Chapter Text
Rui fell to the ground with a thud, breathing heavily. The harsh winter wind was hurting his face, and the forest ground felt damp. He couldn’t muster up the energy to use his magic again, he was absolutely defensless. The battle was slowly turning into a losing fight for him, and he started to panic. Even though he wasn’t looking up, he could feel the menacing look Tsukasa was giving him. He could feel his limbs getting heavy, he could barely muster up the energy to get up on his feet again. He eyed Tsukasa, and he could tell that even if he tried to look all high and mighty, Tsukasa was as exhausted as he was. Yet he didn’t look like he was about to give up, as he reached for his sword again. Rui’s mind scrambled as he thought of a way of defending himself, so he did the first thing that came to his mind. He picked a random bottle from his person and threw it to Tsukasa. The bottle hit Tsukasa in the chest, shattering against his chest armor. The shattered pieces cut Tsukasa in various places, and he kneeled from the pain, gritting his teeth. Rui felt nervousness pool in his stomach, he didn’t know which potion he threw at Tsukasa. Yet Tsukasa got up quickly, as he is way too stubborn for his own good, and tried swinging his sword one last time. It didn’t even touch Rui’s hair. He suddenly dropped his sword as he began to gasp for air, which definitely didn’t look normal any way. His eyes rolled back to his head and he hit the ground.
Before Rui could process what just happened, a dense fog started to come from Tsukasa in a flash. When the fog dissipated, Tsukasa wasn’t there anymore. Instead, an orange cat is lied in his place. Rui looked at it dumbfounded for a second, as his poor brain didn’t have the energy to catch up with everything that happened. Once it sinks in, he runs to the cat, kneeling down in front of it. He could hear his pulse ringing in his ears from the panic he felt. The cat was letting out small whimpers, and it appeared to be unconscious. There were a lot of cuts in its arms and legs, and another big one under it’s ear, which has a piece of glass stuck to it. Rui felt his heart churn as he realized how badly he fucked up.
He knew that the cat is Tsukasa, and he knows he is the enemy, he hates him even, yet it looks like he would die the moment Rui left him alone. He wouldn’t care, if only he didn’t promise to Tsukasa’s siblings that he would make sure of keeping Tsukasa alive. Yet, he can’t give the cat(Tsukasa) back to the enemy. The whole situation was making his head hurt now. He had to make a decision, and he had to make it fast, as the cat is in excruciating pain right now. He swiftly picks up the cat, settled on taking it back to their inn. It is a quite risky action, but he doesn’t have a better option.
The walk back to the inn was quite uneventful, aside from the cat’s occasional whimpers. He was aware the cat is still Tsukasa, but a cat is a cat, and he couldn’t deny he had a soft spot for them. He wanted to cry every time the cat pathetically whimpered, he couldn’t help it. His love for cats won over his hatred towards Tsukasa in this one.
He wrapped the cat with his cloak at some point during the walk, as he felt it shiver in his arms. It would also help him hide the cat from others, he was too tired to explain himself. He had a huge headache, and he felt helpless. He could clearly tell that the potion he threw at Tsukasa was the cat potion one, but there was one big issue about it: he didn’t have any idea about it’s effects. Hell, he didn’t even know it would actually work before! According to the book, the effects are supposed to wear off after two months or so. Tsukasa shouldn’t lose his consciousness in this time period, if the potion is what it is told to be. He couldn’t be entirely sure about it, and it would be kind of better if Tsukasa didn’t gain any consciousness, since he had to share his room with Tsukasa.
Another nerve wracking part of this whole ordeal was how he was going to explain why he brought a random cat back to the inn. He exhausted his last brain cells to find a good excuse for a good minute, then came up with something. He would tell them that he found a badly wounded cat in the forest, and didn’t have the heart to leave it there. It’s a little crappy, but it should work. He still had a ton of things to figure out, but he couldn’t think clearly anymore, so he decided to leave it for later.
After they finally reached the inn, Rui let out a big sigh. Some people gave him weird looks from how panicked he seemed, as he was usually a laid back person. But that wasn’t important now, he had to tend to Tsukasa’s wounds. He rushed to his room and fetched his medical supplies. Potions really helped in times like these, since they are way more effective than normal medicine. Sadly kingdom folks couldn’t really benefit from it, as potion making was associated with magic. He carefully took out small shards of glass that was stuck in his wounds and tended to them quickly. The way the cat gave small whimpers at every little contact almost brought him to tears, but he made himself remember that it was Tsukasa.
When he was finally done with it, he felt a huge relief wash over him. He made a make shift bed for Tsukasa with his cape, and put Tsukasa on it. The cat was sleeping soundly now, the potion clearly working it’s magic. He finally sat on his chair , his head empty for a second. His eyes wandered to Tsukasa, and his mind got flooded with thoughts. First and foremost was that he absolutely hated the situation he was in, and he had no idea what to do. He didn’t know how to look after a cat at all. He didn’t have any experience. He also didn’t know how Tsukasa is going to behave, so he could potentially be offended if he bought him a litter box or tried feeding him cat food. Maybe he should get some help from Mizuki, but he knows that they would break havoc if they learned the whole truth. He sighs, bringing his hand to his hair, pulling it. Words couldn’t explain how frustrated he felt. He knew that there is a serious war, that there is a huge opposing with the other side. But, he couldn’t bring himself to hate the other side. The side that stood with the queen, Hatsune Miku. None of them had any knowledge about her horrible actions, she was just that good at manipulating her people.
But, he hated Tsukasa Tenma with his every ounce of being, only the thought of him made his blood boil from hatred. He saw how cold hearted and harsh Tsukasa is firsthand. So, he never understood why his siblings loved him so dearly. They rebelled against the queen and escaped the kingdom, so they should be disagreeing and even hating Tsukasa’s actions, since he is the queen’s oh so trusted knight, but no. They never got angry at him, not when they escaped, not now. Whenever his name was mentioned, Saki and Toya would have this weird melancholic look in their eyes that was far too complex for Rui to solve. He didn’t want to make them uncomfortable, so he never asked them. He fell asleep on his desk after some time, tiredness getting the better of him.