Chapter Text
After the disbandment of Wondershow, Rui joined Arcland as their director, travelling all over the word to stage plays, Emu had been running Phoenix Wonderland as their boss and Nene had been offered to become a musical actress for a famous company.
About Tsukasa? Well... Things haven't been the greatest for him. Tsukasa hadn't been offered for any role at all, so he was forced to work at some kind of new bookstore near his apartment. It didn't exactly pay well and it made him change out of his over-confident, obnoxious persona to become a quiet, reserved person. Sometimes Nene or Emu, maybe both, visit during his shift and they just so happen to make his day a little better, due to the fact that he was dealing with a lot.(he was on the verge of losing his apartment)
He couldn't move in with Saki, since she was out on a world tour, Toya has been in Tokyo to fulfil his dream of surpassing Rad WEEKEND, and Tsukasa refused to move in with Nene and Emu because he really does not want to third wheel. Currently, Tsukasa was just finishing up on his shift for the day, using his actual arm to finish putting up the books—since his mechanical one was dead, Tsukasa forgot to charge it the night before—before he said goodbye to the other staff, of course bringing said mechanical arm with him, he didn't want it to be stolen. After all, it was expensive!
Tsukasa left the bookstore to head to a new café Emu had recommended to him because he wanted to get something for the other two and himself. She mentioned that it was cheaper than most café's and said that the drinks there tasted more 'Kira Kira, Fwaah!!★' as Emu said. She mentioned something about reuniting with... someone named Rui? He wasn't listening all that much...
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Rui had just left Shibuya Airport and was heading to go see his parents again. He showed up because apparently Rui 'Needed to take a break' or something of the sorts, he was staying there for a month so maybe he could visit all of his high school friends there. The director was currently on his way to his parents house to visit them for the day—and possibly ask if he could stay there for a bit. After that he'd probably just wander the streets, looking at all the newer shops or visit Nene and Emu. He hadn't heard about Tsukasa in approximately 4 years since their Highschool days, though...
Rui heard that there was a new taiyaki store in the city, he could visit that one in the meantime. Rui strolled the streets for a bit after texting his parents that he was currently is Shibuya. The—mainly purple—haired boy looked at all the new stores until he caught a small glimpse of a head of sage-coloured and bright-pink hair. He walked a little faster, wanting to confirm that it was truly the two ex-members of Wondershow.
He managed to get a good glimpse of the two once they turned a corner. Emu still had her iconic short hair, and Nene had cut her hair a little. It wasn't until he followed them to a new looking bookstore that he realised he probably looked like a creep following them. He looked up at the sign that said 'Shibooks', It was a nice name, a mix of the words Shibuya and books.
'But why would Emu-kun and Nene be at a bookstore of all places...?'
Just before the two went inside, Rui tapped Nene's shoulder, getting both of their attention. "Nene! It's so nice to see you again!" The latter's eyes widened as she realised who it was.
"Rui...!? Aren't you supposed to be at work right now, in another country...?" Nene narrowed her eyes at him.
"Fufu. Well, I'm on break right now so..."
The pink-haored girl—who has been intently listening—piped up and tackled him as she quickly mentioned something her and Nene were about to do. "RUI-KUN!! Do you wanna visit Tsukasa-kun with us now?!"
"Emu!" Nene gave her a quick glare and pulled her aside. "Tsukasa doesn't even remember anything about Rui! We don't know how he'll act! And, Tsukasa's changed from then!"
"But Nene-chan... this means that Tsukasa-kun will be able to remember more of us and what we did when we were still a troupe and be super wonderhoy with us!! Please??" Emu dropped down a bit as she practically begged Nene.
"...Fine, but... If anything goes wrong, I'm out of this," Nene looked back at Rui. "You can join us, but don't be too surprised when he acts differently."
Rui was puzzled, what did Nene mean by 'acts differently'? Surely it couldn't have been that bad, right?
The three went into the bookstore and searched for the ex-troupe leader. "Tsukasa-kun!" Emu shouted, albeit more softly. Once they got no response, they decided to search around the store for a bit.
"Ah, Ootori-san, are you searching for Tenma-san?"One of the staff that was restocking a few books called out to them.
"We are! Do you know where he is?"The staff gave a sheepish look and proceeded to talk.
"Well... Tenma-san left for his break a few moments ago..."They paused, thinking for a bit. "But he did tell me he was going to check out that new café nearby."
"Well let's go then!!" Emu dragged the two out at a relatively normal speed, she'd go even faster without her dragging the two, and left the building.
The trio reached the café—which was pretty small but looked cozy nonetheless. They walked through the front door as a small jingle from a few bells rung. As they entered, they almost immediately saw a head of strawberry-blonde hair at the very back of the café, near the windows.
Tsukasa looked... different from his High school self. For one, his hair was more ruffled and messy and he had these dark bags under his eyes, which High school Tsukasa would not like. Second, he had a mechanical arm and Rui could see that his other arm had scars on them from a glimpse. Third, he wore slightly longer and looser clothing and seemed way more introverted than a few years back.
Emu ran up to his table while the other two walked. "Tsu-ka-sa-kuuunn!!! Why didnt you tell us you were at this super-duper wonderhoy café without telling us!?!?" Emu sat down on the opposite side of the table. The other two joined in, Emu and Rui sitting on one side, and Tsukasa and Nene sitting on the other.
Tsukasa looked over. His normal arm was holding a cup of coffee as his mechanical arm layed limp. "A- ah? I wanted to get you and Nene some coffee as a surprise..." Tsukasa took a sip as he looked over at Rui.
"Wait..." Tsukasa put down his drinks for a moment. "Aren't you Rui Kamishiro, the director for almost all of the most famous plays!?!?" One weird thing Rui noted was that Tsukasa did not seem to remember him from high school.
"Ah, fufu~ Why yes, that is me!" Rui gave his signature grin, almost akin to a cat. "Nene, you didn't tell me you were friends with him? Emu too!" Tsukasa looks baffled at the realisation. Nene looks at Rui, as if signalling for him to continue the improv like a show.
"Oya? Nene-kun not even introducing me? Oh, woe is me! My dearest friend, not even bothering to tell her other darling friends about me!" He places the back of his hand to his forehead, playing hurt.
"Oh, shut up you." Nene grumbled at him and gave him a glare before turning to Tsukasa. "Tsukasa, this is Rui, my childhood friend. We used to be neighbours."
"Ooh! Ooh!! I was also friends with Rui-kun!! We met in highschool!!" Tsukasa gave an interested glance between the three, more quiet than a few years prior.
A soft melody rings through the café, coming from Rui's phone. "Oh, sorry. That's mine," The director got up and left for a bit to answer the call. "Hello?..."
"Kamishiro-san, we've just extended your break to a year, we wanted you to take a break since we thought you've been overworking yourself, have fun!"
...
What.