Toradora! Vol. 8 Read online

  “So I was banned from having skis. They told me it was too dangerous and to use a sled instead. I was like, ‘Is that something a teacher should be saying to her student?’ Well, I can’t ski anyway, and our gear looks like this, so I told her I didn’t care anymore.”

  “What?!” Ryuuji unintentionally yelled. He pointed at Taiga, and his eyes suddenly sparkled. “You can’t ski!”

  “Why are you so happy all of a sudden? Ew!”

  The back of his head still hurt from being run over, but at least something had come of it. He had found someone else who couldn’t ski. That was right—he had forgotten about the klutziest tiger in the whole world. Taiga.

  “I thought I was the only one who couldn’t ski in our group. You’re part of the can’t-ski team!”

  “Huh?! No way! I thought Minorin and Kitamura would obviously be able to, but everyone else can, too?! Even that idiot?!”

  “Take a look at that agile form.”

  Blergh! Taiga looked at Haruta, who was skiing lightly before her eyes, and wailed. She rubbed her eyes as though she were in a manga.

  “The world is coming to an end…ahhh. Skiing is boring. Why would anyone wear those long things on purpose and try sliding around on the snow in the first place? It’s not like we live in a place where it snows. I just don’t get it.”

  “Same. Well…we can’t keep complaining. How about you just ask Kitamura nicely to show you? He’s a devil of a teacher, so he’ll probably really beat it into you.”

  “How would he teach me anything about sledding?”

  When she said it out loud, he had to agree. Taiga had a very strong air of persuasion as she sat enshrined on that bright red sled.

  “How about you lead by example and go ask Minorin to teach you?”

  “Unfortunately, she already did. And then when she left me, you chose that moment to bestow your presence upon me and ran me over. Now I’ve even lost the opportunity to go after her.”

  “What? Don’t blame anyone else for your own mistakes, you mood killer.” Taiga turned away and huffed out a white cloud. “Seriously… The way you’re going, me trying to live on my own is going to amount to nothing.”

  Come to think of it… Ryuuji remembered something.

  He felt like it had been a while since he and Taiga had talked alone together like this. Not so long ago, they had been like this every morning and every night. Just having a little argument like this made the abdominal muscles he normally didn’t use feel tight and tired.

  “Right… It’s been a lot longer than I thought.”

  Ever since he was hospitalized—in other words, ever since Minori rejected him on that Christmas Eve, Taiga had cut off her contact with Ryuuji cold turkey. Of course, they saw each other at school, but they really hadn’t been together face-to-face in a while.

  “You’re really getting into it, too.”

  At Ryuuji’s words, Taiga puffed out her chest and arrogantly swept aside one of her braids.

  “That’s right! And I’m going to keep going like this for my whole life! So you should work harder in order to show your gratitude for how considerate I’m being! Well…it’s not like I’m trying to live on my own for your sake. In the end, it’s for myself.”

  It’s practice for living by myself and becoming an adult.

  She continued, “Okay, so anyway, get back! I’ll run you over again if you don’t!”

  “So you were doing it on purpose?!”

  “Well, it’s just a figure of speech.”

  Taiga had a wicked little grin on her face as she began to paddle the sled with her legs. She then started to slide down the gentle sloping hills as she gained momentum.

  “Whoa?!”

  It might have been divine punishment. Before Ryuuji’s eyes, her sled turned itself head over heels. The snow she had flung up scattered in intense contrast against the blue sky.

  “How?!” Taiga yelled.

  “You…fell over on your sled. Just how…”

  “Ouch! Eek, that was a surprise! I just went too fast!”

  He half dragged his heavy boots as he ran closer and righted the tipped sled. He also tried to help up Taiga, who was covered in snow.

  “I don’t need you!”

  Her words were simple. Taiga hoisted herself up on her own and slapped off the snow on her gear. Then, she straddled the sled again.

  “You know what…I think there’s something super dangerous about you sledding on your own. Maybe you should give it a rest?” Ryuuji had automatically stepped on the back of the sled to stop it.

  Taiga turned around and clicked her tongue. She contorted her face and glared at Ryuuji.

  “Shut up! I said I’m fine! Let go! Get off!”

  “No, but I can see it… I can see you sliding down the hill in the sled, not being able to stop, and then hitting the wall of the lodge and breaking a bone and crying… If that happened, that bone would hurt for the rest of your life when it’s raining, cold, or hot… That’ll definitely happen…and it’ll be a pity.”

  “You…”

  Taiga opened her eyes eerily wide at Ryuuji. She seemed a little taken aback. She scowled.

  “You’ve got some nerve pretending to care about me while you’re imagining something as ominous as that…”

  “But it really could happen. Especially to a klutz like you.”

  “I said I’m fine! I don’t need you taking care of me anymore! Just get your stinking foot out of the way already!” Taiga yelled as though she were about to snap and paddled as hard as she could by flailing her legs.

  It’s the rental boots and not my feet that smell, Ryuuji thought pointlessly as he bit his dry lips.

  It was true that Taiga might not have needed him to take care of her anymore. Maybe he was just throwing a tantrum at the person trying to use all their strength to grow up and leave him behind.

  It might have just been something as pathetic as that.

  “Let! Me! Go!”

  “…”

  Just as Taiga leaned forward as far as she could, Ryuuji lifted his foot.

  “AHHHHHHHHHH?! Don’t just let goooooooooo!”

  “Oh…”

  It seemed that she had been kicking the snow harder than she thought. The sled suddenly took off, and Ryuuji panicked as he reached out to her but didn’t make it. “I CAAAN’T STOOOP!” The tail end of her scream lengthened as she went straight downhill—at least three meters.

  “Aaaah!”

  She bounced off a snow mound. Tragically, the sled leapt up and turned over, hurling Taiga forward. She dove face-first into the slope.

  I told her so… Ryuuji groaned.

  “I don’t need your help! But it’s your fault that I just fell!” Taiga, once again covered in snow, threatened him in a low voice. Ryuuji raised both his hands in the air. I’ve got it. I won’t make a move.

  But in that moment…

  “Ngh?!”

  Suddenly, Taiga was assaulted from the side by a terrific block of snow, and, once again, fell over from surprise onto the slope. As Ryuuji wondered what had happened…

  “KYAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! AHA HA HA HA HA FWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA! HEE HA HA HA HA HA HA!”

  The one who stood there, her mouth wide open and roaring with laughter like an ill-natured machine gun, and who had thrown the snow hard at Taiga, was Ami.

  “Dimhuahua…why, you…”

  “You’re sooooo lame! Falling over on a sled is, like, miraculous! You’re a miraculous idiot! Even I surrender! That’s too pathetic! Actually, it’s kind of impressive. KYA HA HA HA HA HA!”

  Ami pointed at Taiga with her pole as she continued to roar with laughter. The look in Taiga’s eyes rapidly changed, and her pupils started to widen. Her hair puffed up to the point one could see it rising.

  “Kawashima, maybe you should run away?”

  “I’m not so bad at skiing that this gremlin could follow me with a sled like that. ♥ Well, how about you try to follow me if you’re mad? You
’d probably be faster if you rolled down the slopes into a snowball like in a cartoon. BWAH HA HA HA!”

  She began to calmly ski away.

  “HMGH!”

  Taiga’s aim was accurate. The sled, which she had thrown, scored a direct hit on the back of Ami’s head. Ryuuji shook as it happened right before his eyes. Without another word, Taiga charged at Ami where she had fallen.

  “YAAAAAH!” She leapt on Ami, who was still fallen over on the slope.

  “EEEEEK!” Ami’s skis, which remained turned up, were splayed wide open.

  “UGYAAAAAAAH!” Taiga held them down. She grabbed at Ami’s gear and pulled hard at her limbs.

  “Sh-she’s being eaten alive…” Ryuuji covered his mouth and trembled as he watched.

  “Ha ha ha ha!” Thoughtless and clearheaded, Kitamura skied right behind them. His teeth shone in a smile that looked like it could have come straight out of a commercial as he turned and lifted his goggles.

  “What’re you doing, Ami and Aisaka? No matter how open a snowy mountain feels, you can’t do anything weird—NGAH!”

  Ami had summoned the last of her strength to swing her pole, hitting Kitamura hard right in the crotch.

  ***

  “Kushieda, Ami, and Haruta are on the top-level course. Noto, Kihara, Kashii, and I are on the mid-range course. Takasu and Aisaka are on the beginner’s course.”

  At the words of the group leader Kitamura, who was walking slightly pigeon-toed, everyone politely answered, Okay!

  As always, the weather was clear. In the strong afternoon sun, the slopes were much whiter, and they glittered blindingly. It was bright enough that it might have hurt their eyes if they didn’t have goggles on.

  For the afternoon, they would be divided up by level onto courses with coaches for the real ski practice. Everyone went up to the lift with each other but separated after that.

  “Why don’t you get some guts and follow them to the top course?”

  “Why’re you telling me that when you can’t even do it… I’m fine with a sled, too.”

  Ryuuji and Taiga were whispering into each other’s ears when they both sighed. According to what they had heard at noon, the beginner’s course was that in name only. In actuality, only people who didn’t have any skiing experience gathered there to play with sleds and make snowmen.

  How’s that fun on a school trip? Ryuuji thought, but it was also better than being forced to ski and getting hurt. If he forced himself to go to the top course just to be with Minori, everyone would be worried about him, and he would end up being a nuisance. He didn’t want that. He couldn’t even stand up. It wasn’t as though Minori would support him from behind the whole time, either.

  “Then we’re going to the lifts! Everyone come this way! Make sure to have the lift ticket you were given around your neck!”

  The other classes also started heading to the lifts, holding their skis. The diagram of primary colors wandered around. They were more or less a spectacle.

  At that moment, Maya burst out in a quick tiptoeing run to follow Kitamura.

  “Hey! Hey! Hey! Let’s ride the lift together. I want to ride with you, Maruo!”

  He had heard it… Ryuuji automatically turned to Taiga, who was a little behind him, but Taiga just gave an exaggerated shrug. They were going to ride lifts that were heading in a different direction. It wasn’t as though she could do anything about it, he supposed.

  “Oh yeah, that’s fine, but you don’t want to ride with Kashii?”

  “I want to take a picture with Nanako while we’re on the lifts, though! If we’re on the same one, we couldn’t get our whole bodies in, right? Right, Nanako?”

  Her hair, which she had recolored to be slightly closer to black, was long and silky. Maya poked at her best friend, Nanako. Nanako giggled, her usual soft smile on her face.

  “Yeah, that’s true.”

  She communicated with Ami, next to her, with a look. Ami pouted her mouth in delight. The beautiful trio of girls had clearly already made a plan to snag Kitamura. Ryuuji glanced at Taiga’s face, sure she was panicking.

  “Taiga…”

  “Huh?! Wh-what?! Get your face out of mine!”

  What do you mean, what? He knit his eyebrows. There was something obviously strange about Taiga’s behavior. Where in the world was she looking while her favorite, Kitamura, was being steadily led away by Maya? The moment their eyes met, she had jumped about five centimeters.

  “Haven’t you been acting kind of weird recently?”

  “Recently? When? Actually, I feel normal. Normal, normal, normal. I’m normal.”

  There was definitely something strange going on. She wasn’t acting normal, at least not when it came to Kitamura. Now that he thought of it, he had felt there was something off for a while. He felt like Taiga was being kind of strangely cold when it came to Kitamura.

  Normally, Taiga would have made a huge deal about being in the same school trip group as Kitamura. Her face would have turned red as she said, “I want to be with Kitamura-kun!” In the end, it had worked out that way, but when it did, it felt like she was happier to be in Ryuuji and Minori’s group, if anything.

  “Like I said, what?! Don’t stare at me like that!”

  “…”

  “I said don’t look at me!”

  No, he would look.

  He thought about it. Maybe it was the opposite? He remembered the two of them talking at Taiga’s condo. That was strange, too. If he had to describe it, it had felt like they shared a unique kind of solidarity in that moment, as though if one of them were to say, “About that thing we talked about earlier,” the other would have known immediately what it was.

  “Something happened with you and Kitamura, didn’t it?”

  “Huuh?! O-of course not! No no no! Nothing, nothing happened… Oh…maybe something did? Nothing happened, but I guess you could say something…maybe did? Yeah, I wonder if something happened? Uhh?”

  Ryuuji was silent as, in front of his eyes, Taiga’s face changed dizzyingly. Her face was practically a traffic light.

  “D-did I not tell you? Right, something did happen. Umm, during the beginning of the year, I was walking around alone and happened to run into him. We went out to a café for a bit. That was it, that’s all. Then we went on a shrine visit—uhh, what was it called again? Hatsumode? We did something like that.”

  “…”

  Why didn’t you tell me?

  He didn’t say it out loud. If he did, it would have made things feel awkward. But he still ended up thinking it.

  Why didn’t you tell me?

  Oh, so that’s why you two are all buddy-buddy now.

  So, there was some kind of link between why she didn’t tell him about meeting Kitamura and how she seemed somehow composed in her attitude toward him now. It wasn’t so much that she was cool as just composed.

  “Because back then, you were in the hospital! And then there was that other thing! It wasn’t like I could be happy right then! I told you, right? I felt like I was to blame for it! So, so—huh?! Why am I explaining myself to you?! What is this?!”

  “Why did you suddenly get angry?!”

  Taiga’s face rapidly blushed and turned rosy. She stomped on the snow, and her large eyes glittered.

  “I don’t have a duty to report every single thing that happens to me to you! I have things I can’t tell anyone, too! Spilling my guts all the time would be weirder! I’m not gonna tell you anything I don’t want to talk about! What’s so wrong about that?!”

  “It’s not wrong or anything. Why’re you getting mad for no reason?! There definitely is something weird going on with you! Either that, or you’ve got something really shady going on!”

  Taiga made a shrieking noise. “GIIIII! L-L-Like I’d tell you everything, you idiot! There are a tooooooooon of things you’ll never know in your lifetime! There are sooooooooooo many things I’d never tell you even if I were to die! Like I’d tell you!”

  “Do whatev
er you want! If that’s what you want, you can hide as many things as you want to! But I was telling you everything! If you don’t want to tell me, then just take it with you to your grave! I don’t care anymore!”

  “I was going to do that without you telling me to! I don’t care what you think, either!”

  Taiga, now on the verge of tears, came at him with her sled. As their red and blue sleds clashed, Kitamura’s voice echoed loudly behind them.

  “Why are you two fighting?!”

  Do you know what she did?! Ryuuji automatically turned around and—BAM!—was hit in the back of the head by Taiga’s sled.

  “You—you—you—!” He was assailed with a barrage of punches.

  “Stop! Noto! Kihara!” Kitamura was yelling.

  “Wait, they’re not talking to us?!” Ryuuji slipped and fell.

  “I don’t care!” Taiga missed her last attack because he had fallen and self-destructed by burying herself in the snow.

  Then, finally, they noticed. It seemed that they weren’t the only ones having a fight.

  “Why do you always butt in?! Why are you getting in the way?! You’re so annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying! Annoooooooyiiiiiing!”

  Maya was trying to hit Noto with her pole. Seeing people who normally never got angry making such a scene, Ryuuji and Taiga forgot what they had been doing.

  “Eep, this is crazy…”

  However, Noto hadn’t lost yet. He grabbed his pole and pushed Maya back.

  “Kihara, you’re the one who’s always acting selfish! You’re always up to something, trying to hang around Kitamura! That’s way more annoying!”

  “I’m not up to anything! I’m not! I’m not! I’m not!”

  “You were! You definitely were! You make everything convenient for yourself, that’s how you always are, Kihara! Even right now!”

  His glasses askew, Noto wailed as Maya attacked him again with her pole.

  “Wh-what is this?!”

  “Oh, did you finish? This just started.” Casually keeping her distance from the scuffle, Nanako explained.

  Maya had been planning to ride the lift with Kitamura, when Noto said something nasty, like, “Kihara’s scheming something again.” Maya got upset and replied, “It doesn’t have anything to do with you, Noto.” Then Noto said, “Show-offs stink.” Well, and the rest is what you can see now.