Wow, I'm really slacking off lately. I'm going to try and be more effective, but please forgive me ~

"I guess he's trying to force me back home." Taiga replied, putting emphasis on the word home, and her eyes had a certain – well, blankness in them. As if she was dead, or something even worse.

Ryuuji could do nothing but just stand there for a while, staring at her. His eyebrows quirked from now and then, and he was having a hard time taking in her words. Move home? Home to her father? The father that had already thrown her away twice? No way. Ryuuji didn't want to let Taiga live with such a man – and that was for Taiga's sake.

But he also felt a selfish thought creep into his subconscious. The last time her father had tried to take her back, Ryuuji had helped, but this time was different. There was another reason he wanted her to stay. "I don't want you to live far away from me." Ryuuji blurted out with a monotone voice, his expression not really changed from before. He didn't really realized he'd said it either.

"Eh." Taiga gulped, and her expression had now changed a lot from her dead expression before. Her cheeks were slowly being stained with a deep red, and her body started shaking. "W-why would you say that?" She asked, again swallowing heavily. It was as if she'd forgotten how shaken up she was.

Ryuuji quirked his eyebrow, trying to think of an answer to his words, his own, unexpected words. "I-I don't know." He muttered, putting a finger to his chin. "I just.. Taiga, I don't think I'd be comfortable with you not living close to me. I want to make sure you eat properly, and that you do your homework." He said while remembering how far away her father actually lived. She'd probably have to transfer schools, too. "And I don't want to be away from you because – Well, because I love you. And not being close to you has come to make my stomach twist and turn, and I don't like that." He breathed.

Ryuuji was looking down at the moment, but at the time he looked back up it was too late. Taiga was in the air – literally. She'd put her foot on the window frame and pounced from the window, hurling head-first towards Ryuuji. Ryuuji was only able to let out a half-assed gasp before her hands landed perfectly around his shoulders, a little less perfectly sending him crashing into through the opening of the balcony and inside his room.

"Ryuuji!" Taiga wailed, her entire body lying flat out on top of his. Ryuuji was gritting his teeth, rubbing the back of his head.

"Agh.. what are you.." He groaned, slowly opening his eyes to see a crying Taiga looking straight at him. She wasn't even trying to hide her face, she was just looking straight into his eyes. The tears were building up in her eyes, to then slide down her rosy cheeks.

"I was trying to seem strong and cool about it, you idiot!" She cried, her hands clutching tightly at the shirt above Ryuuji's chest. "I was trying to be cool, but then you just went ahead and said all that, and now.. now.. There's no way I can live away from you, my stupid little dog!" She wailed, burying her face in his chest.

And there wasn't a hint of happiness in her voice. There wasn't a trace of joy or fun, because the thought of leaving Ryuuji was crushing her into a million pieces, and she couldn't take it. She couldn't handle it in a million years, because she'd grown to love that boy so much. That boy that had always been there for her, both when she needed it and when she didn't. And now it felt as if he wouldn't manage without her either. For once, she felt like she needed to be there to take care of Ryuuji, and to make sure that he didn't change. To make sure that he kept being the Ryuuji she knew. Her Ryuuji.

"T-then.." Ryuuji stuttered, completely taken aback by Taiga's outbreak. "Then, what are we supposed to do?" He asked, swallowing heavily to hold the tears back. Yes, even Ryuuji can cry, despite how his eyes look.

"I don't know.." Taiga said, her voice muffled from the fabric of Ryuuji's shirt. "We have to figure out something.. but first I'll probably have to talk to my dad." She sighed, her voice a little calmer and less sulkier than before. Ryuuji only nodded lightly, putting a hand on Taiga's back as if to comfort her.

…

It was the first time in a long time, that Ryuuji had decided to have a talk with his mother. A long talk, to put it bluntly. Taiga had left to call her father a while ago, and Ryuuji was left alone in the house. He was sitting by the table, a cup of green tea in front of him. There was one on the other side of the table too, as he knew that Yasuko would be returning soon. It was one of those rare days where she actually left work early.

He wasn't really sure how the talk would go, considering the fact that she would probably be dead drunk when she came home, and also the fact that she didn't know that he'd be home that day. Come to think of it, he hadn't thought out his plan that well. "Crap." He muttered to himself, but only seconds after, he heard the door open.

What was that? No drunk sighing, no dizzily tapping feet – nothing. Just light footsteps, and someone removing their shoes in the hallway. Ryuuji quirked his eyebrows a bit as the woman entered the living room. With a plaid, long skirt and a suit jacket hanging over her shoulders, a pink blouse beneath it, stood Yasuko Takasu in the opening to the living room, smiling at Ryuuji without any surprise on her face.

She wasn't drunk. She wasn't even tipsy, and Ryuuji didn't understand why – after all, it was part of her job to get drunk.

"Y-you're.." Ryuuji stuttered, but he didn't really know what to say.

"Good afternoon." Yasuko beamed walking into the living room to sit down opposite of Ryuuji, putting her hands around the warm tea-cup. "I had this feeling in my gut, that my son would come home earlier than expected, and that he was going to need me to be sober." She smiled, talking about it as if it was nothing.

"E-eh.." Ryuuji murmured, slightly taken aback. Even if it didn't always seem like it, Yasuko had some really motherly abilities about her. "I'll put it bluntly, then." He said, folding his hands over the table. "Yasuko – no, mom.." He said, instantly making Yasuko's eyes widen a bit, a happily sad glint shining in her eyes. "I nearly.. died today." He said, in no way used to saying something like that, so he sounded a bit surprised.

"W-what?" Yasuko stuttered, her eyes widening even more. "What are you talking about, Ryuu-chan?"

"It's hard to explain, but.. I almost drowned. Or well, I did, but.. Taiga did some kind of weird CPR on me, and.. I'm alive." He sighed. He unfolded his hands from the table and looked at his mother, who stared at him with watery eyes, her lips quirking a bit.

"How could you?!" She blurted out, suddenly stepping right over the table, jumping from the middle of it. She landed on her knees right next to a surprised Ryuuji, and she hurriedly, pulled him into her grip, hugging him tightly, his face awkwardly pushed against her chest.
"How could you do something like that to your mother, Ryuu-chan?" She wailed, a childish tone to her voice. Ryuuji smiled softly, a pang of guilt hitting him from the inside.

This person was his mother, but he never really acted like it. He owed her a lot more than what he had given her. "I'm sorry.. mom." Ryuuji murmured, patting her back softly. Yasuko pulled Ryuuji's face up, hugging him properly where they sat.

"I'm so glad you're safe." She said, a sudden seriousness in her voice – and a sudden parental attitude in her behavior. "I'd never be able to go on if you left me and Taiga-chan all alone, you know." She sighed, her hands softly fumbling through Ryuuji's blue hair. "Speaking of Taiga.. I met her outside. I heard about the.. moving." She murmured, closing her eyes as she felt Ryuuji's shoulders starting to shake.

"Y-yeah." Ryuuji replied simply, a lump forming in his throat. Yasuko smiled softly, letting her hands stroke gently over his back.

"Don't worry too much." She hummed softly. Ryuuji stayed silent, and they just sat there for a while, before Yasuko decided to break the silence. "You know.. I'm really glad I got to be your mother, Ryuuji. I might not be the best mother in the world, but still.." She sighed.

"I wouldn't want anyone else." Ryuuji smiled sadly, pulling away from the hug to look his mother in the eyes. "Because you're my mother, and that's all that matters. Also-" He was broken off by a knock at the door.

"Ah, that must be the new tenant." Yasuko smiled, making Ryuuji quirk his brows in confusion.

"Tenant?" He asked, not grasping the situation fully. Yasuko shrugged playfully, standing up and walking into the hallway to get the door.

"Welcome! ~" Ryuuji could hear her beam from the hallway, and a big dump sound was heard. "I take it.. you need some help with that?" Yasuko stuttered, and Ryuuji heard some fumbling before Yasuko came stumbling into the living room, a gigantic bag landing on top of her, with something else stumbling after and landing on top of the bag.

"M-m-meet our new.. tenant." Yasuko groaned from under the bag, and the tiny girl stood up and brushed herself off, not paying any attention the blonde woman on the floor.

"Hello." The girl said, bowing lightly. "My name is Aisaka Taiga. I'll be in your care from today on."

"W-w-what the.."

And that concludes this short moving arc ~ I'll try to update again as soon as possible.