HEY ALL! Finally, after such a long hiatus of 6++ months, you'd probably want to throw rotten eggs at me. Haha. But my exams are finally over! YEAH!
My friend read chap 3 and she said this to me, "Why on earth are you writing about xmas in the middle of June?"
… Heh. I realized that too… I must be craving for xmas much too soon. Haha. Oh, btw, the children's ages have changed. Since they're now into a new year, they are all one year older :D yeap. Just in case I forgot to mention earlier. Haha.
Thanks for the reviews! All the questions that u've asked will be answered in the next 3 chapters or so (:
Pongcan: all the instruments burned a hole in his pocket. But hey, HE'S RICH! XD
Kurankira: LOL! Haha! I think if I had him for a violin teacher I would practice everyday too.
Veronique Ruthven: yes I want to get to that part too D: I shall reveal it as soon as possible!
Faelyrus : Haha. Thanks (: I just love white Christmases
I realized how draggy my story has been. Not to mention the poor sense of humor D: omg… so sorry. I shall try to make up for it…
CHAP 4! LET'S GO!
Chapter 4 : I'll Protect You
"Just you wait!"
Len woke up abruptly, panting and sweating. Ever since that phone call, Len had been unable to sleep and often woke up in the middle of the night. It was only five in the early winter morning, but the late morning rays were already seeping through the gaps in the curtains. Len sighed heavily. Stifling a yawn, he made his way to the bathroom. He had a big day ahead of him. After all, it was the children's first day at school.
By 6.30am, Len had already drunk 5 cups of coffee and exhausted all the contents in the newspapers. Including the advertisements he detested so much. He had to admit, he was excited for the children. But at the same time anxious and worried. He had kept the children indoors most of the time for the past few days, so nothing happened. But today, all of them would be outdoors, and during that time, anything could happen. If it did, could he protect them from harm?
The children pattered down the stairs noisily. Kazuki, Keichi and Azuma were all dressed in the same navy blue school uniform with a small tie clipped on in front. Kahoko also wore the same uniform, but instead of shorts, she has a skirt and her tie is replaced by a ribbon. Shouko wore a light green overall with the school name sewed on the front. Ryoutaro wore a white collared shirt inside and a black outer coat with black pants. His coat had silver buttons all the way down. He was the only one who will be attending Harushi Junior High, Shouko would be attending the morning session at Kodomo Kindergarten and the other four were all studying at Jushou Elementary School.
The children excitedly grabbed their bags and all squeezed into Len's Honda. Chattering noisily throughout the journey, Len had difficulty concentrating on the road. He clicked the music player and Beethoven's Pathetique started playing. Miraculously, the children quieten down and listen.
After dropping them off, Len returned home.
Peace and Quiet.
That was the first thing that came to Len's mind when he stepped home. How he missed the serenity. Sending the children off to school was a good thing. He placed his keys down and headed to his room. Pick up Shouko at 12, stop by Jushou at 1.30, Ryoutaro will take the public transport back, Len went through the afternoon routine in his head. Picking up his bow, he set to put rosin on it. The concert was just two weeks away, it was time for practice.
At 11.45, Len was already waiting by the gates of Kodomo Kindergarten. There were many parents around as well, all waiting enthusiastically for their children to emerge from the classrooms. Just then, a cheery father approached him.
"You alone?"
"Yeah..."
"My son is in 1-E, his name is Sasaki, what's yours?" the young father asked.
"Shouko, 1-C" Len replied coldly.
"Your wife busy? My Amanda is caught up in her meeting again. Man…"
"Something like that…" Len was starting to get irritated now.
Finally the school bell rang. Len could see a brown-haired boy dash from the school gates towards the young father.
"Papa!" Sasaki jumped into the young man's arms.
"How was school little man?"
"Awesome! I did colouring and played ball! And I made someone cry too…" the little boy confessed.
"Did you apologise?" He asked sternly.
"Yup! Just like how Mama taught me to," the boy gleamed.
Len noticed a fat boy running beside Shouko. He hit Shouko by accident and continued running. Len glared at him as he hugged his pleasantly plump mother and placed his lumpy hands around his father's pot belly. Shouko approached Len, smiling slightly.
"You had fun?" Len asked.
Shouko nodded shyly.
"Come on, let's go," Len patted her head.
"She your only one?" the young man called out.
Len paused, helped Shouko into the backseat before turning around and replied
"No, I have six."
The car door slammed and father and son watched in shock as Len drove away.
At the gates of Jushou Elementary, the bell rang noisily. Len had parked his car opposite the road and looked out anxiously for the four children. Finally he saw them emerge from behind the gates. Kahoko waved enthusiastically at Len from across the road and Len could not help but smile and wave back. As Azuma herded the children to the zebra crossing, a black car stopped abruptly before them. The car doors swung open and three men in shades stepped out. They grabbed the children and shoved them into the car.
"LEN-NII!" Kazuki screamed.
"KAZUKI!" Len shouted as he dashed across the road. An on-coming car honked and Len fell backwards. By the time he stood up, the black car was speeding away.
Dammit! Len got into his car and started his engine. Then, with Shouko trembling with fear in the back seat, he sped after the black car.
It was a wild chaste, the black car swerved and snaked through the traffic. Len honked madly at every car in front of him. A couple of drivers gave him the finger but Len couldn't care less. He was only concerned about the children. Who were those men? What did they want the children for? The questions raced pass him. Could it be… that phone call! It must be! That threat! It had come true! Len threw his phone to the back, ordering Shouko to call for the police.
"Len-nii! What's happening?" Shouko wailed.
"Shouko, I know this is hard but please…"
Then Len saw his chance. There were no cars in front of the black car. He quickly sped up in front before abruptly cutting into the black car's lane perpendicularly. He slammed on the brakes and braced for the impact. He could hear Shouko scream when both vehicles collided. Luckily, the black car hit the front so Shouko was safe.
Kicking the car door open, he charged towards the black car's door and yanked it open. The children immediately ran to his side. The driver was unconscious in the front and the guy next to him slumped forth in a pool of blood. One man staggered out, clutching the door for support.
"You bastard!"
Len recognized that voice.
The burly man grabbed him by the shirt and punched him hard in the stomach. Sputtering, Len resisted the pain and struggled to stand. The burly man then grabbed the nearest kid, Kahoko, and unsheathed a knife from his side.
"You're gonna pay for this! Asshole!"
Kahoko screamed and wriggled in his grip. The knife came closer to her throat and her cries became shriller.
"Kahoko!" Len staggered towards her.
"Let her go you big meanie!" Kazuki stomped on his foot. The man tried to cut Kazuki by flinging his knife at him. It missed, and as soon as the knife was out of his hand, Kahoko bit him hard and the man screamed in pain, releasing her. Len immediately punched him in his face and he collapsed to the ground.
"You stay away from my children!"
The man lay on the roadside, knocked-out.
The blue-haired man, weary and bruised, huddled his children close to him. The children cried, tears of fear and relief stained his shirt but he didn't care. It was over now. As they trembled in his embrace, a siren wailed in the background.
At the hospital, Len winced in pain as the nurse bandaged his body. A policeman sat beside him, taking down his witness report. In the next ward, a few nurses tended to the children's injuries.
"Hey! Are you guys ok?" It was Ryoutaro. "I came here as soon as I got the call from the police."
"Ryou-nii!" The children exclaimed. They were glad to see him. Ryoutaro asked about their injuries and Kazuki boasted that they weren't painful at all. Kahoko told Ryoutaro about how Kazuki saved her from the bad guy and the children laughed when Keiichi said he was amazed at Kazuki's bravery.
"That's all. Thanks for your cooperation," the policeman said as he exited the ward. Len put on his shirt and examined the bandage on his right wrist. Crap, this is definitely going to affect my bowing… As he walked towards the counter, a nurse approached him.
"Are those children yours?"
"Yes, how are they? Any serious injuries?"
"No, they're fine. They're a strong bunch. And cute too. They sure are lucky, to have you to protect them," she smiled and walked away.
Len entered the ward, only to find them laughing and chattering away, as if they've forgotten what just happened.
"Len-nii!"
"Our hero!"
"Nurse-san! He punched the bad guy!"
"Our Len-nii is so strong!"
"Brave and Strong!"
"Strong and Brave!"
Len was dumbfounded. He didn't know how to react to the children's praises. It was the first time this had happened to him. He just stood there, smiling and grinning as the children chanted his name.
By evening, the children had all taken their shower and were busy creating noise pollution with their instruments. Reporters flooded outside the gates and Len ignored them.
"Tsukimori-san! Could you please tell us why you are staying with six children?"
"Mr Tsukimori, are you a pedophile?"
"Who are the children's mother?"
"Are you secretly seeing someone?"
Len groaned. Stupid questions, he thought. Just then, something crashed into the kitchen.
"How many times did I tell you to leave the food in the kitchen alone!" Len stomped in, not to find the usual trouble-makers, but to find Amou on the floor.
"Amou-san?"
"Yo!" she grinned.
"What are you doing here?"
"To write your story, silly."
"What? Go back, I'm tired."
"Don't give me that face, I had to creep in from the back door you know. Besides, would you rather have me write your story or the pack outside?"
Len groaned even more. He reluctantly led Amou into the living room where the children were busy experimenting the different sounds with their instruments.
By the time they were done, it was night. The pack outside had set up tents and the children were preparing to go to sleep.
"Thanks for your help." Amou waved goodbye and snuck out of the backdoor again.
By now, Len was really really tired. He switched off the lights downstairs on his way up, forcing himself to lift his fatigue legs up each step. He passed by Shouko's room on the way to the toilet and saw her holding her clarinet wrongly.
"No, you hold it like that," He positioned her hands on the clarinet. "See, cover the hole behind and place your fingers like that. That's right."
"Oh, thanks," Shouko smiled.
Len sighed and sat on her bed.
"Are you alright? Sorry for making you so scared today."
"It's alright. Everything's ok now."
"Ok, go to bed early. I'll teach you more about the clarinet tomorrow morning," Len said. As he swept her hair behind her ears, he saw a red bruise on her cheek.
"Shouko! That bruise, when did you get hurt?"
Shouko touched the red spot gently.
"Oh, that, it's okay now."
"It's not okay! Did someone bully you in school?" Then he remembered that fat boy who hit into SHouko earlier today. "Was it that fat bully?"
"No! I just got hit by a ball. And he apologized to me already," Shouko smiled.
"That's nice, who is he?"
"S..Sasaki," Shouko whispered,
"Sasaki from 1-E?"
"You know him?"
"Did he make you cry?" Len remembered his son telling him how he made someone cry on his first day in school.
"Yea… But he made me feel better already."
"How? By apologizing? That's not enough."
"No, he…"
"He what?"
Shouko hestitated, then she looked down and twiddled her thumbs.
"He kissed me," she confessed, blushing.
"HE KISSED YOU?"
From their rooms, Len's scream resonated. The children popped their heads out to see the commotion. They exchanged eager glances before running into Shouko's room. Len was gaping in disbelief. Shouko, at age 5, had lost her first kiss…
"Who's the boyfriend?" Kahoko poked.
"Nobody! Mind your own business!" Len snapped.
"Len-nii, why are you so angry, it's just a kiss…" Shouko tugged his sleeve.
"It's because it's a kiss. That's why I'm so angry!"
"Why? Havn't you been kissed before?"
"Erm, well…" Len looked at Shouko, not knowing what to say. Then he looked at the children and an awkward silence took over.
"Ohmigawd he hasn't…" Kazuki whispered.
"Shuddap! That's not the main point here!"
"21 years… amazing…" Azuma shook his head.
"What about that pretty lady with the wavy hair?" Kahoko asked.
"Amou-san? Are you outta your mind?"
Things took quite some time to settle, and when they finally did, Len was dead tired. He crawled into his bed, glad to finally be able to take a break. But as soon as he pulled the covers over him, Ryoutaro knocked on his door.
"Umm, Len-nii, I'm sorry, but I have a favour to ask of you,"
"What?" he glared.
"Could you teach me to read the scores?"
"Tomorrow! Now let me sleep!"
Finally, at half past midnight, the Tsukimori household fell asleep.
The next morning, the newspapers had written a story about Len. In the first paragraph, it read: Tsukimori Len, 21, a violin prodigy adopted six children last December in the hopes of helping them find their parents. Later paragraphs revealed the children's particulars with a little message that asked the rightful parents to contact the police immediately. The fact about the illegal orphanage was also released and it ended with the police determined to help find the lost children's parents. Finally, all was revealed. No more secrets.
They were all busy eating breakfast when Megumi the housekeeper knocked on the door.
"Yay! Yummy lunch today again!" Kazuki chimed. Megumi chuckled and settled to prepare their lunch.
"Any preferences?" She asked.
"Salmon!"
"Pizza!"
"Meat!"
"Chocolate cake!"
"Who eats cake for lunch?"
"I do!"
"How about honey?"
"EHH?"
As the children debated over the lunch menu, the doorbell rang again. Len got up and peered into the screen. A middle aged woman was standing outside the gates. She had curly blonde hair and wore a tight-fitting dress. Her eyes looked fatigued and her manicured fingers clutched her purse tightly.
"Hello, is this the Tsukimori household?" she asked.
"Yes, state your business," Len replied.
"I'm Mrs Hihara. I'm here for my son."
The school names were all made up on the spot. I think they sound cool. Hahaha. Omg lol. At first I wanted to name Jushou as Jushiu. But after a while I realized it sounded terrible. Lol. Len has 3 cars! I wonder how many more he has…
By the way… I've been wondering… Japan's school timetable is different from Singapore's right? o.O do they start in Jan? oh man… DDD:
I kinda rushed the last part abit. So please bear if there are any spelling mistakes. By the way. Since I was on such a long hiatus, I shall include a bonus ((:
EXTRA: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A TSUKIMORI (1)
It has been bothering Len for a very long time. Ever since the day the children moved in. Len couldn't help but wonder. Why oh why does Azuma refuse to cut his hair.
One morning, Len was reading the newspapers and Azuma was cleaning his flute. After cleaning it thoroughly, Azuma bent down to admire the silver sheen of his flute. As he bent down, his hair fell to the sides of his face softly. Azuma then daintily swept it behind his ears again, and tilted his head to one side.
"Azuma,"
"Yes, Len-nii?"
"Would you like to go for a haircut?"
Azuma looked at him, surprised. Then he smiled and asked, "Is it bothering you?"
Len lifted his newspaper higher, removing Azuma from his view. For a minute there, Azuma stole his heartbeat with his charming smile. I should do something about it, soon, Len thought, and resumed to reading his newspapers.
Omg it was quite short. And pointless. Haha. But really, why does Azuma have long hair? T_T