Summary: Music has always been Yuichiro's escape from the world, but when he hears someone playing the piano in the music room one day, a blond transfer student he hadn't previously paid any mind to before, why is he suddenly drawn to this person? Maybe music isn't the only thing Yuu cares about after all.

Chapter I: Walk Alone

Music blared through his headphones, huge gaudy things made of tinted-blue chrome. Yuichiro Amane chewed pink bubblegum as he listened to one of his favorite punk rock artists, making his way down a sidewalk toward the apartment complex where his parents lived.

Backpack slung over one shoulder, tapping the screen of his Apple iPhone, Yuu blew a bubble in his gum. His head lifted as he turned the corner and looked into the string of charred apartment buildings, stopping dead in his tracks.

Oh. He'd forgotten. Where his parents used to live.

Yuichiro popped his bubblegum, pocketed his phone, pulled the other strap of his backpack around his shoulder with a huff, and turned back to the street.

That's right. He was an orphanage kid now. It had been almost two years since he'd been moved, and yet sometimes Yuu found himself back at his old home, wondering what he was going to find in the cupboards to make himself for dinner.

Cars whirred by, kicking up icy wind that stirred Yuu's raven bangs around his face and ears in the crisp autumn air as he walked down another road, then another. Eventually he arrived at the white-stone building that read "Hyakuya Orphanage" above the door. The sun was disappearing on the horizon, giving way to a deep violet sky. The building was on the exact opposite side of the city from the old apartment complex, in a high-end location, with huge mahogany doors and a big brass knocker, stone on all sides. No wonder it'd taken him hours to walk there from his old home.

There was no backdoor Yuichiro could use to try to sneak in, being in the city. Even so, Yuu opted not to utilize the doorbell or brass door knocker on the front, and muted the volume of his music as he crept inside. He slipped his headphones around his neck and closed the door quietly behind him. Seeing the light on in the kitchen, catching a whiff of something being cooked, Yuu hoped the cold gust of air from the front door didn't give him away. He kicked off his shoes in the genkan and set them against the wall next to the a dozen others. He tip-toed across the wood floor of the foyer and up the spiral stairs, but stepped on one of the three creaky steps before the top, and it was all for naught. The Director emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron and smiling at him with her pleasant, round face. "Yuichiro, you're home later than usual."

Yuu tried not to let his disappointment in her discovery of him appear in his expression. "Yeah, I got lost on the way."

The Director tilted her head forward with knowing, sympathy lining her wrinkly eyes. She knew where Yuu winded up the majority of the time while walking back from school. The pity on her face made Yuu's gut twist ruefully, but he was sure not to let it show. "Well..." she said, glancing back at the kitchen. Yuu waited in agony, expecting her to ask him to help with dinner. "I've already prepared everything that I can, so would you call the other kids down? They should come running if you tell them we're having macaroni and cheese."

Yuu nodded. "Sure. Also, Director..." She turned back toward him, eyebrows slightly raised in question. "...I'm not hungry, so you guys can eat without –"

"Don't be silly," she cut him off lightly, shooing a hand to the floor. "I won't have any foster son of mine going a night without a meal. I'll be waiting for you all," she called as she disappeared back into the kitchen.

Yuu sighed an "okay," then ventured the rest of the way up the stairs. He found most of the younger kids playing in the toy room-slash-game room on the upper level and told them about dinner – and told them to find and tell Kouta and Taichi about dinner before they sat down. Yuu made his way to his own room, – thank god he had his own private room (with its own bathroom and everything), – threw his backpack at the wall, and immediately jumped into bed despite the Director saying that he had to join them for dinner. The covers were still thrown back from when he woke up for school that morning. He pulled his headphones over his ears again and, scrolling through his list of albums on iTunes, flipped on something more soothing than what he'd been playing earlier. He was already dozing off when something poked his arm, startling him out of sleep. Yuu jolted and yanked his headphones off to see Akane standing above him, a scowl on her face.

"Hey, aren't you coming to dinner?"

Yuu glared at her, embarrassed by his earlier panicked reaction. "No, I'll eat later," he mumbled, turning toward the wall and about to pull his headphones back over his ears when he felt Akane's hand on his shoulder.

"Yuu, I know you haven't exactly been having the greatest time here," said Akane, "but you aren't the only one who's had it rough. Take Fumie for example –"

"I've asked you not to call me 'Yuu,'" Yuichiro spat indignantly, shooting Akane a glare out of the corner of one citrine eye. "And don't talk to me about what those little kids think of the real world. They don't know anyth –!"

"Don't you dare act like you've had it worse here than anyone else!" Akane shouted angrily, fists clenched at her sides.

"Why should I?" Yuu asked. "They aren't the ones who have to do all the housework when the Director is gone."

Akane stamped her foot. "And neither do you! Both of us have to do it! Just come down for dinner like you've been asked, you jerk!" she yelled, moving toward the door in long, aggravated strides.

"Sure, sure," Yuu mumbled. He turned up his music as Akane slammed the door. Ahh, sweet noise... such bliss...

Yuu had listened to music all his life. When his parents had been screaming at each other in the other room, knocking things over, putting holes in the walls, at least Yuu had had Led Zeppelin and a pair of earbuds to block them out. At least he'd been able to slip outside onto the roof and back again before either of them noticed (most nights), observing the nighttime people on the nighttime streets with nothing but his MP3 Player and the moon as his witness.

Life was so different now that he wasn't with them. There was no more noise. And yet... he couldn't stand it, the silence.

It was always the same drag. Other people were always deciding things for him; where he lived, what he was doing... as if he was just watching his life happen through the glassy window of his eyes. Now he had a "family" who actually acted like one at the Hyakuya Orphanage, but being the oldest kid there, Yuu was treated more like an adult, often forced to take care of the smaller kids, always looked to by them when they needed help. Yuu didn't even know what he was doing most of the time himself.

With Viva la Vida blasting between his ears, Yuu closed his eyes, soaking up every word.

One day, he'd get away from it all, and live a life free of everyone else, without anyone to dictate what he could and couldn't do, only surrounded by his music, deciding the kind of places he wanted to go, the kind of people he wanted to live with, the kind of life he wanted to lead...

A life like that, deciding what to do without anyone else... well... it would be just perfect.

~Animato~

"You look like a train wreck, Amane," commented Shiho the moment he spotted Yuu at his desk the following day.

"Thanks, Kimizuki," Yuichiro answered grumpily, turning toward the window. That morning, Akane had given Yuu another one of her lectures before heading off for school. Since some of the Hyakuya kids were old enough, he saw some of them at the high school (and avoided them as often as was possible). Somehow, they always seemed to find him in the hallways.

"Hi, Yuu," Yoichi greeted before he sat on the opposite side of the room. Yuu waved a hand to him as he yawned.

The high-strung professor walked in shortly thereafter. "All right class, let's begin. What do you all remember from last week?"

Before anyone could answer or even raise their hand, the sliding door clattered open, and in walked the transfer student from – well whatever country it was. He was just about the only blond kid in the entire junior class who hadn't used dye to make his hair that way – the amount of orange and redheads in the school outweighed the number of foreign students with naturally light hair color by a landslide.

The professor crossed his arms as the blond crossed the room. Then, in a clipped tone, he said, "Shindo."

"Hi," said the blond, not even bothering to look the professor in the eye as sat at the desk a few rows in front of Yuichiro.

The professor rolled forward and back on the balls of his feet for a moment as the transfer student took out his books and pencils. "That's the third tardy you've had this month, Shindo," the professor stated impatiently. Without waiting for a reply, "I'm going to have to write you up for that one. One more and your parents will hear about this. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Anyway, back to what I was saying..."

Yuu yawned again as the professor scribbled quadratics on the whiteboard. That foreign kid... what's his name again? Yuu wondered. He flipped a page of his textbook, shrugging. Eh, whatever...

Yuichiro ate lunch in the classroom with Shiho, Yoichi, and the pair of misfit girls who kind of drifted between groups in the class, Shinoa and Mitsuba. Yuu didn't know what to make of those two most of the time, but they stuck around his trio of friends more than anyone else and were friendly – friendly enough.

Setting down his neatly-made bento box and eating utensils, Shiho asked, "So, have any of you though about what career you want to pursue yet?"

Mitsuba nearly spit her limeade all over her lap. "Have we 'thought about' it?!" she burst. "It's all anyone talks about! Especially now that we're juniors!"

"Hey, I'm being serious," said Shiho. "This is something we need to figure out by the end of this year."

To his left, Shinoa let out a laugh. "Career? I don't think so. Someone as carefree as me doesn't really think that far ahead."

Yoichi said, "Right now we're mostly focusing on trying to decide on a college, don't you think?"

Shiho nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So, have you decided on one?" Yoichi asked him.

Shiho thought for a moment. "It's not really definite yet... but I do think I know what I want to be."

"And what's that?" Yuu asked, voice muffled by the rice he crammed in his throat.

Shiho shrugged and pushed up his glasses, leaned back in his seat. "A surgical doctor, maybe."

Yuu grinned devilishly. "Oh really? Sounds too prestigious for you."

"I didn't ask your opinion!"

Shinoa giggled. "He's right, Kimizuki. That job wouldn't really suit someone as uncoordinated as you."

"H-hey!"

"I think I might want to be a botanist," Yoichi chimed in, saving Shiho from further teasing.

"You'd be good at that job," Mitsuba agreed.

"Yeah, your soft personality would be perfect for that," said Shinoa. "I can definitely see you as a plant person."

Yoichi chuckled a little. "Uh, thank you...?"

Looking toward Mitsuba who was shoveling breaded shrimp into her mouth, Shinoa prodded, "What about you, Mitsu~?"

Mitsuba shot Shinoa a momentary glare from the patronizing nickname, then put a hand to her chin, chewing thoughtfully. "Mmmm... probably..." She swallowed. "A policewoman?"

"Ahh, I can already see it!" Shinoa declared, hugging herself and leaning back and forth in her seat. "Mitsu fighting crime and carrying damsels in distress from burning buildings! Ah haa~!"

Mitsuba's face lit pink with embarrassment. "Wh-why, you –!"

"That sounds more like a fireman than a policeman," Shiho inputted.

Shinoa shrugged at him. "The point was made."

"What about you, then?" Mitsuba demanded Shinoa. "What are you gonna be?"

"Me?" Shinoa batted her eyelashes innocently at Mitsuba – who tried to ignore her. "Mmm... how about... I become your subordinate policewoman?"

"Th-that's not funny!" Mitsuba exclaimed, pounding a fist on the desk beside her.

Shinoa laughed, snatching the arm holding Mitsuba's chopsticks and pulling it close to her chest. "Ohhh, Mitsu, you should know that I'll follow you wherever you go~!"

"St-stop that!" she cried, face growing redder by the second.

"Ah hahaha~!"

Yoichi, Shiho, and Yuichiro turned away from the two girls to focus back on their lunches. In mid-bite, Yoichi jumped a little in his seat and faced Yuichiro. "Wait! Yuu?"

"Hmmm?" Yuu was chewing on a piece of chicken.

"What do you want to do for a career?"

Swallowing quickly, Yuu flew one hand to his chest, trailing sauce all down his school uniform as he answered. "A pop music artist, of course."

They waited.

"Wait, are you being serious about that?" Shiho asked.

"Yeah, I am," said Yuu.

Shiho blinked. "...What the hell?"

"What?!"

Shiho turned to Yoichi. "Honestly, can you see him being able to do anything in the realm of art? Let alone music?!"

Yoichi slurped up his noodles and laughed nervously. "W-well..."

"Be honest, Yoichi," Yuu said, leaning toward him. "Would it really be that incredible?"

Yoichi looked between them. "U-umm..."

"Oh ho~?" said Shinoa, catching wind of the conversation and finally letting go of Mitsuba – who exhaled in exhaust, happy to be off of Shinoa's hook. "What's this? Yuichiro wants to become a pop singer?"

"Pop artist," Yuu corrected. "There's a difference. I know I can't sing worth shit."

"Even still," Shiho cut in. "You? Make music?" He crossed his arms. "I can't see it."

"Hey now, don't be so mean to him," said Shinoa. She scooted closer to Yuichiro and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, making Yuu raise an eyebrow at her. "Our little Yuu here might have more talent than we know!"

"Yeah, like his knack for wandering the streets all the time?" Mitsuba asked, unamused.

Shinoa lifted her chin, a finger in the air. "Precisely!"

"Okay, okay, I get it," said Yuu, shoving Shinoa's arm off his shoulders. "I know something like that isn't... exactly a realistic goal, especially for someone like me –"

"Really? Tell me more," Shiho deadpanned.

Yuu ignored him. "– but this is something that I feel like I should pursue, more than anything else. It's one of the only things that I'm sure of more than anything else in my life, okay?"

A collective exhale passed around the circle of friends. It was rare to see Yuu get passionate about something that didn't piss him off. "Okay," said Shinoa, "it's better than Kimizuki wanting to become a surgeon."

"Not cool," Shiho mumbled at her.

"Thanks," Yuu said. And he really meant it. Even if the orphanage sucked, the friends he'd gained since he transferred there were worth it more than anything else.

Still, they didn't understand... None of them had been raised the way he had – which was a good thing of course. He would only offhandedly mention his parents sometimes and the others never asked directly. They knew something was up; they knew he had been taken to an orphanage by child services when he transferred two years ago. No one dared to bring it up though, which was fine by Yuu. It separated him from them.

After class ended for the day, Yuu was assigned to help clean the music room with a group of girls he barely knew. He swept dust from the closets of synthesizers and electric guitars, grumbling internally, That Kimizuki and Shinoa, saying I wouldn't be suited for a musical career... He snapped the dustpan shut, moving on to another section of the floor. I'll become a pop music artist if it's the last thing I do! It's not like I have anything else to look forward to with everyone deciding everything for me, everything staying the same...

"Um, Amane?"

Yuu looked up to see the four girls helping him all coalesced at the doorway. "Huh?"

The girl who'd spoken hesitated. "W-we're in the archery club, and, well..." She glanced at the other girls in her group. "There's something the captain wanted us to pick up at the store for today's meet, so –"

"So you want me to finish cleaning up by myself?" Yuu finished for her.

Her brow furrowed with apology. "I'm sorry if it's inconvenient for you! I promise we're not trying to get out of helping you clean the music rooms!"

Yuu tried to flash a grin at them but it turned out all twitchy and weird so he decided against it. "That's all right. You've already helped me with all of it except dusting the piano. I'll be fine."

The girls' faces lit with bright smiles, and they gave him hasty half-bows. "Thank you very much! Well then, see you!"

Yuu watched as their backs turned into the hallway and then trotted down the hall, shoes clicking, leaving him in silence. Always the silence... By the sound of it, everyone else was either already heading home or at their extracurriculars for the afternoon. Yuu sighed. Yeah, someday I'll become a pop artist... the greatest sensation ever to hit the shelves... He continued to sweep the floors of the music room. Until then, I'm stuck here sweeping up dust bunnies...

Floor clean and dustpan full, Yuu left the music room to replace his broom with a wet rag for wiping off the piano. He was retrieving it from the closet when he heard a noise coming from the music room. Or it wasn't so much a noise, but a sound. Music. Coming from the piano.

He approached the room quietly, wholly entranced. It was unlike any music he had ever heard before: heavy and hopeless, yet trenchant and beautiful... The notes set each other apart, rising and falling in waves of emotion that rolled off the walls of the empty, silent school.

Yuu didn't understand it. He'd heard classical music before. He'd heard piano music before. But this was unlike anything else he had ever experienced. This was deep and shallow, beautiful and ugly, loud and soft. Opaque, yet hidden...

He rose and fell, to sky and sea, then hovered there, then crescendoed into the heavens... He fell down slightly, ever so slightly, until he fell down, down, down into the eternal abyss... and yet there was still light. And it started again, rising and falling, rising and falling, with its contrasting inner and outer melodies, steady pace and wonderful sound, oh, such wonderful sound! What a wonderful sound! What wonderful music!

It descended again, rising and falling, rising and falling, hovering, gently, gently... to a place of eternal remembrance and eternal rest.

Yuu had completely forgotten what he was doing there, listening with such intensity to the meticulous tones. When suddenly it stopped. It all just stopped. Like Icaris, his wings were melted and he crashed to the ground, as the person at the piano stood.

Yuu flattened himself against the wall, hoping not to be seen. When the one who emerged was none other than the tardy transfer student, their eyes locked for a brief second. The blond, upon seeing Yuu and realizing that he had been listening the entire time, quickly hurried past, embarrassed.

"H-hold on!" Yuu called, stepping forward after him.

The blond jerked to a halt, slowly turning around.

"What was that?!" Yuu asked.

The blond murmured, "Uh, what?"

"That music! That song!" Yuu said, walking over to him, twisting the dampened rag in his hands. "What was it?!"

The transfer student's cerulean eyes darted at everything in the hallway, except at Yuu. Focusing on him for a moment, quietly, the blond mumbled, "Uh, Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven."

Yuu shook his head in disbelief, emerald eyes alight with wonder. "Wow... I didn't know you could play."

The blond looked away, something about him offset. "Y-yeah, well... playing piano isn't exactly something you can go around telling people, unlike other instruments..."

Yuu cocked his head to one side. "Why d'you say that?" he asked.

Peeking curiously sideways at Yuichiro, the blond answered, "Well, most other instruments are always accompanied by a band or orchestra. Pianists are mainly soloists. We create music unlike any other, all on our own... Besides," he added, shrugging a little, – almost sullenly, – "most people don't appreciate piano music anymore. Not like that, anyway. It's all about hiphop and pop songs now."

Yuu felt his stomach drop. Because that's exactly what he was. He didn't want the blond to know that. "Yeah... I guess you're right..."

"Well, I really should be getting home –" he said abruptly, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Yuu called again, reaching after him. For the second time, the blond halted, his somewhat fearful gaze turning back toward Yuu. When he realized that he didn't know why he had called for the transfer student again, more or less sheepishly, Yuu admitted, "I never caught your full name."

The blond paused. "Shindo Mikaela."

"Mikaela," Yuu repeated slowly, testing the mix of foreign syllables on his tongue.

The blond laughed at Yuu's ineptitude – a sound that had Yuu captivated in a way all by itself, though he wasn't quite sure why. "How about you just call me Mika?"

"Okay, Mika it is..." said Yuu, though surprised at the sudden familiarity of the nickname. "So then... I'll see you around, I guess?"

The blond nodded slightly, his eyes flickering momentarily toward the floor. "Yeah. I guess." Another moment passed and Mikaela continued down the hall. He seemed to leave with a quiet, solitary haste that only interested Yuichiro more.

"Wait, I still have to clean the piano..." Yuu realized. When he walked back into the tidy music room and to the piano with its cover open, Yuu gazed upon the black and white keys with a new sense of mind.

Maybe he was still under the influence of Mikaela's beautiful playing, but it was almost as if the keyboard of ebony and ivory glowed intensely with the remnants of a vibrantly alive, albeit sorrowful song.

I would just like to say right now that I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing or where this is going or if I'll even continue it at the present time. (Ahh, why did I write yet another MikaYuu fic when I have so many other things I need to be doing?!)

I've never really written an AU this seriously before, so I hope you liked it! Please don't forget to tell me what you thought~!