(Erin) “Come on Kuro! Hurry up!”

She’s like a little kid dragging her brother around town, it’s pretty cute. Mia would always drag me into the mall when some new seasonal style or something would come out. Just watching over her would make me happy. Her smiling face… how I miss it... no matter how much I try to not think them, I’m always reminded of them.

(Erin) “You know… it’s rude to think about other things when escorting a girl…”

Ah… I did it again! My mind wandered off for a while, better save my hide quickly.

“Sorry Erin, you were just so cute I couldn’t help but lose track of time and place. Where are we going?”

Her face had a red hue to it as she leads me into another shop. What’s with woman and shopping anyways? I’ve pretty much been her bag boy all day today also. Although I don’t really mind… I’ve been brought along a lot in the past. Kenny always loved going to the book stores and read the day away. Every time I bought him one a book he would tell me to not waste money with a smile on his face...

After she bought a bunch of clothes and books, so much we actually had to stop by and drop off everything first. I was then made to change into the new clothes she made me buy. She said something about me wearing the same thing all the time, and that I didn’t have “style.” Well excuse me for buying a much of pairs of the same clothes. My clothes back in the day were all chosen for me!

After being forced into a change of clothing I’m made to display myself in front of both my mother and Erin. They circle me a few times examining me before they give each other a nod…? What’s going on here…? The next thing I know I’m being pushed outside by my mom while Erin pulls on my arms. I know Erin’s excited to go and play, but what’s with mom being all pushy?

She wanted to go to the Bakery near the house since she hasn’t been there either. The entire day was a nice lazy day, nothing significant happened. Once we actually reach the Bakery, the first thing I do is look around… Good… that little girl isn’t here…Just to be safe I start looking in the under and behind the nearby barrels and boxes….ok, clear!

(Erin) “What… are you doing?”

I should probably explain…right? I mean, I don’t think it’ll get me in trouble...I think.

“So, last time I was here Erin… this little girl attacked me… and stole my pies… I don’t know why, but I feel like she’d be here again. Just...waiting to ambush me.”

You know that moment, where you just know they’ll be back. The culprit always returns to the scene of the crime right! I still have a bone to pick with her for sicking Aiden on me. There’s no way she would resist the urge to come back here and steal more food from me.

(Baker) “Oh! You’re here again Kuro. Thanks for the coming by! I just finished baking some fresh baguettes and made some sandwiches. ”

As I was thinking the Baker notices me and hands me a freshly baked baguette… This guy’s good, he knows how to keep people coming back. After looking around for a bit, me and Erin end up buying a few sandwiches and head back to the square to eat. These sandwiches are really tasty~ I should have bought more.

While I’m eating I notice, Erin is acting strange... again. It must be my imagination… but is she sitting closer now? Hmm… well she’s just eating her sandwich happily now so I guess it was nothing. Nope… It’s not… She wrapped one of her arms around mine…

*Sigh*

Better straighten this out now… before it get’s any worse...

“Erin… You... aren’t by chance… interested in me…romantically... Are you?”

Asking her this, my heart beat starts to race. I really hope I’m wrong about this… please let it just be my imagination...

(Erin) “Huh!? I thought we were…you k-k-know on a d-d-date... Um… is there a problem if I am?”

She looks at me with upturned eyes…Looks like I hit the bullseye. She… hasn’t thought about this huh? There’s a lot of problems with it, she must have not given it any deep thought. My heart feels as if it were sinking as I told her.

“Erin...of course...there’s a problem.”

Suddenly...well I guess not that suddenly, Erin separates herself from me protesting, and clearly upset. Well… I can’t blame her. From her point of view, I must just brushing aside her feelings without thinking. The reasons… are more for her own sake... before I can even consider how I feel about her… First there are other things I have to consider...

(Erin) “WHY!? Why is there a problem! Is it because I’m young compared to you? Or is it... I-I-I’ll grow in the right places in a few year j-j-just like mother! Or is it because of me being human!? L-l-love can cross things like species can’t it! You never know if it’ll work until you try first! Why can’t you give me a chance...”

Well yes, you’re young right now… and what? Well it’s true… certain areas need more growth… anyways! I like to consider myself human, no matter what… I’m still a human on the inside. No matter what… I have to stop her here... for her sake.

“Well… That’s right Erin, you’re still young and haven't seen enough of the world to know your own feelings yet. And no… it’s not that… Our time, is very different... For you it would be your entire your life… for me… It would feel short…It wouldn’t be fair for you.”

That’s just how it is… I’ll outlive her by a staggering amount of time. If we were to be in a relationship, not only will I have to slowly watch her age...until death. But she’d also have to live with the guilt… of leaving me behind… all by myself. If it wasn’t for my lifespan, I probably would have considered it.

(Erin) “I’m prepared for that! I already know you’ll live longer… but what about...”

What about…

“Erin… please understand... this is what’s best for you...and me. I don’t want you to have to live with the guilt... of leaving me behind first...so please reconsider.”

Erin begins to sob as she starts to hits my arm silently… sounds like it’s sinking in...

(Erin) “Jerk! Thick headed idiot! I bet you just like little girls! You Loli-”

Woah, woah, I quickly interrupt her… What the heck? That came straight out of nowhere! I can understand the jerk and thick headed idiot… but I do not have a thing for little girls!

“I am NOT a Lolicon! Where did you learn that word anyways! Lilly is essentially my god child! And don’t forget… you are my good friend’s grandchild. Things couldn’t be more awkward if something did happen between us.”

… Didn’t I tell her already… her hit’s don’t hurt…

As her tears continue to fall, she silently continues her barrage of hits. After what felt like forever, she stops hitting me and just grasps my shirt sobbing into it. Gently putting my hand on her head, I try to comfort Erin.

“Erin… You’ll find someone who will make you happy I’m sure of it. Much happier than if you were together with me, I promise. If he doesn’t, he’ll answer to me and Harvey. I’ll bury him up to his neck when the sun is at it’s highest point and leave him there!”

Slowly, her sobbing stops and she wipes her tears. She tries to play off the whole thing as a prank on me, with a sad smile. I play along and act surprised telling her how she did a good job tricking me. It’s all I could do for her...Erin then tells me she had some other business to take care of, I nod to her and watch as she disappears into the crowd.

Did I do the right thing… If I had let her nurture those feelings, it would have hurt her much more. Clenching my chest I think back, there were so many signs… I chose to ignore. Maybe I could have stopped her… maybe I shouldn’t have. This still doesn’t make me feel any better about doing it though... It doesn’t change what I did to that poor girl. It really was for the best… for the both of us. She’ll be happier this way… much happier I assure myself. There’s definitely someone who can make a cute girl like her much happier then I ever could.

My heart beat still hasn’t slowed, my heart feels like it’s being crushed by the guilt...or maybe... is it regret. I place my hand on the ring on my other hand, I slowly rotate it around my finger… That’s not...the only reason though… A part of me, isn’t ready still… not after last time… It’s just hard...for me also... If only the conditions were different… Maybe then I could accept her feelings...No, I can’t... I’m not wrong… it was for the best.

Emotionally exhausted, I sit down and lean against a nearby tree to relax. I close my eyes and feel a light breeze caress me for a moment. My mind starts to drift off, the sound townsfolk off in the distance melt into the background. Strangely, I can hear a sweet, soothing song being sung from somewhere. The voice was very calming… the image of an angel smiling as she sung came to mind. The song sounds familiar…yet I’m not...close enough...to …….