just for you || rui x reader pjsk

13: Rehab, and My Will

Before I could realize, he reached for my left arm.

"Wait--"

He pulled.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" I couldn't help but scream.

My arm felt stiff. It hurt, too.

"Why would you..." I couldn't understand why he did that.

He smiled and said, "Once that pain is gone, your rehab is half complete."

My lips fell together.

* * *

A few weeks of rehab passed. I never told Rui anything about it, and he seemed to have forgotten all about it.

He came to visit each week, but he was starting to come less and less. I didn't mind.

This time he came again, with flowers. The corners of his eyes drooped down, and he didn't say anything. Feeling a bit weirded out, I started the conversation.

"Did you get rejected or something? You look like an abandoned puppy!" I joked.

Silence.

"Uh..." I stared at him, expecting something to come out of that mouth.

Still nothing.

"Are you okay...? Did something seriously happen?" I was really starting to feel concerned for him. I searched for some way to continue the conversation or some sort of response from him.

"...What about the troupe? Y'know, the one from last time! How is it doing?"

He flinched, and his eyes opened wide.

I struck a chord.

I stopped talking, feeling that poking any further would trigger something.

His mouth slowly opened. "I left the troupe."

I immediately turned to face him.

"...Why--"

"They were being ruthless to Nene for a small, redeemable mistake. He was being selfish."

He continued, "I didn't want to stay in a troupe with someone narcissistic like him."

Nene Kusanagi...

Come to think of it, she was a pretty big part of my life too. Until we...

I cut off my thoughts.

"Nene was in the troupe too...?" I mumbled. "Wait, that's not the point. Who's 'him'? What was the mistake?"

I really wanted to find a way to resolve it. Maybe it was a misunderstanding. He'd always been stubborn, after all.

But he cut me off. "It doesn't matter anymore." Then, after replacing the flowers, he said goodbye and stood up.

He's going to leave.

I don't want him to leave.

If he leaves, when is the next time he'll come back?

...

I wanted to stop him.

I want to stop him.

I want to reach out to him, and hold on to him.

I want to tell him to calm down and explain.

I saw something enter my vision of his back.

Something pale. Something long. Something shaky.

..?

I felt the feeling of something rough somewhere, but I couldn't tell where it came from.

"!?" he turned around to look at me.

Then he turned to the pale thing.

"What..."

Fingers.

From where?

From...

me.

He moved his hands to hold mine.

"...How..." I muttered.

I tried controlling my arms, but I couldn't find the muscle in my body.

So how?

How did I manage to move my arms?

Suddenly, something hit me.

"Remember this feeling of pain. To be able to move your arms again, you must have a will strong enough to overcome this pain." The man in rehab told me.

A will strong enough.

I felt the corners of my mouth lift up uncontrollably.

"Did you see?! I just...I just moved my arm...!"

I felt something going up my throat. It was my tears welling up.

Rui stared at my arm with a blank, shocked expression. Then, he simply smiled.

"Yep." he responded.

- -

Chapter 13 END

final chapter before the finale! if you're wondering about the surprise, i'm sorry but it will take just a little longer. bear with me! just once, okay?

thank you for reading!
have a good one
-ffey