Though Taiga was as troublesome and touchy as ever, she was currently ignoring Ami completely, and while Ami might have still been frantically putting on her good-girl act in front of her new friends, she didnât seem to be provoking Taiga into a fight or anything. She might go as far as to look in RyĆ«jiâs direction with her Chihuahua-like eyes every once in a while, but she didnât do anything more.
Nevertheless, these fellows who shared a mutual dislike were in the same class after all. When they happened to pass by one another or hear the otherâs voice, things fortunately ended as near missesâhowever, that didnât mean that they wouldnât stare silently at one another or engage in some sort of battle of wills for a few seconds. But even so, for as long as RyĆ«ji had been watching during the past several days, Ami and Taiga had not exchanged words face to face even a single time.
If they could somehow peacefully get through the year like thisâŠNo, he really hoped they could continue like this all the way to graduation. An event that crushed RyĆ«jiâs tiny hope into even smaller pieces occurred around the time when they switched uniforms in the latter half of May.
âTakasu~! You free now?! Iâve got some really great news!â
It was late afternoon; homeroom was finally over and they had been released from school.
Wearing glinting black-rimmed glasses and playing with the ends of his purposely messy hair, Noto was all happy-go-lucky as he walked over to RyĆ«jiâs seat.
âHaruta said heâd introduce us to three of the first-year girls from the track club today! Of course naturally, weâre going, right?!â
ââŠSorry, Iâll have to pass. Iâve got something to do. Anyway, even if I went, theyâd eventually say something like âThat one guy is scaryâ and that would be the end of it. Wouldnât they just end up running away then?â
âThatâs not true! Youâll be with Haruta and me, so theyâll definitely come with us! Come on, come on, youâve gotta come; weâll be meeting at the McDonaldâs in front of the station!â
Extremely happy, Noto took hold of RyĆ«jiâs shoulders while wearing an incredibly elated smile and just started hopping about all idiotically. However, RyĆ«ji quickly shook off Notoâs grasp.
âSeriously, I have something I need to do. Just look, try looking right over there.â
He was pointing to a spot by the doorway to the classroom. Right there,
ââŠGwa, itâs the Palmtop Tiger. So, scaryâŠâ
Crossing her arms in an aggressive stance and unintentionally scaring the crap out of the guys who were trying to walk past her, Taiga was staring at RyĆ«ji intently. The crease in her brow issued a silent commandâHurry up and get over here.
âIt was a request from her. So thatâs why, I have to pass on today, sorry.â
âEhh, whatâs with thatâŠHow boring. I guess thereâs no helping it, maybe weâll just have to do it 3-on-2. If itâs the Palmtop Tiger, thereâs not really anything I can say to her.â
Giving up, Noto turned away from him, but,
ââŠThe thing is, Takasu.â
Turning around again all of a sudden, he started muttering in an unusually pensive tone.
âThe Palmtop Tiger is fine and allâŠWell, she is incredibly pretty, and there are even times when I see you two together and honestly think, âIsnât that nice~â. But, I think you canât be truly happy like that, you know? Sheâs the kind of wild person who piles up desks and chairs before flinging them all over the classroom.â
With the comment about the desks and chairs, he was likely referring to last month when Taiga went ballistic telling everyone that they werenât dating.
ââŠJust why do I need to be happy with Taiga anyway? Weâve already said from the start that weâre not like that.â
âWell okay then, if you say so. But, let me give you a bit of advice. Shouldnât you try properly going out with a different and more normally cute girl at least once? Iâm not saying you should try asking out a top-quality girl like Kawashima-chan or anything, but at the very least try a girl whoâs not a tiger.â
âIf I could possibly do that at all, then I wouldnât have any problems, you know.â
âWell yeah, but anyway Iâm just saying âtry to look for someone elseâ. If things keep going like this, wonât you be unable to have a romantic relationship with anyone because youâll be taking care of the Palmtop Tiger your whole life? Well anyway, see you tomorrow!â
Noto just said whatever he wanted to say before leaving the classroom with a light-footed gait that matched his mood. Considering Notoâs words of âa different, more normally cute girlâ, RyĆ«ji immediately couldnât help but think of Kushieda Minori.
Or rather, he thought it was rudeâOf course he wasnât going to be watching over Taiga for his whole life. When the time was right, he intended to get a girl, preferably Minori, and properly live happily ever after.
âHey RyĆ«ji! I told you to come right away; does the term âright awayâ mean nothing to you?! Or what, are you adjusting yourself to a milder pace?! What a Lohasian scheme! HaaâŠLohas! Ha!â
ââŠYeah, yeah, yeahâŠâ
While RyĆ«ji shrugged his shoulders at her stompish yelling, he obediently sped up as per Taigaâs orders. Then, being just about dragged into the hallway,
âJust look at that! This is just the worst, what am I supposed to do?!â
âT, this isâŠ!â
Just looking at where Taiga was pointing made his blood run cold. It was horribleâŠ
The studentsâ lockers were all lined up side by side in the hallway, but all the way on the left, Taigaâs locker was left open and sweet strawberry milk had been splashed around messily inside; her jersey, textbooks, and even her dictionary were currently covered in the light pink, milky fluid.
The culprit was AmiâŠhe was so sure of it, but,
âHow did this happen, I canât believe it!â
âIt wasnât on purpose! I couldnât help it!â
âŠShe had done it herself, this girl who was the clumsiest fellow in all of history.
As Taiga was trying to get ready to go home, she had been facing her locker while drinking strawberry milk. She had opened her locker and was going to leave behind any books she didnât need before going homeâBut she had fallen over. Her strawberry milk had gotten away from her and landed in her locker.
âThis isâŠa bit more work than I thought it would beâŠ!â
He muttered quietly, but at the same time, RyĆ«jiâs eyes had started shining with a dangerous look. The thrill of excitement running down his back was almost a fever akin to lust.
First, heâd need to get everything outâŠTake home the jersey and wash itâŠFor the books, he had to thoroughly wipe them down and dry them, or else it would leave behind a smellâŠThen, he would take care of the lockerâs entire interior thoroughlyâŠvery thoroughly!
âCan you get it clean I wonder? This.â
ââŠAhâŠit will beâŠIâll definitely get it cleanâŠâ
Snugly pulling on the rubber gloves he always kept in reserve, RyĆ«ji felt the blood rushing passionately in his young face. To some measure, there was something about this he ultimately enjoyedâthe actual cleaning, the totality of it, or maybe the thoroughness. A mess that at a glance looked ruined beyond all hope of recovery, to bring it back with his own two hands made him feel alive more than anything else in the world. The proof of that was Taigaâs island kitchen. The first time he encountered it, it had been totally engulfed in mold and the clogged sink drain had been giving off a sickly sweet stench, but now it was so perfectly cleaned that one could safely go ahead and eat off it. He had given up some of his time to wipe it down and perfectly organize everything in and around the simple modern-styled kitchen, so RyĆ«ji wasnât opposed to bragging that a more blessedly spotless kitchen would be hard to find.
âSo now itâs your turnââŠRyĆ«ji feverishly scanned Taigaâs locker with a dangerously excited look in his eyes. However, this time he wasnât filled with just an urge to clean.
âTaigaâŠItâs a promise, right? That youâll give it to me in exchange for doing this.â
âI get it already, all right.â
RyĆ«ji had ended up committing a seriously egregious actâOr so he might say, but it had been Taiga, asking him to clean for her, who had made the exceptionally clear promise. The large, unopened Hermes bag that RyĆ«ji had kept his eye on for some timeâŠTaiga had promised that she would give the bag that held two of the thick brand-name bath towels to him as compensation for his services.
âOoh, my long-awaited Hermes towelsâŠEven if you might say Iâm just following a fad or something, as long as I can get those orange Hermes towels into my towel closet, then I donât care what you might say about me! From the moment I saw it in an interior decorating magazine, Iâve been longing for someâŠSeriouslyâŠâ
âD, do as you likeâŠâ
âIâm just saying this in advance, but Iâve also had my eye on those linen towels you have that are made from Egyptian cotton. Iâm pretty sure you have a bunch of unused ones. I saw them the other day when I was organizing your closetâŠThe next time something else happens, you can give me some of those.â
âIs that soâŠIâm going to go wait in the classroom.â
As if she couldnât stand the sight of RyĆ«ji acting like an ecstatic housewife, Taiga eerily gave him a single cold glance, flipped her long hair, and ended up going inside the classroom.
Now that she had left, this was RyĆ«jiâs domain. As his eyes glared animalistically, RyĆ«ji was about to start working, but wait, he needed an apron, so he turned first to his own locker. Humming to himself, he pulled out his reserve apron from the locker he always kept clean, and started to put it on somewhat excitedlyâThen he thought to himself.
He was passing on a meeting with freshman girls in order to do this kind of work.
That was. That was justâŠ
ââŠWellâŠitâs normal for meâŠto skip isnât itâŠâ
Trying to more fully convince himself, he gave a large nod. Because he loved cleaning after all. Because he loved organizing, so much so that it even amazed himself.
It wasnât that he was throwing away a chance at a relationship to take care of Taiga, it definitely wasnât. He was just taking the time to clean something that Taiga had gotten dirty. Taiga really made some almost unbelievable mistakes, so he was just cleaning up after her. He was by her side regularly, so understandably he just wanted to follow her. So, there was a difference.
â âIf things keep going like this, wonât you be unable to have a romantic relationship with anyone because youâll be taking care of the Palmtop Tiger your whole life?â
There was a subtle but important misconception to what Noto had said. It wasnât true, not with that kind of connotation; he wanted to stay by Taigaâs side continuously into the future because he wanted to keep a watchful eye out for chances to clean. Thatâs the only thing he was thinking. Because if he followed Taiga, as surely as sheâd breathe, that girl would mess up and inevitably make something dirty.
âHaa, haaâ, while RyĆ«ji was taking out Taigaâs things, he breathed heavily just like an addict in critical withdrawal as he kept trying to convince himself. He certainly had some sort of addiction, but itâs possible that he wasnât even aware of it himself.
One hour eventually had passed since he started cleaningâNo wait, it was probably a bit more. It might have looked odd that his head was thrust into someone elseâs locker as he started seriously, but the guys who might have given RyĆ«ji some weird looks had been gone for some time; the hallway had fallen completely silent, and Taiga might have been the only one left within the classroom.
âJust a little bit more and itâll be perfectâŠâ
That bit of monologue that escaped from his lips echoed in the cramped space.
The cleaning had already reached its peak, and while fully immersed in the locker, RyĆ«ji couldnât help himself from going over the little details like the corners with a cotton swab in hand. It didnât look like any strawberry milk had made it that far, but dirty things were dirty things.
Then he heard the small sounds of someone walking down the corridor. It seemed like a girl. If she saw him like that when the school was devoid of life, he would almost definitely end up startling her. Letting himself be carried away by his groundless notions, Ryƫji hid himself completely from her sight with the nearly closed door of the locker and held his breath. However, he almost felt like crying out unthinkingly when looking through the gap in the locker, he saw the person passing by just a few centimeters in front of him.
Those unmistakable good looks couldnât possibly belong to anyone other than Ami Kawashima. And yet, without realizing that RyĆ«ji was there, Ami was entering the classroom where no one but Taiga still remained.
He had a terrible presentiment. A really bad one.
The weird guy who had been hiding in a locker quietly sneaked out into the hallway and, debating whether or not he should go into the classroom, decided to try peering in from the window for the time being.
âAhh no wayâŠWhy are you still here? Youâre a real eyesore~.â
âŠIt looked like his presentiment had been right on the mark. Ami was mockingly slurring her speech. Turning to Taiga, who was wiping one of her textbooks, Ami looked at her with contempt. Amiâs lips were twisted into a sneer. It had been a while, but Ami Kawashima-san (the real one) had appeared once again.
Still sitting in her seat, Taiga narrowed her eyes,
âDonât get any closer, you damned brat.â
With a level voice that bore no emotion, Taiga disregarded what Ami had said.
Ami broke her glance momentarily as she was taken aback in surprise, but it was only for a moment. Expelling a âHmphâ and turning away from Taiga, Little Miss Two-Face started speaking.
âKya~, how scary~! Thatâs just like Aisaka-san! That must be why even the teachers think youâre annoying! Even though I was in the staff room asking questions about class just now, all the teachers were making such a big fuss, like âAmi-chan is oh so cuteâ or âIâm so glad you came to our schoolâ or âYouâre not being bullied by Aisaka, are youâ, you know! And everyone just smiled and laughed~! But I was a little annoyed~! They just kept saying âAmi-chan is so cuteâ, but even if they didnât say that, Iâm already fully aware of that!â
ââŠEhh?â
With a bemused smile on her rosy lips, Taiga was nearly laughing at Amiâs words.
âThatâs just no good. If youâre like that, then just how long will I have to endure your disgusting two-sided personality; at the very least, let me have fun watching you. Ahh, even when I switch classes, even when I graduate, will it ever end? This who~le time, Iâve been closely observing you.â
ââŠWha?â
âOh I look forward to it, to when you bare your faults. Iâll say this ahead of time, but revealing your true nature or whatever, that would be âsimpleâ. But that would just be boring, so Iâm not going to do anything. Iâll be watching you for a while, so let me enjoy it for a long, long time. JustâŠYou should probably watch that mouth of yours. Life is long after allâŠOnly if you want to continue living it.â
For an instant Taigaâs subtle voice tinged the atmosphere of the classroom black, like some sort of sing-song curse. However, RyĆ«ji understood the situation. Taiga wasnât being seriously angry yet. Like a cat playing with a trapped rat, she was just toying with this fellow she couldnât stand and simply enjoying herselfâŠBecause both her eyes remained calm and she was even holding back her full strength. If the tiger was actually angry, that kind of thing wouldnât be possible. She wouldnât stop her flurry of attacks until her prey had been completely ripped to shreds by her every tooth and nail.
But, Ami couldnât have any idea that Taiga was pulling back.
âYouâŠstalker!â
She had probably been overly disgusted by what Taiga was saying. Amiâs face visibly twisted with negativity as she yelled that one word. A momentary tension filled the air in that classroom where a devious battle was developing.
ââŠHaha! Really, youâre such an irritating shortie, arenât you?â
Flipping her hair, Ami regrouped and went back on the offensive with a smile.
âIsnât it because youâre like that that you have no friends? Despised and all alone, how, very, sad~. Though if Ami-chan had known we were going to be classmates, she probably would have chatted with you using the super cute good-girl version, you know? How regrettable, that you werenât able to become friends with the popular Ami-chan~âŠHuhu, doesnât it seem like that RyĆ«ji Takasu is completely smitten with Ami-chan? That guy, heâs always looking at Ami-chan with a glint in his eye. Itâs really annoying, so wonât you tell him to stop it already?â
âWith that kind of thing being said, it was just about impossible for him to enter the classroom or anything like that. Rather than that, what did she mean by âglint in his eyeââŠThat was just his normally bad expression. It was hereditary, thatâs all.
âIâm so glad you made such a mistakeâŠHey, could you hurry up and go home for me? Looking at your weird face is making me want to vomit.â
âI was planning on leaving even if you didnât say anything, because after all unlike a shitty midget like you, the popular Ami-chan has things to doâŠThe thing isâŠI guess maybe Ami-chan feels sorry for you? Even YĆ«saku, the most kind-hearted person Ami-chan knows, dislikes you.â
ââŠWhat did you say?â
Taigaâs tone dropped even lower. Her large eyes that were directed at Ami gave off a blood-red glow. Without realizing, AmiâShe had stepped on a landmine.
âThat is, I was thinking about it after the first time we met, but you know YĆ«saku, he had never mentioned even a word about you, like that you were classmates or anythingâŠEven if I asked him âWhoâs that girl?â he didnât really say anything, so it seems like he doesnât think much of you at allâŠOr to put it more plainly, Ami-chanâs enemy is YĆ«sakuâs enemy. I went ahead and told him everything you did to me at the family restaurant, so I think he probably already hates you a lot. If youâre hated by even the totally charitable YĆ«saku, then itâs all over for you.â
She spewed all that out.
Then,
âWell, see you tomorrow!â
She took her bag and smiled! Putting such an expression on her pretty face, there was no hint of her maliciousness. Just like that, she walked right out while humming merrily to herself.
âU, uwawaâŠ~â
Ryƫji broke into a dash. He slipped into the locker in the nick of time.
It probably would have been fine if he hadnât hidden at all, butâHe couldnât keep himself from hiding. Waiting until the last of Amiâs footsteps had faded away, he then took a cautious step into the hallway,
âTa,âŠTai, ga?â
He checked on Taiga through the window.
Still there Taiga had her back to Ryƫji, and she very slowly tilted her head. It looked as though she was contemplating the meaning of the words Ami had thrown at her.
âHe dislikes youâ.
âIt seems like he doesnât think much of you at allâ.
âAmi-chanâs enemy is YĆ«sakuâs enemyâ.
âI think he probably already hates you a lotâ.
âItâs all over for youâ.
âU, u, u, uâŠâ
She looked up to the sky.
She screamed with a forced voice.
ââŠThat. Damned. BratâŠ!â
âHey, Taiga! Calm down!â
At his desperate cry, Taiga jumped up and turned around. As soon as she noticed Ryƫji over the windowsill, Taiga gave a sudden leap forward and grabbed his gakuran sleeve at point-blank range.
âRyĆ«ji~!â
âHey!â
Taigaâs eyes right then were unfocused, pretty much just swirling round and round.
âRyĆ«ji, RyĆ«ji, RyĆ«ji, RyĆ«ji~! Were you listening?! Hey, just now, did you hear that?! Did you?! Did you?! What did you think, about this, and that, and everything she saidâŠHey, is it true?! Really?! Iâm despised?!â
âC, calm down a bit! Thereâs no way itâs true, just think about it rationally!â
âYeah, but that brat, s, she, about me, Ki, Ki, Kiki, Kita, hatesâŠKiiiii~!â <b>(!)</b>
ââŠU, wahâŠâ
âHe just wanted to collapse. Taiga had ended up snapping for real. Violently kicking over three nearby chairs in a row, Taiga was even baring her fangs as she looked up to the sky and gave a low roar.
âGrrr, you damned braaaat! Right now, haaaâŠIâm going to kill her!!
âCalm down! Donât be hasty, come on, just take a deep breath.â
âShut up!
âHey!â
She yelled curtly and pushed RyĆ«ji away with a masterâs authority before breaking into a full-out run. She probably intended to chase after Ami who had left and gone outside. This was bad, if things kept up like this, someone might end up dead.
In trying to stop Taiga, who was headed to the door, Ryƫji was also running to the same door from outside the classroom,
âStop it, donât go! Calm doâŠâ
ââ!â
Bang! It was a horrible sound.
RyĆ«ji was opening the door as Taiga was trying to open the same door. They had each pulled at the sliding door in opposite directions on their respective sides. So Taiga, moving at full speed, had crashed her forehead straight into the door that RyĆ«ji had slid across to her side. It was such a surprise that after confirming what happened, RyĆ«ji was left speechless. Taiga was staggering like a drunken catâŠtwo steps, three steps she took backwards.
ââŠOwâŠitâŠhurtsâŠâ
âTaiga~!â
He just about screamed.
As she was slowly on the verge of falling onto her back, he caught her in the nick of time just before she fell.
âS, s, sorry! Are you okay?!â
âFineâŠIâm fineâŠItâs okayâŠIâm, all, riâŠâ
This looked really bad. It looked like Taiga didnât even have the strength left to belittle him.
* * *
âRyĆ«-chan, Taigaâs room, the lights are off and the curtains are still closed.â
While she curled her hair with an iron, Yasuko walked barefoot into the kitchen. Ryƫji shrugged as he finished cooking the last of their tonkatsu.
âSeriously?âŠEven though it tastes best freshly fried.â
âOoh, looks so good~âŠYa-chan really loves tonkatsu.â
With similar timing, the mother and son both stared at three servings of tonkatsu that were making a delicious sizzling sound. Though their faces didnât really match, their thoughts were exactly the sameâIf they didnât eat quickly, their food would end up becoming cold.
Since that incident after school, Taiga had seemed rather strange. It looked like she had hit her head pretty hard, but without showing any worrisome symptoms like nausea or bleeding, she had returned to her usual self soon enough. âYou, just where were you looking?â. âWere you trying to kill me, you mutt?â, she had gone back to saying things like that.
However, while her displeasure was the same as usual, there were times she seemed just a bit âgloomyâ. After the incident, the Taiga who was usually like a spontaneous firework was more like a piece of fruit rotting from within by her own poison. Immediately after she said her few words of complaint, she had fallen completely silent and didnât open her mouth again even once on the way back to her apartment. She didnât even mention anything about Ami.
It wasnât the same as being ignored. Rather than consciously ignoring RyĆ«ji, it might have been that she was stuck in thought, or perhaps a better way to put it was that she was being despondent in replying because she was deep in thought.
And then, even though it had become habitual for Taiga to come over at 6:30pm to eat dinner, she still hadnât shown up at the Takasu residence.
Folding his arms while holding chopsticks in one hand, Ryƫji looked over the tonkatsu and muttered.
âCould her health have possibly deteriorated? Then maybe she went to the hospitalâŠalone? If itâs like that, then even if I had to force her maybe I should have taken her to the hospital as soon as we got backâŠmaybe this wasnât really the best time to be frying tonkatsu.â
âIya~, I bet sheâs in there. I can sort of feel her presence through the window, you know.â
Yasuko made her declaration as she looked into a mirror while holding a one-piece in front of her chest.
âYa-chan is pretty sensitive to the presence of women, after all. Inko-chan thinks so too right!â
âEhâŠ? Ahh, yeahâ, looking confused and a little stupid, the bird that was suddenly pulled into the conversation oddly enough made a suspiciously human-like response that could have been mistaken for an actual reply.
Inko might somehow be right in this case, as Yasukoâs intuition really was quite often accurate. In her own words, it was just that she was a âmini esperâ.
âRyĆ«-chan, if youâre worried, then go ahead and bring her over here~.â
As she was saying that, Yasuko had decided on her outfit and hung it to the side, and she was now doing her hair with her left hand and skilfully typing an email with her right. Yasuko wasnât really the type to multitask, but she was usually in a hurry around this time and would noisily send work-related emails as she was getting dressed.
No choice, RyĆ«ji just nodded at the tonkatsu. While he couldnât continue worrying like this, he couldnât just keep Yasuko waiting since she needed to go to work soon.
âWell then, Iâll be going for a bit. Go ahead and eat it when itâs done, okay?â
âUwa~o.â
Averting his gaze from his real mother who was making a strange sexy pose as part of her reply, Ryƫji went out the entrance hall while wearing a T-shirt.
His sandals clanged as he descended the iron stairway; it was already evening in early summer. In the sky there was a beautiful struggle for dominance going on between indigo and crimson, while the wind gently and peacefully blew by.
RyĆ«ji took a great, deep breath, as if to remove the stain of his houseâs odorous frying oil from his chest. With a good supply of oxygen to his head, even his excessive worries became distinct.
He wondered since they were in the same class, just how in the world did Taiga and Ami plan to get through each day. Having such treacherous quarrels in the cramped classroom, if they were going to slowly whittle away at each otherâs hit points until one of them collapsedâwas there any point in that? RyĆ«ji couldnât understand the world of the aggressive at all.
It was after nearly a minute of walking when he entered the familiar marble entranceway of the bourgeois apartment, but RyĆ«ji hadnât dealt with his worry at all. He could see just by looking at the two girls that they werenât going to be on good terms with each other, but he also knew that they were going too far. Even so, he was thinking. Couldnât they just maybe respect each other even a little bit so they could have more peaceful lives, rather than rueing the fact they had become classmates.
Images came to mind of the <most unfortunate> Taiga glaring upwards with a visibly intense desire for murder and the <fickle> Ami sharply averting her gaze before putting on a faint smile. If Taiga was the Palmtop Tiger, then Ami would probably be a purebred Chihuahua that only acted amiably to its master. She might yelp and act aggressively, but when it became dangerous, she would leap into her masterâs (Kitamuraâs) arms and resort to making faces instead. She was even dressed up in designer clothes.
ââŠItâs too perfect.â
He just imagined a tiger and a Chihuahua staring one another down, then feeling completely exhausted, he rang the bell for the auto-locking gate. When no one answered after a while of waiting, he rang it once more then a third time as he nodded to himself. Perhaps a bit of a mother-con, he was convinced that Yasukoâs intuition wasnât off, so he rang the bell yet once more. Then,
ââŠWhoâs there?â
With a tense curtness that seemed to be asking âWho the hell are you?!â, Taigaâs voice resounded gloomily.
âIâŠItâs me. Iâve prepared dinner, so get down here and come on over. Itâs tonkatsu.â
ââŠDonât need it.â
RyĆ«jiâs normally sharp expression looked like it was tinged with just a little bit of insanityâIt wasnât an indication of anger but of surprise. Taiga, who could be counted on to have an insatiable appetite, was saying she wasnât going to eat dinner. This just might be more serious than he had thought.
âHey, whatâs wrong with you? Could it be that youâre not feeling well? Does your head hurt?â
ââŠShut up. Itâs not that Iâm hurt anywhere.â
âIf you skip dinner, youâre going to collapse again.â
Taigaâs small body had horrible energy efficiency, so if she skipped a meal, she would immediately shrivel and become anemic. RyĆ«ji knew thatâs what would happen, so thatâs why he took a sharply terse tone.
âAnyway, open up, Iâm not going to stop feeding someone who wonât properly explain why theyâre not going to eat.â
Before long, an almost silently faint click of the tongue. Soon after, the auto-locking door opened.
ââŠOh.â
He was on the second floor of the first-class apartment.
Ryƫji had unthinkingly yelled out in surprise at the face that appeared from beyond the oak door being slowly pulled open.
âW, what happenedâŠ?â
ââŠâ
The silent Taiga was wearing a blanket over her head, and her cotton lace one-piece was a mess. Her hair was also all tangled and stuck to her face as if trying to hide it, and the one eye that showed through was all red, completely blood-shotâHer face even looked damp throughout, so it was pretty evident that she had been crying alone.
Taiga was a girl prone to crying, but even so this wasâŠ
âH, hey. Wait up.â
Dragging her blanket behind her, Taiga ended up moving down the elegantly designed beige hallway towards the living room. A little bit hesitant, Ryƫji nevertheless took off his shoes and chased after her.
Past the massive glass door, the magnificent living room that was more expansive than twenty tatami mats was wonderfully decorated like something straight out of a foreign magazine, but,
ââŠAahâŠâ
Ryƫji mumbled and scratched his head.
On the carpet apart from the sofa, crumpled sheets and blankets that looked like they had been taken from the bedroom were piled up, and in the center of it all, there was a large depression just the size of Taiga. She fit in perfectly, squatting in the hole and completing the round pile. As if using the blanket she wore from her head as a lid, Taiga hid her whole body and turned into a complete Hikikomori Tiger.
The crystal chandelier wasnât turned on at the time, and only the recessed lights were casting a gentle illumination from the ceiling. She had probably been exactly like this just moments earlier, sitting in this gloomy room without even being able to tell what color the sky was through her closed curtains.
ââŠHey.â
ââŠâ
She had been balled up just like this, seriously depressed.
He hesitated for a moment. Still, Ryƫji focused his resolve, pulled away part of her cover, and bent down to sit next to Taiga, who was like a baby bird trying to hide in its nest.
âCome on, whatâs wrong?âŠCould it be that the spot you banged earlier is hurting? Want to go to the hospital?â
Anyway, though it might have been coincidental, the one who injured her was RyĆ«ji. Even if she might think he was being annoying, he couldnât keep himself from speaking. However, Taiga just balled up like a baby tiger without replying and pressed her face into the sheets.
ââŠAre you okayâŠreallyâŠ?â
A little bit later, she finally said something with a voice like the buzzing of a mosquito.
ââŠHeyâŠâ
âHm?â
ââŠKitamura, could he actuallyâŠreally hate me now?â
Turning her hidden face just a little to the side, her eyes, that were wet with tears and peering out from gaps in her hair, looked just a little desperate. Taiga was staring at Ryƫji intently.
âHe gave a long, long sigh.
âHey, come onâŠAre you still worrying about that kind of thing?â
âBut-â
âI told you already, right? Kitamura, he saw everything that happened at the family restaurant. He understands you were provoked and thatâs why you did that kind of thing, and in the first place, he already knows about Kawashimaâs real personality. And anyway, Kitamura isnât the kind of guy to hate people because of something like this; you should know that more than anyone else, right? You really shouldnât be so depressed over such a trivial thing.â
ââŠIs that, really trueâŠ?â
âIâm telling you it is.â
ââŠWell thenâŠJust why am I such a shortie?â
âEh?â
That question really caught him off guard, as he didnât really spend any time thinking about why people are what they are. A few seconds later he tried to spit out a few words,
âT, that isâŠI guess itâs hereditary, isnât itâŠâ
He was able to make a passable, relatively safe attempt. However, Taiga in a low voice continued speaking along the same vein,
ââŠIâm a shortie, and my name is even weirdâŠand I canât do anything on my ownâŠâ
Right there she ended up falling silent.
It was something he was hearing for the first time. That she wanted to do something about her name âTaigaâ, which was a little over the top considering sheâs a girl, and her short stature, which was even the reason she was called âPalmtopâ. Now that she had mentioned it, it was certainly true that Taiga would greedily consume dairy products all the time.
âI had no ideaâŠSo you were worried over that kind of ridiculous thing.â
ââŠItâs not ridiculous. Unlike you, Iâm more sensitive.â
Rubbing her eyes with her small fists, Taiga finally lifted herself up and sat down next to RyĆ«ji. He couldnât see it earlier because it had been hidden by her hair, but there was a cooling pad stuck to her round forehead. Maybe it had even ended up swelling. Feeling a pricklish pain in his heart, RyĆ«ji almost unconsciously started gently stroking part of the cooling pad with the tip of his finger. Taiga just let him do it,
Her lips showed some displeasure as she mumbled that, and she hung her head a little. âIâm only just a little tallerâ, he thought, but then RyĆ«ji realized. She wasnât talking about herself hereâ
ââŠAnd my name, it somehow feels like something from Mercury, soâŠso, soâŠâ
These were things that Ami Kawashima said.
With her stylishly proportionate eight headed figure and her name that seemed cute like an anime characterâs. Taigaâs ideal woman who had all the things she wanted, that would be Ami Kawashima.
âNow I get itâ, RyĆ«ji breathed. Taiga had fallen into depression like this because in addition to worrying about what Kitamura thought about her, she was also feeling an inferiority complex caused by Ami. The fickle woman she despised had all the things she ever wanted. On that point, there was just no way she could winâŠIf it was like that, just about anyone would want to crouch in a dark room and gloomily shut themselves in, probably.
Itâs not like RyĆ«ji couldnât understand the kind of state she was in. He nodded a few times seriously,
âAnd more than that, sheâs an old friend of Kitamura. Even their families are on good terms.â
âAuhâŠâ
âHe had meant to show his support, like âI understand what you meanâ, and yet. In some way resembling melting ice, Taigaâs face ended up twisting pitifully.
If it was just that Ami had the proportions and her name was cute, Taiga wouldnât have gotten so depressed, but in addition to all that, Ami was on close terms with Kitamura. That most important point, it was because Ami had that advantage in what was the most serious concern for Taiga that she was getting this depressed. She was just futilely chasing after the things that Ami had and she didnât.
Ryƫji finally realized his mistake, but it was all ready too late. Looking like the contents of a confused jack-in-the-box, Taiga shuffled back to her hikikomori corner. Finally, she completely closed herself in with her blanket,
ââŠI wonder why youâre so insensitive like thisâŠIâm just amazed at your thick-headednessâŠâ
Her low mumble resounded with bitterness. With her saying that kind of thing, he couldnât keep himself from retorting,
âWell, Iâm always dumbstruck with the way you live your life.â
âWhat?!â
At his accidentally rude comment, Taiga quickly became livid. She flung aside her blanket and stood up.
âW, well arenât you energetic?â
âTell me, just, what, part, of me, is, so, surprising!â
âWell, like that! Right now! Wait a! Oh! Auh!â
Interrupting him, she started hitting upside the face with a cushion,
More than the physical impact was the emotional degradationâŠIt was enough to keep him from even resisting, but thenâŠTaigaâs stomach rumbled with a sound similar to an earthquake.
âHuh?â
Widening her blank-looking eyes and halting her attack, Taiga looked down at her own stomach that was making such a tremendous sound with a surprised face.
âI wonder what that sound was just now.â
âDonât go âHuhâ! That soundâs coming from your stomach!âŠGeez, I knew it, youâre hungry, arenât you? Come on, letâs go eat tonkatsu.â
ââŠI told you I donât need it didnât I?â
âI believe your stomach more than your words. Itâs almost time for Yasuko to leave, so come on, get up.â
ââŠThe meat, is it black pork?â
âItâs black pork.â
ââŠThe fatty parts, can I eat them?â
âAh, yeah.â
Looking a little reluctant, Taiga finally got up from her nest of blankets. First he made her blow her nose, then check to make sure the doors were secure and she had her key, and had her put on sandals over her bare feet; like that, Ryƫji successfully brought Taiga out from her apartment.
Then they walked beneath the sky that was being overtaken with indigo more than before, and after ascending the stairway of the rented house next door,
âRyĆ«-chan!â
Yasukoâs teary face peered out from the entrance hall doorway. Looking as if she had been waiting earnestly for the two of them until now without eating,
âEven though weâre having tonkatsu, we donât have any sauce; this is no good~!â
She held the empty sauce pot in one hand and told her son the shocking news.
With a quick about-face, Ryƫji and Taiga dashed off and with a fast pace leapt into the nearest convenience store. Ryƫji went all out to the aisle with sauces, while Taiga went on her own to browse magazines.
Having paid for the sauce,
âCome on, weâre in a hurry, so letâs go.â
He hit Taiga in the rear with the convenience store bag. Taiga looked back at him offended,
âI get it, so stop being so noisy and donât touch my butt, you perverted dog. Just give me a secâŠAh.â
Flipping through a magazine, her fingers that were turning the pages suddenly stopped. Then as RyĆ«ji was nearly out of the store in front of her, Taiga caught the end of RyĆ«jiâs t-shirt and pulled him back.
âHey, look at this.â
She was showing him a page. Turning around and thinking âWhat?â, RyĆ«ji instinctively stopped walking when he caught sight of the picture being shown.
ââŠIf it isnât Ami Kawashima.â
At the bottom of the open magazine there was a small column featuring Ami in casual clothing and the following words.
âStarting with this monthâs issue, Ami-chan will be taking a break for a while to take care of school-related matters. Look forward to seeing her again!
âThat means sheâs taking a holiday. Thatâs what this is saying.â
âSo sheâs taking a break from work because she moved over here?âŠOur school, is it really all that greatâŠâ
Somehow, he felt like it just didnât make much sense, but,
âPf, this isnât the time to be messing around talking like this. If we donât hurry, Yasuko will be late.â
Putting away the magazine, the two of them jogged out of the store, passed through the parking lot and just made it to the street.
ââŠHm?â
ââŠWhat is it?â
Practically at the same time, they ended up seeing something weird and stopped. They instinctively turned to look at one another.
There was a bizarre and mysterious-looking person passing by closely in front of the two. She had a black full-body jersey on and wore sunglasses, even though it was night, so it was obviously a cover, and then on top of all that, she wore a wide-brimmed hat. Yet, with her long, slender limbs, her exposed, sheen hair, her small face, and her great style, no matter how you looked at it, she could only be the person who was surely the only model in this townâThe person they had just seen in the magazine.
Taiga understandably frowned with displeasure,
âWhat, you askâŠItâs herâŠâ
ââŠSpeak of the devilâŠBut whatâs with her appearance?â
With such a bizarre outfit, she just ended up standing out even more. If this were Hiroo or Azabu, then, just maybe, she could have blended into the city with the air of a private performer hiding her identity. However, in this residential district no one would complain about misdeeds, even if she was mistaken as a fashionable convenience store robber and reported.
Ami went into the convenience store dressed like that and naturally picked up a basket, but afterwards, it was remarkable. She took just about all the pastries and ice cream products lined up on the shelves and threw them in her basket with tremendous aggressiveness. That was followed by bentous, side dishes, and even pastry breads. PET bottles of non-diet drinksâsweet carbonated beverages as well. Even the shop clerk was leaning from his register to keep a watchful eye on her strange behavior.
ââŠWhat a weirdoâŠIs she having a house party or something?â
âNoâŠThatâs not it, not with those things. Fu~n, I seeâŠI ended up seeing something interesting.â
With a small laugh, Taiga stood up in front of RyĆ«ji and started walking quickly. It seemed she figured something out on her own, but didnât feel like sharing the information.
âRyĆ«ji, letâs run.â
âAh, yeah.â
They were in a hurry, after all. Putting aside what just happened for the time being, Taiga and Ryƫji took off along the asphalt road towards the Takasu residence where their tonkatsu was waiting.
But at that time, strangely, as if enjoying herself, Taigaâs mouth was parted with a smirk.