Chapter 21: Christmas Special!

'This is useless…' Kousei thought as he looked at all the fluffy toys in front of him. A few days ago he finally confessed his feelings to the girl he loved, and she returned them. Ever since the words left his mouth he felt like he was living a dream, a dream that he would never want to wake up from. The girl, sadly, was still stuck in the hospital, after all, she just survived a very dangerous surgery a few days ago. So Kousei made it his primary objective to find an appropriate present for her. After all, Christmas was a few days away.

'There's just too many of them…'

Although finding the perfect present proved to be a very difficult task. He knew the girl very well so he knew what she might like, and yet he couldn't decide what to buy. The shelves were full of different fluffy animals and Kousei was sure that any of them would do, but he didn't want to give her just any present. He wanted to give her the present.

'I guess… a dog? She likes dogs, but… this one looks cute… but that one seems like a better choice…"

He kept wandering around the shelves aimlessly.

"All right, my dear. I'm sure I'll find one somewhere." Mrs. Miyazono was sitting next to Kaori's bed.

"Thank you! I'm sure he'll love it!"

"In that case I better hurry, there's only two more days. I'll come by later with your dad."

The door closed and Kaori was left alone in her room once again. Unlike a few weeks before, this room didn't terrify her anymore, because this time she was looking forward to the day she'll leave it behind. But that day will have to wait, as she was still unable to walk. Not that she was worried or anything, after all, the rehabilitation was going well and she was making good progress. If anything she was worried about the present she picked for Kousei. She called her mother a few hours ago to ask for her opinion on what present would be appropriate for a "special someone". Mrs. Miyazono was obviously aware of whom her daughter had in mind, but she decided not to tease her. Kaori eventually chose something she thought Kousei might like, and Mrs. Miyazono was now on her way to the mall to find it.

After a few minutes of boredom she decided to call someone to kill time. So she started scrolling through her phone's agenda for her friends and classmate's numbers.

'Satsuki, Tomoyo, Tsubaki… Tsubaki…'

Her previous joyous mood was gone. As happy as she was with everything that happened to her lately, she couldn't help but feel guilty when she remembered her friend.

She almost pressed "Call", but stopped. Instead she put her phone down.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" A young woman asked.

"Eh?" Kousei was taken by surprise. For the past hour he's didn't pay attention to anyone around him. At this point he must've looked through the entire mall at least twice. He deduced that the young woman must be working here.

"N-no, thank you. I'm fine." He replied.

"You've been looking around here for almost an hour. Could it be that you can't decide what to buy?"

"Yeah, something like that." He said. Although he wished he could find a present on his own, he decided that it's probably a good idea to ask for help at this point, otherwise he might waste another hour wandering through the shop.

"Actually, yeah. I would like some help. I'm looking for a Christmas present for someone and I can't decide what she would like more." He told the young woman.

"Oh. "She", well that explains it." She said.

"Eh?"

"You're looking for a present for your girlfriend, aren't you?"

"H-hold on! I didn't say anything about a girlfriend!" Kousei was blushing.

"No boy would waste an hour looking at stuffed animals if a girl wasn't involved. Anyway, I'll help you find something for her."

"T-thank you."

"Tell me about her, what kind of things does she like?"

"Well… she likes playing the violin. She's really good at it, too. Although I play the piano."

"Violin, you say… hmm… I might have an idea. Come with me."

The woman took Kousei to a different store.

"How about this?" She asked Kousei as she held up a necklace.

It didn't look to special at first glance, but the silver violin in the middle was beautiful. Looking at it reminded Kousei of the first time he heard Kaori play.

"Eh…" Still indecisive Kousei kept looking at it.

"They're pretty popular with music lovers. There's one for each instrument, a lady bought the last piano one earlier. This one is the last violin one, so you better make your choice now."

Sigh 'I suppose it's this or nothing…'

"I'll take it."

"Alright. I'll pack it up nicely. Remember, boy. It doesn't really matter what you give her, it matters that you're the one giving it." She finished packing the necklace.

"Here, I hope she likes it." She said.

"I'm sure she will."

"Here, Kao. It was the last one they had. I'm so glad I found it!" Mrs. Miyazono said as she handed her daughter a present box.

Kaori opened it carefully and looked at the necklace inside. It was a simple necklace with a beautiful silver piano.

"So? Do you think he'll like it?" Her mother asked.

"I hope so." She looked doubtful.

"My pretty little girl, let me tell you something. It doesn't matter what you get him, the fact that it's coming from you is what matters."

"…Thanks, mom. I sure hope he'll like it."

"Don't worry. Kousei isn't the kind of boy who wouldn't appreciate a gift like this."

"K-Kousei!? Mom, I didn't say this is for Kousei!" Kaori was blushing.

"Alright then, I'm sure Not-Kousei will like it. I'll come again tomorrow morning."

"Geez, mom…"

"So, what did you guys get her?" Kousei asked his friends as they were making their way through the hospital's hallway. "I'm not sure if she'll like what I brought…"

"It's a secret. Besides, Watari here is the one who should be worried." Tsubaki replied. "As her boyfriend his present must perfect."

'Boyfriend…' That word saddened Kousei. Despite both him and Kaori confessing their love to each other, they couldn't find a way to tell their friends. Kousei wasn't sure, but he thought the word bothered Watari as well.

"So, Watari, what did you get her?" Tsubaki asked him.

"Oi, didn't you just say we're supposed to keep it secret?"

They arrived in front of Kaori's room and Kousei knocked.

"Kaori, it's us. Can we come in?"

He heard a cheerful "Sure!" and opened the door. Her parents were already there. They all spent a few minutes talking before the special moment came.

"Kao, me and these two brought you something." Tsubaki was the first to hand over her present. Kaori was obviously excited.

She opened the crimson package and found another small box inside.

"Earrings! Thank you, Tsubaki! I love them."

"I-I suppose I'm next." Watari said as he placed his present in her hands.

Same as before, Kaori opened the box carefully. Kousei was a little uneasy, thinking that Watari's present might make his look bad.

"I bought them a few days ago from the mall. I hope you'll like them." Watari said.

The box was full of CDs with classical music.

"Watari-kun! I love them, thank you!"

Kousei's heart was racing at this point. 'Why didn't I think about this…' But it didn't matter, it was his turn after all.

"I-it's my turn, Kaori!" He said as he took the small present box out of his pocket, slightly embarrassed after seeing Watari's. Their fingers touched for a brief moment when he gave her the box, causing him to blush.

"Oh, before I forget! I brought you guys some presents too. Let's open them all together!" She said as she took three presents from under her bed and gave them to her friends. It was obvious to Kousei that she was just stalling, perhaps being too shy to open his present right away. He took the small box that she handed him, similar in size and shape to the one he bought.

"Ooh! A soccer ball, and a high quality one at that!" Watari was clearly happy with his present.

"Kao! This must've been expensive!" Tsubaki said as she found a bracelet inside her box.

It was now that both Kousei and Kaori had to open theirs. Slowly opening the presents they found identical boxes inside, and they opened them at the same time.

Kousei was happy and surprised; her present was a piano keyboard necklace, just like the violin one he bought for her. Taken by surprise, he looked at her, her reaction being the same as his.

"D-do you like it?" He asked. He didn't have to wait for an answer.

"I love it!" She said with no hesitation and a bright smile on her face.

Kousei was now sure that the hours he spent hunting for a present were worth it, because of her smile.

"I-I love mine too!" He said in return.

'She was right. In the end, I didn't really care what she bought me, the fact that this present came from her made me happier than I could ever wish to be. But truth be told, for me the real present is her smile. So, because of that…'

"I will cherish it forever."

A/N

So… I'm two days late. I'm sorry guys, blame my computer. I'm happy with how this chapter turned out though, I hope you like it too. With that out of the way, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year too all of you! You guys are the best!