At the Toss of an Apple
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon nor this AU I'm setting this story in. They belong to Natsume and it's respective creator respectively.
Author's Note: Well, I'm writing this… well, cause I damn feel like it. And the fact that I need to get my 'writing mojo' back. Anyways, I got permission from the creator of this particular AU to use this AU. So here's the thing folks, go and try to guess who the author is and which AU continuity. Oh, and said author, if you are reading this, tell me if I did okay alright? Oh, and story rating may or may not go up. So keep a lookout.
3/12/10: Ach… accidentally removed the story
Let the story begin!
"-ion… Other than that, Konishi-san, your health appears to be in good order now. Although I suggest you leave the city for the time being, perhaps to somewhere less hectic? It would be more beneficial to your health."
So her doctor said, so it shall be.
Chapter 1: The Kindness of Strangers
This was the reason why she was right here, standing on the docks as she watched the ferry pull away, her short blond locks wafting in the wind from underneath her sunhat, her long summer dress following suit.
Probably wasn't the most 'everyday' choice of wear, but this was technically her 'vacation' time anyway, so why not spend it in clothes that she liked wearing? No matter, she was supposed to relax for the whole year; not sure why –that- long though, but her parents insisted, hell, they even gave her the money to stay at the inn for that long.
Oh well, might as well make the best of it. Let's see… bags; check, guitar case; check, guitar in the guitar case; check. After she finished checking her things, the girl then took in her surroundings, a peaceful yet bustling suburb of a town, and took a deep breath.
'The air was much more cleaner here than in the city, that was for sure' she thought as she took a bite of an apple
Feeling elated, no, ecstatic, she thought that it would be more fun to skip all the way to her destination.
Said destination was, according to her parents, the oldest and/or longest running inn in the area. That was where she'll be staying for the next year, so it's best to settle down and get acquainted with everyone quickly. Dilly-dally at a later time
She continued to skip down the road, ignoring all stares she received, today just seemed like a good day. Oh she just had so much... confidence today that-wait.
Now she's feeling like that lady from the Sound of Music… next thing you know, she'll be taking care of children and marrying some man with a position in the military... no matter. Just an odd thought, best not to dwell on it too much.
Mineral Town seemed like your average town, not too modern, not too country. She might even settle down here one day and… was that a castle she saw in the distance?
As soon as she reached the corner, the distracted girl felt something hit her 'mid-skip' and she stumbled forward. All it took was a swing of the arm and the loosening of fingers and the apple in her hand was quickly flying…
…and promptly conked the head of a man who was walking by in a matter of seconds. The girl recovered from the initial shock and started running over to the briefly stunned man, the girl quickly bowed, "I'm really sorry about that, I just tripped and I…" she said as she looked up at the man she had accosted with her snack.
He was tall, really tall, and had a very mature chiseled face, his black hair was messy but did not cover his gray colored eyes. He wore a white dress shirt and a pair of black pants. The man in question looked down at her and chuckled softly, confusing her. What?
"It's alright," he spoke softly as he bent down to pick up the fallen fruit and rubbed it against his shirt, "Though I must admit, it's not everyday you have someone attacking you with a fruit." He offered the apple back to her.
She smiled as she took the apple back, stowing it away, "Oh I'm still really sorry about that, something hit me and well, I sorta let go for just a second and… a… ball?" She trailed off at the end as she spotted the cause of this mess at her feet and picked it up.
It was a rubber ball, red with a blue stripe design, she examined it carefully; some kid must have tossed it too hard. She sighed, oh well, no harm done. Though perhaps she should just hold onto this just incase the kid or kids who owned the ball came looking for it.
That was when she heard to patter of footsteps and looked up from her examination, yet the only thing she saw was what appeared to be a bushel of brown scurrying down the road. Was she just seeing things again? Though she quickly brushed the thought off as she returned her attention to the man standing right in front of her.
"Oh! Sorry for asking, but… do you happen to know where the 'oldest inn' is? My parents gave me directions, but I'm not sure if I'm going the right way." To be honest, her parents never even gave her any way to indicate that the inn she went to was the correct one.
The man only chuckled again, "Well, there's only one inn that I know of in these parts and it's just right this way," he motioned down the road, "In fact, I was just about to go eat lunch, would you care to accompany me for the time being?" he smiled politely.
The blond girl blinked, would it be best to eat with him? Well, there wasn't really any harm in it, it was just lunch after all. Plus it might help to start out this 'vacation' with a friend at the start. She nodded, "I would love to."
The man shot back a smirk, "Then right this way milady." He motioned for her to go ahead as the two walked down the town road.
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet have I? I'm Konishi Makoto." The girl started. Rule number one of proper discussion etiquette, always introduce yourself first before engaging in any idle discussion. If the latter situation occurs, acknowledge your mistake and introduce yourself from there.
"Makoto? Isn't that name a bit… manly sounding for a lady like yourself?"
"I like my name thank you very much mister. If my name is so manly, then why don't you tell me yours?" Makoto puffed up, so what if her parents thought they were having a boy when she was born.
The man chuckled again, "I see… well, you can call me Kano. I live with the mayor and work as a sort of freelance photographer…" The two chatted away as they strolled down, though Makoto had to wonder, why didn't he give a surname?
It only took a few minutes but there the two were, eating lunch in Mineral Town's one and only inn. Makoto was thinking while she took small sips of the coffee she had ordered. Kano had introduced her to a couple of people within the inn. Most notably of the bunch, there was the owner of the inn, Doug, and his daughter Ann. Doug was a rather welcoming and jovial man, or at least that was what she thought during the time she briefly chatted with him while she checked into a room.
Ann was a bit… what was the appropriate word for her? Rough? Well, despite how she looked like she was nice, Ann was rather rude and carried this small 'holier than thou' feeling, Makoto furrowed her brow at this. Did she do something to upset the tomboy girl already?
"No, it's nothing like that, she's usually like that to everyone, she's a good girl though. She's a bit childish for someone who's twenty-four, but trust me, she was a lot worse when she was younger." Kano assured her with a smile as he took a bite of out his toasted sandwich.
Makoto heard the door open and close for a brief moment, but brushed that distraction off before taking another sip of her coffee, the ball that had hit her earlier resting at her feet. "So she's twenty-four? Huh, a year younger than me," she airily commented on the pony tailed redhead.
"So you're twenty-five then. That's ten less than myself." Kano smiled again as he swallowed a bit of his sandwich, washing it down with some water. So he was thirty-five… "So, Makoto, I see you brought a guitar with you."
"Oh yes! I've been practicing for a couple years now." She responded, happy that her guitar case was brought to attention. She pulled out the stringed instrument, "Here, let me play this song I've been recently practicing." She positioned herself to play and with pick in hand, began to play; this little show catching the attention of the others in the inn at the time.
However, the sound created was out of tune, loud, and rhythmically sounded like someone tied a person to a tree and started beating them with metal poles. Most of the customers of the inn quickly shield their ears and Ann swore she saw someone puke behind the counter.
After the botched performance, Makoto lowered the guitar and frowned as she saw the people with many mixed expressions, none of them good. She drooped, she knew it.
Ann, who happened to be overhearing the conversation at the time, commented; "I thought you said you've been practicing for years."
The blonde girl pinked, "Well, I um… never said I got better at it… sorry… To tell the truth my forte is really singing, but I really want to learn to play the guitar well." She was nearly thrown off guard as Kano suddenly started laughing. "It's not funny!" She cried, how mean.
"N-no it's not that." Kano replied as his chuckling died down, he then pointed to something behind her. "It appears you might actually have a little fan there." Eh?
Makoto turned her head around, only to see a brown head quickly duck behind a support beam. So she wasn't seeing things then. The head then poked out again, this time, she was able to see his face.
Lookswise, he looked like your typical brown haired kid; the difference being that he had what she deemed to be the most unique eye color she had ever seen, like little rubies. The kid in question blinked as he stared right at Makoto, as if he were observing her. She only giggled; he was so adorable. If she figured it out right, he probably wants his ball back.
"Hello there." The boy ducked behind the safety of the wooden mast again, "Aww… come out of there and come right over here lil' guy. Don't worry, I don't bite." She said in a sweet voice as she tried to coax the boy out of his hiding place, putting away her guitar before picking up the ball and held it. "You probably want your ball back right?"
The boy this time grinned, seeing as the strange woman was friendly, and ran out to take the ball from her. He seemed rather elated that he got his toy back, but then something else caught his attention entirely as the three adults at the table watched the kid examine his new fascination.
Makoto's mug of coffee.
The dropped his toy for a moment as he picked up the mug, taking in a good whiff of the dark liquid, he then glanced towards Makoto for a moment and was then that he said his first words to her, "Can I try some?" he asked with a look of innocence.
Makoto smiled at him, "Of course you can, but only a sip or two, this is a really strong drink." The boy then began to take a 'sip' as the other two adults interjected to this.
"Is it wise to let a child drink coffee at this young of an age?" Kano asked warily
"Yeah, kids are hyper enough already," Ann groaned, "Do you REALLY want to make them even more perkier than usual?"
The newcomer only waved dismissively at their worries, "I don't think it'll be too much of a problem, it's not like this would largely influence anything, it's just a little coffee." She then turned to the boy who had put down the mug, "Did you like it?" Makoto asked the little guy, a fervent nod answered that,
"I see mama and papa drinking this stuff a lot." The boy simply said, "They looked like they liked it. So I wanted to know what it tasted like for a long time," he smiled, "but it does taste pretty good."
"I see…" Makoto held a thoughtful look, "If you like it, then next time, why don't you ask your mama or papa to make some for you too?" However, before the boy could answer, a certain other girl interrupted.
"Hey uh… shouldn't you be going back to play with your friends or cousins or something?" Ann asked, annoyed. The boy instantly got this 'oh yeah' look and started to run back outside, but turned around and waved back, promptly exiting the inn before receiving the wave back. Shame she didn't get to learn his name though, perhaps next time they meet.
Makoto had turned back to her coffee, a content look on her face, as Ann returned to her other (now annoyed) patrons. Kano had finished his food and was preparing to leave. Alarmed, she blurted "Wait! You're leaving already?"
He chuckled apologetically, "Sorry, but I do have to get back to my work,"
She drooped a little, "Oh… I see," but suddenly an idea came to mind, "Ah! Why don't you join me for lunch then tomorrow too? That way we can talk more, since I have to settle down tonight."
"Oh, but I don't really see why you would want to talk with a boring guy like me?"
"But I don't think you're boring at all! Besides you're the first friend I met in this town, so I want to get to know you more!" Eh? She considered him a friend?
Kano gave another soft chuckle as he made his way towards the door, "Well Makoto-san, I guess I'll be taking you up on your offer then." He didn't bother to pay attention to her reaction as he was already out the door.
A friend huh?
It's been a long time since anyone referred to him as that.
Whoo, first chapter done. It's been a long time since I finished one of these. Anyways, you readers figure out the AU yet? If so, then just send in your answer along with a review. Haven't figured it out? It's rather… obvious if you've read this person's work before. It's great to read, regardless of gender. Anyways, here's a hint or two.
Hint 1: Notice the use of Japanese honorifics and names used in this story. This is because this AU and this Mineral Town is somewhere in Japan. Where Harvest Moon originated from. I don't normally use Japanese honorifics in my stories, they're used to keep up with continuity.
Hint 2: The little boy should be a particular dead giveaway.
Hint 3: Still nothing? Then why don't you take a visit to the M section?