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"It's nice to meet you Nene!" Rui exclaimed in delight to find another child around his age.
"It's.. nice to meet you too." Nene mumbles before hiding behind her mother's back again. Rui could tell it would take a while to let her guard down but he's determined to become her friend.
"Nene has difficulties in making friends so I hope you two can get along. That means try to put an effort into getting along with Rui too, Little one." Her mother chuckled and ruffled her hair gently, She didn't want to ruin the girl's perfectly neat pigtails. The action made Nene slightly pout which made Rui's heart warm at the sight before him.
"I will do my best!" Rui grinned cheerfully at the elder, Showing his pointy teeth. It made them awe.
After that, Rui worked hard to let Nene open up to him. Nene asked for a picture book and wanted to read it quietly by herself. He felt quite sad to see Nene wanting to be alone but he didn't push. He knew that if he pushed her to hang out with him, He'd drive her away just like everyone else.
So Rui tried to give subtle gestures to Nene. He would give her blankets and pillows to make her feel more comfortable since she was reading on the floor. He would bring her snacks that he hoped she would like and just nodded at Rui as her way of saying thank you.
When their "playdate" was over, Nene ran over to her mother and hid behind her again.
"Nene? Don't you have something to say to Rui?" Her mother eyed the little girl while patting her head.
"...Thank you, Rui. I.. really like your picture books." Nene looked at him fondly. He just gave her the warmest smile he could possibly give. Rui could tell that Nene also wanted to put in effort into making friends but her shyness was too strong that it made her feel weak on the inside.
His eyes followed the two walking out of the house. He could feel a hand rubbing his shoulder. He looked over to see his mother smiling at him.
☆
As their playdates went on, Rui could feel that Nene was slowly, But surely warming up to him. She would tug on his shirt and gesture to him to come closer.
"Do you.. Do you want to color together..?" Her voice was barely heard but somehow he managed to catch it. Her eyes innocently pleading for him to accept. How could he not when she was being so adorable and giving an obvious effort to build a bond between them.
Rui enthusiastically nodded and sat beside Nene. They picked out what drawings they wanted to color. Rui then reached out for the crayons on the shelf so that they could color in their drawings.
It was peaceful. They weren't awkward like they usually are. The only sounds that can be heard are the crayons dragging across the paper. He glanced over to Nene who was coloring a mermaid, Then he looked over on his own who was drawing a robot. It was a little messy. The colors went past the lines. It was kind of unpleasant to look at but he was only a kid.
There was a knock at the door and it slowly opened, Revealing Rui's father.
"Hi kiddos, I made you guys snacks since mom left for a bit to get something in the lab." He walked in and placed a tray of fries and grapefruit juice on the table. Both of them picked up their papers and crayons, Placing them on the table.
They sat down on the floor as the table was fairly short, They didn't need a chair to reach over. Rui's father poured juice on two glasses. Rui popped a couple of fries in his mouth, Humming in delight to the taste. Nene reached over for her glass of juice and took a sip. It looked like her eyes sparkled at the taste, Finishing it all in one go.
"Slow down, You don't want to get full by just juice." His father chortled, Refilling her glass with juice. Nene took a fry while coloring her mermaid again.
Rui had been noticing a lot of things about Nene during their recent playdates.
He noticed today that Nene is left-handed and she likes grapefruit. He also noticed that she kept her hair tied because she didn't like the hair sticking onto her face whenever she sweats. He noticed whenever she would fiddle with anything near her. Her shirt, Her hair, A person in front of her.
Everytime he learns new things about Nene, It makes his heart skip a beat.
☆
Their parents had made them both watch the new 'The Little Mermaid' theater. Both of them sat comfortably on the chair, As the chair was a bit larger than them. They watched as the curtain opened to reveal the actress portraying the mermaid.
The actress sang her heart out while "swimming" around the stage. He glanced over to Nene whose eyes were sparkling once more.
When the sea witch took the mermaid's voice, He could feel a slight tug on his . He looked beside him again to find Nene leaning over to him, She looked quite scared of the scene. She probably didn't realize she was leaning towards him instead of her mother. He placed his hand on the back of her head and gently patted it. She quickly leaned to his touch and let out a sigh of relief.
After the show ended, Both of them fell silent. Reminiscing on the event that just happened. Their mothers had excused themselves to go to the bathroom.
'The finale where the little mermaid turned into a sea foam could be dramatized even more, I think.' Rui thought to himself, He felt like he could somehow recreate this show with things he has at home. He could hear Nene speaking up from beside him.
"Uh.. Um.."
"Hm? What's the matter, Nene?"
"That.. that was fun, right?"
"Eh?"
"W-When the little mermaid started singing, My heart squeezed tight.."
Rui didn't expect Nene to suddenly initiate the conversation again. His heart jumped when her eyes were shining in adoration for the show.
"Mhm! It was very beautiful. The scene where the sky cleared up when the mermaid started singing was also amazing!"
"Mhm! The Little Mermaid is so good!"
He found her adorable when she talked about her love for the show. He couldn't let this opportunity of talking to her without any awkwardness go down.
"I also liked the scene where her voice was taken. Nene, Do you have any other scenes you like?"
"I.. I was scared at the scene where her voice was taken.."
"Ahaha, I could tell. You were gripping on my shirt quite tightly." Rui chuckled, She blushed in embarrassment and looked down. He thought that maybe he said something wrong. He opened his mouth to apologize but he was cut off by Nene.
"Sorry about that.." She murmured, Still looking down with a pink blush spreading across her cheeks to her ears.
"It's quite alright, Nene." He giggled and reached out for her hand and held it to reassure her.
Both of them continue to talk about the show. Nene seems to be talking a lot more than before. Before they knew it, Their mothers had already come back. They laughed at how Nene is seemingly much more comfortable with Rui now that they're talking about her interests.
☆
The day came that Rui would leave Nene in elementary to continue with middle school.
It was Rui's first day of high school without Nene. She was still in elementary. Rui would be all alone for a year in the school until Nene graduated elementary as well. She won't even be in the same building as him as middle school was a bit more far away than elementary.
I mean sure, They still walked together to school and Rui picks Nene up and both of them go home together but it's still not the same.
He was sitting in class. He wasn't really paying much attention to the lesson because he knew that if he just looked at the chalkboard, He would get the lesson immediately. He didn't know how but that's how he always passes his classes.
He was creating something while the teacher rambled on and on about the subject. He wasn't working on a new invention like he usually does, But rather a keychain.
He was in the back of the class so his teacher wouldn't be able to see the mess he was creating. Different keychain frames were all over his desk as he carefully picked two for the keychains. He picked a star frame for Nene and a normal circle for him. Then he brought out small charms from the pocket of his backpack. He picked out a green charm and a purple charm and tied the lanyard to the keychain.
.
Once school finished, He almost ran out of the school building to pick up Nene from middle school.
They were going to do shows together again after they were finished with their homework. His mother never lets him forget it.
He waited in the school gates for the certain green-haired girl. He came across his old teachers and he waved to them, Asking how their day was. The teachers were fond of him but they thought his inventions were a bit drastic. Then heard his name being called by the sea of students running out of the school.
"Rui..!"
He heard the gentle voice call out for him. He searched for the owner of the voice and he found the one he'd been waiting for.
"Nene!" He rushed over to her side. He reaches over for her bag to carry it himself. It's a usual thing after school. Rui suggested to carry her bag and she refused the first time. But after he insisted on carrying it, She eventually gave up on protesting and it became a habit after school.
While walking home, They were talking about the show they wanted to do after they've done their homeworks. He showed her the keychain he made during class and he was met with a scolding by Nene. But she did accept the keychain and attached it to her backpack. Both of them still using the keychain in the future.
☆
Nene had realized Rui was avoiding her and she didn't know why.
He also stopped walking with her to school now. He'd make up an excuse not to walk with her to school, Or even hang out with her anymore.
She doesn't even have the opportunity to talk to him anymore as he was desperately trying to avoid her.
It was also the same time that she was recruited to a theater troupe. Practice days were distracting her from thinking about Rui.
.
Nene bumped on someone on her way to the venue. They had to rehearse for tomorrow's play, Her first play.
She immediately apologized to the latter. She meets their gaze, Only to find out it was her childhood friend.
"..Rui?"
"Ah, Nene. Long time no see."
"I've heard. This time, You'll be playing the lead role in your troupe. That's amazing." Rui smiles as if everything was normal. Like he wasn't avoiding her for weeks, Maybe even months.
"Ah. M-Mhm. Thank you."
"Um, Rui, You, Now.." She couldn't spit out the words she wanted to say. It was difficult for her because of how much they grew apart. You could say that her shyness around Rui came back, Just a bit. Before she could have the courage to tell what was on her mind, She was interrupted.
"Now.. I'm doing things alone. It's hard to find someone I can get along well with like you, Nene." He chuckled. Nene wondered how he could be so calm about this? After he was avoiding her? Ignoring her?
"Is.. that so..? Then, Why don't you join my troupe too..! Ah, But.." Nene suggested, But she thought that she should tell her troupe members if she wanted to recommend Rui to them.
"Haha, Don't force yourself. I'm managing well alone.. And maybe it's better that way." She knew well that it was a lie. She knew that Rui couldn't handle being alone. But she didn't know why he was doing this. Before she could make the conversation longer, She was already beaten to it to end.
"Well then, I'll go and make my own show. ..Nene too, do your best." And with that, Rui immediately left her on the street Gliding with such quick steps, And she was simply watching.
☆
Rui felt like a child whenever he had a nightmare.
He couldn't bring himself to tell anyone about his nightmares, Not even his own parents.
He had nightmares when he was child and would often find himself sleeping in his parents' room. His parents assumed that his nightmares went away as he grew up but the truth is, He just couldn't bare to tell them about it anymore.
He was growing up, He was 17 now.
Rui would look childish if he had told them he still gets nightmares.
So the only way he deals with these nightmares is with Nene.
.
"Nene..?"
"Rui..? Why are you up at 4 in the morning on a saturday? Didn't I tell you to stop overworking yourself?" Nene's voice was hoarse, It was obvious that she had woken up from his call.
"Ahaha, I couldn't help it. But I did fell asleep and.. I um.." He somehow felt nervous when telling her this. It's like he couldn't form the words he wanted to tell.
"..Did you have a nightmare again?" Rui gasped softly, She already guessed before he could even tell her and she was right. It's like she could see right through him, He really couldn't hide anything from her.
"Haha, How'd you know?"
"You don't call at 4 am after waking up just to talk with me. You always just text me when you would invent another thing or find a way to somehow make Tsukasa fly in the air with safety precautions." She replied nonchalantly but he could still sense the sleepiness in her voice. Rui could only chuckled nervously before Nene spoke up again.
"...Come over, I'll wait for you." That was all it took before he hung up, Hurriedly fixed himself and quietly tip-toeing upstairs to his unused bedroom so that he wouldn't wake his parents up.
He gently opened the door and closing it. He walked over to the window to see Nene's window already opened. Rui pressed a button beside his window and a small metal platform unfolded from below his window, Reaching over to Nene's window. The platform unfolded more to reveal rails to prevent him from accidentally falling. He tried to crawl out of his window and to the platform. He hissed to the coldness of the metal but he sucked it up and continued crawling until he reached Nene's window. He poked his head inside first to see Nene already looking at him, He smiled before crawling inside. It looked like she was anticipating seeing him.
"Come here." Nene patted a spot next to her and Rui gladly obliged. He laid his head on her soft pillows. It was warm, And the presence of his best friend was comforting to him. He could feel her hand playing with his hair.
Rui could hear a soft humming that he always loved. Her voice was gentle and sweet. It always lulled him to sleep.
☆
"Rui, You're staring at Tsukasa and Emu again."
Rui snapped out of his mind when he heard his diva's voice interrupt it.
"Ahaha, I'm sorry. I really just.. can't believe it, You know?" He chuckled, Staring at them again with sparkles in his eyes.
Sometimes, Nene wished he also stared at her like that. The same way he did when Tsukasa made his weird poses with confidence. The way he did when Emu clapped her hands with glee and spout out words outside of the Japanese vocabulary when Rui thought of a new idea that'll require him to make Tsukasa do something stupid with his inventions.
It wasn't long ago that Rui had confessed to Tsukasa and Emu. Both of them had accepted after processing the alchemist's words.
Nene wasn't sure whether he liked her as well. She couldn't admit it to herself but she does like him. She liked how he's always considerate of her boundaries and goes out of his way to push it carefully by creating Nene-Robo for her to communicate with until she was comfortable enough to talk to them face to face. She liked how he would come with her to go to the arcade after school. She liked how whenever she got sick, Rui would be the first person to know instead of her own parents. He would almost barge into the door and would be the one to announce to her parents that she was sick. Then they would let him take care of her.
After practice, They had changed back to their school uniform and walked back home together.
Nene couldn't help but notice that before they left, Tsukasa was whispering something to Rui while glancing at her. She didn't exactly know why but she just assumed it was for their next script.
The walk home was silent. It was not usual for Rui to be silent on their way home. He would often talk about what he wanted to do for their next script or what his latest invention is. But this time, He was completely silent. She couldn't help but feel nervous.
They had finally reached their houses. Before Nene could wave goodbye, Rui swiftly grabbed her wrist. She looked at him in confusion. He fiddled with the second button of his uniform and snapped it right off. Then he opened her palm and placed the button. He closed her palm and beamed at her.
"Goodbye, Nene."
Were his only parting words before he made his way to his house with great haste.
Nene admired the gleaming button on her palm. She knew what it meant.
A gentle smile illuminated her features. Before placing the button on her pocket and headed over to her house. Her mood was seemingly lightened as she entered the house.