Archive of Our Own

Just imagine a world where nothing and all exists. A world where you have the ability of creation, yet are alone. That would be a world some people might wish for, but others? Not so much. 

Alone and afraid of anyone in his path, Kamishiro Rui, an eighteen year old boy who can only fear those surrounding him. As young as he is, he is the same person who has the ability to create anything he desires. Although, given this ability, you’d want to use it all the time, right? He doesn’t. The last time he even attempted to use such an ability was a year ago. He had created a friend for himself as he was too afraid of the public to go out and find one himself. 

Akiyama Mizuki was their name. An ordinary human that would just sit and talk with him, no matter his need. Sometimes Mizuki would even make jokes about some of the conversations they had. Rui had appreciated their company. He did until he had realized that they would run out of topics to talk about. Soon enough, Mizuki felt it was best that they parted ways. So, they left the tower Rui so distantly lived in. Far from any human interaction. 

Rui, being the creator of Mizuki, hadn’t appreciated that announcement, speaking up about how he could make her disappear in an instant. Yet, he genuinely couldn’t. He had the ability to create, not destroy. He couldn’t wipe Mizuki out of existence even if he tried. Therefore, he had apologized a couple hours later, allowing them to leave the lonesome tower. 

Now, once again, alone he sat, rethinking of ways to entertain himself. Of course nothing came to mind as he had already read all of his books, cleaned every inch of the tower, and really anything that would be possible there. 

The only times Rui uses the special ability he had been given was when he was out of food to eat or water to drink. He would create his own food and water. Strange, right?

Although all of that had been sorted out, he still had an empty feeling left in his chest. A cold one. He didn’t understand it. Not at all. He just assumed it was because he was alone.. But, he’s always alone, so why should that matter? 

It didn’t matter. At least, not to Rui it didn’t. He couldn’t care less whether he was alone or not. He saw humans, unlike himself, as evil and disgraceful creatures. He witnessed the evil things they could commit just in the span of an hour as a kid, and he surely wasn’t going to let any of those things happen to him. He hates humans and really any contact with them. 

It wasn’t like he spoke to any of them anyway. In at least a few years, not a single person had come by the tower, just probably taking a separate path in order to avoid him. That’s what he thought anyway. 

That lasted for a while until one day. This particular day. A boy, around 5 '7 or 5' 8, with long, blonde-sunset hair had come to Rui’s tower, hoping to get a specific item out of the lavender-haired male. The boy had a small ponytail set in the front of his chest. Not only was his hair the pattern of a sunset, but his eyes were too. He wore a white outfit that had colors of blue and gold. If you looked at him, you’d think he was royalty. Which was somewhat true. The boy, Tenma Tsukasa, lived as a prince in the Shiro Lily Kingdom. His father was the King of course, while his mother was the Queen. It was common sense. His beloved sister, Saki, was also a princess. She didn’t fulfill her ‘princess duties’ as she would typically be sick. Her illness didn’t have a cure as far as the doctors knew. Well, it did, but the antidote contained a rare item which wasn’t found anywhere in his land. 

Tsukasa had heard about a person who could create anything he wanted that lived just outside the kingdom. That person being Rui. He would have ordered a knight to do it, but he told himself that it would be fine. I mean, how much harm could a loner like Rui do to a prince?

Rui hears a loud knock on the door, turning his head to face it. He hadn’t had a visitor in years. It wasn’t like he wanted a visitor. He could only hope it was some girl selling cookies or something like that. 

He stands up, setting down the book he had been reading. It was The Wizard of Oz, a book he heavily admired for its detail on each location and character. He couldn’t help but adore the storyline too. A girl, Dorthy, gets trapped in her house during a tornado, or as they call it a ‘twister’, and wakes up in a world full of color and vibrance. She meets a robot, a lion, and a scarecrow. What an odd bunch?

Rui places the book down on the small table set next to the chair he was in, walking towards the door shortly after. Carefully, he opens the door, hoping deep inside it wouldn’t be anyone to cause him trouble. 

There in front of him was Tsukasa, the blonde prince with a dream to cure his sister. The prince begins to speak, raising his voice up high so Rui was destined to hear his needs. “Hello! I am Tenma Tsukasa! The prince of the White Lily Kingdom! It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance uhh–” He pauses, not knowing Rui’s name.

Rui sighs, “Kamishiro Rui. I’m Kamishiro Rui.” He mutters, keeping his voice low. “What is it that you need from me, your majesty?” Rui questions, tilting his head at the boy ever so slightly.

Tsukasa smiles, “I’m glad you asked! I am here because I heard you have the power of creation!” he exclaims, placing both hands on his hips. He seemed enthusiastic to be speaking with Rui, while Rui? Not so much.

“My apologies, Tenma, but I do not offer anyone, rarely myself, my ability. Whatever it is you need, I'm certain you’ll find it elsewhere.” Rui says sternly, going to shut the door. As he went to close it, Tsukasa slipped his hand in to stop him from shutting it completely, moving it back open so he could continue speaking with the lonely alchemist.

“Well, Kamishiro, I would let you know you’re wrong about that,” He says, still keeping the ridiculous grin he had on before. “The thing I need to ask you to create is not only difficult to find, but also not even found near the White Lily Kingdom! Which is why I need you to–” The boy was instantly cut off.

Rui sighs, “Look, your majesty, I would help you, but I don’t help anyone without a price. So I suggest you find someone else to fulfill this wish of yours.” He says, shaking his head. He had no interest in helping Tsukasa or even attempting to help. As much as he would love to get paid for it, he doesn’t offer it cheap and certainly Tsukasa couldn’t have brought any type of currency with him. At least, Rui thought he didn’t. He was a bit surprised to see Tsukasa quickly pull out cash. Not just a few one dollar bills, no, it was at least a few hundred. Which, of course, surprised Rui. 

“Will this change your mind?” Tsukasa grins, looking as devious as ever. He was really determined to get this item, wasn’t he? “If this isn’t enough, I can raise it to five-hundred. If that still is too low, one thousand dollars would be the final price.”

Hearing this, Rui immediately became dumbfounded by the numbers increasing. He hadn’t ever been offered so much money in his life! Well, it wasn’t like Rui couldn’t make his own money, he just chose not to. As it was mentioned, Rui doesn’t appreciate using his ability for selfish reasons. So, hearing the large numbers instantly made him want to agree. 

Although.. 

Is a thousand dollars good enough?

The thought pondered in his head. He wasn’t sure what to think. He lets out a huff of air, concluding his decision. “Alright, here’s the deal,” He begins to say, smiling a bit. “I give you the item you need, and you give me a couple thousand dollars. Deal?” 

Tsukasa hesitates. “A couple thousand dollars..?!” 

Rui nods. “I refuse to use my ability for any selfishness, meaning, if this is for your own benefit, a few thousand dollars will be good enough. If it isn’t for your own benefit, I’d love to hear you out on how this item could possibly help another.” He explains, crossing his arms. The large hat he wore tipped over the side of his head a bit. A black-ish brown flower planted easily on it too. Despite him always being alone, he still wore somewhat ‘fancy’ clothing. 

“I see.. Well! I hope my reasoning can change your mind!” Tsukasa cries out, smiling like a complete idiot. “The main reason I need the flower is because it is the rarest item that’s needed in the antidote to save my sister from her illness! The doctors said that if she drinks the antidote with one of the petals in it, she will grow to be healthy. I would love to see my sister, Saki, happy and up on her feet again as she never gets to adventure the world due to it!” He claims. 

The reasoning seemed good enough for Rui. He decided to lower it to one thousand and two hundred dollars. It would have to work. “Alright. I suppose that proves just enough. It’s quite admirable how much you care for your sister. Willing to go out of your way to visit a man who hasn’t spoken to someone in at least a year or two. A person who came from the rival of your kingdom. It’s quite amazing in all honesty,” Rui smiles softly, looking down at the prince. “The price of $1,200 works for me.” 

Tsukasa smiles. He felt a rush of adrenaline in his heart. He was extremely happy to be given this opportunity. The chance to save his sister from her illness. Her deadly illness. He was grateful for Rui and his thoughts on this situation. “Wonderful! I cannot thank you enough, Kamishiro!” He quickly takes $1,200 out and hands it over to Rui. “How long would it take for you to give me the flower?” He asks, tilting his head to the side. 

Rui gently hands Tsukasa a flower. It was an Aster. It had lavender, soft petals. The stem was purple to green and had a few thorns. “Not a lot of time,” Rui hums. “Be gentle with it. I wouldn’t want it to break,” He chuckles a bit. Something was off about Rui though. Tsukasa barely knew Rui, but had a feeling he wasn’t acting as his usual self. 

Tsukasa didn’t pay much attention to it. “Thank you! Hahaha! I will surely be able to help my sister with this!” He smiles, quickly hugging Rui, but also carefully enough he doesn’t break the flower. 

The lavender smiles. “I’m happy that you’re happy.. Uh.. Just, don’t ever break the stem, alright?” Rui’s suspicious grin quickly vanished into a frown. He seemed not only cautious but also aware of something. 

Tsukasa blinks a few times when Rui mentioned not to break the stem. It was an odd demand. I mean, the stem is the least important part of the flower, right? At least, that’s what Tsukasa believed.

To Rui, flowers were special. The hat he wore was even made out of the tops of flowers at the highest point. It was pretty much a top hat. He had a long dark grape-gum colored trench-coat. It had the design of lily’s all over it, mainly towards the bottom on the side. The inside of the coat had a checkered maroon pattern. In the middle, using a different color, was a dark lime checkered pattern. He has a black, flowful cravat and beneath that a brownish-red vest that crossed over each other. A black and outlined with gold belt on top of that too. Then, Rui had on black pants that stopped being visible just barely a foot off the part where his thighs start. The reason it wasn’t visible for after that was because he wore long, and not exaggerated, boots. Below the strings was a pink-ish maroon. Two clicked together strands of leather right at the top that were black and gold which allowed the boots to stay on too. Slowly as the longer the boots got, the strings stopped and plain black was there. The heals of the boots were a dark lime/ugly gold. 

It was a complicated, but intriguing outfit. 

“Why must I never break the stem?” Tsukasa asks, turning his head to the side in confusion. He was curious to know the reasoning behind it.

Rui looks away. “That is… Private information. Now, you want to heal your sister, yes? You ought’ to get going then~!” He insisted that Tsukasa left. Although, the creator deity felt that cold and numb feeling inside disappear when around Tsukasa. He didn’t want the prince to leave, but he knew it was for the better. Hell, if he allowed Tsukasa to stick around, he believed it might end up like him and Mizuki. 

“Ah– Uhm..” Tsukasa begins to stumble as Rui starts to shove him out the door. “Wait–!” The boy had so many questions that just weren’t answered. 

The deity puts on a smile, successfully putting Tsukasa outside. “It was a pleasure to meet you, your highness,” he says, tilting his head just slightly. Then, just like that, Rui slammed the door shut, sighing as soon as it became dark in the room again.

Tsukasa stands there for a moment. He attempted to process what just happened, but there was too much that he just blinked a few times and shook his head. He hadn’t ever been treated with such disrespect in his life! The funny thing though, is that the disrespect wasn’t what made Tsukasa upset. No, not at all. It was the fact that Rui left him without a clue about why the stem couldn’t be broken. Something so odd, yet easy to do. 

So, then forward, Tsukasa walked home, pondering about the reasons behind it. He made a list of a few things it could be.

• Rui really hates it when his creations get destroyed

• It would kill the flower

• ???

There wasn’t a third reason. As much as he tried, he failed to discover one. What other reasons could there even be? He thought. For some reason, it took over his mind. So, before giving the antidote to Saki, he carefully took the petals off the stem and kept the stem in a vase full of water next to his bedroom window. Tsukasa wanted to be sure that the stem wouldn’t get damaged. 

He wanted to figure this out, but he would need patience, wouldn’t he?

~A bit later

“So.. If I drink this, I won’t have to suffer anymore..?” Saki mutters, looking over at Tsukasa. She was sat in a hospital bed. The kingdom had a clinic made specifically for the royals. 

Tsukasa nods. “You’ll be able to live in the world like a normal person!” He says. As much as he hated it when Saki considered her illness to be her suffering, he knew it was true. What person wants to feel sick every day of their life? Certainly not him.

A few minutes pass by before Saki finally agrees to drink the antidote. She slowly sips at the tip of the cup. This was it! Finally she would be free from this curse! 

.

.

.

She drinks it all, sits up and coughs. “How long does it take to work..?” She asks.

Tsukasa wasn’t exactly sure. He was told by the doctor a few different things, so it all jumbled around in his head. “About a day or so,” A nurse speaks up. Tsukasa remembered being told around a day or more, so he went with it.

“Okay!” Saki smiles, looking at Tsukasa. She looked happy despite the obvious pain she was in. 

The prince was saddened when he found out the supposed cure didn’t work immediately. He wished it did. Tsukasa wanted his sister to be healthy and happy. Not miserable and sick.

It didn’t take long for him to make his way back to his room. Still, he could only think about what Rui said. “Don’t ever break the stem.” Multiple things came to mind, but that.. That was one he couldn’t let go. 

As he walks up the steps to go to the hallway that eventually leads to his room, he bumps shoulders with someone, them instantly falling to the floor. Tsukasa gasps a bit, crouching down. The poor person  was holding a lot of papers and now they were scattered everywhere. “Ah! I’m so sorry! Here, let me help you–” Tsukasa says, instantly picking up the papers. He looks at the person.

They had short pink hair and pink eyes. She didn’t seem too upset. She wore a bag on her back. It looked like it was filled with a bunch of papers and maps. The girl had a brown head band that tied nicely with an orange-red bow at the top. She wore a cream colored shirt with, again, an orange-red bow in the front. Her sleeves at the end had a white fluff and on her hands were brown, fingerless gloves. On top of her shirt was a grayish-brown corset laid nicely below a brown belt. She also had a white skirt that had a red and brown belt. Right in the middle of the skirt was a cream colored patch with a light brown outline. She had on grayish-brown boots that were coded with orange. 

“Wah! Nono! It’s fine! Ahehe! It’s one hundred percent my fault!” She quickly picks up the rest of the papers and lends her hand out to grab the ones Tsukasa had. He hands them to her. “Thank you! Now, I need to head off onto a super duper wonderhoy adventure!” She spits out. Tsukasa struggled to understand a lot of what she said because of how quickly she said it. 

“I– uhm.. Okay!” They both stand up. The girl smiles and then looks to the side when a person calls out. 

“Emu! Come on!” It was a feminine voice. 

“Coming, Nene-chan~!” The girl who Tsukasa  assumed to be Emu hollers, beginning to skip off the stairs and down the hall without another word. 

What an odd experience.. The prince thought.

~The Next Day

Once Tsukasa had awoken the next morning, he instantly jumped out of bed, got dressed and ready for the day, and quickly ran to the clinic to see if Saki was doing any better. He was hoping that the antidote worked. 

As he entered the clinic, he noticed Saki wasn’t in the bed she usually was in. Then he noticed she wasn’t in the clinic at all. He begins to panic, breathing heavily. If his sister wasn’t in the clinic, where possibly could she be? 

Suddenly, a tap on his shoulder. He turns around to see what poked at him. To his surprise, it was his sister, Saki. The girl he knew to be sick since she was born. She was standing right in front of him, smiling, and dressed in a beautiful dress. It was a cream color and had bits of brown and cyan. Her hair was put into two pigtails. As he usually saw her, she had her hair down, so it really impressed him. “S-SAKI?!” He gasps, surprised and happy to see her. He hugs her. “THE ANTIDOTE? IT WORKED?!” He asks, shouting at this point. Tsukasa felt as if he’d be brought to tears.

Saki nods. “It did Onii-chan! It did!” She cries out. Once Tsukasa heard this information, he actually did begin to cry, being the dramatic prince he is. 

“I-IM SO HAPPY! I-” He sniffles. “I c-cant believe my baby sister finally can run free–!” He sobs, hugging her tightly.

Tsukasa was so incredibly grateful that it worked. He didn’t know what more to say other than ‘thank you’ to the deity that even allowed this to happen. Or well, not really a deity, more of so a human with an amazing power. Either way, the prince knew he just had to thank him. 

So, that same day, he returned to the tower he first met the lonesome ‘god’. He knocked on the door, smiling. He couldn’t wait to greet the man and tell him how thankful he was. But also, Tsukasa wanted to ask again about the stem thing.

Rui didn’t expect anybody to show up at his tower that day. He really didn’t because he never expects someone to show up. So, as he heard the knock on the door, he carefully walked over to it, and opened the door. There stood in front of him was the obnoxious prince from the other day. Rui wasn’t at all impressed by his appearance. “Kamishiro Rui! I need to thank you!” Tsukasa immediately says.

The loner tilts his head. “My apologies, but for what? All I did was create you a flower that allowed you to heal your sister. It isn’t much.” He mutters.

“It is much! My sister can finally roam these plains happily because of you! I couldn’t be anymore thankful than I am right now! Which is why, I am inviting you as my plus one for the upcoming ball!” A ball, how stereotypical. 

Rui shakes his head, keeping a bit of a fearsome smile. “Ah, it seems you truly are oblivious.” He sighs. “I want nothing more than to stay hidden, and alone in my tower. If I were a much more social person, I’d gladly accept such an offer! But I must suggest that you take another. I am no good as there’s no chance I’d even go.” He believed this to be quite troublesome.

Tsukasa nudges his head right and left. “Nonsense! As the loyal prince of the Shiro Lily Kingdom, you are the person I choose! You aren’t at all forced to speak with anyone but myself! So as I said before, please, would you be my plus one to the ball?” He begs, lending his hand out for Rui to take. The sun was already beginning to set. 

The lavender haired boy hesitated, looking at the boy stood in front of him. He noticed how the oranges and pinks reflected off the prince’s eyes. The moonlit color of his face. The determination left in his face. Not to mention the small hints of red plastered onto his cheeks. Rui didn’t know what more to say than yes when looking at him. He takes a deep breath before responding. “..Alright. I accept.” He smiles softly, beginning to feel the warmth he had felt the other day when he spoke to Tsukasa.

Tsukasa smiles with glee. “Perfect! Ah, but it seems you’re outfit just won’t do… If anyone finds out you came from the Kuro Lily Kingdom, you’d instantly be kicked out… Hmm..” He thinks for a second.

During this time, Rui was slightly scared to know what Tsukasa had planned on doing. From what he understood, Tsukasa planned on making him wear a completely different outfit. “Aha! Got it! Follow me, Kamishiro!” Tsukasa says, grabbing the hand of the hermit.

“H-huh?! T-Tenma-kun?! What are you doing..?!” Rui stammers, a bit frightened, as well confused. The prince only responds in a laugh, dragging Rui out of the tower and out into the field. There were fireflies and moths everywhere. Rui seemed to consider them all beautiful as he passed by groups of them.

Tsukasa ended up bringing Rui to the Shiro Lily Kingdom, making sure nobody saw Rui. “Y..You do know I can’t be here, right?!” Rui whisper-shouts. He was confused. He didn’t understand why the boy had done this. 

“Obviously I know that.. There’s a clothes shop that doesn’t close until midnight. We can hide around alleyways and stuff to get there.” Tsukasa explains, frowning a bit. “Now, follow me,” He begins walking around a corner, staying out of sight from any bystanders. Rui, as asked, followed Tsukasa.

They walked for a couple of minutes until the prince stopped and opened some door from a building. The two walk through the door, entering the shop.. Once inside, Rui see’s the large amount of clothes and outfits they had. It intrigued him. There was only one worker, and they seemed to be a teenager, tired, and wanting to go home. 

As soon as the worker see’s Tsukasa, he bows. “Welcome in, your majesty!” The kid was too tired to even care about Rui being there. 

“I appreciate the greeting! Hehe!” Tsukasa smiles, taking Rui’s hand once again. For some reason, whenever the royal took the hand of the alchemist, the alchemist couldn’t help but feel his face grow slightly warm. His cheeks blushing a light pink. It was very noticeable through his pale skin. Not only that, his heart seemed to beat a little faster each time he even got a glance of the prince.

The two men head to the back of the store. It wasn’t a big, but nor small store. It was your average clothing store. They passed dresses, skirts, jeans, leggings, really anything you could think of. Once they reached the back, Tsukasa grins, waving his hands out to show the different selections of suits. Of course, Rui would have to wear a suit.

“Just pick one and you’ll be good to go!” Tsukasa says, still smiling. Rui frowns, unsure of what to even choose. He hadn’t gone clothes shopping since he was at least fifteen years old. He had learned to create a few outfits and just wash them every now and then. It was gross, but it was his only solution if he wanted to stay in solitude.

Rui hums a bit. “Uhhmm..” He looks at all of the options. One caught his eye. It was decorated with blue roses. The suit, of course, black and the layering just absolutely colorful. He just knew that was the one he needed. “Is this one alright?” He asks, pointing to the suit.

Tsukasa looks at it and then nods, giving him a thumbs up. “Yep!” 

It didn’t take long for the duo to pay for the suit. Rui said he’d pay for it, but Tsukasa insisted. So, Rui allowed him to. The price was  $129.99 plus whatever the tax was. The Kuro Lilian didn’t appreciate Tsukasa spending that much money, but by the time he decided to offer to pay again, the blonde already finished paying. 

“Okay! Thank you!” Tsukasa says, walking out the door. The worker said something, but he didn’t pay much mind to it. Rui followed him out the door, holding the bag that contained the suit. 

They walk in silence for a few moments. It was quiet. All you could hear were their footsteps. It was dark. You could see every twinkling star in the sky. Tsukasa swore he could count every single one of them. It was beautiful. 

Rui sighs a bit, finally breaking the silence between to two. “..Why are you being so kind to me..?” he asks. 

Tsukasa turns his head at him, still walking. “What do you mean? You’re the reason my sister isn’t suffering anymore, are you not?” 

In response, Rui shrugs. “I mean, I did.. But I’m a citizen of the Kuro Lily Kingdom–”

“And you’re certain about that?” The prince seemed to question a lot of things. It was like he didn’t see Rui as someone from that kingdom. “You don’t live in that kingdom’s perimeter, nor do you live with anyone but yourself. You aren’t exactly a citizen of any kingdom. So, let me ask again. Are you certain that you’re a citizen of the Kuro Lily Kingdom?” 

The question pained Rui. He knew that Tsukasa was right. Although he was born in the Kuro Lily Kingdom, he doesn’t technically clarify as a citizen of that Kingdom. If he did, he’d live inside that Kingdom’s walls… But he doesn’t.. So why does he dare to call himself apart of it? 

Because he refuses to believe that his original kingdom is evil.

He knows it is. He knows how sorrowful it is to live there. Hell, he experienced it.. Yet, Rui still doesn’t want to accept that. He chooses not to think about it. “To.. To me, I consider myself a citizen of it. To others, I may not be… But forever I will be said to be a part of that kingdom.” He confesses, stopping in his tracks and looking down at the prince. 

Tsukasa gulps, aware that Rui probably won’t ever consider himself to be anything else. “I see.. Well, uhm.. I suppose I can’t change your opinion on that and I certainly do not plan on trying.” He chuckles a bit, taking this as the chance to ask the question that has taken over his mind completely. “Why can’t I break the stem?” 

Rui doesn’t move. He was stunned. Holding his breath, he begins to speak. “Like I mentioned before, that’s something you don’t need to worry about. Especially if you don’t plan on talking to me after the ball.” Rui claims, beginning to walk ahead.

The blonde catches the other’s hand. “And what if I do plan on talking to you after the ball?” The question seemed surreal to Rui. Not ever did somebody willingly want to speak with him.

“And.. How do I know you aren’t lying..?” Rui mutters, trying to trick to royal. 

Tsukasa isn’t quite sure how to answer that. He didn’t have anything to prove that he wasn’t lying. “I.. Uhm..” he goes dumb for a minute. “I’m not exactly sure..” The prince sighs. 

“..Interesting.” Rui smirks. “I suppose I can trust you to not break such a promise.” He didn’t trust people very often, so him handing down this trust to Tsukasa was a big deal. 

Tsukasa smiles, pulling Rui into a hug. “I won’t let you down, Rui!” Tsukasa cries out. Rui, unexpecting the hug, gasps a bit. Slowly, he becomes comfortable. The warm feeling in his chest felt hotter. His heart beat fastened. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. 

A minute passes by and Tsukasa gets away from Rui, ending the hug. “Alright! I have to head back to the palace soon, so we ought’ to get you home,” He says.

Rui nods. “Yeah.. Plus, it is pretty late and I wouldn’t appreciate getting bit by a Culicidae.” He says. Tsukasa pauses.

“I’m sorry, a what?” 

The alchemist was some what confused. “A Culicidae. Isn’t that what the blood-sucking insects that come out at night are called?” He was questioning whether he had been saying it wrong or not.

Tsukasa’s mouth drops. “DO YOU MEAN A MOSQUITO?” he shrieks.

Rui tilts his head. “Huh? No I mean– Oh…” Then it hits him. “That’s right.. Most people call them mosquito’s don’t they? Ah, my apologies, Tsukasa-kun.” 

They both finally used a first name…

It’s odd how quick that shapened.

“What the hell is a Culicidae anyway!?” Tsukasa asks, sounding a bit frightened. He didn’t like bugs or insects. They freaked him out.

Rui goes onto explain that a Mosquito and a Culicidae are the same thing. One is just the scientific name while the other is what most people know it as. Tsukasa never knew they had a different name, so this was new to him. He didn’t like that Rui ended up using spiders as an example, but it was whatever worked.

Soon enough, the duo returned to their homes, happy. The ball was set for tomorrow night. Absolutely nothing could go wrong.. And if it did, they surely would have a plan.. right?

—

Tsukasa woke up the next morning, excited while also exhausted. The night he had before felt like a fever dream. The fact his sister was alive and healthy was still crazy to him. Yes, he was happy. It was just odd to him that the bedroom next to his was actually being used. 

He also didn’t expect for a guard to be at his door when he opened it. He was quickly greeted before grabbed by the hand and dragged to his father’s throne. It was rare for his father to need him or even speak with him. Not to mention, the king had no care for Saki, even if she was his daughter. 

“Hey! I-I’m the prince you know! You can’t just–!” Tsukasa kept stammering as he was being dragged by the arm. The knight had a slight grip on it, making sure he weren’t to be freed. 

The knight sighs. “I’m doing this by your fathers asking.” He mutters. 

Tsukasa rolls his eyes, not believing that at all. Even if it were true, he didn’t appreciate being dragged by the wrist. “Well, still!” He snaps, frowning. It wasn’t long before he was brought to the main room, greeted by his mother and father. 

He stands there, confused. Tsukasa tilts his head in hopes that they’d notice and give a response. They did notice, just as he wanted. “Why were you home so late last night?” His mother asks, having a bit of worry settled in her voice. It was an understandable conversation. 

“Oh! I was thanking the man who gave me an ingredient for the antidote for Saki!” He happily announces. The prince places both hands on his hips. “Why?”

His father shakes his head. “And who is this man you speak of?” He mutters. His tone was a bit harsh.

“Kamishiro Rui. He’s the person who lives in that tower right outside the kingdom’s walls. The one who can create things with just the flick of a finger.” Tsukasa explains. He was a little bit concerned as to why his father asked. It’s  normal for anyone to have a conversation with another. 

The same guard who dragged Tsukasa down from his room perks up, looking a bit surprised. “Isn’t.. Isn’t he from the Kuro Lily Kingdom?” He murmurs, having a sharp while also frightened tone to his voice. 

Tsukasa nods. “Well.. Yes, but he isn’t any danger to us! He saved Saki! He would never hurt anyone! Even if I’ve only known him for a short amount of time, he seems trustworthy! Plus, he isn’t really a citizen of that horrid kingdom anymore! He lives closer to our kingdom than the Kuro Lily one!” He spits out, panicking a bit as  he didn’t want to put any danger to Rui. It was strange. Tsukasa, as mentioned, just met Rui two days ago.. So why was he so scared of him getting attacked or even just slightly confronted? 

“Who cares if he saved Saki?! If it weren’t for you, she would’ve gladly died! Nobody even knows there is a princess!” His father shouts. 

…

…

He didn’t care about whether Saki died or not.

“I care!” Tsukasa snaps. “She is my sister! Just because the public doesn’t know of her existence doesn’t mean I care about her any less! I love Saki! She’s the greatest sister anybody could ask for! You are in no place to tell me that nobody would care if she wasn’t saved.” 

The king scoffs, chuckling a bit. “Right… You’re just as ridiculous as I thought.” he says.

“Seriously?! I’m ridiculous because I care about my sister?!” Tsukasa never liked his father. If anything, he hoped each day his father would get closer to death. It was an odd want, but he didn’t care. If his father couldn’t care about them, why should he care whether his father died or not?

His mother sighs. “Would you two quit?” she says, “Tsukasa, I know you care for your sister, but you have to be a bit more considerate about what another could be offering you..” At this point, he was tired of hearing anything come from their mouths. They just don’t get it. He thought. 

Without another word, Tsukasa walks away and out the door. It’s not like his parents could do anything. They cared more about their kingdom than him. Or well, that was his mindset. 

Entering the warm atmosphere of the outdoors, Tsukasa frowns. His thoughts surrounded two topics. Saki, and Rui. Two people he genuinely cared about. Except one he’s known his whole life while the other he just met two days ago. He grew attached to Rui. A man he just got onto a first name basis with. 

Tsukasa hadn’t ever trusted someone so quickly. He believed that maybe the sorcerer put some spell on him.. But that couldn’t be as Rui wasn’t associated with sorcery. 

All of this reminded Tsukasa of his friend, or used to be friend, Aoyagi Toya. An individual who used to be apart of the Shiro Lily Kingdom before getting exposed for being a spy for the Kuro Lily Kingdom. It surprised him. Toya genuinely seemed like a nice person. Tsukasa couldn’t believe it…

He still couldn’t.

Toya, the person he was able to consider a sibling. Toya, the person he could talk to when he had a problem. Toya, the person he believed to be trustworthy. It wasn’t true. That’s what he told himself. Repeatedly, he would whisper to himself saying “It’s not true!” or “He can’t be..”

It wasn’t ever convincing enough. 

It wasn’t because he knew there had been something off about Toya. He knew something was up. Not because of who he was, just because he felt Toya was too nice. It surprised many people. Including one of the knights that Toya had connected with. A trustworthy person turned out to be a spy. 

Tsukasa looks around. He had noticed something odd about his surroundings. He wasn’t at the palace anymore. He was in the woods, walking towards the lonesome tower that the deity lived in. Was I walking this entire time? He thought, unaware that he had even moved some place. He must of been so deep in thought he didn’t realize.

He was already at Rui’s tower, so he figured it would be fine to stop by and say hello. He figured it’d clear his head a bit. So, Tsukasa walked up to the door and knocked. Immediately getting an answer as the door opened. He never realized that the door on the tower had white, drawn, lily’s on it. “Oh! Tsukasa, you’re here.” Rui mutters, smiling a bit. He looked like he had just ran a marathon or something. That confused Tsukasa since Rui didn’t go anywhere.

“Yeah.. Uh, hi. I mistakenly walked here I guess. Sorry if it’s any trouble.” Tsukasa responds.

Rui shakes his head. “Nono, it’s quite alright! I was just rearranging some stuff. That’s all. You came by just as I finished.” he explains.

He nods. “Oh okay.” Tsukasa didn’t sound very intrigued. He sounded more disappointed than anything. Rui definitely noticed this. For as long as he knew Tsukasa, he quickly took note of his loud and exotic personality.  

After a second of silence, Rui asks the pondering question. “Is everything okay?” He mutters, turning his head to the right. He wanted to know if Tsukasa was alright or not. He’d rather not have him stay upset. 

Tsukasa shrugs. “Yes? No? I’m not even sure myself.” He says.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Rui questions. The prince nods. Rui saw that and stepped aside so Tsukasa could walk into the lonesome tower. As overgrown the outside was, Tsukasa didn’t expect the inside to be clean and organized. Rui didn’t seem like someone who would even have a room that clean. 

Rui sits down on a nearby sofa, the blonde following along and sitting next to him. “What’s wrong?” He asks.

Tsukasa sighs, crossing his arms. “My parents were curious to know why I returned home so late last night, so of course I brought you up. A knight apparently knows of your existence and exposed where you originated from. I had to explain that you weren’t a threat because you saved Saki, yet they refused to believe me as they don’t even acknowledge Saki’s life. They didn’t care whether she were going to die or not.” He explains. 

Rui, hearing that he was brought up in the conversation, places a hand on Tsukasa’s shoulder. “Even if they don’t think i’m a nice person, it doesn’t mean you have to care. If they don’t care about your sister, then they shouldn’t care whether you’re talking to somebody from the Kuro Lily Kingdom.” He says. “And I know i’m in no place to judge your parents based on this little piece of  information, but it’s obvious they don’t know a thing about friendships.” 

Tsukasa laughs a bit at the last sentence. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. I just don’t know why it even matters? You don’t seem like a bad person.” he says, smiling.

Rui looks away, knowing that wasn’t true. To him, he was a bad person. He considered himself a terrible person. “Really?” He smiles. Rui could feel the same warmth he had before hand. It isn’t fun living alone all the time. So he appreciated Tsukasa’s company. When he was alone, he felt cold and empty. He felt like he would never be cared about when nobody was around. He just assumed that it was normal to feel that way. 

It wasn’t.

At some point, he thought the feeling went numb. It never did. He just liked to trick himself into believing that it did. He hated the cold feeling. He hated feeling alone. Which was why he loved it when Tsukasa visited. They had known each other for just a few days now, yet he became Rui’s favorite person. Tsukasa was Rui’s only friend. 

“Yeah! I mean, if you weren’t a good person, why would you give me the flower for the antidote? It wouldn’t make sense.” Tsukasa smiles. “You also said you don’t use your ability for selfish reasons. A bad person would probably only use it for selfishness.” 

Rui shrugs, not really believing what was being said. Yes, he was the reason Tsukasa’s sister didn’t die, but does that really make him a good person? Not really. Rui, the man who lives out in a tower, miles away from any human contact just to hide from his past. It of course worked. He hid easily from it. Most had forgotten about it. 

He didn’t do anything horribly wrong. He just assumed it was bad. 

“Well, thank you. I don’t think I can accept the title of ‘a good person’ yet, but maybe someday I will.” Rui tells Tsukasa, keeping his head low. 

Tsukasa appreciated this answer. He knew Rui wouldn’t accept the title, but knowing he would at least try to accept it made him happy. The same happy feeling he felt the night before returned. He cared about Rui a lot, and he wasn’t sure why. 

Maybe because he’s found a good friend?

He brushed that thought off. They’re barely even friends. They just met a day or two ago. Yes, they use first names now, but does that mean they’re good friends? Absolutely not.

Rui barely trusted Tsukasa. He didn’t trust anyone. “Tsukasa,” he begins to mutter, avoiding eye contact. He hated making any sort of eye contact. It felt like he was getting lectured when he made eye contact. 

“Hm?” Tsukasa tilts his head, looking over at Rui. 

With a deep breath, Rui responds. “You’re curious to know why you can’t break the stem, aren’t you?”

Tsukasa freezes, quickly remembering that. He didn’t even think about it at all today. It completely slipped his mind. “I mean, yeah…? I haven’t thought about it much today, so..” He shrugs.

“So.. That isn’t the reason you’re talking to me?” Rui, like mentioned, didn’t trust Tsukasa. So, being the unreasonable person he is, wanted to figure out if he was just being used or not.

The prince shakes his head. “Of course not! Why would I only talk to you because of some flower stem?” He chuckles. “That would be such a silly reason.” 

Rui laughs along. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

Sighing, Tsukasa says, “Speaking of that actually, why can't I break the stem? Is it like illegal to do or something,” he jokes, somehow curious to know.

“No, but.. I can’t tell you yet. Just.. Whatever you do, make sure that stem never breaks.” Rui snaps a bit, wanting to make sure his words were clear. If they weren’t, he knew things would end badly.

The blonde nods. “Alright.. Is there ever going to be a time where you do tell me?” He asks. 

Rui crosses his arms, standing up. “Hmm.. Maybe. Depends if you turn out to be a good friend or not.” He admits, lending one hand out for Tsukasa. He takes the others hand and stands up. “Now, I’m sure you need to head back home. The thing you invited to.. It’s tonight, right?” 

Tsukasa nods. “Mhm! It starts at eight and ends around midnight! I can’t wait for you to be there! I’m sure Saki would love to meet you. I mean, after all, you are the reason she’s alive! If it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t even be able to attend the event!”

“Ah, I see. Well, I can’t wait to meet her too. I’m sure she’s a good sister to you if you were willing to spend that much to save her.” Rui says. 

“She is! She’s younger than me by a year, but she still is a wonderful sister to have!” He exclaims, once again placing his hands on his hips. He did that a lot for some reason. 

In awe, Rui chuckles. “You seem to care about her a lot, huh? What a good big brother,” He mentions, smiling.

Tsukasa sighs, “I mean I guess I am. I never really paid attention to whether I was a good one or not. I just cared about whether she was happy or not.” He mutters. 

“If you care about her happiness, then surely that makes you a good brother to her. Now, as I said before, you should probably head back home.” Rui says.

“I guess. I don’t want to go back if i’m being honest. I can only hope I am allowed to peacefully return to my room.” He complains. “If not, I’ll probably never hear the end of my father’s bickering.” 

The taller frowns. “It’s more likely for you to go to your room. I mean, don’t parents usually use the excuse to send you to your room?” 

“Kind of? My parents rarely punish me as they’re too busy dealing with the kingdom’s problems. They probably already forgot about the argument. It is a bit odd to me how they cared that I was out late last night. I’m usually out much later than that.” he says.

“Maybe they weren’t as busy and realized you were gone? I don’t know, sorry.” Rui makes an attempt to figure it out, but he just couldn’t. He didn’t know a lot about Tsukasa’s family, so it was hard to make an assumption about them. 

He didn’t know a lot about Tsukasa either. He knew Tsukasa’s appearance, age, and role in the kingdom. That was it. An eighteen year old prince with both sunset hair and eyes. That was all he knew. “It’s whatever. Thanks for trying though. I’ll be leaving now!” Tsukasa announces, smiling. He gives Rui a quick hug before leaving. 

Rui just stood there, trying to process all of this. He.. hugged me..? He said to himself. When he was hugged, his face went red. Really red. He’s been hugged only a few times before, so he just assumed that was normal.

He sighs, walking away from the door. His heart felt like it was hyperventilating. He didn’t understand why. “What is this emotion..?” Rui begins heading up the stairs and toward his room. He hoped whatever this was went away soon. 

…

…

…

After a while, the feeling went away. He still didn’t know what it meant. He couldn’t even try to describe it. It was only noon, so he didn’t have a lot to do, as usual.

Whenever he was bored or had nothing to do, he read… But as of recent, he’s run out of books to read. Sometimes he’d clean. But, as always, the tower was as clean as it could be. Earlier he attempted to rearrange the furniture. He had finished too soon. 

Rui had absolutely nothing to do. Sighing, he rests his head down on his pillow, gently closing his eyes. He didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing. Who would? There were times where he told himself he’d find more to do outside of the tower, but he always ended up declining. Even after he met Tsukasa, he still disagreed. There was nothing he could decide on. 

There’s no reason to leave. If I do, I may never return. 

That was what he always told himself. He knew it were true as Mizuki, his old friend who had left, separated from him after they discovered the outdoors. They were intrigued at what they could discover. Meanwhile, Rui despised them for even wanting to leave the tower. It reminded him much of a story he read. 

And in his perspective, he was the villain. It wasn’t often that he’d be given the chance to compare himself to characters. The reason being that he found no interest in it. But as soon as Mizuki left, he discovered that he could relate a little too much to the character from that book. Rui didn’t remember the book title or the name of the character, but he knew how they acted and the story of it. 

The protagonist, a girl who was kidnapped when she was a baby for her hair. The hair was an odd thing to be kidnapped for, right? Well, kind of. Her hair was special as it had the ability to heal anyone or turn them younger. Now, why did her hair do this? In the book, it’s said that before she was born, her mother was given a deadly sickness. Because of this, the kingdom that the mother ruled in, had searched for days on end for a flower that would heal anybody. But, that flower was kept by a lady who stayed forever young. Of course, when the flower was taken by the kingdom, she fled to kidnap the child who was birthed from the flower. 

There the child grew locked away in the tower with that lady, never knowing her true self. She became bored of that tower and when an outsider discovered said tower, she left and wanted to stay there forever. Of course, the lady, the antagonist, grew upset as she lost the one thing that could keep her from dying of old age. 

Rui quickly could compare himself with the antagonist as he did technically lock Mizuki up in a tower for a few years to cure his loneliness. After all, they were his creation. 

He always went back to the scene in his head. Mizuki telling him they wanted to leave forever. The way he argued with them about how they shouldn’t leave, yet ended up losing anyway. He hated himself for even creating the poor human. As much as he despised his loneliness, it ruined him for even using his ‘dumb’ ability. 

He always wondered where Mizuki may have ended up. If they were even alive still. I mean, he was certain they were alive as no major injury had conquered him yet.

Right. It wasn’t at all mentioned yet, was it? 

Most things he created were a threat to his own life. Rui’s ability came with consequences. An example would be humans and flowers. If a flower he created himself died, he’d die himself. If a human he made died, he’d be injured.

Now, why did the flowers have a greater significance than a person? He wasn’t sure himself. The only reason he knew though was because of a book he read once about his granted ability. 

Suddenly, a loud knock at the door from the floor below startled him. He sat up, quickly getting on his feet and running down the stairs. Rui couldn’t think of anyone who could be visiting him. He didn’t think it was Tsukasa as he just stopped by not too long ago. 

Hesitantly, he opens the door, being greeted by a knight of the Shiro Lily Kingdom. Tilting his head, he gives them a friendly hello, followed by a question of what they needed. “Uhm, hello, may I ask what you’re doing here?” He tried his best not to sound like a threat. 

The knight frowns. “You’re Kamishiro Rui, correct?” 

Freezing, Rui nods. “Yes..? How do you know my name?” He questions, now giving the knight a stern voice. 

“That isn’t anything you need to know, now is it? I have something for you to do. Ordered by the King of the Shiro Lily Kingdom. From what we’ve been told, you can create anything you want.” The knight says, crossing his arms. “And if you decline, there will be consequences.”

Rui gulps, feeling a frightened emotion throughout his chest. He had a feeling that the King had ill intentions for whatever the order was. Sighing, he responds, “And what would those consequences be..?”

The knight smiles, “Remember that flower you gave the prince? How if he broke the stem not only would the stem snap in half, but–” Rui cuts him off.

“Okay okay. I understand. What is it you need me to do?” He asks, a bit scared now. 

.

.

.

Tsukasa yawns, entering his room. He was tired. More tired than usual. Geez, what could’ve made me so exhausted? It’s only a bit after noon! He thought, setting his shoes aside and then hopping into bed. 

He stares over at his window where the vase was. The vase that contained the stem. Tsukasa still wondered what could happen if the stem ever broke. He was warned specifically by Rui not to break it. 

Sighing, he shuts his eyes, quickly falling asleep. A little nap wouldn’t hurt, right?

— 3:45PM 

Tsukasa sits up, rubbing his eyes. He frowns as he was drenched in sweat. Just by that, he had a feeling he needed that nap. Shaking his head, he grabs the cup of water he usually had on his nightstand. 

…

There wasn’t anything there. He groans, a bit upset by this. Getting out of bed, he stretches his arms out. He slowly stumbles over to his door, feeling the heaviness on his eyes. Usually, you wouldn’t be tired after a nap right? At least, that’s what Tsukasa believed.

Opening the door and entering the hallway, he is enlightened by his sister, Saki. She seemed to be heading the same direction as him. Tsukasa smiles. “Saki!” he says, his voice sounding a bit drained.

The girl smiles, waving slightly at him. “Hi!” She responds, walking towards him. Tsukasa gives her a quick hug. She gladly accepts it. 

“What are you up to?” Tsukasa asks, pulling out of the hug and then beginning to walk. His sister follows.

She shrugs. “Nothing much! Just going to get some water! What about you?” She says.

“Same for me. Usually I have water in my room, but today I didn’t.” He claims, yawning once again.

They both continue walking, eventually heading downstairs and then going towards the kitchen. There were many rooms they had to pass when heading to the kitchen. A few being the dining room, the main room, and a couple halls. It was strange how they both needed water at the same time. Tsukasa just assumed that it was a coincidence. At least, he did for a while.

Entering the kitchen, the two were greeted by a chef who was already starting on the food for the ball tonight. Now thinking about it, Tsukasa had the ball completely slip his mind! He was excited now. “Good afternoon, you two!” The chef says. Her name was Shiraishi An. She was especially good at making coffee and really any type of cafe food. 

“Good afternoon to you too, Shiraishi!” Saki says, smiling. “We just need some water, that’s all!” 

An nods, moving out of the way for them. “Of course! That’s reasonable! Would you like for me to get it or–”

“We can get it. Thanks for the offer though,” Tsukasa mutters, keeping a happy tone to it. He liked Shiraishi specifically because of how kind she was. 

“Alright! Well, if you need anything, let me know~!” She adds, going back to what she was doing before. She had been baking something. The siblings weren’t sure what it was, but to them, it smelled like chocolate, which was a flavor they both enjoyed.

–

Soon after they got the water, they parted ways. Tsukasa staying in the main room, planning to head out into town, and Saki going back to her room. Tsukasa felt refreshed after drinking the water. He wasn’t as dehydrated anymore. 

After finishing the water, he went back to the kitchen, set it gently in the sink, and then went outside. He thought about visiting a friend, but he remembered he’d probably just see them at the ball. Really, he had nothing to do.

Walking down the path that led to the town, he spotted a familiar face.

…

No. He spotted two familiar faces. One being a knight, and the other being Rui.

Confused, he looks at Rui, stopping in his tracks. “..Rui? What are you–” He was cut off as Rui completely ignored him, looking like he wanted to respond, but just couldn’t. 

Tsukasa stands there for a moment, looking back at the two walking on ahead. Rui seemed nervous, maybe even scared. Tsukasa wasn’t sure what was going on, but he definitely wanted to figure it out. So, being the ‘courageous’ prince he is, he followed them, staying out of sight. He was curious to know what possibly could be happening. It was rare for a knight and someone from another kingdom to be associated with each other. 

If anything, Tsukasa had a feeling something bad was going to happen. He didn’t appreciate knowing that a knight from the kingdom he’s in was taking Rui, someone from a completely different kingdom, to the palace. It didn’t make sense. Something was going on and Tsukasa wanted to know immediately. 

Continuing to follow them, he grows suspicious as neither of them communicate. Rui just seems to follow the knight without any curiosity. For the few days he had known Rui, Tsukasa knew something wasn’t right. 

They both enter the palace, Tsukasa quickly going inside alongside them. He made his best attempt to not be seen, but failed miserably as his father saw him, sighing. Of course, that wasn’t anything good. As it had been said before, Tsukasa and his parents rarely communicated unless it was related to the kingdom. 

“What happened to cautiously entering the kingdom?” The king says, motioning over at the knight who had brought Rui in. Still, Rui attempted to ignore Tsukasa, looking as guilty as ever. 

The prince grits his teeth. “What are you doing with Rui?” He asks, skinning his breath. He could feel his own heart race. He didn’t know what to say or do, or even how to react. Something in his chest ached. It was an odd feeling. 

“And that’s any of your business because..?” The king begins to say, looking a bit exhausted by the conversation. Tsukasa knew his father was hiding something, and he was going to find out what it was. 

The knight from before looks up and over at the King. “Sir, do you want me to bring him to the room?” He mutters. The knight made an attempt to be as vague as possible. 

Nodding, the King responds. “Yes, go right ahead.” So with that, both Rui and the Knight disappeared down the hall and to some room Tsukasa probably didn’t know existed. “Now, Tsukasa, I am only going to say this once. If you do not follow, there are certain to be consequences.” Tsukasa gulps, biting his lip, unsure of what to say. He nods. That was the best response he could give. Any other word out of his mouth and his soon to be King title was sure to be wiped away in an instant. “You are to return to your room with no questions about this situation. It is something you do not need to worry about.” His father exclaims, sounding harsh.

Blinking, Tsukasa frowns. “Absolutely not! Rui is my friend and I promised him I would do anything I could to be a good friend to him! If he gets injured by whatever this is, I can promise you that I won’t return to this palace nor kingdom. I will run as far as I can, more than likely to take Rui with me.” he snaps. His voice turned into a shout. 

“Tch, pathetic.. You’re going to be the future king and you can’t even handle someone you just met getting harmed?” The king laughs. “Maybe I should just let Saki take the throne. As sick as she gets, she’d pull off being a leader more than you.” 

Tsukasa shakes his head.”No! You’re wrong!” He wasn’t sure what he was meant to say. Afterall, he was just a pathetic prince with a dream to be king. The blonde refused to hold back. He needed to know what was going on and why he wasn’t allowed to know.

“Wrong? You instantly defending yourself just shows exactly what I said.” He mutters, crossing him arms. “Just a pathetic prince who thinks he can live his life however he wants.” His father seemed to taunt him as they continued to argue. 

Tsukasa holds back what he wanted to say. If he said anything else, he was certain to be punished. His parent’s punishments weren’t fun either. He could remember the first and last time he faced the consequences of his parents. It scarred him. 

Truly, he believed it to be a normal thing for parents to do. It wasn’t, but dare did he assume it was anything bad. His parents treated their punishments as if it were a normal way of disciplining a child. 

“Maybe I believe that I can live my life how I want, but from what I know, I am not pathetic. If I was, I wouldn’t have had the ability to save Saki from her illness. Unlike you who just sat there caring more about your royal duties than your own daughter.” Tsukasa says. He lowered his voice from before, adding a harsh tone to it.

This led to a few seconds of silence. An unpleasant silence at that. He could hear almost any small sound you typically couldn’t hear. He could hear the drop of a crumb if he focused on the quietness enough. But he didn’t. He focused more on his father’s expression than the little noises.

“Well..” His father seems to stumble with his words. Taking a deep breath, he says, “I understand that you care deeply for your.. ‘ Friend’ , but that doesn’t mean you need to know every little thing he’s doing. You’re more focused on his present life than his past. If you knew much more about his past, I’m sure him being a friend would change in an instant.” 

Once again, Tsukasa didn’t take this very lightly. He knew Rui wasn’t a bad person. Even if he knew so little about him, he just knew deep down that Rui was a good person. Without any proof of it, he still believed it to be true. 

Something nagged at him. Telling him to believe his father. But he couldn’t stand to even trust one thing that man told him. As much as he loved his family, he couldn’t believe anything his father said. “I don’t care if he has a bad past. I care about whether he’s changed. If he has, and for the better, I’d gladly be his friend. I know he has changed. I don’t know anything about him from before, but I do know that he’s a good person now. Maybe in his past he made mistakes, but I’m certain he’s trying to avoid making those same mistakes again.” Tsukasa says. “Just tell me what you need from him and I’ll be out of your way. I don’t want him or anybody else to get hurt.” 

A sigh exited the king’s mouth as he sets his arms to the side. “It’s something private that you don’t need to know about. You’ll know sooner or later, but for now, keep out of it. If you still want to go to the event tonight, I suggest you listen.” He adds. 

The prince knew he wasn’t getting anything out of this conversation. So, he came to the conclusion that it was best to wait. “Whatever you’re doing with him, would that associate with him coming to the ball tonight?” He questions.

The king grows shocked by those words. “You invited him to that..?” His voice trembled a bit.

“Yeah? He played a major role in saving Saki, so I figured it would be my ‘thank you’ gift to him.” Tsukasa explains. 

A groan is heard from the older. “Out of all people… Him? Someone from a completely different kingdom?” He didn’t sound too happy about this.

“Why does it matter if he’s from a different kingdom or not? He doesn’t even live inside the walls of the Kuro Lily Kingdom anyway! He wouldn’t be considered a citizen!” Tsukasa crosses his arms, frowning ever so slightly. “Not to mention, nobody will know he’s from that kingdom!”

‘Great, another argument’, Tsukasa thought. He didn’t appreciate arguing with his father. Whenever he did, something inside him made him feel like the worst person in the world. 

“It matters because you can’t have someone who is allied with the kingdom we’re against! For all we know he could be a spy,” The king snaps.

“Why would he be a spy?! He hates associating with people! You are aware that he lives in a tower alone with no contact whatsoever to people outside, right?!” Tsukasa defends, beginning to walk away as he was getting sick of the arguing. 

His father scoffs, “Nobody expected Toya to be a spy, and yet look what happened.” He says, causing Tsukasa to stop in place, turning to look back at his father. The man who ruled over an entire kingdom. Someone who was considered ‘mature’. That same person just brought back something he never wanted to remember. 

The memory of how Toya personally told Tsukasa who he was and why he did it.

– 

“Tsukasa-senpai, I need to tell you something important.” The split-dyed haired boy mutters, looking down at the prince who he ever so dearly considered a brother. 

Tsukasa, that same person, tilts his head, smiling while also curious to know what Toya possibly wanted to tell him. “Hm? What is it?” He stops walking, keeping the smile he had. 

Toya, now being the one to frown, takes a deep breath. He holds his breath for a second before exposing something he knew he shouldn’t. “You’re aware of how the Kuro Lily Kingdom has been sending out spies and things like that for different kingdoms..?” he starts off, trying to be as vague as possible.

“Yeah..? Why?” Tsukasa crosses his arms, now feeling like he was going to regret what Toya was going to tell him. 

And he did. 

Right then and there, Toya told Tsukasa how he was one of them. How he was sent to this kingdom to collect as much information as possible for the king there. “I’m so sorry..” He added just as he lowered his head. 

“Toya..” Tsukasa felt his heart drop into his stomach like a falling anvil. He felt sick. Knowing the person he considered a sibling was actually just using him for information was hurtful. He genuinely wondered if anything Toya said was truthful. “Does that mean you–” He holds his breath.

“Tsukasa-senpai, I don’t want to be a spy for them. I thought I did, but I met you and Akito, and Saki, and just so many other people that I just started to wonder if it really was worth it. If me collecting pointless data on the royals was even worth the price of losing more than one friend.” He begins to explain, “If returning to that terrible place is genuinely a good idea too. I.. I don’t want to be a spy and I refuse to even go back and tell them the truth.” 

Tsukasa, now teary-eyed as he wasn’t sure what to believe, hugs the other immediately. “Please say that you being a spy isn’t true! Even if it’s false, I just want to try and believe it’s not real! Please!” he begs, sobbing and crying.

The spy didn’t know what to do, so he slowly hugged Tsukasa back. Feeling his shoulder grow drenched in Tsukasa’s tears. “I.. I wish I could.” He mumbles, feeling himself grow closer to crying too.

“Why.. Why would you keep this from me?” Tsukasa asks, biting his lips. “Why didn’t you tell me before? Maybe.. Maybe I could’ve done something I–”

“There’s nothing you could have possibly done, Tsukasa-senpai.” He mutters.

 The prince continues to sob, beating his fist against the taller’s chest. “Why?! Why?! Why?!” He desperately tries to stop repeating himself but even that was too difficult for him. He chokes a bit.

“I.. I wish I could’ve done more.. I have to return today. That’s why I told you now..” Toya admits, letting out of the hug, keeping his voice low. 

Why would you build a good relationship with people and then crash it down the day you have to go..? That’s what Tsukasa thought.

He coughs, “Please… At some point.. Come back, okay..?” Tsukasa mutters, looking up at Toya, looking for some sort of promise from him.

Toya nods, trying to smile. “I’ll try. I will.” He says. “I promise you I will try.” 

– 

The memory flashed into his mind every now and then. He hated thinking about it. He couldn’t stand the betrayal of Toya. He promised he would return, but even then there were still times where Tsukasa believed the boy had lied. He wondered if Toya was even still alive.

“Don’t compare Rui to him.” Tsukasa snaps. He didn’t appreciate his father bringing that up. Not ever did he want to be reminded of that. “Rui isn’t like Toya. Not ever will he.” 

His father rolls his eyes, scoffing. “You met him so little ago and yet here you are defending him with your life.” The king mutters.

“And?! There isn’t anything wrong with that! I know Rui will be different!” The prince quickly runs back to where his father was, staring at him as he refused to listen to anything more. “I’m sick of you accusing him of things that aren’t true! I know him better than you!” He didn’t really care about whether he got hurt in the end, only if Rui was safe. Tsukasa wasn’t sure why he cared so much about Rui. But he knew it was better to keep Rui around than to toss him away. He swore that he wouldn’t betray his promise.

Then, in an instant, Tsukasa fled down the same hall the guard had taken Rui in hopes of finding them, ignoring his father’s pleas. He didn’t care about what his father had to say. He just wanted to know what was happening. 

~

Rui, patiently, stands there, looking down at all of the people set aside in the cells. He gulps, frowning. He was requested to do something he didn’t at all agree with. To create a weapon strong enough to kill in one hit. Of course, he knew it was likely impossible as not even himself could create such a thing. He just knew that if the kingdom found out he couldn’t create it, he’d be killed. 

The reason that he was with the same guard down with the prisoners the Shiro Lily Kingdom kept after the citizen had done a crime, was because if he did manage to create the weapon, the guard would test it out on one of the prisoners. It disgusted Rui how easily they could kill somebody.  It was like the fact the person had a life didn’t matter to them.

He sighs, frowning and keeping his head low. He glances around, noticing the rusted texture of the stone on the walls. He also noticed the vines that hung just below the ceiling. It made no sense to him. The rest of the kingdom was clean, but this part wasn’t? He just assumed they did it as ‘punishment’ for the prisoners. Yet, that seems a bit crucial. 

“RUI!” 

The loner freezes as he heard his name shouted from afar. The voice was oddly familiar to him, yet he couldn’t be sure if his guess was correct or not. Then, his assumption was proven true once the individual came running at him. It was Tsukasa. 

“Tsukasa..?” He gasps just beneath his breath. The blonde rushes over to him, pulling him into a hug. The knight from before made an attempt to stop him, but failed as he was kicked to the ground by the shorter. 

“I’m glad you’re okay! You have a lot of explaining to do, y’know?!” Tsukasa frowns, getting out of the hug and looking up at Rui. 

With a chuckle, Rui responds. “Okay, okay. I suggest we go to a safer environment then. I’m certain that the king would’ve called other knights ahead of time.” He says.

Nodding, Tsukasa takes Rui’s hand and drags him up stairs. This then led them to a hallway that later went to the main room where they would have to either run quickly or be incredibly quiet.

Once they reached the end of the hall, Tsukasa held onto Rui’s hand tight. For some reason, Rui felt safer. He felt happier. He could feel his own face heat up when the other grabbed his hand, despite this being a life or death situation. He still couldn’t describe this emotion. He figured it’d be best to ask Tsukasa about it some time. 

Carefully, Tsukasa runs through the main room, swiftly shoving the door open and then stopping when he realized he was running out of breath. Rui, not really expecting a lot of this, too was out of breath. The alchemist wasn’t very active, or well, he never really went outside either. Just by coincidence, he was healthy. So, to him, it was quite easy for him to get tired or out-of-breath. 

“Are we heading to your tower or do we need to hide out somewhere?” Tsukasa asks, tilting his head while also making sure nobody was around. 

“It’d be better to hide out somewhere as they know where the tower is located.” Rui responds, sighing as he knew this was mostly his fault.

Tsukasa nods, smiling. He knew the perfect place. He knew somebody who he could trust. Somebody he knew deep down wouldn’t betray them. “Okay! Follow me!” 

~

They both enter a house within the kingdom. It had the decor of pink and white surrounding it. Tsukasa knocks on the door. Quickly, someone with light pink hair and eyes answers the door. Rui froze. His heart pounding as soon as he realized who it was. He holds his breath. 

“Mizuki..?”

“..Rui? What are you doing here..?” Mizuki mutters, sounding surprised while also upset. 

Tsukasa was confused, blinking and looking back at the two people. “You two know each other?” he questions, crossing his arms. Neither of the two, Mizuki and Rui, had a pleasant expression on their face. Rui, who looked guilty and a bit frightened and Mizuki, who looked upset and full of hatred. 

“Yeah.. Something like that. It’s.. A long story.” Rui says.

Tsukasa was still confused. He didn’t understand why they were upset or how they even knew each other in the first place. “Uhm.. Okay then. I guess that saves time for introductions!” he places both hands on his hips. Mizuki sighs, allowing the duo inside, looking Rui directly in the eye as they entered. It wasn’t a kind stare either.

“So.. Tsukasa, how exactly do you know.. Him?” Mizuki put emphasis on the ‘him’ part to show their disgust for Rui. They hated him. As much as they used to get along, they knew deep down Rui was a scared man with nothing more than a stupid ability. Although, that wasn’t true. At least, not to Tsukasa. 

“Well, Saki was going to die from her illness, so I came to Rui after hearing rumors about somebody who could create anything and he made me the antidote! Of course it came with a price though,” The boy explains, smiling. 

“..I see. Seems he’s… become nicer then?” They cross their arms. 

Rui shrugs. “I wouldn’t say nicer.. Just.. more understanding of others..” He mutters. 

“Right.. Like I’m supposed to believe that.” Mizuki says, shaking their head. They didn’t want to believe that Rui had changed. He was the worst person they had ever met, well, really the only person they had met at the time. 

Tsukasa turns his head in a direction where he could see them both at once. “So are you two like… friends? Or enemies? I’m confused.” He stands there, awkwardly. There wasn’t a lot he could get off of the few words they spoke. “Or are you two like ex-lovers or something?”

Both Rui and Mizuki freeze, immediately putting their attention on Tsukasa. “Lovers?! Ew!” Mizuki shrieks, turning away in disgust. “He’s basically my parent if anything!” 

Rui sighs. “That’s not how that works–” he says, frowning.

“Sorry, parent?! Rui, you’re like– eighteen! What do you mean ‘parent’?!” Tsukasa stammers, now very confused.

“No! You’re mixing things up.” He crosses his arms. Rui avoids all and any eye contact. “I have the ability to create anything I want, as you know.. And, a few years ago, I got a bit lonely so I used that ability for Mizuki.” he explains. “If.. that makes sense.” 

Tsukasa hesitates, making an attempt to process this. “...So, you’re like–” he blinks. “Their dad?” 

Rui groans, turning his back to Tsukasa. “No, I–” 

“I mean, that does make sense. Does this mean I have daddy issues?” Mizuki says, pretty much questioning everything about their life.

“Nonono.” Rui furrows his eyebrows. “Mizuki, Tsukasa, will you just listen?” The two stop talking and begin listening to what Rui had to say. “Mizuki was created to cure my lonesome. Made as a friend. Not as a child nor someone for me to take care of.” He explains.

It started to make a little bit more sense to the both of them, but some of it just sounded odd. “I mean, I guess that makes some sense? I get why you’d make something to cure your loneliness, but if that was the case, why do you two hate each other?” The prince asks.

With a sigh, Mizuki begins to speak. “Well, even with somebody by his side, he refused to let me leave the dumb tower. For almost six months, I didn’t know the outdoors even existed! When I discovered them, I was intrigued by it. Which was why I asked him if I could leave. Rui then denied and some other disturbing things happened.” They claim.

Rui shrugs. “...Yeah. That.. Sounds about right.” He kept his voice low, careful not to sound upset. Hearing it from another persons perspective pained him. When it all happened, he just assumed he was in the right. 

“That’s..”  Tsukasa wasn’t sure what to say. Well, who would? The way the rest of it got cut off by ‘and some other disturbing things happened’ freaked the prince out the most as he wasn’t sure what exactly that meant. “If it isn’t any trouble, what exactly do you mean by ‘and some other disturbing things happened’, Mizuki?” He asks, careful about what he was saying. He wanted to be certain that it didn’t sound like he had an interest in this. He was just curious. He wanted to make sure that he was making friends with the right person. 

“I think that should be something Rui can explain as it is something I never understood.” Mizuki says. 

So Rui was most definitely the villain in this. Tsukasa thought.

Rui sighs. “Do I even have a choice in this..?” He mumbles.

Tsukasa nods. “You do. If it is something you don’t like talking about, we don’t have to talk about it this instant.. But at some point, I would appreciate knowing what happened. I don’t want for something similar to happen between us, okay?” he exclaims.

The alchemist nods, giving the others a soft, but kind of pained smile. With that, the topic changed. “So.. What brings you two here?” Mizuki questions.

“Oh! Uh– Something happened between me, Rui and my father, AKA the King. So we needed somewhere to go.” Tsukasa tells them. “He’ll get over it by tonight though. My father will likely forget about it in an hour, so there’s no reason for an explanation! Either that, or he will think it’s a stupid idea.” 

Mizuki shakes their head up and down. “Oh, alright!” Easily, the room filled with silence. Not a single noise could be heard. Nothing more than the noises from outside. The sound of children playing and the shouting of parents calling their kids in for dinner. Tsukasa was glad there were still people who could experience a life like that. 

He never had something like that. Not ever in his life was he allowed to go and play with other kids. He was stuck inside his entire childhood, left alone with nothing to do. His younger sister was always sick, and his parents were always busy so he didn’t have any company. He was alone. 

His loneliness led to him creating his own shows and performances for any of his stuffed animals and toys. He enjoyed the idea of a theatrical show. He loved acting, but of course if he ever admitted that to the public, he’d be spiked with harsh criticism. Words of anger and disgust. 

Here in the Shiro Lily Kingdom, any sort of art consisting of acting or performances were considered ‘weird’. Despite the entertainment they brought, not many people stopped by to enjoy the shows. They were only considered ‘weird’ because of how much the Kuro Lily Kingdom adored theater. 

Which was the biggest reason Tsukasa never told anyone about his love for theater. He kept it hidden. He refused to believe it himself. He always believed that it was an amazing thing, but deep down he knew it was ‘wrong’. 

He wondered if Rui would be trustworthy enough to know about it sometimes. Tsukasa always pushed the thought away though. He knew he couldn’t risk his friendship like that. He wasn’t even sure if Rui was actually a good person or not anymore. Yes, Rui played a part in healing Tsukasa’s sister, but from what Mizuki has said, Rui wasn’t as nice as he seemed to be. It all was too much for Tsukasa to process.

“Rui,” Tsukasa begins to say, breaking the awkward silence. The alchemist turns his head to the prince. A simple ‘hm’ was heard from Rui in response. “I think it’s alright to leave now.. I kind of need to talk to you privately anyway,” 

Mizuki smiles. “Well I’m happy I got to see you, Tsukasa! Bye!” They say, waiting for the duo to leave.

Soon, both of them leave, leaving them to walk back to Rui’s tower. On the way there Rui asks what Tsukasa needed to ask. “What was it you wanted to ask me?” He questions.

Tsukasa sighs. “About the flower stem..” 

Rui shakes his head. “Not yet. I can’t tell you yet. I wish I could, but I don’t know how you’ll react after I tell you what happened between me and Mizuki.” He says.

“Then tell me what happened. I’m certain nothing will change between us!” The future king exclaims, desperate to know. He had waited too long.

The deity hesitates. “Uhm.. Okay..” 

…

And so he went onto explain what happened.

~

The noise of a door creaking open was heard. Rui most definitely heard it. He sat up and immediately rushed down the stairs, looking at Mizuki who was attempting to leave the tower in the middle of the night. “Mizuki?” he mutters, turning his head.

Mizuki turns around, gasping. “Eh?! Rui– I uh–” They panic.

“What are you doing?” he asks, walking over to them. 

The younger steps back, close enough to leave through the door. But they don’t. At least not yet. They didn’t know what to do. “I– I just need fresh air, that’s all!” They lie.

Rui frowns, sighing. “Don’t lie to me. You were attempting to leave, weren’t you?” His chest hurt. He knew Mizuki wanted to leave the tower. He knew that they hated that place. Yet he refused to let them go. He didn’t want to be alone again.

“No! I–”

“Mizuki.” His voice grew stern.

Mizuki gulps. “..Fine, yeah. I was trying to leave. I hate this place! I want to go out into the world! You can’t force me in here my whole life!” 

“What life?! You wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for me! You’ve barely lived for a year or so and you genuinely believe I can trust you out into the world? If were going about this scientifically, you’re barely a year old! You may have been created to have the looks and maturity level of sixteen, but not at all does that mean you get to leave on your own.” 

“You aren’t my parent! So stop dad-ing me!”

Rui scoffs. “I’m not parenting you. I’m making sure you don’t get hurt! I care about you, Mizuki.” 

“No, you care about whether you’re alone or not. You don’t care about me at all.” They snap.

That wasn’t at all true. At least, not to Rui. He did care for Mizuki. He cared so much about them. He’d do anything for them. He considered them the bestest friend he’s ever had.

Probably because they were designed for his own happiness?

No.

He refused to believe it.

“I don’t understand. I’ve done so much for you. Why don’t you want to stay?” Rui mutters. “You should want to be by my side, yes? I’ve protected you with everything I have!” 

“I don’t want to stay with a selfish man.”

…

Selfish..? They think I’m selfish?  Rui thought, feeling a sharp pain enter his chest.

Mizuki, quickly, attempts to run out of the door and into the woods.. Of course, out of ‘luck’, Rui grabbed their arm and dragged them back inside. “Please.. Don’t go.” he begs.

“Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!” Mizuki hollers, kicking and screaming like a toddler who didn’t get their way. “I’m not staying here! You can’t force me!” 

At this point, Rui didn’t know what to do. He felt sick to his stomach. He just dragged Mizuki across the floor because he refused to be alone again. That idea scared him, yet he had just done it. 

“I.. I’m so sorry.” Rui mutters, putting his hand over Mizuki’s mouth. “Please stop screaming.. It’s.. It’s not pleasant.” He says.

Mizuki stops. Instead of screaming, they cry. “Why can’t I leave..?” They sob.

“Its not safe. Please don’t go.” He moves his hand off their mouth and crouches down, cupping Mizuki’s face in his hands. “Trust me just this once.” He was guilt-tripping them. So scared of being alone again, he used his emotions against them. “It wouldn’t be fun for me to be lonely.. Plus, what if you ended up getting hurt in the process? It wouldn’t be fun for you either. It’s safer here.” He smiles.

Mizuki sniffles, calming down a bit, they wipe their eyes. Rui ends up moving his own hands, leaving space for Mizuki. “You.. You promise?” They ask.

The alchemist nods. “I promise.”

~

“So you guilt tripped them and dragged them by the arm. That isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.” Tsukasa mutters. He had expected it to be something much worse. For example: physical harm.

“Eh? Really?” Rui sounded a bit surprised. “I mean, that is pretty bad right?” He frowns.

Tsukasa shrugs. “Not as bad as it could’ve been. Geez, both you and Mizuki need to work on your ideas of what is and isn’t bad. It’s reasonable why you wanted them to stay and it’s reasonable why they wanted to leave. I’m not at all upset with you.”  he exclaims, looking at Rui.

The alchemist sighs with relief, happy something so significant didn’t ruin their friendship. “Now, will you tell me about the flower stem?” Tsukasa asks, crossing his arms and stopping in his tracks.

Rui hesitates, taking a deep breath. “Okay.. Fine.” He says. His chest sank low as he took a hold of Tsukasa’s hand. Another breath he took. Then, he finally spoke, stiffening a bit. The prince gave a confused look as he didn’t know what to do in this moment. Whatever Rui was going to tell him, he was certain that he’d be in a bad mood afterward.

“My ability comes with a consequence for anything that is living, plants included. For a human, I’d be injured. For a flower, I would be killed if the stem broke. For the petals of that flower, I’d only be bruised. If the stem snaps in half, so do I. It’s like my life is linked to it for until it dies.” Rui explains. His voice cracked as he spoke. He didn’t know what would be considered right or wrong in this situation. The more he spoke, the more distraught the future king became as he hadn’t expected that to be the reason.

With horror, the prince fled into silence. He had no words other than “oh.” It was all he could say. He didn’t know whether to cry or be emotionless. He will die if anything happens to it..? He thought, gulping down his frustration. He was upset with himself for not knowing sooner. Of course he couldn’t have known as Rui never told him, but for an odd reason, the blonde still had a pound of guilt stuffed down in his chest. 

“I didn’t want to tell you as I knew that if you hated me for something of my past, you’d probably break the stem in frustration.” Rui admits, looking to the side. 

Tsukasa sighs. “You thought I’d do something that would kill you if I got upset with you over something that insignificant?” He says. He didn’t understand Rui’s thought process. “..I’m glad I know now though. If I didn’t that stem probably would’ve ended up destroyed by mistake.” 

“I see.. Well, i’m grateful you took my words into consideration when I first demanded for you to never break it.” Rui smiles. It was a smile Tsukasa had never seen Rui wear before. A smile he knew couldn’t be forced.

With a laugh, Tsukasa responds. “You’re welcome! You know, as future king, I shall never let my peers down!” He grins, placing his freed hand on his hip as if he were some sort of hero. In Rui’s mind, Tsukasa was the most stereotypical, but kindest person in the world. 

Though, that wasn’t all true. The prince had a secret not even Rui knew. One previously mentioned. His desire to instead become an actor, and not the king. His dream was quickly denied by himself as he knew it was considered ‘wrong’ for somebody in his kingdom to be at all related to theater. 

“Hm, you should probably get going. It’s almost eight o’clock.” Rui says, letting go of the boy’s hand. “You wouldn’t want to miss your chance of seeing you sister experience her first royal event, would you?” 

Tsukasa gasps, having completely forgotten about Saki. “You’re right! She’s probably been worried sick! I haven’t been home a lot today! I’ll be on my way now! I’ll see you soon, Rui! Don’t forget to actually try with your outfit~!” He says, beginning to shout as he ran the other direction, back towards the kingdom.

Rui chuckles, waving back at the boy. He was happy that he had Tsukasa by his side. Even if they had only met a few days before, he just knew Tsukasa was somebody to keep close by.

~

“Saki!” Tsukasa shouts, rushing into his sister’s room, a bit panicked as he hadn’t been around her much today. Saki shrieks a bit, turning to look at her worried brother.

“Huh?! Tsukasa–” She gasps once Tsukasa shoves her into a hug. She wasn’t exactly sure as to why he was acting this way, but she didn't care. She was too excited for the ball to care. It was the first ever royal event she would be attending, and she would finally be able to show the public her existence. 

Not many people knew that the Shiro Lily Kingdom had a princess. They just knew that there was a royal family. Every citizen knew who Tsukasa was as he usually left the palace to explore or talk to people. But Saki? Not one person knew she was even apart of the royal family. 

“Please forgive me!” Tsukasa whines, acting as if he had done something morally wrong.

Saki, confused, pushes him off of her. “Forgive you for what?” She asks, raising her voice to match her brother’s energy. 

“For– for not talking to you a lot today! You were probably lonely and–” he begins to stammer out his words, not really thinking.

“Lonely? I wasn’t lonely! I actually made friends with someone already!” She says, smiling.

The prince freezes, standing back onto his feet and turning his head. “What?”

“I made a friend! Her name is Ichika Hoshino! She’s super nice! I met her while going into town today!” Saki exclaims, waving her arms to the side.

Tsukasa, ready to burst into tears out of happiness, hugs his sister again. He smiles. “I’m so happy for you!” He began to cry.

“Ahh, Tsukasa!! You’re getting your tears all over my dress!” The girl complains, giggling. She felt lucky to have such a good big brother. One who cares about and appreciates everything she does. She couldn’t be happier.

“Sorry! Sorry!” He lets go of her, standing up again. He seriously had a habit of doing that. 

Saki sighs. “It’s alright!” she grunts as soon as she realizes what Tsukasa was wearing. “You aren’t even dressed for the ball yet?!” 

“I- I swear I was about to go get dressed! I just was more worried about you!” He says, rushing out o the room. Saki found that a bit silly.

~

“Geez, you’re leaving your hair like it normally is?” 

Rui sighs. “Yeah..? Is that bad?” he frowns, looking over at Mizuki who had come over just to help him. Despite them not liking Rui nor appreciating where he lived, they wanted to at least make sure he was presentable for a royal event.

“Ugh, come here you old man.” They grab his arm, forcing him to sit down onto a chair that they had pulled out earlier. 

“I’m only like a year older than you?! What do you mean ‘old man’?!” He snaps.

Mizuki laughs, smiling. “Oh be quiet! If you don’t, you’ll be late and then Tsukasa will be mad at you.” They say, quickly grabbing a comb from God knows where.

“Where did you even get that..?” Rui asks, extremely confused.

“I keep one on me for whenever my hair gets frizzy! It’s actually helpful,” They say, redoing Rui’s hair completely. She brushed it to the side, leaving both of the blue streaks to still be out and visible, pretty much being bangs at that point. It looked kind of stupid. Well, at least to Rui, it did. He knew that there was no way he was going with something like… that. 

He groans. “You made it worse!” he argues.

“It looks better than it did before! Now, hurry up Cinderella!” Mizuki shoves Rui up and off the chair, quickly out the door. They seemed to make everything more dramatic. Rui wasn’t sure why. Mizuki wasn’t like this when he originally created them. They were a lot more quiet and kept to themselves a lot back then.

“Cinderella?! I–” He struggles against Mizuki and soon is out the door. His hair was parted a bit differently now as more was loose and some pieces stuck out, making it flow much nicer. It was still parted to the right, but not as pushed back. The left side was tucked nicely behind his ear. He sighs, standing up and walking through the woods. 

~

“Emu.. I think we’re lost. Are you sure you’re reading that right..?” A girl with gray-green hair mutters, looking over at the girl who was assumed to be Emu.

“Well… I might have gotten us a bit lost, but I’m sure we can find out where we are!” Emu says, some what cheerful. She had short pink hair that matched her eyes. She could be considered as a ‘bubbly’ type person. 

The girl from before sighs. “Geez, what am I going to do with you..” She complains, lowering her head. She was Kusanagi Nene. A person who was said to be a witch despite her kind interactions. She didn’t understand why she was considered to be a bad person. She’s more scared of people than people are scared of her. She couldn’t even hurt a fly.

A voice chimes into their conversation. A young man with purple and cyan hair, Kamishiro Rui. “Hm? You two are lost?” he questions, tilting his head and smiling.

Nene looks at him, a bit confused. “Yeah, kind of. Are you lost too?” She asks.

Rui shakes his head. “I actually don’t live too far away. Where are you both heading? I may be able to help,” he says, crossing his arms. 

“...And how do we know this isn’t a trap?” Nene mutters harshly, looking up at Rui who seemed unphased by this. 

“Good point! But I don’t think there’s a need for a trap. You’re lost, so allow me to help you!” He attempts to sound happy, but in reality he was regretting every choice he’s ever made. The thing was that he hated talking to strangers, but he knew he couldn’t just leave them alone like that. “I’m Kamishiro Rui, best regards.” He says, lending his hand out for it to be shook.

Emu grins, shaking his had almost immediately. “Hi hi! I’m Otori Emu! I hope we can be friends!” she exclaims. 

Rui, a bit surprised by the girl’s enthusiasm, gives an awkward laugh. “..Yeah! Uh.. Friends..!” 

The witch frowns. “How do we know we can trust you?” She murmurs. “For all we know, you could be–”

“Nene! Enough with the whole trap stuff~!” Emu whines, placing her hands on her hips just as she had let go of Rui’s hand. “Rui isn’t gonna hurt us!” She pauses before freaking out a bit. “WAH! SORRY! I DIDN’T MEAN TO USE YOUR FIRST NAME!” 

Rui laughs, this time it being genuine. “That’s alright. I don’t mind.” He glances down at Emu. “So, where are you two headed?”

Nene goes to respond, but Emu cuts her off. “The Shiro Lily Kingdom! We just returned from an adventure and I wanted to say hi to a friend!” She announces, looking up at Rui with the most eager eyes ever. She seemed childish to Rui, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying her chaotic personality.

“Oh, I was heading there just now. That’s good. Why don’t we travel together, hm?” Rui suggests. He walks in front of them a bit before crossing his arms once again and smiling. 

“I guess that’s fine.. But if you do anything to Emu, I–” Nene stops herself from speaking and instead lets out a sigh. She didn’t trust Rui for some reason. He looked familiar to her and she couldn’t stand it. 

He reminded her of one of her old childhood friends. He had lived next door to her. Same hair color and eyes too. She couldn’t remember the boys name, so it was a difficult search for whenever she brought him up. Though, she was told when she was younger that her neighbor ended up getting killed in some fight. She wasn’t exactly sure if it had been true or not, but she cried for days on end.

 “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on harming anyone.” He smiles, turning away to ignore Nene. Rui had also thought of Nene as familiar. He sighs. “Now then! Let’s hurry, yes?” 

Emu squeals happily. She jumps and skips, following Rui. Nene traveled behind, watching Rui’s every move. He seemed to be acting playful towards Emu. Yet, Nene still didn’t trust him.

~

“Tsukasa, are you sure that he won’t harm anybody..?” The queen asks, worried. For some reason, Tsukasa’s peers didn’t seem to appreciate the fact that the deity of creation was coming to their palace for a ball. He found it odd how people struggled to accept it.

“I’m certain! He is super kind!” He says, placing his hands on his hips, replicating the pose of a superhero. He often did that pose as it made him feel confident. It allowed him to believe he could do anything.

But he couldn’t. He’d forever be trapped inside that kingdom. As much as he wanted to be King, he also wanted to explore the world. He hated that he couldn’t.

Ignoring that though, he smiles. He wanted to make a grand entrance to the ball. He had been practicing for a while now. Well, he was until his mom called him down to talk about Rui. 

That conversation was one he wasn’t ready to have yet. “Okay.. well, if he does harm somebody, I won’t hesitate to–” 

“To banish him from the kingdom, I know.” He interrupts, sighing.

“No, I was going to say that I’d have a good talking to him about what and what not to do. I’m not your father you know,” She adds, laughing a bit.

Tsukasa, surprised, puts another smile on his face. “Right.. Uhm, I’m going to go greet some of the guests now. Bye~!” He says, quickly leaving. He wanted out of that conversation as soon as possible. 

Why would you leave? You’re so stupid! He thought.  

The prince walks towards the door, instantly being swarmed by at least twenty people. They were citizens, none having been invited to the ball. They seemed panicked. He wasn’t sure why, but he was going to figure it out. 

He attempts to push some of them away, trying to guess their fear in his head. But quickly, he figured out what the issue was. There in front of him was an ongoing fight. Not a verbal one, but a physical one. There were two participants. One being a person he knew, and the other being a knight. It was a knight he didn’t particularly get along with. 

The fight was between Kamishiro Rui and Shinonome Akito.

Akito had Rui in a chokehold. Rui struggled to free himself as he seemed confused and scared. Tsukasa immediately knew he had to stop them. If he didn’t, he didn’t know what would happen. Whether Rui would be injured or if Akito would end up fired. 

“Rui–” He got cut off by someone trying to pull the two of them apart.

“Let go of Rui!” A girl, around 4’11, with pink hair shouts. She tugs at Akito’s clothes, and fails.

Another girl appears in the scene. “Emu, you’re going to get hurt!” She had greenish gray hair and a cyan colored witch’s outfit.

Akito freezes, turning to look at the greenish-gray haired girl. “A witch..?” He sounds surprised, losing complete focus of the situation. Rui decides his was the perfect chance to take the upper hand and stands up, sliding down, kicking Akito straight onto the ground. The ginger gasps, grunting a bit. Rui stands up straight, grabbing Akito’s arm, pulling it back completely. It was to the point he almost dislocated it. Akito shrieks a bit, biting his lip. 

For some reason, Tsukasa felt like this was familiar. Like it had happened before. But it hadn’t. To him, it made even his own arm begin to hurt, as if it were being torn off.

He froze, unable to speak. He felt scared. Gasps encountered each person surrounding them. “Why don’t you mind your own business, Shinonome? Afterall, everyone minded their own business after the Toya situation, yes?” Rui smiles, putting a foot down onto the ginger’s head. 

“Rui! Stop!” The witch calls out, scared. The alchemist paid no mind to the witch who dared to call out his name. He didn’t bother to care.

Toya? How does he know about him? What is happening? Tsukasa didn’t know what to think.

“L-Let go of me!” Akito shouts, struggling to move as if he were trapped behind bars. He knew if he moved too much he’d dislocate his arm. Plus, Rui would have probably only pushed down harder on his head too. 

Rui sighs. “Then I suggest you learn how to actually respect someone. Especially if they’re a women.” he hisses. He sounded upset. More upset than Tsukasa had ever seen him be.  Tsukasa frowns. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew that it probably wasn’t good. Just hearing Rui say that, multiple conclusions came to mind. 

“I can’t just have a trespasser enter the kingdom–” Akito yells. 

Tsukasa blinks, still trying to process this. He knew that this just proved his mother right. “..Rui!” He finally shouts. The taller turns to look at him. 

“Tsukasa?” Rui says, a bit saddened by the fact he was just seen by the person he genuinely cared for. 

“Why are you two fighting?” He asks, walking over to him. Rui lets go of Akito’s arm and steps down onto the ground, allowing the ginger to stand up straight. 

Rui huffs. “Shinonome here thought it’d be a good idea to threaten Emu just because he didn’t recognize her.” he explains. “Which I don’t believe is anyway to treat a citizen.” 

Tsukasa grabs Rui’s hand. “Well– you can’t just–” He stumbles with his words. He was panicked at what his father would do. Rui would be put away as a villain or something. Tsukasa didn’t want that. He couldn’t have that happen. 

~

“Tsukasa, are you going to sit there in silence or?” his mother’s voice rang.

He turns, surprised to see his mother and seeing his surroundings change. He was back inside and in the same spot as before. “Uh.. Sorry no.. I just didn’t hear what you said–” He lies.

His mother scoffs. “I asked if you could go greet the guests,” 

…

Was I just imagining that? Did he really never hurt Akito? 

Tsukasa nods, rushing outside to make sure. Everything was normal. Nothing had changed. Akito and Shiho, who were both guards, were standing at the gate guarding, and there were people lined up, ready to head inside. He spotted Rui with two other girls. They were familiar to him. Of course, Tsukasa just assumed one of them was probably dating Rui or something.

“Rui!” He says, smiling as he walked over to the trio. 

“Oh, Tsukasa,” The alchemist didn’t expect to see his friend greet him so early. As Rui turned to look at Tsukasa, his eyes widened. He was surprised to see the outfit his friend was in. Yes, it was a suit, but there were stars scattered around it. Stars that went from being large to small, alongside a fade within them. The top layer went from a blue to white as well. “Fancy much?” Rui taunts, smiling. He found it a bit shocking how dramatic one could make their outfit. 

“Well, I wanted to look special! It’s my sister’s first ever royal event and she loves astrology. It only makes sense.” Tsukasa explains, crossing his arms. Rui began to think that Tsukasa mainly based his whole life around his sister, but did he ever dare to mention it? Absolutely not. 

“Looks more like the United States threw up onto your outfit..” One of the girls who was with Rui says. It was Nene. Tsukasa could recall bumping into the girl next to Nene a bit ago. 

“And you’re the one to talk? You look like you came straight out of a book.” The prince mutters. Tsukasa hadn’t appreciated the comment as he thought his outfit was extraordinary. Well, of course he did. He was Tsukasa Tenma afterall. One of the most dramatic people you’d ever meet.

Tsukasa looks a bit closer at Rui as if something were different. He couldn’t tell what it was. Whether Rui looked a bit more cleaned up or if it was just him being wrong about a change. “I think your outfit looks wonderful!” The girl who was stood next to Nene chants. She had pink hair. It was the girl he had ran into. 

Emu Ootori, an adventurer who never stays in one place. She’s either in a kingdom or outside of one, discovering new things everyday. There wasn’t ever a time she wasn’t looking for something interesting. Her ‘sidekick’, Nene Kusanagi, was a witch too, which often scared people. But with the incredible duo of Emu and Nene, they were adored too. 

Rui had heard rumors about them. Some good and some bad. He hadn’t ever expected to meet them though. Same went for Tsukasa, except, he had no idea who either of them were. He just thought they were some random duo.

In fact, they were some random duo. They did the randomist of things. One time for example would be when they attended a festival that ended up with both of them winning every game there was to play. To put it lightly, Emu’s room was filled to the brim with plushies and toys.

“I’m glad somebody is able to recognize true beauty!” Tsukasa says, smiling as he usually does. He certainly lived for the dramatics. “Anyway, who are they, Rui?” He questions with a turn of his head. He stares at the taller boy who he seemed to know all about. In reality, he knew almost nothing about him. He wished he knew more, but he didn’t.

With a sigh, Rui responds. “They’re a duo who goes on adventures together. That’s the easiest way I could explain it.” He says.

“Yep!” Emu cries, taking the prince’s hand and shaking it quickly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, again, your highness!” 

Tsukasa freezes for a moment. “Highness..?” 

Emu nods. “Mhm! You are the princess, right?” she tilts her head.

“Princess?!” The more the girl spoke, the more shocked and confused Tsukasa became. “I’m not the princess? I’m not even a girl–” He stammers, shaking his head.

Rui chuckles. “Ehh, dressed that way, I’d make the same mistake.” He jokes.

A large amount of groans of frustration approached. “What do you mean?!” Tsukasa frowns. Everyone, but him, were laughing. He didn’t really find it funny, but he might as well laugh along, right? So, he laughed alongside the three others. 

“So.. You’re the prince?” Emu asks. Although laughing, she was still confused. 

The supposed ‘princess’ nods. “Yes, I am.” He mutters. “The princess is my sister, Saki Tenma.”

Emu nods, smiling. “Ohh! Okay!” Quickly, they all fell silent. Unsure of what to do or say. Well, everyone but Rui wasn’t sure what to say. Rui, almost in an instant, brought up the fact that Emu and Nene mentioned they were coming here to say hello to a friend.

“Well…”  Nene begins. She gets on her tiptoes and whispers in Rui’s ear. He immediately had an expression of shock on his face. 

“What?!” He frowns, turning to look at the two. “That wouldn’t have ever worked.” 

Emu sighs. “Aww.. We planned it out really well too!” The girl crosses her arms.

“Wait, what was it?” Tsukasa was curious. 

“They planned on sneaking in.” Rui blurts out. “But their plan would’ve never worked.” 

Nene looks at Rui with disappointment. “Seriously?! I whispered it so he wouldn’t hear!” She says.

Rui snickers, knowing he purposely mentioned it. He couldn’t help but act that way towards Nene. She reminded him way too much of his childhood neighbor. “Oops~!” Rui taunts, smiling.

“Yeah no, getting past those guards is impossible. You would’ve failed in an instant.” Tsukasa adds. The two girls deflate with disappointment. Of course, they knew it was nearly impossible, but having the prince say that certainly confirmed it. Since they weren’t members of the kingdom, they wouldn’t have been allowed in.“But it’s okay, I’m sure you two can find something else to do!”

A sigh retrieves from Emu’s mouth. “Yeah.. I guess..” she frowns, moving her arms downward, revealing her sad emotion. “OO! I know!” A smile suddenly appears on her face.

Rui and the others turn to look at her. “Hm? What is it?” The deity asks.

With a few giggles, Emu answers. “Why don’t me and Nene wait for the ball to be done and then we all can hang out?!” 

They all exchanged looks before nodding and shrugging their shoulders. “I’m fine with it,” Tsukasa says. He crosses his arms.

“Same here,” Rui says.

“I guess it’s alright.. As long as neither of them harm us,” Nene mutters, looking nervous yet happy. She rested her left hand’s fingers on the inside of her right arm’s elbow. 

Emu moves her hands in a motion that represented excitement. Her arms went down, around, and then back in front of her, showing her palms. “Wonderhoy!” She exclaims.

Tsukasa hesitates, looking at the young girl. “Wonderhoy..?” 

Emu nods. “Mhm! Wonderhoy! Come on~ Say it with me! Won-won~” She begins, smiling. 

The prince frowns. “Absolutely not!” He declares.

“Awh, Tsukasa, don’t be so mean~” Rui hums, making in attempt to guilt the well known man.

“Huh?! I’m not being mean I-”

“Come on, Tsukasa! Won-won~” Emu giggles, putting her hands in motion again. “Wonderhoy!”  She ignites.

Rui says it alongside Emu, trying to at least make her happy since Tsukasa had only refused. “Wonderhoy~!” he says.

“Seriously?! You too?!” Tsukasa crosses his arms, huffing. “Hmph!” Right then, he notices the sky beginning to fade into an orange and pink. To him, it gave him a reminder that the ball was soon to start. “Ah, Rui! We should be on our way now!”

The boy grabs the deity’s hand, dragging him away. “Huh? Oh–” Rui was a bit surprised by this movement.. Yet, feeling Tsukasa’s hand on his.. In his head, it seemed right. 

Once they reached the door to enter the palace, Tsukasa took a breath. “If anyone recognizes you from the other kingdom, pay no mind to them, okay?” He says, making an assurance to Rui.

Rui nods. “Okay.” He gives a quick grin before Tsukasa opened the door, revealing the indoors he saw everyday. Rui had only ever seen them once aside from in textbooks. 

There were groups of people scattered around. Some with a glass of wine, or really any kind of rich alcohol they owned. Tsukasa could recognize a few brands as his parents seemed to keep them tucked away, while also visible, in the kitchen.

Some were in dresses, while others wore suits. Mainly the women wore dresses. Rui hadn’t expected so many people to dress fancy despite it being a royal event. He just assumed that citizens were allowed in. They weren’t. Not unless they were a royal’s plus one. Rui would be a perfect example for this.

“Let’s go find Saki! I’m sure she’d be delighted to meet you!” Tsukasa chirps, once again grabbing the deity’s hand and dragging him along. 

Rui, unsure of why Tsukasa had been dragging him around so much, keeps a smile on. He wanted to seem harmless to the nobles and other royals. If he had appeared as a threat, not only would he be kicked out, but he’d probably be targeted for death too. 

Tsukasa stops, looking up at Rui. He looked concerned. “Sorry for.. Dragging you around. I was just excited–”

“No need for an apology, your majesty.” Rui gives him a little bow as a tease. 

Tsukasa grunts, chuckling at Rui’s ridiculousness. “Right, I am the prince afterall! Bow before me you peasant!” Tsukasa jokes, pretending to be one of those selfish royals.

Rui laughs alongside him. Soon enough, they were a duo of giggles. It was odd. They knew so much yet so little about each other. Yet, they couldn’t help but act as if they had been friends for so long.

“Tsukasa?” A voice says.

The two boys turn to look at who it was. It was Tsukasa’s sister, Saki. “Oh! Saki!” Tsukasa cheers, hugging the younger. “Meet Rui! He’s the guy who gave me the flower for your antidote!” He announces, leading out of the hug.

Saki smiles at Rui and then curtsies a bit. “Thank you, Uh– Is it alright for me to use your first name?” she asks, keeping her head low. For some reason, after looking into the deity’s eyes, she couldn’t help but feel unsafe. The neon glow from them was what scared her the most.

“That’s fine,” Rui responds, softly returning the smile. Saki attempts to make eye contact with him again. She fails, looking away almost immediately. Rui scared her for some reason. She wasn’t sure why. It was like her heart fell straight to her stomach each time. “I’m glad you’re alright now. Having Tsukasa be happy because of your existence was already a big enough thank you.” 

Saki looks at Tsukasa. “..I see.” She had a broken smile, although she didn’t know why. Maybe it was because her brother was finally interacting with more people. Or maybe it was because she knew Rui and him were made to be a duo. She couldn’t pin point the reason.

“Well then! I’m glad you two finally met! Now, Saki, me and Rui have somewhere to attend! I’ll see you in a bit!”  Tsukasa says, once again grabbing a hold of Rui’s hand and dragging him out of the scene. 

“We do–?” Rui spits out before being taken away against his own will. 

Tsukasa ignores his pleas, taking the boy upstairs and into his room. He had something he wanted to show Rui, yet he didn’t have an exact reason for it. Well, he did have a reason. A reason he never really thought about. He wanted to show Rui the stem. To show he truly did care. 

So, they both enter the room, Tsukasa’s smile suddenly shrinking. He was still happy, just a bit more calm. He sighs, walking over to the vase which contained the stem. He looks at it and then back at Rui. “I can see that you took my words seriously,” Rui says. He had a pained smile. 

“I did.” Tsukasa mutters, looking at Rui completely. He didn’t turn to look at the stem at all. He just stared at Rui. “Especially after you told me about the reason for it needing to stay alive. I couldn’t risk losing–” He stops, frowning. “Nevermind.”

Rui walks over to Tsukasa, staring down at him. “You couldn’t risk losing me? Is that what you were going to say?” He says. His voice was gentle. He sounded harmless. Tsukasa refused to even recall back to that daydream he had. 

The prince huffs out a breath. “Yeah.. That’s what I was going to say.” He admits. “You’re one of the only people I’ve ever been so open with. I don’t know why. I don’t know how. But I just feel like I can trust you with almost anything.” 

Once those words reached Rui’s ears, he couldn’t help but turn the pained smile into a genuine one. “I see..” They both fall silent for a moment, not saying a word as they may disturb the peace they’ve settled. It was strange to Tsukasa. He used to despise all and any members of the Kuro Lily Kingdom, yet here he was speaking with an ex-member of it like they were friends for almost forever. He didn’t know what to say. He felt safe. Almost like his life wouldn’t have ever gone on without Rui. 

To him, he thought that was the wrong thing to say. He considered it to be one of the weirdest things he’s thought, actually. “Rui,” The prince had finally spoke up, muttering something he knew he’d regret. “Are you the only person with an ability like that..? Or is there someone with the ability to destroy?” He asks, keeping his head low, while still maintaining eye contact with the alchemist.

Rui shrugs. “I don’t believe i’m special enough to be the only person with an ability. I also know that I may be wrong about that. There really isn’t an answer until I meet another like me.” He explains. 

“Oh, okay.” Tsukasa didn’t know why he asked that. He didn’t have a good reason for it. He was just curious for nothing. He didn’t even realize he wanted to ask that question. Not once did it cross his mind.

Yet he still asked. 

Why?

He always wondered ‘why’. Why certain things or people existed. Why his sister was struck with a deadly illness. Why he had heard about Rui, that leading to a friendship he’s never had. He never understood why.

There was a deadly silence. A silence that could easily be broken by a simple spark of a flame. A silence that neither male decided to destroy. It was so quiet, they didn’t want to break it. Tsukasa loved noise, while Rui hated it. Yet here they both were enjoying it. 

At least, they did enjoy it until Rui spoke up once more. “Tsukasa, I’ve uhm.. I’ve been reading a few books about a feeling I have when I’m near you.. Is it alright if I tell you what I believe it means?” He says. Tsukasa was surprised to hear him say that. 

“Uhm.. Sure?” He didn’t know how to respond.

Rui sighs. “Whenever i’m around you I get this overwhelming emotion. It makes my heart flutter with excitement. It makes me feel like I’d want nothing more to be with you. From what I’ve read, it’s considered the feeling of love.” He explains. “Although, I don’t think that could be right..? I haven’t loved anyone before, so how am I supposed to know?” 

Tsukasa freezes, staring up at the alchemist, surprised by what was just said. “Huh..?” The way Rui described the exact feeling he felt around Rui made it even more surprising. “You.. love me?” He didn’t have a single ounce of disgust in his voice. Just shock.

“..Yeah. At least I think I do.” Rui mutters. 

Tsukasa shuts his eyes and then reopens them. He could see Rui staring down at him, looking happy while also nervous. The soft smile plastered on his face. The way his hair perfectly reflected the light from the window. “Rui…”

Rui moves closer to the prince. “I understand if you don’t feel that way towards me. It’s completely understandable. You’re a prince, meaning you are to be future king. A king must marry a women.” He says.

“I love you too, Rui.” Tsukasa admits.

Within a blink of an eye, Rui grew of shock. He blinked a few more times. “This.. Isn’t for you to have a laugh, right? I’d rather not be fooled so easily..” he asks, wearily putting a hand on Tsukasa’s cheek.

“It’s the truth. I do love you. I love you so much more than I should.” He smiles. “Even if a prince is meant to marry a princess. I would rather be with you than some random person.”

Rui grins back at him, leaning down close enough to kiss him. Tsukasa gasped a bit, unexpecting him to do such a thing. “Rui–” he spattered out before. After a few seconds, the alchemist pulls away, chuckling a bit at Tsukasa’s expression. Tsukasa’s eyes went wide as his face was coerced into redness. He was bewildered.

“My apologies, Tsukasa.” Rui murmurs, avoiding eye contact since he was afraid of rejection.

“Nono.. It’s–” He turns into a hyperventilating mess. “YOU JUST–” He places his hands on his head out of astonishment. Not ever did he expect Rui to kiss him. Not even that. He just wasn’t sure what to say. 

Rui chuckles once more, pulling the dazed boy towards him. He wraps both of his arms around him, hugging him gently. “I should’ve asked, which is why I apologized.” He says. “I can tell you didn’t at all think I’d do that, huh?” 

“Yeah– I mean–” Tsukasa stumbles with his words. “You’re Kamishiro Rui! The lonely deity who lives in a tower out of fear of people! Why would you kiss a prince?! It’s– shocking!” 

“I don’t even know myself to be fair,” Rui confesses. “But I do know that you should probably return back to the ball. You don’t want to miss out on the fun you were promised, correct?” 

Tsukasa nods, grabbing Rui’s hand. “We should return back. Don’t exclude yourself!” he smiles, opening the door. “By the way, what does this make us?” He asks.

Rui thinks about it for a moment. He had an answer he was too afraid to give. So he shrugged before mentioning it. “It’s whatever you want, Tsukasa. I don’t care as long as you’re happy,” he smiles back at the boy.

“I think I’m okay with the title of partners. But, around other people, friends as it isn’t very pleasant for a future king to be in a same-sex relationship. Actually, it’s more weird than some may think. I don’t think I want to be exposed for that. Even if I think it’s fine.. Others may not..” he claims, leaving the smile he once had.

“It’s alright if you want to keep it hidden. Plus, I don’t believe your father would be supportive of it. Even if I weren’t a male.” he says.

“Yeah…”

~ 

Soon enough, the boys return to the ball, pretending like nothing even happened. Tsukasa especially. He would ignore any questions about whether he’d have a future queen alongside his ruling or not. Of course, he’d be accepted as king in a few years. (which he was not at all ready for despite his excitement for it) But even then, he wondered if he’d even be allowed to not have a queen within his rule.

It was around the time for Tsukasa’s “grand entrance” but he just decided not to do it. There were multiple people dancing, so he didn’t feel like intruding on it. Instead he had an idea. “Rui, let’s dance!” He says, grinning.

Rui didn’t expect him to suggest this, but nodded anyway. Almost immediately, his hand was captured by the prince’s and he was dragged out alongside the other couples. Whether they were married or not, they all at least had something involved with each other. 

The duo had began swaying along each other. Dancing as if they truly knew how. In reality, they had not a clue as to how they were meant to do the well-known ‘ball room dance’ as it seemed too fancy to ever learn. So they took the time to tease about it. 

“Rui, you’re stepping on my foot–!” Tsukasa complains looking up at his partner. 

The alchemist chuckles. “I feel as if you’re the one stepping on my foot,” 

They continued on, eventually reaching to where they thought would be a good time to finish. Now, as neither were familiar with it, they both expected two entirely different outcomes. One that Rui succeeded with and one Tsukasa hadn’t at all imagined. 

Rui took the boy’s hand and leaned down, holding the back of the prince with his other hand. Tsukasa blushed a bit out of embarrassment. “Eh?! What are you–” 

Rui smiles, “Isn’t that exactly what you’re meant to do, my star?” He teases.

“Well–” he was taken aback by this. Soon enough, he gave up and walked to another part of the room. Rui followed him. 

~

Quickly, a few people recognized Rui because of the rumors he had a few months ago for his ability. They all asked him if he could make them stuff, but he had only refused, explaining that he never used it for another’s selfish needs. A couple people tried arguing with him over that, but Tsukasa had stepped in, threatening them a bit. “Can you leave him alone? Like Rui said, he doesn’t use it for somebody’s selfishness. So I suggest you go. You’re rich enough if you’re attending this ball, so no need to beg for money.” 

Rui wanted to speak up, but he froze once Tsukasa snapped at the nobles. “All we did was ask for–” A noble begins to chatter before another stops them.

“Hitori, don’t. That’s the prince of this kingdom,” They whisper. The noble who was assumed to be Hitori, groans, stomping away.

Rui sighs. “You didn’t have to do that.” He mutters.

“Well, they clearly weren’t listening to what you were saying so it only made sense.” Tsukasa declares, putting his hands on his hips in a usual ‘hero pose’. He didn’t appreciate how people were trying to convince Rui to give them stuff. He hated it actually.

He wished that people had some human decency; but they don’t. They care more about their own wants than their own friends or family. He understood now why Rui hated interacting with anybody but himself. He saw all of them as unreasonable, and selfish people. 

Rui crosses his arms. “I know, but I could’ve handled it in the–” he gets cut off.

Quite literally. 

Almost just as he spoke, his insides twisted and his body split straight into two. A handful of blood splattered straight onto Tsukasa’s outfit and onto the floor. Not only did blood spill, but the organs and whatever else you could see spalted directly onto to the floor. A flood of screams of horror approached. Tsukasa screeched, his throat breaking as he let it out. His stomach crawled with disgust. The color of red filled his eyes as he looked down at his dismembered partner. 

“RUI!” He shouts, dropping to his knees. There in front of him were the two halves of his partner. The one he had only just connected with. The one he had kissed earlier. He was dropped dead onto the floor with nothing more than the torn skin on his bones. 

Tsukasa couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t speak. His throat was sore. His eyes had nothing more than tears running down his face. He couldn’t do anything but sit there and sob. “Rui–!” He screams once more, not even sure what just happened. It was like one second Rui was fine and the next he wasn’t there. Or, he was there, just not in the right form. 

“Rui-” He bites his lip, scooting closer to the corpse of his loved one. As disturbing as it seemed, Tsukasa seemed to only care about whether his partner as alright or not. It should’ve been obvious to him that he was in fact not alright.

The others who had been in that room fled the scene. They hadn’t dared to come near the situation. Not ever would have Tsukasa considered this as an outcome of tonight. Well, who would? It’s not common for your beloved to split into two at a ball.

A person rushes down the stairwell, looking oddly suspicious. Tsukasa recognized them as it was one of the people he was arguing with before. It was Hitori. Alongside that, the noble had a stem in his hand that was split into two. 

…

…

…

A stem..?

Split.. Into two?

He looked back down at Rui. Tsukasa was quickly able to connect the dots. Hitori, after getting upset, somehow knew about Rui’s consequences and figured the prince had a stem of some sort. So, he took his chances and destroyed the first flower stem he saw. 

Therefore, he was the cause of Rui’s death.

A vanquishing anger built up inside of Tsukasa. He was furious. Not only that, but under the influence that he, himself, was also to blame as he hadn’t put the stem in a safer place. He buddled up his fist, returning back to his feet. The prince suddenly marched over to Hitori out of spite. He wasn’t going to allow him to get away with this. 

Just as Tsukasa came close enough, he grabbed the collar of the boy’s shirt and brought him close. A small yelp riled out of the noble. Tsukasa didn’t know what to say, all he knew was that he wanted Hitori dead. 

A hand grabbed Tsukasa’s shoulder. “Tenma, relax,” It was Akito. He had a bit of panic in his voice. “You can’t harm another gues–”

“He murdered Rui!” Tsukasa shouted, looking back over at Akito. His expression showed Akito just enough. 

Tsukasa let go of Hitori, immediately falling to his knees. “He– He killed him..! How am I supposed to let a terrible person like that run free..?” He sobbed, covering his face with his hands.

Oddly enough, Akito comforted the prince, walking around and freezing in front of Tsukasa. He crouches down. “I know that it must hurt to lose somebody so close to you. Trust me, I understand that feeling.” The knight assures him. “But… it would make you just as bad as him if you killed him. And I’m sure Rui wouldn’t want you to kill him either.” 

Tsukasa gulped, once again biting down on his lower lip. It began to swell up a bit. He knew that Akito was more than right. He knew Akito had gone through the pain of losing somebody. But Tsukasa didn’t care. He didn’t care at all. He wanted the man who killed the only person he could trust dead. He wanted Hitori to suffer. 

“I.. I can’t let someone so horrible run free as if he had done nothing wrong. I have to do something about it.” He mutters. “I know Rui wouldn’t have wanted me to kill him.. But i’m in too much hurt to care.” 

Akito froze, quickly grabbing the wrists of the boy. He was taught during training that if you capture a hint that somebody is certain to murder another, that it’s better to take a hold of their wrists in a tight lock before they can do anything. “Akito.. Be a good knight and get Hitori back over here.” Tsukasa says. His smile was pained. He felt nothing more than a numbness. 

Akito shook his head. “I.. cannot do that for you, your majesty.” He denies.

Tsukasa frowned, fully knowing that he could be put in jail for killing Hitori, as well as use another to allow him to do such a thing. But he didn’t have any care about whether he’d be put in prison. “Tch.. What a stupid rule.” Tsukasa laughed a bit. “Isn’t it so wonderful? Letting a murderer get away and be free?”

Akito sighs, pulling Tsukasa into a hug. He would’ve never done such a thing if it weren’t for the situation they were in. He knew that if he didn’t calm Tsukasa down that the dream the prince had of becoming future king wouldn’t ever be possible. “I’ll order some of the other knights to take captivity of him until further notice. But do remember, if he is found guilty for the death of Kamishiro Rui, he’d be sentenced to death.” The ginger explains.

“Good.” Tsukasa answered before going non-verbal for quite some time. He could smell the iron coming from the soaking blood that laid gently near Rui’s split body. It freaked him out a bit. 

Akito looked over at a few knights who had been bystanders. “Go find Hitori Tsumi, and tie him down, down in the dungeon. I’ll explain everything to the King later on.” He demands. 

The knights nod, quickly, one by one, rushing out the door in exploration for Hitori. Tsukasa began to cry again as he heard that Hitori would be caught, or at least an attempt would be made to capture him. “Thank you.” He mumbles to Akito, sobbing into the knight’s shoulder. 

“Don’t mention it,” Akito says, strangely uncomfortable hugging Tsukasa. Well, he always despised him as all Tsukasa ever seemed to care about was his sister and himself. Which, turned out to be completely false. Tsukasa wanted to avenge a man he had only met a week ago. That was what changed Akito’s perspective on him.

Not ever would Tsukasa have thought that Rui would die in front of him. Especially at a public event such as this. He didn’t know how to tell Nene or Emu. Hell, he didn’t know how to tell Mizuki even. Then that crossed his mind too. Mizuki was a creation of Rui’s. If Mizuki were to be injured, Rui as well would be injured. He wondered if it went both ways..

If Mizuki died, Rui would die. If Rui died, Mizuki would die.

That thought scared him more than it should’ve. 

~

It wasn’t long before Tsukasa had relaxed a bit and got back onto his feet. He took this as the opportunity to tell Emu and Nene. He had promised to hang out with them after the ball.. With Rui.

He gulped once more, beginning to walk out of the palace. He stopped in place and turned to look back at Akito. “Akito, make sure nobody touches Rui’s body for until I return.” He orders.

Akito nods. “Got it,” 

Tsukasa gave a brief smile before turning back around and walking out. There in front was Nene and Emu. They both looked confused. Emu quickly stammered over to Tsukasa, rambling out about how they saw panicked people rush out of the castle. She was curious to know what happened. Nene also mentioned that Tsukasa’s eyes were red and puffy, as if he had been crying. Alongside that, she pointed out the blood splattered on his clothes.

As an answer, he goes to respond. “There’s only one easy way to say this I suppose.” His voice cracked as he felt the tears dwell up again. “Rui… He..” he gulps. “You’re aware of how Rui had the ability to create all and nothing at the same time, right?” He goes on.

The duo shake their heads. “No..?” Nene says. 

“Ah.. Okay.. Well uhm. He could create whatever he wanted.. But sometimes with a consequence. If a human was to be made, he’d only be injured when they were injured or killed. If it were to be a plant, he would be killed. The stem mainly was what mattered.” He explains. “Which.. I had asked Rui one day, before I knew him, to make me a flower to cure my sister Saki. He did. But he told me to keep the step alive and to not break it at any cost. So I listened. But.. Uhm..” Tsukasa holds back tears as the two girls seemed to understand quickly what Tsukasa was making an attempt at saying. “Hitori Tsumi, a noble apart of another kingdom.. He got upset after Rui denied to create him something, so Hitori ran to my room and broke the stem in half.. Leaving Rui to be the same as the stem. Split into two.” 

Emu shrieks a bit, stepping back and collapsing into Nene’s arms. Nene’s eyes grew wide as she had been told this. “He… he really was him..?” She mutters, shaking her head. “He–” she bites down harshly onto her tongue. “He’s.. dead..?” 

Tsukasa nods. “He died right in front of me. Not even able to finish his sentence.. It.. It was traumatizing!” he shouts. Suddenly, the three of them begin to cry. Even if they didn’t know Rui very well, other than Nene who was certain that Rui was her childhood neighbor, they all still mourned.

It was quiet. Nothing other than their sobs and the sound of wild animals could be heard. There were conversations from outside the kingdom that the prince could somewhat detect. He couldn’t figure out what was being said though. 

Tsukasa, relentless and pained, rubbed his eyes and sniffled. He relaxed a bit. “The man who did it is currently being looked for. He’s quite popular in his kingdom, so without a doubt, it’d be easy for the knights to locate him.” He says. “I’m aware that Rui probably wouldn’t want him to die by my hand.. Which is why the knights will be informing my father and he will be assigned either innocent or guilty. If guilty, he’s sentence for death.” 

Nene nods, calming herself. Emu was in too much despair to even care. She thought she made a new friend who she’d keep for a long time. The friendship didn’t even last twenty-four hours. “I think we’re going to go home..  I don’t want Emu to catch a cold.” She says, grabbing the hand of the younger girl.

“Alright then.. It was a pleasure meeting you, Nene and Emu.” Tsukasa says, bringing himself to smile with force.

The two adventurers make their way home, leaving the prince stood there. He fought back about whether to return to Akito and Rui’s rotting, two-pieced corpse. He decided not to. Tsukasa figured it’d only scared him more to see that vivid image of his dead partner. 

The way the organs and blood fell as if they were disconnected the whole time was what scarred him the most. The way Rui’s body fell onto the floor within a second. The way it all happened so fast. One moment Rui was talking, the next he was in two pieces. 

It made Tsukasa want to puke his guts up every time to passed through his mind. No, even thinking about guts made him feel sick. He didn’t know why something so small as Rui denying a selfish need had costed his life. 

Then, once again, he quickly refocused on the fact Mizuki may be dead. Mizuki, the person who helped him through difficult times. The person that helped him look his best for anything. He couldn’t lose another person. Especially not after losing Rui.

He huffed before beginning to run towards Mizuki’s house. It wasn’t too far from the palace since they were a recent transfer to the kingdom. He couldn’t help but remember how exactly he met them. 

~

“Geez.. It’s a bit cold isn’t it?” A voice mutters to Tsukasa. He turns to look at them. It was a girl, or at least he thought it was. They had light pink hair that was tied nicely into a ponytail. On the top of their head was two horns. One shattered and the other perfectly fine. He wasn’t sure as to why they had horns, he just assumed it was a design choice of theirs. Their outfit was a bit complicated to describe. So he said it had a black long coat and a few other brown and pink details. It was the simplest way to say it. 

“Yeah, I suppose it is a bit cold,” Tsukasa responds. He hadn’t ever seen them before, he assumed they were either a trespasser or a traveler. “I haven’t seen you around here before. Do you think I could get your name?” He asks.

The person nods, smiling. “Mhm! I’m Mizuki Akiyama!” They announce, piling their hands to their hips.

“It’s certainly a pleasure to meet you, Miss Akiyama.” He mutters. “I’m Tsukasa Tenma, prince of the Shiro Lily Kingdom!” 

Mizuki froze as he used the term ‘miss’ for them. They didn’t feel comfortable with it. It felt.. Off to them. “It’s wonderful to meet you too, your majesty. Uhm, if it’s alright..Could you not use ‘miss’ on me? Preferably nothing feminine, nor masculine.” They say, feeling slightly embarrassed to ask a prince that.

Tsukasa nods, grinning over at them. “Of course! My apologies, Akiyama!” He wanted everyone who met him to feel comfortable around him. Not ever would he want one to be stressed or filled with sorrow.

The fellow traveler was a bit surprised by the kindness given by the prince. They had expected all royals to be selfish and rude. But.. Tsukasa seemed different. Completely different from how Rui, the person who used his own ability to create them with the flick of their hand, had described them. “Thanks..” Mizuki responds, having a guilt stuck in their chest. They had just recently left Rui’s tower. They felt extraordinarily guilty for ever leaving as they knew Rui only created them to cure their loneliness. 

Now, it left Rui alone, again. Which, that topic frightened Mizuki. They didn’t know what sorts of things Rui could attempt to do. Plus, they knew deep down that if they died, Rui would be injured. A terrible injury.. Mizuki had often considered Rui a father to themself, despite them being around the same age. It was odd.. Yet, Mizuki refused to own up to it. 

Tsukasa could see right through the traveler. “You’re feeling guilty about something, aren’t you?” he says, tilting his head. He kept a small and friendly smile. “Why don’t we talk about it? Hypothetical situations can work if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

Mizuki looked at him with awe. They hadn’t expected a prince, as previously mentioned, to be so kind and trusting. They genuinely began to believe Rui was wrong about a lot of things.

~

Tsukasa quickly knocks on the door that led to Mizuki’s house. Worry placed inside of him. He couldn’t breathe. He prayed desperately that maybe Mizuki was busy and couldn’t get to the door as of now.

He stood there for a good ten to fifteen minutes. 

Still. No answer.

He gulped, slowly opening the door himself as it was unlocked. Mizuki always left their door unlocked. Tsukasa never knew why. 

Just as he opened the door, he saw each and every light turned off. He didn’t see any sign of human life so far. He wished he did. He wished deep down there was some sort of movement. There wasn’t.

He stood in the middle of their house, panicking. He didn’t see a body anywhere which made him hope that they were out somewhere. For all he knew, Mizuki could be dead on the street right now and he wouldn’t have known until somebody reported it.

It frightened him.

“Please be okay.. Please be okay.” He repeated over and over again out loud in a whispered voice. 

And oddly enough, it just so happened to work. 

Mizuki instantly bursted through the door, just as scared as Tsukasa was. “T-Tsukasa..?” They mutter, walking towards him. He turns to look at them, teary eyed. He was thankful that they were alive and well. “Where’s Rui..?” They ask. Their voice broke just as it began. They had heard the terrified screams that came from the palace and ran outside to make sure everything was okay. There were people rambling on about how somebody had died in a quite disturbing way out of nowhere. Some people even placed Tsukasa as the killer since the person was with them. 

Tsukasa choked back a sob as Mizuki asked where Rui was. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything. All he could do was stand there like a total idiot. Mizuki noticed the splattered blood on Tsukasa’s outfit. It brought disgust to them. 

“Tsukasa?” Mizuki muttered once more.

The prince began to cry, collapsing onto his knees. He didn’t know what to do anymore. “Mizuki.. Rui– He–” Tsukasa began to stumble with his words, unable to fully explain things. He wondered why it was so easy to tell Emu and Nene, and not Mizuki. It made no sense to him.

Tsukasa muttering those three words gave Mizuki a hint as to what happened. They knew about the consequences of Rui’s ability, so they could only guess what had happened. “Is.. Is Rui the one who died..?” They ask as if it were the most casual thing ever. Although, they had a hint of fear left inside their tone.

“Mhm..” Tsukasa hums, looking back up at them. He had tears rolling down his face. His eyes were glistening ever so slightly from the droplets that destroyed him. “Some idiot.. They snapped the flower stem.. It was like they knew that it would kill him..!”

Mizuki leans down and hugs the boy. “It’s okay..” They mutter. “Trust me.. Just this once. It’ll be okay.” 

Tsukasa sniffles, sobbing into their shoulder. His eyes began to grow sore. He had cried more than enough today. “It’s not fair..! Why did he have to die?! It should’ve been me or–”

“Putting the blame on yourself only makes things worse. He may be gone, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still have hope for you. If you blame yourself over anybody, it won’t help you feel better. If anything, you’ll end up believing that you were the killer when you weren’t. You’re far from it actually.” Mizuki snaps, letting out of the hug and positioning their hands onto Tsukasa’s shoulders. They look at him, face to face. “Just as he used to tell me, there’s no reason to waste tears on someone you barely knew.”

The prince sighs, wiping away his tears. He figured that Mizuki may be right. If he had continued to blame himself, he would probably only grow more angry at how he could’ve prevented it. “..Yeah. I guess you’re right..” he mutters.

That left the two of them to sit there, mourning the loss of somebody they once knew. Tsukasa had done that a lot this evening. He still couldn’t process it. How Rui was being the usual teaser he was to being split into two pieces. It all happened so fast, he didn’t have time to process any of it. Who was he to blame none other than himself for not understanding the situation?

The worst part is that Rui never got a final sentence. He never even finished his own. It ended with him being completely cut off by his death. It didn’t seem fair. Tsukasa had wished so desperately that he could reverse time and speak with the alchemist again.

But he couldn’t.

He was left alone to process all of this with people he barely knew. Other than Mizuki, he didn’t talk to any of the others. He knew deep down that Mizuki probably was hurting more than him too. That only made him even more guilty. An undying guilt he would never forget or leave. It felt almost unreal. 

The person to have saved his sister died because of him..

The thought scared him the more he thought about it. If he had never asked Rui for the flower, then Rui would be alive right now. He sat up. “I.. I think I’m going to go.” He mutters. Mizuki nods, standing up, as well as lending him a hand. Tsukasa takes it and stands up. “Thanks..” 

“I’ll see you around! Stay safe, Tsukasa.” Mizuki says, smiling, although holding back tears. Tsukasa smiles back, exiting their house. He felt relieved that Mizuki was alive, but his chest still hurt as Rui was gone. He didn’t know what more to do.

He begins walking home. The prince felt a need to go slowly. Usually he would rush home, but his heart hurt so much he just couldn’t. “If I hadn’t budged into the conversation.. Maybe he’d–” The boy is cut off by a familiar voice. It was comforting to hear it.

“Don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t have controlled it, my star.” The voice rang into his ears. He turns around, feeling as if whoever it was had been with him. There wasn’t anybody there. The voiced had belonged to Rui so he guessed someone had been playing a sick prank on him.

Or maybe he was losing his mind. 

He refused to believe either. Tsukasa was also a christian, so he had ignored any mentions of ghosts or paranormality. Once he had heard the voice, he began feeling like he was being watched. He didn’t know why. 

Every now and then, he’d turn around to see who it may be. Again, nobody appeared. It was just the street behind him. The lamp posts that shined brightly in the night sky. The stars that appeared above him reminded him of his dream. He remembered that not once did he ask Rui about whether his dream to become a star would be possible or not. 

He sighs, frowning. Without Rui, he didn’t know what he was. When he wasn’t friends with Rui, he forever felt trapped inside the castle. But when he met Rui, it was like his whole world lit up.

…

Rui changed his life in such little time. That was certainly something extraordinary.

Tsukasa shook his head, stopping in his tracks. For some reason, he didn’t want to go back home. The stars had just seemed so pretty that night. So, the boy took his chance of going to star gaze on a hill he knew much about. 

He walked there, wondering what he could’ve done to stop this. After a while, Tsukasa appeared at the hill. He still had the feeling he was being watched, but ignored it. He assumed that was for the better.

The prince yawned as he went to lay down on the grass. It was pricking against his skin. He didn’t get to do this very often. The last time he had star-gazed was with Saki when they were younger. It had been forever since he had last done anything related to it too.

Tsukasa gives the stars a soft smile as he couldn’t describe them as anything other than beautiful. They seemed to shine brighter than they had before. He never realized how many shapes he could identify through the night sky’s beauty. 

“They’re really pretty, aren’t they?” a voice mutters. It was the same independent voice he had heard before. The voice of Kamishiro Rui.  He turns to the right to look at whoever spoke. He knew it couldn’t have been Rui. Well, obviously! He was dead!

Tsukasa blinks for a second. He thought he was hallucinating or something. Right before his eyes glowed the figure of his lover. One that isn’t dead nor harmed.  A smile was placed on the phantom’s face. The alchemist turned to look at Tsukasa as well. “..Huh?” The prince muttered, confused. His smile turned into a disoriented frown.

“The stars!” Rui announces, “Aren’t they really pretty?” 

Tsukasa hesitates, unsure as to how to respond. “..I guess so.” He says.

Rui sighs, “No need to be so uneasy,” he murmurs. “It’s not normal seeing your partner’s face with a smile after they had been split into two separate pieces.” The phantom still kept the energetic grin. 

Tsukasa never believed in ghosts. He couldn’t bring himself to do so. “W-Whoever you are..Th-this isn’t funny. Dressing up as the person I just lost to taunt me? That’s sickening!” He snaps, sitting up. The cold hand of the Kuro Lily touched his arm. 

“Dressing up..? Why would I do that?” Rui huffs. “Just think about it this way, the world is full of wonders. I’m certain we’ll meet in another life. Trust me, my star,” 

Tsukasa shook his head. “Y-You aren’t funny doing this! He’s.. he’s dead!” 

The ghost chuckles. “I’ll let you believe what you want.” He says.

The prince holds his chest tight. He could feel the tears evolve once again. “I-It’s not fair.. This.. This isn’t funny..” He sobs, beginning to cry. Rui sits up and moves over to comfort the boy. The cold hands of him wrapped around Tsukasa.

“We’ll be together again. I’m sure of it,” Rui mutters, hugging him tightly. 

~

“Rui, stop stepping on my feet–!” Tsukasa whines, shoving his arms down in front of him. He and Rui were practicing how to dance for an upcoming show. 

Rui chuckles with delight as he found the boy’s sour face to be both adorable and hilarious. “I feel like you’re the one stepping on my feet.” He jokes, grabbing the star’s hands and beginning the choreography once again. 

It all felt too familiar to him.. Yet he couldn’t figure out why. Which was why he chose to ignore the odd feeling and continue on with the assigned dance. “Left.. and then right..” Tsukasa kept muttering where he had to place his feet. 

“And then–” Tsukasa had expected Rui to do the casual let out where they both hold one hand and move out the opposite direction. But Rui didn’t do that. He instead pulled the star closer, holding his back with one hand and keeping the other on the boy’s waist. “Eh?!” Tsukasa gasps, not thinking his friend would do such a thing. He blushed just a little bit. “Th-That’s not apart of the–”

“But you did splendidly, no?” Rui teases, smiling as he had done so.

The future star frowned out of embarrassment. “Eugh! Whatever! Let’s just try again–” Tsukasa grabs his water, takes a quick sip and then returns to Rui. “This time to the correct choreography.” 

“Right, right.” Rui hums.