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Chapter Text

The sun shone brightly, it's light hitting just right above Rui's eyes. Ah right, it was class time right now. Rui is currently alone at the rooftop, enjoying his fleeting peaceful moment. His nape was drenched with sweat due to the intense heat from the sun. With one swift moment, Rui brushed his bangs upwards while attempting to fan himself.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. The door to the roof swung open in a big movement, revealing a blonde head, no other than Rui's troupemate, Tsukasa.

"Rui! Skipping class again? As your leader, I cannot allow one of my troupmates skipping classes!" Tsukasa projected in a loud voice while he had two hands on his hips. His brows slightly furrowed and he was looking directly at Rui's back.

"Hey Tsukasa, don't you think it's rather hot here?" Rui casually dodged the topic while fanning himself harder, just if to prove his point. Rui slightly turned his head backwards to look at Tsukasa. However, before he realised, Tsukasa was only a few inches away. Rui felt his cheeks heating up. (It's the sun I promise)

Just as Rui was about to open his mouth to question Tsukasa, Tsukasa inched in closer, Rui suddenly felt like he was burning up, (maybe he has a fever?) He squeeze his eyes shut, before feeling Tsukasa brushing up his hair to feel his forehead.

Oh.

"Hey Rui, are you okay? Your head is burning up and your face is red..." Tsukasa questioned, his face still inches away from Rui's.

Rui blinked his eyes twice before he tried to form a coherent sentence.

"Ah... Tsukasa, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Besides that, don't you think you are a little close-"

Before Rui got the chance to finish his sentence, Tsukasa widened his eyes in realisation. He scrambled to put distance between him and Rui.

"Oh! My bad Rui, I didn't realise- I was just trying to check your temperature because you looked like you had a fever and I thought that if our director had a fever, that would do any good! So I thought that I should check your temperature and-"
Tsukasa started to ramble and his hands was doing a bunch of gestures.

"Don't worry about me, instead, what are you doing here Tsukasa?" Rui had one eyebrow raised at Tsukasa as he slowly calms himself down.

"The future star is here to invite you for lunch! There's a special foodstall that is ending soon, so I thought we could go together." Tsukasa said proudly. Rui then felt himself being manhandled as Tsukasa starts dragging Rui downstairs in a hurry. The journey to the foodstall was filled with both Tsukasa and Rui's conversation about their upcoming show with occasion comments about their schoolwork.

As they are approaching the foodstall, a long queue could be seen. The foodstall workers could be seen busy taking orders and handling the store.

"one order for pancake store special please!" A loud voice through the stall could be heard. It was a young male teenager handling the queue. Tsukasa and Rui joined the queue.

"Hey Rui, look over there." Tsukasa tapped on Rui's shoulder and pointed at the menu. It was the store special and it's current best seller. It was a pancake shaped like a dog stacked on top of each other. It has butter and maple syrup on it, making it look even more delicious.

"It looks delicious! It's a fitting dessert for a star like me of course!" Tsukasa started to laugh out loud which attracted weird looks from students in the queue.

"Fufu, of course Tsukasa. The pancake looks amazing. I wish I could buy some for Emu and Nene." Rui pondered with his hand under his chin. Maybe the troupe could take a day off after their upcoming school and go to a cafe? It seems like a wonderful idea. Perhaps Rui will be able to gather inspiration from their outings. They could go to an aquarium maybe! Or even go to other famous shows. Rui would love to see how their shows are directed behind scenes. Wouldn't it be great if there was a robot exhibition of the sort? If there was, Rui would definitely go...

"ui- Rui??? RUI??" Tsukasa shook Rui's shoulder violently. "Hey what's wrong, you blanked out for a while and I thought something happened to you. Rui, you should be more careful. We can't have you falling sick. Did the heat get to you? Are you having another fever? I can stay in the queue while you go rest under a shade..."

Ah, how cute. Rui likes it when Tsukasa fret over him like this. It reminds him that he has such a good friend like Tsukasa. Middle school hasn't been exactly kind to him. Sure, there was Mizuki. One of his closest friend even till today. They are often close in contact and discuss about their life late into night. But there wasn't someone like Tsukasa.

Tsukasa, the guy who would wholeheartedly trust Rui and his creations. Tsukasa, who continued to stay with Rui despite how dangerous his creations got. (Rui would always make sure it's safe of course, how can he endanger his star like this?) Tsukasa, the dazzling star that shines so bright on the stage, following Rui's directing. Tsukasa, the one that convinced him to work with him in the very beginning. Rui is not sure what he would be like today if he rejected Tsukasa's offer that day. (He's glad he accepted it)

Tsukasa, the only one that accepts him for who he is.

Huh. Maybe something's gotten to his head. When did he start thinking of Tsukasa like this? It's probably nothing, Tsukasa is a very good friend to Rui. Of course he's important.

Rui finally snap out of his thoughts and looked at Tsukasa. Tsukasa looks like he's about to call an ambulance before Rui hurriedly stopped him with his hand.

"I'm okay Tsukasa! I was just thinking... about our upcoming show." Rui trailed off a little at the end, not wanting to expose himself.

"Oh right, about the upcoming show, I actually have something to suggest. I was thinking maybe that we can do this at the start..." Tsukasa mentioned his script before he got cut off by no other than the cashier of the store. It was the same person that kept shouting orders in a loud voice. He greeted both of them with a enthusiastic voice. Rui thinks that he can compete with Tsukasa in a competition with who is the loudest.

He chuckled slightly at the thought of that. He looked at the menu again, before turning to Tsukasa to ask what he wants to order. Odd. Was Tsukasa staring at Rui ? It's probably his imagination. Rui missed the way Tsukasa's ear was tinted bright red.

"Tsukasa, I was thinking that we could get two for Emu and Nene, since we have practice later on. What do you think, our dear leader?" Rui asked

"That's a wonderful idea Rui! As your leader, I will take care of our troupemates with care ! Everyone deserves this delicious pancakes!" Tsukasa said with a slightly raised voice. He turns to the cashier to order, bur before he could say anything, the cashier interrupted.

"Your name is Tsukasa tenma right? Don't worry about the payment. It's on the house." The cashier beamed at Tsukasa. Tsukasa was a little stunned at the kind gesture.

"Ah, you might wonder why I'm giving it for free. Actually, I really admire you and the way you do your shows. I've been to one of them and I was abosultely captured by you. You looked amazing on stage and I just recently found out you were my senior in school. It's embarrassing, I know." The cashier's cheeks reddened as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh! One of my fans? Don't worry! I'm a future star after all, it's naturally for me to have fans! However, I don't think I'll be able to take your pancakes for free. It isn't cheap too..." Tsukasa trailed off his sentence, trying to think of a solution for this.

"Ah, if that's the case, then what about a trade?" The cashier slightly tilted his head at Tsukasa and gave him his best smile.
"Just your number will do. You see, I'm a fan of your show, but I also like you a lot as my senior. If you don't mind, I wish to-"
The cashier said before a loud bang was heard on the table.

"Here, I'll pay for it. Thank you for your generosity but there's no need for it. Now, if you will, me and my friend has something to attend to." Rui smiled at the cashier while his hand was still gripping the cash on the table. With that, Rui grabbed Tsukasa's wrist and started to speed walk away.

"Hey Rui! Wait, Rui we haven't gotten our pancakes yet- hang on, where are we going? Rui??" Tsukasa was getting dragged by Rui. To where? Rui has no idea what just happened. He usually doesn't act this rudely to someone he just met for the first time. Why does his chest feels like it's on fire? Nevermind that, Rui felt like he had to get away from that cashier as soon as possible. He doesn't know why but his body acted before he could think of anything. It wasn't like him to be this impulsive, not to mention that it's a stranger he doesn't even know. Oh wait he's still dragging Tsukasa with him, when did he do that? Rui came to a sudden halt, causing Tsukasa to bang straight into his back.

"Ouch! Rui watch where you're going. Also did you hear me? We haven't gotten the pancakes!" Tsukasa rubbed his forehead in a circular motion, trying to sooth the pain.

Right! Rui dragged Tsukasa with him without explanation and he doesn't even know where he is going! Rui started to panicked a little inside, trying to think of an excuse of his actions.

"I... I needed to show you our new scene that I just thought of for our upcoming show! We can go back and collect the pancakes later ..." Rui quickly replied, trying to seem natural.

"Oh! A new scene? How interesting! If that was the case, you should have said it eariler! What are we waiting for now? Let's go!!" Tsukasa became excited at the idea and started to drag Rui with him.

'Ah. I'm in trouble' Rui started to brainstorming for a new idea that he didn't even have while Tsukasa happily dragged him away, the incident eariler completely forgotten by the both of them.

Chapter Text

"Wow!!!!! Pancakes !!! Thank you Rui!!" Emu gleamed at the pancakes Rui and Tsukasa have brought them. She jumped onto Tsukasa's back as thanks. (??) Tsukasa tried to get her off her back but Emu only held on tighter. Both of them seem to be having fun. (maybe not for Tsukasa)

"Thanks for the pancake Rui." Nene gave Rui a small smile before she turned to look at the loud duo. Nene had a genuine happy look on her face as she looked at the both of them. Or should Rui say Emu? Ever since Emu and Nene met, Rui could see the change in Nene drastically. He was almost 100% sure Nene had a crush on Emu, but besides that, she generally seems happier with the troupe. Rui looked away from his childhood bestfriend to Tsukasa instead.

Tsukasa looks eteneral under sunlight, the lights hitting all the right corners. Rui wished he had a camera to photograph this. It's a pity that he doesn't, but he will burn this memory into his brain. He stared at Tsukasa with a soft smile on his face.

Nene turned her head at the same time to look at Rui, and happened to see the exact moment Rui's eyes softened at the sight of a certain blonde.

'Huh... Seriously? Him out of everyone?' Nene silently sighed at the thought, but she was sincerely happy that Rui found someone.

"Alright! Let's get started with practice!" Tsukasa clapped his hands and announced to everyone. Tsukasa was buzzing with energy, ready to tackle the stage of being a star. Just then, a camera stutter could be heard from the bush. Everyone was stunned for a second before Emu spoke up.

"Hey!!! You can't take our photos without permission !" She ran right into the bush and dragged someone out. It was a girl that seem to be around the same age as them. She held on tightly to her camera and looked happy for some reason? She turned her attention from her camera she has taken their photos with to Tsukasa, and suddenly rushed towards him.

Tsukasa, who was a little shocked at the action took a step backwards involuntarily. He had his two hands up and was retreating away from the intruder. Rui took a step towards Tsukasa and stood Infront of him. He had his arm out, trying to block the person away from Tsukasa. Rui doesn't know who this is, but what he knows is that Tsukasa was uncomfortable enough for him to act.

Nene hurried to the bush to check on Emu, she only let out a relieved sigh after she checked Emu's body for any scratches. Emu had a sheepish smile on her face as she scratched her cheek with her finger.

Meanwhile, Tsukasa's eyes is darting back and forth from the stranger and Rui. He was contemplating on what to do because Tsukasa thinks that this might be an misunderstanding and maybe the stranger was just a really excited fan of his. After making a decision, Tsukasa made up his mind and stood infront of Rui instead. He held up his arm protectively in the same way Rui did and looked at the stranger with a determined look in his eyes.

"Emu is right, I don't think you should take pictures without our permission. This is probably a misunderstanding, I understand that you may want to take photos with us, but please ask for our consent next time." Tsukasa firmly told the stranger that was still holding her camera, she now has a treecrestfallen look on her face as she faced downwards. She tries to open her mouth to mutter an apology but no words came out.

Feeling the gloomy atmosphere, Emu stood up and tried to comfort the stranger. Her hands floated above the stranger's shoulder, and gave Tsukasa a worried look.
Tsukasa only let a sigh before he tried to approach the stranger, making sure to keep some distance between them.

The stranger looked up to Tsukasa with sad eyes before she finally spoke.

"I... I'm sorry... I only wanted to take a photo of you because of the website and thought that I would get a chance to upload a better photo..." The stranger trailed off as her eyes casted downwards at her camera.

"Well, of course there would be fans that want my photos so that's fine! Don't worry too much about it..." Tsukasa then had a sudden realisation but Rui cut in before Tsukasa could ask.

"A website? What do you mean by that?" Rui was on his guard, ever since the stranger interrupted their practice, Rui has been watching the stranger with caution. To be honest, Rui doesn't get why he feels the strong urge to wrap his hands around Tsukasa when he saw that slightly frightened face of his. Rui wants to take Tsukasa and run away with him. That sounds great, actually. If they could leave everything behind and just dedicate their lives to theatre. Rui would get to be Tsukasa's director forever and Tsukasa will get to be beside him. Rui doesn't know why, but everytime he looked at Tsukasa, it feels like his heartstrings are being played with.

Well, that's interesting. Rui will unpack that later...

Right now, they had to focus on the situation at hand. The stranger brought up a mysterious website that no one here knows about.

"Mind telling us about the website? We will take that as your apology if you do."

Rui smiled. To the stranger, it appeared as if Rui had malicious intent behind that smile of his. The stranger started to speak, and to everyone's surprise, there was currently a website circulating around the internet and is increasingly gaining popularity. And the website has various photos of the WonderxShowtime members. They scrolled through the website together and Rui swear he could see the way Tsukasa's face slowly paled, the blood in his face seemingly absent when he saw the amount of photos of him. Even ones that he wasn't aware of.

Emu has already left the stranger's side, she was holding onto Nene's shoulder. Nene could feel Emu's fingers ever so slightly tremble. Nene placed her hand onto Emu's and gave it a tiny squeeze as an attempt to comfort her.

The stranger then went on saying that there is currently a competition of taking the most Tsukasa pictures. According to the stranger, it was said that the winner would get a day alone with Tsukasa (that Tsukasa didn't even agree to, heck! He didn't even know such a competition was taking place)

At the thought of Tsukasa hanging with someone else other than ... him made Rui's head hurt. Maybe Rui should pay a visit to the hospital, it seems that he might be getting sick soon. He subconsciously leaned towards Tsukasa until their shoulders were touching.

Tsukasa was still looking at the website, his expression is much better than his initial shock. He seems to have accepted the fact that he now has fans (though they are all quite weird...) and even looked a little excited that their little stage is getting more famous.

Nene still didn't forget about what the stranger tried to do. She glared at the stranger before she grabbed Emu's wrist and said "I don't think today is a good day to practice... Maybe we can meet tomorrow to make it up instead."

She suggested to cancel today's practice in favour for themselves and everyone unanimously agreed to do so. However, before they left, Rui had a "small talk" with the stranger to ensure that this wouldn't happen again. They then left the stranger alone and hurried home. Since Rui and Nene was going the same way, Tsukasa and Emu went on their own separate ways home.

It might have been Tsukasa's imagination, but he felt someone's stare on him on his way home.

Chapter Text

"ALRIGHT!! Another day of practice for me!"
Tsukasa screamed from his bedroom, causing saki to shout back to silent her brother.

"Brother! You are too loud, it's only morning!" Saki loudly informed her brother.

The tenma household was filled with the siblings chatter, because if they don't talk, the house would be in complete silence. The tenma parents were usually busy with work and out for business trips. Tsukasa hasn't seen them for months. It's always been like this since he was a child. Tsukasa rarely got to see his parents. Even if he did, it was usually at the hospital visit for Saki.

Tsukasa can't recall the last time he actually had a proper conversation with his parents... Does his parents even know what school he attends? Wait, hang on. No negative thoughts early in the morning! It's not like he never got to spend time with his parents, they were just... busy taking care of Saki! That's totally fine, Saki has it way worse. He should be more optimistic, ah yes, like seeing his friends in school. Or maybe having practice with his troupe.

Speaking of the troupe, Tsukasa wonder if they are okay, since something happened yesterday. No point thinking about it! He should get moving and go over to see for himself.

Tsukasa threw on his best casual outfit fitting of a star of course. He then said goodbye to saki while waving enthusiastically at her and went out of the house. The sun today is particularly bright and caused Tsukasa unable to properly open his eyes. He then took out a pair of sunglasses. Yes, sunglasses. Tsukasa is quite carefully about taking care of his health, doesn't matter if it's transmittable or not.

Tsukasa wore the sunglasses and looked at his phone reflection. He looks like a real star with the glasses on. Maybe because his sunglasses were shaped like a star...

"Okay! I'm going to put in my best for the show!" Tsukasa cheered out loud with his fist up in the air. He suddenly felt chills running up his back, Tsukasa's whole body shivered with him wrapping his arms around it. Hopefully it wasn't a spider..? It was probably cold. Maybe he should hurry up before he catches a cold. That wouldn't be good at all.

He takes a few looks around before he finally left the front of his house.

Before he knew, Tsukasa searched up a familiar website while walking. He scrolled through the gallery that was full of him. Tsukasa thought about how the website is rather well made. It doesn't seem to be very popular. There was pictures of him at practice, and none in school fortunately. It means that it's none of the students in his school. Gah, it doesn't narrow it down at all. Instead, it broaden the possibles of the suspect instead. Tsukasa scratched his head while scrolling through the website, before he chance upon this particular photo with lots of comment.

'Ah, looks like this is where the competition started.' Tsukasa glanced through the comment section with many users excited. He started to click on the original account that posted it. It was anonymous of course, however, it seems like they only have a star emoji in their bio. Tsukasa wanted to investigate more before he hit his head on something.

"OUCH! My forehead-" Tsukasa screamed out in pain as he rubbed his forehead trying to sooth the pain. He looked up to the 'object' before he realised that it was, in fact, not an object he had thought he knocked into.

"Sorry! I apologise for not looking forward-" The stranger frantically apologised.

"Shizuku ?" Tsukasa had his eyes wide open. His forehead still had a big red bump.

Shizuku, who seem to mirror Tsukasa's shocked expression, before she gave Tsukasa a big hug.

"Tsukasa?! It's been too long ! I've been busy with idol work... I'm so sorry that I couldn't make any time to catch up with you." Shizuku said, hugging tsukasa tighter.

"I know right ? How's shiho doing ? It seems that you are doing well! I was just on my way to ..." Tsukasa paused his sentence, and started to ponder,

'Should I be telling Shizuku this..? She's a popular idol now... I can't drag her around with me! She must be busy! Of course, a real star understands that, I shall no longer take up her time!' Tsukasa came to a conclusion. He gave a short goodbye to Shizuku with the promise of meeting her again, and Shizuku does the same.

They wave goodbyes to each other before going in their own direction.

'Snap!'

Shizuku turns around, nothing in plain sight.

'Hm, perhaps it was my imagination. I must have been not taking care of myself lately...' She brushed it off before continuing her journey.

Tsukasa being happy that he finally met Shizuku. They often played together as kids since Tsukasa was quite lonely, knowing that Saki was in the hospital. Eventually, they became great friends. However, after middle school, they naturally drifted as both of them got busier. He happily hummed, one of the song piece he wrote while playing 'Torpe'. He should play the piano again, it's been a while. It would be good to de-stress from... all these things going on.

Before he realised, Tsukasa was already at the Wonder stage. He sees Nene and Emu in the distance, discussing something with a serious look on their face. It's rather rare to see Emu this serious looking, since she was always happy go lucky kind of person. Nene on the another hand, looks same as always. However, she seems to be a bit paranoid.

Last but not least, everyone's dear direction, who was sitting on the bench near Tsukasa. He had his hands supporting his head while he looks down at his leg like he's deciding between life and death.

Tsukasa, not liking this gloomy atmosphere, decides to find out what's going on by asking Rui.

Well! It's because Rui is the nearest to him so it's convenient, and totally not because Tsukasa is worried for Rui. Yep totally not, Tsukasa gotta help his friend in need. That's all.

With that all said, Tsukasa walked over to Rui and tapped on his shoulder. Rui looks kinda scary ..? Tsukasa notices that Rui's hair are messy, looks like he didn't comb them. His purple hair ... It looks really soft.

With that in thought, Tsukasa unconsiously reached his hands out to comb Rui's hair like a daily routine for him.

Rui jerked his head up, surprised by the sudden affectionate touch. He stares at Tsukasa, who looks very determined to comb our Rui's messy hair. Rui looked away, his cheeks turning hot and red, frantic heartbeat becoming faster and faster. Rui feels like he can't breathe, if he breathes, all he smells is the fragrance of Tsukasa's shampoo. Wow, it smells great. Rui wonder what kind of shampoo he used. He leans back on Tsukasa's body, before closing his eyes to enjoy the sensation.

Unfortunately for Rui, the hand that was petting his head left soon. Rui looks back up at Tsukasa, craving that action even more. Tsukasa, who seem to finally come back to earth, scratched his nape out of embarrassment. He tries to come out with an excuse, but zero has came to his mind as to why he would be combing Rui's hair.

Tatic number 1 : Excuses, has failed ! Time for Tatic number 2

Change the topic.

"H-hey! Rui, how is it going?" Tsukasa sounds a little awkward, but that will do. Rui got distracted from the situation before and replied back to Tsukasa.

"Not good, Tsukasa." Rui said seriously, Tsukasa sensed that something was wrong. Rui has never... looked this mad.

"Rui-"

"Tsukasa. Look at this." Rui said as he grabbed something out of his pocket. A camera ? Huh? Why would Rui have this in his pocket. Tsukasa raised his eyebrows out of confusion, Rui saw his confused expression, and decided he would tell Tsukasa everything that happened before he came.

...

'Huh?'

...

"It's a hidden-"

"Why would Wonder stage have-"

"Shh! What if Tsukasa hears you?"

...

"Someone-"

"CATCH HIM--"

...

"TSUKASA--!"

...

"CALL THE --!" Someone screamed, at the top of their lungs, before they ran at top speed into the trees.

...

Tsukasa hasn't returned home for a few days.

Chapter Text

"..." 

'Huh?' Tsukasa slowly opens his eyes, his eyes hurting from the brightness. 

' ... Where am I?' He blinks his eyes, trying to clear his vision. In Front of him is ... a window? There's a lot of trees around, which would mean that he is probably in the forest or some sort. He then decided to look around his surroundings. A small room built out of wooden planks. This looks like a shack? Tsukasa isn't sure. Actually, hang on. Why is he even here in the first place? Where's everyone? Tsukasa start feeling panic sink into him, eyes darting around him trying to search for an exit, a way to get out-

Suddenly, the door creeps open. Tsukasa, not knowing what to do, decides to pretend he is 'asleep'. What a brilliant idea. 

"Is he awake ..?" An unfamiliar voice spoke, it was a very clear and bright voice. Probably a female. Tsukasa leaned towards his right, trying to catch the conversation. 

"By the looks of it, probably not. Also- don't tie him up! It makes us look like we kidnapped him!" A man..? No, it sounds like a teenager boy. Maybe around his age? Huh. 

Tsukasa continues to listen into the conversation of his capturers, but learns nothing interesting. He did feel someone approaching him and removing the restraints around him. So at least they aren't hostile? That's good to learn. Tsukasa waits for the footsteps to go away and makes sure no one is around him anymore before he opens his eyes. 

Now that he is fully awoken, he can see that he isn't in an abandoned space. The shack is well maintained, and there's signs of living people. Considering that they didn't want to restrain him... Maybe they aren't here to harm him? But still- 

It doesn't explain why they... well, kidnapped him here. Speaking of it, how many days has it been? Saki must be worried- what about his friends? Tsukasa's hands moving up to his temple, seemingly trying to remember what happened before he was here.

'I remember... speaking to Rui? The rest are all blurry. I don't really remember anything. Doesn't that mean that his friends literally saw him get kidnapped? That's terrible! They must be worried- I should hurry home.'

'...But how?' Tsukasa can feel a incoming headache. Gosh. Blame his poor memory. He could swear he used to have a great memory, but it started get worse from... God knows when. Nowadays, when he tries to remember certain things off his head, his head get fuzzy. Not that he would know why. At Least it's not that bad. He can still remember most things just fine. Anyways! He should focusing on getting out, the other things can come later. He bets that his friends are probably worried sick. He can imagine Rui having dark circles around his eye bags, Emu frowning, and Nene being fidgety. It's tell tale sign of Nene being nervous, or paranoid. 

Tsukasa looks around once more, searching for an exit. He spots a window. How convenient! He could crawl out from the window ..! Tsukasa rushes to the window, and tries to open it as quietly as possible. A “ click " sound informs him that the window is in fact, not locked. The kidnappers are pretty careless, huh? Tsukasa unlocked the window, and fully opened it. He then makes sure that he isn't jumping down from the 12th storey. Looks like they are on the ground floor, which is even better! So Tsukasa wasted no time jumping out, and landed safely. He pats his clothes to get rid of the dust. Then remembers that he is still in his home clothes. 

... It's not really his clothes actually. It's a shirt that Rui left at his house when everyone had a sleepover at his house. Tsukasa thinks back on the fond memory, and became even more determined to go home. That's until he heard footsteps. People are approaching! 

Without a second thought, Tsukasa hides behind a nearby tree, praying that no one will spot him. He tries to stay in the blind spot, proving no difficulties as the tree was almost two times the size of himself. Pressing his back against the tree, Tsukasa tries to take a peek at whoever is involved in this. He slowly peaks his head out of the tree to see the culprit. Luckily, there’s no one else around him that would cause him to be found out. He grabs the tree to stabilise himself and lean as close as possible to catch their conversation.

The person that just joined the group of people that Tsukasa saw in the shack earlier has a tall build. He looks roughly around 20 years old. (according to Tsukasa’s amazing judgement) He has black hair as dark as his clothes. He wore a simple t-shirt with no design along with jeans. Tsukasa tried to take a closer look since they seemed to be discussing something of grave importance.

However, due to his carelessness and curiosity, he accidentally slipped. Causing him to fall onto the soft grass, which, of course alerted the group of people Tsukasa was trying to observe. A few of them turned their heads towards the source of sound while others seemed to not have heard it. However, they just thought that it was probably a squirrel and turned back in the conversation. 

Tsukasa, who was now covering his mouth with both hands, afraid of letting out a single sound that might attract the kidnappers. After making sure that he was safe, then did he relax his arms, giving out a breath of relief. Tsukasa scouts the area, making sure there’s absolutely no one, before attempting to escape the forest. 

‘I should probably get home now … That was too close, I need to be more careful in case they realise I’m gone already ..!’ Tsukasa thought. With this, the sense of urgency increased. From speed walking to straight on running. Tsukasa runs around aimlessly, trying to catch a glimpse of anything familiar that could lead him back home. Unfortunately, god is out to get Tsukasa today. Because of all the days, it just had to rain today. So right now Tsukasa is running through the rain which will definitely result in a cold. Tsukasa doesn’t really want to catch a cold since Saki isn’t feeling well recently… But it doesn’t look like he has any choice? Does he? Right now, his priority is to get home asap. Everything else can come afterwards. 

Despite hours of searching, all effort seemed useless until Tsukasa finally recognised something. Something familiar , a place he goes to almost everyday. It’s his stage, his workplace, his dream. Yes, the wonder stage. Words couldn’t describe how Tsukasa felt at the sight of the wonder stage. Relief? Happiness? Worry? All of these emotions are like being thrown into a pot and mixing it. For a second, he stood there like an idiot. Continuing to stand under the rain would only worsen his upcoming cold. But right now, just right now, Tsukasa can’t find a single energy in him to care. Not when… he almost couldn’t return. 

Because of the horrible weather, the amusement park is closed for the day. Despite how cold it is, the wonder stage was still brightly lit. Tsukasa gasped. Maybe… his friends are here ! They wouldn’t have to worry anymore since Tsukasa is back, back to them. Without a second thought, he immediately rushed into the back stages. He didn’t notice how wet his clothings were. He didn't notice how he was shivering due to how cold it was. All that matters to him right now is that he was here. Of course, his friends didn’t share the same sentiment.

Nene and Rui had been startled out of their discussion on the upcoming play. Even though the mood was gloomy and down among them, they still couldn’t disappoint their audience. Especially because Tsukasa is missing, gone without a trace. They both wanted to at least make the play a success so Tsukasa would be happy when he heard the good news. So, even though they were worried and sad about Tsukasa’s disappearance, they still wanted to make him proud. And in the middle of the discussion, the said person that everyone has been looking for was here. He is here, staring at Nene and Rui, as though if he blinked just once, this would disappear. Nene also stared back for a moment, shocked at his appearance. After she snapped back into reality, she stood up and immediately went to inform Emu that Tsukasa was here, he was back to them. 

After Nene hurriedly left the room, Rui still stood there, mouth gaping. Even Tsukasa was starting to feel a little awkward with the staring. He shuffled closer to Rui, and Rui did nothing to resist. 

Rui took his time drinking in the sight of Tsukasa. He looks tired, very tired. To the point that dark circles were starting to form under his eye bags. And everyone knows that Tsukasa takes care of his health everyday! So this was something new to Rui. Not just that, the clothes that Tsukasa was wearing were his. Did he mention how cute Tsukasa looks in it? Wait-, that’s not the point now. He looks soaked, probably from the terrible weather. And his legs have a few scratches here and there. Rui came up with the conclusion that Tsukasa had been running in the huge rain, and occasionally caused him to slip and fall. Why was he in such a hurry? Was someone chasing him? If there was, Rui would …

“Hey Rui. Feels like it’s been forever since I last saw you.” Tsukasa gives a dry humourless laugh, trying to lighten the mood as he always does. Rui decides that he will not stay wet and instead took action. He got up and walked out of the back stage without a word. Tsukasa was slightly puzzled by Rui’s behaviour. But he decided to stay and wait for him anyway. Also, isn’t it getting a little bit too cold in here? That’s what happens when you run in the rain non-stop. Tsukasa’s feet were also hurting. He takes the chance to massage his feet, trying to relieve the pain. 

Just then, the door creaks open. A familiar sight of a purple haired guy pops into the room again. Tsukasa can’t help but feel tension that he didn’t know he had dissolved the moment Rui entered the room. This must mean they are really good friends right? But… Tsukasa doesn’t feel this way towards Emu or Nene. But they are really good friends! They sleep over all the time at Emu’s and his house, and they would do all kinds of bonding games to spend time! But Tsukasa doesn’t know why, just why is he nervous around Rui? His heart rate increases rapidly, his hands start getting sweaty, and he can’t seem to make eye contact for too long? What does this all mean? Does it mean he likes Rui? But he doesn’t feel like what all the romance movies always describe. He doesn’t feel fireworks exploding inside of him, nor does he feel the kind of warmth that accompanies the person. He doesn’t get it. He wants to get it someday.

Rui entered the room after looking for the things he needed. He took a fluffy and soft towel and wrapped it on Tsukasa’s head. Tsukasa’s stomach feel funny, like someone is twisting it inside. It makes him feel hot, but not in a bad way. He looks through the towel and up at Rui, “Rui? What are you doing?” Tsukasa questioned. Rui looks back at him before grinning his cat-like smile that Tsukasa loves seeing. However, this means he’s up to no good. Rui places his hands on the towel and starts to … dry his hair. Rui sat behind Tsukasa, and Tsukasa could feel his body pressing up against him. He tries not to give into the comfort of Rui. The way he gently combed his hair, how he would rub the hair dey against the towel. And Tsukasa makes it a point to ignore how close they were to each other. Needless to say, even if he tries not to show it, his ears would only make it obvious as it was bright red from the affectionate side of Rui. 

He doesn’t know when, but he was somehow in Rui’s lap. He starts to feel a little sleepy, guess he hasn’t taken a good nap in a while. Surely it wouldn’t hurt… to sleep in his laps. That was the last thought that went through Tsukasa’s head before he closed his eyes and drifted off to the land of dreams. This was such a domestic scene that anyone would think that they were a couple. However, Rui didn’t seem to mind that accusation. He only feels more warmth pouring into him as he combed Tsukasa’s hair and saw how comfortable it made him. 

It is a pity that every sweet moment has to come to an end. Nene ends up dragging Emu over to where Tsukasa and Rui is, only to be blinded by how domestic and sweet they looked. ‘It-it was almost as if they were a married couple…!’ Nene thought in shock as she takes in the scene before her. She suddenly wished that it was her and Emu in this situation instead. She was disgusted at how shameless she was. ‘Maybe I’ve spent too much time around Rui, I’m starting to think like him…’ Despite that embarrassing thought, Nene couldn’t help but settle for holding Emu’s hands which were warm, just like her. Emu only gripped Nene’s hands tighter as she continues to watch the two infront of her. Nene glances at her, and witnessed how soft she looked. She was probably happy for the two of them. Nene turns her gaze back to them. ‘Maybe… even if it’s just a wishful dream of mine… I hope that we…’ Nene silently prayed, as she moved closer to Emu. Close enough to bump shoulders. 

After having enough of their disgusting sweet love, they decided to join Rui together on the mission to pamper Tsukasa. Right now, they want to focus on him. They would worry about this incident later, after they were done caring for him. 

It was a cute scene to see the four of them cuddling together, as they dreamt of sweet dreams together.

Chapter Text

Hello! Sorry to disappoint but this isn’t an update … I’m actually here to tell you that I’m discontinuing the fic. I’ve been contemplating whether I should continue it, despite me not saying anything for like… almost a year? But one of the main reason why is because I’ve already lost interest in the game for a while.

I could have continued writing anyways, but I didn’t feel like forcing myself to write if what I’m going to write will end up bad ;-; however, if you are curious as to what would have happened;basically from chapter 4 onwards, it’s just things settling down and them finally catching the people responsible for their creepy fan behaviour. And I was going to have a whole confession scene but that didn’t happen so…

Truly sorry to drop this news on you, I hope you understand. However, if I ever get back into the fandom, I might start writing about ruikasa again! Though I don’t know when that will happen.

I’ve come to realise that it’s a little hard to write fics when you are feeling mentally stable, I guess that’s one of the reason why ao3 authors can come up with unhinged story lines in the first place haha. Anyways, if you’ve read through my explanation, then I would like to thank you and once again apologise.

Thank you for reading this series, I truly enjoyed reading everyone’s comment and for encouraging me when I first started writing. See you when I see you!