"Hey, you got ice cream on your nose."

"Do I?" Mio blinked her dolly eyes, earning a bright smile from the brunet beside her. Before she could wipe the tip of her nose, Reiji did the honors. He wiped the vanilla ice cream off with his thumb, and then licked it. For a while, Mio just stared at him in confusion, her brows just barely furrowed together. Reiji was so nonchalant with all of his actions, he didn't see a problem with getting so comfortable with the girl. Meanwhile, Mio always had trouble cozying up to people if they weren't kids. The white haired girl soon returned her gaze to the ice cream cone in her hands. It was smothered in sprinkles, such a childish topping choice, but Reiji found it oh so endearing.

Reiji had convinced Mio to take a break, and go to town with him. He offered to buy her ice cream without listening to any of her protests. Mio had a decent amount of money, only because she had no time to spend money, resulting in her saving all of her funds. She wanted to pay for their dessert, but Reiji already took initiative. Valt had caught the two leaving the estate, and the poor thing wanted to join them, but Reiji grabbed Mio's hand, and bolted after apologizing to the blue haired boy. Reiji wanted the girl all to himself, even if it were for just a short amount of time.

"I feel really bad for leaving Valt behind. Why did you not want him to come?" There was a soft frown on the girl's face, her sad expression made Reiji feel terribly guilty.

"If he came with us, you'll be looking after him, and ultimately it'll be like you're still working." Reiji exhaled. "I want you to relax. If it's just the two of us, you won't have to be worried about anything. . . But I realize you're now worrying about Valt, so I guess my plan had a lot of holes." A humorless laugh came from the brunet.

"I see. . ." Mio muttered. "I'll try to not worry. I understand you're just trying to help me."

". . . You're going through a lot. Aren't you?" Reiji's golden eyes fixated on the white haired girl's sad face. "Talk to me. I'll listen."

"There's not very much to talk about." Mio responded softly, before licking her ice cream. She crunched at the rainbow sprinkles silently.

"Of course there is. You look so lost in thought all the time. What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" Reiji gave the girl a very gentle nudge with his elbow. His charming smile could swoon anyone, but Mio wasn't paying enough attention to feel a thing. Normally, that smile of his would have girls falling head over heels. Both his smile, and his clever choice of words. Mio passed the boy a glance. Reiji's smile slowly faded, seeing how distressed she looked. He felt terrible for the girl, and even more terrible because he didn't know how to help her. "Damn that blonde haired bastard. How could make such a pretty girl so sad?" The brunet huffed.

"It's not his fault, Reiji." Mio quickly defended her dear friend. She was the kind to take a bullet for her loved ones, more than a million times. "He was free to leave the team. If he felt like he was being chained down by us, then I don't blame him for leaving." Realizing her ice cream was starting to melt, Mio started eating it faster until all that was left was the cone. "He means so much to me. I want the best for him. Always." She nibbled at the cone in her hands. "Now that he's gone. . . I feel so lost. It's like a lost such a big part of myself."

"From what I see. . ." Reiji started, heaving a deep breath and leaning back on the bench they were seated on. ". . . Your teammates love you just as much as they love Free - probably even more so. You may feel lost, but you're doing such a great job. You took on such a big responsibility to make others happy. I really admire you for that. Your friend Rantaro even managed to beat me, that was probably because of the training you put him and the others through. . . I don't think you realize how much you've done. You've done so much more the past week for everyone than Free had his entire life as captain." Reiji's golden eyes stared straight ahead, at nothing in particular. Mio could feel how serious he was, it was almost unsettling.

"Thank you. Really." Mio averted her gaze back down to her lap. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything!" So suddenly, his demeanor changed. He was back to his cheerful self. "Regardless if Free is here or not, I think you're an amazing captain, and you'll only continue to get better."

". . . I miss him, Reiji. I really. . . Really miss him." The white haired girl clenched her teeth, forcing herself to not cry. She had to be strong. Not only for herself, but for Christina, and everyone else on the team.

"I know you do. He's not gone forever Mio. . . You can always send him a text message, or call him. I'm sure he'd be happy to hear your voice." Reiji placed a hand on the top of her head, and stroked down at her hair. "He's really lucky to have you and Chris. If I were you, I'd be furious with him."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking so much." Mio heaved a soft sigh.

"It's okay, don't worry. You can let your guard down around me, I won't judge you." The brunet used his fingers to turn her face, making her look him in the eyes. "I want you to smile now. Okay? Let's have some fun before heading back to the estate."

Mio nodded, and mustered a soft smile. This, put a grin on Reiji's face.

"Atta' girl."