Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Kids, please meet your new classmates, Mafuyu and Rui Kamishiro!” The playgroup teacher said happily.

Rui held her older sister’s hand tightly. She wasn’t scared, but she seemed a bit scared.

“Hello, I’m Mafuyu Kamishiro. I-I just turned 4 a few weeks ago…” Mafuyu bowed to her classmates, as was customary. Rui stepped forward too.

“Hello! I’m Rui Kamishiro! I’m still 3, but that’s okay! It’s nice to meet you all!” Rui bowed too.

It was obvious Rui was the more confident of the two, but she never outshone her sister.

All of the other kids were taking turns introducing themselves to the siblings.

Eventually, it was playtime.

Mafuyu and Rui sat together, Rui tinkering with a small tower of blocks.

“Oi, new kids!” A little boy ran over to them.

“O-oh um… hello…” Mafuyu responded quietly.

“Nice tower!”

“Really?” Rui asked with sparkling eyes.

“Nope!” The boy then proceeded to kick over the tower.

Mafuyu’s expression darkened as she stood up and grabbed the boy’s arm.

“Apologise.”

“Why should I apologise? You two are just babies!”

“You’re 5, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“You’re gonna age out soon, then you won’t be the biggest anymore. You should treat others with respect.”

The boy felt a cold chill.

“O-okay okay! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please don’t tell the teachers!”

He looked to Rui who had tears in her eyes as her lip trembled. Mafuyu turned back to her.

“It’s okay to cry, Rui…”

And cry, Rui did. A teacher rushed over to Rui to make sure she was okay.

“What happened over here?”

Through tears, Rui tried to speak, but to no avail, so Mafuyu spoke for her.

“He knocked over Rui’s tower.”

“Aiko, is this true?”

“Y-yes…”

The teacher sighed.

“You know I don’t like to do this… but please go to the time out corner.”

The boy trudged off to said corner. The teacher turned to Rui.

“Are you okay, sweetie? Do you want some more blocks to play with?”

“Y-yes please…”

The teacher smiled and ruffled Rui’s hair.

“I’ll go get some more for you. And Mafuyu, that was very brave of you to stand up for your sister. Would the both of you like a piece of candy each?”

“O-oh um… mom said we aren’t allowed to have any candy…” Mafuyu said quietly. The teacher giggled.

“I won’t tell if you won’t~”

“Oh… yes please then” Rui said with a small smile. Mafuyu nodded too.

~~~

A year had since passed. It was the start of the day.

“Now class, I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours but… today is Mafuyu’s last day with us.”

Another student spoke up.

“What about Rui?”

“Rui will still be here with us.”

“Because she hasn’t aged out?”

“Unfortunately, aging out is not the reason, but it’s up to Mafuyu and Rui if they’d like to say anything about the reason.”

The day went off as usual. People all wanted to spend time with Mafuyu, but she seemed distant.

In the end, a little girl asked her why she was leaving.

“My mommy and I are moving away…”

“But… why is Rui staying here?”

“Because our mommy and daddy don’t love each other anymore…” Mafuyu said with tears in her eyes.

~~~

The two sat in the back seat of their dad’s car. Well, to be honest, he was only really Rui’s dad, and Mafuyu’s step dad. Mafuyu’s mom was still at home packing things.

“Daddy…?”

“Yes, Mafuyu?”

“Will you still be my daddy, e-even if me and mommy aren’t there…?”

He pulled over on the side of the road, and turned back to the girls.

“If mommy lets me, then yes, Mafu, I will still be your daddy”

“But… what if she doesn’t…?” Mafuyu asked quietly.

“Then… I won’t… but… mommy is a beautiful woman, and I’m sure she’ll find a new daddy for you if I’m not there.”

“Does that mean you’ll find me a new mommy?” Rui asked with a sad tone.

“Time will tell, Rui… time will tell.”

~~~

“What did I say about turning the girls against me, Seiji?”

“I didn’t turn them against you, Yukine!”

“Then why was Mafuyu saying ‘please let daddy stay my daddy and don’t give me a new one’?”

“Did you WANT me to crush her heart in front of Rui?”

“That is not what I said at all!”

Mafuyu sighed as she held Rui close to her.

“A-and I’ll call you on daddy’s phone every single day!” Rui said with tears in her eyes. Mafuyu started to cry too. “O-oh and um!- h-here! I-I want you to have this…!”

“Your platypus? Rui no, I can’t take him!”

“P-please! I-I want you to have him! D-daddy can always just get me another one from the aquarium, b-but if you’re moving away, you can’t get one…!”

“O-okay… I-I’ll take good care of him, I-I promise!”

Yukine stood in the doorway.

“Mafuyu, it’s time to say goodbye, we have to leave now.”

“D-don’t take her away from me! Mafuyu is my sister! You can’t take her!”

“I’m sorry, Rui, but your father and I agreed to go our separate ways, and Mafuyu is coming with me.”

“No!”

“Rui-“

“You can’t take her!”

“Rui!” Yukine yelled suddenly. Rui looked up at her, wide eyes, filled with fear. “Say goodbye now, okay? We’re leaving in five minutes.”

As she left, Rui broke down in tears, sobbing her little heart out. Mafuyu hugged her oh so tightly, crying too.

And just like that, Mafuyu was gone.

Seiji knelt down beside Rui, hugging her tightly.

“Hey, how about we go out for ice-cream…?”

“O-okay…”

Chapter Text

Rui sat on the edge of the stage, tinkering with something. It was the day of opening for Wonderlands X Showtime’s newest shows, and he was finalising one of the robots for the show.

Emu, without warning, jumped up onto the stage next to him.

“Hiya Rui!”

“Oh!” Rui almost dropped the small bot. “Fufu, you gave me a bit of a fright there~!”

“Heehee, sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you! I just wanted to tell you some exciting news!”

“Oh, and what might that be?”

“A bunch of my friends from school are coming to see the show! Isn’t that amazing!?” Emu’s eyes lit up with pure joy. Rui caught her infectious smile and smiled too. He placed down his robot and dropped down from the stage.

“I suppose then we have to make this the best opening night ever~!”

“Yeah! Yeah! We gotta make it super-duper, doki-doki, kira-kira, won-won-WONDERHOY!”

“Fufu~! Yes, we must~!”

~~~

The play was going almost perfectly! The first half was done, and it was now the intermission. Rui was backstage helping Emu and Nene reapply their makeup.

“And I could see Shizuku and Airi and Saki and Haruka and Shiho and Minori and Mafuyu and-“

“Mafuyu?” Rui interrupted Emu’s list.

“Mhm! Mafuyu Asahina! She’s a second year at my school!”

Rui could feel the colour drain from his face.

“S-she’s here…?! L-like in the audience?!”

“Eh? Rui, what’s wrong?” Tsukasa asked as he ran over to his partner with a concerned expression. Rui looked mortified, he was physically shaking and on the verge of hyperventilating.

“We don’t have time! We’re back on in 2 minutes!” Nene exclaimed.

“N-no, I-I can’t go back out there!”

“Rui-“

“I-I haven’t seen her since I was a kid!”

“Rui!-“

“Emu, why couldn’t you have warned me beforehand?!”

“RUI!”

Rui looked to his troupe mates. Nene took his hands in her own.

“I know you’re stressed, Rui, but we have to get back out there… I wished we had more time to help you calm down, but unfortunately we don’t. Do you think you could just ignore her until after the show?”

Rui took a deep breath as he leaned down, pressing his forehead against Nene’s, something they used to do all the time as kids, and something that still calmed him down even to this day.

“Okay… I’ll do my best…”

“The curtain goes up in 30 seconds! Places!” Emu exclaimed.

~~~

It really wasn’t easy to ignore Mafuyu, even though she was in the back row, but he could still see her, her piecing eyes baring holes into his soul. On one particular line, he could see her whisper to a girl next to her with long, white hair.

‘Maybe she won’t recognise me.’ He thought to himself.

~~~

The second half came to a close. The four actors on stage were doing their bows.

As it was Rui’s turn for his solo bow, Mafuyu stood up and ran to the front, holding something behind her back. As he came back up from his bow, she threw it onto the stage. It was…!

Rui caught the plushie.

~~~

Now backstage and removing their makeup and costumes, Rui simply sat on the floor, clutching the platypus plushie that was thrown to him on stage.

Tsukasa walked over and knelt beside him.

“Is everything okay, Rui?”

“She still had it… she kept it…” Rui started to tear up.

There was a knock on the backstage door.

“I’ll get it!” Emu said with a giggle.

“Oh, hello Emu, is Rui here?”

“Oh um! Just gimme a moment!” Emu closed the door and ran over to Rui and Tsukasa. “It’s Mafuyu, she wants to see you!”

“Oh um-“

“It’s okay, Rui. We can all head out if you’d like to be alone?” Tsukasa reassured.

“If that’s okay?”

“Of course!” Nene exclaimed.

“I’ll let her in, then!” Emu said with a smile.

“You’ll be okay, Rui” Tsukasa said before giving Rui a quick kiss on the forehead and helping him to his feet.

As Mafuyu entered, Nene, Tsukasa and Emu left the room.

“Mafuyu…”

“Rui…”

Rui dropped the plushie as Mafuyu opened her arms for a hug.

Rui started to cry again, but he didn’t expect to hear Mafuyu choke back a sob as she embraced him.

Chapter Text

“You know,” Mafuyu started, pulling her scarf down so she could speak properly. “Emu always told me about her best friend ‘Rui’, but always said ‘he’, so I didn’t know it was you…”

“Yeah… heh… surprise~”

Mafuyu giggled at Rui’s unsure tone.

“I think it’s nice… and it’s super cool that your name is gender neutral, so you could keep it…”

“Even if I wanted to change it, I was afraid if I did, you wouldn’t recognise me if we ever met again… but I like my name, so it’s okay”

The two walked side by side in the snowy park.

“It’s nice, really…”

“Hm?”

“This whole time… I was sure you would have moved on and forgotten me… but… you didn’t. Does your dad still remember me?”

“Of course! One of his favourite photos is of you sitting on his knee that he keeps on the mantle. Dad hasn’t forgotten about you at all!”

“I’d like to see him again, to be honest… and… do you want to see my mother?”

“No.” Rui said sternly. “I’ve heard about what she’s done to you, and I can’t stand it. I don’t want to see that witch of a woman.”

That made Mafuyu smile.

“Did your dad ever re-marry?”

“No, he decided that he could raise me alone. Your mother?”

“Yes, she re-married my biological father. He’s not much better than she is.”

The two fell silent. They sat side by side on a park bench, and Mafuyu sighed. Rui flashed her a slight smile.

“We moved back to Shibuya for dad’s work, so I fully expected to see you again, but it never happened, no matter how much I tried to find you again... I’m glad it was now, though.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“I get to see you as yourself~…”

“Huh?”

“As a boy, I mean. I can’t imagine it’s easy to live like that, hiding who you really are for the sake of societal pressures-“

“But you do, too! You aren’t happy, you aren’t satisfied, but you pretend everything is okay! You hide behind a mask and you just do as you’re told! Doesn’t that get tiring? Pretending just to keep someone else happy, even at your own expense?!”

Mafuyu looked away and mumbled.

“You sound like Kaito when you talk like that…”

“Huh?”

“A-ah, n-nothing-“

“No no, back up. Do you have a SEKAI?”

“H-how do you know what that is?”

“I do, too…” Rui said with a small smile.

Mafuyu let out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding, almost relieved.

~~~

“Dad, I’m home! I brought a friend over!” Rui called out as he walked in the front door of the Kamishiro household. He and Mafuyu removed their shoes and put on slippers, walking into the living room, where Seiji was currently working on some paperwork.

“Oh, and which friend do-“ Seiji dropped his pen. “Mafuyu…?!”

“Hi, dad…” Mafuyu said with a shy wave. Seiji hugged her suddenly, holding her tight as if he was afraid he’d lose her again. Rui smiled as he watched, only for Mafuyu to pull him into the hug as well.

“I’m so glad you remember who I am, Mafuyu!- Erm, who I *was*…”

“Heehee, why would I forget you?”

Mafuyu stayed for dinner. The three sat around the table, Mafuyu talking about everything, including her mother.

“I’m so sorry that all happened to you, Mafu… is there any way we can help you?”

“I’m not sure… I just-“

“I could yell at your mother if that’ll help?” Mafuyu let out a giggle at that.

“N-no! That wouldn’t be a good idea!” She said through laughs.

The three of them laughed together for another hour, just talking as if they weren’t separated for over a decade.

But not all good things last forever, it seems.

Chapter Text

“Mafuyu, where are you right now?”

“Ah, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, mother! I’m at a friend’s house for dinner!”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?”

The air was heavy. Rui looked to his dad nervously as Mafuyu spoke to her mother over the phone.

Mafuyu felt a bead of sweat roll down her forehead.

“I-I’m sorry mother, it slipped my mind…”

“Not good enough, Mafuyu. You know how worried I get when you disappear without a trace”

Her smile started to waver.

“Yes, I know… I’m sorry…”

“Please come home immediately.”

“As you wish, mother…”

The other line went flat, as did Mafuyu’s expression.

“Mafu? Are you okay?” Seiji asked gently. Mafuyu’s blank expression grew into a scowl.

“I’m not going.”

Both Rui and Seiji were silent. Rui then stood up and embraced Mafuyu.

“Are you sure you won’t get in extra trouble?”

“I don’t care.”

The tension in the air was thick. Mafuyu balled her fists, clenching Rui’s sweater tightly. Rui looked down at her.

“Come with me, then… I’ll set up a place for you to sleep…”

~~~

There was a loud knock on Rui’s shed door. He opened it slightly to see Kanade, Ena and Mizuki.

“Oh! What are you three doing here?” Rui asked. Mizuki was the first to speak up.

“We wanna see Mafuyu, is that okay?”

“Of course!” Rui said with a smile as he opened the door fully, allowing the girls and Mizuki to enter.

Mafuyu looked up at her friends and stood. She smiled, but it wasn’t forced, it was a real, authentic smile. Mizuki embraced Mafuyu tightly, then Kanade and Ena joined in too.

“We were so worried about you!” Ena exclaimed. “Have you been here with Kamishiro the whole time?!”

“Your mother accused one of us of kidnapping you…” Kanade said quietly. “She said one of us had locked you in so you couldn’t leave us…”

“She never could fathom I would leave by myself…” Mafuyu whispered. “This was my choice. I don’t want to go back. Ever!”

Ena, Mizuki and Kanade all smiled supportively.

“We’re proud of you for getting away, Mafu!” Mizuki said happily, taking Mafuyu’s hand into their own. Mafuyu blushed a little.

“I’m scared that it’s only a matter of time before she involves police…” Rui said quietly, looking at the date on his computer screen. Mafuyu had been with him for the past few days now, borrowing his clothes and such. He didn’t mind, she was still his sister, after all.

“I’m scared too…” Mafuyu said in return, looking to her brother.

“Then what?” Mizuki started. “You go back to living with her?! She’s awful! You shouldn’t have to deal with that shit anymore!”

“No matter what happens, we’ll all be right by your side, Mafuyu…” Kanade said with a smile.

Chapter Text

“So you’re… hiding Mafuyu?” Tsukasa asked, tilting his head to the side.

“She’s refusing to go back to her mother’s, so I promised I’d keep her safe.”

“What happens if her mother finds out? You could get in serious trouble, Rui!”

“So, what, I’m expected to let her go back to her abusive mother?”

“I… okay, you have a point.”

Rui and Tsukasa sat together on the school rooftop.

Mafuyu had been staying with him for close to a week now, seldom leaving the house out of fear she would be found by her mother in public.

Rui’s phone suddenly rang.

It was Mafuyu.

“I-… sorry, I need to take this-… hey, what’s up?”

“CODE BLACK.” Mafuyu whisper shouted into the phone.

“What?!” Rui stood suddenly. “Now?!”

“Please, come home! Dad is at work and there are police outside-!” Mafuyu said as she started to hyperventilate.

“Where are you?!”

“I’m in the closet-!”

Rui immediately looked down at Tsukasa. Tsukasa simply nodded with a concerned expression. Rui took off, running through the school and down the multiple flights of stairs to get to the back gate.

The gates were always locked, except the visitors gate, which was always under surveillance, so Rui somehow got his hands on a gate keycard and used it whenever he needed to get home.

~~~

“Rui, I can hear them knocking-!”

“It’s okay, Mafuyu, I’m in the back yard right now! I’ll go answer the door!”

Rui kicked off his shoes and slid down the hall to the front door, and composed himself, quickly removing his school blazer and throwing a hoodie on so it didn’t look like he just ran from school.

“Hello? May I help you, officers?”

“Is this the residence of The Kamishiro’s?”

“…yes. What do you need?”

“Ah, just a few questions. Do you know this girl?” The head officer asked as he presented a photo of Mafuyu. Rui stayed calm.

“I’ve met her a few times, but I don’t know her well”

“Is that so? Apparently you were the last person she was seen with the day she was reported missing.”

Shit.

“Ah, when would this have been?”

“Around 5pm on the Saturday just passed.”

Rui felt a bead of sweat roll down his face.

“Oh! I had invited her for dinner to get to know her better, but after she left to return home, did she not actually return?”

“No, she didn’t. Her mother reported her missing at around 9pm that night.”

They seemed to have bought that.

“So you have no extra information?”

“I’m afraid I don’t, officer”

“Very well then. We’ll take your word for it.”

The officers turned to return to the car, but the head officer turned.

“Also, shouldn’t you be at school right now, young man?”

“A-ah, I am feeling a bit under the weather today. I was in bed asleep and that’s why I took so long to answer the door”

“Of course. Hope you feel better soon.”

And finally they returned to the car. Rui shut the door with a big sigh, that then became a gasp as Mafuyu wrapped her arms tightly around him.

“Mafu…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Whatever for?”

“I made you lie just to keep me safe-“

“You’re my sister, Mafuyu. I’d do anything for you.”

Mafuyu choked back a sob as she gripped his shirt tightly.

Chapter Text

Ring ring. Ring ring. RING RING.

Mafuyu glared at her phone. The 168th call from her mother since she ‘went missing’.

She just didn’t answer, as she did every other time. She sighed as it rang out.

“Gooood morning, Mafuyu~” Rui sang as he re-entered their room. Mafuyu smiled weakly at him.

“Good morning, Rui…”

“What’s the matter? You look down…” Rui asked softly as he sat down next to her in their bed.

“Mother keeps calling. She won’t stop. Every waking hour.”

“Maybe block her number?”

“She’ll find a way to reach me again, even if I do.”

“Ah…”

Silence fell over the room.

Mafuyu sighed as she placed her phone back on the night stand. She pulled her long hair up into a ponytail before groggily climbing out of bed and falling against her brother.

“I should go home…”

“What? No! Mafuyu, don’t!”

“You and the others are just gonna keep getting in trouble if I don’t… I don’t want anything to happen to any of you-“

“I don’t care! I’m always doing SOMETHING wrong, so just let me do this for you!”

“WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH?!”

“BECAUSE YOU’RE MY SISTER!-“

SLAP.

Rui clutched his cheek as he looked at Mafuyu with a bewildered expression.

Mafuyu let out a shaky breath.

“But… I’m not… am I…?” Mafuyu forced a smile, crazed and desperate. “When all of this ends, mother will forbid me from going near you ever again. She had no problem separating us when we were kids, Rui… she won’t hesitate to now…”

“Then… why go back…?”

“Because if I don’t, you will get in trouble-“

“We just have to hold over until January! Then you’ll be 18 and it will be YOUR decision to be here!-“

“Rui… there’s no point. We’re going to get caught sooner or later-“

There was suddenly a loud knock at the door.

“Stay down, Mafuyu… I’ll get it…” Rui whispered as he walked towards the door.

“Hello, can I-!!”

“Kamishiro Rui, you are hereby under arrest for the kidnapping of Asahina Mafuyu!” An officer, the same as yesterday, shouted as he grabbed Rui by the arm, pulling him outside the house.

“H-hey! Let go of me!”

“What’s going on?!” Seiji shouted as he ran to the front door from his room.

“Kamishiro Seiji! You, too, are under arrest!”

“What do you-!?”

“Seiji.” A voice rang out, not one of any of the officers before them.

“…Yukine…”

The officers now had Rui and Seiji both in cuffs.

Mafuyu ran down the hall upon hearing the commotion.

“M-mother?!”

“Mafuyu!!” Yukine cried as she rushed to Mafuyu, holding her close and starting to cry. “I was so worried about you! Come on, let’s get you home!”

“W-wait-“

“Thank you, officers! Thank you so much!” Yukine cried again.

“Mafuyu-!” Rui started, only to have his arm tugged on by an officer.

“You have the right to remain silent, Kamishiro!”

“Let’s get them to the station.” One of the other officers ordered, pulling both of the Kamishiros along.

“W-wait! Stop!” Mafuyu cried as she tried to reach for Rui, only for Yukine to hold her even closer.

“Mafuyu!”

“Rui!!”

Chapter Text

“There we go, a warm dinner, just how you always loved~” Yukine cooed. Mafuyu simply stared at it. “I’m so relieved to have you back, Mafuyu, your father is too~… I’m sorry that we couldn’t be there to help you… it must have been so scary and lonely…”

Mafuyu just stared as her mother droned on and on.

She wasn’t even surprised at this point.

Yukine kept going on and on.

Mafuyu grimaced.

More talking.

She was approaching her breaking point.

“Mafuyu? Are you okay, sweetie?”

“Why.”

“Hm? What do you mean ‘why’, darling?”

“Why did you do that to them…”

“Mafuyu, they kidnapped you!”

“I chose to stay.” Mafuyu whispered.

“What was that? I can’t hear you when you mumble-“

“I SAID I CHOSE TO STAY! I wasn’t kidnapped, I wasn’t locked in against my will, I wasn’t coerced or brainwashed! I chose to stay!”

“But, why on earth would you choose that?-“

“TO BE AWAY FROM YOU!”

“W-what?!”

Mafuyu stood up, slamming her hands down on the table as she shouted.

“My whole life, you’ve been controlling! I ‘have’ to do this, or I ‘have’ to do that! I have to be the perfect daughter for you! You don’t care about me, what I want to do, or what I can do! You only care about having a trophy as a child!”

“Mafuyu-“

“You never cared! It was always about YOU! I would do something wrong, you’d cry! I’d make a mistake, you’d get all ‘oh, I didn’t raise you well enough’! I’m never enough for you!” Mafuyu screamed.

“Mafuyu.” Her father finally spoke. No. He wasn’t her father. Just because he was biologically related, didn’t make him her father.

“AND YOU! You’ve enabled her to treat me so awfully! You get her get away with ripping away what I wanted! Arguably, that’s WORSE!”

SLAP.

“Don’t do DARE speak to your mother and I that way!”

Mafuyu suddenly made a beeline for the door.

Before her dad could grab her, she was gone, running off into the night.

~~~

BANG. BANG. BANG.

“Kanade! Kanade please! Open up!” Mafuyu cried as she slammed on the front door of the Yoisaki household.

The door opened to reveal Honami.

“Asahina-Senpai! W-what’s going on? Are you okay? Why is your cheek red?”

“Is Kanade here? Please, I need-“

“Come in, please…” Honami beckoned as she stepped aside for Mafuyu to enter.

She closed the door behind her, falling to her knees and starting to sob.

Kanade stood in the hallway leading from the front room to her bedroom.

“Mafuyu…” She whispered as she rushed to Mafuyu’s side, kneeling down beside her and holding her close. “Mafuyu what happened?”

“M-mother-“ Mafuyu choked back tears. “M-mother had- Rui and his Dad- p-put in po-lice custody!!”

“What?!” Honami exclaimed. “Why would she do that?!”

“S-she had them- charged- with k-kidnapping- m-me and-“ Mafuyu started to hyperventilate.

“Don’t worry, Mafuyu… we’ll fix this mess…”

“H-how…?”

“I’m not sure, but we’ll find a way…”

Chapter Text

There Rui sat, across from an officer in an interrogation room. The fluorescent lights made Rui feel… honestly sick.

“Kamishiro Rui, you sit here before me because I have reason to believe your actions had good intentions. May I hear your side of the story?”

“Yes, god, YES!” Rui almost yelled with a very obvious tone of desperation in his voice.

“Go ahead, then”

“Okay okay okay um- god, where do I start…? Okay! So! I am the former step-brother of Mafuyu. My father and her mother were once married and then divorced, separating the two of us. A few years later, we reunited, and she vented to me about how her mother treats her at home-“

“Her mother treats her poorly?”

“Yes! Asahina Yukine is not a very good person… she only truely cares about making Mafuyu the perfect child! Mafuyu is not allowed to pursue her own interests, and instead must throw herself into her studies and *always* be ‘on top’! She always puts up a front of being okay, but she has no sense of self! She doesn’t really know who *she* is anymore, because any attempts at being something other than a TROPHY are taken from her!”

“I can see you are getting quite heightened, Kamishiro-san. Please, try to calm yourself. I truely only wish to understand what is going on from both sides.”

Rui heaved out a massive sigh.

“Odd request but… could I borrow your pen, officer?”

“Hm?”

“I focus better when I have something in my hands…”

“Oh, of course. Here”

“Thank you” Rui held the pen in his hands, absentmindedly clicking it as he thought. “Um… what else… oh!” As he spoke, the officer watched as he started to take apart the pen. “Mafuyu had come over for dinner once with me and my father, and after a call with her mother telling her to go home, Mafuyu said that, no matter what, she was not going home. It was her decision to stay with us, and I understand that housing her when she should have returned home is bad but-“

“Kamishiro.”

“Y-yes?”

“What you did was very noble. You protected your sister from returning to a possibly dangerous situation. This information is proving to be quite useful. We will still be keeping you here for now, until we discuss the situation over with the case worker. Truely, thank you for your co-operation, Rui”

“Of course! I-I would do basically anything to protect her!”

“I’m sure of it” the officer said with a smile. Rui had since put the pen back together and tried to hand it back. “No no, you keep it. I think it will prove useful to you. The guard will return you back to the holding bay”

~~~

“Yes, everyone’s testimonies are lining up except for… Yukine’s. Even Mafuyu’s biological father’s lines up…” The case worker said as she scanned her documents. She turned to her apprentice. “What do you think, Aiko?”

“I think… we have the full story now”