Chapter Text
Everything always felt cold for Rui. The floor he sat on, the shaggy clothes he wore, the apple he held and sank his teeth into. Even the air itself as rain poured down onto the town. Most of all, his heart felt cold, breaking under the pressure of living out on the streets by himself for who knows how long at this point.
The towns folk know Rui from him sneaking and stealing food from the markets lining the main street of the town almost every day. Some would take pity on him and gift him some while others would chase and beat him down, no matter how small the piece of food he stole would be. Others would defend Rui because he was just a child while others would say he needed to be taught a lesson that clearly hasn’t worked on him as the apple he ate now was stolen as well.
Rui’s eyesight suddenly went hazy, tears already dripping down his face. (Or was that just the rain? He couldn’t tell.) How much longer was he supposed to endure this all? He didn’t like stealing, no matter how much he did it. He had no home or family to try and run to nor was anyone in the town going to truly help him. A sob broke through Rui’s lips as he furrowed his eyebrows, frustrated at himself and the world. He bit into the apple again, munching it in hopes of silencing the cries he wants to let out from his aching heart… “Hello..?”
Suddenly, the rain had stopped pouring on him though the sounds of it were still clearly there. Rui blinked twice and looked up, meeting eyes with another boy who looked about his age. His eyes were bright and full of life, looking at Rui curiously as held his umbrella above both their heads. “Mama! He seems to be okay!” The golden-haired boy jumped up with a smile on his face, turning to face the women who stood behind him.
His mother looked at Rui up and down with a soft look in her narrow eyes. “Ahh, he’s slightly bruised up though… And his clothes are all torn and muddy.” The young boy looked at Rui once again, face saddening upon looking at Rui’s current state more closely. Suddenly, he reached a hand out towards Rui, catching the lavender-haired boy off guard and making him flinch at the action. “Wanna come with us?”
“Shh- Son, we can’t! It’s already getting dark so we must go home now.” She reached out to grasp her son’s hand but he hopped away, making sure to keep Rui under the umbrella despite the rain now showering on him. “But we can’t leave him like this!” He pouted. Rui could hear the mother audibly sigh as she looked at Rui once more, even longer this time as if she was fighting her own thoughts. “Fine. Your father will find a use for him at the castle I suppose. Come along now.”
Rui felt his heart jump upon hearing they were going to a castle. Were these two royals? He was pulled up onto his feet by the young boy and was led to the white and golden carriage, still grasping the apple in one of his hands. The mother, who had opened one of the front doors of it, pulled out a white blanket and wrapped it around Rui before he was led into the backseats next to the golden boy, the door closing behind him.
What seemed to be their servant yanked at the reins around the horses from one of the front seats as the mother took a seat in the other, the horses neighing before pulling the carriage' full stride along the bumpy road. Rui could hear his heart beating louder than the rain falling onto the roof of the carriage are the sound of the galloping horses. He could see out of the corner of his eyes that the golden boy was watching him but had quickly turned away once he noticed Rui looking back, hopping a little in his seat at the action.
For once, Rui could feel himself smile hidden behind another bite of the apple he still had in his hands.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Rui’s memories of what had happened started to fade starting there, barely remembering how he must have felt upon first seeing the castle as he’s become desensitized to the place no matter how grand it still was. He still faintly remembers first meeting the father of Tsukasa, the golden-haired boy who was the one to stop the carriage when they were passing Rui, the surprise he felt when learning that they were indeed royalty and that Tsukasa was a prince, and how his days of becoming a servant were.
He had to wear a suit most of the time and his hair was cut and brushed to the side to give him a neater look. Despite his name not being completely thrown away, as a servant he was named after an assigned number to him, which was Six Twenty-four. Most of all, he would be punished upon breaking the reals assigned to him and to all servants in general. During what was essentially his training, he had broken many rules that have caused him to be told off harshly to being isolated in a dark room for hours or even a day at most.
Looking back at it, such punishments were just the tip of the iceberg.
Either way, the thing that hurt Rui the most was not being able to see Tsukasa for a very long time. The amount of gratitude he had for the boy only to not say so or even express it to him had pained Rui. If it wasn’t for Tsukasa noticing him, Rui would have still been there, rotting away on the streets. Surely, being a servant was no easy task but it felt much better than what he had before and that made Rui want to thank Tsukasa even more.
So, he was surprised when one day, he was faced with Tsukasa once again after months of only seeing him off in the distance within the huge castle. He was even more surprised by the fact that Tsukasa’s father had appointed Rui to be Tsukasa’s personal servant, which was to basically watch over him, check up on him and help Tsukasa out with anything the boy needed.
“It’s Twenty-four, right?” Tsukasa asked with that smile he had still so large on his face. Rui nodded, letting a small smile crack through his previous poker face. “Yes, Master Tenma.” That was all he said, making sure to stand up straight as he was instructed to do many times before. Tsukasa’s putting his hands on his shoulders though made him go slack a little in surprise. “No need to be so stiff around me! And… I’m happy you were chosen, Twenty-four.” A sad looked appeared in Tsukasa’s eyes which was whisked away as fast as it had come.
Rui wasn’t sure why he was picked out of the hundreds of servants that could have been chosen to be the young prince’s servant. He deduced that it was because he was the closest to Tsukasa’s age as most of the other servants at the time were all adults and that the two of them would get along more easily. Either way, he wasn’t really complaining because finally, he could return the gratitude he had for Tsukasa ten-fold.
Rui just wasn’t expecting how important Tsukasa would actually become to him.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
"Master Tenma? It's your bedtime already." Rui called out, entering the dark library with books lining the shelves that scaled up for what felt like thousands of feet above him, though that was mainly because of his short height at the time. There was a single light illuminating the room and at one of the tables beyond the shelves sat Tsukasa, fingers between a page as if he was about to flip through it until Rui had called for him. "Ehh..? Already?" Tsukasa couldn't help but whine with a smile on his face, placing a bookmark between the page he was on and closing the book, hopping out of the chair he must have struggled to get in.
"Sorry, Master Tenma. Mister Tenma would be angry otherwise if you were to fall asleep past 11' o clock." Rui cracked a small smile as he walked over to the table. There was always something so intoxicating about being in Tsukasa's presence. He started grabbing the books Tsukasa had scattered on the table and skimming through their titles, immediately knowing where to place them on the shelves. "Wait by the door as I put these away, okay?" Tsukasa didn't have to listen to what Rui said, of course, knowing the huge difference in their status, but Tsukasa nodded happily and ran off to the huge white and gold doors that led outside the library.
He slid the books into their respective shelves, sometimes climbing the ladders to reach the much higher shelves. He did so recklessly, more so to get Tsukasa to sleep by his bedtime. It's not like he was inherently scared of the consequences he could face since his status as a servant always granted him the worst even as a child; he was just worried about what Tsukasa could go through. The last time they were late on something, Tsukasa was scolded by his father in the main hall with many of the servants, including Rui, watching in either disappointment or heartbreak.
Rui was the latter.
So Rui wants to shoulder everything for Tsukasa, take the blame for whatever else shall go wrong. As his servant, he wants to protect Tsukasa from everything and anything. Rui softly laughs to himself as he climbs down the ladder. Wasn't it silly of him to have this dedication for one person at his age-? He was only 12, 10 when he was picked up from the streets by Tsukasa and his mother. Was this how it felt to grow up too fast? Or was this just how he was meant to feel as a servant? Rui didn't have answers to his own questions, at least for now, so he decided to wave it off as he placed the last book on the shelf and quickly ran over to Tsukasa.
"Finished, Master Tenma. We can go now." He did a little bow as an apology for taking so long, but Tsukasa just smiled as he opened the door with a little "okay!" They walked down the halls quietly, the gentle white light from the moon brightening up the halls through the long windows following along one of the walls, roses illuminated as if they were glowing. Tsukasa was hopping ahead gleefully and Rui had to speed walk just to keep up with his master's pace. Just how could Tsukasa have this much energy even this late at night?
They soon approached the doors to Tsukasa's bedroom, another pair of white doors that towered far beyond them but not as high as the library ones, this time a light blue lining the doors and making star patterns across their surfaces. The handles were pure golden, the color reflecting on Rui's black glove as he grabbed one of them and opened the door. Like the halls, the room was only illuminated by the moonlight, giving the room a gentle blue glow.
Tsukasa's room was as neat as ever. It's not like there was much in his room anyways besides his bed, desk, and a huge mirror in the corner of his room the maids always use they dressed him in the finest clothing, a huge mat 1/4th of a circle in that same corner as if solidifying that area as such. Along the walls of the mirror were hung up shelves filled with ribbons of almost every color and just below it a storage cabinet with a multitude of fabrics in each drawer. All those were right next to Tsukasa's desk, with many needles and an unfinished, messy rose embroidery design still sitting on top of it.
Tsukasa always had an affinity for sewing outfits, most likely taken from his mother's side, so he was given everything he needed to make the outfits he wished to make. He was still messy with his actions, pricking his fingers and messing up the sewing a lot, but with each day Rui could see Tsukasa's hard work and improvements. He knew Tsukasa would make beautiful outfits in the future.
Near the right of the room was Tsukasa's bed, the bed frame extending almost to the ceiling with silk white curtains covering the top and the sides, flowing down like a waterfall that felt soft to the touch just by gliding your hands across them. Hanging from the bed frame as well were small fairy lights all shaped like stars that would give a soft glow whenever they were on.
Rui can't help but recall the moments he would enter Tsukasa's room to wake him up only to see that he's already awoken, his figure slightly obscured by the curtains while the morning sun peaked through them, lighting up Tsukasa's sleepy face slightly tinted pink from the night's rest. To Rui, he always looked so ethereal and it made Rui question even more how he ended up becoming the personal servant of someone as special as Tsukasa...
Behind his pillows and on the wall was a galaxy tapestry, glowing purple and blue with the soft shine of the room with sprinkled white dots acting as the stars on it. Tsukasa's affinity for stars was something else. Sometimes he found Tsukasa on the rooftop garden just watching the stars and pointing out the celestial patterns painted across the night sky. His eyes were practically made of gems as the purple night sky reflected against their sunset color.
Rui shakes his head and snaps himself out of his thoughts as he feels Tsukasa zoom past him to his bed, jumping on it with a giggle and making the sheets poof out from the impact, the number of plushies he had on the bed jumping into the air as well. Tsukasa's bed was littered with plushies though he only cuddles his cat plush to sleep. Despite that, Tsukasa couldn't let any of them go and Rui couldn't help but feel sadness wash over him that inevitably, there will be a day Tsukasa will have to discard of such "childish nonsense" one would put when Tsukasa gets older.
"Master Tenma-! You have to change first!" Rui yelped quickly, seeing Tsukasa already trying to shuffle underneath the blankets. Tsukasa stopped for a moment wide-eyed before letting out a laugh and climbing out of the bed. "Sorry, Sorry! I forgot..." Tsukasa said, scratching the back of his head embarrassingly. Rui place a finger over his lips to keep himself from giggling as he quickly retrieved Tsukasa's pajamas, handing them over and letting Tsukasa skip to the bathroom to change. There was always this childish wonder to Tsukasa that Rui felt, something he had lost a long time ago himself. It made Rui scared for the future slightly, thinking about how Tsukasa might change in the following years.
Would he even be the same Tsukasa as he is now in the future? Would Rui even be Tsukasa's servant anymore? Rui didn't want to burden himself with such thoughts.
As soon as Tsukasa was done, Rui packed Tsukasa's clothes in a basket and tucked Tsukasa into bed, something his father no longer had the time to do. Just as he turned to leave though, Tsukasa grabbed his arm and pulled Rui back towards him, Rui almost collapsing onto the bed. "Wait! Please stay here longer, Twenty-four..!" Tsukasa cried, already sitting up and keeping a grasp on Rui's arm, clearly not wanting him to leave. "But Master Tenma, I can't-"
"Just call me Tsukasa already!" Tsukasa pouted as he grabbed Rui by the shoulders and shook him, causing Rui to yelp. "E-Eh!? Master Tenma, I-I can't do that... Your father will have me hanged!" Rui exclaimed, slightly over exaggerating at the intimacy of being requested to call Tsukasa by his first name. "My dad would never do that! He may be mean and scary sometimes... but he would never do that. I'll never let him do that! But just to be safe..." Tsukasa grabbed hold of Rui's hands and stared right into his eyes with a bright smile. "Just call me Tsukasa when it's just us, okay?"
Rui felt something throb in his chest, something he hasn't felt in so long that left him questioning what it exactly was. All he knew was that it felt warm...
"I- Okay Mas- I mean Tsukasa-kun..." Rui lightly lowered his head, a soft smile appearing on his face as Tsukasa's own face shined upon hearing his name came from Rui. "Eeee!! Thank you!!" Tsukasa wrapped his arms around Rui and embraced him in a hug, which Rui shakily returned, still not familiar with such intimacy. In his head, he couldn't help but think that this was the first time any servant called him Tsukasa upon seeing his reaction to Rui doing so.
"Ah! What about you?! What's your actual name, Twenty-four?" Tsukasa asked, catching Rui off guard as they broke the hug. "Huh-? My name..?" Rui whispered, almost dumbfounded at the question. Tsukasa just nodded excitedly. "Yes! I don't know how my dad gave you the name Twenty-four knowing we've had well over that amount of servants, but surely you must have a real name as well, right? I wanna know!" Tsukasa's eyes shined with curiosity as he held Rui's hands again and Rui leaned back slightly, not because he was uncomfortable. Just nervous.
He doesn't remember the last time he was even called by his real name.
"It's Rui... Rui Kamishiro..." He whispered, looking away almost bashfully upon hearing it. Tsukasa had the complete opposite reaction though, mouth opening into a huge smile as the lights sparkled in his eyes impossible so. "Really! Ohmygodohmygod!! Your name is so pretty! It fits you!" Rui couldn't help but let out a breathy laugh as if he's been holding it in for an eternity. "Really, huh?" He asked as Tsukasa rapidly shook his head, making Rui fear it would tear off his neck. He questions if Tsukasa even knows the true meaning behind his name. "Thank you, Tsukasa-kun."
Suddenly Rui tore his hands away from Tsukasa's, the other letting out a confused noise. "Now then, Tsukasa-kun. I think you must be going to sleep now, right? It's almost 11 o'clock." He pointed to the huge clock across from Tsukasa's bed, the hands making out the time 10:55 pm. Tsukasa let out a surprised gasp as he quickly shuffled back under the blankets, his eyes practically saying sorry for possibly getting Rui in trouble already. "It's okay, Tsukasa-kun. Just rest well and I'll see you tomorrow morning." Tsukasa nodded softly, turning over to his side and grabbing his kitty plush, cuddling it as he closed his eyes and slowly went to sleep.
Rui smiled, quietly walking out of the room and closing the door, catching one last peep of Tsukasa between the cracks of the door while doing so. While he wanted to contemplate the little event that transpired at that moment, he knew he had to report back to the other servants before he got in trouble. Turning on his heel, Rui quickly ran down the hall towards the main office, continuing to feel that throbbing sensation in his heart.