"You're pretty fast for an old man." Ryuuji panted as he kept sprinting.

"You're not too bad yourself kid, but you've got a long way to go if you want to compete with me." and with that, Takahiro sprinted ahead, already sure of where Ryuuji's destination was. He sprinted right into the hill in front of them and continued up it without ever slowing down. Ryuuji grinned at the challenge he put forth and sprinted to catch up.

By the time they both reached the front gate at the top of the hill, they were panting for breath and laying on the ground. At first, there was only the sound of both of them gasping for breath, but it was quickly followed by laughter. It wasn't anything in particular, but the two of them couldn't help but begin to laugh hysterically at the situation they had escaped.

"You sucker punched him right in the face. Ha! Who would have thought someone like you had it in em'" Takahiro teased.

"Oh please, if I hadn't stepped in you would still be on the ground getting beat to hell."

"Yeah, you're probably right, but it's still surprising…" He trailed off, still chuckling to himself.

"So… What was that? What did you do to cause the Yakuza to come after you?"

"Hm? Well, I guess that's a very good story, but not one for today. I think there's still something very important that you're forgetting about."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"I don't know, maybe you're wedding?"

"Oh…" Ryuuji stopped laughing instantly, "...I don't know anymore. Taiga left so abruptly, and if she's scared to commit, maybe…"

"Oh would you get over yourself. Are you in love with her?"

"Well, yeah."

"Well then, is she in love with you?"

"She says she is."

"Then there's everything you need to know. I fell in love at one point too, but I got scared and wasn't ready for it. I let it slipped right through my fingers and lost it." Ryuuji turned to Takahiro and saw his face had a slight smile with a serious undertone. "Ryuuji, I know I'm not the father you wanted, or maybe you don't even consider me your father, but even as a complete stranger I know you shouldn't let this slip through your hands."

"Yeah, you're right, but…"

"Nope, no buts about it. This is final, we're going to find her and you're going to get married today." He picked himself up and reached out his hand to help Ryuuji stand too.

"Thanks." He took his hand and they both stood up, wiping themselves off in the process.

"So… Is there any reason that you brought me to your old school?"

"Oh, I guess I just had a feeling she might be here."

"Well then, let's go take a look." Takahiro began to walk into the gate and beckoned Ryuuji to follow promptly.

The two girls walked in silence. It must have been a strange site to see a girl who looked no older than twelve in a wedding dress and another girl in her teens being led by the small girl, but neither of them paid any attention to the world around them. They just continued to walk slowly and quietly towards the large river. The girl in the yellow headband could only stare at the back of the short girl's head, but she could see her shaking a little bit in an attempt to conceal her emotions from the world around her.

When they arrived, the short girl sat down on a set of stone steps, totally disregarding if she got her dress dirty. She prompted the other girl to sit as well and she complied willingly.

"So… What's your name?" The girl in the yellow headband asked causally.

"Taiga, Taiga Aisaka, you?"

"Well, I'm the great…" she began, but something caused her to stop, "... let's just call me your guardian angel for today." she turned and smiled at Taiga.

"Huh, a guardian angel?" Taiga scoffed at the comment.

"A real charmer, aren't ya? What could cause you to be so sad on such a beautiful day?"

"Have you ever been in love?" Taiga asked without even listening to the girl's question.

"Love? I don't really know. I used to think it was just some kind of disease, something that the human mind naturally created so that it could experience purpose, but…" She stopped to think about what love meant to her, "...yeah, I think I may have been in love, or, I guess, I'm still in love."

"Well, I'm going to tell you right now, love that person with everything you've got, because if you don't, they'll resent you forever." Taiga spat bitterly.

The girl in the headband debated what she had just said. "I don't think that anyone who loves you can hate you. If they really do love you, they'll accept you for who you are and stand by you through all of your choices. Even though he's never told me it, I know deep inside that he loves me because he's always there when everyone else abandons me. It's just kind of this feeling I have…" She stared off with a glazed look in her eyes, imagining past adventures with someone.

"Yeah, that's a nice story and all, but we all have to wake up from our fairy tales one day." Taiga spoke bitterly. "The world isn't something that understands fair, or right, or even just kindness in general. No, the world constantly gets in the way of your happiness and drags you into the pits of despair as you try to grasp to that fleeting happiness." The girl in the headband sat in silence, listening to Taiga's words.

"Did you hurt them?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Did you hurt them? The person you love."

"I don't…" Taiga trailed off as she thought about what she had said. 'I didn't hurt him, but I wasn't able to help him, so isn't that the same as hurting him?' She was having trouble putting together everything that happened that day. Her emotions began to bubble and her thoughts were becoming clouded in hate and anger. She began to shake furiously, but an arm wrapped around her and pulled her close, comforting her, causing her anger to subside.

"It's ok. We all hurt the people we love, it's all apart of loving that person. The most important thing is that you still show that person you love them."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Well…" The girl thought for a moment and tried to think of a good answer to her question, "Some kind of display of affection. Yeah, do something to try and make it up to them. Maybe something that you always think of when you're together, or just something that would make him happy." The girl turned and smiled at Taiga, obviously proud of her answer.

"Something that reminds me of him…" Taiga gave an airy laugh, but the idea drove itself deeper into Taiga's mind and she began to think of all the memories they shared. The night they met and she punched a hole in his wall, the play they put on together, the way he fought to win the school competition for her, and even… At that moment something clicked in her head, things began to run again and ideas of how to apologize to Ryuuji became clear.

"I could almost swear that I heard the gears in your head begin to turn." She chuckled,
"Well, alright then, let's put whatever plan you came up with in motion." But at the moment a small buzzing noise came from the girl's pocket, "Aw crap, I'm late. Sorry kid, but this is where I have to leave you, but don't worry, you'll be just fine." As she began to run off she pulled out a yellow armband from her other pocket and fastened it to her arm with 2 safety pins, "AND DON'T FORGET, HE'LL LOVE YOU REGARDLESS!" she yelled back as she continued onward.

"Yeah," Taiga spoke to herself, "No matter what, I love Ryuuji and he loves me." She reassured herself and walked back into the city, ready to put her plan into motion.

"THEY'RE BOTH WHAT?!" Ami yelled.

"Don't yell, we're still in a church you know." Kitamura calmly replied trying to settle down Ami.

"Don't tell me to calm down when the wedding we're at doesn't have a bride or groom!" She snapped back. The two continued to argue back and forth about the rising issue and Minori was forced to sit back and watch.

"Children are so fickle aren't they." Yasuko laughed as the two continued to bicker, "But you still seem to be quite composed, any reason why?"

"I really couldn't tell you, maybe I'm just so sure that this is a passing phase at this point, or maybe it's just that…"

"Just that your lingering feelings toward Ryuuji are getting in the way?" Minori cringed as Yasuko spoke about what she was trying to avoid, "He's got quite the following of girls, even though he's so infatuated with Taiga." Yasuko seemed to laugh a bit, but Minori knew that she wasn't trying to tease her.

"I decided a long time ago not to act on my feelings, and it's not like he would respond to them at this point anyway. I know for a fact that Ryuuji would never leave Taiga, even if she were to die, he would never fall in love with someone the way he has with her"

"You always were the mature one." She smirked, "But what about our little fashion designer over there, you two weren't the only ones vying to be with him."

"She's… something else. I can't follow her thoughts or what leads her to do what she does. It's like she knows exactly what's going to happen, but chooses to just sit there and watch it."

"She's strong though. Even though Ryuuji rejected her over and over, she refused to give up and never played with him."

"Did you find all of our high school drama to be entertaining?"

"No, not at all, if anything it was quite painful to watch. All of you went through a lot back then and having to deal with parents like myself or the Aisaka's is no easy feat either. You kids are quite the extraordinary group of people."

"I guess that's true. Can I ask you one other question? Who is Takahiro?"

Yasuko paused for a second, hesitating about what to say next. "Who is he? Well, you already know he's Ryuuji's father, but I guess you want to know who he is on a personal level?"

"I just want to know how you can be okay with someone who abandoned you before your son was even born. How can you even stand to see such a man again?"

"Because he's no different from his son, protecting others even if it causes him pain and suffering." Yasuko smiled, "He's quite the amazing person really, and when he came back today I was both overjoyed and angry at him."

"And why is that?"

"Well, let me tell you a story…"

Ryuuji and Takahiro entered a classroom in the empty school. "Doesn't look like she's here." Takahiro stated frankly.

"Just wait a second." Ryuuji said as he walked over to the corner of the classroom and opened up a storage locker.

"What are you doing? You think your wife is going to be hiding in a locker?"

"Well…" Ryuuji closed the locker, "It was my best guess. I don't know where she'd be besides here."

"We could check the rest of the school?"

"No, the only place she cares about in the place would be here. This was her hiding space."

"Picked a real charmer for yourself didn't you kid? A girl who can fit in a storage closet is a real treasure." He sarcastically laughed, but Ryuuji just ignored him and looked out the window at the city below.

"I'm not giving up. Even if I have to search the whole city, I will find her." Ryuuji said defiantly.

"Well then, I guess I'll call in a little favor to help us out." He pulled out an all black cellphone and clicked one of the buttons to speed dial a number.

"Yep, it's me, I need you guys to tell me if you've seen a girl who could fit inside a storage locker."

"Yes, I said a storage locker. Did I stutter?"

"Don't apologize, just tell me yes or no."

"Down by the river? Damn was the kid off, alright, thanks for the help." And with a click he closed the phone and put it back in his pocket.

"Down by the river?"

"Down by the river."

The two began to walk out of the building in silence, but when they got to the hill Ryuuji had had enough of the silence.

"Where do you live?"

"Oh, nowhere of concern to you."

"But what if I want to come visit you?"

"I wouldn't want you to and you wouldn't want to either."

"Okay, what do you do?"

"Nothing all that important."

"Stop avoiding my questions, I'm trying to build a relationship with you." Ryuuji stopped, obviously annoyed that Takahiro refused to give him a definitive answer. "If you're really my father then start acting like one and answer my questions."

"I think I've already made it clear that I'm not your average father. So if you would please, can we go back to finding your wife?" And Takahiro began to walk off down the hill again. Ryuuji jogged a little to catch up.

"Alright then, don't be a father, but that doesn't mean you can't answer my questions. How did you meet my mother?"

"Well, it wasn't anything fancy. We were both shopping for food one day and I bumped into her at the supermarket. Her cart was full of frozen meals and other cheap food and I couldn't help but feel bad for her. I asked her if she'd like a freshly cooked meal that night and I brought her to my place and cooked her a large meal. She ate it so quickly and I couldn't help but laugh at how unladylike she was acting."

"She didn't have a lot of money back then, and she doesn't have a lot of money now. She's always pushed herself to make things happen, not only for me, but for those around her too."

"That she did. She has the spirit to not give up and to not let anything stop her from doing something. I would consider that her greatest aspect, although her body isn't anything to put to shame." He laughed.

"Quite the charmer aren't you? I still can't believe you cooked for her though."

"Oh I'm a fantastic chef, trust me, I don't skimp when it comes to what I'm skilled at. But anyway, after she ate that night, we talked for hours about anything we could think of. Our dreams, our ambitions, our pasts, our futures, our families. It was the first time in a long time I had just been able to casually talk with someone in years."

"Did something happen that caused you not to be able to?"

"You could say that, but it doesn't matter. What did matter was the way your mother and I clicked, it felt like something out of a movie. She was amazing, not the smartest, but her spirit is what preserves that undying sense of youth. I fell in love and you can guess where it went from there."

"If you were so infatuated, then why did you leave her?" Ryuuji said coldly.

"That's a good question kid, but it looks like we're out of time for today folks, so I hope you'll tune in next time." Takahiro joked as they walked to the shore of the river.

The two searched around the shore for a few hours, but they couldn't find Taiga anywhere. Even after they asked a group of four high school students looking for pixies or something, they still couldn't find any clues as to where the Taiga was.

"Well, my source is never wrong so she has to be nearby. It's possible she went back into the city, let's go there and ask around. Someone has to have seen someone as distinct as her."

"Yeah." Ryuuji paused and continued, "I'm sorry for asking such personal questions. You don't even know me and I'm just trying to barge into your life." He laughed, "Almost seems kind of reversed, the child trying to break back into the father's life."

"No. I'm sorry Ryuuji, I wasn't there and I can't even offer you any reasoning behind why I couldn't be there. I promise you, when this is over, I will give you the answers you're looking for." Takahiro swore in a deep serious tone.

"I'll hold you to that." And the two of them began to walk back into the city.

A/N; Well, this is the fastest I've written a chapter and gotten it edited. If you read my other stories, which many of you probably don't, I talked about having done no work on this chapter back on the 9th, but I had the outlines for the next 3 chapters done. Well, I got right to work on chapter 4 and actually haven't been able to stop. But other than being proud of not procrastinating, Yay! Another chapter is out.

If you guys have been keeping up and paying attention, you know that the "mysterious" girl with a yellow headband is none other than the brigade leader Haruhi Suzumiya. While this isn't a crossover (and never will be) I wanted to throw in some other tsundere-ish characters to basically guide Taiga through her part of this story, so Haruhi was up first and, hopefully, there will be more to come (and by hopefully I mean that you can bet there will be more). If you don't like this, eh, I don't think you should worry as they aren't some huge part of the story and won't be involved in the key events of it, think of them as innocent bystanders who spout some words of wisdom throughout the story.

As for everything else... it'll be explained? I don't know how to comment on the rest of my writing without spoiling stuff for future chapters, so I guess you'll just have to look out for it. Also, from now on I'll be trying to give an estimate as to when the next chapter will be out. So I'm thinking about 3 weeks, maybe? Take these with a grain of salt because I honestly can't predict my schedule or how long it'll take for me to edit.

Wow this is a long author's note, sorry about that. Anyway, thanks for reading, leave a review if you feel so inclined, or maybe follow to receive future updates. Also, sorry about uploading this twice, forgot to put in the line breaks for changing perspectives. Until next time, stay well.

P.S. strawpoll,me/7134363 , change the ',' to a '.' and vote on the future of this series. No, not whether it's finishing or not, I'm talking sequel and epilogue territory. Also, the votes for this don't necessarily mean that that will be the outcome. Thank You.