Red Dead Star:The Fires of the West

Authors Note

Hi there, I decided to write this story after completing Red Dead Redemption on my Xbox 360 lol It's an awesome game so I spent ages thinking up a storyline and writing it out so I hope you enjoy my work. Please have a read through and tell me what you think.

LuckyStarFanFicWriter

The bright and powerful sphere that was called the sun rose up into the sky, bringing light and warmth to the citizens that were living in the valleys and towns of the old west. It was the beginning of Summer Time and down on Izumi Ranch, a man named Sojiro Izumi was waking up and was getting ready to start another day of his life on the ranch. He inherited the ranch from his father five years ago and had done a fantastic job with it but was not wealthy at all,business had been terrible in the west for the last couple of years but still managed to make enough money to get by and put plenty of food on the table for his family. He had a small blue haired girl whom was only four years old and loved her dearly. His wife who was called Kanata had been kidnapped and brutally murdered by gangsters when Konata was one, Sojiro told his daughter that she had turned into an angel and gone to a better place called Heaven.

Sojiro decided that he couldn't move on and find another woman, Kanata was his soul mate and he could never love anyone as much as he had loved her. He was prepared to remain on the ranch and watch Konata grow up into a young woman and one day find a man of her own but for now he was ready to spend time with his little girl since it was now her fourth birthday. Konata was a beautiful young girl with short blue hair and emerald green eyes, residents on the ranch nicknamed her little Kanata after her mother.

''There she is'' said Sojiro as he looked into his daughter's room to find her tucked away in her bed, far away in the land of dreams. He felt a deep feeling of gratitude his family was blessed with such a bright, energetic and kind girl. Konata was beloved by the ranchers and by people who passed through to pick up supplies. She was often seen at the ranch's train station, waving to passengers in the cars as the train blew it's whistle and steamed away into the desert.

After Kanata died, Sojiro had done his best to bring Konata up to polite, sensible and to bring her up as a rancher the best he could. Whenever a gang of thieves or murderers was ever spotted near by or in another town or ranch, Sojiro would always lock his daughter away in her room until the close was clear, he was determined to not let the same fate meet Konata as it had with his wife Kanata.

He quietly walked over to his daughter's bedside and shook her slowly in order to wake her up. As she began to stir, he quickly left the room and headed downstairs as fast as his cowboy boots would carry him.

''Daddy!...Daddy! Where are you?'' yawned Konata. After getting out of her bed, she carefully made her to the top of the stairs where she saw her father.

''You'll have to catch me Konata'' teased Sojiro from the bottom of the stairs, then ran out of the front door, into the blinding sunlight that hurt Konata's eyes

''Your outside aren't you Daddy?'' giggled Konata who made her way out into the sunlight ranch that was boiling hot on this particular day.

''Theirs the birthday girl'' said Sojiro ''Your so adorable!''

Konata was rather small, even for a four year old, she had blue hair that was short and had emerald green eyes. Konata had her mother's mole on her right cheek and her father called it her Lucky Star.

''Who wants a birthday present?'' teased Sojiro

''You got me something! YEY!'' cheered Konata who then fell onto her back and snacked her head on the wooden pallets that she was standing on and nearly started to cry

''You should have put on your boots'' laughed Sojiro ''They were your mother's lucky boots when she was your age you know''

''I don't wanna!'' moaned Konata as she slowly got back up ''They hurt my feet and I can run faster without them, I love how the ground feels under my feet, except for the rocks, they hurt!''

''To bad Konata, you'll need your boots for this present. But you can't have it if you can't catch me!'' yelled Sojiro as he ran behind the barn on the other side of the yard

''That's not fair daddy'' giggled Konata as she chased after her father, wearing nothing on her feet, the dirt covering her tiny toes but she ran on, covering the front yard in a matter of seconds. Konata spotted her father slipping in through the barn door at the back and she quickly made haste to follow him.

''I've got you now Daddy'' smiled Konata but her smile quickly turned into a look of fear as she realised that the inside was pitch black. Konata had a fear of the darkness, she never slept without a candle lit in her room ,despite the invention of the light bulb but her family was not rich enough to afford any, hence the candles in her room.

''Daddy...DADDY!'' yelled Konata as she quickly ran back outside into the light, a look of fright on her little face. The tears in her eyes wanted to drip down her cheeks but she refused to let them do so.

'I'm brave...I won't cry, I won't cry' thought Konata

''Konata, is that you?''

''Huh?'' said Konata as she looked up and spotted a man with a cowboy hat, red top and cowboy boots with spurs on, stood next to her

''Hi Mr Wilson'' said Konata ''I wasn't crying! I swear''

''I never said you were, little darling'' smiled Mr Wilson as he patted Konata on the head ''I know how brave you are ''I understand that it's someone's birthday today, can you tell whose it is little lady?''

''MINE!'' cheered Konata ''It's my fourth birthday today!''

''That's right, god I can't believe how quick time flies by. It was only yesterday that you were crawling into the cow pen and causing all sorts of trouble and mayhem for us all'' laughed Mr Wilson

''Cows are funny!'' giggled Konata ''They always run away from me when I try to stroke them''

''That's because they know your going to cause them nothing but trouble and besides, your too small to stroke anything but their legs''

''No I wouldn't, I...wanted to be friends with them and I can too stroke a cow'' moaned Konata '' But they always run, I don't have any human or animal friends'' Konata felt lonely, she was the only child on the ranch. The next youngest person was thirteen and he was always busy helping out his family to play with Konata.

''Well, that's about to change'' smiled Mr Wilson ''Starting from today, you'll have yourself a friend who you can spend as much time as you want with''

''What do you mean?'' asked Konata ''Have you found me a friend?'' Little Konata was starting to forget about the scary and dark barn, she was getting excited, she loved surprises from anyone. ''What is my surprise?''

''You'll have to find your father to find out'' teased Mr Wilson ''And he's in this barn''

''But...I''

''I thought a big and brave girl like you could easily walk into a barn and find her father''

''I am a big and brave girl'' said Konata. She walked towards the barn door and slowly opened it, once again revealing the darkness from within it's walls. With a bad feeling in her gut, she stepped inside.

'I'm brave, I am brave, I can do this'

As she made her way further inside, she looked up and saw all of the cattle that had been stored inside the night before. The tall and bulky animals scared Konata, even though she loved them outside, she was terrified of the loud noises hat they made inside and the smell that they produced didn't help matters either. Just then, she saw her father in a box at the end of the barn that had been covered with hay.

''Daddy!'' said Konata ''Your mean''

''There's my little cowgirl'' said Sojiro ''I was starting to think that you weren't going to come in and meet your surprise

''Oh my present'' squealed Konata as she ran towards the box with great anticipation, what could it be? Konata wondered what would her father keep inside a stable block. As she reached the box, she heard a loud snort. As she looked up to the candlelight on the ceiling, she saw standing next to her father a creature with four legs, a mane and a grey coat.

''It's...It's-

''That's right angel, your very own young horse'' said Sojiro ''Happy birthday kiddo''

''WOW!'' said Konata in sheer shock. She had always bugged her father about owning her own horse, it had been a dream of hers to have a pet. ''It's mine?'' said Konata as she couldn't believe it

''He's all yours Konata and you can call him whatever you like'' smiled Sojiro

Konata thought about it long and hard, what name was she going to give to her horse, she wanted a cute yet interesting name, she wasn't going to call it Mr Cuddles or Mr's Huggsalot like she had named her toys in her room. Just then a name came into her head as she looked up at her steed.

''I'll call you...Sky'' said Konata

''Sky huh? What made you choose that name Konata?'' asked Sojiro

''Because he's as white and soft as a fluffy cloud'' cheered Konata ''Can I hug him Daddy?''

''He won't let you straight away, he has to trust you first'' laughed Sojiro

''How do I make him trust me Daddy?'' asked Konata

''Hold out your hand sweety'' said Sojiro

Konata was a little scared about holding out her hand to a creature that could easily squash her.

''He won't eat it will he?'' asked an intimidated Konata

''Off course not silly, it'll make him trust you and love you''

''Oh...ok'' said Konata as she held out her hand slowly, she closed her eyes and waited for something to happen. She thought about what kind of things she could get up to with her new friend, she thought about how she now had someone that she could tell her secrets too and someone who would always be there for her when her father could not. Her father thought about how this horse would teach his daughter responsibility and make her a better person. Sky looked at the small girl in front of him and lowered his head towards her hand. He sniffed the hand and then saw the look on her face and quickly saw that she was a kind and gentle creature who he could trust.

Konata opened her eyes and saw Sky's face right up and close to her. She thought about running away, had her father lied to her, was Sky really going to eat her?

''Konata, it's ok'' said Sojiro as he stepped passed Sky and joined his daughter ''He wants you to pet him, like this see'' Sojiro gently stroked Sky's nose and neck. ''You try it kiddo''

Konata felt an urge of happiness that Sky trusted her, she raised her hand up and after a moment of hesitation, stroked Sky's neck. A smile came across her face as she stroked her birthday present. Sojiro told Konata that he would be right back. As he walked away Konata got nervous, now that she was all alone with Sky, her horse.

As Konata stopped stroking her steed, she watched as Sky led down on the hay and that gave Konata a crazy idea. 'I'm sure Daddy won't mind If I give it a go'.Checking that noone was looking, she slowly got onto Sky's back, an urge of pride spread through her as this was her first time on a horse, even if it was led down, to her it counted but she didn't count on Sky deciding to stand back up and since her father had left the stable door open, Sky simply walked out of it with Konata bobbling up and down on his back.

' Uh oh, this isn't good' thought a concerned Konata

They made their way out of the barn and into the sunlight. Konata wasn't sure what to do, should she try to get off but as she looked over Sky's shoulder, she saw that it was a bit of a drop for someone her size. Her tiny legs bounced up and down and as they made their way through the ranch, they accidentally kicked against Sky, causing him to speed up into a light canter that made Konata grab onto his mane for dear life.

People had to dive out of the way as Sky sped through the ranch and out into the wilderness. As soon as Sky and Konata had left the ranch behind, they broke out into a full gallop. Konata started to cry, she was scared about what might happen to her, she had ever left the ranch by herself before and she hadn't been on a horse that had gone into a gallop either.

''DADDY!'' yelled Konata as Sky went on, deeper into the wilderness.

Back at the barn, Sojiro returned with a few carrots in his hands, eager to let Konata feed her horse for the first time but as he got closer, he noticed that neither Konata or Sky were in the stable. Panic spread through his body.

''Konata?...KONATA!''

''He dropped the carrots to the floor and sprinted outside, desperately calling for Konata until he was stopped by ranchers who ran up and informed him that Konata had galloped out of the ranch a few minutes ago. Gathering a small crowd and horses they split up into two groups and galloped their way to find Konata, before it was too late.

''I'm coming Konata!'' yelled Sojiro as he spurred his horse forward

As Konata made her way through the wilderness, she found herself to be enjoying herself. The speed that Sky was going, the feeling she was experiencing and the wind blowing through her hair made her feel alive.

''Faster boy!'' yelled Konata ''This is the best birthday present ever!''

If Konata could, she would go galloping on forever, through all the deserts and wastelands, she would ride through on her steed but as she bounced on, she started to miss her Father, she enjoyed riding but she knew that she had plenty of time to do it as she grew up, it was early days and she new that she would get carried away or killed at her age.

''Please Sky...stop'' begged Konata as she spoke into his ear. She had never been more terrified in her life, she thought that she may never see her family or friends ever again if she kept going but she was surprised and relieved when she saw Sky listening to her command. He started to slow down from a gallop to a slow and steady trot, eventually stopping by some trees.

''Thanks boy'' whispered Konata ''I love you and I'm glad your mine, we'll be the best of friends''

Konata hugged her horse with gratitude and kissed him on the head. Sky neighed in appreciation and embraced in her owner's love.

While Konata rested on her horse, she failed to spot an oncoming threat, from a short distance was a pack of coyotes, hungry for blood and in this case...horse. They quietly surrounded Konata and sky, using the tall grass for cover they got closer. The leader of the pack then howled to signal the attack, the coyotes came out into the open, long claws and filthy fangs bearing, Sky reared up in panic, causing Konata to be thrown to the ground, knocking her out. Sky nearly ran away but turned around as he knew that Konata was in trouble. The horse did all that it could to defend Konata from the savage beasts but was soon outnumbered as the beasts licked their lips in anticipation for a meal. Konata managed to open her eyes and watch helplessly as her horse was brought to the ground, teeth about to enter Sky's neck.

''DADDY!'' screamed Konata but her scream was quickly sounded out by the sound of gunfire. The coyotes looked up into the air and quickly retreated as they knew what that sound meant, humans with guns were approaching. After the way was clear, Konata struggled to make it to her feet and slowly walked over to Sky who was still down. Tears filled her eyes as stood over her horse, she fell to her knees and held Sky's head in her hands.

''It's ok, mommy's here'' cried Konata

''KONATA!'' yelled Sojiro as he rode up to her, his gun still smoking from the gun fire.

Sojiro quickly dismounted and hugged his daughter, relieved that she was safe.

''Don't ever wander off like that again, do you hear me!'' yelled Sojiro ''Do you have any idea how worried I was about losing you?''

''I'm sorry Daddy'' cried Konata as she hugged her father ''But will Sky be ok?''

Sojiro looked over at Sky and could see that he had no injuries whatsoever

''He'll be just fine sweetheart'' assured Sojiro ''Let's head back, that's enough excitement for the day''

''I'm riding Sky!'' cheered Konata as she asked Sky to lie down, which he did and climbed onto his back before spurring him on into a flat out gallop, leaving her father in a state of shock.

''Now you have to catch me'' teased Konata as she sped away on her steed

''It's...been only one day and she can already do that'' stuttered Sojiro as he looked on but a feeling of pride and being proud of her daughter filled him as he knew that she was just like her mother, as she was also one with the horse at a young age. ''She's going to be a fantastic cowgirl one day'' said Mr Wilson as he pulled up alongside Sojiro ''She's already fantastic at riding already''

''I know but I still want to keep an eye on her, theirs so much that she has to learn like how to make friends her own age''

''It's still early days, let her enjoy her moment'' said Mr Wilson

''I will, I just wonder what the future has in store for my little girl'' wondered Sojiro as he followed after his daughter

12 Years Later

Where is that girl?'' moaned Sojiro ''I knew that she was going to be late but this is ridiculous''

He was sat on a step outside their house, waiting for his now grown up daughter Konata to return from an evening hack. She always went out in the evening on her faithful steed with no reins or saddle, she didn't like the soreness from the saddle and found it cruel that reins were used to force horses to move faster, she didn't want to hurt Sky in any way and would control him by using his mane to slow him down and using her boots to make him speed up and ever loving friend Sky who were practically inseparable, she would spend hours combing his mane and coat and would spend her nights, sleeping in his stable alongside her faithful companion whom she couldn't live without. Konata was now sixteen years old and her hair was much longer then it used to be but she was still small for her age but she didn't let that stop her, she was an ace with horses and could even use a gun much better then most of the ranchers but she never held one when her father was around.

Dad!'' Sojiro heard. As he stood up he spotted Konata emerge from over the hillside, galloping down the hillside and into the ranch. As she pulled up to her house, she spurred her horse who then performed a magnificent rear and snorted loudly. Konata rose up into the air and waved at her father, jumping off as soon as Sky's hooves met the dirt.

''Where have you been and what have I said about showing off Konata?'' said Sojiro who was annoyed that Konata was once again late.

''Oh come on Dad, Rearing is so easy and Sky loves it and I'm not that late'' moaned Konata

''Oh, so you can speak horse now?'' sighed Sojiro ''Don't push him so hard, he isn't as young as he once was''

''That's ridiculous, he's as fast as he was when you gave him to me'' argued Konata

''Look, I don't want to argue with you darling, I'm sorry'' said Sojiro

''I'm sorry too'' smiled Konata as she kicked off her boots ''I wish I didn't have to wear them, I prefer to be barefoot''

''I know but you'll thank me when your not getting dry and flaky skin under your feet kiddo'

''Yeah yeah'' giggled Konata ''Thanks Dad''

''What for?'' asked Sojiro

''For always being their for me, I love you''

''Aww, I love you too sweetheart'' said Sojiro as he kissed Konata on the head

The cool moon hung above the ranch as Konata put Sky into his stable, she kissed him goodnight before walking into her house, kissed her father goodnight before she headed upstairs and into her room. She still had a candlelight in her room as it kept her warm and she was still afraid of the dark but didn't admit it to anyone. She got into her bed and got comfortable as she stared out to the moon, she thought about what she would do next, now that she was almost a grown up, she would have responsibilities like getting married and having a son or daughter. She had always wanted a child of her own but she was strangely turned down by every young boy that she had dated. The furthest that Konata had gone was tongue kissing but it never went further then that, she felt that boys just didn't understand her feelings.

''I'll find someone, there's a whole desert of people for me to meet'' said Konata

End of Chapter 1

Authors Note

I'm so happy that I completed Chapter 1, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm not the best writer in the world but I hope I did alright, go easy on me, I'm fragile lol

Post Note- I apologize for the language that was used at the start of the story, I have removed it and will try to keep it to a minimum