Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda D'oro or any of its characters.

I am not going to use the Japanese honorific in this story because in the English version, the characters call each other by their first names.

BRAND NEW BREEZE

Chapter 2

Author: Whispering Angels

Len carried kahoko bridal style to his mansion that she had earlier mistaken for Dracula's. The doorman swung the doors fully open and stepped aside, bowing his head while the other doorman gave Len a confused that said 'why- are- you -bringing -a -street -dog -in?'

Kahoko felt the warmth radiating through Len's body. It was very soothing as she had spent a better part of the evening wandering outside in the rain. Unconsciously, kahoko gripped the clutch of Len's jacket even tighter and buried her blushing face into his chest. However, the closer she got to Len the louder his heart beats became. He was afraid she might hear them as they seemed to echo too loudly.

Kahoko wasn't sure if she should be going with a stranger. All that she knew was she was soaked till the point of saturation and that part of wanted her to go while the rest of her wanted to leave. One teaching she remembered from her mom was to never talk and neither to enter a stranger's house. What if he was a kidnapper or something to that effect? Kahoko somehow doubted her own thoughts. 'Damn it! Who gave me the right to think about him like that? He just saved my life and here I am, thinking so ungratefully about him.' On the other hand, Len was not sure if he was smart enough or dumb enough to let a stranger into his house. He briefly wondered why he had even bothered to run after a stranger. However, he stopped himself from going that route; it was easily possible to spend hours psychoanalyzing himself.

They entered the building. As expected, there were no coffins or blood sucking monsters inside the mansion. In fact, it was very beautiful and spacious. It had a huge collection of objects d' art such as blue and white porcelain, glass works and many other unusual artifacts.

Len took kahoko to a room that seemed like a bedroom and turned on the heaters. Carefully, he settledher down on the bed.

"What are you doing in this area?" Len asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Well to answer that question, I am surprised you could still recognize the difference between a bride and a witch." Kahoko chuckled lightly, glancing at her stunning dress which was now covered with dirt and mud. Clearly, she was not in a mood to talk.

The very impatient Len twitched his eyebrows in anger. He had absolutely no time to waste. He was himself dripping wet and if he didn't change his clothes sooner, he would certainly die of intense cold. He wondered how she had survived the five hours of rain.

"Why did you run away?" He asked again.

She took a deep sigh before saying "My friend found my fiancé doing God- knows- what with his ex-"

"Okay I get it!" Len cut her off, not wanting to hear her anymore.

He flung open the door of the wardrobe and said "Pick anything you like." Saying this he went out of the room and slammed the door shut.

Kahoko looked at the clothing and glanced at the door, trying to make sure that it was closed. She picked some of his clothes and made her way towards the bathroom. She took a quick shower to wash off the dirt and mud that had gathered on her body and dressed herself in a pair of old black sweatpants that have elastic on the ankles that would hold in place and a white full-sleeved t-shirt. After she had finished, she heard a faint knock on the door.

Are you done? Len called.

"Yeah, you can come in." kahoko replied.

He followed inside, dressed in something dry. A maid trailed behind him, carrying a small, wooden first aid kit.

Len knelt down to check her for the injury. Gently, he folded the hemline of the trouser. It was the first time she felt the stinging pain in her left leg. Few drops of crimson blood stained her mother -of -pearl skin. Kahoko turned beet red when Len started looking over her more closely. She thought there was some warmth in his touch.

"You live alone," she blurted out and quickly covered her mouth with her hands to prevent it from saying anything further.

"Yes," he replied baldly, without looking up at her, allowing her to have a better look at her savior.

She noticed his hair was bit damp with sweat, his eyes a beautiful shade of blue and His cheeks chiseled to perfection. His body was perfect, not too muscular, but not skinny. She wondered how his body looks like without-'WAIT! Why am I having such thoughts for a stranger who I have just met? I should be saying thank you; not wishing he would take his shirt off!' Kahoko mentally kicked herself for having such thoughts.

"My name is kahoko." She said, wondering if this was how she should begin the conversation.

"And I am Len." Len replied coldly as he bandaged her leg. "There. You are going to recover better. It was a minor injury." He stated in an icy tone as he patted her knee softly.

He plunged a hand into his pocket and fished out a handsome cell phone.

"Call anybody you know." He said as he handed her the cell phone.

Kahoko stared at the phone. She had so many people in her mind that she wanted to talk to, but right now she wasn't in a mood to call.

"Oi?" Len called out to her. "Don't know how to use that?"
His voice stammered Kahoko out of her reverie. She quickly pressed some digits and brought the phone to her ears.

'Hello?'

'I—its me…'

"Kaho? Is it you?" A sob sounded at the end of the line. "Oh my child….." The voice went on sobbing "I thought I would never hear of you again. Where are you?"

"I-I- am at my friend's place." She lied, knowing that her mother wouldn't be glad about her idea of staying at a stranger's house.

"How are you dear? We were so worried about you. Ryotaro was too—"

"Mom!" Anger flared up into her as she heard the name she did not want to hear. She added, "Don't call his name in front of me ever again."

"I know what happened today. Ryotaro told me everything about it and it was all a misunderstanding."

"It was not a misunderstanding. Kazuki saw him with his own eyes."

"But kahoko, he is innocent. How can you risk your relationship just because you friend said some things about your fiancé?"

"I am going to trust Kazuki instead of trusting that liar." Kahoko hung up the phone.

She bowed her head down in sadness. Or maybe it was guilt.

Len felt his manly role of protector come to life and he spoke first. "It's going to be okay."

He hadn't expected her lower lip to tremble and her eyes to fill with tears. Crap! He wasn't used to dealing with emotional women. Her eyes looked up and tears welled up.

"Hey, don't cry?" He tried to sound gentle, but he ended up sounding like he was talking to his dog. He awkwardly patted her shoulders. She smiled wryly at him, buried her face in his shoulder and collapsed in tears. He stared at her in shock. It was the first time he got a close look of her face. He discovered that her complexion was olive, her eyes large and golden and the best of all her features; her mouth with bright red lips and admirably even teeth. Len felt terrible. He felt a mix of happiness excitement ant embarrassment. Wait a second excitement? What was so exciting about her? No way! Len cursed himself for having such thoughts.

"Its okay, its okay". Len cooed. She shuddered then sniffed loudly and Len brought his handkerchief to wipe a tear from her cheek, causing kahoko to blush deeply.

Kahoko was about to say something but she was cut off by the noise of the main gate being closed loudly and someone's footfalls through the living room. Every head craned towards the door.

"Len!" a woman rushed into the room. Kahoko saw a beautiful woman in her mid 40s wearing a blue floral kimono that went down to her knees. She was a woman in the fullresplendency of her beauty. Her face was oval, but not too long. Kahoko was astonished at the startling effect which the beauty of the lady produced upon her.

"I had wanted to see if-" the woman stopped mid-sentence when she saw Kahoko.

Len was the first one to break the silence. "Mother, when did you come to Yokohama?"He asked

"Who are you?" The woman questioned, ignoring her son. She was a little curious, but she was straight in her words.

"I-I-am" kahoko barely uttered.

"She is lost." Len continued," I found her in the woods." He did not bring up the run away bride topic, knowing that his mother wouldn't be too pleased to know that.

"Oh! I see." Then with a chuckle she added," Since when did you start helping others?"

Len scowled at the remark but instead decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Are you hurt miss-"she paused to know her name.

"Kahoko Hino. This bruise was a minor accident. So sorry for the inconvenience I have caused to you. I was about to leave."

"Oh you are not going anywhere. It is still raining outside," the lady countered.

"We have eight rooms and three bathrooms. You are going to stay in one of those rooms." She was gentle and sweet in her words.

"Wait! I don't mean to be a burden." Kahoko protested but all her protests were waived aside and she ended up agreeing to Hamai Misa.

….

Walking down into the large dining room with much effort on her part, Kahoko seated herself at the head of the huge mahogany table. A huge Swarovski crystal chandelier hung from the centre of the formal dining room. A maid stepped forward with a tray laded with what the rich people call food.

The plate in front of kahoko was dressed in mashed potatoes, peas and something that looked like meat. She gazed at her plate for a moment and then wrestled a large clump of food into her fork. She wasn't sure what it was. It was the sort of thing you don't know what it is and afraid to ask. After a few seconds, she took a bite. Her entire face changed. The food tasted like stinking cheese. She ate it anyway.

"So", Len began. "Mother, what brought you to Yokohama?" Len asked, bringing the wine glass to his lips.

Hamai laid down her fork and looked up at him. "Well, the Tokyo festival is next week and you are invited to participate in it."

"Tell them I will."

"But, there is one problem. you need an accompanist."

"I'm better alone."

"But it's compulsory. Don't worry I'll find one for you. That's why I've come to Yokohama."

"Fine "He grumbled.

"Do you like tonight's dinner Miss Kahoko?" Misa asked, diverting her attention to kahoko who was dealing with the tasteless food.

Kahoko looked up at her when she heard her name being called. Not wanting to offend her she replied non commitedly -"good!"

Afterwards no one said anything else and the rest of the dinner passed quite uneventfully.

Curling up to sleep, kahoko found that she was much more tired than she thought and fell asleep immediately.

Next morning, she woke up quite early. She rolled over to her bed expecting to see her teddy bear on the other double. Instead, she rubbed grit and sleep off her eyes, she noticed that her bed was three times larger than usual. She hauled herself into sitting position and glanced around. She discovered that the bedroom walls were decorated in coral and jade colors to reflect a roaring 20s look.

She walked around the room, barefooted and pulled open the massive curtain with the intent of letting the sunlight into the room. The opened curtains revealed three large glass windows. She saw the raindrops pattering against the glass windows which meant she wouldn't be heading home today. She watched the black heavy rain filled clouds as her stomach growled. "I need to find something to eat" Kahoko said to herself as she rubbed her fingers over her stomach and hurried down the steps into the kitchen.

She searched the refrigerator in order to find something that she could call human food. She grabbed a few items and made her way towards the stove. After a minute, she started cooking, like she usually did when she was nervous-and constantly glancing at the stairway. Suddenly her eyes fell over a violin that was lying on a glass table. Slowly her head cocked as she continued to stare at it. Before she could think, she found herself pacing towards the table. She sighed softly as she looked down at the instrument. Her heart started to sink. It was sinking back into the pits of darkness…..It was sinking back to the place it had been pulled from. Her mind wandered back into the thoughts of past as she caressed the wooden instrument with her slender fingers. She recalled how she played the instrument while Ryotaro accompanied her…how they both played numerous pieces together and how he proposed to her with his song. But now, it was nothing but a distant memory of the past. Kahoko held the violin under her chin, supporting it by her left shoulder. She pulled the bow across the string slowly. She could smell the polish and the rosewood beneath it. She lost herself in the notes and smiled as her fingers wavered back and forth in a fast motion. The voices of the people around her began to blur until at last they became nothing but silence. Len came down the steps and stopped at the threshold. The voice of the violin startled him but what startled him the most was the red haired girl who was playing the instrument. He noticed some flaws in her song but the feelings with which she was playing the instrument overshadowed any mistake made by her. He was overtaken by perturbation such as he had not experienced in the 23 years of his life. He didn't intend to disturb her while playing, so he leaned against the door, listening to the melody. But then the wind blew in causing the kitchen items to collide with each other, making a loud noise. Kahoko's music stooped midway with a slight screeching sound.

Her eyes slid up and she turned around. 'Uh?' Kahoko was startled at Len's sudden appearance.

"Good morning" she smiled and her cheeks turned to a raw pink.

At this point Len's interest in Kahoko's activity seemed to perk. "You play violin." It was a statement.

"Since I was ten. I don't often share that with people."Kahoko said as she placed the violin back to where it belonged and made her way towards the stove. She continued to cook, completely unfazed by his staring.

"What is for breakfast?" Len asked, this time his voice lacked the icy tone. She looked back at the stove and smiled "let's see bacon and omelet."

She served the plates on the kitchen table as she breezed by him, her sweet scent wafting after.

He eyed the food suspiciously. It had been a while since he had eaten something as ordinary as bacon and omelet. He'd generally caviar and other fancy items for breakfast. However, he wasn't in a mood to complain. He hoisted himself at the copper colored chair, about two feet away from where she was working.

"Ahem!" A voice echoed into the room and they both turned around to look at the owner of the voice.

"Uh? Mother I didn't know you were here." Len spoke.

"I woke up to the sweet sound of the violin." Hamai Misa announced as she walked inside.

"So- sorry for the inconvenience." Kahoko apologized.

Misa's eyes shone like the sun beam hit blade. "So, it was you who was playing?"

Kahoko nodded.

"It was beautiful Miss Hino. I was very relieved to listen to such a beautiful melody after a long time. It had passion, warmth and feelings."

"Thank you. I am glad that you liked it. But I must confess I am not that good."

"Now that" Misa began "is an absolute lie." You have so much talent. "I've listened to you. I know what you are capable of."

Hmmm…..Misa was thoughtful "I was thinking maybe you could help us."

"Help you? In what way?" Kahoko asked quizzically.

"We are going to participate in the Tokyo Music Festival. You could be Len's accompanist."

The statement caused Len to choke upon his omelet.

"Did you actually listen to her song? She made so many mistakes." He said loud enough so that her mother could hear and low enough so that kahoko would not hear.

"You know nothing! She is good." Misa huffed. From learning the art of music as a child of seven to practicing it for fifteen yrs, Len knew what he was saying and he was firm on it.

Kahoko blinked and then blinked again to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating. She was shocked at the sudden proposal, but what surprised her even more was that she was given a chance to perform in the biggest musical event of the year. But her bubble popped soon when the realization dawned upon her that she had to go back to her house and get her life back in order. However, she was sure that it wasn't easy and the way her mother supported Ryotaro, made it even harder for her to get her life back in order.

"So?" Misa's glistening eyes stared at her, waiting for her response.

"O-Okay" Kahoko replied, reasoning that she felt indebted towards the lady and also that she wasn't in a mood to go back to her home.

Len muttered many things under his breath and retired to his room. He was obviously not happy about the idea of her playing with him.

To be continued…..

Author's note: Thanks to all those who reviewed/favorite/alerted. You guys rock! And thank you violin romance for your ideas. Maybe I will use it in the future chapters.

Those who wanna give me any ideas or suggestions for the future chapters, then please do so. It will be appreciated.

So…How was it? Please REVIEW to keep me motivated. I get bored too easily…..

Thanks for reading :-)