AGMCFP 01

Chapter 01 …

 Wounds of the Heart Don’t Heal Easily

Sunlight filtering down through the newborn leaves.
A refreshing breeze carrying the scent of the forest trees.
The gentle murmur of the stream, washing away the stains of a heart corroded by painful days.

“Wow—! Nature really is the best. I’m glad I forced myself to come.”

I called out, a little timidly.
My name is Mikado Kenichirō, a fifteen-year-old, first-year high school student.

Due to certain circumstances, ever since starting high school I’ve been living away from Tokyo, where I grew up, and staying at my mother’s family home.

It’s been a month since I began settling into this new life, right in the middle of Golden Week.
Today, I strapped a tent and some camping gear onto the back of my bicycle and pedaled uphill for two hours to reach this mountain campsite.

I had just finished setting up my tent, boiled some water, and poured myself a cup of coffee to relax.

“Ugh, bitter. Should’ve brought sugar. Man, I’m really tired. Those hills were brutal.”

All around, families and groups of young people were happily having barbecues. I watched them with a cold gaze.

“Friends, family, companions… it only lasts for now. It never stays that way.”

There was a reason I’d come to think this way.

I used to have someone I liked.
Her name was Sasaki Mari.
She was a beautiful girl who transferred to my elementary school in fourth grade.
The first time I saw her, I fell for her.
Love at first sight.

Since she lived nearby, we naturally became close and always played together.
When we entered middle school, we started dating.
I had planned to confess, but she beat me to it.
Of course, I said yes.

I loved Mari.
I wanted to treasure her, so I decided to keep things pure until we were older.
But maybe that was a mistake.

By second year, she was cheating on me with a handsome upperclassman from the soccer team.
I happened to see them at the park, kissing.

One option would’ve been to walk away and confront her later.
The advantage would’ve been giving myself time to cool down and think clearly.

But I didn’t. I stormed in on them.
Maybe it was because I still wanted to believe in Mari.
I thought, “Maybe she’s being blackmailed. Maybe she’s being forced.”

But reality was cruel.
They told me they’d been together for half a year.
I’d been two-timed.

I couldn’t control my emotions. I was in shock.

The next day, forcing myself to go to school, I was hit with something even worse.
Somehow, rumors spread that I had been violent toward Mari.
The lies spread on social media, until everyone at school knew.

“Abusive boyfriend.”
“Rapist.”
“Sex-crazed monster.”

Titles like that flew around.

If anyone really knew me, they’d know it wasn’t true. But since I’d always been envied for having such a pretty girlfriend, nobody believed me.
The only one who truly knew the truth—was Mari, the one who betrayed me.

To make matters worse, rumors spread that the soccer senior had heroically protected Mari from me.
The truth was the complete opposite, but once the gossip took hold, it became the only reality anyone believed.

From that day on, I had no place at school.
And of course, the bullying began.

At first it was whispers behind my back, my stuff going missing.
Then it escalated to daily beatings.

Eventually, I couldn’t go to school anymore.

I became a shut-in, never leaving my room.
My parents started calling me a failure.
My father, a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member.
My mother, a cooking expert.
Proud parents, obsessed with appearances.

Even my sister, who had once been my only ally, turned against me.
The last refuge of “family” collapsed.

After that, I grew terrified of people. Distrustful.

A recluse, never stepping outside my room.
For my image-conscious mother, who ran cooking classes at home, I became a burden.

Eventually, my parents decided to send me away.
When I entered high school, I was forced out of the Mikado household and taken in by the Yuzuki family—my mother’s relatives.
Basically, I’d been dumped off.

Still, with a new environment, I slowly started stepping outside again.
The wounds in my heart weren’t going to heal anytime soon, but at least in this new high school, where no one knew me, I’d found some measure of peace.

“Damn, I came here to relax, but I just ended up remembering all that crap. If only Tora-san were here to cuddle.”

Tora-san was a cat that had wandered into my new home after I moved.
He liked sunbathing on the warm stones outside. I gave him dried sardines once, and ever since, he kept coming back.
I had no plans to keep him, but he acted like he owned the place, sprawled out on the porch with his belly exposed.
Petting him had become one of my small comforts.

I stood up, switched into sandals, and walked down toward the riverbank.
A short way down, I found a beautiful clear stream.

“Wow, a lot of people here too…”

Plenty of people were splashing in the river.

“Seriously? I came all this way to get away from people.”

Muttering, I headed upstream, away from the crowds.
The jagged rocks and driftwood made it hard to walk.

After about ten minutes, I reached a quiet spot with no one around.
The rainstorm last week had made the current stronger than usual.

As I watched the churning water, a fish leapt.

“Oh! A fish. Fishing here would be nice.”

They say you can catch trout and char in this river.

“Guess I’ll bring some gear next time.”

This time, I hadn’t brought any. A bicycle couldn’t carry that much.

“Man, I want a car. Even a motorbike would do.”

I remembered how grueling it had been, pedaling uphill, while cars and bikes zoomed past me.

I sat on a rock, gazing at the water.
The white froth where the current hit the rocks was oddly mesmerizing.

“If only I could redo the past.”

But the memories came anyway.
My ex. My parents.

“Damn it!”

I grabbed a nearby rock and hurled it into the river.
The weak splash was quickly drowned out by the roar of the current.

“Ughhh! Just leave me alone! Disappear, memories!”

I clutched my head and shook it, as if to fling the thoughts away.

Just going to school now was already a huge source of stress.
That was why I’d come camping—to heal, to let it out.

“…Guess I’ll start prepping dinner.”

Just some rice and retort curry, but curry in the middle of nature would taste amazing.

I tried to focus on happy thoughts, staring at the flowing river.
I must’ve zoned out for a while, because suddenly I heard thunder in the distance.

“Huh? A storm? The forecast didn’t say anything.”

Looking up, the sun was still shining, but dark cumulonimbus clouds were rolling in.

“You’ve got to be kidding…”

Something glittered at the bottom of the river.

“What’s that? A can?”

Curious, I stepped into the water.

“Whoa, cold!”

The May river water was chillier than expected.
The strong current tugged at my legs as if trying to push me back.

“I think it was around here…”

The water was clear, but the ripples made it hard to see.

“Is that it?”

Among uneven stones, I spotted a red, fist-sized rock.
When I picked it up, I was surprised at how heavy it was.

“Whoa… it’s beautiful. Could it be a ruby? No way…”

Holding it up to the sun, I could see light glowing through it.
It was crimson, yet transparent, like a tiny sun shining inside.

“Wow… gorgeous.”

Under the sunlight, the scarlet stone shimmered in rainbow colors.

“This could actually be a treasure…”

I climbed out of the river, rolling down my pants again.

Just then, a deafening clap of thunder roared.

“Whoa! That close? But the sun’s still out…”

They say mountain weather is unpredictable, but this was extreme.
Clutching the glowing stone, I rushed back toward my tent.

By the time I returned to the campsite, about ten minutes later, rain had started sprinkling down.
Families and groups were hurriedly packing up their barbecues.

Then, another thunderclap shook the air.

In that instant, my vision was swallowed by blinding white light.

From somewhere far away, I heard screams:
“Ahhh!”
“Lightning struck nearby!”
“That boy—he got hit by lightning!”