Rui is sent on a mission. Who knew that he'd fall in love with the prettiest knight in the land and discover secrets about his past?
Or
Rui and the bad bitch he pulled by being evil
Okay! Okay! They were friends now! Good. Now he just needs to get some info off of him. Which is gonna be easy, he hopes. He's good with his words, he's suave enough to pursuade him. Rui thinks.
They have a meetup on Saturday, which happened to be today. Apparantly, Tsukasa has homestudy he wanted to do with Rui. He flipped around his library looking for reference material.
"He's so diligent with his studies I could never." Rui hummed to himself. He heard that knights of Tsukasa's rank weren't required to attend school anymore because they were too busy most of the time, but he chooses to study anyway.
His hand ran through various titles such as 'Alchemy Basics by Dr. Kiyoteru Hiyama', 'Beginner's Spellbook 7th Edition', 'Chivalry: A Lesson of Virtues and Vices', and the likes. Rui was looking for books on history, as his new friend (heavens calling someone a 'new friend' felt so strange) said he had trouble with.
Surprisingly, he found several books on the kingdom's history. 'Why did I bother to keep these anyway?' he wondered to himself as he stuffed his bag with books and various snacks. And maybe an invention or two. Or three. They agreed to meet at the cliffside at around 6 o'clock. Rui was not used to waking up this early.
He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the door. "And where are you going this early?" he heard a voice.
"Oh! Nene! I met new friend and I'm gonna help him study." Rui beamed (although he questioned the word "friend") . Nene blinked at him. "Okay...." she started, extending the '-ay' a little too long, "who did you say it was?"
Should Rui tell her the truth?
. . . . . . .
He was gonna tell her the truth.
"Oh just a guy named Tsukasa, he's a knight from the palace- RELAX! I'm not gonna do anything fishy!" Rui waved his arm upon seeing Nene turn bright red in shock, mouth agape.
"Rui! You-! Wha-?! A knight?! I'm not sure if you've noticed but you're a rebel and an exile, while my case still hasn't been dropped so technically, we're both criminals! You could even get yourself killed you know that?! You've heard of what the king does to captured rebels! I still can't get the screams out of my head..." she shudders. "Oh and need I remind you about your mission?! And please, Tsukasa? As in Tenma? The general of the assault platoon? Maybe, I don't know, one of the king's best units?! He could turn you into ribbons in seconds if he wanted to!"
"Deep breaths, Nene! Chill! I'm just doing it to get info out of the guy, y'know? I sensed some of Aoyagi-kun's aura on the guy so he probably knowd where he is. If I could get that guy to trust me then, y'know. And besides, if conflict arises I can just vaporize him or turn him into a frog, no worries!" he reassured.
Nene just side-eyed him. "I knew you were shady but this is a new low for you," she scoffed endearingly. "Just hear me, Kamishiro, if you get arrested and executed don't expect me to slither into the kingdom and retrieve your rotting body." she walked back into her room, probably to continue sleeping.
Nene might be harsh, but he knows she's just concerned.
Back to the task at hand, he had exactly fifteen minutes before six. And the walk from his house to the cliffside was exactly that. He had to get moving or else he'd risk a nasty first impression!
. . .
He saw the knight -or maybe it'd be more appropriate to say 'boy'?- sitting on a log reading his notes. Rui paused for a moment. He looked so soft, compared to his work persona. He looked so bright and illuminated under the light of the sun, no he could rival the sun's light! This boy in front of him was no knight, but a regular guy like how today, Rui was no rebel but just an average lad.
Rui slapped himself. This was no time to be thinking about men like that! Especially not his enemy! Or... friend? This was all so confusing!
"Yo~! Tsukasa-kun~!" he called out. Tsukasa looked up (oh stars above he looked like an excited puppy). "Rui! Hi!" he hopped off the log and offered to take Rui's bag. "Fufu, how polite of you." the sorcerer teased. "How else would I treat my new friend!" Tsukasa replied, smiling brightly. It wad quite adorable-
Wait.
Oh.
Oh no.
. . . . . . .
Once they finished studying, they took a little walk. It was a limited path, seeing as Rui wasn't exactly allowed in the kingdom.
"Oh my, butterflies!" Rui exclaimed, staring at the fair creatures. The Undergrounds, the base of the rebels, wasn't prone to pretty animals. So seeing butterflies was super rare to Rui. "Uh y-yeah! Very... fluttery." Tsukasa stammered. "And look! A caterpillar!"
Rui was very fascinated with animals. Most of the ones he saw in his lab were dead for experimentation, but seeing live and healthy ecosystems brought him a little bit of hope for the monarchs of the kingdom. He was fond of nature and all the little plants and animals in it.
"Yes... very crawly..." Tsukasa muttered, scooting away. Rui raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is this mighty knight afraid of insects?" he teased. Tsukasa's face reddened. "No! I'm not scared of insects!" he tried so desperately to save his dignity, but as if on cue, a ladybug landed on his nose. The poor lad looked like he was on the verge of passing out.
Rui laughed. Not an evil cackle or a taunt, but a genuine happy laugh. Tsukasa pouted. "Not funny! I'm dying here!" he complained dramatically. Ah, so this guy was also a drama queen? Perhaps he and Rui had a lot more in common than he thought.
Maybe... the mission can wait. Just a little. Maybe he could enjoy a life at peace for just a little while longer. Yeah, Toya can wait. Kaito wouldn't mind.
For now, maybe, he could spend some time with his newfound friend?
OMG
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