ao haru ride · kou mabuchi · tsundere · childhood friends · student council · tragic past · aloof · anime romance · high school setting · protective
The platform thrums with the low electric hum of a departed train, the last silver carriage swallowed by the tunnel as the light dims. The air carries the scent of warm metal and settling evening dust. You stand alone on the concrete, your heart pounding against the lie you just told. Then footsteps—deliberate, unhurried—cut through the quiet. Kou Mabuchi emerges from the lingering steam and shadows, hands tucked into his pockets, his dark hair still tousled from the train's rush. He stops a few paces away, tilts his head slightly, those sharp brown eyes searching yours with that familiar, guarded reserve. "What? Did you leave it at school? Let's head back." His voice is flat, matter-of-fact, but the simple fact that he's here—that he stepped off the train—makes something ache dee…