Chapter Text
Tsukasa groaned as he stood in the middle of the room, looking around in frustration. Gaaah, really? How could he have been so reckless?! Tsukasa knows his memory is not the best, but really? How could he have forgotten his script in the SEKAI? Well, it does make some sense. Rui was talking Tsukasa’s ear off earlier about something related to coding or programming which Tsukasa wasn’t paying attention to, so it’s possible that he zoned out and completely forgot about the notebook in his hands. So really, it’s all Rui’s fault in the end.
Tsukasa sighed and plopped down on his bed. Really, he doesn't want to go to the SEKAI right now. If he caught one thing from Rui’s schpiel earlier that day, it’s that the director was planning on playing around a little with the SEKAI’s files. Tsukasa didn’t want to risk getting stranded in the virtual world forever.
The blonde laid down on the bed, letting out another groan. He threw his arms up in frustration. Maybe he should text Rui to ask if he’s finished with whatever he was doing in the SEKAI. But on the other hand, Tsukasa wasn’t keen on admitting that he actually forgot something as important as their show scripts.
He sighed, grabbing his phone from the bedside table. Better safe than sorry.
Tsukasa opens the messaging app and shoots a quick text to Rui.
> Tsukasa: Hey Rui!! Have you finished up with the SEKAI yet!!?
While he’s at it, Tsukasa checks the time. It’s only 10 pm, so Rui should definitely be awake now. The director never goes to sleep at a reasonable time, no matter how many times Tsukasa tells him that a healthy sleep schedule is the key to a healthy life. Well, Rui’s probably working on whatever his newest obsession is, hopefully not the SEKAI anymore. So Tsukasa figures he might as well work on some of their costumes while he waits.
An hour later, Tsukasa finally notices a message he got about ten minutes ago.
> Rui: Pretty much. It should work just fine :).
The blonde sighs and, seeing the time, figures he should probably get the script as soon as possible. So he opens the music app and scrolls until he finds ‘The World hasn’t even started yet’. He clicks on the song and immediately is surrounded by the blinding white light and colorful triangle sparkles.
Tsukasa blinks the light away. Maybe it's just because he’s tired, but he feels like the light was brighter than usual. Tsukasa doesn’t waste much time and immediately heads for the spot he remembers sitting at when he was reviewing the last few pages.
However, before he has the chance to get that far, he notices a figure standing by the merry-go-round.
Tsukasa stops for a moment. They don’t look like Kaito or Miku or any of the other vocaloids, but they do look like someone else. The blonde puffs out his cheeks and marches over to the figure.
“Rui! Didn’t you say you were done messing around with the SEKAI?” He asks as he approaches the purple-haired boy. But something about Rui strikes him as off.
Why is Rui wearing a suit?
The director is wearing a white suit with gray details. Under that, he’s wearing a dark gray shirt with a dark blue ribbon. In the suit, he has a few flower-shaped brooches. Rui doesn’t even seem startled at Tsukasa’s sudden appearance. Instead, he slowly turns around to face the blonde.
This isn’t Rui.
This person’s eyes are so empty, so lifeless. They don’t even look yellow like Rui’s, they’re more gray.
Tsukasa takes an involuntary step back when their eyes meet. The Rui look-alike looks him up and down with an unreadable expression.
“I was waiting for you to arrive.” The doppelganger says, his voice quiet and cold.
Tsukasa doesn't know what to say. Is this some sort of a weird nightmare? Or did Rui genuinely mess up the SEKAI in some way? Or is this just a misunderstanding and the person standing in front of him is actually Rui?
And as the blond stands speechless, Rui(?) sighs in annoyance and simply walks up to him, grabbing his wrist.
Tsukasa squeaks a little at the sudden movement but lets Rui(?) drag him to wherever they're going. This way at least, he gets a chance to take a closer look at this look-alike.
Rui(?) is indeed wearing a white suit, but upon closer inspection, Tsukasa thinks he can recognize it from one of their SEKAI shows. He remembers seeing a similar suite with flower brooches backstage of the center tent. Otherwise, ignoring the unreadable expression, the person looks exactly like Rui. Well, if it walks like a duck, acts like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck, no? There's almost no reason for Tsukasa to believe this isn't Rui… But still, he can't help the suspicion in his mind.
Finally, Rui(?) lets Tsukasa go. That snaps the blonde back to reality, and he notices they're in a rather remote location in the SEKAI, he remembers that Meiko and Luka often come here alone. But as he looks around now, he can't see anyone other than Rui(?).
Rui(?) turns to Tsukasa. "It's better for you to stay here for a while. I don't think the others have the mental capacity to quickly realize what's going on." He says in a monotone voice. Tsukasa suppresses the urge to flinch.
"Ehh, the others? Like the vocaloids?" He asks instead, unsure who Rui(?)'s referring to.
The purple-haired boy sighs but doesn't answer immediately. And so the two are plunged into an uncomfortable silence.
Tsukasa has no idea what to do now. He still needs to get that script, that's why he came here, but there's obviously something wrong with the SEKAI.
And to make matters even more confusing, just as he's thinking about that, Tsukasa's phone chimes with a message.
It's a text from Rui.
But that shouldn't be possible. Rui's standing right in front of him and he definitely doesn't have his phone out. It could be someone else using Rui's phone. Maybe the director lost it? But how is he in the SEKAI in that case? Did he lose it in the SEKAI?
So, acting like nothing's wrong, Tsukasa casually takes out his phone to check the text.
> Rui: Did you go to the sekai? If you find anything wrong or what shouldn't be there, message me! It should work just fine now, but just to be sure.
…
What is he supposed to think now?
Tsukasa's heart speeds up as he reads the message. The text sounded like something Rui would normally send, but then who's the person Tsukasa's with right now? He can't help the scared look he accidentally shoots the other Rui.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” The other says, sounding bemused, making Tsukasa look back at him. He honestly gives Tsukasa the creeps. This Other-Rui feels like he knows everything about him with just one look.
Tsukasa frowns, desperate to hide his fear. “Who are-”
“Who am I? I’m Rui. Just not the one you’re used to.” The Other-Rui interrupts him as if he knew exactly what Tsukasa was going to say. And apparently, he actually did. This is just another thing about this look-alike which gives Tsukasa the creeps.
Just then, he receives another message from Rui. However, at this point Tsukasa feels too scared to try and look at his phone, locked in a staring match with the Other-Rui.
“He messaged you, saying he cannot enter the SEKAI,” the Other speaks up, “you should tell him you’re alright, otherwise he’ll worry.” Other-Rui beacons Tsukasa to answer the phone.
And Tsukasa does just that, albeit hesitantly.
> Rui: Tsukasa-kun, I can’t enter the SEKAI. Are you there alright? Can you leave?
> Tsukasa: I’m alright! Don’t worry about anything!
Tsukasa knows that message sounds fishy, but he’s too nervous to care right now. Plus he honestly doesn't want Rui to worry.
Now, it's time to get some answers from the Other-Rui. The boy in question already seemed to be anticipating Tsukasa to ask questions, so he started answering even before the blonde could say anything.
"Although this SEKAI is created predominantly out of your own feelings, that doesn't mean the others cannot influence it." The taller starts walking towards the center tent, knowing Tsukasa will follow closely behind.
“Have you heard of a Fragment SEKAI before? Ah, why am I asking, I know you haven’t” He continues before stopping and turning to face Tsukasa.
“Therefore, allow me to explain.” The Other-Rui says. Tsukasa thinks this is the closest to a smile he’s ever seen from this person.
“A Fragment SEKAI is a world born from an individual’s strong emotions. Unlike the SEKAI you know, Fragment SEKAIs are born only from a fragment of a feeling, therefore they’re fickle and disappear after their creator resolves their feelings.” Other-Rui explains.
“There’s a lot of Fragment SEKAIs here, however only a very small amount actually manages to fall to the ground where their creator can enter.” As he speaks, Other-Rui looks up to the SEKAI’s sky where the stars glister. Or are those the Fragment SEKAIs then?
“Songs aren’t the only things born from your feelings.” The taller turns to Tsukasa, his expression back to unreadable.
“Those worlds are too.” He says while pointing up. Tsukasa’s eyes are drawn back up, watching the colorful dots dance across the artificial sky. Does that mean there are people living up there? People Tsukasa doesn’t know?
“We live there.” He pauses.
“And we would have continued to live there if your friend didn’t go around messing with the SEKAI’s code.” Other-Rui says, crossing his arms, finally showing some sort of emotion even if it’s frustration.
They’re both quiet for a moment before Tsukasa can’t hold his mouth shut anymore. “Does that mean there are people other than us and the virtual singers who have access to the SEKAI?” He asks the question that has been bugging him the most.
Other-Rui is quiet, before shaking his head. “No. Everyone who lives up there is essentially a fragment of one of you.”
That… makes some sense, but at this point, Tsukasa is too afraid to ask any more questions.
During Tsukasa’s pondering, Other-Rui started speaking again. “I need to elaborate more on something. The Fragments you see high up in the sky, are fused Fragmen SEKAIs. You see, Fragment SEKAIs are like magnets. They’re drawn to other Fragment SEKAIs, built on a compatible emotion. When a Fragment finds another compatible Fragmen, they fuse together, creating a bigger Fragment SEKAI. That’s why many variations of your friend might know a different version or variation of you.”
Honestly, this only made things more muddy for Tsukasa. Well, he’s not one to worry much about the logistics of things anyway. That’s usually Rui’s job. Speaking of Rui…
“What do I call you?” Tsukasa blurs out without really thinking about his words too much. But his question doesn’t seem to catch Other-Rui off-guard at all.
“Call me whatever you want, I don’t care.” He says with a shrug. “However, the others call me Timekeeper, so if you will, you can use that.” Other-Rui- Timekeeper elaborates. At least Tsukasa doesn’t have to refer to him as ‘Other-Rui’ or other vague nouns in his head. Though, ‘Timekeeper’ sounds also kind of ominous.
Tsukasa only nods, before hesitantly speaking up again. “Wait, so, what do I do now? I only really came here for my script…” the blonde says. Knowing there are probably way too many Ruis running around the SEKAI now, Tsukasa has no plans to stick around.
Timekeeper only looks at him silently.
“You can leave, no one’s holding you here,” he eventually says. “But I can’t tell you where the script is.” He admits.
“What do you mean you ‘can’t tell’ me?! Is it, like, a secret or something? Did you hide it somewhere?!” Tsukasa starts panicking even more. He’s been working on that script for two months now. It’s nearly finished, he cannot let anything happen to it, he really, really needs it.
“No. I mean that I don’t know where it is.” Timekeeper admits, looking rather frustrated at being forced to say he doesn’t know something. That’s another thing Tsukasa picked up on, Timekeeper seems to know almost everything. Is that why he’s called Timekeeper? Because he can like, see the future or something?
“Well, it’s probably at the center tent! I left it there earlier I think.” Tsukasa reasons, mostly with himself at this point.
“It’s not there.” Timekeeper crushes all Tsukasa’s dreams. “I checked earlier because I knew you’d come looking for it. It wasn’t there, so it’s safe to assume that someone took it.” The purple-haired boy says with slight pity in his voice.
Tsukasa feels the panic slowly ramping up. “Who took it? Was it one of the virtual singers?” he asks the other, expecting him to have the answer.
Unfortunately for the blonde, Timekeeper only sighs. “I don’t know.”
Tsukasa puts a hand on his forehead as he thinks.
Someone took it. I could have been one of the vocaloids. Maybe it was a plushie? No, they probably wouldn’t do something like that. What if it was one of the many Ruis running around? The thought of that makes shivers run down Tsukasa’s spine. This is truly the worst-case scenario.
Snapping the star from his thoughts, Timekeeper speaks again. “Last word of advice, don’t go to the center tent.” He says with a serious look in his eyes.
But what other choice does Tsukasa have? His mind is already set on getting the script back from whoever took it, and he’s not going to back down. Nonetheless, he nods. Timekeeper doesn’t seem too convinced, judging by the bemused expression on his face, but he eventually sighs.
“Well then, farewell.” He says, and before Tsukasa even gets a chance to react, Timekeeper disappears. Just like that, he’s gone.
Not wanting to waste time by thinking about Rui’s potential magical powers, Tsukasa heads straight to the center tent, not knowing what awaits him there.