grandpa!"
He chuckled and aimed a spray of water towards her.
Len dried off fire engine red hair and draped the oversized white button up over Kahoko. Brown boxers clinched in around a nonexistent waist with a length of twine a search of his kitchen drawers produced. Her small feet were bare. Note to self: shopping for chibi needs to happen, and it needs to happen soon. He dumped her old clothing into a trash bin, and carried her out to the living room.
Only to find Tsuchiura Ryotarou getting familiar with his couch.
"Funny, I thought I told housekeeping to get rid of the trash."
He flashed a grin. "And where would their paycheck come from if they threw out the boss?" A dark brow raised up as the eyes underneath it surveyed the little girl in Len's arms. "Looks like they're discreet too. Bet the press would have a field day if they found out the famous Tsukimori was a lolicon."
"Quit it," Len growled. "I never made an appointment with you. Certainly not at this hour."
"Nope." His grin flashed again. "But it got me past your Doberman of a guard. So, who's the little darling?"
Kaho blinked big luminous eyes at Ryou, her cheek pillowed on Len's chest. "Hey, she's kinda cute. Can I hold her?"
Len barely controlled a snort. "Now who's the lolicon?" He nudged Kaho over, and watched her clamber to the other man. She aimed a smile at him. "Hello."
Tsuchiura was charmed. "Hey cutie. I'm Ryou-kun. What's your name?"
Lips pursed as she enunciated her new name. "Tsu-ki-mo-ri Kahoko." Her smile upped a wattage as she said candidly "You're really pretty, Ryou-kun". Len groaned.
"I thought she had better taste than that."
But before he could snicker, Kaho said "But Kaho-chan likes nii-chan better!"
Tsuchiura saw pale skin tint, and chuckled. "There goes my reputation with women." Kaho crawled back to Len and pressed her face against the crisp linen of his shirt. "And I think it's the little one's bedtime."
"Perhaps. Off you go, chibi."
" 'kay."
When Len came back from the spare bedroom he settled Kaho in, Tsuchiura had cracked open a can of beer with the ease of longtime friends. Len took out a bottle of wine and a glass.
"Never knew why you drank that stuff." he said. "Real men don't use nuthin' but the can."
Len took a sip, eyes closed. "Haven't you heard of civilization yet, Tsuchiura?" The retort was as automatic as the argument was old.
He smiled. "Civilization and real men don't mix." His grin faded as he regarded Len. Despite his friend's composure, he knew that the man sitting across from him weren't prone to showing anything he considered emotions. Not in his music, and not when anyone else was around.
Normally he would make a joke of it, but now it worried him. "Hihara called from Japan. He says he tried to reach you, but you were out."
The wineglass lowered. "You've heard?"
"Yeah." He shrugged. "Your parents might be classical musicians, but they were still big news."
"I must have missed the report."
"Maybe." He laid a hand on Len's shoulder. "We're sorry man."
Len shrugged it off. "No need. You weren't the one who jumped in front of their car."
"No." His eyes narrowed. "It was someone else. A man named Hino." They flickered to the room where Kaho was sleeping in her borrowed shirt. "That's her real name, isn't it? Hino Kahoko."
Another shrug. Len walked over to the panorama of New York that spayed against the windows of his condo. His lips curved humorlessly. "Only until tomorrow afternoon."
"Are you out of your mind, man?" Brows wrinkled, Tsuchiura slammed his beer can down. "You're telling me you want to adopt her? As what, your daughter? You're only 19-"
"I'm well aware of that."
"- and you don't know the first thing to raising a kid!" Len didn't react as the other man jumped up from the sofa and started to pace. "Do you know the full implications of that? You're gonna raise the kid of the man who killed your mother and father!"
"Quiet down." The command came out on a hiss of impatience. "You'll wake her."
He walked down the steps and crossed back to the sofa. "It doesn't matter that Hino was the one who caused my parents car to crash into another." He said before Tsuchiura could open his mouth again. "It has nothing to do with his daughter."
"I wasn't kidding about the press Tsukimori. They'll chew her up and spit her out."
"I'll worry about it when time comes." Len said. "But one way or the other, she's remaining here. With me. "
"Why? Why do you insist on adopting her?" Tsuchiura snatched up the can in agitation, long pianist fingers leaving dents on the smooth surface. "God knows with the concerts we're doing you'll barely have the time. And you're too young to be shackled down like this."
"Women younger than I do it all the time." Len deadpanned. The flush rose over his face again. "But I don't believe I have to explain myself to you, Tsuchiura."
"Wow, you're a prickly bastard. Listen, Tsukimori Len, I know you. And so does everybody else. You think your ice prince routine's going to work on Yunoki Azuma? Or even Hihara?" He gave a short bark of laughter. "They'll see through it in a second."
"Get out."
"I'm worried about you!" The can slammed down again. "You have no idea what you're getting into!"
"This is ridiculous." Len said. "You have no basis for saying that I cannot take care of a 4 year old child."
Tsuchiura sneered. "Really? Who do you think will take care of your father's instrument company? What about your music career as a classical violinis? What about our concerts? You already have too much to do without adding a 4 year old into the mix."
"And what am I supposed to do? Leave her behind in an orphanage?" For the second time that day, Len came dangerously close to losing his composure. "The only person left to that girl was her father, and he died today. Do you know what the city was going to do to her?" he grounded out. "They were going to leave her in an orphanage. That girl does not know English. How do you think they'll receive her?"
"I won't let that happen. It is not her fault that her father was the cause of my parents' death. And besides, she needs me." As he said that, Len's face softened slightly. "If there is no one else left in the world for Kahoko, then I'll be her support." He seemed to realize what he just said, and turned away, embarrassed. But words continued to spill out. "It's too sad to think of leaving her. She'd be eaten alive in a heartbeat."
Hands linked together, Tsuchiura glowered at the crushed and empty can in front of him. "You're serious about this, aren't you?" One side of his lips curled up. "I really wasn't kidding about the press, you know."
"It'll be dealt with when the time comes."
"Fine. It's late" he added, and stood. "I should go back home. Hand me my coat, won't you?"
Len grunted, and removed the heavy leather jacket from its peg by the door. "What the- your coat's rather heavy."
"Ya' know what they say about real men and their coats-"
Len slammed the door in his face.
Inside the elevator, Tsuchiura Ryotarou watched as the streets of New York slowly ascended towards him. He chuckled.
"She needs you, huh?" he grinned and rubbed at his chin. The rough bristles of an afternoon shadow scraped against his glove. "Buddy, I'd say that it's the other way around."
He laughed again, and pulled out his cell phone as the elevator door opened. Wonder how Yunoki and Hihara would respond to this…?
