Well, I'm both happy and sad that I have more viewers in a week/In one chapter for this FF than my HP one. *Shakes head* I'm also a little peeved at myself for typing more of this than my other. At least, rate-wise.

Note to game players: Roy and Cammy are younger than the game so that when Aria and Aaron are born Roy and Cammy won't be drastically older/have to experience the aging stalemate of the game.

"The place is kinda a mess," Mana admitted as we arrived, "because we haven't maintained it for a few years. But, you look strong, so I'm sure you'll have it cleared in no time." I smiled at this and thanked her for the compliment. I walked towards the plot and looked at the damage…

…And I saw Hell. Weeds, assorted colored grasses, herbs, branches, tree stumps, and rocks littered the ranch. Well, I thought, at least it's a fairly large plot. With some hard work I could probably have this place cleaned up inside of a week.

I turned to Mana and joked, "Well, I guess you really want to get rid of me. This place looks more like a jungle I could lose myself in."

Mana looked at me and said drily, "I'll go find a search and rescue team."

I laughed airily, and then realized something important. "Well, I have the plot, but I don't have any tools."

"Well, that's what these are for." Mana turned towards the house and gestured in the porch area. There was a watering can and hoe laying next to the door.

"Oh. those could work."

"Why don't you try them out?" Mana grabbed them both and handed me the hoe. I swung the hoe, and Mana clapped zealously. "You look born to be a farmer Kyle!" I rubbed the back of my head bashfully. "Try the watering can next!" She handed me that too, and even though it was empty, I wiggled it back and forth (and felt like an idiot doing so).

"Kiddo, you're a natural. I guarantee we'll have a feast by the end of the month." Douglas laughed heartily at that, and I sighed inwardly. Those are some heavy expectations, I thought. I suddenly regretted my enthusiasm that I had put into my swing and wiggle.

"So, whatcha think? We can give you both together for only 100G! And, as a bonus, I'll give you these Pink Turnip seeds." She handed me a bag of seeds as I looked at her, slightly dazed.

"You mean to tell me that I have to PAY to get these tools? What about offering the ranch to me? Besides, I don't think I have any money…" I reached into my pocket and pulled out some pocket change. I counted 150G total. "Fine, I'll take them." I gave her the money and groaned. I only have 50G left! I thought. That's not even enough for a meal. Or even a snack.

Mana must have read my mind, because she said, "Kyle, feel free to eat at our house until your first crops are ripe." I smiled at her and nodded slightly.

"I'll expect you around 6, kiddo." Douglas thumped me on the shoulder briefly before he left me to my farm.

I looked at Mana and nodded. She turned to go, but tuned around again and said, "Oops. You should name the farm!"

I laughed because I didn't really see the point to it, but decided to humor her. "Misty Farm. Simple, relevant," I gestured at the mist that gathered around where a waterfall rested, "and easy to remember."

Mana shook her head and remarked, "Kyle, you're a dork. See you at dinner." She went to catch up to Douglas.

Mana called over her shoulder as she followed her father, "I'll be looking forward to one of those turnips, by the way. They ARE my favorite thing in the world, you know."

Farming isn't as hard as it looks, I thought, as I spread seeds over the ground I had weeded and tilled. Now to water these seeds…I filled up the watering can and realized that if I held it a certain way, I could water all plots of seeds in the bag at once. Pretty nifty, I said to myself.

I cleared the farm a little more--until around noon--to make space for some new crops when I decided to investigate the town and meet my new neighbors. I whistled as I strolled into town. I noticed the Pumpkin General Store to my immediate right, and figured I would wait to visit them until dinnertime. I walked to my left and entered the blacksmith. Inside, I saw a kid, around two or three, biting on the blade of a sword. I walked over and plucked the sword out of his mouth and placed it on a table out of his reach.

A woman, looking to be around her late twenties or early thirties, turned around and sized me up. "G'day, love. Thanks for taking that sword out of Roy's mouth. Guess he takes after his mum for the love of weapons. Just so you know, I'm a little obsessed with them." She laughed at this and continued. "I'm Tanya by the way. And you are?"

"I'm Kyle, and I just moved into Douglas and Mana's ranch. I'm just doing my rounds to meet and greet my new neighbors."

"Ah yes, I heard that Douglas had finally passed on that dump. By the way, do you have a sword yet?" I shook my head no. "You should. There are monsters outside town! That doesn't mean you shouldn't leave town though though; you may discover you're a natural fighter. Who knows; I might even offer you a few trials to build up your muscle and reflexes." She winked and I laughed. A man with pointed ears walked by.

"Oh, hello. I'm Kyle, I just--"

The elf cut me off, saying "I didn't ask for your name, human. Your kind are such the arrogant type, thinking everyone cares about you and that you can just walk in and expect everyone to fawn all over you." Tanya turned and glared at him.

"Excuse me, Jake? I'm your boss, and I'm human too. Apologize to him, he might just be your newest rival for the Adventure Contest." Jake looked at me disgustedly, and just walked out.

I knew that he would resent me for this, but I said, "Don't force him to do anything. I don't really care that much anyhow. I guess I should be leaving now."

I moved to the clinic, opposite from the General Store, and saw a young girl around Roy's age, maybe a year younger, bawling on the examination table. The doctor was assisted by a girl and boy around my age.

"Hello." I started to enter into the examination room but was cut off by another girl my age, who dressed like a witch.

"Mother, why must you torture her? Just fix her up so she'll stop crying already! I can't sense a thing with that infernal screaming."

"Alicia, I must take my time with my patients so that they are truly fixed up. And don't mention that fortunetelling nonsense in this house. Give it up and find a real job."

I stood there as the two women traded insults and finally the other male in the room said, "Mother, sister, just calm down. Mom, you know Alicia is very passionate about her fortunetelling. Alicia, stop provoking Mom." Alicia sighed and walked away, after bumping into me again.

I turned around and said to her, "Would it kill you to say excuse me?"

She turned and glanced at me, and said, "You must be new here, am I right?" I nodded, and she exclaimed, "I really am the greatest fortuneteller!"

Geez, of course I'm new here. We never even met.

Alicia said, "Oh! You were thinking 'Of course I'm new; this is our first meeting after all!"

Maybe she's better than I thought. "Maybe. I'm Kyle."

Alicia said, "I'm Alicia. Make sure to come by the docks on sunny days to get your fortune told. My love fortunes are my main attraction, but I can predict or even change the weather, or locate anyone in town as well!" Alicia left as I turned around to the other occupants. I introduced myself to each of them, saying that I moved into Mana and Douglas's old farm.

The doctor spoke first. "I'm Natalie, the only physician in the town. Douglas told me about you, Kyle. He seems to have pretty high expectations for you, young man. Just make sure you don't catch a cold by working too late in the fields, and make sure you get at least six hours of sleep per night."

Next was the other man who broke up Alicia and Natalie. "I'm Ray. I'm training to take after Mom as the main physician after she retires. If you have any extra herbs we'd appreciate them. Of course, we'd pay you for them, but we're running pretty low." He showed me each type of herb to look for, and what each use was for. I noted that I had each type in my field and that I had tossed several of them away like weeds.

I turned to the other girl, who stood quiet in the corner of the room. When I spoke to her, she just turned and ran out after trying to fumble with her words. "That was Dorothy," Natalie explained. "She's very shy. She usually speaks through her stuffed animal, Fern, if ever at all. And this," she gestured to the toddler on the table, "is Cammy. She may be crying now, but she's a pretty tough cookie. She already took on an orc outside town!" She laughed as I looked at the toddler with amazement.

I left the clinic and moved on. I met Cecilia the half-elf and Egan, Jake's father, at the inn. Cecilia had lived originally in Kardia, another small town in this country, Norad. I learned that she worked on weekdays at the De-Sainte Coquille household as a maid. Cecilia seemed particularly interested in me: "You know, Kyle, you remind me a bit of a man I used to know. He came in, helped us all out, and even saved our town. His name was Raguna. He was an Earthmate, someone close with the nature spirits, and I think you may be one, too."

Great, more expectations, I thought. I moved on to the De-Sainte Coquille mansion, and met Max and Rosalind, children of Herman, the local gastronomist. Rosalind told me that if I ever found the lamp grass flower blooming in my field that she would appreciate me giving her one, for she suffered from insomnia and that the flower was said to have a calming effect.

I entered the church, and met the Priest, Gordon, after meeting Barrett, the mayor's son. I saw Dorothy there, too, and tried to introduce myself again. She stammered out a brief hello and I moved on to the mayor, Byron's, house. Byron, like many other villagers, commended me on the effort I was willing to put forth, and that if I ever wanted a barn installed he could find the workers if I provided 5000G and 50 wood.

Ugh, I thought. I have a hundredth of what I need. Better start saving up!

As I walked back to the ranch, I noticed in the "hub" of the area a bulletin board. What's this for? I wondered, as Mana walked up behind me.

"We put requests up there for whenever we need help, feel lonely, or want to say something. We usually all put forth an effort to maintain this board, but as you can see, it hasn't seen the best days." She pulled a note off the board. It was addressed from her.

"While I'm on the subject, Kyle, would you mind terribly delivering this flower to Rosalind? She said she wanted one for the vase in her room." She pulled out a golden flower she called an Emery Flower. It looked very delicate and expensive.

I agreed to take on the task and delivered it to Rosalind, and after I returned, Mana paid me back the money I gave her for the tools. She left, but I figured I'd tackle a few more requests because I had some free time.

The tasks varied, some were just talking to certain people for the person who requested my help (like Egan wanted me to talk to Jake to get to know him), some were more deliveries like Mana's request, and others were search and find requests (like Cecilia lost her ruby necklace and wanted me to find it--it was near the docks). Most of these quests were fairly simple; I avoided ones mentioning any of the monster-filled areas for now. I knew I wouldn't have time to get to them all today, so I copied a few onto a sheet of paper used to post the bulletins to reference later. Around 5:30 I started to head back to the General Store.

A bell informed Douglas and Mana of my entry, and I saw Mana darting back and forth from room to room. She seemed a little panicked, and I chuckled to myself as she arranged the meal on the table. "Evening Mana!" I called and she froze. She turned and looked at me, simultaneously realizing I had seen her antics just then.

"Oh...hello Kyle. You're...early," she said in an almost accusing tone. I just laughed and looked around the General Store. The place was cozy at best, and cluttered at worst. Boxes stacked on boxes, things rested in random locations. I figured the meal was almost ready, so I sat on an oversized, comfy couch and waited.

A wonderful smell wafted from the kitchen. My stomach growled and I tapped my foot to pass time. All the while I searched my brain to see if I could unlock the key to my memories. I closed my eyes to concentrate but I ended up falling asleep.

I saw myself in my house, looking slightly rugged. I had just finished a hard day's work and walked in to see Mana finishing a hardy meal for our family. I saw twins who looked like myself and Mana rush down the stairs to claim their seats at the kitchen table.

"Kyle?" I scrubbed my eyes and sat up. Mana looked over me with a smug look on her face. "Just wanted to let you know dinner's ready, but you seem to be happier right here. I guess we could just let you be…"

My stomach rumbled again. "Does that answer your question?" I laughed, as I stood up. We ate dinner: a roast, with some mashed potatoes and stewed turnips. I talked about the major highlights of the rest of my day, and soon I had finished and helped Douglas clear the dishes from the table. I said goodbye to them both and went home. I counted the money in my bag and counted 3500G total. Not bad for doing a few odd jobs.

I decided to explore my house a little more. I saw a chest that wouldn't open, a small refrigerator, a cabinet, and bookcase downstairs. The refrigerator and cabinet were empty, but I discovered a magic book in the bookcase labeled Fireball. Interesting, I thought, but I doubt magic really exists. I believe in facts, not fiction. I read the instructions, which merely said to speak an incantation with my arm out. I did so (outside), and a fireball shot out of my hand! The spell drained me mentally though; I figured I couldn't handle much more work that day. I walked upstairs and saw a stuffed down oversized bed with a diary next to it. Hmm, that bed looks big enough for two people, I thought. The adjacent room held bunk beds, one on top of another. The perfect place to start a family, I thought. I wrote in the diary (which was blank), figuring that maybe I could piece together the details from my memory, and went to sleep.

Wow. Long chapter. And all in the course of one day. Yes, the dream sequence was a foreshadowing. No, dreaming about the future does not play any significance to Kyle's actions/play a major role in the story. In fact, most likely I won't even have him remember the dreams. They'll just be for your reading pleasure.

Same rant as always. Review, subscribe, yadda yadda yadda. I'm tired so I'm not in a joking mood.