Flip The Script

"You Okay?"

 

 

 

 

Ruri and Kimoto Toshi had left the Temple proper and got into the SUV that Sato Toshi came to pick them up in. Sato was looking over his shoulder at the pair as they got in back, "You both seem like you've received some terrible news. Is everything alright?"

 

Ruri looked at The Toshi next to her, "How much does he know?"

 

Sato squinted, "I'm assuming this has something to do with the angels?"

 

Toshi nodded, "Yeah." He turned to Ruri, "He knows everything." He turned back to Sato, "You need to keep yourself open on Saturday. Ruri might be... wow. Not even sure how to explain-"

 

"I'm going to die Saturday."

 

Toshi grabbed her hand and squeezed, "No. I won't allow it."

 

Sato raised an eyebrow as he read the room, "Uhhh... figuratively or literally?"

 

Toshi looked rather glum, "Literally. Fate is conspiring to Kill Ruri. It's a long story. Just, no matter what, all day Saturday I need to stick next to Ruri like glue."

 

Sato turned around and started the engine, "I'm not sure how that's going to happen. I thought your mother was getting rather protective of you lately. You're well aware of the difficulties in sneaking out lately." He pulled out into traffic, "You'll require a solid reason to be away from home for a whole day." He stopped at the corner, waiting for the red light, "What details can you give me?"

 

Ruri shut her eyes, tilting her head back, "If things go as expected, sometime on Saturday, the universe will attempt to rebalance the scales and end my life. Apparently, this universe is a copy of another, and the Ruri from the original world took her own life." Her eyes flared open, "I cannot believe I just said that."

 

Toshi crossed his arms and looked thoughtful as he tapped his chin with a single finger, "Saturday... Saturday...?"

 

Ruri looked at Toshi, "Something wrong?"

 

Toshi opened his mouth but remained silent, freezing momentarily. After a pause, he made a dismissive hand gesture, "I feel like I'm forgetting something, but it doesn't matter." He smiled at Ruri and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "No matter what, I'll ensure that nothing interferes with you having my complete attention for the entire day."

 

Sato pulled through the intersection, "Hrmmm... So... You need an excuse to stick with her. Maybe... the two of you can ask a friend to cover for you. You'll both tell your parents you are having a sleepover at your friend's house, but you can instead stay at my apartment."

 

Toshi's eyes widened with amazement. "Wow," he exclaimed. Leaning in, he playfully hit Sato on the shoulder. "That's brilliant! It's precisely the plan we need. That's EXACTLY what we're going to do!" He pointed at Sato's reflection in the mirror. "You are getting a huge bonus in your next paycheck. Seriously, when was the last time I told you that I'm so glad I hired you?"

 

Ruri had a glimmer of hope finally glimmer in her eye, "That... could work."

 

Toshi nodded, "Damn straight." He snapped his fingers, "And I'm going to steal one of my Mother's handcuffs. I am going to shackle myself to you for the entire day. Nothing will happen to you without me being right there to stop it."

 

Ruri made a face, "How am I going to go the bathroom?"

 

Toshi pointed a finger at her, "Most accidents happen in the home, and the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house. I'll just have to close my eyes."

 

Ruri's face went red, "YOU WHAT?"

 

Sato snorted, "He's joking." There was a pause, then he looked at Toshi in the rearview mirror while quirking an eyebrow. His voice had a tinge of doubt to it, "Riiiiiight?"

 

Toshi rolled his eyes, "Of COURSE I'm joking."

 

Ruri shouted to the point of shrieking, "THIS ISN'T FUNNY! THIS IS MY LIFE!"

 

An awkward silence descended upon the interior of the vehicle as they pulled onto the highway. Nobody spoke until Ruri finally muttered, "Sorry."

 

Toshi shook his head and put a hand on Ruri's shoulder, "No. I'm sorry. I am. I joke when I'm nervous. I'm taking this very seriously, alright? I won't let anything happen to you, even if I need to die to do it."

 

Ruri snapped her head around to look at Toshi, "WHAT?" She smacked his hand away and glared at him, "No. You. WON'T!"

 

Toshi blinked as he recoiled in confusion, "I won't?"

 

Ruri shut her eyes and pressed her fingers into them. "Toshi, you heard the priestess. You're the very battery powering the planet. You are maintaining the planet's very stability. If something happens to you, the world is screwed." She gazed at Toshi, while she pointed at herself. "If I were to die, it's just sad and not many will miss me."

 

It was Toshi's turn to glare, "This is all my fault! I won't-"

 

"HOW?" Ruri interrupted Toshi. "This isn't your fault. It's the fault of the other Ruri! And in case you haven't noticed, I still have my brothers. I still have my mother. Yes, my father may have passed away, but I still have a family, and they reside in THIS world. If something happens to you, the world is screwed, and they are the ones who will suffer the consequences!"

 

Toshi just sat there, moving his jaw without being able to respond.

 

Ruri took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Toshi. Please. Stop treating me like a fool. I'm a woman. If my time is up, I'll face it with dignity, not like a little bastard." She stabbed her finger into the palm of her hand to punctuate every word, "My. Family. Comes. First."

 

Toshi just stared, completely horrified.

 

Sato kept glancing into the rearview mirror as the argument unfolded. He picked now to interrupt, "I don't know exactly what's going on, but I have a son. I would like very much for him to grow up."

 

Ruri looked at the back of Sato's head and nodded, "Exactly." She turned to Toshi, "The world is a little more important than me. Maybe I should just-"

 

Toshi cut her off by stabbing a finger into her face, "DON'T... Say it." He insisted while shaking his head, "I can't live with that. I NEED you to survive. If the world needs me, I need YOU." He lowered his hand, "I'm losing it. I'm unraveling and you're one of the few people who can hold me together. You don't get to be self-sacrificing. Do you want to protect this world? You need to live to see the sunrise on Sunday." Turning away, he clutched at his chest as if experiencing a heart attack, "Because I don't know if I could make it without you." He admitted, gazing out of the window.

 

Ruri blinked, "What?"

 

Sato spoke in hushed tones, "There was an incident involving Toshi's soul. He's got fragments of someone else inside him. Those fragments are unhappy about being dead and are eager to return to life. The only problem is, they'd need a body to do it." He jogged his head pointedly towards Toshi.

 

Everyone went quiet as Ruri slowly turned to look at Toshi.

 

The silence dragged on.

 

Ruri abruptly clapped her hands together.

 

Both Toshi's looked at her.

 

"Fine." Ruri looked from one to the other, "Then I'll just have to get through Saturday alive." She took hold of Toshi's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, "You need me to live to see Sunday? Then I guess I'll just have to live to see the sunrise on Sunday." Her demeanor was calm and resolute as she smiled reassuringly at Toshi.

 

Toshi swallowed deeply and weakly returned her smile, "I... thanks."

 

Ruri squeezed Toshi's hand again then let go, "Alright. I'll call Uno. You call Kenko. We'll set this up and get them to cover for us, then we hang out at-" She gestured towards Sato, "His apartment for a day and everything will be fine."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What could go wrong?"

 

-------

 

"THIS SATURDAY?"

 

 

 

Abi winced as Toshi's voice blared through the phone, "Ow! Uh... YES! We decided to reschedule for this Saturday, Remember? I found a great place to go. They offer a group discount on the cover charge on Saturdays, so I'll be inviting a few people. I thought you could reach out to Kenko and a couple of friends. We could turn it into a big event. Remember, this is about you getting comfortable in public, right? So, I thought, why not make it a large group outing where we all go sing karaoke?"

 

Toshi stared at the phone, ~Oh fuck. If I DON'T go, People are going to see Kenko and wonder why I didn't go to this party with him after doing an overnight at his house.~ Toshi, "Uhhh... okay. But..." He licked his lips, "You know my friend Ruri?"

 

Abi was quiet for a second as she thought, "Uhhhh... Yeah. Short girl, right?"

 

"That's her. She's been having a bad week. Family problems. I promised to cheer her up. I'm okay with the party as long as she can come too."

 

"Sure thing." Abi replied, "More the merrier. The larger the group, the cheaper it'll be."

 

Toshi took a deep breath, "Okay. Then... Karaoke this Saturday it is."

 

"Cool." Abi smirked as she thought about how she was going to run interference and let Meiko get Toshi off alone, "It'll be fun. Talk to you later."

 

Toshi mumbled, "Later." as he pressed the red button on his phone. It wasn't until he hung up that Toshi had realized that he had missed something that happened during the call.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His teeth had been itching.