"Ryuuji!" a young girl with pink hair cried out.

Ryuuji turned around, meeting the girls frantic eyes with his own and saw the love of his life charge towards him at full speed.

"K-Kushieda?" he stammered. There was no time for answers; the only one he received was the impact of her flying into his arms. That and the feeling he felt when he absorbed the impact of the fall.

"Ryuuji! Please, forgive me!" she sobbed. "I have been acting like a fool!"

"K...Kushieda...just a second." he groaned, feeling the stabbing pain in his back gradually go away. Realizing that she had inflicted him with much grief, not only in the past due to his budding feelings but the fact that she hurt his back by soaring into him with much force, Kushieda leapt off of her friend energetically and pulled him up with a surprising amount of strength.

"You're stronger than I thought." Takasu said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Takasu-chan," the girl blushed slightly, instinctively using a more affectionate honorific, "I am sorry to interrupt you like this."

"Is everything ok? And did you just...did you call me Takasu-chan!?" his eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Ryuuji, I'm so sorry for not coming to the dance last night." she began.

"K-Kushie-"

"Even worse, I am sorry for lying to you when you confronted me."

"Wait a minute, you-"

"Ryuuji there is so much I want to say but-"

"Kushieda, please!" he gripped her shoulders firmly. The girl looked back at him, quietly observing his unappreciated strength and surprisingly looking back at him. This was the first time he had displayed any form of confidence towards her regarding his feelings.

It was obvious to her from the very beginning. She couldn't help but smile every time, realizing the efforts he had made to see her and be with her were not in vain. She realized that Taiga was playing a fundamental part in his progress, something that she wanted to appreciate publicly. However, she realized how much Taiga needed Ryuuji; she realized that Takasu was someone who would care for her willingly no matter what, someone who cared greatly for his friends in all situations. Slightly unsettled when faced with the thought of her best friend being so attached to her romantic interest, Kushieda nevertheless tried to combat her conscience. This proved unsuccessful, however, when Kushieda saw her friend crying on the street. She was wailing, in despair, sobbing and screaming the name of her friend.

"Ryuuji!" she had screamed, the lone lamp shining down on her. In the distance, Kushieda watched and observed. And this alone pushed her into a moment of refusal.

"I think I don't want to see UFO's anymore." Kushieda had stated. Ryuuji looked ridiculous; he was wearing a bear costume, a rather ironic happy bear mask detached and resting near Takasu's leg. Trading the nice suit he had cost him Kushieda's present as well. Altogether the night didn't go very well at all. Ryuuji, at the time, was speechless and at the same time heartbroken. He never had much self confidence in himself, but liking Kushieda changed the view he had of himself. To have Kushieda tell him that she wasn't interested was too painful to explain.

"Kushieda..." he said quietly, not knowing how to feel.

"I'm sorry, Takasu." she looked into his eyes, clutching her beaning which she held beside her, her pupils shining even in the dark which could have been because of the small and nearly unnoticeable tears forming or the girls positive façade. She quickly turned and walked away, into the night, and Ryuuji was left standing in the light looking like an idiot.

Not being able to wash away the memories of her thoughts, Taiga angrily confronted her no more than a few days after.

"Minorin, don't!" she pinned her friend against the wall, angry yet caring in her own, forceful way.

"Please, Taiga, don't do this!" she demanded, hoping that she could forget everything that happened.

"Minorin, please, just listen to me! I know you like Ryuuji!" she screamed. Minorin sprang from her position, releasing Taiga's hold and spinning her friend around and pushing her into the wall.

"Minorin, that hurt dammit!" Taiga cried, rubbing her back. "When the hell did you get that strong, huh?"

"Shut up! Shut. The hell. Up!" Minorin, almost crying again, stared at her friend with a firm look and an angry expression.

"So you're ashamed or something?"

"Ashamed!?"

"You don't want to admit it because he's desperate or something?"

"Of course not!"

"Then why the fuck are you acting like this!"

"Because I saw you last night!" Minorin's scream was loud enough to be heard by anyone in the school grounds. Luckily, there probably wasn't anyone there who cared all too much about the situation; the girls were lucky enough to attend a school that didn't have many judgemental people. Then again, there was that picture regarding Taiga's chest which resulted in quite the incident.

"You...saw me...crying." Taiga looked at her feet, blushing, not knowing how to respond.

"Yes." Minorin responded simply, on the verge of tears.

Taiga looked up at her friend. "Minorin, Ryuuji is my friend. Nothing more. I depend on him, yes I do, but that doesn't mean you can't be with him! He's like a father to me, nothing else, and I promise you that." Taiga sighed and felt a sudden guilt for possibly ruining the chances her two friends had.

"I don't believe you." the pink haired girl replied quietly.

"Well, if you don't I think you're just fooling yourself." Taiga shrugged and walked away, realizing that she had gotten her message across and that Kushieda would eventually wake up to herself. The sunlight beaming onto her golden hair, she walked through the doors of the school grounds with her coat hanging on one arm. She wasn't in character; at least the character that she displayed to Takasu. Minorin stood there, pondering in anger, worrying about the choices that she had made. And thus, her feelings managed to take over which led to her dashing after Takasu the next day before school started.

"So let me get this straight," Ryuuji began, "you started to fall in love with me a long time ago?"

"Yes." Minorin blushed crimson and looked away.

"Well...I just...I'm surprised, y'know?"

"Understandable." she said, still looking away. She nearly died when she felt another hand meet hers, carefully and gently holding it as if it were fragile.

"Kushieda, you mean it?" he said, smiling a small smile yet still in disbelief. Kushieda smiled widely and hugged her friend.

"Of course." she replied happily, her face still extremely red. Ryuuji, in shock, felt his own face begin to fill with color as he returned the hug.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tora Dora in any way whatsoever. I am just a fan who really wanted to write a fictional, non-canon story about it.

Reviews would be highly appreciated.