Thank you all so much for all of the reviews, once again! I know that I've been slow on replying to them all, but school starts for me in less than a week and I've got enough homework piled up for a few all nighters. However, my love for writing this story trumped homework for now, so please, enjoy the continuation of Covers!

Random Guy: I'll definitely keep your suggestions in mind as I try and continue on with this story. Thanks for the substantial review!

Xayase: Don't worry! Megumi has annoyed me to no end, and I have no intention of creating a situation similar to that.

Guest: Yeah, I felt like it was a little quick too, but hey, live and let learn, right?


Chapter 6

"So, that was…" I stuttered, just trying to articulate the unexplainable sensations that were coursing through my veins. My face must have been bright red, from the way that it felt like it was on fire, and I swore that there was now a jackhammer occupying the spot where my heart had once been located. I subconsciously swept my tongue across my lips, shuddering slightly at the sweetness of Ami's iced coffee and the images that it elicited from my mind.

"Incredible." Ami finished, decidedly red herself. If anything, she seemed to be in worse condition than me, with her heavy panting and darting eyes, trying to look off in every conceivable direction but mine. Of course she was. Even with the intention of telling everyone that we were dating publicly, there was still an element of embarrassment of being caught making out in the middle of a café.

I nodded dumbly, not really able to think of anything else to say in the moment.

"Yeah, exactly." I breathed, after an awkward silence that threatened to suffocate me with its stifling presence. Darn it, Ami, you're the more talkative one out of the two of us. Can't you say anything else right now?

Instead, she had her head defiantly pointed out the window, while her free hand gently stirred the silver stirrer that had been included for her iced coffee, the ice cubes clinking as they rubbed up against each other, punctuating the silence between us ever so slightly. I opened my mouth slightly in an attempt to speak, but I found myself surprisingly interrupted by Ami.

She bit her lip slightly, before she let go of the stirrer in her hand, allowing the metal utensil to rest up against the edge of her glass, "Say, Ryuuji, you said that I'm a great actress. Why do you think that?"

"Well…" I began, finding that words refused to come to my lips. Why exactly had I said that? Of course, before the…kiss, I had just assumed that Ami had been feigning her affection for me, that it had all been for the plan. But now, I wasn't so sure about that assumption. After all, she had made it fairly clear now that she had been harboring more feelings than she had initially revealed to me, which I supposed made my comment a bit odd, considering the new circumstances we now found ourselves in.

"Actually, never mind. I don't need to know the answer." Ami replied, making me almost jump out of my seat in surprise as she suddenly placed her hand on top of mine. Her fingers were smooth and soft, in contrast to my own callous and rough ones. Her skin was soft and delicate, as I expected out of a girl as feminine as Ami, and yet, at the same time, there was a subtle hint of force to her grip, almost as if she was trying to restrain some inherent need to grab on tighter than she was currently allowing herself to.

"You know, I wonder how Minori's going to feel about this." She mused softly, a slight smile coming to her face. It was just then that I noticed the chill of her fingers. I had originally attributed it to the fact that she had held a glass of iced coffee earlier, but now, I understood that it was from Ami herself, and not from any external source. It wasn't an aura of evil, or deviousness, as the implication of a cold hand would likely bring up as a connotation, but maybe just a distinct sense of apathy.

I gulped slightly before I spoke shakily, "What do you mean?"

"When I said that Minori didn't know about your feelings, I lied. She knows, but I don't care. I don't care, because I'm not going to lose you to someone who was content to sit around and wait for you to make the first move for months," Ami snarled as she spoke, her grip on my hand tightening as she did so.

I merely stared back in shock. Minori had known? Then why did she seem so happy for me when Ami had announced that we were dating? It didn't seem to be possible. After all, if the hints that I had constantly thrown her way weren't enough to prove my interest, then what was good enough for her? I know I had pined away for her affections for well over a year, but now I was really starting to question why exactly I liked her. Well, she was pretty, that much was true. But then again, so was Ami, in a different way. Different, but still good. And then, there was that enthusiasm of hers that allowed her to talk to me as easily as anybody else in class, and I supposed that I really appreciated such a gesture. But again, Ami did as well. She talked to me like anyone else. Actually, I guess I wouldn't say that, because she talked to me in a different way that she did with others. It was more candid, and it was more real than the normally superficial interactions she had with others.

All this time, I had built up a perfect image of Minori as an angelic figure who was happy to grace my existence with her omnipresent grin and easy manner of speaking. But while I had been doing that, I guess I had missed the way that Ami had more subtly been treating me, albeit, in her own style of insults and incisive comments. Would it really be so bad to just forget about Minori, label it a lost cause, and instead, take what was sitting right in front of me?

I briefly thought to myself, "What would Kyon do?" before I reached the conclusion that he'd probably curse both girls and go on with his own grumpy singular existence. I suppose that reaching for examples to guide me from anime wasn't exactly the smartest choice, given the lack of sound decisions that most protagonists made. I was conflicted, and yet, the choice seemed as clear as day. Ami was the one who had let her feelings be known, and frankly, I was starting to feel more and more attracted to her by the second as I realized exactly how shallow my attraction to Minori was.

"I'm happy with that." I admitted, allowing a sheepish smile to come to my face, "Let's give this whole dating thing a try."


Well, I can't say that I really minded the sight that awaited me when I entered the classroom the next day, just surprised. I had found myself enjoying my relatively quiet morning, augmented by the fact that I had not walked to school with Ami, despite the change in our relationship, which wasn't really all that different to the uninformed observer. It turns out that people weren't as interested in me per se, but in Ami and the fact that she had been hanging around me. It was a welcome change, although I suppose I was a bit disappointed at the realization that by myself, I wasn't a topic of much interest aside from the usual scared glances thrown my way.

But all of my disappointment was eased away by the sight of Ami in her summer uniform, which consisted of a short sleeved white shirt that she had conveniently left unbuttoned enough for me to glean a glimpse of her skin underneath, accompanied by a short blue skirt that left relatively little to the imagination. I will profess that, as a teenage boy, I had no ability to look away from her figure, even as I realized that I was staring a bit.

"Geez, Ryuu-chan, you're thinking of something dirty, aren't you?" Ami whined, hands flying to pull down her skirt a bit more to cover her legs, as if I were some sort of lecherous old man ogling her, which I wasn't! I swear, all I did was take a few appreciative looks at her shapely body!

Maya shook her head in disdain, "What a perv."

"Wait, it's not like that!" I retorted, putting my hands up in an attempt to make my point heard.

Thankfully, Sensei interrupted our conversation with a loud clearing of her throat, which served as a signal for us to take our seats, with Maya sweeping past me roughly as she returned to her desk. Geez, try being even more conspicuous with your dislike of me, why don't you?

"Rough day so far?" Kitamura asked as I slid into my chair, dropping my bag to the floor.

Gesturing to the brown haired girl who clearly had it out for me now, I shook my head in annoyance, "Why don't try asking Maya-san? I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you all about it."

Before we continue any more, Sensei spoke up, "Well, as you all know, the pool will now be opening for the summer, so let me start going over the rules!"

As she turned towards the board to write down some general guidelines that we had already gone over last year, the classroom erupted into side conversations, all of which involved the pool, which was a bigger deal than I'm making it sound. For the summer, it's really a nice way to get our exercise in, and for the guys especially, it was a great chance to sit back and enjoy the view. If this had been any other year, I would have been busy trying to think of a way for me to get the maximum coverage of Minori's swimsuit, but with my situation, she was currently the farthest thing from my mind.

"So, Ryuuji, are you looking forward to seeing me in a swimsuit?" Ami cooed, firing a flirtatious wink at me that instantly killed the spirits of several males in the class who had been discussing the best possible way to sneak glances at Ami's swimsuit.

"Well, I won't say that I'm not excited." I laughed, only helping to dampen their moods even more. Sorry, but that's the perk of being the boyfriend of Kawashima Ami.

She sighed, "Still, I'll be so embarrassed to let you see me in a swimsuit!"

At that, I heard the sudden crack of a piece of chalk being broken against the board at the front of the classroom and I curiously peered over to see Sensei's arm shaking furiously and the rest of her body frozen stiff. Feeling a bit concerned, I stood up from my seat and walked up to the front of the room, cautiously approaching the woman, who stood there, clutching the broken piece of chalk with trembling fingers.

"Say, Sensei, are you alright?" I asked, tapping her on the shoulder. In surprise, she jumped backwards and allowed the piece of chalk in her hand to fall to the floor, scattering small bits of white across the floor.

"Oh, Takasu, it's just you." She breathed in relief, as if she were expecting someone else. Who else could it be? I'm basically the only one in class who acknowledges your existence outside of the classroom, after all.

She swept a loose strand of red hair out of her face and allowed her faked smile to fade away, "I'm just a bit depressed by the fact that I'm twenty-nine, and I haven't even been in a relationship that's lasted for longer than a month. And then, I look out at all you kids, with all of your relationships, and to be frank, I'm a little jealous. I mean, come on, even you have a girlfriend, and not only that, she's an insanely cute model!"

Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Are you trying to say something with that thinly veiled insult at me?

"I mean, am I not pretty enough or something?" She finished, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Don't worry, Sensei, I'm sure that you'll find someone who will love you for who you are." I struggled, given that I don't usually console people in general, much less my teacher. Really, I'm just going off the lines I've heard from anime in the past at this point. Hopefully, she doesn't notice.

She smiled, her figure perking up a bit, "Thanks, Takasu. You're really the only one in this class who cares about poor old Sensei, huh?"

"You can count on me." I added, finding that to be the perfect place to cut our conversation off and to return to my seat, where Ami was eyeing me curiously.

"Normally, I would get jealous over you talking to another woman, but given that it's just Sensei, I'm not all that bothered by it." She informed me as I sat down, causing the sound of another piece of broken chalk to reverberate across the room.


"Do I really have to be here?" I drawled lazily as I passed by racks upon racks of swimsuits of various designs and colors, while a few curious women pointed at me and whispered, probably wondering why a high school boy was standing inside of the female section of the department store. I think I now truly understand the meaning of the word embarrassment, because that was the only possible way to describe my feelings right now.

Ami grinned knowingly, "Come on, don't lie to me. You're excited by the thought of seeing me try on swimsuits."

Well okay, that was kinda true. I was pretty interested to see what Ami would choose for her swimsuit, although I didn't have insanely high expectations due to the fact that the rules dictated that all swimsuits had to be pretty conservative and either in a shade of blue or black. I already had my plain black trunks picked out at home, and they definitely weren't anything to make someone double take.

"All right, here we are." Ami muttered, already delving into the wide assortment of one piece swimsuits. Not taking much of in an interest in what was sure to be a long process, I yawned slightly and looked out at the rest of the store, only to see Minori dragging Taiga towards the two of us.

"Look, I don't want any swimsuits!" Taiga complained as Minori forcibly pulled her along, seemingly oblivious to her friend's protests.

"Yo! Are you looking for a swimsuit too, Kawashima-san?" Minori asked, finally letting go and allowing Taiga to spring free, although the smaller girl made no move to leave the store.

"Well, this is the only store that sells any." Ami explained, before she raised her arms up, a swimsuit in each arm, "Say, Ryuuji, what do you think of these designs?"

"I think that they look pretty good." I replied, not really sure how she expected me to have any understanding of what would look good on her or not.

"Really? Then I'll go try them on to see if they fit." Ami informed me before she skipped off to the dressing room, leaving me alone with Minori and Taiga.

At Ami's words, I saw Taiga's face suddenly freeze for a second before it fell and she hung her head, crestfallen. Normally, I would have expected her to start some sort of argument over whatever trivial thing was on her mind at the moment with Ami, but something was definitely wrong, and it was clearly obvious to both me and Minori.

"Taiga, what's the matter?" I asked tentatively, prepared to be launched across the room with a kick. Taiga had a tendency to talk more with her actions than her words, and I was fully aware of that fact. But contrary to my expectations, Taiga had not moved an inch before she suddenly grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me into a dressing room forcefully, leaving a bewildered Minori behind.

"Hey, what was that?" I yelled as I nursed the bruise quickly forming on my head from being tossed headfirst onto the ground.

"Shut up." Taiga muttered, hands crossed over her chest. It was with that act that I found my attention suddenly drawn to that particular aspect of her figure. Instantly, the thought hit me, and I understood immediately why Taiga had seemed so upset earlier with the thought of shopping for a swimsuit.

I gingerly sat up and readied myself for an assault, "Don't tell me that…you're embarrassed about your chest?"

Well, that certainly wasn't the right question to ask because the next thing I knew, I was lying on my back in the middle of the store, with a few concerned shoppers standing over me and waving their hands back and forth in an effort to wake me up. At least that meant that some people had some decency to stop and help an innocent victim.

I sat up rather slowly, trying to regain my senses, although that was difficult with the room spinning furiously all around me. I swear that one day, Taiga was going to kill me with all of the concussions that she had given me so far.

"Ryuuji, are you okay?" Ami wailed, cutting in amongst the crowd and falling to her knees in front of me. It was nice to know that Ami was there to help me, and that would have been fine if not for the issue of how she was dressed. You see, she had evidently run straight out of the dressing room before she had a chance to finish, because she was still in her swimsuit, which looked extremely good on her, just so you know. Even with the fact that she could only choose a dull blue one piece swimsuit, she made it work in a way that only a model ever could. And that certainly wasn't doing my pants any favors.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" I replied overly enthusiastically, doing my best to stumble to my feet before Ami got any closer to me, causing her to get to her feet as well. She merely looked at me with a slightly confused look before she accepted my answer and immediately focused her attention on Taiga, her eyes narrowing and mouth forming into a scowl.

"That damn bitch." She growled under her breath, hands curling up into fists as her breathing shortened, indicating her current anger. Shit, this was going to quickly get out of hand if I didn't do something, and quickly.

I forcefully grabbed her shoulder as she made a move to turn, her destination obvious to me, "Ami, it's no big deal, really. It was my fault anyways."

Her mouth opened to protest, but quickly clamped up as she say the look I gave her, which I could only describe as a pleading expression. Yeah, I know, definitely not my proudest moment. But it got the job done, and realizing that she was still in public, Ami erased her frown and forced a smile to appear, "Well, if you're all right, then I guess everything's okay."

Relieved that Ami actually stopped herself before she inevitably clashed with Taiga, I let out a sigh of relief, a signal that the assembled shoppers took to mean that I was okay and dispersed, leaving me alone with Ami.

"Really though, are you all right?" Ami asked, noticing the red mark on my head, which she just had to touch. A piercing pain shot down my spine and I recoiled at her touch, causing her to frown once more, but this time, in concern rather than blind rage.

She pouted, "Jeez, that Taiga. She didn't even give me a chance to show off my swimsuit to you."

Oh believe me, I've already seen all that I've needed to see to give me mental images to last a lifetime. And they are definitely some pleasant images to think about.

"I mean, isn't it so cute?" Ami asked, striking a pose in front of me which I found to be vaguely familiar. Maybe she had done it before in a magazine or something?

"It's pretty amazing how good I can make such a dull swimsuit look, isn't it? Geez, I really am so fashionable." She added with a conceited air to her words, although I guess she had every right to be. She did make a relatively cheap swimsuit look like it was some fancy new designer article that belonged in a fashion show in Paris, and not at the school swimming pool in a rural Japanese town. She had a talent for modeling, there was no doubt about it.

"Yeah, I guess so." I laughed, more at her overly excited tone than anything else.

Of course, Ami didn't really perceive it that way, and she crossed her arms in an irritated fashion, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" I insisted, "It's just nice to see you get so excited about something without having to fake it."

Ami smirked, "Well, it's better than getting excited over scrubbing some floors, isn't it?"

Okay, that was a low blow. And besides, what was so wrong with me finding joy in my housework? Considering how often I tended to it, it would be remiss of me to not show some enthusiasm about cleaning. But still, point well taken.

"All right, you got me there." I sighed, not at all enjoying the triumphant look on Ami's face.

"Of course I do." Ami replied, as if it was obvious, "So let's pay at the cash register and walk home together."

Not that I wasn't really partial to the idea, because I definitely was, but weren't we forgetting something?

"What about Taiga?" I asked as Ami tried to pull me to the cashier.

Ami's nose crinkled in disdain at the mention of her name, "What about her?"

"Shouldn't we try to help her out? She is having some difficulty with finding a good swimsuit after all." I replied, stopping the both of us by planting my feet firmly on the ground.

Ami rolled her eyes, but once she realized that I had no intention of budging until she heard out my request, she groaned and let go of my arm, "Fine. You're lucky that we're dating, otherwise I would have already gone home on my own."

With a triumphant grin of my own, I watched as Ami walked back to the dressing rooms and callously ripped Taiga out of one of the rooms, holding her up by the scruff of her neck, as if the smaller girl were a cat. See, I knew that there was a heart somewhere inside of her.


So, as you can see, I am somewhat following the timeline of Toradora, but obviously, some events are going to be changed for the sake of focusing on Ryuuji and Ami's relationship above all else. And for those who are wondering why I added the part of Ryuuji going up to talk to Yuri (at least, I think that's what the Sensei's name is. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), I think that having an adult other than Ya-chan involved in their relationship is going to add some interesting dynamics, so yes, she will have some more appearances in this story periodically, but not as a love interest or anything, at least not for Ryuuji. I want her to add sort of an educator's perspective on their relationship that should add more depth to this story.

Also, school starts for me next week, and my update speed might slow down a bit, so I just wanted to give you guys a heads up. I'm already struggling to finish this chapter with the amount of homework already on my plate, and I can't imagine it'll get any easier. Hopefully you guys will still stick with me through all of this!

Finally, please continue leaving your thoughts either in a review or PM! I promise that I'll get to all of the reviews from last week, but my schedule is just so hectic right now...Anyways, thanks for reading so far!