"Isn't struggling our forte?"
Those words echoed in Kousei's head as he sat in the changing room. He had just finished his performance and had been trying to convince himself that everything would be okay.
'It's fine, she's going to live. She's going to keep struggling and she's going to survive. It's our forte isn't it? That's what she said, it's our forte. So she won't die, she'll keep struggling to survive"
Kousei echoed those words in his head, trying to convince himself that it'll all be okay. He was fidgeting with his fingers, trying his hardest to keep his mind occupied and away from negative thoughts.
If the worst were to happen, would he go back to how he was?
Afraid of the piano. Unable to play or hear his melody.
Would his world become monotone once again?
He preferred to not think about it at all, if he did it would only hurt him. So he would continue to hope.
Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, it was...
Kaori's phone?!
He picked up his phone, hearing Kaori's dad's voice come out of it.
Kousei ran, quickly stepping to the side to avoid pedestrians before running full speed again.
He knew it.
She struggled, and struggled.
That's what he was told by her dad, she was basically dead at one point but she continued to struggle.
She struggled enough for the doctors to resuscitate her and resume the surgery, she struggled to stay alive.
She struggled, and lived.
"I knew you would keep struggling to live... you wouldn't have said that otherwise.."
Kousei mumbled as he continued running, reaching the hospital where he quickly signed in.
Drenched in sweat, he slowly walked his way to her room as the fatigue finally caught up with him.
With each step, his joints creaked and he felt as if his knees were about to give way. He was never athletic, it was a miracle he was able to run so far in such a short time.
As he inched closer to the door, he noticed Kaori's parents leave and walk down the hallway. The two walked away and down the stairs, which led to the exit, meaning Kousei would be all alone with Kaori in there.
Kousei dragged himself to the door, opening it as he pushed himself in to see Kaori lying down on her side, facing the window.
"Is she... asleep?.." Kousei asked himself as he brought a chair over to the bedside before collapsing onto it. He was so incredibly tired, his body ached everywhere.
"No you idiot, though I was about to sleep" Kaori spoke as she sat up in bed, her blonde hair brighter than it was before the surgery, she was recovering.
She looked a bit disgruntled, annoyed that her journey into dreamland was interrupted by Friend A.
"Why are you already here? Watari or Tsubaki aren't even here yet?" She asked, confused as to why he's already appeared.
"When your um, dad told me you survived I rushed over. That's why I'm here so soon" He replied, briefly summarising the reason he was here.
"You rushed over? Not even Watari would do that" She softly spoke, she was surprised he came so soon before she remembered, his confession.
Actually, there were 2 confessions Kousei had made.
One had been under the bridge, where his reason for playing was because he had her. Kaori had simply brushed it off at the time, knowing that dating him after that would only cause everyone more pain.
Tsubaki would be hurt.
Kousei would be even more hurt once she died if they had gotten together.
And Watari would maybe be hurt, but not for long due to his playboy nature. He would get over it after a short time.
His second confession was just now. Actually around an hour before.
While Kaori had thought his feelings for her would have died down by now, this proved that they had remained, and grown stronger.
His performance.
It was basically a confession, a performance where he poured his entire heart out. And that performance reached Kaori, so she knew.
Every musician who saw that performance knew it was a confession, but only his close friends knew who it was for.
And Kaori knew too.
It was for her.
It was always for her.
"Kousei... you still love me don't you?.." Kaori asked, wanting to hear his truth.
"Yeah...I do...even though I know you love Watari...I still fell for you..."
Kaori took a deep breath, ready to reveal all her secrets and lies, and see if he would still love her.
"... Would... would you still love me even after I tell you... even after I tell you my truth?.." She nervously asked, but she knew she had to share the truth. She couldn't bear to keep it in any longer.
".. You'll have to tell me then if you want to know.." Kousei replied, giving such a bland answer.
Kaori took another deep breath, clenching her blanket as she began to speak, looking Kousei in the eyes as she pulled out a letter.
Kaori looked down as Kousei read the letter, not wanting to look at him out of guilt.
"Yeah...I still love you.."
He spoke softly as he rubbed his eyes, the contents of the letter was emotional for him. Especially that little note at the end, he wanted to cry, but he held it in. She's still alive after all. He slipped the letter into his pocket.
"I'm keeping it.."
Kaori looked up at him, her lip quivered as she tried to speak, nothing came out. She didn't mind that he wanted to keep the letter, it was meant for him after all.
"Is this ok?
Am I horrible for doing this?
I shouldn't even be here, I was just passing by"
Those words would echoe through her head daily, so hearing Kousei confirm his love once more was a shock.
"... B-But Kousei...10 months...I lied to you for 10 months...not just you...but Tsubaki and Watari too...how could you not care?.." She asked, wanting to hear another answer from him.
"Because I know, that had I been in your position, I would have done the same thing"
Kaori began chuckling, his answer was so surprising and so sweet to the point that all she could do was laugh.
"... You're way too sweet... you're the sweetest guy I've met... it's why I love you.." Kaori spoke in between breaths, finally speaking her true feelings. No lies this time.
"I love you too, actually wait, you already know this. Never mind I wanna say it again. Kaori, I love you too"
Kaori laughed once more due to Kousei being so weird about it, it was adorable to see the boy briefly debate himself.
"So... we're dating now?" Kousei asked, he wanted to verify it. Was he truly dating the girl of his dreams? Are they together now?
Kaori took his hand in hers, softly speaking.
"Yes you dummy, we're dating now"
Quickly, she leaned in, stealing the boy's first kiss before quickly pulling away. She had left Kousei a blushing mess, he wasn't prepared.
"B-By the way, you're not just passing through my life anymore. You're staying in it, and you're not leaving"
Kousei stated as he placed his hand on top of hers, softly squeezing it.
"Mhm, I know"
A couple minutes later, Watari walked in to check on his girlfriend, surprised that Kousei was already there, but at the same time he kinda expected it.
"Goddamn, you came as soon as you could huh?" Watari spoke, clearly taking a small jab at Kousei who he knew was deeply in love with Kaori.
"Yeah, so what?" Kousei replied, brushing off the teasing.
"Nothing~. So, how is my Kaori-chan?~"
"I'm good, survived at least. It made me happy to see this worrywart immediately come to me~"
She teased Kousei, who gave a small blush in return. Kousei leaned in and whispered to her, telling her something.
"Oh yeah, Watari. Let's break up. The relationship wasn't really going anywhere to begin with"
Kaori spoke bluntly, it was obvious as to why it was so sudden, Kousei finally swooned her.
Watari was a bit surprised by the sudden news, but he quickly figured it out.
"Ooh~ Smooth one Kousei~ Playing the nice guy makes you win after all"
The new couple were a bit surprised by how quickly he figured it out, but it seemed he had no issues. That relieved them.
"Yeah, I guess so"
Kousei chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. He was ecstatic to see how his best friend reacted, he was glad to have one person's support. He knew he wouldn't have the other person's.
They all knew, having figured out her feelings for Kousei ages ago. All they knew, was that they had to approach her carefully, to not shatter the girl's heart.
The somber mood was ruined as a small smirk appears on Watari's face, clearly having just realised something. The other two would look at him curiously, wanting to know the reason for that smirk.
"Kaori, you're returning to school right?~" He spoke in a teasing manner, it became obvious to the other two.
School.
Grades.
Kaori's absence has been ongoing for months, how would she resume her life?
"A-AAAAHHHHH!! SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT! SCHHHOOOOOOOLLLL!"
Kaori would scream, agonising over the thought of having to return to the dreaded building. She's missed so much, and she would have to sit finals anyways. Everyone is going off to highschool.
She needs to pass. Sure, she planned on going to a music school if she survived, but plenty of other musicians would too. There's no chance that she'd be accepted based on musical talent alone.
"Don't worry about it, your boyfriend is a pretty smart guy, just get him to tutor you. But be warned, he's pretty darn strict"
Watari suggested .
Kaori looked at Kousei with a determined gaze, fire in her eyes. It would be a lie to say that Kousei didn't enjoy that view. To see his girlfriend so fired up did wonders for the teenager.
"Yeah yeah, of course I'll help you"
Kousei responded, he knew it would be tough. Kaori wasn't a dumb girl by any means, but the content she missed would be tough to teach her. Luckily, he's had some experience with teaching, he should be fine.
"Bbuuuutt, you gotta take me out on a date first. I don't want the first thing I do after leaving this blasted place is to go home and endlessly study"
Kaori demanded, she wanted to enjoy life again. Even if just for a day before reality came back to ruin it for her.
"Your wish is my command" Kousei responded playfully, she had affected him. Kousei was becoming more playful and just fun, he's still serious at times but he's showing that he can go along with Kaori's rambunctious behaviour. It was amusing for Watari to see, Kaori was truly good for him.
She would be an amazing partner for him, and that made Watari smile. Like a matchmaker seeing everything go just right, it made Watari happy to see these two be in love.