Huh? Why is he running through the rain? Rio asked himself. “You should’ve...” His lips froze when he caught a glimpse of Jaiden’s face. It had a dark, worn-out expression. Jaiden was defeated, both physically aally.

  That’s why I didn’t want you to fight them. Rio frowned. He has refrained from voig his opinion until now, but he had a hunch that things will turn out this way all along.

  Chessmaster and Gunz were formidable adversaries. Aggressing on them was beyond Jaiden and Rio’s leagues. Therefore, this result was iable.

  I didn’t want to admit it, but it looks like I was right. Rio felt powerless. His brain has been warning him against challenging this powerful duo from the beginning, but his heart refused to accept that his hero could be defeated. So, no matter how much the evidence suggested that the enemy duo was stronger, Rio refused to accept it. That’s why he kept quiet and plied with Jaiden’s request.

  Unfortunately, the e was far worse than he expected. If he khings will e down to this, he would have implored Jaiden from the beginning tet about this dangerous idea. This was all Rio’s fault.

  That gloomy face doesn’t suit you. Rio averted his eyes. He couldn’t bear looking at Jaiden right now. It was too disheartening. The hero should never succumb to despair. Never.

  Only a weak-willed person like Rio had such a weakness. And yes, he had plenty of first-hand experience wearing that gloomy expression. In fact, he used to wear it all the time in the past.

  Before he met Jaiden and Nash, he was just a living husk. Rio had no friends to speak of and there wasn’t a single enjoyable thing about attending school. If anything, there was only pain and suffering to be found there. It was a hellhole.

  “What’s with these weak kicks!?” One boy pio him during a soccer match.

  “Bruh, you even throw a ball!?” Someone else criticized him during a basketball match.

  No matter what activity Rio joihere was always criticism regarding his performance. Ead every time, without fail, some boys ganged up and bmed him for the team’s defeat.

  One day, he got fed up with that treatment. At the spur of the moment, he responded in the most poisonous way he could e up with: “If you don't like me being oeam, I always leave.”

  Of course, it was just a bluff. No matter how bad he was, his teammates wouldn’t want to lose a pyer. At least, that’s what he believed...

  “Yeah, seriously. Get out!” a boy yelled.

  “Totally,” another boy chimed in. “Like, every time you get the ball, we gotta pray you won’t immediately lose it. You’re like an obstacle for our passes, ya know.”

  “Haha, no kidding,” a third boy ughed. “I don’t even believe in god, but even I pray to that brudda every time Rio gets the ball.”

  “Ah... I...” Rio was at a loss. Did he miscalcute something?

  Rationally, there was no advao kig out a teammate. There was nobody to sub for Rio, so losing him meant losing manpower. What was wrong with all of them?

  “I...” Rio stuttered. Why do I have to leave? I know I’m not amazing, but I’m still doing what I . I’m helping here and there, right? So, why...?

  It made no sehe reasoning of these kids was beyond him. Were they too dumb to uand basic team sports principles? If so, Rio should enlighten them.

  “You’re making a mistake,” Rio cimed. “If you have less pyers, the team will be weaker.”

  “Heh, as if you being here helps at all.” His eeam ughed, and even the eeam cracked some ughs. Rio was like a cast on a stage.

  Yeah, I see how it is. They’re really all idiots. Rio cluded. “It’s simple math. The more pyers the team got, the more ma has.”

  “Huh? What’s this weirdo on about?” Everybody exged looks with dumb smiles on their faces.

  “So,” Rio tinued. “It’s dumb to get rid of a teammate when you don’t have anybody who sub in. You’re just losing manpower.”

  “Hey, did ya just call us dumb?” One of the boys pushed Rio.

  “A-Ah!” Rio lost his footing and fell on his butt. “It hurts...”

  “Pft, haha! Are ya for real?” The boy ughed his ass off. “Bruh, I barely touched him.”

  “Man, I betcha a little breeze send this boy flying like twenty meters.”

  “Is he even really a boy?” The gang ughed. “Maybe you should go py dodgeball with the girls. I betcha you gonna feel right at home, you sissy boi!”

  The cag never ceased. The boys tihrowing more and more insults at Roi. Meanwhile, he was sitting on the ground with his bottom ag, silently staring at the se with disbelief.

  Why...? Rio couldn’t process what was happening in front of him. That boy over there has just pushed him to the ground and injured him, yet the other kids were celebrating it as if it was a joyous event. “Why are you so happy? Are you enjoyiing others up?”

  “Pft, haha! ‘Beating up’, he says! I barely touched him and he’s already g.”

  “Hey, hey, listen, guys.” One of the boys grinned. “It just occurred to me that Rio might have a great future as a soccer pyer. I mean, he already he part where he gets touched ond starts rolling on the ground g for a foul, haha!”

  Everybody burst into ughter once more. Not a single kid in that group was on Rio’s side. They were all looking down on him, thinking he was er than a random ro the ground.

  “Seriously, ya should use these ag skills against the enemy,” a boy suggested. “Go out there and pretend like everybody and their moms are pushing ya on purpose. Who knows, it might get us a few free kicks, haha!”

  “Yo! That’s the ultimate strat!” The team raved about this obviously dumb idea. Were they really serious about it? Rio couldn’t follow their track of thought anymore. It was all too stupid for him to process.

  “Ah...” Rio’s lips quivered. He had no idea how to respond to any of this. Should he even bother responding to any of this stupidity?

  It was the first time such a situation occurred. The eeam ganged up on him and publicly shamed him. He could feel water welling up in his eyes.

  “Oh, gonna cry?”

  “Pft, grow a bae, man.”

  “I’m tellin’ ya, that’s ain’t a man, haha.”

  There was o the abuse. The idiots tinued running off their mouths without any shame or tact.

  So, that’s what they all think about me. Rio slowly stood up and wiped his teary eyes.

  All this time, he believed he was fitting ie all his shortings. But, apparently, he was wrong. Everybody saw him as an eyesore, nothing more. They’d even go as far as kig him out of the team even though it meant losing manpower. It was impossible to reason with such absurdity.

  “I see now.” Rio smiled. It was a twisted, painful smile. “So, you’re all idiots here, huh.”

  He simply couldn’t tain himself any lohese dumb kids were running their mouths as they pleased, so Rio decided to do the same. He told them what he really thought of them.

  “You don’t want me here? Fine by me,” Rio said. “I don’t want to associate myself with dumbasses either.”

  It oor choice of words. The retaliation hit him immediately.

  “Heh, get a load of this guy.” The leader of the gang shoved Rio again, this time with clear hostility. “Ya think you talk to us like this, huh!?”

  “Ugh!” Rio didn’t stick the nding and crashed on his back. It hurt. The entire world flickered in and out. It was difficult to process what was happening around him.

  “Look at this sissy boy, talking like he’s the shit.” Someone kicked Rio’s side.

  “Bruh, what are these skinny legs?” Someoomped on Rio’s leg. “Are ya eveing anything?”

  “Oh, whoops!” Someone “actally” stepped on Rio’s hand. “Sorry, didn’t see ya there, haha!”

  “Ugh, agh!” Pain hit Rio in waves from random dires. His sciousness was barely intact, but he definitely felt the pain.

  Thankfully, nobody seemed ied in injuring Rio for real, so there probably won’t be any sting effects. heless, it hurt. The kicks. The stomping. The insults. They all hurt.

  “Agh, ugh!” Rio coughed. He held in tears that were desperately trying to burst out. If he cries now, they’ll make more fun of him. They’ll call him a “crybaby girl” or some other nonsense.

  Therefore, he had to e. He’ll stay quiet and endure. Endure. Endure. Endure.

  Eventually, the gang grew bored with bullying him auro the game. Rio remained on the ground, all alone.

  Some more shots flew his way during the match, perhaps iionally. After getting hit three times by the ball, he finally gathered the strength to stand up.

  I better leave. Rio slowly pushed himself from the ground and limped away. That day was the prologue for the darkest chapter of his life.

  Normally, the birdbrains who ganged on him were the kinds of idiots who’d fet anything that happens after a day. As, they refused tet the words Rio used to retaliate against them. Their fragile egos didn’t permit them tet about being called “stupid”.

  And so, they started bullying Rio. They ughed at him, called him names, hid his things, and sometimes even got physical with him. School wasn’t fun for him in the first pce, but now it became a nightmare.

  Every single day, Rio imagined how ’d be if he woke up and realized that none of that was real, that it was all a dream. But, unfortunately, it was the harsh, cold reality.

  Avoid talking to anybody. Avoid eye tact. Avoid everybody. It became Rio’s mantra. No matter what situation he found himself in, he alrioritizing finding a desote er in which he wouldn’t draw any attention to himself.

  Attending school ged from “suffering” to “literal hell”. He stantly had to live in fear of getting attacked by somebody. Everybody preyed on him as if he was a small, helpless animal. There was no joy to be found anywhere at school.

  Before Rio noticed, a lot has ged about his behavior and expressions. His head was always lowered when he was walking around, to avoid eye tact as much as possible. And, whenever he raised his head to look in the mirror, all that reflected in them air of dead eyes.

  Maybe I’m already dead. Rio eained such thoughts every now and then. Maybe they actually killed me back when they ganged on me during the soccer match. So, now I’m just a wandering ghost.

  How nice would that be? But no, this was reality. Rio was imprisoned in a living hell, uo escape.

  Day in and day out, he lived in such darkness. He was all alone, a hapless prey caged in a hostile enviro. There were even times when he questiohe point of living on like this. Maybe I should just die...

  Other kids surely saw what Rio was going through, yet none of them reached out to him. Why? Why didn’t any of them do anything? Were they really fih watg a fellow cssmate beien up all the time?

  The answer was simple. Rio became the official “bullying target” of the css, the pung bag delis used for venting frustration. There was usually at least one kid like that in every css; an unfortunate victim who was bullied on a regur basis, to the point it became a on sery.

  Rio was in the bystanders’ shoes before, so he uood why they didn’t lift a finger for his sake. He also always ignored such bullying even if happened right in front of him. It was that much easier to avert his eyes from the unpleasay and pretend it wasn’t his business. And, that’s exactly what everybody else was doing right now.

  All this bullying actually makes me enjoy studying. Rio thought sarcastically.

  The bullies couldn’t cause any havoc during css, so lessons became like a safe haven for Rio. He found them b like any other kid, but he was thankful for their existehey were like an anti-bug spray that kept cockroaches away.

  The only nuisance during css was that one boy, who has retly moved to sit o Rio. The teacher forced that troublemaker to ge seats because he was talking too much during css and Rio happeo have ay seat beside him.

  He’s really a chatterbox. Rio made a face. Every five mihe guy o him would either start some trivial version or would ask for things.

  “Hey, you got a spare eraser?”

  “Man, did you do homework? me and my pals copy them real quick?”

  “Dang, this question is tough! Hey, you got any idea how I solve this one?”

  Frankly, it was a nuisance. Unfortunately, that boy was one of the “popur kids”, so Rio couldn’t refuse him. If he opposes such a superstar, he’ll be in a world of pain.

  I should be thankful he’s not part of the bullies. At least, not yet. Rio gulped. He had to stay on good terms with this popur boy. A single misstep could spark a fme of vengeance, Rio learhat much from experience.

  And so, Rio always acted friendly toward the popur boy. He he boy an eraser, even if it meant he might never get it back. He allowed the boy to copy homework, even though it was unfair. And, he also helped the guy to solve some questions during css, even though Rio also had loads of exercises to finish.

  Rio went through all that hassle to maintain a good retionship. Thankfully, this strategy worked. The popur boy didn’t treat Rio too badly. He even apologized when he fot to return Rio’s eraser. There was no mali the boy’s mannerisms.

  Actually, I feel like all the bullying has drastically decreased retly. Rio realized one day. Not only the boy seat was o him, but even the regur bullies in css paid less attention to Rio than usual.

  How did that happen? Who knew. Perhaps, the bullies grew bored with attag Rio all the time. He always made sure to show as little emotion as possible while being bullied, so his weak reas probably didn’t satisfy these idiots’ thirst for inflig pain to others.

  Heh, you’ve fallen into my trap. Rio snickered to himself. It was a long-term pn he devised to ter the bullying. By ag indifferent, he made these idiots lose i in bullying him. He won by pying the long game!

  Truly, ead every one of these bullies was a sad excuse for a human being. They were bored out of their minds, so they eaihemselves by stomping on others. So, as long as Rio didn’t give them the satisfa they were looking for, they eventually gave up. He has lost tless fights, but he won the war!

  Unfortunately, not everybody grew bored with it quite yet. Some bullies still hanged around, searg for opportuo shove Rio or to kick him for no reason. Especially, on that fateful day, things have go of hand for the first time in a long time.

  “Hey Rio, whatcha looking at, eh?” A boy shoved Rio into the wall. Why? For no reason, same as always.

  “.......” Rio averted his eyes from the offender and walked on. By now, he has learhat responding to these imbeciles won’t lead to anything good.

  “Hey, what’s with that attitude!? I’m talking to ya!” The boy grabbed Rio by the colr and shook him.

  Tch, it’s one of the annoying ones. Rio rolled his eyes. While most bullies lost i after Rio didn’t react, some got angrier instead. These were the most troublesome ones.

  “Did ya just click yo to me, eh? EH!?” The deliossed Rio.

  “Agh!” Rio’s back smmed into the wall. It hurt. It always hurt. No matter how many times he ushed into walls, tables, chairs, or floor - it always hurt. It was impossible to get used to this. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.

  I-I just o aeutral. This idiot will go away eventually. Rio did his best to maintain a poker face. He stood up and tried to walk away again.

  “Heh, would ya look at that?” The bully sneered. “Ya think I’m not even worth your time, huh? Is that what you’re thinking, sissy boy!?”

  The bed on, but Rio didn’t even turn around to look at him. This was all stupid. When will these idiots tire of this…?

  Even without looking behind him, Rio sehat something was about to fly at him. A punch, a kick, a push, or perhaps a grab. These were the usual abuses Rio has experienced on a regur basis. It was all brute violeh very little creativity.

  It’s amazing how doing this every time hasn’t bored him to death yet. Regardless, Rio braced himself. No matter what it was going to be, he’ll simply absorb the hit and move on, the same as always.

  “............” Rio has been brag himself for quite a while, but the attack didn’t e. Instead, something, or somebody, crashed into the floor behind him.

  “W-What the-!?” The bully found himself on the floor for some reason.

  Did this idiot get so angry that he tripped? Rio smirked.

  “Whatcha ughing at, eh!?” The boy jumped on his feet, his fists ched and ready to fire off.

  “A-Ah” Rio gulped. This was bad! He let his guard down. Making fun of these idiots in the open was an absolute taboo. It was like p fifty liters of fuel in a fire. I messed up. I’m dead...

  “Give it a rest.” Someo a hand on the bully’s shoulder. It was a fellow boy, a familiar face. In fact, it was a face Rio was forced to see from up-close on a daily basis.

  The boy behind the bully was Rio’s neighbor in css, the one always asking Rio for random favors. His name was Jaiden.

  “Hey, did you just trip me!?” the bully demanded from Jaiden.

  “Nah, I did it, man.” Another boy stepped into the se. It was another familiar face. He was the boy who always hanged around Jaiden, his name was Nash. “I didn’t mean to trip ya, tho. I saw you were throwing a party, so I decided to lend ya a hand. I mean, a leg. Haha!”

  “Geh! You motha...!” The bully thrust both arms for a push.

  “Easy there, bro. Trust me, you don’t want this smoke.” Nash caught the ining hands and hurled them aside. The bully found himself flying to the side, almost crashing into a wall.

  “Gah! Fuck! What do you fucks even want!?” The bully seethed.

  “Not much.” Jaiden ed an arm around Rio for some reason and fshed a smile. “I assing by and saw you troubling my pal over here.”

  Pal...? Rio blinked. Whely did they bee “pals”? As far as Rio was ed, Jaiden was just another bully, one who stantly demahings during css.

  Wait, maybe I misuood something? Rio realized. Why did I even assume it was bullying in the first pce? It seemed logical because anybody who went out of their way to i with me was a bully. But, maybe I was wrong about this guy…

  “Heh, that’s some me pals you got.” The bully sneered.

  “Hey, that’s not true,” Jaiden argued. “Rio is a great guy. He helps me more in a single day than you ever would in a lifetime.”

  “Yeah, dude is fire.” Nash nodded. “His handwriting is real . Makes it so ez to copy homework, haha!”

  “So, you’re just using him, huh.” The bully sneered.

  “Using him? Nah, we’re pals.” Jaiden g Riht?”

  “Ah, um, yeah...” Rio found himself nodding. It felt like the right thing to do in this situation.

  “See? There you have it,” Jaiden decred. “Also, I’m pretty sure I asked you and your pals to stop messing with Rio. He’s a homie.”

  “Tch, whatever.” The bully spat and stomped away.

  The eera remained fusing from start to end. When did Rio bee “pals” with Jaiden and Nash? Also, judging by their st exge, was Jaiden the reason the bullying rates drastically decreased i weeks?

  “T-Thanks,” Rio mumbled.

  “Hm? No problem, man.” Jaiden fshed a grin. “If these guys mess with you again, just tell me.”

  “Okay,” Rio smiled.

  “Oh! Wow!” Nash excimed. “First time I see this dude smiling. Kinda cute. Ahem, no homo, of course.”

  “I’m... smiling?” Rio touched his lips. Indeed, a smile formed on his lips for the first time in what felt like ages.

  “Gotta say,” Jaiden started. “You look way more approachable when you’re smiling like this.”

  “Yeah, way better than that doom and gloom look ya always sp,” Nash added.

  “I-I see.” Rio lowered his face. His cheeks burned a little.

  On that day, light returo Rio’s life once more. Jaiden and Nash pulled him out of the bottomless darkness and taught him how to enjoy life again. If not for them, Jin would’ve been drowning in despair to this very day.

  Therefore, when Jaiden was the one despairing, Rio had to do everything in his power to help out. After all, they were best friends.

  “Don’t give up!” Rio fired healing magid ran toward Jaiden.

  When the hero was feeling down, it was the sidekick’s job to boost morale. Besides, when the Carry was in danger, it was the Support’s role to mount a rescue operation. Therefore, Rio will definitely save Jaiden! He won’t let Gu a kill here, not on Jaiden!

  DarkestCymore