On Our Own

written by Shaun Garin

Harvest Moon Back to Nature and Save the Homeland is owned by Natsume Entertainment. This is my take on Save the Homeland and Back to Nature, which, in my opinion is a very good game, but could have slowed down the passing of time and extended the length of time you need to conceivably save the whole freaking town. Rated E for Everyone, Use of Alcohol and mild language.

I hold characterization nothing but sacred. I try to portray the personalities true to both games as best as possible.

Chapter 6 : Furos, Silk and Cards

Grey came home that night, half a week after the departure of the others. He was muttering something about Silk and I figured it was about the Goddess Dress. Katie had been nice enough to leave her designs out for Grey, Mary and Gina and the trio were making various different types of dresses, but each one seemed to be one disaster after another.

Well, I suppose disaster was too big of a word for it. Sure you see those gorgeous Goddess dresses in Flowerbed City. Low cut, slinky, makes the model, who by the way is already hot, even hotter. But it didn't scream the purity of the Goddesses.

I have to laugh at times when someone talks about the Goddess and claims he has seen one. The Goddess in Flowerbed City has long since moved on. No one takes care of her pond anymore except for an elderly man I remember seeing, picking out trash and cans from her pond. I'm sure if she still lived there, she would be grateful to the elderly man.

How do I know this? Well, the Goddesses around the farming communities all network. I dunno, maybe some kinda psychic phoneline or something like that. Or maybe someone tossed in a wireless modem and a Dell Pentium Four into each pond. Goddess Email dot Com. It makes me laugh whenever Grey and I, arguably the only ones who knows something about modern technology, talk about the logistics of the Goddesses and computers. Zack knows some having come from the mainland before the pair of us, but he's a bit out of touch at the moment.

Then again, this IS a world where we're just getting out of boats and Airplanes are newfangled, while some companies are running computers that became smaller and smaller and massively more powerful in leaps and bounds.

Cliff knows some stuff about computers, but very little. Cliff's not so smart academically (sure he's no rocket scientist but he did at least finish High School), but on his feet, he knows his things. Came from a farm down south of Flowerbed City, and when his father died, he up and went out looking for work to support the family.

Surprisingly Mary knows some things about computers. She'd have to know, considering she reads so much stuff, along with the occasional scientific journal that comes out of the city. Elli is hopeless with even a typewriter though. She hunts and pecks and takes a hour and a half to finish three paragraphs. Then again, not everyone has a 50 word per minute average. Though Elli CAN be rather helpless at times. Can't even work a radio.

I'm getting off track I suppose. Word came to me from Ann who phoned me from Forget-Me-Not Valley. They had gotten the professor to look at the map and he said it would take at least a season to decipher it. And then, they'd be back. I sighed at that. A whole season without seeds from the Flower Shop.

Another phone call came quickly afterwards as Karen phoned us from the Inn over in Mineral Town. Everyone there was doing well and between the help, Chicken Lil's had been returned back to normal with Rick and Popuri pitching in. Also, the next time Kai could get away from his duties in Flowerbud Village, he'd come to pick them up and our shipment of seeds for planting. It was about bleeding time. I needed to plant some strawberries and watermelons as soon as possible.

Those seeds came from Vesta like all of the seeds from Mineral Town Grocers are or are made by a seed maker. Jeff has a supply shipment between there, and that's where I met Takakura. He came early one morning, toting a huge crate of seeds. Bent over and stooped that he is, he's one hell of a strong guy.

Vesta's Farm was rather famous in these parts, supplying seeds to most of the archipelago or what not. Flowerbud Village gets them and Mineral Town gets them. There's talk that the other towns around the area, including the town where Uncle Pete and Aunt Sara (name of the town escapes me at the moment) live together. I visited Uncle Pete when I was fifteen and I'm pretty damn sure that's where me and Jake got our looks. He looks like us, only a bit older and middle aged. Jake and I raised a lot of hell in that town to tell the truth, but Aunt Sara was there all the time, getting us OUT of trouble. Never mess with a woman who has trained a CAT of all things to guard the farm from stray dogs and wolves.

Sure you're laughing. But when it picks up a rapier and steps into boots, see how well you handle things before getting mauled by the kitty.

I'm getting off topic once again, and yes, that last part seemed weird. Good, it was meant to be. I think it was roughly the twelfth of Spring when Karen and Katie returned to Sugar Village, just in time for the first storm of the season.

"It'll be nice to return home," said Katie as she brushed a lock of curly blonde hair away from her face. Karen nodded as she steadied herself on the side of Kai's boat.

Kai guided the boat towards the docks and soon, had it moored and lashed to the rickety old dock. Once it was secured, he reached over and picked up his backpack and a crate of golden eggs. "All right, lets get a move on." He eyed the horizon which was starting to gather into an angry ball of black clouds. "That storm is gonna hit rather quickly."

Halfway up the stairs, the storm hit. Up above, Karen heard the cries of Jack and Grey and the barking of Jack's Dog as Cows were herded into the barn along with the clucking of chickens as Cliff shouted over the wind and rain.

Scrambling up the stairway, the trio burst onto Jack's property and ran for the door. The others had gotten into the house previously and the door was shut. Fumbling with the doorknob, Kai kicked at the door and it burst open, revealing the others who were sitting around the table, setting out a deck of Poker cards. "You couldn't bother to open the freaking door?" Kai exclaimed as he dripped on the floor.

Elli giggled as she took the crate of eggs from him and helped Karen and Katie into the house. "Oh my you're all soaked!"

"Well there's the understatement of the year," remarked Karen as she removed her vest and wrung out the water. Then, with a snap of the sodden and twisted vest, she snapped at the men who were staring. "Quit it!"

Grey and Jack looked red while Kai snickered and Cliff looked away politely. Mary handed them each towels and said, "Get moving. Both bathrooms are free." She then herded the other girls into the washroom, only to glare at Grey who shrunk in his chair.

"Honestly, they could be a little less sensitive," said Katie as she poured water over her head and shivered at the cold.

Karen sighed and grumbled as she sunk to her neck in the very large furo. "It's not like they haven't seen a bit of flesh lately. Not with Kai convincing the guys to go on Peeping Raids at the Hot Spring."

"I take it from your tone that they've succeeded," said Katie. "Budge over." The blonde girl sunk into the tub and sighed happily at the heat of the furo.

Karen ran a hand through her long hair as she sighed. "They've succeeded once or twice. Then the rocks we chuck at them give them concussions."

Katie rolled her eyes as she sunk down, submerging her head. Resurfacing, she sighed and pulled her hair out of the elaborate and thick curls. "Wow, this is so much better than the shower at the Inn. You should let me come here more often."

"Probably not too often," said Karen, a mischievous smirk on her face. "Someone might think we're raving lesbians in here."

Katie giggled madly and smacked the other girl on the arm. "Aw c'mon," she replied, stretching out. "No one's gonna think that."

"I dunno," said Karen, leaning in and tickling Katie's nose. "You're certainly cute enough."

"Aw stop, you're making me blush," replied Katie with a grin.

The two girls giggled as they leaned back in the water. Then, the door slid open as Elli walked in, wrapped in a tiny towel. "Having fun you two?" she inquired, removing her towel and sitting down on the stool.

"Loads," replied Karen as she raised an eyebrow at Elli. "You seem to be lacking in embarrassment today."

"But definitely not other things," replied Katie, taking up the quick and witty banter.

Elli rolled her eyes and splashed cold water over herself. "Brr, cold! When you bathe with Mary, the shyest girl in the history of mankind, Popuri who is the most innocent soul in the world and Ann who walks around the house in a t-shirt and nothing else, you tend to loose interest in anything else."

"I dunno, that Doctor of yours was rather hunky," said Katie thoughtfully. Elli went full body blush as Karen sniggered.

"Excuse me?" Elli asked, soaping up. "Where did that come from?"

"We're just messing with you," said Karen as she submerged herself. Katie giggled and followed suit.

Elli sighed, rolled her eyes and rinsed off. "Budge over," she said, as she stepped into the furo, deliberately sitting on Karen's lap.

Karen burst out and found herself with an armful of Elli. "Well, this is comfy," Elli said.

Katie laughed as Karen decided to tickle the other girl who shrieked and giggled. The pair sloshed water over the edge of the furo as they wrestled and tickled each other with Katie cheering them on.

"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" inquired the soft voice of Mary as she sat down and started her own bath.

Karen dodged a flying limb and said, "What is this? A scene from Jack's Love Hina mangas? When has the furo been a place of congregation?"

"Better here than in the living room," replied Mary. "With the guys breaking out the cards and Jack's manga." She then raised an eyebrow as a mischievous glint came into her eyes. "You two going to continue your frolicking or are you going to get Katie to join in?"

"All right, that's it bub," Karen exclaimed, grabbing the soapy Mary who yelped and dragged her into the furo. "You're going down!"

"Help, help, I'm being repressed!" Mary exclaimed, giggling as Katie and Elli joined in, water splashing everywhere.

A shriek cut into the air as Grey grinned. "That's one for Mary."

"And how do you know how she screams?" inquired Kai, earning a blush from the other man.

Jack snickered. "Elli and Mary are tame but with Karen and Katie in there, it's turning into a water fight. It sounds a lot weirder when Ann and Popuri are in there."

"I'm up for digging a hot spring," said Cliff as he looked over the edge of Jack's Love Hina manga, volume twelve. "If only to see the girls do this in the outdoors."

"Mmmmm, women in the nude," droned Kai, earning a laugh from the other men.

Grey listened to the water hitting the roof and shook his head. "Man, is it ever going to let up or what?"

"It's a hurricane probably," said Jack as he switched on the TV. Sure enough, the TV channel two and three showed static while a reporter droned on channel one.

"It will continue raining after the hurricane," said the man in the crisp blue suit.

Jack switched off the TV and shrugged. "It's not as bad as Mineral Town Hurricanes. We can probably go out in there."

Cliff scoffed as he looked out the window. "That's not a hurricane, at least not a Mineral Town-esque one. We can go out in that storm, no problem."

"Why would we?" asked Grey as he placed down a card and said, "Rargh, eat it Kai!"

Kai grumbled and drew his card after discarding his monster to the grave. "I dunno about this whole thing. It's hard enough finding out what to do really. Maybe we should trek up to the goddess tomorrow if it's nice. Hey Jack, take it. Double Breaker."

"Jerk," said Jack as he took a sip of his juice and drew his card after adding both shield cards to his hand. "Who ever knew that we'd spend a whole day playing Duel Masters." He then tapped four mana and said, "Aura Blast for four. Kai, you just experienced sweet death to your monsters."

"I'm just glad you brought these games from the mainland," said Kai as he checked his cards, discarding the ones that had just died as Grey passed his turn after summoning a monster. "Can you imagine how long it's been since I've seen a card different from a poker one? Hell, a chessboard would have been fun to see in the town. Tap five, Ultimate Force, tap those two plus five more, Hanusa, Radiance Elemental. Die Grey cause I bust your shields up!"

Grey grumbled as his last two shields were broken. "I'm open," he muttered as Jack took his turn and in turn, wiped out Kai's last shield and Grey's own monster. "Maybe we should switch to another game."

Cliff reached down and thumbed through Jack's pack which held a long white box and opened it up while still reading Jack's Manga. "There's Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh..."

"Pass," chorused everyone as Kai remembered his crushing defeat in the Multiplayer game last time around.

"More Duel Masters decks, Magi Nation, Lord of the Rings, Naruto, Digimon, Pokemon, Shaman King, Ani-Mayhem, VS System..."

"We'll finish this game up and probably dig into the manga," said Jack as he drew his card and summoned it. "Hanusa blasts Grey out of the game."

"Ergh," said Grey as he scooped up his cards on the field and put them into a pile. "Glad you left your dad a forwarding address so he could send you this stuff." Kai took his turn and summoned a Burning Mane.

"I know," said Jack, nodding. "It's not good to bring my Computer and my GBA here, but at least card games are fun. I'll send dad some G's and have him pick up some new cards and manga for me in Flowerbud City." Taking a chance, he summoned a Blocker.

"Eat sweet death Jack," said Kai as he grinned and powered up his monster, blasting through Hanusa and then striking Jack with the monster he summoned last turn. "You just got your butt kicked by a Burning Mane."

Jack shrugged as he scooped up his field and Kai cleaned his side up. "So.. who gets to cook today?"

"It's probably my turn," said Cliff as he set down the manga and picked up a copy of Naruto. "I'll get on that as soon as I'm done here."

"Knowing how big your stack is right there," said Grey, motioning to the stack that stood on the table beside Cliff. "You'll spend the whole afternoon reading."

"Damn right," said Cliff as he turned a page. "But I'll get going on these things sooner or later."

Jack sighed and picked up the box and thumbed through the decks. "Lets go with Magi Nation."

"I call Core," said Kai, earning a glare from Grey.

"You suck, I wanted it," he said, taking the Underground deck while Jack picked up a Relic Universal Deck.

Surprisingly, Cliff demonstrated his deck shuffling abilities by picking up a Cald deck, selecting his starting Magi and searching with one hand. "I'm in," said Cliff as his gaze never wavered from the manga in his left hand. It was eerily representative of Kakashi reading Ichi Ichi Paradise.

The boys sweatdropped as Jack said, "He's been playing that deck too much."

"You'd think that, huh?" said Grey as the boys rolled their die and Kai went first.

"This should fit," said Karen as she handed Katie a long t-shirt that belonged to Ann. She then winced as thunder boomed overhead. "Wow, that was loud."

"I'm sure grandpa won't mind me sleeping over," said Katie as she unwrapped her hair from the towel it was bundled in. Damp strands of blonde hair fell down past her shoulders as she pulled the t-shirt over her head. "It's a bit tight across the chest."

Mary giggled as Elli hid a smile under a hand. Karen shrugged as she handed the other girl a pair of plaid shorts. "You'll need these too if you want supper."

"Who's cooking today?" Elli asked, turning towards Mary.

Mary tapped her lip and said, "I think Cliff is. That means we can expect some weird food from somewhere unknown."

Newly clad in a t-shirt and shorts, Karen padded out to the door and headed into the hallway where the smell of food wafted down from the kitchen. "Smells good," said Karen as she sat down next to Grey who scooped up his cards and placed them in the box. "What's for dinner?"

"Chicken, sliced cucumbers and rice," said Cliff, tapping the mixing spoon on the side. "No, I didn't go out and kill one of the chickens," he said at the horrified expression on the other girls who came in. "Ronald gets supplies of frozen meats from the mainland. It's perfectly all right."

"I'd hate to be around this place if you DID take out one of the chickens," said Jack with a grin. Elli smacked him on the head and he rubbed it ruefully.

At Katie's questioning expression, Grey said, "Very few of people from Mineral Town eat meat. And if they do, it's a special occasion. Any meat is fish since no one likes butchering cows or chickens."

"Of course not, it's barbaric," said Karen hotly. "If Jack was going to run a beef and chicken farm instead of raising them for eggs and milk, we'd have run him out of town."

"And they call the place backwards," said Cliff with an exaggerated sigh.

Grey shrugged as he set the table. "Gramps is a big meat eater. Although veggies is also something he likes."

Seeing a vegan vs carnivore battle brewing, Jack stepped in. "Okay then people, lets get to the food. Kai, help me out here, slacker."

"Yes kimosabe," remarked Kai as he picked up the rice.