Chapter 8: A Familiar Moonlit Night

It had been about a week since we returned home from our little quest to try and find Taiga's father. I had to admit she had really perked up since we got back, after what she had told me when we were at the hotel. It was definitely good to see her smile again, joking and laughing with Kushieda like she usually did. The two of them were playing video games while I prepared lunch. Kushieda had to leave soon so I offered to make her a bento box* to take with her. Usually she would just eat the food where she worked at so I figured it would be good for her to have something a little more healthy than what those places served.

"BOOM!" went Taiga as she dropped her controller and threw her hands into the air, initiating her usual victory celebration, "Round three winner, the Palmtop Tiger! No one can stop her! She's unbeatable!"

During said celebration, Kushieda dropped her shoulders in mock despair, falling onto her back with her arms spread eagle. I chuckled and shook my head as I finished tying off the bento and walking into the room with it.

"Your lunch is ready for you, Kushieda" I said to her happily, causing her to tilt her head back and look at the box that I held. With a smile, she rolled herself backwards and onto her feet, hopping up as she turned around and happily took the bento.

"Thanks Takasu! This is gonna be soooo much better than a bowl of ramen for sure!" she said as she picked her jacket up off the floor. Today was pretty windy, and with that wind came an unusual chill for the summer days. "I'm gone, you kiddos behave yourselves while I leave you here… alone… with noone else around!~" she said as she gave a mischievous grin, keeping her eyes on the two of us as she closed the door at a painstakingly slow pace.

Taiga breathe a sigh and laid back on the floor with a small smile on her face as I brought the rest of the prepared meal to the kotatsu. Once the food was placed on the table, she rolled onto all fours and made her way over, leaning against me as I fixed her a plate which she happily took. I didn't tell her about my meeting with her father, in all honesty I think it's for the best. She is happy, and that's how she needs to be.

Just as I had started eating, the phone began to ring. Not wanting to ignore it in case it should be important, I got up and answered it.

"Takasu residence" I said as I put the phone to my ear.

"Ryuuji! How is my grandson doing today?" came the voice of an elderly lady, a smile coming to my face as I recognized the voice of my grandmother.

"Hey, Grandma, I am doing well, how are you today?"

"Oh I am doing well sweetheart, actually you are just the person I have been needing to talk to. Your grandfather and I are going to be out of town this weekend and I don't have anyone to come water my plants for me. Would you be free to come and take care of that for me? I can have the guest room all set up before you get here!"

"Well I don't think I am working this weekend, let me see what Yasuko thinks and I will let you know!"

"Sounds lovely dear, I'll wait for your call."

I said goodbye and waited for the click of her hanging up the phone before doing the same, walking back to the kotatsu where Taiga was waiting for me, a speck of rice sticking to the corner of her mouth.

"What did your grandma have to say?" she asked curiously.

I smiled and wiped the speck of rice off, stealing a quick kiss before I replied, "Oh, just found out what we can do this weekend"

It wasn't hard to convince Yasuko about going to my grandparents, as long as I promised to make her enough food to last her the whole time we were gone. Soon enough we were on another train heading for the town that my grandparents lived in.

I've been making regular trips to visit them since the first time I met them a year ago. It was nice to have grandparents, a place to go out of my house and still feel at home. It didn't take long to get used to calling them 'grandma' and grandpa' either, surprising enough since I don't even call Yakuso 'mom'.

I could tell Taiga was excited to go there as well, only getting to meet them once before she went home. I think she'll want to make some time to come visit when they aren't going to be out of town. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the train seat, breathing a sigh as I let the rumbling soothe me into a gentle snooze. Taiga was leaned against me, her head resting on my shoulder as she texted Kushieda every now and then.

I liked the moments we had like this, where we had nothing to say, but that was fine. Being in one another's company was more than enough for us. My mind began to drift to the first time I had ever met my grandparents. Taiga and I ran away to there, still in the mindset to elope. It was where we shared our first kiss… then our second… then third…

"Hey, what's with the dumb smile?" I heard Taiga say as she nudged me in the side, looking up from her phone in curiosity. I chuckled and wrapped my arm around her, letting my hand lay over hers as our fingers intertwined.

"Just thinking back to good memories" I said in reply to her. She raised her eyebrow at me in her usual mock judgemental way as he fingers began fiddling with my own.

"You are such a sentimental dweeb, you know that?" she said with a laugh, shaking her head as she did before leaning against me once more.

Before we knew it, the train made its final stop. Taiga and I grabbed our bags and made our way out of the station where my grandparents were waiting for us. Taiga ran ahead to meet my grandmother, wrapping her in a hug.

"Taiga, we heard you were back in town, it's so lovely to see you again dear" my grandmother said to her as she swayed her back and forth.

Taiga's smile could not have been any wider, burying her face and giggling as she was swayed. Come to think of it, Taiga never told me anything about her having grandparents, so perhaps this was her first time having someone she could call as such. "It's great to see you too! I missed you guys so much!" she said in reply, finally letting go before treating my grandfather with the same intense hug.

I walked over to the three and set my bag down to hug them myself, happy that we could at least see them for a little bit before they left. "It's great that you could meet us at the station to drive us to the house" I said to my grandmother.

"Oh nonsense I wasn't going to make you walk all the way" she said with a wave of her hand. We made our way to the car and soon enough we were on our way to the house. It was a nice house in the suburban part of town, it was surprisingly quiet for a weekend in the summer, but perhaps I could go for some quiet for a couple days.

"We wish we could stay a little longer, but we promise to make time for a proper visit in the future" my grandfather said as we walked into the house. "Perhaps we could come visit your town for a change! A little more travel could do these old bones a favor!" he said with a chuckle before handing me the house key. He went on to showing me where everything could be found, as well as all the plants that would need to be watered while they were away. There hasn't been much range recently and with the dry summer days, it would take a toll on the plants. Once the tour was finished and I helped my grandparents load their luggage, we said our final goodbyes and made our way inside.

As Taiga went to unpack a few clothes so she could bathe, I went on to prepare something for dinner. I wasn't feeling like going all out, so I prepared rice and began stewing beef to prepare some Donburi*. As I was cooking, Taiga made her way into the kitchen, pulling herself up into a sitting position on the counter next to me as she watched me cook. She watched with a quiet curiosity, making me wonder what was on her mind.

"I think you would make a great chef" she then said, making me stop to look at her. She knew my question without having to ask it as she continued, "Just a thought. You are really good at cooking, and you seem to really love it."

I smiled and leaned over to kiss her, "Well I appreciate that, thanks" I said to her as I closed the lid over the beef. Now was time to let everything simmer, giving us about an hour before it was time to eat.

Taiga decided to turn on some television while we waited for dinner, she had one of my sweaters on with a pair of athletic shorts. The sweater was obviously too large for her, her own hands didn't even come out of the sleeve. But seeing her curled up on the couch like she was, I wished that she would wear it more often.

The moon was already rising as I cleaned up the dishes, Taiga had already retreated to the bedroom where I assumed she was getting ready to take a bath. With her gone, I reached into my pocket, pulling out the small box that held her ring… I couldn't wait any longer. I already had her mother's and father's blessing. All I needed was the right time… just like Taiga said.

I made my way to the room and noticed the light was off. Curious, I opened the door all the way and looked in, seeing Taiga at the window sill, looking up into the moonlit sky. My heart skipped a beat as I looked at her, the way the moon shone over her, taking my breath away the way it did every time before. She looked back at me and smiled gently, inviting me to join her at the sill. I made my way over, sitting against the sill as Taiga leaned herself against me, letting me wrap my arms around her as she rested her head against my chest.

"It's just like how it was the last time we were here, remember?" she said to me as she gently squeezed my hand. "We used the blanket as my veil, practiced… well, kind of practiced… vows that we would say at our wedding."

I gave a soft chuckle and kissed the top of her head. "Yes, I think about that night all the time" I said in response to her. This was it… the moment I have been waiting for. With a deep breath to calm my nerves, I reached into my pocket. "Taiga… close your eyes for a moment" I said to her. First she fixed me with a confused gaze, but did as I had asked. When I was sure she wasn't looking, I pulled out the box and opened it, holding it in front of her so it would be the first thing she saw. The ring was washed over in the moonlight, the pieces from the glass star shining like real ones, sharing its beauty with the diamond they surrounded in the center. I kissed the side of her head and said "Now open them"

When she opened her eyes to see the ring, I could feel her body tense and her breath catching. Slowly her hands made their way to the box where she gently took it, bringing the ring closer to her for inspection. Her eyes were wide with wonder and awe, taking out the ring and turning it in her hands.

"Ry-Ryuuji…"

"I wanted to make it official, that we are going to get married, so I wanted to get you something that meant something to you, those little pieces around the diamond are from the glass star… I hope you like it Taiga"

She was silent for a moment before sliding the ring on her finger, looking at it as it shone there. She turned to face me, her eyes glistening and her smile wide as she took my face in her gentle hands and kissed me. When our kiss broke, she silently said;

"Ryuuji… I love it"

I smiled at her as we kissed once more under the moonlight, her body resting against mine. When she did move, she went over to her suitcase where her nightclothes were folded. Grabbing them, she turned and said with a mischievous look "I am going to bathe" before making her way out the door. A few seconds passed and she stuck her head in once more adding, "And you're going to join me."

The following morning, Taiga decided we should go out into town and explore, which I was perfectly fine with doing since I didn't want to be cooped up in the house all day. It was nice checking out the town where my grandparents lived. We got breakfast at a small but homing cafe and managed to come across a small outlet mall right next to a market area. We spent most of the day here, looking at clothes and many other items that caught our interest. Taiga wore her new engagement ring proudly, every now and then stealing a glance toward it with a happy smile. She even got to brag about it to other girls as they noticed it, coming to comment about how it looked.

We made our way to find something for lunch when I was suddenly pulled away by Taiga to an open stand just outside the outlet mall. Looking at her excited face, I noticed what it was that caught her attention. The vendor here was selling a variety of puppies and kittens, all of which either ran around excitedly or sat away in a corner away from the crowds.

Taiga happily pat one of the puppies as she happily looked up at me with a very obvious question in her mind. I looked over at the sign and immediately my heart dropped to my stomach, these animals were way too overpriced. It was hard to make my answer to Taiga as I looked over back at her. She followed where I looked and immediately her shoulders drooped, giving the puppy a few more pets before setting it back with the other animals. She stood up slowly and we made our way back into town.

I hated seeing her upset, I just hope that she understood that with our current money issue, we couldn't afford an overpriced animal like that. Still, I held a smile and nudged her playfully. "Hey" I said to her as we walked down the sidewalk, "The second I find a pet that doesn't cost too much, I promise we will get it. Deal?"

She looked back at me and managed a smile and nodded, "Yeah, deal" she said, her sad eyes brightening up.

Satisfied with that, we continued on through town, our hands intertwined together, the engagement ring shining in the sunlight.

Her own little star.

We toured the town until the sun began to sink toward the horizon, ending the day with dinner at an outdoor restaurant that overlooked the neighboring river that ran through the town. Taiga ate her dessert, cheesecake topped with strawberries, as she looked around deep in thought.

"What would make a good apartment pet? I was thinking to get a dog but we would have to be careful about getting one that doesn't grow too large. They need a lot of running room too, of course that would mean we can make regular trips to the park! But then there is the hassle of house breaking. What do you think Ryuuji?"

"Honestly, I never had a pet before, your guess is about as good as mine" I said in an amused chuckle. I was the last person anyone wanted to ask about pet advice, though the thought of having one did cross my mind since passing that vendor. I waited until Taiga was finished before heading back to my grandparents house. It was a pleasant walk, and soon enough we were entering the suburban part of town.

Our attention was drawn to the sound of rustling in a bush near the house.

"Wh-whats that?" asked Taiga timidly, holding onto my arm as she slowly moved behind me. I had no idea myself, and I didn't want to find out, but this was the last turn until we were at the house, and this was our only obstacle.

Slowly I made my way toward the bush, my hands up in case I would have to defend myself against the unknown creature. The rustling increased as I got closer, and my heart beat out of my chest in anticipation. Taiga stayed behind, her hands covering her mouth as she stared unblinkingly at the bush.

I was only able to take one more step before it happened.

In a blur of orange, a small weight hit my chest, taking me by surprise and causing me to panic, feeling small scratches as I struggled with the small mass that hit me. I tripped under my own feet in the panic and fell onto my back, Taiga calling out my name as she hurriedly made her way to me.

Soon enough the struggle ceased, and I looked up to finally see my assailant, still bombarding me with high pitched mewls and hisses.

Still slightly dazed, I could only stammer out, "It's a...a…"

In that moment Taiga burst out laughing, all traces of fear leaving her as she finally exclaimed "It's a kitten!"

*Though Ryuuji makes his home made, most bento boxes are found store bought in convenience stores and gas stations for a quick and easy meal! Think of it as Japanese Lunchables!

*Donburi is a quick and tasty dinner dish that consists of a bowl of rice topped with some kind of meat, ranging from beef to chicken and even seafood!

I AM FINALLY BACK EVERYONE! WOOHOO! I will be completely honest when I say I missed writing! But now I finally have the time to sit down and actually start again! Told ya I wasn't gone forever ;)

Also really quick, if you guys wanna see the face behind the stories, I have started up my own YouTube channel! On top of anime rpg games, I will also be doing songs as well as sketch comedies! Who knows, I may even be talked into doing some dramatic readings! So feel free to stop by and say hi! The name of my channel is JackTheRipoff! You can find my channel with this!

channel/UCC-uf19PKxQ1-NLIRf6rS_A