Disclaimer: I do not own harvest moon or any of the characters related to the series. If I did, I would be rich. All characters are copyright to their respective companies. I DID, however, create the character of Mathew Cane. If you try to steal him, I will send a legion of spork-wielding chipmunks after you. All characters here are fictional, and are by no way substitute for real life. This fanfic contains no carbohydrates. And for the love of god, it's just MAKE BELIEVE!

Chapter 2: Partners

Matt looked up from his spot on the ground at the girl standing above him. She wasn't all that bad looking, he noted idly. Short brown hair hung just above her shoulders, a few strands ending just above her deep brown eyes. She was wearing a red scarf around her neck, blue jeans, and a brown vest over a plain white shirt. She was slim, but nothing like the walking skeletons Matt had seen back in the city; it was more of a fit sort of slim.

Snapping back to reality, Matt realized that he was getting soaked thoroughly by the rain. Snatching up the umbrella he had dropped when he had fallen, he stood up.

"Yes, my name is Takakaru." grumbled Tak, as he walked up to the girl with an outstretched hand. "I'm guessing that you're old Jake's granddaughter?"

"Sara." she stated, shaking Takakaru's hand. "Who's this?" she added, gesturing towards Matt.

"The name's Matt, future world heavyweight boxing champ!" exclaimed Matt, as he did a dramatic pose. Sara merely stared blankly at him.

"Don't tell me you're still thinking about that." grumbled Takakaru.

"Hey! You're the one who told me to come with you!" shot Matt, clearly irritated. "The way I figure it, I'll take a few years off for a break, build up my strength working on this farm of yours, and then make a huge comeback!"

"The hell you will." snorted Takakaru. "Apparently, you didn't learn anything from this last fight. Mr. Dream isn't the only boxer out there that can kick your ass, you know!"

"Um, excuse me?" asked Sara. "What is this about you working on my farm?!"

Matt stared at her for a second. Turning back to Takakaru, he stared incredulously.

"You didn't even ask her if it was alright?!" he shouted.

"I was trying to keep it as a surprise, you idiot!" shouted Takakaru.

"You could have at least told me that!"

"Well, if you hadn't spent all that time emptying your stomach over the side of the boat, I would have told you!"

"Will the two of you just shut the hell up?!" screamed Sara, clearly annoyed.

"Yeah, well he started it." muttered both Matt and Takakaru.

Matt had to hide the amused smirk on his face, as Sara muttered a string of profanity.

Sara woke up in a bad mood. To begin with, there was the fact that she had been talked into allowing Matt to stay.

"Listen, I know that you wanted to do this mainly by yourself, and I admire your determination for it, but we simply do not have time for it." mumbled Takakaru. "When your grandfather started out, he tried to do it all by himself. As it turned out, he ended up having to hire me to help out because he didn't have any time to himself."

She hated to admit it, but Takakaru had a point. She had visited her grandfather's farm quite a lot, and not once did she remember not seeing some form of hired help.

But Matt? The guy was an absolute fool, she was sure of it.

"Mornin'." muttered Matt, as he sat up from his spot on the ground. Sara glared at him.

That had been another factor to her bad mood this morning. They had found out last night that the guest house had just enough room to hold one bed and the supplies Takakaru had brought with him. In other words, there was only room for one person, leaving the other one to sleep in the main house on the floor.

And of course, she couldn't do that to poor old Takakaru.

She cursed inwardly as she remembered how loudly Matt had snored.

"Well now, don't you look peachy this morning." muttered Matt, staring sleepily at Sara.

"Has anyone ever told you that you sound like a bear when you snore?" she stated, clearly agitated.

"How the hell should I know? Your the only roommate I've ever had.." stated Matt.

"Gee... I wonder why?"

"Ah, shut up. Where's the bathroom?" muttered Matt.

Sara's face heated up, as she pointed to the bushes in the back.

"Oh, hell freaking no. You're joking, right?" he said, staring at her in shock.

"What?!" she said, turning a deeper shade of red. "If you have a better idea, I'm all ears!"

Matt muttered a string of profanity as he stepped out of the bushes.

"I can't believe that old guy lived here for so long without a bathroom!" he cursed, as he walked towards the main house. Hell, it couldn't even be called that. The entire thing consisted of one room with a bed, an old TV, and a small table. No bathroom, no privacy, hell there wasn't even a chair to sit on. Not to mention the fact that they had discovered that the roof had leaks last night.

Rubbing his back, Matt groaned. He was sore all over from sleeping on the wooden floor last night. It didn't help at all that he still had some bruises left from the match that were healing.

As Matt rounded the corner of the house, he caught his first glimpse of the fields.

"HOLY SHIT!!!" he yelled, as his jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly." Sara muttered bitterly, as she walked out from the house. "When I first saw it, I was heartbroken. My grandfather put a lot of work into this place, you know."

She sniffed, eyes looking watery.

"Ah, don't worry about it." said Matt, noticing the look in her eyes. "We'll get this place looking into shape in no time."

Sara simply nodded.

"You gotta put your back into it, Matt!" shouted Takakaru, as Matt slammed the hammer down on the boulder in front of him. A resounding crack echoed, followed immediately by a long string of profanity.

"Geez, do you think you can keep the language to a minimum?" scolded Sara, as she yanked yet another weed out of the ground. "The whole village can probably hear you, from the way you've been shouting."

"I'd like to see you try this!" retorted Matt, as he rubbed his arm.

"Fine." said Sara, snatching the hammer from him. Pulling it back, she swung it down on the boulder, breaking it to little pieces.

"How's that?" quipped Sara, standing proudly.

"My pride as a man has just been totally destroyed." muttered Matt, as he stared in shock. Sara laughed as Takakaru shook his head.

"It's because you keep swinging wildly." grumbled Takakaru, hitting Matt over the head.

"Well..." muttered Takakaru, as he surveyed the spot they were working on. "Not bad for the first day. If we keep this up, we'll be able to plant the first seeds in two or three days."

"I think I'm gonna die." muttered Matt, as he collapsed on the ground. "I never thought that this would be so hard!"

"What did you expect?" muttered Sara, collapsing next to him. "You kept working through the whole morning without taking a break."

"Well, I wanted to get it done with." rasped Matt, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Well, at least you turned out to be a good worker. Maybe you aren't that bad after all. thought Sara as she stared at him through the corner of her eye.

"What?" asked Matt, as he noticed her staring "Something on my face?"

"Err... nothing!" squeaked Sara as she turned away blushing slightly. "I'm going to get some water. You guys want any?" she said, standing up.

"PLEASE!" wheezed Matt.

"I'm fine." muttered Takakaru, shaking his head.

"Okay, I'll be right back." she said, disappearing into the house.

"Well, that should do it for today." muttered Takakaru. "Why don't you take a rest, Matt. I'm gonna go into town and talk with Mayor Thomas. I've got some catching up to do with him."

"Alright, see ya later, Tak." said Matt, finally catching his breath. Standing up, he stretched his arms and did some quick jabs into the air.

If I can keep this up, I'll definitely get stronger. Thought Matt as his dropped into his stance. Maybe then, I'll be able to stand a chance in the ring.

Sara looked out the window to see Matt practicing some fighting moves.

It's amazing that he has the energy to do that after all the work he did this morning. thought Sara as she filled up the glass. I think I'm starting to see why Takakaru brought him here.

Stepping outside, she offered him a glass, which he accepted gratefully. After taking a sip, she looked up to see him gulp the entire glass down in one go.

"A bit thirsty, eh?" she giggled.

"Damn right." grinned Matt, as he set the glass down on the porch. "Well, I guess we're done with work for the day. What do we do now?"

"Well," thought Sara out loud, "I could show you around the village. This is your first time here, right?"

"Sounds good to me" said Matt.

"Alright, then." said Sara, heading to the door. "I'm gonna go get changed first. You should do the same too, after I'm done. I don't think the villagers will approve of either of us looking like we rolled in the mud!" she commented.

The village was actually a little bit bigger than Matt was expecting, which surprised him. As Sara took him from building to building, he wondered how such a place could be so calm and peaceful. It was completely the opposite from the daily hustle and bustle of the city.

Even the people are different. thought Matt, as they went from building to building, greeting people.

There was the old medicine peddler, who's house smelled of some sort of incense as they had walked in. The house next door had an old lady, who was apparently a very skilled midwife. Next door to that was a library with a very shy girl in glasses, and the Mayor's place. Up the road a bit was the "shopping center", which consisted of a bakery, a flower and seed shop, and an artist's workshop.

"Geez, what's wrong with these people." muttered Matt as he noticed the Tavern sitting next to the church. Sara giggled.

Then there was the strange building next to the artist's shop.

"This is Rick's shop." said Sara, as they passed by it. "He's an inventor. His place isn't open that often because of his work, but when it is, he usually has some useful stuff."

"What's that?" asked Matt, pointing towards the big building at the end of the stairs near the tavern.

"That's the village square." commented Sara. "That's where all the festivals take place in the village."

"Festivals?" asked Matt, giving her a questioning look.

"Yeah. They actually have quite a few around here. During the springtime, they have the Sowing Festival, the Goddess Festival, and the Horse Racing Competition. They also have more festivals during the other seasons, but I'm sure you'll find out more about those as they come."

"What's you're favorite one?" asked Matt, with a smirk on his face.

"I'd have to say it's the fireworks festival." said Sara, blushing slightly. "It's put on by some twins who live out in the neighboring town in the valley. They make all the fireworks themselves. It's probably the most impressive display I've ever seen!"

"There are other towns on this island?" Matt asked curiously.

"Yeah. There's Mineral Village, which sits on the coast north of us. There's also Forget-Me-Not Valley, which is near the center of the island next to the lake. There's also another village in the forest, but from what I've heard, they're in danger of losing their town to some developers who want to build an amusement park."

"That sucks." muttered Matt, as he shook his head.

"There's also another problem that we have to worry about." said Sara, looking a little concerned.

"What's that?"

"Each of those villages has a farm. Those farms have all been competing with each other since before my grandfather started his farm, which means..."

"We've got to deal with the competition." finished Matt. "In other words, they could drive us out of business if we take too long, right?"

"Exactly." said Sara, looking a little uncomfortable at the thought. "It's a friendly rivalry, of course. I hear that the other owners are nice people around our age, but it's still a rivalry none the less."

After that, Sara finished the rest of the tour. As the two of them headed back, Matt noticed a trail to the left.

"What's that way?" he asked, pointing at the trail.

"There's a vineyard down that way, as well as the mountain trail. The woodcutter's live over there too, but we'll worry more about them when we get a little more money."

"Yeah, we really need to do something about the house." muttered Matt. "I don't want to sleep on the floor like that for any longer than necessary."

"Sorry about that." said Sara, blushing. "Maybe we can get something for you to sleep on until we can get another bed." blushing deeper, she paused before continuing. "You know, you're not such a bad guy."

"Uh, thanks." said Matt, scratching the back of his head nervously. "And you're not the deranged psycho lady I thought you were, either!" he added, grinning.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" shouted Sara, making Matt take a step back.

"I was just kidding!" Matt sputtered nervously, as Sara stalked towards him. "Eheheheh... will ya look at the time? I'm gonna go hit the sack! Later!" he said, running for all he was worth.

Sara burst into laughter as he ran for his life.

"I see you two seem to have hit it off quite well." mumbled Takakaru, as he walked out from behind.

"Yeah, he seems a little strange, but I think I may just be able to like him." said Sara, as she smiled in the direction he had run.

"Bah. Young people these days... save your romance for later, I'm getting too old for it." grumbled Takakaru, causing Sara to turn deep red. "Let's go get some food before turning in. I'm starving."

End of Chapter

Well, that's it for the second chapter. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank those who are taking the time to review my story. Thanks :) On a side note, for those of you who guessed it, Sara is the girl from Harvest Moon: Boy Meets Girl. I decided to go with her because 1) She is a great character with a lot of good possibilities, and b) everyone seems to be using the girl farmer from Harvest Moon for Girl. Also, I also wanted to try to tie in all the games somehow, so hopefully you'll be seeing some rivalries between the different farms :P Anyways, tell me what you guys think! Later, all!