Hinata Nevermore

Chapter 4: A Breath of Fresh Air


Light filtered out of the dark bedroom as Natsumi Otohime opened the door to her oldest daughter's room. The room was a bit of a mess as, much to Natsumi's regret, as said daughter become a Hikikomori. At first, she understood why she wanted to be alone at first. But days turned weeks and turned into three years. She was rarely out of the room and it was usually for food, washing, or going out for a bit.

"Mitsumi. Rise and shine…" Natsumi said sweetly.

A groan escaped as Mitsumi lumbered out. Nearing her thirties, Mitsumi had seen better days and looked scruffy.

"I don't want to get out of bed." Mitsumi groaned.

"Mitsumi, some letters came in. I also have some good news and bad news. Which do you want first?" Natsumi asked worriedly.

"Bad news, first. My life can't get any worse." Mitsumi said in a defeated tone.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but your grandfather had passed." Natsumi said with a few tears. "He left you this letter."

That did it and Mitsumi shot out of bed to take that letter. Her grandfather meant the world to her and she frantically tore open the envelope to read that letter. The first paragraph grabbed her alone.

"If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life... real connections with other people and nature. So, I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong."

In it was the deed to the family farm within a faraway place and the key to it. Grandpa Otohime had retired to a place quite far, a US territory that was a mystery to the world, the Ferngill Republic. He owned Onpa Farm in near Pelican Town. Finishing reading the letter, she put it down and started to pack her things much to Natsumi's shock.

"Mom, I'll need some money for a one-way plane ticket." Mitsumi said growing a sudden more serious tone. "I need to do this right before I have second thoughts."

Hearing that, Natsumi got the whole family involved in helping her pack. Mitsumi cleaned herself up readying to leave Japan possibly for good.

"I almost forgot. I've been withholding these letters…there's from…Narusegawa." Natsumi said nervously.

Mitsumi paused and when the first one came in and Natsumi answered that it was shortly after Hina's death. Mitsumi had not bothered to visit the funeral, but she had a feeling Naru had. Mitsumi had read that first letter which amounted to an overblown apology, some encouraging words not to kill herself, and some cash. Mitsumi tore up that letter but kept the cash. The other letters from Naru had cash in them to which Mitsumi tucked away. She could always read Naru's letters later. By nightfall, she was packed and at the airport boarding the plane as her family cheered her on. As the plane took off, Mitsumi was on her laptop looking up the place she would soon call home.

"Stardew Valley….what an odd place…but anywhere but here will make the perfect fresh start." Mitsumi said closing her laptop.

Sleep would come easy for her as a new future seemed within her grasp. Farming was something she was already decent at so why not use that skill for a profit?


(A/N: Short, but it hit the point I wanted to make. In "Worst Way to Go", Mitsumi wound up making herself a businesswoman running a melon business with a husband. I wanted to do something similar, but I decided not to. One, in my take on the ending in "Worst Way to Go", Mitsumi testified against Naru, Chisato, and Kagura leading to Mitsumi's reputation not going down the chutes before she had an epiphany earlier. However, I couldn't do it as she had that epiphany too late. So, I settled to do this instead, and make a challenge out of it!)

Mitsumi's Valley Life Challenge

Can Mitsumi leave her past behind and start anew in Stardew Valley? Or will her past come to haunt her?

Challenge Rules:

1) Try to be accurate to the Stardew Valley game. You can take a few liberties here and there but act as if you are expanding the source material.

2) The type of farm that they end up in is up to you completely. In the game, there are five different farms.

a. The Standard Farm is the basic one associated with land for crops and animals.

b. Riverland Farm have the majority of this map be water making fishing viable on this farm for Lincoln and Leni. Water would significantly decrease the amount of farming area for them.

c. Forest Farm has more trees on the map making it better for collecting wood and forage. Cliffs and ponds would decrease the amount of farming area for them.

d. Hill-Top Farm is suited for mining as it is on rockier terrain. Additional cliffs and a stream decrease the overall farming area

e. Wilderness Farm is similar to the Standard Farm except that monster spawn at night. They would grow in level as Leni and Lincoln get stronger. Additional cliffs and ponds decrease the overall farming area though.

3) If you wish not to this story as base, reasons why Mitsumi can be due to a broken heart or another tragedy.

4) As per the game canon's, Mitsumi's parents will play the role of sending gifts to the player in the mail. Naru will also send gifts.

5) Gamer option for them is available if you chose.

6) You can use my Author's Note from my Maelstrom of Stardew story as a base for surnames of the characters, ages, and so forth.

7) Whether the Hinata Sou girls or Keitaro visit or contact her is completely up to you.

8) Have fun with this challenge!