Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon.

"Mother…please forgive me. I just had to get out all my pain and suffering…now that I've moved on…remember I will always love you. I'm your…son…"

"Ugh!" spat a man as snow came down on his head, "Damn snow…it makes my wounds ache, I tell you!"

"Quit your complaining" said the other, readjusting the sack on his shoulder, "Snow makes it harder for them to find us, no?"

"Yes, but-shh!"

The man blinked as his companion stopped, startling him. Scowling, he started to shove him, "What is the big idea?"

Peeking around, disgruntled, as the man made no attempts to move, he gasped softly. What on Earth…?

A boy stood before them, his green eyes mellow, emotionless. His skin was pale, perhaps because of standing out here in the frigid temperatures. The only thing that made him question was the young child's hair…it was white as the snow that fell around them. He was dressed all in white, even his pants which held only a faint color of gray. The older man swallowed though, when he noticed the red stain on his chest and knees. It appeared to be blood…

He slowly kneeled and gave the small, apparently dazed, boy a gentle smile, asking softly, "Gutentag, lad…are you lost?"

The mysterious boy's eyes blinked slowly and he stared at the man warily. The older man tried again, "Do not worry, I won't harm you. I am Juke…what is your name?"

The boy blinked faintly again before glancing at Juke's partner. Juke glanced back and laughed softly, "That's Friedrick, he will not hurt you either."

"Just leave him. He looks like some devil child…"

Juke sent a dark glare back at his partner which quickly silenced him. The boy bowed his head and Juke grasped his shoulders. "Let's take you back to our home. I have hot chocolate and you can tell us where we can find your mother, hmm?"

The boy didn't show any sign of relenting but followed anyway. Friedrick grumbled about Juke being 'too damn nice'. Arriving back at their home, Friedrick slowly started to unpack his bag.

Jewels of various sizes fell out, thousands if not millions of dollars sitting right there on the table. The little boy's eyes finally showed some expression of shock. Friedrick snarled and grabbed him by his shirt, "You tell one person and I will gut you!"

The boy swiftly shook his head and finally talked, "I will not…did you steal those?"

The man glared at him deeply, "And what if I did, eh?"

"How…how do you steal? I-I want to get money…"

Friedrick's eyes widened before he laughed a loud haughty laugh, finally releasing the boy, "Look what we have here, Juke, the boy wants to become a thief!"

Juke came back with the warm steaming mugs of chocolate, handing one to the young child, smiling wearily, "Now why would you want to do that?"

"I…I just need money…there is no other reason" he mumbled.

"And what other reason is there for a thief?" demanded Friedrick, slapping the boy roughly on the back, "We'll make you a class-A thief in no time!"

"Friedrick…" frowned Juke, "He's too young…"

"Meh, never too young to learn the fine arts. Maybe he'll even become famous under our tutelage."

Juke just sighed, "Lad, where are your parents?"

"…I…don't have any…"

"An orphan?" questioned Juke.

"…Yes."

Sounded like a sensitive subject so Juke let it slide for now…he glanced at Friedrick and sighed.

"This life is dangerous… if you're caught, they won't have mercy on you, you'll be put in jail, punished…"

A rather strange smirk crossed the child's face, "I have nothing or everything to lose, right?"

Juke just stared and Friedrick laughed, "He's already one of us, Juke! Now, tell us, what is your name?"

He blinked for a moment before responding softly, "Steiner. I want to become one of the world's greatest thieves…but only for my m- the money."

…Okay.