Hate

noun, often attributive \ˈhāt\

: a very strong feeling of dislike

Love

noun \ˈləv\

: a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person

Rain streaked the gray stone, the raindrops seeming to etch themselves into the names that were carved deeply into the slabs that stood on the hill. Standing between the two graves, a young woman with long, straight hair stood with her head bowed. The black of her dress seemed to match the color of the sky, and her silky, golden locks were hidden by a thick black hood that covered her head. Her sad, blue eyes stared at the letters on the graves, not seeming to comprehend the names written there.

She stood in silence, until an older girl who was almost identical to her approached the lonely figure.

"Rio," the taller girl said gently. "Let's go inside, okay? You'll catch a cold if you stay out here too long."

Without saying a thing, Rio shook her head vigorously. Sighing, the taller girl unbuttoned her black coat, before draping it carefully over Rio's head to shield her from the rain. Throwing one arm around the girl, she said, "Come on, let's go. As your older sister, it's my job to make sure that you don't get sick. Come on, Rio, let's go."

Dropping her arm from her sister's side, the older girl grabbed Rio's hand and led her away from the graves. The two traveled in silence for a moment before the younger one finally spoke.

In a soft, bell-like voice, she asked, "Claire?"

"Hmm?"

There was silence, before Rio spoke up. "Claire, what happens now?"

"What do you mean, Rio? We go back to my place, that's what happens. I can't have you staying in the house all by yourself, now that Mom and Dad are gone."

"But my stuff-"

Claire interrupted, pulling Rio closer as the two girls left the graveyard and headed into the town, "I'll make Gray get your things later. Right now we need to only get the things you need and head back to Mineral Town, okay?"

Rio turned her head back slightly, looking at her parents' resting place one last time before turning her back on the graveyard and following her sister.

Claire watched as her sister stood on the deck of the boat, gazing at the gray waters with a blank expression on her face. As the beach came into sight, the older girl gave a small sigh of relief before standing up from where she had been sitting on the deck and coming up to her sister. Grabbing Rio by the shoulders, the older sister steered her off the deck and towards the exit of the boat, clutching their suitcases with her free hand as the boat docked in.

The dock was empty, save for two men who immediately straightened up when Claire and Rio walked off the boat. The more muscular one walked over to Claire and began to talk to her, while the younger man approached Rio cautiously.

"Hey, Rio," he said, in an awkward attempt at a greeting. As polite as ever, the blond girl smiled at him gently before replying, "Hi, Gray. How have things been?"

Glancing over at Claire, Gray murmured, "Pretty good. Claire and I have only been married a year now, but it feels like we've been together forever. My grandfather's really eased up on me since we married too."

"That's nice to hear," Rio smiled, also glancing over at where her sister was now nodding at something the other man was saying. Turning back to her brother-in-law, Rio said, "Claire always writes to me about what a fantastic husband you are, and how glad she is that you two got married."

Red burned on Gray's cheeks at Rio's words, and looking at the ground he muttered, "I'm not THAT fantastic…"

His attitude towards her sister made Rio smile again, as the girl reflected on how easy it was to tell that Gray loved Claire very much. Before she could comment on it though, Claire came over and leaned forward to kiss Gray on the cheek. While Gray's blush spread even more, Claire turned to her sister and said, "Apparently Zack had a problem with the stuff I shipped before I left, but I took care of it. We can go now."

"Ah, let me get those," Gray said, reaching out and taking the suitcases from Claire. After rearranging them to both fit on one arm, he offered his other arm to Claire. The three walked off the deck in that manner, arm in arm as they headed into town.

It was two weeks later that Rio first heard Gray and Claire talking about her, and what had happened. The blond lay silently in her bed, barely breathing as she listened to the couple talking through the small crack in her door.

"Aren't you sad at all, Claire?"

"A little. I loved my mom and dad, but since I left home pretty young I was never really attached-my dad and I fought too much about the littlest things. I didn't spend much time with my mom either, since I was always out of the house trying to avoid my dad. Rio's always been closer to them…I think part of that was she listened to them and I didn't."

There was a silence, and Rio could almost see the grumpy look on Gray's face as she heard him say, "Well I feel bad for both of you. It sucks to lose your parents, and Rio's only eighteen. That's a year younger than you were when you started living on your on."

"That's true," Claire mused, "I made it though-nineteen and living by myself in the city, trying to do something with my life. Rio was only fourteen at the time that I left." There was a laugh, and then Claire continued, "I remember how sad she was that I was leaving. She begged and pleaded with me to stay, but I had my mind made up by then. Like I said, I've always been the more headstrong between the two of us, even though we're both equally strong. She's a lot stronger than she looks, and since it takes so much more to make her angry it's kind of scary when she does get mad." Claire giggled lightly as the thought of an angry Rio crossed her mind.

There was another silence, before Gray asked, "What is Rio going to do, now that your parents are gone?"

"Hmmm…that's a good question. And I still have to go back and talk to some lawyers too, as they've been looking at the will. I'm willing to bet that she's inherited most of what they left behind, if not all of it."

Ignoring Claire's statement, Gray said, "She could stay on with us for a bit. I wouldn't mind having her stay here with us and letting her help out around the farm."

Claire laughed again, before mocking, "You're just worried that I can't take care of this big farm all by myself, aren't you? I've been doing it for years, why would I need help now?"

"Well, what if-"

"That's just a what if, Gray," Claire interrupted smoothly, leaving Rio to wonder what her brother-in-law had been about to say. "Anyways," Claire continued, "I don't mind her staying here either. If anything, I'd love it since I've barely seen her since I left home. But knowing Rio, she won't want to impose on us. She'll also feel bad, claiming that she's interrupting our married life."

At this statement, Rio snuggled deeper under the covers and nodded to herself. The young girl marveled at how her sister knew her so well, despite the fact that most of their communication over the years had been via letter, and had been sparse at that. As the couple began to talk more about whether or not Rio would stay, the blond turned over and stared at the wall, thinking over everything she'd heard.

Claire had been right; Rio wasn't planning on staying with her sister. Not only did she want to do something on her own, but the idea of staying with such a loving couple was more lonely than Rio wanted to admit. Although she knew the two would never flaunt their relationship in front of her, she couldn't help but notice the way the two looked at each other. It was more than enough to make anyone feel like an outsider.

Rolling back over, Rio stood up and made it a point to get out of bed loudly so as to alert the couple that she was awake. Biting her lip, Rio stood at the door and wondered what was going to happen to her, before sighing and pulling it open.

"Take me back with you!" Rio pleaded, sitting on her sister's bed while Claire packed her suitcase for a second trip to their hometown. Frowning, Claire threw out one shirt and put in another before turning back to her sister and ruffling her hair.

"Why would you want to come? It'll just be a bunch of boring talking about inheritance. Don't worry, I'll get it sorted all out and set things up for you!"

Pouting, Rio crossed her arms before saying, "I want to do this, Claire. It's my life-I can take care of myself!"

With a laugh, Claire tossed more clothes in her suitcase before saying, "Honestly, Rio, you're still a kid! I'm the grownup here, listen to me won't you?"

Before Rio could argue back, Claire's phone rang loudly, the loud ringing seeming to clang throughout the house. Holding up a finger to Rio, Claire picked up the phone and said, "Hello? Oh, Mr. Penbrook!"

There was a pause, then Claire replied, "Yes, I'm packing my things to come meet you as soon as possible to discuss the….what?"

Rio looked up as Claire's voice took on a concerned tone. Sitting on the edge of the bed slowly, Claire's eyes widened and she said loudly, "WHAT? What do you mean, there's only five hundred in the bank?"

Claire paused again, before knitting her eyebrows together and asking, "A deed? But my father…"

There was a murmuring sound on the other side of the phone, and Claire frowned before saying, "Mmmhm. I see. Well thank you-I'll be checking my mailbox for those documents then. Yes. Yes. Have a good day, Mr. Penbrook."

As Claire hung up, Rio asked, "What was that all about?"

Exhaling through her nose, Claire grimaced and said, "Well you don't have much to inherit, it seems. Mom and Dad didn't save much for you to live off of-five hundred was left in their bank. Besides that, it seems that they couldn't find any sort of will. The only document they found in the study was a deed to some farmland in a place called Echo Village, with Dad's name on it."

Straightening up, Rio asked, "Farmland?"

"Yeah," Claire sighed, standing up and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Now don't get any wild ideas, but-"

"Claire!" Rio interrupted, an excited looking spreading over her face. "I can go there! I can live on that land and make it my own!"

The younger sister sobered a bit when Claire glared a little at her. In a scolding, motherly tone, Claire said, "Think about what you're saying, Rio! It's a lot of hard work to run a farm, especially by yourself."

"You did it," Rio pouted, folding her arms and biting her lip. The two sisters stared each other down for a minute, before Claire argued, "You're not as strong as me, you've always relied on someone else to take care of you. How can you possibly do this sort of thing by yourself?"

Standing up, Rio yelled back, "I may not be as strong as you, Claire, but that doesn't mean I'm a complete weakling! Look, let me take care of my own life, okay?"

Claire took a step back, shocked at her sister's yell. It was so out of character for Rio that for a moment, Claire wondered how much her sister was actually capable of. Sitting down on the bed again, Claire asked quietly, "I just want to protect you…that's all."

Stepping closer, Rio knelt down and took her sister's hands, squeezing them as she replied, "I know. But I've got to grow up sometime, Claire. This is the perfect opportunity for me to do so-I can become my own person. I loved Mom and Dad, but they treated me like I was some sort of doll. And you do the same thing. Let me prove myself-let me become someone strong, like you!"

At the determination in her sister's eyes, Claire smiled before leaning forward and pulling Rio in for a hug.

"Alright," she conceded, letting go of Rio. "You can do this. But the second I get a letter or call from you saying you need help, I'm coming over there and selling that land, you hear me?"

A big grin spread across Rio's face, the first real smile she'd given since the funeral. Standing up, Rio exclaimed, "Don't worry about me! I'll be fine!"

As she turned and skipped happily out the door, Claire smiled and shook her head. Watching her sister go, she murmured, "Yeah, you'll be fine."

So, credit where it's due-Thank the LORD for Google Images and Deviant art, for without it I would be picture-less, and that would be quite sad! And I would also be sad without the whole Harvest Moon franchise, which all these lovely characters are based :)

Now that I've given credit and all that jazz, time for a quick explanation!

Just got out of school for summer? Check.

Just got a new 3ds? Check.

Just got Havest Moon: A New Beginning? CHECK!

If you couldn't tell, I'm WAAAY excited about this game and it's characters :) I actually feel like I could write a story for the OC and all the bachelors (individually of course) but I'm starting off with Neil and Rio because I think they are way cute together. They are currently a favorite of mine from all the ships I've seen of these game characters XD

That being said, this is the first HM fic I've posted in awhile so hopefully it's not TOO random or out of character! Please be gentle on me with your comments, readers XD I would love to have reviews telling me what you like and dislike about what I've posted so far, but no burning please!

Also I can't make any committed promises about how frequently this will be updated; unlike when I was writing my other HM stories and posted two chapters every day, I'm really cultivating my writing and thus am taking WAY more time with it. That, and I still have two other stories I need to work on XD

But yeah, that's about it for now :) Thanks for reading, and hopefully I'll see you on the next update! :)