rubato a direction to allow a player a measure of freedom in performance
On Light's fifteenth birthday, his mother presents him with an envelope.
He opens it to find a debit card. Sachiko smiles at him. "We thought it was time you learned how to manage money, so we opened an account for you. From now on, your allowance will be four thousand yen a week. You're free to spend it on whatever you like, but don't waste it."
Light stares down at the items a moment longer, then remembers to blink, and smile up at Sachiko. "Thanks, Mom. I won't disappoint you."
She smiles back. "I know you won't."
"You work hard now so that later you'll have the freedom to do whatever you want," Light's biology teacher insists at the beginning of the year. "Put in effort at school and the future will open up before you." The class seems unmoved.
Light knows better, certainly. The freedom his teacher describes is merely the freedom to fall into step with society in whatever superficially unique way seems appealing. Not even his father's profession, the one Light has chosen for himself, is immune to the drudgery of the day-to-day grind. He's seen it in his father, and he knows it's coming for him.
He goes to a good school, yes. One of the best in Tokyo. All that means is that he's being prepped for the top echelons of the endless flocks of salarymen and wage slaves. There's no escaping it, not really, not if he plans to survive.
It's been a long time since he believed in freedom.
As the months pass, his money accumulates in his account, almost entirely unspent.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: He had to get the money for that tiny TV from somewhere, right?