Takeru woke early the next morning and as he began his new morning ritual
of fetching the kerosene stove and fixing his modest breakfast, wondered at
the sudden absence of birds outside. What puzzled him more was the fact
that Pata had wormed his way into the shack via a small hole at the east
end of the building. Bending down, Takeru picked the small ball of fluff up
and gently stroked the shivering dog's fur. He noticed the slight dampness
immediately and deducted that a rainstorm must have come on during the
night. "Gomen Pata-chan.... I forgot to look at the weather report and see
if it was going to rain," he told the small animal as he placed it onto the
small rug covering the floor.
As he moved around the building, preparing for the days chores ahead, Takeru took stock of his few belongings, searching for either a nice hat or an umbrella to keep him at least marginally dry. He finally found an old worn umbrella that he had forgotten he had packed and hefted its small weight onto his shoulder. He walked outside, facing the slightly bad weather bravely, in an attempt to gain a day on the ongoing struggle against the weeds and rocks that continued to infest his farm. He scanned the area closely, looking for anything that might be wrong after the storm. As he searched, he noticed that several of his plants had already grown to fruition. Christ! I only planted those a few days ago... They're already done? Well, I guess I should harvest the turnips now then, He thought with a sigh as he moved the umbrella from over head and decided to rely on his white hat to keep the rain from water logging him.
Takeru moved from field to field, picking the large vegetables quickly, and stuffing them three at a time into his pack. Good Lord I need something better then this pack! I can only do one field at a time, and even at that only about a third of the field at a time. He moved in silence as he concentrated on getting all of the mature vegetables he could. Finally after what seemed like his thirtieth trip, Takeru had managed to carry every turnip to the collection bin, and had arranged them so that the bin would close. "Now I only have to wait till pick up at five tonight before getting my money," Takeru said to the ever present non-existent person he seemed to converse with regularly.
The day stretched out before Takeru as he realized he could not do much work in these conditions without making himself deathly ill, and he also could not do any reclamation today. He sighed bitterly as he moved away from his farm and towards the mountains. As he reached the now familiar pond under the waterfall, he noticed Sora's absence. "Guess she took today off too..." He moved over to the pool and watched the water ripple as the raindrops splashed futilely into the pool. Takeru shook his head gently as he racked his brain for an idea as to what to do with himself today. As he turned around, a flash of blue once again caught Takeru's attention. What... do you mean they've already grown back, His mind wondered as he fell to his knees and scooped the small plant into his hands. While remarkably smaller then the day before, this plant too was already at it's full fruition, and Takeru took a few moments to marvel at the fact that the plant could grow so quickly before stashing it into his pack.
After wandering around for a few more moments, Takeru came upon a small batch of bamboo growing alongside the hot springs. He wondered if he would be able to collect some of the hard vegetable as he took out his ever- present knife. He realized that the roots at the top most section where much more flexible /cutable as his knife easily cut through the substance. He marveled at its sturdiness while stuffing this too into his pack. I should check that other medicine grass plant... maybe it's grown too, He thought as he began to make his way towards it. Then he realized that he no longer had any room for anything inside his pack, and not wanting to risk damaging the plant further through excess manipulation, Takeru turned towards home, vowing to return for more of the plant.
---------(Several soggy days later)---------
Takeru marveled at the steady rain that continued to dot the land. Over the past week he had managed to gain a few more packets of seed from the turnips he had harvest, and now he looked out over the few rows of plants scattered around his farm. Three cabbage patches, four patches of turnips, and three groups of cucumbers.... at least that should last me for the next few weeks. Especially since the turnips will be ripe in only a few more days. He sighed softly as he watched the farm fill with water. The stream nearby had already begun to overflow, and some of the animals form the mountains had evacuated to higher ground. He slogged his way back over to his home.
He sighed as he began to move away from his rain-drenched farm, and slowly made his way through the streets of the small village. He watched as the several residents bustled about, trying to avoid as much of the rain as they could. He watched as Daisuke ran along the pavement, scrambling towards the local church. He decided he might as well see what the "odd" Pastor was really like and so, he followed Daisuke into the large building. He shivered softly as the rain slowly dripped off of his body and pooled onto the floor below him.
Takeru scanned the large hall, and immediately noticed that the only people there where a man with a black shirt, obviously the pastor, And Daisuke himself. Takeru slowly made his way along the rows of pews until he reached Dai's side. After getting the young man's attention, Takeru slid into the pew next to him. "Umm, Hi. My name's Takeru. I heard from Doug and Sora that you're Daisuke, the boy that has the permanent room at their inn. I just kind of wanted to introduce myself." "H-Hello Takeru-san... I don't really know why you are even talking to me.... I am kind of a screw up.... ever since I came here I have been coming to this church, and trying to find something that makes my life worthwhile... yet I can never seem to find anything... plus there's my family... but I don't really want to talk about it."
Takeru only stared at the young teen next to him and tried to figure out why he would say such self damming things about himself when he was clearly too young to have real regrets about life. Takeru shook his head while leaning back against the pew's cushioned back. "Well... I don't really know what I want to do either Dai... I think I might like to stay here but... then again all of my family lives elsewhere," Takeru noticed that Dai flinched softly when he mentioned his own family and mentally tucked a small note to investigate further into his brain. "I just think that maybe we both need some more time to figure out what exactly is going on in our lives," With this Takeru slowly stood and offered Dai his hand. "Come on Daisuke... why don't we go to Doug's and I'll buy you a nice hot lunch? " With a quick nod from Dai the two men left the church.
---------(Three days later)---------
Takeru looked out at his field. He nodded slowly as he crossed the entire field, looking over each nearly-ripe plant, and taking stock of which plants he intended to send to his new friends, and which ones he intended to ship out. At the same time, he wandered over to a special row of turnips he was growing explicitly for the Mayor who had stopped by the previous day to ask him to grow them. He smiled as he noticed that three of the turnips seemed to be doing extremely well. As he continued to wander the farm, Takeru failed to notice a stealthy figure enter his farm, and sneak slowly towards his mailbox. The short figure withdrew a package from under its clothing and stuffed the rather large package into the mailbox before dashing away.
Almost as soon as the first figure left, a considerably taller figure snuck out of the woods and delivered another package. Turning, this figure sneaked away, but not before tripping over his own feet and falling with a thud onto the ground. The noise drew Takeru's attention, and he looked over to the now filled mailbox. Shrugging, Takeru made his way slowly over to the box and removed both packages.
He hefted the larger one first, looking at the small tag attached. It was tied to the package with intricate care, and on it was a small flowing script. "Happy Valentines day Takeru-kun... I thought I would send this in appreciation for all of the samples you have dropped off in the last few months. Also... I kind of just wanted to thank you for coming by so much. Most of the people here ignore my father's library so you are really my only companion throughout the day. Thanks again... Iori" Takeru shook his head gently as he opened the package to reveal several freshly baked cookies within. His face grew a slight crimson as he remembered what the TV news announcer had said about this being the traditional day of proving love by giving people one liked cookies. He pushed the thought away quickly however as he fought down the blush that had crept into his cheeks.
The second package was less beautiful, yet none the less equally large. He hefted the heavy object carefully and read the tag attached. It bore only the name of the sender, and read in simple block letters, "Motimiya Daisuke". Once again, Takeru found himself forcing down a sharp blush as he found another batch of cookies inside the brown wrapper. He quickly carried the sweets into his house and placed them onto his small table as he paced the room in wonder.
A/N: Couples have been started even though it's only spring..... And I am actually thinking of breaking the rules a lil' bit and making it an Iokerusuke. Tell me in a review if that sounds reasonable. Either way Takeru will continue to string them both along.
As he moved around the building, preparing for the days chores ahead, Takeru took stock of his few belongings, searching for either a nice hat or an umbrella to keep him at least marginally dry. He finally found an old worn umbrella that he had forgotten he had packed and hefted its small weight onto his shoulder. He walked outside, facing the slightly bad weather bravely, in an attempt to gain a day on the ongoing struggle against the weeds and rocks that continued to infest his farm. He scanned the area closely, looking for anything that might be wrong after the storm. As he searched, he noticed that several of his plants had already grown to fruition. Christ! I only planted those a few days ago... They're already done? Well, I guess I should harvest the turnips now then, He thought with a sigh as he moved the umbrella from over head and decided to rely on his white hat to keep the rain from water logging him.
Takeru moved from field to field, picking the large vegetables quickly, and stuffing them three at a time into his pack. Good Lord I need something better then this pack! I can only do one field at a time, and even at that only about a third of the field at a time. He moved in silence as he concentrated on getting all of the mature vegetables he could. Finally after what seemed like his thirtieth trip, Takeru had managed to carry every turnip to the collection bin, and had arranged them so that the bin would close. "Now I only have to wait till pick up at five tonight before getting my money," Takeru said to the ever present non-existent person he seemed to converse with regularly.
The day stretched out before Takeru as he realized he could not do much work in these conditions without making himself deathly ill, and he also could not do any reclamation today. He sighed bitterly as he moved away from his farm and towards the mountains. As he reached the now familiar pond under the waterfall, he noticed Sora's absence. "Guess she took today off too..." He moved over to the pool and watched the water ripple as the raindrops splashed futilely into the pool. Takeru shook his head gently as he racked his brain for an idea as to what to do with himself today. As he turned around, a flash of blue once again caught Takeru's attention. What... do you mean they've already grown back, His mind wondered as he fell to his knees and scooped the small plant into his hands. While remarkably smaller then the day before, this plant too was already at it's full fruition, and Takeru took a few moments to marvel at the fact that the plant could grow so quickly before stashing it into his pack.
After wandering around for a few more moments, Takeru came upon a small batch of bamboo growing alongside the hot springs. He wondered if he would be able to collect some of the hard vegetable as he took out his ever- present knife. He realized that the roots at the top most section where much more flexible /cutable as his knife easily cut through the substance. He marveled at its sturdiness while stuffing this too into his pack. I should check that other medicine grass plant... maybe it's grown too, He thought as he began to make his way towards it. Then he realized that he no longer had any room for anything inside his pack, and not wanting to risk damaging the plant further through excess manipulation, Takeru turned towards home, vowing to return for more of the plant.
---------(Several soggy days later)---------
Takeru marveled at the steady rain that continued to dot the land. Over the past week he had managed to gain a few more packets of seed from the turnips he had harvest, and now he looked out over the few rows of plants scattered around his farm. Three cabbage patches, four patches of turnips, and three groups of cucumbers.... at least that should last me for the next few weeks. Especially since the turnips will be ripe in only a few more days. He sighed softly as he watched the farm fill with water. The stream nearby had already begun to overflow, and some of the animals form the mountains had evacuated to higher ground. He slogged his way back over to his home.
He sighed as he began to move away from his rain-drenched farm, and slowly made his way through the streets of the small village. He watched as the several residents bustled about, trying to avoid as much of the rain as they could. He watched as Daisuke ran along the pavement, scrambling towards the local church. He decided he might as well see what the "odd" Pastor was really like and so, he followed Daisuke into the large building. He shivered softly as the rain slowly dripped off of his body and pooled onto the floor below him.
Takeru scanned the large hall, and immediately noticed that the only people there where a man with a black shirt, obviously the pastor, And Daisuke himself. Takeru slowly made his way along the rows of pews until he reached Dai's side. After getting the young man's attention, Takeru slid into the pew next to him. "Umm, Hi. My name's Takeru. I heard from Doug and Sora that you're Daisuke, the boy that has the permanent room at their inn. I just kind of wanted to introduce myself." "H-Hello Takeru-san... I don't really know why you are even talking to me.... I am kind of a screw up.... ever since I came here I have been coming to this church, and trying to find something that makes my life worthwhile... yet I can never seem to find anything... plus there's my family... but I don't really want to talk about it."
Takeru only stared at the young teen next to him and tried to figure out why he would say such self damming things about himself when he was clearly too young to have real regrets about life. Takeru shook his head while leaning back against the pew's cushioned back. "Well... I don't really know what I want to do either Dai... I think I might like to stay here but... then again all of my family lives elsewhere," Takeru noticed that Dai flinched softly when he mentioned his own family and mentally tucked a small note to investigate further into his brain. "I just think that maybe we both need some more time to figure out what exactly is going on in our lives," With this Takeru slowly stood and offered Dai his hand. "Come on Daisuke... why don't we go to Doug's and I'll buy you a nice hot lunch? " With a quick nod from Dai the two men left the church.
---------(Three days later)---------
Takeru looked out at his field. He nodded slowly as he crossed the entire field, looking over each nearly-ripe plant, and taking stock of which plants he intended to send to his new friends, and which ones he intended to ship out. At the same time, he wandered over to a special row of turnips he was growing explicitly for the Mayor who had stopped by the previous day to ask him to grow them. He smiled as he noticed that three of the turnips seemed to be doing extremely well. As he continued to wander the farm, Takeru failed to notice a stealthy figure enter his farm, and sneak slowly towards his mailbox. The short figure withdrew a package from under its clothing and stuffed the rather large package into the mailbox before dashing away.
Almost as soon as the first figure left, a considerably taller figure snuck out of the woods and delivered another package. Turning, this figure sneaked away, but not before tripping over his own feet and falling with a thud onto the ground. The noise drew Takeru's attention, and he looked over to the now filled mailbox. Shrugging, Takeru made his way slowly over to the box and removed both packages.
He hefted the larger one first, looking at the small tag attached. It was tied to the package with intricate care, and on it was a small flowing script. "Happy Valentines day Takeru-kun... I thought I would send this in appreciation for all of the samples you have dropped off in the last few months. Also... I kind of just wanted to thank you for coming by so much. Most of the people here ignore my father's library so you are really my only companion throughout the day. Thanks again... Iori" Takeru shook his head gently as he opened the package to reveal several freshly baked cookies within. His face grew a slight crimson as he remembered what the TV news announcer had said about this being the traditional day of proving love by giving people one liked cookies. He pushed the thought away quickly however as he fought down the blush that had crept into his cheeks.
The second package was less beautiful, yet none the less equally large. He hefted the heavy object carefully and read the tag attached. It bore only the name of the sender, and read in simple block letters, "Motimiya Daisuke". Once again, Takeru found himself forcing down a sharp blush as he found another batch of cookies inside the brown wrapper. He quickly carried the sweets into his house and placed them onto his small table as he paced the room in wonder.
A/N: Couples have been started even though it's only spring..... And I am actually thinking of breaking the rules a lil' bit and making it an Iokerusuke. Tell me in a review if that sounds reasonable. Either way Takeru will continue to string them both along.