Kousei had moved into his new apartment, he was roommates with his good friend Watari. And next-door-neighbors with his long-time friend Sawabe

"Ah, Kousei. Who would've thought? A handsome young man like me entering the FIFA world cup, aren't you proud?" Watari flaunted as he chugged down a can of root beer. His ego was the same as before
"Yes, and who would've thought your ego would be just as high, or maybe even higher?" Kousei reacted which made Watari choke
"You're horrible, Arima!" He crossed his arms
"I was just kidding Ryota." Kousei laughed "Besides, your ego isn't THAT high."
"Thanks!....wait..."

Kousei took out his laptop and started writing an e-mail. He was applying for job that would require him to go to America as a piano teacher. The pay was high there, he'd be able to supply himself. Though, for now, he was stuck in a low-paying job as a part time Starbucks employee and piano-teacher.

"I wonder who's Tsubaki's roommate?" Watari wondered out loud
"Thinking of Tsubaki now, huh Ryota?" Kousei teased
"N-no! I'm not!" Watari defended "Shut up Kousei!"
Kousei giggled and continued to write his e-mail
"Besides....Tsubaki's still into you..." Watari muttered under his breath

Suddenly, Tsubaki barged in the 2 boys' apartment, bringing a seemingly familiar face with blonde hair with her.

"Whats up nerds!" She made a peace sign while tugging on the blonde's hair "Look at my cute roommate!"

"Woah Tsubaki! Mind switching rooms with me?~" Watari suavely remarked

"Shut up Ryota!" Tsubaki violently reacted

Kousei didn't seem to ay attention to the 2, actually, he didn't pay attention to anything at all. He was so absorbed on making his e-mail. In fact, his memories of a promise that he had made all the way back in high school, to a girl with blonde hair and eyes that made his sparkle, were starting to fade. Life was just too stressful. You can't blame the man

His lack of attention made the blonde-glassed girl oddly upset.

"Hey, whats that glasses face dude doing over there?" The blonde girl whispered in Tsubaki's ear
"Oh, Kousei?" Tsubaki looked at him and realised that he was paying no attention to her. She grabbed a hair and threw it at him violently.
"Arima!" She spoke with fire in her eyes

Kousei, who was on the floor rubbing his head, reacted back violently "What is it Sawabe?! I'm in the middle of something!"

This made the remaining trio: Watari, Tsubaki, and the blonde surprised at his response.
"S-sorry Kaori....Kousei over here's just in a bad mood...." Tsubaki said to the blonde

"Kaori"
"Kaori..."
"Kaori Miyazono!?"

"W-what's your name....?" Kousei asked awkwardly as he slowly turned his head facing Tsubaki and this new blonde

He suddenly, recognised her face, her golden hair (which was in pigtails), her slick figure. But most importantly, her eyes. The eyes that made his sparkle. She looked like the girl he'd met a long time ago, under a cherry blossom tree...changing his life forever.

"Oh her name's Kaori Keshin." Tsubaki replied

This made Kousei go back to his old, gloomy state. He suddenly realised this girl's difference from HIS Kaori, this girl had glasses and a pigtail, and she looked relatively shy.

"Oh shoot." Watari reacted "She has the same name as---"
Tsubaki had also realized "O-oh.."
"S-sorry Kousei...." Tsubaki rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, as Keshin, her roommate, watched in confusion
"I-is there something wrong?" Keshin asked politely
"O-oh! I-its nothing Kao- I meant Keshin! I-it's just that..." Tsubaki pulled Watari and Keshin to a distance far away from Arima

"Look, Arima used to love this girl who has the same first name as you. Her name was Kaori, she died because of Friedreich's Ataxia. We've tried avoiding talking about her in front of him, he seemed so gloomy whenever her death came into the picture..." Tsubaki exlained

"Now that I think about it..." Watari noticed "You sorta look like her..."
"O-oh...is that so...?" She awkwardly replied
"Well, yeah. But, you're relatively shy. And the Kaori we're talking about is outgoing, no offence! She also lets her hair down and doesn't have glasses. But hey, you seem like a pretty great look alike!" Tsubaki smiled

"Oh, haha."

"You need to promise us something by the way.." Tsubaki paused "Promise us that you'll AT LEAST avoid talking about Kaori in front of Kousei, he seems stressed enough as it is."
Keshin nodded her head

"Well we should probably go and head to this restaurant nearby, you can come with us if you want, Keshin." Watari winked as he walked off to the restaurant
"Oh, and don't mind Watari's flirtatious behaviour." Tsubaki whispered "He's generally a quirky guy. I'll just go call Arima, you should really come with us to eat."

Tsubaki ran to Arima's apartment

Keshin smiled

"They're still the same."