**DISCLAIMER** I do not own, nor have I ever owned, any of the characters, places, items, etc. etc. relating to the Harvest Moon or Rune Factory series.

*Clears Throat* [singing] Sooo... If you review this chapter I'll be so much happier, so review this chapter todaaaaay! n_n [/singing] *Bows & Hurriedly Runs Off Stage*

Chapter 6: Here

Morning. Sunlight cut through the groggy morning haze as the sun rose above the motionless canopy of trees on the horizon. A single ray fell directly upon Alpha's exposed face. Reluctantly, he stirred, shielding his eyes with his hands and blinking rapidly in the harsh light. It was several minutes of squinting and thoroughly rubbing his eyes before he found himself fully awake. But...where was he, exactly?

Alpha raised himself up on one elbow and began to survey his surroundings. The room he had woken up in was relatively small, with dull brown walls, a grayish-white tiled floor, and rather rustic, if well-polished, wooden desks and chairs. Alpha himself was lying under the plain white blankets of a single-person bed, placed just below an open window, which accounted for the source of the light which had woken him. A drawn, mobile green curtain sat to one side of the bed.

By all accounts, the room would have been quite unremarkable, if not for two things: First were the contents of the shelves and cabinets against the wall to Alpha's left. They contained an incredible assortment of bottles of every possible shape and size, and filled with every color of liquid imaginable, from green to pink to orange to white to red. The other unusual feature of the room was the dozing, ruby-haired woman who sat on a small stool at the foot of his bed, and whom he just then took abrupt notice of.

Alpha let out a startled gasp. He tore off the covers and leapt to his feet on the bed, arms raised, prepared to lash out in defense. …Old habits died hard... This sudden movement seemed to stir the woman from her sleep. Her eyes blinked open and she lifted her hooded head to stare up at him. She smiled kindly, her violet, holy sister's uniform fluttering slightly in the breeze from the open window, and Alpha felt his battle-ready composure falter. "Wh-who are you?" he asked cautiously.

The woman (the young woman, Alpha now realized, as she couldn't have been much older than he was) did not answer him, but simply knit her brow. Her smile turned quickly to a frown of disapproval. "I could ask you the same question," she said. "And what did you think you were doing yesterday, anyway? You can't just sit around staring at some rock all night without allowing yourself a wink of sleep. It's not healthy."

Alpha allowed his arms to relax and dropped them to his sides. This woman clearly didn't mean him any harm. She seemed even to be concerned about him. Even so, he was utterly perplexed by what she seemed to be saying. "Staring...at a rock?" he asked dumbly. Why on earth would he have been staring at a rock, he wondered? And what did that have to do with his being here?

The woman put a hand to her mouth as her eyes widened. "You mean you don't remember? Oh dear, not another case of amnesia..."

Amnesia? Alpha frowned nervously. He certainly hoped not...but wait. Hadn't she just said, "another case"? Then who—

"My name is Lara," the woman said to him, interrupting his thoughts. "I work as a nurse and a sister here in Trampoli. Do you...remember your name?"

So he was still in Trampoli. "My name's Alpha," he said, without skipping a beat. What kind of idiotic question is that, anyhow? a part of him chimed in. Alpha, as usual, simply ignored the thought.

"Well, I suppose it's a start," Lara sighed quietly.

I can't actually be suffering from amnesia, Alpha decided. He still remembered his name, for one, and he certainly hadn't forgotten where he had traveled here from or why he came to this village in the first place. He was looking for...for... And then everything came rushing back to him at once in a tidal wave of emotion. Oh my God... She's here! The monument, and the singing. Her singing! Her voice... She's here...she's here... And for the first time in over two years, even Alpha's own cynical inner voice was rendered speechless.

He ought to have leapt from the bed right then and there and dashed back to the square. He badly wanted to, but something held him in place. It was as if he were rooted to the spot. He looked down and saw that his legs were shaking. The adrenaline had finally worn off. Then came the pain. It started as a dull ache in his knees, but slowly, surely, it spread outward until the entirety of his legs felt engulfed in flame. He opened his mouth to speak, but he could no longer form the words. Instead, he allowed himself to fall backwards, crashing onto the mattress with a tremendous THUMP.

Lara gasped. She rushed over to the bedside as Alpha looked on, frustrated at his own helplessness. She placed a hand lightly on his forehead and withdrew it, frowning. "You're burning up. This is what happens when you push yourself too hard. Now you have a cold." Then, without warning, Alpha's stomach grumbled loudly. He groaned right along with it. Lara's frown deepened. "And when was the last time you ate a decent meal? From the sound of it, I would say it must have been days ago. You need to take better care of yourself! Honestly, you may just be worse than Selphy."

Alpha said nothing. He really was simply exhausted. And in any case, what could he have said? The nurse sighed and then walked from the bed over to one of the many bottle-filled shelves which lined the room. There was a clinking of glass as she searched through the contents of the row, until at last she seemed to find a bottle which was to her liking. She lifted the pale-colored jar from the shelf and, returning to Alpha's side now, produced a brown paper bag from the pocket of her robe. As he continued to watch, she placed the bag lightly on the windowsill and lifted the white bottle to his lips. "Here," she said. "Drink this."

Alpha did as he was asked. The concoction was foul-tasting, and he grimaced. Soon, though, he felt the medicine begin to work its magic. It seemed to him as if a great weight had suddenly been lifted from his body, and he sighed with relief. And then the hand was back on his forehead, but warmer, more bearable this time.

Lara withdrew her hand, satisfied. "There now. That should take care of your cold. Now we just need to get you something decent to eat." She reached for the bag on the windowsill and pulled out...food of some sort. Alpha looked over its sickly green color with some trepidation. "It's a vitamin-fortified Veggie Omelet," she explained. "Be sure to eat all of it, now. We certainly wouldn't want you to pass out from hunger again."

Again, Alpha obeyed, practically inhaling the meal in one gulp. This time, though, he instantly regretted it. "Ugh!" he exclaimed, gagging involuntarily. "That's... That's awful!" And awful it was. As far as he could tell, the flavor of the dish was comparable to that of dried grass and rotten eggs. But it, like the medicine, seemed to do the trick. He felt suddenly revitalized. Now that his body felt up to it, he was eager to be on his way. He apologized for the outburst and thanked Lara profusely. He then got to his feet and hurried quickly out of the infirmary, rushing through the nearest door.

The poor nurse had been caught off guard by this sudden haste and was left standing by the now-empty bed. "W-wait!" she called. "You really mustn't— Oh, be sure to mind your health!" She returned to her wooden desk in the corner of the room, shaking her head tiredly. Must all of the patients she treated here in Trampoli be so...difficult?

FWOOSH! The branches which lined the path rustled and blew aside as Anette flew past. Then, just as she passed over the bridge leading from the South District and rounded the corner, she dug in her heels, leaving familiar ruts in the dirt as she skidded to a stop. With the ground squealing in protest beneath her feet, she finally came to a gentle halt directly in front of Raguna's bright red mailbox. Once there, she drew a letter from Melody out of her mailbag and slid it casually into the open slot.

With her morning routine in full swing now, Anette followed suit. She spun on her heel to look out across the field and waved an arm to greet…no one. She blinked. "Ra-Raguna…" she muttered to herself. "Morning." But Raguna wasn't there to receive her routine greeting. He wasn't standing next to the mailbox, waiting for her. He wasn't busily tending to his fields or harvesting his crops. He wasn't even rushing past her on his way to buy some more veggie seeds from Erik. He was simply…gone. For once, and it didn't happen often, Anette sighed sadly.

"Well," she said aloud to herself, "I'd better get going. After all, this mail isn't going to deliver itself." She giggled then, but her heart wasn't in it. As she continued along the rest of her delivery route, she lacked her usual energetic passion. I still haven't seen Raguna since yesterday morning, she brooded. I really hope he's not still upset about me not being at Mist's. "Kanno, you have mail! It's addressed to your granddaughters." Oh… and Alpha… He must be back out on the road by now. W-well, I guess there's no use getting all upset about it now. I knew he wasn't going to be staying in Trampoli long, but…still…

While she had been deep I thought, Anette's morning routine had carried her all the way to the church. She had just delivered Lara's mail and was about to call out to her, when the doors to the church infirmary suddenly swung open. Taken entirely by surprise, the words were suddenly caught in her throat. A tall, lean figure emerged from the doorway and began to dash by her. He was wearing a red jacket and his eyes burned a deep, piercing orange. Could it really be…? "Alpha!" she called out to him.

Alpha stopped halfway down the hill on which the church sat. He turned and looked back at Anette, and she was instantly forced to avert her gaze. Those eyes… But it was him! He was back! Or, he was still here, rather. And when he called back in response, it was with that same dreamy voice she remembered. "Oh, hello again. Uh…Anette, wasn't it?" He smiled politely at her, and even while not looking at him directly, Anette was not immune to the power of that smile.

"Yup! That's me! Ahahaha…" her nervous laughter trailed off. "I, uh, guess I wasn't expecting to still see you today. I mean, I'm really glad you're still here in Trampoli, but…I thought you were only staying the night. Oh!" a worrying thought suddenly occurred to Anette. "Unless you're about to leave right now…"

"Ah, right. About that, something has…come up," his smile wavered for just an instant, but Anette hardly noticed. Then suddenly it was back, brighter than ever. "It looks like I'll be staying in the village while I sort some things out. Now, er," he said, beginning to fidget uncomfortably, his smile drooping, "if you'll excuse me..."

"Um?"

"S-sorry!" Alpha gave an apologetic bow. "It's just that I have something to take care of at the moment. You understand, right?"

"Oh, yeah! Sure! No problem at all!" Anette's face had lit up, and she beamed practically from ear to ear in her excitement. After a moment's thought, she even chanced a glance upwards and directly into his… But no. She looked away again immediately. His eyes were too…too… Oh, what were they exactly?

"Thank you. I appreciate your understanding." Alpha smiled sincerely. "I look forward to seeing you around Trampoli, then." And with that, he turned and bolted away along the path.

"See ya around! Have a great day!" she called after him as he ran off in the direction of the Business District.

"Thank you; I will!" he shouted back.

A minute later, Anette had already lost sight of him. He was gone again. But that didn't matter now. She was practically ecstatic. Alpha is…staying here in Trampoli? That's so great! I mean, I really hoped he would, but after what Turner told me yesterday… Well, it doesn't really matter! He's here now, and that's the important thing. Ooooh, just think! Now I'll be able to see him every day while I'm—

Anette gasped. Delivering the mail! She was supposed to be delivering the mail right now. She couldn't keep zoning out like this. I better hurry. I can't be late with these deliveries! But soon, Anette found that speed was not a problem for her. All of a sudden, she was filled with energy and positively raring to run all of it off. She zipped from building to building along her route, noticing no one, a bright and cheery grin glowing on her face the entire time.

Alpha's still here. He's here. He's here! "Selphy, you have another package!" He's here in Trampoli. He's here. He's here! "Here's your mail, Danny!" He's here. He's really still here! "Rita, you got a postcard!"

She carried on like this through the rest of her deliveries and all the way back to Mist's home. Unfortunately, in her state of giddy aloofness, Anette failed to notice one important fact: Mist's gate, usually open this time of day thanks to the blonde herself, who would typically unlock it before watering her flowers, was now firmly shut. So, Anette, still grinning like a schoolgirl, barreled into the gate not to see it fly open in front of her, but to crash headlong into a solid fence and be knocked backwards onto the ground. "Owwww…" she groaned, propping herself up to rub her throbbing forehead.

"Were you just taking a nap out in the middle of the road? Don't you think that's a little strange?"

Anette opened her wincing eyes and glanced up to see who had spoken. What she found was Mist's blonde, blue-eyed head cocked to one side, looking down at her. Evidently, she had missed the whole incident and had only just wandered over in time to see Anette sprawled out on the ground. Had Mist really just called her strange? It was too much. In spite of the bruise that was steadily forming on her forehead, Anette burst into hysterical, giggling laughter.

Mist blinked and pouted slightly, a little hurt at not being able to share in the joke. She obviously didn't understand what Anette found so funny. Of course she wouldn't. Anette alone knew that Alpha, her Alpha, was still somewhere in Trampoli,. She knew that he was going to be in Trampoli for a while, after all. And as long as he's here, how can I not be happy enough to laugh. And he is here. He's here. He's here…

So, then, where exactly was Raguna?

AN: This took forever to post... =.= I intended to have it up by New Year's, but I suppose everyone must learn the hard way that their betas have a life, too. n_n' Sorry, you two! Well, anyway, without further ado, here's... Oh, I suppose you already read the chapter, didn't you? *Ahem* Well then... Why don't I try talking about it? Alpha's no longer comatose, so that's cool. B-) You got to meet Lara, also cool (I hope... I like her character, anyway. v_v). I liked the whole awkward Anette-Alpha meeting in there, too, I might add. It reminded me so much of a particular anime I've been watching recently. But I digress... Ain't Anette just the cutest? XD Stranger than Mist...as if! I wonder how Raguna's going to act when he finds out about her not-so-little crush, though... Oh wait, no I don't! I already know, being the writer and all. =P Lucky for you, I double-updated, so you won't have to wait to find out for yourselves. You're welcoooome. ^-^

Beta Readers, allow me to thank them: Shadows-of-Realm and LovelyxxMelody. You guys are teh awesomeness! x)

Coming Soon: Chapter 7, in which the letter proves mightier than the doorknob. ;-)