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In twilight, like a certain other time they had walked home together…

“…What is it with you?”

Ryuuji, after some running, finally caught up with Aisaka and grabbed her shoulder. It was a lane in a quiet neighborhood with few passersby.

Aisaka turned around and gave him a dubious expression. She glared at him as he panted, out of breath.

“Stop it. You’re not my dog anymore, so you don’t need to hang around me.” Her assertion was cold and blunt as she shook off his hand and tried walking ahead.

“You’re close to crying,” he said to her back. “You’re probably depressed about your failed confession, aren’t you? I mean…it wasn’t quite a rejection, at least.”

“Tsk!” Leaping back to gain some distance, Aisaka shouted, “Y-you were…spying on us?!”

“…I didn’t do it on purpose, I’ll have you know. It was only because you messed up. Why, of all places, did you make your confession under the men’s restroom? I went in there and happened to hear you.”

Aisaka’s cheeks turned red enough to see under the moonlight. “I-Is that true?!” She spoke falteringly—it seemed, somehow, she really hadn’t known.

“Well, what are you going to do? Do you want to go shopping for dinner? Or maybe, in commemoration of your failed confession, we should go to that family restaurant from yesterday again? I’ll even listen to your whole sob story—but one day only, got it?”

“…Wait. What? What are you saying?”

Aisaka was petrified as she faced Ryuuji. Her large eyes opened wide, as though faced with something unbelievable.

“Now that I think about it, there’s a special on pork today.”

“I-I’m not talking aboutpork!”

“So, you want beef?”

“Not the beef, either! It’s not that… Why?! What is this?! You’re already…”

“Do you really want to cook by yourself?”

“I just told you! I told you… you can stop, already! We’re through! We’re not doing any of that anymore…”

“I’m staying by your side,” he told her clearly. At a loss for words, Aisaka scowled. Still looking at those eyes, Ryuuji said it again. He spelled it out for her.

“I’m by your side. I’ll cook your meals. Come over, just like always. I’ll make your bento, too, and I’ll come get you in the morning. So…”

“Don’t say it… don’t say that!” Her shriek echoed though the quiet lane. “Do you even understand what you’re saying?! If you do stuff like that, people will get the wrong idea all over again! Minorinstillisn’t fully convinced! You really don’t care what Minorin thinks of you?!”

“Not really.” The words came out of his mouth with surprising ease.

“In that case, next timeI’llmake a scene. I’ll throw a fit while Kitamura is around, to clear up any misapprehensions.”

“Wh-why are you…?” A tear dripped down her white face.

See, look, Ryuuji thought.She really was crying in a place no one—except me—would see.

“What is it, what’re you…? Why? Why would you do that?! I told you you’re not a dog anymore! So, you don’t need to do that anymore!”

“…I don’t even know, myself. But I want to do it. Because you’ll cry. I can’t just leave you on your own. I can’t help but worry about whether you’re hungry. I’m the compulsively kind Ryuuji-kun, remember?”

“Wh-what’s with you?!” Aisaka glared at Ryuuji through her tears, with eyes that had a strong light in them.

“Who asked you to do that?! I’m not a kid, so leave me alone! I don’t want you to worry about me or anything!”

“Ohh, is that right?” Ryuuji countered.

Finally, his brain understood what the rest of him already knew.

The reason why he wanted to be by Aisaka’s side.

The reason why he couldn’t help but worry. Why he couldn’t leave her alone.

“And I’m not going to be your dog anymore, all right? I’m going to stand beside you, side by side.”

“…What?!”

“A dog can’t actually stand by you.”

He wasn’t a dog. A dog was all wrong.

A dog came when it was called, but a tiger wouldn’t call on anyone. It wouldn’t ask for help from anyone; it was a tiger. A tiger was just that type of beast.

Because of that, because he was there now, he was no one’s dog.

He might laugh, and maybe someone would laugh at him—but despite that, Ryuuji continued. Now, no matter what happened, he wanted to say it. He wanted to tell Aisaka.

“I’m a dragon. You’re a tiger. Since forever, the only creature strong enough to stand by a tiger has been the dragon. Because of that, I’ll become Ryu—a dragon—and I’ll keep on standing by your side.”

In order to stand beside the Palmtop Tiger, Takasu Ryuuji would become a dragon. He had decided. Even if he were laughed at, even if she made fun of him—but then…

“…Ai…saka…?”

She wasn’t making fun of him. She wasn’t even laughing at him.

The girl before him seemed incapable of even making a sound. She was bracing both her legs as she stood, and her cheeks were wet from tears, as she looked straight up at Ryuuji.

She looked like she could be angry. She looked like she could be sad. She looked like she could be frightened or troubled. And, of course, she looked like she could be surprised.

She was stoppering her small body full of emotions. Like a bomb nearly about to go off, she clenched tight one fist.

“…Tai…ga…”

When he said her name, Aisaka’s—Taiga’s eyelids fluttered, as though she had been flicked.

“Equality is like that, right?” he went on. “You’ll call me Ryuuji. So, I’ll call you Taiga.” Then he said, “That’s fine, right?”

That was when it happened.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” she said. The shadow that lengthened from the base of her feet seemed to suddenly build up in size. It must have been a trick of the eyes, but…

“Just how bold can you get?! You think you’re good enough to use my first name?! E-equals? Don’t make me laugh! What a shameless display! Understand your place, Ryuuji! You idiot!”

“…Uh…”

Yup, the bomb had gone off.

“Hah, you don’t even understand the first thing about what you’re saying—do you?! If you did, no way could you say things like that! What was that? Oh, I see, you must—”

Like a machine gun, Taiga threw one insult at him after another. Then, suddenly, she closed her mouth. This was it—the most frightening moment. She eyed him with one narrowed and ruthless eye, then approached him from below, trying to make him slip and fall. She would intimidate her opponent with the sheer determination she emitted from her body until they couldn’t move.

This was the Palmtop Tiger’s real power.

“Are you saying you have acrushon me?” she said.

“…Dumba—”

“Hmph, of course not! Not even you would be so stupid to overstep yourself that far, or maybe I should say that you don’t have thegutsfor it, huh?!”

“…Ah… Uh…” He was so scared he didn’t see the smirk forming on her lips. He returned her glare and desperately tried to shout something. “Of course not!”

Yeah, ofcoursenot. If love were the feeling he felt toward Minori, then this was a different emotion.

There was one thing Ryuuji was sure of, though. He wanted to take care of Taiga—this Palmtop Tiger. Even if what he felt was different from love, he wanted to be by her side. While he was next to her, he wanted to become that kind of guy. That was it. And it was enough, right? Was it wrong for him to want that?

“…Damn it!” he said. “We’re going to the supermarket! And we’re buying pork!”

He set out, taking long, resolute strides and huffing with determination.

Their lives would continue on. They had more than enough time. So, this was enough; he had made his mind up. He wasn’t going to think about the hard stuff. Right now, the menu was more important.

“If we find good pork today, how about we make pork shabu shabu?” he said. “Oh, but what about a simple grilled pork…? Hey, why aren’t you coming?!”

He had kept up his brisk pace as he spoke, but upon noticing that Taiga wasn’t following, he made a U-turn.

“Hurry up and come,” he urged her. Naturally, he didn’t take her hand—instead, he just poked her elbow with the corner of his bag.

“Ryuuji…I want a yogurt parfait.”

“Huh? Wh-what, you want to go to the family restaurant instead? Just when I got into the mood for making stuff.”

“After that, we’ll have pork. With fried ginger—no, a stew, of course. Make sure it’s actually creamy.”

“What? Stew is fine, but would we have any room left for it? It’s already five. We always have dinner before six thirty at my house… Hey, don’t ignore me! Why are you walking ahead of me?”

“…Hey. Ryuuji.”

Taiga, who had started walking ahead of him of her own accord, suddenly stopped and turned around. Her transparent gaze passed through him. Involuntarily, he tripped up on his words.

“…What is it, T… Taiga?”

He became flustered again and cast his gaze toward the twilight sky.

“Can’t you shut up for a bit?”

Her terrible words made him doubt his own ears. They bore through him. Before Ryuuji’s eyes, Taiga sighed purposefully.

“Right now, I’m heartbroken. You can at least understand that, right? Aren’t you even a little worried about me? Of course, you’ll help me come up with the next plan, right? Because I’m not giving up on Kitamura-kun after such a small setback! Also, what were you going on about just now? That you’re a dragon? Well, I don’t care whether you’re a dragon or a dog. If you’re gonna stay by me like you said, then you better work just as hard to make me happy.”

Where did those tears from earlier go?he wondered. The Palmtop Tiger really was the Palmtop Tiger. She toyed with his heart like it was nothing, with spiteful words and a tormenting gaze.

Just how sharp were those claws and teeth of hers? She was bad-tempered, ferocious—just how far would this palmtop-sized, man-eating tiger go to get her way?

Moreover, what kind of fate awaited the one who claimed he would stick beside her?

“M… maybe I acted rashly…” Without thinking, Ryuuji raised his voice and groaned. He stood there, motionless. It was possible he had just made a mistake. He remained in that spot, deep in thought, with both his eyes firmly closed—and because of that, he missed it.

A bit farther off, Taiga was watching Ryuuji. Then, she looked down and smiled.

“…Bana 'Taiga' dedi…”

Karnında kelebekler uçuştu. Nihayet, minik bir güvercinin gurultusunu andıran bir gülüş, kimsenin görmediği yüzünü sardı.

Bugüne dek, dünyada kimse o gülüşü görmedi.