Toradora!

Ah, I really did it this time.

The stars and the moon twinkled romantically in the midwinter sky, and shined weirdly on Ryuuji's contorted ogre face.

Ryuuji, still in the bear costume, stood in front of the school gate. The present he was going to give to Minori was still in the pocket of his suit and he didn't know the phone number of the guy he traded it with. He just now realized that it was someone from a different class. He bungled up at the last minute. Minori wasn't in the hall yet, but he still couldn't find that guy. He might have already gone home after Ryuuji had left the hall.

Thinking that maybe he was still hanging around nearby, Ryuuji scurried out of the hall and into the chilly outside weather, but there were no signs of people anywhere. He wondered what he should do as he carried the bear head under his arms, briefly exhaling a white breath. Just how was he supposed to talk to her without a present?

I screwed up, Taiga. The single mistake quickly shook his heart unsteadily. He suddenly became afraid and wanted to run away. But the reason why he wouldn't do that was because he felt like he received the imaginary baton from Taiga, who even kicked him in the back to get him to come. If he didn't hand it to the next person, Taiga's wishes wouldn't be passed on. The relay in his dreams will break.

He had lost the present, but his hand wasn't empty.

Ryuuji clenched the cheap synthetic fiber bear hand. In the cold midwinter wind, he quietly confronted the part of him that was becoming timid. What he wanted to show Minori was always inside him. Nothing was going to happen if he ran away. He stretched his back inside the baggy costume, stood up straight, and lifted his face. It wasn't a Gucci suit, but Taiga's present was definitely in his hands.

Then.

"Howdy!"

"....O, ou......!"

Arriving with light footsteps was a knit-capped Minori. Minori, whom he had been waiting for so long.

His mind went blank. His body stiffened like he was paralyzed.

Minori, wearing a down coat, denim pants, and a red-checkered muffler, sternly brought up her gloved right hand and smiled as her nose, red from the cold, sniffed the air.

Ryuuji hesitated, but it wasn't because of the cold. He was trembling from panic more than he thought. First, tell her thanks for coming. Explain why you're wearing that stupid costume. Then, tell her why you wanted her to come. ....was what he had been thinking, but the moment he saw Minori, all of that went flying away. Everything was about to come on. Everything inside his heart was about to come out, regardless of the order. He desperately tried to force it inside and simply stood there.

"That's a nice bear you got there, Takasu-kun."

The one who made the first move was Minori. Ryuuji, as stiff as a board, saw the expression on Minori's face in a normal conversation between the two of them, the first time in a while.

Minori noticed how he was looking at her, and pulled her cap down tight. Ryuuji automatically pushed up the knit cap which had been covering her eyes.

"......"

"......"

The two of them stayed silent. Minori, once again, grabbed her knit cap and pulled it further down. Ryuuji pushed it up again. She pulled it down again. He pushed it up. This unintelligible secret war continued, until finally,

"Ku, Kushieda!"

Ryuuji took off Minori's knit cap. Minori froze for a moment, and he wondered what she was thinking. She covered her face with both her hands.

He grabbed her wrist because he wanted to see her face. He tried to pull a hand away from her face, but Minori was very strong, and he couldn't easily pry it away.

"Wha, what's up with you!? What!"

"More like, what's wrong with you Takasu-kun!?"

"No, it's should be what's wrong with you!?"

"Takasu-kun is the one, Takasu-kun is the one that..... Ah...I've had it! Deeeeeeeei!"

Habu! And thus, Ryuuji became unable to say anything next. Minori used both hands to unfairly grab and hold down Ryuuji's lips.

"Bubi.........be.......ua.........!?"

".....Takasu-kun....sorry. Let me say this first."

Saying so, she pushed her face through the space between her extended arms. She looked straight down. She wouldn't show what expression she had to Ryuuji. Then, she quietly went on.

"Hey....do you remember? Back at summer vacation, at Amin's villa. We talked about it in the evening, right. About that weird stuff. Like UFOs and ghosts."

"Bu.....bu......?"

While moaning "ububu", Ryuuji slightly tilted his head, thinking, What? He had no idea what Minori was trying to say.

If he recalled correctly, Minori once described love in terms of UFOs and ghosts. The people that could see them will see tons, but she didn't think they existed since she couldn't see anything, or something like that. Then, she said that it could be because she simply couldn't see them. That's right. That's why he had been wishing that it'd be great if Minori also could see UFOs or ghosts.

But there must be a lot of significance to remembering this now, right?

"You know, about the UFOs and ghosts. I think that I don't have to see them at all..... It looks like it's better that I don't. Lately, I've been thinking about it a whole lot, and I've come to feel that way..... I just wanted to say that to you, Takasu-kun. That's the reason I came here."

And a whole lot was turned rightside up, just now. A lot of significance.

"Sorry for saying just what I wanted to say..... Kushieda out."

Minori's fingers gently separated themselves from Ryuuji's lips. Her hand gently took back the knit cap from Ryuuji's hand.

She tightly fitted it on, pulled it down up to her eyes, and gave a salute with one hand. It looked like only her lips laughed.

Minori then turned away.

She strode away in big steps briskly and went home like that.

What?

In other words?

She could tell I was going to confess and then turned me down in advance?

"......Eh? Really?"

I was shot down?

Really?

Right now?

Seriously?

"....Is this heartbreak....?"

On the midwinter night street, Ryuuji stood as still as a rock. Popping up in his head were endless question marks. He needn't have even bothered worrying about the present. He had been totally rejected. The pain still wouldn't come. He simply stood there in a daze from the dull shock and looked at the sky.

"Things may break, but they can be fixed." I don't think it's going to be fixed anymore.

"And for each time something breaks, it can just be made all over again." I have the feeling that I can't make it again.

"That's why, there's no reason to cry if something breaks." I can't even cry at the moment.

Still, he looked for Orion which would surely be shining up above him.

He looked for someone within the call of his voice.

The sky...rotated....in a big way.