After Minori returned with Kitamura from the fierce storm, the leisure area was completely quiet. Kitamura had gone to inform their teacher and classmates that Taiga had been found. The only thing left for her to do was to wait in the leisure area for Ryuuji to return.
Minori bit her lip and impulsively glanced at the clock. The time read 10:15 PM, only two minutes since she had last checked it. She cursed herself under her breath for looking at it again. Time went by much slower when you were anxiously watching the seconds and minutes pass, after all.
Then again, watching the clock was a good distraction for her, all things considered. If she wasn't keeping her attention on something, she'd get to thinking about the events of earlier today. And thinking about those events was absolutely not something she wanted to do.
The long silence inside the resort was finally broken by the creak of the door opening and the howling of the stormy winds outside. A figure, covered in powdery snow, emerged from outside the storm dressed in protective winter equipment. Carefully being carried in his arms was another smaller figure with light brown hair.
"TAIGA!"
Minori shot up out of her seat and bolted for the door to receive her crush and her best friend as they exited the harsh cold. "Oh, thank god you're safe! Takasu, how is sh—"
When she first realized that Taiga was brought back safely, Minori thought she'd be bursting at the seams with happiness and relief. But when she laid eyes on her injured best friend for the first time, a large amount of that relief had been replaced with distress.
The redhead experienced a sudden onset of nausea as she first got a look at Taiga's condition. The tiny girl's skin reflected how cold she was, taking on a pale bluish tinge. She was still breathing, but her breaths were slow and shallow; aside from that, she wasn't moving. And to top it all off, she had a deep, bloody gash across her forehead.
"I don't know," Ryuuji replied. "She's been fading in and out of consciousness and was awake for only a few minutes while I was carrying her back. Where's the clinic that Kawashima was talking about?"
Minori gulped, taking a moment to keep her dinner from coming back up out of her stomach. This looked bad. This looked really bad. She knew that Taiga was hurt but didn't think it would look quite like this.
After a deep breath, she pulled her focus away from her best friend's injuries and locked eyes with Ryuuji. "On the other side of the resort, past the leisure area and front desk. One of the nurses that works at the clinic is also stuck here, and she volunteered to help with first aid."
Ryuuji gave a small nod. "That's great news. Thanks, Kushieda. Let's go." He only got to take about two steps forward before Minori interrupted him again.
"Wait. You should at least take off your wet jacket and hang up your equipment first." The redhead motioned towards Taiga, as if to take her from Ryuuji's arms. "You're probably freezing, so ahead and warm up. It's alright, I can take her to the—"
"No!"
At the sound of Ryuuji's raised voice, Minori froze in place. Her arms were still half-outstretched towards Taiga as she looked back at Ryuuji's face with a shocked gaze.
"I'm sorry, but no. I'm not letting go of her until we bring her to the clinic. Please, Kushieda."
The normally gentle expression she was used to seeing in his eyes had been replaced with something far more serious. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but if she was forced to pick one word to describe it, it would have to be "protectiveness." Almost like a loyal dog protecting its owner from harm.
It was clear that Ryuuji wasn't going to back down on this, and Minori had no chance of convincing him. She had no choice but to concede.
"…okay. That's fine", Minori said after shaking off the initial shock. "But please, at least let me go with you to the clinic."
Ryuuji nodded. "Sounds good. Lead the way."
With that, Minori turned away from him and began to walk down towards the leisure area. Ryuuji followed suit, his wet boots leaving footprints on the floor as he carried his precious friend in his arms.
Nothing was said between the two during the couple of minutes it took to reach the clinic. The only sounds being made were those of their footsteps.
Before long, the two of them reached the door to the clinic. They could see the lights on from under the door. Minori knocked, hoping to catch whoever was inside's attention. "Hello? Is anyone in there? We've brought Taiga."
The door quickly opened, revealing Ami to be on the other side. She glanced at the two and then looked down at Taiga. Upon seeing the frail state that the small girl was in, the teen model couldn't prevent her lips from curling downwards for a few seconds.
"Good timing, you two. The nurse and I just finished preparing everything. Bring her inside."
Ami moved back into the room, pulling the door wide open and holding it so they could enter safely. Without hesitation, Minori and Ryuuji stepped inside the clinic.
The resort's first aid clinic wasn't particularly large. It was about the size of an examination room in a regular doctor's office and looked fairly similar to one as well. A single bed and pillow had been prepared in the center of the room, with several warm-looking blankets folded up next to it.
On the far side of the room was a chair and a shelf with several drawers, as well as a sink and a counter to place things on. Working at the counter was a blonde woman with a ponytail wearing a white nurse's cap. Aside from that, she wasn't wearing anything indicating her status as a nurse – just a grey sweater and a pair of blue jeans.
Laying on the left side of the counter were many different medical supplies. Alcohol pads, bandages, latex gloves, and sutures, to name a few. On the right side, a clean-looking white medical gown was folded and ready for use.
"Nurse Hazuki, they've brought her," said Ami.
The woman turned around to receive the clinic's new visitors. She appeared to be fairly young – about 26 or 27, if Ryuuji had to estimate. "Good, just in time. And I already told you to just call me Hazuki."
She walked towards Minori and Ryuuji, addressing them with a small smile. "Hello again, Kushieda. And…Takasu, was it? Nice to meet you. It's probably pretty obvious, but my name's Hazuki. I'm one of the nurses that normally staffs the first aid room."
Turning her vision down to get a look at Taiga, Hazuki was unable to hold back a small gasp of surprise. "Shit," she muttered under her breath. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us tonight."
She returned her attention to Minori and Ryuuji, but her small smile from before did not return with it. "Thank you for bringing her. You two have done something truly amazing tonight by risking your own lives to find her."
Hazuki gestured towards the empty bed. "Takasu, if you wouldn't mind, please gently put her down on the bed. I need to triage her injuries and begin treatment right away."
Even though this was the best place to care for her and he knew it was necessary, a part of him really didn't want to let Taiga out of his arms. Nevertheless, he complied with the nurse's request. Slowly and carefully, he walked over to the bed and gently laid her on the mattress.
As he leaned over to set Taiga onto the bed, Minori's hairpin fell out of his jacket pocket. The sound of it clattering onto the floor did not escape the redhead's attention, and she recognized it immediately as the same one she had lost earlier that day.
"Takasu, is that my hairpin? Where did you find it?"
His arms now free from the weight they had been carrying, the young man bent down to retrieve the hairpin and handed it to Minori. "Stuck in a tree right past the fence, pretty close to where I found Taiga. Not sure how it ended up there."
Had he been paying just a bit more attention to Minori, he might have noticed her eyes widen with a flash of horror once she heard where her hairpin had found. However, it went unnoticed as Ryuuji turned his focus back towards Taiga.
The nurse took this opportunity to interject. "I know it's late and you're all probably very tired, but we need to begin as soon as possible, and an extra hand would be helpful. Would any of you be able to assist me for a little while?"
Without any hesitation, Ryuuji volunteered. "I know a little bit about first aid. It's not much, but please, let me help."
Hazuki warmly smiled at him. "I'd be more than happy to have your help. But first, I do need something from one of the girls, and it would be improper to have a boy in the room for that. Kushieda or Kawashima, would either of you be okay with that?
Having taken a few seconds to pocket her hairpin and collect herself, Minori also stepped forward. "I'll be honest. I don't know anything about first aid or medical care. But if there's anything I can do for Taiga, I'll gladly do it."
The nurse nodded. "Excellent. Takasu and Kawashima, would you mind leaving this to us for a few minutes?"
Ryuuji blinked in confusion. He had just volunteered to help with first aid, and yet the nurse was requesting that he leave the clinic? "Huh? Why shouldn't a boy be in the room?"
If he had thought about it for more than a few seconds, the answer would have been obvious. Unfortunately, he didn't make the connection in time, so Hazuki had to fill him in.
"She's still wearing her winter equipment and her clothes underneath are almost certainly soaked. Before we get started, we need to…well…undress her."
The young man's cheeks turned red for a brief period as he realized why he was asked to leave. He mentally facepalmed. Oh. Right. Of course. They'd need to do that, wouldn't they?
The nurse continued. "There are some chairs set up outside the clinic. You should take this chance to change out of your winter gear yourself. Once that's done, have a seat outside and I'll call you in when we're ready, okay?"
"Oh…o-okay."
Trying to save him from further embarrassing himself, Ami began to walk out of the room and grabbed Ryuuji's hand on the way. "Come on, Takasu. That should have been obvious. Let's go."
"Woah, wait! I can walk out by myself! Hey, Kawashima!" Ryuuji protested as he was led out of the room by the hand. And with that, Minori and Hazuki were now alone in the first aid room with an unconscious Taiga.
The young nurse walked over to the right side of the bed. "Kushieda, please go over to the other side of the bed and lift her up a little. I'm going to start taking off her jacket."
After going back to unload his winter gear, he returned to the first aid room and sat down next to Ami. Ryuuji and Ami were only seated outside the clinic for a few minutes, but to him every minute felt it was an hour. The first two minutes went by in complete silence, save for the ticking of the wall clock, which meant that Ryuuji was left alone to his thoughts.
No matter what he tried, the same thing kept returning to the forefront of his mind, repeating over and over again.
"...Love you…so m-much…have to tell you…before…before I…"
His relationship with Taiga had been very unusual from day one. Initially, he wanted nothing to do with the short-tempered girl and only associated with her out of necessity. But after spending more time together, he realized he really didn't mind hanging out with her all that much. As the months went by, they had developed a genuine friendship, and at this point Ryuuji could confidently call the tiny brunette one of his best friends.
If Taiga's words were to be believed, then their relationship had just become very complicated. But the whole thing just didn't make a lot of sense. After all, wasn't it her that was constantly setting him up and encouraging him to chase after Kushieda?
I know that Taiga cares about me, but isn't she still interested in Kitamura? Why would she say something like that to me? Is it possible that she was just delirious and not thinking straight?
That certainly was a possibility. While she was awake, her speech was slurred and somewhat incohesive, so maybe that wasn't the message that she was trying to convey.
But…wait. Right after that, she mentioned how she "wasn't ready to die". If I'm to take that at face value, then she most likely said what she did because she thought she was going to die. Wouldn't that mean those were her genuine feelings?
He couldn't make heads or tails of it. Had Taiga really meant to say that to him? And, if so, what did that imply for their relationship going forward?
The battle in Ryuuji's head came grinding to a sudden halt, and the silence filling the room ended once Ami began to speak.
"I've already warned you time and time again, yet you've still insisted on playing your silly little game for this long," she said, drawing Ryuuji's attention to her. "Have you finally made a decision yet, or are you going to wait even longer?"
Ryuuji's response was to look at her quizzically, which frustrated Ami to no end. He just didn't get it, did he? Even if she spelled it out for him, the dense idiot still probably wouldn't get it.
"You've told me that before," he said. "What exactly do you mean by 'game'?"
The model scoffed and rolled her eyes. Just as she was going to open her mouth and deliver a sarcastic retort, the door to the clinic opened and Minori's head poked out to look at the two. "We're all done now. You can come back in, Takasu."
The two students stood up and got out of their chairs. Ryuuji immediately turned and began to walk back into the clinic, while Ami sighed and began to walk back towards her room.
"Good night, Takasu. Don't keep yourself up all night fretting over her."
Before he could wish her a good night as well, Ami was already out of sight. Ryuuji lightly shook his head and resumed his walk into the clinic. He understood her better than most, but still was having difficulty making sense of whatever it was that she was trying to tell him.
The clinic mostly looked the same as it did when he left, with a few little variations. One corner of the room was now occupied by Taiga's jacket and winter gear, and her thoroughly soaked clothes were piled up next to them.
Taiga remained on the bed, right where he had placed her before. Since he left, she had been changed into the white medical gown that had previously been folded on the clinic's counter.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the poor girl looked awful. It wasn't just the parts that were exposed to the cold; almost all of Taiga's skin had taken on that unsettling pale bluish color. And while the blood on her face had already been cleaned up, the nasty-looking gash on her forehead still remained.
Despite having some difficulty pulling his eyes away from Taiga's injuries, he was able to redirect his attention to Hazuki. "How is she, Nurse Hazuki?" he questioned, unable to prevent the unease from creeping into his voice.
The nurse frowned. "I'll be honest. This is by far the worst case of hypothermia I've ever seen. Right now, she belongs in a hospital, but that's not an option. We'll just have to try our best with our limited resources."
Bringing her focus back to Taiga, Hazuki continued verbalizing her assessment. "Aside from warming her up as much as possible, we're going to need to close up the cut on her head. That's the most we can do for her right now. Can I count on you for assistance, Takasu?"
Without hesitation, the young man agreed. "Absolutely." Hazuki rewarded his enthusiasm with a gentle smile, then turned her attention to the other girl in the room with them. "Thanks again, Kushieda. Could you let your teacher know that we're going to start treating her and to not have anyone interrupt us?"
"Of course. Good luck, Nurse Hazuki," Minori replied. She turned towards the door and began to walk out of the clinic. Before leaving, the redhead looked back at Ryuuji. "Takasu."
Ryuuji met Minori's gaze. The redhead normally wore her heart on her sleeve, but tonight was different. He couldn't easily tell what she was feeling at a glance. The emotions swirling in her eyes were difficult to interpret but seemed to be a strange mix of hope and sorrow. "Take care of Taiga for me. I'm counting on you."
The young man nodded. "You don't even need to ask, Kushieda. I'll do whatever I can." She gave him a small, almost sad smile at his response, then continued walking forward out the door and leaving the clinic. Before delivering the message to Yuri-sensei, Minori closed the door, leaving Ryuuji and Hazuki alone with the unconscious Taiga.
A snapping sound reached Ryuuji's ears and captured his attention. As he turned around to the source of the sound, he could see the nurse with one latex glove on her hand and in the process of putting another one on. The second glove made a similar snapping sound as she stretched it over her hand and let it go.
"Alright. Wash your hands in the sink over there and put on a pair of gloves. We've got some work to do."
The first aid process only took about forty-five minutes or so, but to Ryuuji it felt like hours. Once Taiga's body had been draped in a warm blanket, he mostly watched in silence as Hazuki went to work, periodically fetching her any necessary supplies from the counter while she treated the fragile girl.
After she cleaned the forehead laceration with tap water, he brought her the sutures. At Hazuki's request, Ryuuji assisted by holding Taiga steady while the nurse began to stitch up the wound. Even through the latex gloves, the girl's skin was still eerily frigid.
The situation they were in was far from ideal, but they had to make do. Ryuuji remained quiet as he held her still, but as he watched the suturing procedure, he was having difficulty settling his conflicted thoughts. He knew that this wasn't his fault, but he couldn't keep from blaming himself for her injuries.
Again…I left her alone again. She's always been by my side, but somehow, I never noticed. How did I not notice? How could I have just left her in the cold like that?!
Rationally, it was clear that nobody noticing Taiga's fall down the incline or her failure to return to the resort was an oversight on the part of many different people. Emotionally, however, Ryuuji felt that he had personally failed his dear friend when she needed him most.
I should have known better. I should have kept a closer eye on her. If only I had paid more attention…maybe then, she wouldn't have—
"Takasu."
Snapped back to reality, Ryuuji looked up at Hazuki. Instead of continuing to work on Taiga's almost-finished stitches, she regarded him with a somewhat worried look. "Are you okay? You were clenching your teeth and seemed really tense for a second."
He took a moment to relax and release the tension from his body. "Oh, sorry, I'm fine."
The blonde nurse stared him in the eye for a few seconds, her concern not yet fading. "You don't have to pretend to not be worried about your girlfriend, you know."
Ryuuji paused for a second, absorbing what Hazuki had just said, and turned red at the implication. "H-huh? She's not my girlfriend. Just a close friend."
Despite his claims to the contrary, Hazuki didn't seem very convinced. "With the way you've been looking at her, you could have fooled me. Not to mention the fact that you risked your life to rescue her and volunteered to help me treat her without hesitation. You sure there's nothing going on between you two?"
Had he been asked that question a half-year ago or so, Ryuuji would have been able to confidently say "no". Yet now, when directly asked if he had any romantic feelings for Taiga, he was surprised to find that he was hesitating to answer clearly. He wasn't exactly sure why.
He couldn't deny that he was very fond of the mini firecracker of a girl. Despite their rocky first meetings, he shared a bond with her that was unlike any other. It was certainly true that the two of them were very close. But his romantic feelings lied with Kusheida, not Taiga…right?
"N-no, we're just friends. We're not dating."
Her skeptical expression did not fade. After a few seconds, she shrugged and returned her attention to placing the final stitches on the gash in Taiga's head. "Okay. If you say so."
As he watched the nurse return to work, they sat in silence once more. Ryuuji needed to take this opportunity to bring order to his conflicted thoughts. However, this time, he was conflicted for an entirely different reason.
For the longest time, he had firmly believed that he was in love with Minori, to the point that he enlisted Taiga's help in getting together with her. He had admired her from a distance, even going so far as to preemptively make music playlists and write poetry for her in the event that they did end up together.
After she rejected him on Christmas Eve, though, it just didn't seem that a romantic relationship with her was very likely anymore. He thought that he would be more upset about that than he was. Oddly enough, it didn't actually bother him a whole lot. But why?
Sure, I've been pining over Kushieda for quite some time. But now that I think about it, do I even really know her all that well?
Ryuuji knew about her love of softball, her many odd jobs and great work ethic, and her cheery disposition, but not much more beyond that. Sure, they were friends, but how much did they really have in common? What type of music did she like? What were her favorite foods? It was honestly hard for him to say.
Taiga on the other hand…we've been friends for a while, but I feel like I've known her my whole life.
He knew about all of Taiga's favorite things and her general likes and dislikes very well by now. He knew that she loved his cooking and had a particular soft spot for his tonkatsu. He knew how much she enjoyed watching bad horror movies just to make fun of them.
He knew exactly how to cheer her up when she was sad or angry. He knew the kinds of things in life that made her happy. He knew that despite her rough, often violent exterior, she had a sweet and caring personality on the inside.
When she's by my side, it just feels right, like she belongs there. It's hard to imagine what my life would be like without her in it. If Taiga were replaced with Kushieda, would that relationship ever feel the same?
"Okay, all done. Could you pass me some gauze and the tube of antibiotic gel, Takasu?"
Hazuki's voice ringing in his ears broke him out of his thoughts yet again. It looked like Taiga's wound had been completely stitched up. "Oh, right. Sure."
Now that the closed gash had been disinfected and secured with a gauze pad, all that remained was to make sure she was kept warm.
"Hand me the thermometer, Takasu. I want to see if her temperature's improved." The petite brunette's skin still had that same bluish tinge and didn't seem to have improved a whole lot while the nurse was working on her forehead.
Ryuuji grabbed the digital thermometer from the clinic's counter and handed it to her. The fact that she frowned at the reading didn't do much to curb his anxiety. Hazuki checked Taiga's temperature again to verify that the first result was accurate and shook her head as she read the output.
"Ugh. 28 degrees Celsius, only about a degree of improvement. Her body temperature's still firmly in the danger zone. Let's see if we have anything else lying around that we can use for some extra heat."
A brief search through the clinic's cabinets yielded a few extra useful supplies. They were able to drape Taiga in a second blanket, and a washcloth soaked with warm water was placed over the gauze on her forehead.
Hazuki sighed. "I hate to say it, but I think we've done everything we can. Takasu, would let your teacher know that we're done treating her? Go get some sleep after that. I'm sure you're exhausted."
"Alright," the young man agreed. "Before I go, is there anything else I can do to help her recover?"
"Not at the moment," replied the nurse. "We just need to let her rest now and monitor for any changes in her condition. I'll keep an eye on her, so you don't need to worry."
Ryuuji hesitated. There wasn't much left for him to do, and it was true that he was very tired, but something in the back of his mind was practically screaming at him to not leave Taiga's side. Eventually, however, his exhaustion won out and he acquiesced to the nurse's request.
"Thank you so much, Nurse Hazuki. But can I at least give you my phone number in case you need help with anything else? It doesn't matter what time it is; I'd be happy to, no matter what."
The blonde nurse warmly smiled. "You are very welcome, and I appreciate the offer." Pulling out her cell phone, the two exchanged numbers. "Thank you for your assistance tonight, Takasu. Sleep well."
With those parting words, Ryuuji took his leave from the clinic, but not before looking back at Taiga for a few seconds on his way out. Once the door was closed, Hazuki pocketed her cell phone and took a seat in her chair by the counter. She had already had a long day, and it was going to be an equally long night.
"You're a lucky girl, you know," she nonchalantly said to the unconscious Taiga. "You're very fortunate to have someone in your life who loves you as much as he does."
The nurse sighed. She had told the students that the situation was bad, but did not specify how grim it truly was. There was a very real possibility that she wouldn't survive through the night at the rate she was recovering. All Hazuki could do anymore was hope that the tiny girl would be able to persevere and fight for her life until the storm settled.
The resort was practically empty as Ryuuji walked back towards the student rooms to finally get some sleep. The empty halls were devoid of sound, save for Ryuuji's footsteps and the noise of the fierce winds blowing whenever he passed by a window.
Unfortunately for him, the quiet halls offered the perfect setting for his conflicted thoughts from earlier to return. He just didn't know what to think anymore.
Taiga is a very important person to me. That much is obvious. But if Kushieda and I got together, then that would mean…
If he and Minori started dating, then his "contract" with Taiga will have been fulfilled, assuming she also gets with Kitamura. In most facets of his life, she would end up being replaced by Minori as his new girlfriend.
He would no longer be able to have meals together with Taiga over at his home, just the two of them. He would no longer be able to make lunches for her and watch her face light up as she opened the box and began to eat. He would never get to see the look of pure happiness she gave him on Christmas Eve ever again.
The idea of this becoming reality almost physically pained him, as if he were being punched in the gut with each thought of what he wouldn't be allowed to do with Taiga again. Sure, he would finally be together with Minori, but at what cost?
If Kushieda and I became a couple, it would essentially require the bond between Taiga and I to be sacrificed. The question is…is that truly worth it?
The more he thought about it, the more that his answer leaned towards "no". However, that answer gave rise to a different question: the question of why it wasn't worth it. After all, he was in love with Minori…right?
For whatever reason, life didn't seem to want to allow Ryuuji the time to answer his own questions. His plans to return to his room and rest were completely upended when he walked through the leisure area and caught sight of a person sitting alone on one of the sofas. They appeared to be a young girl with short red hair, wearing a set of blue pajamas and staring at the floor.
"Kushieda?"
The girl perked up in surprise, clearly not expecting anyone else to be awake at this hour. It was almost midnight, after all. But, as Ryuuji had suspected, she was indeed Minori Kushieda.
After the initial surprise wore off, she seemed to almost visibly deflate once she recognized Ryuuji. "Oh…hi, Takasu," she said glumly. "Is Taiga okay?"
Ryuuji began to walk over to where the redhead was seated. "I'm not sure, to be honest. We gave her stitches for her head and some blankets, but she's still dangerously cold. Nurse Hazuki is keeping an eye on her and trying to keep her warm."
Minori already didn't look particularly happy, but she stared back down at the floor and her crestfallen expression became more pronounced once she heard the news. "…I see."
He really didn't like the way her disposition changed, and so Ryuuji decided to switch topics. "Why are you still up? It's almost midnight"
The redheaded girl shrugged halfheartedly. "Dunno. I just can't sleep tonight."
Even though she wasn't looking directly at him, Ryuuji could clearly see the bags under her eyes and hear the fatigue in her voice. "Something on your mind? You look really tired."
Minori darkly chuckled, eyes still glued to the floor. "…yeah. I am really tired. So, so tired. I don't know if getting some sleep would even help anymore."
He wasn't sure what it was, but something was very wrong. The Minori Kushieda he knew and had admired for so long was an energetic, cheerful ray of sunshine. She was always the optimist whose antics brought a smile to the faces of those around her. The gloomy demeanor she currently exhibited was practically the polar opposite of her normal eccentric personality.
Ryuuji sat down on the sofa next to Minori. "Kushieda, if something's bothering you and you need to talk about it, I'd be happy to listen."
The redhead sadly shook her head, seemingly making an active effort to avoid eye contact. "Takasu, please…it's really nothing. I'll be okay. You don't have to worry about m—"
"Oh, so there you are."
At the sound of that familiar voice, Minori tensed up and stopped talking mid-sentence. Ryuuji turned towards the direction of the voice, discovering that it belonged to one Ami Kawashima. The teen model was walking their way, dressed in her own pajamas but looking wide awake.
"What do you want, Amin?" Minori asked in a monotone voice.
"Nothing in particular. I just came to check on you," replied the purple-haired girl. "You've been acting really weird ever since you got back to our room, and it shouldn't take thirty minutes to 'go to the bathroom'."
Minori wearily sighed. Of all the people she didn't want to have to put up with right now, Ami was at the very top of the list. "I said I'm fine. Please just leave me alone. I don't want to talk right now."
Clearly not convinced, Ami took a seat in the chair across the table from Minori and Ryuuji. "You and I both know that you're not 'fine'. Keeping everything to yourself isn't good for you. It's not healthy."
The redhead scoffed cynically. "What does my 'health' matter to you? You've been antagonizing me throughout this entire trip. Why do you suddenly care?"
"Because if you don't stop trying to hide from everyone how you feel, nothing will ever change, and you'll make yourself even unhappier. You'll keep dancing around the issue, pretending it's not there, just waiting for someone to get hurt again."
"You don't know a damn thing about how I feel," Minori spat.
"Oh, I don't, do I?" Ami challenged. "It's pretty obvious that one big reason for your attitude is the person sitting next to you."
Ryuuji blinked in confusion. This was somehow his fault? Had he said or done something to upset Minori earlier in the day? It might have been his refusal to let her take Taiga from his arms. He certainly hoped that wasn't the case.
"I don't want to hear it," muttered the redhead. "Like I said, it's nothing. Go away."
The model sighed and shook her head. If the softball player was going to keep being difficult, then Ami was going to play hardball. "Alright, then. If you're so insistent on clamming up, then I'll just have to tell Takasu for you."
Minori's head snapped up and she gasped in fear when she heard that statement. Ami had a knack for seeing through people, as she had proven multiple times. The odds were high that she wasn't bluffing. "No. You wouldn't. You can't. Amin, please just forget about it, okay?"
It was difficult for Ryuuji to follow exactly what the two girls were talking about, but judging by Minori's response, they were both on the same page about whatever it was. He was just hoping this conversation didn't devolve into a fistfight again like earlier today.
"Not going to happen. This is for your own good." Looking directly at Ryuuji, Ami began. "Takasu, there's something you should know about Minori that she won't tell you or anyone else."
All Minori could muster was a weak murmur. "Please don't…"
Content to ignore Minori's misery, Ami continued. "One of the reasons why she's so depressed right now is related to the reason she rejected you on Christmas Eve. Isn't that funny?"
He wasn't really sure where she was going with this. Of course, there had to be a reason that she rejected him that night, but he hadn't expected to receive an answer. It was entirely possibly that Ami was bluffing, but the fact that this seemed to be getting under Minori's skin so much lent the story some credibility.
"Stop…stop!" This time, the words coming from the redheaded girl were a louder, more desperate protest. She sounded like she was about to cry.
Ami hated having to do this. Even though they had been angry enough at each other to come to blows earlier in the day, Minori was still her friend. But what Ami hated even more was watching Minori refuse to be honest and suffer in silence, all while continuing to keep the "game" between her, Ryuuji, and Taiga at an endless stalemate.
The teen model knew that the redhead wouldn't release what she was bottling up unless she was forced to. She wouldn't allow herself to open up, for fear of being a burden on others. Her sadness would continue to eat away at her like a slow-acting poison.
It was clear that Minori was almost at the breaking point. Just one more push was all Ami needed to trigger the emotional cascade and set everything in motion. All she had to do was deliver the coup de grace, so to speak.
"You see, it's not that she wanted to reject you, she felt that she had to. And the reason that she had to is because she's—"
Minori abruptly stood up, hands balled up into fists. That had done it. With that last little push, the ticking time bomb that Ami had insisted on poking and prodding at finally detonated in an explosion of anger.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH, YOU BITCH!"
Ryuuji was stunned. He had seen Minori get mad before, but he had never even once heard her use that kind of language or tone of voice. The furious redhead standing next to him seemed to have transformed into a completely different person. She was clenching her fists so tightly that her fingernails were painfully digging into the palms of her hands, nearly drawing blood.
What was almost more surprising to Ryuuji was how unfazed Ami was at Minori's outburst. Without missing a beat, she calmly met the resentful glare of the girl across from her. "Takasu," she spoke, not breaking eye contact with Minori. "Do you still think this is 'nothing' after that reaction?"
With a small gasp, Minori suddenly realized what she had done. She unclenched her fists and sank back down into the sofa, her eyes once again dropping to the floor. It was as if she had been broken out of a trance.
Ami rose from her chair. She had found a crack in Minori's armor and exposed her vulnerability, but the model wasn't the right person to completely break through. The only person left that could completely free Minori from the prison of negative emotion she had locked herself into was the dense idiot sitting next to her. This was no longer Ami's battle to fight.
"Well, whatever. I'm going to see how Taiga's doing, then go back to bed myself," said the teen model. "Takasu…what will you do?"
Without waiting for a reply, Ami turned away from her classmates and walked towards the lobby, in the direction of the clinic. Of course, Ryuuji didn't plan on giving her a reply. He always seemed to have difficulty interpreting her cryptic statements, but even he knew that it was a rhetorical question. For once, he understood what Ami was telling him that he needed to do.
Taking a deep breath, the young man turned his full attention to Minori. She looked absolutely miserable, and he wasn't going to sit by and allow her to wallow in her misery.
"Kushieda."
"…T-Takasu, please…don't…"
"Don't try and tell me you're okay. If you need someone to listen, I'll listen. If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here."
Minori Kushieda considered herself to be good at pretending. She could be angry when she wanted to and sad when she was alone but was almost always able to put on a happy face for her friends. Even when her façade began to break, she could keep the worst of her feelings safely locked away inside her heart.
She was the kind of person who prioritized everyone else in her life over her own well-being. Her depression over being forced to hurt the boy she loved and her feelings of intense guilt for inadvertently driving a wedge between Taiga and Ryuuji were things she couldn't just let loose. She couldn't let her own sorrows bleed out and make the people she cared about sad as well.
But tonight had been one of the hardest nights of Minori's life, and she only had enough mental energy left to just barely hold on. Between the difficult conversation with Ami last night, her fistfight with the model earlier today, the extreme anxiety surrounding Taiga's rescue from the snowstorm, and her assumed responsibility for her best friend's life-threatening injuries, she was almost completely drained.
And now this. It wasn't fair. This just had to happen now, when her mask had already slipped and she was so close to breaking, didn't it? And of course, it just had to be Ryuuji Takasu, the boy that she was crushing on, who was the one beside her while this was happening. What did she do to deserve this?
She knew exactly what kind of expression she would see if she looked at him. That gentle, caring look of concern that he would be making. If she lost her focus even for a moment and looked into his eyes, she knew she would break. She would fall apart at the seams and let everything she'd bottled up come flooding out in an unstoppable torrent of emotion.
She wouldn't look at him. She couldn't look at him. She knew what would happen if she did. She knew that he cared for her and was worried about her, but she just couldn't. She just had to steel herself, be strong, focus on controlling it like she always did, not let it ou—
"Kushieda…it's okay."
Minori was startled by the sudden sensation of a hand on her shoulder. She was so desperate to keep herself together that she neglected to notice Ryuuji extending his arm next to her. And, in that single moment, she lost her focus and did the exact opposite of what she told herself she would do.
As her concentration lapsed, the surprise took over and she turned her head towards the hand on her shoulder. Her eyes met his. Her prediction earlier was right on the mark; he had that same gentle gaze of concern that she was so afraid of.
She couldn't pull herself away. It was far too late for that. And while she helplessly stared into his eyes, Minori felt something deep inside of her shatter to pieces. "I-I…"
She had tried so very hard for so very long. But tonight, despite her best efforts, she failed. The dam had finally burst, and the floodgates opened wide.
The tears she had been holding back all night came flowing out at once, and she began sobbing uncontrollably. Minori couldn't remember the last time she'd cried this hard, if ever. Saying nothing, Ryuuji gently pulled the wailing girl across the couch, closer to him. She leaned towards him and buried her face in his shoulder, continuing to cry her eyes out.
The clock had just struck midnight, but neither of them were able to hear it, as the sound had been drowned out by the redhead's heartbreaking sobs.
A/N: I've always thought Minori's character was interestingly written, but the whole topic of her pseudo-depressive tendencies felt like it never got delved into enough in the canon material. Luckily for me, that opened up a lot of creative avenues to interpret her mentality into my own words.
Look forward to the next chapter - I intend to have it deviate from the structure of the story so far, and it's the one chapter I have planned that I'm the most excited to write.