Chapter 5
[-] Takasu Ryuuji's POV
The smell of grilled beef fills the air of the apartment as Ryuuji brings the plate of skewers from the kitchen to the table. With plates and spoons already set, and the rice cooker in its usual spot next to Ryuuji, the three members of the household sat down at their rearranged spots – Ryuuji and Taiga on the right side of the table, and Yasuko sitting at the front of the table.
He was sure that Yasuko was pleased with the new arrangement. After all, she had the two figured out for a long time now, even if it had taken Ryuuji getting a head injury and a broken-heart confession from Kushieda to get them to admit how they felt about each other.
He remembered the discussion they had, while waiting for Ya-chan to pick them up after he was released from the hospital.
[-] 4 days ago, Ohashi Medical Center
"You hear anything from the others?" Ryuuji asks Taiga, as the two enter the lobby for the medical center.
Taiga looks up at him. "Only from Kitamura, and that was a message of congratulations to us – I haven't received any messages from Baka-chi or Minori" she says, interlacing her hand with his.
Ryuuji scratches his chin. "Well, that's strange. Kushieda I can kind of understand – she's probably recovering from what she told us a couple of days ago, but Kawashima would be waiting for an opportunity to interrogate me to present itself", Ryuuji says as he and Taiga sit down and wait for Ya-chan to pick them up. Ryuuji looks down at Taiga. "That aside… are you holding up okay? These past two days haven't exactly been easy on either of us."
Taiga looks back at him and smiles. "Thank you for asking. I'm holding up… kind of. Part of me is happy as can be, knowing my feelings are being reciprocated" she says, before looking at the floor, presumably to hide a frown. She continues, saying "But part of me is also hurting, because Minori basically tore herself apart to get us together."
Ryuuji wraps an arm around Taiga's shoulders and squeezes gently.
[-] Current day, Takasu household
Ryuuji dishes out the rice and beef skewers to Taiga, Ya-chan, then himself.
"Thank you for this food!" the three of them say in unison before digging in. To no one's surprise, Taiga is done with her plate in seconds, and asks for more. Ryuuji happily obliges, scooping out more rice and another couple of skewers before returning to his meal.
Partway through dinner, Ya-chan looks pointedly at Ryuuji. "Ya-chan got a phone call about Ryuu-chan today."
Ryuuji looks at his plate and exhales. "… I can guess for what. And I'll admit that I should have handled it better. But in my defense, I wasn't expecting that Kawashima would stalk Taiga and I like that" he says, picking up another skewer. "Especially after – ", Ryuuji starts, before shaking his head. "No. Kawashima got aggressive after dealing with her stalker."
Taiga looks at Ryuuji. "Why do you think Baka-chi followed us?", she asks, finishing another skewer.
Ryuuji shrugs. "I don't know. Understanding Kawashima's intentions is, at best, a futile endeavor, at worse, a quick way to get interrogated by her. Neither of which I want to do", he says, before finishing his plate of skewers and rice. "I'm going to talk with Kitamura tomorrow – see if he has any insight on what Kushieda might be doing."
With that, the three members of the Takasu household return to their dinner. Ya-chan leaves for work just after dinner is done, and afterwards, Ryuuji and Taiga clean up, and decide to watch a movie before going to bed. The movie itself is irrelevant – they just want an excuse to spend time with each other before going to bed.
At the end of the movie, Taiga asks to spend the night. Ryuuji, stressed and tired as he is, agrees.
[- Author's Panel]
This was supposed to be much longer. I had the brainstorming done quickly, started the chapter… and hit a dead end.
It probably doesn't help that I had to scratch the flashback portion of the chapter due to an accidental retcon and re-write that bit entirely.
Welp. See you guys next week
