Someone just take Youtube away from me... Just please.

-Pumpkin

Your fingers tapped against the table as if you were playing the piano. You read the score in front of you and kept on tapping. You were concentrated on the score that you didn't even realized that your teacher was right next to you.

"Ms. (Last name)..." She cleared her throat.

You jumped in your seat with a surprised expression as the booklet fell on your table flat.

"Ah, sorry..." You smiled sheepishly and kept the sheet in your bag.

You tried to listen to class, but you just couldn't. It was your fault that you couldn't concentrate. You started the nervousness and anxiety in you that pressured you all month. You didn't want to stop playing. You kept on tapping on your lap instead and pretended you were listening to the teacher.

Let's join a competition together! I'll be the accompanist.

You remembered the words you said to him a few months ago. It almost felt like you regretted it. You just asked him out of nowhere after coming back from Norway after a three years.

Heck you thought that you were being too straightforward. Surprisingly he agreed without further notice. Of course you thought he was joking. You were even kidding about the competition!

He just answered you out of the blue right after that.

Okay, let's do it.

His words rang in your ear like a record that was on repeat. The echo of his voice haunted you.

Curse him for having such a monotone voice.

Shivers ran up your spine. You could feel someone watching you from a distance that made you feel uneasy. You looked behind you to see Matthias eyeing you scarily with Emil behind him too following his glare. You flinched and looked back at your fingers tapping on your lap.

Stupid goddamn mouth! You cursed in your mind. What happened to your closed mouth policy right the events with Liza and Roderich?

You silently groaned and banged your head on the table.

Everyone around looked at you in surprise, even Matthias and Emil.

"I'm so screwed." You sobbed.

****

You dragged yourself towards the music room with a gloomy look on your face. The scores in your hand suddenly felt heavy. The sound of the piano rang out through your ears like a sore.

That's right.

You haven't played the piano ever since he left. You were all alone with no one to play with. No one to accompany. No one to fight with. No one to talk to you. Right after he left, you only talked to others when they need something from you. Except when it comes to playing the national anthem on stage or accompanying Elizabeta or playing a duet with Roderich.

None of them just felt like the right person to play music with. You wouldn't even play a duet with Antonio and his guitar like before or Gilbert with his flute. You wouldn't even accompany Francis for any dramas on stage either. Alfred with his saxophone, Heracles with his lyre, Ukraine with her cello, the three Italian brothers in a quartet, you didn't play music with anyone.

They just didn't feel like the right people.

When you opened the music room, you were greeted by the sweet and calming sound of the violin.

River Flows In You by Yiruma... You spoke in your thoughts silently.

You looked at the boy with platinum blonde hair who was standing by the window. The colors that the sunset gave behind him gave more color with the song he played.

His eyes were closed, the movement of his body was relaxed, he literally is flowing with the song. Grace and peace were at his side as he played. He was part of the music itself. The calm demeanor fitted the monotone persona he carried with him. You couldn't hear any mistakes. The way he played was somehow wrong. It wasn't played or told like how the original composer wanted it to be.

This was his River Flows in You.

Your breath was taken away as he picked it up a notch. You closed your eyes and listened closely. He played with such feelings. He moved with grace.

That's why the judges in competitions hate him for.

He likes to rebel against the rules on playing the piece on how it's supposed to be played.

Finally the song ended.

You opened your eyes to see him staring at you.

"Hey." You greeted with a nervous smile.

"You're late." He greeted back.

"As ever." You rolled your eyes.

You dropped your bag by the door and walked towards the grand piano in the middle of the room. You opened it and stared at the black and white keys. He placed his violin on top of the piano.

It's a roller coaster ride for you once again. The history behind three years ago was coming back. It felt all too nostalgic.

"Are you sure that..." His words trailed off.

You knew what would happen. This may be your last chance. The final moment. The last competition. The grand finale between the both of you after all these years.

"I'll be fine..." You didn't seem sure about yourself either.

It was a bit of a bother. A small feud between the both of you right before he was sent back to his home country. The only thing that kept you nervous and a wall between you and him.

It was like he was in the other room and you were surrounded by sound proof walls. You felt like he played the bow without rubbing rosin. You couldn't hear him. Not after those events before.

Go back to your stinking home then! I hope you'll find a better pianist!

You remembered your words before he left school.

It stung your heart. Whenever you tried to play with anyone. All you heard was screeches, untuned strings, broken keys, and the worst was that you could sometimes hear him play right beside you.

It swelled up your heart filled with ripped music sheets and broken notes. You felt like Chopin's Chopsticks was picking you when you played for the first time after three years. You couldn't even play Für Elise properly anymore.

Regret clenched in your soul. The words you said were still floating in your mind. You regretted saying those to him. After all, he did find a better pianist while he was in Norway.

He joined competitions, won them, rose to fame, found a new partner, and earned himself a title in the music world. Everyone's heard of him. People are now familiar with him. He's famous while you stayed behind to carry on with your own small career while he went on big.

"To tell you the truth, I came back to meet you again." He spoke.

You were taken back by his words. He sat behind you. His back on yours. You gripped on the hem of your skirt.

"Why?" You whispered. "You could've achieved your dream as the world's greatest violinist."

"How?" He whispered back. "I can't hear their music."

You gave a small gasp. A tear rolled down your cheek. Another came and another. Tears dripped on your skirt.

"They're not like you, (Y/n)." He had bitterness clearly spoken in his voice. "They can't reach the lights like you can."

You sniffed and bit your lip.

"That's why I came back." He spoke. "You understand my music because it's yours too. We share the same fight yet we compete against ourselves."

"Originally a soloist, but ended up being an accompanist of another soloist." You chuckled bitterly. "We're in our own little world, eh?"

He remained silent as you continued crying.

"Did you know how much I regretted saying those awful words to you? I even hated myself more when I said those things to you. When I found out you found someone to accompany you, I thought everything was over." You tightened your grip on your skirt. "That's why... That's why I stopped playing years ago because I knew that you've found someone who's got your back. I thought that you've left me and moved on."

You hiccuped and pounded your hands on your lap.

"I hated myself! I hated myself for letting you go and for letting you leave me!" You cried. "I didn't want you to leave..."

Suddenly you felt a pair of arms wrap around you. You buried your face in your hands.

"I hated myself for even pushing myself to go." He whispered in your ear softly. "I hurts me to remind myself that I left you hear. It was my fault and I knew that you hated me."

"I did, but I couldn't." You hiccuped as you wiped your tears. "That's why I didn't play for years. Whenever I play, I hear you. Whenever I play with someone else, I hear nothing but screeches."

"It drove you insane."

"That it did."

You wiped your wet hands and placed your fingers on the keys.

He grabbed his violin and started to play a familiar tune. It brought painful and beautiful memories back.

You started to play along and smiled. The bitterness in you swirled along with his. That was definitely the wrong way to play with this song.

Love's Sorrow

One of the first songs you played with him. It's supposed to sound like a calming lullaby. The sweetness, and tenderness mixed up with the emotion of sadness. Like caring for someone, missing them, worrying for them, the feelings mixed up.

You closed your eyes as you could hear the sweet sound of his music again. Compatible with yours. Your match. Your rival. Your friend. Your bitterness. Your sorrow. Your love.

Tears streamed down your face as you played in harmony. There was no fight. No yelling. Just pure sorrow at peace.

His nots matched yours. Your notes matched his. The melodious sound filled the room and the halls outside. Echoing in them hauntingly like a ghost had came back.

The world became bigger and brighter as if there was never a roof above you. The lights and stars shone at you both.

The regret was slowly flying away from you.

A smile grew on his fave with yours. You looked back at him and he looked back at you. A smile was upon him too. Your heart skipped a beat.

Before you played like a robot, according to the notes. But as you learned and played with him, he taught you that you could make it as your own. A personal story, a tale of your own.

The song started to fade out. The end was nearing.

Your smile didn't disappear when the song ended.

"You once quoted about Beethoven when I first mer you." You smiled at the distance memory. "To play a wrong note is insignificant... To play without passion is inexcusable. Back then it made me think about the way I played. I wasn't that interested in the piano. In fact I only played the piano as something my parents suggested me to do since I had nothing to do... But it seems that you led me to a spotlight that I haven't noticed, and you were standing in it."

"You were like a metronome." He commented. "Just clicking boringly side to side with no expression at all. I never knew that I could've given you such impact to you and to myself. You did that."

"Huh?" You faced him.

"I couldn't hear notes back then."

Your eyes widened as he made eye contact. He wasn't lying nor joking. This was simply the truth.

"Before I met you, I couldn't hear a thing. Then when you came into my life, when I first saw you perform solo on stage." He offered you his hand.

You accepted it and stood up. He placed his left hand on your waist while you placed your other hand on his shoulder.
You both danced around the room without music. The music was already in your hearts. Permanently with his.

He twirled you around and glided with you across the floor. You matched his steps and leaned in closer to his chest.

He smelled like butter cookies and rosin.

"I suddenly heard everything, the colors started to splattered here and there." He described. "It's like you brought me something to wait and live for."

"You did that to me as well." You smiled.

You looked up into his lavender eyes and saw them sparkle. He saw sparkles in yours too.

You tip toed and stared at his lips and back to his eyes. He leaned in closer and closer until your lips met his.

Sparks flew. The colors suddenly became more vibrant. The sound of your hearts beating was the only music you needed at the moment.

Your lips moved in sync. The sounds of the piano and violin rang out in your ears.

You both broke away from the short kiss and smiled.

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life...

-Ludwig van Beethoven

I finished Shigatsu wa Kimu no Uso/ Your Lie In April yesterday and I have no words for it. It was too sad and heart clenching that I can actually relate a bit. I'm not a good pianist or a good violinist. I've been playing the piano for almost eight years and I'm not that good and I've been playing the violin for barely a year. To play an instrument beautifully is to play with feelings. Without feelings, you're nothing. I know that too because I had played the violin and piano during my recital. I played my second piece with more feelings since that's what gives me more life and energy. Corpse Bride didn't cut out for me that time. El Matador did since it was full of excitement and energy. My violin pieces were, well, acceptable. I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables was just darn perfect since (hahaha) the bitterness in me.
Also, happy belated birthday to my bae (yes, my shitty bias in this fandom) Norway hahaha! I hope you get more butter this year!
Farvel!

-Pumpkin

EDIT

HAS ANYONE REALIZED THAT AIZA TAKESHI LOOKS LIKE DENMARK??? WHEN I SAW THE OPENING I STARTED YELLING "WTF ARE YOU DOING HERE YOU STUPID DANE???"