Toradora! - Volume 4 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“…I’m so tired…”

“…Mmhmm…”

The morning sun pierced the kitchen. A small and large shadow faced each other gloomily as they looked at the bag of bread on the table.

Ryuuji thought of making sandwiches. For brunch. He had even asked them to buy ham and lettuce the day before.

But his hands remained motionless. Ryuuji let his sleep-deprived eyes, which were three times more sinisterly bloodshot than usual, wander. Taiga just sat on a chair. Her hair unbrushed and her face unwashed, she had barely gotten herself dressed. She looked absentmindedly out the window.

They were sleep-deprived. They were very, very sleep-deprived.

In the end, they couldn’t stay in the room the previous night. They had gone back downstairs, jumping and grabbing 

each other’s hands at the slightest noise. They switched on the lights, turned on the TV, and while telling each other, “We’re not sleeping tonight!” “Let’s make this an all-nighter! Staying up one night can’t hurt!” they watched the news until six in the morning.

Ryuuji remembered proposing a walk on the beach to Taiga. He remembered Taiga nodding and saying it was a good idea. But before he knew it, they were face-down on the table and half-asleep. He had woken up when his hand went numb from resting his cheek on it. He shook Taiga, who was next to him in the same position, awake. It was seven in the morning.

The glittering morning beach unfolded refreshingly on the other side of the window. Not a single cloud was in the clear sky. The quiet slosh of recurrent waves was comforting as it washed over their ears that morning. It probably would have been the ideal time to walk along the sandy dunes with a golden retriever. However, no such elegant creature existed here, and instead there were only a sleep-deprived mutt and a tiger looking at each other with idiotic, dumbfounded expressions.

Ryuuji roughly rubbed at his eyes. He called to Taiga in a quivering voice, like somebody’s grandpa. “I really am tired… maybe I’ll leave breakfast for later, go back to my room, and try going back to sleep in my bed…”

Nuagh. Taiga, whose voice had also gone quite geriatric­­, raised her head. “Nooo… if we do that, I think we probably won’t wake up until past noon…”

“Right… you’re right…”

Ryuuji turned his head. The stiff muscles in his shoulders made a cracking sound unsuitable for a seventeen-year-old boy. It might have been because he had been sleeping in a strange position, but the muscles in his body were so tense they hurt. Though it was a super short time, sleep was still sleep, and even feeble with fatigue, his memories were restructuring themselves in his head.

The stuff that happened last night had to be some silly misunderstanding—they had probably just gotten confused. They shouldn’t have been so frightened—they should have just slept soundly in their beds.

He was sure he had accidentally brought an unwashed towel with him that had Yasuko or Taiga’s hair on it, and Taiga must have taken her clothes out as she ransacked her bag before taking a bath and just forgotten. Something like that had probably happened. The stickiness was his drool…and Taiga’s foot sweat.

Ahhh. He stretched broadly, Ryuuji forced some energy into himself and stood up.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s make the sandwiches. Let’s use some of the leftover curry to make curry potage.”

“Potage? That sounds good…”

Like that, they energized themselves. Ryuuji unsealed the bread bag Taiga was looking at. Then he stared at the bread…with merciless eyes. He wasn’t a pervert fetishizing bread—his eyes were just really dry… wait, what was he doing?

“What am I doing? I shouldn’t be staring down the bread. I need to prep the ingredients.”

Most of his mind was definitely still wandering.

“What’re you putting into it?” Taiga asked.

“Right. I need to boil eggs and cut them and mix them with mayo. We have canned tuna, right? And lettuce and tomato and ham. You help with something. What will you do?”

“I’ll cheer you on from right here.”

Why, you…

As he was glaring at Taiga’s white cheeks with his bloodshot eyes, he heard the sound of light footsteps coming from down the hall. Patter, patter.

Minori appeared. “Hm? Huh? You’re already awake! Good mornin’, Taiga!” She was bathed in pure white light. Her bangs were pulled back with a turban headband as though she had just washed her face. Her smooth forehead was on full display, and she smelled like face wash foam as she pushed up Taiga’s nose like a pig’s. 

“Oh dear, Takasu-kun!” Minori said. “You’ve already started making breakfast? You made everything yesterday, too. I was thinking of making breakfast today, so I got up early, but I’m already late!” Pretty much still in her pajamas, she wore a T-shirt and shorts, and her smile was on full blast first thing in the morning. “Aww, the weather’s nice!”

Instead of greeting him, she turned to Ryuuji and sprung into a standing side split. “Y-yo.”

It took all of Ryuuji’s strength just to hold up the bag of bread in that moment. Minori’s glaringly bright presence first thing in the morning was too much.

“Huh? You two don’t look too good. Did you not sleep?” she asked.

“A-ahh…a little, but not really…”

“We watched TV the whole night…”

“What? Why’d you do that again?! Are you okay? Do you feel okay?”

Taiga shook her head in response. Then she clung to Minori. 

I want to be fawned on, too. Ryuuji only watched Taiga’s behavior jealously.

There, there, there! Minori rubbed at Taiga’s back and patted the small of Taiga’s back affectionately. She lifted her head up as though she realized something. “Why don’t you two take turns showering? It’ll probably refresh you a bit. Plus it looks like Ami-chan and Kitamura-kun are still sleeping.”

“What?” Taiga knitted her brows as though annoyed, but then she froze suddenly. She turned and looked at Ryuuji for a moment with mysteriously quiet eyes.

“Actually, maybe I will shower,” Taiga said. “Minorin, will you give me that towel?”

“This? This is a face towel? And I’ve used it.”

“It’s fine. You help Ryuuji in my place.”

“Is it okay with you if Taiga goes first, Takasu-kun?”

Uh, I… 

Taiga interrupted Ryuuji’s bewilderment with a snort. “There’ll be hair and grease left over if I take one after Ryuuji, I don’t want that!” She cut him down with a single stroke. 

Like I’ll let you treat me like a stray dog that hasn’t been bathed in half a year. But, of course, she didn’t seem willing to accept any ifs, ands, or buts, and swiped Minori’s towel from her neck, then pitter-pattered out of the kitchen. Ryuuji stared at her back. She wasn’t the type to take an invigorating morning shower.

“Then I, Kushieda, shall help in Taiga’s place.”

Right. It clicked. Taiga had been thinking of him. He and Minori would have time alone together. He couldn’t be so critical when she sometimes came through like this.

“Uhh, what do you want to do? What should we make? What are you doing right now?”

Her eyes were like crescent moons as Minori peeked at Ryuuji’s hands. The moment she did that, a sweet smell wafted from her hair to the tip of Ryuuji’s nose, and his hands shook. Ahh ahhh.

“W-well then…” he said. “I’m going to make the boiled eggs, so Kushieda, could you slice the onion into thin pieces?”

“Roger that. What are you putting it in?”

“In the sandwich.”

“Oh, ’dwiches, that sounds good!”

Minori, not seeming to notice Ryuuji’s nervousness at all, began muttering, “Imma not that great at English though.” (She was imitating their classmate in 2-C, Doi-kun, whose nickname was Doitchi.) Splish splish. She quickly washed her hands, grabbed an onion, and used a knife to chop off the roots and head. She peeled its skin and quickly threw it in the trash. Then she started humming as she sliced.

“You’re pretty good at that…” Ryuuji was accidentally back to where he started. As he watched Minori rhythmically use the knife, he felt like it was the first time he’d seen someone his own age doing kitchen work well. The onion slices that fluttered off the knife were uniform and so thin they were transparent. Her skills were comparable to Ryuuji’s godly technique.

“Huh? Did you just praise me? Yay, I did it!”

“This is as good as your cleaning yesterday. Is this also because of your part-time jobs?”

“I’ve never been too bad at cooking. My parents both work, and I’ve got a hungry little brother.”

“A little brother? That’s the first I’ve heard of him…”

“He’s a strapping high school baseball player. Mwa ha ha! Look, the onion is like sheer lingerie!”

Without letting her eyes leave the knife, Minori grinned and laughed. As she laughed, tears ran down her face.

“Oh, it stings…my eyes, my eyes~!” Her sniffling nose was becoming red. Everything about her was cute. 

“Right…I’ve gotta soak the lettuce in water…”

Ryuuji couldn’t look right at her. He was already embarrassingly happy that Minori was standing beside him and working with him. Even if it wasn’t obvious, Ryuuji shied away as he carefully tore the lettuce into pieces. He rinsed it, and to avoid wasting water, made sure to collect it in a clean wash bucket. He also threw some ice into it. Finally, he even wiped down the sink drain with one hand. He used his remaining hand to adjust the boiling eggs’ heat. 

“But, Takasu-kun, you really are good at cooking,” Minori said. “I already knew because Taiga told me, but it’s impressive. Yesterday’s curry was the best. Even how quickly you tear the lettuce is on a different level. There aren’t many high school boys who would say they need to soak the lettuce in the first place. I admire that.”

“Y-you think so? It’s not that big of a deal…”

If you wanted, I’d like to show you my technique for cutting decorations from cucumber, carrots, and radishes, though…Ryuuji could make a phoenix out of vegetables.

“Mmhmm, it’s amazing. I think that the way you do things so neatly is beautiful, Takasu-kun. Ha ha, the other kids in the class don’t know about this part of you, do they, Takasu-kun? It’s just Taiga and me and Ami-chan. What would you call this? It kind of feels special.”

Stop it! His heart wanted to shout, but Ryuuji just shrugged. She had gone a little too far with the praise. It was as though this girl wanted to torture him to death.

“The girl you marry will be so happy.”

That was the cincher.

As he popped open a can of tuna and watched the heat on the boiling eggs, all Ryuuji said was, “What do you mean?” However, in his heart, he was already dead. “Kyu…Kyushiedaaa?”

“What is it?! Takyasu-kyun!”

His voice had cracked. What was that? Embarrassment hit Ryuuji a moment too late, and he lost his composure further. Because of that, against his better judgment, he said, “A-about yesterday!”

What was he doing? He himself didn’t even know what he was trying to say. Of course, he couldn’t continue after that. Flustered, Ryuuji closed his mouth. What should I do, what do I do, this silence is scaring me… what do I do?

As Ryuuji became more unsettled, Minori threw the sheer onions in next to the lettuce to soak them together in the water beside him.

“Takasu-kun, about that…” she continued for him. She looked at Ryuuji’s face, her irises wide, and put her pointer finger up to her lips. Then, she lowered her voice. Shhh. “Don’t tell anyone about that. No one else knows. That’s a little… well, how would I put this…it was careless. A slip of the tongue.”

Her eyes softened with a smile. “It was a slip of the tongue, but I’m glad I talked with you about it. Thanks for listening.”

“Kushieda…”

Without thinking, he met her gaze head on and, in that moment, he could clearly see something more than a smile in Minori’s gaze. Suddenly time seemed to stop.

“Oh, waaah! The eggs!”

Bshah! The pot overflowed. The hot water boiled over and smothered the stove’s fire. The two of them hurried and turned off the switch, checking for the smell of gas.

“Do you think…it’s okay?”

“Yeah, probably.”

He wiped down the trivet with a dishcloth. He hadn’t realized it, but they were standing close to each other. Uwah. Flustered, Ryuuji immediately stepped back in an attempt to distance himself.

“You’re such a klutz, Takyasu-kun. What a cutie,” she suddenly said as she bewitched him with an open smile. 

“Aaaaaah…” Ryuuji was at a loss for words. He didn’t want to let her see his face; it was on fire. He felt like she was making fun of him, so he bopped Minori’s shoulder.

“Ow.”

It was the first time he’d bopped the girl he liked. Minori laughed, “Hee hee hee,” and wriggled her waist.

***

“Now we just do everything according to plan.”

After saying that, Kitamura, who was in nothing but his swimsuit with a towel over his shoulder, quickly walked ahead of them, gaining distance. Ryuuji and Taiga nodded slightly to each other. They held bags in each of their hands. At first glance, it looked like they were carrying the stuff for the beach—the sandwiches, drinks, towels, etc. But the truth was that at the bottom of the transparent bags, they had hidden flashlights and Ami’s homemade map, as well as all kinds of other secret tools. 

“Oh, wait, wait.” As they were in the living room of the villa, lit by the gentle morning light, Minori came in late in her terry cloth parka, flip flops with flowers on the straps, and shimmery shorts. The moment she passed Ryuuji and Taiga, her ponytail bounced up and down. Her sunscreen, drifting to Ryuuji’s nose, smelled sweet.

Ryuuji wore a T-shirt that he didn’t mind getting wet and swim trunks. Actually, the reason he wore a T-shirt was because he didn’t want to be compared to Kitamura. Taiga had on a fluttery white and green gingham dress on top of her faux boob swimsuit. Sure the shoulders are straps and you’re showing off your back, but don’t you think you’re wearing too much? he thought. Guess I’m not any better. She probably doesn’t want to be seen next to Ami in a swimsuit.

“Huh? Where’s Kawashima?”

“Ahmin was still putting sunscreen on upstairs. I asked her to come, but she told me to go ahead first.”

“But she said she’d bring a parasol with her. She can’t carry that on her own. I’ll go check on her.”

Ryuuji had Minori and Taiga go ahead as he dashed up the stairs by himself. They were going to the beach, which was right below the wood deck anyway, so he didn’t have any qualms about being left behind.

He looked around to grab the parasol so he could bring it ahead of Ami, but he couldn’t find anything that looked like it. He knocked at the door to Ami’s room, guessing that it was in there.

“Hey, I’ll take your parasol over. Where is it?” he called.

“It’s in here, so come and grab it.” Ami called from inside. 

What a lazy person. He turned the knob and stepped inside.

“The parasol’s over there.”

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“I got distracted.”

He’d discovered a sinister narcissist—or idiot—standing in front of a full-length mirror in her swimsuit. She laughed contentedly as she gathered her hair up and then let it fall down. He kept his distance so he wouldn’t have to interact with her and slowly approached the parasol.

“What do you think of this swimsuit?”

Ami, the narcissist, suddenly turned around and posed for Ryuuji. The denim bikini set off her white skin nicely, and of course, her well-proportioned figure was remarkably displayed. 

“It’s fine?”

“Huh? That’s it?”

What more was he supposed to say? Ryuuji was thinking a lot more than just “fine.” He thought the S-shaped line between her chest and her butt was charming, that the muscles of her white stomach were as beautiful as a marble statue of a goddess. If she were on the cover of a pinup magazine, like the ones in the bookstores nowadays, she would probably instantly become the most popular idol. She was pretty, and he admired her beauty, but if he said all of that, any normal person would accuse him of sexual harassment. 

“Hmm, I made my bikini debut in swim class. Maybe this isn’t fresh enough for you…?” Ami made a puzzled expression and tilted her head. “But, this part comes off.”

“Whoa!”

Schwip. She undid the large ribbon that went around her neck and acted as a strap for the top of her bikini. Fearful the top would could come off, he screamed. 

As though making a fool out of him, Ami’s bust bounced.

“Do you think this way is better?” she asked.

The bikini had become a tube top, exposing even more. The milky valley of her bust was distinct, and as she bent to look in the mirror, the soft curving swell seemed like it could spill out at any second.

“Keep it on! Keep it on!” Ryuuji yelled, practically afraid of her.

“Why?”

“No reason!”

“Then…tie it back up for me ♥.”

“No!”

He said it vehemently and jumped suddenly at the parasol. I’ll take this and get outta here fast, being alone with her is dangerous. Regardless of how well he knew that the angelic smile and moist Chihuahua eyes were fake, danger was danger. Someone, anyone, please put a “danger” sign on this girl’s back.

“Really, Takasu-kun, you’re too cold.”

Ami pursed her lips, manufactured a pout, and turned away. For a moment, her glance pierced him, like it hid some terrible maliciousness she wanted to test him with.

“…Even though you’re nice some of the time.”

Ryuuji simply turned on her. Right, I’m nice. That’s because I’m a good person.

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks. Don’t just wallow in your own narcissism. Hurry up and get ready. I’m going ahead of you.”

“What? What was that?”

If you don’t like what I said, then I’ll show you what you’re acting like. 

“Hmm, ♪ hmm,” Ryuuji slowly sang. Like Ami had been doing earlier, he posed in front of the mirror, pulling his short hair up and letting it fall down, and staring at his own face as he turned. Goosebumps covered him at the sight of his own reflection, but this was what Ami had been doing. Just for good measure he said, “Hey, Kawashima, how’s this swimsuit? Does it look good on me?”

He rolled up his T-shirt and showed her his boring, 4,980 yen swimsuit. Ami raised her eyebrows quickly. Her mouth twitched in utter disgust, her angelic features shifted, and she showed him a hint of her true face.

“How was that?” he asked. “You hate it, right? Isn’t it a pain? That’s how you are.”

“Takasu-kun, don’t you think the Palmtop Tiger’s rubbed off on you?”

“You can take this part off.”

“Don’t take it off!”

He put his hand on his front button, which he of course had no intention of undoing. 

Ami stopped him by practically pushing him away. Her light eyes stared at him. “If that’s your attitude,” she said, her lips drawn up sarcastically. “I won’t help you today.”

She hit him where it hurt. She meant the plan to scare Minori, of course. 

Ryuuji turned to Ami, flustered, “D-don’t say that!”

“Whoa. Your attitude changed pretty quick.”

He choked on his words. 

Seeing that look, Ami changed course, put her angelic mask back on and grinned, composed.

“Well, I’ll ask you right now. Takasu-kun, why are you trying so hard to make this fun for Minori-chan?”

“Uhhh…”

“Is there a reason you can’t tell me?” She blinked her large, misty eyes, stepping into Ryuuji’s space. She wouldn’t let him get away until he answered, and if he ran, she would come after him and corner him no matter where he fled. She probably knew his answer. It was possible. She knew and yet she wanted to hear it come from Ryuuji’s mouth. It was definitely possible that she wanted to tease him. 

“Hey. Hey. I said hey. If you don’t tell me, I won’t help. You have ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four… see, are you sure about this? Threeee, twoooo, oooone… hey, are you sure~?”

“…”

He bit his lip. He wouldn’t say it. He didn’t want to say it. He couldn’t tell his heart’s secrets to a girl as volatile as Ami. He didn’t want to joke about his feelings for Minori. He didn’t want to talk about them because he had been threatened. His didn’t have much of a backbone, but he refused to become someone without one at all.

Ami’s eyes narrowed. She looked at Ryuuji closely. “…Zero. I’m not helping.” She let go of him suddenly, and Ryuuji was free. Flipping her hair, she turned on her heel, leaving Ryuuji behind as she walked straight out of the room. He went after her, carrying the parasol, but Ami didn’t turn around.

The midsummer sun pierced their eyes. The heat was terribly choking.

Ryuuji laid down a picnic blanket in the sand that seemed to burn his skin as soon as he touched it and then put up the parasol.

“Yahoooooooooooooo!” The first thing Minori did was throw off her sandals and dash to the blue ocean. As she kicked the sand, she threw off her parka somewhere nearby and ran to the shoreline where the white crests glittered with spray.

“Here I go!”

What an amazing cartwheel. “Whoa!” As Ryuuji raised his voice, Minori took an energetic step and jumped amazingly high right before his eyes. When she landed, she fell down into the water, sitting and enveloped by the waves.

“Aha ha ha ha ha ha! It’s stinging my eyes!” Pwah! She brought her face out of the water and rubbed at her eyes like a child. “Come on, hurry up!” Minori waved a hand at Taiga. She was exactly like a summery goddess.

Under the parka she had taken off, Minori was wearing a striped bikini! Her skin, which shed water droplets because of her sunscreen, was dazzling as it reflected the light. Minori was practically glittering in the blue ocean. Under the blazing, midsummer sun, she waved her hands broadly so that her chest, which seemed to have a good amount of heft to it in her sporty style bra (he didn’t know if it was okay to call it that), bounced cheerfully. Ryuuji took it all in visually. The stomach she was so worried about was covered by her shorts, but it was actually magnificently taut and her bellybutton was a pretty, vertical line.

On the other hand, Taiga, who sat next to Ryuuji on the picnic blanket, groaned and furrowed her brows as the goddess called her. She balled up her body gloomily under her long dress and hid herself in the shadow of the parasol. She even hid her face behind her long hair. 

What a difference.

“What’s wrong?” Ryuuji asked. “Does your stomach hurt again? Look, Kushieda’s calling you.”

“Ugh, but, but…” She rubbed her own flat chest anxiously over the dress. “I was thinking…the pads might come out in the waves…”

Ryuuji grabbed her hand and nodded heavily. “Stop that, it’s indecent. That’s okay now. I considered what went wrong last time and took out the hooks so they’re sewed right into the lining.”

“B-but it’s not just that. I can’t swim.”

“That’s fine, too. We all know that. No one’s going to ask you to do synchronized swimming.”

“It’s the first time I’ll ever go into the ocean for real…”

“That’s also… is that true?”

Taiga wriggled and then crumpled the hem of her dress. She nodded as she played with her bare toes and hid under the parasol. She wanted to go, but she was scared of the ocean. She wanted to go, but she was embarrassed of being in a swimsuit. Her whole body emitted hesitation. 

Guess it can’t be helped, Ryuuji pushed her until she was out of the shade. “It’ll be fine no matter what, so go,” he said. “This is your first time swimming in the ocean, after all. Here, put on some sunscreen.”

“Uhh…what if I drown?”

“Kushieda will save you.”

“Aren’t the waves scary?”

“You’re definitely stronger than any wave.”

As she hesitated and wriggled timidly, Taiga raised both her hands up as though doing a banzai cheer. He pulled up her dress. Schwip. Off it came. In the shade of the parasol, her white skin and slim body seemed like it might melt. She wore a single piece swimsuit with red flowers scattered on it. The day before yesterday, they had gone on the hunt for it. Despite hysterics, despite making a commotion and hemming and hawing for three hours in the station shops, they finally bought an XS size swimsuit. It set off the color of her clear skin. Even from Ryuuji’s perspective, he thought it looked pretty good on her.

He handed her the sunscreen and had her put it on every nook and cranny of her whole body. Look there’s some left over, make sure to get your neck, look, you haven’t put it on your back, okay, once you’re done, go, he nagged her. 

Taiga hesitantly looked for Kitamura and checked that he wasn’t looking in her direction (What’s taking you so long?) as she put her hair up in an easy, messy bun. She ran to the shoreline toward Minori.

“It’s cold!”

Like someone who carelessly tried to get into a too-hot bath, she pulled her foot away as the waves washed over it. She stared at the quietly approaching crest as though she had a grudge against it. Taiga really was a member of the feline family, so water might have been against her nature. Though tigers at least knew how to swim.

Kitamura was slightly further off, arguing with Ami about something. Their words were lost beneath the sound of the waves, but occasionally Ryuuji could make them out.

“According to the plan, you and I are supposed to…”

“What~? But that’s kind of laaame.”

“But what will I do without you? I don’t know what it looks like in there.”

“Can’t you use the map I made you? This is such a pain.”

According to their plan, Taiga and Ryuuji were supposed to keep Minori busy while Kitamura and Ami went to the cave and set up several traps to scare her. But Ami, obviously, was in a “Lame,” “Shut up,” “I don’t feel like it” mood. She didn’t even seem concerned about acting like a good girl in front of Kitamura.

“I’m going to take a nap. Sorry, Yuusaku, good luck doing it on your own. I’ll pass. I’m not concerning myself with this.” Ami ended the conversation and came back under the parasol. She lay down on her side next to Ryuuji, who was on the sheet. 

“Oh, did you hear? You don’t have any complaints because this was your choice, right, Takasu-kun~?” Her smile was charming, but she was clearly looking down on him as she whispered, “If you’d really like, I could ask you the question again? Just kidding. I lied. I wasn’t actually that interested to begin with.”

“…”

Shall I fart on you?

Actually, that wasn’t something he could do on command. Ryuuji ignored Ami and stood up, and he approached Kitamura, who was at a loss.

“We can’t do anything about her. Let’s go together.”

“Seriously, I can’t believe Ami… it’s okay, Takasu, you stay here. We could have tricked Minori by saying something happened to the electricity or something at the villa, and that Ami couldn’t fix it by herself, but it’ll seem suspicious if it’s the two of us. I’ll go on my own.”

“Will you be okay?”

“I’ve prepared the traps themselves. Piece of cake, so…hey! Kushieda! Aisaka!”

“What?” Minori answered from the waves in a carefree voice as she pulled on a terrified Taiga’s arm, making her walk into the ocean.

“I’m off to pooooooo!” Kitamura yelled in a bold, guttural voice. Minori fell right over into the ocean. Waugh. Taiga also lost balance and sank. 

Are you fine with this? Ryuuji pretty much gasped, but it seemed Kitamura was indeed fine with that.

“Well, Takasu, I’m leaving the rest up to you.”

Fwip. Kitamura saluted and stealthily took the secret tools as he walked over to the villa. He was only pretending to go back and slipped around the side toward the inlet.

“Ah-eee, my mouth is salty… wait, what was going on with Kitamura-kun?! What’s he trying to show off coming out naked and announcing he’s going to the bathroom?”

“I’m tired…” 

Coming by as Kitamura was leaving and sopping wet, Minori and Taiga held each other’s hands. Taiga had just only gotten into the ocean.

“You just went in, how are you tired?”

“After being exhausted and turning five cartwheels in the sand, anyone would be tired.”

The feline eyes she sharply turned to him were bloodshot and creased. She glared at Ryuuji with a fiery gaze.

Right, that’s true…Ryuuji fell silent. In front of him, Minori and Taiga gulped down the bottled tea they had brought. 

Then Minori jabbed at Ami’s shoulder. “Ahmin, you play in the ocean, too! Or maybe you’re not feeling well? Are you tired?” Minori looked at Ami’s pale profile with concern.

“Hmmm, yeah… I’ll go later,” Ami said. She plastered a thin smile on her face as she gently refused Minori. 

Taiga dribbled tea over her chin (she was in a swimsuit, so he let it pass) and stared at Ami. Then, though he didn’t know what she was thinking, Taiga put a hand on Ami’s white back and started shaking her.

“Dimhuahua, try swimming,” Taiga said.

“What? What, no. I want to sleep.” Of course, Ami immediately turned away and ignored Taiga. But, even that didn’t deter Taiga.

“Why not? You can entertain me with your usual lewd behavior.”

“You know what…fine. I don’t care. It’s worthless talking with you.”

“Then try eating this.” Taiga grabbed a sandwich with her still-wet hand and brought it up to Ami’s mouth without hesitation. She pushed it against Ami’s lips, even though she was being ignored.

“Really, what’s with you?! You’re so annoying! You just want me to eat this, right?” Ami got up and gloomily stole the sandwich from Taiga’s small hand. She took a big bite from it.

“Oh. Ahmin, that’s… the one I made for myself…” Minori said.

“Minori was eating them like they were delicious. I wondered what they were like.”

“Ack ugh…guh…”

Ami writhed in agony. The cross section of the sandwich she let fall to the ground was violently mustard colored… no—it was actual mustard. She coughed violently and regained her breath by chugging down oolong tea, taking Ryuuji’s arm as she gulped.

“T-Takasu-kun…could you…?” She hung her head, swayed as she stood, and firmly grabbed him. Then she gradually dragged Ryuuji to the shoreline.

“Wh-what do I have to do with this?! Don’t take this out on others!”

“Shut up. Keep quiet. That spoiled, bratty tiger’s sins… Are! Your! Sins!”

In a surprisingly vengeful attack, she kicked his butt. Ryuuji turned a somersault and fell into the ocean. The waves swept him away, and he rolled one, two, three times over the sand. His vision was white from the foam. Though he couldn’t tell up from down, he somehow groped for the sand and stood. 

Ami’s next target for revenge was Minori. “Minori-chan. Here’s a really fun idea.” She turned her demonic smile on Minori.

“Whaaat iiis iiit, Ahmin?”

“There’s a really beautiful cave near the inlet. It’s a very pretty place, so I was thinking everyone could go and explore it, and have a walk through it in the afternoon. Do you want to go?”

“Whoa, that sounds fun! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Ami’s grudges went bone-deep. In the end, she’d helped with the plan. She grabbed Taiga’s arm. “Right, hey, hey, Aisaka-san, I’ll show you some swimming. I’ll show you how to swim.”

“Th-That’s fine. That’s fine, it’s fine, it’s okay…I said it’s okay! Hey, Dimhuahua, I won’t let this go without a fight! No! I said nooo! Ryuuji, help me!” Taiga’s face twitched as Ami pulled her toward the shoreline. The water splashed as they stepped.

Farewell, Taiga. He was only kidding. No matter where they went in the shallow beach, the water would only reach Taiga’s bellybutton.

***

After they played in the ocean for a while, they returned to the villa. They took turns using the shower to wash their hair and change into fresh clothes. Then they took a break to eat the leftover sandwiches and potage, until finally, the sun was slanting at a nice angle.

If they went when it was still bright out, the atmosphere wouldn’t be right, so they took their time getting ready.

“Whoa, is this it?! Is…this…it…?”

It was about a fifteen-minute walk from the villa.

“Yeah, this is it.”

“…” Minori was at a loss for words as she looked between Ami, who turned to her with a thin smile, and the entrance to the cave.

The inlet was a rugged and rocky tract, and the craggy rock, which had been eroded by the waves into a cliff, continued straight up to the forest. The dark opening went into the bowels of the rock, its mouth stretched wide with unfortunately unapologetic creepiness. 

The front of the cave was almost three meters tall and three meters wide and was so deep they couldn’t figure out how far back it went. On top of that, the entrance was also marked with a large, lone wooden sign that said “Danger!” In actuality, it was just a sign Kitamura had put up himself.

Minori looked in, gingerly hugging herself with her supple arms. “I-It kind of doesn’t seem like a walk. More like a test of courage? That’s…what it seems like, right? Huh, it says ‘danger.’ Aha ha…ha ha… M-Maybe I’ll wait here…” She nonchalantly tried to turn on her heel. 

“Hey, hey, what’s that now?” Kitamura clutched Minori’s shoulders. Completely sunburned, he pulled and pushed Minori, laughing as he directed her to the cave entrance.

“Isn’t it a pretty spot for a walk?” he asked. “We’re making our last memories on this trip.”

“U-uhh…but it’s kind of… I get scared easily, right? This is kind of…creepy…and it feels like something will jump out at us… I don’t need a memory like this. So… sorry, let’s stop, really. It says it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous, right?”

“I’ve been playing here since I was little. It’s fine,” Ami said smoothly. 

As though to pressure her even more, Kitamura added, “Kushieda, if you say something like that, something really will jump out at us.”

What will? Minori’s mouth couldn’t clearly form words. 

Kitamura stared at Minori as her eyes twitched. “You have got to know that whole deal. Like how otherworldly things will appear when you’re doing a séance. That’s what happens when you tell a hundred ghost stories in a row, too.”

“That doesn’t seem like something you should tell someone who’s easily scared…”

“Right, so you just need to tell yourself you’re not scared at all. There really isn’t anything in there. This is a chance to observe nature with your own eyes, right? There might even be animals you’ve never seen before.”

“Riiight… it’s fine if it’s just animals…”

Ryuuji and Taiga distanced themselves a bit, sighing as they watched the exchange.

“Bringing Kitamura in on the plan might have been the right thing to do.”

“That fast talker. He’s so cool.”

You think so? Ryuuji tilted his head. He didn’t have any medicine or Kusatsu spring water to use on Taiga as she grinned, her eyes glittering. But, it was true that Minori seemed unable to reject Kitamura’s invitation and, though he felt bad for Minori, he needed to do everything in his power to scare her as much as he could. The only chance Ryuuji had left was to just protect Minori when she was frightened. It was different from their original plan, but since they had come this far, they could only go through with it.

“Okay, then let’s go, Kitamura exploration team! I’m red, Takasu is black, Kushieda is blue, Aisaka is pink, Ami is also black!”

I-I’m pink… Why am I black?! You’ve got to be skin-colored, then. Everyone say yea to ignore red.

“Does everyone have their flashlights?! Who wants to see a golden cobra?!”

Yeah! The team members ignored the second half of what he said. They turned on their slightly unreliable flashlights and lit the inside of the dark cave. It was wide enough that two adults could stagger around with their arms outstretched and walk abreast all the way to the end. In the very middle, there was a depression in the rock where seawater flowed like a river. It was wide and tall enough to seem safe to go in, but it was more than deep and dark enough to scare Minori.

“Start marching!”

“Uhh, it’s dark. Wait, Kitamura-kun.” Minori fearfully followed after Kitamura. Taiga and Ryuuji continued behind him.

“Hey, Kawashima. We’re going.”

“…”

Ami came last. She sighed laboriously and scratched her head as though the exploration was obviously lame.

The sound of their five pairs of sandals against the wet rock, and the sound of the small river of seawater echoed in the narrow but refreshing cold place.

“Uhh…it’s dark, it’s narrow, I’m scared…”

They hadn’t done anything, but Minori was already half-crying. She looked around, bent forward anxiously as she walked.

Soon they would reach the first hurdle Kitamura had described. Ryuuji let his sharp gaze dart left and right. As he did that, he firmly grasped the tie of Taiga’s dress. Taiga, who had previously made a big fuss (“Shuddup!” “Pervert!”), was about to fall down for the fourth time, and Ryuuji was holding her up. When he saved her again, even she held her tongue this time.

Taiga looked slightly meek as she turned back to Ryuuji once. It was coming soon—according to Kitamura, “The first trial…Airborne Attack.”

They had failed to ask what it would be, but according to Kitamura, he had set up a terrifying device using a prize-winning idea that operated on the laws of physics and the smallest amount of human power. After receiving such an extravagant explanation, even Ryuuji’s heart was thumping. What amazing thing would happen? Could he protect Minori from it?

Kitamura, who walked ahead, cast a nonchalant but meaningful look at Ryuuji, who followed behind. It looked like something was about to happen. Ryuuji tensed, nervous, as right before his eyes, Kitamura kicked something, undoing a thread hidden between some rocks so that Minori wouldn’t notice. Something flew at them, swinging like a pendulum on a string. 

“I feel kind of creeped out…” It passed silently on Minori’s right silently as she turned to the left.

“Blech…” Next to Ryuuji, it licked Taiga’s face. And then, because it was a pendulum, it came back.

“Uh…” Ami bent backwards at the last moment and was safe.

“Whoa…” It splatted on the back of Ryuuji’s head and came to a rest.

What remained was a hanging piece of fried tofu, swaying to and fro as it pleased. Kitamura turned around, his face practically twitching.

“Wow! Oh, that scared me! What is this? A sea cucumber? Seriously!” There was one sea cucumber stuck to the rock wall. 

After seeing that, Minori fell on her butt. 

“My…my face…”

Taiga’s cheek had been done in by the tofu. It was smeared with oil that noticeably gleamed and glittered even in the dark. This is terrible. Ryuuji glared at Kitamura, but noticing Taiga’s state, he laughed despite himself. “Bah-ha!” He was unaware of the oil smearing the back of his own head. Naturally, he got a silent knee to the liver and dropped without a sound, but Minori didn’t notice that, either.

The first trial was a failure. 

Right. Ryuuji realized the truth. Kitamura got good grades, but at his core, he was an unredeemable idiot. “That’s Maruo’s best trait. ♥” “Maruo-kun is cute. ♥” An illusion of the girls that were Kitamura’s ardent fans danced and fluttered about in the dark.

They continued through the twisting, turning cave for a while until finally Kitamura raised his voice. “Whoa!”

This was the signal for the second trial. After the mediocre nature of the first one, Ryuuji didn’t expect much, but according to Kitamura, the second trial had taken the most time and effort to set. This one was titled, “The Drowned.” Next to Ryuuji, the shiny-cheeked Tiger bent sharply forward, still expecting to be hit by one of Kitamura’s contraptions.

Minori turned, terrified. “What, what is it?! What’s wrong?! A sea cucumber?!”

“No, it’s not!” Kitamura grabbed Minori’s shoulders and pushed her forward. 

Naturally, Minori was confused and planted her sandaled feet desperately. “No, no, hey, wait! Wait, wait!”

In spite of her objections, Kitamura mercilessly shone his flashlight on a slightly gloomy, distant rock. Then, in a loud voice, he said, “There, look! What in the world is that?!”

“Shut up,” Ami’s sober mutter echoed.

They dropped into silence.

“Hm? What? I don’t see it.”

Ahhh! Ryuuji and Taiga held their heads. Why, why is it like this…? Ahh, make it stop.

“W-well, look, can’t you kind of…see something over there?”

“Hmm~? I don’t see anything though. Maybe I should get glasses, too. Kitamura, what’s your prescription? Lately I haven’t really been able to see things that are really far away. At least, when I went to get my eyesight measured in the spring, I was a 0.5.”

“What?! That’s super nearsighted!”

“Really? Is it really? Whoa, no way. I haven’t had any trouble in class, so I was thinking I’d be okay as-is for a while.”

“But that’ll hurt you during matches. You should really think about getting glasses or contacts.”

Why are you talking about eyesight? No longer able to press it, Ryuuji scratched his oily head. It didn’t really matter, but he had neatly pocketed the fried tofu from before (he always carried a small plastic bag).

And it really, really didn’t matter, but the bloated body that Kitamura had placed there was actually an old, discarded fishing net and a worn-out sheet that he had made into a mysterious Ultimate All-Purpose Humanoid Curio. And it really, really, really didn’t matter, but Ryuuji wished Kitamura hadn’t drawn its mouth in as a circle. It looked like…something else.

“Hey, Taiga, what should we do? Kitamura’s an idiot.”

“Don’t bad-mouth Kitamura-kun. He must have something up his sleeve for the next one.” As they had this whispered conversation, Taiga scowled and glared at Ryuuji.

“But, actually, caves feel pretty refreshing, don’t they?” Minori said. As she spoke, she completely missed the red-painted rock, which was the third trial, “Red That Cannot Be Erased.”

Taiga, however, seemed to have noticed.

“What should we do…?” Her voice dropped gloomily.

Ryuuji just took a breath. He didn’t even feel like reproaching Kitamura. He was just exasperated—after all, Kitamura had said, “The three terrifying trials that will assail Kushieda! The first trial will leave her crying and shrieking, the second will bring her to the verge of fainting, and the third will make her soul leave her body! I think!” He regretted not making the contraptions himself, or having Ami do it. At this rate, their cave exploration would end in this tepid, foolish atmosphere. Ryuuji’s summer would come to a close without any real developments.

Lost in thought and wondering what to do, he stopped in place, crossing his arms. 

“Huh, what’s wrong, Takasu-kun? If you stop walking in a place like that, then you’ll be left behi—ahhhhhhhhhhh!”

Minori’s long-awaited scream echoed in the dark.

It couldn’t be, he thought. It couldn’t be but…

“S-sorry! Takasu-kun…um…I think you really shouldn’t use your flashlight to light your face from below in a dark place like this…”

But.

He stood stock still in astonishment. How horrible. To think his own face was a horror contraption itself…

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

Beside him, Taiga burst into laughter, like some dire bird peering into this world from hell. She pointed at Ryuuji, and her face twisted as though it were sincerely funny. She clutched her stomach, teared up, laughing so hard she started coughing. Then, she saw Ryuuji’s face and once again sputtered, “Ufhah! Ha ha ha ha! Ryuuji, you’re…like…ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

“I-I hate you! Whoa!”

The moment he tried to turn away from Taiga in anger, his foot slipped on a wet tract of rock. Schwoop! He fell disgracefully on his butt.

“Ah, are you okay, Takasu-kun?! Be careful!”

Minori ran over to him. His face felt like it was on fire, and he refused the hand she offered. Flustered, he braced himself against a rock and tried to stand, when…

Plat.

“…Uh.”

He felt something wet on his hand. It seemed to entangle him…like thread. He held it up and turned the flashlight on it.

“Eek…!” Minori fell backwards. She crawled away wordlessly and clung to Taiga’s feet. She pointed at his hand, and her mouth opened desperately, but she couldn’t speak.

We did it! She’s scared! But this wasn’t the time to rejoice. Ryuuji had also been surprised for a moment. The thing tangled on his hand was hair. It was wet and wrapped around his fingers, hanging smoothly as it held the droplets of water adhering to it. What is this? He was confused, then it clicked.

Kitamura had finally made a creepy trap. The one who had actually fallen into it was Ryuuji, but Minori was also more than scared enough. So Kitamura did indeed have a fourth trial. In the end, this was the “Hair’s Dilemma” or something like that.

“T-T-T-T-Taka-Takasu clinic-kun! Wh-wh-wh-what is that?!”

“It’s hair… It’s gross!” He shook the tangled hair from his hand and grimaced dramatically. Finally, it clicked again. Huh. Come to think of it, wasn’t the hair on my pillow last night like this, too? But he hadn’t told Kitamura about that.

“Ah…gyaa! Gyaah! It really is scary! It’s scarryyyyy! We’re cursed! We’ve been cursed by something, something in here, ugyaaaaa!” Minori panicked. Still, no one understood why she was so worried as she hit the rock walls and screamed, “Let me out!” 

As Kitamura tried to calm her down her, he whispered into Ryuuji’s ear. “Takasu, nice assist. You really put in the work.”

Huh?

For a moment, he thought someone had splashed cold water over his face. But no, it was his blood leaving him. His stomach sank to his toes, and his face and fingertips chilled like ice.

“T-T-Ta…”

He grabbed Taiga’s arm. He grabbed her shoulders. 

“Don’t get overfamiliar.” She shook him off.

He grabbed her again.

“Seriously, what’s your problem, horror face?!”

“Taiga…just, just now, that hair…”

“Yeah, yeah, I saw it. Kitamura-kun finally did it. See, Kitamura-kun really does know what he’s doing.”

“No. It wasn’t Kitamura. I also—I haven’t told him about yesterday. Don’t you see? It’s the same as before! Right? The pillow hair, that definitely was—”

In the dark, Taiga’s charming little mouth opened with a “Pwah.” Her feline eyes widened, reflecting the light. 

At that moment, Minori came by. “Uwaaahn! Taiga, hold my hand! Walk with me! Kitamura-kun, why are you still going innnn?!”

“No, this is supposed to be the exit. Really. Ha ha ha!” 

As Kitamura laughed, Minori latched onto Taiga and carried her after him. Left behind, Ryuuji shook. This was bad. His feet were frozen in place, and he couldn’t walk.

“Ka…Kawashima?” He noticed Ami sluggishly following. He stretched out his hand desperately.

“What? What’s wrong? You’re not scared, are you?” She seemed to spit out the words.

He couldn’t afford to be hurt or irritated by that now. “J-just walk with me! Okay?!”

“N-O.”

“Why not?!” He abandoned his pride, but Ami didn’t spare him as she huffed and spat, her face contorted with spite.

“Ahh…I’ve had enough,” she said. “This idiotic scene you’re making isn’t fun at all. It’s lame. I can’t keep going along with it. I told you before that I’m not helping you anymore. I did in the end…and I stayed with you this far, so that’s good enough, right? I’m taking a different route to get back to the villa early.”

“Wai… hey! Kawashima!” He tried to stop her but couldn’t. Wondering what he should do, Ryuuji looked at Kitamura and the others, but the three of them had already disappeared. They had left him behind. That meant he only had one path to choose.

“I’ll go with you, too!”

“What? You’re so annoying. Don’t you have to take care of your cute Minori-chan and that anxiety-inducing Palmtop Tiger?”

“Shut up!”

He couldn’t say, they left me behind. Though Ryuuji still worried about what was behind them, he went down a side road with Ami.

***

“H-hey…do you really know where you’re going?”

“Yes. This was my secret base. I played in it when I was little.”

Ami capitalized on her long legs and took big strides. She didn’t even pay attention to the seawater overflowing the passageway as she continued to walk. Ryuuji could only follow her, but he couldn’t hide his anxiety. He couldn’t calm himself as he looked at his surroundings and pitifully tried not to fall behind.

“I wonder if Kitamura and the others realized we headed back to the villa? What if they’re looking for us…?”

“What? Why are you so nervous? Are you that worried about being away from the others?” Suddenly, Ami stopped and turned to him. Her eyes glittered like stars in the faint light of the flashlight.

“Well, because—”

He thought of telling her everything.

He thought of telling her about the strange phenomenon from the night before, and then about what had happened earlier. Ryuuji felt like there was definitely some strange being breathing down his neck. If he told Ami, though, she would be frightened. It was just the two of them in this darkness and he wasn’t that dependable. Of course, if he told her about everything, it would be impossible for him to tell her to keep calm.

“I’m not that great with dark places.”

“Hmm?”

Ami lifted her chin like Taiga did and looked at Ryuuji. Her face was really beautiful. It was difficult to guess the swirl of emotions in her eyes no matter how much he looked into them. The closest guess he had was provocation.

“Well then, what would you do if I left you here, Takasu-kun?” Hm? She smiled spitefully. “Hey, you scared? If you got separated from me, would you be anxious? Would you be lonely?”

“Huh?”

“Answer me. Takasu-kun. Do you not want to be away from me? Do you need me?”

Ami closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. She narrowed her large eyes slightly, but her gaze was steady. She snuggled up to him as though to touch Ryuuji’s chin with the tip of her nose, but Ryuuji didn’t have room in his heart for her to tease him in that way. Though he was shaken by the feeling of her soft skin, he pushed her away.

“Th-this isn’t the time for that!”

He tried to think of how to tell Ami that there was actually something strange going on. How could he keep her from becoming scared but tell her that it wasn’t the time to be joking around?

“It’s not the time for this? Ohhh, I see. Are you trying to say you want to hurry up and get back to everyone so you can scare Kushieda together~?”

Seriously? Of course she didn’t get it. Ahh, seriously. As Ryuuji writhed, a slightly chilly smile blossomed on Ami’s pretty features. Then, stooping slightly, she put her finger on her lips and looked at him with upturned eyes and a pinup pose.

“Takasu-kun, I don’t think Minori suits you.”

What was she saying?

“Wha…? I-It’s not like…but… why are you suddenly saying that?!”

“Did that rattle you?”

As Ami laughed wickedly, she turned her back to him. Returning to her normal voice, she muttered, “I think someone who would suit you, Takasu-kun, might be…”

She cut herself off and sighed.

“Want to know?” she asked. She kept her back to him. The hair falling on the strap of her tank top undulated faintly against her shoulders, and, for a moment, he could see the white line of her delicate profile. 

He was tired of being a plaything, so he spoke in the lowest voice he could possibly muster. “Not really,” he simply said.

“Then I won’t tell you. I’m. Going. Off. First. Bye. ♥”

“What?!”

Her taunt came fast as lightning. Although she knew he was scared, she suddenly dashed away.

“K-Kawashima! Hey, wait! Kawashima!”

Ami didn’t answer him. She didn’t even turn around. They were in a rocky tract, but her feet were as light as a wild goat’s as she ran further and further away. He could hear her splashing as she moved faster. As though she were trying to shake off Ryuuji, she ran into increasingly narrow side roads that twisted and turned.

With just her tiny light to rely on, Ryuuji followed desperately, short of breath and anxious. Ami seemed like she was dashing aimlessly.

“Hey! Wai—! Wait! Please, wait for me! Do you really know where you’re going?!”

When he finally grabbed her elbow, Ami didn’t try to brush him off. She suddenly looked around, unexpectedly.

“Huh? I’m lost,” she said. Having said that, she fluttered to the ground. 

I knew it. What should we do now? You don’t understand the situation we’re in. The thoughts he couldn’t say crowded him like a tsunami.

“I-It’s fine! I’m sure Kitamura and the others are looking for us! Don’t be scared. I’m here!”

Though he felt like he was about to collapse, he still gave her an uncertain smile so Ami wouldn’t become worried. That was all he had. He firmly gripped her shoulders.

“Takasu-kun, sooorry!”

“No! You don’t have to apologize!”

“No, sorry, sorry. I lied about getting lost.”

Fwop. His jaw dropped self-consciously. 

Ami twisted and looked at Ryuuji with her upturned, misty Chihuahua eyes. “No way, it’s not like I’d actually do something that reckless. Use your head.” She booped the tip of his nose with her pointer finger. 

Ryuuji firmly grabbed that finger. “Guh! Guh! Guh!”

“Wah! No! Wait! I said sorry! No!”

He kept her from running as he swung the plastic bag of fried tofu and attacked Ami with it. He was irritated—seriously irritated. He had been genuinely worried for her, but… This-this-this girl!

“Puh. Aha ha!”

As she was pummeled by the fried tofu, Ami burst out laughing. 

I’ll say it, but she’s the funny one right now. She was the one getting fried tofu punches that bounced off her chin and cheek, after all.

“Th-this isn’t the time to laugh! I was actually scared, okay?!”

“Oof, aha ha! Sorry, sorry…but look! Because, Takasu-kun, you’re like a kid! Aha ha ha, stop with the fried tofu!”

“Damn it… treating me like an idiot…”

He released Ami, still laughing and wriggling. Ryuuji stared at the fried tofu. Yeah, it’s fine. As expected of the fried tofu, it hadn’t broken apart.

“Takasu-kun, you’re really like…an unfortunate guy, aren’t you?”

“Shut up.”

Gasping for breath, Ami stood leaning against the wall and rubbed the tears from the corners of her eyes. “But, that unfortunate part, that part of you that got mad and swung around the fried tofu, I don’t not like that. Okay, look. Stop looking at the fried tofu. Listen to me.”

“I’m listening.”

“You and Minori-chan aren’t right for each other, I said that, right? It’s true. You couldn’t hit Minori-chan with fried tofu, right? And you couldn’t pretend to be a narcissist in front of Minori-chan.” Ami finally stopped laughing. Her usually cool eyes lit up. She stared at Ryuuji’s feet.

“And also…” she added. “Takasu-kun, it’s because you’re the moon.”

“What?”

“Minori-chan is the sun. If you’re by her, you’ll burn up and disappear, I think. If you just yearn for her, you’ll never be equal. But you could become equal with someone—someone like me.”

“The only thing that’s equal between us is our heights,” he said.

Minori was as glaring as the sun—he knew that from the start. So he admired her from afar. He fell in love. Ami didn’t have the right to pick that apart with her words.

“…”

“That’s what I think. That I can be equal with you.”

Before Ryuuji realized it, her cool fingers entwined his wrist. Ami stood at Ryuuji’s side and though she touched him with her fingers, she didn’t continue any further. She just quietly softened her expression and looked sincerely at him.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with Aisaka Taiga anymore. It’s just what I think. I thought it and I said it, that’s all. You don’t need to mistake it for anything else.”

She separated from him in the blink of an eye and backed away. As though she were dancing, she turned around to face him with her angelic smile back in place and brushed up her hair as she spoke.

After they had been walking for a while, Ryuuji’s flashlight suddenly dimmed and began flashing on and off.

“Huh? Did the battery run out?”

“Huh. Mine, too,” Ami said. Her flashlight also flickered with nearly the same timing, as though about to go out.

“Hey, this isn’t good. If we don’t have light, we’ll be in total darkness.”

“Geh. Even I might not be able to find the way out if that happens. The exit is still ahead of us.”

“Let’s meet up with Kitamura and the others.”

They nodded at each other and then started running at the same time. This wasn’t a laughing matter. This was actually an emergency.

For a while, they ran in earnest desperation until they finally heard voices.

“Kawashima! It’s Taiga and everyone else’s voices!”

“Yeah, I heard them!”

Dependent on the flickering light, they once again went down a narrow side path.

“Uwah, mine is done for!”

“Grab on! Hurry!”

Ryuuji, who was in front, held out his hand. Ami’s flashlight died as her thin fingers gently grabbed Ryuuji’s. He gripped them back firmly. Ami must have been scared because she was a girl. He had to protect her.

Then finally, the two of them practically tumbled out into the wide main path.

“Ugyaaaaaaaaah! You scared me!” Minori screamed.

“Unyaah!” Taiga fell in surprise.

“Takasu and Ami! Where were you? I thought you wandered away!”

“W-we did wander away! You left us behind! More importantly, our flashlights are acting weird. We can’t use Kawashima’s anymore, and mine is about to die, too.”

“Yours too?!” Kitamura exclaimed.

Ryuuji was practically at a loss for words. When he looked, he saw Taiga’s dead flashlight in her hand as Minori pulled her wrist up. The flashlights Minori and Kitamura were holding also flickered, wavering unreliably. 

Ryuuji’s light went out. “Wah, we’re done for!”

“No way, wait, no no no! What’s going to happen if they all stop working?! Are we still going to be able to get out?!” Minori shrieked. She seemed close to tears.

“N-no, if we keep along the wall and go all the way back… we didn’t go down a single side path all the way here.”

“But! But we’ve already walked so far! We can’t go back the way we came, it’s impossible! And if we follow the wall and stuff, we’ll go down more and more side paths! We’ll end up going around in circles! And, uwahh, it went out!”

Misfortunes tended to snowball. In that moment, Minori’s light also suddenly went out. In the remaining glow of Kitamura’s faint flashlight, Minori frantically latched onto Ami and Taiga’s arms. Ryuuji also immediately stepped toward, staying close behind the girls so they at least wouldn’t be separated.

“Hey, you come here, too—”

Then they returned to silence.

Kitamura’s flashlight went out. The pitch black surrounded them. There was not one ray of light coming through. As Ryuuji’s ears sharpened, he heard someone gulp. The water continued rushing by.

“Sorry… I’m a little… I got too worked up and don’t feel good… I can’t keep standing…”

“Huh?! M-Minorin?!”

“No way, Minori-chan?! Seriously?!”

“Kushieda!”

In the darkness, they heard Minori fall. Ryuuji moved his hands, absorbed in trying to pull Minori upright.

“It’s okay, I’ve got Kushieda!” Kitamura said.

Ryuuji was relieved.

“Wh-what is that…sound?”

“Huh? No way. It sounds like something’s being dragged. What is it?”

Shhrk, shhrk. The low sound was very close. Then they heard something like breathing. Something seemed to be crawling around them.

“Ryuuji…where are you? Ryuuji…”

“I’m here!”

A small hand grazed his cheek. It’s Taiga, he realized and stretched out his arm reflexively to grab her waist. This time, even Taiga didn’t wail, but stuck close by him. The mysterious noise kept going. Ryuuji felt like he might faint.

This had to be a dream. Maybe it was a nightmare.

If it was real, something might attack therm. They might even die. Yasuko’s face drifted into Ryuuji’s mind. If something happened to him, Yasuko wouldn’t survive. Then, nothing would remain. If he was going to die, he should have confessed to Minori sooner. If she’d rejected him, or if he grossed her out, or their friendship ended, it wouldn’t matter if they died.

Even the dog dream that had shaken him and Taiga was several times better than this reality. It would have been unfortunate and pitiful, but he might have been happy in it. 

Taiga had been there, and Yasuko had been there, and even Inko-chan had been there, and though it was a doghouse, they still had a house. Even though they were dogs, they had a lot of kids, and Yasuko seemed happy as she held her grandchildren. He should have told Taiga. She probably would have beaten him up, but he would have been fine if he could have just gotten a brief word in with her.

Unexpectedly, he thought he might have been fine with that.

“Kyaah!”

His thoughts were broken by Ami’s scream.

“Can you hear it?! Hey, you can hear it, right?! No way! What is this?! What is this?!”

Ryuuji heard it, too. It was a roar that seemed to crawl low to the ground. It couldn’t be a human voice. It was unpleasant, and terrifying, and he couldn’t imagine it being anything other than a monster.

“Damn…iiiiit…” Taiga muttered in a low voice that rivaled the monster’s. “If it’s going to be like this then…do iiiiiiiiit! Come at me, you joooooke!”

Taiga’s tiger-like nature might have been awakening. As soon as she shouted into the dark, she shook off Ryuuji’s hand and tried to stand. 

Wait a second, I’m begging you not to fight it. Ryuuji firmly pulled her back. “Stop, Taiga! It’s dangerous, even for you!”

“Shut up! I’m not going to just stand by and take it! If I’m going to die anyway, I’m going to die fighting! I can almost see it!”

“You’ve got to be kidding, right?!”

Born under the star of the ferocious tiger, she was so feline she might actually have had night vision. That was Aisaka Taiga. If she didn’t like you, she’d bite you. If she deemed you an enemy, she’d bare her claws. Her small body was filled to the brim with a superhuman will and ferocity. “RAAARGH!” she roared. “RAAAAAH! I’m goooooiiinnnnggg!!!”

“STOOOOOP IIIIIIIIIIT!”

Though her cry was robust, and her strength impressive, Ryuuji’s shout tore through the cave louder than Taiga’s. He was so absorbed in pulling back the raging Taiga that he desperately held her against Ami.

“Stop, we all have to calm down! What good is panicking at a time like this?! First, we do a roll call! One!”

“T-two!” Ami’s wavering, teary voice returned.

“Threeee!” It was like a bark. That was Taiga. 

“We’ve got no four or fiiiiiiiive?!!”

Ryuuji was close to collapsing. Four and five—those should have been Minori and Kitamura. Taiga practically bolted from Ryuuji’s arms.

“Miiiinooooriiiiin! Kiiiitaaaamuuuuraaa-kuuun!” she desperately called out to her unresponsive best friend and sweetheart. “Ah!” She slipped and fell. It was dark, and he couldn’t see, but Ryuuji assumed it had happened. Taiga’s scream echoed as she lost Ryuuji’s hand. Then, splash! He heard the sound of water.

“T-Taiga?! Did you fall?!”

“Puh! Upwah! Waaaaaaah!”

Ryuuji crawled toward the sound of the splashing on all fours, losing himself in the darkness. He desperately waved around his arms and grabbed something that at least seemed like it could be Taiga’s arm. He needed to hurry and pull her up.

“Taiga, are you okay?!” Minori’s voice was strangely loud. “Stop! Stooooooop! Kitamura-kun, we’ve had an accident! Rescue Taiga!”

“Roger that!”

Two flashlights turned on.

Kitamura, who was standing slightly away from them, held one of them. Then, the other one was…

“Y-you…”

“Mwahaha! We can’t do anything now that you’ve found us out. We can’t run and hide anymore. I am Kushieda Minori, better known as Minorin!”

The last sound that came out of the microphone in her hand didn’t sound human. It sounded like a monster. She held the microphone to her stomach instead of her mouth.

What Ryuuji was holding wasn’t Taiga’s arm but her leg. Taiga was in about twenty centimeters of water, the leg that Ryuuji had grabbed up in the air, was making a fuss as she tried to hide her underwear. She still hadn’t noticed the situation. Actually, Ryuuji and Ami still didn’t understand what was going on either.

Why? What? What did Minorin do?