Rumors and Questions

Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda D'Oro.

Author's Note: After a long hiatus, I'm just hoping my writing skills haven't gone rusty. Here's a one-shot for you guys. I'm hoping to finish at least another chapter of Cinderella, but so many things have been happening and I sincerely hope you can forgive me. Do not worry though…I care too much about Cinderella to permanently stop it. So, I'll stop ranting and get on with the story.

Tsukimori Len was never a "people" person.

He didn't like talking. He hated crowds. He preferred peace and quiet. He found solace in solitude. Everything about his life was kept a mystery. In short, he was a loner.

Hino Kahoko was always a "people" person.

She loved to talk and talk. She couldn't imagine life without her friends. She basked in the warmth and care she received from her friends and family. Everything about her life was like an open book. In short, she was sociable.

So, it has been considered one of the seven mysteries of Seiso of how it had happened.

It all started with that little rumor.

The whole academy was in a buzz since classes started that morning. You could hear the hush whispers, the grumbles and the silent wails when you passed by the hallways. A person, in particular, was running about the place with gleaming eyes and curious ears. She was looking for someone or someones if you put it that way. She needed this scoop. It was a big one, a really, really big one and it would make a great story for their paper.

Amou Nami was, after all, a reporter and she's just doing her job to please the masses with her reports and findings.

Looks like she was lady luck was in favor of her. She found who she was looking for in the music rooms. He was, as always, practicing on his violin, but she wasn't here to listen to the musical piece. She noted, though, that he was playing an awfully sweet melody, Ave Maria, was it? She didn't care, anyway. The reporter charged into the music room and caught Len off guard as she stood in front of him with those mischievous blue eyes and note pad crushed in her fist. It wasn't her presence that caught him off guard though, but actually, the words that came out of her lips.

"When did you guys start going out?"

Kahoko coughed and almost spilled her drink when the juice she was drinking went down the wrong pipe. She managed to stutter, "W-where did you get that idea?" She continually thumped her chest and her cheeks were starting to blossom an apple red, almost as red as her hair.

Mio patted her soothingly on the back, while Nao merely shrugged. The darker brunette stated matter-of-factly, "It's been spreading since this morning. I'm surprised you haven't heard it." Kahoko mumbled, "Well, that explains the glares I got this morning and the weird attention I've been getting when I walk around." Mio grabbed the redhead's hands and squeezed it within her own. The violet-eyed girl squealed ecstatically, "A sweet romance, Kaho! How lucky can you get?" The said girl rolled her eyes and walked away from her enthusiastic friend, excusing herself. She needed to go practice.

She threw the crushed juice box into a nearby trash can by the rooftop, but as soon as she did so, she was twisted around by an overly-emotional Hihara Kazuki and enveloped into bear hug. She almost lost her breath the second time around. She could barely make out what he said through his cries, but it sounded a lot like…

"Is it true? Or are they simply rumors?"

Len sighed to himself. See? This was why he hated crowds. Company meant questions. He had been attacked with questions here and there after he had managed to escape from the claws of Amou Nami. And questions entailed answers, an answer which the girl before him was waiting for. This brunette before him had, after all, just confessed to him.

He had it to hand it to her though; she was attractive. From what he'd known, she was a straight-A student, a good singer and not exactly bad in sports. She was someone he'd thought who wouldn't fall into one of those fan clubs…especially not in his. However, as much as she can be considered the perfect girl, he had to reject her.

"Why?"

It was a question that was posted to her by Yunoki Azuma on one of their chance meetings on the rooftop. She had been practicing on the rooftop when she was interrupted by his rude chuckle and jeers. She currently was pinned against the wall of the cover that lead her back to her classrooms. She gulped; her face beet red. She cautiously asked, "What do y-you mean "why"?"

He smirked evilly. His lips parting as he spoke, "From what I've heard…"

"You've been avoiding questions all day."

Now, it was his longtime rival, Tsuchiura Ryoutaro that had confronted him next. The burly green-haired teenager had the nerve to block his way just as he was going out from his new practice site, an empty classroom. For some reason though, the pianist was also very much annoyed. Len sighed, "Why can't you people just leave me alone?" He pushed the taller teen out of his way, but the green-haired man was bulkier and wouldn't budge. The pianist carefully narrowed his eyes and cocked an eyebrow.

Len sighed again. It was because of that stupid rumor that he was in this sort of predicament, getting cornered by random people and bombarded with stupid questions. But, come to think of it…

"What was the rumor?"

Yunoki only blinked at the girl he had cornered. How oblivious or idiotic was this woman? She didn't even know a rumor that revolved around her. She stared at him with determined honey brown orbs, expecting an answer. Then again, she wouldn't be so interesting if she wasn't like this.

He smirked again, ducking his head closer to her neck and breathed against her ear, "Stupid girl. You should know by now. Rumors, after all, have wings."

She pushed him away from her face, cheeks a bright red. The flutist, however, just leaned in closer, much to her annoyance. She recomposed herself, willing herself not to falter under his menacing, cold stare and her very little personal bubble. The female violinist indignantly asked again.

"What was the rumor?"

Ryoutaro blinked twice. Seriously, what was wrong with this guy? He slapped a hand on his forehead. He sighed in exasperation, "Only a fool wouldn't know a rumor circulating in the area, especially one of that involves him." Tsukimori gave his infamous golden glare, a glare that could make the toughest man whimper at sight. It didn't work on Ryoutaro since he just scoffed and shook his head.

But then again, it IS normal for this man. Ryoutaro scratched the back of his head and said, "Fine. I'll tell you, because the rumor is about you anyway. It's…"

Len's eyes widened.

"What?"

Kahoko exclaimed, "That's absurd! W-Who made those rumors up?" She had been released from her cage as soon as she had said those words. Apparently, the flutist had his fun and had already descended the stairs, leaving the girl sitting on the ground. She didn't even notice that her companion had left, pondering deeply on the subject. She made a mental list of people that might have been her suspects, including friends and enemies alike.

Several moments had passed before it finally dawned to her who exactly is her culprit. She got up, watchfully packed her precious violin back in her pink suitcase, gathered her notes and left the rooftop. She descended the stairs and looked from left to right. There wasn't a soul in sight. She checked her watch and was stunned to find out how late it was. She just hoped that HE was still around.

Queerly enough, she had a smile on her face.

She found him seated in an empty classroom, staring off in space. She had wanted to surprise him like always, but she couldn't contain the giggle that erupted from her lips. The man in the room visibly jumped and turned his head to the intruder. He narrowed his eyes and eyed the girl cautiously before he said, "Kaho…"

Kahoko burst into another fit of giggles before she lightly skipped to the man and gave him a peck on the cheek. She wrapped her arms around his lean neck and kissed him behind his ear, making him shiver involuntarily.

"You're too cute, y'know." She said, grinning cheekily when the man sulked.

"You do know that you permanently damaged my pride, my dignity and my status in life? Now, people won't even look me straight in the face."

Kahoko giggled again, "I see you're upset about that little saying of you being gay."

He sighed in frustration before directing the girl to move to his lap. He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before leaning into the crook of her neck. The female took on a worried tone, "I'm sorry about that…but you and I both know very well that you aren't a homosexual. Besides, what about that rumor you spread of me?"

"If I was, then I wouldn't be here kissing you." He teased, emphasizing his point by kissing the tip of her nose. She blushed, while he smirked. Sometimes, this man was too blunt. He then frowned and said, "Well, yours was more acceptable compared to mine."

She groaned and retaliated, "Dating Yunoki-senpai doesn't seem to be acceptable to everyone else's eyes." She pouted cutely before saying, "I was almost hit by his fan girls, was glared at all day and was ignored by most of the female population. How does that sound any better?"

He kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her nose and then her lips as an apology. Even though she didn't like that smug smirk on his handsome face, it was hard not to forgive the guy when he acted this way. She couldn't do anything, but pout to which his smirk grew wider. She reached him all of a sudden, pulling him closer to her. The gesture was unexpected but not unwanted. Silence enveloped them for the moment. Both were too comfortable to speak. Kahoko was playing with his silky locks, while he was busy inhaling her scent.

It was Kahoko who broke it when she asked, "We've been going out for months. When are we going to tell everyone?"

"It is funny though how nobody suspects a thing…How about…never?" came his retort

WHAT IS THIS?

'If you think yesterday was shocking, well, think again. Seiso was in for yet another rumble. News spread far and wide. It was the hottest issue of the school. After the rumors that seemed to have come out of nowhere yesterday, the Seiso community had been in for the surprise of their lives. For that morning, Hino Kahoko a.k.a. [rumored as] Yunoki Azuma's girlfriend strolled in with Tsukimori Len a.k.a. [rumored] homosexual hand-in-hand. Yes, you read right. The sassy plus hyper gen-ed student and the stoic ice prince are dating! Well, to say the least, rumors were quenched, curiosity was satisfied and the wails ceased, well, not entirely. I came to the conclusion that opposites do indeed attract.

However, the seventh mystery isn't the fact that they are dating, but rather, how they had started dating. I mean, they are the very definition of opposite and they've never spoken to each other before except for a few moments during the concours. Have they been affected by the so-called violin romance? Or are they caught under a spell of our supposedly existent resident fairy? Well, folks, that's another story. Stay tuned for the scoop on our next issue.'

-Amou Nami

Author's Note: A really random one-shot that I came up with out of my desire to write something and something mushy and (hopefully funny) at that. I'm seriously sorry I haven't updated Cinderella, but being a senior in high school has been hard to cope with. I was able to write this down only because our long test has finished and I don't need study...yet. Also, I think one of the main reasons I've been neglecting my work is because of BEAST/B2ST, the six boy group from South Korea. I'm in love with them and I've been also semi-hiatus as an otaku. Now, though, I can start again. I hope to do two-three chapters during our semestral break...hopefully, I'll finish more. - Z-san