Fever, a La Corda d'Oro fanfic a.k.a. What I Wish Had Happened Some Time In The Last Seven Chapters

Disclaimer: La Corda d'Oro isn't mine, and neither are Len or Yunoki (the Stella Quintet boys I love most). However, I do dedicate this fic to Erythros, who writes the best LenxKaho one-shots and drabbles I've ever read, and who is my benchmark for my own fics.

Also, please don't mind the dots between paragraphs, they're the only way I can think of to fix FF's spacing issues.

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'That's enough for today, Hino.' The sky was darkening through the windows of their practice room as Tsukimori Len began shuffling the score sheets that had kept her busy for the better part of two hours, sliding them into his folder as she snapped her violin case shut.

Kahoko stifled a yawn. Practice had been tiring, and longer than usual too, though that had been at her own request- the school festival wasn't too far away and every bit of improvement mattered.

"Goodbye, Tsukimori-kun." she turned to him, only to find him straightening up, his own violin case in his hand. "Wait- what are you doing?" He was walking towards her, reaching with his free hand to put out the lights on the wall behind her head.

"Walking you home, of course."

Her cheeks flushed, both from the warmth of the room and the realization of just how close he was. "You already did that the other day, you don't have to- and you weren't even late today or anything."

He took her wrist then, causing a sudden rush of heat to the spot that she was absolutely sure he could feel even through the fabric of her sleeve, and pulled her out of the practice room.

"Please." But his tone wasn't peremptory, just quiet. "It's late, just let me know that you haven't been kidnapped or tripped and fallen on your way home."

It really is pointless to argue with him, she thought, resigned to the idea even as she bristled a little at his assumption that she was unable to take care of herself.

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The walk didn't take long and it passed pleasantly enough, though Len was mostly silent and a bit flushed from the cold. Soon enough, she was saying goodbye to him in front of her house, after he had refused her offer to come in and have some tea to warm himself up, saying he needed to get home quickly since his parents weren't around.

"Thank you for dropping me home!" she called after him, hoping that he would be all right on his way back. Then she went inside, and back to practice.

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The next afternoon, Len was nowhere to be seen during their practice time. After spending twenty minutes biting her nails and wondering if she had made a mixup of some kind, Kahoko walked into Kanazawa-sensei's office, determined to find out what had happened to him.

"Kanazawa-sensei, what's happened to Tsukimori-kun? He was supposed to have practice with me today, but he hasn't shown up."

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If he was amused at the idea of the most uptight student in Seisou's history voluntarily spending time- practice time, no less- with the impulsive girl who had been his Concours rival, Kanazawa Hiroto did not show it.

"He didn't come in to school at all today, Hino. I believe he called in the morning - said he had a fever and wouldn't be attending class."

"Oh." Guiltily, Kahoko thought about him walking her home in the cold the previous evening. "Did he say anything about how he felt?"

"He sounded pretty bad, if that's what you're asking." he leaned back in his chair and surveyed her. "But it's nothing he won't recover from."

A thought struck her then. "You said he called to say he was ill." And hadn't Tsukimori-kun already told her he'd had to hurry home last night because his parents weren't there?

"You shouldn't worry about it, Hino." he coughed. "Even in his parents' absence, I'm sure Tsukimori is being well taken care of."

"But-" she began, only to be cut off by him.

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"-if you want so badly to make sure of it, why don't you go and see him?"

Kahoko's eyes widened. "Of course I will!" she picked up her bag and violin case, and smiled at him. "Thank you, sensei." She bowed and left, passing a curly-haired blonde with a notepad on her way down the hall.

"Hino!" he called after her. "It looks like rain today, try not to get stuck in it on your way!"

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A minute later, Kanazawa Hiroto's door swung open for the second time that afternoon.

"Kanazawa-sensei!" Amou Nami's eyes were practically glittering. "You were talking to her about Tsukimori-kun, weren't you?"

"Back off, Amou." he said, lazily, not even bothering to scold her for eavesdropping. "Tsukimori is sick, I just told Hino that."

She looked even more excited now. "I bet she's going to visit him now- I'll have a Violin Romance sickbed scoop! This'll outsell everything the paper's printed all year!" she turned to leave. "Thank you, sensei!"

"Amou! I told you he wasn't well-" he called after the blonde who was nearly at the door of his office "- just let him be, will you?"

He settled back into his chair, exhaling tiredly. Kids these days wear me out, he thought.

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Author's Note: Please, pretty please, review! Click the green button below this and tell me what you think, even if you haven't got an account on FF or aren't logged in- feedback is always welcome, even if you think this sucks. I know this chapter's low on action, but it's necessary staging for the next one, which I hope you'll like (my first ever non-oneshot La Corda fic! Which has been brewing in my head since April!)

Teaser for Chapter 2: "I may be incapable of walking home without injuring myself, but you don't even know how to heat up food in a microwave!"