Revitalized | Rui Kamishiro x F!Reader

The Never-changing

A few moments later, Tsukasa finally left the shower, a towel wrapped up on his head and in the outfit he picked out.

"Y/n-san! Are! You! READY!!"

You winced at his volume, but nodded. "Yes. I. Am?"

"Then let's goooo!!" He threw the towel off his head, quickly combed his hair in the mirror, then grabbed his phone. Soon enough, you were at Phoenix Wonderland, being drug quickly down the path to the Wonderstage.

"Y/n!!" Emu called, rushing over and bear hugging you. "It's showtime, it's showtime!!"

"N-not quite, y'know. The park isn't even open yet..."

"Ah, Emu, why're you here to early?"

"I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep! Don't worry, though, I'm plenty rested and even drank some soda to make sure I stay that way!"

"Hah, that's no good for you, Emu," you sighed, and her smile faltered.

"I know, but I'll eat good food for all my meals! That's more than Rui can say, hehe."

"What can't I say now?" Said purple-haired director mused as he walked in. Emu's eyes lit up and she ran over to hug him, greeting him exactly the same as she had you.

"Emu was mentioning how she's going to eat well and healthy today! And perhaps I could persuade you to do the same for at least one meal?" Tsukasa leaned towards his friend, who smiled condescendingly.

"Why, whatever do you mean, oh troupe leader? I eat plenty healthy every meal!"

"Veggies are important for your diet!!"

You chuckled and walked off towards the stage, bumping into Miku on your way. "Ah, Miku! Are you excited for the show?"

"Super excited!" She bounced, raising her fists above her head. "Our performance is going to be amazing!"

"Yeah, I sure hope so!" At that, you rushed off to the dressing rooms to brush your hair and make yourself look a little less like you'd rolled out of bed, been on your phone all morning, then showed up. When you returned, Nene was now with the others.

"Alrighty, friends, now that we're all here, it's practice practice practice til showtime! Are we ready?!" Tsukasa called, much too loud for how close everyone was.

"We can't practice too much nonstop, Tsukasa. We'll have no energy left for the actual show. Didn't we do well enough last night?" Nene sighed, clearly still very tired.

Tsukasa huffed in thought, frowning, but nodded. "Yes, yes, you're right. Well, one more perfect performance before the park opens! Then maybe we can go partake in a little wonderland-ing?"

The group agreed happily, though you stood in fear of the crowds that you could find out there. You weren't exactly used to them anymore, after all. You'd grown to like your alone time.

"What's got you so glum, Y/n?" you heard a familiar voice from behind you. You spun around to find Kaito looking worried.

"Oh, Kaito. It's nothing, just feeling a little shy about walking around."

"Do you want someone to come with you?"

"Well, of course, but that's only if I decide to go out at all."

"So, are you just gonna lock yourself away in your dressing room?" He raised an eyebrow at you.

"No, no, self isolation is bad, I know that. But... I just don't want to get myself stressed out right before the show."

"Well, if you're going to stay here, do you want a friend or two with you? Sounds like the perfect compromise."

You thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, that does sound nice. Who would want to stay, though?"

"I heard Rui's doing a bit of tune-up backstage around that time. I'm sure he'd be happy to give you some company, or vice versa."

Well, that was great. Now your choices were narrowed down to ear-buzzing noise and crowding, or awkward silence with your crush that probably hates you in some way for how you've made him feel. What a treat.

"Y-yeah, I... I think I'll stay with him, then. Thanks, Kaito."

With a nod and a smile, Kaito then directed you to the stage, where everyone else was already gathering. You rushed up to get the briefing from Tsukasa, then do one more practice show before the real deal.

And, despite the fatigue on a few faces and the hours of sleeping since last practice, the performance was flawless once more. The air felt so happy afterwards, you had to search for confetti around you. That was, until, a tension rose in your chest. Guess who it was time to make small talk to? What a way to kill the mood.

You watched as your purple-haired director snuck away backstage, waving to your friends as they left the area. With a quiet sigh, you followed him.

"Rui?"

"Hm, Y/n? What're you still here for?"

"I... don't really feel like dealing with the crowds right now."

"Yeah, me neither."

...was this awkward? Rui looked like he had a smile on his face from where you were standing, and his voice was cheery. Was this politeness, or... forgiveness?

You took a seat nearby and watched as he messed with lighting for the stage. "So, what sort of work needs done?"

"Just a few brightness calibrations. I was hoping to get them done a week ago by staying later after practice, but Emu and Nene both said I could probably wait until today. If I didn't trust them so much, I may even say it felt like they were hiding something."

You looked away from him, glancing knowingly at the floor. "That's odd."

As Rui twisted a knob or two on the panel he was working with, you watched the lights on the stage dim and brighten, then change hues ever so slightly. He stared at the rays in contemplation, then turned to you. "Could you go stand out in one of those beams?"

You nodded and rushed out to stand under one of the spotlights. As you turned to, Rui, however, he had already returned behind the curtains. You rushed after him, finding him closing up the panel after turning it off.

"I take it it was satisfactory?"

"Mhm, just the way I wanted it." He grabbed a few things, then turned to leave through the backstage door. "I'm gonna go find the others. See ya."

He walked away before you could barely get out a response, but that was because you paused, caught off guard by the sudden departure.

"Bye."

°•♡•°

Once Rui was outside, hidden somewhere a normal park-goer wouldn't be allowed, he leaned up against one of the nearby walls, sighing.

Under that light, you'd looked so gorgeous. He didn't even have to see your face in that moment to know he had to look away if he wanted to save himself. That's why he'd retreated backstage again.

He still needed to get over you. Avoiding you was the only method that seemed like it would work, but that was painful and just made you tense and awkward around him. He was just glad his smiles were enough to break up your tension. And that you didn't take advantage of the friendliness to work your charms once more. At least... he didn't think you'd looked so pretty under that light on purpose.

It felt wrong to be out here. He'd left you in a hard place now, alone or crowded being your only choices. Oh, how he wanted to go back in and joke around with you.

Wait, what was he saying? He already told you he was going to find the others. Speaking of, if he definitely wasn't going back, he should do that.

So, he leaned off the wall, let out another deep sigh and walked off to look for his friends.