Note before I start : Before anyone says anything, yes. Most of this first chapter is from the original novel, I was satisfied with this beginning so I'm going to build my own approach from this.

There is something in this world that no one has ever seen.

It is soft and sweet.

If it is spotted, I'm sure everyone will want to have it,

Which is why no one has ever seen it.

For this world has hidden it quite well, so that it is difficult to obtain.

But, there will come a day when it is discovered by somebody,

And only those who should obtain it will be able to find it.
That is all.

Chapter 01 - The Tiger And The Dragon

"Damn it all!"

It was 7:30 in the morning, inside the dim double-room plus kitchen apartment.
Takasu Ryuuji was standing, frustrated, in front of the mirror.
He wiped the mist from the mirror, which quickly returned due to the fog the early-morning shower had created.

"Forget it! This stuff isn't worth crap!"

"Make yourself gentle with floating bangs." This was the slogan on the cover of the latest fashion magazine for men.
Ryuuji's bangs were now "floating". He had followed the instructions carefully, he pulled his bangs at length,
blow-dried them until they were sticking straight up, then rubbed them to the side using hair gel,
he had even woke up half an hour early to make sure he did this correctly.

"Maybe this was a mistake, just making my bangs look different won't make anyone think differently of me." Ryuuji spoke with a sigh.

Ryuuji tossed the magazine, which had taken him ages to work up the courage to buy, into the garbage can.

"I really wanted to change, to finally be seen for who I really am...But I failed"
Ryuuji thought to himself as he wet his hands and messed up his hair which he had spent so much time working on.
Something caught his eye, he glanced over to see mold growing on the corner of the wall.

"M-Mold!? But I just got rid of the mold in this room last week!"

Ryuuji bit his lip, annoyed at the fact that this humid room creates mold so quickly.
He attempted to wipe off the mold with tissues, but of course that didn't work.
"Damn..I used all my mold removers last time..I'll have to buy more. For now, I'll leave it here, but I will definitely come back and destroy you!"

Ryuuji walked out of the bathroom, into the kitchen, and picked up some pet food and spare newspapers.

"Oi! Inko-chan!"

"Aaah~" A high pitched reply came from the living room.

"Good, he's awake." Ryuuji thought to himself.

He walked into the living room, towards the corner where a bird cage was covered by a cloth, which he then removed to greet his pet which he hadn't seen since last night.
As odd as it may seem, Inko-chan looked horrible while he was sleeping so his cage had to be covered so no one sees him sleeping.

"Good morning, Inko-chan."

Ryuuji spoke to the yellow parrot as he gave him his morning food, like always.

"G..good..m..good morning!" It looked as if it tired the bird to even say such a simple sentence, but that's apparently what makes him cute.

"Now try to say let's eat.." Ryuuji finished giving him his food and looked at the bird who was sweating from effort to talk.

"L-Let's..e...let's e..let's eat!" Inko-chan was obviously about to reach his limit..

"Very good! Now try to say it. Say Inko-chan." Ryuuji looked hopeful, his eyes getting bigger at the chance that he might finally say it..

"I, I, In, I, In, Iiii...I..." Inko-chan seemed to be using a lot of energy, as he shook his head and rapidly puffed up his body, and then flapped his wings quickly. "......iiiii......"

His eyes squinting, one could vaguely see the gray tongue that stuck out of his beak. Maybe he can do it today, thought his master as he gripped his fists. In the end...

"Blegh!"

"Blah, why are birds so stupid? I guess that's to be expected when your brain only weighs a gram." Ryuuji thought with a sigh, disappointed as usual.

"Where..are you..going..?" Came a voice from behind the fusuma. (OOC : A fusuma is basically a door, if you watch anime I'm sure you've seen them, you know, sliding door? ;P)
It looks like the idiot has woken up as well. The fusuma opened to reveal a tired looking woman, who gazed at Ryuuji.

"Ryuu-chan, is that your uniform..? Why are you wearing that..?" She asked wearily.

"I'm going to school. I told you yesterday that school starts today." Ryuuji called back.

She opened her legs so she could see his face, and muttered as though she was going to cry.

"But what about Ya-chan's lunch..? I don't smell any food..you didn't make me anything?"

"Nope."

"Eeeeehhh? Then what will Ya-chan do? There's nothing to eat here.."

"I'll be home before you even wake up! It's just the Opening Ceremony."

"Ohhh, is that right? Hee hee hee~" She smiled widely and closed her legs and began to clap her..feet?

"You said Opening Ceremony, right? Congrats! That means Ryuu-chan is a second year from today on!"

"Forget about that, I told you to always remove your makeup before you go to sleep, it doesn't matter how busy or tired you are.
You said it was a pain, so I even bought you special makeup removing tissues." He came into the room and noticed her pillow, and of course.
"...AH, what is this!? You got powder all over the pillow! That won't come out! You need to take better care of your skin, you're not young anymore.."

"Sorry, must've drank too much, I just came back an hour ago..But I brought pudding home."

She wandered into the kitchen, and started looking for something.

"Ryuu-channn, it's so dark in here, I can't find the spoon..Can you open the curtains?"

"They are open."

They sighed as they glanced at the window facing south, where their entire source of light came from.
Since they had moved into this apartment 6 years ago, an apartment building had been built, completely blocking out the sun.

"Damn that apartment building.."

Last year, right behind their apartment, a ten-story luxury apartment building was built. This drove Ryuuji mad countless times.
Ryuuji took a spoon from the kitchen and handed it to Yasuko.

"Well, I'll be going."

As Ryuuji made sure he had everything, a thought crossed his mind.
That's right..A new school term starts today..After the Opening Ceremony came the changing of class.
But what bothered him was the fact he'd failed every attempt to change how people saw him, but he still had some hope.

"I'm leaving, remember to lock the door and change into your pajamas."

"Okayyyyyy~ Oh, and Ryuu-chan," Yasuko started to say as the laid on the futon biting on the spoon, she smiled like a child.
"You look like you have more energy than usual! You're a second year now! This is something I've never experienced!"

Yasuko had dropped out of high school when she was still a first year in order to give birth to Ryuuji, so she did not know how life was as a second year.
Ryuuji felt sad for a moment at the thought.

"..Yeah.."

He smiled slightly and raised his hand as a motion of thanks to his mother, but this led to an unwanted result..

"KYAA! Ryuu-chan is soooo cool! You look more and more like your dad all the time!"

..She said it.

Ryuuji quietly walked out and closed the front door and stared up at the sky.

"NO! I'm not like him! I won't ever be like him! Just shut up! I..never want to hear that..especially not today.."

Beginning to walk towards school which was only a short walk away, he sighed as he placed his fingers over his bangs to cover his eyes.
This was a habit that he tended to do often, for the source of Ryuuji's torment was his eyes.
It wasn't his eyesight, that was perfectly. It was their appearance, they looked..fierce.
His eyes were the kind that tilt upwards, giving that angry look. Not to mention his pupils were extremely small.
Since his eyes were big, they would give off angry glares and the feeling that the second your eyes meet, you'll be sliced open.
This made people run away as soon as they neared him, regardless of how he was really feeling.
Though it could also be his rough personality. He spoke in such an unrefined way, which he guessed had something to do with his extreme sensitivity.
Thus why he hardly ever joked or said anything dumb.

..But the result was always the same.

"Ta√Takasu-kun...! Are you trying to defy a teacher!? S, someone! Bring me a baton!"

No I wasn't! I was just trying to apologize for forgetting to hand in my homework.

"I, I, I, I, I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to bump into you! It was that guy who pushed me over to you!"

Who is going to get mad over getting bumped on the shoulder?

"I heard Takasu-kun gatecrashed a graduation ceremony of some other school while he was in junior high, he even took over their broadcast room!"

"Stop making me sound like such an asshole!" Ryuuji thought, which annoyed him.

He wondered if the same misunderstandings would happen again this year, and let out a sigh.
Though after spending a year with his classmates, most of the misunderstandings had been resolved.
But the problem was, that it restarts today, and also the fact his efforts at changing his image had failed.
He was, however, looking forward to changing classes, in hopes that he'll be in the same class as a certain person.

"Hey, Takasu! Morning!" A voice called from behind Ryuuji.

Ryuuji quickly turned and saw a familiar face, so he raised his hand.

"Oh, Kitamura. Morning!"

"Bleh, it can't be helped. If I stop and wait for him, people will think I'm going to strangle him"
Being misunderstood was unavoidable for him, and in that case he'll have to explain nicely. He decided that he'll take his time and win everyone over.
Ryuuji turned and continued to walk forward towards the Opening Ceremony.

"Ah! We're in the same class as Takasu! How scary.."

"So who's going to talk to him..?"

"No way, definitely not me."

"Why not? Go!"

"Hey! Don't push!"

Ryuuji walked by and heard students talking about him, which he ignored and thought "Say what you want, I don't care"
He sat down at his desk and looked off into the distance, licking his lips with his back turned to everyone.

"Looks like it's the same as always, people are going to misunderstand you here as well."

A male with a friendly smile on his face approached Ryuuji's desk.

"Oh well! It'll get sorted out soon! Besides, I'm here, and a lot of our classmates from class A are here as well."

"Don't worry about it, I don't really mind."

Ryuuji replied with a smile to one of his few friends, Kitamura Yuusaku, who was in his class again this year.
He was honestly in a very good mood, and was ready to explode from being so happy. No, not because of Kitamura.
That's the kind of thing that would just make him say "Oh, Kitamura. Looks like we're in the same class again this year"
That's not what's making him grin like an idiot, the reason was--

"Hey! Kitamura-kun! We're in the same class this year!"

--her.

"Hm? Ah, Kushieda! You're also in 2-C?"

"What? You only just found out? Check the class roster on the first day of school!"

"My bad. Well, this is a good thing. Now it'll be easier to sort out our club meetings."

"Ahaha! That's right! Oh, Takasu-kun. Do you remember me? I'm with Kitamura-kun from time to time."

She then paused.

Ryuuji couldn't say anything.

"Ah, um..It is okay if I call you Takasu-kun, right?"

"Er...um.."

An angel had revealed herself. Ryuuji was looking at a smile that shone as brightly as the sun, and as warm as sunlight.

"..Kushieda Minori, right?"

"DAMN IT! I got the words right! But my voice sounded so cold! Why did I just say that!? Why didn't I think of something better!?"

Ryuuji was ready to bang his head on his desk.

"Wow! You remembered my full name! I'm so glad! Ah..it seems someone is calling me from over there, I have to go Kitamura-kun!
See you in the first club meeting! Also, Takasu-kun, let's talk again sometime."

Ryuuji raised his hand awkwardly, but she was already gone.

She said she was glad... She said we'll talk again sometime..

He finally got his wish to be in the same class as Kushieda Minori.

She said she was glad... She said we'll talk again sometime..

She said..She was glad..

"Takasu?"

"--Ah!?" Kitamura appeared before his face, causing him to fall off his chair.

"What're you grinning at..?"

"No, it-it's really nothing.."

"Oh, really?"

Ryuuji was grateful from the bottom of his heart, Kitamura might have been the only person who could tell whether he was smiling or not.
But there was also another thing he was grateful for..

"...Kitamura, erm. How should I say this..You, er, seem pretty calm when you talk to girls, like Kushieda-san!"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Kitamura's eyes widened, he apparently didn't realize it himself. Ryuuji changed his mind, due to Kitamura being so dense.
Kitamura had always been able to speak with Kushieda naturally, even since last year. They were also both in the softball club.
Ryuuji was always there smiling at her, or trying to receive a greeting from her. His efforts could bring one to tears.
Thanks to constantly being with Kitamura and observing his conversations with Kushieda, Ryuuji realized she was cute, and he likes her.

Her various cheerful expressions.

Her delicate body and exaggerated movements.

Her innocent smiles and clear voice.

Even with Ryuuji's appearance, she still managed to act like her usual self around him, even to this day.

That's Kushieda Minori for you.

Ryuuji was snapped out of his thoughts by Kitamura's voice.

"What're you talking about? I can't possibly talk naturally to girls, you know what they call me!"

Ryuuji sighed, he envied Kitamura, who continued his sentence.

"I'm no good with girls. I probably won't ever find a girlfriend, as long as I live."

Ryuuji was going to argue, but decided against it, he figured this guy would never understand.
It was true that the girls called Kitamura "Maruo", after the typical "Mr. Nice Guy" from Chibi Maruko-chan.
Maybe there's some resemblance as to why he got this nickname..Oh, that's why!
Ryuuji finally understood. Kitamura wasn't only able to talk naturally with Kushieda, but ALL the girls.
Whenever girls would see him, they would say "Oh! I'm in the same class as Maruo again"
And he would casually reply with "Oh, is that a problem"
On top of this, he has many more traits: glasses with very high prescription, a straightforward personality, excellent grades, he doesn't follow the trend of being flirtatious, and holds quite traditional values.
In the right situation, he would say "That's correct"; he is the sort of guy capable of creating a cheerful atmosphere in the classroom. Speaking of which, he is the former class representative, the current vice president of the Student Council, and the front-runner to be the new president of the softball team.
It is natural for everyone to make fun of him. As Ryuuji was going into deep thought, he heard someone say "Whoa, scary." behind him.

Here we go again..

He laid his head on his desk and ignored the voices he would occasionally hear, he was still happy from being in the same class as Kushieda Minori.

"Sure looks formidable. I told you this guy isn't a normal person."

"Whoa, look at those eyes. If you piss the owner of those eyes off, you could get killed!"

Ryuuji started to notice that the non-malicious whispers began to increase.

It might be better to hide in the bathroom until the new homeroom teacher arrives, Ryuuji thought hopefully. It would clear his mind a bit.
He stood up and opened the door, and as he was about to walk through it, he felt something bump into his stomach.

"Hmm..?"

Ryuuji thought he had hit something, but there was nothing in sight.

"..Strange..."

He looked around, yet all he could see was--

Students started calling out.

"As expected of Takasu-kun; is he going to make the first move?"

"Has it started already? When I saw the roster I knew this would happen.."

All Ryuuji could see were the new classmates whispering amongst themselves. Are they talking about me? But still, why?
One of the students came up with the title "Clash Of The Titans."

"This is already the final showdown."

Everyone was talking strangely. Clash of the Titans? Final showdown? What the hell are they talking about? Ryuuji tilted his head trying to make sense of what was going on.

"So you bump into someone and then you don't even apologize?"

He heard a cold voice come from somewhere, the strangly calm voice had the sense of held back emotion that was about to burst.
But he couldn't tell where the voice was coming from...

"..Huh..?"

The mood suddenly got darker. Ryuuji glanced to his right and saw no one, then glanced to his left, also no one, he looks up, obviously no one there, so that means.
It came from below him. Right below his eyes, not even coming up to his chest, was a head of brown hair.
The first thing he thought was that she looked like a doll, due to her small size.
To put it completely simple, she was very small. Her long straight hair covered the small body of the Palmtop Tiger.

"..Wait, Palmtop Tiger?"

Ryuuji had said that out loud without thinking, apparently hearing it from the whispering students.

Is that what this little doll is called? Though she is small enough to fit into a palm..how is she like a tiger?"

"..Who you calling Palmtop Tiger?"

This was not a time where you could think for long, as whatever this person was lifted her chin, and her eyes..

"WHOAAAA!!"

It took three seconds. Everything went silent, though perhaps it was only Ryuuji's imagination. For an instant, it felt like a vacuum created by a shock wave just after an explosion.
The background noise slowly returned to everyone's ears. By the time he realized it, Ryuuji found that he had fallen backwards onto the ground.
It wasn't just him, the few classmates nearby were hit as well and moaned, while others were already getting ready to escape.

What happened? I already know nothing really happened, it was just this girl--

"You're hopeless."

She simply stared at Ryuuji with those two large, tiger-like eyes.

That was it. Within a few seconds, Ryuuji had already been struck down by awe. His mind went blank, his body felt paralyzed just by the sheer pressure she created.
Ryuuji was repelled by her glare, or to be more precise, he was repelled by the aura that emanated from her eyes, causing him to fall on the ground.
This was the first time Ryuuji understood what it meant to have fierce eyes.
It included the necessary essence one carries, as well as a ferociousness to match; or to be more exact, an "intent to kill."

His thoughts were interrupted by the tiger's voice.

"A dragon...? How lame." She opened her cherry lips and shot out words like bullets that carried a certain child-like quality to them. Her incredibly small hands roughly swept aside her fluttering hair, while her soft eyelids hid her killing intent.
Those eyes were now as transparent as the glass eyes of a doll and stared coldly at Ryuuji.
"Ah, ahh√ah, ah, ahhh...t√that's right." Without realizing it, Ryuuji began to nod and clapped his hands. So that's why she's called the Palmtop Tiger! I wonder who gave her that name, but ≈

" ≈ Isn't that a wonderful name?"

And such a fitting name as well, I'm impressed. The girl glanced at Ryuuji, silently uttered "dragon", and then looked at him with disdain.
It was not hard to see why. Whether from the fall or from being ripped open by the phantom tiger, Ryuuji's gakuran jacket was now open. Under his jacket, he wore a colorful "Soryuu (Rising Dragon)" T-shirt that Yasuko had happily bought for him.
It wasn't like Ryuuji had wanted to wear a T-shirt that would cause such misunderstandings, it was just that all his other clothes were taken to the laundry for that day and he wasn't expecting anyone to be able see what he was wearing inside with his jacket on.
Feeling embarrassed for some reason, Ryuuji quickly covered his chest, like a girl that just got assaulted by a ruffian. At that moment, he saw someone tip-tapping her way closer.

"Taiga! You're late! You skipped the Opening Ceremony, didn't you?"

"I overslept. Anyways, I'm glad we're in the same class this year, Minorin."

"Yeah! Me too!"

It was none other than Kushieda Minori. She directly called the Palmtop Tiger "Taiga", and even smiled and gently caressed her hair, while the Palmtop Tiger also intimately called her "Minorin.
Watching all of this, Ryuuji began to hear the whispers around him.

"Looks like the Palmtop Tiger wins Round 1 ."

"Hah, seems like Takasu only looks scary, he's no delinquent!"

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah, that's why he lost to the Palmtop Tiger. She's the real deal."

The misunderstandings were fixed sooner than expected..in a much different way..

(OOC : Alright, there's not much in THIS chapter. But my version starts now. Enjoy. n_n)

As Taiga and Minori were talking, Ryuuji heard Minori say she had to go and watched her as she turned and left.
Taiga turned to face Ryuuji, and he could see death in her eyes. She leaned over and grabbed his shirt, and spoke coldly.

"I've seen you watching Minorin, and I don't like it. Know your place, mutt. She's not interested."

She shoved him forward roughly, Ryuuji's eyes now wide with his mouth dropped wide open.

His hopes were crushed, and he knew this wouldn't end well.

He'd made an enemy of the Palmtop Tiger.

-To Be Continued-

The weak point of the Palmtop Tiger is revealed!?

Shut up, mutt.

Work together!?!? Are you insane!?

SHUT UP.

Next time : Chapter 02 - The Shy Love Of The Two