Hello, um...internet stranger. Just a brief aside here before the story gets started, but I'd just like to say that Your Lie in April really moved me. It's one of my favorite anime, if not my favorite anime of all time. The ending was perfect, in my opinion, but it really broke me. Kousei and Kaori would have been a beautiful couple, and, while I loved Your Lie in April's ending because of how emotionally powerful it was, I couldn't help but write this fanfic. I know there are already at least two stories with the same concept as mine on this website, but I really hope you enjoy this fanfic, anyway. I don't really have a specific plan for this story yet; I only have a wireframe. Basically, I want to cover not only how Kaori's and Kousei's romantic relationship develops, but also how the blossoming couple interacts with Watari, Emi, Takeshi, Hiroko, and especially Tsubaki. I also want to cover Kousei and Kaori playing together onstage again, perhaps multiple times, and how finally getting that opportunity deepens their connection; besides, Kaori has to get into the same high school as Kousei, and she probably hasn't won many music competitions because of her illness and unique playing style. I don't know exactly how all that will pan out, but I hope you enjoy my fanfic!

Also, I originally intended to upload both Chapters 1 and 2 at the same time, but, since July 4th is Kaori's birthday, I decided to just upload Chapter 1 today. I apologize if reading only Chapter 1 seems a bit depressing and opposite of the overall feel I'm shooting for with this story; that's exactly why I wanted to wait until Chapter 2 was complete to begin uploading my fanfic. Chapter 2 will focus Kousei and Kaori talking to each other about their feelings and will mark the start of their romantic involvement, if that's any consolation. Kaori will also reveal her secret about seeing Kousei perform when they were younger and switching to violin so that Kousei could accompany her onstage, akin to her posthumous letter in the anime; I guess you could think of the conversation as a spoken version of that letter, albeit obviously with a more uplifting mood. So, yeah, Chapter 2 is well underway and I hope to have it completed soon. Hope that helps anyone who feels a bit down after reading Chapter 1! Anyhow, I'm starting to ramble...a lot. Happy birthday, Kaori! And, without further ado, let the fanfic begin!

Disclaimer: I don't own Your Lie in April. That's why this story is on this website, of course.

~Chapter 1—Miracle~

Kousei Arima sat on the piano bench. Tears flowed down his face, mingling with the sweat seeping out of his skin. His mouth was dry, the moisture that normally occupied the orifice having been diverted elsewhere. The golden "Steinway & Sons" emblazoned on his black piano twinkled in the limelights; it was the last remaining strands of Kaori's hair, dancing with the night sky's faint stars.

Kousei stood up suddenly, knocking the piano bench over. He broke into a run and sped out of the auditorium, the loud thud of the piano bench announcing his exit. Kousei didn't know if the crowd had broken into thunderous applause, angry defamation, or something in-between, but that didn't matter. At the present moment, all that mattered was Kaori Miyazono.

A sick, heavy sensation pulled Kousei's gut into his legs, causing him to clumsily slam his leg into the corner of the hallway. Completely undeterred, Kousei continued to sprint down the hall, oblivious to the sharp pain now shooting up and down his right thigh. He ran straight between Takeshi Aiza and Emi Igawa, his rival pianists, interrupting their frivolous friendly argument. Takeshi reached out in an attempt to grab Kousei's shirt, but Emi pushed his arm down.

"Don't," Emi said, "Whatever's bothering him is really important; we can ask him about it later."

Kousei burst out of the building and into the winter night, the chilly air upsetting his gait further. Nevertheless, Kousei hurried toward Totsuhara University Hospital. His breath condensed on his glasses, clouding his vision. As Kousei crossed a street, a car sounded its horn and screeched to a stop alarmingly close to the impaired pianist. Kousei took a moment to give the driver a terse, apologetic nod and wiped his glasses off with the hem of his shirt. The lenses were now smeared and slightly distorted, but they would do. Kousei pulled his shirt over his mouth and broke into a run once more.

Upon reaching Totsuhara University Hospital, Kousei pushed the front door open without even bothering to slow down. Cold air flooded the hospital lobby, scattering reams of paper and medical sheets. Kousei pulled his shirt down, allowing his neck, warm from his own breath, to be cooled by the gust of freezing wind.

"W-who are you here to visit...?" the receptionist asked. She wasn't sure how to react to a disheveled teenager in bleary glasses surging into the lobby of Totsuhara University Hospital at any time of day, let alone eight o'clock at night. The guests in the lobby shot Kousei dirty looks, zipped up their jackets, or continued to sip their coffee.

"I want to see Kaori Miyazono!" Kousei demanded between strained breaths. His voice cracked from urgency.

"I'm afraid Miss Miyazono in surgery at the moment, sir," the receptionist replied, doing her best to remain composed, "Unless you have a special relationship to her, you aren't cleared—"

"I'm Friend A!" Kousei abruptly cut the receptionist off.

"Excuse me?" the receptionist said, thoroughly confused by the pianist's seemingly nonsensical response.

"I said, I'm Friend A!" Kousei repeated, clearly enunciating each syllable, "Please let me see Kaori Miyazono!"

"Well, sir," the receptionist sighed, "'Friend A' doesn't seem to indicate a blood or marital relationship to Miss Miyazono, so I can't—"

"Please!" Kousei pleaded, cutting the receptionist off again, "Please let me see Kaori Miyazono! I have to see her!" Kousei felt tears well up in his eyes. The receptionist looked at Kousei. She saw his blue eyes quiver behind his glasses and watched as his tears smudged the scattered papers resting on the reception desk.

"P-please..." Kousei repeated, choking on his own words.

"What's your name, sir?" the receptionist asked. Kousei felt his heart skip a beat.

"Kousei Arima," he answered. The receptionist typed Kousei's name into her computer and clicked Kaori Miyazono. Under "relationship to patient," she selected "other" and entered "Friend A."

"She's in the fourth operating room to the right," the receptionist told Kousei, pointing in the indicated direction, "Please keep your voice down when you get back there; Miss Miyazono is still in surgery."

Kousei immediately took off down the right hallway. Right as he exited the lobby, the pianist stopped and pushed up his glasses. He turned around to face the receptionist.

"Thank you so much," Kousei told her. He figured that a grateful word was the least he could do to make up for his unusual, panicked behavior.

"You're very welcome, Mr. Arima," the receptionist smiled. Kousei wiped the tears from his face, turned back around, and ran down the hall.

*MID-CHAPTER BREAK*

Kousei counted the number of operating rooms he passed out loud. The operating rooms had more distance between them than Kousei had anticipated, and, by the time he reached the fourth operating room in the right hallway, he was all but out of breath. Kousei leaned over to ease his aching diaphragm; as he did so, the door to Kaori's operating room opened and a surgical assistant, clad in green scrubs, stepped out. Kousei immediately felt his breath return to him.

"How is Kaori doing? When can I see her? Is the operation going well?" Kousei unloaded the questions weighing his heart down in a single breath. The surgeon didn't answer Kousei immediately, instead taking the time to remove his gloves and pull his mask down. Kousei felt his heart sink back into his stomach.

"Miss Miyazono entered a critical condition and currently lacks all vital signs," the surgeon said. He wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"How long has she been...?" Kousei refused to let himself say the word. His knuckles whitened and he dug his fingernails into his palms.

"Nearly twenty minutes," the surgical assistant responded gravely. Kousei's breathing became shallow and forced. He choked back another stream of tears.

"W-where are Mr. and Mrs. Miyazono?" Kousei asked, noting their absence from the waiting area outside of their daughter's operating room.

"Miss Miyazono's mother became unwell from anxiety about an hour into the procedure," the surgeon responded, "and Mr. Miyazono offered to accompany her to a guest room for the remainder of the operation. I was sent to inform them of their daughter's current state."

"What are the odds that Kaori will...pull through?" Kousei asked, phrasing the question as optimistically as possible. He felt the tears begin to roll down his face.

"Slim to none," the surgical assistant answered, "For Miss Miyazono to survive this... Well, it would take a miracle."

Kousei felt his throat swell shut. His chest tightened, and his legs bent inward, unable to support his weight. He took a seat, hugged his knees, and cried. His pants were soaked through in a matter of minutes, and he felt his tears dampen his knees. His sharp, shallow breathing was muffled by the wet cloth of his pants, and his glasses dug into the bridge of his nose.

Kousei needed someone to talk to. It didn't matter whom; he just needed someone. The pianist pulled out his cellphone and tried to dial Tsubaki Sawabe's number; the screen, however, remained black and failed to light up. Kousei pounded on the cellphone's keypad with his thumbs, punctuating each press with a hopeless sob. He gave up and placed the cellphone back into his pocket, angry with himself for failing to charge the device.

Kousei considered searching for Mr. and Mrs. Miyazono's guest room, but quickly dismissed the notion. If a nurse or some other hospital personnel were to notice him and check with the reception desk, he would surely be thrown out of Totsuhara University Hospital. "Friend A" was an empty title to everyone but Kousei and Kaori, and Kousei was already lucky enough that neither the receptionist nor the surgical assistant had given him any real trouble.

So, Kousei was forced to stay put, alone in the dark waiting area outside of Kaori's operating room. The darkness swallowed Kousei into a void of isolation, transforming his chair into an island in the middle of a dark sea. The pianist closed his eyes, trying in vain to escape from his lonely island.

Then, without warning, Kousei spoke. It wasn't to anyone in particular; he simply spoke into the sea of darkness, his words directed at whomever, if anyone, was out there.

"You can't do this! You can't just take her away from me like this!" Kousei weeped, pouring his heart and tears into his speech, "She showed me what it means to be a musician. She showed me how to reach people with my music. She showed me how to play piano again. We spent so much time together! We jumped off Courage Bridge. We ate canelés. We caught fireflies. And, yet, it's not enough! We haven't performed together again! She pulled me up from the bottom of a dark sea. You can't just take her away and leave me alone on the surface. She showed me the beautiful light in the sky. All the stars, and the Moon, and the airplane...

"Please, don't do this!" Kousei continued to sob, now pleading in desperation, "I know she's already gone, and I know I've already had one miracle tonight, but I want just one more. Just one more miracle, is all I ask. Even if she only lives long enough for us to perform together one more time, even if she only lives long enough to eat one more canelé... Please, save her!"

Kousei tried to continue speaking, but only succeeded in choking on his own words. He gave up and buried his face in his knees once more, wetting the fabric of his pants with fresh tears. Nobody answered Kousei's cry, and the pianist felt his heart sinking deeper and deeper into his stomach with each passing minute. Suddenly, the intercom above Kousei's head crackled to life.

"Dr. Tanaka, please return to Operating Room 9 as quickly as possible," a voice said. The intercom crackled off.

Kousei removed his tear-stained face from his pants. He strained his eyes against the bleary lenses of his glasses in an attempt to read the number of Kaori's operating room. The number 9 was clearly printed in bold font on the doors.

Kousei's heart immediately leaped out of his stomach, stifling his sobs. He knew it was foolish to let such a vague intercom message get his spirits up, but he couldn't help himself. If there was even a shadow of a chance that Kaori was alive, then, as far as Kousei was concerned, that was every reason to look up.

Kousei clenched his fists around his pants. His knuckles blanched as the damp fabric bunched up between his fingers. Kousei stood up shakily and crept toward the door of Kaori's operating room. He closed his eyes and pressed his ear against the cold metal, listening for anything being said inside.

All Kousei heard was disconnected syllables and the various sounds of miscellaneous tools. The pianist held his breath and gritted his teeth, listening as closely to the surgeons' voices as possible. Suddenly, Kousei heard one of the surgeons yell in elation.

"She's alive!" Kousei heard him cry, "It's a miracle! She's alive!"

~FIN: Chapter 1—Miracle~

Right, then! Thanks so much for reading, and I'll be sure to have Chapter 2 done and uploaded as quickly as possible! Reviews are very appreciated, and please call me out if you think I mischaracterized Kousei. I worry about that sort of stuff quite a bit when writing, to be honest.

—Ferris Smithee =)