bizarre love triangle

a bewildered mind comes out from the boy

It was lunch break, and everyone suddenly crowded in the area where Ichiro was sitting. His fellow classmates were asking all at once, "Who are you?" "How are you related to Kourin?" or the weirdest and most awkward question: "Are you her boyfriend?!"

Aichi watched from behind, feeling sorry for Ichiro. He had the same treatment when Kourin first arrived and since they knew each other, his classmates bombarded him with so many questions that he didn't know how to answer. Wow, it really has been a while since that happened, huh...

"You lot!" Kourin's voice suddenly resonated in everyone's ears, and it wasn't the typical cheerful and charming voice of Kourin that everyone loves. She sounded super serious and everyone immediately felt chills running down their spines, it was like she's Misaki Tokura 2.0. "Can you please leave the poor guy alone? He's uncomfortable." Kourin told them and her fans immediately obeyed.

"Y-yes, Kourin-chan!" They said.

"Seriously..." Kourin approached Ichiro and grabbed his arm. "Let's go."

"Kou-chan-"

"I said let's go!" Kourin pulled the brunette out of the classroom, leaving everyone super curious and started wondering what their relationship could be.

"That was weird," Naoki said as he approached Aichi and looked at the door before glancing back at Aichi who seemed to be spacing out. "Yo, Aichi."

Aichi jolted from his seat and looked back at Naoki, he let out an awkward laugh. "A-Ah... hey there, Naoki-kun."

"What's wrong? Is the new guy bothering you or something?"

"No... I... well, somewhat. He seems to be Kourin-san's friend yet she never talked to us about it..." Aichi spoke as he let out a sigh.

"Well, maybe she will explain. Maybe it's kinda like you and her relationship, maybe he's a cardfighter somewhere that none of us know." Naoki replied and saw that Shingo walked up to them as well. "Hey Shingo, do you know of that guy?"

"Ichiro... Yanagi, right?" Shingo wondered, putting his finger under his chin as he tried to think. "No, I've never heard of him. I don't think his name is on any tournaments at all."

"Well, maybe he's that rich boy's acquaintance, then." Naoki said. "Eh, shall we go and eat lunch?"

"A-ah, sure!" Aichi nodded and followed Naoki and Shingo outside. His mind still longers on the question of who might Ichiro Yanagi be and what is his exact relationship with Kourin.

-

"Why are you here?" Kourin asked the brunette who only gave a smile at her, a soft smile even. Kourin couldn't help but to have a slight blush forming on her cheeks. The two of them are at a stairway, where no one could notice them.

"Well, Kou-chan... I haven't seen you in a while and we moved here from another prefecture." Ichiro replied. "I'm glad you still remember me."

"I... Well, you see... I know for a fact that my memories have disappeared." Kourin muttered, yet Ichiro heard this.

"Ah... you lost your memories?" Ichiro wondered, suddenly looking at her with worry.

Kourin looked away from him and just gave a nod. Ichiro continued to be worried about her and suddenly he pulled her into an embrace. Kourin was shocked of course, as she didn't expect him to do such things. "I-Ichiro-"

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked..." Ichiro whispered. "Are you okay now though? Do you still remember... Maybe about me?"

"I..." Although Kourin didn't exactly like people just randomly doing whatever they want with her, she let Ichiro embrace her like this. It was as if she needed this kind of embrace, even if it wasn't Aichi that she hoped to be. Somewhat, Ichiro's embrace made her feel at ease. Her arms then went to wrap around his body as well, returning the embrace.