Update. :)

Enjoy reading.

MYABY Chapter 11

Kahoko sat silently on the couch as her fiancé, who sat parallel to her, glared at her. Ever since she got home to the Tsukimori mansion she's been receiving daggers from his glares. The only thing that made it bearable was Lili, the little boy who made the stunt and who should be receiving the glares. Lili has been talking to her nonstop ever since they came back to the mansion. It seems the boy is related to the Tsukimoris.

"Then I found this girl who had beautiful long hair. Her music was amazing!" Lili said while he sat on Kahoko's lap, twirling his little fingers on her red locks.

"Really?" Kahoko said, smiling at the boy. She ignored her fiancé.

"That's enough!" Len said, standing. "Brat! Go out! NOW!"

Lili stopped talking then hugged Kahoko tightly. He watched Len with fear. "I don't wanna!" Lili whined.

Len glared at the boy. "Don't be a spoiled brat!"

Kahoko glared at Len. "Look who's talking. He's just a kid playing around. You can't blame him."

Len became silent.

"Lili, go out and play," Kahoko decided. "I'll have a small talk with… him." Kahoko waved a hand towards Len.

Lili nodded slowly. His eyes became glassy because of his unshed tears. "Okay," he told Kahoko then kissed her cheek.

Kahoko smiled then watched Lili as he ran out of the room. Once Lili was out of earshot Kahoko faced Len. "How can you treat a kid like that?! Can't you at least scold him kindly?"

"People are spoiling that brat, that's why he became like that!"

"Yeah, but shouting at him like that was not a way to scold him!"

Kahoko remembered right after she got off the stage he saw Len forcefully drag Lili with him to a room. Kahoko followed the two and saw Len shouting at Lili telling the boy what was his problem and all as if the boy is just the same age as him.

Kahoko watched Len's angry eyes. He seemed tempted to hit her but he kept his hands at his sides. "Just because he humiliated you in front of a lot of people doesn't mean you should treat him like that. He even got a bruise from the way you dragged him! Lucky for you it didn't look like child abuse when you dragged him out of the auditorium!"

Len closed his eyes then after a while opened them. "I didn't know," he admitted. "I'll have someone treat his bruise."

Kahoko's brows shot up. She didn't expect him to say that.

"But what he did is childish… unacceptable," he said.

"He's just a kid!" Kahoko reasoned then sighed. "Retsu, the kid might be just trying to cheer me up. He actually helped unlike you who suddenly turned cold!"

Len frowned at Kahoko. "Did you go through my laptop?" he suddenly asked surprising Kahoko.

Kahoko shook her head. "No! Why would I? I'm not that kind of woman!"

Len stared at her as if weighting if she was saying the truth. Kahoko bit her tongue before she said something bad. Knowing that Len Tsukimori is Retsu is bad enough. The least she wanted was him knowing that Kano is her herself. She thought it would be much better if he knew Kano and Kahoko are different. At least that way he sees something positive about her. He was her fiancé. She was hired to be with him and do what he wants, like a maid. It sometimes made Kahoko wonder why they didn't hire a personal maid for the jerk instead. She couldn't see the use of her being his fiancée. He's gay for goodness sake! It won't work on him no matter how much you force a girl in his arms!

I feel bad for his parents, Kahoko thought.

Noticing that Len has been quiet, Kahoko looked at him from head to toe. He stood still while still wearing his uniform. He is handsome and has a lean figure. Too bad he's gay or Kahoko would have been fine with him, if his personality were any better.

"You've called me 'Retsu' twice," the Ice Prince told her, freezing Kahoko in her place.

Kahoko's mind raced as she tried to remember when she'd accidentally called him that. She winced at the fact that maybe earlier she had called him by his Yahoo ID. How will she explain that?

"I-"

"I don't want to hear your reasons," Len suddenly said, cutting her. "You were auditioning earlier and you have a violin. Play," he ordered then sat down.

Kahoko blinked at him, still processing his words. After a while she nodded then grabbed her violin case. She placed it on the tea table then opened it to get her violin. Nervously she took her bow out then used her rosin. With every move she make she could feel his eyes on her. It made her nervous and she got the feeling he'll laugh at her after she plays.

Len watched his so called fiancée as she prepared herself to play her instrument. She'd called him Retsu twice. The first time she was really unconscious but this time she really addressed him as such. As far as he knows only one person calls her that and that person is the only one in his contacts through his Yahoo Messenger account.

He made a fake email address just for Kano's sake. He wanted contact to her but he didn't trust his original email. If Kano knew who he really was it would be bad. She might befriend him because of who his parents are. He didn't want to be seen because of his parents.

Len noticed that Kano hasn't been online much ever since he mentioned he's being arranged with a girl to marry. In fact she hasn't been online since his fiancée has roomed with him.

When will her room be fixed?

The strawberry girl positioned herself to play. She has wrong posture. Len tried not to comment for a while because somehow she's nervous. He could easily tell when a person is nervous. He's been around people who get nervous just the sight of him. Len threw his past aside then watched.

"What should I play?" Kahoko asked.

"The piece you planned to perform earlier before we rejected your application," Len said.

Kahoko's face fell. She knew she wouldn't get any special favors especially when one of the judges were the Ice Prince. Even if she begged for a makeup audition no one would listen to her. Who was she to ask anyway?

Len noticed how depressed she got when he mentioned about what happened to their decision earlier. He felt guilty. He'd treated her coldly when he found out she's auditioning. It was to avoid any problems like conflict of interest. He knew some students knew about his relationship with her. He just doesn't know how much they knew. He didn't want her affected in any conflict even if he hated her.

Kahoko started playing Tristesse carefully. She knew her audience is a harsh one. She got used to playing in front of Shinobu who would comment on her performance kindly… not harshly.

Len listened carefully noting how her music became dull or loud at certain places. She's not that great but she's good. There's something about her playing that makes it good but Len couldn't pinpoint it. The theme was Opening Up yet the way she played the piece made it sounds like an ending. Well, the piece wasn't even suitable for the theme. It was a piece of ending. He can't blame her. She's a general student before. She just needs a little more learning.

Just like how Kano needs improvement…

Len sat straight at the realization. He remembers how Kano played this exact piece. It was only a recording but Len can detect where Kano needed improvement. This strawberry girl is better than Kano since her mistakes were less but the way her vibrato sounded off were the same as Kano's. Before he realized it he blurted out Kano's name.

Kahoko stopped playing. She looked ashen.

"Kano?" Len repeated. Kahoko didn't respond. Len stared at the girl in front of him. Obviously her reaction tells him she knew something about the girl. He just hope she's not Kano. "Please tell me you're not Kano."

"I-I'm not," Kahoko lied. She wondered how he guessed right then she remembered recording this same piece and making him listen to it. She cursed herself. Kahoko wanted the ground to eat her up for her stupid-ness. First his name, now the piece.

Len placed his head on his hands. He wanted to die at that exact moment. He can tell she was lying. He didn't believe her so why would he believe a lie? Their music were so similar. The mistakes are also similar. It only improved now because she's been practicing.

"Who's that?" Kahoko asked, trying to sound as if she knew nothing.

"Don't lie Kano," Len warned then looked up at the girl who stood in front of him. Somehow he sees her differently. He'd been comfortable with her through chats. Now he's not comfortable. He's also not as annoyed as he used to be when he found out she's his fiancée. "I can't believe I'm marrying you!" he blurted his thoughts out loud.

"I'm sorry you're marrying a horrible violinist!" Kahoko said angrily.

"What?" Len asked her. "You're not horrible!"

Kahoko glared at him.

"Who said you were?"

"YOU!"

Len blinked. He pointed at himself then raised a brow at Kano.

"Yes! YOU! You told me when you first heard me!" Kahoko shouted. She didn't realize she was crying.

Len winced. He didn't think seeing her cry would make him feel bad. Moreover she accused him of something he didn't do. "I said you sounded fine when I first heard you play. Your vibrato just needed improvement." Len stood up.

Kahoko tried understanding him then she remembered the first piece she made him hear was Tristesse. It was through a recording. "I didn't mean the recording. I meant Ave Maria! You said I play like a kid!"

Len didn't know what she's talking about. "I believe this is the first time I heard you play in person."

Kahoko groaned in frustration. She placed her violin back in its case before she ended up injuring her precious violin by throwing it at Len's handsome face. Since he knew who she is now she should just say everything. "The one at your family's company! At the rooftop! That performance! We first met at the elevator!"

Len's brows creased. He couldn't remember but he knew he's rude when it comes to people who works for his parents. He was always cruelly honest when it came to their performance. Maybe he'd accidentally said something rude. "I'm sorry. I really can't remember but I'm sorry." Len watched Kahoko's expression. She's still angry. "I really think you play fine. Just needs improvement on some parts."

Len took out his handkerchief then offered it to Kahoko. Kahoko just stared at him so he decided to just wipe the tears away. He was about to lift the handkerchief to her face when he heard a thud.

"Len!" Len cringed. He knew that voice too well.

"Mother," Len greeted as he cast a look at his mother.

"I know I raised you well but what are you thinking to make a girl cry? Moreover your fiancée!" Hamai Misa asked angrily.

Len looked at Kahoko and saw her shocked face. Before she could do anything he wiped her face with his handkerchief. He didn't know how to so he just did what he can just to make himself feel better.

"Retsu!" Kahoko said as she try to push his hand away her face.

"Stop moving! I might hurt you unintentionally," Len scolded as he wipes her tears away.

"I can do it on my own thank you very much!" Kahoko said as she steals the handkerchief from his hands. She started wiping her tears and realized his handkerchief smells nice.

"Suit yourself," Len said then stomped out of the room. He left just to avoid his nagging mother teach him about manners.

Haha... So I updated again XD That's because the words just comes to my head and I needed to write them. I have no BetaReader or proofreader so I can't tell if I'm making grammatical mistakes.

Thanks for reading :)

I'm gonna warn everyone. I didn't follow the original story of La Corda D'oro where they competed with each other and all. And if some people noticed, the start of the story is the same as in Saiunkoku Monogatari but I didn't borrow their plot in the process while writing till this chapter. Everything will just be different but the characters will be the same. With a bit of Out-of-Character-ness Hehe... Bear with me.

Again, thanks for reading.

Please leave a review XD I just want to know how people think.