Chapter 3: Prank

Akiro’s Point of View

I YAWNED for the nth time, unconsciously scratching my chest as that unfamiliar thing inside my chest happened again.

“Coffee, Aki?”

“Yes, please,” I mumbled, ducking my head on the dining table.

“Akiro. Table etiquette,” my grandfather reprimanded.

I slowly lifted my head. “Yes, grandpa. I’m sorry.”

He halted from what he was doing, pulling down the newspaper he was reading so he could look at me with narrowed eyes. “Why are you so pale? And your eyes look dark. Did you not sleep well?”

I shook my head. “I slept well, grandpa. I don’t know why I’m looking and feeling like this as well.”

“Maybe a fever?” Grandma chimed in, setting down the coffee in front of me before putting the back of her hand on my forehead and neck. “No. It’s not a fever either. You’re not hot. In fact, you are so cold. As cold as a corpse.”

I was about to make a joke about corpses and vampires when I noticed my grandparents seemed to freeze on their spot. They were looking at each other, eyes wide with shock and... fear?

“Grandpa? Grandma? What’s wrong?” I worriedly asked.

It snapped them out of whatever conversation they were making with their eyes. Grandma sat on the seat beside me, looking intently at me with her gray eyes.

“How old are you, Akiro? You’re just eighteen, right?”

“I’m nineteen, grandma. Turning twenty in three months,” I answered, despite my confusion.

“No... maybe you’re mistaken, Aki.”

I frowned. I don’t understand why my age and birthday seemed to bother them even more. They knew something I wasn’t privy to, with the way they exchanged looks. What’s happening to my grandparents?

“Grandma. Grandpa. What’s wrong? Is there something about my age?”

“Has anyone been around you, Aki? Someone you didn’t know who started following you around and telling you something weird?” Grandpa asked, ignoring my question.

“Why...” I thought about his questions. “No, no one’s following me around. I’m always with my friends.”

“No one has ever tried to tell you something weird?”

I shook my head, but immediately stilled when I remembered something. “Oh, there’s this one guy. Remember when I went home pretty drunk? There was a party at one of my schoolmate’s houses. I went out after a few drinks and games to get some fresh air, but this man wearing a cape just suddenly appeared out of nowhere—”

“A cape?” Grandma asked, her nose wrinkling. “Who wears a cape nowadays? Not even us old people wear that.”

“I know, grandma. I was surprised as well,” I agreed with my grandmother. “Then when I was about to go back inside the house, the man pinned me on the wall and he said some weird things about blood and scents.”

Much to my bewilderment, both my grandparents turned pale as paper.

“W-what— did I say something wrong?”

“Akiro... w-what else did the man tell you?”

I frowned, recalling his parting words. “He threatened me not to get close to other people, or he'd drain their blood. And now that I think about it, he’s really weird. He got mad when I called him ‘dude’ and told me not to call him that, and then he said something about me having mixed scents. And oh, he has cold skin and red eyes too. Really weird if you ask me.”

“Listen, Aki. If you ever meet that man again, ignore him. Don’t ever come with him, even just for a talk—”

“Now, now, isn’t that quite harsh, Mrs. Freniere?”

The three of us jumped from our seats when an unfamiliar voice spoke behind us. I hid my grandparents behind me as we backed away from the door where a man stood.

Despite not seeing his face that night, I’m absolutely sure he’s the same man standing in our doorway, both hands in the pockets of his leather pants. He’s not wearing that weird cape of his, nor boots and a fancy shirt. He’s just wearing a simple plain black shirt that highlights his fair but pale skin, and leather pants.

“W-who are you?” I nervously asked.

He stepped inside our house, walking lazily in our direction.

“Stop! Don’t come near!” I yelled despite my nerves. My grandparents were shaking in fear behind me, and I would probably be the same if only someone else were here to help us. But no, my grandparents aren’t strong enough to protect themselves. I’m not that strong either for a man, but I will do whatever it takes to protect them.

Even if it means standing up to this intimidating man.

The guy stopped just a few steps away from the door, his striking yet frightening ruby eyes trained intently on me.

“I already told you who I am weeks ago, Akiro.”

My forehead creased. “N-no, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did,” he simply replied. “I told you I am your mate.”

What the hell does that even mean—

“NO! WE WON’T LET YOU TAKE OUR GRANDSON AWAY!”

I gaped in surprise when my grandmother pushed me behind them. Her small, trembling form shielded me from the weird intruder while grandpa was holding her hand tightly.

Why is she getting so mad all of a sudden? And what does she mean by taking me away?

“It seems you know us. Then you must also know: no one can escape the Crystal, Mrs. Freniere,” the man calmly said. “I didn't even win against it when I tried to resist it.”

“No no no no! Akiro won’t come with you! You already took his parents away! Akiro won’t suffer the same fate!”

What?

“There are billions of humans in this world. Find someone else to play the victim. Just let our Akiro go. He’s already lost so much from your kind,” grandpa said in a hard tone, his free hand clenched tightly against his side.

Grandma screamed when ice suddenly appeared on the floor, creeping so fast in our direction and towards the wall.

“You know we have no say against the Crystal’s choice. I can’t let him go. He’s my mate,” the guy said through his clenched jaw.

“S-stop this! Stop whatever you’re doing to our house!” I yelled at the man. Almost immediately, the frost that started to spread across our house melted. My eyes went wide as saucers at the astonishing sight. Is that... a supernatural ability?

I looked at the man. He doesn’t look out of the ordinary— perhaps his red eyes were a bit weird and too striking, and his skin is way too fair and pale to be called normal, but other than that, I don’t see anything different from him.

So why does it seem like he can control ice?

“Look here, mister,” I said as calmly as I could. “I don’t know what kind of prank you’re pulling on, but you better stop it right this instant and leave. I don’t know why my grandparents seemed so scared of you, but it involved my parents, so it must have been really deep. I don’t know why you have this ability to control the ice either, but don’t use it in our house. So if you can kindly leave right now, we won’t tell anyone about this encounter.”

The man didn’t budge; his eyes remained staring directly into my eyes. Red eyes met blue, and neither of us dared to look away. I don’t know what’s going on inside his mind, but I was too enthralled by his striking ruby orbs to look away.

And for some reason that I couldn’t explain, there was this inexplicable pull inside my chest that drew me to this man. I felt it as soon as our eyes first laid.

After what I think is an eternity of staring into each other’s eyes, the man finally moves. He didn’t avert his gaze from me, but his body was moving towards the door.

“I’ll come back,” he said, then he finally tore his gaze away from me to look at my grandparents. “And when I do, I’ll bring him with me.”

“No, you won’t,” grandma hissed at him.

“We won’t let you,” grandpa added, his voice still hard and rough.

But the guy just ignored what they said. Instead, he returned his gaze on me, something akin to a fierce determination in his eyes.

“I’ll come back, Akiro,” the guy’s cold voice spoke so calmly, it made him sound even more dangerous than when he was raising his voice earlier.

It rendered me speechless. He didn’t wait for my response; he just swept his menacing ruby eyes before leaving our house.

My grandparents both sagged in relief, almost falling on the floor. I hurriedly helped them back to the chairs.

“Grandma... grandpa...” I called their attention after letting them drink water first. They both raised their heads to look at me. “W-who’s that guy?”

“Don’t mind who that man is, Akiro. Just... don’t ever listen to whatever he says to you. And if possible, never go somewhere alone with him. Don’t talk to him at all.”

My brows furrowed in confusion and annoyance at my grandmother’s words. Shouldn’t they tell me who that guy is, at least? They wanted me to avoid that man who seemed really determined about something related to me, but they couldn’t even tell me who that guy was.

And how the hell am I supposed to resist someone that stunning? Hell, I’m just a young homosexual that still struggles with his hormones. So pray tell, can I avoid that man who looks at me with so much intensity?