Kaori, Viltrumite | Your Lie In April x Invincible

Chapter 1: Alive

"Hey hey hey, how about that piano man?" Watari congratulated Kousei as he clapped him on the back. "Your name is at the top of the list! You won!"

"Thanks Watari," Kousei said in a shaky voice as he steadied himself.

"Kousei, please, you need to eat!" Hiroko pleaded, pulling some egg sandwiches out of her purse.

"Sit down over here," Tsubaki added, guiding Kousei over to a nearby bench.

Kousei munched on the egg sandwiches nonchalantly while Watari and Tsubaki sat down on either side of him. While he thought Tsubaki's nagging could get a bit annoying at times, he was grateful for both her and Watari's steadfast support. Despite not being siblings, the two of them shared a similar complexion with short brown hair and brown eyes. Watari, the handsome soccer captain and Tsubaki, the most tenacious batter on the softball team. And then there was him, the black-haired, blue-eyed pianist with zero athletic prowess.

And a spirit that, at present, was feeling crushed beyond belief.

Hiroko Seto was not oblivious to Kousei's sorrow. Who wouldn't be, given his situation? This very day was not just the day of the competition, but the day of Kaori Miyazono's critical surgery. As a matter of fact, a small part of Hiroko was contrite about having dragged the boy down here to the Eastern Japan Piano Competition. She'd seen his downcast face. She'd known of his affection for Kaori. Should she have let him sit this one out?

Then again, what else was there to do? It was her who'd pushed Kousei's late mother, Saki Arima, to make him a pianist. Would it have been right for her to not follow through on the promise she'd made to Saki, her lifelong friend, as she took her last breath? Hiroko wanted to tall Kousei all of this. But she could also sense now was not the right time. So instead, she simply walked over to the bench, knelt in front of Kousei, and wrapped her arms around him in a tender embrace.

"Good job, Kousei," she whispered as she blinked back tears. "Your mother would be proud."

"Yay! Aw-eemah won!" Hiroko's four-year-old daughter Koharu squealed with delight as she jumped in on the hug.

For a while, the group just sat and made small talk as Kousei ate the sandwiches Hiroko had provided. Though not his mother by blood, she had always looked out for his well-being. Today was no exception. After some cups of water to wash down the food, Kousei felt very much rejuvenated, and stood up to brush himself off.

"Thanks for coming today guys," he said as he put on his gray winter jacket. "I appreciate

Really."

"Hey, don't mention it," Watari smiled. "You're our friend. We're here for you."

Just then, two other contestants from the competition approached Kousei and his friends.

One was a boy around Kousei's height, with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes. The other was a girl in a red dress, with piercing brown eyes and long, jet black hair.

"Hey Takeshi and Emi," Kousei said, giving them a small smile. "You both sounded great

out there."

"We were just about to tell you the same thing," the boy, Takeshi, chuckled as he gave

Kousei a fist bump.

"That was probably the best playing you've ever done," Emi added, her usual stoic

expression cracking into a small smile.

"It was nothing guys, really," Kousei said. "I saw your guy's names on the list of winners

too. Congratulations to both of you."

After Kousei's musical colleagues–who had formerly claimed themselves to be his