𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞
𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺
"𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝑰 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔,
𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.
𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅? 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔.
𝑨𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆." ― 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒔.
ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀʟ ᴛᴀɢs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs: 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙 • 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑎 & 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 • 𝑆𝑃𝑂𝐼𝐿𝐸𝑅𝑆 • 𝐵𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 & 𝐺𝑜𝑟𝑒 • 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑛-𝑇𝑦𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 • 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑔𝑒 • 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 • 𝑆𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑚𝑠 • 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑡 • 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑛 𝐷𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 • 𝐹𝑖𝑥-𝐼𝑡 𝐹𝑖𝑐 • 𝑂𝐶 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑉𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡 • 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑐 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 • 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑆𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 (𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑) • 𝐵𝑎𝑗𝑖 𝐾𝑒𝑖𝑠𝑢𝑘𝑒 𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 • 𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑡𝑠 𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑒 • 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠-𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝐴𝑂3 & 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑎𝑑.
ғᴜʟʟ sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: She, who wanders forward with a broken wing. And he, who soars with chains...27-year-old ex-violinist Yunagi Reiya lives a quiet and simple life as a foreign service officer and part-time barista, aimless in her contentment until the day her one and only best friend, Tachibana Hinata, dies in an accident. Reiya never would've guessed that the tragedy would lead her to find, and be found once again, by the man she would soon fall head over heels in love with, but fate tears them apart when she learns who he actually was. Reiya is killed but finds herself teleported 12 years into the past, back before she lost everything. With this second chance, with the knowledge she gained from her previous life, Reiya vows to change the future in the name of love. What could possibly go wrong in her pursuit for such a pure and powerful thing?
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇs (please read carefully!): Welcome to 🍒 Cherry Jade ･ﾟ✧*｡ 'tis my humble contribution to the fandom and I truly hope you enjoy your stay here ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ❤️ Feedback is highly appreciated and sought after so don't be shy~! Constructive criticism is welcome too ❤️
Now this is the main Author's Notes where I gotta run ya'll down with what to expect in the coming chapters and from this story in general. Although there will be separate A/Ns in every chapter (or Author's Nags in my case 😂 which are still very important nags, btw), as it's my way of giving you personal little updates or head's-ups for each chapter along with some tidbits or fun facts (which I like to call the Tidbits Section) starting with these:
※ There will be spoilers right off the bat in Chapter 1 so beware, Anime-onlys! You've been warned.
※ The story will begin in the year 2017. Mikey and Reiya are both adults and their relationship will escalate at a fast pace in the First-Future (and bordering erotica at that but nothing too explicit), so if that ain't up your alley then this story isn't for you (actually, it's for me. I wrote this to cope after catching up with the manga 😞 and I just really wanted to write a story that focuses on romance for once. Mikey is especially perfect for this lil endeavor of mine after everything he's been through, so I wanna give my boy some love and get him all loved-up 💗). However! This story is also a Slow Burn, which we will see after Reiya leaps back to the year 2005. The romance between them as adults will be pretty fast and heavy but as teenagers? It will take time.
※ There will be a total of three endgame couples I'm going to develop in this story. Aside from the main pairing we have DrakEmma and TakeHina, both of which I strongly feel need some more screentime in the romance department. Also I'm a huge romantic at heart like my girls so best believe that shoujo's going to be strong in this house 🌸
※ Lastly, this story is both canon compliant and canon divergent(as this a fix-it-of-sorts fic where most of them gets to live, the shoujoseification of TR, honestly), with the biggest divergence to occur will be in the Valhalla Arc. You've seen the tags, you know what to expect, but there will also be quite a few surprises along the way 😉😉
Now, let's get started with the tale of a woman in love, and a love that transcends time.
[DISCLAIMER]: Tokyo Revengers belongs to Ken Wakui. I am merely borrowing his amazing characters for entertainment purposes only while making them dance in the palm of my hand to the ever-changing tune of my will. In addition, the photograph of the violin and the purple chrysanthemum used as the background in the cover art belongs to photographer Henry Dick. That said this story, along with my Original Characters, belongs to me.
〖 Chapter One 〗
Remember the Melody
He heard it the moment the rain began to pour; a powerful and poignant melody that pulled at the very strings of his soul, magnifying his pain and yet pacifying it.
His sadness, his rage, the emptiness, the abandonment...all of it were contained within the strident rhapsody.
He followed it, spurned by some nameless thing he could only describe as finding the only way out of the darkness. He rounded the corner and his breath stopped, followed by his footsteps.
What he saw wasn't quite what he expected. It was more, and he couldn't take his eyes off, hypnotized by the way she moved, of how she commanded the violin in her hands.
She moved as if possessed, swaying this way and that, head low and shaking as if in denial, the melody sounding angrier and angrier, lonelier and lonelier, her motions and precision a perfect balance of discord and resonance, driven with an intensity that made him feel seen.
It sounded as if the endless clamor inside of him was being told for him...all the things he had no name for...breaking him apart with a heat so sharp it invigorated him.
And she must've felt the same for she didn't seem to feel the rain, even as her dress began to soak and crumple against her skin, even as her short black hair began to drip and cling to her face, his eyes momentarily drawn to the bright red of her cherry earrings peeking out from between the wet strands.
She was too far gone, he saw. It was only her and the violin.
And in that moment he understood.
She was crying. Not with her eyes but with her entire being. She was heartbroken, inconsolable. Screaming at the world through the instrument.
Suddenly the melody came to an abrupt stop and she gasped, the spell broken. She looked down on the violin in her hands and hugged it against her chest. She was trembling then, crying in earnest.
She took off and ran away, not sparing him a glance as if she never even noticed him, and the loud drum of his heartbeat rose in the absence of her music.
He didn't call out to her, even as his legs began to move unconsciously after her. But she was faster than his hesitation and she disappeared into the rain like a sylph of mist in her wet blue dress.
She left and never returned, and for a long time he hadn't realized that she took something of his with her. He never saw her again but she remained in the back of his mind, the elegant shape of her figure and the heartrending melody coming back to him every time he dared to summon it.
Little by little that memory began to wear away at the seams. Now all that remained was what she and the melody made him feel, and the unforgettable red of her cherry earrings flashing in his mind's eye if he tried just hard enough to see it.
He never could forget about her, even when he never really got to see her face, even when he slowly lost everything and everyone precious to him, even when he lost the right to hope as he fell into the pit of inevitable destruction.
He decided to call her 'Cherry-chan', addressing her as such in his most private of thoughts and sometimes he would find himself looking up and wondering where she was, how she was doing, and feel grateful that she didn't see him that day, that he never got involved with her.
She was a loss he had resolved not to gain. What mattered was that she was alive somewhere, somewhere far and safe.
And thinking that made things so much easier.
JULY 1, 2017
"I'm so sorry, Hina-chan."
Reiya gripped her phone in both hands, typing away amongst the bustle of the crowded thoroughfare as she made her way to her next workplace. She quickly pressed 'send' and was about to stuff her phone in her tote bag when it suddenly vibrated nonstop, indicating a call.
Pulling to the side where there's less risk of getting ran over by the steady flow of pedestrians, Reiya slowed her pace and lifted her phone by her right ear.
"Hin—"
"You're so mean!" came Hina's pouty, shrilly voice from the other side of the phone. "Aren't you supposed to be free today?"
"I was," Reiya answered with an apologetic smile, "but my boss called me, saying one of my co-workers had to leave due to some emergency and now I have to cover their shift. And since today's a Saturday, the café's going to be really busy and they're going to need all the help they can get."
Hina sighed, but her tone was understanding as she said, "Is that so? There's no helping it then."
"Will you be okay on your own?" Reiya asked, narrowly missing getting bumped on the shoulder as she crossed the street.
"Naoto's coming with me so I'm all right!"
Reiya smiled. "That's so nice of him. I don't know how you did it, but knowing Naoto-kun's with you puts me at ease."
"I didn't even have to ask twice," Hina quipped.
Reiya laughed, knowing full well that Naoto loved his sister more than he lets on. With her workplace Café Ad Meliora now in sight, she expelled a forlorn sigh and said, "I really wish I could come with you guys to the festival but I have to go now. I'll call you after my shift's over, okay?"
"Okay," Hina chirped before humming in thought. "Tell you what," she finally said. "I'll get you some dango and I'll come over to your place tomorrow!"
The mere mention of the sticky-rice dumplings made Reiya beam, only to be dumbfounded when she registered the rest of Hina's sentence. "Eh? I mean I don't mind, but wouldn't you rather stay at home and relax so you could prepare for the new week ahead, Tachibana-sensei~?"
"Oh it's fine, it's fine," Hina dismissed cheerfully and Reiya could almost imagine her waving her hand in the air. "When was the last time we saw each other? Besides…"
Reiya paused, stopping just beside the café's main entrance. She wondered why Hina sounded troubled all of a sudden, her forehead scrunching up in concern.
"…I have something I really want to tell you, Rei-chan," Hina began quietly. "I can't delve into the details yet, but it has something to do with Kisaki-kun..."
"Kisaki-kun?" Reiya parroted, tossing the name around in her mind in hopes of remembering something, but the only thing she came up with was, "Is he…the ex you mentioned before?"
Reiya didn't know much about Hina's ex-boyfriend, only that he was the only guy she ever went out with back in their middle school days and that he was a delinquent, a real piece of work who broke Hina's heart. Hina didn't give her the details and had seemingly moved on from her middle school relationship, but Reiya knew she never really got over him. She never met the guy, but she wondered what kind of person he was for her best friend to love him so much. Part of her was a little peeved that he'd tried to bother Hina again. What could he possibly want with her now?
Hina was silent at first, and then she blurted out laughing, "God, no! Kisaki-kun's just a friend from cram school!"
"Oh…!" Reiya exclaimed in embarrassment before tilting her head in confusion. "But…I don't remember a Kisaki-kun back then. What school did he come from?"
"Oh, no, not in our cram school. Kisaki-kun and I went to the same cram school in elementary," Hina explained before sounding a little nervous again. "We used to go home together. Although I haven't seen him since middle school, but he suddenly showed up and…" she broke off with an inhale and huffed. "Anyway! It's gonna sound crazy, but I'll tell you the rest tomorrow!"
"All right," Reiya replied, confounded but compliant. "I'll be all ears by then."
"Un. See you tomorrow, Rei-chan. Do your best at work~!"
Reiya's smile turned wry. She chuckled. "What choice do I have?"
She placed her phone inside her bag after cutting the call and reinforced her composure as she strode inside the café, the distinctive chime of a bell tinkling briefly in the air to announce her arrival.
Reiya was fourteen when she met Tachibana Hinata. They went to the same cram school but it wasn't until they were second years when they got to know each other better. On the surface, it looked like they were polar opposites. Reiya was tall and reserved, exuding a mature and mysterious aura whereas Hina was short and outgoing, and often seen as a bunny-like girl.
It wasn't until Hina asked her about her cherry earrings when they truly began to bond, discovering how they actually had a lot in common; both were the eldest in the family and have younger brothers that tend to be handfuls; both have workaholic fathers; both prefer cocoa over milk; and both of them were musically-inclined – Reiya specializing in the violin, and Hina with the piano.
They would listen to their favorite classical pieces together, and whenever Reiya had a recital Hina would always be there to cheer for her. They were each other's go-to person whenever the other was troubled. Being in different schools was not an obstacle at all. Their friendship was further strengthened when Reiya could no longer play the violin. Hina was the only one who understood her pain, the only person who truly sympathized with her loss. She was there for her every step of the way, the two of them supporting each other through laughter and tears.
Even now as adults, they always made sure to communicate and meet regularly. Hina was her true and constant friend, the one who pulled her back on her feet, and Reiya would do anything for her.
She couldn't stop thinking about what she wanted to tell her tomorrow or who this 'Kisaki-kun' was, and what could've happened for Hina to sound so uneasy. There was just something about the whole thing that didn't sit well with her. For one thing, the name 'Kisaki' sounded vaguely familiar. Did she hear it from someone? Saw it on television or on social media, perhaps?
The grind of the hour and the café's cozy ambiance helped to distract her from her simmering worries somewhat, but Reiya's smile remained strained all throughout her shift. She immediately called Hina the moment it was finally over. The phone kept ringing and ringing. She called multiple times but every single one went unanswered.
'How odd,' she thought. 'Did Hina-chan put her phone on silent-mode?'
Worried but resigned, Reiya stopped calling and sent Hina a message instead, telling her that she hoped she was safe and that she was looking forward to tomorrow. It didn't occur to her to try and call Naoto until she finally reached her apartment. She sat on the bed and called, but it didn't even connect.
Reiya frowned, hand tightening around her phone. Something was wrong. She could feel it in her gut. Unconsciously, her eyes went to the closet where her old violin case laid untouched for years. A bitter smile spread across her lips and Reiya stood, shaking her head as she grabbed her towel and made a beeline for the bathroom. Performing her nightly ablutions – or just any kind of routine actually – always put her at ease. There was just no use brooding over the past where nothing could be changed.
When everything was ready and she was stripped down to nothing but a pink towel wrap on her head, Reiya pressed the 'play' button on her portable speaker and lit a lavender-scented candle next, placing it by the tub as she slowly stepped into the warm and bubbly aromatic water, Maurice Ravel's A Boat on the Ocean playing dreamily in the background – one of her and Hina's favorite musical pieces.
Reiya heaved a long sigh, sinking deeper into the tub until only her eyes and nose were visible. 'Hina-chan and Naoto-kun are probably fine. I'm just being paranoid. Everything is going to be okay. This is Hina-chan we're talking about, after all.'
She closed her eyes, the melody slowly but surely soothing the palpitating dread in her stomach.
'I can't wait to see her tomorrow.'
JULY 2, 2017
Hours went by and Reiya still hadn't heard from Hina. She kept herself busy by tidying her apartment and by working on the project she was currently in-charge of proofreading, but the subtle sense of trepidation continued to persist. She sent her a couple of messages and tried calling her again but the call didn't even connect this time. Naoto was just as unreachable.
Reiya thought of calling their mother next but ultimately decided against it, not wanting to bother her just in case it was a false alarm. Having run out of things to do, she found herself changing into a sleeveless cream-colored turtleneck blouse, a denim pencil skirt that went down to her knees and a pair of maroon-colored block-heeled mary janes.
"I'll just visit Hina-chan instead," she told herself as she put on her signature cherry earrings.
Reiya slipped into her khaki Burberry trenchcoat and stuffed her phone and wallet inside the coat pockets, flipping out her long hair from the inside as she reached the threshold, looking determined as she closed the door with a definitive click.
Hina's place was about an hour away by train while the station was merely fifteen minutes away by foot. The sun was now beginning to set but the day was far from over. One of the things Reiya discovered when she first moved into this city was how most of the people were practically night owls, getting livelier and rowdier the later the hour gets.
She blamed it on the environment, with its stylish tall buildings and the bright hazy glow of numerous neon lights, giving off a lulling sense of decadence that encouraged people to forget everything and just live for the night.
Reiya had been walking with brisk steps, smoothly navigating her way through the crowded sidewalk until she was distracted by the delicious scent of freshly-made taiyaki wafting from a nearby stall. Her stomach practically leaped in response, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything in the past three hours. She drew closer, entranced by the mouthwatering sight of piping hot taiyaki lined perfectly inside a wicker basket.
'It's not dinner but it's better than nothing.' She smiled. 'Maybe I should get Hina-chan some, too.'
The stall was right beside an electronics store with a huge flat-screen TV taking up the front, and Reiya was forced to listen to the evening news program as she waited for her taiyaki to be wrapped up. She didn't pay much attention to it at first until her brain registered the words 'Tokyo Manji Gang'.
'The Tokyo Manji Gang…Toman…'
From what Reiya remembered, they were already around since middle school, a group of infamous delinquents that conquered other delinquent groups within Tokyo. It was rather surreal, how Toman went from being a mere biker gang comprised of middle schoolers to a large criminal organization that rivaled even the Yakuza. She was quick to accept it as is, however. Toman was just that notorious.
Reiya turned to face the television but froze, her eyes widening as she read the headlines.
Tragedy Unfolds during the Festival Last Night as Large Truck Drives into a Shopping District.
The anchor continued, the names of the unfortunate victims flashing below the screen as he mentioned them. "Those who died at the scene were identified as Tachibana Naoto, 25 years old from Shibuya, and his older sister—"
Reiya didn't stick around to listen to who died next, the disgruntled stall-owner's voice calling after her falling on deaf ears as she felt for her phone, her eyes already filling up with tears. In her haste she crashed into someone, a man, who immediately steadied her before she could topple to the ground. She couldn't see what he looked like with tears blurring her vision, but he was clad in a black high-collared leather jacket and wearing a gray beanie over his head.
"You okay?" he asked, but his voice was flat and devoid of genuine concern. It sounded like he was asking merely because it was the most natural thing to do when faced with a crying woman.
"N-no, I—" A sniffle punctured her words and she clamped her mouth shut as she twisted away, too mortified to face him.
He pulled his hands back to his side and hummed, looking back towards the taiyaki stall. "'Think you left something back there. Their taiyaki are the best in town and I was just about to get some myself. Don't you want yours?"
Reiya shook her head as she felt his eyes on her again, and she didn't know why but the stranger suddenly stiffened, inhaling sharply as if he saw something that startled him. She left before he could say anything but not before managing a strained, "You can h-have it!" over her shoulder.
For a moment he was too stunned to move, pitch-black eyes widening slightly with his heartbeat picking up in a way he hadn't felt in the longest time as he watched her disappear in the distance, her flowing dark hair contrasting sharply underneath the haze of glittering neon lights.
"Cherry-chan?" he whispered.
Reiya didn't stop running until she reached her apartment. She fell on her knees by the bed, heaving from exertion and nearly choking on her tears. The news anchor's words kept playing on her mind, mingling heavily with Mrs. Tachibana's after calling her for further confirmation.
"The ones who died at the scene…"
"It's true, Reiya-chan. They're both…"
"Tachibana Naoto, 25 years old from Shibuya, and his older sister…"
"Their father are working on it, but it's…"
"Due to a dispute with the Tokyo Manji Gang…"
"The Tokyo Manji Gang…"
Reiya couldn't breathe. The tears kept on coming and coming but her chest felt tighter than ever before.
"Hina-chan, Naoto-kun…" she whispered, clutching both hands against her chest. "Hina-chan is…H-Hina-chan…!"
Reiya felt trapped and boneless, her body aching all over but also restless, buzzing with unexplainable energy. She stood on wobbly legs and paced back and forth, gasping for air like she just ran a marathon. She was horrified to find herself at the verge of a panic attack, the corners of her vision darkening and threatening to blind her completely, her skin stinging all over like everything was closing in on her and there was no escape.
Reiya clenched her eyes shut and stumbled forward, palms landing heavily against something solid before she sank on her knees and for a moment she was in a terrible place, a place with no light, no air, no sound. Yet it was also a familiar place, one that she hadn't been in since she was fifteen, when she first learned that her biological father had actually been dead for weeks.
A part of her whirred to life at the memory, something that she desperately kept from coming to the surface but with her defenses shattered it was now taking over her, possessing her. Reiya opened her eyes and realized with a start that she was already right in front of her closet.
She watched her hands move as if they were no longer her own, pulling her closet doors open and reaching for the violin case. She opened it without haste and took a moment to just take it all in, the beautiful shape and breathtaking shine of its cherrywood body bringing a fresh wave of tears in her eyes.
"Viomaru…" she murmured, nearly cooing her beloved violin's name as she gingerly took it out of its case. Her left hand suddenly began to throb but she paid it no mind, lost in the memories of the past.
The day Reiya could no longer play it became the day she was able to tell that something bad was about to happen.
She could still remember it vividly even now, how she suddenly felt like throwing up as she hurriedly made her way back home with Viomaru in her arms, the rain coming down like the wrath of the gods. Looking back, Reiya wasn't even allowed to go out that day and risked getting into another argument with her mother. Maybe what she felt back then was an intense combination of guilt and anxiety, but nobody could've seen it coming.
Blinded by the dark gray haze that shrouded the streets that day and hampered by her own dissonant thoughts, she all but froze as a deafening screech filled her ears, bright light flooding into her eyes only to plunge her into a world of pain and darkness.
Reiya gritted her teeth. Playing the violin had been everything to her. It was her salvation, and now she needed it more than ever. With her anguish turning anew, she plucked Viomaru's bow out of its holder and went out with only one thing on her mind. She ran headlong into the night, down to the quieter side of the city, her nerves clamoring for release, for solace. Reiya wasn't sure how she got there or where she was but she was finally alone, standing on the highest floor of an empty multi-level car park.
She got into position with shaking hands. Her lips trembled as she placed her chin on the chinrest and she bit her bottom lip to ground herself. It had been twelve years since she last held Viomaru like this, twelve years since she played. She couldn't even remember the correct placement or the chords of the piece she intended to play, the piece she knew better than the back of her hand back then. And yet, somehow, a part of her, the part that never quite died even when her dreams did, the part that always remembered, knew exactly what to do.
Reiya started slowly, afraid, lost...the first few chords of Julius Conus' movement one of the Violin Concerto sounding crippled and clumsy.
"I'm sorry, Yunagi-san. But the nerves in your left hand were severely damaged. They will recover in time but you must never strain them." The doctor took his glasses off, regarding her gravely before dashing her heart into a million pieces. "I'm sorry...But I'm afraid you can't play the violin ever again."
Reiya swallowed against a painful lump in her throat and focused in the present, spurned by a blazing agony that ate at her from the inside out. Slowly she picked up the pace, guided by a part of her brain that was steeped in despair and the exhilaration of playing the violin again.
She faltered a few times but she didn't stop. Images of Hina and her father flickered steadily across her mind, the memories she had with them egging her on. The melody builds and builds, her heart and fingers synching until she was playing from pure emotion alone, the world falling away. She couldn't even hear her own heartbeat and the distinctive sound of a motorcycle engine revving in the distance barely even registered.
Reiya lost track of how long she played, not caring whether her left hand began to ache terribly or if anyone heard, not caring if her face had gone puffy from crying or if she lost all feeling in her left hand for good.
It was the only way she could breathe again.
'Hina-chan, I'm so sorry. If only I was there...maybe I could've done something. Why...why did you have to die!? I hate this...I hate this, Hina-chan! Why did you have to leave me too!?'
A sob wracked her from deep within her lungs and Reiya wailed, nursing the pain and letting it all out through playing the violin more vigorously. She was panting now, sharp gasps and rasping whimpers erupting in between. Everything hurt; her heart, her head, her eyes, her hands and her legs as her grief and anger morphed into one, the emotion bleeding into the sound, sharpening into an intensity that could only be described as insanity.
Losing everything that moment didn't sound so bad to Reiya. She lost everyone who ever mattered to her and now she was about to lose her left hand forever. Everything felt pointless now. What more was there to live for?
A chilling calm went over her, finally slowing her motions, her eyes turning heavy, her lips going slack with her choked breaths. Her left hand stung like it was on fire but her entire body had gone completely numb. She could barely feel anything anymore.
'Ahh...Nothing matters anymore...Why am I even here...Why am I still alive? When all this time...I've had nothing to live for? Living in a city I don't even like...working two jobs just to survive...and having a family that doesn't even care about me anymore...I've never even had a boyfriend...! Because all the guys who ever approached want only one thing!'
Reiya smiled a bitter smile, prolonging the mournful note before thrusting the bow back with a force that made her stagger. 'How cruel of you, Hina-chan...to tell me that it's still okay to live after losing everything and yet you're the one who left first...!'
"How could you leave me here!?" she screamed, hot tears spilling down her chin. She dug her fingers into the fingerboard and tugged her right arm back, about to drive the bow mercilessly across Viomaru's neck with the intent to destroy everything—
"Stop."
A hand snatched unto her right wrist and Reiya flinched, sucking in a quick breath as her eyes connected with a pair of eyes so dark they seemed to contain the abyss itself. Her eyes widened even more as she recognized him as the man she bumped into earlier, with his gray beanie and the black leather jacket hanging off his shoulders.
But he didn't look emotionless now. There was a frown between his eyebrows, and something about the way he was looking at her was enough to give her pause.
"You're bleeding," he said, the low simmering-softness of his voice cutting through the fog inside her ears.
Her eyes slid down to her left hand and she trembled when she saw the sorry state it was in, a watery hiccup jolting her frame. Her fingers were shaking and swelling, the pads bleeding and looking absolutely battered.
Reiya drew in a pained breath and sighed. "It doesn't matter..." she murmured stubbornly, face flushing with mortified dismay at being seen at such a disadvantage. Why would anyone even bother talking to her when she was clearly out of it? What was he even doing out there? What did he even want?
"You wouldn't break yourself over it if it didn't," he murmured back, his hold softening but not letting go.
She tensed as if she'd been stabbed. She couldn't even deny it.
Reiya brought herself to look at the stranger again, her waning vision focusing on his face, trying to take in as much as she could in the dim lighting. She could see now that he was blond judging from the strands of hair peeking out from underneath his beanie, and that he was very, very attractive, his features wrought with a dark-angel handsomeness that highlighted the lifeless glow of his heavily-lashed eyes.
It felt like she was about to lose herself the longer she stared into those eyes, as if she was being welcomed. She swayed forward as a sudden pang of dizziness seared through her entire body, robbing her of control and stability, Viomaru and its bow falling from her hands.
The stranger readily caught her without a hint of surprise or hesitation, his hands coming around her waist as he brought her up and settled her more comfortably against him. Reiya wanted to whimper out a complaint but all that came out of her mouth was a broken sigh.
She knew she should be alarmed. She felt utterly weak and exposed, completely at the mercy of this stranger, and yet she just couldn't find it in herself to pull away.
In her crumbling world...
He was the only thing that was solid and real.
The strong and steady sound of his heartbeat against hers quelled her frantic heart. She felt secure, as if being in his arms was what she'd been waiting for her whole entire life.
And as everything around her blurred into nothingness, Reiya could only surrender.