Chapter Text
Heavily inspired by; minamo's "A breathtaking supernova"
Chapter 1: The weight of Stardust
The morning sun hadn't yet pierced the curtains when Tsukasa's alarm blared loudly, it was loud and obnoxious, Just like him. Tsukasa loudly and very audibly groaned, smacking his alarm clock trying to get it to shut up. Eventually he succeeded, but then he remembered why he set the alarm so early in the first place, he had to get some work in before school. With great effort Tsukasa got himself out of bed, without bothering to put on his school uniform; he'd intend to that later. His desk held a half-finished script that he had poured a great deal of effort into. This script was his rendition of the original Alice in Wonderland, with Tsukasa playing the White Rabbit, Rui as the Cheshire Cat, Nene as the Queen of Hearts, and Emu taking on the role of Alice. He had only written up to Alice's escape from the Queen's castle, with the goal of continuing the script at least until Alice's return to the White Queen's side before school.
After about 2 hours of work, Saki, Tsukasa's younger sister, walked into Tsukasa's room, a curious expression on her face. "Nii-chan, why haven't you gotten ready for school yet?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow. Tsukasa was so engrossed in his writing that he didn't even notice the passage of time. Startled, he looked up from his script, his orange eyes wide with surprise. "Two hours already?" he exclaimed, his voice carrying a hint of disbelief. He glanced at the clock, then back at Saki. "I... I didn't realize I'd been writing for that long. I was just so caught up in the story."
Saki chuckled, her big brother's dedication to his creative pursuits always fascinating to her. "Well, it's time to get ready now, Nii-chan. You can continue your writing later." She affectionately ruffled his hair and then left the room, leaving Tsukasa to scramble to get dressed and make it to school on time. After Tsukasa had hastily gotten dressed, he walked to the kitchen where he found two plates of breakfast already prepared. Saki had already eaten a decent amount of her meal, and with a mouthful, she cheerfully mumbled, "Mmm... Nii-chan, I think we still have enough time to eat breakfast!"
Tsukasa looked on in disbelief from the stairs. "When... when did you even cook that?" he wondered aloud. "Mmm, got it from the fridge," Saki replied nonchalantly, her cheerful demeanor undisturbed.
Tsukasa's eyes widened with surprise and a hint of concern. "Is that even safe to eat!?" he exclaimed, a mix of worry and amusement in his voice. With a playful twinkle in her eye, Saki giggled in response. "Oh, Nii-chan, you worry too much. It's perfectly fine, I promise."
Tsukasa sighed, realizing he might have to trust his sister's judgment this time. He reluctantly took a seat and started eating his breakfast, though he ate rather slowly, Tsukasa happily ate the meal, he felt really happy that Saki went out of her way to prepare breakfast for him, even if it was from the fridge. "Well, if I get sick, it's your fault," he teased, trying to lighten the mood.
Saki grinned mischievously. "I'll take that risk," she said with a playful wink. The two siblings enjoyed their breakfast together. Tsukasa and Saki engaged in playful bickering for a while longer. Their playful laughter filled the household, even if it was mostly quiet during their younger years now it's filled with laughter, that's all that matters.
Eventually Tsukasa caught a glimpse at the Digital clock on the nearby countertop, it read 6:49. Shit, schools about to start! Tsukasa immediately got up, leaving his quarter finished plate on the table yelling "Common Saki! It's time to go to school, wouldn't want to be tardy now do we?" Saki still munching on her food quickly commented on her brothers meal "jeez you eat quickly"
Tsukasa grabbed his bag then waited for Saki by the doorway. "Commmonnnn or else we'll be late!" Tsukasa yelled out. His voice was so, so Annoying. Sakis voice echoed out after him "Cominggg!!" Saki happily ran to the doorway, putting her Long black thigh highs on before putting on her shoes. "Alright, I'm ready to go" She gave her brother a mellow smile and He gave one in kind. Tsukasa was the one who opened the door, and the two of them walked to school.
Tsukasa and his sister went their separate ways to their classrooms, class was remarkably boring, Tsukasa is sure that even the teacher's pet found today's lesson boring, It was a constant struggle for Tsukasa to even keep his eyes open. Luckily for him the last class of today swiftly ended. Tsukasa packed up his things scattered about his desk, and then carried his backpack. He had practice today so he had to make sure to eat, we can't risk him being tuckered out or hungry before practice can we?
Tsukasa made his way home, Saki had practice with her friends and let Tsukasa know beforehand, she said she left some ginger fried pork in the fridge, so he should have some! Tsukasa was really looking forward to that, Ginger fried pork was his favorite so he appreciated Saki went out of her way to buy some so that he had something to eat when he got home, it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Tsukasa opened the door to his home. The silence was reminiscent of how the household used to be. Once again only Tsukasa was in it, but this time was different, Saki would come home this time. Tsukasa opened the fridge to find some Ginger fried pork just like Saki said, he took out the cold plate from the fridge, Then placed it in the microwave to reheat it. BEEP! Lunch was ready!! Tsukasa took the plate out of the microwave, being careful not to burn himself, he was doing well in acting recently, he wasn't being a burden to the group, He deserved to not burn himself on the microwave today!
He placed the plate on the table and ate! He enjoyed this meal even if he wasn't able to eat with Saki. It still tasted good! As Tsukasa finished up his meal he also got ready to go out, throwing on his usual yellow vest and grabbed a small bag so that he would be able to carry stuff. And with that Tsukasa sent a message to the group chat
Tsukasa !! ☆☆☆
On my way to Phoenix wonderland!!
Emuuu!!
Okay!
Tsukasa put his phone on his bag and carried on, He opened the door and started making his way to Phoenix wonderland, It was a really nice walk actually, the weather was a little chilly but that was the way Tsukasa liked it, Tsukasa's brisk walk was enjoyable, But eventually he made his way to Phoenix wonderland where everyone was waiting, Tsukasa quickly went to the main stage area and saw all of their smiling faces, well minus Nene.
"Hi Tsukasa-kun!" Emu happily greeted him, she waved her hands in the air while Tsukasa was still relatively faraway, and she stopped doing that once Tsukasa got closer instead she opted just to just smile at Tsukasa, which Tsukasa returned in kind.
"Tsukasa do you have the script?" Rui asked, he stepped a little closer to Tsukasa to ask, And tsukasa happily nodded, grabbing his bag and taking out the pages of script he had finished "it's only missing about a quarter of it!" Tsukasa pridefully declared, Emu, Rui, and even Nene leaned closer to see the script.
"Oh wow Tsukasa-kun! That's alot when did you write this?" Emu asked, and Tsukasa quickly replied "uhh last night and before school" Emu looked at Tsukasa in shock "B-before school!?" Emu couldn't fathom waking up so early, but Nene playfully teased her by saying "Emu... You just cant fathom waking up before 5:00 huh...?" Nene chuckled a little bit, and so did Rui and Tsukasa.
Nene quickly denied the allegations, "of course I can wake up before 5!!" She declared.
After chatting for a while and discussing the script, the group continued to share their thoughts and ideas about their upcoming performance. Tsukasa, Emu, Rui, and Nene were engrossed in the creative process, brainstorming and making plans for their play.
As they were deep in discussion, Rui suddenly interrupted, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Hey, guys, I have great news" he exclaimed. "I finished the costumes for our play!" Rui happily announced, naturally Tsukasa and Emu were jumping with joy while Nene watched on and eventually Tsukasa couldn't help but feel a surge of gratitude for his friends. He truly did not deserve them.
Nene butted into the conversation, getting Ruis attention "Rui..? Where are the costumes?" Nene wasn't looking at Rui, she decided that her fingers were much more interesting, or at least that's what it looked like. Even if she came off abit rude, Rui replied in kind "it's backstage, we can go get them right now and try them on!"
"Clothes!" Emu yelled excitedly, being the first to go up on the stage and then turned around, looking back on everyone from up on the stage, Emu then, in a very Emu fashion yelled out "Common! I'm excited to see the clothes!" With a burst of enthusiasm, Emu bounded onto the stage, her excitement palpable as she gestured for the others to follow. Tsukasa was quick to join her, echoing her enthusiasm. "Yeah, let's go!" he called out with a grin, feeling the rush of creativity and camaraderie that filled the air.
Nene, ever the composed and slightly aloof member of the group, didn't let her excitement show, but she couldn't help but crack a small smile. She looked at Rui and nodded in agreement. "Let's see these costumes, Rui." Nene said.
Rui yelled out to the two on the stage "You guys go ahead! I need to get some extra props for the costumes!" Emu and Tsukasa gave a nod, And Nene eventually spoking, telling everyone that "I'm going to go with Rui, You guys go ahead" "Alright Nene-chan!" Emu yelled from the stage, with Tsukasa giving Nene a thumbs up, Nene proceed to Nod then Run after Rui, Emu and Tsukasa proceeded backstage to where the costumes were supposed to be, It took awhile of searching but Emu and Tsukasa finally found a clothing rack containing the costumes, Tsukasa's eyes widened in awe as he looked at the costumes hanging on the rack.
The attention to detail and craftsmanship in Rui's work was impressive. The vibrant colors and intricate designs brought their characters to life. Emu, with her usual enthusiastic nature, immediately grabbed Tsukasa's costume from the rack.
She closed one eye and positioned it in front of him Trying to guestimate its size. "Isn't this too small?" Emu asked with a quizzical expression. It was hard to read her face, it was either lighthearted and playful or actually concerned,
Tsukasa couldn't figure it out. Tsukasa took a step closer, examining the costume closely. He furrowed his brow, trying to gauge if it would fit. "Really?" he replied, a hint of concern in his voice. It did seem a bit smaller than he had expected. Especially since he should have stayed the same size from when Rui measured their sizes, Did he pig out? Was he stuffing his face with too much food?
Emu continued to hold the costume up, her eyes darting between Tsukasa and the outfit. "It's a little tight, isn't it?" she noted, a touch of concern in her voice. She glanced at Tsukasa, her playful expression giving way to genuine worry. Tsukasa didint exactly love the idea of making Ruis hard work go to waste, this costume was definitely a nightmare to make, he didn't want to disappoint Rui
Emu gave Tsukasa a sob look. She didn't know what he was thinking but it definitely wasn't sunshine and rainbows. She tried to cheer him up in the best way she knew how, by showing the positive side of things "Hey! We can probably just ask Rui-kun to adjust it a little bit! I guess he didn't measure you right" Emu giggled a little bit and I guess her optimism spread to Tsukasa "Hehe, I guess you're right Emu" Tsukasa put his hands on his hips and gave her a big smile, it felt bad lying to her like that, Emu just wanted to help and you give her false hope of her being okay? You are horrible Tsukasa.
Rui and Nene entered the backstage area, and Rui's face lit up when he saw Emu and Tsukasa with the costumes. "Great, you guys found them!" Rui exclaimed, clearly delighted. He quickly approached the clothing rack to inspect his handiwork. Nene, on the other hand, observed Tsukasa with a curious look as he examined his costume.
Nene couldn't help but notice Tsukasa's hesitation and the strange expression on his face. She decided to inquire further, her voice calm and inquisitive. "Is there something wrong, Tsukasa?" she asked, her sharp eyes fixated on him. Tsukasa, not wanting to admit the issue with the size, tried to brush it off with a light-hearted response.
"Ah, no, I just don't want to try it on just yet," Tsukasa said with a sheepish giggle. "Maybe during next week's practice." He hoped that would be a good enough explanation, not wanting to cause any concern among his friends. However, the nagging feeling that he had put on weight lingered in the back of his mind. What would he even do? he thought and thought and thought, till finally he realized something:
'It's only a little bit tight. I'm sure if I hold back on eating for just a little while I could get it to fit!'
Tsukasa's determination kicked in as he contemplated the situation. He didn't want to disappoint Rui or his friends by not fitting into the costume. Tsukasa knew nobody would stop him, he's done this for his acting before, though only for three days, He's never starved himself for the necessities for this long, But that's nothing that a future star like him couldn't handle!
As he conversation continued, Rui turned to Tsukasa and made a request, "Tsukasa, would you mind trying on the costume now? I'm really excited to see how it looks on you." Rui's enthusiasm was contagious, but Tsukasa, who had already decided to cut down on his eating, nervously refused, offering a random reason to avoid trying it on just yet. He was never a very good liar so he hoped this would be convincing enough.
"Actually, Rui-kun, I think I might have spilled some soda on my undershirt earlier," Tsukasa quickly responded, trying to hide his anxiety. "I don't want to stain the costume, so I should probably wait until I get a new one before trying it on." It was a somewhat convincing excuse, and Tsukasa hoped it would buy him some time to work on fitting into the costume. He needed to fit in that costume.
Rui looked slightly disappointed but couldn't help teasing Tsukasa melodramatically. "Oh, Tsukasa-kun, it seems you no longer love my costumes," Rui playfully exaggerated with a dramatic sigh. "I thought we were destined to be the ultimate creative duo!" He feigned a heartbroken expression, adding a touch of theatrical flair to his words.
Tsukasa chuckled at Rui's antics, glad that his excuse seemed to have worked for now. "Don't be so dramatic, Rui-kun. I'll make sure to get a new undershirt soon, and then we can have our grand costume fitting," Tsukasa replied, playing along with Rui's theatrics. He couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
As the day progressed, Tsukasa and his friends continued their rehearsal, making progress on their play. Time seemed to fly by, and before they knew it, the rehearsal had concluded.
Tsukasa headed home, excited to see his sister Saki again and secretly relieved that the costume fitting had been postponed. When he walked through the front door, a delicious aroma greeted him. The savory scent led him straight to the kitchen, where he found Saki busy preparing dinner.
With a warm smile, Saki turned to greet her brother. "Welcome home, Nii-chan!" she said cheerfully. "I've made your favorite, ginger fried pork. I hope you're hungry!" Tsukasa's eyes lit up with joy. He was hungry from the day's activities, and the thought of enjoying his favorite meal made him feel even more grateful for his thoughtful sister. But he IS trying to cut down on food intake and ginger fried pork isn't exactly the healthiest option.
He couldn't exactly say no to his sister, upsetting her is something he'd never want, but he had to fit into the costume, he was a little conflicted, But as long as Saki thought he ate his food it would be fine right? So Tsukasa said "oh wow! Thanks a lot Saki!" Tsukasa gave her a big grin, sitting down across from her at the dinner table
Saki beamed with joy at Tsukasa's response. "You're welcome, Nii-chan!" she replied with a bright smile, clearly delighted that her brother appreciated the meal she had prepared. She eagerly started eating her own portion of ginger fried pork, And Tsukasa whole plan hinged on the hope that she didn't notice him not eating, and lucky for him Sakis talkative and unatentive.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was warm and cheerful. Tsukasa did his best to engage in conversation, keeping Saki entertained and happy. He felt like human garbage for deceiving his sister, I mean who does that? Tsukasa really is the worst, he doesn't even deserve to eat food.
As the evening meal continued, the siblings enjoyed each other's company, and the sound of their laughter filled the room. Tsukasa was grateful for these moments with Saki, she really was his star. <3
Tsukasa knew he couldn't keep pushing the food around on his plate forever. He needed to find a way to discreetly get rid of it before Saki noticed. Looking for the perfect opportunity, he suddenly remembered a question he had meant to ask earlier, but could now be a distraction.
He leaned in, giving his sister an affectionate smile. "Hey, Saki," Tsukasa began, "I just remembered something. Did you finish your math homework for tomorrow? You know, that tricky algebra assignment? I thought maybe we could go over it together, like we used to!" Tsukasa did actually want to go over the assignment; he'd never want his sister to fail math. He's horrible for using that as an excuse to not eat his food.
Saki's eyes widened with surprise as she realized she had indeed forgotten about her homework. "Oh, Nii-chan, you're a lifesaver!" she exclaimed. "I totally forgot about that assignment. Thanks for reminding me." She quickly placed her chopsticks down and rushed to her room to fetch her math homework, leaving Tsukasa alone in the dining room.
Quickly, Tsukasa seized the opportunity to dispose of his untouched meal. He quietly and discreetly scraped the ginger fried pork into the trash bin, placing some leftover napkins on top to insure her sister didn't see it.
When Saki returned to the dining room, clutching her math homework, she looked relieved. "Thanks, Nii-chan," she said with a grateful smile. "I really appreciate your help with this." Tsukasa returned her smile, relieved that he had managed to divert her attention long enough to get rid of his food. Saki laid the Math homework on the table, revealing she had barely done any of it, Tsukasa, looking at the page accidentally let a "geh…" slip out of his mouth with a disappointed look,
Saki in turn said "H-hey!! I swear I was going to do it, I just forgot!"
Tsukasa chuckled then said "whatever, let's just get this done with" then smiled at Saki