Blazepanzer does not own Stardew valley or Girls und Panzer. Enjoy!
Letting out a small sigh, Taeko glanced up as the announcer mentioned that they were approaching Stardew valley. The lush green of the area sent conflicting feelings through her, on one hand it remembered her of her rural hometown of Kitaibaraki, and yet the pines and trees were very different.
I miss Japan already, and now her language is almost useless to me due to the Ferngil republic speaking English. It was formed from the states of Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia of the former United States of America after all...At least that year and a half I spend in the New California Republic allowed me to get good at English...
As the bus stopped, Taeko grabbed her bags, she left a twenty gold tip as show of thanks before exiting the bus. The Ferngil Republic used a mix of gold and paper, with the paper being used for a bank account and easy access for larger funds, such as buying a house. The coins however were made with form a half of a percent gold and the rest containing copper, zinc, and manganese, mostly copper. The currency itself was about 25 cents today compared to the final us dollar's worth right before the US erupted into a civil war. Quarters were also a thing and were the smallest denomination of currency.
As she made her way down the steps, she met a ginger haired girl. "You must be Taeko, right?"
"Yes ma'am," Taeko smiled.
"I'm Robin, the local carpenter," she continued extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you," she added with a smile.
"Likewise," Taeko smiled, accepting the handshake. Another thing I can thank my time in the NCR for, many Japanese girls are somewhat apprehensive about handshakes, she realized.
"Mayor Lewis asked me to bring you to your farm, if you'll follow me," Robin smiled as she released her hand, and walked off in the distance.
Following, Taeko once again felt lost. This should feel comforting to me given that I lived in a rural town almost all my life, but it's...strange...different...she mused as she walked.
"Everyone's excited to meet you, we don't really get too many people moving to town these days," Robin admitted. "Even so I really hope that you'll love it here, it's fairly quiet and the nature is amazing!"
Still unfamiliar to me though, Taeko mused, trying to push down her unease at the strange surroundings. "It is nice, but different than what I'm used to," she admitted quietly.
"Homesick?" Robin asked, glancing back at her in sympathy.
"You could say that," Taeko sighed, before smiling. "You're right though this place is nice. I think after a few days here I'll adjust better. I'll probably be busy which will help."
"Staying busy always helps," Robin nods. "We're almost there," she added.
Taeko followed her out of the path, gazing at a...completely ruined farm, filled with weeds and trees, random rocks littering the lands. It had two ponds, a smaller one and a larger one, with several buildings scattered around.
A cabin was the only thing left standing in good condition, and an elderly man walked out and up to them. "So you must be Taeko Kondou?" he asked, extending her hand "I'm Lewis, the Mayor. I've just been making sure the cabin was in good shape before your arrival."
Taeko shook his hand and smiled, though she was a bit upset at being called a Kondou. As much as she loved her brother and was grateful that her grandfather had left her an inheritance and a large one at that, she wasn't really found of the family name anymore. "Looks like I have a lot of work to do," she noted.
"That can wait a bit, you must be exhausted from your trip," Lewis gazed at her evenly.
"Maybe a bit," Taeko let out a small yawn, glancing up at the cabin. "Yeah...I have been constantly traveling for the past two days given that I had to travel from Japan to the NCR, and then from the NCR to the Ferngil republic. Jet-lag is quite the drag," she added.
"First time traveling?" Robin asked.
"I've been on a few planes before, but this is my first time flying across time zones. The last and only other time I crossed the Pacific my father decided to take a cruse forward and back."
"He traveled a lot?" Lewis asked.
Taeko nodded. "Yeah, he worked as a higher up in a multinational corporation and sometimes moved to other nations. We mostly stayed at his first house in Kitaibaraki when he worked in Japan, but we moved with him when he worked in Seoul and in Crescent City."
"Anyways, the townsfolk would love it if you went and introduced yourself, though there's no hurry," Lewis noted.
"And feel free to stop by my carpenter shop if you need farm structures or an expansion to your house," Robin smiled as they left.
Taeko watched them go, before letting out a tired sigh and entered the house, doing an inspection of the place. Lewis did a good job at making sure it was clean, or at least cleaner than the rest of the farm, she mused, glancing at the single room cabin. Indoor outhouse and... she glanced over at a box in the wall and opened it, seeing that it was some fort of plug-in attached to a battery of some sort.
"Wait just a moment..." Taeko glanced between it and a fireplace, and then to the ceiling, gasping as she saw no light fixture. "Nobody told me that this place had no power," she muttered, sitting down, before shaking her head. "And? You spend five and a half years in worse conditions, so stop complaining!" she growled, before rising up and gingerly placing the cover back on the box.
Daring to walk out, she gazed at the roof, sighing as she saw a solitary solar panel. That's all I get? I was at least hoping for a few of them. And given the size of the battery, it can't run much...maybe eight watts if I'm lucky?
Sighing, she went back into the house, and noticed a small note on a chest.
"Here's some tools and a sack of parsnip seeds to get you started!"
"Then let's get started," Taeko muttered, grabbing the scythe and exiting the room, whacking the weeds near her house. "This is harder than I thought," she muttered, but kept slicing, slowly getting better.
Hey, I'm getting the hang of this...ow! Taeko glanced down, realizing that her foot had brushed up against a rock. "Gotta be more careful," she muttered, setting the scythe down and moving the rock out of the way. "There, now..." she turned back, gasping. "On no, where did I lay down the Scythe!" she gasped, frantically searching the grass, sighing in relief as she felt the wooden handle.
However, as she glanced down, she realized that her hand was right next to the sharp edge of the blade, and she recoiled, sighing in relief as she realized that she had not cut herself. This time, picking up the tool with her hand at a much safer distance from the sharpened blade, she sat it on the porch, and decided to walk over to a specific place.
"The cow shed..." she whispered, creaking in the door, shuddering as the light came in through cracks in the roof. "If this is how the cow shed is then I'm shocked the cabin is in such good shape, or did Lewis restore that." she mused, before a glint caught her eye. She knelt down, gagging as she saw what it was.
A golden man's ring, with a strip of dried flesh attached to it. Great, as if seeing grandpa's ring finger damaged like that wasn't enough to scare me away from wearing jewelry... She wondered if she should try to mail it back to her family, but shook her head. "No, they might take that as an insult, especially from me," she muttered, exiting the building.
So instead, she took a shovel and buried it at the edge of the farm. "Thank you grandpa...for everything," she whispered as she finished burying the ring, before shuddering at the memory of seeing her grandfather dying at home from an incurable infection, one he got from his injured finger. It wasn't bad at first, but as time went on it got to the point where he had to quit the farm and move back to Japan. He insisted on being with his daughter if you will.
It had an effect on her. Sure, it was caused by his ring getting snagged on a rope, but it caused her to become very fearful of wearing any kind of jewelry. Over time she began to occasionally wear a watch, but even that was rare. Most people though didn't really care about it and she didn't talk about it, so it was a personal thing with her that few knew about her.
Glancing at the setting sun, she let out a small sigh as she dragged the tools inside her house and collapsed on the bed, falling asleep instantly.
The issue with sleeping in a cabin with no electric heating is that you woke up cold unless you knew how to operate a wood stove. Taeko shivered as she rose up, slipping on her work clothes and exited the cabin, sighing as she could sense the dew on the ground. Really it was just overalls with a white short sleeved tee-shirt and black work tennis shoes, but it'd do. She had boots, but only wanted to use them in real muddy conditions.
"I can't really afford to get my shoes damaged working in morning dew this heavy," she muttered, instead deciding to head on into Pelican town, which was a straight walk from her house shockingly enough. A quick trip would have taken a quarter day's journey by foot, forward and back if you will excluding the time spent in town.
Letting out a small sigh as she emerged from the forest, she frowned as she saw the small town, mostly consisting of civilian houses. This is really a small town huh? She began to walk though the town, wanting to introduce herself a bit like Lewis suggested.
However, instead she glanced down as she walked, ignoring the folks around her. I...I can't do this...she whimpered quietly to herself as shyness and fear took over her. Every since I was released from prison, I couldn't go out of the apartment for fear of being stoned, and while the residents of Pelican town are unlikely to do that...
"Pierre's General Store?" she mused catching the sight of the building, gently pushing her way in and browsing the store. She leaned in, and sighed at the prices. Geeze...is this coin-bag running on nostalgia? She balked privately, steeping back as she went over to the seed area.
"Attention customers!"
Is this the infamous Pierre? Taeko wondered as a well suited yet pompous looking man enter the store.
"Jojamart coupons are available! 50% off your entire purchase!" the man called, waving some tickets in the air.
Okay, so that's not Pierre then... Taeko decided.
"Fifty percent off!" a voice gasped.
So that's Pierre? Taeko mused, walking up and acquiring a coupon. I need to check out this Joja-mart anyways, doesn't mean I doing anything wrong by taking advantage of this deal. Even so, I don't like this sales tactic, Taeko reassured herself. "Um...I'm new to town...where is this Jojamart?"Taeko asked.
"It's just down the road, across the bridge," the man smiled. "But young miss, before you go, may I interest you in a Joja membership?"
"No thanks,"Taeko muttered, walking out and glancing over the coupon to make sure that the Joja membership wasn't required to use the coupon. Turns out, it wasn't.
Stepping into the store, she sighed, grasping a basket and walking up the isles. Wait...this bread is a gold coin at Pierre's and is a gold and a quarter at Joja... she mused, sighing and placing the bread in the basket, before continuing to shop, keeping to things that were light and did not need refrigeration.
In the end she added spam, ketchup, a small jar of peanut butter, canned spaghetti, and a few other things and it ended up costing her about eighteen gold and two quarters. She quietly paid and left the store, trying to ignore the prickling guilt she felt. I know it's just business...but I feel dirty about the way I received the coupon. If he had handed them out in the street, maybe I'd feel different about it.
She quickly walked home and placed her groceries in the limited cabinet space which she had. As she placed the last can of spaghetti up, she pulled out a particular piece of work she bought. Something most girls would have never dreamed of wearing for fun.
"Missed these bad boys..." Taeko smiled, taking the metal toy cuffs out of the bag and slapping them on her wrist. "Ah...this feels so comforting," she mused as her wrist were once again in handcuffs. Even if I hated prison itself, I wore these guys so much that it began to feel like second nature, she realized. I wonder if Hanoashi or Anna felt the same way...
Sighing, she took them off and redid them behind her wrist and walked around the cabin a bit. Not the same without a hand grasping my upper arm, but close enough...she mused, before sitting on her bed, flexing her fingers in and out for a bit, before taking them off and placing them in the cupboard.
Stepping out of the farm, she noticed a few crows pecking at the grass, and let out a small sigh. "I wonder if I should build a scarecrow before I begin to plant..." she mused, grabbing her ax and looking around for a good tree to begin the built. "Gonna look real tacky, but maybe it'll work," she mused, finally finding a decent tree which she could chop down.
"Geeze...this is hard," she muttered as she made steady work on the tree, sighing as she finally managed to get the tree to fall. It was twice her size with a trunk a few inches wide at the bottom, but that'd work well enough. Now...for some...wait...I need nails... she sighed, before running into the house, placing her ax on the side and grabbing her purse, heading back into town.
She was already out of breath when she reached Pierre's general store. "Here's hoping..." she muttered, entering.
Walking up, she noticed that Pierre was in some sort of trance.
"Um...mister Pierre?" she asked.
"Forgot something at Jojamart? I saw you get a coupon," Pierre asked.
"Not exactly that..." Taeko sighed. "Look...I'm...sorry about that guy, what he did was wrong. You didn't deserve that." she added gently, feeling a bit of sympathy.
"That's alright, I'm used to it by now. Every since Joja came to town I've been dealing with this," Pierre shrugged, though his voice betrayed his sadness.
That's...not good, Taeko realized. "Yeah, I was wondering if you had any nails?" she asked.
"What kind do you need?" Pierre asked, his eyes growing hopeful for a sale.
"Something I can attach two sticks with. I'm trying to build a scarecrow," Taeko explained.
"I have a scarecrow you could buy for twelve gold," Pierre offered.
"I can't really afford that kind of money," Taeko sighed. "What I don't use on seeds needs to be used for food at the moment," she explained.
"Ah, so you're the new farmer," Perrie smiled.
"Names Taeko," she smiled in return.
"Well...I'd recommend cutting a flat notch on the sticks first, then placing the nails in. Three fence staple nails ought to give you the best bite overall, and sharpening the end of the stick a bit can help drag it into the ground. Also, I've heard that attaching a few pieces of coal in a basic face pattern could help make the crow that much more convincing, though it's not strictly required."
"That sounds good. Oh, do you have a hammer?"Taeko asked.
"Yes, it's two gold, and a half pound of nail is a half-gold."
"Sounds good to me," Taeko smiled. "Also...I'm curious if there's a spring crop that's easy to grow and produces yields throughout the season."
"The closes thing would be green beans, but they would require you to provide some trendiness. You'd be much better sticking to Parsnips or Potatoes," he suspected.
"Right, how much for an acre's worth of potatoes?" Taeko asked.
750 gold," Pierre estimated.
"I only have about 450 left," Taeko sighed. "Quarter acre?" she asked.
Tell you what, since you're just starting I'll give you acre mix of Garlic, Parsnip, and Potatoes for 250 if you agree to donate a third of the crop to me," Perrie offered.
"Deal," Taeko smiled, extending her hand in agreement.
He shook it and wrote up a contract between between them, both sighing before she paid over the 250 in gold and received a basket full of seeds. "Best of luck Taeko," he added. Oh and I'll expect the basket back.
"Thanks," Taeko smiled, heaving the basket and exiting. As she did she meet Lewis at the door.
"Ah, Taeko, buying seeds I see," he smiled, nodding approvingly.
"Yeah, got a good deal so to speak," she nodded.
"Looks like an acre's worth, you sure you can do that at once?" Lewis asked.
"I'm not sissified of the concept of hard work," she affirmed.
"That's good," Lewis nodded. "Many young folk aren't like you Taeko."
"Mhmm.." Taeko mused noncommittally.
"Speaking of which how was your first night in the cabin?" Lewis asked.
"It was alright, woke up a bit cold though," Taeko admitted.
"Didn't you use the fireplace?"
"Never used one before," Taeko shrugged. "Once I learn the ins and out I will though," she added.
"Yeah, your grandfather never liked to be on grid," Lewis noted. "You could get on grid if you wanted, but it'd be expensive to do so."
"As nice as that sounds, I'll probably just expand the solar array, at least as long as it's just me. If I find a significant other though, I might considered it," Taeko shrugged.
"Ah, you contemplating marriage?" Lewis asked.
"I'm keeping my mind open to the possibility," Taeko shrugged. I was never interested in it until I meet Nova, but he's probably found himself a girl by now, and besides asking him to move from the NCR to the Ferngil Republic is...
"Speaking of which, we never found your grandpa's ring. It's worth a lot of money, so if you find it you could sell it if you wanted to," Lewis admitted, interrupting her thoughts.
At once Taeko felt indignation flood though her. I never cared for the things myself, but selling my grandfather's ring like that would be a damn insult! She seethed silently. "I'll...keep an eye out for it, but if I find it I won't be selling it," Taeko promised. "Well, I'd better get back to the farm, I've still got a lot of things to do to prepare for the planting of these things."
"Very well, best of luck Taeko," Lewis smiled as he entered the store.
"Sure thing coinbag," Taeko muttered under her breath as she walked away. Selling my grandfather's ring...that would really piss off my parents, as if they could get more pissed at me than they were already! She growled to herself. Grandpa would have haunted my soul for sure...and Hatsu would have torn me a new one if he found out!
Sighing, she made her way back to the cabin as the sun was setting once again. Geeze, time passes way too fast here...but that's a good thing, she muttered, as she placed the seeds in a sealed container and climbed into bed, letting a small sigh as she laid down into bed.
"It's five coins a month for a membership card, or a coin to spend the day at the museum," Gunther informed her.
"May I take notes?" Taeko asked.
"Sure, as long as you keep it in your notebook and not in the library books," he noted. "Not that there's a lot of materials to look at, the previous owner took all the artifacts, and most of the books" he added with a deep sigh.
"I just need to get some general knowledge," Taeko shrugged, dropping a coin on the desk, before walking over to the books and gazing through the sparse collection. Let's see...farming...farming...Ah, spring crops! She took the book and found a table, getting to work.
Huh, so I'll have about eighty days for the Potatoes, a hundred-twenty days for the Parsnips, and a nearly a year for the garlic... she mused, before writing down the steps for planting. Maybe I ought to try and find part time work... she sighed, realizing that there was no way she'd earn enough to survive off of farming alone at least for a time.
Letting out a small sigh, she closed the book and browsed the books, not too sure if she could find anything of use. She did however write down the process of growing chickens, just in case she decided to start raising some. I'd rather not go down the rancher route, but investing in some chickens might be a good way to earn some extra cash as well as some basic food, she mused.
She was about to leave when she noticed a book on fishing. That's it! Taeko mused, rushing out of the library and heading toward the beach. I remember hearing about a fish shop owner returning from a haul yesterday...and my farm has a lake. If nothing else I can catch and cook a fish every day, an easy meal that's more or less free.
The trip to the beach took some time, and she was starting to regret running the whole way. All that time running on my brother's treat-meal still didn't prepare me for this... she huffed silently, bending to her knees and catching her breath.
"You seem out of breath young lady," an man walked up calmly.
"Just not...used to...running like...this..." Taeko gasped, strengthen in up and gazing at him."Shockingly I'm supposed to be the new farmer," she added.
"Ah, I've heard someone moved over into Sillman farm," He mused. "I've got something you might be interested in," he added.
"Really?" Taeko perked up. So they are friendly people in the valley, she mused. Not that anyone had really been rude to her, but Robin only showed her to her home, Pierre was just business, and she had lost a lot of respect for Lewis after he suggested she sell her grandfather's ring if she found it.
"Yeah, just follow me to the dock," he smiled, before walking to the docks.
Following, Taeko glanced around at the sea, a memory flooding through her mind.
"So wait, you've never been to the ocean before dispute living in Nishmari?" Taeko asked, trying to ignore the bars casting shadows across the cell walls, and her. It was only her second day in an actual prison, and she was finding it hard not to freak out about it. Thankfully her cellmate seemed friendly toward her.
The Irish girl known as Hanoashi shook her head. "Not really, too scared of cone snails," she admitted quietly.
"Cone snails?" Taeko asked quietly.
"Yeah," the Irish girl shifted nervously. "It's an irrational fear I know, especially for someone like me who commanded a Sensado team, but I have it."
"I've heard of them, but I never been that afraid of them," Taeko admitted, before huffing. "I was more afraid of being arrested to be honest."
"What girl wants to be arrested," Hanoashi shrugged, her dark green eyes clearly troubled. "I've been in jail for over three months now and it's still a struggle for me not to freak out when they handcuff us. Speaking of which..."
"Time for work ladies," the guard called, unlocking the cell which prompted Hanoashi to lean against the wall. Taeko let out a small sigh and followed suit.
"We're here."
"Oh," Taeko mused, snapping out of her memory as she gazed at the fish shop.
"Come inside," he urged.
Following, she entered the shop, her nose filling with the scent of...well..a fish shop. She'd never been in one before, but a mix of salt, fish, and earth flooded her nose, and she had to admit that it was a fairly interesting scent to her. Would have much preferred this scent back in prison, the incense they used in there stank! She snorted inwardly at the memory.
"Here."
Taeko glanced at the pole, to the man and then back to the pole. "You're the shop owner?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, I saved up enough to buy me a new rod, so I want you to have my old one. It's important for me to keep the art of fishing alive. I've also got you a small tackle-box with a few bobbers and hooks." He added.
"Thanks," Taeko smiled, "This is very generous of you sir," she added gratefully.
"It's nothing miss. Although you'll need a fishing licenses if you want to fish, but Lewis can set you up with one in no time." he smiled.
"Right," Taeko nodded. "This is going to help me out a lot."
"Just so you know, if you want you can sell any fish you catch to me so long as it's fresh," he noted. "It'll be bought under market value as I need to make a profit, but even so..." He paused and smirked. "If it smells it sells, or so my ole gramps used to say."
"Of course. I think I'll get my licenses right away, I haven't fished in years so I'm excited to..." Taeko paused, noticing a red and white cap for sale. "How much for that hat?" she asked quietly.
"Five coins," he noted.
Taeko took five out of her purse and handed them to him. "I'd like to buy it please," she smiled.
"Sure thing," he smiled, taking the coins and handing her the hat.
"Thanks for everything," she smiled, placing the hat on her head, adjusting it appropriately before lugging her gear over to Lewis's house.
"My my Taeko, you look like you're going fishing," Lewis chuckled.
"As soon as I get my license," Taeko smiled.
"It'll cost you three gold coins," Lewis warned her.
Taeko handing the coins, and Lewis told her to wait a few moments, before coming out and handing her a licenses. "Here you go, it's good for the year, so you'll have to renew it every year."
"I understand sir, thank you so much!" Taeko smiled.
"No problem, have fun young-un," Lewis called as she walked off, humming happily.
Taeko let out a small sigh as she cast the rod into the water, smiling as she sat on a log she had found near the pound. Her amber eyes gazed across the water, watching with great intent as she waited for a bite.
However, as she did so her mind fluttered back to her time in the NCR.
"So, today we're going to teach you how to clean a fish."
Taeko glanced between her father and his friend, gently shifting toward the boy beside her, interlocking her fingers into his. Even if it's a good excuse for me to hand out with my boyfriend, I'd rather not gut a fish to do so...not that father is the kind of guy to accept no to teaching his daughter these kinds of things...
"You need to learn this, yeah it's uncomfortable to gut a fish but it could save your life," her father nodded.
"I just...yes father," Taeko gazed down, though she gently squeezed the hand she was holding.
"We agreed to learn from them together in exchange for permission to date, remember," he reminded her gently.
"You're right Nova," Taeko sighed, smiling at him. He was almost two years older than her, but the NCR didn't care who dates who so long as the younger partner would turn eighteen before the elder partner turned twenty. Sex and marriage however was restricted to both partners being at least eighteen and no more than five years apart. It was one of the few nations with an actual legal age range past eighteen.
"Right, you'll both be fishing as will us and as soon as you catch two fish, you'll bring them here," Her father ordered. "Now get to it!"
"Those were happier times...I wonder what Nova is up to now?" she mused as a tug on the line interrupted her line. She smiled as a fish took the bait and she began to reel it in. "Stubborn aren't we?" she mused, fighting with the fish.
"Right, now you each have two attempts, I'll show you how to do it and then you can replicated it."
Taeko glanced at the fish, closing her eyes in shame over the fact that she was going to kill something for the first time in her life. Well, something more than a bug or spider.
"It might be painful to see let alone kill something for food at first, but this is how the real world works," Her father noted.
"I...understand," Taeko whispered, taking the knife and sighing, struggling not to gag at what she was about to do. Lifting up the knife, she let down, chomping the head off.
"Very good, and now to clean the fish..."
"I...I don't think I can do it father?" Taeko shuddered.
"You can and you will," Her father growled in response.
"Yes father," Taeko whispered, lowering her gaze in submission.
She shook her head to get the memory out of her mind as she managed to real in the fish, nodding as she caught a Largemouth Bass. Taeko had to guess it was around fourteen inches. She dragged it on the shore, took the huge knife she had in her cutlery drawer and quickly cut the head off, winching as she did so.
Always hated this... she muttered as she dragged the now decapitated fish over to a fire pit she had built and prepped the fish, keeping things at a minimum since all she had was ketchup and a bit of cheep olive oil. Her memory flooded back to how disgusted she was when she actually first had to clean a fish, and mentally scoffed as how effortlessly she handled it now.
She ended up eating in silence, missing the discussions she and Hatsu would have at the table. Wish I could hear his voice now... she sighed, as she ate, leaving nothing as she cleaned up, placing the fishing gear in the house and walking over to gaze over at the pond briefly, before letting out a small snort and grabbed her scythe, focusing on cutting the weeds.
After a bit she began to hum Bringing in the Sheaves as she got into a focused rhythm. Sure, it was a Christian hymn, but it felt appropriate for her at the moment giving she was now a farmer.
"Hard at work I see," a voice noted.
"Ah, Robin!" Taeko smiled, pausing from her work. "Yeah, getting started is taking some time, but I'm getting there."
"That's good," Robin gazed around "I can see the improvement even if there's still a lot of work left to do."
"Thinking about building a chicken pen once I get some money," Taeko admitted.
"Guess you'll be hiring me to build it then?" Robin smiled.
"How much?" Taeko asked.
"Well...you'll need to build one up to agricultural standards since you're a registered farmer, so it'll have to be more than your standard backyard coop affair," Robin warned. "I'd estimate...around five hundred coins for a basic set-up or a thousand for a small production coop, plus the cost of materials."
"Hmm...a thousand is a lot, and I would like to make a profit off of it," Taeko mused.
"Yeah, starting from nothing is rough for a farmer, or so I hear," Robin smiled. "Well, I'll leave you to your work!" she added before walking off.
She's really nice, Taeko mused, before going back to her grass cutting.
Climbing back into her bed, she glanced over at the fireplace before letting out a snort and closing her eyes, falling asleep.
Hand's off! Taeko cried silently as she was shoved into the courtroom, the judge staring at her. "Taeko Kondou, you have been found guilty of accessory to murder and will serve five years and eight months at Asagari women's prison!"
"No..." Taeko whimpered, shutting her eyes at the sting of her punishment.
"Taeko..."
She blinked her eyes opened before falling back asleep, soon finding herself being lead into a cell, a ginger haired girl sitting scrunched up.
"Hanoashi Katoni, we found a suitable cell mate for one guilty of assaulting a Sensado instructor!" the guard laughed as he in nearly one motion undid her cuffs and tossed Taeko into the cell, before laughing as he left.
"You alright?" The Irish girl asked quietly.
"Taeko..."
"Mmm..." Taeko woke up, with it still being dark outside. Rising, she glanced out, trying to find out who was calling her name. It was strangely familiar, but she couldn't place her name on it.
"Wait for my evaluation on the dawn of your fifth year...Taeko..." the voice whispered.
Taeko looked in the direction of the voice and snorted. "I must be going crazy," she hissed, shutting the door and diving under the covers as she began to grow cold. Scrunching up, she shuddered. "Random voices...and he interrupted me from basically a memory dream," she added, allowing her memory to flood into her, not nearly as vivid as the dream but close enough.
"Please, no!" Taeko whimpered, grasping the bars with her hands, erupting into a sob.
"What happened?"
"I got accessory to murder, and all I did was sit in the tank," Taeko whispered, sighing as she relented, lowing her hands from the bar and turning toward the Irish girl.
"Ooarai?" the ginger haired girl asked, walking over to her. "I thought I warned you that you needed to go over safety rules before you even think about going in a tank."
"You're the one who tried to warn us?" Taeko whispered. "I...I'm so sorry."
"At least some one is," the Irish girl muttered, staring out of the cell. "I got falsely accused of assaulting the Instructor and got three and a half years for it." she sighed. "So what happened?"
"We...Miho got this stupid idea to wedge the Hetzer under the Maus and for us to climb on and keep the turret sideways while the Panzer IV fired in the engine compartment," Taeko shuddered. "I didn't mean to do anything, I was just there and..."
"Calm down, what position were you?" she asked.
"Ra...radio Operator," Taeko whimpered, gazing at her with wide eyes.
"Heh, I was so scared...and yet she comforted me," Taeko mused, breaking out of the memory. She glanced out as the moonlight fluttered across the abandoned buildings. Wrapping her blanket, she walked over to the window and watched the light of the full moon illuminate the night sky.
"I wish I had a friend..." she mused quietly. "Would love for Hanoashi to be here with me right about now...or Nova..." she whimpered. "A familiar face, someone to spend the night with, a comforting hand...something..."
"So, what's stoppling you?"
"Huh?" Taeko mused, swearing that she could hear the voice again, but then sighed. "I must be going nuts," she went back to her bed and shoved her head into the pillows.
"Though, I could use a friend," she added momentarily as she feel asleep.
Hearing a knock, Taeko turned turned in her bed. "Not again," she moaned, tossing in bed. After a bit she rose and slipped on a robe, surprised to see a lady at the door holding a gray puppy and an orange kitten.
"Good morning...I'm Marnie, I own the ranch supply store," she introduced herself. A few weeks ago I found these two abandoned and on death's door, and now that they've recovered they need a good home. I figured I ought to give you first pick as you might be lonely all on your own."
"Thank you Marnie. You're right, I have been a bit lonely," Taeko smiled. "I'd like the little kitten," she added, gazing gently at the orange tabby.
"Alright, I brought a small sack of feed to get you started. He ought to grow up into a strong tom given enough love," she smiled as she handed her the kitten and a sack of kitten feed.
"Does he have a name?" Taeko asked as she took the kitten and cradled him like a mother would her baby, which for all intents and purposes he was hers.
"Not really, I kinda figured I'd let the owner name him." Marnie shrugged.
"Think I'll name him Blaze," Taeko smiled.
"That's a good name," Marnie nodded. "Well, I ought to be going, gotta find this little girl a good home," she added, smiling as she waved goodbye.
"Th...thanks for the kitten!" Taeko smiled, before gazing at the kit, who was gazing up at her with his amber eyes. "We'll be good friends, alright Blaze?" she whispered, taking him into her cabin and laying on the bed to socialize with him, smiling at her new friend.