"So, piano teacher, huh? Interesting. Do you have your own school?"

"Oh, yes actually. I teach about ten to fifteen students a week."

It was Valentine's Day. Normally there are two different types of people on this holiday. There are the couples and there are the singles. Right now I'm playing the role of in-between. Watari suggested I go online and see if I have any luck there. I was hesitant about it at first but figured that I had nothing to lose.

"Oh, that's a lot of students to teach every day. That's really impressive of you, Arima-kun."

The woman sitting in front of me was named Izumi Arakawa. Of course, I met her using the online dating site Watari showed me. She was the same age as me, twenty-four. She was also very pretty. She had long straight black hair and straight bangs. Her cerulean blue eyes showed me shy, polite, just as she had mentioned on her profile. She was also shorter than me; she reached my shoulder in full-height.

"Oh you can just call me Kousei, if you don't mind." I smiled politely. "Anyway, enough about me. So, your profile said that you're a pediatric nurse?" I pushed my lo mein around on my plate. I hoped she found this Chinese restaurant fancy enough. Her profile hadn't given any hints as to where she would typically go on a first date, so of course Watari suggested the venue as well.

"I'm actually still in school for my Bachelor's. I waitress at the big café in town while I'm not in school." Izumi had ordered a plate of sesame chicken and rice.

"Oh, so you must be a very busy person. How do you make time for dating?" I supposed I could deal with her schedule. She didn't seem to be entirely too busy. But that was more for later.

"I actually asked for today off so I could meet you here." Izumi seemed to blush as she said this, her pale complexion glowing in the chandelier lighting of the restaurant.

'You always start fancy! Women like that!' Watari's voice echoed in my mind as I drank my tea. Though I wasn't sure if he'd been entirely correct about that. He'd had to apologize to his girlfriend several times for assuming that all women expect dining fancy for the first date. Though according to him it had still been true. Just not when she was around. I sighed to myself. Izumi must have mistaken it for a sign of disappointment because she frowned.

"Does that not appeal to you, Kousei?"

"Oh, no! I'm sorry, it's just something a friend of mine said to me earlier today." I laughed nervously.

"Oh?" She seemed to light up once again. "Who is this friend of yours?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him. You probably wouldn't like him, anyways."

"Oh, okay," It was silent again for a few moments before Izumi spoke again. "Kousei, I was actually curious about something. . ."

"Oh, what is it?" I smiled. I was grateful for the start of a new topic. I'd been running out of things to talk about.

"…What was your previous relationship like? Er, I mean if you were in one, of course! I don't mean to assume, I'm sorry. . . I was just wondering what the girl had been like if you did have one…"

Before we both knew it, it was silent once again. I wasn't exactly sure how to answer her question. No. That was a lie. Of course I already knew the answer. But for some reason it was hard to get the words out. The silence was never ending but I just couldn't speak. It was as if my voice box had been ripped from my throat entirely.

'Kaori. . .'

I looked down at my legs, at my fists as they'd been gripping the dinner napkin I'd placed there tightly. My knuckles were white. It had only been a few months. Six, nearly seven to be exact. So I suppose the wounds had still been fresh.

"Kousei…? I'm sorry if I—"

"She died." I said almost too harshly. Poor Izumi. I hadn't meant to direct it towards her. But to the tragedy itself. But I couldn't find the words to apologize. Tears started to fill my eyes. Damn.

The silence was almost deafening as we both sat there. Though to me, I wasn't hearing silence. I was struggling to hear the sound of her violin playing. Her beautiful sound had diminished with the wind the day she died.

"…Oh. I'm sorry for your loss."

I sighed before wiping my tears away with the cuff of my sleeve. I'd dressed nicely for the occasion, wearing a white button up shirt and black dress pants. Izumi had dressed nicely as well. She'd even gone out of her way to put on a long red dress with spaghetti straps and a pearl necklace. Great. Now I knew this wasn't going to end well.

"..May I ask what happened to her?" I could hear the strain in her voice.

I looked at her as she sat there across from me. I could see the pity in her eyes. It was as if I was looking at it through a magnifying glass. It was the only thing I could see on her now.

I smiled but it wasn't genuine. She was trying to save the rest of this already ruined date. Probably to uphold a reputation. Or maybe she really did care and was trying to help me out of the kindness of her heart. But it didn't matter which one it had been. I felt exhausted. As if some being from high up in the sky had suddenly dropped a total thousand pounds onto my shoulders and left them there for me to carry around for the rest of my life.

"Forgive me. . . but I think this should be over now. I will pay for the tab. Thank you, Izumi. It was nice to meet you."

After that I stood, pushing in my chair behind me, turning on my heel and leaving before another word could be said.

'Kaori. . . I wish you were here.'

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of "Love and Heartbreak". I will continue to post as soon as I can so I hope that you will continue reading.^^

Disclaimer: I do not own Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) nor do I own any of the original characters from the anime or manga itself.

~ShortAzn