Disclaimer: Don't own Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki, subbed or dubbed, characters included.

Rating: T (some hints of M at points)

A retelling of the movie, except in written form

The next day

It wasn't long before they got a wake-up call, several in fact, when it came to planting.

Balto looked over a spare seed potato, even as Hana, Yuki, and Ame started putting them in the ground - the sight made him content. Still, he had to hand it to these little spuds; according to the information provided in their books, they were grown to be disease-free + grow healthy plants at the same time. Speaking of which, with all those newer books they'd gotten recently, he might have to build a new bookshelf just for them before long. The thought made him smile, remembering how he'd said similar to Hana back in the city-

However, he soon jolted when the sound of a car door reached his ears, he looking at- Mr Nirasaki?

Their children, being shy, quickly ran back to the house (behind the brush actually), while they stood up. "Uh, hey there, Mr. Nirasaki" he greeted-

-Hana added onto it: "Thanks for those potatoes you sent up" she breathed with her usual smile.

"Well, I should have just thrown them all away" the old man grumbled, before he leaned down, digging up their freshly-buried seed potatoes. They barely started to react to this before he bluntly answered: "Your soil's not ready for planting yet."

They were left speechless... all their work, and they couldn't even figure that part out?

"Ah... then, please Mr. Nirasaki!" his wife exclaimed, determined. "What will make it ready!?"

"Dig this field up again" he merely said, before turning to go. "I'll be back."

They could only stare after him, then at each other- but after the fact, they didn't have anything to lose. So with much back-breaking effort, the two of them basically beat this dirt over again, including when Mr. Nirasaki said "gonna have to dig it up better than that". Hana asked about fertilizer, but Nirasaki merely said the forest leaves would be enough, which was fine by Balto, though it wouldn't have been an issue to buy any from the stores. However, they soon got a little overwhelmed when Mr. Nirasaki said to dig up the next section, making an extra field-

"That's a little much, isn't it?" Hana asked, sweat-soaked already. "I don't know that our family will eat that many potatoes."

"What are ya, deaf?"

She jolted, but Mr. Nirasaki wasn't done:

"And you boy, write this down, for all the good it'll do either of you. Then make yourself useful and help your wife get this done."

Rather put-off, Balto slowly glanced at Hana, who despite similar reactions slowly gave him a little nod - so, a little weary, he paused to take notes on all this, then rejoined Hana in digging up another field.

By the end of that, they were both heavily panting again-

"Furrows are next."

Internally, he slumped a little- not even a break.

"...okay" Hana breathed, starting to follow.

Balto jolted; she wasn't even trying to pause, not till she got this done... she was amazing. Then he wondered why he was doing any less, even by 'despairing' slightly over getting a break - taking in a deep breath, he followed Hana, and worked with renewed energy.

As it turned out, they'd been crowding the furrows together (by farming standards), and that they were a little too small overall. Remembering his basic knowledge from their books, this must have been overdrawing the soil, which even when things were 'right' wasn't a good thing, but had been initially worse for them because they had little nutrients to draw on. The entire time, Hana was the picture of determination: soaked in sweat, flushed and panting, yet tackling each obstacle with fervor no matter what. Despite his own weariness, it brought a smile, even when panting; he was lucky to have such a beautiful, hard-working woman by his side.

Much, much later, they finally just leaned against their tools... until they slowly looked over.

Mr. Nirasaki, who had been cutting their seed potatoes in half for the last stretch, held up the bag with said produce. "A week from now, plant them cut-side-down in those furrows" he told them, dropping it onto the thick grass, even as he turned to go. "Don't water them; just leave them be."

"W-Well, uh..." Hana breathed at first, before she managed her usual smile + cheerfulness, "I really appreciate you teaching... us..."

Mr. Nirasaki was already leaving; Balto wasn't sure what to think, or even whether he should feel put-off or grateful - it had been made clear his words were 'all bark', but still, he was helping them. He vaguely felt sure that if asked about this, the old man would deny it, and that the best way to show their gratitude was to get results- which they intended to anyway.

It was many seconds after that, that Yuki and Ame finally popped up from their not-so-secret hiding spot (he could hear the rustling). Soon they came down, just to the edge of the field: "Mommy? Daddy?" Yuki wondered, a little worried. "You okay?"

Hana just sorta collapsed-

...

That same second

For a moment, Hana couldn't take it anymore, falling on her butt - she just felt weary, and even this dirt was looking comfy.

"Mommy!?"

"Hana!"

"Ohh" she breathed, her family crowding around. "Sorry guys, just a little tired... and my back is killing me."

That got a reaction out of Balto, not just of worry, but something rare for her; she didn't really complain. Now she had, because her back had twinged that badly - it wouldn't have stopped her, but she needed a moment after everything.

"Okay" her husband breathed, partly to himself, before he looked at the worried Yuki + Ame. "You two go inside; we'll be right behind you."

"Okay." - "Uh-huh."

Hana slowly looked up, before jolting- Balto bent down in front of her, back-first.

"Get on my back, Hana" he whispered, very gentle.

She gasped slightly-

"Either you get on, or I'll carry you; let me help you out now, okay?"

Her entire body fervently agreed, while her mind tried to find a reason otherwise, but losing... after a few moments, she touched his shoulders. "Don't throw your back out for me, Balto" she whispered, resting against her husband with a smile.

A slight chuckle. "It's not that far; I'll be fine enough" he assured, pulling her arms around his neck securely. "Annnd... here we go!"

It wasn't without hitch, due to him being as tired + weary as she was, but he managed to lift her off the ground. Panting with effort, he walked back toward their home with jerky steps, but this still got impressed 'woah' reactions from their kids, thinking he was so strong (she agreed). Balto assured Yuki and Ame that she was fine, just tired, before he eventually lay her down on the bed-spread... except, he did it so she was laying flat on her stomach. Hana wasn't really against that, but laying on her back would feel a bit better, for support and such - however, just when she started to adjust, Balto's hands gently touched her back.

Hana made a sound... especially when his hands slipped underneath her shirt, body hitching in response.

"W-What are you doing?"

He didn't answer, until his hands reached her back muscles... then they started massaging there.

"Ah!" Hana breathed, heart beating even faster, but his strong fingers- ohhhh, that started feeling good.

"If you felt weary enough to complain Hana, then I think you needed this" he whispered gently, in her ear by that last part, making her briefly shiver.

"I- I wasn't gonna let it stop me" she mumbled, yet enjoying this. "Little to the left."

A small hum, "I knew that too" he continued, very soft, laying beside her carefully as his arms continued. "You never stop moving onward; you're even inspiring me right now, despite my aching muscles. But like I've said, sometimes we all need a moment of relaxation."

Ah- ahh- oh! There, right there... ohhhh, it was like the tension was draining right out of her!

"Okay, I swear I didn't plan that" he breathed, unsure. "I-I'm not really an expert at this..."

Somehow, that got her giggling, and she turned her head toward him. "You do it well enough, Balto" Hana whispered, giving him a soft, gentle kiss for his 'troubles' (which lasted awhile). "Though now it's unfair - I still have to do a moment of relaxation for you" she added.

He gave off a little smile, relieved his efforts had still helped. "Like this, merely being with you here is relaxing for me" he whispered, invitingly close-

-it made her feel even warmer, that he said that with such sincerity.

"Yet still" she answered, kissing him again- he held her close as it continued, while she scooted closer, running her fingers over his shoulders. "I do have to try as well."

Balto looked at her efforts for a little, but kept the smile. "I realize it's not gonna stop you, but... well, you don't have to" he said, slightly teasing-

She answered that with her own teasing look, still moving her fingers on his shoulders.

"Yup, knew it" he continued, kissing her again, which she had no issues with.

/

A week later

As it turned out, Balto was more resistant to back-breaking work than she was - he claimed it was his experience in the mover business, via carrying a lot of heavy furniture + boxes. And Hana was happy for him of course; if he didn't strain as much, then that was good news for them both, especially when it came to the work involved with planting. Plus the back massages he gave every so often were good too (he insisted), but even without them, she would've made do anyway. Speaking of planting though, she was again being put through her paces in planting knowledge - two older gentlemen were helping her out, while Balto was out in the forest with Yuki + Ame, watching over them as they hunted again.

"Camomile with the cabbage; if you plant them together, the bugs won't give you any trouble-"

"Don't listen to him. Cabbages and celery; that's the way to go."

"Celery's no good for beginners - camomile is easier-"

"What's she gonna do with a bunch of camomile? Make tea leaves all day long?"

As Hana quickly discovered, while they argued a bunch, their words had no bite either - and their knowledge was equally impressive; they just had differences in opinion over what she should try first. What was best vs. what was easy, what was better for a 'newbie' vs. what pros use, and other such things... once she digested this, she was writing things down with abandon. Said 'argument help' continued even when they returned to her home, with first-hand planting techniques showcased to her: whether watering the hole would be moist enough for the soil or not, yet no one argued that planting shallow was the way to go; to use a layer of fertilizer after they've been planted, the argument being over how much was enough ('a little' vs 'more'). The entire time, she could barely get words in, and she felt like she was at a tennis match...

But if it would help her and Balto grow these plants, she'd take it all!

And those old men weren't the only source to help her out that day - four other neighbors had dropped in on them, married like her and Balto, just older. They'd given her what they called 'wood vinegar', which according to them, was a homemade concoction that would help keep pests out of her garden. She appreciated it, even as talk continued about how it wasn't easy out here, and how through that, most people got discouraged. Especially older men looking for the 'simple life', which this clearly wasn't despite appearances. They also mentioned that irrigation (getting land ready for agriculture, she remembered) was rather bad, and they got a lot of snow...

Internally, Hana pictured that for a moment, based off Balto's old photo.

...but they always had each other, which brought a smile to her face.

She couldn't agree more, as despite the initial silence, their neighbors were all coming together now - they'd already done so much to help their family. Hana knew that once their crops grew in, she'd have to give out portions of it as thanks; it was the right thing to do. Besides, if these plants grew as much food as they were stated to, their family was soon gonna have more vegetables than they bargained for. And once the upcoming winter became a possibility, they would need to stockpile their vegetables; probably gonna need to find a freezer then, because the fridge wouldn't do.

A lot of work had been put in, and a lot still needed to be done; she hoped it would all work out, for their sakes.

Just then however, a faint howl came upon the wind, making her and the other neighbors jolt.

"Wait, is that Balto?" she thought, trying to remember the different tones for her family's howls-hmm.

"Was that a wolf?"

"It shouldn't be; they're extinct in Japan."

"Well, whatever that was, sure sounds a lot like a wolf."

Internally only, Hana smiled a bit, giggling - if only they knew.

Just in front, Ame lunged, Balto moving back just as fast before moving in their circle - smiled, gently nodding when Ame looked at him; he was doing fine. At the edge of his hearing, he could hear the sounds of Hana talking with two other women in the front yard (young moms, judging by the underlying laughter of kids), along with a watchful Yuki in the brush. Balto was fairly sure their talk involved trying to find work soon, as now that they were (hopefully) getting the hang of these crops, there was still the issue of burning through their savings. Well, if Hana wanted to work, he'd support her of course - he was sure it would make her feel like she was helping out evenly, as he was.

Not to mention, now that they had so much free time waiting for their crops, it seemed-

-he shifted, sniffing at the air.

"Huh?" Ame breathed, pausing.

"Stay close behind me, Ame" Balto breathed, slightly serious, even as he walked near the road, using the brush as cover. It didn't take long to see the culprits: rabbits about ten feet away from their fields, no doubt sniffing for what was edible.

Not on his watch.

In seconds, after quickly determining no one on the road + the young mothers and kids weren't nearby enough to see, Balto was running on all fours. He planted himself between their crops and the rabbits, growling- they bolted of course, but he didn't move, sniffing the air again.

"D-Daddy?"

"It's okay, son" Balto assured, still being carefully. "I'm just protecting our crops."

"Mmh" Ame breathed, before his ears perked slightly, him reacting. "D-Dad-"

"-I hear it too" he whispered low; that boar... but why was it coming from around the village?

The answer to that was on it's hide; it was trailing numerous stalks of crops, and they smelled of their neighbors... that made him feel a tinge of worry for them. When the boar turned toward their field though, it stopped upon seeing him - to make sure it understood the message, he went into full threatening-mode, growling low.

It took a little, but the boar ran off... only once it was far away did he relax, along with quickly change back. Balto spent a few moments panting a little, relieved - he was used to catching small, fast animals, not territorial fights.

But it's okay now-

-his thought trailed off the moment he saw his son crouching behind the foliage.

"T-That looked scary, daddy" Ame mumbled.

"Ame, I only scared the boar to keep him away from our family, our crops" he quickly assured, as gently as he could, "I didn't mean to scare you, and you know I'm not a scary guy. Right?"

Ame slowly nodded, before he stepped out, "Right" he breathed, but a little better, even smiling. However, he was soon distracted when Yuki bounded past him-

"Daddy, what's a 'preschool'?" she asked, intent.

Balto slowly blinked, surprised.

"And how come me and Ame don't get to go to one?"

...

Wanting to ask Hana what his daughter was talking about, he hadn't given Yuki a proper answer... so naturally, she asked it again at dinner, this time to Hana. She tried to explain, but Yuki continued to demand that she wanted to go, and even threw a verbal tantrum of 'I wanna go to preschool!' when Hana tried to say she can't ("IwannagoIwannagoIwannagoIwannagoIwannagoIwannagoIwannagoIwannagoIwannagoSOTHERE!"). It gave him serious Deja Vu to Yuki's cranky states from when she was a toddler, except worse- he swore he dug into his ears after awhile, due to how loud she could be. Hana was no less exasperated in dealing with it, but it took all of dinner before it gave out-

-after which, Yuki realized she'd turned into a wolf during her rant, then ran off.

Hana made a sound, as did Ame, reaching after Yuki like he didn't want her to leave, but he raised a hand and got up. "I got this" he assured them, moving out of the living room... though he didn't need to look far; Yuki was 'hiding' in a little cranny.

"Hey" Balto breathed gently after a moment, slowly getting on his knees, a fair distance away.

Yuki sniffled, knees to her chest, hands on them, "I know i-it's supposed to be a secret, daddy" she whimpered, eyes teary. "I'll be good, I promise!"

"Oh, Yuki" he whispered, slowly sliding closer, but sitting against the cabinet- near her, yet not intruding. "You're not in big trouble."

"I-I'm not?"

"Nooo" he breathed out, subconsciously remembering how he said similar to Hana, way back when. "You promised to keep it a secret from other people; our family already knows. You can change around us, when we're alone together."

No answer, other than a few more sniffles.

Balto shifted a bit, getting closer to Yuki. "You weren't bad for being a wolf, Yuki" he whispered gently, "You were bad for yelling like that."

She whimpered again. "A-Am I still in trouble?"

"Not big" he answered softly, before gently touching her hands. "Definitely not big."

Slowly, Yuki lifted her gaze, "B- B-But I was bad" she breathed, teary and confused.

"There are many different kinds of bad; small, big, and everything in-between" he continued, still gentle. "Yours was a small bad - we forgive that very easily, if you say the right words."

She looked at him for several moments before slowly, tentatively, Yuki slipped out of her cranny... he gently guided her into a hug, holding her for awhile.

"I- I-I'm sorry, daddy..."

A little smile: "That's good, Yuki" he whispered softly. "I forgive you."

"Mommy too?"

"She will, if you say sorry to her too."

"D-Do I have to?"

"It would be nice."

Two seconds later, his daughter wriggled out of his grip, still a little teary-eyed, but determined - he gave her a little nod. Yuki wiped her eyes, before slowly going back into the living room, he watching for a bit before standing up, keeping the smile.

/

A few days later

Hana had to admit, Yuki gave her quite the scare yesterday, when some of her neighbors were over! Yuki being in wolf form, in full view of them, had nearly made her freak on the spot - luckily for them all, it was soon decided it must be a hybrid, as wolves were extinct in Japan, maybe the kind that made those howls.

Oh, if only they knew...

Howls from the mountains were one thing, but that scare, she didn't think she could handle that again! And it looks like Yuki's gonna need another lesson, because that had been too close!

But anyway, back to their moment of truth today.

Hana glanced at Balto right next to her; he was a little nervous himself, but he nodded - Yuki and Ame stayed close too, knowing enough to be worried, but mostly hopeful + curious to see.

"Go for it" he whispered gently.

Gripping her rake, she dug into the dirt twice, and then yanked on the vine. After only two inches, Hana saw a dozen or more potatoes, making her gasp + pull harder, more and more showing up! Balto let out a long breath, even as Yuki started cheering with giggles, Ame sorta following his sister's lead with little curious breathes, trying to reach for them.

"If this is only one plant, we're gonna need more buckets!" she said, feeling a weight off her chest; it worked!

Balto just chuckled, clapping her shoulder once. "Then you go get more, and I'll start pulling your share until you get back" he said, before glancing at their kids. "And don't forget to do your shares too, Yuki, Ame. Okay?"

"Okay!" - "Of course."

Letting out a breath of her own, Hana kissed Balto right there on the lips - he was surprised, but she just grinned big, happy (including when she went to get more buckets). Unnoticed by her, blinking, Balto just slowly laughed at her affection before he started pulling on the uprooted vine... and once she did get back, it was in time for a little scene:

"Mmmmhhhh" Yuki strained, pulling on hers, before it snapped and sent her backward with an "Ahhh!"

"Yuki, are you okay?" Ame asked, pausing on pulling his root.

"I'm fine, I'm fine" she said quickly, looking at her snapped roots, a little sadder.

"It's okay; sometimes this happens" their father explained. "Just pull on the sections still in the ground."

Hana smiled, before 'playfully' taking her section of roots from his hands - he merely chuckled, going onto another bunch without issue. Work like this went by in an excited blur, the family so happy that this was working, doing all jobs by themselves.

Though of course, not all of it went that way: "Mommy?" Ame asked at one point.

Hana paused, looking at her son, who seemed sadder. "Ame?"

"T-They keep breaking when I pull" Ame breathed, unsure. "A-am I doing it wrong?"

After a moment, she smiled, gently touching his shoulder. "I don't think so" Hana assured him, gentle. "But if you don't feel like pulling them, you can help us with another important job."

"Huh?" he jolted, but curious.

"See all these bits attached?" she pointed out, using one nearby potato as her reference. "They were in the ground for a long time, and they need to be cleaner before we can eat them. Perhaps you'd like to do that instead?"

Ame considered this, glancing at the roots several times. "I just pick the dirt off?" he asked, she nodding, before he got a little smile. "I'd like to do that, mommy."

"Then go ahead, Ame" Hana said gently, handing him potatoes; Ame was soon into it, and that seemed to agree with him better. A brief touch on her shoulder turned her head, seeing Balto smiling at her, approving- she touched his hand back, nodding, even as he returned to his work.

Or rather, he would've, had he not noticed what Yuki was doing with her latest bunch of potatoes.

"Hehehe!" Yuki cheered, chucking them at her bucket - most landed inside, but more than a few had landed outside it.

Balto gave her a side glance, chuckling as he went over to the bucket in question, picking them up.

Hana just laughed, though part of it was the still-present relief; this was more like it!

By the end, they had numerous buckets full of potatoes, enough to last months, and this had just been one field! But of course, Hana hadn't forgotten her obligations to their kind neighbors - she went to see the two older gentlemen after that, while Balto went elsewhere.

They were grateful for the potatoes of course, but as she soon discovered, more so than merely for the gift itself- a wild boar had destroyed many of the others' crops (not enough for them to worry, yet still). That being said, she was soon rewarded with other provisions from the two older gentlemen - carrying them back had been quite the workout, but she managed it. It was only lain on thick from there, as when she got home, she found Balto having similar things bestowed upon him for their kindness. He was sheepish, but also said he wasn't surprised; she'd been talking about paying them back for all the advice anyway. When their neighbors mentioned 'what's your secret?' about the boar though, she noticed Balto's answer, while evasive as expected, paused him slightly more than it should have.

Did that mean he ran into the boar recently?

The biggest repayment though came from Mrs. Nirasaki, the day after the boar questioning - she'd surprisingly given their family cartons of eggs; something they hadn't had in a while (already Hana was imaging the foods she could make with these). However, the woman soon noticed her 'cute little' fridge, which confused her- was there something wrong with it?

Next thing she and Balto knew, they were having a full-size one brought over in a truck!

"Easy does it-"

"Please, t-this is a little much" Balto breathed, instinctively going to help them with a third pair of hands, his mover experience kicking in - but he took the words right out of her mouth.

"It was just gathering dust in the shed anyway; least this way, it's getting some good use. And if we came back home with this thing, we'll catch hell from the old man."

Hana jolted, "Grandpa Nirasaki?" she wondered.

"It's always 'Hana and Balto' with that guy lately - if I didn't know better, I'd say he's got a crush on you Hana-"

"Don't be silly; he's ninety, and she's married-"

"I know, I know; like I said, I know better than that."

"Then what's the real deal?"

"Probably that he's developed a soft spot for you two Hana, Balto; he appreciates hard workers, that's for sure."

Balto, who'd been blinking over the 'crush' thing, looked at her with considerable surprise - Hana couldn't deny feeling the same, even as the three of them disappeared into the house, yet within earshot. Now it all made sense: the moment they proved that they worked hard, stayed at working hard, and intended to keep doing so (whatever his real reaction to her cheery persona was), Grandpa Nirasaki had started helping.

She had to thank him, next time they crossed paths.

Still, Hana then realized she was still standing there, then jolted and raced to get inside! She came in just in time, seeing them land the fridge down with grunts - this got her finding drinks quickly; it was the least she could do! At the same time though, Yuki and Ame were hiding behind the beams, shy yet still curious about this.

"Mommy?" Ame breathed, "W-What are they doing?"

"They're uh, giving us a gift, Ame" she answered, with a little smile to assure him, "For all the help your father and I have given them recently."

"It's pretty big" Yuki noted, cheery despite her shyness. "Will we have two fridges now?"

"I-I'm not sure about that yet" Hana breathed, quickly balancing the glasses on the tray. "But for right now, it looks like we will."

Now things are coming together, finally, for their new life

Plus it was implied in the movie, Yuki chasing animals away from their crops- well, she's not the only one anymore. But there's still the beginnings of wanting to go to school, and winter soon to come before that