CHAPTER NINE

It was all over.

He had screwed up majorly. How could had he been so stupid?!

Ukyo would come back to kick him out anytime soon. Her father would never accept him into the family now that the man knew his darkest flaw. Takeo would tell her to break up with him and she would be back to square one, unengaged and at risk of losing everything. He had failed her, he had broken his part of the deal, and the disappointment on her face had been unbearable.

Maybe he could convince Mr. Kuonji that it had all been his fault somehow and that Ukyo shouldn't pay for his stupidity. He would talk to her father and beg him to give her the restaurant if he needed to. Then, he would be off to find the temple again and try to make something of his life…and probably end up lost forever. He'd deserved it, though, for being such a failure to her. If she ended up on the street because of him… Guilt churned in his stomach and his body shook with barely restrained anger, he was so disgusted with himself!

The sound of the sliding door being opened sobered him up, and then he heard footsteps coming to his side, but he didn't look up. He waited patiently for the hard, cold steel of Ukyo's large spatula to descend with full force onto his skull, but it never came. Instead, there was a shift on the mattress as she sat next to him.

His breath came in and out irregularly, but he refused to cry. He would receive his punishment like a man.

"Stop depressing, you moron, everything's okay."

It took him a moment to comprehend what she was saying.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Dad understands about your 'directional misfunction'."

He would've laughed at the term if he hadn't been so distraught. He lifted his head and peered at her, her beautiful face softening into a calming smile.

"A-are you serious?"

"Yes." She nodded for good measure. He couldn't believe Mr. Kuonji would just accept that… then it dawned on him.

"You convinced him, didn't you?"

The pretty girl looked sheepish, biting her thumbnail, "I may have thrown a valid point or two into the conversation, yes."

Ryoga sat up and turned to face her. He would had rather that the oldest chef never found out about his directional problem, but he was glad that Ukyo had somehow managed to make it look as if it wasn't such a deficiency. She really did have a talent for convincing people.

"So, the plan's still on?"

"You bet, Hibiki." She turned to face him, sitting cross-legged on the bed. "Did you think I was letting you off the hook so easily? Besides, I did promise you to help you find the cure, so stop worrying about it, okay?"

He simply nodded, not wanting to tell her he'd been worrying about her. Something she said came back to him then, and he got curious.

"What were those valid points you mentioned?"

It surprised him to notice her cheeks turning pinkish.

"I told him that he shouldn't overlook your good qualities because of one unusual trait, and that it wasn't a problem for us, so it shouldn't bother him."

"That was nice, even if it isn't true."

"What do you mean?"

He snorted. "Come on, Ukyo."

"Hey, I admit it can be pretty annoying sometimes, and it can get frustrating—like today—, but it hasn't been a real problem. Besides, you even managed not to get lost so far."

"That's because I'm living here and you never leave me out of your sight. You can't tell me that's easy for you."

"It may have been a bit tedious at first but I hardly ever notice now," she shrugged. "It's become a habit," she added with humor.

His shame upped a notch.

"I'm sorry you have to do that for the plan. I know I'm not worth the trouble."

"Always such a drama queen." Ukyo rolled her eyes. "You're not that bad now, Ryoga. You can do on your own around the apartment and the restaurant."

"Just don't let me cross the front door, right?"

"Would you just stop beating yourself, you jackass?"

He just shrugged because no, he couldn't. He was a directionless walking disaster and he knew it.

The pretty chef brushed his hair off his face in that way he liked so much and it shook him to the core since they weren't pretending right now; it was just the two of them and she had done it because she had wanted to. Or maybe it had been out of habit. He didn't care, though, he enjoyed it as much as the other times…perhaps even more.

She looked expectantly at him.

Ryoga sighed, relenting, even though he knew she was just saying that to cheer him up. Arguing with her had never proven to be successful on his side.

"Okay…"

The brunette nodded, looking satisfied with his answer.

"Good." She stood up and rested her hands on her hips. "Now that we've cleared that up, stop brooding and let's go eat. I'm hungry."

He shook his head with an amused smile, "Why are you so set on cheering me up?"

"I don't know! It just pissed me off that you'd be putting yourself down so willingly after I had just made a case about why I'd chosen you to my dad."

He stood up, wondering what 'good qualities' she'd made up about him for her father's sake.

"I bet you omitted the part where you 'chose me'," he quoted with his fingers, "because I conveniently happened to never be around to actually meet him."

She blushed deep scarlet, yet she remained stoic.

"Well, there you go. Now you can't say that your lack of a sense of direction has never come in handy."

She'd spoken so matter-of-factly that he couldn't help but chuckle.

"You really have a way with words, don't you?" he asked, smiling amusedly and feeling a bit better thanks to her. The plan was still going and maybe he wasn't such a lost cause, after all.

"What I have is a rumbling stomach," she pointed out, blush diminishing slowly, "so, get yourself together and let's go downstairs before I change my mind and bring my spatula."

"No spatula needed," he lifted his palms up in surrender. "After you." He made a silly flourish, smiling when she shook her head fondly and whispered a 'jackass'.

As he walked behind her, the prospect of spending another week with the pretty chef seemed brighter than before…

Lunch had gone by uneventful. Mr. Kuonji hadn't said anything about what had happened and he was grateful, it had given him time to calm down. Whatever Ukyo had told her father had worked out because things seemed to be back to normal…well, as normal as they could be in their situation.

Everybody had scattered off after eating, Ukyo going upstairs to clean the bedrooms, Mr. Kuonji to the backyard to get some air, and he had stayed in the kitchen.

He was doing the dishes again, since he enjoyed the distraction and it gave him time to think about nothing, he'd just concentrate on his task. Besides, Ukyo always seemed pleased whenever he did, and he liked when she thanked him in such a nice way, something along the lines of a 'thank you, sweetheart'.

He liked when she called him sweetheart. It wasn't her regular sugar, or the honey she used to address him in front of her father. Whenever she called him sweetheart, it was with genuine endearment. It was a stupid thing to feel good about, but he couldn't help it, since it meant that Ukyo was starting to find him agreeable now that they were getting along. He definitely preferred this nicer version of the chef, even though there was still some name-calling and bickering, she seemed to be more tolerant towards him. He couldn't say they had become friends, but at least there was a sense of camaraderie between them now.

The back door opened and the eldest Kuonji entered the kitchen, walking towards his side. Hands in pockets, the man leaned against the counter and watched him wash a cup. He pursed his lips; he knew where this was going before it even started.

"So…" Takeo started conversationally, "Ukyo told me you get lost."

"Yes, Mr. Kuonji."

The chef nodded a few times, as if absorbing the fact. "Does it happen often?"

Ryoga knew what he was asking. Takeo wanted to know how repeatedly he was leaving his daughter by herself. "Not when I'm inside," he explained, embarrassed. Ukyo had been right, he hadn't gotten lost in two weeks, and that was improvement. He wasn't telling the man that little detail, of course.

"So, when you do get lost, how long does it take you to come back?"

"When I'm familiar with the place, it usually takes me a few hours, maybe even a day; two at the top… There are fewer times that it takes me a little longer…" he mumbled the last part dejectedly.

"Okay…that's not as bad as I'd thought. Whenever I'd called Ukyo, you'd been gone for a long time."

He pursed his lips to refrain from snorting, knowing that he hadn't even been there in the first place.

"Those times I had actually been training, Mr. Kuonji."

"I see." The chef went silent, his gaze fixed on the table in front of him, as if lost in thought.

He finished rinsing the cutlery and turned off the hot water tap, then grabbed a dishcloth to dry his hands off.

"I'm sorry about this, Mr. Kuonji. I know it's not what you would have wanted for your daughter."

Nor what she would truly want for herself. He'd known she'd said his name because it had been convenient for her back then, otherwise she would never had chosen him as a fiancé—albeit a fake one. What she had said earlier didn't matter, she would never pick such an emotional-overloaded, cursed moron to spend her life with. Nobody would.

"I admit it's unexpected, and yes, I would rather you didn't have this condition, but as long as you can make it work, it's your and my daughter's business, not mine."

Condition, he'd said, as if it was some sort of disease. Maybe it was, though, he couldn't be sure. He'd never known why he and both his parents had that problem. He folded and unfolded the dishcloth on the counter, trying to keep his hands busy.

"I wish you would've told me, though."

Ah, there it was.

The all-too-familiar feeling of rejection was slowly crawling into his heart. Takeo may not be intervening in his 'relationship' with Ukyo, in spite of not being completely in agreement now, but that didn't mean he still wanted him to be a part of his trade, as he'd suspected. He turned to the man and bent his body in a respectful bow.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Kuonji. I understand that you don't want to train me anymore. I apologize for wasting your time…"

"What?" The man's voice sounded amused. "What made you say that? Straighten up, kiddo. I never said I didn't want to train you anymore, I just wished I'd known so we wouldn't have made Ukyo so worried this morning!"

His body bolted upright, his eyes wide in surprise, "Really?"

The older man laughed, shaking his head, "Yes, really. Like I've said, it's your business with her, not mine."

His heart swelled with joy. Mr. Kuonji was indeed a good man if he was willing to overlook his problem for his daughter's sake.

"I don't know what to say, I-I…thank you."

"Not necessary," he brushed him off with a wave of his hand, "now go upstairs and tell Ucchan that we'll spar whenever she's finished. I'll be waiting in the backyard."

"Sure!" He nodded and darted up the stairs, grinning widely. He ran towards Ukyo's bedroom, halting at the open door. She was sitting on the bed, folding the laundry.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Your dad said we're sparring whenever you're finished," he announced unceremoniously, bouncing slightly on his heels. She seemed to notice since she giggled.

"What has gotten you in such a good mood? Not that I'm complaining, though…"

"Your dad told me he's still training me," he stated with excitement.

"That's good," she beamed at him. "I was wondering about that, actually."

"About what?" He leaned his shoulder on the doorframe, crossing his arms on his chest to stop himself from keep bouncing like an idiot.

"Why are you so eager to train with my dad?"

The question caught him off guard, since he hadn't wanted to think too much about his reasons, because he didn't quite understand them himself. He'd just known that he had wanted to prove himself worthy to Mr. Kuonji…and to her.

"I don't know… it's good to learn something new, I guess, and…it's nice to train with someone, for once…"

Oh, God… Did he really need to sound that pathetic? She looked at him with sympathy in her eyes before she focused on her task again.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Really?"

She shrugged, her cheeks turning slightly reddish, "I haven't had anyone to train with until you came along. It's nice to get to do that again."

It occurred to him then that maybe he wasn't the only one who was lonely. Ukyo's restaurant was always full of people, she was friends with Ranma and Akane, and she had her father. However, you could only talk to costumers that much, she didn't have plenty of free time to hang out with Ranma and Akane on a regular basis, and her father lived three hundred miles away and he would only visit for a weekend every few months—the current visit was obviously an exception.

He suddenly understood Mr. Kuonji's request for Ukyo to get engaged, albeit he didn't agree with it. The girl had no one to share her day-to-day routine. This realization saddened him, since he had come to know her a little better and she was a wonderful girl, she deserved someone who cared for her.

He knew he was far from being an actual part of her life, but, for as long as he'd be around, at least he could keep her company and he'd give her the best of him in the only thing he knew he was good at—martial arts.

"We'll train as much as you want, Ukyo!" he blurted, going instantly red in the face as her pretty eyes settled on him. She seemed surprised by the offer, but then her face split into a beautiful grin.

"That would be awesome, Ryoga. I love sparring with you," she beamed.

"Y-you do?"

"Yeah!" She giggled, fixing her gaze on the shirt she was folding. Her cheeks were pinkish again. "I wasn't lying when I told my dad that you were a skilled martial artist…"

Hearing her say that felt like winning a prize. He knew he was a good fighter, he trained hard, always pushed himself to the limit and he was disciplined and committed to the art, but having her saying that he was skilled was amazing. His chest puffed with emotion.

"Thank you, Ukyo." He said solemnly, bowing to her.

"It's just the truth," she replied shyly, the blush on her cheeks intensifying, giving him a view of that feminine side of her that rendered him so helpless… He watched her as she stood up from the bed and started putting away the stashes of clothes, moving with such grace it put dancers to shame. After two whole weeks, he still hadn't been able to overcome the surprise at the huge change in her. It made him think that she hadn't just decided to start dressing as a girl, she had decided to actually become a woman as well. It was still blowing his mind just how beautiful she really was and how sweet and caring she could be when she wanted to. And it still shook him when he was the recipient of such behavior, her tender touches and soft caresses messing with his head… He knew it was just for show, that it didn't mean anything, but there was no way to control the way his body reacted to her touch, as if her hands were made of fire and she just set his skin aflame. To make things worse, that kiss on his cheek that morning had sent his brain into overdrive. If she started kissing him now…

It was the first time he had a beautiful girl touching him in such manner and it was hard to handle, that was it. He knew he had to get his mind out of the gutter and focus on their plan. They were just playing a role, and even if she had started being nicer to him when they weren't pretending, it didn't mean that things would turn into something else. Ukyo didn't like him like that, and, in spite of thinking she was beautiful, he wasn't attracted to her or anything. So, he really, really needed to stop confusing things.

She snapped her fingers in front of his face, bringing him back to reality.

"Wandering off again?" She asked.

"I-I was just thinking about sparring…" he covered, his cheeks on fire. She set her gaze on his face, her astonishing eyes sparkling with amusement, her plump lips, the very same ones that had kissed him that morning, stretching into a smile.

"Come on, jackass, let's see what kind of training my dad has prepared for you." The tinkling sound of her laughter-filled voice made his heart flutter as she swatted his arm good-naturedly, his whole body tightening in response.

Yeah… he definitely wasn't attracted to her. Not one little bit…

Hello, everybody! I want to say THANK YOU for all the reviews and PMs, I'm happy to know you guys are still reading! Every word I get from you encourages me to keep writing =D

Note: most of my fics are based on the anime.

I hope everyone is safe and well!

Hugs,

Anya.