Chapter Text
“Great work today everyone!”
Tsukasa shouted.
“Yeah, great work to everyone but you Tsukasa..”
“What do you mean?!”
Tsukasa looked at Nene offended.
“You just shouted the whole time.”
Nene sighed.
“Everyone did great today! I bet we’ll do even better tomorrow!”
Tsukasa and Nene stared at each other intensely but didn’t say anything else.
“I’ll be heading home now.”
Rui smiled at the three and waved before walking off.
“Bye Ruiiii!!!”
“I’ll be heading home now as well, are you staying Nene?”
“Yes, I’m going to practice a bit more.”
Tsukasa packed up his things and left, while emu wandered around the rest of the park.
Tsukasa’s POV
There was a lot of bickering today, but we did get a good amount of work done. we should be able to perform the show soon.
Although something bothered Tsukasa.
I should’ve talked to him today.. I told myself I would.
Tsukasa sighed.
I didn’t know what to say, again. I’ve been his coworker for a long time but that’s all we ever were to each other, coworkers. I don’t really know how we could be friends.. it’s seems so simple, yet I’ve known him for so long and only ever talked about shows. With all the shows we’ve worked on together we’ve never really been “friends”.
While Tsukasa and Rui did get along with each other well, they never were anything other than coworkers.
If only I could think of what to say.
Tsukasa’s breathing started getting slower and heavier.
I could talk to him about my interests, but what interests do I even have other than shows.. I’ve only ever talked to him about shows because that’s all I really care about. That’s all I’ve really ever talked about with anybody..
Tsukasa finally arrived at his house and was greeted by his sister.
“Onii-Chan!”
Saki hugged Tsukasa as he entered causing him to almost fall backwards.
“Saki! Watch out!”
Saki laughs and steps back.
“Sorry.. I was just so excited to see you!”
Tsukasa tries to hide a smile.
“At least be more careful next time, I could’ve seriously hurt my back!”
“Aww come on, it wouldn’t have been THAT bad.”
Tsukasa sighs and takes his shoes off.
“Have you eaten yet?”
“Mhm, I ate with my band mates after practice.”
“I’ll be sure to make a dinner worthy of only the best tomorrow then!”
Saki laughed and hugged Tsukasa again.
“Alright well I gotta study now, see you later Onii-chan!”
“Bye Saki!”
When Saki went into her bedroom Tsukasa rested his head on the counter and took a deep breath.
I don’t even talk about my interests with my own sister.
Tsukasa rested there for a bit longer before heading to his room, he lays on his bed as he didn’t have motivation to do anything else.
Why do I even want to talk to Rui in the first place? I enjoy being around him, but I also enjoy being in the presence of Emu and Nene. What’s different about him? ..It’s probably nothing important, I should stop worrying about it.
Tsukasa brushed it off without a second thought, and instead started thinking about their next show.
Rui’s POV
Rui finished eating dinner and headed to his room to make the needed machinery for their next show.
“Hmm, what should I work on first?”
Rui picked up one of his tools and started working on a random half finished stage prop resting on his desk. Rui enjoyed working on them, it was a nice distraction and also productive.
“This should work fine, I’ll have to test it properly tomorrow though.”
Rui looked at the clock and realized it was quite late, He paused and thought for a moment.
“It’ll be fine if I stay up tonight, I’m not that tired anyways.”
Rui had stayed up late last night as well, he knew it would be more responsible to sleep but he didn’t really care. If there was work to be done he wouldn’t be sleeping at a normal time. Rui worked for a little longer before the lack of sleep started getting to him. He yawns and gets up from his chair.
“I should probably grab a drink..”
Rui saw the many empty energy drink cans laying on his desk in the corner of his eye but decided to ignore it. Rui walked to the kitchen in the dark as his parents had already gone to bed. Rui looks through the fridge searching for an energy drink.
I’m almost out, I’ll have to go out and get more tomorrow.
Rui finds a can and pops it open. He leans against the counter as he takes a drink and stays there for a bit. However when Rui wasn’t focused on something his mind would start to venture, especially when he was sleep deprived.
“Are they really good enough?”
Rui mumbled quietly, he had to be careful not to wake his parents.
“Honestly, there're so many flaws in the design and I didn’t even realize..”
Rui tapped his foot, he soon realized that the tapping was too loud and returned back to his room to continue working. Once he got back to working he didn’t give his earlier thoughts any attention. Rui worked on many different props throughout the night, and ended up pulling an all nighter instead of just going to bed late like he planned. Rui slowly turned his head towards the clock and registered what time it was.
“..I’ll be fine.”
Rui layed there for a few more minutes before getting up and dressed. After Rui was dressed he immediately went to the fridge to grab another drink, he rummaged through the fridge but had no success finding a drink.
“did I really drink them all last night?”
Rui mumbled under his breath.
Rui got ready for school and took a shower to try to help him wake up, but instead he just ran out of time to eat breakfast. Not that he really cared though.
“Bye mom, bye dad.”
Rui smiled at them before walking out the door. When the door closed behind him his smile instantly dropped. He really didn’t want to go to school today, He was probably too tired to focus anyways. Rui waited outside for Nene.
“I’ll just skip class on the rooftop today, it’ll be fine.”
Finally Nene walked out the door and stood beside Rui.
“Wow, you look terrible.”
Rui lets out a small laugh.
“I know.”
“Seriously Rui, did you pull another all nighter?”
“Looks like I’ve been caught.”
Rui smiled at Nene, while Nene put on a concerned expression.
“Not funny, Rui.”
They began walking and changed the subject.
“How is your part coming along Nene?”
“It’s going a lot better than before with the extra practice.”
“That’s good, I can’t wait to see it after school today.”
“Are you done with the stage props yet?”
“Almost.”
“Is that what you spent all night doing?”
Rui chuckled.
“What else would I be doing?”
I should drop by the gas station on the way to buy an energy drink, but I don’t want Nene to catch onto how tired I actually am.
“Rui?”
“Hm? What is it Nene?”
“Oh, it’s not anything important. You just seemed out of it.”
Rui smiled.
“Looks like we’re here.”
Nene sighed.
“Are you even planning on going to class today?”
“See you Nene!”
Rui walked into the building and immediately started going to the rooftop. Rui often skipped, but eventually the teachers gave up on trying to stop him as he still managed to get passing grades.
On his way, he spotted Touya in the hallway without Akito. A very rare chance he wouldn’t miss.
“Touya!”
Touya looked over at Rui and let out a small smile.
“Good morning Rui.”
“It’s rare to see you without Akito, something going on?”
“He said he’d be late today Is all, how have you been Rui?”
Touya had gone to some of their shows as a friend of Tsukasa, Tsukasa introduced Rui and Touya and they’ve been friendly with each other since. Although they didn’t talk often.
“I’ve been fine.”
“You seem tired, Rui.”
“Is it really that obvious?”
Rui smiled and let out a small laugh.
“Anyways, how are you Touya?”
“Average, nothing really going on.”
Rui glanced at the clock.
“It looks like class is about to start.”
Touya looked at the clock and then at the entrance.
“I guess he’ll be later than I thought..”
Touya sighed.
“See you later Touya, it was nice talking to you.”
“You too Rui.”
Touya headed off to his first class and Rui continued his path to the rooftop. Rui arrived at the rooftop and sat on the floor with his back leaning against the fence. Rui enjoyed being alone on the rooftop, he enjoyed the fresh air and empty space. Although Rui didn’t show it, people noticing how tired he was did bother him, he didn’t know if it was because people could tell easily or if he felt like he was making them worry. Rui took a deep breath and sat there.
“I’ll have to find some way to make it less obvious, it shouldn’t be too difficult..”
Rui decided that working with the limited tools he could fit in his bag wouldn’t be productive. He pulled out his phone and pressed play. Suddenly he was in the Sekai.
“Rui?”
Rui looked over at Kaito and smiled.
“Rui!!”
Miku ran next to Kaito and waved.
“Shouldn’t you be at school, Rui?”
“Don’t worry about me Kaito, I’ll be fine.”
Kaito shook his head and smiled.
“Whatever you say, Rui.”
“Do you two have a new show ready?”
“Well we were planning on performing it on front of everyone.. but I think it’s fine if we give Rui a sneak peak!”
Miku looked at Kaito for approval, Kaito thought for a moment and nodded.
“Yay!!! I’ll go set up the stage.”
Kaito waved to Miku as she ran off towards the tent.
“Rui, can I borrow you for a moment?”
“Hm? What for?”
Kaito started walking towards the backstage entrance and motioned for Rui to follow. When they got there they both sat down.
“Rui, are you sure you’re taking care of yourself? You always come here during school hours, and you always look like you’re not getting any sleep.”
Rui’s smile faded a bit which didn’t go unnoticed by Kaito.
“Why wouldn’t I be taking care of myself?”
Kaito paused for a moment.
“Rui, I know you have a lot of work to do for the shows. But you don’t have to push yourself past your limits to get it done right away, It’s ok to take breaks.”
“I enjoy working more than anything else, but I’ll keep your advice in mind”
Kaito put on a convincing smile, but he didn’t really believe Rui would follow his advice.
“Kaito! Rui! The shows about to start!”
Miku bursts through the door, full of excitement as usual.
“Good luck up there!”
Rui made his way to the audience seats.
Tsukasa’s POV
Rui watches the clock waiting for class to end and it’s finally lunch time. Tsukasa gets up from his chair and grabs his lunch.
I should eat lunch with Rui tdoay.
Tsukasa checked Rui’s classroom.
Don’t tell me he skipped class again..
Tsukasa immediately began heading towards the rooftop, when he got there he was surprised to see Rui nowhere in sight. Although after looking around more he found Rui’s bag.
What is this doing here by Itself? Where could he be?
Tsukasa paused.
He’s probably in the Sekai again isn’t he..
Tsukasa rummaged through Rui’s bag looking for his phone, but he couldn’t find it. Tsukasa stood there for a moment.
If I want to see him I guess I’ll have to go.
Tsukasa sighed as he pulled out his phone and pressed play. The colorful mess of triangles surrounds him and the next moment he’s in the Sekai. He hears what sounds like singing from the tent.
I guess I’ll look here first.
Tsukasa enters the tent and sees Kaito and Miku performing along with some plushies, he then spots Rui in the audience enjoying the show. Tsukasa walks to Rui and sits down beside him. Rui doesn’t seem to notice Tsukasa.
“Uh.. Rui?”
Rui looks like he’s been awoken from a trance as he notices Tsukasa.
“Tsukasa? What are you doing here?”
“I came here to check on you, I was hoping maybe we could have lunch together-“
“I noticed you weren’t in class and as the responsible future star I am I decided to check on my Director!”
Rui chuckled, Although something bothered him a bit.
“I’m simply watching their show Tsukasa.”
Tsukasa averted his attention to the ongoing show, Miku’s eyes lit up when she saw Tsukasa in the audience. Soon the show finished and lunch was almost over.
Hah, I didn’t talk to him at all today..
Tsukasa’s expression changed into a sad smile. but he quickly masked it before anyone noticed, At least before most people noticed.
“Lunch is almost over, isn’t it? You should be heading back now, Tsukasa.”
Rui was right, he needed to go back soon.
“Bye Rui! And stop skipping class!”
“Bye Tsukasa.”
Rui’s POV
“I wish he could’ve stayed a little longer..”
“Rui!! Rui!!! Did you like our show?”
“Of course I did Miku, both you and Kaito did great.”
Miku looked around Rui.
“Awww did Tsukasa already leave?”
“Sadly, I wish he could’ve stayed a little longer as well.”
“That’s ok! We’ll show him the full show soon!”
“I’m going to play with the plushies now if you guys don’t have anything else to show me.”
“Hmm… nope! Nothing else to show you, go have fun!”
Rui smiled and made his way over to where he usually found the plushies.
“Hm.. looks like they aren’t here right now.”
Rui was going to go somewhere else to look but the lack of sleep was really starting to get to him, and pretending he wasn’t tired was even more exhausting. Rui laid down in a pile of blankets and pillows and quickly fell asleep.
Rui was suddenly standing on a ledge, he was very confused by this.
“…”
Rui tried to speak but nothing would come out.
“…”
Rui put his hand on his throat and tried speaking, but again nothing came out. Suddenly, the ledge started cracking. Rui tried calling for help but nothing came out once again.
Please.. please someone help.
All Rui could do was stand there and do nothing. Tears started streaming down his face as the ledge continued to break. Suddenly, he was falling into nothing. Surrounded by only darkness.
Please, please, why can’t I call for help?
“…ple…”
Rui barley manedged to get a sound out, he continued to fall into the darkness and could do nothing but let his tears fall with him. Suddenly Rui heard a sound in the distance.
“Rui..”
“Rui, Rui!”
Rui slowly opened his eyes to see Kaito and Miku’s concerned faces looking over him.
“Rui, thank goodness you’re awake.”
Kaito sighed in relief.
“We were seriously worried, Rui!”
Rui sat up and when he went to rub his eyes he felt, tears? Rui froze in place as he felt them.
“I..I’m sorry, you guys really don’t have to worry about me. Why are you two here anyways?”
“We were looking for you to look at some things about our next show, and then we found you like this.”
Rui sighed.
I shouldn’t have fallen asleep here.
Rui’s face changed from distressed to annoyed and stern.
“You guys don’t have to worry about me, seriously.”
“But Rui..”
“Miku. I said it was fine, just forget about it.”
“Rui I think-“
“I don’t care what you think Kaito!”
Kaito and Miku were shocked from the sudden outburst by the normally calm and collected Rui.
“I’m leaving.”
Rui said with a voice crack.
Rui pressed pause and he appeared back on the school rooftop. He quickly wiped the tears off his face and checked the time.
“It’s about time to go.”
Rui picked up his bag and made his way to the entrance, he tried his best to look like he wasn’t in distress. Rui then saw Nene in the distance, he waved.
“I didn’t see you in any of your classes, did you skip again?”
“Sorry.”
“Whatever.. I just wanna get home.”
Rui and Nene walked to their houses in almost complete silence, Rui approached his house and waved Nene goodbye. Rui entered his home and took his shoes off, his parents didn’t seem to be home yet. Rui immediately made his way to his room and slouched down in his chair.
“What the fuck! Why did I act like that..”
Rui slammed his head on his desk.
“Now they’re gonna think something’s up.”
Rui sighed.
Maybe something is going on, but it isn’t there problem. They shouldn’t have to worry about me, It’s fine it’s not that big of a deal.
“I need to get to work.. I slept long enough there. And I don’t feel like having another nightmare right now.”
Rui worked as best he could until his body wouldn’t let him.
“I need to apologize, I can sleep after.”
Rui found his phone and pressed play once again transporting him into the Sekai. He didn’t see anyone and decided to look in the tent first. He didn’t see anyone on stage, but he did hear muffled voices from backstage. He made his way to the entrance of the back stage area.
“Miku, we have to find a way to help Rui.”
Rui froze in place.
“I know.. but what can we do to help him? He snapped at us when we asked if he was ok.”
Kaito went silent. Rui didn’t want to hear anymore and walked into their view.
“Rui? What are you doing here?”
Kaito stayed silent.
“I came here to apologize for earlier, I’m sorry I yelled at you two like that. I was just.. tired.”
A terrible excuse you dumbass. Kaito finally looked at Rui.
“It’s ok Rui!! We forgive you.”
Rui smiled.
“Rui.. it’s alright.”
Kaito stood up and walked over to Rui.
“Just please tell me what’s going on, Rui. it hurts to see you like this.”