Monomyth: Taro Arai's Story [Complete]

[swampie2]

First guess would be Ritsu's voice actor in K-on! also voicing Taiga?

[Sharp-O]

First guess would be Ritsu's voice actor in K-on! also voicing Taiga?

Huh. Okay, that's unintentional but awesome but no, it's because Toradora basically revolves around a bunch of dumb teens not telling each other how they feel and the melodrama that unfolds because of it.

[swampie2]

First guess would be Ritsu's voice actor in K-on! also voicing Taiga?

Huh. Okay, that's unintentional but awesome but no, it's because Toradora basically revolves around a bunch of dumb teens not telling each other how they feel and the melodrama that unfolds because of it.

Almost 100% of the time through the anime I was just like "TELL THEM"

[HoneyBakedHam]

Because Taiga is the cutest tsundere ever?

[Alpacalypse]

Almost 100% of the time through the anime I was just like "TELL THEM"

I second this. Fun times were had a-plenty

Although, I was half expecting you to say "It's because Taro actually has feelings for Miki, his interest in Ritsu is just a crush and Ritsu's going to voluntarily give up her chances so that the two lovers can be together", Sharp. Apparently, I read too far into it.

[HoneyBakedHam]

Almost 100% of the time through the anime I was just like "TELL THEM"

I second this. Fun times were had a-plenty

Although, I was half expecting you to say "It's because Taro actually has feelings for Miki, his interest in Ritsu is just a crush and Ritsu's going to voluntarily give up her chances so that the two lovers can be together", Sharp. Apparently, I read too far into it.

You're not alone in that. That was my original theory.

[Sharp-O]

Because Taiga is the cutest tsundere ever?

Is she though?

Almost 100% of the time through the anime I was just like "TELL THEM"

I second this. Fun times were had a-plenty

Although, I was half expecting you to say "It's because Taro actually has feelings for Miki, his interest in Ritsu is just a crush and Ritsu's going to voluntarily give up her chances so that the two lovers can be together", Sharp. Apparently, I read too far into it.

You're not alone in that. That was my original theory.

Oh jaysus, could you imagine? That'd be awful, just awful...

[HoneyBakedHam]

If you're referring to Rika, no...she'd be more of a toy for me. ;P I'm a fan of Sena, anyway.

And I could see you doing that to Ritsu and Miki.

[Sharp-O]

If you're referring to Rika, no...she'd be more of a toy for me. ;P I'm a fan of Sena, anyway.

Rika is best Haganai girl.

And I could see you doing that to Ritsu and Miki.

[HoneyBakedHam]

To each their own, I guess.

[Sharp-O]

Chapter Thirty-Five: Cacophony

~~~~Miki~~~~

“I’m waiting, Miki.” Ritsu says in an annoyed tone.

“What makes you think me and the big guy dated?” I chuckle nervously, giving a slightly amused expression.

“Don’t fuck me around, Miki.” She pinches the bridge of her nose, crossing her other arm across her chest. “How long?”

“We’ve never ‘dated’, Ri--” I try to explain, even throwing up some bunny ears around the word dated but I’m cut off.

“Don’t fucking lie to me either. I heard you and Suzu arguing the other night. You and Taro dated.” She’s getting agitated. Why is she asking me? Isn’t this something for…

“You should probably talk to Taro.” I offer, getting up and stretching a little, more to stop myself from fidgetting than the need to.

“I’m asking you.” Ritsu states plainly, her eyes staring daggers.

“If you heard the fight the other night, you should probably know that I am in no mood for this teen drama bullshit.” I give a stern look at the shorter girl before moving past her and towards the entrance.

“Where are you going?” She asks, even more irritated.

“Out for a smoke.” I snort sarcastically and it pisses her off.

“Don’t you walk away from me. We’re not done.” She growls grabbing my arm.

“Ritsu, I’m going to say this once and you are going to let go of me…” I say, furrowing my brow but keeping as calm a voice as I can manage. “Me and Taro never dated. Whatever you heard was just Suzu venting.”

“I don’t believe you.” She grips tighter. Keep calm, Miki. Don’t hurt her.

“And I don’t care. Taro and I are friends. That’s the truth.”

“Then what…?” I wrestle my arm out of her grip.

“Talk to your boyfriend. We’re done here.” I stride away from her and into the cool dusk outside of the dorms, loosening my tie a little more.

What the fuck? Why is this even an issue? I bet Taro doesn’t have an issue with Ritsu having an ex-whatever here…

“M-Miki? Are you okay?” A quiet, familiar voice speaks behind me and I turn.

“Hey, Suzu…” I sigh at the cerulean-haired girl clutching a small book in her hands.

“You look how I feel…” She smirks a little. “Look, Miki… I’m sorry for being a bitch.”

“We both were, short-stuff. Sorry for slapping you. And threatening to put you in a coma.” I hook my arm around her shoulder.

“I think I earned it. What are you doing out here?” She asks, looking up at me.

“Getting some fresh air… Things are pretty hostile in there.” I say, looking at the girls’ dorms.

“What did you do?” Suzu jokes, nudging my side with her elbow.

“Ritsu overheard our argument the other night… She knows that me and Taro were… Close.” I admit quietly and Suzu’s eyes go wide.

“Oh fuck, oh no, I d-didn’t mean, Oh no…” She stammers, looking back at the dorms in a panic. “I’m so s-sorry, Miki…”

I squeeze her shoulder a little and shake my head, guiding us both towards a nearby bench.

“It’s not all your fault, Suzy. I’m equally to blame.” I pat her knee as I crouch down in front of her. “Anyway, how was the Lit Club?” I ask, desperate to focus on something else.

“It was… nice.” Suzu smiles a little, That’s good, at least that’s som--

“HEY! We’re not fucking done!” The doors to the girls’ doors fling open dramatically and Ritsu, in a hastily thrown-on ensemble, comes storming out. She’s got her full carpal tunnel braces, almost like a boxer. Tell me she isn’t coming out to fight me… I didn’t think she’d be that stupid.

“This is going to be my whole evening, isn’t it?” I groan, pushing against my knees and rising. “Suzu, run inside when you get the chance.”

“But this is my…” She objects but I cut her off.

“Don’t argue with me, short-stuff. I don’t wanna be worrying about you getting caught in the crossfire. Besides, if she wants to fight me that bad, she has to catch me first.” I give her a reassuring wink before stepping backwards and breaking into a jog in the opposite direction. Thankfully, Ritsu ignores Suzu all together, intent on chasing me. Try to keep up.

-------------------------------------------------------------------


I slow my pace and come to a full stop at the track, leaning my back against the bleachers, folding my arms. I lead her at a swift pace around the campus, ending at the track. If she wants to get into a shouting match, best she does it away from prying ears. She turns the corner and slows to a stop, bracing herself against her knees as she struggles to catch her breath.

“You… Done… Running?” She gasps between breaths.

“No, but you are.” The other reason I let her chase me was to tire her out. She’s in no condition to start a fight. Hopefully.

“Why the fuck are we here?” She glowers and I chuckle.

“Because you seem intent on airing your dirty laundry in public so I thought I’d do you the courtesy of leading you somewhere no one else will hear.” I hold my arms out as I slowly walk further towards the track. “Apparently the walls in the girls’ dorms have ears.”

“Hey!” Ritsu calls out and I turn to face her, continuing my walk backwards.

“You wanna talk, then talk. What’s your problem?” I say, coming to a stop a safe distance from her.

“What went on between you and Taro?” She asks, still walking towards me.

“Why do you want to know?” I ask, curious as to why this is an issue all of a sudden.

“Because I do.” Her voice is stern but quivering. She’s scared.

“Gonna need a better reason than that, Rits. Why is this bothering you?”

“It just does! Tell me!” She growls, launching herself forward, closing the distance between us. Huh, she’s still got some steam left. “Tell me or I’ll kick your ass, bitch!”

“Not going to happen.” I hop to the right, letting her rebound off the waist-high chain-link fence that runs around part of the track. “In both cases.”

She howls like an animal and lunges again, now within punching distance. As expected, it’s a tired, lazy flail. I back-step it easily and she just tries harder. Again and again.

Left. Right. Left. Right. This is sad… We shouldn’t even be here. What the hell is her problem? Is it so hard to talk to Taro? Why doesn’t she get that it’s not on me to tell her about his past.

“Fuck you! Fight me, you fucking whore!” Her voice is strained and raw with emotion and I let her name-calling whiff past me as easily as her useless jabs.

“No. There’s no point.” I bat away the latest swing. “Why do you want me to fight you so bad?”

“You… and… Taro… Laughing…” She huffs, struggling to spit out her words. “At me!”

“What?” I chuckle, more out of surprise than amusement.

“Don’t fucking laugh at me!” She screams again, her voice cracking as she swings once more and stumbles, falling to the ground. Okay, this has gone from sad to just plain pathetic. It reminds me how I flew off the handle at Taro for laughing once. For fuck’s sake, Ritsu… You should be better than this. Than I was.

“Listen to me, Ritsu. You’re not going to get a fight out of me so please, just listen. We’re not laughing at you… Don’t know where you got that stupid fucking idea to begin with… And me and Taro never dated.”

“Liar! I know there’s something! Tell me…” Her voice quivers and fails, choking on her words. I can’t imagine any scenario where me telling her that I fucked her boyfriend before they were a thing will end well. There’s no fucking point. This is so stupid. “Please…” She begs and I sigh, crouching down.

“Taro is in love with you, Ritsu… He loves you with all his god damn heart. Why is that not enough for you?”

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~~~~Taro~~~~

“Suzu?” I ask as I open my door, the frantic knocking disturbing my work as I delicately try to untie the knots in my hoodie sleeves.

“T-Taro! Thank god… Ritsu and Miki…” Suzu huffs leaning against the door frame. “Ritsu knows, Taro… She knows! She chased Miki and I don’t…” Her agitated explanation fades into white noise as it dawns on me what she means.

“You’ve got to find them Taro! Ritsu looked like she wanted a fight!” Suzu shaking my shirt snaps me back to reality.

“Fuck… Okay, I’ll go find them. You, ummm, rest here for a while.” I flick on my shoes and slip past her, rushing through the dorm and out onto the campus. Where the fuck would they be?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

My chest is on fire as I reach the track, by breathing long and laboured. I don’t think I’ve ran this much ever… The track is the last place on my checklist. Luckily, I’ve found them…

Shit, Ritsu’s swinging for Miki. What do I do? Urgh. I stumble and catch myself against the bleachers with a severe stitch in my side. Miki isn’t fighting back… Why? Ritsu flails and falls. I move closer as Miki crouches down.

“Taro is in love with you, Ritsu… He loves you with all his god damn heart. Why is that not enough for you?” I hear Miki and stay back.

“Because it wasn’t enough for my dad!” Ritsu shrieks, launching forward at Miki and knocking her on her back. Ritsu flails her arms but they’re wild and weak, like she’s tired.

“My mom was cheating on my dad for years and my dad had no clue! He thought everything was fine! And so did I until a couple days ago!”

“Taro isn’t cheating on you, you dumb shit!” Miki snarls back, grabbing one of Ritsu’s wrists and blocking her other blows with her stump.

“But he is lying to me!” My blood runs cold and I slump against the bleachers. How could she think…?

“He had a chance to tell me about his history and he didn’t say a fucking word about you. He lied to my face then and he’s been lying ever since. How can I trust him knowing that?”

Oh, Ritsu… She’s right. I didn’t tell her about Miki but I honestly thought it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t. Plus, if I remember when she actually asked me about my history, it’s not the kind of thing you bring up while your girlfriend is holding your dick…

“So that’s why you’re so pissed? Because he didn’t tell you about an ex? Are you that fucking insecure?” Miki growls, kicking Ritsu off her. She rolls forward onto a crouched knee and stares Ritsu down. “Do his feelings mean fuck all to you?”

“He…” Ritsu begins but Miki pushes further.

“Shut up. This isn’t about him. This is about you! I empathise with you Rits, I really do. My mom left me and my dad when I was younger so I get where you’re coming from but Taro is the sweetest, kindest guy that either of us know! Do you know what he’d think of this bullshit? It’d break his heart!” She stands, taking slow steps towards Ritsu, who barely gets to her feet.

“What do you know?” Ritsu spits venomously.

“I know that he’s one of my dearest friends, you dumb cunt and I swear to god that if you break his heart, I will kill you!” Miki threatens, squaring up to my girlfriend. I have to do something, Miki’s voice is getting angrier by the second.

“I think that’s enough, ladies.” I say, stepping out from the darkened bleachers.

“Taro?” Ritsu meekly asks turning her head to look back at me.

“Yeah. Suzu came to find me.” I respond, watching Miki breathe a small sigh of relief.

“I… I’m sorry, Taro.” Ritsu whispers.

“So am I…” I rub my face and lean against some waist high chain-link. We fall silent as everyone tries to think of something to say. What is there to say?

“You don’t trust me, Ritsu.” I begin and she gasps. “I’ll raise my hand up to being part of the problem here. Miki and I never dated…”

“Like I said.” Miki chimes in.

“But we did fool around in our first year. It was long over by the time I got to know you proper and long before we even started dating.” I continue. “That’s the truth.”

Ritsu looks between Miki and myself a few times as her shoulders slump. “…Oh.”

“I should have told you but it’s not like that it’s an easy subject to bring up in conversation, y’know?”

“I guess…” She’s looking more sheepish by the second. All I want to do is hold her but…

“Now is this going to be the end of it?” I ask quietly.

“What?” She croaks, bringing her arms to her chest.

“I honestly don’t know if it’s actually me you don’t trust or if it’s everyone else around me.” I look at the ground, thinking back to several instances where Ritsu acted… overly possessive.

“Even before the summer, you would always do this little power play any time a girl would show the smallest bit of interest in me, even when it was purely platonic. You did it with Hanako, then you blew up at Molly during summer, taking me aside after the stuff with Rin. Again with Molly at the Shanghai last week… And now THIS.” I thrust my arm out at the ludicrous situation around me.

“At first, I thought it was playful but after tonight… It’s making me question all of it…”

“Taro, no, please! I love you!” Ritsu dashes over and wraps her arms around my chest. I instinctively wrap my arm around her and stroke her hair.

“But you don’t trust me, do you?” I say, my heart sinking at the very thought. Can you love someone and not trust them? I guess you can… Love and trust, while connected in a way, aren’t mutually exclusive.

I trust Miki, but I don’t love her.

I love Ritsu and I… still trust her, I guess…

Ritsu loves me, but she doesn’t trust me.

“We can… Work this out…” She sobs quietly into my shirt and I shake my head.

“I’m sorry, Ritsu…” I clamp my eyes shut and hug her tight. Think, you stupid fat fuck. THINK. Think of something, anything, that can fix this.

But I can’t. This is something fundamental in our relationship and it’s broken. I don’t know how to fix this. If everything I’ve done, all my actions and words and love up to this point, can be shattered by one little omission… What does that say?

I open my eyes to look down at Ritsu and she looks up at me, mirroring my own feeling of grief.

~~~~Miki~~~~

I shouldn’t be here for this. This is something deeply personal between them and I’m an unwelcome bystander. I look out at the track, trying my best to ignore them but I just can’t. I keep catching myself taking glances back and feel guilty every time.

“See you around, Taro.” I faintly hear Ritsu say in the smallest voice outside of Hanako. I feel a shiver up my spine and grip the waist high chain-link fence in front of me harder.

There’s silence for a long time, then a long groan and a rattle of metal that ripples through the fence. I look down to my left and Taro sits leaning against the fence, face in hand.

“I’m not even going to ask because I have a pretty good idea how you’re feeling.” I sigh, taking a seat on the floor beside the big guy.

“Thanks. Don’t think I’m up for talking right now…” He says, leaning his head against the fence, his eyes closing.

“Shutting up.” I say, sitting with feet firmly on the ground, my knees bent and apart and my arms resting along them. It’s not lady-like but fuck it, no one’s around but Taro.

“Thanks for not fighting her.” He mutters.

“You asked me not to.” I chuckle a little, remembering summer break.

“Mm.”

Silence again. I just watched my best friend break up with his girlfriend. That’s fucked up on so many levels. I don’t know what I’d say even if he did want to talk.

“How are you holding up?” He asks and it shocks me.

“Seriously? You’re asking me how I feel right now?”

“Mmhm.”

“Fuck, man… I’ll tell you when I think of some words.” I wave him off and he simply responds with a curt ‘Ha!’

My right hand slumps onto the ground, only to find his left lying limply there. I link my fingers with his and hold his hand. I can’t think of the words to soothe his pain but I can at least do this. He looks down at our hands and then at me. Our eyes meet in a way they haven’t in a long while.

“Thanks, Miki.” He smiles as best he can as tears begin to stream down his face. I grip his hand tighter and sniffle. This is just like the early days. Me and him, hand in hand.

“Any time, Taro.” I nod quietly and we both turn away from each other's eyes, looking up into the night sky.

[Mirage_GSM]

Huh. Okay, that's unintentional but awesome but no, it's because Toradora basically revolves around a bunch of dumb teens not telling each other how they feel and the melodrama that unfolds because of it.

Well, I would have said because the two main characters struggle with unrequited love for most of the series. I thought this was supposed to be about Suzu's problem not about Ritsu's, since the lit club is reading it.
Also, ToraDora, is less about "dumb teens not telling each other how they feel" but rather "dumb teens not realizing how they feel themselves" Taiga confesses in the second episode - though to the wrong person.

[Sharp-O]

Well, I would have said because the two main characters struggle with unrequited love for most of the series. I thought this was supposed to be about Suzu's problem not about Ritsu's, since the lit club is reading it.

I'll be getting to it, don't worry. Since the LN was around within the KS timeframe, I threw it in there as a sly nod.

Also, ToraDora, is less about "dumb teens not telling each other how they feel" but rather "dumb teens not realizing how they feel themselves" Taiga confesses in the second episode - though to the wrong person.

You're totally right, Mirage but god damn it feels like the former sometimes. It also throws me that one of the voice actors is Mako from Kill La Kill and her characters becomes more Mako as the series goes on.

[HoneyBakedHam]

Ah, Sharp-O..you cold, magnificent bastard. I loved every bitter moment. You just might make a masochist out of me.

[Hoitash]

Also, ToraDora, is less about "dumb teens not telling each other how they feel" but rather "dumb teens not realizing how they feel themselves" Taiga confesses in the second episode - though to the wrong person.

You're totally right, Mirage but god damn it feels like the former sometimes. It also throws me that one of the voice actors is Mako from Kill La Kill and her characters becomes more Mako as the series goes on.

She's also Azu-nyan from K-On!, where she starred along with Guess Whooooo~.

Yeah, I know. When I realized that I spent a week cleaning brains off my walls from the mind blowing.