I groggily slunk out of my warm bed and stretched. This would be a great day! I opened my wooden door wide and smiled at the world, namely my new farm.

"Good morning, Drake." An old man who had earlier introduced himself as Takakura was at my front door holding some tools and some grass. "These are some hand-me-down tools and cow feed for you to get started on your farm. Oh, and I bought you a new cow to get going with. You can get milk from her for about 30 more days, but then it's best to sell her for a little profit. Here." He shoved the stuff into my hands and left me with a ton of work. Oh great. I thought. A farm might not be as fun as I thought.

Ayaki's POV

I left the bar in a hurry, avoiding Celia-san's gaze the whole time, feeling embarassed and ashamed at the same time. Also, it was about time for me to get to the inn for work.

"H-hi Ruby-san, sorry I'm late, I-" I stared around at the surprisingly empty inn. "Umm... Ruby-san? Nami-chan? Rock-san? Van-san?" I looked in every room, but no one was there. "That's strange..." I took a look outside, but it seemed as though the entire town had vanished off the face of the earth! Not a soul was there... Not even the lights in the bar, where I was just at were on!

Suddenly, there came a shout from across the bridge leading to Vesta-san and Ma- I mean Celia-san's farm. It sounded an awful lot like Nami shouting, "It's nim! It's Rantom Pie!" Okay, I'm pretty sure that's not what she said, but I was all the way on the other side of the bridge, so gimme a break here!

I sprinted over to the other farm when I ran into this girl-or was it a guy and knocked him/her flying backward.

"Oh, gomen, gomen, gomen! Are you okay?" I asked, helping him/her up. To my surprise, it was a guy! (Um... scary!) He had shoulder-length silverish hair (sort of like Kadaj for you FFVII AC viewers) and had a smirk on his face.

"Hehe. Yeah, I'm fine. And what's a beautiful maiden like you doing around here?" He started fast-walking away from the bridge, where I could hear a slight rumble.

OMG this guy was a smooth talker... I ran to catch up with him... Who was he, and why did he seem to be in such a hurry to get out of here?

"Wh-why are you running away? And... and I haven't seen you around here." I panted, trying to keep up."

"Hehe. Let's just say I'm not the best visitor that people want in their village. And I-" he paused for dramatic effect, "-am Phantom Skye."

Wait a minute... Does this sound familiar...? Nah, I don't know this guy.

And with that, he said, "CHICK-BEAM FIRE!" And suddenly I couldn't move a muscle!

"Sorry, but I've got to jet. Hehe." He promptly ran away down the darkening road, leaving me there to ponder what I just saw.

"Eto.... Ano.... What just happened?" After a couple seconds, my arm started to itch and I couldn't itch it! "HELP! I AM IN A BIND AND HAVE TO ITCH! HELP ME!"

Finally, after about ten minutes or so, I broke free of my invisible binds and ran toward my house. I lunged for the door and flung it open, collapsing on my couch inside.

Suddenly, a gentle knock made its way to my ears. I slowly made my way to my front door and opened it a crack.

"Ayaki? That's your name, right?" asked a dude around my age.

"You must be Drake-san, the person who owns this farm, right?"

"Yeah. So you're staying in this guest house until I move out, then?" he inquired.

"I guess so. That's what Miss Vesta-san said, anyway."

He nodded, then said, "I'd better go. You should get some rest, too. You don't look so great."

Taken aback, I stared as he slammed the door and sauntered away. Did he just say I don't look good? First I meet a smooth talker, then an insulter. What next? A secret admirer?

And... there goes the telephone.

"Hello?"

"Ayaki-san?" Celia's soft voice spoke from the speaker.

"Yes?" I asked, horrified. Please don't ask about-

"Have you seen Marlin? We can't find him anywhere! He was here this morning, but..." she broke off.

Oh no! This must be because of me! All... all my fault... What should I say?

"I haven't seen him, but I'll help you look!" I proclaimed.

"Thank you! I'll be right over!"

I set the phone down trembling. Where? Where could he be?

"Ayaki! Psssst! Ayaki! Down here!"

I whipped around and-