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“I..It can’t be–” Tsukasa stared straight ahead, the sight of what he never thought to exist forcing its way into his vision. “R-Rui–”
He couldn’t breathe, it was something foreign to him. It was absolutely unknown. He couldn’t remember how to take a deep breath. Rui had always refused to do that, perhaps now it rubbed off on him.
His fingers shook within his tightened fists and he moved his head forward, “RUI!” he cried, running towards the man. Crimson followed and spilled all over his clothes from every splash his foot dropped into as he ran.
He couldn’t just stand there and let things end this way. No matter what, he was going to save him.
—
Living in a corrupted, cyber-esque world wasn’t easy. Tsukasa Tenma could tell you that much. It was more like the proper definition of Hell if he wanted to be entirely honest.
There were two versions of a world humanity lived in. Everyone knew of them.
The first version was your average green, plant-filled world. People could happily exist there without a care. Animals ran around and of course, humanity still existed. Only regular buildings and homes, nothing that would cause the world to collapse. It was the same world you would see if you went outside right now. That was the real world.
The second version was the complete opposite. It wasn’t anything like that. It was an entire computer-generated world that trapped humans inside filled with corruption and technology. It was filled with purples and blues, cyberpunk lights and notions everywhere. It felt right out of a video game except it was as if these people were trapped within the video game.
Tsukasa was forced into the second version after the Cyberspace Incident occurred. The Cyberspace Incident was an event that took place several years ago. A scientist who worked directly with biology and coding found a way to create a new world using artificial intelligence. However, unlucky enough for him, his ‘experiment’ killed him and sent an entire wave towards half of the planet that corrupted fifty percent of Earth’s population into this ‘cyberpunk’ world that everyone named ‘Cyberspace’. It was still a part of Earth itself, however it was nearly impossible to leave it or go into it after the event.
The keyword being nearly since Tsukasa’s lover, Rui Kamishiro, thought otherwise.
Prior to the Cyberspace Incident, Tsukasa worked as an actor as part of a team called WonderlandsXShowtime. It contained four members, including himself. Those members were:
Emu Otori, the clown and acrobat.
Nene Kusanagi, the songstress and diva.
And finally,
Rui Kamishiro, the director and choreographer.
Tsukasa grew to find these individuals as his closest and bestest friends, Rui especially. He and Rui were the same age and became closer than the rest. Tsukasa was his star and Rui was his director, they were like two peas in a pod.. Or rather since Rui hated vegetables, two patties on a burger..? Eh.. Tsukasa wasn’t sure what to say just yet. All that was important was that they were significantly close to one another. The two of them at some point eventually found themselves infatuated with one another, falling in love and becoming more than just friends.
When the Cyberspace Incident occurred, the wave split right down in the middle of Japan, leaving only half of the country in the regular world and half in the cyberpunk one. During that time, Rui and Tsukasa were luckily together. Unfortunately, their two troupemates were not with them and were separated.
The thing about Rui finding it ‘nearly’ impossible to escape was something nobody else thought about. Everyone believed they were doomed to that life once it happened. Nobody could find a proper escape.. Rui on the other hand? He thought otherwise. He believed that they could get out.
The director was familiar with science and technology. They were two things that he studied for most of his life. Since the split cut right in the middle of Japan, he felt as if he had an advantage in figuring out how to escape. At the same time while he was discovering more about their sector of the Earth, he found that the air they breathed in was heavily polluted and unsafe. So, Rui made himself a mask that filtered the air around him to become clean enough to take in and released it into him. He never took off the mask, not even while he slept out of his own fear of dying from the contaminated oxygen.
He offered to make Tsukasa a mask as well, but the blonde refused. There were a lot of things Rui did because of this world that Tsukasa simply found.. overdramatic..? He wasn’t sure what to call it, but he knew he didn’t really find it all necessary. At the very least, he offered to wear a regular face mask so he wasn’t breathing in as much, but even then he lowered it when Rui wasn’t around.
Rui was desperate to find an answer and escape from this world, dramatics and overthinking tagging along with it.
It had been several years since the Cyberspace Incident and Rui’s worries only got worse. His fear of the air was so bad, Tsukasa truly couldn’t remember the last time they even kissed. It was clear that all of his concerns and the idea of leaving was driven by the lack of knowledge on whether their friends were alive or not, but even with Tsukasa bringing such a thing to his attention, it never helped.
It was impossible to contact the other side. Every signal broke the second it tried reaching past the border that separated the two versions. You couldn’t even see the other side, but from shared knowledge it was accepted that one side stayed as the regular Earth they all knew.
Tsukasa sighed, resting his head within his lifted palm. Rui had gone out today to find some supplies that he needed for his ‘plan to escape’, which ultimately left the star alone for the time being. He didn’t mind being by himself, but he didn’t appreciate it. He was always left with his thoughts which were never safe to be alone with.
He tapped his pointer finger against his chin, bored out of his mind. Rui had left a while ago so he knew he wouldn’t be by himself soon. Rui never liked to be out in the city by himself ever since he was trapped within Cyberspace. There were a lot of things that Rui did that Tsukasa felt were just a tad bit funny. The mask, the desperation of leaving, the fear that he’ll die just by being out too long.. Truly, it was kind of hilarious.
It just seemed like Rui was being paranoid. If anything, Tsukasa would have expected him to be more intrigued by this world considering his past experiences, but he wasn’t. He was just.. afraid. At first, Rui was interested in how everything worked, but after they both figured out the SEKAI was no longer accessible, Rui panicked. The more information he gathered, the worse his fears became.
Of course finding out SEKAI didn’t work was sad, Tsukasa wouldn’t deny that. Overall, it made him think maybe Cyberspace was some kind of SEKAI in itself, but he could never be sure. But, to see Rui fall into despair after knowing it wasn’t in any use to them? It was concerning.
Suddenly, while Tsukasa was lost in thought, the door to their apartment opened and Rui appeared. The blonde quickly lifted his mask up and turned to face Rui. “Welcome back!” he exclaimed, pretending like he hadn’t just somewhat shit talked him inside his head.
Rui gave him a small wave, enlightening himself by walking over and patting his head, “Sorry for taking so long, Tsukasa-kun. I found something I’ve been looking for that has been out of stock everywhere and after I grabbed it, it seemed as if the lines grew exceptionally large..” he explained.
Tsukasa shrugged, “Eh, don’t worry about it. What did you buy?”
Rui handed him the bag, a smile painted on his face beneath the mask. “Some more stuff for my contraption that’ll get us out of here,” In simpler terms, it was things Tsukasa had no interest in or care for.
He quickly glanced through the items before handing the bag back, acting like he was extremely excited that Rui got these. It was a little frustrating to say the least. Everyone else had adapted to this new world, accepting their fate and finding the positives within it.. Yet Rui simply didn’t want to accept the change.
Tsukasa let out a small breath, “I feel like this is a little unnecessary.. I mean, people have tried getting out before and failed, I don’t know what’ll be different this time,” he said.
Rui stared at him, “Well, I mean..” he scratched the back of his head, “I’ve told you before, Tsukasa-kun. I want to see my friends again.. I’m not losing hope because there’s a chance it’s impossible. A chance is not confirmation.” His words were stern, almost as if they had to be told.
The blonde shook his head, “yeah, I know that.. I just.. You’re always so paranoid now. I’m worried. I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life trying to escape a world that you weren’t able to leave in the first place.” he got out of the chair he had sat in and looked at Rui, “I haven’t seen you focus on anything show-related in ages. It’s like you don’t even care about your dream anymore–”
Rui’s expression faltered. His eyebrows furrowed and he glared at him, bitterness striking his heart. “I don’t care about it anymore. I can’t because it’s impossible. My dream surrounded the idea of staying connected.. But with a world that’s split in two, it’s impossible to achieve.” he declared, “Escaping this world may be the only thing that can save that dream. If I can find a way to get everyone back to what we know as ‘Earth’, then my dream can move forward.. So right now, I have to focus on leaving first.”
Tsukasa grabbed Rui’s hands, “You don’t have to be the one to fix it, Rui.”
He swallowed harshly, hesitant with his words. “..No, I have to be. Escaping this world is the only thing that matters to me anymore, Tsukasa-kun. It’s the only thing that ever crosses my mind.”
The second those words had left his mouth, he felt the tightened grip of his hand loosen. He glanced over at Tsukasa who was staring profusely. His movements were uneasy and he spoke with shakiness, lacing every word, “..do I not matter to you?”
…
Rui couldn’t answer that question. At least, not with the desperation level he was at now. His silence spoke to Tsukasa, giving him the answer he hated. The blonde let go of his hand and stepped back, looking down at the floor. “..I figured that was the case.” He turned and began to walk toward the door.
The director spun around to face Tsukasa’s direction, “W..Where are you going?” he asked nervously.
The blonde shrugged, “Maybe Saki’s, or Shizuku’s.. I’m not sure.” he didn’t dare to look at Rui, “But.. I think for a while we need to be away from each other.”
Before Rui could respond to that, Tsukasa had already left. He opened the door and within seconds closed it again, leaving Rui behind. The technician stood there, appalled and baffled by the situation. He couldn’t tell if that had actually happened or not.
“Tsukasa-kun.. I..” His heart felt shallow and a strike of pain rushed through him. Not a single word could be uttered from him. He knew he was to blame. He focused entirely too much on his own desires that he didn’t bother to question his care towards Tsukasa – his lover of all people.
—
A few weeks went by after the conflict between the two of them. Tsukasa made the decision to stay with his sister Saki for the time being, trying to process what exactly happened. He was hurt by the fact Rui didn’t seem to think that Tsukasa mattered much to him anymore.. Any sane person would at least.
Right now, Tsukasa had made the choice to go shopping with Saki and her friend Ichika. It had been a while since he last went on a trip like that, so he happily accepted their offer.
“Hehe, I can’t believe you seriously tried that on, Onii-chan!” Saki exclaimed, laughing along every word.
Tsukasa smiled with confidence, “You underestimate me, Saki! A future star much like myself mustn’t turn down any offer! Even if it’s a dress!” he hollered with pride, “Besides, I think I looked pretty good, don’t ya think?!” The blonde struck a pose, pinning his hands against his hips. The two girls began to let out a collection of giggles, agreeing with his statement.
Ever since Tsukasa had left, he found himself enjoying life more. He wasn’t frustrated all the time and he was excited to find out what would happen the day after. Waking up didn’t feel like a chore anymore, and he didn’t have to worry about someone scolding him for not wearing a mask.
As the girl’s laughter settled, Tsukasa’s thoughts calmed. He had a smile on his face, appreciating the moment. However, as soon as he found himself able to converse once again, a bystander pointed their finger to the sky and shouted:
“What’s that!?”
Everyone turned their heads to look up at what he spotted, finding a bright light shining right beside the border.. The one thing splitting the two worlds apart. Immediately following the light, a loud crash came from the same area, an explosion setting off. The only thing that Tsukasa heard after that were the sounds of a few individuals screaming and groups of people running away from it.
He tightened his fist, glancing over at Saki and Ichika, “You two should head home. I’ll go check out what happened and let you know later.” he told them, getting ready to bolt that direction.
Saki frowned, grabbing his wrist, “It’s clearly dangerous! You’re not the one who has to deal with whatever happened!” she exclaimed, trying to get her dear brother out of the heroic mindset he seemed to always have.
“I’m sorry, Saki.. But I want to at least make sure there aren’t any people who were injured by.. Whatever that was..”
The girl showed hesitancy, unsure if she should let him go or not, but in the end she decided to agree, nodding her head. “Fine.. But be careful! We don’t know what caused that!”
Tsukasa gave her a thumbs up, smiling alongside the motion, “I will! I’ll see you later!” he shouted before taking off. Saki hollered a goodbye as well when he began to run, leaving him soon to be alone with the situation at hand.
It was troubling to say the least. Out of nowhere, there was just a sudden explosion? It seemed weird. Tsukasa wasn’t sure what might’ve made such a thing happen, but knowing it was right where the two worlds met made him a tad bit uneasy.
As he ran, he thankfully hadn’t discovered any injured individuals, just people running away. It seemed like the explosion was minor and not near any human life based on how many people there were.
Though, he was soon proven wrong.. Just slightly.
“I..It can’t be–” Tsukasa stared straight ahead, the sight of what he never thought to exist forcing its way into his vision. “R-Rui–”
He couldn’t breathe, it was something foreign to him. It was absolutely unknown. He couldn’t remember how to take a deep breath. Rui had always refused to do that, perhaps now it rubbed off on him.
His fingers shook within his tightened fists and he moved his head forward, “RUI!” he cried, running towards the man. Crimson followed and spilled all over his clothes from every splash his foot dropped into as he ran.
He couldn’t just stand there and let things end this way. No matter what, he was going to save him.
Tsukasa collapsed against Rui’s side, gently bringing him into his arms. He pulled his fingers over to his neck to check his pulse. After a count of fifteen seconds, he felt relief run over his heart from knowing Rui was alive. Though, he couldn’t stay certain that he was going to survive.
He grabbed his phone from out of his pocket and immediately dialed an ambulance. He had to get him help.
“Hello, what is your emergency–?”
Tsukasa spoke with desperation, “I need an ambulance at the border right now..!”
“I’ll send one now. While you wait, what kind of injuries are being suffered? Who is the patient?” the woman on the other side asked.
The blonde analyzed Rui’s body for a moment, trying to figure out where the injuries mostly were. He had burn marks all along the sides of his body, most likely caused by the explosion. Alongside that, his head was bleeding. His hands and knees were scraped and scratched up too. Tsukasa sputtered that all out like word-vomit. Then, finally, he said, “The patient’s name is Kamishiro Rui!”
“I see. We’ll direct him to a hospital immediately. Please stay calm, sir.”
Tsukasa wanted to stay calm, he really did.. But all he could question the entire time he waited was:
Just what exactly were you doing, Rui..?
Soon enough, the ambulance arrived and they took both Tsukasa and Rui to the hospital, Tsukasa simply riding with them out of his own concern. The entire way there, Rui had still not awoken. Whatever happened knocked him out pretty badly, so Tsukasa couldn’t exactly be surprised.
Most of the wounds managed to be patched up inside the ambulance on the way there except for a few that would require more medical attention. When they reached the hospital, they rushed Rui into a room and left Tsukasa completely lost within the situation.
All he wanted right now, despite their disagreements, was for Rui to be okay.
–
It was a whole day before Rui woke up and those twenty four hours were the most miserable hours of Tsukasa’s life. He was awake all night worrying about Rui. When he finally got the call that Rui was awake, he immediately rushed to the hospital.
That was his predicament currently, getting ready to walk into a room with Rui again. The last time they both spoke had been back when they fought, leaving neither one of them with an apology. This alone was scary in terms of communication.
But he built up his confidence and walked right into the room. When he entered it, his first instinct was to run up to Rui and hug him. The director winced a bit, surprised by Tsukasa’s appearance. He glanced over at him and returned the hug.
“Tsukasa-kun..?” he said with awe, appreciating the fact his lover had been there with him.
The blonde released his hold on the other, leaning back and flicking him on the head, “What were you thinking?!” he snapped, tears just barely lifting themselves up at the crest of his eyes.
Rui swallowed hard, staring at him with guilt, “..I tested out my contraption that would help us escape, but..” his voice drifted, his eyes widening once he recalled something. He lifted his head and looked at Tsukasa directly, “Tsukasa-kun,”
Tsukasa looked at him, confused by the sudden calling, “yeah?”
Rui’s hands started to shake slightly, “The other side.. I managed to see it, and.. It’s destroyed. All of it.” he said, “H..Humanity on that side doesn’t exist anymore. They’re dead.” He spoke like it was common knowledge, almost as if he expected this kind of thing.
Wait, no.. Tsukasa re-evaluated his reaction to the situation, frowning once he realized Rui was trying to hide his sadness. “What do you mean by that?” he questioned.
Rui frowned, furrowing his brows, “Everyone we knew.. There’s no way they’re still alive.” he muttered, “There were burn marks everywhere.. corpses… even puddles of blood.” His voice grew duller each second, “None of it was recent. I..” he looked up at Tsukasa, fear lingering within, “My best guess is the Cyberspace Incident killed them all and saved us…” his stare was full of guilt, regretting that he ever had the attempts of reaching the other side – to escape.
He was taking the world that he was saved into for granted. Deep down, he knew his friends would’ve loved to still live, even in an environment such as this.
Tsukasa took Rui’s hands, holding them up to his chest, “I know that look. Don’t blame yourself for something you couldn’t control. You didn’t know what happened to them, everyone just assumed they were fine.” He smiled, trying to show him at least some kind of remorse, “and.. I’m sorry for blowing up at you a few weeks ago. I should’ve just communicated with you and I–”
The director shook his head, “No, I’m sorry. I was trying so hard to force you into a life that you obviously didn’t want. I should’ve known better than that,” he declared, refusing to take any apologies from the blonde. He knew he was at fault, not Tsukasa. “No more forcing things on you and I.. I’ll give up completely on everything I was trying to do before. Clearly there’s no use returning there s..so..” Rui swallowed hard, unsettled with the idea that everyone he once knew was dead.
Tsukasa placed a hand against Rui’s cheek, “You promise?”
“I promise.”
There was nothing but joy coming from the star. He couldn’t believe it if he was honest. “And what about the mask?” he asked.
Rui glanced over at the small table beside the hospital bed where his mask sat. It had cracks along the sides that spread into a giant hole near the middle. “It’s unusable now, so I really have no choice but to leave it off until it’s fixed.. When that time comes I think I’ll only wear it outside.. There’s probably a way I can filter the air in our apartment,”
“I’m glad then,” Tsukasa said, “I missed seeing your face, it felt like I was talking to a robot when you wore it..”
Rui chuckled, “I suppose it fits my branding, no?”
The blonde shrugged, “I guess it does..”
There was a distant silence between the two. It was so quiet, even the smallest sound of a pin dropping could be heard. As a result, Tsukasa simply broke the string of nothingness and leaned toward Rui. The aforementioned flinched, only to widen his eyes by finding out what the intention was.
Tsukasa placed a gentle kiss among Rui’s lips, soon pulling away and grinning. Rui tilted his head, “What was that for?” He questioned.
In response to that, Tsukasa flicked the man’s forehead, “It’s been ages since we last kissed, y’know?.. You never took that mask off, so we never had the chance to.”
Rui’s face turned from curious to shocked, as if he hadn’t realized that was the case. “Eh? Seriously–? I didn’t even notice.. I’m so sorry.” he panicked.
Tsukasa let out a laugh, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay and.. I’m happy to know that things will get better. There’s no point in dwelling on the past!” he exclaimed.
The director smiled, a sudden warmth enveloping his heart, “Yeah..”
From then on, the two stayed together. Rui had stuck with what he said, caring more and not being so reckless. As for Tsukasa, he tried to communicate his discomforts more often. Both of them had struggled, but in the end it turned out okay.
And surely, in that distant future of theirs, life became as peaceful as they had hoped.