Title: The Restart
Chapter one: The Beginning
"This is it!" Suzu shouted, her arms raised above her head. She stood at the bow of the ship, Titanic Style, the wind whipping her medium length brown hair around her face. "This place is perfect!"
The Captain, Pascal, chuckled behind her, "You sure are excited, Miss."
She stepped back from the bow, her eyes wide, "Yeah! The island is beautiful! Just like the brochure said. It-" She paused for a moment, "It's a quiet island, right? Like there's no... oh let's just say, hypothetically... vampires?"
The old Captain took a long draw of his pipe, and gave her a quizzical look. "Well, I don't know a thing about vampires, you might want to ask the other girls on the island about that, but there is a, magical history to the island. Legend has it that the Harvest Goddess lives on that island, and a few of the islanders still worship her, along with the Harvest God. Though, things have been tough recently. The crops are poor, animals getting sick easily, yes, it's been tough."
"Do you believe in the Goddess?"
"Me? Oh well, I'll go to the church every Saturday and listen to that young preacher, Perry, but no, I'm not much of a believer."
"I see," Suzu narrowed her eyes, "Do any of the villagers never come out during the day? Or if they do come out it's only on overcast days or rainy days? Uh, crap. No reason why I'm asking such a specific question. Just curious."
"Strange question to ask," Said Pascal. "Hmm, no one that I can think of... oh wait! Yes there is one boy, he only leaves his house at night. I didn't even know he existed until a month ago when I left the bar, and was heading to the Mayor's House for dinner, and I saw him outside, staring up at the sky. As I passed he looked at me and I remember that his eyes were a strange color. So I asked the Mayor about him and the Mayor said that he's been living on the island since the Mayor was a kid!"
Suzu smiled sweetly.
"Uh, is there something wrong, Miss? You have a rather... perturbing look on your face..."
"No I don't!" Suzu said quickly, hiding her face in her hands. "And I don't totally think that that guy is a vam-Oh ho ho ho! Have we arrived yet?" She strode over to the rail of the boat, pretending to be sick. Though, she really was sick, sick of the fact that she couldn't live a normal life!
It's just one vampire, she told herself, instinctively reaching for the rosary beads in her back pocket, and rubbed the large, smooth, dark red beads between her fingers. Attached to the rosary, was a wooden cross.
"Are you religious, Miss?" Pascal asked her kindly. She guessed that he was trying to ease the awkward feeling that crept across the deck of the ship.
"In a way," Said Suzu.
"Well, we'll be pulling into the port in a few minutes, you want to go get your things from below deck?"
Suzu retrieved her things, which consisted of only a small knapsack that could hold only five items at the most. Inside was a few hundred dollars, and some nail-clippers. She wore only the clothes on her back. A simple outfit consisting of a manila, short sleeve shirt, on top of which a orange camisole, and orange shorts. She bought the outfit at the last town she was at, back on the mainland.
The island of Castanet could hardly be called an island. Her first glimpse of the island was miles and miles away, when they were still crossing open sea. She could see a hazy object, stretching between the horizon and the sky, it's top obscured by clouds.
As they sailed closer the object turned out to be a mountain, bringing thoughts of Everest to mind. Now she could make out the peninsula that Harmonica Town was built on, and turning her gaze down the coast of the gulf she could see the land shift from mountain, to hills, then to open, cultivated plains.
They pulled into a one dock port, jutting out of a short, stone dock. Suzu pinched her nose to ward off the horrible smell of fish that lingered in the air here. Sure enough there was a fish store right on the dock. Thankfully it was the only one.
"Well, you just go up those stairs there, and take the street all the way town to Town Hall." Pascal patted her on the back, and wished her well.
"Thanks Pascal!" Suzu waved as the older man disappeared into the fish shop.
Well, despite the town's slight vampire problem, it was a very charming place. Colorful and vibrant. Harmonica Town seemed small to Suzu who had grown up in large cities, where she could loose herself in the constant, flowing stream of people and sound. Here, she could hear seagulls, the ocean lapping against the stone wharf, and not a car horn for maybe a hundred miles.
Loneliness came with the silence. Like she was the only person in the world, and this is what her life here was going to be like. She never really thought about it, that she was going to be alone. Suzu did not regret her decision. The loneliness; the fear; the uncertainty; she would face it all because she wanted this life.
She found Town Hall without any trouble, though felt unease at the lack of activity in the town. It was only seven in the morning, surely there should be at least a few people outside? Maybe this town's vampire problem was worse than she thought.
Inside the Town Hall a short man with strange white hair sat behind a dark wood desk. She thought he was possessed, and attempted to exorcize the spirit but he proved to be quite fast.
"Hold on!" The old man shouted from behind his desk. "Please stop waving that cross in my face! I'm the Mayor, and I think I deserve more respect than this!"
"OH!" Suzu exclaimed, hastily shoving her rosary back into her knapsack. "I'm so sorry. I thought you were possessed. Last year there was this guy, and he got possessed, and his hair turned red and got all spiky-how many lives have been claimed by your vampire?"
"My what?" Both of the Mayor's eyebrows shot up to the edge of his receding hairline. "You mean those?" He gestured to a rack, holding at least twenty copies of the same book. "The girls requested that we sell them, but we don't have a bookstore so they came here."
Oh crap! Suzu wrung the hem of her shirt with her hands. I have to be more careful. I don't want these people to know about my past. I could kiss goodbye any chance of living a normal life! "Yeah! Those books! Twilight, fascinating read. Really. I'm Suzu Vinderstein, the new member of your wonderful vampi-gho-supernat-normal town."
"Ah! Miss Windersteen-"
"-Vinderstein-"
"Peinderston, we've been expecting you! First of all, I'm Mayor Hamilton." He opened his arms wide in greeting, then held out his hand. She took his hand and he shook it energetically, "I'm sure you're eager to move into your new home,"
"Yes-where does the vampire-I mean where do I live? Suzu smiled sweetly.
"Is there something wrong?" Hamilton jerked back, aghast. "Did I say something offensive?"
"No, no." Suzu said quickly, "I'm just really, really tired (and eager to get rid of that vampire so my normal life can begin) and would like to see my new house!"
"Oh you'll love it!" Said Hamilton as he went to his desk. He pulled out from one of the drawers a map of the island. It didn't show the whole island, just the south-western corner. Hamilton said there was wasn't much else. He circled a spot on the map, and showed her the road she needed to take to reach her farm. "It's a homely place," Hamilton said brightly. "But with a bit of polish it'll be stunning!"
"Thank you!" Said Suzu, pocketing the map. "I'll be sure to kill your vampi-don't go out at night-I mean, guuud bai?"
"Good bye!" Hamilton smiled.
Suzu left the Town Hall quickly, feeling relived that she didn't sound too much like a weirdo. Maybe being normal won't be so hard at all. Sure she had a few habits to kick, but with time she'll actually be able to talk to someone without mentioning vampires!
She started down the dirt road, and halted. Something was wrong. Very, very, very wrong. The air smelled... clear? It smelled crisp, and clean.
What's going on here! Suzu rolled to the side of the road, pressing herself against the stone. She remembered seeing these hills from the ocean. They rather resembled stepping stones. No! Now was not the time to admire the geography!
Cripes! First vampires and now something was funky with the air. Dammit. She spent nearly all of her remaining savings just to buy the boat ticket to this place! No matter. This place was her home now and whatever cursed the air, she vowed to kill it. With fire. Lots and lots of fire.
Her house seemed to reside in it's own closed off little area called Farmland. The beach she passed on the way over shifted to rock, then to a steep cliff face. Shorter cliffs surrounded the clearing, almost like it was designed that way. There was a pond, with a stream running out of it that ran a watermill.
And there, on the hill was her house, and it was the most miserable, dingy, little thing she ever laid eyes on. Even though she lived in the city and has seen some pretty nasty places, this farmhouse took the cake! The whole plot of land reeked of abandonment and neglect.
The house was some faded cream color, and a pile of wood and stone were littered in front of the house as if someone had the idea to fix it up then just walked away. The roof was a nice red color only the top-right corner section were missing. Various other holes littered the roof, and Suzu could already imagine her first rainy day in her new home.
Lined up to the right of the house was some shabby chicken coop, ancient weeds resembling tiny redwood trees flourished in the space around it. Then there was a red barn, hooked off the the side. Now, the barn looked better than her house. It didn't have as many holes in the roof (how were animals supposed to live in that thing? She wondered).
Twenty feet away was a cultivation field, that lined up parallel to the house. There were already some flowers, and a few turnips planted, along with five cherry trees lined up at the end. Well, at least she had something to work with.
She felt cheated. The house on that brochure was a whole lot nicer than this. There were flowers and rainbows and everything!
The inside was a little better. The wallpaper a bit on the tacky side, but she had a bed to sleep on (not much good it did since it was right under the missing section of the roof) an empty bookshelf, and in the far left corner there was a cramped kitchen counter. A four person table sat in the center of the room.
First order of businesses was to get some garlic to protect her house, and to aid her for the hunt tonight. Then find someone to fix the roof. Start planting crops. Kitchen supplies. Food. So much to do on a farm!
There was a knock on the door.
"Hello! Molly? Are you in there?" It was the Mayor.
Suzu ran over to open the door, and let him inside.
"Such a charming house," Said the Mayor proudly, stepping over the threshold. "Don't you love it?"
"No-I mean, I adore it! Where can I buy garlic?" She gestured for him to take a seat but he declined.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," He sighed, pacing a bit around the room. "But well, I forgot to mention one little thing back at town hall. The house isn't free. It costs 5,000 G."
"Ah," Well, that wasn't too bad, but this place was still a dump, and she would have tried to haggle the price lower but the Mayor excused himself. Said that he needed to get back to Town Hall and encouraged her to go talk to everyone on the island.
"Just great," Suzu slumped down into a chair. Checking her watch, there were a few hours left till noon.
She checked the map the Mayor gave her she discovered that to the east there were two farms in a area called Flute Fields. Marimba farm, caught her attention. With the whole day ahead of her she set off.
It took a hour to walk down the dusty road to the farms. Suzu could see miles of tilled land but nothing was growing in the fields. Marimba farm was a quaint place, the faint smell of flowers in the air. Inside the store there were stands lined with unripe fruit and dull vegetables.
A woman, probably in her late thirties stood behind the counter. She had pale skin and dark brown hair in a trendy cut. She wore a simple purple dress, over which a green apron.
"Oh!" The woman clasped her hands over her mouth when Suzu walked in. "A customer, but I don't think I've seen you around the island."
"I just moved in," Said Suzu, smiling.
The woman grimaced. "Why are you making that expression?"
"Nothing!" Suzu shouted, her hands flying to her face to hide it. "I'm Suzu Vinderstein. Do you have any garlic? I need some to protect my house,"
"I'm Ruth, and I'm sorry, but we don't sell garlic."
"But it need to to kill the vampire-for my skin! Garlic is very good for the skin you know." Suzu blurted.
Ruth's face went blank for a moment before she started to slowly nod her head, just slightly bewildered. "Yes... I've heard that before too... did you say you wanted to kill a vampire?"
Crap. Sweat beads rolled down Suzu's face. She had to be normal! Act normal, dammit! "I said nothing about vampires. Have you seen the man that comes only out at night? Do you know where he lives during the day?"
"I don't know who you're talking about,"
A bell rang as the door opened and a man dressed in an orange jacket and dark jeans walked in. He had a long, round face and a round nose. His eyes half-lidded, giving the appearance that he wasn't impressed with anything.
"The crops won't grow. Nothing grows anymore," He muttered, in a dismal tone. Acknowledging Suzu's presence with only a glance.
"Oh, dear," Ruth left the counter to comfort the man. "The crops will grow again, it's just a bad season."
"Crops haven't grown well for years, soon we'll be outa' business."
Suzu listened to the two talk. Ruth trying to be optimistic but she didn't believe the words she spoke, either. Suzu started to wonder if whatever made the air so clean, also made the crops to stop growing. She has never dealt with the supernatural beyond vampires but she has read about other supernatural creatures on the internet so she was thus an unofficial expert.
This was going to take some investigation, a skill which just happens to be her forte.
She faced the two. "Have you ever seen a strange being, like a glimpse of a tentacle, or stinger, something un-animal like in the past? Can you think of any local myths that deal with crops?"
The two of the looked a little taken back by her first question, and answered that they've never seen anything of the sort. The man said he did know a local myth.
"They say that the Harvest Goddess lives in this tree called the Divine Tree, and that the condition of the land is connected to the condition of the tree."
The Harvest Goddess again. Her legends must be popular for people to keep bringing them up.
The two adults didn't know much else, only what their parents told them when they were kids. There were people who knew more than them though, and suggested that Suzu visit the church.
Suzu thanked the two, but before she left Ruth walked over to her. "Here," The woman handed Suzu a book. "It's a book on crops. I'm sure it'll help you out,"
Outside Suzu, walked down the path till the road forked. On the other side of the field was a place called Horn Ranch. Two people walked around outside, and headed into the barn. They might know something about the vampire.
The smell of manure dominated the air, and she almost stepped in a pile of poo on her way into the expansive red barn.
A girl in a yellow and red dress was brushing the cows, and an older man stood by the wall, washing three calves.
"Hello!" Suzu called out, putting on her best smile. The girl screamed suddenly, dropping her brush. "Oh crap!" Suzu hid her face quickly. "Sorry!"
"You scared me!" the girl exclaimed.
"Hey!" The man came over. He was tall with broad shoulders and a handsome face. With brown hair the same color as the girl's and he wore a simple green shirt and jeans. "Are you the new farmer that bought that house in Farmland? I overheard Hamilton talking about it," He added, when Suzu gave him a confused look.
"Yeah. It's a pleasure to meet you," She shook both their hands. "So has anyone ever been bitten at night? With two small, puncture holes on their neck? Or felt compelled to drink blood?"
"No... Haven't heard anything of the sort. But, the name's Cain."
"Suzu,"
"I'm Renee." Said the girl, watching Suzu concernedly.
"Come here for a sec," Cain walked her over to the three cows. "As a welcome to the business have one of these calves,"
"Wh-wh-what!" Suzu exclaimed as the three baby cows ate hay from the floor. Free stuff was awesome! But a cow wasn't a pen, or a toaster. It was a living creature! "I-I-I'd love to!" Dammit. She couldn't pass up on free offers (My greatest weakness ) but it was a cow! "I c-c-can take any one of theses c-c-cows?"
No, no, no, this isn't happening! I want to grow plants. Forget to water them a day and they're still fine but forget to feed an animal and it dies. Then it rots, and the bugs come and it's a whole big affair. Oh gosh, this is the hamster incident all over again. When plants die no one makes a big deal, but when an animal dies it's like their grandma just kicked the bucket.
"Yep!" Cain laughed, patting Suzu on the back cheerily. He had mistaken her shock, and knees shaking as excitement.
The black cow rubbed against her leg in its quest for better hay and Suzu nearly screamed. It was so freaking adorable.
"Um, I d-don't think I c-can accept th-this- accept this... with out giving you a hug!" Suzu embraced Cain, and quickly let go.
"Ah! Don't eat that!" Renee dashed forward, bent over the black cow, and tugged something from it's mouth. She held up Suzu's rosary, one of the beads slightly disfigured. Suzu reclaimed her beads , painstakingly examining them for damage.
Holy artifacts worked just as well even if they were chewed up a bit, right?
Did that cow know what this was? The thought suddenly occurred to Suzu. Could it be that this cow had tried to destroy her only weapon against the unholy? She inspected the black cow, who was drinking water from a near by trough.
This was surly the work of dark forces. Leaving that cow with these kind people could end badly.
"Can I have the black one?" Suzu asked Cain and he nodded. The cow gazed up at her with big round eyes, and for a moment she was almost hypnotized by its spell.
"Let me go get some rope you can use for a harness." Cain went off, as Renee stayed behind. She regarded Suzu with suspicious curiosity.
"Where are you from?"
"Black City,"
"Okay..." Renee appeared to be in deep thought, and when Suzu asked her if something was wrong Renee smiled a bit. "It's just, you're kinda strange, but maybe I'm being too harsh. Not many new people come to the island. Do you like animals?"
"I ah... have a history with animals, yes,"
"I love animals," Renee came a little closer. "Working with animals is so much fun,"
Cain came back into the barn and tied the end of the rope loosely around the calf's neck. "Tomorrow I'll put some hay into your barn to help out a bit. By the way, are you going to name her?" Cain rubbed the black calf's head affectionately.
"Demon sp-I mean Richard-a. Richarda. Yes, that is what I would name this fine cow. Richarda, and not Demon Spawn,"
Cain mistook the 'Demon Spawn' thing as a joke.
"Look you," Suzu said to the cow as they left the barn after Renee asked her to visit her again. "I know what you are and I can assure you that you will be a nice pot demon-pie when I'm through with you."
The calf didn't look impressed, and tugged on its leash, trying to get at a tall clump of grass.
"Don't even bother with your silly innocence. You're third on my list. You hear me, third. Just think about that for a few days, wondering when I'm going to roast you. Just drives you crazy, don't it?"
Standing before the barn, Richarda mooing continuously, and getting twisted around in the rope, Suzu knew that, demonic or not, the barn was just plain unsafe. There were nails on the floor, and scraps of wood laid like splinter traps all over the place. Old three-foot tall milk cans were haphazardly placed about, some with rotten milk still inside.
Tethering Richarda outside she set to work. Sweeping the floors, and bringing out all of the milk cans outside to be washed or burned later. When all was said and done, and Richarda sleeping (she had such a cute face for an evil demon!) Suzu collapsed against the door of her house. Noticing for the first time that she didn't have a bathroom.
Lovely.
The sun was sunk halfway into the horizon, and she had an amazing unhindered view of the sunset.
She encountered a lot of new things today; meet new people who didn't see her as a freak. Tonight, she thought, pulling out her rosary, is the end of my old life.
And officially be, an ex-vampire hunter.
Tally Mai: Since I needed a break from my other (and more frustrating) stories, I worked on this. The idea to do a Harvest Moon Fanfiction was stuck in my head for a long time, but with earlier tries I never got very far.
This story was written to be entertaining, not only for myself but for others too! Thus, Suzu Vinderstein (with Hikari/Molly's appearance), was created. Designed to be so idiosyncratic and out of place in the Harvest Moon world that people will have to laugh at her! (In a good way of course)
So please give some feedback! While this is for fun, I also want to use this to improve my writing. Are my descriptions okay? Are there too many lul spots? Is Suzu the fun character she was created to be?
Thanks for reading! I don't want to forget mentioning that, and hopefully I'll have the second chapter done soon.