"Moving along... Since your house is still being built," said Mayor Hamilton; "you can stay here at Souffle Farm in the meantime."

"Huh?" Akari emitted, looking up at the modest farm house. The mayor's brochure, which had lured her to this island, (and which had prompted his son to pompously call her a fool for believing in it– or so she had thought) said nothing about staying in a stranger's house! She began to have a panic attack, tensing her arms and breathing in and out quickly. I stayed on the boat for so long, that I thought I was going insane! she thought; I was always worried about being found out by the crew– or that that I'd run out of water– I can't do this, but I have to–

Being part kappa, Akari could only partially restore her strength with fresh water, and only fully after drinking her home's water (or in this case, after quickly claiming a new lake or river and drenching herself in it). So, after spending a week on a boat (salt water was no good), she'd drained every bottle she'd brought from home and grown very weak.

"It's a nice little farm," Hamilton rambled on, waving his arms about like a toddler; "Maybe you'll learn a little something about ranching, eh?"

If presented with the choice, Akari would've much rather camped out in the wilderness. "How about," she began, gulping anxiously; "somewhere else?"

Mayor Hamilton was NOT pleased as punch with this reply. He promptly told her that she'd have to make do, frowned, and ditched her there with a huff. It was unfortunate that he mistook her fear for ungratefulness, as it dealt a heavy blow to his opinion of her. Not that she was trying to earn points with him, or anything!

When Akari entered the modest farm house, she was greeted by a small shop filled with flower bouquets, fresh produce, and a sour, middle aged man who didn't seem to know who she was or why she was there. When she explained to him (with more tact than the last few introductions), he scoffed and answered curtly, "You're moving here? Why would anyone move to such a boring and decrepit place..."

"It seems nice enough," Akari said; "and also I'm–"

"–Anywho," the man cut her off; "my name is Craig. I own this farm. If you have no business here, go home." He frowned sternly at her.

Though Akari was hurt, she was used to not being welcomed ANYWHERE, so she took it in stride. Besides, she now had a polite reason to leave.

Being polite was very important, you see.

Before Akari could turn and leave, an equally sour woman wobbled into the room. Though she had a pretty face, it was neutralized by her furrowed eyebrows and depressed expression. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. "I'm afraid we're quite busy now. Come back some other time."

"R-right, ma'am. I was just leaving." Akari cracked a miserable smile and turned for the door. She would've left, then and there, but then the unexpected happened; the sour woman opened her mouth and made a startling noise.

"CRAIG!" she screeched; "The field is overrun with weeds! Get to weeding already!"

"Yeah, yeah..." the man yammered at her; "Calm down already. I'm going'." Limping to the door, he stopped beside Akari and scowled. "You're in my way." He nodded sarcastically, buffeting her with his aura of severe disapproval.

"I'm very sorry!" Akari tried not to cry, stepping away and allowing him passage. The creaky door slammed shut behind him.

Sighing, the farm wife then groaned and held her heavy, woebegone head as if she had been shot in the neck.

"Are... are you ok?" Akari asked quietly, feeling worried for her.

Surprised, the woman looked up. "What?" she snapped; "You're still here?" She frowned painfully as soon as she realized how snippy she was being– the girl was honestly concerned for her, after all. But instead of saying anything else, the woman crossed her arms and looked away.

"I'm sorry to intrude," Akari said, trying to be as concise as possible; "I'm here because the mayor brought me here. There must've been some kind of misunderstanding–"

"–OH!" the woman barked in epiphany. "So you're the helper the Mayor sent over... I see... You're hired."

"At your service!" Akari nearly bowed. Thankfully, though, she caught herself just in time and remained upright. For why she had changed her mind about leaving, however, she was unsure. Maybe it had something to do with the woman's parental tone.

After introducing herself as Ruth, (and after reintroducing her grouch of a husband as Craig), the woman regained a modest amount of cheer and so sent Akari right out the door to work.

Craig was surprised when Akari asked to help out in the fields. He thought she was too weak and scrawny, but took her offer anyways. As he sent her out to tend the strawberry crops, he pulled out a stopwatch– of all things– and timed her. She was so self-conscious as he kept informing her of the dwindling seconds, that she kept making mistakes. It didn't help that she was still worried about what Doctor Jin knew about her. She was even more worried that he was the one who had refilled her head bowl.

If that's the case, Akari thought, panting as she watered the last row of strawberries, then I owe him! She couldn't let any debt go unpaid– that was the kappa way. As troublesome and frightening as it was, she needed to find out for sure if he was the one who did it or not. Even if he wasn't, it was important to confront him.

Because if he knows... Akari thought; I need to make a deal of secrecy with him!

"Time's up," Craig said, clicking his stopwatch. "Now, let's see how long it took for you to finish..." After looking at the difference, he stared stonily at her. "Not bad for a slacker like you, I guess."

"T-thank you?" Akari panted, not sure if he had complimented or insulted her.

"All right, good work. That's it for today." He nodded, revealing a faint smile. "Now clean up. You're a mess! When you're done, we're having dinner." He brusquely turned and walked back to the house.

He's a bit rough, but... he's not so bad, Akari thought, unable to keep from smiling, herself. She held the watering can close; Craig had given it to her as a gift earlier.

"Don't get too excited!" the man had said. "You're going to be using that thing for the next chore." He laughed sinisterly, but it was certain that he was having a good time– possibly, for the first time in a long time.

The acronym for this story is SOAK. I didn't intend for that, but it really fits...