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No matter what she does, where she is, Nene, without fail, always finds herself pulled back to Rui. All the time. Everything in her life is completely made up of Rui; He’s her next-door neighbor, and they both go to the same school and are in the same theater troupe. There is not a single day that Rui was not a part of her life.
Ever since then; still together now.
Almost as if life itself was playing with her, connecting Rui and her, intertwined in an invisible string. Connected by fate, chance, or maybe even destiny.
Although, to some, it may be weird that a girl was so close to a boy , Nene was never one to care about gender ideals. In fact, she’s been with Rui for so long that this was normal, every day to her. She doesn’t need anybody else telling her how to feel.
Of course, she too thought about how close they were sometimes, but she never saw it as anything but just a friendship. That’s all it’s ever been, right? Well, of course, that’s only what she thought.
But, just as always—she was hiding what she truly felt.
Nene stood outside of her house, watching the night sky, looking at each individual star. She comes back to the world she stood on and looks over to Rui’s house, which is just nearby. Rui’s silhouette appears at his bedroom window, he looks like he’s working on another robot, probably for their troupe’s next show. Nene has the faintest smile on her face as she sighs and walks down the street.
She walks over to the playground. Although slightly derelict and abandoned, it’s still in a safe condition. Nene doesn’t understand what she’s doing out here, late at night. She felt herself want to be here. Was it nostalgia, or was she truly going mad? Well, it could be both. She thought as she walked to the climbing dome. Without much effort, she finds herself sitting at the top, grown a lot more than the last time she was here.
Lightly kicking her feet into the air, she remembers a moment from her childhood, between her and Rui.
Ah, right. That’s why she was here.
It was their ten-year friend anniversary today. And he had not bothered to even greet her today.
Well… To be fair, Nene hadn’t either, but it was because she was afraid. He hadn’t messaged her, so she decided to walk to his house. But, the moment she stepped in front of his door, she stopped and decided to go back home.
She was still the afraid and anxious girl she was ten years ago, it seemed.
And today, she remembered another night that was as beautiful as this one. A time before her falling out with Rui, when they were both young, sneaking out of their parents’ houses to act out their pretend shows.
She hums and closes her eyes in remembrance.
♫彡*:･ﾟ✧
“Are you sure this is okay…? Our parents might be worried…” Nene said in a whisper, as she let herself be dragged by Rui’s hand holding hers in a tight, yet gentle grip.
“It’ll be okay!” He replied, smiling. “I shall never let any harm come after you, my princess. As your royally appointed knight, it is my sworn duty!”
Nene’s eyes flickered in confusion, but then slowly, she realized that they were doing another play show. “Um… Alright…! I’ll let you lead the way, then, knight!” She smiled back.
Although Nene was rather afraid and shy around others, with the small amount of time she’s known Rui since she moved to Tokyo, she’s warmed up to him a lot. They’d been making and playing in their own plays in the playground after watching The Little Mermaid play, the spectacle they had both witnessed together had made them promise each other to both be together, on a large, wonderful stage in front of a massive audience.
To pass on the wonder they had, to be confident, to be stronger, and to be together. That’s the promise they made as kids.
So, she let Rui lead her to the playground, where they always enacted their play shows, pretending to be characters and acting in front of an audience, watching them in amazement.
“Is it not dangerous to sneak out of the castle at night? My parents warn me of monsters that lurk in the dark, in the forest…” Nene found herself saying, acting as if she had confidence; as if she could really act in front of so many eyes, even though she would probably faint if this was the real deal.
“Do not worry, my princess.” He reassured her, and slowly, the playground had turned into the dark forest that surrounded Nene’s family’s castle. The playhouse had become a large and forbidding castle, and the ground, grass, with tall trees in a forest so gloomy, it had seemed like the forest itself was alive! “There lurks no monsters out here! And if there were, I shall protect you with my trusty blade!” He says, picking up a stick from the ground.
“Besides, don’t you think the night is magnificent at this hour?” He said, reverting Nene’s attention to the sky.
It was true, the night was charming at this hour. Each star had shined so beautifully on its own, a small speck in the vastness of the dark sky. It was all so beautiful in fact, that she almost found herself distracted by its allure. Nene quickly shook her head and came back to reality, back down to the earth before the stars.
“Are you sure? I… I don’t want you to get hurt from protecting me!” She tugs on his arm, trying to get him to go back into the castle. It had been getting late, and at any point, the servants and king and queen might be looking for them.
“Fear not, Princess. I have faired enough monsters myself, so I am ready for this.” He holds her hand reassuringly. “There is a much bigger world outside of this castle, a world we have yet to explore! Doesn’t that sound appealing to you?”
“But… I don’t want to worry my parents… And… I’m afraid. I don’t want to be hurt, even if you’re here to protect me, I’m still so scared…”
The knight gave her a worried expression. “Do you not wish to step out of the castle grounds?”
“I… I do! It’s just…” She says, apprehensive. “What if I get hurt? If you get hurt? It’s so scary out there, even if you say that there are no monsters, I don’t want to risk it…”
Rui suddenly gets on his knee, placing his sword on the ground as he takes both of Nene’s hands in his. “Then… Let’s move through together . Maybe I’m in no position to promise I can protect you entirely, but when we’re together, I can promise you this; You won’t be alone.”
She felt her cheeks color in a pink red, as she held his hands. She squeezed back. “…Okay. I trust you, my dear knight.”
They stayed there for a moment, the stars in the sky lighting up the world. The world that had only Rui and Nene in this small little moment in time.
Just like the stars above them, their connection, like an invisible string, was forever shining. Brilliant, beautiful, and timeless, the two glowed against each other’s light, and together, they created a glow as bright as a star.
And like a star, their connection would live on for as long as they both lived—resilient—and even after everything, they would leave their glow behind where they once were. To continue for the longest time.
In the darkness of the world, they were both each other’s light. Guiding through the vast space.
♫彡*:･ﾟ✧
Nene opens her eyes. She’s back to the present, by herself and the night sky. The streetlights have turned on, and residents have begun to head off to sleep. Lights in the apartment buildings have also begun to turn off.
“I guess I should go back…” She hops off the climbing dome, feeling better after the nostalgia, but also a little down. “Although, Rui still hasn’t said anything…” She breathes out a sigh as she walks back home.
It was fine if Rui didn’t greet her for their friend anniversary.
It was okay if Rui had forgotten.
…No, it wasn’t. But Nene had no right to complain.
She passed by streetlight after streetlight, dark window after dark window. She knew this place for over half of her life, and yet… It felt as if somebody was watching her. Shadows moved in the corner of her eye, footsteps that didn’t sound like her own, flickering of streetlights. Something was off…
Instinctively, she turned her head to look behind her to reassure herself that all was fine, but…
Somebody was running after her.
She screamed out and tried to run away, but whoever it was quickly caught up to her and put their hand on her shoulder, pulling her back. “Nene!” They screamed… Wait, no— He screamed.
Her eyes readjusted and finally saw the figure for what it was—or, who it was. That unforgettable purple hair, and sparkly and mesmerizing yellow eyes. She felt like such an idiot for not distinguishing it sooner.
“Are you alright? I didn’t mean to scare you!” Rui sputtered in a panic, trying to calm her down.
“It’s… It’s fine. But, you can’t just… follow people around in the middle of the night!” Her breaths had stabilized and she was up on her own two feet again. “…What are you doing out here? You should be at home…” She paused, realizing her own hypocrisy.
“You… You know what I mean…” She said. Do you remember…? She wanted to say, yet her words clogged up in her throat.
“Well… I’m terribly sorry it took this long, but I have finally finished it!” He smiled and rummaged in his pocket.
Nene stood there, a little confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I was working on it all day, and thought I wouldn’t make it in time… Here.” He pulls out a tiny pocket-size robot. It was… a mini-Rui! “You could call him RuiRobo, or just Rui if it suits you.” He smiled warmly as he handed it to her.
“Like NeneRobo… Wait… What is this for?” She asked, although, she felt like she knew. He remembered… She found herself smiling back like an idiot, her pink blush hidden by the darkness of the night. “So that’s what you’ve been working on…”
He nodded. “Happy ten-year friend anniversary, Nene,” Rui said. Suddenly, Nene felt like that little kid again, playing princess while Rui played knight. The stars shined ever so brighter just like that day. Just like them.
“H-Happy ten-year friend anniversary, too…” She set the robot down and it beeped to life, making cute little mechanic noises as it hugged Nene’s leg. And just like the robot, Nene ran over to Rui and hugged him. He felt a little shocked at first, but slowly, he wrapped his arms around her and they had stayed like that.
Under the stars, they were only on Earth, but their relationship had expanded the boundaries of ground level.
The princess was with her knight once again, and even though it was his job to protect her, they both protected each other in their own separate ways.
They’ve been together for ten years now.
And it didn’t look like they were going anywhere.
Together, they shined forever, like the stars in the night sky, ever so beautiful.