@invitedeath.
“Excuse me -- excuse me --”
Ahh... Rui was sure they weren’t much older than him, but they were really tall. They were tall, and being stared at, and Rui could almost feel how thick the crowd had grown around them. True though it was that he wasn’t the picture of health or someone typically left alone by crowds (he didn’t like being doted on like that, feeling like a problem), he did at least... he did at least want to help. So, if there was anything he could do...
He couldn’t shove his way through the crowd of staring faces, but he could gently tap on their arms or backs, trying to worm his way through without overexerting himself too much or hurting himself in the process. They seemed to listen, at least; the crowd dispersed, and Rui gently reached his hand up to take hold of the taller boy’s.
“Nii-san.”
Rui gave the boy’s hand a little tug, managing a smile as best as he could. Now that he could see the faces of the crowd around them, Rui realized they looked -- scared, in a way, but nothing about this boy seemed scary. His eyes, maybe, but they were kind of like the eyes of that man that had offered to help Rui out.
Rui trusted this boy. So he gave his hand another tug.
“Nii-san, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Being stared at was awful enough as it was. Rui couldn’t imagine being looked at with fear like that, though. How terrible. They must have mistaken this boy for someone else... he wondered if that hurt.
“We’re going to be late. Come on.”