Yeah, in update. Don't shout "huzzah!" or dance in the streets or anything. This chapter focuses more on the plot rather than me insane sense of humor. Don't worry, I slipped a few jokes in there. But let me tell you this: chapter four is so over-the-top insane that it'll make up for this one. Enjoy anyay.

Krazy Kai

Chapter Three: Death Wears Purple

Jack woke up on slightly red sheets. He ached from the experience at the Green Ranch yesterday.

In a few hours, his chores were finished. Jack looked at the watch strapped onto his backpack.

"Ten," he muttered, "Maybe I have time to go around town for a bit."

He strolled past the vineyard, wincing every step until it was out of sight. The sign reading "Florist Lillia" drew nearer, and then-

"HI JACK!"

"Bwa-!"

Popuri jumped up to greet Jack. The farmer inched back, sweating in surprise.

"Hi Popuri, what's up?" Jack would have said 'What the hell!', but controlled himself. He tried to hide the anger in his voice.

"Nothing really…" she started, "I still can't believe Gray went so insane!"

"I guess he's a jerk," Jack speculated. "What can you do?"

"He is not!" protested Popuri. "He loved horse racing!"

"So…?" muttered the farmer. "He's surrounded by them. He should be happy. You see, my friend, that's called logic."

"He can't race."

The pink haired girl sighed and eyed the flowers on the ground. They were all dried up and dead. "Poor Gray fell during one of the annual horse races. Well, the horse did. Someone sabotaged him. The horse never ran again. Gray's legs are so bad he could barely walk until six months later."

Jack felt like he was shot in the chest. He had judged Gray, and yet he had lost the one hobby he cared most about.

"Jack, you should really get to know the villagers," Popuri told him, watering a flower growing near the side of the store. "I mean, we're friends, you know a few people, but do you know Jeff's age?"

"Fifty?" Jack guessed jokingly.

"Older."

Jack gulped, realizing that Jeff had a crush on Elli, who was young enough to be his daughter. He shuddered. For several minutes, actually. Well, there just had to be a way to cut the drama short.

Jack spent the rest of the day talking to Ann and Gray, mainly apologizing for the incident yesterday. By the end of the day, even Gray wasn't scowling and plotting Jack's untimely demise (He was just doing one of those. I'll leave which one to your imagination.)

The daylight was drained from the sky, which was reduced to pitch black with some pale red swirled in. Jack just sat near the fence at the village, leaning back and staring at the stars.

"Hey."

Jack shifted his eyes to the west, where Gray was leaning against the other fence.

"Sorry about… y'know…"

"Yeah," Jack replied, "I know what you mean." Trying to decapitate me in a fit of pure rage…

"Wanna go to the bar?" Gray suggested. "I mean… today Duke gives free drinks. He never tells newbies, in fact, he keeps it a secret to still make money. Oh yeah, and this is not a gay thing."

"Er...yeah, I know."

"Okay, just making sure that you didn't think it would lead to weird yaoi stuff."

"Uh, I didn't..." Jack stared, and pushed the weird thoughts out of his mind for a moment.

The two trudged off to the bar, looking into the empty windows.

"Wow, the village seems to die overnight…" commented Jack. "The city's always alive."

"Yeah, some days I'd ride ol' Cliffgard through the town at night," Gray said, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "That bastard Kai kept yelling at me. But I still kept riding. It took the accident to stop me."

Gray's words echoed in the back of Jack's mind: Kai kept yelling at me for it. But I still kept riding. It took the accident to stop me. A bad feeling sent a chill through Jack's body.

"Was the accident planned!" the farmer exclaimed, causing Gray to look at him strangely.

"The definition of accident is an unfortunate unplanned event. Jack, let's just go to the bar," suggested Gray, opening the door. "I guess you're an okay guy, but don't make an ass of yourself at the bar."

Jack walked through the door, only to see half of the town's male population. Karen leaned against the wall, having delivered the last of Jeff's beers.

"Hello and welcome," she muttered.

"It was a misunderstanding!" Jack exclaimed. "I was saying something when an accident cut me off!"

"You'll need to prove it first," Karen said, glaring.

"Yeah you jerk," Kai injected, pushing Jack and breaking part of his bottle. "I heard what you said!"

Jeff raised an eyebrow before sipping his beer. Kai was so kind when they talked, back when Kai used to wear a strange red bandana instead of the strange purple one. This wasn't like him, and Jeff knew it. Purple just wasn't his color.

"Kai…" muttered Duke the bartender, shaking his head. "I don't care what you guys are doing, but I'm not wiping no one's blood off the counters."

"Don't worry," Kai boasted, grabbing a broken shard of glass. "I'll soap up all the blood with my extra bandana."

"I don't want a fight!" exclaimed Jack, retreating. "Can I just get a beer in peace? Look, what I said was an accident!"

"Talk doesn't prove anything," the vineyard worker snapped.

"Look Kai, you're the calmest of all of us next to Harris," Duke said. "Sure this Jack guy pissed you off, but does it matter?"

Kai's eyes began randomly changing color. The color-changing eventually stopped. "I need to get out of here…" His eyes flashed red. "But you're lucky, Jack."

"At least I'm not dumb enough to cut my own hand open," muttered Jack, trying to not let it be heard.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Jack, you picked a fight with KAI? Wow, you really are stupid. I mean, how the hell can you get a pacifist to start trying to beat you up? Hell, that's like getting Gandhi to beat the crap out of you."

"Good to have friends," the farmer muttered, thumbing through a menu. "Duke, can I have a beer?"

"Sure," Duke said enthusiastically. "Drink here every night! Spend all your money here!"

"Duke, I know it's free."

"Damn it to hell!"

Jack left the bar, feeling like a moron. His heartbeat finally slowed from Kai's outburst. Even he was surprised.

"So Jack," Karen cut off his thoughts, "I see you were scared back there."

"Yeah," Jack stopped walking, "I admit it. I'm afraid of getting my flesh ripped open by drunks at a bar. It's true."

"I don't get it…" she muttered, hiding back tears, "What the hell is wrong with Kai? I mean, I trust him, but then he goes and… Wait." She paused, then glared. "Why should I tell you?"

"Actually," started Jack, "I didn't ask-"

"It doesn't matter," Karen said, "I can tell you this; you'll just go back to the city and never see anyone here again."

"No, I'm here for life."

"…"

"Huh?"

"GET AWAY FROM ME! TRYING TO FIND OUT MORE, HUH? WELL GO THE HELL AWAY!" Karen turned red, but Jack was gone long before she could make him leave. "Good riddance."

Jack sighed and leaned against the chair in his house. He sorted through some mail Harris delivered, until one caught his attention. In bright red letters "URGENT" was scribbled on it. Jack ripped open the envelope, and a small slip of paper fell out.

"Come to the beach at 8:30," read the farmer, who immediately dashed outside.

The watch strapped to Jack's wrist read "8:15", and before long had changed to "8:29". Sure enough, a man hidden by the shadows was standing near the ocean.

"Hello, Jack. 'Tis I, Jeff." Jeff approached Jack. He was wearing a cloak with a hood.

"Er… why are you wearing a disguise? You didn't like… kill someone and toss them into the Harvest Goddess Pond, did you?"

"…No. Eh heh…of course not. But I do have news about Kai. It seems that once you moved he replaced his red bandana with the purple one. Since then, he acts strangely at times. I think it's cursed."

"CURSED!" exclaimed Jack. "That's a load of rubbish. How could an article of clothing be cursed?"

"Jack, we live in a village where a goddess lives in a pond amongst gnomes that speak Pig Latin. Anything's possible."

"True."

Jeff flicked a note at Jack, who picked it up when it dropped to the sands. The bakery owner disappeared in a puff of red smoke, but the note still existed. It read: Find a way to rid us of the purple bandana, and Kai will be rid of the spell. Just beware, for this is more dangerous than you believe.