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“He’s a demon.”
“No, he isn’t. Have the fumes from the smoke machine gone to your head?”
“Hellspawn. Devil incarnate, even!”
“Really, Rui? Do you even hear the things that come out of your mouth?”
Yes, Rui did. And yes, he was convinced.
He’d concluded precisely 2 minutes ago about the origins of his troupe mate; after careful recounting of their first readings of their lines an hour ago, he was sure he was right.
Well, it was just a theory, but Rui was ready to be proven correct.
“Let’s bet on it then, Nene. 20 bucks that Tsukasa is some kind of unholy creature. I’ll prove it to you by the end of the month.” Rui smirked, entirely way too confident than he should be, and offered his hand. Nene hesitated, half considering the offer in earnest, and half shocked that he would make such a dumb offer.
However, in the end, she decided to humor Rui. “I’ve already decided what I’m buying with it, deal,” Nene said, her neutral expression twisting into some kind of mischievous smile, and shook his hand.
—
About an hour earlier, Rui was introducing their newest possible play to his troupe; the play in question was an exciting drama of a princess taking up knighthood to slay a demon king: the typical kind of fun fanfare found in manga and anime. Rui wanted to adapt the genre to stage theater, and had already written a polished script for the first few scenes and a rough outline for the rest.
“Alright, this might be a little different from our usual, since we won’t have Tsukasa as lead, but I trust we can make this work! Let’s first do a simple run-through of the lines in the first scene, I’ll give everyone a few minutes to read through the script,” Rui said, and everyone nodded before turning their attention to their papers.
A few minutes later, everyone was ready. Rui spoke up, “Since this is our first run-through, I’d like to hear your own interpretations of how the characters should be played. Now, Tsukasa, could you start us off?” He waved his hand towards Tsukasa, who straightened his posture and looked at everyone with determined eyes.
Tsukasa took a deep breath, and acted, “Foolish princess! You’ll never take the mystic harp from my hands! Leave now before I smother you and your escort in flames!” It was nearly flawless, with only a stumble here or there, as expected.
What wasn’t expected was the deep rumbling of mountains, or the loud ringing of gong bells that was suddenly Tsukasa’s voice. Tones of charcoal and brimstone overlaying it all in a mask of devilish charm. Rich, raspy, with the kind of force expected by a strong-armed dictator or ruler, and all in all, a little frightening in Rui’s eyes.
The worst (best?) part was how natural Tsukasa sounded in it. The nasally, high-pitched tweeting of birds that was typically Tsukasa’s tune was no longer around, completely gone, and yet the way he spoke didn’t betray any straining on his voice - as if it was how he normally spoke all the time.
It was strange. Rui almost rationalized it with the possibility that Tsukasa was practicing beforehand, but this was the first time Rui revealed the plot and roles of the play. There was no chance that Tsukasa could’ve trained his voice for the role in advance.
He was about to ask where Tsukasa learned to speak like that, but Emu beat him to the punch, “Wow, Tsukasa! That was so cool! How’d you do that?” Her eyes were filled with starshine, definitely impressed with his sudden shift in pitch and tone.
Tsukasa laughed, and his voice returned to normal, young and energetic with no hint of darkness or depth, “I guess I’ve always been able to do it! Just think of it as another skill that’ll make me a star!”
Huh, that wasn’t the answer Rui was expecting. Typically, if he was learning such a specific skill, wouldn’t he answer with something more akin to “Well, I’ve been practicing!” or “One part of being an actor is voice work, so I tried to brush up on changing the tone of my voice!”? Last time Rui checked, Tsukasa never hinted at ever having that kind of skill before; his attempts to read out some of Nene’s lines a few times as a joke before had ended in disaster.
Only after they finished meeting for the day, Rui and Nene were walking home, that Rui figured it out.
Now, keep in mind that he was currently running on one and a half hours of sleep at the time. He’d spent all of last night writing up the script for the scene, wanting to introduce it today, after all.
It was obvious, at least to his sleep-deprived brain it was. The way Tsukasa looked so comfortable speaking in such a dark voice, filled with char and ashes, the way he easily accepted the role of the villain, giving up his usual spot as the hero, the way Rui felt shivers go up his spine, as if he was facing an actual demon lord.
Of course, Nene was not convinced.
—
That’s it, sleep-deprived Rui is not a smart Rui, he decided the next day.
How did he even get to that kind of conclusion?! Maybe he did breathe in the fumes from the smoke machine.
Of course Tsukasa was human, even if he had the unnatural ability to sound like some malignant spirit, there was no denying his obvious humanity.
However, he couldn’t just admit he was wrong - he had a bet with Nene, and he was seeing it through the end. Admitting his defeat would be taking the punch to his perceived intelligence, and even if it would be more shameful to hang on to the bet, Rui would not quit. There must be some way to convince Nene that Tsukasa was a demon.
He thought up multiple different plans whilst not-really-watching Tsukasa practice the movements required for the opening act. Rui had an idea to have Tsukasa dangle from the ceiling, like he was flying in the air, and then come down slowly to face Emu, the princess. A harness held him up and he would only stay up for a few minutes, reducing the strain on the equipment, making it safe (hopefully, he never could guarantee Tsukasa’s safety, as much as he wanted to, and yet Tsukasa took it all head on with no rejection besides the absolutely outlandish ideas - this was one of his tamer ones).
All he had to do was trick Nene into believing Tsukasa was a demon. Maybe if he offered a split of the cash with him, he could play along? Rui could use some props and special effects, Tsukasa using his impressive voice acting, and maybe they would have a surprisingly realistic depiction of a demon summoning.
Rui was considering what color of sparklers would be appropriate for a demon summoning, before he heard a large crash from the stage, the splintering of wood and a loud thunk alongside a yelp of surprise. He sprinted over, admonishing himself for not paying full attention, and made his way to the stage floor.
However, once the dust cleared, he was met with a completely injury-free Tsukasa, just as he was starting to panic about one of their key actors being out of play. No bruises, no marks, not a single cut or scuff on Tsukasa’s skin. Just him sitting on the floor as a piece of wood slid off his head, clattering to the ground in a satisfying clunk.
Rui was glad no one was hurt, but as he helped Tsukasa up, Nene came onto the scene and shared a weird glance with him. They both seemed to notice Tsukasa’s lack of wounds, his skin smooth and spotless, and no tears or dirt on his outfit.
After a few seconds of pure silence, with only the rustling of the wind tossing the cloth banners and the harness in the air, Emu ran onto the stage as well, grabbing Tsukasa into a big hug.
“Tsukasa…!” She stretched his name out, her eyes glossy as if she was about to start crying, and wrapped her arms around him in a big bear hug, “I’m so glad you’re okay..!” She started shaking him back and forth, while Rui and Nene continued to have a staring contest.
Maybe sleep-deprived Rui was onto something after all.
—
On the table laid a colorful cake, coated in a thick frosting the same golden color as WonderlandsxShowtime’s logo, decorated with sprinkles of their signature hues. In the very center of the cake, a small crown in white - their symbol - was painted in frosting. Four paper plates and a few napkins were next to it, and Emu held up a plastic cake-cutting knife.
“Shousuke wanted to congratulate us on the recent success we’ve been having, so he ordered us a custom cake! It looks so yummy… I’ll start cutting it for us!” Emu said, before digging the knife in the center and cleanly cutting slices.
All three of them watched in silence as Emu hummed a tune while slicing the cake up, each one having different amounts of interest in the dessert. Rui himself definitely wouldn’t mind having a slice (translation: he would very much like a piece as soon as possible), but Tsukasa was nearly salivating at the mouth. Rui didn’t blame him - the cake did look extremely tasty. Nene just watched on, her expression betraying almost no interest besides a quirk of her lips and the fidgeting of her fingers.
However, Rui noticed that the cake was divided into 5 slices. That meant that only one of them could have a second slice, or they would have an extra left, but he doubted the latter, based on what he knew about Emu’s sweet tooth.
Soon enough, each of them was enjoying a slice of cake. Rui savored his, the mango cake sweet, yet light in flavor, decadent without being too rich and unbalanced. Nene seemed to hold a similar mantra, taking small bites with just the tip of her fork.
On the other hand, it seemed like Emu and Tsukasa were unknowingly racing to finish their slices, shoveling the dessert into their mouths like digging a grave. Rui watched them eat their crumbling mountains of mango goodness until they finished at the same time. Immediately, they turned their gaze to the last slice, sitting innocently on the paper plate, and rushed for it.
However, Emu was just a smidge faster, grabbing the paper plate with cake in hand. Rui himself was about to suggest that they could just split it in half, but she had already taken a few bites, rendering the suggestion useless. He watched as Emu happily ate her share, flowers and sparkles dancing about her as she started humming again whilst eating.
It was an adorable sight to see, until Rui heard a strange rumbling, like a menacing lion, sharp claws ready to strike, or the spittle of a dragon, facing down the next hero trying to slay it. He looked away, trying to find the source of the sound, until he saw Tsukasa - his hands bunched into fists, his shoulders shrugged up in contempt, steam fuming from his head.
That was the normal part. Anyone would be mad if you took a piece of cake from under their grasp. The curious part was Tsukasa’s expression, or his eyes in particular; Yes, they had a glinted glare normal for anger, Rui admitted, but for just a second, he swore he saw a flash of red. A hint of fire and embers captured in Tsukasa’s irises like bugs stuck in amber.
The flare of flames lasted for less than a second, yet he already committed it to memory. It gave him goosebumps, he was unaware that Tsukasa could make such a frightening face, befitting of a demon.
Fortunately, he eventually sighed and lost his uptight anger, winding down. His body went slack and all the rage that was there left in a split second, as fast as it had come.
When Nene said she was done with her cake, that’s when Rui realized that he’d only taken a few bites of his.
—
“That’s a terrible idea,” Nene said, whilst leaning over Rui to glance at his plans for the day’s practice.
Rui smiled, all innocently and cute, like a little kitten asking for more milk, knowing that it’s already had its share, “No, I think it’ll look excellent on stage! Plus,” his angelic smile turned somewhat devilish, eyes narrowing with mischief and scheming, “it’ll be highly beneficial towards that bet of ours.”
Nene leaned back, no longer interested in reading Rui’s notes, and grimaced, “Eugh… just don’t get too crazy with it. Don’t want him to get hurt, or worse, ruin the show.”
Rui chuckled, light and sweetly, “Of course, I’ll make sure the show goes on.”
He got up, dusting off his outfit before making his way to the stage with Nene. He told her beforehand that he wanted to get there early to set something up, but refrained from informing her what it was due to fear she would reject his “outlandish” plan. Clearly, that was the right decision.
Once they got close to the stage, Rui changed paths to trawl a cart towards the stage. He lagged behind Nene, since the cart was heavy and the wheels seemed to click and jam every three seconds, accompanied with a snap of the metal against rubber and eventual release from stasis.
Once they reached the stage floor, Rui lifted the tarp off the cart, revealing numerous torches, fire pits, and stands; they were all a dark welded metal, with scuffs and scratches from previous use. Nene grabbed one of the smaller fire pits, and dragged it all the way to the end of the stage as Rui took a torch and placed it next to the brimstone throne they constructed a few days ago.
After a minute of silent lifting and placing, with little speak for directions and instructions, eventually they were done and Rui and Nene stepped back to admire their handiwork. The fire pits were placed near the edge, to create the illusion of flames coating the surface of the setting, whilst the taller torches and stands were near the throne.
Rui pulled out a remote and Nene gave him a worried glance, her eyes squinting just the tiniest bit before deciding that her concern wasn’t worth the work. Not paying any mind, Rui pressed the red button on the remote, and all the fire roared to life. Careful with their placement of the equipment, nothing started burning; instead, red and orange crackled and sparked throughout the stage, creating a magnificent scene fit for a king.
The ring of fire spreading along the edge of the stage blazed trails of flickering flames, whilst the torches lit up the dark throne, giving it a warm yet fierce aura from the red-hot lighting. The ambience was perfect for what was supposed to be “fantasy hell”, not too realistic but not too cartoony.
Rui went backstage to see Tsukasa and Emu approaching the stage, just in time for rehearsal. Noticing him, Emu started sprinting towards the stage faster than the speed of sound, barreling right into Rui’s arms, and Tsukasa dejectedly jogged right after her.
Nene spoke up, holding a yellow clipboard filled with Rui’s notes, “Today we’ll be rehearsing a few scenes with the props and sets in chronological order. First up is the opening scene, which Rui and I have already set up.”
Everyone spilled out onto the stage, Rui standing in the audience seats to conduct and critique the rehearsal, while the rest got into their places for their roles. Emu practically bounced in her spot with a plastic sword in hand, whilst Nene stood right behind her, holding a wooden lute close to her chest, eyes narrowed in slight distress at Emu’s nonchalance.
On the other hand, Tsukasa proudly sat in his seat, his right leg crossed over his left and head cocked with a mocking tilt. He glared at Emu and Nene, smile sharpening till it was practically a smirk whilst swirling the liquid in his wine glass. His figure was that of a regal, yet terrifying, ruler, one who commanded both respect and fear with a layer of malice and venom coating it all. Rui had to hand it to him, it was as if Tsukasa was a completely different person - he looked so proud, so sinister, so imposing, and so natural in it.
The air turned cold as soon as Tsukasa took his pose, Emu no longer bouncing and getting into character. A weary smile grew on Emu’s face, full of excitement yet terror as she looked as if she was about to rush into her death with her honor on the line, she held the sword up properly, no longer waving it around randomly but pointing it straight to Tsukasa’s neck. Nene shivered, true to her character, and cowered behind Emu whilst pulling her lute closer and glowered at him anxiously, yet with a small spark of bravery lit in her heart.
It was an impressive scene all together, Rui couldn’t have been more happy with their acting.
As they read out their lines, they acted in turn: a few threatening statements from Tsukasa with energetic yet serious retorts from Emu and lines of advice or fear from Nene. The opening scene progressed smoothly, everyone’s lines and actions flowing together like water pouring out of a pitcher.
Eventually, after Emu shouted her line of “We’ll defeat you and take the lyre back to where it belongs!”Tsukasa stood up, cackling like red firecrackers being lit by the dozen. He set the wineglass on the armrest of the throne, before walking down the small steps whilst raising his arms menacingly. His grin split and turned into a wide smile, and he was side to side by the torches.
This is where Rui’s plan took place. The fire was almost dangerously close to Tsukasa as he enacted this part of the script. Normally, you would adjust your position to avoid touching the flames, for, well.. Obvious reasons.
Yet, Tsukasa didn’t back away. He stood side by side with the torches, letting the fire nearly lick the underside of his arms, almost brushing up by his torso - in fact, if Rui squinted, he was sure it was. There was no fear in Tsukasa’s eyes as he let the blaze surround him, letting it roar and crackle in the dim lighting of the stage, as he said, calm and steady, “I’d like to see you try.”
Emu pressed forward, eyes glinting in anger, her sword steady as she lunged towards Tsukasa, shouting some spiel about justice and righteousness. Tsukasa responded with a menacing grin, practically yelling “come and get me.”
Nene on the other hand, hanging back from the battle near the curtains, was staring at Rui, her mouth hanging open in an odd mix of “can you believe this?” and “you’re all absolutely insane”.
Rui was almost giddy in excitement.
—
Rui sat up on Tsukasa’s bed, making himself comfortable as he let small strands of Tsukasa’s hair slip through his fingers. He delicately played with his hair, letting the blond locks shift and sway with his touch like dunes of sand swerving with the wind. Golden sunlight streamed in from the window, making his hair shine even brighter than usual, to the point where it almost sparkled in the hazy glow.
Rui smiled softly, the domestic scene not something he partook in often, yet always a delight. It was just happenstance, they were both tired after studying and brainstorming for most of the day, so Tsukasa just laid his head in his lap and didn’t bother to move an inch.
He noticed Tsukasa’s contemplative look, staring out into the grand sky, his mind seemingly not present but instead floating somewhere else, spacing out yet grounded somewhere else. Rui wondered what was troubling him, but didn’t ask due to not wanting to ruin the atmosphere - Tsukasa appeared to be figuring it out all on his own, anyway.
Instead, he continued to play with Tsukasa’s hair, moving his scope of range outside of his bangs and towards his forehead. He ruffled it gently, watching layers upon layers of rich yellow waves cross over one another on the top of his head, until he felt some resistance.
He twitched his fingers, looking for the source, and felt a small nub on Tsukasa’s head, hidden by his hair. He pushed the rest of the hair out of the way, only to find a small, black bump, glossy like obsidian. Poking and prodding at it for a second, he moved his attention to the other side of his hair, finding a similar black stub on his scalp.
That’s when he noticed Tsukasa’s expression. What was before peaceful drifting from Tsukasa, his eyes wandering somewhere outside the room, now was mortified shock and sudden silence. Rui couldn’t even hear him breathe. The world seemed to stop in that one moment, the pure silence filling up the room and almost suffocating Rui - he desperately wanted to say something, but couldn’t force anything out, only a choked, startled, pathetic attempt at a gasp and strange staring into Tsukasa’s eyes who met his with equal amounts of hesitation.
Eventually, they let go. Rui was able to move his hand again, and went to tousle with Tsukasa’s bangs again as Tsukasa decided staring at the ceiling was a better idea after subtly sighing.
They seemed to agree to not say anything, until Tsukasa spoke up, lip trembling and hands shaking very slightly. He bunched them up in an attempt to get Rui to not notice, but it was a failure, “There’s something I’ve wanted to confess for a while… it’s kind of important.”
Rui didn’t say anything, just hummed in response and stopped messing up his hair, and waited for Tsukasa to continue, “I’m.…I’m..not..”, he seemed to shake more and more with every word, his hands tightly gripping the blue blanket, tight ripples stretching over the surface of it.
His eyes turned glossy as he tried to speak, but fear almost overtook him, until Rui patted his head gently. Rui let his hands caress the top of Tsukasa’s head, soothing him and giving him the energy to finally finish, “..human.”
Rui’s eyes widened, but he didn’t move. He stayed there, continuing to pat Tsukasa’s head, as a few tears dripped out of Tsukasa eyes - even so, a small smile seemed to slowly form as Tsukasa realized that Rui wasn’t scared. He wasn’t scared at all, in fact, he wasn’t surprised either, and if he was, he didn’t let it show on his face. Instead, he smiled back, warm and gentle, as a comforting quiet took over the space, the room filling with just the sounds of their breathing, the leaves outside rustling in the wind, and birds singing songs in the sunset light.
However, they couldn’t stay silent anymore and after a while, Rui’s curiosity got the best of him, “So, what are you, then…?” He asked, hesitatingly, masking his tone of excitement. He was so close to proving he was right… of course, he wasn’t completely sure, but he had to be. It was the only correct conclusion from everything he’d seen from the past month.
Red light streaked in, the sunset almost over as purple painted itself from the very top of the sky, bleeding into the warm tones of the cloudless canvas.
Tsukasa went still, freezing up - but even so, he still spoke, “I’m, well.. I guess the best term would be a demon.” He grimaced, Rui noticing his narrowed glare and knitted eyebrows. However, Rui was almost grinning with glee, but kept it down as he wanted to let Tsukasa finish.
“Some might say some kind of hellspawn, to be more general,” he coughed, “and if you wanted to get more specific, the western term, ‘devil incarnate’, would probably fit best!” All symptoms of vulnerability dissipated and instead left a proud Tsukasa, probably happy to at last be able to explain his origin and heritage.
To be fair, being a literal demon was pretty amazing. Like, Rui had to admit, even just the ability to immediately frighten someone with just tone of voice was already extraordinary.
However, instead of voicing his thoughts, Rui wore his “innocent cat smile” and opened his phone, and dialed a number. Tsukasa watched, confused at what Rui was doing, and the ringtone played out on speaker for a few seconds until it picked up.
“Nene, you owe me 20 bucks!” Rui laughed, cheerfully with undertones of smug satisfaction at his victory.
On the other end of the line, after a few beats of silence from all parties, Nene responded with a prompt, quick and clean, “fuck.” Before hanging up, leaving Tsukasa completely confused at the sequence of events.
Tsukasa, through all of his red fluster on his face and stammering, said, confused and bewildered, “Were you guys betting on me? Being a demon?” He frowned at Rui disapprovingly, yet also surprised - but the kind of weary surprise that after the shock of it all, you immediately realize that it was totally within the realm of possibilities.
Rui just laughed one more time, a mischievous, hearty chuckle, and asked, “What do you want with your 20 dollars?”