A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back with chapter seven! I hope you guys enjoy it! If you do, make sure to leave a review with some feedback. I love reading constructive criticism, it really helps me to grow as a writer and I don't where I'd be without it. Anywhoo, now that that's out the way, let's get on with it!
"I wonder what you'd do if I ever decided to show you the real me." Ami said, cutting him off.
"Huh?" Graham said, tilting his head in slight confusion.
"Would you fall for me?" Ami asked, crawling over to him somewhat seductively and leaning in super close to his face.
"W-What are you doing…?" Graham stammered, his face turning at least five different shades of red. "You're w-way too c-close..."
"Well…?" Ami pressed, leaning in even closer. Like, so close that all Graham could see was her face. And her eyes...her beautiful eyes. And her lips...they were so close. Graham realized almost instantly that he was fighting the urge to kiss her. And he was terrified that he might lose.
"W-Woah, hang on a sec," Graham said, almost as if he was pleading with her. "P-Please?"
Ami was about to ignore him and go in for the kill, but the two were interrupted by the sound of someone dropping some kind of cloth on the floor behind them. Looking up, Graham saw his worst fears being realized-standing in front of them were Ryuuji and Taiga, who had walked into the apartment and caught them doing what appeared to be gods know what.
Graham knew he was innocent. He thought he had done fairly well not giving in to Ami's advances...but they didn't know that. They had just entered the apartment, and all they had seen was Ami crawling towards Graham suggestively, and him just sitting there-it looked as if they were putting the moves on each other. Furthermore, they were only here because Graham had let her in using his spare key-this really didn't look good for him.
Neither did the look on Taiga's face. She was stunned beyond belief. The only creature making any noise in the apartment was Inko, who was squawking up a storm.
"Ryuuji! Taiga!" Minori hollered from outside, her voice easily piercing through the paper-thin walls of Ryuuji's apartment. "Are they in there, or what? Taiga!"
...I am so screwed right now. Graham thought to himself.
Yeah, I'll say.
Don't be mean. Graham replied mentally.
Turning around and lifting a finger to her lip as she saw Ryuuji and Taiga, Ami taunted the latter in her fake voice, saying, "Uh oh, we weren't expecting you! Should I not be here right now…?"
Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap! Graham thought to himself as he stared at the wall, a look of sheer panic on his face. Forcing himself to peek up at his two friends, the boy managed to stammer, "This i-isn't what it looks like!"
"Taaaaaaaaaiiiiiga!" Minori shouted at the top of her lungs, as she attempted to gain Aisaka's attention.
"Minorin!" Taiga hollered back, turning to face the doorway. "We checked, and they're not in here!"
"...Where could they have disappeared to?" Minori asked herself, turning her gaze to the other side of the street as she continued to stand at the bottom of the stairs.
"Hmmm, now why would you lie to her?" Ami began. "I have a theory. You didn't want to admit that your loyal dog may not be as loyal as you thought,"
"W-Woah, hang on now!" Graham countered. "Guys, I know how this l-looks, but I swear, it's not l-like that!"
Hearing this, Ami responded in her fake voice, saying, "Aw, but you-"
"But I what?!" Graham replied. "Tell them the truth! Go on, tell them!"
"Oh my God, Graham-kun! That's kinda personal, don't you think?"
"Would you k-knock it off, already?" Graham said rather hotly. Glancing over at Taiga as she turned around and exited the apartment, he said, "H-Hey, where are you going…? Aisaka…? Aisaka!"
Hearing this, Ami smirked to herself-she was clearly very satisfied with the way things had turned out. Meanwhile, Ryuuji walked over to the dining room table and bent down, scooping up Graham's ring of keys before standing up straight and looking over at the boy.
"I think I'll keep ahold of these until you learn to be more responsible..." He said somewhat awkwardly, pocketing the keys before turning to follow Taiga.
"W-Wait, Ryuuji! That has the key to my place on it!" Graham called after him, only to be ignored. This caused the boy to close his eyes and let out a long sigh-this was not the way he had pictured today going.
Looks like she got you pretty good.
Would you get out of my head already? Graham thought to himself, his mouth forming into a scowl.
Chapter VII: Beat The Heat
"Good morning!" Yasuko chirped as she emerged from her bedroom later that night. Taiga was sitting at the table, observing Inko in her cage, and Ryuuji and Graham were in the kitchen. The former was preparing some kind of hot beverage, while the latter was preparing to make dinner, which he had volunteered to cook that night in an attempt to make up for his mistake.
Noticing that Taiga was being uncharacteristically quiet, Yasuko addressed her by saying, "What's wrong, Taiga? Are you okay?"
"Yep, nothing wrong...with me," Taiga told her, prompting Graham to mentally wince. Grabbing ahold of Inko's cage and pulling it closer to her, she addressed the brown-haired boy indirectly, saying, "I wonder what's for dinner, tonight..."
"I-It's one of your favorites, takikomi rice," Graham replied nervously.
Letting out a bit of a sigh, Taiga replied, "Should've made red bean rice, instead."
"H-Huh-?"
Looking up at Inko, Taiga added, "Isn't that right, you fugly bird?"
"Y-Yeah, so anyway, A-Aisaka..." Graham began turning towards the girl and rubbing the back of his head as he stumbled with his words. "About what happened this afternoon...you know Kawashima was m-messing with you, right…? I mean, I just wanna be clear about that, since it put you in a bad mood...s-sorry about that,"
"Why do you feel like you have to apologize to me?" Taiga replied rather passive-aggressively. "You're so weird, Graham."
Letting out a sudden shriek, Inko flopped onto her back inside her cage.
"I-Inko!" Yasuko said, her voice full of concern.
"Get up, Inko!" Ryuuji shouted. "C'mon, don't die on me!"
Tossing and turning as he slept later that night, Ryuuji slowly woke up. Scratching his neck as he blinked his tired eyes open, he glanced over at his radio and saw the clock, which read 8:07am.
"Oh my god!" He exclaimed, realizing he had slept in.
Grabbing a nearby broom and rushing out to the balcony without even getting dressed, the blue-haired teen began to bang loudly on Taiga's bedroom window. As he did this, he shouted, "C'mon, Taiga! Wake up, wake up, wake up! C'mon! I can't believe how late it is..."
Watching as Taiga slowly ambled over to the window, Ryuuji swung at it again with the broom, thinking this would motivate her to move faster. This ended up backfiring, seeing how Taiga slid the window open right as he swung the broom, resulting in her being hit right on the head. This caused her to topple onto her back.
Blinking slowly as he realized what he'd done, Ryuuji watched as the girl stood back up to her feet and groaned, "What was that…?"
"My...broom..."
"What…?"
"Nevermind, we slept too long!" Ryuuji shouted. "C'mon, hurry up and get dressed!"
Rubbing her head where Ryuuji had accidentally hit her, Taiga said, "What did you make me for breakfast? And why the hell did you wake me up like that?"
"No time for breakfast, or lunch!" Ryuuji told her. "We gotta leave, or we'll be late!"
Glancing downwards at the window below hers and realizing Graham wasn't up either, the boy began to beat on it with the broom.
"Graham, wake up!" He hollered. "We slept in and we're gonna be late if we don't hurry! Get dressed and meet us outside! Hurry!"
"Crap, we gotta hit the market or you and I won't have anything for lunch!" Ryuuji said in-between rapid shallow breaths, looking over at Taiga as she, he, and Graham sprinted down the street as fast as they could. Receiving no response, he said, "You hear me? Get those legs pumping or we'll-"
"Hiiiya!" Taiga shouted, leaping into the air and delivering one of her trademark flying-kicks to Ryuuji's side. "I heard you, you stupid mutt! The market!"
"Why is she upset about missing one meal?" Graham thought aloud. Having heard this, Taiga turned and delivered a flying-kick to Graham's side, prompting the boy to cry out in pain. "Ow!"
Skidding to a halt as he and the other two reached Classroom 2-C just in the nick of time, Ryuuji sighed in relief. "Yes! We made it."
With that, the blue-haired boy bent over and began to catch his breath. Meanwhile, Graham and Taiga simply walked around him in order to go to their desks.
Before he could reach his, Graham heard Ami address him in her fake voice, saying, "There you are! Finally!"
Hearing this, he looked over at the girl, who continued with, "Thank you so much for helping me out with that thing yesterday."
"H-Huh? Oh, yeah, s-sure..." He stammered, rubbing the back of his neck.
Seeing Ryuuji and Taiga both giving her sideways glances, Ami turned to the former and said, "Oh my god! Do you like the way my uniform fits or something? You're staring, Takas-"
Cutting her off mid-sentence by hitting her in the stomach with her school bag, Taiga said, "You're blocking the aisle, dumb chihuahua."
Gripping her stomach as a bit of a scowl formed on her face, Ami replied, "I didn't see you come in, Aisaka...morning,"
"Morning, Kawashima," Taiga said rather dryly, slinging her school bag over her shoulder and turning her back to the girl. "I see you're looking a little flush today, are we in heat again?"
This elicited a low growl from the former model, who clearly wasn't happy with the way Taiga was speaking to her. Seeing the rising tension between the two, Graham stammered, "Uh, l-ladies…?"
Regaining her composure, Ami let out a bit of a giggle before saying, "Oh, I get it! But you shouldn't be getting jealous over such a tiny little thing like that. You totally have the wrong idea."
"You really are a moron, y'know that?" Taiga retorted. "If you think I'm jealous-"
"Oh yeah!" Minori hollered from out of nowhere, grabbing Taiga from behind and lifting her above her head. She then began to lift her up and down as if she were a dumbbell, saying, "Top of the morning, everyone! I think I found a new way to tone my upper arms!"
"Don't use me as a weight, Minorin!" Taiga whined. Seeing this, Ryuuji let out a bit of a sigh. Meanwhile, Graham simply rolled his eyes.
What even is my life…? He thought to himself incredulously.
Clasping her hands and flashing her students a smile as they sat down in their desks and settled in for Homeroom, Ms. Koigakubo said, "Guess what? Starting tomorrow, the pool is finally open, again!"
This elicited a round of applause from the class, sans the majority of the girls. This majority included Taiga, who looked on, mortified, as Ms. Koigakubo continued with, "Before you dive in, let's go over some things,"
Their teacher then turned around and began writing some rules down on the chalkboard in Japanese characters whilst thinking to herself, Summer is the time for romantic adventures...my last chance as a twenty-something…
"Gross, my tummy will stick out!"A female student whined from the back of the classroom.
"I hate my thighs!" Another replied.
"I'm worried about all the flab on my upper arms," A third chimed in.
Why the hell are you girls complaining? Ms. Koigakubo thought to herself, stopping in her tracks as she overheard their complaints. You're all still young! So god-damn young!
"No! You guys have co-ed swimming classes?" Ami asked one of the female students. Letting out a big of a giggle, she added, "Oh my god, how embarrassing!"
Pressing her piece of chalk into the chalkboard with so much force that it shattered into a million pieces, Ms. Koigakubo thought to herself, Why would YOU be embarrassed? You're a hottie! Hell, you're a model! WHAT is there to be embarrassed about? What?! Huh?! What?! Cuz I'd really like to know, you-
"Um, excuse me, ma'am?" Kitamura said somewhat hesitantly, noticing that their homeroom teacher seemed to be shaking uncontrollably. "Homeroom is almost over..."
Whipping around to face the Class Rep, Ms. Koigakubo shouted at him, saying, "Fine! End it!"
Hearing this, Kitamura turned to his classmates and addressed them, saying, "Stand,"
This prompted the majority of the class to oblige, aside from Taiga, who sat at her desk with her heads in her hands; the look on her face made it obvious she was freaking out.
"C'mon, Taiga, hurry up!" Minori hollered, as she, Ryuuji, and Graham attempted to drag the girl into the local department store.
"I said I don't need to buy a swimsuit!" Taiga said stubbornly.
"But the one you wore last year is all gross and moldy, now!" Minori pointed out.
"'Cuz when you don't wash and dry it right away, that's what happens," Ryuuji added, as the three succeeded in dragging her inside the store.
"Would you guys knock it off?" Taiga shouted, wrenching her arms loose of the three's grip. She then turned and gestured over to a nearby rack before adding, "And who the hell invited that thing along?!"
Turning around, the three saw Ami, who waved at them before saying, "I came because this store's the only place in town that sells swimsuits!"
Glaring up at Graham, Taiga let out a growl. Seeing this, the boy spoke up, saying, "W-What are you looking at me for? I didn't invite her!"
"Guys, check it out!" Ami exclaimed, holding up a pink, one-piece, toddler-sized swimsuit with a fairy princess on the front. "This would look perfect on Aisaka, don't you think? It's actually kinda too perfect!"
Hearing this, Taiga clenched her fist and let out a low growl. Sensing her anger, Ryuuji said, "Easy, Taiga! People are watching!"
"Hmm...what do you think?" Minori asked Ryuuji as she stood in front of one of the store's mirrors, holding two different swimsuits in front of her body to see how they would look on her. "This one?"
"U-Uh, it's nice," Ryuuji said shyly, blushing bright red. Reaching up to toy with the ends of his hair, he continued with, "Really, really nice..."
"Hey," Ami said out of nowhere, exiting one of the dressing rooms in a navy blue one-piece. "What do you guys think about this one?"
"Gah!" Minori shouted, dropping her two swimsuits to the floor in utter shock. The swimsuit Ami was wearing was rather plain, but somehow, she managed to look extremely attractive in it. Any straight teenage boy who saw her in it would no doubt feel their pockets tighten on the spot...and although he'd never admit it, one of them did.
W-W-What the heck?! Graham thought to himself as he saw her, feeling his face flush a bright red. S-S-She's…!
"Does it look okay?" Ami asked in her fake voice. "I'm not gonna stick out in it, am I?"
"Yeah, you're gonna stick out! Like a sore thumb!" Minori shouted, a hint of jealousy in her tone. "Why the hell are your damn legs so long?!"
"They are kinda long..." Graham mumbled absentmindedly, glancing down at the blue-haired girl's lower half subconsciously. Realizing what he was doing, he attempted to snap himself out of it by shaking his head whilst thinking to himself, No, Bad Graham! Don't let your hormones get the best of you! You like Nanako! Don't think about Ami! Think about Nanako...in a swim...suit...oh God! That's not helping!
"Really? They're not that long...and it's the plainest style I could find..." Ami said, shaking the boy from his thoughts.
Rushing over to Ami and grabbing her by the arm, Minori said, "K-Kawashima, you gotta tell me, what brand is that? Where did you find it, huh?"
"Oh, over there," Ami told her, pointing to a nearby rack. "You wanna get matching swimsuits?"
Gripping her head in her hands, Minori sputtered, "No! Anything but that! Anything but that!"
"Kushieda…?" Ryuuji called after his crush, as he watched her turn tail and run to the other side of the store. Growing a little worried, he followed her, leaving Graham and Ami behind.
"Oh my God!" Ami exclaimed as she admired herself in a nearby mirror. This gained the attention of Graham, who was standing by a nearby rack, trying to find a swimsuit for himself. "I look super super super duper cute in this swimsuit! It's scary! Even in something as plain as this! Seriously, I wonder how far I can take this look! I mean with this charm, this beauty, this bod, this style...it'd be a crime to keep this hidden! I certainly think so, don't you?"
Turning around, she saw Graham, who grabbed a random swimsuit off of the men's rack he was looking at before walking past her.
"Graham-kun…?" She sputtered, is slight disbelief that she was being ignored.
"Quick PSA: Only Nanako-chan can call me that," Graham said nonchalantly, walking to a dressing room on the other side of the store and slipping inside to try on the swimsuit he'd picked.
Once he had tracked down his crush and made sure she was alright, Ryuuji decided to check on Taiga. Walking up to the dressing room she was currently in, he addressed her by saying, "Hey, you okay in there, Taiga? Do you-"
The blue-haired boy found himself cut off mid-sentence when Taiga reached out her hand from behind the curtain and pulled him inside roughly.
"What was that for?!" Ryuuji growled, whipping around to face her with a scowl on his face. However, the second he saw her, he dropped his mean expression-something was wrong.
"I...I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" Taiga told him somewhat, looking down at her feet. Looking around the dressing room, Ryuuji saw several different swimsuits scattered around the floor.
"What do you mean? What's wrong?"
"I can't decide on any of these things!"
"It's not that big a deal. I mean, you can only choose between black or navy,"
"No, that's not it!" Taiga corrected him, shaking her head. "None of them fit me!"
"Oh...well, did you try kid's sizes-"
"I'd rather die!" Taiga exclaimed, blushing bright red. "And don't treat me like that dumb chihuahua out there!"
"Oh, well, this one's small," Ryuuji offered, holding up one of the swimsuits for her to see. "E-Extra small...it's not all that expensive, either. And it's good material and feels durable...heck, you can even throw it in the dryer. Did you try this one on?"
"I did, but...well, it's just...it...I don't know…" Looking down at her feet, Taiga added, "I guess...it sorta fit me...more or less. But it was kinda...just..."
"Well if it fit, then it should work," Ryuuji replied, not quite grasping what she was getting at. "Right?"
Letting out a bit of a sigh, Taiga relented, saying, "Yeah...I guess,"
"Okay. What do you want for dinner tonight, Taiga?" Ryuuji asked from the kitchen, as he prepared to cook dinner for himself, Taiga, and Graham. "Seriously, whatever you want, I'll make it. You call it."
Not receiving any response, Ryuuji turned around to face her before saying, "So, are you ready to hit that pool, tomorrow? Don't forget, you have to bring one of those big bath towels along."
"Shutup," Taiga said rather rudely, not even looking up at him.
"Okay, that does it. What are you so pissed off about?" Ryuuji asked her. "The swimsuit?"
Looking up from his manga from his spot across the table, Graham spoke up, saying, "Are you still m-mad about y-yesterday…?"
"God, that's not it!" Taiga told the brown-haired boy.
"Then what is it?" Ryuuji demanded.
"I don't know how to swim!" Taiga exclaimed, looking down at her feet. "There, happy now?"
"That's not why," Ryuuji said, not believing her answer. "I know you, and you wouldn't admit that so easy."
This elicited a growl from Taiga, who was clearly furious at this point. However, before she could say anything, Yasuko emerged from her bedroom and said, "I'm gonna be late...oh poo,"
Watching his mother as she walked towards the door, Ryuuji stopped her before saying, "Wait, before you go. Here, drink this."
He then held out a white mug full of some strange hot beverage. Seeing this, Yasuko said, "Thanks, Ryu!" before taking it from him. She then blew on the liquid before gulping it down.
"Hot," She said somewhat childishly, setting down the mug after she was finished.
"What is that…?" Taiga asked.
"Just a cup of Ryu's extra-special soy-milk! Soybeans are supposed to have all these iso-boing-boing thingies. They say it gives you bigger boobies!" Yasuko explained, immediately grabbing Taiga's attention.
"Yeah...it's isoflavones," Ryuuji said, correcting his mother.
"I do it to keep the girls from shriveling up," Yasuko said, jutting her chest out somewhat proudly. "I'm so smart!"
Walking over to Yasuko, Taiga reached out and poked her right breast with her chopsticks. This caused it to jiggle, and elicited a laugh from Yasuko, who said, "Oh Taiga, you're such a little perv tonight, aren't you?"
"Don't sexually harass my mother!" Ryuuji exclaimed.
"See you guys later," Yasuko said, walking out the door before making her way down the apartment steps.
"She makes such a racket..." Ryuuji mumbled. Looking down at Taiga to see that she was practically staring a hole through the door, he said, "Okay, now what's wrong? You're acting weird,"
"Soybeans..." Taiga whispered to herself. Scooping a stray soybean off of the floor, she tossed it into her mouth and ate it.
"Hey!" Ryuuji shouted, attempting to reason with her.
"Ew, gross! Gimme more!"
"What the heck are you doing?" Ryuuji asked bewilderingly.
"I need some more of these iso-boing-boing things!"
"Huh? Why would you need...wait. Swimsuit size, and isoflavones..." His eyes widening in realization, Ryuuji said, "Taiga, don't tell me you've got no-"
"Shutup!" Taiga shouted, clutching her chest and blushing bright red. "Don't say it! Don't say another word!"
Looking up from his manga once more, Graham said, "You're...flat-chested?"
Hearing this, Taiga let out a noise that could only be described as a weird cross between a shriek, a cry, and a wail.
"Honestly...I don't know what the big deal is," Ryuuji said to himself as he and Graham waited in the living room of Taiga's apartment. As he worked on dusting the girl's glass coffee table, he continued with, "Her boobs are small, so what?"
"Beats me," Graham said with a shrug. "I guess girls are self-conscious about that kinda stuff? I don't know,"
"Thanks for waiting," Taiga said out of nowhere, sounding as if she'd been crying. Turning their heads, both Ryuuji and Graham watched as the girl walked out into the living room, wearing the swimsuit that she'd bought at the department store earlier that day.
"Uh, yeah," Ryuuji replied somewhat awkwardly, as Taiga stopped in front of the coffee table and began nervously toying with one of her shoulder straps.
"What do you think?" She asked, catching the two off-guard.
Speaking up, Ryuuji said, "Uh, I-"
"Super flat, right?" Taiga guessed, cutting him off before he could even say anything. "Kinda like a board?"
"Uh, well, I mean..." Ryuuji stammered, turning his head and blushing slightly. "Are the pads in?"
"Oh, they're in...yeah, but," Letting out a bit of a chuckle, Taiga said, "They're not staying in place. Now you know why I hate swimming pools,"
Looking up at the girl for a second before looking away again, Ryuuji said, "Anyway, you'd better put some clothes on, you'll catch a cold."
Hearing this, Taiga went back into her bedroom to change. Waiting until she left, Graham tilted his head and whispered to himself, saying, "Is it just me or did Ryuuji just-"
"You say something, Graham?" Ryuuji asked, his tone indicating he was oblivious to what Graham had been whispering about.
"Oh, n-nothing, just mumbling..." Graham ad-libbed. Luckily, the blue-haired boy believed him.
Funny. With the way he's been acting today, you'd think he'd never seen a girl in a swimsuit.
Would you shut up, already? Graham thought to himself, folding his arms in annoyance when Ryuuji wasn't looking.
"Huh?" Ryuuji asked as Taiga walked out in a bathrobe and placed what appeared to be a blank photograph on the coffee table in front of him.
"Go ahead," She told him, taking a seat in a padded chair before sipping out of her mug of honey-preserved kumquats. "Turn it over. Once you see it, you'll know why I'm so miserable."
Scooping the photograph off of the table and flipping it over, Ryuuji took a sharp intake of air-on the other side, there was a picture of Taiga at the swimming pool the previous year. In black ink, someone had scribbled the words "pathetic boobs" in Japanese characters, with an arrow pointing at Taiga's chest.
"Woah, that's..." Ryuuji began, finding himself at a loss for words.
"Can you believe that? I'm pathetic," Taiga said, hiding her face in her mug. She then mumbled, "I'm so flat, people feel sorry for me!"
"Well, you can't take it seriously," Ryuuji told her. "It's just the opinion of whoever wrote this."
"Naturally, I had no choice but to paint the walls of the Photography Club in their blood," Taiga replied.
"T-That would explain why the club shut down last year," Graham stammered, speaking for the first time in several minutes.
Burying her face in her knees as she began to cry, Taiga said, "And now, Kitamura's gonna see what a pitiful body I have...what do I do? It's over..."
"Hey, Taiga..." Ryuuji said, not really knowing what to say. Looking down at the photo as he felt an idea coming on, he said, "Stop crying. I think I've got an idea,"
"Huh?" Taiga said, looking up at him with tears falling down her cheeks.
"You'll be standing proud in front of Kitamura," Ryuuji told her. "Don't worry, I got this."
"Well, it's getting pretty late," Graham said to the others, as they exited Taiga's apartment with her swimsuit in hand. Letting out a bit of a yawn, he added, "I think I'm gonna call it a night. Good luck, you two."
"Thanks," Ryuuji replied, giving the boy a small wave. "See you tomorrow at school,"
"Later, Shy Guy," Taiga added.
With that, the three went their separate ways-Graham headed down to the floor below and made his way to his apartment, while Ryuuji and Taiga continued down the stairs to the lobby before exiting and walking next-door to Ryuuji's apartment.
Using his key to unlock the door to his apartment before opening the door and stepping inside, Graham said, "Tadaima! (I'm home!)"
"Okaerinasai! (Welcome home!)" Eri chirped from the couch, where she was watching TV.
"Sorry I'm late, the school pool is opening back up and we had a bit of a kerfluffle involving Taiga and her swimsuit. I guess I just lost track of time," Graham said, explaining himself as he took off his shoes and walked over to the couch. Taking a seat next to Eri, he said, "Where's Masato?"
"Oh, he's still at work," Eri told him. "Said he had an important meeting or something and that he'd be there a little later than usual. Anyway, I was gonna go to bed, but I wanted to wait for you, and my favorite show came on, so-"
"Sorry, Eri. It's really late, and we both have school in the morning, so...time for bed,"
"But onii-chan!"
"No buts," Graham told her, grabbing the remote and pressing the record button before turning off the television. Turning to face his surrogate sister before patting her lightly on the head, he said, "I hit record, so you can watch the rest of your show tomorrow after school. Good night, Eri."
"Good night..." Eri said somewhat reluctantly, hopping up from the couch and making her way to the hallway. Before she went into her bedroom, she turned back and said, "See you tomorrow, onii-chan!"
"See you tomorrow, Eri," Graham said with a smile, getting up off of the couch and heading to his own bedroom before shutting the door and laying down for the night.
While Graham went to bed, Ryuuji and Taiga stayed up. Ryuuji got to work on sewing what looked like a weird coin-purse esque object, while Taiga waited patiently, playing a game of Tetris on Ryuuji's old, battered Super Famicom.
As he worked meticulously on whatever it was he was working on, Ryuuji said, "Y'know, you can go home and get some sleep if you want to,"
"No...I've got nothing better to do," Taiga told him. "I'm gonna stay up 'til you're finished."
With that, Ryuuji returned to his work, a small smile forming on his face. It wasn't often that he got to see this softer side of the Palm-Top Tiger. A couple of minutes later, he found himself caught off guard when Taiga suddenly said, "Hey...um, I just wanna say...I know I'm being weird and stubborn and everything, so...I'm sorry."
Several hours passed. Eventually, dusk gave way to dawn, and the sun slowly but surely rose above the morning sky. Ryuuji had just now finished working on his solution, and Taiga was now testing out said solution, a pair of bra-pads.
Stepping out of the bathroom wearing the bra-pads underneath her swimsuit, Taiga walked up to Ryuuji, who examined her. Letting out a tired yawn, he said, "How are they?"
Blushing a bit as she examined herself in the mirror, Taiga replied, "On the day I get married, I'm definitely taking these along."
Man, it sure is hot out here… Graham thought to himself, as he stepped out into the pool area of Ohashi Sr. High wearing a black pair of swim-trunks. Resisting the urge to wince as his bare feet came into contact with the hot concrete, he made his way forward, holding his hand over his eyes in order to shield them from the overwhelmingly bright sunshine.
Once his eyes adjusted, he lowered his hand and looked to the other side of the pool, where he saw Nanako wearing a navy blue one-piece. This caused him to immediately blush, but he quickly closed his eyes and shook his head in an attempt to hide this.
Meanwhile, Kitamura was in the middle of taking off his glasses when he heard a voice address him, saying, "Maruo!"
Turning his head, the Class Rep spotted Maya, who made her way over to him, Nanako in tow. Stopping once she reached him, she continued with, "You look so much better without glasses! You should wear contacts!"
"You think?" Kitamura asked.
"Definitely!"
"Dammit, I took MY glasses off, too," Noto muttered under his breath, clearly jealous over the attention Kitamura seemed to be getting from their female classmates.
Hearing this, Graham turned to face him before letting out a bit of a chuckle and saying, "Don't feel too jealous, Noto. Not every girl is pining over Kitamura,"
"You should know, Kashii seems like she's way more interested in you!" Haruta teased from his spot beside Noto.
Feeling his face flush bright red for the second time in under five minutes, Graham replied, "W-W-What are you getting at, Haruta? That's r-r-ridicu-"
"Would you just man up and go talk to her already?" Ryuuji said from out of nowhere, lightly shoving Graham towards the purple-haired girl. Seeing the brown-haired boy turn around and glare at him slightly, he encouraged him further, saying, "Don't be shy, you'll never convince her to go out with you if you can't even have a conversation with her,"
"F-Fair point..." Graham stammered, gulping a bit before turning around and nervously making his way over to the girl. Rubbing the back of his head once he reached her, he greeted her by saying, "H-H-H-Hey, Nanako-chan,"
"Hiya, Graham-kun!" Nanako chirped, flashing the boy a beautiful smile. "What's up?"
"N-Nothing much," Graham replied nervously. "You?"
"Same here, just tagging along with Maya as per usual," Nanako told him, and together, the two began to engage in a conversation.
This lasted for a couple of minutes, until they were interrupted by Ami running out of the women's locker room and saying, "Hey, Maya! Sorry about that! I was having trouble braiding my hair!"
Scampering her way over to the other side of the pool, the former model managed to grab the attention of Noto, Haruta, and pretty much every other male student, sans Ryuuji and Graham. Skidding to a halt once she reached her friends, she said, "Hope you didn't wait long,"
"Wow," Maya observed, as she examined Ami in her swimsuit. "You're so obviously a model! You've got a great figure!"
"Dude, no way. I'm getting all emotional up in here," Noto said to himself, as he and Haruta leered at the girl.
"She's a goddess," Haruta added.
"Heck, you're like way more developed than us!" Maya complimented.
"Oh, please," Ami said modestly. Internally, however, she was quite arrogant. Well, duh, guys! I KNOW I'm crazy adorable! The ignorant masses can all bow down before the majesty of my angelic grace! Yes! Lick my shadow! Lick it, you dirty hobos!
"Oh my god, stop teasing me, Maya!" Ami exclaimed in her fake voice, as Maya continued to comment on how good she looked in her swimsuit. Noticing Graham, who was standing over by Nanako, she turned to face him before saying, "Hey, Graham-kun! Good to see you! You look really handsome in that swimsuit."
"Um, t-thanks…?" Graham replied somewhat awkwardly, blushing a bit at the compliment despite his best attempts not to.
"Don't mention it. You enjoying the pool so far?"
"Y-Yeah, sure," Graham said, shrugging her off. Realizing his one-on-one time with Nanako had been unceremoniously cut short, the boy turned to his crush and said, "W-Well, it was fun talking, but I'm gonna go find Ryuuji. Hope you have fun,"
"Yeah, you too..." Nanako replied, a slight hint of disappointment in her voice as the boy turned-tail and ran back over to Ryuuji, Noto, and Haruta.
Tilting his head in confusion, Noto addressed the boy by saying, "What was that all about, dude? Weren't you having fun talking with her?"
"W-Who, N-Nanako-chan? Yeah, I was, but I ran out of things to talk about, so I kinda panicked," Graham lied, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about that..."
"Dude, don't apologize!" Haruta exclaimed, standing up and slapping Graham lightly on the shoulder. "So you're not super-smooth with the ladies yet, big deal! I wasn't always very good at talking to them, either!"
...You still aren't, but okay… Graham thought to himself, as he took a seat next to Ryuuji. He was about to say something to the boy, but all of a sudden, he felt a very familiar wave of pain surge through his forehead, and the voice that had been haunting him since a few days prior echoed through his mind once again.
Still don't know how to talk to girls, Graham? Huh. Guess some things never change…
What are you talking about? Graham replied mentally, hoping to receive some kind of answer. His hope was in vain, however, as the pain quickly faded away and the voice disappeared with it, as per usual. Dangit...I wish I knew more about this stupid voice in my head. Oh well…
"Ohhhhhh Takasu!" Minori hollered as she ran out of the women's locker room in her bathing suit. This caught the attention of Ryuuji, who blushed the second he laid his eyes on her.
Trying her best to keep up with the girl as she ran, Taiga said, "Don't run so fast, Minorin! My hair's gonna get all messed up!"
"Time to get those muscles loosened up for some swimming! I know, how about a quick lap around the pool? Psych!" Minori boomed, turning and diving headfirst into the pool.
"Minorin!" Taiga called out in concern.
"Kushieda!" Ryuuji echoed, also seeming quite concerned.
Emerging from the water seconds later, Minori shouted, "I just came up with the perfect plan!"
"What?" Ryuuji, Taiga, and Graham all asked in unison, the latter standing up and walking over to the former two upon hearing all the commotion.
"I figured out that as long as I keep myself in the water, no one's going to be able to see my belly flab," Minori explained, a hint of pride in her voice as she shared her plan. "I'd better get some laps in before it gets crowded. Ciao!"
With that, she sunk back into the water and began doing laps around the pool, leaving a rather bewildered Taiga and her two 'dogs' behind.
"Minorin..." Taiga mumbled incredulously, furrowing her eyebrows at the girl's antics.
"Well look who it is!" Ami said out of nowhere, walking up to the three. "Finally, Aisaka. For a second there, I thought you weren't gonna come out! I thought you might be embarrassed because your swimsuit was too loose or something,"
"Sorry, you talking in your sleep or something?" Taiga replied nonchalantly, turning to face the pool as she pretended not to notice that Ami was attempting to body-shame her. "Y'know, they've got a pill for that,"
Hearing this, Ami visibly balked, as Taiga reached for a light jacket she was wearing overtop of her swimsuit. Slipping it off to reveal the top half of her one-piece and, in turn, her (seemingly real but fake but not totally fake just supplemented by bra-pads) breasts, which were noticeably bigger than they had been the year before.
"Seriously...I hope I don't get a sunburn," She said to herself, as the majority of the male students in the vicinity turned their heads and began drooling over her.
"Perfection..." One mumbled.
"What a difference a year makes!" Another one quietly exclaimed.
"I'm a fan of the Tiger, now!" A third one declared.
Taking one look at Taiga's chest before figuring out what was going on, Ami said, "Kinda average if you ask me, and you're still out of proportion. Nice try, though."
As she turned and walked away, Ryuuji and Taiga looked at eachother and pumped their fists in unison, whilst thinking to themselves, It worked!
Meanwhile, Graham turned his attention to the crowd of male students that were now staring at Taiga. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Wow. And I thought I had raging hormones,"
Turning to face Ryuuji, he elbowed his side lightly in order to gain his attention before whispering, "Good work, man. Gotta admit, when you told me about it last night I thought it was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard, but your plan actually-"
"The bogus-booby force." Minori said out of nowhere, nearly startling the trio to death. She then sunk back into the water and swam away, leaving them behind once again.
"Crap, she knows," Ryuuji muttered.
"Can't put one over on her," Taiga added.
"...Aisaka?" Kitamura asked out of nowhere, stumbling up to the three in a sort of blind stupor. This caught Taiga off-guard, so she ended up falling to the concrete and hiding under her jacket, a massive blush forming on her face. "Wait, you are Aisaka, aren't you…? Sorry, I can't see a thing without my glasses...you're the same height as her, though. Why are you hiding…? I like how you did your hair. Looks like mouse-ears,"
Feeling her face flush redder than a tomato at the comment, Taiga stammered, "G-Get away from me!"
"What are you saying?!" Ryuuji exclaimed. Meanwhile, Graham simply face-palmed.
Looking up at Ryuuji and tilting his head in confusion, Kitamura said, "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong to her…?"
"I, uh...I don't know," Ryuuji replied, feigning obliviousness.
"Beats me," Graham shrugged.
"Weird," Kitamura said to himself, turning around before heading back to the other end of the pool.
With that, the remainder of the students filed into the pool area, and the first pool day began to really kick off. The girls began playing water-volleyball, Mr. Kuroma began casually watching over the students while lifting weights, and as per usual, a small crowd of female students had surrounded Kitamura; Maya was among them.
"C'mon, flex your muscles," She said, prompting to Class Rep to awkwardly flex his left bicep.
"Like this…?" He asked, not sounding very sure of himself.
"Wow, incredible!" Maya observed, impressed with how toned his muscles were.
Seeing this as he and Haruta emerged from the pool water about a yard or so away, Noto said, "He's hogging all the girls!"
"Unbelievable," Haruta replied. Turning to face one-another, they nodded and hummed in unison, apparently agreeing on some kind of mutual plan.
Swimming their way towards Kitamura, the two best friends worked together to lift the boy off the concrete and suplex him into the pool, but not before declaring, "Rise up against the inequalities of society! Suffer the summertime drop!"
This elicited a collective gasp from Maya and the other girls, who felt a bit disappointed after having their conversation with the Class Rep suddenly cut short for seemingly no reason.
Having watched all of this from the other end of the pool, a male student turned to one of his friends and said, "Well?"
"Right on," Said friend replied, and together, the two grabbed a pair of nearby classmates and tossed them into the pool.
This kicked off a chain reaction. Numerous students, both male and female alike, quickly found themselves being scooped up from their seats and subsequently dunked into the pool.
Watching this chaos, Ryuuji said, "God, they're like a bunch of berserkers, out there,"
Hearing this from his spot next to the boy, Graham nodded before saying, "Yep. Someone could get hurt if they're not careful. Right, Aisa...Aisaka?"
Turning to face the girl, both he and Ryuuji looked on, as she bounced her hair-balls (Or whatever you girls would call them) in her hands and said, "Heh heh, he called my hair cute...heh heh heh,"
"Yeah, except...that's not actually what he said," Graham corrected her. As to be expected, he was ignored. Shaking his head, he muttered, "She's such a spaz, sometimes..."
"Targets acquired," A familiar voice said out of nowhere. Looking behind them, Ryuuji and Graham saw Kushieda and Kitamura, who had snuck up on them when they weren't looking.
"Are you ready, co-softballer?" Kitamura said to Kushieda, as he scooped up Graham and she scooped up Ryuuji.
"Ready!" Kushieda replied, and together the two lifted their respective targets up into the air.
"Wait!" Ryuuji exclaimed, realizing what was happening a bit later than most people would have.
"Kitamura, would you throw me in, already?!" Graham chided. "Your fingers are digging into my armpits, it freaking hurts! Get it over with,"
"If you say so," Kitamura replied. Counting to three, both he and Kushieda tossed Graham and Ryuuji into the pool.
Pumping her fist, Kushieda said, "Yes! Now, next victim!"
"Roger that, chief!" Kitamura replied with a childlike smile, and together, the two partners-in-crime scampered off to find their next target.
Watching her two friends emerge from the water gasping for air a few seconds later, Taiga let out a childish laugh at their expense. "Ha ha, you got thrown in, dorks!"
"Don't just sit there," Ami said out of nowhere in her fake voice, having snuck up behind on Taiga when she wasn't looking. "Why don't you join in on the fun?"
"Don't even!" Taiga exclaimed, turning around to face the girl with a scowl on her face.
"C'mon, I'll give you a lift," Ami replied, grabbing Taiga by the hips and effortlessly lifting her above her head. As the Palm-Top Tiger began attempting to squirm out of her grip, she said, "Don't take this too personal! BOMB'S AWAY!"
With that, she hurled Taiga into the pool, throwing her into the deep-end as if she were a dart.
Seeing this, Ryuuji said, "What the hell? That wasn't cool!"
"It's okay!" Ami replied in her fake voice. "We were only playing!"
"Hey Taiga!" Ryuuji said, ignoring Ami completely as he turned his attention back to his petite friend. "You okay? Taiga…?"
Watching as the girl flailed around and began gasping for air, Ryuuji muttered, "Oh my god..."
~Flashback Start~
"I don't know how to swim!" Taiga exclaimed, looking down at her feet.
~Flashback End~
"No way!" Ryuuji exclaimed. "She wasn't kidding about it!"
Turning to face Ami with a look of pure anger in his eyes, Graham scolded her, saying, "You dumbass! Aisaka can't swim!"
"Oh god!" Ami exclaimed, snapping out of her fake persona and rushing off to the other side of the pool, presumably to go get help.
"C'mon, guys!" Haruta said in mild annoyance, as he struggled to shrug Kitamura and Kushieda off of him. "Stop it!"
"TAIGA!" Ryuuji shouted at the top of his lungs, prompting the latter two to immediately drop their attempt to dunk Haruta.
"Hey teach!" Minori screamed, gaining Mr. Kuroma's attention and prompting him to set down his weights.
"Taiga!" Ryuuji shouted in concern. Forcing himself under the water, he began swimming his way over to her. Despite not being able to swim very well, himself, Graham did the same, and the two began to push forward in an attempt to save her.
As stated above, Graham wasn't the best at swimming himself-while he was capable of doing so, he wasn't very fast, and he got tired rather quickly. Because of this, he was forced to stop about halfway there. Ryuuji, on the other hand, was a lot more skilled, which enabled him to reach the girl with no problem.
Grabbing her by her armpits, the blue-haired boy lifted Taiga's head above the water so that she could breathe.
Flailing her arms around like a madwoman and nearly knocking Ryuuji underwater, Taiga shrieked, "Oh no! What do I do? Where is it?! The p-pad fell out!"
Looking to his left to see that one of Taiga's bra-pads had indeed fallen out and was now floating above-water, Ryuuji realized what she was freaking out about.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kuroma and the rest of their classmates began to panic-they couldn't see what was going on, and as a result, they automatically assumed that Ryuuji was in danger of drowning, also. This prompted the former to rush to the pool and dive in without hesitation-Minori quickly followed, and even Ami jumped in for whatever reason. As soon as they entered the water, the trio began making their way to the deep end, intending to rescue the pair.
Seeing this, Graham cupped his hands to his mouth in order to amplify his voice. He then hollered at Ryuuji, saying, "Dude, we're out of options! You're gonna have to-"
"I know!" Ryuuji told him, taking a deep breath. "I've got no choice,"
Scooping the bra-pad out of the water, Ryuuji tightened his grip on Taiga before suddenly pulling her under the water. Reaching into her swimsuit, he very carefully slid the bra-pad back into place, saving the girl from embarrassment...while also embarrassing her immensely by indirectly touching her breast.
Watching the two as they emerged from the water a few moments later, Graham sighed in relief.
God, I don't know if you're listening right now, but...thank you. He thought to himself, a single tear falling down his face. If anything had happened to them...I was so worried…
Full of empathy, huh? That's just like you...you always were pretty sensitive for a guy.
Would you quit teasing me?! Graham replied mentally, his mouth forming into a small scowl.
"...Oh, c'mon," Ami sighed, as she stood in Classroom 2-C with Ryuuji, Graham, and Taiga, the latter of which had her head buried in her desk. "I said I was sorry, didn't I? It's not like anyone told me you couldn't swim…so, look. Everyone's gone home, now, so why don't you just cheer up, already?"
"A simple sorry ain't gonna cut it," Taiga growled. "Because of you and that stupid prank, my b-b-b-b-boob…!"
This caused Ryuuji's face to immediately flush bright pink, as he remembered the great lengths he had gone to in order to save Taiga from embarrassment. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that he'd had more time to reflect on it, he was starting to wonder if Taiga would've been less embarrassed had she just come out of the water missing a bra-pad.
Grabbing ahold of her desk while blushing bright red, Taiga began tilting it back and forth while shouting, "Apologize! Apologize, Apologize, Apologize, Apologize, Apologize!"
"Darn, this sucks. If Aisaka doesn't know how to swim, she won't be able to come with us to the pool or the beach," Ami lamented in her fake voice. Turning to Graham, she said, "That reminds me! My family has a vacation home by the beach, you wanna go there and spend our summer break together?"
"W-Woah, shouldn't you be a-apologizing to Aisaka right n-now?" Graham stammered, trying his best to hide the fact that he was now blushing.
"I have a better idea! I can ask Ryuuji and Yusaku to come with us!" Ami chirped. This caused Taiga to immediately lift her head up. Turning towards her, Ami said, "Uh oh! Did I say anything wrong, Aisaka…?"
"If you pull anymore crap like you did today, I swear I'll leak the footage of you doing those one-hundred impressions," Taiga threatened. "Or was it one-hundred and fifty…?"
This caused Ami's eyes to immediately widen; however, her shock didn't last long. Letting out a fake laugh, she replied, "You go right on ahead and try it, and I just might sue you for violating my privacy. The law's the law, and I'm sure even Ms. Palm-Top Tiger knows better than to break it,"
"Heh heh," Taiga said under her breath, letting out a fake laugh as Ami pointed out the flaws in her plan.
Watching as the two girls fake-laughed in unison, Ryuuji mumbled, "Can't we all just get along…?"
"Stop this madness!" Minori shouted of nowhere. Turning their heads, the four spotted the girl, who had somehow managed to make her way to the front of the classroom without them noticing her arrival. "You will only hurt your own fists!"
"...Did she just quote another kung-fu movie?"Graham asked incredulously.
"Wait, Minori, you don't understand!" Ami exclaimed in her fake voice. "Aisaka's being really mean, and-"
"Yeah, because it's all this dumb chihuahua's fault!"
"How is any of this my fault?!"
"Well you were the one who-"
"SILENCE!" Minori shouted at the top of her lungs, cutting the two off before the argument could escalate. "If you want to forge a friendship with your fists, fighting is not the way! Settle it-"
"-in Smash?!" Graham said excitedly, producing a Nintendo Gamecube and a Japanese copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee seemingly out of thin air.
"...No, with sports, Graham." Minori told him, as if it were obvious. "Sports."
"B-But...Smash..." Graham said, sounding rather deflated.
"It's okay, Graham." Ryuuji told the boy, using his right hand to pat the boy on the shoulder while using his left to lower the Gamecube. "It's okay."
...You're right, your life really IS getting weird.
Shut Up.
Coming Up…
Noto: The battle for Takasu-san and Ulry-san? Ami vs. Taiga? How come Takasu and Ulry get all the action?!
Haruta: I know! C'mon ladies! Beat me! Ravish me!
Graham: (eyes the two incredulously before folding his arms) It's not like we asked to be fought over, y'know…
Stay Tuned for Chapter VIII: Aisaka vs Kawashima!
A/N: And there you have it! Chapter seven, done and dusted!
Before I sign off, I just wanna give a quick shoutout to mookstafar, who kindly offered to serve as an editor/beta-reader for this story. He started out by editing this very chapter, and I can already tell he's gonna be a big help. I love writing, but when it comes to proofreading and checking for errors, I gotta admit I'm a little lazy :P He's also been helping me juggle some of the different ideas I've had for the story and suggesting some ideas of his own, so yeah, he's definitely been very helpful so far. Feel free to go check him out, he hasn't written any stories yet but from what he told me, he plans to very soon. When he does, you should definitely go read them.
Anyway, that's all for now. The Ami Arc will continue next time, but until then, feel free to follow/favorite the story if you haven't already. Also, be sure to review with your thoughts; don't be shy, cuz I don't bite ;)
