Author's Notes: Set after episode 14 of the Anime and goes from there, this chapter should work as a one-shot if I don't publish any more. Meant to publish this sooner, but was never satisfied and kept rewriting it. Regardless, I hope those who come across this story might enjoy what it offers.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Two Packets of 750 Yen raw pork cutlets. Normally, It wouldn't really concern her how much it cost, nor what kind of meat it was since she never cooked in the first place. But now they were sitting in the back of her empty refrigerator and she didn't know what to do with them.

Well, one of them anyway.

Ami had made the mistake of opening one of those packets last night, and, was less than pleased. Really, she almost gagged when the scent of raw pork hit her nostrils, and repulsed she had ended up dropping it on the spot. The meat flopped onto the tile floor, and as she bent down to pick it up, she slipped on the meat juices that had spilled from the styrofoam packaging onto the floor. Supermarket meat didn't even have any runoff so what the hell! Now frustrated, in her rage she flung the slimy slab away from her to banish it from her sight..only to end up knocking over a box of packaged tea, sending leaves flying into the pan of heated oil on the stove. Thus was the sight her aunt came upon last night, of one angry Kawashima furiously trying to put out a fire as the room started filling with not so fragrant tea smoke. A burned hand and a few panicked sprays of fire extinguisher foam later, and Ami was done trying to cook for the night, and certainly no night ever after being reprimanded by her aunt for her ill attempts at cooking, when clearly, she couldn't without meeting major catastrophe...

..So much for that pork with ginger that Ryuuji had suggested and given her, and though he had claimed they were extras that he couldn't possibly finish, she highly doubted that given Taiga's stomach….

Kawashima was interrupted from her thoughts with the sound of Yuri-Sensei finishing up her 'lecture' and letting them out for the day. Ami had taken to daydreaming once it became apparent that Sensei was still mostly despondent as unbeknownst to Taiga, she was listening from behind the door when called those rude "single lady" remarks the other day. This weather combined with Sensei's dour mood led to an unproductive day listening to the rain patter against the window next to her as Sensei's cloud of depression hung over the class. The only one who wasn't really affected was Haruta, who like usual, was bouncing with energy. Overall, most of the class had taken to less scholarly pursuits, from looking at their phones hidden behind textbooks, to half-muted gossip between various cliques. Ami, on the other hand, had been more interested in nursing her burnt finger and watching Taiga squabble again for the thousandth time with Ryuuji, who was being poked and prodded into packing his belongings faster. She turned her head away as whatever it was about, really didn't matter from her perspective anyway, not if it didn't involve her directly..

It wasn't until everyone else had already left class 2-C when Kawashima finally moved to collect her belongings, having already dismissed her friends' requests to go to warm up at Sudoh-Bucks with them. As much as she liked her friends, Ami wasn't in the mood today to put her mask on, not today. Alone, she made her way through the near empty halls of Ohashi High.

Reaching the entrance, she was greeted with curtain of rain pouring down from the sky. Apparently she had been in her seat for a bit longer than she had thought, and she wouldn't be able to get home without an umbrella, an umbrella that wasn't there. Not unless she wanted to get soaked in the process. Normally she would have checked the weather forecast if she hadn't been so preoccupied with setting her kitchen on fire. Guess she would have to wait the rain out for a lack of better alternatives, as the library was closed early to accommodate the new shipment of textbooks which have yet to be sorted, and she didn't want to get in the way of the janitor's cleaning by sitting near the vending machines. Sighing, Kawashima sat down on the steps of the entrance, tucking her legs in and placing her head atop her knees. Closing her eyes, she hugged her legs closer, preparing for a drawn-out and miserable stay there.

It wasn't a long wait.

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For the last thirty minutes all Ami heard was the unending sound of raindrops splattering against the pavement. But hearing footsteps sloshing through nearby puddles made her ears perk up. Looking ahead, Ami squinted her eyes to make out the figure in the rain, It wasn't someone she had missed leaving, but someone actually going towards the school? That was unexpected, the rain had only gotten worse in the past half hour she had been trapped there, and the teachers would usually use the side entrance of the school to leave so who could or would in this wea..

"Takasu?" Ami eyes widened slightly as she watched him pass her, though she made no move to follow him with more than her eyes.

"Kawashima?.." Ryuuji started, but remembering his purpose, turned away and began shifting through his locker "Why are you still here? I'm sure you would have been gone long before any of us even got to the front doors."

Oh. Ryuuji wasn't even looking at her while talking, She was being put second in favor of an Inanimate Object, like hell she was going to let that pass.

"I.. kinda forgot my umbrella at home..Whaaat, did you come back for Ami-Chan~?" Ami began to tease lightly with a small grin.

"..." Was Ryuuji's response as he continued to rummage through his belongings before pulling out what he was looking for"I was here to grab this, Taiga had left her photos of the school festival in here and wanted me to grab it."

Her grin dropped, both from having been pretty much ignored, and because of hearing THAT girl's name being mentioned again. Always the priority on his mind, doting over Aisaka one way or another. Like going back out into this rain just for a photo that can be picked up the day after.

"You know, you shouldn't always play father for her like that, letting the tiger cling so much to you" Ami muttered under her breath. Too bad there was little point voicing her thoughts, not if he was perfectly content to play that role. However strange that notion was to her.

"Say that again, didn't catch that clearly."

"Nothing"

"..Alright then, I got what I needed so I'll be heading off, Taiga's waiting on me." As he shut his locker and secured Taiga's photos in his bag, Ryuuji made his way towards the entryway past her. Pulling a sleek orange umbrella out from the rackstand, Ryuuji walked out the doors and unfolded his umbrella, stepping out into the rain. Wait, just like that he was already leaving? Oh.."well, bye then Takasu-kun~." She called out with an upbeat tone and a smile, but however much she tried, her eyes could never match the rest of her. Under normal circumstances it was easy to act, to pretend to be more than she was, but today she couldn't, not to him, not to the empty room she occupied. And like that, Kawashima Ami was alone again.