.

.

Cam handed out another red bud, this one tied with a thin, shiny ribbon.

3,400g total… he counted in his head.

"Happy Amnesty Day." Jessica said, smiling. Her eyes were blue, already the color of water, and as a tear or two came from the side it looked like they were starting to melt.

Cam stared at her for a bit, before realizing he was being rude. But Ash's mother wasn't at all the kind of person to get emotional just because the Mayor made an announcement. Peace had been announced before and hadn't stuck, so why should it now?

She turned a bit, wiping her eyes. "Excuse me."

"Don't worry about it." He said quietly.

Then Ash came up from the side, Cheryl's hand tightly in his right hand. As Jessica offered her daughter the rose and the little blond girl tucked it in the front pocket of her green dress, another tear came out and she cleared her throat in embarrassment.

"Aw, ma." Ash wrapped his arm around his mother's neck and kissed her cheeks until tears stopped falling and a blush slowly spread over them instead. She giggled a little. "I love my kids." This declaration brought another round of hugs ending in a group hug until the florist cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

Ash smiled at Jessica one more time and gestured to his sister to go back home with their mother.

Cheryl, oblivious to the mood around them, stomped her foot. "I want to stay out with you. Today is special, so I want you to spend it with me!"

Ash shared a look with Cam, who's only opinion was in his eyes, and squatted down to be level with his baby sister. "It IS a special day and I WILL spend it with you." He smiled at her and then winced when the girl reached out for his bandaged hand, grabbing it tightly.

"Spend it with me NOW!" She demanded, oblivious.

Ash got up and pulled his hand to his chest. "Cheryl- just give me a second to talk to my friend, okay? I promise I'll follow behind on the way home-"

"NOW!" She repeated in a confident voice.

Cam emerald eyes shone below his hat. "Go back home, squirt." He said.

Cheryl looked up at Cam, incensed. "I want to play with Ash! YOU go back home!"

Cam leaned over the edge of his flower table at her, and put his hand out. "Fine. If I'm going home I have to make some money. Pay for that flower first and then I'll let you play with him."

Her eyes went wide and she took a step back.

"Price goes up over time you know. I was going to give it to you for free, but now that you're still here I'm beginning to have second thoughts about that. Let's say-" He put a hand up to his chin- "350 gold?"

"Ooo, that's expensive," Ash chimed in. "I wonder how much work you'd have to do to earn it. Several hours in the field… maybe even the dishes…"

"Ah- I can't pay that!" She exclaimed, holding it tighter than ever, looking back and forth between them.

"Then take it home before I forget I gave it to you as a gift. Put it in water and talk to it every day, and it'll live for a week." The florist advised gently.

Cheryl nodded and walked away hurriedly, looking over her shoulder with wide eyes.

Cam chuckled, "Always works to chase away unwanted female attention. Ask them to pay for something." He looked over and saw the frown on his friend's face. "What?"

Ash shook his head slowly. "Nothing. Something feels off today."

The other shrugged and busied himself shifting single carnations around and trimming a few leaves. He looked up and saw the beauty of the town in the sunlight of the middle of the day. There was a bound in people's steps as cherry blossoms flaunted themselves above and their petals fluttered through the air.

Whatever it is, it's not a bad change, the florist thought.

Just then a loud crack reverberated off the little white buildings, stealing away the moment of peace in palpable irony. Cam and Ash looked over to see the Town Hall's door slam angrily again after being slammed open.

An impressive figure emerged, taking measured strides towards the cafe and little stand. He looked neither to the right nor the left, and his dark eyes were hard as if set upon some murky thought that no one in their right mind would dare guess at.

Cam felt his blood run cold, and momentarily braced himself. This was not a normal fit of temper. There was something bitter and calculating there, and as the large man stomped towards them both and disregarded everything around him his mind tripped over itself trying to find the reason behind it. The florist's hand was frozen in place, for several moments after Howard had passed.

Did I do something?

Ash shrank back too, unable to help his shock at the feeling of dread that Howard's passing rooted in him, wondering why he had never seen this before. There was violence in the man's stride, a madness churning a hair's breadth below the surface of his features. He'd known Howard for years. But the look on his face… was as if someone had died.

No- that's not quite it-

"He's going to kill him." Cam said, emerald eyes on the door of the Café.

Ash looked at his friend in horror. "What did you say? Howard is one of our elders- of course he wouldn't just randomly kill someone. Especially on a day like today." But his voice cracked at the end and once the words were spoken, the weight of them fell and he knew it was a lie. When he spoke again, his voice felt weak. A whisper. "Would he?"

"We'll be able to raise our animals in peace." Cam replied, hands still frozen in place with the shears open.

"That doesn't mean we should let it happen!"

An angry huff escaped Cam's mouth. "Then what are we supposed to do, defy an elder? If he mistreats a prisoner or two, what's it to us? Rutger gave him the authority to hold people there indefinitely. There's nothing we can do about it." Cam took a deep breath and began cutting stems again, resisting the urge to cuss when he practically beheaded two at once.

"Your hands are shaking." Ash observed.

- snip – snip -

"And you're an idiot."

"Yes. Yes I'm the idiot for caring about human life. What's your problem, Cam? Shouldn't we go check at least, just because he's an elder doesn't mean he can do whatever he wants."

Cam cut more stems, focusing on his hands and counting flowers.

Ash watched apprehensively.

snip – snip – snip – snip – snip - snip

The little pile of red carnations dwindled, and both boys were deadlocked as if a silent argument was going on.

Finally, Cam slammed the shears down on the table and glared at Ash.

Ash smiled tightly in response, and both launched into a sprint across the plaza.

…

The café was silent inside when they entered, the way the world was before a nasty storm.

Cam took the stairs quickly, the ranch hand close on his heels. Eyes adjusted to the darkness in a few terse seconds, and the disjointed sound of someone being struck repeatedly jumped in the air around them. This would have been a relief except for the smell of blood- it meant that Kana was still alive and struggling, although had no energy left to speak.

Even though he was able to do it, Howard hadn't killed him in one blow, opting instead to prolong his revenge.

As the boys approached the cage, Cam spoke out of the side of his mouth. "I'll get Kana out if you can buy me time away from Howard."

A nod in response was Ash's reply, who grabbed a pitchfork that leaned against the wall in the cellar as they advanced.

Cam made out another figure in the dark, and there Laney stood, watching her father with wide eyes, arms folded tightly over her chest. She wasn't crying, but she looked like it was coming any minute. She looked how Cam felt- torn between the idea of justice and the brutality of this.

Kana, bloodied, staggered out of the way of another fist which instead of his face, found his gut. He held his side to protect it, and tried to side-step. He was barely able to defend himself against the hulk of the baker. One eye was starting to swell shut, and blood ran from it. It was clear from the smell that the stitches at his side had reopened.

Howard was red with rage and ranting. "Amnesty! There is no such thing for your kind! Bring me back my wife! Reunite our families!" Each sentence peppered by a few more blows.

Kana was able to block one in three, and soon was bleeding from him mouth and several other lacerations.

"Howard."

Laney jumped- she hadn't noticed Cam by her side.

"Leave." The big man growled over his shoulder in answer. Reaching out to grab Kana by the face, he moved to the side and threw him out of the cell.

Cam shoved Laney out of the way just in time and Kana's head cracked loudly against Cam's temple. Both of them collapsed to the floor.

All uncertainty gone, Ash moved in front of them. "Howard-" he began, but the big man reached for the pitchfork Ash was holding as a shield and grappled with him. He disarmed Ash in less than minute of struggle, not hesitating to backhand him across the face and then broke it in two, splinters of wood raining over the scene.

"D-Dad…" Laney said from the side, and Howard whirled on her.

She cringed when he yelled, fist in front of her face. "You want it, too?! Stay out of this!" She went white as a sheet and involuntarily retreated a few steps.

Ash got up and wiped his mouth. No blood, that's good.

Howard turned back to him, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. "Move," He said in a tone that said he wished the young man wouldn't.

Ash risked a glance behind him.

Cam was out cold and Kana was struggling to get up, pinned beneath the limp body of the florist. He slipped and fell again, a groan of pain escaping him in ragged breath.

For some reason, the image of his mother's face flashed in front of him from when he had hugged her- the look of unguarded hope in her clear blue eyes- and he realized what this was going to cost Bluebell if it continued. He dragged his hat off of his head and flung it to the ground in anger as it exploded in his veins. "Dammit, Howard!"

The bigger man paused. He wanted a fight, not words. He worked his jaw, painted lips pressed in a thin line. He took a step towards Ash.

"You're going to bring them right down on our heads!"

"They don't have to know he didn't die right away." Howard countered, smiling now.

"And you- of all of us, are the only one who gets justice? What about MY RIGHT- who is going to pay for my father's death, for my elder brother's?"

Howard stopped, grinding his teeth in spite of his earlier eagerness. An image of a young man with long caramel hair tied at the nape of his neck came quickly to mind. Ash's brother Aaron had been stocky, strong, and serious. The polar opposite of the boy in front of him now, Aaron had been trampled during a skirmish several years ago when he was guarding the line with Grady. That was part of the reason Jessica was so uncomfortable with Ash's learning to fight and the boy was not allowed to patrol now, no matter how much Bluebell needed the help.

Howard's breathing slowed. "All the more reason you should be on my side. I'll ask you boy, what about your father, your brother? Do you want them to have died in vain?"

Ash shook his head. "No, they protected Bluebell and I am proud of what they did for us, but killing Kana won't bring them back, won't bring back Eleanor."

Howard's face darkened at the mention of his late wife. Ash pressed the advantage. "And do you want for Laney or Cheryl to be mourning us, too? Or worse, fighting? What if we could end it?"

"You can." A new voice interjected in the darkness.

Howard sighed in irritation as Phillip came into view in the low light.

The auburn-haired newcomer stepped lightly, helping Kana away from Cam and checking on them both before stopping at Ash's side.

The chef found himself debating. Cracking the two boys' heads against each other and leaving them in a heap so he could quickly snap Kana's neck was a very tempting prospect. He knew he'd get no other chance. But as he stood, wrestling internally, he found that for some reason he was able instead to turn on his heel and walk away. The heat of the moment had been lost, and he knew Kana would be back over the line again soon enough.

There was always a second chance.

.

.

Author's Note; I love the boys from Bluebell! They seem so much more close than the Konohana crew, especially if you play the game and see their date dialogues. Hiro and Kana get along all right, but even when Dirk joins up he does his own thing every day. Ash and Cam have an unrivaled bromance. That's why I could never marry Ash (in game), he just likes Cam a little too much, it makes it seem like he doesn't have his own identity yet. I know the Ash fans are out there- do any of you want to sound off on this?

Howard has been my biggest challenge in this story- we all know from the game that he is certifiably crazy (as a side note, does a certified crazy person get some kind of framed paper with their doctor's diagnosis on it?). I'm still not sure how crazy he is, though? I can only imagine it's 'a lot'. Without a conflict to fuel his rage, or his wife's death to justify his violence, I wonder if he would simply be a gentle soul? And I don't know if I'll get to this, but the makeup and girly room- well he's trying to be both a mother and father to Laney, right?