shortest chapter so far. sorry. the next one will be longer.

thanks kiss-me-sweet, Edogawa Ai-chan, Jiyu22, nebhat04, and especially sera-chan for reviewing.

Chapter 4

"We-ell…you guys remember Hino Kahoko?"

Tsukimori let this sink in for a while, a bit shocked. Hino Kahoko? Of course he remembered. She had caused quite a stir at the concourse, being the only gen-ed student picked, and then walking barefoot on the stage, then dragging Tsuchiura into the competition...

Her music was, admittedly, quite different. Rough, a bit unpolished, but still, it had an enchanting quality about it. He had tutored her a bit before leaving for Vienna, and had gotten to know her more then. She was nice and definitely good natured, and he HAD developed a bit of a soft spot for her, but…her, nanny his children?

Tsuchiura was equally surprised at this bit of news. Hino! Take care of Tsukimori's kids! Hino! It had been a while since he'd seen her. They had graduated together, but after high school he had only seen her once or twice. After he left for Europe he hadn't heard from her again. Wonder how she's doing… As he thought about Hino, he couldn't help but wonder if she was…spoken for. If she was still the same clumsy, vibrant girl with golden eyes and deep red hair….

"Oi," Kanazawa's voice cut off their respective reveries. "Still there?"

"Er—Kanazawa-sensei—I'm not sure about this…Hino was a tad…irresponsible.. back then." Tsukimori said.

"Back then," Kanazawa repeated. "Hino's a teacher now. Well, actually, she used to be a music teacher. Then she got…fired. Because of budget cuts."

"Give it a shot, Tsukimori. Hino's a great girl," Tsuchiura said imploringly.

The violinist raised an eyebrow at this somewhat obvious statement from his friend. Great girl. He sighed. "Very well, then. I'll take your word for it, Kanazawa."

As the teacher hung up the phone, he couldn't help but feel like Tsukimori's last statement had been more like a threat than an agreement.

At around 5 that day, Tsuchiura was practicing with Tsukimori, though he did it a bit grudgingly, since Len had insisted they start immediately in preparation for the concert. They had just finished, the last note lingering in the air, when the doorbell buzzed shrilly. Tsukimori glanced out the window and saw a head of scarlet.

"Hino's here."

Tsuchiura, more excited than the violinist, walked quickly down the stairs and yanked open the front door. As he approached the front gate and opened it, Hino saw him and her face immediately broke into a wide grin. "Tsuchiura-kun!" He smiled back and said, ruffling her hair, "Yo, Hino."

"How've you been? I hear you've been doing great. How is partnering with Tsukimori? It came as quite a bit of a surprise to me, you know, when I caught word that you two were playing together…" as she chattered on, Tsuchiura smiled affectionately. Nope, Hino hasn't changed.

Nearing the front door, Hino saw Tsukimori and waved at him as well. "Tsukimori-kun!" she said cheerfully. "It's been a while!" He gave her the smallest of smiles and said formally, "Good evening, Hino-san."

She frowned. Why was he being so…proper? Even more concerning, why was he thinner? Why did he have bags under his eyes? "Don't mind him, the old geezer's just like that," Tsuchiura said reassuringly.

"The children should be back soon with my parents. They went to play, I believe. You can place your bags in the spare room upstairs, if you'd follow me."

As the three walked upstairs, Tsuchiura and Hino caught up on each other, chattering on and on about each other's life after Seiso. Tsukimori, as expected, maintained his silence. He only spoke when they got to her room. "Here is where you'll be staying, Hino. The room next to yours is where Kaoru and Sei sleep. Kaoru is about to be 7, and will be starting elementary next year. Sei is only 4. I'll leave you to settle down now, and will be in the music room if you need me."

Tsukimori walked back out, leaving Tsuchiura and Hino alone.

"What happened to him?" she said softly. "He seems even more…distant than he was in high school."

Tsuchiura sighed. "He wasn't like that when he was married. Michiko, his wife, changed that. I mean, for a while, he was really happy and warm and all. But when she died…" he trailed away.

"He really loved her, huh?"

"He doesn't even spend time with the kids anymore," the pianist shook his head. "He just drowns himself in performing and practicing so he won't have to look at them. I mean, the main reason we came back was because he was having a really rough time coping. Europe held too many memories for him, so…"

Hino was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Then I guess it'll be up to me to remedy that, isn't it?"