Toradora! Vol. 1 Page 7

  “Whoaa!”

  Here and there were patches of black mold. It was so widespread that he couldn’t help but feel like collapsing in agony. He was drawn in. As he stumbled forward, he made the mistake of swiping the kitchen counter with a shaking pointer finger. Naturally, the sensation he felt could be described as slippery, or slimy, or…

  Unforgivable.

  Something like this was completely unforgivable. It was a desecration of the kitchen. It was a desecration of daily life. How could it be that while some people put in the effort day in and day out to keep a narrow, terribly tiny, totally dark kitchen like the one in his two-bedroom apartment clean enough to eat off the floor, she had this amazing streamlined kitchen and let it get so… so…!

  “AISAKAAAAAAAA!”

  Almost flying, Ryuuji started to run. After seeing a sight like this, he couldn’t stand idly by.

  “Let me…somehow… Just let me…CLEAN THIS KITCHEN!”

  Ryuuji felt as though something inside him were about to burst open. Veins popping, he stalked around the living room like a bullet, but he couldn’t find Aisaka. Then, eyes sparkling dangerously with excitement, he discovered a sliding door.

  “This is it!”

  He forcefully threw open the door and…

  “…Oh.”

  He had been completely right. But somehow…it was a complete failure.

  Aisaka Taiga was there.

  With things so placid, Ryuuji instinctively shut his mouth and held his breath.

  It was a quiet room with a high ceiling, and curtains hung from the north facing windows. Frilly dresses were strewn about here and there on the pure white carpet. In one corner of the room, there was a desk and a chair, which were naturally also pure white, and at the center of the room was a bed with a canopy of white lace.

  It was Aisaka Taiga’s bedroom.

  Aisaka herself was curled up, sleeping quietly alone in the middle of the bed. Her long hair was scattered over the sheets, and she seemed to be sinking into the mattress, guarded by lace.

  The phone receiver was at the head of the bed, and the Takasu household’s window was just visible through a crack in the curtain.

  “…You fell back asleep.”

  Only the susurrations of her even breathing quietly reverberated through the bedroom.

  Unable to come closer, Ryuuji just watched Aisaka as she slept. It wasn’t like he wanted to watch her, but he just couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  She was bundled in baggy pajamas, which made her already thin and dainty limbs seem even more petite. Her high cheekbones were currently at peace and seemed transparent, as though they had been shaped from water that could evaporate at any moment. Her small nose, her half-open small mouth, her long closed eyelashes… Aisaka Taiga quietly sunk into the ocean of sheets with only her breathing to indicate that she was alive.

  This wasn’t his lively classmate gone to sleep, but a scene from a made-up fairy tale world.

  She’s like Sleeping Beauty, he thought, somewhat girlishly, but then corrected himself.

  No, this wasn’t a princess.

  She wasn’t a princess—she was the doll the princess had forgotten. It would open its eyes if it were just lifted up, but because it was forgotten, the small doll continued to sleep.

  The bed the doll was sleeping in, this room, this house, they too belonged to the princess, not the doll. That was why everything was too big. That was why nothing was the right size for her.

  But Aisaka was a person, and this house was Aisaka’s house—wait a minute, what had happened to her family?

  Ryuuji spun around, looking at the house that had once again fallen silent. He squinted his eyes. A single chair. One sofa. Aisaka was the only one here. Your family? he asked silently, and Aisaka seemed to shake her head from side to side as she slept alone.

  He looked at his wristwatch. There was still time before they needed to go to school.

  Somehow managing to avoid waking her, Ryuuji quietly left the room. He closed the door without making a sound. If she weren’t awake to go to school at the last minute, he would get her up then.

  Once he had put some space between him and the quiet bedroom, Ryuuji slowly took off his school jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

  “Right!”

  The grungy, custom-fitted kitchen towered before his sharp gaze. He had fifteen minutes. Man versus filthy stainless steel. The best-of-one match began in earnest…

  ***

  When Aisaka Taiga woke, an unbelievable scene unfolded before her.

  She saw Takasu Ryuuji, who declared, “I’m still working on it. I’ll need to do a lot more tomorrow.” Behind him were half a year’s worth of dishes and a thoroughly cleaned stainless steel kitchen.

  And then, she saw takikomi gohan and instant miso soup for breakfast.

  Then he showed her a hearty bento box, saying, “The food inside is the same as breakfast, but I’m glad I brought a lot.”

  All of it was for Aisaka Taiga, who had accidentally fallen back asleep.

  ***

  “I had you come here specifically because I didn’t want to be late, so why did you let so much time go by? Is there something wrong with you?”

  “What?! I told you to hurry up and eat faster, didn’t I?! You’re the one that kept her mitts on the bowl and kept asking for seconds!”

  “You were dumb enough to make breakfast, even though I never asked for it, and letting some of it go to waste would have been pitiful, so I ate all of it for you. Why don’t you thank me?”

  “That’s it. Give me back that bento.”

  “Shut up! Don’t come near me, you dirty-minded dog.”

  “You…give it back! You better give it back! And give back every nice thing I ever did for you!”

  “Shush. Go rot in hell.”

  “P-people who tell others to rot don’t get to have takikomi gohan!”

  As they briskly walked to school side by side, a fierce battle developed between Ryuuji and Aisaka. The two made a commotion all along the sidewalk as they strode beneath the radiant, new green leaves of the roadside trees. They were first-rate nuisances.

  In an attempt to steal the bento from the drawstring bag hanging from Aisaka’s small hand, Ryuuji attacked from above. Aisaka dodged and, with her small stature, quickly scuttled off to put distance between herself and Ryuuji. Not wanting to become involved with the two, the passersby averted their eyes from both the high schooler with a dreadful look in his eye and the petite beauty who seemed to ignore him as he gave chase.

  “C-could you be any more ungrateful?! Jeez! And I even cleaned your kitchen for you! Well, I mean, I’m not totally finished, but still.”

  “I told you, I didn’t ask for that.”

  “Hey, you know what was the worst? The water in the sink was totally rancid! The drain was full of slime, covered in mold, and stuffed with rotting food scraps. It looked like hell on Earth… How could you endure the smell? Just how long did you leave it all sitting there?”

  “For about half a year.”

  “…Are you even human?!”

  He whipped out his finger to point at her, but Aisaka remained expressionless. “I wouldn’t know anything about that,” she said and briskly walked away, leaving him with just those words. Deep down, he knew that it wouldn’t do him any good listening to someone like that, but he couldn’t abide the thought of leaving that kitchen as it was. After one glance at that filthy water, Ryuuji just couldn’t leave it alone. He wanted to make it pretty, he wanted to make it clean, he wanted to make it easy to use—those desires reared their head. He couldn’t restrain himself.

  “Guess it’s my vice, huh?”

  Muttering to himself, he followed behind Aisaka—he had no other choice, after all, as they had to use this same road to get to school. Ryuuji took a glimpse behind him.

  “More importantly, when we get to school, you’re going to bust your butt working for me. Because I won’t forgive you if you slack off.” After giving
him that warning and a sobering gaze, Aisaka snorted.

  Ryuuji increased his pace. Like he was going to let her get away with saying that. “You know what, why should I help someone with that kind of attitude—oof!”

  He ran into Aisaka, who had suddenly stopped walking, causing him to take an elbow right to the gut.

  “D-don’t just stop like that, you idiot!” he complained, foul-tempered and painfully close to fainting. But Aisaka’s gaze wasn’t directed at Ryuuji at all.

  “Minorin! You waited for me again?”

  “You’re late, Taiga. I was just about to go on without you again today.”

  “…Hey!” Ryuuji said. He stopped in his tracks, dangerously close to swooning. Across from Aisaka, Kushieda Minori stood at the corner of a large crossroads.

  With a touch of sunburn on her cheeks and a glitter in her cute, round eyes, she wore an innocent smile while she wildly waved their way. In the morning sun, her hair sparkled radiantly; the hem of her skirt danced in the wind…but then her hand stopped in surprise. Her smile disappeared. Instead, her eyes opened up wide.

  “Whaaaaaaaaaaat! Huh? It can’t be—no way!” she said.

  “What’s wrong, Minorin?” Aisaka said.

  “M-my ear…” Ryuuji groaned.

  She shouted in a shrill voice, fervently pointing back and forth between Ryuuji and Taiga, as though verifying they had indeed walked side by side on the way to school.

  “Don’t ask me what’s wrong!” Minori went on. “Uh, uhhh…so that’s it! I had no idea you and Takasu-kun were a twosome and coming to school together…”

  “Come on, Minorin, no one says ‘twosome’ anymore.”

  “I seeee! Then what is it, that thing nowadays, it’s… Ohh, I’m so muddled I can’t remember what it’s called! Oh, I know! Lovebirds?!”

  “That’s not it! We’re not that! We’re not coming to school together! W-we just happened to meet on the way!” He reflexively blurted out an excuse. Then he got ahead of himself and presumptuously said, “Right! Isn’t that right, Aisaka?!”

  He turned around with a forced smile.

  “What, was it really a coincidence?” Minori asked.

  “That’s right,” he said. “Apparently, we live really close together.”

  But the two girls had already paired up and were happily walking ahead. With this rare chance right before his eyes, Ryuuji refused to let it get away. He restlessly followed behind them and let his imagination work. Maybe Aisaka Taiga, aware of his feelings toward Minori, had summoned him to go to school together to set up this opportunity!

  But in less than three seconds, the real Aisaka turned around and shattered his delusions of grandeur.

  “Later, Takasu-kun,” she said. “I’ll see you in class. Hee hee, you couldn’t possibly have been thinking that we would go to school together? This was just a chance meeting, after all.”

  “Uh…oh, A-Aisaka…” he started to say, but interrupted.

  “Well then, see you later, Takasu-kun!” Minori said. “Hey, hey Taiga, yesterday on TV—”

  What was on? I was watching TV last night, too… Ryuuji desperately reached out with one hand. Then, just before he could chase after them, he received one final warning.

  Like I’m going to let you get there first, you cheeky mutt.

  “…Ah…”

  He saw the words in Aisaka’s momentary glance, when she turned around one last time. Laying it on thick, just the look she gave him alone seemed to speak those words.

  Faced with the eyes of the palm-sized beast, Ryuuji could do nothing but stand still. She seemed to be saying that she would totally sabotage anything between him and Minori until things went well with Kitamura.

  Then, a pitiful thought slipped unbidden into his mind. But even without any interference, dating Kushieda is a wish that would never come true…

  No. If he thought like that, he’d be Aisaka’s dog forever, and it would all end there. That thought conjured up absolutely horrible images of the future to come…

  As he watched the two girls shrink into the distance, both of Ryuuji’s eyes narrowed into slits. Bring it on. Don’t underestimate me. After getting trampeled and stomped on, he was starting to get fired up.

  I’ll get Aisaka and Kitamura together and then I’ll get close to Kushieda.

  Chapter 4

  The plan was simple.

  They were currently playing basketball in PE class. PE was split into two halves, male and female, and each group played games on opposite sides of the gymnasium. However, until they finished preparatory exercises, they were co-ed. They would get into groups of two, stretch, and pass the ball for ten minutes.

  The PE instructor didn’t even care who they paired with. Everyone always paired with their friends or whoever they wanted.

  After getting into his gym clothes, Ryuuji briefed Aisaka on the plan along the way to the gymnasium.

  “Well, since you don’t talk to him very often, I figure we might as well start now. Pair with Kitamura. That’s all there is to it.”

  She walked next to him, playing with the ends of her braided hair, her lips narrowed.

  “Easy for you to say that we should just pair up,” she said, “but…the girls and boys never pair together. I’m always with Minorin and you always pair with Kitamura-kun. I wouldn’t suddenly ask him to pair up—not even on pain of death would I…”

  The end of her sentence trailed off. Ryuuji waved his finger at her reproachfully and began to announce the plan he had proudly concocted.

  “That’s the point. Listen, if you want to make it seem casual, like you paired up with him by happenstance, you just need a little finesse. To start, I’ll pair with you, Aisaka.”

  With a doubtful look, Aisaka looked up at Ryuuji’s face. “…And then?”

  “Then, out of necessity, Kitamura will pair with someone else, right? Then during warm-ups, I’ll casually throw the ball and ‘accidentally’ hit whoever he paired up with. They probably won’t get hurt, but I’ll make a big deal about it and take them to the nurse’s office. Then, who would be left over?”

  “…Me and Kitamura-kun.”

  “Right? Then you’ll be like, ‘Oh well—guess the people who are left over have to be partners!’”

  “Were you just making fun of me? I’m not stupid. Like, would that even work?”

  “We’ll make it work. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

  They put on their gym shoes and lined up with the other students around the PE teacher.

  “Let’s play some games of basketball,” the teacher said, like he did every day, then gave his customary explanation of the procedure.

  “So, let’s start with preparatory exercises. Why don’t you start to pai—”

  “Hey, Aisaka!”

  “I’m here! Let’s pair up, Takasu-kun!”

  “Right, let’s pair up!”

  “Pair up and spreaaad out. Seems like we’ve got a couple of real eager beavers today…”

  Moving quickly, Ryuuji and Aisaka paired together and scuttled to one corner of the gym. Frightened voices chimed in from around the room. “Wow…Takasu’s really reckless…”

  “He’s gonna be the Palmtop Tiger’s next meal…”

  The two of them didn’t notice. They were in the corner whispering to each other.

  “Anyway, we’ve cleared the first stage,” Ryuuji said.

  “Right,” Aisaka agreed, as they nodded slightly and exchanged glances.

  However, because of Ryuuji and Aisaka’s unusual behavior, the class started going in a strange direction. From somewhere outside the frightened group, someone piped up, “Wha—is today that kind of day? Then I’ll pair with a girl, too! Someone pair with me!”

  That carefree voice started a ripple effect.

  “Yeah, yeaahhh—I want to pair with a boy, too!”

  “Sure, it’s nice to mix things up every once in a while.”

  “Sounds like it might be fun!”

  The class
suddenly worked itself into an uproar. Other than a few who vowed to protect the usual divide, the boys and girls began to mix. In order to pair up, they were practically using pick-up lines.

  As a result of that…

  “Maruooo! Sorry—I mean, Kitamuraaa, pair with me!”

  “Hm? Ohh, no problem. I just got abandoned by Takasu, anyway.”

  “Urkh!” Aisaka griped and hit Ryuuji once in the back, then said, “W-wait, why is Kitamura-kun with that weird girl?!”

  The girl she called “weird” was Kihara Maya-chan, who could actually be considered one of the more striking students. She was a full-bodied seventeen-year-old. She had a coat of mascara on her long eyelashes, subtle pink lipstick, and cute, light makeup that wouldn’t get her in trouble with the school rules…

  Ryuuji kept those thoughts to himself, however, and said, “She’s not a ‘weird girl,’ that’s Kihara-san. Anyway, she’s our classmate, so don’t bad-mouth her. But this did turn out a bit different from how I expected… Wha?!”

  This time, it was Ryuuji’s turn to exclaim.

  “Kushieda, wanna pair with me?”

  The boy who had so shallowly flagged her down was originally from class A, a good friend of Ryuuji’s. It was Noto Hisamitsu-kun, an incredibly fresh-faced seventeen-year-old. His attempt at fashionable black glasses was the opposite of flattering. What’s with that guy?

  As Ryuuji turned to face him, Minori said, “Okay! Let’s do it!” and hopped right to Noto’s side and joined him.

  “Hey, that’s, wha—?!” Ryuuji said. “Kushieda-san is pairing with that weirdo?! Really?!”

  “…He’s your friend, isn’t he? Hmph! It’s because of things like this that I call you a mutt. You didn’t even account for something like this in your plan, did you?”

  “You didn’t exactly point it out, either!”

  While they both viciously shifted the blame onto each other, the instructor’s whistle echoed across the gym. At the order, everyone lined back up and started first with exercises broadcast over the loudspeaker.