In the Daimyo's palace's vast courtyard, gratitude was renewed. After seeing the Sun Furnace and IronHeart city model, the nobility were cautiously optimistic about the future and moved by the charitable cause. As Daimyo Azuma Kasen returned to the stage, the audience became more excited.
"I have some absolutely amazing news," The Daimyo yelled with a genuine smile. "The donations for our beloved orphans have officially surpassed the five hundred thousand Ryo mark, and the donations are still coming in, thanks to the generosity and spirit of everyone here tonight!"
The court erupted in courteous applause, but the Daimyo's raised hand swiftly cut the applause short. He went on, his eyes straying from the throng to Ryu's position, nodding respectfully at him.
"We must also appreciate the man whose vision made this possible. Lord Ryu, the Hamura clan's successor, is already transforming our Land of Rivers with his medical ninjutsu and scientific prowess."
Ryu was so praised that he started to get uncomfortable in the spotlight. He only bowed politely.
"However, there is a delightful secret that Lord Hokage was gracious enough to share with me," the Daimyo added, leaning in conspiratorially and lowering his voice to a theatrical whisper that could still be clearly heard throughout the quiet courtyard. "Our young genius appears to be a man of the arts in addition to science and medical ninjutsu. A very talented musician, a pianist, I've been told."
Stunned silence greeted the revelation. The jaws of Shizune and Tsunade fell in unison beside him. "A musician?" They both did not know. Even the nobles and orphans of the Land of River were surprised.
"Lord Ryu, the court would be honoured if you would play a piece to celebrate this historic evening," the Daimyo said with a simple, direct request. "It would be the perfect way to end this day of innovation."
The request was an order disguised as an invitation. To refuse would be a grave insult to the Daimyo, one that Ryu could not afford. Obliging, he bowed respectfully and made his way to the centre of the stage.
Kaia, who had been seated at the piano, and her brother, Akihiro, both began to get up. With a subtle hand gesture, Ryu signalled for them to stop. He offered a warm, encouraging smile. "That was a great performance," he said in a friendly tone. "Before I begin, would you both be kind enough to tell me your names?"
Still a little taken aback, Kaia bowed politely. "My name is Kaia. And this is Akihiro, my brother."
With a tiny, sincere smile on his lips, Ryu nodded. He said, "Kaia, Akihiro, please join me in this performance."
With a mix of amazement and fear on their faces, Kaia and Akihiro glanced at one another. Kaia moved forward and bowed respectfully.
"We are not very good musicians, but we appreciate the offer, Lord Ryu," she said quietly.
"Don't worry about being good," Ryu said, his eyes comforting and warm. "If you are moved by the music, please join me. I want you to be able to express yourself freely."
Kaia's face was a mix of appreciation and fear. With a faint, melancholy smile, she bowed once more. With a slightly more tentative tone, she said, "Lord Ryu, there is something you should know. I am deaf, and my brother is blind and mute."
"I already know," Ryu replied, "but this had not stopped you two before, had it? Join me if you feel like it."
Kaia nodded and asked, "I can feel vibrations; that's how I listen to tunes. Please allow me to sit beside you and feel you play."
Ryu replied, "Please, you are most welcome."
Ryu's complex analytical mind assimilated this new information swiftly. Looking at her, he saw strength, not weakness. His thoughts formed an amazing plan for her.
Ryu thought, "Kaia has meticulous attention to detail. She notices sudden lip movements, hand motions, and other players' actions. These visuals help her make rapid decisions. This, together with her vibration sense, might be quite helpful."
"I could create a new variant of [BodyGPT] with unique functionality, such as a [Physics Engine] that gathers data using her other senses and sensitivity to vibrations and converts it into visual patterns, much like my own [Hyperphantasia]. It will help her grasp the music and have other uses as well… Like an AI informational assistant."
Ryu returned his attention to the piano without thinking anything more. He paused, shut his eyes, and started to play.
The courtyard was filled with a sad, wonderful tune. It started with Tom Odell's "Another Love". He let the song's pure pain and passion flow from his fingertips.
Then he started singing. Everyone was stunned into silence by the raw, emotional vulnerability he conveyed through his low, powerful baritone voice.
Dan and Yuki, who was only aware of his piano prowess, was equally astounded by the beauty of his voice as Tsunade was by the widening of her eyes. His immediate circle was completely enthralled.
Tsunade experienced an intense rush of sadness and pain in her chest as she felt a past love standing behind her and putting his hand on her shoulder. Tsunade looked back and found no one.
Even the Daimyo, who had been honed by years of war and political scheming, felt a faint, unusual tear well up in the corner of his eye. Everyone in the court, from the most important aristocrats to the lowest servants, fell silent in shock, their entire focus being on the boy at the piano.
Akihiro, who had been standing motionless in the shadows, felt an irresistible pull towards the music as it intensified and became more dramatic. He was driven to participate in the tale that the melody told. He picked up his cello and joined in, adding his own powerful notes to the already captivating performance, a melodic duet that matched Ryu's to perfection. The Daimyo watched in awe as Akihiro's music intertwined with the boy's piano playing, creating a symphony that seemed to transcend time and space.
The two instruments merged into a smooth dialogue between two souls who had been total strangers only moments before. Their synchronicity clearly affected the audience, as tears welled up in their eyes and a sense of unity washed over the room.
Kaia, who was sitting next to Ryu at the piano with her eyes closed, was drawn to the stage as the performance reached its emotional peak because she could feel the piano's deep, resonant vibrations.
She was deaf but still could feel the intensity of the music's emotional impact in her bones.
Simultaneously, Akihiro gave her the information she required by lipsyncing, assisting her in matching the music's tone. Her fingers moved with a remarkable, concentrated intensity as she joined the duet, producing a mesmerising melody that soared over the violin and the first piano.
It was now a three-way show, with an unspoken conversation between a prodigy and genius, a blind and mute kid, and a deaf girl. Now standing, the crowd was captivated not just by the music but also by the three musicians' resonating bond and the powerful combination of their respective skills.
The audience gradually started to sit down as the applause's echoes eventually subsided, their hearts still heavy with the feelings the music had stirred up.
Rina and Souji sat in their wheelchairs in a peaceful corner of the courtyard. Rina had a look of desperate hope on her face as she held his hand.
Then she looked at Souji after the performance ended, and she became aware of something remarkable as the song's last notes faded into the atmosphere.
Souji was smiling. A sincere, genuine smile. Even though it was tiny and nearly undetectable, Rina thought it was the most exquisite thing she had ever seen. Her heart grew with a new, fierce hope, and a silent tear fell from her eye.
It was this, evidence that the [BodyGPT] seal worked. In that instant, Rina knew she would do everything in her power to defend this smile. She turned to face Ryu, who was bowing to the stage audience. Rina made up her mind. He would invite her. She would become a member of his clan. There was no other way to safeguard this brittle new hope.
This smile was a stroke of luck. [BodyGPT] was being tirelessly trained to move his right index finger as a first step in freeing his body from paralysis, and this was the only place they all thought was currently being trained.
But while the seal was meticulously capturing this one action thousands of times, Souji, in his mind, was smiling for one reason. During those thousands of repetitions, Rina was holding his hand.
This profound, internal happiness, a response to Rina holding his hand, acted as training data so powerful that it created an unintended yet beautiful side effect, a smile.
Ryu looked over at Kaia, who was sitting at the piano, and Akihiro, who was standing beside her. He smiled calmly, full of confidence in his plan for them.
A/N:
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