Chapter 3

On the surface, several days passed calmly without incident.

Taiga was (as always) subtly on edge, and continued to completely

ignore Ami. Ami, maybe because she was so desperate to put on a good act

for her new friends, followed suit and didn't try to goad Taiga into a fight.

She'd just occasionally give Ryuuji her Chihuahua eyes but didn't

deliberately try to get him involved.

However, they were both still in the same class as someone they

couldn't stand. When they crossed paths, when they heard each other's

voices, when they nearly collided by chance—it wasn't like they didn't

quietly glare at each other or have a brief confrontation. But Ryuuji didn't

think he saw Taiga and Ami directly exchange words a single time in these

last few days.

I hope it could somehow stay like this all year… no, I hope this lasts

until graduation. That small hope Ryuuji held was crushed by what

happened in the latter half of May, as they were about to change their

seasonal uniforms.

***

"Takasu! Are you free right now?! I've got something really great to

tell you!"

Homeroom had ended. It was late in the afternoon, after they had

been released from school.

His black-framed glasses glinting, a hand running through artfully

mussed hair, Noto approached Ryuuji's seat with an ecstatic expression on

his face.

"Today, Haruta's going to introduce us to three first-year girls from

the track team, all at once! You're gonna come with, right?!"

"…Nah, I'll pass. I have some things I need to do. Besides, even if I

went, they'd just say, 'look at that creepy guy!' and it'd end at that. Or

they'd all just run away on the spot, and it'd end before it got started."

"No way would that happen! You'll have me and Haruta on your

side. We'll cover for you, man! C'mon, c'mon, let's go, we're meeting at

the McDonald's in front of the station!"

Maybe he was just that happy, but Noto wore a giant grin, hands

glued to Ryuuji's back, hopping up and down like an especially stupid

rabbit.

Ryuuji simply removed Noto's hand. "I really do have something to

do. Here, look over there."

He pointed to the doorway of the classroom. Over there was…

"…Guh, the Palmtop Tiger. Y-yikes, man…"

Taiga loomed with crossed arms, oblivious to how much she

frightened the passersby. She was glaring at Ryuuji. The wrinkles on her

forehead gave off an unspoken pressure that said—get your butt over here.

"She asked me to do something for her, so I'll pass for today. Sorry."

"Aww, man…that's no fun. C'est la vie, I guess. We'll compete three

versus two. Since you're facing the Palmtop Tiger though, I guess we've

got the better odds."

Noto gave up and was turning on his heel, but then he hesitated. "…

Speaking of which, Takasu." Suddenly he was turned right back around

again, looking strangely thoughtful as he muttered. "The Palmtop Tiger's

nice, and… well, she's super pretty, and when I see you two together I'm

honestly a little jealous. But I don't think you'll be happy with her. Do you

really see yourself sticking with a brute like her, who piles up three desks

and chairs just to throw them from one corner of the class to the other?"

The comment about the desks and chairs probably referred to the

"Ryuuji and I aren't dating" incident from the month before.

"…Why do I have to be happy with Taiga? That's not what I was

going for in the first place."

"Well, that's fine. If you say so! But let me at least give you advice.

Wouldn't it be better to date a girl who's not just cute, but normal? I'm not

saying you gotta date someone like Kawashima-chan who's a super-ultrahigh-quality gal, but at least try a girl who's not a tiger."

"If I could do that, life would be easy, is that it?"

"Well, anyway, I'm just saying to keep your eyes open. If you keep

going on like this, you won't be able to date anyone else because you'll be

taking care of the Palmtop Tiger your whole life. Well, see you tomorrow!"

After getting out everything he wanted to say, Noto lightly walked

out of the classroom. Ryuuji still wasn't planning on straying from his

pursuit of Kushieda Minori when it came to finding another cute and

normal girl.

Come to think of it, how rude! Of course he didn't plan on taking care

of Taiga his whole life. At the right time, with the right girl—Minori, if he

had any say in the matter—he planned on settling down in marital bliss.

"Hey, Ryuuji! When I said we'd go right away, just how many hours

later did you think 'right away' was?! Just how slow do clocks run in your

world?! You're not turning into a hippie on me, are you? Hmph…hippie!

Feh!"

"…Okay, okay, okay…"

Ryuuji shrugged his shoulders while Taiga shouted and stomped, then

obediently trotted over. He immediately found himself getting hauled off

down the hallway.

"Look here! It's just the worst! What should we do?!"

"Th-this is…"

The scene Taiga pointed to made his blood curdle. What circle of hell

is this…?

The student lockers were all lined up in the hallway, but then Taiga's

locker at the very left edge was left open and completely drenched in

strawberry milk. Inside, her tracksuit, textbooks, dictionaries, and various

other things were all soaking in light-pink milky liquid.

And of course, Ami…was not the culprit.

"How could you let this happen?! It's unbelievable!"

"It wasn't on purpose! I couldn't help it!"

She'd done it all by herself. Taiga was a klutz who'd go down in

history.

While Taiga was trying to get ready to go home, she'd headed to her

locker, drinking a carton of strawberry milk through a straw. Then she'd

opened the door—planning to leave behind the textbooks she didn't need—

and slipped. She'd sprayed the strawberry milk into her own locker.

"This work…is going to be more backbreaking than I thought…!"

Ryuuji muttered to himself in a low voice, but his eyes started to take on a

dangerous, glinting light. The thrill that went down his spine burned with

hot ambition.

First he would take everything out…then take home the tracksuit and

wash it…if he didn't wipe them down and make sure the textbooks and

everything dried completely, they'd get smelly…then he could work from

corner to corner…thoroughly…thoroughly!

"Do you think this stuff can be cleaned?"

"…Uh…I think so…I mean, I'll try, at least…"

Ryuuji put on the rubber gloves that he always kept prepared. His

youthful cheeks flushed with lively blood. Even though he griped, even

though he groaned, he lived for this. He liked cleaning. He liked going from

corner to corner. He liked being thorough and getting the job done. Seeing

something that at first glance had been destroyed and dirtied beyond repair,

then resurrecting it with his own hands? It made him feel, more than

anything, that he had found his calling. The proof of that was the island

kitchen in Taiga's condo. When he came across it, it was covered in mold;

even the drain was clogged. That smelly, swampy sink was now so clean

you could lick it. Every now and then, he'd mop and clean up the

surroundings of that simple, modern kitchen. Ryuuji prided himself on the

results. It was the most well-kept stainless steel in the world.

And now, it's your turn… With a dangerous, enchanted gaze, Ryuuji

looked up at Taiga's locker, eyes full of fire. But this time, he wasn't just

filled with the desire to clean.

"Taiga…it's a promise, right? You'll give me that thing we talked

about."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Fine."

Ryuuji, I did something completely horrible. When she asked him to

clean for her, she really had promised it to him. Ryuuji had been eyeing it

from the start: the large, still-sealed Hermes box…that contained two fluffy,

brand-name bath towels. I'll give them to you in exchange for the cleaning,

she'd said.

"Ohhh, the coveted Hermes towel…! I don't care if people think less

of me. If I can put those orange Hermes towels away in my closet, I'll

endure any criticism! I saw them in an interior magazine once and wanted

them so badly…"

"R-right, well, knock yourself out…"

"You'd better realize that I'm eyeing your Egyptian linens, too! You

have a whole bunch that aren't even open yet, right? I saw them when you

had me organize your closet the other day. If there's another incident like

this, that's my price."

"Is that right…? I'll be waiting in the classroom."

Taiga couldn't handle sticking around Ryuuji when his housewife

sensibilities were going at full blast. She gave him a cold glance, flipped her

long hair, and went into the classroom.

With that out of the way, this was now Ryuuji's turf. Eyes glinting

like a beast's, he tried to start his work, but—no! He needed his apron. He

headed towards his own locker.

Humming all the while, he pulled his ever-ready apron from his

immaculate locker and cheerfully put it on—then suddenly he had a

thought.

Did I really turn down meeting first-year girls to clean?

Does that mean…could that mean…?

"…But…I would've normally…turned that down…anyway…"

Once he came to that important conclusion, he nodded deeply. He

loved cleaning, after all.

Ryuuji loved cleaning so much that he wasn't even surprised.

This definitely wasn't him throwing away a chance at a girlfriend in

order to take care of Taiga—definitely not. He was just cleaning up

something that Taiga had made a mess of. Taiga had made an unbelievable

blunder, and he was just picking up the pieces—that was it. He just wanted

to be by her every day so that he could instantly cover for her. So Noto was

wrong.

…If you keep going like this, you won't be able to date anyone else

because you'll be taking care of the Palmtop Tiger your whole life, was that

it?

The implications of what Noto had said were completely wrong. That

wasn't it; that wasn't what this meant. He wanted to stay by Taiga's side in

the future to get every opportunity to clean. That was all he was thinking. If

he kept following after Taiga, she'd keep on making mistakes as naturally

as breathing, and she would always get something dirty.

As he came to that conclusion, like a dangerous addict, Ryuuji panted

heavily and started taking out Taiga's stuff. As with any kind of addiction,

he might have been unaware that he was caught up in it.

***

It had been nearly an hour since he started cleaning—no, it was a

little longer, now. The people who would have looked at him strangely as he

had his head stuck in someone else's locker and started a massive cleanup

were long gone. The hallway had become quiet, and Taiga was likely the

only one left inside the classroom.

"It's almost done…" His muttering reverberated in the small space.

He had reached the best part of the job. Ryuuji was deep into the

locker, wriggling the Q-tip in his hand back and forth in the corner like he

would with a lacquer box. Chances were that spot had nothing to do with

the strawberry milk, but what was dirty was dirty, period.

Then he heard the soft sound of footsteps down the hallway. It

seemed to be a girl. If he were caught inside the school building without

anyone around, they'd probably have a shock. Ryuuji, coming back to

himself, completely hid himself inside the half-closed locker and held his

breath. But when he saw the person walking past the locker from just a few

centimeters away, he almost made a sound.

That unmistakable beauty could only be Kawashima Ami. But Ami,

still unaware of Ryuuji's presence, went into the classroom where only

Taiga remained.

He had a bad feeling about this. A really bad feeling.

The phantom of the locker quietly crawled back out, and though he

hesitated about whether to go into the classroom, he decided to at least peek

in through the classroom's window.

"No way… why are you still here? You're such an eyesore."

Ryuuji's forecast was right on the dot. The end of Ami's sentence

dripped with disdain. Ami aimed a gaze of pure contempt at Taiga, who was

busy wiping her textbook. Ami's lips distorted into a sneer. For the first

time in a while, Kawashima Ami-san (the real one) made her appearance.

Taiga, still in her seat, narrowed both her eyes in annoyance. She cut

off Ami's words, her voice monotonous, emotionless. "Don't come near

me, you spoiled brat."

But Ami showed alarm for only a brief moment at that quick, upward

glance from Taiga. "Hmph!" She turned her face away.

That was when Miss Split Personality really went off.

"Ooooh, so scaaaary! As expected from you, Aisaka-san. I mean,

even the teachers think you're annoying, right? I was just at the staff room

asking questions about class, but all the teachers think that I'm just the

cutest, and they're all so happy I came to this school. They keep asking me,

are you getting bullied by Aisaka? They drop your name soooo much!

Everyone, and I mean everyone! It's so funny! But, you know, it's annoying,

too. No matter how cute I am, they don't need to speak a word about that—

I already know."

"…Huh?" Taiga snorted and laughed at Ami's words. A smirk

formed on her rosebud lips. "Sounds good. That means I get to enjoy seeing

how long you can keep up your gross split-personality act. I'm looking

forward to seeing how hard you work. Oh, I hope you realize that changing

classes and graduation won't be the end of it. I'll always be close by.

Watching."

"…Huh?"

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, to seeing when you slip up and

show your bad side. I'll tell you something—it'd be easy to expose your

true personality. But that wouldn't be fun, so I won't. I'll just keep

watching, and keep enjoying the show. But…you should probably be

careful of what comes out of your mouth. You still have a lot of your life

ahead of you… that is, if you want it to be a long one." She spoke in a low,

singsong tone.

For a moment, the classroom was dyed black, like it lay under a

curse. But Ryuuji knew. Taiga still wasn't actually angry yet. This was just

her teasing someone she didn't like with the tips of her claws… he knew it

from the calmness of her eyes and how her whole body was relaxed. If a

tiger got angry, it wouldn't be content to go only this far. The barrage of its

attacks wouldn't stop until it completely tore apart its prey with its claws

and teeth.

But Ami didn't know the rules. She didn't know when to quit.

"You…stalker!" It seemed that Taiga had really gotten to her. As Ami

shouted those sharp words, her face contorted, revealing the depths of her

disgust.

Their exchange heated up the whole classroom until it overflowed

with tension.

Any second now, I should probably walk right in, like nothing's

happening. Ryuuji gulped down a breath.

"…Haha! You sure know how to get on my nerves, shrimp." Ami

flipped her hair, composure regained. She smiled, back on the offensive.

"Maybe that's why you don't have any friends? You're just a lonely,

wretched, tiny little girl, just absolutely pitiful. And to think, when I found

out we would be classmates, I even tried talking to you as good-girl Amichan. What a shame. Really, it's too bad you couldn't become friends with a

popular girl like her… Heh, and it looks like Takasu Ryuuji is totally

smitten with me, isn't he? That guy's eyes are always boring right into me.

It's a bit much; maybe you could have a word with him?"

Now that she'd said that, Ryuuji couldn't go into the classroom

anymore. And hey, what did she mean about his eyes…? That was just how

his eyes were. It was just genetics!

"Ignorance sure is bliss. …Hey, could you just hurry up and go

home? When I see your creepy mug, it makes me wanna hurl."

"Oh, I'm going home, but not because you're telling me to. Unlike a

certain spoiled shrimp I know, I've got places to go, people to see. It's hard

being popular! …Really…I kind of pity you. Because out of everyone I

know, Yuusaku has the biggest heart, and he hates you."

"…What did you say?" Taiga's voice lowered dramatically. An aura

close to the color of blood radiated from her eyes as she slowly turned them

Ami's way. Ami had stepped in it now, all right—onto a landmine.

"Thinking back to the first time we met, I was like, huh, Yuusaku

didn't say anything about this girl being a classmate… And when I asked

him, 'who was that girl?' he said, 'no one in particular.' He didn't even

want to talk about you. And if I'm being honest, Yuusaku's enemy is my

enemy. I told him eeeeverything that happened in the restaurant, so he

probably just hates you now. If you're hated even by Yuusaku the

philanthropist, then you're really done for."

That was what she spat out.

Then…

"Well then, see you tomorrow!"

Holding her bag, she smiled happily. When she turned around, those

beautiful features didn't show any trace of her poison. Humhumm ♪, she

merrily hummed as she walked away.

"A-wh-wh-wha…?"

Ryuuji suddenly made a dash for it. He just barely threw himself into

the locker in time.

It might have been better if he hadn't hidden himself, but he was

committed now. He waited until he couldn't hear Ami's footsteps anymore,

then timidly stepped into the hallway.

"Ta…Taiga."

He checked on Taiga from the window.

Taiga, who'd been left behind, still had her back facing Ryuuji. Her

head slowly tilted. It seemed she was considering the meaning of the words

Ami had thrown at her.

And he hates you.

Didn't even want to talk about you.

Yuusaku's enemy is my enemy.

So he probably just hates you now.

You're really done for.

"Wuh… wuh… waaaah!"

She looked up to the heavens.

She wailed in a shaky voice.

"…That…that…bi—!"

"Hey, Taiga! Pull yourself together!" When he desperately called out

to her, Taiga turned and jumped. When she noticed Ryuuji on the other side

of the window, she leaped up in a single bound, grabbed his jacket sleeve,

and pulled him close.

"Ryuuji!"

"Yeah?!"

Her eyes were unable to focus on anything. They seemed to be

spiraling.

"Ryuuji, Ryuuji, Ryuuji, Ryuuji! Did you hear that?! Were you

listening just now?! Were you?! What do you think about it, about that, that,

that…do you think it's true?! Is it true?! Does he hate me?!"

"W-wait, calm down! Of course not, take a second to actually think

about it!"

"But then, that brat, sh-sh-sh-she said that K-K-K-K-Kitamura

hates…me! Wh…whaaaaugh!"

Ryuuji felt like collapsing. Now, Taiga had really snapped. Taiga

kicked over three nearby chairs in succession, bared her white fangs, and

then turned to the ceiling and let out a deep-throated howl. "Thaaaaat

spoiled braaaat! I…I'll kill her right now!!"

"Calm down! Don't get ahead of yourself, okay? Take a deep breath."

"SHADDUP!"

"Whoa!"

Taiga's powerful shout sent Ryuuji staggering back—it was the tiger

who wore the pants around here. Taiga started running at full speed. No

doubt she was going after Ami, who couldn't have gotten far. This was bad.

If they kept this up, someone would end up dead.

Taiga was headed for the door. Ryuuji dashed out of the hall to stop

her, close behind.

"You can't! Don't go! Calm…"

"ACK!"

THUD! There was an awful noise.

Ryuuji opened a sliding door. Taiga opened a sliding door. Opposite

sliding doors.

A full-speed tiger crashed headfirst into the door Ryuuji had moved

aside.

It was just way too over the top. Ryuuji took stock of the situation,

breathing slowly, stupefied. Like a drunk cat, Taiga just fluttered… two

steps, three steps, one step back. "…Owww…"

Ryuuji pretty much shrieked. "Taiga!" He narrowly managed to

support her before she face-planted. "S-s-s-sorry! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine… I'm fine… I'm fine… I'm fi…."

It seemed like it was actually serious. Taiga didn't seem to even have

the strength to insult him.

***

"Ryu-chaaan, Taiga-chan's room is dark, and the curtains are still

shut."

Wrapping her hair in a curling iron, Yasuko came into the kitchen

barefoot.

Finishing up frying the last breaded pork tonkatsu, Ryuuji scowled.

"Really? She'd better hurry up. These are best right after they're done."

"Oooh, it looks yummy! I just love me some tonkatsu."

Together, the parent-child pair stared straight at the three servings of

tonkatsu that sizzled so deliciously in front of them. Although their faces

didn't look alike, they were thinking the same thing—if we don't eat quick,

it'll get cold.

Ever since the after-school mishap, Taiga had behaved oddly.

It seemed like she'd hit her forehead pretty badly, but there wasn't

any blood or nausea or any other worrying symptoms, and eventually, she

returned to peak condition. Where were you looking? Were you trying to kill

me? That's a lot of guts for a dog! And on she went—classic Taiga.

If she was in a bad mood, that was fine, but she seemed too…dark. If

Taiga were normally like a firework that had gone off accidentally, after the

mishap, she was now more like a piece of poisoned fruit, melting from the

inside out. After a word or two of complaint, she pretty much went into a

heavy silence. She didn't once open her mouth until they got to her condo.

She didn't even talk about Ami.

It wasn't the same as ignoring him. She wasn't shunning Ryuuji on

purpose. It seemed more like she was deep in thought, and because she was

deeply lost inside those thoughts, her reactions to the outside world were

dulled.

And then, at half past six in the evening, even though it was time for

dinner, she hadn't arrived at the Takasu place.

A pair of chopsticks in one hand, Ryuuji crossed his arms, looked

down at the tonkatsu, and muttered, "Maybe she's not feeling well? And

then went to the hospital…by herself? If that's the case, I shouldn't have let

her force herself to go home. I should have just taken her straight to the

hospital…maybe I shouldn't have been frying the tonkatsu this whole

time."

"Nooo, I have a feeling there's someone in there. I sense a certain

something coming from the window," Yasuko declared, busy holding a

gaudy dress up to herself as she looked in the mirror. "I'm sensitive to the

presence of girls. Inko-chan thinks so, too, right?"

The bird that had suddenly been brought up in the conversation made

a vacant, idiotic face. "Huh…? Oh, yes," Inko-chan chimed in with a

strangely human-like response.

Inko aside, Yasuko's hunches were usually right in times like these.

She was, after all, a self-proclaimed "slight psychic."

"Ryu-chan, if you're worried, why don't you go and get her?"

While saying that, Yasuko settled on her clothes, hung them off the

top of the doorframe for the time being, and continued to do her hair with

her right hand. With her left hand she poked her phone, skillfully texting

away. Around this time of night, she would always noisily multitask in the

Yasuko style—dressing while taking care of her business mail.

Guess I have to. Ryuuji nodded at the tonkatsu. It wouldn't help to

just keep worrying like this, and he couldn't have Yasuko wait when she

was working staggered hours.

"Then I'll go over for a bit. Once you're done with all that, don't

forget to eat."

"Ooh la la!" When his own mother replied with an enigmatic, sexy

pose, Ryuuji averted his eyes and left the house. He slipped out the front

entrance, still in his t-shirt.

***

His sandals clanged against the iron stairs as he made his way down

into the town's early summer evening, already in twilight. The sky was

dyed a striking indigo dappled with deep red, and the crosswind was serene.

He felt as though his chest, which had been breathing in the pungent

odor of fried food inside the apartment, was now clearing up. Ryuuji took a

deep breath. As the ample oxygen went to his head, his unnecessary worries

became even more vivid.

Moving forward, just how were Taiga and Ami planning on getting

through their days if they had to share the same class? Were they going to

keep having underhanded contests in the small classroom, chipping away at

each other's HP until one of them collapsed? What was the point of that? It

was an unfathomable world that Ryuuji couldn't understand whatsoever.

On foot, it was one minute—or really, ten seconds. He went through

the palatial condo's familiar marble entrance.

Ryuuji's worries still weren't exhausted. If anyone looked closely,

they would be able to see the two girls didn't get along, and he knew that

their meeting had been more than awful. But still, he couldn't help but have

one thought. Since they'd become classmates, for the sake of keeping the

peace, wouldn't it be better if they were more considerate of each other's

feelings?

In his mind floated the form of Taiga at her most brutal, bluntly

glowering with passionate, murderous intent. Beside her appeared the illnatured Ami, turning away in disdain with a smirk on her lips. If Taiga was

the Palmtop Tiger, then Ami was a Chihuahua of high pedigree, one that

was only friendly to its owner. It would bark to provoke, and when it came

across danger, would jump into the arms of its owner (Kitamura) and stick

out its tongue. And it would probably be dressed up in tiny brand-name

doggy clothes or something, too.

"…That works way too well."

Imagining the tiger and Chihuahua confronting each other sapped all

his strength. Exhausted, he hit the intercom doorbell. For a while, he

waited, but no one answered. Tilting his head, he tried again, then again.

Yasuko's intuition couldn't be off, thought Ryuuji (who was just a

little bit of a mama's boy). He tried one more time. Then…

"…Who is it?"

Who are you?! He wanted to ask, as Taiga's dull and gloomy voice

reverberated through the door.

"It's me. Hey, the food's done, so come on down. It's tonkatsu."

"…I don't need any."

Suddenly, a powerful madness lodged in Ryuuji's sharp eyes—he

wasn't angry, he was surprised. Taiga, whose appetite he could always

depend on to be limitless, was saying she didn't want to eat her food? It was

even worse than he'd thought!

"Hey, is there something wrong? Are you not feeling well? Does your

head hurt?"

"…You're annoying. Nothing hurts."

"If you skip a meal, you'll collapse again."

Her small body wasn't exactly efficient, and if she missed a meal,

Taiga immediately lost weight and her blood sugar plummeted. Knowing

that, Ryuuji put more effort into sharpening his tone of voice. "Anyway, for

now, open up! I won't stop giving rations to someone who doesn't explain

why they don't want to eat."

Silence, then a faint click of the tongue. Finally, the auto-lock door

opened.

***

"…Yo."

He was on the first-class condo's second floor.

Ryuuji inadvertently bent backwards and groaned as he saw the face

of the person who slowly opened the oak door and peeked from behind its

frame.

"Wh-what happened…?"

"…"

Taiga was speechless, under the blanket that covered her head. Her

lacy cotton dress was a mess. Her hair was horribly tangled, hiding her

head. The one eye he could spot was red and gummy—her cheeks were also

completely wet. It seemed she had been crying here by herself.

Taiga was a creature that cried regularly, but still… "H-hey. Wait."

Pulling the blanket with her, Taiga went down the high-end beige

hallway to return to the living room. Though he hesitated, Ryuuji removed

his shoes and followed after her.

Behind the heavy glass door was a magnificent living room over

twenty tatami mats in size, with an interior that looked like it was pulled

straight from a foreign magazine.

"…Ahhh…" Ryuuji murmured, scratching his head.

On top of the rug that the sofa was also on, there was a mounded

mess of sheets and blankets from the bedroom. In the middle was a hollow

big enough to fit exactly one Taiga. She squatted down in it, settled in

completely, and balled herself up. Once she pulled down the blanket

currently draped over her head, the Shut-In Tiger would be complete.

She didn't have the crystal chandelier on, so only the dim recessed

lighting shone, casting a soft glow from the ceiling. Taiga had been in her

dim room like this the whole time, clueless as to the color of the sky beyond

the closed-off curtains.

"…Hey."

"…"

In pure gloom, she'd balled herself up like this.

There was a moment of hesitation. But Ryuuji made up his mind and

flipped over the top of the couch. Ryuuji held his knees and sat down beside

Taiga, who was hiding in her nest like a baby cub.

"Hey, what's wrong? …Does it hurt where you were hit earlier? Do

you want to go to the hospital?" After all, the attacker happened to have

been Ryuuji. Maybe it was a little invasive, but he couldn't not check on

her.

But without answering, Taiga remained balled up in her tiger cub

pose and pushed her head into the sheets.

"…Are you okay…? Come on, answer me…"

Eventually, he heard a voice like a mosquito's buzz. "…Hey…"

"Hm?"

"…I wonder if…Kitamura-kun…actually does hate me now?"

Her covered face turned to the side. Through a gap in her hair, he got

a peek of her teary eyes, colored with desperation. Totally serious, Taiga

looked up at Ryuuji with a firm gaze.

He let out a long, long breath. "Is that really what you were worried

about?"

"Well…"

"I told you, right? Kitamura saw everything that happened at that

restaurant. He knew you were provoked into doing that, and he knew what

Kawashima was really like to begin with. And you're the one who would

know best of all that Kitamura wouldn't hate anyone for something like

that, right? Don't go getting depressed over something this small."

"…You really think so…?"

"I do."

"Then why am I so short?!"

"Huh?!"

That question was a surprise attack! Ryuuji didn't normally make a

pastime out of thinking about why someone else's body was the way it was.

For a few seconds he was struck dumb.

"Uh…probably because of, like…DNA…your genes…and stuff…"

It probably wasn't too far off the mark, but it came out awfully halfhearted.

But Taiga continued speaking in a low voice, "…I'm a shrimp…and

my name is weird…and I can't do anything by myself." She cut herself off

and went silent.

That was new. It seemed she wanted to do something about that

immense name, so unusual for a girl, and the small stature that gave her the

Palmtop title. Now that she said it, he realized something obvious—Taiga

was always greedily drinking milk products. Was she trying to inspire a

growth spurt?

"I had no idea that you worried about something so trivial."

"…It's not something trivial! Unlike you, I'm sensitive."

She rubbed at her eyes with her small fists. Taiga finally got herself

up and sat next to Ryuuji. He hadn't seen it because of her hair, but she had

a cooling patch stuck on her round forehead. She might have developed a

bump. Ryuuji felt a sting in his heart, and mostly subconsciously, gently

rubbed the patch. Taiga didn't push his hand away.

"…What… just because you're 165 centimeters tall…" Taiga pouted

and muttered, eyes dipping slightly downwards.

I'm a little taller than that, Ryuuji thought, then he realized what she

meant. She wasn't talking about him.

"…And just because her name's like Sailor Mercury's… Because of

that, because of that…!"

This was about Kawashima Ami.

With a well-proportioned figure and a cute name like an anime

character's, she was the ideal girl, who had both things Taiga wanted—that

was Kawashima Ami's existence to Taiga.

Of course, Ryuuji breathed in. The reason why Taiga was gloomily

grumbling like this was because, on top of worrying what Kitamura thought

of her, Ami had triggered a self-confidence crisis in Taiga. The ill-natured

girl she hated had all the things she couldn't help but want. On those points,

she could never win… there wasn't a soul alive who wouldn't want to squat

in a dim room and shut themselves in when faced with that.

Ryuuji could understand that frame of mind. He nodded knowingly.

"And she's also a childhood friend of Kitamura's. And their whole family is

close, too."

"Augh…!"

…I know, I know. He'd tried to support her by saying he understood.

But Taiga's miserable face turned into the picture of melting ice.

Oh, shoot. I hit at her worst anxiety…

Now he finally understood. Even if Ami was well-proportioned or

had a cute name, Taiga wouldn't have become this depressed as long as

Ami hadn't been close to Kitamura. Taiga had gotten to this point because

Ami had the most important advantage over Taiga. Her efforts to get the

thing Ami had that she didn't had all been in vain.

Ryuuji finally realized his mistake, but it was already too late. Like a

broken jack-in-the-box, Taiga deflated back into her shut-in corner. In the

end, she closed the blanket top right up.

"…How can you be so barbarically insensitive…? I'm just

flabbergasted!" Her low voice was equal parts reproachful and muffled.

"Yeah, and I'm always flabbergasted when I see the way you live

your life."

"WHAT?!"

At Ryuuji's slip of the tongue, Taiga simply snapped. She sent the

blanket flying as she leapt up.

"Hey, you're looking better."

"Just what. About me. Leaves you flabbergasted?!"

"W-well, that's! Exactly! Wait! Whoa! Ah!"

His words were interrupted by cushions being thrown at him from

above, from below—to the left, to the right.

"You! Jerk! You dog! Mutt!"

"Hey! Watch it—watch the—the dust! Stop! Oof!"

"Shut up! Be quiet!"

And then…

"Ha…haaa…CHOO!"

"Whoa! Whoa! …Yuck, your snot's everywhere!"

She moved on from physical attacks to spiritual humiliation. When

he was nearly beat by her counterattack… rumble rumble… Taiga's

stomach roared like the shaking of a fault line.

"Oh."

She opened her eyes wide, stopping her attack. She looked down with

a face of pure wonder at her own stomach, as it echoed with that terrible

sound.

"What on Earth was that noise just now?"

"Don't just say 'oh!' It's the sound of your own gut! …Jeez, so you

are hungry after all. Here, let's eat the tonkatsu."

"…I told you I don't need any."

"Yeah, I'm gonna take your stomach's word for it over yours. Yasuko

needs to leave soon, too, so here, stand up."

"…Is it Berkshire?"

"Yeah, it's Berkshire."

"…Will you eat the fat?"

"Yeah, sure."

With a reluctant look on her face, Taiga finally stood from her

blanket nest. First he had her blow her nose, then he had her check that the

windows were locked. At Ryuuji's direction, Taiga took the key and put

sandals on her bare feet, and then finally, he was successful in leading her

out of her condo.

They walked slightly apart, under a sky that was a shade of indigo

just a little prettier than before. But while they were heading up the

neighboring stairs, they were interrupted.

"Ryu-chaan!" Yasuko's tearful face peeked from the entryway. It

seemed she had dutifully waited for the two of them and hadn't eaten a bite.

"How are we supposed to eat tonkatsu without the sauce?!"

She had chopsticks in one hand, waving the empty sauce bottle as she

gave her son that most shocking news.

***

Making a sudden change of course, Ryuuji and Taiga rushed to the

closest convenience store. Ryuuji went straight to the sauce shelf and Taiga

went selfishly to the magazine rack.

"Hey, we're in a hurry, so let's go!" After paying for the sauce,

Ryuuji swung the convenience store bag to lightly tap Taiga on the butt.

Taiga sullenly turned.

"I know that already. Don't touch my butt, you perverted dog. Just a

little bit more…here." The fingers that were rifling through the pages

stopped. Then, she pulled Ryuuji (who had gone out of the store ahead of

her) back in by the edge of his T-shirt. "Get a load of this."

She showed him the page.

What is it? Ryuuji turned around and unconsciously stopped walking

when he saw what was on the page. "…It's Kawashima Ami, isn't it?"

On the lower part of the opened page was Ami in her regular clothes,

with her own attached sidebar. In it was written this:

Because of matters relating to school, Ami-chan will be taking a

break from this month's edition. Look forward to reuniting with her soon!

"So… she's taking a break?"

"Because she moved here? …I wonder if our school was worth it…"

Somehow, he had his doubts. "Well, we don't have time for this. If we don't

hurry and get back, Yasuko will be late."

After putting back the magazine, they jogged out of the store.

It happened when they were taking a short cut through the parking lot

to the road…

"…Hm?"

"…What's that?"

Nearly simultaneously, they both saw something strange. They

stopped walking once again and automatically turned to look at each other.

A little ahead of them, they saw an odd-looking, mysterious woman

go into the convenience store they had just left. She was clothed completely

in a black tracksuit with a face mask over her mouth, and even though it

was night, she wore sunglasses and a big cap. But those long and slender

limbs, the silkiness of her exposed black hair, her elfin face, and her stellar

figure could all only belong to the one model in the whole town—the one

they had just seen in the magazine.

As expected, Taiga was also scowling unpleasantly.

"That's…that's who I think it is, right…?"

"…Well, speak of the devil, and all that… What's with that getup?"

Her extremely strange disguise only made her stand out more. If this

were Hiro or Azabu or some larger town, she might have melted in and

looked like an entertainer trying to retain her privacy by hiding her face.

But on a residential street like this, you might be mistaken for a

convenience store robber with an unusually good figure and arrested if you

were unlucky.

Ami went into the convenience store looking like that, and took a

basket like an ordinary person, but everything after that was astonishing.

She started systematically grabbing and throwing snacks and ice cream

from the shelves into her basket with terrible force. Then she got bento,

toppings, snack bread, a diet drink in a plastic bottle, and soda, too. Even

the employee behind the register was leaning over and watching her

behavior.

"Talk about weird… is she having a party or something?"

"No…that's not what this is. Hmph, so that's it… how interesting."

Laughing slightly, Taiga started walking quickly ahead of him. It seemed

she had come to a conclusion all by herself but didn't feel like sharing it.

"Ryuuji, let's run."

"Oh, sure."

Now that she mentioned it, they were in a hurry. For now, they set

aside the spectacle they'd just seen. Ryuuji and Taiga headed down the

asphalt road towards the Takasu residence, where tonkatsu was waiting.

But during that time, Taiga seemed strangely happy and broke into a

sly grin.