Different
Rukia x Keigo
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Keigo wasn't like the others. He wore a brash exterior – but without much reason. Why did he? Perhaps that was what made him, actually, just like the others. Wondering wouldn't get him any answers though, so he decided not to wonder any longer.
The sky, he noted, was particularly blue today. The clouds were whiter than they had been yesterday. He noted that they were drifting particularly fast and were slightly larger than usual – but not gray. Maybe it would rain later. That would be nice if it did.
He crossed his legs awkwardly even as he lay down on the grass, swinging the elevated leg idly.
The second cloud, he thought, looked remarkably like the pet rabbit he used to have. But that was useless thought too, so he didn't bother expanding beyond that.
There was an essay that he hadn't finished, he realized, as his mind wandered. Childishly, he decided that watching the passing clouds was more important to him. It wasn't like his parents were home often enough to care anyway.
They were never home anyway.
He hummed a tune to a song that he didn't know – but he swore that he had heard a friend sing it once, singing along with the radio. He sang the few lines from the song that he knew.
The song was unfamiliar but comforting, like a distant memory that he vaguely remembered – a memory in which he smiled.
"You know that song?"
It took him a moment or two to recognize the voice. He almost felt ashamed that he didn't, for all his proclamations of love.
"Kuchiki-san," he acknowledged, his voice barely above a whisper. When had that happened? When had speaking become so unfamiliar?
He sat up, brushing off dried bits of grass that had clung to his back. "You know it?" he asked her back. He wasn't quite sure how he would make conversation with her – he never had before.
Realizing that she had never seen this side of him before, he flashed her a large, winning grin instead, an almost desperate attempt to return to how he usually saw him.
She seemed unconvinced but said nothing to prove otherwise. "It's a good song," she replied, sitting next to him.
She began to sing it. "I'm miles from where you are... I lay down on the cold ground. I... I pray that something picks me up and sets me down in your warm arms..."
Her voice wasn't magical. It wasn't amazing. But it was captivating altogether. It cracked slightly, rising just a note above what it should have been. But that didn't matter. Her eyes were closed in pure love for the music – for the sound. It must have brought something back to her, he figured. Just like it did for him.
"You sing well," he said, not really sure why it was necessary for him to comment. He never did if it was unnecessary. The only small-talk he made was when he needed to. His only happiness was with Ichigo and Mizuiro. ...So why did this calm moment make him feel so overbearingly joyful?
She blushed, letting out a soft chuckle – carefully crafted, he could tell. "Not really."
He didn't get a chance to say "To me, you do" because she was already standing up again, offering her his hand.
"The bell just went off. We should really go back to class."
He looked up at her face, then to her hand. "Class, right," he murmured, standing up without taking it.
He walked back first, still humming the song. He didn't know the title and he still didn't know the words but another happy memory had become attached to it.
He concluded that Rukia wasn't like the others either. It explained the happiness he felt. It was like coming home.
The thought made him smile. In a different way that he had ever before.
His voice was lower than the pitch of the song was supposed to be and it cracked too, but he sang the few words that he knew. "Their words, mostly noises. Ghosts with just voices. Your words in my memory... Are like music to me."
The End
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Author's Note(s): This is indeed Rukia x Keigo because, in this story, Rukia rules Keigo's heart. Confusing concept, I know, but... Well, it's hard to explain considering that I'm not very good at explanations. I advise that you listen to the song while reading. It really sets the mood. No lie.
Song used: Set the Fire to the Third Bar – Snow Patrol