It'd been many years since Ryuuji had walked this street. Once, it had comprised most of his internal map of the world. As the years had gone on, it had been joined by a series of streets that he could've drawn a map from memory of, but this street was always strongest in his mind. Once upon a time, this street meant he was almost home.

It'd been a long time since then. Before his children had been born, before his marriage. Geez, so many years, a lifetime ago, really. In all honesty, he hadn't thought of his old home in years. After Yasuko moved out, the place ceased to have any real meaning in his life. Sometimes it'd cross his mind; in a dream, a reminder brought on by one thing or another, or the occasional muscle memory, still attuned to the layout of the old place. Such things had only become rarer with time.

Such memories had only grown dimmer with time.

Then, a chance meeting with his old high school teacher brought it all back. The details were lost to him, not that he'd gotten them all in the first place, but Yuri Koigakubo-no, wait, what was her last name these days? It was on the tip of his tongue…

Well, at any rate, she'd had bought the place when the old landlady had passed, and her investment had paid off. It would be sold and demolished within a month, but not before she'd done her former student a favour.

Ryuuji turned, setting eye on a familiar sight.

The years were...visible. Clearly, the land itself was the truly valuable asset. The way Yuri had explained it; the place had not been rented out in quite some time. With the superplex still standing next door, the neighbourhood had slowly moved up in the world, and the world had little room or interest for this old thing. Once renters stopped coming, she'd stopped upkeep.

Ryuuji climbed the stairs, his pace slow, and cautious, in case time had taken durability from the path to the second floor.

Ryuuji raised the key from his pocket, near identical to the key he'd once used, but his sharp eye spotted a different sequence of bumps and dips. He pushed it in, hearing a click.

Ah, that remained the same. He turned the key, and opened the door.

"I'm home," he called out quietly to the silence.

It was like looking at a picture, after some color correction. The walls had been painted to a sky blue instead of yellow. Everything was in the same place, though something else was fulfilling each function. He stepped in, removing his shoes on reflex. The kitchen had changed a bit. The equipment was a bit more modern, but the functions were the same. Set him to work he could whip up something like clockwork.

He turned, sliding the door open. The floor mats had been replaced, but the pattern and material was the same. Was there a warehouse somewhere supply cheap carpet to hole-in-the-wall apartments? He could only guess when it'd last been cleaned. By the gods, if he had any kind of supplies with him he'd scrub the place within an inch of its life!

The furnishings were all gone. Not that he expected them. Even if only a little, they were worth something to sell. Even then, the table, the TV stand, everything that had once his family's in this room was likely years gone. Even so, the room brought back memories of days, an uncountably many of growing up in this place.

He spent so many days alone, then one day, a little Tiger snuck into his household. Ryuuji raised his hand, fingers trailing over a pink paper petal that was removed long ago.

"No, that won't do. So you have to forget all that about that l-love love letter!"

In hindsight, his reasoning skills had needed considerable refinement. Taiga'd tried to concuss him, he'd fed her, she'd insulted his beloved pet and then tricked him into a deal that in hindsight, conned him outright.

(He'd blame it on the teenaged hormones.)

He looked out the window, through which he could see Taiga's old apartment. It was either unr-ented, or somebody left the lights off and curtains open. It'd long since been Taiga Aisaka's residence, back when she'd been Aisaka. She'd only been in one mess or another, be it from her own stubborn laziness… "Dear god of rice and producers of this product, I thank you for this meal!"

Recklessness… "Shut. Up. And. Dance!"

Or simply circumstance… "Thank you...very much, Ryuuji."

Something moved in the reflection of the window, and he turned, finding an older (if not taller) Taiga looking around. "This place ain't changed much."

"Yeah."

If walls could talk, they'd have much to say of the countless hours they'd spent forming hair-brained schemes to fulfil their deal. Hindsight was 20/20. Foresight wasn't worth mentioning. Not theirs, anyway. Countless hours had been spent planning. Countless more had been spent on endeavours at best only remotely related to their shared endeavour.

"No refusing. You be ready within the hour and take me on a good... Date."

At best.

"Dogs don't make good hairdressers but I'll make do with what I've got. Now do it again!"

"That was… The absolute worst nightmare."

"If you sniff my underwear I'll kill you."

"A dog should be grateful when his master shares his bath!"

Foresight was -20/20. Everyone else had called it in a heartbeat, but they'd insisted the obvious was never going to come to pass.

"Bullshit."

Inko-chan had been the cleverest of them all.

Ryuuji slid open the door to what was once his room, It was empty, but he could almost see his old desk, his shelves, his futon. Decades gone, but as clear in his memory as his children's faces. His gaze turned to a box longer gone than even that. How many poems had he written in this room? Actually, nevermind, he didn't want to know. The things a teenaged-him had thought good ideas…

Not that he'd had great influences. He turned, finally realizing that the architecture of the hotel next door could constitute a violation of privacy. It wasn't too hard to guess how Taiga had figured out where he lived. He never did ask exactly when she discovered him. It'd made avoiding her extremely difficult after her attempt on his memories, something he'd thought a pain.

"You were a dog, and my husband was the dog."

It felt like moments later now that he was hanging between his veranda and Taiga's room, banging on the window. He turned away, preparing to- wait, was that? Son of a-

His oldest enemy. Across the eons, their were rivalries without end. Good and Evil, Life and Death, Day and Night. Wisdom and ignorance. Order and Chaos. Science and Religion. Tigers and Dragons.

Ryuuji and Mold.

That fucking mold. Like a plague upon whatever it touched, marking its territory in unholy darkness. He had to go! He had to get his best equipment, clear a day, and fight this blight until it was utterly erased from-...

He took a breath. No. Soon this place would be struck down. The foundations this plague grew upon would crumble beneath it. He'd concede the battle, but the war was won.

(Here at least. Other homes presented other battles.)

Ryuuji left his old room behind, for the last time, finding Taiga waiting for him.

"Since Taiga is so small, she takes up so little space. Besides, it tastes better when everyone eats together."

This place had been the home of a family of four. Taiga leaned up against him. Their lives had turned out well, so why was it part of them wished to turn back the clock? For one more day, even one more meal like the old days? The pair remained in silence, saying nothing, remembering everything.

"I know youngsters these days get pissed off easily, but this is too much!"

"Did you write my name on it properly? 'Yasuko' with ketchup..."

"I was being stubborn and moody so… I'm sorry."

"The fact I'm able to have meals with my family… This all makes me the happiest person in the world."

"We're not getting married!"

The pair smiled, making way out of their old home. As they passed through the threshold, Ryuji took once last look back, seeing a young boy, and his mother smiling brightly behind him.

"What do you think, Ryuu-chan? This is gonna be our new home!"

Ryuuji closed the door, bidding silent farewell to days gone by.

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End

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Author's Notes: Here we are, folks. It's been exactly five years since I started this fic. I offer my sincerest thanks to any who've ever left feedback, especially my regulars. You really have been the best fanbase I've ever written for.

(And I'm seriously not just saying that; you guys have been fucking awesome. Thank you.)