IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is based off the game Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town. For those who have played this or any other Harvest Moon games will understand this fic a little better. The characters here are mostly based off of the FOMT characters. And since FFN doesn't allow me to post a link, you might want to search up the game. You might also want to have a vague understanding of what "Heart Events" are. I do also mention "Color Grass" in this fic a bit too. If you wish to have me link you to anything specific for further understanding, feel free to PM me. Otherwise, please enjoy this fic! I enjoyed writing this a lot! Harvest Moon is one of my favourite games. R&R please!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Harvest moon. I'm only writing this for my entertainment.

EDIT: April 23, 2013 - Fixed many mistakes and changed a few lines that won't change how the characters think too much.

GLITCHED: Into the Trap

It was getting warmer and warmer as summer was closing in. A sweat drop slickly rolled down my forehead for the tenth time and I had only been out for half an hour. I ran my sleeve across my forehead and picked up my pace.

I wrapped my arms around the basket and held it close to my chest as I jogged past the woodcutter's house and up the hill to the clearing at the foot of the mountain. Running in this heat was really unpleasant, but once I stepped onto the green grass of the clearing I wasn't regretting anything.

The best thing about summer was that wild plants grew all over the mountain clearings. The variety differed depending on the season. I also observed that after storms there were more plants than any regular day, which was weird considering the harsh winds would have killed most plants. By the way, storms only occurred during summers and winters.

On a weekly basis I climbed these hills to gather the scattered colored grass and flowers for research, but that was mostly just an excuse. I had already collected all the information I can with these plants. I come here simply because I was fond of the oddly colored grass and the place. Depending on the season there were occasionally edible pieces lying around, one being the wild grapes which I also adore. And they showed themselves in the summer too. One could say my favorite season was summer...if one were to subtract the elements of summer that I disliked.

The thing I disliked about summer was the oppressive heat. When more than five villagers were together in a room, the stench of sweat was just unbearable. Though it wouldn't be too bad if it were that simple, but I have yet to state my summer's greatest enemy—Kuroro Lucifer. He was the traveling merchant that came around only in the summer and I hated him with a passion. There were many causes towards that hatred.

One, he was—and still is—always in possession of the rare items that I had been searching for to retail them at a completely unreasonable price. Second, his personality sucked. He was such a cold manipulating bastard, always getting whatever he wanted with his twisted scheming and smooth acting. Lastly, he kept hanging around Neon and being overly friendly with her. I admit my interest in her comprised many levels of ulterior motives, but I will not divulge them now. In my defence, I will almost mention that Neon's brother, Leorio, also felt sorely about Kuroro. And Leorio was an honest, unprejudiced simpleton of a man. Not saying that I was anything but honest, but just saying.

Picking up the last Blue Grass in my field of vision, I tossed it in my basket and readied myself for the walk home. That was after I washed my face in the clear lake water nearby. My face would probably be toasted by the time I got home without any sunblock for protection.

After a few refreshing splashes of water against my face, I climbed down the hill and headed back for the library. And yes, I was the town's librarian.

With the heat taking the better of me, I decided to go against my principles and take the shortcut through the farm, trespassing. Tiptoeing across the little bridge, I marched passed the poultry shed with soft footsteps. On my way to the entrance, I stopped mid step and froze when I heard voices chattering up ahead. With a silent gasp, I attempted to run behind the apple tree but was caught halfway by the farmer's sharp eyes.

With a smile he called out to me, "Hey, Kurapika! It's rare seeing you here, what are you doing?"

I forced a smile and managed a little wave towards the new farmer. The previous farmer passed away due to old age and then this boy—who was probably only a few years younger than me—came along with the old man's will. He was a nice kid, this Gon Freaks boy, but he was simple to a fault.

"Just taking a shortcut, if you don't mind. It's just too warm today..." my sentence trailed off in an awkward long syllable as my eyes fell on the bigger man standing directly beside Gon.

Alas, it was no other than my tropical season's worst nightmare. Donning his usual black clothing, he slanted his eyes and smirked at me. I squirmed in disgust and spat out the two ugliest names in my lifetime, "Kuroro Lucifer..."

His smirk grew across his face and he gave me his little index finger wave, which only made me groan with disdain.

I took a breath in and continued my walk to the entrance, passing the house they were both standing in front of. With a quick nod to Gon's direction, I turned to leave.

But no, he just had to open his filthy mouth, that walking nightmare. "Leaving already, Kurapika? I was just giving Gon my summer's greeting, want to join?"

No. No way in hell. From the previous years, I've learned that it was never a good idea to "chat" with this man. He always found a way with words to make me flustered. And he found joy in doing so. And I used to think I had a way with words. So much for being a librarian.

I shook my head and flatly declined, "Not with you."

I left the farm and sighed exasperatedly, mentally preparing myself for the coming two months and a little more.

Summer is officially here.

The walk back to the library didn't take long, thanks to the shortcut I took. I unlocked the front door and pushed it open. Leaving the door unlocked, I pulled the curtains to the window aside and placed my basket under the counter I regularly sat behind.

Pulling my binder out from one of the shelves, I flipped through the pages until I found the page with today's date marked on it. Looking down the column, I saw that there were two books due today, and they were both under Leorio's name. All he ever borrowed were medical books, because he was studying to become a good doctor like his father. Though I must add that medicine was the only thing he was good at.

Ding. Ding. The bells chimed as the door flung open and in came a furiously stomping Leorio.

He took a chair from one of the tables and dragged it in front of my counter and sat directly in front of me, shoulders slumping and then rising with his heavy breathing. He slammed his fist against my counter and I sighed at what was to come.

"What happened now?" I asked as I pried my books from his hazardous hand.

He thumped his fist on my counter again and stated the obvious, "He's back!"

"Yeah, I know." I rolled my eyes and gave him my usual disinterested look. "I meant, what did he do now?"

His eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. Clearing his throat, he got serious again and said, "He's getting Neon all distracted from her studies and everything, like every year! God, I swear he's the reason why she never listens to me these days!"

I hummed as I marked the books from Leorio as returned and closed my binder. Bringing my gaze back to him, I performed a little brow lift and mumbled, "She never listened to you from the start, honestly."

I heard a growl escape his quivering lips, then the rest, "Hey! It may have seemed that way to you, but she used to at least listen to me when I talk. Now she won't even let me finish what I'm saying before running off and screaming I'm annoying!"

I nodded, yawned, and propped my chin up on my hand, waiting for his ranting to end. My eyelids dropped halfway down, with the thought of sleep tempting at the moment. Leorio's rants were almost always about his sister. I've heard every case more than thrice and most likely thrice more if I didn't stop him every time. He intended to pass this on as a tale of sort.

And once his mad lips stopped spilling out complaints, pop quizzing started.

"Kurapika? Are you even listening anymore?"

I nodded three times to reassure him that my ears were still working and my eyes were not completely shut. I added a soft, "Yes."

He pulled a long face and raised his eyebrows. "You do hate Kuroro, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I hate him as much as you, if not more." I laughed bitterly and threw him a casual glance, but bit more weighted than usual. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to mock my stare.

I scooted back in my chair, causing a sharp screech in my expectancy. Picking the newly returned books up, I marched over to the shelf and neatly stacked them back into place, feeling Leoio's eyes on my back all the while. But I disregarded his waiting eyes and just continued doing whatever I was doing, and yes, I was aware of his declining patience.

Now his bombshell, "Can you please pay me some attention, Kurapika? I'm currently boiling up in anger, and you do not want to feel my wrath."

I rolled my eyes dramatically and responded with, "No, I do not. And that is why I'm teaching you patience, student." I turned my head around and shook my head in faked disappointment.

He played along with my act and laughed. "Well, I'm not learning anything. You must be one hell of a crappy teacher." His laughter ceased and he rudely pointed his finger in my direction, saying a little too seriously, "Can I have a refund?"

I would have loved to hear the sound my book—or his face—made when it collided into his forehead, but I treasured my books a few levels above hurting Leorio. Thus, I chose to ignore his question, sending him a cold glare instead.

"Isn't it about time you head back to the clinic? I don't really want you loitering around here, you know." I leaned my back against the shelf and snorted.

He groaned and mumbled, "There are hardly any patients these days other than Gon and Killua who get the wildest injuries I've ever seen. I don't understand how they could get such insane injuries, one being a farmer and the other being unemployed. Besides, today is Sunday. The old man already stopped by for his appointment, so there's really nobody else who would be coming in."

He sighed into his palm and added, "Also, the nurse if off today, so there is practically zero female body in that place. Is today like the worst day of my life so far?"

I coughed dryly and announced, "I'm not exactly a girl either, if you haven't noticed already."

He looked up at me with his mouth agape, about to say something, but I nodded and satirically added, "Just thought I should make it clear before any misunderstandings."

I saw him physically taken aback, half in shock and half in disgust. He raised his arms and persistently shook his head, saying, "Don't worry. I'm probably the straightest man you can find on earth. I was only saving the best for last."

In a way, this was kind of amusing on my part, but still, I'd rather have him out. I huffed and asked disinterestedly, "Best being?"

Almost instantly, his lips broke out in a smirk and he revealed his true motive, "Best being you and I going out to flirt with some girls! It's a sad truth, but girls dig you more than they do me."

In the blink of an eye, I was in his face, dragging him out of my library by the ear. "Honestly, that's all you ever think about isn't it?"

He squirmed under my secure grip of his ear and whined, "Ow! Hey! That's not true, I actually—OW!"

I dropped him on the stone ground and crossed my arms in my chest. Kicking him a little on the side, I reminded him, "I actually have better things to do than humiliate myself along with you. Now get out of my sight before I kick your eyes in."

The womanizer slumped in the corner of the sidewalk and complained about how things weren't going his way at all today. But I really couldn't care less about his day. If he wasn't going to go strutting off to drop himself on some woman, I'll go and get myself lost before he drags me along with him.

And that's exactly what I did. I pushed my key into the lock of my door and turned the key. Placing the key in my pocket I walked off to nowhere in particular, leaving behind a grumpy Leorio.

After a while of aimlessly walking in the heat, I wound up at the town's plaza. Surprisingly, there was no one there. Usually when the weather is not rainy, people would gather around here to gossip and whatnot.

Walking past the beach, I was aroused by curiosity. Turning to the left, I tried to peer into the beach from the entrance. Craning my neck, I tried to get a good look of the little shed Kuroro ran in the corner which was kind of difficult from my angle.

On behalf of my persistence, I stumbled a little too far in. The second the sole of my shoe touched the cement of the staircase leading down to the sandy shore of the ocean, all regrets filed into my brain in a mad dash.

Something was off. I could hear the alarming signals of foreboding ringing in my mind. I tried to turn back around and leave, but I couldn't. It was too late. I couldn't control a single nerve in my body; my feet were moving on its own. There was like a mysterious magnetic force pulling me into the beach. And if my eyes weren't playing games, I swear on my whole fortune that the atmosphere had just then hitched visibly before me. From what it looked like to me, the air tensed up at one point and convulsed...if that was even possible. But I felt it, the way it got harder to breathe for a moment. I also saw the little static sparks like dust falling from sandpaper.

Greeting me on the other side of the beach was none other than black dressed Kuroro with the scariest smile I've ever seen on his lips. Weird thing was that I had been expecting this.

Weirder thing was what happened next.

Forget the fact that I had just walked down to the beach by an unknown force. The more urgent matter on hand was the devil staring at me from the bench on the other end. His black holes for a pair of eyes stared right into the pupils of my eyes, looking straight into my soul and absorbing every drop of light. I watched as my vision blanked into a rush of white as the light left my pupils. Not that I could do anything else; I couldn't even blink. I was only capable of walking straight. My body was working by the power of a third party and acting so out of character, it was sickening.

Like smiling to my rival sitting a feet below me. However, I think it would be smart to correct myself. The word "stranger" could very well replace "rival" as it appeared to me the man sitting below me was everything but Kuroro Lucifer—save for his appearance.

But the decisive evidence to that claim came next.

He said, "It's good to see you again, beautiful. Sit with me until my break is over, please?"

And I reconfirmed my own crisis when I complied and sat right there on that bench beside him, barely five centimeters to separate us. You probably already know, but that was not what I wanted to do. I wanted so much to just dash out of this creepy scenario and go back to humiliating myself alongside Leorio.

But something just wanted me to stay put and go with the flow. I prayed, if the Harvest Goddess was still sane in her age, to please save me. Because I couldn't save myself and I think I was going crazy because of that helplessness.

Crazy to the point I said, "I'd like that."