Growth and Malady

8 - Rui

The weather wasn't terrible, but the dark clouds that covered the entire sky set a tone of gloom in the air. While I'd been asleep, a heavy rain had begun to fall, forming muddy puddles on the dirt road. Despite this, people who still had to work could be seen running down the street with umbrellas over their heads. Every so often, one would fall, covering their clothes in mud and water.

However, it wasn't the drumming of the rain above my room that woke me up, nor was it the loud curses of the people who fell. A simple quiet knock on the front door snapped me out of my dreamless sleep.

My eyes opened, blearily taking in the dim light that filled my room. Another knock sounded from the door, no louder than the first.

That volume isn't going to wake Douma or Akaza.

I got up quickly, not wanting to make whoever it was wait. The floorboards creaked slightly under my feet, currently the loudest noise in the house. My brain only registered that I was answering the door in clothes I had slept in when I was already opening the door.

It only slightly surprised me to see Hinoto standing outside the door, slightly out of breath. His haori was soaked, no doubt a victim of the rainstorm.

"Oh- hi Rui!" He grinned.

"Shhhhh! My dads are still asleep," I shushed him. "Why are... um, why are you at my house this early in the morning? No, better question, why did you come here if it's raining cats and dogs out here??"

Hinoto glanced over his shoulder at the storm. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come to the library with me and my friend today!" When he saw my skeptical expression, he jumped to elaborate. "Well, because you're new, I figured you didn't know that the library is one of the best places to hang out during weather like this. I'm inviting you because I think you're pretty- uh nice?"

He let out an exhale. "You don't have to come if you don't want to, though. Just know that the offer stands!"

The library, huh? Doesn't sound so bad, I thought.

"No, no, I can come, let me go get ready really quick. You can come inside if you're going to wait." I turned around and speed walked to my room, closing my door behind me. Picking out clothes for the day wasn't hard, I just grabbed a muted rad haori to throw over a white yukata. Next, I had to let Akaza know I was going out, because we both knew Douma would forget.

Before entering their room, I did a mandatory sound check by pressing one ear to the door. Silence. Perfect. I cracked the door open and slipped in, kneeling down and shaking Akaza's shoulder lightly. It was a struggle to do so without waking Douma, as the taller had hugged his fiancé as close to his body as possible.

Akaza opened his dark blue eyes, squinting into the light. "Rui?" He asked quietly. "What's going on?"

"I'm going to go to the library with my new friend."

"Oh ok, just make sure you don't overexert yourself." He settled back down with his eyes closed.

Sparing enough time to grab an umbrella, Hinoto and I set off into the rain. Since I had no idea where the library was, I handed my friend the umbrella and let him lead. When he asked why I had to stop to rest for a minute about halfway there, I reluctantly explained my condition to him. After that, he walked a bit slower.

Just as I was beginning to find the silence awkward, he started a conversation.

"Y'know, if it wasn't raining, I'd bring my skateboard with me."

I tilted my head up at him in confusion. "What's a skateboard?"

"It's like a piece of shiny wood with wheels, you can try mine out sometime if you want!"

"Thanks, I guess." I forced my eyes to look down at the soggy ground.

When we got to the library, I took back the umbrella and closed it up, shaking the water off simultaneously. Hinoto grabbed my hand excitedly, pulling me over to a kind looking boy with purple hair.

"Sakura! Look! This is the new friend I told you about!" He gestured to me.

Sakura waved, a smile forming on his face as he looked down at me.

Literally every person here is taller than me.

"Hi, you're Rui, right? I'm Murasakino, but everyone calls me Sakura."

"Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you," I smiled.

"Likewise!" He turned to Hinoto, gesturing to the library doors. "Shall we?"

"We shall!"

I followed them in, looking around at the shelves of books, and Hinoto noticed my curiosity.

"What type of books do you like to read?"

I shrugged. "I like non-fiction."

He pointed me in the right direction. "Non-fiction section is over there! I'll be over there," he pointed with his other hand, "in the fantasy section with Sakura."

"Okay. I'll come find you when I'm done looking around."

We split up to go do our own things, and I walked over to the isle that Hinoto had pointed out. To my surprise, Kokushibo and Muzan were in that isle as well.

Maybe I should go back and stay with my friends, I thought warily.

Before I could flee back to the safety I'd found when I was by Hinoto, Muzan looked up from the book he was skimming and locked eyes with me. He turned to Kokushibo and tugged lightly on his sleeve, drawing the taller man's attention to me.

"Rui. What're you doing here?" Kokushibo asked.

"I came here with my new friends," I responded quietly, facing the shelves and pulling out a book on different types of plants. "What about you two?"

"Muzan wanted to come here, so naturally, I have to accompany him."

"Oh."

The three of us fell into a tense silence. Kibutsuji put his book back on the shelf and pulled another one out, flipping quickly through the pages. After his fifth repeat of that process, I closed the botany book I was holding and ran my fingers through my hair, pondering whether I should try talking to him or not.

"What're you looking for, Muzan?" I finally asked.

"I'm searching for a book on plants. Flowers specifically, if possible."

A glance at the glossary of the book in my hand told me I had exactly what he wanted. "Here, I think this is what you want," I held out the book for him to take.

I watched him check the index and glossary before closing the book triumphantly. "Thank you, Rui. You were right, this is what I needed." He tilted his head up at Kokushibo. "I'm ready to go, if we can check this out."

He nodded. "Alright, let's get out of here. Have a good day with your friends, Rui."

I waved goodbye as they left, then turning back to the shelves to grab a book on spider species. Maybe I can figure out what type Kumo is.

I'm getting to the plot, very, very, veryyyyy slowly.

Credit for Murasakino (Sakura)'s character goes to Marumakua