Chapter 5: Unexpected

I shouldn't have fallen asleep on the floor. I woke up to feeling more sore than I ever have before, the entire side of my body was stiff, and the arm that Taiga ended up laying on went numb and limp. As carefully as I could manage, I slid myself out from Taiga's grasp, made all the more difficult with my arm being a dead-weight for the time being. When I managed to bring myself to a sitting position, I used my still working arm to move my dead one, trying to get the blood flow back into it. Eventually the feeling of pins came across it and slowly I was regaining motion back into it, and a few seconds later it was back to its former self. I let out a yawn and stretched out my stiff body, joints popping as I did, making me feel like an old man. Looking over at the clock, I noticed that it was 8:30 a.m., remembering that I had work at the bakery today at 11. Figuring I should go ahead and get some breakfast ready, I stood up and began to head to the kitchen. A small noise turned me back around and I looked to see Taiga, in her sleep, was grasping the air, subconsciously looking for her human pillow. I smiled at the sleeping figure, she looked adorable when she slept. I crouched down and scooped up the little tiger, carrying her to the bedroom where I laid her down on the futon. After making sure her covers were tucked around her well, I gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and headed back to the kitchen.

I decided today I would make some tamagoyaki* along with a side of miso soup**, so I took out the eggs as well as the ingredients for the soup and got to work. There was something about the sizzling sound of chopped vegetables on the stove as I cooked that made me feel peaceful. Cooking was one of my favorite things to do, and it was pretty much therapeutic for me. Plus, it made Taiga and my mom happy when I would cook up something good for… well any meal really. A quick look through the cupboard revealed that I needed to go to the market today and pick up some groceries, perhaps I can make it there before they close once I get off work. I was almost finished with breakfast when I heard the sliding open of a door, and looked back to see Yasuko up, sliding her feet across the tatami mats as she made her way over to me.

"Mooorning Ryu~" she said in the midst of a yawn, her blond curly hair falling in her face, "Whattya making? It smells really yummy."

"Just some tamagoyaki and miso soup" I answered as she let out another yawn, "what are you doing up so early?"

"I got off work today because I wanted to spend time with Taiga-chan" she replied with a sleepy smile, "Since you have work, I figured it would be good that she had some company, plus I never got to have any girl time with her so I figured it would be fun."

I smiled and placed a hand over Yasuko's head, it was nice to see her doing more than laying around hung over. Ever since I convinced her to let me keep my bakery job, she didn't have to work as many nights, and we even managed to keep a little extra money. She dragged herself back to her room, reaching for her clothes to change, but ended up dozing back off. I chuckled, figuring the two of them would have plenty of sleep before they even got the energy to get up.

I finished making breakfast and made sure to leave plenty for Taiga and Yasuko before sitting at the kotatsu. Inko was busy preening as I ate, making small noises that I assumed was his equivalent of humming. As I ate and watched the bird, I heard the door to my room open, turning around to see Taiga rubbing her eyes with one hand, her other holding her pillow to her chest.

"What is it with you and waking up so early?" she muttered through a yawn, shuffling her feet and slumping down next to me. She placed the pillow against my arm and leaned against it, taking my free hand in hers, once again fiddling with my fingers. Looking at my plate, she didn't hesitate to slowly reach out to it, taking a piece of the eggs and quickly pulling it to her, nibbling the morsel and letting out a tired sigh.

I couldn't help but chuckle at her little display, thinking it was insanely cute. "I guess it's just a habit, I've always been the one to get up first, not to mention waking you up every day."

She looked up at me and stuck out her tongue, snatching another bite of my breakfast. "Yasuko said you were working today, how long of a shift?" she asked me, looking up as she waited for my answer.

"Not too long really, from eleven to five today. Its payday too, so I thought we could get a little something special for dinner." I replied. This got her attention, and she seemed a little more awake. I could tell she was thinking of what to get, her head already filling with all kinds of ideas.

"Hmmm, I'll have to think about that" she said with a mischievous grin, making me regret my offer.

I finished breakfast, with Taiga's help of course, and went ahead to serve her plate as well, which she ate without trouble. Seriously, where does this food go? Once she finished, she brought her plate to the sink, helping to wash them. It was nice to see that she had improved, not making as big of a mess with the water then she did before.

We killed some time playing video games for a bit, and when I say play, I mean Taiga downright owned me on every single fighting game I had. Before I knew it, it was around 10:30, time for me to head out.

"Normally I would walk with you to the bakery, but since I am spending the day around town, I need a bit of time to get ready." Said Taiga as I opened the front door. I smiled and assured her it was fine, and turned around to leave. Before I could go, however, she grabbed the collar of my shirt and turned me back around, pressing her lips against mine and wrapping her arms around me. We kissed for a short while before she looked up at me with her smile and said, "I love you, dumb mutt."

"I love you too, little tiger" I replied to her before heading out to the bakery.

I made it about ten minutes until my shift started, enough time to change into my uniform and set up the table outside the shop. The owner had a new special on chocolates to celebrate the graduation of my high school class, so throughout the day I managed to see quite a few of my school friends. I was surprised to see Noto Hisamitsu walking up with Maya Kihara, as I had never really seen the two of them without their other friends around.

"Heyya Takasu!" said Hisamitsu happily, waving with his free hand as his other arm had Maya's hands wrapped around them. I was happy to finally see the two of them together, after Hisamitsu finally gathered the courage to confess to her near the end of the year. I smiled and waved back as they approached, browsing the selection on the table.

"How has your first days as graduates been?" I asked the two. Kihara looked up and smiled saying;

"It's been great! Got to spend a lot of time with all our friends without having to worry about classes, and sleeping in a little has been pretty great too! Noto and I are planning to take a trip together to the beach, maybe you and Taiga can tag along! How is she by the way? I heard she came back recently!"

"I wouldn't want to intrude on your guys' vacation, and since you asked, she is great. She's spending the day with my mom while I work. To be honest a little vacation wouldn't be too bad of an idea though." I replied happily, wondering about how fun it could be perhaps spending a week at Kawashima's beach house with Taiga. While it would be fun to have everyone together… I wondered how it would be if it were just the two of us…

"Hey Takasu, you ok? What's with the weird smile?" Said Hisamitsu, looking at me with a raised eyebrow and a confused expression. I shook myself out of my trance, embarrassed I was caught with such thoughts. If Taiga were here she would've called me a perverted dog. Though something tells me that she would not have minded the idea of it.

"Y-yeah, sorry about that" I replied, rubbing the back of my head. They browsed a little bit longer before choosing the chocolates they wanted and paying. After they had left, the rest of the day sort of just idly passed, nothing incredibly notable happened and before I knew it, my shift was over. I changed out of my uniform and gathered my payment. I calculated that I had about thirty five hours put in since the last payday, making it around 45552.15 ¥*. If I kept these hours up, not to mention the extra I could get now that school was done, we could have that apartment sooner than we planned!

I sent a quick text to Taiga, letting her know I had finished my shift and was on the way to the market if she wanted to meet me there. On my way, I spotted the shop I had stopped in yesterday, deciding to stop in and see if Taiga's gift was ready. I remembered the shop owner said this particular gift would not take long…

"So do you think you can make something with these?" I asked the owner.

"Some simple little glass pieces? Why would you want to make something with these?"

"They were part of something that meant a lot to my girlfriend, and I know that she would love it."

"I see, well do not fret then, I will have something ready very soon! Now, was there anything else you wanted to do for your fiancé?"

Remembering that conversation brought a smile to my face, the fact he called her my fiancé and not just my girlfriend. It was still strange to say it, but not in a bad way. I walked in and saw the owner's face light up as he saw me. "Well, well! Glad to see you are here, I had just finished your order."

I was glad to hear that, and even more glad when the owner brought it for me to see. "It's perfect!" I said excitedly, closing it in its little box that it rested in. Since I had paid for it the day I made the order, I was able to say my goodbyes and leave, making my way to the market. My phone went off and I saw that I had a text from Taiga:

Ryuuji, something happened, meet me at the front of the market, and please hurry.

My heart immediately sank as I read that message, wondering what it was that could've happened. I placed the gift in my pocket and I ran for the market, not wanting to waste any time to get there. Scenario after scenario popped into my head, Taiga had gotten hurt, or Yasuko, an accident or something… I had to hurry to see what it was.

Soon enough I was at the market, there I saw a worried looking Yasuko, Taiga leaned against her as if for support.

"Taiga!" I called out, making my way to them. Taiga turned to look at me, her eyes soaked with tears as she ran straight for me. I wrapped her in my arms as she ran into me, clinging onto my shirt and sobbing slightly. "Taiga… what's wrong? What happened? Are you and Yasuko alright?" I asked her, worry heavy in my tone.

"I… w-we're al-alright" she said through her sobs before taking a deep breath, I breathed a silent sigh of relief that none of them were hurt, but I still wondered what shook her up so badly. She looked up at me with her tear stained face, a mix of anger, sadness and fear in her eyes. "I-I was going to make a withdrawal from my account at the bank, m-me and Ya-chan were going to go to the clothing store… b-but… I couldn't make any withdrawals… I went in the bank to see what was wrong, and I looked at my balance… Ryuuji… someone cleared me of all my savings! I have nothing left!"

*Tamagoyaki: basically known as a "Rolled omelette", usually stuffed with veggies and even meat!

**Miso Soup: a good breakfast accompaniment, usually consists of meat, broth, veggies, and tofu!

*This equals to about 385 US Dollars, I went off the current Japanese minimum wage which is 11 US Dollars an hour. Luckies...

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN! I do wonder who this mysterious person is who had the gal to steal from our precious Taiga! And also, WOW, this chapter took too long to make. Sorry for the late entry, I had been dealing with a lot at home and school, and not much rest time in between. Hopefully I can get the next chapter out a little sooner than this one took. Again, if you guys have anything you would like to say about the story, feel free to leave a review! If you know anyone who may be interested in reading this, let them know! The more I see people enjoying it will be my inspiration to keep writing! Until next time!