A/N: an "i love you" strengthened with lies~

im scared this fic is getting a little too long, should i split it in two parts or continue as is?

(disclaimer... it might end up being like... 60 chapters or something...)

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"Hey, Rui, don't you think we should tell Tsukasa-kun what's going on?" Mizuki asked, then taking a sip of their tea. "How's he going to meet Mafuyu out of pure chance? With how busy they are..."

The shop they were in just so happened to be the café Tsukasa's sister, Saki, worked at. However, either she was dismissed from work today due to the Tsukasa situation or simply didn't have her shift right now, both equally likely.

Regardless of Saki's presence or not, three fourths of Wandashow and Mizuki sat at a comfy window seat with drinks and desserts on the table, discussing any and everything that came to mind. And so, the topic rolled back to the whole Mafuyu-Tsukasa plan of action they had been plotting behind his back.

"Maybe." He shrugged. "We don't need to tell him, though."

Nene sighed, sounding disappointed. She, more than anyone, knew his reason for being so hesitant, and was clearly already done dealing with his excuses. Rui would keep saying new ones, anyways. "Kamiro's not going to do it. Either someone else tells him, or Tsukasa doesn't find out at all, and neither is optimal."

"Why can't Rui-kun do it? Tsukasa-kun likes him a lot-lot-loooooooot so he'd probably take the byun-byun better from him, right?" Emu reasoned from beside Nene, who's gaze softened as she turned to her. Rui resisted snickering to himself at the obvious display of rare Nene affection.

Rui then sighed, understanding what she had meant entirely, even through her odd use of onomatopoeia. "I wish it was that simple, Emu-kun... I mean, the reason why I'm so reluctant isn't easily resolved."

Nene and Mizuki looked at eachother, then at Rui. Then, in unison, they both said, "It's because he's stupid."

"Oya, how come?" Rui laughed, joining in with the two who had both broken into a fit of giggling upon having accidentally jinxed each other.

Rui felt really safe at this table. Bridging the gap between his two childhood friends had been something he'd been wanting to do for a long time, and the addition of Emu added a special touch of newness that made him fond of the current present, as well.

The sad him that was his Middle School self would not have believed what he has done and is doing nowadays. How many people he's met, associated with and befriended.

(How he pushed away the person that hurt the most to lose, going against his one promise to himself.)

"Well, maybe we should just explain this to someone other than this little circle, then. Anyone else who knows or vaguely knows what happened to Tsukasa-senpai?"

"Aoyagi Touya, maybe? He's my classmate. He and Tsukasa seem pretty close." Nene offered, and Emu nodded.

"Ah, that's where you would be wrong." Rui chuckled, shaking his head. "Infact, I think their brother-like relationship in which Tsukasa feels he needs to set the example makes Aoyagi-kun less likely to know. I wouldn't want to out him to his pseudo-family."

"Aw, that's too bad." Emu lamented. "I thought they were reaaally close! He's always there with Ena-chan's brother when we do important shows..."

"Oh, the ginger? Double personality guy?"

"Mhm✩!"

"Ena-chan's brother..." Rui repeated. "Oh, Emu-kun, you're a genius!"

"I am?!"

"That's exactly who we need. Not too close, not too far. Not to say I psychoanalyze the people I meet, but, according to my observations—"

"Okay, okay. That's enough. I don't need to hear the list of disorders you've diagnosed them with that overlap on Tsukasa and Shinonome-kun, thanks..." Nene murmured, eyeing him suspiciously. "You need to stop doing that, it's seriously creepy..."

"You wound me, Nene. Oh, woe is me!" Rui pressed the back of his hand to his forehead and tilted himself back dramatically, to which she responded with a barely audible chuckle, but a very visible stern look.

"So, otouto-kun?" Mizuki hummed, rejoining the conversation. Rui nodded.

"Yes. My cute little dacnomaniac is perfect for this job. I could ask him to go to the Tenma's right now after a small explanation. Tsu-kun's texts sounded pretty lonely."

"I don't think that's a real word. And he literally types in all caps always. How." Nene deadpanned.

"Oh, Nene, my dear tonetag needer..."

"Don't even try. You're literally what the word "neurodivergent" would look like if it was a person."

"R slash rare insults." Mizuki giggled to the side.

"Okay, shush, shush! I'm gonna call him!" Rui scolded, having taken out his phone and opened Nightcord to look for Akito's user amidst their quiet laughing. He tapped the call button and waited for a reply.

—

"This is the stupidest plan I've ever heard."

"And yet, you're agreeing to it, no?"

"Maybe." Akito sighed, looking up at his phone from his laying face-up on his bed. "Not for you, though."

"Yes, yes. For Aoyagi, understood. It doesn't really matter to me as long as you do it." Rui responded, but the tone in his voice told Akito he knew damn well he was, in fact, doing it for Rui— and Tsukasa as well, he supposes, seeing as he was the one directly involved.

To be clear, Akito had gone to visit Tsukasa at the hospital. He's not a bad person, and even less a bad friend. He had asked what happened, upon Rui's request, and Tsukasa had told him. He expressed his sympathy, as well as he could, anyway, and his nurse had seemed surprised at his nonchalant-ness about it.

In reality, he had dealt with much of the same before. And, while he knew it was definitely a big deal... he couldn't get himself to feel like it was. That's why he was worried Tsukasa may think he didn't care or wasn't interested, the contrary of which we was very bad at genuinely expressing.

(Wait, hold on, when has what Tsukasa thinks about me mattered? Hey, wait—)

The thing that bothered him was the way this was all being carried out behind Tsukasa's back.

Like, sure, maybe if it was anyone else, he would have let Rui get away with his plan that Akito thought was morally grey at best and outright manipulative at worst. When it involves someone everyone he knows is so closely related to, however...

(He once again ignores the voice in his head that says maybe he's doing this because he likes Tsukasa. Because he wants to help him.)

But hey, he can't judge. It's not like he knew Mafuyu. Or Tsukasa. Or Rui, really, for that matter.

"So, what do you say?" Rui's voice called, and Akito suddenly remembered he was supposed to be making a decision.

"I say you're a persuasive asshole, that's what."

The quiet giggling from the other side of the line that was very clearly not Rui's revealed to him that this was not just his plan. Momentarily, Akito wondered what sort of people would help his psychopath of an upperclassman bring into action something like this, but then he realized Rui and Mizuki were great friends and it all made sense again. Of course Mizuki would help him carry out whatever bullshit he came up with.

"Are we sure this won't make things worse?" As much as he hated to admit it, Tsukasa's wellbeing was pretty important to Akito. And seeing Rui pulling the strings backstage to arrange his friends and push them around like mere lifeless dolls as he pleased made him feel uneasy. While what Rui wanted him to do wasn't destructive or directly harmful in any way that he knew of... well...

The strange delight in Rui's voice as he told him about this was weird. Not that Rui hasn't always been weird... but it wasn't the "why are you bringing robots to school" weird, it was the "why are you acting like a psychopath" weird.

It's kind of hilarious, Akito thought. How he's so quiet, but when it comes to directing, even outside shows, he turns into a maddened puppeteer... Unpredictable at best, outright bipolar at worst...

Rui's voice— and god, anything he said in that gorgeous deep tone was just so grounding— brought him back to reality. "Have you no faith in your dearest director, Shinonome-kun? When have I ever been wrong?"

"Do you want a list or is that rhetorical?" A voice Akito recognized as Nene spoke up, and he snorted as Rui tried to shush her.

"Point is, trust me on this, alright, Akito? Or have I not done enough?"

"I'm going to start charging you for every time you use that voice on me." If he was next to him, Akito could see himself smacking Rui. "Fine. I'll do it, you deranged megalomaniac. I don't have anything better to do anyway, since someone didn't invite me to their outing, cough cough."

"You would have complained anyways, otouto-kun." Mizuki cut in, audibly farther away than the other two, but still pretty close by.

"It's about the principle."

"Sure, sure! Thank you, dear prince~ ♪" Rui said, and Akito pretended to not get flustered at the nickname Rui had provided for him. He cringed at how cheesy it was, and cringed even more at the fact he genuinely enjoyed it.

Luckily, it's much easier to put on a facade of composure over the phone than in person. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Text me the details, I'll head over as soon as possible."

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