Yoshiko's POV:
It had been a while since the day Ruby found out the truth. I had made sure to stay close to her. I don't know how she's doing exactly. I'm worried things will get worse. Ruby seems still very distressed about this entire thing. I don't want her to feel that way.
"Ruby, I'm heading home for tonight. See you tomorrow!" I told Ruby.
It was getting late. I needed to get home. I wish I could stay with her, but I can't.
"Okay, bye!" Ruby called to me.
I left her house. I caught a bus to my house. I entered to find it dark. I guess mom has already gone to bed. I made my way to my room. I sighed as I changed into my comfier clothes. I plopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling.
Ruby is taking a long time to recover from this. I'm not sure if something else is going on that she isn't telling me. She's become shut off from everyone. I'm practically the only person she talks to anymore. She doesn't even talk to Zuramaru.
I know everyone is hurt by her ignoring them. I wish I could figure out how to fix this. No matter what I've tried, nothing has ever worked. Everything always has something go wrong. I'm out of ideas. I have no clue what else I can do for her.
I rolled onto my side. I looked at my nightstand. There was a picture of Aqours there. I stared at it. I reached over and laid it facedown on the nightstand. None of us really cared about Aqours anymore. All the talk about it was just about what happened with Dia.
We stopped Aqours shortly after her death. We weren't famous for our music and dances. People wanted to meet us because of what happened. It was exciting to them. I don't understand. Why are people so eager to ask us about it? No one seems upset that someone fucking died. They almost treat it like it's just a game.
We can't even watch when they broadcast any of our performances anymore. They always add something about the incident to it. I hate it. I want them to leave us alone. It just keeps reminding us of it. None of us want that constant reminder.
I didn't sleep very well that night.
DIVIDER--
I woke up to my alarm. I got up and got dressed. I'm going to visit Ruby. I don't like leaving her alone for long. I'm still worried about her too much to do that. I threw on my shoes and a jacket and then started heading over to Ruby's.
I made it at my usual time. I rung the doorbell, but nobody answered. I used my spare key I had taken and opened the door. I walked inside. I took off my shoes and jacket and then went to find where Ruby was at. I guess she might've slept in.
I went to her room and knocked on the door. After a moment, she called me in. I opened the door and walked into the room. Ruby looked at me for a while. She's looking at me in a strange way. I'm not sure what to think of it.
Ruby got off of her bed and ran over to me. She hugged me tightly. I stumbled backwards slightly as she did so. Ruby started crying. I don't know what to think about this.
"Ruby? What's wrong?" I asked her.
Ruby looked up at me. She started crying more. This is not how I wanted to start today. Well, I have to deal with this.
"Did you have another bad dream?" I asked.
Ruby nodded. Of course that's what this is. She always has bad dreams anymore. I'm really worried about her. She doesn't seem like she really functioning well anymore.
I guided Ruby to her bed. We sat down together. Ruby faced away from me. She kept crying. I curled into her and hugged her from behind. I hope I can bring her some comfort.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked her.
Ruby shook her head. Why do I even bother? She always says no to talking about it. I can't help but wonder if she's refusing to tell me for a reason. What if she doesn't want me to know because she's worried how I'll react to it?
Ruby ended up crying herself to sleep. I sighed. I don't know what to do. I need to get her help. It's obvious she's still suffering. I just don't know if she'd appreciate me getting her help. I don't want to make her hate me.
I closed my eyes. I guess maybe I'll join her for a little nap. It wouldn't hurt. I hope she feels better when she wakes up.
DIVIDER--
A while later, I woke up. I felt someone poking my cheek. I opened my eyes to see Ruby was doing it. I smiled at her.
"You feeling better?" I asked her.
Ruby nodded, "Yeah…"
"Are you hungry?" I asked her.
"Yeah. Um… can I cook today?" Ruby nodded.
"Sure. You want any help?" I was relieved to see she seemed better.
Ruby didn't reply. She seemed lost in thought. I wonder what she's thinking about that distracted her so much. I got off of the bed. Ruby snapped back to reality and started to get up as well. I left the room and made my way to the kitchen.
I started pulling out the stuff we would need to cook. I'm going to assume she wants my help. She's always said yes whenever I asked before. Ruby soon joined me in the kitchen. She did most of the work.
"Hey… Yoshiko?" Ruby called
"Yeah?" I replied.
"Um… what do you want to do today?" Ruby asked me.
"I don't know. You wanna go out somewhere?" I suggested.
"Not really…" Ruby mumbled.
"Alright. You wanna see what's on TV today?" I offered as a replacement.
"Sure." Ruby agreed to that.
After we ate, we went to the living room. I started searching for TV channels to watch. I ended up finding one playing idol songs. I'm hesitant to leave it on, but Ruby seems interested in it. I guess I'll leave it be for now.
I pulled Ruby closer to me. I don't know why, but I feel like I should. She's trying to act brave, but I can tell she's really suffering a lot. I wish I could make it better. Maybe if I… no. She'd never accept it.
After a while, an Aqours song came on the TV. I quickly changed the channel. I really don't need Ruby hearing about it. She doesn't need anymore reminders about it. Not when she's still fragile.
Ruby excused herself to the bathroom. I found a better channel to watch while she was gone. I feel like she's taking a long time. Should I go check on her?
Ruby came back into the room. I looked over at her. She looks really pale and sickly. Did she get sick suddenly? It doesn't look that way, though. She's also looking at me in a weird way. Her eyes look a little glazed over.
"Ruby? Are you okay? You don't look so good." I asked as I started to stand up.
I started walking over to Ruby. She doesn't look good at all. How did she become so ill? She wasn't gone for that long. It seems strange. Maybe something else is going on.
As I got closer, Ruby collapsed. I ran over to her. She was unconscious. I felt her forehead. She was burning up. What do I do?
