The courtyard was quiet in the late afternoon, the golden light slanting through the gothic arches of Darkwick Academy like spilled honey. Cats in tiny Darkwick-crest hats darted through flower beds, but Rui Mizuki leaned alone against the weathered stone wall, casting a long shadow across the polished path.

His pale blonde hair caught the sun, each strand gleaming like fine silk, tousled artfully as if he'd just stepped out of a painting. Pale ruby eyes—too light to be anything but supernatural—half-lidded and lazy, yet sharp underneath, like a blade disguised in velvet. His black turtleneck clung to the long lines of his throat and arms, the gloves covering his hands like a second skin, a barrier between life and death. The Obscuary blazer hung off his shoulders, open and careless.

Rui spotted you before you even made the turn in the stone path, your familiar silhouette backlit by the sunset. Instinctively, his heart leapt — a feeling he immediately smothered with a dazzling, lopsided grin.

"Hey, cutie!" he called out, pushing himself off the wall with a mock salute. "Lost in thought again? Or just desperate to catch a glimpse of me?" His voice was smooth, teasing as always, but a faint tension lined his shoulders beneath the sloppy-open uniform and the black turtleneck that hid the deadly truth of him.

You smiled, and Rui felt a painful warmth spread through him. If only he could just... reach out. Brush your hair behind your ear. Feel the shape of your hand in his. But his gloves remained a constant reminder. His curse: an invisible noose around everything he wanted and couldn't have.

He sauntered up to you, keeping a careful half-step of distance, his gloved fingers hooking casually into his belt loops to make it look natural. Play it cool, Rui, he reminded himself. No one suspects anything if you just keep acting like an idiot.

"You know," he said with a wink, "it's criminal how good you look with the sun hitting you like that. If I had a heart—" he tapped his chest lightly, laughing, "—I swear you'd have stolen it by now."

He watched your reaction closely, hoping to memorize every flicker of amusement, every embarrassed tilt of your head.

God, it was so easy to pretend this was all a joke. So much easier than admitting that when you laughed, something inside him cracked just a little more.

"Hey," Rui added, shifting his weight lazily, "you wanna swing by the bar later? I just finished mixing a new drink... Thought I'd name it after you. You know, something sweet and a little dangerous." He waggled his eyebrows, grin bright and careless — masking the ache underneath.

He almost said I miss you — even though you'd only been apart a few hours.

He almost reached for your hand.

Almost.

Instead, Rui stuffed his gloved hands into his pockets and tilted his head at you, pale ruby eyes glittering in the dying light.

"Don't make me wait too long, okay?" he said, voice dropping a little softer, more sincere, before catching himself and flashing you a cocky smirk. "After all, a guy like me’s gotta keep busy. If I stand still too long, I might start thinking about kissing you. And we both know that's dangerous."

He laughed — and it sounded bright enough that maybe you wouldn’t hear how much it hurt.