Toradora: The Next Step

Chapter 12: Dad?

It took a short while for Ryuuji to notice that he wasn't staring into a mirror but at an actual human.  Stern eyes, with no sign of softness, peered into his own and right through them into the deepest parts of his head.  It appeared to be a fierce battle of whose eyes would differ in emotions first.  Despite the overwhelming power of his elder, Ryuuji didn't give up as an undying grudge flooded his entire being.  He almost shivered at the speech of the other man.

"Ryuuji-kun."  The man with stern eyes spoke.

"Dad?"

~

Ryuuji suddenly jumped out of the futon, breathing fast and heavily.  Sweat fiercely ran down his whole body.  His fists were tightly clenched.  The fast movements jolted Taiga awake.

"Ryuuji, are you ok?"  A worried tiger spoke.

After a few breaths, Ryuuji appeared to calm down.  His eyes narrowed as he stared towards the floor.  The contents of his dream replayed in his mind.  He was face to face with the man who he believed to be his Dad.

"Ryuuji?"

The voice of Taiga snapped him back to reality.  His gaze quickly switched from the empty floor to the troubled tiger.  Her eyes were half open but she worked up her strength in order to stand up.

"I'm fine...  I just had a weird dream."  Ryuuji hesitated.  Why was he having a dream like that after all this time?

Taiga plodded over to Ryuuji and gently rested her hands on his cheeks.  Her eyes were open wide now.  She stared into his eyes for a moment as if she was examining if he was really fine or not.  Her hands slipped from his face, down his neck and on to his shoulders.  Forcibly, Ryuuji was pulled into a hug with Taiga.  His narrow eyes closed as he raised his tired arms around her small figure.  She gripped him tighter and also closed her eyes.  He stroked her back a little as Taiga dug her head into his chest.

As they pulled apart slightly, they ended their moment with a short and sweet kiss.

"Good morning, my future Husband."

"Good morning, my future Wife."

~

It has been a few weeks since Ryuuji proposed to Taiga.  She was successfully released from the hospital after she had recovered from the majority of her injuries.  In the meantime she had been continuing to live in Ryuuji and Yasuko's home.  Ami, Kitamura and Minori were delighted at the news that Ryuuji and Taiga had got engaged.  Kitamura decided that he would come back from America to Japan to come to their currently unplanned wedding.

It was a few days after he heard the news that Kitamura departed for America.  Everyone was sad to see him leave but glad that he was pursuing his dreams.

When Yasuko heard the news she was over the moon that Taiga would be joining her family.  She had always considered Taiga family anyway so Ryuuji and Taiga definitely had her blessing.

Ryuuji and Taiga personally went to visit Taiga's Mum to see how she would take the news.  As they promised before, they wouldn't want to get married if not all of the family were in approval so this was a crucial moment.  Despite her Mum being extremely startled by the news, she took it a lot better than they expected.  She was surprisingly overjoyed that Taiga was growing independent and had found someone that she truly wished to spend the rest of her life with.  Ryuuji hid it, but he was also happy that Taiga managed to patch things up with her Mum.

~

"So, when are you going to get married?"  Yasuko asked nosily.  Ryuuji and Taiga reacted bashfully as expected.

"I'm not really sure...  We haven't thought about it yet.  Not to mention that we probably can't afford it..."  Ryuuji said whilst scratching the back of his head.  He could feel the sweat on his face.

"Well, we're both going to look for work soon so that we can put money towards it..."  Taiga added whilst blushing.

"Ah!  That's good!  We're going to have to invite all your friends and family and oh I can't wait!~"  Yasuko speaks cheerfully as she looks up, as if looking up towards the future.

"I wonder if your Dad would come to the wedding too, Taiga?"  Yasuko asks cautiously.  Taiga shrugs.

With the thought of "Dad" put into Ryuuji's head, he thought back to his dream.

Was that dream some kind of indication?  If my Dad knew I was going to be getting married, would he bother to come?  Would he even want to?  I don't know.  I don't know anything about him.