Ami trembled in fear as she heard Hakuoh's words. Hakuoh just stood there and smirked.
"Are you really that stupid, Kawashima? What made you think I would let you win?"
"But, you said this game would… you bastard."
"Kawashima, the results of the game are based solely on me. Your judge was me. The decider of the game is me. Would I really design a game where I lose?"
Ami wanted to speak, but she found no words. He was right. He was the designer of the game while gambling in the game. Why would he allow himself to lose? Even when they were dating, if you called it that, he got his way. She gritted her teeth and shook her fists.
"But I proved we were a couple. I even…kissed Ryuuji."
Ryuuji blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yes, something I didn't enjoy, but it had to be done."
"If you didn't enjoy it, why tell Ami to do that?" demanded Ryuuji.
"Oh, so you didn't like the kiss?"
Ryuuji's blush deepened, but he had the courage to continue talking.
"I'm not saying that. I feel this whole thing was for your benefit."
"What do you mean?" Ami asked Ryuuji.
"It seems I was one step ahead of you this time."
That's not where I'm getting at, dummy, thought Ami.
He looked from Ami to Hakuoh. He took a step forward.
"I warned her you would do something like this, and I was right. All you want is to destroy her image. You want to make her the laughing stock of the modeling world. It may even destroy her dream of being an actress."
Ryuuji clenched his fists.
"You sicken me."
"Oh, so you figured it out since the beginning?"
Ryuuji nodded.
"I only played along since Ami needed him. You are a loathsome man that cornered her and tied a leash around her."
"Come on, I'm not that bad to put a leash on her. Blackmailing is more humane. But yes. And what's even better is having you along the ride. She dating a commoner, especially you, would turn any head around. Gossip would spread, and they would question her own choice. Even her agent might want her to not see you again."
Hakuoh reached into his pocket in his gray jacket he wore and pulled out a small camera.
"The photos I took of you two will come in handy."
Ami half-closed his eyes.
"Really? That's your plan? Who really cares about those pictures?"
"Well, the photos are just 'evidence' of the 'truth' the 'anonymous' photographer said about what he happened to see."
"What?!" Ami exclaimed as her eyes and mouth trembled in fear. "You bastard! You would stoop so low as to lie."
"It's not a complete lie if you have a thing for the guy."
Ryuuji's eyes widened. He glanced back at Ami who stood sternly, trying her best to hide her expression.
"So…so what? I… Our relationship is friendly. We are friends. Good friends. We may have fights and quarrels. We might not agree, and we might not talk to each other when irritated, but what friends don't have their struggles. I asked Ryuuji out for the sake of my selfishness. He warned me about this…but I…I was childish. Still, he continued to support me… To me, Ryuuji's a special friend. A friend I can trust and who understands the real me, even more than myself a couple of times."
Ami glanced over to Ryuuji and faked a smile.
"Ryuuji, you did tell me this would happen. When Fujita spread this lies with the photos, I'll be the one to save you. I'll say that you did not force me, and that I asked you out to use you as a shield. I'll counter his lies with my truth. My career will probably go down the drain, but it's my fault anyways."
Ami looked down in shame. Soon, she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. She looked up to face a smiling Ryuuji. He shook his head and turned around to face Hakuoh, like if he was a knight protecting a damsel in distress.
"You may be sly and clever as a fox, but as I said, I figured it all out. Did you really think I would let a person like you get the best of Ami? I mean us."
"Us?" wondered Hakuoh.
Soon, a small tiger rushed out of some nearby bushes behind him and kicked his spine. The impact was hard enough to send the camera flying out of Hakuoh's hands. Ryuuji made no effort to catch it, and it smacked the concrete, breaking into a few pieces as the main body of the camera was still intact. Ryuuji calmly picked it up and looked at Hakuoh as he stumbled to keep himself from falling to the ground in pain.
"What the hell," he sneered, turning his head back to see a short girl with honey blond hair looking at him with such disgrace in her eyes. "Y-you? But how-"
"You should've never told us to go to that cake shop."
Hakuoh looked over at Ryuuji, leering at him.
"Ami always said you were looking. It made sense since we were in the mall your family ran. You had the cameras watching us. The only places there were no cameras were the bathrooms. I found it weird when I happen to see that woman walked into the restroom. It wasn't that fact that she was a woman janitor. See, I have a thing for cleaning, so I'm keen when it comes to details. I saw her fingernails were slightly new, almost if she had painted them the day before. When we were leaving, I then saw the same janitor exiting the restroom when Ami and Taiga were walking back. That's when I realized you did not have your eyes in the restrooms. After Taiga left, I excused myself to the restroom. I knew Taiga would be mad to respond to any text, so I text one of my friends to text Taiga to meet me at the park. I had already seen the text of meeting you in the park when I was in the restroom. I just acted I got the text in front of Ami to make you think I just opened the new message."
Hakuoh closed his eyes in an embarrass sort of way and smirked.
"So, you broke the rules? You lost the game through breaking the rules."
"Does it even matter?"
"…I guess not. I will still destroy Kawashima."
"Hey, stupid chicken. Aren't you forgetting someone?"
Hakuoh looked back to see Taiga. Though he acted cool and cunning, fear had taken over him from just looking at Taiga. The collective self he amplified to be was replaced by the chicken he was. He nervously smiled and then tried to reach for the fallen camera. It seemed the USB on it was not broken. As he reached for it, a kick on the butt knocked him down. His face hit the camera before hitting the cement. While down, Taiga stopped on his back forcefully, almost making the guy cry.
Ami walked up beside Ryuuji and saw Hakuoh being pinned down by Taiga's rock-hard stomps. The man who she feared to the point where it sent chills down her spine was now tearful and pathetic due to Taiga's submission. She looked down, thinking how right Ryuuji was and how wrong she had been. How could she be so blind? Hakuoh was not going to let her win. Her naivety got the best of her. Her understanding expression grew a small smirk. She looked down at the camera and repeatedly stomped on the device. Her rage built up more and more as she blamed herself for how stupid she had been. The camera soon was destroyed to the point where the USB port had broken off. She smiled creepily down at Hakuoh as he managed to look up as Taiga's foot drilled into his spine. Hakuoh's eyes squinted in pain.
"I've been an idiot to think I could beat your game. I've been stupid…really stupid…but now, thanks to my friends, I see that I still have a chance. Say, Taiga. Let's take Fujita to the bushes."
"Fine by me," shrugged Taiga, cracking her knuckles. "This guy really pissed me off today."
Ami smiled and turned to Ryuuji.
"Hey, Ryuuji. Can you guard our stuff?"
A little concerned, Ryuuji nodded. Kind of shocked, he watched the defenseless boy get dragged by the two fiercest girls in his classroom into the shadows of the park. He looked up at the night sky and sighed, hearing the stomping and punching sounds somewhat near him.
Monday had come, and students at the local high school were walking to start the day of learning. Ryuuji and Taiga were no exception. The couple was in their winter uniforms, walking to school. They were passing through the park, as they did every walk to and fro from school.
"Say, Taiga," brought up Ryuuji. "I never got to say I was sorry."
"About what?" Taiga wondered, facing Ryuuji.
"About that date with Ami, and how I acted."
Taiga looked down and blushed lightly.
"It-it was more of his thing than you. Ami told me the texts you got from him during… So, just drop it. You were just being kind…"
Taiga then whispered to herself.
"But that kiss…"
"Did you say something?"
Taiga looked up at him quickly with a pouted face.
"Nothing, Stupid Dog."
Ryuuji sighed and looked forward.
"Hey, for dinner, I was thinking some pork cutlets."
Taiga faced Ryuuji and smiled.
"Thanks, Ryuuji, but we can go to Johnny's. I'll pay for you."
Ryuuji was confused by this. Usually, his meat cooking had Taiga on all fours. Yet, she had just suggested they go out, just the two of them. He smiled and patted her on the head, causing her cheeks to flush.
"Johnny's it is."
Taiga smiled.
As Ryuuji moved his hand from Taiga's head, a familiar voice was heard close to them. They looked forward to see Ami waving at them. She hurriedly approached them and slightly bowed.
"Thank you."
She properly stood back up and faced them.
"I'm pretty sure after that, Fujita won't bother me."
"Boy, I hated that guy."
Ami blinked in confusion. There had been something in her mind about why Taiga was there.
"Taiga, I know Ryuuji briefly explained it, but how where you at the park already?"
Taiga smirked.
"Kitamura texted me about it. I was walking home and got a text from him. At first, I thought it was school-related, but when I read it, he told me about what was going on. I hated that guy ever since day one, and when I heard that, I knew I had to do something."
Ami's eyes widened.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Stupidchi. The way the guy treated me pissed me off so much. It was more for me."
"But what made you believe Kitamura?"
"Oh, I trust him more than two mutts in heat."
Ryuuji sighed.
"C'mon. We'll be late for class."
The three continued their walk to school. They made it to the building with only couple of minutes to spare. They entered the building, changed their shoes, and walked down the hallways to reach their class. They opened the door to see that most of the class was seated and their teacher was getting ready for lecture. Yuri, their teacher, looked at them and smirked.
"Just barely made it."
She faced Ami.
"Oh, Ami. I got word that Fujita had transferred out."
"Oh. Th-that's good. He told me that he was only staying here…until some issues were fixed."
"Really? He never mentioned any issues."
"Oh, yes."
Ryuuji and Taiga decided to take their seats as Ami still talked to Yuri.
"Just some troubles at home, but it seemed it got resolved."
"Oh, um, okay. Take your seat then. I'm about to start."
"…Um, Teacher, could I say a few things?"
"Do you bring some announcements?"
"Kind of. Please, Teacher. I just need a couple of minutes."
"…I guess it's okay."
Ami smiled and walked to the front of the class. She took a deep breath as the students drew their attention to her, overhearing that she needed to make a few announcements. Honestly, who would say no to the famous model?
"These past two weeks, you've seen Ryuuji and I dating. The truth was that I asked him to. See, Hakuoh…"
Ryuuji just sat in his desk with a smile as he heard the truth being poured out. She revealed everything to the class, even hinting about her real personality. The students stood still as they heard Ami. Ryuuji noticed Yusaku looked back at Ryuuji and smiled at him for a job well done. Earlier in the school year, he had asked Ryuuji and Taiga to try to help her reveal her true self to the world. Now, just seeing his childhood friend explain the truth about herself and her past was something he could only marvel at. He faced forward as Ami was wrapping up the summary of the last two weeks.
"So, you asked Ryuuji to be your fake boyfriend in order to trick this Fujita dude?" questioned Koji Haruta.
Ami nodded.
"Yeah. It was just an act to try to trick Fujita."
Ryuuji suddenly felt the cold stares from the guys on him, with the same thought in their minds.
It didn't look like a fake act.
"But thanks to Ry…Takasu and Taiga, I'm able to say these things. Sorry for lying to you all. I just hope you can accept me for the real me. Thank you."
She bowed slightly, waiting for their response. She soon heard a clap and looked up. The clapping came from Taiga. Soon, she heard one from Ryuuji, then Yusaku, then rest of her friends, and then the entire class. She was surprised at first as she stood up, but then a smile of gratitude appeared.
"Thank you, everyone."
She smiled and started walking to her seat, which was in the corner of the room, near the window. She passed by Kitamura's desk and soon stopped next to Ryuuji's desk, which was to her left, also next to the window. She faced him and leaned over, quickly kissing him on the cheek. His face reddened as the applause from the class died down. Shock and confusion were written on Ryuuji's classmates' faces. Ami moved back from his cheek and smiled.
"Don't worry, Takasu. It's a friend kiss, not like the one yesterday. Just saying thank you for everything you've done for me."
Ami walked to her chair. At first, Ryuuji could only look at Ami, but a pencil hit his face. He looked to see that was from Taiga, but he meet the irritated eyes from every male in the class, minus Kitamura. He looked forward and hid himself behind his notebook.
"So, Teacher, what's the lesson for today," he hurriedly said.
As class got underway, Ami looked out of the window.
Don't worry, Taiga. I won't interfere anymore. You love Ryuuji, don't you? I'll support you and help you to get that man to see he is yours.
Ami pressed her finger against her lips and smiled.
Seems that my New Year's wish came true.
So that's the end, and hopefully the ending was well suited. Usually, endings aren't my thing, but stories do have to end. It was my first Toradora fanfiction. Hoped you enjoyed it, and thank you for your support.