“Teru, teru, are you all right!?” Kouji rushed down the steps towards where the girl landed. She appeared to take a terrible spill and the boy was concerned she might require medical attention from professionals.

“I’m fine.” She responded as he peered over the stairs. Teru had landed down near the bottom of them, apparently face first, as she rubbed on her cheek. “That’s definitely not the gnarliest fall I’ve taken.” That didn’t it didn’t hurt her though. Whatever she was feeling on her face certainly reminded her of that fact.

“It still looked really bad.” He said as Kouji descended the steps. “Come on, let me check to make sure you’re okay.”

“I told you, I’m fine.” She turned her face away from him, still holding up a hand over her cheek. Normally, she would not be worried about getting hurt while skating. However, things had changed ever since getting into a relationship with him. Not only did her cheeks burn from the stinging pain, but there was also the growing blush of self-consciousness coming in as well.

She felt silly about trying to hide away from him like this as she put up a fist to cover over the scratch. But, if this scared then it would be something that would be unavoidable every time they looked at one another. Despite not actually being aware of how he would react, there was a thought in the back of this girl’s mind that he would begin to find her less pretty than the rest.

“Please.” He gently angled his head down and upward to get a closer look at her face. “I just want to make sure.” His words were softer than she ever imagined someone could use towards her. Gingerly, Teru moved her hand away from her face, revealing a cut just below the eye.

“It looks terrible, doesn’t it?”

“It does look pretty bad.” He commented as the boy looked closely at it. This meant that their faces were mere centimeters apart, which only contributed more towards her anxiety. “Thankfully, your eye didn’t get hit, but we should get you home so this can get bandaged up.”

“Right.” She didn’t sound pleased with the news, even if it was generally more positive than expected. He helped her back onto her feet and the pair began walking back to her house. Of all places, it was pretty much an expectation that people who ran a pharmaceutical company would have plenty of first aid.

“You shouldn’t be put up your hand on it like that.” She was still making an instinctual attempt to hide it away from him. “Those hands of yours are probably pretty dirty, so it would be a problem if you got an infection.”

“You’re not my dad, so I don’t need your advice.” He was only trying to be helpful, but she continued to put up a wall between them. “It’s not a big deal, just leave me alone.”

“You’re not acting like it’s a small deal.” Kouji responded. “It must not be because of the pain, is it?” He couldn’t imagine someone who bragged about not wearing protective gear would take issue with that. There had to be some other reason for the sudden change in mood from this girl. “I don’t think it’s going to look that bad.”

“Don’t know where you got your fortune teller ball, but there’s no way we know that.” She replied. There was still that fear that this would scar, which would look like a badge of honor for her were this just a year ago. The cut itself wasn’t big, and a scar would most likely appear faint anyway, but Teru was a different girl now.

“Even if it was worse than we think it is, I wouldn’t have any problem with it.” He assured her. “I understand where it came from, and that kind of stuff doesn’t bother me anyway.” Even he had his fair share of cuts and bruises from back in the day. It was only that they were well hidden under his shirt that allowed the boy to forget about them sometimes.

“Of course you say that now, but don’t pretend you wouldn’t act differently.” Teru wasn’t ignorant of the circumstances revolving around their romance. Most of the girls were already prettier than her in the first place. Either because of their blessed bodies, or because of their attention to detail of the way their hair was cut, the way makeup was applied. There already weren’t a lot of features a girl like her, who kind of acted like a boy, had to attract someone like him.

“You’re really weird, you know that?” He commented, which upset her greatly as she yelled back at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean!? You don’t have to be that harsh.”

“I’m not trying to be mean.” He clarified. “I just remembered back during the winter ball, when you were in that beautiful dress.” It was funny when he thought about it. Back then, she was too concerned over appearing so girly that it didn’t fit her at all. Now the girl was worried about getting a scar because it would make her look less girly because of some roughhousing.

The pair entered her house as he continued to explain himself. All she really needed was some bandages and cream to prevent infections. “Maybe it’s because of how we feel about each other, but I sometimes forget even someone like you cares about appearances.”

“Kind of hard to ignore it considering who you’re surrounded by.” She answered. Teru picked out a band-aid, which he promptly took from her hands.

“It’s my own fault, really.” He accepted that the reality they lived in was due in part from his own actions. “I think out of everybody, you’re the one who gets left behind a lot. Even though you confessed before most of them.” She was the second girl to reveal her feelings to him, and she did so while helping him reconnect with his uncle. “So even if you were the ugliest girl in the world, I still would’ve fallen for you.”

“You’re just saying that.” She doubted his words as he applied ointment and the bandage over her wound.

“It’s the truth.” He placed a soft touch on her cheek, right over where the band-aid was now covering. “But it’s not like I’m calling you ugly… In fact, you’re one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever met.” Staring closely into her eyes told him that was nothing less than a pure fact. While sitting in the privacy of her home, the pair shared a tender kiss.