Chapter Text
A SEKAI, is a representation of a person’s feelings. It could be created with a group’s feeling, or a single person. That was something fascinating, that the director still couldn’t fully understand. As a matter of fact, it was something that was troubling Rui’s mind more often than he would like to admit. His curious mind was haunting him, and he couldn’t help but visit the SEKAI in secret a lot of times. This time was one of them. He was on his knees, looking at the singing flowers with a notebook in hand.
"Hmm… I wonder why the vegetation is singing here ? Do they have lungs to breathe ? How would they sing otherwise… Hm… Tsukasa really has a lot of imagination to have this in his SEKAI!" laughed the purple-haired boy, while drawing on his book. "However… There are still other flowers that look pretty real. I have no idea what they are… I should search back home, maybe it will make me learn more about Tsukasa after all~"
He heard a few footsteps behind him, and a cheerful voice greeting him.
"Oh Rui ! The flowers are the one that caught your attention today ? What else did you learn ?"
"Good afternoon Miku. To be completely honest with you, I still didn’t understand how they actually work… As a matter of fact, I’m more concerned about Tsukasa’s mind than the singing flowers themselves."
"Is that so ? I mean coming from a crazy loud proud guy like him, I don’t think that it surprises me that much…"
Rui jumped at that brutal sentence, and turned around to see his childhood friend, Nene, standing behind him. He giggled a bit while standing up to reach her level, or in Rui's case, higher.
"What a cruel way to say this Nene~ But I must admit that you’re not too wrong. Also, what brings you here ? You weren’t with Emu ?"
"She sent a message to me, apparently she has some chores to do. Since none of you or Tsukasa were answering your phones, I guessed that you may be here so I came to check."
Rui raised an eyebrow at that affirmation. Tsukasa as well ? He didn’t notice him when he came here.
"I didn’t see Tsukasa at all, I've been here for a few minutes still- oh wait, maybe he is in the tent with Kaito ? I haven't seen him either yet." declared the purple teen with a sweet smile.
Nene nodded and decided to follow him to the tent. When they arrived, they were greeted by a lot of screams coming from the plushies that began to run in fear.
"Aaah !! It’s the purple guy again !!"
Nene turned her head to Rui right away with a disgusted face. The director raised his hands in the air and defended himself, explaining that he didn’t do anything to them yet. Between the plushies’ tears, they could hear a familiar voice rising through the panic.
"Stop it already !! Dog, sit down, and you too here calm down ! You’re making the cat anxious, I can’t sew it well if he keeps on trembling !"
Between all the plushies, Rui could identify blond sparkling hair sitting in the audience. Their leader had a plush on his lap and a big sewing kit next to him. It seems that he was sewing the plush back, like a real doctor. Rui couldn't help himself but smile at this sight. The two friends walked calmly towards the future star, greeting him. As soon as he heard them, Tsukasa looked at them. As bright as his smile could be, it quickly turned into an annoyed sigh.
"Hi you two ! Oh- wait so this was the reason why the plushies were in a panic. What did you do this time, Rui ?!"
"Hehe~ I promise that I didn’t do anything, since you prohibited me to do so." Explained the director with his cat smile.
"Anyway, what are you doing ? Isn’t Kaito the one that sews them back together normally ?" Asked Nene, confused to see the golden boy in such a duty.
"Normally yes, but he is quite busy and- well to be honest, the plushies wanted to try more… risky show, but it didn’t go as planned and a lot of them got hurt. This is why I came here to help !"
"I always tend to forget that you are really skilled at sewing~ That is quite impressive of you" Complimented the purple boy with a sweet smile.
"Ha ha ha ! Thank yo- Wait what do you mean you forgot ? I’m the one who has to sew your clothes and costumes back all the time ! And as a matter of fact, I’m also the one who does our costumes, how can you forget that ?!"
"Hehe, my bad dear star~" Answered the purple-haired boy while patting Tsukasa's hair.
Tsukasa simply pout with his cheeks slightly turning pink. He continued to sew the plush back, ignoring the taller boy's hand on his head. Nene giggled a bit at his reaction, but then told the two men that she was heading back home.
They were now alone, with a comforting silence. Tsukasa noticed that his crewmate was still standing, and showed him the empty seat next to him. The director quietly sat, and still stared at the blond's hands, easily fixing the joins on the little animal. He could hear Tsukasa humming sweetly, with a slight smile on his face. He couldn't tell which song it was, but it sounded like a lullaby. Maybe this is what he used to sing to his little sister in their childhood ? If that was the case, he found the fact that the blond still sings it to this day adorable. After a while, Tsukasa broke the silence by catching Rui's attention with a fake cough.
"By the way, why were you here ?"
"Oya~ ? I'm not allowed to come to the SEKAI, I mean, your SEKAI~ ?" Smiled the director while crossing his legs.
"No this isn't what I meant ! I mean, you weren't trying to catch another plush right ?" Asked the leader while glaring at Rui with a concerned expression on his face.
"Ouch ! Your doubt actually hurts me, Tsukasa, you don't trust me ?"
"Of course I do ! I think... Ugh just answer already !"
"Hehe~ So you're the curious type ? I see~"
"AAARGH just forget about it." Sighed in defeat the blond boy while patting the healed cat on his lap.
His mood switched as quickly as his moves were. He smiled kindly to the little animal in his lap.
"There you go, little one !"
The cat plush got up and smiled brightly, thanking Tsukasa over and over again. Even if the blond told it that it was alright, his humble side was quickly caught by his pride habit, and he couldn't help but laugh proudly, saying how great he was. Rui quietly clapped his hands next to him, encouraging the boy in his fantasy. Was their world's future star always this cute ? He surprised himself with that thought. He did find Tsukasa overly cute a lot more than usual. He was really funny, kind and caring too, that was a fact, but since when was he thinking about it that much ? Why was he thinking that in the first place ? An unpleasant feeling started to build inside his chest. Suddenly, he began to cough. Tsukasa turned towards him and patted his back gently with a concerned expression.
"Rui ? Are you alright ?"
Rui lightly punched his own chest, forcing his lungs to stop. He then smiled at the star and answered with his usual smile.
"I'm alright, don't worry ! This caught me off guard as well, I may have catch a cold after all"
Tsukasa yelled at this affirmation, startling Rui. He took his shoulders and slightly shook him with a worrying face.
"What did I tell you !! Wear a scarf in winter !! Geez, if you don't get one I'll make one for you I swear."
"O-oh-" Rui was lost of words, caught off guard this time by the blond.
His face turned incredibly hot at a worrying speed. He calmly moved Tsukasa out of him and tried to answer with his smug face.
"Oya~ so considerate of your poor director~ Or do you just want me to wear your creations like a model~ ?"
It was now Tsukasa's turn to turn red. He yelped while turning around, closing the sewing kit that was remaining on the seat next to him.
"That wasn't my intention at all ! Ugh you really are a nuisance sometimes !"
He began to walk away, but stopped a few feet away. He then turned to the purple boy again, with his big and comforting smile.
"Anyway, don't push yourself too hard, ok ? I'll be heading back now, see you tomorrow at school !"
Rui simply waved at him with a light smile. As soon as the leader was off, Rui's smile dropped with a pensive one. He didn't really feel sick before, but all of a sudden, he clearly felt a weight in his chest. Maybe it really was a cold after all ? He just shrugged it off, and decided to leave the SEKAI as well. That will be a matter for later, he still needed to build some bots for their next show after all.
**
As expected, he didn't rest. He was caught into a brilliant idea and had to work on it. His throat felt a bit sore, so he drank multiple teas to calm it down. As a matter of fact, it was getting annoying, he hoped that he would recover fast, or that it won't get too much worse, otherwise it would be troublesome for their next show. After a few adjustments, he finally went to bed, in the middle of the night.
As a result, he was exhausted for the next day of school. He was used to it though, after all it wasn't the first time that he slept for only 6 to 5 hours a night. He got prepared and left for school.
As he was reaching the entrance, he heard a familiar yell calling out his name. He turned around and saw his leader, running after him to catch him. He had a bright smile and greeted him with his loud voice. As his golden eyes lowered to his throat, his smile turned into a small sigh.
"Of course, you wouldn't wear any scarf... Is your throat better then ?"
"Hehe~ I mean, your suggestion was really interesting indeed~" Teased the purple hair, avoiding the subject of his health, which worked as planned.
"My suggestion... ? Oh- oh no are you talking about me making a scarf for you ?"
"What else would I be talking about hehe, that was really cute of you."
"CUTE ? Was it ? I mean- I just spoke my mind." Explained Tsukasa while scratching his neck
"… Your mind ? Wait- you meant it ?"
"Yes ? Is it a bad thing... ? I mean if you don't have any scarf I can always make one for you, haha ! You can admit that anybody would die to have a scarf made by me, the bright future star, on them !" Laughed proudly the shorter one with his fist on his chest.
Rui just silently looked away. He felt a bit awkward and embarrassed. He was only taking this as a joke, but now knowing that it was a real deal, made his cheeks red. But suddenly, a thought came in his head, which hurt his chest as a result. "Anybody... uh ?"
"Did you say anything ?" Asked Tsukasa confused
Rui jumped and awkwardly laughed. He was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice he said it out loud. As he smiled, he felt a strange sensation in his chest, moving higher into his throat. He put his hand over his mouth per reflex, and turned away to hide it from the blond.
"I was just saying that you were right, anybody would be more than glad to have a piece of cloth made by your talented hands, my star !"
Tsukasa brightly smiled as his cheeks got pink. He laughed, as loud as his lungs could, and then turned again to look at his director who had regained his composure.
"You're more than right ! Anyway, class is going to start soon, see you at lunch !"
As quickly as he reached him, the blond was out of sight again. Rui felt as if he could finally catch his breath again. That odd feeling however, wasn't leaving him soon. He began to be more and more concerned about it, but kept convincing himself that it was just a cold. He joined his own classroom and sat at his desk, physically prepared for the lesson, while his mind was still wandering elsewhere.
The first hour already passed, however Rui couldn't really remember what it was about. He was thinking about a lot of other things, which included his adorable golden gremlin. He slightly giggled at this thought, and continued to write the lesson, or at least what he was listening to.
A few hours passed, and it was already their break. He stayed at his place, sketching on his notebook new ideas that were appearing in his head. If it was up to him, he would have already come into Tsukasa's classroom. However, the blond warned him before that he may be busy at that time. That really was a shame, he was already missing him. However, he began to be lost in thoughts, and noticed that the blond didn't see him as much as before during breaks now. Maybe he didn't really want to stay with him too much, since the director would often play pranks on him. He couldn't completely blame the poor star though, since he did put him into multiple embarrassing situations more than once with his experiments and bots, even at school. But, Rui would be lying if he said that he wasn't sad at all about it. He did have a lot of fun doing schemes with the blond (with, our without his consent). Tsukasa was really focused on his studies and his image, unlike the purple director. His reputation was already stained anyway, with or without Rui's help. Maybe it wasn't just that, or that it was an excuse to not see each other during breaks anymore. Perhaps the blond prefers to spend time with him, just the two of them or with Nene, since Emu is in a different school, without having anybody else around ? They were eating on the rooftop now after all, and sometimes in the sekai too. But maybe that reason was... because Tsukasa felt embarrassed by Rui's presence ? But they were always together, so that wouldn't explain it either.
"Maybe he just realised how much of a creep you are."
Rui jolted and turned his head around, but nobody was looking at him. Where did this voice come from ? Whose voice was it ? The director took a deep breath, shaking his thoughts away. Why was he thinking about such things in the first place ?! He wasn't the type to overthink like that, was he ? Besides, Tsukasa trusted him, and cared about him. After all, he wouldn't have begged for him to come back to their troupe if it wasn't the case, or helped him during their Halloween show, or looked after him that much... Yes, his thoughts were just playing pranks on him. He took a deep breath, harder than the previous one. He could feel his chest hurting with a terrible feeling in his throat. He just coughed a bit, trying to get this feeling away. Before he knew it, the bell rang again.
Lunch break took its sweet time to come, but time can't be stopped, so it eventually arrived. Rui took his bag, and walked upstairs towards the rooftop as planned. The odd sensation in his throat and chest didn't fade away, in fact, it was even worse than before. He cursed himself for not wearing a scarf as the leader suggested. He pushed the harsh doors open, and walked, his hair flying through the thin wind. He eventually sat against a wall, putting his bag on the ground. He usually leaves classes quickly, unlike the blonde who would take his sweet time. Speaking of the devil, Tsukasa eventually arrived, his wonderful luncheon in hand. He spotted Rui and ran towards him, quickly sitting beside him with a bright smile.
"Hi again Rui ! How was your classes ?"
"Nothing much to say, the usual. How was your break ?"
Tsukasa's face suddenly flinched when the word “break” came out of the purple's lips. He opened his lunch box and explained with a pained voice.
"Aaaa I didn't get any. Sorry if I couldn't make it ! We had an exam, and I figured that I would need extra time to finish it properly... Fortunately they allowed us to use the break time to do that, but it was troublesome indeed !"
Rui's eyebrows rose. Now that the blond said it, he did remember the word “exam” being spoken before. He awkwardly giggled, and asked while opening his own bag to get his lunch.
"Oh that is right, I may have forgotten about this. Anyway, how did it go then ? You managed to finish it ?"
"Yes I did... not without a scratch. It was completely by heart, what a pain !! But, a star can't step back from a challenge, so I suppose that I did perfectly fine !"
Rui did remember that even if Tsukasa was a brilliant actor, he had a really bad memory. It did surprise him when he learned that, since the blond always knew his scripts and lines perfectly. Maybe the issue was regarding some specific subjects. He did know that a lot of Tsukasa's childhood memories were blurry, like the reason that his sekai was even created in the first place. All of those were regarding his true feelings, situations that hurt him deeply in the past. Maybe this was some kind of protecting mechanism that his brain went for ? The director wished that he could learn more about the blond. Not only for his own curiosity, but because...
"Rui ? Are you listening ?"
The purple teen looked into the blond's eyes, and smiled, apologising.
"Sorry, I was lost in thoughts."
Tsukasa got closer to him, took a bite in his lunch and asked what he was thinking about. Rui simply brushed it off, explaining that it wasn't an important matter. Even if the blond didn't want to let that slide, he didn't want to force the purple hair boy either. Silently, he calmly rested his head on the taller boy's shoulder. The director jumped in surprise and looked back at his star, who gave him the sweetest smile he could ever witness.
"You can tell me anything, so don't hesitate if you need someone to talk to."
Rui couldn't help himself but smile in return. He rested his head on top of the other, allowing himself to push those thoughts away, while ignoring the increasing pain inside his chest.
"I know, Thank you my star."
**
That day was surprisingly long. Rui didn't really enjoy school at all. He mostly saw it as another stage to perform on, or to test his experimentations in. He loved to learn, but not what the teachers would give to him. After a few hours, the final bell finally rang. He got up, took his bag and walked away. Along the way, he met up with Tsukasa and Nene, and the three of them walked to the Phoenix Park.
They were talking along the way about their day, or any other topic that they would find interesting. Rui would occasionally tease Tsukasa as usual, gaining a groan or a slight laugh from the blond. They eventually arrived on the Wonder Stage, where Emu was waiting for them with her costume on. Once again, their meeting and practice could begin. It was probably Rui's favourite part of the day, where he could be himself, laughing from the bottom of his heart, without being worried to stand out. After all, they all did it in their own way. He really felt welcomed and at ease.
However, as sweet and comforting as that situation was, he noticed that he had more trouble than usual to keep up with the others, getting rather quickly out of breath. He wasn't the athletic type, or at least enough to run away from policemen, but still that was surprising. Tsukasa did notice that as well, and suggested brainstorming instead. As much as this suggestion blessed the purple's heart, he declined it. He already caught Tsukasa's worry too much today, he couldn't allow himself to make it worse. As hard as this day was, he managed to go through it.
The sun was already setting down, the troupe decided to call it a day and each of them walked their separate ways, except for Rui and Nene. Since they were neighbours, they would often walk back home together. It felt nice to have some alone time with his childhood friend from time to time, it really felt as if he was already back home. However, he did notice the concern on his friend’s face. She looked up at him and asked with a shy voice :
"Rui, you were acting a bit under the weather today, are you alright ?"
"Oya ? Hehe, it appears that nothing can slip from your sight."
"Don't start going overly dramatic and just tell me already…" Commanded the shorter girl with a sigh, she did know him too well.
"Alright alright. There is no need to worry, I may simply have caught a cold."
"Oh, is that so ? I'm sure that Tsukasa must have scolded you." Smiled Nene as she took out her phone to open a game.
Rui sweetly laughed. Even when he wasn't here, his leader always managed to get into others' conversations.
They finally arrived at their houses. They said their goodbyes as they entered their home. Rui did have some time left before dinner, and decided to work on his new robot idea he came up with during his break.
**
Rui was working on his next project. He couldn't tell how long he was on it, however he didn't mind that either. Building those machines were some kind of escape for him, and he loved bringing his ideas to life.
"I hope that they'll love it." Whispered Rui as he stayed focused on his work.
Soon enough, the room turned dark. He assumed that the night was just coming now. He turned around to find his lamp, but couldn't find it. He simply sighed and took his phone to use it as a torch to search for the switch of his lamp. As soon as he took his device, he was met with a lot of notifications on the screen.
"Get lost."
Rui's blood turned cold, confused. The messages began to pile up, and more and more appeared on his phone.
Creep, abnormality, weird, idiot, awful, sadist, annoying, tiring, get lost, go away, leave, disappear, kill y-
Rui unlocked his phone and tried to block the numbers, but he couldn't find any. Where were they coming from ? What was even happening ?
"Is everything alright, Rui ?"
Rui jolted at the sound of that familiar voice. He quickly turned around to see Nene, bending over to reach his level. He awkwardly smiled, as his sweating face was already giving it away.
"Y-yes... I'm alright."
He got up, but as soon as he stood, he heard another voice from behind him.
"He's in love with him, right ?"
Rui turned around again, and saw multiple people. They were probably students, but he couldn't recognise them at all, as if a filter was hiding their faces.
"What a pain... imagine being his crush."
"I know right, I would have totally given up on life if it were me."
Rui's breath got cut, he stepped back, and turned around to Nene.
"L-let's just go- Nene ?"
She was gone.
He was now crowded, every faceless person was staring at him. How could he even tell if he couldn't see their faces... It was a complete mystery. All he could hear were gossips, all over again. Giggles, disgusted noises, rambling... He never felt that small, he just wanted to hide somewhere or bury himself alive. He had nowhere to escape, he was simply trapped into the crowd. The voices turned louder, and even louder. He felt as if his ears were going to explode. He weakly bent over, covering his ears trying to cover the disturbing noise, praying for it to stop.
"Rui ?"
Rui's eyes shot open. He looked up and saw that comforting face. His blond hair was lighting the empty dark space. He was outstanding, brighter than the sun itself. Rui couldn't breathe, he just stared at the blond in panic.
"Is it true ? Are you in love with me ?"
The purple alchemist tried to answer, but his voice was extinguished. Suddenly, the star screamed in terror, looking away from the taller boy. Rui couldn't breathe.
"That is awful, my life is ruined !"
The director gasped, trying to get up, to reach the blond and explain that it wasn't true.
He didn't love him.
He swore he didn't.
He wasn't allowed to-
His voice was stuck into his throat, he fell down, all strength left his body.
He couldn't breathe.
Tears began to form in his eyes as he tried to look at the leader walking away, catching up with Emu and Nene waiting for him in the distance.
Rui couldn't breathe.
Wait
He couldn't breathe... ?
Rui suddenly woke up in sweat. He was on the couch, the blanket long gone on the ground.
He felt feverish, his chest was burning, screaming in agony. As for his throat...
It was shut.
He couldn't breathe.
Rui began to cough violently. He tried to get up in a panic, but fell down on the ground. He was choking to death. Tears were forming in the corner of his eyes as his sight turned blurry. He couldn't stop his coughing fit, his lungs were begging to get some oxygen into them. Soon enough, he could feel something getting out of his throat. It felt horrible, as if he was puking.
Was he really... ? He hated that feeling, he hated everything about it. It hurt so much, the pain was only getting worse. Was he seriously dying ? Was it really the end ?
Finally something got expelled out of his mouth, then another one, and again another. His voice started to come back, as he was able to get some air inside, that was already being expelled with another cough. At some point, he was just screaming.
After a while, he could finally breathe. He didn't have time to feel some relief, as he tasted an odd taste inside his mouth. An iron one to be precise. He looked down at his knees, his vision was still blurry but he could see...
Blood.
Rui jumped in shock, staring at the mess that was on the ground. He wiped his face, and looked at his bloody hand in terror. As soon as his vision began to be clearer again, he could identify multiple petals covered in blood on the ground.
He was exhausted, feverish, and his throat was screaming in agony. He took one of the petals in his shaking hand, confused and horrified.
"… What is happening to me... ?"