A/N: he gone. noooothing going on here. yup, nothing.

the random urge to write fics in spanish—

It's the fourth day in a row Tsukasa hasn't gone to practice.

"He probably just came down with a cold like you said, Nene." Rui laughed, trying to hide his worry like Nene hadn't seen right through him already. She merely sighed.

"Rui, he would've atleast said something. You know he hates missing practice. I don't think he'd literally disappear out of everywhere that isn't school— which he has been avoiding you in, by the way!— without saying anything." Nene shook her head. "I know you love and trust him and want to give him his space so he doesn't leave you or whatever but please. You saw how weird he was acting, you were at the hospital with him, you saw the scars when he came back. This is something we should be worried about."

"Nene?" Emu tapped her shoulder lightly.

"And I know that you think that this is your fault and all, and I know that you won't be convinced otherwise unless Tsukasa yells it in your face, but even then being worried about his safety isn't going to make him immediately want to run over to the next town because you're so weird and evil or whatever that incredibly-smart-but-also-stupid brain of yours is thinking." She continued her ranting, waving her hands in an angry-like motion at her childhood friend.

"Ne~nee..." Emu tried again, trying to catch her attention. Slightly difficult, considering scolding Rui was something she apparently needed her utmost focus for.

"So no, Rui, it's not fine, and we should do something about it, because I swear to god if something's happened to him and because of you—"

"NENE!" Emu yelled, and Nene turned to her, with Rui peeking over her shoulder. Her gaze immediately softened to address her friend.

(Crush is a more accurate word, but she shan't say.)

"Yes, Emu?"

"Oh, I was just going to say Tsukasa-kun's sister is over there looking lost! SAKI-CHAA~AN!! OVER HERE☆!!"

"Eh?" The two other members of Wonderlands present said in chorus, turning to face the blonde that had now spotted them.

"Oh, great. It's just the answers we need." Nene pointedly ignored the murmur of protest from Rui and dragged him along to meet her halfway.

—

Tsukasa worries her.

The last few days have been strange, with him. After Akito visited, he seemed a lot calmer, and when he met her senpai, Mafuyu, Saki was happy that he had been making more friends— but then, he was just... gone.

He'd get home, cook for her, go into his room and then disappear. No matter how much Saki knocked, no matter if she tried gazing in through his window from the outside (which, after he left the hospital, he almost always kept the curtains closed, by the way. He only opened them when Saki walked in and asked him to, and since he hadn't been letting his door open these past days, she couldn't possibly). Which is why she had contacted Kanade in the first place, but now that Tsukasa was being even more strange...

Well, progress was slow. So Saki had to find answers and solutions in the meanwhile. To sit there and do nothing would be betrayal. And Saki was nothing if not loyal.

Which is how she'd ended up backstage with her brother's eccentric theatre troupe, drinking tea (god knows why Rui just "coincidentially" had tea and a self-modified water warmer in his bag) and trying to figure out what had happened.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like they knew more than she did.

"Tsu-kun's been missing from practice for the last four days." Her brother's friend (partner? Boyfriend?) Rui answered, sipping his tea right after. Saki's not sure if that was intentional or if the unconscious dramatic effect just runs in his veins. "We assumed he had gotten sick or something of the sort."

"I'm sorry, who exactly is 'we'?" Nene scoffed. "I've been telling Rui we should worry, but he's convinced that what happened is his fault and Tsukasa doesn't ever want to see him again."

"What happened...?" Saki tilted her head, confused.

"Y'know, hospital."

"Eh?! But Nii-chan hurt himself, how could that have been your fault, Rui-san?" She turned to him. He was now very obviously avoiding eye contact with her, subtly narrowing his eyes at Nene.

From here, Saki can only guess that's what their relationship is like. Though, telling on him like that was a little mean...

"It's nothing." Rui responded, strangely calmly, though the spite in the last word towards Nene didn't go unnoticed. "I just firmly believe Tsukasa deserves his personal space if he so wishes, and we should not intrude on it."

Rui's use of formal words made her slightly uncomfortable, the two childhood friends now practically glaring at eachother now. "But if he's going through trouble, we should help him, right...?"

Emu cut in, slicing through the tension in the room in mere seconds flat, leaving the other three suffering from slight whiplash at the sudden change, "Ooh, yeah! It wouldn't be so wonderhoy if Tsukasa-kun was all fyun-fyun, he wouldn't be able to make anyone smile then! Grandpa always said that you couldn't give feelings to other people if you weren't feeling happy-dahoy☆ yourself!!"

"...you can't give feelings to other people if you aren't feeling them yourself..." Saki repeated.

Why did that sound so familiar? She's sure she's never heard that phrase, or anything similar, before...

Oh.

Tsukasa.

—

("How are you feeling?"

"Oh, fine. This place is comforting, in its own strange way. I really didn't expect something like this."

"You're not going back?"

"I don't think so. I think I'll only go for necessary things. Like school and my sister."

"And food? That's important too. What have you eaten today?"

"..."

"I thought so. There's some cup noodles left around here. Would you like me to heat them up for you?"

"...well, I'd say no, but you wouldn't let me. Go ahead."

"Get some for me too while you're at it. Please."

"Okay. I will. Aren't your friends worried, though...?"

"If they're worried, they'll come. I guess here's where we'll test if they really like me. If they're too preoccupied with Mizuki, as they have been the past months, though..."

"..."

"Good luck on your work."

"Thanks. We most definitely need it.")

—