Couples&Non-couples

(He sees a dream within a dream:)

"I don’t know what’s happening to me. I’m having these bizarre dreams, and they’re happening in a series, doctor."

"Hmm, hmm," the doctor nodded, the one Ru had imagined in his dream, the one he had tried to position as Dr. Claude Leblanc.

"By the way, you're acting like the guy in the red hood. You should pretend to swim," Ru recommended.

The favorite doctor responded, "Hmm, hmm."

Ru protested, "Oh, for fuck’s sake!" And he began to think, "Why can’t I make you talk?"

Meanwhile, Claude was floating through space in his armchair. A pink cat passed by nearby.

"Aww, how cute!" Ru said, his eyes sparkling. "I’m such a cat lover!"

"Hmm, hmm," was Claude’s response. He seemed to be accelerating as if there was a rocket under his chair. At this rate, he was going to crash into the moon.

"Doctor!" Ru shouted after him. Desperately, he tried to run, swim, or crawl to catch up to him. But as he flailed helplessly in space, his foot caught on a rabbit.

And Ru fell from space into the sky and from the sky into the sea. Now he was struggling against raging waves, drowning.

"HELP! Someone help me!"

GLUB! GLUB! GLUB!

As he was pulled under, a force grabbed him and pulled him into a lifeboat. His savior was a pirate.

"Ah, a pirate," he said in surprise. Then he thought about it and decided he liked pirates. "Yarrrr!"

"A pirate? In my designed dream? How interesting," Heise murmured. He was watching Ru and his series of dreams unfold on the magical surface at the center of the dreamcatcher adorned with the colors of the night.

"What do you see there?" Jasper asked, still naked and hugging Heise from behind.

"I’m watching Ru’s nonsensical dreams," Heise replied, one eyebrow raised.

"Forget about him. Let’s make love," Jasper purred, slipping off Heise’s robe and running his lips along his neck and shoulder.

"Not now, my pink bunny," Heise said, half-listening to Ru’s pirate antics and watching the scene unfold.

"I’m a pink cat," Jasper said, gently sinking his teeth into Heise’s shoulder.

"I’ll kill you, Jasper," Heise snapped, his tone sharp.

"Alright, calm down." Jasper was pulling away.

"Now go, and next time come back wearing a rabbit mask," Heise said, his tone playful.

"You’ve hurt me," Jasper said in an innocent voice.

"You didn’t seem hurt when you killed Jenna’s family, sweetheart," Heise said sarcastically, turning to him with a pointed look.

"Let them die!" Jasper boomed. "What do I care about mere mortals?" And then, he was quickly gathering his things and slamming the door on his way out.

"Ah, the troubled vampire really isn’t easy to deal with," Heise complained, trying to refocus on the dreamcatcher. But for some reason, he couldn’t find anything. "I think Ru has woken up," he murmured, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

In reality, Ru had been busy peeling potatoes for a while. Then he had started cleaning the blood the pirates had spilled on the deck.

He poured his favorite detergent into a bucket. He was frothing it up, mopping the wooden planks of the ship, and singing a song as he worked.

"Dust bunnies dance, a sad sight to see.

But order's calling with all its might.

The vacuum's humming a steady beat,

Sweeping shadows, making things neat."

Suddenly, the mysterious voice called out to him, "Lirui, are you there?"

"Yes, I'm here," Ru replied. "But I'm not Lirui. I'm Jack."

"What are you doing?" the mysterious voice asked.

"I've sterilized a deck."

"Nice. When I snap my fingers, you'll wake up," said the now quite familiar voice.

Ru was looking around as if searching for an answer.

"I'm counting. Three," said the voice—which, of course, belonged to the noob doctor.

"You don't need to count," Ru grumbled. "I woke up."

"Is that so? Open your eyes so I can believe you," the doctor chirped.

When Ru cracked open his eyes, he saw his favorite doctor. However, there was something peculiar about him. Wasn't Dr. Claude Lablanc's eye color previously violet and blue? Why did they now seem pink and yellow? Ru continued to scrutinize Claude's face, puzzled by the contradictions.

"Are you okay?" Dr. Claude asked.

"Where are your glasses? Don't tell me you've dropped and broken them again," Ru said, continuing to scrutinize him with suspicion.

Yes, Claude always did that. But as far as Claude remembered, Ru had neither witnessed such an incident nor had such a dialogue with him before. So, he was surprised.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Just a guess. Wearing glasses for decoration or something," Ru said, casually smiling.

"You're quite the observer, Lirui," Claude said.

"Take notes," Ru said, adopting a knowing expression.

Claude smiled. "Of course, I've already taken notes."

Ru released his arms and sat up in bed. "By the way, I don't like you calling me 'Lirui,' Claude."

Claude nodded slightly. "Understood, Ru. My apologies, it's just a habit."

"When I say I don't like it, I mean I like it. Keep calling me Lirui," Ru said, grinning and looking into Claude's eyes.

"Okay, Lirui," Claude said, turning his head sheepishly.

Ru noticed the colors in Claude's eyes had changed. Now his irises were yellow and orange. He asked, "Why does your eye color keep changing?"

Claude paused for a moment. "I don't understand."

Ru leaned towards him and said solemnly, "You're not a human."

Claude's expression shifted slightly. "What? What am I?"

"You don't seem like a demon," Ru said, now looking at Claude's hands and feet.

Claude nodded. "Of course, Ru. I'm not a demon."

"Could they be contact lenses?" Ru asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, they're not. These are my eyes," Claude said innocently.

"I think you're not human," Ru reiterated.

"Maybe I'm a unicorn," Claude said, pretending to tap Ru with his forehead as if he had a single horn there.

"Could be," Ru said, grinning. Then, he acted according to his plan. "I saw the sigil of the genie in my dream," he said suddenly.

"Genie? What's that?" Claude asked, prompting Ru to take a deep breath.

"Oh! You're still innocent," Ru remarked.

"Haha, me?" Claude asked, looking embarrassed.

"Of course, you. You're quite peculiar, to be honest," Ru said, squinting at him. Then, with a mystical tone, he added, "And you have such a strange aura, Doctor. There's something about you, but what?"

"What do you mean? Don't scare me, Lirui," Claude said, pulling back a little.

"Call me Ru or whatever. Keep calling me Lirui. It'll make it easier for me to sense your interference during my astral travels," Ru said seriously.

"Okay. It's probably best for you to rest a bit now. I'll bring you everything you need," Claude said, smiling.

Ru nodded slowly and lay back on the bed. This time, he wanted to rest. The peace of mind knowing Claude was by his side had relaxed him.

The next day, when he woke up, he found Vaelan waiting by his side. His eyes were Vaelan's blue, not red. This implied that he was not Ru's daughter, but rather an ordinary Vaelan.

"Are you okay, bro?" Vaelan asked.

Judging by Vaelan's appearance, he must have plundered Ru's breakfast and eaten it.

"I'm fine, but I'm hungry," Ru said, furrowing his brows.

"I got you some stuff," Vaelan said excitedly. He was about to get up, but his excitement faded as he realized he had already eaten the snacks he brought. He burped and said, "Oops, sorry."

Ru sat up in bed. "You know, Vaelan, you're like a naughty little girl," he said, with a sly grin.

"Where did that come from? Are you running a fever or something?" Vaelan asked, placing his hand on Ru's forehead to check his temperature.

"How's the Clockmaker? Can she move freely? Once, she was tiny enough to find a place in a tiny brain. I hope she is still," Ru teased.

Vaelan just raised an eyebrow and said, "Huh?"

"Anyway, I'm still hungry," Ru said, changing the subject.

"Listen, Rui," Vaelan said, signaling that he was about to delve into a completely different topic as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"What will you say?"

"Our stepfather died," Vaelan said joyfully.

"I know," Ru said, devoid of any excitement in his expression.

"How? How do you know?" Vaelan asked, utterly surprised.

"I performed a karmic exchange," Ru said, adopting a medium-like demeanor.

"Our mother also passed away, unfortunately," Vaelan said sadly, and then he added, "She slipped on a banana peel and fell down the stairs."

Ru shrugged, not feeling the need to embellish the situation. "Well, it is what it is."

"And I haven't even turned eighteen yet. Plus, we're not even stepbrothers anymore," Vaelan stated, lowering his head in sorrow.

"What happened happened. What can we do?" Ru said, genuinely unaffected.

Vaelan remarked, "You haven't inherited anything."

Ru's entire world collapsed around him at that moment. "That can't be..."

"I think you're going back to the orphanage, Rui," Vaelan said, putting his hand on Rui's shoulder to show he cared.

"Oh, fuck! I'm poor again," Ru cried.

"Don't be sad, Rui. I'll take you in when I'm eighteen, I promise," Vaelan said, squeezing his shoulder gently.

"No thanks," Ru hissed. After a moment, he shrugged and pushed Vaelan's hand away.

"But I will be there for you, always, bro," Vaelan said, trying to calm him down.

"Poor me," Ru said, lying on the bed and burying his face in the pillow.

Vaelan asked, his voice full of concern, "You wouldn't smother yourself with a pillow, would you?"

"Don't be silly," Ru said, his voice choking under the pillow. "Now get out of here and leave me alone. I'm getting depressed," he added.

"Okay," Vaelan said and reluctantly left the room.

A week later, Ru was finally discharged from the hospital. Although he was sad to be returning to the orphanage, he soon overcame his disappointment. He could reach Dr. Claude Leblanc via phone. His daughter, Clockmaker, and his best friend, Vaelan, were still in his life as support characters.

In the early days, Ru refused psychiatric treatment, arguing that he did not want his brain programmed like a computer. Claude persuaded him to use a mental upgrade to gain some musical skills.

According to sixteen-year-old Ru, 'Life was shitty.' It was a little less shitty thanks to the music. Thus, he set an ambitious goal: to pass the music conservatory preparatory program entrance exam.