𝙷𝚢𝚙𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚌 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 ~ 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 ?

𝙱. 𝙼. 𝚁𝚒𝚘 ~ 𝟸𝙳𝙸𝙴𝟺

You had known Rio since you were kids, the first time you met being at your local playground. Your friends had gone to play with whatever swings or slides they could find, but you really didn't feel like joining them. You had been sitting in the sandbox on your own for a solid fifteen minutes before a figure, around your height, stood in front of you. He didn't seem to have any plans on saying anything though, staring you down as you sank further into the sandbox.

At some point you had snapped, shouting "why are you just staring at me like that?!" to his face. Despite your sudden outburst, the boy didn't seem to flinch. "Wanna... play?" he finally said, no obvious changes in his expression. You stared at him in disbelief before shouting an angry "No!" as you start digging a small hole in the sand with your hands. The boy shrugged a 'suit yourself' shrug before disappearing into the grass field in front of you. Minutes go by before you realized you were incredibly bored, but still having no motivation to join your friends on the swings.

Swings were for losers.

And you were not a loser.

You look at the field in front of you in hopes of finding something interesting. As your eyes latch on to the running form of the boy from earlier, you pout. He seemed to be having fun, running around looking like he was fighting all kinds of monsters. You envied him, wishing you hadn't turned down his offer of playing with him as he seemed to be the least loser-y person on the playground. As boredom and jealousy get the best of you, you walk over to him and ask him what his name is.

"Rio."

The answer was short and to the point. He didn't feel like he needed to tell you anything more, and you didn't feel like you needed to know anything more either. However, as he took a step towards you, you felt he was uncomfortably close. "What's yours?" it sounded more like a statement than a question. You tried your best to answer him without seeming intimidated as you were not about to let this strange kid have high ground over you.

You were starting to regret your decision before he backed away again, dramatically staring into the distance as kids do. You decide to give him another chance, asking him what he was doing. "Fighting monsters. Protecting the playground." This "Rio" was not very good at communicating. However, he seemed to have piqued your interest as he continued to hunt for these so-called monsters.

You stared at him in awe as he continuously impressed you with his fighting skills until he suddenly came running towards you. Not giving you enough time to react, you let out a short squeal as he gently pushes you out of his way. "What was that for?!" you shout, tears in your eyes as you felt the pain in your butt from hitting the hard ground. "There was a monster behind you. I saved you." You stared at him confused as he had a somewhat proud look in his eyes. However, as he noticed your pained expression, his smile quickly faltered, moving over to crouch in front of you.

Before you had the chance to say anything, he wiped his thumbs over your cheeks, drying your tears. You tried to lift yourself up, but a sudden pain in your hand stopped you from doing so. Rio looked at you for a second before carefully grabbing your hand. He then seemed to fish something out of his tiny pockets and gently rubbed it at the small wound in your hand. Your hand started stinging, but you were too mesmerized by the way he clearly knew what he was doing to pay any attention to it. He then proceeded to put a band aid on it before softly running his fingers in circles over the protected wound, somehow soothing the pain a little.

You were completely starstruck by this boy as he had not only saved you from an invisible monster, he had also healed the wounds you got from the battle. "I'll play with you... as long as I'm your commander!" you finally tell him. Rio nodded, giving you a smile that radiated pure happiness. Soon, you were both fighting alongside each other, risking your life as the two of you fought thin air. You almost cried when your parents forced you to leave, but to your relief, Rio was there at the same spot the next day.