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The Kamiyama High School will hold a huge festival in three days and Rui is already sick of it. It’s everything he hears and everything that other students talk about. It’s not that he doesn’t like the school festivals but after it literally being shoved down your throat several times over the years of attending this school makes him sick.
Rui hasn’t been assigned a task yet by the school to help with the organisation of the festival and he better be lucky enough to stay this way because he can’t really afford to spend his time on things other than his new inventions for their shows. Wonderlands X Showtime has Rui pretty much working full time on how to make the next show even better than the last, how to make the band something to remember and revisit for, and maybe even try to make his friend Tsukasa pull off an even more ridiculous stunt than before.
Rui sighs. Currently it’s halfway into lunch break and he hasn’t even been able to touch his lunch yet, not that it is something spectacular anyway. He looks over his last few sketches, some being crossed out for being too uninteresting. Sometimes this job can be a little too much, even for someone as genius (crazy) as himself. “Rui, there you are.” A voice calls him out, he simply hums - not even turning around to see who it is. Suddenly he sees a pair of black loafers standing in front of his sketchbook.
“Ignoring me now? After everything we went through too.” It’s Mizuki, standing in front of him, each hand planted on both sides of their hip. Rui looks up, carefully to not accidentally look up their skirt as he is still sitting on the floor. “Aaah, Mizuki-chan, hello there! Nice to see you on this lovely afternoon.” Rui then greets them, his left hand doing a little wave before returning his attention back to his work.
Mizuki frowns, looking down at their (slightly pathetic) friend. After being outcasted themselves Mizuki isn’t someone to bully other people but they are definitely not surprised that some people might’ve thought that Rui is a little weird, to say it in the nicest way possible. “I was looking for you, y’know?” No reaction. As much as they love him as a friend, Rui will drive Mizuki crazy one day. “Helloooo? Earth to Kamishiro Rui! Are you listening?” Rui keeps sketching, the tiniest bit of his tongue visible past his lips.
Mizuki falls down to one last option and bows down to swipe the sketchbook out of their friend’s hands who gasps out in surprise, eyes staring at them in slight distress. Looking at the drawings, a thick black streak goes across one page, likely caused by the pulling just now. Oops, guess Mizuki has to apologise for that later.
“Listen, Rui, I need your help with something. It’ll be quick as well, pinky promise!” They held a serious yet cute expression on their face, very Mizuki. Rui couldn’t say no even though the annoyance does make him hesitate just for a short moment. He shakes his head in defeat. “Fine.” He gets up from his ‘seat’ and follows Mizuki who immediately starts to walk to their destination. They walk with their head high, as they strut down that hallway meanwhile Rui follows them with a rather unwelcoming aura radiating off of him. He tends to get really moody when his work is disturbed.
The hallways are full of students, signs, boxes full of decorations ready to be displayed all over the school and Rui feels a little ill when he sees the school’s sports team discussing as to what programs they should offer this year around. Mizuki sometimes stops in their tracks for a bit whenever someone would call out for their name, calling them over as Mizuki seems to be in charge for mainly the costumes for the school play and the drama club needed some assistance.
Rui would just stand there awkwardly, trying not to look too bitter as he could feel the time running out in the back of his mind. His precious lunch break that he swore he’d spend on his inventions. A few more turns and stops and finally Mizuki announces they arrived. It was the 1-A classroom, door already heavily decorated. A sign flipped over to ‘closed’ hanging besides the door, along with another one that read out “Kamiyama High School Maid Café”. Wow, how original.
“I don’t think I can be much of help here, Mizuki-chan.” Rui admits but Mizuki shakes their head. “I haven’t even told you what you should do, silly.” With that Mizuki spins to face the door, away from the taller boy. They knock, once - twice, before being let in. Immediately they’re greeted by what seem to be Mizuki’s other female classmates, Rui still awkwardly standing in the doorway.
As Mizuki begins to chat with the other girls, Rui inspects the room. It’s bigger inside than it looks on the outside. The chairs and desks were moved to form little tables and seats for guests, the windows were thoroughly cleaned and had little pink hearts and stars littered all over them. The boring sheer white blinds replaced with almost white see through frilly ones. Two girls are currently standing at the chalkboard, writing out a huge ‘WELCOME!’ in a cute, bubbly font. It was super cute, Mizuki definitely was in charge for designing this room but Rui was still very much confused as to why he was led here.
Rui now fully enters the room, deducting the girls wouldn’t mind as nobody seemed to pay attention to him anyway. And this is when he saw the arguably most beautiful girl he has ever come across at this school, Rui feels like he just got punched in the gut, leaving him breathless. His golden eyes widening in sheer admiration as they swiftly analysed her in full detail.
Shoulder length blonde hair with cute frilly bows on either side of her side tails, her bangs slightly covering her eyes, the hair tips tinted into a pinkish red. The hair frames her sharp facial features nicely, her honey colored eyes seemed to be focusing on her fingers right in front of her, seemingly freshly painted nails by the way she avoided to touch anything with her fingertips. The dress she is wearing is clearly inspired after the classic maid wear but Mizuki definitely made hefty adjustments to fit it into their liking. The black dress has baby pink accents and stops right below her knees, showing off the sleek black mary janes, that she wore with white tights.
She is breathtaking, mesmerising even. A finger snap brings him back to reality though with a loud “Rui!” right after. Rui notices the way the blonde girl in the back startles before she looks over to Rui and Mizuki’s direction. Quickly, her once pale face flushes a deep red as her eyes meet Rui’s, then swiftly she turns around to hide behind the partitions that were put up. Huh–
“Here, Rui, I just know you’re the perfect guy for this job!“ Mizuki points towards the many different sheets that are spread out across the table, showing what seems to be some kind of refrigerator.. but in the form of a cupcake. How on earth is Rui supposed to make something like this in the span of three days? He simply glances back over to the partitions, the girl still nowhere to be seen. Mizuki raises an eyebrow before grabbing the sheets and pushing them into Rui’s hands. “Please, Rui! I never ask you for much but I really want to go all out with this café, so pleeeeaseeee..!”
Rui wants to say no. Even if he wanted to, he is sure he won’t be able to complete it in time for the festival. Rui looks down onto the blueprints in his arms before looking back to the partitions, he wants to see her again. Why isn’t she showing herself? Mizuki follows Rui’s gaze with their own eyes and suddenly a suggestion pops up in their silly mind. They clasp their hands together before leaning forward to Rui. “Listen here, if you make this refrigerator for me I will organise a nice date for you with this girl..!” They whisper and Rui whips his head around a little too fast to stare at them in disbelief.
“What..? No, no.. You must’ve gotten the wrong idea, Mizuki-chan! Fufu.. I.. I simply have never seen her before that’s why I was looking.” Rui chuckles, but Mizuki can hear the slight nervousness in his voice. He is already head over heels, and Mizuki is going to take full advantage of that. They can giggle and laugh at Rui later for being this pathetic but their project comes first. “Are you sure? Your stare was quite intense there!” They tease him but Rui doesn’t let his emotions show on his face, still holding that smug smile. “I think all this planning is beginning to rot your brain, Mizuki-chan..” He teases back.
Mizuki pouts before smiling again. “Even more of a reason for you to make this refrigerator for me! I’m already soooo tired, a cutie like me can only do so much, Rui-kun!” They drag on their words, resembling more a crying child than a Highschooler. Letting out a deep sigh, Rui admits defeat and agrees in the end. Mizuki was one of his first ever friends after all, he won’t be taking any complaining tho if the finished product ends up a little janky.
Mizuki jumps up in excitement, reaching over to pull Rui in a hug who unapologetically dodges their attempt. “Aaah thank you so much, Rui! I knew I could trust you! I promise I will get you that date then!” Mizuki whispers the last part, adding a cute wink at the end and Rui just stares at them. No comment. One last glance towards the partitions with no success of seeing the girl, Rui ends up leaving the classroom, Mizuki waving him goodbye.
The door closes behind him, and he feels his heart weirdly pound. Hm? Is he already stressed from just thinking about making the refrigerator? Perhaps. Or maybe.. Images of the blonde beauty flash through his mind again, making him feel an unfamiliar heat creep up his face. This girl.. Was Mizuki serious about setting them both up on a date or is Rui just getting his hopes up for nothing? Even though he lied at the time, he really hoped that Mizuki told the truth. Wait. Why is Rui even worried about this? Whatever, maybe he’s just tired. Yep. Tired. He’ll simply use the rest of his break to rest a little—
A loud ring echoed throughout the hallways.
Guess he won’t then.
⎯⎯ ୨ ♡ ୧ ⎯⎯
“Bye-Bye, Rui-kun! Text me when you finished your first examples!” He hears Mizuki bid the taller boy goodbye before the classroom door open and then closes again. He lets out the deep breath, he didn’t even realize he was holding. Gods, this was close.
He dares to peek past the partition wall only to be greeted by An who smiles back at him. “Wah!” He shrieks back which earned a laugh out of the other girl. “Oops! Sorry, Tsukasa-kun, didn’t mean to scare ya there.” An halfheartedly apologises before calling Mizuki over. “You didn’t scare me! I was just merely surprised..” Tsukasa huffs before reaching over to push the bangs out of his face. “H-Hey! I wasn’t done styling them yet!” An screeches, scrambling to get the boy back in his seat. “Yeah, Tsukasa-kun, sit back down. You’ve agreed to be apart of this, remember?” Mizuki wags their index finger back and forth making Tsukasa press his lips into a straight line.
Technically they aren’t wrong, Tsukasa did consent but not to becoming a maid.
“I agreed to becoming part of the entertainment staff of the café!” Tsukasa replies, A trying to hold him still while she adjusts his hair again. “Well, aren’t the maids of a maid café the most entertaining part anyway?” Mizuki just shrugs, a cat like smile finding its way onto their face. “Besides you look cute! And Rui thinks so too!” Tsukasa’s brain short circuits at the mention of his friend’s name. He closes his eyes due to the embarrassment but he had to ask. “Really?” Mizuki nods wildly with a big grin on their face. “Yup! He kept looking over to you but you were busy hiding..” Tsukasa feels like burying himself in a pit. “He- He kept looking? Doesn’t that mean he figured out that it is me? Oh god, Mizuki you promised you’d make me unrecognizable!”
An looks over to Mizuki who’s just as hopeless as her. “Tsukasa, calm down. He didn’t figure out and so will nobody else at this school besides us girls here in the club, okay?” They try to reassure him, An even halfheartedly patting him on the shoulder. He simply fidgets with his fingers, the pearly white nail polish going nicely together with the silver accessories around his wrists. “Alright then, if you say so.” He slumps back in his seat, trying his best to relax. Trying to forget Rui’s expression when he saw him. He has never seen Rui do that face before. Tsukasa doesn’t even know what it’s supposed to mean. He seemed surprised- shocked even. But what about? Hopefully not about the fact that he just witnessed his male friend looking ridiculous as ever.
Was Mizuki right? Did he.. Did Rui perhaps thought he was cute? The thought alone flusters him a little. Tsukasa has to admit he always liked Rui more than he probably should. Sure, they had a rocky start but now their friendship is going smoothly and they grew even closer together as a band. But what he feels for Rui goes beyond friendship, he likes Rui. Tenma Tsukasa likes likes Kamishiro Rui. He has already comes to terms with that a long time ago, just like how Rui would never ever reciprocate his feelings.
Rui would never see Tsukasa, how Tsukasa sees Rui but that’s fine. He doesn’t have to. Tsukasa suddenly feels all down, thinking about Rui is like a double edged sword. The thought of the taller boy awakens this euphoric feeling within Tsukasa, like butterflies whirling around in his stomach that desperately wanted to be set free yet the reality of his situation hits him even harder. Rui would never hold his hand, never caress his face while lovingly looking him into the eyes, never love him.
“-kasa? Tsukasa, are you okay?”
Tsukasa glances up, eyes meeting with the worried face of An. “Hm? Ah, yeah sure, I’m fine!” The blonde boy says, his lips forming into a small smile to reassure An he really is fine. Because he is fine. He just tends to get really over dramatic, that’s all. “Alright, because you were frowning really bad just now. It’s a bad look on you especially when you look so cute!” An giggles and Tsukasa brings himself to smile along with her. They don’t know each other that well but they still manage to hold a stable conversation whenever they run into each other at school.
“Aaaaand done! There ya go! Mizukiii, come over here and take a photo!” Tsukasa yelps at that. “A photo!? Hell – No!” Desperately trying to hide himself, he blocks the camera of Mizuki’s smartphone with his gloved left hand. “Aww come on, Tsukasa! Give me a little smile too!” Mizuki whines but Tsukasa doesn’t give in. “Mizuki, I think he’ll have to file a restraining order against you one day..” An sighs as if she wasn’t the that initiated the attack.
“Akiyama-san, when do classes start again?” A girl that has been watching the chaos for a while finally speaks up from her seat at the window and Mizuki turns to her. “For people assigned with a task.. after the next break ends! I’m pretty sure.” They grin and An tilts her head slightly. “You’re pretty sure?” The pink haired student just glares back at her. “Yeah! About enough time to finally finish this place too! Hayashi-san won’t you bring me the box full with the balloons?”
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It’s after school and Rui is standing by his locker. He wasn’t able to concentrate in class at all today, not that he would normally do anyway but he couldn’t even focus on his new inventions. This mysterious girl has cluttered his once so creative mind space, reducing it to display a singular portrait of this beautiful girl. The way she sweetly blushed when they both made eye contact, her long lashes fluttering before she closed them shut. Rui has never felt this way before.
Maybe.. Maybe if Rui were to make an even greater invention he’d be able to impress and then ask her out on a date. That’s right. THE Kamishiro Rui, the weirdo, the loser, an absolute loner asking out this gorgeous stranger that probably has boys asking for her hand left and right. Can Rui even compare? Most likely not but can’t hurt to try. (It’ll hurt a lot.)
He closes his locker and then exits the building, watching the other students talk and laugh as they walk side by side, friends goofing around, couples holding hands.. Man. He wish he had someone like that– “Rui!” Rui turns and meets eyes with a color that resembles honey, especially in the afternoon lights of the sunset. It’s his friend Tsukasa. Come to think of it, Rui hasn’t seen this boy all day, where has he been?
“Oh, Tsukasa-kun, nice to see you..” Rui smirks, his eyes gleaming mischievously. Tsukasa looks kind of cute today especially the way the sunlight makes his blonde hair appear golden. “Where were you all day? I missed you during lunch break.” He holds a hand up his mouth and Tsukasa begins to slightly tense up at that question. “Oh me? Uh.. I.. I was helping out Toya-kun!” Rui doesn’t fully believe him but doesn’t have any reason to doubt him either, but he chooses to tease him instead anyway because Tsukasa-kun’s reactions can be too entertaining sometimes. “Oh really? What exactly–“ - “But what were YOU doing, Rui-kun?” Tsukasa rudely interrupts Rui’s question, throwing in his own and completely throwing off Rui’s plan. Rui doesn’t miss the (even weirder than usual) behavior but decides to let it go.
“I have been working on my new inventions for the next shows. I was actually able to come up with some good concepts before a certain student with pink hair decided to give me even more work to do over the next days.” He can’t really afford to keep talking to Tsukasa right now though he misses the times where they would hang out a lot, Rui needs to go home and immediately start working, there’s only so little time after all. “Tsukasa-kun, I really need to go now though. We might see each other tomorrow again!” Rui grins weirdly, and Tsukasa frowns, cute. “You’ll come to practice though, won’t you?” Rui only shrugs at that and Tsukasa knows the answer, sighing.
“Alright, see you tomorrow then!” Tsukasa waves and Rui waves back, a fond smile on his face before he turns and leaves, leaving Tsukasa by the school gate, feeling weirdly empty. Rui has been busy lately and Tsukasa understands and respects that yet it still aches. Tightly gripping at the straps of his school bag, he looks after his friend, the tall boy becoming more and more distant until he fully disappears as he turns around a corner.
A ring of his phone catches him off guard, switching it on to see a message from Mizuki. “Stop by tomorrow again! I’m planning to make some more adjustments to the dress and headpiece to make it fit you better ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧!!” Tsukasa internally groans at that but agrees either way, he knows he won’t be able to flee from Mizuki anyway.. and not to mention the look Rui gave him. It makes Tsukasa’s heart flutter, just thinking about it. Maybe.. No.
“I’ll make sure to be there!” He simply replies, earning another one of Mizuki’s creepy emoticons in response. What are half of these even supposed to mean? Nene and Emu use them too all the time, is that a girl’s thing? He might ask the girls during practice later what these mean. During the time he’ll be home though, he’ll just fantasize about his very realistic future about being the most successful man that has ever grazed this planet.
And definitely not think about a certain purple haired boy.
⎯⎯ ୨ ♡ ୧ ⎯⎯
“Why did I agree to this?” Rui looks down upon all the different blueprints, all the different prototypes he has planned for this singular stupid refrigerator. First he worked on the outer appearance, the shape of the cupcake frosting working as a lid for cooled drinks. After an additional sigh of frustration, he grabs a bottle of water to take a sip and then put it in the lid.
He gets up from his seat off the floor of his messy room. If the water gets cold, that’d mean the top half is done and he can finally go to bed. He plants his hands on his hips and begins arching his back, cringing at the loud cracking noises that erupt from his spine. Rui looks over to the clock on his desk, 1:34 am. He has been working the entire time since he arrived from school and that was almost ten hours ago, Rui feels like he’s going to drop dead.
Changing from his school attire, he slips into his sleepwear and plops down onto his bed which is also littered with bolts and other mechanical pieces. He’ll clean it one day, Rui promises to himself as he turns off the lights and tries to drift off into sleep which turns out to be harder than expected because his thoughts kept going somewhere else. To someone else. His eyes closed and in the darkness appeared the silhouette of the blonde girl, gaze ever so sweet. Dammit, Rui cracks his eyes wide open and sits open.
This isn’t going to work like this. Why does he keep thinking about her? He has never experienced something like this so intense before. Sure, there were a lot of nights where Rui had trouble falling asleep because his mind was busy thinking about someone but never did it go so extremely bad. The nights he had spent thinking about Tsukasa and the group overall because of the failed show haunted him like none other.. until he finally made up with Tsukasa.
Thinking about Tsukasa, they haven’t hung out as much as they used to. Normally Tsukasa would sometimes join him on the rooftop, Nene coming along with him too if she had enough energy to handle Tsukasa’s extraordinary behavior for the day. The blonde boy would sit on the bench next to Rui, watching him work while occasionally talking about what story he has planned to play for the next shows. Rui didn’t mind it, in fact he grew to enjoy and cherish Tsukasa’s company, he insignificantly felt way less lonely because of him. A hand creeps up to his face, feeling the smile that has subconsciously made its way onto his face. His heart is beating calmly and his head feels all fuzzy thinking about what Tsukasa will have planned for the next show.
Another quick glance at the clock, 2:13 am. He’ll have to wake up in about four hours, this is definitely not going to look for him by the end of the week if he does this for another three days. His thoughts slow down and he can feel his eyelids gradually growing heavier, fluttering them shut for one last time.
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“Wow, this looks great so far! I can’t believe my eyes.” Mizuki admires the photos and videos Rui has sent them via text messages, showing them off to their classmates. “You really were right, Akiyama-san, he really is the perfect guy for this job.” A female classmate praises and Mizuki smugly grins. “He’ll probably start with the bottom half today. Aah, I’m super excited for the finished product! Oh, Hirai-san, how are the pastries coming along? Do you really not need our help?” A girl that was watering the flowers turns to glance at Mizuki. “Oh no, it’s all coming along nicely.. I might just need a little help with the packaging.” She quietly says and another girl gets up and raises her hand. “I can help you with that, Hirai-san!” Hirai stares at her before nodding with a smile on her face, accepting the offer.
Suddenly, there is a rather loud knock on the door. It’s five minutes into the lunch break as Tsukasa enters the 1-A classroom and Mizuki practically jumps off their seat. “Tsukasa-kun, so glad you really decided to come! Follow me!” They immediately lead him back behind the partitions where the newly designed dress presents itself proudly on a mannequin. “I made sure that it fits you perfectly, Tsukasa-kun, so you can truly shine like the star that you are!” Mizuki exclaims and Tsukasa knows they’re just saying all that to try and charm him further into the role of a maid but Tsukasa feels flattered anyway.
“Well, it is cute.” Tsukasa admits as he analyzes the dress further, longer sleeves as well - just like how he requested yesterday. Tsukasa might as well just see this whole situation as a way to further improve his acting role, who knows, maybe he isn’t too bad at being a girl. “Won’t you try it on? I’ll help you with the wig later.” Mizuki smiles and then leaves Tsukasa alone with the dress, not even waiting for a reply. Mizuki is way too excited about this whole thing but at least it keeps their spirits high.
He has a little trouble putting it on especially when trying to avoid to not rip it or touching some fine pearls that were carefully stitched into the soft fabric. Putting on the shoes and the gloves, he looks at himself in the full length mirror. He kind of looks like an idiot but that’s also how he feels so it’s not too inaccurate. There’s a big bow that needed to be attached at the back but he couldn’t do it himself, so he calls Mizuki over. “Oh my, Tsukasa-kun, you look sooo cute! It fits you amazingly.” They admire their work on Tsukasa who awkwardly stands there until they’re finished. The two female classmates dare a peek and they squeal with awe just like Mizuki.
“Tenma-san, you look incredible..” One of them says and the other girl agrees. “Mizuki did a great job for sure!” Tsukasa feels his face light up in slight embarrassment but there’s also something in him that feels proud and confident, charmed by the compliments. “Do you feel comfortable? Does your movement seem restricted anywhere?” A bow is now neatly sitting at the back thanks to Mizuki’s help and Tsukasa shakes his head. “No, no. It sits perfect!” Tsukasa beams, looking down at his dress.
“Good to hear. Now let’s get the wig and headpiece on you to finish off the look!” It’s a rectangular white piece of fabric with a pink bow sitting in the middle, white frills framing the entire piece. They bind it on top of the wig which sits on Tsukasa’s head, then Mizuki tries to pull at the hair strands slightly. “You really look like a girl.” Mizuki adjusts the headpiece and they simply laugh once they noticed Tsukasa’s sour expression to that comment. “I mean, it just means that nobody will recognize you easier, right?” A nice pink tint is visible on the boy’s cheeks but he simply sighs without even bothering to reply.
“I feel like plain pink eyeshadow would be too much.. how about a bit of a more orange tone?” They turn towards the girls for advice and they agree, Tsukasa not really understanding what they’re talking about. He has seen his sister Saki apply makeup like only once and she’d mostly use more browner tones for her eyes. “Okay close your eyes, Tsukasa-kun— or should I say Tsukasa-chan? Hehe.” Mizuki giggles while starting to apply eyeshadow to his eyelids, the boy mumbles something underneath his breath but the girls didn’t catch it.
The brush against his skin feels funny alongside the warm touches of Mizuki’s fingers holding his face in place, Tsukasa trying his best to hold still. Once Mizuki is finished with their work, they proudly present it to the others. “Oh my, so cute!” “Absolutely gorgeous.” Tsukasa holds his head up high, smiling proudly like Mizuki who is now pulling out their phone. Keychains and charms dangle from the heavily decorated device as they go ahead and ask Tsukasa to pose for them. “What are you going to do with the picture, Mizuki-chan?” Tsukasa questions and Mizuki explains they just want to capture his ‘cuteness’. Alright then.
Tsukasa holds one hand close to his chest meanwhile the other is stretched out towards the camera in an extremely dramatic way, the boy basically radiating sparkles and stars. “This pose isn’t cute at all, Tsukasa-chan! You gotta act more shy to enhance your cuteness.” Mizuki whines, waiting for Tsukasa to hit a different pose which he ends up doing even if he had trouble figuring out what any of that means. “Perfect!” They snap a picture, a flash sound echoing throughout the room. They then show off the photos to the girls who then had to leave as they were being called by their classmates, with a promise they’ll be back soon.
If Mizuki didn’t know any better they’d assume it was a photo of a new girl at their school but in reality it’s a boy who is literally known as a ‘weirdo’. Mizuki is about to ask Tsukasa to strike more poses for them when suddenly they’re interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door. The door opens and reveals a certain tall boy. “Oh Rui-kun, didn’t expect you to show up.” Mizuki walks over to where he is standing in the doorway with his smug grin.
“Hello, Mizuki-chan, I’ve just been wondering how you liked the refrigerator so far since you didn’t respond to my photos.” Rui explains his presence and Mizuki lets him into the room. Tsukasa watches them, peeking a little past the partitions to watch them. He feels his heart beating in his chest, pounding painfully against his rib cage as it’s threatening to jump right out. “Oh I must’ve totally forgotten, sorry!~ I’m super happy, even impressed with what you’ve done so far.” Mizuki turns on their phone to show Rui what they especially liked when suddenly the photo of Tsukasa pops up.
Rui feels like his heart stopped beating for a moment, totally blown away by this photograph. She looks even more delightful on this one than she did yesterday, and she already looked angelic! His words are caught up in his throat, why is this girl on Mizuki’s phone? Why did they take a photo of her or is one able to find this online? Who even is this girl? Rui needs to know but he couldn’t ask, too mesmerized to say anything. “Oops.” Mizuki swiped away, revealing the low quality photos that Rui took of his work and Rui has never been so disappointed to see one of his projects in his life.
“Here, the way– Uh.. Rui, are you good?” With slight worry in their voice Mizuki glances over to Rui, his face a little red. “Huh? What, yeah I’m fine. Continue, please.” He brushes it off and Mizuki raises an eyebrow but continuing nonetheless. They started to engage into a conversation as to what looks good already, what could be improved and what extra features Rui could add, all this meanwhile still had that picture of this girl burned into his mind. He wonders, if she would be here again today.
Peeking past the partition so only his eyes and top of his decorated head are visible, Tsukasa watches them, watches him. Rui looks fantastic as always, though his eye bags are a little worse than usual but even with those Rui is still so pretty, he almost envies him. Besides his obvious tiredness, Rui is still as smug as ever, teasing and poking at Mizuki who gladly returns it. They seem like really good friends. And out of nowhere his eyes met his, just like yesterday except this time Tsukasa didn’t go back into hiding. His face suddenly feels all warm again and the heavy wig is not helping.
Mizuki is busy scrolling through their phone, looking for something so they don’t notice how Rui isn’t even paying attention to anything they’re saying. Rui is surprised to see the girl not go back to hiding when he caught her staring. Rui is captivated, pulled in by this girl. He looks at her with wide eyes before smiling at her with a small wave. He can see her face turn red yet she returned the greeting by bending her fingers in another greeting motion. She’s adorable, Rui thinks, he really wants to get to know her. “And here, look at how cuuuute he is! A little baby!” Mizuki coos at the picture they’re showing to Rui, a ginger kitten sitting on top of a notebook. He has to ask them about the girl now or never. “Hey, Mizuki-cha—“ Loud ringing erupts from their phone, displaying an icon of a black cat with the name “Enanan” plastered underneath it. “Oo- this is important. I’ll be right back, Rui-kun.”
Oh, how convenient. Rui watches his friend exit the room, telephone pressed against their ear. Then he is alone, with her. He turns to look at her, to realize she is now standing in front of the partitions, hands fiddling nervously with one another. Tsukasa’s heart is beating so fast and he almost feels.. nervous but why? Perhaps the possibility of Rui finding out and then making fun of him or maybe.. Tsukasa looks up at him through his thin bangs, feeling his crushing gaze upon him. He must think he looks so stupid.
“I have never seen you here before.” Rui begins, voice as soft as silk, maintaining stable eye contact with her. Tsukasa doesn’t know what to do. Should he say something? Isn’t his voice too deep for a girl? Too recognizable for someone as unique as Tsukasa? He swallows his words he wanted to desperately say but Rui decides to take the lead. “If you don’t feel like talking that’s fine. I have a friend who almost never spoke when we were kids, I’m used to it.” He tells him and Tsukasa knows he’s talking about Nene. Can Tsukasa safely assume that Rui really doesn’t know it’s him? "I'm Kamishiro Rui and I'm from class 2-B which is most likely why we've never met before." Why is he so polite? Tsukasa feels like this is all a very bizzare dream. "Is Mizuki-chan one of your classmates?" Tsukasa knows he'll have to lie in order to not get caught, so he decided to play along and create a new persona for him. See it as a another role for him to occasionally slip back into.
The girl slowly nods, though still seeming unsure. Rui doesn't want to scare her away, though he isn't sure of how much the other classmates have told her about him already. Maybe his image of himself is already tainted in her eyes and he's making a fool of himself but Rui isn't a person to give up that easily anymore. "Are they a good friend of yours as well?" She nods again, Tsukasa would consider Mizuki a good friend at this point. Rui's eyes gleam with something, whether it's hope or his usual silliness, he smiles. "They are one of my friends as well. May I get to know your name then? The acquaintances of my friends are also my friends, fufu.." That is the biggest lie Rui has ever told in his life but if that is what might get him the phone number of this gorgeous girl he's willing to twist the truth just a tiny bit.
Tsukasa tries not to frown but has other problems to worry about. A name? He can't just say his own. Rui watches attentively, his gaze landing upon the girl's lips, a soft cherry red he notes to himself. She then opens her mouth to reply but- "Alright, I'm back- Woah." Mizuki stands in the doorway, phone still in their hand as well as a soda can in the other. Rui looks at Mizuki, his back facing Tsukasa who is helplessly glaring at them too. "Ooh, Rui-kun I see you have met my.. uh.. my friend!" They scratch themselves at the back of their head, Tsukasa wants to tear up at that horrid acting but chooses to be thankful instead for helping him out. "Of course burt it appears she doesn't talk much..?" Rui sounds unsure but Mizuki nods wildly. "Yup! Tsu- I mean, uh... Tsugumi doesn't speak much!" Tsukasa lets out a silent but very visible sigh of relief, hunching over slightly while clutching at his chest.
"Tsugumi-chan.. I see then." He quietly chuckles to himself. Tsugumi, what a pretty yet fitting name for an beautiful angel like her.. "Woah, calm down, Rizzard of Oz, no need to become poetic outloud here." Mizuki's voice rips him out of his fantasies and Rui realizes he must've accidentally said that outloud. A faint blush appears on his face and he turns to take a glance at Tsugumi who is even redder than him. Tsukasa wants to jump out of the window, it wasn't high enough to kill him as they're only on the second floor but hopefully high enough to knock him unconscious. Forever. Rui thinks he's beautiful, compared him to an angel. Tsukasa - an angel? Wait, Rui isn't talking about him, right.. He's talking about Tsugumi. A sharp sting makes Tsukasa's heart suddenly ache, so Rui really isn't into Tsukasa at all, huh?
Not being able to stand this awkward silence anymore, Mizuki grabs Rui by the sleeve and pulls him towards them. "Uhm.. Anyway, lunchbreak is about to end, sooo.. You better leave, Rui before you get in trouble for being late again. Bye-bye, Rui!" - "Wait, I'm no-" And with that Mizuki shoves him out of the classroom, leaving the tall boy in distress as he turns back to look at the door. So Tsugumi-chan, hm.. Maybe, he'll be able to obtain her number or more information about her through Mizuki or other classmates of her. But he finally has a name for the girl that hasn't been able to leave his mind ever since.
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Rui wasn’t able to stop thinking about cute Tsugumi-chan for the last two days as he had also realized something that completely changed his view, thoughts always drifting towards the blonde girl, sometimes magically appearing in small doodles besides the sketches of his new inventions. Rui has finally admitted it to himself, he is completely gone for this girl. She is the one that stole his heart completely, just by her look alone. He likes Tsugumi, though he unfortunately hasn’t seen her at all yesterday, not that he was surprised by this though but he’ll definitely see her today as today is finally the day the whole school was preparing for as well as Rui. The highly anticipated Kamiyama High School festival will be held today and will welcome students and even parents all over town to come and visit the school and what it has to offer.
Rui checks himself out in the mirror, adjusting his hair and washing his face with cold water an uncomfortable amount of times to finally feel awake. Thank god, school starts at 10 am today otherwise he’d have probably dropped dead by now. He grabs his things, along with the bouquet of flowers that he had bought. Yes, he went this far to buy a bouquet for a girl that he doesn’t even know much of besides her name. At least so it seems. He’s just really excited to see what reaction she’ll give, a big smile or perhaps a face of shock? He also has another surprise for her. Who knows, he’ll hopefully find out today and get Tsugumi to go on a real date with him which he wasn’t sure how he’ll pull that off. As well as his good friend Tsukasa-kun, he’d sometimes walk past him but he seemed more distant and quiet than usual which is very concerning but Rui isn’t someone to push, if Tsukasa has a problem he’d have told him himself and not just sit around and wait for someone to ask him.
Arriving at school was stressful, the school gate is filled with people and pushing himself through them was no fun and almost impossible. “Hello, Rui-kun.” It’s Nene who is now walking besides him. “Good morning, Nene-chan, and how are you?” The two friends begin to engage in small talk and then into a comfortable conversation as the two then start to walk around the school, looking at all the different programs and even trying some out. Nene was quite fond of the stall that sold all kind of sweets, buying one of each kind. “Do you think Emu-chan will show up today?” Nene simply looks at Rui as he just said the dumbest thing ever. “Of course, she will especially since she’s actually allowed to today.”
They both continued walking, taking in the sights of the heavily yet each individually decorated hallway, it’s somewhat fascinating. Two entire hours have almost passed where Rui and Nene have just looked at all of the different stalls on the ground and first floor but now Rui begins to feel a little nervous. The bouquet gripped tightly by his hands. Nene notices her childhood friend’s tension and tries to reassure him that it’ll all go smoothly. “Don’t try to think too much about it and just be yourself..” Nene advises. “Not too much though..” She quietly adds but Rui doesn’t hear it, instead he takes in a deep breath to calm himself.
He can see Mizuki standing in front of the open classroom, waving people goodbye and welcoming new people in. They’re wearing a similar dress to Tsugumi, maybe an even more extreme version when it comes to the details. “Ooooh, Rui-kun~ Who might this be for?” They snicker but Rui tries to stay confident. “It’s for Tsugumi-chan. Is she here today?” Mizuki nods. “Yes but she may be busy at the moment, we have way more customers than we thought. Also, thank you again for your help the refrigerator works perfectly!” They pat Rui on the shoulder, and he smiles in appreciation. Okay, this is his chance, he enters the room and sees a couple of people sitting at the round tables, enjoying their food. It also smells heavenly, like cinnamon and strawberry.
At the back of the room, Rui catches the sight of Tsugumi who is currently wiping the tables at the back clean. She has a cute frown on her face and Rui asks Nene kindly to stay back there while he goes and talks to her. Nene gives him a thumbs up and there he goes, almost tripping over someone else’s bag. “Tsu-.. Hello, Tsugumi-chan!” Tsukasa turns around at the familiar voice, trying to put his acting skills to good use. Just like Mizuki taught him, he can do this. “Kamishiro-san..” Rui can hear her faintly whisper and his heart as his brain stills for a second, trying to recover from this sudden move. He takes a deep breath. “Here, Tsugumi-chan, I brought these just for you.” He presents her the flowers, watching her face change from a shocked to then a soft expression. What a lovely sight. She takes the flowers in her hands and dares to smell them swiftly, magnificent. They smelled sweet, Tsukasa notes, he loves them yet it hurts to accept them because.. they’re not meant for him. As well as Rui’s attention. If Tsukasa were to look like his usual self right now, would Rui have actually come all this way just to bring him flowers, would he have looked for him today at all.
He loves Rui, but Rui doesn’t love him. And he gets to experience this first hand, by playing the role of someone Rui would love. How ironic. How cruel it was. Yet as much as he hates this, he loves it just as much because Rui will now give him all the attention, look at him with this loving gaze that he’d have never dared to use on Tsukasa’s normal self.
“Thank you.. Kamishiro-san.” He says, his voice wavering as his slightly trembling hands embrace the bouquet. Rui grins, hands in the pockets of his jacket. “You can just call me Rui, Tsumugi-chan.” Tsukasa looks at Rui in the eyes before nodding. “Right.. R-Rui-kun.” She corrects herself and Rui could die from a heart attack then and there. The way she said her name fills his stomach with butterflies. “Might be weird to say but.. I find you really interesting and want to know if we can hang out once you’re finished with this?” Does he mean a date? Tsukasa feels his face light up at the thought. Does he want to? He wants to go on a date with his crush so badly but not as Tsugumi. “Sureeee she can! In fact she’s free right now.” Mizuki shows up besides them and smiles at Tsugumi who almost shrieked by their sudden appearance.
“But Mizuki-chan-!” - “No, girl, we got this! Don’t worry.” They add a small wink by the end and then proceeds to shove Tsukasa into Rui, his face hitting the other boy’s chest and he suddenly feels really dizzy. He has never been so close to Rui before, he can even smell him. Rui places one hand around her shoulders, leading them both outside back onto the full hallways. “Guess we’ll just let these two lovebirds be.” Mizuki says before looking next to her, seeing Nene look after them. “Do you want a coffee? Or would you like something sweeter to drink. I can give it to you on the house.” Mizuki offers, seeing the quiet girl all alone now. She nods and they both take a seat by the window.
⎯⎯ ୨ ♡ ୧ ⎯⎯
“You can make robots..?” Tsugumi asks Rui who still hasn’t let go of her. He proudly smiles. “Yes, I create all sorts of inventions in my garage at home.” He further explains, his gaze never leaving Tsugumi who attentively listen every word. “Do they server any purpose?” She then asks. “Of course they do! My most impressive invention so far has to be a robot named NeneRobo, a device that can be operated by one person. She can dance, sing and do impressive stunts. She is mostly used for our shows.” When Rui talks about his inventions Tsukasa can just hear the passion in his voice.
“Our shows?” He pretends to be confused, so Rui will continue talking. “I’m in a group named ‘Wonderlands X Showtime’. We perform shows at Phoenix Wonderland.” He sounds so happy when talks about it. “You should stop by if you have time one day.” He suggests and Tsugumi nods. “Do you.. like the other members?” Tsukasa wants to know what Rui truly thinks about him even if he’s doing it in a scummy way. His heart has been aching this entire conversation, he can’t get himself to care. “Of course I do, fufu.. They’re all great friends, one of them I even knew ever since I was a child.. it’s the girl, her name is Nene, that was just with me when we entered the café. She’s also the one that operates NeneRobo.”
“Oh really? And what about the others?” - “Well there is Emu-chan, she’s basically the sunshine of the group. She’s what is holding the group together with her fun and carefreeness. Other than these two..” Rui got all quiet and Tsukasa grows nervous. A smile makes its way onto Rui’s face but the one that he used to look at Tsugumi, the fond loving kind. He stops walking, making Tsukasa stops alongside him. It’s surprisingly quiet, for the fact that they’re only outside behind the school. Rui then looks at him. Mischievously.
“I think you may know him pretty well, Tsugumi-chan.” Hm? “Or should I say, Tsukasa-kun?” Tsukasa turns completely red, the red tops of his hair completely fading into his skin. “H-Huh?!” He doesn’t even try to conceal his voice anymore, his deep voice contrasting greatly with his outward appearance. Rui then laughs, fucking laughs. As embarrassed as Tsukasa might be, the sound of Rui’s laugh does wonders to him and his heart. He wants to be mad at him but.. Rui is too perfect and Tsukasa is a weak boy. “I gotta say, Tsukasa-kun, you got me good at first I was really head over heels for this Tsugumi-chan.” Tsukasa crosses his arms in front of his chest, preparing himself to be rejected and never spoken to again.
“But Tsukasa-kun, you didn’t need to go all that way for me..” He smiles smugly at his friend who looks down at his feet. “I.. I wasn’t dressing up for you! I was just trying it on for Mizuki at first.” Tsukasa tries to defend himself but Rui can see right through him. “Exactly, at first. Then why did you continue wearing it and build up another whole persona even after I asked you for your name?” Tsukasa feels defeated, tears welling up in his eyes and sliding down his face.
“Because..” Should he really say it? He has already lost all hope for Rui ever loving back anyway, might as well confess his true feelings. “Because I wanted you to love.. me too, Rui.” Tsukasa confesses, not daring to look up from his feet, the flowers of the bouquet spilled all over the grass. It’s quiet, a deafening silence spreads itself over the span of a few minutes before Tsukasa feels a hand on top of his head. Tsukasa doesn’t move or say anything, his breath slightly hitching when he feels the heavy wig pulled off his head, revealing his actual hair. He hears it drop onto the floor somewhere before two hands are placing something on top of his head again, it’s the headpiece. What on earth was Rui doing?
Tsukasa glances up, meeting Rui’s eyes who looks happier than ever. “Tsukasa-kun..” He just says. A hand creeps up to Tsukasa’s face, caressing his cheek and the blonde boy can’t help but lean into the warm touch. He closed his eyes, just enjoying Rui’s touches. He can suddenly hear Rui chuckle. “You’re too cute, Tsukasa-kun, it’ll kill me one day.” He whispers, they’re both so close, Tsukasa can feel and hear his own heartbeat in his ears. “Honestly, I’m not sure what I feel about you..” This stings, right in the heart, Tsukasa feels like crying again but Rui continues. Tsukasa opens his eyes again. “But I know what I feel for you goes beyond friendship and I’m willing to learn to love you if it means figuring it out.” Rui leans forward, their foreheads touching along with their noses.
“Are you willing to wait for me, Tsukasa-kun?” He then asks, earning a nod from Tsukasa. “I..- I love you, Rui-kun, I will always wait for you even if it takes years.” Rui slightly laughs at that. “My star always being so dramatic.” Tsukasa smiles at that, feeling his warm breath hit his lips every time he talked. He wants to..-
“May I kiss you, Tsukasa-kun?” Tsukasa knows that Rui knew the answer. “You may.” Rui closed the gap between their faces almost immediately, as if he had been dying to do this just like Tsukasa. This was everything the blonde boy has dreamed about ever since he met Rui for the first time. It feels like a firework is going off inside of him, and what Rui feels cannot even be put into words. Is this what love feels like?
Tsukasa’s lips taste ever so sweet and feel so incredibly soft against his own, Rui has never experienced something like this. And he really hopes this isn’t going to be the last time.
They both separate from each other, Tsukasa longing for the other boy’s warmth back while Rui still tries to comprehend what just happened. “Shall we head back inside, Tsukasa-kun?” A hand reaches out for Tsukasa’s and he gladly reached for it until he realized. “I can’t get back in there without the wig on.” - “Oh.” Is all what Rui said, realizing he had accidentally thrown the wig somewhere muddy when he took it off him.
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A month has passed and pretty much the whole school has caught up on the fact that the known ‘Weirdos’ at the school are practically dating each other, though the two boys still haven’t defined their relationship themselves. The two simply didn’t see the need for that, they’re both happy with each other with the way they are right now.
“Why won’t you wear it again? You looked so cute..!” Rui whines, resting his chin on top of Tsukasa’s head who is currently trying to eat his lunch. “Will you stop it with that? I won’t wear that dress ever again, Rui!” He reaches upwards to push the taller boy off himself but Rui is heavier to push away than he thought. The sketchbook is laying besides them, untouched as the boys continued to enjoy their lunch break, Nene joining them with Emu who has trespassed into the school yet again.