Chapter Text

Chapter 1 - A New Start

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

The sounds of the annoying alarm stop once Rui reaches his arm to hit the snooze button, probably knocking a few stuff over. Rui groans as he felt the sun in front of his eyes, forcing himself to get up and see what time it is. It's around 6:35, so he has to go get ready for school. He at first does his little stretches, slightly groaning again. Rui stands up just to slump his way to go the bathroom to do all his regular daily stuff. 

Rui wasn't a very 'morning' person, he was more of a night owl, probably because he just studies for hours. 

After putting on his outfit, he looks at the mirror blinking a few times. He looks a bit different for today,

"Did my hair grow longer or something? Why do I suddenly feel different?" Even as much as Rui questioned himself, he still had to go downstairs to go and eat. When Rui stepped downstairs, he heard chatter in the kitchen. His parents are still home? It even startled him a bit. That's usually because they always leave before he wakes up. As he reaches downstairs, he seems to notice that his parents are in their work uniform, already looking like their leaving. Before they left, Rui greeted his parents. Giving out a very small chuckle.

"Good morning." Although his voice was soft, it gave his parents a bit of a shock not noticing their son. His parents looked at Rui at first with a surprised face- but then turned it into a cat-like smile. The family does have a cat-like smile genetic thing.

"Ah, good morning Rui!" His mother came up to Rui ruffling his hair. Yes- her voice could be pretty loud, but her tone is also so soft. Everything about her is so graceful. Her long lavender hair with two long cyan-ish strikes, her soft pale skin, her smile, and her great personality. Rui loves everything about her. Scratching that, he took away his mom's hand, laughing a little before she messed up his hair even more. He didn't even notice that his dad was suddenly behind him putting one arm around his shoulder. Although his dad wasn't (obviously) like his mom, he had sunny-like eyes, was a very strong person with efficient stamina, and had a very creative-like personality. Both of Rui's parents were amazing. But yet Rui himself... he was nowhere like them. But- it wasn't in a bad way, Rui was a very intelligent person, but he was also very frail too. But his parents didn't care about any of that- they love him no matter what and he loves them too. Anyways, the thoughts trailed away as his father spoke.

"Rui? You look a little different today, did your hair grow?" After Rui's dad spoke, Rui's mom took a look at Rui again until she gasped a little.

"Are you finally growing up now?" Her words did sound harsh, but Rui knew that was not what she meant by them. There's just one more problem with Rui. He's extremely short. So he usually gets picked on for that, all the time. Even by his parents multiple times. He still never knew why he hasn't had his growth spirit yet. Maybe if he did, he'd probably look a lot cooler.  His dad was about to say something more, but Rui cut him out just to stop the teasing. 

"Don't you two have work to go to?" Rui's parents widen in surprise as they both looked at the clock. They were both going to be late. Both of them quickly sprinted out to the door- well before his mom gave him a peck on the cheek and his dad messed up his hair even more. They love messing with Rui just before they leave for work. 

"Alright bye, Rui! Don't forget to eat and have a great day at school!" His mom told before quickly shutting out the door along with his dad. Rui waved his goodbyes to his parents. Now then Rui looks at the time, it's almost time for him to go to. Rui usually just eats plain toast for breakfast since he never had a big appetite in the mornings. As he eats the toast, he tries to get his hair back into shape. Since there isn't a mirror in the kitchen, he hopefully thinks his hair is back to normal. Just as he finishes his lunch, he heard the doorbell ring a few times. 

Rui walked over to the door, knowing who it could be. Just as the door completely opened, it revealed a girl with long grayish-green green hair, with two light-pinkish strands tied in front of her hair at the ends with amethyst-like eyes. Her uniform was way different from Rui's, her uniform was a white collared shirt underneath a dark blue blazer, a red bowtie, and a dark blue plaid pleated skirt. It was his best friend, Nene. 

Nene and Rui are next-door neighbors and childhood friends for a long period. Just when they were kids, they used to perform little shows together since Nene wanted to become wanted to take on an acting career. Although that wasn't Rui's motive like Nene's, he always wanted to support her no matter what. And she'll always support him too.

"Are you ready?" Rui snapped out as Nene spoke. Why was he thinking so much today? But, Rui nodded just as he steps out of the doorway. Their school wasn't near them, so they would take the bus to go to school. It was around a seven-minute walk just to arrive after taking the bus. 

"Yeah," Rui replied just before they were walking on the sidewalk. As they were talking, Nene looked at Rui a little more closely, noticing something... somewhat different about him. Rui noticed that Nene was staring intensely, making him just a little concerned.

 "Nene, is everything ok? You seem to be staring a bit too much." Nene blinked fast a couple of times before apologizing.

"Sorry Rui, it's just that... did your hair grow? And maybe yourself too?" Even if Rui was just a few inches taller than Nene, she could always tell that there something was different about him. Rui had a sigh of relief before laughing a little. I guess his question was answered if he did change. Although he still felt no 'real' difference to himself. 

"Probably, although I still don't feel really anything that changed." Nene's eyebrows raised with a confused expression. Just before she was about to ask any more questions, they'd already arrived at the bus stop. Were they talking that much? Nene couldn't help but laugh a little due to the fact that Rui was actually changing once every few years. When they were both small children, he and Nene were the same age, but he was a few inches shorter than her. Worst part, Rui never knew how to 'defend' himself, so he was picked on in elementary school. And it wasn't in the good-way-picking type. So Nene would always help him if he was ever being bullied. Nowadays, Rui would still get picked on, only if the green-haired wasn't there beside him. 

.            .              .            ☆  

As they both entered through the door, the hallway was a bit crowded due to the fact that the bell was going to ring soon. Just as they walked through the crowded hallways, Rui noticed that both of them were getting a few stares at them. Well, mainly at Rui. And it wasn't the 'good' kind of stare. It was the stare of absolute disgust. And Rui knows why he's getting those stares.

Forgetting to mention, the school they go to is Kamiyama High. Kamiyama High is a very strict education that only the most intelligent students can join. The school is filled with a great education, the highest quality food, and the best of the best students. Almost everyone would want to go to the school, and even parents dreamt of their kids going there too. But in Rui's total opinion, everything about the school is absolute bullshit. And about the 'only the most intelligent students can join' that was a whole lie. You can be easily joined in with a great deal of money. Although yes, the school is pretty amazing, there's just this one problem. The hierarchy. Unlike most normal schools, the hierarchy depends on your status, appearance, and wealth. It's not grades or athletic prowess that gets you to the top. There are 5 ranks in this school. And Rui's in the lowest. So he usually gets picked on and bullied, a LOT. Even if you want to report it, the school wouldn't care about it at all. So Rui can't do anything about it. Luckily, Nene's is at the highest, so she's very well respected. And when she's with Rui, no one could do anything to him. Being in the highest ranks is very rare to get, so she's basically like Rui's shield.  But anyways, as they were both walking to their locker, Nene noticed Rui's saddened expression. Definitely knowing what it was about. She could always read him like a book.

"Hey Rui, are you okay?" Tapping on his shoulder a few times. Rui looked back at Nene, putting on an awkward smile, she probably noticed what he was thinking about. He used his arm to scratch the back of his neck, slowly turning his head around.

"Yeah, don't worry Nene." Although the lie was straight to her face, Nene didn't want to pressure him. So she tried to make the mood a little bit less tense by using her elbow to hit his shoulder in a playful way, giggling a little. Rui turned his head to the green-haired, noticing what she was trying to do before gaining a cat-like smile on his face. He patted Nene's head, but right after he ruffled her hair around turning it into a mess. As Nene adjusted her hair, they both arrived at each other's lockers.

Just as they grabbed their stuff, the bell rang. Sadly, until lunchtime, they don't have any classes together. Even though Nene could easily ask to put her and Rui in the same class together with her rank, Rui politely declined her decision. Nene never knew why he declined, but never asked anyway.

As they both waved their goodbyes, Rui took a deep breath knowing that class was going to be a pain. But if he could deal with it for years, he could still deal with it today. Rui walked into the classroom, noticing a few of his classmates were already there. A few of them looked at Rui for a second before quickly turning away, side-eyeing him as they whisper to the other classmates. If they were talking about him, they could at least try to make it less obvious. Rui took another sigh but more depressing-like as he sat down in his seat. He really wishes school was already over.

🎈

In the middle of class, everything was going fine. Copying notes down, listening to the teacher, having to hear annoying chatter, all that stuff. Well, just a few seconds later Rui felt something throb in his head, making him wince silently. Was he having a headache already? The worst part is he has the blame all to himself after studying way too much last night. He probably should've taken Nene's neglect to stop studying too much. Anyways, before the migraine starts to get even worse, he'll go to the nurse. Rui raises his hand to go to the nurse's office for his headache, and the teacher accepted his request. Just as Rui left the classroom, he slightly flinched back in more pain. Just how bad is this headache? 

🎈

After taking a pill for his head, it started to feel just a bit better. But instead of going back to class, he heads down to the bathroom. Why? He doesn't know why either, it's not like he'll meet someone who he hates with his whole heart. (Totally not foreshadowing....)

As Rui enters the bathroom, luckily and thankfully no one was there. Since there's nothing to do, Rui just decides to wash his face and go back to class. Class is going to be over in around 20 minutes anyway. After Rui washes his face, he's actually surprised to see no one here due to the fact this school is extremely big. But it's not like he doesn't mind it anyway. Just as Rui was drying his face, he heard the sound of the door opening. But ignored it anyway, it's not like it's possibly someone bad-  

"Rui...?" 

Rui blinked a few times, and the voice of the person sounds familiar. Way too familiar. Rui just very much hoped it wasn't him. Taking a huge sigh, Rui slowly turned his head to look at the person with a concerned look on his face.

His hair was messy with orange hair with a dyed yellow streak on the left side of his center bangs. With eyes that are olive green. His uniform was like Nene's but in a male uniform. Although the boy's expression looked irritated, his expression had guilt on his face. Rui's expression turned into bitterness. Out of all people, he really didn't want to meet up with him. Before Rui could get any more ticked off just by his presence, he looked away from the orange-haired as he tried to leave. But just before he could do that, the other boy talked again. 

"Wait. Rui, let's just talk-" Rui's eye twitched a little, he really just wanted to get out of here already. So he tried to make a quick excuse just to get away. Why is it every day something always has to ruin his mood? 

"Sorry, Akito, but I don't really have any 'time' to talk right now, I've got to go to class." Rui's tone of words didn't match his expression though. Even if Rui planted a fake smile on his face, even a little kid could tell his absolute hatred behind that smile. After making the excuse, Rui quickly rushed over to the door, thinking everything here could end. As Rui reached for the door handle, he felt something grasp his wrist. Making Rui twitch a little. Now he already felt extremely uncomfortable. 

Just before Akito wanted to talk again, Rui snatched away his wrist looking at him in an insufferable way, scoffing before sprinting off to go to his class. He felt absolute raging anger boiling in his head. Just why did he have to randomly occur to meet Akito? What did he even do this time? Just before Rui could think, even more, he accidentally bumped into someone without looking his way.

The man who he bumped into was way taller than him, of course. But his hair was blonde with peach tips, having orange-yellowish eyes planted on his face. His outfit was similar to Rui's, but he had a bright yellow sweatshirt instead of a grey one. But Rui didn't catch any of that though. Normally, he would apologize, but Rui was not in the mood right now.

"Move it asshole." He shoved the other slightly, getting out of his way. Rui speed-walked his way to his classroom. But meanwhile, the blonde was in honest shock as he just randomly got called an asshole for whatever reason. He scratched the back of his head as he kept on whispering 'asshole?' very lightly while walking in the hallway.

Coming back to Rui, he was already back in the classroom. But instead of being angrier, he felt absolutely paralyzed. He had the expression of a ghost. Slowly, he put his head down covering it with his two hands in absolute shame, screaming a little on the inside.

"Why the hell did I say that?!"  The realization just hit him after what he said to the boy in the hallway. He felt dreaded, possibly knowing his whole life could be over in school. He definitely can not let Nene know about this, at all. But the guilt he going to hold is probably never going to go away for the rest of his life. 

🥞 🎈 

"What'd you do this time Rui?"  Nene raised her eyebrow, crossing both of her arms. Rui looked bewildered. How did she know that something was going on? Maybe she could just be bluffing, there's no way she could just possibly know, right? Hopefully...

"N-Nene, what do you mean? Rui tried to make his words seem like he hadn't done anything. But Nene obviously didn't buy it. They've been best friends for years, so she can easily tell if Rui did something. Furrowing her eyebrows, looking at Rui in a 'disappointing' way.

"Rui, for starters, you looked extremely paler if it was possible, your expressions, and you stuttered. You only stutter when something happens to you." Rui froze, now he knew she definitely knew she wasn't bluffing. Judging from what's happening right now, he has to tell her with no choice. Whenever Rui did or had something, Nene could always easily force it out of him when it was serious. Rui took a breath of defeat.

"Okay, so... imayormaynothaveaccidentlymetwithakitobutiwasverypissedanditheni-"

"Woah Woah Woah!" Nene signaled her hands waving left to right for Rui to stop his rambling. Rui quickly stopped. Nene pinched the top of her nose, taking a deep exhale.

"Maybe just slow down, a lot, and then I could understand ok?" Rui nodded, just before telling his story.

"Alright, so it all started when...."

🤖🎈 

Nene had a bewildered look painted on her face. She can't tell if she's concerned, stressed, or maybe even both. Just before Nene could get any more confused, she wanted to ask Rui a few questions, just to make things clear, at least. Or maybe before her brain might shut down. 

"Okay, first things first, are you okay? From, you-know-who." Rui knew she was referencing Akito. But he nodded, making Nene sigh with relief. At least nothing bad happened to him. Well, for now of course. Why is it that every time when she's not around him, Rui always gets into the weirdest situations? 

"Alright, so the guy you bumped into, have you ever seen him before, in, anywhere?" Rui shook his head. Not changing Nene's expression at all. On the inside of course. She felt immensely anxious for her friend. She doesn't want that incident to happen again. Even the thought of it made her shiver, just a little though. But she moved on to the last question anyways. 

"Last question. When you bumped into him, did you at least catch any detail, like shirts, or hair?" Nene's expression was more tense than usual. Since she's in the highest ranks, she can easily ask everyone who the person is. If Rui knew- of course. But he said a depressing 'no' as he flopped the side of his head onto the table. 

"I'm screwed..." His voice lightly fainted, as he did the biggest possible groan in his entire life. Although Nene would neglect Rui and tell him how dumb he was, she only just puts her hand on Rui's hair patting it. She felt guilty for him, a little, maybe, oh she knows she lying, she feels horribly guilty for him. Was he ever this unlucky?

"Although I don't know what to do just yet, I'll figure it out. But just please, pray for them to not be the highest rank." Rui blinked a few times before looking up at Nene with a worried expression.

"Nene, I promise you don't have to do anything this time, it'll be fi-" 

"Rui," The boy quickly gets interrupted, having a now perplexed look. 

"I. Am. Your. Friend. So, I will- with no hesitation, help you, no matter what happens." Although Nene's tone sounded serious, the pink tint on her face had betrayed it all. She felt honestly embarrassed from saying that cheesy quote. Rui on the other hand was absolutely stunned before becoming an emotional wreck from Nene's sentence.

"Nene..."  Rui sounded emotional as he put a hand over his mouth, making fake tears and sniffling. Now making Nene even more embarrassed.

"What are you even crying about?!" She screamed as her face turned beet red.

🤖🎈 

After lunch and a few more painful periods, the final bell rang. Meaning that school was finally over. Everyone left in the classroom, except for Rui and Nene though. Nene was standing in front of Rui's desk, already packed up. Meanwhile the other was still copying his notes down. The green-haired gave out a worried expression.

"For the final time, are you sure I could just leave you here? Shouldn't I bring you medicine?" The taller stopped writing as he looked up at Nene, smiling. 

"Yes, and no. I reassure you that I'll be fine Nene." Nene didn't believe him, but she tried to take his word. So she huffed in defeat as she waved goodbye to Rui. Rui also waved goodbye, now alone. He doesn't mind it though, it was surprisingly peaceful as he continued to write in his notes. 

A few minutes later, Rui finished writing in his notes. Just as he was about to pack, he winced horribly as another migraine appeared. But it was way worse than before. Feeling his forehead, it was randomly burning hot. Did the medicine make it worse somehow? He probably should've not asked Nene to leave.

"Maybe I should just grab an ice pack."  The more Rui thinks, the more his headache worsens. As Rui stumbled to stand up, he applied more pressure to his forehead from his palm. Now, he felt strangely nauseous. It's not like he hasn't felt like this before, but it hasn't been this bad before. When Rui kept on walking to the door, he felt as if he walked more slowly than usual. Or was he evening walking close to the door at all? His breathing got even faster than it usually was before. Everything was going crazy inside Rui's mind. His vision even started to get a little hazy. Was he even going to make it to the nurse's office at this point? He's still not even out of the classroom yet. After a few seconds which felt like an hour, Rui reached the doorway. But he felt so weak. He can't move. He can't move.

He. Cant. Move.

Everything felt so blanked out that Rui didn't even see that someone appeared in front of him. Their mouth was moving, but Rui didn't know what they were saying. Was it Nene? Did she come back to check on him?  But just before he could do- or see anything else. His vision turned black as he felt his body stumble. Rui could hear the other shout out, barely. Just when he was about to black out, he thought just one thing to himself,

Why, just why was he always so unlucky?

❔🎈 

Rui fluttered his eyes open, quickly closing them as the room was horribly bright. Rui weakly groaned, forcing his body to move up. It did sting a little, but he didn't mind it at all. Still half awake, he tried to comprehend what was currently going on. Half opening his eyes, he was still in his uniform. Putting his hand onto his forehead, squeezing it slightly, Rui thought. 

"What even happened?"  Rui couldn't remember anything. As much as he tries to think, everything is just a hazy memory. But, Rui just had one more genuine concern, just where the hell is he? It's definitely not his house, nor Nene's. And it's not the hospital either. What if. What if he got kidnapped? Rui put a worried expression on his face before shaking his furiously. 

"Try and think of the positive things Rui!" But what are the positive things about this?! Rui still wanted to think positively, but due to how unlucky he can be, he felt on the brink of giving up. The worst part is his phone isn't even beside him, or from the looks of it anywhere in the room. So he can't call Nene or his parents. Rui covered his head with both hands in discomfort. Plus, who would even 'kidnap' someone like him anyway? He always tried to stay free away from being involved in anything. Everything was puzzling inside Rui's head. Why do these things always happen so fast? First, it was his headache, then Akito, and now being (accordingly) kidnapped! He still doesn't know how he got here in the first place! Nothing could pop into his mind on how, where, and when he has gotten 'kidnapped' But just before he could worry about anything else, Rui heard the sound of a door creaking. 

Quickly looking up at the door, Rui's eyes widened.

And not in a positive way.