Well, here it is! The big finale! This thing's been going on for more than two months now, but from here on out, it's complete! Since this is the last big hurrah, I might as well bring out the big list of thanks to reviewers throughout the story:
supernae, StarrNight, Mase, Cupcake Daydream, Jean Cooper, youroctober, happinessxandxrainbows, Anonymous, XxXTwilight-SinXxX, BeautifulAuthor, harvestmoonrox, and Kuneko.
I'm a little sad to loose a few would-be regular reviewers over the time of this story, but I'm thankful for the comments I got. Who knows, though? Maybe I'll be flooded with comments from a bunch of my former reviewers at the end? Heh, not likely, but here's hoping.
By the way, if you haven't noticed, a lot of this story has plenty of references to the Anime, "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei", meaning "Farewell Mr. Despair". It's an awesome Anime that inspired this fanfic in part, along with all the rampant Graire running around. Actually, Chapter 13 is almost directly based on an episode of the Anime until Robocop Ann and the "oh-so-mysterious" Phantom Renegade came into the scene. It's really fun and wacky; a lot like what I'm going for here. And heads up: There's going to be just one more "run of the mill" reference to this sweet series in this one last Chapter. :)
Let's get down to business. With this story's numerous twists and turns, it wouldn't be right to end it without a few last big ones. Coming up is THE LAST and LONGEST Chapter of "A Tale of Soles and Sores". I hope all you readers enjoyed the ride while it lasted!
"Transcending history and the world, a tale of swords and souls eternally retold..."
- The Narrative Voice of Soul Calibur
Final Chapter: Dawn of a New Season
After some melodrama amongst the citizens of Mineral Town, life in the humble locale finally became peaceful once more. Friendships strengthened, new love blossomed, and illness went away. Spring was nearing its end, and Summer was about to arrive, bringing along a few festivals with it. One was a beach festival for dogs, and another was a festival for the chickens; however, the local farmer Claire Kafka lacked possession of these two animals in her farm. Beyond that, the farm itself seemed particularly lacking of much more than that…
"Gray! Gray!" an excited voice cried in the early hours of the day.
The novice blacksmith had just got out of Inn when he heard the voice cry out. He quickly noticed a woman in a long blue dress running towards him.
"Mary?!" he exclaimed in surprise.
The lively librarian ran straight into her beloved with something in hand.
"Gray! Oh my, Gray… I can't believe it, but… Claire…" she uttered between her breaths.
"What about Claire? Is that goofy farmer in trouble again?!" Gray asked.
"N-no…. I don't believe that to be the issue, but… here…"
Mary then revealed the object in hand to be a letter addressed to her. She opened it up, revealing the contents to be in Claire's handwriting.
"She wrote this letter to the both of us. I wasn't exactly sure why she had to do it this way at first, but when I went to her house, she was gone!" Mary answered.
"Gone?! You mean she just ran off and left town? After everything we did to keep her from falling apart on us yesterday?!" he shouted. "Goddess, I swear, if it's because she's still secretly jealous or something, I'll--"
"Please read this!" Mary insisted. "I doubt she had any superficial excuses… she had genuine reasons…"
The ornery blacksmith sighed a restless sigh.
"Fine, fine…" he grumbled.
He then looked at the note side by side with Mary and began to read:
--
Dear Mary and Gray,
If you're reading this, then it means I left the town. Either that, or I decided to be silly and hand it to one of you personally before I left. Whatever means you got this should be pretty obvious by now. Anyway, I bet you guys must think I'm being cowardly, maybe even hypocritical, and maybe you're right, but I don't want to think about it that way. If I did, it would just hold me back for all the wrong reasons, much like I did when I couldn't confess to Mary about my feelings. I just decided that after spending nearly a whole season with all of you, I'm just not mature enough to raise a farm by myself yet. I thought the whole time that just because I was legally old enough to have my own house and everything, I'd be mature enough to make my own living. But I started realizing that maybe I was just too childish to be the big, reliable lady that can bring the farm out of its slump. Sure, I had the energy and drive to reinvigorate the place, but I was sort of dilly-dallying and not being serious enough to make the best out of it. I was too busy just doing what I wanted to do without a big business sense, and I think I liked Epona's milk too much to make a big profit with her.
For now, I decided to seek out a less demanding job to take on until I feel I'm ready to be a farmer again. I managed to get a hold of a want-ad the other day that wanted a maid to help tend the employer's villa and look after her young grand-daughter. Apparently, their usual butler is starting to get rusty in age along with the owner, and they're afraid of the granddaughter being left alone in the long run. What's more is that the poor girl lost her parents too soon in her life, much like I lost Dad. Maybe I could help cheer this girl up as her servant, much like I cheered you guys up as the residential farmer. I also heard there's this pesky thief that roams the place at night. Maybe I can help bring this dirt bag to justice! It's just a passing thought, but it isn't impossible. Heheh…
Oh, and don't blame yourselves, guys. This choice didn't have much to do with the both of you at all, I promise. I just wanna clear my head, get a new start, and maybe even become the woman I'd like to be… perhaps a little like Mary. Yeah, it's strange that I'd like to be a little like a friend who ended up being my first love and all, but we're both girls, so it really shouldn't be all that weird, right? I just want to be a more patient and wiser person like her. I'm taking to heart all the good things you saw in me, though, so no way I'm going to completely compromise myself to grow up. Speaking of being like being somebody else, Doctor Trent always did tell me I had a bunch of things in common with his nurse without even trying… aside from our haircuts. Maybe I'll end up more like her instead? Who knows? She's nice and all, so I wouldn't mind that much, but if I accidently become her full-out twin in personality, feel free to freak out. I'll probably be freaking out on the inside, too. And if we share the same thoughts, Elli probably will, too. Man, my head's spinning…
But seriously, I don't want you guys keeping away from each other just because I decided to leave. When I get back, you two better be dating, married, raising kids together, or whatever is the appropriate stage for the given lapse of time when I return! I wanna come back to see you two with smiles! I wanna see Mary as the sweet and sensitive wife/girlfriend while I wanna see Gray finally lighten up for a change and be a kind and caring husband/boyfriend! If I come back and find out you two are apart, Mary being all forlorn and sobbing, and a Gray who had lost his mind while giving up the best thing that's ever happened to him, then I swear that I'll take up your challenge and actually take back Mary by force! If I can! If my threat sounds real enough to you guys! Um, forget that last part. I really do want to see something come out of that confession-fest we had yesterday. You two looked so happy and cute together, you know…
One last thing: I know it's not fair of me to ask, but could you please take care of the turnips remaining on the field? It only needs about two more days until they're ready for harvest, and it would be a shame to have all that good work go to waste. Not only that, but summer's coming, and I don't want the heat to kill them off because I couldn't be there with them. Maybe Mary could use this time to get closer to her Dad and his plant fascination more? I don't know. But I really am sorry for having to ask such an unfair thing from you guys. You don't have to worry about Epona, though. She's coming with me on my trip! Gotta have my noble steer about my side at all times, right?
Good luck you guys, and be happy. I'm sure our friendship won't be going down so easily, even from a sudden separation like this. You showed me how strong and meaningful our bond is, and thanks. I'll promise to grow into a better woman for your sakes. Make sure to tell the doctor I'm sorry, too, but that I'm also thankful for everything he's done for me. It wouldn't be fair to not include another of my best buddies in this whole mess.
Always Get Taller,
Claire Kafka
--
"Well that sucks…" Gray grumbled.
"You're missing her already, aren't you?" Mary asked understandingly.
"Are you serious! After everything she's done?! After everything she put me through?!" Gray barked.
The hot-blooded blacksmith looked like he was just about to explode from all the suppressed frustration he endured and held back in lieu of the blonde farmer he had just dealt with for the past month. In one decisive moment, he finally let it all out… in one big sigh.
"…Yeah…" he muttered reluctantly.
"I am a little concerned, though. This sudden course of action does seems quite rash of Claire, but… maybe it is the best course of action for all of us. If some part of her is still reeling over you and I being together, it might have her distracted from her farm work and she may try to overcompensate by using our companionship in ways." Mary anticipated. "Maybe this time apart will give her the experience and focus she needs in the future. Maybe she'll even find someone special along the way as well?"
"Maybe it'll end up being a fellow guy after all…" Gray guessed.
"What makes you say that?" Mary asked.
"Hey, nothing against that same-gender deal. I'm just saying, if her goal's to be more like the greatest woman who's ever lived, she's going to have more men after him than anything else, and that will work more for her." Gray explained. "But if any of them decide to go after her for all the wrong reasons, that crazy farmer's going to have two good friends that'll come to her rescue right away."
"You… and Doctor Trent?" Mary asked dubiously.
"Okay, make that three." Gray corrected.
"Who's… the third?"
"What? You don't want to be by my side to comfort Claire while I beat the snot out of the guy who hurt our friend?" Gray asked more directly.
"Oh…." Mary uttered. "W-well, maybe I could learn a few defensive arts and help save her myself?"
"I'll have your back and protect you if anything goes wrong." Gray said seriously.
"T-Then… I'll just have to find a way to toughen up and save your behind in the unlikely event that the ruffian takes you don't, won't I?" Mary debated.
"I won't let that happen." Gray stated firmly.
"Will you…?" Mary said while in a daze.
The newly-established pair's faces drew closer and closer together, their lips in perfect symmetry. Little by little, centimeter by centimeter, that small distance was slowly closing in…
"Mary! Gray!" a voce called from the Inn.
The blushing duo quickly drew back to look towards the source of their interruption.
"Cliff?!" both exclaimed.
The young man standing before them had long, messy brown hair tied up in a ponytail. His eager face had thick, brown eyebrows and sharp, boyish dark pupils. He wore a thick, yet sleeveless tan fur coat with worn shorts and a pair of brown travelling boots. Overall, he stood out strongly as the outdoors type.
"Say, the two of you happen to be closest guys to the new farmer, Claire, right?" he asked.
Gray looked at him dubiously, while Mary looked curiously.
"Yes. Yes we are…" Gray stated mildly.
"Oh, good! Say, I know this sounds like a pathetic request coming from me, but do you guys think you could help me get to know her a little better? I… I've been wanting to talk to her for the longest time, but for some reason, I just find it hard to approach her! I'd really appreciate it!" he asked.
The pair looked back in shock, then looked at each other uneasily.
"Oh, wow. So she had a potential bachelor in town, after all." Mary said quietly to Gray.
"You really think he's got it that bad for her?" Gray questioned in equal subtletly.
"Look at him. He's practically beaming! And a little nervously and sweaty… like the two of us before we realized what was going on, now that I think about it…" Mary murmured.
"Er… do you think we should tell him? That her first love was a woman, at least? We don't have to say it was you, but maybe he should know for his sake..." Gray whispered.
"I'm not sure. I think it would be best to have Claire's options still be as open as possible. She hasn't grown up with a lot of experience in love, yet. Maybe the next person she ends up falling in love with a sitar-strumming hippie that represents peace and harmony, or perhaps even the affluent young lady she's going to work with? I may have remained adamant all my love towards you, but with what I've read in romance novels, the emotion can lead to unpredictable results." Mary guessed.
"A sitar-strumming hippie? Where in the world did you get that idea?" Gray asked.
"Well, it does sound somewhat like the opposite of you, doesn't it? Claire always seemed scared of you whenever we're together. At first I thought it was affection, but looking back at it now, maybe you're just not her type?" Mary assumed..
"Um… guys?" Cliff interrupted them.
"Yes, right! Um… sorry to say, but our dear friend Claire had just taken off some time ago. She's decided to take a temporary leave from her farming duties, unfortunately." Mary told him.
This piece of news looked like a big blow to the hopeful Cliff.
"Is that right?" he said, sounding like someone had just punched him in the gut.
"Yes… I'm sorry." Mary answered apologetically.
"Oh, then. Do you happen to know where she's gone?"
"Actually, she hasn't told me directly, but from what I could discern from the letter, she might be heading towards Forget-Me-Not Valley." Mary surmised.
"Wait… Forget-Me-Not Valley?" Gray cried. "How'd you come up with that all of a sudden?"
"Good question, Gray. Actually, this villa and the residence sounds very familiar to me. I have a pen pal and close friend living with the circumstances mentioned on the letter. Her name is Lumina. I'm not sure how many young heiresses out there live in a villa with only their grandmother and elderly butler, but if that's a far more common case than I've surmised, then we live in a pretty interesting world." Mary deduced.
"Wow… you sure know interesting people…" Gray uttered in amazement.
"Forget-Me-Not Valley?! Wait, that's not too far from here!" Cliff exclaimed.
Mary nodded.
"True, I go there every few weekends or so myself. I was actually planning to take Gray there on my next visit."
"Hold on… then we can still see Claire whenever we like?" Gray asked.
"I suppose so. At the same time, I could use the chance to introduce you to my pen pal Lumina." Mary added.
"Oh! This is great!" Cliff cried in relief. "Then… then… maybe, just maybe I could…"
The grizzly young man thought to himself, seemingly formulating a plan in his head, while Gray and Mary could only witness him without a clue to the things in his mind. The next moment, Cliff smacked his right fist onto his left palm.
"Fine! No holding back this time!" he declared.
Without a second thought, the newly resolute man took off towards the valley.
"Thanks guys!" he yelled. "I was way too shy this whole Spring, but now with everything at stake, I now know I can't let her get away! I'm going to get to know her for sure!! Farewell!"
With what just occurred, Mary and Gray gawked in utter disbelief.
"…That hobo's finally gone mad…" Gray muttered.
"Actually, that's quite adorable." Mary said sweetly.
"Whoa, is that Cliff I just heard speeding out of town like a Space Case?" a female voice cried out.
Gray and Mary turned to see it was Karen, clothed in a violet vest, white t-shirt, and blue jean shorts. The pair merely nodded in response.
"Sweet! I always thought that guy was way too shy and quiet, but to see him finally let loose like this?!" Karen cried.
"He's chasing after love, I believe." Mary clarified.
"Even better!" Karen smirked.
She then turned towards the fading speck showing Cliff's presence and brought her hands close to her mouth.
"RUN CLIFF, RUN!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
"That reminds me. I should probably get a riffle ready just in case…" Gray said bitterly.
"Gray? Why?" Mary asked uneasily.
"The farm's empty again, and she may come back to reclaim it. I'm not taking any chances! There's just no way am I going to let that bratty Blaire Witchazel run us all miserable again…" Gray declared with a vengeance.
"Right…" Mary sighed.
As all of this went on, a lone girl with braided red hair by the entrance to the Inn grumbled to herself bitterly.
--
Meanwhile, on the road to Forget-Me-Not Valley, the blonde wanderer was heading slowly and steadily on her trusted ride, Epona the cow.
"Don't worry, Epona. We'll reach the Valley soon enough, and when we get there, it'll be all the grass you can eat." Claire told her cow in comfort.
Soon enough, a traveler on the road quickly caught up to the cow with knapsack by her side.
"Hey." The traveler called out.
"Yes?"
Claire immediately got a good look at her new acquaintance. She had short, boyish red hair and wore and unbuttoned, checkered blue shirt over a yellow tee along with a pair of white shorts.
"What are you doing on a cow?" the stranger asked blatantly.
"I'm riding it to Forget-Me-Not Valley of course!" Claire simply replied.
"Huh… I happen to be heading there myself." The stranger noted.
"Really? Is this your first time, too, or have you been there before?" Claire asked.
The red-headed stranger put her hands on her chin and thought back deeply.
"Oh, I've been there before. It's just been awhile, but I still remember the way. It was a few years back, when someone I knew got married." She answered.
"This "someone" a friend of yours?"
"I guess you could say that." The stranger replied with a shrug.
"Oh! Cool! Then maybe you're going back to say hi to them or something?"
"Who knows? Maybe…"
The blonde farmer stared at the red-head stranger rather oddly.
"Gee, you're a really vague and mumblish person, aren't you?" asked Claire.
"That's how I happen to roll." The stranger stated. "You got a problem with it?"
"N-no, not really. It's just you kinda remind me of a friend of mine. Except he yells more and is less vague."
"Sounds like a nice guy…" the stranger answered sarcastically.
"Oh, and he was way more blunt than sarcastic!" Claire added.
"I see…"
"Yep!"
The stranger shot Claire a very dirty glare, unsure whether or not she was completely serious, or was being a subtle smartass, but the blonde cowgirl appeared distinctively straight-faced and jovial.
"Say, girl--"
"You can call me Claire!" the blonde insisted.
"Claire… what are you doing heading to the valley yourself?" the stranger inquired.
"I'm getting a job over there and starting life a new! I'm going to be a maid!" she chirped.
"Does it happen to be for the people in the villa?"
"Yep! Oh, you knew because you lived there before, right?"
"Right…"
The unlikely pair continued travelling side by side, although the stranger held a considerably faster face compared to the blonde on cowback.
"That reminds me! What's your name, pal?" Claire asked.
The red-headed wanderer remained silent as she kept as stoic expression.
"Okay then. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just curious! I just thought because I shared my name, you'd--"
"It's Nami. Nami Hito." The stranger abruptly stated.
"Then Hello, Miss Hito!" Claire cheered.
"Please, just call me Nami. Neither of us are in a business here." Nami requested.
"Okay, Nami. Please to meet'cha!"
"You, too…" Nami grumbled.
As the travelers continued onward, the irritable woman felt her legs start to tire. Eventually, she looked at the lazily-paced cow and her owner with subtle envy in her eyes. The further they traveled, the more frustrated she got.
"Claire…" Nami suddenly said aloud.
"Yeah, Nami?"
The weary red-head narrowed her eyes and bowed her head slightly as her face started to redden from sheer embarrassment.
"…Can I… have a ride on the cow?" she barely got out, sounding like she was about to choke on something.
"Oh, sure! No problem! Anything to help out a friend! But her name is Epona. You gotta remember that!" Claire fussed.
"Epona?"
"It's a great name!" Claire argued. "She's my noble steer!"
The mentally exasperated traveler glared right into the Claire's eyes, almost certain she had heard quite possibility the stupidest thing she ever heard… that didn't come out of a certain blonde boy's mouth.
"Okay, Epona it is…" she muttered plainly.
Claire then helped her new travelling companion up onto Epona's back. It was a rather awkward process for the both of them, but they both managed well enough.
"By the way, we're not friends…" Nami stated.
"Oh, right! We'll have to wait a bit before we can say that for sure, right? That's okay. I really wasn't sure if I'd be alright with Mr. Yells-A-Lot, but he ended up being cool after all." Claire grinned.
"A Jerk with a heart of gold type, eh?" Nami said curiously. "Don't expect the same from me."
"Ah, don't worry about it! You seem smarter to me than my friend for some reason! Maybe even as smart as my other friend! She was really nice and friendly! And she read a lot!" Claire answered.
"Thanks?" Nami replied.
"No problem!" Claire cheered.
"You know, there's this guy at the valley who's a very talkative guy. You seem like you'd like the merry type. Maybe you two would get along and be fast friends." Nami shared.
"Really? What kinds of things is he into?" Claire asked.
"Women."
That last line immediately shut Claire up on the spot. Part of her wondered if the stoic woman caught on to her remnant feelings of her first fling with love, yet another part of her realized just what Nami meant about this guy.
"Pervert…" she thought with a shiver down her spine.
"He…sounds…fun…" Claire said aloud in a forced tone.
Nami looked at the silenced blonde once more with uncertainty.
"Either she's one of those idiot savant types, or she has way more common sense than she lets on…" she thought suspiciously.
"Yeah, he's a barrel full of laughs." Nami replied coyly.
And so, Claire Kafka and her latest companion, Nami Hito, set off together towards the rising sun on a slow and steady cow, while yet another destined companion had a great distance to make in order to catch them.
The End