Toradora! Vol. 8 Read online

  “It needs to be on B5-sized paper and six pages long, not including the cover sheet. Four pages need to be research done prior to the trip…and that’s the part we’re going to work on now. I drew from other guidebooks by researching the history of the land. For the rest of the book, we can write our own impressions. Apparently, we’re going to put them all together for the whole school’s class yearbook, and then we’re giving copies to the parents. I was thinking we could at least use it as a reference, so I borrowed last year’s book.”

  “Nothing less expected from the master! Good job! If we just copy this, we probably wouldn’t even get caught, right?”

  “Huh? Noto, of course we couldn’t do that. What’s the use of copying the history of Okinawa? Are you like actually a super big idiot?” Maya was cold to Noto.

  They opened the booklet and peeked into it.

  “Ahhh…” Their listless voices rang out at practically the same time.

  The third years’ memories of Okinawa were just too dazzling for them. The research pages were nothing, but the impressions pages were so blinding it made their eyes squint. The skies and seas were so blue they didn’t seem real, and the beach was a glittering pure white. They had gone the year before in the middle of winter in January as well, but everyone was wearing merry Uminchu calligraphy T-shirts, baseball caps, and had towels around their necks under the brilliant, glittering sun, with faces that said “It’s hot!” “It’s too bright!” They were slurping up Okinawa soba and nibbling on sata andagi doughnuts. There was even a picture of them on an isolated island like they had seen on TV, being pulled by buffalo.

  “Ngh?!” Noto’s voice suddenly went shrill. He slammed the book closed. They raised their faces in surprise to look at Noto. “N-nothing…”

  He was being very suspicious.

  “No, this isn’t suspicious! But, we can’t reference this anyway, so let’s stop looking at it! Let’s think about what we’re actually going to do! Anyway, let’s ask Google-sensei about something! Uhh, where’s the computer’s AC adapter…”

  “Whaaat’s going on, Noto-kun? What did you see just now? That was suuuper suspicious… It was right around this page, wasn’t it?”

  “Ah, wait a sec, Ami-chan!”

  Ami stole the booklet from Noto where he sat across from her, with the low table between them. She grinned as she turned back to the earlier page. As long as it wasn’t making the boring lame guidebook, anything probably would have been amusing to her.

  “Oh! Oh my my my my! Oh my…so it’s this.”

  “What is it?” said Kitamura. “Does it have anything to do with me?”

  “Hey wait, just stop it,” Noto whispered to Ami.

  But Ami wasn’t listening. She pouted happily and looked steadily at her childhood friend as she said in a low voice, almost as though speaking to herself, “Yuusaku’s the only one I can’t show this to.”

  “What… But actually, what is it? This is going to bother me. Let me see.”

  “Well, if you say so, Yuusaku, then I guess I’ve got to show you. I wonder what you’ll think… Don’t blame me if you end up crying…”

  “Seems like you want me to… What’s wrong with that picture of the buffalo—whoa!”

  As soon as he looked at it, Kitamura froze. Everyone, wondering what it could possibly be, looked at it. Then they understood.

  It was a picture of a certain group on a tour, being pulled by the buffalo as they crossed the remote island. Under the dazzling blue sky on the beach, a long-haired girl was left by herself on the luggage rack while everyone else walked happily into the shallows with the buffalo.

  The girl left behind on the luggage rack had her hand on her hip and was laughing out loud. She seemed to arrogantly look on at the progress of things. It felt like they might hear her voice even now. Daah ha ha ha ha ha haaa! It was an incredibly manly voice and a hearty laugh.

  In other words, the king on the luggage rack was everyone’s former beloved patriarch, Kano Sumire.

  “Whoa, that must be a shock. It must be, right? The person who so grandly rejected you in the end is suddenly right here in this picture. Poor Yuusaku, you okay?”

  “Wh-why wouldn’t I be?”

  “So you’re okay, that’s good! Come to think of it, have you gotten any response from Kano-senpai? Maybe she’s got a boyfriend in America right around now?”

  “The president got to school…to MIT and was admitted… That’s what I heard from her younger sister…”

  “Huuh. So she’s a university girl who skipped a grade! Aha! That’s so cool! But what’s Ehm Ah-ee Tee? Is it about as elite as Tokyo University in Japan? Is it like Ivy League? Yuusaku, why don’t you just take the college entrance exams there, too? I’ve got no idea how American schools work!”

  “…I wonder where the AC adapter is…”

  Kitamura had been defeated by his childhood friend’s merciless and completely obvious sadistic attack. He turned his back to everyone and started fiddling around with the computer cables that Taiga had brought in.

  “I-Is this the AC adapter? I’m sure it must be this! And the socket, the socket… Where do you have a socket…” Noto, who started the whole mess, awkwardly stood up and began wandering around the condo.

  “…”

  Maya and Nanako were looking at each other with delicate expressions. For reasons no other person could fathom, Minori was sticking out her front teeth and looking at Kitamura from the corner of her eye. As for Taiga…

  “Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! You! Huge! Idiot!” she said in a low voice. She was hitting Ami with both her arms.

  “What? I think it’s his fault for being so depressed just because of that little thing. I was just making him stronger. Look, it’s like Kaatsu training.”

  It seemed that Ami didn’t care one bit that her childhood friend was feeling down. “Kaatsu!” she said as she gripped her hand into a fist.

  Haruta finally came back to consciousness. “Where am I? Is this my room?”

  He was the same as usual, no changes whatsoever.

  As for Ryuuji, he passionately whispered to his friend in his mind, I really understand how you feel. Though Kitamura didn’t know, they had both had their hearts broken. Little things could make their wounds reopen and sting. Ryuuji wasn’t unfamiliar with that feeling.

  “I’m going to put on the tea! Let’s eat something and keep going! We can just relax and get things done! Okay!” he said with a loud cry and got up.

  “I’m going to share these with everyone. They’re madeleines from home. Actually, that seems like a lot for one person to handle? I, the wandering waitress Kushieda, shall help with something.”

  “Right, that’ll be great. Could you look for cups for the tea? We need three more.”

  At the luxurious kitchen island that was installed at the back of the living room, Ryuuji’s heart beat a little faster at the reinforcements that had arrived. He somehow calmed the beating in his chest.

  Minori put the box of madeleines, which seemed to have been a gift, down in the kitchen. “Okay, okay,” she answered and opened the cupboard to start rummaging through it.

  “Hmmm, looks like there aren’t any teacups. Would mugs work?”

  “That’d be fine.”

  “Here ya go. Oh, this one’s cute. It could hold a lot of tea. I’m going to call dibs on this one.”

  With expected skill, she grabbed three mugs in one hand and lined them up in front of Ryuuji. She poked at one with her fingertip. The large orange mug with a whale drawn on it was one which he was sure Taiga had gotten by collecting and trading in stickers from convenience store breads. Minori looked up at Ryuuji’s face and grinned.

  “What should we do with the madeleines? It’s kind of too much to go as far as to put them on a plate. How about we just leave ’em in the box and slap them on the table?”

  “I…I guess that’s fine.”

  “I know, right?!”

  She didn’t notice Ryuuji suddenly stagg
ering right next to her. He stood there almost defenselessly as they nearly rubbed elbows. She opened the package and the box.

  “M-m-m-m-mado-ma-ma-ma-madole-l-l-l-l-l-lein.”

  Minori shook her butt and started rapping. She grabbed the individually wrapped madeleines one after another and put more and more of them out in a row on the marble counter.

  “Wait…you…weren’t you going to just slap them down in the box?”

  “Hm?! Ohhh, you’re right!”

  Was she just on autopilot? Ryuuji watched Minori panic and put the madeleines back in the box. He wanted to laugh.

  Compared to him, trying to hide his trembling fingers while he dropped tea bags into the cups, Minori’s autopilot might have been an attempt to act natural. She was in an unfussy outfit that consisted of a zip-up parka and jeans. “Oh no, I wasn’t thinking,” she muttered. Her lips were flushed like a soft, light peach. Her round forehead, her cheeks, and her chin were, too.

  “Hey, Golgo…”

  “My name isn’t Golgo…”

  “Then I’ll be Golgo… Don’t stand behind me…”

  “I’m not…”

  Everything about her was pretty as always, and she had stolen his eyes. Minori stared at him, so Ryuuji put up both his hands, embarrassed, and turned his eyes away.

  “Then fine… Actually, I broke the box when I opened it. We really do need a tray, I just saw one in here.”

  Minori smiled a little as she finished joking around. She seemed to be talking to herself as she opened the cupboard along the wall and brought out the silver tray she was looking for. “Hm, this is pretty heavy. Is this like a really good one? Is it expensive? I wonder if it’s okay to use. Hey, Taiga.”

  Taiga immediately turned around to face her. Her tartan checked dress fluttered as she made her way to the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong? You need me for something?”

  “This silver tray, can we use it? I want to bring out the madeleines on it.”

  “What? Of course you can use that thing. I thought there was something wrong.”

  “Well, look, sometimes these things can be shockingly expensive. That’s what I was thinking. Hey, hey, actually—”

  Minori lined the madeleines up on the tray as she suddenly grinned and looked at Ryuuji’s face and Taiga’s in turn.

  “The cupboard and tableware are looking super organized. Takasu’s been organizing things, and he’s been doing such a great job. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, and I’m just so impressed.”

  “It’s tidy because I asked the Merry Maids to clean…”

  Is it really? It is really. With the island kitchen between them, Minori and Taiga were posed in the same way, like sisters, and smiled as they looked at each other. They really do get along, Ryuuji thought as he poured hot water from the boiling T-Fal kettle into the cups. Before he realized it, he was completely out of the loop.

  “But I think it’s a big deal how Takasu-kun was managing things around here. It’s been over a year since the last time I came by to clean things, right? You don’t have as many unnecessary things, and it’s gotten easier to keep up. That’s all I’m saying. You have to make sure you show your appreciation to Takasu-kun.”

  “He just did it because he likes to. Like to the point he’d rather thank me, right Ryuuji?”

  Taiga glanced at him, and he noticed her look.

  This is a dangerous direction we’re moving in, Taiga seemed to want to say. The course of the conversation was definitely progressing in the direction of “Taiga definitively needs Takasu-kun or she just can’t make it.” Please do something. Taiga’s gaze was nervous and perplexed, but, to be honest, Ryuuji didn’t know what to do.

  “Well, it’s definitely thanks to Takasu-kun. I know it! That’s because I’m God!”

  The only thing he could do was pretend to focus on making the tea and smile painfully. Now that Minori had said, Because I’m God! there was no way he could argue back.

  “Aisaka, could I have a moment? We can’t get online anymore. The wireless LAN is acting weird.”

  “Oh, really? But it was connected just now.”

  Help had been sent from heaven. Though it wasn’t that serious of an issue, Kitamura had called Taiga over. With an obviously relieved expression, Taiga left the kitchen with Kitamura, who was wearing Uniqlo from head to toe as he did most days.

  Minori, however, kept up the conversation with Ryuuji.

  “I really do think that. Last year this place was filled with garbage, and no matter how many times I cleaned it, it wouldn’t last a week. It was such a terrible mess!”

  She kept talking without missing a beat. Ryuuji suddenly had a sense of incongruity.

  “You hadn’t come by this place for over a year even though you’re so close?”

  Come to think of it, hasn’t Minori said something about this before?

  “Well, that’s—look…about before, with Taiga’s dad, with what happened, I got in a fight with Taiga. We at least made up, but for some reason or another, since then… I didn’t want to step in too close and make another mistake, since I didn’t know what would happen. That’s what I was thinking.”

  “Right… I remember now.”

  Ryuuji listened to Minori’s words and automatically thought of himself. Stepping in too close. Wasn’t that exactly what he was doing? Taiga was in the process of challenging herself to make it on her own, and she’d stopped coming over to his house or asking him to do chores for her.

  “In other words, you did a good job…is what I want to say, Takasu-kun.”

  Minori hit him in the arm, like a guy would do to another guy. Normally, he would be happy at that touch, but right now, more importantly, how had he done a good job? He tried to ask her, but Minori was already starting to prepare the milk and sugar with her usual adeptness. As though trying to resolutely say, Our conversation is over! she turned her back to him.

  Ryuuji closed his mouth. He wiped away the moisture in the kitchen with a dry towel. Everyone in the living room had abandoned the computer that wouldn’t connect and started to chitchat. Kitamura and Taiga were the only ones attempting to turn the router set next to the wall on and off. They were seated on the carpet and working hard to somehow restart it.

  Why you, Ryuuji suddenly thought. Just when had Taiga become able to sit that close to Kitamura? It was such a petty thought.

  “Hey, Takasu-kun?”

  “Don’t stand behind me…”

  “Don’t steal my joke…”

  Minori pushed her hair behind her ear and grinned. She was looking up at Ryuuji. He didn’t know how long she had been watching him.

  “So, um, about the school trip. I’m kind of looking forward to it… Actually, I’m really looking forward to it.”

  Hiding what was in his heart, Ryuuji scowled successfully. “Geh! Are you serious? We’re just going skiing.”

  “I’m good at skiing. I’m like Shimizu Akira. And besides that, this is like the last of it. It’s the last thing we’re doing together as class 2-C. Ahh…this class was super fun, so I feel kind of lonely. Don’t you feel like that, too?”

  Checking how the tea was turning out, Minori half-closed her eyes and looked at the bottoms of the nine lined-up cups.

  “I was thinking it’d be nice if everyone could always stay like this.”

  Always? Everyone? Like this? In other words—he grasped onto something but then got distracted.

  From a ways away, Kitamura and Taiga’s whispered conversation came to his ears by chance.

  Really?

  Yeah. So, I’d rather…

  …then I’ll…

  Huh? Then…but why? Did something actually happen?

  He didn’t know what they were talking about, but it didn’t seem like it was about the internet. Kitamura looked hurt. Taiga didn’t falter or seem flustered as she looked into Kitamura’s face. She was smiling at him naturally in concern. She was peering into his eyes in worry.

  The two o
f them looked natural as they drew near each other. They looked close—almost as though they had been close friends for years. But really, at what point did she—

  “Right. Of course.”

  The part of the conversation he had caught disappeared as though it had been an unraveled knot.

  “It’d be nice if it just stayed like this forever,” Ryuuji answered, mostly unconsciously, and started to line up the saucers for the tea on the tray. He absorbed himself in the work.

  Maybe the knot really had unraveled and disappeared, or tightened and tightened until it became so small it was invisible. No one knew which it was.

  They collected information about the ski resort they were visiting and researched about the weather and the specialty products the region was known for. In the end, the nine of them didn’t finish the pre-investigation on that Sunday but kept going until the next weekend. The honors student Kitamura had just been too full of vigor in the end.

  Then, the days passed.

  Chapter 4

  He would find out Minori’s true feelings. Did Kushieda Minori really not want to date Takasu Ryuuji? Would her thoughts change if he stopped living with Aisaka Taiga?

  He would ask her that and get an answer. If he could, he would also try once again to tell her about his feelings, like he had tried to before being interrupted on that Christmas Eve night. He could renew the relationship that had taken on such a delicate feeling.

  For Ryuuji, that itself was the goal of this school trip.

  “Takasu, you’ve got ‘C,’ okay? ‘C.’”

  “Confidence!”

  “What was that?”

  “We said we’re only doing things that are bitter.”

  Booed at by all his classmates on the bus, Ryuuji cleared his throat in a fluster. “Uhhh, ah, ‘cancer!’ I think it’d taste bitter! Okay, here, ‘R!’” He gave the mic over to Taiga, sitting across the aisle from him.

  “‘R?!’ …Ramen…no, uhhh R…rhubarb! That’s bitter, right?! Here, Minorin, you get ‘B.’”

  That was a nice answer. Taiga’s “rhubarb” earned her applause.