Greetings, everyone!
Well, here it is (finally)-- my new Hamtaro fanfic. Full of adventure, plot twists, romance (for all you HamtaroxBijou lovers out there... and a little something thrown in for those who enjoy PandaxPashmina too). But before I get into it:
Special thanks go out to CN and ChargingFowardBlind, who have both generously agreed to preview and review all the chapters for this story before I post them. So far, their advice and insight has proved invaluable. Thank you (again) :P
Be warned! This won't be just a few chapters. Strap yourselves in, it's gonna be a long ride.
(AN: If you have not seen the Hamtaro OVA about him and his mother, I would highly suggest watching it. It was only released in Japanese, but if you message me, I'd be more than happy to send you a link to an English subbed version. It would help with your understanding of this fanfic :)
(I do not own Hamtaro, Loreena McKennitt's "Moon Cradle", or anything else created by the brilliant minds of others.)
"Memories are to remember the past and dreams are to predict the future. If you don't have dreams you don't have anything." – Unknown
The dimming light of a tender sunset illuminated the bright red roof and yellow walls of the kindergarten. A carelessly caressing breeze swayed the swing set and caused the tall golden stands of grass encircling the quaint school ground to dance like waves upon the ocean.
Within the red-roofed building, staring patiently through her cage's bars and the transparent windows of the schoolhouse, was a hamster. Her pale white fur was soft as fleece. The hamster's sky-blue eyes now swung to survey the empty classroom.
There was a warm, gentle ambiance about Yuki. It was one of her defining characteristics. Yuki believed it was this nature that made her such a great pet and friend to all the young human children who attended the kindergarten. The white hamster, along with Ayuko, her owner and the children's teacher, found joy in taking care of the inexperienced kids.
A rustling in the woodshavings to Yuki's right caught the white-furred ham's attention. "Of course, it's not just the children I have to look out for now," she blissfully reminded herself, a slight blush to her cheeks.
Lying beside the blue-eyed hamgirl was the slumbering form of a cream and orange baby hamster. The tired infant nestled his tiny head up against his mother's pale fur. Reaching down with a nurturing paw, Yuki calmly caressed her son's ears, beaming at him.
The motherham began to gingerly sing a lullaby to the cream and orange babyham. Eyes still closed, the little one once again repositioned his head against his mother's fur and returned to sleeping. Yuki continued to stroke her son's ears as she sang in her sweet voice-
"The moon-cradle's rocking and rocking
Where a cloud and a cloud go by
Silently rocking and rocking
The moon-cradle out in the sky.
Then comes the lad with the hazel
And the folding star's in the rack
"Night's a good herd to the cattle,"
He sings, "She brings all things back."
But the bond woman down by the boorie
Sings with a heart grown wild
How a hundred rivers are flowing
Between herself and her child
"The geese, even they trudge homeward
That have their wings and the waste
Let your thoughts be on Night the Herder
And be quiet for a space."
The sound of the cage door opening caused Yuki to look up from the sleeping babe. Another hamster carefully stepped through the portal onto the woodshavings, a long and slender object held in his paw. "I didn't wake him, did I?" whispered the new arrival. Without halting her relaxing song, Yuki gave him a loving smile and shook her head.
"The moon-cradle's rocking and rocking
Where a cloud and a cloud go by
Silently rocking and rocking
The moon-cradle out in the sky.
The snipe they are crying and crying
Liadine, liadine, liadine
Where no track's on the bog they are flying
A lonely dream will be mine."
Returning the warm look, the new arrival set the object down by the cagedoor and walked across to the motherham as her lullaby concluded with a graceful angelic note. The two hams touched cheeks and schmubby-wubbied. Then, the pair looked upon the slumbering babyham.
"He's so small…" the visitor observed, a hint of amazement in his voice. "And his fur…" Indeed, the cream and orange ham's fur was the perfect blend of Yuki's and the new arrival's.
The motherham looked up into the visitor's amber eyes and stated with a grin, "He has more in common with you than the orange."
The other hamster looked at Yuki, slightly puzzled.
Rubbing her cheek against his, the white-furred ham remarked, "He has your eyes too."
"He does?"
Yuki nodded, giggling at the ham's surprise. Suddenly, her voice took on a scolding tone as the motherham rapped the visitor across his ear, saying, "But he has more of you in him than I'd like."
The amber-eyed ham looked at her, confused.
Yuki sighed. "He kept trying to find a way out of the cage today. I couldn't take my eyes off of him for half a minute! Mischievous little guy…"
The pair chuckled. Yuki grasped the other ham's paw within her own. "But he is well behaved."
"And cute," added the amber-eyed ham. "Just like his mother."
The two schmubby-wubbied again, then the visitor asked, "Have you been thinking about a name?"
Yuki nodded. "Ayuko suggested one. I liked it, but wanted to wait to see what you thought."
The visitor looked at Yuki expectantly.
"I was thinking Hamtaro."
"Hamtaro…" The amber-eyed ham chimed, testing the way the name felt. Then he nodded.
Leaning down close to the slumbering babyham, the visitor whispered into an orange ear, "Hear that, little guy? Your name's Hamtaro."
Yuki beamed at the proud smile the amber-eyed hamster displayed.
"Hamtaro… my son."
The cream and orange hamster sat bolt upright, his amber eyes frantically scanning his surroundings. The room was dark, but a luminescent moon helped the hamster get his bearings.
The cream and orange ham's ears twitched as they picked up the tranquil, steady breathing of his owner, Laura, as she slept peacefully in her bed. Hamtaro let out a notable breath of relief.
He was home. Hamtaro's tense posture eased. The hamster yawned.
That was a weird dream,Hamtaro thought while flopping back down upon the carpet of woodshavings. "Maxwell was right," the ham sighed. "I shouldn't have eaten the shells from those sunflower seeds."
And yet, the cream and orange ham couldn't force the strange dream from his thoughts. He had recognized the hamster with white fur and sky-blue eyes. That was Yuki, his mother. (AN: This is a brief summary of the OVA about Hamtaro and his mother ) Nearly a year ago now, Boss, a tan field hamster with dark markings, Oxnard, a large hamster speckled with gray spots, and Jingle, the traveling mohawk-sporting poet, had accompanied Hamtaro on his birthday quest to find his mother. It was three thousand hammy steps from here to Sumire Town, the place where Hamtaro had been born and where Laura's family lived previously. If it hadn't been for both Herbert the pig and Francois the pigeon giving the four of them rides, Hamtaro and his friends would never have reached their destination within a day. However, the hams managed to reach Sumire Town well before sunset.
When they had arrived at the kindergarten where Yuki supposedly stayed, the hams indeed found a white-furred hamster. But it had turned out to be a ham named Tsurara. She informed Hamtaro that Ayuko, the teacher, had often talked about Yuki. "Ayuko always says that Yuki is some place far away now…"
Afterwards, while Boss and Oxnard munched on sunflower seeds and Jingle strummed his guitar, Hamtaro had gazed upward at the sapphire sky. It was then that he had beheld his mother's image in the clouds. While she had appeared so warm and soft, she seemed so far away.
"Hamtaro…" her voice had echoed in his mind. "I'm glad you made it to this far away place."
"Mom!" Hamtaro had cried out to Yuki. Her image smiled at him.
"You have such wonderful friends. As long as you're always with them… I'll be with you too. I'll always watch over you, Hamtaro. Always… and forever." (AN: end OVA summary)
The cream and orange ham ran a paw through his woodshavings. There was no doubt the white-furred hamster had been his mommy. But then…
"Who was the other ham?" Hamtaro voiced out loud.
He had seemed so… familiar. The cream and orange ham couldn't make sense of it. And what had the other hamster said at the end?
"Hamtaro… my—"
But the rest of the line eluded the amber-eyed ham. If he could just recall that last word, Hamtaro felt that it would make sense—that all the pieces would add up.
Yawning, the hamster's eyelids sluggishly began to close. Unable to reach any conclusions about the strange hamster from his dream, Hamtaro fell back into an undisturbed sleep.
There you have it. The intro.
Towards the bottom of my author's page, I've written a sort of mock interview with myself about "Hamtaro: Legacy." Yeah, it's kinda lame. But if you liked the introduction, then go ahead and check it out.
The first and second chapters of this fanfic are complete. I'll post them over the next week or so while I work on the rest. If you enjoyed it and choose to review, then I'll appreciate it.
Thank you for reading. :)
Macarov