I ran out of the house, after grabbing my scarf, to find Kaori. I found it difficult to breathe since it was really shocking to find her go missing. She could've vanished completely or she might've left for something. But my heart was aching very much and beating really fast. I can't believe she woukd be gone like that. But where is she?!

Where would she have gone?

Why would she have gone out?

And mostly.......

Did she.... disappear?

Thoughts began to flow into my mind like water. I rubbed my hands together to warm myself in the cold. I didn't waste my time to take gloves or anything. I just need to find her.

Tears began to fill my eyes as time was passing by. I wiped away the tear that flowed down quickly and continued my search.

"Kousei!"

I swiftly turned around, praying in my mind that it would be Kaori.

"What are you doing here out in the cold?"

I looked down and wiped my tears. I felt the pairs of hands, which I adored so much, gently pulling my hands away from my face.

"K-Kaori," I said, my voice cracking up as I shivered. Her hands were surprisingly warm unlike mine.

"Why did you come out without gloves or anything?!" she shouted.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I was just worried."

"Ha! Now you know how I felt!" she said.

I chuckled. "Yeah," I said, smiling. I noticed she had a plastic bag hanging in her arm. "What's that?"

"Oh, this? I just bought some egg sandwiches," she said, smiling.

"How did you buy?! No one can see you, remember?" I said, shocked. "Did you steal it?!"

She hit me hardly on the head with the cover. I rubbed my head in pain.

"How dare you accuse the innocent?!" she shouted.

"Then, what did you do?" I asked.

"Left a note saying, 'I bought 2 egg sandwiches and 2 moo-moo milk boxes' and left the correct amount on it," she said.

"You could've at least left a note for me," I said, grumpily.

"Oh really? I thought you would tear it so what's the point in leaving one?" she said, walking back home.

"I just did that one time!" I protested.

"But still," she said, smiling.

She wore normal clothes like the ones we wear at home out in the cold.

"Aren't you feeling cold?" I asked, concerned.

"Nope, I'm dead so, of course not," she said. "I bet ¥1000 that you're gonna catch a cold."

"I know," I said, rubbing my hands together to warm them up.

We went back home and we began to eat the egg sandwiches. I was writing my incomplete school notes, which Watari sent to me, as I ate. Kaori sat beside me and watched me write.

"You're handwriting is disgusting," she said.

"At least it's not as disgusting as you," I said, angrily.

"I maybe disgusting but you still love me," she said, smirking.

I blushed and continued my work.

"Hey!! No 'thanks for the sandwiches'?" she said, sadly which was completely fake.

"Fine," I said. "Thanks for the sandwiches."

"And.....?"

"And what?" I asked, confused.

She tapped her head with her finger. "Think, Arima, think."

"Uh..... thanks for the moo moo milk."

"And.....?" I shrugged. "C'mon Kousei, think!"

I ignored her completely and I wrote my notes.

"You're dumb at times," she said, sadly.

"I maybe be dumb but you still love me," I said, smiling.

She punched me, playfully. "Hurry up. We gotta practice."

"Alright," I said, continuing my work. "You can start, if you want."

"Gladly," she said. She stood up and walked away. I didn't watch her go instead I was busy writing. Just then, I felt two arms wrapped around my neck and I saw Kaori smiling at me from behind. Her chin rested on my shoulder and I turned to face her. She gave me a quick peck on my lips and ran away, laughing.

"HEY!!" I exclaimed, blushing madly.

I heard her close the door with a bang and heard her squeal a bit. I smiled to myself and continued what I was doing.

I listened to my usual song 'Hikaru Nara' through my earphones and then I heard Kaori play something on the violin. It sounded quiet familiar and I remembered the tune really well. Could it be?!

I threw my pen on the book and quickly ran to the music room.

I opened the door as swiftly as I can and I shouted, "WHERE DID YOU FIND IT?!"

Kaori had a surprised look on her face and she lower her violin.

"Are you talking about the music piece?" she asked, innocently.

"Yes!"

She grinned. "I had my ways," she said, looking at the music sheets on the stand. "I didn't know you composed."

I went over and took the file from her.

"Hey! I was playing that!" Kaori exclaimed.

"Why did you take this?!" I asked.

"I wanted to know. I got curious."

I sighed. "These are my personal things," I said, sounding calm.

"The first song felt sad," she said. "You wrote it in May last year, right?"

"Yeah," I said, avoiding eye contact. The song was composed a month before I met Kaori. The time when my life was in monotone. The other songs I composed were happy ones and it has been a while since I made anything. I didn't bring myself to do that ever since Kaori's death.

"Can I see the rest?" she asked me with a genuine smile.

"No," I said, giving her a blank look.

She pouted angrily. "You're mean!"

"Still no."

She tried to snatch the book from me but I raised it high so thatcshe won't reach me. She reached on her toes and tried to reach for the book. Her other hand was squishing my face, forming fingerprints on my glasses.

"Stop it!!!" I said.

"Never!!" she said.

She somehow got her hands on the book and she laughed in victory.

I facepalmed myself and gave up, letting her read the book.

"Ooohh, this sounds romantic," she said, teasingly.

"Shut up!!" I said, annoyed.

"The name is so deep. 'My Truth'. You wrote it the day before our gala performance, didn't ya?"

"Yep," I said, nodding.

"Thank goodness I wasn't there for that performance," she said. "I don't know how you played by yourself, but I do know now that you didn't practice."

"But I did play didn't I?" I said. "Unlike others, I can't hear my playing."

"Exactly," she said, pointing at me with a smile. "You've something no one does. You can sense the music. You can imagine the music and when we do that it's a beautiful feeling. Not being able to hear makes it even beautiful."

I smiled back at her. "You always say that," I said.

"And don't you forget it," she said, grinning widely. "Now get your butt on the bench and start practicing!"

"I'm not done with the notes yet."

She groaned. "Fine," she said.

"On second thoughts," I said. "I could.... finish it later."

She smiled. "I knew you'd say that." I went over to the piano bench and sat there. Kaori sat beside me, making heart skip a beat. "Play the second one you composed."

"Alright," I said, placing the book on the sheet stand. I turned to the first page of the song and read it for a second. I then placed my hands on the keys and began playing.

I looked over to Kaori when I finished playing and I couldn't see her face because of her hair as she held her head down. I slowly moved away her hair with my fingers and saw she had this tears in her eyes.

"I'm happy for you," she said, smiling at me as a tear flowed down her face.

"Thank you," I said.

She wiped away her tear and stood up, taking her violin.

"Now let's play together!!!" she said, cheerfully. "You do the accompanist part 'cause you already got your chance."

I smiled at her. She came and stood behind me. I watched her read the music with immense concentration. She gave me a nod and we began to play together.

"WE SOUNDED AWESOME!!!!!!!" Kaori exclaimed, happily raising her bow.

"We sure did," I said.

"You've to play this in a competition," she said.

"But won't we have to play a fixed musician pieces?" I said.

"'Works of art make rules'," she said. "'Rules do not make works of art.' Claude Debussy."

"I love the quotes you say," I said. "Where do you find them?"

"Two ways," she said. "Books and internet. Mostly books."

"Oh," I said.

"I got one more," she said. "'A creative artist works on his next composition because he was not satisfied with his previous one.' Dmitri Shostakovich."

"That's kinda relatable, I guess."

She smiled brightly. "Practice is over. For now," she said. "We should actually practice 40 hours a day."

"That's impossible," I said, standing up.

"Nothing's impossible, Kousei," she said, grumpily.

I chuckled. "Right," I said, leaving the room.

I began to walk to my room and my thoughts were somewhere else. While I was going up the stairs, I heard something fall with a loud thud. I ran back to the music room, where the sound came from and opened the door as fast as possible. My eyes went wide with shock.

"KAORI!" I called out.

I kneeled down to her and helped her sit up. She was lying on the floor, face on the floor and the violin along with the bow was a bit broken on the floor. She was rubbing her head in pain and I saw blood dripping down her elbows. I quickly helped her get up by putting her arm around me and pulling her up. She wasn't walking with me, instead her legs were sliding over the floor, making it difficult for me.

"Hold on," I said.

"I'm fine, Kousei," she said before hissing in pain.

She was light-weighted, just like the time I gave her a piggyback ride in the hospital, the day before she died. I made her sit down on the counter, took a cloth and wet it with water and when I came to her, there was no trace of blood. I guess it's because she's not actually living. She looked a bit too pale and tired.

She gave me nervously chuckle. "Think I broke my violin," she said, forcing a smile to calm me down. "What kind of violinist dows that?"

"Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?" I asked, worried.

"Yeah," she said, robbing her forehead. "I just fell that's all. My head hurts a bit that's all."

I gave her a tissue with ice to put on her head. She hisses in pain everytime I place it on her head.

"No Pain. No Gain," I said.

"Since when did you start using quotes like me?" she asked, smiling. "AH....!!!! Stop it!!!"

"Just bear it for a while," I said, angrily. There was a small silence between us. But then, I broke it. "How did you fall?"

"I don't know. I was just checking if the violin was in tune and then, I felt something zap me, like eletricity or something and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor."

Could it be? Is it time for her to leave me again? How should I react to this? How can I say 'goodbye'? How can I let go of her and move on? How can I live the days of my life without her? It would feel like betrayal if I did forget about her. Won't it?

"Kousei?" Kaori said. I looked at her when I came back to senses. "You do know what this means, right?"

"Y-Yes," I said, fighting back tears.

She cupped my face with her hands and gave me sad smile. "I hope you remember me, even just a little bit."

"Don't say such a thing!" I said.

"I know. But it's our fate, isn't it?" A tear slided down my face and she wiped it away with her thumb. "We shouldn't waste our time time crying now, do we?" I placed my hand on her's and nodded, forcing a smile. She came forward and kissed me.

Even though she was smiling, deep down I knew she was sad. I don't know how to cheer her up, since I'm bad with emotions. I don't want her to leave. I know she must but.....

I broke the kiss and gave a small smile. "I don't wanna go to school today," I said.

"Ehh!!!! Are you taking advantage of me??!!!!" she shouted, angrily.

"No, I'm no- OW!!" She hit the top of my head.

"Fine. You can stay," she said.

"Thanks," I said, smiling.

I can't wait to show her places around the town. I'll make sure she'll be at her happiest before she leaves.