ʜᴀʏʟᴏғᴛ ► Danganronpa

🔹 Shuichi Saihara x Kaede Akamatsu ; Clair De Lune 🔹

"Come on, Shuichi! There's something I really want you to see."

"Okay, I'm coming... you don't have to drag me."

"Well, you're too slow!"

"... sorry."

Kaede rushed to her research lab, opening the door. Her smile never faltered as she walked into the dim room.

"Wow... that's a big piano," Shuichi pointed out, fixing the cap on his head. He shut the door behind him with his foot, watching his friend run over to the shelves of discs. "And those are a lot of CDs."

"It's crazy... I never thought I would see this in my life! I know you're not much of a music person, but I just had to show you!" the pianist told him excitedly.

"Hey, I never said I wasn't a fan of music." Shuichi smiled a bit, walking over and leaning on the piano. "Plus, I mentioned I'd like to hear you play."

"Oh, trust me. With all of these CDs and time in the world? You'll hear me play every day." She giggled, looking for a specific one.

"Which one are you looking for?"

"I'm actually just looking for one that I'm unfamiliar with—which I really hope I don't find because I was sure I knew all of these." Kaede hummed, continuing to search for a CD.

Shuichi's eyes widened—he didn't think she would know every single one she came across. But she was the Ultimate Pianist, after all. And she knew just about everything there was to know about pianos and whatnot.

Suddenly, she stopped searching and her hand rested on one. "Oh..."

"Is everything alright?" Shuichi asked.

Kaede smiled sadly, pulling the CD out of the entire shelf of them. "This song... it's my favorite."

She handed it to him and he read the title aloud. "Clair De Lune... by Debussy."

"It's a classic... I know it all by heart."

The way Kaede smiled when she spoke about the disc, it was so loving. It was like it was the one thing she cherished most in the world.

Shuichi walked over to the piano, giving her a smile of his own. "Can you play it for me?"

This excited her more and she was quick to skip over, sitting in the chair. She opened the case and revealed all the piano keys, sighing softly. "I thought you'd never ask."

Before she began to play, however, she looked up at Shuichi. "Play with me."

"What?" He shook his head. "I don't know how to play the piano."

"You don't have to know... just follow my lead." Kaede pushed herself closer to the instrument and brought the detective behind her, taking his hands and letting them rest on top of hers.

Finally understanding, Shuichi blushed a bit but didn't let go. "Oh... okay."

And as Kaede closed her eyes, her fingers pressed into the keys without mistake. She played the song softly, the music sounding throughout the room.

Shuichi followed her lead, his hands moving wherever her hands were. Whenever her finger pressed into a key, his finger on hers would do the same.

His cheeks were red from the touch, but he never denied the beautiful sounds coming out of he piano. Kaede truly had a gift, and for her to be sharing it with him made him genuinely happy.

All while continuing the song, she had her eyes closed. The blonde smiled, glad Shuichi was doing this with her. She felt like there was something inside him that needed releasing, and maybe this was it.

Once the song ended, the two stayed in place. The room was silent once more, but the sound of their hearts beating were heard.

"Kaede, you... played a really beautiful song," he said to her.

"No, Shuichi... we played a really beautiful song." She spun around in her chair, startling him, but then took his hands in hers, looking up at him. "Thanks for that. It's like you knew the tune by heart, too!"

"I didn't do much... I just followed your lead." Shuichi shook his head, his blush unmistakeable now.

"Here." Kaede grabbed the CD that was on top of the piano and handed it to the detective. "Remember... don't doubt yourself. If you ever feel your mind wandering to those bad thoughts... take a listen to this. Think of what we both did today."

He nodded, holding the Clair De Lune CD to his chest. "Thank you... I will."

"Now, come on! We can't be in here all day." She giggled, getting to her feet and keeping his hand in hers.

"O- Okay..." The detective followed her out of the research lab, still holding onto the CD.

For just a second in there, he felt something tighten in his chest. Having Kaede there by his side, his feelings for her only grew.

Of course, he never expected her to reciprocate those feelings—and even though she did, they'd just have to find out from each other on their own.

A/N: These two are fucking adorable I just—

I'm sorry but I really like these two and I wish Kaede lasted longer—

Also my italics aren't working at the moment which sucks because then my signature at the bottom won't be the same. : (

Whatever, I just really wanted to get this chap out, I've had it saved for some time... oops.

~dxganronpa