Harvest Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Mineral Moon ❯ Chapter 1

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

A collection of short stories taking place in Mineral Town. Won's apples, blue feathers, bad weather, Harvest Sprites and more.

Mineral Moon: Season I

Harvest 01: Apples for Sale

It's always the same. Won puts so much effort into making those apples and after all that, no one wants to buy them. He tried to sell them at the inn and Doug got angry, it was his business and he was upset that someone else was selling food. Doug even told his customers not to take the food out of the shop. What did he think they were going to do? Try to figure out the recipe. It's not hard to figure out in the first place and that's without taking the food out.

Won wasn't worried about people figuring out his recipes, he was sure they were special, too special. Ann wasn't happy about the business either, though she once bought an apple. Won was sure she was trying to figure out the recipe but judging by her mood the next day she probably didn't. She didn't buy any other apples after that.

Duke wasn't too interested in apples; he preferred grapes, liquid and old, known as wine. Manna just wanted to talk, about her daughter who left long ago, about the May's mysterious mother, about the weather, about how Doctor was so dense not to notice Elli has a crush on him, about how Sasha said she saw the Harvest Sprites heading towards the nearby farm early in the morning, about anything and everything without letting Won get a word in. Before he thought he talked fast, but he was no competition for Manna.

Mary was always busy reading, writing or spending time with Gray. Karen, the beautiful Karen, she ignored him most of the time in favor of spending time with Rick. It seemed that most people had something to do that didn't include buying apples. The Harvest Sprites even liked flour more than anything else, including apples. Not even Kai, who came only in the summer, would buy an apple as a souvenir.

Basil, Anna, Seibara, Carter, Cliff, the mayor, Gotz, everyone... Won even tried to sell the apples to Zack and even he wouldn't buy them. Excuses, excuses, too busy, too tired, in a hurry, not hungry, just ate, already have enough apples, the excuses were endless and clearly people didn't appreciate the fact that Won's apples were not ordinary apples. Not even the Harvest Goddess showed the excitement and happiness Won thought she should show when he offered her the apples he couldn't sell.

Feeling frustrated, Won decided to take a shortcut through the farm after visiting the Harvest Goddess and once again, try to sell the farmer who lives there some apples. He had failed to do business in the morning but he would try again.

After Won delivered his usual speech about the apples he had for sale, the farmer paused in thought and decided to buy one. Won had his offers refused so many times during the day, that he replied automatically, upset that once again the farmer had refused to buy an apple.

As Won left, the farmer stood there for a moment wondering what was his problem, did he want to sell the apples or not? The farmer shrugged and went inside the house for dinner, while Won walked home disappointed that he didn't sell a single apple.

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Harvest 02: Persistent

She had hoped that the supermarket had a blue feather for her to buy. She had heard that they always brought them just when someone needed them. It was a common fact that everyone knew about everyone else's relationships, hence the convenient timing. However, much to her disappointment, the super market had no blue feather in stock. Could it be that her beloved Cliff was falling out of love and they had noticed it before she did? No, that couldn't be it! Could it? Sad and disappointed the farmer left.

She decided to take the long way home and stopped at the church. Maybe talking to Carter would cheer her up, he always seemed to be able to clam people. "You look upset today. Is something wrong?"

She nodded. "I wanted to buy a blue feather but there are none at the store."

"Perhaps you're not ready to take that step," Carter paused, he knew the farmer was ready and so was Cliff. The young man could hardly wait for a blue feather to be given to him. Carter had told him to try giving the blue feather to his beloved instead but Cliff was a little too shy to do it. At least the farmer wasn't shy but she was featherless. "Or maybe someone already brought it."

She certainly knew how to take a hint. "Thanks Carter!"

Before the priest could finish saying "you're welcome," the farmer was already out of the church and half way to the supermarket. After interrogating Jeff about who purchased the feather, she was off to Mineral Beach.

She entered Zack's house. Sure enough, the blue feather was beautifully on display on top of a box in Won's shop.

"Welcome! Take your time." Won followed her gaze to the blue feather. "Decorative, isn't it?"

"I want it, I need it! How much does it cost?" The farmer immediately asked.

"The feather is not for sale, it is only there for decoration." Won explained.

"You don't understand; I need to buy it! I've been planning this occasion the entire season!" The farmer kept trying to make the merchant understand, but it wasn't working.

"You're persistent," Won observed.

"Zack!" She whined at her shipper and friend, who was mumbling about wishing he could have given a blue feather to a certain someone, that older woman he was still in love with.

Zack snapped back into reality and tried to reason with Won. "Let her buy the feather, she's a regular customer. She's your only customer actually, and it's not like you were planning to use it for anything other than decorating."

Won was still not convinced. "The feather is not for sale, it will decorate the shop, improving the atmosphere and attracting more customers. But I do have some great seeds, very rare, top quality seed."

The farmer slammed her first against the orange box that served as Won's counter and the wood creaked and cracked in protest. "I need that feather, now." She spoke slowly emphasizing every word, her tone sharp and threatening.

Won backed away. "Mean lady! What to do?" The next thing he knew, Won had a mystrile hammer dangerously hovering over his head. "It's golden service time! Golden service time! Just take it!"

The farmer gladly accepted the blue feather. "It's pleasure to do business with you," she grinned.

Won muttered something along the lines of "poor Cliff."

"What did you say?" The farmer asked.

Won immediately backed away further. "I was just saying that Cliff is such a lucky man to be in love with such a lovely lady!"

"Why, thank you," she smiled and skipped out of the shop.

Won tried to compose himself. His entire life had flashed before his eyes. He looked towards Zack who was making a funny face. Unable to contain it any longer, Zack burst out laughing and Won pouted.

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Harvest 03: Casualties

Kai never understood why Gotz didn't like white. He never understood why Rick didn't like him. There were a lot of things about Mineral Town that he didn't quite understand. Maybe someday he would, if he stayed there for a little longer, but he had a home and things to do in the city, even if sometimes his family drove him mad. He loved to take a break from it all and visit Mineral Town in the summer. He never liked the cold so in the winter he headed south.

His most regular customers were Popuri, when ever she got away from Rick, and a young farmer who had recently moved into town. Time seemed to move slower in that quiet, small town. Kai wasn't sure if he liked it or not but it was peaceful so it wasn't a bad thing. It was just so different from life in the city.

Back home he knew a girl named Aja, possibly the daughter of Duke and Manna. Her story seemed to match. He was close to mentioning it once but was warned by both Popuri and the farmer not to do it. It would not cause Aja to return, but it would cause him to be drowned in questions by Manna. She was talkative and always followed who ever had information about the city where her daughter lived.

Kai noted that the couple had taken a liking to Cliff, almost as if he were their son. He also knew that the young lady farmer was torn between him and Cliff and Kai was torn between her and Popuri. Then again, he didn't really feel like having a serious relationship at the moment. He wanted to travel and see the world. Cliff looked more like someone who would settle down.

Regardless of all his thoughts, Kai was bored, time passed by too slowly in that town. He decided to visit Zack's house and see how business was doing. Not surprisingly, Won was happy that a new customer had arrived even if Kai didn't initially have any intentions of buying anything, but Won kept showing him merchandise.

Trying to get away from the merchant, Kai decided to talk to Zack. He noticed he had many pictures of Lillia all over the far wall of the room next to his bed. It was obvious he liked her but for the sake of starting a conversation; Kai came close to asking the obvious question he really shouldn't ask, but there was a blackout.

Kai regretted staying out at the beach late, he regretted knocking on Zack door late; he regretted being stuck. It was odd really but everyone seemed to freeze when there was a blackout. The farmer had once admitted to standing next to her bed the entire time until the power came back on, instead of actually going to bed like she originally planned to do, even if she was going to turn the lights off anyway.

The minutes passed, dragging on forever like years. "Now what?" Kai finally asked.

"We must wait," Won replied. "I have more merchandise to show you after the power comes back on."

"Well it's time for me to go on home!" Kai headed for the door but stopped as he heard a loud noise, it was the sound of the roaring wind.

"My glow in the dark clock says it is midnight," Won informed them.

"Hurricane," Zack concluded.

Kai was confused. "What?"

"Didn't you watch the weather report? A hurricane was to come tomorrow, I mean today." Zack explained. "It's midnight... A blackout and a hurricane all at once, what back luck." Bad luck? Wasn't it logical? What wasn't logical was the fact that the hurricane was ever so punctual.

"Now what?" Kai repeated his question exasperated.

"We must wait... or maybe shop in the dark?" Won asked.

"No," Kai firmly replied.

"I have extra boxes available if you wish to get some sleep. I will find a box to sell to you." Won tried to find the box in the darkness.

"I'm not interested in buying a box, or sleeping in one," Kai argued, but Won wasn't listening.

"But you can carry many things in it! It is most convenient!" Won wasn't going to take no for an answer.

By a twist of fate, or mischief of the Harvest Goddess, the stacked up boxes came down in a massive avalanche trapping Won, Kai and Zack under them. "Now what?" Kai repeated his seemingly eternal question.

"I'm tired," Zack announced and he promptly fell asleep. It was still dark but Won and Kai could tell Zack was sleeping because of the sound of his loud snoring.

"I told you boxes were very comfortable to sleep in. Maybe you will consider buying one, or a dozen in the morning. Good night customer." Won was already used to sleeping among the boxes so it wasn't too hard for him to go off into slumber land.

'Now what?' Kai thought. Talk about casualties, when it rains it pours and when it pours it storms.

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Harvest 04: Dreams and Secrets

It was late but she desperately needed help. Tomorrow would be a busy day and she didn't have time to take care of the farm. It was her husband's birthday, then the day after that, her wedding anniversary and the day after she had a festival to attend. She needed the help of the Harvest Sprites so they better be awake.

She shouldn't have waited until the last minute to ask for their help but running a farm was not an easy task. She got distracted with work and the preparations for the next three days and time just flew by. She had to practically knock the door down to get into the super market because she had used all her flour preparing many delicious treats that now safely waited to be eaten in the farm house refrigerator. Good thing she was friends with Karen, Sasha and Jeff.

After filling her rucksack with gift wrapped boxes of flour, the farmer dashed to the little hut behind the church where the Harvest Sprites lived. She knocked on the door hoping that they would open it. "I have gifts! I'm sure you'll like them!" She knocked again and the door gave up. After eating so many power berries she didn't know her own strength.

"Together!" Seven little voices called. They formed a circle and fused, repeating that word as they did. Then he appeared.

"Gourmet!" The farmer exclaimed. A bright rainbow light came towards her then the world faded into darkness.

When she regained consciousness, the farmer was in her house, on her bed. Her husband was sleeping peacefully beside her. "Dream?" She wasn't sure what was going on but she went back to sleep. What else could she do?

The next morning the farmer was pleasantly surprised to find the Harvest Sprites working at her farm. She concluded that all that running around must have gone to her head and that she simply couldn't remember asking them for help and returning home. Everything between her arrival at their hut and waking up after that dream was a blur. But it must have gone well because the Harvest Sprites were there, working at the farm, so she could take some well deserved time off and enjoy the special occasions.

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Later, the Harvest Sprites were having a little secret reunion at the chicken coop.

"Do you think she knows?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure she thinks it's just a dream."

"Yeah, we already fixed the door and no else saw."

"Relax, our secret is safe."

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Harvest 05: Journey

A little girl with pink hair went out to the yard of her family's farm. Her father and brother were taking care of the chickens. She ran to them eagerly. "Daddy, what do I do?"

Her father smiled and gently patted her head. "A baby chick was born today. Why don't you name it, Popuri?"

The little girl smiled brightly. "Jin!" It was a simple yet cute name.

"Well done Popuri, you've named a chicken for the first time. Animals need to have a name and be treated with kindness. Thank you for your help, you can go on and play now, you've worked enough for today."

Popuri smiled and nodded. "Okay!" She ran off to play with the other little girls who lived at the village, just as her father said. For a moment she stopped, her brother Rick was still with their father and the parent was explaining something. She shrugged, she loved her brother dearly but he must have been terrible at choosing names. She chose just the right name on her first try, so her job for the day was done.

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Every time it was the same. Rick would spend a lot of time with their father, learning all about how to properly raise a chicken, and Popuri's job would be done after a simple task. Sometimes she ran off to play with the other little girls after doing that simple task, and sometimes she stayed to play with the chickens. She knew she had to be gentle and make them feel safe, but then it was pretty logical. Popuri had natural talent, she was convinced.

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"Ken! Let's call this one Ken!" Popuri named yet another chicken. It was the last chicken she named before her father left on a journey. He wanted to find a cure for her mother's illness.

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As time passed and Popuri grew, she realized that she didn't know as much as she thought she did. Anyone could name a chicken and though it was considered cruel to give them weird names, most of the time chickens couldn't care less what they were called as long as they were fed and treated gently. Lillia took care of the store and Rick took care of the chickens; Popuri didn't know what to do.

Sometimes Popuri became resentful that her father didn't teach her anything and tried to make it look like he did. She sometimes felt useless to the farm, except when it came to naming chickens which she was sure her brother or mother could do just fine without her help after all. Pon had been the last chicken she named before she decided that she didn't feel like naming chickens anymore. She wanted a real job at the farm, but she didn't get it. Instead she went for walks in the morning and spent her time in the house the rest of the time.

Every now and then, Popuri went to visit her childhood friends when they were not busy, they had real jobs. Mary was a librarian and writer, Karen helped out at the supermarket and occasionally made deliveries to customers, Ann cleaned the rooms at the inn and helped with the cooking, Elli was a nurse and worked at the clinic's pharmacy. Popuri was just Popuri, protected and spoiled Popuri.

It wasn't that her father didn't think a woman was capable of running a farm, it was just that Popuri with her pink hair looked too much like her mother. It wasn't a bad thing, she was a beautiful young lady but when ever her father looked at her, he felt she needed to be protected. Popuri wasn't as fragile as Lillia, she was perfectly healthy but her father still worried about her.

Before he left, their father had asked Rick to take care of his mother and sister, in fact he had been raised on the idea that he needed to protect them. Popuri wasn't as fragile as Lillia but he had to protect her anyway. Sometimes it was a little overwhelming, sometimes it didn't allow Popuri to truly grow. She was childlike in many ways. She even participated in the Pumpkin festival saying that it wasn't fair that only children got treats, but she wanted freedom.

It was that desire for freedom that made Kai catch her attention. He did as he pleased, traveling all over the world. He was free as she longed to be. One day she left with Kai, Rick threw a fit, and a shoe among other things. It seemed that Karen, whom he had secretly liked since childhood, was the only one who could calm him down. Life is a journey, and this was the path that Popuri had chosen for herself, it was her life, her journey.

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Harvest 06: Elusive

That plot twist, that magnificent scene she wanted to write. Unexpected yet smooth, flowing into the characters’ lives like a gentle yet adventurous stream. To venture into the unknown and discover what awaited them, mystery, emotion, excitement. It was elusive, ever so elusive. She had a vague picture in her mind but she couldn't clarify it, no matter how many times she took a break to clean her already crystalline glasses. Regardless of the rush of feelings she experienced when she read her favorite novel. Despite her wish to write, even with his presence and especially because of his presence, the words eluded her.

Her pen refused to dance upon the eternally white sheet of paper. Cold as snow, emotionless, melancholic, the sheet remained as white as the most freezing winter. There he was, seemingly distracted by the books, searching for something to read. He had not asked for a recommendation after articulating nothing but a small greeting. Did he not want to speak to her or did he simply believe that she was too occupied in her own musings to pay attention to him today?

While she struggled against writer's block, Mary did not realize how poetic her thoughts were. She waged the hopeless war, unaware that victory was in her grasp should she let those artistic views flow from her imagination and skate upon the pure ice of her untouched canvas. To paint with words, to create and transform, that world, those people, those secrets hidden so deeply in her mind, that not even she could freely gaze upon them.

Her eyes followed him in pure gentle silence. If he felt the gentle, warm and passionate heat of her loving eyes upon him, he did not reveal it. Unconsciously, slowly, unknowingly, Mary set her pen down so gently that it did not make the slightest sound, as it was left to rest upon the polished wood of her desk.

She allowed the war to rage on by itself,
Letting her thoughts rest upon that shelf,
There, where her love's hand reached,
She realized the hard wall she breached.

She flew so high, into the endless sky,
Clear pictures and words filled her mind.
A story so elusive was becoming real,
The truth of how he made her feel.

She observed him, golden hair, sapphire eyes, and perfection in her mind. She was soaring through the clouds. The words came to her painting her world in her mind. She could write, she could write all which she hoped to write. Her wish was grated in more ways than one. Her inspiration, so elusive sometimes, would not elude her today.

She smiled, true happiness and bliss... and then she sneezed.

Gray looked at Mary and smiled. "Bless you."

She smiled sheepishly in return. "Thank you." Of all the possible moments to sneeze!

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Harvest 07: Hypocrisy

"Hypocrites! You're all hypocrites!" It was like one of those urban legends of a small town in the middle of nowhere, with a terrible hidden secret. They had received into their town and accepted her into their society, but she was nothing but a sacrifice. She squired, kicked, punched and screamed colorful insults even if she was in the church. If not for the fact that she was severely outnumbered, she would have won and it would have been a massacre. Even now, not one of the villagers had escaped without black and purple bruises, a black eye, scratches or a broken bone. Luna was a force to be feared.

However, the villagers completed their sacrifice. Looking particularly fearful, regretful and beat up, Carter declared them husband and wife. Luna was now married to a man known as Gourmet.

All those times they had encouraged her to participate in the cooking festival, all those compliments, all those acts of friendship and support. They were only trying to gain her trust. Hypocrites! Sacrificing her to save themselves from being eaten by that monster, who claimed to be a chef and cooking contest judge! She would not forgive them, Luna swore revenge!

They held her down with chains and hands that come from the floor. It was black magic, a terrible spell. Gourmet came towards her. After the marriage was done, he would eat his wife. She screamed and struggled but couldn't get free. It was the end!

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"Ah!" When she woke up she was at home.

Her husband woke up as well, in fact all of Mineral Town probably heard her scream. "What's wrong?"

"Nightmare," Luna's breathing was still heavy, her heart was still pounding.

Her husband hugged her gently. "It's ok, it was just a nightmare."

She held on to him for dear life, but he was right. It was just a nightmare; it was nothing to worry about...

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Some time later, at the end of summer, Luna was told that Popuri married Kai and left to live in the city. She was surprised that she was not invited to the wedding since she was friends with both the bride and groom. She was even more shocked to see Kai alone the next summer. He denied ever marrying Popuri and tried asking what happened to her, but no one ever told him...

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Harvest 08: Medicine

"Good to see you, Luna!" The farmer didn't like the doctor's tone. She had a fear in the back of her mind, a fear for being used as a guinea pig. "I made this new medicine and I was wondering if you would like to try it." The doctor smiled proudly of his concoction. He started explaining what it was supposed to do, but soon realized that he was talking to himself.

As fast as a blue hedgehog, or maybe even faster, Luna had wasted no time in running for her life. She ran away so fast, she tackled Cliff and knocked him to the ground as she zoomed away from the clinic, and back to the safety of her farm, passing by in front of the super market.

Karen was just going out. She stopped and took a rather long moment to laugh, letting the amusement ring out loudly. Still smiling she made her recommendation. "Get a room!"

With matching faces, as red as the tomatoes harvested from Luna's farm; Luna and Cliff rushed to get up. While the shy boy who worked at the winery could only mutter something inaudible, Luna had clearly told Karen to "shut up!" To which Karen replied with nothing more than another amused laugh.

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"Ow..." Well she was finally in her beloved's arms but not in the way she wanted. She would prefer a romantic embrace instead of being half carried and half dragged to a hospital bed. But alas, luck was not on Elli's side.

"I'm sorry," the doctor apologized. Elli was trying to cheer him up by trying his medicine, but its effect was obviously not what he expected it to be.

"It's alright..." Elli closed her eyes and tried to rest a little. "But don't expect me to drink something like that again." She felt bad because her words may disappoint him, but a respectable woman could only go so far for a man, and Elli was most certainly not feeling suicidal.

"Fair enough," he smiled with understanding. He really would be lost without Elli, in more ways than one.

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Harvest 09: Unlucky

This was not his day, from beginning to end, it was simply not a good day for Won. It all started when he was rudely awakened by the sound, and the pain of his so called bed collapsing. There was only one bed in Zack's house and Won slept in a box. He didn't really fit inside so he slept on top of it. It wasn’t just any old box; it was his trusted orange box. It was more of a wooden crate than a box actually, which is way it didn't fall apart under his weight until that day.

That morning there was a crash formed by the sound of wood being broken and crushed and a man being dropped atop the mess. Won somehow got back on his feet, rubbing his aching back and stared at his precious box in disbelief. "My bed!"

"What bed? That was just a box." Zack said as he got out of bed, a real bed. He had been woken up by the noise so he might as well get up.

"The cruelty! You're heartless!" How could Zack be so insensitive? Won's precious orange box was no more. Where would he sleep? Most importantly, where would he do business? No other wooden box could ever match his precious orange box.

Zack backed away slowly only to find himself with his back pressed against a wall causing a picture of Lillia to become wrinkled behind it. Fearing that he would have to suffer the trauma of watching Won cry over a box, Zack tried to console him before the first tear fell and began an endless wail of agony. "Maybe I can find another one?"

"Maybe? Maybe isn't good enough and it wouldn't be the same!" Won was in near hysterics and Zack didn't know what to do.

"Um... I'll buy an apple?" Zack asked unsure. He plugged his ears and waited for the cries that didn't come. When he took his hands off his ears, Zack heard Won's familiar apple speech.

"Which one will you buy?" Won asked, after describing each apple and their super long names. Nothing cheered him up like a sale, but even then he informed Zack he fully expected him to keep his word on finding another box identical to the one that sadly perished that unlucky morning.

That wasn't the end of his bad luck as Won had a terrible day in which he didn't sell anything else. He only tried to sell apples that day as he couldn't possibly run a shop without an orange box counter. When he returned, hoping that Zack would have found another box for him by then, Won was unable to enter the shipper's house because Rick and Kai were arguing in front of it and Popuri was caught in the middle.

"She's my sister and she doesn't want to talk to you!" Rick yelled so loudly that Popuri cringed and covered her ears.

"She doesn't have to do what you say!" Kai was beginning to feel the heat of thee argument as well and raise his tone of voice. Poor Popuri was receiving the deadly sound waves left and right. Her head felt like it was going to explode.

"She agrees with me!" Rick screamed even louder and absolutely refused to let Popuri get a word in.

"She does not! I feel sorry for her because she has to put up with you as a brother! Let's go Popuri, don't listen to him!" Kai started dragging Popuri away in the direction opposite to Rick, which happened to be the dock.

"She's not going anywhere!" Rick took Popuri's arm and tried to drag her away, back to town. The two boys pulled as hard as they could while Popuri tried unsuccessfully to break free.

For a moment longer, Won watched, then he decided it was none of his business and that he should go home now that those three were out of the way. However, his luck was still bad as Zack opened the door and threw a shoe. "Shut up!"

The shoe, specifically a boot, hit Won instead of Rick or Kai. The unfortunate merchant stumbled backwards and fell off the dock into the sea. He was about to get out of the water when Rick and Kai fell on him. Popuri had pushed them both off the dock. "I'll do whatever I want!" and with that decided, Popuri left.

By some miracle Won managed to avoid drowning and so did Kai and Rick. They both immediately ran off to town to continue pestering Popuri, which would later earn each of them a handprint on the cheek.

When Won finally managed to return to Zack's house, soaking wet, cold and discouraged with life itself, he saw a ray of hope in the shape of a carpenter named Gotz. "It's fixed!" Gotz stepped aside to reveal a box, Won's box, repaired and fortified with the best wood.

"I couldn't find another box so I asked Gotz to fix that one," Zack explained.

"This is great!" Won threw himself on his precious box; to him it was the most conformable place in the world.

"Now for the bill..." Gotz's words hit Won like a ton of bricks. The world itself was truly against him that day.

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Harvest 10: Investment

She didn't mean anything when she threw that blue feather into the Kappa's pond. She was hurt and upset after being rejected and in her anger and frustration, she ran aimlessly, squeezing the feather in her hand and then, she threw it out of spite... big mistake.

"Think of it as an investment," they said. An investment? What investment? This wasn't about money, it was about her life. She wasn't sure what kind of weird investment it would be to marry the Kappa, but she did not like the deal. She still did it, or rather she was tricked, bribed and forced to do it.

Popuri was the main bride's maid. The pink haired girl spent a lot of her time talking to chickens so she didn't really mind the weirdness of the wedding. It could not be helped; she got used to talking to the chickens during the summer and soon realized what great listeners they were. Then, she started talking to them all year long, even when her brother was there to help instead of busy arguing with Kai. Chicken girl, they called her, but she didn't care. Those chickens were her best friends, the only ones that truly understood her.

When Carter declared the Kappa and Luna husband and wife, Luna walked up to the altar and banged her head against it in frustration. Her new husband followed suit. When they got home, Luna shoved the Kappa into her fish pond and with her most commanding voice she said "stay!" and the Kappa obeyed.

The days passed by and Luna only saw her husband when she went to feed him cucumbers, though she was very tempted to let him starve.

Weeks turned to seasons and a year rolled by. A tourist came wondering into her farm one day. He saw the Kappa who had sneaked out of the pond and was stupidly poking at the bee hive. Then he saw a farmer chase him back into the pond, luckily, before he could seriously disturb the bees. The tourist soon returned with his family and offered the farmer a generous amount of money if she would call out the Kappa so that his wife and children could see it. Luna accepted the deal.

In the end it really was an investment. Luna had left her life as a farmer behind and now she was the owner of the biggest tourist trap in Mineral Town. The once quiet town had become livelier and the inn was always full. Doug began to expand the inn buying land from the neighbors who moved away after becoming fed up with the noisy tourists. The villagers blamed Luna for this disarray, yet they were the ones who once told her to think of her unusual wedding as an investment. It was a profitable investment indeed, and revenge was sweet.

Luna was in fact so rich she even hired Won to work for her. After all, what's a tourist trap without overpriced, useless trinkets for sale, such as low quality kappa dolls, key chains and what not, and who could be better than Won to sell them? The underpaid, flour addicted Harvest Sprites crafted the Kappa themed goods, and Won sold them to the tourists for extravagant prices that they were happily willing to pay.

Today, Luna sat on a comfy chair in front of the TV, in her new mountain house away from the noisy, crowded, tourist trap she owned, which in the past had been a farm. The new house was made fully of golden lumber but it didn't seem to bother anyone anymore because Mineral Resort, formerly known as Mineral Town, was rich, so showing off was fine. Meanwhile the Harvest Sprites and Won slaved away to make her richer. She smiled and gently rocked the newborn heiress in her arms. A fully human child who's father was obviously not Luna's husband. "You're going to be such a happy spoiled little girl!" Maybe marrying the Kappa was the right choice after all.

End of Season I

Disclaimer, I don't own Harvest Moon. I wrote these stories before I knew that the farmer girl had an official name, Clair, since in the game the player has to name her and I always named her Luna. I usually name the boy Natsume in fanfics. Harvests 03 and 05 were requested by Ultra Drama Queen. Harvest 09 is for Ultra Drama Queen and Simple Sun Spot. Harvest 10 is for Simple Sun Spot and Ekoaleko. Harvest 06 was inspired by a review from Ekoaleko. Harvest 08 was inspired by The Scarlet Sky. Special thanks to Skaia for beta reading Harvests 06 to 10.