Chapter Text
No matter how many times Saki and Touya went to Phoenix Wonderland, it still gave the electric thrill of deja vu.
Stretching as far as the eye could see sat ferris wheels that reached the heavens with their rising carriages, carrying the dreams of children to the stars - even adults felt their ‘childish’ dreams rise with them. Our souls have long since been said to share the construction of stars, and when you are above everyone, feeling your hands thread through the atmosphere’s edge… becoming one with the stars you stemmed from does not seem so implausible. Even when you return to the ground, it feels as if you are floating, and the buzz of the crowd gravitating towards the next object of interest will simply drag you along with it.
However, their favourite part had always involved the plush mascots. Having taken a great liking to Fenny-kun in her youth, Saki instantaneously gestured towards the nearest stand, adorned with the icon of the park itself. For a moment, Touya and Tsukasa shared eye-contact - not out of reluctance to let her go, rather the opposite.
“Come on guys, I haven’t been here in so long!” She spun around in an exaggerated manner, her grin as dazzling as her outfit; she had chosen to wear a cream woolen jumper a size too big for her, with a pink plaid skirt underneath that matched her cane. Having accessorized this cane with numerous stickers of bunnies and kitties, it was always her first choice to bring on long walks. “And, since we have Touya here, it’d be a waste for him to not use his skills, riiight?”
As if it were his cue, Touya turned to face Tsukasa with eyes made of stars.
If one sibling with sparkling, large puppy eyes wasn’t effective enough to persuade Tsukasa Tenma of all people, surely two would be fatal?
“You… you two are evil, fiendish beings!” Stepping back with an elaborate stomp stomp , Tsukasa scanned his younger siblings with a quick glance before slapping a hand to his chest and loudly exclaiming, “But I! The Tsukasa Tenma of the Phoenix Wonderland! Shan’t be so easily swayed towards giving my wallet away!” Clenching the hand on his chest into a fist, Tsukasa performed an elaborate act of being stabbed with an invisible spin, only to stumble back a few steps and loudly gasp for air.
Gasp, gasp!
Oh, how the crowd’s gaze fell upon this blossoming star, barely holding himself up to stand with such a fearsome blade formed by pleading eyes, impaling his chest!
The shock, the horror!
As Touya and Saki shuffled closer together, watching this elaborate performance with their mouths agape, wondering what his next move would be… Tsukasa outstretched his arms, holding himself up with one foot in front of the other as he raised his chin slightly.
“I! Shall not give you fiends my money!” Spinning and spinning back towards his siblings, Touya quickly outstretched his own arms to prevent an inevitable collision, only to awkwardly catch Tsukasa in a hug. Noticing how his brother's breaths were frantic due to the sudden movements, Touya allowed him a moment to catch his breath as he clung to his upper arms for dear life.
He wasn’t related to the Tenma’s by blood.
Taking one look at the differences in their hair tones gave that away almost instantly.
But, gosh , did he feel like he inherited his terrible spatial awareness from Tsukasa. Especially at this moment - an endearing trait, yes, but also a terrifying one when a Tenma hurricane comes whirling at you with no signs of stopping.
“Well, if we bought you a donut at the stall near the Fenny-kun would… Would you perhaps give us fiends a little money? Please?” Upon saying fiends, Saki tilted herself back as she exaggeratedly placed the back of her free hand on her forehead. She made sure to drag out the word, enjoying the theatrics a little too much, only to hop back up to standing upright almost as quickly as she tilted herself back. Touya made sure to nod enthusiastically, hoping it would play to their advantage.
Tsukasa looked them up.
He looked them down.
Up.
Down.
Up!
Down!
“Well… I may have to consider it further…” speaking slowly, his eyes then fell upon the mini crowd that had formed - naturally, the star brought in gazing eyes, “...but!” Leaping back, and nearly throwing Touya onto his back in the process, Tsukasa’s volume fluctuated as did his exaggerated movements. “Do not think you can win me over with sweet treats , you adorable yet conniving little sister of mine!”
“Oh? Are me and Touya-” She hooked an arm around Touya’s, dragging him close as she began to speak with a higher pitch, “not the sweetest treats to ever grace your existence, dear star?” Though Touya struggled to figure out what to do with his facial expression, he placed a hand on his heart and blinked a few times, playing along with the role of a conniving yet (hopefully) successful sibling.
“I… I…!” After making a high-pitched squeak, Tsukasa collapsed to his knees, and spoke in a deep, deep voice, “You win today, young ones… But do not get so hopeful just yet… for I… I…! Ack!” Shooting his eyes wide open, his hands shot to his chest and clenched onto it as if he were trying to rip his heart out. Touya’s eyes shot between his two siblings.
Was he okay?
It was so sudden!
Had they gone too far?!
Just as his breath hitched, the panic rising through him and rendering him frozen, Tsukasa shot back up as if nothing happened.
“Are you-”
“I am fine! My show is over!” He outstretched his arms to embrace his siblings, only to notice how Touya had retracted his hands in a state of anxiety, and he hushed his tone as he quickly added, “Hey, hey, that was all an act! I’m sorry that I scared you a little, but I’m okay, I promise!” Sibling-mode went into overdrive as he stumbled on his words, eventually opting to take one of Touya’s hands and place it on his chest. “See? I’m okay.” Just as Touya’s breathing began to stabilize, a quiet apology spilled from his lips.
“I… I’m sorry, I should have realised, I-”
“Hey! There’s nothing to apologise for, okay? I get how that must’ve spooked you, given how sudden it was, so I promise I won’t do anything like that to you again.” Tsukasa’s tone had entirely softened, dispelling the crowd but drawing his family closer to him. While he was a theatrical person in everything he did, he had been doing his best to learn when to approach things softly. Sometimes it involved words, sometimes it involved holding his little brother’s hand to his chest to reassure him of his health and to express his apology - whatever worked best in the given scenario.
“My, my… a moving piece, from start to end. Bravo, Tsukasa-kun, and bravo to your younger siblings for their improvisation!” A familiar voice beckoned the attention of the three Tenmas, making Tsukasa squeeze Touya’s arm in glee. Approaching them was Rui Kamishiro, beaming a welcoming smile as he slowly clapped.
“Ah, Rui! I wondered how long I’d have to stall before you arrived…” Uttering the last sentence under his breath, much to the amusement of Rui, Tsukasa embraced his friend with open arms. Not much longer after the hug, Rui gave Tsukasa a peck on the lips, and turned to Saki to offer her a similar peck on the cheek, both of which were received with grins.
“Ah, wait… Aoyagi-kun, would you be comfortable with me greeting you with a kiss on the cheek?” Touya blinked at Rui for a few seconds, having been blissfully unaware prior to today that this was something Rui did; to offer the benefit of the doubt, he didn’t spend much time with his siblings and Rui, and if he did, Rui was already there.
“...yeah, sure. Thank you… Thank you for asking beforehand.” Rui’s face lit up as he gently cupped Touya’s face in his, planting a small kiss on his cheek before moving his hands to hold Touya by the shoulders.
“Of course! Wouldn’t want to make anybody uncomfortable, especially not Tsukasa-kun’s little brother~.” To this, Tsukasa rolled his eyes in a dramatic fashion, only to tap Rui on the shoulder a few times.
“Hey, you remember Emu’s plan, right?”
“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here, my dear.” He flashed Tsukasa a quick smile before turning back to a confused Touya, flashing him another smile as he did so. “Shall we begin, then?”
“...huh?”
“Oh, gosh. Don’t tell me you didn’t tell them.” Quickly averting Rui’s gaze, Tsukasa made it clear that he had, in fact, forgotten to tell Saki and Touya something.
“What’s going on?” Saki looked at the two older boys, confusion etched upon her face as she tried to make sense of their codes.
“Saki, you’re gonna come and help me with something for a little while. And Rui’s gonna look after Touya for me. Only for around half an hour!” Both Touya and Saki’s brows furrowed in sync, making Rui chuckle slightly.
To put it bluntly, Touya was baffled. He’d been told a family trip - he presumed family alluded to him, Tsukasa and Saki. Not that Rui was bad! He knew how much Wonderlands x Showtime meant to Tsukasa, so it wasn’t out of the question to presume they also felt like family to him.
It was just… a little difficult to comprehend the sudden change.
While he often dealt with sudden changes, those were in atmospheres he anticipated to involve sudden change. Sometimes he thrust himself into those changes due to the volatile nature of these atmospheres. Yet, in the one scenario he didn’t anticipate sudden changes of any form…
“Aoyagi-kun, look at me.” Rui tapped Touya on the shoulder a few times, bringing him back to the fuzzy reality. He had lost himself in anxious thoughts, and while not processing his surroundings due to confusion, Saki and Tsukasa had since left. He didn’t even get to say goodbye. His throat felt clogged, and his hands were shaking, and his eyes were bleeding with tears, and- “Aoyagi-kun, please, look at me.” His eyes flickered up to face Rui, unable to properly focus them due to his stress.
Rui had been told that this happened sometimes. It wasn’t exactly an unusual concept to him - in fact, he knew exactly how it felt, being thrust into a situation he wasn’t emotionally prepared for. Changes in plans were understandably distressing, and he had promised Tsukasa that he would help ground Touya if ever he had an episode. The high-stress of everything surrounding him lately had made him extra susceptible to these meltdowns - he just never realised how bad it’d be until he was in the middle of one.
“Aoyagi-kun, I know it may seem like… redundant advice, but please try and breathe for me. Breathe in, and breathe out.” He demanded no talking, no explanation as to why this happened - all he asked was for him to breathe. It was difficult. Given the horrible, tight knot in his throat, breathing wasn’t exactly the easiest task in the world. Despite that, he did his best to mirror Rui’s breathing, following the older boy as he guided him to a quieter spot in the park. As they sat down on a bench, Rui clasped his hands together and smiled at the younger boy as he spoke softly. “Take as much time as you need. I get it - I have these meltdowns too, so I tried to do what I ask others to do with me.”
Touya couldn’t speak due to his state, but as his breathing began to regulate, he knew he didn’t have to. Rui got it, just like his siblings did.
Quietly, he felt a little ashamed for how frequent these emotional outbursts had been as of recent. He knew it was okay, it was understandable, it was expected considering the vast changes in his life. Yet a tiny part of him felt horrible , creating a swirling vortex of shame in his stomach at how he had been behaving. Hurling insults and cruelty at him, shaming him for the one thing he had always hoped to improve on - expressing emotions. Granted, these emotions were not deliberately shown, but the sheer expressing of them was all he had ever hoped for. And everybody had treated him so kindly, he finally had people welcome his emotions!
So, why was his brain so cruel?
It begged for the ability, then shamed him for it.
In a way, that tiny part of him mirrored his father.
That imagery was all it took for him to ignore its cruel control over him.
“Are you feeling any better?” After five minutes of silence, Rui spoke up, receiving a small nod from Touya in response. “That’s good. I’m glad.” Touya opened his mouth to ask a question, only for nothing but air to escape. “Don’t force yourself to talk yet! It’s always difficult after something overwhelming, so I don’t want you to feel like you have to. Are you wondering what we’re doing?” Staring at Rui in disbelief for a moment, perplexed in regards to his intuition, Touya gave another nod.
In response, Rui hopped up from his seat, offering a hand to the younger boy as he tilted his head slightly. It took a few seconds for Touya to stand up - he required a quick click of the back as he stretched - but he eventually mirrored Rui’s hop in a smaller fashion, holding his hand as they walked.
“Today, I will be looking after you while my dear companions in Wonderlands x Showtime - and your sister, of course - prepare a surprise for you. It’s been a difficult few days, understandably so, and we received a desperate call from your friend Azusawa-san, pleading with us to help you.” Touya’s mind flashed back to an unread message from An - you’ll be thanking Kohane for the idea hehe - and pieced things together instantaneously. “By that look on your face, you’re figuring it out.”
An had told Kohane about the customer situation, and presumably Akito’s texts through Touya’s phone.
Kohane had decided to contact Emu, asking for her help with the theatrics due to Touya’s fondness of Wonderlands x Showtime’s shows.
Emu then contacted the rest of the group, naturally including Tsukasa, who planned on performing a show later on in the day.
And right now, Tsukasa, Saki and (presumably) Emu and Nene were…
“Ah.” Touya made a small gasp that somewhat resembled a word, as Rui chuckled.
“Ever the intelligent one, dear Aoyagi-kun~.” As he spoke, he let go of Touya’s hand, turning his back to the park as he stepped a few steps ahead. “Now, shall we go explore, while we wait for the magic to happen?”