...I forgot to put a disclaimer in the first two chapters—oh wait! Hold yo horses! If you have read Chapters 1 (Rude Awakening) and 2 (Ups and Downs) and you are expecting Chapter 3, well you should go back to Chapter 2. I fused Rude Awakening and Ups and Downs in the first one, so technically, this is Chapter 4 :) Anyways, back to the disclaimer... I owneth not the Moon of Harvest. :(

Chapter 3: Luckily and Unluckily

A white cat was simply strolling along the sidewalk near the beach, content from her first meal of the day that was given to her by the tall, gray-haired human. She was licking her paws serenely until...

"CANDACE! Tell Gandma I'm just off to visit Akari!"

The short, pink-haired girl ran from their humble shop—and at the same time home—with a basket madly swinging on one of her arms until she reached her destination.

"Ha! Beat you again, Luke!" She knocked on the door of the Meringue Clinic and opened it, right before her jaw dropped. Luke grinned and said, "sorry kiddo, better luck next time." He gave her a salute.

Luna smirked. "At least both of my arms are free. That way, I can help Akari more. Hey Akari! Ready to see you home?"

Akari replied, "good morning Luna! I can't wait for—whoa!"

Before she could finish her sentence, her friend had already started to drag her out the door, leaving Luke and her pretty and freshly re-introduced blonde friend, Kathy.

Kathy chuckled. "Ah well. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do." She leaned against the counter before continuing, "so, lover boy, what's your plan? You won't exactly be much help with that arm of yours up in that knot."

"Pssh, big deal! I can still lift up stuff with leftie," he replied smugly.

"Tut tut," said Kathy, disapproving. "You're not gonna want that other arm up in a knot either. Why not just take her out?"

"Well Anissa said I can't tell Akari I love her just yet," 'lover boy' reasoned.

"I just told you to treat her out, but not necessarily date her..."

"Actually, my plan was to bring her around town," he replied, apparently proud of himself. "Since she practically doesn't remember anything or anyone, might as well re-introduce her to Waffle Island!"

"So here's Laurie, I think he's your first goat, though I'm not sure, then there's Sunshine, your good ol' faithful cow—by the way she's pregnant, and she'll probably give birth anytime soon, right Renee?"

A brunette with a pixie cut nodded and said, "I have a feeling this one'll be a boy. I just know it! By the way Akari, I'll be coming over the next few days to re-teach you the basics. Is that alright?"

"Oh...goodness I don't know what to say. Thank you, thank you so much! I really appreciate it," she told her 2 companions.

"Hey, what are best friends for?" piped up Luna. Suddenly, the door of the barn opened and in came Luke.

"Hey girls! Sorry to break up whatever slumber party this is or something," he grabbed Akari's hand and started to pull her out. "But I'm taking Akari out and about. See ya!"

Before the other girls could protest, the two were already turning down the road.

"And well, that's about it!" finished Luke. He had taken Akari to all the shops in town: from Shelly's Tailor Shop (where a stuttering Candace crying tears of joy hugged Akari with such surprising strength), to the General Store (where they spent half an hour after Luke accidentally knocked over some pots of dyes), to On the Hook (where they spent another half hour due to Ozzie and Pascal's million stories about their ventures out at sea), and the Town Hall (where a flustered Akari apologized dozens of times after accidentally calling the mayor "Hilton"). Finally, the only place they haven't seen yet was the Sundae Inn.

"Man, I'm starving! Let's eat dinner! My treat," Luke said. He opened the door then said, "ladies first!"

"Why thank you, fine gentleman," she teased.

This entrance would have been perfect if Luke hadn't tripped over the door sill, which sent him knocking into Akari, who knocked over Kathy, who tripped up her fellow waiter. Luckily, none of them was holding anything. Unluckily, Luke's arm reminded him of pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow...Sorry everyone—ouch!"

"Still got two left feet, huh?" said the other waiter. The orange-haired teen helped Luke get to his feet.

"Thanks Chase," he said, wincing.

"No prob," Chase replied. He then turned to Akari, "heard you got amnesia. You alright? By the way, like Luke said, I'm Chase." He held out his hand.

Luckily for Luke, both Doctor Jin and Anissa were in the bar ("on a date", as Kathy later told him). Unluckily for him, Akari shook Chase's hand with two pink cheeks.

*A/N ...review? :)