Chapter 37: Performance ; Aftermath

"Mou...stop teasing me already, Shouko-chan..." Kaori pouted at Shouko's giggle, but all it did was allow Shouko to giggle even harder.

While Kaori continued to pout, Raiha and Yuzuru went closer to Kaori while standing on their tiptoes, trying to poke Kaori's puffed cheeks. They often did that when Shouko pouted due to Fuutarou's teasing, becoming a routine to poke pouting people's cheeks.

Of course, they wouldn't just poke a random stranger's cheeks, but if it was a friend or relative that they were familiar with, then that would be a different matter.

Kaori looked down at the two young girls, and a smile quickly replaced her pout.

"Raiha-chan! Yuzuru-chan! How have you been?" Rubbing the two cute girls' heads, Kaori asked enthusiastically. It had only been a week since they last saw each other, but to Kaori, who had done nothing but lazed around all day, it had been a long time.

""Hello, Kaori-onee-chan!"" The two girls greeted back cutely as they enjoyed the rub on their heads.

"So cute~."

"Ahem...as much as we would like to stand here all day to talk, I suppose we should enter now?" An adult female voice entered their ears, interrupting them in the middle of their conversation.

Hanako, the mother of Raiha and Fuutarou, had spoken up and agreeing with her, the rest of them started making their way into the audience hall.

"Shouko-chan, do you think Fuutarou-kun can win?" On the way to their seats, Kaori asked softly.

"Of course. My Fuu-kun can definitely win first place." Shouko replied confidently, quite unlike how she usually acted.

Kaori wasn't too surprised to hear her reply. Firstly, Shouko was Fuutarou's girlfriend, after all. Why wouldn't she believe in him? And secondly, she herself knew about Fuutarou's talent the best, second only to probably Fuutarou himself.

Although neither of them had said anything about not getting first place in the duet competition, Kaori knew deep down that if she hadn't decided to play to her style and just followed the score, they would have had a high chance of getting first place. But instead, Fuutarou chose to play alongside her, uncaring the 'rules' and the 'regulations' of a 'proper' competition.

In a sense, it was actually partially her fault that they didn't get the first place.

Granted, she might not be aiming for any sort of prize and was just seeking to live her life fully before dying, but she wasn't alone; Fuutarou was with her.

Perhaps...she shouldn't be that selfish...?

"Don't think too much about it, Kaori-chan. I'm sure that whatever Fuu-kun, it would be based on his own decision, not influenced by anybody." Shouko spoke.

Kaori didn't know whether Shouko referred to this piano competition or the previous duet competition but smiled nevertheless. It might just be a coincidence, but Shouko's words had really calmed her down.

"Un."

Kaori just gave a slight nod as they finally decided on the best seat possible, which was in the exact middle of the audience hall.

Making herself comfortable in her seat next to Shouko, they continued talking about various things.

Fifteen minutes ticked by slowly, and the time was now 1.30pm. When Kaori wasn't getting ready to perform on stage, she felt that time always passed by the slowest while waiting for the performance to start.

"Contestants! Thank you very much for participating in this competition today. I hope that all of you would do your best, and may the best pianist win."

As soon as the time hit 1.30pm sharp, an announcement was heard. The constant mutterings around the hall immediately disappeared, leaving behind nothing but silence. Everybody present was looking forward to the competition, whether it was because their child was participating in it or some other reasons.

The first contestant entered, and wearing a dress, she looked...normal in Kaori's opinion. Short brown hair and average height were the perfect descriptions of the said girl.

Bowing to the audience, the girl went towards the piano and sat down. Soon after, music was heard. There were two songs per category, and the easier song occupied three-quarters of it. The last remaining hour was for the extra contestants to play the more challenging piece.

Depending on the number of people playing each piece, the final timings were decided beforehand.

Kaori was naturally interested in music, and although her main focus was on the violin, she had also developed a slight interest in piano after being in Fuutarou's company for a long time.

However, after hearing the first piece being played, Kaori's eyes couldn't help but flash with disappointment. In fact, it wasn't just Kaori who felt that. Even Shouko, Yuzuru, and Raiha weren't too satisfied with the song's quality.

What they didn't know was that it was actually their criteria being too high. After hearing a song of the grandmaster's standard every single day, everything else would naturally sound dull in their ears.

Still, as a sign of respect, they clapped along with the other audience after the song ended.

The next contestants weren't too far apart in standard from the first girl, and like that, three hours passed, and everyone who was playing the easier song had come on stage and played.

At this point, Raiha and Yuzuru, who were being restless at the side, suddenly sat up straight and looked towards the stage; they knew it was time for their beloved older brother to come on stage.

Beethoven Sonata Op 106 "Hammerklavier" Part 5 (movement 4), the piece that Fuutarou was going to play, lasted ten minutes. Only three competitors were willing to play this song for the competition, leaving the next half an hour for this category's prize ceremony.

The reason why the competition allowed the competitor to choose one of the two set-pieces to play wasn't just because they weren't willing to listen to the same song over and over and over again for 9 hours.

That was only part of the reason, but the main reason was to seek out talents buried in this part of the country. This wasn't Tokyo, where it was easy to seek out talents.

Although Matsuyama, located north-west of Japan, wasn't too remote, it wasn't the busiest city in Japan.

Sitting just slightly behind the judges, Kaori and Shouko could see that, like the two little girls, the judges also sat slightly straighter than before, obviously looking forward to the next part.

'Seems like even the judges are looking forward to Fuu-kun's playing.' Shouko thought happily, misunderstanding that the judges weren't just looking forward to any specific player's playing.

"And for our next, and the very first contestant to play the second set-piece, Beethoven Sonata Op 106 "Hammerklavier" Part 5 (movement 4), Fumika Himari."

The announcement was heard, and a seventeen-year-old girl walked on stage. She had perfectly straight black hair that reached her waist and was tied up in a ponytail, sharp features, and donned a small smile on her face.

After her bow, Himari started playing the piano.

A sonata doesn't mean anything special; all it is was to show that the piece was a piece of music played by a musical instrument, as opposed to a Cantata, which is a piece of music sung.

Beethoven Sonata Op 106 "Hammerklavier" had four movements all together, and in the fourth movement, there were seven parts in total.

The entire sonata was forty minutes in total, and no competition or any performance would allow anyone to play one song for forty minutes straight. Thus, a very specific part of the sonata that would be played must be mentioned in any competition beforehand.

As the girl played, everyone in the audience hall kept silent and listened closely. Unlike the previous three hours, where the song was comparably easier, this song was much longer and challenging. Even a moment's distraction could prove to be deadly for the pianist.

As she continued playing, it was apparent that she wasn't fully prepared. Although she looked as though she hasn't made any mistakes, it was only to an untrained ear.

To people like the judges and even Kaori, the girl wasn't that good. She could play the piece smoothly, but many missing notes were skipped due to her inability to play it on time, and the tempo wasn't consistent.

Although those two things seemed insignificant, it was a no-no in a competition, especially when you were the one of the three who was playing this piece.

Chords that weren't played like the way the score showed sounded different. Even if it was very minor, it was still hearable. And if the tempo wasn't consistent with the score, it made the music sound weird.

Kaori could understand why people chose to play this piece - this piece was challenging, but successfully playing this piece proved that they were the superior pianist. But not everybody was a freak like Fuutarou; they couldn't just thoroughly learn a new song in one week, much less a challenging piece like Beethoven Sonata Op 106 "Hammerklavier".

However, that didn't excuse them from being overconfident in their abilities.

If she couldn't learn that piece in three weeks, then she shouldn't have chosen to play that piece in the first place. As a result, although she had proved that she could play this piece, her performance only emphasized her overconfidence to pick this piece.

Kaori only felt that they should pick this piece when they have the complete confidence to play this piece or had coincidentally learned this piece in the past before this competition was even announced.

Ten minutes passed by slowly, and as she reached the end of the piece, more and more mistakes were made, probably due to the combination of nervousness, anxiousness, and exhaustion from performing on stage.

After she finished playing, the audience was silent for a moment before applause sounded.

It wasn't anything majestic; just some perfunctory actions after a performance or showcase, showing respect to her hard work.

And the girl clearly knew that, so although a smile remained on her face, it wasn't the brightest smile.

The next girl wasn't too different. If the previous girl could be considered 'pretty', this girl would be regarded as 'cute' instead. At eighteen years old, her hair was brown and shoulder-lengthed.

Unlike the previous one, this girl was more focused on the piece than the last girl. Her music was much smoother than the previous girl, perhaps due to her lesser nervousness and being older than her.

But still, it seemed that she couldn't maintain her momentum till the end, screwing up slightly at the very end.

'What a pity...'

The judges didn't evaluate the top three positions base on the songs. They only considered how well you played your choice of songs, so everybody (the three) who picked Beethoven Sonata Op 106 "Hammerklavier" must carry the risk of not being able to play to their best of their ability.

After the girl left the stage, the final contestant finally arrived on stage. At this point, the judges already gave up.

As though the song wasn't hard enough already, but now, a twelve-year-old boy walks up to stage? If the two seventeen and eighteen-year-old girls couldn't play it, what makes him think he could do better than them?

The judges weren't usually judgemental, but this impression was currently way too huge. Usually, nobody would dare join a competition when they were at the very bottom of the age group. It was a pity, but the older ones usually had an advantage since they would have had more time to practice.

The judges flipped over their paper and saw the profile of the said boy, Uesugi Fuutarou. Or at least, they tried to since there was nothing to see on the paper.

Apart from his name, age, school, there was nothing else. Not a single achievement from other competitions, nor any recommendations from other successful pianists. There was only a line that showed that he got the audience's award in the competition just a week ago.

'Oh? This guy got an audience award just a week before? Interesting...' One of the judges became slightly interested in him and patiently waited for him to start.

Still, the judges did what they were paid to do: judge.

Fuutarou, like all the contestants before him, bowed to the audience and judges before hopping onto the chair. Because of his twelve-year-old body, his height was shorter than the previous two girls, requiring him to slightly adjust the chair's height.

Not a moment later, Fuutarou revealed a smile and pressed his fingers on their respective keys.

As Fuutarou's fingers pressed on each key, they changed faster and faster as the music progress. Or at least that was what it sounded like.

In reality, however, although the music seemed to be progressing faster and faster, the tempo never wavered.

The beginning sounded pretty nice, and the first difficult part soon came three minutes into the piece. Fuutarou's fingers didn't go out of tempo but consistently kept to the time. As his fingers danced on the keys, Kaori seemed lost as her fingers flew over the keys like swallows darting in a pond for fish.

His fingers were a blur, yet as if in slow motion, Kaori could easily hear when each key was being pressed down.

When notes were supposed to be soft, it was soft; and when it was supposed to be loud, it was loud.

Fuutarou's fingers never stopped moving. When his right hand was continuously moving, his left hand had a break, and while it was his left hand's turn to continuously play the long runs of semiquavers, his right hand took a break.

[A/N: The most basic note is called a crotchet, which is one beat long, followed by a quaver, which is half a beat long, followed by a semiquaver, which is one-quarter of a beat.]

This piece was already very fast (also known as 'Allegro' in music terms) to begin with, and the fact that it was in cut time didn't help.

[A/N: Cut time refers to the tempo being doubled to make everything half as long. That means a crotchet would be half-beat long, a quaver is a quarter of a beat long, and so on.]

The sound produced was as lively as the Cocoa plantation singers in Africa who sing at the earliest dawn while collecting cocoa beans in their huge baskets - each note firm, sharp, and filled with confidence.

It was as sweet as the cuckoo does in the Himalayas when the sun is just about to peep through between the hills and the pride with which the thunder sings its rage - strong, dominating, yet endlessly enthralling.

It was as though Fuutarou wasn't playing the piano but gently caressing it.

Unlike the previous two pianists, Kaori found herself being drawn into Fuutarou's playing, and it wasn't even because of her bias opinion. The audiences seemed to have awakened from their slumber as they realized who was playing such a wonderful song.

It sounded almost similar to how the others played, yet it sounded so vastly different as well.

Fuutarou was just that good.

Even the judges had placed down their pen and listened intently, not willingly to multitask to listen and write simultaneously, as though afraid that missing out on hearing this piece would be like missing out on tons of pure gold.

Unlike the other time, Fuutarou didn't insert any of his own styles into the piece. It was played note for note, rhythm for rhythm; there wasn't a single thing off from the score.

Every trill, every slur, every staccato was played.

[A/N: Trill is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart. A slur is a musical ornament, showing that the notes it embraces are to be played without separation]

Even the feelings and message that Beethoven wanted to convey through the piece were perfectly expressed without a single hint of deviation.

The music was as such that it would be unjust to the musician who was weaving the heavenly notes to describe it with a few words.

'Sigh, Fuutarou-kun is so good...'

Kaori had heard it countless times, and yet, despite that, she couldn't ever get bored of hearing him play. It was addictive like heroin but not harmful, mesmerizing like stars but not unreachable.

*****************

I have never felt so alive before. My fingers seemed to have a life and mind of their own, continuously dancing across the keyboard from one end to the other.

Everything felt like a dream. It was like I could do anything I ever wanted.

Even when practicing this piece for the entire day at school, I had never felt so satisfied when playing this ten-minute piece.

Indeed, the experience of playing in front of an audience was different from just practicing in the music room.

Contrary to many beliefs, playing the piano at a professional level wasn't as relaxing as people thought.

There are many benefits to playing the piano, such as sharpening fine motor skills, improving dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Music has also been shown to reduce heart and respiratory rates, cardiac complications, lower blood pressure, and increase immune response. Playing the piano also makes your hands and arm muscles much stronger than the average person.

Thus, although one cannot lose weight from just sitting at the piano all day, it was still considered as exercising, just exercising the less frequently exercised parts.

My mind seemed to have emptied out of any thoughts and distractions. There was nothing but the piano in my eyes.

There was no judge, no stage, no people.

I was excited yet calm. I didn't rush any part; each part was played perfectly the way I remembered it.

Eidetic memory for the win!

I didn't know when, but my head started sweating. It was mentally exhausting, having to play each part perfectly. Each finger only landed on the keys for a fraction of a second before moving on to the next key, never did my fingers land on each key for more than two seconds in a row.

Soft, gentle notes...loud, accented notes...

[A/N: An accent is an emphasis, stress, or stronger attack placed on a particular note or set of notes, or chord, either due to its context or specifically indicated by an accent mark.]

Ten minutes passed by too fast for my liking. Although I was slightly tired, I didn't want to stop.

But unfortunately, I have reached the end of the score.

The last chord was pressed with an accent, and after holding the keys down for two seconds, I gently let go of the keys, separating them from my fingers.

"Haa...ha...this was fun..."

Muttering to myself, I went into a daze. Looking back at the journey, I felt accomplished. Despite living only a mere twelve years in this life, I thought that I have achieved more than what I did in the entirety of my previous life.

Am I proud? Of course! Who wouldn't be?

Imagine living a life complete of mediocrity and suddenly being on a stage where everybody screamed out your name in happiness.

My daze didn't last long. I could faintly hear the thunderous applause from my right. As I turned my head to face all of them, I could see everybody standing up and clapping; the judges weren't exempted from this either.

Remembering what I had to do after a performance, I quickly stood on my feet, only to stumble slightly due to my numb legs.

I could hear some laughter among the audience from my little incident but paid no heed to it.

Strangely enough, my spiky hair remained spiky despite the sweat; it was as though gravity didn't work on it. Still, I brightly smile as I went towards the front of the stage and bowed one more time before leaving the stage.

I could hear the cheers, the encouragement from the audience, and like Kaori, I wave my hands at them.

Everything after that just seemed to pass by in a daze. Learning my lesson from the last time, I didn't change my attire immediately after my performance, instead choosing to wait until the results were announced.

Resting in the waiting room with the other contestants, I could feel their gazes on me. Most were surprised that I could play that well, and some admiration. And, of course, there was jealousy as well, coming from an eighteen-year-old boy.

Maybe I took his spotlight or something? But from what I remembered, even when playing the easier song, he couldn't play as well as some younger contestants. So I don't know why he was feeling jealous of me.

Still, maybe we're all tired from performing and nervous about the results, so we didn't talk much, not that we're familiar with each other anyway.

When waiting in nervousness and anticipation, time often seemed to pass by so slowly.

The clock in the room slowly ticked by. Just as someone was about to burst from the wait, the door opened, causing all of us except me to stand up immediately.

"Sir? What are the results?"

"Have the results been released already?"

"Who won?"

The man in question was bombarded with questions from all sides, causing him to rub his forehead in annoyance.

"Enough. Please act like your age. All of you are already sixteen to eighteen years old. Is this how you're supposed to act?"

Hearing his words, all of them became ashamed and backed off a little, allowing the man to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. Now, for the results. There are the top three, plus an audience choice's award. The judges have made their final decision, so there will be no canceling, arguing, or taking back their decision." The man warned all of us first, and seeing our expression, he smiled, "Good. Now can these three people follow me?"

"Three? I thought you said that there were four awards?" A girl asked with curiosity.

"Yes. There are four awards, but one of the winners managed to win the Audience's choice award as well." The man replied with a nonchalant expression, but his words caused some surprise among us.

I mean, the audience's choice usually meant that the song that we played was very nice, right? So it shouldn't be a surprise that one of the winners gets the awards since they're the best of the bunch, after all. Unless some abnormality like Kaori and I pop up, this shouldn't be too big of a surprise.

"Hyoku Jika, Yamamoto Akime, and..." The man told two consecutive names before pausing for a while. I could see his eyebrows shooting up, and he gave me a look of surprise.

"...Uesugi Fuutarou."

Phew, luckily, I got an award. I still don't know which one yet, but hopefully, I get first so that I won't lose my piano proficiency...

The other contestants' heads turned to me, and their eyes were widened to their limit. Honestly, it was pretty entertaining to see.

A twelve-year-old boy like me managed to beat the high schoolers and middle schoolers; that must have come as a surprise.

Still, not wanting to be the arrogant young master, I just walked towards the man and stood beside him with a small smile on my face.

"Haha, good job, boy. I have worked here for almost two decades already, and this is only my third time seeing the youngest person in the category win."

"Thank you." Not knowing how else to reply to the man, I merely thanked him.

The man gave me a gratified smile and walked out of the door and towards the stage.

The two girls looked at each other for a moment before patting my head and dragging me along to follow the man at the same time.

What the hell! Why did they suddenly pat my head?!

"Onee-san is surprised! Such a cute and young boy managed to win..." The eighteen-year-old winner wore a delighted smile on her face, but her eyes glimmered dangerously.

Shotacon?!

"Ara ara...I participated in many competitions before, but this is my first time seeing such a young and handsome boy..." The other eighteen-year-old winner said.

Did she just 'Ara ara' me?

Being in the company of these two onee-sans just wasn't good for my heart. One is a shotacon, while the other is an 'ara ara' girl. Especially the former.

Fortunately, I didn't have to be together with them for long. As soon as we got to the side of the stage, the results were being announced.

"In third place, Yamamoto Akime!"

The shotacon went up to the stage and got her award.

"In second place, Hyoku Jika!"

The 'ara ara' onee-san went up to the stage.

"And finally, in the first place! And the Audience's choice of the best pianist! Uesugi Fuutarou!"

I don't know when I walked to the middle of the stage before I found myself shaking hands with the judge. Unlike the last judge I met, this judge was much friendlier.

His smile stretched from one ear to another, and all two rows of teeth could be seen.

"Good job, Uesugi-san. You're possibly one of the most talented pianists I have ever seen. I wonder who's your teacher?"

"I have no teacher."

"Haha...you're humorous as well!" Clearly, the judge didn't believe me.

"Really. I'm self-taught."

Seeing my serious face, the judge stopped laughing and stared at me with equal seriousness.

"We'll talk about this later. Do you have time later?"

Not knowing what he wanted, I shook my head before facing the photographer to have my photo taken. I had a family waiting for me outside, after all.

"I'll give you my parents' contact number later. Perhaps you would be able to find some other time to contact me?"

"What a pity. But sure. I'll be contacting you in the future."

"For what, though?"

"Who knows?"

This judge...I just hope that he won't pull me into some troublesome business.

The rest of the ceremony didn't last long, and within three minutes, we could leave.

Before the two onee-sans could stop me, I quickly moved away to the changing room to change back to my normal attire.

It was empty in the changing room since I was the last boy who would change. The two trophies were placed on the bench as I took off my blazer and long pants.

The two trophies were different - while the trophy for first place was golden and in the shape of a treble clef (𝄞), the trophy for the Audience's choice was transparent with a blue hint at the base and was tear-shaped.

Both were amazing in their own unique way.

These are the fruits of my hard work, huh? Even if the system did help out, I could say that I did put in hard work, right? Right?

But even if you disagree, I'll stick to my own way of thinking.

*****************

[Quest: Attain First place in the piano competition next week]

Description: Since you have decided to go down this route, you must first take your big step in the world of music. And what better way to do it than to play Beethoven's most technical song on your first showcase?

Passing Criteria: Attain first place. As simple as that.

Rewards: 3x normal gacha tokens, 2x premium tokens

Failure: Minus 10 points of piano grandmaster proficiency

System tips: If you don't manage to get first place with grandmaster proficiency in your age group, you might as well go bang your head against tofu and commit suicide.

*****************

[Hidden Quest: Become the audience's favorite pianist]

Description: Even when you become the best pianist, if no one likes you, what's the point of being the best? Thus, try your best to become good at both the piano and at satisfying people's tastes.

Passing Criteria: Get the Audience's choice award. Warning: If you don't complete the previous quest, this quest will automatically fail.

Rewards: Piano Proficiency increase by 100, 2x premium tokens

Failure: None

System tips: This quest is not hidden anymore.

*****************

[Two quests completed, rewards are being issued.]

[Piano Proficiency increase by 100, 3x normal gacha tokens, 4x premium tokens]

After I settled down, the system rang out, informing me of my rewards.

Today is a great day indeed. Leaving the rewards to one side first, I realized that my music proficiency had increased, albeit a little, and my piano proficiency has increased from 200 to 458.

100 points are from the rewards, so I gained an extra 158 points from playing on this stage?

[A/N: Those with OCD, too bad. I refuse to round 458 up or down.]

It seems that my decision wasn't wrong after all. Playing a difficult piece in competition has indeed increased a lot more than just practicing every day.

I really want to spin the rewards now, but my family is waiting outside. Deciding to do it later at night, I quickly put on my comfortable shorts and shirt and left the changing room after keeping everything in my bag.

*****************

"Fuu-chan/Fuu-kun/Fuutarou-kun/Onii-chan!"

Being called by four different names, I turn my head to face them. Two little girls arrived first, before Kaori and Shouko, and finally, our parents.

But before the adults could say anything more, another voice could be heard.

"Fuu-chan. Congratulations on your win." Haruma spoke, his smile never leaving his face.

"Thanks, but stop it with the Fuu-chan. I don't even know why you copy the adults..." I grumbled. I had no say over the adults, but even Haruma?

Sigh...

"Haha...Shouko-chan always follows you and goes 'Fuu-kun, Fuu-kun', so to differentiate, I'm calling you Fuu-chan." Haruma replied, causing Shouko to blush a little.

That made no sense at all! But I'm not going to argue. Sometimes talking to him can be frustrating.

While the adults familiarise themselves with the new set of parents, the children talked for a while.

It was already 5.30, and although it was slightly early for dinner, we still decided to go for dinner.

I'm starving from playing the piano, how queer~.

*****************

"You did well, Fuu-kun." Holding onto Shouko's hand, Shouko whispered on the bus, "Congratulations."

After dinner, all of us split up. While Kaori's family went somewhere else, Haruma's family left in the opposite direction, leaving our family.

Raiha and Yuzuru woke up too early today, and now they were fast asleep in their respective mothers' embrace.

"Thanks." Squeezing her hand slightly, I reply back.

However, just before I could do anything more, Shouko leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. It wasn't the usual peck, but an actual long kiss.

"Shou-"

"Shh...Keep that as a...reward, alright? Besides," Shouko smiled bashfully, "if I want to keep my place beside you, I can't just wait for a slow guy like you to take the initiative."

Ouch...am I really that slow? Or are elementary school students this proactive nowadays? I don't ever remember my elementary school days from my previous life to be this lively...wait, nevermind.

I wasn't exactly the most popular person in the class.

Now, how should I reply to this...

"I will never leave you."

"I know."

"Then-"

"Cause I'll make sure you fall for me so hard, you'll not be able to survive without me." Her eyes were deadly serious,

God, that sounded ominous yet sweet at the same time.

I didn't think I would be able to fall even harder for Shouko but hearing her words, I knew I was wrong.

Why was this girl so adorable?

"I'm looking forward to it, but I'll also do my best to make you fall deeply in love with me~."

"Mou...copying my words..."

*****************

But you won't be able to do that...since I had fallen too deeply for you already...Fuu-kun.

Once I had gotten the taste of the gentle, warm, and fuzzy feeling whenever I'm with you, I don't think I could ever live without that...

Seeing Fuu-kun smile so gently at me, my heart skips a beat.

Seeing Fuu-kun treat me so gently, my heart melted.

Seeing Fuu-kun help me do all those little things, my heart had already entirely belonged to you.

"Are you tired, Fuu-kun?"

"Hm...mentally exhausted, I guess..."

"Then go to sleep."

"Huh? But-"

"Go to sleep," I repeated, this time with a tone that gave him no chance to reject.

"Fine."

Not long after, I could hear his stable breathing.

Looking at Fuu-kun's sleeping face on my shoulder, a small smile crept up on my face. This handsome little boy attracts way too many women...I'm jealous, you know, Fuu-kun?

But...

I will not stop you from doing what you want.

Your kindness has saved people, and that is why I won't stop you from spreading your kindness.

"Shou-chan...I...love...you..."

Mumbling in his sleep, Fuu-kun looks adorable.

I love you too.

*****************

A/N: 5492 words without including A/N here. My all time highest word count record. I bet that the readers are enjoying this more and more while I'm procrastinating all my work to write this. Separating this chapter into three weeks would have been a good decision, but then again, since I have already wrote this down, I might as well post everything in one go.

You're welcome.

Three questions:

1) You might notice that I tend to neglect the family interactions in this chapter, focusing mainly on Kaori and Shouko. Do you guys like it, or do you want to develop the family on the same level as the two girlfriends as well?

PS: Hensuki and 100 Kanojo are amazing works!

PPS: Date A Live Season 4 is coming out soon!!! Woohoo!