So, I did say that I would likely be following up the last 3 chapters with some one-shots, but I find that I do have one more storyline within me, and the push by Lost Guy made me go through with it, so without further ado, here is the continuation of Grind, and the official start to the second arc.

Chapter 4

"Daddy." Takasu Ryuuji stirred slightly at the sound of someone calling him, but his eyes were still clamped shut, dead to the outside world. His bed seemed impossibly comfortable, with his pillows feeling as soft as clouds to his weary body, exhausted by a week of working.

"Daaddy." Again, he stirred, but would not wake, instead opting to loll his head over to one side in a subconscious effort to mute the sound. His thick head of blue hair brushed over his eyes, slightly irritating them. However, he was determined to continue in his slumber and merely ignored the sensation.

"Ryuuji!" At the sudden sound of his name being whispered directly into his ear, his eyes snapped open and he almost fell straight out of his bed. Luckily, he propped himself up with his arm, barely preventing himself tumbling to the floor of his apartment, sheets and all.

With an annoyed look plastered all over his face, Ryuuji glared at the culprit, a giggling blue haired woman that he now called his girlfriend. Currently, she was kneeling on her half of their king sized bed with a mischievous grin. Beside her sat his daughter, who was busy laughing along with the blue haired devil that had just played a prank on his sleeping form.

"Good morning!" Ami said with an overly excited tone to her voice, relative to the ringing still reverberating through Ryuuji's head.

"Right." He grunted in reply before he gave each of the girls a once over, realizing that they were both fully dressed already, Ami in a stylish black jacket paired with blue jeans, while Otohime was dressed in a white pink dress paired with a light blue jacket.

"Why are you all dressed?" He asked, only to receive a disapproving stare from Otohime.

"Did you forget that you told us that you were taking us to the mall today?" Ami asked, shaking her head and clicking her tongue.

Slowly, he shook his head yes, recalling such a promise. However, as he looked at the sun already shining outside his window, he immediately lamented making it. Today looked to be the perfect day to get some cleaning done around the apartment.

In the corner of the room, he spied his trusty dustpan, and instinctively, he reached out to the handle, only to have his arm smacked down by a flurry of blue hair.

"Now, don't tell me that you're going back on your promise." Ami said, more as a threat than as a question.

"Of course not!" Ryuuji replied quickly, realizing that a fight with Ami would only end with a horrible loss and with him being banished to the couch, a fate that he was definitely not looking forward to.

"All right, then get dressed!" Ami ordered in an authoritative voice that made Ryuuji salute her with earnest respect.

"Yes ma'am!" He cried out before he set out to accomplish his task, a little grin on his face.

Life with Ami was interesting, to say the least. Every day was an adventure with her around, and he found that he had smiled more in the past few weeks than he had for several years.

Besides that, he found that by having Ami around, ironically, he and Otohime were closer than they had ever been before. For the first time in a long time, he felt like there was someone to share his burdens with, and that relieved him greatly, to know that he wasn't forced to do everything on his own. Not to mention, Ami was as beautiful a woman as he had ever met, the kind that would never give him a second look, and yet, somehow, she actually wanted to spend time with him, and vice versa.

Yes, life with Ami wasn't bad, by any means.

Actually, never mind, he took that back. There was one problem with being the boyfriend of Ami Kawashima, as he was being currently reminded. Ryuuji could almost feel himself shrinking by the second as he felt stares pound his figure from every direction. He felt awkward, to say the least.

He had no doubt that a girl like Ami would have no problem drawing stares as is, but coupled with the fact that she was holding hands with him, and with who appeared to be her daughter, she was like a walking sign that instantly drew the eyes of fellow shoppers.

For a moment, he almost considered asking her to walk separately from him and Otohime, so that they would attract less attention. But as he glanced at her face, radiating with vigor, obviously flourishing with all of the attention, he decided that it was better to just leave her be. After all, she was not at all fazed by the stares, so why should he be?

"Say, Otohime, where do you want to shop?" Ami asked, leaning across Ryuuji's chest towards the girl who was currently holding her father's hand.

The girl merely shrugged her head in response, glad to just be out with her father and his girlfriend.

"Well, I usually just buy her clothes for her when we go shopping." Ryuuji answered, causing Ami to gasp and recoil in horror.

"You can't be serious! This is a serious situation!" Ami said with increasing panic in her voice.

With a forceful tug, she wrested Otohime from a shocked Ryuuji, pulling the girl close to her figure and protectively shielding her from him. For her part, Otohime allowed herself to be dragged along, a smile on her face, clearly having fun with the action.

"I'm taking her to pick out her own clothes. There's no way I can let you do her shopping anymore." Ami said forcefully, as if she were talking to some sort of criminal.

"Is it really that big a deal?" Ryuuji asked, rubbing the back of his head, not really seeing the problem. After all, his mother did the same thing for him, and he turned out all right. Well, as alright as he could be with his naturally intimidating face.

"Of course it is! How is she ever going to get married if she can't shop for clothes herself?" Ami retorted.

"Yeah!" Otohime added, fully in agreement with Ami, who seemed far more knowledgeable about fashion than her father.

"Please don't bring up marriage. I'm not even ready for the day that she brings home a boyfriend." Ryuuji sighed, giving up on arguing with Ami. Now that Otohime had joined her side of the argument, it was two on one, and he would have lost to Ami alone regardless. There simply wasn't any point in dwelling on it any further.

"Well, regardless of what you think, I have a lot to teach her, so please, just go shop wherever you want. I'll call you when we're done." Ami said, leading Otohime away and leaving Ryuuji standing by himself in the middle of a crowd of shoppers.

Suddenly finding himself exhausted by the turn of events, Ryuuji shook his head in frustration and strolled off aimlessly, trying to find something to pass the time. He spotted a sign that advertised cookware and instantly, he made a beeline to the store, intent on adding to his large collection of pans and cooking utensils that would put most restaurants to shame.

He stepped in front of two automatic doors that slid open as he approached them, allowing him access inside with a soft hiss. He was immediately greeted with the equivalent of heaven for him, with endless rows of cooking utensils of all sorts and sizes.

A small grin came over his face as he began strolling down one aisle, looking for a commercial coffee maker that could possibly challenge the current one he was using, which was due for an upgrade anyways. With Ami's frequent presence at his shop, there had been a consistent uptick in customers lately, and he found that his current machine was a bit underpowered to handle the task.

Obviously, he wanted to believe that the increased crowd was a result of his innovative brews that were finally being recognized, but he wasn't stupid enough not to see the correlation between an increase in customers and an increase in Ami's appearances at the shop. She was good for business, and that alone would have been enough to convince him that she was a perfect girlfriend, if not for all of the other factors.

Honestly, she would already have been a perfect girlfriend for him back in high school, when they had first met. She had been beautiful, intelligent, and mature beyond her years. Her mere presence was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and thus, he had automatically elevated her upon a pedestal upon their first meeting. She had been untouchable, someone who was from a level of existence beyond that of him, a mere human.

But when he had seen her fear of her stalker, and he realized that she was a normal human, with human problems like him, that was when everything had changed. He began to see her not as an idol to be admired, but as a friend who needed comforting and company, and who provided the same to him. More than anyone else, she had always been the easiest for him to talk to and to confide his feelings in.

Why he had never realized her intentions towards him, he would never know. Maybe it was the fact that he placed so much attention on Taiga, and he had closed off his peripheral vision, so that he couldn't see anything beyond the prospect of friendship with her. After all, being the social pariah he was, was there ever any reason to believe that he would ever have a chance with someone like her?

But he did have a chance, and now, he was the one who she called boyfriend. When he stepped back and thought about it, it was really quite incredible. He was living a life that he never could have imagined when he was growing up. Back in high school, all he could see was being married to Taiga, and his future had seemed so clear at the time, but now, he knew that nothing was guaranteed.

His life was not even close to what he had originally envisioned, but maybe it was for the best. He was a part of a family, a real one, with a father, mother, and child. He had a solid job in which he was his own employer. And most of all, he had Ami. All in all, it wasn't a bad life to live, even if he had suffered through some incredible lows. They were nothing compared to the amazing highs he was currently experiencing, and they seemed to keep coming, without any sign of stopping.

That thought made him feel content. He kept going back to the time when he and Taiga had divorced, and when he had first come to America. He was a young single parent, without any sense of how the real world worked and how he was supposed to raise a child. Back then, his heart was heavy, and filled with venom towards Taiga for essentially abandoning him, and at the same time, it was empty, as if it needed something to fill the void that she had left in his heart.

After a few years, his feelings had softened. He no longer felt any animosity towards her. It had been replaced by understanding, which had come after much self examination of his motives and desires. He understood her, and it alleviated the heaviness of his heart, and he found that it had been replaced with love for his daughter. But still, there had always been a distinct emptiness that he felt, one that would not be filled by anything he did. No matter how hard he worked, it had remained.

But once he had met Ami again, it had suddenly been filled, and he was complete once more.

And now, he felt a fear, despite himself. A fear that maybe, he was inadequate for someone like Ami, who was surrounded by men far more handsome and accomplished than himself. What if she grew tired of him? What if she left him for someone else? Never mind how Otohime would feel, as she would obviously be devastated, but what would that do to him?

Would he ever be able to find someone to fill that void again? Or was it fated to stay empty?

With his thoughts of self doubt swirling thorough his head, Ryuuji suddenly forgot the original purpose of his entering the store. He absent mindedly leaned against a set of boxes, not noticing that they were not secured by anything. As the boxes suddenly began to give way and a sensation of falling registered throughout his body, Ryuuji was suddenly pulled back into reality, immediately swirling around to keep the boxes from crashing to the ground, securing the cardboard with his arms.

Thankfully, nothing collapsed and he managed to fix the pile of boxes, so that they looked as they did when he had first entered the store. As he gave a sigh of relief, the sight of a head of brown hair suddenly caught his eye leaving the store. His breath hitched as he saw the size of its owner, who was on the short side, to say the least. For an instant, his eyes ran over the figure, trying to store away every detail before it was suddenly gone.

Subconsciously, his feet began moving on their own, desperate to follow the figure, to confirm that he had not just seen an apparition. Coffee maker forgotten, he pumped his legs vigorously, shoes pounding against the tiled floor of the cookware shop as he dashed out of the shop, into a large crowd of shoppers that did an excellent job of obstructing his vision.

His eyes quickly searched the crowd, but they found nothing beyond a few false alarms. He had missed his chance.

"Ryuuji, we're done!" Ami said cheerfully, walking up to her boyfriend, a few small bags hanging from her arms. However, as she approached him and saw the disappointed expression on his face, her own cheerful expression hardened and turned serious.

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." She asked Ryuuji, who acknowledged her presence.

"Maybe I did." He replied softly, almost as if he were talking to himself.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Otohime asked, concern in her voice.

"Oh, nothing." Ryuuji said, suddenly putting a smile on his face, not wanting to worry his daughter, who was fragile as is. He stepped forward and transferred the bags from Ami's arms to his own, trying to act as normally as he could.

Otohime nodded, accepting his unusual behavior as an aberration, not noticing the discreet look that Ami gave Ryuuji, the two conversing silently so as to not worry her.

"Say, are you hungry? Maybe we should get some dinner." Ami offered, killing the awkward silence that had transpired.

"Yeah!" Otohime replied happily.

As they approached Ryuuji's Honda Civic, which he unlocked with a click of his keys, Ami stopped in her tracks.

"Say, why don't you get inside the car first? Just buckle your seatbelt and wait a second for us, all right?" She said, urging Otohime forward.

As they watched her scamper into the backseat, Ami and Ryuuji turned to face each other.

"All right, explain." Ami demanded.

"I…I think I saw her." Ryuuji answered slowly, still in a state of disbelief.

"Taiga?" Ami asked, although she already knew the answer.

Ryuuji weakly nodded his head, "Yeah."

"Did you talk to her?" Ami asked, crossing her arms.

"No." Ryuuji replied quickly, shaking his head to emphasize the point.

"Well? What's got you bothered about it? If she didn't talk to you, then there's no harm in seeing her in public, right?" Ami offered, trying to alleviate the worry she knew that Ryuuji must have been feeling in that moment.

"It's not really about facing her. It's just…seeing her made me think about some things." Ryuuji sighed.

Ami moved her arms to her hips, placing them there to assume a position of strength, "What kind of things?"

"Fear, uncertainty. All of the things that I felt when we first got our divorce. And most of all, I felt it again. The emptiness that she left behind. Seeing her again made it feel more distinct than ever. And then, it made me think about how meeting you filled that void. But then, I couldn't stop thinking about how ridiculous this all is." Ryuuji admitted, shoulders slumping as he recounted his thoughts.

"How ridiculous this all is?" Ami questioned, not understanding what exactly he meant by that.

Ryuuji's eyes looked Ami straight in the eye, "That someone like you would actually be dating someone like me. I'm scared, you know. I'm scared that you'll leave me and Otohime for some actor."

Smack.

Ryuuji's eyes widened in shock as he felt the sting of Ami's palm, the force of the strike forcing him to step back a bit, rubbing his red cheek.

"Are you stupid? Why would I ever leave you? Do you have any idea how long I've loved you? And how much I've come to love Otohime too? Do you think that I would ever leave my family behind for some stupid actor?" Ami spat, her words vicious and incisive, cutting right through Ryuuji.

"I love you. Both of you. And I would never leave either of you behind like she did. I'm no idiot. I wouldn't miss out on living the rest of my life with you two for anything. Besides," Ami flipped her hair back, "You guys need me. We're a family, and Otohime can't live without a father and a mother. So I guess you're stuck with me, no matter what."

At her words, Ryuuji couldn't help the tears that came to his eyes.

"Thanks." He whispered before he stepped forward and engulfed Ami in a tight hug that she reciprocated with equal force.

"Now come on, let's go eat dinner. I'm sure Otohime's getting hungry waiting for us." Ami said, voice slightly muffled by Ryuuji's shoulder.

"So, Ryuuji, be prepared to see Otohime's new wardrobe when we get home! It'll knock your socks off!" Ami exclaimed, with Otohime nodding vigorously in agreement.

"Yeah Dad, it'll knock your socks off!" She repeated, causing Ryuuji to shake his head, laughing all the while.

"Sure it will." He chuckled, causing Ami to narrow her eyes.

"Oh? Do you doubt my fashion sense?" She asked, murder in her tone.

"Well, as far as shopping for six year olds goes, I'd still say that I'm the expert here." Ryuuji announced proudly while Ami fumed.

"In this family, there's definitely room for more than one expert, if you can even call yourself that." Ami retorted, confident in her side of the argument.

At those words, Ryuuji found himself suddenly at a loss for words.

A family. Looking at their current situation, sitting together in a restaurant, joking over some hamburgers and shakes, they really would look like a family to any passersby. All they would see is a father, mother, and daughter having fun, not three disjointed figures. The thought made him feel strangely warm, and the void that had once plagued him now felt invisible.

All doubt about his future with Ami was gone. In this moment, all that mattered was that they were currently a family, and it would stay that way for the rest of dinner, at the least. Ami's words continued to reverberate through his head.

You guys need me. We're a family, and Otohime can't live without a father and a mother. So I guess you're stuck with me, no matter what.

He couldn't stop the smile that came to his face and began chuckling uncontrollably, causing Ami and Otohime to exchange worried glances at the apparent madness of the man in their lives.

"Dad, are you feeling okay?" Otohime asked.

"Everything's great. I was just thinking about how we're a real family now." Ryuuji replied.

"Well of course! I'm definitely not leaving anytime soon." Ami stated definitively, eleciting a huge grin from Otohime.

"You promise?" She asked softly, extending her pinkie. A part of her was scared that Ami was going to abandon her, just as her real mom had done, and although she knew a pinkie promise wasn't absolute, it still meant something, at least to her.

"Promise." Ami replied, joining pinkies with the girl, whose face lit up in joy at the confirmation.

Ryuuji merely sat back, enjoying the sight of the two most important people in his life. It was all coming together. He could feel it.

However, the moment of bliss was suddenly shattered as he realized that someone was staring at them. Someone with long brown hair, fiery eyes, and a disposition towards violence. And that someone was coming closer and closer to them by the second.

"Ryuuji?"

Okay, I knew that part of this chapter was really sappy, but darn it, Ami and Ryuuji are so cute together that they deserve to have some fluffy and sappy moments! As far as this story arc is concerned, I think that it might drag on for two more chapters, so at the least, expect two more updates in the future, at the least.

Besides that, I want to thank anyone who has read and stuck with this story, despite the infrequent updates. Unfortunately, that's a trend that is likely to continue, but I will try my best to update at least within the next three weeks. As one of the few Ami x Ryuuji writers out there, it is my responsibility to promote the pairing, so I will try to update when I can.

But please, do try to spread word about this story, because the Ami x Ryuuji pairing really needs the love it deserves, and I will do my best to give people a reason to support this pairing with any updates I can manage. Also, please, every review or PM really helps to validate my writing and makes me inspired to write more, so please, don't be afraid to leave a review. I really would appreciate any I can get!

Beyond that, please leave any thoughts or ideas, either in the form of a review or a PM. Thanks for reading!