Towa music hall. A renowned music hall located in Tokyo. Here, many young aspiring musicians started their music career. In this very music hall, hundreds of world-renowned musicians were born. To even be able to perform here is a privilege not many posses. Only those at the top, the pinnacle, the very best, are able to perform on these sacred grounds.

Or at least that’s what I've heard others gush about. I don’t share the same opinion as these people. For me, the world famous Towa music hall is just another music hall. I’ve been performing there since I was five. And I feel no pride, joy, or excitement whenever I perform. Well, at least not to the same degree others around me feel.

Whenever I brought this opinion to my fellow musician friends or competitors, they would always have this look in their eyes. Jealousy contempt, anger, and all sorts of negative emotions. With a scorned expression, they would always say “You prodigies just don’t understand, we put effort and hard work and it finally paid off.”

Or. “Of course, the son of the famous Miyazaki Hayato wouldn’t understand how we feel. You were born with talent, while we had to work hard.”

Or. “You sound like an arrogant prick, you know. Keep your shitty opinion to yourself.”

It’s always a variation of these lines. And to this day I’m still deeply confused of their words. I… don’t’ work hard? Bafflingly wrong. To get to my current skill level, I had devoted a majority of my life to playing the piano. To get the tempo perfect, to make it sound right, make sure everything I play is nothing but perfect. I have spent countless hours, every single day practicing the piano. This is not me bragging, merely stating facts.

The other thing that confuse and anger me is that the fact that they only see that I am the son of the world famous pianist, Miyazaki Hayato. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. Being constantly compared to that man is something I truly hate. I’m always not good enough, expectations pouring onto me on every side, the pressure, the fear of not living up to their expectations, I hate it all.

I want to be not only the best in Japan, no; I want to be the best in the whole world. Only then will I be able to be free from the shadows of that man. Of course goals like these will not be achieved easily. I know a lot of sacrifices have to be made, but, even after knowing that fact, I will not back down. I’d rather die that become permanently attached to the shadow of that man.

I’ve already sacrificed a lot to get to the point where I’m at. I spent most of my childhood secluded in my room, practicing the piano. I didn’t make friends at school; I never went outside all that much, I have few hobbies besides playing the piano, I might be malnourished due to how little I ate. I’m 16 and I have only one or two notable friends. Yes, I regret a lot and I wish I could go back in time and change it all. But this is necessary, all of it.

Because right now, I am given the chance to prove to them that I will become the very best. The Japanese National Piano Competition, held every three years. It is one of the most prestigious competitions in all of Japan. And the winner will be given the privilege to represent Japan in an international competition held in Europe.

Here I sat at the aforementioned Towa hall in the semifinals of the competition. All of my adversaries are much more experienced than I am. Being that I am only sixteen and the rest are well into their early twenties. But that doesn’t matter, because I will be victorious. I’ve dedicated my whole life leading up to this moment. I refuse to lose. I will break free out of the shadows of that man.

I adjusted my chair, preparing to play my piece. What piece did I choose? It is Chopin ballad no 1 op 23 in g minor, an elegant and harmonious piece that I will play to its full potential. I closed my eyes, controlled my breathing, and sharpened my mind. A few seconds later I reopened my eyes, hand preparing on the notes. And then I played.

The next ten minutes felt like a blur. I played to my heart’s content, making sure that I get everything right. Sweat build up, my adrenaline pumping, I felt a rush of joy as I play this piece. The crowd, the halls, they all started fading from sight. I closed my eyes once more and I was greeted with scenery of a beautiful forest. I played the piano in this enchanting forest, the moon came up and illuminated the cold, dark sky.

And just like that, I was finished. Ten minutes had passed but it only felt like a minute or two had passed. As my playing ended, the crowd rose and applauded, some even cheered. With my whole body drenched and soaked in sweat, I stood up and eyed the crowd, looking for a single person.

And then I found him, in the front row, the man I hate, my father, with his shit eating grin. Was my playing good enough? Was it perfect? Yes, yes, yes, it was perfect. I made sure. I dedicated my life to the piano and I will win this competition.

After staring at my father for a while, I gave a bow and left the hall, with a satisfied smile on my face.

I was met with another few rounds of applause from the staffers. I nod at them as acknowledgement of their praise, simply because I was far too exhausted to speak. My horrendously low stamina, another sacrifice I made in order to pursue greater heights. I exited the back stage of the hall and made my way to the personal quarters they gave to the participants.

The hallway was full news reporters, shoving their microphones at me. I answered all their questions patiently. I then swiftly entered my room and closed the door behind me. The room that was given was nothing special. There’s a couch to rest, a black Steinway piano use for practice and a cupboard that can be used to store clothes and what not. My plain black backpack that I brought earlier was lying there near the couch.

I took out my spare t shirt and jeans that I prepare and placed it on the couch. I noticed that my phone was buzzing quite a lot, so I decided to take a look. There’s eighty unread messages and ten missed calls, all from one person; Amagi Yuna. Who is she? Even I am confused to what our relationship is. I guess…she’s my friend?

I’m far too exhausted to deal with her antics at the moment, so I laid my phone on the couch.

I unloosened my tie, unbuttoned my suit and took it off. I then took of my belt and slid of my pants, revealing my black underwear And just as I was about to put on my t shirt, the door opened loudly.

“You got a lotta nerves ignoring all my calls like that, Da-chan!” Yuna shouted loudly. Her long black hair lashing out wildly

I was about to respond but then her face turned a shade of red. “W-what are you doing you pervert! Put some clothes on!” she threw a water bottle she was holding and left the room, closing the door shut.

“You really should knock before entering someone’s room. It’s common courtesy, you know.” I said as I went to what I was doing before she barged in; putting my clothes on.

“Shut up, Da-chan, why the hell are you stripping in your own room?!”

“Like any other sane person who’s exhausted, I simply wanted to change into something more comfortable.” I reasoned

“Quit making excuses, you stripper!” she shouted, clearly flustered.

“Whatever makes you sleep at night, Yuna.” Seeing where this conversation is going, I gave up in reasoning with her. It has never worked before and it probably won’t work now.

Why is she so flustered at seeing my body?I just don't get her. But despite her wierd antics, Yuna is a really great, reliable person. But you’ll catch me dead before I say those words to her face. It’s not out of spite or anything; her ego is just too massive for her own good. And I do not want to inflate it even further.

I finished changing clothes and shoved my suit into a plastic bag and placed it into my bag.

“Are you done yet, Da-chan?”

“Yeah, you can come in now.” I confirmed.

She busted the door open once more. “Jeez, that took you long enough.” She said

She stared at my for a few seconds, blushed, and started coughing.

“Are you…feeling okay?” I asked, confused.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She assured

“Anyways, why the hell have you been ignoring me, huh?”

“Sorry about that. I got held up for a while.” I apologized as sincere as I can be.

“Got a ton of admirer, Da-chan?” she teased.

“Huh? No. there was just a bunch of news reporters asking for interviews.”

“Hmm, I guess that makes more sense. Why would someone like you have tons of admirers?”

“Yeah, why would they?” I agreed

“But still, your performance today was something else! You were so different than you were at the preliminaries. Damn it! Let your rival catch up will you… I feel like I’m being left behind.”

I chuckled. “Come on Yuna, you’ll catch up eventually.” Heh. This never gets old, our little “rivalry”. It’s been eight or nine years since it began.

“Tch, don’t get cocky with me now, Da-chan. Just you wait! I might’ve lost this competition…at the preliminaries…but I’ll kick your ass next time!”

“I’ll be waiting for that moment.”

“By the way, how long until the finalist announcement?” she asked

“Hmm. I think it’ll be in few hours or more. It really depends on the judge. Why ask?” I replied

“Wanna grab a bite or something? There’s this new place a couple of blocks away from here and I’ve been dying to try it out for a while.”

I thought about it for a little while then came to a decision.

“Sure, why not? I haven’t had anything to eat all day.”

“Jeez, you should take care of your body more. No wonder you’re so skinny.”

“Haha, It can’t be helped. I got too stressed out about today’s performance that any food sounds completely disgusting.”

“And I thought I was stubborn.” She muttered under her breath.

“Huh?” I asked, confused

“Never mind, let’s go. I heard the lines for this place are looooooong.” She said in an exaggerated tone.

“Kay, let’s not take too long, all right?”

“What’s up?”

“I promised this interview with a couple of News outlet and I’d feel bad if I didn’t show up.” I lied

“Sure, I’m not going to take up too much of your time. Mr. I’m so busy and famous.”

I chuckled. “Thanks, Yuna.”

Why did I lie to her? To be honest, I’m not sure myself. I guess I didn’t want her knowing my personal problems. It’s not like I don’t trust her or anything…it’s just, what I’m going to do later on is something very personal. I’m going to confront my father…I don’t care what he thinks of me…but I want him to finally acknowledge me.

Me and him, we’ve never been on good terms. Scratch that we’re always at each other throat….since that day….I’ll never forgive him for what he did. But he is still one of the world’s greatest pianists. I need him to gauge my skill for me, what I’m lacking and all that. I was frankly surprised when he decided to show up today, he was always busy travelling all over the world. So this is one of my chances to do so… honestly I’m very reluctant in doing so, but I know that I must. Despite all my hate for the man, I know that no piano tutor or professor has better advice when it comes to playing the piano.

“Earth to Da-chan. Hey, are you even listening to me?” she waved her hands in front of me.

We were now walking in the hallways, heading towards the exit. Shit, I must’ve spaced out. I’m known for spacing out often when in deep thought.

I let out a small laugh.”Sorry, Yuna. I was lost in thought for a while.”

“What’s with you and spacing out? Thinking about a girl you like or something?”

“O-of course not.” I stuttered. Damn it. “I was just thinking about whether I will pass on to the finals, that’s all.”

She then gave a mocking grin “Eh? Did you stutter just now? Am I right? Who’s this girl you like, Da-chan?” she asked mockingly

Damn me and my weird timing. I guess thinking about that man made me nervous

“What’re you talking about? You know me and my tendency to stutter when I’m nervous.”

“Fine, fine, I believe you.” She said while giving a look that says “I don’t believe you for a second.”

“My, my, how the little kid I used to know has grown to be a man.” She teased.

“I thought you said that you believed me!” I slightly raised my voice.

“Wow, never thought you could shout like that. Then I guess I must be right.”

“.Whatever makes you happy, Yuna.” Once she’s this stubborn about a subject, she’ll never drop it. I guess misunderstandings are common occurrence in my life.

“Aw, don’t get so riled up, Da-chan. I’m just kidding around, you know.”

“Of course you are. Come on, let’s pick up the pace, the heat is killing me.” I changed the subject. We were already outside the hall. I felt a significant of heat that makes me uncomfortable. I nearly forgot that this was still summer and the heat is insane. Combine it with the bust streets of Tokyo and you got one hell of a hot weather.

“All right, then. Since you can’t take the heat, then why don’t we race there? Helps burn some extra calories and I know I’m going to eat a lot there.”

“No thanks you. How do you expect me to run while I can barely walk?”

“Come on, we’re in our youths. We should spend it as wild and recklessly as we can!” she exclaimed proudly while nodding her head to herself.

“But still…you know my stamina, or lack thereof. Let’s not run…but walk fast.”

“Too late, I’ve already made up my mind!” she then started running at a fast pace

“H-hey, wait up. Don’t leave me behind! I don’t even know where we are headed” I have no choice but to put up with her antics.

“Oh yeah, we’re going to this placed called Shino’s, ask around if you get left behind.” She shouted from a distance.

And as fast as I can snap my finger, she was out of my sight and I tried my hardest to catch up to her with my nonexistent stamina. I ran for a minute or two and soon gave up. Too troublesome, I’ll just walk the way there. If I remember correctly the restaurant’s name is Shino’s. Weird name for a restaurant, but I’ve heard many great things about the place, mostly from Yuna.

I could ask around for directions, but technology has advanced to the point where that is no longer necessary. I pulled out my phone and opened up Google maps. I typed in the name of the restaurant and it instantly showed its location. Looks like it’ll be a five minute walk from where I’m standing. With the location in mind, I turned off my phone and walked to the restaurant at my own pace.

Hopefully Yuna won’t be too pissed off for making her wait a bit. Well, it’s her own fault for running off on her own like that. Spending our youth wildly and recklessly? Seriously, sometimes I just don’t get her at all.

I pondered about her enigmatic existence for a while as I mindlessly follow the direction to the restaurant. Lost In thought, I heard my name being called from a distance. I choose to ignore it and brushed it off. Must be my mind playing tricks on me, the heat must be really getting to me if I’m starting to hear things. More reason to pick up the pace, I guess.

The voice got louder and louder and I then noticed someone is holding on to my shoulder. So I guess I wasn’t hearing things, there was somebody calling out my name.

“Man, Adachi. You should turn around when someone is calling your name. Are you spacing off again?” A male voice panted. I guess he must’ve run to me.

Who is it? Well, it’s no other than the ace soccer player of Kumo high, Sakamoto Yusuke. Another person who I assume is my friend. I find our friendship to be an enigma though. He’s the most popular, attractive and sought after male student in our school, while I am most likely his complete opposite. We’re like oil and water; not supposed to blend well. But somehow we’ve established a friendship of sorts for over a couple of years. Sometimes reality is even stranger than fiction, I suppose.

“Oh, it’s you Yusuke-san. Sorry, the heat’s so bad that I thought I was hearing things.”

“Man, that’s so like you! But I guess that’s one of your quirks that I’ve grown accustomed to, more or less.” He said with a wide grin plastered across his face.

“Anyways, where you heading to?” he asked

“I’m supposed to go to this place called Shino’s with Yuna, but she ran off on her own.”

He chuckled. “She’s such a stamina freak, huh?” he asked jokingly

“Yeah, no kidding,” I agreed

“Hmm, I’m heading out to grab a bite to eat with some chick, but I think she bailed last minute on me.”

This somewhat surprised me. “That doesn’t happen often.” I commented

“Yeah, but it’s whatever...” he said, I could somewhat catch a glimpse of disappointment in his voice.

“It’s been a while since the three of us went out together, huh?” he asked

“Yeah, summer’s usually pretty hectic for me and Yuna. There’s a piano competition around every corner.”

“Well, let’s hang out then! I’m hungry so I’ll accompany you to this Shino’s place or whatever.”

“Sure.” I quickly agreed. “I’m sure Yuna would be delighted.”

The conversation went on for a while as I directed Yusuke to the restaurant.

As we arrived at the restaurant, we were met by a long line that stretches from the restaurant to a couple blocks away. Yuna was not exaggerating; the place was as popular as she said.

“Well this is going to be a problem.” Yusuke muttered. “The lines are at least an hour long.”

“It should be fine. Yuna’s probably already at the front of the line, let’s find her.”

“If you say so,”

And my assumption was right, she was waiting at the front line, waving her hands at us. "Hey Da-chan!, why the hell are you so late huh?!?, eh, Yusuke-kun? you decided to tag along? it's been a while since i last saw your dumb looking face!"

"It's been a month since i last saw you and the first thing you do is insult me?! And how the hell is my beutiful face dumb looking? you damned glutton!"

"It just does, stupid!"

And with that, we entered the restaurant with rumbling bellies, hungry and tired as hell. this damned restaurant better be good.