orz. Chapter would have been up sooner but, I was having issues... Not writer's block... just... issues. Like, I rewrote it once because Chase was too mean (he's still kinda mean here, but that's manly pride), then I redid some parts because Akari was too confrontational for my liking, and then a third time because I felt it was too long. I still think this chapter's kind of long. Normally, length is good, but... I hope I managed to keep Chase in character and Akari's character consistent. Though I'm not as happy as I'd like to be with this chapter. Next one is better, I promise.

As you can see characterization is my biggest concern. This is kind of unrelated, but I just passed my second Harvest Festival and Chase beat me... with the same dish I made- Shining Fish Meuniere. I was pissed. Darn Chase. I also found the recipe for herb bread in his kitchen, lol. And, I've only attempted making bread once. And I failed. So my description may suck. Anyway, I'm getting off track.

Disclaimer: Ceray doesn't own Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility characters or concepts. She also thanks those who reviewed and story-alerted (olo, FFN is so weird compared Luna) and hopes they enjoy this chapter.

EDIT: Chapter was edited a bit. FFN is very evil when you want to tweak a few things.

Just Like Losing

Chapter Two: Difference

Akari stretched out on her bed. Between having to do farm chores and attending the Harvest Festival, she was insanely tired. But, despite that exhausted feeling, Akari was very happy. It was surprising to her that such a small community could host such fun and exciting festivals. She hadn't really thought it possible, having come from a small place herself, but it was a good surprise. Akari had eaten a lot of good food, played some fun games, and she even was able to get-

The young farmer's thoughts were interrupted by a faint mooing coming from the barn. She turned her head in that direction. Very seldom did the creature moo. Usually, in Akari's experience, cows mooed very often; or at least the cows on her father's farm did, but the cow she had mooed only when it wanted food, was being brushed, or milked. Perhaps the cow was taking an exit from routine and just mooing for the sake of the action.

Or maybe some creep was milking her cow in the barn. But Akari doubted that. While her cow did produce good quality milk if someone was in the mood for milk stealing they were probably better off going to Brownie Ranch.

So maybe her cow was in need of more fodder. Akari shook her head. Her few animals had been left out to graze while she was at the Harvest Festival so the cow had ample time to be feed. Or maybe it was just being an evil little cow and wanted Akari to hand feed it like she did on stormy days.

If the creature desired to be fed again then most likely it would let out another loud and whiny moo… Akari listened carefully, but no such moo hit her ears. Perhaps the cow had merely mooed for the sake of it. Perhaps the cow was becoming a normal cow that moos whenever it feels the need to.

Yeah, that was a good enough answer.

Since the incident with her cow had been solved, Akari moved to turn on the television. Her only real complaint about Waffle Town was the lack of good television. One channel really killed the variety. Akari found the only show that she even bothered to watch was Maya's cooking show that was on during the weekdays. And even then, Akari always found herself wondering how Maya of all people managed to land that show. Perhaps it was her cute face and happy attitude, or maybe it was because anyone who could cook had better things to do that host the show.

Currently onscreen was Elli who was talking about the weather for the next day. It would be sunny, which was a good way to end the season. After hearing the actual weather, Akari started tuning out the television, her mind focusing on the next day. All the crops she had planted were almost ripe so Akari figured she'd leave them there until the first day of winter. It would be more profitable that way, and besides, it meant a little less work for her that day. Maybe she could take a small nap after attending to her animals since Akari knew she'd be tired tomorrow…

Speaking of which, she probably should leave to do that little errand before it got too late…

The young farmer's daydreaming was interrupted by a quick rapping on her door. Akari stared at the door with a somewhat confused look. She rarely had any visitors, and when someone did actually decide to grace her home with their presence it was usually earlier on in the day. Besides, who would visit at this hour?

Maybe she was just hearing things. Akari turned back to the television screen when she heard another knock, this one was louder. Whoever was at her door didn't seem to have much patience.

The brunette let out a sigh. The only way for her to find out who was visiting her at this hour was to answer the door. Somewhat unwillingly, Akari got off her bed and approached the door. Her visitor knocked once more, this knock sounding slightly more annoyed than the last.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she grumbled as she flung open the door.

For the briefest second, Akari caught an eyeful of the annoyed expression upon her visitor's face. But it instantly changed into one of cheer. She had to admit it was pretty convincing, so much so that she started to think that he had been wearing that look the entire time.

"Um… Hi."

"Hey Amari."

Akari twitched. Nope. That visage of annoyance that had been on Chase's face was probably not a hallucination. "It's Akari."

"Oh. Maybe you should get out more so people learn your name."

Akari frowned slightly. He did have a point, but she didn't really want to admit that. "Why are you here?"

"Just dropping by to say hi."

Akari stared down at the canvas bag that Chase was holding with some skepticism. "Really?"

Chase's smile held up for a minute, but when Akari's expression didn't change it faded. "Okay. Fine. I'm here because I wanted to prove that I'm the better cook."

Was he serious? Akari gave the young man a deadpan stare. "Of course you are. I'm just your average farmer."

The statement elicited a humorless laugh from Chase. "Then how did some 'average farmer' beat me?"

Akari shrugged. "I don't know. But, I think you're taking this a little too seriously. I mean, it's just a small town cooking competition. After all, the first place prize was just ten extra large bodigizers. And there's always next year you know?"

Chase's eyes flashed dangerously, and Akari gulped. Perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say to him. But something in her wasn't entirely surprised. She had recalled how confident Chase had been about winning the contest when she overheard him talking to someone (Craig or Maya perhaps?) at the festival. Not only that, but Chase was always cooking whenever she worked part time at the Sundae Bar and he was always proud of his creations, though Akari had never personally tried them.

"Please just let me in," Chase said after a minute. "It's kind of cold out here, if you haven't noticed."

"Oh, right," Akari moved to the side, making way for Chase to enter.

Akari's house was a simple one with only two doors. Chase assumed the other door was the bathroom/shower area; but the thought of the poor girl having to use an outhouse amused him just slightly. The rest of the house was one room, the bedroom, kitchen and dining room all in the same area. It was also barely decorated, with only the essential pieces of furniture out. Chase remembered that, despite being in Waffle Town for nearly a year, Akari was still struggling with farm duties. Decorating her house was probably the last thing on her mind.

"Your house is small," Chase stated flatly.

"I'm saving up for an extension," Akari retorted.

House extensions weren't insanely expensive like in other places. Akari was kind of small, so her problem was probably that she had not gathered enough materials for the extension. But that was just a nicer way of saying that she was weak… or something like that. Chase really didn't care enough to dwell on that thought. He walked over to the kitchen area and remarked. "Your kitchen's small."

"Are you surprised?"

Chase contemplated for a moment before he turned to Akari, chuckling a bit. "Not really."

Akari let out a sigh. Maybe it would have better to not answer the door. She didn't mind having Chase appear at her door to prove his culinary superiority (not that much anyway), but she would have appreciated it if he didn't insult her left and right.

"Wouldn't it have been better if you cooked at your house then?"

"It would've been too late by the time I was done." This made Akari feel a little better. Maybe he wasn't being entirely nice, but at least Chase was being a little considerate. "Besides, I want to duplicate your recipe as much as I can."

Akari opened her mouth to tell him that it was just simple herb bread, but then remembered that the recipe hadn't specified on an herb. So, instead she said, "Don't you need to compare your herb bread to mine?"

"Oh yeah. I came here so you could make it at your house."

Akari blinked. Was that more considerate behavior on Chase's part? "Um…"

"Besides, I don't have enough ingredients for you and me to share. I have to go shopping tomorrow…"

Akari gave a forced smile. Maybe she should just stop trying to find good points in this guy. If there were any, surely they would make themselves known sooner or later. "…I used the last of my stuff on the batch I made today."

Chase's brow furrowed. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"And breadfruit is out of season."

"I know." Chase twitched. Of course he knew that. He also knew that breadfruit wouldn't be in season until after winter. Would he seriously have to wait that long to prove his stuff? No, of course not. She could just buy breadfruit at the store, but then again, this was a farm.

"Did you buy any of your ingredients?"

"Nope, all of it was produced here."

Chase frowned. That meant he would have to wait until spring. "You have to be freaking kidding me."

"You're really serious about this aren't you?"

Chase rolled his eyes. "It's my job."

Akari looked at Chase for a good long second. His seriousness had an air of familiarity about it. It took her a minute to realize where she had seen it before. It reminded her of her father. The young farmer smiled a bit at the thought of her father. She really did miss him, but… "I actually have leftovers from the batch I made for the competition."

Chase's eyes lit up a bit. That meant he wouldn't have to wait! He almost smiled, but then realized Akari had known all along that she had some leftover bread and glared instead. "You could have said that in the first place, you know."

Akari merely stuck her tongue out. The action didn't faze Chase in the least. It merely reminded him of Maya, who often did that when she wasn't crying after hearing him critique her awful cooking. Being reminded of the lost cause known as Maya made Chase to roll his eyes and shake his head.

Akari's expression changed to a somewhat disinterested one. "Well, if you're going to bake bread, shouldn't you get started?"

Chase glanced at the clock. It was getting late and bread took at least thirty minutes to bake, plus he had to wait for it too cool. "How long did your bread rise?"

"Thirty minutes. Just like in the recipe."

Chase smiled. His timing was perfect. "And what kind of herb did you use?"

"Green."

Chase's nose wrinkled. "Green?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I wouldn't use such a common herb…" Of course, Chase did grow green herbs at his house too, but it was just so he had every kind.

"Well, since I find them all over the place, I decided to just keep the green ones I grew on my farm for cooking and stuff…"

Chase's disapproving expression didn't change, but he couldn't argue with that logic. He reached into his canvas bag and pulled out a plastic container containing some beige dough with a sticky note on the cover that had "Green" written messily on the cover.

"Did you honestly make five different types of herb bread dough?" Akari's voice sounded stunned. Chase felt a little satisfied by this fact.

"I like to be prepared."

Akari agreed with the notion of being prepared, but making five different possibilities to match her bread seemed a bit… extreme.

"Besides, if I made the dough at my house, then I wouldn't have to wait as long here waiting for it to rise."

The brown-eyed farmer wondered idly if he was saying that because he didn't want to inconvenience her by being at her house too long or if he just didn't want to be there period.

Chase placed the dough into a loaf pan he had brought with him and inserted it into the oven. Then, he sat down at the table opposite Akari, who watched him do so with mild interest. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to make conversation with her. It would be rude, and not to mention awkward, to just sit there quietly. But he just didn't like Akari at all. But then again, he didn't know her, making his disdain almost completely groundless.

"So, um… have you cooked for a long time?" Akari asked, distracting him from his thoughts. Chase couldn't help but snort. Obviously, it probably came out sounding mean or something like that, but her attempt at conversation was so lame.

"Since I was little," he replied shortly. "You always want to be a farmer?"

Chase noted the odd look in her eyes. He then remembered how she had mentioned her parents being farmers. If they were farmers, it was likely that they had, if she was an only child, wanted her to take over the farm. But, obviously she didn't. If that was the case, it was probably a hard subject to talk about.

And parents weren't an easy topic for Chase to speak of either.

"No. Not really."

"Hm."

But Akari did end up being a farmer. The question of why she didn't go back to her parents' farm where it would have been easier to ease into the occupation hovered in Chase's mind for a mere moment before he let it pass. Whatever reasons Akari had for doing what she did weren't any of Chase's business, nor did he desire it to be.

From the awkward air hanging between Akari and Chase, it was obvious that the conversation was over. Luckily, she had a TV among her meager house decorations, which both Akari and Chase opted to watch instead of pursing any further conversation. Though the two of them stared at the screen and listened to the sounds coming from the electronic box, their thoughts were obviously elsewhere.

Eventually, the little oven timer rang, signaling that thirty minutes in the oven was done. Of course, the aroma of the baking bread had spread out throughout Akari's home long before the time to pull the baked good from the oven. Chase was proud at the fact that every now and then he had caught Akari drooling out of the corner of his eye. Both Chase and Akari rose, and the former asked the latter. "What are you doing?"

"Getting my bread."

"Oh."

As Chase moved to put on oven mitts so he could extract the bread from the oven. Akari went and reached into one of the cabinets under the counter and pulled out a small loaf which was covered with some plastic wrapping. By this time, the other person in the kitchen had popped the bread from the oven and out of the pan so it could cool on the counter since Akari didn't own a cooling rack.

Chase figured it would be at least ten minutes before the bread was tongue safe. He didn't really want to wait any longer to taste the difference and to prove that he was better, but… He had to. He preferred to avoid any damage to his tongue so that whenever he needed to, the taste buds on it could give him accurate judgment on what tasted good and what tasted bad.

….of course, he seldom needed taste to determine if Maya's dishes were bad. Just looking at them was enough.

But then again, he wasn't dealing with Maya. He was dealing with the farmer girl, and obviously, the two were at different levels when it came to cooking.

Soon enough, ten minutes passed and Chase poked his bread. It was cool enough to eat. He reached into his bag and pulled out a knife and cut two pieces from each loaf. He gave a piece from each loaf to Akari. Then, as dramatic as trying a piece of bread can get, he took a bite from the loaf he had baked. It was still warm, but baked to perfection. The bread had a soft texture, and he could taste the added accents from the green herb… Although it was plain herb bread, it still tasted heavenly to Chase.

He closed his eyes to savor the taste even more. Once he opened them, he saw Akari regarding him with an odd look. Chase shrugged. She probably couldn't tell the difference between a green herb bread and a blue herb bread. He finished his piece of bread before picking up Akari's. Naturally, it wouldn't be as warm as his, but warmth, didn't really do much to the taste, it only upped the pleasure received from consumption.

Chase took a deep breath before biting into Akari's bread. It, too, was soft, and tasted similar to his… But there was something else there. It was an odd taste that Chase couldn't find the words for. But he was certain that it wasn't a bad taste it was… good…

And Chase found he was enjoying it.

He was enjoying it more than his own bread.

But how was that possible when they were the same? Chase was sure they were the same. The taste he had in his mouth wasn't something that was obtained by adding an too much of one ingredient, or letting the dough rise a little longer than the time it should have. It was…

Chase stopped chewing and swallowed hard. He looked in his hand… All of the bread was gone before he had known it. Had he enjoyed it so much that he had just consumed it all without being actually conscious of it? Did the same thing happen to Yolanda? His eyes widened. That couldn't be…

"Chase?"

That thing he couldn't describe… Could it honestly be love? He shook his head. Love for what? It wasn't that his bread was half-assed… He had put his heart into it, just like he had put his heart into his herb fish and everything else he had ever cooked. But then what was it that he was tasting?

"Are you okay?"

No. No. No. He wasn't okay. He wasn't. Chase didn't know what he was, either. It was just like he didn't know that extra taste that made your bread better than his. But he did know one thing. He had to go. He had to. Chase mumbled quietly, "Thank you."

"Um…"

He grabbed his stuff and quickly strode out of the house without another word, leaving Akari confused. For a few moments, she stared at the front door, wondering what had happened. Then she realized: it had something to do with the bread. Slowly, she took a bite of each piece, chewing slowly so she could try to distinguish the difference between them. When she was done, she said to no one in particular.

"I don't taste any difference."