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not_krysFor the life of him, Yuuto still couldn’t figure out the sequence of events that lead him to being left in a theme park in Standard alone with Ruri. And every time he did, it just made his head spin.Something about a group date, the others walking off somewhere when Ruri was getting tired and didn’t want to go on any roller coasters, so he stayed with her while she rested. She never really has been the same since her time in the Fusion dimension. Whenever he thinks about the things done to her…
No, today wasn’t a day to think about things like that. Yuuya and Yuzu had insisted that this be a ‘fun’ day with no sad faces. Just a day at a theme park, something that neither he or Ruri had done since Heartland was destroyed. Come to think of it, she didn’t really like roller coasters back then either. She would often just watch from afar whenever their class went on field trips to an amusement park. She liked the simpler rides, like the merry-go-round, or the swings, he remembered. He wondered if she still liked them, even after all this time. She still didn’t like roller coasters, as one passing look from her told him as Yuugo and Rin looked at it in excitement, having never been on one before. Yuuto scoffed quietly to himself.
Of course they would like something like that.
He passed on it, not wanting Ruri to be by herself as everyone else rode it. Yuugo grinned at him, teasing him about wanting some ‘alone time’ with his ‘girlfriend.’ Yuuto only frowned at him as he directed Ruri away from the line.
What was with everyone wanting to know if the two of them were dating, anyway, Yuuto thought to himself. Ruri was his closest friend, he loved spending time with her, had been through hell and back with her, would do everything in his power to be sure she was safe and happy. What more did people need to know?
Apparently, if he had kissed her or not seemed to be a popular question amongst their new friends and comrades.
And, even if, admittedly, he had thought about it, he’s never actually done it! It was too embarrassing to think about. Ruri was special to him, yes, but he didn’t want to ruin her innocence like that.
He looked around from the park bench they had found and sat down at. Where were the others anyway… Was the line really that long?
“I hope they didn’t get lost,” Ruri mused quietly, taking a sip of her iced lemonade. It had been almost an hour since the group had left. She was starting to worry.
“Might have. I don’t remember the line being that long when we were there.”
Ruri sighed quietly, looking out to the park, seeing children running about laughing, and couples holding each other close and whispering sweet things to each other, making both Yuuto and Ruri blush and look away from each other. Do they have to be so …public about it?
“…Rin and Yuzu… have been asking me a lot… if we’re dating or not.” Yuuto looked up when she spoke, having a sigh of his own.
“They’ve been asking me that a lot too,” Yuuto admitted, “and asking a lot of probing questions.”
“Like… if we’ve kissed or not?”
“…Yeah.”
Out of habit, just like she’d do on cold nights back in Heartland, she reached for his hand, the two fitting together easily. Both sets were a bit rough and scarred, but Ruri’s were definitely softer, gentler, much more delicate than his. He always took care whenever he held it, almost afraid to break it if he squeezed too hard. He lightly blushed, looking away from her, embarrassed.
“…Your dress,” he finally said, swallowing, “it looks good on you.”
“Ah… thank you,” she said quietly, turning as pink as he was, “Serena was the one who helped me to pick out, surprisingly. Whatever Yuzu or Rin seemed to pick out seemed too flashy for me. I-it’s been a while since I’ve worn something this nice. Did Yuuya help you pick out yours?”
“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “His taste is a bit too bright for me, so I just found the darkest set that fit.”
That, at least, earned a small smile from the girl, something that had been fleetingly scarce for the past few years. It was something that he would always treasure whenever he saw it, Ruri’s smile.
“It really suits you, Yuuto. I think you look better in darker colors, more like you.”
“Er… thanks, Ruri.”
The two sat in silence, Ruri quietly sipping her lemonade while Yuuto looked at the clock in the square. When were the others going to get back, he wondered a second time. Was the line really that long?
“Have you thought about it?” he asked, turning pink again. “Kissing, I mean.”
Ruri turned pink as soon as he said it. What would he say if she told him the truth, about the number of times she’s thought of kissing him, but had never had the courage? The times when they were in school together, in their Resistance group, her time in the Fusion dimension, and even in her time here in Standard. There were even times she dreamed about it.
Of course, she would soon realize that she was dreaming, that Yuuto wasn’t like that. Would he even like kissing her?
“…Do you-?” She started, turning to look at the same time as he was looking towards her, looking at her in the eye accidentally, both red in the face.
“I mean… if you want-” She started again.
“Only if you-” He said at the same time as her, both coming to complete silence, staring straight at each other awkwardly.
When it became too much, they finally looked away from each other, bright red and fidgeting on the bench. They both sat like that for a few moments, staring at anything other than the other, not saying a word. Both were so red that when they looked at each other one final time, they had to laugh at the awkwardness of it all. The clock tower chimed the time in the background, making the two of them realize how late it was getting.
“Hey,” he said quietly, looking over at the merry-go-round. “The line looks shorter over there. Do you want a ride before the others come back?”
Ruri looked over at the merry-go-round, instantly becoming excited, but trying to hold back.
“Aren’t we a bit-?”
“…Yeah, a bit. Maybe.” It did seem a little bit immature. They were teenagers, after all. It was something little kids like to ride, after all. “But… it has been a little while, hasn’t it?”
“Probably the last time… was on our last class trip, before…”
Both stopped talking, serious looks taking over their faces.
Ruri suddenly stood up, still holding tightly onto Yuuto’s hand. He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Maybe… just for old time’s sake?” She looked at him, as if she was pleading with him.
Yuuto smiled and stood up with her, needing no convincing to go with her.
“As you wish, my lady.”
“Ah, Yuuto!” She blushed again. He couldn’t help his grin at teasing her.
“But you are a lady, are you not? Or are you truly a princess in disguise?”
“Yuuto!” She whined, but she couldn’t hide the amusement in her voice.
“A princess from a far off land, is it? Surely one as humble as I is greatly honored in escorting the lady to her grand steed.”
“You’ve spent too much time around Yuuya, I think.” She giggled “You’re starting to sound like him.”
That time Yuuto stopped, pouted his lips and didn’t say anything more, making Ruri laugh harder.
After a moment, she did calm down and tightened her hand in his and smiled.
"I am greatly honored to be escorted by your humble self, Sir Knight.”
“…Knight?”
“Yep. You’re more of a knight than a prince, I think.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Hmm…” Ruri didn’t really have an answer, other than it just felt right. The others might say it’s more romantic that way, the princess and her faithful knight. She blushed at the thought.
“…No reason. It just suits you.”
“Well that’s a lame excuse.”
“But it does, Yuuto!” She couldn’t help laughing again. As if she would tell Yuuto the real reason she thought that about him.
“Hmm… I think I know the real reason.” Yuuto said while handing in their tickets, a look of surprise crossing Ruri’s face.
“If you’re the princess, then that makes Shun a prince, right?” Now that really got her laughing, the idea of her brother, Kurosaki Shun, a prince?
“A prince?”
“It suits him better than King, don’t you think?”
Admittedly, she didn’t disagree with him. The idea of Shun being a King didn’t make sense to her, knowing him.
“How did you convince him to let you go out with everyone, anyway?” Yuuto wondered. Ever since she had been freed from Academia, Shun wasn’t prone to letting Ruri out of his sight for too long. She hadn’t minded it too much at first since she didn’t want to be parted from him for long either, given the circumstances.
“I promised not to accept any duels from anyone, no matter how weak or strong they look and to just walk away from them. And that if he sees any signs of XYZ summoning, or if he sees either of our monsters, that I would be in so much trouble once I got back.”
“Why my monsters too?”
“He knows both of our monsters. He’d know if something was up if either of us were dueling.”
“What if we wanted to have a match that was just for fun? Like old times?”
“Yuuto!” Now it was his turn to snicker.
“No dueling for either of us, then. If only to keep Prince Shun appeased.” It was really hard for Ruri to stop herself from smiling and laughing again, even though she knew that she shouldn’t be.
“You do know he’d probably knock your teeth out if he ever heard you say that, right?”
“Probably.” Yuuto helped her to step onto her steed for the evening, a monster that looked surprisingly close to resembling a dragon. As if Ruri would want to ride a normal carousel horse. Instead of sitting on the creature beside them, Yuuto chose to stand beside Ruri, holding onto the pole.
—
High above the amusement park, above all the lights and the noise sat a man carefully watching the scene below, his face a mixture of relief and a bit of impatience. The two people closest to him were with him again, were even enjoying themselves again after what felt like an eternity. They deserved it, a lot more than he did, anyway. Ruri and Yuuto deserve all the happiness in the world, he felt. To see Ruri smiling again, holding onto Yuuto’s hand while he was starting to smile and laugh again too, it brought back old memories, when they were children, all walking home together. At the moment, it almost felt like the years had been lifted off of them, as if their home hadn’t been invaded and destroyed, as if Ruri hadn’t been kidnapped and held against her will against their sworn enemies. In this small moment, all of that didn’t seem to matter.
Watching the two of them, he could even feel himself starting to smile too, seeing the two of them so happy together, it warmed his heart.
Though, he did make a mental note to punch Yuuto in the stomach after the amusement park ‘date’ was over. Gentlemanly as Yuuto was when he caught Ruri as she had tripped when getting off the ride, he wasn’t quick enough to stop the two from locking lips, the two of them freezing from the shock, both wide-eyed and frozen in place. Yuuto needed to pay for tainting his sister’s lips, after all.
No, today wasn’t a day to think about things like that. Yuuya and Yuzu had insisted that this be a ‘fun’ day with no sad faces. Just a day at a theme park, something that neither he or Ruri had done since Heartland was destroyed. Come to think of it, she didn’t really like roller coasters back then either. She would often just watch from afar whenever their class went on field trips to an amusement park. She liked the simpler rides, like the merry-go-round, or the swings, he remembered. He wondered if she still liked them, even after all this time. She still didn’t like roller coasters, as one passing look from her told him as Yuugo and Rin looked at it in excitement, having never been on one before. Yuuto scoffed quietly to himself.
Of course they would like something like that.
He passed on it, not wanting Ruri to be by herself as everyone else rode it. Yuugo grinned at him, teasing him about wanting some ‘alone time’ with his ‘girlfriend.’ Yuuto only frowned at him as he directed Ruri away from the line.
What was with everyone wanting to know if the two of them were dating, anyway, Yuuto thought to himself. Ruri was his closest friend, he loved spending time with her, had been through hell and back with her, would do everything in his power to be sure she was safe and happy. What more did people need to know?
Apparently, if he had kissed her or not seemed to be a popular question amongst their new friends and comrades.
And, even if, admittedly, he had thought about it, he’s never actually done it! It was too embarrassing to think about. Ruri was special to him, yes, but he didn’t want to ruin her innocence like that.
He looked around from the park bench they had found and sat down at. Where were the others anyway… Was the line really that long?
“I hope they didn’t get lost,” Ruri mused quietly, taking a sip of her iced lemonade. It had been almost an hour since the group had left. She was starting to worry.
“Might have. I don’t remember the line being that long when we were there.”
Ruri sighed quietly, looking out to the park, seeing children running about laughing, and couples holding each other close and whispering sweet things to each other, making both Yuuto and Ruri blush and look away from each other. Do they have to be so …public about it?
“…Rin and Yuzu… have been asking me a lot… if we’re dating or not.” Yuuto looked up when she spoke, having a sigh of his own.
“They’ve been asking me that a lot too,” Yuuto admitted, “and asking a lot of probing questions.”
“Like… if we’ve kissed or not?”
“…Yeah.”
Out of habit, just like she’d do on cold nights back in Heartland, she reached for his hand, the two fitting together easily. Both sets were a bit rough and scarred, but Ruri’s were definitely softer, gentler, much more delicate than his. He always took care whenever he held it, almost afraid to break it if he squeezed too hard. He lightly blushed, looking away from her, embarrassed.
“…Your dress,” he finally said, swallowing, “it looks good on you.”
“Ah… thank you,” she said quietly, turning as pink as he was, “Serena was the one who helped me to pick out, surprisingly. Whatever Yuzu or Rin seemed to pick out seemed too flashy for me. I-it’s been a while since I’ve worn something this nice. Did Yuuya help you pick out yours?”
“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “His taste is a bit too bright for me, so I just found the darkest set that fit.”
That, at least, earned a small smile from the girl, something that had been fleetingly scarce for the past few years. It was something that he would always treasure whenever he saw it, Ruri’s smile.
“It really suits you, Yuuto. I think you look better in darker colors, more like you.”
“Er… thanks, Ruri.”
The two sat in silence, Ruri quietly sipping her lemonade while Yuuto looked at the clock in the square. When were the others going to get back, he wondered a second time. Was the line really that long?
“Have you thought about it?” he asked, turning pink again. “Kissing, I mean.”
Ruri turned pink as soon as he said it. What would he say if she told him the truth, about the number of times she’s thought of kissing him, but had never had the courage? The times when they were in school together, in their Resistance group, her time in the Fusion dimension, and even in her time here in Standard. There were even times she dreamed about it.
Of course, she would soon realize that she was dreaming, that Yuuto wasn’t like that. Would he even like kissing her?
“…Do you-?” She started, turning to look at the same time as he was looking towards her, looking at her in the eye accidentally, both red in the face.
“I mean… if you want-” She started again.
“Only if you-” He said at the same time as her, both coming to complete silence, staring straight at each other awkwardly.
When it became too much, they finally looked away from each other, bright red and fidgeting on the bench. They both sat like that for a few moments, staring at anything other than the other, not saying a word. Both were so red that when they looked at each other one final time, they had to laugh at the awkwardness of it all. The clock tower chimed the time in the background, making the two of them realize how late it was getting.
“Hey,” he said quietly, looking over at the merry-go-round. “The line looks shorter over there. Do you want a ride before the others come back?”
Ruri looked over at the merry-go-round, instantly becoming excited, but trying to hold back.
“Aren’t we a bit-?”
“…Yeah, a bit. Maybe.” It did seem a little bit immature. They were teenagers, after all. It was something little kids like to ride, after all. “But… it has been a little while, hasn’t it?”
“Probably the last time… was on our last class trip, before…”
Both stopped talking, serious looks taking over their faces.
Ruri suddenly stood up, still holding tightly onto Yuuto’s hand. He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Maybe… just for old time’s sake?” She looked at him, as if she was pleading with him.
Yuuto smiled and stood up with her, needing no convincing to go with her.
“As you wish, my lady.”
“Ah, Yuuto!” She blushed again. He couldn’t help his grin at teasing her.
“But you are a lady, are you not? Or are you truly a princess in disguise?”
“Yuuto!” She whined, but she couldn’t hide the amusement in her voice.
“A princess from a far off land, is it? Surely one as humble as I is greatly honored in escorting the lady to her grand steed.”
“You’ve spent too much time around Yuuya, I think.” She giggled “You’re starting to sound like him.”
That time Yuuto stopped, pouted his lips and didn’t say anything more, making Ruri laugh harder.
After a moment, she did calm down and tightened her hand in his and smiled.
"I am greatly honored to be escorted by your humble self, Sir Knight.”
“…Knight?”
“Yep. You’re more of a knight than a prince, I think.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Hmm…” Ruri didn’t really have an answer, other than it just felt right. The others might say it’s more romantic that way, the princess and her faithful knight. She blushed at the thought.
“…No reason. It just suits you.”
“Well that’s a lame excuse.”
“But it does, Yuuto!” She couldn’t help laughing again. As if she would tell Yuuto the real reason she thought that about him.
“Hmm… I think I know the real reason.” Yuuto said while handing in their tickets, a look of surprise crossing Ruri’s face.
“If you’re the princess, then that makes Shun a prince, right?” Now that really got her laughing, the idea of her brother, Kurosaki Shun, a prince?
“A prince?”
“It suits him better than King, don’t you think?”
Admittedly, she didn’t disagree with him. The idea of Shun being a King didn’t make sense to her, knowing him.
“How did you convince him to let you go out with everyone, anyway?” Yuuto wondered. Ever since she had been freed from Academia, Shun wasn’t prone to letting Ruri out of his sight for too long. She hadn’t minded it too much at first since she didn’t want to be parted from him for long either, given the circumstances.
“I promised not to accept any duels from anyone, no matter how weak or strong they look and to just walk away from them. And that if he sees any signs of XYZ summoning, or if he sees either of our monsters, that I would be in so much trouble once I got back.”
“Why my monsters too?”
“He knows both of our monsters. He’d know if something was up if either of us were dueling.”
“What if we wanted to have a match that was just for fun? Like old times?”
“Yuuto!” Now it was his turn to snicker.
“No dueling for either of us, then. If only to keep Prince Shun appeased.” It was really hard for Ruri to stop herself from smiling and laughing again, even though she knew that she shouldn’t be.
“You do know he’d probably knock your teeth out if he ever heard you say that, right?”
“Probably.” Yuuto helped her to step onto her steed for the evening, a monster that looked surprisingly close to resembling a dragon. As if Ruri would want to ride a normal carousel horse. Instead of sitting on the creature beside them, Yuuto chose to stand beside Ruri, holding onto the pole.
—
High above the amusement park, above all the lights and the noise sat a man carefully watching the scene below, his face a mixture of relief and a bit of impatience. The two people closest to him were with him again, were even enjoying themselves again after what felt like an eternity. They deserved it, a lot more than he did, anyway. Ruri and Yuuto deserve all the happiness in the world, he felt. To see Ruri smiling again, holding onto Yuuto’s hand while he was starting to smile and laugh again too, it brought back old memories, when they were children, all walking home together. At the moment, it almost felt like the years had been lifted off of them, as if their home hadn’t been invaded and destroyed, as if Ruri hadn’t been kidnapped and held against her will against their sworn enemies. In this small moment, all of that didn’t seem to matter.
Watching the two of them, he could even feel himself starting to smile too, seeing the two of them so happy together, it warmed his heart.
Though, he did make a mental note to punch Yuuto in the stomach after the amusement park ‘date’ was over. Gentlemanly as Yuuto was when he caught Ruri as she had tripped when getting off the ride, he wasn’t quick enough to stop the two from locking lips, the two of them freezing from the shock, both wide-eyed and frozen in place. Yuuto needed to pay for tainting his sister’s lips, after all.
