"Alright, we're done for today! Good job, ULTRARARE!" The directors said and everyone in the studio applauded the idol group. ULTRARARE were having a shooting for their new music video and everyone was excited to see the group release the video already.

Kourin was back in her booth when she noticed her phone getting a lot of notifications, most of them were from her social media accounts with her fans giving her good luck and supporting her and her group. She then saw a bunch of messages from the cardfight club's group chat just talking about random stuff.

But then something caught her eyes, it was Aichi messaging her. Kourin was giddy and she couldn't help but to smile as she was talking with him again. The past few days were quite awkward for the blunette as well, and she still didn't know the reason why he acted strange. But the moment that Kourin called him, the happiness in his voice was back again. Maybe something just happened and Aichi just didn't want to worry her or anyone else, but other than that she felt happy to hear him being his old happy self again.

All of a sudden, Kourin saw that Ichiro was calling her. She immediately excused herself and went outside the studio. She then answered the call and listened to his voice.

"Kou-chan, how are you?" Ichiro asked, she could hear the gentleness in his voice. Kourin's heart fluttered by hearing her childhood friend's voice, and she couldn't help but to blush.

"Hey, I'm doing fine. How about you?"

It was a good day for her.

-

[Ichiro's POV]

Is it obvious that I am in love with my one and only childhood friend?

All these years I have been wanting to meet her again, but I couldn't find any traces of her. It was just one day that she just left without any notice, and her family weren't in the house they were staying in. I felt so sad and lonely, and even asking my own parents wasn't any help.

They said they saw that her family was loading their things into a truck, but they forgot to tell me that. At that time I felt so angry, Kourin was the only friend I knew at that time. I was never that kind to have a lot of friends, and when I first met her, I was so shy. She was the one who initiated the conversation. We played a lot, hung out a lot, and even made promises to each other.

I don't know if she remembers that though.

But after all these years of trying to find her, I met her again. At first it wasn't in real life, it was just one day I was on a vacation with my family when I saw a billboard showing the idol group ULTRARARE releasing an album. I was so shocked, I knew for a fact that it's Kourin. It was Kou-chan, and I felt so happy. But I know that we have been apart since she became an idol. I then realized that I became a fan when I kept listening to their songs.

But then something interesting happened. I made a decision to live on my own as I wanted to pursue my studies, and my parents couldn't leave their local business in our prefecture. So I moved and was admitted into Miyaji Academy as a transfer student. I was happy with that decision.

The moment I came to my classroom, there I saw her. The girl that I have been longing to be with ever since she was gone.

I felt so happy and content, now that she is with me again. But it seems as if something is wrong, I could see the loneliness in her eyes. She looked like she was filled with heartache, I didn't know what to do but I want to help her to be happy again no matter what.

And then Kourin told me the reason why she felt so blue.

Apparently she fell in love with Aichi Sendou and the moment she confessed to him, he turned her down. Sure, it is normal to turn down someone if you don't feel the same. But I can't help but to feel resentment towards the guy. And the way he still acts around her as if nothing ever happened, what the hell is he? He hurt her and made her cry, he broke her heart.

Which is why I will not let her have his way to her ever again. I don't want her to feel even more pain than she already has.

Why? Because I can't stand to see the person that I love to be hurt and cry again. And I, the owner of a lonely heart, will keep her safe and she will be loved by me. I'll do anything I can to prove it.

-

[3RD PERSON POV]

It was another start of the week, Ichiro was walking his way to school and he noticed a certain blunette walking his way as well. Despite Ichiro's slight resentment towards the guy, he still thinks of Aichi as a nice person and a good friend in general. But he still hated Aichi for hurting Kourin.

"Good morning, Sendou-kun." The brunette greeted.

"Ah! Good morning, Yanagi-san!" Aichi greeted back with his same awkward smile. "W-what a coincidence! We ended up walking to school together again."

"It surely is," Ichiro replied as he fixed his own hair. "How was your weekend? I've heard that you guys went to this card shop. Sorry, I wasn't able to join in, I was busy doing part time jobs."

"D-don't worry about it, Yanagi-san! There's always next time, you know? Maybe you and Kourin-san can come together as well." Aichi said. "I-I mean... The more the merrier, right?"

"Of course, it would be fun to be there with Kou-chan." Ichiro replied as he chuckled. "I guess I should ask her about it. Although I was actually planning to have a date with her."

"D-Date?" This caught Aichi off guard and Ichiro took notice of this just as he intended. "Y-you're going to... Have a d-date with her...?"

"Yes," Ichiro nodded. "Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

"N-no! Not at all!!" Aichi shook his head. "I-I was just... Surprised... I mean... You're having a date with an idol seems... o-out of the ordinary... Also, wouldn't that be a problem? S-she might get recognized and someone might see her..."

"Don't worry about it, I'll protect her." Ichiro told him, his gaze and the tone of his voice turned serious. "And I will do anything for her to be safe."

"Yanagi-san..." Aichi looked back at Ichiro with widened eyes, all the while Ichiro's gaze turned into a glare. Aichi gulped on his own saliva in nervousness.

"You..." Ichiro stopped in his tracks, and Aichi did the same. "You hurt Kourin, didn't you?"

Ah... The look on Aichi's face was evident. As the blunette looked down, his face was filled with guilt. Aichi couldn't look back at Ichiro, he knew that Ichiro was going to be aware of the situation that he and Kourin were in. But Aichi just wanted to be friends with her! Sure, he rejected her since he thought it was the good thing to do and that is to be honest. Aichi knew he wasn't doing anything bad. But now...

Aichi could only clutch the strap of his bag tightly.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hurt her in any way, I just wanted to let her know how I felt..." Aichi stated. "I didn't want her to be in a loveless relationship too, so that's what I did..."

"I see..." All of a sudden, Ichiro grabbed the collar of Aichi's uniform and spoke in a threatening tone. Aichi looked terrified and shocked. "You know, I don't care if you're her friend or not. But if I see or hear you hurting her feelings one more time, I will never forgive you."

"Y-Yanagi-san, what are you-" Aichi was cut off when Ichiro pushed him away harshly, causing Aichi to nearly fall onto the ground but kept his balance.

"You better not hurt her or else." Ichiro glared and sneered at him. "I've had enough acting like you didn't hurt the person that I love, Aichi Sendou."

As Ichiro walked his way to the class, Aichi stood there in shock. It was at this moment that Aichi realized the consequences of what he had done, and how this would affect everything. Despite Aichi feeling dread and guilt inside him, there was another feeling that rose: it was frustration.

Aichi could sense the heart wrenching feeling inside him ever since Ichiro kept on emphasizing the word "love" about Kourin. He could sense the frustration knowing that it would be harder to be with Kourin again. Aichi thought the idea of Kourin being so happy with someone else makes him feel jealous, it should be him. But now he can't. He can't do that anymore, and Aichi knows it's his fault. He started liking Kourin when it was too late, it was his fault and he felt something in his heart was broken.

With mixed emotions, the owner of the broken heart sat in front of the owner of the lonely heart and they ignored each other that Kourin was now concerned when she found out how cold and distant both Ichiro and Aichi were.

It was something that Kourin needed to know.

===

END OF CHAPTER 7