The Trigger of Memories: Don't Forget Me!

Chapter 3

When Kourin entered in the bedroom of Ultra Rare's hotel room, she noticed Rekka sitting in front of the mirror and make-up herself.

"Where are you going to?" Kourin asked with frown.

"I've meeting," Rekka informed while putting some lip gloss to her lips.

"With who?" Kourin asked with suspicious tone while putting her hands on her hips.

Rekka sneered. "It's a secret."

"I'm serious!" Kourin snapped. "This is our last concert and I don't want end it with any scandals!"

"Don't become hysterical. It's nothing serious," Rekka said with bored tone while putting her makeups back in the makeup kit and smoothed over a hem of her pink frilly dress.

"Rekka!" Kourin exclaimed with annoyed tone when her younger sister grabbed her purse and went to the door of the bed room.

"I'm not going to make any scandals. I'm just going to have some fun because this is our last concert," Rekka informed with shrug and then she smirked to Kourin. "But of course a boring person like can't understand it."

"You-!" Kourin snapped just when Rekka left the bed room. Soon she heard that the door of their hotel room was opened and closed quickly. Kourin stood there for a moment. Then she sighed and sat down on the bed.

"And here was I hoping that everything would go smoothly without problems," Kourin muttered to herself.

Suddenly her mobile phone informed with tone that she has got a new message.

Kourin took her mobile phone in her hand and read the message:

"Dear Kourin, I have wanted to meet you long time and I'm hoping that you would give me a chance to battle with you. If you agree to meeting, come tonight to the hotel's backyard. Sincerely, Aichi Sendou"

Kourin stared the message. How did Aichi Sendou know her phone number? It was a secret! And why he wanted to meet Kourin? Was Sendou planning something? Kourin continued staring the message with uncertain expression. What should she do? Should she delete the message or tell to guards about it? Or...?

Rekka was sitting on the bench of the garden canopy and checked with her pocket mirror that her makeup was perfect. Her deck was already placed on the canopy's fighting table. Rekka studied her reflection for a moment and then closed it satisfied expression. "Perfect. If Sendou doesn't fall my charm tonight, then he must have a terrible taste of women."

Suddenly Rekka heard running steps which headed toward the garden canopy.

"Ah, it's show time," Rekka thought to herself while putting her pocket mirror back into her purse. She had just turned to face the person who had arrived when-

"Kourin, my princess! Your knight has arrived!" Morikawa shouted when he stepped in the garden canopy.

Silence fell in the garden canopy.

Rekka and Morikawa stared at each others speechlessly until Rekka opened her mouth: "Who are you?!"

"W-what? Where is Kourin?!" Morikawa demanded from Rekka while looking around.

Rekka sighed. She understood immediately who this guy was. He was a fan of Kourin who usually yelled at the top of his lungs from the audience that he loved Kourin when Ultra Rare was performing.

"What are you doing here?" Rekka asked with annoyed tone while crossing her arms.

Morikawa straightened his back. "I came here because Kourin sent me this love-filled letter and she demanded to meet me so she could confess her feelings towards me. Here's the evidence!"

Morikawa took a pink book paper from his pocket with confident expression and handed it to Rekka.

Rekka took the paper in her hand with suspicious expression and read it. After reading the letter, she rose her eyes from the paper, took a deep breath and shouted: "Idiot! This isn't from Kourin! And this isn't meant to you at all!"

"W-what?" Morikawa asked with confused expression.

"I wrote this! And this letter wasn't meant to you but to another person!" Rekka informed while waving the paper in her hand. She then crossed her arms and huffed. "Geez, thanks for spoiling this."

"What? Are you blaming me? It was you who didn't write to whom the letter was meant!" Morikawa shouted with offended tone while Rekka swung her purse on her shoulder. She was just going to pick her deck when Morikawa added: "Seriously, you are so childish. You're wasting time of the top players like me and blame me for nothing. Kourin's so different compared to you. She is so charming and elegant. But it isn't any wonder, since you're just a brat."

Rekka's hand stopped on her deck. "Excuse me. I think I misheard you. What did you call me?"

Morikawa, who wasn't good in reading his surroundings, answered without hestitation. "I called you a brat. You are so immature and-"

Before he managed to say anything else, Rekka slammed her hands on the fighting table and glared at him with furious eyes. "How dare you?! I'm Rekka of the Ultra Rare! I don't need listen something like that from somebody loser who has never participated in any tournaments!"

"Hey, hold on a moment!" Morikawa shouted with offended expression. "I'm the best player of Vanguard! I'm just not ever invited in the tournaments because I'm so strong that others would never has any chance against me!"

"Oh, really?" Rekka said with faked surprise. Then she smirked. "If you're so talented, then how about showing me how great you're by battling with me?"

"But of course," Morikawa informed while puffing out his chest, mistaking that Rekka's faked surprised expression was sincere and took his deck out of his pocket. "After I had won, you can become my new student."

"We'll see," Rekka thought bitterly to herself while both of them began shuffling their decks.

Misaki and Naoki were standing in the hotel's backyard to see if Kourin would come to the proposed meeting.

"Do you think that she'll come?" Naoki asked from Misaki.

"Honestly, I don't know," Misaki admitted with serious expression. "She may not come or she'll send her bodyguards to assault us. Nevertheless, let's try to keep up with our plan."

[flashback]

Naoki and Misaki were patiently waiting while Aichi checked something from Internet with his mobile phone.

Finally it looked like that Aichi found what he was searching because he smiled silghtly and said: "Good."

"What's good?" Naoki asked.

Aichi raised his eyes from his phone. "Alright. This is my plan: I'll propose a meeting tonight with Kourin. According to the map in the Internet, there is a pond in the forest behind the hotel where we could meet and battle."

"I see. You are trying to make a similar situation like that time during our school's camping trip," Misaki said while remembering that night when reversed Kourin had challenged Aichi under the ancient tree.

"It could work!" Naoki exclaimed but then he realized something. "But do you still have Kourin's number?"

"Not anymore," Aichi answered while shaking his head, which surprised Naoki, but then Aichi turned to face Misaki. "But if possible, could you remember Kourin's number, Misaki?"

Misaki looked surprised for seconds when she heard Aichi's question but then she smiled confidentally and nodded. "Yes, I remember it."

"Good," Aichi said and continued explaining his plan. "I was thinking that I would go ahead to the pond and prepare the fighting place. I would like you two to wait in the hotel's backyard and escort her to the pond if she comes to the meeting."

"Leave it to us!" Naoki exclaimed with enthusiastic tone.

But then Misaki noted to Aichi with serious expression. "But what are you going to tell Morikawa? He isn't aware of our purpose. And what about the sender of that letter? Are you going to pretend that you didn't get the letter and leave the sender to wait you in vain? Wouldn't that be a little bit mean?"

Aichi glanced with guilty expression at the pink book paper and white envelope on the table. He thought for a moment. Then he stood up and took the book paper from the table. He went to Morikawa's bed and placed the book paper on the pillow while he muttered with apologetic tone: "I'm sorry, Morikawa."

[flashback ends]

Just then the back door of the hotel opened. Misaki and Naoki were startled and turned their attention to the door.

Kourin stepped out of the door and closed it carefully.

"She came," Naoki gasped.

Then Kourin noticed them and looked at them suspiciously.

"Kourin," Misaki said carefully when she and Naoki approached Kourin.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Kourin asked sharply.

"We're Aichi's friends," Misaki explained. "I'm Misaki and he's Naoki. Aichi asked us to escort you-"

"Escort where?" Kourin demanded. "Where is Sendou?"

"Aichi wanted to meet you in the another place and he asked us to escort you there," Naoki explained, trying to reassure Kourin.

"Really? Why should I trust you?" Kourin asked as she crossed her arms. "I don't even know you."

That hurted. Misaki and Naoki knew that Kourin had forgotten them and the friendship between them but when Kourin said with such a rude tone that she didn't know them, it felt like the opponent had got a double Critical trigger and their guarding wasn't enough.

However, Misaki pulled herself together. "Kourin. We know that you don't know us and we understand why you are so suspicious when Aichi asked to meet you this late. We also aren't going to force you come with us but I swear that our purpose is harmless. Please, trust us just this time."

Kourin studied Misaki, who had bowed her head after what she had said, and thought to herself. "That girl... Misaki Tokura? She is Aichi's friend and teammate in the Q4, isn't she? Why does she wants so badly me to meet Aichi?"

Then Kourin noticed a black hairband wrapped around Misaki's wrist.

A black hairband?

Kourin's eyes widened slightly. That hairband felt... somehow familiar? Like it was reminding her for something... something important. But it was just a hairband. How something like that would has anything important meaning?

"Kourin?"

Kourin was startled out of her thoughts and she noticed that Misaki and Naoki were still waiting her decision.

Kourin straightened her back, stared at them sternly and took a small device from her pocket which she showed to Misaki and Naoki.

"Do you know what is this?" Kourin asked sternly. Before neither of them managed to answer, Kourin informed: "This is a alarming tracker. If you or Sendou try to do anything, I only need to press the button and my bodyguards get to know where am I. And then you are in trouble."

Misaki and Naoki stared at her for a moment until Naoki said with slight smile: "We understand. We will escort you to the meeting place where Aichi is waiting. Follow us."

Kourin looked still suspicious but then she put the tracker inside her pocket and followed Misaki and Naoki into the forest.

"This may be a bad idea..." Kourin thought to herself. "But I want to know why Aichi evokes so strange feelings in me. Now it's my chance to solve it thoroughly."

Aichi was standing at the fighting table he had brought on the shore of the pond and reading a message he had got from Naoki a short time ago.

The message said: "Kourin came. We'll escort her there. Wait for us."

Aichi nodded and put his mobile phone inside of his pocket. Then he placed his hand on the fighting table and looked at the pond. "Kourin. Just a little bit more time and I will return your memories. Wait a little bit longer, please."

Just then somebody else arrived there.

Aichi was startled and he turned around...

"Is it still a long way there?" Kourin demanded while following Misaki and Naoki. "I don't have all night to do this."

"Just a little bit more," Misaki answered with reassuring tone. "According to the map we're there soon." The trio continued progressing through the forest until Misaki finally informed to others with smile. "Here we are."

Misaki, Naoki and Kourin stepped out of the forest to the clearing where Aichi would wait them. But what they saw shocked them.

Aichi was laying unconscious on the ground. His cards were scattered on the fighting table, some of them were dropped on the ground.

There were nobody else in addition to them.

"Aichi!" Naoki exclaimed with worried tone and ran to his friend, Misaki and Kourin following him.

"Aaahh!" Morikawa screamed while falling on his back when he got the sixth damage.

"Hah! Serves you right," Rekka said with smirk.

Morikawa stood up and demanded with loud voice: "One more time!"

"Again? I've already won you fifteen times in a row," Rekka said with bored expression while putting her hands behind her head. "I don't want play with you anymore."

"This time I'll win!" Morikawa claimed.

But then they heard sound of sirens. Rekka and Morikawa turned their attention towards the source of the sound and noticed that an ambulance had driven to the hotel's front yard.

A crowd of people were standing near of the ambulance and talked quietly among themselves when Morikawa and Rekka arrived to the hotel's front yard.

"Hey! What had happened?" Rekka asked from a girl who was standing behind of the crowd.

The girl turned to face Rekka. "Somebody has hurt himself in the forest that is behind of the hotel. The ambulance is here to take him to the hospital."

"Who's so stupid that he would go to the forest at this hour?" Rekka wondered aloud.

Just then the crowd moved away from the ambulance when two paramedics came to the ambulance while carrying stretcher.

"Hey... Isn't that guy in the stretcher Aichi Sendou?" a boy in the crowd asked from his friend.

"Aichi?" Morikawa explained with shocked tone when he saw that it indeed was Aichi in the stretcher.

When paramedics had got Aichi in the ambulance, one of them turned towards Naoki and Misaki, who had followed paramedics to the ambulance. "You two stay here."

"But...!" Naoki tried to protest but the paramedic just closed the doors of the ambulance before he managed to finish his protest.

"Hey! What happened to Aichi?" Morikawa, who had managed make his way through the crowd to Misaki and Naoki, demanded from Misaki when the ambulance left the hotel.

To Morikawa's surprise, Misaki, whose eyes were still following the ambulance disappearing into the distance, didn't snap like she always did but instead answered with worried tone: "We don't know..."

The next day Misaki and Naoki were visiting with Shin and Shingo in the hospital where Aichi had taken last night. They walked in the hospital's corridor while studying numbers of hospital rooms until Misaki suddenly said: "It's this room."

Without saying anything, Naoki knocked the door.

"Come in," was heard from the room.

After hearing this Naoki opened the door and they entered the room.

The hospital room was a simple, light coloured room where were a bed, small table and a window.

Aichi was laying in the bed. He was awake and seemed feeling well. In addition to Aichi there were also Emi and Kai, who were sitting next to the Aichi's bed.

"Ishida. Tokura," Kai greeted them shortly with nod.

"Oh, Kai? You're here already?" Naoki stated with slightly surprised expression.

"I've been here some time already," Kai explained calmly.

Shingo went to Aichi's bed with worried expression. "Sendou, are you alright? Are injured badly?"

"Thanks for asking, Shingo. I'm feeling well," Aichi answered with reassuring smile. "The doctor told my mother that I can leave the hospital today."

"That's good to hear," Shin said with relieved tone. Others in the room looked relieved as well.

"And this is why you shouldn't go alone to unfamiliar places," Emi said sternly to her older brother. "You were careless and ended in the hospital. Seriously, who goes in the forest late in the evening? What if you would have gone missing and we would never see you again?"

"I'm sorry..." Aichi said quietly.

"Speaking of the incident," Misaki said and took the deck out of her pocket and gave it to Aichi. "I collected cards of your deck. All of them are safe."

"My deck!" Aichi exclaimed when he took the deck in his hands and smiled to Misaki with grateful expression. "Thank you, Misaki."

Aichi went through his deck's cards until he get Blaster Blade as the topmost card. Aichi stopped and watched his avatar with smile.

Just then somebody knocked the door.

Everybody turned towards the door.

"Come in," Aichi said.

The door opened and Kourin in her driving suit entered the room with a small bouquet in her hands.

"Kourin!" Kai, Naoki and Misaki thought to themselves with surprised tone when they saw the idol.

"Good day," Kourin said calmly and bowed her head. "I came here to meet Aichi Sendou."

Nobody said anything, they just stared the idol at the door.

Kourin went to the bed. Aichi stared Kourin with confused expression. He definitely hadn't expected that Kourin would personally come to visit him.

"Aichi Sendou. My sisters and me want to express our deepest apologies because you got injured during our concert," Kourin said and gave the bouquet of light blue and white flowers to Aichi. "Here. These flowers are from us."

Aichi took the bouquet in his hand and watched them with somehow timid expression.

"Alright, Aichi!" Naoki thought to himself while clenching his hands into fist for excitement. "Now is your chance to make Kourin's memories return!"

Finally Aichi turned to face Kourin again. "Thank you for flowers. They are very beautiful... But who are you?"

Kai, Misaki and Naoki stared at Aichi with shocked expression. Kourin too stared speechlessly at Aichi.

"But Sendou! You know who she is!" Shingo exclaimed. "She is Kourin from Ultra Rare idol group. She has been performing in the Vanguard tournaments where you have been participated."

Aichi looked confused for a moment until he finally understood. "Ah, I see."

Kourin stared at Aichi for a moment until she straightened her back and said with a little bit rude voice: "Well, it's good to know that you're alright. I didn't want to get involved in any kind of scandal. But I think I'll leave now."

After saying this, Kourin turned and walked to the door.

"Thank you again from flowers!" Aichi said with friendly smile just then when Kourin had opened the door.

"You're welcome," Kourin said quietly without turning to face Aichi.

Misaki opened her mouth to say something but it was too late. Kourin had left already.

Kai, Misaki and Naoki stared at the door for a moment. Then they turned to stare Aichi with disbelieving look, without believing what they had just witnessed.

Aichi stared them with confused expression. "Uumm... Did I do something wrong?"

Kourin walked in the hospital's parking area where she had left her motorbike.

"I see," Kourin thought gloomily to herself. "Aichi Sendou doesn't even know me. I was so stupid for thinking that he would be somehow... special. Kourin, you idiot."

Kourin found her motorbike soon in the parking slot. But just when she had taken the helmet in her hands, she didn't put it on her head but instead she just stood next to her motorbike.

A tear rolled over her cheek.

"Why...?" Kourin asked quietly from herself while tears rolled down her face. "Why does it feel like... I had lost... somebody important...? Why...?" Kourin fell to her knees on the asphalt, still asking from herself why she was crying while tears fell from her face to the asphalt.

Somebody observed Kourin from the other side of the driveway. A closer look showed how smirk appeared on that person's face until a passing car covered that person for seconds. And then that person had already disappeared...

The End

Okay, I know that you guys possibly hate me now. But before you send me any hatemail, please understand that this is just the end of this fanfiction, not the end of the entire trilogy. I swear that this trilogy will reach its climax this summer!