Well, I originally didn't have all that much intention of continuing this at first, but since I got more reviews than I originally expected to, I guess I have no choice but to continue. Well then, I hope all of you enjoy my continuation of Grind.

Chapter 2

Takasu Ryuuji sighed as he slowly pulled his car to the curb, bringing it to a complete stop in front of a large apartment building. Running a hand through his hair and rubbing some of the sleep out of his eyes after a long day, he removed his key from the ignition and with a click, undid the seatbelt currently restraining him. With some difficulty, he opened up his door and stepped out of the cramped space of his relatively small car, sighing in relief as the cool night air hit his face.

Dressed in a black jacket and jeans, uniform abandoned earlier, Ryuuji jammed his hands inside of his pockets, gently warming them along the heat from his thighs. The weather was generally much warmer in the United States than it had been in Japan, but that didn't mean that there weren't cold nights every now and then. To be honest, he was thankful for these kinds of nights, as usually more customers were inclined to come into his shop when they were colder.

He pressed one of the buttons on his ring of keys, and heard the clicking that indicated that his car was locked. It was a beaten black Honda Civic that had come as basic as possible, with nothing more than air conditioning and a radio. Although it wasn't like he really had a use for anything else. It had been cheap and it worked, which was all that mattered.

Besides, most of his expenses had to go to his apartment anyways, which was located in one of the nicer areas of Los Angeles, away from the suburbs, but not stuck in the middle of the worst parts of the city. The streets around here were pretty clean and no one had been murdered in the area recently, so he took the small victories as they came.

Given that he spent most of his time at the shop, it probably would have been entirely possible for him to have done away with the apartment altogether and just live in the shop, but one thing held him back.

"Daddy! You're home!"

Ryuuji grinned from ear to ear as a little brown haired girl bounded up to him and latched onto his leg hard enough to cut off circulation as soon as he had opened the door to his apartment on the top floor of their building. It wasn't anything special, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a small bathroom, but it was enough. He had never had any sort of fancy house growing up, and that had not changed.

He supposed he liked it better that way. If he lived in a huge mansion, he couldn't help but feel like he would be miserable and lonely. In a smaller space, it was cozier, more familiar. And of course, the little ball of energy that was currently dragging him to the kitchen didn't hurt. The place just felt right. It felt like…home.

"Sorry I'm late, I had some extra work to do." Ryuuji said sheepishly, not wanting to reveal that he had been instead talking with Ami.

"It's fine, as long as you're home now." The girl replied happily, finally loosening her grip on his leg and allowing him free movement once again. Honestly, it seemed like she was getting stronger every day from the way that his legs had momentarily lost feeling as she had wrapped herself around them.

He shook them once or twice, allowing the feeling to return to his legs and immediately, he flitted over to the fridge and pulled open the white door, trying to decide what to make for dinner. As he foraged through the icy box for some ingredients, he noticed that she had made her way back into the living room, watching some sort of kid's show and happily humming along to the theme song.

He smiled with relief. Thankfully, it seemed that she had handled his late arrival well and without much questioning. He supposed that she had not minded his absence too much, being the independent girl that she was.

Otohime. That's what they had named her when she had been born six years ago. It had been almost right out of high school, and totally unplanned. But it had happened, and now, here he was, twenty six years old with an six year old daughter to take care of.

They had wanted to put her up for adoption at first. Taiga had been convinced that they weren't ready. He could understand. Her family life had not been the best, and she was scared that their daughter would be subjected to the same things that she had been forced to endure herself.

But he couldn't do it. Growing up without a father, he had known how terrible it was, and so, he had elected to keep her. He should have seen right away that it was headed for disaster. After the fallout of one too many arguments over the subject, Taiga was gone, and he had no choice but to take care of Otohime by himself.

History had repeated itself once again, but they had still been too young and stupid to realize it at the time. By the time that they had both understood what had happened, it was too late, and they were living lives that could not be reconciled. That was why he had originally moved away.

It wasn't what he had foresaw at all when he had been growing up, but fate had a funny way with things. Now, he wouldn't trade her for the world. She was the reason that he had moved to a better and more expensive apartment. He wanted to give her more opportunities than he had been afforded. His mother had worked herself to the bone, and he loved her to death, but she was kidding herself if she really thought that she had given him everything to reach his full potential. He did not want that to happen to Otohime, even if it meant that he would have to put in a few more hours each week. It would be worth it later on.

As difficult as she had made his life by walking out, he couldn't blame Taiga for what she had done. She had been right, they weren't at all prepared for the responsibility of a daughter. Unfortunately, he had learned that the hard way, as a single parent in an unfamiliar country. He harbored no resentment or anger towards her though. If anything, he felt a little bit of pity.

She would never come home to the beaming face that he did every night, the same face that dragged him out of bed every morning. She would never really get to know and to love Otohime like he had. She was really missing out, wherever she was.

Carrying two bowls of fried rice with him, Ryuuji sat down on the sofa next to Otohime and handed her a bowl and a spoon. Gratefully, she accepted the food and immediately began chowing down, motoring through it with the same efficiency as a certain girl he knew.

Looking at her in that moment, he couldn't help but feel that Otohime greatly resembled her mother. She had the same brown hair and fiery eyes, although she had been blessed with much more height and size than Taiga, almost already taller than said girl.

"Dad, did something happen at work today?" She asked curiously, pausing long enough to ask before she dug right back in.

Ryuuji shook his head, "Not really. I just met up with an old friend who happened to stop by."

"Really? Who was it?" Otohime asked interestedly, always eager to hear a story from her father about his high school days. It seemed like the only time she ever heard about her mother was in these stories, as her father never really talked about the mysterious woman that she instinctively knew as mom, but had never actually seen or met.

"It was a girl I knew back in high school. Her name was Ami Kawashima, and she friends with your mother and I." Ryuuji replied, regretting his words as he realized that he was going to be reminding her of her absent mother. He had done his best never to mention her. He had always thought that if Otohime never thought about Taiga, she would never yearn for her mother.

However, instead of going silent like Ryuuji had fully expected her to, Otohime's face instead lit up.

"Wait? You mean like the Ami Kawashima who's going to be starring in that new movie?" She asked excitedly, causing Ryuuji to nod slowly.

"I think she did say that she was here for such a thing. Actually, when she was in high school, she had a modeling career." He explained, garnering a surprised look from his daughter.

"Wow! You're friends with a real life actor! That's so cool!" She cried out happily.

"I guess it is, isn't it?" Ryuuji replied with a smile.

"So, are you going to see her again this weekend?" Otohime continued, setting down her empty bowl on the table in front of them.

"I think she did say that she was going to stop by again soon." He said, nodding as the memory came to him.

"Do you think I can meet her then?" She asked hopefully, with an expectant look in her eyes.

Ryuuji sighed. He really was powerless to the girl in front of him.

"Sure."

Ami took a deep breath as she stood in front of a glass door that was adorned with the picture of a green coffee cup wrapped up in the tail of an Asian Dragon.

This was it. Her chance was finally here, after all these years. No one was in her way now, and Ryuuji had grown up. Sure, he still seemed as dense as ever, but he was an adult now, and he had to understand at some point that she wasn't just playing around with him.

Quickly checking her reflection in the window, Ami did a once over. She was dressed in a white summer dress that barely reached down to her knees and knew that she was working it well from the stares she had drawn on the way here. Being the grown man he was, there was no way that Ryuuji could just completely ignore the way she was dressed. No one was that dumb…she hoped.

"Welcome to Dragon Coffee!" Two voices cried out in unison as she strolled into the coffee shop, one deeper and clearly belonging to Ryuuji, but also a higher voice that was completely unfamiliar to the blue haired woman.

Blinking once in confusion, Ami waved her hand in response as she saw the source of the voice. It belonged to a little girl who seemed to be no older than maybe six years old dressed in a pink summer dress of her own that was seated on the counter next to Ryuuji, dressed in his usual uniform of a white dress shirt and dark blue jeans.

"Oh, Ami, hello." Ryuuji greeted warmly as he saw who had entered the shop. Despite his best intentions not to, he found that his eyes wandered up and down the figure of the blue haired beauty that had just entered his shop for the second time this week, appreciating what he saw before he shook his head angrily, trying to regain control of his thoughts.

"Ryuuji, are you okay?" Ami asked concernedly as she saw him suddenly shake his head with considerable force.

"It's nothing!" He replied quickly, waving his hands to assure her that everything was fine.

"Okay, if you say so." Ami said, not entirely satisfied with that answer.

"Are you really the Ami that's going to be starring in that new movie?"

Ryuuji cleared his throat, interrupting the girl.

"I almost forgot to introduce you. Ami, this is my daughter, Otohime." He said, pointing to the girl who was looking up at Ami with an expectant look.

With a shocked expression on her face, Ami faced the girl, confused beyond words.

"Daughter?" She whispered to herself, completely unaware of the fact that Ryuuji was a father.

"Wow! I have so many questions for you!" The girl cried out, forging ahead in her path to acquire answers, refusing to be stopped.

Noticing Ami's expression, Ryuuji chuckled and patted his daughter on the head.

"Now now, let's not bombard her with questions right away. Say, Otohime, why don't you go play with your stuffed tiger? There aren't any other customers right now, so you can just use any table you want."

Nodding, she clutched a ragged looking stuffed animal in the shape of a small tiger close to her chest, allowing Ryuuji to pick her up by the shoulders and set her down on the ground, releasing her to do as she wanted.

Ami grinned as she sat down across from Ryuuji, both of them watching Otohime scamper around restlessly.

"You know, I always told you that you were useless."

"I know." Ryuuji said with a hint of annoyance, not understanding why she had to suddenly bring that up.

"But now, looking at you with your daughter, I have to take it back. Maybe you aren't so useless after all." Ami said wistfully, as if she were in the middle of imagining some deep secret in her mind.

"Thanks, I guess." Ryuuji replied, not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not.

"So, how did all this happen?" Ami asked, "After all, I never heard about a daughter once."

He sighed, leaning back in his chair and looking out the window, "Well, Taiga and I never really saw face to face on it, and I never really got around to telling anyone since I got so busy once she was born. But it was only a few years right out of high school, and one day, she just told me that we were having a child."

"Oh." Ami replied quietly, worried that she had touched upon a sensitive subject. When she had come into the coffee shop today, it was not at all with the intention to bring up painful memories for Ryuuji.

"Do you regret it?" She asked softly, not wanting Otohime to hear.

"Regret it? Not at all." Ryuuji said with a small smile on his face.

"When she told me at first that I was going to be a father, I'll admit, I was scared. But I thought about it, and about how my father was never around for me, and I knew that I couldn't do the same to her. And once I got to spend time with her, I knew that I had made the right choice. They say that becoming a father is life changing. I don't know who said that first, but whoever it was, they were right. I wouldn't change anything about this whole experience, and I wouldn't trade my daughter for the world."

Listening to Ryuuji talk, Ami felt that the air around the man had suddenly changed. All of a sudden, Ryuuji was no longer the awkward high school student he had once been, but instead, an air of maturity surrounded him, and Ami felt like she was seeing the man in an entirely different light.

"Say, Miss Kawashima, do you want to play with me?" Otohime asked suddenly as she walked up to Ami's side.

Caught by surprise, Ami nearly jumped out of her seat before she realized it was simply Ryuuji's daughter. She quickly registered the request in her mind and thought about it. She desperately wanted to continue talking to the man in front of her, but from the way that the girl was staring at her, there was no way she could say no.

"Oh, of course!" She replied bubbily, hopping out of her seat and taking Otohime by the hand.

"Do you want to hold onto Taiga for me?" The girl asked, holding up the stuffed tiger.

"Is your stuffed animal named Taiga?" Ami asked, graciously accepting said tiger.

Otohime nodded, "Yup. My dad said that was my mom's name. She's not with us anymore, but I like this Taiga just as much!"

"Oh, I see." Ami replied in understanding, "Do you remember much about her? Your mom, that is."

The girl shook her head, "No, not really. But dad will tell me stories about her if I ask. I really like hearing the stories about you the most though."

"Your dad talks about me?" Ami asked slyly.

"Well, he wouldn't stop talking about you all last night. And before you came in today, he was telling me about the first time he met you."

Ami smiled at the information. It was nice to know that Ryuuji had not forgotten her over the years, although he had not made a concerted effort to get in touch with her either.

From his seat, Ryuuji sat back and enjoyed the sight of Ami playing with his daughter. To be honest, he had her pegged as the type who would be terrible with kids, but it seemed to be the complete opposite. Otohime looked happier than she had in months.

Part of it was his fault for not being around as much as he should have, but still, he did not have much of a choice at the time. If he wanted to keep their apartment, he had to keep working more and more shifts to make ends meet. It wasn't the ideal life, but he had sworn to provide for her in any way he could, and he never went back on a promise.

As he watched the way that Otohime's face lit up at something Ami said, Ryuuji felt hope swell up in his heart. Ami seemed to be able to provide something that he really never could as a single parent working to just barely make ends meet.

"Say Ami, would you mind coming by here more often? I think that Otohime really likes you." Ryuuji asked Ami as he prepared to close up shop while his daughter had her head laid out flat on a table, napping. As it turned out, the shooting for the movie got cancelled for the day, and Ami had been able to spend the whole day with him and Otohime.

Not only did she enjoy Ami's presence, but he found that he himself felt more refreshed just being around her. He wasn't going to admit it out loud, but he found that he really did like being around her. It hadn't been this way back in high school. It always felt like she was just trying to make fun of him or something back then, but now, it felt completely different.

It felt like Ami was being genuine, and she was much more mature than she had been back then. Not to mention, she was easy on the eyes. If he was going to have to spend the whole day cooped up behind a counter, he was glad that he spent it with her.

For her part, Ami felt much the same way. She had found that she really had fun spending time with Otohime and Ryuuji, as dense as still was. She had made hints all day about wanting him to ask her out, but he had not seemed to notice any of them. Still, they had spent the whole day together, and she was at least making some sort of forward progress.

And now, he was asking her to spend even more time with him. It was an opportunity she was going to take and go along with, if she ever wanted Ryuuji to see her in a different light.

"Of course."

Okay, I don't think that Taiga would actually run out on a daughter, but for the sake of this story, I have to take some liberties with her character. Besides, it opens up the door for some Ami to Otohime dialogue later on that I think will be really important to this plot. But, I tend to trust the opinions of my readers than my own, so I'll ask. What do you guys think of Otohime? Should I just get rid of her and rewrite this whole thing, or do you think that the addition of an OC is fine?

Besides that, I would really appreciate any and all thoughts, either in the form of a review or a PM. If you guys think that I should just keep going with this story, please let me know! Besides that, thanks for reading so far! I really appreciate all reads and review I get!