Don't ask me how I came up with this. Please don't xD
I just hope that I'm not the only one who saw this possibility... also, if maybe someone could draw some fanart of Reira with Rio (or Ryoga) so that I could potentially find it and put it as this fic's cover picture, that would be lovely :)
Pairings: none in this drabble/fic, implied Gorgonicshipping and Shark x ? (I will let you fill that spot in with whoever you want ;))
Saving You
She looked at him as they walked back to the Council.
She knew she couldn't tell him the truth. He was already a scared child, no doubt whatever the Akaba's had put him through hadn't helped either. She watched as Reiji squeezed the boy's hand and wondered if he truly cared... like she had wondered once upon a time if he cared about her. And he did ... still did. He was still very much alive back in the XYZ dimension. Kamishiro Rio bit her lip as the child's other hand reached out for her own.
"Rio-san..." his voice was barely audible as he spoke. "... are you alright?"
"I should be asking you that..." she muttered.
Reiji shot her a look but she didn't care as she watched Reira's light blue eyes light up. Was she really the first person who showed any affection towards her brother's son? The only person who knew that her brother even had a son? Was Reira even aware of his true parentage or did the Akaba's keep that from him as well in their attempts to make him an unfeeling robot? Her hand formed into a fist in his small one, causing Reira to look up at her with light fear in those bright eyes. Fear that she never wanted to put into him. Goddamit, she was supposed to be his aunt, not some monster who wanted to hurt him!
"Reira-kun." she continued, having thought of something Tenjo Haruto had told her when she first found out about the boy and the horrible life he had with her brother still very much facing whatever threat was keeping them occupied in the Astral World. She rumpaged through her pockets and came up with some caramel. Smiling, she showed it to him. "Would you like some caramel? It's sweet and soft."
It hurt her to see him look up at Reiji, as though asking if he was allowed to eat the sweet but as Reiji nodded in return, his small hands reached out for it. As he popped it into his mouth, Reira smiled at the lovely taste and then up at her.
"Thank you, Rio-san! It's good!"
"You are welcome, Reira-kun."
The sad smile he got in answer seemed to go over his head but she didn't care. She shot Reiji a look as they walked, those cool purple eyes (not remotely like his, at all, not anymore) meeting her in defiant silence.
It was broken by Reira when he began to whistle quietly.
So yes, hope you liked it! It's my (new) personal headcanon, what if Ryoga was Reira's father? The fact that Reira was adopted and that he came from somewhere where there has been a war (so far, the XYZ dimension is the only one to fit that description) so yeah, it's possible. At least in my headcanon!
Thanks for reading! :)