2A/N: Uhh this ones about Rio, and there's four different sections... I labeled them (N=Nasch, R=Reginald) so it won't be too confusing hopefully?
I don't own zexal or anything
Enjoy!
Before they lost her:
T
She was strong.
She could definitely hold her own against Quattro, who was no amateur duelist himself. The small fact that Vetrix hadn't even told him to beat her-just to use the card he gave him-bothered Quattro. Just a little. As he grit his teeth against one of her ice monster's attacks, Quattro realized he needed to use all of his deck against her if he wanted to win.
Which meant he also couldn't keep up his tame façade for long.
N
She was strong.
Marin's magic showed it, too. She held her own against the enemy, her pure water magic a vivid contrast to whatever murky forbidden magic Vector's mages were using. The United Kingdom acolytes, many of whom Marin herself had trained, were doing phenomenal as well. But deep down, Nash knew that they needed to do better still to even hope of winning against Vector.
They'd sacrificed so much already, but Nash was terrified of what else they'd need to give to end the Mad Prince's reign.
When they lost her:
N
Vector. Of course it was Vector.
Vector, Marin, and the bottomless abyss.
Spiteful, scornful Vector, his chokehold on an ashen Marin, and the way he victoriously sneered at Nash.
Vector, who hated Nash, whose vague threats for the past-however many centuries it's been-now made sense, and a dangling Marin, and, and-
Nash vaguely recognized himself diving off the edge after her.
It wasn't even a choice at this point. He loved her too much to let go of her again-wait.
Again? Was this what having your life flashing before your eyes felt like? Confusing, illogical emotions, images, flashes of light made it hard to focus on Marin as she-they-hurtled downwards-
There was no true fear in Nash as he fell, just confusion, determination, perhaps despair, because Vector, because Marin, because they was falling-
… But was that a light, a second chance, in the abyss? Abyss. That was his name. Nash wasn't sure how he knew before the deity had even said a word, but it didn't matter because he wouldn't lose her again, not this time.
T
They looked really pretty at first, even artistic in its menacing flickering. He remembered thinking, dang, the AR artists really outdid themselves this time. And the heat, too, was very realistic. But, um, a little uncomfortable?
Warning bells rang as soon as he smelled smoke. But he reacted too late, because by the time he yanked off his duel gazer, the boxes in the warehouse had caught on and she was right in the middle of it all-
Panic and fear overwhelmed him and he froze for a second too long, because goshdarnit the warehouse was falling apart at this point, the structure weakened by the fire and his own stupidity and Vetrix.
It wasn't even a choice, not when he did this. The smoke hurt, ragged knives on the inside of his throat as he pushed onwards, towards her crumpled body. But then a beam fell, and he looked upwards, eyes watering, as it landed on his cheek and he felt pain. Blinding, scorching, mind-numbing pain. He didn't think he would make it. He had to keep moving, legs and arms going too slow and he had to make it to her, make it outside.
But there… he could see the blue sky, tainted grey by smoke, a stark contrast to the orange burned on the back of his eyelids. He would make it, even if his knees felt like jelly and his whole body quivered. And he was determined she would, too.
After they lost her:
Q
Quattro hated himself for what he did to her. His own wounds, though painful, were external. A nasty thought told him he deserved it.
And was it really that wrong? Time would heal the rest of his injuries. The red, angry burn on his face would fade, and probably scar, doctors had told him. But Quattro would be physically healthy, well before the next big tournament.
Her injuries were far more lasting. She wouldn't make it to the next major tournament.
Quattro hated the uncertainty about her condition. How long would she be bedridden? How severe were her injuries? What exactly had he done to this girl, simply because Vetrix told him to?
No one told him. And Quattro was left struggling with his own guilt and fear, alone.
R
He couldn't protect her. He had let some guy set fire to his twin sister, the only family he had left.
He had been angry, depressed, cynical. He'd kicked his chair and ditched school, and found that he really couldn't care less about it all. Everything sucked, because he was perfectly fine and yet suddenly struggling with life, while Rio was actually struggling for her own life.
He felt so much more upset than what should've been logical, because none of it had been his fault. The counselors told him the same. They said it would be okay, she was going to survive, he had to keep going. He couldn't control everything. But he was still her older brother, he was supposed to take care of her. And if she didn't wake up again-
She was all he had left. He couldn't lose her.
Annoying ppl and rio=fab:
S
Some boys at their school really were shameless.
Honestly, Shark had been a little surprised at the sheer number of guy club leaders that had asked Rio to join them. And that Rio expected rides from him to the farthest locations ("I have a tight schedule and lessons to teach, Reginald, I can't just walk everywhere!"). But it was fine. Not like he had plans after school, anyway. Besides, he could use the entertainment. And some time away from Rio's direct presence. Yeah, he was glad she was back, but he forgot just how much energy it took to be with her. So it would be nice when her intense attention was directed at other people.
He nodded goodbye at Rio as she skipped confidently toward the soccer field for her first challenger, then moved to somewhere with a clear view of the field. As he heard Rio's clear voice laying out the conditions of their match, Shark couldn't stop the smirk from creeping onto his face. They had no idea what was in store for them.
Q
Rio was nice to be around. She was funny, smart, and good at holding conversations. And also very forgiving. More than he was.
He was glad he'd finally (kinda-but-not-really) asked Rio out after the whole Numeron Code and Astral World fiasco.
(... It was more like "winner buys loser ice cream", but he'd take it. Screw Shark and his scary-judgy eyes, anyway.)
But wow, some girls were apparently very possessive of Quattro. Still. It'd been years, hadn't it? He wasn't nearly as active as a celebrity now, so it took him by surprise, that there were still devoted fangirls out there. It was just incredibly unlucky that a group of them were walking down the block by the ice cream stand and all but screeched at Rio when they saw her sitting next to him, and, ohmygosh, laughing with him?
And Rio had managed to shut them down cold, with a sharp glare and cutting common sense. Not how Quattro would've done it (which would be with smiles and maybe a couple hidden threats if you looked closely), but very effective nevertheless.
Quattro couldn't keep a smile off his face. She was amazing.
a/n: yayy hope you enjoyed it! constructive criticism welcome :)
