Talk:Toradora (Italian):Volume1 Chapter1

Capitolo da tradurre da versione Inglese.

Testo su cui lavorare:

Vi è qualcosa a questo mondo che nessuno ha mai visto.

È soffice e dolce

Se fosse scoperto, sono certo che tutti lo vorrebbe avere,

Il che è il motivo per cui nessuno l'ha mai visto.

Poichè questo mondo lo ha nascosto assai bene, così che sia difficile da ottenere.

Ma, verrà il giorno che sarà scoperto da qualcuno,

E solo coloro che dovrebbero otttenerlo saranno in grado di trovalo.

E ciò è quanto.

Capitolo 1

"Dannazione!"

Le sette e mezza di mattina.

È una bella giornata, ma la luce in casa era fioca.

L'abitazione era una appartamento, affacciato a sud, a due stanze con cucina in una casa di città a due piani a 10 minuti di cammino dalla stazione ferroviaria.

L'affitto era attorno agli 80'000 yen.

"Getto la spugna! Non riesco proprio a farlo giusto!

Una mano frustata pulì il vapore dallo specchio.

Il decadente bagno era annebbiato a causa di una precedente docca. Così, subito dopo averlo ripulito, lo specchio ritornò annebbiato.

Purtroppo era inutile sfogarsi con lo specchio, a prescindere da quanto qualcuno fosse frustato.

"Questa roba non è che una fregatura!"

Fatti gentile con frange volanti — Quello slogan appariva nell'ultima rivista di moda maschile.

Le frange di Takasu Ryuji erano ora "volanti".

Come dettato dall'articolo, aveva stirato le sue frange, asciugatele col phön fino a farle stare in piedi, e sistematele quindi gentilmante lateralmente con del gel.

Si era alzato mezzora prima apposta per far somigliare i suoi capelli a quelli del modello e aver così il suo desirio realizzato.

Ma purtroppo, "Forse ero troppo ingenuo a cercare di cambiarmi con solo le frange."

Ryuji buttò controvoglia la popolare rivista, per l'acquisto della quale gli era sevito molto coraggio, nel cestino. Ma la sua scarsa mira gli fece completamente mancare il tiro, la rivista si aprì atterrando, fece cadere il cestino ed uscire la spazzatura.

Sulla pagina aperta si leggeva "Potresti ancora fare in tempo per l'inizio della scuola. Gentile o selvaggio? Il nostro viaggio verso il modellismo."

Se fosse per me, non sono sicuro se vorrei essere nel mondo del modellismo.

Eppure, volevo cambiare.

Anche se è finita in un fallimento.

TO-TRANSLATE

Sentendosi sconfitto, Ryuji si bagnò le mani e scompigliò i capelli su cui aveva speso così tanto tempo.

He reverted to his usual randomly straight hair.

Si inginocchiò quindi per raccogliere la spazzatura sparsa sul pavimento.

"Ah!? What's this...m...mold...it's moldy!" "Ah!? Che diamine...m...muffa...è ammuffito!"

Even though he had always wiped the steam off, even after spending a whole day last week cleaning out the mold in the kitchen and bathroom...

But all effort has gone to waste in a horribly humid room.

Biting his lips begrudgingly, Ryuji tried to see if he could wipe off the mold with some tissues.

Of course it was never going to be so easy, and he ended up tearing the tissues to shreds.

"Damn, I just used them all up a while ago. I'm going to have to buy some mold removers again."

For now I'll have to leave it aside, but I'll definitely come back and destroy you guys! Ryuji glanced downwards at the moldy patch while picking up the trash.

He then gave the ground a rough wipe with some paper towels, clearing up any loose hair and dust and wiping off the steam on the washing basin before lifting his head up and sighing.

"Oh yeah, pet food. Hey, In~ko-chan!"

(!)

"Ah..."

A high-pitched voice responded to the high-school student's ferocious shout.

Good, he's awake. Getting himself together again, Ryuji went barefoot to the wooden-tiled kitchen, took some prepared pet food and spare newspapers, and headed towards the corner of the tatami-laid living room. Removing the cloth over the birdcage there, Ryuji greeted his cute pet which he had not seen all night.

(!)

Now, I don't know how other people raise their pets, but this is how the Takasus raise their pet parrot. This was because he looked rather horrible when he slept, so every morning before he woke up, he had to be covered with a cloth.

"Good morning, Inko-chan."

A yellow parrot, that's Inko-chan.

As usual, Ryuji added some pet food while speaking to him.

"G, good...morning," his eyes blinked upwards in a rather unpleasant and enigmatic way, though he still managed to reply in Japanese. Though he'd just woken up, it looked like he was in quite a good mood.

This is why he's cute.

"Inko-chan, try saying let's eat."

"L, let's, e...let's eat! Let's eat! Let's! Eat!"

"Okay, enough. Now let's see if you can say that! Try and see if you can say your name...come on, say Inko-chan."

"I, I, In, I, In, Iiii...I..."

Inko-chan seemed to be using a lot of energy, as he shook his head and rapidly puffed up his body, and then flapped his wings quickly.

"......iiiii......"

His eyes squinting, one could vaguely see the gray tongue that stuck out of his beak.

Maybe he can do it today, thought his master as he gripped his fists.

In the end...

"Blegh!"

Argh... Why are birds so dumb? As expected when you have a brain that weighs only 1kg, Ryuji sighed, wrapping up the soiled newspaper.

He threw the newspaper into a plastic bag.

As he was about to put it together with the other trash in the kitchen,

"...Where...are...you...going..."

The idiot lying behind the fusuma seemed to have woken up as well.

"Ryuu-chan, is that your uniform you're wearing? Why?" she asked wearily.

Ryuji wrapped up the trash bag elegantly and replied to the voice, "I'm going to school. Didn't I already tell you yesterday that school starts today?"

"...Ah."

Opening her legs on top of the futon, that person repeatedly muttered the following as though she's about to cry, Then, then...

"Then, what about Ya-chan's...lunch? I haven't smelled any food...didn't you make some for me?"

"Nope."

"Ehhh~... Then...what's Ya-chan gonna do...when she wakes up...? There's nothing good to eat..."

"I'll be home by the time you wake up! I'll just be going to the Term Opening Ceremony."

"Wha...is that it..."

Hee hee hee hee, she smiled as she closed her open legs together and began to clap her hands ...Sorry, clap her feet.

"Opening Ceremony, huh? 'Grats~! That means, Ryuu-chan is gonna be a second year from today?"

"Let's leave that aside. Didn't I already tell you before, no matter how busy you are, you must always remove your makeup before you sleep? Since you moaned about how bothersome it was before, didn't I specifically buy some special makeup removing tissues," Ryuji inspected her surroundings a bit better, "...Ah...AH! You've gotten makeup powder all over the pillow! I can't wash that off! You should take care of your skin more; you aren't young anymore!"

"Sorry."

Her leopard-spotted panties were completely exposed.

As she got up, her large breasts shook while some of her messy blond hair got stuck in her cleavage.

Whether it was the waving of her hair, or the long nails from her fingers, she gave out a very feminine feel.

But still, "Must've drank too much, I just came back an hour ago. Ah~ So sleepy," she yawned, "Oh yeah...I brought some pudding home."

As she exhaled and rubbed her thick eyelashes, she slowly wandered towards the convenience store bag at the corner of the room.

That appearance — her cherry lips muttering "pudding", her plump cheeks, and her round eyes — such child-like features just did not seem to fit her.

Though she's a bit weird, I guess she can still be called a pretty lady.

"Huh...Ryuu-chan, I can't find the spoon."

"Maybe the store assistant forgot to put it in?"

"Can't be! I saw him put it inside. That's strange..."

This is Takasu Ryuji's mother Takasu Yasuko: stage name "Mirano". Thirty-three years old (she claims to be always 23), she works as a hostess in the town's only bar "Bishamonten Kuni".

Yasuko poured the contents of the convenience store bag out and rummaged through them at the corner of her futon. Her little face frowned,

"It's so dark in here...I can't find the spoon like this! Ryuu-chan, can you open the curtains?"

"They are open."

"Eh~...? Ahh, that's right...since I don't always wake up at this time, I must've forgotten..."

Inside a dark room, the rather odd mother-son couple sighed together.

It was the window facing south.

It had been six years since they moved in here.

Inside this little house where the two of them lived, their source of light all came from the south side window.

As the entrance was on the north, and they are surrounded on the east and west sides by their neighbors' houses, only the south side had windows.

Despite this, sunlight had been abundant, especially during the mornings.

There was no need to turn on the lights from sunrise to sunset, unless when it was raining.

The bright sunlight always used to shine plentifully on Ryuji, in his uniform preparing breakfast for the both of them, and on Yasuko who would be sleeping soundly.

However, all that came to an end last year.

"Damn that apartment building."

"Just what kind of people live there anyway, and turn on the lights already!"

Last year, just a few meters from the south side of this house, a ten-story luxury apartment building was built. As a result, the sun no longer shone through.

This had driven Ryuji to the brink of madness and frustration countless times already — the laundry could no longer dry; the tatami now expanded due to the humidity, curled at the corners, and grew moldy; and sometimes it would even get frosty.

The wallpaper was starting to peel, which must have had something to do with the humidity as well. It doesn't matter since this is just a rented apartment.

Ryuji wanted to tell himself that. Yet being extremely sensitive to keeping a place tidy and clean, Ryuji just could not get himself to tolerate and compromise on such a thing.

Looking up towards the white-tiled high-class condo, there was nothing these two poor people could do but stand shoulder to shoulder with their mouths open.

"Hmm, it doesn't affect me much, since Ya-chan sleeps in the morning anyway!"

"There's no use complaining. Besides, the rent's gone down by 5000 yen as a result."

Taking out a spoon from the kitchen and handing it to Yasuko, Ryuji scratched his head and said, "Well, I'll be going." This wasn't the time for family bonding; it was about time to leave.

Wearing his gakuran jacket, Ryuji bent his ever growing body and pulled up his socks. As he was making sure he brought everything, he suddenly realized the faint call within his heart.

That's right, today was the beginning of a new school term. After the Opening Ceremony came the changing of class.

Even though he had failed in trying to change his image, it wasn't enough to make him depressed, as Ryuji still had some hope within his heart.

Or was that just expectation? Anyway, it was that sort of faint feeling, though he did not find it appropriate to express it.

"I'm going. Remember to lock the door, and change into your pajamas!"

"Ok~ay! Ah, hey Ryuu-chan," Yasuko laid on the futon and bit the spoon with her molars. She began to smile like a child.

"Ryuu-chan looks more energetic than usual today! Fight hard! You're a second year now! This is an area which Ya-chan has never been to before, you know."

In order to give birth to Ryuji, Yasuko dropped out of high school when she was still a first year, so she was not familiar with what life as a second year was like. Ryuji felt a sense of sadness for a moment.

"...yeah."

He smiled for a bit and raised his hand. This was to give his thanks to his mother.

However, this well-intentioned act led to an unexpectedly bad result. "KYAA!" Yasuko yelled and began rolling to and fro, and finally said that phrase.

She had finally said that phrase!

"Ryuu-chan is sooo~ cool! You're looking more and more like your dad now!"

"!!!"

...she said it.

Ryuji silently closed the front door and looked towards the sky. He spun his eyes as he felt he was being sucked into a whirlpool beneath him.

NO! I don't want that! I don't want that! Just shut up!

This! It is just this that I do not want to hear. Especially today.

You look just like your dad — it seems Yasuko doesn't understand that this has caused Ryuji a lot of torment. It was also the reason he bought that sort of magazine and tried to make his bangs "float gently".

Leaving the house, Ryuji headed towards the school which was within walking distance. His tightened face looked twisted.

Despite this, he still walked with great strides as though he was riding the wind. Sighing, he placed his fingers over his bangs in order to cover his eyes.

This was a habit of Ryuji's. That's right, the source of Ryuji's agony was none other than his eyes.

They're bad! It had nothing to do with his perfect eyesight. It was the look; they just look fierce.

This past year Ryuji had been growing up at a rapid pace, he now had that manly look. Though he wasn't the super-handsome type, he was not exactly the aloof geek either ...Ahem.

Anyway, let's just say he doesn't look bad, though no one else had said that; at least that's what Ryuji thought.

Yet his eyes were unusually fierce, they were so bad that it was no joking matter. His eyes were the sort that tilt upwards with the white parts occupying most of his eyes while his pupils took up a small section of them.

Of course, these were just the basics, that was not the worst part. Since his eyes were big, the white in his eyes would constantly reflect a very strong stinging glare, while his tiny pupils would move sharply as though they were about to slice the opponent before him, regardless of Ryuji's intentions.

It was these eyes that usually lead to a person running away at full speed upon coming into eye contact. He knew that all too well.

In fact, when he saw a group photo with himself, even he would be at a loss after wondering, "Geez, why does he look so pissed ...Ah, is that me?"

On the other hand, it could be partly blamed on his rough personality. He spoke in quite an unrefined way, which had something to do with his extreme sensitivity.

This was why he rarely joked around or said anything foolish. Maybe it was because of that, or maybe it was because he lived with someone like Yasuko, which caused him to lose all virtuosity and trustworthiness.

No matter what, Ryuji prided himself in being pragmatically protective of himself.

But, as a result...

"Ta–Takasu-kun...! Are you trying to defy a teacher!? S, someone! Bring me a baton!"

No I wasn't! I was just trying to apologize for forgetting to hand in my homework.

"I, I, I, I, I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to bump into you! It was that guy who pushed me over to you!"

Who is going to get mad over getting bumped on the shoulder?

"I heard Takasu-kun gatecrashed a graduation ceremony of some other school while he was in junior high, he even took over their broadcast room!"

Stop making me sound like I'm some sort of bad delinquent!

" — Am I going to get all these misunderstandings all over again?" Thinking back on all these painful memories, Ryuji couldn't help but sigh.

His grades were not bad, and he had never been late or absent. He hadn't even gotten into an argument with people, let alone get into a fistfight.

To put it simply, Takasu Ryuji was just a normal young person.

Despite that, due to his fierce eyes, and it was only because of this, everyone had come to the conclusion that he was some vicious delinquent — though his only relative being a night hostess also indirectly lead to this conclusion.

After spending a year with his classmates, most of the misunderstandings had been resolved. A year was not short, especially for a high school student.

The problem was that everything started anew today, not to mention his effort at changing his image had ended in failure.

There was still something to look forward to in changing classes, since Ryuji wanted to be in the same class as a certain person. But when his thoughts moved to the torment that he would have to face afterwards, his naïve expectations would instantly shrink in half.

Not to mention Yasuko had to have such a big mouth. No, that's wrong! All of this blame had to go to his father's troublesome genes!

"Your dad, huh? He's in heaven now. He was quite cool, used to calmly sweep his hair backwards, his sharp shoes were always shiny, and he always hung such a lo~ng gold chain around his neck while wearing a casual suit with his Rolex. Inside he always stuffed a thick magazine.

"What for? When Ya-chan asked him that, he said 'So that I don't have to worry about getting stabbed.' Ahhh~ I was so moved~!"

All Ryuji could think of was how Yasuko swooned when speaking of him, and then there was the sole photo of his father that was left behind.

His father's pose was just as Yasuko had described him to be. Standing open-footed while looking proud, he carried a small briefcase under his armpit.

He was dressed in a white suit with a flamboyant open neck shirt. The two golden rings on his fingers glittered, and he even wore a diamond earring in one ear.

And then there was his face that read "You talkin' to me?", with his chin pointing downwards towards the camera. One of his hands was groping the breast of his mother, who looked much younger than she was now.

His mother, carrying a pregnant stomach, smiled cheerfully. His father even had a gold tooth as he smiled.

He was actually quite gentle, and serious, and would never hurt a normal person, or that's what Yasuko would say, but why on earth would a gentle and serious person become a gangster!?

And who on earth would let such a young high school girl get pregnant? Most importantly, those eyes...

If one were to be stared at by those sharp eyes, they would quickly hand over their wallets and hope nothing else bad happened. Those eyes were used for just that: violent extortion.

And yet those objects were now fixed upon his face. Ryuji suddenly shuddered.

If even he thought of his father that way, then it was just impossible to have everyone not misunderstand him!

---

By the way, it's possible that his father may have been still alive. According to Yasuko, to help an underling escape, he was beaten into a pulp and dropped to the bottom of Yokohama Harbor. Even so, because there was no grave or altar, there was not even a body, an artifact or an epitaph, there was no record of such a thing ever happening. Sometimes a drunk Yasuko would jokingly say for no reason "I wonder what Ryuu-chan would look like if your dad were to suddenly return? Hohohoho, I'm just kidding!"

Dad is probably meditating in some icy cold room! As his son, I just have such a feeling —

"Hey, Takasu! Morning! It's a great morning, isn't it?"

Hearing someone call him from behind, Ryuji quickly turned around and raised his hand, "Oh, Kitamura. Morning!"

Can't help it, Ryuji thought to himself, if I stopped and waited for my friend to catch up, people are gonna think that I'm gonna strangle him to death, even though that's not the case. Ryuji silently thought of such a thing. It was unavoidable if he were to be misunderstood, and if he were, he would have to explain nicely. As long as he spent time on it, they would eventually understand. Though it was quite troublesome. That was the only thing he could do, so it was the only thing he had to do!

Looking up at the blue sky, the bright sunlight caused Ryuji to squint his eyes. Today was a fine day, there was no wind. The cherry blossoms silently wilted at this time of year and gently fell on Ryuji's head.

Ryuji continued to carry this torment and strode forward in his shiny black shoes. The weather sure was great for today's Opening Ceremony.

* * *

"Whoa! We're in the same class as Takasu, you gotta be kidding me!" "He sure looks intimidating, how scary!" "So who's going to go talk to him?" "Nope, not me." "Why don't you go? Hey! Don't push...!"

No matter what you people say, I am no longer affected by it anymore.

Ryuji entered the classroom in the most unfazed way possible, ignoring the glances of his classmates, and sat on his desk with his back towards them while staring into the distance with his sharp eyes. Licking his dry lips, his legs began to shake on their own. To a bystander, he looked like a vicious carnivore on the lookout for weak prey.

"Same as usual, huh? Looks like there will be guys that misunderstand you here as well. Oh well, it will all get sorted out after a while anyway! Besides, I'm with you, not to mention there's quite a number of our classmates from Class-A here."

"Oh, don't worry about that, I don't really mind."

Ryuji replied with a gentle smile to his good friend Kitamura Yuusuke, who was in his class again this year. Honestly, Ryuji was currently in a very good mood, but not in a way where he would cruelly lick his lips just before pouncing on a prey. If that were the case, he wouldn't be grinning from ear to ear and ready to lift off like a rocket. The reason he was happy was not because of his relation with Kitamura. To a friend like him, all Ryuji would do would be to simply smile gently and say, "Looks like we're in the same class again, Kitamura!" No, the reason he felt like lifting off like a rocket was because of —

"Oh! Kitamura-kun! We're in the same class this year!"

— her.

"Huh? Ah! Kushieda, you're also in Class-C?"

"Eh!? You mean you only just found out? How cold, at least check the class roster on the first day of school!"

"My bad. Such a coincidence. This means we can have more time to sort out our club meetings!"

"Ahaha, that's right! Oh, Takasu-kun ...right? Do you still remember me? I often appear in front of Kitamura-kun from time to time," she paused.

"..."

"Ah, um, is it okay if I call you Takasu-kun?"

"...Ah...er..."

This was the spot where an angel revealed herself. Before Ryuji's eyes was a smile that shone as brightly as the sun, as warm as the sunlight that used to dwell on the south side window of his house, illuminating everything within his sight. The light rays were converging to the point where Ryuji could no longer keep his eyes open.

"Kushieda Minori, right?"

AHH! Dammit! I got the words right! But! His voice just sounded too cold. Ryuji felt like screaming. Why could I only come up with such an answer? Why couldn't I come up with something better!?

"Wow! You remembered my full name, I'm so glad!" She paused a bit, "Oh dear! Someone's calling me from over there! I have to go, Kitamura-kun. See you in the first club meeting of the term as second years! So don't forget! Takasu-kun, let's talk again some time!"

Seeing her turn around, Ryuji slowly and awkwardly raised his arm, but it was too late. She had already disappeared.

She said she was glad. She said we'll talk again some time.

Kushieda Minori.

She said she was glad. She said we'll talk again some time.

He finally got his wish of being in the same class as Kushieda Minori.

She said she was glad. She said we'll talk again some time.

She said, She was glad...

"Takasu?"

" —Whoa!?" Kitamura suddenly appeared before his face, causing him to fall over his chair.

"What're you grinning at?"

"No, it–it's nothing."

"Oh really?" Kitamura pushed the frame of his glasses with his middle finger. Ryuji felt very grateful from the bottom of his heart, for Kitamura could be the only person in this world to be able to tell whether he was smiling or not. There was one more thing he was grateful to Kitamura for.

"...Kitamura, you," Ryuji fumbled his words. "How should I say this. Er–you always seem pretty relaxed when you talk to girls," Ryuji went down to a whisper, "like Kushieda-san!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The eyes behind Kitamura's glasses widened. He wasn't being humble. Rather, he was surprised. Looks like he doesn't realize it himself. Ryuji decided to hold back what he was about to say towards this rather dense person.

His leisurely conversation with Kushieda a while ago just sounded so "natural". No, it wasn't just a while ago. Since last year, Kitamura had always been natural when speaking to her. Furthermore, they both were a part of the softball club! Ryuji was always there, constantly trying to give her a gentle smile or receive a greeting from her, it was an effort that was enough to move one to tears.

To use soccer as a metaphor, Ryuji would be a center back defender, who hardly had any chance of participating in offense. It was also thanks to constantly being besides Kitamura and observing his cheerful conversations with Kushieda that Ryuji started to realize that she was really cute and that he liked her and wanted to become friends with her.

Her various cheerful expressions.

Her delicate body and exaggerated movements.

Her innocent smiles and clear voice.

Despite his intimidating appearance, she still managed to keep her usual cheerfulness in his presence, even to this day.

That's Kushieda Minori for you.

For Ryuji, in order for a girl to become his girlfriend, she would need to be appealing to the eyes and as sparkling as the rays of the sun. Being energetic and direct was more important than anything else for him, and that is how a girl should be. But even still —

"What're you talking about? How's it possible for me to talk naturally to girls? You should know very well what they like to call me!"

Ryuji couldn't help but sigh. How enviable! Just looking at how Kitamura talks is enough to make his eyes bleed. Yet Kitamura continued, "I'm no good with girls. I think I probably won't ever find a girlfriend for the rest of my life."

Even though he says that, "I don't think so..." Looking up at the blindingly radiant noble before him, Ryuji swallowed what he was about to say. No matter what he said, this fellow was probably never going to understand. Ryuji suddenly felt a wave of depression.

It was true that the girls call Kitamura "Maruo-kun", named after the typical "Mr. Nice Guy" from Chibi Maruko-chan. Perhaps he looked like him, driving the girls called him that. On another front, glasses with very high prescription, a straightforward personality, excellent grades, doesn't go with the trend of being flirtatious, and holds some quite traditional values. If the situation was right with him saying "That's correct", he is the sort of guy that's capable of creating a cheerful atmosphere in the classroom. Speaking of which, he was the class representative last year, as well as the vice president of the Student Council, and he was also tipped to be the new president of the softball team. It was natural for everyone to make fun of him.

The problem was not his looks. No. To be precise, upon closer inspection one would discover that he's surprisingly quite handsome. Combined with his consistent personality inside and outside, as well as being able to make fun of himself, there was absolutely nothing that was unlikeable about him. So although he says he's constantly teased by the girls, it wasn't because they hated him.

Ah, so that's why, Ryuji finally understood. Come to think of it, Kitamura is quite popular with the girls, not just with Kushieda, he's able to talk to them naturally. Whenever the girls see him, they would go "Ah~ I'm in the same class as Maruo-kun again!" in which Kitamura would nonchalantly reply "What? You got a problem with that?"

And yet he says he's no good with girls. It's not like you're as feared as I am. Just as Ryuji went into deep thought, he heard someone say "Whoa, scary."

See? Here we go again! Ryuji laid on top of his desk and ignored those voices that he would occasionally hear. It was just a while ago that he was floating over the moon from being in the same class as Kushieda Minori, so he did not mind others and how they thought of him.

"Sure looks formidable. I told you this fellow isn't a normal person." "Whoa, look at those eyes. If you piss the owner of those eyes off, you could get killed!"

The spell seemed to have been broken. Ryuji started to notice that the non-malicious whispers began to increase.

It might be better to hide out in the bathroom before the new homeroom teacher arrived, Ryuji thought hopefully. It may clear his mind a bit.

So he stood up, and just before he was about to walk along the aisle, he felt something bump into his stomach. "Hmm...?"

Ryuji thought he bumped into something, but there was nothing before his eyes. That's strange! Ryuji moved his eyes around, yet all he could see was —

Students started calling out, "Yikes! As expected from Takasu-kun; is he going to make the first move?" "Has the deathmatch started already? When I saw the class roster, I knew this was going to be a terrible class."

All Ryuji could see were the new classmates whispering amongst themselves. Are they talking about me? But still, why?

One of the members in the class came out with a title, "Clash of the Titans. Hmm?"

"Already we're in the final showdown."

Everyone's talking strangely. Clash of the Titans? Final showdown? What the hell are they talking about? Ryuji tilted his head trying to make sense what was going on.

"Are you not even going to apologize after bumping into someone?" He heard a very cold voice emanating from somewhere. The strange and calm tone of voice sounded as though it was suppressing and holding back some emotion that was about to explode. Yet he could not tell where the voice came from.

"Huh?"

The mood became dark. Ryuji looked to the right, there was no one; he looked to the left, there was no one as well; apprehensively, he looked upwards. Fortunately, there was no one there as well.

"This means — "

So it did come from below. Down, right below his eyes, in a place much lower than Ryuji's chest was a head of hair. The first thing he thought of was that she resembled a doll.

Anyway, she was very small. Her long straight hair softly fluttered and covered the tiny body of the Palmtop Tiger. "Palmtop Tiger?"

That mysterious terminology suddenly appeared in Ryuji's thoughts, causing him to say it out loud without thinking. Seems like he must have heard someone whispering that nearby.

Palmtop Tiger!?

Then that means...

"Who– "

Is that what this little doll is called? Though she is small enough to fit into a palm, how is she like a tiger?

" –who you calling a Palmtop Tiger?" This was not an occasion where one could think for a long time, as "that" began to lift her chin, and with her eyes...

"WHOA!!"

It took three seconds. Everything went silent, though it looked like it was only Ryuji's imagination. For an instant, it felt like a vacuum created by a shock wave just after an explosion. The background noise slowly returned to the ears. By the time he realized it, Ryuji found he had fallen backwards to the ground. It wasn't just him alone, the few classmates nearby were also hit as well and moaned, while others were already getting ready to escape.

Just what had happened? I already know. Nothing really happened. It was just that this girl before his eyes —

"Such a hopeless person."

All she did was stare at Ryuji with those two large eyes of hers; that was all.

That was it. Within a few seconds, Ryuji had already been struck down by awe. His mind was blank, his body felt paralyzed just by the sheer pressure she created. Ryuji was repelled by her glare, or to be more precise, he was repelled by the aura that was released from her eyes, and he fell to the ground.

Their difference was way too large, they were on completely different levels. For a person whose eyes were no less intimidating, Ryuji had been completely defeated.

This was the first time Ryuji understood what it meant to have fierce eyes. This included the necessary essence one carries, as well as a ferociousness to match; or to be more exact, an "intent to kill".

"Hmph." For a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Ryuji felt a subtle contempt in her eyes that would not be swayed even if she were stabbed in the heart.

"A dragon...? How lame." She opened her cherry lips and shot out bullets of words that carried a certain child-like quality to them. Her incredibly small hands roughly swept aside her fluttering hair, while her soft eyelids covered her killing intention. Those eyes were now as transparent as the glass eyes of a doll and stared coldly at Ryuji.

She's cute, but she's scary as well. She had a pale white face, unbelievably long brunette hair, and tiny limbs and shoulders, while her shiny pupils were surrounded by gentle eyelashes. She was as adorable as a candy containing deadly toxins, as lovable as a flower that can kill just by smell alone.

Yet when he was being stared at, Ryuji could feel the carnivore leaping out from those eyes of hers. Of course, this was all just an illusion, yet it felt more real than reality. The weight of the carnivore had Ryuji pushed down on the floor and roared with a sound that shook deep into his blood. The sound that was produced seemed to be saying "I can take out a guy like you anytime I want". The sharp claws and fangs slowly approached in front of him, emanating the bloodthirstiness and smell of a beast. Compared to her small figure, the much larger illusion that loomed before him was ...A tiger.

"Ah, ahh–ah, ah, ahhh...t–that's right." Without realizing, Ryuji began to nod and clapped his hands. So that's why she's called the Palmtop Tiger! I wonder who gave her that name, but —

" — Isn't that a wonderful name?"

And such a fitting name as well, I'm impressed. The girl took a look at Ryuji, silently uttered "dragon", and then looked at him with disdain.

It was not hard to learn why. Whether from the fall or from it being ripped open by the phantom tiger, Ryuji's gakuran jacket was now open. Under his jacket, he wore a colorful "Soryuu (Rising Dragon)" T-shirt that Yasuko happily bought for him. It wasn't Ryuji that wanted to wear such a T-shirt that would cause such misunderstandings, it's just that all his other clothes were taken to the laundry for that day, and he wasn't expecting anyone to be able see what he was wearing inside with his jacket on.

Feeling embarrassed for some reason, Ryuji quickly covered his chest, like a girl that just got assaulted by a ruffian. At this moment, he saw someone tip-tapping her way closer.

"You're late, Taiga! You skipped the Opening Ceremony, didn't you?"

"I overslept. Anyway, I'm glad I'm in the same class as Minorin this year."

"Yeah! Me too!"

It was none other than Kushieda Minori. She directly called the Palmtop Tiger as "Taiga", and even smiled and gently caressed her hair, while the Palmtop Tiger also intimately called her "Minorin". Seeing all of this, Ryuji began to hear the whispers around him.

"So Round 1 is won by the Palmtop Tiger Aisaka?"

"Looks like Takasu looks scary in appearance only, he's no delinquent!"

"Huh? Really?"

"That's why he lost to the Palmtop Tiger. Besides, she's the real thing when it comes to ferociousness!"

The misunderstandings were resolved much sooner than Ryuji had expected, however...

* * * * *

The Palmtop Tiger had an amazing name called Aisaka Taiga. Her height was 145 cm. Aisaka Taiga and Kushieda Minori were what you would call good friends. From the various whispers Ryuji had heard, it was rumored her father worked as a fixer in the underworld. There was another story that her father was actually a karate master ruling the underworld in America. And then there was yet another that said she herself was a karate expert, but was expelled from her dojo for attacking her master.

Back when she first entered this school, a lot of people were fooled by her beauty, and many guys lined up to confess to her. Of course their dreams were all ruthlessly shattered as they were intimidated, bitten, torn to shreds... There were quite a few that never did recover after they were mercilessly belittled by her. Everywhere Aisaka went, her path was drenched with the blood of the countless corpses of the male students.

There was just a lot of bad press concerning Aisaka Taiga. Regardless of whether the rumors were true or not, there was no doubt that she was the most dangerous being in this school. It was many days after the Opening Ceremony that Ryuji learned about these things.

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