Princess Connect Academy: Hungry Hearts and Love Storms
A boy named Yuuki transfers to a Japanese high school with no memories of his past. He's average at everything except one thing: girls seem drawn to him for no reason. On his first day, a cheerful girl named Pecorine crashes into him, complaining she's starving. He offers her a rice ball, and she bursts into tears, saying it's the taste she's been searching for. Suddenly, a strange vision flashes in Yuuki's mind—a grassy field, a sword, and a girl calling his name. But he can't remember.
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Princess Connect Academy: Hungry Hearts and Love Storms - On the night when everything was lost, they meet beneath the cherry blossoms—the price of memory revealed by a lover from 1200 years ago
The sky had sunk into a leaden gray.
Yuuki stopped just outside the east exit of Hoshizuna Station.
There was nowhere to go.
He'd been expelled from the academy. His landlord, Taro Tanaka, had told him, "Sorry, but don't come back for a while."
The bag slung over his shoulder was his only possession.
Inside were his smartphone and wallet. And a single crumpled piece of paper.
"Resonance Magic Bearer — Temporary Exile"
The notice the chairman had handed him yesterday.
Yuuki shoved it into his pocket.
He sat down on a bench in front of the station.
A man in a suit hurried past. A group of schoolgirls in uniform walked by, laughing happily.
Everyone had somewhere to go home to.
Yuuki looked up at the sky.
(Where am I supposed to go?)
His stomach growled.
Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten since yesterday.
A salaryman carrying a convenience store bag passed by. The smell of steaming meat buns grazed his nose.
(I want... an onigiri.)
The moment he thought it, Pecorine's smile floated into his mind.
"I'm hungry~! Yuuki, gimme an onigiri!"
She always said that, happily stuffing her cheeks with the onigiri he'd made.
That smile now clenched at his chest.
(Because of me...)
Pecorine had collapsed. She'd screamed and cried. Her past-life memories had gone berserk.
That shockwave had spread through the entire academy.
Everyone got hurt because of me.
Yuuki clenched his fist.
His fingertips were cold.
"...Maybe I shouldn't exist."
He muttered it aloud.
No one answered.
A cold wind blew.
He stood up from the bench.
He started walking.
With no destination, he just walked.
Through the Hoshizuna Ginza shopping street, through the residential district, along the riverside path.
Before he knew it, the sun was beginning to sink.
His legs were heavy.
His throat was dry.
Still, he couldn't stop.
If he stopped, he felt like he might disappear.
When he came to, Yuuki was standing somewhere familiar.
The entrance to a small forest behind Hoshizuna Academy.
"The Grove of Hoshizuna."
A quiet forest, rumored to trap anyone who wandered in.
Yuuki staggered into the woods.
A cold wind passed between the trees.
The rustling of leaves echoed around him.
As he went deeper, the air grew chilly.
Eventually, he came to an open clearing.
It was the academy's back garden.
He'd crossed the off-limits fence without realizing it.
In the center stood a single giant cherry tree.
A five-hundred-year-old cherry tree.
It wasn't blooming yet.
Its bare branches stretched endlessly toward the twilight sky.
Yuuki touched the trunk.
The rough texture of the bark.
Somehow, it felt nostalgic.
(I feel like if I come here, I can remember something.)
That's what he'd thought, coming here again and again.
But he never remembered anything.
Even now, nothing.
"Who am I?"
Yuuki slumped down against the cherry tree.
He hugged his knees.
The cold ground seeped through his pants.
"What am I even here for?"
His voice trembled.
"To hurt everyone?"
Tears spilled over.
He couldn't stop them.
"No... that's not what I wanted..."
A voiceless sound escaped from deep in his throat.
"I just..."
He just wanted to live normally.
Even without memories — to laugh with someone, to eat something delicious, just like that.
"And yet..."
Tears fell to the ground.
"Because of me, everyone..."
Pecorine's screaming voice echoed in the back of his mind.
Kyaru's desperate face surfaced.
Kokkoro's sorrowful eyes appeared.
All because of me.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Yuuki pressed his forehead to the ground.
The smell of soil stung his nose.
"I shouldn't... exist."
That's what he thought.
And then—
A single petal drifted down.
Pale, cherry-blossom pink.
A cherry petal, from a tree that shouldn't be blooming.
Yuuki raised his head.
The wind blew.
A sudden gust.
And the petals danced.
From the cherry branches, countless petals poured down like snow.
"...What?"
Yuuki's eyes widened.
The tree wasn't blooming.
And yet, only the petals swirled through the air.
It was a fantastical sight.
The petals rode the wind, spiraling into a vortex.
At its center, a figure emerged.
A white dress.
Black hair falling to her shoulders.
Translucent white skin.
And large, deep-colored eyes.
A girl stood there.
Yuuki forgot to breathe.
(Who...?)
The girl gazed at Yuuki.
From her large eyes, a single tear spilled down.
"...I finally got to see you."
Her voice was clear, like a ringing bell.
"I'm so glad I got to meet you..."
Yuuki stood up.
"Um... who are you?"
The girl wiped her tears and smiled.
"I'm Yui."
"Yui... san?"
"I'm someone who has known about you for a very long time."
"About me...?"
Yuuki was confused.
They'd never met before.
And yet, there was this strange feeling, like he'd met her somewhere.
Something stirred deep in his chest.
"Have we... met somewhere before?"
Yui shook her head.
"No. But you should know me."
"I... know you?"
"Yes. Your soul should remember."
Yui slowly approached Yuuki.
Petals fluttered softly around her.
"Yuuki. The reason your memories are lost is because you've been using your own memories as fuel — the cost of your Resonance Magic."
"The cost... of Resonance Magic?"
"Every time you use your power, it shaves away your past. Precious memories, the faces of those you loved — all of it."
Yui's voice was quiet.
But her words pierced heavily into Yuuki's chest.
"Then the reason I have no memories..."
"Is because you kept using that power for someone else's sake."
Yuuki was speechless.
"And the collapse of the Kingdom of Astralia twelve hundred years ago..."
Yui paused for a moment.
"Was caused by your power going out of control."
The world stopped.
Sound vanished.
The wind, the rustling leaves — everything.
"...What?"
A hoarse sound escaped Yuuki's lips.
"I... destroyed a kingdom?"
"Yes."
Yui looked straight at Yuuki.
"You used that power to protect the world. And as the price, you lost everything."
"Everything..."
"Your memories. Your place to belong. And... the promise you made to me."
Yui's voice trembled slightly.
"You once threw away everything to protect the world."
Yui took a step closer to Yuuki.
"This time — what will you protect?"
Yuuki couldn't answer.
"I..."
No words came.
"I can't protect anything anymore."
Yuuki hung his head.
"I only hurt everyone."
"Even so."
Yui gently took Yuuki's hand.
Her hand was warm.
"I've been waiting for you. For twelve hundred years."
A fierce emotion surged through Yuuki's chest.
Nostalgia.
Aching longing.
A sense of loss.
Tears he couldn't explain spilled over.
"Why... why would you say that?"
"Because you are the person I loved."
Yui gripped Yuuki's hand tighter.
"You were my everything."
"I... don't even remember you."
"That's all right. Even if you don't remember, I do."
Yui's hand touched Yuuki's cheek.
"But there's one thing I need you to remember."
Yui smiled sadly.
"If you remember everything, you might leave me behind and vanish again."
Yuuki caught his breath.
"Even so — do you still want to regain your memories?"
Yuuki couldn't answer.
"I..."
The words wouldn't come.
"Please find the answer yourself."
Yui released his hand.
"I'll be waiting, for the day we meet again."
The wind blew.
Petals swirled upward.
Yui's figure was enveloped in petals, fading away.
"Wait!"
Yuuki reached out.
But his hand grasped only air.
Yui was already gone.
Only cherry petals drifted, fluttering into the darkness.
Yuuki stood frozen in place.
(I destroyed a kingdom.)
(I hurt everyone.)
(I left her behind and vanished.)
"...I..."
Yuuki collapsed to his knees.
"What am I supposed to do..."
The tears wouldn't stop.
---
Hoshizuna Academy, Chairman's Office.
Behind the heavy door, Kyaru stood with her back straight.
Before her was the chairman.
A white-haired, dignified old man.
"Kyaru. I'm disappointed in you."
The chairman's voice was cold.
"If you hadn't given him special treatment, the damage would have been minimal."
Kyaru bit her lip.
"As student council president, your judgment was far too foolish."
"...I'm sorry."
Kyaru's voice was hoarse.
"I'll have you resign as student council president."
"...Yes."
"And in exchange for not involving yourself with him from now on, I'll lighten your punishment."
Kyaru raised her head.
"Not involve myself with him..."
"That's right. It's the only atonement you can offer."
The words stabbed into Kyaru's chest.
(Leaving Yuuki's side...)
(That's supposed to protect him?)
(No. This is just me running away.)
"...Understood."
Kyaru bowed deeply.
"I resign as student council president."
She held out her resignation letter.
The chairman took it and let out a small sigh.
"You may go."
Kyaru bowed and left the office.
She walked down the hallway.
Her footsteps echoed unnaturally loud.
When she returned to the student council room, no one was there.
Kyaru approached her desk and slowly sat down.
Documents she'd been working on were still scattered across it.
"Because I tried to protect him..."
Kyaru slumped over the desk.
"I couldn't protect anyone. Again."
Her voice trembled.
"Yuuki... I'm sorry..."
Tears fell onto the documents.
---
Pecorine lay curled up under the covers at home.
The curtains were drawn tight, and the room was dim.
Beside her pillow was a half-eaten bag of snacks.
But she had no appetite.
"If only I hadn't said I was searching for that taste..."
Pecorine pulled the blanket over her head.
"Yuuki wouldn't have been exiled..."
Tears soaked the pillow.
"It's my fault. Because I said those things..."
Yesterday replayed in her mind.
Eating Yuuki's cooking, collapsing, screaming and crying.
That shockwave.
The panic throughout the academy.
And Yuuki's sorrowful face.
"I want to apologize to Yuuki..."
Under the covers, Pecorine repeated the same words over and over.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Her smartphone buzzed beside the pillow.
She looked at the screen — a message from Kyaru.
"Did you see Yuuki?"
Pecorine stared at the screen.
"...No."
She typed a reply.
"Sorry, I don't know anything."
Sent.
The read receipt appeared immediately.
But no reply came.
Pecorine clutched her phone.
"Yuuki... where are you..."
---
Kokkoro was walking through the Hoshizuna Ginza shopping street.
"Yuuki-sama... where are you...?"
She stopped in front of the onigiri shop, "Musubi no Sato."
"Um, excuse me."
Kokkoro called out to Taro Tanaka in the back of the shop.
"Have you seen Yuuki-sama?"
Taro Tanaka looked a little troubled.
"...No, I haven't."
"I see..."
Kokkoro's shoulders dropped.
"Thank you very much."
She kept walking through the shopping street.
The café "Nocturne," the used bookstore "Luminous" — she visited every shop, one by one.
But Yuuki was nowhere.
"Yuuki-sama..."
Kokkoro stood at the entrance of the Grove of Hoshizuna.
"He isn't here either, is he..."
She stepped into the forest.
A cold wind blew through the trees.
"Yuuki-sama! Where are you!"
Kokkoro raised her voice.
"Please! Answer me!"
But there was no reply.
The forest was silent.
Kokkoro clutched the star-shaped pendant at her chest.
"Yuuki-sama... please, be safe..."
She gripped the pendant tightly, as if in prayer.
Then, the pendant gave off a faint light.
"...Huh?"
The light vanished immediately.
"...I can't tell where Yuuki-sama is..."
Tears spilled from Kokkoro's eyes.
"Won't my prayers reach you...?"
She sank down to the ground.
"Yuuki-sama... what should I do..."
---
Morning came.
Yuuki had spent the night beneath the cherry tree.
His body was freezing.
But he had no energy to move.
His smartphone buzzed.
He looked at the notification.
"Notice from Hoshizuna Academy: Permanent exile of the Resonance Magic Be
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