Chapter 4

They had finished their shockingly spicy curry dinner.

"Okay, now leave the dishes up to me!" Minori, the only one in high

spirits, piled the empty plates and took them to the kitchen. The others were

all slumped somewhere. After suffering from the attacking waves of spicybut-good, and good-but-spicy curry, their lips and mouths prickled with

pain. They hadn't been able to go without seconds and were so full they

couldn't stand, lips swollen and exhausted.

Ryuuji couldn't let Minori clean up all by herself. When he tried to

stand in order to help her, Taiga pulled at the hem of his T-shirt.

"Hm? What?"

"I might have eaten too much spicy stuff in one sitting. I want

stomach medicine…"

"Does your stomach hurt?"

"Sort of…" Taiga frowned. She rubbed her stomach as though even

she didn't know how she was feeling, and tilted her head.

"I didn't bring any stomach medicine. Kawashima, do you have

anything?"

"Huh, I don't. I only brought stuff for headaches."

Oh dear, what should we do? When he put his hand on Taiga's

forehead to check if she had a fever, Kitamura stood up.

"I brought some. I have pain reliever and digestive medication, so

come to my room. You can read the instructions and choose which one is

best."

"…"

"What's wrong?"

Taiga nibbled on the lace of her sleeve. Even though Kitamura was

inviting her to his room, she acted like a restless cat predicting the weather,

rubbing at her face and at the back of her ears.

This isn't the time to be shy. Ryuuji grabbed Taiga's elbow and forced

her up. "There, go with him."

Ryuuji gave her slender back a push. Though Taiga seemed about to

pitch forward from the force, she somehow got her legs moving and

followed Kitamura out of the living room. Without realizing it, he was

watching her rear in worry.

"Whoa!"

"You're all absentminded."

Ryuuji was late noticing Ami close beside him. By the time he had,

she had already approached him without making a sound and had come

around to face him. She leaned across the table.

"If you're that worried about that brat, you could go with them, too,"

she said, narrowing her large eyes maliciously. Her rosy lips smiled as

though she had seen something interesting.

"What's wrong with me worrying about Taiga?" Ryuuji asked.

"Oh, that again?"

"I would worry about Kitamura or Kushieda or you in the same way

if anyone said their stomach hurt."

"Ohh, is that so? Then, my tummy might just be hurting, too." Sniffle.

Ami let her Chihuahua eyes go misty as she plopped down next to Ryuuji.

"Just kidding."

She didn't even give him time to humor her. Ami's smile disappeared

immediately. She stuck out her tongue slightly and shrugged.

What is it with her? Ryuuji just looked back at Ami, refusing to be at

the mercy of her cool, beautiful features.

"You know what?"

"What~?"

Ami was probably well aware of Ryuuji's exasperation. She stuck her

angelic smile back on and pouted, her eyes wide. Her eyes twinkled with

stars. Her looks were miraculous, but secretly she was like a delinquent

from the outskirts of town. She sat imposingly with her long leg crossed

over her knee. Her thighs were spread rudely, and she circled her ankles. It

seemed she didn't intend to hide that at all.

Ahh. Ryuuji looked to the heavens. He felt pity for all of Ami-chan's

fans but then unintentionally laughed.

"Seeing you kind of never gets boring," he said.

"Was that a compliment?"

"If you put it delicately…"

What a weird person, he thought.

At first glance, Ami was an unparalleled beauty, like a jewel. In

reality, she was a dark-hearted, spiteful girl.

"If you put it delicately?" she said. "Huh? Am I…delicate? How am I

delicate…?"

Ryuuji felt strangely fond of Ami's genuine expression as she tilted

her head. Her expression was unexpected and surprisingly normal. It was

kind of like he was realizing over again that even she was an ordinary

sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.

A girl who can seem different depending on what angle you view her

from is kind of unusual, Ryuuji thought. It wasn't like he disliked that about

her.

"What? Why are you staring at me?" Ami asked. "Oh dear, were you

just captivated by me? Nooo, that's okay, that's fine, you can't help it

because I'm so very cute…" Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get that. She nodded in

understanding.

This is really getting to her head, he thought.

Then, suddenly, a strange and childlike smile softly blossomed on

Ami's smug face. "Right. Hey, hey, Takasu-kun, um, do you want to go to

the beach right now?"

And then, it happened.

"Oops, there's still stuff left to clean."

They heard carefree footsteps. They were accompanied by Minori

humming as she returned to the dining room from the kitchen. She didn't

even scold Ami and Ryuuji, who had to have appeared to be talking without

offering to help. She was in a good mood as she piled the forgotten salad

plate and glasses in her hands.

"Just take the glasses, it's dangerous." Ryuuji took the plate from

beside her.

"Oh, you're going to help me?" she asked. "It's okay Takasu-kun,

you were the head honcho for the cooking, so I'll do the cleaning."

"It's fine, I'll help."

He carried the plate in one hand and made it a point of giving the

table a good wipe with a dishcloth. He turned to try and get Ami to help

with something, too.

"I'm not good with kitchen work," Ami whispered. "I'm going to get

out of your way." She smiled thinly, already on her feet. She left before they

had time to say anything, and Ryuuji was tongue-tied at the quickness of

her exit. Do you really hate helping that much? He was lucky to be able to

clean up alone with Minori, though. Just then, he felt grateful for Ami's

queenly disposition.

"Is that okay?" Minori asked. "Weren't you in the middle of talking

with Ami-chan?"

Even though Minori was saying it, he waved his hand, "It's fine, it's

fine." Then the two of them headed to the kitchen.

Minori had cleaned the kitchen perfectly. Even the pots and knives

were properly tidied to Ryuuji's standards. On top of that, Minori stole the

plate from Ryuuji's hands as he looked around the kitchen in enchantment.

Oh, but I was… Before he had the time to object, Minori said, "Okay, the

dishes are done!"

The splendid show was over in the blink of an eye. Of course, her

dishwashing was so good he had no complaints, and she quickly lined up

the dishes in the dish rack.

"What…? You have amazing technique," he said.

"Hee hee, you think so? My part-time job is merciless when it comes

to doing all the cleaning. I'm always wanting to get it done quicker, so I'd

run around doing it, and I got better and better at it."

With that, he discovered another of Minori's good qualities. Her

smile was charmingly shy and embarrassed when she received a

compliment, but she still puffed her chest in pride. She really was gentle

and straightforward. He wanted to be like her. His heart longed for that

pureness without pretense. If he was like Minori, regardless of his life

circumstances, regardless of his face, he wouldn't sulk or torture himself

like he did now at all. He'd have grown up straight as bamboo. That's right.

If everyone in the world was like Minori, there would be no sadness or

conflict. If everyone could smile like this, they would be happy.

Not noticing Ryuuji's glare, Minori continued to squint as she smiled.

That's right. She raised her head and said, "Takasu-kun, I've got something

good for you." Opening the freezer, she stuck her head inside. Here. She

pulled out two small pre-packaged ice creams. They were the same kind

everyone had eaten after dinner.

"There were just two extras left over," she said. "I was thinking we

could have a sumo contest and have a bloody battle to steal them from each

other, but… hee hee, it's a secret. Let's eat 'em together. Do you want

vanilla or matcha?"

"Ma…matcha."

"Okay." Minori tossed one of the packages to Ryuuji with a grin.

Then she glanced around. "If Taiga catches us, we'll be in trouble. She's a

glutton. Takasu-kun, you'd better eat the whole thing in one bite."

Ryuuji prepared himself to take a bite from the ice cream. He ripped

open the package and peeled it off. Wait, wait, no way, no way. He stopped

himself.

"We can go onto the deck that way," he said. "Let's sneak outside and

eat them."

He indicated the sliding door Taiga had jumped out of earlier with

Dimhuahua the Second. Whoa. Minori's eyes widened, and he signaled her

to be quiet with a, "Shhh." They moved quietly as they opened the door.

Still in their slippers, they went out onto the sandy, rough wood deck.

For a moment, a strong sea breeze seemed to try to push them back

inside, and they closed their eyes. A full curtain of night had fallen over the

heavens above the sea. Only the stars and moon lit the lapping waves a

bluish white. The sound of the waves was boisterous in the hushed and

chilly night.

"Be careful where you step."

"Right."

They softened their footsteps as they walked out to where the deck

pushed out towards the ocean opposite the living room. Finally, the two of

them swung their feet over the side to sit facing the sea.

Minori was so intent on looking at the ocean that she'd forgotten to

take the wrapper off her ice cream. "It's kind of…pitch-black. Is that the

moon's reflection?"

She pointed to the coast where the piercing moonlight reflected on

the ocean surface. It looked as though a road of white light stretched along

it. Suddenly, Ryuuji noticed that one of the glowing stars was moving

slowly, but he didn't say, It's a UFO. He knew it was an artificial satellite.

As though he feared the silence, Ryuuji restlessly moved his fingers

to peel away his wrapper. "It… it's pretty."

Chomp. He took a bite. Of course, he couldn't tell what the flavor

was like. The two of them had somehow hidden themselves away at a good

time. Minori's hair waved in the sea breeze, and the bright moonlight lit the

outline of her profile.

"…Takasu-kun."

His shoulders jolted. He had become enthralled with the sight of

Minori in the night, so he couldn't peel his gaze away. It was as though he

had latched onto her.

"Is the matcha good?"

"…Yeah."

"What did you eat earlier?"

"…Adzuki."

"Which one is better?"

"…Matcha."

He ate a second bite desperately, then a third. He had gotten this far

on willpower alone, but he didn't know what to do now. This was probably

his "chance." But, what was it a chance for? What were people supposed to

talk about at a time like this?

"U-Um, K-Kushieda, you um…"

"Yeah?"

"D-do you have a boyfriend or anything?"

He did it. He said it. He regretted it instantly. He'd been too

impatient. He'd gone too far.

Minori didn't say anything. She was silent, as though she hadn't

heard him, and that silence was more terrifying than anything else.

Kushieda Minori, I'm begging you, do or say something weird. Hurry

up and change the mood. Pretend I didn't just ask that. Don't say nothing at

all.

If it stayed this way for another second, he thought he might drop

dead.

"Hey, Takasu-kun. Do you think the seaweed ghost from earlier is

still around here?"

"Huh… what?"

"Heeey. Seaweed ghooost. Where'd you come from?"

"Ack."

Ryuuji accidentally spat out his ice cream but held himself back.

He'd asked that stupid question, after all. Good, this is good. Erase what I

said with your usual weirdness… He looked back at Minori's face, and his

heart stopped momentarily. He couldn't breathe.

"Takasu-kun, have you ever seen a ghost?" Minori looked intently

into his eyes. The strangeness of her words bore no resemblance to the

seriousness in her unblinking eyes, but her gaze looked unusually fragile

and soft.

"What? No, I haven't, though…"

"Well, I believe ghosts exist."

He nodded.

"But…" she raised her voice as she continued. "I've never actually

seen one before and there are those mediums, right? Those people who have

seen them supposedly exist, right? I actually don't believe those people at

all. It's not like you can see a ghost, and it's not like someone could speak

to them. I think they're all frauds trying to get rich off of it."

He couldn't grasp the purpose of their conversation. Ryuuji

automatically looked at Minori's profile. Minori turned her gaze to the dark

ocean as though trying to find something, though Ryuuji didn't know what.

Her breathing quieted. "There's another thing I feel the same way

about. I believe that I'll find someone I love with all my heart and I'll date

them and marry them and live happily ever after. In actuality though, it

hasn't happened yet."

Minori's toes hung over the ocean, swaying in the corner of Ryuuji's

vision as though she was trying to trace the white light.

"There are people in the world who are always falling in love and

dating and being broken up with and breaking up with someone from the

time they're in junior high or high school," she continued. "To them, it's

like love is commonplace. They say love exists. To me, those people are a

world away. There are a lot of them, aren't there? The so-called

'supernaturally sensitive' people who have the 'sight.' They're the types

who say, Oh, I feel something heavy on my shoulders, I feel the spirits

gathering over there, and look, there, too, and that kind of stuff. That's how

I think of them, anyway. Are they really seeing ghosts? I'm skeptical.

"I feel like that with them, too. Like, are they really in love? I think

that about them because I can't see it. In my world, no matter how much I

believe in it, it will never appear, even if other people think it's obvious it

exists. I haven't encountered it before. It's obvious to other people, but it

hasn't happened to me. So I can't believe it. I'm outside the net. I want to

believe, but I've also given up a little. Pretty much all I can do is envy the

'people who can see' and yearn jealously, and cheer them on from the

sidelines. I guess that's the only common ground we have. I haven't given

up to the point where I'm shouting, It's all a lie! It's a trick of the eyes!

You're imagining it! So, my answer to your earlier question is 'no.'"

She said it all at once. As if she was uncertain whether he understood

or not, she looked at Ryuuji's face again. "Takasu-kun, do you see ghosts?"

She slowly licked her lips.

In order to keep his voice from breaking, in order to keep himself

from getting flustered and shaking, Ryuuji carefully squeezed out his

words. "What I think is that…I haven't seen one, but I believe they exist…"

"So you're the same as me?"

He shook his head.

"I want to see one," he said. "I want to see one, so I actively go to

spirit spots and look into the shadows at night. You just passively believe,

right? That's different. You're scared, too, aren't you? And you also must

think that there can't really be ghosts, right? Because you feel their

presence even if you don't see them, so you're scared, right?"

Minori fell unusually silent and continued to stare steadily at Ryuuji.

Ryuuji finally realized why he had desperately and vehemently said that. He

didn't want Minori to say that someone she loved would never appear. Her

saying that would have felt like a death sentence. He wanted his love to be

mutual at some point.

Now, even without Minori saying it, it was like she was fully

admitting she wasn't in love with him. It wasn't like it didn't hurt to hear

that. But, rather than want to cry from the pain, he wanted to bet on the

possibility of becoming someone to her in the future.

He couldn't help but wonder why someone who was so cute, who

spoke so easily to guys, who was obviously a normal girl, would think like

that.

"…I think that even for people who are sensitive to spirits, witnessing

one probably isn't normal to them, either," he said.

"Huh?"

"Aren't there people who have seen ghosts and been really surprised?

Maybe they saw one and couldn't actually believe it. Wouldn't there be

people who erase it from their minds? There are probably people who see

one once, lose sight of it, and worry it was a mirage. And there are also

probably people like you, who think they definitely won't see one at first,

but end up seeing one unexpectedly. There might be people who change

their beliefs. How do I put this… you don't know if that's normal for

everyone else. I think there are people who want to see one so much, they

work at it until they finally do. So I think you don't need to decide you'll

never see one in your lifetime right now. You don't need to believe that it's

all a lie, either. I think that, how do I say this, but…"

Minori continued looking at Ryuuji with wide eyes, holding her

breath. He didn't know what she was thinking, but Ryuuji felt that she was

waiting for what he would say next.

"…I think it would be nice if you saw a ghost someday," he finally

managed. "I hope you'll want to see one. It might be mean to say this, since

you get scared easily, but I think that there is a ghost in this world that

wants you to see it…or something."

He had no regrets about what he said.

"So, look," he continued. "A lot of strange things happened today,

right? There's a ghost somewhere, and it's saying, I'm trying to get your

attention, please look, I'm right here, find me."

Actually, it's me. Of course, he didn't go as far as to say that though.

"Huh."

After a moment, Minori suddenly shut her mouth, stopping herself

from saying anything more. She looked up at the night sky as though

bewildered by something.

"Why did you tell me all of that?" she asked.

You're my ghost, Ryuuji whispered in his heart and averted his eyes

from Minori's profile. In her pitch-dark eyes fixed on the night sky, he felt

like his very existence was being melted away. It was terrifying.

Minori sighed beside him, and he felt her smile as she responded,

"So, I thought it was weird how there were ghosts trying to spook me this

whole day. And I couldn't even see them, right? So then, just now, I saw

something. A UFO—an artificial satellite that looked a lot like a UFO. I

thought it was a UFO, but it really wasn't. In the end I still didn't see one. I

felt like one was really close, but… So then I kind of felt like I wanted to

talk about that kind of stuff with you, Takasu-kun."

"You're so weird…" he answered, but Ryuuji had also seen it—that

exactly-like-a-UFO heavenly body that glowed and slipped through the night

sky. Then he knew what had actually spooked Minori. It was his own love.

Unlike a ghost or UFO, it wasn't an unsolved mystery. He existed right

beside Minori. If she wanted to look, she should have been able to see him.

Ryuuji thought about that as the wind blew over Minori and him,

their eyes on the tumultuous, black ocean. If Minori had seen him, that was

enough to make him happy. Even if she saw him and cast him aside because

she wasn't interested, it was much better than not being noticed at all.

***

"Ryuuji…"

It happened right after he had finished his business in the bathroom,

washed his hands, and quietly opened the door.

"Hm? Taiga?"

It was one in the morning.

Maybe it was because they had woken up so early or because of the

excitement, but everyone had gone to bed early. The night was silent. The

small face that popped out from one of the doors was lit up by the

bathroom's dim light.

"What's wrong? You couldn't sleep?" Ryuuji lowered his voice and

closed the door to the bathroom quietly so he wouldn't wake anyone.

Like a cat, Taiga stole out of her room and pattered out without her

slippers, still in her bare feet. She approached him through the hallway.

"Those footsteps sounded like you."

"…You're really becoming less and less human."

Her long hair was braided for sleep. She wiped her nose with the

sleeve of her lightweight summer pajamas, which were her favorite even at

home. Taiga nodded. Though she was acting like a child, it didn't seem like

she was sleepy; her large feline eyes were wide open.

Ryuuji, possibly because he had gotten up to go to the bathroom, felt

kind of awake, too. "Do you want to go down?"

When he pointed at the stairs, Taiga said, "Let's go."

"I was thinking we need to plan for tomorrow."

"Yeah, right…we can't keep depending on Dimhuahua the First and

the Second."

As they exchanged whispers, they went down the stairs without

making a sound. They turned at the hallway and went into the dim living

room, turning on the small table lamp as they sat on the sofa.

The faint sound of waves reverberated in the quiet, and the soft

lamplight lit only the table so they could barely see the outlines of each

other's faces. Ryuuji tried to turn the lamp toward them to get a bit more

light.

"Whoa…these kinds of lamps are pretty expensive…"

He noticed the fine workmanship. It was made of pale peach-colored

ground glass with fine purple designs. The gentle light blurred in a

calculated way as it went through the glass, so the lamp bathed everything

in warmth like a candle flame. It was an art nouveau design with a scene of

dragonflies fluttering among the flowers in a forest. It wasn't a super

famous gem like a Lalique or a Gallé, but it was still an object he wouldn't

normally come across.

But as he looked at it enthralled, a rude finger slowly entered

Ryuuji's line of sight.

"That's kind of gross."

"You…"

Prod prod prod. Taiga artlessly picked at the delicate dragonfly

carvings. It wasn't simply that their interests didn't align. Faced with

someone who couldn't understand elegance, art nouveau might have been

the same as art guano.

I can't stand her…

As he looked intently at her pretty, elf-like features, it happened.

"Do you want to eat the leftover curry?"

There it was. Heat it up, heat it up, he knew she'd start saying.

Haah. Ryuuji sighed.

"Let's not. It's one in the morning," he said. "You'll upset your

stomach again. Actually, are you feeling better now?"

"I'm fine. My stomach was kind of feeling weird from before dinner.

I didn't get seconds, so I didn't get enough to eat."

"You didn't have seconds. I didn't notice. That's unusual. You must

have really been feeling under the weather."

"Yeah. When I got medicine from Kitamura-kun, he stayed until I

took it, and was like, 'Do you have enough water?' 'Did you take two like

you're supposed to?' 'Is it working?' And I got nervous, and it hurt even

worse. It finally stopped hurting after I just got a little sleep and woke up."

"About that stomachache…"

"Anyway, where were you while I was taking the medicine? I

couldn't find you anywhere."

Actually, I was with Kushieda, and… He found it hard to tell her that.

For some reason, though he didn't understand why, his throat tightened.

Uh… He looked at the outline of Taiga's peach-like cheeks, lit by the dim

light. Ryuuji somehow, he actually, somehow…

"I was cleaning my room."

…lied.

Taiga's long eyelashes fluttered in the dim lamplight. Her round eyes

lit up as they turned abruptly to the darkness of the window as though she

were no longer interested.

"Hmmm."

"I'll go heat the curry."

Before Taiga somehow saw him, he quickly stood up from the sofa.

The living room, softly illuminated by the art nouveau lamp, was

now filled with the smell of curry.

"Ahh, I ate it all…"

"Why did I have to eat, too…?"

By the time he noticed, there were two empty plates in front of them.

It was terrifying. The delicate flavor of the curry, which had been left to

rest, had become even deeper.

He took the plates to the kitchen, quickly washed them, and came

back with glasses of barley tea.

"Hey… don't sleep there."

The Stuffed Tiger was lazing on the sofa. Wriggling her bare toes,

she opened her large mouth and yawned.

"Huagh… I'm not going to fall asleep," she said. "Didn't I say we

would talk about tomorrow's plan? Actually, I was just feeling a little…

nervous…and got tired. And we've only been here for a day."

"You still seem like you're super sleepy…"

This was a three-part combo: Taiga would be full, lie down, and be in

a deep sleep before he even realized it. After witnessing Taiga's

transformation into a cow several times, Ryuuji couldn't possibly believe,

"I'm not going to fall asleep." That said, by the time the combo kicked into

effect, he would generally be on the tatami mats and drooling, too. When he

saw Taiga's happy, idiotic face as she slept, his body also seemed to relax.

He thought it was almost as though her body broadcasted a sleepy aura that

invited sleep.

"If you sleep here, what do you think Kawashima would say…"

"Dimhuahua?"

"Mmhmm…"

"…"

Ryuuji sat on the floor, leaning against the sofa Taiga was stretched

out on. He put his head against it. A part of his forehead touched the side of

Taiga's stomach. As he was in that pose, his forehead warmed, and an

absentminded film formed over his vision…and naturally…

"…Aren't I falling asleep?"

Ryuuji jolted himself awake. I can't, if I stay like this, I really will fall

asleep.

"Taiga, don't lie down. Sit upright."

"…"

"Hey."

He stuck his hand behind her head and forced her body into an

upright, ninety-degree angle. Taiga went limp and tried to curl up in a ball.

"It's cold… it's kind of cold…"

"Ahhh, that's embarrassing! Ah, stop!"

To wake Taiga up, Ryuuji knelt on the sofa. Like a cat, she rolled

around and curled herself up. She had tried to stick her head in between his

knees, and his thighs.

"Ugh."

Suddenly she woke up, amazed. Her narrowed eyes opened.

"That was your crotch!"

"You were the one trying to get in there!"

She turned her head and glared at Ryuuji. He kind of wished he could

knock that head of hers down.

"Seriously…I'm wide awake now. I want to peel the skin off my

face, disinfect it, and put it back on."

Though she said she was awake, she yawned again. Finally, Taiga sat

down properly on the sofa next to Ryuuji. Just when he was wondering

what she would say, she continued, "Anyway, there's one thing we've

learned from this. Trips are exhausting."

"Why are you saying that now?"

Taiga raised her arms defenselessly, stretching them as she looked to

the ceiling. "It's kind of always tense or something. I thought I'd be happy

being with Kitamura-kun from morning all the way to night, but I'm more

nervous than happy."

"Well, that's understandable, especially after suddenly seeing him

naked."

"It's the same for you, isn't it?" she asked. "Minorin wasn't naked,

but aren't you tired?"

"Well…"

He couldn't tell Taiga. It had only been him and Minori during that

quiet time, but it wasn't like it hadn't exhausted him. His heart had beat like

a drum. Just a single day of this trip had probably aged him several years.

"I always dreamed marriage would be really great," he said. "But, in

reality, it must be difficult. You have to be with the person you like all the

time. If this keeps going, I might die young."

Taiga undid her braids. They danced in the darkness as she played

with the ends of her hair, combing through it several times with her hand,

pale even in shadow. She quietly added, "So that's why Mama and Papa got

divorced." She was so open in that moment that she exposed a wound that

still had to hurt.

Suddenly she looked at Ryuuji, who had nothing to say and could

only listen. Taiga snorted slightly.

"But I can be with you and be completely fine," she said. "It's like

your tiny two-bedroom apartment is rubbing off on me."

"That's rude. What do you mean?"

"Look how stupid we look. We're in this huge room, but we're still

all cramped up in a six-tatami-mat space."

"Oh. I see. It does feel like that," Ryuuji automatically agreed. It was

true. It wasn't like there was only one sofa, and if they wanted to talk there

was a table, but they were plopped down and talking like this, stuck

together so closely they couldn't even stretch out their legs. He hadn't even

noticed that the ankles of their bare legs were practically on each other.

Taiga didn't seem particularly upset and wasn't telling him move or

get away. It was in the middle of the night and this was a good distance to

talk to each other in quiet voices, anyway. It wasn't like Ryuuji wanted to

move away, either.

"It's nice being near someone you like," Ryuuji said. "This really is

too much though. I couldn't stand it every day."

"Yeah… achoo!" Taiga's upper body jolted with the small sneeze.

She reached out and grabbed a tissue. Still in that position, she blew her

nose.

By the time he noticed it, they were ten centimeters away from each

other. Their feet were on top of each other, and only the sound of the waves

echoed in the dead of night. Normally, when a teenage guy and girl were

like this, it would become something more.

"Once more. I didn't blow it all out."

"Right, that's a lot."

"My nose is irritated."

He looked at the elegant curve Taiga's profile would have traced if

she wasn't blowing her nose. Bffft! Ryuuji's heart was strangely calm, like

he could finally catch his breath after returning home from a boisterous and

unusual world. Taiga was a beautiful girl, but she was also the rare Palmtop

Tiger. Her territory should have been the last place you'd want to "catch

your breath."

"Ngahhh…maybe these are allergies…"

"Did you bring antihistamines?"

"I didn't. Ugh, I don't want my nose to be snotty in front of

Kitamura-kun…"

As she exchanged distracted words with him, Ryuuji yawned

reflexively. Hwaagh. He covered his open mouth with his palm, lost in

thought.

Being with Taiga in a celebrity villa wasn't much different than being

with her in the second floor of a rental. It seemed like the atmosphere was

always the same. It seemed like Inko-chan's birdcage should be right there

and Yasuko should be lolloping home. Any minute now, her sweet voice

would slur, "Ah'm home," her high heels clacking as she staggered in

drunkenly. That was what life was like when he was with Taiga.

It was a strange feeling, but he didn't dislike it. If anything, it gave

him peace of mind, like a talisman, even though Taiga's ferocity was

actually uncontrollable.

Taiga, the focus of his thoughts, rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Hey,

Ryuuji. I thought about this, but…that other time, that dream? It was

unexpectedly…" she whispered, her voice more childlike than usual.

"Hm? You mean the prophetic dream?"

When he turned his face to her, Taiga suddenly clamped her mouth

shut. Then she averted her eyes as though slightly hesitant.

"Actually, never mind," she said. "More importantly, what should we

do tomorrow? If we use Dimhuahua again, we'll be stuck in the same

pattern."

He wanted to know where the conversation would have headed, but it

wasn't like they couldn't plan for the next day. Ryuuji once again righted

himself and thought about the approach they'd use.

"Okay. We said we wanted to play in the ocean tomorrow, right?"

"The ocean is bright and in the open, so there's no place to hide.

That's too bad."

"Right. What should we do…?"

"Something that would scare Minorin…"

Hmmm. As they both tilted their heads at the same angle, it happened.

"Why do you want to scare Kushieda?" came a sudden voice from

the dark.

The two of them practically jumped, speechless as they fell off the

sofa and rolled onto the rug, folding themselves under the sofa in an effort

to hide.

"Hey, what is it?"

"Eek!"

"Whoa!"

Someone grabbed Ryuuji's shoulder and pulled him up, peeling him

away. The bespectacled face looking at him was the nudist, Kitamura. He

couldn't run anymore.

"You two," Kitamura said. "I came down because I was thirsty, and

this is what I find. What were you plotting…? I smell curry."

"W-we're not plotting…"

"More precisely, was it because of your crimes Kushieda was so

upset?" he asked.

The "precisely" left Ryuuji and Taiga both at a loss for words. All

they could do was look at each other awkwardly and uncomfortably, faces

stiff. They couldn't come up with an excuse. Of course, their behavior was

the equivalent of them confessing, "Yes, we did it."

"Really now…" Kitamura pushed up his glasses and sighed as though

exasperated. "Why in the world would you do that? Don't you feel sorry for

Kushieda?" As the class representative, sternness crept into Kitamura's

voice.

Feeling like he was being scolded, Ryuuji automatically folded his

legs under himself as he sat on the sofa, holding his knees with his hands as

he searched for the words to continue.

"Th-that…was a present for Minorin." Taiga, who was sitting

similarly beside him, tried a desperate excuse.

"A present?"

"Yeah. Even though Minorin acts scared, she loves horror more than

having three meals a day. I'm saying this as her closest friend, so I can't be

wrong. She said she loves being shocked that way. She loves getting scared.

So, I wanted to help her make summer memories by surprising her…"

What kind of guy would believe that? The moment after Ryuuji

thought that though, Kitamura exclaimed, "Oh!"

Apparently, there was one guy who would.

Kitamura planted his fist into his hand with a plop, his glasses

glinting in the darkness. "I see, so that's what that was," he said. "Just as

planned, Kushieda was scared. Her eyes had a weird gleam to them, like

she wanted more."

That was probably Kitamura's imagination, but Ryuuji was thankful

he thought so. He and Taiga nodded yes vigorously and prayed in their

hearts that Kitamura would forget what he had seen, said, and heard.

Hopefully, he would disappear.

"Well then, I got it," he said. "In that case, let me join you."

No! Ryuuji futilely thought.

"We'll all work together and give her the most authentic scare we can

tomorrow."

Ryuuji and Taiga exchanged looks. What do we do? What should we

do? But they couldn't do anything. Kitamura was already determined. They

didn't know what he was thinking.

"Right, let's call Ami," he said.

"What?!"

"Dimhuahua, too?!"

"Yeah. No matter what you say, she knows all about this place, and

also, look, Ami must also like doing this kind of stuff. And, if we left only

her out, she'd sulk. I'm going to go get her."

They didn't have time to think of a reason to stop him before

Kitamura skipped up the stairs to call Ami. Once he was out of sight, they

suddenly huddled together.

"Wh-what should we do, Taiga?! We're getting further and further

away from the original plan!"

"We can't do anything! Now we can only keep going."

"Keep going…"

We all scared her, we scared Minori, Ryuuji arrived on the scene as a

knight, it was all everyone's doing, after being scared Minori was angry,

because Takasu and Aisaka… What drastic steps could they take to keep

themselves from flowing in that direction? Minori would just hate them for

scaring her and lying about it. Would Ami obediently go along with the

plan? It was Ami, after all. She would think it was funny and might try to

use the chance to annoy Taiga. She would probably spill all the beans,

anyway.

Taiga licked her lips, and, as though she had already decided on

something, concentrated in the darkness.

"We can't do anything about it," she said. "Since it's come to this, we

have to remake the plan. For now, you protect Minorin. Then after

everything becomes clear, you say: 'I tried to tell them to stop. I was

worried, so I protected you.'"

"B-but… you think that's okay?! You think that'll work?!"

"All we can do is try! What else can we do?! You don't want the dog

future to come true, right?"

In the darkness, Taiga's eyes glinted. Before Ryuuji could nod…

"I'm sleepy!" Ami's irritated voice and two sets of footsteps quickly

approached the living room.

"Aren't you id…iots? Don't you have anything better to do? I'm

sleepy, seriously…really." She continued after Kitamura pulled her

downstairs. A far cry from her cute girl mask, her sleepiness and bad mood

ominously festooned her already black-hearted true nature.

"Well, well, you don't have to say that."

"Don't touch me, shuddup!"

Her childhood friend patted her back to placate her, and she pierced

him with a cold look. Taiga nestled up to Ami and plopped down.

"Hey, Dimhuahua."

"Huhh?"

"If you help us, you can have your favorite Ryuuji as your plaything

for three days and three nights."

Taiga clasped Ryuuji's face in her hands and pulled him in front of

Ami's eyes. Ryuuji, flustered, looked at her critically as if to say, "Why are

you trying to get her to join in?"

"If she's not with us, she'll tell Minorin everything," Taiga quickly

whispered to him, and he choked back his words. That might have been

true.

"See, Dimhuahua, you can even have the naked version."

"Whoa."

Taiga boldly rolled up Ryuuji's T-shirt all the way up and showed

Ami his sexy black nipples.

"Don't want it." Ami, averted her eyes and bent backwards. Ryuuji

fell off the sofa.

This sexless turn of events kind of hurt his feelings. Taiga, though,

wasn't discouraged at all.

"No, no, no, I want Dimhuahua in, too, I want to do it together! Hey,

hey, let's do it together!"

"Ah, ah, ah, ah…"

Like a cat, Taiga rubbed her head against Ami's stomach as Ami sat

cross-legged on the sofa. Ami swayed as Taiga clung to her like a kid trying

to gain affection. Ami's eyes were half-closed as though she were still

sleepy. She tried to push Taiga off with a weak hand, still bothered by the

swaying. Taiga raised her eyes and threatened in a low voice, "One hundred

and fifty impersonations…"

"Wha…?" Pop. Ami's eyes finally opened fully.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! You'll be crucified… Let's do it, let's do it! I'll

stream it on the internet… Why not, why not! It'll never disappear, it's

eternal?!"

Ami had to have woken up now. She grabbed Taiga's face and peeled

her off. "Really, seriously! I got it! I got it, okay! I get motion sickness

easily, so stop…"

Furiously scratching her head, she glared at Taiga, Kitamura, and

Ryuuji. "Why do I have to be involved with…scaring Minori-chan so she'll

have fun? Ahh, really, you're a nuisance… Yuusaku, get something to write

with really quick."

With paper and a ballpoint pen in hand, Ami started drawing

something like a map. "This is the villa we're in right now. This is the inlet

at the back of the beach we saw, right?"

"What hideous handwriting…"

At Taiga's mutter, Ami gave her an irritated stare and then resumed.

"Here, there's a steep rock wall and there's a cave you can go inside.

Two or three people could walk through side by side easily. It's pretty wide,

but it doesn't get any sunlight and the seawater runs through it so there's

only a small scaffold for you to walk on. If you bring a flashlight, it'll be

like a test of courage, so if you surprise her there, she'll be pretty scared,

right?"

Ohh… A small round of applause erupted in the dim living room.

"As expected of Ami. You're a local after all."

"There's no one who can compare to Kawashima when it comes to

plotting."

"I'm not a local. And I feel like you just insulted me…" As Ami

glared at the troop of boys, Taiga clung to her shoulders.

"You did good!" Taiga said. "You can come to my house and do it

with my pet parakeet!"

"That's my house you're talking about and my pet…"

"What do you mean by it, Aisaka?"

"Oh, that ugly balding parakeet? I don't want to really do anything to

it…"

Ami contorted her face as though bothered, but just for a moment,

she focused intently on Ryuuji. With eyes that appeared to be thinking of

something completely different from her noisy friends, Ami looked like a

regular girl who didn't know what was going on.

***

Almost an hour after they planned the test of courage in the cave,

Ami and Kitamura each went to their rooms. But as for Ryuuji and Taiga…

"You can go to the restroom by yourself, at least…"

"But it's dark."

Taiga forced him to go to the bathroom with her, so they went

upstairs a little later than the others. They parted ways in front of Ryuuji's

room, and Ryuuji returned to his dark bedroom by himself.

"Well then, guess I'll go to bed…"

As to be expected, sleepiness washed over him intermittently like the

sound of the waves. He turned over the towel blanket, which had lost all of

its previous warmth, and slipped inside, when…

"Ack! What is this?!"

He forgot to lower his voice and jumped up. He had innocently

touched his pillow and felt something entangling his hand. It was thin, long,

thread-like…and kind of slimy?

He turned on the light, his eyes adjusting to the brightness after

having acclimated to the dark.

"Uh…"

He automatically froze at the eeriness of it.

There were several long hairs clinging to the towel covering the

pillow. It wasn't completely covered in hair, but it did look like a girl had

been sleeping on it, although there were too many strands for that to have

been the case. When he brought up his hand and pulled the transparent

strands off, they were sticky. The visceral disgust he felt made him want to

throw up. He leaped out of bed and scrubbed his hand with a tissue.

Obviously, it wasn't the same length as Ryuuji's hair. He also didn't

think it had been there when he originally gotten up—but wait, when he had

gotten up, he hadn't turned on the light.

In that case, when could this have happened?

Of course, nobody was there to answer his question. Ryuuji felt

unsettled, like something was licking his back. He gulped. The sound of the

waves was outside the window… the sound of the wind…

No, it wasn't a big deal. Something like this wasn't a big deal at all.

The hair had definitely been there from the start. He had accidentally

brought a towel Yasuko had used. It was Yasuko's hair. The stickiness…

was his own drool or something. If it wasn't, then he didn't have any other

explanation for it.

After recomposing himself, Ryuuji backed out of the room. Maybe it

was Taiga's hair. He didn't know how, but Taiga might have done

something to cause this. I don't really care, he told himself over again, his

feet moving fast, almost running. He headed to Taiga's room. He didn't

even knock as he opened the door.

"T-Taiga, did you do something to my room…huh?"

"Ryuuji…"

The light was on and shining brightly. Taiga wasn't in bed; she was

standing stick straight.

"Hey, what do you think…this is?" She hid behind Ryuuji's back and

pointed to one of her dresses, which had been thrown on the ground without

being folded.

"Aren't those the clothes you threw off? I always tell you to hang

them up properly."

"No. I didn't wear that one. I was thinking of wearing it tomorrow

and left it folded in my bag…"

"M-maybe you made a mistake?"

"I thought that, too, but when I went to pick it up…it was warm. It

was like someone just took it off…and also…that…"

Taiga's fingers squeezed the hem of Ryuuji's shirt. His heart seized

up. Ryuuji couldn't move. Wet, splattered footprints were around the

discarded dress. It wasn't fresh water but a viscous liquid in the shape of a

foot.

"Th-there was something strange about my room, too," he said. "It

was like someone had been sleeping in my bed. That sticky stuff was on my

pillow, too…"

"…"

The room fell into silence. Only the low sound of the breaking waves

repeated like a broken record.

"Eep!"

Suddenly, the window shook.

It's the wind, he thought, but Taiga collapsed onto the ground. Ryuuji

didn't lend her a hand; he was suddenly about as useful as a wooden doll.

He felt it—a presence. Like a cat, Taiga turned to look at spots where

there was nothing to be seen. She stood against the wall, desperately.

"N-no…wait… hey, this is weird. L-Let's go to someone else's

room…"

Taiga pulled Ryuuji's arm. When she tried to leave through the still

open door into the hallway, Bam! The door was pushed shut from the

outside.

"…!"

Taiga turned around. Ryuuji fell, unable to stand. They crawled to

each other and huddled together against the wall.

"Th-th-th-th-this is a dream?! Right, it's a dream, right, Ryuuji?!"

"Right, it's a dream. We had dog kids and live in a doghouse, we're

still in that dream!"

"If we keep our eyes closed, we'll eventually wake up!"

"We'll wake up, we will!"

They closed their eyes as if their lives depended on it. Whenever they

opened them, they felt like something strange was happening and couldn't

stop from shaking.