Symphony

Chapter 7: I Care About You

Shuichi Saihara's P.O.V

         Kaede and I agreed to start the plan tomorrow since we needed to give Miu some time to work on the cameras. I was reading a novel when I heard a knock on my door. I got up and opened the door. It was Kaede herself.

"Hey! I'm kinda bored right now, so do you want to hang out?" (I'm so sorry.)

I stood there for a moment, realizing the word she said. I quickly shook it off and nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Where would you like to go?"

"Hmmm..." Kaede pondered. "If you would like, we could go to my lab!"

I nodded in agreement, and we walked to her lab. Once we arrived, Kaede sat down in front of her piano. I knew I wanted to hear her play since I was never able to listen to her play before.

"Akamatsu, if you don't mind, could you play a song? It's fine if you don't want to-"

"Saihara! Of course I'll play for you! But only on one condition," Kaede pouted when she said that. I would be lying if I said I didn't find it cute.

"What would be the condition?"

"For you to stop putting yourself down and being negative! I want you to be more confident in yourself. Can you promise me that?"

"...I don't know yet." Kaede then looked up at me with caring eyes, making eye contact.

"Saihara, I know we only have known each other for a few days, but if something's bothering you, I want you to know that you can tell me. I...care about you, and I want to help you in any way I can."

She gave me a warm smile. I felt safe around her, like nothing bad would happen if I was with her. I hate having to think about this, but I can't tell her. Not yet.

Kaede patted the spot next to her, gesturing me to sit beside her. Once I sat down, she turned to me once again.

"Is there any specific song you would like me to play?"

There was one, but, would Kaede still recommend it to me? Well, one way to find out. "Nothing really. You can choose."

"In that case, how about I play...Clair de Lune? It has a really calm feeling to it, and I think you would enjoy it!"

After she told me that, she took a deep breath and began to play it. The piece looked complex to me, but Kaede played it with complete ease. She hit every note perfectly, without one slip-up. The song was comforting yet sad to me in a way. Maybe because of the song's tone or how Kaede played it. Or maybe that Kaede is here, alive at this moment, playing the piano with a content look on her face as if nothing bad had happened to her.

Kaede finished the piece and paused for a moment as if she was processing the fact that the song was over.

"Well, what did you think?" Kaede turned to face me.

"I-I thought it sounded nice." She gave a small smile.

"I'm glad you liked it."

It was silent for a few moments before Kaede spoke again.

"Um, Saihara...if you don't mind me asking, why do you always wear that hat? I haven't seen you without it, so I'm slightly curious."

I still had my hat on now that I think about it. I never really noticed it. "Do you remember when I talked to you about the first homicide case I had solved?"

"Yes, but because we didn't have time to talk about it, you didn't finish the story. I think you still needed to go more into detail about the case," Kaede recalled.

I picked up on where I left off. "The murder of the case had killed the victim in vengeance. The victim had driven a person close to the murder to commit suicide. In reality, the victim was a really bad person. When I lead the police to the murder, he had this look of pure anger in his eyes. Those eyes were directed towards me. I felt like I made the wrong choice. Ever since, it's been hard for me to make eye contact with most people. Whenever I make eye contact with someone, I see those eyes filled with hatred and anger."

Kaede then noticed how my hands were shaking. I thought I moved on from this incident, but I guess I was wrong.

Kaede Akamatsu's P.O.V

When Shuichi was done talking about the case, I noticed how badly his hands were shaking. Without thinking, I held both of his hands.

"Saihara, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have to go through this. You did the right thing. No one should be murdered, no matter the circumstances. ... I may not have had similar situations as you, but I'll do my best to comfort you."

Shuichi gave me a warm, shy smile as I said that. I realized what I just did and blushed.

"Ah! Sorry! I wasn't thinking-"

"It's fine Akamatsu. Thank you for caring."

We both had somewhat flustered faces. God Kaede! Why are you such an idiot!?

"Umm... Akamatsu?"

"Yeah?"

"We should probably start heading to the dining hall. It's 5:45, and dinner is at 6:00," Shuichi reminded me.

I nodded in agreement, and with that, we headed over there. I'm glad I managed to learn more about him. I hope we can stay friends once we get out of here.

Shuichi Saihara's P.O.V

As we went to the dining hall, one thing kept coming across my mind. When would the next motive be announced? It hasn't been announced yet, and I think the day that it should have been announced has already passed. Maybe the decisions I've made led up to this point and changed a few things? I guess the mysterious figure was right.

We arrived at the dining hall and everyone there greeted us. We sat down and ate, with a few conversations here and there. After dinner, Kaede told me she would go to her lab to play a little more. She left, and I decided to head to the library to read a few books (and to see if Tsumugi would show up). Instead, I was greeted with another voice.

"Shumai, what are you three hiding?"

The cursed cliffhanger. I'm evil, I know.