Eirin could not find the right words after seeing such a gift.
"Do you like it?"
The teenage girl looked at the young man in front of her and back at the item in her hands. 'Am I seeing things right?' she thought and gulped. "Is this… a ring?"
Bright's smile grew wider and said, "Yes. I made it myself." The sound of other people's voices surrounds them, but Eirin could only hear Bright and her heartbeat. She stared at the beautiful silver ring made of metal with a pink gem in the middle.
"You made this? That's amazing." Eirin could not believe how beautifully made the ring was. She couldn't even imagine that his friend made it himself.
'This is heavy… why would he make a ring for me? Shouldn't it be at least a bracelet?'
"I did promise you that I'll make you a ring when we were children."
Eirin's smile vanished as she looked back at Bright. "That wasn't me." Eirin placed the ring back in the box. "You're mistaken. The one you promised was Ava."
Bright then scratched the back of his head and said, "But I remember saying that to you." His sheepish expression caused the teenage girl to feel more guilt.
'How do I tell him that I can't accept this without hurting him?' Eirin was determined to reject the gift because it was too much for her.
"Please accept it."
The burden caused by Bright's begging made Eirin hesitate. "Don't you think a ring's too much as a gift for a friend?"
"But I still want to marry you, like how I did when we were younger."
Eirin stood from her seat, garnering attention to her.
"What?"
"I'm just kidding. You don't have to react like that. That was hurtful," Bright giggled and patted Eirin's hand, causing Eirin's face to warm up as she sat back down, hiding her face from the surrounding people. "You'll accept it, right?"
"Fine."
The two ate the cheesecake that had just arrived and talked about their daily lives, ignoring the awkwardness between them. Eirin decided to enjoy the moment so that she could finally let go after.
"That was delicious."
"Yeah. Let's bring Ava next time. She'll like the cake in that café, that's for sure," Eirin said.
Seeing how happy Eirin had become, Bright agreed, while smiling from ear to ear. Bliss and joy filled their hearts as they walked passed by the elementary school in their neighborhood.
"Do you remember back when we used to attend this school? I used to follow you around because you always defended me from the bullies."
Silence surrounded the two after Bright said that.
"That wasn't me," Eirin couldn't look at Bright eyes, and she only stared at the pink ring she was wearing on her index finger. "All this time, you were mistaken."
Something in Eirin's chest felt heavy, and it started aching as she realized that everything was all a misunderstanding. 'His affection towards me… it wasn't originally mine,' she thought as she forced a smile.
"What do you mean?"
Eirin looked up and smiled. "It wasn't me. The one who defended you back then and protected you was Ava. It was her all along."
Bright's forehead creased as he blinked lots of times and said, "What are you saying? I know it was you. I remember it all."
Eirin balled her fist. She felt an enormous lump in her throat, making it hard for her to swallow. "You should really work on your memory. You're remembering it all wrong," she chuckled, trying to hide the embarrassment she felt.
'I was delusional,' Eirin thought. "I—"
Eirin froze and couldn't continue talking after seeing a pair of glowing red eyes. "I think we should part here."
"What?"
Eirin tapped Bright's shoulder and showed him her brightest smile. "I'll go first. Be careful on your way, and thanks for the treat," she rushed out of Bright's sight without waiting for a response.
'I can't get Bright involve in this,' she thought as she rushed away from the young man, afraid of tainting his light with the darkness that person may bring.
Eirin ran as fast as she could the moment she got out of Bright's vision. However, she quickly turned around after being trapped near a dark alleyway. 'I hate alleyways,' she thought, reminding herself of the situation she almost couldn't escape. But seeing no one behind, she faced in front.
"What is your problem?" Eirin almost screamed at the tops of her lungs after Shade appeared in front of her.
The man only stared at her with his arms crossed and no hint of emotion in his deep black eyes, thus making the teenage girl uncomfortable.
"What do you want this time? Didn't my grandmother already tell you? We will not go with you."
Shade raised an eyebrow, cornering Eirin into the dark alleyway. He moved closer, closing the gap between them.
'I can't use the protection earring this way,' Eirin thought while touching her earrings as she looked around.
"My mission is to bring you to the academy," Shade said with an indifferent tone and nonchalant expression. "I have never failed a mission. Never."
"W-What does that have anything to do with me?" Eirin frowned.
Shade's gaze locked on Eirin as the nonchalant expression vanished and a dark aura surrounded him as he scoffed. "Are your ears for decoration? Or are you too dumb to get what I had just said?"
'No! He's the one not getting what I'm saying.' Eirin's mouth went agape, leaving her speechless while her head filled with thoughts of insulting the man in front of her. 'How am I going to respond to such a rude statement?' she glared right back at the man.
"It is not my business if you are too stupid to understand. Just go with us and get it over with. I'm sick of this place."
Eirin's forehead creased. 'Every time this man speaks, it makes my mind go blank with how bossy he is,' she thought.
"Oi, did you hear what I said?"
"Who cares about what you want?" Eirin gulped as she lashed out at the man. "Why would I go with a stranger to an unknown place? You people didn't even try to explain anything to me."
"Who cares about you?"
Eirin blinked thousands of times. Speechless and caught off-guard. "W-Wow," she scoffed in disbelief. "Do you hear yourself? You're being ridiculous." The young girl shook her head and tried to walk away, but it sure wasn't easy.
"Would you rather live in this world full of those monsters?"
'How is he persuading me without really trying to persuade me?' Eirin sighed. She doesn't know how to reason with the man in front of her.
"If you want me to come with you, why don't you explain the reason first? Then followed with everything you need to explain."
Shade rolled his eyes and said, "If Link explains it, will you go?"
Eirin shook her head. "Of course not. Have you not learned not to go with strangers when you were a child?"
"Are you playing with me right now?"
Eirin ignored Shade's anger. "How did you people know my grandmother, anyway?" she asked. The young man's condescending tone did not have any effect on the teenage girl, as she got lost in her thoughts.
People walked past the alleyway but did not pay them any mind, thinking that they were just young lovers having a petty quarrel.
"Why don't you ask your grandmother?"
Not hearing any suitable answer from the man felt suffocating for the teenage girl. 'I don't want to be alone with this man again,' she thought as she sighed.
"If you're not planning to give me answers, will you just please leave me alone? I need to go home now."
Remembering that it was Shade's fault, how Eirin could not explain anything to Bright causes her to feel extremely upset.
"Only if you agree to come with us."
"Excuse me!?"
The way Eirin raised her voice garnered the attention of the passersby. "Tsk," Eirin heard Shade clicking his tongue, and he suddenly grabbed Eirin's bag. He pulled her deeper into the empty and narrow alleyway.
"Hey! What are you trying to do?" Eirin kept raising her voice in fear of what Shade's planning to do. She feels nervous as she does not know what goes inside the head of this man.
'What if he's trying to kill me?'
"Why are you forcing me? Let me go!" Eirin struggled to pull her bag away from Shade's grip, but it was futile. "Hey! Are you crazy!?"
Shade pinned Eirin to the wall, closing the gap between their bodies. "Just say that you'll come," he said. His deep black eyes started glinting in red, and Eirin could feel bloodlust from him.
"Y-You're scaring me," Eirin said in an attempt to continue a diplomatic conversation that was nowhere to be found since the very beginning.
"I scare you? But those monsters that tried to kill you do not?" His gaze locked on Eirin. "Those monsters are lingering around you. Pretending to be humans while preying on you. They will attack, and you wouldn't know till you're dead."
"Doing this makes you no different from them."
Red flames flared up behind Shade as his eyes turned sharp. "I dare you repeat what you said." The color of his eyes kept changing from black to red, and his voice sounded dead serious.
Eirin backed away. But there was nothing but a wall behind her. Her neck started throbbing strongly, causing her pain.
"I am not a monster like them."
'I didn't say he was a monster,' Eirin thought as she gulped.
Shade raised his hand, covered with the thick leather-like black glove, forming a small fire. "I am no monster," he said, as he moved his face closer to Eirin. Out of fear and surprise, Eirin pushed Shade's face with her bare hands.
The flames disappeared, and silence followed. Eirin could feel the tension in the air dropping, leaving her breathless.
"I… am not a monster."
'Help,' Eirin thought as she could feel both Shade's hands choking her, leaving her no air to breathe in.
"H…elp."