Chapter Text
Rui never expected this tiny town to be so busy. It always looked barren from a distance, like its ruined, abandoned sibling town where he lived. There, he would only see the occasional team of humans, talking loudly to each other in their deep, human language. Rui would have been the victim of some large dog in an instant If it was him talking that way.
His partner took Rui’s hand in his, startling Rui out of his thoughts, and led him deeper into the warm lights and loud noises of the town. The chatter surrounding him was almost overwhelmingly loud for his sensitive ears, and the crowd around the duo threatened to step on Rui's tail every chance they got. He really was regretting his choice to accompany his best friend into this town. His partner, however, seemed perfectly in his element. He looked around at all the blinding lights as if they were the best thing in the world.
As if he read Rui’s thoughts, Tsukasa looked back at Rui with a beaming smile. “Look at this place, Rui! It’s amazing! Perfectly fitting for a star like me!”
Rui had to strain to hear his friend’s exclamation over the racket of the town, but his excitement was practically radiating off of him. Tsukasa’s beaming smile perfectly reflected the warm lights surrounding them. Rui let out a chuckle at his friend’s comment. Even with the danger of getting crushed by the feet of all these humans, Tsukasa still keeps his optimism. Rui couldn't help but feel more at ease with his dear friend by his side.
“I agree, Tsukasa. You blend right in. But please don’t wander around for too long.” The nervousness he felt seeped into his voice, which Tsukasa picked up on immediately.
“Are you scared, Rui? It’s not like you to be scared,” Tsukasa teased. Of course not, Rui thought to himself, I’m not afraid of possibly getting trampled, not one bit.
“You think too lowly of me,” he said instead, ”I’m just thinking of your dear siblings, who are patiently waiting for you to return with food. They’re probably starving right now.”
“Ah, right! Food! Let’s see, what’s here to eat?...”
The pair made their way deeper and deeper into the bustling town. Keeping to the sides of the busy streets (under Rui’s direction), they pushed through the crowds of people. Their noses were keenly picking out one scent from another, hoping to sniff out something that they can take back to their ruined home. Eventually, Rui noticed a certain pungent smell in the air. Dragging Tsukasa behind him, Rui followed the scent to a metal box on wheels, which had tons of fish. The sight made Tsukasa’s face glow.
“Great work, Rui! Let’s take some and get out of here!” Rui let out a relieved breath. He was worried he would faint if he had to travel in the midst of the crowd any longer. The number of people in this market had almost doubled in the time it took the pair to find the fish in the large box; a higher chance of getting his tail stepped on.
Each boy picked up a fish with silvery-gray scales, and, hand in hand, they raced through the mob of people. They hugged their bounties in their free arms as they slinked past human legs and dodged the feet that threatened to squish them. He knew that his focus should be on not getting trampled, but Rui found his mind drifting to where he was holding Tsukasa. His grip was strong as he led Rui through the onslaught of humans, and his palms were rough, like Rui’s own, although there was more warmth to them. Tsukasa radiated warmth and brightness. Rui often found himself craving the light his dear friend cast on his life. Truly, Tsukasa was a star, one of the brightest Rui had ever seen.
Lost in his own thoughts once again, Rui let Tsukasa pull him through the crowd.
By the time the pair made their way back to their “home,” the sun was a bright line on the horizon. Or whatever Rui could see of it. Blocking the way were many wrecked buildings, each casting long shadows thanks to the setting sun.
Rui was perched on a ruined brick wall, opposite to a large, grassy patch of land. The wall was quite a bit taller than him, so it took a while to climb. His feet dangled above the green of the field. With the bounty of fish placed on his lap (no doubt staining his pants), he watched his legs dangle forward, then backward, until he spotted a faint yellow blob moving towards him. Rui observed with an amused glint in his eyes as Tsukasa scampered up to Rui’s place on the wall, huffing and puffing all the way.
“My, Tsukasa, you sound like you ran over here from the other side of the world!”
“Shush! You-” Tsukasa gave a mighty cough, “Don’t act like you do any more exercise than me!” Rui gasped dramatically, faking being offended.
“Of course I do! I have to keep up with your shenanigans, after all.”
Tsukasa crossed his arms and grumbled something under his breath, but eventually made his way next to Rui on the brick wall. Rui split the fish on his lap in half and offered some to Tsukasa as he plopped down next to his friend. Tsukasa took the fish, and they ate together. Rui asked Tsukasa about his siblings, Tsukasa listened as Rui rambled about what he’d seen in the city, and then silence settled around them.
It was odd; Tsukasa never stayed quiet for long. He was always chattering about something or the other. Rui couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. With his old partner, it was almost like they could read each other’s minds. Rui would always know when she was hungry, or excited, or scared, even if she didn’t tell him.
He missed her.
But that was in the past.
Tsukasa still stayed silent, staring past the buildings in front of them, past the mountains on the horizon, and at the setting sun. He sat unmoving, and if Rui was completely honest, he was growing nervous. It was worrying him to not know what was troubling his partner.
“Tsukasa, are you okay?” Rui asked softly, trying not to disturb the silence too much. Tsukasa turned, eyes wide in surprise, as if he hadn’t noticed that he was zoning out.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Perfectly fine, actually! No need to worry!” Tsukasa said, a little too loud. His response completely shattered the silence. The sound rang in Rui’s ears, but it was nice to see Tsukasa pick up his usual demeanor as the conversation started again.
The pair stayed there, chattering away, until the last sliver of the sun disappeared completely below the ground.
“Well,” Tsukasa said, after a while of talking, “we should probably take cover before the humans come.”
“Ah, right, that might be for the best.”
Tsukasa leaped from the wall and landed clumsily on the grass beneath. Bowing slightly, he offered his hand to Rui, as if he were some prince. Rui chuckled softly at the gesture before taking Tsukasa’s hand. He landed much more gracefully than Tsukasa.
The ruined town was as dark as can be, providing perfect cover for hiding from large animals that thought Rui would make a nice meal. Or any loud, disruptive humans.
The humans from the neighboring town came to Rui’s home on a night some weeks before. They came in a large truck, rattling down the dirt roads, and stopped in front of a few buildings. Rui saw them on the first night they came. He made sure that he and his partner were well hidden from the humans, and the both of them watched as the humans came and pointed large lights at the buildings, yelled at each other for a while, then made some marks on some papers and left. It intrigued him, so he tried to get a closer look. His old partner made it clear that she did NOT approve of Rui’s choice. But he went anyway, ignoring her pleas.
Maybe if he listened to her, things would’ve ended differently.
But that was in the past.
Rui and Tsukasa scampered across the grassy patch of land, past many ruined buildings, and into a hole next to one of the walls. Many different animals could climb in and hide from the humans, who were at least six times as large as the local inhabitants.
Jumping in, Tsukasa looked up at Rui from the hole with his hands outstretched, in hopes of catching Rui if he falls. He wouldn’t be able to, Rui was too heavy for Tsukasa, but he appreciated the sentiment. Rui sat on the edge of the hole, preparing to push himself off and land, when he heard a small sound.
Click, click, click.
At first he thought it was a rat. But rat feet don’t click.
Looking behind him, he saw a pair of ears stick over a pile of bricks. White ears. No cat’s ears were pure white here. Most were an off white color, probably due to the filth. Rui felt his heart squeeze tight.
She has white ears too.
Or had, in any case. Rui felt his heart squeeze again. She always made sure to keep them neat. Rui never understood why, they’d just get dirty again, but she said it was extremely important to her.
He thought it might be her, really her, but that would be unlikely. He saw humans dig their fingers into her arms and pull her away from him with his very own eyes. They put her in their truck and drove away faster than he could react. He’d spent days looking for her, and, eventually, he just had to accept that she might not ever come back. But seeing those ears, he felt a painful hope fill him.
He took a tentative step towards the mystery cat with white ears, and then a sure one. He heard Tsukasa call for him, “Oi! Rui! Where are you going?” But he paid him no heed.
The brick pile wasn’t tall at all, and as Rui got closer, he could see more of the mysterious cat who put his heart in turmoil. White ears led to soft pink hair, and Rui’s heart sank.
Rui chuckled, even though he felt like crying. What was I expecting?
It had gotten significantly darker during Rui’s episode. The rumble of trucks echoed across the town. The humans were here.
Tsukasa grabbed his hand, startling Rui out of his thoughts. He yelped as Tsukasa gave his arm a tug. Rui looked at his friend (when had he gotten out of the hole?) and Tsukasa glared back at him, a bit annoyed at Rui’s antics. Rui could see his friend grow increasingly agitated, no doubt scared of the humans that might show up anytime soon.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?!” Tsukasa hissed, “The humans could show up any minute, do you have a death wish?” Rui had never seen his friend so worked up; he couldn’t help but find it funny.
“Forgive me, Tsuka–” HONK
A large horn sounded, much closer than it was in the nights before. Rui and Tsukasa practically jumped out of their skins, Tsukasa tightening his grip on Rui’s arm, but they knew better than to make a sound, lest they alert the humans. The mystery cat didn’t seem to understand that notion, as they let out a shrill scream. Then, the cat started to sob.
Tsukasa turned, apparently not having noticed their company. The girl (or who Rui assumed was a girl) had her hands covering her ears, which were pressed all the way back on her head. Rui could see her body shaking behind the pile of bricks. Her sobbing grew louder.
It was heart-breaking, hearing someone be so scared. Rui really wanted to console her, but he was never really good at comforting people. He was afraid of hurting her even more.
The sobbing gave way to small, barely-audible sniffling. Rui observed the pile of bricks for a while, contemplating. Of course, everyone in this part of the town was scared of the humans, he was too. But he’d never heard anyone crying like this. Loud sounds would attract unwanted attention. Who would risk their life in this way?
Tsukasa tugged on Rui’s hand, leading his friend around the pile of bricks. Rui locked eyes with the girl behind the wall, and suddenly, everything made sense.
The girl– who was quite a bit smaller than him and Tsukasa– wasn't from the ruined town at all. She sat with her legs, clothed with muddy white socks, pressed to her chest and hands clutching her pink hair. She was clad in a light pink dress that covered her knees, a bit dirty, but otherwise in great condition, nothing like the stuff you get in this town.
This girl was from the city.
My, my, what an interesting development, Rui thought to himself, But what’s someone like her doing over here?
The girl’s gaze jumped from Tsukasa, to Rui, and back to Tsukasa. She tried to shy farther away from the boys, quietly sniffling the entire time.
“Hey, you okay?” Tsukasa whispered to the girl. She still seemed frightened to Rui, but she did manage to control her sobs. Tsukasa continued talking.
“Those trucks should be gone by now, if that’s what you’re worried about.” A lie; Rui saw the trucks unload a crowd of humans a few blocks away, but it seemed to comfort the girl.
“I’m Tsukasa!” He continued with that warm, beaming smile of his, “And this is Rui. Who are you?”
“Emu…” said the girl with a voice so small that Rui had to strain to hear it, “My name is Emu.”
“A wonderful name!” Tsukasa replied, his smile a thousand times brighter. “Emu, you don’t look like you’re from around these parts,” the girl grimaced, “Are you lost, by any chance?”
“Not lost! No! Well, not really. You see, I saw my friend sneaking out of the house, right? And I was worried she would get lost, because she has this habit of coming home late. So I followed her alllllllllll the way over here, where she just, WOOSH!, vanished, and I really didn’t know what to do, really… ”
So she’s lost, Rui thought with mirth. This girl – Emu, she said – seemed to get over her fear of her surroundings fast. He caught Tsukasa looking at him, meaningfully. Rui could guess the ‘brilliant’ ideas filling up his friend’s head.
“Well, the only thing there is to do is help you get home! You know where it is right?” Tsukasa brushed off the dirt collected on his pants (it did nothing, those pants were beyond saving) and held out his hand to Emu, once again adopting his princely demeanor. Emu gave a sure nod and took his hand.
A blinding light shone suddenly, drowning the trio in white. Rui couldn’t make heads or tails of his surroundings any more, but he heard sounds that he could never mistake for another. They were deep and grumbly, and incredibly loud.
Humans.
Fear threatened to paralyze Rui, and he could see it do the same for his friends. They were going to get captured, they were going to get put in crates and sent to wherever his partner was sent to, where she wasn’t able to escape. He looked over at Tsukasa and Emu, still gripping each other’s hands.
He couldn’t let them get taken away too.
He grabbed his friends’ free arms (a bit roughly, he’ll admit), and pulled them behind the pile of bricks. The trio tumbled onto the ground. Quickly, Rui made sure that they were hidden, no tails or ears peeking past the pile. Only when he felt a weight on his arm and let out a startled yelp did he realize he forgot to breathe.
The light went out. It was odd, Rui was under the assumption that humans were unable to see without light, so why turn it off? Emu had taken to hugging Rui’s and Tsukasa’s arms, trying to make herself seem as small as possible. Everything about her seemed to glow in the darkness. Her white ears and tail stuck out against her surroundings; there was no way the humans wouldn’t see her, even with Emu pressing herself into the wall in an attempt to hide.
The humans were coming closer to them. Rui could barely hear their footsteps over the loud thumping of his heart. They were going to get captured.
He couldn’t bear the thought of losing someone else dear to him, nor the thought of someone losing their pet. It filled him with an indescribable sorrow.
An idea popped into his head.
He was never one to follow his impulses, that was Tsukasa’s thing, but he found his feet moving before he even registered his idea. Tsukasa and Emu were alerted by the sudden movement, their confusion and fear presented clearly on their faces.
“What are you doing, idiot?” Tsukasa whisper-yelled at him, ”The humans are right there, they’ll catch you!”
“Well, that’s my plan.”
Rui stood up. “Meet me in the usual place,” he said, with an uneasy smile on his face, and then took off.
The light turned on again, catching on Rui’s frame for a second. He made sure to make eye contact with the giant humans, staring directly into their eyes, before running into the darkness with the humans in tow.