Yes, I finished this! I had to force myself to sit down and type because this was just sitting unfinished and I HAD to finish it. But now it's done so I can now go and take a lonnggg nap :D So enjoy the fic, because I believe they should have way more Beat and Rhyme fanfics! Don't forget to review! You'll make my day!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own TWEWY, though I really want to.
Beat could never forget the day he had given that sparkling pendant to his sister, Rhyme.
He had spent so many months earning money and constantly having to jump from job to job like the ball in a pinball machine. He had even sold one of his older skateboards in a attempt to earn some more cash.
There had been one moment when he came extremely close to giving up his goal to raise the money for that beautiful pendant sitting in the window of the Sheep Heavenly store. But Rhyme had cheered him up.
"Why do you look so down, Beat?" Rhyme asked as she gave him a concerned look that could make anyone's heart break with the pure emotion that she conveyed in her eyes. He was seated on the steps in front of their house, head resting on his hands as he stared ahead glumly.
"'S nothing, 'Sis. 'Jus not a good day for me," Beat sighed, careful not to mention the pendant. He had already dodged many of his sister's probing questions. She had been very suspicious of how he was working constantly and had only stopped asking when he had insisted that he was saving up to buy a new skateboard.
"...It's about that skateboard you're saving up for, right?" She asked as a small smile graced her face.
Beat cried out in surprise.
"Bwahh! How'd you know!"
Rhyme giggled at his facial expression.
"I know because you're my big brother, Beat," Rhyme smiled, her warm blue eyes trained on him.
"Let me help, Beat. Two heads are better than one, after all."
Beat stared at her in shock. He couldn't help but grin. He jumped up with renewed determination.
"Thanks, Sis. But now I know I have to do this on my own."
Rhyme giggled at her brother's enthusiasm and Beat remembered why he wanted to get that pendant for her in the first place.
The first time he had seen that pendant and it's cute little bell he had instantly been reminded of his vibrant and cheerful sister. More importantly, he had been reminded of his sister's bell-like laugh. He had charged in to the store, demanded that the lady working at the counter hold on to it for him, then ran out just as quickly. But he definitely hadn't been graceful about it. He had knocked down a clothes rack, almost knocked down five other clothes racks, and had scared most of the customers-including some employees.
Then again, graceful was never Beat's style. The only time he was ever graceful was when he was riding his skateboard through Shibuya.
"Okay, Beat! And good luck!"
She watched him take off on his old, beaten up skateboard, gliding with ease around the corner.
Beat never did give up after that, even though the price for the pendant was insanely high in his opinion (he would never understand jewelry and its high prices). Then, he finally made enough.
In his opinion, it felt anti-climatic. All those months working vigilantly and then he happens to count his earnings and there's enough to buy it. No victory music. No confetti. Just him sitting on his bed, the money in a moderate sized pile in front of him.
For a full minute, all he could do was stare at the money in front of him, disbelief evident on his face. Then, his eyes lit up and he punched the air as he hollered at the top of his lungs,
"I did it, yo!"
His outburst ended with his parents lecturing him. As they ranted about the importance of using your 'indoor voice' (which Beat was pretty certain he didn't and would never have), he continuously snuck glances at the door. His dad noticed this and sighed,
"To me it seems like you have something important to do."
Beat nodded vigorously at this and his dad chuckled quietly.
"Go, then. Sorry for holding you up."
Beat quickly took off, only stopping to turn to face his parents.
"Thanks, Dad!"
He then pushed the door open and bolted outside, grabbing his skateboard that was leaning against the house. He shot down the sidewalk, riding his skateboard with ease, until he was outside Molco. He literally flew into the store, scaring some of the customers in the process.
"Hey! Hey! I know you're in a rush but calm down!" The lady at the cashier called, exasperated. Beat promptly ignored her protest and slammed the cash down on the counter.
"You know what I want. Right, lady?"
She nodded, but had an annoyed look playing on her face.
"I have a name you know..," She grumbled as she reached underneath the counter and produced the sparkling pendant. It was just as beautiful when he had first seen it. The bell sparkled in the light and Beat could see his excited face reflected on it.
"Thanks for holding on to it, yo!" Beat grinned as he pushed the money closer to her and took the pendant from her. The girl smiled at him.
"You're welcome."
She leaned against the counter and gave him an odd look that Beat couldn't really interpret.
"Sooo...who's it for?"
Beat flushed and looked down, suddenly finding his sneakers and the tiled floor below him extremely interesting.
"My 'sis," He finally mumbled in reply.
"Awww, how cute!" the girl giggled, her eyes gleaming in admiration. Beat scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Yeah, ummm...," Beat began, stopping for a moment to read her name tag,
"...Anna."
Anna giggled at this, which caused Beat to redden even more. He could never handle any social situations. Especially when it involved talking with girls.
"...So, I'm...gonna go now...uh, bye...," Beat managed to form a proper sentence before turning and stumbling out the way he had came, clutching the pendant protectively.
"I'm sure your sister will love it!" He heard Anna call after him but he didn't glance back at her.
He jumped on to his skateboard and shot down the street, feeling like he had just gotten off the battlefield of Shibuya. But he had done it. As he glided down the bustling streets, he stared at the glistening pendant in his hand. All he could see when he saw it was Rhyme.
So Beat didn't waste any time in tracking down Rhyme. He almost rode past her but he luckily spotted her out of the corner of his eye, seated in front of the Hachiko statue. He quickly hid the pendant behind his back before flopping down beside her and grinning.
"Hey, 'Sis! How's it going?"
Rhyme jumped in shock but recovered quickly and smiled up at him.
"Oh, I'm fine. But why do you look so happy?"
"N-never mind that! 'Whatchu doing, 'Sis?" Beat stuttered, scared she would find out he was hiding something. Rhyme stared at him in mild confusion but shrugged it off.
"Oh, just people watching. Everyone has such different styles. It's amazing," Rhyme sighed contentedly, turning her head to gaze at the crowd of people bustling by. Beat followed her gaze silently.
"...Hey, 'Sis. I got something for you," Beat suddenly smiled as he jumped to his feet. Rhyme giggled at him.
"Oh, you didn't have to get me anything, Beat," She said but she still tilted her head in a curious manner.
"But, 'Sis! You deserve this!" Beat grinned as he produced the pendant from behind his back. It looked so much more perfect as it practicably glowed in the bright sunlight. He could see his sister's face reflected on it like he had seen his own when he had first bought it. But to him, she looked so...angelic as her endearing features were reflected on the gold colored bell. The world seemed to stop for just a moment as he took it all in then time started up again, sweeping his life along with it.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she registered what was happening, then into a look of such happiness that Beat felt his heart soar as he grinned back.
"Oh, Beat! It's so beautiful! No, beautiful doesn't even cut it. It's...perfect," Rhyme whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
"You okay, 'Sis?" Beat asked in concern as he saw a tear slide down her cheek. Rhyme laughed as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest.
"I feel better than ever, Beat," Rhyme replied with a soft laugh, lifting her head to gaze up at her brother with a sparkle in her eyes. Beat smiled warmly and ruffled his sister's hair.
People who were walking by stopped and stared at the two siblings. Some smiled while their friends giggled about how cute they were. Some even snapped a picture or two with their phone. All those people could see were two ecstatic siblings, exchanging smiles. All Beat could see was his perfect little sister.
"But what's the occasion, Beat?" Rhyme asked curiously as they pulled away from their embrace. Beat carefully placed the pendant around her neck as he replied,
"There's no occasion. 'Jus decided it was time that I paid you back, 'Sis."
They both knew what he was referring to. All the times Beat had stormed out of the house after a heated fight with their parents, Rhyme would always be trailing after him. She knew what to say to cheer him up and never asked for anything in return. She would laugh and shake her head whenever Beat had insisted that she deserved something for helping him.
"But, Beat, seeing you happy is all I want to see in return."
And Beat felt so selfish for not finding a way to pay her back. Even the pendant would never fully pay her back in his eyes. But to Rhyme, it was the best gift she had ever received, and that made Beat feel so unconditionally happy that for just a small moment, he felt like his life was just perfect. He wasnt thinking about his pestering parents or the feeling of having no goal in life. He was only thinking about Rhyme and himself standing in front of Hachiko, the most stupidest grins on their faces, laughing as Beat told her about how the lady at Sheep Heavenly had acted when he had bought the pendant.
Reflecting on that memory, Beat could see how completely perfect that moment had been and felt like an idiot for not noticing it at the time.
And then, not even a week later, they died.
It was unexpected to Beat. You could die any day and you wouldn't even know it until it happened. But that was how death was supposed to be like. Merciless and sudden. So Beat had woken up that morning, not noticing the feeling of foreboding hanging in the air like a thick fog. But Rhyme seemed to notice it. Then again, Beat was the one who charged ahead without looking while Rhyme was careful to analyze the situation first before making a move. Of course the one with the smarts would feel the change in mood compared to the one that only relied on their strength.
Not even two hours after he had woken up, he got into a quarrel with his parents again. This time, they were bothering him about which university he would attend when graduated high school. Reflecting back on that part of the day, Beat couldn't help but wonder if his parents might have acted differently if they knew he was going to die that day. Maybe apologize for all the times they had yelled at him for such pointless reasons. Or maybe let him decide what he wanted to do in life (though he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to come up with something, even now.
So he stormed out the front door, skateboard under one arm, and stomped down the street, not even sparing a backwards glance. Rhyme was chasing after him just like any other day. Beat looked back at his sister and saw the pendant dangling from around her neck, swaying left and right like a pendulum as she walked behind him. He sighed as he sped up his pace.
"You don't deserve this, Rhyme..."
He found himself at the Miyashita underpass, glaring daggers at the graffiti snaking along the wall. There was nothing else for him to be mad at. Rhyme walked in front of him to get his attention.
"Beat..," She sighed as she gave him a sad look. Beat gave a grunt in reply as he scuffed his shoe on the cement. He refused to make eye contact with his sister. Her caring look would just make him feel twice as guilty.
Suddenly he froze as his ears picked up the sound of someone revving their engine. The sound reverberated off the walls as they both stood in a shocked silence. They both heard the sound of tires squealing against the pavement and the next second a vehicle came flying around the corner. Beat could only stare before he registered in his slow moving brain that Rhyme was standing in the middle of the road and that the vehicle would never stop in time. Rhyme seemed to be rooted in place as she watched the car, eyes wide.
"Rhyme!"
Beat did the only thing he could think of.
He jumped in front of her, wrapping his arms around her in an attempt to protect her.
Looking back at that moment, Beat could see that he had done the dumbest thing ever. When he told Neku how he hadn't just pulled her out of the way, Neku said with a sigh that of course Beat would do the most idiotic thing ever. But before Beat could flip out on him, Neku had laughed,
"But that's what a big brother would do, Beat. More importantly, that's what you would do. And that's why you're the best brother Rhyme could ever have."
The last thing Beat could remember was the sound of tires screeching against the pavement and the feeling of the hard asphalt underneath him as blackness had engulfed him.
But also, he could hear the sound of the bell on Rhyme's pendant ringing as it connected with the ground. As his consciousness faded, the ringing of that bell echoed in his mind as if to say, "You messed up, Beat."