Inuyasha and Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness belong to their rightful owners.
Inspiring Song(s): Ievan Polkka (Kagamine Rin ver.), Ordinary, Take Me Away
Redundancy
'At least Denny was nice enough to let me borrow a bucket to carry the fish that I caught, although…' Kagome flushed at the receding memory – feeling like she should kick herself. While the brown-haired fisherman was retrieving his and a spare fishing rod, she had just taken off her sandals and stepped into the ocean, not going too far out to get her upper shorts wet or her shirt, but enough that fish would be around her somewhat within reach.
A small pain started to form and pester the shrine maiden in the middle of her back – the pain was nothing compared to what she had to deal with while in the Feudal Era, however, and Kagome was able to easily ignore the forming ache. The sun was almost starting to set, probably about an hour or so left before dusk – the black-haired female mentally sighed, she still needed to weed the plot of land that she was going to farm on and get rid of the excess sticks and stones.
"What are you doing, Kazuo?" Kagome looked over at the purple bandana-wearing fisherman, a medium-sized fish in her hands, before blinking and answering, "Fishing."
Denny scratched the back of his head in skepticism, Kuu rested on his non-moving shoulder and stared at the cross dresser – Kagome would later swear that the little black bird knew that she wasn't a 'he' like everyone is believing – "Whatever you say, whatever you say… why don't you try an actual fishing rod this time, though? I will admit that that is a pretty good fish~"
Kagome sighed and wadded back to shore, the fish still struggling in her hands – her shorts up to mid thigh were thoroughly soaked with the ocean's salt water, "And where do I put this fellow?"
Giving a small laugh, Denny approached near the shore line, setting the two rods down and went back to his shack to retrieve a bucket that Kazuo could store any more fish that he caught in. Coming back, he filled it and turned to the black-haired male, "Here."
Plopping the fish into the bucket, the cross dressing priestess looked to the taller person, "You could've said for me to put the fish back and use a fishing rod instead…"
The curly-haired fisherman gave a large grin and shook his head, picking up the rods and beckoning for the smaller male to follow him out onto the dock with the bucket, their footfalls causing the boards to faintly creak, "For not using a fishing rod, it's a good catch, Kazuo! Besides, I would've let you borrow a bucket anyway for any fish that you would catch anyhow."
The priestess huffed, setting the loaned bucket down momentarily to rest her hands on her lower back – attempting and unable to crack her back, giving a yawn which one of her hands went up to cover her mouth. She really needed to weed the whole plot of land on the farm that she now lived on. Kagome was grateful for gaining a friend so fast on the island; despite the time that she was there was so short.
The blue-black-haired priestess made her way to her ranch as quietly as she could without gaining any unwanted attention from the other inhabitants of the island, happy for all her time in the Feudal Era where she had to deal with inhuman entities with supernatural senses and abilities. Relief flooded her body and soul – complete mind you – as she saw her slightly small house come into view over the hill; the water in the bucket sloshing against the sides as her stride quickened a bit.
Cresting the hill, the cross dressing female froze as her blue eyes took in the figure leaning against the wall of the outside of her new house by the reddish door, black hat pulled low over their face. Kagome tilted her head this way and that as she examined the lone figure on her property, he – she was assuming, safely, hopefully – looked familiar to her… the priestess's eyes widened as a look of realization—that was the cowboy she passed on her way to her see what was to be her ranch for the first time when Taro lead her to it!
Kagome's steps resumed towards her house, taking her dear sweet time doing so and curious as to just how long the person was waiting for her to get back to her home. The various size fish that she caught moved as much as they were able to in their limited spaced container, the salt water making a soft noise that soon silenced itself as the carrier stopped five feet from the hat-wearing figure.
"Hello?" The priestess hunched her shoulders a bit, attempting to look up under the black western hat with the tan strip – curious as to what the man's face looked like.
She could swear she could hear a faint grunt from the solitary figure, one of his hands left their position of being crossed over his chest to lift the brim of his hat – the glove was interesting, the thumb and forefinger were the only two fingers to not be covered at all – a white bandana tied around his neck was exposed first, and then his face starting from his chin before going upwards. The western-looking male was attractive, Kagome would give him that, surprised that she's see a normal human with purple eyes and silver hair.
'Is he half albino by any chance? Or have any youkai lineage somewhere in his family?' The cross dresser felt a slight blush dust her upper cheeks at the man's offstandish personality – it reminded her so much of Sesshoumaru and the higher class demons in the past that didn't concern themselves with the fragments of the Shikon no Tama.
The silence between them stretched on, weighing on Kagome the most noticeably while the silver-haired male seemed completely unaffected by it – the priestess shifted from foot to foot as she tried to come up with something to say that didn't sound completely awkward to break the silence. One thing she didn't fail to notice was the fact that, like with Denny and even at five feet away, she was at least a head shorter than the western-looking male leaning against the side of her house; he may even be a bit taller than just a head taller!
"I feel so short…" She glared off to the side at nothing, having unconsciously announced that thought aloud, the faint blush only a bit darker – missing the quirk of one of the corners of the silver-haired man's lips at her statement. Huffing, and puffing her cheeks out a little, Kagome set down the bucket in front of her feet and stretched a hand out towards the other person, "I'm Higurashi, Jun, though my close friends call me Kazuo."
The light-haired male ignored her outstretched hand – eerily reminding her a bit of Sesshoumaru's personality more and more – looking at her directly and hands shoved into his pockets, "Vaughn, I'm the animal dealer for the island." One side of Kagome's mouth tipped downwards and her hand lowered itself back to her side like her other hand, "I see… well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Vaults."
The cross dresser ignored the sour look she received from the cowboy animal dealer and the way that he repeated his name to correct her – "It's Vaughn." – shuffling passed her irate stature, and reminding her just how much of a height difference there was between the two of them.
Kagome huffed and childishly stomped her foot when she deemed the other person far away enough from herself, resisting the urge to tug and pull at her short raven locks—giving a withering glare to the pile of pulled weeds by the edge of tilled plot of land, creating a reminder of her duty as a farmer now. Exhaling noisily, she blew the air upwards to her bangs, momentarily moving them out of her eyes – clearing her vision of her hair. Her entire being slumped tiredly as she yawned loudly, not bothering to cover her mouth this time.
Picking the bucket back up, she shuffled over to the door, easing it open and flicked the light on, looking around the room exhaustedly – putting the bucket down by the edge of her bed, her stomach rumbled hungrily at her – moving to get ready for bed, not surprised that she's have to wake up early. Groaning, Kagome undid the binds on her chest, alleviating the pressure on her lungs and allowing her to breathe deeply. Climbing into the single bed, the priestess threw a sandal at the light switch, hitting it dead-on and abruptly shutting the lights off – flopping back onto the bed, asleep by the time that her head rested peacefully on the pillow.
-0-
The shed feathers on the ground under her body cushioned parts of it, vigilant flowers remained standing despite the faux covering. The long-haired sixteen-year-old closed her eyes in content as she let her mind wander, planning to nap and rid her body of any unwanted stress that was plaguing her body – muscles gradually relaxing under the promise of sleep. The passing wind ruffled and shifted the feathers on the ground, flowers bobbing up and down and strands of her raven locks moving with the wind winding through the grass.
The lone figure sighed, silently groaning as she sat up from her previous position. Kagome looked around the empty meadow, white flowers dotting the landscape here and there – her fingers twitched as she plucked one close to her person. It was a pretty flower, she'd admit, and thankfully there were no bugs or anything like that residing on the flower. It was nothing more and nothing less, but a simple daisy.
Her head tilted a bit to the side as she let the fingertips of her other hand trace the end of the white petals, the almost wax texture of the petal—Kagome didn't hesitate to pluck the first petal from the simple flower. She brought the petal to her face, turning it this way and that – examining it curiously out of boredom. A soft giggle left her mouth, 'It's almost like when kids would pluck the petals to determine if the person they had a crush on liked them back or not.'
The priestess didn't bother trying to count how many petals the flower had, plucking them one by one, the first one she took from the daisy was 'He loves me not'.
Kagome pouted as she looked at the petals littering her green skirt that covered her lap, blue-gray eyes trailing the pathetic image the naked flower presented without what made it look beautiful. Huffing, she let the pout dissolve from her lips as she was determined to not let the result get the best of her; it was all in good fun after all – it wasn't meant to be serious or anything.
The final petal was, 'He loves me not'.
-0-
Kagome turned onto her stomach in her bed, not needing to look around to know that the sun hadn't even risen over the horizon yet. Burying her face into the soft pillow, the cross dressing priestess let her body just lay limp – not yet ready to get up and face the new day – but when sleep alluded her and refused to allow her back into its arms, the short-haired girl made her way out of bed at a snail's pace. It irritated her that she would have to bathe in the stream on the far side of her property because her house didn't come with a bath or shower, though it did contain a toilet for her—'That's nice of them, to put a bathroom in here, it'll especially help when that time of the month rolls around.'
Gathering some clothes that she had within her worn yellow backpack, the blue-black-haired nineteen-year-old made sure that she had a towel with her as well as bandages to bind her chest and anything else that she may need for her cold stream bath. The thought gave her chills, imagining the water's temperature, but she could handle it – Kagome remembered all the times she bathed in a cold stream in the early morning or at night when their group was unable to locate any hot springs around.
There were still a few stars remaining in the sky – what time was it? – as Kagome made her way over to the stream, she didn't really remember spotting it, but brushed it off as something that she registered subconsciously. She was glad for her eyes adjusting to the fading night as dawn was soon to be approaching—though she wasn't sure, it was better to be safe than sorry.
To her surprise – after pacing the pulled weeds and others that have yet to be – the water wasn't as cold as she first thought, but then again, it was just her foot in the water after she striped and set what she had with her near the edge, but not close enough to let them fall in and be swept away by the river's current. Breathing in and out, Kagome gathered her bearings and jumped close to the middle of the river, the air leaving her lungs as the temperature hit her naked body full force – bunches of air bubbles leaving to escape the water.
Kicking her legs, the tips of her toes brushed some smooth pebbles and rocks on the sandy bottom, Kagome broke the surface of the water, short black hair sticking to the back of her neck and various parts of her face – lips slightly purple from the temperature. Shivering as she could feel the each individuals water droplets run down her flesh exposed to the air, the farmer made her way to the riverbank, grabbing her two-in-one shampoo and conditioner, lathering it in her hair after putting a decent amount in one palm.
The white lather left her hair once she dunked her head and shoulders back under the water's surface, the river's current aiding her in rinsing her hair – the motion played and toyed with her suspended locks of blue-black hair, blue-gray eyes watching what strands she could see before quickly resurfacing. Her skin was a tad paler than before as she walked out of the river, not up to washing her body with her body wash – her hair was enough as is, and she wasn't sure how it was going to affect the fish in the waters.
The air was warm around her body as she toweled off her body and dried her hair, wishing that she had brought her sandals with her to prevent her feet from becoming dirty from walking in the grass back to her house. Sighing, the priestess bandaged her chest, trying to not make it too tight or constricting to the point where she could potentially pass out – throwing on the clothes she brought with her—which consisted of a dark shade of a grayish-lavender long-sleeved turtle neck and simple blue jeans that slightly flared at the bottom.
Kagome looked down at the bottoms of her pants, 'Hopefully, I don't look to feminine in these pants. I really don't want to go through questioning or anything like that if people think I swing the other way, since I'm supposed to be a male…' Shrugging, she looped a belt through the belt loops to hold up the jeans, letting her shirt rest at the top of her thighs, hopefully hiding her hips from anyone on the island, 'Why is it that the majority of the clothes that I brought with me are baggy?'
Gathering her towel and other toiletries, the cross dresser walked back to her house, flicking on the light as she closed the door behind her – lamenting that her eyes stung a bit at the bright light – depositing her clothes on the end of her bed where she proceeded to fold them, hiding her undergarments should anyone barge into home. Kagome sighed as she looked at the small pile of cloth, 'I'm going to have to hand wash all my clothes aren't I?' The though put a frown on her lips, it was bad enough that she had to bathe in the river and risk affecting the fish!
Letting her shoulders slump, the priestess grabbed the necessary tools and made her way outside, throwing on simple brown boots on the way, as she made her way to the pulled weeds. Setting down the farming equipment, Kagome put her hands on her hips, wonder just what to do with the pulled weeds, but knew that she couldn't just leave them there or throw them somewhere in the woods – sighing, she gripped as many as she could and made her way over to the shipping bin, 'Never said I couldn't put weeds here, Taro.'
The pile quickly diminished as she worked, the raven-haired nineteen-year-old moving on to the weeds within the tilled land, pulling them and putting them in a pile. The time passed quickly for her, and more weeds were taken from their rooted place – the blue-black-haired priestess was oblivious to the two guests that appeared at the edge of her property, what she did notice though was when one of the visitors came to the edge of the field, "My, you seem to be working hard."
Kagome froze and looked over to the two women, one was about her age and the other was an older plump woman with a smiling face. Sitting back on the balls of her feet; she didn't really want to have to change her pants due to dirty knees; her hands gripped the toes of her boots, shoulders hunched, as the girl her age faintly blushed, she herself was confused, "Um… not to be rude, but may I ask who you are?"
The plump woman spoke up, "You aren't being rude, dear. I'm Mirabelle and this is my daughter Julia."
The raven-haired teenager nodded her head at the introduction, "I'm Higurashi, Jun, though friends tend to call me Kazuo."
Julia – Kagome wasn't afraid to admit that the other girl was pretty, maybe even beautiful – gave her a shy smile, the blush slightly darkened, her hands clashed in front of her person, baby blues eyes watching her person shyly; she felt a smile tug at her own mouth. Blue-gray eyes looked back to Mirabelle, "What is it that you do on the island, Mirabelle?"
"We are where the animals are kept to be bought; Vaughn is the one to actually bring the animals to the island. He only stays here for a couple days before leaving the night of the second day." She explained. Kagome nodded, "So, are you his relatives?"
Mirabelle gave a small laugh, "No, we aren't, but we might as well be."
Kagome nodded in understanding, her eyes lit up in curiosity, "I see. Where about on the island do you two live?"
Julia spoke up this time, "By Taro's place, on the way to East Town."
"East Town?"
The blush faded a bit from the blonde girl's cheeks, "Yeah, though only a couple people live there."
This piqued Kagome's interest, there were more people on the island for her to meet – she had already met Denny and Vaughn (Vaults suited him better) – and it made her wonder the generals about them, were they male or female, tall or short, long hair or short; she didn't know whether she should curse or indulge her curiosity. Standing from her position, she could tell that she and Julia were about the same height. The two of them looked over to Mirabelle, who was looking at the arrived Taro, "We should be heading back. Feel free to stop by the shop any time, Jun!"
"Okay! Bye!" Kagome waved to the two, watching them leave as Julia waved back to her as did her mother, stopping when they turned away. She turned her gaze to the bald grandfather that took his time coming up to her with his walking stick. He smiled at her, to which she returned, wondering what he was going to tell her today – if he did at all, "Good morning, Jun."
"Good morning."
"How was your first day and night on the island, so far?"
Kagome thought for a moment, "It was eventful. I met four of the island's inhabitants – Denny, Vaughn, Julia and Mirabelle. Denny had me fish with him yesterday afternoon."
Taro nodded, processing what the cross dresser told him, "All right. Today, I'm going to tell you about planting crops – to refresh your memory, you see, since you helped your grandmother before and all."
Kagome nodded, not really listening to what Taro was telling her, but she tried all the same. Now that she thought about Denny bringing her fishing yesterday, it brought her back to what she was doing before he took her to the beach – 'Did mom call back yet? Did she hear the message or did Souta get it and pass it along? Wait, what if they called already when I was asleep?'
Looking back to the elderly man with the walking stick, she held out her hands when he dug around in his pockets for what he was going to give her. The priestess blinked at the few seed packets that were given to her, examining the picture on them curiously – Turnip seeds. Did he really just give her turnip seeds? She bowed to the mustached grandfather, "Thank you!"
"No need to thank me, Jun."
If she wasn't to thank him, then what was she supposed to do then when he gives her things? Act rudely towards him? No!
"Now, would you like me to repeat what it was that I just told you?"
Kagome looked to the elderly man, shaking her head in a negative, "No thank you."
Taro nodded, "All right then, I'll be on my way. Take care!"
"I will!"
Holding the seed packets, Kagome watched the old man off before pocketing the seeds and turning her attention to the field. Since she got up, a good majority of it was weeded – even look stones and sticks were removed from the farming land. Looking near the sun, she attempted to tell the time, but deemed it to be safely before noon, allowing her to work a bit more—the grumble from her stomach interrupted her from that thought and she looked down to her abdomen.
"All right, all right. I'll go eat."
Leaving the farming land, Kagome made her way to her house, being careful of her soil-dirtied hands as she opened the door, going to the bathroom to wash her hands. Coming back out, she looked to the bucket of dying fish. It made her heart clench, yes, but it made her wonder if she could sell the fish for whatever type of currency was used on the island… she did have granola bars and whatnot in her yellow bag – especially since she didn't have a kitchen to cook them.
Taking out the box of granola bars, Kagome sat on her floor, staring at the bucket of fish as she nibbled on the honey and oats bar, 'It's before noon, so I'll have to leave them in the bucket and put them in before five tonight to get money. That and keeping them in here will keep them from rotting out in the sun.' This way seemed more merciful to her, too. Getting up, the priestess threw the wrapper away in the garbage and went to the phone, had reaching for it, but she stopped herself and retracted her hand.
Turning away from the phone, she left her house, determined to get a little more work done before possibly changing and hopefully exploring the island more – she really wanted to meet new people, especially since there didn't seem to be any demonic presences on the island that could pose a threat to any new friends that she was going hopefully have.
I'm no good at getting fast updates out when I am determined to have each chapter about 4000 words. :/ I hope that those that read this story won't mind the wait. I'm going to be getting to Ask Ivan's Sisters soon – I kinda fell out of Hetalia, and I'm not really obsessing over anything right yet, which makes updates for some stories of mine slower. I will also be updating Lover? and Cat Ears, too. I just need to go through and edit any grammar mistakes in the latter one. Also, I apologise for any words that have hyphens in them, the Hyphenation is automatic on Word 2007, on my computer.
Yes, there will be fanart as well!
Also, in the game, you don't have a bathroom or bath/shower at the beginning of the game, but I decided to be merciful to Kagome and at least give her a bathroom. Also, this sort of starts like Sunshine Islands, with the main characters already on the island, however, besides that, it's all Island of Happiness.