Authors' note: KiMaChi - whoa! Almost forgot to put this here.
So here's my second fanfic of Toradora! :)
It's like what happened in their field trip in the actual series, but I made it a little different.

Hope you enjoy :)

I do not own Toradora! or its characters. They all belong to Yuyuko Takemiya.

"…aiga…"

In the cold winter wind, you could hear someone screaming.

"T… Taiga…"

His voice breaks through the sound of the wind, and he could be heard from a mile away.

"Taiga!..."

Ryuuji falls down to the hard cement ground, but he wouldn't stop looking for Taiga. He's coughing terribly, as if he just got out of the bed.

"Taiga…"

An icy tear falls from his eye, and landing on the ground, it leaves a mark. He looks around, his eyes felt like it was burning from the fact that it is a cold winter night, and he was crying. He wanted to find where Taiga is.

Taiga. His beloved. The girl that changed her life after they met in school. He vowed to her that he will always stay by her side, no matter what happens. And right now, he's looking for her.

Damn it, it's because I had the stupid cold… He cursed the wind, knowing that it was its fault that's why he had a sickness in the first place. Yasuko was helping him get better, and Taiga also offered a helping hand.

"Taiga…" he mumbled under his cold breath, remembering what happened earlier that day.

…

"Good morning, Ya-chan!" Taiga pranced happily into Ryuuji's home, and she was in a happy mood today. "Are you feeling better, my lovely dog?" she looked over to him, where he was seated on the mat, and a fluffy towel around him. He still looked pale.

Ryuuji ignored the insult-turned-compliment. "Not much, but yeah," he said, then coughing. He had a cold, because he went out one night to go and get some groceries, and it was too cold for him to handle, even with a coat.

Taiga went to where Ryuuji sat, and nudged her head to him. Ryuuji pushed her away, just so she won't get the same sickness as him. Taiga pouted.

"I'm just trying to make you feel better, is that bad?" he looked at him, a bit irritated.

He looked at Taiga and pinched her cheek. He looked down and blushed, "You being here already makes me feel better," he said, then smiled at her. She gave a warm smile back, and you can hear in the background Yasuko singing happily.

"Ryuu-chan! Here's your breakfast, it's hot okay, so eat it slowly!" She was being the happy mother as usual. She didn't attend her night shift at the bar because she found out that Ryuuji had a cold. That's why she woke up early.

Ryuuji looked at the soup placed in front of him, and he could barely smell it. "Ack," he rubbed his nose, then after a while he could already smell the aroma of the soup. He closed his eyes, wanting to enjoy just smelling the sweet aroma of the soup, when suddenly he smelled another – Taiga's hair. It had a sweet fragrance, and this made Ryuuji blush. He opened his eyes and saw Taiga leaning towards him, blowing the soup a bit so it wouldn't be that hot.

She took the spoon and then took a spoonful of soup from the bowl. She placed her other hand under the spoon, in case it spills, and looked at Ryuuji. "Here comes the soup!" she stuffed it in his mouth, which almost made him choke.

After that first spoonful, Ryuuji coughed to the side, and then took the spoon away from Taiga's hand. "I have hands, you know." He said to her, and started sipping the soup slowly.

Ryuuji finished his soup, and he was smiling in delight. He could feel the hot soup going down to his stomach, which made him feel that he was getting better. Taiga turned on the TV, and seeing the weather report, it was still pretty cold outside. Yasuko was looking in their fridge if they still have food, and unfortunately, they don't have anything that's good for Ryuuji.

Taiga saw this, and stood up suddenly. "Ya-chan, let me buy the things needed for Ryuuji to feel better," she said, smiling. She is in a good mood today.

"Hm, okay Taiga. I still have to get to sleep so that I can have plenty of energy later for my work," she said, then started to head for her room. She took out her wallet and gave her money. "Here, you should by plenty of soup and some cough medicine, and you can buy anything you want also!" she exclaimed, smiling at Taiga, happy that she's there to help. Taiga hugged Yasuko and said, "Thank you so much, Ya-chan!" she said in a happy tone.

They look like sisters when they're both in a good mood, Ryuuji thought, looking at both of them. Taiga then said, "I'll be right back with my coat and boots," she closed the door, and headed to her apartment. She took her coat and boots from her closet, and then wore them eagerly. She headed back to Ryuuji's house and came to look for the eco bag. She saw it wasn't in its usual place.

"Huh, where is it?" she asked herself. "Ryuuji! Did you take the eco bag?" she said out loud, and then looked inside his room. He was there, sleeping, with the eco bag on top of him.

Taiga smiled, seeing Ryuuji with a cute face while sleeping. She kissed her forehead, and then took the eco bag that was on top of him. She then headed out quietly, since everyone was already sleeping inside the house.

Outside, it was cold. Very cold, that Taiga could still feel the wind even if she had a coat on. But she ran fast, but when she got to the intersection near the store they usually bought food to, it was closed.

"Under Construction"

Taiga cursed, kicking the snow on the sign she saw. "Damn it, now Ryuuji will have to wait until he's fine already," she mumbled, getting angry, then calming down. Calm down, Taiga. You need to find another way to the convenience store. She led out a sigh, and then went back to find another way.

She went back to her apartment, since it was already lunch time when she arrived. She cooked up some noodles to satisfy her hunger, and then took out some brochures from a box hidden in her closet to see if there were any alternate routes to the convenience store. She sat there, alone, on the chair, looking at brochures while eating noodles.

She saw an alternate route, although it was rather far. She had to circle almost the whole town before she got there, but it's worth it. She thought to herself.

Finishing her noodles, she stood up and threw the container in the right trash can, and took the brochure with her. Going out, she took the alternate route.

After a while, she got to the convenience store and went to buy everything needed. She didn't buy anything for her, since she thought it would be a waste of time. After a few minutes, she got everything that was needed. She went out of the store, and saw it was already dark outside, and there was a cold breeze. She needed to hurry up, since Ryuuji and Yasuko might get worried with her.

…

Ryuuji still kept walking in the wind, and he already looked worse than he was. He was looking around from what he can see, and still, no Taiga.

It's my stupid fault that I got sick… Now Taiga… Where are you?

He started going back, and he could only see the road and some lights. His sight was going blurry, yet he still continued walking back to his house.

Maybe she's there, waiting for me… She's mad at me, I guess… For looking for her… He was going through his thoughts while walking. She always hated it when I follow her when I shouldn't… But what can I do? I love her. I want to take care of her, I don't want her to get sad… Because he was too busy with his thoughts, he couldn't hear someone else screaming.

"Ryuuji!" Taiga screamed to the shadowy figure she saw far away. The figure had the same height as Ryuuji's, so she thought it was him. Stupid dog, can't you at least let me take things in my way for once? You should stop following me when you're in need… I'm doing my best to help you! She thought, then went to the front of Ryuuji's house, where Yasuko was still sleeping. She left the eco bag there, in front of the door, and then ran towards the figure. She didn't care if she was right that it was Ryuuji or not, she knew deep in her heart that it was him.

Ryuuji could hear someone running towards him, and he looked up to see who it was. It was a small figure, and had a feminine figure. Without thinking, he shouted, "Taiga!"

He wanted to run towards her, but he fell suddenly. His knees couldn't take the pain anymore, and he just looked up. He saw Taiga there, going near him, hugging him. With all her strength, she pulled him up, his knees shaking as he stood. Taiga was there to help her walk, and it's as if the wind knew they had too much already. The wind slowed down, yet the cold air was still there. Taiga took off her coat and wrapped it around Ryuuji, and when Ryuuji wanted to say something, she kissed him on the lips. It hurt, since his lips were chapped. But still, it felt warm for both of them. After a long time of walking, they already got in front of his house. Yasuko was there, with the towel, and it looked like it was dipped in hot water. Taiga smiled, and waved at Yasuko, and Ryuuji was half-awake.

She helped Ryuuji walk up the stairs. When they both got inside, Ryuuji almost fell, but Yasuko and Taiga both helped him on to bed. "Thank you for finding Ryuu-chan," Yasuko said, hugging Taiga. She just smiled, and then said, "I'm just going to stay here, and watch over him until he gets better." She smiled, and then looked at Ryuuji. She cuddled next to him, so that he can get warm with her hugs.

I found you, Ryuuji. She thought to herself, closing her eyes and sleeping next to her love.

Thanks for reading! Reviews and favorites are loved. :)