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Their hands are interlaced together as he’s led down the open aisle; smaller right held in larger left. The sight of their hands are almost unnoticeable under the long sleeve of his loose shirt, a child’s open secret for any watchers to guess at. They are here early, the seats of the auditorium beginning to fill with tonight’s audience behind them.
An audience of which they will be a part of.
“Here!” Tsukasa declares as he pulls Rui into the most middle seats he can find. “We should be able to observe our efforts with the clearest of views!” He sits, and it is barely a second afterwards that he begins pulling at Rui’s hand impatiently for him to sit down too.
Rui sits, making sure to position their hands comfortably on the arm rest between them, even as he huffs a laugh. “Eager?”
“Of course!” Tsukasa answers as he turns to him. “You know you are too. It’s normal to take part in an experience and feel pride when your work is shown off.” He curls his free hand under his chin, his small smile growing into a large grin. “Besides, when they are successful here, it shall be because they had such experienced helpers behind them!”
“True,” Rui acknowledges, watching the barely perceived shadows under the curtain as the performers get their sets ready for the opening of tonight’s show. “The last rehearsal they had went fairly well from what we managed to see.”
“Right?” Tsukasa cheerily settles in his seat, tilting his head closer to Rui’s side even as he stares straight ahead. “Do you think there will be any sort of recruiters here? If they manage to catch their attention then there’s the chance they might be interested in us!”
Rui squeezes his hand in amusement, “It’s a high school show— I don't think there's going to be anything like that tonight. The advertisement was mostly for anyone local, so a majority of the audience here should be friends or family of the performers.”
“Ehh,” Tsukasa sighs as if he’s been delivered the most heartbreaking news. “That sounds almost boring. Why wouldn’t they want to spread the advertisement then?”
“That’s a question to ask them.” Rui hums.
There’s a lull as he settles himself beside Tsukasa, still watching the shadows under the curtain. What would it be like to perform on this particular stage for an audience? He's glimpsed the small, barely navigable halls backstage in his escapades of running from the teachers. It would be a wonder for a larger production to be able to make use of the limited space, and he wonders how many of their props they would be able to fit in.
And thinking of limited space...
"Tsukasa-kun?"
"Yes?"
"If you would permit me ask." Rui glances down at his sunny head.
Tsukasa returns his glance with one filled with amusement. "You have my permission," he graciously allows, the palm of his free hand gesturing up at Rui.
"My thanks," he smiles briefly as he finishes gathering his thoughts. "Did you ever try out for the theater club here?" Even a small school club wouldn't pass up the opportunity for new members— despite the eccentricity in question. Could there have ever been a chance for Tsukasa to decide that he liked this stage instead? Knowing him, he would've rounded everyone into the best shape he could've with them.
"Of course not." Tsukasa answers promptly, as if the answer should be obvious.
Rui supposes it might be if his dream is anything to go by. Why start small?
"I thought about it, I suppose," Tsukasa continues. "After all, it wouldn't have taken much effort. But then I wouldn't have had the opportunity to branch out as much as I have." He turns and smiles at Rui, lifting their joined hands to press his lips against the back of Rui's hand, and Rui can just barely feel the chill left behind when Tsukasa pulls back. "And if I had stayed here, then our troupe possibly wouldn't have been formed."
"But we would have met anyway, is what you're saying?" He leans over to be closer to him when Tsukasa pulls his arm, resting their hands upon his heart.
"We would've met." Tsukasa insists. "With me as a popular star and you as a director, our paths would've intertwined eventually."
"Such confidence," he murmurs before dropping his weight on Tsukasa, hardly heeding the arm rest now digging into his ribs.
"Rui!” Tsukasa pushes him back up as softly as he can without being too forceful. "Sit up straight! Who knows what you put your back through again?"
"You would doubt me so?"
"Yes." Tsukasa deadpans, arm held up to keep Rui upright despite the grip he still had on Rui's hand. "Besides, you need to set a proper example for our juniors-"
"I think some of them are our age or older." Rui muses.
"They are our juniors because they asked for our prime example! As experienced members in live performances for multiple audiences, it is our duty to uphold our prestigious reputation!"
Rui can only laugh at that. Yes, their little troupe has managed to build quite the reputation for themselves, but he wouldn't exactly call it prestigious. Childish and eccentric are the words that immediately come to mind. Words he'll take pride in as it tends to differentiate them from some of the larger troupes.
"Oh." He pauses when he notices the shadows under the curtain still on either end of the stage. "Looks like they'll be starting soon."
"Wonderful!" Tsukasa leans forward in his seat, not one for sitting back when he's thinking about others. "Time to see what they put to use..."
"I'm sure they put everything to use," Rui settles back instead, squeezing Tsukasa's hand one more time. "For now, let's simply enjoy their endeavors."
His eyes sharpen as the curtain begins to pull away from itself, splitting down the middle. The spotlight on the ceiling turns on above them, highlighting the scattered trees as the Princess for tonight's show reveals herself.
And–
He didn’t notice the newcomer in their classroom until the girl was practically on top of them; a necessity due to neither one of them paying a single bit of attention to their surroundings. There's a notebook on his desk filled with ideas more important than reality right now.
So, it takes him an extra second to process the question she proposes to them with her hands clasped together.
“You want us to do what…?” Rui looks at his fellow student blankly, feeling the way Tsukasa is beaming next to him. Maybe he should start checking for sparkles? Perhaps he can rig something to go off whenever he feels the air shift to delight. There’s definitely an aura surrounding Tsukasa with the question that’s been proposed to them; one Emu would typically radiate.
Them. Rui’s almost wondering if he damaged his own hearing somehow with one of his explosions.
…Which would be ridiculous with the amount of safety measures he places, so that option is immediately tossed aside even while he ignores the inner voice he calls his conscience trying to point out his latest experiment. Tsukasa doesn’t know about it yet, therefore, it does not exist and Rui is going to keep it that way for as long as he can before he can be sure of its safety.
“Critique our show!” The girl clasps her hands in front of her as she bows slightly. “We got permission from the teacher after we showed him the Night Show! And some of your other recordings too! You’re probably busy… but if you ever get a chance to check out some of our rehearsals— it would be most appreciated!”
“Ha! Ha!” Tsukasa shifts into his proud pose— the one where he places one hand on his hip and leaves the other free to place on his head, chin, or chest. It’s adaptable, according to him, and so Rui had stopped asking at the moment.
Right now, he elects for his chest with the limited space allowed between the back of the chair he’s sitting on and the desk behind him. “It’s only natural for learning actors to seek help from a star!”
“Does that mean you’ll stop by?” The girl’s eyes shine from her excitement. “You don’t have to do anything more if you don’t want to. Just some occasional advice would be fine enough. We’ve elected to write our own version for the show this time around, but we don’t know if it’s going to go well…”
“Well…” Tsukasa trails off before tilting his head to look at Rui, “Do you think there will be time in between stage hunting?”
Rui thinks of his mental calendar. Writing new shows with Tsukasa in order to impress potential theaters for when their contracts run out. Meetings with said theaters in order to perform said show. Costume designing and making with Emu and Tsukasa. Singing lessons with Nene as she attempts to get them up to her standard. And then more of Tsukasa making them repeat every single step they make until he can deem them perfect. “Do you have a schedule of some sort ready?”
Ultimately, it would be up to Tsukasa anyway considering he handles all four of their schedules better than Rui ever could.
“Yes!” She hurriedly reaches into her bag to pull out a sheet of paper. “Like I said, you don’t have to show up to all times, just any you can.”
Rui takes the paper to glance at it before he tilts it for Tsukasa to see. “Well, Leader?”
Tsukasa leans in closer to glance at the times himself, nearly laying his head against Rui’s shoulder. “Looks like most rehearsals are right after school… that can work if we want to stop by for a few minutes.”
“Looks like we might be showing up sometime then,” Rui nods at the girl.
“OHHH! Thank you! Thank you!” She bounces lightly on her feet as she reaches into her back to pull out a thin book, which Rui also takes from her. “And it’s Kusanagi that performs with you too, right? She’s more than welcome to join if she wants— and that other friend of yours. We can’t wait to have you guys!” She’s out the door to their classroom before anyone could get the chance to say anything else.
“Ah— wait!” Tsukasa calls out to her. He sighs in exasperation, “She didn’t even introduce herself.”
“What a tragedy, but we’ll learn it soon enough I suppose,” Rui chuckles as he takes a closer look at the details. “...Little Briar Rose?”
He honestly hadn’t been expecting for their lunch to be interrupted by someone from the theater club of things. A plea for their experience? He supposes he does that all the time for shows he’s in charge of, but to critique one already in motion? It would be no problem for him, but isn't it a little late for them to be asking?
It had been one thing with the Sports Festival team. With them, he had been involved from the near beginning of the process. The theater club is already partway through their allotted rehearsal times, so Rui doubts the amount of good happening.
“Really?” Tsukasa brightens at the name, “She said they were writing their own show, think we could come up with some ideas when we see it?”
Rui raises a brow in amusement, “You want to show them up that badly? My, my, Tsukasa-kun, we haven’t even seen them perform yet.”
“Not like that!” Tsukasa retorts, cheeks pink. “... But if you happen to have ideas about a better way to put on the show then I wouldn’t refuse them.”
“I’ll make sure to come up with the best,” Rui promises.
Tsukasa smiles before patting his hand, “As to be expected.” He gets up from the seat he had placed himself in earlier to face Rui. “Can you send me a copy of the schedule later? I’ll add it to ours when I determine the best, available times.”
“Of course.” He gets up to follow Tsukasa out of the room so they can go enjoy their lunch— or rather, so Rui can enjoy stealing from Tsukasa's.
Little Briar Rose huh? This is bound to be an interesting experience either way.
“Wooah,” Emu breathes from her spot in the circle they’ve made on stage. “So Tsukasa-kun and Rui-kun are going to be helping little Tsukasa-kuns and Rui-kuns?”
Nene blinks at her slowly, “They’re our age though?” Her phone is in her hands, having been pulled out the moment she determined they were getting no more official work done for the day.
Emu hums as she brings her hand up to measure the top of her head against his shoulder, “Does that make us little Tsukasa-kuns and Rui-kuns then?”
"No," Nene states seriously as she turns back to her phone. "I refuse to be whatever that entails."
“Seriously?” Tsukasa groans from Rui’s other side. “Do you have to refer to us like that?”
“Miku wants to be a little Tsukasa-kun and Rui-kun!” Miku cheers from where her top half is draped across Tsukasa’s lap like the cat she’s dressed as. “Can Miku be a little Tsukasa-kun and Rui-kun?”
“You can’t be both!” Tsukasa retorts. “One only!”
“Does that mean she can be one?” Nene deadpans. “I worry about the explosive power your offspring could have…”
“Offspring!?” Rui chuckles even as he leans away from Tsukasa to save his ears. At this point, he’s going to have to worry more about losing them to Tsukasa than anything he can come up with.
“If anyone gets to be a little Tsukasa-kun and Rui-kun then it’s us!” Rin latches onto Len in a unified show of support that would work better if Len didn’t look slightly confused. He latches back though, and that’s all Rin really needs to feel the support.
“We can all be little Tsukasa-kuns and Rui-kuns!” Emus leans over Nene to hold onto Len too.
“No!” Tsukasa crosses his arms into an X in front of him, making sure to keep them above Miku’s head, “No one is going to be anything!”
“Isn’t it a good thing though?” Meiko muses calmly as Luka sleeps the chaos away from her lap. “To be recognized enough to impart skills others might think could be helpful?”
“It’s certainly a different opportunity,” Rui answers. “I don’t think directing would necessarily count as teaching from what I’ve done before. Everyone always held their own from the people we’ve worked with.”
“That’s true,” Tsukasa absently adjusts Miku’s elbow into a position more comfortable for both of them after she digs it into his thigh. “If the youngest are first years, then what could they possibly need help from us with? The girl who approached us was asking about the writing, but I don’t think she would’ve asked us to join them if that were purely the case. She could’ve simply handed us the scripts and been done with it.”
“Is that based on them being roughly the same age as Emu-chan and Nene-chan?” Kaito asks cautiously. His arm is draped across Miku’s legs in his lap to prevent her from kicking in excitement again. “Those students might not actually be on the same level. You have to remember to factor in the extra experience and opportunities that you’ve been given when compared to a simple club.”
“True,” Tsukasa hesitantly concedes with clear disappointment.
“If anything,” Rui adds, “the most likely option is for them to have far less experience. Our special case is doubled since we had a stage to ourselves to do whatever we wanted on it.”
“You sound so disappointed,” Meiko laughs. “How big is the school stage? You could always leave tips to make things more exciting for them if they’re willing to learn anything like that.”
“No.” Nene puts a stop to Meiko’s thought before it could truly take off.
“Boooo,” Emu and Rin chorus.
Len, who has managed to escape the hold on him, nearly folds himself in half to lay underneath Emu and Rin as they grasp each other instead. “Does this mean Rui-kun is going to be able to show off his new invention!?” His eyes start to sparkle, “It’s a modification on your latest canon right?”
“Canon!?” Tsukasa grips onto Miku as he leans away from Rui to face him properly. Miku raises her hands up as if she’s on a roller coaster before flopping them over to wave at Rui.
“I regret to inform you that it isn’t for you,” Rui informs him mournfully as he raises a hand to return Miku’s wave.
“You could at least act like you mean that,” Nene sighs.
Meiko squints her eyes in consideration, “Well it’s simply the writing, yes? Perhaps getting an idea of what they can do first will be best.”
“Possibly,” Rui thinks about the suggestion. Neither he nor Tsukasa have gotten the chance to fully read the script yet. “And we’ll only know after we see their skill set in person.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Kaito smiles encouragingly, “Just think of the way you feel when you watch shows for yourselves and I’m sure it’ll come from there.”
“Of course!” When Tsukasa wobbles, Rui places a hand behind his back to steady him when Miku shifts her weight to fully sit herself in his lap. “They’ll be trailing behind me in no time!”
“So you are making little Tsukasa-kuns and Rui-kuns,“ Rin accuses.
Rui laughs when even Tsukasa’s shout isn’t enough to disturb Luka. “We are not!”
“Hey, hey.” Emu turns their way. Poor Len is nearly crushed under Rin when Emu’s turn pulls her over him. Perhaps he can have the spot Miku left empty when she started to climb over Tsukasa? “Can we go? I want to see the show!”
He leans down to tap the ground in front of Len’s eyes as Tsukasa speaks, “Maybe not the first few sessions.” When teal eyes focus on him and Rui points to the spot, Tsukasa shifts over marginally to make room. “I want to be able to fully absorb the words written down so passionately!”
After Len practically crawls to safety, Kaito makes sure to place his new, nifty hat on him as a badge of survival.
“If that’s what you think they can write,” Nene sighs. “But… and I don’t mean to sound confident– but since it’s been brought up, I can’t help but doubt they would have anything as good as us. It might actually be a good thing to see people… not as good?”
“Nene!” Tsukasa gasps proudly. “Such confidence!”
“It’s happened once,” she grumbles at his attention, “I simply don’t want overconfidence to happen again.”
“Way to go Nene-chan!” Emu pulls her into the hug with her and Rin, causing her to roll her eyes fondly as she sinks into their embrace.
His attention is pulled away when Miku pats him on the hand holding Tsukasa’s back, “Miku thinks a lot of smiles are going to happen!” She beams as she helps him hold Tsukasa between them.
Rui smiles in return which only makes her cheeks rounder when her words come true in the moment.
Rui… might have been kidding himself for the day they got a chance to observe. Perhaps Nene had some truth behind her words.
Both he and Tsukasa are sitting in the second row of the school’s auditorium, neither one wanting to be in the same row as the overseeing teacher. And if he wants to be harshly truthful about what he’s currently seeing? He’s bored. There’s supposed to be a dreamlike quality at the edges of the stage as befitting of the performance being told, and yet, there’s something missing. It doesn’t take him long to figure out the missing pieces either.
Ah.
He might’ve gotten a little spoiled with the unbelievable talent of his troupe mates. He can’t even lie and say he’s all that interested in this performance when he’s seen better performances from other people in every spot. The girl, who’s currently playing Briar Rose herself, had said this was written by them. And yet, all he’s seen so far is a cheap repeat.
The script she had given him is now mostly red with the amount of markings both he and Tsukasa had made.
Is this what it's like to experience people who only have a vague passing interest in things? It's not like their performance is terrible by any means. Repeats can work if done correctly, but this show expects a twist and there's no lead up to it.
He had simply... been expecting a bit more passion. It's there; a distant speck on the tip of his tongue as if he were trying to remember the taste of an old meal. So, how would this be made into a full, newly made meal?
Help has been asked for, so help he shall give. They’ve got decent blocking, he’ll give them that much.
Beside him, Tsukasa leans forward with earnest attention.
Splitting his attention, Rui glances between him and the stage. If things had turned out differently, would Tsukasa have been on this stage instead? Did Tsukasa try out here and not make it somehow with the lack of an Emu figure? What was he doing trying out for outside places when there was a perfectly serviceable stage right at home?
“You made it!” The girl who had originally asked them to be here waves them up on stage after they finish their session. Tsukasa eagerly pulls him up, and as they make their way up, the teacher follows behind.
From there, it's introductions upon introductions as the crew attempts to catch the two of them up to speed on their progress. At one point, one of the members had been wondering how the feedback exchange should go when Tsukasa had simply pushed Rui forward.
"Let Rui work his magic!" He declared, the high of so many fans their age feeding into his energy.
And.
Rui had only been following his troupe leader's order when he got to work.
"Oh Rui!" Tsukasa whispers into his ear, and the warmth of his breath causes Rui to shiver. "Looks like they managed to fix the wheel in time." He marvels as they watch the fairies slowly be lowered onto the stage from the ceiling.
There's a certain charm in the rudimentary buildings of people who mostly knew how to work with cardboard. It reminded Rui of the first few projects he had ever built when he had first been starting out. He wondered who the artists were as they covered up any and all pieces of that exact cardboard to show the audience a finished piece.
"So they did," Rui acknowledges with a pleased hum. He had told a few of them a few ways to unstick the rusted wheels, having not known the outcome due to being in a hurry for practice.
Tsukasa leans his head on Rui's shoulder, "What do you think of them now?" He asks as the interlude starts with a close of the curtains. "You had been doubting them before, hadn't you? Nene's curse must've been too much for you to handle."
"Nene's curse might've been onto something," he chuckles quietly. "But what I think... is that no one can replace you."
"Hm? I know my stardom can reach no bounds, but what do I have to do with anything?"
“Isn't it strange?” He sighs with delirious giddiness. “Us, continuously meeting in somewhere we didn’t think possible. And now, your wish for more is so very close. Can you feel the anticipation running through your very bones?”
“All the time,” Rose answers promptly, a longing for adventure in the downward curve of lips. They are wrapped around each other, arms placed upon each other’s waists. “But, you’ve already promised me more, haven’t you? And to think.. I still haven’t come up with a way to repay you.
“You’re awake now.” He answers simply. “That’s more than enough to ever repay me.”
“I see.” Amber eyes close. “But to not repay you at all… it wouldn’t feel right.”
He smiles, “Do not fret over something so trivial! We shall have a grand marriage for your protection and then everyone will know not to–” The sharp and sudden pain radiating through his back cuts him off.
“Ahh,” Rose laughs as he’s gently gathered into arms and lowered to the ground. “Me? Needing protection? Don’t worry darling,” Rose croons, “soon enough they'll see that you need to be the one protected.”
The grip on his arm is sturdy, almost protective with the way the fingers dig in. His body is pulled forward to rest against Rose's, head tucked in close. As his eyes close, the last image he can remember seeing is the toothy grin as tears roll down Rose’s face.
Rui also keeps his eyes closed to prevent himself from laughing, having heard the screams of Tsukasa telling himself to cry on command last night even through the soundproofing in his room.
“Wow,” he hears sniffles from Rose's actual actor from her spot behind the bed beside them. “You want me to do that?”
Tsukasa squeezes Rui’s arm tighter and Rui blinks his eyes open to sit up. “Of course! And- how wonderful! You’re already crying! That means you know how this scene should go. This side quest of learning the character you are should go quickly now that the dialogue has been fleshed out.”
“Hehe,” Rui smiles at her. “Good luck.” He means it too with the difficulty of being able to even come close to matching Tsukasa’s talent. They might just have to perform their own iteration so he can solidify the image of Briar Rose as Tsukasa.
Briar Rose shouldn’t actually be woken up because she is the monster they all fear coming to life, except the Prince doesn’t know this and wants to wake her up. They meet through their dreams instead as the Prince attempts to figure out how to break the sleeping curse upon her.
Oh yes.
Rui can take that further. He had promised Tsukasa after all.
In only a few days, the members of the school's theater club have managed to create a fully functioning script under their guidance. A hint here, an emphasis there. Rui wasn’t about to make it easy for them in any case as they scrambled to formulate words into dialogue that didn’t completely sound as though they were trying to communicate with a different time period.
There’s satisfaction in getting a group more disheveled than their own little troupe together in a way that makes it unnoticeable to the audience. And even though this group will never quite live up to his standards, pride blossoms when they attempt to do so anyway. He's seen the quick sessions in the hall and the scripts in hand as he passed the members.
It works out for him too. He gets to show Tsukasa off personally while still being the solo director to him only. There are times when he doesn’t realize the other performers are still around, too caught up in Tsukasa’s orbit. This might not be their show, but it doesn't mean they can't perform one.
"Behold the eyes faced with brilliance," Tsukasa laughs quietly, words meant only for Rui as he nudges his head over the audience seats. The two of them are still kneeling on their spot.
He leans back and relaxes into Tsukasa's chest at the familiar sight of a captivated audience as Tsukasa turns back to the actress. She had come up to him a few days beforehand with questions, and so did some of the others.
“Are you as good an actor as Tenma-san?"
"How did you both learn?"
"Can we ever get as good as you guys?"
"Tsukasa-kun is a method actor," he had answered simply. And while he may not think anyone could ever compare to him, it didn't mean they couldn't try. "Simply bring yourself as close to the character you are playing as until you know them inside and out."
It’s nearly impossible to find a hint of Tsukasa these days once he’s completely in character, and it's a terrifying marvel to watch.
"They were spectacular!" Tsukasa's clap is probably the loudest out of everyone's as they clap for the finale. On stage, the entire theater club bows, hands raised in triumph at the applause. "They made leaps and bounds since we last saw them!"
Rui claps along with him, "They did." Around them, the audience starts to gather their things in preparation of leaving.
Tsukasa laughs as he curls his head onto Rui's shoulder, the both of them staying put as their row begins to leave. "You never answered my question before."
"Hmmm," Rui tilts until his head is on top of Tsukasa's. "And which one was that?"
"The one about no one being able to replace me." Tsukasa squeezes his hand. They hadn't let go once during the whole show, their palms steadily growing clammier with each passing moment. If they don't let go soon, their fingers will probably start to cramp up if they haven't already.
They don't let go.
"Exactly what I meant." Rui close his eyes.
"Eh?" Tsukasa grumbles under him which causes him to smile, "That doesn't explain a thing."
Throughout the minimal time they had spent 'teaching', not once had they lowered their expectations for those in the theater club, and Rui can admit to being pleasantly surprised at them exceeding his expectations. He'll blame it on Nene and leave that at that.
However...
He can't stop thinking about the moment when Tsukasa had so effortlessly stolen the show as Briar Rose. He hadn't been trying that hard on stage when he and Rui had performed the scene more like how it should be.
There will never be another Torpe other than Tsukasa. There will never be another Rio other than Tsukasa. Actually— it doesn't matter what the role had been. All Rui can see is Tsukasa when he tries to think back to all of the shows they've performed, his face overlapping any of the previous actors Rui has seen in the roles.
Rui wants to solidify the image of Tsukasa as Briar Rose.
"Tsukasa-kun?"
"Yes?"
"What do you think of performing our own Briar Rose?"