The Boy Savior - Ekko x Reader | DISCONTINUED

Season 2 - Chapter 9

// A/N.: Guuuys, I'm not exactly good at drawing, let alone drawing in Arcane style, but I tried to make a chapter image for our boy Rei as well (Ignore the lighting and stuff, I have no idea how to render light heh). I used our best fish boy Steb as a reference because he is my latest hyperfixation and I keep imagining Rei as a human version of him so... yeah. He is straight up just Steb if he had messy hair and weren't vastayan lol I couldn't help myself :') //

You were beyond confused. Why did his name, Rei, sound so familiar when you were sure you never even heard it before? And why did that... dream? about Ekko felt so real?

It was the second time this had happened to you. Once, you dreamt about your brother, and now about Ekko, both times accompanied by the same itchy ache behind your eyes.

You shook your head as the pain was getting stronger.

No. You definitely didn't have the patience for whoever this Rei was...

You slowly reached for the little knife hidden inside your belt and when your fingers clenched around the grip, you moved backward. In only a blink, you turned around yourself and pushed the stranger against the wall, pressing your arm holding the knife against his neck.

"Who..." you wanted to ask, but then you looked at his face and he seemed so... familiar. "You?" You asked as for a second, you believed that you recognized him.

He was surprised at first, but it quickly turned into confusion in response to your weird reactions.

His grey eyes, which seemed to be glowing out of his dark-olive skin, searched your face as you were doing the same. But the more you looked at his features - defined jawlines, high cheekbones, long nose with the sharp eyes, and... his lips - the more unfamiliar he seemed.

Your confusion grew, along with the ache in your head, making you blink as even your vision got blurred for a second and the stranger immediately noticed your hesitation.

"Okay..." he grunted as he kicked your leg, making you lose your balance. He pushed you back, and you dropped your knife, trying to keep yourself on your feet without much success. And a second later, you were pinned against the ground with your hands pushed down by the sides of your head. "You're quick, but I'm stronger," he said almost cockily, blowing a dark brown strand out of his face that fell out of the rest of his slicked-back hair and his confidence annoyed you way more than it scared you.

"Get off me!" You scoffed, trying to break free from under him, but he was right. He was way stronger than you. In this position - him sitting on your lap, and your arms being uncomfortably high against the ground - there was no way you could ever get out from under him.

You noticed he was wearing a leather jacket, similar to the ones miners usually wore, and his face was slightly dirty as well. He also smelled like coal - and leather... and machine oil...

He probably worked in one of the mines which explained his strength.

"First you tell me what you want from the kids, Screwball?" he asked and you felt your cheeks warming up for the stupid nickname.

"Don't... call me that..." you tiredly stopped struggling. Nice. Now even complete strangers believed you were crazy as well... You looked at him one more time, trying to see the intent on his face...

He didn't seem like someone you should be afraid of; his glowing - grey eyes were kind, even under the layer of suspicion. He was also worried about the children. No, he was probably not a threat...