A/N: Hmm...maybe I should make my chapters longer. What do you think? Just so you know, this is just an easy-to-read fun fic. Don't expect super complex angst-filled drama. That's why this story is under romance/humor :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harvest Moon.

Chapter 6: Dr. Dolittle

Jack's POV

Claire should be coming here anytime soon. *sigh* it's so lonely being a puppy. I wonder if she met any new villagers last night. If she did, did she mention me? She better not mess things up. Now, what to eat…

I scanned the house, looking for any traces of food.

There's a fridge, but I can't open it! Argh! Oh, what's this? 'Jack's food'. Ah, that's right. Doug's food scraps. No way am I eating that again!

*growl*

Ugh…I'm so hungry. Geez, there's nothing but these bags of scraps. I guess I have no choice…

I opened the bag with my paws and took out a piece of meat. I nibbled on it. Mmm…hey, the more I eat this, the more it isn't so bad. I guess I could get used to eating this…

"JAAAACK! I HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!" Claire busted the door open, making me jump and choke on my meat.

*cough* *weeze* *cough*

"Ah, what's wrong? Oh my Goddess, you're choking! Hold on, Jack!" Claire picked me up and performed a Heimlich maneuver. The piece of meat shot out of my mouth like a bullet and hit the wall.

"*cough* Goddess Claire, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry! But really Jack, I've got to tell you something! It's about you and your mystery girl!"

"Whaat!? You've met her!?"

"Eh, not exactly. But just listen to what I'm about to tell you, okay?"

"Okay!"

Claire told me everything that happened last night at the inn. Well, everything important at least. She told me about this girl named Ann, who's probably the girl that I made a promise with 17 years ago. She also told me that Ann believes Cliff made the promise with her. There's a great possibility that Ann is the one, I mean her story sounds exactly like mines and her name kinda rings a bell…

"So what do you think? It's her, huh?"

"Maybe. But if this Cliff guy also made a promise, then I'm not too sure." So I'm not the only one who made a promise?

"That's what I thought too! Ugh...this isn't getting anywhere. I guess I should take matters into my own hands."

"Hey, I didn't ask you to help find the girl I made a promise with! It's really not your business! And besides, what are you gonna do about?"

"I'm gonna go into Jack mode and go to the Goddess festival tomorrow. Ann has to know that you exist, and I've got to figure out Cliff's side of the story!"

I don't know if Claire's plan is a good idea. I mean, it sounds good, but should she really try to figure out who this girl is for me...as me? If anything, she should just stick to the farm work and have me take care of my own business. But can I really figure out who this girl is as a puppy? Can I really wait for another 2 years just to find her and see her again on my own when I'm human again?

"…Fine. But I have to be there to watch you."

"Hmm...I don't think animals are allowed though…"

"Then I'll just hide in the bushes or something."

"Alright, then it's settled! Claire's Super Awesome Plan #2 will come into play tomorrow!"

"Right, so uh, aren't you gonna get dressed and do the errands now?"

"Of course! Today's a busy day for…Jack." She went inside the bathroom, bringing the disguise with her.

When Claire was done dressing up as 'Jack', she got out of the bathroom, took her tools out, and went straight to the field. She watered the crops and gathered some honey from my apple tree. Looks like she's off to a good start. When she was done with work, she put the tools away and started heading out for Mother's Hill to look for herbs. I went along with her to help. When we gathered enough herbs, we went back to the farm and placed them in the shipping bin.

"You know, you should start thinking about buying some animals soon." I suggested.

"That's what I'm about to do! I'm gonna buy a chicken and drop by Brownie Ranch. I think I'll go to the ranch first since its open early."

We reached the ranch and we were greeted by an old man named Barley and his cute little granddaughter named May. Man, I hate it when guys pet me! It just feels, I dunno, weird since I'm a guy. But I don't mind if any girls pet me of course. Barley said that he just got a horse for free from a trainer. He already has a lot of horses so he decided to give Claire the trainer's horse for free. What's up with people giving Claire free stuff? Come to think of it, we haven't spent a dime on any of the things we got from the villagers. She's a smooth customer, that girl. Looks like she's doing well in learning the ways of Jack, eh?

"Thanks Barley!" Claire grinned. "So Ted, what should we name this guy?" The horse was white with three black spots on its right side.

"Hmm…I dunno." I barked.

"They call me Zero." Woah, did that horse talk?

"W-what!? Did you hear that, Barley?" Claire was flabbergasted. Her eyes were bulging out. So she can understand other animals too? Looks like we have a Dr. Dolittle in this town.

"Hmm, I have no idea what you're talking about, Jack." Barley seemed confused.

"O-oh. Never mind." She cleared her throat. "I think I'll name him Zero."

"Good. Now remember to talk to your horse, pet it, and brush it every day. You can get a brush at Saibara's Blacksmith shop. I'll take Zero to your horse stable while you do the rest of your errands."

"Okay, I will. Thanks Barley! And bye May!"

"Bye, big brother!" May chirped.

We walked out of the ranch and went to Saibara's since we needed a brush for the horse. When we got there, we saw an old man arguing with Gray behind the counter. It seems that Gray messed up on something and the old man got all mad about it. Serves him right. The guy's a douche.

Gray POV

"What are you looking at?" I hissed at the person behind me. Little did I know that the person I yelled at was none other than Jack, the new farmer. Hmph, Jack. That guy is just weird. The first time I saw him, I wanted to wipe that dumb look on his face. Who the hell looks at a person like that?

"Gray! That is not how you should talk to our customer!" my old man snapped. He looked past me to face Jack. "Welcome. My name is Saibara. You must be the new farmer. Sorry, my grandson is being an idiot today. He still has a lot to learn." Gah, the nerve! Does he always have to insult me in front of people?

"It's okay. My name is Jack by the way. I just came here to buy a brush." Jack said.

"A brush huh? That will cost you 800 G."

Jack handed him the money and placed the brush in his rucksack. He then came up to me. What does he want? If it's a beating, then I'll gladly give it to him.

"Hey Gray! I didn't know you work here. What exactly do you do?"

"…upgrade tools, fix stuff, mine..."

"Ah, that's right. Jack, if you ever need to upgrade your tools, come over here with an ore. You can get ores in the spring cave near the Goddess pond." The old man said.

"I'll make sure to do that." Jack turned back his attention to me. "So you do all that stuff? That's cool."

"It would take a hundred years before Gray can make a decent tool." The old man said. Why won't he shut up?

"I don't know about that. Gray looks like a pretty tough guy to me."

I pulled my hat down. "Tch. It doesn't matter. No matter what I do, the old man never approves of my work."

Jack placed his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure he will someday. You just have to keep trying no matter what. And don't bring yourself down." He gave me a reassuring smile.

"…" You know, I've never took the time to look at Jack closely (why would I?). Looking at him right now just reminds me of someone. Claire. That was her name, right? Didn't she say that she and Jack are twins? They really do look alike. They have the same, exact face. Same eyes. It's…strange.

"Well, I have to go to Chicken Lil's right now. I'll see you guys later!" Jack waved goodbye at us and left the shop.

"You know, you could learn a thing or two from Jack." The old man said.

"...Shut up."

Jack POV

We reached the front of the poultry shop and waited for it to open. Claire was just leaning on a fence while I was sitting down next to her. That trip to the smith shop got me thinking. Why is Claire so nice to Gray?

"Why are you so nice to Gray?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Oh, I dunno, because he's rude to you! If I were you, I would put him in his place!"

"Maybe I don't want to. He's not really as much of a jerk as you think he is."

"Really? 'Cause it seems like every time we come across him, he just acts like a jerk." It's true. I've never seen him act nice around anyone.

"But...he can be nice sometimes."

"How do you know?"

"W-well..."

Just then, the door opened and a girl with pink hair was surprised to see us in front of the shop.

"Oh, hi! I don't believe I've seen you before. My name is Popuri!" she had a bright smile on her face. She's pretty cute.

"You're Popuri? My name is Jack and this is my puppy, Ted."

"Aww, cute!" she picked me up and petted me, which I like *winks*

She put me down. "But it's not good to keep him around the chickens. He'll scare them away." No I won't. I don't bite.

"I'll keep that in mind. Speaking of chickens, do you have any for sale?" Claire went right to the point.

"Of course! Right there." The pink-haired girl pointed at this fence that had a few chickens on the other side.

We walked over there and I stood farther from the fence, seeing as I might 'scare the chickens.' It looks like Claire picked the brown chicken.

"Thank you for choosing me! My name is Poppy." the chicken clucked.

"Wha?" Claire looked at the chicken with a weird face.

"Is something wrong Claire?" Popuri asked.

"No, it's nothing. So, uh, I'll name it Poppy."

"Aw, you're naming it after me? That's so sweet!" Popuri blushed.

"No! The chi- I mean yeah, of course I'm naming it after you. You're a nice person and, uh, you're pretty." Good Claire. Play it smooth...

"Teehee! I'll tell mom to give you a discount. And I'll tell Rick to send the chicken to your farm with bags of chicken feed. Come inside!" We followed Popuri inside the shop.

Another lady with pink hair stood behind the counter and greeted us. Apparently, she's Popuri's mom, Lilia. Next to her was a dorky-looking guy who introduced himself as Rick. After the purchase, he left the shop taking our chicken and chicken feed with him to our farm. Lilia looked at Claire and smiled.

"So Jack, are you taking anyone to the Goddess festival tomorrow?"

"I haven't really thought about who to ask. I just got here and all..." Hmm...that's right, the festival. Claire definitely needs to find a date. I don't want her to make me look like a loser.

"Jack already asked me out, mom!" Popuri beamed at Lilia. Claire just looked at her funny.

"Wait, what!? I di-"

"And he said that when the festival is over, he's gonna take me somewhere afterwords! Right Jack?" She nudged at Claire. Popuri whispered to her ear about something.

"Um, yeah. That's right. Is that okay with you Lilia?" Claire said.

"Why of course! I'm sure she'll have a great time with you! You're a good kid, Jack."

"Good. I-I'll be going back to my farm now. I'll see you later Lilia and...Popuri!" Claire waved at them and we left the shop.

When the door closed, Claire let out a sigh.

"Well that was pretty awkward." she said.

Alright! Looks like 'Jack' has a date!

Preview: Claire's plan is going towards an unexpected turn. Who knew that simple childhood promises would bring a complicated future? With random magic spells, rising tensions, break-ups, and unexpected hook-ups, Claire knows that this is a festival she'll never forget. And it's only been 3 days! (Claire: What is going on!? And what are you doing here!? Witch: Oh ho ho ho! ) Watch out for the next chapter, Disaster Dance!