Chapter 6

"The feared, the strong-armed, the captain, Kushieda Minori!"

"Yo! My Kanto-regulated 'Bullet Back Home' pitch ain't just for

show!"

"The chef with the evil eye, Takasu Ryuuji!"

"Y-yo…this'll be over by five, right? There's a limited time sale on

chicken today."

"The one with the most powerful name, the one and only, Aisaka

Taiga!"

"…"

"And then me, Kitamura Yuusaku! Everyone's on board, right?"

Pointing at each of them as they sat in a row to confirm, Kitamura

balled his fingers tightly into a fist. It seemed that even the ever-busy

Kitamura had taken time off from his club of his own volition. He'd

obtained a special exemption from his student council activities in order to

come along.

No other students lingered in the four o'clock classroom. The pale

sunlight only illuminated the three henchmen sitting around Kitamura and

Ami, who stood a bit further away.

Well then, Kitamura's well-projecting voice rose. His presidential

nature was on full display. "We'll start our maneuver without delay, just as

we planned yesterday. Here are the assignments. Kushieda, Aisaka, and I

will take the picture of the stalker. We'll use this digital camera, and also

everyone's cellphones. Takasu, please go with Ami and be prepared for the

worst case."

Ryuuji raised his hand, and after getting Kitamura's approval, chimed

in. "…Wouldn't it be better for you and me to take the picture of the stalker

and for the other two girls to be with Kawashima?"

At any rate, Taiga had thought that that assignment might have been

too dangerous for Minori. But Kitamura discarded Ryuuji's words. "No, if

something were to happen and we had to leave taking the picture to them, it

would be bad if the girls were left by themselves. There's a chance that if he

finds out we're doing this, he might be provoked into something. In that one

in a million chance, you'll protect Ami—with your scary face."

"…Well, I sort of understand why you're asking me to…but I'm not

confident I can really convince anyone I'm ready to fight." Looking at the

fist that he'd never swung at someone in anger, not even once since birth,

Ryuuji shamefully lowered his voice. But then Ami walked over to his side

and wrapped her hands around his arm.

"It's fine! I know you're reliable, Takasu-kun! I believe you'd

definitely protect me!"

"Uh…ah…huh?!" At her sudden approach, Ryuuji couldn't get out

any words. He didn't even know how to get her to let go. While he moved

awkwardly and restlessly in an attempt to quietly take back his grasped arm,

his cheeks became shamefully hot. Compared to this, even Taiga's cold,

piercing gaze was comfortable.

"There. Then let's get moving. We don't know where he's been

watching for her, so when we leave the shoe racks, Takasu and Ami go first.

Take the route we talked about yesterday. Let's communicate at our

discretion via cellphone."

At Kitamura's command, they filtered out of the classroom and

walked single file down the hallway.

"…Hey, what's this thing?" Ryuuji noticed something strange in

Taiga's collar as she walked in front of him.

"I brought it just in case. Doesn't this thing feel nostalgic?"

She twisted her lips into a grin. A wooden, rod-like object was faintly

visible through Taiga's hair. Wondering what it was, Ryuuji pulled it out

slightly. "…If you start waving this thing around, you'll make this into a big

deal."

"I know that, that's why it's for just in case."

She quickly pushed the handle of the wooden sword Ryuuji had seen

back into the neck of her jacket. Ahh, it is nostalgic—that spring night,

when she tried killing me with this… When he looked closely, she had

strangely good posture. The reason was undoubtedly because that thing—

that thing he had unfortunately seen—was set along her back. It was only

the length of her hair that kept it concealed.

"More importantly, Ryuuji." Suddenly Taiga lowered her voice and

looked straight up at him, large eyes intent. She was still hiding the wooden

sword behind her back.

"Hm?"

"You really are such a hopeless, perverted dog…that mooning face

you made earlier…was slovenly. It's embarrassing to your owner, frankly."

"Wh…what are you talking about…?" Even while he asked her, he of

course knew what she was talking about.

At Ryuuji's face, Taiga made an exaggerated sigh. "I guess that

means you've gotten real close to Kawashima Ami. …Well, I guess that's

fine? You're planning on forgetting about Minorin quick since she doesn't

like you, so you can switch over to a pretty girl who's willing to get all cozy

with you. Guess you're that kind of guy. I'll remember that."

"That's… y-you're totally misunderstanding something there."

"I wonder if I am. Well, do as you please. I can't be bothered to deal

with a dog in heat."

"…Man, where do you get off saying that?"

Hmph. In the end, she gave him a poison-filled smile. Taiga averted

her face haughtily and left Ryuuji behind with a trot. Then, just like that,

she shook her long, pale, smoky hair and stuck close to Minori, who was

walking up ahead.

"Yo, if it isn't Taiga-chan. You're lookin' cute today."

Taiga purred like a cat. Though it was hard to say if Minori could see

the thing or not, Taiga playfully poked Minori's butt with the point of the

wooden sword that just barely fit under the hem of her skirt.

"You've got something hard in there."

"You can't ever be too careful."

Ryuuji automatically stared—no, he sighed in exasperation. You go

around calling me a perverted dog, but you're the one who's way more

perverted.

And even from Taiga, calling him that was way too terrible an insult.

Just what did I do, anyway? But the time when he could have made a

comeback had already passed.

"Takasu-kun, what's wrong?"

"Ah…no, nothing."

At some point, Ami had caught up to his side. From the shock he got

at seeing her smile, he tensed up. They were practically bumping shoulders

as they walked side by side, and even his anger hazily dissipated. He started

to feel strangely impatient.

At any rate, the girl called Kawashima Ami was unexpectedly way

too close…which accounted for the hotness of his cheeks. He broke off

staring at her, the corners of his mouth turning slowly downwards.

***

They walked side by side along the residential street.

"And that's when I asked them to let me try on the light pink one. But

the person at the store, right? They said that the white one would definitely

look good on me and she could only see me in white, so she pretty much

forced me to try the knitted shirt. And then, I was like, maybe white's better

than I thought, and then I remembered the shirt I bought the other day was

also white. Oh, maybe it wasn't white, but like a pale gray one that I

bought…or beige? Maybe it was beige?"

Ami grinned and continued chattering endlessly about her shopping.

You could probably call this her 'so preoccupied by shopping, can't think

about anything difficult, cute and fashionable girl' face.

"Takasu-kun, are you listening?"

"…Yeah."

"White or pink, which would you choose?"

"…For me, I think pink's a little…"

"Not you! I'm talking about my clothes!"

"Oh, that's what you meant."

Ahahahaha—hahaha…haha…ha…

After all this time, Ryuuji finally understood Kitamura's true motive.

There hadn't been anything wrong with him when he'd said he wanted

Taiga to get along with Ami.

"I really love buying clothes." What happened the day before might

as well have been a long-forgotten memory. Ami spoke like an endearing

child and gave him the smile of an angel. But he felt like the Ami who

would fiercely glare at Taiga was much better than this one. The Ami who

cursed as she threw her tadpole-tainted shoes into the riverbank was much

easier to understand.

He felt something entirely distinct from boredom, or the slight chill

he got on seeing Ami's mask—instead, he felt as though he'd now seen

something dangerous. This face was a lie, after all.

Her mask was thin ice—there was no doubt that her true face was

mired in unease underneath. But why was she hiding that? Putting aside

whether she had a good or bad personality (well, it was pretty bad), he

couldn't help but wonder why she would go through the trouble of hiding

her true nature after she'd already been found out.

"Oh, your phone's going off." Ami indicated Ryuuji's pocket with

one seashell-like fingertip. The phone had started buzzing at some point. He

quickly flipped it open…

"…Hello?"

"Private Takasu! What's the situation over there?!"

He answered Kitamura's impassioned and enthusiastic voice quite

normally. "Nothing's changed on our end. What about over there?"

"We spotted our suspect right away. He's on approach about ten

meters off your six. We're keeping our distance and are in pursuit."

"Takasu-kun, it's Yuusaku, right? Let me talk to him, too." Ami

reached out and took the phone from Ryuuji. "Hellooo, Yuusaku? Yeah,

we're fine here, plus I've got Takasu-kun! But, you know, my feet are kind

of getting tired… yeah, yeah… oh really? Then we'll do that."

She hung up the call without another word and flipped the phone

closed.

"Yuusaku said to find someplace to go indoors. Somewhere where we

can get a drink, with seats by a window," Ami said, smiling happily. "Are

there any places like that around here? Can you take us somewhere?"

"Somewhere where we can get drinks…nearby… can you see the

sign over there on the other side of that road?" He felt that going with Ami

to get a drink at a café would be tough, but it was on Kitamura's orders. He

pointed at a round sign with a flat green theme just a bit further ahead.

"Oh, it's a Starbucks! So there are some here, yay! I can finally get a

latte again!"

"It looks like a Starbucks, right? But…"

"…Hm? …Huh? …What?"

As Ryuuji brought them closer, Ami's head tilted more and more in

suspicion. The sign did look exactly like one from the famous North

American coffee chain. It was round, had a green border, and some sort of

ambiguous, humanoid illustration. "T-this is…"

But that illustration was the likeness of the old, male shopkeeper.

"It's the Sudoh Coffee Stand and Bar… we call it the

Pseudobucks…"

"…Geh…"

Brrring.

As the incongruous door chime sounded, Ryuuji and Ami entered the

Pseudobucks. The interior decoration, at least, approached that of a real

Starbucks. There were comfortable looking sofas to sit in, the employees at

the self-serve cafe looked to be college aged women, and it wasn't that

crowded, either.

"Wow…Pseudobucks…the atmosphere is pretty nice…" Looking

around the place, Ami nodded in great interest. Then an old man stood up

from a window seat.

"Oh! Aren't you Mirano-chan's kid?" he called out to Ryuuji,

familiar. It was Inage-san, a Bishamon Heaven regular who was grieving

his divorce from just that spring.

"Oh, good afternoon."

"Wellll, what have you been up to? You've brought in a good-lookin'

gal today, too…did you break up with that pipsqueak terror of a kid? Yeah,

you broke up, didn't you?! That's nice, a second marriage… err, I mean, a

new girlfriend…"

"No, you're mistaken. Kawashima, that man's seat is gonna open up,

so sit there. I'll go buy something and bring it over."

"Okaaay."

How cute~, you're such a pretty girl~, don't you look almost exactly

like that actress Kawashima Anna~, yes~ I get that a lot~! Ryuuji turned his

back to the cheery chatter and went to the counter.

"Welcome to Sudoh-bucks!"

It was normal for the employees (who wore black polo shirts and

green aprons) to arbitrarily use that store name. Even though they made

such an effort to rip off Starbucks, they had a relatively normal menu for a

café. Ryuuji ordered two Americanos and returned to the seat where Ami

was waiting.

"Were you okay with coffee?"

"Yeah. This place is pretty comfy… it kind of makes me feel like

doing homework." Letting her body sink into the sofa, Ami seemed to be

completely captivated by Sudoh-bucks. That's right, that's right, everyone

in this town loves Pseudobucks. And everyone knows that a real Starbucks

won't come here even if we waited a hundred years.

"The cakes are pretty good, too. They're handmade by the head guy's

daughter."

"Cake… cake…I'd really like to eat a slice…" No no. Ami

obstinately shook her head. It may have been unconscious, but her hand

went to her belly. It seemed she was determined to resist after suffering a

blow from Minori's Convenience Store Shin Ken just the other day.

Without making any more recommendations, Ryuuji called Kitamura

on his cellphone. "Hey, I just got into Pseudobucks with Ami."

"Good, we saw you as you went in, roger that! Pseudobucks is a great

place."

Yes, yes, Ryuuji nodded in agreement with his fellow local from

across the phone.

"The stalker also followed you and is watching the window. He's

hiding himself in a building entrance's shadow on the other side of the

crosswalk. Just stay there for now."

"Got it."

When he hung up, Ami immediately asked about the conversation,

"What did Yuusaku say?"

"That guy's hiding in that building over there. He said to just stay

here for now."

"…Guh. That's creepy… he really must be watching."

Ami tried to hide in the shadow of the curtain. "Oh, right." She

immediately came to a realization and went back to her original position.

"If I hide myself like that, there's no point right?"

"Right, right, if he doesn't take pictures, we won't be able to take

pictures of him doing that."

"I understand that but…I don't like it. It's creepy…" Ami looked

down. Her pretty features contorted into a gagging expression.

"Well, it really is creepy. To have some weirdo sneaking pictures of

you."

"That's true, but the thing I really hate isn't just that. Way earlier, that

guy put a picture he'd secretly taken into my mailbox…and I really hated

that."

"Y-your mailbox?! That means he went right up to your front door!

That's…"

Ami waved her hand, no no no, to Ryuuji, who had become

speechless, then bitterly grimaced. "I hate that he came to my house, of

course, but, to me, the photo itself was as much of an issue. I was shopping

on the way from work and…I was making a really unpleasant face, like a

sulky one. It was obviously the face of a bully. I really got fed up when I

saw that…like, is that really my face?! Is my bare face really that terrible?!"

But you're an absolute beauty, so that's not so bad, Ryuuji thought.

"No, no, I really hate it… that face. I actually hate it. I loathe it. …I

don't want to show that face to anyone." Ami's lips twisted as she

practically spat out the words. To her, this seemed to be something she

couldn't forgive, something she resented from the bottom of her heart. It

was probably terrible for Ryuuji to say so, but when it came to a problem

like that, no one had him beat.

"If you're talking about faces, look at mine. You thought I was a

delinquent at first, too, right? It might be because I look so unpleasant, but

people walking along the street point at my back. You have it way better,

and people call you cute and stuff."

"Then, Takasu-kun, you can put on a cute face, too."

"How?"

"Like this. Be like, 'I'm cute! I'm the cutest!' Really, seriously, like

this."

Prod. She poked her cheeks with her index fingers. Grin. She

narrowed her eyes into a sweet grin. Tilt. She cutely inclined her head.

I'll do it, then. Don't you end up regretting it.

Ryuuji gave it his all. "Like this?"

Prod, grin, tilt.

"…BFHHH!" Ami sprayed her Americano. She sputtered like that

for a while, as if in very real pain. "…Wh…wh…cough…Ta…Taka…

cough cough cough!"

"…I know exactly what you're going to say. And I knew before I

even got started."

Covering her mouth with a handkerchief she'd desperately brought

out, Ami was in tears. Her face was red from coughing—she'd fallen over

on the table, breathing painfully. But, she somehow managed to point at

Ryuuji…

"S-scary… cough cough… really…just terrifying!"

"I told you I already knew, didn't I?!"

Her reaction was within the scope he expected, but it still really did

hurt. And he couldn't just tell her how much. "I'll tell you this, but you're

doing the same thing. No matter how cute your face is, what you're doing

with it at its essence is terrifying. Practically a horror show! That's where

it's the same."

"Ahhh, you wound me! Really, stop it, Takasu-kun, how am I and

that the same?!" Hehehehehehe. She laughed like she was having a grand

time, after she'd just described his face as "that," there wasn't a reason to

hold back anymore.

"It's the same. I didn't want to say it, but your change in personality

yesterday was a horror show all by itself. It wasn't because you got angry,

but because you thought you could pretend everything was fine and put on

your act again right after…"

Of course, he wasn't going to say I've known your true nature since

we first met. Even what he had already said might have been too much, but

he couldn't take it back now. Once the words began flowing out his mouth,

he had to continue until he was completely finished.

"Just stop with that mask already. I figured it out a while ago. When

you're remaking your mask, whether you're putting on a cute act or

whatever, it's unpleasant for whoever has to watch."

In the end, he went that far.

"…Kawashima…?"

Maybe I really did say too much—but, eventually, he noticed Ami's

expression.

Ami was still smiling…still wearing her unnatural, soft angel's smile.

She carefully watched Ryuuji. Her face didn't change in the slightest to

reflect her emotions—she seemed to be pushing everything into that smile.

"The thing that happened yesterday? What was that? …It's like breathing,

saying that sort of stuff is a breeze for me. You can't trip me up with

something as small as that."

Ryuuji couldn't even tell if the gaze that stared straight at him was

cold or hot. What he could tell was just one thing—no matter what he said

or what words he used, her iron-clad mask of a smile would repel him. He

wouldn't be able to reach the flesh and blood parts of her that lay beneath.

"I need this face. I know that better than anyone."

"Uh…um…" He didn't know how to respond to that, but it seemed

that Ami didn't really expect a response. She continued, smile as pristine as

ever.

"Whether this has meaning or value or anything like that is a

completely different conversation. Yesterday, maybe it didn't have any.

Meaning or value, I mean. What it did have though, was…just the spirit to

annoy that annoying shrimp, maybe? Because that shrimp's face is too

funny when I'm near you. When it comes to stuff like that, I just can't help

myself. Though I admit tadpoles were unexpected."

"…Sorry, this is kind of…I don't really understand, but…I think I

said too much…"

"Hmmm? What are you talking about? Takasu-kun, did you say

something to me? I don't remember aaany of it."

Meeting Ami's eyes, which were round with puzzlement, Ryuuji

could only lightly suck in a breath. So this girl is so stubborn about keeping

her true self hidden that she's willing to go as far as this.

"Come ooon, what's with that face? You don't have to think about it

that seriously. Because this is a tactic. A tactic to say strange things and

make you think about me. …But there's really no meaning in all this."

"…I'm not really following you anymore, Kawashima…"

At Ryuuji's words, Ami cutely tilted her head, and as though

satisfied, laughed. "It's fine, it's fine, that's fine. See, I'm just 'oblivious.'"

If I really don't need to understand…then I won't think about it.

Ryuuji shrugged his shoulders and looked at the girl with the split

personality who proclaimed herself oblivious. He pretended not to know

anything as he sipped his Americano.

Finally, probably ten minutes into the death of all fruitful

conversation, Ryuuji's phone vibrated.

"Hello, Takasu? The situation isn't that great. It seems the guy can't

take a good picture of Ami from where he is and gave up. He's reading a

manga and waiting until you two leave the store. Sorry for having you go

in, could you come out?"

"Yeah, I got it."

He explained the situation to Ami, then together they quickly cleaned

up their trays and left Pseudobucks. Kitamura and the others seemed to be

checking in on their actions from nearby.

"Sorry about that. Just stick with the original plan and head to the

park located down the northwest highway."

"Got it. Kawashima, let's walk this way."

Side by side with Ami, Ryuuji once again started walking at a slow

pace, but then Kitamura went on.

"And—I have one other sad piece of news. We've lost private

Kushieda."

"…What?!"

Ryuuji unintentionally stopped walking. The one who suggested this

in the first place? Already? Wh-while we weren't even doing anything?

At his excessive surprise, he unconsciously raised his voice. Ami's

eyes opened wide as she looked up him. …This wouldn't do. If he didn't

feign composure, the stalker would suspect something was up.

"Wh…why?"

"She had an emergency call from her part-time job. Rumor on the

wind is that they needed her to fill in for someone. Her hiring manager was

crying and saying something like if you don't come in, you're fired, or

rather, if you don't come in, Kushieda, I'm fired. She herself was crying as

she left the battlefield… Kushieda left a message. She said, Let's meet

again, but actually I'm so sorry. We lost a good soldier…"

Ryuuji gulped. Minori had left the front, which meant only one thing.

"…Th-then that means right now it's just you and Taiga over

there…"

"Private Aisaka is doing well."

"P-put Taiga on the line for a bit, it's an emergency!"

After a while…

"…Tsk."

The noise dribbling from the phone was a peculiar way of breathing

—one that could just as easily presage speechlessness or a storm of tears.

"T-Taiga…are you okay?!"

"…Wuh…waah."

It doesn't seem like she's okay—Ryuuji vigorously scratched his head.

Taiga was in no state to endure being alone with Kitamura. She turned to

stone when he so much as approached her. If they had to walk alone

together…Taiga would probably die.

"Hey, keep it together! Have you tried a conversation?! Do you have

a subject you can talk about?!"

"…F…f."

"F…fine?! You're fine?!"

"…Flustered."

Boop, the line suddenly went dead.

"Huh…huhhh?!"

What just happened. Ryuuji's mind was blank as he stared at the

phone. Taiga (who was already a klutz) was alone with Kitamura, too

flustered to even have a conversation with him, and following a stalker, and

then the phone had suddenly cut out… his uneasiness was profound.

"Hey, what happened? Just now, that was Yuusaku and everyone,

right? Did you have a bad signal?"

"Ah, yeah…for some reason it cut off suddenly…"

"Try calling them back?"

Nodding at Ami's best advice, he tried calling them again, but the

sound that streamed through was, "The phone number you have dialed is

disconnected or no longer availa…" When he tried calling again, he got the

same result. He sighed and put the phone away into his pocket.

"You can't reach them? What did Yuusaku say?"

"I-It seems like Kushieda is out, and Taiga seemed to be in trouble. I

really wonder what happened… should I try calling again? No, the signal

isn't coming in…"

Suddenly, he noticed Ami was staring intently up at him.

"…Wh-what?"

Ami was speechless.

That look didn't seem like fear of the stalker. Instead, it seemed like

Ami was searching the depths of Ryuuji's heart. That transparent, but direct

and perfectly lucid gaze… more than anything, it made him become

flustered. He couldn't put himself at ease…

"Wh-what is it?"

"…Nothing?" She faintly smiled and released Ryuuji from her gaze

at the same time. He felt like he'd been saved.

"But I just had a thought. Takasu-kun, you really seem to be kind.

Especially when it comes to that girl…"

That girl? Which girl? A little faster than he could ask out loud, the

phone in his pocket vibrated once again. It seemed the signal had finally

come back. He pressed the accept button. "Yo."

"Uuwuuh…uwah…"

"…T-Taiga?"

He automatically pushed the phone right up to his ear. He didn't

know what had happened on the other side of the phone, but he heard

Taiga's crying.

"Hey, what happened?!"

"K-Kitamura-kun is…"

"Something happened to Kitamura?!"

At those words, Ami snapped up to look at Ryuuji's face.

"Kitamura-kun got stuck in a storm drain!"

"A storm drain?!"

"Just now, we almost got cut off at the crosswalk and ran in a hurry,

then he fell into the drain… Kitamura-kun was completely dirty all over

and told me to just leave him behind…!"

"HUH?!"

"A-and, he told me to get as far as I could and gave me the digital

camera… and… now I'm alone…!"

This is just stupid, Ryuuji thought. He could hear it faintly on the

other side of the phone… Aisaka! Be careful…! That distant voice was

definitely Kitamura's.

"…Like, seriously, I don't know why I'm doing this anymore…"

"D-don't cry! Umm, right…r-right…for now, umm…"

"AHH!"

"What happened?!"

Without thinking, he stopped in his tracks and breathed in. Just now,

that was Taiga's scream.

"…I…I have something to tell you…"

For a moment, he was soothed when she continued speaking, but…

"I just fell in the gutter too. Today is impossible… I'm completely

dirty. So's the camera…the plan is a failure, I'm ending the call."

"Wh…what?! Taiga?! Hey, Taiga! …Sh-she…hung up…"

…What has this come to?

Ryuuji was mostly in a stupor as he stared at the disconnected phone.

What is it with the gutters? Are there really so many over there? Is it that

easy to fall in? Are gutters…ugh, gutters…

"What happened to everyone?! What happened?!"

The situation was hard to believe, but he still needed to explain it to

her. Resolutely, Ryuuji turned again to Ami, who was looking up at him

with worry.

"It's total annihilation. Kitamura and Taiga both fell into gutters."

"…What? G-gutters?"

They stared at each other blankly for a while. It was now four in the

afternoon. The two of them, now left behind, had nowhere to go…

"…No."

Ami's shoulders shook. At about the same time, Ryuuji reflexively

turned around.

The stalker, who'd shaken off Kitamura and Taiga, was standing

mere meters away. He probably hadn't even known he'd been a mark. Calm

as can be, he carried his phone in one hand and looked as though he were

checking his messages—but the flash on his phone's camera was left on. He

might have been taking a video.

"L-let's go…"

Ami's brow furrowed, the color disappeared from her face, and she

started running at a jog. Ryuuji quickly ran after her. He allowed himself the

naive thought that there was no way they'd be followed…

"Wai…what's with that guy…?"

The man was boldly running after them, still holding up his cellphone

camera.

The place is deserted. If something happens, do I have the confidence

to do anything by myself? Ryuuji pondered while he ran. Why was it that

normally, when he didn't need it, people were completely terrified of him—

but in moments when it was vitally important, his glare was useless? Was

he being completely underestimated right now? When he glanced quickly

behind him, he got his answer. The man was enthralled with the phone

screen and only focused on recording Ami. Ryuuji was just some kid—and

it was probably true—the man was probably looking down on him. If his

(prodigal) father, who he inherited his sharp eyes from, had been the one

glaring, the situation would probably be different.

"What should we do? He's still on us!" Ami was at her wit's end. At

her voice, Ryuuji's heart also sank. They had to lose him somehow.

Somehow, without anything happening, they needed to get back to their

everyday world.

"Uhh…the closest police station from here is…ugh, damn it, it's

pretty far! But maybe we can manage to make it anyhow!"

"I don't want to do this anymore…!" Ami, pitifully, was almost halfcrying. Her voice quivered with tears. "Why do I have to be in a situation

like this?! It's all his fault that everything's messed up! Yuusaku might even

be hurt… seriously, what can I do now?!"

If the only one who had been left here with Ami was Kitamura, he

might have turned around, thrown down the gauntlet, and fought. He was an

idiot who could fall into a gutter, but his pluck and sense of justice were the

real deal. And he probably wouldn't have let a girl cry like this—if only, if

only though.

Ryuuji at least wanted to hold Ami's hand as she ran away to

encourage her. But with Ami desperately running, it didn't seem like the

right time. Ryuuji could only catch her fists. He was unable to do it, unable

to protect Ami as her quivering voice grew louder.

"I took a break from work, and moved, and even transferred schools

over that good-for-nothing loser…! But then, in the end, I'm still in the

same situation! What is this…and in the end, all I can do is run away again!

No matter where I run, he'll follow me…what should I be doing?!"

"K-Kawashima!"

Gradually growing more agitated, Ami pitched her voice louder and

louder. She seemed about to snap again as her voice went higher still.

Before he knew it, the voice that he thought had been shaking from tears

seemed to overflow with rage.

"Hey, he can hear you! …If you provoke him too much…"

"But I'm pissed off!" Ami's voice snapped, like she was ready to bite

him. "Because of that loser, I've been so agitated and so stressed out, I've

been completely pigging out! My stomach's going to turn jiggly! If it keeps

like this, I really will have to give up being a model…like, what is that?!

HUH?! Unbelievable! Just how hard do you think it's been for me?! But

with this fat… with… with this belly… it's fat!"

Seeing that fierce look from the side of his eye, Ryuuji gasped. Up

until now, her profile had been tearful. Now, her lips were lifted, veins were

standing out on her temple, both her eyes were narrowed, and her nose was

wrinkled into a snarl. It was exactly like a Chihuahua baring its teeth. This

was the true Ami.

"What the hell…damn it…that means, am I really being beaten by

that worthless loser?!"

She had arrived. Ami-chan was here.

"This Ami-chan, beaten and ruined by that pervert! Agh! Damn it,

what the hell?! It really makes me angry..it really makes Ami-chan…so…

angry…! Argh!"

"K-Kawashima…hey, hold up a second…"

"Takasu-kun, you said it, right? Stop with the mask… you just said

that to me, right? Well, I get it. I'll stop. Ami-chan's done. I'll stop, I'll

stop, I'll stop, I—will—stoooop! I'll live with my terrible personality on

my face, I'll live on!"

"Wai- that's…not what I…"

"SHUT UP! That shrimp, Aisaka Taiga, wasn't losing to that guy! So

Ami-chan won't let him just keep doing what he wants, either! And I have a

guy with me! I'm gonna show that stalker! Don't underestimate the

daughter of an actress!"

There beside Ryuuji (who was at a loss for words), Ami suddenly

made a one eighty. He realized too late that she'd turned on her heel.

"HYYYYAAAAAA!!"

She dashed out fiercely with all her strength, aiming at the man

behind them. She swung around her bag, pretty features distorted into those

of an ogre.

"Hah?! Huuh?!"

It wasn't unreasonable for the man to run away. The pursuer became

the pursued in an instant role reversal.

"GET BACK HERE YOU SCUMBAAAAAG!"

The man ran away desperately, Ami just behind, spitting out her

scorn.

Of course, Ryuuji couldn't just stand by and watch. "Don't be stupid!

Stop it! Calm down! Even though I look like this, I can't stand fights!"

But Ryuuji's words seemed to fall on deaf ears. He saw the man run

into the park.

"THERE!"

With an amazing leap like a fawn, Ami jumped over the shrubs. She

cut him off with the short cut, and readied her finishing blow.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

She threw her bag at him. The rectangular bag tumbled and flew low

through the air.

"GAH!"

It hit the running man's feet. As the things he carried flew from his

arms, he dove face-first into the sand.

Without hesitation, Ami picked up the man's fallen phone.

"…Haah….haah…haah…!"

With the face of an ogre, she was still out of breath, speechless.

Crack crack crack!

…She broke it right in half.

"H-horri…"

She tossed the two pieces of wreckage down before the man, who

was backing away in terror. But she still wasn't done.

"Haah… you've got another one… Ami-chan saw it… take it out…

take out the camera…NOW! Hurry up and fork it over!"

"…I-It's there…"

The man shakily pointed at the ejected contents of his bag. A stateof-the-art model camera indeed was laying there. Ami bent down and took

it into her hand. For a while, she turned it around, pressing buttons. She

fiddled with it for a bit, like she was trying to figure out how to delete the

data.

"S-stop! You'll break it!"

"…Haah…haah…"

The man didn't quite grasp the position he was in. And his voice

seemed to have touched on Ami's nerves. Still breathing roughly, she took

the strap of the camera in her hand.

"HI-YAH!"

…And after twirling it around for a while, she used its centrifugal

force to smash it against a concrete bench.

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The man was shrieking. As was

maybe expected from a state-of-the-art camera, its casing withstood one or

two attacks (though who knew about the inside).

"TAKE THAT! TAKE! THAT! TAKE THAT!

…TAAAAKE THAAAAAT!"

After suffering repeated atrocities, the camera at long last cracked

with a satisfying crunch. Pieces that never should have disconnected came

falling down. But Ami kept right on hitting it against the bench.

"DAH! DAAAH! DAAAAAHHH! Break…BREAK…! Into

pieces…BREAAAK!"

…Ami must have built up a lot of stress. She kept hitting it again and

again, with the strap still in her hand, until the camera no longer looked like

a camera. The man, half-buried in sand, was already soundlessly crying.

Seeing that picture of hell before him, Ryuuji couldn't find words to address

either of them.

"Uhh, wha, my camera…"

"There…I wonder what should I break next? Ami-chan's kind of

having fun now. Oh?"

Ami ground the wreckage of the dispersed and broken digital camera

under her heel. She cruelly twisted her lips into a smile.

"Hey, can Ami-chan break some more? Can Ami-chan break

eeeeverything? Are you even listening? Answer me! Should I break you in

the same way?"

"P-please forgive me!"

The man prostrated himself in the sand, and with his hands shaking,

firmly faced Ami.

"Can you promise me that you won't follow me around anymore?"

"I don't need to swear, I've already had way more than enough!" the

man, who had become strangely childlike, cried pathetically. "Now that

you've shown me that demonic face, I won't anymore! Ami-chan isn't my

angel anymore! You're a liar—you're really an ogre! You're pitch-black! I

don't want to be involved with a fraud like you anymore! The cute angel

Ami-chan never actually existed! 'Ami-chan'—what a joke! Come to think

of it, why are you with that scary delinquent?! I just noticed him!"

"H-how am I supposed to be the delinquent here…?"

It seemed that rather than his shattered camera, his shattered dreams

were what the man was really struggling with. There was no sign he was

planning a counterattack. He just raised his voice and kept on shamefully

crying. Ami was lucky he wasn't a "real" danger who would do something

like wave around a knife.

At last, the man spoke his last words:

"You've got a terrible personality!"

"So what?" Ami shot back coldly. As though she had just

remembered it, she pulled a hand mirror out of her uniform pocket. Then

she looked at her reflection, smiled, and made a cutesy pose.

"Ami-chan is this cute. ♥ Her personality doesn't matter. ♥"

***

Ami's show of courage only endured until they left the park and

turned the first corner.

"Here, sit! Move those newspapers!"

"Uwaah… wah…"

Ryuuji led Ami, practically carrying her, and tried to sit her down on

cushions, but…

"I-I can't let go." Ami looked up at Ryuuji, tears streaming from her

eyes. The fingers she used to grab onto Ryuuji's arms were shaking, frozen

so stiff that she couldn't peel them off by herself.

"Just relax. Take all the time you need."

The setting sun's rays pierced into the Takasus' two-bedroom home.

Sitting on the burned tatami mats, Ami closed her eyes and desperately tried

to regain control of her breath.

Ami had been fine while laying into the stalker…but as she had

lumbered down the sidewalk and turned the corner, she'd suddenly fallen to

her knees. "I-I was so scared!"

She'd shuddered all over. Tears had dripped from her eyes. Her

whole body had been tensed up with nerves, and Ryuuji had had to halfway

carry her. She was in no state to walk or stand alone. Even her dry lips had

been shaking—she certainly couldn't go on by herself.

The Takasus' house wasn't that far if you went around the park. So,

somehow, he'd managed to lend her his shoulder and bring her in.

"…Where the heck is Yasuko when you need her?"

Ryuuji sat Ami down on the cushion and went into the kitchen. He

looked around his own silent home, troubled. He couldn't believe that no

one was there. If he'd known, he would have called a taxi to take Ami back

to her own house. Bringing a crying girl home to an empty house wasn't

something Ryuuji could handle. Even a girl who wasn't crying was out of

the question. As for Taiga? That was just one big exception.

At any rate, in order to calm Ami down, he brought over milk he'd

heated up on the stove and sweetened with honey.

"Th-thank you…"

"If you want more, you can have as much as you want. If you don't

like sweet things, I have tea or coffee… or actually just coffee, I guess."

"…No, this is fine…" Ami took a sip and finally let out one long

breath. "It's good. Hey, could you put in more sugar?"

"It's honey, is that okay?"

Ami nodded, and he carefully dripped some honey into her cup. After

he mixed it up with a spoon, Ami's lips finally lit up with a pale smile. "…

How unexpected. Takasu-kun, do you drink stuff like this?"

"No, not so much. Taiga's the one who likes it that way." After he

accidentally blurted that out, Ryuuji glanced up at Ami and noticed her

looking up at him.

"…Taiga. Takasu-kun, you always call Aisaka 'Taiga,' right?"

"It'd be weirder to hide it, so I'll tell you." It's not really an excuse,

because there isn't a reason to need an excuse in the first place—that was

his preface. "We live pretty close by, and she lives alone, and I just live with

my mom, but that's mostly like living alone so… well, somehow or

another… you could say I'm helping her with chores, but we started eating

together, kind of like siblings…"

"…Hmm. So that's how it is."

He wasn't sure if she accepted his explanation or not, but Ami didn't

say anything more about it.

"This really is good. I think I'll try my own version at home." She

held the cup in both hands, the hot milk now flavored with a considerable

amount of honey. She kept on drinking, lapping it up.

"How are you feeling?"

At his inquiring voice, Ami raised just her eyes. With the cup still at

her mouth, she smiled, as though embarrassed. Then she suddenly turned

her face to the side. "Ahhh, seriously…it's just humiliating! And after I

committed so hard to going after him, too! I really thought I had what it

takes, but…in the end, you had to put up with seeing me turn into a

terrified, shaking mess."

"That just comes with the territory. Because as soon as you started

running, I was terrified, too. You were seriously lucky that guy didn't get

violent."

"…I'm really sorry." Ami finally turned back and put the empty cup

on the table. Maybe it was because of the setting sun shining on her cheeks,

but she was faintly dyed in pale orange. Her brown eyes looked like

transparent amber.

"I can't believe it myself… if my mom finds out, she'd kill me for

doing something as dangerous as that. Maybe it's Aisaka Taiga's influence?

Yesterday, I saw her chasing away that stalker guy so easily at the

riverbank, and then, I suddenly got embarrassed that I was scared. And I

guess you could say… I kind of felt…like she'd shown me up,

somehow…"

"…Taiga is kind of a special case. I'm not sure you want to use her as

a benchmark."

"The Palmtop Tiger, right? I heard it from Maya-chan and everyone.

Hah, it fits her too well, that nickname. Since crossing paths with the

Palmtop Tiger, maybe I've grown a little braver, myself."

"…Kawashima, you were a strong girl from the start."

"A strong girl? Aha, I'm just messed up. I'm saying this about

myself, but Ami-chan is a really messed up girl, and inside her belly is

darkness. I'm a mean girl—you know that now, don't you? Maybe since

yesterday… or maybe even before that. There's no point to putting on my

act again at this point."

Ami shrugged and laughed. It wasn't her normal mask. Somewhere

in her big eyes lurked the glimmer of an awakened arrogance. Her mouth

was warped with a slight hint of what you might call cruelty. There was no

trace of an angel's purity there. In its place, what her face revealed was her

slyness and mercilessness, a real spite—the arrogance of a person who

didn't think of others as people. But somehow…it was still beautiful.

But at the same time, something about that face made Ryuuji feel

awfully judgmental…

"Oh. I forgot about the other two. Who both…fell into gutters…

somehow."

"If she's with Yuusaku, she's fine," said Ami—though Taiga being

with Yuusaku was probably exactly what was dangerous. Her expression

faded after she spoke, remembering the two. Her smiling face slowly tensed

up, and she quietly held her breath. She looked as though she were trying to

endure a faint pain. "That girl has it good."

"That girl… you mean Taiga?"

Without answering, Ami looked down. "…For example, like with

that stalker earlier…it's easy to get people like that to like you. If you just

put a little effort into being cute in pictures or on TV, people can't help but

like you. …See, because Ami-chan is super cute!"

She said those last words as though they were a joke, but Ryuuji

didn't feel like laughing. When Ami dropped those words, he looked at her

hard-set profile—and he didn't see anything to laugh about.

"…It's more or less just as easy to get people to hate you. If I told

everyone that this isn't the real Ami-chan, that this isn't what I'm actually

like… if I showed them the real Ami, everyone would just hate me."

Ryuuji averted his gaze in spite of himself. Ami's self-effacing

expression was so pitiful he couldn't look—though if he told her that, she

would definitely be hurt even more. "You shouldn't say something like

that."

"But it's true. The guy just now was just like that, right? What's

difficult is getting someone to like the real me. That's it right there. That's

why that girl… that's why I'm jealous of Aisaka Taiga. That girl doesn't

even feel like she needs to keep up appearances. But you don't hate her at

all, not even a bit. That's a little… no, that's extremely frustrating. And I

tried to steal you away from her just because I wanted to see that girl

frustrated…and I couldn't get so much as a grip on you. That's a first.

'Why?' I thought. 'Ami-chan is definitely cuter, so why? How can I fail to

be number one? Isn't this unbelievable? Isn't this unforgivable? Are she and

I so different?' …I really am jealous of that girl, aren't I?"

Ryuuji quietly breathed in.

Ami was jealous of Taiga. Taiga was so jealous of Ami that she holed

up to cry by herself. They each wanted the things that the other had. In the

end, they were just both the way they were, so things were bound not to go

well. Their feelings naturally clashed, and unlike Taiga and Minori, they

didn't have the rapport they needed to stick close together. That was just the

way it was—and there was definitely nothing anybody could do to change

it.

Although Ami had said Taiga didn't feel the need to put up

appearances, there was one thing he wanted to say, for Taiga's sake. He

wanted to say it for the part of Taiga that desperately put up appearances in

ways no one except Ryuuji could see. "Kawashima, you've got Kitamura

though."

"Yuusaku?"

"That guy, he really worries about you, thinks about you, and takes

care of you. He really understands the real you. He even got stuck in a

gutter for you."

"You're right. But…Yuusaku is no good." A tendril of her hair

slipped and fell over her face. At that moment, Ami's expression was

hidden from Ryuuji. "Because Yuusaku has already chosen the one and only

girl he likes."

"…Huh?"

Ryuuji's brain stalled.

He immediately thought of the person Kitamura had confessed to

right after enrollment—Taiga. But Kitamura had plainly told Taiga he just

wanted to be friends. Regardless of whether Taiga accepted that, he didn't

behave like she was the girl he liked. At least, he wasn't acting like that at

the present. But who was it? If it was new, then Minori? Or maybe Maya?

Or maybe…

"What about you, Takasu-kun…?"

Ryuuji's heart jumped.

With her body arched like a cat's, Ami's face drew near. She didn't

make so much as a sound. He could smell the milk on her breath. Not

daring to look at Ami's face, Ryuuji just shuffled backwards on his butt—

but his back immediately hit the wall.

Ami didn't come any closer.

She didn't come any closer, but he felt like he was being drawn into

the bottom of those damp, amber eyes…

"…Takasu-kun, if I showed you the real me…what would you do?"

"Wh-what would I?"

"…Would you like me?"

The world was robbed of sound.

Ryuuji's feet hit the legs of the table. In the silence, the cup rolled

onto the tatami.

They were five centimeters from their noses touching.

Right at the last moment—right before it was too late to play it off as

a joke—Ami's lips suddenly lifted up into a smirk.

"…Just kidding! Did I get your heart racing?"

And it was a joke, but… the only ones who would see it as a joke

were the two of them.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dearie me…"

Thump. Thump. At the sound of plastic bags being dropped onto the

tatami, Ryuuji pretty much jumped.

Ami reflexively turned. She was straddling the lower half of Ryuuji's

body.

Ryuuji reflexively turned. He was nonchalantly supporting her waist.

"…Oopsie! I…I didn't do this on purpose, promise! Umm… I went

shopping and I found Kitamura-kun and Taiga-chan stuck in the storm

gutters, and then… uhhmm… ahhh, this is awkwarrrrd!"

Yasuko brought both her hands to her bare face and wriggled around

in a pose reminiscent of Munch's "The Scream."

Behind her, Kitamura's whole body was covered in mud. He looked

to be in a terrible state. He tried to push his bent glasses up his nose, using a

wooden sword as a cane in his other hand.

And then there was Taiga, who also was covered all over in mud.

"No way…" Taiga, who was being carried on Kitamura's back. At the sight

of Ryuuji and Ami, she was struck dumb—both eyes wide open.

In an obscure corner of the room, wholly unnoticed, Inko-chan shed

fluffy feathers from her whole body. As it turned out, she'd seen everything.