Chapter 2

"I'm not angry. Everything's fine," Taiga insisted, already boiling

with rage before she had even finished speaking.

Such was the hostility between Ryuuji and Taiga.

Even though she was being vicious and incredibly fussy, Taiga made

no moves to cut her time at the Takasu house short. She came for meals,

hung around until late, all while being crabby. If Ryuuji tried to explain his

actions or ask if she was still angry about the incident, all she said was,

"I'm not."

Even mentioning the "incident" had become taboo, and her temper

flared every time it was brought up. "Why do I have to be upset over

that?!" she'd yell. "It's like you want me to be angry!"

I've had enough of this, Ryuuji thought. What did I do wrong in the

first place?

And then it happened, on a day when Ryuuji was so stressed he

thought he was going to have a nervous breakdown.

"Seriously, Taiga, you promised you'd go, didn't you?"

"…"

They had just had finished closing exercises when the Palmtop Jizo

statue was born in class 2-C.

"This is the only day I have a break from club."

"…"

Still enshrined in her own seat, the Palmtop Jizo-sama, aka Aisaka

Taiga, was as unmoving as a mountain. Her mouth was a sullen, upside

down "V."

Kushieda Minori shook her earnestly by the shoulders. "Taiga,

c'mon!"

Of course, Ryuuji noticed Minori raising her voice. At any other

time, this would be a chance for conversation. What happened? It could

have been his lucky break, a heaven-sent respite. But after these past few

horrible days with Taiga, he couldn't get himself to approach the newlyformed Jizo statue's vicinity.

His interest was piqued by Minori, though, and he gazed enviously at

her from afar, his eyes glinting. He wasn't lurking, his teenage heart was

just torn between self-consciousness and puppy love.

Then, unexpected reinforcements arrived on the scene.

"Minori-chan, what's wrong?"

Ami, who had finished getting ready to go home, approached Minori

and the Jizo-sama and smiled angelically.

Just then, Taiga's Jizo-statue-like facade melted. She bared her teeth

as she groaned, "Ugh."

"Stop! That!"

Minori pinched Taiga's nose. Taiga squirmed in pain but surrendered

more quickly than expected.

I see, so that's how you tame her. Gotta jot that down. Ryuuji began

looking for something to write on.

"Aw, sorry about that, Kawashima-san. I'm completely at a loss with

Taiga today. She promised to go swimsuit shopping yesterday at the station,

but now she says she won't go."

"Swimsuits? Oh, right, the pool finally opens tomorrow! That's so

exciting!"

"Kawashima-san, what are you doing about your swimsuit? Did you

already get one?"

"Yeah, I have one I use at the gym. I think it'll work. It's the plain

racing type, so it should be fine. It's, like, light gray and there are orange

lines on the side and—"

"Oh, that won't work. The school rules say swimsuits have to be

plain black or navy and any lines can only be white."

"What! Really?!"

Until then, Taiga had been sitting in her seat and calmly listening to

the conversation between Minori and Ami.

"…"

Ryuuji watched.

Taiga quietly grabbed her bag; then she curled, making herself

smaller than she already was, and somersaulted from her seat. She quickly

slipped by Minori's feet, and, like a beast, dashed away on all fours.

"Ah, she escaped! Takasu-kun, get her!"

"Huh?! R-right!"

Ryuuji grabbed Taiga by the collar reflexively as, by some

miraculous coincidence, she tried to run past him.

"Whoa! Good job, Takasu-kun!"

"Let me go, you perverted dog!" Taiga shouted. "How dare you defy

your owner, you traitor! You d-d-double-double crossing…"

Aiming to completely ignore Taiga's wail, which doubled the

doubles, Ryuuji turned her over to Minori, who had hurried over.

"Thanks for your help!"

"Just doing my duty." Giddy, Ryuuji gave her a playful salute.

Minori turned her attention to Taiga. "Bad TAIGA! Why are you

running away?!"

"I-It's not like I promised or anything! You said you wanted to go, so

I just said that's fine! I…don't wanna go!"

"Why not?!"

"Because I don't wanna buy a swimsuit!"

"What are you going to do?! Didn't your swimsuit from last year get

moldy?!"

Taiga nodded sheepishly.

Ryuuji looked to the heavens. "You've gotta wash and dry swimsuits

immediately," he groaned.

"So you have to buy one!" Minori exclaimed. "What are you going to

do without a swimsuit?!"

"I'm going to skip all the swimming classes."

"Ouch!"

This time it was Minori's turn to look heavenward. Since he still

happened to be standing there, for some reason, she thumped Ryuuji on the

back and said, "You're up, sport," with a groan.

He'd gotten dragged into this at some point. As a man, he couldn't

ignore Minori's attempt to pass the conversation to him. "If you skip, you

won't get a grade for PE," he said.

"This doesn't have anything to do with you!" Taiga glared at him,

suddenly overflowing with unexpected (and murderous) enthusiasm.

Ryuuji couldn't retreat in front of Minori; that would be pathetic.

Finally, even though it was a little underhanded, he called out, "KKitamura! Tell Taiga!"

Kitamura was getting ready to go to the student council room. He

paused, his eyes puzzled as he adjusted his glasses. "Hm? What am I telling

her?"

"Apparently Taiga's completely planning on skipping all the

swimming classes!"

"I can't let that happen!"

"Tsk…" Taiga's face contorted momentarily, mortified, as if she were

saying, Oh no. But she did have it coming, after all.

Kitamura walked right up to her. "Aisaka, are you not feeling well?"

"N-n-no…"

"Then you have to go to class. Swimming class is mostly fun and

games, but school is still school." Kitamura countered Taiga's awkward

inability to lie with a fastball of sound logic—the winner, naturally, was

Kitamura. "I'm glad you understand! Then I'll see you tomorrow!" As

Kitamura waved and left the classroom, Taiga watched him with a hint of

resentment.

"Which means it's time to go, Taiga!" Minori said. "Oh, Kawashimasan, why don't you come, too?"

"Huh? But…" Ami's clear eyes glanced at the Palmtop Tiger, who

was simmering and seemed to be saying, I'm already angry, if you come

with us I won't forgive you with her whole body. She looked like she might

pull a Dragon Ball and take Flight once more.

"Really, Taiga, what a face you're making!" Minori scolded.

"Kawashima-san just moved here and doesn't know which stores sell

swimsuits!"

"It's okay, Minori-chan. I'll be fine." With a graceful smile, Ami

shook her head, and then hopped back a step. "Because Takasu-kun will

accompany me. Right, Takasu-kun? That's okay? Isn't it?"

"What?!"

She entwined her cool, pale arm around his, gently pressing against

Ryuuji's elbow. "Can't you?"

"U-uh… Me?!"

She looked up at him with a nod. Although he knew she was hiding

her true nature and it was against his better judgement, Ami's pale good

looks were still captivatingly gorgeous; almost pure. Against the triple-hit

combo of her teary eyes, wobbling lip, and forlorn Chihuahua expression,

he couldn't resist. He nodded, knowing he'd been manipulated.

"Really?!" Ami exclaimed. "Yay! I'm so happy, I can really count on

you, Takasu-kun~ Oh. You don't mind, right? Aisaka-san." The look she

shot Taiga burned with the blue fire of obvious provocation.

"H-huh? What's with the tension?" Bewildered, Minori looked

between Taiga and Ami.

Ryuuji couldn't move.

"Why not? So what," Taiga said. She ran her hand through her hair as

if annoyed and laughed. Only her rosy lips curved sweetly, even though she

seemed like she wanted to spew poison. "Ryuuji says it's fine. That doesn't

have anything to do with me. Whatever Ryuuji does with whoever doesn't

have aaaaaaaaannn…"

…nnnnnything to do with me, was probably what she would have

said.

"OW!"

BAM! There was a dreadful noise as Taiga leaned forward to

emphasize her words before hitting her forehead against a desk. The

Palmtop Tiger—supposedly the strongest among them—fell to her knees

and clutched the lump on her head.

"T-Taiga!" Minori exclaimed.

"Ah, that looked like it hurt," Ryuuji said.

As Ryuuji and Minori checked on Taiga, Ami tilted her head.

"Aisaka-san, you couldn't be, like, a klutz?" she asked, her words having

lost some of their sting.

She might just have uncovered one of the best-hidden secrets in the

world.

***

"Why?! Why does it end up like this?! You could have gone with

Ryuuji to Europe or the North Pole or Demon City Shinjuku or anywhere

else!"

"It wasn't on purpose. They say this is the only place that sells

swimsuits. Hmmm… Oh, Aisaka-san, this would look great on you. Look,

it's for ages six to nine~ It's so cute~ Look, there are frills~"

"Doesn't this look like it'd suit you, Kawashima-san? It's definitely

just right for a Chihuahua in heat. Look here, the width's five centimeters."

"Those are boys' speedos!"

"Are they? Then this won't work? Really? The model Kawashima

Ami-san on holiday with her pubes fully on display!"

"What're you shouting for?!"

They were in a corner where everyone in the store could hear their

fierce exchange.

"I'm so embarrassed."

Ryuuji blushed. It was bad enough he was a high school boy

wandering through the girl's swimsuit section, but on top of that, he was in

the company of these two.

"Seriously," Minori said. "Taiga and Ami are completely… I'm sorry

I got you involved in this, Takasu-kun. It's a little weird."

"No, it's fine," he replied. "I don't mind."

If Minori, glaringly radiant, weren't standing with him in front of the

shabby shrubs that decorated the interior of the station building, he would

have been at a loss. But because they were together, it wasn't as bad.

It was past four in the afternoon on a weekday evening. Although this

was the busiest shopping spot in town, the four-story building was mostly

empty. The swimsuit store was particularly desolate, and Hawaiian music

echoed sadly in the background.

In that deserted corner of the floor, Minori talked to Ryuuji as she

inspected the swimsuits on the rack one at a time. "Takasu-kun, do you

have a swimsuit? The men's stuff is behind the pillar over there."

"Yeah. I have mine from last year."

"Right. You would. You're different from Taiga. You wouldn't let

yours get moldy."

"Taiga's a special kind of careless."

You're right, Minori smiled in agreement as she took a swimsuit in

hand. "Oh, I didn't let mine get moldy, by the way," she said. "I just wanted

to buy a new one. So, how's this one?"

Ryuuji wished he were the type of character who would promptly

say, "Seems good, it suits you," or something like that. Everything would

have gone more smoothly if he had been. Unfortunately, Ryuuji's throat was

strangely dry and wouldn't form words.

I'm so worthless, he thought. He hated himself for not being able to

embrace this opportunity. He was picking out swimsuits with Minori! It was

something he'd only ever imagined doing, and the reality of it was so much

better.

Of course, Minori didn't notice Ryuuji's mental anguish.

"Hmmm. How about something that's a little high-cut?" She made a

V with her hands and measured the angle of her crotch and then put the

swimsuit back on the rack. As she slowly headed to a different display, she

said, "By the way, I've thought this forever, but, Takasu-kun, you always

keep your uniform and tracksuit super neat. You even iron them properly."

"What?"

Huh… It couldn't be. Was that a compliment?! Although his brain

blanked out from the shock, he managed to say, "Y-you think so?" while

looking at her profile. "Um, well, my mom works, so I have to do that kind

of stuff by myself, but it's not like I don't like doing it…"

"Whoa, that's amazing! So you actually do the housework

yourself?!"

His cheeks burned and he turned his face away reflexively. He

feigned indifference and pretended to look at the swimsuits, but he

accidentally grabbed a mannequin's chest.

Minori continued to assail him with her words. "Yeah, earlier Taiga

said, 'Ryuuji's super good at household work and stuff.' She was bragging

about you, like, 'Ryuuji can do a whole bunch of things I can't.' I was so

surprised since it was the first time I'd heard Taiga praise anyone, let alone

a boy."

"…"

"Oh dear, Takasu-kun, even if it's a mannequin, you can't grab it like

that. It'll pop right off."

"T-Taiga said that? About me? What?" He was so shocked he thought

his eyeballs might pop out.

It was absurd. There was no way. Taiga only ever called him a

perverted dog, didn't she? There was no way she'd praise him.

Right—I get it. Ryuuji's eyes flashed with realization: Minori was

lying. At least, she was blowing whatever Taiga had said out of proportion.

She was always trying to get him to go out with Taiga, after all.

"I don't believe that," Ryuuji said.

"You don't believe me? Well, I guess that's your choice, Takasu."

Minori laughed slightly and shrugged. "It's such a waste." Even after she

said that, he still couldn't believe it—not even if the words were coming

from his adored Minori.

It's not like anyone would believe that, right? Not when it came to

Taiga. Especially not after what he'd endured over the last few tense days.

"How's this swimsuit?"

Ryuuji and Minori turned toward the voice behind them.

"Whoa!"

"Wow!"

Tee-hee. Ami tilted her head and smiled 'bashfully.' Her beauty made

the desolate station seem to fade away. The milky perfection of her skin,

without a stray hair or dull patch, was almost unreal.

"What do you think?" Ami asked. "It's not weird, right? If I wear a

plain swimsuit like this, I won't stand out, will I? Actually, I'm a little

embarrassed being in the same pool as the boys."

When she blinked slowly, she seemed to envelop her surroundings in

radiant light, as though she were inlaid with fragments of stars.

"What is it with those long legs?! All ya do is stand out!"

Minori had snapped.

Ryuuji had to agree. This is criminal, no matter how you look at it.

Ami's eyes widened, her hair swaying as she tilted her head. She

opened her eyes even wider as if in sincere wonder.

"Oh, but I chose a really plain swimsuit. That's so strange. I wonder

what about it stands out? I have no idea. I wonder what it could be?"

It had been a few weeks since she had been accused of hiding her fat.

Maybe it was because she had stopped stress eating, but Ami's stomach was

absolutely flat and her body was perfectly toned. The swimsuit itself was

dark colored and mature against her long, ivory legs and limber arms.

Even though she was slender and tall, her petite face was all eyes,

alluring and charming as a fairy.

So this is a pro model…

Ryuuji and Minori were speechless.

Ami was checking herself in the mirror while saying, "That's weird. I

have no idea." She was too perfect. Her legs were too long. She was too

slim. Her skin was too fair. She was too beautiful.

Then, like someone waking from a dream, Minori snapped out of it

and took a step toward Ami. "K-Kawashima-san! What brand is that

swimsuit?! I don't think I'll look as good, but I want to look thin! I'll get

something from that brand, too!"

"There were a ton of suits behind the changing rooms. Oh, do you

want to get matching ones, Minori-chan?"

"Anything but that! I don't want people comparing us!" Minori

rushed away with the goal of finding the swimsuit section that had the same

brand as Ami's.

And then, it happened.

"Hm hmmm."

The look in Ami's eyes changed in the mirror's reflection.

Even though Ryuuji knew it was coming, he was struck by the radical

change. He needed to stay composed.

Ami pivoted and put one hand on her hip, the other hand to her

mouth, and leaned forward to emphasize her chest. "This is amazing, right?

It's way too incredible, right? I'm way! Way! Way! Too cute! Isn't it scary?

Is it okay that I'm this adorable? I'm so much more gorgeous this year than

last year and even cuter today than I was yesterday! How far can I go? Can

I get any more beautiful?! And, like, with this swimsuit? With this plain,

ordinary swimsuit that barely cost a thousand yen?! No way! If I wore a

bikini, I wonder what would happen?!"

She seemed pleased.

"Ahhh, it's scary even for me," she continued. "Come to think of it,

maybe I should become a gravure pinup model? Isn't hiding this figure

basically a crime? I want to see it ♥. Don't you agree, Takasu-kun?"

"Aren't you embarrassed wandering around in that getup?" Ryuuji

asked. "You know we're inside a store, right?"

"Huuuh?~ Oh, Takasu-kun, leave the jokes to those eyes of yours.

I'm so frickin' pretty, what's there to be embarrassed about? People who

see me are so lucky. I should charge three thousand yen per person. Oh, and

I mean three thousand yen per second, of course."

As Ami slowly gathered her hair up, she shed her angelic mask

completely. The horribly cool, clear eyes of her true self flickered nastily.

She smirked, completely aware of her beauty. She pouted her lips, teasing

and mean.

"The permanent hair removal holds up!" she said.

He didn't know if she was tossing him a bone, or if it was for some

other reason, but she lifted her arms in a sexy pose to show him her

perfectly smooth armpits.

"Um, you know…"

"Ahhh, I'm super cute today, too~ ♥" She winked at her own

reflection. Ami seemed to be in a good mood, smitten with her perfect,

swimsuit-clad body.

But there was something more important to Ryuuji.

"Ummm… I-I…wonder how this looks?! I fit into it at least."

It was Minori, who poked out only her head from the changing room

curtain and was calling out to Ami.

"Ohhh, which one? Let me see!"

Ami's sandals slapped as she ran over to Minori.

Ohhh, which one? Ryuuji wanted to ask, wishing he could follow, but

that, of course, wasn't something he could do…was it?

Pretending to look at towels and goggles, he sidled toward them and

desperately pricked his ears.

"Minori-chan, come out. If you don't look at yourself in the big

mirror, you won't be able to tell if it fits."

"What?! N-n-n-no way, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I can't!"

"You'll be in front of the whole class tomorrow anyway."

"That's completely different! Ah!!!"

"What, no way, you're super cute! It looks really good on you, and

you're not fat at all, Minori-chan! You even have nice muscles around your

shoulders, it looks really good!"

"Y-you think so? Really?"

"Yeah! He's already here, so why don't you have Takasu-kun look?

Getting a boy's opinion is important, after all. Right, Takasu-kuuun?!"

"Hey!" Minori cried. "No, no, no! Takasu-kun, don't come! You

can't look!"

Ryuuji froze for almost ten full seconds. He wouldn't look if she told

him not to. He wouldn't let his interest show on his face. Though his eyes

glinted with a dangerous sheen, Ryuuji tried pretending he hadn't heard. He

was trying so hard to be respectable that he'd bitten through his lower lip.

Once he was sure Minori had safely returned to the changing room,

he turned around.

"Huhhh," Ami said.

"Wh-what?" Ryuuji asked.

Still in her swimsuit, Ami stared at Ryuuji, intent, scrutinizing, and

spiteful, as if she were examining an X-ray. "So, Takasu-kun, you can't

look at Minori's swimsuit? Hmmm."

"Huh?! She said not to look so I—"

"Why are you so flustered? Never mind. I'm going to put on my

clothes." Taking off her high-heeled sandals, Ami sauntered barefoot

through the store as though she hadn't heard him.

Somehow or other, he had been left behind, a weirdo standing all

alone in the swimsuit section.

The looks the other customers and the employees were giving him

made him anxious. Wasn't it dangerous to have a male high school student

loitering in the women's swimsuit department? As he wandered uneasily

around, hoping someone would save him, he realized the person he was

most familiar with had yet to materialize.

"Where's Taiga?"

There were four changing rooms, one in each corner of the square

floor. One of those was open, and Minori and Ami were using the other

two.

As he approached the last changing room, he saw strappy shoes in a

size he recognized. Maybe Taiga was just changing in there, he thought.

The changing room curtain opened just ten centimeters. And, of

course, Taiga's head suddenly poked out of it. She started looking around

like she was searching for something. Her mouth was a straight line, and

her forehead furrowed as if she was troubled and looking for help.

He thought he ought to say something, but before he could, Taiga saw

him.

"Ryuuji…" she called out to him, her face unhappily contorted. She

stuck a finger out past the curtain, beckoning him.

Ryuuji didn't think anything good could come of this based on the

cold war they'd been waging the last few days, but if she called him, he

couldn't not go.

"What?" he asked.

He didn't know what she would do to him later if he didn't. Probably

call him a miserable dog. Maybe she'd be right.

"Just come over here," she said. "Come closer! Closer! Over here!"

As if worried someone would notice her, she gestured more urgently,

her expression sour.

Ryuuji took a step, then another, toward the changing room. But as

she ordered him to approach, what he was worried about was…

"There's…no way you're naked in there, right…? WHOA!"

He was attacked.

A pair of hands burst through the curtains and yanked him into the

changing room in the blink of an eye. Like a Venus flytrap that had caught

its prey, she closed the curtain tightly, and the changing room immediately

dimmed.

Ryuuji was so surprised, he didn't make a sound, but lost his balance,

hit the mirror, and fell hard on his butt.

"Ow… Tsk… What are you doing?!"

"Quiet! They'll think we're perverts!"

Ryuuji realized belatedly that he was trapped with Taiga in a space

just a half-tatami-mat wide.

Taiga was at least properly clothed in her uniform (she wasn't naked

after all). She plunked down on the floor beside him. "I don't know what to

do anymore!" she whispered.

"Wait, wait, wait?!"

Still holding on to Ryuuji's arm, her eyes began turning red as if she

were about to cry.

This was bad.

"What? What's wrong?!" Ryuuji tried to make his voice as quiet as

possible. Desperately trying to somehow soothe Taiga, he looked at her

face. "Don't cry! Kushieda and Kawashima will wonder what's going on!"

"B-but, but I just can't decide!"

He saw the identical black and navy swimsuits scattered on the floor

around them, turned inside out as though she'd already tried them all on.

"Why're you crying about not being able to decide on a swimsuit?!

Ahhh! These are still on sale, so you have to take care of them."

"I have a lot on my mind!" Taiga shook her head back and forth like

she was throwing a tantrum.

Ryuuji knew if he went about this the wrong way, she'd flail and rage

at him, so he automatically went into worry mode instead. "O-okay. Keep

calm. First off, don't cry. Do you not like the pattern? Do you not like the

color? Do you want me to bring you a different one?

Taiga shook her head more fervently. "No! I-It's the sizing that's the

problem! I hate it!"

I see.

Ryuuji thought he understood: Adult swimsuits likely wouldn't work

with her childish physique. "Uhhh… What about kids' sizes?"

"I'd rather die! You sound like Kawashima Ami! Ah!" she wailed in

a muffled voice. She was on the verge of tears.

"Wait, shouldn't you be talking to Kushieda or Kawashima instead of

me about this kind of thing?"

"If I could, I would! But they wouldn't understand. Those two have

figures that work for them. It's so embarrassing that I can't talk about it!

And it's none of that two-faced girl's business!"

"Look, even if you tell me that, I don't know what I can do," Ryuuji

said. "Huh, what about this one?" As he began methodically putting the

merchandise back on the hangers, he noticed one swimsuit that was smaller

than the rest. "It's an extra small. Did you try it? Did this one not fit

either?"

"I tried it. I did, but…that's… Well, it was sort of okay. But…like…

o-one part of my body was…" Her voice went quieter and quieter until he

couldn't hear her at all.

"Then wouldn't this one be fine?" Ryuuji asked. "I think I can fix it

to fit you. Oh, this is also extra small, but it's still pretty big for you."

Out of the ten swimsuits, he found three particularly small ones.

According to Taiga, those were all "sort of okay."

"Then choose one of these. What about this one? The price is

reasonable, and the material is pretty thick and looks sturdy. Maybe you can

also put it in the dryer?" Ryuuji checked the machine wash instructions. "I

think it'll work." He handed it to Taiga, and she took it more obediently

than he expected.

She looked at it intently, then between it and Ryuuji's face several

times.

"Okay," she said. "You're right. This is…the best one…right…?"

She sighed.

The air in the changing room was suddenly so melancholic it felt like

a funeral parlor.

Taiga refused Minori and Ami's invitation to go to Pseudobucks (the

Sudoh coffee stand and bar), and Ryuuji was hesitant to get drinks with

girls by himself, so the two of them headed home together. For the first time

in a long while, Taiga wasn't angry or annoyed. She just muttered, "You

should have gone."

She isn't angry or annoyed. Good, I don't know why, but it seems like

Taiga's mood is finally beginning to improve.

Ryuuji noticed his mistake around six thirty that evening.

"Okay, food's done," he said.

"…"

"I think the miso soup's good, and we have pudding for later."

"…"

The lump of fluff and frills sprawled beside the table wasn't making

preparing dinner any easier. Without a word, Taiga poked at the greens

clipped to the birdcage with her fingers. Her eyes were unfocused, and she

sighed occasionally.

She didn't even seem to care that her long hair was tangled. Taiga

looked legitimately depressed.

While washing the cucumbers he had pulled from the Takasu-familyrecipe rice-bran, Ryuuji watched to make sure Inko-chan wasn't being

stressed out again.

"Woold jyoo?" With her beak, the parakeet gently pushed the greens

Taiga was fidgeting with outside of the cage. Inko-chan might have been

trying to say, "Would you?"

Taiga shook her head. "I don't need any," she said quietly.

Taiga and the parakeet were having a conversation. Though Taiga

was being polite to the bird, she looked like a drowned corpse sinking into a

deep sea. Her body was limp, and her eyes were distant and dull. Her wrath

had been replaced by sadness. It seemed like she had even abandoned her

ego.

Ryuuji didn't know why she had suddenly become so despondent.

Well, no, he suspected it was because of the swimsuit given the time frame,

but he didn't understand why she was so distressed. She had bought the

swimsuit, after all.

"T-Taiga. I tried making fried chicken in vinegar sauce today. It's the

first time I've made it, but I think it went really well."

"…"

"You put mayonnaise on it. On top, here."

"…"

He couldn't lure her out of it with food. This may have been better

than the cold war from the day before, but nothing could beat the banality

of the current situation.

The sound of agitated footsteps broke the silence. "Ahhh, I'm late,

I'm late~" cried Yasuko. "I forgot I had an interview with a girl~ I've only

got ten minutes until I have to leave~"

"Huh?! What are you doing?" Ryuuji asked. "Here, hurry up and

eat… Whoa! Today's getup is something!"

"You think so?~" Yasuko laughed. "Mya ha. ☆" She lifted both her

hands up to the ceiling. It seemed she was trying to make the "Y" in

"Yasuko."

Then again, because of her lifted leg, she might have been trying to

be the Glico running man. Even her son didn't know which it was.

She really didn't look like she was in her thirties dressed like that.

She was wearing a white tube top and a miniskirt that barely covered her

butt. Yasuko's enormous bust stretched out her top and swayed.

They're like mounds of mochi. How do women function with those

things? Ryuuji wondered, cocking his head to the side.

And then—

"Ahhh! Taiga-chan's pervy-wurvy touchy-wouchy~"

Who knew what she was thinking. As she was still rolling around on

the floor, Taiga twisted around toward Yasuko, who was sitting next to her,

and began groping Yasuko's mochi-mounds.

"Taiga! Don't sexually harass my mom!"

"Awww, it's fine, Ryuu-chan!" Yasuko said. "At least Taiga isn't

acting scary today. It's been a long time~ Tee-hee!"

Wobble wobble wobble wobble—though Taiga continued to prod at

Yasuko's breasts, her eyes were as murky as a dead fish's.

"Th-that's kind of horrifying," Ryuuji said. "So stop. Seriously. Here,

look! It's your dinner! Stop touching those!"

Ryuuji briskly put the bowls and plates on the table.

"Food! Food!" Yasuko obediently picked up her chopsticks.

Still tight-lipped, Taiga righted herself into a sitting position.

"I'm digging in!" Yasuko said. "Yay, it looks good~ I love you,

Ryuu-chan!~" Her chest bounced as she smiled, her face innocent and

immaculately made up.

"Ahhh~"

"Ah! Hey!"

Taiga had prodded at Yasuko's breasts with the ends of her chopsticks

again.

Once Yasuko hurried to her night shift, cradling her one and only

precious Chanel bag, an awkward silence descended on the Takasu

household.

Although Taiga ate her meal and sprawled out on the tatami mats like

always, she was staring vacantly at the corner of the ceiling. Well, her eyes

were open, anyway.

Seriously, what happened to her? Is she okay? As Ryuuji finished the

dishes and dried his hands, he stole a glance at her. Although he was

worried, at least she wasn't aggressive like she'd been before, and she

hadn't been physically hurt, so he was thinking of leaving her alone.

"Uhhh, Taiga?" he asked. "Are you prepared for swimming

tomorrow? Do you have your towel and stuff? Did you put them in your

bag? I'll fix the sizing of the swimsuit you bought today if you bring it

over."

But he really couldn't say anything after seeing her pale face robbed

of its usual fiery temper. It was like looking behind a bush and discovering

the cat that always stole your side dishes had gotten sick. His chest filled

with something that was maybe sympathy and maybe the urge to meddle.

"Hey," he said.

Taiga pretended not to hear him. She rolled over, turning her slender

back to Ryuuji.

"The swimsuit doesn't fit you, right?" he continued. "If that's fine

with you, then I don't care."

"Shuddup," she said in an incredibly small, cold voice, her back still

to him. She said it like she was spitting it out. Though wounded, she was

still a tiger and knew exactly how to pinpoint the most vulnerable part of

his heart.

It hurt.

He had been worried about Taiga's sudden loss of spirit. And now,

despite trying to be considerate and humble, despite offering to fix her

swimsuit for her, despite the fact he'd done all sorts of things, she'd said,

Shuddup? What kind of reply was that?

It wasn't as if the irritation that had been building in him all day had

disappeared. Why did she have to blame him when all she had seen was

Ami's teasing? She had just been pretending to cling to him, but Taiga

couldn't see that. Day after day, Taiga claimed she wasn't angry and didn't

care what he did but still inflicted her sour attitude on him.

Now, she went a step further and said, "You know what? You're a

real loudmouth."

Fine. Like a viper, Ryuuji narrowed his eyes. He was at the end of his

rope.

"Ohhh, is that right?! In that case, I really don't care! I'm not gonna

take care of you anymore! Go swimming in something that doesn't fit you!"

"It doesn't matter because I'm skipping the swimming classes."

"Right, fine, whatever. Skip if you want! See if I care when you're

held back a grade! You're so stubborn! What gives you the right to abuse

me just because you saw Kawashima on top of me?! No matter who you

ask, it's obvious that's what's bugging you!"

Irritated, Taiga got up, the movement as unexpected and terrifying as

a wind-up doll suddenly coming to life.

Ryuuji swallowed the rest of his words.

"Why are you bringing that up now?" Taiga asked. Her eyes were

bloodshot, likely because of her pent-up anger.

She bit down on her contorted lip so hard, her teeth threatened to

shred it. She was as frightening as a corpse doll. This was bad. Ryuuji felt

like he'd stepped on a land mine.

"Well, uh…" He stood and took a step back.

Taiga followed, her bare feet hitting the tatami mat. Her large eyes

shone, wet and overflowing with murderous intent. Ryuuji could almost

smell her bloodthirst.

"Hey, Ryuuji…" Her low, constricted voice licked over the back of

Ryuuji's neck. "I've already told you so, so, so, so many times. I don't care

about that. I'm not mad. If I looked mad, it was because you're delusional.

You thought you knew what I wanted. Don't you get it? Do you really not

get that? Hey. Hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!"

Like a tank, Taiga continued moving forward slowly but surely. She

jabbed her elbow again and again into Ryuuji's chest. Nonchalantly, she

stepped firmly on Ryuuji's foot with her bare toes.

"Ahhh!" Now Ryuuji was trapped.

"Hey! Why don't you say something?!"

"Well, I—"

"Shuddup! Quiet! You got that?! Take my next words to heart! What

happened back then doesn't matter! This is completely different! You got

that?!"

"Well, I don't know what you're upset about this time."

"I'm going home."

Taiga fell silent. She quickly flipped her hair and began walking to

the door, but Ryuuji intercepted her. He stepped between her and the door,

arms waving, desperate to keep Taiga from escaping.

"Wait a sec!" he said. "It's not going to end that easily. You've just

been saying whatever you want and whatever's convenient for you!"

"I'm done! Shut up! I don't care!"

He had already stepped on the land mine. How much more rage could

be left to explode?

"You think you can eat a meal at somebody's house looking

depressed like that and then just say you're headed home?!" he asked. "Tell

me what happened!"

"Why don't you go gossip with the landlady downstairs, you

rubbernecking dog!"

"Yeah, I will, but only after you tell me why you're so depressed!"

"It doesn't have to do with you!"

"Why do you hate the pool?!"

"Fine! I can't swim! I don't like it!"

"If that were the real reason, you wouldn't say it so easily!"

Taiga clicked her tongue and pivoted, her body low to the ground as

she masterfully tried scurrying under Ryuuji's arm—or so he thought.

Taiga was definitely not a girl who did the expected in times like

these.

"Ah?! Ow! Why is there a bean here?!" She stepped on a soybean on

the tatami and fell on her butt.

"Opportunity strikes!" The moment Taiga plopped down, Ryuuji

firmly stepped on her outspread skirt.

"What are you doing, you stupid dog! Let go, get off! You'll spread

your canine athlete's foot all over the frills!"

"You can tell me to shut up or say whatever you want!"

Taiga struggled to stand, but Ryuuji had pinned her near her waist so

she couldn't get up at all. When she made a frantic attempt to get her feet

under her, the elastic on the waist stretched and fell, exposing an alarming

amount of her pale side, her hip, and even a glance of her underwear.

"What?! I'm done with this!" she screamed. "Ryuuji's violating me

with a bean!"

"Don't be ridiculous! This bean was left over from the homemade

soy milk Yasuko drinks in the morning!"

"Ya-chan drinks this?!"

"Since when did you start calling her that?! Ahhh, you idiot!"

Taiga, working on some unknown thought process, suddenly picked

up that bean, threw it, and caught it in her mouth. She had eaten it—she had

eaten the trampled bean. Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! She chewed three times

and swallowed.

"Gross! Another!" she declared.

"Of course it's gross! Uuugh, that's so disgusting! What are you

doing?! You'll make yourself sick!"

"But I want to get the isoflavones!"

"Huh?"

He still had her skirt pinned as she wailed. Ryuuji looked down at

Taiga's face and, at that time, was struck by a stroke of inspiration.

He recalled the time when Yasuko had declared, "I'm drinking soy

milk every day from now on. Because there's the isobonbons or something

that makes your breasts bigger. I saw it on TV~ I can't have them deflate on

me, so I'm thinking ahead~ I'm brilliant!"

Then he recalled Taiga crying in the changing room because she

couldn't choose a swimsuit.

"But…how do I put this…? One part of my body is…"

Isoflavones. Soybeans. Eating it off the ground. Refusing to go to

swimming class. Her despondency about her swimsuit…

"T-Taiga…it can't be that…you…"

"N-no! Don't say it! Don't say anything else."

With frightened, imploring eyes, Taiga firmly wrapped her cardigan

over her chest and vigorously looked up at Ryuuji. She scurried to the wall

and desperately shook her head, asking him to do anything but put it into

words.

But he had to say it.

If he didn't say it and confirm it was the truth, his everyday life with

Taiga wouldn't be able to continue.

"Are you flat-chested?!"

"EEK—"

No one else knew the truth about the connection between the shrieks

of a small tiger that resonated through the apartment building that night and

the rent increase that haunted Ryuuji for years to come.

***

Cheeks hollow and expression as clear as if she'd just expelled a

demon, Taiga said, "Wait here for a while. If you open this door, I'll kill

you."

They were in the living room of the luxury condo Taiga lived in.

They had walked there together from the Takasu's house, which took ten

seconds on foot.

In the room that, as usual, was sensibly put together but too big for

one person, Ryuuji perched himself on the edge of the sofa and waited for

Taiga to return. Taiga had locked herself in her bedroom and was

rummaging for something.

The glittering, modern chandelier faintly lit the cream-colored room.

It was quiet. The soundproofing was probably miles above the Takasu's

place, but silence still felt like the calm before the storm.

"Is that really something you need to worry about," Ryuuji muttered

to himself. "Do you really need to worry about how big your chest is?"

He pulled a dishtowel out of his pocket and wiped down the low

glass table while he waited.

Though it hadn't been that long since they had met in the spring,

Ryuuji and Taiga's living situation had been intense. Was it possible Taiga

hated being small so much that she made herself sick over it?

Just the other day, she had been withdrawn as she grumbled about her

strange name and her small height. When Ryuuji found her, she was close

to blowing a fuse because she liked Kitamura but couldn't do anything

about it. Taiga was a strangely high-strung person to begin with, so her

temper was certainly part of the problem. And now Taiga was saying she

was depressed over the size of her chest, too.

She had such a pretty face, and she was loved by a friend as amazing

as Minori, and she lived in a luxurious condo—he couldn't understand how

she could be so unhappy. No, actually, this condo was probably one of the

reasons why she was depressed. Ryuuji inhaled reflexively.

It was practically a symbol of her parent's abandonment.

Maybe her dysfunctional family was why her personality was so

unsettled? He didn't want to blame everything on family issues, which

seemed to be the current fad, but he couldn't rule it out.

Taiga was the outrageous Palmtop Tiger—prone to anger, dejection,

and suddenly bursting into tears. Moments after abusing him, she would ask

for his help. In the end, Ryuuji couldn't just not take care of Taiga when she

was like that. He couldn't abandon her. No one at school could possibly

understand her mental state; they just assumed she was like a carnivore

loose in the fields.

I have to take this seriously, Ryuuji thought as he dusted the table

legs until they sparkled. He decided to stick by the unsettled, depressed

tiger.

I'm a dragon, you're a tiger, and the two are always paired together.

He was also keeping the pledge he had already made. If he had to support

her anyway, he would take her mental health seriously.

Right. He would say something like, The problem isn't the size of

your chest, it's that you think that's the problem.

"Ryuuji."

"Yeah?!"

"What do you think?"

"Uhhh…uh…"

Nope. No, no, no. That is definitely the problem.

He was so taken by surprise, he fell off the sofa and received the full

force of the sight before him upside down.

Taiga had slipped through the bedroom door. To validate her anxiety,

she was wearing the navy swimsuit she had bought that day. Its price tag

was still on it.

Her hip-length hair softly clung to her too-thin body.

Her arms and legs were pearly gray in the dim light.

Because she was so petite, he had assumed her physique was the

same as a child's, but her waist was surprisingly small, and her delicate

body wasn't just thin.

"What do you think of it?"

Her expression was sullen, but her beautiful face looked like it had

been carved from delicate glass. In that swimsuit, she was so beautifully

molded that she could have been turned into a figure and put on display.

"You really are kind of flat," Ryuuji said.

The thick fabric easily bound Taiga's chest. He could tell it wasn't

that she didn't have anything there—the slight curve from the top of her

snow-white chest cast a shadow. That was most likely from her breasts,

which had been flattened down. The reason for Taiga's "flatness" probably

wasn't because her chest was small but because her breast tissue was too

soft.

And, because she didn't have the curve that should have been

between her underarm and mid-back, her swimsuit looked pitifully close to

falling down with even the slightest movement. It was as if that part of her

anatomy wouldn't work no matter the swimsuit's size.

"Did you try putting cups in?"

"They're in… ha ha ha, but…they cave in…ha ha." Expressionless,

Taiga tried laughing to distance herself. Taking a deep breath, she threw

herself onto a leather-backed chair made by a famous Scandinavian

designer.

Then, Ryuuji realized something strange. "H-huh?"

He wanted to be diligent about figuring out the reason why Taiga

looked flat chested, but he couldn't get himself to look at her anymore.

When he saw her exposed snow-white skin, her feminine, slender

body, and her hips, which were like a glass vessel that would break even

when held carefully in both hands, he was filled with dread.

He almost felt like just looking at her was violence—but he would

never hurt her, he wasn't allowed to. He felt like he had to hold himself

back.

"I'm flat, right?" Taiga said. "I don't have anything there. That's why

I don't want to go to swimming class."

Even Taiga's quiet voice went in one ear and out the other.

If Ryuuji were honest, Ami was more beautiful when she was in the

swimsuit at the station building. She had a good, perfectly-honed figure.

But, in Ami's presence, he had been flustered and his thoughts had run

wild. He hadn't felt this sense of dread. Maybe it was because Ami was a

popular model on break and her job was to be looked at? She was beautiful

and too perfect, so maybe it was because she didn't seem real? But, but, but

but—

"Ryuuji, are you listening?"

Taiga, who was staring at him, was super real and existed right here.

She was real to the point that it hurt, to the point of rawness. If he stretched

his hand out, he could easily grab her. And she would be thirty-six degrees

Celsius.

"A-anyway, put something on. You'll catch a cold."

Taiga nodded at Ryuuji's words and returned to her bedroom to get a

bathrobe. He looked briefly at the closed door.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah…"

Then he put his hands to his face and rubbed.

What was this? What could it be? Why did he have to feel so strange?

And then, on top of everything, he felt so guilty his whole body quaked. He

hadn't done anything, he hadn't done anything wrong at all; so what could

his crime have been?

"Last year, I wasn't this worried about it," Taiga said, now in a

bathrobe. "Or actually, I hadn't noticed it. I didn't notice that I didn't have a

chest. We didn't have swimming in junior high, either."

Having finally recovered from his strange mood, Ryuuji nodded as he

listened to her. It was Taiga's condo, but Ryuuji was the one who made tea

and put out snacks.

"I went to swimming class like normal. But I found out some boy

from another class sneaked a picture of me in my swimsuit and was passing

it around."

"Come to think of it, there was someone doing stuff like that," Ryuuji

said.

"Of course, I raided the photography club room he was using as his

hideout and made it rain blood."

"And the photography club did suddenly disband."

"So, this is the picture I confiscated from them. If you look at this, I

think even you'll be able to comprehend a miniscule amount of my sorrow."

He innocently took the picture she handed to him right-side down. He

flipped it. "Whoa! That's terrible!"

"Ughhh…"

The Taiga in the picture had shorter hair, which she had pulled behind

her head into a bun. She stood by the poolside with a sullen, bored

expression.

Either the one who had been handing it out, or the owner of the

picture, had drawn an arrow in sharpie pointing to her chest, and had

written, "Puny boobs."

"Puny boobs… Puny! That's when I finally knew it! I realized people

pitied my flat chest!"

"Well, wait a sec! That's just the opinion of whoever wrote this."

"No! Because when I look in the mirror, even I think they're pathetic.

Waaah, I hate it!" Taiga wailed and put her face on the table. "I have to

expose my pathetic body in front of Kitamura. What time is it? It's already

past nine. We have swimming class in just twelve hours. I don't want that…

I don't…"

Ryuuji's eyes were as sharp as knives. He held his tongue. He wasn't

planning to attack a scantily dressed Taiga—he was thinking.

"I got it. I'll do something about it."

"Huh?" Taiga raised her face and looked at him.

Ryuuji nodded heavily. "I said I'd resize it. I have a secret plan. Take

off that swimsuit and lend it to me for tonight. It'll probably be an allnighter, but, some way or another, I'll make it so you can go in front of

Kitamura with your chest held high."

"R-Ryuuji…"

Then, for the first time in nearly a week, the light came back to

Taiga's wide eyes. She stared straight at him without any doubt and blinked

as innocently as a child. "Really? Why would you go so far to help me?"

"Because I told you: I'm a dragon, you're a tiger. That's all."

Of course, he couldn't tell her it was out of guilt for the strange

feeling he had earlier.

***

"You can go home and sleep."

"No, I'll wait here until it's done."

They'd gone back to the Takasu's house and had their first normal

conversation in a while in the small two-bedroom apartment. Well, it wasn't

exactly a normal conversation…

"I'll stay up with you and wait until you finish it," Taiga said. "I'm

playing this game."

"Taiga…you…"

He couldn't call the conversation normal when Taiga was looking at

him so kindly. Even before the incident with Ami, he hadn't heard her

speak in such a calm voice.

And she was saying things like: "I was… I was being kind of

stubborn and really weird this whole time… I'm… I'm sorry…"

Even if it was a bother, even if abandoning it would be easier, if you

held it dear and watched it for a while, an egg would eventually hatch into a

cute chick. Ryuuji felt like a mother hen, his emotions warmed and deeply

moved. He was a sucker for domestic dramas, and this hit him right in the

tear ducts. He felt lucky that that emotion neatly washed away the last few

dregs of his sin.

In the end, Ryuuji's dedicated needlework continued past three in the

morning.

"Huh? Wait? Huuuh! What's that?! Isn't that amazing?!"

"Ryuuji, you focus on that."

When he turned to look at it, he saw the words "36 chain" dancing on

the TV screen for the first time in his life.