His Lie in April - 四月の彼の嘘 (Shigatsu no Kare no Uso) (COMPLETE)

The Power of Friendship

April 22nd had arrived. As Kousei continued to recover, the softball match that had been delayed due to bad weather was resumed from its previous point; the weather was much clearer with almost no clouds, and the sun was shining quite nicely. 

Kaori had arrived to watch the game, as Kousei was still MIA. She was feeling hopeful about Kousei on this day. The game stayed tied until the top of the 7th (NOTE: Regulation softball games are seven innings long), when one of the opposing team's players hit a home run. It was not up to the Sumiya softball team to extend the game into extra innings. 

Tsubaki came up to bat, determined to continue the game and possibly win it. She then hit a fly ball into left field, which looked like it could have gone over the outfield fence, but it bounced just a few feet/meters shy of it, and Tsubaki began to head towards second. As this happened, though, her right ankle buckled, and it got sprained. The opposition left fielder threw to second base, and she was out, thus ending the game. Tsubaki couldn't believe it. Nor could Kaori. Her ankle, sprained in front of many, and this was quite the most devastating moment of her life.

One of Tsubaki's friends, Nao Kashiwagi, who was right next to Kaori, was devastated over all this. "Tragic.... She busted her ankle. First Kousei's left foot gets damaged, now Tsubaki's ankle gets sprained.... This has been a tragic past few days for this school....." she lamented.
Kaori, being the optimist that she is, found a positive in all that, though. "Nao, listen to me. I know this has been a rough few days, but we will endure. We'll survive all this stronger than before." The two hugged. Nao smiled and said "Thank you, Kaori. This is just what I needed."

Tsubaki just laid there on the field, until two of her friends carried her off the field. She found it rather difficult to walk around later that day. As Kaori and Tsubaki walked around, she felt sorry for Tsubaki. First Kousei, and now this with Tsubaki. It certainly had a been a cruel turn of events for Kousei and his friends this past week, and this just added to all that. Tsubaki was shedding tears over all this "You know, first Kousei, now me.... Life is just unfair."

Even with all this, Kaori was resolute about not letting what happened to Kousei get to her, or even this setback Tsubaki had endured. "You know, I remember the day I first heard Kousei's music. He was a boy locked in his own prison.... Almost like a machine. But even with what happened to him.... I'm not going to waver in my faith in him. I don't want to lose faith in any of my friends either, especially you, Tsubaki."

Tsubaki tried to stop crying. "I've known him for so long.... And I still can't get my mind off of him and his missing left foot! My ankle hurts pretty bad, too!" Kaori then reassured her. "Even though Kousei may have lost his left foot, I see a guy that wants to be freed from his metaphorical prison, a man who wants to change himself for the better! And we'll be there for him. And I'll be there for you. Come here, Tsubaki...." Tsubaki and Kaori embraced and hugged each other. The two knew that Kousei's accident was only a mere bump in the road, in spite of its severity. "He has his whole life ahead of him, and so do we. We'll keep on keeping on, Tsubaki. That is the power of friendship. Like that Queen song goes, Friends Will Be Friends." Tsubaki shed a few more tears. "Thank you.... I'm glad I can have you as a friend. Even though I've known Kousei since we were children, he's going to be just fine in the end..... he's a true friend to me, and to you, and to all of us."

The next day, Ryota Watari's soccer team played its match that had been postponed. However, Watari was a bit more successful, with the Sumiya soccer winning 2-0. It was a bit of good news for the school even after the painful past week it had had regarding Kousei's unfortunate turn of events.

For Watari, it was a bit bittersweet. He looked on after the game was over and thought to himself a bit wistfully Kousei..... you've been through a lot. This win's for you, buddy. I'll see you again soon..... a missing foot isn't going to stop you from a bright future!