Ruiaki

RuiAki is the slash ship between Rui Kamishiro and Akito Shinonome from the Project SEKAI fandom.

Area Conversations
At first glance, it seems that Akito tends to avoid Rui. In one area conversation, Akito spots him at the scramble crossing and doesn't recognize him at first. Rui notices Akito and says hi, Akito finally noticing he was a junior at his school and running away from him.

In another area conversation at "Kamiyama High" on the map, the two are seen interacting and talking about Mizuki and Ena. Each of the two have a relation to the other, whether it is Mizuki or Ena. Rui asks if Akito talks with Mizuki much, Akito replying with how Ena talked more to Mizuki rather than him himself. Rui wonders if that is why Mizuki calls him "Otouto-kun"/"Lil brosef" with Akito stating how he is annoyed by this behavior and just wants to be called by his name. Rui tells the latter that perhaps it is his reactions that cause Mizuki to continue on and keep calling him "Otouto-kun". Akito asks if going deadpan would help, although Rui knows that Akito would immediately blurt out something he doesn't mean to.

Another area conversation that takes place at "Kamiyama High" on the map where the two interact is when Akito spots Rui at the school, seemingly not running away. Rui approaches Akito and greets him, noticing that he wasn't running away from him as the per usual. Akito smiles nervously, stating that he wouldn't be able to anyway as the two had already made eye contact. Rui thinks that he is amicable at first, correcting himself and saying Akito may be more earnest rather than amicable.

An area conversation involving the two is found on "Main Street" is when Akito finishes performing and Rui is walking by. Rui compliments Akito and notices how the townspeople were amazed. Akito notes that a rare audience was a good stimulus for him, in which Rui agrees and asks if they could do a street performance together soon. Rui says he has something he wants Akito to do, noting that he hasn't tried it out on Tsukasa yet. Akito refuses and Rui says that it's too bad, but states that if there was any chance, he would love to leave it in Akito's care.

Another area conversation involving the two starts off with Rui noticing Akito on his way home from shopping. He asks Akito if he would exchange his melon bread for his chicken salad, with Akito asking if he even likes melon bread. Rui states that he does not and mentions that he doesn't like vegetables in general. Akito asks why he even bought chicken salad then, with Rui grinning and glad that Akito had accepted the exchange, believing it was a big help. Akito didn't know what Rui was thinking, so he asked what Rui was thinking but never receives an answer.

Card Stories
In Rui's card "The Right Words To Throw"'s first card story, Akito, Touya, An and Kohane approach Wonderlands x Showtime. Rui says that he wants to thank Akito again, stating that if Akito hadn't helped, the show would have been ruined. He thanks Akito from the bottom of his heart, the latter being completely surprised by Rui's words and smiling afterwards. He compliments Rui, saying that he put on a good show. An and Touya ask what Akito did, Akito trying to brush it off when Tsukasa states that Akito helped Rui to the first aid tent to help with his injured arm. An teases Akito about it, saying that he didn't have to hide it if he was doing a good deed. He tells An off, then asks if Rui's injury was okay now with Rui responding that it was treated very well and that he had the show on the road. Akito leaves, later coming back with ice and yelling Rui's name with An being concerned. He tells Rui that he can use the ice and hands it to him, Rui being surprised. Akito thinks it's some kind of weird look and asks, "What?" to which Rui replies with nothing and gladly takes the ice.

Akito also finds Rui weird, as seen in one of his cards' second side story where he meets the person Touya looks up to most being with Rui.

An Ode for the Pure of Heart
Touya brings along Akito to help with the event and Akito says he wasn't interested, bringing this to Rui's attention. Rui speaks up, saying that he should stay out of it if it really was some "uninteresting wedding performance" as Akito says. Akito gets angered, asking what Rui is implying by this. Rui attempts to get him to help along, saying that this performance was important to the bride and the groom but not exactly in his eyes, along with stating that it would seem wiser for someone else to take the role had Akito still not been interested. Rui says that this would seem like a responsibility too heavy for Akito, the latter just laughing at the statement. Akito can tell that Rui was scheming something and gets angry at him. Rui states he plans to get Akito on board, no matter how angry he gets him. After Touya states how much Rui has contributed, Akito finally agrees and asks what he should do. He states that he's still not fond of Rui's behavior, but understands how much Rui wants the performance to be a success despite what tactics he used to attempt to get Akito to help. Rui is glad that Akito is finally on board, Akito telling Rui that he owes him for helping out and respectfully agrees.

At This Festival Colored By Twilight
In episode 7, Rui injures himself. Akito is walking by when he notices Emu and Rui. Rui apologizes for Akito having to see him in such a tight position, with Emu panicking about Rui's injury. Akito tells Emu to bring him to a medical tent, but Rui insists he is alright before groaning in pain without finishing his sentence. Akito offers to help bring Rui to a medical tent, with Rui refuting and saying that he doesn't have much time before he performs. Akito agrees, although he ends his sentence with "but" and Emu states that Rui wouldn't be able to do shows. Akito just sighs and reminds Rui that he told Akito himself that in order to create a successful show, they had to do it no matter what it took. Rui is surprised for a brief moment before he has a flashback back to the event, "An Ode for the Pure of Heart" where Rui talks about having to do anything no matter what to create a successful show. Akito asks why not use what they had right now and Rui finally agrees to go to the medical tent.

The two arrive at the medical tent, but there is a lack of nurses other than Mafuyu. Rui sighs and states that it cannot be helped, insisting on going on with the show despite his injury. Akito wonders if there was a way to contact a nurse and Mafuyu states that she can help Rui. Rui gets treatment and thanks Akito, saying it in a genuine tone. Rui asks if it was getting closer to Akito's turn, telling him that he should get ready for his performance and stated that he would feel better when he came back. Akito asks if he needs to pass the message onto Tsukasa and Nene, Rui saying it was fine and that he didn't need to. He states that he's still able to move, believing that he would not hold Tsukasa and the others back. Akito says that that wasn't the problem and tells Rui that if he wanted to create something good, he couldn't do it on his own with Rui being surprised and then smiling afterwards. Rui accepts his offer and Akito asks if he wants him to tell them, Rui saying that Akito should tell them that he would come back soon so they shouldn't worry. Akito agrees and tells Rui that he would see him on stage soon, the latter agreeing with him.

In episode 8, Nene and Tsukasa start to worry about Rui before Akito stops them and sends the two the message Rui asked him to tell them. He states that even so, Rui wants to put up the best show that he can and tells Tsukasa and Nene to stay there and wait for him. Akito thinks to himself that things would be okay. Later, Touya asks if Akito was okay with Akito saying he was fine and in top shape but thinks to himself, being worried for Rui. Off in the distance, Rui and Emu are spotted with Akito being surprised. Rui tells Tsukasa and Nene that he was good to go. Rui calls out to Akito whilist happy and thanks him for earlier, looking forward to his performance. Touya asks if something happened between the two, with Akito responding with it being something like that. Akito gets ready to perform and tells Rui to prepare himself. As Akito and his group perform, Rui notes that Akito and the others had completely taken over the venue's atmosphere, saying that this performance was not something that can be achieved with ordinary effort. Rui giggles to himself and says that it seems that Akito and the others had worked very hard to get to the point that they were at.

In episode 9, Akito finally finishes performing. Akito is winded from performing and notices Rui, with the latter complimenting him and saying that it was an amazing performance. He thanks Rui for complimenting him. Akito notices that it is their turn to perform and Rui hopes that Akito is expecting a lot from them. Rui is smiling after saying that, with Akito smiling afterwards.

Quotes
"So, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, Shinonome-kun."

- Rui, from the first card story of "The Right Words to Throw"

"That's right, why don't we do a street performance together next time? There's something I want Shinonome-kun to do. I haven't even tried it on Tsukasa-kun yet."

- Rui in an area conversation

"That Touya...Looks like he's going to Kamishiro-senpai's classroom to wish him a happy birthday. Can't be helped, guess I'll tag along with him..."

- Akito's Line for Rui's Birthday (2022) "The box we gave Shinonome-kun has a little mechanism. I hope he enjoys it."

- Rui's Line for Akito's Birthday (2021)

Fanon
RuiAki's main rivals are RuiKasa and AkiTouya. Because of this, RuiAki shippers might also ship TouKasa. RuiAki fans may ship the two for their dynamic, the two being almost opposites. They may also ship the two for opposing elements, such as their hair color. Akito has orange hair, which correlates with Rui's blue highlights and Rui has purple hair, which is complementary to Akito's yellow highlight. Within the fandom, Akito tends to be portrayed as someone who is in denial of loving Rui while Rui is outright affectionate. In many fanfictions, they are found interacting together on the rooftop. Mainly, these times take place at lunchtime, where the two may be eating lunch together. Although this never happens in canon, the fandom likes to imagine them both on the rooftop together.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

PIXIV

TWITTER

Trivia

 * Their ship is often referred to with the "🥞🎈" emojis.
 * The two share a hatred for vegetables, although Akito only dislikes carrots whereas Rui hates all vegetables.
 * They have a 6 centimeter height difference, with Rui being 180 cm (5'11") and Akito being 174 cm (5'8").
 * Their hair colors are quite opposites to each other, with Rui having purple hair and Akito having a yellow highlight. This also applies to Akito having orange hair and Rui having blue highlights.
 * Their relationship has gotten better as seen in the latest event, "At This Festival Colored By Twilight".
 * The two share a kizuna/trust rank together, though each title has not been translated yet.

Variations

 * Akiruikasa refers to the ship between the two and Tsukasa Tenma
 * Fantasista Squad refers to the ship between the two, Touya Aoyagi and Tsukasa Tenma
 * Mizuruiakikasa refers to the ship between the two, Mizuki Akiyama and Tsukasa Tenma
 * RuiakiTouya refers to the ship between the two and Touya Aoyagi