Corruption

Chapter 1: Kicked Out

A/N: I missed you guys. This long withdrawal from writing fanfiction has taken a toll on me. It used to be such a mainstay of my everyday routine, but I never really noticed until recently. Hopefully I'm not rusty.

As always, I do not own Harvest Moon or anything else that I make reference to here within. This fic is rated teen for mild language, some sexual content, and plenty of death. As for a preview, I can't say much without giving away the plot. Basically, Karen's run into some really hard times and all of the blame can be pointed on one person, the Lecherous Man. But, Karen somehow manages to find love when everything looks horribly lost. Even more problems soon arise, making things even worse than before.

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It was late on a Saturday evening in the middle of Winter. Every light in town had been turned out for the night, except one. The Inn still was bustling with activity as the men of Mineral Town held their weekly poker game. A rather rowdy bunch from the constant supply of wine and other alcoholic beverages, they seemed to be having a good time. Well, almost everyone. Jeff watched in disbelief as the large pile of gold coins was snatched from under his nose.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Nobody could believe the luck that Zack had. There was only one card left in the deck that would save him and he got it. Now, poor Jeff was left without a single coin in front of him. Jeff was shaking nervously as he stood up from the table, still looking at the cards in denial. Zack seemed proud of his victory, proudly gloating about his sudden gain in wealth.

"Please. Zack! That money was my savings for Karen's wedding! Give me a chance to win it back!" Jeff had fallen to his knees, begging Zack to deal the cards one more time.

A smug look had crossed Zack's face, "I don't think so. If you didn't want to risk losing that money, you shouldn't have bet it. It belongs to me now."

"Zack, don't be so heartless." One of the other men sitting at the table spoke up. "You know that Jeff has trouble with money…"

"Fine." Zack spat out, "But, what does Jeff have left that can equal the value of this money?"

Jeff's hands shook terribly as he reached towards his jacket pocket. He produced a carefully sealed envelope and calmly placed it on the table. "This… This is the deed to my store and my house. I put it on the line… against the gold that you won last hand. One hand, please…"

Zack pondered the deal. He had been extremely lucky so far tonight. Not only had he just bankrupted Jeff, but he had also won thousands of gold pieces from Doug and Barley. If he wanted to, he could take control of this town. The money was there and he had the power… "Deal," Zack stated as he pushed the pile of coins back into the center of the round table.

Everyone else at the table couldn't believe what they had just heard. They noticed from the evil gleam in Zack's eye that not only did Jeff's future depend on this deal of the cards, but their own as well. "What happened to you Zack?" Doug asked as he nervously began shuffling the deck of cards.

A low, yet cruel sounding chuckle came from Zack. "For too long, this town has depended on me to survive. I'm the one who brings in the money that circulates from hand to hand. Without me, none of you would be where you are today. I think that it's time for me to take what rightfully should be mine."

Doug swallowed nervously as he dealt out the cards. Jeff immediately shouted out with joy when he took a look at his cards. Everyone seated at the table, except Zack, leaned over to see what Jeff had. "Four sevens." Jeff declared, laying down the cards on the table in front of him. For the moment, everything looked like it would be ok, but Zach had yet to even look at his cards.

In one swift motion, Zach flipped his cards up for everyone to see. He had Jeff beat. "No, it isn't possible!" Jeff cried out.

"Looks like I now own the Supermarket." Zack's smile embodied evil. He reached across the table, pulling in his winnings.

Jeff could only watch on, totally shocked beyond belief. In only a few minutes he had lost everything. What would Sasha and Karen say when he told them that they had to leave their house behind? That was something that he couldn't handle. Jeff began walking away from the table, each step seemed like it took every ounce of energy that he had left to complete. "Jeff, are you going to be alright?" Barley asked, rising up after the former owner of the supermarket.

"What makes you think that I would be alright?" Jeff snapped back, his voice shrill. "I just failed my family…" His hands had fallen to his sides, clenched tightly into fists. Nobody could have foresaw what came next. Jeff silently pulled a handgun out of his pocket, his trembling hand pointing the weapon at Zack.

Zack, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to what was going on. He was too busy admiring the property deed in his hands. He didn't even flinch when he heard the pistol fire, followed shortly by the collapse of Jeff's body. There was a mad rush as the occupants of the Inn rushed to Jeff's side. Zack got up out of his chair and calmly walked towards the door. "How can you be so cold? Jeff just killed himself and you didn't even bat an eyelash. This is your fault!" Doug spat out.

The well built shipper gave the innkeeper the cold shoulder, walking right past the man and out the door. A chain of events had been set in motion. At any step along the line he could have stopped the chain from growing longer. But, if he had, would he be in the same position of power that he now found himself in? He had control of the supply for Mineral Town and now had control of the distribution.

In the dead silence of night, Zack's footsteps echoed along the path louder than the thud of his eager heart. A cry for help sounded from behind him, awakening the village to the tragedy that had just befallen them. Zack had one family consisting of a widow and a fatherless daughter that he would like to deliver the message to personally. Never once did he stop to ponder what torment that he would be causing to poor Sasha and Karen.

His forceful knock was greeted with a stern shout from within. "We're closed! Come back on Monday, we'll be open then." Zack continue to knock, each blow more determined than the last. It wasn't long until Sasha came storming to the front door, ready to give Zack a piece of her mind. She fell oddly silent when he held up the deed before her eyes. "Out," He commanded, jerking his thumb in the direction of the door as he welcomed himself to his new abode.

"How did you get that? It belongs to my husband!" Sasha demanded as Zack examined a loaf of bread. Karen's body blocked the door between the store and the living area. Zack stepped up in front of her, looking her over like she was a piece of merchandise. "If you're nice, Karen, maybe I'll let you stay instead of kicking you out onto the streets with your mother."

"When my father gets home…" Karen was about to retort, but Zack placed a finger over Karen's lips before she could continue any further. "Your father…" Zack paused as he looked back at Sasha, "won't be coming home ever again. He shot himself just five minutes ago at the Inn."

Zack smiled wickedly as he watched Sasha bring a hand up to her heart. The shock of the news had just broken her heart. The rest of the body would break soon enough. "Mom!" Karen cried out as Sasha collapsed against the wall. As the young lady tried to rush to her mother's side, Zack grabbed hold of her arm, violently pulling her towards him. "What about my offer?" Zack questioned, gazing longingly into Karen's tear filled eyes.

Karen struggled to get out of Zack's grasp, but he was too strong for her. She could do nothing but watch as her mother's arm fell to her side, motionless. "No…" Karen whispered, finally breaking free from Zack's grip as she dropped to her knees. Her body shook violently as she burst into uncontrollable sobs. Zack watched on, feeling quite pleased with himself even though he should have been sickened with his actions.

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A/N: Well, Zack certainly has become a jerk and he's only going to get worse as we go further into the story. Later chapters will become longer, so don't worry if you found this too short. Thanks for reading and please review.