Kaori, Viltrumite | Your Lie In April x Invincible

Chapter 10: Music Is Power

Mark had never felt more defeated in his life.

To have not been able to save the...man? Creature? That had impaled himself on the university's statue was bad enough.

But to have now lost the trust of Amber as they were still out on their tour of Upstate University? And now having to approach her at some garbage frat party as she conversed with another man who (most likely) had much more integrity than he did?

Just then, his phone rang.

Displeased at seeing William's name on the caller ID, Mark reluctantly answered it.

"What is it William?" he asked, taking care to keep his voice down and not badger the other partygoers.

But all Mark could see on William's facecam was a distorted look of panic and constant static.

"I can't hear you," Mark said, holding up the phone to his ear.

Then, he did hear him.

"Mark! Help! I'm being taken! They've got Rick! Help!"

The call dropped.

But Mark's pulse did not.

Without a word to anyone, including Amber, he rushed out of the frat house and into the darkness.

He had to find William.

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

"And you think this just happened all of a sudden?" Watari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, not just all of a sudden, Watari," Kousei said. "It's been gradual. Slow. And it's not obvious."

"Did Kaori say anything else about Koiyusa?" Tsubaki asked.

"No," Kousei replied. "Just that she went "away with the fall breeze" and got expelled. But she seemed way too happy about."

"Arima, to be fair, I'm pretty sure you'd be happy too if any of the people who bullied you while you were still being made to play in those piano competitions as a kid faced justice," Takeshi offered.

"Anyone in that position would," Emi added.

"Yes, of course I would," Kousei agreed. "But I would not be prideful and joyous about it on a regular basis. Kaori seemed to take pride in the fact that she won the fight. And over the past few months that we've been at this music school, her personality seems to just be different somehow."

The four friends shared an apprehensive look at Kousei's words. The restaurant they sat in was small and elegant, with beige tablecloths and miniature chandeliers in the ceiling. The afternoon sun cast a welcoming glow down on the city streets as they enjoyed their food. It had been months since they'd all been able to see each other, so this weekend get-together was a much needed breath of fresh air.

Air that was now thick with uncertainty and doubt for the future.

"I will say, Arima has a point," Takeshi conceded. "Emi and I have only known Kaori for a short time, sure, but she's never struck me as the kind of person that would be happy about having to fight."

"You're exactly right," Watari confirmed. "Although...before her surgery, she could get a bit fired up at times."

"That was nothing compared to this, Watari," Kousei countered.

"How do you mean?" Emi said.

That was when Kousei told them what had really happened.

"I went to talk to Koiyusa's friends a while back," Kousei said. "Only after I was sure Kaori had left the school. They told me Koiyusa had broken bones in her shoulders. Broken. Bones."