Kaori, Viltrumite | Your Lie In April x Invincible

Chapter 4: Her Lie In April

Blood.

Blood everywhere.

Omni Man's muscles burned like fire and his bones, for the first time in his life, actually throbbed with pain.

But no matter.

He had done it.

He had killed the Guardians of the Globe.

Now, Earth was effectively much weaker and Viltrum would have an easier time conquering it.

Omni Man fell to his knees, his breath still ragged and his mouth dripping with blood from the fight. The Immortal had hit him much harder than expected, and War Woman's mace had done some damage.

Every instinct screamed at him to fly away and abandon the scene. But he couldn't. The combined might of the Guardians of the Globe had been more fierce than he anticipated. So he only had one option. He allowed the pain to overcome his body as he fell to the metal floor of the platform, and slowly succumbed to the exhaustion filling his tendons. As his vision went dark, only one thought went through Omni Man's mind.

"Mark...Kaori...soon, I must tell them the truth."

....................................

Kousei sighed. It had been two months since Kaori had given him the letter at the cafe. Eighth-grade year was almost over at long last, and he'd need to begin prepping for his first day at Okutsu College soon.

Why couldn't he bring himself to open it?
Kaori, for once, had not been berating him for not doing something she asked. So the letter shouldn't have any ill tidings. Then again, Kaori had been busy taking all sorts of tests to compensate for her prolonged absence from school. So maybe her restraint could be more attributed to business as opposed to benevolence.

At last, Kousei made his choice.

Tearing open the envelope with as delicate of a touch as he could muster, Kousei unfolded her letter and began reading.

What he read made tears come to his eyes.

But not tears of mourning.

Tears of joy.

Hey, you!

I mean, Dear Kousei,

You were just here, and now I'm writing you a letter, kinda weird, right?

You're a mess, you know that? You're meek, and a quitter, and neurotic.

The first time I ever saw you, I was five years old. It was at a recital for the piano school I went to back then. You marched out onto that stage, and then made us all laugh by knocking over the bench. You sat on that giant piano, and with the first note you played, the world became more colorful. It was like you found a deluxe box of crayons on the keys, and tossed them everywhere Suddenly, the girl next to me starts bawling her eyes out.

And now you're gonna give it up? Like you never played in the first place? Hearing you that day changed my life, what do you think of that?

So I switched, then and there, no regrets.

When I found out we were at the same middle school, I was thrilled! How was I actually supposed to meet you, though? Buy egg sandwiches every day 'til you notice me? In the end, all I could do was watch you guys. You were friends, and I was some stranger. It wasn't my place to barge in, so I didn't.

I had surgery as a little kid, but I've never been totally well. After a bad fall in the seventh grade, I was in the hospital a bunch. Those hospitals stays got longer, bit by bit. I was hardly ever at school by then. Nobody said how sick I was exactly, but I knew it was bad.