RuiKasa

"Only you would be bold enough to bring up wanting to try doing something no one's ever done before, Tsukasa-kun. And that's why you're so wonderful!"

- Rui in "Mascot Greeting" first side story

RuiKasa is the slash ship between Rui Kamishiro and Tsukasa Tenma from the Project SEKAI fandom.

Canon
Rui and Tsukasa are second year high school students and members of the theater troupe Wonderlands x Showtime. They are a "well-known duo of weirdos" at their school due to the fact they cause ruckus around the campus daily, which most of the time is due to Rui's experiments. According to the "Heat Up! Kamiyama High Cheering Squad!" event, the rest of the student body refers to them as "Oddball One Two."

Tsukasa and Rui first meet during their unit's Main Story. Tsukasa is looking for people to join the newly formed troupe, and he's impressed by the freelance solo performance Rui does at Phoenix Wonderland, before he runs away from the guards for performing without permission. He eventually tracks Rui down to their school's roof, where Rui had been waiting while he watched Tsukasa search the school for him via his drones. After a brief conversation about being each other's fans, Tsukasa asks Rui if he wants to join his troupe, which Rui initially denies but later agrees to after Tsukasa assures him that he will perform any role Rui gives him to "12,000% satisfaction."

The troupe is then fully formed after Rui also invites Nene to join. Throughout the story, it is brought up time and time again that they are a dynamic duo when it comes to performance. Tsukasa is always being pushed to his limits by his director because, according to Rui, "he is an actor worthy of the stage" and can always go the extra mile.

The most notable development of their relationship is in chapter 13 of their group's Main Story. On the night of their very first performance - which had failed due to technical difficulties - Tsukasa blows up and blames Nene for ruining the show. Rui, being close friends with Nene, harshly criticizes Tsukasa for this, deducing him to be nothing more than a shallow narcissist who sees the shows they performed together only as a means of gaining popularity. Tsukasa is able to reconcile with Nene, but he is unable to convince Rui to rejoin the troupe even after he rediscovers the real reason for him wanting to perform - because he wants to make people smile. He decides to put on a show for Rui in the group's SEKAI to convince him that their intentions really do align and to apologize for forgetting that, and Rui, touched by this, then rejoins.

In the "It's On! Wonder Halloween!" event, Tsukasa is injured by one of Rui's robots while rehearsing, and, despite the injury ultimately not being very serious, this causes Rui to start holding back in his stage direction because he subconsciously starts to fear that Tsukasa will leave him like his old friends did. The rest of the troupe notice this change, and Rui eventually gets into an argument with Tsukasa about it, which ends in Tsukasa shouting at Rui in frustration. Tsukasa explains to Emu later that he was more angry at himself than at Rui because he "killed the director's confidence." The two are able to reconcile the next day after Rui realizes what his own problem was and both of them come to understand where the other was coming from.

The event highlights the mutual trust, concern and respect they both have for one another through the lens of Rui trusting Tsukasa to perform excellent feats, being concerned for his wellbeing despite this, and respecting his wishes to continue, as well as Tsukasa trusting Rui with directing the show, being concerned for his mental wellbeing despite this, and respecting his personal boundaries. It is brought up again in "Revival my dream" that while Tsukasa does believe Rui's directions are crazy, he also fully trusts that they're safe.

In the current canon, it is generally noted that Rui sees Tsukasa as an actor worthy of a stage, being comfortably confident in giving him often taxing and generally dangerous stage directions with the knowledge he can handle it. This is mirrored in how Tsukasa sees Rui - "awesome but crazy."

In the "Kamiyama High Festival!" event, Rui was Tsukasa's partner while rehearsing the proposal part of Romeo and Juliet for their play. Tsukasa played the part of Romeo, saying "O Juliet! Sun of my life! I beg you, allow me to have your hand in marriage!!" and Rui played the part of Juliet, responding "Romeo... Then refuse your name and I shall swear my love!" Tsukasa closes the scene, saying "Sweet Juliet...!" This scene could be seen in KAITO's Secret Guidance card, where Tsukasa could be seen kneeling on one knee while extending a hand to Rui who is in the corner of the frame. In this card's side story, Rui says that a lot has changed for him since Tsukasa invited him to join Wonderlands x Showtime, and KAITO remarks to himself that Tsukasa has been a positive influence on him.

In chapter 2 of Tsukasa's 3* "An Officer's Crisis" card story from the "Revival my dream" event, Tsukasa remembers what happened during the Halloween show and starts to worry that Rui will hold back again in their current performance, as it also involves a risky stunt that had almost injured Emu earlier in the story. This leads to him staring at Rui out of concern as the group take a break from their rehearsal until Rui notices and asks him if there's something wrong. Nene eventually points out why he's worried, and Rui reassures him that he's okay this time, saying it's all thanks to Tsukasa for going all out with his directions back during the initial issue.

In the "On the Stage of Dazzling Light" event, Rui worries about not being a good director for Tsukasa as he feels he held him back by not giving him enough different roles in their shows, and he spends most of the event looking for ways to help Tsukasa with their upcoming performance. His 4* card story also showcases this, as much of chapter 1 is him talking about Tsukasa and asking Miku if she can help him out. The two of them also have a duet section in the event's song, "88☆彡," and extra illustrations in the song's MV.

In Tsukasa's 2021 birthday lines, it is stated that Rui made him a celebratory cannon filled with confetti, the dialogue being: "Tsukasa-kun, look! All of the confetti flew up so high. Now, if they manage to spread out beautifully, this will be a huge success!" To which, Tsukasa's response was "Ooh! The celebratory cannon made by Rui is amazing! It looks like as the whole school is covered in a flurry of confetti!" This is also confirmed by Nene and Emu, both mentioning the huge cannon.

In the 2022 Gentleman Thief's Thrilling White Day event virtual show, Rui mentions wanting "to make a chocolate statue of Tsukasa-kun and then having the real Tsukasa-kun appear from inside of it". When Tsukasa asks how he'd do this, Rui whispers something to him, and Tsukasa then asks how that'd even be possible.

In Rui's 2022 birthday card lines, Mizuki remarks that they've noticed Rui's changed a lot for the better since they knew him, and wonders if it's because of Tsukasa's influence. Tsukasa also tells Rui not to hold back with shows or even in private, and to tell everyone if there's anything he wants to do with them.

Quotes
Tsukasa - "What? Don't tell me you're... a fan?!"

Rui - "Fan? Hehe, it's interesting that that's the conclusion you jumped to. You might say I'm a fan of yours. Look up, Tsukasa."

Tsukasa - "Huh?! Is that a drone? Is that what you meant when you said you've been watching me?

Rui - "Yes, indeed. It amused me to see you running all over school, looking for me. I couldn't resist having my drone follow you." - Wonderlands x Showtime main story, Chapter 5.

Tsukasa - “You’re not planning on sending me into space, are you?!”

Rui - “Follow me this way, Tsukasa-kun…”

Tsukasa - ''“Hey, not so fast! I’ve got a bad feeling about this!”''

Rui - “My idea with the water tank didn’t pan out, so I thought that I’d try something in the sky instead…”

Tsukasa - ''“What kind of logic is that?! And do you live in some warehouse filled with these insane things?!”''

Rui - “Why not come over and see for yourself…?” - "It's on! Wonder halloween" event, Chapter 8.

Tsukasa - “Please, take care of me from now on, Rui!”

Rui - “Please, take good care of me, future star.” - "It's on! Wonder halloween" After live. Rui - “If Tsukasa’s involved in this event, I might find it enjoyable too.”

KAITO - “(It seems like Tsukasa has been a positive influence on Rui too.)” - KAITO's "Secret Guidance" 4 ☆ card first side story.

Tsukasa - ''“O, Juliet! Sun of my life! I beg of you, allow me your fair hand in marriage!"''

Rui - “Romeo… Then refuse thy name and I shall swear my love!”

Tsukasa - “Sweet Juliet…!” - "Kamiyama High festival" event, Chapter 2.

Tsukasa - “There is a disgraceful rumour about how Rui and I intend to blow up the school together.”

Mizuki - “(Rui’s really let himself cut loose ever since transferring to our school… or should I say, ever since he met Tsukasa!)” - Area Conversation between Tsukasa and Mizuki in Kamiyama High School.

Rui - ''“…Tsukasa-kun? You’ve been staring at me for a while there, is something wrong?”''

Tsukasa -  “No, don’t mind me, just enjoy your break time.”

Rui  - “…Why, I’d love to, but you’re staring is getting a bit too much there.”

Rin  - “Ah, I get it~♪ Tsukasa-kun, you just want to have a stare-down with Rui-kun, don’t you?”  

Tsukasa - “No, you got it all wrong,” - Tsukasa's "An officer's crisis" 3 ☆ card second side story. Rui - “Thank you for your concern, Tsukasa-kun. But I’m fine now, I owe it all to you for doing everything you could with my directions in the Halloween show back then.”

Tsukasa - ''“… I see. Then that’s good!”'' - Also from Tsukasa's "An officer's crisis" 3 ☆ card second side story.

Tsukasa  - “You don’t have any misgivings when it comes to me!”

Rui - “Fufu, that’s because you’re a special case.” - Area Conversation between Tsukasa and Rui in the Wonderland SEKAI.

Rui  - “We will continue doing experiments, so please take care of us.”

Tsukasa - “…Us?” - An's 2022 birthday card side story. Nene - “The last performance with Tsukasa as Torpe was a huge success.”

Tsukasa - “Aah, I had a hard time grasping it but… I enjoyed playing a role different from my usual ones”

Emu  - “Mhm mhm, at that time, Tsukasa-kun was super sparkly!”

Rui - ''“That was a version of Torpe that could only be potrayed by Tsukasa-kun. I was amazed to see it.”'' - "A desparate situation?! Island Panic!" event Chapter 7

Tsukasa - “Only you can make me shine like a star, Rui!” - "Heat up! Kamiyama high cheering squad” event after live.

Rui - ''“Tsukasa-kun, you have something that you’re aiming for as well. Be it fulfilling your duty as member of Phoenix wonderland, or making your dreams come true… Regardless, you should cherish them both”''

Tsukasa - “Rui…”

Rui - ''“Fufu, these are merely borrowed words from someone else. Out of all your thoughts, there is nothing you can afford to neglect.”''

Tsukasa - ''“…Is that so? It’s oddly reassuring to hear that from you.”'' - "A sorrow farewell at the Curtain Call" event, Chapter 8.

Rui - “Fufu. And you’re snoring so energetically, too.”

(This is during the train ride where Tsukasa fell asleep.)

Rui - “…Tsukasa-kun is thinking about his future path too, isn’t he.” - Also from "A sorrow farewell at the Curtain Call" event, Chapter 8.

Rui - ''“Tsukasa-kun, you have no idea. That having a friend who is willing to spend so much time together like this... is, in itself, rarer to come by that anything else”''

Tsukasa - “ What are you planning on next?”

Rui - “You’ll just have to look forward to that” - 4Koma, Chapter 53: “Trust above all”

Rui - “You did a great job this time, Tsukasa-kun. …As a director, and your friend, from the bottom of my heart… I’m really happy that you’re one step closer to your dream now.

Tsukasa - “…Yeah! And it’s all thanks to you guys, Rui!” - "On the stage of Dazzling light" event, chapter 8.

Fanon
RuiKasa is widely considered to be the most well-known and most shipped slash ship in the fandom. The ship is supported mainly due to the pair's natural chemistry, and also the fact that they're both very popular characters. It is the most written ship on AO3 with over 2000 works; even managing to get into the Top 100 ships in AO3 of 2022. They are also the ship with most works on Pixiv as well. It's mainly rivalled by Ruinene and Emukasa, as well as Polyshow, but it has slash ship rivals as well, with some also shipping all four of the game's male characters together as the poly ship Fantasista Squad. RuiKasa is often shipped alongside Emunene.

A RuiKasa Ship Week was held from December 25-31, 2022.

Fandom
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Trivia

 * Their ship is referred to with the "🎈🌟" and "💜💛" emojis.
 * Their Kizuna Rank titles include: "Weirdo Combo", "Top☆Star!?", and "The Best Show".
 * They have a height difference of 8 cm, Tsukasa being 172 cm and Rui being 180 cm tall.
 * They currently have covered 5 songs together (Buriki no Dance, Dappou Rock, KING, Fixer and Nonsense Bungaku), two of which being without an accompanying Virtual Singer. They also both have solo versions of Rui's second commissioned song, Showtime Ruler.
 * Nonsense Bungaku was given to them as a duet (feat. Len) during the Eve tie-in. It is about someone who was lonely but starts trusting again after they meet a certain person, which is reflective of Rui's development with regards to Tsukasa throughout the game's story.
 * In the KING 2DMV on Project SEKAI's official YouTube channel, they are shown as playing cards with Tsukasa as the king and Rui as the joker.
 * In the Sweet Magic 3DMV, Tsukasa runs over to Rui and gives him a fistbump with a wink and smile.
 * The song commissioned for Wonderlands x Showtime's Main Story, "Sekai wa Mada Hajimatte sura Inai", mentions a "thick-skinned king" and an "alchemist full of desires", referring to Tsukasa and Rui respectively.
 * In Nene's initial 3* second card episode, she tells Emu that Rui and Tsukasa had to stay back at school for detention because Tsukasa almost got blown up in the school's swimming pool.
 * Their image and hair colors, yellow and purple, are complimentary colors. Their secondary hair colors, orange and blue, are also complimentary.
 * As of the "Connecting Painful Hope" event, Tsukasa is the character Rui has mentioned the most in his stories, at a total of 329 times. This is over 100 times more than Nene, who is second at 197.
 * In their 2022 birthday card art, Rui wears a white cravat while Tsukasa wears a yellow necktie. In their unit outfits, Tsukasa wears a white cravat while Rui wears a yellow necktie.
 * Additionally, the flower Rui is holding in his card is an aster, which means "star," and Tsukasa is associated with the stars.
 * Tsukasa and Rui are often respectively associated with the numbers 1 and 2 both in the game and in promotional material.
 * Their first Kizuna title is "Henjin 1 2" in Japanese.
 * Tsukasa was the WxS member to receive a limited card in the game's first anniversary event, and Rui was in the second.
 * Their art for the summer memory photos was posted for day 12 on the 21st.
 * Additionally, Tsukasa's promotional art for the game's second anniversary was posted on day 21, however Rui's was posted on day 13 rather than 12.
 * In their unit's cover of Telecaster B-Boy, they are the ones to say the "one, two" lines at the beginning of the song, even in Emu and Nene's alt vocals.
 * Some fans like to believe that there is a correlation between certain lyrics in 88☆彡 and What sort of ending are you wishing for? Tsukasa says "I wish happiness will come to that kind of you" in 88 where as Rui says "I know the ending will be a happy one" at the very end of What sort of ending are you wishing for.
 * In the Hoshizora no melody 3DMV, Rui sings the line "Loneliness melts away with the touch of passion" while he waves to Tsukasa.
 * When placed in the Kigamure Mercy 3DMV with Rui in place of Shizuku and Tsukasa in place of Haruka, their hands go together almost perfectly at the 1:34 mark.
 * In Rui's 4 star card, "Appreciate that spirit of yours" from the On the stage of Dazzling light event, the book he holds has stars on it that very closely resemble those in the Nonsense Bungaku 2DMV.
 * Rui and Tsukasa's mastery rank 5 outfit variants from the on the stage of dazzling light event share the same/similar colours
 * Additionally, their Sorrow farewell at the curtain call outfit variant's from mastery rank 1 reflect each others default outfits from that event; Tsukasa's MR1 variant shares the same colours as Rui's normal "Hourglass Tuxedo" outfit, and vice versa for Tsukasa's "Advanced Tuxedo" outfit.

Variations

 * Akiruikasa refers to the ship between the two and Akito Shinonome
 * Emuruikasa refers to the ship between the two and Emu Ootori
 * Fantasista Squad refers to the ship between the two, Akito Shinonome and Touya Aoyagi
 * Mafuruikasa refers to the ship between the two and Mafuyu Asahina
 * Mizuenaruikasa refers to the ship between the two, Mizuki Akiyama and Ena Shinonome
 * Mizuruiakikasa refers to the ship between the two, Mizuki Akiyama and Akito Shinonome
 * Mizuruikasa refers to the ship between the two and Mizuki Akiyama
 * Polyshow refers to the ship between the two, Emu Ootori and Nene Kusanagi
 * Ruinenekasa refers to the ship between the two and Nene Kusanagi
 * Ruitoyakasa refers to the ship between the two and Touya Aoyagi