According to Michiru, the siblings had just recently arrived in Flower Leaf Village early that morning, but just after greeting mayor Theodore, Kaname had fainted. Too much sun exposure was the cause, or that's what Gina and Alex thought, but she was perfectly fine. Because this wasn't real. None of this was, and yet, as the hours ticked away as she laid there in the clinic, nothing changed. Every so often, Gina would check on her and provide her with several refreshments, mostly water and juice, and some light snacks to aid her migraine, until Michiru would return to take her home later that afternoon.

To say she was confused was an understatement. Perhaps she was overthinking it, but none of this made sense. On top of all that, it even hurt to pinch herself. Kaname had never had such a realistic dream, despite its fantasy aspect, but it was nice. Nostalgic. And being able to talk to her long deceased brother made it even more enjoyable. Michiru was alive in her dream, talking and breathing. She had missed it so much.

"What is it? You've been staring at me ever since we left the sanatorium," Michiru said, grinning while scratching his cheek awkwardly. "Do you feel any better? Once we arrive at the property, maybe you should lie down a bit more."

Kaname shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just confused I guess… You said we only arrived in this town, so how did you find time to settle things with the mayor?"

"While you were asleep, I spoke to some locals, and they pointed me toward his residence. From there, it was as simple as signing our names onto the deed. I still can't believe we finally made our dreams come true, Kaname… We finally set up a place on this island, away from all the noise and chaos of the city to start fresh," He said, and paused before an old gate and unlatched it, beckoning Kaname ahead of him. "We're here. Kururugi Farm. What do you think?"

Although she'd been preoccupied with her inner thoughts during their venture through town, she hadn't noticed they arrived at the property, but after taking the entire scenery in, she frowned. It looked awful. Worse than she recalled from the game. Couldn't her dream draw something more pleasant? Where was her pretty blue and white two-story cottage? Where was the well and the plowed farmland for her happy livestock?

Something behind her fell, and turning back to look at Michiru, she noticed part of the fence had broken off and landed by his boots. "Oh, geez… This place is run down! Don't tell me you paid them 1000 for this place, Michiru?"

He sweat dropped and kicked the broken lumber aside. "Well… actually, I had to pay a little extra since the town is struggling financially. Altogether, it was 2000 gold."

She blanched. "Are you kidding me? It's what… already mid-summer, and they didn't have the decency to clean this place up for their new residents?" Not only that, but one look at the one bedroom shack flustered her. How in the world could she and brother live in such a tiny space? Was there even room for furniture? And don't even get me started on the fields… It looks like a typhoon hit this place! There're boulders and tree stumps, not to mention half a forest all over the land!

"Hey, cheer up, Kaname. A little cleaning and it'll feel like home in no time!" He said, beckoning her toward the dilapidated shack of a house. He barely touched the knob of the door when it opened, but one step inside quickly brought him back out. "Uh… you might not want to go in there just yet."

Kaname dreaded what was inside. "Don't tell me there're rats… or spiders… or a wild animal?"

Michiru shook his head. "Spiders possibly… maybe rats… but no wild animals that I can see… I suspect it hasn't been cleaned since the last tenant passed away. The mayor said this place has been vacant for seven years."

"Well, that explains everything… But it's still not big enough for two people to live in."

"That's because it's not," He said and rubbed the back of his neck. "The reason it also costs so much was because I bought two separate properties. One for you and one for me, plus there was a sale. Eventually we'll have to live on our own, and we're already seventeen, but in another year or more, prices will go. So, I saved us the trouble and purchased what I could afford ahead of time. It saves us a lot of money this way."

She mused. That made sense. "So… is this my place or your place?" She asked.

"Technically, it belongs to both of us. I added both our names to the title deed as shared property. I purchased this place by the sea, which is good for raising animals but not crops, since the soil isn't very fertile. Nothing that can't be fixed if I save up a bit more money. The other property available is actually on the outskirts of the village, toward the mountains. The land there is fertile but doesn't have a lot of space for animals at the moment. Could raise some chickens and pigs."

Kaname crossed her arms and surveyed her surroundings. "It's right next to the beach, and you like the sea… So, I guess you should take this place, Michiru."

He laughed. "But you haven't seen the other property. You want to check it out?"

She nodded. "Sure."

The area her brother had mentioned of their second plot of land was actually further from the village than Kaname would have liked. They followed the path left from the clinic and past Blue Sky Ranch, climbing the inclines of the mountain path to a decently sized piece of land. Thankfully, it was void of any giant boulders and nuisances such as fallen logs and weeds, but was also sadly lacking any trees. It was barren and somewhat remote from a cliff side overlooking the village.

Kaname examined the soil with the front of her boot and then to the small shack resting all by its lonesome against the mountain wall. Well, it saved her the trouble of having noisy neighbors, but also left her isolated and farther away from her brother whose house was nothing but a speck in the distance, beyond the rivers and trees.

There were no fences separating the plot from the path which also extended further up the mountain, but ignoring that, she stepped into the small space of her hut and immediately covered her nose. Oh, the smell was dreadful! There was not only trash littered all over the floor, but dust and cobwebs filled every inch of this place. It was probably the same thing Michiru had seen back at the sea.

"So, what are you thoughts? You still want to live all the way out here? I don't think I'd rest easy knowing you were living outside the village…"

Regardless, it was better than that awful property she saw earlier on. "Yeah. It should be fine. I don't mind living here. Plus, it gives me a reason to explore the mountain further up," She said, somewhat excitedly. "But I'm not sleeping inside this place until it's completely cleaned up and has a proper lock on the door."

Now that brought a smile to his face. "That's good to hear! I wouldn't worry too much about animals just yet, Kaname," He said before slipping his backpack off his shoulders and rummaging through it. After retrieving a few packets, he handed them to her. "Since it's mid-summer now, try to harvest what you can for the time being, and hopefully by the beginning of Fall, we can plant a bit more before winter."

Curious, she examined the drawings on the white packets. "Let's see… there's onion and tomato seeds… and a random pack of unlisted seeds," She said, squinting her eyes at the tiny numbers written at the bottom of the packets. "Whoa! Twenty seeds in each? How much did this cost you?"

"Free!"

"No way!"

"I'm serious. It was a welcome gift from a nice girl named Nina I met earlier. She was kind enough to give me some as well!" He said, his cheeks slightly reddening. "The people here sure are nice!"

Kaname rolled her eyes. "I bet you sweet-talked her into giving you some. Let me guess… she was pretty, huh?"

His blush darkened. "Well… sort of," He said, somewhat stuttering before clearing his throat. "Anyway, we're losing daylight just standing here. Before nightfall, we should probably clean our places up, don't you think? If you need help, I don't mind giving you a hand."

But before he could mosey his way into her little shack, she held up a hand. "No thanks. I can handle it from here. After all, I'm a big girl now, Michiru. Besides, your property needs all the help it can get!" She said, smiling from ear to ear.

He made a face at her. "I'm suspecting you chose this place on purpose," He said, teasing her while ruffling her hair. "Alright then. There're some buckets next to that well there. Probably wouldn't hurt to clear everything out of the house and scrub the place from top to bottom. Around six tonight, let's head over to the Moonlight Café and grab us a bite to eat. How does that sound? Duke said he'd give us a free meal."

Moonlight Café? It didn't sound familiar, but she nodded anyway. "Sure. Geez, did you meet the whole town while I was asleep?"

He laughed. "Not everyone, but don't worry. You'll probably meet most, if not all, the locals tonight. If you need me, I'll be all the way over there by my lonesome."

"Okay. Good luck cleaning that place."