Chapter 3: Out of Nowhere, Like A Ghost
"RYUUJI IS NOT A DELINQUEEEEEENNNNNTTTT!"
"T-? Taiga?"
"ALL OF YOU PISS ME OFF! ALWAYS GOING AND SPREADING LIES ABOUT THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW! HAVE ANY OF YOU EVEN TRIED TALKING TO HIM!?" Taiga began to stomp forward towards the class, as if cornering us all like prey. She thrust her arms on the desk closest to her and began to lift it with the force of a monster. With her weapon held high, she aimed her sights at an empty row of desks off to her side.
*hurl* *CRAAAAAAASH* "WELL!? HAVE YOU!? ANY OF YOU AT ALL?!"
Everyone had backed up to the furthest corner of the room not knowing what else to do, and too afraid to try anything else. Taiga's rampage had the majority of us cowering for our lives. Even I was afraid to approach her. But knowing that I was the only one who could possibly calm her down I muster up the courage to walk forward.
"Hey Taiga, calm dow-"
"WHY DO YOU EVEN CALL HIM THAT!? IS IT BECAUSE OF THE WAY HE LOOKS!? HIS EYES RIGHT?! THAT'S IT ISN'T IT?! SO ARE ALL OF YOU STUPID IDIOTS THAT JUDGE OTHERS WRONGLY?! C'MON! SAY SOMETHING!"
It was no use. She was thrashing about, kicking and flipping over any tables around that got in her way. I wanted to stop her, make everyone feel safe, but I was just as scared as everyone else. In the worst case I would go up and stop her physically, and if she didn't realize it was me she would start to fight against me. That was something I couldn't bare to imagine, let alone gather the courage to try and attempt. The only thing I could do was to make sure no tables were going to hit anyone behind me, and wait for Taiga to stop. I had never felt so helpless before in my life.
"IS THERE ANYTHING YOU ALL DO BESIDES MAKE UP NAMES AND GOSSIP ABOUT PEOPLE!?" *BAAAASH* "YOU THINK THAT'S FUNNY?! DOES STUFF LIKE PALMTOP TIGER AND DELINQUENT MAKE YOU LAUGH?!" *SMAAAAAAASH* "DOES IT?!"
I stood stiff, trying to make sense of the situation. Taiga never got upset when people would talk about her, but now all of sudden she's on a rampage. She brought up Ryuuji out of nowhere and how people talked about him, and then she spiraled out of control. So she was mad at everyone for talking bad about him? It didn't make sense at all, and I never imagined this could happen a week into school. Frightened, tense, and at a loss for words, I just watched as she tore everything into shambles.
"AND THEN WHEN THATS NOT ENOUGH YOU MAKE MORE LIES! THAT GUY AND ME DATING EACH OTHER?!" *SMAAAAAASH* "DID YOU THINK THAT WAS HILARIOUS!? DID IT MAKE YOU HAPPY INSIDE YOU SICK FREAKS?! BECAUSE I'M NOT HAPPY AT ALL RIGHT NOW!" *BAAAAASH* *BAAAAAAASH* *BAAA- CRRAAAAAASH* "YOU ALL DESERVE TO BE DEAD! THERE SHOULDN'T BE A PERSON ALIVE THAT IS AS STUPID AS YOU ALL ARE!"
Amongst the screaming and the sound of broken desks I heard Taiga say that she and Takasu weren't dating each other. There was no way that could have been true though. She had spent the last week with him together in secret. They were walking to school together. They even did things like P.E. and home economics together. But if they really weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, then what were they to each other? I shrug my thinking aside as I see her trudging closer, only a few desks away from the class. I reposition myself to get ready for whatever Taiga's tantrum could throw my way.
Taiga's violence grew exponentially as she slowly made her way to us. Tables were tossed every which way creating a deafening noise. The shrieks and cries of my classmates were getting louder and louder as Taiga closed in on us. Positioned between both parties I was faced with only one option. My heart races and adrenaline pours through me as my reflexes kick in. My body deemed my emotions of cowardice and confusion useless and all I could feel was energy and power. Prepared for anything and everything, I throw caution to the wind to react to anything that may happen.
"LET ME BURY THIS INTO YOUR EMPTY BRAINS SO YOU'LL NEVER FORGET IT!" Her screaming was so intense I could feel the heat of her breath. All that stood between a bloodthirsty Taiga and me were a few scattered desks and a meter in distance. Knowing that clashing with my best friend was inevitable, I relied on my instincts to carry me through this. I prayed that all of this would end with our friendship intact.
Taiga kicked two desks to the distance leaving one in front of her. She started to slowly lift it by its legs and backed up in preparation for a throw.
"RYUUJI AND I ARE NOT GOING OUT! RYUUJI IS NOT SOME PUNK WHO WANTS TO MUG PEOPLE!" She now had the table lifted directly above her, ready to use at any second. Her face was thick red and her expression was that of a murderer.
I say a whisper to myself. "Taiga... please forgive me if we end up hurting each other." The moment I saw her start to swing her arms I would run up and pounce her to the ground. From then on whatever happened was going to happen.
Taiga stood in place trembling with anger, gritting her teeth with shaking arms. Seconds later she forced her eyes closed and lifted up her head as if trying to say something to the gods themselves.
"RYUUJI IS A NIIIIICE GUUUUUUUUUUUYYYYYY!" I start to move towards her but to my surprise, she pivoted around and used her momentum to steer her throw to the front chalkboard.
"Crud!", I say out loud realizing I was about to tackle Taiga down. Unable to stop my advance, I aim my arms around her waist so that I could maneuver her away from the ground when we would collide. Taiga was in mid throw when I reached her and the table was barely being swung. I gripped onto her, with the force of my sprint carrying us both forward away from the class. Taiga instantly lost control of her weapon and the weight of it sent it plummeting on top of us. As we fall through the air, I twist my hips and change our position so that no matter where that thing would land it wouldn't hit Taiga. Knowing there was a good chance that it was going to hit me dead on, I close my eyes and brace for impact.
*CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH*
I heard a sound that if I didn't know any better would have caused me to be deaf in one ear. I was on my side tensed up, still with shut eyes holding Taiga ready for when something would come into contact with me. As time passed I squint them open, shifting my head wondering where the table had landed. I look the the right directly behind me and see the side of an overturned desk. The thing had barely missed the side of my head. I stared at the sheen of it for a while in disbelief, knowing I could have died if that thing had hit me. I was broken out of my trance when I heard a quiet noise from above me. I looked up to see Taiga's face, with eyes looking as if they were going to form tears. She was trying to stop herself; her face was mixed with anger, shame, pride, all creating an image that I didn't want anyone else to see. Everything else was dead quiet, and it came to my mind that everyone was still in the corner eyeing us down.
"Whew, what a relief! Did you guys see how close that table came to me? That was too scary!" I rose up as fast I could, making the whole thing seem like a joke as I look embarrassed to the crowd. "But man, would you look at this room now? It's terrible! We have to clean this up before Yuri-sensei comes and gets us all in trouble! Do you guys know what she will do if she finds everything the way it is now?" The plan was to get everyone's attention away from Taiga as soon as possible. Making up the excuse that we had to clean the room was hitting two birds with one stone, as we really were going to be in a deep mess once Yuri-sensei came in. The class looked lost, although it was to be expected. They were being hunted down by Taiga one moment and being asked to clean up a battlefield of a room the next.
I noticed behind me that Taiga had stood up as well, looking away from us however. Thankfully as soon as she got up on her feet everyone had started, in a rather timid way, to rearrange our class to how it looked before. They were deathly afraid of her, and without a doubt trying to prevent a recurrence of what just happened. I could feel the fumes of anger that Taiga still leaked around herself, so I thought it best to leave her alone and help out with plan make the room look good before we all get expelled. I took a few steps to a pile of desks when I felt someone tug on my sleeve. Taiga was there, still looking away but with her arm reaching out towards me.
"Hey Minori, lets talk outside." She was just as quiet as she was when I was holding on to her a moment ago.
"...Sure." I whispered back to her, making sure no one else could see our little exchange. We waited a few minutes and when the coast was clear, we slipped out without anyone else looking.
We head down towards the hall to where the vending machines were at, right by the staircase. Taiga had managed to calm down thankfully and it looked like I would finally be able to get some answers as to why she did what she did. When we arrived I made sure I was the first to speak, so our conversation wouldn't steer away from the chaos 10 minutes ago.
"Hey Taiga, what happened back there? Why did you flip out and start making a wreck out of everything? Did you know how scared I was? What made you so angry in the first place?" I said everything that came to mind at the top of my head.
"Everyone made up lies like how Ryuuji was a delinquent and how we were dating each other. They made lies ever since last year too. It made me upset knowing they got away with that so I did something about it." It was sickening how calm and mild mannered she was right now. A stranger wouldn't have known she made class 2-C a complete disaster in a matter of moments.
"But that doesn't make any sense though! You never got upset when people called you names last year! …well sometimes you did, but you eventually got past that! How was this week any different? You didn't even show signs that you were angry at all these few days! Weren't you happy?" As I said my words to her I notice out of the corner of my eye her fist start to clench tighter and tighter. What the? She was getting mad again! What did you do Minori you idiot!? What did you say to get her upset!?
Just as I thought she was going to blow up again her body relaxed with one deep breath out, and she took some time to regain composure. It seemed like she was trying to stop herself. "... Minori, this isn't about me. It's about everyone else and how dumb they were for making fun of Ryuuji and talking bad about him. I couldn't stand by and let that happen." Taiga never cared about anybody else this much. Takasu must have meant a lot to her.
"Oh, and just to make this clear. There is no way in a million years, so long as I live, and in the afterlife beyond, that I would ever go out with Ryuuji. We are not dating each other."
"Wait Taiga, but-"
"No, there's nothing else to it. He and I just happen to be neighbors, that's all." The fact that she was hiding something about him worried me to no end. A normal girl doesn't call a guy by his first name in one week and not have some kind of connection with him. I wanted to take what Taiga said to me as the truth but I couldn't make the connections at all to make it believable. If they weren't a couple then why would she thrash around and make a scene just to prove a point for him? If they were just neighbors then why did they spend so much time together? She was my best friend, I knew when she had a connection with someone!
"There's just so much about this that I don't understand! All those times you were busy you were with Takasu-kun right? And why do you call him Ryuuji? When a girl calls another guy by his first name it usually means that-"
"Hey Minori, I need to go use the restroom. You should head back to class and help everyone out before we all get in trouble." Taiga interrupted my sentence and swiftly turned around walking away from me. She flat out cut me off!
"Wha? Stop Taiga! Hey, wait!" I scream and plead for her to come back, but it was no use. She was ignoring me fully and walking at a pace that told me she wanted nothing to do with any talk about this subject.
"Taiga! At least tell me what Takasu-kun means to you then!" I yell loud enough to where my voice would have definitely reached her, but I didn't get a response back. She was so different now. She was so distant from me she would actually go and ignore me because she didn't want to talk about something. And all for this guy named Takasu. Just who in the world was he? How could this one guy change my best friend this much in a week? How could he cause me and Taiga to become so separated? I didn't know whether I was jealous or angry of him, but I knew I couldn't be in the dark about how Taiga was involved with him. I would pry an answer from her one way or another. I headed back to class, figuring I would take Taiga's advice and then question her further when she came back.
I walk into class to find that everyone had made the classroom somewhat normal looking, and in such a brief amount of time. They all looked my way when I went in and flinched for a second, but quickly went on to continue making the room look presentable. From the atmosphere half of them were afraid of Yuri-sensei noticing the room was messed up, and the other half was afraid of Taiga. I look at the class clock and see that we had 5 minutes left before school was going to start. My classmates had a handle on things only taking care of a few scattered desks, so I went to my mine and sat there, obsessed over the thought of Takasu and Taiga. Yuri-sensei was going to come in soon so I doubt that I would get a chance to talk with Taiga until lunch. I was just going to have to stay bothered until that time came.
Everyone started to go back to the corner again for some reason a minute later. Just what the heck is going on with them now- right. Taiga's wrath. Well she was bound to come to class sooner rather than later, but she wasn't going to start something again. Knowing there was no threat I waited idly for her to come through the door. Sure enough, moments later the door slid open and everyone behind me once again shrieked at the sight of it. But the person that came through wasn't a small but ruthless girl. It was Takasu.
He looked stupefied as he saw the entirety of his classmates in the corner whimpering to themselves. "? Just what is going on here?", he asked.
"We're really sorry Takasu! We really really are! Taiga told us everything about how you two are not dating and how you're a normal guy and everything! We're really really sorry!" The first person to speak up, in a rather pathetic and pitiful way, was a long blue haired guy named Haruta. Regarded by everyone to be an imbecile he acts in really strange way, often making himself the center of attention in any way possible. Kind of like me now that I think about it. He must have had some experience with Takasu before since he was the first to speak up. Takasu did kind of mad dog everyone when he first came in.
"Right..." Takasu was left speechless with what he just heard. From the look on his face it seemed he wasn't filled in on Taiga's little plan and she left him in the dark about it. A little strange that she did all that and didn't bother to tell him about it.
"So please, please! Forgive us for spreading rumors!" Haruta looked as desperate as a child begging not to be punished. "C'mon you guys apologize too! You know what will happen if Takasu tells Taiga that we didn't do this right!?" After hearing that the class immediately responded in unison.
"Please forgive us!" Taiga's grip was going to stay on everyone from here on out it seemed.
"So Takasu, everything's okay right? We apologized and you can tell Taiga that we did and she will be fine with us right? Right!?" The way Haruta was so clingy was disgusting.
"Uh, yeah yeah, everything's fine. I don't know what this is all about but I forgive you all and I'll tell Taiga about this too." Takasu answered him back, not knowing what else to say.
"Alright! We're in the clear everyone! We're safe!" Haruta began to jump for joy expressing his happiness for being safe from Taiga. He began to talk with everyone else, sharing his new found joy with those around him. It was nice to see that he had such big old dumb smile on his face, but the way he showed it was just way too weird. I mean we're kind of alike but there's no way I'm that clingy. …. Hopefully.
With no more attention payed to Takasu he slowly walked towards his desk, no doubt wondering what this was all about. So this was the guy that changed Taiga so much huh? This guy with the scary eyes and the rough hair has taken so much of her time. This guy has gotten so close to her that Taiga was willing to fight for him. This guy... wait! I quickly stood up out of my seat.
"Takasu-kun!" This might be the only chance I have right now to get some answers. Even if it was just a few moments before Yuri-sensei came and started class I couldn't pass the opportunity to get an honest reply. If Taiga was anything like how she was before at lunch then I wouldn't even get a squeak out of her. This was my best shot.
He swiftly turned around as soon as he heard my voice. "Ku-Kushieda-san?" He was nervous, I think I might have scared him a bit by how sudden I was. I tried to lower my tone of voice, afraid that I might turn him away from my offer.
"I need to have a talk with you right now outside for a moment."
"R-right now? Umm, yeah alright." I was thankful he accepted to come along with me. With class about to begin I thought he might have asked to wait until later. I couldn't have asked for a better situation.
Both of us stood outside the classroom door, alongside some lockers that were adjacent to our homeroom. There was a strained atmosphere; we weren't well acquainted enough to where we would be comfortable talking with just the two of us. He looked anxious and I felt the same way inside as well. I reminded myself to be as polite as possible when trying to question him, and to not do anything stupid. Takasu spoke up first.
"...Hey Kushieda-san-"
"No no, just call me Kushieda. We're classmates after all, you don't have to be so formal with me."
"Okay then. So Kushieda, I'm guessing the reason why you asked me to talk to you has something to do with Taiga, right?" He was really not comfortable talking with me at all. He rubbed the back of his neck and kept on glancing every which way to avoid eye contact with me. I haven't met a guy that shy in a very long time, even if he was the spitting image of a murderer.
"Yeah, it's got to do with Taiga, and some other things as well." I spoke back in a clear and calm fashion, trying to maintain a good image.
"... Well, I guess the first thing I should say before we get into this is that I have no clue what Taiga did before I got here. What Haruta said back there was a surprise, asking me for forgiveness like the class owed me in some way. I don't know what Taiga said to you all and I don't know the reason why she would say something to the class about me. I'm lost." He sounded a little more confident this time around. He was getting to used to talking to me it seemed.
"Is that right? I guess I have to fill you in on what happened before we actually start talking huh?"
"I would appreciate it very much."
I take a breath in and out, putting off my thoughts and questions for a moment to recall Taiga's scene. "I'll give you a shortened version of it since I don't want to keep you here all day. I want to say about, maybe 10 mins ago, Taiga came in the door screaming the words Ryuuji is not a delinquent! at the top of her lungs. She started to flip over tables and throw things across the room, saying how she didn't like how people kept on gossiping about you and her. At the very end she took a table and threw it across the room, saying that you were a nice guy." I had to change the last part of the story in some way. I didn't want him to know that a table nearly caused me to have a concussion.
Takasu was astounded. It was as if his own thoughts were colliding with the words I just said to him. I wouldn't say he was angry or happy or anything one-sided like that, but overburdened.
"Wow..." He gave a response akin to what he was feeling, but it wasn't going to lead anywhere. I move the conversation forward and get to where I want to get.
"Afterward, Taiga and I had a little talk outside in the hall. She made it really clear to me, and I mean really clear, that you two weren't dating each other. She even said things like there's no way in a million years I would ever date a guy like that, something like that."
He didn't respond back to me, whatever he was thinking about it took all of his focus to do so. I continue on, knowing that he was still listening despite being in his trance.
"You see, Takasu-kun, I'm Taiga's best friend. When she says that you and her are not boyfriend and girlfriend I'll believe it, because I trust her. But lately she's been a little odd. She's been busier now than she has ever been before and she even acts a bit different too."
"..." Takasu didn't say a word.
"And you've gotten really close to her, right? I mean you even call her by her first name instead of Aisaka. I thought for sure you two must have been a couple, but I guess I was wrong."
"..."
"So I guess what I'm saying is, Takasu-kun..., if you're not Taiga's boyfriend, then what are you to her? Who exactly are you? I get the feeling that you're involved with this somehow." I was straightforward and serious. I didn't think that joking around like I usually do would get me anywhere here.
He looked lost in his mind, as he had no grounding in reality whatsoever. Suddenly his eyes flared up, and he gained a confidence that was ready to tackle any challenge. He looked at me directly in my eyes, with such a compelling authority. I was stunned.
"T-Takasu-kun?"
"I'm sorry Kushieda, I can't think of an answer for that kind of question. But I realize that you're close to Taiga, and you deserve an explanation. I'll tell you what went on between Taiga and I this past week and hopefully that can give you what you're looking for. Is that alright with you?" His countenance was awe inspiring. He was so assertive that even if I didn't want to hear it I don't think I could have said no.
"Y-yeah, I would like it if you did." I realized I was losing control of the discussion, but I valued what he was going to say. I figured I would let him have the reigns.
"Okay then. I guess how I got involved with Taiga was during the first day after school, with the love letter she had written..."
"Whaaaaat!? She wrote a love letter!? To who!?" I exclaimed directly at him when I heard the word love letter.
"? Kushieda?" I thought he would have been shocked or even a little scared by my outburst, but he was so dominant it looked like he was just questioning why I spoke up.
"! I-I'm sorry for interrupting. Please continue." I blush, realizing how stupid I must have looked in front of him. I really couldn't help it, I mean who could Taiga have had feelings for on the first day of school? And why didn't she tell me!?
"Well, like how I was saying, Taiga had written a love letter to Kitamura on the first day of school and waited after class ended to put it in his bag. She accidentally put it in mine and she started to harass me for it."
"She wrote the letter to Kitamura? Really?"
"She did. I figured she must have told you, with you being best friends and all." He gave a puzzled glance towards me, wondering why I didn't know.
"N-no, I didn't know at all..." Why didn't she tell me about this... now's not the time to get depressed you idiot. Especially in front of a boy! I made sure he didn't see any change in my expression. "Keep going, Takasu-kun."
He nodded in acceptance. "She gave up fighting me for the letter so I went home. During that time I didn't know anything about it, so I blew it off, thinking she just didn't like me or something. Later on in the night when I checked my bag in my room, I found her letter addressed to Kitamura, but there was nothing inside." She forgot to put the actual letter in the envelope. That was like Taiga alright. She was always kind of clumsy. He continued.
"I planned on giving her her letter back the next day and went to sleep. I heard a noise that night and went to check it out. Taiga somehow managed to break inside my home and with a wooden sword began to swing my way, like she really wanted to cause me harm."
"...what?" I couldn't believe that she would go and do something like that.
"Yeah, I thought it was kind of ridiculous too. She's surprisingly good with a sword, she nearly got me a couple of times which would have at least left a bad bruise." Takasu didn't have any reason to lie about this, and he didn't sound like he was lying either. What was wrong with her that she actually went and did that!?
"..." I really didn't have anything to say back to that.
"Once I told her there was nothing inside that letter she stopped fighting me, and I made her food because I realized she was hungry." …. That was kind of weird for someone to do when they just fought off a robbery attempt. "She started to sulk a bit, so I brought my-" He paused a bit, trying to rethink what he was going to say. "So I showed her around my home and tried to make her feel comfortable, to let her know she was a guest. Unfortunately when I asked her to leave she said she didn't trust me knowing that she liked Kitamura, and she refused to move. I promised in return to help her any way I could with that, so that she could properly confess to him."
"..."
"We spent the next week trying to think of different ways for her to get Kitamura's attention, and that led us to where we are right now. She hasn't gotten the chance to talk to him yet, but I'm confident she'll be able to soon. She mentioned yesterday that she didn't want to talk to me again, so I believe I've done my part in helping her build her self-esteem. She'll be alright."
"... Hey Takasu-kun. Can I ask you something?"
"? Sure. What's on your mind?"
"Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but why did you help Taiga in the first place? I mean, she broke into your place by force to get something she wanted, assaulted you, and you go and cook her a meal and help her out with her love issues? What was your motive behind this?" I could understand everything about what Taiga did, to an extent, but what Takasu did was just ridiculous. Anyone else would have known they were getting taken advantage of.
Takasu froze up, unsure of what to say as a response. "Umm, err..."
"She punched you down in the first day of school. And I'm sure you knew of the talk surrounding her too. And you still agreed to do favors for her? Were you just scared of her?"
Takasu looked as if he saw how weird his position was to help Taiga. "Well no, I wasn't scared of her when she asked me.. To be honest, I really did want to help her." … This guy... okay.
"What? You already knew that she had feelings for Kitamura-kun so you weren't trying to go after her. And Taiga isn't exactly the most friendly person when it comes to new people. And you still wanted to help her? Why? There has to be some reason."
Takasu closed his eyes, putting all of his willpower in trying to give me a good response.
"I don't know." Those were his 3 words. That was it!?
"... Takasu-kun I-"
"Wait wait, I can't give you a straight answer but I can somewhat explain my feelings for why I did what I did. Is that alright with you Kusheida?"
"... Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that very much actually." He was going to give me a full explanation, even if he was acting really silly about this whole thing.
"Okay then. Well like I said, I don't know if I had a reason to help her out in the first place, I don't think I did. But I just couldn't go on and tell her no, you know what I mean?" Alright, so Takasu can't say no to people. I continue to listen.
He looked off in the distance past me, delving into his thoughts. "... On the first day of school when she first fought me for the love letter, she had a look on her face like she was just trying to do the right thing, the only way she knew how. She must have thought of me as some stranger who took something precious from her, and she tried her best to get it back. I don't think anyone else would have done what she did in that circumstance."
"..."
Takasu was completely zoned out now, recalling memories of what he had done. "Afterward, when she was eating at my place, she started to get really sad and emotional when I brought up Kitamura and the letter. I knew she really didn't care about me or who I was, she just wanted to go and confess to the one person she liked. Even if she did try and hurt me, I guess I just admired her reasons behind it. She put in so much effort just to make something she wanted come true."
"..."
"It was the same way when we trying to think of ways to approach Kitamura together. She didn't pay any attention to me when we were together planning, but whenever I said I had a plan she would always jump forward and listen, often calling me names and berating me after. It was a bit hard to deal with sometimes, but I liked it, knowing she was in real need of someone to be there and help her out."
"..."
"A few days ago when we put our plans in motion, she did her best at every one of them we tried. They all failed, but I couldn't help but notice how she worked so hard. Even when she had messed up and didn't get the chance to talk to Kitamura, she would still keep going forward, as if she knew that the next try was going to be the one that worked. It was something you don't get from a lot of people."
"..."
"I saw a side of her I didn't even know existed later that day. The final plan was for Taiga to go and hand Kitamura a bag of cookies and use that as a way to ask him out. But the plan got messed up when she tripped down the stairs, and the cookies went out the window. I went to go get them, as I couldn't just let all of her efforts go to waste like that. When I got back to her I found her curled up in ball, defeated and depressed. The opposite of what I thought she was until then.
"..."
"She was feeling sorry for herself, saying that she was a good for nothing who caused all of our plans to fail. Saying how she was a clutz, how this always happened to her, etc. I didn't expect to see the so called tiger to have that type of personality behind her. She was so vulnerable. So... in need."
"..."
"I somehow cheered her back up, and she showed a genuine smile that I had never seen before til that point. It was then I knew she wasn't just what everyone said she was, she was actually just a normal girl, with feelings just like everybody else. She may act a bit different, and she does have a tendency for violence, but there are reasons behind what she does. In fact, hearing that she went ahead and defended me today cements my thoughts of her."
"..."
"Oh, but right! That doesn't really answer your question. Let's see... I guess I can make an analogy to help explain myself better. Give me a moment to think."
"..."
"... You go traveling one day and you see a hurt tiger alongside the road. You see it needs help and food and care, but you know everyone else hates the tiger because it bites. Only a fool would go and help such a vicious creature. You see Kushieda, I'm the fool. Anyone with common sense would stay away from the tiger. But because I'm a fool I chose to help it. But you know, I don't regret it. Yes the tiger did bite me sometimes just like how everyone said. But the fool learned that the tiger doesn't just want to bite. The tiger was lonely. The tiger wanted a friend."
"..."
"I don't really think Taiga and I are friends at this point, with the way she treats me and everything, but I think I would like to get along with her if at all possible. I mean, of course I know she'll do things like tease me every now and again, but like I said before, I can deal with it. I hope that there was something In what I said that you were looking for Kushieda."
"..."
"... eh? Kushieda?"
"..."
"K-Kushieda-san? Are you okay? You're crying."
"..." …? I brought my finger to my eye in disbelief. ….!
W-w-w-whaaaaat!?