A/N: Hey guys, here's another fanfic by yours truly. I initially had no plans on writing something like this, but the severe lack of OwenxAnglea/Akari stories forced my hand. It's odd, he gets so much love on some of the forums I go to but I have yet to find anything about him being paired with the main girl from TOT. Granted, there probably is one out there somewhere but I have yet to find it..
P.S. I am planning on making this a multiple chapters, however I would recommend you don't assume that I'll update very often. I'm rather bad about updating, as past attempts have shown. ^^;
P.P.S. Although I'm using the English names for most of the characters in this story I'm still going to call the main girl Akari instead of Angela. Why? Because it sounds cooler. xP
P.P.P.S. I'm going to be posting this on fogu . com/hm in the Fanfiction forums, under the username VanillaCookies. So please, don't delete my stories there again you guys.. *pokes the Fogu members* D: Not cool!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon or the characters. (Though I do own the rat who will appear soon enough. X3)
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Today was the first day of the rest of her life. Well to be exact it was more like the fifth day of the rest of her life, but in Akari's eyes that day spent comatose at the Inn and the half week she spent as Craig's verbal punching bag technically didn't count.. Oh sure, the calendar might say otherwise but who cares about what that grubby little piece of paper said anyways? She certainly didn't, and as Akari turned to survey the small patch of land that had been allotted to her by the Mayor she couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement bubbling in her chest.
She could see it now, fields full of healthy animals, a small orchard, and maybe even a few crops to help complete the image if her 'condition' permitted. Back home on the main land Akari had always been an animal lover, often volunteering in her local animal shelter and exotic sanctuaries. Many would often praise her skill in getting even the most agro of animals to become little more than purring kittens, with nothing more than her voice, a dash of self-confidence, and a calculated body posture. She would often dismiss these comments, stating that simply knowing how to act around animals was little to be praised for. That almost any of the other volunteers she worked with could do much the same as she, and often in a much better fashion. However, even she couldn't deny that her abilities were slightly above average compared to her some of her peers. Though she paled in comparison compared to her mentor.
That said, her skill in agriculture was the polar opposite of her skill with animals. It wasn't simply that she couldn't grow plants properly, however much she often wished that were the case.. But rather that she couldn't grow anything at all. In fact, Akari seemed to have an uncanny ability to kill even the healthiest of crops simply by touching, looking, or even being within fifty feet of them. After many wilted, shriveled, and even burned , she still didn't know how that one cabbage plant had spontaneously burst into flames when she was watering it of all things, plant incidents when she was little, her mother finally decided to ban her from going anywhere near the local greenery.. Stating that she would lift the ban once her daughter grew out of her 'condition'. Well it was at least ten years since the ban was enacted, and she still wasn't allowed to even so much as glance in the direction of her mother's garden.. Though her mother had decided to lift the restriction when it came to tending to the few fruit trees that littered their property, saying that they seemed to be resistant to her 'condition'.. Oh, how happy she had been when that happened.. Ah sorry, rambling.. Still it went without saying that she held very little hope for growing anything that looked even remotely like a healthy crop on her new quaint little plot of land..
"Oh well, maybe the Soufflé Farm will have some crops that are resistant to my black thumb.. Those crops that Craig had me handling certainly didn't seem to change for the worse after I worked with them.. Hm.. Maybe I should check with them and see what selection they have in a little while.. Though first I need to find out how to make some money in the meantime. Maybe Ruth could give me some ideas..?" Nodding lightly to herself and with her mind made up, Akari began the hour long trek towards the Soufflé Farm.. Maybe while she was there she could ask them if there was some way to remove that dastardly root that was blocking the nearby pathway to her house.. She wasn't sure where it went, for all she knew or cared it could lead right into the bowels of some underground tunnel filled with sentient lime green gelatin that had developed a taste for human flesh, however her curiosity was now peaked and she resolved to find out if the root could be removed somehow.. Besides who knows, if she got really lucky it might actually turn out to be a short cut of some kind.
Apparently she had been in her own little world for far too long, as the next thing Akari knew she was already on the porch of Ruth and Craig's little shop, her hand already stretching towards the knob on the door. Funny how fast time seems to go by when you're losing yourself in your thoughts huh? Shaking her head to dispel any of the remnants of her gelatin filled musings, Akari allowed her hand to extend the final few inches towards the knob and opened the door.
Ruth was at her usual place near the counter, and although her usual look of exhaustion colored her face the sight of the young woman in front of her seemed to force a smile upon her face. "Oh it's you Akari. Do you need anything?" She asked, looking towards her with what Akari had deciphered as being a warm look during her short time with the woman.
"What? Do I need a reason to visit? Surely you didn't think I was lying when I said I'd come and visit you sometime?" Akari quipped, a look of mirth upon her face as she approached the woman whose family had so kindly taken her in days before.
Ruth chuckled lightly, "No I guess not.. Still you have to be here for a reason, unless of course you want Craig to give you another lesson in crop tending?" The older woman looked rather amused as she saw Akari blanch slightly at the thought of having to deal with yet another afternoon of Craig's incessant nagging…
"Sorry, a few days of his badgering is more than I can deal with at the moment." She laughed nervously, her hands waving lightly in front of her in a defensive gesture.. Oh no, she had embarrassed herself more than enough for one week thank you very much. Who knew the crabby old man could come up with so many nicknames for a person based upon the mistakes they made? Oh sure, Anissa had assured her that Craig only teased the people he liked but sheesh.. Since when did calling someone 'Wedgie Jr' become a way of showing that? "Actually I was wondering if you could help me out with something. I need some way to earn a living here while I get used to being a rancher, and I was wondering if you had any suggestions?" Akari sent a pleading look towards the older woman, hoping she would have some idea that could help her out.
"Hm.. Well you could always try and grow those potato seeds we gave you…" Akari blanched yet again, not too keen on testing her luck with the seeds so early in her stay on the island.. The trip through town showed that they didn't exactly have a working fire department after all.. Ruth ignored the look and continued onto the next suggestion, "Or you could always get a part-time job if you're feeling particularly desperate.. I remember Ramsey saying something about needing some help around his shop the other day, maybe you could check with him?"
Akari clasped her hands together excitedly, she knew she could count on Ruth to help her out! Well ok she didn't 'know' per say, but she had a good feeling that she would at least. "Really?! Great! Oh man I can't wait! Thanks Ruth!" She turned towards the door, intent on finding seeking out Ramsey and applying for the job when she realized, she didn't even know who Ramsey was! Sheepishly Akari turned back to Ruth, who was biting her lip in an attempt to keep from laughing at the other, and hesitantly asked, "Um.. Out of curiosity.. Who is Ramsey again..?"
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One short explanation on her future employer, complete with directions and a snazzy looking map of the island to prevent her from getting lost, later and Akari was well on her way. Hopefully she could trust Ruth not to tell Craig about her little lapse of thought earlier.. She really wasn't keen on adding yet another humiliating nickname to her growing list..
Shuddering at the thought of just what kind of name he might come up with, Akari decided to busy herself in the map Ruth had provided hoping to push the thought out of her mind.. Really, given Ruth's explanation of how close the Blacksmith shop, which Ruth had told her that Ramsey owned, was there was no reason for her to have been given a map. It was only twenty minutes down the road after all.. Still Ruth seemed keen on it, stating that it would help acquiant Akari with the island further as she continued to settle into her new home. To say she was grateful to the older woman was an understatement, who knows that kind of places she would accidentally wander into without the map? Akari thought back to her earlier ideas of gelatin filled caverns and attempted to suppress a shudder.. Yes, best she be able to tell where she was going..
Now let's see.. Ruth had told her that she'd be heading towards the first house past the local mines.. And upon looking up, she could see a telltale hole in the side of the hill signaling it's presence through the littering of trees that flanked the road on each side.. Find the mines? Check.
As she rounded the bend in the pathway, she could then see a large house standing proudly next to the mines. It was a rather large place, dwarfing her own small closet sized cottage several times over with it's mass.. It also appeared to be rather old, having a style of architecture that she had only seen in the old downtown areas of her old city. However unlike most of the houses in that areas of her old town, this place seemed to be in rather good repair, showing the dedication of it's owners towards it's upkeep. It just held a warmth about it that she couldn't quite describe..
Great.. Now she couldn't stop rambling on about a silly house.. 'This place must be getting to me', Akari concluded mentally.. Now wondering if she could potentially go to the Clinic she had seen earlier and inquire about a psyche evaluation.. Maybe she could get a discount if she asked nicely enough..?
'Clang!'
She was abruptly jolted out of her musings as the sound swept through the area. "What in the world…" Akari wondered allowed, looking around her to pinpoint the source of the disturbance with little luck.. Maybe it had just been her imagination..? Great, in that case make that psyche evaluation she had been previously thinking about one of her top priorities….
'Clang!'
Ok scratch that, it definitely wasn't her imagination.. Good thing too, the last thing she or her wallet needed was to have her finances commit ritualized seppuku in an effort to deal with her so called mental problems.. Of which there were many, but she didn't need everyone else knowing that now did she?
Still where was that sound coming from..?
'Clang!'
'There!' she mentally exclaimed as her eyes focused upon the area on the other side of the shop before her. With a determined look, she trekked towards the area that the sound was originating from, slightly curious to see what it was that had interrupted her earlier musings.. And as she rounded the corner she saw.. A man.. An incredibly muscular man… Wielding a hammer.. Gee, now she felt like a fool for getting so worked up over nothing. She sighed mentally, and turned to head back towards the shop..
"Hey I haven't seen you around here before, are you new?" A deep voice called out behind her, causing her to spin around once again. Apparently she had caught the man's attention, as he was now turned towards her a friendly smile coloring his tanned features.
"Um.. Yeah I am I guess.." She replied sheepishly suddenly feeling very self conscious under the other's warm gaze, kicking at the ground underneath her feet. "My name's Akari, and you are Mr.…?" She finally worked up with a small smile, reaching a hand towards him in what she hoped was a friendly gesture. 'Oh dear god, is it even possible for someone to be so muscular…?'
"Owen, and please don't call me Mr.. I'm only twenty-four." He said with a hearty laugh, taking her outstretched hand and shaking it firmly. "I take it you're the new rancher I keep on hearing about?"
His demeanor seemed to have put Akari at ease as her response came easier this time. "That's me." She smiled broadly, though mentally she couldn't help but wonder what he had already heard about her.. Hopefully Craig didn't go around telling the other villagers about the nicknames he came up with for the people around him… She didn't think she could live it down if the man before her, Owen as he called himself, ever got wind of them or her rather embarrassing mishaps during her stay at the Soufflé farm.. Oh she knew she could trust Anissa and Ruth never to tell, as much as the memory of said incidents seemed to amuse them, but you just never knew with Craig…
There was a slightly awkward pause on her part after that, but once she came out of her musings she decided to return to her earlier mission of applying for work.. "Um, well I'm sorry to bother you Owen.. I'll leave you to your work." With that Akari gave a light bow and turned back to the shop, not wishing to distract the other from what he had been doing for any longer..
"Oh you're not bothering me at all, though mind if I ask where you're going in such a hurry?" He asked curiously as he nonchalantly slung the over-sized hammer over his shoulder as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do.
Akari turned her head back towards him, "Well Ruth told me that there was a part-time job opening at this shop, and I was hoping to apply…" She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, torn between continuing the conversation with the man before her and figuring out if she could get the job as soon as possible...
"Well why didn't you say so? My grand-uncle happens to own this place, I'm sure he'd be happy to hear that he'll finally get that position filled." Owen said with a grin, happy to know that they would finally have some help around the shop. Then without missing a beat, and also catching the now surprised Akari off-guard he continued, "Come on, I'll introduce you to him. I'm sure he'll be willing to give the job to you." And with that he walked towards her and escorted her the remaining distance towards the shop entrance, not noticing the small smile that had spread across his companion's face..
'I might just enjoy this job after all…' Akari thought, her small grin slowly growing wider.
Let me guess, that was really bad huh? XD Especially the ending, which I obviously rushed through.. Oh well I'm happy with it. :D
Go ahead and review to tell me what you think! I'll try to update as soon as possible, and already have an idea for the next chapter, but reviews will make me work faster. :)
P.S. I know I was a little hard on Craig in this chapter, but he just reminds me so much of one of my own mentors that I couldn't help but include him. He's definitely going to be in other chapters, Akari needs a little more embarrassment in her life, so stay tuned. :D
P.P.S. Yes I know that's not how Owen and Akari's first meeting happened.. I couldn't remember exactly what he did or said during the meeting, aside from giving you the hammer, so I decided to wing it... XD No worries, Akari is going to need that hammer so she'll end up getting it not long after she gets the job. :3