Chapter Text
Once upon a time, a curious child, eager to know all there was about magic. Adults did not believe magic could ever be real. His peers thought it was silly to try and learn it. But Rui was relentless in his pursuits. Throwing books left and right, coming back home smelling like mud at 4 in the morning with three new books under his arm, refusing to give up. Of course, people grow and mature. They adapt. The world grows and adapts alongside them. Rui was ostracized for this interest. It seemed immature, ridiculous. His determination never faded, and the fire burned brightly within his chest.
“Ah...!” The teenage boy let out. There it was. The smallest spark of electricity, floating right above his hand, caused by none other than himself. For a split second, Rui was overjoyed. But it was a mistake. After all…
Humans were far too frail to learn magic. Why did he think he could? Humans had been protected from this knowledge for a reason. He would never experience a day without pain, and his wonder for what the world had to bring had dulled. He grew to resent the supernatural beings he looked up to so intensely throughout his entire childhood.
A cloudy, miserable day as always. The swordsman, Rui, sat up breathlessly, the mutilated corpses of bandits all around him, their blood in the dirt and on his hands. But they weren’t the only ones with severe injuries. He was just the only one who wasn’t dead yet. Rui clutched his side desperately, the human instinct to live gnawing at him, even though he had nothing to do. He could hardly move without excruciating pain. His legs were weak. He tried to stand, but he just couldn’t. His vision blurred, his surroundings incomprehensible. Was this the end? A terrifying fatigue washed over him, but he refused to close his eyes. His rapid heartbeat drummed in his ears, and he was suddenly aware of how every vein pulsed, of how every drop of blood ended up beneath him. T-
THUD!!!
Rui flinched at the loud noise. Usually, he was quite fearsome, but he was already compromised due to the previous incident. He did NOT need some sort of predator finding him like this. Fortunately for him, an excited, masculine voice came from behind one of the trees. “Okay, okay! Ahh, I simply cannot believe I spotted a human in the forest like this! The world is built on coincidences, of course… I simply must not ignore it! I shall make my grand entrance TODAY!” …Wow. Dramatic.
A blonde, horned human male came out from behind the tree, a hand sitting confidently on his chest, which he was puffing out like a bird. The smug expression on his face seemed to paint the image of an asshole, because Rui immediately scowled despite the fatal injury. Regardless, the man continued. “Worry not, good sir! I, Tenma Tsukasa, master of the skies, shall assist you with whatever it is you need! After all, helping a stranger in need is only the polite thing to do! Not just polite… Absolutely star-like! Haha, I am such a gentleman, am I not?!”
Rui would have just listened and kept his mouth shut on a good day. But that was the one thing this day wasn’t. He interrupted the man’s incessant yapping with simple, hoarse words. “I’m bleeding out over here. Help or leave.” The clear speech seemed to snap Tsukasa out of it, and he immediately ran over, facial expression sheepish. “Yes, yes! Well, ehm… You do not mind being carried, do you?” Tsukasa hesitated. Rui groaned. “Just hurry up!”
With those words, Tsukasa stopped hesitating, picked the injured swordsman up, and ran off. His speed was what you would expect from an average human, but his stamina was certainly something else. Rui observed the male that held him. Long, blonde hair. Skin blessed by the sun, and… Horns? Elongated ears? Rui internally beat himself up for not realizing earlier. He wasn’t even trying to hide it if those features are still visible. This… was exactly the kind of being he despised. Can’t blame him for not focusing on that while he’s bleeding out on the dirt, can you? I think not. Luckily, he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut while he was being helped, battling against his own hatred for his own sake.