Author's Nots: Yet another installment^_^ And another character: Introducing Akiza! Haha, this was actually supposed to be the second one-shot posted but it majorly needed some work first... I'm still not sure I really like how this turned out, but I don't know what else to do with it...
Haha pretty much just had to put my iPod on shuffle for this one XD. ...With a lot of skipping haha...
First one-shot with slight - more like implied actually - pairings: YuseixAkiza in this one. Maybe if you squint, anyway...
Theme #23 - Music
"Yusei's upstairs," Crow told her when she walked into the garage, "working on his laptop."
"How'd you know - ?" Akiza asked; she hadn't even said 'hello' yet!
"Well, who else would you come here to see?" Crow did have a point there.
"Thanks!" she called as she dashed up the steps, a smile on her face. When she reached the top of the steps, she was in for a surprise. Instead of seeing Yusei sitting on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table, typing with lightening speed, she found the exact opposite. Her raven-haired friend was on the couch, it was true, but his laptop sat, screen on a screen saver where the current time bounced back and forth, on the coffee table; the boy himself was sprawled out on his stomach, sleeping peacefully, though the couch was much too short and his feet hung off over the armrest.
Akiza couldn't help but smile to herself; he'd probably had one too many late nights lately, as hard as she knew he worked. They were supposed to have a turbo duel practice, but the female signer couldn't bare the thought of waking him up when he looked so peaceful.
She moved to close his laptop, knowing it'd conserve more of the battery, but accidentally toggled the mouse pad, taking it off screen saver mode instead. Akiza was instantly curious by the window that was already open: Yusei's iTunes library. She never heard music playing when she was at the garage apartment, but this did make her wonder what her fellow signer listened to. Though she knew she shouldn't snoop, Akiza couldn't help but look.
The window was open to the iTunes store, so she clicked the tab labeled 'Music' to open his actually library. Yusei had it set so his music was sorted by artist in a grid format; fifty-six artists was the count at the bottom of the screen.
'You shouldn't be doing this,' a little voice in the back of her head told her. 'You shouldn't be snooping through his laptop...'
But then a second voice objected. 'It's not snooping, per se; after all, it is just his iTunes... Besides, music is a good way to get to know someone... What a person listens to reflects what they think, how they act.'
Akiza listened to the second voice and started scrolling through the list of artists. Some of them she had practically expected, but many came as a surprise for her to see. Yusei definitely had a wide range of tastes; he listened to everything from Linkin Park, RED, and Skillet, to Lifehouse, Mat Kearney, and Rascal Flatts. It was strange, she thought, that he hardly had a full album by any artist. Maybe music was a window to the soul... After all, he appeared to almost never purchase an entire album so maybe the songs he did purchase held some kind of meaning for him.
She glanced over at her friend as he stirred slightly but didn't wake. Knowing he'd be out for a while yet, she decided to investigate further into his library. Changing the the layout to 'list,' she hit shuffle, deciding that this would be the most interesting way to go about listening. Checking to be sure the volume was down all the way, she hit the play button.
"Tick tock, hear the clock countdown
Wish the minute hand could be rewound
So much to do and so much I need to say
Will tomorrow be too late?"
She knew instantly why 'One Day Too Late' by Skillet was on her friend's list; the lyrics spoke of everything he believed: Don't hold grudges; they get you nowhere. Help everyone, whether they hate you or not. Live everyday to the fullest - life's too short to waste it.
With her mind still on the first song, it took her a moment to realize when the next song started to play. By the time she finally brought her thoughts to it, half of the first verse was already over so she heard:
"Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight..."(1)
Akiza could guess that Yusei had had this song for a long time as it perfectly described his - and everyone else's - life in the Satellite. The song spoke of how society is easily corrupted by hatred and bias and how truth is so easily concealed to protect a single person or persons. The people of Satellite had been so discriminated against for so long because of the truth being kept secret. They still were shunned, for that matter, by most people.
Another minute or two passed before the next song began to play:
"If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me a way with the words of a love song..." (2)
Akiza was stunned, though not terribly surprised. After the numerous times he'd almost died... She shook her head, not wishing to recall those painfully memories, especially the one where he dueled Z-ONE and almost had to give his life to stop the Arc Cradle.
As she continued to listen, Akiza realized many of the songs shared a few common themes: They were about taking a stand, the cold cruelty of the world, holding on when you feel like giving in, or rising up out of adversity. They paralleled his life to the extreme. Songs like "World So Cold" by 12 Stones and "Collide" by Skillet seemed to come straight from the Head Signer's heart.
But then there were the songs that made her wonder; some didn't make sense when she considered Yusei's personality. Like the current song she was hearing:
"Sunset, I close my eyes
I pretend everything's alright
Drowning in anger from all these lies
I can't pretend everything's alright
Please don't let me fall forever
Can you tell me it's over now?
"There's a hate inside of me like some kind of master
I tried to save you, but I can't find the answer
I'm holding onto you, I'll never let go
I need you with me as I enter the shadows..."(3)
It just didn't make sense... And neither did the next:
"I feel fine
And I can smile
But I feel the anger coming
Its underneath
I don't know why
It's always overflowing
It's a constant fight
Deep inside
And I wanna forget it
"I confess I'm always afraid always ashamed
Of what's inside me
I confess I'm always afraid always ashamed
Of what's inside my head..."(4)
She just couldn't make sense of them... Yusei was always so calm and never let his anger get the best of him. But both of these songs said the exact opposite. Maybe there was more to him than met the eye...
Once again, she got so involved in trying to interpret the previous two songs that she failed to realize when the next song started. She finally noticed when the chorus began to play:
"I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
"I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter..."(5)
Akiza had to wonder now what Yusei really thought of himself if he thought nothing he did mattered in the end. She shook her head; maybe not all music a person listened to reflected who that person was. And yet... She herself had witnessed more than once when Yusei had doubted himself.
The next song began to play:
"I've got my memories
Always inside of me
But I can't go back
Back to how it was - " (6)
Yusei stirred on the couch causing Akiza to panic slightly. 'Oh, crap!' she thought. But before she had a chance to hit the stop button and close the laptop, he rolled over. All she could do was stare, hypnotized by those sapphire-blue irises.
" - I've been searching
For a place of my own
Now I've found it
Maybe this is home
Yeah, this is home - "(6)
With a slightly puzzled, slightly sleepy look, Yusei asked, "Akiza, what are you doing with my laptop?"
Author's Notes: Haha, Akiza's gonna have fun explaining this one XD.
Anyway, I don't own anything but the story; I definitely don't own the songs, the first of which was given credit in the story: "One Day Too Late" - Skillet.
The rest as numbered:
(1) "Where Is The Love" - Black-Eyed Peas
(2) "If I Die Young" - as sung by Sam Tsui
(3) "Shadows" - RED
(4) "Confession (What's Inside My head)" - RED
(5) "In The End" - Linkin Park
(6) "This Is Home" - Switchfoot
I have a million and one songs that could go under those categories Akiza mentioned as well... Well, here's two under each on ones she could have heard^_^
Taking a Stand: "If Everyone Cared" - Nickleback; "Frontline" - Pillar
World's Cold Cruelty: "World So Cold" - 12 Stones; "When You're Young" - 3 Doors Down
Holding On: "Collide" - Skillet; "The Best Is Yet To Come" - RED
Rising Up: "We Won't Give Up" - The Afters; "Move" - MercyMe
Anyway, reviews are always read, loved, and taken to heart^_^ (And constructive criticism twice as much^_^)