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A tragic accident.
Rui got the news while he was writing a script for his latest show. A call from Saki
"Rui...?"
"Yeah, Saki? What is it?"
"Tsukasa...he died..."
Rui almost dropped the phone. "...W-What?"
"Emu and Nene too...they were in a car accident..."
"...I'll call you back."
Rui hung up the phone, and just sat there.
He sat for ten minutes.
His troupe. His friends. Gone. Dead. Never coming back.
Rui slowly stood up. He didn't notice how badly he was shaking.
Water. That's what he needed. Water.
He grabbed a glass, but didn't fill it. His mind raced.
He didn't even get to say goodbye. No final 'I love you' to his boyfriend.
Rui laid in his bed, the plushie he had made of Tsukasa clutched in his arms. He didn't speak. Tears poured down his cheeks.
They were gone. Forever. He was alone again.
"Tsukasa...Emu...Nene...I'm sorry..."
He didn't know what he was apologizing for. He couldn't have stopped it. And yet, he felt like it was somehow his fault.
If he would have been in the car with them. He could have driven. He could have told them to stay. Prevent the accident completely.
"I'm such a failure...I couldn't save you all..."
He couldn't fall asleep. He could only imagine what their deaths might have been like.
School wasn't better either. It seemed to go by in a blur.
"Rui? You okay?" Mizuki passed by him in the hallway, and noticed how his eyes seemed dull.
"I'm fine." A quick lie. "Don't worry about me."
He barely ate anything for lunch. Just a small sip of the water he brought.
Weeks passed by. He had been skipping school, locking himself in his room. Mizuki and An were texting him, worried. He didn't respond.
He was a failure. He didn't deserve them.
"I need to eat..." He thought, as he laid down in bed. He had only been getting up to use the bathroom, and had been in bed for three days.
His stomach growled. The hunger was almost painful in its intensity. But getting up didn't seem good.
Tsukasa. Emu. Nene.
Why get out of bed if he couldn't see their smiles anymore?
If he couldn't hold Tsukasa's hand. Listen to his voice.
If he couldn't see Emu's passion for the Wonder Stage.
If he couldn't see Nene slowly come out of her shell.
There wasn't a point.
There wasn't even a point in living anymore.
Rui slipped on a hoodie. He didn't know why. It wasn't like he would go out in public anyways.
He opened up the pencil sharpener. No point in sneaking a knife to his room.
It hurt. He deserved it. It hurt less than the constant guilt crawling at his mind.
Rui rolled up his sleeves. He should stop. His wrists were covered in small scars. But he couldn't.
He was disgusted with himself. What's the point? Tsukasa would hate him for this...
The thought made Rui puke.
Tsukasa would hate seeing his boyfriend reduced to this mess.
Rui hated it too.
He's a mess. Worthless. Not deserving to even breathe.
He should just die.
Rui picked up one of his robots. He fiddled with the settings for a while. No more safety.
Then he turned it on. Using the remote to make the robot choke him.
No more air.
"I'll join you all soon..."
No more consciousness.
No more life.
Mizuki decided to finally check in on Rui. She was growing worried. She entered his house, and went to the entrance to his room.
She gently opened the door.