A/N: I got inspiration!

I don't own 5D's, just what I'm writing.

I needed FaithShipping. And I want Yuusei to have this skill. For the sake of this FanFic, we're going to imagine that this is legit.


In all honestly, Aki didn't know why she heading there.

Sometimes, it was good to get away, though. Her relationship with her parents was still a bit awkward, actually. And sometimes she needed a breather. When she'd heard that Yuusei and the guys had finally come to live in Neo Domino "permanently" in a garage they'd rented, she'd been secretly excited. She and the twins visited there a lot now.

Maybe that was it.

Maybe she was heading there because she could.

And Yuusei, Jack, and Crow were all good people. Jack was arrogant, Crow could act stupid, and Yuusei tended be a little reclusive, but all of them were sweet in their own ways. And they treated her like she was a real person. She wasn't used to that quite yet...

Aki brought her hand up to the door and knocked once, then twice, and third time for good measure. Crow answered, a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth as he said, "Ah, Aki! Good to see you, come in!" Of course he sounded funny, talking around paste and plastic. But he was grinning that grin of his as usual, and Aki couldn't help but smile.

"I guess I just ended up here..."

"Well," the orange-haired man chuckled, stepping aside to let her in, "this is a welcome place!"

Aki nodded, closing the door as Crow descended the stairs quickly. "Thank you. And...Crow, when did you get up? It's like noon." She was referring to the toothbrush.

The reply was that he had a chance to sleep in and damnit, he was gonna take advantage of it. She giggled, and he grinned wider.

Aki then noticed that he seemed to be the only one home. "Where are Jack and Yuusei?"

He shrugged, still brushing. "Jack's out doing whatever the hell he does, not that I care." He used his thumb to point up the other set of stairs. "And Yuusei's up in his room."

"Would he mind if I stopped in to say hello?"

"Ooh~ I wouldn't," Crow told her seriously. "No one goes in Fudou Yuusei's room!"

"...Pardon?"

He laughed loudly. "I'm joking! He likes his privacy, but it's not like he's doing anything important. Head on up, M'Lady, he'll be glad to see ya."

Aki thanked him once again and quickly headed up the other flights. It was strange. Why was she so excited to see him? Normally she'd be happy to see any of the guys, or the kids for that matter. But when it was just Yuusei...her heart would always skip a beat. And it confused the heck out of her.

When she reached the second floor, Aki took a moment to try and remember which room was whose. Every door was shut and was irritating her and making it more difficult to distinguish things.

Before she could come to a decision, Aki heard something.

It was a quiet, muffled sound, somewhere behind the door next to the one she'd nearly opened. Aki slowly lowered her hand, interested in the source. Silently and with cautious movements, the young woman stepped over to the closed entryway, leaning close to listen in.

It was a guitar. Not a fancy electric thing or anything like that, but a legitimate old-fashioned one. It had that classic, rich wooden sound on strings. And it was beautiful. In tune, no off notes. Whoever was playing it was plucking a little tune that was obviously being made up on the spot.

Then Aki realized.

Jack was gone and Crow was either downstairs or in the bathroom finishing his tooth care. And all that left was...

Without so much as a noise, holding her breath to be sure of that, Aki turned the knob and cracked open the door. She thanked God that it didn't creak or hit anything astray on the floor. And she peeked her head in to see.

Truthfully, she just gawked for a while. His back was turned to her as he sat in an old, rickety chair he'd pulled to the center of his room.

The instrument looked about as old as the chair. Yet it was producing a lovely sound each time the man experimented a note.

And Aki didn't move for a good number of minutes. She just stood, enjoying the sound of something she'd so rarely heard. And it was still processing that Yuusei was the one making it happen.

"You know...," he suddenly said aloud. Aki squeaked softly, jumping as the door opened more. "There's this thing called knocking." He moved so he was still sitting, but facing her. "You should try it sometime."

"I-I'm so sorry!" Aki stuttered, embarrassed. "I didn't mean to- well...sorry!"

Yuusei blinked a couple of times, a glint of surprise in his cobalt gaze, though his expression stayed calm as always. "I'm just joking, you're fine." He offered her a small, gentle smile. "Come in, make yourself comfortable."

Aki had never been in a boy's room before. To say she was nervous was an understatement. But she heeded his kind gesture and sat down delicately on the corner of his bed so she could look at him from a front view. For a moment it was awkward, she shifted, unsure of how to behave.

That all changed when she heard a deep, foreign sound to her.

She was amazed to see Yuusei laughing. It was a reserved laugh, only just above the level that would be a chuckle. His eyes were closed and there was a smile on his marked face. After a drawn out moment, he looked her in the eyes, still smiling, and told her, "You seem so out of place."

"Oi!"

"I'm not trying to offend you," he quickly stated, straightening in his seat. "All this proves is that you and I have yet to really get to know each other."

Aki flushed red in the cheeks. Of course she and Yuusei were acquaintances, they'd fought together against the Dark Signers, and he'd brought her back to her senses and gotten her out of Arcadia for good. But to say she knew and understood Yuusei would be pushing it. She hadn't known that he owned a guitar, for one. Hell, she didn't even know his favorite color!

"I suppose you're right," she agreed, settling down more, relaxing. "It's sad, really. I've been around you guys a lot more often lately, but I still don't know you."

Yuusei frowned thoughtfully, resting his cheek on his hand, elbow on his knee. He was doing a great job of balancing the guitar on one leg. "Well, we'll have to change that soon, won't we?"

Aki beamed at him. She was so glad to have a friend like this. Then she thought of a topic. "I, uh, didn't know that you played." She motioned to the instrument.

"Oh, this?" he questioned, smiling slightly again. "I learned a little when I was a kid. Before we rented out the garage and we were packing up anything we actually cared about in Satellite, I came across this old thing." He patted the wood roughly, but it held up. "Brought it back with me and have been fixing it up in my spare time. I guess I still know a few things after all..." He peered over at her. "You ever played?"

She shook her head.

He smiled brighter. "Would you like to try it out?"

Now Aki couldn't answer. If she said yes, she'd end up making him laugh at her because of how much she sucked. If she said no, it'd seem rude and uncalled for. So she murmured, "I...sure..."

Yuusei didn't say anything as he shouldered off the strap he'd attached to the guitar or as he handed it over to the lady. Aki took hold of it, not knowing if she should hold tightly or tenderly. She didn't want to drop it, but she didn't want to crush it. Either way, it caused her inner turmoil. But Yuusei's eyes gave her the impression that everything was under control. So she tried to relax once more and set the thing in her lap carefully. It was heavy, but lighter than she'd expected.

Finally, Yuusei spoke. "Don't be so stiff." There was a hint of amusement in his words. "If it breaks, I can fix it. It started out as trash anyway." Then he shook his head. "You won't hurt it, Aki. I promise."

There was something about that guy that always managed to calm Aki down. So she took a couple of thick breaths and placed her slender fingers in the positions she'd seen Yuusei portray.

She plucked a string and she inwardly screeched in delight. Yuusei must have noticed the joyous gleam in her amber eyes because he stifled another laugh; but it wasn't insulting or anything of the sort. It was so great. Aki had never seen Yuusei show so much emotion in one day; or at least, not like this.

After a while of her trying different strings and making different noises off of it, she stopped and held the guitar out to Yuusei. "Play something."

"Huh?"

She smirked, though not in a mean way. "Come on Mister Skilled, play something! I'm terrible at this and I'd like to hear a real song. Please?"

Yuusei may have too much of a gentleman, but he looked ready to argue until the 'please' word was mentioned. Then his resolve wavered and he gave in. "Alright. I'm rusty, though. Don't expect anything too incredible, okay?"

She nodded enthusiastically and Yuusei sighed, placing the guitar on his thighs. Aki tilted her head a little as Yuusei then shouldered off his blue jacket and tossed it on the floor, as well as removing his leather gloves. When he saw her watching, he explained that it would hinder his movements. Aki decided it best to avoid looking his nice muscles.

And then the most beautiful music filled the room.

He stumbled over the notes a couple of times, "rusty" still, but he kept going. And Aki's lips curved into a graceful smile as he used the makeshift pick to create harmonious sounds on the instrument. She'd never seen Yuusei with such a serene facial expression before.

They stayed like that for a long time, exchanging the guitar back and forth, her doing her best to make a not-so-ugly intonation, Yuusei giving in to everyone of her 'please' words.

And Aki realized later that she had goten to know Yuusei in a different way that afternoon.

That made her extremely happy.


"Where's Yuusei?"

"SHH~"

"...Excuse me?"

Crow waved a hand for Jack to come over quietly, so the blonde rolled his violet eyes and did so. Crow was standing in the hallway outside Yuusei's room and was spying inside. Jack was about to chew him out when he noticed a sound he hadn't heard since age twelve.

A guitar...?

"Look at that," Crow whispered, "and tell me they won't get married in the future."

Jack did look. Jack didn't admit it.

But inside, he knew that Crow had one hell of a point.

Because when was the last time Yuusei had sat beside a girl and touched her hand as he taught her the correct way to play a chord on the instrument he'd grown up with?

He was about to scoff and march away and leave Crow to his troublesome tactics when he heard Aki speak.

"Neh, Yuusei...what's your favorite color?"


~Finish~