Rumours ~ Ruikasa

Signs, Practice With The Troupe And Asking For Advice!☆

"I'm bored."

     "We know, Tsukasa-kun."

     The nurse—whose name was Aoki Akimitsu, as Rui and Tsukasa had learned as they'd continued to get to know him—let the two boys out of the school ten minutes before the bell that meant the end of the school day rang.

     Rui and Tsukasa went straight to a park. The park was a vast, flat surface of grass. The wind from the morning had turned soft and it rustled the small, green blades.

     "Well, now that we've been let out of school," Rui said. "What do you want to do?"

     "Oh, I... I have no idea, actually," Tsukasa admitted, looking up at Rui.

     "Hey, don't we have practice today with Emu-kun and Nene?" Rui suddenly remembered.

     "Oh, yeah," Tsukasa rubbed his forehead. "I don't think I'll go. It hurts to move."

     "I'll tell Nene and Emu-kun that you can't make it," Rui grinned at his friend while giving him an understanding nod. "Take care of yourself when you get home, please."

     The subtle change in the colour of Tsukasa's face didn't go unnoticed by the purple-haired alchemist.

     "Are you cold, Tsukasa-kun?" Rui asked.

     No, I'm overheating because SOMEONE is TOO DAMN SWEET and I have this HUGE CRUSH ON HIM THAT HE DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT.

     "No, don't worry about it," Tsukasa smiled calmly back at Rui.

     "Alright," The latter looked away and kept his head tilted slightly downwards so that he was looking at the grass.

     The blonde noticed a pink tint on Rui's cheeks.

     "Are you cold?" Tsukasa asked.

     "No," Rui shook his head. "I'm actually growing quite warm."

     "Funny, that's what I..." Tsukasa let his voice trail off.

     Wait, does that mean that he...

     Tsukasa stared at Rui, who tilted his head quizzically.

     Does Rui like me back?

     "N—Never mind," Tsukasa forced an awkward laugh. "Never mind."

     The alchemist's gaze lingered on Tsukasa's face for a short moment after.

     "If you say so..." Rui hesitantly accepted the blonde's response.

     Neither of the two boys spoke a word. Their silence made the whooshing of the swirling wind seem loud, despite its diminutive presence.

     "Spending the day with Nurse Aoki was fun, don't you think?" The purple-haired boy broke the silence.

     "Yeah!" Tsukasa began to smile. "He really is super cool!"

     "He is," Rui agreed with a nod, smiling back at his friend. "I bet he'd be a great father."

     "Totally." Tsukasa said.

"Actually, hold on, did he even know my name? I'd never gone to the nurse's office before," Rui noticed.

Huh? Nurse Aoki knew Rui's name? I don't remember that. Was I even awake when that happened?

"Oh, yeah, you were unconscious," Rui said. "But the first thing he said when I got there with you was 'Kamishiro?'."

"Really? Strange," Tsukasa said.