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It all started off as a perfect, no-doubt NON chaotic day. (For once.)
Tsukasa had an emergency wonderhoy meeting, as Emu liked to call it, in SEKAI with the other members of Wonderlands x Showtime to discuss the upcoming end of their traveling troupe era and what exactly would come next. Nothing abnormal about that.
Nene had slept at Emu’s the night before, and had texted him in their shared groupchat that they would be running late. Perfectly fine, he’d just have some alone time with Rui or get caught up with whatever the plushies were plotting with Miku.
He hadn’t heard from Rui at all in the previous hours, and despite having missed his teasing remarks, the blond had just assumed he was sleeping. (Which, again, was quite normal considering Rui’s god-awful sleep schedule.)
Tsukasa’s idea that today would leave him with whatever sanity he had left quickly exploded, disintegrated into thin air the second he step foot past the plethora of colorful triangles that led him into SEKAI.
What stood infront of his frame was a remarkably large and fluffy, yet purple cat. It had two cyan streaks on its face, with its facial expression being on par with Rui’s cat-like mouth and slightly tilted closed eyes.
Who the hell else would that be other than Rui?!
So, yes. Tsukasa’s perfectly normal day had been found deceased at precisely 2:21 pm with the sight of his boyfriend somehow magically turned into an oversized cat.
And so he did what any other sane individual in his position would do, he wasn’t crazy!
“AAAAHHHHH!!! RUUIIII!!”
“Mrow..?” The cat- No, Rui, tilted his head at him in confusion, which Tsukasa would call endearing if the Rui in front of him was an actual human being.
He crossed his arms and looked down, making eye contact with the giant ball of fur beneath him. Well, atleast he got the chance to be the taller one for once! Tsukasa would never admit it out loud, but he often got envious (ENVIOUS, not jealous! There’s probably a difference, a star cannot possibly be jealous!) of Rui’s height despite eating healthy on very rare occasions.
He was about to start sputtering and screaming once more before a certain blue haired specimen interrupted.
“Waaaaaaa, Tsukasa-kun! Have you seen Rui-kun yet?” Miku energetically bounced over to him, her pigtails bobbing up and down, seemingly defying gravity.
“YES, I have, he’s right here!!”
She leaned down and brought him up into her arms, his tail swishing in delight as she ran her fingers through his fur.
“Isn’t he cute?~ ☆”
“NO, HE IS N- well, I mean he is kinda cute for a cat…BUT THAT ISN’T THE POINT! Do you know why he’s like this now?!” He tried to appear as angry as possible, furrowing his eyebrows and making exaggerated arm movements. Yes yes, cat Rui was infact cute, but he wasn’t just going to take him home and pamper him all day.
“Mmmmm…” She put a finger to her cheek. “Miku isn’t sure, actually! Me and the others were practising in the circus tent before the twins found him over there by the ferris wheel, hehe!”
The loss of pets that Rui had been receiving caused him to let out a little whine, causing Miku to immediately resume her patting motions, making Tsukasa groan. Before he could say anything else, a familiar flash of light caught the corner of his eye.
“Tsukasa-kun! Rui-kun! We’re hereeeeee!”
Ah. He turned around to see a hyper Emu jumping up and down, clinging to Nene’s arm, who looked at her fondly.
“Oh? Where’s Rui-kun? I thought he was with you already!”
Nene, Having already seen the Rui in Miku’s arms, just points, visibly confused.
“Um, Emu. Isn’t that..?”
“Yes.” Tsukasa and Miku say in unison, clearly having different opinions on Rui turning into a cat.
“Haaaa? Is that really Rui-kun?! He looks so pow-pow! Miku-chan, can I pet him?” She ran over to her, leaving Nene behind, much to her dismay.
“Tsukasa, how did he even end up like that..?” Nene asked.
“Hmph! No idea. Apparently Miku said that Rin and Len found him by the ferris wheel, already like that.”
“And we’re not going to do anything about it?” She crossed her arms, squinting at Emu as she and Miku were bonding over cat-Rui.
“Well, we can’t just leave him alone like this, can’t we Nene-chan?” Emu turned around as she asked, giving her a pouty look. Miku had left to ask for advice from the plushies about Rui, leaving the three (four?) of them alone to talk.
“Yeah I don’t think we should, considering his parents are out of town right now.”
Emu hands the fluffy creature over to Tsukasa, and he seems to be tightly wrapped in a purple blanket with yellow stars, just like a newborn baby would be. Rui blinked with a slow yet consistent pace, looking as content as a cat could be.
“Hey! Isn’t that my towel!?”
“Yeah, haha! I thought Rui-kun would like being wrapped up in it, considering how often he likes to wear your stuff!”
“I..! He.. wh-” He struggled to find a response to that question, it flustering him a bit more than he’d like.
Emu, seeing that his newlyfound state put him in a slightly more vulnerable position, clearly started using it to her advantage.
“Say, Tsukasa-kun…what do you think of taking care of him while he’s still a cat?” Emu mischievously asked.
“Well, I don’t know! I don’t exactly have the time-”
“Please…? We don’t want poor, poor Rui-kun to be all alone, wandering the streets, all sad!”
“...Fine, FINE, I’LL TAKE HIM! I WILL BE A GOOD BOYFRIEND AND GRACEFULLY ACCEPT THIS TEDIOUS TASK, WORTHY OF A STAR!” He put his hands on his hips and smiled.
“Jeez, there’s no need for you to act like it’s that big of a deal.” Nene held in a small giggle at his overly dramatic declaration.
“Yay! Thank you so much, Tsukasa-kun! Have fun with your boyfriend!!!” And just like that, in the blink of an eye, Rui was put into his arms as Emu sprinted out of the SEKAI, taking Nene with her.
“Meow…”
He sighed, looking to the left and right before his gaze went right back to the menace infront of him. “Fear not, Rui! For I, Tenma Tsukasa, will take care of you until you regain your human form!”
And just like that, he too had disappeared from the other-wordly eccentric theme park, leaving an out of space silence in his trace as he returned to where he had been previously, that being his bedroom.
—--------------
“Ahem! Alright Rui.” He awkwardly said and sat down on his bed while letting Rui down with him. “Now that you’re a cat, I must learn how to communicate with you properly! Let out one paw if-”
Well, it seems like Rui was not in the mood for talking, because he immediately pounced on Tsukasa, making him fall onto the soft mattress of his bed with a loud yelp. The cat on top of him couldn't care less, nuzzling into his neck as Tsukasa tried to pull him off to no avail.
“Mrrp..” He tucked his legs and arms under his body on top of Tsukasa’s chest, creating a perfectly round and fluffy loaf shape, leaning his head down to rest.
“Geez Rui, can you get any clingier than this? It’s like you haven't even changed in the slightest!” Tsukasa looked down at the sleepy loaf and brought his hand up to pet the soft fur of his body, eyes going wide when he realized more than half of Rui’s body mass had been compromised of fur, considering how his hand quite literally sunk into the fluffy void when touched.
“Huh…I wonder how you ended up like this.” He ran his hands through the coat, going in to scratch behind his ears. Tsukasa wanted to test his luck, normal Rui always liked it when he’d do that, so he was quite curious if it would have a different effect on him than usual.
But of course, that’s when Rui decided to emit small vibrations from his throat, resembling small purrs, inevitably bringing Tsukasa’s brain and heart collectively into overdrive as they both laid there in peaceful silence, Rui’s tail swishing in contentment.
“Tch, you’re lucky you’re cute, or I wouldn't allow you to be acting like this, y’know.”
“Mmeoww..” Rui took his place in the crook of his neck again, taking advantage of what Tsukasa would call his “Cute privileges”.
And while they were both enjoying their silly time with eachother, it abruptly came to an end when Tsukasa had realized that he did infact have family members that lived under the same roof as him.
A knock at his door.
So Tsukasa, being the genius person that he oh-so definitely is, decided to shove Rui underneath the pile of blankets on top of his bed, ignoring his mewls of protest.
“Onii-chan? You there?”
“C-coming Saki!” He quickly turned around to face Rui, or atleast, where he thought he was, considering the fact that he was nothing but a giant lump in between the blankets, because a certain someone decided that it’d be a good idea to do so.
“Rui!” He whispered. “I am NOT letting Saki see you like this right now, so be quiet, got it?”
Tsukasa ran over to the door and opened it gracefully, giving his sister a proud grin whilst leaning on his doorframe in a way that screams “My boyfriend isn’t a cat so don’t bother checking.” in a 12000% not suspicious type of way before inquiring about her whereabouts in his room.
“Ah, Saki! What are you doing here on this fine afternoon, h-haha!”
“I was just coming in to ask if you’ve seen my pile of CD’s anywhere, but now I'm kind of concerned about you.”
“Why me? A star should not concern others…”
She tried to look at the space behind Tsukasa, squinting. “
“Ehh, nevermind then. You just seem like you’re acting a little weird!”
“HEY?! WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? But, I haven't seen your CD’s anywhere, dear sister.”
“Well then, if that’s the case…I’ll get out of your hair now. Bye Onii-chan!”
And just like that, she left.
“Alright Rui! You can come out now!”
He walked over to his bed and pulled off the covers, but to Tsukasa’s surprise (Not really, this was Kamishiro Rui that we’re talking about here.) he wasn’t there. He sighed.
“Rui..”
Abruptly, he felt a sudden pain near his feet, so of course, he turned around to face Rui nipping at his ankles with that expression that Tsukasa always felt the need to punch yet kiss off his face at the same time.
“OW, RUI! DON’T DO THAT!!” He jumped backwards, making Rui pout, even as a cat, before energetically running half way across his room and spinning a few times.
“Meow!”
“I don’t even know what to do with you anymore…do you want to go outside or something to let all that energy of yours out?” His arms dramatically fell to his sides in defeat, watching Rui go through his zoomies.
Rui seemed to perk up at that proposition, looking at Tsukasa expectantly as his ears shot up in excitement. “Mrreow!”
He got down on one knee infront of him, arms open, half expecting to be tackled by a cat this time, half expecting Rui to jump into his arms and never let go. “Alright, let’s get you outside then, shall we?”
Running down the stairs to his house, he opened his front door and put on a pair of shoes before a gust of freezing cold wind passed by him, making his entire body shiver.
“Ah..! Rui, can you stay right there for two seconds while I get a sweater from my room? It’s freezing out there…”
“Mmm…” Rui bumped his nose against Tsukasa’s leg in disappointment, looking like a kicked puppy despite physically being a cat.
And like that, Tsukasa was off. Although not before checking on Rui a couple more times, presumably making sure he hadn’t just created any illegal confetti canyons or giant fish tanks in the 5 seconds that he had been out of his own line of sight.
Rui looked in between the open door and Tsukasa’s room, being quite easy to see what he was doing considering that his room acted more as a balcony to their living room than an actual bedroom with proper privacy. After a couple of seconds debating something in his little mind, he gave himself a mischievous smirk.
—---------------------------
When Tsukasa returned, what he found was Rui, completely covered in dirty water as he sat there, fur clinging to his body which was shaking ever so slightly.
“R-Rui!? Are you okay? What did you do?” His heart melted a little bit at the sight, although deep down he knew he probably shouldn’t have left him alone as he scooped him into his arms, despite getting some of his clothes wet.
He looked through the opened door, noticing the puddles of rainwater and mud outside,
“You went outside without my supervision, didn’t you…You’re all dirty and cold now!”
“...Mow…”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing, holding the cat with his other arm.
“So be it. Rui, I fear I must be the one to give you your first bath as a cat!”
Rui seemed to dislike the idea, meowing in protest as Tsukasa carried him back upstairs and into the bathroom.
“You did this to yourself, dearest director! He patted him on the back a couple times, starting to run some hot water in the bathtub, trying to get Rui off him.
“Mrreow!!!” He hissed, trying for the life of him to cling on to Tsukasa’s neck, gaining a new dislike for water because of his newfound form. (Or he just really wanted to snuggle with Tsukasa some more, who knows.)
“Ghh…C-can’t you just withstand some water for a few minutes...If you keep squirming like that you’ll get my clothes even dirtier than they already are!” He resulted in lifting up the sleeves of his shirt, bunching up around his elbows.
Although Rui still resisted, doing anything but getting into the warm water.
Tsukasa sighed, watching Rui back up from the ledge of the bath, right back into Tsukasa’s arms and letting out a few more quiet mewls.
“I’ll get you some soda candy after this..Or maybe i’ll get it whenever you decide to turn back, so you can, y’know, actually eat it.”
Well that seemed to be enough of an offer for Rui, finally sitting still, looking at his boyfriend expectantly as his ears stuck to his head.
“Mrrp.”
“Alright, let’s get you all cleaned up then, shall we?”
He gently picked Rui up and brought him down into the bath, lightly flinching as the water hit his fur.
“Now uh, Rui! I don’t think I should be using regular shampoo on you, considering it might irritate your precious skin! So I’ll just rinse you off for now and you can take a proper shower later on. Although, come to think of it, I still have no idea how exactly this happened to you…”
He ran his fingers through Rui’s wet, purple coat, slightly taken aback once again at how small his actual cat body was underneath his mountain of fur, Rui affectionately leaning into the warmth of Tsukasa’s hand, having gotten used to the feel of the water and the way it enveloped his body.
After a couple more minutes of keeping that position, The blond boy decided that it’s time to take Rui out of the bath.
“Ghh, stay there for a minute while I go get that towel…Don’t do anything dumb while I'm gone, please!”
“Meow…”
After a few minutes, he returned into the bathroom, towel in hand, proud to see that Rui hadn’t infact done anything dumb while he was gone, good to know.
He took the towel, the same one he had been originally wrapped up in, the one with purple stars embellishing the surface, and placed Rui inside it for hopefully the last time ever, as a cat, scrubbing some of his wet fur with the it, hoping to stop the dripping a little before stepping outside.
—-----------------------------------------
It was now finally time to rest, despite it still being early. Tsukasa really didn’t care as he practically threw himself into bed, Rui quickly following behind.
“Nya?” Rui’s head lightly booped his nose, laying down on top of his chest while he fondly looked at Tsukasa's peaceful half-asleep state.
“Purr…!”
“Mmmmh. Goodnight, my Rui…I love you.” He mumbled under his breath as he quickly drifted back into sleep, while successfully making a cat blush with his words, a light tint of pink adorning his little cheeks.
—-----------------------------------------
Tsukasa wasn’t exactly sure at what time he’d been woken up at. Although the silhouette of a lanky teenager clinging to him like a lifeline was something he was certain of seeing with his own two amber eyes as he watched him nuzzle into his neck with a few sleepy murmurs.
“Good morning, Kasa-kun.”
“Good morning, Rui…Hold on!”
He then suddenly shot out of bed, making the other boy whine in protest.
“Wait a minute…Y-you’re not a cat anymore?!”
“...A cat? Tsukasa-kun, I’m a little confused.” He let out a sheepish smile, propping himself up with his elbows.
“Yesterday when we were supposed to have our troupe meeting in SEKAI, Rin and Len found you as a cat…You seriously don’t remember that at all?”
“Fufu, I think our dear star might’ve had a dream where I turned into a cat! Ah, how cute…”
“T-then how did you end up here, huh?!”
“My, I believe I slept over last night.” Rui gave him a little wink.
“Well, I-...Oh, yeah you did.” He deadpanned, looking away in embarrassment.
Tsukasa got back into his bed with Rui, yawning.
“But it felt so real! You were all fluffy and everything, Rui!”
“Oh, I’m sure it was! I’d love to hear all about it...”
And so, Tsukasa spent his Saturday morning explaining in great detail to his boyfriend his dream where Rui had turned into an oversized cat, and didn’t even mind when he did it all over again at their troupe meeting. Although Tsukasa didn’t have the guts to tell him about the cheeky looks and giggles he got from the girls along with the Vocaloids anytime he’d mention his “dream”, or the loads of purple cat hair that he found clinging to his clothes the very next day.