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"I... I made it!" Taiga finally reached the other end of the pool and panting, managed to lift Ryuuji out of the water. With some help from Kitamura and Minori. "Come on Ryuuji, wake up."
"And the winner is, Ami-chan!" Haruta the idiot, loudly proclaimed.
"This isn't funny you mongrel! Get up!"
"I knew she could do it!" The idiot's best friend, Noto, chimed in.
"Would you two shut the hell up?!" She had heard enough. "Wake up you stupid mutt!"
"Woah, what happened?"
"Takasu's completely out of it."
Taiga's recent outburst had gotten the attention of the other students and they had finally noticed something was wrong.
"Please wake up, Ryuuji. I swear, I'll never call you a mongrel again. Please."
Tears began to stream down her face, as her pleas went seemingly unanswered.
"Argh!" she let loose an unholy roar and faced the onlookers with rage in her eyes.
"This is all your fault!" no one dared to contest the Palm-top Tiger's claim. "You're all idiots! You didn't notice! None of you helped! You were all too busy staring at that dumb bikini!" The fierceness of the Tiger that normally helped drive away the sadness, now did nothing to halt the tears. "Because of that, no one saw... And now... Now, Ryuuji's hurt because of you!"
Taiga released another animalistic growl from her throat and the students backed away in fear.
"Ryuuji is... Ryuuji is... Ryuuji is mine!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Keep your damn hands off him!"
No one came near them for awhile. Taiga's sobbing echoed around the poolside. Eventually, her tears subsided and she calmed down.
"Ryuuji?" she asked the unconscious boy, checking for any response. There was none. Noticing this, she leaned as close to him as she could and whispered into his ear. "I love you."
His senses resumed functioning one by one. First, smell.
Fresh air.
He was clearly outside. Next, came touch. He could feel the warm concrete beneath him.
After that, came hearing.
"I love you."
What? That voice... It sounds familiar. Taiga?!
Taste.
Salty, but sweet. With a hint of... cherry?
And finally, sight.
His eyes shot open, and he was met with the sight of Taiga's face closer than it had ever been.
That's right! The race! I nearly... drowned... but Taiga rescued me and now... Now I get it.
He closed his eyes again and smiled.
"Takasu's awake!" someone shouted.
Taiga pulled back and broke the connection, then she opened her own eyes.
Ryuuji's were still shut, but something was different.
He's... smiling?
"...Huh? What did I..."
What did I do?! Why did I do that?!
Taiga's vision suddenly became unfocused.
"What's... going on...?" she asked aloud. "Why do I... feel so... tired...?"
Ryuuji opened his eyes again, just in time to see Taiga collapse on top of him.
"Taiga?!" he called out, worried.
"...Eh? Oh... Ryuuji, you're awake..."
He sighed with relief. "I'm glad you're still conscious. I was afraid you'd passed out."
"No... I'm fine. Just a little... tired. And I can't... move."
"Oh well. That's alright. This is surprisingly comfortable." he shifted his arms behind him and propped his head up with his hands, content to relax there.
"...Really?"
"Yeah. I never thought you lying on top of me, would feel so nice. Then again, I've never really thought about you lying on me, so..."
"Ahem." Their gym teacher, Kuro 'Muscle' appeared suddenly from the crowd and cleared his throat loudly. "Well, seeing that you're both feeling okay. I suppose neither of you have to be taken to the nurses office." he said with slight uncertainty in his voice. "Anyway, everyone can go back to what they were doing!" he declared.
The onlookers reluctantly dispersed, leaving behind Kitamura, Minori, and Ami.
"Hey. M-maybe we should get out of the way. We are at the edge of the pool after all, and it'd be pretty bad if someone were to trip over us."
"...Y-yeah. Good point."
"Alright, I'll just- Woah!"
"You'd better hold on to Aisaka, Takasu." Kitamura came out of nowhere and began picking up his best friend by the shoulders.
"The same goes for you, Taiga!" Minori had begun lifting Ryuuji by his legs.
Neither of them had noticed their best friends were there, until they made their presence known. Taiga and Ryuuji were too preoccupied looking at each other.
"Kitamura?!"
"Minorin?!"
They were dumbfounded. What was going on?!
"Oh please... Neither of you really wanted to move away from the other, right?" Ami had finally chosen to speak up.
Ryuuji and Taiga said nothing. They just held onto each other tightly and blushed profusely.
Their best friends set them down under one of the awnings located a ways from the edge of the pool, then the two softball club members ran off to join the other students in more poolside shenanigans.
All alone now with no one nearby, the two friends locked eyes and stared passionately at each other. Eventually, they broke the silence.
"Ryuuji, I..."
"Taiga, I..."
"Love..."
"Love..."
Before either could finish their confession, lips met lips and an amazing sensation passed between them. They held the kiss for several minutes before parting, both now completely aware of their feelings for each other.
Although the two of them had gotten adequate sleep the previous night, their eyelids were heavy and the warmth of their embrace made them feel strangely sleepy. So, without saying another word. They surrendered to peaceful rest and drifted off moments later, still holding tightly to each other.