Having seen the ending of the anime and the manga (and after crying mentally up until people called me on it) I went on and thought on how things would have gone had Kaori made it (mostly to deny the heartbreaking truth) and thought a bit on it.
This is my take on how things would go had she survived. May get a bit OoC. Just call me on it.
Chapter 1. Death
"We're losing her!" bellowed one of the surgeons. "The heart just stopped beating!"
"Defibrillators, now!" shouted another of the four doctors.
At the moment they were all fighting desperately to keep the young girl alive, struggling to steer her from the abyss.
She wasn't aware of this, Kaori right now couldn't see nor understand what happened around nor inside her. Her mind had flown far away, fueled by the anesthetic Miyazono had been administered.
To her surprise, Miyazono found herself, clad in a pure white dress without any frills whatsoever, walking across an orchard full of trees bristling with oranges. The field didn't seem to have an end, reaching the horizon and most likely spreading beyond it.
'Where I am?'
She asked with a shout whether or not there was anyone in the proximity. Silence was all she received. Unsure what to do, Kaori settled on following the dirt road that stretched endlessly.
'I wonder if this is the afterlife. If so, no wonder nobody wants to die, it's so dull!'
But, she had to admit it was peaceful. The silence was only interrupted by the occasional breeze that ruffled the foliage of the trees. If anyone asked, this was the image a painting portrayed, still and eternal. After a while, she felt relaxed and more at ease.
"Once you get a hang of it, this feels nice."
Kaori nearly flipped when she heard the man next to her.
"WAH- Sir don't speak all of a sudden without introducing yourself!" Moaned the young violinist.
The old chubby man rose, turning his weary eyes towards the energetic youth. They seemed saddened and tired. While scratching his white beard, the man sighed.
"Young people like you are always too hard deal with at first. You never come to terms with reality."
For a couple of seconds neither Kaori nor the old man spoke, the latter letting the words sink in.
"I am dead," said Kaori, her eyes opening like platters when she realized what he meant. "This is a drug fueled dream," concluded the violinist as her voice cracked slightly.
"And now you're going to say: I'm not ready for this!" said Death, the old man, as he wiped his sweat with his Hawaiian shirt. "Though to be honest, who is ready to depart this wonderful world when there's so many to do?"
It was true. She wanted to eat so many things, to visit so many places and play so many songs. And chief of all was doing anything, ANYTHING, with Kousei. When she realized that she wouldn't play alongside him, or kiss him or do any of things she wanted to share with the man she loved… She just bursted into tears.
The old man smiled weakly as he hugged her.
"Death isn't a nice moment."
Death then broke into laughter.
"Luckily, this is not your time yet!" said the old man.
Kaori was speechless, so puzzled her face had turned into the visual description of 'what?'
"You damn Japanese and your public healthcare system… Anyways thank your surgeons for saving your sorry ass: the patients' relatives have an ugly tendency to thank God instead of them!"
"Wait a second."
Kaori's mind faded away as the old man in a Hawaiian shirt waved his arms in a gesture of farewell, warmly smiling and wishing her a good life.
"So ephemeral and weak. But it's shining with all its might. Thump, thump, like a hearbeat. This is the light of life," He smiled one last time, a single tear of joy falling down his left eye. "Please, treasure it."
-=0=-
"We have stabilized her!"
"Keep it on guys."
-=0=-
"Arima Kousei!"
Right then, the announcer declared Kousei as the winner. Tears flowed down his cheeks from both the emotion of the moment and the sadness he felt over losing Kaori. Knowing full well the operation had slim chances of success, a part of him battled to impose the sense of loss of a beloved one, never mind she might still be alive. That small part of his mind wanted his whole being to suffer. To pay for not daring, to not be man enough to show his true colors and feelings to Kaori, instead just settling for being friend A.
Right now he was just an automaton. Kousei grabbed the trophy and bowed stiffly, immediately leaving the stage. Kousei's friends, Tsubaki and Ryota, waited for the pianist expectantly. Both brunettes were in really good form thanks to regularly practicing sports, reinforcing the contrast with the now seemingly gaunt face of Kousei.
"Hooray for the winner!" Said Tsubaki as she lurched forward to embrace Kousei. "You were awesome!"
"Well, I guess you didn't completely bomb it, as much as you feared you would." Commented Ryota with a proud smile. "Not tha-"
He was cut short by the song of his mobile phone. A number he didn't recognized was on the screen. Dubitative, the brunette answered.
"Watari-san?" It was Kaori's mother. "Are you available?"
"Uhm, yes Mrs Miyazono, is it about Kaori-san?"
A heartbeat went by, no one saying anything else. Sakura Miyazono's next words trembled.
"She is alive, the doctors managed to save my daughter."
With this words, and almost as if they were in synchrony, Tsubaki and Ryota heard how both she and Kousei cried. Ryota thanked her about letting them know so soon and went on to comfort his friend. The three of them hugged tightly.
Wrong, Kousei's tears were of joy, of a heavy weight that pressed his heart freeing its deathly clutch. He was happy beyond understanding.
Ryota could see Tsubaki, smiling too but hers was a slightly less happy one.
'Arima thought he'd lose Kaori and he has her back. There's no way Tsubaki has any chance now.'
Had it been another person other than Tsubaki, Ryota would have felt sorry for her. Instead he felt sorry for himself… on second thought, ashamed of himself would be the right answer. Because he felt maybe Tsubaki would pay attention to him, giving Ryota a chance.
For well over a minute, the stream of tears didn't end. The two other friends joining in as Kousei's crying became countagious.
"It may be too late to visit her," Said Ryota as he sniffed and wiped the tears. "And most likely, we won't be allowed to visit her on a few days. Usually they want the minimum disturbances after such operations."
Kousei seemed a bit downcast for a couple of seconds. But he cheered up. After all, compared with eternity, what were a few days without the chance of seeing Kaori?
Hiroko-sensei approached the trio, her face marked by her cheerful smile.
"Boys we need to celebrate this! I'll bring you to a restaurant I know, it's all on Kousei!"
"I'm in!" Said Ryota enthusiastically.
"It will be fun," was Tsubaki's answer. "Kousei don't chicken out, I'm sure a certain violinist would have dragged you to the party had she had the chance."
"Sure," began Kousei, after all, they had just so many things to celebrate. "It will be fun to g-wait, what did you say about paying?"
Kinda anti-climatic I know, but there's more and better to come. Hope you enjoy.
