Whew! I'm proud to say that this one one of those chapters where I really liked writing it! I've always wanted to go to a super fancy formal ball (But you know, being a poor and all...) so I made it all up in my imagination (With the helpful resource of mangas/animes/dramas and stuff of the like). But I do think Len's attempts were pretty cute (You'll see :D) Ahhhhhh...the next time I update just might be next year (Imagine a life without school! That's paradise!) but don't worry, I'm kicking myself in shin to keep that from happening (Look, look! I already have a bunch of weird unnaturally purple bruises!). But hey, enjoy this 9,000+ worded chapter! xD Oh! Just in case you guys were wondering, the character "Shonoko" is that violin girl near the end of chapter 48 of the manga. They only revealed her last name (Miyaji), not her first name, so I made up the first name. So her full name (In this fanfiction at least) is "Shonoko Miyaji". If anyone's an expert in Japanese, could you tell me what "Shonoko" means? Thanks!

Song Pick: Swear by Linda Chung

Guardian Angel

A La Corda D'Oro Fanfiction

Chapter 4

:-:Dawn of the Ball/Charity Concert:-:

"Hey Hino!" Len had called out from the kitchen. "We're eating dinner early today!"

There was no reply from the usually chipper girl. He tried calling her name again. "Hino? We're eating early today!"

There was still no reply. He decided to let the soup boil for a minute before looking for the eager redhead. She just probably got lost exploring the house again. He arrived at her room and knocked. "Hino? We're eating early today!" His ear was pressed to the door to detect any sound. None. The doorknob clicked when he opened it. It was unlocked too. Last night, Kahoko decided that she wanted the boxes from upstairs to be moved to her room, so they spent three hours last night just moving ALL of them. It was exhausting work and his arms shivered at the memory of carrying so many. There were some boxes that were still unopened and her closet was half empty from hanging the clothes. He slowly walked near the bathroom door and knocked on it slightly. Just in case. "Hino?" No screaming occurred so he assumed she wasn't there.

He opened the fragile doors of the garden and stepped outside. Stone paths were etched into the grass and stretched from here to there. It was still a bit chilly outside, but he could sense that the snow was beginning to melt a bit, due to a tiny puddle of water on the ground. The vast garden which was bordered by high black iron fences showed no signs of tampering or visitors. The white painted pavilion nearby showed no signs of visitors either. The garden was still bare and had a lot of dirt, but it showed no signs of tampering with. The pond was clear, save for some plants and fish swimming in it. Even the swingy bench hadn't moved. It was a clear sign that she wasn't outside. There was a slight movement coming from the rooftop out of the corner of his eye, but he disregarded it as something moving in the wind.

He headed inside and turned off the fire for the soup. There were only two people living in the huge house, and he had no idea where the other one was. He checked every one of the practice rooms: No sign of human presence. The entire first floor was empty except for him. He climbed up the stairs in steady steps. She couldn't have gone far, He reasoned. His room and the bathroom were all clear. His old partner's vast and spacious room (which was now bare) was clear as well. The game room and the balcony were relatively empty as well. Where in the world could she be? His short fingernails scratched his head in confusion.

Suddenly, there were heavy footsteps and thumping coming from the rooftop. He sighed and went up the stairs to fetch the girl. "Hino-san," He paused at the last step on the staircase and gripped the banister before sliding the glass door that led to the third floor. "What in the world are you doing?"

She paused in the middle of exploring to look at him. "Well, duh! What does it look like I'm doing?" She was about to jump in the empty built in rooftop Jacuzzi when he looked at her from the brown polished wooden porch. There were also plants resting in their pots and sitting on the outer ledge. A neat and clean bathroom was also situated in a neat corner of the rooftop. A nearby furnished picnic table also sat comfortably on the wooden porch.

"Crashing my house," He said with a reluctant look. He walked from his position to his white wooden swinging bench. "I'd advise you not to jump in there; it's pretty dirty." At his advice, Kahoko reluctantly stepped away from the Jacuzzi. He continued, "Are you really that amazed by my house? There are some people who have their houses more lavishing than this."

She swung back and forth on the clear window fence that bordered the rooftop. "Are you kidding?" She turned back to look at him. "I think this is one of the richest houses ever! It's pretty too! It makes me want to stay here!"

"You're just a temporary guest remember?" He pointed out.

"Oh…that's right," Her face fell for a minute, then it restarted with energy. "That's right! Why are you up here?"

"We're eating dinner early today to go to the concert, remember?" He stood up in a relaxed composure and headed towards the glass door. "So hurry up and eat."

"Okay!" A bright reply from her came from the rooftop. "I'll be down there in a second!" He disregarded her comment and stepped down the stairs to check up on his soup. She stood at the windowed in fence and breathed in the air deeply. It was almost dawn and the sky was highlighted in an array of orange, pinks, and purples. The sun was hazy in the distance. Fluffy scattered clouds floated carelessly across the beautiful blend of colors. The gentle breeze caressed her face and her red loose strands of hair flew back. She closed her eyes and exhaled, living the moment. "I'd wonder what it'd be like living a normal life. Hmm…I guess I'll never know." She smelled the delights of dinner downstairs and absent mindedly smiled.

She quickly opened her eyes, closed the sliding door, and dashed down two flights of stairs just in time for dinner.

:-:Two hours later:-:

"Tsukimori-kun?" She stepped outside her room in the exact same outfit she wore last night for practice, except this time, she was wearing a silver charm bracelet that she found in one of the boxes. She even added a touch of perfume as well. Delicate notes came from the first practice room that they were always in, so she followed the trail of notes and stood abruptly outside the door to hear him for a bit. He was as professional as ever. There wasn't a flaw in any of his notes at all. She stood outside the metallic door and gradually closed her eyes and nodded to the flow of the music. That's right…I forgot that he was also in the concert as well. He's been practicing a lot lately. The door quietly clicked and then she was face to face to the lavishly dressed man in front of her. His hair had been the same as always, so there was no comment on that. But he looked…almost normal dressing up. A silver tie and vest were worn over his clean white ruffled shirt and he even wore a black coat over that. His pants were a sleek black color with individual silver threads reaching down to touch his even sleeker black shoes. "Hino?" He scrunched his eyebrows at her and cocked his head, holding his violin. "What are you doing?"

She smiled sheepishly at him. "I was listening in! Sorry, I know I wasn't supposed to before the concert, but it was really good to listen to." He nodded and went back in to fetch his violin case. "That's okay, as long as you don't know the piece. It's supposed to be a surprise for the guests." He flicked off the lights, gently shutting the practice room with a click from the door. "Let's go then," He beckoned towards the door. She quickly hurried out, regretting to bring a jacket along. She quickly ran towards the sleek black car and shut it loudly. Her nose and ears turned a faint pink. He noticed this as he locked the door and opened it again, briefly disappearing inside for a while. Kahoko leaned forward from her seat and looked at him with curious eyes. Aren't we going to be late anytime soon? She felt uncomfortable in her outfit, as she had never worn such things on usual occasions in the past. How can rich people maneuver in outfits like these everyday? These formal uniforms…they're so uncomfortable! She straightened up in her seat, looking towards the door.

A few minutes later, he appeared outside the house with a jacket in his hands and locked the frosted French door with his key. He swiftly walked towards the car door and opened it. A new blue jacket flopped on her lap and he plopped down on the seat opposite of her. "Wear it," He said with a commanding tone that made her nod stiffly. She threw the jacket over her shoulder and kept it like that. In an instant, her body temperature began cooling down and it made her feel comfortable. The key was pushed in and ignited the engine. A rumbling started beneath their feet and faded out in vibrations, starting the car. The sleek black vehicle pulled out of the driveway and onto the newly cemented road. They headed in the direction of the busy city. The vehicle passed the garden and Kahoko smiled at the faint memory of how she and Len had met. The petals from the trees were almost gone, but some of them still danced down to the ground. Her breath fogged up the glass, her breath taken away.

The air was dry and stale as no conversation ceased between them. The sky had turned a shade darker, and early night life came seeping out of the corners of the busy street they were traveling on. Kahoko looked out the window at the busy city lights in awe. This was clearly the rich kids' part of Japan. Neon lights advertised men and women into their bars, rich shopping shops were still open and roaming shoppers entered without a thought. Sleek cars reflected off light, thus showing off. She had never been to this part of town before, and experiencing it first hand was quite an astonishment for her. However, soon enough, they were stuck in traffic, just the situation that they didn't want to be in. His hand gripped the steering wheel, and she looked outside the window, despite having nothing to look at.

It was him who made the first attempt to speak to get out of the awkward predicament. "Hino-san…"

"Hmm?" Her head eagerly turned towards him, awaiting a chance to speak instead of staring out of windows.

True, it was him who spoke first, but he didn't have a topic to follow up. Inside, he was secretly panicking for a topic. He racked his mind, and its database came out a failure. Only on occasions did he ever need to speak to girls. And most of the time, they were acquainted with him, therefore he came up with a topic fairly easy. He never found a need to talk to strangers before well because…they were simply strangers. But as he looked at her, she wasn't just a stranger. He had saved her as well. The pressure pounded on his brain as his mind went into overdrive.

Now it was her turn to speak up. "Tsukimori-kun," She gently brought him back from all of his thinking.

"Ha?"

She pointed in the direction of the road and chuckled softly. "You've been thinking so much that you ignored the driver behind us beeping." Ahead of him was a clear road with few pedestrians crossing it and he could see the man in the car behind him cursing. He quickly drove up behind the car in front of him waiting for the red light. "Sorry for that," He apologized.

She grinned at him. "No, it's okay. It's rare to see Tsukimori-san not paying attention. What were you thinking about?"

"The concert," He blurted out. There was no way he could tell her that he was actually trying to find a conversation starter between them. That was embarrassing for him to admit.

She looked at him with confusion. "But…earlier you called out my name?"

"Oh," The light turned green and his hands maneuvered the steering wheel. "It was to…remind you to not be so lazy all the time and practice everyday."

"Ahahahahaha!" She gleefully laughed. "Don't worry. I've been setting some time everyday to practice. I think the rooftop is going to be my new favorite place to practice. It's calming up there."

He agreed with that notion. "Yeah. The Jacuzzi is a nice place to be in at night. I almost fell asleep in it once," He felt loosened, now that she unknowingly started to talk to him.

"Really?" She looked up to him in eyes of awe. "I've always wanted to bathe in a Jacuzzi!"

"Maybe you could try it out tomorrow," He briefly looked at her and then kept his focus on the road ahead of him, although traffic was taking longer than expected. "I'll show you how to set it up later, okay?"

"Okay!" She was secretly happy inside. A chance to bathe in a Jacuzzi AND they weren't having an awkward conversation? It was giving her an antsy feeling. She snuggled closer inside the new jacket wrapped around her shoulders.

"But you're going to have to put at least an hour each day to your practice."

"Oh…," Her face instantly fell. She hadn't expected that coming. Well, it was Tsukimori-san that she was talking to. He was just like an old stingy teacher. She sighed and continued to look outside her window. There was less traffic on a minor road that led to Azuma's concert hall and house; therefore he sped up a bit, but under the maximum speed limit. It was a pain in the ass to deal with police about a minor case of speeding, and it wasn't a habit of his to speed either. However, he might accidentally speed if he wasn't concentrating, and he was running a bit late. There was no doubt that Azuma's security guards and the police were there to deal with valuable items. He drove in the entrance of Azuma's fancy neighborhood. Out of all of his high school buddies' houses, he knew Azuma's would beat them all. His family was a high profile society. The Yunoki's had various enterprises and managed lots of companies. Although his grandmother was the leader of the modern enterprise, it was a rule to practice traditional Japanese culture in their home.

Kahoko, once again, stared out the window in awe. Whoever his friend might be, must be super rich. There were fancy looking apartment complexes and condos in the streets. She looked out the window to see an iron gated fence, bordering in a deluxe designed pool for the neighborhood. Although the people living in the neighborhood could have their own pools, there was one just designed for the public. There were barely any people there, but she could imagine people there in the summer time. They must've been like models like that Ryou person! Ryou, she thought, could also live near here as well. A leisurely golf course was also nearby with its rolling evergreen hills and authentic beach looking sand. Numerous tennis courts were opposite of the golf courts and she could barely count them all. It's just like a retirement neighborhood! As they slowly approached the house, cars lined the streets. The vehicles were parked on the sides of the streets and piled on two and three streets down. Kahoko was simply dumbfounded. It's a house party and a charity concert…the number of guests attending must be HUGE!

At last, he pulled up to Yunoki Avenue (It was only natural that they lived on a street that was dedicated to them) with only one five story house and three other extravagant decorated buildings. Her jaw literally dropped and reluctantly asked Len a question.

"I-Is this your friend's house?" She asked slowly, with her jaw opened.

"Well, technically no. It's the main house of the Yunoki's. The leader and other respected elder members live here. His grandma organizes charity events like this and Azuma pitches in sometimes. She's a famous philanthropist. Azuma lives somewhere else in this neighborhood, but his sister is still young, so she lives here to pick up the traditional Japanese culture. She's attending some prestigious college, I think."

"S-So he has another house?"

"Yeah. It's bigger than my house and smaller than the main house."

"So why didn't you move here? You seem rich enough."

"Well," He looked at her while his arm rested on the steering wheel. "I quite like my house well enough."

A ton of other cars pulled up to the entrance, where Yunoki's servants did the valet parking. The people coming out of the extravagant vehicles were of various age groups. Young men and mostly women (Kahoko figured that this Azuma guy probably had a lot of admirers, homosexual or not) who looked like they were heirs of famous companies walked with composure towards the entrance of two enormous double doors. Even the elderly and middle aged people were dressed luxuriously in layers of beautiful makeup (No doubt, they hired professional makeup artists) and showed off their jewelry. Kahoko experienced a sinking feeling. There was no way that she could ever fit herself into a high society. He slowly drove up behind a Hummer limousine. "Just a warning, don't let any other guys dance with you or take you away alone. They could be dangerous," He pierced his golden eyes into her. "And pay attention to the concert. You might learn something." She nodded at him, while she pulled off her jacket.

Near the entrance of the house, Len killed the engine and the respectful servants helped both of them out of the car. She awkwardly walked up to Len as he instructed the valet parking guy to "Take care of my car." They had to walk all the way to the front door from where they parked their car. She automatically felt out of place in the high society environment and began to feel uptight. The couple slowly walking in front of them were animatedly intertwining hands and the girl even hugged the guy's arm. She squirmed and looked up at the man that was beside her. He was gripping his case and didn't even worry about the situation in front of them at all. He looked straight ahead and determined, almost fearless. She looked away, trying not to focus on the silence between them.

Slowly, but surely, they reached the front of the entrance.

"Len-kun!" A random stranger sang with a chipper voice.

Both of them synchronize turned at the same time to the direction of the voice, only to find that the woman jumped and wrapped her arms around Len's neck into a hug. She wore a beautiful black halter dress and her stilettos matched her outfit. Her naturally dirty brown curly hair flew out in waves behind her. In that split second, Kahoko was stunned. Was she his girlfriend or something? She must be someone special…

She released her grip on him and smiled at him. "Gosh, I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Amou-san?" He slowly realized that it was his old classmate and smiled at her as well. "What are you-oh wait. He would invite you." He smiled at her, making Kahoko feel more nervous and awkward. It dawned on her that she knew no one there. She only knew Ryou and the couple they met earlier. She instantly regretted her invitation to come. What if I get lost in the crowd? What if I can't find my way out? Man, I shouldn't have come…Her nervous system involuntary shivered, partly because of the cold and…just nerves.

"Of course!" She disregarded the smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed an awkward looking Kahoko looking around the place and smiled. "And this is…?"

"Right," He gestured an arm towards Kahoko and she nervously smiled. "This is Miss Kahoko Hino, my temporary guest that's staying with me." He gestured toward the dirty blond curly haired lady, who held out her hand toward Kahoko and shook her hand. "And this is Miss Nami Amou, heir of the magazine that you always read, Kahoko; I forgot what it's called."

Kahoko was about to speak when Amou slugged him on the shoulder. "It's called 'The Weekly Sushi'! Get it right, baka!" And then she had the burning impulse to ask the elegant lady a question. "Ano…I think I've read one of your articles before! You're the editor too right?"

She grinned happily. "Of course! My camera is my partner!" She pointed nail to her Coach purse. "I'm always on the job, you know?"

Kahoko gasped. "So does that mean you're going to write about this event too?" She never thought that there were going to be reporters there as well.

She chuckled. "If there's anything interesting, then I'll see what I can do! I have con-"

An elegantly and handsome dressed man accidentally bumped into Nami. "Oh!" He bowed at her in a 90 degree angle. "I'm very sorry for that."

"No," She smiled at him. "It's fine."

He nodded at her and went in the front door. She looked once at the front door ahead of them and nodded her head towards the door. "Shall we continue in there?" They both nodded and headed for the podium where the middle aged man checked off names from a plasma touch screen computer. Nami quickly dug in her purse for her invitation and unfolded a crumply silver invitation. Oh shoot! There was supposed to be an invitation too? She looked briefly at her hands before she remembered that there was nothing there. Len grabbed her wrist in a reassuring grip and whispered in her ear. His breath echoed in her ear. "I have them with me." Her milk chocolate eyes looked at him and nodded curtly.

"Nami Amou." He nodded that he verified her and the two men at the door opened the double doors for her. Kahoko distantly heard her say, "Ahh! This would be the life!" and throwing up her arms in the air. Everyone gave her a look of contempt and she gave them the tongue. Even the servants gave her a funny look. Kahoko sideways glanced him and he gave her a look that stated, "That's-how-she-normally-is."

They moved up and the man at the podium almost looked like he glared at her. She fidgeted under the pressure and ducked her head. Her wrist slipped from Len's into her own. She didn't want to get people to get the wrong impression, especially Nami (Which she started to like). Len's voice spoke while looking at her sudden movement. "Len Tsukimori and Kahoko Hino." He pulled out two neatly unfolded invitations and handed them over. The man took it gingerly from him and nodded them in. The men opened the wide doors and they walked inside.

Once the doors opened and gave them a grand opening, crowds of people looked towards them. The redheaded girl suddenly felt self conscious and looked down at the swirly white, grey and silver floor. The volume turned up even louder when they closed the door, trapping the two people inside. He made a grab for her wrist again. "As long as you stick with me, you won't get yourself in trouble."

Kahoko retorted. "So I'll get into trouble if I get separated from you?"

"Basically."

She turned away from him with a sarcastic look and muttered, "Gee, thanks. It's like I'm a dog or something."

It was a toasty temperature of 72 degrees inside. Two white banisters and staircases were on opposite ends of each other, but both led to the second story, which had a blown up painted and framed portrait of an old lady. The artist had accurately painted every angle, hair, and eyelash. It was perfect and Kahoko's eyes could not stray away from it. This must be a picture of this Azuma guy's grandma…They hired a good artist for that. In front of them were crowds of people elegantly dressed and clumped in groups. Black and white servers lined up and down the wall, carrying trays in one hand. Pure white table cloths were draped over rolling tables that were lined with desserts and food. There was even a chocolate fountain. Even though they were on the ground floor, the second, third, and fourth floors were visible. Numerous doors lined the walls and there were even wings and halls beyond that. There was a person that was shifting through the crowd that made people separate. A long haired dark purple guy (She guessed that it was a guy by the tuxedo that he wore) greeted every person by hugging them or greeting them politely. Kahoko noticed that his smiles to them were polite…and weird. Almost fake. It was strange however, because when he reached Nami, she simply threw her arms around him and he accepted it with a genuine smile and whispering some quick words into her ear. Of course, that simple scene earned looks from the guests and the admirers (Unsurprisingly some guys as well, which Kahoko noted) and they chattered loudly up a notch.

"Ne, Tsukimori-kun," She poked him lightly in the ribs with her elbow. "Is there something going on between them?"

He nudged her with his violin case. "Don't be so nosy." She simply nodded with a grin. There had to be something icky sticky sweet between them. There had to be.

Nami finally released her arms from around his neck, waved him goodbye, and went on an adventure to find another person to hug.

The long haired purple guy steadily approached them in a happy mood. "Ah! Len-kun! I'm happy you've made it! It wouldn't be the concert without you!" He blinked several times at the strange young woman standing next to him. "And this is Miss…?"

"Yunoki, this is Miss Kahoko Hino. She's a temporary guest who's staying in my place," Len spoke while Kahoko gingerly shook his hand with her free hand that wasn't attached to Len's. There was something weird about him, but she couldn't quite place it. "Hino, this is Azuma, the grandson of the person who ran the event. He helped organize the concert."

Yunoki smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you, Hino-san."

She smiled at him as well, just not as bright. "Me too, Yunoki-san."

"You know Miss Kahoko," He looked down at Len's hand grabbing Kahoko's wrist. "Len had never invited anybody else but Miss Shonoko to events like these. There would be plenty of other girls who would be willing to go with him to events like these but he picked you. You're very lucky." He chuckled lightly. Ah…even he mentioned this Shonoko girl…

"Actually, I'm just a guest of his. He insisted on me coming because if I was home alone, he was sure someone would kill me," Kahoko laughed nervously and pulled her hand away from Len's grasp.

Yunoki noticed the slight movement out of the corner of his eye and grinned mischievously. "Well, Len, please give me an invitation when that time comes!" He laughed softly and moved on to the next guest.

Len narrowed his eyes at Azuma while Kahoko spoke with her eyebrows in confusion. "Why do your friends think that we…um…together?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "They go crazy every time I invite someone to go with me. Don't think too much of it."

They started to walk a few steps before they were interrupted, this time by a middle aged woman and a beautiful young lady. Kahoko noticed that they were clad with lavish jewels and were eager to see him. The young lady had long and gorgeous curls and she pinned it halfway with a jeweled pin. Her make up was perfect and there was no flaw to be seen. However, her mother (It was a guess to the redhead) was on par with her daughter as well. No wrinkles were to be seen and she matched her dress perfectly. They were aristocrats. It was clear enough to her what the mother's intentions were. No doubt the man next to her knew it as well. He still faked a smile at both of them anyway. Kahoko tried to walk in the other direction (As she felt she didn't belong and it was awkward), but Len grasped her hand tightly, and his eyes emitted an "If-I'm-going-to-die-you're-going-down-with-me" kind of look. It was justified to say Kahoko was scared.

"My, my, Tsukimori-kun!" The mother boasted with energy. "You've grown! I've haven't seen you since your parent's concert. And how are you?"

Kahoko eyed the ground while he spoke. "I'm fine Mrs. Shouji-san. I've heard you've been doing quite well in your business too. The jewelry business seems to prosper under your care."

"Yes! It's like my baby. But I think I'm going to have my eldest daughter take over soon," On cue, her daughter stepped up. "Hi, Len-san," She flashed him her perfect teeth. "We've met before at your parent's concert. They were amazing!" He stiffened at his first name (Other than his friends using it), but only Kahoko noticed the slight difference.

"Of course Miss Megumi Shouji," He smiled a fake smile at her. "I remember you."

By now, her mom had left subtly, leaving all three of them left alone. The redhead noticed other aristocrats' daughters eyeing Len with an interest and Kahoko felt threatened with the looks they were giving her. It caused her to look out of place and she turned her head.

"And this might be Miss…?" Megumi trailed on, eyeing the redhead with contempt.

Len tugged on Kahoko's wrist and her head snapped up with a start. "This is Miss Kahoko Hino. She's a temporary guest staying at my place." She could only mouth the word "Hi" and tried to look happy. But in reality, she wanted to be alone at home, watching chick flick movies in her terry cloth track suit.

"Hello, Miss…Hino," She gingerly shook Kahoko's hand and pulled it back after two seconds of physical contact. "I've never heard of your last name before, Hino. Which family do you come from?"

"Excuse me?" She could only manage to come up with a flimsy excuse. After all, not even Len had asked about her family and she didn't feel like talking about it either. Len sensed her reluctance and interrupted.

"Ah…Miss Hino is a special guest of my mother's," Len smoothly pulled out the excuse. "Excuse me, but I have to prepare for the concert. I'll see you later." And with that, he pulled Kahoko along by the wrist, but timely interruptions blocked their way. Aristocrats and their daughter's were introduced to Len and they were pretty much the same as the Megumi woman. They gave Kahoko looks of scorn and swooned over Len. They were like people with no substance, but power and riches. Even other people without daughters approached him, making Kahoko feel even more self consious. Each time they wanted to escape, they used the same excuse until they were finally free.

She was in the middle of the staircase when she plopped down on a random stair. Len just leaned on a wall with his violin case in his hands. She spoke first after a minute of rest. "Hahhhh. You're popular among the rich peoples' daughters here, aren't you? It must be nice to know that you're appreciated."

"The attention is tiring, although I don't doubt Ryou would love this attention," Kahoko giggled slightly. "I only act polite with them not to offend their parents. It's getting exhausting to wear a fake smile to them," He sighed. "It's a good thing you're normal."

Her ears turned up and her head tilted up to look at him. "Normal?"

"Different from other girls," He restated looking at the front door below them.

"Different?" She raised an eyebrow to inquire further, but quickly banished the idea. "By the way, where are your friends?"

"Hmm…I don't really know. I didn't see Ryou or Nami," He turned back to look at her. "Did you see them?"

She quickly shook her head. Just in time for a familiar Rolex watch to wave to them. "Hey guys!" The man whispered.

Both of them turned upstairs in the direction of the low voice. "Ryou?" Kahoko whispered. "What are you doing upstairs?"

"Get up here! I'll tell you later!" He disappeared behind a room and the two people looked at each other and shrugged. Soft footsteps followed the short and dark haired man to a chandelier lit room. It was an even more deluxe game room than the one Len had at home. White fluffy carpet was embedded onto the floor. There was a built in wall TV like the ones in movie theaters and sound systems were on the sides of it. Gaming systems lined the bottom shelf on the built in wall TV. There were cushy massage chairs and game chairs facing the TV. There were six people there, but only five that she recognized. The only one she didn't recognize was a green haired and tanned man standing next to Nami. He looked like those skinny muscular jocks at school. He met her gazed and smiled at her. She did the same.

"Hey Len, you really did bring Kaho!" Ryou slugged Len harder on the shoulder than Nami did. "Hey Kaho!"

"Hey Ryou!" She smiled genuinely for the first time since they had been there. She began to loosen up a little after having to socialize with the noble families.

He gave her his fist and they fist bumped. "I had to get all of them up here because I was bored playing Modern Warfare 2 with Kazuki," He picked up a PS3 wireless remote control and threw another one over to Len, who set his case on a massage chair. "Oh yeah, Kaho. I was told that you met everyone here except Kazuki," Ryou paused and the tanned man approached the girl. "This is Kazuki Hihara. The other guy who hasn't beaten me in a video game yet." He noogied Kazuki under one arm while continuing the introductions. "And this is Miss Kahoko Hino, Len's 'temporary guest'," He emphasized the two words while Nami put and arm on Kahoko's shoulder. "She's a special one alright!" She winked at Len while he glared at her from his seat. Shimizu patted Len on the head while Fuuyumi took the massage chair next to Shimizu. Kazuki finally got his head out of Ryou's grasp and added a comment. Kahoko decided that it was best not to say anything at that juncture.

"So where's your special prince charming?" Kazuki grinned mischievously at Nami. She blushed and turned away. Kahoko wondered if he was talking about the grandson of the person who owned the house. "He's out socializing again because…you know how his family is," She thwacked Kazuki on the head with her purse. "And you! This is supposed to be secret!" He held his head and Nami looked at Kahoko, giving her a quick wink. "It's a secret, okay?"

Kahoko nodded, happy with keeping this new secret and winked back. Nami graciously smiled and returned to the conversation. "Your girlfriend skipped out again, Kazuki?"

"Ah yeah. But this time she was really sick but she still insisted for me to come anyway."

Kahoko plopped into the seat next to Len and Kazuki leaned on Len's chair while he was playing Modern Warfare 2 with Ryou. The TV lit up with colorful lights as Ryou rocked back and forth on his chair, moving to the beat of the game. It seemed like Ryou was beating Len due to his violent pressing of buttons on the controller. She almost thought that it was going to break. Shimizu shared a seat with Shoko and leaned his head on her shoulder, half asleep. Kahoko was careful not to squish Len's violin while she leaned back to watch the TV. Eventually, they cleared a level and Kazuki and Nami declared to play a new game.

"Hey! We gotta play tennis on the Wii!" Nami declared after the game. "Ryou and I gotta be on opposing teams!"

"Bring it on blonde! Just don't cry when I whoop your ass!" He sneered at her in a competitive way.

"I'm going to be on Ryou's team!" Kazuki brightly declared. Ryou gave him a fist bump while giving Nami a triumphant glance.

"Kazuki, you traitor!" Nami tried to slap him upside the head, but he dodged in the nick of time. "Len and all the other people are all suckers at playing video games!"

"Hey! I lost only by a few points..." Len retorted to her previous comment.

Nami poked her tongue out at him and grabbed Kahoko's wrist. "But I bet you aren't the match of Kaho-chan! I heard she's played tennis before!"

Kazuki and Ryou threw wondering glances in Kahoko's direction. Even though she and Len knew that Nami was bluffing, Kahoko found it fun to play along. "Yeah! How'd you know Nami?" She secretly winked at her and Nami secretly smiled.

"Game on?"

"Game on!" They both replied. Ryou was about to press the "On" button, but a velvety voice broke their sentence. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen."

"Awwww," The entire second floor moaned in unison. Ryou muttered to Nami, "There comes your prince." Nami flashed him a smile while she walked out with the others to watch what was going on. They stayed on the second floor, looking directly down at the purple haired prince. He stood side by side with an elderly woman (Kahoko guessed that it was the grandma/leader) and another woman in an elegant purple dress and wavy brown Taylor Swift like hair. Kazuki poked Ryou in the ribs and nodded in the direction of the wavy haired girl and grinned mischievously at him. Ryou slugged him on the shoulder and continued staring at the girl with a smile an old perverted man had, just scarier. It was creeping Kahoko out and she decided to ask Len why that was.

"That girl down there is Yunoki's sister," He whispered and pointed at her. "And the reason why Ryou is acting creepy like that is because he is her girlfriend. They do it all the time."

She gaped. "Are you serious? It's just like a modern Romeo and Juliet!"

"No. I'm quite serious. In fact, the Rolex watch he's always wearing is from her for his 23rd birthday present."

She whispered closely in his ear. "He's a good guy right?"

He put his chin on his hand. "He is. He actually wanted to pay back for it, but she insisted. And I'm sure her brother would've done that ages ago if he made the wrong move. He's reformed his habits, you could say. But he doesn't refuse a dance from a lady if she wanted one, which goes fine by Miyabi. Just as long as most of the dances belong to her."

She put a hand on her forehead. "Unbelievable."

As if she heard the whole conversation, the brunette from below looked up. And her eyes landed on said boyfriend. She smiled and he scrambled behind Kazuki, as if he was scared of her, but still held out a hand and waved. The brunette below chuckled and stared at him for another five seconds before redirecting her gaze.

Kahoko laughed. "Hey, are you really scared of her?"

He spoke out from behind Kazuki, who was trying to escape his grasp. "I'm not scared of her! Her grandmother is hella scary! She's like the scary old lady who comes out and scares you from those haunted houses on Halloween!"

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," Azuma cleared his throat.

He glanced up for a second, saw Nami, and flashed a perfect smile at her. He continued his speech after the crowd grew quiet.

"Hello everyone! I am Azuma Yunoki and I thank you for coming to our charity event!"

A round of applause echoed loudly. Nami, however, was the most enthusiastic and she whistled at him as well. He continued his speech and explained the charity. He even explained how the night was supposed to go. First off was the concert, and the second was an option of two: an auction of various valuable Renaissance pieces or a ballroom dance. Kahoko's chest tightened up. She knew her dance skills were only amateur and did not like being discussed about if she fell. She narrowed her eyes at Len, who promptly ignored her glare. In the middle of his speech, Len took his violin case; Kazuki took a small instrument case, and left with Ryou and Shimizu downstairs. Only the three women were left upstairs listening to Azuma. Kahoko gently poked Shoko in the arm, because Nami was too busy staring at her prince charming to notice.

"Hmm?"

"Where'd they go?" She pointed downstairs in the direction that the men left. She had forgotten the reason why Len brought his violin in the first place.

"Oh! They're going to perform the charity concert with other people," She pointed down at the small people politely leaving in the middle of the speech. "They're going to perform too."

"Oh! That's right! I forgot!" Kahoko realized. "Do you play an instrument too?"

She smiled. "Yes! I play the clarinet! But I couldn't perform because of him," She caressed her stomach with her hand. "Shimizu told me not to because he said my posture would affect it."

Kahoko smiled. "Your husband is so sweet."

She beamed. "I'm so lucky to have him."

"Now please walk to the newly built concert hall which is the room to the right of you," He gestured an arm towards the double doors and two fairly dressed men opened the doors. "…And please have a great time!"

The audience clapped for him straight for a minute before anyone really bothered to step towards the door. Nami quickly headed in the direction of the crowd and Kahoko and Shoko had to be careful and follow her toward the auditorium. Before Nami was just an inch away from tapping on Yunoki's shoulder, another man got to him first. Nami looked back at them and rolled her eyes while watching him walk away. "People these days," She muttered.

"Better luck next time!" Shoko stood giggling along with Kahoko. "Anyway, shall we go?"

Nami mischievously poked Shoko's cheek. "You just want to hear your darling Shimizu perform."

Shoko poked her back in the ribs. "And you don't have the same agenda?"

She jumped and pouted at Shoko. "Well don't look at me like that if I admit I do," She leaned forward to look at Kahoko who was besides Shoko. "And I bet Kahoko is watching for Len, isn't she?"

He was right. His friends were pretty crazy. "Oh no! I'm just a temporary guest. He's just nice enough to let me stay," She nervously laughed.

"And you're telling a reporter this?" She scoffed. "I DON'T BELIEVE IT! You're going to fall in love with him!"

"Fall in love with him?" Kahoko repeated a bit too loudly. People gave her the looks and she immediately lowered her voice. "There's no way! We're totally opposites and just…no," She shook her head. She wouldn't even dare.

"That's what I said about Azuma too," Her finger touched Kahoko's nose. "You just never know."

"Whatever," The redhead stated as soon as she stepped into the auditorium. But as soon as she did so, Nami and Kahoko froze in their places. It was like an actual opera house, complete with a high ceiling with a painting on it and a balcony. There was even and instrument pit below the actual stage. It was completely furnished in red and gold and even the seats looked comfortable enough to sleep in. Their jaw dropped and their thoughts were on the same wavelength: Where in the world did they get enough money to build this?

Shoko waved a hand in front of them, "Hello?"

They snapped out of their amazement and Nami spoke first. "Aww come on! My family isn't even that rich to afford a built in opera house," She punched the nearest fuzzy red carpet wall. "I concede defeat. Damn him!"

The two women could only pull her out of despair and drag her to the middle of the fifth row. The lights dimmed and it was clear that they were starting. Len and company mainly sat near the front row with Ryou sitting in front of a grand piano. Shimizu held an enormous cello in his hands. Azuma sat with his silver flute in his hands and so did Kazuki, only with a shiny and polished silver trumpet.

Kahoko whispered to Shoko. "I never knew Shimizu played cello! I never even knew Azuma played flute!"

She only smiled back in reply and said, "They take pride in their instruments like it's their baby. They've been practicing a lot." She winked and put a finger to her lips.

Azuma stood up with one of his opening speeches and the audience gave him massive heaps of claps. It was like they would die if they didn't give him 200,000 of them. At last, they relented and allowed Len to start of the piece. He gently tugged his bow across his violin and melodic notes strung out to the audience. It was just so…calming. Kahoko absent mindedly started to yawn and her eyelids drooped. Her head also leaned back in her chair and dropped at an angle. I can't sleep now *yawn* but it sounds like a lullaby…I'm sure he'll understand...that I was never much of a...party animal anyway...

A violent shaking brought her dream of cookies and cream to a crashing reality. "Hino-san!"

"Ughhh," She hit her hand with her palm multiple times and gradually opened her eyes. The seats in front of her, where strangely…empty. She blinked her eyes a thousand times and looked at the angry blue haired man beside her. "Sorry! Was I out long?"

He leaned back in his seat. "You missed the whole thing."

She was stunned. "I missed the whole thing?"

"And after I told you to pay attention, you go off and drool. Amou took a picture of it too and left you here to go dance with her Yunoki."

"She did?" He nodded and she frowned. "So what are you doing here?" She questioned him, fearing an ulterior motive.

"I'm not like Edward Cullen who watches you sleep," He rolled his eyes at her. "I was here to wake you up obviously."

"Now I understand why you don't move into this neighborhood," She swiftly changed the topic. "You're not rich enough like that Azuma person, huh?"

He cringed his eyebrow. "His family is prominent among Japan. It's only natural that other enterprise leaders come gather at a big house. I think a house is something cozy and private not some big party house."

She stood up with a start, thinking about the dance, and normally sat down. She didn't want to remind him about dancing because she was afraid of falling on her feet. But this time, it was Len who stood up. Kahoko's pupils widened. She quickly looked for a topic to discuss about. "Say! Where's your violin case?"

"In the car," He stood in front of her with a commanding look. She braced herself for what he was going to say next. "If you don't want to dance, then don't."

Kahoko stared at him in disbelief. "What?" She didn't expect that coming.

"Do you really want me to repeat that?" He raised an eyebrow.

"There's got to be some kind of catch to this." She looked at him suspiciously.

"I just don't want to dance with all of those other girls. Because I precisely know what their intentions are."

She sighed and stood up. "I guess I know what you mean. You already have a girlfriend and those beautiful looking daughters of bluebloods like you a lot too-"

"What?" He stopped her in her tracks. "I never said I had a girlfriend."

"What?" She looked at him with doubt. "How can you not?"

"What are you talking about?" He was perplexed and walked towards the exit with her.

"You know what? Never mind," She said. The servants opened the huge double doors for them as they left. "It's a shame that we won't be seeing them again anytime soon. They were very nice."

"Oh you'll see them everywhere," The valet guy threw Len his keys and he caught it with ease. "It's a small world."

The servants opened both of the car doors for the guests and shut it with a thud. Kahoko unconsciously reached for the jacket and wrapped it around her. He ignited the engine and slowly drove away from the residence. Again, they didn't talk that night and sleep easily caught up to Kahoko again. This time, instead of princess-carrying Kahoko to her room like last time, he left the car in his temperature controlled garage and left her in there.

Needless to say, she thought she was kidnapped the following morning.

Kahoko wiped the sweat off of her brow despite the chilly climate, although it was approaching early spring. "Come on Tsukimori-san! This isn't fair!" She complained at the leisurely man sitting on the bench opposite of her. "I have to clean the WHOLE house for not dancing? You wanted to come home anyway," She continued mopping the inside of the Jacuzzi.

"This was the catch. You didn't want to dance so I gave you another option: Cleaning the whole entire house and extra violin lessons," He sat at the picnic table, munching on a granola bar.

"But you told me to clean the garden too! And aren't you tired of teaching me all the time?" She tried to chuck her shoe at him, but he neatly dodged her pale blue Converse sneaker.

*Door Bell Rings*

"Clean it up good," He addressed to her. "I'll get the door."

She gave him a sour look as she began to scrub the Jacuzzi floor harder with frustration. Len opened the French door, not even suspecting who it was. "Yes?"

"Hey!"

Len gave them a cold look. "You guys again?"

7.08.11 Revised Beginning Note, removed End Note, revised paragraphs