A/N: To express my joy for this story being visited by more than 2000 readers, I would like to mention everyone's name who has ever reviewed this. :P
guest, yaz, Chihaya, Nagi592, Kiraranger, natchii, xX little kagami Xx, naleah, ScriptAngel, hibikiayuzawa, ZeronSama, YamatoTheGreat, Sn0wwhite, , Guest, Lin101, jane (who posted a creepy ad, not a review; thanks anyway), Kir, and also, anyone who reads this story – THANK YOU! ^_^

Note: "During the age of aristocracy, Muko-iri was the common marriage system in Japan. A bridegroom would visit his bride every night at her home. Only after the birth of a child or the loss of his parents would the bride be accepted as the wife in the man's home" – Yamasa Student Network
Here, by 'a reverse tradition of Muko-iri' Daichi's grandmother means that Nagi is staying with them instead of Daichi staying with Nagi's family.

Nagi: I don't do favors. Get it?

So… Grandmother is a whacko. It is crystal clear from what she just said. She told some people that I am Daichi's fiancé. I would have laughed if all the pain in the world was not centered in my knee right now. This must be a joke. It has to be. Oh god… what if it isn't? What if I am being kidnapped to marry this psycho at gunpoint? What if that is the reason Auntie is so sweet and kind towards me? No, no, no, no, no, no…

"Is that so?", the other old man says with notable uncertainty. Auntie, Ryen, Grandfather, Grandmother and Kenta – all nod at once. Daichi looks slandered, a shadow looming over his face. I have nothing to say and hence, I glance at everyone's face. At the same time, I shift uneasily in Daichi's arms, but that doesn't affect his strong grip on me. Looking up at his barely visible face, I find myself trying to assess the situation. But this is crazy! Why would Grandmother claim a supposedly amnesiac stranger to be her grandson's fiancé? And why am I not being carried inside? I am hurting here!
I crane my neck to the side only to meet the gaze of the young girl. Her eyes are glistening with moisture while she looks at me and Daichi. The two old men look at each other again and then at Grandfather who does nothing other than standing still between Grandmother and Ryen. A tear rolls off the girl's cheek as she smiles, with much effort as I can see, and looks Daichi in the eye,
"Congratulations"
With a longing look, she runs off into the distance. I watch her follow the dirt road which passes from between two fields. It is clear that she is continuously wiping her tears, without looking back even once and occasionally, quickening her footsteps. For reasons unknown, I feel a pang of sympathy for her. I wish I knew why she suddenly began to cry.

"W-why don't you come inside? Eh, Daichi, take her inside. She is hurt", Grandfather breaks the silence. Daichi does as told. The two men look at me in an odd manner and exchange some whispers between each other. I would love to know what is going on if only I was not bleeding and aching miserably. Grandfather, Ryen and the two men sit in the drawing room while the others follow Daichi to my room. He lays me down on the mattress and moves away to lean against the bedside table, his fingers curled over his mouth while his eyes zero in on the opposite wall. Okaasama enters the room and sits next to me, near the mattress. She dabs at my tears with the calloused back of her hand. As she does so, I am overcome with self-pity and pain. I say weakly,
"It hurts so much"
"Stop mewling already", Daichi snaps at me, making everyone look at him in surprise.
'What did I do?', I wonder. Auntie walks to him and ushers him out of the room,
"Stand outside. Okaasama has to dress her wound. And take Kenta with you"
Kenta, who was holding the side of his mother's robe and studying my face with guilt-ridden eyes, follows his brother out of the room without a word. I can hear him saying,
"Big Brother, it is my fault that Nagi-Neechan got hurt, isn't it?"
"No, Kenta", Daichi's sonorous voice is heard, "It's all her fault, all hers"

With ease, Okaasama has managed to put my slightly dislocated fibula back in place. Surprisingly, it didn't even hurt. She just applied some sort of green paste to my wound and put the bone back in; no cast needed. There is just a white bandage around my calf and I have been advised not to strain my right leg too much. Okaasama straightens my dress as she says,
"It will be a matter of a week when her body is healed. But the soul, oh, the soul…"
Again with the mysterious psychic talk, this woman is skilled as a doctor but she is a first class weirdo, like that Daichi. I didn't ask him to save me. And who gave him the right to get mad at me and say to me whatever he wants? It hasn't been even a day since I regained consciousness and he is treating me like a criminal. If I am to live here, I have to make peace with him. And my gut says that it will be nothing short of a blitzkrieg.

So many questions and not even one satisfactory answer – this is my first challenge in this new life. After I have rested for a good one hour, I call for Auntie and ask her if I could have a pen and a notebook. She goes out of the room and is back soon with a notebook and a fountain pen. She seems to be in a hurry as she doesn't say anything to me, but just smiles and retreats. Collective yocking can be heard from the drawing room when Auntie leaves me alone in the room. It must be Grandfather and the two old men who are still here. Anyhow, I have work to do. So, I open the notebook and start writing all my questions. I leave some space for the answer below every question. And I write them in English. Just in case anyone other than me reads this, they shouldn't discover that I am not an amnesiac. Because clearly, no one here can read or understand English. I begin -

-Why is Daichi so mad at me?

-Why is everyone else so kind?

-Why doesn't this place have any form of entertainment I can't live without?

-Why hasn't anyone from Tokyo come looking for me yet?

-If they have, why hasn't anyone here mentioned it to me?

-Am I being missed?

I strike out that question because it doesn't matter. So, I concentrate on writing the other questions.

-Do I need a better strategy for executing my amnesia gig?

-How do I get my hands on some manga?

-How do I ask Auntie to buy me some underwear and socks?

-Who do I ask to sleep with me because I am sure as hell not sleeping alone?

-Why was that girl crying on seeing me? Or was she crying on seeing Daichi?

Kenta comes in when I finish writing the last question. He says,
"Grandfather is calling you to the common room"
"Just a minute", I place the book under my mattress and join him at the door. He seems to be reminded of my wound on seeing the slight limp in my walk. He says timidly,
"I am sorry, Nagi-Neechan. I didn't mean to hurt you"
I smile tenderly and ruffle his hair,
"You didn't hurt me. I just tripped by accident. It's not your fault"
"So, you forgive me?", he looks up at me with a big grin, cute enough to melt anyone.
I nod slightly,
"Absolutely"
He runs forth and jumps on to his mother's back who is sitting with her knees bent, like everyone else in the drawing room. The two old men are no longer here. Daichi is sitting across Grandmother with his fists clenched on his thighs. Ryen looks nervous and Grandfather does too. Grandmother says to me with a forced smile,
"Come, dear, sit next to me"
I do so only to flinch when Daichi says in a firm, threatening voice,
"Would you like to explain it now, Grandmother?"
She tries to sound convincing,
"I said what came to me first, Daichi. It-it's not my fault"
"The first thing that came to your mind was that this urban blonde is my fiancé?"
So that's what this is about. This lad sure has some anger management issues.
"We cannot change what happened", Grandfather says, "We just have to think what we are to do henceforth. Half of the village must have heard the news by now"
"We could tell them that we are following a reverse tradition of Muko-iri", Grandmother says with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Do you hear yourself?", Daichi bawls, "One lie after another, then a thousand – is that what you want to do?"
"If I say that I was lying, everyone in the village will think I am crazy!"
"They already know that"
"Daichi!", Auntie scolds him. He grows silent and turns his eyes away. Ryen says meditatively,
"Maybe you should just go with it, Daichi. Ow! Ow! Hear me out first!"
Daichi releases Ryen's neck from the death lock. Ryen takes a deep breath and harrumphs,
"Everyone in the village already pesters all of you by asking you when Daichi is going to get married. And when you tell them about his oath, they just shake their heads in disbelief. So, as long as Nagi-kun is here, we can pretend that she is his fiancée. That will shut the mouths of the villagers till after the Siege. And Buddha willing, Nagi-kun will regain her memory till then. Once she is gone, we can tell the villagers that it didn't work out well and she is back at her parents' home"
"But she has just retrieved from a coma, Ryen-kun", Auntie asks, "What if she forgets all of a sudden to maintain the ruse? And it is too much to even ask her to do this for us"
"I hope you are happy now", Daichi's sarcastic remark is aimed at Grandmother who shrugs and looks at her husband for support. Grandfather looks at me earnestly,
"Nagi-kun?"
Oh boy. I don't know what to do. He is definitely going to apologize to me for this and then make Grandmother ask for my forgiveness too, typical traditional old man behavior. He continues,
"Will you please pretend to be my grandson's fiancé for your stay here? Please?"
I just look at him with wide eyes, unable to respond to such a peculiar demand. Ryen and everyone else is looking at me hopefully, while Daichi shakes his head in annoyance and rubs his forehead with his fingers. Well, this family did save my life, but I can't play Daichi's fake fiancé. It is so improbable. And because I am not planning to leave this place for quite a while, I might just have to play his wife some day. That is unacceptable! I am not doing that. Nope. I open my mouth to speak, determinate and frank, but Auntie looks at me eagerly. Her eyes full of contrition and her face expressing sincerity so characteristic of her, she says,
"I beseech you for my mother-in-law's honor, Nagi-kun. Please?"
"Sure", I know I am going to regret this.