✔ Kaori is back?! [A Your Lie in April Fanfiction] (Under Editing)

Chapter 3: The Picture

I laid on my bed wondering where I have seen that sticker before and why it reminded me of Kaori. A crying Kaori. The thought floated in my mind and then I found it. After an hour of thinking, I found it. She bought a collection of cat stamp when I took her shopping and that sticker was one of them.

Does that mean...?

I rushed downstairs to the music room and took the bowl and went back to my room and locked the door. I can't believe I tore it. I scattered it on my table to assemble it together, even though its merely impossible. What will I do? What will I do? An idea popped into my mind. I'll just go to Ma Fille 's tomorrow and ask her parents what it was about.

I went to my music room again. The room was covered in dust and I remembered how Kaori shouted at me when I left it this way. I smiled at the thought and I walked over to the window and opened it to let in some fresh air.

"Tsubaki?" I said, squinting.

She was standing there watching me through her binoculars and she hid the binoculars behind her when I called her and she smiled at me, nervously.

"Kousei...," she said, nervously. "Hi."

I wore my cracked glasses, which I kept hanging from my shirt. I didn't look at her in the eye. I couldn't. Instead, I looked down at the tiled floor.

She threw an eraser angrily at my head.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" I shouted, rubbing my head in pain.

"YOU BAKA-KOUSEI!!!" she shouted. "DO YOU KNOW HOW LONELY I AM IN SCHOOL?!! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!"

"Don't you have Watari and Kashiwagi with you?" I asked, angrily.

Her eyes widened. "That's not what I meant," she said, nervously as she looked somewhere (I didn't know because of my cracked glasses).

There was an awkward silence between us which Tsubaki broke with a question. "Um... are you going to join a music school?" she asked in a low voice.

My mind went blank for a second. "I...I don't know."

"It's getting late. So.., goodnight."

I faked a smile. "Goodnight."

We closed our windows and I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge and drank a glass of milk.

"Heard you were talking with Tsubaki," dad said while cooking something.

"Yeah," I said.

"What did she say?"

"She said she was lonely and she also asked if I'm gonna join music school or not."

"Do you wanna?"

"I...don't know," I said. Everytime I looked at the piano it reminded me of her. I wanna take a break from the piano because of this and try to move on with my life even if I don't know how to.

"I don't mind if you're interested," he said, smiling brightly. I gave him a small smile. "Don't you have spare glasses with you?

"Right, I forgot," I said. I went back to my room and opened the drawer of my table and took my spare glasses which looks just like the broken one and exchanged them. "Finally."

I ate some home delivered katsudon since my dad ended up burning the leftover curry and rice. It was really good and ate the whole thing and went to my bed and sat on it and the only thing that comes in my mind is her. I missed her calls, her beautiful bright smile that can make up my day, her smooth long hair, her expressions when she played the violin, her shoutings, her love towards sweets and mostly.....her. I loved everthing about her and I wanted to spend more time with her but I couldn't. Just like always, I brought up an excuse for not seeing her, the fact that she loves Watari. Even if I do come to visit her, Watari would join me, making me the third wheel. But the good thing about that was I could watch her smile and laugh. I wanted her back, no matter what.

"Kousei," dad said, patting my shoulder. I came back to my senses and turned my gaze to him. "I'm leaving tomorrow at 6 a.m."

"Ok," I said.

"Don't bother waking up early for me, ok?"

"Ok."

"If you need anything, don't forget to call me, ok?"

"Ok." He smiled at me. I gave him a tight hug. "Have a safe trip," I said in a low voice as low as a whisper.

He hugged me back and said, "I will." My head was on his chest and I could feel his steady heartbreak, which was really calming, as he rested his chin on my head. He kissed my forehead and broke the hug. "I want you to move on and be brave. Don't spend your time regretting the time you lost and think about the time you have before you lose that too."

I want to move on but how can I? After all she has done for me, how can I? It feels like I would betray her that way.

I gave him a weak smile and I nodded. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Kousei," he said, leaving room and closing the door behind him. I went to my table and took the bowl and did something I wanted to do.

I took the coloured pieces and separated them from the written letter and tried to assemble them. As I was assembling I found that there was a picture of the young me on it. What? I spent my time sticking the pieces upto midnight and the result was surprising. Where did she get this from? She even looks adorable when she was kid. Why did she give me this? I look disgusting. Who's the other girl in the blue dress? These were the questions that were in my mind. But I'm glad I got to see this picture even if I couldn't read the letter.

○●○●○●○●○●

I woke up at the sound of my piano. The same key was being being played over and over again. I wore my glasses and looked at the time. 9:47. Dad would have left by now. Did someone break into the house?! I sneaked into the kitchen and opened the drawer filled with knives and I took the biggest knife and went to the music room and turned the door handle slowly with trembling hands. When the door opened the playing stopped and no one was there.
"Sh-sh-show yourself," I said, trying to act brave by holding the knife forward.
I slowly walked around the room and didn't find anything different. Was it my imagination? I shrugged and went back to the kitchen and kept the knife back and when I was going upstairs...

*SLAM*

I heard the door to my room slam shut and this time I know I wasn't imagining things. I quickly ran back down and went for the knife again and I prayed as I turned the handle slowly and I peeped through the door and saw the bowl in which I kept the letter turn blurry. My eyes widened, my heart started beating rapidly and my breathing became uneven. What's going on?

"Kousei?" I heard a female voice call out to me. My grip to the knife loosened and I couldn't balance on my legs and the next thing I knew...

Everything became pitch black.