Ooookay, this is not how I planned to return to writing fanfiction. I honestly planned on finishing one of my existing stories ( looking at you, Typhon's Legacy! ), but after binge-watching Toradora! twice ( sub, then dub ) between two weekends, I…
…might be having something of a psychotic breakdown. SO! I decided to write this, based on that scene where Ryuuji carries Taiga up the slope ( yeah, you regulars here know the one, everyone and their mom has done that premise TO DEATH ). Not a one-shot, because I don't do one-shots
You might notice a few differences though ( If you don't, I'll question your reading skills )
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It happened quickly. A fight broke out between Kawashima Ami and Kushieda Minori about an argument the night before, because Ami couldn't let it go, despite Minori agreeing to forgive and forget. There's no crowd to watch this time – no kendo-clubber to lend a blade, no bokken in either pair of hands – but not for long. Just angry fists and feet -
Heh. For a model, she packs quite the punch.
The thought is instantaneous – and the last one before the head it goes through hits a rock on a slope. Minutes later, the growing crowd is dispersed, and the fight ended by intervening adults. But one person does not return to the lodge with the others. As a blizzard moves in for the night, one person is left alone on a slope.
[-]
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, but just before 6 PM, Kitamura Yusaku, Hisamitsu Noto, and Koji Haruta noticed something off, something that worries the three of them. That something is Takasu Ryuuji, who apparently hasn't been seen since the fight between Ami and Minori earlier that day. So, in the spirit of true companionship, they start looking for him. About an hour and a half later, the three meet in the large, windowed room of the lounge, and look out at the raging blizzard.
"Kushieda's not seen him, Ami hasn't seen him, basically no one has seen him" Yusaku says, resting his hands on his knees as he catches his breath. "You guys have any luck?"
Haruta and Noto shake their heads. Yusaku lets out an exasperated breath. "Right. It's an emergency then. Haruta, Noto, go tell Yuri-sensei what's going on, then get some flashlights. I'll go tell the girls what's happened" he says, before turning to run to where he knows Minori, Taiga, and the other girls are.
"Kitamura, what's wrong? You're breathing heavy" Minori's the first to ask, hardly a second after Yusaku stops
Yusaku takes a moment to catch his breath so he can explain coherently. "We can't find Takasu" he says. "No one's seen him since this afternoon."
Minori looks at Taiga, concern on both their faces, then stands up, followed by Taiga. "Do you think he's -?" Taiga starts to ask, worry erasing the usual snark in her tone.
Yusaku shrugs. "We think he may be out in the blizzard. I asked Noto and Haruta to get some flashlights – we're going out soon" he says. Taiga and Minori exchange a look, then look back to Yusaku
"We're coming" they say.
Yusaku knows better than to stop them, and a few minutes later, the five are bundled up and searching for where Ryuuji has ended up. Fortunately, it doesn't take the determined party long – Minori finds him mostly covered with snow and soaked through to his skin. She calls out to the others that she's found him, and starts to haul him up the slope. Halfway up the slope, Ryuuji opens his eyes, though he's by no means fully conscious, and says something that almost makes Minori drop him from the shock of it.
What'd Ryuuji say? "I can't... die here… or Taiga will… be alone again. And I don't want to leave her alone"
There's an ambulance waiting at the top of the slope. Minori watches the EMTs do their job, and soon after, Ryuuji is taken to a nearby hospital, the blizzard having subsided enough to make it there safely. One of the EMTs tells Minori that she did a good job just before they leave – she barely registers it.
With Ryuuji out of immediate danger, the group head back inside, with Minori - wrestling with her feelings for both Ryuuji and Taiga.