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Clockwork

Summary:

Tsukasa's father bought an old clock years ago. Tsukasa thinks it's pretty neat.

Until, one day... something strange happens.

But now, Tsukasa doesn't know anything anymore.
Who he is. Why he's here.

And yet, the faint melody of a music box and the turning numbers of a clock ring in his mind; a constant, unknowing reminder of what he's lost, and what he must work to regain.

OR: After a strange nighttime encounter with an old antique clock his father bought a few years back, Tsukasa gets transported to a whole new world, with new, whimsical creatures and experiences such as elves, mythical beings, old tales and mysteries. But with no memories of who he is or who he used to be, Tsukasa is forced to find his way back to a home he can't even remember, all while attempting to recall the past life haunting his thoughts.

Thankfully, though, he's not as alone in his journey as he thought he'd be.

Notes:

another impulsively written fic written jn a day, yayyyy!!!!!

uh. will i contunye this??? magbe. it seems cool ssoooooooooo......

UPDATE: I replaced 'Ichika and her friends' with 'Shiho' in one paragraph for lore reasons :)

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: PROLOGUE: The Antique Clock

Chapter Text

I think my clock is kind of weird.

 

But, like, that's not in a bad way. It's weird, but in a cool way.

 

My dad likes to collect old antiques, coins, or whatnot. One of the larger antiques he bought from a store was this large grandfather clock. He had to get mom's help to drag it all the way over to where it is now!

 

The clock looks really cool, actually. Even though it's old- like, super duper old- I forget what year my dad said it was made- it still works really well! And get this:

 

On the clock, there's this little button. When you press it, the clock starts spinning and playing music! I think there's a music box inside, but the cool trick is, it's a different song each time. Not to say they've been repeated, though, so it's not actually different every time- there's just a surprising amount of songs in the roster, is all I'm saying.

 

And when I mean the clock starts spinning, I mean like- you know the numbers, yeah? They're all split into separate pieces. When you press the button, those pieces will start, like.. moving around and spinning! The hands still stay the same, but the numbers will move around and spin to the tune of whatever classical piece is playing. See, that's cool, isn't it?

 

And throwing all that to the side, the clock is actually really pretty, too. It's adorned with cool, gold flowery designs and some blue jewels here and there. When I asked my dad how much it cost, though, he just laughed and told me not to worry about it.

 

So I'm betting it's a lot. But I think it's worth it, because we have a cool spinning clock that plays music now!

 

Toya says he has a love-hate relationship with the clock. He likes the look of it, but not the music he plays. I understand why: Some of the songs, or, most of them, were songs that his father made him play for hours on end. Which isn't very good! He didn't get any breaks, either! I don't like Toya's dad all that much.

 

Lately, I noticed something weird about the clock. Not the clock itself, but the songs it plays.

 

One time, I was practicing Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star for Saki. That day, when I pressed the button for fun, the song that played was the same one I did. Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star.

 

The same tune.

 

I hadn't ever heard that song come from the clock before.

 

Another day, I was watching TV. The program that was on was a live recording of an idol concert- for Cheerful*Days. I was watching it because my friend, Shizuku, was one of the main members of that idol group. Her singing and dancing skills were amazing!

 

Funnily enough, the song that played on the clock when I pressed the button later was the  same idol song they sang.

 

Which was strange, because I thought all that played were old classics- and Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star apparently. I don't know how old that song is.

 

But this idol song is new! It was made for this concert, so how did the clock know what song to play? How did it know?

 

At first, I thought it was an AI or something taking the music, but then I remembered, no, this clock is old! How can an AI be in it?

 

But this phenomenon would happen again and again. I tried doing a bit of research, but I couldn't find anything. Eventually, I left it alone.

 

I had more important things to focus on, anyway! Like my goal- to become a famous star! I can never forget those smiles I saw that day, after all. Especially Saki's. I could never forget her smile that day.

 

Her smile was the entire reason I have this goal, anyway! The goal to become a star, to spread smiles across the world, on everyone's faces! If someone is sad, I want to make them happy! If someone is worried, I want them to forget about that! Just for the one moment where all the spotlight is on me, on the stage, for that one moment- I want to see everyone in the audience smiling, happy.

 

That's my goal, that is what my dream is.

 

I look down at the papers sprawled across the dining table. I was working on a script at the moment, as one could presume. I had gotten the inspiration from the clock itself, in fact! Isn't it neat how even the smallest things can spark the largest of ideas, the most powerful and creative of worlds?!

 

I've had a lot of drafts so far, but the main story pretty much stays the same: a boy travels through an unknown world, trying to find his way back to his own! I like the premise, but I feel like there's something missing, still.

 

There needs to be something more. Higher stakes, a big plot twist, something like that! But I just don't know what... I've tried adding more enemies, maybe the main character gets injured- but it just doesn't feel.. right.

 

I sigh, standing up. I should probably take a break.

 

My eyes flicker over to the clock. I want to try something out.

 

I turn on my phone, playing the first song I see in my playlist. Turns out I was listening to it, earlier- Mesmerizer by 32ki. The story behind this song... wouldn't it make for a great play?

 

I press play and turn the volume up, letting the song resonate throughout the empty household for a few moments. I even hum the lyrics to myself, swaying along to the beat. I love how upbeat and exciting the song sounds, despite its unsettling story and implications. I've realized there are a lot of VOCALOID songs that sound like that.

 

After a few moments, I pause the song and wait for a few more minutes. Then, I walk up to the clock, pressing the button. I hope this little experiment will work....

 

And what do you know, it does! The song that plays this time is a slowed, calm music box- to the exact tune of Mesmerizer. How strange! I wonder how the clock does this.

 

It's so interesting.... but, I'm not trying to find out the hidden secrets of the clock myself, haha! I am but a humble boy, with no knowledge of clocks, or mechanics and engineering! That is simply not my expertise.

 

I glance at the name carved into the wood of the grandfather clock.

 

[Kamishiro Clocks], it reads.

 

Huh. I wonder if it's a family business... or if it's still up and running even today.

 

Either way, I walk back to the table, sitting down and grabbing my pencil. Time waits for no one, after all!

 

 

.

 

 

.

 

 

.

 

 

My mom calls me while I eat dinner. She says that dad has to work overnight again. I'm kind of worried for him, it's been happening a lot lately. But I guess his job is pretty packed, too- he's the executive of a whole company after all!

 

Still.. it's always a bit lonely. I've learned to live with it, though. It's okay.

 

One day, I just know it- one day, all four of us will be sitting at this very dinner table, talking about our days and any recent news and whatnot. Saki will be healthy and going to school with her friends, dad won't have to work overnight so much, and mom will be home since she won't have to look over Saki in the hospital anymore!

 

All I have to do is wait for that day.

 

Wait until I can have that moment again, with everyone in the family. It feels so long ago, the last time we were all together at the dinner table.

 

But it's okay.

 

Just wait, Tsukasa. Bite your tongue, be patient.

 

For now, you have better things to focus on. Saki has mom and Shiho. She's not lonely.

 

Be patient, and wait.

 

Everything will be okay.

 

A mantra I've been repeating to myself every night, during every lonely dinner.

 

It's okay.

 

Be patient.

 

And wait.

 

 

.

 

 

.

 

 

.

 

 

I wake up in the middle of the night.

 

Not something that happens very often.

 

The house is shrouded in complete darkness. I squint my eyes, frowning. Why did I wake up?

 

But before I can grumble and switch positions and grab my emotional support plushie back and hold them close, I hear something.

 

..A music box. A calming, eerie tune.

 

Is the clock...?

 

Hold on, that can't be right.

 

I sit up, my brows furrowed. How can that be?

 

If the clock is playing- that can't be. It's not automatic, something has to push the button to do that!

 

I grab my phone from the nightstand, turning on the flashlight and immediately darkening the screen as well. I squint for a moment, adjusting my eyesight before I slowly, and cautiously, walk downstairs.

 

The song is still playing. The tune.. it's familiar. Have I listened to it before?

 

But somehow.. I can't recognize what the song is. I feel it's familiarity, I feel like I know it, I know that I know it-

 

Yet, in this very moment, I can't seem to recall what it is.

 

My heart pounds faster and faster with each step I take. I feel like I'm in a horror setting.

 

What set off the clock? Why is it playing now,  in the middle of the night? Is this a prank? Is there someone in here with me?

 

Am I not alone?

 

The grip on my phone tightens. My heart beats even faster.

 

Finally, I reach the clock.

 

The numbers are moving slowly. The flower-star design in the middle glows, spinning in place as well.

 

Something feels different. Something feels wrong.

 

I will myself to take a step back. To go back. To move back, back, away-

 

...My feet are planted to the ground.

 

I can't move.

 

Why can't I move?

 

I want to move. I should be moving.

 

But for some reason...

 

I can't find it in myself to move.

 

I can't take that step back. I can't.. do anything.

 

I look down at my feet, sucking in a sharp breath.

 

This isn't...

 

I glance up at the clock.

 

It's still moving.

 

Something about it is..


Captivating. Hypnotic.

 

I don't like it. I want to move away. I want to go back to my room, I want to go back to sleep and ignore this all.

 

But I keep staring at it. At the clock.

 

I can't look away.

 

...I can't.. look away.

 

This.. this isn't...

 

My hand moves, against my own will.

 

I feel it pulling me, beckoning me towards it.

 

I don't want to listen.

 

But my body moves on its own. My body listens, ignoring my mind.

 

I rest my hand on the clock. The sapphire jewels seem to glow brighter.

 

Why is it glowing?

 

What's going on?

 

What's even.. happening anymore?

 

What am I doing? How do I stop this?

 

I don't want this. I don't want any of this.

 

I want to go back. I want to go to my room.

 

Please, let me go back. I can't stay here, I want to go back to sleep.

 

But then, something else happens.

 

My hand- it's being pulled.

 

Pulled by the clock.

 

I feel my body being pulled, gravitating towards the clock, what's going on?

 

I feel like I'm being stretched out, like my body is being torn apart, like puddy.

 

It hurts.


Everything hurts. Please, stop, stop this-!

 

My eyes dart around frantically as I try to pull away.

 

I can't. The clock, it's- it's sucking me in, almost.

 

Where am I even going?! What's happening, what's happening to me?!

 

My arm, my legs, they're- oh god.

 

Oh god, I don't like this, please, it hurts, it hurts so much, please, I want to go back!

 

The only thing I can control is the grip on my phone. I clutch it as tightly as I can as I get pulled into the clock, my body burning with pain as it stretches out thin like spaghetti noodles-

 

And at the very last moment, I drop it.

 

My mouth lets out an ear-piercing scream as my phone clatters to the ground, useless.

 

And then-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm nowhere.

 

There's nothing.

 

Everything shuts off, shuts down.

 

All of a sudden, I can't feel.

 

I can't think. I can't see. I can't hear.

 

Or can I?

 

I don't know.

 

Everything is muted. But something feels familiar.

 

Am I moving? Everything around me is a blur. As if I'm running at the speed of light, but I feel... slow As if I'm just.. floating.

 

Clocks. Clocks, hands, numbers, everywhere.

 

I try to grasp at one.

 

I fail.

 

A faint memory flashes in my mind. But I realize a moment too late.


The memory is gone.

 

I see more flashes, more clocks and more numbers and faces, faces and memories and settings and places that feel so familiar.

 

But I can't grasp them.

 

I can't remember.

 

I can't remember what they are.


Who are those people?

 

Who is that lady with the long, flowing, light blue hair?


Who is that girl with the blonde twintails, fading to a bright pink?

 

Who are those adults, playing with their child and watching over them with fond smiles?

 

Who is that boy, sitting at a table and scribbling down his thoughts before throwing it all away with a single crumble of the paper?

 

Who are...?

 

Who..?

 

What...?

 

What is...

 

What am trying to do..?

 

What- what's.. happening..? Is there.. something I'm supposed to be...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wh..

 

..

 

..

 

..

 

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..

 

..

 

..

 

A boy, shrouded in mystery and wet with the water from the crashing seas, washes up on shore.

 

After what feels like an eternity, he opens his eyes—

 

And another pair of eyes: curious, golden and endearing, stare back at him.

 

"Hello?"

Chapter 2: ONE: An Eccentric Boy

Summary:

Tsukasa wakes up, his mind strangely empty.

A boy stares down at him, golden eyes glowing.

Notes:

guess what. rhis is continhing. I sequel hook ed nuklef

additionally: i have to actually fucking worldbuild oh shir

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Hello?"

 

I stare, blankly, at the boy in front of me. He is obscuring the sun- and in turn, his own face is backlit.

 

But his eyes glow faintly. A warm, curious golden colour, accompanied by his gentle smile. Not too overwhelming, not too scary or surprising.

 

It's.. calming. His pleasant gaze.

 

"You're awake," The boy tells me, his words breathed out- barely even above a whisper. "Hi."

 

I blink. Once, twice...

 

The boy still stares at me, waiting for a response.

 

It takes a few moments before I can croak out: "..Hi..?"

 

I wince at the sound of my own voice. Despite feeling the soaked fabric of my own clothes clinging to my skin, and my damp hair, water dripping down onto the sand below me and my shoulders- my throat feels dry. Unused. As if I haven't opened my mouth for a long time.

 

My voice is quiet, hoarse. The boy frowned for  moment, before holding out his hand.

 

"Here, sit up." He says, "Don't push yourself too hard."

 

He wraps a hand under my back, pushing me upwards. I nod in thanks, rather than speaking up this time. My own voice feels unfamiliar to me.

 

I'm not sure why. I don't want to go too deep into it. My head hurts.

 

"I found you here." The boy explains kindly. "You were just lying down, passed out. So I waited here for you."

 

I take note of the lulling sound of rushing waves as the tide pulls in, then out, from behind. I look over to the sea.

 

The sun is.. just above the horizon. It makes me wonder how long I have been lying here for.


Am I on.. a beach?

 

A beach, yes.. that's what I think this place is, at least. I look down at the sand beneath me. Each grain is a different colour, from a saturated, neon green to a dull, empty beige. There are all sorts of shades and saturations and whatnot here.

 

Is this... is this what sand is supposed to look like?

 

I pick up a handful, inspecting it carefully. The boy tilts his head to the side as he watches me, a faint hint of amusement bleeding into that smile of his.

 

"Do you know how you ended up here?" He asks me, as I let the grains of sand fall through the cracks between my fingers. I wipe my hands, looking at the boy.

 

Do I know how I.. ended up here?

 

My head seems to pound harder as I think about the boy's question.

 

How did I get here? How did I.. seemingly wash up onto the shore overnight..?

 

My head throbs. I wince, placing my hand on my forehead.

 

I can't.. think of anything.

 

I can't recall anything, either.

 

I don't... I don't know.

 

I can't.. seem to remember what happened to me.

 

The more I try, the stronger the pain in my brain grows. The emptier the void in my chest seems to become.

 

I can't.. remember.

 

Why can't I.. remember?

 

I haven't a faintest trace of.. anything.

 

What.. what's going on?

 

Why can't I recall anything?


Why does my brain feel so, so weirdly.. empty?

 

The boy places a hand on my shoulder.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

I shake my head faintly. The action makes the headache grow even worse.

 

The boy purses his lips. "Hey, calm down. Like I said, don't push yourself. You just woke up, after all."

 

I don't give any action this time. I don't want my head to hurt any more than it needs to. In fact, I want it to go away. Now.

 

I glance up at the boy, deciding to take in his features- now that I can... look at him clearly.

 

The first thing that I had noticed already were his golden eyes. Paired with his hair- a bright lavender accompanied by two very specific neon teal streaks... it didn't seem like it would take very long to notice him in a crowded sea of people. His cheeks and nose were dusted with small, little spots- freckles- I'm pretty sure you could call them- and there was a mark underneath his eye as well. A crescent moon, with a single star in the middle and a line cutting through the moon.

 

His clothes weren't too extravagant. Sweatpants, baggy shirt, sweater... wasn't too much to take in. It looked like something you'd wear when going to bed.

 

Then- what really caught my eyes.

 

His ears were.. pointed. Like.. spiky pointed. Not.. not round.

 

My hand moves to touch my own ear. Round. Not pointy, like his.

 

And behind the boy, as well. A thin tail, with a bit of fur at the very end, swished back and forth in a rhythmic manner.

 

I don't have a tail.

 

Why does he have a tail- and pointy ears? That shouldn't be right.

 

Apparently, the boy seems to notice me staring at his tail, because he chuckles and adjusts his position.

 

"Are you looking at my tail?" He asks, giggling. His tail reaches towards me, wagging in front of me. a bit of hair grazes my face, and I lean back, scrunching my nose.

 

"Oh-" The boy's eyes widen, and he retracts his tail. "Sorry about that!"

 

Then, he pauses, taking a moment to stare at me.

 

"You're different. You look different." He blurts out.

 

I gulp down the saliva inside my mouth, trying to gather the strength to speak up again. And finally, I do. It's still a quiet whisper, but better than nothing.

 

"..What?"

 

The boy's eyes brighten at my words. He's excited to hear me speak.

 

"Well," He begins, "Your ears are round. And you have no tail!"

 

The exact same differences I noticed myself.

 

"And there's no mark on your face, either... but you don't have those little floppy ears like Emu- or horns, too! What even are you?"

 

"What.. huh?" My brows furrow in confusion.

 

The boy pauses. "You don't know?"

 

"..No." I mutter in reply.

 

The boy drops the topic.

 

Theres a few seconds of silence. The boy stares at me, examining me as his eyes dart up and down during this awkward period of silence.

 

I don't know what to think. Or do.

 

"What.. can you remember?" He decides to ask next.

 

Oh.

 

What I remember..

 

I look back down at the colourful grains of sand.

 

I can't.. recall how I got here.

 

I can't remember what events led up to it.

 

I can't remember...

 

I try to think. I try to remember more. Anything, something.

 

But my mind keeps drawing a blank.

 

It's weird. It's strange- not normal.


This can't be real, I think to myself. This can't be happening to me.

 

I have to know something.

 

I have to know.. anything.

 

Anything. Please.

 

I have to remember. I have to remember who I am.


But I can't. I
can't , and the pain in my head grows and blossoms and spreads.

 

My chest begins to tighten the more I think about it. The more I try. The more I hurt.

 

Why? Why was this..?


Why can't I remember-?! Why can't I think of anything?!

 

Nothing.

 

Nothing.

 

Nothing.

 

Again and again, my brain blanks. I come up with nothing.

 

I can't remember any events.

 

Any past experiences.


Any person I know.

 

Any..thing.

 

I can't remember anything.

 

I can't remember anything.

 

My breathing devolves into panicked gasps as I grip my chest, nails digging into my skin.

 

I can't breathe.

 

I can't breathe.

 

I can't breathe.

 

No, no, no, I can't- what's going- oh, oh god, oh god oh god oh god oh god-!!

 

I can't think straight. My thoughts are a jumbled, panicked mess in my mind as I scramble to regain control of myself. But the more I fail, the harder it gets, and the more I panic, and the tighter my chest feels and the faster my heart beats and the sweatier my skin gets and the dizzier I feel and the more my head hurts and it feels like I'm dying- am I dying?

Am I dying-?!

 

Oh god, I don't want to die. I want to remember, but I can't remember anything, I want to remember but I can't why can't I remember please oh god please no just let me remember anything I can't die like this I can't be left like this—

 

"Huh- w-wait, hey..!"

 

A warm hand on my shoulder causes me to flinch. Through tears and blurry vision, I can make out the face of the boy.

 

"C-calm down, hey, it's okay.." The boy smiles- or tries to. "Just take deep breaths, okay? It's going to be okay.."

 

Deep breaths- deep breaths-?!


I tried- I've tried that already! It's not- I still can't breathe, I...!

 

"Just hold it-" The boy speaks up. "Inhale, then hold it for a few seconds. Can you do that?"

 

Can I- can I...?

 

I try to hold my breath. Inhale- but hold it.

 

Stop.

Hold it.

Hold it-

 

"And exhale, slowly."

 

And I do.

 

"See, there you go. Can you do it again? Just inhale, hold.... then let it out."

 

The fuzzy feeling begins to dissipate when I follow the boy's instructions. It gets easier to breathe when I do it slowly.


the next thing I know—— the panic is gone.

 

And all that's left is my slow, heavy breaths. My breaths, and the empty feeling remaining in my chest as it slowly loosens.

 

"Do you feel better now?"

 

I nod weakly.

 

"S..sorry," I croak out.

 

"Don't apologize." The boy shakes his head. His hand moves to my own, taking it and squeezing it gently. "I'm sorry if my question.. triggered anything."

 

The dull pain in my head is still there. I would have shaken my head if I wasn't worried about it, but I am. So instead, I blurt out:

 

"..I can't remember anything."

 

It feels like a heavy weight. But saying it out loud doesn't help. It only makes the burden feel heavier.

 

The boy's eyes widen. "You can't?" He repeats, "Not even your own name?"

 

My—

 

My.. name?

 

I feel as if I'm about to be thrown into another fit of panic- until, throughout the emptiness of the void in my mind, something comes to me.

 

..Something.

 

Something finally comes to me amidst the blank space where everything I've ever known is supposed to be. I just need to grasp it, take it, I have to...

 

"...Tsukasa."

 

The word spills out of my mouth before I can even process it.

 

'Tsukasa.'

 

' Tsukasa .'

 

That's what I said.

 

'Tsukasa.'

 

Is that.. my name?

 

That's- that's my name, isn't it?

 

It's strange.. how foreign it feels. How disconnected it is.

 

There's no.. importance. No attachment to the name.

 

It's just.. my name.

 

What people are supposed to call me. And that's that.

 

The thought scares me, it scares me so much.

 

"Tsukasa?" The boy repeats. "That's your name?"

 

"..Yeah." I mutter. "I- I think."

 

"That's a nice name." The boy tells me. "By the way- And I should've introduced myself earlier, so apologies on my part- but I'm Rui! Rui Kamishiro!"

 

He shakes my hand, and it feels like a lightbulb of some sort just went off in my head.

 

Not really. But something about that name... it sounds so familiar.

 

"Nice to meet you," I whisper. Rui's smile grows wider.

 

"Hey, how about I take you to my home?" He offers. "I can get you some clean clothes- and you can get some rest, too! How about it?"

 

Staying at his house? Is that okay?

 

But.. it's not like there's anything else I can do. I nod in agreement. Rui's eyes seem to light up- quite literally, actually- and his tail wags even faster.

 

"Really?!" He gasps excitedly. He stands up, helping me do the same as well. My feet wobble as I try to regain my balance, but it's not like I can't walk or anything. My legs are just shaky.

 

Rui takes my hand, tugging on it as he takes a step forwards. "Follow me, then!" He says, "My house isn't that far from here- I was just taking a morning stroll when I ran into you, anyways! So come on, let me take you home!"

 

"Okay—" I mutter underneath my breath as I follow Rui. He seems very energetic.

 

He leads me away from the beach, towards the forest. The leaves are like little triangles, all with different colours just like the sand- something tells me it shouldn't.. be like that.

 

..But I can't remember. How should I know? How should I even know if the tails and ears are normal? What if I'm the one that's not normal?

 

Rui takes a leaf off the tree and hands it to me. It's a bright, happy orange.

 

"Have you heard of the name Kamishiro before?"

 

"No."

 

"Right..." Rui chuckles awkwardly. "Can't remember. Sorry. But— my family is actually pretty famous, did you know? Our ancestors started a business, and it's still going strong now. And it's a bit silly in hindsight, but trust me, it's cool! Just wait till you see what we make!"

 

I feel inclined to say something.

 

"What do you make?" I decide to ask.

 

Rui looks back at me, grinning widely.

 

"I thought you'd never ask!" He exclaims, laughing. His tail swishes back and forth in a rhythm, like a pendulum.

 

"We make clocks!"

Notes:

haha

Chapter 3: TWO: Meeting the Kamishiros

Summary:

Rui takes Tsukasa back to his house. There, he gives the blond a tour of the house, as well as a quick introduction to some of his family members.

But the more time they spend together, the more the dreadful feeling that something isn't right slowly sinks into Tsukasa's chest.

Notes:

I HAD TO REWRITE THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS SO BAD HELP. remind me that writing on laptop is better than on the phone because now I have an official clockwork doc that I can write in. god BLESSSSSSSS Google doc's new tab system. Absolute LIFE SAVER I tell you

Addiitonally. I do not know how to write old men. oops. I kind of just thought of Grunkle Stan most of the time
BUT. GAKUPO IS OFFICIALLY IN THIS FIC. TWICE. HE IS THE FATHER AND THE SON. NO HOLY SPIRIT INCLUDED. i find it so funny that he's casually just two people

Anyways, onwards with the fic! There's a little bonus in the end notes as well, I tell ya, sooo :3

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"We make clocks!"

 

I look at Rui curiously.

 

"Clocks?" I repeat, tilting my head to the side. Not judgingly, but.. I wouldn't have expected someone like him to get so excited over.. clocks. Of all things. Not like I even know him all that well, but… I suppose it’s just the vibes.

 

But it's a family business, anyway. What can I say about it?

 

"Yeah, clocks." Rui nods. His tail swishes from side to side, and I can't help but stare at the bit of fluff at the end.

 

..I kind of want to touch it.

 

"I don't know which ancestor started it, actually," Rui comments. "But it's gone down from generation to generation. It's pretty cool, actually! Trust me, I'll show you when we get to my house."

 

I nod in return, eyes still focused on Rui's tail. Every time he looks back at me, I quickly avert my eyes. It's embarrassing.

 

The two of us quickly fall back into a calming silence. The leaves(??) on the ground crunch beneath our feet and disappear into thin air as we step on them. It makes a fun little shimmering noise, though. I have no idea how leaves are supposed to do that, but it’s fun to step on them and hear the little shimmer and crunch beneath my feet.

 

I look down at the ground as I walk, making sure to step on each leaf I come across. Each one is a different colour- not too vibrant, but not too desaturated or pale, either. The orange one Rui gave to me is still in my hand. I look around my clothes for a pocket of some sort to put it in, and quickly find a pocket on my sweater.

 

I gently place the orange leaf inside, taking care to not break it. I want to keep it. I like this one.

 

Speaking of clothes... I'm still soaked. I've got no shoes, either. It kind of hurts walking on gravel without any shoes or anything. Not even slippers. Just... wet socks.

 

Rui looks back at me. "Don't worry," He tells me, smiling. "We'll be there soon. I'll get you some clean clothes and shoes!"

 

Huh. How'd he know about that..? Am I that easy to read, or was it just a lucky guess?

 

"My dad owns the business right now." Rui pipes up all of a sudden. I wonder if he's trying to distract me from my worries by ranting about his family business. But if that is his goal, then it's working. "And my Grandpa helps a lot with it, too, and sometimes I do! I'll show you the things I've made!"

 

I nod along as Rui continues to rant. His tangent is quite nice to listen to, actually. He’s very good at providing distractions, I’ll say that. "I'll be the next in line to like, own the business too, anyways. But I also like making more than just.. clocks, you know? Sure, they're cool and special, but what if there was more? I like creating other things, like little.. robot thingies and inventions. There's one in my room that I'm making right now for a friend, actually."

 

For the rest of the time until we reach Rui’s house, he just talks and talks and talks about his family and friends. I don't find it annoying, though. In fact, I like it. Rui is a good talker. He’s very enthusiastic about it, and also not intimidating. He’s friendly. I like that.

 

I'm glad that I met Rui, actually. I wonder what I would have done if I woke up on that beach alone. If I had, then I wouldn't have someone to comfort me or guide me like this. I think that would have been way more scarier- being alone. Because if that happened.. I wouldn't even have myself to rely on.

 

Because I don't.. remember anything. I don't know anything about myself or who I used to be, or how I even ended up here.

 

But.. the further we walked down the path, the more the realization dawned on me- the realization that I was not supposed to be here.

 

This place.. it isn’t familiar. And I mean, of course it isn’t, I can’t remember anything, but.. this is different .

 

Something about this place is different. In fact, everything about this place seems somewhat different. Rui said something about me being different, too- at least to him. I'm not sure what he meant by that, but.. something tells me that I shouldn’t be here.

 

I feel like there’s something in my chest- a tugging at my heart, begging me to go back home. But I don't know where home is , and that's the problem.

 

…I wonder if I can ever get my memories back.

 

Soon enough, I see smoke rising in the distance amongst all the colourful trees. Rui claps his hands. "We're here!"

 

At the end of the path lies a fairly large and quaint cottage. Behind it, I see the faint outline of other buildings looming in the near distance. Rui nudges me and tells me that he'll show me around the village later.

 

"For now, let's get you settled in," He suggests. He stops at the door, putting a finger to his lips. "Wait here, let me just talk to my dad."

 

I nod, muttering a weak "'kay" under my breath as Rui enters his house and closes the door. I trace the lines of wood, humming as I look back at the forest.

 

I thought the trees would be just one colour. And the sand on the beach, too. I thought the leaves would have been green.. and maybe a different shape than flat-out triangles.

 

I take the leaf out of my pocket. It's not ruined, thank god.

 

I bring the orange leaf close to my face, examining it in curiosity. The insides of the leaf fade to white as the colour reaches the stem, and it looks transparent as well. I hold it up to the sky to test it out, and sure enough, I can see right through it. The sky and clouds are tinted with the same orange and white colour the leaf holds.

 

A small smile carves its way onto my face, and I let out a huff. It's pretty cool. I like it.

 

The door behind me creaks open again. I jolt in surprise, quickly shoving the leaf back into my pocket as I turn around.

 

"Hi!"

 

Rui waves, laughing at my shocked expression. 

 

"You can come in, Tsukasa!" He announces. He steps to the side and holds the door open for me to enter through.

 

"Thank you," I nod, gingerly stepping inside. The house is nice and quaint, but not as quiet as I would have thought it would be. Instead of a calming silence, I hear ticking. Lots of ticking. Like a swarm-of-flies-buzzing-in-your-ear ticking.

 

Rui lets out a chuckle. "Don't mind all the ticking," He says, as if reading my mind once more. "Those are all the clocks in the front.. you'll get used to it. Come with me!"

 

He takes my hand, leading me to another door. The closer we get, the louder the ticking sound becomes, and as the two of us step through, I immediately understand why.

 

They're everywhere . On all the walls: cuckoo clocks, grandfather clocks, normal clocks... and they all have the same tick, tock, tick, tock sound with each individual movement of the hands. I can't even begin to describe how it makes me feel. I look around the room, eyes darting back and forth, up and down and all around, trying to process the sight of all the clocks.

 

I can't help but think to myself, how does Rui live with this? How does he handle all the noise? I don't like it at all. It's too loud, and there's so much happening all at once. It’s overwhelming.

 

I feel myself inch closer to Rui, grabbing his sleeve. He takes notice almost immediately and takes my hand, squeezing it in return as a reassuring gesture. I appreciate it.

 

Beside the door Rui and I entered through sits a decently sized counter, with a few glass displays and a cash register. A tall man with similar ear, mark, and tail features like Rui stands behind it, his long, bluish hair tied back into a long ponytail that reaches down to his waist. But unlike Rui’s mark, the mark on the man’s face doesn’t feature a star in the middle. It’s just the moon and the line through it. His golden eyes dart towards me, and he raises an eyebrow. 

 

“Is this the boy you were talking about, Rui?” He asks, gaze flickering over to said boy. Rui nods, rocking his heels back and forth with a cheerful hum. A side effect of this is getting my own arm swung to and fro as he does with his own.

 

“Yup!” He chirps. He stops his rocking to point towards me. “Dad, this is Tsukasa! Tsukasa, meet my dad.”

 

“Nice to meet you, son.” His father walks up to me, outstretching his hand with a welcoming smile. “The name’s Kamui Kamishiro. I’m Rui’s dad.”

 

After a moment of hesitation, I take the man’s hand. He grips it tightly as he shakes my hand, and after letting go, I have to rub my palm. I’m honestly surprised at how firm his grip on my hand was. “N-Nice to meet you, too.”

 

Rui’s father laughs heartily as he watches me rub my palm. “Not used to such a hard handshake, eh?” He asks, tilting his head to the side. He puts a hand on his hip, “Hah! Don’t worry ‘bout it, nobody ever is.”

 

I nod along awkwardly. I don’t fully understand, but it’s also a matter of not wanting to come off as rude, so..

 

“Aaannyyways,” Rui coughs, raising his hand to grab our attention. “So, I kinda just found Tsukasa passed out on the beach, so-”

 

“Right, right.” His father nods. “Right back to business, I see.. Okay.”

 

He leans forward a little bit, examining me up and down with a hand resting underneath his chin.

 

“...You aren’t an elf.” He finally points out after staring at me for an uncomfortably long amount of time. “But not any of the other subspecies, either… do you know where you come from, boy?”

 

I shake my head no. “I can’t.. Remember anything.”

 

Rui’s father sucks in a sharp breath. “Oh.”

 

“Can he stay here for a while?” Rui pipes up, raising his hand once more. “We can give him the guest bedroom!”

 

The man turns to look at him. “Isn’t your grandfather staying there?”

 

“There’s the room in the attic, too.” Rui points out. Then, he pauses for a moment. “Wait, but it’s probably dusty in there- maybe we can clean it? But if not, I can get the air mattress. He can share a room with me!”

 

His father hums, arms folded. “I’d say attic or your room are good enough options.” He glances back at me. “If we can’t clean the attic in time, would it be okay for you to share a room?”

 

I shake my head, “I don’t mind.”

 

Rui presses himself next to me, eyes squinted. He puts a hand against our heads, measuring our height difference, and then examines my shoulders and waist. “Do you think we’re the same size..?” He muses to himself.

 

A few seconds later, he shakes his head and hops back with a playful bounce in his step. “We can figure that out later, whatever!”

 

He takes my hand, tugging on it gently. “Can I show him around the house?” He asks, “I’ll take him to meet grandpa too! And when mom comes home, I’ll introduce him too, don’t worry- but I wanna take him around the village first!”

 

“Yeah, yeah, knock yourself out, bud.” Rui’s father laughs, walking back to the counter. “Go along now, you two.”

 

Rui takes the chance, and he leads me back through the door. The ticking returns to its original muffled state, and the pressure in my chest disperses almost immediately the moment the door closes behind the elf. 

 

“Wasn’t that long of a conversation, I know,” Rui says, laughing a bit. “But yeah. That’s my dad. You’ll see more of him later. For now, let me show you around the actual house- the front was just the shop.”

 

I nod, taking a deep breath. Compared to moments before, I can actually appreciate the somewhat quiet state of Rui’s house without all the loud ticking all around me. I’d much rather prefer if the constant tick tock wasn’t heard at all, but I’ll take whatever I can get. Better than still being in the front, at least. 

 

Rui begins to swing our hands back and forth once more as he leads me through the house, briefly explaining to me all the different areas- the kitchen, living room, bathroom, etcetera. The entire house has 2 stories, as well as an attic and a basement- though the boy said we wouldn’t go down there just yet. Rui’s room is covered in glow in the dark stars, with wrenches and gears and other mechanical tools scattered all over the place. 

 

“I’ll let you borrow my clothes for now,” He had offered, “I dunno if they’ll be big or not.. But I’m confident they aren’t too small, at least!”

 

As expected, the attic was quite dusty. There was a small bed in the back, with a desk and shelf beside it, but cobwebs and strange, glowing strings were hidden in the nooks and crannies of the room. A small spider crawled across its web, and I stepped away, moving behind Rui.

 

“What, you don’t like them?”

 

“..No.”

 

Rui laughed, shaking his head. “But they’re so cute!” He argued, “How can you not love them?”

 

“Too many legs.” I hissed briefly, narrowing my eyes. I couldn’t understand how Rui didn’t find those… things scary. Who in the world thought it would be a good idea to have animals with more than two legs crawling around everywhere?! It was disgusting!

 

After having given me a thorough tour of the house, Rui and I found ourselves standing at the top of the stairway leading down to the basement, the door creaked open wide.

 

“My grandpa likes to read a lot,” He explains, “So it’s kinda like a library in there. But all the stories are super cool! He collected all those books and scrolls himself.”

 

“What kind of.. Stories are there?” I ask, tilting my head to the side in curiosity.

 

“Well, there are some fictional stories…” Rui begins, “Then there’s scientific things and whatnot, textbooks about history and magic and whatever, fairytales and myths n’ folklore… I really like reading about those! They’re like, the stories of the Deities, how they came to be, and how they created the world and everything! Some of the books even mention the possibility of other worlds, ruled by other Gods and divine beings! There’s no actual proof of the whole otherworldly thing, but I love imagining the possibilities…”

 

Then, Rui pauses, letting his excited tangent trail off into silence. He looks off into the distance, sucking in a sharp breath as his lips stretch out into a thin line. “Although… uh, my grandpa, he’s a bit… doddery- y’know? Or… senile? Yeah, he’s kinda…”

 

Rui twirls his finger around beside his head for emphasis. “He- he’s not a bad person or anything! He’s just… really, really out of pocket sometimes. Most… most of the time, actually. But he’s got good intentions, probably.”

 

He coughs awkwardly, a tint of nervousness in his chuckle. “Anyways… yeah, just- just to warn you. But don’t worry, alright? Let’s go!”

 

“O-okay-?”

 

I let Rui lead me down the stairs. Each wooden plank emits a loud creaking noise with each step, and I wince at the sound. As nice as Rui’s house is, I have to admit that the stairs feel… really unsafe. At least when going up and down. It feels like the plank is about to break whenever they creak, and I’ll fall through or get my foot stuck in the plank at the very least.

 

But the next thing I know, we’re at the bottom of the stairs. I sigh in relief as Rui leans forward, peeking around the corner of the wall. I follow suit, and see an old, elderly man sitting down, adjusting his glasses as he flipped the page of the book in his hands. Much like Rui and his father, he has the same mark on his wrinkled face- the one without the star, as well as the pointed ears. His wavy hair is a light purple, streaks of white running throughout.

 

But it takes a few seconds for me to realize that the elderly man is floating midair. And it takes a few more seconds for me to do a double take and realize that the man isn’t actually floating, but instead… balancing on his tail.

 

“Ah…” Rui sighs, tilting his head upwards. “What did dad say about doing that thing with your tail?”

 

There was no response from the man. Rui clicks his tongue in annoyance, walking up to him and folding his arms. I follow behind him meekly.

 

“Gramps,” He calls out, “I have someone I want you to meet. He’s staying with us for a while.”

 

After a few seconds, the man finally looks up, raising an eyebrow. He closes his book, and Rui steps to the side. The elderly man proceeds to look me up and down, and unlike Rui’s father, the air is thick with judgement and tension as he examines me.

 

Then, he finally speaks, cringing in disgust as he recoils backwards:

 

“Why’s his shirt ugly?”

 

…Oh.

 

I look down at my shirt, blinking in confusion.

 

Is- is it really that bad-?

 

Rui grumbles, covering his eyes with his hands. “Don’t be so rude, Gramps..”

 

“‘M jus’ wonderin’.” His grandfather mutters in reply, his voice raspy and harsh. Rui takes a deep breath, looking back at me and mouthing a quick ‘sorry’.

 

“You can’t just say that, gramps,” Rui scolds, pointing an accusatory finger at the old man. “Anyway, uh- this is Tsukasa. He’s gonna be staying with us for a while. Tsukasa, this is my grandfather… Gakupo Kamishiro.”

 

“H…Hi.” I choke out nervously. Just like Rui’s father, I decide to outstretch my arm in hopes of a friendly handshake. But instead of taking it, his grandfather stares at me, squinting through his glasses.

 

“You’re not from here, are ya?” The man asks me. How many times have I been asked something like this?

 

“Um, no,” I reply, awkwardly bringing my hand back down to my waist, letting it rest limply at the sides. “At least… I don’t think so. I- I can’t remember.”

 

The man stands up, patting the dust off of his little tailend floof thing. “Can’t remember anything? And you got no special little features or anything…”

 

He slowly steps towards me, and Rui sucks in a sharp, cautious breath, instinctively reaching forwards just in case anything happens. His grandfather rests his hand on Rui’s shoulder for balance as he starts judging me once more. “Not an elf… nah, definitely not alien… not a hermit… don’ look like some weird interbreed thing either- now, just what are ya, kid?”

 

I glance over to Rui with a pleading expression, leaning back as his grandfather tries to poke my cheek. He taps the man’s shoulder, an exasperated look on his face. “Personal space, gramps…” He mutters.

 

“You’re a strange one, kid…” His grandfather clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “Say, Rui, where’d ya find him?”

 

“The beach,” Rui supplies.

 

“Just washed up on shore like that?” He asked. 

 

Rui nods. “Well- when I found him he was already on the beach, but I assume he did…?” 

 

“And he ain’t from here.”

 

Rui shrugs in response this time. He keeps sending quick apologetic glances my way. “Don’t think so, at least.”

 

“There isn’t anything else out there.” Rui’s grandfather points out, narrowing his eyes. “You’re a strange one. Different. You’re not one of us.”

 

“I-I think that’s been… established already, Gramps-”

 

“Not from this world, perhaps…”

 

Rui jolts in surprise, his back suddenly straightening. “Wait, what-?”

 

His grandfather steps away. He leans against a bookshelf, grunting. “Give it a while.” He tells us. “‘M gonna look for something. Give that boy a shower in the meantime, Rui.”

 

Don’t be rude-! ” Rui hisses, taking my hand. “Also, what do you mean, another world?!”

 

“I’ll show you when I find it.” His grandfather replies. “Go now. Shoo. Nice meetin’ ya or whatever.”

 

He begins to hobble along the shelves of the basement, searching through the multitudes of scrolls and books. Rui watches him for a moment, before coughing awkwardly and tugging me back towards the staircase gently.

 

“Sorry about that,” He whispers to me. “Don’t- don’t listen to those rude things He says…”

 

I shake my head, “No, it- it’s okay.”

 

“You sure-?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Alright, then… also, for the record, I think the cat on your shirt is cute.”

 

“Ah-” I glance down at my shirt again. “Uh, thanks…”

 

Rui leads me back up the stairs, all the way to the washroom. “I’ll let you clean yourself,” He says. “Just yell my name when you’re done- I’ll give you some clothes.”

 

“Thanks,” I mutter. Rui opens the door, bowing playfully as he gives way for me to enter. “I… appreciate it. Thanks.”

 

“Of course!” Rui grins. “I want to help you, after all! It’s no biggie! We can walk around the village after.”

 

He closes the door, leaving me to stand in the middle of the washroom in silence. If I focus hard enough, I can hear the tremendously faint ticking sounds of the clocks up front in the shop. My eyes dart over to a closet. I open it up, taking out a bath towel.

 

I can’t help but think about all the things that were said to me so far. I can’t describe my experience as anything but weird. Sure, Rui is kind, and his dad is, too, and his grandfather is… something, but… they all mentioned me being different.

 

Not like them. Not… ‘from here’.

 

I don’t know what that means. It’s not like I don’t disagree- I feel horribly out of place here, too. But the problem is… I don’t know where ‘here’ even is. And I don’t even know where I’m supposed to be.

 

All I know about myself is my name. That’s all I know. I don’t know where I live, who I used to be, and now I’m stuck in a weird place where everything is foreign and new- and to everyone else, I am, too.

 

Rui and his dad and granddad- they all have the pointy elf ears and fluffy little tails. They share the same moon mark under their cheeks.

 

They keep mentioning it. ‘ Elves. ’ How I’m not… an elf. And they mentioned something about… aliens, and hermits, too.

 

They keep mentioning how I’m not one of them. How I’m different. How they don’t know where I came from or what I even am. But I don’t know what they are, either. I don’t know what an elf is supposed to entail, or an… alien or a hermit. No horns or tail or whatever. I’m none of that, and I don’t know what that is. I should get to asking Rui later on.



For a moment, I catch my face in the mirror.

 

Messy, blond hair fading to peach tips. Empty amber eyes- not full of emotion and excitement like Rui’s. They’re just… there.

 

I didn’t even notice until now, But there’s a scratch on my cheek. It doesn’t hurt. Just a little scratch, barely noticeable.

 

Not a big mark, like Rui’s family. Not a moon, or a star. It’s just a scratch. It’ll heal soon- and then there won’t be anything.

 

There’s no pointed ears. There’s no tail with a bit of fluff at the ends.

 

I’m just… me.

 

And I’m different.

 

Rui and his father and his grandfather were all right. I’m different. I’m not like them. And from what I’ve been told, I don’t think I’m like anybody else, either.

 

I don’t like that.

 

I don’t like what’s going on right now. There’s this tight, queasy feeling in my chest as I think about the past that I cannot recall.

 

I want to go home.

 

But I don’t know where home is. Or what home used to be.

 

I don’t even remember what ‘home’ is.

 

That’s the problem.

And it’s scary.

 

It scares me.

Notes:

Hahah!!! I love making him suffer

SOO. HEHEH. I DREW CLOCKWORK RUI. HEHAAHHA GO CHECK IT OUT ON TUMBLR: https://www.tumblr.com/bobcross1010/765229030153879553/clockwork-rui-design-dropped-i-got-lazy-and-gave

Also followmeontumblrifyouhavetumblrjehgtbfdnjfetgeybhdvnsfjehgbdvhcnfhgeb;dvnhgtb;jdv

I hope you enjoyed have a very silly day and stay alive to spite the enemies!!!

Chapter 4: THREE: Matching Pocket Watch

Summary:

While in the shower, Tsukasa attempts to wrap his head around the situation. Rui gives Tsukasa a nice little trinket to keep his leaf inside, and the two prepare to go outside and take a stroll around the village.

Notes:

THIS WAS SUPPSOED TO BE THE CHAPTTER WHERE HE SHOES HIMAROUND THE VILLAGE FAGRSHTDJKFJGHFB

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

After waking up drenched, cold, and soaked, the feeling of warm water running against my skin feels comforting, like a cozy blanket wrapping itself around my body.

 

I stand beneath the showerhead, letting the water patter downwards. I feel a bit calmer now after.. Everything that happened. I finally have a chance to process things. 

 

I take a deep breath. I just need to… gather my thoughts. See what I know.

 

See what I can… remember. Even if it’s the littlest thing.

 

My name, I think to myself. I’ll start with my name.

 

My name is… Tsukasa.

 

Tsukasa…

 

…Something.

 

I don’t know my surname. I can’t remember it.

 

My name is Tsukasa. I do not know my surname.

 

Age.

 

My age.

 

I pause for a moment. I never really thought about my age.

 

 

…I don’t think I can recall my age, either.

 

My name is Tsukasa. I do not know my age, and I do not know my surname.

 

What else, what else…

 

Birthday.

 

…Birthday. When I was born.

 

I don’t… think I know that either.

 

My head hurts the more I think about it. I can’t remember that.

 

So no birthday, then. I close my eyes, taking a few more deep breaths to calm myself.

 

My name is Tsukasa. I do not know my birthday or age, and I do not know my surname.

 

The more I try to think about all the things I want to remember, the more my head begins to hurt. I’m not sure why. But I get the feeling that I probably shouldn’t dwell on it for too long if that’s the case.

 

Focus on something else.

 

Something else, like… things that I do know. Things that I do remember.

 

I know… Rui. And his dad, and his grandfather.

 

They’re… elves. With pointy ears. And tails with a fluffy part at the end. And marks on their faces. A mark of a moon, with a line through the middle. Rui’s has a star in the middle of the crescent. And he has freckles.

 

Rui’s father is named Kamui Kamishiro. His grandfather is Gakupo Kamishiro.

 

They’re elves.

 

His father and grandfather both mentioned other species.

 

Aliens. Hermits.

 

I do not know what those mean. I don’t know what they look like.

 

When I first met Rui, he mentioned something about… floppy ears. And horns.

 

I don’t know what he means, but I’m assuming that they’re more traits of those other species mentioned. I don’t have any of them.

 

To Rui, and his dad, and his grandfather, I’m different.

 

They all said that I was different. I don’t deny that.

 

I think I’m different, too.

 

I don’t know what it means, but…

 

I have this feeling.

 

In my chest, I have this feeling.

 

A strange, unsettling, empty feeling. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like…

 

…I don’t know.

 

I don’t know how to describe the feeling in my chest. It scares me.

 

Maybe that feeling is fear. But calling it ‘fear’ just doesn’t seem right to me. 

 

In fact, none of this feels right to me. Maybe that’s what this feeling is supposed to be.

 

Ever since I woke up here, everything has just seemed wrong.

 

The place where I woke up. The sand, the sky, the trees, the few people that I’ve met so far… all of it seems so different. So foreign and unknown.

 

That little voice in my brain. Even though I don’t remember where I used to be, what ‘home’ used to be, it speaks to me. 

 

The voice speaks to me, and it says: “ This is not home.

 

This is not your home.

 

You are not supposed to be here.

 

And I know that. I know that this isn’t my home. I know that I shouldn’t be here, I know that I’m not supposed to be here.

 

But I don’t know how to get home. And I don’t know where home is, and I don’t know what to do about the fact that I’m not where I am supposed to be. I don’t even know if it’s true. It’s just a feeling, after all. It could be wrong.

 

My name is Tsukasa. I do not know my birthday or age, and I do not know my surname. I cannot remember anything else before I woke up. 

I know Rui. I met Rui on the beach when I woke up.

He introduced me to his father and his grandfather. All of them are elves. They all say that I am different. 

I have a strange feeling in my chest. I do not know what it means, or what it is.

But I feel like I can’t be here. I feel like I’m not supposed to be here.

I feel like this is not my home.

 

This is not my home.

 

This is not my home.

 

…This is not my home.

 

————

 

When I finish taking that long bath, Rui sends some clothes my way. He didn't need to come inside the washroom- he just called out “Ok!”, and the next thing I knew, a pile of neat, clean clothes had appeared on the counter.

 

…Something tells me that shouldn’t be possible. But I’d rather not question it. I already have too many that I plan to ask Rui after I finish changing.

 

I take another look at myself in the mirror after I put on the clothes Rui gave me. They’re comfortable, a tiny bit baggy, and that’s not a bad thing, but…

 

It feels wrong. I don’t feel… right wearing this. I feel different.

 

I take a look at the clothes I wore before. They had been thrown in the laundry bin for the time being until they were washed. It feels wrong having to just leave it behind like that… I hope they get washed soon enough.

 

I took the leaf out of my pocket, too. It’s laying on the counter right now. I want to ask Rui for a place to keep it safe in. To be honest, I’m not exactly sure why I want to keep that leaf. I mean, it’s not like it’s that important, right? It’s… just a leaf.

 

…A cool looking leaf.

 

But all the leaves on the trees look like this, no? They’re all… triangles, and different colours, and shimmery and cool. So what makes this one so special?

 

Maybe it’s the fact that it was from Rui. Maybe that was what made this leaf so important to me- the fact that Rui gave it to me. Whether as a kind gesture or a gift, I appreciate the action. I want to keep the leaf.

 

Maybe Rui would be sad if I threw it away. I wouldn’t want that.

 

I’ll ask if he can put it in something for me to carry later.

 

I look at myself in the mirror once more.

 

This is me. Tsukasa.

 

The boy who cannot remember his past.

 

The boy who looks different from everyone else.

 

The boy who woke up one day on a beach, washed onto the colourful grains of sand by the rolling tides. Maybe that’s where I come from- somewhere out there.

 

Maybe I just have to let the tide carry me back home, like how they carried me here. To this strange, new world.

 

If I just let myself float on the surface of the water…

 

A knock on the door catches my attention. I jolt upwards, surprised at the sudden noise.

 

“Tsukasa?” Rui calls out from behind the door, voice muffled. “Are you ready?”

 

“Uh- y-yeah, yeah.” I reply hastily, nodding even though the boy on the other side can’t see me. “I’m coming out now, don’t worry…”

 

I take one last quick glance at the mirror, making sure I look presentable enough before taking the leaf into my hands and opening the door.

 

“...Hi,”

 

“...Hi.”

 

Rui steps back, grinning goofily.

 

“Told you my clothes would fit,” Rui says, putting his hands on his hips pridefully. He’s wearing his own different set of clothes- a purple sweater over a dark grey vest, with black pants and long, brown boots. “Are they comfortable?”

 

I nod, tugging gently at my collar. “Yeah,” I reply. “It’s.. it’s good. Thank you.”

 

“Anytime!” Rui chuckles, patting my shoulder. “You look good in them!”

 

My eyes widen a little, and I nod once more, this time embarrassed as I look away. “Uh- yeah… thanks.”

 

Rui only giggles at my timid expression. I can feel my face heating up- I wasn’t really expecting Rui to compliment me like that.

 

“U-um-”

 

I take a deep breath, coughing. “By the way, uh…”

 

I look back at Rui, showing him the leaf tucked into the middle of my palm. “Is there something I can put this in…? To keep?”

 

This time, it’s Rui whose eyes widen in surprise. “Wait, you still have it?” He blurted out in genuine shock.

 

“Yeah,” I turn the leaf gently, playing around with it in my palm. “I kept it in my pocket until now.”

 

“The one in your sweater?”

 

I nod. Rui holds out his hand, and I carefully drop the orange leaf into his palm. He glances up at me, smiling warmly.

 

“Do you want to keep it?” He questions, raising an eyebrow. 

 

“If you can put it in something I can carry around, I’d like that.” I admit, rubbing the back of my neck. I wonder how Rui feels about this.

 

“Alright, you can count on me!” Rui exclaims. He examines the leaf carefully, holding it up to my chest to measure for size. “I think it’d be cool to carry around, like in a necklace or something, but the leaf’s probably too big for that. Shame…”

 

“If not, I can keep it in my pocket.” I offer, raising my hand weakly. “You don’t have to do all that..”

 

Rui immediately shakes his head, huffing. “Nonsense!” He argues, shaking the leaf in front of my face. “This is important to you, isn’t it? And I’m glad it is, so I have to help you protect it! What if you trip and fall and the leaf breaks?! I can’t let that happen!”

 

“A-are you sure-”

 

“Of course I am! Don’t you worry, Tsukasa, I’ll put this leaf in the best, most safest container I can find for you!” Rui proclaims, pumping his fist with a wide, confident grin.

 

“Oh…” I purse my lips, snickering quietly. “Thank you, then.”

 

“Anytime!” Rui nods proudly. “Come with me to my room! I’ll put it in a container before we go out.”

 

“To the… village?” I ask, tilting my head curiously.

 

Rui nods, taking my hand as he twirls the leaf in his other. He leads me back into his room, still messy and unorganized. We step over the myriad of metal scraps and wrenches and whatnot, stopping at his desk, which lies right beside his bed. I take a seat, feeling the fuzzy bedsheets and comfy mattress. Rui bends over at his desk, handing me my leaf as he opens the drawers and rummages around to find anything he can put the leaf inside.

 

“Hmm… no, not like that…” Rui mumbles to himself as he pokes through each of his drawers, his eyes narrowed. “Not that, either… something to carry- oh, hey, that’s my old wrench! Neat! Okay, uhh…”

 

Then, he pauses, picking something up. “Ooh, maybe…”

 

He looks at the leaf in my hand. “Can I have that for a second?”

 

I give him the leaf, nodding. “Yeah, sure.”

 

I can’t see what the elf is doing from behind, but I assume he’s measuring sizes again. He sighs, clicking his tongue in disappointment. “Ah, too big!” Rui groans, shaking his head before pausing. “Or- maybe I can…”

 

Rui looks back at me. “Hey, Tsukasa?” He calls out, “Do you mind if I, like… shrink the leaf? Just a tiny bit? So I can fit it inside.”

 

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. “Shrink?” I repeat. “Like.. make it smaller?”

 

“Mhmm,” Rui nods. “It’s okay if you don’t want to do that, but I just want to see if I can fit it in this thing.”

 

“What are you putting it in?”

 

Rui grins, putting a finger to his lips. “Secret!”

 

I narrow my eyes, thinking about Rui’s proposition. I’m not entirely against it, I’m just worried that something bad will happen to it. Plus, it’s not only that. If it shrinks… then that means it changes.

 

I don’t really… want it to change. If Rui has to cut off the edges or trim the leaf- I don’t want that.

 

“Don’t cut it.” I mutter, frowning. “I don’t want it to break.”

 

“...Cut?” Rui blinks a few times, raising an eyebrow. “I’m not cutting it, silly! I’ll just shrink it! Same thing, but tinier! No trimming or cutting or whatever!”

 

He places the leaf and whatever other item he was holding down, looking around for something else. He takes a piece of scrap paper off the table, showing it to me.

 

“See, look-” Rui taps the page, and in an instant, along with a faint, purple glow, the paper shrinks down to about half its original size. “Like this!”

 

My eyes widen, and I let out a loud gasp.

 

“How did you do that?!” I cry out, leaning forward. I take the paper from Rui, holding it in the light and inspecting it. How did the paper just get smaller like that?! That couldn’t be possible, right?! What if it was just a magic trick or something, where there was a smaller paper right behind it? But if so, then where did the bigger paper go?!

 

Rui laughs at my astonished expression. “Magic, of course!” He chimed, grinning. “Why, have you never seen something like this before?”

 

“I don’t- I don’t think so..!” I mumble underneath my breath, still staring at the shrunken paper. “How is that possible?”

“You saw it before, though,” Rui pointed out, raising an eyebrow. “Remember? When I sent those clothes into the washroom for you? They just- poofed in there, right?”

 

“Yeah, but…” I pout, giving the paper back to Rui. “I decided not to question that.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I have too many questions already.”

 

Rui laughs. “Well, then shoot! I’ll answer any questions you have, Tsukasa- but first-” 

 

He takes the leaf once more, holding it up in front of me. “Is it okay if I make it  a bit smaller?”

 

I take the leaf from his hands, staring down at it. Well, it’s not like he’ll ruin it or anything. I know that now, at least. So I’ll trust him.

 

“Sure, you can do it.” I say, and Rui pumps his fist.

 

“Yes!” He exclaims. “Thanks, Tsukasa! Just give me a moment…”

 

I can’t see what Rui is doing from behind, but he sure is tinkering with something, his tail wagging back and forth in concentration as he works. I get the sudden urge to touch it again.

 

But soon enough, and much faster than I expected, Rui finishes. He chuckles proudly, telling me to close my eyes. “Don’t peek!” He pipes up, noticing the small cracks between my fingers. Caught red-handed.

 

Finally, Rui tells me to open my eyes. I take my hands off my face, and Rui wiggles a pendulum in front of me.

 

“Ta-da!” He exclaims, “I made a pocket watch for you! It was something I forgot to finish, but I decided it would be perfect for you! Take it, take it!”

 

Rui takes a seat beside me, taking my hand and pressing the pocket watch onto it. “I have one, too,” He points out. “You can put it in that pocket there, and we can match!”

 

Surprised, I turn the small watch around, examining it thoroughly. “Where did the leaf go?”

 

“It’s inside- open it.”

 

“Open it…?”

 

There’s a little hinge on the side of the watch, I gently pry it open, revealing a small space in the middle. The leaf is pressed carefully against the inside of the locket. No harm done to any of it.

 

“See?” Rui grins. “Safe and sound!”

 

“Yeah,” I nod in agreement, smiling as I close the watch. “What does yours look like?”

 

Rui reaches over to his desk. He takes another pocket watch from the table, dangling it in front of me. The golden outline is lined with purple accents, swirling around the outside of the watch. When he cracks it open, he reveals a small, cracked photo of his family. His father, grandfather, and what I think is his mom are all in the frame.

 

“See?” He chuckles. “Matching!”

 

He closes the locket, carefully tucking it into his pocket, and I do the same. The chain dangles loosely from the outside.

 

“Are we ready, then?” Rui asks, standing up. “I’ll show you around the village now. And I’ll explain everything, promise! I’ll answer any questions you have.”

 

I follow suit, nodding. “I’m ready. And I have a lot of questions.”

 

Rui laughs as he takes my hand. He leads me back downstairs, all the way to the back door where I had first entered the house.

 

“We’ll go around from here,” He explains. “I’d rather not go through the front right now, hah!”

 

As a gentle gust of wind blows past when Rui opens the door, another leaf flies right into my face. I take it into my hands, admiring the bright green colour before letting go and watching it drop to the ground. 

 

“Are all the trees like this?” I look over to Rui, gesturing to the green leaf now lying on the ground. “Do they all have different colours?”

 

Rui glances back at me and nods. “Yup!” He chirps, “Well, most of them, at least. Some just have one colour, but they’re all in specific areas. These trees are more common around the entire land.”

 

The elf swings our hands back and forth in a playful manner, humming as his tail sways from side to side. “Just around here,” He explains, “There’s the village. I’ll show you around-”

 

RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUIIIIIIIIIIIII—KKKUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched scream rings out through the air. I jolt in surprise, instinctively pulling on Rui’s arm.

 

“Tsu-Tsukasa- don’t-!” 

 

Rui gasps, whipping his head around towards the source of the loud squeal. A flash of pink bolts towards the two of us, laughing excitedly and waving their arms around wildly. Rui quickly shields me, calling out for someone to “Hold on, don’t run into us!”

 

“W-wait-!” I cry out, darting my eyes around in a panic as I try to pry myself off of Rui. “Hold on, what’s-!?”

 

BAM

Notes:

"UWAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Chapter 5: FOUR: Bustling Streets and New Faces

Summary:

Rui and Tsukasa run into a certain pink-haired alien, who quickly joins their party to help Rui show Tsukasa round the village. They stop at a friends house to say hi before grabbing a bite of food and meeting a few more new faces along the way.

Notes:

ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME YAYAYAY!!!! I AM ONE YEAR AWAY FROM BEING LEGALLY ABLE TO DRIVE!!!!

ALSO: IF YOU GUYS WANT YOU CAN DECORATE MY TREEEEE PLSPSLPSPLPSLPSPSLPSL :333

https://decomytree.com/home?hashedId=xzeV1y32QNFY

ENJOY THE CHAPTER!! THIS IS MY BDAY PRESENT TO YOU GUYS!!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

BAM

 

“AGH-!”

 

“UWAAAHHHHHH!!!!”

 

Rui yelps, wrapping his arms around my skull as a body slams into the two of us. We all slam onto the ground, and I quickly push myself away, putting a hand to my head and groaning.

 

“Tsukasa-” Rui sits up, glancing behind him to see a pink-haired girl rubbing her own head. “...Are you okay?”

 

“Um..” 

 

I take a deep breath, dusting myself off. Now we’re all sitting on the floor, and there’s… a pink girl. Her skin has a rosy tint, and atop her head lie a pair of strange.. Ears. Or horns? They kind of look like bunny ears, but smaller… “I-I think so.. Who’s that?”

 

Rui chuckles awkwardly, nudging the pink girl. “I told you not to do that, Emu,” He chastised gently, shaking his head. “You okay?”

 

The pink haired girl blinks, looking up at Rui. “Uuuuuuuu… I think so–”

 

All of a sudden, she stops in her tracks and notices me, her eyes growing wide and practically sparkling- the shape of her pupils shift to stars. “WHO IS THAT?!” She cries out excitedly, leaning forwards with a wide grin on her face. “HE LOOKS SUUUPPERR WONDERHOY COOL!”

 

“Well, I was just about to introduce you!” Rui reveals, pointing towards me. “This is Tsukasa. Tsukasa, this is Emu.”

 

The pink girl- Emu- waves at me, “Hi hi, Tsukasa-kun! Nice to meet you!”

 

“Uh,” I cough awkwardly, glancing up at her bunny ear-horn things. “Nice to meet you too…”

 

Emu rolls away from Rui, moving towards me. The closer I get, the more features I notice. Similar to Rui, her face is filled with freckles- but they look more like stars in a galaxy… in fact, the blush on her face is reminiscent of a nebula or galaxy in the night sky, littered with twinkling stars. 

 

“What are you?” Emu asks. She pokes my cheeks, prodding at my arms and face as she squints curiously. “Your ears are round! Ooh, are you a hermit? Did your horns break?! Can I glue them back on?! It won’t hurt, I’ll just go all shwip shwip wabaam and boom ! Good as new!”

 

“You’ll… what-?”

 

Rui sucks in a sharp breath, pulling Emu away. The girl lets out a surprised yelp, her pupils shifting to exclamation marks. I wonder how she can do that- is it normal for her? “Hold on, Emu-! Don’t jump the gun so quickly!”

 

“Why? Does he not know what it means?” Emu asks, raising an eyebrow in confusion. She looks at me, her pupils taking the form of question marks. “What are you, Tsukasa-kun?”

 

I glance from Rui to Emu. Once again, that thing about… species. I think. “I don’t… You never explained to me what that was,” I tell the elf, “That whole thing about… aliens, or- or elves or whatever.”

 

Rui stares at me blankly. “...Wait, you don’t know?”

 

“Am I supposed to?”

 

“I just assumed you did!” Rui cried out, running a hand through his hair. “Oh my stars, sorry, Tsukasa! I thought you knew- oh, I should have asked…!”

 

“No- no, I was planning on doing it anyway, you don’t need to apologize..”

 

Emu looks between Rui and I, still confused. “Wait, wait, wha’s goin’ on?”

 

“Uh,” Rui coughs, glancing awkwardly between Emu and I, but I don’t blame him. I’m still trying to wrap my own head around all of this, too. There’s a pink girl, her face looks like a galaxy, she’s very happy, and she has… floppy ear-horn things. Whatever that’s supposed to be. 

 

“Okay,” Rui inhales, putting his hands together and pointing towards me. “So, basically, there are three main.. Species, right? Or rather, one- Synths, and there are three subspecies of that.”

 

I nod along, listening intently as Rui continues his explanation. “I think it was my grandpa who said it- but those three subspecies are Hermits, Aliens, and Elves! My family are all elves, and Emu here is an alien!”

 

“Yup, yup!” Emu nods in confirmation, flicking her floppy ear-horn things with a playful grin. “And hermits have cool horns and marks on their skin!”

 

“Exactly,” Rui nods towards Emu. “All of them are pretty recognizable and have specific features… and that’s why they were all asking- because you don’t.. Have. Any of those.”

 

“..Oh.” 

 

So now I’m really different. Got it.

 

Rui coughs once more, his gaze focused on the grass below. “But, uh- I’m sure we’ll find a way! I know Gramps is digging around right now, so he’ll find a solution!”

 

I place a hand on my head, biting the inside of my mouth. I don’t doubt Rui, but I just hope that I can find some closure. What he just explained got rid of one of the bigger questions I had, but there’s still more to focus on.

 

“Anyways,” Rui pats my shoulder with a warm smile as he switches the topic at hand. “Emu, I was just about to show Tsukasa around the village. Do you wanna join us?”

 

Emu gasps, her eyes sparkling excitedly. “Can I?! Ooh, ooh, yes, yes!! I can help, Rui-kun!!”

 

Laughing at her energetic attitude, Rui nods. He stands up, holding out a hand to help me as the alien bounces back to her feet on her own. “Alright. I’ll explain things to you on the way, too- if you don’t mind, of course!”

 

Rui glances at me for permission, and I nod, dusting myself off as I mutter a quick ‘thanks’ under my breath. I don’t feel like explaining things myself, anyway.

 

I’d rather not be reminded of the situation I’m in right now.

 

So while Rui leads the two of us to the village, he explains the situation to Emu. How he found me, the whole amnesia thing, all that shtick. I tune out their conversation, opting to take in my surroundings instead.

 

It’s so weird that I know things here are different from how they’re.. ‘Supposed to be’. At least for me, but the problem is that I don’t even know what things are supposed to be. Sure, trees with rainbow coloured leaves are weird. That’s not normal to be. But if so, then what is normal? Why can’t I just conjure up that image in my head that explains everything?

 

I bet things would be so much easier if I just remembered everything. I can’t keep going in circles like this, it gets way too confusing way too quickly. So it’s find my memories, find a way home, and then pretend all of this was a weird fever dream all along and go on about my day normally.

 

At last, I hope that’s how it’ll be. I know damn well that things won’t end like that, but still. The easier things are, the better.

 

It doesn’t take long for us to reach the village. Rui looks back at me, nudging my shoulder to grab my attention. “Welcome to our quaint little village!” He exclaims, stretching his arms outwards. “As you can see, it’s a little small, but we make things work!”

 

Emu hums in agreement, giggling. “Yeah, yeah! And all the people are super wonderhoy, too! You’ll feel right at home!”

 

I nod along with their words, inspecting the houses and buildings in the distance. The cobblestone pavement is already quite full of different people, running around with baskets and bags. A few of said carry-ons are floating around as they trail behind their owner, while some people just seem to be floating altogether. Not even with wings… they’re just floating! How do they do that?

 

“I’ll introduce you to some of my friends on the way,” Rui offers. He grabs my hand, weaving in between the crowds of people. Emu follows close behind, humming a happy little tune. “They’re super cool, so don’t you worry!”

 

As he and Emu guide me through the village, they explain a few of the surrounding buildings. A few shops, a market somewhere to the left- there’s a sweet aroma in the air as we pass by, and I can’t help but wonder what food was giving off such a strong scent. Smells good.

 

Emu constantly gestures to the various people (‘Synths’, they’re called, apparently) walking around, pointing out their features- tails, floppy horn looking ears (also notably squishy, Emu let me touch them and it was a 10/10 experience), actual horns, that stuff. She and Rui come up with a quick little guessing game, one where they test me with questions like ‘which Synth is this?’ based off of their looks or ‘what building do you think that one is for?’. It’s really silly, but I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t help me get used to things. I appreciate it.

 

Soon enough, Rui pulls Emu and I to the side.

 

“Hold on,” He says. “Nene’s house is right over here. Let’s visit her-”

 

NEEEENNNEEEEEEEEEE-CHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!

 

The next thing Rui and I know, Emu is dashing up the steps to a little cottage. Her legs move so fast that it looks like those circles you would see in those cartoons. She knocks on the door rapidly, bouncing up and down as she waits for a reply from the other side.

 

“Emu!” Rui cries out. He takes my hand again, dragging me over to the front porch to wait with Emu.

 

“Nene-chan, Nene-chan!!!” Emu calls out, “There’s someone me n’ Rui-kun want you to meet! Hurry, hurry!!”

 

I look between Rui and the pinkette, confusion etched across my face. “Wait- wh-who’s Nene-?” I sputter out nervously.

 

“Nene is a childhood friend of mine,” Rui explains quickly. From behind the wooden door, I can hear faint shuffling. Emu’s floppy ears (which I can now confirm are a second pair of ears, pretty cool) perk up, taking note of the noise as well. “She’s nice, but also very shy… so be careful, alright?”

 

I nod slowly, glancing back at the door. It takes a few more seconds for whoever is on the other side to open it, and when they do, it’s only by a tiny little crack. A pair of lilac eyes accompanied by long, green hair peeks through the small gap.

 

“Hi, Nene-chan!” Emu waves frantically. “Open the door, pretty pleeasseee~??”

 

The figure on the other side of the door- presumably Nene, narrows her eyes. She lets out a quiet huff before stepping back to open it fully. Much like Emu, a pair of floppy alien ear things 

 

“Hi, Nene!” Rui chirps, grinning widely. “Look, there’s someone here that Emu n’ I want you to meet-!”

 

But before Rui can completely finish, the green haired alien locks eyes with me. The two of us stare at each other for a second or two in complete silence, until the girl lets out a frightened squeak, jumping backwards with wide eyes. But the catch is- when she jumps back, her body seems to shrink in on itself, quickly morphing into a small deer-like animal. 

 

White skin(??? It’s the same consistency of Emu’s ears, so I wouldn’t know if it would be skin or not…) fades to green near its legs, horns (they look exactly like her floppy ears though) and tail, with wide, lilac eyes staring up at me in distrust. The deer.. Alien thing (Still that Nene girl?) takes a slow step back, tail tucked in beneath its stomach.

 

Emu gasps, bending down. “Don’t be scared, Nene-chan!” She exclaims. The pinkette reaches out towards the deer-alien, smiling warmly as she scoops them into her arms. “Tsukasa-kun won’t hurt you, he has no magic!”

 

…Is.. is that what she thinks of me-?

 

Ignoring the hopefully unintentional insult, I wave shyly at the deer-alien… Nene. “Um.. hi-?”

 

In response, Nene lets out a quiet, high pitched growl, narrowing her eyes as her antlers twitch. She buries herself into the Emu’s chest, purring. 

 

“Ah..” Rui sighs, running a hand through his hair as he laughs breathlessly. “Sorry about that, Tsukasa… like I said-”

 

“No, i-it’s fine-!” I exclaim hastily, waving my arms around as I shake my head. “It’s okay.”

 

Rui leans towards Emu and Nene. I scoot back, letting him fill the gap. He taps Nene a few times, humming curiously and giggling as he feels the soft texture of the morphed alien. I didn’t even know that they could do that. “It’s okay, Nene,” He chirps, “Tsukasa is a good guy! There’s nothing to worry about, he’s a nice person. I met him on the beach today!”

 

The elf gestures towards me with a warm smile. “Tsukasa, can you introduce yourself?”

 

Nene huffs, her eyes peeking out from Emu’s arms. She looks towards me in doubt, but she seems to listen as I give her my name and a quick ‘nice to meet you’. I appreciate that, at least. 

 

After a few moments, Nene chitters. She hops out from Emu’s arms, and when she lands back on the ground, she morphs back into the somewhat humanoid form akin to Emu’s. The ears on her head fade from black to green, unlike the white to green gradient in her deer form. Like Emu’s, her skin has a colourful tint to it- but rather, her skin is tinted with a light green like her hair instead of Emu’s rosy pink. Her ears twitch as she turns to look at me, rainbow coloured blush spreading across her cheeks.

 

“...Sorry about that,” She mutters awkwardly. She shoves her hand in front of me, quite stiffly. “I-I’m Nene.”

 

I hesitate for a split moment before shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you,” I repeat.

 

Emu cheers, throwing her hands in the air. “Yay!! Now you two are best friends!”

 

Nene’s blush seems to grow even stronger, eyes widening as she whips her head towards Emu- and in turn, almost slapping me in the face with her long, luscious green locks. “Wh- Emu…!” She hisses, “It doesn’t work like that-!”

 

“Well, I think it does!” Rui snickers, leaning back. “But in all honesty, Emu and I were showing Tsukasa around town. He’s new here.”

 

The greenette turns to look back at me curiously. “Oh…”

 

She doesn’t seem to question my apparent lack of features. Golden badge for being the first person who didn’t ask, I appreciate it. It makes things less awkward.

 

But at the same time… things already did get awkward. So maybe I’ll get embarrassed and uncomfortable either way with each interaction I have. Shame, but… I should be prepared, at least.

 

“Do you want to join us?” Rui asks. “We’re just touring the village.”

 

Nene glances at Rui, then to Emu, then to me. She does this a few more times before ultimately shaking her head. “No thanks…” She mutters, beginning to stand up. “I still need to eat breakfast.”

 

“That’s alright!” Rui chirps, nodding in understandment. He gets up on his feet next, holding a hand out to me as Emu once again magically bounces back. “Emu, you coming?”

 

“Yeah, yeah!” Emu nods. “Nene-chan! I’m gonna be back right after I finish helping Rui-kun show Tsukasa-kun around, okay?! Just you wait!”

 

“Mhmm, got it,” Nene nods, wringing her hands together. “I’ll see you later, then..”

 

“Yuppers!”

 

With that, Nene walks back inside her house. She takes one last curious glance at me before closing the door, leaving the rest of us standing outside on her porch.

 

“Alright, one major stop down…” Rui mutters. He looks around, wondering where to take us next. “Emu, what other important parts should we take Tsukasa to?”

 

Emu raises her hand, ears vibrating in excitement as her eyes sparkle. “Let’s take him to the cafe! And Honami-chan’s shop! And everywhere else!!”

 

Rui raises an eyebrow with an amused smile. “You think we can bring him everywhere today?”

 

“Well, not inside everywhere, but the good parts! Like the WEEKEND GARAGE and the bakery!” Emu reiterates. She bounces from side to side, hopping down the stairs. “Come come, before it gets busy!”

 

“Alright…!” Rui takes my hand, squeezing it as a quick warning sign before he drags me after Emu. We weave through the streets, Emu still pointing out a few good-to-know places around town. Eventually, we come across a little cafe- the words above it read ‘WEEKEND GARAGE’. 

 

“Here!” Emu cheers. She bolts inside, the windchimes hanging near the door ringing as she enters. Rui takes me inside soon after, ignoring the ‘CLOSED’ sign plastered on the window. But despite the sign, a few people are already inside. A girl with black hair fading to blue stands behind the counter, hands waving around as she seamlessly conducts the items around her. Similar to Rui, she has the same elf ears and tail.

 

A few others are sitting around the counter on the barstools. A girl with blonde pigtails chats with the barista girl, her alien ears twitching when she giggles. The orange-haired boy with black horns beside her groans, slouching against the counter. He turns back to look at the front door where Emu, Rui and I stand, and his brow twitches. 

 

“Oh… you guys.” He mumbles, flopping back down.

 

“Akito, sit up! You don’t want Ena to come back from the washroom and pull you up herself, would you?” The barista behind the counter scolds, sighing. She looks over to the door, fixing her own posture and waving.

 

“Hey, you two!” She calls out, grinning. “You guys got a new kid with ya?”

 

“Yup!” Rui cheers. Emu sits herself down beside the blonde haired girl in the blink of an eye while the purple elf leads me to the seats. “This is Tsukasa, guys! He’s staying with me for a while.”

 

The blonde haired girl turns to look at me, waving with a shy smile. “I’m Kohane,” She says. “Nice to meet you.”

 

“Oh,” My eyes widen in surprise for a moment, before I send the girl- Kohane- a smile and a quick nod. “Same to you.”

The boy with the horns shifts his position, holding up his hand to attempt a lazy wave before it flops back down onto the counter. “Name’s Akito,” He mutters with a yawn. The elven barista shakes her head as she looks at the ginger in disappointment. She then turns to me.

 

“Name’s An Shiraishi, sir! Pleased to make your acquaintance!” She holds out her hand for me to shake, and I take it. 

 

“My dad owns the restaurant,” An explains. She gestures to the floating cups and rags and plates. “I’m just preparing to open up, but I let these guys in a bit early. Akito’s sister and her friend are in the washroom right now, too- they should be out soon.”

 

I nod along to her explanation, and Rui nudges me with a grin. “Her food is amazing, you should have some!”

 

“Oh, yeah!” An flicks her wrist. In less than a second, a few menus appear from thin air on the counter in front of us. 

 

“Anything you want,” The barista says, “I’ll make it in a jiffy! Don’t you worry, it’s on the house!”

 

While Emu immediately spews out an order so long I can’t even begin to comprehend her words, I take a menu and look at its contents.

 

…Well, it’s no surprise that I don’t recognize anything from this list. I mean, there are some things I can familiarize myself with, like the drink section with all the… milkshakes and stuff, but at the same time, what the hell is a… stringstar? 

 

While I stare at the menu in confusion, trying to wrap my head around all the unfamiliar names, a door near the back opens, and two more girls walk out. Like Akito, they both have black horns on their heads. The brunette sits down beside the ginger hermit, slapping his back. “Straighten up, bozo,” She scoffs. The pink hermit beside her snickers before looking at me. 

 

“Who’s the newbie?” She asks. The pinkette looks at me with a strange expression, her eyes scrunching up for a moment before shaking her head. “Name’s Mizuki Akiyama!”

 

“This is Tsukasa-kun!” Emu pipes up, pointing towards me with a wide, cheesy grin. “He’s not from here!”

 

“...What?”

 

“He’s not from here!” Emu repeats, keeping the same goofy smile. The pink hermit, now known as Mizuki, blinks a few times before nodding slowly and sitting down. 

 

“Got it… anyway, come on, Ena! Say hi!”

 

The brunette girl, who I assume is Ena, stops scolding an annoyed Akito to glance up at Mizuki, then over to me. “Huh-? Oh.”

 

She quickly introduces herself as Ena Shinonome, Akito’s older sister, before going right back to lecture her brother on his posture and attitude. Mizuki looks over to me, biting back a giggle as she mouths: ‘her posture is worse.’

 

Rui chuckles fondly, nudging me. “Did you find something you want?”

 

“Uh,” I look back at the menu, gulping awkwardly at the sight of so many unfamiliar dishes and foods. “N- not yet.”

 

The elf leans over me, resting his chin on my shoulder. It’s funny how close he’s gotten to me, even though we technically just met. Rui seems like the type of guy to befriend every single new student in any school no matter what. Like a tutorial friend. “If you want, I can order something for you! What are you feeling right now? Something sweet, salty? Savory, maybe? I don’t think you’ve eaten yet, so maybe something filling…”

 

He takes the menu from the table, squinting at it as he skims through the items. His tail swishes back and forth, occasionally brushing against my back and sending a little tingle down my spine. 

 

“What do you… recommend?” I ask quietly. “I don’t think I’ve heard of.. Most of these before.”

 

“Man, really?” Rui looks at me with wide eyes filled with surprise. “Then- here’s my recommendation! It’s my favourite on the menu!”

 

He raises his hand, waving towards An. “We’ll have 2 Pistolberry shortcakes, please~!”

 

An looks over to Rui, nodding. “On it!” With a single wave of her hand, a bunch of materials and ingredients start flying around again. I can’t even begin to keep track of what’s going on. Is this supposed to be normal?!

 

But in the matter of just a few minutes, An slides two plates our way. “Here you guys go!” She chimes.

 

Rui sends her a quick thank you before taking his plate. “Trust me, it’s good!” He chirps, nudging me. “You’ll love it!”

 

I nod, hesitating before picking up my plate.

 

..It sure smells good. It has a strong, sweet scent. 

 

I look over to the side. Rui has already taken a big bite, kicking his feet against the counter as he mumbles something like ‘so good..!’ with his mouth still full. If he reacted like that… I’m sure it must be good, right? It looks quite appetizing, anyway. I’ll try it.

 

I take a small bite of the shortcake, eyes widening at the immediate splash of flavour. It’s strong and sweet- but just the right amount. I look back to Rui, nodding vigorously as I take another bite. It’s good- really good!

 

Rui laughs at the expression on my face, taking a few napkins from a slot beside him. “I told you it was good!” He exclaims. “Come on, eat up, and then we’ll show you the rest of the village.”

 

I nod again, turning back to the plate in front of me. It doesn’t take long for me to finish it- despite it not being too big, the shortcake really is filling. By the time I finish, Rui has already done the same. He hands me a napkin to wipe my mouth before standing up. “Emu, you done?”

 

“Yup, yup!”

 

Emu bounces off the chair, grinning. “I’m ready!! Thanks, An! That food was super duper washaam bwaah!!”

 

An pauses for a second, processing Emu’s jumbled words before sending her a thumbs up. “Y-yeah! No problemo!”

 

With a few parting words, the three of us leave the cafe. While Emu stretches, she and Rui continue to show me around the village. We stop by a small stall as per Emu’s request, where she introduces me to a hermit named Honami, and her elven friend, Kanade. While Honami seems to own the shop, the latter just works under her- but they make a good pair. Eventually, the two finish their village tour, going back to the fountain in the middle of town. Rui takes a seat on the ledge, and I sit down beside him while Emu says goodbye and takes her leave to go back to visit Nene once more.

 

“So,” Rui begins, leaning back. “How do you like the place?”

 

“It’s nice,” I mutter. “I’ll get used to it, probably.”

 

“Good!” Rui flashes me a smile. “I’m glad. Until we figure things out, you’ll be staying here, so…”

 

“I don’t think I’ll mind,” I blurt out. “It’s not bad here.”

 

Rui’s smile grows even wider. If he had those pupils like Emu, I bet they would’ve been sparkling. “Really?! That’s great!”

 

All of a sudden, before Rui can reach over and wrap his arms around me, a glowing ball pops up in front of us from seemingly nowhere. Soon after, a voice speaks from in, the glow of the ball adjusting to the volume of the speaker.

 

“Hey, you two,” The voice says. Rui’s eyes light up, quickly recognizing it as his fathers voice. “Are you done with your tour yet?”

 

“Hi, dad!” Rui pipes up. “Yeah, we just finished! What’s up?”

 

“Well, your grandfather found a few things while looking through all his books,” Kamui pipes up through the glowing blue ball. “You guys should come down here and check it out. It’s really interesting.”

 

“Huh?” Rui glances over at me. The two of us share equally surprised expressions. “You guys found something?!”

 

“Yeah,” His father replies. “Come over here, you two. We’ll be waiting in the basement.”

 

“Okay-!” Rui nods. He taps the ball twice, and it gently explodes into particles that quickly get carried away by the wind. The elf grabs my hand, pulling me upwards.

 

“You heard him, right?” He asks me. “Gramps found something!”

 

“Y-yeah, I heard,” I nod, dusting off my pants. Rui wastes no time, immediately beginning to sprint back to his house, dragging me along the way.

 

“Let’s go!” He exclaims. 

 

“Yeah, okay- wait up…!”

 

…Somehow, Rui seems way more into this whole thing than I am.

Notes:

yahoo!!!!

anyways. decorate my tree pls guys :) https://decomytree.com/home?hashedId=xzeV1y32QNFY

alsoahahshahs. shoutut to like. the 52 people who WANTED TO BECOME FOOD FOR THIS FIC. Some of you guys are becoming creatures now

have a great day or night or limbo!

Chapter 6: FIVE: The Waiting Game

Summary:

Tsukasa finally gets a vague explanation of what happened to him. Unfortunately, this only causes more worry.

Notes:

The final chapter of the first arc! I'll take a tiny little break from this so I can prepare a few more AUs hiding up my sleeve, as well as get ready to finally give the official update on how Ruikasa OST will end up.

Also turns out both WxS World Link AND Feskasa are in march, which means I'll have to do some double grinding to prepare. I'm only going to write a torture fic for Feskasa, though- just to save my sanity. By then it'll be a year since my first torturefic, mwah mwah to jesterkasa zoowee mama, so this feskasa fic will be quite the throwback, I think! I'll have quite the amount of fun with it... so stay tuned darlings ;)

moving on to talking ab the actual chapter uhjhh

Tbh I didn't like this chapter at all, and I do need to plan out what will happen later and do some more thinking about everything Clockwork will have to offer, but after the introduction arc and a few fillers maybe, we'll really start to get into the meat of this fic... hopefully. I have the climax rotating in my mind and I think you guys will enjoy it very much. Besides, what's a proper nootmare fic without a shitload of angst? ;p

anyway, enjoy! praying to god this wont end up as a flop(work ahahahah ba dum tiss clockwork? flopwork? ahahahaahahahha *dies*) haha

p.s there is a very important question to ask in the end notes so pls answer that too :)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Rui, his father, his grandfather, and I all sit around a table in the basement. A multitude of books and scrolls are scattered across the wooden surface, both open and closed. I wonder how someone can even have this many books in their house.

 

Gakupo folds his arms, sliding one of the scrolls my way.

 

“Read it,” He says gruffly.

 

“O-okay…”

 

I take the scroll, squinting at the tiny letters scrawled upon the old paper. It’s hard to read when it’s in cursive, but I can make out the title of the page, at least:

 

[BEYOND THE UNIVERSE]

 

“Oi, Rui.” Gakupo calls out to his grandson. “You know the whole thing about the universe, ay?”

 

Rui nods slowly. “Yeah?”

 

“When I say this kid ain’t from here, I really mean it.” Gakupo says. “He’s from an entirely different world.”

 

Both Rui and I sit up, back straightening in surprise. I slam the scroll down on the table, eyes wide. “H-HUH-?!”

 

Kamui takes another book from the table, sliding it towards us. He flips it open to a page labelled ‘THE MULTIVERSE’, where it shows a faint picture depicting bunch of worlds, all portrayed through different circles across the paper. Rui leans forward to take a closer look, humming curiously.

 

“I mean, I heard of this before,” Rui mumbled, squinting. “But I never really thought about it that much! Is it really true?”

 

“‘Course,” Gakupo replied with a scoff, lazily waving his hand around. “It’s what the whole Academy is researching or somethin'.”

 

Rui scrunches his face, frowning. “Oh…”

 

“Wait-” I hold up my hand. “So- so you’re saying that I just… came here? From a whole other world?”

 

“Yyyup,” Gakupo nods. “That’s pretty much it.”

 

“T-then how do I get back?!” I cry out in a panic. “Why can’t I remember anything? How did I even get here..?”

 

“I found you by the beach,” Rui recalls, placing a hand on his chin. “Maybe it has something to do with that? I think you were pulled onto shore by the waves, since you were so wet.”

 

“Then how did I not drown..?” I muse. I bring my feet up onto the chair, hugging my legs to my chest. “Unless you can just… float on water here. If that’s a.. normal thing.”

 

“Nope. Usually you’d drown.”

 

“..Thanks.” I mutter. Not really helpful, but good to know that people here don’t naturally float on water.

 

Rui bites his lip. “But how would you just… poof here randomly? There had to be some sort of.. Travelling device, right?”

 

Kamui gestures towards me, sucking in a sharp breath. “I mean, I’d ask you, but… you said you don’t remember anything, yeah?”

 

“No, sir,” I shake my head.

 

As the other three launch into a conversation, discussing ways I could have got here, my mind starts to wander. I wish there was at least something I could remember- maybe even one little fact or whatever, but… there’s nothing. 

 

There aren’t any hints or clues. Nothing on my side, nothing on theirs. So how do I find a way home if there’s nothing to go off of? Do I stay here forever, until I can remember just a small bit of my life..?

 

A scary question pops up in my mind. 

 

Will I ever remember anything?

 

…Or will I just never see that past again? The past of a world I used to live in, some place different than this?

 

The thing is, I want to remember. I want to go home. I want my questions answered, but all this place does is throw even more my way. It doesn’t help with anything.

 

Maybe I met Rui, and his family, and his friends. Maybe I went to see the town, maybe I got to meet some villagers and try this cool shortcake thing. But in the end, all it did for me was provide a distraction from the main problem. It’s not like I don’t appreciate it, but I wish I knew a little more about my situation.

 

I think that out of everything, I just want something to go off of. I just need a little idea or memory or hint that can help me find my way home.

 

“Tsukasa?”

 

Rui nudges my shoulder. He looks at me with a worried expression.

 

“Are you alright?” He asks.

 

I part my lips, preparing to answer. But my voice gets caught up in my throat.

 

 

I don’t have an answer.

 

“..I don’t know,” I breathe out with a nervous gulp, squeezing my thighs. “I- I really don’t know.”

 

“It’s a lot for you, isn’t it?”

 

Rui tilts his head to the side, a gentle smile on his face. I wonder how he can be so calm, but he’s not the one in my situation.

 

At least he’s safe.

 

“I guess I’d be pretty conflicted, too. If I were you.” Rui pipes up with a small chuckle.

 

I nod weakly. Kamui and Gakupo are still chatting in the background- or more like bickering, actually. Rui glances over to them for a moment, clicking his tongue. “I’m sure we’ll find something out.”

 

“Will we?”

 

“Well, amnesia doesn’t last forever, does it?”

 

“I-I mean, I don’t really-”

 

“I’m sure it doesn’t!” Rui interrupts me from my negative thoughts. “Think on the bright side, Tsukasa! I’m sure you’ll remember something eventually! Kinda like… trying to open something- I think! Like when you finally poke a hole through plastic, and then you just hafta open the rest!”

 

“...Does it work like that?”

 

Rui shrugs. “I don’t actually, uh, know,” He admits, chuckling awkwardly. “But however it works, I’m sure you’ll find a way! I believe in you! And I’ll help you too, promise!”

 

There’s a part of me that really wants to doubt Rui’s words. In fact, I think most of me does. But instead, I find myself nodding alongside him, and the elf huffs proudly.

 

“Do you wanna go somewhere else in the house for now?” He asks, taking another quick look at his dad and grandfather.

 

…Yeah.

 

“Can we?”

 

“Yep.”

 

Rui giggles quietly, standing up and taking my hand. “We’re gonna go upstairs now!” He announces.

 

“Wh- hah-?!”

 

While Gakupo looks at us two in a sort of offended confusion, Kamui gives us a thumbs up and a smile. “We’ll tell you two if we find any more good information!”

 

Rui nods. He drags me back upstairs into his room. We sit down on his bed after stepping over all the things scattered across the floor, and Rui puts a hand on my shoulder.

 

“Better?” He questions.

 

I nod, fiddling with my collar as I look down at my lap. “Better.”

 

At least I don’t have to hear Kamui and Gakupo bickering in the background anymore. But still- I can’t wrap my head around any of this. The answer to the problem feels so easy in hindsight, but at the same time, how the hell is it supposed to happen?

 

Do we just make a device to travel between universes? Find how I got here and do the same thing again? Sail off into the sea until something worthwhile is found? Remember my past?

 

It’s not easy. None of it is. And I don’t like how it’s not easy.

 

“Still bummed out?” Rui pipes up, swinging his legs back and forth.

 

I hum in response, not bothering to look up at the boy beside me. “Guess so,”

 

“That's okay!”

 

Rui pats my shoulder. “Stay here for a moment, I’ll check if the attic is clean. If not, I'll set up an air mattress here till it’s cleaned.”

 

I nod awkwardly, watching as Rui hops up and leaves.

 

And then, I find myself alone.

 

I clench my fists. I can’t focus.

 

I can’t focus on anything.

 

I’m confused, and I'm..  scared.

 

Yeah.

 

I’m scared. I’m scared, and I don’t know what'll happen to me.

 

If finding out how I got here is supposed to tell me something important, then how do I get back? Do I even have to do the same thing, or will it be different? Are there other ways to travel between universes?

 

I didn’t even know this whole thing was… real, honestly. Travelling universes.. it just sounds like such a far off concept. It doesn't sound like something anybody should be able to do yet, or even know about. But apparently, I've done just that: the seemingly impossible, and I can't remember how I did it. And even so, nobody else knows how to do it, either. Not even the one person who accomplished such a strange task.

 

But that means they don’t know how to get me home. They haven’t travelled universes before. They don’t know what to do, and in that case, I really am stuck here.

 

How long will I be here for? How long will it take for me to remember, to find a way home, to actually go home?

 

Who’s even waiting for me at home? Do I have siblings? Parents? Friends? 

 

Are they worried about me?

 

I hope they are.

 

I hope that there’s something I can go back to, even if I can’t remember it. There’s got to be something waiting at home for me, wherever home is.

 

I crack my knuckles. All I do is scare  myself over and over again with these stupid thoughts and ideas.

 

Soon enough, Rui reenters the bedroom. But instead of stepping over all the items on the floor, he begins to pick them up.

 

“The attic isn’t cleaned yet,” He reports, grinning at me while he laughs. “You’ll have to camp here for the night until we can clean it tomorrow. That’s fine with you, yeah?”

 

“Mhmm,” I reply. “Do you need help with-?”

 

“Oh, no!” Rui interrupts, shaking his head. While picking up the tools, he waves his hand and all the other items begin to levitate, floating towards their own neat piles in the corner. “I got this!”

 

I can’t help but stare in awe as he uses his magic. Rui seems amused by my astonished expression.

 

“You really don’t have magic?” He asks me, setting all the tools down on his desk. “Nothing at all?”

 

“I- I mean, no,” I shake my head. “I don’t. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

 

“Really?”

 

Rui raises an eyebrow as he moves to the other piles in the corner. “Maybe you just don’t remember it," He teases.

 

I tense up at the comment, but say nothing about it. “Does magic work like muscle memory or something?”

 

“I.. think so? Sometimes I don’t even have to think about it.” Rui answers. “Like, if I need a sheet of paper, just… poof! Y’know?”

 

“Not- not really. But whatever it is, I think my world would have something as interesting as yours.” I mutter absentmindedly, patting the fuzzy bed sheets.

 

Rui looks up at me, giving me a thumbs up as his tail flicks upwards behind him. “I’ll count on it! When you remember something cool about wherever you’re from, you gotta tell me!”

 

“I hope I will.”

 

Rui shakes his head. “It’s definitely gonna happen! Trust me!”

 

“You’re really optimistic about this,”

 

Rui scoffs playfully. “Of course! I believe that things will turn out fine,” He says. “No matter what!”

 

I bite my lip. “Do you really think that?”

 

Rui looks at me, an unreadable expression on his face. He puts the clothes back in his closet, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to me. His tail flicks again, wrapping around my waist and letting the end rest on my lap.

 

“Well, I try to!” He admits. “There’s no good in thinking about the worst, after all."

 

I tilt my head to the side. “But isn’t it disappointing when things don’t go how you thought?” I point out. “Like, if you think it’s going to be fine, and then something bad happens… you’re not braced for it.”

 

“You’re never really braced for anything, I don’t think.” Rui shrugs. “I mean, there’s like, a million different ways one single scenario could go! Who knows which one of them will actually happen? And even if I look up to something good, it’s still a shock to see things really go that way, isn’t it? It's a pleasant surprise!”

 

I chuckle weakly. Rui’s right about that… but still.

 

I wonder how someone can be so optimistic. All I’ve been doing is worrying, worrying, worrying nonstop since I got here.

 

“Look,”

 

Rui nudges me, taking my hands into his. He cups my hands together and squeezes them gently. “No matter what happens down the line, I think we’ll be okay. I think you’ll find a way to remember. You just have to try!”

 

“I have.” I blurt out, surprised at the sudden gesture. “I’ve… I’ve tried. Already.”

 

“You can keep trying, then. It’ll get easier, won’t it?”

 

I look up at Rui, biting back a smile.

 

“I… I hope so, at least.”

 

Rui’s grin grows even wider. “You’re getting there!”

 

“Ahah… yeah…”

 

He stands up, reaching his hand out towards me as his tail slips away from my lap. “Wanna help me set up the mattress?”

 

“Yeah, sure,” I nod, following suit. “Thanks.”

 

“No problem!”

 

————

 

Later that day, I met Rui’s mom. She introduced herself as Defoko- a tall lady who shared the same familiar features as Rui. She was really nice, of course, don’t get me wrong, but… at the same time, sitting at the dinner table with everyone felt so out of place. It was so obvious, too. Almost unnerving. Sure, Rui was beside me the whole time, but in the end, I barely spoke with any of them. Only the occasional answer to a question and whatnot.

 

At the end of the day, Rui left a nightlight on in his room just in case. For me. I tried to tell him it would be fine, but he just giggled and left the small ball of light floating around the room. Maybe it was just to make sure I was comfortable and didn’t have a hard time sleeping, but…

 

I don’t know how long it’s been since Rui turned off the lights and wished me goodnight.

 

From the other side of the room, I can hear his light snores. The room's silence is uncomfortable- save for the occasional creaking floorboards or shuffle. I hear quiet, hushed voices coming from downstairs, muffled by the walls. I don’t think I want to listen in on what the parents are talking about, anyway.

 

I’m trying to sleep.

 

But I can’t. I don’t doubt that I’ll fall asleep eventually, but I just wish that it would happen soon. 

 

…Which, of course, it won’t. Why would it?

 

For maybe the 10th time that night, I shift my position, trying to find a cold spot on the pillow to lay my head on. But unfortunately, I’ve already used up all my cold pillow areas, leaving the bed too warm for comfort. 

 

I groan quietly, glancing at the nightlight. It’s beginning to flicker out. Even though I didn’t see any reason for it at first, I can’t help but wish it wouldn’t disappear now. When it does, it’ll feel like I’m committing an unspoken crime of being awake when all the lights are off.

 

The glow seeping through the crack underneath the door suddenly switches off. Footsteps grow louder and disappear in an instant, another door creaking open and closed. And in that moment, the nightlight fizzles out into nothing, blanketing the rest of the room in complete darkness.

 

Of course. Now I will be executed for not sleeping.

 

I stare up at the ceiling, barely able to make out anything else in the bedroom. A dreadful feeling crawls into my stomach as I take in a sharp breath. 

 

Is it normal to feel this way when you’re sleeping at someone else’s place? I feel like it shouldn’t, especially if you know them. But how am I supposed to say that?

 

How am I supposed to say anything, really? What opinions can I form if there are no memories to back them up? Rui told me to be hopeful, but it just seems so hard to believe.

 

I'm still scared, really. Nothing has changed from how I thought about it earlier.

 

I’m scared that I won’t remember who I am. I’m scared that I won’t find my way back home. I’m scared that I’ll stay here forever, unable to return to a previous life I can never put a name to.

 

Wouldn’t anybody be scared, though? It’s okay to be scared, isn’t it? It makes sense to be scared.

 

But even so… it doesn’t change the fact that I’m scared. Deluding myself into hoping for the best won’t change how at I keep thinking about the worst. Changing your way of thinking won't change how things actually go.

 

I think that’s the worst part of my situation. I keep running around in circles and reach a stalemate every time. For now, there’s nothing I can do but wait, but waiting feels like it’ll take forever.

 

I don’t want it to. 

 

But then again, it's a whole other world we're talking about. That’s where I came here from. A whole other unknown universe, somewhere out there floating amongst all the stars and galaxies and nebulas.

 

Somehow, I managed to find myself in a situation nobody has ever been in before. Even here- nobody has even thought of the idea of travelling between universes before. But even as the only person who managed to do this ever..

 

I can’t even remember how it happened.

 

If I came here while still having those memories, everything would’ve been fine. I wouldn’t be worrying right now, I wouldn’t have all these problems that I do now. 

 

It would’ve been fine. Right?

 

It’s all because of those stupid memories.

 

I would’ve been completely fine if I hadn’t forgotten anything. Now I can’t even remember how I came here, the one crucial part that I need to get back home.

 

I plant my face into the pillow, groaning.

 

I have to go to sleep.

 

I should stop thinking about all this chaos and go to sleep already. Things will blow over when I wake up, surely. I'll feel well rested, and I won't have to worry about a thing. I just have to calm down, take a deep breath, and shut off my mind.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

And even so, that in itself is just wishful thinking. I know for a fact that I’ll be just as caught up about this in the morning as I am now.

 

But like all the problems I have at the moment..

 

All I can do is wait.



Just wait it out, and see what happens.

Notes:

Thus, we bring an end to Clockwork's introduction arc.. and prepare for what's to come! After this chapter I'll post a little interlude and let things marinate a little before continuing, but I have a VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION to ask everyone:

SHOULD I SWITCH TO THIRD PERSON PERSPECTIVE?

I have been contemplating this for a bit, actually- but I want to ask you all for your opinions on this. As much as I love writing first person in torture fics, I've realized it just doesn't really work the same here in clockwork for some reason. I'm definitely more used to writing third person, which might make tings more easier in the long run- but at the same time, I think that a sudden switch from perspective might be a little awkward.

Either way, the interlude chapter will actually be third person anyway- since it's not from Tsukasa's perspective- but for the rest of the fic, should I stick to first person or switch to third?

Let me know what you think pleassseeee plsplsplspls!!!!!! and have a good day/night, wherever you are!!! byebye and lmkkkkk >:D

Chapter 7: INTERLUDE: Snowglobe

Summary:

It appears Tsukasa isn't the only one worrying about himself. In a building with sterile, white halls and beeping monitors, a family broods upon their missing son.

Notes:

HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WELCOME BACKKKK ITS BENE A HOT MINUTE!!!!
Guess what!!! I started posting Clockwork on my wattpad account- same name, by the way- and we're all caught up, and fianlly, an interlude chapter!!!

Enjoy the chapter!!! i rlly hope that i can start like. cooking more often but we'll see!!! Im really excited to get more into Clockwork because OOOGGHHHH things happennnnnnnn >:)

anyway enjoy lol

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“...You can’t be serious.”

 

Saki gripped the bedsheets, lips pursed. “He- he’s gotta be somewhere, right..? He couldn’t have just.. Left…”

“We searched everywhere around the area, Saki,” Her father replied, “We even got some of the neighbours to help. Nobody found any trace of him anywhere.”

 

Saki shook her head desperately. “No! Maybe- maybe he’s just having a sleepover? With- with friends! His phone was at home, right?! You said that, right?”

 

Saki’s mother nodded in affirmation, yet her face was still shrouded in the same worried expression. “...It was right in front of the clock,” She whispered. “The antique. His screen was cracked.”

 

Saki looked down, her breaths heavy. Her father placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her. “I’m sorry, Saki-”

 

“He never cracks his screen,” Saki blurted. Her parent’s eyes widened, glancing at one another.

 

“He… he told me himself. He hates cracking the screen. Even- even just the protector. He would never have let that happen-!”

 

“Maybe.. Maybe it was an accident?” Her mother stammered out. She hated the empty feeling of dread building up in her chest. “Maybe he just… dropped it, and…”

 

She trailed off, unable to find her words. She didn’t know what to say next. She hated that she couldn’t.

 

It implied too much. It implied too many bad things. Akemi couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

 

The Tenma family was left silent. The hum-buzz of the fluorescent lights above them and the repeated beeps of the heart monitor were the only distinguishable noises.

 

Nobody dared to say anything.

 

…Tsukasa.

 

Their son. The eldest son of the Tenma’s. Always cheerful and loud and excited, taking his booming voice from his father. Caring and kind, always making sure everybody was okay, traits that were picked up on from his mother.

 

Always left alone.

 

Always telling them that he would be okay. He was a big boy, he could stay home alone.

 

He would be safe.

 

He would be safe.

 

He would be safe. He would be safe, he would be safe, safe, safe, safe, safe.

 

And yet…



Tsukasa was gone.

 

He was missing. His phone, screen cracked, was left on the wooden floor of the large household, in front of the clock.

 

He was always so intrigued by that clock.

 

If he said he would be safe, then how come he wasn’t here? How come his parents came home to an empty household? How come they couldn’t find him, only the remains of an unfixed bed?

 

How come they couldn’t find him in the backyard? In the park, in the neighbourhood, one block down, two block down, three blocks down—

 

How come Tsukasa was gone?

 

What happened to him? How could he have gone missing-? Where could he have gone?

 

Was he safe? Was he hurt? Was he in danger? Did he get kidnapped?

 

Questions after questions swirled around their minds, only building the paranoia and fear for the son, the brother that they loved so much.

 

Finally, somebody spoke.

 

The father of the Tenma’s. Takashi.

 

“...We’ll find him.” He whispered. His voice was barely audible.

 

Takashi wrapped an arm around his daughter, gently patting his wife on the back before pulling her into the hug as well.

 

“We’re going to find him.” He muttered, closing his eyes. “No matter what. It’s going to be okay.”

 

Saki bit her lip, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything. She felt so useless in this situation. She could be looking for her brother right now, she could be searching around Shibuya for him. She could be calling Shiho, asking her to help. She could be asking around town, putting up missing person signs, she could be doing anything to help.

 

But instead… Saki was stuck.

 

Instead, Saki was stuck in a stupid hospital. In a stupid hospital room, in a stupid hospital bed, her body too sick to even take a step outside. 

 

She felt useless. She felt so, so, so useless.

 

Saki couldn’t help search for her brother. If only she wasn’t sick, if only she wasn’t bedridden like this! She could have helped search for him- and maybe, just maybe- if she was home, Saki could have prevented his disappearance altogether. 

 

The blonde knew that in the end, she had no control over this. She had no control over her sickness, there was no way she could have changed the outcome. Maybe in another world, but… here, she could do nothing.

 

Saki shouldn’t blame herself for things that were completely out of her control.

 

Time passed, and the topic of conversation eventually changed as well. From things Saki learned at the hospital, to teaching her the math lessons she would’ve been learning if not for the fact that she was imprisoned in a hospital instead of a school. But the tension was still in the air- the uncomfortable silence from a missing family member was too loud to just ignore.

 

Eventually, Saki’s parents left. She waved goodbye to them with a weak smile, lips quivering until the door was closed and muffled footsteps slowly grew quieter.

 

Then, Saki sniffed. 

 

And then she let out a sob.

 

Tears spilled down her face as she cried, babbling like a child who wanted milk. Only this time, there would be no one to hear her. 

 

Tsukasa was gone. Her brother had gone missing. Nobody knew where he went. There was no way to track him down. He’d gone without a trace, and he could be anywhere by now.

 

What if Tsukasa was in danger? Saki thought to herself in horror, rubbing her eyes. What if he was hurt? What if he was kidnapped- what if something bad was happening to him right now?

 

Saki wouldn’t be able to stop it. Nobody would. There was a chance that Tsukasa wouldn’t ever come back, even.

 

It was horrifying.

 

The last time Saki saw him, there wasn’t anything wrong. He brought sock puppets for the two of them to decorate, and they even made a show about their little puppets together. They were lined up on the nightstand, surrounding the vases of flowers and ‘get well soon’ letters from various people. Saki didn’t actually know who half of them were. 

 

When Tsukasa left, he told her that he would be back tomorrow. He was supposed to come today. Instead, Saki was met with her parent’s solemn faces standing in the doorway.

 

Something was wrong, she had thought to herself, a knot building up in her chest.

 

And something was wrong. And it was worse than Saki could’ve ever imagined it to be.

 

What was she supposed to do now? Wait for Tsukasa to come home? What if he never did? What if the last words she said to him were a ‘goodbye, see you soon’, and not an ‘I love you, I’m so grateful that you’re my brother’? 

 

What if Tsukasa died?

 

What if Tsukasa was already dead?

 

What if his dead body was rotting in someone’s basement? What if he has already uttered his last words, for nobody to hear?

 

Saki always thought that if one of them were to die, she would have been the first. Sometimes, Saki thought that she wouldn’t be able to live past 25- or even 30, at the latest.

 

But what if Tsukasa wouldn’t ever live past 16? What if he never got to graduate middle school, high school, university- what if he was never able to become the star that he always wanted to be?

 

Saki knew that if Tsukasa were here, somehow, if he was able to talk to her, he would say something like, “Cheer up! I’m stronger than you think, Saki. I’ll be fine!”

 

…But how was she supposed to believe that?

 

How was she supposed to pretend that everything was fine, everything was okay, nothing was wrong, her brother wasn’t missing, her brother wasn’t maybe dead, her brother wasn’t gone?

 

She couldn’t.

 

She just couldn’t.

 

Saki coughed, breathing heavily. It felt like the walls were closing around her- it felt like she couldn’t inhale any air. It felt like her lungs were squeezing all the air out of her, preventing her from breathing.

 

It felt like she was going to die.

 

What was she supposed to do? What could she do?! She couldn’t do anything! Saki was stuck in this stupid hospital bed, doomed to hear the news and that was that! Either they come to her with “we found him” or “he’s still missing”, either they told her “he’s dead” or “he’s alive” and no matter what, Saki couldn’t do anything about it.

 

She couldn’t change the outcome.

 

She was stuck. That’s all she was. She was stuck, she couldn’t help her brother, she couldn’t do anything.

 

At one point, a nurse or two came inside. She could barely focus amidst her spiralling mind, for some reason dead set on convincing her that the worst case scenario was the truth.

 

A glass orb on the bedside table glowed faintly, a worried hand pressing against the surface before retreating just as quickly. 

 

It was left unnoticed.

 

————

 

“Saki,” Ichika whispered, fiddling with her fingers. “Are you alright-?”

 

The blonde sniffed, rubbing her eyes. “No.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“Tsukasa is gone.”

 

“Tsukasa…” Ichika repeated the name under her breath. The name sounded familiar. “Your brother? He’s gone?”

 

Saki nodded weakly. She fiddled with the strands of her hair, twisting them around. “Y..yeah. He went missing.”

 

Ichika pursed her lips. “Oh. I’m… sorry.”

 

The room was filled with uncomfortable silence. It was even more unbearable than before. 

 

“Hona-chan isn’t with you,” Saki piped up after a minute or so. “Is she busy?”

 

“She’s staying with a friend right now.” Ichika explained. “Or… uh- yeah. They’re friends anyway, so…”

 

“You mean her caretaker duties or whatever?”

 

“Y-yeah,” Ichika stammered, embarrassed by her poor wording. “But she’s not there for her job right now, I think they’re just hanging out. Sleepover.”

 

“That’s neat,” Saki nodded, a faint smile on her face. She wished she could have a sleepover with Shiho. It’s been a while since she visited. 

 

…She missed Shiho.

 

Noticing the solemn expression on her face, Ichika was quick to bring up a new conversation topic. “Uh… There are new things on the table.”

 

“Huh-?” Saki glanced over to the nightstand. “You mean those puppets?”

 

“Did you make them?”

 

“Yeah… with big bro.”

 

Ichika sucked in a sharp breath. She wanted to at least provide a distraction or something to make Saki feel better, but it seemed the topic went right back to her brother.

 

“Um-” Ichika coughed. “How did you make them?”

 

“How did I-?” Saki repeated. She took one of the sock puppets into her hands, sliding it on like a glove. “It’s not that hard, really! Have you made one before?”

 

Ichika shook her head, a small smile spreading onto her face. Maybe she could turn things around. “Could you teach me how?”

 

“Alright…!”

 

Saki spent the rest of the night talking to Ichika, guiding her through the process of making a sock puppet. Just like Tsukasa had taught her. Admittedly, it did help her get her mind off things. Saki was sure that Ichika asked just to distract her, but it worked. She was grateful for that- she was so glad that she had Ichika as a friend.

 

The two played around with their little sock puppets together, giggling as they created their own silly stories. Ichika named her puppet Hilda, while Saki kept hers as Chie. 

 

“I have to go now,” Ichika piped up eventually, a sad smile on her face. “Next time we talk, I’ll make sure Honami is with us. I think she’d like this little puppet thing we have.”

 

“Yeah!” Saki cheered, “And let’s continue where we left off- I like this story.”

 

“Mhm! I’ll count on you to remember,” Ichika chuckled. “Anyways… bye, Saki.”

 

“Bye, Icchan..!”




In the blink of an eye, the soft glow of the orb sitting on Saki’s lap diminished, the image of her friend fading away into nothing but a reflection of the blonde.

 

She took the globe, setting it back on the nightstand along with her sock puppet. It was always cool to learn new things about Ichika and her world, and the same likewise: she loved teaching Ichika about her world as well.

 

And even so, this orb was super cool! Her father really did have a knack for collecting special antique items like these. She wondered where he got this one from. And who knew it would lead to meeting two new friends?

 

In all honesty… she was glad for that. Even when she was lonely… at least Saki had Ichika and Honami.

 

She pulled the bedsheets over her body, snuggling into the hospital bed the best she could. She had to make do with it. 

 

…Well, she did feel much better now. 

 

Saki looked forward to talking to Ichika and Honami tomorrow. She smiled, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.





But even so, the tension lingered.




And perhaps, in another world, a brunette girl would click her tongue, biting down on her finger.

 

Perhaps she would wonder why the blond boy she met earlier that day looked so similar to the boy her friend had described as her brother.

 

Perhaps she would wonder why they shared the same name.



Notes:

Huheuehuehueheuheuheuhuehueheuheu.......... go crazy my little children

Note that next month is March.... and in comes Feskasa. Watch out lol ;)

have a good day/night!!!!

Chapter 8: SIX: La Forêt

Summary:

After an unsettling dream, Tsukasa and Rui help Honami gather a few ingredients in the forest.

Notes:

guys guys guys its been TWO FUCJING MONTHS BORDERLINE THREE I KNOWWWW

I had to rewrite this chapter like 5 times also. gusy this is NOT GOOD. NOT FIRE 💔 AND IN THE END
I ALMOST MADE A HUGE MISTAKE BY CREATING A WEIRD ASS PLOT HOLE. IF I HADN'T NOTICED IT I WOULDVE. RUINED EVERYTHIG LMAO

I have to start keeping track of what happens in each chapter so I'm making little summaries of what happens in each one so im gonna finish that and start planning out future chapters as well because like. god knows I need it

...this chapter is bad man i STILL dont like it 😭 i have no ideas how im supposed to move the plot forward ut I promis i'm trying my best you guys. once i have that chapter plan its OVER

anyways uh. enjoy. enjoy it for me because i dont 💔💔💔💔💔

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Do you remember who you are?

 

Do you remember who you once were?

 

I couldn’t tell you, even if I tried.

 

The wind blows, passing through me as a cold breeze like the faint breath of a ghost.

 

A ghost of the past, breathing down my spine. 

 

How come you don’t remember? How come you would forget us so easily?

 

Do we mean nothing to you?

 

I want to deny the words that echo through my head, repeating and taunting.

 

And yet, I can’t bring myself to speak a single word. I open my mouth, and no words come out. 

 

There’s nothing to say, I realize. Even if I could speak, I wouldn’t know what to say.

 

Hurry up, the ghosts hiss, cold wind blowing through the dark, empty space. The ground below slowly forms into a thick, muddy sludge, clinging onto my shoes. You should remember us. Why can’t you remember us?

 

I want to, I think to myself. My body shivers, arms wrapping around themselves to keep warm. 

 

I want to remember.

 

I want to, but whenever I try to…

 

A sharp pain flashes through my skull. I squeeze my eyes shut, sucking in a quick breath.

 

…It hurts.

 

It hurts, like hitting your head against a wall. There’s nothing you can do to break it down, and yet you still slam your body into it, hoping it can do at least something- a crack, a tremble, anything.

 

But all it does is wear me out. And it hurts even more.

 

The taunting whispers grow louder, closer and closer to my ears. Their voices overlap.

 

Useless, they scoff. You can’t try any harder?

 

So you won’t try to remember? They ask. Do you want to forget forever?

 

Are you really okay with this? They mourn. What did we do wrong?

 

They did nothing wrong.

 

Nobody did anything wrong.

 

Nobody did, yet…

 

It’s your fault.

 

It’s your fault for getting stuck in here.

 

It’s your fault for getting yourself into this mess.

 

If only you hadn’t -̵̨̬͉͕͎̝̖̳́͐̔͗͘͠-̶̨̟͍͉͍̰̑̊͑̃̋-̸̢͇̞̟͊́—̸̨̡̙̳̤̟̲͝-̴̡̬̪̗̒̉̓͊̄̔̂̓̈́͊-̵̪͆͛̓͂̄̔̽͘͠-̷̨̨̭̗̣̖̈́́̒̀̇ͅ—̷̧̨̯̜͙̘͕͇͖̾̓̇̔ͅ-̵̛̛̖͚̲͈̣͇̰͍̞͙̎̍̎́́̄̑͝-̶̞̰͉͚͓͔͉̂̀͌͐̂̈́̃—̴̛͔͈̬̪̳̪͓͉̒͋̄͂́͐̈̃͊-̶̧̡͙͙̞͔͍̩̱͊̓̈̂̈́-̴͈͙̉̀̓̕̚-̵̛̪̹̣̒̿͋̂—̵̩͙͕̲̣̖̯̎̐͂̑̾̕̕͝—̴̪̤̩̜̼̃̆́͗̓͝ͅ-̴̻͐̅̑̃̑̄͆́̉̕-̶̲̖̳͕̫͎͆̐̃̆̾͋͘-̵̥͙͍̥͓͔̫͗̏͐̓̑̽̽̐-̵̭̿̈́͆̌͗͗̔̚̚-̶̥̾͆͒̈́̎͠-̵̙̊̑̔̊͑̀̾͝-̵̼̜̪͎̫͙͌̓̋͆̽͑̓̔̐̚—̶̧̼͕̯̳̰̲̳͇͚̌͊̾-̷̢̟͍̺̜̖̲̲̜̍̍̽̎͐̿̓͊—̶̨̮̓̋̓̀-̴̧̜͉̳̯̗̖͒̊̄̑̍̀̐-̷̼̓͌͌͘͝͠-̷̯̙͋͛̈́̆͋̀͝ͅ, then you would have been fine.



They blame me.

 

Should I be blaming myself, too? For doing whatever I did that led to this?

 

Should I be the one to blame? Is it my fault for doing something stupid? What did I do, how did I get here, why are they blaming me?

 

When I think about it, the dreadful feeling in my chest only festers and grows. My chest tightens, my stomach flips, there’s nothing inside me but organs that need to be ripped out as punishment for what I did.

 

What could I have done? What could I have done that was so bad that it led to this? Forgetting everything? Not even my home, not even my name, nothing but the thoughts that were placed inside my head?

 

I don’t even remember my family. My family name . It’s there, it’s somewhere, it’s a part of me, everything is a part of me, and yet I threw it all away.

 

Was this on purpose? Was this what I wanted? 

 

What if I really did do this, knowing what would happen?

 

I stop in my tracks at the thought, nails digging into my skin. The whispers that were previously muffled by my own thoughts suddenly roar, louder and louder and louder that it makes me feel like my ears are bleeding. I bent down, slamming my hands over my ears and inhaling sharply, eyes closed in a futile attempt to ignore the ghosts, the voices.

 

The voices that form a cacophony around me, growing ever louder and taunting me for the mistakes I made, the mistakes I can’t even recall. 

 

Selfish.

 

Stupid. 

 

My eyes fly wide open, darting around.

 

There’s nothing there. There’s nothing there.

 

It’s all fake, isn’t it? This is all just in my head. The pitiful lament of a lost boy with no way home, no home to go back to, no memories to recall of the past. 

 

The reflection below is muddled, blurred, yet I see myself grinning widely at me.

 

A happy smile? No. I can’t discern what it is, what it means. It sends a shiver down my spine, that unmoving, wide smile.

 

But I am smiling back at myself. I don’t know why. I couldn’t possibly recall why. I couldn’t possibly discover the reason behind this.

 

The reflection, in all its blurred glory, reaches out to me. It takes me a moment to make out the hand that places itself onto the surface, pushing gently as if wanting to break through.

 

I let out a slow, shaky exhale, body trembling as I stand up. The grin immediately fades away, replaced with a large, foreboding frown.

 

Why would you leave?

 

Why do you want to leave me?

 

Do you not want me back?

 

Do you not want to be happy again?

 

Do you want to throw your life away?

 

Are you not worried for the people you left behind?

 

Do you not care about the life you used to live?

 

Why must you be so selfish?

 

Why did you leave?

 

Will you leave again?

 

Will you leave me again?

 

Will you leave us again?

 

My hand grasps at my chest, my heart. I hear the ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump of my heartbeat in my ears, I feel the pulse through my hand.

 

Pain blooms in my skull, throbbing, pulsing, beating— it hurts again.

 

It hurts again. Why does it hurt again?

 

Hot tears roll down my cheeks as I find myself cornered by something I can’t see. Cold wind rushes past me, whispering voices overlapping and growing louder and louder. The dark, vast space that once felt so large and never-ending suddenly feels cramped, tight, as if the walls are closing in on my, constricting my breath, squeezing out the air from my lungs, oh, goodness–

 

I cover my mouth, breathing heavily. My knees lock, wobbling and falling to the ground. The muddy consistency beneath me envelops my skin, pulling me in with the deceitful comfort of safety.

 

But that’s what deceit is, isn’t it? Fake. There is no comfort, there will never be safety. There’s nothing to hold onto, nothing to grasp and nobody to call out for. I cough and gag, desperate to crawl my way out of this hell.

 

But I can’t. I can’t .

 

It feels like the world is ending. Nothing is going right, no matter what happens, I’ll still find myself here. Wondering, hoping to find something, anything—

 

But I’ll only sink further. Further and further into a trench I dug for myself. Reaching a stalemate that will never end. Back and forward over and over again with no real progress, slowly sinking until I can’t move, I can’t speak, I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe Ican’tbreatheIcan’tbreatheIcan’tbreatheIcan’tbreatheIcan’tIcan’tIcan’t Ican’tIcan’tdoanythingI






…The ground swallows me whole, and I wake up, gasping for air.




————




Rui glances at me from across the table. The food looks good, it smells good, and I want to eat it. But I can’t bring myself to take a bite.

 

He raises an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

 

I jolt in my seat. I should’ve seen it coming, but I still didn’t expect Rui to bring it up. He startled me.

 

“I’m okay.” I whisper. I keep poking at my food, refusing to face him.

 

Rui frowns. His ear twitches.

 

“Are you sure?” He asks, leaning forwards. “You’ve barely eaten anything! Are you just not hungry?”

 

I glance off to the side. “I’ll- yeah, I’m sure.”

 

Rui doesn’t seem to buy it. But even so, he shrugs with a sigh, shaking his head. “If you say so…”

 

For a split moment, I spare a small glimpse at Rui’s face. The moment we lock eyes, his face lights up. The way he smiles tells me that I can talk to him, that he will listen, even if he doesn’t understand.

 

I bite my inner lip and look away, facing my food once more.

 

I take a bite.




————




“Good morning, Honami!” 

 

“Oh…!”

 

The brown haired hermit looks up at us with a warm smile. She bends down, picking up a tray filled with small sweets and pastries. She sets them on the table in front of her, narrowing her eyes as she adjusts the position of the cloth draped over the surface.

 

“Good morning, you two!” She greets us with a firm nod. Rui’s tail swishes happily as he skips towards the table. He sniffs the air, sighing contently at the delicate scent of freshly baked goods. “Setting up shop already?”

 

“Ah, yes…” Honami chuckles lightly. She glances at me curiously, before turning back to Rui. “Would you like one? You don’t have to pay for it. My treat!”

 

“Oh, no!” Rui shakes his head with a laugh. “I couldn’t, it’s okay!”

 

“No, no, I insist-!”

 

“We just had breakfast, it’s alright, really!” Rui raises his hands up. “But if you need any help…”

 

Honami pauses, humming. “Well.. we are a bit short on some berries and herbs..”

 

Rui exclaims loudly, wasting no time in showing his excitement. “WE CAN GO!” He cries out almost immediately, leaning forwards. Honami squeaks, leaning back.

 

“A-are you sure?” She stammers out, “I mean, it’s quite early in the morning-”

 

“That makes it easier!” Rui chirps. “We can go! Right, Tsukasa?”

 

He looks back at me. My eyes widen. “I- I mean- sure?”

 

“See? Tsukasa doesn’t mind either!” 

 

He leans closer to me, grinning widely. “I wanna show you the forest, anyway.” He whispers. I nod slowly in response, cracking my knuckles.

 

“Well.. if you two don’t mind,” Honami takes a deep breath, shaking her doubts away. She hands over a basket to both Rui and I, kneeling down and disappearing under the tiny stall. 

 

“I have a list- just give me a moment..” She mutters. A few more trays and baskets filled with more pastries and fruits fly out from behind her, until a small slip of paper follows. She quickly pops back up, taking the paper into her hands. With a flick of her wrist, the rest of the items in the air settle down atop the table.

 

“Here,” She hands the paper to Rui, who scans it quickly. “That’s all we need. I hope it won’t be any trouble.”

 

“When do you need it?” Rui asks, tilting his head to the side. He nudges me lightly, passing the paper to me. I take it and read it.

 

I don’t know anything on this list. 

 

…Yeah, of course I don’t.

 

“By the end of the day should be good,” Honami tells the elf, “If you don’t get everything, that’s fine as well.”

 

Rui salutes playfully as I drop the list into the basket. “On it! C’mon, Tsukasa, let’s go!”

 

“Good luck!” Honami calls out to us as Rui drags me away. His tail practically wags in excitement at the thought of going out into the forest. I look back at Honami, waving shyly. Her eyes widen, her gaze lingering with hesitation before she shakes her head and waves back.

 

It wasn’t a conversation I actively participated in, but I’m glad that I got something out of it. It makes me feel just a little bit better.

 

Rui weaves through an open alleyway, leading me to the outskirts of the village. He squints, peering deep into the forest. The large trees loom over us, coloured leaves decorating the branches. I reach into my pocket, my fingers curling around the pocket watch I left inside it. Rui’s is hanging from the pocket on his jacket.

 

Matching.

 

“Let’s go this way!” Rui chirps. He takes my hand once more, leading me into the forest. 

 

The foliage and tall trees cover the skies, but the warm rays of the rising morning sun peek through the gaps, providing small areas of brightness– just enough to lead the way. The forest is teeming with life the deeper we go. Birds chirp and tweet, singing their sweet morning calls to one another while perched up high on thick tree branches. Something leaps in the air above us- a creature with brown and black fur, limbs spread out with wing-like features outstretched in between. Rui laughs happily at the sight while he points it out. Small woodland creatures below chitter amongst each other as they run by our feet, skittering around and hiding among the thick wooden trunks.

 

“It’s always so nice going for early morning walks,” Rui says, marching forwards with bubbly, exaggerated movements. “It’s either the beach or the forest! That’s how I found you, remember?”

 

I nod slowly, recalling how Rui had leaned over me with innocent golden eyes and a curious smile. 

 

“Yeah,” I reply, “Do you do it often?”

 

“I mean, sometimes? Mostly? That’s a yes, actually.” Rui snickers. “If we both wake up early, we can go on walks together!”

 

I wouldn’t mind that…

 

Rui goes on to tell a story about how he broke his leg climbing a tree once, and how Emu and Nene were there and how they panicked about it. It sounds gruesome in hindsight, and it definitely is. But the way Rui tells it just makes it seem like another fond memory, something to look back on and laugh about. Kids being silly little kids and doing silly little kid things. 

 

Aren’t I still a kid?

 

All of a sudden, Rui puts his arm out in front of me, stopping abruptly in his tracks. I bump into him, yelping quietly.

 

“Look,” He whispers, “Can you give me the list?”

 

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. There isn’t anything interesting around us, at least I don’t see anything. Why did he stop?

 

Still, I hand over the paper. Rui scans it quickly, before–

 

“Ahah! Just as I thought.. We’ve hit the jackpot!” Rui chuckles quietly, pumping his fist. He drops the list back into the basket. “Look over there, Tsukasa!”

 

He points to a nearby tree. A few vines are wrapped around the bark and leaves, trailing off into the grass and away. “What’s so special about that?”

 

“Well… those vines just happen to lead us to our first destination!” Rui explains. He turns to me and winks, taking my hand and squeezing it before following the vines. It doesn’t take long for me to realize what he meant by that.

 

The vines lead us to a group of bushes. Sticking out amongst the leaves and twigs are small, round berries with a single flat end, their colours running from a deep shade of red to dull shades of pink. 

 

“There we go!” Rui takes out a pen from seemingly nowhere, pulling out the list and crossing off one of the items on it. “Now, we just collect them all..”

 

He bends down, beckoning for me to join him. He sets the basket on the ground, beginning to sift through the leaves and berries, occasionally picking a few out and tossing them inside.

 

“Which ones are the good ones?” I whisper, looking at the berries already piling up inside Rui’s basket.

 

“The redder ones,” Rui reports, “The pink ones aren’t ripe yet, but picking a few of them wouldn’t hurt… Good thing most of these are just turning ripe!”

 

I nod absentmindedly, following Rui’s actions and picking out the redder berries. Rui pops a few of them into his mouth, shivering at the sweet, tangy taste. 

 

“Remember that shortcake from the cafe?” Rui points out, “These are the pistolberries! Have one!”

 

“H-huh-?”

 

The next thing I know, Rui is practically shoving one of the berries into my face. “Are those- are they safe to eat-?!”

 

Rui nods vigorously. “Yeah, they’re fine! C’mon, try them!” The urges, grinning widely. “You won’t regret it!”

 

Slowly, I take the berry with a cautious nod. I toss it around between my hands, staring down at it. It doesn’t look unripe or blemished- I’m just paranoid.

 

But… I can take Rui’s word for it.

 

I eat the berry, the familiar taste wasting no time in showing itself. It’s sweet and strong, simple yet good.

 

“See?” Rui laughs, leaning back. He closes one eye, placing his hands in a finger framing position as if to capture the look on my face. “I told you it was good!”

 

“What are you doing..?!” I swat his hands away, shaking my head. “I mean, it is good, though…”

 

“So there’s nothing to be worried about!” Rui says. “Have some faith!”

 

“Right…” I glance away, biting my lip. I really am just paranoid, huh?

 

We continue collecting a few more berries before standing up. Rui takes out the list again, nodding slowly. He glances up occasionally to look around, pondering where to go next. 

 

“Alright… let’s go this way,” He offers, pocketing the list. He takes my hand, once again leading me deeper into the forest, where the greenery and foliage only grow more dense.

 

The sound of running water eventually catches our attention. Rui snaps his fingers, his tail swishing proudly behind him as he points towards the noise. “I knew it!” He mutters under his breath.

 

The sound leads us to a rushing river, loud and cool. A few plants grow by the riverbank, fuzzy and spiralling. Rui bends down to uproot them, and I silently move to follow his actions. We glance at each other and the elf nods firmly- it’s all I need to confirm that I’m doing it right.

 

I lean forwards, looking past the river in curiosity. On the other side is just more forest- but in the far distance, almost fading into the background with the blue sky, a large, steep mountain looms over us. Rui follows my gaze, but when I glance over at him, he stares at the mountains with some weird, unreadable expression. I shake my head, gazing down at the water below us.

 

It’s probably nothing.

 

I wonder how far this river goes. Does it lead to the ocean, I wonder?

 

Rui pulls me back, tugging on the back of my collar. “Careful,” He whispers, smiling gently. “The current is strong.”

 

I nodded quickly, shivering at the thought. What would happen if I fell into the river..?

 

“We’ve collected enough from here,” Rui decides, “Let’s see.. Is there anything else near here that we can grab…?”




————




We spend the remainder of our time in the woods collecting more fruits and herbs for Honami. Rui had me try some of them- from those pistolberries to a stringy, star shaped fruit from the trees. They were surprisingly large- but they tasted good. A bit sour and really juice-filled, but good. Rui had to give me a tissue to wipe my mouth with after.

 

I hadn’t realized that we spent so much time in the forest. By the time we come back to the village, baskets filled to the brim with natural foods and ingredients to donate to Honami, the sun had already passed its highest point in the sky, almost ready to set. We make our way to the brunette’s stall, where we find her talking to a blue-haired girl. Much like Honami, the horns on her head indicate that she’s a hermit.

 

“We have the stuff!” Rui calls out towards Honami, waving. Both her and the other hermit glance our way. The raven-haired girl’s eyes widen when she notices me. She opens her mouth to say something, but then shakes her head.

 

“Where were you yesterday?” Rui asks curiously, tilting his head to the side. He drops his basket in front of Honami, reaching to take the ones in my hands next.

 

“Oh- I was just busy at home yesterday, it wasn’t anything too much, haha…” The girl- Ichika- chuckles awkwardly, sheepishly rubbing her neck. 

 

Rui nods slowly. “Ohhh… Okay!”

 

Honami giggles. “You act like you’re the village chief sometimes… I’m convinced you know almost everyone in town.”

 

Rui waves her off, “Nah, that’s gonna be Emu’s job! Besides, I’ve been here my whole life! It’s only natural that I’d– oh! Wait, Ichika, have you met Tsukasa? No- no, you haven’t!”

 

He pulls me closer, yanking on my arm as he interlocks it with his own. “Ichika, meet Tsukasa! He’s not anything!”

 

“Could’ve worded that better-!” I yelp, shaking my head. Rui’s eyes widen and he nods in agreement, apologizing a few times before letting go of me.

 

Ichika raises an eyebrow, exchanging similar glances with Honami. I wonder if something’s wrong. Is it just because of the way I look to them, or is it something else, I wonder…?

 

“Um-” Ichika takes a deep breath, shaking her head. She reaches out my hand to shake, an awkward smile on her face. “Nice to meet you.. Tsukasa.”

 

“Nice to meet you, too.”

 

Rui huffs proudly, hands on his hips. “See? We’re all getting along, aren’t we?”

 

Honami chuckles, “Ahah… that’s good, isn’t it? I hope Rui didn’t give you too much trouble, Tsukasa.” She winks playfully at me.

 

“Of- of course not…”

 

Rui sends Honami a pout. “Hey, I took care of Tsukasa just fine! Have some faith in me, Honami!”

 

Both her and Ichika share a light laugh. Rui can’t help but shake his head with a fond sigh, giggling a tiny bit himself. 

 

“Alright.. We should get going now, Tsukasa.” Rui elbows me gently. “It was nice seeing you two again!”

 

Honami nodded curtly. “Likewise! Thank you for all your help, both of you.”

 

“Anytime!” 

 

He takes my hand, and after a final wave and a few more parting words, we leave. I don’t catch how Honami and Ichika glance at each other once more, whispering among themselves as they look back at me with nervous gazes.

 

As we make our way back to Rui’s house, following the gravel trail that parts from the village, I think about what the rest of this world must be like. Some part of me wants to explore it. Seeing those mountains in person would be pretty cool– or imagine walking alongside the river bank all the way until it leads to something, no matter how long something like that would take. 

 

I look up at the trees, humming curiously. 

 

Wouldn’t that be cool…?




————




“Oi, Kamui.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Kamui raised an eyebrow, turning around. “What is it?”

 

“The Academy is gonna start going around for recruitment soon.”

 

Kamui paused. He sighed, shaking his head. He set down the box he was holding in his arms, leaning against the chair beside the table. “We won’t let them recruit Rui, dad.”

 

“Yeah, of course, that kid ain’t even going near it on my watch.” Gakupo scoffed, his voice gruff. “But you know that whole multiverse thing they’re studyin’. It’s dangerous.”

 

“I know that,” Kamui nodded slowly. “What about it?”

 

“The kid Rui brought in yesterday.” Gakupo pointed out blandly, his tail swishing. “What was his name..? Tyler or somethin’?”

 

“Tsukasa.” Kamui corrected. He narrowed his eyes, “Are you saying that..?”

 

“They’re serious about the whole multiverse thing,” Gakupo leaned back, rolling his eyes. “If they find that kid and learn that he ain’t from here, who knows what’ll happen?”

 

Kamui’s eyes widened. “Shit. Right.”

 

“Keep him safe.” Gakupo muttered, his tone low. “I don’t like this whole world study thing The Academy has going on.”

 

Kamui shook his head, “Yeah… I got it. I’m sure it won’t be too much of a problem though, right…?”

 

Gakupo stayed silent. Kamui bit his lip. He didn’t know when The Academy recruiters would come by. They wanted smart people, special people, famous people to attend their school. Only the highest for the best school in the entirety of SEKAI, right? Unfortunately, that included the Kamishiro’s. 

 

Kamui picked up the box once more, bidding farewell to his father as he made his way back to the shop. There wasn’t much their family had- they were famous, but what more did their family have to offer? Why did they want them so bad? They only sold clocks and a few more trinkets and scraps, after all.

 

He could still remember when the recruiters tried talking to him. They were absolutely relentless with their constant pestering for days on end, until they finally gave up and left. Kamui sighed at the memory.

 

He walked behind the counter, setting the box down. He couldn’t help but worry. As long as Tsukasa didn’t go out when the recruiters arrived, they wouldn’t see him. He would be fine. He just had to know when they would come.

 

But no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that things would be fine– and it was true, things would be fine, in the end it would be Rui’s choice whether he wanted to go or not– that worried feeling in his gut just wouldn’t disappear. 

 

He just wanted to keep his family safe, after all.

 

The chimes at the entrance of the shop rang out, two familiar figures stepping inside. The blond waved shyly.

 

“Hi dad!” Rui chirped, swinging his and Tsukasa’s hands back and forth. “How’s it going?”

 

“It’s fine,” Kamui chuckled. “Not much today. Where’d you guys go?”

 

“We went out into the forest to collect some stuff for Honami,” Rui explained. Kamui nodded in understanding. He watched as the two went to the back door, waving goodbye as they left. The blue-haired man sighed, eyeing the chimes by the door. They swayed back and forth gently, slowing down until it stopped completely. When the door opened again, they would rattle again– and the cycle would continue.

 

…He was sure that things would be fine. At least, that’s what he wanted to believe. But even though that worry would never go away, he could make peace with it. His son was strong, he was kind– he had a good heart. Kamui believed that Rui and Tsukasa would be fine. It’d only been a day since he met him, and they were already attached at the hip. It was kind of cute. 

 

He leaned against the counter, taking a deep breath.




He had faith in the two of them. They would be fine.

Notes:

I should start drawing more of clockwork to get me into the vibe. I ALSO NEED A MAP. A MAP OF SEKAI WOULD BE GOOD THANKS

UH HAVE a good day disappears for another two months

Chapter 9: SEVEN: The Frog and the Bell

Summary:

Rui, Emu, Nene, and Tsukasa hang out together, bonds strengthening as they search for shapes in the clouds. Somehow, Tsukasa feels as though this has happened to him before- but he can't put his finger on why.

Notes:

guys!! This update was LESS THAN A MONTH after the last!! are you proud of me

Uhh lowkey I dont. hm. This chapter is more of a filler and just leads into the next one b ut I really hope things start to solidify soon because it feels like I am trudging through a swamp of tar and mud trying to find something to help me get the fuck out of here and back to smooth sailing because this is NOT IT rn

BUT!!!!!!!!!!! I have. CONCEPTS. of a plan. and things MIGHT go my way. dont fret for I am god on earth and nothing can kill me

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“I don’t think… we should tell anybody.”

 

Honami bit her lip, glancing at the orb behind them. The inside was foggy, clouds swirling inside of it. “Not even… Saki, at least?”

 

“I dunno… I guess I’m just a bit paranoid. I think we should play it safe.” Ichika blurted out, fiddling with her sleeves. “They’re going to start recruiting soon- we don’t want any trouble with the academy.”

 

“But how would the academy even find out?” Honami pointed out. “We could just tell Saki that he’s safe… would that be enough?”

 

“I… I guess,” Ichika nodded awkwardly. She rubbed the back of her neck, looking off to the side with a sheepish expression. “I’m just… scared. If the academy finds out about the crystal ball, then they’ll take it… and I’m afraid it would put them in danger.”

 

Honami paused. “...We’re both going, right?”

 

Ichika looked at Honami. “Of course..! I’ll go wherever you go, Honami.”

 

“Oh-!” The brunette chuckled, blushing. “That’s sweet…”

 

“A-ah- I mean-” Ichika’s face went red, “Ah- whatever, what were you going to say?”

 

Honami coughed, shaking her head before continuing. “Will we bring the orb with us when we go to the academy?”

 

“Will we…” Ichika trailed off.

 

It was a good question. She didn’t feel safe leaving it alone here, that was for sure– but if they brought it to the academy, then what would happen if they were caught talking to Saki? It would be even more dangerous…and if they knew that there was a human in SEKAI, what would they do after finding them? What would they do after finding Tsukasa…?

 

They couldn’t talk about it in the academy, most definitely. So…

 

“...Keep quiet, then?”

 

The two hermits locked eyes.

 

Ichika nodded. “For now.”

 

————

 

Emu’s little shapeshifted form looks like a fluffy little bunny. 

 

Except it’s not a bunny. It looks like it, it has ears and tiny- very tiny tail, but it’s more of a slug. A very pink and energetic slug. The small white dots painted all over her resemble stars glowing in the night sky, her ears flapping with excitement as she slowly makes her way to Rui. The boy picks her up, placing her high on his shoulders. Emu squeals, tail wagging.

 

“Can all aliens do this?” I ask Rui, turning to look at him. Emu motions at me, nudging Rui and pointing in my direction. The elf snickers, nodding.

 

“Yeah! You saw Nene do the same thing when you met her, right? Hers looked like a small fawn.” He explained. “Emu wants you to pet her.”

 

My eyes widen. “Am I- allowed to?”

 

Emu makes another excited noise, nodding in response. I look down at my hand before reaching out to the slug, patting her on the head. She feels soft and squishy, like jelly. It’s an interesting texture… but I’ll admit that it’s adorable. Emu melts at my touch, purring softly as I rub her head.

 

Rui smiles brightly, finding the little interaction adorable. He looks at the sky, watching the clouds as I continue petting Emu. 

 

“Nene should be here soon…” He mumbled, squinting at the sun. “It’s almost been 10 minutes since we said we’d meet up.”

 

“Is she usually late?” I ask.

 

Rui hums. “Yeah,” He responds, “So whenever we have something actually important to do, we always have to lie to her and tell her to come earlier, haha!”

 

Speaking of the devil, a small figure in the distance slowly grows closer, panting and slowing down as she draws near. Nene pauses, shaking her head and bending down as she pants heavily.

 

“Am I… late again?” She gasps between breaths. Emu wiggles out from under my hand, quickly crawling off of Rui and changing back into her humanoid form. 

 

“NEENEEEEE!!!!” She called out, waving frantically. “HII!!!”

 

“Hi, Emu…” Nene waves back, smiling awkwardly. “Sorry…”

 

Rui shakes his head, brushing off his now glitter-filled sleeves. I look down at my hand and realize it’s also covered in glitter. “It’s okay!”

 

Huh. That’s cool.

 

Nene takes one last deep breath, shaking her head and sitting down in front of us. She glances at me before nervously looking away.

 

“What now?” Emu asks. “What do you guys wanna do?”

 

“Can we… stay here for now?” Nene offers. “I don’t… want to walk…”

 

Rui nods. “That’s fine!” He chirps. He lays down on the grass, staring up at the sky. The fluffy white clouds stretch across the sky, slowly moving forwards.

 

He squints. “That one looks like a frog.” He blurts out, pointing to a cloud near the left. Emu cranes her head upwards, following his gaze.

 

“Woah!” She exclaims, laughing. “Rui-kun it right! That one does look like a frog! Whaddaya you guys think?!”

 

Nene and I look at one another, locking eyes for a split second before the alien looks away nervously. “I- um,” She coughs, looking at the cloud. “It… kind of looks like a bell.”

 

“A bell?” Rui turns to face her. “There’s no way that’s a bell! Hold on, how?”

 

Nene shifts awkwardly, pointing at the cloud and lying down. “Like this,” She muttered, “There’s the handle, and that’s the other thing.”

 

“Ohh…”

 

Rui squints. “I still don’t see it!” He complains.

 

“It’s mixed with that other cloud over there.” Nene explains. “The one above it. That’s where it is.”

 

Emu lies down beside Rui, narrowing her eyes as she struggles to see the greenette’s vision. “Tsukasa-kun!” She calls out, grabbing my wrist. She pulls me down with a sharp yelp.

 

“Do you see a frog or a bell?” She asks, “On that cloud over there!”

 

“I–”

 

I squint, eyes narrowed as I stare at the cloud.

 

A frog or a bell…?

 

…Something about this feels like it’s happened before. I’m not sure why. I shake the feeling away.

 

Well, it sure is curvy, at least… and the cloud above it does kind of connect to it, like a handle. But at the same time, I can tell how it shapes up to be a frog, as well. The head over there, and those little wisps underneath could be the legs.

 

“I think I see both of them.” 

 

Nene’s eyes light up, glad to know that it isn’t only her. She doesn’t say anything, but she glances at me, her pupils shifted into little sparkles. I look back at her and nod. She seems happy about it.

 

“What?!” Rui cries out, “I don’t see that! How can you see both of them, Tsukasa?!”

 

“You just have to look harder,” Nene whispers, letting out a tiny giggle. She seems much more excited now. “What about that one over there?”

 

She points to another cloud, a much larger and fluffier one that covers the sun. It looks like…

 

“A boat.” I point out. “It looks like a big boat.”

 

“Ooh! Ooh!” Emu’s ears wiggle as she nods in agreement. “I see it! That part is like a super big sail, too!”

Oh. I didn’t even notice the sail. I just looked at the bottom and thought it was a boat.

 

Nene nods. “I see it,” She agrees. “Pirates are cool.”

 

Rui snickers in delight. “Man, I would love to be a pirate!” He exclaims, “Imagine, sailing across the seas, exploring the whole world..!”

 

“You just want to be on water without sinking,” Nene rolls her eyes.

 

“That’s why we have floaties!” Emu pipes up. “It’s funny to see Rui in a big puffy donut!”

 

I glance over to the elf, eyebrows raised. “Oh?”

 

“I prefer using magic…” Rui whispers, comically exasperated.

“How does that work?” I ask curiously. “Can Emu and Nene swim…?”

 

“Yup! It’s just elves that can’t swim,” Emu explains, poking at Rui’s cheek. “It’s just a thing they do!”

 

So Rui can’t swim. Huh.

 

I mean… I’m pretty sure I can. I floated all the way here from the ocean, didn’t I? So at least I can float on water. I wonder why elves can’t. Is it something with their bodies? Is it because of their tails? 

 

“We should go to the beach one day!” Emu suggests. “That would be super duper fun! And we can invite Honami and Ichika and Kanade and Mizuki and Kohane and An and everybody else!”

 

Nene pauses, thinking for a moment while Rui nods in agreement, excited at an opportunity to hang out with everyone at once (drowning (apparently) be damned). “Would that be too much people..?”

 

“I don’t think so!” Rui shakes his head. “A lot of people can hang out at the beach at once! It’ll be fun, Nene! You should join!”

 

Nene squints, looking back up at the sky and watching as the clouds slowly pass us by. The plants around us sway gently as the wind blows.

 

“...I’ll consider it.” She says quietly. Rui seems satisfied with her answer. He points to another cloud. 

 

“That’s a bird.” He declares. “Look, those are the wings and that’s the head…”



The next few hours are nothing more than casual conversations and cloud gazing. It’s quite laid back, a nice break from the impending doom of being so far away from a home I can’t remember. 

 

Although… for some reason, I keep feeling this weird sense of deja-vu. All of this feels familiar, somehow- but I can’t tell why.

 

But soon enough, we find ourselves sitting once more, Emu resting on my lap in her little galaxy slug form as we take a moment to eat some snacks. It’s just the four of us in this wide meadow. 

 

I break off a piece of my cookie, feeding it to Emu as Rui stands up.

 

“Where are you going?” Nene calls out, her ears twitching in confusion. 

 

Rui walks over to a patch of flowers. “I wanna make a crown,” He calls out, “Don’t mind me!”

 

A flower crown…?

 

Emu makes a happy little squeak, wriggling in my lap. Nene looks at her and smiles, before resting her gaze on me. 

 

And now we’re both staring at each other.

 

“...She gets close to people really easily.” Nene whispers, attempting to form conversation. “You’re not… bothered by it, are you?”

 

I shake my head. “It’s fine.”

 

Nene pauses. We fall into a dicey silence.

 

“Uh- um, sorry. I think I’ve been a bit awkward.” She blurts out, wringing her fingers together. “I’m not… that great with people.”

 

“That’s okay,” I reply simply, shrugging. “You don’t have to… apologize for that.”

 

I think I’ve had my own fair share of awkward moments around here, anyway.

 

Nene nods, hesitating before nodding a few more times. “Okay. Uh, okay. Yeah… okay. Thanks.”

 

Emu wiggles again, making a little “cheeeuuuww!!!” noise as she bobs up and down. I pat her on the head. Nene reaches over, poking the little alien.

 

The greenette’s form is something like a fawn, if I recall correctly. I remember when I first met her… she got nervous and transformed, didn’t she? 

 

Soon enough, Rui returns, a large pile of blue and green flowers cradled in his arms. He dumps them in the middle, sitting down before taking two and beginning to weave them together carefully. Emu slugs away from my lap, transforming back into her humanoid form and shaking the glitter off her as she takes two stems of her own.

 

Rui spares a small peek at her, nodding with a grin as he continues working in silence. Emu quickly follows suit. Both their crowns notably have the same blue- green- blue- green pattern, interchanging between colours as they lace and entwine the stems together, ensuring none of them break or fall apart in the process. It’s delicate work. 

 

I lean closer to Rui, watching in curiosity. In response, he shifts closer to me, moving so that I can see better. I wonder where he learned how to make crowns like these. They look cool. Did Emu teach him, or is it the other way around? Or maybe they both already knew when they met- or maybe they learned together.

 

“How did you guys meet?” I ask quietly. The question feels a bit out of place amidst the concentrated silence, but Rui is more than happy to reply- almost immediately, in fact.

 

“Well, Emu and I met when we were kids,” He explains, “And then when Nene and her family moved in, we were the first ones to greet her! I remember how you were hiding behind your mom when she first introduced you to us…”

 

Nene’s back straightens, her eyes widening in embarrassment. “ Hey-!

 

“Ooh! Remember that one time where we went to Rui-kuns house, and we made those little chimes together?” Emu pipes up, snickering. “That was so fun! We should do it again sometime, I lost mine a few years back…”

 

“Wait, you lost it?” Nene looks at Emu, surprised. “That’s why I didn’t see it in your room…”

 

“Yeah!” Emu whimpers, shaking her head sadly. “I dunno where it went! I was cleaning my room and then it just- poof- disappeared! I couldn’t find it after!”

 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Rui asks, tilting his head to the side. His flower crown is almost finished– I wonder how he can work so fast.

 

Emu bites her lip, rubbing her neck sheepishly. “I.. forgot. Whoops!”

 

“Emu…” Nene sighs, shaking her head with a fond smile. “I guess making new ones would be cool. It’s been a long while, anyway.”

 

“We could make them tomorrow or later today, then!” Rui suggests. He holds up his now completed flower frown, tossing it in the air and catching it in his palm. “Voila!”

 

“Woah!!” Emu leans forwards, eyes sparkling. “That looks super cool! You do it so fast, Rui-kun!”

 

Rui nods proudly. “It’s a skill!”

 

Nene hums, brushing her knuckles against the blue and green petals. “It looks like something Miku would wear…”

 

“Ooh, maybe!” Emu leans back. “It would look good on her hair, I think!”

 

Miku?

 

“Who’s that?” I ask, tilting my head to the side curiously. Is it someone else who lives in the village?

 

“Oh!” Emu giggles. Rui takes the opportunity to place the flower crown on my head, grinning widely as if it’s his best work in the world. “Miku! Ya know, the big, powerful deity of the skies? She’s a God!”

 

She’s a–

 

A what?

 

“I don’t think I explained that part to you yet,” Rui muses, placing a hand on his chin. “Yeah! There are six of them in total. I think we passed by the church on our tour of the town. You know that big building by the bell tower?”

 

“The one with that pink window in the middle?”

 

“Yeah! That’s the church. Maybe we can visit it together one time… maybe during a festival or a holiday.” Rui explains. “The inside looks really cool!”

 

Nene nods in agreement, taking the flower crown that Emu had just finished and placing it atop her head. Emu claps her hands, praising the greenette and showering her with a myriad of lighthearted compliments. Nene blushes in embarrassment, slowly curling in on herself until she eventually covers Emu’s mouth and tells her to stop. Emu laughs.

 

Rui goes on a whole tangent about the stained glass windows in the church, expressing his appreciation for the art and mosaics that depict the gods inside. It does sound pretty cool. I remember thinking that the rose window near the top of the chapel was cool when we passed by it, so I wonder how much cooler it would look inside if there were even more windows that looked like it.

 

Soon enough, we go back to staring up at the clouds, in all their fluffy, white glory. They come in different shapes and sizes, all of us pointing out what they look like to us. Sometimes we see the other’s visions, sometimes we don’t. It’s pretty funny when Rui or Emu start arguing about how Nene is delusional for seeing a candle when “It’s so obvious that it’s an umbrella! Just look at it!”. Sometimes, I even find myself agreeing with Nene, just to stir up some playful drama. 

 

Rui and Emu seem pretty similar to me. They’re both equally energetic and lively, while Nene is much more down to earth and even quite timid compared to the two of them. But despite that, it’s fun to see how they clash and mix with one another. Their dynamics with each other are fun. And they’ve been friends for a long while, too.

 

I still feel a bit awkward hanging around them like this, like we’ve been friends forever. It’s only been a few days, really, and I’m still just getting the hang of how things work around here. But I’m glad that they were all so willing to accept me and take me in their little friend group so easily. It’s much better than being alone and uncomfortable.

 

And yet, it almost feels familiar. As if something like this has already happened before– hanging out with friends, lying down on the grass and watching the clouds pass by, pointing out what they look like and playfully arguing about it…

 

…I wonder why.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Lukewarm water runs through the tap, the noise filling my ears as I wash my face. I stare into the mirror, staring blankly at my reflection.

 

It still feels familiar. Ever since we all parted ways and went back to our homes, the strange feeling never left my mind. It lingered.

 

I keep thinking about it. Yeah, the day was fun. It was good. I liked being able to just hang out and relax like I wasn’t stuck in a whole new world, but what does that feeling mean?

 

I put a hand to my chest, clutching my shirt as I bite my lip. I’m not getting anything from this, am I? Is this even supposed to be something important?

 

Maybe it’s not. Maybe if I just ignore it, it’ll go away. If it doesn’t matter, then it’s not something I should dwell on, right-?

 

Suddenly, a searing pain flashes through my temple. I stumble back, hand flying to my head as I press myself against the wall.

 

What the–



“Tsukasa-san, look at that one over there…!”

 

“Oh! Whaddaya think that one is, -------?”

 

“Hmm… it looks a bit like a frog to me!”

 

“Eh?! A frog?! I thought it was a bell!”

 

“I think I see a bit of both, actually…”

 

“Both?! Where do you see the bell, -----?!”



Ghh -!”

 

I let out a pained cry, eyes squeezed shut at the sudden throbbing headache.



 

What the hell?

 

Just as quickly as the flash of pain came around, my eyes fly open, widening at the sudden realization.

 

What was that- what was that…?!

 

I slowly compose myself, taking deep breaths as I look back at the mirror.



…Was that a memory? Did I remember something?

 

I step forwards, towards the mirror. My hand trembles.



A frog. A frog, and a bell. Shapes in the clouds.

 

Cloudgazing. With…

 

With someone . No, multiple people.

 

It’s fuzzy. It feels so far away– I can only recall bits and pieces of it. I don’t know who those people are. I can’t remember their names or their faces, but I know they were there.

 

Once again, I clutch my chest.

 

That’s why I had that feeling of deja vu earlier. That’s why the frog and bell situation felt like it happened before. It was because it had. It had happened to me before, and that sparked something…!

 

I gasp softly, fingers curling around the edge of the counter.

 

Maybe if I can replicate this again, maybe if something that happened to me before happens again, I can remember more-! That’s it!

 

But then… how can I know if it happened before? How do I know what to do?

 

The answer to the question comes to me in the form of Rui’s voice. It sounds like something he would say.

 

‘Just keep on trying until something happens!’

 

…The Rui in my head isn’t wrong.

 

With a newfound burst of confidence, I rush out of the washroom, almost tripping over the floorboards on my way to Rui’s room. 

 

Rui jolts at the sudden noise of the door being slammed open. “There you are!” He pipes up, grinning. “That startled me, haha… you okay, Tsukasa?”

 

My hand rests on the doorframe. My head still throbs lightly, but I shake my head and ignore the dull pain.



“I want to try something.” I blurt out.

Notes:

omg last week I watched the PJSK Movie with my friends and my WIFE!! IT WAS SUPER GOOD

IM NOT GONNA GIVE ANY SPOILERS DW LMAO but this is a BIGGG YAP
but itr was SOOO good. and FUNNY
because every like 5 minutes my friend would grab me and start shaking whenever any vocaloid came on screen. I think she was close to tears at one point 😭😭 AND MY OTHER FRIEND WAS LOOKING AT ME AND LIKE. POINTING AND GOING "Thats miku!!! oh my god!!! they're singing!!!!!"

And at one point early in the movie my wife just. held my hand. and for the rest of the movie we were just glued together holding hands and ocasionally mwah mwah mwah :))) we were Sickening to those Lonely SIngle Bastards. /j
AND I KEPT GETTING SO EXCITED THAT I WAS KICKING MY LEGS. BUT I KEPT HITTING THE SEAT OF THE MAN IN FRONT OF ME AND HIS CHAIR WOULD LUNGE FORWARDS I FELT SO BAD LMAO
AND AT THE END I JUST YELLED OUT I LOVE YOU HATESUNE MIKY!!!!
AND SOMEONE MUTTERED "miku jockey." AND I WAS SO PERPLEXED THAT I WENT "MIKU JOCKEY??????" AND EVERYONE STARED LAUGHING LMAO. i am a fraud and a fool /silly

ALSO WE UNKNOWINGLY MET A TUMBLR MUTUAL THERE TOO OMG!!!! THEY HAD LIGHT STICKS AND THEY LET US BORROW ONE OF THEM AND IT WAS SO FUN MY FRIEND KEPT WAVING IT IN THE AIR AND I GOT SO WORRIED THAT WE WERE OBSCURING THE VIEW OF THE PEOPLE BEHIND US LOL

omg when we got home I went to check that mooties acc and they called us Yuri Jesus (x4). it's been circulating in my head ever since. We got called Yuri Jesus. Yuri jesus. Fucking insane. Yuri Jesus.

Tbh it kind of sucks that the movie codes didnt come to my country for some reason evn tho the movie did but its okay. i feel like the cards shouldnt be locked behind smt like that tho

uhhhhhh yeah. May can'r stop me despite its many hurdles!!!! I am god on earth and nobody can take me down!! have a good day night afternoon evening asscrack of dawn midnight (go to sleep)!!!!! :DDDDDDDDDD

Chapter 10: EIGHT: Not So Proper Beach Episode

Summary:

Tsukasa and co. visit the beach, the blond wanting to find out if he can remember a bit more about his past. And lo and behold, as Tsukasa, Rui, and Mizuki build a sand castle together...

Notes:

oh its been two months. oops. that was not supposed to happen

uhh. fucking. filler. it gets more and more confusing as i write this fic whats even going on anymore. im struggling, lorddddd and saviour miku save me

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“It’s gotta be the biggest castle ever!”

 

“The biggest one ever…?”

 

“Yeah! Come on!”

 

“How much sand would we need for that?”

 

“Who knows! Probably a ton!”

 

“Ehh?! Then we gotta get to work! Quick, quick! Let’s go!”

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

There was a single tear on the pillow when I woke up.

 

————

 

“You don’t want to go into the water?”

 

Rui looks at me, raising an eyebrow. In the distance, An screams in excitement, Kohane hoisting her on her shoulders as they chicken fight with Akito and Ena. I shake my head, legs curled up to my chest as I watch Ena and An battle valiantly. 

 

“I don’t think I want to right now,” I reply, shrugging. “Maybe later.”

 

“You suureee?”

 

Emu appears behind me, her shadow looming over me as she giggles. “We can have a cool chicken fight too! We can fight with Honami and Ichika and have a chicken fight tournament!”

 

“I’m sure,” I look up at Emu. Her face blocks the sunlight, alien ears twitching atop her head as she nods. “You can still do it with Nene, can’t you?”

 

“Oh, I can! Good idea, Tsukasa!” She gasps, waving goodbye to Rui and I. We watch as she bolts towards the green alien nearby, tackling her to the ground and screaming about chicken fights.

 

“Do you think she’ll agree?” Rui asks. He looks at me with a sly grin.

 

We lock eyes, exchanging similar glances.

“No.”

 

“Yeah.” Rui nods in agreement. “It’s alright! If you’re staying, then we can just talk out here instead!” 

 

The elf leans back to lay down in the sand, resting his head on his hands. “How do you feel about this place? It’s been a few days, hasn’t it?”

 

I nod, I don’t want to lie down and get my hair dirty, so I keep on sitting instead. I look out towards the ocean and its vast, empty and never-ending horizon, humming softly.

 

“It’s nice.” I say. “I think I’m still getting used to the magic, but it’s not bad here.”

 

Rui smiles brightly. “And you haven’t seen it all just yet,” He whispers. There’s an excited glint in his eyes- one that calls for exploration, adventure, sailing across the seven seas and touching every acre of land this world has to offer. “I’ll show you all that I can while you’re here, promise!”

 

I nod along, a light smile creeping its way onto my face. “I’ll hold you to it.”

 

“Good! You should.”

 

In the distance, a bubbly voice calls out towards the two of us. “Hey, you two! Not getting in the water?”

 

We both crane our heads around to look at none other than Mizuki, who carries a bag filled with snacks and drinks. “Your food delivery has arrived!”

 

“Hi, Mizuki!” Rui waved from his spot on the sand. The hermit kneels down, sitting beside us and placing the bag to the side. “Have whatever you want, but don’t forget to share! I know one greedy little bastard who’s gonna take all the candy… keep an eye out, Tsukasa~!”

 

The playful glare Rui sends to a snarky Mizuki is all I need to know. 

 

“Not going in the water either?” Rui asks, coughing in an attempt to change the subject. “Not gonna help Ena?”

 

Mizuki laughs awkwardly, shaking her head as she waves him off. “Nah! I’d rather stay dry. Am I right, Tsukasa?”

 

She reaches over to nudge me with a lively wink. “You’re staying here too, yeah?”

 

I nod. “Maybe later I’ll get in. Not now.”

 

When I think too hard about getting in the water, all I can wonder is if I’ll get back home if I stretch my body out and drift away into the sea.

 

“That’s fair!” Mizuki picks up a handful of colourful sand, watching as the grains slip between her fingers and fall back to the ground. “I’m not one to get myself wet, either. But the sand is just as fun as the sea, y’know?”

 

The hermit looks around, spotting a small bucket sitting beside someone’s bag. She snaps her fingers and snickers, a knowing grin spreading across her face. “Bingo.”

 

A single flick of her wrist sends the plastic bucket flying in our direction, landing safely between Mizuki’s hands. “Sand castle?”

 

Like flicking a switch, Rui immediately sits up, eyes sparkling in glee as he shakes the grains of sand out of his hair. I lean back to avoid any of the tiny pebbles hitting my face. 

 

“YES!” He cries out. He turns around and looks at me. “Tsukasa! Do you wanna make a sand castle with us?!”

 

A sand castle–

 

“Ohoho, I knew that would get you going!” Mizuki laughs. She tosses the bucket my way, standing up and dusting off her clothes. “I’m gonna get some water, you collect the sand!”

 

The hermit scurries away, waving towards Emu and Nene as the green alien struggles to hold the other on her shoulders. Looks like she did end up agreeing, who knew. Rui claps his hands, ears twitching in excitement.

 

Cute.

 

“You know how to make a sand castle, right?” He asks. “I’m pretty sure- yeah, it’s easy enough! Come on, let’s go to the water!”

 

He stands up, taking my hand and pulling me upwards alongside him. “Get the sand in the water- but not the one that’s too wet! The sand over there!”

 

Rui directs me to the shoreline, where the water pushes itself forwards and pulls back. He points down at the ground with his tail, waiting for me to collect the sand.

 

I raise an eyebrow. “You’re not going to help?”

 

Rui pauses, coughing. The tide pushes another small wave towards the shoreline, cold water brushing against my ankles. Grimacing awkwardly, the elf steps back. “...You have the bucket.”

 

I narrow my eyes. Well, it’s not like it’s too much of a problem. I grip the bucket tightly, digging it into the sand and scooping up chunks of the colourful grains, one by one. Rui kicks some inside as well, offering a tiny bit of help. It’s still appreciated.

 

“Do you guys have the sand?” Mizuki calls out. She holds up a few bottles of water, sticking out her tongue. 

 

“Yeah!” Rui takes the bucket, flattening the sand and weighing it in his hands before nudging me. We make our way back to the hermit, Rui slamming the bucket onto the ground as he crouches down. “How cool do we want this to look, boss?”

 

“The coolest ever ,” Mizuki whispers, leaning forwards as if this is some sort of top secret mission. She even covers the side of her mouth, ensuring that nobody else can hear except us… even though nobody around is close enough to hear, anyway. They’re all in the water chicken fighting. An is screaming a lot.

 

We flatten the surface, smoothing it out before carefully turning the sand bucket upside down, tapping it a few times to get the sand loose from the bucket before lifting it. A perfect bucket- shaped lump of sand.

 

“Now we get more.” Mizuki instructs. “This is the only bucket we have right now, so we’ll have to make do. Go, my scarabs!”

 

Rui laughs, “Since when were you the boss?”

 

“EH?!” Mizuki leans back, scoffing and feigning offence. “Since you called me boss, you fool!! Now shoo, or else we’re kicking you out of the sand castle committee!”

 

“So high maintenance…” Rui playfully rolls his eyes, nudging me with a silly little grin. I can’t help but chuckle quietly. How dramatic can these people be…?

 

I don’t mind it, though. It’s funny. It’s familiar.

 

Familiar–?

 

I stare at the empty bucket, following Rui back to the shore. I narrow my eyes, staying silent as we scoop more wet sand and dump it into the bucket. If this feels familiar, then–

 

Maybe… maybe it’s working. Maybe this really will help.

 

.

.

.

 

“I want to try something.” I blurt out.

 

Rui tilts his head to the side, confused. Still, he moves to the side, leaving me enough space to sit beside him. I flop onto his bed, brushing the stray bangs away from my eyes. 

 

“Did something happen in the washroom?” He asks. “What do you want to do?”

 

“Something. Anything, really.” I blurt out breathlessly. “That’s… all I have.”

 

Rui chuckles a bit, raising an eyebrow. “Anything?” He repeats.

 

I nod in return. “Anything.”

 

“But why?” Rui questions. He pats my shoulder reassuringly. “Where did this come from?”

 

I glance over to Rui, taking a deep breath. I’m thirsty. 

 

“I think I remembered something.”

 

Rui stares at me blankly, taking a few seconds to process my words.

 

He blinks– slowly.

 

He blinks again. And again, and again–

 

“Wait, WHAT ?!”

 

Rui gasps, jolting upwards. His eyes light up, tail swishing back and forth in excitement as he grabs my shoulders. “You remembered something?! Oh, I knew you could! What is it, what is it?!”

 

He shakes me aggressively, my head throbbing at the harsh movement. “R-Rui-!”

 

“Right! Sorry!” Rui lets go, patting my head gently with a sheepish giggle. “Seriously, though! What did you remember?”

 

I put my hand on my forehead, taking a deep breath as I lay down on Rui’s pillow. “It had something to do with cloud gazing,” I mutter, the elf huffing fondly in response. “The… frog, and the bell. I remember that happening before. It felt so familiar, and it’s because it happened before.”

 

“The same exact thing?” Rui asks, tilting his head to the side with a slight twitch of his ears. 

 

“Yeah. There were people… debating over a frog and a bell shaped cloud.” I mutter, staring up at the ceiling. “I… I knew them. I know I did, but… it feels fuzzy. I can’t tell who they are.”

 

“But that’s a start!” Rui grabs my hands, squeezing them. “That’s a great start, this is amazing! Now you know how you can remember more things! You said your plan was to do anything, right?”

 

“Y-yeah.” I nod. “It’s… not much, and there’s no guarantee it’ll work, but.. I thought, maybe, if we just did more random things, maybe it would align with some I did before and I’ll remember something else.”

 

“Let’s do it, then!” Rui exclaims, supportive as ever. “What do you think will work?”

 

“Uhh…” I pause, taking a few seconds to think. “We mentioned going to the beach earlier today, didn’t we…?”

 

.

.

.

 

“Do you think it’s working?”

 

Rui leans over me, arms folded as they rest on my back. He lets the tide get close enough to graze his feet, but any closer and he’ll step away. 

 

“I think so,” I whisper back, craning my head upwards to look at him. His face is backlit, blocking the sunlight from hitting my eyes. “You don’t need to be this afraid of the water right now. It’s not like it’ll drag you into the sea…”

 

I spare a small glance towards the current three way chicken fight (which is going horribly so far for some reason). “An’s in the water, too, so why don’t you try it out?”

 

“Well, I’m not as cool as An,” Rui sighs dramatically. “And it’s not like she isn’t scared, either! But she’s got Kohane, though, and Kohane is pretty strong..’”

 

I frown. “I think you’re pretty cool.”

 

Rui coughs. “Oh. Thanks!”

 

“I’m not going to judge you for it,” I mutter awkwardly, “I don’t think I want to go into the water right now, either.”

 

“Oh,” Rui hums. “Well, don’t let me hold you back!”

 

“We’re making a sand castle right now,” I remind him, shaking the (now full) sand bucket. “We have work to do, anyway.”

 

“Right!”

 

We make our way back to Mizuki once more, alternating between collecting more sand from the shore and dumping it onto the castle. The hermit works on the finer details, carefully carving in windows and doors and shaping the towers with a few sticks she took. Rui begins adding in his own decorations, running off to grab some pebbles and grass and sprinkling them around the castle. 

 

“You know what this needs?” Mizuki blurts out, leaning back to examine our hard work. “We should give this thing a cool moat!”

 

“Can we make a bridge, too?” Rui asks, grinning widely. He takes one of the sticks, already beginning to dig out a large circle around the sand castle. I set the bucket down, moving to help him as Mizuki adjusts Rui’s decorations. She sticks a blade of grass into the towers, acting as flags.

 

The more we work on it, adding more and more tiny details, the more familiar this sensation feels. Ichika and Honami come by to help, offering a few tiny shells they’d been collecting along the shoreline and taking some snacks from Mizuki’s basket in return. We even pour some water into the moat, taking some sand and diligently creating a bridge for it.

 

The finished product looks amazing, to say the least. It’s grand, flamboyant, the grass flags sway gently in the wind and each little window and door is meticulously carved with careful precision. Mizuki even added some carvings of vines into the sand.

 

“What do you think?” Mizuki asks, the three of us standing at a safe distance to admire our work.

 

“It looks good,” I breathe out, cracking my knuckles.

 

It feels like I’ve seen this before. I feel like something of this sort has happened before. The water, the sand castle, sloppily carving in doors and windows and crying when it inevitably fell apart after accidentally dropping a stone onto it–

 

…That didn’t happen here .

 

Not this time, at least.

 

I crouch down, staring at the sand castle.

 

I kind of want to see what could happen if I just… kick it down. Watch the sand fly and a miniature, imaginary kingdom crumble and fall to ashes alongside the home of its mighty royalty.

 

I shouldn’t do that. I don’t actually want to do that. I worked on it, after all.

 

Rui pokes my cheek, nails gently digging into my skin. “Are you getting anything yet?”

 

“Kind of,” I reply, rubbing my face. Mizuki calls over Ichika and Honami, beckoning them to look at the finished sand castle. Rui puts a hand on my shoulder, squeezing them reassuringly with a confident smile.

 

“Go on.”

 

I nod, looking back at the sand castle.

 

I’ve done something like this before. I’m sure I have. This weird sense of nostalgia has to have an origin.

 

Sand castles. Refusing to go into the water. Collecting shells and sand and rocks and grass and throwing them onto the lumps of sand. Carefully carving in shapes and lines.

 

“Look what I got, big bro!”

 

“WOAH! Those are huge! We gotta use them!”

 

“Won’t they break the sand…?”

 

“Not if we only put the lighter ones on it, right? The bigger ones can go around the castle!”

 

“Yeah, yeah! You’re so smart, Tsukasa!”

 

“Alright..”

 

“Cheer up, ----! It’s gonna look amazing!”




“Tsukasa- Tsukasa? Hellooo?!”

 

I inhale sharply, jolting as Rui shakes me gently. The elf gasps, squeezing my shoulders. “There you are! What happened, Tsukasa…?”

 

I blink a few times, gathering my thoughts as I grip the edge of my shorts. My head throbs, black spots dancing in my vision before fading away just as quickly as they came.

 

Another memory, I tell myself. That was another memory.

 

I put a hand to my head, taking a deep breath as the throbbing dulls and slowly fades. Rui leans over me, expression filled to the brim with worry as he grabs a water bottle with his tail. “Here, take it.”

 

I weakly glance towards Rui, eyes narrowed. Why does this–

 

“Eh?! ----, are you okay?!”

 

“Here, have some water. Take it.”

 

“Mghh.. thanks, ----..”

 

“Tsukasa?”

 

Rui gulps nervously. My grip on the water bottle is tight, almost threatening to squeeze all the liquid out if not for the sealed cap. The elf’s tail is tucked between his legs, nervous as he pokes my arm gently. “You did it again, Tsukasa…”

 

My mouth is dry. “This- it happened before.”

 

Rui’s eyes light up. He sighs in relief, tail moving away as he plops himself down in front of me. “So you remembered something else?” He asks, tone curious as he rests his chin on his knees. 

 

I nod slowly, opening the bottle and chugging down at least a good third of its contents before sighing loudly. “There were two people,” I relay to him, closing my eyes and leaning back. “If I- think hard enough, maybe I can…”

 

Rui shakes his head, grabbing my shoulders. “Wait, don’t strain yourself!” He cries out with a sharp gasp, “It’s okay…!”

 

The elf pats me down, putting a hand to my forehead. “You don’t have to do all that,” I tell him, looking away in embarrassment. “I’m fine, really. I can do this.”

 

Rui bites his lip, head tilted to the side. “Are you sure? Last time it happened, you told me you…”

 

“I want to keep trying,” I shush Rui, shaking my head as I stare at the sand castle. In the distance, An and Kohane both scream in surprise as Akito successfully topples them over. The alien swiftly grabs An, holding her in the air to keep her safe from the waves.

 

Rui watches me carefully, an incredulous expression on his face as he scans for any sign of exhaustion. “What did you remember the first time?” He asks instead. His tail brushes the sand off my arms.

 

“A sand castle,” I mutter, taking a deep breath. Rui urges me to go on with a gentle nudge. “Someone had gotten… something, and we were talking about decorating the sand castle with it.”

 

I look around, grabbing an unused stick thrown to the side. Immediately picking up on my idea, Rui scoots back, smoothing out the sand sitting between us to give me room to draw. I sketch a small sand castle into the ground, adding three stick figures around them.

 

“One of them was worried about the castle falling,” I continue, carefully adding onto my little sand sketches. “But we said that it would be fine, and…”

 

With one swift move of my wrist, I wipe away the drawing of the sand castle. “I think it fell down anyway. We were sad.”

 

Rui pouts, chuckling. “Awww..”

 

“That’s… all I can remember, I think. Or– no, there was also…”

 

“Also?”

 

Rui hums, leaning in closer to listen. “When you handed me the water bottle, I remembered something else.”

 

“What was it?”

 

Mizuki, Ichika, and Honami are listening in now, sitting by the sand castle as they eavesdrop. They exchange strange glances with one another– especially Honami and Ichika. “I think one of them was feeling sick. The other gave her a water bottle.”

 

Rui glances at the plastic bottle sitting next to me, eyes narrowed. “Why was she sick?”

 

I pause.

 

I don’t… know. But something about the question makes my stomach twist into a knot, uncomfortable. 

 

I don’t know why the question makes me feel this way. For a moment, I feel nauseous, but from that stems a strange answer- one that spills out from my mouth before I can even process it.

 

“I think- she’s always been like that.”

 

In the background, Ichika freezes. Honami glances at her, and now Mizuki looks confused. As does Rui, his head tilted to the side.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

I cough, sputtering. “I- I don’t know,” I choke out. “I don’t even know why I said that, I think…”

 

Mizuki clears her throat. “Do you mean like… a chronic illness?”

 

It’s like a lightbulb suddenly turned on in my head. “Yeah. I think– I think that’s what it is.”

 

Rui nods with vigour, hand under his chin as he strokes his imaginary beard. “So you knew someone who had some sort of illness… that’s a lot! Good job, Tsukasa!” His faux detective demeanour recedes as he throws his arms around me, cheering happily.

 

“H-hey-!”

 

“But you’re getting somewhere!” Rui exclaims, laughing. “Isn’t that amazing?! just a day or two ago, you were worried that you wouldn’t remember, but look at you now!”

 

“I mean…”

 

Mizuki steps over the sand castle, careful to not let it fall as she kneels down and pats my shoulder. “Well, I dunno everything that’s going on with you, but hey, good job!” She snickers as she squeezes them.

 

“Thanks, I guess,” I cough, looking off to the side. I didn’t really expect this to be that big of a thing– it’s not like every little memory will be worth throwing a whole party over, right?

 

But still, I can’t help but feel happy with myself, too. Rui is right. I was so worried that I wouldn’t ever remember anything, but I have, and even if it’s just a little, I’m proud of the progress I’m making. It’s slow for sure, but I’m not moving backwards. That’s all that matters.

 

I chuckle quietly to myself, a tiny smile on my face as Ichika and Honami also congratulate me while Emu waves towards us happily before screaming bloody murder when she and Nene almost fall over. That sounds like something Rui would say, doesn’t it?

 

I glance back at the sand castle, taking a deep breath. I think that things are starting to look up, really. I never expected myself to start remembering things so fast, but… here I am. I’m making progress when I thought that I never would. It’s great.

 

The rest of the day is spent in calm fun. Akito eventually kicks down the sand castle, ending with him getting chased around the beach by Mizuki. Ena sticks out her leg, snickering as Akito trips over it and falls face-first into the colourful sand below. Emu, somehow, makes a mini replica of our sand castle soon enough, bursting with pride as she gloats over her recreation. It’s impressive, honestly.

 

And when we finally go home, I find myself walking back to Rui’s house, the boy himself trotting along beside me. He holds my hand, swinging it back and forth as he hums a tune like always.

 

“Did you have fun?” He asks me, looking my way. The view of his face is almost cinematic as the sun sets behind him.

 

“Yeah,” I reply, nodding. “I did. Thanks.”

 

“Of course!” Rui pats my shoulder. “We can keep doing this for as long as you’d like, until all of your memories are recovered! We can do it!”

 

“Mhm,” 

 

Rui frowns. “Not enough energy.”

 

I raise my eyebrow, chuckling in amusement. “What do you want?”

 

“More energy!” Rui encourages, laughing. “Come on, give me a big, bright smile! One that rivals the sun!”

 

“That’s more of a you thing…” I mutter under my breath. 

 

Still, I pump my fist and give him a cheerful “Yeah”, one that’s enough to appease Rui. He nods satisfaction, proud. 

 

“That’s more like it!”

 

Rui opens the back door, bowing playfully and saying, “You first, my lord,” in a cocky little accent. As I poke him on his head, shaking my head with a laugh, I suddenly get a strange chill down my spine. Halfway through the door, I whip my head around, staring into the forest.

 

There’s no one there except Rui and I and a few birds.

 

But… I swore I felt it.

 

Is someone-?

 

“Tsukasa?” Rui looks at me, confused.

 

I shake my head, walking inside the house.

 

…Nevermind.

Notes:

weve gone from the most gut wrenching torture youve ever seen. to sending a black hole to high school. to building sand castles! goodness me i deserve a break. goodbye for another two months /j (i hope)

Notes:

why does this keep happening