Work Text:
If you asked Kamishiro Rui how he died
he would not be able to reply.
When something bad happens, his first instinct is to push it out of his head.
Far, far away.
"...I'm so bored."
It's the end of November for the living and dead world alike.
And Rui is out of a job.
In October, he hops from haunted attraction to haunted attraction and finds spends one month a year scaring the daylights out of people.
But he never wanted to be a scare actor.
He wanted to be an actor that makes people smile.
And so, Rui floats down a crowded street, watching all the people headed to the amusement park and searching for ANYTHING to focus on for the next 11 months.
A cat.
A really tall person.
And a yellow meteor crashing down.
"Excuse me! Please move! I'm late, I'm late! Please move!"
Rui floats a bit closer to see an irritated crowd and a bustling young man.
The young man has blonde hair and panic stamped onto his face as he pushes through the crowd, his arms clutching boxes that spill with...
acting props?
A smirk grows on Rui's face.
"Well, the show must go on! Come, it's showtime!", Rui says cheerfully, approaching the boy.
"Here, let me help you with that.", he whispers in his ear.
Before the blonde responds, Rui goes down low and carries him princess style.
"W-WHAT IS GOING ON???", the blonde screams as he floats above the crowd.
"Fear not, I will get you to your destination. You need to go to that amusement park, yes? What area?"
"DON'T DROP ME!!!"
"Please trust me. Now, what area?"
The blonde sighs. "The Wonder Stage. Right corner of the park. But tell me, are you always a...ghost shuttle service? Last time I checked, Halloween ended."
Now it's Rui's turn to sigh. "Please don't remind me. I'm out of a job. Here, we're approaching the stage."
Rui gently floats to the ground, placing fur boy onto the stage.
"So, you're an actor?"
"Yes! I'm Tenma Tsukasa, future star!"
"Nice to meet you, Tenma. But wow, there's nobody here. And you were in such a hurry, too."
Tsukasa's eyes are trained to the floor.
"Lately, our troop has been...unfaithful. They want freedom to have their own ideas, and they want success in a place where eyes reach."
Rui furrows his eyebrows. "Is there no freedom here?"
"They have brilliant ideas, but they aren't feasible for..
"People like us."
That word sends a sensation so ghastly into Rui that he's almost brought back to life by the familiarity.
"Kamishiro isn't like us."
Rui grits his teeth.
Bear it no more.
"I know I'm just a ghost, but please.
"Find them, and bring them to me. Do not let your dream slip through your fingers."
The blonde boy looks up at Rui, his expression laced with childlike anxiety.
"Why? Why are you helping us, helping me?"
"Because this, too, used to be my dream."