Ruikasa: The Official Soundtrack

[7] Remember to be Patient [7]

oh no im going off script

SONG: Remember to be Patient - OMORI

OR: Nene and Tsukasa reenact the famous Mizuena scene in the What Lies Behind, What Lies Ahead event episode 8
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Things weren't going well.

And that was for the both of them- for both Tsukasa and Rui.

So that wasn't good.

Somehow, the first years from Tsukasa's school, and the ones from Rui's had banded together to do some weird double whammy bullying to the both of them.

Rui could tell Tsukasa wasn't handling it well. He tried not to care, he really did. But Rui could see how nervous he was in reality.

Avoiding gazes. Picking at his skin. Little things Rui picked up on that Tsukasa always did when he was anxious- sometimes he'd even resort to biting his nails, too. That wasn't the best practice, obviously- but at the same time, Rui's cracked his knuckles so many times that he himself is surprised he doesn't have arthritis yet.

All he wanted to do was help Tsukasa. Make him feel better, let him know that he was better than what those bullies said, or what they made him believe.

Really, he was. Tsukasa was better than that.

But it was hard. It was hard to let him know that, especially when he'd keep on avoiding the topic.

Rui wondered if even he had the right to talk to Tsukasa about it. He couldn't tell if it would make Rui seem like a hypocrite, or whether it would be useful because he himself was going through the same thing.

Either way, he had to help.

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Rui blinked. He looked over to the side, where someone was knocking on the garage door.

"Rui? Can I come in?" The familiar voice of Nene asked, muffled from behind the slab separating the two. Rui stood up, walking over to the the door and opening it.

"Nene?"

Without even greeting him, Nene sighed. She gently pushed him to the side, walking into the garage and taking her shoes off. "This place is a mess," She muttered under her breath, clicking her tongue with a disappointed shake of her head.

Nene made a beeline for the couch, sitting down on it and looking at Rui, leaning back.

"What the fuck is happening with Tsukasa AND you?" She asked bluntly.

Rui closed the door, eyes wide in surprise at Nene's question. "Pardon?"

Nene narrowed her eyes. She pointed towards Rui, repeating her question. "What's happening with you and Tsukasa? At school, I mean."

..Always so quick to get to the point, huh?

Rui sighed, shaking his head with an awkward smile. "I wish I knew," He admitted, sitting down beside Nene. "Some bad people from the past came back, I suppose."

"Oh."

Nene frowned. She looked to the side, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. "I mean.. I know what happened with you, but I never imagined Tsukasa would have.. y'know."

Rui nodded, "Yeah, the same thing goes for all of us. I don't think any of us would've ever thought people.. didn't like Tsukasa back in his junior high."

"He never talked about it anyway, did he?" Nene pointed out. She leaned back against the couch, sighing.

The only thing they knew about Tsukasa and his past was about his sister, and the occasional childhood story. But never once did he ever mention anything from junior high.