Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon
A/N: Onto the next chapter!
6th day of fall
Hatori
I didn't get to bed until early the next morning! I can't believe I stayed up that late, I swore I was never going to do that again. I got out of bed and hastily dressed, running to the door to get my chores done before it got to be late and the cows started to suffer. When I opened the door however, Ruby and Tim were right there, waiting for me.
"What's wrong Ruby?" I asked as I looked over her worried face. The situation immediately spoke of something to me, that something was wrong and something had changed.
"I don't know why she's gone. We woke up and I went to check up on her and there was money on the bed and her pack was gone…" Ruby broke down into sobs as Tim put his arm around her shoulder.
"What's
happened? Who left?" I asked and I
froze. "Wait…Nami didn't leave did she?"
I looked at them, hoping that it was some other girl, some other woman
who had left this morning from the inn…but Nami was the only young women I knew
who was staying at the inn. "What
happened?" Something was wrong, really
wrong.
"She's gone," Tim said. "It seems
she took her things and left early this morning."
"What? Oh no, I slept in too! If only I hadn't been working so hard last night!" I exclaimed angrily, although it was more towards me alone than to her or anyone else. I should have gone to bed early…this…this wouldn't have happened if I had been up early, I could have caught her before she left! Why…why didn't she come and at least say goodbye?
"Are you going to look for her with us? She may just be somewhere else," Tim said. "Please you have to help us search; we're only concerned for her. She was quite upset last night it worried us…and now she's gone." I nodded my head and rubbed my eyes, trying to sort out my jumble of thoughts. She couldn't be gone…I didn't want her to go. Didn't she realize by now I loved her?
"I'll help you search for Nami," I said. "Where do you want me to start looking?"
…
I looked everywhere in the valley for her, as did Tim, Ruby and even Rock looked around for a little bit, but there wasn't any Nami as far as I could see. I asked everyone, Celia and Muffy and Galen and pretty much the entire town. How early had she left? Would I never see her again? I ran back to the in, my legs heavy and my body aching from running around to everywhere I could think of. It wasn't like there was much to check in the valley but I had even run up the mountainside just incase she was up there or something. I didn't know. All I knew was if she was really gone then I had lost the woman I love! Had I been the one to drive her away? How long had she been planning on leaving this place? She was here a whole year before I arrived and I thought…maybe I wasted too much time trying to hard and now she's gone!
"Ruby, have you had any luck?" I asked as I placed my hands on my knees in an attempt to catch my breath and raised my head to look at Ruby and Tim who were approaching me at a quick walk to where I was in front of the in.
"We looked everywhere but we couldn't find her Hatori, I don't know where she went!" Ruby exclaimed. I hung my head and started to stand up straight. "I'm really sorry Hatori; I know how you feel about her."
"You do?" I asked with surprise.
"It's obvious you care for her a lot. If only she hadn't left…" Ruby let her voice trail off but all my dreams were crushed in that one sentence. If only she hadn't left I would have asked her to marry me. If only she hadn't left I would have told her how I felt. If only she hadn't left because now I'm alone without the love of my life. I know she was, my father always said when I found the woman I was meant to be with, I'd know. Now I knew what he had meant by those words. I loved everything about Nami, as stubborn and tempered as she was. Why didn't I tell her sooner?
"It's my fault…maybe I didn't move fast enough…or I didn't move slowly enough," I whispered. Ruby came up to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"You've tried for almost a year, and little by little, I've noticed Nami change. It was a good change, she was a little kinder as the days passed and I think she was falling for you just as much as you had been falling for her," Ruby said.
"Ruby, hey Ruby!" I looked up, recognizing that voice at once to be Nami's voice. My eyes widened and a mixture of worry, joy and thankfulness entered my mind as I watched Nami approaching the inn. She hadn't left…she was still here, but where had she been? "Ruby I'm hungry, when are you going to make dinner?" Ruby wiped her eyes and blinked at the sight, I watched her smile broaden and she made her way back towards the inn.
"I'll have dinner ready really soon," Ruby said and Tim followed after her. "Thank goodness she's all right." I watched them go back inside the inn and looked at Nami, her pack slung over her shoulder. She began to walk back towards the inn but stopped and turned around, looking at me with a faint smile and she looked a little red.
"I'm sorry I worried Hatori," she whispered to me and then disappeared inside the inn. I froze in place, wondering if I should go inside and follow her or leave her alone for the moment. She hadn't left…that ran trough my mind over and over again the moment I had heard her voice. It was a miracle she hadn't left…simply a miracle.
"Ah, my cows!" I exclaimed and decided that Nami would have to wait. She might be going through something and besides, she's hungry right now and I don't think she'll be going anywhere soon when she's hungry. She looked really tired too. I think I'd try to find her later tonight though; I still had to give her a gift. I didn't know how she really felt! She was like a light switch, I couldn't tell if she really liked me or not and here she was back now…so I had to be careful. Next time she might leave for good. Ruby said that Nami liked me, but I wasn't sure. She seemed apologetic when she came back to the inn, towards me and towards Ruby and Tim.
I headed back towards the farm; I really had to take care of the cows. I'll just have to see her later tonight.
Nami
I don't know what came over me. This morning, I was ready to leave, and I did so without a second thought. I put the money I owed Ruby on the bed, slung my pack over my shoulder and left the inn in the early hours of the morning. It was so easy just to leave then and get away. I was only fooling myself. The further away I got towards leaving, the more it began to hurt; my heart began to hurt even more than it had when I had seen Hatori. Unable to leave, I had come back to the inn, hungry and tired and ready to stay there a little while longer. I remembered at the beginning of the year, the promise I made to NOT leave until the end of winter. I couldn't leave just yet, not when I didn't even understand what I was feeling. I need to understand what I'm feeling.
"Nami, um…I'm glad you're back." A soft caring voice caused me to raise my head from where it had been resting on a pillow. Hatori was here. "You had me worried. I thought you had really left."
"I thought I had too," I said, looking at him. I left myself open right now, just this once. What would he do if he realized I had dropped my guard now? I didn't understand it, I didn't understand him. "I'm not leaving Hatori, not yet." He smiled and sat down on the bed beside me.
"I brought you something," he said, "like I always do. I thought you would like it." I watched his hand place a trick blue by my head and the bed gave way as he stood up. "I gotta get going now. I still have a little left to do on the farm before tonight. I didn't go to bed at a decent hour last night and I swear I will tonight." I felt his hand brush my hair. "I'll see you tomorrow Nami." I watched him as he left my room and shut the door behind him.
"Hatori," I whispered as I put my head back on the pillow, taking my hand and grabbing onto the trick blue flower. I brought it close and sniffed it, closing my eyes and letting the scent flood my mind. "Hatori…"
TBC
A/N: Wanna know what the scary part is? This story's almost done. Well, let me know what you think in a review, I love reviews! Anyways, I'll see you all next chapter, and DON'T FLAME! OWARI!
