Harvest Moon

Stories of Mineral Village

By: Belldandy'sKeiichi

Author's Time: Falling back to my roots, I had this idea lingering in the back of my mind fro some time now. I didn't want to write it until I had the full story in my head (and apparently now in my notebook). So here it is. About a year in the making, my latest story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed acting it out in my head.

Setting is Harvest Moon: Back to Nature

Disclaimer: You know the drill, I own Harvest Moon...

…It all started with a drink

It was the twenty-ninth and I swung by Doug's place to get a drink before calling it a night. With winter freezing the field, there wasn't much work to be done around the farm. After feeding the animals, I had the whole day to myself. I mingled with the neighbors, drank a few beers, mingled some more, drank a few more…now that I think about it, winter really was the time where I drank a lot.

But I wasn't alone in the night merriment. Most of my good and close friends were there. Karen the sassy supermarket girl whose alcohol tolerance is unbelievable, Ann the redheaded tomboy who isn't afraid to speak her mind, Elli the neighborhood mother figure who always does the right thing, Popuri the childish chicken rancher that no one could stay mad at, and Mary the quiet librarian that knew way too much for her own good. But along with the five girls, there were also the five guys.

These guys were my friends long before I knew any of the girls. Cliff the girl hopping bachelor who does more speaking than thinking, Rick the other chicken rancher who likes to mount up on his morale high horse from time to time, Gary the silent listener who only gives his ideas when asked, Tim the doctor who likes to be called Doctor or Doc, and Kai the summer time bachelor who probably got more ass than a toilet seat.

These ten people were my best and closest friends. We had our ups and downs but in the end everything turned out alright. But anyways, I got my beer and was about to head out when I heard Ann call me over. Being a good guy, I came over to the lot of them as they all waved to me.

"Hey there Jack! Come sit down and hang with us. We were about to start." Ann said as she pulled a chair for me.

I smiled as I took my seat between her and Mary. All around the table were all my friends except Kai who only came during the summer.

"So what are you guys doing?" I asked them as I popped the cap off the beer bottle and took a sip. I wasn't much of an alcoholic but I knew how much I could take before becoming drunk.

"Well, we are about to exchange stories with one another." Ann said to me as Karen followed up immediately.

"We do this at the end of every season. Since the New Year's party is going to take place soon we decided to do it early." She said as see took a swing of her drink. I nodded as I saw what everyone was drinking. Mostly beer and wine. Kinda make me wonder how accurate their stories will be.

"So what exactly do you guys do? Just share stories with one another?" I asked. Was it just a big gossip group or did it have a purpose?

"A little of this and a little of that. The purpose of having these gatherings is just to catch up with one another. Work does take up a lot of time" said Mary, "you should have a ton of stories since we never see you at these things."

I gave a small smirk. There were a lot of things that I have seen and done this first year. Won a few festivals, build extensions, mined out some interesting ores… I guess I could share a few tales. "When then, should I start?" I asked as everyone scooted close to hear my tale…

"And that is how I came to sharing my stories with you guys." Jack said and everyone stared at him then groaned.

A very irritated Ann stared at Jack. "Jack! You tell us this story every time we ask you for something interesting!" Ann yelled at him as she hit is arm.

"Seriously Jack, why do you keep insisting on telling that story?" Rick asked as he placed his wine glass down and sighed. Jack laughed as he picked up his glass and rotated it with his hand.

"Because Rick, it's tradition! Just like this storytelling circle. It is a tradition for me to tell the story of how you guys got me into this thing." Jack told them as he saw Doc leaned up against the table.

"That's true, but sometimes traditions need to stop, especially if that tradition is boring to listen to…" The Doctor said as everyone laughed.

"Haha…burned." Rick pointed and laughed as Jack nudged him hard with his elbow. "Ow! Well…I guess someone should start us off. It's been about an hour and all we did so far was drink and listen to Jack reminisce on the good old days."

With this comment, Jack's head shot up. "Oh, that reminds me a great story. How about I tell you about the time…I first came to-"

"NO!" Everyone said as they groaned again.

"What?"

"Jack, we heard that story more times that your other story…" Mary said to him as Jack shook his head.

"Yes, but this story is a classic." He said as he tried to get their attention. "You see, this story is the turning point in my life where I stopped being a boy and became a man. This is the story that changed my life forever!" He said as his voice started to elevate. "This story-!"

But then he got interrupted by Cliff's fake snoring. Everyone started to laugh as Jack just stared at him.

"Huh? Wha? You done? Great." He said as he straightened himself up and looked around the table. "Jack, no one wants to hear about the time you got your little plot of land and how much work you did to restore it. What they want to hear is the time when I was back in the city I found this hot little chica that-"

"No! We especially don't want to hear about again." Ann said, speaking for the group as the others shook their head in disgust.

"Alright miss tomboy. What do you want to hear then?" Cliff asked her as Ann placed a finger against her lips and tapped it softly. She gave a loud snap and looked around the room.

"Well, how about the other side of the story of Jack's arrival. I mean, that New Year's party was really wild if you know what I mean." She said as she winked at Elli, who turned flushed and looked away. "I'm sure not everyone knows what happen when you guys left the Inn."

"Now that I think about it…that night you, Elli, and Karen were drinking pretty hard. I'd imagine that the next morning couldn't have gone well. Especially with Jack going around town saying hi to everyone that day. Did you fake sober?"

Laughing, Ann finished off her drink and placed it down as she exhaled with a loud 'ahh'. "Alright, pay attention and I will tell you the story. It all started with a trip to the toilet…"

Harvest 000- Pilot

"I just threw up…" I said as I came out of the Inn's toilet. Sitting at one of the tables was Karen who was laughing hysterically.

"You ok?" Karen asked. "Sorry, standard question. Heh, poor Ann…you would think that a waitress would know how to handle her liquor…" Karen trailed off as I took a seat next to her, rubbing my head.

"Yes, but last night I guess I overdid it…"

It was the first day of the new year and like the pervious years, the Inn always had a special; discounted prices on all liquor on the night of new year's eve and new year's day. Yesterday was pretty wild. With people drinking twice as much, ideas were shared, funny stories were told, and embarrassing photos were taken. But little did I know that my party was far from over. Karen started to look every which way and it caught my attention fast.

"Karen…why are you looking around the room?" I asked in curiosity.

"Oh you know, use remembering what happen last night. Where people were and what they were doing." She said as she turned around and looked at the staircase. "Let's see…we had Cliff and this one girl chatting it up on the stairs. She eventually slapped him and stormed out of the Inn. So something went wrong…" She said as I laughed. "Gary and Mary were talking over taking about his work. He was talking about his tough grandfather and how he amounts to nothing compared to him."

"Was Mary drinking…?"

"Nah, she never drinks. Never will."

Something that we can rely on other than Cliff getting shot down by girls, Mary never drinks when she comes here. She usually orders water or juice. So at least I know that Karen is speaking the truth and isn't making things up like she normally does.

"Oh! And you and Elli were staring into each other's eyes over at that table. You know Ann, you told me that you were completely straight. What's up with that?"

"What?!" I said in shock.

"But anyways, I was over there with the Doctor. Did you know he studies for almost twenty years to get his doctor's degree? That's amazing…I wouldn't-"

And then my world started to crumble right before me. I turned to Karen so that we were face to face and I told her by the shoulders.

"What did I do?!" I yelled at her.

"Calm down Ann!" She yelled back as she took her hands and clamped them around mine. "It wasn't big at all. You mean you don't remember?" Karen asked me as I removed my death grip on her shoulders and thought back. I remember the beer then the chat with the Mayor…

"…and then there was the scotch I drank and the martini. That's all I remember."

"Heh, that's not all you drank…believe me."

I raised an eyebrow at her as I tried to think back but it's all blank. The closest memory I have is talking to Elli after finishing the martini that Cliff couldn't finish.

"Haha…and you wouldn't believe how many body shots you did. We had to make a special table for you Ann. But don't sweat it, you weren't the life of the party sadly." Karen said as I stared at her. "I'm always the life of the party…heh, I though you would know that by now." She laughed as she stuck her tongue out at me. "And you gave me quite the competition. Beers, scotches, martinis, AND body shots? Heh, I really had to work."

"Then why don't you have a bad hangover like I have?" I asked her. But then I soon nodded my head. "Oh right…you're Karen." She nodded her head at me as she pushed me a bottle of water.

"But man….body shots with Elli? I though you didn't like her."

"Whoa whoa…ok. So Ann tipped the bottle a little. So where was Elli when this was going on?" Jack asked as the attention turned to Elli. She sighed as she straightened up a bit.

"Well…" Elli started off.

"Hey Ann…" Karen started as I looked at her.

"What?"

"Did you know that Elli and the Doctor are in the same room right now?" Karen asked as my eyes widen.

"Really?" I asked back. I never would have thought the Doctor would take advantage of a drunk girl. "Did he try to…?"

Karen laughed as she looked up at the second floor where we had all the rooms. "Hah, I wish. Elli passed out after the sixth body shot you did with her. I made a face as Karen continued. "So the doctor got a room for her so that she doesn't try to walk home. I guess he also crashed when he got there." She said as we both looked at the rooms.

I stayed silent as I calculated a few things in my head. "…do you think she knows that he's in the room?" I asked her but then there was a loud sound of a door slamming. Next thing we saw was Elli rushing down the stairs and moving to where we were sitting.

"Oh my Goddess oh my Goddess!" Elli panicked as she came right beside us and took the bottle of water I was drinking. She knocked it back and finished the whole bottle.

"Hey…!"

"Morning Elli! Sleep well?" Karen asked as Elli stared at her.

Elli was a mess. Her hair was messy and the clothes she was wearing the night before were all wrinkled and covered in beer. Her eyes were bloodshot and there were some unsightly hickeys around her neck. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"Rough night huh…?" I said as I went to get myself another bottle of water.

"Wouldn't be laughing if I were you. You gave her those…" Karen added as both Elli and I stared at her.

"What?!" Elli yelled as I looked over the counter to find more water. But instead of finding water I found a guy sitting on the floor with three empty water bottles around him. My eyes drooped as I stared at him.

"Cliff…what are you doing on the floor?" Cliff stood up and waved at Karen and Elli. He turned his attention back at me and scratched his head.

"Well…I fell asleep there."

"…why?"

"Because…were else are you going to get an endless supply of water." He said with a smile as I brought the half empty water bottle to his mouth. I quickly snatched it away and went back to the table.

Karen stared at him and laughed. "Were you there the whole time?"

"Oh…don't worry. I just woke up." He said as he rubbed his eyes. He stopped for a minute and started to laugh. "Hehe, I totally didn't just wake up. Haha." Cliff said as Karen and I sighed. "And wow for a little girl you sure can take a lot before passing out."

Karen looked and Elli and me and sighed. "I apologize for my cousin's behavior…" She said as Cliff walked over.

"No need Karen, they know I'm a work of art." He said, taking a seat. "I'm just pure genius."

"Please…do you even know how to spell 'genius'?" Elli asked. Cliff blinked as he thought about it.

"Well…I know there's a 'J' in there." Cliff said as Elli shook her head. He looked at all of us and blinked a few times before drinking his water again. "So what are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be cleaning yourselves up? The new guy will be here any minute."

"What new guy?" I asked.

"You mean you don't remember? Goddess I should have made a move…" Cliff said as I hit him a few times. "Ow ow! Ok." He said as he rotated his shoulder. "Mayor Thomas is over at the old farm to see the guy that's going to inherit it. He told you all last night don't you remember? Oh…heh, nevermind. You were too busy sucking on Elli's neck." He laughed as Elli took his water and splashed him. "Ah! Ok ok. Lighten up Elli. He said his name is Jack and that he'll be giving him a tour around the place starting…" He trailed off and looked at the time. "…twenty minutes ago. So ladies…better dress up." He said as he gave them a toast.

"What about you Cliff? Shouldn't you get ready?" Karen asked as he shook his head.

"I'm a dude. I can get changed and ready before you girls take a bath." He laughed.

And so we departed as we got ready to see the new farmer. I guess from there things were back to normal. Jack came and said hi to everyone. Acted like a gentleman. Little did we know he'll end up like this…

"Hey…!" Jack complained as everyone laughed. "So…what exactly did you and Elli do that night?" He asked as he stared at the two. Elli smiled at him as she placed her drink down.

"Sorry Jack…maybe another night." She said with a smirk.

"Alright Jack. Your turn. Tell us a story that we haven't heard yet." Popuri said as Jack looked up at the ceiling.

"Ok…how about I tell you the story of my first cow?"

Everyone started to groan.

"Hey? What? What?"

"Jack…" said Rick "your stories are lame and dull. We want to hear dirt man!"

Cliff smiled and laughed a bit. Soon everyone was looking at him. "Well…I know a story he can tell. How about you tell them the story of the 'Goddess incident'."

Jack's eyes widen as everyone started to talk.

"Oh, the Goddess incident? Sounds good. Tell us Jack!"

"Come on Jack! Tell us!"

"Please Jack?" Cliff said in a girly voice.

Shaking his head he motioned his arms to quiet them down. "Alright alright! I'll tell you about the Goddess incident." He said as he took a deep breath and let it out.

"So it all started with an ax…"