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Nene can feel her classmates’ curious stares burning the back of her head as she enters her classroom. She takes her seat, trying her best to ignore the unwanted attention. She keeps her head ducked low and avoids everyone’s eyes. Eventually, two girls come up to her desk. Nene mentally braces herself. Are they going to tease her? Say something rude about Rui?
“Um, Kusanagi-san, you’re friends with. Tenma-senpai, right?”
Oh, so it’s about Tsukasa. This can’t be too bad, then. Whenever it comes to Tsukasa, the worse she’ll hear are questions about his strange behavior, which is fair.
“Yes. Why are you asking?”
The girls exchange a worried look, and that sets off alarm bells in Nene’s head.
“Well, we saw him earlier today, and he looked pretty banged up. Did he get into a fight?”
Tsukasa? In a fight? The guy’s about as confrontational as a piece of tofu.
“I don’t think so? He’s not the type to get into fights and-“
She hears a chair scrape loudly against the ground and turns to find Aoyagi abruptly standing up, a look of panic on his normally stoic face. He’s clutching tightly onto his phone like a lifeline.
“Toya, what’s wrong?” Shinonome asks.
“I have to talk to Tsukasa-senpai,” he says as he starts to leave without another word, his friend following closely behind.
“See? Something did happen!” The other girl says, and oh, they’re still here. “Aoyagi’s close to Tenma-senpai, isn’t he? Why else would he react like that?”
Well, that does it. Nene stands up and leaves, ignoring her classmates’ questions. She can hear whispers and feel stares as she speed walks down the hall. Tsukasa’s always been the type to draw a lot of attention with that showy personality of his, and honestly, Nene’s more than a little surprised that it took him this long to become the center of their school’s rapt attention. When she finally sees his classroom come into view, she can feel her feet slowly come to a halt.
Tsukasa’s face is littered with bandages, one on his left cheek, one on his nose, and a smaller one on his chin. Rui stands behind him, gaze soft and protective. Aoyagi’s there too, he’s saying something that Nene’s still too far to hear. He seems frantic, and it really is so strange to see him like that when he’s usually so calm and collected. Shinonome and Shiraishi are there too, looking like they’re not sure what to say or do.
Nene feels her feet draw her closer to the group, and as she does so, she starts to hear bits of the conversation going on between the two childhood friends.
“….don’t have to lie….Saki-san told me….”
“….not a big deal…barely scratched me…”
“Tsukasa-senpai, you need to take this more seriously! You really could have been hurt!”
“I’m inclined to agree with your junior, Tsukasa-kun.”
“Wow, even Kamishiro-senpai thinks what you did was dangerous, That’s really saying something,” Shinonome blurts out, which earns him a sharp elbow to the stomach from Shiraishi.
“What’s going on? What happened?” Nene finally asks once she’s close enough.
“Oh, Nene,” Tsukasa says. He turns to face her fully and Nene has to hold back a gasp. Seeing his face closer like this, she can see dark bruises on the other side of his face and splotches of red peeking beneath the bandage on his left cheek.
“Tsukasa! Your face!” Nene blurts out.
Tsukasa unconsciously touches his injured cheek and makes a face.
“Ah ha ha…Yeah, you noticed.”
“She’d have to be blind not to notice, Tsukasa-kun,” Rui says, sounding a little bit exasperated.
“What happened?” Nene asks.
“I think we’d all like to know the answer to that,” Aoyagi says.
Tsukasa sighs, long and tired. “Yeah, I got into a fight.”
Nene can feel her eyes starting to bug out. A fight? Over what? Which version of Little Shop of Horrors was better?
“It had to do with Saki-san, didn’t it?” Aoyagi asks, expression turning soft.
“…Yeah. There was this guy and he-“ Tsukasa squeezes the stress ball in his right hand, drawing Nene’s attention. His knuckles are covered in bandages, too. Tsukasa takes a deep breath, steadying himself.
“He kept bothering her. Asking for her number, but of course Saki said no. Thankfully, I was passing through when I found them. I saw how scared Saki looked, so I intervened immediately. I asked him to stop, but then he shoved me aside, and I saw him try to grab Saki’s hand and I-“ Tsukasa squeezes the stress ball hard. “I punched him before he could even touch her. And I just kept on punching him and punching him until I heard his jaw break. Someone called the police and stopped the fight before it could get any worse, so I didn’t get to break anything else.” He says that last part in a dark tone that Nene would have never imagined him capable of. She’s never seen him like this. She’s seen Tsukasa get angry before, but not like this.
Tsukasa squeezes the stress ball in his hand until it finally pops. He looks at his now empty hand dejectedly. Rui silently reaches into his pocket and places a new stress ball in Tsukasa’s hand.
“Tsukasa-senpai…” Aoyagi says, and he surprises them all when he walks forward and draws the older boy into a warm embrace.
“I’m sorry that you and Saki had to go through that. It must have been really scary.” Tsukasa eases into the hug and closes his eyes. “…Yeah”
She can feel the others shifting their positions to give the two boys some privacy. Nene moves to do the same. Soon, the bell chimes and Aoyagi reluctantly lets go.
“Will you be alright by yourself?” He asks. Tsukasa smiles, but it’s so obviously strained it hurts to look at.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll just go to the nurse’s office if I’m not feeling well.”
“You, uh, know where the nurse’s office is, right?” Shinonome asks.
“Of course I do,” Tsukasa says, tone sullen as he turns to leave.
Shinonome opens his mouth to say something again until Aoyagi and Shirashi both bonk him In the head in unison.
“Don’t say anything stupid,” Shiraishi says.
Nene’s grateful for it. She knows the redhead has a bad habit of messing with Tsukasa, and she’s not sure why, but the thought of him doing so irritates her. Probably because he hasn’t earned the right to do so, not like her and Rui have.
Before she turns to leave, she tugs on Rui’s sleeve.
“Do you really think he’ll be okay?” Nene asks.
Rui pats her head affectionately. “Don’t worry, I’ll have one of my drones keep an eye on him.”
They eat lunch together on the school roof, away from prying eyes. Nene’s lunch companions are usually just comprised of Rui and Tsukasa, but today, Aoyagi’s tagging along. Normally their lunches are loud and unruly, with Rui testing out his inventions and Tsukasa being…well, himself. But today they all eat in silence, with Rui and Aoyagi sending worried glances in Tsukasa’s direction periodically. It reminds Nene a little of that time Tsukasa got into an accident when they were practicing for their Halloween show. Rui had been so careful with the way he directed Tsukasa afterwards. He has that same look on his face now, like his friend might break apart by the slightest push.
Finally, Tsukasa sets his chopsticks down. “You guys, I’m fine. You don’t have to keep treating me like I’m made of glass.”
“Are you planning to go to practice today?” Rui finally asks.
“Of course I am. I have a few bruises, sure, but nothing’s broken.”
“Tsukasa-senpai…”
Tsukasa lets out a frustrated sigh. “You guys really don’t have to worry about me so much.” Then, in a softer voice, “if anything, you should all be more worried about Saki.”
Now it’s Nene’s turn to let out a frustrated sigh. “Of course we’re worried about Tenma-san, but that doesn’t mean we can’t worry about you, too.”
Tsukasa looks up at her, sad and sombre. She really hates seeing him like this. She wishes she could find that creep that started all this herself and break his arms and legs.
“Thanks…” is all he says.
“Senpai, I really think you should rest, at least for today.”
“I second that,” Nene says.
“Thirded,” Rui adds.
Tsukasa lets out a soft chuckle. “That’s not even a word.”
It’s a small smile, and it doesn’t last long, but for now, they consider it a win.
When Nene and Aoyagi return to their classroom, she can hear her classmates’ not-so-hushed whispers surrounding her.
“I heard he got into a fight over his girlfriend.”
“Apparently, he owes a gang of delinquents some money.”
“Isn’t he part of a theater troupe? Maybe he got into an accident during rehearsal.”
“I bet he got like that because of one of Kamishiro’s inventions.”
Okay, that does it. Nene slams her hands against her desk, drawing everyone’s attention. Under normal circumstances, she’d squirm from all the stares focused on her. But these are not normal circumstances.
“None of you know what you’re talking about! Stop acting like you know the story when you barely know anything about Tsukasa and Rui!”
Aoyagi stands up, too. He doesn’t say anything, but his glare says enough.
The whispers stop and class carries on.
—————
“Tsukasa-kun!” Emu meets them at the school gates and immediately runs up to Tsukasa and hugs him. “I heard about what happened from Saki-chan! Are you okay?”
Tsukasa smiles softly. “Yes, I’m fine. Thanks for coming to check on me, Emu.”
“Of course!” Emu says, grinning brightly. “Since there’s no practice today, let’s all walk home together!”
“That sounds like a splendid idea,” Rui says with a nod.
“No objections here,” Nene says.
“Then it’s decided!” Emu grabs hold of Tsukasa’s hand before he can make any protests.
“Tsukasa-senpai, wait!”
Aoyagi comes rushing after them, Shinonome at his heels.
“Toya? What’s wrong?”
“Are you going home now? I’ll accompany you.”
“I appreciate the thought, but don’t you have practice today?”
“Yes, but-“
“But nothing! Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’m sure these three are more than enough to keep me out of trouble.”
“But Tsukasa-sen-“
Tsukasa sighs and turns to Shinonome. “Akito, take care of him will you?”
Akito nods and smiles. “Will do! You heard him, Toya. Stop worrying, he’ll be fine. Now come on, the girls are waiting for us.”
“Ah, okay…Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow, Tsukasa-senpai.”
They part ways from there, with Emu filling in the silence with her endless chatter. Tsukasa slowly starts to relax as he slides comfortably into their typical banter. The walk is nice and comfortable and for the briefest of moments, Nene forgets what led to all this in the first place.
Tsukasa's sister and her friends reach the Tenma household at the same time they do. Nene doesn’t miss the way that Tenma’s friends visibly flinch at the sight of Tsukasa’s bruised face.
“Tsukasa-san…” Mochizuki chokes out, and she legitimately sounds like she could start crying on the spot.
But Tsukasa puts on a brave face and smiles brightly.
“If it isn’t my little sister and her friends! Thank you for taking the time to walk home with her!”
“O-of course. We were more than happy too,” Hoshino says.
Tenma walks forward, gently placing a hand on her brother’s bruised face. “Are you alright? I still feel like you should have stayed at home to rest.”
“I’m fine, Saki. Really,” Tsukasa says, gently peeling Saki’s hand off. He turns to address them all. “Thank you all for…for everything, today.”
“Ah, y-yeah,” Tenma says before quickly bowing. “Thank you!”
They all stand guard in front of the house until both siblings make it safely inside.
“I’m gonna find that guy and kill him,” Hinomori says darkly.
“Shiho-chan, you can’t!” Mochizuki exclaims.
“She’s right, we don’t even know what the man looks like,” Rui says. “Although I suppose I could find a way to peek into the police records and find out.”
“Rui,” Nene says in a warning tone. “You can’t do that. It’s illegal.”
Rui scoffs. “It certainly wouldn’t be the first time I did something illegal.”
“…He’s joking, right?” Hoshino asks. No one gives her an answer.
“I think that for now, the best thing we can do is to just support them,” Emu says with a small, sad smile.
They all part ways after agreeing to set up a group chat and keep each other updated on the siblings’ conditions. On their way home together, Emu asks to go to the Wonderland Sekai. Rui and Nene readily agree, seeing Miku and the others would certainly be a nice change of pace.
“Ah, everyone!” Miku says as soon as she sees them. “How’s Tsukasa-kun doing? Is he feeling better?”
“Eh? You know about what happened to Tsukasa-kun?” Emu asks.
“He stopped by here last night,” Kaito says with a worried frown. “We were so surprised to see his face covered in bruises! He told us about what happened and then he….He cried. For a very long time.”
“Tsukasa-kun…” Emu says, clutching her hands together. She looks like she’s close to tears herself. Nene can’t blame her. Tsukasa’s usually so bright and cheerful, so the mental image of him slumped over and crying is….She doesn’t like it.
“How long did he stay?” Rui asks, and Nene doesn’t miss the way his tone wavers the slightest bit, like he’s trying his best to keep it together.
“I’m honestly not sure,” Kaito says. “He was here for several hours, and truth be told, we were a little reluctant to let him go after watching him break down. We haven’t seen him since then, so we’ve been very worried.”
Rui lets out a tired sigh. “I wish we could say that he’s fine, but…”
Kaito smiles sadly. “Then I suppose the best thing we can do for now is be there for him.”
“That’s right!” Miku says. We’ll watch over him until her returns to his cheerful self!”
They stay for a little while longer, just talking about anything from shows to favorite snacks. It helps lighten the mood, if only a little bit. When it starts to get late, they say their farewells and return to their own world.
“I wish I could go to school with you guys…” Emu says. Rui pats the shorter girl’s head comfortingly.
“Don’t worry, Emu-kun. We’ll keep an eye on him.”
When they see Tsukasa again the next day, he’s reverted back to his usual boisterous self. Nene should be happy, it should be a sign that things are returning to normal. But it’s off, somehow. His smile looks like the usual smile on the surface, but there are cracks to it. His laughter sounds strained and he looks like he’s barely holding himself together.
“Tsukasa-kun, you don’t have to force yourself to act cheerful around us,” Rui says.
“Ha ha ha! I don’t know what you’re talking about, Rui! I’m not acting at all!”
“Yo, Tenma! Is it true that you beat down a bunch of punks the other day?” A passing second year asks. For the briefest second, Nene feels a slight chill breeze past. But then just as quickly, there’s that familiar laughter again, cobbled together by glue and scotch tape.
“Oi! Do I look like the kind of guy that gets into fights with delinquents?!”
The other student laughs. “Ha ha! You’re right! Sorry for doubting ya, Tenma!”
“Tsukasa-senpai, are you sure you’re alright?”
Tsukasa pats Aoyagi on the back. “Don’t worry, Toya! I’m fine I promise!”
“I saw Tenma-senpai earlier today, and he seemed to be back to his usual self! Then I realized, there’s no way I guy like that would get into a fight with delinquents!”
“Now that I think about it, there’s no way that guy would have a girlfriend without the entire student body knowing! Who started that rumor, again?”
“Tenma’s such a funny guy! I bet his face just got like that from a comedy routine or something!”
It’s only been a day, and already the rumors about Tsukasa have completely turned around. People have even come up to Nene to apologize for upsetting her yesterday. She wonders if that was why Tsukasa was forcing himself to act like everything’s fine, when it’s clear that absolutely nothing is fine. Ugh, this guy’s going to give her grey hairs early from all the worry he’s causing her.
Despite the rumors subsiding, they still choose to eat lunch on the rooftop. Aoyagi’s tagging along with them again, but this time he’s brought Shinonome with him. Tsukasa’s been chattering nonstop, and on the surface, he looks fine. But then he suddenly drops a piece of tamagoyaki and just stares at it, like he’s not sure what just happened.
“Tsukasa, are you okay?” Nene finds herself asking.
“Huh?” Tsukasa blinks and looks up. “Oh, ah, yeah. I’m okay. Uh, what was I talking about?”
“You were talking about a play,” Aoyagi supplies helpfully.
“Oh, right, thanks Toya…” He looks down at his bento again and frowns.
“Tsukasa-kun, I know I already said it earlier, but you really don’t need to force yourself to act cheerful around us.” Rui says.
“I’m not acting!” Tsukasa yells, and it takes them all by surprise. He seems to belatedly realize what he just did and looks around at their surprised and worried expressions. “I…Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I’m fine, really.”
He hastily packs up his things. “I’m not hungry anymore so I’ll go on ahead.”
“Tsukasa-senpai, wait!” Aoyagi says, grabbing onto Tsukasa’s arm. “We’re here to help, you know that right?”
Tsukasa turns to look at him and smiles. It isn’t one of his forced smiles, it’s just…sad. And it’s heartbreaking to look at.
“Thanks, Toya. But you don’t have to worry about me.” He gently shakes the younger boy’s hand off and walks away.
“He is definitely not okay.” Shinonome says, stating the obvious.
“Tenma-senpai’s so nice! He helped me out when I was lost on my first day of school! There’s no way a guy like that would get into a fight!”
“Tsukasa’s a little weird, sure, but he’s definitely not the kind of guy that’d get into fights.”
“Wait, why are people saying that Kamishiro’s the reason for Tenma’s injuries? Aren’t they close friends?”
“You guys should just drop it with all the rumors! Can’t you see that it’s bothering Tenma-san?”
They can’t find Tsukasa after school and for some reason that sets off alarm bells in Nene’s head. He’s not answering his phone, either. What’s especially concerning is that he isn’t answering Tenma’s calls. And he always answers Tenma’s calls, even when they’re in the middle of practice. They try asking his classmates for his whereabouts, but they all say the same thing. That he left as soon as the bell rang.
They decide to meet up with Emu at the school gates. She comes running up to them breathless and in a panic.
“The Sekai!” She suddenly exclaims, loud enough to draw curious stares from the remaining students.
“E-Emu!” Nene says, shushing her and pulling her aside. They both drag Emu to a more secluded area before allowing her to continue.
“The Sekai! We haven’t checked the Sekai!”
“Hmmm…That’s a pretty good idea,” Rui says. They all look at each other and nod in silent agreement as Emu takes out her phone and the school fades away.
It isn’t Miku that greets them this time, but the pink rabbit plush that seems to be especially attached to Tsukasa. It comes floating up to them in tears.
“Uuuu…Tsukasa-kun- He- He- Waaaaahhhh!”
“Ah! There, there! It’s okay!” Emu says, taking hold of the bunny plush’s little paws. “We’re here to help Tsukasa-kun feel all better!”
“R-really? Promise?”
“Promise!”
“Good job, Emu-kun. Looks like you were right. He’s definitely here,” Rui says.
The bunny plush leads them to the auditorium. Rin and Len and several other plushies are crowded by the entrance.
“He’s inside,” the bunny plush tells them. The Kagamines both turn to look at them in unison.
“Oh, you’re finally here!” Len says.
“How is he?” Rui asks.
They both turn to look at each other sadly.
“He’s really, really sad. His heart sounds like it’s breaking apart,” Rin says, expression downtrodden.
“We tried putting on a show for him earlier, but his expression didn’t change at all…” Len adds.
“We’re sorry…” They both say.
Rui pats both of their heads comfortingly. “There’s no need to apologize. You both did your very best, and that’s what matters. We’ll take care of the rest from here.” He turns to her and Emu. “Well then, shall we?”
They both nod. Nene doesn’t know why, but she’s feeling more nervous now compared to her first performance at Phoenix Wonderland. She’s never seen Tsukasa so upset, she never thought he was even capable of being so upset…And it makes her realize that despite knowing him for nearly a year, she barely knows anything about him. It’s ironic how a guy that likes to talk so much about himself rarely ever actually talks about himself.
Tsukasa’s seated in the front row staring blankly ahead. He’s seated between Kaito and Miku, who both look like they don’t know what to do with him.
“Tsukasa-kun?” Emu asks once they get close enough. He looks up and his expression looks so empty. But then, like a performer putting on a mask, his expression quickly changes. He smiles up at them, big and bright.
“Oh, what are you guys doing here? I thought we didn’t have practice today?”
“You weren’t picking up your phone, so everyone’s been worried…” Emu says, tentatively getting closer. Tsukasa’s eyes widen and he shoots out of his seat. He reaches for his pocket and takes his phone out.
“Ah….It looks like I forgot to charge my battery…” He looks up at them, the cracks in his smile becoming more visible. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to worry you all.” His hands are gripping his phone tightly. They’re shaking. Emu moves closer and takes his hands in hers. Tsukasa flinches the slightest bit at the contact.
“It’s okay, Tsukasa-kun. We all make mistakes.”
“Y-yeah…Right.” He gently shakes Emu’s hands off. “I should probably get going then. Don’t want to keep worrying my folks.” Rui grabs onto his arm, stopping him in place. Tsukasa tries to shake him off, but Rui is stronger. He keeps him in place.
“You can’t keep running away from us, Tsukasa-kun.”
“I’m not running away….” Tsukasa says softly, with the faintest hint of irritation.
“Then what is it you’re doing right now?”
“Trying to get home.” Tsukasa tries to shake Rui’s hand off again, but he doesn’t budge. “Rui, let go.”
“No. Not until you talk to us.”
Tsukasa turns to finally look at them. He’s smiling that fake smile again.
“Talk? About what? Our upcoming show?”
“Tsukasa-kun, don’t play dumb. You’re smarter than this.”
“I’m a lot of things, but smart isn’t one of them.”
“That’s not true, Tsukasa-kun!” Emu says, “You’re one of the smartest people I know!”
“Then if I’m so smart, why did I get hurt like this?! Why couldn’t I protect Saki?! Why am I worrying everyone over my own petty mistakes?!” Tsukasa’s mask finally slips off, revealing a very angry, bitter young man. His whole body is shaking and he’s still struggling against Rui’s hold, but the taller boy doesn’t let up.
“Are those your true feelings, Tsukasa-kun?” Rui asks.
Tsukasa’s eyes widen in shock and he looks at them all like a kicked puppy. “I…no, I didn’t mean to- I-“
Rui pulls Tsukasa forward and into his chest, wrapping him in a hug. “Finally…You’re finally being honest with us.”
Emu smiles, and it’s only now that Nene notices the tears at the corner of her eyes. She quickly joins the hug, then turns to face Nene and beckons her over.
“Nene-chan, you too!”
Normally, Nene would hesitate to join in on things like this, but not this time. She quickly wraps her arms around Tsukasa’s back, feeling his shaking start to subside.
Tsukasa takes in a shaky breath. “Why are you guys doing this?”
“Because we care about you, dummy,” Nene says.
“That’s right!” Emu says. “Tsukasa-kun’s suuuuuper important to us! That’s why we want you to talk to us when you’re feeling sad because it can get suuuuuper painful when you carry all that sadness by yourself!”
“Mm-hmm. You’re always smiling and putting on a show for us, so we don’t mind if you act a little selfish every once in a while. It’s okay to feel sad and cry.”
Tsukasa’s quiet for a little while, then slowly, carefully, like a dam breaking, he cries. It starts out soft and restrained before it slowly starts to get louder.
“It was scary, wasn’t it?” Kaito asks, finally moving to join them along with Miku.
Tsukasa nods against Rui’s tear-soaked chest.
“But you protected Saki-chan, and what matters is that you’re both okay now!” Miku says
They both join in the hug, and at some point, so do the Kagamines. They don’t know how long they stay like that, but Tsukasa eventually calms down enough to talk without having his words interrupted by sobs or hiccups. “I think I’m fine now…thank you everyone.”
They all reluctantly let go. Emu helpfully hands Tsukasa a handkerchief to wipe his face with. He then turns to Rui and frowns. “I’m sorry for ruining your sweater…”
Rui looks down. “Oh, don’t worry about it. Hm, do you think I could sell it for a good price? It’s got a future star’s tears on it, after all.”
Tsukasa smiles, and it’s the first genuine smile she’s seen on him since this all started. It’s only been two days, but it feels like it’s been much longer.
“Uwaaahhh! It’s Tsukasa-kun’s real smile!” Emu says, going in for another hug. “It’s such a wonderhoy smile!”
“Oh? Are we hugging again? Yay!” Miku says, quickly joining in.
“Bwah! You guys!” Tsukasa exclaims, but he’s laughing and smiling and that’s all that really matters now.
Tsukasa: I’m thinking of taking a day off from school tomorrow.
Rui: Sounds good. Did you ask someone to take notes for you?
Tsukasa: Yeah, one of my classmates already offered to do it.
Nene: Are you going to be okay at home?
Tsukasa: Saki’s taking the day off too, so I won’t be alone.
Nene: Okay. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Tsukasa: Got it.
Emu: Tsukasa-kun! Can we all visit your house tomorrow?
Tsukasa: Of course. Saki’s friends will be stopping by after school too.
Emu: Yay! Then I’ll bring lots of snacks!
Tsukasa: Everyone. Thank you.
Rui: Awwwwww
Emu: AWWWWW <3
Tsukasa: Guys
Nene: Awwwwww
Tsukasa: Even Nene?!