Eternal Bond of the Tiger
A/N: Hello everyone, here at long last, is the final chapter of this emotional tale. For those that enjoy my works, I have also begun work on a few other fanfics for different animes as well. They will be posted to soon enough. As for now, enjoy the final chapter!
Chapter 10: Everlasting Bond
Ryuuji was sleeping soundly on the bed when the first rays of the morning sun began to shine into the bedroom. He opened his eyes, squinted as the light woke him up. Looking around, he looked at the clock on the bed stand and noticed it was still early. He looked back at Taiga to his right and smiled. Still sleeping soundly, he decided that it probably be best for her to sleep a bit longer. Gently sneaking out of their bed, he shuffled into the bathroom and washed his face.
Ryuuji took out his medication from the medicine cabinet and took his daily dose. Looking up, he looked into the mirror to look at his face as he prepared to shave off his stubble that grew overnight. Besides that, he noticed how gaunt his face looked. "This disease hasn't been kind to me at all, but at least it seems to be manageable." He muttered as he walked out of the bathroom and into the main hallway.
Ryuuji went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the household, making light and simple dishes as not to strain himself. He began to hum a familiar tune as he began to work on mixing some pancake batter. "They will love this for sure."
Someone short with blonde hair walked out into the hallway as the humming began to get louder. The small person rubbed their eyes as the morning light began to focus their vision. This small person peaked up as she began to catch a whiff of Ryuuji's cooking. She smiled and ran into Ryuuji's and Taiga's bedroom.
Taiga was sleeping soundly when the sound of laughter and little footsteps pattering on the wood floor stirred her from her sleep. She opened her eyes to see a very beautiful young girl jump into her bed. "Mommy! Mommy! Daddy is making pancakes again!" Taiga smiled as she held the little girl in her arms. "That's great, Yuuki! Why don't you go out and help Daddy with the cooking? I'll be right out after I brush my teeth ok?" She said as she kissed Yuuki on the cheek and sent her off.
Taiga smiled as she watched their daughter run off into the kitchen. Jumping out of bed, she slipped her slippers on her feet and shuffled towards the bathroom and washed her face. After she brushed her teeth, Taiga began to brush her hair as she looked at herself in the mirror. Finding a faint wrinkle on her face, and a few strands of gray in her hair, she pouted as she looked at herself.
Looking at the calendar that's hung up, she noted the date and grumbled. "Another work day, sigh…" She muttered as she slipped out of her pajamas and changed into her business outfit. Taiga stepped out into the dining room a moment later, all dressed up for work. She smiled at the sight of the love of her life and their adorable child working in tandem at preparing breakfast. "She really takes after her father, always helping him with the cooking. With how weak he gets sometimes, she's a major help." She thought as she watched the two of them at work.
Taiga walked up to Ryuuji and pulled his face in for a kiss. "Morning, dear." She said afterwards. They were gazing lovingly at each other for a brief second when they were interrupted by their little girl. "Give me a kiss, too, mommy!" Yuuki said as Taiga smiled and picked Yuuki up and kissed her on the cheek again.
Ryuuji looked at his wife and kid in their loving embrace. He can't help but laugh a little. Taiga looked at him with an annoyed glance and asked what was so funny. Yuuki's eyebrows twitched a little as she tried her best to imitate her mom's facial expressions. Ryuuji just laughed even more then slapped his hands on his lap repeatedly. "I can't help it. The way you two look when you carry her is adorable and funny. I know I'm going to hell for this, but with your height, trying to carry our daughter who is very soon going to be bigger than her mother is too cute. And she tries her best to take after you whenever you get irritated." He said, wiping the tears of laughter off his face.
Taiga frowned a little and leaned in while carrying Yuuki. With her spare hand, she reached up and pinched Ryuuji's cheek and pulled him down to her face. She furrowed her brows and she looked pissed off. Ryuuji clenched his eyes and prepared for a slap but instead was caught off guard when she kissed him on the cheek once more. "I'll let that one slide, babe." She muttered afterwards. Looking at the clock, Taiga turned back to Yuuki and spoke up, "Go brush your teeth and get changed. You have to go to school soon!" Their daughter smiled and ran to get ready.
As Ryuuji was frying up the last portion of breakfast, Taiga leaned in and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "I love you, Ryuuji. Thanks for being a loyal husband and loving father all these years." She said as she rested her face on his back. "Likewise, Taiga. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for you being there. Through thick and thin, you stood by my courage, tireless determination and strength inspired me to keep fighting, and I feel truly blessed to have you here beside me." He said as he flipped a pancake and placed it onto a plate. "You waited to greet me back then when I was graduating, you stood by my side when I was a total idiot at work, and you were there when I fell ill. Despite it all, you showed me just how much you loved me, and how you wouldn't give up on me. For that, I'm eternally grateful and I'll will do what I can to protect you as well."
Ryuuji turned around and picked up his wife and kissed her deeply in the lips before holding her tightly in his embrace. Taiga began to cry a little again as Yuuki walked back into the dining room in her elementary school uniform, wearing her bright yellow cap. "Eh? Mommy, why are you crying?" She asked when she looked up at her parents.
Taiga wiped her tears from her face and smiled. "Nothing, dear. Mommy's just still a bit sleepy. Are you ready for your first day of school?" Yuuki nodded and made a cute nnn sound. Ryuuji smiled and served up the plates onto the table. "Well, my little girl needs to eat up, okay?" Ryuuji said as he served their daughter her plate of pancakes, complete with some bacon and eggs, with a small smiley face drawn with ketchup on her scrambled eggs.
Ryuuji and Taiga sat down and watched Yuuki scarf the food down. "Wow, she really does take after you. I remember a certain someone eating my rice at 3 in the morning back in the day." Ryuuji laughed as he made that snide remark at Taiga. "Shut up!" Taiga retorted back with a bit of a laugh. The happy family smiled at each other and began to eat their breakfast.
After Yuuki had finished her food, the doorbell rang and she wiped her face with a napkin and said that she'll get it. Ryuuji muttered, "wait a second, don't open doors without one of us, Yuuki." He said as she muttered, "Yes, daddy!" And proceeded the front door. A familiar face greeted Ryuuji and Yuuki as she opened the door.
"Aunt Minori!" Yuuki said as she jumped into Minori's arms. "Hey! Hey! Little girl! How's my favorite little rascal?" Minori exclaimed in a cheerful tone. "Are you ready for your first day at school?" Yuuki nodded and smiled. Ryuuji looked at his watch and spoke up, "Yuuki, it's almost time for you to leave. Go grab your backpack okay?" "Okay!" Yuuki said as she ran back into her bedroom to grab her school bag. "Thanks for offering to take her to school for us, Minorin." Taiga said as she stood up and went to greet her old friend. "Likewise, anything for my favorite couple!" Minori smiled as she looked at the pair. "Ryuuji, you look well these recent years. How are you faring?" She asked.
Ryuuji smiled. "Much better actually. Well, I'll never be fully rid of this thing, but the doctors have been rather surprised at how well my body has adapted. They say I'm managing the symptoms quite well and responding well to treatment." He said, smiling a little. "They said it was somewhat of a miracle to see that I'm still fighting despite having such nasty symptoms. They said any other man with such symptoms would probably be on his deathbed." He said a moment later, then looked at Taiga and pulled her closer to him. "And I think I know exactly where the source of that miracle and strength came from." He said as he kissed her on the forehead. She smiled and leaned into his chest as Yuuki walked out with her schoolbag strapped to her back. Minori smiled and took Yuuki's hand and spoke up, "Say bye bye to Daddy and mommy! Tell them you'll be back later this afternoon, ok?" Yuuki said goodbye to her parents and together with Minori, the pair of them walked off hand in hand to her school.
Ryuuji and Taiga held each other as they watched their daughter and friend walk around the corner and out of sight. Taiga looked at the time and panicked a little. "I'm taking my time too much! I need to hurry! Babe! I love you! I got to get to work! Bye!" She said as she quickly put on her shoes, picked up her brief case and put on her white coat. Wrapping the old red scarf around her neck, she leaned in and kissed Ryuuji again before walking out. "When you head to the bakery to work, don't work too hard okay? I'll drop by the shop later this evening!" She said as she ran down the street to the station as fast as she could.
Ryuuji smiled as he prepared to change into his work clothes as well. Ryuuji put on his culinary uniform and then put his big brown coat on. He locked the door on their house and walked down the street a moment later. Looking back, he smiled as he recalled them moving into that nice little house a few years back, when Yuuki was in Taiga's womb. Many hurdles have come and gone during the years leading up to that day. Ryuuji smiled and thanked his stars that he's still around and that he's been blessed with a family of his own. Smiling again, he faced forward again and walked off into the distance.
A/N: It has been a long time coming, I am happy to be able to share this final chapter with you all. I hope you all enjoyed the surprise time skip! I can't think of a better way at this moment to end this story. I'm a little sad that I'm done with this particular work. But as I mentioned earlier, I'm currently writing other fanfics and getting ready to post the first chapters to their respective anime sections soon. If you liked my works, hope you will find my other anime works refreshing and interesting to read. Until then, I bid you all, Adieu!