A Scar On His Heart

It was P.E. and everyone had assembled on the ground in their jerseys. Out of curiosity, Ayane watched Akihiro and Natsume’s interactions from a distance.

“Aki-kuuuunnnnn, are you fineee? Do you need help? Medicines? Or perhaps a hug?”, Natsume asked with his arms wide open for a hug.

“I’m fine.”, Akihiro replied coldly.

“I heard you were hit by a car yesterday.”

“Yea.”

“And you are completely fine? No injuries? Nothing?”

“Yea.”

“No way! Lemme see.”, Natsume said as he lifted Akihiro’s jersey.

A scar on his heart.

“Wha- what is this mark?”, Natsume asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve had it since birth, so a birthmark I guess?”

Ayane blushed and looked away. Everyone else was staring at both of them.

“Oh sorry! Hahahaha.”, Natsume said awkwardly and let go of the jersey. Both of them went back to continue their exercises. As usual, Akihiro completed the exercises with ease.

After P.E. was over, Ayane went up to Natsume and asked, “Were there any injuries?”

“No.”

“Hmm….Did you think of any way for me to thank him?”

“Oh, that! Yeah, after class, just go and tell him that you want to treat him to something.”

“He’ll definitely say no. I can’t imagine him agreeing to come with me somewhere.”

“Yeah, he would definitely say no if he was going only with you. If I come along too, he will agree.”, Natsume replied.

“Wha-er...umm…Okay, can I just confirm something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Does Akihiro like you? He only hangs out with you, and you were checking his chest out in P.E. class, and now he would only come if you tagged along...”

“Ehhhhhhh? No-no! Impossible! I’m the manliest, most straight alpha male in the whole of Japan. And plus, I like women, only women! By the way, older women are totally my type. Hehe.”, Natsume laughed.

“Pffffft...hahahaha.”

“What’s so fu-”

“Hahahahahaha! ‘Most straight alpha male.’ Hahahahahaha! Oh sorry! I can’t stop...” Ayane continued laughing until the both of them were scolded and had to return to class.

----

The final bell rang. School had just ended for the day. Natsume looked at Ayane and nodded, showing her a thumbs up and mouthing the words “You can do it!”

She looked at him with disgust, and mouthed the words “Shut up.”

She walked up to Akihiro and stopped him before he could get out of class.

“Umm...Kimura-san...T..thank you so much for saving my life yesterday. I truly owe my life to you. Please allow me to treat you to something.” She said as she bowed down.

Akihiro was about to reject her and walk away when Natsume came closer to Akihiro and whispered in his ear, “Why did you save her?”

Akihiro looked at Natsume and he could see it in his face. Right now, this girl in front of them might be an answer to Akihiro’s doubts. And to Natsume, this was just getting more interesting.

“Okay.” Akihiro agreed. Natsume smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up again. This time she smiled back too.

“Let’s go to that ice cream shop in Shibuya.” she said.

“Finally! Let’s go!”, Natsume shouted excitedly as they walked out of the classroom together. While exiting the classroom, Natsume looked back from the side of his eyes. As expected, Rumi Sato and Mizouchi Yamaguchi were watching them walk out of class together.

‘Things are going to get even more interesting.’

----

They reached the famous ice cream shop in Shibuya twenty minutes later.

“Look! It’s ice cream on a conveyer belt. Cool, right?” Natsume said enthusiastically.

“Ehh…You said it was unique. This is just sushi but ice cream.”, Ayane responded.

“But the main thing that matters is the taste, right? Look at these flavours!”

“I’ll just have chocolate.” Akihiro said unenthusiastically.

Ayane and Natsume replied in sync, “Ehhh… so boring.”

They got their ice creams, sat down and started talking again.

“Haha, Mizouchi-kun would be so jealous if he found out I was on a date with you.”, Natsume joked as usual.

“There are three of us though.”, she replied.

“It’s 2090, you gotta be more progressive.”, Natsume remarked.

“Ughh...”, Ayane replied disgustedly.

“Hahaha, anyways, tell me more about the accident.”, Natsume requested.

Ayane began to talk about the incident in great detail. While explaining, she took a bite of the blueberry choco-chip ice cream and smiled, “Mhmm I didn’t expect it to be this good.”

Akihiro felt the sting in his head again, but didn’t show any sign of distress. Natsume had always been the observant type. He noticed it but chose to keep quiet.

“And finally he gave us compensation money as an apology.” she said.

“How much was it?” Natsume asked.

“200,000 yen.”

“Oh my god!”

“I know right! It’s a lot!”

“Yeah! That’s a huge sum.”

“Maybe I should do this for a living hehe...”

“DON’T!” Natsume replied, and both of them laughed. Akihiro continued eating his ice cream undisturbed.

“Anyways Aki-kun, I didn’t come here to simply hang out. I came here to get an answer to my question.” Natsume said. His expression suddenly became one of doubt and suspicion.

“Why did I save her?”

“Yes.”, Natsume nodded.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Natsume, leave it. He said he doesn’t know.”, Ayane interrupted.

Natsume stared into Akihiro’s eyes while leaning back on the chair, “Is this related to your mother?”

“I don’t know…At first, I remembered what happened to my mother. Then my head began to hurt, and before I knew it, I had already jumped.”, Akihiro replied, but he wasn’t calm anymore. It was obvious that he himself didn’t understand it either.

“You were never attached to your mother, right? That day, when she was killed in the car accident, you felt nothing, right? Then why did you jump?” Natsume questioned in a calm but pushy manner. Ayane was shocked, seeing how straightforward Natsume was being, but remained quiet.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you regret that you were not able to do anything when your mother died?”

“Regret…I-“, Akihiro felt another sharp pain in his head.
“Stop it, Natsume! Do you enjoy reminding people of their trauma and their past?”, Ayane shouted. She couldn’t tolerate it anymore. She grabbed Akihiro’s hand and stood up. “Let’s go somewhere else!”

She dragged Akihiro out of the store.

That’s when Natsume realized what he’d done. He still sat at the table, his head in his hands, ‘Ah shit, I’ve done it again.’