CHAPTER SIX.

Ukyo had never been happier.

Her father would be leaving soon, satisfied that his condition had been fulfilled, and she'd have her restaurant legally after her birthday.

She giggled as she washed the dishes in her little kitchen, feeling quite animated. Ryoga sent her an amused look while he mopped the floor, knowing the reason behind her high spirits.

She turned the tap off and dried her hands with a dishtowel; then walked over to him and beamed, taking the mop from his hands.

"I can't believe we actually pulled it off;" she whispered, cleaning the spot he'd missed, making him roll his eyes.

"Yeah, one of your plans actually worked…" He stated, amazed, and she bopped him on the head good-naturedly.

"Shut up! I told you it was going to work!"

Ryoga rolled his eyes, "You always say that…" Then he shook his head and laughed, straightening the chairs around the table. "I can't believe we did this…"

"I know… Now we have to take care of the second part of our little agreement. After my dad's gone we're going to start planning our trip; maybe we can leave tomorrow, even."

He looked at her with his eyes shining with hope, and she realized she truly wanted to help him find that temple; he deserved it after the huge favor he'd done to her.

"I can't be away for too long, though, so we need to find it within a week. If your tracks are right, we surely get there in a couple of days."

"Really?" Ryoga asked, and she nodded reassuringly. He took a seat and brushed his palms across his face. "I'm going to get cured…" He stated, awed.

Ukyo sat beside him and took one of his hands, squeezing it slightly between hers.

"You will, Ryoga, I promise…"

They looked at each other and laughed happily, celebrating that things finally were going in the right direction for them, and they would get what they wanted the most…

Takeo entered the kitchen then, carrying a rolling suitcase, and smiled at the sight of them. His gaze rested on their holding hands and his smile widened.

"Somebody's in a good mood this afternoon," he commented saucily, and she let go of Ryoga's hands with a blush. A quick glance told her he was blushing like a tomato as well.

"Hey dad, do you want Ryoga to help you take that to your car?"

"Nah, I'm actually taking it back upstairs." He said matter-of-factly and her smile froze in her face.

"Um, why? You forgot to pack something last night?"

"No, I've just changed my mind. Since everything's going alright back at home with my employees in charge of the restaurant, I decided I could stay a little longer…"

Ukyo felt her cheeks on fire. She was definitely not expecting that.

"Really? That's… H-how much longer…?" She asked with a nervous laugh.

Her father scratched the back of his head and laughed, "I don't know, a few days." Takeo waved a hand dismissively, "You'll barely notice me. Besides, I can help around so you can have more free time to spend with Ryoga, and I can teach him a few things as well, isn't that great?"

The man didn't wait for an answer; he just climbed the stairs and disappeared down the hall. Ukyo felt a rush of hysterical laughter bubbling inside her throat, so she pressed her lips tightly together.

Ryoga looked catatonic, and she thanked the heavens he hadn't freaked out and screwed up.

"H-h-he's st-st-st-st..."

"Staying, yes…" She agreed dejectedly, gripping the table's edge with both hands until her knuckles turned white.

He stood up so abruptly the chair scattered noisily on the floor.

"Ukyo, we can't do this any longer! I can't!" He said desperately, pacing back and forth.

"You have to, Ryoga, we can't back away now!"

"We need to tell him the truth!"

Ukyo stood up and walked to him, grabbing his shoulders.

"What do you think my father's gonna say about it? What do you think he's gonna say about a guy spending the night in his single daughter's bedroom?" She pointed out and Ryoga blanched.

"It's too much time, Ukyo… we can't pretend that long! We barely made it through the weekend!"

"Yes, we can! Haven't you noticed how easy it's been? We've been so busy dealing with the restaurant that we barely spent time around him! As long as we keep it that way, it won't be a problem."

"Yes, I've noticed how easy it's been, and I should've known! Nothing ever goes that easy for me!" He snapped, frustrated. "We were so close! I should've known something bad was going to happen!"

"Look," she took his hands in hers again, "we just have to keep this up for a few more days and then we'll be on our way to the temple. Let's just keep acting like we're a couple in front of dad until he feels satisfied and leaves, then we go for your cure, okay?"

"I don't know…"

"Ryoga… it's just for a couple of days, three at the most; I know my dad, he can't stay away from his restaurant for too long… we've come this far, we can't give up now… and it hasn't been that hard being around me, hasn't it?" She smiled sweetly, making him blush.

"Well… I… no, I guess not…"

"See? Think about your cure! Please?"

He sighed, closed his eyes and, after a moment of consideration, nodded reluctantly. Ukyo breathed out in relief and jumped at him, surrounding his neck with her arms. Ryoga's body went immediately stiff.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"What are you thanking him for?" Mr. Kuonji's voice asked curiously and she jumped away from the boy.

"Dad!"

"Oh, don't worry about me, I don't mind seeing you being affectionate with each other;" he said with an encouraging smile.

"Yes, well, you know Ryoga's a bit shy," she laughed nervously, prodding the aforementioned boy's chest with her finger, making him laugh nervously as well.

"Don't worry boy, I don't mind at all." Takeo grinned widely and patted Ryoga's shoulder encouragingly, making him cringe. "You don't have to be so formal around me anymore; you're part of the family now."

"O-okay…" He nodded, blushing like mad.

"Since you don't open up for dinner crowd, how about I make dinner tonight? We haven't celebrated your engagement yet!"

"Um, sure dad, why not?" She tried to smile, but it was more like a grimace. Not only her father was staying longer, but he definitely didn't like her schedule; not to mention she'd have to act a little more 'affectionate' towards Ryoga now that he had given them their blessing.

Could things go worse?

"Great! You two relax and leave everything to me, I'll make something special."

"Okay, uh, come on Ryoga," she took his hand and dragged him to the living-room, making him sit on the couch next to her. He was still in a daze and blushing.

"Get over it, jackass!" She reprimanded in hushed tones, with a bop on his head.

Ryoga hung his head and let out a pitiful whine.

"I knew something like this was going to happen. It had seemed too easy. Of course there had to be a complication. It wouldn't be my life if it didn't-"

"Will you quit it?" She snapped, punching his arm. She was about to chide him again when her father popped his head from the kitchen's door, waggling a little paper.

"Hey, Uchan? Could you go to the grocery store and get me some things?"

"Sure, dad," she smiled sweetly and tugged at the boy's sleeve for him to stand up, but he didn't move. "Come on Ryoga."

"Don't wanna."

"Would you rather stay alone with my father?" She whispered urgently and he stood up in a swift motion. "Thought so…"

They strolled down the street, Ukyo tugging absentmindedly at his hand whenever he seemed to start wandering off, both lost in thought.

"I'm sorry for freaking out like that," Ryoga said after a while, halfway through the store.

"It's okay, Ryoga; I kind of did, too. I almost start laughing like a maniac when my dad said he was staying."

They walked in silence for another block until he talked again.

"I think I can do it," he announced, nodding his head once for good measure.

"Of course you can! You've been doing great the past three days!" She encouraged him with a smile.

"I know… but it's going to be more complicated now, since your dad…" She lifted an eyebrow as he trailed off and he blushed bright red; Ukyo had to stifle a giggle, his shyness could be too cute sometimes. "I mean! It's not like I'm going to do anything improper, you know! I just, I mean, your dad saw us hugging and he said it was okay, so he might expect-"

She lifted her free hand to shut him up before he babbled his head off.

"I know what you're saying, and you're right." She sighed, knowing they should definitely do something about his shyness if they expected to pass as a loving couple in front of her dad, now that the man had given them their approval to show their affections in front of him. How was she supposed to explain to her father that they didn't even seat closely now that she didn't have the excuse of being respectful around him?

"Look, it's no big deal; just don't think about it. If you keep your mind focused on something else, you'll be okay." She said and when he nodded, she curled her hand around the soft, warm skin of his bare arm.

Ryoga inhaled sharply, and she just remained there, standing beside him with her hand curled around his arm, both looking straight ahead.

"We need to go to the vegetables stall first," she said nonchalantly, and started walking towards her left, tugging him along. "Dad wants some shiso."

"O-okay," he squeaked, but walked firmly beside her. His arm clenched and relaxed repeatedly under her palm, and she realized he was fisting and opening his hand, trying to control his nervousness. She would have been annoyed by this if it wasn't for the fact that feeling his strong bicep's movement under her palm was making her feel nervous as well. She wasn't as shy as he was, probably because she had grown up pretending to be a boy and she was used to be around boys, but she had never had this kind of interaction with other boys (aside from Ranma back in the day), and she had to admit it was interesting.

Ryoga's arm, all hard muscle and soft skin, wasn't as hard to hold as it should have been, she realized. In fact, she realized she didn't mind using this new tugging-along method from now on…

"Ukyo?" His voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?" She turned to look at him and he looked confused.

"I can't be sure, but I think we passed the vegetables stall already."

She blinked a couple of times before realizing they had indeed passed the stall and she laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her head, and he just blinked at her.

"Sorry, I got distracted." She realized he had stopped his antics and had stuck his hands in his pockets, which was a good sign. He was relaxing around her, it seemed.

"Distracted by what?" He asked in a curious tone. She blushed again, biting her thumbnail, and the surprised look in his eyes told her he'd realized that she wasn't as unaffected by their closeness as she seemed to be.

"Come on, Hibiki, dad's waiting for us;" she ignored his question, mainly because she didn't have a non-embarrassing answer, and tugged him back to the stall.

They went all over the market with her hand on his arm, getting all the things her dad had asked for, and they were about to leave when they passed by the fruit stall and she remembered she hadn't bought those strawberries that morning, after all.

Ukyo stopped and bought a large amount of the little red fruit, then she resumed the walk with the bag in one hand and her other still curled around his bicep. Ryoga had offered to carry the other bags, being always a gentleman.

"Do you like strawberry pie?" She asked nonchalantly, hoping he'd said yes, or her father would ask her why she was cooking a dessert her fiancé didn't like.

"Sure," he shrugged, and she noticed that he was actually behaving quite relaxed now.

They exited the market and she decided to take the longer route, not eager to return home. The sun was setting and the street was tinted in orange hues, but the lampposts weren't on yet.

"You know…" she started conversationally, "that morning when I found you here, I was about to buy strawberries… I didn't buy them since I wanted to catch up with you, and then I've been so busy that I kind of forgot…"

"Good thing you bought them now…" he muttered absentmindedly.

"Yeah, I'm in need of something sweet, what with all that's happening," she giggled, looking both ways before crossing the street. "Do you like sweets?"

"I don't get to eat that many elaborated things, you know?" He shrugged.

"Well, luckily for you, I'm a great chef, so I'm going to cook anything you want; you deserve it for helping me…"

"That would be nice, since you are a great chef." He smiled honestly, and then Ukyo knew he was finally feeling comfortable enough around her. And she noticed she was surprisingly quite comfortable with their closeness, for that matter.

"This isn't so bad, isn't it?" She asked shyly.

"No, it's not… I can do this." He nodded, and she resisted the urge to do a happy dance.

"I knew you could, Hibiki," she smiled reassuringly, looking up at him, therefore she missed the little crack on the sidewalk and tripped, losing her balance.

He was fast to catch her, snaking his arm around her waist and holding her against his body.

Ukyo froze. They were completely facing each other, chest to chest, his hand pressed securely against her hip. Her startled eyes met with his, and she was now painfully aware of their closeness and the fact that it felt utterly different than before somehow.

"I-I…"

"Uchan?"

"Ryoga-kun?"

His green eyes widened with a mix of horror and surprise, and she knew he was seeing the same in hers. They immediately jumped apart, Ryoga grabbing the grocery bags securely with both hands and she clutching the small paper bag to her chest protectively.

"Ranchan! Akane-chan! Hi!" She greeted with exaggerated cheerfulness, feeling her cheeks on fire. She dared to meet the couple's gazes and found surprise and delight in them.

"Good evening, Akane-san, Saotome." Ryoga bowed respectfully, trying to hide his own blush.

"So…" Ranma started wittily but Akane interrupted him with an elbow to his side.

"We didn't know you were visiting, Ryoga-kun." The shorthaired girl said kindly. "Are you lost?"

"Um, no, I was actually, I mean…"

"He's staying with me," she said reluctantly, avoiding their gazes.

"Oh?" Akane looked between the two of them, "since when?"

"Since Thursday…" She said with a sigh.

"Will you look at that…" Ranma said impishly, earning a growl from the other boy.

"Shut up Saotome, it's not like that."

"Oh-ho, it seemed exactly like that just a moment ago!" The braided boy cackled, huffing when his wife elbowed him on the ribs.

"Shut it, you jerk!" Akane admonished.

"She tripped!" Ryoga protested.

"It's actually not like that, Ranchan… you see, my dad's here."

Akane's eyes widened in surprise. The girl knew all about Ukyo's predicament, including her little fake engagement.

"You didn't…" She said.

"I did," she nodded, blushing; "luckily Ryoga was kind enough to help me."

"Ukyo!" Akane chided, crossing her arms on her chest.

"What? I ran into him the day before my dad was coming, what was I supposed to do?"

Akane opened her mouth but nothing came out, so she shut it closed with a frown.

"For how long is your dad staying, Uchan?"

"A few more days..."

"Good thing we ran into you now, what would've happened if we happened to stumble upon the restaurant without knowing?" Ranma said.

Well, she hadn't thought about that, either. She was surprised her plan was working so well so far, since it was the worst plan she had ever made.

"You would have probably messed everything up, Saotome, that's what." Ryoga snorted.

"That's actually your job, bacon breath," Ranma sneered, and then cursed. "Akane, come on, the market's about to close and Kasumi needs the pepper!"

"Oh, right!" Akane nodded, "so, we'll see you around!" They waved goodbye and sprinted towards the market, leaving the fake couple staring after them.

"Do you really think it's a good idea letting them know?" Ryoga asked with a grimace.

"All support is welcomed in our case, Hibiki," she sighed; "come on, let's go home so dad can finish cooking. We have an engagement to celebrate."

Ryoga patted his stomach, feeling full and contented. Ukyo sent him an amused smile from the other side of the table, were she was finishing her food. The dishes had been awesome, he had to admit Mr. Kuonji was an excellent chef; Ukyo had definitely learned her cooking skills from the man.

She took the last bite and wiped her mouth with the napkin, eyes closed and mouth crooked in pleasant smile. He chuckled, because he had never seen her enjoy something so much as she had that Ume Shiso. Her eyes opened and she returned his smile, leaning forward.

"It's my favorite dish," she whispered for only him to hear, since her father was rummaging inside the fridge. He rolled his eyes since he already knew that.

Mr. Kuonji returned to the table with a bottle of Champagne.

"Are we ready for the toast?"

"Where did you get that from?" Ukyo frowned to her father.

"I've brought it from home, now hush and fetch me some tall glasses."

The girl shook her head and stood up, taking three glasses from the cupboard and resting them on the table in front of the man. Takeo filled the glasses and handed one to him. The bubbling beverage prickled his nose as he smelled it, and he stood up.

"Okay, a toast!" Takeo raised his glass, with a hand on his chest. "For my new son-in-law, who happens to be a wonderful young man, and for my little girl, who finally has found happiness in love…" He didn't miss Ukyo's sad smile. They clanked their glasses and the man said: "Cheers!"

Ryoga took a sip of the cold drink and hated it immediately. Takeo, on the other hand, gulped it down in one swift motion.

"Dad!" Ukyo reprimanded, shaking her head.

"What?" Her father replied innocently, shrugging his shoulders before going for the bottle again. "I'm on vacation, I can have a little drink." Ukyo rested her fists on her hips, elbows sticking out, and her father laughed. "Okay, okay, come here…" He neared her and enveloped her in his arms.

He looked down, hating to intrude in such a private moment between father and daughter, but looked up in time to see Ukyo's eyes brimming with tears before she surreptitiously wiped them off. Whatever her father had said, it had upset her greatly.

He didn't have too much time to ponder on that, though, since it was his turn to be engulfed in a bear hug.

"Son-in-law!" Takeo laughed, patting his back, "congratulations!"

Not knowing how to react, he patted the man's back with uncertainty, feeling utterly uncomfortable. Mr. Kuonji was quite an effusive man, it seemed.

"Welcome to the family, boy…" He whispered in a soft, delighted tone, and those words made something funny to him.

"Alright!" The eldest Kuonji let him go and clapped his hands, sprouting a camera from his pocket, "it's pictures time."

"Dad, that's really not necessary…"

"Are you kidding? Of course it is! There's not even one picture of you two together in the whole place!"

Ukyo made a grimace and then laughed nervously, biting her thumbnail, a habit he discovered she did when nervous.

"That's because I don't like pictures that much," he came to her aid.

"Bah, it's a special occasion, we need pictures of this moment, what will I show my grandchildren then? Come on!" He ushered them to stand together and pose. Ukyo slid her hand on his arm as she had done that afternoon, and he was utterly relieved when his body didn't jump three feet in the air. It had been a good idea for them to try to get used to touching before. He couldn't help the faint blush, though.

"Boy, you're really shy, aren't you? Come on, hug your fiancée!" Takeo chuckled. His heart-rate started picking up; Ukyo looked at him encouragingly. Okay, he could do that; he placed his arm behind her back and she came to him, resting her hand on his chest and her other arm around his waist, pretty much like she had done the day before in her sleep. Her father was smiling as he took the pictures, and he even managed to grin in a couple of shots.

"You just look so cute together," the man said, looking at them through the viewfinder; and he looked down at her, his arm tightening behind her back as he pressed her closer, making Ukyo giggle. She patted his back reassuringly and he felt quite contented with himself. It wasn't so hard to control his shyness, after all…

"How about a picture kissing?" Takeo suggested.

"Onesie!"

"Dad!" They said at the same time.

"What? He said once, come on…"

"No, we're done; it's late and we have to open up early tomorrow." Ukyo chided, stepping away from him and started picking up the table.

"Okay, okay," her father chuckled and went to put away the camera. Ryoga let out a sigh of relief, trying to calm the furious thumping of his heart.

Ukyo approached him again and bopped him behind the head.

"Stop blushing, you idiot."

In response, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her thumbnail off her teeth, making her purse her lips, reminding her that he wasn't the only one affected.

Kuonji Takeo laughed to himself when he slid into the guestroom's bed later that night.

He had to admit his daughter was a truly determined young woman. He had given her the chance to confess to him before he left, but when the time for him to go came around and she still hadn't said a word, he decided he would stay until she did.

If there was something Takeo knew for sure in his life, was that his daughter and the Hibiki boy were absolutely not in a relationship. He'd known it from the minute he set foot in her house. How she had convinced that boy to play the role was a mystery to him.

It had taken him all of his willpower not to laugh out loud when he sneaked into their bedroom and found the sleeping-bag hidden under the bed the very first day. That was the reason why he let his daughter continue with the charade instead of confronting her; besides, the guy seemed to be truly shy, and, as he got to know him a little better, he realized he was a nice, honorable gentleman and he had nothing to worry about.

In fact, he was starting to like the boy, and he had to admit it was a good prospect for his little girl. The guy might be shy, but he didn't miss the looks he sent his daughter… All the boy needed was a little push in the right direction.

And who knew? Maybe he would be going home with his wish fulfilled, after all…

Hi! I'm so happy I'm being able to write again, I hadn't had much free time to do so in a while but I'll try to upload as many chapters as I can this month. Thank you all for the reviews, let me know what you think about this chapter, hugs and happy new year!