It had been over five years since he had last been here. Back then, the
fields had been filled with rolling wheat and soft grasses for the cattle.
The orchard near the farm had stretched beyond his line of sight, and the
townsfolk had been happy and content. Now he stared at the dilapidation
that had over taken the once successful land. The fields that had once held
large ripe tomatoes and countless ears of corn now lay fallow as rocks and
weeds dotted the surface. He sighed softly as he remembered the first time
he had arrived on this farm. How he had played with the various animals.
How a flock of chickens had nearly pecked him to death after he had
harassed one too much. He remembered playing with the local children, and
how he had formed deep bonds with several of them. He also remembered the
fresh pain of hearing about his O-Jii-san's death, and his odd request that
his youngest grandson should come to the old farm and rebuild it. The old
man standing next to him continued to babble on about how he would only
have three years here to rebuild the farm then as he waved goodbye, he was
left alone with his new life.
Takeru Takashi stood beside the small shack like structure he would soon call his home, hefting a small pack on his back carrying the few things he had decided to take with him. He scanned the crumbling barn and chicken coop, cocking his ears trying to find any sign of animal life. As he listened, he heard a soft barking, and watched as a small dog ran forward, leaping into the young boys arms. It had a strange orange and white coloration to its fur, and seemed to immediately take to Takeru. "Pata- chan," The young boy murmured as he realized that this small furry bundle was the same puppy he had played with so long ago. He chuckled softly as he received a loving lick on his cheek.
Takeru placed Pata onto the ground as he slowly moved over to the abandoned "house" that stood near him. Once he entered he relived it was much larger then it looked, as it had room for a television, cabinet for tools, and a small bed and table. This is more then I expected at least, Takeru thought as he tossed his small bag onto the bed and took out the workbag that hung on a nearby peg. He found it had six pockets, three on each side, and three specially lined so as not to crush produce. He smiled at the ingenuity of the design. He sighed softly as he began to walk around the room looking into every nook and cranny. He was actually surprised to find a small wallet filled with 5,000 yen under one of the many stacks of boxes in the corner of the small hut. Well, at least now I can afford some basic seeds.
Takeru finally decided he had had enough random searching, and instead walked over to the small tool chest. Inside he found five basic pieces of equipment. A watering can, a hoe, an axe, a hammer, and a small scythe. Each piece of equipment looked almost new as they lay glittering in the small pile. Takeru quickly sifted through and picked out the hoe, axe, and hammer, preparing to head out side and refurbish the fields.
---------(Two long hours later)---------
Takeru finally managed to clear out enough space for about three small fields for planting. He hefted the small hoe against his shoulder as he surveyed the now cleared land. He felt a small amount of satisfaction as he noticed how well he had managed to clean the area. He sighed softly as he heard a loud voice calling to him from his front gate. He already recognized the mayor's slightly nasal voice as it rung out across his field. Takeru ran quickly over to the smaller old man. "Ohiyo Takeru-chan! I was wondering if you'd like to take a small tour around the city with me? I usually make the rounds around the city every mourning, and this will allow you to pick up some seed from the market if you haven't already," The elder man exclaimed with a proud smile. He must take a lot of pride in his work, Takeru thought as he simply nodded his affirmation to the old man. The mayor clapped his hands happily before begging to walk off down the rough dirt path that lead away from Takeru's new farm.
They wandered a few feet down the path before branching off to a path running down to their left. Takeru looked to the side, watching as a small chicken farm came in view. He whistled softly as he counted the nearly twenty chickens sitting in a coop near the entrance to the farm. The mayor turned to him quickly. "This is our local poultry farm. In here you'll find everything you need to start raising your own chickens.... although I don't recommend it till you have enough feed to go at least ten days without having to restock. Inside you'll find three people who came together when the farm was threatened by closing. The two children in the house are about two years older then you. Their names are Koushirou, who manages the poultry farm almost exclusively, and Mimi, who is the daughter of the former owner who left to find medicine for Mimi's ailing O-Kaa-san."
The mayor then continued down the small pathway towards another larger farm. Takeru watched as the many cows and sheep continued to graze on the light smattering of grass in the surrounding field. He also noticed the odd pig moving amongst the larger animals. He watched as one of the pigs darted away from a particularly agitated cow. "This is where you should go to find any livestock you need. They sell everything from cows to pigs, and even the equipment you need to take care of them. If you ever have major problems visit this farm as the elder owner knew you're O-Jii-san very well, " With this, the mayor motioned for Takeru to follow him again, and they turned around and headed back up the way they had come.
As Takeru walked the dusty patch he witnessed a strange fight, it seemed like the two people working at the poultry farm where in a small domestic dispute, as the shorter boy was nearly screaming at the tall girl. He could only pick out a few words as the two teens fought furiously over something. Takeru managed to gleam that the fight was over a recently deceased chicken, and that the taller girl, Mimi had left the chicken coup open allowing a stray dog to enter and kill "pon" the chicken. Takeru shivered gently, as he watched Mimi run off in tears.
Finally, Takeru and the elder mayor made it too there next destination. The mayor gestured wildly as he motioned to the two buildings in front of them. "This building on the left is the smithy. It's manned by an old man named Sabrai, and a younger boy named Yamato. The two came into contact a few years ago when Yamato's father believed he had become too soft, so he sent him to his old friend Sabrai. The two should come in handy during you're attempts at raising the farm back to its former glory. Next door we have the winery. They usually only operate in the afternoon, and usually they don't sell to children, but in this village, we don't really mind if you guys get drunk.... so long as you continue to follow the law. The two people here lost their daughter recently when she eloped with an older man and moved away from home. They tend to come to the festivals still, even though it dredges up harsh memories of the past. The elder man tends to become drunk by midday in his grief so I would watch out for him. However his wife Manna is very kind. They tend to seek help in the fall so if you could lend a hand... I am sure they would appreciate it."
As they continued onwards, they neared a strange double building with a sign reading "toshoukan" on it (Translation: library). As they approached the building, a small brown haired green eyed youth came running out of the building on the right, and ran towards the second building. In his rush, he failed to notice the two men walking along, and accidentally plowed into Takeru and the mayor. The small boy gave a slight yelp of surprise as he fell head first towards the small cobbled road. Takeru moved in a blur and captured the small boy before he hurt himself on the stone pathway.
"Well... Iori.... late to work again?" The mayor chuckled as he helped the now shaking boy up onto his feet. Takeru looked at the younger boy for a few moments before helping the two males get dusted off. Takeru instantly began to notice the younger boy's graced actions. It seemed to Takeru that the smaller boy must have been raised in a very high-class family. His ideas where however dashed, as a tall gruff looking man appeared outside the front door of Iori's home. "Musuko-chan! Watch where you're going!" "Gomen Tou-san!" The younger boy yelled back as he righted himself and dusted his tan pants off. He bowed to both men, and then rushed forward into the library. Just as he was closing the door, the mayor yelled out, "Iori-chan! I'd like you to meet Takeru Takashi! " The smaller boy nodded quickly, before shouting a polite hello, and slamming the door to the library behind him. Takeru chuckled softly as he thought about the odd boy.
They wandered past the next house, stopping briefly to say hello to an elderly woman sitting out on the stoop, watching a small boy named Stu play with the spring insects. As they passed the next house, Takeru watched as a tall brown haired man in a police outfit came bursting out the door. The mayor waved the man over and Takeru was soon standing before the local police force.... all one of it. "Takeru-chan, I'd like you to met Taichi, our loyal police force here. He inherited the duty from my son Harris before he moved away." "Good to meet you Takeru-chan.... We should get along fine, just as long as you don't break any laws, " The smiling man said before bowing sharply and continuing on with his "patrol". Takeru watched Taichi leave as he wondered as to why the small town would even need a police officer since everyone knew each other quite well. As he thought this, another man exited the building, and walked over to where Takeru and the mayor where still standing. "Takeru-chan, I'd like you to met Kano, he came here a few months ago to study the "artistic value" of livestock." The strange man merely bowed sharply before walking off towards a tall building in the distance.
The next two buildings they passed where the market and the clinic. As they passed by the market, Takeru asked the mayor if they could go inside for a few moments. After getting the mayors approval, Takeru pushed the small door open. The market was filled with the familiar smell of produce and seeds and seemed to radiate a friendly atmosphere. As Takeru began to pass by the many bags of seeds out for display, a young brown haired girl exited the small side door and approached him. The mayor bowed shortly and then turned to regard Takeru. "This is Hikari, she helps her father run this store, and is actually Taichi's O-Mouto-chan.. although they haven't really spoken much since Tai decided to take over Harris's job." The young girl bowed quickly, then flashed Takeru what would be most accurately called a sharks smile (term for the smile used by a car dealer, or other evil malicious salespeople { I used to sell knives door to door so I do know that is part of the training}). "It's a pleasure to meet you Takeru-kun.... and what can I get you this morning?"
Takeru only smiled back in return as he paced the shelves, investigating each of the bags of seed and picking out four large sized sacks. "I'll take these please... and also, if you had any kind of packaged food for meals, I'd like one of those too." The young girl merely nodded as she took the four bags up to the store's front counter and weighed each one. She made a quick scribble down on a notepad beside her, then went into the back room, returning with a rather large sack marked "perishable". She set the package down and then wrapped it along with the seeds up into a small bundle. She handed this to Takeru then handed him a small paper bill. " otal comes to 4,500 yen please," Hikari said sweetly as she held her hand out expectantly. Takeru reluctantly fished out the wallet he had found, and handed over the money to the still smiling girl. After receiving his change, Takeru turned to leave. "Oh yes," Hikari suddenly exclaimed as she rushed past him and went to a shelve near the entrance.
Hikari returned to Takeru's side a few moments later holding a small device. "This is you're mapping unit, it will draw a map of the entire area when you press this button. It also allows you to see a birds eye view of you're entire ranch! Just press these two buttons together and the map will display a map showing you what areas you have cleared from the farm, and what you have planted as well. "Takeru sighed gently as he reached into his pocket and retrieved the small wallet again. "How much?" He asked in a melancholy tone. "Oh! Don't worry, they're free. Our store gives them to any newcomer as a kind of welcoming gift, " Hikari said as she proceeded to strap the strange device onto Takeru's arm.
With a wave to the still smiling Hikari, the two men continued on their way, stopping in front of the clinic. "This here is the clinic. It's run by a pair of medical students, one named Jyou, and the other named Miyako. If you ever get sick you should visit here just in case, "With this, the mayor continued down the path, towards a small church. "This is Pastor Carter's church. The pastor is a nice man... if not a little bit odd."
As the sun began to cross the sky, fitting into the noon position, the mayor finally led Takeru to their last destination. "This is Doug's place, our local inn slash bar slash restaurant. It's run by Doug, and his daughter Sora. She's a bit of a tomboy but she's very kind, and would be willing to help anyone in need. So... that's our village. I will leave you to your work now as I am sure you are anxious to get to it," With this, the mayor waved goodbye as Takeru turned towards his home.
---------( Three hours of back breaking work later)--------
Takeru watered the last batch of seeds carefully as he watched the sun begin its downward slide towards the beach nearby. He smiled as he thought about everything he had managed to accomplish on only his first day of farm life. He had successfully cleared a large patch of land, and then he had managed to meet half the townsfolk of his new village. He had also managed to get enough food to last him a few weeks, along with enough seed to plant in his newly cleared land. Takeru sighed happily as he trekked his way into his new home. He switched on the TV for a moment, and after checking to make sure the weather would be clear tomorrow, Takeru slowly crawled into bed. "I'm never going to get used to this much work," Takeru muttered as his exhausted body slowly drifted off.
A/N: Okay... the reason I decided to write this was because I have loved the harvest moon series since I was little, and I felt it was odd that I had never seen any fan fiction about it. I decided to rectify that. Also, here for your ease of use, is a list of the replaced characters.
Hm-DM crossover char list.
Mary (librarian's daughter)= Iori
Gray/sabrai's grandson= Yamato
Rick= Koushirou
Popuri (daughter of the chicken farmer)= Mimi
Anne (inn keepers daughter)=Sora
Elle (clinic girl)=Miyako
Karen=Hikari
Won= Ken
Cliff=Daisuke
Kai=Willis
Harris=Tai
Doctor=Jyou.
Also please note that Ken won't appear till chapter two since Won appears in the second day.
Yoshiki.
Takeru Takashi stood beside the small shack like structure he would soon call his home, hefting a small pack on his back carrying the few things he had decided to take with him. He scanned the crumbling barn and chicken coop, cocking his ears trying to find any sign of animal life. As he listened, he heard a soft barking, and watched as a small dog ran forward, leaping into the young boys arms. It had a strange orange and white coloration to its fur, and seemed to immediately take to Takeru. "Pata- chan," The young boy murmured as he realized that this small furry bundle was the same puppy he had played with so long ago. He chuckled softly as he received a loving lick on his cheek.
Takeru placed Pata onto the ground as he slowly moved over to the abandoned "house" that stood near him. Once he entered he relived it was much larger then it looked, as it had room for a television, cabinet for tools, and a small bed and table. This is more then I expected at least, Takeru thought as he tossed his small bag onto the bed and took out the workbag that hung on a nearby peg. He found it had six pockets, three on each side, and three specially lined so as not to crush produce. He smiled at the ingenuity of the design. He sighed softly as he began to walk around the room looking into every nook and cranny. He was actually surprised to find a small wallet filled with 5,000 yen under one of the many stacks of boxes in the corner of the small hut. Well, at least now I can afford some basic seeds.
Takeru finally decided he had had enough random searching, and instead walked over to the small tool chest. Inside he found five basic pieces of equipment. A watering can, a hoe, an axe, a hammer, and a small scythe. Each piece of equipment looked almost new as they lay glittering in the small pile. Takeru quickly sifted through and picked out the hoe, axe, and hammer, preparing to head out side and refurbish the fields.
---------(Two long hours later)---------
Takeru finally managed to clear out enough space for about three small fields for planting. He hefted the small hoe against his shoulder as he surveyed the now cleared land. He felt a small amount of satisfaction as he noticed how well he had managed to clean the area. He sighed softly as he heard a loud voice calling to him from his front gate. He already recognized the mayor's slightly nasal voice as it rung out across his field. Takeru ran quickly over to the smaller old man. "Ohiyo Takeru-chan! I was wondering if you'd like to take a small tour around the city with me? I usually make the rounds around the city every mourning, and this will allow you to pick up some seed from the market if you haven't already," The elder man exclaimed with a proud smile. He must take a lot of pride in his work, Takeru thought as he simply nodded his affirmation to the old man. The mayor clapped his hands happily before begging to walk off down the rough dirt path that lead away from Takeru's new farm.
They wandered a few feet down the path before branching off to a path running down to their left. Takeru looked to the side, watching as a small chicken farm came in view. He whistled softly as he counted the nearly twenty chickens sitting in a coop near the entrance to the farm. The mayor turned to him quickly. "This is our local poultry farm. In here you'll find everything you need to start raising your own chickens.... although I don't recommend it till you have enough feed to go at least ten days without having to restock. Inside you'll find three people who came together when the farm was threatened by closing. The two children in the house are about two years older then you. Their names are Koushirou, who manages the poultry farm almost exclusively, and Mimi, who is the daughter of the former owner who left to find medicine for Mimi's ailing O-Kaa-san."
The mayor then continued down the small pathway towards another larger farm. Takeru watched as the many cows and sheep continued to graze on the light smattering of grass in the surrounding field. He also noticed the odd pig moving amongst the larger animals. He watched as one of the pigs darted away from a particularly agitated cow. "This is where you should go to find any livestock you need. They sell everything from cows to pigs, and even the equipment you need to take care of them. If you ever have major problems visit this farm as the elder owner knew you're O-Jii-san very well, " With this, the mayor motioned for Takeru to follow him again, and they turned around and headed back up the way they had come.
As Takeru walked the dusty patch he witnessed a strange fight, it seemed like the two people working at the poultry farm where in a small domestic dispute, as the shorter boy was nearly screaming at the tall girl. He could only pick out a few words as the two teens fought furiously over something. Takeru managed to gleam that the fight was over a recently deceased chicken, and that the taller girl, Mimi had left the chicken coup open allowing a stray dog to enter and kill "pon" the chicken. Takeru shivered gently, as he watched Mimi run off in tears.
Finally, Takeru and the elder mayor made it too there next destination. The mayor gestured wildly as he motioned to the two buildings in front of them. "This building on the left is the smithy. It's manned by an old man named Sabrai, and a younger boy named Yamato. The two came into contact a few years ago when Yamato's father believed he had become too soft, so he sent him to his old friend Sabrai. The two should come in handy during you're attempts at raising the farm back to its former glory. Next door we have the winery. They usually only operate in the afternoon, and usually they don't sell to children, but in this village, we don't really mind if you guys get drunk.... so long as you continue to follow the law. The two people here lost their daughter recently when she eloped with an older man and moved away from home. They tend to come to the festivals still, even though it dredges up harsh memories of the past. The elder man tends to become drunk by midday in his grief so I would watch out for him. However his wife Manna is very kind. They tend to seek help in the fall so if you could lend a hand... I am sure they would appreciate it."
As they continued onwards, they neared a strange double building with a sign reading "toshoukan" on it (Translation: library). As they approached the building, a small brown haired green eyed youth came running out of the building on the right, and ran towards the second building. In his rush, he failed to notice the two men walking along, and accidentally plowed into Takeru and the mayor. The small boy gave a slight yelp of surprise as he fell head first towards the small cobbled road. Takeru moved in a blur and captured the small boy before he hurt himself on the stone pathway.
"Well... Iori.... late to work again?" The mayor chuckled as he helped the now shaking boy up onto his feet. Takeru looked at the younger boy for a few moments before helping the two males get dusted off. Takeru instantly began to notice the younger boy's graced actions. It seemed to Takeru that the smaller boy must have been raised in a very high-class family. His ideas where however dashed, as a tall gruff looking man appeared outside the front door of Iori's home. "Musuko-chan! Watch where you're going!" "Gomen Tou-san!" The younger boy yelled back as he righted himself and dusted his tan pants off. He bowed to both men, and then rushed forward into the library. Just as he was closing the door, the mayor yelled out, "Iori-chan! I'd like you to meet Takeru Takashi! " The smaller boy nodded quickly, before shouting a polite hello, and slamming the door to the library behind him. Takeru chuckled softly as he thought about the odd boy.
They wandered past the next house, stopping briefly to say hello to an elderly woman sitting out on the stoop, watching a small boy named Stu play with the spring insects. As they passed the next house, Takeru watched as a tall brown haired man in a police outfit came bursting out the door. The mayor waved the man over and Takeru was soon standing before the local police force.... all one of it. "Takeru-chan, I'd like you to met Taichi, our loyal police force here. He inherited the duty from my son Harris before he moved away." "Good to meet you Takeru-chan.... We should get along fine, just as long as you don't break any laws, " The smiling man said before bowing sharply and continuing on with his "patrol". Takeru watched Taichi leave as he wondered as to why the small town would even need a police officer since everyone knew each other quite well. As he thought this, another man exited the building, and walked over to where Takeru and the mayor where still standing. "Takeru-chan, I'd like you to met Kano, he came here a few months ago to study the "artistic value" of livestock." The strange man merely bowed sharply before walking off towards a tall building in the distance.
The next two buildings they passed where the market and the clinic. As they passed by the market, Takeru asked the mayor if they could go inside for a few moments. After getting the mayors approval, Takeru pushed the small door open. The market was filled with the familiar smell of produce and seeds and seemed to radiate a friendly atmosphere. As Takeru began to pass by the many bags of seeds out for display, a young brown haired girl exited the small side door and approached him. The mayor bowed shortly and then turned to regard Takeru. "This is Hikari, she helps her father run this store, and is actually Taichi's O-Mouto-chan.. although they haven't really spoken much since Tai decided to take over Harris's job." The young girl bowed quickly, then flashed Takeru what would be most accurately called a sharks smile (term for the smile used by a car dealer, or other evil malicious salespeople { I used to sell knives door to door so I do know that is part of the training}). "It's a pleasure to meet you Takeru-kun.... and what can I get you this morning?"
Takeru only smiled back in return as he paced the shelves, investigating each of the bags of seed and picking out four large sized sacks. "I'll take these please... and also, if you had any kind of packaged food for meals, I'd like one of those too." The young girl merely nodded as she took the four bags up to the store's front counter and weighed each one. She made a quick scribble down on a notepad beside her, then went into the back room, returning with a rather large sack marked "perishable". She set the package down and then wrapped it along with the seeds up into a small bundle. She handed this to Takeru then handed him a small paper bill. " otal comes to 4,500 yen please," Hikari said sweetly as she held her hand out expectantly. Takeru reluctantly fished out the wallet he had found, and handed over the money to the still smiling girl. After receiving his change, Takeru turned to leave. "Oh yes," Hikari suddenly exclaimed as she rushed past him and went to a shelve near the entrance.
Hikari returned to Takeru's side a few moments later holding a small device. "This is you're mapping unit, it will draw a map of the entire area when you press this button. It also allows you to see a birds eye view of you're entire ranch! Just press these two buttons together and the map will display a map showing you what areas you have cleared from the farm, and what you have planted as well. "Takeru sighed gently as he reached into his pocket and retrieved the small wallet again. "How much?" He asked in a melancholy tone. "Oh! Don't worry, they're free. Our store gives them to any newcomer as a kind of welcoming gift, " Hikari said as she proceeded to strap the strange device onto Takeru's arm.
With a wave to the still smiling Hikari, the two men continued on their way, stopping in front of the clinic. "This here is the clinic. It's run by a pair of medical students, one named Jyou, and the other named Miyako. If you ever get sick you should visit here just in case, "With this, the mayor continued down the path, towards a small church. "This is Pastor Carter's church. The pastor is a nice man... if not a little bit odd."
As the sun began to cross the sky, fitting into the noon position, the mayor finally led Takeru to their last destination. "This is Doug's place, our local inn slash bar slash restaurant. It's run by Doug, and his daughter Sora. She's a bit of a tomboy but she's very kind, and would be willing to help anyone in need. So... that's our village. I will leave you to your work now as I am sure you are anxious to get to it," With this, the mayor waved goodbye as Takeru turned towards his home.
---------( Three hours of back breaking work later)--------
Takeru watered the last batch of seeds carefully as he watched the sun begin its downward slide towards the beach nearby. He smiled as he thought about everything he had managed to accomplish on only his first day of farm life. He had successfully cleared a large patch of land, and then he had managed to meet half the townsfolk of his new village. He had also managed to get enough food to last him a few weeks, along with enough seed to plant in his newly cleared land. Takeru sighed happily as he trekked his way into his new home. He switched on the TV for a moment, and after checking to make sure the weather would be clear tomorrow, Takeru slowly crawled into bed. "I'm never going to get used to this much work," Takeru muttered as his exhausted body slowly drifted off.
A/N: Okay... the reason I decided to write this was because I have loved the harvest moon series since I was little, and I felt it was odd that I had never seen any fan fiction about it. I decided to rectify that. Also, here for your ease of use, is a list of the replaced characters.
Hm-DM crossover char list.
Mary (librarian's daughter)= Iori
Gray/sabrai's grandson= Yamato
Rick= Koushirou
Popuri (daughter of the chicken farmer)= Mimi
Anne (inn keepers daughter)=Sora
Elle (clinic girl)=Miyako
Karen=Hikari
Won= Ken
Cliff=Daisuke
Kai=Willis
Harris=Tai
Doctor=Jyou.
Also please note that Ken won't appear till chapter two since Won appears in the second day.
Yoshiki.