Spring 2
Dear Diary
This is the beginning of my new life as a farmer….
.*.*.
The boat floated over the water, the sun overhead as against the rail leaned a girl in a pair of new coveralls and a plaid button up shirt. She smiled as a breeze hit her face with a little salt water spray. A voice came up from behind her as she turned to look behind her.
"So you are the new rancher coming to Rose Petal Island?" the blond man looked at her, crossing his arms, looking over the girl before him, scrawny, blonde, not like any rancher he had ever seen before. "I'm Tetsuya Sendo. I run Off the Hook Fishery and operate the boats."
"I'm Valencia Luna… Though I am called Val by friends and family… And yea, I'm the new rancher. What can you tell me about the island?" she smiled at him, playing with a strand of her hair as she looked behind her at the island looming before her.
"It's a nice place to live… The Suoh's, the mayor family, founded it a long time ago… Their son is going to meet you at the pier to show you around town when we dock."
.*.*.
… the boat ride to the island, Rose Petal Island, was pretty uneventful. Tetsuya filled me in on some of the things that happen in town, like about his friend who sold fruit and vegetable seeds, the Mayor and his family who always welcomed new visitors to the island.
He said there were more people there but I would get to meet them myself soon. I hoped I could friend some friends, some people willing to help me learn…
.*.*.
"Land Ahoy!" Tetsuya called, pointing to the pier as they got closer. Val looked as they passed a small dark island where a small rowboat was tied to the shore. Tetsuya walked up and noticed where her eyes were drawn "Oh, that is Nekozawa's Island. Umehito Nekozawa and his sister Kirimi live there, along with his apprentice Reiko."
"Why do they live so far off coast?" Val looked as she sat the young blonde girl running on the coast as the dark shape hiding in the woods watched, then looked over, giving a gentle wave.
"Umehito has a… problem with being in too much direct light… the island is so densely wooded that he can relax out of the sunshine but is still close enough to town that Reiko.. Or Kirimi can come over to the main land to get things they need." Tetsuya waved to the dark shape as they coasted by "If you ever want to go over and visit I offer ferry rides over, they have some pretty good trees to use for expanding your home and stuff as your grow, and they have some wild items you can sell."
Val nodded as Tetsuya walked off to steer the boat into port as she went to get her backpack. Most of her items had already been sent ahead, some clothes, bed sheets and pillows, pictures of her friends and family from back in the city. In her backpack was a change of clothes and her necessities.
She went back up and climbed from the boat with Tetsuya's help, seeing a younger blonde man waiting with a smile on his face.
"Welcome to Rose Petal Island!"
.*.*.
… I met my first friend. His name was…
.*.*.
"I'm Tamaki. Tamaki Suoh. You're Valencia, right? The new Rancher?" Tamaki walked up, shaking her hand, "Welcome, welcome. I'm sure you are tired, so let me lead you to your new ranch. And after you settle in I can show you around town" He placed an arm around her shoulder, leading her from the boat as she waved behind her to Tetsuya.
"T… thank you… And please call me Val." She walked with Tamaki, looking around the town as best she could before they were passed the town and into more farm land. They came up to a nice looking plot of land, a simple one room house, a slightly run down barn and coop. The plot was covered in rocks, weeds and half dead trees.
"This is the plot you bought… you can give it a name" Tamaki smiled, looking at Val.
Nodding, Val looked around her with a smile then ran up to stand on the slab of stone before her new front door "I am home! Welcome to the Luna Ranch!"
.*.*.
… The Luna Ranch, my new home and life. It was not in the best shape. I'm sure there was a hole in the roof of my new house, the door to the coop was almost hanging off its hinges. The farm land was covered in rocks and tree roots. And the weeds! All the weeds! But I got lucky…
.*.*.
"To welcome you to town, my father arranged for these to be given to you as a gift" Tamaki moved, leading her inside to show sitting on her new dining room table was a hoe, a watering can, and a town map.
"Oh wow… really? Thank you so much" Val smiled, bowing to Tamaki in thanks, making a mental note to stop by the town hall and thanking the mayor, Tamaki's father, as well for the nice land and the tools. She was expecting to have to buy these items on her own.
"Now, would you like to get a tour of the island or would you like to explore a bit on your own?" Tamaki smiled, moving to pick up her new map, handing it to her. She looked down at the map; the island was almost crescent shaped with a small island between the two points. One corner of the island was labeled as the Azalea Mountain Area, the middle of the island was labeled as Cherry Blossom Square, the lowest point was Primrose Fields, and the beach was labeled as Hibiscus Beach.
"I think I will explore on my own, thank you… but if I have any questions?" She looked up at Tamaki, smiling as he moved, pointing to a building pictured in the center of town. It was labeled as Town Hall.
"Either my father or I will be there to answer any questions, or my mother could be there at times" He smiled, turning to the door "I hope you like it here, Val. We are all happy to have you here" He walked out the front door as Val looked over her map, then after putting her new tools in her tool box.
She began out, looking at her map once more before heading down to the Primrose Fields are first. She began to hum as she walked; looking around her to try and learn the kind of land she was living in now. She picked up random mushrooms and fruits she found, sticking them in her bag as she walked.
"WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING!" A voice shouted, causing Val to jump from her crouched position, looking towards the voice to see a horse coming at her with an orangey red haired girl riding on the back, a red headed male chasing after her to try and help stop the run away horse.
Val jumped to the side as the girl got control of her horse, the red head coming to a stop near by "Man.. I thought you would never get that crazy horse of yours to stop, Alice" the red head spoke, looking up as the girl climbed off, patting the side of the now winded animal.
"Ritsu, its fine, I'm fine. Moses just got spooked by a snake, is all" The girl, Alice, smiled, then looked around him "Hey! Are you the new Rancher Mayor Suoh mentioned was coming to the island?"
Val blinked and nodded as the red head, Ritsu, turned, "Yea. I am… I'm Valencia, but please call me Val. I live right over that way at the Luna Ranch…" she turned, pointing in the direction she came from "I'm just trying to learn about this place"
Alice smiled and pointed "I'm Alice, and I run the Macaroni Ranch. You can come to me if you ever feel like buying an animal, in fact, stop by at some point and I will give you Moses' little brother." She patted her horse on his side. And then from the mess of orange hair on Alice's head popped out a little yellow chick. Alice smiled and pointed to her head "This is Mo, by the way"
"And I'm Ritsu. I run Kasanoda Farms. I sell seeds for you to plant and harvest. Helps make some money. In fact" He reached into his bag and pulled out some things. He handed them to her "Here, these are some turnip seeds and strawberry seeds. These are good beginner crops."
Val smiled, putting the seeds into her own bag "Thank you. You both are so nice."
He nodded and smiled, then turned "I hope to see you around." He began to walk off. Alice sighed and climbed back onto Moses' back "Come by when you have the time." She smiled and rode off. Val waved after the two.
.*.*.
…Two red heads live in Primrose Fields. They were nice, and I was happy to meet them, since through them I got some seeds to begin growing and once I visited Macaroni Ranch…
.*.*.
"Hey! Welcome!" Alice waved as she saw Val come up "You came to visit" She smiled, bouncing over to grab her hand and pulled her towards her barn "Moses has a little brother and since you are new and you could use the faster transportation… When he gets bigger you can get from one side of the island to the other before you know it!" She moved, petting a few random animals, calling them by name. Alongside Moses the horse and Mo the chick that lived in her hair, Alice named Mark, Molly, Melvin, Maki, Marik, and even more M names.
She walked up to a dapple grey pony, petting its side "This is the little brother. Would you like to adopt it?"
Val blinked "Are you sure it's okay for me to adopt it?" She held out a hand, letting the pony sniff her hand before nuzzling her hand, letting her pet it. Alice nodded, petting its side once more "Yea. You are allowed. I wouldn't offer if I didn't think it was a good idea"
Val smiled, looking the pony's eyes and nodded "Mist" She said simply, petting it softly "I like the name Mist" Alice nodded and smiled "I like that." She moved over to her tool box that was in the corner and opened it, pulling out two things.
She walked over, handing her two items "This is a sickle, you can use it to cut grass, weeds, and wilted crops at the end of seasons, Ritsu can tell you more about wilted crops and he can sell you grass seeds. Grow and cut grass to make your own fodder but until then I can sell you some for a reasonable price. And this is a brush. Brush your animals' everyday to get along better with them. Cleaning them makes them feel closer to you" Val blinked, looking at the new items she held "Thank you. How much is the fodder?"
"Ah, today I will give you a week's supply for free, just remember to feed him every morning, let him out on nice days, and soon your Mist will grow up and you can ride him." Val smiled, once again amazed at how nice the people on this island were as she waved goodbye, leading her new Mist back to her ranch.
Once at home, and after giving Mist a good brushing, Val nodded. She moved to begin cleaning up the land so she could begin growing her turnip and strawberries. Weeds were wacked down carefully, some rocks and lumber were moved out of the way as best she could. After putting her random finds into the shipping bin she moved inside, yawning a bit. It had been a long day.
.*.*.
…What a day it was. I moved to a new place, met some new people, got a horse and began to clear things up to begin growing things. I am ready to fall into bed and sleep! Well, until tomorrow.
Val 3
This idea came to me after playing Harvest Moon Animal Parade with my sister, the creator of Alice, and looking up pictures online. I am an Ouran fan and came across cross over pictures of Tamaki as Gil and Haruhi as the main female protagonist.
I took ideas for jobs, festivals, and locations from different Harvest Moon games I have played, '64, Animal Parade, Tree of Tranquility, and Sunshine Island.
I planned out so much for this fanfic so I hope it turns out well!
Please review