Harvest Moon

By Lunare Valhart

Warnings: Shounen-ai/Shoujo-ai, boring farm stuff

Pairings: Tyka, ReiMao, et al.

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Chapter Two: Boy Meets Boy

Kai quickly learned that his earlier fears were very correct.

For the past week, he had been up at the crack of dawn, a habit from his childhood he had never grown out of (thankfully), to spend his days weeding the field and attempting to move the tree stumps and stones from the pasture. The old tools he had found gathering dust in the tool-shed were heavy and he had to take more breaks than he would have liked due to his newness to their weight.

On the plus side, he had quite a bit of lumber, now.

He had managed to clear out enough of the field to start a patch of turnips, learning from his father's notes and Rei and Mao's advice that they were the fastest growing crop for spring. They didn't sell for as high a price as cabbages and potatoes, but every bit of effort counted. While he waited for the turnips to grow, he had gone into the mountain with his father's fishing pole and basket to collect mountain foodstuff and catch fish to sell. He may've had the money to buy the equipment to speed the process, but he had plans to save his inheritance for something later on.

…Such as repairing the buildings.

He groaned as he felt a kink in his back that refused to untie, his hands sore and red from pulling the scraggly grasses and lifting heavy stones. The girl at the counter looked at him in concern.

"Hiwatari-san, I understand that you want the farm up and running as soon as possible," She scolded softly as she poured him a glass of water, which he downed quickly, "but you're still getting used to the workload; try to pace yourself! It won't do the farm any good if you collapse from fatigue."

Kai stared blankly at her, faint rings under his red-violet eyes. The girl sighed, brushing a lock of auburn hair from her brown eyes. "You aren't going to listen to me, are you?"

He placed his glass down and picked up his bag. "I have to get back to work. The farm won't fix itself, and it's been under for far too long."

The girl sighed again, this time in aggravation at the young man's stubbornness.

As he stepped out, another friendly face walked in, giving Kai a quick greeting before sitting himself at the counter. "Mornin', Salima!" He grinned, placing a small bag of coins on the counter, "I'll take the specialty!"

"Daichi, you get the specialty all the time!" Salima laughed as she called towards the kitchen to alert the cook, "Hey, Gary! The Rising Sun Platter!"

A tall, muscled man poked his head out, a thick brow lifted curiously. "Daichi or the other one?"

"Daichi."

"Ah. Okay." There was the sound of breaking eggshell, as Gary called out, "Hey, what happened to the other one, anyway? Haven't seen him around lately…"

The small redhead made a face. "Oh, him? Gramps had him go to the harbor a few days ago to buy some supplies for the dojo; lucky guy. I don't see how that's supposed to be punishment for going off into thin air the other day! I get stuck doing both our chores while he plays hooky on the mountain, and he gets to go to town!"

Salima paused in her cleaning, a furrow marking her face. "I think it does count as punishment; he's the only one in the village who hasn't met Kai yet. He was so annoyed the other day when he came back from the mountain and discovered he had missed him. You know how much he was looking forward to meeting him. Being sent to town only counts in delaying their encounter."

Daichi snorted, "Ah, come on! Just for some new guy?"

Salima had to admit, it did seem odd that the younger Kinomiya would get so worked up over meeting someone. Then again, the last new person to the village was the red-haired boy at the counter, who had arrived barely two years ago. Daichi was an orphan that had a habit of making himself at home in the dojo, which annoyed the real heir to no end. The novelty had quickly worn off and the two had been bickering with each other constantly for months, sometimes escalating to even worse quarrels than the ones the two youths had with Hiromi at the store over prices.

Gary stepped out of the kitchen with a steaming bowl of noodles topped with pickled radishes, tempura, and a fried egg. "Here you go." Daichi grinned and dug in ravenously, making the lone female wonder about his heat threshold. "By the way, when is he coming back?"

Through the noodles, the youth grumbled, "Sometime this afternoon."

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"Headed back?"

"Yeah… Man, I can't believe Grandpa did this to me! Just because Zeo's dad wanted some silver from the mines to craft into a gift for his daughter…"

"Hey, tough luck." He ran his fingers through his blond hair, brow furrowing at the times for departure. "Sorry, bud, but you can't head back now."

"Aw, c'mon, Max! A favor for an old friend?"

"I'm afraid I can't let you! Your ticket says your train leaves at two-thirty, and it's fifteen to ten; I know you want to get back as soon as possible to finally meet the guy, but I think you can wait a few more hours."

"Aw, man! Everybody's against me!"

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Kai wiped his brow with the bandanna around his neck, breath short and dripping with sweat. He really was beginning to wonder if all this was worth it.

After watering his turnips, already sprouting in spite of the rest of the field's condition ("I could've sworn I planted those three days ago!" He had announced in astonishment) he had immediately gone to work on breaking up a particularly large boulder that had ended up right in the middle of the pasture. Beating at it with the pick only managed to chip in a small hole in the impact area, and so far, the hammer wasn't much of an improvement.

Glaring at the round crack in the side of the boulder, he was beginning to wonder if what he needed was a jackhammer.

"Maybe I'm going at this the wrong way," Kai mumbled to himself, "I should concentrate on breaking the boulder, and hitting one side alone is not doing it. So…" To test his theory, he walked around to the other side and started to hammer there. After a while, there was a slight crackling sound. He looked over the large rock and saw the thin fissures from the previous hole expanding. He smirked triumphantly.

Encouraged by this success, he continued his new strategy with renewed vigor.

For the next hour, he heaved the hammer to beat against the large boulder in a sort of rhythm, like the drum beat of warring armies. Pieces began to fall off the main body, and the stone became smaller and smaller until it was of reasonable size and weight to lift the pieces off towards the pile he had started earlier that week to accommodate the stones until he figured what to do with them.

Hot, sweaty, and tired, he pulled a watch from his pocket. Twelve noon. "I think I should call it a day with the rocks, for now," He muttered to himself, glancing at the still rock-laden field, "I'd better forage the mountain for supplies before Kane and his father come to collect at five." It seemed to be a good time to take the innkeeper's advice about going a little easier on the land. Clearing more of the fields of the long scraggly weeds to plant more crops would be the next step, when he came back.

Picking himself up, he trudged towards the entrance of the land, passing the small, decrepit house his father once lived in. He gave it a glance, wary of entering. He blamed his hesitance on the poor condition of the building, but inside he knew it was for another reason.

He didn't want to be condemned to the life his father led, of isolation from the people he cared about.

The whole idea was ridiculous, really. Avoiding the house because of a silly fear of being alone? Kai had spent most of his life being surrounded by people, mostly against his will, and preferred getting away from the hustle and bustle of society; it was part of the reason he had convinced himself so easily to take up the farm for a few years. To be afraid of such a pointless thing seemed too… sappy for him. And Hiwatari Kai was anything but sappy.

"I don't have time to poke around that heap, anyway," He scoffed, purposefully striding out onto the dirt road outside the farmland and turning towards the mountain path, "The sooner I can get the farm up and running, the better."

The path eventually gave way to thicker and fuller trees, canopies lacing together to form a light-dappled roof over the forest floor. The path curved downward and forked into two directions, one towards the ocean and the other farther into the forest. He followed the road into the forest, feeling little need to fish at the moment. Besides, he didn't have the rod on him and he wasn't about to head back to retrieve it.

The path vanished into the dirt and leaves, and mushrooms could be seen dotting the areas beneath the trees. Several thorny bushes laden with dark berries almost half the size of his thumb could be made out in the dim forest light, practically dripping their juices. Stone walls cut from the mountain created a near-vertical slope, almost impossible to scale without the use of equipment. A crevice carved from wind, rain, and time hollowed out a small cave, which held signs of usage, if the lanterns at the entrance were any indication. Kai remembered hearing about a mine being made in the cave, and made a mental note to inspect it later, when he had the time.

He started to collect the mushrooms, careful not to damage them in case they popped. He knew better than to take too many, some of the village's old customs so drilled into him that he found he couldn't forget them; something about upsetting the balance of the mountain, and the spirits taking something from the thief's own land…? Either way, it was a little detail he wasn't particularly interested in.

His stomach made a noise of protest as he approached a berry bush, demanding nutrients for the rest of the body. Kai hissed an oath and glared at the offending organ, which elicited another whine. He groaned and grudgingly ate a berry, proceeding to ignore any other demands for now. True, he hadn't been eating as well as he had in the city, but there was too much work to be done here to provide himself with the three meals a day he had grown accustomed to then.

As he continued to pick the berries, he felt a slight pounding in his head. Noting its lack of severity, he simply shrugged it off and continued with his work. He pushed himself further along the line of bushes, eager to get his work done so he could go back to the farm and start weeding. He brushed against something in the brush, and suddenly he found himself yanking his hand back with a sharp wince and several thorns embedded in it. From another opening in the bush, a small bird flew out, perching on a higher branch and squawking irritably at him.

He had enough materials to ship for the day, he sourly concluded as he nursed his injured hand and glancing at the mostly-filled basket. Glancing at his watch again, he also noticed the time: two-ten. He had spent longer in the forest than he originally planned.

He hoisted up the basket to his shoulders, making his way back to the path and eventually to the farm. As sunlight hit his eyes, the mild headache he had shrugged off earlier had increased three-fold, sending a jolt of pain through his temple. Shaking it off, he continued down the path back to Suzaku Farm. To his discomfort, the pounding seemed to take up residence in his ears, sending a constant rhythm of rushing blood back and forth in his head. His legs were beginning to feel like lead weights were attached to them, and it became harder to keep walking.

Nevertheless, he forced himself across the threshold of the property, glad to finally be rid of his load from the forest. He emptied the contents of the basket into the shipping bin outside the feeble old house and left the basket nearby, too tired to place it back in the abandoned chicken coop he had originally found it in. He needed his strength for other things.

All the warning bells to call it a day were ignored as he trudged over to the wild grasses and began to yank them out, ignoring his injured hand and trying to get as much done as he could. He kept his pace, grabbing the weeds near the roots to pull them out and making sure he didn't lose his speed. The sharp leaves cut into his skin, driving the thorns in deeper and irritating the sore scrape from the bird's beak back in the forest.

A sudden wave of vertigo hit him and he had to stop, steadying himself with one hand. He shook his head to clear it, but the spinning only increased in intensity. He could feel the sweat dripping off of him, but he was too exhausted to reach for his bandanna. His own weight became too much for him, and he felt his arms buckle before he collapsed against the hard soil of the field.

Too tired to try picking himself up, he let himself succumb to the blackness at the edges of his vision.

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"What're you doing here, anyway?"

"I live here!"

"I've never seen you before."

"Well, I've never seen you before, either."

For some reason, he could smell chemicals.

The scent of preservative fluids and alcohol were strong, and he winced at every memory he had with those smells. He almost thought he had gone blind, until a nagging notion in the back of his mind told him he simply had his eyes closed. Hushed voices could be heard nearby, but while some were vaguely familiar, another was not.

"…to be all right."

"Thank the Gods… Scared me senseless, seeing him just lying there in the field!" The unfamiliar voice huffed, worry and relief clear in tone.

At the mention of the field, he suddenly jolted. Everything came flooding back; the rocks, the forest, the weeding… He tried to open his eyes, but the white ceiling was a stark contrast to the darkness he was in just moments before.

"Kai, don't be stubborn," Dr. Tate snapped as she and her assistant forced him back down onto the bed, "You fainted from exhaustion; you need rest!"

He managed to croak, "But… the farm…" before he realized his throat was too dry for decent speech. A pair of someones helped him into a sitting position and he felt his head getting tipped back.

"The farm's not going anywhere!" The unknown from before growled as Kai distantly recognized its pitch as male. He guessed the thicker fingers allowing crisp water to trickle into his opened mouth were his, as the other pair of hands felt smaller and the hard material of nails was far more evident. Emily, the doctor's assistant, if his memory served him right. "I can't believe how thick-headed you are! I can understand that Suzaku Farm is important to you, but no one's going to be able to tame it if you don't learn how to take breaks! I swear you weren't this bad when you were a kid!"

That last sentence seemed to hang in the air as Kai registered what the other male in the room had said. Little pieces of childish conversations from long ago seemed to swarm him, begging him to remember a name to be salvaged from his long neglected memories of this place. Yet try as he might, nothing sprung to mind; this familiar stranger's voice only triggered little pointless memories, and nothing more.

Cracking open his eyes, he turned to look towards the voice. The skin of a toned, lithe arm greeted him, a faint mocha in color. The wispy tip of a ponytail could be seen somewhere near the middle of the other youth's back. Glancing to the other's face, he could see a pair of very annoyed dusky indigo eyes glowering at his own form, the youth's unknowing chewing on his lower lip giving away his nervousness.

The face seemed familiar. The voice seemed familiar. But no name crawled out of his neglected memories. "Do I know you from someplace…?" To his surprise, the other youth lit up considerably.

"So you do remember me!" He laughed, "Max owes me two-thousand yen now!" Emily reached over and swatted his arm.

"He didn't recognize you officially, Takao." The ginger-haired girl huffed, "Technically, Max won your little bet."

"Hey, he still felt like he should know me; that counts for something, right?"

"Hah. Nice try."

"What are you talking about?" Kai demanded, still annoyed at his own weakness. Takao, as Emily had called him, rolled his eyes at her and looked back at him.

"You really don't remember much from here, do you?" He sighed, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head, "I guess life in the city really takes a lot out of you. Name's Kinomiya Takao; my grandpa runs the dojo."

Kai nodded softly, processing the information. He figured it wouldn't be too difficult to remember this one; as he said, he truly did feel as if he knew him, and quite well. Perhaps, they knew each other as children here? It would certainly explain why the dojo stuck out among the other buildings in town.

Dr. Tate coughed slightly, getting his attention. "Kai, I'm afraid that you will need to rest for the remainder of the day here. You spent much of your energy working the past week, and pushing yourself any harder will only result in your return here. I'd rather prefer to see you outside the office, if you please."

Begrudgingly, Kai nodded.

Emily glanced at her papers and looked coolly at him. "Of course, to make sure you're taking your breaks throughout the day, we're going to have to check up on you." That caught his attention, and he glowered darkly at her. "Well, if you had simply paced yourself like we've been saying for the past few days, this wouldn't have happened. Rome wasn't built in a day, and your farm won't recover overnight."

"I'll do it." Everyone looked at Takao, who had a faint grin on his pleasant features. "I can make sure he takes his breaks, and that he eats and all that. I've done it often enough when Kenny and Zeo get a little too excited about new projects they come up with, so it's nothing new."

Kai scowled. "I don't need a babysitter."

Without missing a beat, Takao shot back, "Apparently, you do." He gestured to the bed the older youth was confined to with a raised brow, as if waiting for an explanation. Having none, Kai sulked to himself, nursing his bruised pride.

Takao smiled to himself. Yep, just like the old days.

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A/N: Anyone else think the new system's off? Oh, well. Can't win everything. :grabs suitcase: Either way, I'm off to Caguas due to my great-grandmother's fading health (she's, like, 93 and in a hospice). So, see you next time!

And for the record? Hospitals suck. Really.

HARVEST MOON REFERENCES
Uh, I got nothing. Sorry.

Disclaimer: Harvest Moon is © Natsume and Nintendo. Beyblade is © Aoki Takao and a whole slew of animation studios. Still trying to avoid OCs. Thank you.