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Toradora! - Volume 2 - Chapter 4




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Chapter 4

At the center of the most attractive cluster of girls among the students of class C were…

“Ami-chan! I saw the magazine you were in yesterday,” said Kihara Maya. The other girls had praised Maya after break for lightening the color of her long, straight hair, but she’d received discreet disapproval from the boys.

“It said you were taking a break from modeling for a while, but was that true?” Kashii Nanako, the second member of the two-girl pair, had strangely attractive moles around her small mouth. 

They came as a set. The two girls made a duo more gorgeous than the sum of its parts. When they talked to Ami, several other girls gathered around, as though drawn in by the activity.

“Maya-chan, I can’t believe you and everyone else looked at this month’s edition! I’m so flattered! But it’s true, I’m taking a break from work for a while.”

Ami had climbed to the apex of this, the most eye-catching group of girls in the class. Now, she lavished the girls clustered around her with her dazzling smile, at which they went into a loud chorus: “What a shame!”

There was another group, too. They sat spaced out, staring at the commotion.

“Somehow, I feel like the cuteness of the girls in our class suddenly went up by a standard deviation… Yeah, forget the underclassmen, the girls in our class are the best.”

“I know, right?! It’s kind of like, you know what kind of people they are, and that familiarity grows into love. This is the royal road, boys. Ahhh, when I got put into this class in April, I was feeling blue just thinking about what it’d be like with both Takasu and the Palmtop Tiger around, but I was super lucky, now that I think about it… Maya and Kashii are in the class, and then best of all, Ami-tan is here… And if you’re only considering her looks, the Palmtop Tiger is super cute, too… everyone’s cute! Everyone!”

With Ryuuji in their midst, the bespectacled Noto Hisamitsu and the frivolously long-haired Haruta Kouji narrowed their eyes in happiness. Ryuuji’s own eyes squinted while he pretended not to hear. Sewing kit in hand, he used tightly-packed stitches to mend a detached cuff button. If you can think that, then you really are in heaven, he thought, but of course, he was a peaceful observer. He wouldn’t dare say something like that aloud.

Incidentally, Noto and Haruta told him they had gone out with the first-year girls that day, but the girls ended up coercing the two of them to treat them to McDonalds, karaoke, and a whole bunch of other things. In the end, the boys didn’t get so much as a phone number, and the girls ended the arrangement with the decisive words: “What a treat!”

As Kitamura was passing by, Maya flagged him down. “Oh, it’s Maruo. Hey, don’t you think your childhood friend’s wasting her talents? This whole take-a-break-from-modeling thing?” 

Kitamura, who was affectionately called “Maruo” by the girls, turned around and pushed up his glasses. “I think it’s fine, I guess? Yeah, it’s fine by me, precisely because it was Ami’s own decision. Once she finishes school, she can easily start again.”

“Whaaat! But she’s so cute! It’s definitely a waste. Maruo, you’re too cold to Ami-chan! And don’t say ‘precisely!’”

That’s right, that’s right! Shrill voices surrounded Kitamura, but he cheerfully laughed them away without a trace of contempt or anger. Kitamura was the girls’ darling to the bitter end.

At Haruta’s whisper, the unpopular, bespectacled Noto had a doubtful expression. “…Man, he sure is popular, but he’s so modest about it… I have glasses, too; maybe I ought to put them on…”

“Yes, yes,” Kitamura said with a wry smile. He shrugged his shoulders and scurried out of the ring of the cutest girls in the class.

“Oh, it seems like everyone is here.” He stopped by Ryuuji and the others, looking like they’d just saved his life.

“Damn it, go home, you aristocrat! This is a crab cannery ship—proletariat only!”

“Yeah, what a good punch. Aim for the world.”

Shrugging off Haruta’s attack with a smile, Kitamura just set up camp next to Ryuuji. If the group surrounding Ami was the sun, the assembly of four boys could probably be called a shadow.

“But it really isn’t a waste at all.” Ami’s cheerful voice was outstandingly bright and resonated through the classroom. “I wanted to enjoy a regular high school life like this. So this is okay. And I’ve made soooo many friends! I’m actually the happiest I’ve ever been right now, and it’s because I’m with all of you!”

How can you be such a saint? You’re an angel, Ami-chan! The surge of voices from among the girls was almost a sigh of wonder. Inadvertently, Ryuuji stole a glance at Kitamura’s well-kept profile. Although Kitamura kept joking around with Haruta, for a brief moment, Ryuuji thought he saw him release a faint sigh.

“Yeah, I see. Being a model must keep you awfully busy, and all the dieting and stuff seems hard, so you couldn’t really be a normal high school girl and keep on doing it.”

Nanako nodded, and Maya agreed. “Right, right!” She opened her already large eyes wider.

“I always wanted to ask you, Ami-chan—you’re super thin. You’ve been dieting, haven’t you? Is there a special diet all you models follow? C’mon, give us the deets!”

“Yeah, I want to hear, too!”

“Huh? Ami-chan’s diet? I want to know!”

When the topic reached the subject of diets, the ring around Ami grew even larger. Once again, the girls became wildly enthusiastic. “Oh no,” Ami muttered, laughing a little. “I really have no idea! I’ve never had to go on a diet! It seems like I’m just blessed with a great metabolism, so I just eat whatever I want to eat, and as long as I’m eating healthy, it works out okay. I love eating snacks, and it’s better for your skin not to stress yourself out!”

Then she smiled.

The edge of her mouth might have twisted with very slight sarcasm. 

“…Metabolism,” someone muttered quietly.

“…Hmmmph.”

“…So that’s it.”

“…No special diet, huh?”

“…Wow.”

Ami must have noticed. The temperature around her suddenly dropped three degrees.

Maya’s mouth froze. She had been patiently enduring an oolong tea and salad lunch every day for nearly half a year. 

Nanako’s eye twitched. Just the day before, she had been desperately working out by walking, and she’d even foregone the sushi her dad had gotten her last evening.

No matter how much she tried to keep up her good girl act, Ami’s true identity had made a brief, impulsive appearance.

The other girls’ gazes became so cold that even Ryuuji could see it. 

That was the moment it happened.

“…I can’t just ignore this!”

Clack! One girl noisily scooted back her seat. Her angry voice shook the cold air with a growl.

Her temple was crisscrossed by visible veins. She cracked all her knuckles as she slowly made her way forward through the silent classroom.

Her name was Kushieda Minori. That hardcore girl, never satisfied by club activities alone, jogged the not-at-all-short distances between home, school, and work every single day.

“Because even though I don’t look like it, I’m a diet warrior!”

You gotta be kidding me. Ryuuji tilted his head quizzically. Hadn’t she eaten a bucket of pudding on her own just last month…? But she seemed to be telling the truth. A rare flame of real anger was burning in those eyes that were always smiling. And then, beside Minori was…

“…Taiga. You’re with me, right?”

“Yeah!”

Aisaka Taiga, tied to Minori by their strong friendship, swayed like a wild animal. Ryuuji suspected a diet should have been completely irrelevant to someone like her, but Taiga was the type of girl who would lend a helping hand or two for a close friend. Even though she’d eaten two whole servings of tonkatsu.

“Let’s go, Taiga!”

“Hey, Minorin! You’re on deck!”

“Okay, Taiga! Batter up!”

They both suddenly spread out both their arms and quickly sidestepped into the ring of girls.

“Huh?! Wait, wh-what are you doing?!”

They forced their way right into the center, where Ami sat alone. Although the other girls squealed in surprise, there was a strange cold-heartedness to the way they all suddenly backed away. Soon enough, there was no one left to protect Ami. Taiga and Minori’s coordination was perfect. With their naturally good reflexes, they closed in on their target. At the moment she attempted to get up and run, they circled behind her, cutting off her escape.

“What do you want from me?!”

“Bwahahaha! Do you think we would allow you to escape from our defenses, my dear girl?!”

“Feeling sorry you called me a shrimp? If you’re not yet, you will be, calling people weird names like that!”

“N-names?! What are you talking about?!”

The glimpse Ryuuji caught of Ami’s face showed confusion, puzzlement, but she seemed helpless before the impenetrable wall that was Minori and Taiga. She could only weakly sway from side to side on her feet.

Is it really okay not to help her out here? Ryuuji checked on Kitamura, trying to read his expression—but Kitamura was gawking, mumbling to himself in surprise like an old lady. There was no sign he’d be getting up to intervene any time soon.

“This is bullying!”

“The Palmtop Tiger and Kushieda are bullying Ami-tan!”

Ryuuji realized that although the three were the center of attention, not one person was lifting a finger to help Ami.

“Shall we start? Kawashima-kun?”

Kushieda’s lips twisted into a devious smirk. Taiga went around to Ami’s back and put her slim body into a full nelson.

“Stop, wait, what are you—stop! Eyaaaah!”

Ami’s shriek echoed through the classroom. Minori had struck fast as a snake. She turned out her hands, stuck them under Ami’s blazer, and forcefully grabbed Ami’s hidden stomach.

“…Ho ho…! What have we here?”

“Ugh…!” When Minori smirked, Ami’s expression stiffened with fear. 

Minori slowly licked her lower lip. “Teaaaacherrr! Kawashima-san is hiding fat in her beeelllllyyy!”

Minori had gone over to the dark side. She kneaded the soft fat she’d grabbed. “Oh no no, noooo no no, noooooo! We can’t have this! You know the rules: If you’re bringing in fatty food from outside of school, you can’t bring more than 300 yen’s worth! Do you really expect me to believe this is just 300 yen of flab?! What are these handles?! Do I feel a banana under there?! Maybe you lucked out—bananas don’t count under the rules!”

“S-s-s-stop, stop, stop, stooooop!”

Minori violently wriggled both her hands underneath the uniform. The boy’s cheeks all flushed red, their collective imagination soaring right into forbidden territory.

“Ohhhhhh, you’ve got quite a bit stocked up in here, don’t ya?!”

“Stop, stoooooooop!”

“What’s that you said about being ‘predisposed’? Then what’s this?! Hah! What’s this thing right here?! Huh?!”

“Noooo, stop! Gyaaahh!”

“Ahhhh hahahaha! This part’s from the meat buns! Ahahahaha! This part is from Haagen-Dazs! Take this! Convenience Store Shin Ken: Family Mart Style Gleaming Attack! You are already fat!”

“I’m telling you to stop… Eyaaaaagh!”

Minori’s fists moved in a golden arc. Though it was a little hard to see at first, the belly fat was soon revealed in all its jiggling glory. Minori rubbed her hands in a figure eight over the skin.

Ami’s protracted shriek trailed off before eventually melting away completely, vanishing into empty space.

…Gulp. Everyone swallowed their breath in the silence.

Taiga slowly released Ami’s body from the full nelson. The poor fool dropped to the floor on her knees. Bereft of strength, she stayed there, still speechless.

Minori put her fist to her heart and looked up to the heavens. “We dedicate this victory to diet soldiers everywhere, whose tears come down to us as falling stars!”

“Uwah… wah… wah!”

Finally released, Ami clutched at her disheveled clothes and miserably collapsed, sprawled on her side. She hung her small, flushed face in mortification and continued to sob in a low voice.

Minori looked down at Ami and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction. “…Taiga. Your hunches always pay off.”

As she looked down at Ami in the same way, Taiga was also smiling broadly. “No, no, you’re the amazing one, Minorin. You do good work.”

Her eyes glittered with heartfelt happiness as she slowly sauntered up to stand in front of Ami. Her cheeks were rosy with delight, her lips the crimson red of an animal that had tasted blood.

“Kawashima-san. Allow me to introduce you! This is my best friend, Minorin. In fact, I do have friends other than Ryuuji.”

“BT-dubs, this is my BFF, Taiga!” Minori raised her hand and laughed. 

Then, from Minori’s side, Taiga pointed straight at Ami. “And so now the truth is out—you’re a camouflaged chubster! You eat too much!”

BA-BAAAAAAM!

Taiga’s firm declaration hit home. Ami’s shoulders drooped as though all the strength had left them. Minori and Taiga stood shoulder to shoulder and laughed loudly—Bwahahahaha!—as they shared high fives. 

“You’re awesome.” “No, you’re awesome!”

The two devils whispered to each other, poking at each other’s cheeks as they walked away. Then, finally, they turned around.

“Hey, Ami. Why don’t you try a marathon? A black tracksuit would definitely suit you.”

At that parting shot from Taiga, Ami suddenly raised her face. She might have realized that Taiga had seen her convenience store shopping from the day before. She wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes with her thumbs.

“I’ve been doing marathons and more! I’ve been running and running and running around, you spoiled shr…”

“Ami-chan, are you okay?”

Ami closed her lips firmly and resisted tacking on the “…imp.” Smile, it seemed like she was thinking. Somehow, bit by bit, she rebuilt her mask.

“I-I’m fine…”

She smiled at the girls who offered their hands to her. Her resolve could not be dissolved. She had the powerful willpower of a willful powerhouse!

“You poor thing! You’re not fat at all, Ami-chan!”

“It was so scary! Aisaka-san and Kushieda-san are really violent…!”


Though the girls’ words were kind, their beaming faces seemed awfully pleased. Although Ami also smiled as she got back up, she ground her teeth together, toughing out her humiliation. Even that smiling, angelic mask seemed close to crumbling and collapsing.

***

“Man. Those two are demons…”

Ryuuji filed away his excitement at seeing a new side of Minori somewhere in the back of his mind, but he still couldn’t resist muttering something out loud. In actuality, Ami had probably been let off easy, but the fact was… no matter how you looked at it, they had gone too far. People would pity Ami. But…

“…I see.”

Somehow, Kitamura seemed to have had an epiphany. He nodded slightly. “So, if you go about things that way, Ami winds up like that.”

What does she wind up like? Ryuuji thought, but the chime announcing the end of the break came too quick for him to ask.

***

Evening approached, and the early summer’s drawn-out daylight finally waned.

Bustling silhouettes came and went along the sidewalks lined with bushy zelkova trees—housewives coming home from shopping, middle schoolers biking home from extended club activities, kids with their dogs, students sporting white earphone cords—all of them in a hurry, walking against the chilly wind.

After finishing their shopping at a congested supermarket, Ryuuji and Taiga also joined that wave of people. Beneath the light indigo sky, they headed to the Takasu residence.

It seemed the events at school had served to dissolve a considerable amount of stress.

“Hmm! ♪ Hmm! ♪”

Taiga, who walked slightly ahead of Ryuuji, had experienced a complete turnaround from her malaise of the day before. She swayed her head from side to side as she hummed a mysterious song. It was rare for her, but Ryuuji didn’t say anything. He just followed her with shopping bags in both his hands. If he were to make a remark like, “How unusual,” the little rebel would probably immediately stop. Her slightly out-of-tune humming had an odd charm to it. 

He heard a small girl passing by ask her mother, “Is that a princess?” To a kid, Taiga’s sense of fashion may have really looked like something fit for fairytale royalty. Under her light-lime-green cardigan, she wore an unbuttoned floral-patterned dress. It offered a glimpse of the full, frilly layers of her pure-white lace underskirt. The ample volume of her clothes accentuated the cuteness of her small frame. She even had a ribbon in her long, loosely curled hair, which was rare. Both her small, beaded bag and her delicate white sandals were items Ryuuji hadn’t seen before.

She usually had the same look, but he thought she was being especially deluxe that day. She was probably in a really, really good mood.

When it was time for them to go home, she had smiled (!) and told him, “I’m going home now, so when you go shopping, drop by first, will you?” And then, on top of that, she even waved goodbye to Kitamura, who was beside Ryuuji—though, as expected, her cheeks turned bright red and, though her eyes were raised resolutely, she was tongue-tied. Her face was still sort of scared stiff. Kitamura returned a “Yeah!” and Ryuuji saw Taiga jump very slightly.

That had also probably played a role in Taiga’s good mood.

“Hey, Ryuuji.”

“Hm?”

Taiga suddenly turned around, slowed down, and went to Ryuuji’s side, where she matched his pace. This was also something that didn’t normally happen. Taiga would walk in front of him, as though she were the head of the family, or she would sullenly walk straight behind him—those were her two normal positions.

In a calm voice, this abnormal Taiga asked him, “Are you going to bake salmon today?”

Ryuuji was almost getting emotional. This isn’t too bad, either.

“Yeaaah…maybe I’ll do it meunière style. I’ll salt and pepper it, then dust it with flour, and fry it in butter. It’s good with ketchup.”

“Let’s go with that! Sounds delicious!”

The calm conversation they were having like a newlywed couple was shaken by what happened in the next moment.

“Oh, maybe I’ll make a salad?”

“…” Whoosh. The shopping bags slipped from both of Ryuuji’s hands. “What?”

Taiga looked up at the wide-eyed expression Ryuuji had on his face, then pouted with discontent. But even so, her anger was a third of what it normally was.

“…N-no…” Ryuuji said. “Ahhh, I had a shock just now…I was probably just hearing things. Yeah. That’s it.”

What a shock, what a shock. He picked up the bags and tried to start walking again as though nothing had happened, but things seldom went the way one wanted.

“I mean it! Even I can make a salad!”

Taiga, who rarely even took her dishes into the kitchen after eating, was saying she would make a salad. Taiga, the one who had been on the verge of starving to death because a bento shop had gone out of business. Was this real life…? He was at a loss for words over the absurdity of it all. Ryuuji slowly shook his head from left to right.

“I-I can’t believe that.”

“Why? You underestimate me.” She chuckled, proudly stuck out her small chest, and stood at her full height. “We did it in a class when I was in elementary school. A salad. The kind where you make your own dressing.”

“…Then try telling me the process.”

“That’s easy. First, you buy the lettuce, right? Then you tear off the leaves, right? You shred it up, right? Then you put it on a dish, right? You put on the mayonnaise, right? …And voilà, finished.”

“That’s no good.” Ryuuji flatly shook his head. “I know you’re impatient with simple tasks, and the first thing you need to do is wash the lettuce, am I right? You need to rinse it in cold water. And what happened to the dressing?”

“Details, details…”

“They’re not just details! Especially soaking the lettuce in cold water. If you don’t, it wilts, and you wouldn’t eat it.”

“…You sister-in-law.”

“What?!”

Ryuuji’s eyes glinted sharply at being called such an inconceivable name. Taiga left him behind, starting to walk in her normal position ahead of him.

“Ryuuji, you’re a total sister-in-law. You’re a sister-in-law who doesn’t want to let the bride in the family have a say in family matters and doesn’t ever let her use the kitchen. That poor bride is me, and you’ll have me clean simple things like the bath and the toilet, and you make me chop wood all the time…”

“Just when did I make you clean the bath or toilet or anything?! You can go ahead and try chopping wood any time you like, if you even can! And just whose bride are you supposed to be?!”

“…”

“Don’t ignore me!”

“Dog-in-law.”

“What did you call me?!”

In the end, they were back to having their usual fierce and useless exchanges. Finally, they turned the last corner. They reached Taiga’s condo and the Takasus’ rented apartment.

But then, at that time…

“Oh, thank goodness I caught up with you!”

The person who overtook them from behind suddenly leapt into Ryuuji’s forward vision. Taiga, who was walking in front of him, disappeared from his field of view.

“Wh-what is it?!”

Pretty much leaping onto him, she dangled from Ryuuji’s chest. She clutched at him forcefully, but tentatively, with an uncertain touch. She had his right arm trapped.

“I just saw you and ran as fast as I could! Please…pretend we’re friends!”

“Uh…what?!”

The one who was out of breath, the one who had a gloomy look on her white face, the one pushing her slender frame against him—it was the fallen angel. Or not. Out of everyone it could have been, it was the remarkable Kawashima Ami. She didn’t have a cap or sunglasses on, but she was wearing a black full-body tracksuit that day, too. As always, the contrast between her plain clothes and her incredible beauty made her stand out. He couldn’t imagine she was actually running a marathon like Taiga had told her to. But…

“Takasu-kun, please…!”

There was real fear mixed into her pleading voice, and her broken breathing was shallow as well. Ryuuji didn’t understand what she was asking of him at all.

“Um, uh… wh-what is it?!”

“That guy…”

Strength came into the thin fingers with which she held Ryuuji’s arm. Her hand was sweaty and slightly trembling—this didn’t seem like a normal situation. Flustered, he followed Ami’s line of sight.

“…Who’s that guy?”

At a street corner just ahead, he saw a figure in the shadow of an electric pole. It was the shape of a man, suspiciously loitering. Ryuuji’s face unintentionally twitched.

Ryuuji hadn’t seen the guy around before. He had a very slight build and was dressed in neat clothes. At first glance, the outfit made him look like a college student, but he sure was carrying a lot of stuff around. He wasn’t what you’d call a “weirdo” at first glance, but he was hiding and standing stock-still, which definitely wasn’t normal. It created a strange mood around him.

Seeing him seemed to have scared Ami, who was earnestly trying to use Ryuuji’s body as a shield to hide behind. Apparently, the man didn’t mind being found out, since he wasn’t trying in the least to turn his stare away from Ami.

This is no act… she’s probably really scared. Then, while Ryuuji was still busy holding Ami, at the moment he stepped back… something even scarier stood right behind them.

“You’re right, we should just settle this now…once and for all…”

When they turned toward the low voice—muttering so ominously it seemed to curse them—they found Taiga. Taiga, who had probably been knocked over by Ami, had fallen over at the side of the road. Now she slowly got back up.

“I told you to run a marathon, you spoiled brat, but I don’t remember anybody giving you permission to run around in front of my house. I’ll turn you into a tattered rag.”

Taiga waggled one finger and made a fist with her other hand. Both her feet stepped nimbly to the front and back, then from side to side, all in preparation. Her footwork was professional, and her eyes glittered with hunger. She invited the attack: “Come at me.”

“…Try and read the room here. C’mon, you get it, don’t you?”

Unexpectedly, they beheld the precise embodiment of that old Japanese proverb: a tiger at the front gate (the angry Taiga), and a wolf at the back gate (the weirdo). Ryuuji swiveled his neck one hundred and eighty degrees in one continuous back-and-forth motion. For the time being, he tried to soothe the unreasoning beast beside him. 

Not even noticing Taiga’s behavior, Ami restlessly tried to flee her pursuer, circling around Ryuuji to avoid the suspicious man’s eyes. Ultimately, she said, “I’m scared…”

She clung to Ryuuji’s shoulder and pressed her face into him.

In that moment, the pretty features of Taiga’s French doll-like face trembled. Slowly, bit by bit, they distorted, like she was being pulled diagonally in opposite directions. And at a certain point—SNAP! Ryuuji was sure he heard something break.

“LISTEN TO MEEEEE!”

Maybe it was all the excitement, but Taiga had gone off the deep end. She couldn’t even express herself properly. Taiga shouted with all her might. With an astounding display of leg power, she kicked a recycling bin with enough force to make an electric pole collapse. That can should have been far too heavy, but it rumbled as it rotated through the air. It soared over Ami and Ryuuji’s heads, on a beeline toward the suspicious man. It flew several meters and, with a load roar, crashed down at the man’s feet.

“…!”

The man was as scared as you’d expect. He took several steps back, and turned around right on the spot. Then he made a mad dash for it.

“Huh? …Who was that guy?!” 

Only when Taiga saw his retreating back did she finally seem to notice his existence. At the same time, her built-up rage instantly dispersed. “He looks like some kinda perv!” Utterly disgusted, Taiga threw those words from her lips without a hint of restraint.

Ami finally caught her breath and let go of Ryuuji’s arm, but her footing was still unsteady.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah… this was the first time I’ve really run for real in a while so… ack, I guess my knees gave out.” She smiled as though it were a joke, but that smile was far from her normal perfect one—it seemed incredibly rigid.

“What was that all about? Who was that guy just now? Do you know him?” Ryuuji lent her a hand as he asked, but Ami ambiguously shrugged her shoulders.

“It… uhh… I went to go shopping…and then, I kind of got mixed up with him… I think he’s a fan… one of the weird ones. Sometimes I have to deal with guys like that…”

Her eyes wandered, as though she still couldn’t quite put herself at ease. Seeing that, Ryuuji and Taiga inadvertently looked at each other. Ami seemed pretty shaken up, and on top of that, when she said “fan,” they felt something wasn’t quite right. Ami turned to Ryuuji and clasped her hands together.

“Hey, I need a favor. I’m scared of going home by myself from here. That guy might still be nearby… even if it’s just for a little bit, would you let me hide at your house? Please!” She didn’t ask with her usual good-girl mask, but with her real face.

“…Okay, so you’ve got two options. A crummy second-floor rental apartment, or the entire second floor of a brand-new top-of-the-line luxury condominium.”

“That one!” Ami pointed straight at the condo. Ryuuji checked on Taiga’s reaction from the corner of his eye to see what she would do next.

“That’s my condo. …But fine, fine, come on. I agree, you should probably hide for a little while.”

“Huh… it’s yours?! This is no laughing matter! I don’t know what he’ll do to me!” Ami turned a stern gaze on Taiga. The two of them got along about as well as cats and dogs.

“You’re being ridiculous. Don’t you understand this is an emergency situation?” Taiga had an incredibly serious expression on her face. She shook her head at Ami, then tightly gripped her hand. “If you wait until something happens, it’ll already be too late. Just come to my place.”

“Wait, you… A-are you serious? Are you seriously serious about that?”

“I’ll have you know that rental is Ryuuji’s house. But it has security issues… actually, I managed to sneak in through the window myself to try and kill Ryuuji in the middle of the night. It was easy. Easier than breathing, honestly.”

That couldn’t be, Ami looked up towards Ryuuji.

“Yup. True story.” Ryuuji nodded right at her. 

Ami thought it over for a while. “…Are you sure?” She looked up at Taiga calmly—that was right, calmly—with her big, gentle eyes.

Then Taiga nodded without hesitation. “Yes. Of course.”

Ryuuji was actually slightly moved, and without thinking, softly muttered, “You’re…a really good person.”

“It’s a unique situation. Even I’m not evil.” Taiga smiled generously, then firmly grabbed Ami’s shoulder, although Ami was still acting hesitant. The force Taiga used was just a little concerning.

“Kawashima-san, we’ve been through a lot, but I hereby declare a temporary truce. Ryuuji has a busy mother and an ugly, weirdo parakeet. You were right to choose my place.”

Ryuuji decided to pretend he didn’t hear the rude words about his pet—she was being gentle enough right now that he could forgive that much. Ami still showed some signs of hesitation, but Taiga pretty much dragged her by the shoulders towards the condo’s entrance.

“Oh, hey, Taiga. What should we do about food?”

“Leave some for me, I’ll come over and eat later. I think I’ll move better with my stomach empty.”

Without leaving any opening for Ryuuji to question those mysterious words, Taiga and Ami disappeared into the condo.

***

Taiga was pretty late to dinner at the Takasus’ place. “…I’m all fired up! This is the best!”

Strangely all smiles and good spirits, she ate one serving of fish and three whole helpings of rice.



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