Chapter Text
When Tenma Tsukasa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he felt himself to be tremendously ill.
This wasn't the sort of sickness where an individual found themselves to be unbelievably nauseous, or eternally bedridden- absolutely not. Rather, it was the painful scratchy texture indicative of a sore throat. It told Tsukasa that swallowing would be one of the worst things to currently engage himself in.
He scratches at his neck tiredly before sluggishly crawling out of bed, clearing his phlegm-induced throat.
A cup of tea would be nice. Green or black. But it's best to avoid eating too much. Avoid irritating the throat.
He rubs at his eyes, his breakfast decided.
He pushed through the menial tasks of early morning: showering, brushing his teeth, changing, doing stretches- all were done with minimal focus, and he prepared to go downstairs.
Saki had just arrived downstairs, investigating the cupboard as if searching for a valuable mineral, one eyebrow raised, and her lips turned downwards in an almost comical fashion; clearly in search of the cereal.
Tsukasa lightly chuckled at the sight, and reached for the cupboard next to her, where he had placed them after the previous arrangement of shopping.
The younger Tenma smiled, let out a thanks, and took it to the table where her utensils and milk had already been placed.
Tsukasa, meanwhile, places the kettle to boil, and watches it.
An average breakfast scene at the Tenmas; not like the chaos that sometimes took place at morning time in preparation for school. A scene of calm and tranquility that would quickly be contradicted by the chaos both would experience at school.
"Will Onii-Chan be late today?" Saki turned and asked with inquisitive eyes.
"Probably." Tsukasa smiled at Saki as he grabbed some milk for his tea, "Why? Will you?"
And that's how it continued on for the rest of the half-hour, general inquiries on the rest of their day, playful (yet serious) chiding on both ends on what to do and what not to- the average series of events of breakfast at the Tenmas.
When breakfast is said and done for both ("You know a cup of tea won't last you the whole morning until lunch, right?") they prepare to leave.
Saki hops with a determined expression as she tries to fix on her shoes, and when she finally does so, grabs her bag from where she'd placed it on the floor.
"Right!" She huffed, "I'll be heading out!" She opened the door.
Tsukasa nodded, "Of course! Have a good day!"
She laughed, though he'd said nothing particularly funny, "you too!"
Tsukasa sighed, best he'd get going too-
"-and don't get up to anything again with Rui!" She scolded, though Tsukasa wasn't sure where it'd come from, and he sputtered confusedly as she closed the door.
He stood there, and then suddenly let out a few coughs- a strange burning sensation building up in his throat.
-Weird.
He choses to ignore it- perhaps he'd eaten something off yesterday- and moves out.
The way there passes fine. It's yet another normal day: he comes to school on time, waves at everyone as if a celebrity of sorts, and everyone chuckles as they wave back. All the same.
As is Rui's presence in his chair, where he comfortably (and informally) sits, a smile naturally on his face as he screws something into a little smiling head.
"Rui!" Tsukasa calls from the door, grinning brightly. The burning in the back of his throat magnifies significantly- but no, no it doesn't. Not important.
Rui looks up, and his eyes lighten up slightly as he notes his friend and partner-in-crime. "Tsukasa-kun." He waves lightly.
Tsukasa slides into the chair next to him (not his own- the occupier isn't here yet- he and Rui sit on opposite corners of the classroom. The inventor at the front for the sake of the entire school) and peeks over, his chair scraping on the floor as he brings it right by Rui. "Is that one of the minions?" He inquires.
Rui's smile widens- if that was even possible- and he lifts the thing up, "Oh, this little guy?" He gestures, as if there were another little guy around, "say hello to Tsukasa-kun, Kasper-kun."
The robot isn't on, and Tsukasa highly doubts it has an ability to understand human language based on what it's going to be used for, but Rui makes up for it by lifting up one of Kasper's arms, and then lowering it again, doing so repeatedly in a way where it looked as if he were waving.
Tsukasa laughed heartily, before it was interrupted by a series of aggressive coughs.
Rui quickly became alarmed when the coughing didn't subside after a few seconds, placing Kasper on the table as he lightly put his palm on the others shoulders, he moved the other hand to pat the boy on the back. "Is everything fine, Tsukasa-kun? You aren't choking, are you?"
Tsukasa quickly shook his head, but the warmth on his shoulder was all he could focus on as his coughs started to subside. It wasn't uncomfortable, rather, warm as Tsukasa imagined it to be.
Then, the heat in his throat was back with a burning vengeance.
Rui took note of how a few classmates who'd arrived early were beginning to take notice, knowing well this would embarrass the boy, and quickly tried to calm down the others raptures. He held up a weak thumbs up between coughs to reassure Rui (and everyone watching) that no, he wasn't dying, he was fine. Rui didn't doubt it, but he could tell that Tsukasa definitely wasn't feeling so well. His coughs had a raspy effect to them, and a few sweat beads were collecting at his forehead.
When the attack halted, Tsukasa placed his head onto Rui's desk and groaned. Rui smiled lightly when he was sure Tsukasa was well again, patting him lightly and playfully, "Maybe Tsukasa-kun shouldn't have come today."
Tsukasa groaned again, "No. I'm fine.... Just a raspy throat." He lifted his head up and smiled sheepishly, rubbing his neck.
"That didn't look like just a raspy throat." Rui noted. "Make sure you take some sort of remedy for it. Me and Nene used to drink a lot of honey water," he happily supplied, "Just be careful, it could also be a symptom for a less than pleasant illness."
At the mention of an even worse illness, Tsukasa panicked, "Got it! I'm going to take as much honey water as possible! We can't be getting worse!" He pumped his arms.
"Well, you probably shouldn't overdo it...." He smiled. "After all, how are you supposed to be up and ready for...."
And then everything was normal again. Rui teasing, and Tsukasa quickly refuting his absurd claims. The usual case of affairs for the Weirdo Combo.
But in the back of Tsukasa's mind, there was a lingering feeling of worry. He had gotten sick with coughs before, but they'd never been.... So strange? He wasn't entirely certain how to describe it. The continuous heat in his throat (which still lingered after the fit) and the way it started happening again when he'd done nothing to provoke it was weird, to put it lightly. Also, it hurt. As if there was some sort of restriction in his chest, as if there was a weight in his lungs, demanding freedom, to be let out.
As he got up, emphasising with less volume compared to usual that Rui pays attention for once (and receiving very vague responses) he noticed how the uncomfortable feeling goes away.
Strange. He thinks.
He doesn't think about it again that morning, as he ensures he puts full attention into whatever work comes his way, whether that be equations, grammar rules or the poor geography of Japan.
He's eventually snapped out of his world of strange calculations and reminders that he needs to revise by his hand pushing open the door to the rooftop, a bright surge of sunlight swimming in.
He hisses mildly at the contact it makes with his eyes, and cups a palm over his eyes as he makes his way to Rui.
"You left early." Tsukasa says in a deadpan; it's not a question, it's a statement. Rui didn't leave that early, only about 20 minutes with the excuse of going to the bathroom, but missed lesson time is still missed lesson time, no matter how much the taller demands for forgiveness.
"Can you really blame me? History is a torture nobody should be forced to endure.... So outdated..." Rui whined, tracing a finger under his eye as if it were a tear.
Tsukasa wasn't amused, "You won't get anywhere if you fail the end of year exams! I don't care if the subject is outdated!"
"I might as well just perish this moment if I have to focus so much-!" The taller declared, placing a hand over his heart.
Tsukasa huffed, before sitting down besides the other and opening his bento box. The smell wasn't polite, considering he hardly had an appetite for much with the state of his throat, but it was better than having the others eyes practically touching his face out of worry.
A part of his brain is aware that the sensation is back again, and it makes no sense. He was fine most of the day, if not for a raspy throat. Why is his body behaving like this so suddenly?
He ignores it and focuses on Rui besides him, eating his meat with a pleasure incomparable with even a child. His eyes lit up with every bite a lettuce or cucumber didn't make an appearance, and even his movements had an unusual jump to them. Tsukasa would rather be cooked over the stake than admit it, but he finds very frequently that he feels a strange satisfaction from seeing that face, and it's the only reason he finds himself eventually relenting to Rui's regular pleads, no matter how much he may've insisted the previous time that the meat in his Luncheon couldn't be extracted even if he was dead on the floor.
He coughs.
Rui stares at him, his mouth full of food, mildly concern.
It's only a single cough, and Tsukasa quickly snaps back up with a thumbs up and eats his egg which may as well feel as if he's pouring lava down his throat, so Rui takes it as an excuse to continue eating.
Everything's fine, but yet again, it gets him into one of his extremely contemplative states, and finally he realises something is wrong. Has been so all day since he woke up.
The rooftop door is slid open- and cuts him from his train of thought- revealing Nene, doing her best to cover an even more hyper than usual Emu.
"Rui-kun! Tsukasa-kuuuun!" Emu waves, finally free from the sound restrictions Nene likely placed on her to avoid being caught. Said girl sighs to her right, but doesn't scold her- she never does.
"Ah, Emu-kun. Nice to see you." Rui waves, unaffected by her burst of energy, "and Nene, too. You haven't been up here all week."
Emu gasps loudly, "Hey, Rui-kun, what's that robot?!" She points to Kasper at Rui's side.
The mentioned boy smiles, "Ah, this? This is...."
Nene squeezes onto the edge of the bench at Tsukasa's left, and opens up her own lunch box. She doesn't say anything, but begins digging into whatever she's eating. "You're unwell." She states after a few seconds.
Tsukasa blinks. "How'd you know?"
"Rui messaged asking if I had any cough drops- or something." She exhaled then, as she shifted to grab something from her blazer pockets, and then pulled out a bottle- clearly the cough drops she mentioned.
Tsukasa took them, interested, and then his eyebrows furrowed, "Y-Hey! This type has methanol! You aren't supposed to have medication at school! They're drugs!"
Nene raised an eyebrow, "If it bothers you that bad, don't take them. You don't have to attend practice if you don't want to."
"Of course I want to! But-"
"...But..?"
Tsukasa sighed, and grabbed his water battle from his bag, close by.
"I have painkillers too, if you really want them."
"You.... You aren't even bothered, are you..?"
"Not really." Nene responds back, "health is more important than the school rules. It'd be a shame if you died in the hallways because you couldn't care to stop your cough."
Tsukasa doesn't reply to that yet- he firstly swallows the cough drop, following it with a swig of water.
"It would've gotten better. All things do, after all." He smiled, rubbing the water residue off his lips with his fist.
Nene raised her eyebrow, "Going philosophical now?"
"What's so philosophical about that?" Tsukasa enquires.
The green-haired girl shakes her head. "Nothing. Just unusual for someone like you."
"Someone like- Excuse you?!"
——
Tsukasa watches from a distance as Rui displays Kasper and his new friend Luna's abilities to an overexcited (yet interesting) trio of Len, Miku and MEIKO. They praise Kaspers little dance, and when Luna waves Len treats it as if it were the greatest discovery since the internet.
In the distance somewhere, Emu and Nene are practicing a scene with Rin, and Tsukasa should be searching out KAITO to review the script for one scene, but he decides that can wait- Rui's little scraps are considerably more interesting.
He approaches and MEIKO waves, though she blinks for a moment, while Miku jumps to give him a pat on the head. Len doesn't even notice him.
"You named her quite nicely, Tsukasa-kun." Rui gestures to Luna.
Miku blinks, and then her eyes glimmer up (if that were even possible). "Oooh, Oooooh! Rui-kun made Luna-chan, and then Tsukasa-kun named her! They're almost like her parents!" She giggled at the thought of it.
"Woah, you're right!" Len agrees, with a nod of his head.
MEIKO scratches her cheek, but she hasn't said anything, a dangerous act to do in relation to these two.
"Wait, but um... if that makes Rui-kun and Tsukasa-kun parents, are they married?" Len confusedly enquires.
MEIKO looks surprised, and she moves quick to silence him-
-but not quick enough.
"That'd be so cool! Rui-kun would be the mom, and Tsukasa-kun the dad!"
"...Why’s Rui-kun the mom?" MEIKO defeatedly questions, unable to save the conversation.
Tsukasa chokes, and it's an indication that perhaps they should stop, yet they don't.
"Because, Rui-kun is suuuuuper responsible!" Miku explains, "He's always taking care of Tsukasa-kun, like how KAITO-kun does!"
"Ah.... I'm... glad you think that?" Rui rubs his neck awkwardly, though there's no concealing the pink that dusts his cheeks.
Tsukasa coughs again, and again. He tries to hold them in as he tells the rest that he needs to find KAITO for a script review, and tries to run as fast as he can without making it look like he’s running.
Eventually, he finds a tent appropriate enough for the affair of violently choking away from the site of his close friend and director, and lets out the coughs he was holding in so hard before.
Now, the coughs and sensations from earlier were one thing, they were painful, yes, but this was an entirely different brand of agony. He felt as if something was fighting to escape his lungs, his throat. His mind began to blur. Nothing else was in his head except for the excruciating and overwhelming pain engulfing his lungs, pain begging to be let out. It wasn’t so troublesome in front of Rui, but now- now it had increased tenfold.
Tsukasa’s brain attempted to be rational- regain control- and it pondered. Why was it so bad now? Not just now, but at certain points in the day, he would have extreme outbreaks of coughs and pain, and at others, he wouldn’t feel a thing.
Now, when Len and Miku had innocently mentioned that him and Rui were like parents, he suddenly found his condition to worsen.
It must be insanity- why would a sudden intense cough be brought about by such a thing?
He coughed and coughed and coughed, and was begging for it to stop so he could breath properly.
Eventually, it did stop, the relief engulfing him as fresh oxygen entered his lungs properly- though in rapid succession.
And when he looked at the hand that he’d held over his mouth, he was horrified by the image of blood splattered across his palm, painting the pale canvas with a bright, vibrant red.