A/N: And part two! Getting these done rather easily because I don't have (m)any other commissions on hold right now.

They found Heicha once again scrunched up behind something. This time, it was a cabinet in the kitchen that did little to actually conceal her. She screeched, "Go away!" almost immediately.

"Heicha, won't you please come out?" Pudding asked, trying again to be gentle with the younger girl.

"No, I can't! He's gonna beat me up just like the boys!" she wailed.

Taruto stepped closer to her and she trembled as he did. He got down on his knees and said, "We were just playing, you know. I wouldn't ever hurt them and I wouldn't ever hurt you!"

"No! You're bad!" she said, shaking her head hard. "I can tell because you look bad and mean and scary!" She hit him on the head to punctuate her sentence, and though she was so small that it didn't really hurt him, it became incredibly hard for him to keep his patience with her.

He took a deep breath and reminded himself that she was just a little kid and, besides, it wasn't as if he hadn't been bratty in the past (and the not so distant past, at that). She was just scared of a new situation and he had to be understanding of her reactions, no matter how annoying they may be.

"I know I look pretty weird," he started, "but I'm not scary at all! In fact, looking weird just makes this easier!" He made a funny face then, which she struggled not to laugh at, biting her lip. He made another one, keeping it up until finally she dissolved into giggles. "See?"

"I...dunno," she said, after she had stopped laughing. "I guess maybe you might not be bad..."

"I promise he isn't," Pudding said, finally speaking up. "And don't forget that ice cream promise."

At that, Heicha's eyes lit up and she finally came out of her hiding spot. She started off to join her older brothers and Pudding and Taruto followed, both relieved that they had finally gotten her to warm up to him. It had not been an easy battle, but it seemed that she would at last play along willingly.

From then on out, the day would be easy. At least, it should have been, the way Pudding saw it. But they were not aware of an unforeseen complication that was on its way to her home.

~X~

At some point, it had become necessary to move the games outside, lest the house not get destroyed by the children. The seven of them had been playing happily for quite some time before Taruto noticed something a bit strange.

There appeared to be two men on the horizon, slowly approaching. He didn't think that they could possibly be on their way to Pudding's home, but every time he looked back over at them, they had only grown closer, with no appearance of changing direction any time soon. Eventually, they were close enough that the others took notice, and though they all seemed as confused as he was, they also seemed happy.

And then they all got up and ran at one of the men, embracing him and declaring in unison, "Papa!"

A sense of dread fell over him as he realized exactly what was going on. He wondered if he should make a quick getaway, but the other man, who was a bit younger, had already noticed him and was giving him a once-over. There was no way that this could end well for him.

Pudding seemed to realize the problem too, though, and pulled back from the hug. "Papa, this is such a surprise...I wasn't expecting to see you today! Or...Yuebin." The other man gave her a smile, before turning his attention back to Taruto.

"Yes, well, I had some time and I thought I would surprise you kids with a visit! Yuebin wanted to come along and see his future family," the father replied.

"Pudding, who is this?" Yuebin finally spoke up, gesturing to Taruto.

"Oh," she said, trying to think of a quick excuse as her father took in the strange appearance of the alien. "That's, um..."

"Her boyfriend!" one of the young boys said.

Another said, "Shhhh! She said he was just her special friend!"

"Yeah, but he's really her boyfriend!" a third piped up.

"Duh, we all know that! But we're not supposed to let her know we know!" the fourth said.

"Boyfriend?" her father asked, looking perplexed. "Pudding, is it true that this...strange looking gentlemen is your boyfriend?"

"W-well, I..."

"Do you really think you should be pursuing romantic relations with anyone, much less someone of his appearance?" interrupted Yuebin.

"It's not-"

"I've seen some strange things in my travels, but he really is quite the oddity, isn't he?" her father asked. "But that's beside the point. Pudding, you know you're betrothed to Yuebin. Why would you engage in a relationship with someone else?"

"Because...because...I won't be marrying him for a long time, and it's normal for girls my age to go on dates! I thought there was no harm in dating as long as it was ended before my wedding," she lied. The truth was that she had no intention of marrying for anything but love, but that was something she would deal with later.

Taruto could tell she was lying, so he played along with a lie of his own. "Y-yes, sir, she explained her circumstances to me and I know that nothing can come out of this."

"That's good, that's good," her father said, nodding. "But! I cannot just let my daughter date any man! I would only want her with someone that I knew was worthy spending time with her."

"I agree. I would never have my fiance lowering herself," said Yuebin.

"Taruto's great!" she protested. "He's totally worthy of spending time with me!"

"That's for me to decide," her father replied. "And there's really only one way of determining if he is worthy of you or not, and one way to determine if he is a good match for you."

"Yes, it's the only way," Yuebin said with a nod.

"What are you talking about?" asked Pudding and Taruto in unison.

"Combat!" her father answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The two of you will fight the two of us. If you are able to defeat us, it will prove that he is good enough for you, and it will prove that you can work well together and are a good match."

"That's ridiculous," Taruto said, shaking his head.

"Ha! I can already tell he's no good for her," said Yuebin. "He's nothing but a coward!"

"I am not!"

"Then why won't you accept the challenge?"

"You know you don't have to," she said, not wanting to push Taruto into some crazy test of strength just for her benefit.

"No," he said, "I have to, right? Gotta prove that I'm good enough for you."

"Alright," she said. "Then we'll fight them together!"

A/N: Next and final chapter, the battle and the exciting conclusion. Will Taruto gain their approval?