Mucking around won't get anything done, but I love to wallow in misery.

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Waking up to the same chilly atmosphere,
Ryuu could feel his stomach rumble.

Stretching his legs out,
he  gradually rose from the messy pile
of pillows and yawned.

As he stepped on the floor,
the chilliness sent a shiver through his joints,
causing his body to awkwardly jolt.

It's so cold...

He rubbed his hands together
and put them at the back of his neck,
hoping to gain some warmth.

Ah, I should've covered up last night...

He slowly trudged to the bathroom,
another shiver passing through again
as he felt the coolness that radiates around the doorknob.

As expected,
a cool breeze swept over him
as he opened the bathroom door.

I can't take this anymore! Where's my jacket?

Ryuu swiftly grabbed his jacket from a nearby chair
and immediately wore it,
glad that it was oversized.

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For a moment he stood idly,
staring at his reflection.

A boy, wearing nothing but an oversized jacket and boxers,
in front of the sink, black hair messed up and tangled,
dark eyes staring intently.

A plop sound of a drop water from the sink snapped him out of his daze—
something he had been in every now and then.

Making sure to fold the sleeves of his jacket first,
he proceeded to wash his face,
even though it didn't help him sober up.

Normally he would've fished around for something to cover him up more,
but he wasn't in the mood today.

It was roughly 3 in the morning,
yet he didn't feel like going back to bed.

Silently going down the stairs,
Ryuu began to hum the melody of Chou's first composition.

The one she gave to me years ago.

Each note surprisingly fit his vocals well,
contenting him.

Ryuu took some biscuits from the kitchen counter,
and headed straight for the room where his piano was in.

Taking a bite of the biscuit,
he stretched his arms and removed the piano cover with a slight flourish.

"Let's see if I've still got it."

He said,
a puff of air catching after his breath.

Slowly, he began to work his way around a familiar melody,
before breaking into a symphonic harmony,
occasionally moving his head along as he basked in the music.

As he reached the last, sharp note of the piece,
he heard a slow clap from behind him.

"Well done."

Ryuu's eyes widened as he realized who the source of the voice was.

"M-Mother..."

His breath hitched for a moment
before realizing that he should apologize.

"Forgive me for waking you."

"No worries. I was on my way on to grab a glass of water anyway.
Carry on."

Ryuu timidly nodded and warily rested his fingers atop the piano keys,
hesitant to turn his back before he was sure that his mother was gone.

"And,um,..."

His mother's clear, commanding voice echoed throughout the room,
causing Ryuu to be startled.

"Great work. Don't give up on your piano skills."

With that, Fuyuko closed the door elegantly,
leaving Ryuu unsettled and relieved at the same time.

Was that a smile? Was she...smiling?

He ran a hand through his hair,
filled with pure disbelief as to have seen his mother,
for once,
smiling at him.

And she didn't say anything mean either...
that's weird.

Just as he could continue his dubious thoughts,
his stomach gurgled again.

That's odd...didn't I just eat biscuits?

He lightly poked his stomach,
wondering why it was still in an unrest state.

Suddenly, a potent smell filled the room,
causing him to cover his nose.

Oh no...

The smell that surrounded the room was undeniably from a fart.

Shoot...my stomach's gassy.
I shouldn't have slept without a blanket.

The discomfort was now unbearable,
and Ryuu could no longer ignore it.

Dammit...why did this have to happen on the first day of school?!

He looked over to the clock.

I still have a few hours anyway...
please go away, stupid gas....

I'll go and get a cool compress to calm it down.