A few weeks after Ryuuji had the soulmate talk with Yuusaku, he stands in the exact same spot and talks about his words. Yuusaku is with him. "So, your birthday is tomorrow. Are you nervous?" Ryuuji goes to say he is not, but falters. Am I nervous? Yuusaku sees him open his mouth and then promptly close it, and continues. "It doesn't hurt or anything. You just wake up and they're there."

"Is there a specific time they show up?" Ryuuji starts sweating, feeling unprepared even though he's known this would happen since he was a kid.

"They show up the first time you're asleep after midnight on your birthday. So even if you stay up until midnight, they won't show until you wake up tomorrow morning." Ryuuji nods and holds his arm up, staring at the place where the words will appear. "Do you think you know who'll say them?"

Ryuuji looks up at Yuusaku. He almost doesn't want to tell him that he's hoping they're Kushieda's, just in case he's wrong. He does anyway, looking behind his shoulder and down the hallways first. "I.. hope that they're Minori's. I've liked her since middle school, and if they're not hers... I don't know what I'll do."

Yuusaku nods, understanding his predicament. "Either way, it'll turn out okay. Even if your words are from someone else or nobody's said them yet, you can still pursue Minori. Follow your heart, not your arm."

"Yeah… I will."

Ryuuji lays in bed for an hour without falling asleep. It's nearly 11pm when Yasuko opens the front door and skips to his bedroom. Ryuuji rolls over to greet her, seeing that she couldn't even wait long enough to take her shoes off. "Ryu! Are you excited? My baby boy is turning sixteen tomorrow! You're all grown up now! You'll get your words!" Ryuuji has no time to react before she leans over and hugs him.

When she pulls back, he's met with a huge grin filling his mom's face. He smiles back, joyful that his mom is this happy. "You don't even know if anyone's said them yet!" He teases.

Yasuko giggles. "Yeah, but now you'll know what the sentence is. It's just so exciting!"

He yawns dramatically. "Well, if you want to know what they are, you'll have to let me go to bed and wait for tomorrow!" She kisses him on the forehead and hastens to turn off the light and shut the door. Ryuuji rolls over again and closes his eyes, sleep overtaking him after only a few minutes.

He wakes up suddenly, as if pulled out of a dream where he was falling and then hit the floor. He sits up, not drowsy at all. His right arm is pressed against the blanket, and Ryuuji stares at it before flipping it over to see if his fated words are there. His heart pounds and he notices the tips of his fingers shaking. This could determine his whole future, and waiting a few more seconds in the 'before' isn't going to hurt. Finally, he takes a deep breath and turns his arm over.

Yuusaku and his mother weren't wrong; the words are there. They're in a plain, dark-colored font, just as he was expecting. He reads his sentence, from quotation mark to quotation mark, and then rests his head in his hands. His eyes remain open and his breaths become ragged. He scans over his arm again and again, trying to process. He isn't sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.

"Don't call me the palmtop tiger!" The words don't come with sound, but he can hear her as clearly as if it had just happened. Over and over again, she shouts it before punching him squarely in the chest.

"Taiga.. Aisaka Taiga… is my soulmate," he whispers to himself as if he doesn't already know. "But... I like Minori.. She's who I'm meant to be with... Taiga hardly even likes me as a friend!" Ryuuji stands up and gets ready for school with his mind still racing.

He's still dazed when he gets to school. He didn't wait for Taiga today, because he didn't know what to tell her. Surely, she would have asked. And when she does, what will I tell her? 'Oh, yeah, you're my soulmate but I think we should go on with our original plan anyway." Is it best to just lie and say I don't know? I don't want to waste Minori's or Taiga's time if it won't work out anyway, but.. How would I even begin to have that conversation?

He totters to the classroom, where his friends greet him with "Happy birthday!" and expectant faces. Ryuuji returns a fake smile and says that his words haven't been said yet. He doesn't mention the sentence either, as it would be blatantly obvious who it belonged to. If I decide to tell Taiga later, this way I can do it privately.

At lunch break, Ryuuji waits for Yuusaku before heading to the cafeteria. He's in an urgent student council meeting with Sumire that's supposed to be short, although he's taking quite a while. Ryuuji walks to the end of the hallway towards the vending machines to wait for him. I wonder if she's saying his words right this minute. As he reaches the front of the machines, he sees a pair of shoes sticking out of the small gap between them. In getting closer, he can see that Ami is sitting there, staring back at him. She smiles and then takes a sip of the drink in her hand.

"Ami, what are you doing here?" Ryuuji questions. There's a perfectly good bench right behind them, so there's no reason to sit on the floor.

"I was thirsty, and they only have iced coffee in this one, there's none in the cafeteria." That wasn't what Ryuuji was asking, but he doesn't have time to correct himself. "Anyway, you looked really, um, distressed this morning. Are you alright?"

Ryuuji sighs and tugs on his hair. "Well…" He pauses, unsure if it's okay to tell Ami what happened. She waits patiently for him to continue, and he decides that he will. Ryuuji explains the situation, and asks her what she thinks: should he tell Taiga or not tell her?

"Listen. Before I tell you what I think, let me tell you about my words. I'm trusting you with this, okay? I haven't told anyone yet." Ryuuji nods his assent. "I got my words last summer, and I knew right away who said them. The memory is vivid, even though it's from years ago. Yuusaku and I have been best friends for years, you know, and it was a day in late May that he said it. I didn't know then, of course, but I do now."

"School had just gotten out a week ago, and we were riding our bikes up and down the street, enjoying the freedom of having no responsibilities. We were going pretty slow so that we could talk while we rode, and I wasn't really paying attention. My bike scuffed the curb and I ended up cutting my hand on the pavement when I fell. My hand was dirty,and he rinsed it with some water from his water bottle. In hindsight, it was a really nice thing to do. But I was still pretty shaken up because the cut was bleeding a lot. He said to me 'Come on, let me walk you home.' And then he did. And last summer those same words appeared on my arm and I know exactly how you feel now because I felt it then."

Ryuuji stares at her. She hasn't told him, and he's in love with Sumire, and there's nothing to do about it. And he just has to watch his best friend pine after the wrong person for who knows how long and-

"I haven't told him because I know he loves Sumire. And that's something I'll have to deal with until he gets over it. But I'll stick by his side until he realizes that maybe he's had his soulmate all along." Ami snickers. "It'll probably help when I say his words though. Anyway, what I was getting at is that maybe things would be sorted out by now if I had just told him on my birthday. So, I know you're friends with Taiga and all, and that's all you're interested in right now, but maybe it's for the best that you two know what's going to happen. You don't have to rush things. Just be best friends until both of you figure it out. Not all soulmates are romantic, you know."

Ami smiles, punctuating her speech. "Either way, good luck." Ryuuji glances at his arm again and then back at Ami.

"Thanks. I really needed to hear that. And I'm sorry about Kitamura, too. Trust me, he'll come around. Just keep trying." Just after he says this, Yuusaku peeks his head out the doorway and sees him there. Ryuuji waves and then offers his hand to Ami, pulling her to her feet. "You two head to lunch together. I need to think," Ryuuji says, partially to help out Ami and partially because he has a lot to consider. They leave and he buys himself a tea, sipping on it while weighing his options.

By the time the last bell has rung signalling the end of the school day, Ryuuji has made up his mind. I'm going to tell Taiga that she said my words. That way it won't be a surprise later and it will be very clear that I still intend to go out with Minori. He hangs back while people leave, preferring to confront her on her way home over in the crowded hallway.

Once everyone has left, Ryuuji takes a deep breath and moves towards the west entrance. Sometimes she waits there for Minori, who likes to chat with the softball coach before they go home. Even if she isn't there, I'll just catch up to her on the way back. But it's better safe than sorry. When he reaches the exit, he checks out the window before opening the door. Taiga is standing there, but she's talking to someone. Ryuuji looks out the other door's window and sees Yuusaku standing there. They're somewhat far away from the door, so Ryuuji cracks it open a little and sits down, leaning against it so that it doesn't shut.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Taiga?" Yuusaku leads. His voice is calm, although a peek at Taiga reveals she is writhing her hands behind her back.

"I- I just wanted to, um.." Her face heats up and she begins to mumble. "I really like you, Yuusaku." She peeks at him to see his reaction.

Kitamura's eyebrows raise slightly before his face returns to his usual friendly countenance. Ryuuji has to hold back a facepalm. She had to confess to him like that? She couldn't have written a note, or baked him cookies or something? He chuckles internally. What a klutz.

Finally, Yuusaku replies. "I like you too, Taiga. We're good friends." He smiles, letting her down softly. Her eyebrows knit together at first, but she soon realizes what he means, and it hurts Ryuuji a little bit when he sees her shoulders shrink.

"Oh. Yeah, we're good friends." She looks away from him, and he excuses himself politely. Once he leaves, Ryuuji opens the door and promptly wraps Taiga in a hug. He doesn't say anything, and neither does she, but she allows herself to be comforted. After a few minutes, Ryuuji can feel the front of his shirt getting damp. She must be crying- and understandably. He strokes her hair until she pulls away. Taiga wipes her face and goes to sit down at the wall where they first thought of their plan.

"What were your words, anyway?" She sniffles.

"They haven't been said yet, so I haven't really been thinking about it." Ryuuji looks away as he lies to her. He feels a twinge of guilt, but reasons by telling himself that it's better this way, and that she doesn't need that, especially right now. He goes to sit down, but this time next to her instead of across. They don't speak until he tells her "Come on, let's go home. We can walk together."

So, side by side, they walk back home. Tiger and dragon.