Stellar Evolution/credits to "orphan_account?" on ao3

part 16

Nene had arrived home and set aside her belongings. She stares at her phone's screen, which is stopped on Untitled. She had to at least try, right? That was all there was, at this point. She and Emu had a shot at bringing the troupe back together if this really worked. That meant they could pursue the dream they'd all put together at the beginning—making people smile. This was the first step towards it.

Letting aside all of her worries, she lets herself disappear into SEKAI.

It was the same as ever—SEKAI remained a cheerful and carefree destination. However, there was a deep sense of regret and despair that had left an impact on this place. It'd never seem as peaceful as it had been. Nene uncertainly stumbled around SEKAI, calling out Tsukasa's name every few steps she took. Her optimism started to lessen as she kept searching, and she longed to give up. But...this was for everyone to get better, wasn't it? She had to find him.

"Tsukasa!"

Silence.

And then, the sound of soft footsteps behind her.

"Nene?"

She turns around and pulls him tight, hugging him. She didn't care how obnoxious he was when he was around, or how much they got on each other's nerves—she'd be lying if she said she didn't miss him as much as everyone else had. And for how much of an asshole she was to him, she thought he deserved some kind of apology.

"You idiot..." Nene mumbles, trying to avoid breaking down in front of him. That was the last thing she wanted.

"What?"

"You dumbass. I miss you so much, Tsukasa...I'm so sorry."

"Hey, hey—" Tsukasa says, tilting Nene's face up to look at him. "It's okay."

He wipes a few tears from her eyes and smiles. "I've never seen you like that before."

"That's the only time you'll be seeing me like that. Consider yourself lucky." Nene sighs, earning a laugh from Tsukasa in response. Although, it wasn't the one that she knew was to intentionally annoy her—it was genuine.

"So...why'd you come? How'd you find this?" Tsukasa asks.

"Emu told me. I didn't believe it at first, but—that's not the important part," Nene responds, shaking her head. "I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"...There's a lot."

Nene would spend the next hour talking with Tsukasa about everything that'd happened after the incident. The funeral, the troupe, her visit with Rui yesterday—all of it.

"We haven't talked to him since the funeral. He doesn't answer calls or anything, either."

"...How is he?" Tsukasa asks.

"Huh?"

"Rui. You saw him yesterday, right? How was he?"

"Oh. He's... different . It's weird. Even in all the years I've been his friend, he's never been anything close to how he is now. ...He must have really loved you, Tsukasa." Nene explains.

"...When you get the chance, can you say hi to him for me? And...ask him to visit?"

"Of course," Nene replies.

If only it'd be that easy.

Ringing. Loud.

Rui could hear his phone across his room, buzzing again. If he cared enough to get up, he'd probably have thrown it into the wall. It irritated him, but he knew it'd go away in a minute or so. That's what had happened all week. They'd receive calls, and never answer. If it was so incredibly important, whoever the hell was calling could leave a message.

Eventually, the ringing stopped.

But then there was a beep. And a voice.

"Hey, Rui. This is...this is Nene. I'm sorry for calling again. I...uh...wanted to..." She pauses and sighs. " This is so stupid. Tsukasa's alive."

What?

"I mean, sort of. He's in SEKAI. And we talked today. He asked me to say hi and asked for you to visit. I know you probably won't even hear this, but—if you do...he wants to see you again. That's it. Bye, Rui."

That was the end of the message.

She had to be messing with him. There was no way that Tsukasa could be...

Was there?

Even if he was...why the hell would Tsukasa want to see him ? He was the one who'd never been good enough, who practically pushed him to his breaking point every single day—why would he want to talk to him?! Why would anyone? It was his fault, wasn't it?

Rui gets up from his bed and picks up his phone, dialing Nene's number.

Nene didn't expect a call back—hell, she didn't even expect Rui to listen to the message. But that was most certainly his contact on the caller screen. She answers hesitantly.

"Hello?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"..Hm?"

"You're kidding about...Tsukasa. Please tell me you are."

"I'm not. Rui—you sound...is something wrong? Do you wanna talk, or—"

"No. You're..." Rui shakes his head. "You're unbelievable, Nene. This is something else to get me to come back, isn't it? It's not happening."

Ah, so that was it. Rui hadn't been answering because he thought they were just trying to get him to come back to the troupe.

"No, it's not. I promise he's there. I know I sound ridiculous—but I'm not lying to you."

"...You promise?"

"I promise."

"He's there?"

"He's there."

" Thank you so much, Nene. "

"...You're welcome?"

Rui hangs up the phone. That still, dull expression of his had shifted into a smile. Maybe the first real one in weeks or months.

Tsukasa Tenma still existed, somehow. And that was more than enough for him.

notes:

did i name a chapter after a kaito 4* card?? mm yeah maybe
anyway! important update!
i go to school literally tomorrow so chapter updates might be like. incredibly slow! i'm not sure it depends on how my mental health is doing AND depends on how much time my schedule allows but! i will try to update as much as possible
anyway next chapter is rui and tsukasa talking for the first time after the funeral. what could POSSIBLY go wrong?
(i seriously doubt anything's gonna go wrong they're both just gonna be incredibly awkward and also sad)