*sighs* Today… has been a heart shattering day… y'see, one of my original five villagers, and one of my best friends, Curly, has moved out of Yuai… er, well be gone tomorrow. This story's concept is one I have been dabbling in for quite a while now… but now, I have the perfect reason to write this.
I do not own Animal Crossing, it belongs to Nintendo and the like.
It started as a normal day for Isabelle, as she simply looked at some papers that were sitting around. Some of them were notes from other people, some of them were from the villagers, and various other papers she had to keep herself busy.
"Man… certainly a lovely day to be working…" Isabelle muttered to herself, when she heard someone open up the door. She stood ready for anything as she saw the mayor, who had cyan spiked hair, covered up by a Santa cap, was wearing green glasses, a green and red long sleeve shirt with yellow diamonds on it, blue pants and orange shoes, "Good morning Mayor Kota, it is currently 8:55am in our lovely little village of Yuai. And- uh… is there something wrong?"
Kota wordlessly put a letter onto her desk, Isabelle took out some reading glasses and put them on.
"'My eternal rival… Listen up! I've decided to go through with moving. Even if we live in different towns, we'll always be rivals. Here's something of mine to keep you motivated. Treat it right! - Curly'. Oh? Curly's farewell letter," Isabelle stated, as she put her glasses aside. She was about to speak again, when she noticed Kota's bloodshot eyes, making her give a concerned look to him.
"...he was one of my best friends…" Kota told her.
Isabelle blinked for a moment, as she began to think of something.
"...you don't understand…" Kota whimpered, as he ran out, Isabelle tried to stop him, but she didn't do anything.
"...yes I do…" Isabelle sighed, as she pulled out a picture of herself with a horse that was purple, had a white muzzle, who was wearing a green shirt with purple flowers, the two were standing in front of a pear tree of Isabelle's home town.
Kota has slowly began to walk through Yuai, crossing a bridge back to his house. He blinked at the door, but didn't know if he should go in.
"...I lost my friend… why?" Kota whimpered, as he began to tear up, he then proceeded to take out a picture of Curly waving in it. Kota then proceeded to dash into his house, and head upstairs, sitting down and simply just trying to calm down a little bit. He sunk into the blue couch and began to relax a little bit, but was still teary eyed.
The boy simply took off the Santa cap and simply let his tears drip down onto the snowflake floor, he simply curled up to try and relax a little, just wanting the day to be over with.
"Is Mayor Kota alright?" Jitters asked Isabelle, as everyone in Yuai had gathered at the house, seeing a 'keep out' sign on the front door.
"You are aware one of our villagers recently left, correct?" Isabelle asked.
"I am, Greatness," Hans informed.
"Well… it was one of his good friends…" Isabelle stated, "I think we should all leave him alone for a little while…"
Everyone gave a nod and headed off, either going to do normal stuff or go home. However, unknown to them, someone ignored the 'keep out' sign, and seemingly phased through the door.
Kota simply continued to cry a bit, before he felt a tissue rub his eyes, he looked around in confusion, and he simply got up and saw someone standing there… almost ghost like, but was indeed there. The person had green eyes, a purple shirt, orange shoes, and a neatly done haircut, but his facial features, beyond his eyes, and most of his body was sort of invisible.
"Wha- what the… who are you?" Kota demanded.
"A friend from the world of dreams," the person smiled, as he sat down by Kota, "I'm glad to see you. Someone who I… eh… you can figure it out. So… what's wrong?"
"I… lost one of my best friends… I was never once warned he was going to leave…" Kota informed.
The ghost-like person then simply thought for a moment, as he put a ghostly arm around him, not that Kota actually felt it. He simply gave a confused look, because he could not see nor feel his arm.
"Follow me kid," the person said, as he got up and headed downstairs, guiding Kota into the back room, where there were pictures of Margie, Ricky and Curly there, "Tell me… what do you see here?"
Kota simply blinked for a moment, "...pictures of my three best friends,"
The person simply gave a small chuckle for a short moment, making Kota give him a confused look.
"Look a little closer… you see memories, right?"
"Yea,"
"Well… what are the villagers to you?"
"They're… uh…" Kota stuttered for a moment, as he took a moment to think of the answer, he searched his mind about his feelings of everyone in Yuai, "...a family to me."
"Good answer kid," the person smiled, taking Kota outside and guiding him to the train station and the bulletin board, "So… even if someone moves away… they'll always be a part of your heart, your memory… and your family…"
Kota gave a nod and teared up, "...but he was an original five… and now, I only have one left…"
"Well… I have two left. Both of them I love and care for like a brother and a sister, a hippo who likes puns, and a very adorable little ducky… even if I left my village for home… I still go back, and they're still there, the hippo being the pun teller in my spot, and the duck is as adorable as ever… I will still never understand why she likes that jerk…" the person stated, "But… besides that… tell me who has left your village,"
"A lion named Elvis, a pig named Peggy, a cat name Kitty, a wolf named Skye, a deer named Deridre, a rabbit named Gabi and recently, Curly. But it's not in that order, it's just what I remember" Kota stated, as the person moved and showed a poster that Kota himself wrote.
"'For Elvis… Peggy… Deirdre… and Skye… And all players of New Leaf, those who move away will always be remembered.' Rather sweet, written on September 16th, last year." the person smiled, patting Kota a little bit, "See… you'll always remember your dear friends like family. And to qoute yourself, 'They may be gone… but never forgotten,'"
Kota smiled a bit, before tearing up a little bit, before a thought registered in his mind, "Wait a minute… who the heck are you?"
The person gave a small smile, as he then took out a red cap, a yellow and blue striped polo shirt, angel like wing, and then pulled out the legendary Monado, a la Keyblade style, "Your… inspiration for getting into this village…"
Kota's face just got a very stunned look, his jaw dropped, and his eyes simply just stared on for a moment.
"...Emile?" he stated, when suddenly, the person vanished, as if he was never there to begin with. Kota just gave a shrug at this, and was set to put the poster back, when he tripped, causing them all to fall to the ground. He then noticed something written onto the bulletin board, etched in was a message…
Let's always be the best we can be. Our village of friendship… a great Yuai. All of us are… a family.
Isabelle. Digby. Porter. Cyrus. Resse. Tom Nook. Timmy. Tommy. Pelly. Phyllis. Sable. Mable. Label. Blathers. Elvis. Peggy. Curly. Walker. Kitty.
Mayor Rover (Time Active: February 1st, 1990 - September 14th, 2002)
Mayor Tortimer (Time Active: October 17th, 2003 - November 8th, 2012)
Mayor Kota (Time Active: December 27th, 2013 -)
"Isabelle… she…" Kota gawked, as he smiled, feeling tears drip down.
"Uh… Mayor Kota?" he heard someone ask. He turned around to see Isabelle, "...you said I wouldn't understand what it's like for your best friend to leave you…"
"Isabelle I-"
"...well, I do. When I was younger, and living in a different little village, it was called the Animal Forest… it was a very sweet little village… I lived with my brother Digby… and I made a great friend… she was a horse named Cleo," Isabelle stated, as she began to remember…
A younger looking Isabelle looked at a pear tree, having given a nervous expression to it, "I know Digby-niisan told me to get over my fear but…"
Suddenly, someone walked over and shook the tree, causing the pears to fall down. Isabelle gave a scared look, thinking bees would attack, but nothing happened. She looked over and saw Cleo was standing there.
"She was my best friend… we played together, exchanged gifts on Toy Day… she kept all my secrets…" Isabelle narrated, as she remember when she and Cleo used to play together, Digby simply happy her sister made a good friend, "But one day…"
"Cleo? Cleo… you there?" Isabelle asked, as she looked around, gasping when she saw that Cleo's house was empty. She ran back home and saw there was a letter in the mailbox, "'My dear friend Isabelle- I'm so sorry I didn't say I was moving. I just didn't have the heart to tell you, cause I knew you would cry. Sarcastic remarks aside, you were a good friend. See you again someday. - Cleo'. No…"
"I had no idea she was going to leave… and I haven't seen her in years… I moved here with Digby-niisan a long time ago… I was the first assistant… but I never let anyone into my heart again… because I was worried my heart would shatter…" Isabelle informed, as she began to cry, "To both Rover and Tortimer… I was always loyal… but when you came here… I saw a reason to open up… to be loyal and true…"
Kota then pulled her into a hug, smiled a little, when an idea came to his mind.
"Can you get everyone to gather here in an hour… I have something I need to tell everyone…" Kota stated, making Isabelle give a worried look, "I'm not leaving. I just need to say something to everyone,"
"Oh. Okay. You got it Mayor Kota!" Isabelle smiled, as she headed off.
It was 9:30pm when everyone had gathered at the Plaza, where Kota stood holding some papers
"Is something wrong sunny?" Margie asked worried.
"You're not bailing on us, Go For It?" Walker asked in equal worry.
"Don't worry… it's nothing bad… I just need to say some things is all…" Kota informed, as he looked over his papers, "Thank you everyone for being here… I have a speech…"
Everyone got silent and sat down, while Kota smiled at them.
"When I first arrived here… I had no idea I would be the mayor… but I had no idea that I would find something like this… Elvis, Walker, Peggy, Kitty and Curly all welcomed me here on that special day… and Isabelle welcomed me like family… from what I know… Yuai is Japanese for 'friendship'. That day… hop off a train, into a new town. I can't explain what I found… but it's where I longed to be… somewhere special. All of your friendly faces erased any traces of worry from my mind…" Kota spoke, as he moved onto the next page, "I can't put into real words what you all have done to my life… you all welcomed me like a family…"
Everyone in the crowd began to smile and tear up a little bit, Margie being handed a tissue by Isabelle.
"I always wanted us to be like a great bunch of buddies… but all of you… even those who have left… have become like a family to me…" Kota stated next, "Everyone here in Yuai… you're not just my best friends… you're all a family to me. Even those who have left… Elvis… Peggy… Kitty… Skye… Deridre… Gabi… and most recently, Curly… they're all still a part of my family… I'm so happy to live here… Elvis… Walker… Peggy… Kitty… Curly… Margie… Hans… Skye… Deridre… Ricky… Celia… Jitters… Gabi… Del… Rooney, I'm proud to call myself… your mayor. Thank you…"
Everyone began to cry at this, all of them with smiles plastered onto their faces, as Kota walked down and over to Isabelle, who had tears dripping down the most.
"Oh… Mayor Kota… I… I don't know what to say…" Isabelle whimpered, as Kota handed her a tissue to wipe away her tears.
"Don't worry… I'll always be here to stay…" Kota told her with a smile, "In this little town… it's my home…"
"I knew I was waiting for something in my life… I was waiting for you… loyal and true." Isabelle stated, as they pull each-other into a hug, both of them a little bit teary eyed.
"Cause that's what friends do," they both smiled. Digby walked over with a camera, and everyone in Yuai got in close, and it was taken.
"Hey… that was rather heartfelt… Thank You. Thank You Very Much…" someone stated, as they hide in the Main Street.
"I kinda regret leaving… Ore Sanjou," another voice stated.
There turned out to be seven figures watching from Main Street were the seven who had moved out of Yuai over the time Kota had been mayor, Curly, Peggy, Deridre, Kitty, Skye, Elvis and Gabi.
"I kinda miss Yuai…" Gabi admitted.
"It was a great place… I suppose…" Skye admitted.
"I'll admit… I'll miss this place… but it's time I move on and show this gun show elsewhere…" Curly stated, as he headed for the train station.
He sat on the train as it drove along throughout various villages, he soon saw a dog walk over.
"Hey, this seat free, dawg?" the dog asked.
"Sure is, Ore Sanjou," Curly smiled, as the dog sat down, "Name's Curly."
"I'm Biskit," the dog smiled, shaking Curly's hand.
"So… where you from?"
"I was a native of a village called Palette. I left… but I'll admit, I miss my Mayor, he was a great guy named Emile." Biskit stated.
"I can agree… I just left my original village, Yuai. So… where ya headin'?" Curly asked.
"I'm not sure… I'm kinda thinking to Aurnion. I heard good friends from my old friend Amelia…" Biskit stated, as the train stopped for a moment, "But I'm gonna go camping in this place called Sereneia for a little while…"
"Oh. I heard about that village from my old Mayor. The Mayor from Sereneia is nice," Curly informed.
"Well, it was nice talkin' to ya, dawg." Biskit smiled as he headed off the train. After a little while, a yellow rabbit trotted onto the train and looked over to Curly.
"Hey, this spot free, cottontail?" the rabbit asked.
"Sure is. Ore Sanjou,"
The rabbit sat down as the train continued on, "I'm Mira. Who are you?"
"I'm Curly," Curly smiled.
"Pleasure to meetcha. I kinda want to find a nice village… because my old one wasn't very great…" Mira informed, as Curly thought for a moment.
"Well… the village of Pallette and Aurnion are both good… you missed the stop for Sereneia… maybe drop by Kyoryuda, heard about it from someone named Tia... but how about I give you a small recommendation…" Curly smiled, "How about you check out Yuai? It's a good place,"
"Hmm… I'll think about it, cottontail…" Mira smiled.
Ladies and gentlemen… I was able to finish this fic. This was something I've been trying to put down for a while now… but, I didn't have much of a chance to do so. But now that Curly is gone… I have a good reason to write it. Yea, I contained several references to other villages, some I haven't ever gone to (Pallette, the village of Chuggaaconroy. Aurnion, the village of MaseaAnela.), and two of them are from good buddies of mine (Sereneia, the village of DA user bubblesisshot46853. And Kyoryuda, the village of my best buddy, KKD), and some references to the game's history, such as the day that Rover left the job of Mayor, it's one day before the American release of the original Animal Crossing for the Gamecube, and the day Tortimer left the job of Mayor was the Japanese release date of New Leaf in Japan.
Anyway… I really do indeed owe Chuggaaconroy for getting me into Animal Crossing New Leaf, he gave me something very special… I love it. It's one of the best games I've ever played… and it gave me a sort of family. And yes, the village in this story, the character and appearance, are actually based on my personal Animal Crossing New Leaf village and character. And yes, everyone villager mentioned in the speech, indeed lived in Yuai at one point.
Also, a small thanks to MandoPony for writing and singing the song 'Turning Over a New Leaf' which helped me write a little bit of the speech… and made me cry a little bit.
If I had to label a favorite part, it was that message under the bulletin board. I had this idea there would be something to remember everyone by… in a sweet game like Animal Crossing New Leaf… you're bound to make friends who are like a family to you.
Just Live More… *cries a tiny bit.*