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

Becoming Potatoes

Accepting his defeat, he rolled over to face the girl towering over him in her school uniform. "Good morning." He said, hating the way his voice came out all weird and tired.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop it. I know you'd much rather sit around here and think about how you failed Tsukasa or whatever, but if your grades drop any lower this trimester there's no way you're graduating." Nene was quick to start scolding him as soon as he reacted. He blinked repeatedly, trying to gain full awareness of his environment.

"You're jumping to—" Yawn. "...conclusions a little bit too fast, don't you think so?"

His neighbor huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "Rui."

"Plus, you can just go to school without me. It's not like we're some sort of package deal. My grades lowering won't cause yours to do so as well, 'm afraid."

"If I get murdered behind a maid cafe or something of the sort and it's your fault for not coming with me I'm coming back to haunt you."

He sat up, the blanket sliding off his shoulders and pooling around his lap as he did so, settling into a criss-cross position. He stretched his arms above his head with another yawn, before responding.

"Oh, dear me. My bad. I forgot. My beloved defenseless Nene is afraid of alleyways~" He hummed, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. The look in her eyes said he wasn't getting out of this one with words.

"You're just saying that to try and convince me to go alone. Come on, get up."

"I am, I am! Geez, so impatient."

"I am impatient because if you don't hurry up you'll be stuck in detention again, and I'll be dragged into it!"

Rui resisted making comments about how he knew Nene didn't need him to walk her to school, yet he did so anyway. He knew Nene could call someone else— Mizuki, An, heck, even Akito, Touya or Emu. Or maybe even walk there herself; he still found himself astonished at how fast Nene had grown since they were kids. She wasn't just a little girl anymore, and he's sure her grumpy look in the morning could scare even the baddest of criminals.

Yet, here she was. She had come here, for him. Because she cared for him, or something of the sort; after all, they were practically best friends, despite having drifted apart a bit since what they now call the "middle school incident". Nene was right, anyways; he'd get a lot more productivity out of terrorizing people at school than laying in his bed all day moping.

Nene could keep pretending to be annoyed at him, though, and he could keep pretending Nene needed him. Either way, if it got them both out of bed in the morning, it worked.

Maybe too well. And maybe neither of them knew how to regulate their words, or when enough was enough. But still, they were friends.

And that was all that mattered.

—

"You could have at least tried," Mizuki snorted, having somehow gotten into his classroom.

Rui shrugged and simply sat still as they worked their magic, brushing his bangs to flatten them out and covering his eyes as they did so. It was a few minutes until his class started, and he had very much warned Mizuki of that fact, but apparently they cared much more about how he looked than not getting sent to detention.

They brushed his signature long blue streak to the side where it belonged and made sure it stayed there before moving on.

"Your hair's getting sort of long." Mizuki commented absentmindedly, running their hands through it alongside their hairbrush. Rui knew it was less an observation and more of a subtle hint to get him to realize something.

"I guess it is." He responded, not wanting to humor Mizuki with conversations about his past; atleast, not today. "That just means more hairstyles for you to put on me, doesn't it?"

They seemed to take the hint and didn't press further, instead responding with a light tease. "You shouldn't give me so much power over your appearance, Kami-chan~ Otherwise, you'll be coming to school with bows all over your head."

"If it makes Akito lose his mind, I'm alright with it."

"Hahaha! You've really taken a liking to Otouto-kun, haven't you?" They laughed. "That's a rare sight. I'm glad he didn't scare you off with his big pointy teeth."

"Oh, no. Infact, I think his 'big pointy teeth' had quite the opposite effect..." He grinned back, trying not to focus on the way Mizuki oh-so-gently combed through the mess on his head. They paused, taking in his words.

"Eh? Wh— OH."

Rui burst out laughing at their expense, and they joined in with his giggling. "Oh my god! Rui, you can't just say things like that! We're in school!"

"And? It's the truth, isn't it~?"

They were about to retort when the bell sounded, shutting up any noise that could possibly come out.

"Crap. If I go out into the hallway now, I risk getting picked on by An..." They lowered their hairbrush from Rui's hair. He tilted his head. "I'll be late for class and get detention if I try running... well, I should probably get going—"

Rui tapped his fingers to his chin, thinking. Well... technically, if no one saw Mizuki here, they weren't in school, were they? If he just hid them...

Ah. That's right.

"Mizuki, get under my desk."

—