That night Taiga was carried into bed by Ryuuji. Needless to say, it was a long night. Ryuuji awoke in the morning, far more tired than when they had gone to bed. He got out of the futon, and started on breakfast. But as he finished he realised, his room was a state. Pillows strewn all over, empty dishes on the floor. It made him cringe thinking about it. He stormed into the room, and set about cleaning the place. However, as he entered the arena, he noticed his doll. Taiga was starting to get dressed, she had just woken up to the smell of Ryuuji's cooking. But her drowsy haze was broken, when Ryuuji came crashing in through the door. A gentle breeze hit her, it was cold for some reason. She stared at Ryuuji's face, it was red? She looked downwards, and before she could jump under the covers, or poke Ryuuji's eyes out; a duvet hit her. She stumbled backwards, and as she popped her head out of her makeshift robe Ryuuji kissed her on the head. While he kissed her, he tied a knot on the duvet, so she could wear it properly.
The couple decided to have a lazy day after that. Taiga stayed in her duvet, but had put on a shirt to spare her dignity. Ryuuji couldn't be bothered to cook, so he decided to meet up with the others for lunch. He called everyone (Kitamura, Ami, Minorin), and told them to meet at the diner. They all arrived even Ami, albeit late. When they found a table that could accommodate the group, Ryuuji started a conversation. "Do you still work here?" He asked Minorin. "Kinda, I work here when I'm called in, but otherwise I'm somewhere else" She said in all one breath. Ryuuji smiled, he could see why he fell in love with this girl. Her ability to be cheerful and unique at all times, was overbearing. He felt a bump into his ribs, as he looked down he saw long golden hair resting on his side. His time with Taiga had made him less inept, and without much prompt, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Taiga's jealousy started to wear off when Ryuuji did this. She sank into his shoulder, at that point she realised how good Ryuuji smelled. He must have put some nice spray on. She started drifting off. Ryuuji gave Taiga a poke, and it was swatted away accordingly. He patted her head, this time Taiga opened her eyes. She figured out instantly where she was. Ryuuji tried to hide Taiga's beet red face. And to his amazement, none of the others had even noticed Taiga had fallen asleep.
After that dilemma, the group ordered dinner. Ryuuji ordered way too much food and was full before finishing it. Before he'd even stopped eating however, Taiga was digging in. "Eat your own food fir-" He stopped mid-sentence, and realised she'd already eaten her own food. She looked up, confused at what he was going to say. He gave her a smile and rubbed her head. She carried on happily eating, despite Ryuuji asking for the bill. Ryuuji asked "how will we split the bill then?" they decided to pay for their own dinners, just to keep it fair. Minorin and Ami went home, but Taiga stayed sat down. She looked in pain. Yusaku whispered to Ryuuji, "Is she okay?". "Don't worry, I'll make sure she's fine" Ryuuji reassured him. But deep down Ryuuji was worried about Taiga. Yusaku started leaving begrudgingly, still worried about Taiga. Now it was Ryuuji's turn to be annoyed. "Look, I get that your concerned about her, I really do" He started "But would you please just let me deal with her?" Yusaku stared at Ryuuji, with disappointment in his eyes. He left. Ryuuji was about to explode, he was furious. But being Ryuuji, he knew that Taiga needed someone; she needed him. He rushed over to her and consoled her. "What's wrong" He said trying not to panic. "I ate too much" she said, hunched over. Ryuuji was meant to feel relived, but he couldn't help but feel guilty. He decided the best option would be to help her home. He lifted her up into his arms.
Ryuuji's heart sank, when Taiga started shaking in his arms. It was a cold night, but she wasn't shivering, she was quaking in his arms. He wrapped his scarf around her and started sprinting to the hospital. His heart was racing, he felt sick with anxiety and his lungs were burning. He didn't stop running though, he sped up even. He flew through the doors to A&E and explained the situation, Taiga was put onto a bed and was rolled into a room to be checked out by a doctor. Ryuuji followed into the room and was asked to sit outside. He sat there with his head in his hands. The tension was killing him. He ran to the toilet to be sick, and to his surprise he was. Ryuuji never really cried, but kneeling over this hospital toilet, he wept. He stumbled out of the toilet his eyes burning red. Kitamura and Minori were stood there, and to his horror, Taiga's dad was stood there. Mr Aisaka confronted Ryuuji "Why did you let my little gem get ill?". Ryuuji started wandering over to him, zombified by his fury. Kitamura tackled Ryuuji at the waist, in an attempt to hold him back. Ryuuji was going to kill this man. Ryuuji smashed Kitamura of him, Minori grabbed a hold of his arm. Kitamura grabbed the other, Ryuuji couldn't stop the tears. His voice stayed strong however. "Look at me" He shouted, "She's mine, not yours". His voice starting to give way, the pain obvious. He stopped pushing forwards as much, and Kitamura's hold turned into an embrace.