Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harvest Moon nor do I own the rights to any of the characters.
A Fruitful Harvest
Chapter One -In His Father's House
In the serene Forget-Me-Not Valley hidden amongst many verdant meadows abounding in colorful vegetation, several Goddess Drops shudder in the frigid winter breeze blowing about. Two distant figures can be seen trailing down the narrow passage leading to the world outside of the valley…
The eldest of the two men, also bearing the most frightening appearance, looks down at his successor, an attractive youthful man donning western apparel.
"You haven't said much since we left the dock in Flower Bud Village," the older gentleman, Takakura, states.
Clint barely shrugs his shoulders while glaring at the moist earth, a look of sadness and uncertainty painted on his peach face.
"Oh… I guess I'm just thinking is all," Clint answers in a deep mutter.
"Care to share what you're thinking?" Takakura asks coolly.
The attractive, tall, reserved young man removes his beige Stetson and wipes away sweat dripping down the side of his eyebrow.
"There's not much really to say," Clint says bluntly, trying to sway from the topic.
Takakura nods and smiles weakly as they reach the front entrance of the farm. At this point not much can be seen apart from a rickety brown fence surrounding a small pasture and a couple small sheds.
Clint follows Takakura to the foot of the fence and leans against it, looking at the small field bearing nothing except unkempt grass. A cynical look crosses Clint's face as he rubs his chin. Then, he looks at his mentor in slight puzzlement but remains silent.
"I know what you're probably thinking," Takakura says shamefully. "Your father passed away before we could really start a productive business, and besides that our budget was quite limited… We managed to purchase a cow and got a calf out of her, but we sold the young heifer to earn a meager amount of gold."
"So you still have the mother?" Clint asks, carefully sitting on the unstable fence.
Takakura nods as he scratches his raw neck. "Yes," he answers. "She's in the barn if you want to see her."
Clint hops off the fence and shrugs. "Okay…"
Takakura starts in the direction of the barn entrance. "After we see Daisy, I'll take you around to meet the townsfolk, all right?"
Clint looks down at the ground, and his heart begins to beat heavily. Takakura notices his discomfort and stops momentarily.
"Clint… You okay? You don't too well," Takakura states worriedly.
Clint shakes his head and puts his hands on his waist. "No… Just-"
Takakura smiles empathetically. "Don't worry, kid. I'm shy too, so I kind of know how you feel…"
A lopsided grin befalls Clint's face as he looks to Takakura more confidently. "Oh… um…"
Takakura grins again and opens the double doors of the well-kept barn. "Okay, let's take a look at how Daisy's doing real quickly," he says thoughtfully, his mind elsewhere.
Clint follows Takakura into the blackened barn, which is quickly improved by the switching of the lights. Clint stares at the fairly large cow eating its fodder delightfully.
The Normal cow greets the older of the two with a large kiss on his cheek, causing him to laugh hardily, and even Clint can't help from grinning.
Takakura allows the domestic animal to become comfortable enough for him to brush her thoroughly. He turns to Clint and extends to brush to him, struggling to catch his breath.
"You want to take over for a bit?" Takakura asks, hoping he will accept.
Clint bites his lower lip and reluctantly retrieves the overly used brush before answering, "Um, okay… sure."
Clint begins stroking the cow uneasily until he starts to be encouraged by Takakura comfortingly.
"Yeah, that's it… Relax, she won't bite you," Takakura tells.
Clint smiles to Daisy's grateful mooing and pats her on the top of her head, causing her to become slightly alarmed. Takakura pulls him away before the cow can take a swift nip at him.
"She's still a bit uncomfortable with strangers, but she's warming up to you a lot quicker than she did with me," Takakura states, allowing Clint to stand up.
Clint brushes himself off and folds his arms. "Is that because I have a better likeability factor?" he asks wittily.
Takakura remains as though he had not heard what he said, and Clint becomes slightly alarmed, though he hides it. "I guess… we should be going now… I mean to see the neighbors," Clint stutters.
Takakura pats his back and starts walking. "Don't worry, kid, I'm not offended…"
Later, the two stumble upon a smaller farm bearing greenhouses and crop fields across the river separating the two side of the valley. A tall, big-boned woman with a prominent chin comes outside and greets them with a big wave.
"Hey, Takakura… So, is this Jerome's son?" she asks, studying Clint carefully.
"Yep, this is him. Vesta, this is Clint Barns. And, Clint, this is Vesta, who runs the plantation," Takakura introduces.
"I guess you're my competition now," Vesta says jokingly, firmly shaking Clint's skinny hand.
Clint smiles slightly, shrugging his shoulders and placing his hands in his pants pockets. "I guess so," he answers.
Vesta laughs hardily. "Yes, you're definitely Jerome Barns' son… There's no doubt about it!"
A short, rather pale young man hunched over steps out of the house. Running his hand through his thick, curly black hair, he shoots a glare with his cold blue eyes at Clint before carrying about his business. Vesta looks at the man and shakes her head disgustedly before turning back to the others.
"I apologize for my brother… Marlin's got some kind of attitude problem or something. I don't know what's up with him, but it's certainly not you, of course," Vesta assures.
"Ah, it's all right… I'm not offended," Clint answers in a puzzled manner.
Vesta looks around, then back at Clint once a thought crosses her mind. "Oh… You have yet to meet my Celia," she says excitedly.
A pale brunette steps outside of the closest greenhouse holding a small wooden crate. Vesta stops her from walking in the opposite direction, and the girl smiles continually at Clint, even when she reaches him and the others.
Clint nervously extends his hand out to this attractive girl and she eagerly shakes it. He finds her hand to be quite warm, which calms him.
Vesta smiles brightly as she looks at the two young people and winks at Takakura, who returns it knowingly. "So… Takakura, Clint," Vesta begins, "would you guys like to join us for lunch or anything? We're going to be having sandwiches."
Takakura pats Clint's back and shakes his head. "We'd love to, Miss Vesta, but we've still got some places to go… I'm showing Clint around town," Takakura answers.
Vesta nods understandingly, though her disappointment was evident. She turns back to Clint smiling before saying, "Well, kid, you're always welcome back, you know… I'll put some meat on those limp bones of yours."
The two men bid farewell to the ladies standing before them and wave before taking off. Clint catches Celia blush a light crimson as he walks away, but he returns no emotion except quirks his eyebrows questioningly…
Clint and Takakura finally stumble upon a large oriental-styled building reaching the main part of town. They both stop and look up at tomboyish girl with ear-length auburn hair look down at them from the balcony. Her ice blue eyes stare blankly at Clint as she steps back inside…
Clint looks at Takakura oddly. "Who was that girl?"
"Oh…" Takakura begins, a knowing grin growing on his aging, darkened face, "that's Nami… I don't know too much about that girl. But all I really know is that she's the inn's only occupant besides its owners, and she pretty much keeps to herself… at least, that's way the villagers say."
Clint nods as he listens to Takakura share his knowledge of this girl named Nami and stares at the door she walked in through then continues on his way down the path leading to the rest of this rural village…
After a long, repetitive day of going from door-to-door, meeting each and every single villager, the two finally reach their final spot at the top of hill, where the largest house in the valley sits. Approaching even closer, Clint can hear the growing sound of a professional playing their composition pretty well. The tunes match up beautifully and form a soothing rhythm that could take you away…
Clint's thoughts are devastated by the sudden knocking on the door by Takakura. Hearing a young girl's voice motion them to come in, the two open the large oak double doors leading to this 'mausoleum,' as the interior reminds Clint of the interior of an old-fashioned funeral parlor. The first thing that catches his eyes is an adolescent girl playing on an orchestral piano on the right side of the manor.
The girl bearing shoulder-length light brown hair and sage eyes looks emotionlessly at the two men entering. Standing up, the girl reveals her yellowish-green potato-sack dress. She stands and cups her hands as she manages to crack a small grin as she looks at Clint.
"H-hello…" she mutters shyly.
Respectfully, Clint removes his Stetson and holds it against his chest as he extends his hand to shake hers. "How do you do, Ma'am?"
"Clint, this is Lumina," Takakura says. "The girl lives here at the manor with her grandmother, Romana and their butler Sebastian."
Lumina blushes, but she tries to conceal it with the collar of her dress. "If you'll excuse, Mr. Clint and Mr. Takakura, I must be going," she says courteously before hurriedly climbing up the stairs leading up to the unknown second floor.
"Takakura?" says the voice of obviously an older woman.
Clint turns to see an elderly lady using an umbrella as a cane. She struggles as she walks over to the sofa and sits down, and then sets the umbrella securely beside her.
"Miss Romana, this is Jerome Barns' son, Clint," Takakura replies pleasantly to her.
"Oh?" Romana squeals unintentionally. "Clint, it's a pleasure to meet you… I'm really sorry to hear about your father. I hope you know how much all of us in the valley really loved him."
Clint smiles weakly and cups his hands behind his back. "I'm sure…"
That moment is followed by a short period of deafening silence until Takakura breaks it by clearing his throat and by speaking.
"I don't mean to appear rude, Miss Romana, but Clint and I have some work to do at the farm… so-"
"Oh, of course," Romana answers obviously not offended. "I understand completely. I lived on a farm as a little girl and remember all that had to be done before bedtime…"
Clint grins cheekily and waves at the senior citizen before he and Takakura take off. He can faintly hear Romana's farewell to him as he and his mentor walk around the fountain set in front of the mansion.
Later, as dusk steadily comes to an end, Clint finds himself sitting in front of his window, soaking in the visage of the entire farm. Thoughts for a story come to his mind, and he begins to break them down mentally until he hears his dog Buttons bark endlessly. Clint finally loses his patience to the animal's deafening sound. He retrieves his father's loaded shotgun from the hall closet and ventures to the brisk outside, where he sees Buttons facing the barn. The frigid chill of the night greet him undesirably.
Clint readies himself and props the weapon firmly in his hand as he quietly walks inside the barn. He quietly steps forward, making as little noise as possible. A mischievous grin can be heard in the shadows, and Clint looks all around him, seeing nothing. Hesitating from shouting, he continues on his search.
A girl hangs upside down from the hayloft and grabs Clint's Stetson, immediately causing him to turn around and prop his weapon in her face. He breathes a sigh of relief but is upset when he sees the girl whose long golden hair hangs to the ground chuckle as she teases him with his hat.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my barn? You know, I could've killed you! Then what would you have done?" Clint shouts as calmly as possible, seeing his breath form before him.
The girl finds her way back up the hayloft, and an aggravated Clint is left with no choice but to follow her. Once finally making his way up, he sees the girl lying by the oval window. Clint attempts to stand up but ends up hitting his head on one of the beams, sending him to the hay spread about the loft.
Clint backs up and sits up startled. "I don't want to do this, but if you don't start talking, I'm going to have to start taking charge," he states firmly.
"Hi, I'm Muffy," the girl says cheekily, as if the past minute's events never took place.
"Muffy? Okay..." I answer, unsure of what emotion to muster. "Would you mind telling me why you're up here?"
"I come up here all the time," Muffy answers innocently. "I like to watch the sunset from here every night..."
Clint nods peculiarly and rubs his chin. "I see," I speak, still puzzled by her naïve behavior, "I don't know what my father thought of all this, but I don't appreciate people prowling around my ranch without permission like this... Like I said... if I had shot you..."
Muffy chuckles in a girlish manner and pushes him to the ground, lying down on top of him, her legs spread around his.
At this point of this supposed game, Clint is at a complete loss for words. All he knows is he finds himself in quite a compromising position and finds himself slightly attracted to this girl...
"W-what are you trying to prove?" Clint asks bizarrely.
Muffy strokes his messy brown hair with her long fingers and suddenly pulls him into a deep, lingering kiss before pulling away. All Clint can do now is laugh as a thought comes to his mind.
"You're the Muffy from the Blue Bar, aren't you? I can see why Takakura avoided that place..."
Muffy grins cutely and strokes an untamed strand of golden hair behind her ear as Clint is given a chance to stand up. He looks at her with a lopsided grin as she climbs down the ladder leading to the main level of the barn.
Clint stuffs his hands into his jeans pockets and follows Muffy out of the barn. He looks grinningly at Muffy who returns his glance with an exaggerated wink before trailing off in her high-heeled shoes, walking away confidently.
He isn't sure why, but Clint knows that something about this new girl Muffy impresses him. Maybe it's because she isn't like the other girls; she's not quiet and proper like the Celia and underage Lumina, yet not as mysterious and cold as Nami. She's a fun-loving girl and knows exactly what she wants. Most of all, she's not a carbon copy of him, a shy grown kid...
Clint whistles as he saunters back into his house. Unknown to both he and Muffy, Takakura stands in his window, watching the alluring Muffy walk down the trail leading to the bar. He shakes his head disgustedly before closing the small portion of his curtain that he used to peer through.