Rumours ~ Ruikasa

Prologue

     ⚠️TW: SEXISM (by characters, not author)⚠️

Tsukasa never understood why his father seemed so distant, nor why he never showed Saki any affection.

     Even at four years old, she was able to realize the difference between how he treated her and how he treated Tsukasa. It's not that he treated her badly, but more like he wanted nothing to do with her. Like he didn't want to acknowledge her existence, as Saki had described it to Tsukasa.

     Why was this? Neither she nor Tsukasa had any idea, but the siblings were both grateful that their mother treated Saki the same way she did Tsukasa. Their mother, whose eyes never showed a shred of hatred or annoyance towards Saki. Whose eyes sparkled with joy upon seeing her children. Whose eyes entirely displayed kindness and care for them. These were things that never were present in the eyes of their father when it came to Saki.

     One day, she thought this would change, and that day came... or so she thought.

     "Alright, kids, your father planned out a small family activity for us as a surprise! Go get ready to leave soon!" Tsukasa's mother called cheerfully.

     The loud, thundering footsteps of an overly energetic five year old boy could be heard the moment his mother finished her sentence.

     "OOOOOOHHHH, WHAT IS IT???" The tiny Tsukasa asked excitedly, hopping up and down as his little hands gripped the bottom of his mother's shirt.

     His mother placed a tender hand on top of her son's head, smiling. "I don't know, he said it was a surprise~" She chuckled. "Where's Saki?"

     "There," Tsukasa said, pointing at his little sister as his smiling expression instantly shifted from one of pure, bright elation to one of affection and curiosity.

     Saki was seated on the floor, playing with her little plushies. One, a grey-brown bear plushie, was laid onto the floor and the other, a purple bunny plushie, was being held between Saki's soft, tiny hands. She muttered to herself she moved the toy's limbs with her short, fleshy fingers.

     "...Let me out..." was all Tsukasa could make out from amongst Saki's almost inaudible words.

     Curious, Tsukasa hopped over to his sister. "Whatcha doing?" He asked, bending down into a ball and wrapping his arms around his knees.

     Saki turned to Tsukasa with a wide smile plastered on her round, young face. "I'm playing! Wanna join?" She pointed a finger at the lonely, discarded bear plushie.

     "OKAY!!" Tsukasa grabbed the bear plushie by one of its used, damaged legs, having lost its softness from years of being played with, cuddled and sucked on. "What's the story about?"

     "My bunny is half butterfly and Sir Bear trapped her in her cocoon with tape!" Saki replied.

     "Oh," Tsukasa said. "It's- She's stuck in her cocoon?"

     "Yeah!" Saki confirmed, nodding vigorously.

     Saki's mother seemed to overhear this and walked over. She placed a hand onto Saki's shoulder.

     "Even if she's trapped," She began, "if she fights hard enough, she will break out of that cocoon as a beautiful butterfly." She looked at Tsukasa. "I want the both of you to remember this."

     "What? Why?" Tsukasa asked with eyes as wide as saucers and full of curiosity and wonder.

     "Because," The siblings' mother replied, "If ever someone traps you inside your cocoon, I don't want you to ever stop trying to break out of it. It's possible that you may not realize that you're stuck inside your cocoon, but maybe someone special will come along and help you to realize and break free."