A/N: This is the end. Enjoy.

With numb fingers, I reached down and ran my finger across my belly. The blood I wiped away had been hiding a single thin line. The wound was far from deep, and the pain I felt was minor to the pressure on my skull. Thanatos ripped through the Shadow snake, and Minato ran to me. He pulled my shirt away, examining the wound, visibly relaxing when he found it wasn't very deep at all. He glanced up, and gave me a smile. But there was only so much I could take.

No more of this. No more of the Dark Hour. No more of this horrible, monster-infested world. I had had enough. I leaned against the counter, my fingers running over the blood, my eyes burning from the salt red tears that continued to run. I was done. I slumped against the counter completely, and crossed my arms. Minato gave me a curious look, before he took my hand and tugged carefully. I didn't move. I wasn't going out there again.

I used to consider myself a strong guy. I used to consider myself a tough boy, brave in the face of punks and bullies. I had learned a lot since then. I had learned I was a coward. I was a crybaby. Minato dealt with almost nightly, yet I couldn't cope for a half-hour total of the Dark Hour. I…I didn't want any of it anymore. Minato wiped away the bloody tears on my cheeks and he kissed me softly. I didn't really feel it, which made me look away.

"Do you wish to forget everything?" I heard, which made me look back to him. The voice was similar to Minato's, but at the same time, it was different. Minato was smiling at me, but I think I was seeing double. I feared my eyes were giving out on me, just like my sound and my voice, but I think I was seeing everything clearly. Aragaki was fending off some more Shadows, and I couldn't hear him swearing profusely like he probably was. I could see him just fine, hear him just fine…so why was I seeing two of Minato, and able to hear him? Like I was wearing a bad pair of glasses, I swore I saw an illusion.

A hand moved forward and ran over my cheek, a pair of interesting blue eyes greeting mine. "Do you? It's possible, you know."

"Really?" I croaked out. This Minato double smiled happily, nodded. How could he hear me? My voice didn't make noise. The double pulled me into a hug, something felt different, but not at all wrong. It felt like Minato. "I…Please…Please, I don't want to remember."

"All of it, Hide-kun? All of everything?" he purred. Everything? Did he mean my feelings for Minato, too? My answer slipped out before I thought too hard, but…I knew I wanted to forget. Another night like this one…Hell, after this one, there was a chance I would fall into another coma and never wake from it, ever. I didn't want this. I was scared all the time, I wasn't Hidetoshi Odagiri. I was…I was just some scared little kid. I nodded. I was willing to forget the one thing that had kept me going, and that was what I had with Minato Arisato.

The Minato double smiled sweetly. "Good night, Hide-kun. I'll see you at the meeting." He pressed his lips against mine, and in that last instant, I heard and saw everything. I heard the sounds of the Dark Hour, I saw the green moon illuminating the sky outside of the theater, I heard the growls of Shinjiro Aragaki; and I was glad I was going to forget. I was glad I was going to forget it all. I felt the darkness close in, and before everything faded away, I saw Minato's faint smile. It was him and not the double.

"I love you, Hide-kun."

And then there was nothing.

I tapped my hand on the back of his chair as I passed him by in one of my usual nervous paces. Whenever there was some sort of issue that got me fired up, like the school policy on the dress code and similar situations to that, I would pace a bit anxiously. I wasn't uncomfortable with the subject, and I was quite passionate when I talked about it, but Mitsuru Kirijo was one hard debater and she got me going. We both worked too hard to try and get our way, it always worked out magically when we had to settle on even turf.

Knowing this signal, the boy nodded without looking up and continued to zone out and listen to his music. The end of the Student Council meeting came quickly, and he approached me while I stared out the window. I wished I could play outside like those other students could. I wished I could be as carefree and simple as they were, but I wasn't, and therefore it was silly to dream about such obliviousness. I had a very important job to do; I was the Head of the Disciplinary Committee, and I was the Vice President of the Student Council at Gekkoukan high school. Playing soccer outside in the dirt was not only a waste of my time, but I simply just wasn't the type for it.

Before I could turn to him and ask my question, he held up a finger and turned down his obnoxiously angry sounding music. As he pulled off his headphones, he cocked his head and asked lowly, "How's your bronchitis?" His question made mine temporarily slip from my mind. I disregarded it with a simple wave of my hand. Despite this, his gentle gray eyes bore into mine and I couldn't completely ignore it.

I sighed, crossing my arms. "Better," I stated simply. "A few more weeks and I should be recovered. Arigatou, Arisato-san." He nodded, then slid his hands into his pockets and shifted his head. I saw between his bangs, for a fleeting moment, and there it was. A cut across his cheek, bruised and angry. I had little explanation for what could possibly cause such a horrid wound, and so my curiosity was getting the better of me.

"You," I stated, jerking my chin up a bit. "You're hurt, aren't you? I see your bruise. I see your limp. Why are you hurt? You…aren't being bullied, are you?" The surprise that flashed across his usually blank eyes made me jump, even though it wasn't something I usually would find myself skittish about. The boy stared down, before he looked up with a scowl. I'd never seen him scowl, it made me anxious. With a careless glance aside, he sighed as though it was the biggest pain in the world to tell me.

"You have a scar across your stomach," he growled. "A single scar. It's long and thin. You don't know where it came from." Without actually thinking about this, my hand flew over my stomach. My blood chilled, goosebumps rose on my skin.

"H-How do you know that?" I demanded, eyes sharpening.

"I did it," Minato sighed. "Stay out of my business, Odagiri-san." With that cold statement, he turned his back on me, and left the room. I untucked my shirt and looked under, staring at the mentioned mark. I had spoken to no one about this. Not even my mother, who I told quite a bit. I looked up at the door. I clenched a fist and stared back down at my stomach. He gave it to me? He…I ground my teeth and snorted, gazing back outside.

I was glad I wasn't that close to him anyway. That little punk.

I saw him leaving. He had that annoying idiot Junpei Iori next to him. There was something off, something that intrigued me, and that was when I noticed his eyes. It was hard to see from my height, but I saw it. The boy was crying. It made me scowl, pull the blinds, and look away. We were friends…but now, obviously, I suppose we weren't.

A voice fills your head.

The Emperor Social Link has been reversed.

The relationship has ended.

Post A/N: Harsh, right? I know. Anyway, lemme give a shout out. Thank you so much to my reviewers, and especially my fan artist, Kitsune-prophet. Love ya. Check out her awesome drawings for my story. This one links to the others:

der-fuchsprophet./art/Nyoro-n-A-Single-Scar-80815111

So yeah. That's the end of 'A Single Scar'. Hope this was enjoyable for you during your readings!