I realized that I made A LOT of typo mistakes… omgg shall try to reduce -_- To people who read chap 1 and 2. Thank you so much for your support. I was practically grinning the whole day when I saw the reviews.

Onward Chapter 3!

Chapter 3 : Christmas, the season of Giving

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride on a one horse open sleigh-HEY!

Jingle bells, jingle bells…

Keichi was sitting on a high chair with his head resting on the table. A radio stood on his left, blaring out Christmas songs. Keichi lazily lifted his finger to switch from station to station.

Click.

We wish you a merry Christmas. We wish-

Click.

Two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

Click.

I'm dreaming, of a white Christmas.

Shouko was glancing around the living room, looking for her hair band when she heard the music. Anxiously, she looked around for the source and saw Keichi lying on the table. "That song is nice," she whispered. Keichi lifted his head slightly and gave a sheepish smile. "Makes you feel as if the snow is falling softly and silently…" Shouko nodded and crept nearer to listen, totally forgetting that she was looking for her hair band. As the two sat quietly to enjoy the music, there came a loud cry from upstairs.

"What? Are you serious?" It was Len. "You can't come today! What? You're already outside? Wait! Amou-san…" Len was interrupted by the doorbell. As the two children sat quietly, they could hear frantic footsteps thumping down the stairs. As Len neared the bottom of the stairs, he jumped off the last few steps, only to slip on the rug at the bottom. He leaned on the stairs railing for support as he struggled to keep his balance.

"Len-kun! Len-kun! Open up! You're not going to let a woman wait in the cold, aren't you?" A voiced from the speaker called. Len rolled his eyes, he patted a wrinkle out of his pants and combed his hair back with his fingers. He opened the front gate by pressing the button on the wall and the children could hear footsteps approaching the door. Not noticing the two children sitting quietly at the dining table, he took and a deep breath, and opened the door.

The sunrays of the gentle morning sun streamed in. A woman was standing in the entrance. The golden sunlight drowned her caramel hair and her vibrant blue eyes sparkled with energy, "I'm busy today. Go away," Len said coldly as he shut the door in her face. Amou stuck out her foot just in time, "You know I can't, I'm on a tight schedule!" Len tried to jab the door shut, but her foot was stubbornly stuck between.

"Oh? Who are those two cute chibis?" Amou asked as she had her eyes set upon the two children on the dining table. What are they doing there? I thought the children were all upstairs! Len thought. Drats no one was supposed to find out!

"Len-nii, who's at the door?" Kahoko exclaimed as she bobbed down the stairs with Kazuki behind. "More? Len-kun, what secret have you been hiding from your beloved reporter?" Len frowned as he reluctantly opened the door wider, "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to write that into the papers." Turning to the children, he said, "Off to your rooms."

"Ehh? Why can't we stay with you?" Kahoko pouted.

"Len-nii is a grown man and needs privacy time with his woman. We mustn't disturb their couple talk," Kazuki explained, trying to act all wise and grown-up as he placed his hand on his chin and scratched his imaginary moustache.

"Stop spouting nonsense you cocky brat," Len was fuming and blushing slightly.

"Oho! Len-nii's blushing!" Kazuki exclaimed as he ducked Len's grab. He and the other children then quickly escaped.

When the children were finally upstairs, Len turned to explain to Amou. But before he could say anything, Amou cut him, "You know I would never fall for a poker-face guy like you, right?"

"P-Poker?!" Len gaped at her. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Orphanage, huh?" Amou drew a long sip of her piping hot tea. "It just doesn't seem like you to go around adopting and helping children." Len kept silent. He didn't know the answer himself, but something about the children seemed to draw him to them. He leaned back into the sofa, only to jump up as a cry of pain escaped from his mouth.

"Yeow! What the?" Len stuck his right arm in between the cushions while his left rubbed a very sore butt. He pulled out a pink hair band. "Shouko…" he muttered.

"How long do you intend to keep this away from the press?" Amou asked.

"Until I find their parents."

"You know, Len, even if I don't announce this, someone is bound to find out sooner or later," Amou said concernedly. "You've got 6 more pairs of shoes outside and children make a lot of noise. Your neighbours are going to wonder why your house has become increasingly noisy. Since you're a famous icon in the music industry, this discovery could ruin your career, are you sure?"

Len didn't need someone to tell him what to do. What he did was his decision and he'd deal with the consequences himself. The first time he met the children, he felt that they were special, but he just couldn't put it to words. There was something about them and him that were similar.

"I'm very sure."

Amou gave a sigh. She got up and wrapped her scarf around her neck tightly. "I don't know what you're up to, but I'll leave it to you. After all, they're your children."

My children. As he got up to see Amou to the door, she gave him a pat on the shoulder and flashed him an encouraging smile.

When the door was finally closed, he turned around to head to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Only to find the children lined up in one row. They were ridiculously dressed. Ryoutaro, Azuma and Kazuki had a tie unsuccessfully wrapped around their necks and Keichi's bowtie was crooked. The two girls were draped in bath towels. Ryoutaro had a vase of flowers in his hands.

"Dear Len-nii," he said in a serious tone.

"What's with this set-up?" Len asked, having a very bad feeling about this.

"We understand that you've reached that age," Ryoutaro continued.

"… Huh?"

As he handed Len the vase of flowers, he said, "Go get her."

"HARH?!"

"And if you ever need a marriage ceremony, we have the whole crew here," Azuma added.

There was a moment of pause. Then Len walked over to the table and carefully replaced the vase. As soon as the fragile vase was safely put away, he charged towards the children.

"Who's getting married?! HUH!"

The children started screaming as they stumbled up the stairs, laughing and shrieking while constantly tripping over their oversized clothes. They crashed into their rooms and slammed their doors shut.

Len was still standing at the bottom of the stairs. He barely even reached them and they were already gone. Sighing, he collapsed onto the sofa. Such troublesome children, he thought. Then he thought about how ridiculous they looked with those serious expressions and dress-up, and he started to chuckle to himself. Soon, he broke into a hearty laughter.

At the corner of the stairs, the children were huddled together.

"Ne, Kazu-nii, why is Len-nii laughing?" Kahoko asked.

"He seems to have gone mad," Keiichi said.

"I wonder what drove him mad," Azuma added.

"Must be the doings of LOVE," Ryoutaro sighed.

"Love can make someone mad?" Shouko asked in surprise.

"Must be it!" Kazuki said. "Afterall, there is a saying that goes like this." He cleared his throat. Then in an attempted low and husky voice, he said, "He's madly in Love."

It was 7 days to Christmas, and the Tsukimori family was busy decorating the house. The tree had just arrived and the children were exceptionally excited that day. They had never decorated a tree before and this was a new experience for them. Megumi was busy that day, meeting up with friends for Christmas shopping. So Len and the children were all alone today.

"What's this?" Azuma took out ring-shaped thing covered with leaves. A bell was tied in the middle with ribbon.

"That's a holly wreath, you can hang it on doors," Len said.

"Oho! Candy!" Kazuki exclaimed, gripping onto a candy cane ornament.

"That's not edible! Put it down!"

"Hey, there's a mini violin," Kahoko said as she pulled out a violin ornament from the box. "Len-nii, can you teach me to play the violin?"

"We wanna learn too!" the children chimed in.

"I want to learn the se-low," Keichi said.

"Se-low? You mean the cello?"

Keichi nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Oh then there's the trumpet and bassoon and…"

"Where did you children learn these names from?"

"From the picture books in the cupboard," Keichi said as he pointed to the cabinet.

"Are you children really so interested in learning an instrument?" Len asked.

They replied by bobbing their heads up and down. Len had an idea.

"Well then, if you can prove to me by not causing trouble for the next few days until Christmas, I'll buy you the instrument you want." This was an excellent way to make the children keep quiet around the house so that he can practice his violin in peace for the performance due in February.

"Really? Yay! Len-nii! I want a trumpet ok!" Kazuki said,

"I want the se-low!"

"I want…"

"Ok ok, you write it down on a piece of paper and stick it on the fridge. Then I'll buy it if I feel that you've behaved well," Len said. Inside he was brimming with happiness. Finally, there will finally be some peace around this house.

The children cheered. For the rest of the afternoon, they acted really well-behaved and polite. They asked Len for permission before doing anything. Even Kazuki and Kahoko were surprisingly obedient this afternoon. I wonder how long can this last, Len thought.

Finally, the house was decorated and the Christmas tree stood grandly in the middle of the hallway. Len lifted Shouko to add the finishing touch of the tree, the golden star. The children gathered excitedly around the tree while Len switched off the light. Then at the count of 3, he plugged in the plug and the tree was set ablaze by the colourful lights then hung round it. The golden star shone brilliantly.

The children gaped in awe at the beautiful sight. Len stood proudly behind them, this was the first time he actually had fun decorating the Christmas tree, and it was all thanks to these children.

Just then the bell rang and a voice called, "Carol singing." Len opened the gate, allowing the singing group to enter. "What song would you like us to sing?" The leader asked. "White Christmas," Shouko said shyly. The leader smiled and turned to his members, giving them a tempo before they began their melodious singing.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

The children listened quietly, absorbing every note of the soothing melody.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

Len looked and the children and he felt a warm and fuzzy feeling within. A flame blazed in his heart whenever he looked at them and now he understood what it was.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

The children had given him Love.

May all your Christmases be White

Len had been thinking hard the whole week. It was 3 days to Christmas, and just a couple of days more to New Year. This means that these children had to attend school soon. But that was the problem, what school should he enroll them in? He was scouting around the internet for schools and he had to decide fast for schools were starting to close their enrolment. It would be best to find a school nearby, and not one that was too expensive. Ryoutaro would be attending Junior High. Shouko would probably still be in Kindergarten. And it would be best if the rest could attend the same elementary school.

Finally, after a few hours of intense searching, he had found 3 compatible schools. If these schools accepted his offer, then he could head down to collect the uniform in 5 days. School huh, he thought. That was a long time ago. He thought about the time in Seiso Academy when he won the concours. He wondered if any of the children would have a chance to participate in it next time.

After settling the schools, he went down to make himself some coffee. The children could really be so well-behaved when they wanted something. Ever since the deal Len had made to them several days ago, the children were extremely quiet and considerate. They even helped to wash the dishes and hang the clothes! Len was very pleased.

He glanced at the piece of paper stuck to the fridge by a magnet. The children had written down their Christmas wishes on it, hoping that they will get it on Christmas day.

Kazuki – trumpet

Keichi – cello

Azuma – flute

Ryoutaro – a grand piano

Shouko – clarinet

Kahoko – violin

Only Kahoko wanted an instrument similar to him and Len felt a sense of pride towards her choice. These instruments were definitely going to cost him a bomb. But after seeing how the children were specially attentive and alert towards music, he felt that they would really treasure their instruments. Majority of the children's instruments were pretty easy to wrap in a box, but Ryoutaro's wish was a real headache. How on earth was he going to hide a grand piano in the house?

Finally, 25th December arrived. The children got up unusually early that morning and bounced down to the tree to see if their presents had arrived. Kazuki and Kahoko squealed in delight when they opened the presents addressed to them and found the instrument they wanted wrapped inside. Keichi was surprised that his cello was smaller than the ones in the picture books, but he loved the sound it made. Azuma carried his flute delicately, admiring the sheen of silver. All the instruments were miniature size, specially made to fit children. And Shouko's clarinet was the smallest of them all.

Ryoutaro didn't manage to find his piano inside a box, instead, he found scores in them.

"Ryoutaro, your present is outside," Len said.

Ryoutaro quickly opened the door, the other children hurried behind him, clutching onto their new instruments. Outside, a delivery truck was parked along the curb. The delivery man waved to him. Then he and his crew carefully wheeled the piano down the vehicle and into the gates. It was a magnificent piano. The black surface was smooth and reflected the morning rays of the early sun.

"Len-nii, it's beautiful," Ryoutaro said.

Len smiled.

"Thank you so much!" Ryoutaro hugged Len tightly, burrowing his face into Len's shirt.

The delivery people moved the piano into the house and up the stairs. The piano glided effortlessly into Ryoutaro's room. "It's huge…" Keichi gaped. When the delivery men had finished their work, they tipped their hats and wished the children a merry Christmas before driving off.

Len smiled as he looked at the happy expressions of the children. He enjoyed seeing them smile and promised himself that he would do whatever it takes to make them happy, so that he could see their smiles every day.

Just then, the telephone rang. Len picked it up, never taking his eyes off them.

"Hello?"

On the other end, a low voice replied. "Is this the Tsukimori household?" The caller slurred his words and spoke in an angry and breathless tone. He sounded like a heavy smoker.

"Yes may I help you?"

The guy scoffed. "You little bastard, you think you can get away with adopting the children? You're gonna regret it. Just you wait."

The caller slammer the phone and an unearthly beep took over.

I know I promised a threat and im so sorry for introducing it only at the end. Argh. D: This chapter feels abit rushed though… I may take some time to update Chapter 4 cause of busy schedule and all. So please be patient (: Once again, thanks for the reviews!