Sorry for the delayed update. BTW, this will be my last update for all of my fics INDEFINITELY. My computer's gone bonkers and I can't have it fixed -.- (too expensive). Ah nwei, if ever the pc does get fixed and I get to type an update, I can email u guys. Just send me ur email addies, okies? ^^

"Ren-kun?" I frowned when I saw him slam the cell phone on the wall.

He turned to me, surprised. "How long had you been there?" he barked.

"J-Just now, actually." I wondered why he was suddenly snappy again. Yesterday and last night, he had been the most wonderful man in the world, even nearly making me forget about my brother. Why did he went back to his sour mood again?  "I-Is anything wrong?"

"No, no, actually I feel very fine," he said, voice dripping with heavy sarcasm. "I just found out from my mother that my father would be the one to meet you and would bring you to her in our clan house."

"S-So what's wrong with that?" I asked.

"My father." He crossed his arms. "I don't want you to meet him."

Pain must have stung my face visibly, or he wouldn't have quickly softened and explained, "My father is…evil."

"Ah!" I bit my lip.

"As much as possible, I would have wanted you to avoid meeting him in personal." He turned to the window. "He's not…human." And under his breath, I heard him mutter, "It's not you, it's him."

"I see." I scuffled my shoes on the ground. "I-I'll still do my best. It is inevitable, the meeting between him and his son's supposed would-be wife. Don't worry, Ren-kun, I will do my best to impress him. I'll show him that you did the right thing by choosing me for your wife!" I burst out, then realizing what I just said, I felt my cheeks burn. Why was I acting like the engagement was real anyway?

He paused, then turned his back on me. "I know."

He knows? He knows what? But I didn't bother asking anymore, since he was already starting to go. It was the end of the conversation.

That late morning, Jun was fixing my hair in two neat braids at the top of my head.

"Your hair is so silky soft…wish mine was like this," said Ren's sister, smiling as she combed some strands of my hair into a braid.

I smiled, although it was half-hearted. As hours passed by, I was growing more and more nervous of my encounter with Ren-kun's father, especially after what he had told me about him. What if he didn't like me? I forgot to ask Ren-kun about that.

I prayed that it would happen, just so the suspense of this pretend engagement would stop already, and I wouldn't have to fight the rekindling of my feelings for Ren Tao anymore. I would be back to living my secluded life in the forest once again, without having to confuse myself with the almost volcanic-like attitude of the Chinese shaman. I wouldn't have to worry anymore about evil fathers who aren't humans, or memorizing the facts about how I met Ren-kun and what I know about him.

"Oh dear! I forgot to buy ribbons!" cried Jun. "Pirika, would you mind if you wait a little longer while I buy—"

"I'll go buy," I volunteered quickly.

As I expected Jun' nee-san was quick to say no. "Ren told me that you have to be fresh for his father's arrival. Don't you remember, he didn't take you along when he fetched father today because he wants you to be prepared for their arrival?"

"Ah, it won't take me long," I said, almost beggingly. "I…I think I also need some fresh air."

That was when she noticed that I was pale and trembling. She brushed my hand kindly. "Don't be nervous. My brother would fight for you, no matter what. He fought and stood his ground for his first kite, do you know that? He would do the same thing for you."

I thought bitterly that the difference between his kite and me was that he loved the former, and he didn't care for me at all.

Jun sighed. "Very well. Go buy those ribbons, but be sure to come back as soon as possible so we can retouch your face."

"Argatou!" I bowed gratefully.

I was walking from the crafts store when I noticed a stout man walking down the road, head turning left and right. I immediately guessed that he was lost.

 With the charitable ainu spirit within me, I went to him to ask how he was doing. "Excuse me, are you looking for some place in particular?"

He looked at me as if I was the one who was lost and not him. "Get out of my way."

I groaned. "Gee, I was just trying to be helpful."

"Get out!"

I could feel the heads of the crowd turning to me. I fought back the flush in my cheeks and said smoothly, "I reckon that you were lost so I decided to ask you if you need help."

"Well, I don't," he said curtly. "I know my way around, this is my home."

"But awhile ago, you were looking left and right helplessly, so I thought—"

"I just wasn't used to the changes of the street," he said impatiently. "I've been away for some time and—"

"Ah!" I took his hand. "You might never make it home without having your money pickpocketed. Why don't I help you home?"

"I said I know my way around! Are you retarded?"

"Nope, just concerned," I said, pulling him eagerly. "Let's go! People are starting to stare!"

He grunted, but he allowed himself to be pulled.

"Do you always travel alone?" I couldn't help but ask. We were walking side by side in the busy street leading out of the market.

"You're too talkative," he said sourly.

My brow arched. He almost sounded like that someone who always tells me that too. "I'm expressive," I said, smiling. "Anyway, you shouldn't be traveling alone all by yourself. You need company in case you need medical attention—"

"Do I look like someone who needs medical attention?!" he barked.

I shook my head. "No, you look like someone who is old. Senior folks have lower body resistance, so you shouldn't be alone when traveling, in case of emergencies."

"You do not understand my circumstances, so don't talk as if you know everything!" he snapped. "And I'm not THAT old!"

I had to smile. "If you say so."

The old man before me looked very ready to kill me now. "I speak the truth."

"Of course you do." Although he looked old, he did look large and intimidating still, and the sullen look on his face was striking, almost as striking as that of…

"I do," he insisted.

I grinned, but it didn't last long. He suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed right in the middle of the road.

I was massaging his chest when he woke up. I was kneeling beside him, so my face was the first thing he saw.

"W-Where am I?" he asked, still disconcerted.

"Under a tree. You collapsed…maybe because of over-exposure to heat." I pressed my ice-cold drenched hanky to his face. "I couldn't carry you all the way to the hospital so I struggled to pull you to the nearest safe place for you."

He tried to sit up. "And you think I will thank you?"

I smiled cheerfully. "Ah no, it will ruin your character. I would prefer if you just rest."

He frowned suspiciously. "I will not pay you for this. I didn't ask for it."

"Hai, hai!" I finished wiping his face and neck. "Just your name, Grandpa."

"I'M NOT THAT—"

"Ok, Ok," I said, clamping my hands over my ears. He did have a booming voice, almost replicating the capability of a sound speaker system.

"Hmp!" He was about to get up when he fell back down on the grass.

"I-Is something hurting there?" I quickly made my way behind his back. Underneath his rich, velvet coat, my trained hands could feel his tensed muscles. "Hmm, let's loosen those muscles, shall we?

"Don't you touch me—"

"Too late," I said simply. I began to massage his back gently but firmly, kneading his muscles seekingly for nodules. His protests died out, and for a minute, it was perfect silence between us.

He suddenly spoke up. "What's your name?"

"Pirika," I said, not bothering to point out anymore that he didn't give me his name.

"You massage well," he said. I tilted my head, wondering if that was an insult or a compliment. I was about to reply when he spoke again. "Do you want to have a good, luxurious life?"

I shrugged. "Everyone does."

"Then marry my son."

"EH!!" I didn't know whether he was giving a joke and making a poor attempt of it, or he had gone crazy due to his over-exposure to the sun.

"You massage well, and I want someone in the family with gentle but firm hands like yours. My wife's are too weak."

"But marry your son?" I felt blush creep to my face. "I'm engaged."

He looked at me blankly, as if saying, "So?"

"And I will soon be meeting his parents."

"Rubbish."

I sweatdropped. "You'll find someone else who can massage better than I could. There are masseurs for hire and—"

"None of them are of marrying potential." He looked at me in the eye. "I'll tell my son about you."

I felt the need to go. "The people at home must be looking for me already and—"

"I'll find you," he stated matter-of-factly.

I sweatdropped. "Sir, I'm engaged to be married, and I marry because of love and for nothing else more." I bowed. "I think you are well enough—"

"At least, walk me home," he insisted.

I sighed. And I thought Ren Tao was the most stubborn person in the world aside from my brother. Boy, I was wrong! But I did go back to his side to help him up.

I was starting to get nervous when I noticed that we were heading for the Tao mansion. I was starting to feel a little ill already, so I spoke up when we reached the final intersection. "Um, this is where I turn left," I said.

He looked at the path, then nodded. "Alright."

I started to go left and head for the woods, then turned around to see if he was still there. He wasn't, so I dashed as fast as I could to the Tao compound, cutting across the fields.

When I arrived, I was greeted by the very worried face of Jun Tao.

"Where have you been?" she asked in a whisper. "When Ren arrived here and learned that you're not home, he went ballistic! He thought that you left him like you did six years ago."

"W-Why would I do that?" I asked, growing nervous too. "I promised him that I would help him."

"Pirika!!!"

The angry voice made me turn around. And there he was, Ren Tao himself, glaring at me furiously. If looks could kill, I would be in the coffin right now.

"You're home," I said as calmly as I could. It wouldn't do if we compete in raising our voices.

"Where have you been?" he yelled.

"I went to buy myself ribbons and—"

"What took you so long then?" he barked.

"Ren, maybe I should start working on—"

"Stay out of this, nee-san!" he yelled, turning to Jun, who was obviously just trying to get me out of the situation.

That was it. "DON'T YELL AT HER! IT WAS MY FAULT!!!" I yelled, stopping him.

Jun mumbled an excuse and left us alone.

"Good. You're the one at fault and you're the one who has the nerve to scream," he said, voice lower now. His sarcasm wasn't diminished though.

"I volunteered to buy the ribbons," I explained, calm too. "But I met someone who needs my help. He collapsed on the road so I had to help him—"

"How charitable," he said sarcastically. "How come you never even remembered how I would feel when I find you gone in the most crucial day of my life?"

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Hmp!" He glared at me still, and that irked me.

"I didn't tell you to look for me!" I couldn't resist saying.

"You don't have to because it comes naturally for me!" he yelled back. "I'm your fiancé, remember? Or just because you saved some guy awhile ago, you forgot already?"

I froze. Was that raw jealousy I could see in his furious eyes? Impossible. But what else should I call that smoldering emotion in them?

"You don't even trust me," I said, my voice breaking. "How am I supposed to believe that you are my fiancé?"

He rubbed his face with his hands, annoyed. "Don't cry on me! It's not fair.."

"I'm sorry." I wiped my tears away, trembling. "I'll do good, Ren-kun, then after this day, I won't make you miserable anymore. I'll go back quietly…I do intend to go back to Japan…but I promised you myself for today, right? I will never forget that…because this is one thing I know that I'm sure I wouldn't regret doing again." I turned my back on him and headed for my room to get dressed.

"Pirika…"

I turned to him. "Hai?"

He wordlessly reached for me and roughly pulled me towards him. He bent down and kissed me fully on the mouth.

I was stricken by surprise, so he was able to deepen the kiss. I moaned longingly. The six years between that kiss in the balcony and the present ceased in this sweet moment. My feelings for him were as powerful as ever, basing on how I kissed him back with all my heart.

He abruptly let go and rubbed my swollen lower lip with his thumb gingerly. "Go get dressed," he instructed. "Father will be here any minute now."

I nodded, still in a daze.

tsuzuku