Afterwards, Kōsei confesses to Kaori as the two share a meal on the hospital rooftop. Meanwhile, Tsubaki anguishedly declares her own love for Kōsei and reveals that she agreed to introduce Kaori because she hoped that would make Kōsei turn to her. Watari correctly deduces that Kōsei is in love with Kaori and encourages him to meet and confess to her. When she faints, Kōsei takes her to the hospital but otherwise is unable to say anything else.
The two visit the school that night, where Kaori reveals that she had lied about the date, as she is still hospitalized but does not want her illness to make her helpless.
Kaori is later discharged and, as a punishment for not visiting her in the hospital, forces Kōsei to be Watari's "substitute" for a date the two had planned. Kōsei is initially hesitant, but his mother's pianist friend, Hiroko Seto, tells him that it would be a good chance to prove to his mother what a pianist he has become.ĭuring the concert, Kaori is unexpectedly hospitalized, so Kōsei plays the piece as a piano solo. For the gala, Kaori picks Love's Sorrow, a piece that Saki used to play as a lullaby for her son. He succeeds and while Kaori is disqualified, the organizers invited her to play at a gala concert. During the competition, Kōsei experiences a breakdown again, but Kaori encourages him to restart the recital, despite the fact that it will disqualify her. One of her competitions requires a pianist to accompany her, so Kaori forces Kōsei to come out of retirement and accompany her. She plays the violin in an unorthodox manner, refusing to follow the cues and instead creating her own flow that nevertheless impresses the audience. Kaori, as it turns out, is a bubbly children-loving violinist.
Ten years later, in April, Kōsei is invited by his childhood friends Tsubaki Sawabe and Ryōta Watari to go on a double date with them and Kaori Miyazono, whom Tsubaki says is attracted to Watari. Since then, Kōsei quit playing piano in public. Indeed, Saki died the following day this caused Kōsei to experience a mental breakdown during a recital, making him unable to hear sounds from the piano. When, as a seven-year-old, she slapped him after a victory that she deemed unwarranted, he declared his refusal to play the piano ever again and wished that she died. He achieved so much because he was meticulously taught by his terminally ill mother, Saki, who was abusive and demanding. Kōsei Arima is a piano prodigy who has won many awards due to his precision, timing, and ability to switch between tempos easily, earning him the moniker "the human metronome".