Everyone who managed to get their hands on the book was beaming with joy—everyone except the fan at the very end of the line, whose face was pale with frustration.
"You guys! Why are you buying so many copies?!"
"At least think about the rest of us!"
Unfortunately, no one else could hear their inner complaints and desperate cries.
And even if they could, it wouldn't change anything.
After all, when those people were at the back of the line, they had suffered the same fate.
———————————————————————
"Damn it!" Kaguya angrily punched the pillow in front of her.
But with her delicate strength, all she managed to do was leave a small dent in the soft cushion.
'Knock, knock.'
A gentle knock came from the door, followed by Hayasaka's voice.
"My lady, the manga you wanted has been purchased."
Kaguya instantly returned to her usual cold, composed self.
Sitting upright on her bed, she replied in a steady voice, "Come in."
Hayasaka Ai entered the room and placed the final four volumes of Your Lie In April on the bedside table.
"You may leave."
Hayasaka hesitated, her lips slightly parted as if she wanted to say something.
But after a moment, she simply nodded.
"Understood."
She turned and walked out of the room, sighing quietly in her heart.
Everything had started that night when she returned home.
After reporting the failure of her mission and explaining the reason behind it, Kaguya, though unwilling, had no choice but to accept the outcome.
Even if it was only for a fleeting moment, Hayasaka had caught a glimpse of something in Kaguya's eyes—worry, guilt, and even fear.
That realization sent a warm feeling through Hayasaka's chest.
To think that she could affect the emotions of the usually cold and unshakable Kaguya... It meant she was truly important to her.
However.
Regardless of the reason, failure was still failure.
And ever since that day, Kaguya had become even more withdrawn.
Hayasaka knew exactly why.
Grabbing the four volumes she had also bought for herself, she silently prayed.
'Please… let there be a happy ending.'
Even though she knew, deep down, that the chances of that were less than 1%.
—
———————————————————————
Meanwhile, inside the room, Kaguya hesitated as she looked at the final four volumes of Your Lie In April sitting on her bedside table.
Her fingers twitched.
She wanted to reach out and grab them, yet at the same time, she was too afraid to touch them.
Minutes passed as she sat there in hesitation.
In the end, her desire to see how the story ended won out.
She flipped open the first chapter of Volume 8 and, for a moment, let out a small sigh of relief.
This chapter didn't mention Kaori at all.
Instead, it focused on Arima and Tsubaki's storyline.
Then, in the next chapter, a new girl was suddenly introduced out of nowhere.
It was a bit confusing, but—most importantly—there were no devastating twists.
That was a win!
The story moved along quickly, and soon, she reached the end of the volume.
Arima's conflicting emotions—wanting to visit but being too afraid to go—Kaori's complaints about him not coming to see her, their gentle conversation… it all brought a small smile to Kaguya's face.
But then.
As soon as she turned the page and saw the hospital corridor in the background, her smile vanished.
Her delicate features twisted in distress.
The panel showed Miyazono Kaori, having just finished a phone call with Arima, walking back to her hospital room with a cheerful bounce in her step.
"Ruuluuluu~"
She hummed happily to herself, as if she were singing.
Then, in the next panel—she suddenly collapsed.
"...Huh? Huh?" Kaguya let out a startled sound.
On the next page, Kaori was shown leaning against the railing in the hallway, struggling to pull herself up.
Her legs, however, refused to cooperate, dragging lifelessly beneath her.
Then came the next panel—full of raw, emotional intensity.
Kaori pounded on her legs, tears welling up in her eyes.
———————————————————————
"Move!"
"Move, damn it! These are my legs!"
———————————————————————
And in the final panel of the chapter—she curled up on the floor, sobbing in frustration and despair.
Kaguya's heart clenched as if it had been seized by an invisible force.
A suffocating pain filled her chest.
'It's okay!' She tried to convince herself.
'Kaori's condition was already known from the start, wasn't it?'
'This kind of scene is completely expected!'
But then.
She turned to the next chapter and was instantly paralyzed.
A bolt of shock ran through her.
The scene was from before Kaori had even been hospitalized.
She was at home, going over her sheet music, attempting to play.
Then she suddenly collapsed.
Her head struck a metal object nearby.
Blood gushed from her forehead, pooling beneath her motionless body.
"..."
Silence.
Kaguya forced a stiff smile.
"It's... it's fine!"
"The main issue is still with her legs, right?"
"This is just a wound. Just some blood. She won't die from this!"
"And she's clearly fine in later scenes, so this injury has nothing to do with her illness!"
Trying to reassure herself, Kaguya forced herself to keep reading.
Arima was teaching his new student how to play the piano.
Kaori suddenly appeared, bringing a brief moment of relief to Kaguya—only to have it quickly replaced by worry.
———————————————————————
"Your condition is already so bad, why did you come all the way to school?!"
———————————————————————
But after seeing Kaori's reasoning, Kaguya suddenly understood.
Even though she had never been in love herself, she could still empathize with Kaori's feelings.
It had been so long, and the person she liked hadn't come to visit her.
At that moment, nothing else mattered—only the overwhelming desire to see him.
''Arima Kousei, you idiot!!'
How could he be so dense?!
Even someone like Kaguya, who had never experienced love, could see that Kaori was practically confessing!
In this situation, shouldn't he respond more decisively?!
Kaori went through all that trouble, for him, yet he still thought she came for Watari?!
"You absolute moron!!"
A lie as obvious as that, and he still couldn't see through it… It was beyond frustrating!
And then—
Kaori's unsteady movements in the next panel made Kaguya's frustration shift into deep concern.
In the following scenes, Arima rides his bicycle, carrying Kaori back toward the hospital.
During their conversation, Kaori once again, intentionally or unintentionally, expresses her admiration for love.
The naive boy, oblivious to the deeper meaning, simply sighs in his heart.
Perhaps it's the cold night air, but the warmth in her words feels closer than ever.
Even if I'm just a stand-in for Watari, I don't care—I just want this moment to last forever.
As if responding to his silent prayer, a meteor shower suddenly lights up the night sky, dazzlingly beautiful.
Behind him, a girl with tears streaming down her face is just as breathtaking—heartbreakingly so.
———————————————————————
'I can't bring myself to ask why she's crying.'
———————————————————————
Kaguya clenches her fists, then slowly releases them in defeat.
"This is so cruel..."
No matter how much she wants to deny it, as an outsider watching this unfold, what excuse can she possibly find?
Why is Kaori crying?
Because she wants to live, of course.
Because she knows her time is short, which is why every second is so precious.
"Using the last of her time to save someone else... Is that what she truly wants?"
As a smart woman, Kaguya knows the answer.
She can lie to herself, but she can't ignore the carefully crafted scenes, the foreshadowing, or the deeper meaning the mangaka is trying to convey.
"This is just too cruel!!"
It's not just about the heartbreak—why did they have to create such a wonderful character like Kaori in the first place?
And the cruelest part?
Her tragic fate was sealed from the start.
She's only 14, for God's sake!
The sorrow wells up inside Kaguya, but she suppresses it, forcing herself to read through the final chapter of this volume.
Back in the hospital, Miyazono Kaori suddenly lashes out, and for a brief moment, Arima sees an eerie resemblance between her and his mother.
Worried, the boy returns to the hospital alone.
Kaori gazes at him as if reciting a script.
———————————————————————
"You're such a strange person."
"You come all the way here to visit me, yet you don't say a word."
———————————————————————
In the next panel, Arima's eyes widen as he notices the book lying beside her—"The Fifteen-Year-Old Pact."
———————————————————————
"Are you planning to die with me?"
———————————————————————
And with that, this volume comes to an end.
Kaguya sits in silence, lost in thought.
She recalls all the novels she has read—not because she enjoys reading like romance story, but simply because it helps pass the time.
Naturally, she has read this one before.
Digging through her memory, she pieces together the story:
It's a simple tale.
Ryoichi, a third-year middle school student, meets Naoko, a terminally ill girl in the hospital, through his baseball ace friend, Tetsuya.
During a match, Tetsuya gives it his all, cheering for his childhood friend Naoko.
On her fifteenth birthday, Ryoichi plays the piano in the hospital's recreation room to celebrate.
Then, one day, Naoko suddenly asks Ryoichi: "Would you die with me?"
A delicate story—like a fragile glass ornament—depicting love, friendship, life, and death in the fleeting days of youth.
———————————————————————
Recalling all this, Kaguya sets down the manga with a long sigh.
"I really am an idiot."
She knew it would end in tragedy, yet she couldn't stop herself from reading this far.
There's no doubt—the fate awaiting them is painfully obvious from the book lying by Kaori's bedside.
She looks at volumes 9, 10, and 11 stacked on the nightstand.
Her hand hesitantly reaches out, then stops midway.
She wants to read them.
She wants to know what happens next.
But she doesn't want to see that cruel ending.
Her heart is torn. Her trembling hand hovers in the air, unable to make a choice.
———————————————————————
11 AM.
Only two hours have passed since the release of the latest volume of "Your Lie in April."
Logically speaking, every fan who managed to get a copy should be engrossed in reading it right now.
And yet—
Akifumi Mugiho's social media is flooded with comments from fans!
These are the fans who have just finished volume 8.
Those with high emotional intelligence might say they're just "sensitive" or "easily moved to tears."
Those with lower emotional intelligence would just say they're outright crying like babies.
———————————————————————
"I just finished Volume 8, and I'm completely shattered!!"
"Same here! I cried my eyes out!"
"Is anyone else too scared to keep reading?!"
"I want to read the last three volumes, but I'm terrified of what's coming!"
"Why is this story so cruel?!"
"Kaori… my Kaori…!!"
"Damn you, Mangaka! How could you do this to such an amazing girl?!"
"No wonder only two volumes were released last month! If I had read Volume 8 back then, I wouldn't have dared to continue!"
"Damn it! I'm sending a knife to sensei in the mail!!"
"I swear, I'm never spending another dime on this series!"
———————————————————————
The flood of messages grows by the second. Fans who hadn't managed to buy the book are suddenly intrigued.
———————————————————————
"If you're too scared to read, just sell it to me! I don't care about the heartbreak!"
"Exactly! If you don't want it, don't waste your money. I'll buy it!"
"I just want to read 'Your Lie in April'! If you don't want your copy, sell it to me!"
———————————————————————
But their offers receive no response.
The very people who said they "couldn't bear to keep reading" have all mysteriously disappeared.
The hopeful fans slowly realize the truth.
"You hypocrites!"
They all claimed they wouldn't read it, that it was too painful—but when given the chance to walk away, not a single one actually did!
"Damn it!"
Are they seriously going to have to wait for a reprint?!
"Why do these bookstores always sell out so fast?!"
"Can't they stock more copies?! Don't they want to make money?!"
If the bookstore owners could hear them, they would surely retort:
"Weren't you guys the ones saying you wouldn't buy it?!"
"How was I supposed to know you'd all line up to get it the moment it was released?!"
"Besides, we already ordered extra copies! Who knew you'd still snatch them up in two hours?!"
Ah, the eternal love-hate relationship between buyers and sellers.
The truth is, these fans just need an outlet for their emotions.
Their hearts are aching—they need to distract themselves before they can keep reading.
"Complaining under the mangaka's posts really does make me feel better!"
And once they feel better, of course, they'll go right back to reading.
What? They said it was too painful to continue?
Nonsense!
What they said before has nothing to do with what they're feeling now!
With this newfound resolve, they flip open Volume 9.
Meanwhile, those who never stopped reading in the first place are already nearing the end of it...
———————————————————————
The latter half of the volume introduces a new girl—Nagi Aiza. At first, fans don't understand her role.
But by the end, it becomes clear.
She is a tribute.
A tribute to the one who pulled Arima out of his despair—Kaori.
A message.
A message to tell her that she doesn't have to worry anymore.
A salute.
Because now, he too has the power to guide others.
As Kaori listens to their duet, she stands by the hospital window.
Though she has no violin in hand, she mimics the movements, as if playing along with them.
Perhaps this silent gesture says it all—she no longer has the strength to hold her violin.
———————————————————————
"It's your fault I don't want to let go."
Just ten words, yet they bring tears to countless readers' eyes.
"I'm greedy. I've started dreaming again."
"I even dared to imagine—one day, dancing a waltz with you..."
———————————————————————