心 ( kokoro )
— heart, core, mind

— ○ —

06 | h e a r t

"This is so boring, mum." The red haired girl whined. "Staying in bed all day."

The girl's mother frowned, but her expression quickly turned into a brighter one. "It's just a month or two, Ring!  It'll be over soon. They just want to keep you under observation for a bit."

Haruka was sprawled out on the couch when the females were talking to each other. His wings and limbs were everywhere, giving Akira no space to sit.

"Haru!" The brunette boy yelled. "Move, let me sit too!"

"No," The angel dragged out the word. "I want to stay in this position forever."

"You little—"

"Akira."

"What?" The sudden call of his name made Akira stop.

"You have the ability to show yourself to Akane and other humans, don't you?" Haruka asked. His voice sounded a bit gloomy.

"Yes, I do. That's how 'ghost sightings' happen." He chuckled a bit. "I won't appear without my will, though. But I think I would need help of a celestial being. I'm weak, you know?"

Haruka just started at the boy in front of him, thinking. After a few seconds, he flashed a smile. It held some sort of message, and it was sweet.

"Uh, Haru? Why are you smiling at me like that?" Akira asked nervously.

Haruka didn't say anything, only his smile got wider and he chuckled. He let his hand glide through his hair, giving some more time for Akira to think.

"Wait, you're not..." Akira gasped a little. "You'll let me—"

"Who knows," Haruka sat up and smiled. "Maybe, maybe not."

Akira pouted, letting out a moody 'hmph'.

"What happened to your guardian angel, though?" Haruka suddenly asked.

Akira stared at the angel for a few seconds, then chuckled a bit. "You're really curious, aren't you?"

Haruka gasped involuntarily. "No— I mean, if you don't want to tell me, it's alright. I won't force you."

"I'm just teasing you." The brunette grinned. "I didn't have a guardian angel. Not everybody has one, you know?" He shrugged.

"Oh.." Haruka nodded.

The angel was about to turn at Akane, but suddenly a harsh pain stung his chest which made him fall to his knees. He flinched and winced, hoping it would go away like it usually did. But shockingly it didn't. It stayed there like a curse placed upon his body.

"Haru?" Akira was shocked to see the pain last long as well. "You're still hurting?!"

Haruka was panting loudly and gasping for air. "A— Akane..." He mumbled, clutching his chest. He stood up slowly and went towards the girl sitting on the bed.

She was reading a book that her mum bought her. She looked so ignorant, so deep into the book. But deep inside, she was hurting a lot. Haruka's current state was the solid proof of that.

"Akane!" Haruka suddenly shrieked out loudly.

Akira flinched at Haruka's actions. He understood that the angel was trying to grab the girl's attention, but sadly, he would never be successful. Humans are incapable of acknowledging their guardian's presence.

Haruka placed his free hand on Akane's shoulder, grabbing it tight. He shook her vigorously, trying to make her notice him.

At least that's what he thought.

Akane didn't feel a thing. Even her body didn't move. She was still engrossed in her book, at least acted like it.

"Mum, who recommended this book to you? It's so good!" She chirped.

"Really?" Akane's mother turned to the girl. "I'm so glad! No one really recommended it, I was searching for something you'd like, and I thought this book would be the perfect one."

"It is the perfect one!" Akane smiled. "Thank you, mum."

"I really do know you the best, don't I?" The older woman flashed a playful cocky grin.

"Yeah." Akane nodded, her smile fading just a little bit. "Along with Haruka."

Suddenly, a heart wrenching scream echoed through the walls of the room. Akira covered his ears, desperately trying to block out the rough sound Haruka made.

The moment Akane mentioned her best friend, something inside Haruka twisted and turned. It was as if it would tear apart, causing quite a lot of pain to him.

But to the females, the room still had that silent, peaceful atmosphere. They couldn't hear a single thing the angel or the ghost uttered.

"Haruka!" Akira swiftly went towards his new best friend's side. "Hold on a bit longer, the pain will go away soon, okay? Don't worry." He tried to calm the blonde down, but it just wouldn't work. Rather, the pained male's pants and gasps were the only sounds that rang in the ghost's ears.

After waiting solid ten minutes, the pain started to subside a little. Haruka sat with his legs out in the front, his back resting against the wall. Akira sat beside him. At this point, the angel's body reacted in a way which was oddly satisfying to him.

Haruka started to shed tears.

"Haru.. ka?" Akira was horrified at the scene. Angels could cry? But they were inferior to humans, they didn't feel emotions! Then why was this guardian angel crying?

"No need to panic..." It was as if Haruka read Akira's mind and talked accordingly. "This is how the body reacts when the pain is too much." He mumbled, wiping his tears away.

Akira nervously nodded, turning away.

Haruka's breathing was starting to become even. He let out deep breaths at times, trying to let himself recover. He didn't know that he was getting paler and more frail looking as the days passed, but it certainly worried Akira a lot.

"Akira." Haruka suddenly called.

"Yeah?" The said boy replied.

"I'll help you if you want to show yourself to Akane."

"What...?!" Akira was taken aback.

"Yeah," The blonde said, running a hand through his hair. "It hurts to be invisible all the time."