Chapter 4

It was the continuation of a dream—even though he needed to get to

elementary school, no matter how much he pedaled on his bike, he would

go down the wrong streets and never arrive. The despair from the dream

melted like a phantom at the faint light coming through a gap in the

curtains.

That was right. He was a high school student now. He didn't need to

go to elementary school.

It was morning.

"Good morning, Takasu."

"Yo…"

Ryuuji sluggishly stretched his neck and looked at the clock by his

head. He tried looking at it, but the shabby clock wasn't in the familiar spot

it should have been, and he couldn't figure out the time…

"Huh?!"

He jumped up.

He wasn't in the familiar scenery of his own room but the cramped

living room that led into the wooden floors of the kitchen.

"I went ahead and drank the milk in the fridge. Sorry."

It took Ryuuji a good three seconds to remember that the blond

runaway currently under their charge, who was wearing the long sleeved Tshirt and tracksuit pants Ryuuji had lent him and whose breath smelled like

milk, was Kitamura. Right, right—he finally remembered everything and

rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"I can't believe you. You two look like you really lived it up on your

own. I would have wanted to join in, too. You could have woken me up."

Without thinking, he stared intently at Kitamura's dissatisfied pout.

"Wh-what's wrong?" said Kitamura.

"Nothing… Morning to you, too…"

It was just that you were crying… Of course, Ryuuji couldn't say

that. Kitamura's face was cleaned up like nothing had happened. This was

probably a point where a man was supposed to pretend not to notice. Ryuuji

scratched his head, touching back down into the real world. As he woke up

more and understood the situation better, the wrinkles in his forehead

deepened all the more.

He became aware that he made a terrible blunder.

The last memory he had was of Taiga dividing the cheese and cod

into three pieces and going "Ahhn," as her tongue coiled around the fish.

Wow, what a weird girl… he thought. He must have fallen asleep by the

table while watching her hands and face.

He had used the floor cushion as a pillow, and his body had cooled to

the core, to the point that he was sore in places. The table was in such a

terrible state that he felt almost pitiful enough to cry. The stuff they had

bought from the convenience store was completely consumed and

destroyed. The trash from the cup ramen, oden, plastic bottles, cream puffs,

yogurt, and even used disposable chopsticks were scattered around and

stinking the place up. Eek, disposable chopsticks! It was too late to shudder

now. Another tropical rain forest had disappeared!

"Damn it! I can't believe I've shown you how sloppy I've been…

I'm pitiful!"

"This stuff is perfectly normal. Cheer up. My room is more or less

always like this. When my brother has a mahjong competition with his

friends, the whole living room is all cigarette butts and convenience store

trash."

Ryuuji shook his head back and forth fast enough to emit a lowfrequency buzz. He was in agony.

"That's not the problem! Even if all the families in the world lived

like this from time to time, I can't let our house—I can't let myself live like

this! I really wouldn't let any family living on earth do this if I could!"

"I-I see! Sorry!"

"No! Don't apologize! Right now, the reality is that my house is a

mess! Okay, if I don't clean all of this up within thirty seconds, then please,

kill me! If you don't, I won't be able to face the earth—whoa!"

"Nnngh…"

When he tried to heave himself up, he noticed something heavy on

top of his legs. Actually, he couldn't even feel anything in his cold legs.

Taiga was splayed out and using Ryuuji-the-eco-jerk's legs as a pillow as

she slept without a care in the world. His circulation had been cut off from

the weight of her head. He was past numbness. Around the same time as

Ryuuji had fallen asleep, Taiga must have also lost consciousness. She was

still holding the cheese and cod in her hand.

The fact that his legs were numb or how they had gotten into this

position wasn't the most pressing matter at that moment. Taiga was using

another boy's legs as a pillow in front of her unrequited love. It wasn't okay

for a maiden to look like this. (He wouldn't get into whether Taiga was a

maiden or not at that moment.) Ryuuji grabbed her head in a fluster and

shook her back and forth.

"T-Taiga! Wake up, you slob!"

It didn't matter whether she got mad at him or bit him, this was all for

Taiga's sake.

"Give it a rest, she's sleeping so peacefully. Don't you have pity for

her?"

Making only himself look good without understanding the whole

situation, Kitamura stopped Ryuuji's hands and gently cradled Taiga's head

to transfer it over to the folded-in-half floor cushion. Taiga, seeming happy,

let out a "Nyaah." Like a cat, she went into a lazy C shape. She started to

breathe deeply, soundly asleep once again.

"See, she looks so happy when she's asleep… She really does have a

cute face. Her eyelashes are super long."

"Try telling her when she's awake."

"That's embarrassing and right on the edge of being sexual

harassment. But that peaceful aura she's got when she's asleep… Just

seeing it has a sort of curative effect…"

Kitamura was smiling gently as he looked down on Taiga's sleeping

face. Ryuuji couldn't say anything to him. They're the same, he said to

himself.

Just as Taiga and Ryuuji hadn't noticed Kitamura's anguish,

Kitamura also didn't notice Taiga's awkward feelings, which stemmed from

her overthinking and earnestness. Anyone was like that. Everyone must be

like that. But if everyone was like that, it wasn't as though that would

comfort anyone, make it better, or reduce their pain.

Ryuuji's stiff shoulder cracked.

"What time is it now? Geh, it's already eleven."

He looked at the clock and was a little surprised. He had thought it

was right around nine. He had lost his precious Saturday morning.

"I just woke up, too. We really did sleep in. Oh, come to think of it…

take that! Hell car!"

"Whoaaa?!"

Suddenly, Kitamura grabbed Ryuuji with his softball-forged arms and

firmly locked Ryuuji's arms and legs. Ryuuji was rolled roughly into the

kitchen and his head hit the floorboards. He was overcome by the

ridiculousness of it and lay there, splayed out. He even forgot to rightly

scold Kitamura and went into silent thought for a while. What in the world

was this? Getting violent right after waking up, treating him like this, and

having an unreasonable amount of energy—he couldn't think of this as

someone who had cried himself to sleep in silence the night before. Because

of that, the ennui he felt since that evening all disappeared at once.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?!"

"Huh? You said once thirty seconds were up that I should execute the

death penalty. Oh, you still seem to be breathing."

"Stop it, stop, you idiot! That was obviously a joke!"

"It's not like I'm giving you the death penalty just for show or

because I like it! There! We're doing it, giant swing!"

"Ngaaah?!"

"Hold your head, it's dangerous!"

Then don't do it! Ryuuji thought. His body had just woken up, and he

still couldn't quickly react. As Kitamura swung him around, he closed his

mouth in a fluster. Just as he was told, he held his head. He only had one

prayer as he gave up his futile resistance. If you're doing it, hurry up and

end it already. How did it come to this… Oh, it's because I've destroyed the

environment. He would endure the pain as a representative of the foolish

human race. It would be a rescue signal coming from the Spaceship Earth…

He was warming to the idea of being a martyr, but right when he closed his

eyes, he was flung in a direction he wasn't expecting.

"Whooaaaa!"

He hit the sliding door that separated the living room and Yasuko's

room. At the edge of his vision, he saw Kitamura flying off to the side and

rolling cleanly away as he yelled, "Daaah!"

Then, the one who should have been sleeping peacefully acted.

"…Uw…uw…"

With no mercy for her unrequited love, she sent him flying with the

heel of her palm. The one who had tried to dispose of the criminal with a

giant swing was sent rolling away so that she alone was standing.

Her messy light hair rose and fell with her breath. Under her eyelids,

her eyes were swollen from crying right before sleeping. They shone an

ominous red from the saltiness of her tears. She staggered, and he knew that

her atrocities had resulted from her just having woken up.

She probably still hadn't even seen the two shaking boys who

couldn't speak up from fear. She stood imposingly, like a half-asleep beast

that had been allowed to stand on two legs. Her eyes glistened like she had

been born without reasoning. She turned to the ceiling and looked up at the

moon that, of course, wasn't there. Then, snap, she broke the invisible chin

restraints around her and showed off her very real gums. She clenched her

fist, which was still covered in fish, and roared like a beast.

"YOOOOOOUUUUU'RRREEE NOOOOOOIIIIIISSSSYYYY!"

So this was a so-called evangelion… Actually, it was the Palmtop

Tiger.

"Kuh…she's awake now…"

Kitamura kneeled in front of the violent, half-asleep girl. He put his

hands up and narrowed his eyes as though she were blinding. Incidentally,

there was nothing bright in the apartment at all. They didn't get good

natural light because of Taiga's condo, and they only had a dim light on. For

the moment, Ryuuji left the high-spirited Kitamura behind and crawled all

the way to the kitchen.

"Taiga…Taiga. Come over here. Now…"

"Uh…?"

"Look…your favorite. It's nice and cold… It's blueberry flavored…"

"Uh-uh…"

He opened the refrigerator and showed the contents to the rampaging,

sleepy tiger. What he pulled out was what they had bought the last night, or

rather that morning, when they had gone to the convenience store. It was a

Meiji Bulgarian yogurt drink that she hadn't already consumed.

Taiga slowly but surely hobbled towards Ryuuji. Her eyes had only

one focus—the cold yogurt drink.

"Now, drink. You can drink it all, it's all yours."

"Uh…uuuuh…? …Uh!"

Schwoop! Her small hand grabbed it. Psht. She thrust the straw into

the drinking hole. Her teeny mouth greedily sucked and, sluuurp! She

drained the contents. As her throat made noises, her eyes gained a spark of

logic that was more human.

"Ah~! That was good! Another!"

Finally, she spoke in a human language.

"We don't have any more."

"What?! Cheapskate! Then give me milk!"

"Sorry, Aisaka, I just drank it all."

"Huh?! Wait, what right do you have to my dairy—kyah!"

Don't scream, Ryuuji thought. He was exasperated as, before his

eyes, Taiga finally woke up and realized the situation.

"K-K-K-Kitamura-kun?! Uwah! Noo! Gyaah! N-no way, you didn't

see me when I wasn't decent, did you?!"

At this point, she hastily rubbed at her mouth with her sleeve…or

rather, with the sleeve of Ryuuji's parka.

"Sorry, I did, but it's your fault for sleeping in a place like this,

Aisaka."

"Noo, what do we do, Ryuuji?! I'm so embarrassed I could die! I

can't believe he saw me! He saw me while I was sleeping! While I was

sleeping!!"

"Seeing you asleep aside, do you even know what you did to

Kitamura with your hand… Well, it doesn't matter…"

"No no no no no no no no no no no, I didn't want this to happen!"

Now that she was feeling shy after her unrequited love had seen her

sleeping and after she had hit him as hard as she could, Taiga tried hiding

behind Ryuuji's back. Embarrassed, unseemly, and making a scene, she

flailed and stamped her feet.

"No, I don't like this, it's the worst! The worst! My hair's even all

messed up like this!"

Screaming, she jumped into Yasuko's room. She slammed the sliding

door shut and probably jumped into the empty sheets next to Yasuko. Now

she could reflect on her embarrassment over her klutziness.

"Making a scene… She's an idiot."

"Well, it was a really good palm strike, and really powerful. I feel

like it cleared my head."

Together, they both folded their arms and nodded chummily, unaware

of the tremendous shock rearing up into their view.

"Whoa?!"

"Uh…"

The sliding door opened, and the human silhouette that appeared

could only be compared to the Yamato Transport cat, the Nippon Express

pelican, or the Sagawa Express guy. She firmly held a package in one hand,

but instead of a piece of mail, it was Taiga. Her hair was half up; she'd

mussed it in her sleep so that it blasted to the side. Her mascara had melted

into her sweat as she slept so that her under-eye was black and her

eyebrows were thin. The remnants of her foundation were oily and slick,

but her skin itself was dry and wrinkly, like a crêpe. She might have been

cold—she was wearing Ryuuji's junior high tracksuit top on top of her

black lace camisole—but the ends of her unhooked bra stuck out from

under the hem. Her bottom was still barely covered with a miniskirt, but the

zipper was half undone on the very front of it. Her easy-breezy hot pink

underwear greeted them.

This was, astonishingly, Ryuuji's own mother.

"…"

Plunk. Yasuko wordlessly flung Taiga onto the floor. Still with her

eyes half-closed, she pulled over the Chanel bag next to her pillow and

opened her feng shui wallet, which was yellow for prosperity.

"…"

She took out three thousand-yen notes. She pushed one at each of the

three children.

"…"

Very simply, she motioned at the door with her thumb.

In order not to disturb the sleep of the breadwinner of the house, who

disappeared behind the sliding door once again after her hangover, Ryuuji

sneakily cleaned up, Kitamura took a quick shower, and Taiga quietly

walked home to her condo to shower and change.

Now then. With a budget of one thousand yen each, if they were

going to stay out of the house as long as possible, that meant…

***

"I apologize. Because it is busy, we cannot split any checks! In sum,

the Italian hamburg steak and rice drink set, the mushroom rice porridge

with a fountain drink, the single avocado salad, the pumpkin sweet potato

chiffon cake, the rich chocolate cake, all together is three thousand three

hundred thirty yen! Thank you for the ten-thousand-yen bill! I've received a

ten-thousand-yen bill! Please check it! Okaaay! Here is the largest bill, five

thousand yen, and six thousand yen back! And six hundred, eighty-seven

yen for your change! Please check it, here's the receipt! Thank you for

coming, please come again! Welcome! The smoking section is full, so we

can seat you in nonsmoking by the window, I can lead you th-th-th-th-thwhooooaaaa! What do you think you're doing?!"

"You're slow, Minorin…" said Taiga.

"You didn't notice us at all," said Ryuuji.

"Why do some places lead you to the seats and other places don't?"

said Kitamura. "I always wonder about that."

In order to avoid disturbing Yasuko after changing and taking

refreshing showers, the three of them headed out to eat brunch at the usual

family restaurant where Minori always worked.

"Well, it's lunchtime, so Minori the human is off, and I'm devoting

myself to being Minori the cool waitressing machine, so—Kitamura-kun?!

Wait, wait, how are you showing up here like nothing's going on?! I was

worried this whole time! What's with that hair?!"

"Sorry. A ton of things happened, and I'm running away to Takasu's

home right now."

"You ran away, of course a lot of things must have happened!

Seriously, you look like you're fine! Okay, I feel a little better!"

"Sorry for making you worry."

Kitamura scratched apologetically at his blond head. He looked a

little rougher than usual now that he was borrowing Ryuuji's parka and

sweats and didn't have his usually well-groomed dark head with his full-on

Uniqlo casual look. Taiga gave it full points.

"Minorin, you're still not done working? We'll wait for you while

we're eating, so let's go out together!"

Taiga had layered a bunny-like fluffy white cardigan over a frilly

pink flower print dress. The lace underskirt added additional volume. She

was probably trying to recover from Kitamura seeing her pitifully asleep, so

she had even put on a faint beige pink lip-gloss and started acting cute.

Ryuuji, who was just thankful she hadn't gotten the lip gloss up her nose,

was in his usual zip-up parka and jeans. His eyes lit up ominously as

Minori-the-waitress with a ponytail tilted her head and hummed.

"Oh, I can't. My shift is from eleven all the way right through eight

today. Sorry, but just leave me behind. Please take this seat."

"What~?! Seriously, that's too bad…"

That's too bad for me, too… he thought as he looked at the thin nape

of Minori's neck while she led them to their seats. Ryuuji's shoulders

drooped slightly.

"In my place though, why don't you invite the girl sitting next to

you?"

As she led them to the window table, the three of them looked in the

direction Minori pointed. Then, all of their eyes widened at once.

The girl was sitting by herself at a nonsmoking seat. She had white

earphones on to shut out outside noise. In one hand she was fiddling with an

iPod, while the other twirled pasta. Her shining, beautiful face was like a

flower in full blossom but emotionless; she looked bored. She completely

ignored the occasional heated gaze as though it were nothing. She went

without makeup and wore a turtleneck sweater, jeans, and ballet flats. If

anyone but a true beauty had worn the same thing, they would have been on

a full speed course toward looking like a simple old hag, but she had the

perfect proportions of a model on vacation. When she was just sitting there,

the neighborhood family restaurant felt like a Paris café, and all the other

guests' faces seemed hazy and indistinct.

At that beautiful girl—at Kawashima Ami having her lonesome

Saturday lunch—Taiga's lip curled unpleasantly.

"Oh, my my my, who could I have thought it was other than

Dimhuahua? You kind of seem sad, don't you? It's Saturday and you're all

alone eating noodles."

She went immediately into picking-a-fight mode, but Ami was in the

middle of listening to a song and didn't notice Taiga's words. She brought

the salad to her mouth as she kicked her ballet flats in rhythm with the

music and continued looking away.

"Oh, could you not hear me? Hey, Dimhuahua! Hey, you, the one

who's got the day off and hasn't even got work and is eating all alone!"

"…"

She still didn't notice. Kitamura stepped right in to stop Taiga from

saying anything more embarrassing. He was always sweet and kind to his

childhood friend, and had almost always behaved like an older brother for

her—

"Hey, you lazyhead! You lazyhead! You out of work model

lazyheaaad!"

"K-Kitamura? What's gotten into you?" Ryuuji stuttered.

"Ami's a lazyhead, she's an unknown with an empty schedule! A sad,

dried up model!"

"That's right, that's right, Dimhuahua is a lazyhead! A lazy model!

Lazyhuahua!"

Taiga, synching her voice with Kitamura's, started to chant.

Lazyhead! Lazyhead! Eventually, their shouting started getting into a

rhythm.

"Lazyhead of the people… ♪."

"Well! Of course Kitamura-kun's got a great voice! He's so smart!"

The blond idiot and idiotic tiger seemed happy as they clapped. Right

next to Ami, who noticed nothing, they danced like cartoon tooth decay

bacteria, shouting and grinning. Even Minori scowled, "Wh-what's going

on with you?! Kitamura-kun, that's not funny at all! Did your blond head

take away your sense of humor?"

"No, Kitamura wasn't that funny in the first place… Actually,

someone's asking for you over there."

Oh no. She donned her waitress face again and went to get the order.

Ryuuji watched her as she went. Come to think of it, he figured out the

reason why Kitamura had attacked Ami. The bombing Ami had given him

in the interview room was probably eating away at him. Kitamura, who

wasn't a saint that would let things go without a fight, had just found in

Taiga a partner for the berate-a-thon.

"I don't have any work, so I'm out of stuff to do. ♪"

"I don't have any! Of my favorite modeling work! So I'm eating!

Lunch all by myself! Aaaaaah…oooooh…aaaaaaah…oooooh… If you

don't have any work, get into business, onyanyanyanyaeeeeiiiijyah. ♪"

"Don't act all lazy! Why don't you quit modeling?! Then you can be

as lazy as you please! Eating lunch, dillydallying by yourself! You've got

nothing to do! Nothing! Nothing! Ohoo! By yourself! By yourself! By

yourself! Oho ho ho ho ho ♪."

They were making fun of her in song, a new genre of parody. Taiga

cackled like the loyal familiar of an evil sorcerer. She used Ami's napkin in

place of a mic, stuck out her butt, and swayed from left to right.

"You're loud," said Ami. "I'm pretending not to hear you, you idiot!"

"Eeek!"

She threw her cold drink into one of their faces. Actually, Ami had

drank most of it and the remainder was mostly ice, so the victim only got

some of their cheek and chin wet, but it was probably cold as death.

Kitamura's face went pale; he desperately scraped the ice out of his collar.

Next she targeted Taiga.

"I said I heard everything from the start! Pretend we don't know each

other, you airhead!"

"Ow!"

Ami was hitting her with the empty cup. Her cup was easily stolen by

someone beside her.

"Ahh, you're adding to my workload during lunchtime! The floor's

wet now!"

"But~! It's because Yuusaku and this shrimpy tiger were being too

noisy~!"

"Okay, okay, don't fight and get to your seats! Ahmin, sit over there

with them. This seat's wet, so I'll wipe it down! Now, get out of the way.

Hey, get your butt up, girl!"

Minori, three times more intense than her normal work mode,

followed them briskly while wielding a mop. In the end, the four of them

ended up sitting together at a window seat. Minori finished transferring the

half-eaten pasta, salad, and check from Ami's table in a quick second.

"Now, once you've figured out your order, just call for me! I'll get

you a ton of fries on the house!"

She said the second half so other customers couldn't hear. Then with

movements to rival a swan fluttering on a lake, she elegantly left three

lunch menus lined up on the table.

"Actually, I don't want to sit with any of you!"

"Ohh, look at that," said Ryuuji, "they say it's a mushroom special…

with mushroom porridge, mushroom sauce hamburg steak, mushroomloaded Japanese style pasta, wah, they even have a mushroom and oyster

cream doria! And it's low calorie! If I get this, maybe I can have a dessert,

too…"

"Are you planning on getting dessert here, too?" said Taiga. "Didn't

you just say earlier that you wanted to go to the café in the station

building?"

"S-something warm…something that'll warm me up! It's cold! I'm

gonna die!"

"How about mushroom porridge?"

"Do the mushroom porridge."

"No one's listening! This is why I don't want to sit with these guys!"

Keh! Ami haphazardly finished off her remaining pasta, making a

show of her apathy. She had a scowl on her beautiful face as she looked

away.

"I got it. I'll have demi-glace sauce on omelet rice. With a fountain

drink, it'll be under 1000 yen. So, Kawashima, why are you alone today?

You don't have work?"

Now Ami also glared at Ryuuji, who had gently turned the

conversation towards her.

"I took the time off! I'm human, so I get days off when I want!"

"What are you suddenly snapping at me for?"

"Right, it's scary. Dimhuahua is in a bad mood."

"Ami's got a bad personality, regardless of her mood."

"Shut up! Don't get cocky—you in particular, straw-head! Anyone

would be in a bad mood if you were singing about them being lazy!

Seriously, what are you saying, you have a problem with me eating alone on

a Saturday?!"

No no, I don't, each of them thought as their eyes dropped to the

menus. Ami, seeming displeased, crossed her legs loftily.

"Hmph… We're still in high school; if I don't take a day off, then I'm

a failure as a pro. I can study for tests and go to the spa or the gym because

I have days off. Right, before I came here, I didn't just do photography. I

did cover rotations, too. I did so many that it was like, 'What, are you fine

with having me do it again~?' I was too busy to get a break… Oh, right,

right! If that stalker jerk hadn't appeared and I hadn't had to take a break for

a full two months, I would have gotten my turn on the cover this month!

Actually, I haven't been on the cover once since taking a break?! What's the

meaning of that?! Are they saying that if my face is on the cover, magazines

don't sell?! Damn it… They're underestimating me… Damn it!"

It seemed the lazyhead attack had really been a land mine. Now that

someone had stepped on it, it was out of their hands. Ryuuji sat next to

Taiga, who was sitting across from Ami. Ami's mouth contorted in irritation

as she nibbled her lettuce.

"Dimhuahua…it's fine. You can ask for a fountain drink—my treat.

How pitiful. I didn't know you'd sunk so low that you can't afford a two

hundred eighty yen fountain drink…"

Taiga purposefully put on a pained expression and held her chest.

"I'm not drinking water because I don't have money!" Ami's voice

was practically a shriek. "Water is the best thing for a detox! I'm drinking

water on purpose, you stupid shrimpy tiger! Ahh, this is no fun! I'll take

you up on the offer! If it comes to it, I'll actually take you up on your treat!"

Though she had snapped, she roughly stood up and stormed off to the

fountain drinks. Ryuuji watched Ami, flustered.

"Hey, hey! You have to order it first!"

He waved his hand and called on Minori while she was working.

"Omelet rice,"

"Mushroom oyster doria,"

"Mushroom porridge…and four fountain drinks."

Since they didn't have any bags that could be taken, the whole group

got up and, like impalas gathering at water, headed to the fountain drinks.

"So, once we finish eating, where do we want to go?"

"Right… Even though I'm embarrassed to admit it, I ran away, so I

don't have any money. I'll probably use all the money Yasuko-san gave me

just eating here so…ahh, it's cold! Coffee, coffee!"

"A place that isn't too cold would be good. I'd be fine just seeing

Minori here for a while. Huh, the giant clothespin thing to grab the ice isn't

here."

"You mean the tongs. It's over here, so give me your glass and I'll get

it. Kawashima, how about you? Is there someplace you want to go?"

"Uhh, the ones with zero calories are…huh?! Since when?! Why are

you counting me in your group?!"

"You don't have anything to do anyway, do you? To be honest,

Kitamura-kun seems more cheerful with you around. I don't like it, but I'll

allow you to be with us. Work with us to make Kitamura-kun happy."

"W-wait a second. You really think that Yuusaku cheered up?

Actually, didn't I say I didn't want to be involved with Yuusaku? Seriously,

do none of you get anything that I say?"

"You're already involved. Just look at that face of his…because you

splashed him with ice water, even his lips are blue, how sad…"

"Well, isn't he getting his just desserts?"

As though to resonate with their fight in the already busy family

restaurant at lunch, the place became even noisier.

For the time being, they put aside their selfish wants to concentrate

on how to cheer up Kitamura. They would do anything to accomplish that.

That was where Taiga's new determination was focused as she ate her

éclair. Of course, Ryuuji had also been in the same state of mind before

daybreak at four in the morning. They vowed that they would do what they

could for Kitamura as they gorged themselves.

But.

"What was that about a vow?" said Ryuuji.

"H-he looks happy…at least…" said Taiga.

"You go do something…"

"Why don't you?"

They sat side by side on the cold bench. In front of their eyes, past

the old green net, they watched the development of two childhood friends'

antagonistic time together.

"Missed again! You're missing at 70 kilometers, Ami. Are you

underestimating the ball?! Why aren't you actually going for it?! Why are

you so embarrassed about giving your all in front of people?! When did

Japan get like this?!"

"I am giving it my all! For starters, it's the first time I've held a bat,

so of course I can't do it! I only came because you're the one who kept

saying you wanted to go in the first place, but why am I the one swinging?!

You could do it yourself!"

"Everyone is equal at the plate! The plate is always there! The batter

stands in front of the batter box because that's where the plate is! And then

they hit it! Every person is an equal batter in front of the plate! Look, watch

your front! Here it comes, look, it's coming, look closely, look look look,

hey hey hey! If you're not paying attention, it'll hit you!"

"Huh?! W-wait, wait wait, huh…take that?!"

Fwoom! She swung the bat wildly for a fifth miss. Kitamura camped

out in front of the handling panel, acting like some arrogant coach as he

roughly shook his blond head.

"What are you doing?!"

He stomped his feet out of frustration.

"Look! I just said to watch the ball carefully, didn't I?! Why can't

you even do something that simple?!"

"Your babbling distracted me!"

"Kushieda could easily hit one hundred forty kilos one after another

and she's a girl!"

"It's because Minori-chan's been a baseball girl since she was little!

Ah! Ow! That hurt! You just hit me in the butt with a bat, didn't you?!"

"You're not getting things done, so I gave you some motivation!

Look, it's coming again! This time, keep a good eye on it and go get it!"

"Hey, Takasu-kun, did you see that?! Just now, this guy hit my butt

with a bat, right?!"

I saw it, I saw it, it really was a bat butt—Ryuuji nodded. Aah. He

held his knees as he sat on the bench. The shabby batting center with one

plate was set up in a corner of the golf practice range. Maybe because there

was no sunlight, or maybe because of the cold, bare concrete, or maybe due

to the ferocity that filled the air, it felt even colder than walking outdoors.

Taiga held her legs in the same pose, sniffling and looking bored.

When Kitamura said he wanted to go to the batting center, they

thought he must have wanted to get in an active mood. They thought it was

a good, healthy proposal, and everything went fine until they arrived. Since

then, Kitamura had had Ami stand at the plate the whole time and devoted

himself to gratingly and gloomily coaching her. He might have been in

good spirits in that sense, but in Ryuuji's eyes, Kitamura was going straight

down a path in the direction entirely opposite to healthy.

"Do you feel like Kitamura's personality has changed or something?"

he said.

"You were like that when you were showing me how to make eggs,"

said Taiga.

"Anyone would be worried when the house was close to burning

down…"

"Oh. Dimhuahua got one."

Babaam. By coincidence, Ami's bat got in its first proper hit. But the

ball, like the sound, traced an off-kilter line straight up and dropped a few

meters ahead.

"Hmph… That's a weak fly ball. Good, it's at least passable! You got

it up in the air!"

"Why are you so uppity…"

At last released, Ami turned over the net and was successfully

repatriated to the outside. She thrust the bat in her hands at Taiga.

"Here, you're the next victim. Careful, that's a genuine demon of a

teacher. He's abnormal. Ahh, I can't humor him anymore."

Who's next?! I'll teach you, so hurry up and get here! The demonic

coach's voice made Taiga hesitate a little, and she looked at Ryuuji.

"Go ahead," he said. "Let him give you a good coaching."

"Okay… Right. Right! Kitamura-kun, I'm next up to bat!"

Taiga took off her cardigan, put up her hair, and turned up the net.

She had more than enough fighting spirit as she stood at the plate. Taiga

was also a beginner at batting, but she faced the ball with a wide, straight

swing. The way she held her left arm, even in her dress, made her seem like

she had been possessed by the living spirit of Ichiro himself. Suzuki Taiga

had come onto the scene.

"Okay! First, we'll do a seventy kilo! We're going, Aisaka!"

"Okay!"

At around the same time, Ami sat down next to Ryuuji as she combed

through her messed up hair with her fingers to fix it. A brisk sound went

off, and Taiga's bat suddenly made contact with the first ball right on a

sweet spot. The ball mostly flew straight off, nearly hitting a round target

on the opposite wall. Whoa. Ryuuji applauded automatically.

"Amazing," Ami said. She didn't actually seem interested at all.

"Huh, I hit it? Is this okay? It seems kind of too easy. Kitamura-kun,

maybe I can do it a little faster."

Her frilly dress swayed. Kitamura turned to her with glittering eyes.

"Yeah…I might have discovered a diamond in the rough! Whoa,

Aisaka! You're exceptional. Why didn't you join the softball club?!"

"It was because I had my fill of sports clubs in junior high. Is my grip

fine like this?"

"Let me see, yes, yes, that's good! I didn't even show you and your

grip is perfect! Amazing, Aisaka, you have outstanding reflexes!"

"Well, I don't compare to Minorin."

Ehee hee. Taiga became incredibly shy, and her face turned peach

pink as she smiled. Kitamura seemed to be having fun, too—it was fine as

long as he was having a good time, wasn't it? This time, Ryuuji rubbed his

eyes with the palms of his hands to make sure he was reading Kitamura's

expression correctly.

"Hey, Takasu-kun, I'm kind of bored. And it's cold here… Do you

want to go get something warm to drink?"

Ami's white fingertip tickled him slightly. Her large, upturned eyes

glistened as she instantaneously sidled up to him. Before he knew it, she

had taken his arm and was right on him.

"Can we?"

Ami ever so slightly pouted her charming cherry-glossed lips and

tilted her head. Her brown, clear eyes reflected Ryuuji's face. They

quavered invitingly, as though trying to transport him to another world.

Incredibly, they made his common sense waver.

"Okay, let's go…"

"H-huh?"

He didn't even push Ami away or get mad, but simply stood straight

up. Ami was the one who had exclaimed in surprise. She looked up at

Ryuuji as though she were disappointed, and her eyes glinted as though

searching for something. He beckoned for her to stand.

"What, you invited me. There's a vending machine by the front desk,

so let's go."

"You're kind of different from usual. That's weird… What are you

scheming?"

"I'm not scheming anything. I'm not like you, and that's rude."

"I've never schemed at anything. Well, I guess we can do whatever."

Ami's eyes narrowed, and she stared back at Ryuuji for a moment.

Then she got up.

"If they're doing that, we've got our own things to do."

She grabbed Ryuuji's arm. She clung tight, practically hanging off of

him.

"Hey…wait!"

The smell that wafted to his nose was of a sweet flowery perfume.

"Oh my, what's wrong? Did something as small as that fluster you?

Are you really prepared for this?"

Their heights weren't that different, so Ami's pale face was

practically adhered to Ryuuji's neck. Even if he tried to run away, her arm

was firmly locked to Ryuuji's elbow and wrist. They were snuggled right up

to each other like lovers.

"We're going to take a little break~!"

"Right! Look, Aisaka, the hundred kilo is coming!"

"Yeah! …Yeah?!"

The statement went right past Kitamura, who was feverishly coaching

Taiga. Taiga, however, opened her eyes wide in surprise for a moment at the

nestled-up duo. Because of that, she turned back late and spectacularly

missed the easy straight ball.

No, no, that's not it, Ryuuji thought. He desperately shook his head

and made eye contact with Taiga. He had thought they would disappear to

give Taiga and Kitamura some pleasant time alone together. Kitamura was

in a good mood with Ami around, but the dark energy that emanated from

her drew attention. That was why he was going along with Ami's

mischievous behavior for once.

As she pulled Ryuuji's arm, Ami turned to Taiga and happily stuck

out her tongue. "Nah nah."

"…!"

Taiga stood stock-still and got a second strike. In this crisis, an even

hotter fire burned in the eyes of coach Kitamura.

"Ho ho ho, now we're alone together. ♥ Just kidding…"

Once they closed the door of the reception area that shared space with

the golf practice field, Ami practically sent Ryuuji flying when she threw

away his arm. "Hmph," she snorted. He had thought it would end like this,

so he wasn't surprised.

"Heh," he said. "I can see through your behavior now. It's not fun

clinging to me without Taiga around, right? Look, sit over there. I'll buy the

drinks."

"I'm buying my own, so it's fine. Ahh, this is really boring."

Ami indifferently turned her pretty face away and walked quickly,

trying to outpace Ryuuji. As he watched her narrow shoulders, Ryuuji, who

was always the victim, felt mischief brewing in his heart.

"What? If you're going to cling to me, do it right."

"Eek?!"

From behind, he grabbed her shoulders and, copying her,

immediately overtook Ami.

"Eek. But. Eek!"

Ami actually seemed surprised as she turned and jumped away. He

pointed teasingly at her. He was always the one being made fun of, getting

flustered, and being toyed with. Giving it back every once in a while could

be fun.

Ami's mouth was still open. She was turning red either from the

anger or the humiliation of someone like Ryuuji scaring her.

"I…I can't believe you! Fine, I'll have you treat me to drinks!"

Standing imposingly, she pointed at the old paper-cup-type vending

machine. The seventy-yen sticker price and the establishment from a

bygone era was enough to laugh at.

"Right, what do you want?"

"Melon soda."

"Are you sure? Should a model really be drinking a lump of sugar

like that?"

"It's fine! Leave me alone! Seriously, you have me all riled up,

sticking your nose into my business!"

He bought Ami's melon soda and a coffee for himself and sat at the

shabby eating area's single counter.

"Don't be so irritated," he said.

"I'm leaving you alone, aren't I? Don't even talk to me. Don't even

look at me."

It seemed he had really made her angry. She put her cheek on her

hand on the counter. Her entire body was turned away from him as she

sipped the carbonated beverage that was blatantly artificial in color. Such a

harsh aura wafted in his direction along with her faint perfume that even

Ryuuji was uncomfortable.

"I said I'm sorry. It was a joke. You're the one who's always messing

around with me by clinging to me."

"It's not that… It's fine."

"What? What is it?"

"It's fine now. There's a lot to it. You wouldn't understand anyway."

Turned to the wall, Ami spat the words out, and with that, ended the

conversation. She snipped the conversation short by punctuating it with a

forceful period. Though Ryuuji acknowledged he had been ignored, he tried

moving the conversation forward, just a little forcefully. They had the time

anyway.

"By there being a lot to it…do you mean work not going well and us

spoiling Kitamura and me getting on your nerves? Is it all the little things

adding up that's irritating you?"

Ami unexpectedly gave him a curt reply, though she was still looking

at the wall.

"No… That's not it. It's not as simple as that."

In Ryuuji's head, it was like pulling on a string. He felt like Ami

wanted to tell him something more than what she actually said. But he

didn't know which string would pull it out. Just as Ami said, it really did

seem it wasn't that easy.

"You're a complex girl after all, Kawashima. Whenever I try to

understand you fully, I always run into trouble."

"If you're not even willing to deal with that much trouble, I won't

humor you. Well, there is some value to making things a little difficult,

right?" She spoke arrogantly, roughly pushing up her long hair. Finally, Ami

glanced at him. Her gaze was as cold as usual. It was a lot more

comfortable having her look at him than at the wall. He felt a little better.

"Well, you're not the only one who's hard to read. Take Kitamura, for

example. He said the reason why he did that to his hair was because he

doesn't want to be the student council president. He said if he rebelled like

that, no one would expect anything out of him. What do you think,

Kawashima? Do you think that's true?"

Huuuh? Ami's pale face finally turned towards Ryuuji straight on.

"Like I said, whether it's true or not, Yuusaku is expecting someone

to think that for him… Actually, never mind. I said I don't want to be

involved with that stuff. Don't go reporting all the dirty details to me. Being

with Yuusaku like this is already idiotic enough as it is."

That was when it happened. Suddenly, an incredibly loud siren

started blaring from inside the door that partitioned them from the batting

center.

"Whoa?!"

"Wh-what?!"

It sounded like it could have been an emergency drill or an actual fire

alarm. Ryuuji and Ami stood up in surprise at pretty much the same time.

The old ladies behind the reception desk seemed in a leisurely mood. They

were merrily saying, "Well," and, "Oh my, oh my." A fifty-year-old looking

old lady with super thick makeup heaved out a large package.

"Congratulations!"

"You got it, congratulations!"

"Who was it that hit it?!"

The workers started applauding.

"She's the one who hit it! Isn't it amazing?! And she's just a

beginner!"

Happily flaring his nostrils, the fervent coach who appeared pointed

with a radiant smile at the diamond in the rough, Taiga. Taiga's smile

twitched with embarrassment; she stood frozen in the congratulatory calls.

The makeup-wearing lady forced an idiotically huge stuffed animal that

would obviously be a nuisance to lug anywhere into Taiga's hands. It

looked somewhat like a certain mouse that they had seen somewhere else

before, with some differences. There was a ribbon around its neck that read,

"Celebrating a big home run!"

Ryuuji approached Taiga and couldn't help but ask what had

happened. "Wh-what did you do?!"

"Uhh…it looks like I hit something. When I really went for the ball, I

hit it right on the target, and then suddenly the siren went off…"

"Isn't it amazing that something like this happened?! Aisaka is a

genius! Unlike Ami! She did it, she did it! A home run!"

"I don't need genius like that anyway. Seriously…"

She gloomily looked back at Kitamura's face as he became happier

and more worked up. Ami, seeming exasperated, chugged the rest of her

soda. Taiga asked Kitamura, "You want it?" She handed him the stuffed

animal and Kitamura took it while jumping for joy.

Ryuuji felt the need to check in with the makeup lady.

"Is a big hit something that's really good?"

"No? We generally have two in a month."

"I see…"

"You've got eyes like a raptor… Hey, everyone, take a look at this

kid, he's got raptor eyes."

"Oh, it's true."

"Well now, he sure does."

"No way, let me see."

"A raptor? That's a snake! He's got snake eyes!"

Kitamura was so elated by everything that Ryuuji was fine with this.

The faces of the powdered-up grannies surrounded him and Ryuuji became

a slightly stronger kid.

Eventually, the sun started to slant, and the wind was surprisingly

cold. The three of them that were returning to the Takasu house, and Ami,

started going down separate roads when it happened.

"Ohh. ★ What a surprise, what a coincidence~!"

"Oh, how unexpected."

Coming from down the road was a makeup-free Yasuko, whose skin

cells had seemingly revived. She might have been out shopping, since she

held bags from a drug store and was wearing clothes that were worn out but

seemed a bit better than Ryuuji's tracksuit. She happily approached them.

Then she caught sight of Ami's face.

"Oh my, Ryuu-chan, you've got another friend~! Uhh, you were

definitely around once before, too? It's nice seeing you again~! Oh, this is

great, I bought four puddings, too~! Let's all eat them at home. I'm an

adult, so I don't need one!"

"Wah, it's so nice seeing you again! But I'm just about to go home.

I'm leaving for today."

Ami, who had on her goody-two-shoes mask, tried to quickly sneak

home as though she were avoiding trouble.

"Ryuu-chan! You stop her! I need a little more help!"

"Huh? Wh-what?"

"Just hurry~!"

Unusually fast for her, Yasuko sneakily whispered an order into

Ryuuji's ear and mommy's boy couldn't not do what he was told. He

quickly went after Ami.

"Haah~? Why do I have to stop by your house?"

He had to appease her suspicion with a, Well, anyway, there's

pudding. He somehow got her to come to their house, even though he didn't

know the real reason why he was doing it.

Then…

"Mwa ha ha ha ha ha…"

It was when they were all peacefully surrounding the table and had

finished the pudding Yasuko had given them that they understood her true

intentions. Ryuuji, Taiga, Ami, and then Kitamura opened their eyes wide

and looked up at Yasuko as she appeared in the living room.

Her tracksuit bottoms were pulled up to the knees. She had an old

apron on over her T-shirt. She wore floppy plastic gloves on both hands.

What she was holding in those hands was…

"Ryuu-chan! Now! Hold Kitamura-kun~!"

"R-right!"

…a black package that read, "Make any color super pitch black in

one go! The strongest black hair dye for men!" Around the same time

Ryuuji understood the situation, Kitamura also gathered the danger and

leapt up like a vaulting horse.

"Taiga! Hold him!"

"Huh?! O-okay!"

"Kawashima, get around to the front door and block it!"

"Huh, this is what you wanted to do in the end~? Okay okay,

seriously…"

From the back, Ryuuji pinned Kitamura's arms and Taiga held

Kitamura's struggling legs from the front. They were practically carrying

him.

"Wait… This position is a l-little…ahhhhhh!"

"What are you doing getting all riled about, you idiot! Keep a tight

hold of him!"

"Yoooooouuuuuu traaaaaaiiiiitooooooors! Takasu, you schemed

against me, didn't you?! Yasuko-san, weren't you on my side?!"

"Hmm, sorry. ★ I definitely want you to be a good friend to Ryuuchan going forward, and since I phoned your father just earlier and he

seemed pretty angry, I thought it'd be better to send you back home as

normal first."

"Kuh, you were conspiring with my parents…I guess no matter how

young you seem, a parent is still a parent!"

"Ryuu-chan, make sure you're keeping a good hold of him. Amichan, help me over here."

Yasuko had Ami hold the package and squeezed the dye cream onto

the brush. Yasuko firmly held onto Kitamura's face. Ami also grabbed him

by one ear and helped keep his head in place.

"Ahh. Your blond hair was so short lived, wasn't it Yuusaku? Just

accept it."

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Not knowing when to give up, Kitamura struggled and shook his

head as much as he could. At that time, Yasuko and Ami lost their grip on

him.

"Noooooooooooo!"

"Kyaaaaaaaaah!"

They screamed. Kitamura had hit the tools they were using out of

their hands. The dye spewed out everywhere and, of course, it rained down

on Yasuko and Ami's heads.

"Noooo! This is bad, this is really bad! Hurry and get to the bath, the

bath! The shower! If we don't wash it off, it'll dye us, too!"

"Ueeeeeeeeeh! I-It stiiiiiiings~! M-my eyes hurt!"

"The cold cream?! Where is it?! Uwaaaah, it hurts it hurts! It got in

my eyes, too! And it stinks! If we don't get it off, we're really in

trooooouuuble!"

It was a scene straight from hell. Ryuuji also wanted to scream. The

tatami, the floor, the ceiling, the walls…no, it was really the people who

were most important. Giving up on holding on to Kitamura, he tried to rub

away what he could of the dye on the two girls' crying faces so they could

open their eyes. Ryuuji pushed them towards the cold cream and bath. He

could hear the sounds of their clothes coming off in the bath and then the

shower running.

"See, you should have just left me alone!"

Without even letting the place settle down, Kitamura came at them.

"Whaaat?!"

At Kitamura's remark, Ryuuji forgot to even wash his hands. He

turned around with his ogre mask fully in place. It looked like he was

thinking, What did you just say, you damn insolent straw-head?

That, in fact, was what he was thinking.

My tatami… No, that's not important right now. This guy's attitude.

Yasuko only went this far because you came into our house. Now you've

done it, you jerk. How are you still talking like that when you've been

acting this reckless?

"Don't screw around, you! You come into our house and you want us

to leave you alone?! That's rich, after making us worry! And now you've

got that attitude?! Don't screw around, you damn kid! You can go right on

home where your angry parents are ready to flip you upside down and whip

you!"

"D-don't you tell me to go home! You traitor! I believed in you!"

"Shut up! I don't care what you think, especially when you've got no

idea how worried you've got everyone around you, you stupid jerk!"

"Oh, I see!"

"That's right!"

The sound of Kitamura stomping went down the stairs, but then he

came back to grab the home-run rat-mouse he had forgotten. This time he

left the door wide open as he left.

"You idiot! Idiot! Idiot! I don't care about that guy anymore!"

Ryuuji felt like throwing salt behind Kitamura as he went over to the

door and banged it closed.

"…Hhh!"

At his feet, Taiga staggered, fell, and had one hand outstretched to the

person who had left. She was soundlessly vocalizing. She looked like the

Omiya statue at Atami beach being kicked away by a geta sandal. She was

pleading to Kanichi, the mirage of a man invisible to their eyes, still in her

pitiful pose. Her fingertips shook.

***

"That's why I said it from the start. Anyone who humors someone

like that ends up looking like an idiot. Oh, this is good. ♥ I almost went

with pizza, but we definitely made the right choice!"

"You can get dessert, too. ★ I'm really sorry, Ami-chan…for making

you help… Are your eyes feeling better? And I'm really sorry for getting

your uniform dirty…"

"It's completely fine now, I'm telling you~! I washed it right away, so

my face, skin, and hair were all fine. Plus, our uniform is black, so if I can

get the smell out, it's all fine."

"Make sure to get the cleaning bill to me, okay?"

"Noooo~! You're already treating me more than enough right now!

Actually, I might have gotten lucky today. I got treated to so much!"

Ami smiled. She had dried her hair by tackling it quickly with a dryer

and wore the parka and sweats Taiga had slept in the day before. They had

taken what emergency measures they could for her clothes and put them in

an ecobag for her to take home. Next to Ami, Taiga was prodding and

twirling the same tomato pasta Ami was eating with a fork.

As they waited for Ami and Yasuko's hair to dry, the four of them ate

dinner inside an Italian chain in the station building. Yasuko had said she

wanted to treat Ami to dinner after causing her trouble, and this was where

they had ended up.

"Kawashima, you sure you're fine with this place?"

"Yeah, why? Isn't this good? I like it."

"That's not what I mean, weren't you eating pasta for lunch, too…"

"Huh, Italians eat pasta three times a day, don't they?! Huh? No way,

Takasu-kun, did you think I'm that oblivious~? No way, no way, don't think

of me like that! Everyone says that about me! Hey, Aisaka-san, you don't

go misunderstanding me either."

They hadn't seen Ami-chan with her ironclad good-girl mask on in a

while. She turned a smile to Taiga, who was sitting next to her. Taiga, still

silent, seemed bored as she continued to pick at her pasta. Yasuko peeked at

Taiga's face.

"Taiga-chaan… I'm sorry that I made it turn out this way after we

just had a nice sleepover… I came on too strong and made Kitamura-kun

mad…"

Taiga raised her face in a fluster.

"N-no, I'm not mad at you or anything, Ya-chan! I was even holding

Kitamura-kun, so I made him mad, too…"

She shook her head from side to side, but Taiga's voice still definitely

lacked spirit. She might have been down because she was worried Kitamura

was also mad at her. She looked like she didn't have the will to even get the

pasta on her fork, and she was even sitting calmly next to Ami.

If anyone asked Ryuuji, though, Kitamura's anger was selfish and

stubborn. Taiga didn't have a reason to be down in the first place. Now that

it had come to it, that was all he could think. He just couldn't understand

the reasoning of someone who would act in a way that make others worry

and then get angry about it and say "Leave me alone." He didn't see any

point to it.

"Does it matter what happens with Kitamura? It was just like what

Kawashima said."

Oh dear. Yasuko apologetically looked at her son, who was taking a

bite of peperoncino.

"Ryuu-chan, you can't get mad at Kitamura-kun. I know you're

worried, but you can't say that. Okay? Look, we have a cute guest like

Ami-chan tonight. Aren't you happy about that~? Hey hey, look, smile

now~?"

"Oh stop, Yasuko-san! Takasu-kun isn't the type to cheer up because

someone like me is around!"

"Whaat~? Really? That's so strange, but you're so cute Ami-chan."

"It's because Takasu-kun is already dead set on a girl!"

Blech! The spicy togarashi got stuck in Ryuuji's throat just at the

right time. What are you talking about?! he wanted to say, but his gagging

only produced coughs.

Yasuko once again tilted her head, "Whaat~? This one?"

Blergh! This time the one to cough was Taiga, probably surprised by

Yasuko suddenly pointing at her. She kept her face down as she coughed.

Sitting across from Ryuuji, she was like his mirror. She had a heartfelt

grimace on her face.

Ryuuji wasn't sure what Ami was thinking, but she was smiling like

an angel. "No? Not her, another girl."

"Whaaaaaat~! It's not Taiga-chan?! Whaaaaaaaat! But I was looking

forward to the day when Taiga would officially become part of the family

as his wife~!"

"Wh-what are you doing deciding that all by yourself…cough!

Kawashima! What do you think you're saying!"

"Oh dear, Takasu-kun, are you the type who doesn't want your

parents knowing about this stuff? If you hide it and something happens

between you two, then she would immediately know that it wasn't Aisakasan. But it's fine! Yasuko-san, if you want her as your daughter, you could

just adopt her. It seems like she doesn't have a good relationship with her

parents anyway!"

"Oh, I could do that~! But I don't know what Taiga-chan's mom is

like yet…"

"Seriously, you two! You're making way too big a deal about this!

Cut it out! How're you being so selfish?!" Of course, Ryuuji interrupted the

conversation by raising his voice. They didn't really know what they were

talking about, and he was afraid their conversation was skimming too close

to reopening the wounds that were still on Taiga's heart.

"Ryuuji, you're making the biggest deal out of this." Taiga's

expression didn't change at all. She smoothly pushed back her hair.

"I don't want you, or anyone, to interfere in my life. I like where I am

now. I'm fine like this. I have money, and I can wash stuff, and I know how

to make eggs now, so there isn't a single issue with me being alone. I don't

have a single concern about the future!"

You can…make eggs…? Ryuuji automatically had the impulse to

question her.

"Uwah! What a lonely girl! What a hermit!"

"Say whatever you want. It doesn't matter what you think,

Dimhuahua."

Unshaken by Ami poking fun at her, Taiga simply continued to wolf

down her pasta. At that, Ryuuji suddenly wanted to ask Taiga about

something else. When she said she wanted to live alone, she was just saying

that because it was convenient, wasn't she? Of course, she wanted to

actually be with Kitamura, didn't she? But there wasn't much hesitation in

Taiga's expression as she said she wanted to live alone. She didn't seem

reluctant about it at all, so maybe she really did think that. For the first time,

Ryuuji felt doubt.

Maybe the Taiga he was seeing and the real Taiga were completely

different. Maybe he didn't really know what was in her heart. Maybe they

didn't really understand each other either. Maybe they weren't that close to

each other. The truth was that reality might not match up with how he

imagined Taiga to be.

He could hear Ami muttering to herself as though she were

exasperated.

"You really think that you're fine by yourself? I would think someone

like you would be the one least likely to forgive Yuusaku, and the most

likely to be angry at him…"

In the end, they took Ami home after spending the whole day with

her. The Takasus and Taiga started heading home as a group of three.

Yasuko lead the way on the night road, and somehow, they ended up

walking in a line.

"Hey, Ryuuji."

Taiga kept pace with him.

"Dimhuahua just said something to put the scent on Minorin, didn't

she? And then I started thinking… Minori loves horror, so she always says

she hates horror, right?"

"Yeah, she's using reverse psychology."

"Didn't Kitamura-kun say he didn't want to become student council

president? Do you think that he really thinks the opposite and that he really

wants to be president?"

You're talking about Kitamura again, Ryuuji was about to say, but he

kept his mouth shut.

Sure, Kitamura had said that. And it seemed like something really

had happened with the student council president before that. He also

wouldn't respond when they asked him about it. And even though he

thought Kitamura was being a jerk, Ryuuji also still wondered how he was

doing.

"That might be true."

"And the situation is at a deadlock. I can't think of anything else, so

if it comes to it, then…"

"We need him to become president, don't we?"

In that moment, Ryuuji had a devilish idea.

The next day was Sunday. They had more than enough time to

prepare.