From Aoyagi to Tenma

Chapter Two (Tsukasa): A Star Never Dims.

Tsukasa awoke to find Rui, covered by a sleeping next to him. He wondered what Rui wanted to tell him, so he poked him. Rui didn't move. Tsukasa wondered about why he wasn't waking up, he realized that he's been awake for the past 30 hours working on that potion, and he had finals to do as well. At least school was over starting today, summer was here, and everyone needed a break.
Tsukasa let Rui sleep as he moved his sleeping bag from his body and looked around. Toya moved from the couch to the ground, borrowing his own sleeping bag. Tsukasa smiled, remembering when they used to have sleepovers all the time, where did those times go?
He looked at the time on the oven and found it to be 7:52 am. Usually he wakes up earlier during summer break to practice, but today was different. Toya showed up in the middle of the night, and passed out nearly making it through the door. He should've been home, practicing piano. But something happened, didn't it? He wanted to know, but later, for now.
Everyone was asleep, which was his time to shine. He took a pan out of the cabinet and some eggs out of the fridge. He stirred and flipped and toasted and roasted and only dropped one egg, a new record! He made a classic English breakfast for his family. He set the table, got some drinks, and waited.
He knew that Rui would only take a minute, along with Saki and his parents, but he wasn't sure about Toya. He never woken up Toya with his cooking, so he might be late. Five minutes elapsed and everyone but Toya was at the table, the parents drinking their coffee, Saki and Rui drinking their OG and Rui's favorite "milkshake".
Lemon, lime, and orange sherbet with soda candy and a combination of Monster Energy, Red Bull, and Ghost energy drink. How Rui can handle that much caffeine and sugar in one drink, Tsukasa doesn't know, but it's the drink he likes. Tsukasa takes a classic cup of lemonade and he gave Toya ice water.
You may think it's water with ice in it, but it's just a glass shaped ice cube. Tsukasa doesn't entirely understand why people put ice in drinks, but he thinks it's meant for important occasions in America, and now couldn't be any more important. By the time Toya woke up, got dressed, and cleaned his face, the ice cup looked like it was just a normal cup of water in ice in it.
Toya quietly sat at the table and drank some water before getting his share of food. The food was cold but Toya didn't mind. Rui and Saki left together to talk about something, but Tsukasa needed to ask Toya what was going on, and he needed his parents out of the room.
Tsukasa left his seat and walked over to the kitchen, grabbing the dinner ingredients he needed. Tsukasa likes to plan ahead for dinner, mapping out what ingredients he has and doesn't have.
He would go by himself but he knows that his parents have a nice, long time away from the house when asked with a good reason. Tsukasa thinks they just go to the park and feed the ducks while talking about old people things. Tsukasa's parents left shortly thereafter with the list in hand, and then there were two. Tsukasa breathed in, and spoke.
"Why did you show up so early last night Toya? Usually you let us know when you're coming to our house."
"I... I won't tell you." Toya looks visible shaken. Tsukasa knows something bad happened.
"I'm worried about you, Toya. As a friend, I want you to be happy. So what's wrong?"
"Well... it's my dad again. You know how he is, it's just... I don't want to go back." Toya looks a little less worried, but Tsukasa has a guess why he didn't say anything to his parents. His parents would let Toya's dad know. Tsukasa knew he couldn't let that happen. So he promised to Toya, right there at the dinner table. He promised that he'll do everything he can to stop Toya from having to go back to his father's home, no matter what. They shook hands, and they awkwardly hugged each other. They both knew the awkwardness of it, but Toya tried to convince himself it was for the symbolism of it, but Tsukasa just thought that Toya just needed a hug. Tsukasa cleaned the plates and thought about ways to help Toya, as he moved his items to a more respectful area.
Tsukasa needed to get Toya a room, because him sleeping here doesn't feel right, but where could he put Toya? But just then, Tsukasa got an idea. An ingenious idea to find the perfect room for Toya, and he planned on telling him, just after he finished drying these plates.