Harvest Moon Fan Fiction ❯ My Enemy, My Friend ❯ Saibara to the Rescue ( Chapter 11 )

Hey everyone. Yes I'm still alive, though be it how I don't know. Writer's block literally almost killed me since the last update. Thanks so much to Reima-chan and Hannah for their help. I greatly appreciate it. For those who didn't know- I have a poll going for who you guys think Mary is in love with. Right now Tim is winning- so please if you have time go and vote.

 

Thanks to the reviewers: Curimuch, Reima-chan, Mayouh101, Libra1, Elaine, Iheartlewis, hajischevalier12, HmGirly12, KCemployee, Suppa Panda, natsumelvr, lumanova03.

Hopefully we can get back on schedule now. I don't want to make any public announcements but it's looking good to get back to normal, so far. ( hopefully school work won't be much hassle)

Everyone knows I don't own any of this, so if Natsume asks I never said otherwise.

Gray's P.O.V

This was just great. Me and my big mouth. I just couldn't shut up, and to be honest, I blame the entirety of this situation on Stu. I mean, technically, it was Claire's fault for picking on him, but Stu is the one who blurted out to Mary that I said Claire was ugly. Little lying snot nosed brat. I was going to try to talk to Elli so he wouldn't be in much trouble, but not now. The kid was on his own. I mean, you can't expect the guy you just hung out to dry to help you out can you?

I shook my head in disbelief as I sat May down. She looked up at me disappointedly but I ignored her little pout. I think she thought she was helping by saying Stu had said it too, but she had only made things worse. I glanced over at Mary and Claire, straining my ears to hear their conversation. It didn't work, but I could see Mary trying to get Claire to talk back. When the blonde finally began to speak, I felt myself cringe as her finger pointed at me, then to the kids, and back to me while her head never turned our direction. Mary nodded her head and looked at me with a frown.

“Gray, come here,” she called as she pointed to the chair across from Claire. Wonderful. Mary is looking at me with that `I'm so disappointed in you' expression that made me want to crawl under a rock. I slowly walked towards them, dragging my feet in hopes that I would be to slow and get dismissed, but it didn't work. “Sit down,” she commanded in a voice that up until this point I had only heard Claire use, which frankly scared me. This must have been how Stu felt when Claire yelled at him earlier.

“What's up,” I mumbled as I sat down in the chair, avoiding eye contact with both women as I folded my hands in front of me.

“I think you should apologize to Claire,” Mary stated as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“What?!” I exclaimed at the top of my lungs, and was echoed just as loudly by Claire.

“What for?” I growled out. It wasn't like I had done anything wrong.

“I don't need an apology. I don't give a damn about him and what he thinks about me.” Claire muttered as she folded her arms across her chest at the same time I did and I realized we both slumped down in our chairs at the same time.

“Same here,” I grunted as I pulled my hat down to cover my eyes.

“Now listen here, children. I was under the impression that the two of you had made amends, and where attempting to get along,” Mary said loudly as she peered angrily over her glasses at both of us.

“We are getting along. Look, we're in the same room, ticked off and not fighting with each other,” Claire hissed as she slumped down further into her chair. I gave a nod in agreement.

“Now, Claire,” Mary began as she lightly placed a hand on Claire's shoulder, causing the blonde to jerk away from her.

“Personal space, missy,” Claire muttered as she moved her chair. I couldn't believe that Claire had just showed hostility towards her best friend, but Mary seemed oblivious to it.

“My apologies,” she said with a large smile. “But as I was saying, Claire, you shouldn't be so fast to over react to comments that come out of Gray.”

“Over react? I don't care if he thinks I look like wet dryer lint! I don't care about that idiot or his idiotic opinions,” Claire muttered as she stood, hitting the table for emphasis. Mary simply ignored her and turned her attention to me.

“Now, as for you Gray. It might do this relationship wonders if you would think before you open your mouth, not during,” she smiled at me and my mouth fell open.

“What's that supposed to mean?” I grunted as I stood up as well, my chair teetering back from the force I stood up with.

“It means, she wants me to ignore your impulsive idiotic tendencies, and she wants you to try to think before you speak,” Claire growled out as she narrowed her eyes and glared at Mary. “Something that is more than likely damn near impossible for both of us.” She added as an afterthought, a smirk coming across her face. “You're just enjoying this aren't you Mary?” she muttered while shaking her head.

“I don't know what you're talking about, Claire,” Mary replied as she looked down at her manicured nails, a small smile turning the corners of her lips. I watched as Claire glared at Mary for a few moments before sighing and plopping back into her chair.

“Fine…you win,” Claire whispered as she looked across the table at me. “I'm sorry,” she said as her eyes met mine. I was left dumbfounded and speechless. What the hell was this? Who was this woman and what had she done with Claire? The real Claire would have at least fought about it…hell the real Claire wouldn't have even apologized. As a matter of fact, I was the one asked to apologize, not her. So why had she given in?

“What gives? Mary says something to you and you're just all passive about it?” I asked, my gaze switching back and forth between the two.

“What about it? You're the same way,” she muttered as she rolled her eyes and let out a `humph.'

“Well, yeah. But that's different,” I began and Claire raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

“I care about Mary more than I do you. If she wants me to not get mad at you, then fine. I'll try.” She turned her head towards the librarian, and shrugged her shoulders. “I can't make any promises, but I'll try,” she said as she stood. “I have to take Stu home now,” she whispered as she began to walk away. When the door closed behind Claire, I looked back at Mary in aw.

“How…how did you,” I began but Mary let out a small giggle.

“You're the only one she'll fight with, you know. She won't argue with any of us girls at all, and not so much with the other guys. It really depends.”

“She wont…argue…even if she's right?” I asked as my brain tried to register the information.

“No, she won't, which really bothers me.” I felt my heart jump at Mary's suddenly sad features and had the urge to comfort her in some way. “I'm not sure why, but she just refuses to stand up for herself. It's not a question of ability or reasoning, because I know from watching the two of you, that she can. It's honestly a question of why.” Mary looked so much older than she was at that moment, like she had gained wisdom beyond her years, but at the same time couldn't put it to use.

“What's wrong, Mary?” I asked quietly as I approached her. She had turned her head down and was looking at her feet with her face scowling. It really didn't look nice on her at all.

“I want to know…” she began but shook her head. “I mean, I know it's not really any of my business, but I just want to know…” she trailed off as her gaze went up to the door. “I don't understand why it bothers me so much, Gray,” she whispered and I felt the helpless feeling come over me as I realized tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

“What?” I asked as I debated putting my hand on her shoulder.

“I want to know what happened to her, Gray. Claire and you are the only ones that come to see me so often. I feel like I'm a terrible friend, because she won't let me help her. She doesn't consider me a close friend.” I watched as she removed her glasses and pulled a piece of cloth from her dress pocket to dab her eyes.

“I don't think,” I began, trying to choose my words carefully. “That it's because she doesn't trust you or anything. I think, that Claire isn't ready to be helped yet. She…might never want help.” I wasn't going to say that I thought Claire didn't need help, because that would be a lie. But the fact was that Claire didn't want help, or at least appeared that way. I didn't think it through as I grabbed Mary by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

“Gray,” she began but I just hugged her tighter. I hadn't ever been very good at this type of thing, but I wanted to try. I wanted to know that I could do this, that I could comfort the person I love. I began to speak, not really sure what I was saying or why.

“Don't think that you're a bad friend, because you're not. You're the best friend that anyone could ask for. You're kind, smart, and honest- just simply amazing. I'm sure Claire thinks the same, if she were asked.” I could feel her start to tremble as she cried more. “Please don't cry anymore Mary,” I whispered as I began to rub her back gently.

“Gray…thank you. I don't think that I'm that great” she said as she pushed back from me, flashing a dazzling smile despite her tear streaked face. “But it's nice to know, that I have a great friend like you.” Her simple statement left me feeling both annoyed and relieved at the same time, a feeling that I was unfortunately becoming accustomed to.

 

Claire's P.O.V.

I sighed deeply as I entered my farm, relieved that the day was coming to an end and I was at the time being, child free. Well, I thought May was a joy to have over, so I suppose that I was happy and relieved to be Stu free.

Elli hadn't been too thrilled with the child when she found out about him being `disobedient, irresponsible, and reckless' I believe were some of the words she used while scolding him. I imagine in the next couple of hours, when Elli got off work and figured out the appropriate punishment, they would be by to see me. Elli would have Stu by the ear while he gave out a pitiful apology.

Apology…speaking of which, what the hell was wrong with me?! I had apologized to…Gray of all people. And I had done nothing necessary of an apology! Why did I have to feel so guilty about fighting with him when it came to Mary? If it wasn't for her, I'd have no problems about how Gray and I interacted.

For some reason, Mary was not in the top ten of my most favorite people today. As a matter of fact, she was down at the bottom, just above Gray. That's a drastic drop from the top three you know. She could be so frustrating at times, and I seriously believed that she ENJOYED being difficult at times that put me on the spot.

Sure, most of the time Mary was shy and observant, laid back even. But then there were times like today, much like on her birthday, that she just woke up with her `How can I make Claire miserable today' attitude. But I know that's not completely true. She was trying to help in her own control freakish ways.

Mary wanted me to get along with Gray, something that was very difficult to do. Why? Well, I believe it has to do with the two of us being her closest friends. Not very many people came to the library. Yes Mary was friendly with everyone in Mineral Town, but as far as close friends, I suppose she only had Gray and me. She must want us to all fit neatly and tightly together, like the book on her shelves.

Mary was my best friend, and I felt closer to her than most other girls in Mineral Town. Elli and Ann were close to Mary on the friendship level, but Ann didn't know when to stop…anything. A trait she shared with Popuri and Karen, (and unfortunately a trait that Gray amplified a thousand times more in my presence). The phrases `too much of a good thing' and `curiosity killed the cat' could be applied to them both depending on the situation.

Elli was really busy, so I didn't get to spend a lot of time with her. But she was a great person, and I loved hanging out with her. Mary and Elli didn't openly pry into my past or things I didn't want to share. They much preferred that subtle attempt approach and they knew when to stop pushing me for information, unlike the others. I had never had close girlfriends growing up, not when I had seven attractive guys around me. As a matter of fact, before I met the girls of Mineral Town, I saw other girls as psycho jealous stalkers.

This theory was supported by several black eyes, a few broken bones, and lots of lost hair with several street fights between me and a pack of fan girls who thought I was monopolizing the time of some eligible bachelors in middle and high school. I could hold my own if it came down to it, but unfortunately the pansies had always decided to involve their older brothers in round two. But that is a story for another time.

Mary had been pressing this issue about Gray and I getting along really hard lately, and despite the fact we had been trying, she had been pressing it even further. What was the big hurry? I mean, isn't this how you accomplished things in an unsteady situation? By taking baby steps, it gave us the knowledge that we wouldn't go too far too fast. If we took giant leaps and ended up in dangerous territory, the blow-up would cause a bigger rift than the original one. At least that was my opinion. Was the world going to come to an end if Gray and I weren't best friends in the next few days?

I heard my cows give out long hungry moos and rolled my eyes. That's right, I haven't feed them yet. I walked into the barn and was immediately surrounded by hungry livestock.

“Alright, alright. I know you're all starving. But if I had come in earlier, you would have to have seen Stu,” I muttered. It was like they had a sudden understanding as they parted and let me approach the fodder dispenser. I picked up a large pile of fodder and placed it in the closest bin. The sound of the barn door opening revealed Gray and Cliff entering the building.

“I thought you said she wanted us to do this,” Cliff said as he glared at Gray. Gray glared back and shrugged his shoulders.

“I did,” I grumbled as I turned back around to grab some more fodder. “I didn't figure Gray would show up after what happened earlier.” Gray's expression became unreadable and I cocked my head to the side. “How is your shoulder?”

“Oh, yeah. That,” he mumbled as he pulled his hat down to cover his eyes. “its fine,” he grunted out and Cliff raised a curious eyebrow.

“What's wrong with your shoulder?” Cliff asked him as he tried to use his x-ray vision to look through Gray's shirt, or at least that's what he appeared to be doing.

“Nothing,” Gray muttered and walked towards me, taking my place in feeding the animals. I shook my head and gave Cliff a sneer. I wonder why I was in this sickening teasing mood today.

“He said something stupid to me and I burnt him with a hot poker,” I whispered to Cliff who dropped his mouth open.

“Seriously?” he asked as he backed away, which sort of bothered me.

“Do I look like the type of person who would do that type of thing?” I asked as I glared at him. How dense could you be?

“Well, no…but it wouldn't surprise me if that happened. I mean…with you two,” Cliff was turning redder by the second and I felt a presence directly behind me, with an irritated aura, which caused me to turn my head.

“What about us?” Gray said as he folded his arms angrily in front of him as he scowled.

“Yeah, Cliff, what about us?” I said and mimicked Gray's stance as I narrowed my eyes and returned my gaze to Cliff. Cliff shrunk back and began to busy himself brushing the animals. You know, if Gray and I became good friends, we could just follow Cliff around, glaring at him until he loses his mind.

“You two should form an interrogation team,” Cliff muttered as he furrowed his eye brows together in annoyance. His comment caused me to let out a small giggle and Gray a chuckle at the same time.

“Say what?” I asked as my arms fell to my side, biting my bottom lip to keep from laughing.

“Seriously, between the two of you, you could make a rock cry,” Cliff said and smiled at his attempt of a joke.

“Idiot,” I heard Gray mutter under his breath.

“That's my line, jerk,” I said as I finally burst into giggles, doubling over as I held my knees to keep from falling to the ground. I saw Gray lean down out of the corner of my eye and he pulled my hair away from my face.

“The last time I checked the word `idiot' wasn't copyrighted by you, Brat,” he whispered into my ear, most likely to keep Cliff on the outside of why I was nearly rolling on the ground in laughter. I looked up at Cliff to see him frowning, a hurt look across his features.

“I don't see what is so funny” he grumbled, his tone and facial expression causing me to start.

“I don't understand what is so funny, Bella,” the young blonde haired boy muttered as he violently rubbed his deep blue eyes free from tears.

“No one is a loud to call her Bella but Kaoru and me,” Hikaru growled as he pushed the blonde boy, causing him to stumble.

“Hikaru,” I scolded and grabbed his hand, my giggling subsiding at his actions. “That's no way to be. You have to be nice to this boy.”

“I don't want to be nice to him. He's a stupid cry baby,” he yelled, looking at me angrily as he folded his arms across his chest, something he did when his feelings were hurt.

“No I'm not. I just wanted to give Bella…Clarabelle this flower so she'll be my friend,” the blonde boy held out the small yellow flower and I made a reach for it, just as Hikaru's hand knocked to the ground and he smashed it with his foot.

“She doesn't want your stupid flower, or to be friends with a baby like you, Tamaki” he muttered and I looked at him angrily.

“I hate you Hikaru! You're a stupid brother,” I screamed as I pushed him hard, off the poor defenseless flower he had crushed. I grabbed the blonde boy- Tamaki's hand, and hurried us away from the source of my anger.

“Clarabelle,” he began but I frowned at him. He was having trouble pronouncing the r. That was probably why he called me by my nickname.

“You can call me whatever you want to. Don't worry about Hikaru, I'll take care of him,” I muttered as I balled up my fist. The small blonde boy laughed at my gesture.

“A girl isn't supposed to fight like that, silly,” he pointed out like it was the most common fact in the world. The way he looked at me made me feel angry that he had said something to me, but at the same time ashamed of my actions.

“I'm sorry,” I whispered before I even realized it.

“It's alright. You just don't know any better yet. There is a place that my mom went to that teaches you how to be a lady.”He said as he got teary eyed again. “I'm sorry. My mommy just went to heaven not too long ago.” He whimpered and I held his hand tightly.

“It's okay. My mommy went to heaven last year. I miss her sometimes too,” I whispered and the boy looked at me, his sapphire eyes magnified by tears. He grinned at me and enveloped me into a tight hug.

“I want to call you Belle. Is that alright?” His breath tickled my ear as he spoke, his voice soothing my remaining anger.

“Hello? Earth to Claire! Earth to Claire, please respond,” I heard the loud voice booming in my head, pulling me back from the past. I saw the large hand waving in front of my face and jumped back from its proximity.

“Goddess, don't do that,” I hissed, raising my hand to slap the hand that belonged to Gray out of my personal space. Ladies don't strike others. But that very thought caused me to pause my motions. I shook my head, amazed that after so much time had passed, the years since I had abided by those rules, the amount of times I had broken them for spite, that they were still engraved in me so much that a mere memory caused them to come back finely tuned, as if they had never left me.

“You alright,” I heard the gruff voice ask, a little quieter and a little more concerned. I looked first at Gray, who seemed stunned by my lack of a physical response, then to Cliff who was giving me a worried look as well.

“I'm…alright, I guess. I just remembered something, that's all,” I whispered as I buried my face in my palm, taking a deep breath before shoving both my hands in my overall pockets.

“What?” I heard Gray whisper as he tilted his head to the side, curiosity evident on his face.

“I…well,” I could feel my face becoming hot as I searched for an answer. The truth was as good of one as any, right? “well, I…Ladies,” I muttered as I glared at the ground, my voice becoming louder and angrier as I spoke. “ don't strike others.” I turned on my heels and left the barn, as well as two stunned men behind me.

The cool night spring wind blew gently over me, caressing me as I entered the outdoors, and I let out a sigh. The breeze touched my cheek slightly, and for a moment, I saw a tall young blonde man smiling down at me, his hand cupping my cheek as he gave me a look of adoration. Then the wind picked up, blowing harder, and the image disappeared, leaving me alone.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, wishing that I could just forget everything I had ever learned. But you can't unlearn something once you find out. So I settled on retreating to my house and going to sleep. But as I lay in bed, trying to keep a hold on the lid that kept the past closed, I realized that very slowly, I was losing the battle a little more each day.

When I awoke the next morning, I went about my morning routine mindlessly. Eat breakfast, feed the chickens, take care of the livestock, brush the horse, water the crops. It was repetitive but hard work. I would be glad to have a change in routine when the spring was over and I could get the sprites to help out.

I was watering my cucumbers when I suddenly felt something on my shoulder and let out a surprised shriek as I jumped away from whatever it was and began swinging the watering can violently about to ward off whatever it was with my eyes shut tight. I heard a `omph' and opened my eyes to see Tim holding my watering can to his chest, looking at me like I had sprouted another head. He took a deep breath and handed the watering can back to me.

“I'm terribly sorry, Claire. Did I scare you?” Tim was looking genuinely concerned as I tried to stop myself from going into cardiac arrest. I gripped my chest almost painfully and took deep calming breaths.

“What the heck is wrong with you,” I gasped as I tried to regain control over my rapid breathing.

“Claire, are you alright?” A gruff shout came from the entrance of the farm. I looked past Tim to see Saibara and Gray running towards us. You know, for an old man, Saibara could really book it.

“Yeah…I'm fine,” I muttered as the two reached me. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer to get through this day without any more embarrassing situations. “I…Tim just nearly scared me to death, that's all.”

“It's not polite to sneak up on a young lady,” Saibara scolded Tim, whom appeared to be in a staring contest with Gray.

“It was not my intention to surprise her. She didn't acknowledge me when I came up to her,” Tim said, eyes never leaving Gray's.

“Then maybe she doesn't want you here,” Gray muttered as he pulled his hat down, but continued to glare at Tim. “Claire, I have to say you've got a set of lungs on you.” His statement had me blushing.

“Yeah, sorry. It was just a natural reaction,” I mumbled as I looked down, my hair falling in front of my face. “I appreciate you two coming to check on me. It's nice to know that I can depend on you two if an emergency ever comes up.” I looked up and smiled brightly at Saibara and Gray. Gray simply gave a small nod of his head as acknowledgment.

“It's no trouble at all. I have to keep an eye out on my favorite customer,” Saibara chuckled and I rolled my eyes at him.

“You're just wanting more turnips, aren't you? Come on, I have some for you any way,” I said teasingly and gestured for the older man to follow me. The other two just stood there, neither blinking.

 

Gray's P.O.V.

 

I really didn't know why I was feeling the way I was. One moment I was worried that I would come across a fatally wounded blonde, and now I was ready to set a doctor ablaze with my angry glare. I heard the door to Claire's house shut and stuffed my hands in my pockets, resisting the urge to pummel Tim's face.

“Well, why are you here,” I grunted and he raised an eyebrow at me.

“That's really none of your business, is it?” he replied shortly.

“It is when your presence takes me away from my work,” I muttered angrily.

“No one forced you to come, and your assistance, or whatever you call it, is no longer needed.” He was smirking at me. Let me rephrase that, he was screwing with me.

For some reason, Tim knew that he bothered me. I bet he even knew why, which would be nice if he'd share the reasoning with me, as I didn't understand it myself. But ever since he's refused to let me see Claire that day, and insinuated those despicable things about the two of them, I'd had the strangest desire to break his nose.

“I think I'll stick around a little longer,” I muttered and looked at his annoyed face. “Don't need you telling anyone else lies about Claire,” I growled and his eyes widened for a split second.

“Whatever are you talking about?” he whispered as he leaned forward, trying to intimidate me into blinking. Fat chance, Doc. I could out glare a brick wall.

“You know damn good an well what I'm referring to,” I hissed as I pointed a finger at him. Before I could continue or Tim could respond, Claire and Grandpa emerged from her house.

“It's no problem at all, Saibara. Enjoy them,” Claire giggled and then seemed to realize that Tim and I were still outside. “What do you want Tim?” she asked as she looked at him warily.

“I wanted to discuss something with you,” he began and I rolled my eyes as his cheeks turned bright red. What was he embarrassed about, it wasn't like he was asking her…on…a…date.

Alarms starting going off in my head as I mentally panicked. Today was the seventh. Tomorrow was the Goddess festival, and Tim must be here to ask her to the festival. Shit! This can't happen, it just can't. Then a vision of my angel of mercy- my Mary- came to me. Mary had talked about this just yesterday, after Claire had left the library, and our moment of bonding. I officially had an ace in the hole to get out of this `I'm not sure why Tim being with Claire bothers me, but it does and I think it's just because Tim is a total butt wipe and EVEN Claire deserves better than that' situation.

“Claire,” I interjected before Tim could continue. She turned away from Tim and glared at me.

“It's rude to interrupt,” she stated and shook her head. She was now facing me and her back was to an irritated Tim.

“Sorry, but I just remembered. Mary wants you to come to the Goddess Festival with us tomorrow,” I stated and inwardly cheered at Tim's irate face. I believe his eye was twitching because he was so angry.

“I don't think I'm going to go with my leg,” she replied and I returned all my attention to her. Okay, so that ace just went up in flames. I had one last alternative, and that was to appeal to Claire's friendship with Mary.

“Well Mary will be disappointed. She'll probably be really hurt if you don't stay home and rest tomorrow,” I rambled on and on as Claire just stared at me. I was waiting for the look of acceptance- there it was. Operation `Spite Tim' has been a success.

“I promise I'll stay home and rest tomorrow,” she grumbled and turned back around to Tim. He was standing there dumbfounded as I placed a hand on Claire's shoulder and smirked at him.

“I'll let her know. After all, Claire never breaks a promise,” I said quietly and then turned to go back to work, unable to stop my mental voice from laughing evilly in my head.