Chapter 8
The Autumn School Festival had been a smash hit, much like it always was. Each club made healthy profits and especially the baking club, whom had the chocolate cream cheese lava cupcakes to thank for padding their funds. It had been a blast for everyone involved and it was during those three days that word began to spread of the gigantic new kid from the city having begun a relationship with the Himuro girl.
For the following weeks after the festival, many of Tatsuki's friends had come rushing up to her to ask scores of questions, but very few she answered, mainly because she didn't know the answer. It had been well known that the girls around school thought Atsushi was a sight for sore eyes, and naturally, they had all wanted to know the juicy details, but since all they had done in the weeks they had been an official couple, a few cuddle and make out sessions was as far as things had gone. They hadn't even had an official date yet, as it was normal for them to just stay in and bake something that Atsushi would inevitably eat, or they would just cuddle on the couch and watch TV whenever they weren't working Atsushi's uncle's farm. All was going right, felt right, but with the winter that was just about on them, Tatsuki had decided to plan their first official date.
It was Saturday afternoon and the air was cold enough where Atsushi could see his breath every time he exhaled. He was wrapped in a warm coat and a scarf, and his hands were protected with a pair of fluffy mittens to keep his hands warm as he chased after Tatsuki through her family's farm. She was skipping and spinning, beaming with a smile as she lead him somewhere and since she absolutely refused to tell him, he was left guessing.
"Muro-Chin!... Where are we going?" Atsushi whined as he followed her passed the dairy barn with her a small distance ahead.
"Just come on!... It'll be great!" She called back to him, still spinning around and skipping with glee.
Atsushi pouted, "Just tell me what you've got planned. If it's work related, I'm going back to the house to sleep." He said, but continued after her and having to step out his stride simply to keep up.
"No you won't, because you're curious!" She giggled, trotting back to him and snatching up his mitten covered hand.
She tugged him along without a care, completely ignoring his whining as he buried his nose down into his muffler to help keep it warm. He was bundled up like a child and the cold air had even colored his cheeks pink that she couldn't help, but think it was the most adorable thing in the world. He wasn't a fan of the cold and watching him work a great deal to squish his entire 6'10 frame into his coat was like watching a giant baby elephant play in a kiddy pool.
All Atsushi could do was let her drag him along because it was quite clear that she wasn't going to let anything slip. She pulled him passed the dairy barns where she turned down the dirt road to guide him around back, passing the pig pens and trotting by the chicken coop. She skipped right passed the nursery barn where the brand new calves and their mothers were safe and warm and it wasn't until they arrived at the long red barn behind that that was lit with muted yellow beneath the gray sky.
"We're here! This is going to be so fun! You're gonna love it." She said, still smiling wide as she dragged him inside.
The moment he stepped over the threshold, he immediately smelt a different kind of smell. It wasn't the earthy musk of a cow, but rather the soft scent of chewed hay and dirt; The smell of horses safely tucked away in their warm paddocks. A few quietly whinnied, but as his violet eyes gazed down the barn's length, straight down the middle to the other side, he saw a pair of horses tied to posts and having already been adorned with saddles.
"Oh no... Oh, I don't think so, Muro-Chin... I can't-" Atsushi began to protest, tugging back against her pull, but still holding her hand.
"It'll be fine! They're real sweet!" Tatsuki said, stopping and turning to see that his face had drawn down into a frown that softened her smile.
"They're animals! You want me to get on something that can think for itself!" Atsushi refused to take another step as he planted his feet and stopped their progress.
Tatsuki's smile began to fade away, "But it's fun... I was gonna show you all over my family's property and a few other places." Her smile was completely gone.
Atsushi's chest ached at seeing her sad, "Muro-Chin-" he plopped his face into a palm, "I don't... I don't know how to ride a horse." He admitted.
"R-Really?" She lightly gasped, tightening her hold on his hand just a little bit.
Atsushi nodded, "Yeah." He mumbled almost too softly.
"Oh... Well, I guess I can't be all that surprised. You're from Akita after all." She said as her smile returned and she lightly chuckled.
"Hey... Don't get mean." He said with a poke to her cheek with a mitten covered finger.
"I'm sorry, but trust me... It's not hard." She said, smiling up at him as she clutched his hand in both of hers.
Atsushi groaned, but his eyes shifted from hers to the clearly larger of the two beasts. It was positively huge, so enormous that its back came up to his shoulders. It stood on legs so long and so thick that he swore they could be used as support columns for a building and its neck was so wide that even his hands had room to move around and pet the thing. He groaned as he blew out a long sigh, but tightening his grip on her hand in reassurance, he gave up trying to resist and hung his head.
"Alright... How do I get on this thing?" Atsushi asked, scrubbing a hand down his face as he let Tatsuki begin to tug him forward once more.
"First, you gotta say hello." Tatsuki beamed up at him as she slowed their pace to a simple walk as they approached the very large horse.
Atsushi arced a brow, "Uh... Hi?"
Tatsuski chuckled, "Not like that... Like this." She said as she guided his hand to set it down on the giant quadruped's neck.
Atsushi was stiff as he started to pet the beast, flinching a bit when it rasped out a huff and a grunt with its floppy lips slapping off its teeth. Even standing right next to the thing, it was a massive creature, but it was calm, seemed lazy and was more than content to chew on the hay that Tatsuki had set out for it.
"His name's Chronos." Tatsuki smiled as she held her hand flat and open to let the massive beast take a carrot from her.
Atsushi sent her a sidelong glance, "Har har... The titan from Greek mythology." He rolled his eyes.
Tatsuki smiled, "Mmhmm," she hummed, "It was fitting since he's a Clyde." She said, returning her attention to petting the large horse.
"A Clyde?" Atsushi asked as he looked over at her.
"Clydesdale. It's his breed. Not a lot of families keep them because they can get expensive to get here, but they're so strong and helpful around the farm." Tatsuki said, stepping away from the horse's head to stand right next to him.
Atsushi smiled down at her, "And you ride him?"
"Not usually, but he was already broken when we got him." Tatsuki said.
Atsushi nodded, "Ah... So how do I get on this thing?" He asked, taking a step back to get a full look on what to do.
"Well, you put your left foot here in the stirrup and grip the reins and the saddle horn like this." She said as she demonstrated the position he needed to take to hoist himself up and onto the creature.
Nodding his understanding, Atsushi stepped up next to her just as she stepped away, giving him room to mimic her posture as he hiked his left leg up and put his foot into the stirrup and gripped the reins and saddle horn just like she had.
"Like this?" He asked.
Tatsuki nodded as she reached up and clutched a chunk of the horse's mane and tucked it into his hands, "Hang onto this too. Don't worry... He won't care."
Atsushi held his nervous breath and under her counting cadence, he hopped on his right leg before hoisting himself up on her count of three. He swung his right leg over Chronos' back and seated himself down into the saddle, taking a second to settle himself down, but with his 6'10 height now sitting on top of a horse that already stood 6 feet tall at the shoulder, he was left to hunch over far and duck his head to keep it out of the rafters.
Tatsuki chuckled, "I probably should have had you get on outside." She covered her mouth to help hide her giggles.
Atsushi grumbled, "Muro-Chin... I'm too tall."
"Sitting on a horse that's as tall as me, yes." She continued to giggle.
Atsushi glared, "Hurry up and get on your horse so I can get outside and sit up like a human."
All Tatsuki did was snicker more as she untied Chronos where he stayed put before doing the same to hers and expertly climbing up onto its shorter back. She settled down into the saddle before clicking her tongue and craning the reins to the side, turning her horse around to begin walking out of the barn and without having to do a single thing, Chronos began to follow.
With the large door lower than the rafters, Atsushi decided just to lean all the way forward, putting his chest to the horse's neck as it stomped out of the barn with Tatsuki riding a length ahead. It was easier that way to get under the door's frame, but once he was fully outside, he sat up straight, breathed a sigh of relief and realized just how high up he was.
"This thing is huge!" Atsushi yelped, lightly gulping as he gripped the reins and the saddle horn out of uncertainty as the horse stepped it out to walk alongside Tatsuki's horse.
"He is a big boy, but our other horses are too small for you. You settled in okay?" She asked, smiling over at him as their horses walked.
Atsushi nodded, "Yeah... It's pretty easy to just sit here while he walks." He lightly smiled.
"Here's some quick tips... When he's trotting, land on your butt like a deflated beach ball and when he gallops, roll with him." She said as she subtly let out the reins to give her horse its head.
"Huh?... What do you-" He tried, but he never got the chance.
With a loud hiss, Tatsuki drove her heels into her horse's side and with a huge spur, the animal lunged forward into a full gallop to tear ahead. He was completely stunned by the sudden burst of speed as she rode hard down the dirt road with her horse's hooves driving into the dirt. It was an amazingly fast creature and wanting to keep up and prove he could do it, he copied her preparations and let the reins out.
"Catch up, Chro-Chin." Atsushi said as he blew out a nervous breath.
With a hard kick to Chronos' side, Atsushi was immediately propelled forward by the literal one ton of meat he was riding on. It was incredible how fast Chronos went from a plain walk to a full gallop, and remembering her words, he somehow subconsciously settled into a smooth roll. Every time Chronos' backside rose up into the air with the lifting of his legs, Atsushi rolled forward and when his hooves came down hard on the dirt, he rolled back. It only took a few awkward moments before he settled into the almost natural motion and it made it easy to ride the giant creature as he powered forward after Tatsuki and her horse.
Chronos was surprisingly fast for his size, which wasn't far from how he was surprisingly fast for someone whom stood 6'10 and weighed closer to 230 pounds now that he had been working on a farm for the last few months. He used to be built of lean muscle and sweets, but now had thickened up with strong muscle that filled out his framework, not unlike how Chronos was built. The animal's head bobbed in perfect sync with its gallop and before he knew it, he and Tatsuki were galloping through her family's farm, down the path between their fields and deep into the countryside.
Despite the grayness of the day, Atsushi started to smile as they galloped, the heavy hits of hooves breaking up the sound of his racing heart that was thundering from the excitement of it. He didn't care that his cheeks were getting cold from the rush of wind and how fast they were going, how the crops whizzed by at breakneck speed and the howl of the wind buffeted in his ears. The world seemed colorless with the coming winter, but even without it, it was still just as beautiful as they rode deeper and deeper, passing paths that jutted through the crop fields and forgotten sheds and outcroppings of open space where one could hide if they wanted to.
They galloped passed clusters of trees dotted throughout the property, but as Tatsuki veered her horse towards a larger cluster of bigger trees, their horses slowed to an easy canter before easing up into a walk and stopping at the treeline.
"We're here." Tatsuki smiled at him before standing and slipping off the saddle.
Atsushi did the same, following her example and touching down onto the ground where he rolled his hips a little to return to a natural stance. He felt just a bit odd from having ridden atop the horse, like his legs were still apart to accommodate the wide back, but given a few moments, he returned to normal and slung the reins over the horse's head to tie them to a branch in the same way Tatsuki did.
"What is this place?" Atsushi asked, rubbing his cheeks warm with his hands that were still covered with his mittens.
"I call it 'The Grove'. I come here to get away and be alone sometimes." She said as she stepped into the trees and waved for him to follow.
He took a second to look around and there really wasn't a single thing close by to where they were. The house was a tiny speck on the horizon and they were completely surrounded by corn fields, pasture and more clusters of trees. The sky was huge and gray above his head and as he turned his gaze back to Tatsuki, he started to wind his way into the trees.
He stepped over roots and sidestepped around trees, ducking under low hanging branches and pushing others out of his way as he followed her. He felt like he was going back in time, only to reemerge back in medieval times, but as he pushed aside one more branch that hung low enough to shield his view, he emerged out into a small clearing that had several logs arranged around a rock fire ring that already had a crackling fire to help provide warmth.
"M-Muro-Chin?... What is this?" He asked, fully stepping into the small grove and going to sit down next to her on a log.
Her cheeks started to shade pink, but he couldn't tell if it was from the ride, or the shyness that was causing it.
"I just thought that... that this would be a nice first date." She said, ducking her head down a bit into her own shoulders from shyness.
Atsushi sat up straighter, "First date?... I always thought those were like... dinner and a movie, or something."
"Well... yeah, but that's kinda hard to do out here." She bit the corner of her bottom lip.
"Is everything okay, Muro-Chin? Why so shy all of a sudden?" He asked, leaning forward a bit to get a better look at her face.
"N-No reason... I just... I really like spending time with you and out here, there's less of a chance we'll be interrupted." She held her breath as her eyes traced all over his face.
"Interrupted?... You don't mean like... if we... you know." He said, scooting closer to her just to feel her shoulder against his arm.
"No!... No, not at all," she sighed, "I just wanted to come out here so we can share a special kiss." She admitted.
"Special kiss?... How is it different from all our others?" He asked as he felt his cheeks beginning to warm up from rising blood.
Tatsuki's cheeks darkened, "Well, it's because there would be different feelings behind it because-" Her voice trailed off.
His brows furrowed as he watched what he now knew was a blush spread across her face, creeping up her skin all the way to her hairline. She still couldn't look at him for longer than half a second, but he couldn't, for the life of him, understand what she was meaning.
"Because why, Muro-Chin?... D-Do you not like me anymore?" He asked and gulped as his eyes softened with rising worry.
"No!... Oh my god! No! That's not it! I do like you! A lot! More than I have ever liked anyone!" Tatsuki hurriedly said with terror in her shaking eyes.
"Then what it is?... I don't understand." He said quietly as he hunched down into his shoulders with a bit of self-consciousness.
Tatsuki exhaled as if she had been holding her breath, "I um," she gulped, "Atsushi... I think I... I think I like you more than... that." She bit her bottom lip once more.
"Like me more than-" his brain clicked, "Oh... Oh, you mean... You mean you... l-love me?" Atsushi asked, his voice trailing off as he pointed at his own chest through his mittens.
Tatsuki nodded.
Atsushi just rubbed the back of his neck as his own face started to burn hot with a blush, and his chest started to flutter with a tight ache that he had only ever felt whenever he was worried. Tatsuki was his first real relationship, not just a quick fling like he had had before. Basketball had a way of attracting all manner of girls, a lot of which were just coming into their own of lusting after the pretty ones and he had had more than a few throw themselves at him. It might have meant something if he wasn't so lazy as to just shrug them off, but where Tatsuki was concerned, he very much didn't wish to screw anything up.
"I um... I think maybe... that I... love you too." He stuttered, his words becoming airy as his voice ebbed off.
Tatsuki lightly gasped, "R-Really?" She looked at him in the eye for longer than the half second she had been.
Atsushi nodded, "Y-Yeah. Y-You mean a lot to me and-" his voice was quiet as he bowed his head closer to hers, "you cook really sweet things and-" he drew in a shaky breath, "you taste really good when we kiss and-" His voice finally vanished in his own throat.
Tatsuki was holding her breath as she leaned closer to him with her eyes half lidded, "Yeah? What else?"
Atsushi nodded as an arm wrapped around her back to grip her opposite waist, "You make being out here special." He near whispered as his eyes closed.
Tatsuki smiled just as their lips met, starting out still before their tongues braved the cold to explore each others mouths like they had done so many times before. They were a new couple, fledgling in its own right, but saying those words, admitting their hearts seemed right to them both. Their hearts felt like they were flying, were so light yet electric that they swore they blended into the air around them that smelt of ozone and ice. It was the smell of winter and when a tiny touch of cold landed on his cheek, Atsushi finally started to breathe again as he withdrew his tongue with a final, long stroke along the roof of her mouth to make her softly moan at the sensation of his tongue bar.
He looked up at the gray sky, not seeing anything at first as he tightened his hold on her to hold her as close as possible to his side. Her hand rested on his chest as she followed his line of sight and when a tiny, crystalline fleck of snow fluttered down in front of them, both began to smile as more soon joined.
"Atsushi... It's snowing!" Tatsuki beamed, holding out her hand to let a small flake flutter down into her glove covered palm.
Atsushi lightly smiled, "It snows a lot in Akita too, but it's either on, or off. There is no in between." He said, holding her close for cuddles while they watched the snow fall more and more.
Tatsuki softly chuckled, "Either nothing, or Armageddon huh?"
Atsushi nodded, "Yeah... Berms as tall as me sometimes." He smiled down at her as chilly flakes began to gather on his hair.
"That's really tall." She airily chuckled as she leaned in close to his side for added warmth.
Atsushi just nodded as he tightened his hold on her, smiling at her the whole time as he cupped her chin with a mitten covered knuckle and tilted her head back to him where he capture her lips for another slow and tender kiss. Not even a second passed until their tongues greeted each other where Atsushi's far longer one pushed against hers to push it back, but was soon rendered powerless when she started to play with his tongue bar. He moaned low as each breath struggled to get in and out of his lungs, but when the distant mumbles of another's voice began to touch his ears, his brows furrowed as he parted their lips.
"Do you hear that, Muro-Chin?" Atsushi asked quietly, sitting up straight to look over her head and scan the trees.
Tatsuki tilted her head and furrowed her brows, but soon, her own ears began to pick up a voice from somewhere around them. Whomever was speaking, and from what they could catch, almost sounded irritated and it was clear they were talking to someone since they were talking out loud and someone was answering.
"Someone's nearby... Come on." Tatsuki said quietly as she grasped his hand and stood up from the log.
Atsushi just followed her into the trees that surrounded the grove, only releasing her hand when he had to to push aside pin needle covered branches and hold them aside so she could get through. The voices were echoing around them, bouncing off the tree trunks, so it made it difficult for them to follow until they stepped out of the trees, only to spot the source of the strange voices.
With a soft gasp of surprise, Tatsuki reeled and ducked back into the trees, dragging Atsushi with her so they were hiding behind a large splay of branches that shielded them from view. She rested a finger over her mouth to signal to keep as quiet as possible where Atsushi just nodded and listened.
"You're an idiot... Look at the survey. It says their crops are ten feet over their property line, which makes them illegal." Said one of the voices.
"But that survey's twenty years old, Shirō. It's probably different now." Said another.
"I can't just march into the city clerks office and order a current land survey for property my family has no claim to, Moron, but going by this, those stupid Himuros are breaking the law, which would make all those fucking protection contracts null and void." Said the angered voice.
Tatsuki and Atsushi glanced at each other.
"Shirō-... This is getting out of hand." Groaned the second voice.
"I don't give a shit!... I've gotta find an alternative to get my hands on their farm because that stupid, lazy giant is fucking everything up."
Atsushi's brows furrowed.
"So what? Don't you think your family has enough land?"
"Screw you, Dude. My family's the only reason yours hasn't starved, so I don't wanna hear anything from you."
"Come on, Shirō... Just let it go."
"No!... I'm not letting it go! That idiot doesn't get to just waltz into town from the city like he owns the place and take my girl. I don't give a shit if he is apart of that ridiculous Generation of Miracles crap; He doesn't belong here and if I can destroy the Himuros, then he'll disappear."
"You don't know that. He's massive, Shirō. He could flatten you with a glare."
"Then I'll figure something out. He's too stupid to know something's up, so we'll trap him.
Atsushi's lip began to curl with his rising anger.
"No, Shirō... I'm done with this. You lost this one. Just accept it."
"Fuck you, Dude. I haven't lost anything. I've just had a setback. I'll think of something to get rid of that monster moron. That stupid bitch will be too broken once he's gone and I'll be able to swoop in and play the white knight." The voice snickered.
Both Tatsuki and Atsushi grumbled lowly.
"No, Dude... I'm done with this. You've gone too far this time. We're trespassing on someone else's property just so you can try and find a loophole so your family can get greedier. This is ridiculous. Do whatever you want, but I'm not gonna be involved."
"You walk away now and I promise you, your family's crop profits are gonna drop like a stone."
However, instead of the other voice answering, there was only silence for several moments while Atsushi and Tatsuki just stared at each other with worry in their eyes.
"Fine... Fine, I'll stick around, but only because my family needs that field rent." Said the second voice after a few moments, being much quieter and sullen.
"That's what I thought."
As the voices began to trail off, Atsushi and Tatsuki shared another glance as they stood up, only pushing the branch aside once they were confident that the owners of the voices had gone when duel rumbles of small engines drove off into the distance. There was no mistaking the more dominant voice, not only because they had heard it a million times before, but also because his company had called him by name. It was Shirō Kitagawa and one of his friends whom apparently, he kept in check by making threats of taking away his family's income.
"That lowlife... I can't believe he's traipsing around my property looking for a way to take it from us." Tatsuki growled angrily as she clenched her gloved hands into fists.
"I knew he was a dirtbag, but I didn't think he was that much of one." Atsushi said, exhaling a long breath to help him relax his brow line.
"There's no telling how long he's been sneaking in back here." Tatsuki said.
"Hey look, Muro-Chin... Quad tracks." Atsushi said, pointing with his whole hand at the chilled ground just up ahead that was quickly becoming dusted with a coating of snow.
Tatsuki followed his hand, and not even a second later, she saw the muddied tracks. There were two sets that crisscrossed each other and they ran deeper into the Himuro property and disappeared behind the large acreage of crop.
"They're riding back here?... I wonder if their scouting out other property lines." Tatsuki said with a brief glance up at him
Atsushi nodded once.
"Come on... Lets follow them and see where they go." She said as she grabbed his hand and headed back through the trees towards their horses.
Atsushi couldn't agree with her more as they untied them and climbed back up into the saddles, steering around and picking up the trail of wheel tracks. They needed to work fast, or the falling snow would cover them up, but being on horseback, they had extra legs to pick up their pace.
They slowly cantered down the trail, following the quad tracks that ran along the backside of the Himuro crops and didn't stop until they needed to cross a bare country road. They stopped for a moment and looked both ways before walking across where both Tatsuki's horse and Chronos picked it back up to canter over the tracks.
"Ease up... We're off my property now, so we should walk." Tatsuki said, tugging up on her reins to slow her horse.
Atsushi did the same and held Chronos' head long enough for Tatsuki to come along side so they walked side by side.
"Are people gonna get mad at us?" Atsushi asked, giving his horse back his head to just lumber along.
"No... Most people don't care since the farms aren't separated by fences, or anything. Everyone just kinda... travels back and forth this way because not everyone has a car." She said, letting out a sigh as she wrapped the reins around the saddle horn and began adjusting her coat tighter around herself to keep warm.
"Oh... Where do you think these tracks go? Back to his house?" He asked as he just watched her since his vehicle was capable of thinking for itself.
Tatsuki shrugged, "Maybe, but so far, I've seen them branch off towards a couple other farms deeper in. I think Shirō's scouting potential victims for his family." She picked the reins back up and just let them rest in her lap.
"And coming after me apparently. What do you think he's gonna do?" He asked, turning his eyes down towards the tracks.
"I don't know, but keep on your guard." She said.
"Do you think he'll wanna fight?" He asked.
Immediately, Tatsuki shook her head, "Absolutely not. You'd obliterate him. Shirō isn't stupid; He'll come up with something that'll give him the advantage."
Atsushi's throat rumbled, "I'll crush him in anything he wants."
Tatsuki nodded, but her eyes turned sad and her chest tightened with worry. She couldn't decide if it was luck that she and Atsushi had overheard their secret conversation, or misfortune, but no matter how she looked at it, it was a worrying development. Things seemed to be settling down once word got out that she and Atsushi were together, and she had thought that maybe, just maybe, Shirō had given up, but it appeared that that wasn't the case. He had been planning in the background like some sneaky chancellor keen on taking over the throne and that very much wasn't sitting well with her.
They continued riding along the tracks for quite some time until the snowfall became to heavy to keep their eyes on the tracks. A blanket of white a few inches thick had covered the ground, had deadened the sound around them to be able to hear anything other than the ultra fine rustle of the snow settled down onto the ground. They couldn't follow the tracks anymore, simply because, they were no longer there.
"Come on... Lets head back and tell my father. He needs to know about this." Tatsuki said, tugging up on the reins to halt her horse and turn it around.
"How far have we gone?" Atsushi asked, halting Chronos and using his height to scan the area.
They had traveled for sometime in the back country, having put behind the clusters of trees in favor of rolling hills and smaller fields. There wasn't a house to be seen, the last one being quite awhile ago and even that looked abandoned and forgotten. The air felt colder as the snowfall thickened, now being a steady drift of flakes that looked like sprinkled sugar.
"A ways. We're about halfway to town. It's gonna be dark soon so we better get going." She said, firmly kicking her heels into her horse's side to spur it forward into a canter.
Atsushi offered another glance around before craning Chronos around and driving his heels into his side where he bounced a few strides before settling into a canter. His heavy hoof falls pounded firmly into the accumulating snow, leaving behind black holes in the snow that were set into an infallible pattern. He rolled with Chronos' movements as he followed Tatsuki back the way they had come, retracing their own tracks back through the back country and towards home. It was a lazy journey, but eventually, they returned to the Himuro property and headed back for the paddock to return their horses.
After tying the horses up, both headed for the Himuro farmhouse and slipped off their boots before stepping inside, setting them aside before padding deeper into the home. As always, it smelt of cinnamon and sugar from the candles Tatsuki's mother would constantly burn, and it was warming against the cold of outside with its first snow of the season. It was welcomed, and he would have smiled if he had found in him to do so.
"Dad?... You here?" Tatsuki called out as she peaked inside the kitchen in search of her father.
"In here, Tatty-cakes!" Came her father's voice from the living room.
Atsushi followed her down the hall and into the large living room where her father was lounging back on the couch reading the paper. A pair of reading glasses hung low on his nose and as he sat up, folding his paper and setting it down on the coffee table, he slipped them off and set them down.
"Hello, Atsushi. How was your guys' ride?" He asked in a pleasant, yet deep tone as he stood up.
"Fine until we ran into Shirō and one of his friends." Tatsuki said, stopping by the archway to the living room and crossing her arms.
Her father's dark brows immediately furrowed hard, "What the hell is that little brat doing on our property?"
"We didn't see, but we heard it. It sounded like he's been search for property violations. We heard that he had an old property survey from twenty years ago and he said our crops go ten feet off the line." Tatsuki explained.
Her father's eyes widened, "What?... That little shit! He's scouting for his family, isn't he." He growled.
Tatsuki nodded, "We think so. He and his buddy rode quads down the old trail paths that lace through the back country."
Her father stood up, "Can you two take me to where you saw them?"
"Yes, but the snow's covered them up." Tatsuki said with a glance up at Atsushi.
"That's fine. I just wanna see for myself for a better understanding." Her father said as he started for them.
Her father stepped passed them and went to put on his boots and coat as Atsushi and Tatsuki put theirs back on and stepped out onto the porch to wait. It was only a moment before her father stepped out and closed the door harder than he probably meant to, but the look on his face suggested otherwise.
"I'll follow you two out there in the Ranger. Go get on your horses." He said firmly.
Both nodded as they headed back for the paddock while her father went to the garage, and when they climbed back up into the saddle, Atsushi heard the throttled roar of the UTV's engine starting up. It was a lumbering beast, capable of carrying four people plus a couple bales of hay if need be. It was a mechanical horse that helped her father and mother work the farm and it was about to be put up against four legs instead of four wheels.
With just a smile on her face, Tatsuki blew him a kiss before snapping her palm into her horse's haunch, causing it to toss its head and rear before pounding off into a full gallop with her father taking off after her in the Ranger. He had literally been left in the dust and snow, but with a lopsided smirk adorning his face, he leaned over to look Chronos in the eye.
"Can you do that?" He asked, pointing down their path.
Chronos just shook his head and huffed out a grunt that flared his large nostrils.
"Yeah... I didn't think so. Looks troublesome. We can't let them leave us behind though." Atsushi said as he sat up.
Pursing his lips together, he drove his heels into Chronos' side where the giant horse launched himself forward on his thick and powerful legs, intent to close the gap.