Michiko's Symphony
"Why aren't you using it to bring me down?"
Rimba smiled—not the maddening, crooked smirk he usually wore, but something thinner, warmer, entirely sincere. He raised one hand, hesitated for half a second, then reached out and patted the top of Michi's head, gently.
"Because underneath all the nagging and that stiff mask you wear, Arunika... I know that it's only behind that drum kit you can actually breathe easy, without having to pretend to be someone else," Rimba said quietly, his eyes fixed on her, steady. "And for some reason... I like the messy, fully-alive version of you in that studio a whole lot more than the lonely model student standing up on a stage."