Another World Again

Rio could recall a certain memory. 

A few years ago even.

It was after he had been invited to that school for nobles, after he had been kicked out for a crime had not committed, after his time on the run, after meeting someone who would later become someone he would see as his own sister.

Yes; after all of that...

He had visited his homeland. 

Rio Karasuki's homeland. 

He met family he didn't even know he had, finally paid respects to his parent's empty graves, and lived comfortably, surrounded by kindness he didn't even know he wanted but desperately sought all the same.

He... even considered living there forever, in peace, where even the previously glowing desire to one day leave to track down his parent's killer... slowly began to lose its enticing gleam.

Rio genuinely had those thoughts. 

He really had. 

And then some piece of filth tried to do something unspeakable to his cousin Ruri and her friend Sayo.

Rio didn't even hesitate.

He didn't even think about hesitating.

He beat that... thing... until he was unrecognizable. 

Punch after punch, bloodied fist after bloodied fist, Rio broke the would-be assaulter's nose, then his jaw, then his teeth. Not even thirty seconds and the man had already lost consciousness. After a minute, he was barely clinging to life.

And Rio would have continued.

No, he would done so, gladly. 

That day, he had definitely wanted to kill that person.

The only reason he didn't was because he was stopped at the last moment.

But was it by the fearful tax collector who just happened to come across the scene?

Or, had it been the shell-shocked, utterly terrified gazes of Ruri and Sayo, made to watch as he nearly killed someone right in front of them?

Rio no longer remembered. 

He did remember what he had been thinking up until that moment though, when he had caught the man red-handed, standing over the girls with disgusting intent.

He imagined Lucius.

Rio imagined Lucius, over his mother, killing her as he watched. 

Being made to relive that?

Being made to allow it to happen again, but to someone else this time?

Was that a joke?

Rio didn't regret almost killing that person. 

He did regret having accidentally scared Ruri and Sayo.

But that was when he realized. 

Even though Rio had tried to bury it down with smiles, laughter, and a serenity filled new life with people far, far too kind... how quickly had he ruined it all with that same, ever burning, disgusting hatred he had deep inside him?

How quickly had he used it to nearly scar two innocent girls?

Rio left that place not long after. 

That was the day he stopped trying to find a reason to fight the vile taint squeezing at his heart. 

That was the day he decided to start tracking down Lucius anew.

That was the day he decided he could no longer live a peaceful life surrounded by warmth, smiles, and laughter.

Yes... and today too.

Finally slipping into the hallway, Rio's expression was devoid of emotion.

Seeing the fear in Yang's red eyes, shocked right back to their usual lilac, the way she shook, the way she even tried to dismiss it all outright with her typical exuberance, but failed miserably...

What more proof did he need?

Even now, the girl wasn't even speaking to him... on the other end of the arm... the arm he was still holding.

Stomach churning, Rio quickly let go of her.

"...Apologies. I didn't mean to touch you without asking. No, moreover, I decided... way too many things without consulting you first."

His words were formal. 

Just like they always were. 

But it was no longer the same. 

No, this was the formality he saved for people he wanted nothing to do with, not out of dislike for them, but for himself, where he saw distance, as much as possible, as the easiest way to rectify the situation. 

He couldn't bother people he no longer interacted with. 

He couldn't scare them if he didn't lock eyes, didn't appear within their sight, and afterwards, didn't so much as speak to them. 

A slow, twisted little smile appeared on Rio's face.

Yes, that way—

Without any warning, a force slammed into his shoulder, and before he even knew it, he was already sprawling backwards, loudly, into the lockers behind him.

Although saying he even felt the contact would be a lie. Not when he was much too busy looking at the cause, eyes widening as far as they could go.

That is, at the gauntlet-clad fist that had snaked right through his guard, then his balance, sufficiently knocking him backwards. 

With a huff, brows furrowed, Yang looked at him.

"There. Finally got a hit in."

Rio's mind blanked at that, face shifting from bewilderment to confusion, then bewilderment again.

Yes; he was sure almost none of his usual composure was present at the moment. No, even before that, he was truly confused, not knowing how to react in the slightest.

Still.

"M-Miss Yang," he tried. "What are—"

"Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Shut up. You're not allowed to speak until I say so. Got it?"

Rio's mouth clicked shut.

It did so even without his permission.

Yang's face, now dead serious, went hand in hand with the almost scathing footsteps that suddenly paced the ground before her, again and again.

And then, scratching her head roughly, the words came out. 

Quite a lot of them.

"First... man, you really are irritating. You know that right? 'Miss' this, 'Miss' that. Does that polite over the top attitude really do it for girls? Listen, Rio. There's a fine line between being considerate and being too considerate. Push and pull. That's flirting 101. The quiet smile and solitude strategy might work for some, but for most of us, we like guys who actually know how to push back."

"..."

Blinking, eyes wide, Rio continued to stare. 

No, between the solid locker behind him, and the fiery blonde in front of him, that was all he could do.

"Second, what the hell was that in the ring? I wanted you to put your game-face on, not look at me like you wanted to kill me all of a sudden. Who in the hell did you even imagine to make you—?"

Yang paused for a beat, before shaking her head.

"You know what, it's not important. And then you saved my ass when I nearly tripped on my own feet in front of the whole class, so I'm kinda grateful, since it would have ruined my rep. Oh, everyone thinks I'm a badass by the way, so thanks."

But eyes narrowing, the gratitude disappeared from her face. 

"And another thing, what was with that total personality shift, then and now? What, did you get all mopey all of a sudden because you thought you freaked me out? Ha. That's... okay, well, you, maybe you did a little. But, like, only a tiny bit. Yeah, I fight Grimm on the daily, you know. So something like that is nothing. You didn't scare me. Ah, and if you tell anyone you did, I'll kick your ass properly this time. So—..."

Suddenly, Yang's passionate tirade came to a halt. 

Of course, the reason was obvious.

It was because a chuckling sound filled the hallway.

"W-What? What are you laughing at?" Yang suddenly asked all at once, her tone colorfully indignant.

But, Rio couldn't help it. 

Normally, he wouldn't dare laugh like this.

Normally, he would have listened quietly, nodded unconditionally at the right moments, and accepted whatever else benefited the other party, because that was usually always easier than doing the opposite. Moreover, the person at fault being him, that was undoubtedly the correct move.

But that didn't happen this time.

It couldn't. 

Yes; quiet, stifled laughter only continued. 

"Even when, haha, I was worried I traumatized you," Rio eventually breathed out, and with tired amusement, voice barely above a whisper. "Even when I thought, for sure, I had made a mistake, just like back then..."

Head leaning backwards, hitting the uncomfortable surface of the lockers behind him, Rio just smiled. Because his body lost all its tension, its professionalism, and every single other little thing he put on for the sake of others. 

"But you... you just... flirting? Flirting, is it? Haha. Right, that's the normal thing to worry about. That's what you're supposed to do when you're a teenager. Of course, haha..."

"Eh? W-Wait..."

Yang's face suddenly turning uncertain was definitely something he should have paid attention to.

Maybe, even further correcting the misunderstanding, as he was so used to doing as someone who only knew how to act like an adult, whether that be kind or cruel. 

So. 

It was telling when Rio did none of that, continuing to smile and laugh with the kind of tired exasperation that was directed at no one but himself.

Completely oblivious to Yang's face, slowly but surely turning an awkward but delicate shade of red.