Yuzuru considered himself a very lucky man.
After all, not many could boast that they could listen to a famous concert pianist play for free.
Granted, it was mostly rough and unhewn pieces instead of the finely polished songs she played at performances . . .
But he had a feeling she could do something as bland as playing through the scales of all the keys and still make it sound beautiful.
"Did you think that song was good?"
The lingering sounds of the notes faded away as Kanade paused in her practice.
"I don't know a thing about music, so I can't give you a detailed answer," he said. "But if you will settle for something short and sweet . . ."
He smiled at her. "I think that anything you play sounds wonderful."
She turned back towards her instrument. "That isn't very helpful."
While her words might imply a hint of annoyance, her tone lacked any venom, and he could see faint tinges of red on her cheeks.
She was pleased by his comment, that much he knew.
"I'm sorry that I can't do more to help you overcome your stage fright," he said.
"No, it's fine," she insisted. "I didn't expect much, anyway."
They had discovered during the first few visits Kanade came to play on his newly set-up keyboard that she had grown accustomed to his presence as well.
Which made the entire exercise of him acting as an intimidating audience for her pointless.
But, even though the main reason for coming to his café to practice was void, she still came here every day to do so anyway.
He had asked her about it, to which she replied that she "liked playing here."
He had just mentally shrugged and accepted her simple reasoning.
As the days had gone by, he had gotten to know her well. She was not someone who expressed herself easily, which belied the sheer amount of emotion and passion she put into her music.
It was like she never learned how to express herself when she was younger and relied solely on her music as her emotional outlet.
As he turned back to his work, he noticed that the music had not resumed. When he glanced over at her, he noticed that her hands remained still, frozen in place.
"Yuzuru," she began.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Her hands drifted to her lap. "You said you often gave advice to your customers, correct?"
"Well, more like a few customers in particular, but yes."
She stared at him. "I would like some advice."
He was startled. "Oh! Well, I'm not sure how much help I can be, but I'll give it my best shot."
She nodded.
"What should I do if I don't want to do something, but everyone else wants me to do it?"
His hands stilled in their work. Slowly, carefully, he set down his tools.
For a question like this, he would need his full attention.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
She glanced away. "I don't want to be a concert pianist," she clarified.
That revelation surprised him.
"Is it because of your stage fright?" he asked softly.
Kanade wrapped her arms around herself. "Not just that. Whenever I play in a concert hall, it always feels so . . . cold."
"Cold?"
"Like everyone was just waiting for me to slip up."
"I see." He rubbed his chin as he pondered her dilemma. You don't like the atmosphere during your concerts, then?"
She shrugged, uncertain of her predicament herself.
He sighed. "Well, if you ask me . . ." He sat down on a stool and leaned back. "You should do whatever makes you happy."
"Whatever makes me happy?"
He nodded. "Indeed. Life is too short to spend any amount of time in misery. You should try to enjoy yourself!" He leaned forward.
"Do you know what makes you happy?"
She nodded, slowly, imperceptibly. It was the barest dip of the head.
He smiled in satisfaction. "Well, there you have it then. Pursue your happiness with no regrets, and I'm sure you'll be content at the end of your life."
He turned back to his cleaning, leaving Kanade to mull over her thoughts.
She looked down at the plastic keyboard; it was a cheap, relatively inexpensive thing. She had played on grand pianos that had likely cost a thousand-fold more than it.
But it was here, in front of this mass-produced machine that she found the most enjoyment.
She reached out and softly caressed the plastic keys on the electric piano.
"When I play here . . ." she whispered. "It always feels so warm."
The shop was small, and her audience was only one person: a sharp contrast to the packed concert halls that she was used to.
But there was a connection here that could not be found with the public masses, a feeling of intimacy and understanding that could not be sustained without a sense of closeness.
"When I play here . . ." she murmured. "I feel happy."
She looked up; Yuzuru had not paused in his work, still scrubbing away as diligently as ever. Ever since she had walked into his shop on a whim so long ago, she had rediscovered buried feelings that she never thought would surface again.
She wanted to keep on experiencing it, to continue to thaw her heart, frozen from years of strict, unrelenting performances and lack of personal connections.
She hoped that these carefree days would last.
xxx
"Oh, Yuzuru~!"
A cheerful voice he knew all too well called out. Today had been one of the slower days, so there were very few other customers in the shop.
But even so, he hoped she didn't cause too much trouble this time.
"Hey, Yuri," he greeted her. "You seem awfully chipper today. Something good happen?"
"Didn't you hear? The biggest rival to my firm just got into the biggest scandal of the century!" She cackled. "Wanna see? I'm sure the video got uploaded somewhere . . ."
As she pulled out her smartphone and browsed the web, he began brewing her favorite drink ahead of time. He had no doubt she intended to splurge to celebrate her firm's rival's misfortune.
"Found it! Here, take a look at this."
She shoved the phone into his hands. On it, a video was playing. Although the audio was muted, through the subtitles that scrolled past, he gleaned that several of the law firm's partners had been caught embezzling funds, which resulted in their subsequent dismissal from the firm. Apparently, these lawyers had been some of the firm's most successful practitioners, and the reporter detailing the case speculated that losing so many of its finest at once would greatly hurt the firm's ability to compete with others.
"Huh. Wonder why they felt the need to steal from the firm if they were already so successful?" he wondered out loud.
"Who knows? All I know is that I'm in a great mood now, and I have a great need to celebrate!"
He chuckled at her boisterous antics. "Alright, alright. Your usual, coming right up."
As he exited full-screen on Yuri's phone and moved to hand it back to her, several of the videos on the sidebar caught his notice.
Under the "recommended list," were a few videos of Kanade playing at a concert.
Yuri caught his intrigued glance and soon realized what he was looking at. "Oh! After you introduced me to her that other time, I always thought she looked familiar. So, I did some digging, and lo and behold, Kanade is the famous concert pianist who goes by 'Angel.' I watched a few of her past performances, and I've gotta say, she's pretty good."
She winked at him mischievously. "A real catch if you ask me. Don't let her get away now!"
He blushed at her insinuations. "I already told you it's not like that," he muttered.
"Anyway, I hope you're ready to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty." Yuri clapped her hands and suddenly, her usual posse of co-workers and assistants came barging in. "Because you're about to make a profit today!" She grinned at him.
He chuckled good-naturedly as the orders came rolling in. Even though she was a headache to deal with at times, he knew she was just trying to help him get by.
"Coming right up!" he shouted.
xxx
Yuzuru hummed softly to himself as he approached the door to his apartment. Kanade had visited at the usual time, and he had gotten to enjoy her music and chat with her again.
He had found himself feeling rather upbeat as of late; he had no doubt that it had something to do with the beautiful girl who regularly visited his shop. His heart felt lighter just by being in her presence, and he found that the dark thoughts that usually plagued him had all but disappeared.
"Maybe she really is an angel who healed me with her divine magic," he muttered to himself jokingly.
As he unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped in, he felt something crumple under his weight.
"Hmm? A paper?"
Bending over, he picked up the paper that had been slipped under his door and read it.
Instantly, his good mood vanished.
"What?! You've got to be kidding me!"
It was a notice for a hike in the rent.
Hmm. Didn't he have an off-hand thought about something like this happening not too long ago?
Now he really wanted to strangle whatever god of luck was watching over him.
His eyes scanned the page rapidly, desperately hoping that this catastrophe wasn't as bad as it looked . . .
He slumped against the wall and sank down.
Yeah. No.
It was worse than he thought.
The landlord was raising the rent by 7%!
He still occasionally had to make sacrifices to pay the rent at the original price! With such a large increase, he would have to find a cheaper apartment to live in.
Unfortunately, there were few apartments near where his shop was, and the one he lived in now was the cheapest of the bunch.
Which meant he would have to look for an apartment that was further away.
Sigh. Looks like the commute time just got longer.
Which meant that his sleep time just got shorter.
What a pain. He would have to devote several of his weekends to scouring for a new apartment too.
He wasn't looking forward to the upcoming month.
xxx
"Are you okay?"
He blinked owlishly at the one who voiced that question. "Hmm? Oh, I'm totally fine. Really."
Kanade had an unimpressed look on her face. "Are you sure?"
Huh. Were the bags under his eyes really that obvious?
He had stayed up late for several nights, doing research and asking around to find the most optimal apartment to move into.
Unfortunately, his search had yet to bear fruit. Many of the other apartments nearby were simply out of his price range.
However, he didn't want to let his personal troubles interfere with the time he spent with Kanade.
So, he mustered up the liveliest smile he could. "I'm perfectly fine. Trust me."
"You've been washing the same plate for the past five minutes."
He looked down and sure enough, the plate in his hands was sparkling clean.
Almost too clean.
Huh. Was he really that tired?
She looked at him with a worried face. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no, it's nothing. I just –"
As he tried to protest that everything was okay, he felt himself sway and stumble.
He heard the loud scrape of a chair being pushed back and felt two arms not his own steady him.
"You should sit down," Kanade said as she gently plucked the plate out of his hands and set it on the proper rack.
"Yeah – h, maybe I should . . ."
She guided him to one of the many vacant tables in his shop and sat him down, then took her own seat next to him.
Normally, her close proximity would've flustered him a great deal, but right now, he was too tired to care.
"If you're having trouble with something, you can talk to me about it," she offered. "It's the least I can do after you've helped me so much."
He couldn't help but chuckle at her statement. "Hah, I never thought I'd see the day where one of my own customers played counselor for me instead of the other way around."
She remained silent, simply staring at him with those gentle, warm eyes.
Under the assault of her earnest look, he felt his resolve waver.
"I've been looking for a new apartment recently," he confessed.
She tilted her head in confusion. "Why?"
"Because the rent for my current one is increasing, and my income hasn't increased enough to compensate," he explained. "So, I need to find a cheaper place to stay." He sighed. "Unfortunately, I have yet to find a good candidate that is both nearby my shop and within my price range."
Kanade looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, she nodded.
"I think I have a solution," she declared.
He thought his eyes would bulge out of his sockets. "What?!"
How could she come up with a solution within a few seconds, when he couldn't do the same over the course of several days?!
"You can stay at my house," she said.
His mind halted.
"Huh?"
"You can stay at my house," she repeated.
As his mental faculties returned to him, he considered her proposal. He had been to her house before, so he knew that it was nearby, and he figured that whatever rate she charged him would be far more generous than any landlord.
"How much do you want for rent?" he carefully asked.
"You can stay for free."
He felt his jaw drop. "What. Really?!"
She looked confused by his surprise. "I have no need of extra money."
Oh. Well, that was true, he supposed. But it was still rare to find such generosity in this world.
"What about the . . . other people who live there?" he asked.
"The butler is on sick leave. And Shiina won't mind."
His gaze darted to the dark corner where the taciturn girl stood just in time to see her offer him an indifferent nod.
He sighed and looked back at the girl who had offered to fix all his troubles in one smooth gesture.
Truly, she was a perfect angel.
He smiled. He wanted to accept her offer, not just because of how convenient it was . . .
But also because he wanted to be closer to her, this girl who had come into his life like a storm and stolen his heart.
There was only ever one choice, really.
"Well, in the face of such a generous offer, how could I possibly turn you down?"
xxx
The first thing he noticed about Kanade's house as he stepped inside was just how big it was.
Then again, compared to his dingy apartment, any building would seem large in comparison.
A grand staircase dominated the entrance room, its smooth steps elegantly displayed like a work of art. Doors were littered around the room, each hiding yet another room filled mysteries to discover. Tall, majestic pillars supported the building, each a symbol of pride and dignity.
"Yuzuru?"
Startled, he returned to his senses. Kanade was looking at him curiously, already halfway up the stairs, and Shiina had disappeared somewhere.
"Sorry, I got distracted." He hefted his luggage and resumed following her.
After climbing the stairs, they passed through several hallways and corridors before stopping in front of a nondescript door.
"You can use this guest room," Kanade said as she pushed open the door.
Looking inside, he could see it was rather plainly furnished, with only bare necessities such as a bed, a dresser, and a closet.
But that was okay. It was plenty good enough for his needs.
"My room is just down the hall," she continued, pointing in the direction she indicated. "And if you need Shiina, just call for her and she'll reply."
He frowned, finding that a little strange. "How does she always know if we need her? This place is so big!"
"She just knows," Kanade said.
Huh. Well, he supposed he could just accept that. "Well, where is her room, anyway?" He figured that he might as well pop in later to greet her since he would be living here for the foreseeable future.
Kanade paused. "I don't know," she confessed.
He raised an eyebrow. "How do you not know where your own bodyguard lives?" he asked, somewhat incredulous.
She shrugged. "It's never been important before. Do you have any other questions?"
"Yeah, can you point me to the kitchen? I'm feeling a bit peckish."
She nodded and gestured him to follow her. As he was led through several more twisting corridors, he made a mental note of the directions he was taking so he wouldn't have to ask for help later.
"It's right here," she said, gesturing in front of her. "If you need me, I'll be in the living room, which is right over there." She pointed.
"Gotcha." He paused. "If you're hungry, I'm making sandwiches if you don't mind something simple," he offered.
She froze as she made to leave. After a moment of consideration, she nodded in acceptance before resuming her movement.
His stomach rumbled as he made his way into the kitchen; the late nights he had been so fond of lately often left him burned out and hungry in the morning. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time for breakfast in the morning, so he often ended up fighting hunger pangs throughout the day.
Well, now that he no longer had to worry about finding an apartment, it was time to resolve that issue.
He hummed quietly to himself as he worked. He had learned how to cook early in his life due to the death of his parents and the resulting need to take care of himself and his sister.
A sandwich had been the first thing he had learned how to make. It was simple, yet nutritious.
He didn't think he could manage anything more complex with how exhausted he was.
As he allowed his hands to lose themselves in a familiar routine, he felt his mind drift to his current situation.
I never thought I'd ever get to live in a house this fancy.
Of course, he never thought that he would ever become friends with a famous pianist either, but that was beside the point.
However, he couldn't help but feel that there was a palpable feeling of . . . emptiness in the house.
From what he could recall, only three people were present here on a typical day.
One of them was out due to sickness.
One of them had a habit of disappearing and not showing up unless she was needed.
And thus, one of them was left . . . all alone.
And with a house of this size, its grand, empty halls must have only exacerbated her loneliness.
It was no wonder she visited his shop on a regular basis. If he came home every day to this kind of suffocating atmosphere, he would want to delay his return as much as possible too.
In fact, why would Kanade live in such a large house in the first place? It's not like she needed the extra space when there were so few residents.
Hmm . . .
"Hey, Shiina," he called out.
"Yes?"
A voice behind him.
He spun around, and Shiina was there, looking as quiet and unassuming as ever.
"Wah? How did you get here so fast?"
She purposely ignored his question. "Did you need me for something?"
"Oh, well . . ." He trailed off as he collected his thoughts. "I was just wondering why you and Kanade lived in such a big house. It seems rather excessive."
She was silent for a long time, making him think he might have said something wrong.
"Not that I think it's a bad thing!" he hurriedly clarified. "I just thought it was a little weird."
"There used to be more people who lived here," Shiina said at last. "If you want to know more, ask Kanade."
"Ah . . . I suppose that's true."
She nodded and spun around, ready to take her leave.
"Wait!"
She paused.
He held up one of his finished sandwiches. "Want one? I don't know if you've eaten yet, but . . ."
A moment of hesitation.
The sandwich disappeared from his hand.
After blinking in confusion, he noticed that Shiina had disappeared too.
He chuckled. "That's just like her."
He turned back to his work, now with a burning question that he hoped to get answered.
xxx
"Do you like it?"
Kanade sniffed the sandwich she held in her hand before she took a small bite, chewing slowly and swallowing.
"It's good."
He smiled. "Glad you think so," he said before biting into his own.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, allowing themselves to appease the worst of their hunger first. He thought the atmosphere would be awkward; after all, he had never been inside Kanade's house before (in fact, he had almost never been invited over to a friend's place before).
But surprisingly, it felt natural.
Just like any other day.
No, that wasn't right. It didn't feel like any other day.
Sitting here with her, he felt more comfortable than before. Perhaps it was because it had been so long since he had eaten with another person. Perhaps it was because of the strange attraction he had felt towards the girl all this time.
Perhaps he was reading too much into this, and he should stop daydreaming and finish his sandwich soon. Kanade was almost done and he was barely halfway finished.
Kanade raised an eyebrow at him as he took massive bites out of his food. With the help of some frenzied chewing and quick swallowing, he finished just as Kanade daintily wiped her lips with a napkin.
"Do you find your own meals to be that tasty?" she asked without a hint of sarcasm.
He couldn't help but burst out laughing at that statement.
As she looked at him with confusion, he choked out his response. "No, no, I was just trying to finish quickly. Didn't want you waiting up for me," he clarified.
"I see," she murmured quietly.
Silence descended upon them once more as Yuzuru debated how to best bring up the issue at hand. Should he be blunt? Or maybe he should be more discreet about it? Maybe –
"You want to know why I live in such a big house."
He blinked in surprise at just how accurately she had guessed his thoughts with that blunt statement. Maybe Yuri had been right when she claimed women had intuition bordering on the supernatural.
"Wait . . . how . . ."
"Shiina told me."
Oh. Well, that made sense.
"Well, yes," he said awkwardly. "It probably seems like a weird question, so you don't have to answer if you don't want to."
She didn't say anything for several minutes. When she did, it was in a quiet voice, as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to be heard.
"Do you remember what you said to me? About finding an anchor."
He turned to her with a curious expression. "Yeah? What about it?"
"I think . . . that I know what mine is."
He smiled. "Really? That's great! But . . ." he frowned a little. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"You said an anchor is someone I could confide in." She looked at him resolutely. "And that is what I am doing right now."
He looked at her in confusion for a few moments. Then, he felt as if the world had frozen as he realized what she meant.
Oh.
She meant him.
She had picked him to be her anchor.
"Ah – h – h, well, I'm honored that you picked me," he stammered out as a raging blush overtook his face. "But are you sure –"
He was cut off when she held a finger to her lips to gesture him to be quiet.
"You also said an anchor is someone who listened to me when I need someone to talk to," she said. "So, just listen."
He could only nod his head mutely.