CHAPTER TWO.

He had heard wrong. That was the only conclusion he could come up with for what she had just said the whole minute he sat frozen, incredulously looking at her.

"Come again?"

At least she had the decency to look embarrassed. "I need you to pretend to be my fiancé…" she repeated shyly. "But it's only for a couple of days!"

"Ukyo, what the hell are you talking about?" He ignored the blush that exploded on his cheeks and tried to make sense of the situation.

"Look, my father will only transfer me the restaurant if I'm engaged, so I had to pretend I was and when he asked, your name kind of came up, and he's coming this weekend to meet you…"

"And now you want me to pretend we're engaged?"

"It's only for a couple of days…"

"No, forget it."

"But Ryoga…"

"I'm not going to be a part of this lie, Ukyo. Tricking your father is wrong."

"You didn't think it was wrong when we tried to trick Ranma and Akane!"

"That was because you always talked me into it!" He snapped. She stood up and started pacing the kitchen back and forth.

"You don't understand… He's going to disinherit me if I'm not engaged when I turn twenty. I'm going to lose my restaurant; I'm going to lose my last name… I'll lose everything…"

"I don't think your father…"

"He engaged me to Ranma, made me dress as a boy and hunt him down when I was only six. You really think he won't do as he says?"

Well, crap. If he didn't accept to be a part of her scheme, she would lose everything she had; yet, his honor demanded that he did not participate in such a lie. Besides, he needed to get back on track and find that temple, his Jusenkyo curse needed to end once and for all.

"Ukyo, this is wrong; no matter what he said, you shouldn't have deceived him like that. You should talk to your father and tell him the truth."

"I know it's wrong, okay? But it's the only thing I've got left to do… I'm going to lose everything, Ryoga." Her voice became rough and she covered her face with her hands.

"Ukyo…"

She sniffed, her face still hidden behind her palms. "When I saw you here, I thought it was a miracle, that you somehow… oh, never mind."

He brushed his hands on his pants, uneasy. He'd never seen her cry, and he never knew how to deal with crying girls… especially if it was tough Ukyo.

"Please, don't cry…"

"Shut up; I'm going to be homeless and unemployed tomorrow; I can cry all I want!" She said from behind her hands, stomping her foot on the floor for good measure.

"Uh… I'm sorry…" He got up and turned to the door, since he obviously wouldn't be wanted there anymore, when she sniffed again and cursed.

She'd forgotten the food on the oven and it was starting to burn. She wiped her face hastily and took the takoyaki out, resting it on the countertop. She turned to look at him and frowned when she noticed him standing.

"I think I should better go…" He thumbed towards the door.

"It's okay, you're hungry, you should eat." She tried to sound careless but the underlying sadness and wet eyes betrayed her voice. He watched silently as she wiped her face and then put the buns on the plate with delicacy and handed it to him. He took it hesitantly, his stomach making an embarrassing sound again. She placed her own plate in front of herself and started picking on the food.

"Ryoga…" She started again and he almost smiled, he knew she wouldn't give up that easily. "Please? It's just for the weekend." He shook his head 'no', though he was impressed; Ukyo saying 'please' was something he didn't hear every day. Not to him, anyway. "Pretty please?"

"I can't Ukyo, I'm sorry. Besides, I have to get back on the road."

"You're going to look for that temple you mentioned before?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I've got all my hopes in that place." The legend said the hot spring cured any disease or curse of any kind, and he even talked to some people who'd said they'd been cured, so he needed to find it. They had warned him that it was hidden in the mountains, but he never thought it was hidden that well!

"How long have you been looking for the place?"

"A long time," he blushed; he wasn't telling her he'd been looking for the goddamned place for the last two years. "I think I've been close a couple of times, but with my sense of direction, I can't be sure." He'd left marks, though, to follow his own trail back.

"And you're absolutely sure you'd get cured there?"

He nodded enthusiastically, he was sure!

"If only I could find the goddamned place…"

"Have you thought of asking someone to go with you?"

"Well, yeah, but who? I mean, the logical option would be Ranma, but he'd probably sabotage me and find the place for himself." Ranma was not an option, and he had kept the temple a secret from him. "And there's Mousse, too, but he's back in China…" He didn't truly believe that blind idiot could have been of any help, anyway.

"You know… I could help you find it."

He looked up to her face then and she gave him a sweet smile, a smile he knew too well, the one that said he had walked straight into her trap.

Now her sudden interest made sense, she was just looking for something to trade for his help. And damn if the offer wasn't tempting! He knew he shouldn't have said anything to her. And why had he, anyway? It was like the words had just slipped past his lips without him even noticing!

"Ukyo…"

"It's just for three days, Ryoga, come on! Then we'll go find that place and you'll get rid of the curse!"

"I-I don't know…"

"Think about it! I'll have my restaurant and you'll have your cure! It's a win-win situation!"

Argh! Why did she have to be so convincing? He could feel himself already relenting.

She had always had this sort of power over him; she'd make everything sound so positive and bright, making him think that it'll all work out… until everything went downhill and it was all his fault, for some reason.

Deceiving a person was completely wrong, no matter how ridiculous said person's rules to his daughter were. Besides, what kind of honorable man would do something like that? He was still utterly embarrassed for the whole 'P-chan' ordeal with Akane and he'd sworn he wouldn't do anything like that again.

"Think about it, Ryoga… no more P-chan, ever… and maybe you can get cured of your directional problem too!"

Well, damn; he hadn't thought of that!

Ryoga sighed. It was completely wrong, and it was the stupidest plan she could come up with in their long history of stupid plans, and he knew it would backfire tremendously (of course it would); but he couldn't let her lose everything, not when it was in his hands to avoid it; and he couldn't let the opportunity to find the temple pass him by.

Besides, the prospect of spending three days under a roof, sleeping in a warm bed and with homemade meals was too tempting to refuse.

God help him, he was going to say the words and there would be no coming back. "I think it's a terrible idea and it's completely wrong; but I guess I can help you…"

She peered at him, her suddenly teary eyes taking his awkwardness up a notch.

"Seriously?" He nodded. "You promise?"

"Y-yes."

She wiped the tears off of her face and ran up to him, kneeling between his legs and throwing her arms around him.

"Oh Ryoga, you have no idea what this means to me!"

His whole body froze at the sudden contact; she was pressing her entire body to his and burrowing her nose in the crook of his neck; they had never, ever been this close before and he could feel the blush spreading all over him. Her little frame shook with happy laughter, her hot breath tickling his neck, sending him into hyperventilating mode.

"O-okay…" Was all he could say, patting her back in a pathetic attempt to calm her effusiveness.

"I'm serious! This means everything to me!" She pushed his shoulders away and stared directly into his eyes. "I promise I'll find the temple for you…"

"O-okay. Just stop crying, please."

"They're happy tears now," she chuckled, wiping her face with her palms.

"Oh… So, what now?" He asked, not sure of what to do, trying to ignore the funny sensations having her kneeling between his legs caused.

"Let's start by taking your things upstairs…"

Ukyo couldn't believe her luck as she guided the lost boy to the guestroom. She'd been so desolated when he'd said no; seeing him in town after having accepted her fate had been a huge relief, but when he'd said he wasn't helping her it'd been like falling into that hopeless pit all over again. Thank God he decided to change his mind.

He followed her into the room and started to look around.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," she said and he dropped the backpack next to the bed. She noticed his tired face and dirty clothes. "Would you like to take a shower?"

"S-sure…" He bent down and retrieved a set of clean clothes from his backpack.

"Follow me," she led him to the bathroom and handed him a towel.

Ukyo busied herself with tidying up the room, mopping the floor and dusting off the furniture. She was finishing making the bed with clean sheets when he returned to the guestroom.

"I'm sorry if all this seems a little crazy, but it's the only thing I could think of."

"It does sound crazy," Ryoga pointed out and she glared at him.

"You just agreed to go through with it!"

"Yes, but I didn't say I think it will work out; quite the opposite, in fact."

"Then why are you even doing this?"

"I really want to find that temple," he shrugged.

"Well, it will work out if we do our best and don't screw it up."

Ryoga snorted, "We always screw your plans up, Ukyo."

She could feel herself losing her patience already.

"Look, if you're having second thoughts…"

"No, I'm just stating the obvious, and I don't want you spatulating my head when all goes to hell, 'cause that's bound to happen."

"I won't, because it will work out just fine."

"Promise me."

She sighed, "I promise I won't hit you with my spatula if anything goes wrong. Happy now?"

"It's a start," he said, scratching the back of his head; "so, what do I have to do?"

She stopped; she hadn't actually thought about past the part of asking him.

"Uh… I don't know."

"You don't know?!" He repeated, scandalized.

"I haven't thought this through! I never thought I'd find you, and then I never thought you'd say yes!"

"Oh my God…" Ryoga sat on the bed, bent down and covered his head with his arms. "This is the worst plan you've ever come up with, and it's not even a proper plan!"

"H-hey!"

"I'm just saying that you should have thought this better, Ukyo." He lifted his face and looked back at her. "I gave you my word, and I'm doing it, but only if you're sure. You still have a chance to back away."

"No, we're not backing away." She said firmly. "We're doing this."

He was there for a reason; whether it was a sign, a miracle, or whatever you want to call it, he was there. She couldn't let this opportunity pass by without trying.

She had to try.

Hello! Second chapter up! I hope you're all enjoying the beginning of the story, I'll try to update regularly from now on. Thank you for all the reviews on the first chapter, I'm thrilled that you're eager to read a new story from me; I'm eager to write it, too. So keep reading!

Hugs! =D