Chapter Two

Akari mourned as she held up her head with her hands. She was situated on a nearby bench in the square of the town. She watched the towns people walk past her, staring at her oddly. They all wondered if she was a tourist or simply a stowaway but minded their own business and continued their way.

"Hey!"

Akari looked up to see a boy about her age with sapphire blue hair and yellow cat like eyes looking at her. He shoved a hand towards her face causing her to flinch. "Hey there, I'm Luke, who are you?" He asked bubbly. Akari blinked at the strange hyper teen. Her hands hesitantly reached to the hand, when she was close enough Luke grabbed it and shook it like a mad man. Akari had to use one hand to hold onto the bench just so she wouldn't tumble from the movement.

She was so shaken up the blunette. Is it common for strangers to be so kind here?

"I heard that the people on the islands are really nice. Some people even give gifts to each other. I think it's really sweet" Chelsea giggled.

The teen shook her head, there's no way that was actually true. Even if it was, why would the people here be kind too?

Little did she know that topaz-like eyes were staring right at her. "So," he asked. "What's your name?"

Akari pointed a finger at herself, "Me?"

He released a chuckle. "Of course, silly! Who else am I talking to?"

She laughed meekly. "I'm Akari. Nice to meet you Luke." She stood up and smiled gently at him, still questioning inside about his oddly amiable behavior.

The brunette released a squeal when he suddenly wrapped his arm around her neck. She had arms around her neck tons of times but this was a different story. She usually felt nothing when her male friends did that to her. He was someone she barely knew and met five seconds ago. What kind of person goes that fast with a relationship?

"So are you new here, Akari?" Luke asked as he began to make her walk with him. "Would you like a tour?"

"E-excuse me…" Akari said weakly with discontent. Was this one of those kidnappers? There are a number of stories about them in the city. Her palms grew clammy as she tried to push away from the oblivious fellow.

There was a sudden stomp on the ground and the two looked to see a flaxen-haired boy who looked obviously grumpy.

"Luke." He said as he began to tap his foot impatiently and crossed his arms across his chest. "Let go of her, you look as if you're kidnapping her."

Luke's eyes widened as he stared the blonde boy before looking at Akari, who was still struggling to escape his grasp. A smile appeared on his complexion. "Gilly, stop being silly. I'm not kidnapping Akari, I'm going to give her a tour of Castanet."

Gill ran a cool hand through his hair as he closed his azure eyes. "Luke, you can't be more of an idiot than you already are, can you?"

The blunette frowned and released Akari. "Gill, do you have to make me look like an idiot in front of everyone?"

Gill scoffed and put his nose in the air. "Please. You don't need my assistance, you do that all on your own." Luke opened his mouth in protest but slowly closed the gap as his cheeks flushed pink.

Akari felt anger rise as she watched the pompous teen ridicule Luke. She stepped forward to Gill as she pointed an accusing finger inches away from his nose.

"Who are you to call him an idiot?" Akari roared as the finger went closer and closer to his face. His blue eyes narrowed with every inch. "You can't possibly be better than anyone, walking around and putting everyone down!"

"A-A-Akari…" Luke said weakly as he watched in terror. "You shouldn't do that!"

Akari shoved the words away as she glowered dangerously at Gill, ignoring the crowd beginning to surround them.

Gill scoffed as he nonchalantly waved the hand away with a sarcastic smirk. "Trust me, you wouldn't be saying that after you get to know this buffoon. But nonetheless, welcome to Castanet Island." He narrowed his eyes curtly before putting his hand into his trousers' pocket and walking away. Akari's fingers bent into a fist and winced as she felt her nails pierce into her palm. The crowded diminished and continued on with their usual schedule. Akari huffed loudly from her nose as soon as she blonde was gone. Luke ran in front of her and began to throttle her violently.

"Why did you do that?" He exclaimed as Akari's hazel eyes transformed into swirls.

"…Hah?"

"Why did you do that to Gill? He's going to kill you now!" Luke released Akari, who began to wobble. When Akari regained her posture, she arranged a hand on her hip. "He doesn't scare me. By the looks of it, he's just a spoiled brat."

Luke began to scratch the back of his head. "I guess you could say that." He suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her away. "We can't talk here, let's go to the forest."

Akari frowned as she began to run with the teen.

Why is he acting like this just over that blonde kid? It's so strange.

When they were finally surrounded by large towering oak trees and wandering critters, Akari took in a deep breath. Her eyes met with Luke's and crossed her arms.

"So why are we here again? Why are you so terrified of Gill?"

Luke sighed as he brought both of his hands behind his neck. "Not necessarily scared but just worried. Gill is the mayor's son after all and is in line to be the mayor. When he becomes the mayor, we're all screwed."

Akari sighed as she unknotted her arms. "I don't see why we have to go so far as to going into a forest just to talk about him. What can he do after all? He's not going to kick you off the island."

"I guess but he's been like that ever since we were young. He was always pretty cruel with words."

He sat down on a nearby tree stump. "But I guess you wouldn't understand, after all, you're a new villager."

"I'm actually not supposed to be here."

Luke's golden eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

She blushed as she explained her mishap with tickets. Luke nodded every now and then.

"…And that's how I ended up here." Her face was still burning crimson after talking.

Luke patted her back with a large grin. "Nah, don't worry! I would've done the same, honestly."

She gave him a small smile. "Haha, thanks." I think.

"But now that I think about it, I think you're the only person who came here for that reason."

She narrowed her eyes playfully at him, "Gee, thanks."

Luke chuckled as he punched her playfully.

"I don't think I've properly introduced myself. I'm Luke. I work at my dad's place as a carpenter near the woods. I like to chop things and mayonnaise. I lived on Castanet all my life. Nice to meet you. Let's be good friends for as long as you stay here." He offered her a gloved hand. She grinned as she accepted it and shook it. "The name's Akari. I'm a graduate from T University and from the city. I'm not supposed to be here but I'm sure I'll get there soon. Nice to meet you, Luke!"

"You graduated from T University? Isn't that like one of the best colleges in the country?" Luke said in awe. Akari blushed pink from his reaction, it was always the same but she continued to feel bashful.

"Y-Yeah."

"Damn! Why is someone like you trying to live at an island? You can probably buy your own island with the money from your job." Luke said stretching out his arms.

"Well, just because you go to college doesn't mean you'll get a job. I actually worked as a waitress after college. You gotta hate the economy"

"No way…"

"Yeah. But you can't blame anyone for that."

"That's still amazing…." Luke gaped and stayed silent for a moment. "You are smarter than me."

She shook her head. "Not really. I majored in a subject which makes me an expert but you probably know more about other stuff. So don't think I'm smarter."

Luke nodded. "Alright. Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

She burst into a smile. "Yeah man, I'm starving!" They high-fived and suddenly made their own handshake without realizing it. They blinked in surprise but giggled, knowing they would be good friends.

"I can't believe a T University student mixed up the tickets though."

"Shut up!"

"So you said you need a job right, Akari?" Luke said as the two entered the Brass Bar.

The brunette shrugged her shoulders but scratched her head. "I guess but right now I need a place to stay. But I'm broke right now, so I guess a tent outside will do."

Luke halted and frowned. "There's no way you're going to sleep outside. You can sleep in my house."

"Sure. If your dad's fine about it, I'm cool."

Akari didn't really mind sleeping in a guy's house. She even lived with her two brothers for majority of her life. It was all natural for her. She had just met Luke but she knew he wasn't the kind of person to take advantage of someone else. Besides, she slept over tons of guys house, the only bad thing she did was cheat on a video game they would play together. She never enjoyed handling girls, other than Chelsea of course. Girls would always complain about their appearance like it really mattered and talk about a new guy every week. It's such a pain!

"Hey there Luke," rang a high voice with a dash of southern in it. "You need a seat or two?"

Luke smiled at his blonde waitress friend. "Hey Kathy!"

She returned the smile and turned to the graduate. "So who's your friend Luke? You're new girlfriend?"

"She's Akari. She's just visiting for now and no she's not my girlfriend." He said calmly as Akari nodded. Kathy rose a suspicious eyebrow but shrugged her shoulders as she brought them to a seat. "Can I get you any drinks?"

"Water." Luke said.

"Lemonade." Akari said.

The pretty blonde scribbled onto her notepad as she handed the two menus. "I'll be right back. You know what to do when you know what you want," she said as she left to assist another customer.

Akari's hazel eyes scanned the menu quickly. "So what do you want Luke?"

"I'll get some Spinach Risotto. How about you?"

"Spaghetti for me." Luke nodded and called over his waitress friend. She came over with her cowboy boots clicking on the floor. "What'll it be?"

"Spinach Risotto and Spaghetti please." Akari said as she put down the menu. Kathy nodded, causing her pony tail to bounce, and began to gather the menus. "They'll be done soon."

When Akari opened her mouth to speak, Kathy returned with the two steaming meals. She was shocked by how quickly the meals came but stayed silent. Kathy didn't need any help with who got what since Luke has an obsession with spinach meals. The waitress clapped as she smiled at the two. "Enjoy your meal guys!"

Luke nodded rapidly as he reached for his fork. He stabbed a piece of spinach and aimed it toward his PacMan-like mouth. Akari, on the other hand, had her head bowed and was praying. The blunette looked at her oddly and waited until she raised her head and ended with "Amen." She jumped by the weird look he was giving her.

"What?"

"What were you doing?" Luke asked simply. Akari was flabbergasted, how could he not know what she was doing? "I was praying."

His topaz eyes narrowed. "Why? The Harvest Goddess doesn't need you to pray for her before you eat."

Akari cleared her throat. "Well I don't believe in the Harvest Goddess."

Luke nodded as he lightly slammed his fist onto his open palm. "Oh yeah! You're not from here."

She raised her eyebrows before shaking her head slowly. She pondered what kind of people in the 21st century would believe in a mythical woman who specializes in harvest. Was she like a Goddess of Harvest, like Demeter in Greek mythology?

"Sorry, I just always worshiped the Harvest Goddess." Akari shook her head as she picked up the fork and began to twist the tomato-covered noodles. Her eyes enlarged as she chewed the noodles. The food was obviously fresh and the spices exploded in her mouth. "Whoa."

He stopped eating and looked at her. "What's up?"

"This is just…really good."

He grinned, "Of course! Anything made by Chase is pretty damn awesome."

She nodded in agreement. The two eventually finished eating. Kathy came with the check.

"Hey, sorry Akari but I don't have any money with me. Can you possibly pay for me?"

Akari's eyes widened as her pink lips parted. "Crap. I just remembered I don't have my wallet. It's probably on Sunny Islands."

Luke gaped as he began to rummage through his pockets. Akari took out all the stray change she had in her pocket. She took out five dollars and twenty cents.

"What the hell is that?" Luke asked as he eyed and poked the money.

"It's money, what else?"

He scratched his flaming blue bandana. "Nope, not in Castanet. We use G."

"G?"

"G"

"Okay….? So is my money useless?" Akari questioned slowly. Luke continued to poke the money and nodded. She groaned as she slumped in her seat. "Dammit. How are we going to pay for the meal then?"

"Do you need help to pay, Akari?" A sudden vaguely familiar voice asked arrogantly. Akari turned around to see the Gill, the mayor's son, standing tall and proud with a hand in his white trousers. "Well, do you need my assistance or not?"

Luke and Akari looked at each other silently. She looked at him questioningly and he nodded slowly.

"Y-yeah, Gill."

The blonde smirked as he took out his wallet and pulled out some gold coins. He walked over to the table and placed the G on the check.

He turned to Akari, sapphire meeting chocolate. "I'll be expecting the exact amount later." He gave her a curt smirk before walking towards Kathy and asking for a table.

Akari's cocoa eyes followed him and they narrowed slightly. Why did she have to pay him back? Why not Luke? Not that she wanted Luke to pay Gill back but….

That pompous jerk!

About the whole religion bit in the chapter, I only added it so Akari can see how different Castanet is. If it offends any of you, I'll remove it right away.

Yeah there was a lot of Luke in here. Not sure whether to make him a 'rival' or not. So you give me your opinions on who should be the rival.

Also yes Gill is sorta ooc here but you have to understand, he had a really bad start with Akari. But if its getting too out of character, just tell me and I'll drop it down a notch.