Toradora! Vol. 7

by Yuyuko Takemiya

  “But Takasu, are you going to be doing that the whole entire time? That doesn’t really seem fair to you.”

  “No, not the entire time… I-I think…”

  He could only tilt his head at Noto’s words when his friend came back. Noto had gone to the end of the line and waited for his turn. Ryuuji filled Noto’s cup with the bubbling punch and looked around, once again questioning what he was even doing.

  He still had a little time before the party started at five-thirty. Nevertheless, a gaggle of students had already gathered in the gym, and it was more crowded than he could have ever imagined. As expected, there weren’t many third years, who were still waiting to take their exams, but there were all kinds of students around, from those in their uniforms to students trying to outcompete each other with their street clothes. There were even a group of guys taking the party as an opportunity for a joke by cross-dressing, and some people were in kigurumi ranging from animals to copyrighted characters. There was also a couple getting clingy with each other and getting called out by the cross-dressers.

  “Get a room!”

  “Whoa?! What the heck is going on over there?!”

  “Oh, that’s the ‘Ami-chan Club.’ Supposedly they’ve been acting pretty reckless recently. They’re kind of extreme…”

  A group of a dozen or so guys had appeared at the entrance, taking a knee with faithful expressions on their faces. They were all wearing long, matching happi coats with fluorescent and glittery yellow lettering that danced on their backs and spelled out unsettling phrases like “Ami-sama is life” and “My heart for Ami-sama.” They even wore headbands.

  “Whoa, I’m so excited…GAAAH!”

  Despite scaring a group of innocent girls who had come in after checking in with the welcome desk, none of the guys’ expressions changed. Haruta slurped down his fruit punch.

  “They’re going to wait like that until Ami-chan gets here! They’re walking on thin ice, ha ha ha!”

  He laughed at them from a distance. However, Haruta had a camera hanging conspicuously from his chest with an abnormally long telephoto lens that looked just as suspicious as those guys.

  “So, Haruta… What kind of pictures are you planning to take with that thing?”

  As a member of the prep committee managing the party, it was hard for Ryuuji to overlook anything. The idiot, however, put up a proud peace sign and happily said, “Oh, you noticed?!”

  “I’m taking pictures of Ami-chan~! Don’t you think I’ve got the right idea~?! I’m sure Ami-chan’s going to dress up in some unthinkable outfit again in front of us, all wiggly and jiggly and stuff! That’s why I borrowed this special thing! AaaHAHAHAHAhahaHAHAhahahahaha~!”

  As Haruta grinned with his wide-open mouth, a trail of fruit punch dribbled down his chin like drool. He didn’t seem like he had noticed even in the slightest. Then suddenly, the idiot’s face snapped to attention as though he had resolved himself.

  “I want to memorialize, not memorize Ami-chan’s glutinous maximums!”

  …You mean her gluteus maximus, Noto said, following him up in a slightly sad tone. Ryuuji forgot to be angry and gently wiped the mouth of his not-completely-there friend.

  “Huh, what?! Hey, what are you, my mom?! That’s gross!”

  Haruta pushed aside Ryuuji’s hand more roughly than he had expected. Ryuuji felt raw and hurt to an extent that even surprised him. It’s all right, Noto muttered as he patted Ryuuji’s shoulder, but his attention was on their busy surroundings rather than Ryuuji’s teary eyes.

  “So speaking of which, where is Ami-chan, anyway? Isn’t the party starting soon? I know I spotted Kihara and Nanako-sama.”

  “Oooh! Kihara’s got on those short pants that show off her legs! She definitely wants us to go over there! That’s so sexy~! On the other hand, Nanako-sama has a princessy dress that’s got a pure look going for her! She’s definitely inviting us in, too! That’s just so sexy~!”

  The idiot’s words passed in through one of Ryuuji’s ears and out the other in an instant. Now that Haruta mentioned it, he hadn’t seen Ami, either. That show-off might just have been taking her time dolling herself up. She was probably planning on making another grand entrance in outrageous clothes like the time she emceed the Miss Festival contest. That, or she might have been purposefully arriving late to monopolize attention. Hmph! As I, Ami-chan, walk, grovel in my wake, inhale the aroma of my feet as you lick the tracks of an absolute beauty whose very presence brings you to cry tears of joy. Get out of my way, you inferior plebes! Yee haw! He hated it because she might actually do it.

  However…

  In actuality, the person he had been searching for this whole time hadn’t been Ami.

  Even while stirring the fruit punch, even while cleaning up the table, even while chatting with Noto and Haruta, the person he had not forgotten to wait for, even for a moment, was none other than Kushieda Minori.

  Ryuuji looked restlessly around the busy gymnasium, which was crowded with students. He gently felt the small package in his back pocket.

  There was still no reply to the message he sent earlier. He had tried calling, but it went straight to voicemail, and he hadn’t gotten an answer back. He realized he didn’t see “It’ll be okay, so just leave it to me” Taiga, who’d puffed out her flat chest when she told him that earlier.

  She still wasn’t there.

  Maybe he should have been saying “of course” she wasn’t there. He invited her to the party so many times but hadn’t changed her mind.

  Maybe in the end she’ll never change her mind and just won’t come, he thought. No, stop. Ryuuji shook his head back and forth, as though he were forcefully driving away the pathetic thoughts. Didn’t he want to show it to Minori? Didn’t he want to give it to her? What good was there in not believing in himself? And, right, the party still hadn’t even started. Everything was just beginning. Ryuuji gripped the ladle and raised his head.

  That was exactly when it happened.

  “Uh, excuse me, everyone! Thank you for coming to today’s Christmas Eve party. We’re so, sooo incredibly grateful to have you here!”

  Kitamura’s microphone made his voice echo through the venue. Ryuuji, Noto, Haruta, and everyone at the party all turned together to face the stage and sputtered at the same time. Bwaha! They were simply dumbfounded. Their jaws hung open at the gallantry of the student council president, who was acting as the emcee for the night’s party.

  “Please get the party crackers you got from the welcome desk ready! In celebration of this one and only Christmas Eve, I’d like to start the party with a countdown!”

  Kitamura, who was happily smiling on top of the stage, had decided to dress as a nudist Santa Claus. He was dressed in a fake beard and a run-of-the-mill red hat, black boots, red pants, and suspenders that just barely concealed his nipples. Other than that, he was utterly and completely stark freakin’ naked. His upper half was in the buff.

  Why? Why would he do that? With no one questioning him, Kitamura progressed onwards with the party. Though no one had asked for it, his skin was exposed and breaking out in goosebumps. His bare chest, which was even burlier than expected, was in full view. If only that were Ami-chan right now… Haruta muttered dopily and feebly took a picture of the nudey Santa.

  “Is everyone ready?! Well then, let’s celebrate this year’s Christmas Eve! 3…2…”

  Ryuuji quickly managed to grab the party cracker he had left next to him. Everyone in the venue pointed the crackers that had been distributed to each person by the welcome desk upward. Then at the same time Kitamura yelled…

  “…1…Merryyyyyyyyyyy Christmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas!!”

  Several people quipped, Christmas Eve isn’t even over yet! Their voices were washed away by the terrific explosions. Pop! Pop! They shouted in high-pitched glee. Shining, sparkling confetti burst forth all at once from the hundred simultaneously bursting crackers, fluttering and twirling around in the bright beams of light. The venue was instantly a
dorned in a vivid storm of color. Two more pops sounded from someone who was late, and laughter bloomed around them.

  The smell of gunpowder drifted through the air. Then the last lights left on near the entrance turned off, so only a bright spotlight shone from above. The tail end of someone’s whistle echoed. Fierce laughter and cheers rose up that rang in Ryuuji’s ears.

  “Yaaay! Merryyyy Christmaaas! Can’t wait until next year, too!”

  “Merry Christmas, Happy New Year~! Uh-aaahaaaa!”

  He, Noto, and Haruta high-fived. “Right! Merry Christmas—Eve!” Ryuuji finished off the too-sweet punch he had poured himself.

  The carbonation bubbled in his throat. The concentrated sweetness enveloped his tongue. To be honest though, Ryuuji wasn’t actually passionate enough to get his heart moving yet. She still hadn’t arrived. If Minori didn’t come, he couldn’t see the goal—he couldn’t see the love—that he had been rushing towards.

  His pounding heart, his stiff, trembling spine, and the rest of his body—his whole body—was just waiting for her to appear. Ryuuji’s entire being was waiting for Minori’s smile. He was dedicating his whole self toward praying with all his might, thinking, Please somehow come. Please smile for me. He was reaching out to her phantom hand, pleading with her to grab the phantom baton.

  That was when it happened.

  As Kitamura, who was incredibly unbearable to watch, left the stage, the curtains rose smoothly. Even more cheers climbed from all around and stacked on top of each other. They burst out madly with surprise and excitement. Ryuuji’s eyes also went wide. It wasn’t that he had found his father’s mortal enemy whom he needed to enact vengeance against. He wasn’t tightly gripping his piece, either—it was just the ladle.

  He had been thinking it was weird that they didn’t have background music. Of course, he knew that they would be starting the celebration with the crackers (Ryuuji was the one who arranged for them), and he just thought they would do the conventional thing and start playing music to get into the starting mood.

  But he had been fooled. He had been perfectly fooled.

  Next to him, a first year from the prep committee who had been distributing small sandwiches gaped vacantly. He also must not have known. If it was even a surprise to the prep committee, that meant the student council and those guys must have been the only ones who knew about it.

  They had secretly set up a special stage for the performance for just that night. The raw sounds of unfamiliar drumming started up and made his stomach tremble. The vibrations that came from his feet tickled and rushed through his body. It shook all the blood that flowed through him.

  There was a drum, a guitar, a bass, and a keyboard. He was pretty sure they were a band that formed to play light music. He remembered there were students who’d watched them live at the culture festival and said they were pretty good. They played a tired Christmas pop arrangement on their instruments. Then, accompanied by the band, at the mic stand singing in English was…

  “I-Isn’t that…Taiga!”

  Ryuuji was already on the verge of fainting.

  …Taiga in a strapless black dress. Then, in the same black dress that cut off above her knees, with her hair in the same shape and form as Taiga’s, was Ami. Next to them was a second-year student council girl, and one other girl, who he thought was probably the vocals to the light music group.

  The four chicly dressed girls all had their bangs swept to the side in the same hairstyle. They wore deep red lipstick, gloves that went to their elbows, and black dresses that showed off their shoulders. They were layering their voices with the performance. They stood in front of standing mics, stepping to the left and right. They raised their arms, tilted their heads up slightly, and slowly lowered their arms starting from their elbows. All of their choreography was perfectly in sync, and their voices were in faint harmony.

  The lights mixed together to illuminate the four. People in the venue started clapping in unison. He even heard some people start singing a measure of the song with them. There were smiling faces, people chattering, the Christmas song, and the bright light that illuminated them.

  “…This is amazing. Tiger is…singing and dancing…”

  Haruta forgot to take a picture as he started dancing slightly to the rhythm with his mouth still half-open. Noto answered him in a hushed voice, clapping and whistling.

  “This is the power of love—it’s love. I wonder what’s so good about a guy who goes around naked…right?”

  Though Noto glanced at him, Ryuuji couldn’t find the words to reply. He looked at Taiga and Ami up on the stage, and all he could think was, What is this?

  Seriously, what is this?

  He hadn’t noticed any of it. When did they practice this between the turbulent waves of studying for exams and prepping for the party? When were they able to put together such an amazing Christmas band?

  The songstresses in their black dresses put their hands on their hips, shook their heads, and stepped lightly. The people gathered around the tree at the center also stepped with the music in the same way. It seemed even the show-off queen, Ami, was fine with being one in a set of girls that night. She didn’t make any grandstanding moves, but made it through the whole routine next to Taiga, her natural enemy, in step with everyone else with her ivory white shoulders glowing and moving rhythmically.

  Eventually, glittering gold and silver confetti started fluttering down into the venue. Using the air current from the heater, the student council was diligently and steadily throwing the confetti a handful at a time from the second-floor passageway. Conveniently, the handmade confetti rode on the air and fluttered up. It’s so pretty! It’s like snow! Ryuuji heard the girls’ excited voices start up all at once.

  As the shimmering snow came down, the tree was a silent symbol reflecting the lights. It seemed as though it were lighting up the many groups of smiling people. Ryuuji couldn’t see any vestige of the damage it sustained from his wall-side booth. The small blinking bulbs, the bell strands he made with Ami, the blue and silver ornaments, the shiny gold balls, all glimmered in the crossing spotlight so much it nearly blinded him.

  At the top, Taiga’s star twinkled. It reflected the light beautifully. It was sparkling like it was supposed to.

  How fun this was.

  This is the best, he thought.

  Stupefied with amazement, Ryuuji looked up at the stage. There were the beautiful Christmas ornaments, the glittering lights, the giant tree, the live music, and Taiga singing. Ami dancing. Kitamura naked. His frolicking friends. And then there were a lot—really an amazing number—of smiles. The giant bustling affair at the end of the year made his ears feel weird and ring.

  He really thought that he was an idiot to have thought somewhere in his heart, for even a moment, that he shouldn’t have come…that he shouldn’t have volunteered for the prep committee. He believed, sincerely, that he had been an idiot to think that he should have skipped the party, invited Minori somewhere else in her glum mood, and given her the present.

  How could he have when the party was this fun?

  Wasn’t that exactly the reason why he wanted Minori to come to this exciting place, to this exciting time?

  Didn’t he want her to look up with him at Taiga and Ami’s surprise performance? Didn’t he want her to look up at the glittering tree, be lit up by Taiga’s radiant star, and have fun together at the happy party?

  Ryuuji put down the punch bowl’s ladle and wished once more in his heart. Kushieda, please, somehow, come quick. Please come before the party ends. Everyone is having fun, everyone is smiling, and if you don’t, there just wouldn’t be a reward. If you’re not here, we can’t finish our relay of happiness. I want to smile with you in this place, which I’m not exaggerating when I say is the best place on earth.

  There was no other place. There was no other time. He only wanted to be with Minori on this night, during the best party ever, because this night existed for Minori’s smile.

  Ri
ght then, on top of the stage, Taiga noticed Ryuuji’s stare. Still locking gazes, Taiga smiled at him. It was as though she were trying to say Weren’t you surprised? Isn’t this amazing? Then, she turned her back to him. After three beats, she turned around. At that moment, Taiga gave him a small wink. She did it quickly, so no one would notice. It was aimed only at Ryuuji.

  “Th-that idiot!”

  He was bewildered, but a wry smile appeared on his face. Don’t come to me when you make a mistake getting ahead of yourself because you’re a klutz. But even though Taiga was Taiga, she didn’t make a mistake with the choreography. The four, with the exact same timing, tilted the standing mics to the same degree, kicked the poles, and quickly put them back. It seemed the angel Taiga-sama who had boasted, I’ll definitely make sure Minori comes. Don’t worry about it, really did have much more up her sleeve. Wasn’t this practically a miracle?

  “Takasu-kuuun! Please give me punch!”

  “Me first! I’m thirsty!”

  It seemed there was a group swarming the booth and asking for sustenance after getting too excited too quickly. Ryuuji quickly returned to himself and remembered he was part of the prep committee. “Okay, okay, form a line!” He waved the ladle. Like he’d let even one droplet spill! His eyes hardened with desperate preparation.

  The ones singing, the ones dancing, the ones talking, the ones who just wanted to make a big fuss, the one waiting for someone—each one of them had burst into smiles as the party continued deeper into the night. Kitamura came by and told him why he was dressed up the way he was. He had actually prepared a real Santa costume, but right at the last minute, when he tried to change, he noticed the top was missing. He didn’t have time to prepare anything else to wear, so he ended up having to wear it. That was what Kitamura claimed, anyway.

  “Couldn’t you have just worn a T-shirt, at least?”

  “Oh, right! I could have done that! You could have told me that sooner!”