Chapter One

The sun rose to the east,turning the dark sky a bright pink. The first few sun rays landed on a small dirt town in southern Montana. Population,79. It used to be eighty,but one moved away a couple of months ago. No one's seem him since.

As the sun rose,people woke up and left their houses to start the day. The few local farmers were already up and about. In one house,just a little off the center of town,a young man still lay sleeping in bed. His dirty blond hair was messy from tossing around during the night. Behind his closed eyelids,rested light brown colored eyes.

A knock at his bedroom door woke him for his slumber. He got up from the bed and dragged himself to the door. Standing there was a woman,just a few years older than him. Her eyes were a bit darker than his,and her hair laid straight down until it reached her shoulders,where the ends curled inwards.

"What do you want,Natsumi?" the young man asked,yawning slightly.

"I want you to wake up,little brother." Natsumi answered.

"What for?"

"'What for?' Akito Hayama. All you ever do is sleep." Natsumi scolded.

"And? There's not much else to do here anyway." Akito yawned again. "And I don't just sleep. I work."

"Right. How could I forget about my brother,the great stable boy?" Natsumi mocked.

"Shut up." Akito said.

"Whatever. I'm leaving for work. Don't wreck the house. I'll be back later." She turned and left out the front door. Akito turned and went back to his bed. He laid down. Then he heard a knocking on his window. Looking up,he saw Natsumi tapping the glass. "And don't go back to sleep!" she scolded from outside,her voice muffled. She walked away.

Akito stood back up and made his bed. He left his room,walked past Natsumi's and into the kitchen. He made himself breakfast. When he was finished, Akito cleaned up and walked outside into the sun for the first time that day.

Akito walked around for a bit,then went to the eastern farmhouse to start work for the day. The farmer,Farmer Tanaka,greeted him and Akito went into the barn. First he let the animals out to the fenced field. While the animals were out,Akito scooped out the droppings,then swept the floor. He worked for hours,until the sun reached it's peak in the sky.

The hard-working Akito rested under a tree,relishing the break. Afterward,he got up to start back to work. Tanaka,on the other hand,let Akito off the rest of the day. Thanking Farmer Tanaka,Akito set off on his way back home.

While walking down the road into town,he passed many of the locals. They greeted him and continued on their way. Akito lived in a small town,where everyone knew everyone. And everyone knew Akito. They knew him as 'the quiet young man who worked for one of the farmers',with an attitude if made angry.

They also knew his friend,who Akito just ran into.

"Good afternoon,Akito." his friend said. He had dark brown hair,growing down to his ears. His brown eyes were behind his large glasses. He wore a normal white shirt with black pants,both a bit wrinkled.

"Hello,Tsuyoshi." Akito said.

"Did Farmer Tanaka let you off early?"

"Yes."

"Wow. That's great."

"Yeah."

A couple old women walked by and waved hello at Tsuyoshi. Tsuyoshi waved back,a smile brightening his face. He turned back to Akito. "So what are you going to do with your new free time?"

"I was going to go home to sleep."

Tsuyoshi rolled his eyes. "You always sleep,Akito."

"You sound like my sister." Akito said.

"Whatever." Tsuyoshi said laughing.

Akito smirked a little. He really enjoyed spending time with his only true friend in town. And the feeling was mutual.

"Well,I have to go." Tsuyoshi said. "I'll see you later,Akito. Have fun sleeping the day away."

"I will. See you later." Akito and Tsuyoshi walked in different directions,each going about their business.

Akito got home and went inside. He made himself a snack and laid down on his bed. He let out a sigh. That was it. His entire day. He had nothing else planned,not in this small town. Too small for Akito. He felt cramped. Everyday,the same thing. Wake up,eat,work,sleep. Every now and then,he'd get days off,and those days would be twice as boring if not for Tsuyoshi.

And today,Farmer Tanaka had let him off early. Early! He couldn't believe it. While brooding, Akito slipped into a sleep.

He woke up hours later. He made himself dinner,bathed,then went back to bed. While trying to fall back to sleep,he heard his sister,Natsumi,come home. He fell back to sleep shortly afterwards.

/

Akito woke up to Natsumi knocking on his door again. He dressed himself and answered the door. After greeting him,she left. Akito made himself breakfast,and went outside to start work. Then he remembered,he had the day off. "Urggh." he grunted.

'Another day,another bore.' thought Akito. He had no idea what to do to occupy his time. He wasn't even tired,so he couldn't go back to sleep. He decided to walk around the town,again.

After his third lap around the entire town,Akito went home and sat down on the chair outside the front door. He gave a bored sigh,then the chair broke. With a crack,the wooden chair gave way. Akito lost to gravity,falling to the ground.

"Ow." Akito mumbled. "Stupid old chair." he said standing back up. His backside hurting,Akito walked it off. He found himself just outside Farmer Tanaka's farm. Akito saw the front door was laying on the porch,broken.

Akito ran up to the house. Standing on the porch,he looked inside. The place was a mess. Akito stepped inside cautiously. The house was completely ransacked. Farmer Tanaka came out from around a corner,holding a shotgun. Akito backed away,putting his hands up.

"Oh Akito. It's you." the farmer said. He lowered the weapon.

"Farmer Tanaka,what happened?" Akito asked.

"Something terrible. I was taking a short break from yard work,when I heard a knock on the door. I open it,and three large brutes barge in. They knocked me down and stole from me! Look at this place. They took everything of value. Everything! What am I going to do?" the farmer looked at Akito. "Oh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be going on like this to you."

"No,it's okay." Akito said. "Where did they go? The thieves?"

"They got in a wagon and raced off out of town. That way." Tanaka pointed south of town. "Some nerve. Akito?"

Akito rushed out of the house and went into the farmers stable. Borrowing a horse,Akito raced off after the thieves.