Chapter 21: Who Am I? And Who Are All of You?

Two days after the incident at the cosplay event, life was back to normal—or so I hoped.

That morning, I was leaving my apartment with Yui, Kenzaki, and his family. But on the stairs, someone had carelessly left a banana peel. I, who was walking ahead, didn't see it.

Thump!

I slipped and my head hit the wall.

"AKIRA!"

Kenzaki immediately panicked. Yui and Haibara Ayano called an ambulance. Haibara Yukari, in shock, could only hold Yui's hand, trembling.

I was taken to the nearest hospital. The doctor announced that I was fine, but... "The patient has amnesia. It might take some time, maybe even a year, for his memories to return."

Shortly after, Kenzaki and his family came to visit me. I looked at them with a confused expression. "Who are all of you?" I asked.

The next day, Kenzaki asked for Mika's help to inform my lecturers and friends about my condition. The news spread quickly: "The cold Akira has amnesia and is now a completely different person."

My new personality was the complete opposite of my old one. I became more open and friendly. I no longer stayed silent. However, I didn't remember anyone. Mika, Ayaka, Reina, Sayo, and even Kazuma—I didn't remember them at all.

Despite this, they all agreed to help me remember, as they had no other choice.

However, the dark side of my new self began to emerge. I started to flirt with many women, extremely flirtatious, even female lecturers weren't safe from my cheesy pickup lines.

"Excuse me, Professor," I said with a sweet smile. "Did you know? I don't need a book to learn, because I can read your mind..."

Immediately, Ayaka, Reina, Mika, and Sayo were annoyed. The Akira they knew was not this flirtatious. Kazuma also couldn't stand it when I started pranking him.

"You bastard!" Kazuma yelled in frustration.

"I'm sorry, Kazuma," I said with a smile. "But your face when you're angry is just so funny!"

Finally, Ayaka, Reina, Mika, Sayo, and Kazuma came up with a plan. They decided to restore my memory by hitting my head with a blunt object.

"How about we use a toy hammer?" Sayo suggested. "I don't want to hurt my husband."

Each of them began chasing me. Of course, they were no experts at chasing. They didn't know that my new self, though flirtatious, was also skilled at hiding.

"Why is everyone chasing me?" I asked, hiding behind a pillar. "Are they mad because I flirted too much?"

Suddenly, Kazuma found me. "Got you, Akira!" he yelled.

Narrator: "The chase scene began, like a cat and mouse! The amnesiac Prince had to run from his angry admirers!"

I ran into Ayaka in the north hallway, which made me turn back to the south hallway. There I ran into Reina, which made me run to the east hallway. There I ran into Mika, which made me run to the west hallway. And in the north hallway, I ran into Sayo.

I was surrounded from all directions. They were all holding red toy hammers. I walked backward, panicking.

"Friends, shouldn't we talk about this calmly?" I said, trying to reassure them.

"I'm sorry, Akira-kun," Ayaka said. "I have to do this. I can't stand to see you like this!" Ayaka immediately raised her hammer.

I panicked and stumbled back, slipping on the same stairs. I fell. Mika quickly tried to grab my arm, but she was too late. My head hit the ground again. I passed out.

A few minutes later, I woke up. I saw all my friends in front of me, their faces filled with worry.

I looked at them one by one. "Ayaka... Reina... Mika... Sayo... Kazuma..." I was starting to remember them. My memory had returned.

However, one thing was different. The aura was back.

I stood up, looking at them with a cold gaze.

"I knew it," I said, my voice flat. "You all hate me."

The aura of "don't bother me" had returned. The cold and distant me had come back. All six of them, although shivering, felt a sense of relief.

Finally, the real Prince had returned. And the chaos was over.