In My Life

Yes. Cliff. Cliff wearing jeans. Enjoy, and tell me what you think!

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MineralTown's dock is a choice dumping area.

-From Makoto's Journal

What would a ridiculously small without some kind of spontaneity? Although it would seem that things would never change, the true was that it would. Lovers and friends came and went, and came in completely unfamiliar with the next era of their lives.

People seemed to find solace in Strawberry Fields. It was a kind of place that could be whatever their hearts sailed up and into. Makoto had to keep this in mind as he heard sometime into his summer planting chords and song rising up past the lazy air.

"I want to tell you… my head is filled with things to say." The male voice carried something very mellow and gentle to it, moving the chords that in turn lifted the voice. "When you're here… all these words they seem to slip away."

A "What are you doing here?" came up from behind, the guitarist abruptly choking out the chords and jumping up to see Makoto there.

"I… uhhh…" he began with his eyes to the ground, his gentle voice now trembling in trepidation. "I was just kinda… looking for a place to rest… I ummm… didn't know this was your property."

"It's not," Makoto replied flatly. "I just work here." He paused for a moment. "What's your name?"

"Cliff," he said, slowly rising to his feet and bringing the acoustic guitar to his side. Cliff's brown eyes reflected his very gentle air, working nicely with his slightly short stature and accented by his scruffy blond streaked brown hair, bangs hanging over his sweaty brow. His clothes were very worn, more brown in a sleeveless jacket, a fitted black tank top, and torn up blue jeans pulled over adventurous brown boots that all worked nicely on his body, fit perhaps from his travels.

"Makoto." He pointed to his chest. "You can hang around singing here all you want, Cliff, but the Inn would probably give you better breakfast," he told him, turning to point down the road.

Cliff looked up at the sun, giving a quick and sheepish laugh.

"Actually, I could use something to eat," he replied, holding his hand over his stomach. "I'm kinda hungry from walking around for a while… chicken curry would be nice or something."

Makoto nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he replied, still with a nod. "Won't find that in the boonies, but I've got chicken curry flavored Cup-O-Noodles if that works for you."

Cliff cracked a small and shy smile underneath his bangs.

"If you want something not cooked in a hotplate, try the Inn," Makoto added, eyes to Cliff. But Cliff was looking off over Makoto's shoulder, Makoto wanting to scratch his head until he heard the barrage of enraged clucks from far behind him, quickly turning to the direction of the chicken coop.

And there were Makoto's mobster hens, chasing some poor stray pooch around the coop. The pooch ran yelping around in circles like a decapitated chicken, and the hens hunted him down with greyhound speed.

"Stupid mutt," Makoto muttered, slapping his hand to his forehead.

The pooch ran around a small tree covered in apple blossoms, looping around several times until he misjudged his path and crossed right into it. Blossoms slipped loose and rained down to light the dog's rear-end on fire. It took off from the blow towards Cliff and Makoto and the little river behind them, the convoy of chickens right on his tail.

"Get the dog before he falls in the river!" Cliff exclaimed, grabbing himself and Makoto with those words as they took off for the river as well.

Finally the pooch reached the bank, slipping down just as Cliff and Makoto leaped into the air. With a quick moment to look down, they noticed the chickens stopped off a while ago and were heading away from the water.

A sop was a good thing after sweaty farm work and sweaty traveling. Makoto stood up, mop top and clothes plastered in patches, and turned to see an equally soppy Cliff looking a little twitchy over the water.

"Good thing it's not deep," Cliff muttered with a groan. "Now… where's that dog?"

And in response, the dog barked from his butt planted position in the shallowest part of the water.

"Damn dog…" Makoto groaned, gesturing a revolver to his head with his finger. Then he shot his scolding pointer finger to the dog with an accusing glare and intimidating the poor cowering pooch. "Bad mutt! Bad!" He exhibited his broken arm, cast now falling apart into a mess and sliding off in clumps. "Now I have to go to the damn clinic 'cause of you… you..." For a moment he stopped, looking down at his clumpy cast with his expression still set. "You… wonderful little pooch!"

The little pooch, consequently the same pooch that proved Makoto's innocence the day before, sat proudly in all his goofy, floppy-eared, mutt shade of tan mutt glory as he wagged his scrawny little tail around. Cliff stood there, face blank like the next fifty or so pages of a second grader's journal.

"Yeah, Makoto…" he began, slowly shaking his head. "I'll round up those chickens while you do that."

"And make those noodles for this little dog here," Makoto added as he hoisted himself up onto the ground again. "He's probably starving after that run."

Cliff cocked his head, splashing his way up to the side of the river as he watched Makoto walk away.

"Wait! Don't you mean the noodles you were supposed to give me??"

Without turning around, Makoto responded.

"If there's another cup left!"

Cliff climbed out of the river and onto his feet watching Makoto pass the house and head for the entrance of the farm. Letting out a sigh, he turned and headed to look for those chickens.

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"Makoto, so you jumped into the river to save a stray dog that was being chased by your chickens?"

"Yeah."

Makoto was sitting down in the examination room as Elli stood next to him, holding up his right arm and cleaning off the leftover clumps of cast into a wastebasket by her feet.

"I'd never hear anything like that till you came around," she said with a quick laugh.

"I'm just glad to get this damn thing off already," Makoto muttered.

Elli nodded.

"Yeah, good thing your arm's healed up," she told him. "Now, try not breaking anything else. We don't give discounts for frequent cases anyway."

Giving a shake of his head was some sort of assurance.

"No more stupid injuries for me," he replied.

And the Doctor stepped into the room, hands in his lab coat pockets and his usual expression occupying his face as Elli finished on Makoto's arm. Makoto took a look at his right arm, groaning at the sight of the slight atrophy as he compared it to his larger left arm. But he put his arms down, giving a look and a nod to Elli as he got up from the chair. The Doctor began to speak.

"With some work, your right arm will match up to your left soon," he told Makoto firmly. Makoto nodded, and the Doctor shifted his glance to Elli for a moment. Then he turned, motioning for the two of them to follow him out to the examination room.

Makoto gave a quick look to Elli, catching her cheeks flared up. But she turned to him briefly and gave him a sheepish little smile.

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Makoto knew what taking his cast off meant. Elli spent approximately eighty one and a half percent of her time working, and he spent approximately ninety three and three-eighths percent of his time with hefty farm work. He sat on his porch at the end of the day, stroking the orgasmic pooch behind the ears as the little thing ecstatically rubbed his side on the stoop.

"Sorry for calling you "mutt"," Makoto muttered, looking to the dog. "I'm a mutt myself." He continued stroking the pooch as it let its long, soppy tongue hang out limply on the stoop. "You need a name."

He tapped his now functional right hand on the porch, drumming his fingers a bit. Then with an idea, he turned back to the pooch.

"Ehh... there was some anime on last night with a dog named Ein. Like it?"

The pooch stared idly at the fields, a puddle of drool slopping out from his mouth with each little pant he took.

"Ein then."

So he sat back a bit, still scratching and stroking Ein behind the ear.

"Ein…" he said. "Now that I've got my cast off, I can't see her anymore."

"See who?"

"Elli…" Makoto replied with a sigh.

"Who is she?"

"The only living entity I'll ever love…" he moped.

"Makoto! I thought you were so… rugged!"

Makoto snapped out and turned quickly over his shoulder to see Cliff on the other side of the porch, sitting and lightly strumming his guitar.

"I thought you went to the Inn," Makoto said flatly.

"Naw, I was finishing up my work here, but I liked the place and decided to take a rest," Cliff replied, slowly strumming a couple chords and leading in with his singsong voice. "I'm happy just to dance with you…"

Makoto wasn't amused, and turned back to himself.

"Meh… let's go get some dinner at the Inn," he muttered half to Cliff and mostly to Ein. He turned to the pooch with a quick rub of his fuzzy tummy. "You ate the last Cup-O-Noodles anyway."

"Dinner it is!" Cliff exclaimed as he passed down the stoops, guitar strapped to his back.

Ein honked in agreement.

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The Inn wasn't too crowded, perhaps because everyone else was enjoying meals in the comfort of their own homes. Mayor Thomas sat on some books from the library at one table in the corner, Gray eating at the counter, and Makoto and Cliff sitting in the far corner, Cliff's guitar propped up against the wall. Ein slept contently under the table, amazingly playing the harmonica without using his mouth.

Makoto, waiting for the food to arrive, picked up his steak knife and set his left hand on the table, proceeding to work back and forth with quick jabbing motions in the spaces between his fingers.

"That innkeeper's daughter sure is cute…" Cliff randomly murmured, holding his head up with both hands as he stared at the kitchen door.

"Yeah, whatever," Makoto murmured in reply, intensely picking up the pace of his knife game.

"Oh! She's the only living entity I'll ever love!" Cliff sighed.

"Do shut up." Makoto didn't even lift his head in reply. Just as he picked up the pace even more, he missed and Cliff's eyes shot open wide and his arms fell.

Makoto's hand made a very lovely knife rack, complete with a smooth wooden base.

"Makoto…" Cliff began, eyes rolling back in his head. "I'm gonna go get some help." And with that, he got up and left Makoto stuck to the table.

From somewhere behind him, Mayor Thomas shrieked bloody hell and Doug groaned. Cliff and Doug headed back to the table, no sooner followed by Ann who had left the kitchen at the sound of the commotion and Gray, who was just plain bored.

Doug looked down sternly at Makoto, having his gaze met by the farmer boy's blank face.

"The Mayor fainted," Doug told him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I have a knife in my hand."

Ann reached out for the handle of the knife, but before grabbing it her father pushed her hand away. With her face twisting, totally aghast, she yelled back at her father.

"What are we supposed to do, Dad? Leave him there all night!?" she cried.

"Finish cooking their dinners, and put Makoto's order in a doggie bag," Doug replied authoritatively. Ann sighed, turning back for the kitchen.

Heading to the door leading outside, Gray quickly muttered.

"I'll go get him some help."

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And within ten minutes, or according to Makoto's relativity, ten minutes, the Doctor arrived with his black doctor's bag at the Inn, followed by Elli. The moment they caught sight of Makoto, the Doctor groaned and Elli slapped her forehead as Makoto gave her a small wave.

"Okay Elli," the Doctor began, handing her the bag. "Take out everything we're going to need. I'll pull the knife out, and you work on him as quickly as possible."

"Ummm… the Mayor's also passed out in the corner," Cliff added sheepishly.

"He's probably better off like that," Doug told him sternly.

The Doctor walked up to Makoto and gave a nod to Elli. Then he reached to wrap his right hand around the hilt, reaching just until the very moment that Makoto grabbed the hilt with his other hand and yanked the knife straight out.

Elli instantly worked her way in there, cleaning the gratuitous mess of blood that had followed.

"Knife games are very dangerous, Makoto," she told him with her accusing glare. "I guess you'll never guarantee any gratuitous injuries."

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Gazing at the summer night sky was something relaxing for Cliff, sitting with his guitar on the rug in the dimly lit room as he lightly and randomly strummed on and on. The door was relaxed and open, Ann gazing on as Cliff moved deeper into his music. Cliff finished with a lasting chord, smiling contently to himself. Slowly, he looked up, and was a little surprised to see Ann in the doorway as he tried to hide in his quickly cowering eyes.

"Hi!" Ann beamed, inviting herself into the room. "I never got your name, you know."

Cliff swallowed hard, and led into a coughing fit as Ann arched an eyebrow.

"Geor… I mean… I don't know! Cliff!" Cliff exclaimed, voice cracking on his real name.

"Cliff or George?"

"Both. I go by Cliff, though."

"It's great meeting you, Cliff! I'm Ann!" Ann walked up to Cliff, extending a hand. Cliff reached up from the floor and grabbed it, absolutely melting in Ann's firm but allegedly oblivious handshake. "Wanna talk about something?"

And Cliff merely replied.

"I don't know…"

Today I arrived in, I think MineralTown. What a strange place! There's Makoto, the farmer infatuated with the girl at the clinic. That guy wound up with a knife straight through his hand today, and removed it himself! The Mayor of the town fainted before I got to even meet him, and I chased vicious chickens for a long while after watching them chase a dog into a river. What a day.

So now I guess I'll stay at the Inn here in town, working a little bit or something for a while to pay for the room. The story of my life. Well, at least the Inn keeper's daughter is a nice one. I just got to chat with her a bit. Her name is Ann.

-From Cliff's Journal

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And of course, the shout-outs. Aaaand… the lyrics for the song Cliff was singing at first… I Want To Tell You. Of course, by my love George Harrison.

Zomaelgustar the Wanker – Thanks so many times for all your support! And thank you for the wonderful compliment. Can't wait to see the new chapter of CHL and Crazy Love Affairs.

anime26angel – And you're another, I can't wait to see new work on New Horizons. Thanks for your support as well, and glad to hear about your band trip (poor busdriver!). Hello, fellow musician!

PacificTwist – Hey, thanks for reading! I'm really glad you read through so much, props to you! I'm glad you like the story, and I'd like to see you continue writing as well!

I Want To Tell You- By George Harrison (from the Revolver album)

I want to tell you
My head is filled with things to say
When you're here
All those words they seem to slip away

When I get near you
The games begin to drag me down
It's all right
I'll make you maybe next time around

But if I seem to act unkind
It's only me, it's not my mind
That is confusing things

I want to tell you
I feel hung up and I don't know why
I don't mind
I could wait forever, I've got time

Sometimes I wish I knew you well
Then I could speak my mind and tell
Maybe you'd understand

I want to tell you
I feel hung up and I don't know why
I don't mind
I could wait forever, I've got time
I've got time
I've got time