"The feared, the strong-armed, the captain, Kushieda Minori!"
"Yo! My Kanto-regulated 'Bullet Back Home' pitch ain't just for
show!"
"The chef with the evil eye, Takasu Ryuuji!"
"Y-yo…this'll be over by five, right? There's a limited time sale on
chicken today."
"The one with the most powerful name, the one and only, Aisaka
Taiga!"
"…"
"And then me, Kitamura Yuusaku! Everyone's on board, right?"
Pointing at each of them as they sat in a row to confirm, Kitamura
balled his fingers tightly into a fist. It seemed that even the ever-busy
Kitamura had taken time off from his club of his own volition. He'd
obtained a special exemption from his student council activities in order to
come along.
No other students lingered in the four o'clock classroom. The pale
sunlight only illuminated the three henchmen sitting around Kitamura and
Ami, who stood a bit further away.
Well then, Kitamura's well-projecting voice rose. His presidential
nature was on full display. "We'll start our maneuver without delay, just as
we planned yesterday. Here are the assignments. Kushieda, Aisaka, and I
will take the picture of the stalker. We'll use this digital camera, and also
everyone's cellphones. Takasu, please go with Ami and be prepared for the
worst case."
Ryuuji raised his hand, and after getting Kitamura's approval, chimed
in. "…Wouldn't it be better for you and me to take the picture of the stalker
and for the other two girls to be with Kawashima?"
At any rate, Taiga had thought that that assignment might have been
too dangerous for Minori. But Kitamura discarded Ryuuji's words. "No, if
something were to happen and we had to leave taking the picture to them, it
would be bad if the girls were left by themselves. There's a chance that if he
finds out we're doing this, he might be provoked into something. In that one
in a million chance, you'll protect Ami—with your scary face."
"…Well, I sort of understand why you're asking me to…but I'm not
confident I can really convince anyone I'm ready to fight." Looking at the
fist that he'd never swung at someone in anger, not even once since birth,
Ryuuji shamefully lowered his voice. But then Ami walked over to his side
and wrapped her hands around his arm.
"It's fine! I know you're reliable, Takasu-kun! I believe you'd
definitely protect me!"
"Uh…ah…huh?!" At her sudden approach, Ryuuji couldn't get out
any words. He didn't even know how to get her to let go. While he moved
awkwardly and restlessly in an attempt to quietly take back his grasped arm,
his cheeks became shamefully hot. Compared to this, even Taiga's cold,
piercing gaze was comfortable.
"There. Then let's get moving. We don't know where he's been
watching for her, so when we leave the shoe racks, Takasu and Ami go first.
Take the route we talked about yesterday. Let's communicate at our
discretion via cellphone."
At Kitamura's command, they filtered out of the classroom and
walked single file down the hallway.
"…Hey, what's this thing?" Ryuuji noticed something strange in
Taiga's collar as she walked in front of him.
"I brought it just in case. Doesn't this thing feel nostalgic?"
She twisted her lips into a grin. A wooden, rod-like object was faintly
visible through Taiga's hair. Wondering what it was, Ryuuji pulled it out
slightly. "…If you start waving this thing around, you'll make this into a big
deal."
"I know that, that's why it's for just in case."
She quickly pushed the handle of the wooden sword Ryuuji had seen
back into the neck of her jacket. Ahh, it is nostalgic—that spring night,
when she tried killing me with this… When he looked closely, she had
strangely good posture. The reason was undoubtedly because that thing—
that thing he had unfortunately seen—was set along her back. It was only
the length of her hair that kept it concealed.
"More importantly, Ryuuji." Suddenly Taiga lowered her voice and
looked straight up at him, large eyes intent. She was still hiding the wooden
sword behind her back.
"Hm?"
"You really are such a hopeless, perverted dog…that mooning face
you made earlier…was slovenly. It's embarrassing to your owner, frankly."
"Wh…what are you talking about…?" Even while he asked her, he of
course knew what she was talking about.
At Ryuuji's face, Taiga made an exaggerated sigh. "I guess that
means you've gotten real close to Kawashima Ami. …Well, I guess that's
fine? You're planning on forgetting about Minorin quick since she doesn't
like you, so you can switch over to a pretty girl who's willing to get all cozy
with you. Guess you're that kind of guy. I'll remember that."
"That's… y-you're totally misunderstanding something there."
"I wonder if I am. Well, do as you please. I can't be bothered to deal
with a dog in heat."
"…Man, where do you get off saying that?"
Hmph. In the end, she gave him a poison-filled smile. Taiga averted
her face haughtily and left Ryuuji behind with a trot. Then, just like that,
she shook her long, pale, smoky hair and stuck close to Minori, who was
walking up ahead.
"Yo, if it isn't Taiga-chan. You're lookin' cute today."
Taiga purred like a cat. Though it was hard to say if Minori could see
the thing or not, Taiga playfully poked Minori's butt with the point of the
wooden sword that just barely fit under the hem of her skirt.
"You've got something hard in there."
"You can't ever be too careful."
Ryuuji automatically stared—no, he sighed in exasperation. You go
around calling me a perverted dog, but you're the one who's way more
perverted.
And even from Taiga, calling him that was way too terrible an insult.
Just what did I do, anyway? But the time when he could have made a
comeback had already passed.
"Takasu-kun, what's wrong?"
"Ah…no, nothing."
At some point, Ami had caught up to his side. From the shock he got
at seeing her smile, he tensed up. They were practically bumping shoulders
as they walked side by side, and even his anger hazily dissipated. He started
to feel strangely impatient.
At any rate, the girl called Kawashima Ami was unexpectedly way
too close…which accounted for the hotness of his cheeks. He broke off
staring at her, the corners of his mouth turning slowly downwards.
***
They walked side by side along the residential street.
"And that's when I asked them to let me try on the light pink one. But
the person at the store, right? They said that the white one would definitely
look good on me and she could only see me in white, so she pretty much
forced me to try the knitted shirt. And then, I was like, maybe white's better
than I thought, and then I remembered the shirt I bought the other day was
also white. Oh, maybe it wasn't white, but like a pale gray one that I
bought…or beige? Maybe it was beige?"
Ami grinned and continued chattering endlessly about her shopping.
You could probably call this her 'so preoccupied by shopping, can't think
about anything difficult, cute and fashionable girl' face.
"Takasu-kun, are you listening?"
"…Yeah."
"White or pink, which would you choose?"
"…For me, I think pink's a little…"
"Not you! I'm talking about my clothes!"
"Oh, that's what you meant."
Ahahahaha—hahaha…haha…ha…
After all this time, Ryuuji finally understood Kitamura's true motive.
There hadn't been anything wrong with him when he'd said he wanted
Taiga to get along with Ami.
"I really love buying clothes." What happened the day before might
as well have been a long-forgotten memory. Ami spoke like an endearing
child and gave him the smile of an angel. But he felt like the Ami who
would fiercely glare at Taiga was much better than this one. The Ami who
cursed as she threw her tadpole-tainted shoes into the riverbank was much
easier to understand.
He felt something entirely distinct from boredom, or the slight chill
he got on seeing Ami's mask—instead, he felt as though he'd now seen
something dangerous. This face was a lie, after all.
Her mask was thin ice—there was no doubt that her true face was
mired in unease underneath. But why was she hiding that? Putting aside
whether she had a good or bad personality (well, it was pretty bad), he
couldn't help but wonder why she would go through the trouble of hiding
her true nature after she'd already been found out.
"Oh, your phone's going off." Ami indicated Ryuuji's pocket with
one seashell-like fingertip. The phone had started buzzing at some point. He
quickly flipped it open…
"…Hello?"
"Private Takasu! What's the situation over there?!"
He answered Kitamura's impassioned and enthusiastic voice quite
normally. "Nothing's changed on our end. What about over there?"
"We spotted our suspect right away. He's on approach about ten
meters off your six. We're keeping our distance and are in pursuit."
"Takasu-kun, it's Yuusaku, right? Let me talk to him, too." Ami
reached out and took the phone from Ryuuji. "Hellooo, Yuusaku? Yeah,
we're fine here, plus I've got Takasu-kun! But, you know, my feet are kind
of getting tired… yeah, yeah… oh really? Then we'll do that."
She hung up the call without another word and flipped the phone
closed.
"Yuusaku said to find someplace to go indoors. Somewhere where we
can get a drink, with seats by a window," Ami said, smiling happily. "Are
there any places like that around here? Can you take us somewhere?"
"Somewhere where we can get drinks…nearby… can you see the
sign over there on the other side of that road?" He felt that going with Ami
to get a drink at a café would be tough, but it was on Kitamura's orders. He
pointed at a round sign with a flat green theme just a bit further ahead.
"Oh, it's a Starbucks! So there are some here, yay! I can finally get a
latte again!"
"It looks like a Starbucks, right? But…"
"…Hm? …Huh? …What?"
As Ryuuji brought them closer, Ami's head tilted more and more in
suspicion. The sign did look exactly like one from the famous North
American coffee chain. It was round, had a green border, and some sort of
ambiguous, humanoid illustration. "T-this is…"
But that illustration was the likeness of the old, male shopkeeper.
"It's the Sudoh Coffee Stand and Bar… we call it the
Pseudobucks…"
"…Geh…"
Brrring.
As the incongruous door chime sounded, Ryuuji and Ami entered the
Pseudobucks. The interior decoration, at least, approached that of a real
Starbucks. There were comfortable looking sofas to sit in, the employees at
the self-serve cafe looked to be college aged women, and it wasn't that
crowded, either.
"Wow…Pseudobucks…the atmosphere is pretty nice…" Looking
around the place, Ami nodded in great interest. Then an old man stood up
from a window seat.
"Oh! Aren't you Mirano-chan's kid?" he called out to Ryuuji,
familiar. It was Inage-san, a Bishamon Heaven regular who was grieving
his divorce from just that spring.
"Oh, good afternoon."
"Wellll, what have you been up to? You've brought in a good-lookin'
gal today, too…did you break up with that pipsqueak terror of a kid? Yeah,
you broke up, didn't you?! That's nice, a second marriage… err, I mean, a
new girlfriend…"
"No, you're mistaken. Kawashima, that man's seat is gonna open up,
so sit there. I'll go buy something and bring it over."
"Okaaay."
How cute~, you're such a pretty girl~, don't you look almost exactly
like that actress Kawashima Anna~, yes~ I get that a lot~! Ryuuji turned his
back to the cheery chatter and went to the counter.
"Welcome to Sudoh-bucks!"
It was normal for the employees (who wore black polo shirts and
green aprons) to arbitrarily use that store name. Even though they made
such an effort to rip off Starbucks, they had a relatively normal menu for a
café. Ryuuji ordered two Americanos and returned to the seat where Ami
was waiting.
"Were you okay with coffee?"
"Yeah. This place is pretty comfy… it kind of makes me feel like
doing homework." Letting her body sink into the sofa, Ami seemed to be
completely captivated by Sudoh-bucks. That's right, that's right, everyone
in this town loves Pseudobucks. And everyone knows that a real Starbucks
won't come here even if we waited a hundred years.
"The cakes are pretty good, too. They're handmade by the head guy's
daughter."
"Cake… cake…I'd really like to eat a slice…" No no. Ami
obstinately shook her head. It may have been unconscious, but her hand
went to her belly. It seemed she was determined to resist after suffering a
blow from Minori's Convenience Store Shin Ken just the other day.
Without making any more recommendations, Ryuuji called Kitamura
on his cellphone. "Hey, I just got into Pseudobucks with Ami."
"Good, we saw you as you went in, roger that! Pseudobucks is a great
place."
Yes, yes, Ryuuji nodded in agreement with his fellow local from
across the phone.
"The stalker also followed you and is watching the window. He's
hiding himself in a building entrance's shadow on the other side of the
crosswalk. Just stay there for now."
"Got it."
When he hung up, Ami immediately asked about the conversation,
"What did Yuusaku say?"
"That guy's hiding in that building over there. He said to just stay
here for now."
"…Guh. That's creepy… he really must be watching."
Ami tried to hide in the shadow of the curtain. "Oh, right." She
immediately came to a realization and went back to her original position.
"If I hide myself like that, there's no point right?"
"Right, right, if he doesn't take pictures, we won't be able to take
pictures of him doing that."
"I understand that but…I don't like it. It's creepy…" Ami looked
down. Her pretty features contorted into a gagging expression.
"Well, it really is creepy. To have some weirdo sneaking pictures of
you."
"That's true, but the thing I really hate isn't just that. Way earlier, that
guy put a picture he'd secretly taken into my mailbox…and I really hated
that."
"Y-your mailbox?! That means he went right up to your front door!
That's…"
Ami waved her hand, no no no, to Ryuuji, who had become
speechless, then bitterly grimaced. "I hate that he came to my house, of
course, but, to me, the photo itself was as much of an issue. I was shopping
on the way from work and…I was making a really unpleasant face, like a
sulky one. It was obviously the face of a bully. I really got fed up when I
saw that…like, is that really my face?! Is my bare face really that terrible?!"
But you're an absolute beauty, so that's not so bad, Ryuuji thought.
"No, no, I really hate it… that face. I actually hate it. I loathe it. …I
don't want to show that face to anyone." Ami's lips twisted as she
practically spat out the words. To her, this seemed to be something she
couldn't forgive, something she resented from the bottom of her heart. It
was probably terrible for Ryuuji to say so, but when it came to a problem
like that, no one had him beat.
"If you're talking about faces, look at mine. You thought I was a
delinquent at first, too, right? It might be because I look so unpleasant, but
people walking along the street point at my back. You have it way better,
and people call you cute and stuff."
"Then, Takasu-kun, you can put on a cute face, too."
"How?"
"Like this. Be like, 'I'm cute! I'm the cutest!' Really, seriously, like
this."
Prod. She poked her cheeks with her index fingers. Grin. She
narrowed her eyes into a sweet grin. Tilt. She cutely inclined her head.
I'll do it, then. Don't you end up regretting it.
Ryuuji gave it his all. "Like this?"
Prod, grin, tilt.
"…BFHHH!" Ami sprayed her Americano. She sputtered like that
for a while, as if in very real pain. "…Wh…wh…cough…Ta…Taka…
cough cough cough!"
"…I know exactly what you're going to say. And I knew before I
even got started."
Covering her mouth with a handkerchief she'd desperately brought
out, Ami was in tears. Her face was red from coughing—she'd fallen over
on the table, breathing painfully. But, she somehow managed to point at
Ryuuji…
"S-scary… cough cough… really…just terrifying!"
"I told you I already knew, didn't I?!"
Her reaction was within the scope he expected, but it still really did
hurt. And he couldn't just tell her how much. "I'll tell you this, but you're
doing the same thing. No matter how cute your face is, what you're doing
with it at its essence is terrifying. Practically a horror show! That's where
it's the same."
"Ahhh, you wound me! Really, stop it, Takasu-kun, how am I and
that the same?!" Hehehehehehe. She laughed like she was having a grand
time, after she'd just described his face as "that," there wasn't a reason to
hold back anymore.
"It's the same. I didn't want to say it, but your change in personality
yesterday was a horror show all by itself. It wasn't because you got angry,
but because you thought you could pretend everything was fine and put on
your act again right after…"
Of course, he wasn't going to say I've known your true nature since
we first met. Even what he had already said might have been too much, but
he couldn't take it back now. Once the words began flowing out his mouth,
he had to continue until he was completely finished.
"Just stop with that mask already. I figured it out a while ago. When
you're remaking your mask, whether you're putting on a cute act or
whatever, it's unpleasant for whoever has to watch."
In the end, he went that far.
"…Kawashima…?"
Maybe I really did say too much—but, eventually, he noticed Ami's
expression.
Ami was still smiling…still wearing her unnatural, soft angel's smile.
She carefully watched Ryuuji. Her face didn't change in the slightest to
reflect her emotions—she seemed to be pushing everything into that smile.
"The thing that happened yesterday? What was that? …It's like breathing,
saying that sort of stuff is a breeze for me. You can't trip me up with
something as small as that."
Ryuuji couldn't even tell if the gaze that stared straight at him was
cold or hot. What he could tell was just one thing—no matter what he said
or what words he used, her iron-clad mask of a smile would repel him. He
wouldn't be able to reach the flesh and blood parts of her that lay beneath.
"I need this face. I know that better than anyone."
"Uh…um…" He didn't know how to respond to that, but it seemed
that Ami didn't really expect a response. She continued, smile as pristine as
ever.
"Whether this has meaning or value or anything like that is a
completely different conversation. Yesterday, maybe it didn't have any.
Meaning or value, I mean. What it did have though, was…just the spirit to
annoy that annoying shrimp, maybe? Because that shrimp's face is too
funny when I'm near you. When it comes to stuff like that, I just can't help
myself. Though I admit tadpoles were unexpected."
"…Sorry, this is kind of…I don't really understand, but…I think I
said too much…"
"Hmmm? What are you talking about? Takasu-kun, did you say
something to me? I don't remember aaany of it."
Meeting Ami's eyes, which were round with puzzlement, Ryuuji
could only lightly suck in a breath. So this girl is so stubborn about keeping
her true self hidden that she's willing to go as far as this.
"Come ooon, what's with that face? You don't have to think about it
that seriously. Because this is a tactic. A tactic to say strange things and
make you think about me. …But there's really no meaning in all this."
"…I'm not really following you anymore, Kawashima…"
At Ryuuji's words, Ami cutely tilted her head, and as though
satisfied, laughed. "It's fine, it's fine, that's fine. See, I'm just 'oblivious.'"
If I really don't need to understand…then I won't think about it.
Ryuuji shrugged his shoulders and looked at the girl with the split
personality who proclaimed herself oblivious. He pretended not to know
anything as he sipped his Americano.
Finally, probably ten minutes into the death of all fruitful
conversation, Ryuuji's phone vibrated.
"Hello, Takasu? The situation isn't that great. It seems the guy can't
take a good picture of Ami from where he is and gave up. He's reading a
manga and waiting until you two leave the store. Sorry for having you go
in, could you come out?"
"Yeah, I got it."
He explained the situation to Ami, then together they quickly cleaned
up their trays and left Pseudobucks. Kitamura and the others seemed to be
checking in on their actions from nearby.
"Sorry about that. Just stick with the original plan and head to the
park located down the northwest highway."
"Got it. Kawashima, let's walk this way."
Side by side with Ami, Ryuuji once again started walking at a slow
pace, but then Kitamura went on.
"And—I have one other sad piece of news. We've lost private
Kushieda."
"…What?!"
Ryuuji unintentionally stopped walking. The one who suggested this
in the first place? Already? Wh-while we weren't even doing anything?
At his excessive surprise, he unconsciously raised his voice. Ami's
eyes opened wide as she looked up him. …This wouldn't do. If he didn't
feign composure, the stalker would suspect something was up.
"Wh…why?"
"She had an emergency call from her part-time job. Rumor on the
wind is that they needed her to fill in for someone. Her hiring manager was
crying and saying something like if you don't come in, you're fired, or
rather, if you don't come in, Kushieda, I'm fired. She herself was crying as
she left the battlefield… Kushieda left a message. She said, Let's meet
again, but actually I'm so sorry. We lost a good soldier…"
Ryuuji gulped. Minori had left the front, which meant only one thing.
"…Th-then that means right now it's just you and Taiga over
there…"
"Private Aisaka is doing well."
"P-put Taiga on the line for a bit, it's an emergency!"
After a while…
"…Tsk."
The noise dribbling from the phone was a peculiar way of breathing
—one that could just as easily presage speechlessness or a storm of tears.
"T-Taiga…are you okay?!"
"…Wuh…waah."
It doesn't seem like she's okay—Ryuuji vigorously scratched his head.
Taiga was in no state to endure being alone with Kitamura. She turned to
stone when he so much as approached her. If they had to walk alone
together…Taiga would probably die.
"Hey, keep it together! Have you tried a conversation?! Do you have
a subject you can talk about?!"
"…F…f."
"F…fine?! You're fine?!"
"…Flustered."
Boop, the line suddenly went dead.
"Huh…huhhh?!"
What just happened. Ryuuji's mind was blank as he stared at the
phone. Taiga (who was already a klutz) was alone with Kitamura, too
flustered to even have a conversation with him, and following a stalker, and
then the phone had suddenly cut out… his uneasiness was profound.
"Hey, what happened? Just now, that was Yuusaku and everyone,
right? Did you have a bad signal?"
"Ah, yeah…for some reason it cut off suddenly…"
"Try calling them back?"
Nodding at Ami's best advice, he tried calling them again, but the
sound that streamed through was, "The phone number you have dialed is
disconnected or no longer availa…" When he tried calling again, he got the
same result. He sighed and put the phone away into his pocket.
"You can't reach them? What did Yuusaku say?"
"I-It seems like Kushieda is out, and Taiga seemed to be in trouble. I
really wonder what happened… should I try calling again? No, the signal
isn't coming in…"
Suddenly, he noticed Ami was staring intently up at him.
"…Wh-what?"
Ami was speechless.
That look didn't seem like fear of the stalker. Instead, it seemed like
Ami was searching the depths of Ryuuji's heart. That transparent, but direct
and perfectly lucid gaze… more than anything, it made him become
flustered. He couldn't put himself at ease…
"Wh-what is it?"
"…Nothing?" She faintly smiled and released Ryuuji from her gaze
at the same time. He felt like he'd been saved.
"But I just had a thought. Takasu-kun, you really seem to be kind.
Especially when it comes to that girl…"
That girl? Which girl? A little faster than he could ask out loud, the
phone in his pocket vibrated once again. It seemed the signal had finally
come back. He pressed the accept button. "Yo."
"Uuwuuh…uwah…"
"…T-Taiga?"
He automatically pushed the phone right up to his ear. He didn't
know what had happened on the other side of the phone, but he heard
Taiga's crying.
"Hey, what happened?!"
"K-Kitamura-kun is…"
"Something happened to Kitamura?!"
At those words, Ami snapped up to look at Ryuuji's face.
"Kitamura-kun got stuck in a storm drain!"
"A storm drain?!"
"Just now, we almost got cut off at the crosswalk and ran in a hurry,
then he fell into the drain… Kitamura-kun was completely dirty all over
and told me to just leave him behind…!"
"HUH?!"
"A-and, he told me to get as far as I could and gave me the digital
camera… and… now I'm alone…!"
This is just stupid, Ryuuji thought. He could hear it faintly on the
other side of the phone… Aisaka! Be careful…! That distant voice was
definitely Kitamura's.
"…Like, seriously, I don't know why I'm doing this anymore…"
"D-don't cry! Umm, right…r-right…for now, umm…"
"AHH!"
"What happened?!"
Without thinking, he stopped in his tracks and breathed in. Just now,
that was Taiga's scream.
"…I…I have something to tell you…"
For a moment, he was soothed when she continued speaking, but…
"I just fell in the gutter too. Today is impossible… I'm completely
dirty. So's the camera…the plan is a failure, I'm ending the call."
"Wh…what?! Taiga?! Hey, Taiga! …Sh-she…hung up…"
…What has this come to?
Ryuuji was mostly in a stupor as he stared at the disconnected phone.
What is it with the gutters? Are there really so many over there? Is it that
easy to fall in? Are gutters…ugh, gutters…
"What happened to everyone?! What happened?!"
The situation was hard to believe, but he still needed to explain it to
her. Resolutely, Ryuuji turned again to Ami, who was looking up at him
with worry.
"It's total annihilation. Kitamura and Taiga both fell into gutters."
"…What? G-gutters?"
They stared at each other blankly for a while. It was now four in the
afternoon. The two of them, now left behind, had nowhere to go…
"…No."
Ami's shoulders shook. At about the same time, Ryuuji reflexively
turned around.
The stalker, who'd shaken off Kitamura and Taiga, was standing
mere meters away. He probably hadn't even known he'd been a mark. Calm
as can be, he carried his phone in one hand and looked as though he were
checking his messages—but the flash on his phone's camera was left on. He
might have been taking a video.
"L-let's go…"
Ami's brow furrowed, the color disappeared from her face, and she
started running at a jog. Ryuuji quickly ran after her. He allowed himself the
naive thought that there was no way they'd be followed…
"Wai…what's with that guy…?"
The man was boldly running after them, still holding up his cellphone
camera.
The place is deserted. If something happens, do I have the confidence
to do anything by myself? Ryuuji pondered while he ran. Why was it that
normally, when he didn't need it, people were completely terrified of him—
but in moments when it was vitally important, his glare was useless? Was
he being completely underestimated right now? When he glanced quickly
behind him, he got his answer. The man was enthralled with the phone
screen and only focused on recording Ami. Ryuuji was just some kid—and
it was probably true—the man was probably looking down on him. If his
(prodigal) father, who he inherited his sharp eyes from, had been the one
glaring, the situation would probably be different.
"What should we do? He's still on us!" Ami was at her wit's end. At
her voice, Ryuuji's heart also sank. They had to lose him somehow.
Somehow, without anything happening, they needed to get back to their
everyday world.
"Uhh…the closest police station from here is…ugh, damn it, it's
pretty far! But maybe we can manage to make it anyhow!"
"I don't want to do this anymore…!" Ami, pitifully, was almost halfcrying. Her voice quivered with tears. "Why do I have to be in a situation
like this?! It's all his fault that everything's messed up! Yuusaku might even
be hurt… seriously, what can I do now?!"
If the only one who had been left here with Ami was Kitamura, he
might have turned around, thrown down the gauntlet, and fought. He was an
idiot who could fall into a gutter, but his pluck and sense of justice were the
real deal. And he probably wouldn't have let a girl cry like this—if only, if
only though.
Ryuuji at least wanted to hold Ami's hand as she ran away to
encourage her. But with Ami desperately running, it didn't seem like the
right time. Ryuuji could only catch her fists. He was unable to do it, unable
to protect Ami as her quivering voice grew louder.
"I took a break from work, and moved, and even transferred schools
over that good-for-nothing loser…! But then, in the end, I'm still in the
same situation! What is this…and in the end, all I can do is run away again!
No matter where I run, he'll follow me…what should I be doing?!"
"K-Kawashima!"
Gradually growing more agitated, Ami pitched her voice louder and
louder. She seemed about to snap again as her voice went higher still.
Before he knew it, the voice that he thought had been shaking from tears
seemed to overflow with rage.
"Hey, he can hear you! …If you provoke him too much…"
"But I'm pissed off!" Ami's voice snapped, like she was ready to bite
him. "Because of that loser, I've been so agitated and so stressed out, I've
been completely pigging out! My stomach's going to turn jiggly! If it keeps
like this, I really will have to give up being a model…like, what is that?!
HUH?! Unbelievable! Just how hard do you think it's been for me?! But
with this fat… with… with this belly… it's fat!"
Seeing that fierce look from the side of his eye, Ryuuji gasped. Up
until now, her profile had been tearful. Now, her lips were lifted, veins were
standing out on her temple, both her eyes were narrowed, and her nose was
wrinkled into a snarl. It was exactly like a Chihuahua baring its teeth. This
was the true Ami.
"What the hell…damn it…that means, am I really being beaten by
that worthless loser?!"
She had arrived. Ami-chan was here.
"This Ami-chan, beaten and ruined by that pervert! Agh! Damn it,
what the hell?! It really makes me angry..it really makes Ami-chan…so…
angry…! Argh!"
"K-Kawashima…hey, hold up a second…"
"Takasu-kun, you said it, right? Stop with the mask… you just said
that to me, right? Well, I get it. I'll stop. Ami-chan's done. I'll stop, I'll
stop, I'll stop, I—will—stoooop! I'll live with my terrible personality on
my face, I'll live on!"
"Wai- that's…not what I…"
"SHUT UP! That shrimp, Aisaka Taiga, wasn't losing to that guy! So
Ami-chan won't let him just keep doing what he wants, either! And I have a
guy with me! I'm gonna show that stalker! Don't underestimate the
daughter of an actress!"
There beside Ryuuji (who was at a loss for words), Ami suddenly
made a one eighty. He realized too late that she'd turned on her heel.
"HYYYYAAAAAA!!"
She dashed out fiercely with all her strength, aiming at the man
behind them. She swung around her bag, pretty features distorted into those
of an ogre.
"Hah?! Huuh?!"
It wasn't unreasonable for the man to run away. The pursuer became
the pursued in an instant role reversal.
"GET BACK HERE YOU SCUMBAAAAAG!"
The man ran away desperately, Ami just behind, spitting out her
scorn.
Of course, Ryuuji couldn't just stand by and watch. "Don't be stupid!
Stop it! Calm down! Even though I look like this, I can't stand fights!"
But Ryuuji's words seemed to fall on deaf ears. He saw the man run
into the park.
"THERE!"
With an amazing leap like a fawn, Ami jumped over the shrubs. She
cut him off with the short cut, and readied her finishing blow.
"DAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
She threw her bag at him. The rectangular bag tumbled and flew low
through the air.
"GAH!"
It hit the running man's feet. As the things he carried flew from his
arms, he dove face-first into the sand.
Without hesitation, Ami picked up the man's fallen phone.
"…Haah….haah…haah…!"
With the face of an ogre, she was still out of breath, speechless.
Crack crack crack!
…She broke it right in half.
"H-horri…"
She tossed the two pieces of wreckage down before the man, who
was backing away in terror. But she still wasn't done.
"Haah… you've got another one… Ami-chan saw it… take it out…
take out the camera…NOW! Hurry up and fork it over!"
"…I-It's there…"
The man shakily pointed at the ejected contents of his bag. A stateof-the-art model camera indeed was laying there. Ami bent down and took
it into her hand. For a while, she turned it around, pressing buttons. She
fiddled with it for a bit, like she was trying to figure out how to delete the
data.
"S-stop! You'll break it!"
"…Haah…haah…"
The man didn't quite grasp the position he was in. And his voice
seemed to have touched on Ami's nerves. Still breathing roughly, she took
the strap of the camera in her hand.
"HI-YAH!"
…And after twirling it around for a while, she used its centrifugal
force to smash it against a concrete bench.
"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The man was shrieking. As was
maybe expected from a state-of-the-art camera, its casing withstood one or
two attacks (though who knew about the inside).
"TAKE THAT! TAKE! THAT! TAKE THAT!
…TAAAAKE THAAAAAT!"
After suffering repeated atrocities, the camera at long last cracked
with a satisfying crunch. Pieces that never should have disconnected came
falling down. But Ami kept right on hitting it against the bench.
"DAH! DAAAH! DAAAAAHHH! Break…BREAK…! Into
pieces…BREAAAK!"
…Ami must have built up a lot of stress. She kept hitting it again and
again, with the strap still in her hand, until the camera no longer looked like
a camera. The man, half-buried in sand, was already soundlessly crying.
Seeing that picture of hell before him, Ryuuji couldn't find words to address
either of them.
"Uhh, wha, my camera…"
"There…I wonder what should I break next? Ami-chan's kind of
having fun now. Oh?"
Ami ground the wreckage of the dispersed and broken digital camera
under her heel. She cruelly twisted her lips into a smile.
"Hey, can Ami-chan break some more? Can Ami-chan break
eeeeverything? Are you even listening? Answer me! Should I break you in
the same way?"
"P-please forgive me!"
The man prostrated himself in the sand, and with his hands shaking,
firmly faced Ami.
"Can you promise me that you won't follow me around anymore?"
"I don't need to swear, I've already had way more than enough!" the
man, who had become strangely childlike, cried pathetically. "Now that
you've shown me that demonic face, I won't anymore! Ami-chan isn't my
angel anymore! You're a liar—you're really an ogre! You're pitch-black! I
don't want to be involved with a fraud like you anymore! The cute angel
Ami-chan never actually existed! 'Ami-chan'—what a joke! Come to think
of it, why are you with that scary delinquent?! I just noticed him!"
"H-how am I supposed to be the delinquent here…?"
It seemed that rather than his shattered camera, his shattered dreams
were what the man was really struggling with. There was no sign he was
planning a counterattack. He just raised his voice and kept on shamefully
crying. Ami was lucky he wasn't a "real" danger who would do something
like wave around a knife.
At last, the man spoke his last words:
"You've got a terrible personality!"
"So what?" Ami shot back coldly. As though she had just
remembered it, she pulled a hand mirror out of her uniform pocket. Then
she looked at her reflection, smiled, and made a cutesy pose.
"Ami-chan is this cute. ♥ Her personality doesn't matter. ♥"
***
Ami's show of courage only endured until they left the park and
turned the first corner.
"Here, sit! Move those newspapers!"
"Uwaah… wah…"
Ryuuji led Ami, practically carrying her, and tried to sit her down on
cushions, but…
"I-I can't let go." Ami looked up at Ryuuji, tears streaming from her
eyes. The fingers she used to grab onto Ryuuji's arms were shaking, frozen
so stiff that she couldn't peel them off by herself.
"Just relax. Take all the time you need."
The setting sun's rays pierced into the Takasus' two-bedroom home.
Sitting on the burned tatami mats, Ami closed her eyes and desperately tried
to regain control of her breath.
Ami had been fine while laying into the stalker…but as she had
lumbered down the sidewalk and turned the corner, she'd suddenly fallen to
her knees. "I-I was so scared!"
She'd shuddered all over. Tears had dripped from her eyes. Her
whole body had been tensed up with nerves, and Ryuuji had had to halfway
carry her. She was in no state to walk or stand alone. Even her dry lips had
been shaking—she certainly couldn't go on by herself.
The Takasus' house wasn't that far if you went around the park. So,
somehow, he'd managed to lend her his shoulder and bring her in.
"…Where the heck is Yasuko when you need her?"
Ryuuji sat Ami down on the cushion and went into the kitchen. He
looked around his own silent home, troubled. He couldn't believe that no
one was there. If he'd known, he would have called a taxi to take Ami back
to her own house. Bringing a crying girl home to an empty house wasn't
something Ryuuji could handle. Even a girl who wasn't crying was out of
the question. As for Taiga? That was just one big exception.
At any rate, in order to calm Ami down, he brought over milk he'd
heated up on the stove and sweetened with honey.
"Th-thank you…"
"If you want more, you can have as much as you want. If you don't
like sweet things, I have tea or coffee… or actually just coffee, I guess."
"…No, this is fine…" Ami took a sip and finally let out one long
breath. "It's good. Hey, could you put in more sugar?"
"It's honey, is that okay?"
Ami nodded, and he carefully dripped some honey into her cup. After
he mixed it up with a spoon, Ami's lips finally lit up with a pale smile. "…
How unexpected. Takasu-kun, do you drink stuff like this?"
"No, not so much. Taiga's the one who likes it that way." After he
accidentally blurted that out, Ryuuji glanced up at Ami and noticed her
looking up at him.
"…Taiga. Takasu-kun, you always call Aisaka 'Taiga,' right?"
"It'd be weirder to hide it, so I'll tell you." It's not really an excuse,
because there isn't a reason to need an excuse in the first place—that was
his preface. "We live pretty close by, and she lives alone, and I just live with
my mom, but that's mostly like living alone so… well, somehow or
another… you could say I'm helping her with chores, but we started eating
together, kind of like siblings…"
"…Hmm. So that's how it is."
He wasn't sure if she accepted his explanation or not, but Ami didn't
say anything more about it.
"This really is good. I think I'll try my own version at home." She
held the cup in both hands, the hot milk now flavored with a considerable
amount of honey. She kept on drinking, lapping it up.
"How are you feeling?"
At his inquiring voice, Ami raised just her eyes. With the cup still at
her mouth, she smiled, as though embarrassed. Then she suddenly turned
her face to the side. "Ahhh, seriously…it's just humiliating! And after I
committed so hard to going after him, too! I really thought I had what it
takes, but…in the end, you had to put up with seeing me turn into a
terrified, shaking mess."
"That just comes with the territory. Because as soon as you started
running, I was terrified, too. You were seriously lucky that guy didn't get
violent."
"…I'm really sorry." Ami finally turned back and put the empty cup
on the table. Maybe it was because of the setting sun shining on her cheeks,
but she was faintly dyed in pale orange. Her brown eyes looked like
transparent amber.
"I can't believe it myself… if my mom finds out, she'd kill me for
doing something as dangerous as that. Maybe it's Aisaka Taiga's influence?
Yesterday, I saw her chasing away that stalker guy so easily at the
riverbank, and then, I suddenly got embarrassed that I was scared. And I
guess you could say… I kind of felt…like she'd shown me up,
somehow…"
"…Taiga is kind of a special case. I'm not sure you want to use her as
a benchmark."
"The Palmtop Tiger, right? I heard it from Maya-chan and everyone.
Hah, it fits her too well, that nickname. Since crossing paths with the
Palmtop Tiger, maybe I've grown a little braver, myself."
"…Kawashima, you were a strong girl from the start."
"A strong girl? Aha, I'm just messed up. I'm saying this about
myself, but Ami-chan is a really messed up girl, and inside her belly is
darkness. I'm a mean girl—you know that now, don't you? Maybe since
yesterday… or maybe even before that. There's no point to putting on my
act again at this point."
Ami shrugged and laughed. It wasn't her normal mask. Somewhere
in her big eyes lurked the glimmer of an awakened arrogance. Her mouth
was warped with a slight hint of what you might call cruelty. There was no
trace of an angel's purity there. In its place, what her face revealed was her
slyness and mercilessness, a real spite—the arrogance of a person who
didn't think of others as people. But somehow…it was still beautiful.
But at the same time, something about that face made Ryuuji feel
awfully judgmental…
"Oh. I forgot about the other two. Who both…fell into gutters…
somehow."
"If she's with Yuusaku, she's fine," said Ami—though Taiga being
with Yuusaku was probably exactly what was dangerous. Her expression
faded after she spoke, remembering the two. Her smiling face slowly tensed
up, and she quietly held her breath. She looked as though she were trying to
endure a faint pain. "That girl has it good."
"That girl… you mean Taiga?"
Without answering, Ami looked down. "…For example, like with
that stalker earlier…it's easy to get people like that to like you. If you just
put a little effort into being cute in pictures or on TV, people can't help but
like you. …See, because Ami-chan is super cute!"
She said those last words as though they were a joke, but Ryuuji
didn't feel like laughing. When Ami dropped those words, he looked at her
hard-set profile—and he didn't see anything to laugh about.
"…It's more or less just as easy to get people to hate you. If I told
everyone that this isn't the real Ami-chan, that this isn't what I'm actually
like… if I showed them the real Ami, everyone would just hate me."
Ryuuji averted his gaze in spite of himself. Ami's self-effacing
expression was so pitiful he couldn't look—though if he told her that, she
would definitely be hurt even more. "You shouldn't say something like
that."
"But it's true. The guy just now was just like that, right? What's
difficult is getting someone to like the real me. That's it right there. That's
why that girl… that's why I'm jealous of Aisaka Taiga. That girl doesn't
even feel like she needs to keep up appearances. But you don't hate her at
all, not even a bit. That's a little… no, that's extremely frustrating. And I
tried to steal you away from her just because I wanted to see that girl
frustrated…and I couldn't get so much as a grip on you. That's a first.
'Why?' I thought. 'Ami-chan is definitely cuter, so why? How can I fail to
be number one? Isn't this unbelievable? Isn't this unforgivable? Are she and
I so different?' …I really am jealous of that girl, aren't I?"
Ryuuji quietly breathed in.
Ami was jealous of Taiga. Taiga was so jealous of Ami that she holed
up to cry by herself. They each wanted the things that the other had. In the
end, they were just both the way they were, so things were bound not to go
well. Their feelings naturally clashed, and unlike Taiga and Minori, they
didn't have the rapport they needed to stick close together. That was just the
way it was—and there was definitely nothing anybody could do to change
it.
Although Ami had said Taiga didn't feel the need to put up
appearances, there was one thing he wanted to say, for Taiga's sake. He
wanted to say it for the part of Taiga that desperately put up appearances in
ways no one except Ryuuji could see. "Kawashima, you've got Kitamura
though."
"Yuusaku?"
"That guy, he really worries about you, thinks about you, and takes
care of you. He really understands the real you. He even got stuck in a
gutter for you."
"You're right. But…Yuusaku is no good." A tendril of her hair
slipped and fell over her face. At that moment, Ami's expression was
hidden from Ryuuji. "Because Yuusaku has already chosen the one and only
girl he likes."
"…Huh?"
Ryuuji's brain stalled.
He immediately thought of the person Kitamura had confessed to
right after enrollment—Taiga. But Kitamura had plainly told Taiga he just
wanted to be friends. Regardless of whether Taiga accepted that, he didn't
behave like she was the girl he liked. At least, he wasn't acting like that at
the present. But who was it? If it was new, then Minori? Or maybe Maya?
Or maybe…
"What about you, Takasu-kun…?"
Ryuuji's heart jumped.
With her body arched like a cat's, Ami's face drew near. She didn't
make so much as a sound. He could smell the milk on her breath. Not
daring to look at Ami's face, Ryuuji just shuffled backwards on his butt—
but his back immediately hit the wall.
Ami didn't come any closer.
She didn't come any closer, but he felt like he was being drawn into
the bottom of those damp, amber eyes…
"…Takasu-kun, if I showed you the real me…what would you do?"
"Wh-what would I?"
"…Would you like me?"
The world was robbed of sound.
Ryuuji's feet hit the legs of the table. In the silence, the cup rolled
onto the tatami.
They were five centimeters from their noses touching.
Right at the last moment—right before it was too late to play it off as
a joke—Ami's lips suddenly lifted up into a smirk.
"…Just kidding! Did I get your heart racing?"
And it was a joke, but… the only ones who would see it as a joke
were the two of them.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dearie me…"
Thump. Thump. At the sound of plastic bags being dropped onto the
tatami, Ryuuji pretty much jumped.
Ami reflexively turned. She was straddling the lower half of Ryuuji's
body.
Ryuuji reflexively turned. He was nonchalantly supporting her waist.
"…Oopsie! I…I didn't do this on purpose, promise! Umm… I went
shopping and I found Kitamura-kun and Taiga-chan stuck in the storm
gutters, and then… uhhmm… ahhh, this is awkwarrrrd!"
Yasuko brought both her hands to her bare face and wriggled around
in a pose reminiscent of Munch's "The Scream."
Behind her, Kitamura's whole body was covered in mud. He looked
to be in a terrible state. He tried to push his bent glasses up his nose, using a
wooden sword as a cane in his other hand.
And then there was Taiga, who also was covered all over in mud.
"No way…" Taiga, who was being carried on Kitamura's back. At the sight
of Ryuuji and Ami, she was struck dumb—both eyes wide open.
In an obscure corner of the room, wholly unnoticed, Inko-chan shed
fluffy feathers from her whole body. As it turned out, she'd seen everything.