Sometimes, Rhyme saw things others didn't. Not saw in the physical sense, but she understood things. People. Wants.
Dreams. More than anything, dreams. Occasionally, Rhyme would find herself looking at others-watching them-and she would see them, see the things they were trying to hide from others. When she was younger, she would see her parents' disapproval at Beat, at his grades, at his life. This was back when her family was still on good terms with each other. Back before they stopped caring about hiding it.
"Do you even bother trying anymore? These are the worst grades yet!" Her mother's angry eyes flashed as she accusingly waved Beat's report card in front of him.
Rhyme cringed, sitting in a chair in the corner, her head in her hands. She knew this was going to happen. It was only a matter of time until-
"Why can't you be more like your sister?" There. Rhyme flinched at the words. That was her father, holding Rhyme's report card in front of Beat.
Beat, who had been standing quietly until this point, stiffened, his eyes narrowing. He opened his mouth, retorting back at their parents. Rhyme covered her ears. It was nothing new.
The argument escalated, as it always did. And when Beat stormed out, as he always did, Rhyme followed. She chased, as she always did. And when the car rushed around the corner, Rhyme could only stand as a pair of arms wrapped around her, before the car hit and everything went black.
In the Game, even in such a stressful place, Rhyme still watched. She would watch her (why is he so familiar) partner as they walked along the streets, because watching was the only thing (why am I so useless) she could do. Sometimes, when Beat thought she wasn't looking, his mouth would slip into a frown, his eyes gaining an anguished look about them as he watched her. But when she would ask him, the frown would melt into a forced smile, and the shadows under his eyes would deepen as he dragged her off to their next location or changed the subject, asking her questions about her life. Rhyme always answered, because she saw one simple thing, the fake smile on Beat's face transformed into a real one- and that made all the difference.
And as her, Beat, Neku, and Shiki rounded the corner into Towa Records-Beat rushing ahead as always- she saw the two Reapers in the shadows, smirks visible on their faces as their eyes focused on her partner. Her eyes followed theirs, and when the shark Noise appeared on Beat's- her partner's- feet, she did the only thing she could do, she pushed.
Because, after all, Beat still had dreams. He had told her his dream of being a famous skateboarder, and she believed him. He was good, and he could make it if he really tried. He could do anything he wanted, Rhyme knew this. He was charming, in a little bit of an idiotic way, she'd admit. He was determined, and he knew exactly what he wanted. Beat was amazing, and Rhyme secretly wished that she had him as a brother, because he would have been everything she ever wanted.
So when the shark closed its jaws around her ribs (oh god it hurts), Rhyme held in the scream that threatened to burst out of her throat. Instead, she smiled, and closed her eyes.
