The other Upper Moons didnât understand it? Rui can get their thought process, he thinks; it was so drilled into their heads that any level of cooperation was just impossible, that demons would inevitably tear themselves apart. And Rui was one of those, wasnât he? If anyone so much as stepped slightly outside of the arbitrary, ever-changing line that he had set up without rhyme or reason, heâd destroy them. He knew from how his family had looked at him that it wasnât the same as Daki and Gyuutarou, even if they did work together as a family to some extent.
Rui hangs his head slightly, trying to duck away from Gyuutarouâs gaze. He understands it and he understands how the two of them would be stronger together, but even the slightest implication that Ruiâs family and Daki and Gyuutarouâs bond might be the same has made him too uncomfortable.
âHeâs been here,â he admits after a pause. âHe wasnât⊠happy with me for failing.â
What an understatement. Ruiâs hand raises to rest gently against the skin underneath his left eye.
âBut,â Rui continues, âhe left. And⊠there had been others. Kokushibou-san â ahâŠâ Thatâs too casual. â⊠Upper Moon One, he was here. And there were no issues. He even gave me a gift, once. Without Muzan-sama, we⊠weâre happier. All of us have been happier, no matter how briefly weâve been here, I think.â
Except his own family. Rui opts to not comment on that. His fake mother and sister would probably prefer he mention them as little as possible. It hurts to admit that, and it hurts to admit that Muzan was never anything to them but someone who instilled such fear in their hearts that they lost their own purposes. Rui catches himself starting to doubt Muzan and instinctively shoves those thoughts aside again, too.
No more talk of his family and no more talk of Muzan.
âit takes a lot more to not jump when Gyuutarou puts his hand on Ruiâs shoulder than he cares to admit. Itâs embarrassing how skittish he can be, here. He wishes he werenât.
âI still donât thinkââ No, if he insists that Gyuutarou doesnât owe him one at all heâll probably have Daki angrily messaging him later about how he âshouldnât take Onii-chan for grantedâ. Rui shakes his head and fixes his response into an awkward, â⊠alright.â
He doesnât mean to just stand there, lingering. It would have been easy enough to just turn and leave, but Rui stays standing there lost in thought for a moment, only drawn out of them when Gyuutarou speaks up again.
âI â donât eat as much. Anymore. Not any more than I have to. And Iâm not very hungry right now.â But he lifts his hands, his threads appearing sharp between his fingers. ââbut if you think you might need it, Iââ Thereâs no polite way of saying âI know how useless we are when we first arrive here, so Iâm probably better off than you areâ, so he surprisingly just doesnât. ââI could tag along.â
Thatâs a chilling idea, that that man mightâve been in this city at some point. Itâs hard to articulate what Gyuutarou really feels about him; respect, awe, some kind of fear, maybe a touch of resentment. He seemed fond of Daki though, and as long as she was happy, so was he. Kept them on his good side.
âProbably better this way,â he mutters. âFor everyone. Canât imagine heâd be happy here.â
Even Number One had relaxed in this city? Gyuutarou had only met him once or twice, and heâd never seen that guy show any emotion at all. Was it really all Muzanâs influence that did this to them? Kept everything repressed out of fear that it could be taken away from you because you pissed someone off? It wasnât something he thought about; he didnât really care. So long as he could keep doing what he liked he didnât really care.
He doesnât follow up that thought.
Gyuutarou scratches a long gash into his chest to collect his thoughts. Gives him something to focus on, something thatâs concrete. Heâs not good at getting philosophical. He snickers a little at Ruiâs comment, leering down at the kid. âCâmon, you know how many Pillars Iâve killed? I can take a regular human no problem. Doesnât matter if they take things from me, they canât take away me. You get it?â
Still, he wouldnât mind some real weapons, he thinks as the light catches Ruiâs threads. Even something made of metal would beat these crappy wooden sickles they gave him. At least he still has his claws. They should be enough.
He turns back towards the district, scratching at his neck again. âDonât do shit because you think I want it. Good way to get people taking advantage of you.â
He cracks a grin at Rui as he steps forward into the fog. âBut if Dakiâs taken a liking to you, Iâll indulge her, man. Besides, sheâll get all pissy at me if I just ignore you.â Gyuutarou taps at his his temple, still grinning. âRemember what I said? Stronger together.â