The golden glow of the Towa Hall lobby felt warmer than usual as Haruya Sumeragi stood surrounded by his family, his first-place gold medal heavy and cool against his chest.
Beside him, Menma still held onto his arm, her sapphire eyes bright with a mix of pride and a lingering sense of awe from seeing him command the stage like a young king.
Hiroko Seto, Haruya's piano mentor, checked her watch with a slight, apologetic smile as she stepped back from the group.
She had been radiant with pride since Haruya stepped off the stage, her belief in his "monstrous" talent validated before a live audience. However, the demands of her own professional and personal life were never far behind.
"I'm afraid Koharu and I have to head out earlier than planned," Hiroko said, gently placing a hand on Haruya's shoulder. "There's some personal business I need to attend to in Nerima before the evening ends, and this little one is already starting to yawn."
Koharu Seto, who had been waving her handmade "Go Haruya nii-chan!" sign throughout the ceremony, let out a small, tired giggle and hugged Haruya's waist one last time. "You were so cool, Haruya-nii! You really did look like a king!"
"Thank you, Koharu-chan," Haruya replied, ruffling her hair with the same gentle touch he used for his own relatives. "Get some rest."
With a final wave and a promise to meet for their next lesson, Hiroko and Koharu disappeared into the crowd, leaving the Sumeragi family with their old friends, the Miyazono couple.
Yoshiyuki Miyazono, with his broken pencil mustache twitching with a hearty laugh, clapped a hand on Kenjiro Sumeragi's shoulder. "It's a shame they have to leave, but for us, the night is just beginning! Akari, Kenjiro, it's been far too long since we sat down properly. Why don't you all come over to our place? For old time's sake, let's have a reunion at the Miyazono Pâtisserie."
Akari Sumeragi's golden eyes sparkled with the same matchmaking glint she often wore when plotting family gatherings. "That sounds like a wonderful idea! We were going to do a celebratory dinner, but visiting your shop feels much more meaningful. What do you think, Haruya? Menma?"
Menma looked up at Haruya, her white hair shimmering under the lobby lights. She didn't know these people well, but she felt a strange pull toward the name 'Kaori' that had been mentioned earlier. "I'd like to go, Haru," she whispered, her voice soft but steady.
Haruya nodded, his mind already beginning to sift through the static of his early childhood memories.
Unlike his recent experiences with photographic memory, his early childhood was a fuzzy blur. Seven years ago, he didn't have his Adaptability skill; he was just an ordinary, active boy.
"I'm in," Haruya said. "I'm curious to see how much has changed since we were kids."
The drive to Nerima was filled with the rhythmic hum of the car engine and the low murmur of the adults reminiscing. Haruya sat in the back with Menma, his gaze fixed out the window as the city lights blurred past. He leaned back, closing his eyes, and let his mind drift back to when he was five years old.
Seven years ago, Haruya Sumeragi was a different person.
He was active, energetic, and always the one leading the way during playground adventures.
He didn't know a single note on the piano, nor did he care about the precision of a recipe. He was just a boy who loved to run, climb, and explore.
His parents were close friends with the Miyazonos, and whenever they visited the bakery, Haruya would be the whirlwind of energy in the room. And then there was Kaori.
Kaori Miyazono.
In his memory, she was a tiny girl with messy blonde pigtails and eyes that always seemed a bit too big for her face. She was painfully shy, often hiding behind her mother's apron or the corner of a display case. Haruya, with the blunt confidence of a five-year-old, would always drag her along.
...
Seven years ago.
"Come on, Kaori! We're going to see the big fountain!" he would yell, grabbing her hand without waiting for an answer.
She never protested. She would just follow him, a small, happy smile on her face, content just to be in his orbit. She was too shy to ever say how much she enjoyed those moments, but her eyes were full of quiet, yet intense adoration that said everything.
Then, he remembered the specific day that changed everything.
Both families had attended a small community recital. Haruya, the ordinary child who found sitting still a chore, had been fidgeting in his seat until a guest performer took the stage. It was a young girl, much older than them, who played the violin.
She didn't just play; she commanded the instrument with a fierce, wild energy. The music was vibrant, soulful, and completely captivating. Haruya had stopped fidgeting. He had leaned forward, his golden eyes wide with wonder.
"Whoa," he had whispered, loud enough for Kaori to hear. "That's so cool. I wish I could do something like that."
He had been impressed by the sheer presence of the violinist, the way she made everyone in the room look only at her.
Beside him, Kaori had watched him, not the stage.
She saw the way his eyes sparked with an interest she had never seen before.
In her young, shy heart, a resolve had formed.
If that was what it took to get Haruya to look at someone like that. If music was the language he admired, then she would learn it.
She didn't want to just follow him anymore; she wanted to be the one who could make him stop and listen.
...
"Ah," Haruya breathed in the back of the car, his eyes snapping open. "The girl who was always too shy to speak up."
Menma looked at him, curious. "Did you remember something, Haru?"
"Yeah," Haruya smiled, a nostalgic warmth in his chest. "I remember a very shy girl who used to let me boss her around."
The Miyazono Pâtisserie sat on a quiet corner, its windows glowing with a warm, amber light. As the group approached, the scent of baking sponges and roasting nuts wafted into the street, a familiar 'language' that Akari and Haruya understood immediately.
Inside, the shop was filled with the charming clutter of a lived-in business. Shelves were lined with delicate pastries, and a small, upright piano sat in the corner, covered in sheet music and a violin case that looked well-used.
"Kaori! We're home! And we brought guests!" Yoshiyuki called out as he flipped the sign on the door to 'Closed'.
From the living area upstairs, a whirlwind of energy erupted.
A girl with long, waist-length blonde hair came skidding down the steps, her school uniform slightly rumpled and her blue eyes wide with a frantic sort of vitality.
She stopped dead when she saw the group standing in the shop, her gaze locking instantly onto Haruya.
The "Moonlight King" from the stage was standing in her family's shop, still wearing his black suit, the gold medal glinting against his chest.
"You..." Kaori Miyazono breathed, her voice a mix of awe and longing, playful challenge.
Haruya offered a small, genuine smile. "It's been a while, Kaori. You've grown... a lot more energetic than I remember."
Kaori's face turned a brilliant shade of red. She stepped forward, pointing a slender finger at him. "I saw you! I saw your performance on TV just now! They did a live segment on the local arts channel about the Towa Hall winners."
She took a deep breath, her eyes shimmering with an intense light. "You played the Pathétique like you were commanding a storm, Haruya! But don't get overconfident just because you won a medal. I've been practicing every single day since I saw your name on the competition list. I knew we'd meet again."
Haruya laughed; the surroundings focused on the two. "I didn't know you picked up the violin because of me."
Kaori snorted, trying to hide her embarrassment behind a mask of bravado. "I didn't do it for you! I just thought the violin was a really good instrument. But... since you're here, you have to listen to me play. I wanted to be ready for the day I could finally show you how much I've grown."
Akari and Ryouko laughed as they moved into the kitchen to prepare tea, leaving the children in the main shop area.
Menma stepped forward, offering a small, polite wave to the blonde girl. "I'm Meiko Honma," she said, her voice as soft as her expression. "I'm Haru's childhood friend."
Kaori blinked, her gaze shifting to the silver-haired girl. She took in Menma's serene presence, and then looked back at Haruya with a mischievous, knowing grin.
"A childhood friend from Chichibu, huh?" Kaori teased, her earlier shyness from seven years ago completely replaced by a vibrant, chaotic personality. "Haruya-kun, you really are a King. You have your own little kingdom of girls wherever you go!"
Haruya sighed, a familiar feeling of being ganged up on by his female acquaintances settling over him. "Can we just talk about something else? Or maybe the fact that I'm starving after that recital?"
Kaori laughed again, grabbing her violin case from the top of the piano. "Fine, fine! But only if you promise to listen to me play. I've been working on something... a piece I wanted to play with the boy who once said music was cool. Although back then, you didn't really know anything much about music."
The evening passed in a blur of sugar and sound. While the adults gossiped about the pastry industry, the children gathered in the small living area above the shop.
Haruya found himself sitting on a sofa between Menma and Kaori. It was a strange contrast: Menma was the cool, refreshing scent of a mountain river, while Kaori was the intense, intoxicating aroma of a spice market.
"So, Haruya," Kaori said, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands. "Why the piano now? My mom said you're a pastry genius, and I heard you're even training with the Nakiris in cooking. Isn't it exhausting?"
Haruya looked at his hands—hands that could knead dough with perfect rhythm, execute a complex Beethoven sonata with military precision, or fillet a fish with surgical accuracy.
"I have good Adaptability," he said, using the word that had become the core of his identity. "When I see something beautiful, I want to understand how it works. I want to be able to recreate that beauty myself. Cooking, baking, music... they're all just different ways of telling a story. I just want to be a good storyteller."
Kaori stared at him, her blue eyes searchingly intense. For a moment, the bravado faded, and Haruya saw a glimpse of the girl beneath.
The one who had picked up an instrument just to catch the eye of a boy she admired.
"A storyteller..." she whispered. "I like that. But stories are meant to be shared, King. You shouldn't play on a throne alone."
"Can you stop calling me that?" Haruya rolled his eyes. "It feels very chuunibyou."
Kaori giggled gleefully. "No way! That's what everyone is calling you now in the music scene."
She stood up and grabbed her violin. "Let's go. Downstairs. My parents have a piano, and it's tuned. Let's see if the 'Moonlight King' can handle a chaotic violinist."
Menma stood up as well, her eyes shining with support for Haruya. "You can do it, Haru. I'll be your audience."
They moved back down to the shop. The adults went quiet as Haruya sat at the upright piano and Kaori tucked her violin under her chin. There was no sheet music between them.
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star?" Haruya joked, remembering Hiroko-sensei's earlier underestimation.
Kaori snorted. "If you play that, I'm hitting you with my bow. Let's do something with soul. Do you know Saint-Saëns' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso?"
Haruya's Adaptability kicked in.
He hadn't practiced the full accompaniment, but he had heard the melody once during a practice session with Tsumugi.
His mind began to reconstruct the chords, the tempo, and the underlying emotion of the piece with photographic precision.
"I can follow you," Haruya said, his expression flattening into his 'serious mode'.
Kaori didn't wait. She drew her bow across the strings, and the first note was a piercing, soulful cry that filled the pâtisserie.
If Haruya's playing was a King on a throne, solid, regal, and commanding, then Kaori's was a bird caught in a gale.
She moved with a wild, unrestrained grace, her body swaying and her blonde hair flying. She didn't care about the 'proper' technique that a perfectionist like Erina Nakiri would have demanded; she played with a raw, desperate joy.
Haruya adapted.
He didn't try to overpower her with his regal Pathétique style. Instead, he became the wind beneath her wings.
He played the accompaniment with a subtle, shifting grace, catching her when she sped up and grounding her when she drifted too far into the melancholic depths of the piece.
For the adults watching, it was a revelation.
Akari leaned against Kenjiro, her eyes misty with pride. "They look like they've been playing together for years."
Ryouko Miyazono nodded, her hand gripping her husband's. "Kaori has finally found the partner she's been looking for since she saw him on that playground."
Menma sat on a stool by the counter, her hands clasped.
She saw the way Haruya looked at Kaori, not with the usual attitude he had shown her in his room, but with a deep, professional respect.
He was adapting to Kaori's chaos, and in doing so, he was creating something neither of them could have done alone.
As the final, frantic notes of the Rondo reached their climax, Haruya and Kaori hit the last chord in perfect unison.
The silence that followed wasn't the stunned silence of the Towa Hall; it was the warm, breathless silence of a small room filled with friends and family.
Kaori lowered her violin, her chest heaving, a huge, radiant smile on her face. "Not bad, Haruya! For a King, you're a pretty good servant to the music."
Haruya stood up, his suit jacket slightly disheveled. "And for a girl who used to be too shy to say hello, you've grown into quite the storm, Kaori."
They laughed together, the sound blending with the distant hum of the Tokyo night.
.
(A/N:
Yeah, this novel is back. Honestly, I was only gonna bring back the MDUD fanfic I was writing to write alongside my new Wistoria fanfic, but I kept getting comments about how I should return this too, so here we are...
Tbh, this novel was so complex and too ambitious for me, and I just found it so hard to write about it anymore, and with so many heroines and characters I don't really know how to go progress the plot, so I'll be writing this gradually and try to remember as much as I can about this since its almost been a year since I last wrote this.
Not guaranteed when the chapter updates will be, because I have two other novels to keep writing, but I'll at least post more occasionally.
PS: If you're gonna give me power stones, just put it all in my Wistoria fanfic. Won't change much here but it will if its placed over there. Thanks a bunch.)