(A/N: This is my first story! Woo! Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon, or any of it's characters.)
Chapter 1: The Arrival To The Destination:
The boat rocked gently as it sailed across the ocean, the waves slowly raising as the skies grayed.
"Captain?" Hikari bit her lip as the skies continued to gray. "What do you think we'll do? There's a storm coming, is there not?" Pascal looked at the girl, surprise clouding his features.
"Well, Hikari.." He chose his next words carefully, "As long as you don't fall overboard, our voyage shall be just fine." Hikari's amber eyes were a mixture of emotions, often switching from worry to excitement.
"So does that mean..." She tilted her head, "that we'd be in the middle of a storm? Cool!" Grinning, she fist pumped the air and looked continued to look at the sky, it's normally gentle nature becoming harsh with winds picking up.
"Hikari, you'd better get back in your room," Pascal advised, "It's not going to be 'cool' if you're stuck overboard."
"Yes Pascal, I know." The girl spoke quietly, a hint of sadness in her voice. "It's fine though, if I just stand here. It's not like I'm going to be knocked off." A large wave washed over and rocked the boat, causing Hikari to lose her grasp on the slippery rail. With a shriek, she fell into the ocean and saw darkness, before everything went black.
"Is the girl alright?" There were voices, and Hikari could have sworn one of them sounded like her mother.
"I believe so, she took a fairly good blow to the head, at least that's what Pascal told us," The man's voice was soft and smooth, an odd combination for a man to have, at least to Hikari.
"I'm fine," Hikari protested weakly, coughing and noting how soft her voice was. It was surprising to hear her voice that quiet, and she huffed at the looks on the duo's faces.
"Hikari, right?" A woman smiled gracefully at her. Hikari noticed the judging look on her face as she noticed the now dry farmer's clothing her father had given her. With a scoff, she pushed the woman's hands off of herself and carefully swung her legs to the side of the bed.
"Colleen!" The man whispered hurriedly to the woman. "She's not supposed to be up, now is she?" Colleen shook her head, and her lips curved up into a tight smile.
"Dr. Jin said nothing about her getting up and walking, so it should be fine, Jake." Jake cast a worried glance at the young girl, but sighed.
"My name is Jake," He spoke loudly and smiled. "And this is Colleen,"
"Pleased to meet you," Hikari grumbled, angrily picking up her bag and pulling the door open. "If you don't mind, I'll be heading out to my rightful farm."
"Farm?" Before they could question her any farther, Hikari stormed off and ignored the looks the guests were giving her. With a sigh, the girl looked up and saw the skies had calmed down a bit.
"Figures it'd happen right after I'd been thrown overboard." She murmured, playing with a lock of brown hair. She looked around, taking in her surroundings with her curious amber eyes.
"Town Hall," Tilting her head, a small smile graced her lips. "I bet that's where I should go to meet Hamilton, right?" Hikari paused for a moment, before remembering she had no map of where to go. Cursing under her breath, she casually strolled down the pathway and hoped she could bump into someone who would help her.
"Oof!" A blue haired boy grinned down at her as she fell back, startled. Holding out a hand for her to take, she shook her head and got up on her own.
"Sorry," She cast her eyes downward, not wanting to face anybody. Even though she was indeed lost, she couldn't just be so forward as to ask for help.
"It's alright! My name's Luke, I'm the carpenter," He smiled sheepishly. "Well, the carpenter's apprentice." Hikari felt a small smile tug at her lips and she held back a chuckle.
"My name is Hikari," She looked up finally, seeing a pair of catlike eyes staring back at her. They were such a pretty color..
"Nice to meet you, Hikari!" Snapping out of her thoughts, Hikari nodded and politely averted her eyes.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm- ah- new around here." She fumbled with her words slightly, and a blush rose to her cheeks. Luke didn't seem to mind, and grinned.
"I'll show you around then!" Without an answer, he grabbed her hand and led her around the town. She couldn't help but notice how her small, soft hand felt in comparison to giant, rough hand. It felt strange, but at the same time soothing as she remembered her father's hand being the same way. After a few minutes, they stopped at the town hall and Luke grinned.
"This is the Town Hall," He pointed at the doors and held the same grin on his face. "I think this is where you wanted to go, right?" Nodding, Hikari smiled again and turned away. Why am I feeling this way? Hikari thought, her eyes clouding with confusion. I don't smile that often at people, but why am I smiling at Luke? With a roll of her eyes, she regained her focus and politely excused herself.
"Thanks Luke, I need to get going now though. I'll visit you at the carpenters soon, alright?" Luke nodded and left cheerfully, leaving Hikari to sigh and think about what had happened.
"Oh well," She grumbled. "Best not to think about it. It'll probably go away." Heading into the Town Hall, she was greeted by a kind looking brunette, her hands buried in paperwork.
"Hello there!" The brunette held a polite smile on her face, and looked at Hikari kindly. Hikari felt a small grin returning to her face, and she knew she'd like this girl.
"Hi," She spoke softly, "My name is Hikari. I'm new here, and I would like to be a-" A short, chubby man bounced up to her as soon as she was going to explain, and hurriedly handed her a key.
"You're the new farmer! Yes, yes, let's hurry along then!" Mayor Hamilton, or what she presumed was Mayor Hamilton, bounced joyfully down the walkway, leading her to the farm.
"Here it is!" He cried cheerfully, looking at the rundown farm. Hikari's jaw dropped.
"You've got to be kidding me," She murmured. "This isn't it, is it?"
"Oh but indeed it is!" Hamilton smiled at her before patting her on the back and rushing off. Well, at least she could sleep in for the day. With a sigh, she opened the door, wincing as it squeaked, and set her bags down. Hopping on the bed, she knew it was going to be a long day tomorrow.
(A/N: This is my first real story, and it's Harvest Moon! Yippee, how's that for a change? Well, plenty of people do HM stories, and I'm obviously not the first. But oh well! Hope you all enjoyed, and I'm sure that there will be more in the future, if people like it at least.)
