A Star's True Performance

Chapter Six - Rui

Rui had been at home for quite some time, while he worked some of the mechanics with his robot he suddenly got an idea. He had noticed Tsukasa acting quite off lately, and when they left the Wonder Stage he noticed that Tsukasa had stayed even despite them scolding him not to and to take care of himself. Of course Tsukasa hadn't seemed to listen but Rui didn't dwell on anything and instead let him stay at the Wonder Stage, even if it meant Emu's and Nene's disapproval of that. They all had discussed at some point together about Tsukasa's latest behavior because of how off he has been the last few days. Rui wondered what the origin of those feelings was, surely it couldn't have been that bad to completely throw off Tsukasa's normal and energetic personality? Though as he looked deeper, it seemed to have done just that, not only was Tsukasa less cheerful; but also seeming more tired these following days. To say Rui was concerned was an understatement, he just wanted to figure out what was bothering Tsukasa and to help ease his mind. But he didn't know if he had the right to do just that.

Rui had tinkered with his bot, flickering the switch by its side, watching the robot run. But it quickly toppled back onto the table with a thud, the gears making a grinding noise, though that immediately gave him an idea. He grabbed out more of his materials and brought them together, forming out a much stronger build. He had finally got it to work, repairing the robot he had broken in his bag not too long ago. Though he made sure to note that he shouldn't keep it anywhere near his bag, so he'd need to carry it elsewhere while also keeping it concealed. He beamed, proud of himself for repairing his robot and setting it down, though that also gave him more time to think of Tsukasa and what the problem might be. While Tsukasa was secretive, Rui had also noticed smaller bits and details; for one he always seemed to clutch his stomach, out of pain? What could possibly be troubling him that he just never bothered to ask for help if he was in pain?

Rui and thought, in fact trying to point out some more minor details, before coming to the conclusion that Tsukasa was just simply hungry. But if Tsukasa was hungry, why wouldn't he eat? He recalled numerous times where they have had lunch together, Tsukasa always turning down the lunches and claiming that he had already felt full from his previous lunches; and now that Rui looked back on this, he realized Tsukasa was lying. But why would Tsukasa go out to an extent to starve himself, and the next question came along; how long has it been since he last ate? He knew that it probably shouldn't be any of his business but he was both confused and worried for Tsukasa, and before he knew it; he had made up his mind. He was going to confront Tsukasa whenever he saw him again. He knew he might be wrong about the entire thing, but he couldn't help but just have that feeling, so instead of dwelling on it Rui had decided to just trust his intuition this time.

Though Rui decided to take his mind off of that as he already formulated his plan, now looking over their scripts for their next show. Both Rui's and Tsukasa's roles had to kiss at the ending scene; and Rui had purposely made himself take the role to do just that, kissing Tsukasa. Even despite Emu wanting the role at first; mentioning how she'd be excited to take the role, Rui had butt in and said he'll take that role. Emu hadn't seemed to mind too much however and let him play that role, though he had to admit that Nene was giving him a weird look when he did say he was taking the role. He just chuckled at that, but nonetheless; happy he got the role. Perhaps this could help Rui with confessing to Tsukasa. Despite him taking the role, Rui had unfortunately no experience with kissing anyone whatsoever; and he already knew Tsukasa hadn't either, which was a huge problem for the two. Not only would they both not know how to initiate a kiss, but it would also be their first; with each other. He knew it would be embarrassing to just ask Tsukasa to kiss him for practice, so he held his tongue and didn't try to start a conversation with Tsukasa about anything related to kissing, even if he knew they would struggle.

He knew that it would be better if they both struggled rather than one; however that didn't make matters better for either of them. For once Rui had felt completely lost and now it seemed stupid on how willing Rui was to take the role of kissing Tsukasa, he had some regrets doing just that but he knew that overall the experience wouldn't be as bad as he was dreading it to be. He took a few deep breaths and decided to simply ask Tsukasa to meet up later; nothing regarding the roles, but to confront him, but of course Tsukasa wouldn't know that. He had to keep this between him so he can get Tsukasa off guard and to hopefully give Rui the answers he wanted. So of course, he brought his phone up to ask him via text; classic.