First off, thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far. It's currently the ninth most reviewed fic in the Toradora! category, and that really means a lot to me. Also, I'll preface this chapter with the warning that it's short, but hopefully you guys will enjoy the continuation and end of the second arc of Grind.

Just a side note, if you guys like reading with music(which I do), then I would recommend that you guys read this chapter with the song "Home" by Muchael Buble. Just a little shout out to one of the artists I like, other than OFWGKTA, Macklemore, and Hollywood Undead. I suppose if you have similar tastes as me, I would recommend that you listen to "Orange Juice" by EarlWolf on the Odd Future mixtape Radical, or "Love Song" by Macklemore, but then again, that's just me being the OF Soldier I am and thinking that "Orange Juice" fits any and all situations.

Anyways, please enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 5

Ryuuji could feel his heart stop for a moment as he laid his eyes on Taiga again, for what had seemed to be the first time in an eternity. There was something distinctly foreign about seeing her now, in the middle of living a completely separate life from his own. For most of his high school life, he had thought that they were meant to be together, and now, her very appearance was a sobering reminder of how unpredictable life really was.

She looked almost the same way that she had when they had finished with their final argument. Although now, her face was calmer, seemingly devoid of the normal bouts of anger that sprung up frequently with her. In addition, her manner and aura had seemed to mature, with the look of a more experienced and weathered woman in her eyes.

He supposed that not all things stayed the same, for he had experienced significant growth as well. Not just physically, but also in terms of his responsibility. He was no longer the awkward, ostracized teen he had once been, nor the inexperienced and scared newlywed that he had been when Otohime had first been born. In this moment, he suddenly felt the dearth of a wedding band on his ring finger, a sensation that he had not been aware of until now.

At the sound of her boyfriend's name, Ami also turned in her chair, eyes widening as she saw the girl that she had once been friends with in high school. She turned away quickly, not wanting her identity to be revealed. As she did so, she locked eyes with Ryuuji, who stared back grimly.

"Ami, let's get out of here." Ryuuji whispered to Ami, who nodded in agreement. They both knew that meeting Taiga right now would only mean trouble, at least with Otohime present. The girl was currently in a euphoric state with the revelation that the three of them were currently a family. They couldn't let her be reminded of the past, not now.

He reached into his back pocket and found his wallet, which he quickly rummaged through for some money, slapping down whatever he had inside and quickly stood up, prompting Ami and Otohime to do the same.

He glanced to Taiga, who had seemingly hesitated and stood in the middle of the restaurant, unsure of whether to move or not. Ryuuji did not want to just walk out and avoid talking to the woman he had once been married to, but at the same time, he cared for his daughter more than anything else, and he knew that staying any longer was only to invite conflict and painful emotions for her.

"Come on." He said, ushering Ami and Otohime in front of him and out of the back doors of the restaurant, in the opposite of Taiga, who still stood in the middle of the restaurant in shock. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ryuuji eased open the doors, allowing Ami and Otohime passage before he followed behind them, stealing glances backwards all the way.

He picked Otohime up in his arms and quickly walked up to his car, which Ami unlocked and opened the door for him to gently lay Otohime inside and buckle her seatbelt for her.

"Ryuuji." He heard the familiar voice say, and he instinctively placed a hand on Otohime's chest, keeping her from looking at the source of those words. Once he had made sure that she wasn't going to look, he closed the doors and nervously turned to face Taiga, who was standing in front of him and Ami, a frown on her face.

For a moment, Ryuuji felt the memories of his marriage, both the good and bad, rush through his mind in a quick flash of images. He found that his tongue was extremely dry and any words he tried to speak were merely caught in his throat, without any hope of escape, resulting in a deafening silence for all parties involved.

"You look good." Taiga offered, trying not to make the awkward situation any worse with the wrong comment.

Ryuuji nervously placed his hands in his pockets, "So do you."

At that, the two fell into a silence, punctuated only by small attempts at conversation.

"So, why is the Chihuahua here?" Taiga asked finally, after an excruciating silence.

"Glad to see that you haven't fallen out of old habits." Ami retorted with ice in her voice, not happy at being reminded of Taiga's nickname for her. As Taiga twitched an eyebrow at the comment, Ryuuji sensed an impending conflict, immediately stepping in between the two before it got more serious.

"So Taiga, what do you want?" Ryuuji asked as he placed a hand on Ami's chest, keeping her back.

"I just came back to see my daughter." Taiga replied, gesturing at the car, where Otohime was obediently sitting.

"What? Did you think that you could just come back here after all of these years and just come back into her life?" Ami spoke up, stopped by Ryuuji, who kept an arm across her chest, holding her back.

"Look, you don't understand what it means to have a daughter that you haven't seen in years." Taiga retorted.

"She's much better off now, without you in her life." Ami replied coldly, "And to think, I used to be jealous of you."

"I made a mistake, all right? I know now that I was wrong." Taiga admitted angrily, stamping her foot on the floor of the parking lot, "But I want to make things right."

"Do you even know how hard it was sometimes?" Ryuuuji screamed, losing his temper for a moment before he regressed and clammed up.

However, he could not hide the tears that were coming to his eyes, despite his best efforts. The floodgates had been lowered, and now, he couldn't stop the overflow of feelings and emotions overloading his senses in the current moment.

For so many years, he had felt like he was on his own, and now, Taiga was back, wanting things to return to the way that they were, without any afterthought as to how he had felt when she had originally left him. She meant well, he knew, but at the same time, he couldn't help the fury that came over him.

"Please. We have a family now. One that she can rely on. I don't want to destroy that now." He added softly, taking a shaky breath to calm himself, while Ami gently grasped his arm, stroking a comforting hand over the appendage, slightly leaning her body into his.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Taiga remarked, observing the scene with thinly veiled displeasure.

"Taiga, you always knew that this was going to happen." Ami replied from her position next to Ryuuji.

Taiga sighed, "It was our agreement, wasn't it? That all of us had an equal chance at him."

"That's right. And I've waited too long to miss this chance." Ami said in a tone that was both firm and yet, understanding.

Taiga slowly nodded, swallowing her anger and feelings of betrayal. Ami was right. It was her own fault for not being smart enough to see what she had in front of her, until it was far too late. She did regret her decision, but there was nothing she could do about it now. The past was the past, and it wasn't going to change.

"We rushed into it, didn't we?" Taiga chuckled soberly, trying to hide her true feelings. The truth was that she was disappointed in herself. To run away from the challenge of raising her daughter was not what she should have done. At the time, she had known it, but at the same time, she was scared.

Scared that she wasn't going to be enough. Scared that she would make the same mistakes with her daughter that her own parents had made with her. And now, she saw that none of that truly mattered in the end. After all, someone like Ami, who had never known responsibility in her life was doing a fantastic job, from what she had seen in the restaurant.

"We did. But it didn't matter whether we were ready or not. The only thing that Otohime needed was a mother, regardless of how good she was." Ryuuji replied, his voice more confident as he began to regain himself.

He had lived long enough without his father to realize that the only thing he ever wanted from the man was for him to be there. It wouldn't have mattered whether or not the man could have contributed anything. Just being there would have been enough. And Taiga was the one who should have been there for Otohime.

"Well then, I guess that you're right." She sighed, turning to leave.

As he saw Taiga's pained expression that she had kept hidden so well up to now, Ryuuji felt a sense of guilt. It wasn't her fault that she was afraid to take on the responsibility of a child. And now, she was paying the price, something that he felt partly responsible for. He had been the one who had proposed keeping the child, and was the one who had been more enthusiastic about having a child.

He should have seen that she was not comfortable with the idea, and stopped. However, he was too colored by his own personal experiences to see what he had been doing. He was the one ultimately responsible for what had happened over the last few years, and yet, his life was incredible. It just didn't seem fair.

"Wait." Ryuuji said, stopping her in her tracks.

"You can visit, when you're ready to face her." He continued, "She should get to know her real mother eventually."

"If I can ever find the courage to make amends for my mistakes, then I'll be back." Taiga said, nodding to Ami, exchanging a look of mutual understanding between them.

She supposed that it was only right. Given that she had only Taiga to thank for her current life. Without Taiga's actions, she never would have found Ryuuji again, and she would forever be an actor, simply putting on mask after mask.

However, now she had not only one, but two people who accepted her normal self, flaws and all. Most of all, she had a family, one that she could depend on. Being an actor, she had not had much time to make lasting connections like the one she now had with Ryuuji and Otohime. In all honesty, they were all that she wanted or desired out of life. To simply have a family with them was more than enough.

And to think, none of it would have happened without Taiga's rash decision.

For his part, Ryuuji took a deep breath, debating internally whether or not he should admit his guilt.

"It was my fault." He stated, taking a step forward to stop Taiga once more.

"Don't be ridiculous. You were there for her when I wasn't." Taiga chuckled, waving off Ryuuji's claims.

"But if I had listened to you initially, then none of this would have ever happened." Ryuuji protested, still unable to absolve the heavy weight on his heart.

"We all deserve a chance at happiness. It just comes in different forms for each of us. You have your happiness, and I can't imagine taking that away." Taiga replied, turning her back on Ami and Ryuuji for good.

Ryuuji paused, before he spoke, "What about you? What is your form of happiness?"

"I'll find it, one day." Taiga said cryptically, disappearing into the night.

Shaken slightly from the experience, Ryuuji slid into the driver's seat, followed shortly by Ami on the passenger's side.

"Daddy, what took so long?" Otohime asked curiously, desperate to know exactly what had caused the change on her father's mood.

"Otohime, tell me the truth. Are you happy with this?" Ryuuji asked, turning the key and hearing the ignition start up with a quiet purr of the motor.

"Of course! I love having a Mommy and Daddy again!" Otohime replied definitively, with a huge grin.

At those words, Ryuuji felt hot tears sting his eyes again, although this time, it was for an entirely different reason. Just hearing Otohime's innocent and candid words made his heart swell with joy. It turned out that she was just like him.

All they needed for happiness was to have a true family, which Ami had provided for them. It didn't matter what kind of car they drove, how long they had to work, or what kind of life they were living. As long as there was someone for them, that was all that they needed.

"Ami, thank you." Ryuuji choked out.

"For what?" Ami asked.

Ryuuji gestured abstractly around his body, "For this. I'm just so grateful for my life right now. I really couldn't ask for anything more."

"Same." Ami replied, gently grasping Ryuuji's hand. Feeling the smooth skin rubbing up against his skin was euphoric because he knew in that moment that his life was everything he had ever wanted it to be. He had all of the riches he would ever need, with a loving daughter and girlfriend and a true sense of unity and belonging.

For all of his life, he had been set apart, a pariah for his appearance. But now, there was a group of people who accepted him, and showered him with love that he never thought he would ever receive or deserve.

As Ryuuji placed one hand on the wheel and kept the other firmly clasped upon Ami's, a small smile formed on his face.

"Come on, let's go home." Ami suggested, a similar smile on her face.

It was a smile of satisfaction. One that both of them had only ever dreamed of having on their faces. And yet, here it was.

For one, a dragon-faced clean freak who had never had so much as any semblance of stability or continuity in his life.

And for the other, a mask-wearing actress who had never had so much as a single person who she could have possibly connected to enough to lower her guard and show her true colors.

In that moment, who they had been in the past did not matter. What mattered was the fact that they were here, together, and that they had finally found each other. And now, they had each found the missing part of their lives, and found something that was going to last.

It wasn't the fairytale ending that everyone hopes for in life.

But it was enough to bring a content smile to their faces, and that's all that truly mattered.

I know, I know. That was cheesy, and it was likely fluff overload, but I can't help it. When it comes to this couple, I just can't resist typing it in a way that isn't fluffy, because they are just so right for each other.

And I just want to make this clear, in case it wasn't in the story, I have nothing against Taiga. However, for this story to work, she needs to be a little bit more exaggerated than she actually is, so don't think I don't like her character, because I do. It's just that I like Ami more and I think that she should be with Ryuuji in the sense that all they really want is someone who will be willing to look past their appearances.

And yes, I was totally inspired by Oreshura this week, and Masuzu specifically. The whole thing about her rotting together with Eita was just so touching for me, personally. And I just brought that idea of how their romance isn't perfect, but it's enough, because they don't believe in a perfect love anyways. Seriously, that show just vaulted itself into my top ten favorite anime ever with that line. And yes, Oreshura needs a category on Fanfiction. And yes, I would totally be the first author under it.

Besides that, I think that I will continue with this story in the near future, especially if I can think of a new arc. I suppose that the only place to go from here though, is marriage, so I think that a little "Meet the Parents" scenario is in order at this point.

If you guys are interested in more, please tell me, either in the form of a PM or a review. Thank you guys so much for reading this so far!