A/N: Hey guys, what's up? I'm back with chapter two! I don't have much else to say, so please read and review! See ya'll at the bottom with another author's note!
It had been a few days since the incident with the letter. Graham was at Ryuuji's house, eating breakfast with him, Taiga, and Ryuuji's mother, Yasuko.
"More!" Taiga shouted, holding out her now empty bowl of rice.
"Coming up!" Ryuuji said, taking the bowl from her. Turning towards the rice-cooker, he began to reach for it before looking at Taiga and saying, "Woah, hold on a minute!"
"What…?" Taiga asked, giving him a weird look.
"What are you doing? Why are you guys eating breakfast at my place, now?" Ryuuji questioned. Turning to his mother, he said, "And why are you acting like its normal?"
Smiling, Yasuko replied, "Oh, it's fine. Taiga's so small and Graham is so skinny that they really don't take up that much space. Besides, the more people around the table the better the meal tastes!"
"I'm not THAT skinny," Graham mumbled softly, frowning slightly.
"You gonna give me some rice or what?" Taiga said rather rudely, prompting Ryuuji to turn and open up the cooker.
Seeing that it was empty, he said, "But I made more than enough! How much more are you gonna eat?"
Taiga was about to say something but before she could, Ryuuji's pet parakeet Inko began squawking, as if it had something stuck in its throat. Eventually, it managed to say, "S-S-Sorry..."
"Great, now you guys have gone and scared the kid," Graham joked, to which Yasuko gave him a confused look.
Oh, right. I'm not funny. Graham thought to himself, letting out a bit of a sigh as he returned to his breakfast. I'd forgotten that...
Chapter II: This Is Your Life
"I swear," Taiga began, as she, Ryuuji, and Graham walked to school. "Are you trying to make your bird go bald from all that stress? I mean it's ugly enough as it is."
"Don't call her ugly!" Ryuuji snapped, getting defensive.
"Y'know, they say pets start to look like their owners after awhile," Taiga added.
"Oh my god," Graham said, covering his mouth in disbelief.
"What's your problem?" Ryuuji grumbled. "I made breakfast for you, and lunch! How about a little gratitude?"
"Quit yer yapping there, mongrel."
"Mongrel? You're unbelievable!" Ryuuji exclaimed. Reaching out his hand, he gestured towards a small sack she was carrying and said, "Gimme that lunch! I take back every nice thing I've done for you!"
"Ugh. Shutup and rot in hell..." Taiga groaned.
Ever since the incident with the letter, Taiga and I have been showing up for meals at Ryuuji's house. Well more accurately, Taiga's been dragging me there. Graham thought to himself. There's also one other thing that's been different…
"Remember our deal. When we get to school, you two have a job to do." Taiga said suddenly, stopping in her tracks and prompting Graham and Ryuuji to follow suite. Blushing a bit, Taiga continued with, "Y'know, to figure out how to...y'know, get closer to Kitamura..."
Snapping out of her sudden nervousness, Taiga turned around and yelled at the two, saying, "And there's no backing out 'cuz you two promised you'd obey me like dogs, remember? And I swear, if it doesn't work for any reason-Minorin!"
Looking up, Graham and Ryuuji saw Minori, who was on the other end of the street, walking to school just like them.
As Taiga ran over to her, Minori said, "Hey, Ms. Latekins! Somebody's in a good mood,"
"Morning, Minorinnnn!" Taiga said in a rather child-like voice, rubbing her head against Minori's chest.
Noticing that Ryuuji was there, Minori said, "Wha-? No way! Really?!"
"Huh…?" Ryuuji said, confused.
"S-Sorry, I'm just a little shocked, here." Minori said awkwardly, gripping her head in both hands. "I had no idea you and Takasu were so close, you're walking to school together all two-shot style, now!"
"No one uses the term 'two-shot style' anymore..." Taiga replied.
"Yeah, and besides, it'd be more like 'three-shot style' since I'm here," Graham added.
"That's not the point!" Ryuuji shouted, not wanting Minori to get the wrong idea.
"Oh, right. I guess nowadays people just say...aw jeez, I'm so confused! I don't know how people say it these days!" Minori said, shaking her head. "Lovebirds? No wait, lovers!"
"Like I said, that's not the point!" Ryuuji told her. "We just happened to run into eachother on our way to school, is all. Right, Aisa-"
"So it's just a coincidence?" Minori asked Taiga, almost completely ignoring Ryuuji.
"Yeah, he's just my neighbor." Taiga explained.
"Oh..."
"I-uh..." Ryuuji said awkwardly, as Minori and Taiga began to walk away.
"Okay, see you later Takasu, have a good day!" Minori said cheerfully, waving to the boy before turning back to Taiga. "Okay, so I watching TV last night, and I..."
With that, her and Taiga turned down the intersection and continued walking to school. However, before she faded from view completely, she looked at Ryuuji and tilted her head, giving him a slightly sinister look.
Seeing this, Ryuuji looked at his left hand and said, "I get it, now...if I want a chance with Kushieda, I've gotta help Aisaka with Kitamura, first."
"And if I want even the slightest shot with Kashii, I have to do the same..." Graham realized.
Looking at eachother and grinning, Graham and Ryuuji spoke in unison, saying, "Bring it on!"
"Okay, that's enough stretching!" Said Mr. Kuroma, the gym teacher at Ohashi Sr. High, as he stood in front of Class 2-C, flexing his muscles. "It's time to split up into pairs and pass the-"
"Aisaka!" Ryuuji hollered before he could even finish. "You and me!"
"Sure!" Taiga said immediately, pushing her way through the crowd of students in order to walk over to him. "I'll be on your team, Takasu!"
"Sweet."
"-basketball." Mr. Kuroma finished. "Nice! Good to see Takasu and Aisaka so pumped!"
"Taiga…?" Minori said to herself, caught slightly off guard by her friend's decision to pair up with Takasu.
The plan is foolproof, Graham thought to himself, as he watched Ryuuji and Taiga walk to the other side of the gym together. I pick a spot right next to Kitamura and whatever guy he pairs up with. I line up the shot, than signal Ryuuji to nail the guy in the face with the ball. Than Ryuuji makes a big deal about it and insists on taking the guy to the infirmary...and Taiga gets to take his place with Kitamura. It's genius!
Following Ryuuji and Taiga over to the metal case holding all the basketballs, Graham was about to reach inside and take one when he heard something that caught his attention.
"Maruo!" Maya Kihara said, approaching Kitamura with a basketball in her arms. "You wanna team up?"
"Sure, that sounds like a plan." Kitamura replied. "But you've gotta stop calling me that,"
"But you look just like him!" Maya giggled, blushing slightly.
"What the…?" Ryuuji muttered. Suddenly, Taiga slammed her elbow into his stomach out of nowhere, causing him to groan in pain as she pointed over at the two.
"Wait a minute, Kitamura's with some freaky person!" Taiga exclaimed. Turning in order to face Graham, she stomped on his foot before saying, "How'd that happen?"
"Ow! Why'd you-"
"-hit me?" Ryuuji finished, grimacing in pain.
"Kushieda!" Hisamitsu Noto said out of nowhere, walking up to Minori while she had her back turned.
"Wanna be my partner?"
Turning around, Minori replied with, "Sure, I'm down with that!"
"So is Kushieda!" Ryuuji exclaimed.
"It doesn't change anything." Taiga told him. "We stick to the plan."
"B-But he's with a girl!" Ryuuji balked.
Glaring at him, Taiga replied with, "What are you, a sexist?"
"Y-Y'know what guys, let's just calm down, okay…?" Graham said somewhat awkwardly, attempting to diffuse the tension between the two. "Let's get on with the plan, huh?"
Nodding, Ryuuji and Taiga took their ball and grabbed a spot close to Kitamura and Kihara. Graham then spoke to himself, saying, "Perfect. Now I just have to find a part...ner."
Looking around, he realized that almost everyone else in the gym had already been paired up. Letting out a sigh, he almost jumped out of his gym uniform when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Turning around, he saw none other than Nanako Kashii, his classmate and crush.
Giving him a nervous smile, the purple-haired girl said, "H-Hey Graham, do you maybe wanna be p-partners?"
Blushing a little bit, Graham tried his best not to stutter as he said, "Sure. I'd l-love to."
On the other side of the room, Mr. Kuroma was going on about how big his upper arms were when he was cut off by Haruta, who had a weird look on his face as if he were sick or something. This caused him to stop to tend to the boy. Meanwhile…
"I won't use my thumbs as I...throw it!" Minori hollered, launching the ball forward without much force or velocity. This caused it to fall to the ground, where it bounced up and down two or three times before rolling away.
Seeing this, Noto said, "That wasn't even close, Kushieda."
Stroking her chin, Minori said, "Hmm...the road to mastering the thumb-less throw is long and hard..."
"Huh?"
"Nah, forget about it. That was for the folk's who get it, is all!"
"Did she just...reference a kung-fu movie?" Graham muttered under his breath.
Clenching his fist as a jealous feeling washed over him, Ryuuji muttered, "Damn you, Noto..."
Alright, let's see. I'm not a geometry expert by any means, but I just need to wait until Ryuuji and Taiga get into a position where the ball will angle itself towards Maya. Once I do that, I'll be gol-
"Is something wrong, Graham?" Nanako said, prompting the boy to turn towards her and let out an awkward chuckle.
"Uh, no, it's uh, nothing. Just zoned out there for a minute." He ad-libbed. Tossing the ball over towards her, he watched her catch it before saying, "Okay, now it's y-your turn."
"Right," She replied, giving him a nod. With that, she threw the ball in his direction, but he fumbled a bit when he tried to catch it. This caused the ball to ultimately fall on the floor and roll away.
Rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment, Graham said, "Sorry about that...I'm really bad at catching."
"Oh no, you're fine." Nanako said, giving him an encouraging smile. "I'm not very good at throwing, either. Truth be told, I've never been super athletic."
"Hey, me neither!" Graham replied, excitement in his voice as he found common ground with his crush. "You ever skin your knees trying to climb the rope?"
"Only all the time!" Nanako said with a laugh.
"Haha, no way!" Graham exclaimed, loosening up while growing distracted at the same time.
Watching the boy with an impatient look on his face, Ryuuji mumbled, "What the heck is taking him so long? Shouldn't he be looking over at Kitamura and Kihara instead of chatting it up with Kashii?"
"We can't wait for him anymore," Taiga told him, growing impatient herself. "Now pass!"
Growing frustrated when Ryuuji hesitated, Taiga repeated herself, saying, "C'mon, let's gooo! Pass! Pass!"
Looking past Taiga at Kihara, Ryuuji thought to himself, Man, I really don't wanna do this...sorry Kihara, I'll make it up to you…
With that, he snapped his eyes shut and threw the ball, intending to 'accidentally' hit Kihara. However, instead it hit Taiga, nailing her right in the face and causing her to fall to the floor with a solid thud.
Seeing this, several of the other students began to rush over toward her, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Graham's face immediately flushed, as he realized he'd forgotten to signal Ryuuji.
"Oops..." He mumbled quietly. "Aisaka is gonna kill me for that one, isn't she…?"
"Alright class, it's time for Home Ec." Ms. Koigakubo said, as Class 2-C filed into the Home Economics classroom. "You can bake whatever you want, just make sure you work in pairs."
"Okay, awesome." Graham said, turning to Ryuuji. "You and I can bake some cookies, and then Aisaka can give them to Kitamura after class. This is perfect!"
Feeling someone tap him on the shoulder, Graham turned around and saw Nanako, who once again appeared nervous for some reason. Speaking up, she said, "Hey Graham, I know we already teamed up for basketball, but would you maybe like to be p-partners again? I had a lot of f-fun talking earlier."
"I had f-fun talking too, but I was actually going to-" Graham began. However, before he could finish his sentence, Ryuuji elbowed him in the side and gestured towards Nanako with his head. This prompted Graham to backpedal, giving her a small smile before saying, "Um, sure. That'd be great."
"Awesome," Nanako said, unable to stop herself from smiling back.
"Now listen," Ryuuji told Taiga, as he, she, and Graham stood in the hallway. The bell had just rung, signifying that the school day was now over. Gesturing to the bag of cookies in her hand, he continued by saying, "When you give these to him, act natural."
Giving her an encouraging smile, Graham added, "Whatever you do, don't freeze up, okay?"
"Okay...gotcha..." Taiga said nervously. "Act...natural. Right. Casual...easy...loose..."
Nodding his head, Ryuuji said, "Let's do this."
Grabbing ahold of the door to Classroom 2-C, Ryuuji slid it open and together, he, Taiga, and Graham stepped inside. Looking towards Kitamura's desk to find that it was empty, he looked to the only two other students in the room and said, "Hey, where's Kitamura?"
"Oh, he's not here right now. Said he had stuff to take care of in Building B, so...GAH!" One of the boys shouted, only just now realizing it was Ryuuji who was talking to him.
Starting to freak out, the other boy stammered, "He just left, he c-couldn't have gotten far!"
Hearing this, the three turned and looked to the hallway, where Kitamura could be seen rounding the corner.
"After him!" Graham shouted, and together, the three began to chase after the boy.
"Hey!" A female student exclaimed as Taiga pushed past her.
"Out of my way!" Taiga replied.
"It's Takasu!" A male student called out, as Ryuuji came up behind her. Spotting Graham trying his best to keep up, he added, "And the Gaijin is with him!"
Dashing to the end of the hallway while panting the entire time, the trio made a left towards the stairs and Taiga immediately began to make her way up the steps.
"Man, she's fast..." Ryuuji said from behind her, taking several deep breaths as he struggled to match her pace. Despite the massive pain he felt in his calves, he continued to press on, making it up to the first landing before stopping when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
Turning around, he saw Graham, who said, "Don't worry, Aisaka can catch him. She'll be fine."
However, as soon as he said that, Taiga tripped and fell on the second-to-last step leading to the next floor. Seeing this, Ryuuji dove behind her in order to catch her.
Meanwhile, noticing that the cookies had flown out of her hands and were drifting towards the open window, Graham leapt into the air and reached out to grab them. Unfortunately, his attempt only made them fly through the window faster.
"Ryuuji," Taiga said, opening her eyes as the aforementioned boy cradled her from behind like a child; hearing this, he released her, and together, the two stood up to their feet.
Standing next to the window with his head hung low, Graham mumbled, "Your cookies...they um...they flew out the window..."
"Man..." Ryuuji mumbled, as he and Graham sat inside their classroom, waiting for Taiga to return. Rubbing the back of his head, he said, "I knew that was gonna leave a big lump..."
"Yeah..." Graham echoed. "I really botched that one up, didn't I?"
"You? How is it your fault?" Ryuuji asked, turning around to face him. "If anything, it's my fault. I'm the one that hyped Aisaka up. If we hadn't of been running so fast she wouldn't have tripped on the steps."
"Yeah, maybe, but I'm the one who tried to catch the cookies in mid-air and failed miserably..." Graham sighed. "I really am the worst catcher in the history of ever..."
"C'mon, don't be so hard on yourself. Be more optimistic." Ryuji told him. "Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you something, Graham. I don't wanna offend you or anything, but...why are you doing this?"
"What do you mean…?" Graham asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Y'know, helping out Aisaka. Being her dog, or whatever. Why are you doing this?" Ryuuji questioned. "I mean, I know she blackmailed both of us, but here's the thing. I've liked Minori for a really long time, and if Taiga told her about it...I'd be so embarrassed, I don't think I'd ever be able to come back to school. But you...I mean, you just met Kashii, and I can tell you like her, but I don't think it'd really be that bad if she found out about your crush. I mean, if you ask me, I think she'd be happy."
"Happy…? I don't understand, why would Kashii be happy to find out I like her…?"
"Man, you're dense..." Ryuuji muttered under his breath. Shaking his head, he said, "Nevermind, it's not important. Anyway, my point is, you don't really have as much to lose as I do by not helping with the Kitamura thing, so there's gotta be another reason you're sticking around, right? What is it?"
Taking a deep breath, Graham replied with, "...I don't really know. If I had to give a definitive answer, I guess...I don't know, I've never really had any friends before. And I know what we have going here isn't really a f-friendship...but it definitely feels like one. I guess the reason I'm staying is...I wanna pretend like I have friends for once."
Hearing this, Ryuuji closed his eyes and smiled. Turning around and seeing this, Graham said, "That sounded stupid, didn't it…?"
"Not at all," Ryuuji assured him. "I understand exactly what you mean, Graham."
Hearing the sliding door to the classroom open out of nowhere, Ryuuji lifted up his head to see Taiga, who had a somewhat dejected looked on her face.
"Did you find the cookies…?" He asked, to which she silently nodded.
"They still in one piece…?" Graham asked hesitantly, to which she shook her head.
"Oh...okay." Ryuuji said somewhat awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. Watching as the girl walked over to the window and slowly leaned her head against it, Ryuuji said, "Hey, what's-"
"Be honest..." Taiga began. "I'm just a big fat klutz, aren't I…?"
"She has no idea..." Graham muttered somewhat sarcastically.
"I write a love letter but put it in the wrong guy's bag...I attack you, but then halfway through I collapse from hunger...I try to play basketball, but get bashed in the face...I try to give someone cookies, and I trip, and fall, and drop them..."
"I think you missed a few things, there!" Ryuuji said in an optimistic tone of voice, trying and failing to cheer Taiga up. "Like when you forgot to put the letter in the envelope!"
"Oh yeah, right..." Taiga said emotionlessly, sinking down to the floor with a frown on her face.
Realizing what he'd done, Ryuuji stood up from his desk and walked over to her. Bending down, he reached towards her and said, "C'mon, let me have one of those things."
"Huh…?" Taiga asked, utterly confused. Watching as he took the bag of broken cookies out of her hand, she said, "B-But they're all crushed, and, and...wait, I don't think they're any...um..."
Taking a shard of cookie out of the bag and eating it, Ryuuji took a deep breath before opening the bag all the way and pulling it up to his face, pouring a large portion of the broken shards of cookie into his mouth before chewing and swallowing. Once he was finished chewing, he exclaimed, "Awesome!"
Elbowing Graham in the side, he held out the bag. Seeing this, Graham reluctantly took it and followed Ryuuji's lead, pouring the remaining shards of cookie into his own mouth before chewing and swallowing them.
"Hey, these are great!" Graham lied, hoping and praying that he wouldn't throw up. "They came out really good."
"Too bad he didn't get 'em. Guess we'll just have to try harder, next time." Ryuuji told her.
Taiga tried to say something in response, but she found she couldn't-she was speechless. She almost managed to get a word out, when all of a sudden-
"Did you guys...hear something?" Graham questioned, peering into the hallway with a strange look in his eyes.
The Next Day at School…
"I definitely saw them!" Haruta exclaimed, as he stood in front of his classmates. "They were buying things like green onions and radishes from the supermarket! They looked like a married couple!"
"I saw them this morning walking out of an apartment building, together!" Kihara added. "Definitely some hanky-panky going on, there!"
"It was crazy!" Noto shouted. "There were just sitting there, eating homemade cookies together! They were like, feeding eachother!"
"What?! Wow! Seriously?! No way..." Kashii concluded, as more people began to file into the classroom.
"Hey, Minori." A female student said, as Kushieda walked into the classroom. "What's going on with your friend?"
"Hmm..." Minori said to herself, unable to provide her with a real answer.
Hearing the door to the classroom slide open, everyone turned around to see Ryuuji, Taiga, and Graham, who were all standing there, somewhat confused by all the attention they seemed to be getting.
"Huh?" Ryuuji asked aloud.
"What's...wrong?" Graham mumbled.
"What's taking you guys so long?" Taiga asked in annoyance. "Go in, already!"
"Squee!" Nanako squealed, placing her hands on her face in the same overall manner as a fangirl would.
"Squee…?" Ryuuji asked, utterly confused.
Coming up to them out of nowhere with a very serious look on her face, Minori said, "Do you three have a minute?"
With that, the three reluctantly followed Minori up to the roof, where she proceeded to stand by the fence with a wistful look in her eyes.
"Oh, sweet little bird of youth..." She whispered, her voice just loud enough for Graham to hear.
Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Graham muttered, "Was she dropped on her head a child, or…?"
"What's going on with Kushieda…?" Ryuuji whispered in Taiga's ear.
"No idea." Taiga told him.
"Takasu?" Minori asked out of nowhere, startling the boy slightly.
"Yes?! ...I, I mean, yeah?"
Turning around, Minori gave him a smile...before her expression suddenly morphed into what could only be described as one of pure horror. Leaping into the air, she landed on her knees in front of Ryuuji and began pleading with him, saying, "Please make sure you take excellent care of Taiga..."
"...Huh?"
"Taiga is an incredibly dear friend to me. The only thing I ask is that you make her as happy as she can possibly be!"
"H-Hold on, Kushieda! Do you think me and her are-?!"
"Make me happy…?" Taiga asked, equally as confused as Ryuuji was. Hearing clapping out of nowhere, she, Ryuuji, and Graham looked up and saw Kitamura, who was standing up on top of the roof to the stairwell that led up to the roof.
"So that's the deal." He said to himself. "I'm really happy for both of you."
"How in the hell did you get up there?" Ryuuji exclaimed. However, his question was promptly ignored.
"I noticed you two were spending a lot of time together, and now that I think about it, you make a cute couple!"
Hearing this, Taiga gasped, falling backwards as she spontaneously fainted. Diving to catch her, Graham shouted, "A-Aisaka, wake up! Guys, we have a woman down! I repeat, woman down!"
"Takasu?" Minori asked, again catching Ryuuji off-guard. "I swear, if you make Taiga cry...I'll never ever forgive you."
Turning to Graham, she added, "And you. Since you're their chaperone, I'll hold you even more to blame. And if you let Takasu hurt her in any way...they'll never find your body."
"GAH!" Graham shouted, a look of pure fright in his eyes.
It had been several hours since school let out. Graham, Ryuuji, and Taiga were all sitting in a booth at a local restaurant called Jonny's; all three were practically in shock over the rumors that had begun to spread at their school.
"Kushi...eda..." Ryuuji murmured.
"Chaperone…?" Graham thought aloud. "What does that even mean?"
"I'm sorry..." Taiga mumbled. Looking up at Ryuuji, she said, "It's my fault that Minorin got the wrong idea. Because I kept inviting myself over to your place."
Hearing this, Ryuuji shook his head and said, "No, that's not the-"
"I liked it there." Taiga admitted. "When I was at your house, I felt at home."
"...my parents and me, we don't get along that well." Taiga explained to Ryuuji and Graham, as the three of them walked down the now empty streets. "When I told them I wanted to move out, they set me up in that apartment. I knew that was how they'd react, but...hey, those cookies were salty, weren't they?"
"Huh?" Graham and Ryuuji asked, feigning confusion. They were trying to play it off like they didn't know what she was talking about.
"I got super mad when I saw them all broken up like that, and then I tried one. God, they were nasty! I can't believe you guys finished 'em all! You even said they were good! If you mutts keep stressing out over people like that you're gonna go bald."
Growling a little bit, Ryuuji muttered, "Why don't you worry about yourself?"
"Hey...do you guys ever get like, nervous when you think about Minorin or Kashii?" Taiga asked out of nowhere.
"Yeah," Ryuuji replied.
"Of c-course," Graham echoed.
"Obviously..." Taiga said, stopping in her tracks a few seconds later. Noticing this, Ryuuji and Graham stopped too.
"Why you'd stop?" Ryuuji questioned.
"Why doesn't anybody understand us…?" Taiga asked. "Seriously. We're nothing but a bunch of nervous wrecks all the time. So why can't people see that? Truth is, everybody...all of 'em, they're just really..."
Stopping mid-sentence, Taiga suddenely kicked a telephone pole next to her before continuing with, "...really pissing me off! They piss me off, they piss me off, they piss me off! Screw that 'Palm Top Tiger' stuff! Nothing's okay, I'm not okay! Stupid Minorin! Stupid Kitamura! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?! My mom doesn't...my dad doesn't! They don't get me...nobody does...ever."
Seeing she was on the verge of tears, Ryuuji delivered a solid kick to the telephone pole. Looking over at her, he said, "Mind if I join you?"
Taking a deep breath as she struggled to hold back tears, Taiga gave him a nod. Together, the two ned their attention back to the pole and proceeded to resume kicking it.
"Who cares if I'm small?!"
"I'm not a delinquent!"
"So what if I've got a weird name?!"
"It's not my fault I look like this!"
Joining in with a fierce kick of his own, Graham shouted, "Just because I'm shy doesn't mean there's something wrong with me!"
"SCREW THEM ALL!" Taiga screamed at the top of her lungs. Delivering one final kick, she found herself out of breath. She began taking a series of shallow breaths in an attempt to calm herself down.
"Um, are you okay…?" Ryuuji asked, slightly concerned for the girl.
"Ryuuji...Graham...did we tilt it yet?"
"No, that's impossible-" Ryuuji began. Turning to the pole, he feigned shock as he said, "It is tilted!"
"Seriously?!" Taiga said excitedly. Turning away from the pole, she began jumping up and down, pumping her fists in the air as she cried, "Yes, we did it! We win, we win!"
Letting out a laugh, she took another short breath before saying, "I've made up my mind. Tomorrow, I'm going to tell Kitamura how I feel. And that will be the end of this."
"The...end?" Ryuuji asked, to which Taiga nodded.
"Yeah, no more of you guys serving me like dogs." Taiga confirmed. "Starting tomorrow, we'll all three just be classmates who also happen to be neighbors. Nothing more, nothing less. Goodbye, Takasu...Graham."
With that, she turned around and ran off, leaving the two behind.
Is it...really...over? Graham thought to himself, feeling tears well up in his eyes.
"Yo, Graham-san," Masato said at breakfast the next morning, pausing in-between bites of his meal to question the teen. "Why aren't you eating with your friends? I thought you guys were really hitting it off."
"Oh, um, a-about that..." Graham said somewhat awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "We um, we weren't really friends, I guess. I um, I kinda misconstrued things. We were assigned to do this project together, and I assumed that once we were finished with it we'd still hang out and stuff. I was wrong."
"Oh...well, that's a shame." Masato told him. Giving the boy a sympathetic smile, he said, "Don't worry, buddy. You'll make more friends."
"Yeah, tou-san's right!" Eri chirped. Giving her surrogate brother a radiant smile, she added, "You're an awesome guy, onii-chan! There's gonna be a ton of people who'll wanna hang out with you!"
"T-Thanks, you guys..." Graham said modestly, turning his attention back to his breakfast before muttering under his breath. "If only that were true..."
Walking up the stairs in order to reach the second floor of the school, Graham stopped in his tracks when he saw Ryuuji. Looking up, Ryuuji spotted him and gave a small wave, opening his mouth to speak.
"Hey, Graham." He greeted somewhat awkwardly. "How are you?"
"G-Good..." Graham mumbled, unable to mask the sadness in his voice. "I hate to be r-rude, but I gotta go or I'm gonna be late for class..."
"Same here." Ryuuji told him, readjusting his grip on his school bag. "Let's go,"
With that, the two walked over to their classroom and Ryuuji slid the door open. What he saw shocked him-all of the desks had been knocked over, and stuff was strewn all over the room as if a tornado had gone through it.
"No way..." Ryuuji said to himself.
Poking his head in, Graham took one look at the mess and said, "Did Aisaka do this…?"
"H-Hey, T-Takasu…?" Haruta said from across the classroom. Looking over, Ryuuji and Graham saw all of their classmates standing off to the side, slight looks of fear in their eyes. "We're really sorry about spreading those rumors..."
"Yeah, Aisaka just chewed us all out," Added Kihara, who was hiding behind Haruta.
"She said there's nothing going on between you and her," Chimed in Noto, as he walked over to the two. He then added, "And then, she went psycho and said you weren't a delinquent and that Graham is really shy and that's why he doesn't talk to a lot of people. Man, that Palm Top Tiger can be freaking terrifying...but you? I've always said you weren't the scary guy everyone always says you are, Takasu."
"What?!" Haruta squawked. "You never said that!"
"Look, we gotta clean this up, or we're gonna get in trouble!" Kihara pointed out.
Feeling someone tap him on the shoulder, Ryuuji turned around and saw Kushieda, who bowed apologetically before saying, "Takasu, I'm sorry."
"A-About what?" Ryuuji asked, being slightly caught off-guard.
"Taiga told me everything. She told me it was all just a big misunderstanding, and that she'd never go out with you. She went out of her way to make me understand that. She had this look on her face that was super serious. I mean, like she was desperate! But that's...well...isn't that-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Ryuuji and Graham turned and walked down the stairs, leaving her somewhat confused.
Looking to Graham, Ryuuji said, "Man, what is she doing? She's supposed to be confessing to Kitamura, not worrying about us."
"I know, right?" Graham replied, picking up the pace once they reached the first floor. "C'mon, we've gotta hurry."
Making their way outside, Graham and Ryuuji hid on top of one of the stairwells that led to the back side of the school. Looking down, they saw Taiga, who was standing in front of Kitamura, a huge blush forming on her face as she began talking to the Class Rep.
"Kitamura, I...I um, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sortof, in...I mean..I-I..."
"Seriously?" Ryuuji thought aloud. "She's doing it first thing in the morning?"
"Yeah, it isn't really the best idea, is it?" Graham replied. "If he turns her down, the rest of the day is gonna be pretty awkward..."
"Hold on," Kitamura said, interrupting Taiga as she continued to stammer on nervously. "I think I get it. In face, I have a pretty good idea of where this is going. But before this goes any further, I have to ask you something, first. Aren't you and Takasu like, dating?"
"No, Minorin was just confusing things! There's nothing going on with me and him!"
"So...wait a second, you're saying you don't like him?"
"Not like that!" Taiga said, shaking her head. "We just happen to live super close to eachother! He and I...I don't like him at all!"
"So...you hate him?"
"...What?" Taiga said suddenly, her mouth gaping open in slight shock. Looking down, she said, "I don't...hate him. Wait, I didn't mean that! Takasu...oh yeah, fried rice! He like, went out of his way to make the most amazing fried rice for me. He cheered me up, and he...he l-lied just to make me feel better. He was totally there for me...and it's because of that...because Ryuuji was there that I...that I even have the courage to say this right now! Kitamura, I...I like you!"
"Aisaka...you're really something."
Nodding his head in agreement, Graham added, "Yep, she's definitely something else."
"I see." Kitamura replied, piquing Taiga's interest. "It's okay, you don't have to explain yourself anymore. I think I understand how you feel, now."
"Do you really…?"
"Aisaka...do you remember what happened last year?"
"Yeah..." Taiga said, a slight hint of sadness in her voice.
"Well, compared to back then, you look more...uh, interesting now."
"What do you mean, interesting…?"
"It's true. Whenever you're with Takasu, you look like you're having a good time." Kitamura told her. "He really is an awesome guy, y'know? Besides, I think the way you were talking about him just now means...well, it means that you're a pretty awesome girl, yourself."
"Uh...the way I talked about…? Wait, what exactly did I say?!"
"It doesn't matter," Kitamura said, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "I'm just happy to hear that you and Takasu are getting along so well."
"H-Hold on a second! Ryuuji has nothing to do with this, and what does interesting even mean…? Whatever, that is so not the point! So you're happy, great! Wait, what am I even saying? Did I even tell you that I like you?!"
"Easy, Aisaka. It's okay." Kitamura replied. "I get it."
"What do you mean, you get it?! I don't even understand what I just said, do you?"
"Don't worry." He told her. "It's alright. I'm sure the two of us will become great friends from now on."
"I said I like you, not that I wanna be..." Taiga said, pausing when she realized what he was saying. "...be friends?"
"That's right. We'll be friends, Aisaka." Kitamura replied, causing an extremely deflating feeling to wash over the girl. Hearing the bell ring, the Class Rep looked up and said, "Uh oh, we're gonna be late for homeroom. We'd better get going!"
With that, he turned and walked back inside, leaving Aisaka by herself.
"...I thought you were gonna cry." Ryuuji said out of nowhere, choosing to reveal himself by walking down the stairs.
Jumping down from the landing and ignoring the immense pain he immediately felt in his feet, Graham dusted off his pants and said, "Yeah, I kinda thought the same thing..."
"W-What?! You guys were there?!" Taiga asked, dumbfounded. "Did you see the whole thing?!"
"We didn't mean to," Graham told her.
"You didn't mean to-?"
"Anyway, what now?" Ryuuji asked, to which Taiga immediately scowled.
Turning around with a huff, the girl began to walk away from the school, saying, "I'm going home!"
"Okay...then I guess I'll make you something to eat." Ryuuji said, following her. "I bet you haven't had breakfast, yet."
"Did you remember to eat dinner last night?" Graham added, making his way over to join the two. "Did you grab something from the convenience store, or-?"
"Would you two stop it?!" Taiga shouted. "Why are you doing this?! People are gonna get the wrong idea, again! You don't have to do this stuff, anymore!"
"But we..." Graham replied, his voice small and hesitant. He wasn't quite sure how to convey the emotions he was feeling.
"Look, I...I don't know why I'm doing this." Ryuuji told her. "But I can't just leave you alone like that!"
"Well, you're gonna have to!" Taiga shot back. "I told you to stop, you're not my dogs, anymore!"
"Oh yeah? You're right. I'm not your dog. I'm a dragon." Ryuuji said, stepping slightly closer to Taiga before saying, "Got it? That's why I've got the guts to stand by you, Aisa...Taiga!"
Having been caught off-guard by this, Taiga looked up and said, "Did you j-just say Taiga…?"
"For centuries, only dragons could stand on equal ground with tigers." Ryuuji explained. "So I'll become a dragon, and then...no matter what, I'll be strong enough to stand by you."
Clenching her fist in anger, Taiga delivered a roundhouse kick to Ryuuji's back before saying, "You've got some nerve! You'd better know your place!"
"What the hell…?" Ryuuji whined, tilting his head in slight confusion as Taiga began to trudge forward. "H-Hey!"
"Get a move on!" Taiga ordered. "I'm hungry. And we need to come up with a new plan of attack. What happened today with Kitamura isn't gonna make me give up on him."
"But...but what about-?"
"I don't care if you're a dragon or a mutt," Taiga spat. "You said you were gonna stand by me, so you and your sidekick had better prove it by working your asses off. Now are you coming or what?"
"Yeah, yeah..." Ryuuji replied. Turning around, he motioned for Graham to follow, saying, "C'mon Graham, you heard her."
"Oh, o-okay!" Graham stuttered, rushing to rejoin the two. "So um, if Ryuuji's a d-dragon now, does that make me one, too?"
"No. You're still a mutt," Taiga told him. "Remember that."
"Oh, um, okay..." Graham stammered. Thinking for a second, he took a deep breath before saying, "Actually, I'm m-more than that."
"What did you say…?" Taiga spat, turning around with a fiery look in her eyes.
"I said I'm more than just a dog," He told her. "I'm a hell-hound! I'm just like any other dog, but I've got the guts and the determination to fight my way through whatever comes my way! Come what may, not even the demons in hell can keep me for fulfilling my purpose! I'm gonna fight my way to the top so I can stand by the dragon and tiger, no matter what happens!"
"God, you're so lame..." Taiga replied, shaking her head. Turning around, she snuck a smile when the other two weren't looking, before saying, "I can't believe he called me...Taiga."
Coming Up…
Ryuuji: Kushieda the athlete! Kushieda the workaholic! Oh, my dear Kushieda! Ever so brightly, you do shine!
Graham: (looks at Ryuuji in slight exasperation) ...man, you're strange…
Minori: (singing off-key) ~Big hit coming up! Hey, hey, hey! Big hit coming up! Yeah, yeah, yeah!~
Stay tuned for Chapter III: Minimum Wage, Minimum Effort!
A/N: That's it for chapter two. I'm sticking fairly closely to the plot of the anime for these first few opening chapters, but don't worry, I'm definitely gonna be throwing in some twists and turns later on that'll really make this story my own. I've actually already come up with all kinds of different ideas for how to diverge from the canon story and I'm in the process of going over my favorites in order to see how I can incorporate them.
One more thing before I go-a lot less people are reading this than I initially expected when I decided to bring it back. That's not a bad thing, it's just something I wasn't anticipating, that's all. "The Hound and the Snake" wasn't huge or anything, but it was the most followed/favorited story I had ever written while it was up, and it still is to this day. I was expecting to have a few more readers but I'm perfectly fine with what I have for now. Besides, I'm sure it'll grow. Anyway, long story short, if you're reading the story, thank you. I really appreciate it.
Anyway, that's all for now, guys. See you soon with the next chapter :)
