Judging by his playing posture, Yusuke Kitagawa undoubtedly did not know how to play the piano.
It was not merely a matter of pantomiming without an instrument. His movements were stiff, and the angle of his arms looked more like he was holding a knife and fork than playing the piano.
Judging purely by his movements, he was comically pressing down on the thick jacquard tablecloth. Yet smooth piano notes truly flowed from his fingertips. With Haga Kyosuke's discerning eye, he could even barely make out that the places Yusuke pressed corresponded one by one to the melody being played...
Haga Kyosuke looked utterly stunned, but Tangze, seated across from him, had no time to care about his reaction.
Tangze was doing his best to replay Asai Narumi's movements in his mind, striving to recreate the scales she had played and give Haga Kyosuke the illusion that he had performed some melody no one else could hear.
Yes, as a criminal who had once left a deep impression on Tangze, Haga Kyosuke had caught Tangze's attention long before Kisaragi Hōzui introduced them.
He was a gifted musical genius, and also the tragic child of a man consumed by hatred.
Both his parents had come from distinguished families. His father had been the second son of the Shitara family, a renowned violin-making family, while his mother had been the only daughter of the wealthy Haga family. Haga Kyosuke himself had displayed exceptional musical talent from an early age.
Had tragedy never struck, Haga Kyosuke's life would undoubtedly have been privileged and smooth. With Absolute Pitch, a keen sensitivity to emotion, and a personality so serious about music it bordered on obsession, he was proficient with instruments and gifted at composition. He would have risen beneath the spotlight and perhaps even become