Chapter Text
Tsukasa’s fingers graced the keys of the castle’s grand piano as the sun's rays would when they shone through the large paneled windows. He reminisced of the days he was learning twinkle twinkle little star with his dear little sister by his side. Those days were long in the past and Tsukasa had thus moved on to much more difficult pieces since then.
Grumble…
With that train of thought then being interrupted by a rather loud and embarrassing sound from his stomach, he realized it was about to be time for lunch. He got up from the piano bench, stretched, and decided to pace around the library for a little while until then, for nostalgia’s sake.
The man went up the stairs and aimlessly wandered the library’s second story. Flipping through some dusty books, he remembered the board games he would play against Saki or Toya when they were little. He walked over to the table on which they would play and realized he forgot to pick up the chess board he used yesterday.
After he organized the game, his gaze wandered to the intricate marbled light blue pillars that held up the glass ceiling, and and it was then when he noticed that painting.
That one particular painting, of a purple merman, who always seemed to be observing him. Surrounded by jellyfish, his yellow cat-like eyes, unique purple hair, and slight smirk were some of the only things that could distract Tsukasa from his royal duties.
On most occasions he simply walked by, but this time, curiosity led to him reaching out slowly to the canvas…
Blink.
'What… WAS THAT!?' he thought as he flinched backwards. He SWORE he saw the merman’s eyelids move. But it wasn’t possible! That was a lifeless painting, after all!
Tsukasa stared as the being’s expression turned smug.
“WHAT ARE YOU!?”, his rumbling scream echoed through the entire library.
The creature's slim smile widened. “Fufufu. It took you long enough to notice.”
"Y-you're an object! You shouldn't be moving!" Tsukasa said as he stumbled backwards.
The other being started, "An object you say? How rude,"
"Or talking for that matter." The king blurted out.
The other sighed and rolled his eyes, "Yet I still am, aren't I?"
"I…guess that's true." The blond’s face changed to one of intrigue, and he continued, “So you’ve been watching me this whole time!?”
The merman nodded, “Well, I truly have nothing else to do, and without being able to leave this frame, I can’t help but be amused watching all of your antics.”
“Ah…I see, so you’ve been stuck in there forever… Do you have a name?” inquired Tsukasa.
“Call me Rui.”
"I see. Well, Rui, you have just been graced with the presence of the dazzling ruler of the Pegasi Kingdom, Tsukasa Tenma!" He boasted as he struck a pose befitting of a star, but cringed a little when his stomach grumbled yet again. "Err, now I must be off for lunchtime! It would be nice if someday you could join us.”
Rui hummed. “I’ll let you know if I ever escape this confine. Otherwise, I’ll see you again.”
Tsukasa couldn’t help but notice melancholy locked deep inside the merman’s eyes as he turned around and left. He just couldn’t get the man out of his thoughts as he made his way to the dining hall.
☆
It had been millenia since Rui had last interacted with a human. He sighed as the King’s shadow disappeared. There was no way he would get his hopes up, for the hundreds of times he did before always ended in disappointment.
Surely, that man was just like any of the past rulers. Of which, most demonized him, scoffed at his imprisonment, or just straight up ignored him. The few who even attempted to socialize with him, who saw him as more than just an object, at some point always gave up.
Yet, this one seemed rather fascinating to him, more than any of the previous monarchs. The way he always kept his head held up high, his multiple overdramatic yet endearing expressions, and his strong voice which rang out throughout the castle were all so amusing to Rui.
With a hint of a painful expression on his face, he retreated further back into his enclosure, swimming past the long seaweed and floating jellies.
He could not let himself get attached again.
☆
As he munched on the plate of ginger fried pork in front of him, the king pondered on how he could bring a true smile to the purple haired being. There was no way to bring him out into the world… So maybe Tsukasa needed to bring the world to him?
Some time later that day, marching down that hallway once again, Tsukasa now brought his two best jesters in tow. The green haired girl looked to her cherfully smiling friend and leaned over a little.
“Emu, I know the King said we had to perform for a special guest, but why are we headed towards the library of all places?” she deadpanned.
“Hmmm, I dunno…But I sure hope we can make them super happy!” chirped the short one, carrying a wide assortment of items to juggle.
Their monarch had quickly but barely briefed them earlier over the situation. It sure wouldn't have hurt if Tsukasa shared some details about this mysterious guest they needed to "cheer up".
Having opened the doors to the library, Tsukasa gestured towards the painting on the wall and proclaimed, “My dear subjects, I present to you Rui!” After a few seconds passed with no sign of life from the artwork, he let his arms fall and looked at the frame with dismay.
“Ha..ha..Um, hello, Rui?” The king called out anxiously.
Emu and Nene glanced at each other with raised brows. Both were unsure if this was a prank or if the king was becoming a little crazy.
When Tsukasa noticed this, he started, “Okay, look, I know this may seem impossible, but there is a merman trapped inside this painting and I had just talked to him right before lunch!”
Nene’s mouth moved but she was too confused to form words. Emu on the other hand couldn't contain her snickering and started absolutely bawling with laughter, “Good one, your highness! I truly believed you for a second!” A smile started to spread across the other jester’s face and she giggled as well.
“Wait a second! I'm not joking,” he exclaimed
“Your highness, please, don't continue or Emu won't ever stop laughing.”
As Nene helped Emu calm down, Tsukasa stared at the lifeless painted jellyfish and underwater plants in astonishment and disbelief. Had the merman been really just his imagination? But he couldn’t have been dreaming, everything just felt so vivid and real back then.
“Sir, are we excused?”
“Yea.. Sure, you can go now.” replied the king, still lost in thought of his bizzare encounter.
While Nene and Emu made their exit, Tsukasa, with furrowed brows, touched the painting. Ripples appeared as his fingers went through the surface of the art piece, and he jerked his hand back the moment he felt cold water. He stared at his somehow now wet fingertips.
There was no way this wasn't real.
☆
Rui decided to return to the castle view for…definitely no reason at all, that blond man would certainly not be there at this time. He arrived at the frame-shaped hole in the ocean, and to his complete and utter surprise, right next to his painting was said man sitting on a chair, quietly reading. He had moved and put a lamp on it so he could keep reading during the nighttime.
The king’s back was to the painting and Rui could barely see the text on the book he was holding due to the water's distortion. The merman grew a tad bit curious about the page’s contents, so he got closer and closer to the frame. When he tried to lay his face against the painting’s barrier, his head kept moving through! Now exposed to the outside oxygen, Rui started having a mild coughing fit as he got used to and started breathing in the different atmosphere.
Tsukasa immediately jumped in his seat and gave the merman a wide-eyed stare. He accidentally kicked the table and the lamp almost tipped over.
“I knew it! I knew you were real!” he shouted, pointing at the merman who blinked rapidly and spent a solid minute taking in his new surroundings. Realizing part of Rui was now half outside of the painting, the blond inquired, “Wait, you can get outside of the painting?” as the other, now with a perplexed expression himself, started nodding slowly, answering “I…guess so?”
With crossed arms, Tsukasa took a breath in and said, “Well, where did you go earlier today? You made me look bad.”
“What, am I not allowed to move around every so often? Do you really just see me as some sort of specimen on display?” Rui jokingly pouted.
“No! That wasn’t what I meant,” Tsukasa stammered until he saw the smile growing on Rui’s face.
"UGH, I CAN'T with you. You seriously shouldn't be treating your king like that." Stated Tsukasa.
This caught Rui's attention, "You see me as one of your subjects?"
"Of course, you do live in my brilliant kingdom, after all. For how long have you been here, actually where do you come from?" Tsukasa inquired. He himself didn't know despite having lived in the castle his whole life, and he had never even paid any of the other works of art hung up a piece of his mind either.
Rui hesitated a little before answering, "I'm not quite exactly sure myself."
"But how did you come to, I don't know, exist?" Tsukasa asked.
"You see, I was somehow just painted to this life. On that note, is there any chance that the names Shinonome or Akiyama sound familiar?" He asked with the slightest sparkle of hope in his eyes.
Tsukasa's eyes shifted to the side as he pondered. "The name Akiyama does sound familiar…there's this tailor shop that has been owned by that family for generations, but Shinonome not so much. Why?"
"No reason. Just thinking about some old…friends." The merman's dissapointment was plain as day.
The self-proclaimed king of smiles stared at Rui. His upmost duty was to ensure the happiness of each and every citizen of his kingdom. He needed to help the merman no matter what.
"Well, there must be some information about them somewhere here. This isn't the country's largest library for nothing."
"Oh?"
"I'm going to search for those people you mentioned. Please do not doubt my abilities! You have the king's upmost guarantee! Hahaha!" He loudly boasted, bringing his hand to his chest and striking a pose.
Rui watched as the king turned around, awestruck as he wondered how he had gained the favor of such a determined man.
The blond proceeded to search through the public records in the library. Rui watched him, but eventually his gaze did shift to the glass dome roof that ecapsulated the massive room. The last time he saw a nighttime sky as starry and brilliant as this one was when there was peace in his life, so long ago.
He could still remember his "birth".