The World Hasn't Even Started Yet ( PROJECT SEKAI )

Interlude : Time for Talking

A/N: how similar. is this perhaps deja vu?

last short chapter for a bit i SWEAR we'll get right back into the tasty lore angst next chapter yall!

i have no clue how long this fic is gonna be btw i still have many plot points i've yet to hit/write so...

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Geez, how long does it take him to walk up some stairs? I know he's not athletic and all, but...

They perked up from their less-than-ladylike sitting position on the bench at the sound of the rooftop door opening, smiling when they caught sight of the familiar blue-stroked purple hair of their old friend. "Finally, there you are, Rui~"

"Hey, Mizuki." He greeted curtly, and Mizuki blinked, taking in his appearance.

"Oh my god, you look like shit." They said before they even processed the words in their head. In truth, Rui didn't actually look half-bad- physically. Rui could never not be pretty, Mizuki's convinced, but it was more how he looked so dead.

Especially his eyes, they noted; Rui always had this sort of spark in his eyes. Not as bright as, say, his troupe mate Emu's, but it was certainly there. But now it was missing, and Rui looked absolutely miserable. In their eyes, at least. And they've known Rui since when he was truly miserable.

Since Middle School. He looks like he did in Middle School.

They shook that thought off their head. Mizuki was not letting Rui go back there if they had a say about it! And, he looked a lot better than that. Middle School Rui was borderline depressed. Second-year High Rui is just a little sad over a situation he didn't have control over, and Mizuki's going to help that.

Rui laughed. "Is that how you treat your seniors, Mizuki? Should I be worried for when I become a third-year, hmm?"

"I've always been one to disregard my authority figures, haven't I, Kami-chan~?" Mizuki teased him with a wink, hoping Rui could somehow read the unsaid apology they were(n't really) trying to transmit.

"Fufu, always." He smiled. "What did you need, Mizuki?"

"Well~ By one-hundred percent not stalking you through your classroom window, I saw that you were looking extra mega super depressed because of what happened to Tsukasa-kun! Like, you were actually sitting through the lesson. Albeit dissociated as heck, but still! And it wasn't even English class!" Mizuki added hand motions to helpfully explain their findings to Rui, who looked entirely unphased by the fact Mizuki was observing him during his classes. "So I thought: Well, what can I do? Of course, first I had to know the details, so-"

"You asked Nene." Rui finished for them, and they nodded enthusiastically. "I should have known."

"So I asked Nene-chan, and she told me about how Tsukasa-kun was, and I thought, well, that's a problem I can definitely help with~ So now I'm here! And Rui, I am going to give you the news of a lifetime!" Mizuki ended their statement with their hands on their hips, really trying to sell Rui the idea they hadn't even told him yet. He chuckled.