Toradora: The Next Step

Chapter 8: "Truth or dare"

"Hey, let's play a game!"  Kitamura interrupts everyone's discussion with this intriguing suggestion.  As anticipated, the room filled with excited faces with sparkles in every eye.  Everyone, without hesitation, returned to their youthful selves due to their natural desire to play around for a bit.  Then the question of what they would play arises.  Severe concentration flooded around everyone as eyes were darting around.  As if a bolt of lightning had hit her, Ami sat up straight and her face lit up.

"Why don't we play..."  Everyone waited anxiously for Ami to finish her sentence.

...

"Truth or dare!"

...

It wasn't long before everyone was indulged by this idea and had unpleasant truths and corrupt dares overflowing in their mischievous minds.

Already several rounds into the game of truth or dare and there had been a case of Taiga sitting on Kitamura's lap, Ami cosplaying as a maid and Ryuuji taking off his shirt.  It was Ami's turn to pick someone and with a malicious grin from her lips, she muttered "Minori".  She opened her mouth, about to form the word "dare" however she was cut off by the blue haired former model in an instant.  "Ah... We've had so many dares.  I wonder why people don't pick truth?"  As if she was picking up the gauntlet, Minori swapped her choice to "truth".  The grin grew slyer.  The curiosity of everyone peaked as they impatiently waited for the question and, of course, the answer.  To satisfy this impatience, Ami promptly spoke.

"Who do you like?"

And so silence stalked the entirety of the room.  Sweat hastily made it onto everyone's skin, but Minori was drowning in it.  Her eyes flinched as if wanting to blink but refusing to.  Her pupils dwindled.  The hairs on the back of her neck stood tall.  She finally gave in and blinked.  In the time which her eyes were closed, she shifted her focal point of her eyes towards the ground.  She avoided everyone's gazes.  Everyone was looking at her.  Everyone was nervous.  Everyone was aware of the truth.  These thoughts revolved around her head until it was too much for her anymore.  She immediately jumped to her feet.  Under her breath, the others could hear her mumble the words of giving up.

"I can't do this anymore."

Dashing out the room and out of the front door, Minori didn't even look back.

Taiga had a horrified look on her face.  She knew exactly what was going on.  Leaping from the sofa, she swiftly followed after Minori.  Ryuuji attempted to go too, but Taiga forced him back to the sofa.

"Taiga!  Let me go after her.  This is my problem!"  Yelled Ryuuji.  Taiga quickly gave Ryuuji a "tch".

"I don't care if it's your fault.  I won't let you go out.  No one wants to see you shirtless, stupid Ryuuji!"  Leaving with this tasteless comment, Taiga went after Minori.  However, Ryuuji wasn't going to give in even if Taiga spurted such insults, so he went too.

"Why the hell are you following?"  Said Taiga, with an obviously annoyed tone.

"As I said, this is my problem as well as yours, so I need to talk to her."  Explained Ryuuji with a distressed face.  Taiga subtly nodded in reply.

The two ran as fast as their legs would take them.  They forced themselves to such a pressure that they were getting a stitch.  It paid off as they saw Minori on the other side of the road at a bus stop.  She shivered in a panic.  But there was a sigh of relief from her as she saw the bus she was waiting for approach at a perfect time.  There was no chance of them reaching her in time before the bus had picked her up and started moving again since they were fatigued.

To Minori's surprise, Taiga was not slowing down, but accelerating.  On the other hand, Ryuuji was practically limping from exhaustion.  The tiger was racing towards the crossing near the bus stop at an alarming rate.  Minori gritted her teeth.  The bus was not yet even slowing down to stop at the stop yet.  Taiga took a sharp turn for the crossing without doubt.  Minori's eyes widened.  Ryuuji began pacing even though he had no energy left.  He made it to the crossing but he hadn't caught up enough.  Minori let out a deafening scream as if she was seeing hell.  Ryuuji reached out his right hand in the direction that Taiga was as if he was reaching for the light of heaven.  Taiga was just over halfway across the road.  The bus driver turned on the handbrake.  Taiga saw the bright lights that would soon consume her in the corner of her petrified eyes.

"Taiga!"  Ryuuji roared.

With a sound like a smack, the intense moment was over.  Ryuuji clenched his fist then re-opened it and looked at how it was empty.  Empty as if he couldn't capture the tiger with it.  He felt rivers pour down his cheeks and they, in Taiga's place, filled his palm.  Minori fell to her knees and repeatedly muttered.

"It's my fault.  It's my fault.  It's my fault."

Quickly thinking, Ryuuji got his phone out from his pocket with his trembling right hand and called for an ambulance.

"H-hello?"  He stuttered.  "T-There's been an accident."

After the call, he fell onto all fours and dropped his phone with himself.  He glared at the floor, cursing it as well as everything else.  Gradually, he leaned back onto his legs.  His eyes drifted to the sight of the love of his live lying, almost lifeless, on the floor a few meters in front of him.  To get rid of this unreal sight, he buried his face into the palms of his hands.  The tears wouldn't stop.

Taiga could hear the sound of screaming, crying and ambulance sirens.

"Huh?  What's going on?"

She couldn't feel a single thing.

"This is strange.  I'm pretty sure a moment ago I was chasing after Minori.  I saw her at the bus stop, crossed the road and everything went... blank?"

Then she fell into reality.

"Am I... dead?  Or alive?  I don't understand what's going on."

She heard a masculine cry a short distance away.

"R-Ryuuji...?"