I found you in April

The Evening (Part 1)

And now please welcome to the stage, performing a host of their greatest hits, the couple that have taken the classical world by storm, Kousei Arima and Kaori Miyazono!

Third Person POV

The atmosphere was electric in the hall filled with spectators that were expecting to soon fall under the young pair's trace. However, what they did not know was that, the lovers were not on the same page at all. They had not spoken a word since the camera incident. They had practiced before today sure, but communication is key when it comes to a duet. Not even the great and fabled Miyarima could work well without talking and some last minute planning which they had done neither of.

Kousei was still stuck in his own head and Kaori was trembling at the thought of her and Kousei's positions being swapped in a matter of hours. She was prepared for it. It was how her soulmate would react that terrified her. Had she made a bad decision?

Kaori's POV

I was snapped out of my trance by a hand taking my own and pulling me towards the door that would lead us out of our dressing room into the backstage area to the curtain past which was the stage. There are people who have come from the other side of the country to watch us give our all and we aren't even at 50%. My hands are trembling so I will not be able to play at anywhere near my best and Kousei is still blanking out. Will he even be able to play at all?

We have no hope of being able to meet the expectations of our "admirers". What about me could ever possibly be admired? This is going to be a disaster. We would be better off to pull out of the show and save ourselves the embarassment.

"Maybe there's only a dark road ahead of us. But we have to have faith and keep going. Believe that the stars will light our path, even if it's only a little bit! Whether we're sad, we're a mess, or we've hit rock bottom, we still have to play!"

"That's how people like us survive!"

There he is with his trademark optimism again. It's one of the things I love most about him.

Optimism is not doing much for me though. The reality of what I'm doing is actually sinking in. The weight of my decisions is hitting me with full force. The consequences of my actions have yet to be revealed to me and the situation itself has yet to become common knowledge to Kousei. How is he going to react? Will he hate me? How much time am I going to have?

These thoughts are overwhelming me to the point where I'm in a trance that I can't snap out of until I hear Kousei play the first note of our piece.

Kousei's POV

When we were first asked to play this concert, I knew that it would more than likely be my last. It was a "greatest hits" show. Our popularity soared for some reason I will never be able to comprehend over the last while.

The first song I ever played for Kaori was Hikaru Nara. The song itself was not mine but the transcription of it was. For some reason, I wanted to play this song today more than I ever had before, my first meeting with Kaori included. The song almost meant as much to me as Kaori herself, almost.

However, Kaori really is not being herself today but I guess I'm not really one to say that. It's a bit hypocritical of me. My senses have still not quite fully returned to their peak or at least to the potential they have while I'm in the state I am in but sometimes terminal illness does that to you. It probably is not anything to worry about but that image I saw earlier shook me to my cure and it has burned itself into the back of my eyes. Every time I close my eyes it is all I can see. Kaori had assured me earlier that nothing was wrong and, normally, I believe anything she says without a shadow of doubt but today, for some reason, I found myself being unable to believe her. Lying is something that is completely out of character for her and goes against everything the Kaori I know stands for.

I'm probably just over-reacting though.

For now, we have to keep performing.

Third Person POV

When Kousei played the opening note of Hikaru Nara, the performance hall grew so quiet and still that you would almost have been able to hear a pindrop, if it had not been for the piano prodigy playing the black and white keys. Kousei played the intro and the first verse on his own and by the time he was approaching the bridge, Kaori was still stuck in her own head and was showing no signs of regaining her own senses as her partner seemingly had some time ago.

However, just as Kousei was about to, worryingly, halt the piece to check on his fiancé just before the chorus, Miyazono's bow finally moved. However, she seemed hesitant and, perhaps to be considerate or maybe feeling sorry for her, he decided to bring the tempo to a standstill playing what one would probably describe as a more delicate version he had, more than likely, improvised. The audience took the bait however as they knew that the payoff would be more than worth it. What they were not aware of was the struggle that Kaori was going through and she was unsure if she would be able to give the spectators what they were hoping for.

To be continued...