In My Life- Somehow tying death, blasphemy, and Happy Hour in one big bundle!

I know it's been a while. Warning: Nothing happens.

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"I found out it's a year tomorrow since the old man died. They're gonna gather at the cemetery and sure, I'll show up."

-From Makoto's Journal

Everybody in town made it top priority not to miss it.And at a casual ten in the morning, the residents of Mineral Town were all gathered in the cemetery, looking to Pastor Carter to commence. Some of them trudged in, nothing short of downtrodden, a few broke out in tears, and others such as Carter held their heads up and looked to the brighter side.
It wasn't a formal event at all, but the tradition shone on that sunny day. Carter started these gatherings on the first anniversary of two deaths in the community soon after he arrived two years ago, and continued holding them since.

Makoto was amazed that every single soul in town showed up, even an old fisherman he'd never seen before. The talk of the old man hovered in the air in small exchanges. And once Carter stood up, all the murmurs and weeping dissipated as the villagers hung their heads.

No one quite counted the seconds and minutes in silence, thoughts zoning and shared in the drab atmosphere. No one quite counted the days either.

Carter slowly lifted his head.

"We should share our thoughts of the old man," he said. "Anything you want to say about him."

Murmurs of "he was a good man" broke out from various spots in the crowd, and the nods of agreement quickly followed. Then it all died down, leaving Carter to speak again.

"A certain someone should come and say a few words for the old man," he said, directing his sight ahead. "Makoto, would you come here, please?"

Some of the eyes turned to watch Makoto make his way forth, others deliberately turned away, and some kept their gazes downcast. Turning to face the others and backing up into place next to Carter, Makoto let out a sigh.

"I... umm..." he let out a grimace, searching for words. He was being given some divided attention. "Well... umm... the old man was really great. I only kinda knew him in person... but... umm..." He paused. "I know I'm not doing him any justice by saying all that, and that you held him very dear." He had more stares now, with a fair share of the disapproving ones.

Makoto turned his eyes away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"And I know that I'm not doing Strawberry Fields much of anything either."

A few nods agreed.

"I'll try hard to make the old man content with my work," he capped, quickly brushing off and slinking back into his corner, albeit the stares that followed him. Carter shrugged, and then said:

"Well, who wants cake?"

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Carter baked the cake himself. Strawberry, and an enjoyable treat at that, only to be washed down with the coffee he also set out. Makoto was on his fifth cup, leaned up next to one of those stained glass windows on the wall.

"So..." he uttered, looking to break a silence. He turned his head to Elli, who was still sipping her first cup as she stood next to him.

"So..." she echoed. Makoto took the last sip of coffee.

"I think I'll get more coffee," he murmured.

Elli took a sip of hers.

"I think there's none left." Makoto let out a shrug.

By this time, the people were starting to drift out, some speaking with Carter before leaving. Makoto stared down at his cup idly as Elli finished off hers. With all the idle cup-staring, neither of them noticed that Makoto was approached until Duke's immense shadow loomed over them. They both looked up, but Makoto went back to examining his cup.

"MAKOTO!" Duke bellowed, taking no care that the windows were rattling behind them. It took a moment, but Makoto once again looked up and kept his focus there for a moment, but turning back to his cup again.

"Yes?" he finally acknowledged, keeping his gaze away from Duke.

"I don't take yes for an answer!!" Duke quickly shot back, pushing past an equally apathetic Elli to stick his face eye-to-eye with Makoto's. "Now, would you care to tell me what you're doing to the old man's farm??" Makoto shrugged.

"No."

"I DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!!"

Makoto shot him a glare, standing tall.

"I'm growing rice," he murmured, silently counting the pores on Duke's face.

Duke only shoved his steaming red face in closer.

"The old man was NO rice farmer! He'd be shitting his grave if he found out about YOU!!"

The few that were left in the church spun around to stare at Duke on that note. Manna rushed over from blabbering to Pastor Carter and took up her husband's flank just as Makoto retorted.

"Don't you have work to do?" he asked, fists at his sides and looking Duke in the eye. "You and the wife should make up for the lack of help you've had for a while now. I'm guessing it's the one your winery's named for."

Elli pinpointed the moment when Duke's blood hit the boiling point, but Makoto slumped off again, this time grabbing her wrist and taking her with him. They were on their way out of the church when Carter announced that he wanted to go over the next day's Music Festival with the teenagers, and Manna took Duke by the arm to lead him out of the church.

Carter waited for Makoto and Elli to snag the two open seats in the semi circle of their peers. Most of them were distracted anyway, either glaring at Duke as he left or sulking and muttering about him. Rick was admonishing the air about Duke's cursing in church. Of course, no one would be brave enough to stand up to Duke himself about it.

With the clasp of his hands, Carter cut through the clamor.

"Okay!" Everyone decided to wrap up, but Rick took a moment longer. "Well, Makoto doesn't know about the music festival, nor does he know that he'll have to play a few piano parts for us as well," he promptly said, sending everyone's gaze to Makoto. Makoto crossed his arms over his chest with a huff.

"And you couldn't tell me sooner, because…?" he grumbled, lowering his head and arching an eyebrow. Carter let out a long, joking laugh, leaving everyone else rather perplexed. Once he was running low on laughter, he managed to speak.

"I guess it slipped my mind," he chuckled, finally stopping to clear his throat. "Anyway, let's go around the circle and see what everyone picked to play, eh?" He leaned back on his podium, snapping and pointing to the first one in the semi circle, Cliff.

"Umm…Beatles… I Want to Tell You," Cliff replied. "I'll sing and play guitar." With another thought, he added: "And I need Makoto for piano."

With a pleased nod, Carter pointed to Ann.

"I learned that flute part that you told me and Elli all about" she replied, rubbing the back of her head with one hand. "Whatever song that was."

"Well, we'll find a male vocal today for that," Carter informed her. "And Cliff can play guitar for that too." He turned to Cliff. "It's an easy part," he told him, invoking an assured nod.

Gray was picked next.

"'Good Old Days', Fastball," he mumbled. "Mary's playing organ--" Mary testified with a quick and nervous nod. "—and Cliff's playing the guitar part. I'm playing bass."

Mary quietly said that all she was doing was Gray's song, which got him to turn to her and mouth disbelieving words.

Next was Rick.

"I Believe in a Thing Called Love," he told Carter. "That song by the Darkness. I'll be doing my usual Karaoke." Carter laughed in reply.

"That depends… can you out-sing a choir boy?" he asked dubiously. Rick let out a groan. "Well, I don't doubt you when it comes to the soprano parts."

And before Rick could react, Popuri burst out with a very sudden laugh. But she slowly hushed when she realized how oblivious everyone else was, tucking her chin low.

"Karen?" Carter asked.

With an assured air, Karen told him that she was going to sing 'Fly Me to the Moon'. Everyone else approved with their "ooohhhs…".

"Makoto, there's your third song!" Carter exclaimed, followed by another quick laugh. That made the farmer boy dread the absolute worst.

"Three?" he asked flatly.

With a shake of his head, Carter replied:

"Three."

Makoto slumped in his seat a bit.

"I'm not singing that male vocal," he grumbled, only for Carter to laugh again.

"I haven't even heard you sing yet, Makoto!" he replied. He stood up straight and took a few steps off the podium. "So sing."

That's when everyone turned their ears and stares to him.

With a groan, Makoto pondered something he could sing. He knew he was probably no good, reveling on that until he remembered a bit from a song on the radio at the Inn that morning.

"Ummm…" he began. "Well…" He took a deep breath, and sang "Well…", invoking Carter and everyone else into an approving nod. He took another deep breath, and finally began.

"Love, love me do… you know I love you… I'll always be true… so pleee-eee-eease! Love… me--"

He quickly looked around, and to his surprise, no one was desperately clawing at their ears, nor was William Hung diving through the windows just to take a swing at him. With all the pleased looks, he slumped further in his chair.

"It's called 'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away', Makoto," Carter announced. "I have it somewhere in that song book of mine… I'll lend it to you."

No reply. Makoto was still slumped up in his chair, his incredulous look now wiped into plain shock while Carter beamed.

"You've got a great voice, and I'm sure even the Harvest Goddess would agree!" he exclaimed. Makoto didn't lighten up one bit. "Look, I can lend you the CD if you wish too. Or the record. Or come in the back and listen to it!" Still no reply, and Carter was almost on his knees. "You've got to sing… please??"

"Eh."

"That's his 'yes'," Elli piped up with a smile from next to Makoto, who shot his "deer-in-the-headlights" to her. She deliberately ignored him, and he began grumbling.

"You… you…"

"Yes?" she asked sweetly, her brown eyes perked. One look at those eyes, and Makoto groaned.

"I'd say it, but I'm in a church," he muttered, looking away.

But he just had to get another glimpse of those eyes.

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Carter was thoroughly pleased with the lineup, and let them free as the sun took its first noticeably early plunge that year. They had rehearsed to his satisfaction, which didn't require much. Instead, he was too elated with the enthusiasm and the music to really turn it into labor.

Makoto still grumbled about singing, but those endearing gazes from Elli forced him to finally stop complaining and start singing. Other than that, practice went on without a hitch, albeit the participants spending long hours in the church.

It was one of those strange occasions where Mineral Town's younger crowd would all sit together at Doug's for a bite to eat. It was unanimous that they were all pretty beat, starving, and had nothing better to do, reinforcing it with the excuse that they wanted to discuss the upcoming festival.

They decided to meet in about ten minutes and strolled at their own paces in twos, Popuri fluttering around without someone to walk with. Rick was blabbering on about the Darkness to Karen, enthusiastically summing up their latest album and oblivious in Karen's nods and gazes to his own sister.

Ann and Cliff strolled in a fuzzy embrace, with Cliff giving a quick glance and smile to Makoto. Elli and Makoto were walking together, but the farmer boy had his hands shoved in his pockets and a grimace reserved for Cliff, who in turn took it with stride.

The turning foliage had Mary easing along in the back as she turned her gaze from here to there. Gray hovered around her, wondering what was going through her mind.

"Hey Mary," he piped up, getting her slow her stroll to a stop and turn to him as he fell into place next to her. She awaited him to speak, pushing up her glasses with her forefinger.

"Err… I was wondering why you're not gonna pass out your story tomorrow…" he began, shoving his hands into his pockets. "The Pianist?" Mary looked at him, pushing up her glasses again.

"I… I didn't want everyone to read it," she stammered, looking up at Gray with those amber eyes that tinted his cheeks. Gray pulled the brim of his cap down nd shaded his face

"I-it's a great story," he simply said. Mary let out a squeak, shaking her head.

"It… It's not that great…" she retorted softly, hanging her head with her eyes still on Gray. "I'm just… not comfortable with so many people reading it…" She noticed Gray's disappointment, but he turned and cracked a small smile.

"But maybe one day, I'll let other people read it," she announced with her own smile. With a nod, Gray showed his content, following Mary as she led him onward with that same smile.

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Sitting around two tables shoved together, the younger crowd of Mineral Town casually exchanged chatter as they shoveled down dinner. There were about four or five conversations bubbling around, just as before, Rick continuing to prove himself as The Darkness's most learned and ardent fan. By that time, Karen's focus was set on explaining the story behind the Music Festival to Makoto.

"We started the whole thing about four, five years ago," she explained. "Rick, Elli, Ann, Mary, another girl that used to live here, and I would gather up people in the town square on any given night once a year and sing." She pointed across the table to Mary, who rested her fork and looked up with a slightly startled expression. "It was actually Mary's idea."

Mary let out a small laugh from behind her cusped palm. Then resting her hand down, she nodded and said: "I read up on something similar that was celebrated decades ago."

Makoto forked another piece of beef in his mouth, nodding with an acknowledging glance at Karen and Mary. From his other side, Elli let out a groan.

"Duke approaching, 12 o'clock," she pointed out. As soon as Makoto looked up, Duke was looming behind Mary with an obtrusive glare reserved only for the farmer boy. Everyone else looked up from their meals, even Makoto, and waited for Duke to spew out his words.

"MAKOTO!!" The scream wasn't quite effective, and most everyone shrugged at that. Duke sucked in a quick shot of air before charging into more reckless yelling. "You really thought that re-par-toi of yours before was just too funny, eh?"

For a moment, no one said anything. Then Mary turned up her head.

"Umm… Duke?" she began, rather apprehensively, answered by flaring nostrils. "That's actually 'repartee'." Now his eyes were fixed on her, the disbelief alone prying them open wide, and Mary was fueled enough to add more. "There's no such word as 'repartoi'." She turned back to the table, only for Karen to spray red wine from her lips and burst out into a hard laugh.

An attempt to stifle her laugh was futile, and more of them started to jeer. Elli tried her best not to laugh, but even through gritted teeth she couldn't help it much. Mary finally tore through her shaky smile and let out a giggle, invoking Gray to even crack a wry grin.

The only one not laughing was Makoto, and Rick piped up with an inquiry.

"Not funny, Makoto?" he asked. Makoto shrugged and replied.

"Nah..." He paused. "It is." There was no betrayal with that in his eyes, but the searing red in Duke's ears somehow enticed him to turn his attention.

But Duke turned away and darted off, barely maintaining a strut. Once he ducked out of sight, Makoto turned back to his dinner for a moment.

But he turned his head back to Elli. "That 'other girl'…" he began, trailing to cut another piece of beef.

"Duke had a daughter," she answered. "Well, has, really. She ran off a few years ago."

"I don't blame her," Popuri piped up from next to Rick, rubbernecking into the conversation. "This place is so… drab." Then she looked up at the speakers for assurance. "Right guys?"

A couple half-shrugs rose up around the table, and then Elli continued.

"She wanted to get out and lead a different life," she explained to Makoto. "The small town life never did suit her."

With a sigh, Mary said:

"She was a good girl."

Karen nodded. "Yeah... too bad she never wrote us."

"Oh, she did. I'm hoarding the letters," Elli quipped.

From the other side of the table, Ann cut into the conversation.

"Don't fret," she said. "She doesn't even write her own folks. I heard Duke mention that to my dad more than enough."

Meanwhile, Duke sloshed down his third cup of wine at his empty table. His cheeks gradually flushed deeper as he clambered to the peak of his happy hour.

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Well, you can look forward to Rick hitting octaves that would make Justin Timberlake cry, bouncing around the church while belting out "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" complete Justin Hawking's complementary accent and clad in white polyester. Oh, that crazy chicken boy! Forgive me that not much happens here, but what much could happen when the question is "Wanna hang out at the Inn?"

HOLY SHIT, IT'S GODZILLA!!!

Zomaelgustar the Wanker- Pixy Dust shall also save us from Godzilla! GO PIXY DUST!!

Anime26angel- Welcome back from your trip… I have sent the ghost of Bo Peep to haunt you until you post your next chapter of Horizons. Damnit woman! XD Well, hope you enjoyed this Makoto fix.

Xofia- Another brave, brave soul. Thanks for reading all that now… and yeah, I know I tend to wander off on those silly tangents. But I have my balance.